The hiding place

Everyone in the hallway stopped talking and stared at him, shocked. “How did it happen?” Lily asked, trying hard to keep her voice from cracking. The man sniffed and turned to her. “When I went to get the rags, I went to her classroom and saw her lying on the floor, dead and bleeding. She had bite and claw marks all over her. I didn’t see who killed her. But she doesn’t deserve that awful death.” He shuddered as he remembered what he saw. “She was my teacher. She will always be remembered as a brave woman who defended this school. She’ll be buried with honor,” Lily said, lowering her head in sorrow. The teacher nodded and stumbled over to the group of teachers to share the news. Zeve walked over. “I heard what he’d said. I’m sorry, that must be very hard for you,” he said, his eyes twinkling with sympathy. “She was the best teacher I ever had. I should have been there to stop it from happening,” Lily mumbled, her eyes filling with tears. “I will gather my soldiers and bury her near the forest. Do you want to come?” he asked. Lily shook her head, unable to speak. Zeve nodded in understanding and turned away without a word. “Sis? Are you okay?” asked a rough voice. Lily turned to see Leo limping toward her, his eyes trembling. Lily shook her head again, still not speaking. Leo slowly sat down next to her, his leg still slightly bent. “I heard that our teacher died from one of the dark hybrids’ warriors. I grieve for her, but we can’t let our grief hold us back. We need to hide; this place is not safe for all of us,” he croaked, looking at the students around him. Lily stood up and finally spoke. “But where will we go? Is there a place that we can all fit? The students and teachers here are not safe to be here!” she explained, her tail trembling. Then Bruce walked up, the petal still on his eye. “I heard that you need a place to hide. Well, I know just the place,” he said, looking at Karl, who nodded. Lily looked at Leo, asking what that was about. Leo shrugged.

An hour later, “Welcome to my friend’s hideout,” Bruce explained, standing in front of the warehouse. “It’s an old and rusty warehouse. Forget it, nobody wants to live here,” one of the students spat. “And that’s where you are wrong,” Glitch said, coming out from behind the boxes. “Hi, I’m Glitch, Bruce’s old friend. The one that spied on the three kids,” he chuckled, glancing at Lily, who was helping Leo to walk. Lily stiffened, gripping Leo tightly. Glitch’s eyes turned back to the crowd. “I heard that you need to hide from some dark hybrids. Don’t worry, my warehouse is big enough for all of us. Everyone is welcome,” he said. “But aliens,” he added, looking at Maya, who was standing with Ashpaw and Chem by her side. Maya growled, then winced, remembering the wounds on her neck. “How dare you!” Lily hissed. “We protected the students and teachers from the dark hybrids as best we could. Give us some respect,” she spat, her eyes slitting. Bruce walked up to Glitch. “Calm down, Glitch. They just need a place to rest and hide,” he hissed into Glitch’s ear. “My fellow hackers are scared, Bruce. They don’t want them here,” Glitch explained, turning his head to the warehouse’s door. “I know. But you can’t just abandon them; one of them saved my life,” Bruce said, glancing at Maya, who was talking to Zeve. Glitch sighed and turned his head back to the crowd. “Fine. But only because you saved my friend. Come on now. I can’t stand outside any longer if there are dark hybrids here,” he mumbled, opening the door. Students and teachers strolled in, with the hybrids close behind. The hackers nearby turned pale as they spotted the hybrids, and they scrambled away, forgetting their laptops. Maya sat down on the floor, ignoring the scared looks on the teenage hackers, and started washing the wounds on her arm. “Calm down! They aren’t going to eat us. They just want to hide,” Glitch mumbled, closing the door. “Didn’t you see how sharp their teeth are? We can’t trust them; they’re aliens,” D0ge explained, glancing at Lily, who was taking herbs from Chem. “Deal with it. Sooner or later they will leave. But for now, they stay. Got it? Or are you forgetting that I’m the leader of the Data Breaker?” Glitch said, thrusting his head into D0ge’s face. “N-no. I’ll try my best,” D0ge mumbled, glancing away. Glitch huffed as he walked away, leaving D0ge alone. Meanwhile with Maya. “Bruce, this is very kind of you. But it doesn’t have enough room to hold us all,” Maya explained. “This is the only biggest place I can think of, unfortunately. Unless you have another place in mind,” he said, watching a teenage hacker trying to show a dance video on his phone to a confused human-cheetah. Maya looked out the window. “There is a place that I know of, but I’m afraid that it can only fit about half of the people in this room. It’s in Madison, Wisconsin. My cousins and my father’s sister and her husband live there,” Maya explained, expecting Bruce to tease her. “That might work. Half of them can stay here, and the other half can go there. But how can you travel such a long distance without the dark hybrids spotting you and the others?” he asked, completely surprising her. Maya twitched her tail and pointed to Zeve. “He has a portal that he made. We can use it to get there,” she explained. “Fair enough. But I have questions. Why did you come here? What caused you to come here? And who is Varian?” he muttered, sitting close by her. Maya sighed, shaking her head. Then she spoke. “My full name is Howler Maya Smallpaws. Varian used to be my friend. He is a human-wolf, like me. But when the giant hybrids attacked my village and Varian’s family was killed by them, he turned his fury to me. That’s how he became a dark hybrid.” Maya paused, her eyes closed. Then she continued. “He summoned all the dark hybrids in the deadly mountains in the east of my village, called Elosel. Then he started hunting us down, trying to get rid of all the people in his life that caused him so much pain. My last battle in Tiere Leben was three years ago, the day that we fled.” She looked at the other humans, who had quieted down to listen to her tale. “I only took the sword that my great-great-great-grandfather had used to defend the dark dragon and a book of the four spirits. Zeve used the portal that he made to send us to Earth. Over time, the dark hybrids somehow got to Earth and blended in to fit in. And now he has found out that we are here,” she finished, her head bowed. Bruce didn’t say anything; he looked away. “She is related to a king who was Strongpaws’s grandson, the Old King. We are half prince and princess,” Leo explained as he stumbled toward them. “Except for Maya. She is a full princess. I’m glad that I’m not a princess right now; paperwork drives me nuts,” Lily huffed, making a face. “Zeve is the commander of the light army, and Maya’s boyfriend,” Leo said in a singsong voice. Maya blushed, and her ears flattened in embarrassment. “I am not!” Maya stuttered, completely forgetting her sadness. “Yes, he is. And you go out on dates with him,” Leo said, making kissing noises. Maya groaned and nudged him playfully. “Zeve, do you have access to the portal here?” Lily asked. Zeve frowned. “I can access it on Earth, but not in here. We need to do it outside,” he said, his ear twitching. Maya stood up, lifting her head up to the crowd. “That will have to do. We’ll take half of the humans, the ones that are young or strong enough to make the journey. Bruce, you’ll be coming with us. We’ll also take Ashpaw, Chem’s apprentice,” she mumbled. “I’ll come too. We’ll need to bring some soldiers as well,” Zeve explained, motioning several hybrid soldiers nearby to stand up. “Then the others will stay here till things calm down. Chem, I will leave you in charge. Leo, Lily, you’ll be coming with us,” she muttered. Chem nodded, and Leo scrambled to his feet. Chem called out for Ashpaw, and she came scrambling. He gave her some herbs and whispered to her about something. “I need to tell Glitch this. I’ll be right back,” Bruce said while Maya was talking to Chem. He pushed through the crowd until he saw Glitch talking to the robotic-arms teenager. “Glitch! I’m going with Maya’s group. We’re going to Madison, Wisconsin right now to take the youngest students to safety,” Bruce explained. Glitch’s head shot up, and he grabbed Bruce’s hand. “Are you kidding me?” he hissed, his eyes full of fear. “Do not go!” he explained, dragging Bruce to a dark corner. “Why? There’s nothing scary there,” Bruce asked, confused. Glitch’s head spun around, his eyes growing wide. “There-there is a teenager named Mag who lives there. I met him about a year ago. He’s not what you would call friendly,” Glitch explained, looking out the window. “He can somehow control temperature and shoot out fireballs. He-he burned me. Right here, on my left arm.” He trembled as he showed Bruce the burn marks on his arm. “He is deadly, and he loves to burn things down. I barely made it out alive. He’s not to be trusted, even if he seems nice,” Glitch muttered. “What does he look like?” Bruce asked, his eyes wide. “He-he has orange hair, as well as eyes. His skin is white as sand. He-he’s bigger than most teenagers, and he is very strong,” Glitch stuttered. “He-he used his strength to pin me down, then burned me. It was so awful. I do not want to see him again.” Then his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed onto the floor, out cold. Bruce stared at Glitch’s unconscious body, unsure what to do, as the other teenage hackers scrambled over to his side. They picked up Glitch and carried him to a different room. Bruce kept on staring at the place where Glitch fell for a few moments, then turned his head away. He stumbled back to Maya’s group, his mind filled with thoughts. “Is everyone ready?” Zeve asked. Chem nodded as he nudged Ashpaw onto her feet. “Good. Then let’s go,” he mumbled, stepping outside.

Three hours later, “Brrr! This is really cold! How can you handle this?” Bruce asked as he stepped outside of the portal and onto the snowy ground. “Are you forgetting this?” Lily muttered, slightly tugging her fur. “We’re almost there. Keep the youngest students close to you,” Maya said, walking ahead of them. Bruce walked faster and reached Maya’s side. “Who are your cousins? What are they?” he asked as frost began to form on his eyebrows. “My cousins are human-snow leopards, with a bit of lynx in their DNA. Their mother is a human-snow leopard, and their father is a human-lynx,” she muttered. “My cousins’ names are Hope and Joy Snowpaws. Their parents’ names are Frostfur and Greenpaws. They’ve lived here for a few years now,” she said, reaching the end of the clearing. She turned back to the crowd. “Okay, everyone. We’re very close to our destination, but we need to go past some… citizens,” Maya explained, glancing at the town behind the trees. “Understood, princess. Soldiers! Operation Shapeshifter starts now,” Zeve shouted. Immediately, every single soldier shapeshifted to look like a human. Maya sighed. “Zeve. Honestly, please just call me Maya, you puffball,” she said, brushing her tail against his face. “But you are a princess,” he muffled, trying to push her tail away. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go,” Leo explained, his fur disappearing, leaving light brown skin. Maya nodded, and her fur disappeared as well. They stepped out from behind the trees into the street. Maya stopped for a minute, sniffing the air before continuing to walk. They passed several houses before reaching a light blue house with a pale white door. Maya walked up the steps and stopped in front of the door. “This is their house. Be quiet till we get inside,” Maya muttered as Leo knocked on the door. After a few tense minutes, the door creaked open, revealing an older teenager with dark brown hair and white skin. Her eyes were icy blue, and they widened when she saw them. “Leo! Lily! Maya! What a surprise! What are you doing here? And what’s up with the crowd behind you?” she asked, looking at them. “We need somewhere to hide, Hope. We have been attacked at our school… we’ll tell you about it in a little bit,” Lily said as another girl appeared beside Hope. She had the same brown hair and white skin, and her eyes were the same as the other girl’s. She was a bit smaller and younger, but no less friendly. “Well then, come on in. We don’t want anyone to get a cold,” she explained, motioning everyone to get in. “That’s Joy, our younger cousin. She was Maya’s closest cousin when we fled,” Leo whispered to Bruce. They walked inside the building, shivering slightly. The house was surprisingly warm and comfortable; a delicious smell was wafting through the air. “Hope? Who was it at the door?” a female voice asked. A young woman with light skin and orange hair stepped out of the kitchen, a long white tail with black spots trailing behind her. “It was Maya and her siblings. And a few other people. They need a place to hide from the dark hybrids that attacked them at their school,” Hope explained as her tail came out. “Well then, you came at the right time. My husband just recently finished fixing up the basement; it should hold all of them,” she said. Then they heard a clattering noise from the kitchen. “That will be my husband making some cooked salmon for dinner. We might have enough for all of us,” she said, going back into the kitchen. “That’s our mom, Frostfur. Our father is Greenpaws. They are Maya and her siblings’ aunt and uncle,” Joy explained, leading the group to a door to the basement. She opened it and went down the staircase. They followed her. Once they made it down to the basement, she turned on the lights. The basement was large and roomy; there were a few books and games in one corner of the room. “If you need to go to the bathroom, it’s behind the bookshelf over there,” Hope said, flicking her tail at the bookshelf. Lily strolled over to Hope and Joy and whispered to them, telling them what had happened. The students started to explore the area; some of them sat down to rest. Ashpaw scrambled over to check on the teenage boy who had a sprained ankle, her paws full of herbs. “Leo, how’s your left leg doing?” Luke asked, sitting next to him. Leo winced. “It’s slowly recovering. I can’t run as fast as I used to right now, but hopefully I’ll be able to soon,” Leo groaned. “Did the medic give you any herbs?” Luke asked. “Some catmint and poppy seeds. He said that the poppy seeds will help me rest better, but it tastes horrible,” Leo muttered, sticking his tongue out in disgust. “If it tastes bad, that means it’s doing its job. If you don’t like it, deal with it, furball,” Ashpaw chuckled, her whiskers twitching in amusement as she walked over to them. “This is Ashpaw, Chem’s apprentice. She is very sweet and determined; she wants to be the best medic that the world has ever seen,” Leo explained. “And the prettiest,” he added. “Oh, stop that, lovefur. Now is not the time,” Ashpaw said, rolling her eyes. Then they heard someone shouting. “Okay, everyone, dinner is ready. Come on, move your paws. The last one to get up here has to do the dishes,” a deep voice announced. Maya glanced at her siblings, who nodded eagerly, and they scrambled up the stairs before anyone else could.

After dinner, they went back down to the basement. “Your dad is a good cook. The salmon was delicious,” Karl commented to Joy. “Thanks. We use fresh fish that we caught today at a river nearby, and we got natural ingredients from the woods,” she explained. “We need to get some sleep; tomorrow is going to be another crazy day. Do you have any extra blankets and pillows?” Maya asked, walking up to her. Joy nodded. “There are some blankets in the drawers over there, and the extra pillows are in the storage room near my father’s office upstairs,” Joy answered, leaping over to a dresser. “We definitely don’t want any more trouble to happen right now. Let’s hope that tomorrow will be better,” Leo said gravely. Little did they know that they would meet another foe tomorrow.

Chapter 4: The hiding place