The Hybrid Girl (Andromeda Book 1)

Chapter 17

Wind rustles the leaves of the trees and causes the grass to hiss under the night sky. Only I can't see the night sky or the leaves and trees, as I am stood in a dark, old hallway. I've never been here before but something about it feels a little familiar. I don't even know how I got here or how far away from home I am.

A strong gust of wind shoots through the hallway, causing me to shiver and my teeth start to chatter. Only there's no sound. I can't hear my teeth chattering. My breathing elevates and I briskly turn in the direction the wind came from and start to run. I run faster and faster but no matter how fast I go, the exit seems to get farther and farther away.

So I stop.

Feeling like I have no other choice, I turn in the opposite direction and tread towards the dark opening at the other end. The closer I get, the slower and more cautiously I continue. My whole body tenses up and my eyes clamp shut until I have stepped entirely through the opening. When they slowly creep open, my jaw drops and I dart to the side, behind a big machine to cover my presence.

It's not a massively large place, but it's filled with computerised-looking machines but I've never seen machines like them. The more I look around, the more I realise how it resembles the interior of a spaceship. Or perhaps a broken spaceship that's been lamely repaired. The windows are covered from the outside so everything looks pitcher black and the only light in the room emanates from a ball of light hovering over the table.

This is his hideout. Boss-man's.

I don't know how I'm so sure, but I know it is. It must be.

I remain suspended behind one of the machines but I quickly realise there's nobody here, so I silently tip-toe out of the shadows. Staying close to the side of the room, I pad around the outskirts looking at everything there is. A whiff of greasy food finds its way to my nostrils, and I scrunch up my nose in disgust. There is a bunch of clothes scattered all over the floor. Some are ripped into shreds and others have been disregarded. A large box of bizarre-looking tools is opened and on the floor. As I walk around the circular-shaped room, I get to the area that looks like the control centre and the driver's seats.

In the centre of the ship is a round table, covered in papers and pens. There are loads of pins, holding certain papers in place and there are strings joining them all together. It isn't until I get close to the table that I see what's on it and my heart drops. The papers have loads of writing on them but I can't make out what any of them say but there is one paper with a pencil drawing of the hooded woman that saved us when we were attacked and there is a large question mark.

Making my way around the table, my heart drops, even more, when I get to the other side and see pictures of me, pinned to the table! They are pictures of me entering my house, seemingly really cautious. It's from the day I found the test tube in my pocket in the library. I remember hearing a clicking sound. My eyes roam around the table in alarm at my inability to read the words surrounding my photo. Impulsively reaching out to pick up one of the pages, my hand falls through the pages and hits the table.

I can't touch any of it.

I start to breathe very quickly and my body begins to shake in confusion and fear. There's an eerie shuffling sound behind me and when I turn my head to see what's there, there is another loud snap sound in the opposite direction. Stepping away from the table, my eyes dart all over the room as the surroundings start to fade.