The Hybrids

Book summary

Detective Aiyana Evans navigates a web of crime and mystery in Los Angeles, facing an elusive entity and being framed for a crime she didn't commit. Her journey with the enigmatic World Hybrid Association spans the globe and realms, uncovering the secrets of her existence and that of THE HYBRIDS.

Excerpt from The Hybrids

Three days later Aiyana awoke alone in a hospital bed, flowers surrounding her. Her classmates had come to give their condolences. Each prayed for the woman’s recovery. Her hands swept over arms, pulling cords and needles. Tears poured from the pain. She looked frantically around until a doctor came in, eased her discomfort and sat with her.

“Miss Evans, I’m truly sorry…” He paused, wiping away the tears that formed in his eyes. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Aiyana stared at him, deep in his brown eyes. Slowly she realized what the doctor was saying. “My loss?” she questioned, knowing exactly what he meant.

“Your parents were killed in the accident. Honestly, we’re amazed you survived.” The doctor placed his hand on hers.

The world fell out from under her. Her face dropped and tears flowed. They were taken from her by some idiot who couldn’t be troubled to go the speed limit. She sobbed and shook uncontrollably.

The doctor pulled her in and held her as she wept. He was new to the field of medicine, at least she thought he was. He stayed with her while she cried. The man had the greatest compassion for her situation.

Her parents were everything to her. Now they were gone, and she was alone in the world, thrust into a place where others in her situation had more time. All of this she pondered as she wept.

Guilt overwhelmed her. Aiyana was being selfish, concerned over her future and what the world took from her. Her parents were dead and all she cared about was how it affected her.

“Did they suffer?” she asked through stuttered breaths.

The man pulled away and looked at her. He seemed to be considering how to answer the question. “The accident ripped your car in half, right down the middle. It’s a miracle you survived.”

They drove a newish vehicle. Aiyana had her own car, a beat-up Ford Taurus from the early nineties. It was no safer than the vehicle her parents drove. Safety ratings only mattered so much when it came to actual accidents. Any number of factors, aside from accidents, could have caused unspeakable damage.

As it was, the barrels used to block these types of accidents were only a quarter full. They were so light that, as the car slammed into them, they shot straight out, damaging other cars in the process.

“Did they suffer?” she repeated.

The doctor looked down. “Your father died on impact. The steering column appears to have crushed his chest.”

Fresh tears fell, but her voice was steady. “My mom?”

She felt the doctor’s body tremble. He was trying to steady himself as best he could. “Well…” He looked outside and locked eyes with a man in a suit. Suddenly, the doctor was steady and continued. “She screamed in agony as they removed her from the vehicle. Her condition was anything but stable. The ambulance sped as quickly as possible, but by the time they arrived at the hospital, their lights and sirens were off.” His words were almost robotic.

Aiyana cried heavier than she had before. No other time in her life had she felt so lost. Her questions died on her lips, replaced by her own agonized wails.

A nurse joined the doctor a short time later, a syringe in her hand. He leaned back and smiled at Aiyana. “This is gonna help you sleep. Your body needs to heal and the best chance it has is a comfortable, dreamless, sleep.” The syringe entered her replaced IV tube.

It wasn’t long and she was bobbing her head. A smile crept across her face. “Thank you.” Her head fell back, and the world vanished into black nothingness.

She remained in the hospital after her injuries were no longer considered dire. Fear for her mental well-being filled the staff. Some had lost their own parents and knew what it was like to go through such a terrible loss. They had one thing that Aiyana would never have again, support.

Visitors came and went, offering their condolences. Her father’s boss even visited her, eyes reddened as he sat with her. He held himself up with as much strength as possible, but she could tell the loss was devastating for them both.

The company was family-owned. They were the closest to relatives the young woman had, but each person had their own lives, their own responsibilities. The man openly wept when he could no longer hold everything in.

Financially, she was covered. Both of her parents had hundreds of thousands of dollars in life insurance. When she heard this from her father, Jack, she questioned the reason. He would live forever, she naively considered. How wrong she was.

Jack simply said that it was a security for her, and her mother’s, future that he could afford. Family was everything to the man. Fresh tears welled up as the man sitting with her bawled his eyes out. He looked at her, realizing what his presence had done and embraced her. They cried together the rest of his time with her.

She would see him off and on from that point, but due to random chance. It was nice for her to mourn the loss with someone her father was close to. When he left, she was alone for a few days before any other visitors showed. Those who cared about her family had come and gone.

Her mother’s employer sent a heartfelt message in a card, but no one ever showed to offer their condolences. Marlene Evans may as well have been just another number in the system. All they had been good for was a paycheck and the benefits that Aiyana was using.

To her surprise, an older woman, clearly Native American, showed up with a younger man, around her father’s age. The woman’s eyes were red as she stared through the window at the young woman. That’s all she ever did though. The man held her as the old woman cried. It was only a few minutes, but they disappeared after that, and Aiyana never saw the pair again.

She assumed the woman was her grandmother or some other relative on her father’s side. Mourning the loss was all she could do. The man must have been a brother, his appearance, the looks that he gave Aiyana, were so similar in appearance to Jack’s that she nearly wept at the sight.

After that, she was alone with her thoughts. Mourning was all she could do, but it was the one thing she wanted to move on from. Days passed. They turned into weeks. Scattered visitors who were just checking in on her appeared and disappeared. At the end of the day, she was alone.

Then she came. A random woman Aiyana had never met, though someone who had been witness to the accident. She was a sinewy woman with an interesting demeanor. She seemed to be erratic at times and her eyes shifted from side to side more often than not.

“My name is Shauna,” she started.

“Hello, Shauna.” It had been weeks since she woke to find herself alone in the world.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” The woman looked over her shoulder.

“Is something wrong?” Aiyana asked.

Shauna quickly returned her gaze to Aiyana. “No.” A smile crept across her face. “I just…” She looked over her shoulder again. “I feel like I’m being watched.”

Aiyana looked past the woman. No one was there who shouldn’t have been. “I’m sorry you’ve felt that way.”

“Anyways, I came to tell you what I saw.” Shauna looked at Aiyana and gazed into her eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“As you probably know, we were at a dead stop for some reason. I was in my boyfriend’s car, passenger side, right where…” Shauna looked down. “Well, right where it all happened.”

Aiyana nodded.

“I was looking out the window when I saw your family's crash. That was crazy and again I’m sorry for your loss.” Shauna pulled her chair closer to Aiyana’s. The room she was moved to was like any other, except she had a sitting area with a television. “There was a weird brown glow coming from your mother and shrouding you.”

Aiyana’s face screwed up. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. I just saw something leaving your mother and surrounding you. I don’t know what it was, but I had to tell you.” Shauna breathed a sigh of relief.

Aiyana had no idea what she would do with the information. Her mouth hung slightly open as she considered the words to say. Sunlight covered her hand, and she looked down. I suppose it looks like there’s a glow?

“Thank you for telling me. It was nice meeting you and thank you for visiting.” Aiyana had no one. This woman, having seen the sun beaming off of the people in the car, assumed it was something supernatural.

Shauna smiled at her and placed a hand on Aiyana’s. “Thank you for listening to me.”

If the woman knew how Aiyana felt about what she was told, likely she wouldn’t be thanking her, but she smiled. “You’re welcome.”

She watched the woman stand. It was strange to Aiyana, but the jittery nature Shauna displayed when she first came in was completely gone. She left feeling more confident.

Another week passed and Aiyana was given the okay to head home. She planned Jack and Marlene’s funerals with a renewed somberness. She gathered photos so those who showed would remember the people she lost in the best of times. Tears were not hard to come by. Every time she looked at a picture of her father or mother, a renewed fit of grief overflowed her emotions. She sat on the bed and stared at their pictures. A few times, before the funeral, she woke to find she was still clutching a framed picture or two.

Plenty came and shared their support. They said their own goodbyes. Condolences, however, only lasted so long, and by the next day, everyone was again busy with their own lives. She was left in an empty house, the ghost of her past to keep her company.

She applied for Police Academy training while she worked to sell the house they left her. It was all paid for, but she couldn’t see herself staying there. In the course of the sixteen-week program, the house was sold, and her bank account increased significantly. She poured her energy into the academy, proving she could be an officer of the law.

She wanted justice toward the man who caused the crash. Over the previous months, he had been recovering from the injuries he suffered. An unfortunate accident, the officer who took his statement said.

When the officer took hers, it was deemed emotionally charged and counted for little. His insurance paid for the costs of everything she lost, but money only covered so much. She managed to get free mental health care in the deal for a few years.