The Hybrid

Midsburg, 2016

Fanchesca Wales, or Chesca as her friends fondly called her, never anticipated much for her eighteenth birthday. In her mind, the day had quietly slipped by, devoid of the festivities she might have secretly hoped for. Her chestnut brown hair cascaded in soft waves, framing her delicate features as she made her way toward the Wells family house.

Suddenly she began to feel dizzy. Her piercing blue eyes that used to sparkle with warmth and her compassionate nature, started moving in circles. There was something standing inches away from her as she tried to force her gaze to be stable. Although she couldn’t see properly, she could swear it was an animal with thick brown fur.

“Chesca!” She heard from afar amidst the unfolding mayhem that had caused her to bend, clutching her head. “Is everything alright?” The voice was familiar. It was Adrian, her boyfriend. Just like always, his presence had a way of vanquishing the darkness that threatened to engulf her all the time.

More like your Ken in a Barbie story, Adrian was the one species that every girl in Midsburg High wished to call ‘boyfriend’. He had thick black hair that didn’t fly around easily, dark brown eyes like those of his favorite character's that made every beholder look twice. His brows, the one thing about him that Chesca had always been jealous of but bragged about, were thick as well. “Perhaps God wanted a living, breathing angel, that’s why he made me.” Was the reply he gave whenever anyone asked why he was this handsome. He was like a rockstar but hated rock and preferred country just like his girlfriend, and even though people believed the two weren’t fit for each other, Chesca understood and could tell what he was thinking, and he knew her more than she knew herself, so no one could separate them.

“I’m okay, just… hungry I guess.” She replied, picking a hair that had stubbornly made its way to her face and hiding it behind her ear. She hadn’t eaten anything since after school because her two best friends had promised to cook dinner for girls night as a compensation for forgetting to wish her a ‘happy birthday’.

Looking up, she realized her boyfriend was dressed in dark blue jeans and a beautiful shirt that had her favorite cartoon on it. A smile escaped her lips as he extended a hand for her to hold. "Milady," he said, bowing a little.

“Someone is in good spirit after forgetting my birthday. Wow!" She joked, even though the thought of it being the least of everyone’s business this year hurt. “Mh, good compensation, but not enough.” She kissed him on the cheek and pretended to be focused on making her way through the iron gates of the mansion in front of her. The Wellington mansions.

Adrian followed her, speaking sweet words which she intentionally ignored to keep him coming after her in order to be scolded for joining three girls for girls' night.

The moon was quietly mounting its throne in the sky when the butler of the Wellington family welcomed Chesca with a smile and gave a clap. Instantly, a gentle karaoke of the popular birthday song started behind her. Adrian held a microphone and in his ever sweet voice began to sing.

Emotions spread everywhere. Whether to laugh or cry, blush or frown, Chesca had no idea what to do. The door in front of her opened and a burst of laughter and chatter came out. Stacy, one of her two best friends, stood at the forefront with a palpable joy on her face. Mary Wellington, a descent of the wealthy Wellington family who is also the third and final member of Fanchesca’s best friend circle, stood with a handful of friends from school, poised to turn a regular girls' night into an unforgettable birthday bash.

Surprises unfolded one after another and soon the living room was transformed into a dance floor, with music pulsating through the air. The Wells family didn’t really mind hosting the party in their home. To them, Fanchesca was like a sister to Mary, and doing something this memorable for her wasn’t a thing to hesitate about, but the only rule was, “no drugs and no alcohol”.

Chesca was enveloped in joy, surrounded by the warmth of friends who, far from forgetting her birthday, had orchestrated this grand celebration at one of her favorite places.

The night unfolded in a symphony of laughter, music, and dance. She reveled in the moment, blissfully shaking hands and thanking almost every member of the crowd that gave her something and even those who came with nothing as well. Each surprise felt like a note in a song of celebration, building the crescendo of the evening.

In the midst of the festivities, Chesca felt a magnetic pull toward the outdoors. The night air beckoned, and she stepped out onto the porch, her phone in hand. The diary, usually her confidante, lay forgotten at home. Wanting to capture every emotion, she began typing, documenting the beauty of her birthday on her phone.

Her boyfriend approached from behind, wrapping his arms around her. He kissed her with a tenderness that spoke of how much he loved her. "Happy birthday my love," he whispered, his voice a melody in her ear. “Even if I lose my memories, I will never forget your birthday.”

Smiles embraced her face as the sweet words danced into her ears, “You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that, Adrian.” She replied, blushing while tilting her head to relax on his shoulder. He commenced kissing around her neck as his arms found their way around her waist.

“I know a spot, come on.” He whispered in her ears. He got in front of her and asked her to climb on his back. Without hesitation, she climbed on his back, and the two stormed out of the party.

After a while, the two came to a spot exclusively prepared by Adrian in the woods.

Making it look like a camp, there was a tent, lights and flowers spread on the floor of the inside of the tent. In the center was a small table on top of which was a serving tray of grapes and bananas.

As the two sat down to eat, talking about how she liked the evening’s surprise, Adrian  placed a finger on her lip gently and asked her to close her eyes. A giggle escaped her lips, but she brushed it off and shut her eyes. He quietly started to kiss her exposed shoulder, sending shivers coursing through her spines. Chesca shook in response but kept her eyes shut. He then picked a grape and carefully dropped it in between her boobs, knowing her bra would keep it from falling. Chesca bit her lip and her palm began to sweat.

“My grape fell in there,” he said in a whisper as his tongue carefully dragged her earlobe into his mouth and his right hand brushed against her hardened nipples in the bra.

She moaned, unconsciously making a fist. “Don’t be shy. Go for it.” Her voice came out shaky as she was almost no longer in control of her body which wanted him so badly.

Adrian took off her dress with practiced ease, starting with the straps on her shoulder, causing her to lay back as he pulled it gently off her feet, revealing her blue underwear and blue bra. Staring at her belly, he could see her body quivering both in desperate need of his touch and fear.

He bent over her, and slowly licked his way up from her bellybutton to her bra. Then he paused, her fast breathing stopped as if she was anticipating something more. Her hands, which had been covering her face for a while, descended from her face in relief, but Adrian quickly slipped his hand into her underwear, cupping her hole. Chesca froze at his change of mind and counterattack, causing her to grab the sheet beneath them and moan while her body shivered.

As Adrian continued, her now opened eyes met with those of the watchful gaze of the fully erected moon that shimmered through the opening in the tent. The surrounding air turned cold on her skin all of a sudden, and tiny voices began to ring in her ears. Her attention turned from Adrian’s and fixed itself on the moon wholly.

Noticing a change in her demeanor and the expression on her face, Adrian paused. “Adrian,” she spoke, causing his prepared question to sink back in his throat. "I feel like the moon is calling me," Chesca murmured, her words tinged with an otherworldly quality. Her boyfriend, momentarily puzzled, dismissed them as poetic musings and was about to continue with what kept him busy when at once she stood up. Unbeknownst to him, a force beyond their comprehension was at play.

Compelled by an unseen force, Chesca walked away from the tent leaving her clothes behind, each step guided by an invisible hand. Her unconscious movements led her to a clearing, bathed in the unfiltered light of the full moon. Yelling her name from behind was Adrian, trying to make her snap out of what he thought was, ‘hypnotism’. The serene night shattered as Chesca felt a bone snap in her shoulder, causing her to give out a deafening yell. Aiden hastened towards her and spun her around but another in her leg gave a breaking sound, forcing her to her knees. As he tried to help her up, Chesca wrapped a hand around his neck tightly and threw him meters away from herself without a struggle. “G-get help!” She begged.

The transformation into a werewolf for the first time unfolded as Adrian watched with fear written on his face.

After a few minutes, Chesca was gone. Replacing her was a huge brown wolf whose howl tore through the night and was louder than the distant music from her birthday party. Adrian quickly took off, running as fast as his feet could carry him with a mind struggling to make sense of what had just happened.

Stacy's POV

I had been looking for the birthday girl for almost an hour but found no traces of her. When I noticed Adrian wasn't at the party as well, I knew they were together. I tried to enjoy myself since I had been left on my own, but suddenly I felt an inexplicable ache in my chest. Ever since my psychic awakened a month ago, I could feel Chesca's pain and sometimes saw visions whenever she or someone close to me was in trouble. Even though it had been there all my life, according to my grandmother, it was fully awakened once anybody from my family turned eighteen which I did last month.

The psychics fail sometimes like how they did three weeks ago when, in one of the visions, I saw a boy being kidnapped into a black van. In reality, the boy's father was taking him for a test drive and his mother almost chewed me for announcing her child had been kidnapped. But this headache that arose from thinking about my best friend felt intense. The dizzi