Chapter 27

Jasper sat with his elbows on the table and his face buried in the palms of his trembling hands.  His raspy breathing echoed off the surfaces of the research equipment that surrounded him.

“What did they do to you?” Lila gently asked as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

His voice sounded muffled as he spoke into his hands while replying with, “Nothing, really.”

“You’re trembling,” she observed while maintaining a gentle and steady voice that belied the panic that she felt.  “What’s happened?”

Lifting his face from his hands and looking her in the eyes, he whispered, “I’m afraid of what’s happening to me.  I’m becoming this… this thing.”

“Thing?” she repeated with obvious confusion.  “Do you mean a hybrid?  They’re rare, so I’m told, but they exist.”

“If it was only that, I&rsqu