Forbidden

Tribe Taulantii took me in when I was still small, I never understood why that was. The day Jobe died they should have banished me, if I was the root cause of this virus then why hadn’t they left me to die or more disturbing than that, why hadn’t they killed me themselves? 

I looked down at my hands which were covered in small cuts all over, since the incident with Jake, a boy from our tribe which forced his father chief Rann to send him away. Sighing I merely shook my head, it had completely been my fault to begin with, I should never have let him touch me.

Because of my stupidity I had been assigned to full time kitchen while I awaited my fate, awaiting the brothers to come and take me away. My heart ached as I sat peeling potatoes in the furthest part of the kitchen all on my own, as I thought back to that day almost three months ago… 

***

None of the children within the tribe were allowed to ever interact with me, from the moment I arrived here I was told that I was a deadly virus and because of that the children were made to be fearful of me. The only reason they had taken me in after Jobe died was out of pity nothing more or so they kept telling me.

I was made to understand that they had taken a huge risk in having something like me in their tribe and that I was to know my place as I didn’t belong here. When I was seven years old they had pretty much all but debunked the whole accusation that hybrids could infect humans through merely breathing the same air, but this didn’t stop them from wanting our kind dead, and this didn’t stop the tribe I belonged to from making me feel like a complete outcast, I guess nothing would.

Clenching my jaw I closed my eyes for just a second as I took in a deep breath, sometimes I wished that they had just ended my life instead of keeping me around as a reminder of the world my kind had destroyed but instead they used me as a slave to do their bidding.

***

I was seventeen and Jake was the son of our chief Rann, I had been working in the store room that day after our schooling lesson. Another place I was to be made to feel like I was ostracized to the furthest part of the room while the rest of the class sat comfortable near the front closest to teacher Jaclyn, I didn’t mind too much as I was at least still allowed to sit in and listen to their teachings, because I was a hybrid I assumed that, that was the reason why I could process information very quickly so sitting at the very back of the class didn’t affect my learning capabilities.

“What exactly is a hybrid?” Teacher Jaclyn asked to the rest of the class, my ears perked up as that question definitely got my attention from where I sat.

“Freaks,” One of the other boys said,

“Disease, virus, not welcome, disgusting,” were some of the comments that started flying around the classroom. Smirking I just kept my head down on the open notebook on my desk while I doodled a picture of a tree. I wasn’t surprised by the comments I heard, because I heard them practically every single day, but I still felt insulted and I guess that emotion always surprised me. Teacher Jaclyn cocked her head to look at me as she crossed her arms,

“Laya, would you like to maybe answer this question yourself?” My eyes jerked up towards her so quickly, somewhat taken aback by her addressing me directly I merely stopped doodling as my mouth half gaped in response.

“Um- I, I don’t know,” I finally answered. The truth was that I actually had no idea what a hybrid actually was. Disease, virus, freak, yeah I got that part every single day, but what were we really, no one had ever told me. I definitely felt different in many ways both physical and non-physical but, as far as knowing what a hybrid was, I had no clue, I had never ever met another single hybrid after my parents death when I was four.

“Well Laya, that’s the exact problem we’re facing,” She said turning her attention back toward the class, “Hybrids have been around for centuries yet we still know very little about them, we know they heal faster than humans, we know they have capabilities they choose to hide from us, but it’s what’s inside of the blood they carry that really has us confused,” Frowning I just kept my eyes down, not daring to look up at the angry eyes of the other children, all except for Jake that was.

Jake kept turning his head to look at me that day in class, he kept catching my attention as well even though my long black hair hung down past my elbows almost covering my face as I kept my eyes down toward my doodled page. Why the heck was he looking at me like that, it was starting to make me feel really uncomfortable, he wasn’t looking at me with anger or hatred, but more with fascination and wonder.

 

On that specific afternoon I was working inside one of the food storage rooms. We all had jobs to do around the tribe except with the other teens my age it came with shared responsibility instead of isolated ones, in other words there were always a group of them to help each other, with me on the other hand it was just me, solo, as no one was allowed to help a hybrid.

I stood strenuously trying to pick up a large burlap sack of potatoes as I had been assigned this task and no one dared partner up with someone like me. I accidentally dropped it as I fell back hard against my backside. The sharp pain shot through my coccyx as a groan escaped my lips, suddenly I felt arms come around my waist and pull me up onto my feet, gasping I quickly turned around only to stare right into Jake’s eyes. My jaw dropped as swallowed hard,

“

I, I’m so sorry sir,” I said quickly stepping back as I looked down with my hands fisted against my side. That was stupid, how had I not seen him there. He gently stepped forward and tilted my chin up to him as he looked at me with a soft smile spread across his face, a gasp escaped my lips as his touch sent a shiver down my spine,

“You don’t have to be so formal Laya,” he said in a voice so sweet that it made my insides clench with sparks of excitement. I flinched at his touch, no one had ever touched me, it was forbidden and so it almost felt foreign like his touch had shocked me. I had never noticed his eyes before now though, they were so blue and shiny, like a milk pond. Jake was the most popular boy in the tribe, everyone wanted to be around him.

He was absolutely beautiful I thought as I swallowed hard. His blonde waves of his hair framed his face as he kept his soft gaze on me not allowing me to look away, there was this strange fluttery feeling within my stomach that started to materialize and I didn’t know why but it was an exciting feeling. Jake was so much bigger and stronger than I was, he had been born and bred for leadership. I felt so small and feeble compared to him.

“Are you hurt?” he asked in a gentle voice that immediately shook me from my reverie, shaking my head I clenched my jaw, the now dull pain of my coccyx being at the furthest part of my mind.

Nodding once he slowly let go of my chin as he looked down at the bag of potatoes still lying on the ground, it was almost as big as I was which made it even more unbelievable that I had tried to pick it up by myself. I wasn’t exactly stronger than most kids my age, the only really cool thing about being a hybrid that I had discovered was that I did heal really fast.

This one time a few weeks ago, I had fallen and cut my leg really badly, within a few minutes it had started healing itself, within thirty minutes it was completely gone.

Jake quickly bent down as he picked up the heavy bag before me with no more effort than picking up a light feather, I smirked before looking down now feeling even weaker than I clearly already was, 

“You shouldn’t be in here,” I said in nothing more than a whisper, not wanting any trouble nor desiring to be thrown out of this tribe who had shown me the kindness of food and shelter for all these years.

Turning to look at me as he placed the bag on top of the others he scoffed, 

“Are you going to tell the future chief what to do now, Laya?” as he said my name my eyes shot up to him, for some unknown reason I could feel the yellow glow of my eyes deepen for just a moment and the feeling that accompanied that confused me. He must have noticed it to because he slowly made his way over to me, he tilted his head studying my appearance before gently cupping my cheek as he grinned, again his touch sent this strange sensation down my spine, why was that?

“Are you sure you don’t want some extra help with these bags,” a slight gasp escaped my lips, his touch was so warm, and he smelt so good. Closing my eyes for just a moment I allowed myself to breathe him in, for a human Jake smelt so good and clean, like fresh linen.

Before I could respond however I suddenly heard voices coming toward the store room and I gasped as I quickly pulled away and moved toward the rest of the bags of potatoes behind me as quickly as I could. Three others entered the store room chuckling and laughing as they did so, 

“Oh here you are Jake, we’ve been looking everywhere for you,” the one boy said as he playfully came to punch Jake against the shoulder. I recognized them, they were friends with Jake, we were all the same age more or less, Jake was eighteen years old and so were they,

I was yet to turn eighteen which was merely a few months away, not that this held any real importance to me however, I could remember my birthday month, but not the actual day. My mom had always told me how I was born in May, she called it the most beautiful month. Thinking of this made me feel  both happy and sad.

Being pulled from my reverie I suddenly heard the disgusted groan of the girl named Maddy, her attention quickly fell onto me in the furthest corner trying to pick up a heavy bag, my knees felt shaky as I tried to divert any attention away from me, unfortunately this wasn’t to be, 

“Ewe” the one girl said turning her attention toward me, “You shouldn’t be in here Jake, that thing might give you its virus,” gulping I looked down as my body tensed. I had gotten quite used to them saying things like that about me and even to my face, growing up around them the kids always used to tease me and make fun of me.

They would occasionally throw things at me and giggle and laugh as they did so, the elders didn’t do much stop them. Jake turned to look at me with a displeased frown on his face but quickly composed himself as he turned back toward his friends, 

“Come on guys, let’s get out of here,” he quickly said as he moved toward them. I was left standing there gently touching my chin where just a few moments ago Jake had touched me, the first gentle human touch I had ever received.

***

A few weeks had gone by and Jake kept trying to get my attention in ways the others wouldn’t have noticed I guess. Whenever possible he would find a way to come and work in one of the food storerooms with me without being noticed.

Either moving bags or crates of food into position that were off loaded and placed at the entrance of the whichever store room I was working at on that specific day, it seemed to always be the storeroom with the most produce to offload and pack, it seemed the elders got a kick out of getting me to do majority of the work on my own, and if I didn’t reach the quota for that day I would be punished with no scraps of food and be forced to go to bed hungry.

Jake started showing up there more often and would help me stack the bags and crates neatly, I began feeling grateful for his help and even found myself relaxing a bit around him after a while.

“So they actually expect someone as small as you to lift all of these on your own?” He asked someone annoyed with the idea. Nodding I just kept on trying to lift a bag of potatoes my size, it was near impossible though, I fared better with the smaller bags. Smirking he shook his head as he made his way next to me,

“Here, let me,” He said taking the bag from me only to have his hand brush up against mine, gasping my eyes shot up to him as he instantly froze, looking down at me he just smiled before quickly shifting his attention toward the bag he was trying to lift up.

He loved telling me funny jokes and eventually I shyly giggled and even laughed at him, he stopped doing what he was busy with and turned to look at me, amazement filling his eyes,

“You have the most beautiful voice, Laya,” He said with his eyes still on mine. Feeling nervous I quickly looked away before climbing a ladder to reach the top shelf. I didn’t understand why the son of our chief would want to have anything to do with me, but for some reason he wasn’t afraid of me.

I reached up toward the top shelf in the store room stretching for a can of beans when I suddenly lost my footing plummeting to the ground, Jake happened to be close by as he instantly leapt toward me in a flash catching me in his arms before I hit the ground, both of us went down as I landed against him with a thump.

Groaning I tried to pull myself up and away from him but he instantly pulled me back to him, gasping slightly I turned my face to look up at him as he smiled softly at me, cupping my cheek as his thumb gently traced my bottom lip, 

“You’re eyes are so beautiful,” he whispered. Swallowing hard I instantly felt a lump in my throat. I just stared at him as I blinked twice not knowing what to do, so I just did nothing. I felt shaky inside, unsure of what was going on. Jake slowly leant down toward me with his lips coming ever closer to mine, this made me even shakier inside as I started pulling away from him. What was he doing!? Feeling my body tense he cocked his head as he smirked before gently pulling me back toward him,

“It’s alright, I’m not going to hurt you Laya,” he whispered before gently coming closer,

“But what if I hurt you,” I said in a soft whisper. Pulling away slightly his eyebrows furrowed,

“You don’t believe that bullshit do you?” Swallowing hard I sighed. Jake just shook his head at me,

“Well I don’t believe it, Laya,” and before I could even process his next move his lips finally touched mine. I gasped as I felt his warm soft lips push against mine, this was completely against the rules and I was so scared that I didn’t know what to think. He just kept his lips securely placed against mine and I didn’t dare move,

“Don’t be scared, Laya,” he breathed, I felt his breath on my lips as I suddenly closed my eyes,

“Why are you doing this?” I whispered. Smiling intently as he brushed his lips against mine he merely shrugged,

“There’s something about you, I just can’t seem to stay away,” He breathed. Swallowing hard I started having an internal battle with myself at this point, because as much as I knew that this was wrong it seemed that a part of me was wanting it now more than I had realized, before I could respond I suddenly heard a loud shriek from somewhere behind Jake, 

“Stop!” Instantly pulling his face away from mine he turned to frown as he stared at the person standing there, “What are you doing Jake!?” She gasped in complete disgust as she clenched her jaw, glaring down at me as she did so,

“What are you doing here Maddy?” he asked clearly peeved, 

“It doesn’t matter what I’m doing here, what the hell are you doing here with her,” she said pointing a finger straight at me still in his arms, 

“It’s none of your business,” he irked at her narrowing his eyes. Smirking she immediately crossed her arms as she stood with her weight mostly to one side, now glaring at both of us she shook her head,

“Oh really, you’re my boyfriend and future chief of our tribe and you’re in the store room with that filth,” she spat the words at me. 

Rising to his feet he clenched his fists against his sides, 

“And as you’re future chief I’m ordering you to leave, now!” she raised an eyebrow as she finally snapped out of the shock clearly plastered all over her face,

“In that case I wonder what chief Rann will have to say about this,” she said in a bitter tone,

“Maddy, don’t you dare!” he shouted in an infuriated voice. I gasped as I stared at him with my eyes as big as saucers, in that moment she swiftly turned on her heel and started running away from the store room.

Jake quickly took two steps toward her with his hand stretched out but then stopped as he turned to look at me with a panicked expression on his face, he quickly closed the gap between us as he again pushed his lips against mine with a needy hunger before slowly pulling away,

“Laya, I’m sorry but I have to go,” he said before turning away from me as he started running after Maddy. I was still left on the ground staring after where he had just been, I felt a wave of shock wash over me as I realized how dire this situation could turn if Maddy ended up telling chief Rann about what she had seen, what that would mean for Jake and… me.

***

“Laya, what do you have to say for yourself!?” chief Rann demanded as he stared down at me. Chief Rann had called an emergency meeting since Maddy had gone running to him, I had all eyes on me including Jake’s who was standing right beside his father with a pained expression on his face.

“Well!?” He cried out as he and the other elders now all stared down at me with impatience and annoyance spread across their faces. Taking a deep breath I tried to compose myself before finally answering, but I was terrified.

“Um, I, I…” I began to say but it was coming out in more of a stutter as I felt incredibly intimidated by all of the eyes on me, how had I gotten myself into this situation in the first place. I never wanted Jake’s help or for him to come anywhere near me, now however, he seemed to be the only one on my mind.

“Speak up!” Chief Rann yelled at me, which made me gasp as I jumped, my eyes were now wide as I stared at him,

“Dad, you don’t need to yell at her,” Jake said with his eyebrows furrowed. My heart was sitting somewhere in my throat as I started shaking inside. Mustering up the only courage I had I slowly took a deep breath as I then breathed out,

“Chief Rann,” I began in a faint voice, and both Jake and his dad looked down at me simultaneously, “I apologize for any misunderstanding that occurred in the food store room today,”

“There was no misunderstanding virus, you had your hands all over our future chief,” Maddy spat at me. Gulping I looked down,

“Is this true Laya, were you trying to seduce my son?” Looking up at chief Rann and then at Jake who’s jaw was clenched as pain spread across the place where before happiness had presented itself earlier today.

“She wasn’t trying to seduce me,” He said through a clenched jaw, irritation fueled by anger now imminent in his tone,

“Keep quiet Jake, I was asking her, not you,” Again chief Rann turned his gaze upon me with even more annoyance than before. The way he looked down at me was kind of how you looked at a potentially dangerous bug you wanted to squish.

He had never had much time for me at all, swallowing hard I looked down at the ground as I thought it over. Jake was our future chief and I had nearly ruined that for him, I was just a hybrid and I couldn’t allow him to make a mess of his future as chief just because of me, so looking chief Rann straight in the eyes I clenched my jaw as my hands became fisted along my sides.

“It’s exactly as you’ve been told chief Rann, Sir Jake has done nothing wrong. I tried to seduce him,” I almost whispered the last part. There were loud gasps and murmurs amongst the gathering of our tribe as they all kept their eyes on me. Deep aggravating angry eyes were darted at me now,

“So you admit to it then?” nodding I hung my head in defeat as I knew what this would mean, they would exile me or worse. Jake just stared at me with his eyes unbelieving and his jaw dropped.

After a few moments the whole pack room began to get rowdy, in an instant chief Rann slammed his fist against the table beside him. Immediately everyone became silent as they looked at him, he glared at me with such anger that I knew for sure this would be my end,

“Laya, we have given you shelter, food, water, the means to an education and even protection, not that you deserved any of it and this is how you repay us!” His hands were fisted as he clenched his jaw,

“Jake is my son and the future chief of this tribe, you are a hybrid, you know what that means and yet you would gladly infect my son with your filth!?” Clearly enraged he shouted out as he slammed a glass from the table, shattering to the floor I gasped as my eyes widened even more.

I felt terrified as I stared in shock at where the glass lay in a million pieces, my breathing was rapid as I found it difficult to breathe let alone swallow. Composing himself chief Rann stood up straight and took a deep breath,

“The penalty for this vile action against my son is death,” Gasping out loud I grabbed hold of my chest as I felt tears welling up in my eyes, Maddy stood with her hands crosses smug as she grinned in delight.

Suddenly Jake spoke up as he jumped forward, he had tried to keep calm but finally broke when his father spoke of having me killed,

“Father wait!” Turning to look at his son chief Rann narrowed his eyes, Jake kept his pained eyes fixed on me as he mustered up the courage to speak,

“She didn’t try and seduce me. I- I tried to seduce her,” he finally said as he hung his head in shame of the situation he had caused.

My eyes widened as my jaw dropped, staring at him in disbelief I felt shocked at what he had just admitted to not only the entire tribe but his father, the chief of the tribe. Maddy’s eyes were piercing daggers at me at this point. Cocking his head chief Rann stood staring at his son completely stunned,

“What did you say?” Looking up at his father Jake swallowed hard as he turned to look at me with agony spread across his face,

“I- I think that I’m in love with her,” Chief Rann’s eyes widened as he instantly became enraged. Maddy was the one to jump to her feet with her hands fisted, glaring at me she fisted her hands against her side,

“She’s put him under a spell chief Rann, can’t you see it. She’s given him something, she must have…” she continued but Jake instantly silenced her,

“Shut up Maddy. Laya didn’t slip me anything, she’s kind and caring, something you know nothing about,” He spat the last bit at her. Maddy’s eyes widened in shock at his words,

“Enough!” Chief Rann shouted, turning to look at his son in complete disgust he just shook his head, “You do not know what you are saying Jake, she’s a hybrid, she’s not even really human,” Infuriated by his father’s outburst Jake smirked,

“She’s a hell of a lot more human than allot of people I know,” Again turning to glare at Maddy.

All the while I just kept standing there unsure of what to do, Jake had just admitted his feelings for me in front of the entire tribe. What would this mean, how could he be this stupid, no one would ever accept something like this, besides I carried a virus that could kill him, right?

Chief Rann just stared at his son completely unbelieving and dumbfounded of the words that had come out of his mouth,

“Now you listen here boy, you do not have feelings for this hybrid do you understand me!?” Glaring at his father Jake fisted his hands beside him,

“Since when do you get to tell me whom I love or don’t?”

“Since it’s forbidden, since that girl carries a virus more deadly than you could even imagine,”

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Jake said rolling his eyes as he scoffed,

“Are you to tell the whole world that they are wrong, that it is bullshit when families have lost loved ones to these half human, half something else kind of things,” chief Rann said pointing straight at me as he said it. I swallowed hard as I looked down,

“I’m telling you that the thing that is killing people is not hybrids, yes there’s a threat, but hybrids are not the cause of it,” his father looked very aggravated by his son’s outburst,

“How do you know!?”

“Because I do,” Jake shouted back at his father,

“It’s impossible to know this Jake, not unless you’ve…” Widening his eyes chief Rann furrowed his brows,

“Unless I what, kissed her. Guess what, I have kissed her and I’m still fine,” Jake spat at his father. Chief Rann’s eyes seemed like they would bulge from his sockets as a new wave of anger washed over him,

“You are the next chief and my son, no son of mine will ever have anything to do with a hybrid, it’s forbidden!” He bellowed,

“Are you insane!” Jake shouted at his father,

“Watch yourself boy!” chief Rann yelled,

“She is not a threat to us father, I mean just look at her, does she seem like she would kill anyone?” Chief Rann turned to look at me for a moment as he contemplated something whilst narrowing his eyes,

“It’s not about the threat she poses, it’s about the threat of the brothers,” narrowing his eyes Jake stared at his father as something finally hit him,

“Hybrids don’t actually carry any virus do they?” There was just silence as everyone turned to look at chief Rann,

“It doesn’t matter, they are an abomination and needed to be dealt with, it’s the only way,” Jake’s face furrowed with anger as he lunged at his father,

“You bastard, you knew she wasn’t really a threat and you treated her like dirt anyways,”  Suddenly two really strong men who were part of the chief’s guard grabbed hold of Jakes arms and pulled him back,

“She has to die so we can live,” Chief Rann finally spat at his son, Jake’s eyes widened in horror as he realized that this was all part of an even bigger cover up for something much bigger than a virus,

“No!” Jake said wriggling out of the grip of the men and quickly trying to step toward me but the two men grabbed him again, holding him back and away from me. Jake started thrashing about trying to get to me but the men were much stronger, he kept staring at me as I kept my eyes on him, tears were running down my cheeks as I looked at him,

“Laya!” He shouted my name but could do nothing. Chief Rann suddenly spoke up which made my head snap up toward him in fear,

“My son seems to be having a lapse in judgment so I’ve decided to send him away, to one of our neighboring tribes until such time as he is to take over from me,” Turning to look at me he just glared fiercely, “Because of what you have caused within my tribe Laya, I have decided that when the brothers return for their payment of food, they will be receiving you as well. I am done with you and you’re kind. You will never again cause havoc in my tribe,”

“NO!” Jake bellowed, “Father don’t do this, you can’t just hand her over to the brothers, they will butcher her, you know that,” Nodding chief Rann just kept his eyes on mine,

“Yes, I do,” The hatred in his eyes taught me everything I needed to know about humans that day, I would never be accepted amongst them, no matter how hard I tried.

“Laya!” Jake shouted for me but it didn’t stop the men from dragging him away, I could hear him screaming my name all the way down the hall, until eventually there was nothing but silence.

From that moment on, I knew I would never see Jake again, the only boy who had even shown me what it felt like to be loved and accepted in that way.