Winner of the ❝It's A Mystery❞ contest

by ANH_Writes

I was not used to people staring at me as if I was a mystery that needed solving, but here I was, with all my neighbors doing just that, and the worst thing was that my Nin senses were tingling. 'Something bad has happened, Dixa.' It seemed to warn me as I walked up the steps of my apartment building to the first floor amidst curious, accusing gazes.

No sooner had I reached the pale yellow door to my one-bedroom home than I was greeted by a man in a khaki uniform.

'Why is the police here?' I asked myself a split second before our eyes met and held in something akin to a stalemate.

I was a law-abiding citizen. In my twenty-seven years of life, I had never once done anything that could land me in trouble.

Well, that was true for the most part.

I was a Ninnom. My existence was a crime, so I had always kept a low profile; staying as far away as possible from the long, unforgiving hands of law was my first priority.

"Are you Dixa Scora?" The office's deep, emotionless voice was music to my ears, spilling facts he would rather keep to himself.

Male. Obviously.

Southwestern origin.

Thirty.

Committed...for now.

'She is not what he wants, Dixa.' My true self buzzed with excitement. 'The woman by his side is no match for you. You know you can offer him more.'

"Yes, I am, officer." I crushed my straying train of thought and asked, "How may I be of service?"

Malnox law governed us here in the southeastern regions; the officer had strayed a long way from home. I wondered why.

"I am Jade Low from The Vultures." The man introduced himself.

The Vultures were the enemy, as far as I was concerned. It was the battalion that owed its glory to the extinction of my race. Yet, here I was, more than interested in doing the dirty with him if I was offered a chance.

It was not my fault. It was the Nin in me.

I nodded, acknowledging his introduction, and he continued, "Could I speak to you for a moment in private, please?"

I scanned the now thinning crowd on the stairs and the corridor. "Sure." I agreed and led him inside my private space. That act alone made blood pool under my belly.

I didn't know what was wrong with me.

No sooner did we enter than The Vulture spoke. "How would you describe your relationship with your neighbor, Martin Haze?"

Red.

Dark.

A forbidden secret.

I wondered what it was as it peaked at me from the wall the human had built around himself. Whatever it was, he must have been used to hiding it from the world, for try as I may, I was still failing at obliterating the wall that kept his secret from me.

"Miss. Scora?"

"Um?"

"Are you with me?"

"Ah... Yes." I bobbed my head and thought about Martin.

Martin, the boy next door, was sixteen and very good-looking by human standards. I had often felt his eyes on me whenever we crossed paths. Perhaps he had a crush on me, but I couldn't be sure. I had never heard him speak.

I looked into the officer's clear blue eyes and smiled. "I think the boy has a crush on me." I shrugged, "Not that he approached me or anything. He always got that look in his eyes every time he saw me, you know?" I replied truthfully, raising my brows, urging him to understand what I couldn't put in words without embarrassing the youngster.

He stayed silent while his eyes dismissed what I had offered and pursed his lips.

Clearly, he didn't believe me.

"He is dead." The Vulture threw the information at me without warning or emotion. Yet, my heart hammered against its cage, begging me to abandon restrain and offer myself to this man. This human.

I felt nothing for the dead boy. But pretenses were a necessity. I willed surprise and horror to dance over my oh-so-human countenance and hoped it was just the right amount to make The Vulture believe that I had nothing to do with the boy's death.

"How?" I demanded, pinching my wrist enough to make me tear up. "What happened?" My voice broke and caught in my throat.

I thought I was doing good, but the human named Jade remained unimpressed.

"We don't know yet." He cocked his head and pinned me with a cold, calculating gaze. I wasn't sure if he was trying to intimidate or turn me on. For me, unfortunately, it was the latter.

"Oh," I muttered and took a moment to let it sink in.

Martin was dead, and a Vulture was here for some reason. I put two and two together and concluded that I was in deep shit.

Were they on to me?

Had I revealed myself by mistake?

I was pretty sure that I hadn't.

"I am afraid I would have to ask you to accompany me to the precinct, ma'am." He continued to speak, but the words seemed to be coming from miles away.

I forced myself to smile while trying to subdue the panic clawing at my conscience, "May I ask why?"

"He had your name carved on his hand... His fingers, to be precise."

Even for a hybrid Ninnom like me, this information was a little hard to swallow. When the first of us had arrived on this planet, it had welcomed us with open arms, tricking us into believing that we were secure and had found a home away from home.

We were wrong. Slowly, strategically, the humans had taken from us that which made us...us.

Physically, the humans were stronger. Thus, when they found and invaded our home planet, we submitted. We hoped for mercy. Humans showed us none.

Fearing our abilities, they treated us like a threat, capturing, torturing, and experimenting on my kind.

Not all humans were heartless, though. Some opened their homes and hearts to us. Some even fell in love with us. That's how the first human-ninnom hybrids came into existence.

Alas, even after first enslaving and then destroying our race till it was just shy of extinction, the humans refused to let us be.

I think I know why that was. We: the hybrids and those with unadulterated chromosomes are sturdier than our parents. It is virtually impossible to tell us apart from humans. Lastly, this planet's atmosphere is a boon to us. We: the purebred and hybrids alike, are thriving here. We live amongst the humans hiding our existence. Our abilities are growing by the day.

I can almost taste revenge. After all, we are not naive and weak like our ancestors. We have human traits fueling our desires and wants. Our hopes and aspirations are mightier than ever before. Now, all we need are numbers.

"Miss. Dixa, are you with me?" The honey-laced voice was much closer now. I felt trapped. Unfortunately, that did nothing to nip my growing attraction for the human in the bud.

"Yes." I gulped thickly. "Could you give me a minute to freshen up? It's almost midnight and I have been out since the break of dawn." I elaborated. Wanting to put space between us, I rushed into the washroom without waiting for his permission.

I banged the door shut and took a few deep, calming breaths. 'Pull it together, woman! If you don't watch your step, you will be busted.' Splashing icy cold water on my face, I glared at myself in the mirror, 'You can't let your guard down. Focus on surviving for now.' I warned myself.

The threat seemed to work, for soon after, I felt more clear-headed than I had done since laying my eyes on the Vulture for the first time.

I turned my attention to what he had told me:

Martin was dead.

My name was carved on his hand.

I came to a staggering conclusion that that detail alone (probably) made me the primary suspect. I needed to clear my name. Fast.

Exiting the room, I walked confidently toward the officer. "I am ready." I chirped like I didn't have a care in the world, and together we left for his minivan: the standard police vehicle.

"You don't look worried." Officer Jade observed, breaking the silence a few miles into our journey.

"Why? Should I be?"

I regretted my query instantly. I was barely holding on to my self-control as is. I needed the officer not to speak and was hoping for someone else to take over from him once we got to our destination.

I tried to shut my senses, but it was too late.

"Dixa." He called, moving closer than his designation gave him the right to and pulled the vehicle over, bringing it to a slow stop.

Alarm bells went off in my mind.

Was I found out?

What was he going to do to me?

Was the shoot-at-sight order issued for my race two decades ago still in effect?

I leaned away and shrunk into the seat. It didn't help that despite the situation, my body still wanted to be consumed by the human.

If only I could have broken through his mind's wall, I would have had something on him. Some sort of leverage to get me out of this mess.

"Officer, this is inappropriate." I got the words out with great difficulty and commanded my limbs to lead me away from this (undoubtedly) disastrous situation.

They rebelled and won.

Ungrateful bastards!

I closed my eyes and hoped the human would have pity on me.

The next moment something soft and silky made contact with my left cheek, making me shiver from top to toe.

"I finally found you!" The man whispered, caressing my jaw and turning my face around.

I opened my eyes, fearing the worst; it was for naught. The green eyes shone with nostalgia and affection. For me, a hybrid.

Had the world turned upside down?

Wasn't he in charge of hunting the likes of me?

"I don't-"

"You are safe now." The human spoke tenderly, tracing the contours of my jaw. "I have come to take you home."

This time when he spoke, I didn't feel the pull, but the walls around his mind broke, inviting me in.

Hybrid, like me?

No. Not like me. More than me. My leader. Our leader.

I caught glimpses of my home world. A world I thought was long gone.

How could it be?

My Nin, my ability... my curse had never been wrong to date. Then that would mean that the one in front of me was indeed...

"You can see who I am, can't you?" He asked; his eyes swam with hope and a hint of pride. "Don't be scared. Your days of living in fear are over. You are the last of us. We leave for home tonight."

Though I had a lot of questions, I sat rooted to my seat: unmoving, unblinking, silent.

The officer smiled. "Don't tell me you are worried about that dead human, Martin."

"I am not worried." I finally found my voice. "Just curious."

"Ask me anything you want. I promise I will do my best to answer." He offered, and I grabbed the opportunity.

"My first question is: What in the world was my name doing on Martin's hand!?"

***

As it turned out, Jade was really the leader that an elder of our race blessed with the gift of sight had prophesied decades ago. He held the power of subconscious persuasion. After mastering it, infiltrating The Vultures was a piece of cake. Jade and a team he had put together: of those extraordinarily gifted like himself had worked on identifying (and rescuing) our kind and simultaneously finding a way back to our planet.

They had succeeded on both counts. But since I was a hybrid, it had been difficult to trace my whereabouts. However, a couple of days ago, one of his teammates had found a document of adoption that they believed was mine and followed the crumbs that the human system had left behind. It had led Jade to me.

But there was a problem. Jade wasn't sure if I was indeed the one he had been looking for. So he devised a plan. Martin was a 'necessary casualty' according to Jade, who, just to get close to me, had gotten rid of the boy (as painlessly as possible) and carved my name on his fingers.

Obviously, as soon as the crime was reported, Jade, who had made sure to be closest to the scene, arrived in record time.

He had sensed my Nin almost immediately but had kept up with the act till he had gotten me out of the residential zone.

As I waited for our ship to be fueled, I took a deep breath and looked around the welcoming faces. I couldn't help but smile. These were my people. My family. They didn't fear me or hate me. Though it would take us over three years and eight months to return to our planet, I already felt at home.