The Hybrida Chronicles

Year 2301, 1100 hours, New Alexandria slums, St. Augustus Orphanage, Planet Mars.

Rust. Rust everywhere. There was a time when this section of city was a thriving market. Now, it was just a filthy cesspool, inhabited by vagrants, orphans, corrupt authorities, and numerous street gangs, fighting over meager scraps and drugs. Even those of the church that ran the orphanage were far from benevolent. Molestation was a norm among the priests of St. Augustus.

Vega Nocturn was only a week away from turning eight. He was the only Hybrida of the orphanage, and life was already hard on him. His clothes were torn, and caked in dirt, grime, and filth, and he had numerous bruises covering his body, compliments of his fellow orphans and the cops. His skin was scraped, dirty, and his hair matted and long as if it hadn't been cleaned and cut in years. He had been called to the dean's office, for Selene knows what. He didn't care though, he was probably gonna get scolded for stealing again. Not his fault that he didn't have enough to eat.

The door to the office opened and out walked one of the kids he knew. Eric, tears streaked down his dirt covered cheeks, as he hobbled out of the office, only glancing at Vega.

That poor bastard... Vega thought as the one of the and only somewhat friendly orphan went to his room. Eric had always been a favorite of the Dean for some reason. The most likely answer was because he was eight years old. The sick fucks of this world.

"Vega, Would you please enter?" A male's voice called from beyond the doorway. Vega hesitantly got up from his seat on the floor and timidly made his way into the office where he spotted the dean, lounged back at his desk with a glass of bourbon in hand, smiling smugly at the events that had just previously happened not only minutes ago. "Please, take a seat." He began as he swirled the booze in his glass a bit, making the ice clink against the sides. Vega complied and took a seat in one of the ruined chairs. Its upholstery torn and filthy, it's stuffing falling onto the floor with each use. "Now it has come to my attention, that you will be turning eight in the next week or so correct?" The dean went on smiling sickly at him. Shit... I can see where this is going... Vega thought as the dean wait patiently for his answer.

"Y-yes sir, Next Sunday." Vega stuttered, fear and comprehension showing on his dirt smeared face.

"Well, well, now that is a treat. Right on the sabbath." The dean smiled perversely, as he licked his lips at the thought of what he might do to his next conquest. "Tell me, how would you like to have a private party? Just me and you?" He asked staring hungrily at him.

Oh sweet Selene, I need to get out of here! Anywhere's better than being with this sicko. He thought as he fidgeted in his seat uncomfortably. "That's okay sir... I'm not one for parties..." He mumbled, averting his gaze to the floor. "Can I please leave sir?" He asked hopefully, though his true intentions behind the words were very well hidden.

The Dean sighed. "I suppose so. Now go on. I have much to do." He said before knocking back the rest of his bourbon. Vega quickly scrambled out of the chair and half ran out of the office, bumping into one of the kids.

"Watch it freak!" The kid said before pushing him to the floor. He was one of the many tormentors that Vega had living at St. Augustus, or in his opinion, Hell on Mars.

"Vestri matris eram a meretricis ut takes is in ass" Vega mumbled, as he started to get back up.

"What did you say freak?!" The bully shouted before kicking him in the ribs. Pain jolted through his body from the point of contact.

"I said, your mother was a whore who takes it in the ass." Vega spat, just as he delivered a quick kick to the kid's groin dropping him. Tears filled the boy's eyes as he clutched his testicles that he could feel in his throat as he laid there crying silently. "And don't ever call me a freak..." he added, kicking him again before walking off down the hall.

After walking down a three flights of stairs, Vega made it to his room, and immediately started packing what ever was left of his personal belongings, which was not much other than a picture of his family and Pride, three flat bottles of sarsaparilla he had been saving, and fifty bronze credits. There really wasn't much to the room, just a pathetic excuse for a bed, rotting wood floors and dresser, rusted bars on the windows to supposedly keep the orphans in, and a broken window. The room smelled of dust, mold, and possibly urine from the last occupant before he hung himself. The sun was still high, so Vega had several hours to wait till nightfall, which gave him plenty of time to plan his final escape.

This wasn't Vega's first escape attempt either. Each time he was caught, he adapted. Now he had a plan to finally escape the hell hole he lived in. Maybe I should bring Eric along... No, remember last time? He only slowed me down, and got us both caught. Gonna have to wait till et supputabant menses, ut sint in umbram. He thought as he went over his plan again. "Alright, so wait till night when the moons eclipse, and climb to the roof. From there, make my way towards the market district. Then, begin new life with virginity still intact." He said to himself smiling at his plan. "Semper vincunt..."

*****************************************

It was 2330 hours, when Vega finally put his plan into action. The moons had just begun to eclipse one another, causing the night sky to blacken even further. Vega had skipped dinner in order to prepare for this moment. It had to be perfect in order to work this time. He had spent hours filing away at the rusted bars that covered his window. Thank Selene for small favors. He thought as the final bar was filed down. With a silent creek, the bar was free from the window, and as silently as possible, Vega crept up onto the window sill, making sure to avoid the shattered glass, looked out towards his to be freedom.

Deftly, Vega reached up and grabbed the top of his window, nimbly pulling himself up with his small bag of belongings hanging from his mouth. Thanks to his genes, he was an excellent acrobat by nature giving him an edge in his escape attempt. As silently as possible, he began to climb up the side of the orphanage. He could feel the rotting wood splinters from the siding digging into his fingers as he skirted his way to the next window. Each step, made him cringe as the rotting wood would creak and groan from the pressure of him hanging on. "The fucking city should have this place condemned and burned..." He mumbled as he began his ascent, avoiding any lit rooms.

Not even half way up to the roof, Vega found himself in a fix. The room that he was holding onto outside, lit up, not only revealing his position, but the occupant as well. "Well fuck me with rusty tire iron..." He mumbled as the occupant smiled maliciously. It was the bully from earlier.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Freak!" He spat as he opened the window. "Going somewhere are we?" he asked bemused as he snapped his hand out at Vega's left ankle, earning himself a kick to the face. Vega felt the bone in the bully's nose break with a satisfying snap. The kid stumbled back and fell to his knees, grabbing his nose as blood streamed down his face. "You bastard!" He cried as blood and tears dripped to the floor.

"I warned you not to call me a freak butt-hole." Vega replied muffled by the bag in his teeth, as he smiled at his work. He quickly began climbing again, and soon heard the bully start shouting for the priests that ran this shit hole. Shit, shit shit! Vega screamed in his head as adrenaline flushed into his system. His heart was pounding a million miles per hour, as he quickly threw caution to the side, and upped his pace.

"Hey! Get down from there!" One the priests shouted from the window below. Not a chance in Hell! Vega screamed in his head as he latched himself to the next window. "He's headed for the roof!" The priest shouted as the others piled in.

"Well there goes that plan..." he mumbled as he continued onward. He could hear the shouting of the priest as they raced to the roof to try and head him off. Taking a moment to get a look at his surroundings he spotted a dump truck below full of what he could only assume was garbage judging by the smell, with the engine still running. "Well, here goes everything..." he muttered as he pushed off the side, only to feel something grasp his wrist. Looking up in surprise he saw it was the Dean.

"Think you can escape me?!" He growled as he began to pull Vega up and inside. On instinct, Vega quickly grabbed a hold of the Dean's wrist and sunk his fang like canines into his hand, dropping his belongings in the process. The Dean howled in pain, as fresh blood poured onto Vega's pallet. The Dean immediately released his grip on Vega to tend to his wound, oblivious to the fact that he was hanging four stories out a window.

Well this is gonna suck. was the last thought that went through the adolescent Hybrida's head before hitting the bed of the truck hard with a loud THUMP! Pain jolted through his body, then he succumbed to the blackness of unconsciousness, a small smile on his face as the truck drove off.

*****************************************

Three years ago

"Vega! Adveho per mommy!" A woman cried out to Vega as gunfire sounded throughout the house.

"Mummy?! Quis iens in?!" Vega called back as he scrambled into the woman's embrace.

"Vega, you have to hide. Very bad men are here to hurt us." She tried to explain as she carried him to the basement. After what seemed like forever, she placed him in the crawl space. "Vega, you need to stay as quiet as possible. Do you understand?" She asked, urgency and worry clear in her voice. Vega managed a nod as he started crawling backwards.

"Mummy, Quare ar nocens men hic?" He asked, fear and tears streaming down his face.

"Vega, just know that mommy and daddy love you very much..." She began, when there was a loud BANG! followed by footsteps as she dropped to the floor. Her lifeless eyes staring blankly at Vega.

Finally, a cloud of blackness shrouded the memory, and Vega went into a dreamless slumber.

***************************************

0800 hours, New Alexandria Junkyard, Planet Mars

Everything felt wrong. He felt wrong. Suddenly there was a blinding light. Where am I? Am I dead? What happened to me? Was all Vega could think as he started to return to the waking world. His vision was blurry as he slowly opened his eyes only to close them again as pain shot through the back of his skull to the front. "Well, I'm definitely not dead..." He slurred as he slowly got up from the truck bed staggering to his feet, as he held his left hand to his forehead. "I hate Concussions..." he groaned as he slowly looked about trying to figure out where he was.

Junk. Everywhere that Vega turned, was junk. "Well at least I know where I'm at... kinda." He mumbled as he took his bag and started wandering about the only Junkyard in New Alexandria. The air stunk of garbage and methane being produced by the incinerators on the eastern side of the complex. His head was throbbing, and the smell wasn't helping much either, as he started northwards towards the towering structures of New Alexandria.

For what seemed like hours, Vega wandered through a maze of garbage. His head hurt, his body hurt, even his brain hurt when he tried to think of something. After another hour, he stopped at a derelict car to rest. Thank Selene for small favors... he thought as he leaned up against the rusted frame of the vehicle. Okay, so where do I go from here? Definitely not the orphanage. Vega thought as he began to rub his temples with his thumbs. It hurt, yet felt good at the same time. It's one of those contradictions that you gotta love.

Slowly sliding to the ground, Vega got himself comfortable and pulled out one of the three surprisingly intact bottles of sarsaparilla and opened it. There was a quick hiss, as the seal was broken, and the carbonation escaped from the mouth of the bottle. Bringing the bottle to his lips, he took a swig of the sweet drink. It was flat, and warm, but he didn't care. It tasted like the greatest thing in the universe. Letting out a long contented sigh, Vega took another sip, and for the first time in three long years of hell, he could enjoy himself, and just think.

After resting for an hour or so, Vega reluctantly got back on his feet and started off once more into the Junkyard. The rest was what he really needed to get him going again. With renewed energy and sugar in his system, Vega started to jog through the maze of crushed cars towards New Alexandria, occasionally passing a bum or two which only brought his hopes up further, knowing he was getting closer to the city. "New Life, here I come!" He cheered happily as the gate to the Junkyard came into view. But Vega's Happiness wouldn't last, cause fate was a cruel, cruel bitch.

The air became Ionized, as massive storm clouds moved in over the city and junkyard. And on Mars, being outside during an Ion Storm is a death sentence. Oh sweet goddess why?! he thought as he scrambled for shelter. There was a loud CRACK! as Ionized plasma arched across the sky, lighting up the air a deep yellow. A louder BOOM! sounded moments later, as the truck Vega hid under shook. "Why does this always happen to me?!" He cried over another crack of lightning.

His question was never answered as a bolt struck the truck he was under, sending electrical arcs across the rusted and bent metal frame. Luckily for Vega, the Tires had the truck grounded. Thank Selene for large favors... he thought as the storm raged on. Everything electrical in the city and Junkyard was shut down, due to the storm. No lights shown in the city, other than the bolts of Ionized plasma.

After several hours, the storm finally died, as night descended upon New Alexandria. Vega, had finally made it out of the Junkyard, and back into the city. Now, he needed a place to sleep for the night. Walking the lamp lit streets, Vega passed several inviting buildings, all knowing none of the inhabitants would allow a dirty Hybrida inside. Finding an alleyway, Vega made his way towards one of the brick walls and made himself comfortable. His stomach growled in protest, but he simply ignored it. "Gonna have to find something to eat tomorrow..." he said to himself with a yawn, before curling up on the cold ground, slowly drifting off to sleep.

***************************************

0830 hours, Business District, New Alexandria

Morning came early for Vega, as rays of the early sun woke him from his peaceful slumber. He was greeted by the growling of his stomach, which caused him to laugh a little. "Time for breakfast then..." He smiled as he got up from the concrete.

As he walked down the street, he noticed he was getting stares from everyone he passed, both human and Hybrida, along with the occasional Shiv. After walking a while, he found himself in a park. The grass was freshly cut by the automated drones, and the leaves on the trees were beginning to turn gold, brown and red. Autumn was closing in. After receiving another growl from his stomach, Vega began searching for something to eat. Anything would be good, since he hadn't eaten in the better part of two days.

After searching a while longer, and his stomach getting louder, he finally found one of the many food venders the city had employed. He smiled ear to ear, at the sight of his stomach's salvation. The Vendor was a Hybrida like himself, probably not a true Hybrida, but one all the same. His smile faded when he spotted the prices on the vendor's menu. The cheapest item on it was twenty silver credits! "That's so not fair..." Vega mumbled, walking off to find a park bench. His stomach yelled at him which only made matters worse for him. Oh shut up! I get it! I'm starving... He yelled at himself internally, as he began to ponder his next move. Well, I can't very much think straight on an empty stomach, but I have little to no money... Goddess, why does life hate me? he thought as people passed him, turning their heads away, as to not look at the filthy child. "Well time to do what I do best..." He sighed, his stomach growling in reply.

Getting up from the bench, he slowly made his way amongst the morning commuters, each of them trying to avoid Vega as if he were plagued. Probably didn't help the fact he hadn't bathed in so long, and had just left the dump. Shit, I'm not gonna blend if I look like a bum... Or smell like one... he thought as he turned a corner.

What he found helped change his luck. It was a rest stop, equip with showers and vending machines. Vega smiled widely as he walked through the crowd of people, crossing the street. He decided to hit the vending machines first, to quiet his stomach once and for all.

Well there goes all my credits... He thought as he bought several packaged pastries. He didn't know what they were exactly but neither did he really care. Tearing into the first one, he dug right in, not even tasting it as it went down his gullet. As he opened the second one, he realized he was getting stares from some of the inhabitants of the area. Vega simply ignored them and began eating the second pastry. His taste buds exploded with flavor from the sweet treat. It tasted like heaven, like it was the best thing he had ever eaten in his life. Which was probably true for the last three years.

Vega was so into eating the snacks he had bought, that he didn't hear someone walk up behind him. "Enjoying thou self?" The person asked. It sounded feminine, perhaps early twenties. Vega nearly jumped out of his skin as the woman spoke, scaring him half to death. this elicited a giggle from her as Vega turned to look at who scared him. She was tall, at least six foot nine, fair cream colored skin with a slight scale pattern to it. Her legs were bowed at the shins like his own, and her eyes were completely silver from the pupil to the iris.

"Erm... Yes..." Vega replied timidly, as he looked upon the beautiful Hybrida woman. His cheeks flushed red, which he could tell she could see, despite the amount of grime on his face. She giggled again.

"Where doth thou's family live?" She asked as she smiled warmly. Her expression changed as tears began to well up in Vega's eyes. Dropping into a crouch, so that she was eye level with him she spoke again. "What of thou's Pride?" she asked now concerned.

This time, Vega replied as he slumped to the cold concrete sidewalk. "Murdered..." He said with a sniffle as the painful memory of seeing his mother the last time. "My whole Pride was killed three years ago." he wept as the Woman slowly stood back up turning to leave.

"I Should hath known, thou art' a Misborn" She spat before walking off. Just as she was crossing the street, she failed to notice the truck coming her way at 40 miles an hour. As if by the will of Selene, Vega snapped out of his sorrow, and by instinct, ran up and pulled her back across to his side of the street, knocking her on her ass. She wore a look of absolute shock and fear. She was snapped out of it, when she felt a stinging pain on her left cheek, as Vega bitch slapped her.

"Next time, I'll let you die..." He growled, tears still in his eyes as he proceeded towards the showers. The woman sat there dumb founded, as she went over what just happened as she slowly raised her left hand to her cheek. She pulled it away as she felt the sting from his strike. She had to admit, the kid packed a wallop. She soon heard running water from the rest stop behind her, and could only guess it was the child.

*****************************************

As soon as the water hit Vega's skin, he felt his sore muscles begin to relax, as dirt and grime pooled at his feet and quickly clog the drain. It had been months since he had a shower, and years since it was a hot one. He felt like he had won the lottery, as the water washed away both his troubles and the dirt.

It had taken him several minutes to scrub his hair clean, as clumps of dirt, rubble, even paint chips clung to the tile as the nasty water slowly went down the drain. He would have stayed in there longer, if it weren't for his stomach yelling at him to eat more. Reluctantly, Vega, turned off the shower, and shook himself dry as best he could, before slipping back on his filthy rags for clothes. He could feel the dirt cling to him, as he put them on, making him shutter a little at the feeling. Even though he was homeless, he hated the feeling of being dirty. Especially after he just cleaned himself up.

Once he had his clothes back on, Vega grabbed his things, and tore into another pastry, savoring each bite as if it were his last. As he ate, he made his way back out into the city where he found the woman from earlier standing there patiently.

Vega felt a lump form in his throat, as fear began to rise, and adrenaline flooding his system. He prepared himself for what was probably to happen as she rushed forward. He shut his eyes tightly as he awaited for her to strike him. But what happened truly caught him off guard, as he was wrapped in a tight hug. Confusion racked his brain, as he felt her tears run down his neck.

"I'm so sorry child..." She sobbed into his neck as she held him tight, sobbing harder. Vega just stood there completely confused at what was happening. First she insults him, now she's apologizing? After several long minutes, she pulled away and looked him in the eyes, with an sincere smile. "Thank you for saving my life." she whispered, before hugging him again.

*****************************************