6 Second Chances

Second Chances are not given to make things right. But are given to prove that we could be better even after we fall- Melanie Harlow, After we Fall

A month blurred and soon my departure date was staring at me in the face. Maya and Russo had flown in for today. I drag my meagre belongings out. In the time I had been here Rosealinde would randomly ask me about my past and things I liked. Then mysteriously I would find them in my room, I now owned a photo album (Maya had given it to me before she had left, it contained pictures of everyone doing something silly; except Rosealinde. She had looked bored.) A picture of my old training facility, Rosealinde had given me three swords (for some reason, she had only taught me how to fight with one)- they actually were katanas to be more precise. I owned some make-up (Maya had insisted); statues of horses (my favourite animals) and then the essentials: toothbrush and toothpaste. Rosealinde however, was surrounded with boxes that evening. Maya and Russo were staring at the boxes.

"You said you like reading right?" She asks.

She dropped another book into a crate. The bookshelves she was choosing from, refilled the gaps the books she had taken out of, yeah her house was definitely infinite.

"Affirmative."

"Also here." She threw something small and gold at me.

I catch the card in between my fingers… it was a credit card! It was a golden credit card! I could feel it crying out to be used. Maya suddenly marched forwards and started to complain very loudly in Rosealinde's ear.

"That's not fair, I was given a normal card."

Rosealinde gives her a sharp look; I hurriedly try to give it back to her. She delivers one cold look at Maya, effectively shutting her up and a warmer one at me.

"What people go through to get here is something invaluable. Also, you've been with me a long time. You are a spoilt little brat, even if I do say so myself, she has never had anything. Do you know what the average parents spend on their children?"

"I'm not a child!" Maya screams.

"MAYA!!!! Enough!!"

Rosealinde never actually rose her voice, it was all in the victim's head. This however means Maya collapses on the floor holding her head.

"Russo, be the big, strong, smelly, man, you are and carry her things to the airplane."

He stopped, drooling on the carpet, and started picking up the boxes and carrying them to the air plane. My first time using someone else's private jet, Rosealinde said she wasn't coming. Before I could tell her goodbye, she was hugging me. She doesn't say anything except: good then she was gone .

Then she walked away, not slow not fast; just her usual slow walk. Like the strongest player in the game of life would walk, deliberate footfalls and the walking stick accenting every second footfall. Maya and I wave, this sounded awfully similar to the song The DA sang. I pull out of my knapsack a letter of recommendation, on the back written in elegant gold lettering were the words: go the long way around.

"… It's better that way." I mummer finishing the verse of the song. Maya sighs.

"Rosealinde hates goodbyes. She said to me good as well."

We both wait, watching Russo do the heavy lifting.

"Yeah, please stand there girls. Don't stress yourselves. These boxes weigh a ton, almost as if there are books in here." Russo says sarcastically as he came back the fourth time and we still hadn't moved.

"What? We could cheer for you, if that will make you feel any better."

"Depends, Zoe, have you got the cheerleading outfit?"

"Pervert!" Maya and I snap in unison.

"You want a cheer: here eat this. Go Russo, Go Russo –Russo runs back outside to the air plane- bye Russo, bye Russo." I say.

"Excuse me, we're trying to make him feel bad. Not good. Who taught you how to be a bitch?"

"Why do we need to make him feel bad, Maya?"

"Okay, I understand your cru- I slapped my hand over her mouth- no actually I don't ."

She continued speaking around my hand, then she bit me. I was so shocked that I stare at her; she on the other hand was turning pale which for her was a hard thing to do.

"Maya!" I say, I manage to catch her just before she collapsed. I stare at my hand horrified, how do you feel? I need you to change to be of any use to me… Rosealinde's words echo in my mind.

I was changing, the blood that was trickling out wasn't normal. It was too red, the smell was strange and around the wound my skin was turning a lime colour. Then it started to stretch over the bite holes, where her fangs had been.

"Russo!" I scream, Maya was very heavy, she wasn't supporting any of her own weight and I found it hard to support her. Russo had just gone back with the last box; he came back with a bored expression. However, when he saw Maya he launched forwards. He took her from me.

"Get in the plane." He says gruffly, he doesn't look at me. His focus was squarely on Maya. Veins were starting to show, her fangs had grown all the way now so they were poking through her bottom lip. I was scared though.

"But… we need to get her to Doc."

"There's a doctor at the facility; now get in."

∞

The plane ride was agonizing, Maya looked like she was dying, also she would breath heavily every now and then. The blue veins were spreading, it looked like the blood was being sucked out of her body, she looked thinner than the usual. Her face lost its roundness, the plump lips vanished.

"What happened?" I whisper.

"I don't know." He replies, gruffer than before.

"I didn't know…." I trail off.

"How?" You idiot, every day she asked you the same question! Ahhh!!!! You're so fu-" This time he yelled, he launched out of his chair.

And I watched as for the first time ever he transformed into a werewolf. His clothes stretched over his massive body until they gave way, he was huge! Big as a horse. Only hairier and eyes that looked wild and aggressive. His black hair reflected on his coat, his brown eyes with their golden flecks looked at me with bottled anger.

I was surprised he managed to fit in the plane, but we stayed on course, the pilot either was used to it or didn't care. Maybe both.

Russo slinked away, he went to curl up next to Maya who's breathing was now frost swirls, but it stopped nearly immediately when Russo lay a meter away from her.

Mythological creatures were strange, I had learnt that. Their animosity towards each other stopped the moment one of them was attacked. Then they would all gang up on the outsider. Apparently, it wasn't always like this, before the cliques of werewolves, vampires, witches and gods had preferred to remain separated and divided. Wars had raged for over a thousand years it was only recently they had managed to unite properly. In one of my history sessions in the library I had found out, that people like Lord Emrys (Lord of Creation) and Lord Honey Daniels (Lord of Salvation) and Lord Maker were the ones to stop the fight, their powers and wrath kept everyone from acting out, every race and type had witnessed their power and had immediately realised who the most powerful ones were. And it was fear of the three Lords that kept the Mythological word from ripping itself apart, apparently the war wasn't only about dominance as much as it was about power, they wanted to either steal the other's power or show off their own. But when the three Lords had decided playing nice wasn't getting them anywhere they had done incredible things, from splitting up continents or sinking them to moving mountains or wiping out entire races that just didn't agree with them. I really wished to see Rosealinde do something like that one day, maybe not sink continents but mountains… I assumed she could, I was certain that she had to be part of the Lord Cult. It was interesting I thought, that in both worlds the key to peace was fear, although I don't think it was working in the human world.

But I felt left out, I wasn't a mythological creature, no one was explaining to me what or who I was. Rosealinde was playing games and hiding behind riddles. Everyone else knew though.

"You're a hybrid!" He suddenly says. I turn. The wolf had spoken, right Russo was the wolf!

"A what?"

"Hybrids have been used like a science experiment, they when they fail… they become zombies. The foo-"

"ZOMBIES?" I scream! I was going to become a zombie?

"Yes. Zombies. But you only become one if you don't eat the food given to you. What was the first food you were given?" he asks, I was seeing how this matched, however… I hadn't eaten anything when I had met Rosealinde. I had been offered a drink the first time and that was it.

"Impossible, Rosealinde wouldn't give you alcohol before she gave you food. Let me see your neck." I always hated the mind reading thing, but it did save breath and time.

I shifted from my seat to crouch beside him. His wet nose made me yelp, this shocked me. Then I felt a lot of condensated air make its way upwards as Russo inhaled deeply.

"Yep, what I thought."

"What."

"How did you escape the prison?"

"How do you know?"

"I work for her; I know every movement she takes."

Lies… I doubt Rosealinde told any of her workers what she did and why, she just told you to do it and then would leave expecting you to do it.

"Umm… well, I was thrown over her back… then I blacked out…"

"You didn't black out, you were knocked out. Rosealinde stood on your injured ankle.'' -She stood on my ankle? When had this happened- '' then hit you with her walking stick. Then she brought you to her palace by teleportation. Then Rosealinde froze the time in the prison dimension, which is dimension 2.4 allowing her plenty of time to fix you up. The Doctor removed your neuron-tracker and Martha gave you food. You were fed very well. Didn't you think everyone and everything looked very familiar and felt very much like de ja vu'? That's because it was… then she popped you two back, in time for more kick-ass action! Ahhh, I wish I had been there!"

I was trying to absorb everything he was telling me without being overwhelmed. Yes, everything had felt very familiar and deja vu like.

"But… how do you know?" I get it he worked for her but she possible couldn't have told him everything! Because frankly, Rosealinde didn't repeat herself.

"Maya, she was creeping about in the secret passages. Then she told me. Because Maya and I are sort of friends, and well… Maya is unable to keep a secret for longer than seven minutes."

"Will she be all right?"

"Oh, she'll be fine. Sorry about yelling at you. I just don't want Rosealinde's wrath… it's quite scary."

"What was that?" I ask him, edging closer.. maybe I could accidental fall on top of him….?

"Your thing –I nod- ah. Now that's like a vampire repellent. Not sure what the scientific term for it is, but it's useful. Vampires are unable to bite you, because if they do… they die. Most vampires recognise the smell, many hybrids are formed with more atoms then just these."

"So she's on the verge of death…" I whimper.

He has the audacity to chuckle: "don't fret, she's under Rosealinde's protection. And remember she's of great value… she ain't going to die any time soon. She could probably walk into a mine field and set all of them off and live. Remember she's got a friend in high places."

"Tell me more about Hybrids…" I command him.

"What do you want to know?" his eyes were slowly closing. The idiot, better not fall asleep.

"Everything."

"Hybrids… they are used like animals , well that was during the wars. They were used as animals, they would be pumped full of the weakness of the enemies then told to march right into their territories then they would explode, they would disperse whatever is in their chemically altered bodies."

That's nice, real nice.

He continues his tale of the truth: "now, obviously they aren't used like that. However, those used during the war weren't supplied with any of the special food they needed to survive and they went haywire. The Mythological world was for a decade discovered by humans, who then took to persecuting what they thought were vampires and witches and werewolves were really lunatics Hybrids. That isn't to say we didn't get involved in their cross fire. That's when The Don appears out of nowhere. Pulls a veil across the humans' eyes by creating parallel worlds and treaties with the human world. The peace was made, but the damage had been done. Hybrids were banned for half a century because they were believed to be too violent. Ever heard of Frankenstein?" He asks, I nod, of course I had.

"Well, because books on Hybrids were hidden, those who tried to recreate a Hybrid would find themselves with something like the human's Frankenstein. The Don authorised only certain people to create Hybrids and told them that they would be held personally responsible if something went wrong. The Royals and The Don, authorised spy companies to use Hybrids. That's where we're going now."

"No one said anything about becoming a spy." I say sitting up to stare at him.

"Well, it's the only way to legalise your existence, sure you may have The Don's protection, but out there… it's not enough. Mythological creatures despise Hybrids because of what they did. You're not very popular. Plus no one could tell you it was a spy company otherwise it would have lost all it's meaning of secrecy and espionage."

"Great, they hate me before they have even met me." I sigh leaning back into his warm fur.

"You'll get used to it; such prejudice is familiar to everyone who starts as a nobody."

"But I don't see why I should get used to it." He stretches ignoring me. And I watch as his big eye lids droop.