THE EVOLUTION TRILOGY
Book One
HYBRID
By Vanessa Wester
Copyright All Literary Rights: Vanessa Wester, 2012. Vanessa Wester has asserted her right under the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
Authors Note
Any reference to real names and places are purely fictional and are constructs of the author. Any offence the references produce is unintentional and in no way reflect the reality of any locations involved.
LATEST EDITION: March 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Prologue: Los Alamos, New México, 1942
Chapter 1 – A Chance Encounter
Chapter 2 – Mingling
Chapter 3 – Game, Set and Match
Chapter 4 – Banter
Chapter 5 – The First Day Is The Hardest
Chapter 6 – Missing
Chapter 7 – Rendezvous
Chapter 8 – Confusion
Chapter 9 – Revelations
Chapter 10 – Emily
Chapter 11 – The Cover-Up
Chapter 12 – Reunion
Chapter 13 – Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder
Chapter 14 – Dancing
Chapter 15 – Family Time
Chapter 16 – Taking The Next Step
Chapter 17 – Exams
Chapter 18 – Disturbance
Chapter 19 – Non-existent
Chapter 20 – Revelations
Chapter 21 – Journey Into The Unknown
Chapter 22 – Ingrid
Chapter 23 – The Killer Within
Chapter 24 – Memories
Chapter 25 – The Past
Chapter 26 – Arrival
Chapter 27 – The Community
Chapter 28 – Back Home
Chapter 29 – Meeting Mum
Chapter 30 – Back To Being A Student
Chapter 31 – A Warm Welcome
Chapter 32 – Lessons
Chapter 33 – Gifted
Chapter 34 – Food For Thought
Chapter 35 – Hunter Gatherer
Chapter 36 – Jensen
Chapter 37 – Lost
Chapter 38 – It’s Time
Chapter 39 – The Change
Chapter 40 – Getting A Part Of Your Life Back
Chapter 41 – Anger
Chapter 42 – Temptation
Chapter 43 – You Can’t Change Who You Are
Chapter 44 – Relationships
Chapter 45 – Hostile Territory
Chapter 46 – The Predator Becomes The Victim
Chapter 47 – Safety
Chapter 48 – Consequences
Epilogue – A Voice From The Past
Acknowledgements
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References
For Michael, Elsa and Joanne
Prologue
Los Alamos, New Mexico, 1942
Emily stared at the desert sand as it danced in the air, and tried to come to terms with the fact she had just killed someone. The light breeze, amidst the evening air, brought much needed relief from the daily, stifling heat. She raised her chin and closed her eyes in an attempt to shake off the events of the past hour. She had played a part in murder, and she had no idea what it meant or why it had happened.
The sight of blood had always made her queasy, yet minutes ago she had sucked and licked the trace off her hands. It had been irresistible. Even though it was out of her control, she wondered if she could have done anything to stop what they had done.
She opened her eyes and caught sight of the corpse’s lifeless pair, the colour on his skin pale, almost translucent under the glare of the full moon.
‘What have we done?’ a traumatised voice asked.
She turned her head to face her twin sister, Anna, who sat on the ground, her hands raking the sand.
‘I’m not sure.’ The last thing she wanted to do was admit she had enjoyed it.
Anna widened her eyes, their amber colour retaining a brightness that seemed out of place in the dead of night, and said, ‘We killed a man.’
Emily gnashed her teeth. ‘That’s obvious.’
Anna scowled, then clasped her hands together. ‘There’s no need for your sarcasm now. For once, can you act like a grown-up?’
Emily shook her long, black hair off her face. ‘Calm down. I’m not trying to be sarcastic. What’s done is done. We can’t take it back. I just wish we could find out why we did it.’
‘We’re evil, the devil incarnate. I want to die…’ Anna burst into tears, and hung her head low with her shoulders hunched.
The situation annoyed Emily, it really did, but she did not want to die. She wanted answers first. What they had done was impossible, like something out of a comic book. The problem was it was real, it had happened.
Her eyes narrowed and she tilted her head to the side. Her older sister, Catherine, had lied to her. She had told her nothing was wrong, she had promised her nothing was different.
Emily knew the truth now – they had all become killers.
Her father’s voice made her turn her head as he approached, ‘Now you know what you need to feel better.’
A million thoughts raced through her mind as she considered their options.
As she fixed her eyes on the open space, with its sparse accommodation and lack of creature comforts, her throat constricted. This was not the life she had envisaged. There was no way she could be an actress now. Ever since she had become a teenager, nothing had gone right for her. Nothing made sense.
She bit her lip and made a vow to fight. She would never accept it. She would find a way to lead a normal life.
The only problem was the smell and taste of the blood.
It lingered.
She had no idea how she would ever resist.
Chapter 1
A Chance Encounter
The activity in the University of Southampton students union was incredible. Stalls promoting a multitude of clubs and social activities were sprawled everywhere. Seasoned representatives strategically positioned themselves with flyers at the ready, relishing the opportunity to lure new blood to their chosen pastime. Any student walking in, with a campus map on display, was an immediate target.
It amused Caitlin when Sally placed her hands on her hips with authority, and said, ‘I think we should go our separate ways.’
Even though Sally was barely over five feet, her confidence definitely outweighed her stature. With one hand outstretched, Sally admired her immaculate, manicured nails. Content, she smiled sweetly and continued, ‘We all have different interests. It makes sense.’
Georgina, a tall anorexic girl, kept her eyes to the floor. Her nails did not stand a chance at the moment, she was biting them a lot.
Caitlin was not surprised when Julia, the last in the group, agreed with Sally, ‘That’s probably a good idea.’
Caitlin had noticed that Julia was more interested in what was going on around them, than spending time with her newly acquired flatmates. Julia had not stopped studying everything from the moment they had walked in. Her short cropped hair, streaked with red strands, and designer outfit marked her out as a fashionista. Caitlin had a feeling that her store labels did not meet the Julia standard.
‘Shall we meet at the cafeteria, in say, an hour?’ Julia suggested.
‘Sounds like a plan,’ Sally sang back. With a cheeky grin, she started to walk away. ‘See you later. Oh, and have fun. I know I will.’
Caitlin looked towards Georgina, who had paled at the thought of splitting up. ‘Would you like to come with me?’ Caitlin had a hunch she would
not want to go it alone.
Georgina fiddled with her glasses, her eyes fixed on the floor. In a timid voice, barely above a whisper, she replied, ‘Would you mind? I’m not really that bothered about where we go.’
‘Of course I don’t mind.’
Caitlin could not believe it. She was actually a student. It was a thrill to know she had a real student card. The fake one her older brother had made for her never fooled anyone. The shiny card, with her unfortunate picture, symbolised her newfound freedom. It was fantastic. The move into campus on the previous day had been hectic: arriving, unpacking, hasty introductions, and the thrill of sleeping away from home. It had all been exhausting. Even though the initial excitement of arriving at university was starting to ease, a new adventure began with Fresher’s Week.
Caitlin got the impression Sally was the ambitious type. She was not surprised to see her head straight for the debate team stand. It took Sally just over a whole second to bat her eyelids at the handsome male student running the reconnaissance, before she burst into a flood of giggles at whatever comment he had made. It was a pathetic display of womanhood – ambitious or not. In contrast, Julia marched towards the orienteering club, Filofax tucked under her armpit.
Caitlin smiled and remembered how, in the first five minutes of meeting her, Julia had puffed up her chest, announced she held a Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award and rammed down her throat the importance of staying fit to maintain a healthy mind and body. It had been fun to shut Julia up by letting her in on the fact that she had competed in numerous international swimming events and had just missed out on the Olympics. It was not worth talking about the injury. Julia did not need to know.
Whilst Georgina hovered, Caitlin approached the university swimming club stand. She was sure that if Georgina tried any harder to fade into the background, she would disappear completely. Proactive, she took a hand-out from the table. It listed the swimming sessions and schedules. As she attempted to read it her long, curly red hair fell over her face. Flicking it out of the way, she ended up trying – and failing – to tuck it behind her ears.
The swimming club schedule was intense, as expected. She had promised her parents to take it easy. Her swimming coach had also warned her often enough. It was just hard to let go of the sport she loved. Another sign caught her eye and she glanced in its direction. She raised her eyes and smiled. She had never considered joining a ladies’ water polo club. Interest sparked, she made her way towards it. Perhaps there was another way to swim and have fun.
‘Have you played water polo before?’ a girl, in a hooded sweatshirt emblazoned with the ladies’ water polo team logo, asked. There were a lot of white teeth on display.
‘No,’ she replied. ‘But we did muck around with the ball in training sessions. Is it difficult to play?’
‘No, if you’re a reasonably good swimmer, it’ll be no problem.’ The girl leaned in closer.
‘What are your training times like?’
‘Usually Friday evenings, but we still don’t know for sure,’ she hesitated.
‘No mornings then?’
‘Nope, none at all, we don’t do those! We do compete with other universities so we have some great outings. And we practice with the men’s team – they’re a good laugh,’ she added with a wink.
‘Sounds interesting, I’ll think about it then, thanks.’
‘If you sign up, we’ll send you an email or text when we have our first training session. Then you can decide whether to come along. I’m Linda, by the way. Just say you spoke to me.’
‘Oh, alright then, I’ll do that.’
Caitlin attempted to flatten her hair as she wrote her details on the paper. If she decided against competitive swimming there would be a bonus – no more early morning starts. Finally, a water sport with more civilised hours. The added benefit of playing in a team with boys was an unexpected perk.
Linda turned to another student with the same toothpaste ad smile.
Caitlin took her cue to leave. As she turned, she stuffed the leaflets into her bag whilst trying to push her hair out of the way, and bumped into the person behind her. A dull thud followed. All she could do was watch as her bag fell and its contents scattered on the floor like a wave. She really hated her hair and contemplated chopping it all off one day. Frazzled, she leant down to pick everything up as she heard a deep voice apologise. A pair of toned masculine hands reached out to help.
When Caitlin looked up to see who it was, time seemed to stop. Transfixed, she gawped with a slightly open mouth. Conscious of the fact he had spoken, she snapped out of the trance and focused. She could feel the heat radiating off her cheeks.
‘Hello,’ he said, his expression one of amusement.
‘Erm, err, yeah, hello,’ she stuttered. Mesmerised, she stared. His hair was thick, wavy and practically black in colour, and he towered above her by quite a few inches. But, it was the eyes that intrigued her the most. She had never seen amber coloured eyes with such exquisite detail. They looked like cats’ eyes, framed by dark, thick lashes on a perfect square face.
‘Are you a swimmer?’ he asked, as he handed back the swimming club leaflet.
His received pronunciation gave away his upbringing. It was polished and refined, as expected of someone from a posh background. It would not surprise her if he had attended boarding school.
‘I–I guess so, but I’m considering my options,’ she said, holding up the water polo flyer. Nervous, she looked to the right. It was impossible to maintain eye contact.
‘Interesting.’ He took a step forward and moved towards the swimming stand. He stopped and faced her again, as he said, ‘Well, I might see you around. Sorry to make your things fall like that.’
She couldn’t believe he was apologising. Her jaw dropped as she saw him picking up the same leaflet she had only just been looking at. If he was a swimmer, hell would freeze over before anyone stopped her joining.
Paranoid, she joined Georgina and casually glanced in his direction. She could not help but mutter, ‘I didn’t even say sorry for being such a klutz.’
‘He looks nice,’ Georgina said. She looked nervous, as she glanced in the direction of a few Swedish-looking students chatting next to them.
‘Too nice for me, that’s for sure.’ After her performance, Caitlin was convinced he must have labelled her as a complete idiot. Reluctantly, she started to walk away. She could not help stealing a final glance.
‘I’m sure that’s not true.’
It was typical of someone as nice as Georgina to leap to her defence.
‘Thanks for saying it. I do appreciate it. Even so, someone like him is not destined for someone like me. We live in different ponds.’
‘Ponds? What do you mean?’
‘He sounds really posh. You know, he’s probably loaded. He’ll be into all the popular girls for sure.’ Not that she knew any of this, it was pure speculation. ‘Shall we go get a drink in the student cafeteria?’
‘Sure.’
Caitlin increased the pace. She wanted the conversation to be over.
Sally threw herself onto the sofa, opposite Caitlin and Georgina, and exclaimed in a loud and overbearing voice. ‘This place is fantastic, isn’t it? And there’s so much talent. My eyes are popping out of their sockets. I just met the nicest second year Law student. He’s to die for. A guy like that probably has a girlfriend though. There’s no way he’s available.’
As Sally rambled on, Caitlin stopped listening, lost in her own thoughts. She had just been blown away in an irrational manner. Normally, she never allowed herself to be swept away by someone’s physical appearance. As far as she was concerned, love at first sight was nonsensical.
A minute or so later, she realised Sally was waiting for a reply.
‘You look dazed. Are you feeling alright?’ Sally had the look of a confused puppy.
‘Sorry, I’m fine. What did you say?’ Caitlin bluffed.
Sally laughed out loud and jabbed her shoulder. It hurt. r />
‘Haven’t you heard a thing I’ve said? You’re funny. Anyway, how did you both get on?’
‘Great, we got lots of information. I guess we’ve got to think about it.’ Caitlin added the tiny fib to make sure Georgina was not left out.
‘Glad to hear it. What do you think you’ll join, Georgina?’ Sally asked, her eyebrows raised.
Georgina studied the promotional placemat, advertising beer as usual. ‘It was, err, interesting.’
Sally frowned, and then looked over her shoulder to see Julia approach, with what looked like another trendsetter. She waved her hands frantically, and called out, ‘Hey, over here.’
Julia glared in their direction, gave what looked like an apologetic glance towards her new friends, and made her way over. ‘Hello girls, I’m afraid we can’t stay. We’re going to meet up with some other people from our course. I’ll catch up with you all in halls.’ With a fake, forced smile she sauntered off.
Sally watched her leave and gawped. After a nervous twitch of her lips, she shot up. ‘I forgot I had to sign up for err, oh, debate club. I was so busy chatting, it completely slipped my mind. See you later.’
Caitlin knew a lame excuse when she heard one. Especially since the debate team stand was in the opposite direction. She had no doubt Sally was trying to catch up with Julia.
Caitlin sighed, ‘And then, there were two.’
Georgina glanced up. ‘You can go too if you want. I know I’m not interesting.’
Caitlin could not believe anyone could act that miserable. It was the first week of term. She could barely contain her own excitement. Either way, she did not have the heart to leave her alone. ‘Got no other place to go. You know, I think it’s up to me to cheer you up.’
‘You don’t have to. Sorry if I’m not outgoing.’
‘Don’t apologise. Look, I forgot to bring my favourite hot chocolate. Shall we just head back, grab some food supplies on the way, and then check out the halls of residence some more? What do you say?’
‘If you’re sure I’m not in your way.’
Caitlin smiled, ‘Trust me, if you were in my way, I would have told you.’
Bags in tow, they got up and squeezed through the hordes of students ambling around the room. It was probably the best time to make an exit. Casually, Caitlin looked around. It would have been nice to spot that guy again before she left.