REIGN OF THE HYBRID; RULER OF ADVERSITY

CHAPTER 2

Bright light threatened to penetrate his shut eyes, Leon groaned in exhaustion turning his head sideways to avoid the relentless light but it kept coming at him, the noisy waterfall could wait. He used his hands to cover his eyes all he could see was red.

"Better", He mumbled.

The events of his previous night started to light up his mind. Leon froze for a minute and relaxed his arms to let the light in. there was still the usual cloudless blue sky, with the golden rays of the sun striking him at an angle.

"How am I alive or this is heaven?” He inquired rhetorically still struggling to get a clear view of his surroundings. He was lying on the patch of grass in his vest and shorts, bare foot. And his bottle of poison was missing.

He slapped his forehead and cursed in disappointment "ooh crap! Am still here who the f**k saved and robbed me at the same time? "

His clothes were dry and soiled, his body felt numb from sleeping in the cold. Leon crawled to the river to wash his face. His body felt light with a grandiose sense of reflexes as he splashed water on his face. The water was very cold forcing his teeth to rattle. He censored pain in his left wrist area and decided to check on it. He thought it was a prick he might have got while being carried downstream by the rampant waves. The small wound on his radius vein was less of his worries, Leon had bigger and enough problems on his plate. Rob was going to skin him alive, and police were probably looking for him. Walking out of a scary forest half naked in broad daylight was not a joke, it demanded a lot of courage that he didn't have all he hoped was there were less people on the roads most of whom don't recognize him or else it could have proven disastrous for his self-esteem that was already in the ICU.

*******

"Did the i***t tell you he was going anywhere?” Rob asked pacing up and down like a caged lion.

"No, he just left in the evening I thought he was going on his usual nature walks", Maya his wife replied preparing the table.

She walked to her husband and embraced him tightly careressing his back.

"He will be fine wherever he is look at it like a burden that has just been lifted", she said leading him to the table. Maya ensured he was seated before she took her seat.

He grabbed a pancake and took a weak bite "what if he is dead the police will doubt us Maya"

"Stop complaining, you're innocent aren't you Rob? " she froze with the cup of coffee in her shaky hands and gave him the inquisitive face that could suck truth from him.

Rob inhaled sharply and dropped his cup on the brown mahogany dining table with a feeble bang "Of course I am Maya, it’s just that we've been doing him wrong and now that he is missing it’s taking a toll on me"

There was pin drop silence, the two just hang their heads in guilt and shame, Rob was right they had made it clear they didn't like him. Scolding him unnecessarily and making him feel like an outcast when they were his only family on the planet who ought to have given him a sense of belonging. One that motivates all human beings to become the best version of themselves.

Maya coughed lightly and broke the silence, "The little brat deserves it, his selfish dead father refused to help us when we needed him the most why should we treat his blood right?”

"He was my brother damn it!” Rob retorted seething with rage, “you're crossing a line here Maya", He added.

It was clear Rob was in no mood to be reasoned with, Maya thought he was getting soft on Leon lately and she didn't like it. The boy was slowly but surely taking Rob away from her and it was time she acted before the situation got out of her hands. She left the table  started singing her indistinctive tune while doing the dishes, to Rob the tune was a dirge that signaled some uncomfortable talk, a back trace of his flaws and a reminder of roads not taken.  But not that day, he was not going to fight when his nephew was missing. The Sherriff had promised to call him in the morning for an update and it was already 9 without a word. A clanging sound from the sink startled Rob bringing his attention back to his wife.

He released a sarcastic grunt and said "If you have something to say to me go on, don't project your anger on utensils"

Maya ignored him and continued singing, the tune was becoming loud and irritating to portray the magnitude of her anger. If Rob was not going to apologize and take the fault for her sudden change in mood she was going to scream her brains out or chop off his d**k, not that one she loved it even though it could no longer give her a child of their own. But their line of work was both dangerous and scary for any child to be entangled in. the vasectomy after their Maya had a still birth was the best decision he had ever made.

Rob sensed it "Am not apologizing do what you got to do"

"You're getting soft, is it because you still really want a son of your own?”

He fidgeted on his seat and warned "Maya, stop it!  Don't piss on my back and convince me it’s raining"

"Come on let's face it Rob, you still blame me for our childlessness", Maya said turning around to look at him.

"So we are doing this?” Rob asked swinging back on his chair.

"Yes right now Rob man up and tell me you don't blame me for the still birth", Maya dared arms Akimbo.

"How can you even think of that, it only proves how cold blooded you're that a baby couldn't survive in you", Rob said with traces of anger in his voice.

The statement, just like a surgical blade shattered a wrong nerve and awoke the beast in her. Maya grabbed a Pan from the rack swung it with all her strength in her right arm and released it luckily it missed his head by inches and landed on the wall leaving a scratch. It wasn't luck indeed after many years of hunting super naturals the duo had great reflexes. Rob got on his feet and charged towards her, using his force she took his arm and flipped him swiftly on the ground such that she was lying on top of him. Rob struggled to overturn her but instead she send a number of punches on his face, he gave up trying to change his position and concentrated on blocking her quick successive blows. Using the wall as support, Rob pushed himself forward with all his might sending his wife crushing in the chairs. He was bleeding in the nose and his right eye, Rob crept on his feet and grabbed her hair, Maya tried to free herself screaming and throwing short punches that barely touched his thoracic area. They were both breathing heavily as Rob forced her to seat down, he did not fight back he loved his wife dearly to beat her up. Maya was slowly keeping it together, Rob brought her a glass of water and some ice from the fridge to nurse her wounds. She slapped him on the cheek and took the water and the ice.

Rob smiled as though he cherished the slap ", I must say I love your crazy violent ass"

"Cut the bullshit none of it was necessary if you kept your filthy mouth shut", Maya said rearranging the chairs with her knees the ice on her forehead still intact.

"I don't like Leon, and am not becoming soft happy now?” He asked chuckling lightly.

"You don't mean that I can feel it in your voice call the Sherriff your nephew is still missing we need him dead or alive", Maya teased faking a friendly smile.

Rob fished out his phone whistling feverishly, his typical way of showing satisfaction. He dialed the sheriff’s office number on loud speaker and put the phone on the table. The phone rang for at least thirty seconds and the sheriff’s raspy voice was heard.

"Mr. Lindloff, good morning"

He was running out of time so he went without detour to the point "Morning sheriff any update on my nephew?”

"Some progress, He was last seen entering the scary skyview forest but we haven't found him yet", the sheriff reported in a low voice.

There was silence, Rob stole a glance at Maya who was staring at him from the beginning. She shrugged and smiled sheepishly "Are you telling me you're scared of the rumors about werewolves?”

The sheriff chuckled lightly and said "No... We already have a search and rescue party it’s just that... "

Rob chirped him "just what? Mate"

The sheriff feigned a cough and then answered with finality "We are waiting for approval from the county administration headquarters”

"Since when do you wait for approval to rescue a citizen of skyview?”

"Protocol Mr. Lindloff, we have to follow the protocol”, the sheriff said.

"f**k protocol I can handle this thanks for giving me a clue" Rob said angrily and hang up. He looked at Maya who was now showing lack of interest.

It was obvious she was not going to help him despite being a team, they needed each bother to thrive in any risky situation. This was a search in one of the scariest places in skyview Rob surely needed help.

"So you are not helping", He said taping on the table.

"I didn't say that but now that you mentioned it am not", she said and nictitated.

Rob raised his eyebrows in surprise "Okay get my stuff and you will update me if he comes when am away"

She walked briskly to their room to fetch his hunting tools, a short gun with silver bullets and an electric bow with arrows made of silver and dipped in garlic. A set of motion sensors and bottle full of wolfs bane with a powder of the same in a small tin hidden in the side pockets of his vest armor, all of them if well used were enough to kill any werewolf in skyview.

Maya looked around keenly and shouted "Baby where is your Helmet and the shackles, the ones made of silver”

Rob exhaled sluggishly "in the middle drawer of our wardrobe darling"

There was silence before she spoke again melodiously, "Found them I'll be out in a few"

She came in the living room with everything he needed and started dressing him. Rob just looked at her with suspicion as she laced his boots humming indistinctively occasionally stopping to admire how she'd done and then picking up with renewed vigour. They both knew the armor was nothing compared to the razor sharp claws of the gruesome killer half human half wolf beasts but still they believed it was necessary for first line of defense, it gave one a fighting chance. Maya looked erotically at her husband and plastered a light kiss on his lips.

She entangled her arms around his neck "You look handsome in this armor than with regular clothes"

He responded by cupping her face, kissed her on the forehead and the lips "Thanks love, you're sure you don't want to tag along?

"No", she said without hesitation.

He was out of tricks the rat ate the bait without dying.

"Okay love see you in a few"

********

It was paranormal how he could hear his Uncle Rob and aunt Maya speaking some meters from the main house. Leon felt a constant ringing sound and close to a million other indistinctive sounds involuntarily in his ears. He felt like a new person again, in a new body that was more perfect than his previous one that he wanted to get rid of. When he got to the door, it flew open before he even knocked and his uncle Rob crushed into him, dressed like a machinery he had seen only in movies, a novel look.  For the first time he embraced the idea of him being in heaven but who killed Rob?  Leon had never seen his uncle dressed like that.

The expression on Robs face changed hastily "You got some nerve boy get your ass in here"

He seized him by the neck and dragged him inside, Rob looked around to see no one neighbors were alert, walls had ears and eyes. The thin possibility of change towards Leon disappeared the moment he saw him, in soiled shorts and a vest. The boy looked homeless and he was trying his best to put a roof over his ungrateful head.

 “Drink! You will need your strength to see me rip of your daughters heart the same way you did to one of us”, Don ordered handing Kylan a bottle of water on his red lips.

 They were seated in the middle of a circle surrounded with some enchanted ash that prevented them from escaping or even morphing. Their hands tied behind their backs. Kylan took the water with gallops and it was Tina’s turn. They had started healing and soon enough they were going to regain their strength. It was giving Don Headache, of course he was free to kill them but that according to his idea of vendetta was being kind enough to people who murdered his sister. He wanted them to suffer before killing them. The two did not deserve mercy of an instant death. His search team had not found anything, not even a trace of their daughter. It was like she disappeared into thin air.

“Soon enough you’ll be wishing you told me where you daughter is”, Don threatened stalking them.

“Either way you’re going to kill us so get it over with”, Tina blurted spitting on his exotic Italian leather boots. Kylan signaled Tina to keep quite with his elbow, Don saw it and smiled sarcastically.

“Let her talk mate you’re afraid she is gonna tell me huh!” He teased and laughed hysterically. “The only thing am afraid of is that I won’t get a chance to kill you in front of her”, Kylan answered. Keeping quiet where Don is like trying to tame a wild cat, it will always run back to the wild making it helpless.

“We shall see, you! Lock this door and keep an eye on them its time I do the search myself”, Don said giving them one last look and left.

Tina’s heart sank, Kylan noticed and moved even closer to her. Their sins were their responsibility and now their daughter was going to pay for them, pay for a choice they made two years ago and now the consequences had caught up with them and the worst possible time.