Chapter 3. Meet your classmates and try to survive it

The young medic kept talking though the whole way to the infirmary. She wanted to give the impression of a high-class professional, but didn't really know what it was like. She was obviously as new to the base as Arriz.

He didn't think it was a bad thing; he didn't pay attention to her. He was still overwhelmed with the flight, the landing and this planet in general. The underground was amazing too! He had no idea what kind of effort and precise engineering it took to build something so perfect.

Being inside that labyrinth didn't make him feel trapped or buried alive. All the halls and rooms were filled with light and fresh air, and it was easy to forget this wasn't Earth.

Arriz didn't forget though. Through every second of his stay on Ceres he could feel how distant his native planet was at the moment.

"The flight went so well for you! The worst consequence you'll have to suffer is your skin going dry, but that's normal, it'll go away in days if you drink a lot of water," the medic was talking in her typical fast manner. "I think you'll adapt completely in two days."

Two days here were a very theoretical concept. Arriz had already noticed that each clock on the walls had two faces. One showed the Earth time, while the other gave the idea of the Ceres time – which only had ten hours in a day. The second face was just for knowing whether it was day or night on the surface. In the underground base, they were using the Earth time by general agreement.

The medical exam took longer than it was really needed since the doctor was too nervous to work calmly. Arriz had enough time to look around the infirmary and notice that it had only the best, most expensive equipment. But there weren't any special devices meant for hybrids only, everything here was just like in a human hospital.

When the doctor had finally finished with the exam, the big guy from the hall took Arriz away from her office. The headmistress and the hybrid from the ship weren't around anymore.

"Our super medic sure does a lot of talking, huh?" the man smirked.

"She was just doing her job."

"Well, she puts too much voice into it. That's because she doesn't have a lot of work here, and she's happy to get some action. Any doctor would be bored on Ceres – they don't get sick, and any kind of wound heals on them without medical aid."

He pronounced the word "they" in a special quiet tone, like a conspirator giving away a secret. He didn't need to be that dramatic, it was easy to understand who he was referring to.

"How long have you been working with hybrids?" Arriz asked.

"That's my first project, which makes it a couple of months. By the way, you may call me Teacher Garin. And I don't care if you'll be my student or not, that goes for everyone."

"As you wish. How did you end up here, if you don't mind me asking?"

Not anyone was allowed to work with young hybrids, and a person who had no experience at all was a rare case. At first Arriz was surprised by the very fact that humans were working here: wouldn't it be more logical if hybrids were educated by other hybrids? But soon he learned that before reaching level six, the new generation kids were officially humans. Thus they had to be taught by humans.

"Nah, I don't mind," Garin replied. "I just thought it was the right thing to do. I couldn't return to police after I got shot on the street. What else could I do? Accept my pension and be happy about it? Or find a pleasant hobby like gardening? Teaching makes more sense to me."

"But you could've become a teacher for humans!"

"Is there really a difference?"

The difference was huge, planetary scale! But Arriz didn't dare to say so.

"I don't know, but many people believe that hybrids are worse than humans," he noted vaguely.

"Which leaves us with many fools. I had a friend, a hybrid… He died so I could live."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

But it was too late. Garin's smile faded under the pressure of memories.

"You're talking too much," he observed. "Not the best quality for a member of a secret project."

They reached the living quarters in silence.

On a lower floor they were greeted by a corridor lined by metal doors. It reminded of one of those sea liners to Arriz: a narrow hallway with a dark carpet on the floor and dim lights on the walls, a couple of paintings here and there and even some flowers.

"That's the floor of the personnel," Garin explained. "You'll be staying here too, your stuff is already in the room."

"So what's the layout of the base?" Arriz inquired. "It must be giant…"

"I ain't your personal guide, you know. There's a schematic layout waiting in your room, and there are a lot of signs here on the walls, you'll find your way around easily. Maybe Lady Laura will send someone to show you around. But when I got here, I didn't need any help."

"Thank you. I hope I didn't insult you…"

"You're giving yourself too much credit!" The teacher laughed. "Some wannabe curator can't insult me, not in this life. One more thing… You can go wherever you want, and there's no curfew here or whatsoever, but I'd still recommend you to meet them for the first time under the supervision of one of the teachers. I have a feeling they're not too happy about your arrival."

"Why?"

"Because they know you're here to watch them. And they don't like that."

The purpose of this project wasn't mere watching, it was a chance for a curator to know hybrids better. In the future it was supposed to make the communication easier for them.

But Arriz knew it wouldn't be that idealistic. Hybrids had always stayed away from people, even from the ones they worked with. This new generation… They weren't real hybrids yet, but not humans either. He didn't quite know what to expect of them.

He decided not to be in a rush to meet them and study the base first, starting with his room. It was opened by touching a sensor lock that had the data on his fingerprints sent from Earth. At least, that's what he thought since he didn't take any new tests on Ceres.

The room he was given was small, but no smaller than his bedroom at the Academy, so he was fine with it. It only fit a narrow bed, a desk and a wardrobe. Next to the room there was a bathroom, really tiny, but at least he didn't have to share it with anyone. The boxes with his luggage made the bedroom look cluttered, but that wouldn't last long.

However, the most curious detail about the room was a window. It was situated opposite the door, right above the desk, and looked very real. It gave a spectacular view of a meadow covered in purple flowers, with the sun shining on them and the wind making the gentle petals move. It felt as if he'd be able to smell lavender once he opened that window!

But it couldn't be real, of course. The room was underground, and above it laid the ices of Ceres, not lavender fields! It was an illusion, a supreme one. Arriz had heard about such devices before, but never actually saw them. They were designed for keeping the astronauts calm during long flights.

Arriz came closer and found a set of buttons hidden in the frame. By pressing them he could change the meadow to an autumn garden, snowy mountains, quiet ocean waves or a city street drowning in the pouring rain. The only thing he couldn't change was the time of the day – the scene outside was growing light or dark in accordance with the time set in the base.

Those windows were extremely expensive, and seeing them in the rooms made for human employees was impressive.

He unpacked his luggage quickly. Outside his room he was supposed to wear his cadet uniform only. There were three versions of it: a suit for special occasions, training gear and casual uniform for attending classes. He knew that the rule was the same for everyone, hybrids and teachers also had their uniforms. Arriz liked that, saved him the time of thinking what to wear.

After finishing the preparations he went on to study the layout of the base.

The floor where he was staying was the highest one in the living quarters. The bedrooms of the students were situated lower and appeared smaller than his. There was nothing there but a bed and a little table, which was logical: they weren't allowed to bring anything from Earth. They got clean clothes at the common shower rooms.

Students and personnel shared one cafeteria, situated next to the offices of the teachers. There was a library of an impressive size on the same floor. The base also had studies, gyms and game rooms. A whole wing of the base was given to the so-called "practical training halls". Arriz had a faint idea of what those were and needed to see them for himself. Some of them were underground, while others stood on the surface. According to the layout, the construction works in that wing were still in progress, but he couldn't guess who was performing them. Could they really bring that many people here? Or hybrids? But could hybrids do something as peaceful as building?

He was yet to figure that out. Right now he was trying to activate his telepathy to check who was beside him. It didn't work. That could be attributed either to a month spent in artificial sleep or to the change of planets. In any case, he'd have to wait.

Now he had to call someone to accompany him. But was it really such a good idea? Arriz was sure that Garin didn't lie about the hostility the students felt towards him. However, if he first met them under protection, he'd only prove they were right in their suspicions. He needed their trust in order to collect all the information "One Breed" required. Besides, what could they possibly do to him?

He changed into his average uniform, leaving the space suit outside his door. Finding the right direction in the corridors was as easy as the teacher had told him. There were signs next to each turn, by the elevators, even on the ceiling. He still didn't know where to go though. Where could he find the students? Was he allowed to distract them? Were they all together or divided into some groups? Nobody at the Academy taught him that, so he was in a world completely new to him.

He decided to try his luck and headed for the gyms. There were few of them on the layout, and he chose the one next to the elevator. He could hear voices coming from there even from the corridor, so he knew the hall wasn't empty.

But once he looked inside, he immediately understood that getting acquainted with the hybrids wouldn't be easy. He expected to see a normal gym – with training machines and mirrors and all that stuff. Instead, he saw something that looked a lot like a circus arena. There were ropes, cable roads and trapezes hanging under a ten-meter high ceiling. Trampolines stood on the floor, and safety nets hanged somewhere in the middle.

The whole set, which looked a lot like jungle, was truly filled with hybrids. Their agile bodies were flying through the air, flashing in all parts of the room and never standing in one place for too long. They weren't training, they were having fun, with their laughter rising to the distant ceiling.

That was his first meeting with the level two hybrids. They weren't any different from humans, just like their older counterparts. Or, to be more precise, from kids aged between twelve and fifteen.

There was nothing special about their appearance: to bulging muscles, scars from horrible surgeries or mutations. They were of different height, body type, complexion, had different color of hair and eyes, there were boys and girls among them. And with all that diversity, there weren't more than fifteen hybrids in the room! He felt like he ended up in an average school… or a circus college, for that matter.

The fact it was a school was pretty obvious. All hybrids were wearing similar uniforms. Each consisted of long black pants, a tight black sweater and loose jacket with elbow-length sleeves. The jackets were of different colors – Arriz could see black ones, and white ones, and green ones here. Some of the hybrids were wearing matching headbands and bracelets, though that was optional.

Those colors had to mean something, but he couldn't figure that meaning. He couldn't help noticing that his own uniform made him very different from other students, so nobody would take him for one of them.

Back on Earth he'd be able to feel someone approaching him from afar. But now he was distracted, and his mind was overflowed with information, while his gift was yet to activate. The voice that sounded a couple of steps away from him caught Arriz by surprise.

"Would you look at that! Isn't that the spy we've been warned about?"

He turned around to see three hybrids standing next to him. Two of them were undoubtedly twins: a bit lower than him, with fair hair and light brown eyes. All the twins he'd met before had some differences between them: hairstyle, or clothing, or facial expression. Anything! But these two were absolutely identical. They even had the same little scar on their temples, which couldn't have been a coincidence.

The hybrid next to them was taller and very athletic. Cautious brown eyes were watching the newcomer from a tanned face. His jet black hair was reaching down to his ears, a headband keeping it from his forehead. He was wearing a red jacket, while the twins had black ones.

None of them was friendly, Arriz didn't need his telepathy to sense that. The challenge showed in everything – from the look in their eyes to their hands crossed over their chests. They weren't afraid of him, their behavior was dictated purely by aggression, which was actually bad news for Arriz. But he tried to remain calm.

"I'm not a spy," he explained. "I'm studying to become a curator for hybrids. My name is Arriz."

"Who cares about your name?" the one in red sneered. "You came here uninvited. Our task is to make you pack your little bags and leave!"

"I'm afraid that's not happening."

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," the twin standing on the right advised him.

"I don't want any trouble. I came here to make the communication between us and you easier and friendlier."

"You're about to get friendly with my fist…"

"Hold that thought," the tall one interrupted. "We should give our dear curator his last chance to reconcile. We told you to leave – which means you should do it right now!"

"You'll leave anyways," one of the twins added. "You may try to hide behind the teachers' backs, but that won't work long. We'll find you and send you off Ceres without any ship!"

"In pieces," his brother nodded.

"You wouldn't do that. That would be a crime."

"So? We're hybrids, we can get away with many things!"

"It's not a question of what you can get away with. It's a matter of your conscience. And I think…"

He didn't get a chance to finish, because at that moment the twin standing closer to him demonstrated that their conscience had just been greatly overestimated.

It was a very good attack, fast and precise. The hybrid's power was much greater than a boy of his age should've had. Arriz didn't have a single chance to remain standing, the blow sent him flying across the hall, hitting the wall painfully with his back.

It wasn't too serious, but he still needed time to recover. Other hybrids saw his flight, but they were in no hurry to help him.

Meanwhile his attackers were walking to him slowly. They reminded him of cats that were playing with a mouse. Arriz stood up, trying to think up a plan; he didn't hope for negotiations anymore, he wasn't that naïve.

"What do you want from me?" he asked. It was the best thing he could think of.

"Damn, you're stupid, human! We told you to leave, isn't that clear?"

"I can't leave. Even if I wanted to, no-one would take me back, traveling between Earth and Ceres is very expensive."

"How's that our problem?"

"Not mine either, since I'm not going anywhere."

He knew they'd hit him again, but hoped he'd be able to block it this time. The hope was in vain: the tall hybrid had the same speed as the twins. He kicked Arriz in the stomach and then under his knees to get him off his feet. The hybrid sent him flying to the ground next to the twins, like a toy thrown to a dog. Sometimes only one of them was hitting him, and sometimes all three joined the fun, but Arriz noticed that they weren't using their full force, controlling their movements carefully. So they weren't going to seriously harm him after all! Which didn't make the situation any more pleasant: he had to take the fetal position on the ground, covering his head with his hands.

Other hybrids were moving towards the exit. Some of them were clearly displeased by what was happening, but none of them dared to interfere. Even in his current condition Arriz noticed that nobody else was wearing red or black jackets. It could mean something… or not, he wasn't sure.

Finally those three got tired of kicking him. He could feel the anger boiling in him, but didn't show it. He knew it would only thrill his tormentors, and he couldn't punish them. But he knew why the Organization hated the hybrids now. Those freaks of nature didn't deserve to be treated like humans!

After having their fun, they still didn't plan on letting him go that easily. Arriz could feel his body being lifted and tied with one of the hanging ropes. He tried to break free, but the twins were working too perfectly together, and their strength was much greater than his. They lifted him on the rope and left him hanging in about three meters off the floor.

He, the best cadet of the Academy, a genius and a telepath, had to take this humiliation from some demons and savages! The wrath was stinging his eyes with tears, and Arriz couldn't help it, so he prayed those three would go away before the humiliating tears fell.

"Okay, guys, time to roll," the tall one announced. "I think our spy has learned his lesson. And if he didn't, we'll repeat it, and then we'll do it again! He'll want to return home so bad he'll learn how to fly!"

The twins laughed, and their laughter wasn't sincere at all.

"Perhaps we should play some more with our piñata here?" one of them asked. "Maybe we'll get something interesting out of him!"

"I doubt anything that falls out of him will be too interesting!" the second one laughed again. "And we train in that gym, I don't want it smeared by him! I think our first meeting went fine."

Arriz didn't quite agree with that. The first meeting didn't go as he expected, but it reminded him about who he was dealing with. He wasn't supposed to relax only because they looked like children. He was to spend a year locked in with monsters – who were no better than the higher level hybrids.