Hybrid by Candace Kade

Author:Candace Kade [Kade, Candace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Christian, Science Fiction
ISBN: 9798886051056
Published: 2023-12-17T16:00:00+00:00

Urban sat down on a white plush armchair of the slim Hypersonic X8, stifling a yawn. It smelled new and too strongly of cleaning chemicals. A chill from the wide-open door swept through as groggy students filed in behind her.

“Not gonna lie, this is amazing.” Ash took the seat in front of her. “Totally worth it.”

Urban still couldn’t believe Ash had managed to convince Willow to allow him to travel with the team. He’d volunteered as bag boy, errand runner, and even a mob scout. Urban hoped Willow had been kidding when she’d mentioned the need for that last part.

Ash adjusted the settings of his seat to accommodate a Flyer, then nestled his giant wings in a gap that formed in the chair.

With a rumble, the aircraft’s engines warmed up for hyper-sonic speed.

“Please fasten your belts and remain seated for take-off,” a disembodied voice advised.

Nervous adrenaline spiked through Urban as the hypersonic propulsion system grew to a dull roar outside the window. Then it boosted upward, and the skyrise launch pad dropped out from under them. Buildings passed below in a blur.

Urban absentmindedly twisted the bracelet Lillian had given her last semester. A knot in her stomach formed as she realized what she was doing. Her fingers fell away from the jewelry, and she tried not to think about everything she was leaving unresolved in the Asian Federation. Instead, she pulled up her post on the KOL discussion board.

Her jaw dropped.

Urban’s KOL status certainly had garnered the attention she was hoping for. There were already over a thousand entries in her inbox and over ten thousand comments. The post had gone viral. Several news outlets had even picked up the story and were attempting to aid with the finding of her friend.

Urban opened the first few entries. They looked nothing like Rai Reed. One was a picture of a red panda and some tween girl gushing about how she’d named her furry friend Rai Reed. Another was wanting to ask Urban out.

With a sigh, she ordered her AI to prioritize the messages that had attached images or vids of men with similar facial matching to Reed. That reduced the number to 321 valid entries. Slowly, she waded through them.

After one hour, Urban was no closer to finding the elusive Reed. Frustration built and her eyes burned. Exhausted and discouraged, she drifted off to sleep.

A popping in her ears awakened her.

Bright morning sunlight blinded her as she tried to orient herself. The cabin filled with excited chatter and the sharp scent of coffee. Out the window, a glittering blue ocean faded into the distance and land stretched in all directions.

A patchwork of blotchy browns, terra-cotta orange, and green dotted the earth. Cities, smaller than New Beijing, sprawled out, disconnected. Urban noticed these cities didn’t have any barriers over them. Perhaps the air was cleaner, or the residents simply didn’t care to pay the extra taxes for air filtration domes.

The aircraft descended, causing her ears to pop again.

The cities and farmland came into sharper focus.

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