A NEW HOPE

10 – A Night Out on the Town

Pet tried to keep her full attention on what Simon was saying, but that attention dropped a little each time she was pelted with a piece of ice. She could see her dinner companion was getting just as annoyed as she was by the constant interruptions, and calmly sat her fork down in her salad bowl.

Another piece of ice hit the woman, this time on the shoulder. It bounced off her and landed into her salad, triggering an annoyed snort from her. She politely smiled at Simon before ripping her focus over to where a familiar red shirt sat at the bar, two tables away from where she was. Derek stirred his drink with a straw, trying to appear as innocent as possible.

Simon heaved a sigh. "Do you want to handle this or shall I?"

Pet shook her head and spoke behind a clenched jaw. "He's just being a little shit." She glanced down at her salad and removed the piece of ice, laying it aside on a spare plate. The hybrid proceeded to aggressively stab several leaves of lettuce and slammed them down into her bowl of ranch dressing on the side. "He's a like a fly, y'know? Keeps buzzing around you while you're trying to eat...being obnoxious. After shooing it away, enough, it goes and pesters someone else."

"I usually squash the fly," Simon coolly replied, a warning glint in his dark eyes.

Pet huffed a snicker and shoved the lettuce packed fork into her mouth. A piece of ice zoomed in front of her face and hit the salt and pepper rack located at the back of the table. She wiped her face, swallowed her bite, and sat her cloth napkin down beside her salad.

"I'll be right back," she stated and slid out of her chair.

Derek took a sip of his drink as Pet sat down on a stool next to him. Her squared down blue-green eyes picked apart his startled expression. "Sup." He tossed a glance over to an inpatient Simon and bit out a smile. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Isn't it, though?" Disliking the edge in the other man's piercing gaze, Derek stared down at his drink sparse of ice and into Pet's eyes.

Pet visually tracked a nearby waiter supporting a tray with a half-full glass of ice water on it and began scheming. She kept the man in her peripheral vision while speaking to her obnoxious friend. "Of all the places to go, why here?"

"What do you mean?" Derek refused to meet the woman in the eye; otherwise, he'd have noticed her eyes becoming more yellow.

"You know exactly what I mean," she growled into his ear, hissing out the last word.

The waiter walked by, oblivious to the woman's plan. Pet grabbed the glass, and before the waiter could say anything or stop her, its contents were poured down the back of Derek's pants. He yelped at the suddenness of the cold striking everywhere he'd rather of had it not and leaped off the bar stool. Luckily for the waiter, he was quick-footed and jumped back to avoid being collided into.

"Shit, that's cold!" Derek glared at Pet, realizing what she had done as she calmly sat the glass down on the bar.

"Fuck with me again. I dare you." With that, the woman snorted a hiss and stormed back over to where she had been previously seated. Simon sat, jaw dropped, and unblinking at what the hybrid had just done. "If you can't squash the fly, might as well try to drown it." She resumed eating her salad as though nothing had happened. "Now what were you saying about the birth certificate issue?"


The limo carrying Simon and Pet arrived back at the hotel, a taxi trailing closely behind it. Pet exited the limo and snidely eyeballed Derek getting out of the cab. The limo drove off, leaving both friends to themselves.

"Mhm," Pet chided and strode into the hotel lobby, towards the elevators.

Derek sloshed behind her and joined her in the elevator cubicle. The doors closed, allowing the two people privacy. "Was dinner at least enjoyable?"

"After I took care of a fly problem, yes."

Derek knew she was referring to him. "And your quest for an ID?"

"A work in progress."

The elevator doors opened shortly afterward to reveal their suites' respective floor, them going to their own rooms. Pet kicked off her ankle boots and crashed onto the comfortable king-size bed. She laid there, staring up at the ceiling of her bedroom and sighed. She wasn't used to it being this quiet, and it felt foreign to her. Back at home in Quarantine, there were the sounds of the TV or people talking whether inside or outside.

Even on the islands, it was never completely quiet. Night birds sang their songs, species of dinosaurs called to their fellow herd members, crickets chirped, and the wind sounded through the tree canopies. Here, inside the hotel room, there was nothing. Being on the eighth-floor limited what sounds of the outside city streets were heard. It was almost too quiet for the hybrid's liking. She needed some noise to relax by and slid off the bed.

Her bare feet carried her into the living area of the suite, and she turned on the TV. It took some time to find, but Pet eventually came across an easy listening music channel and left it there. She turned the volume up enough to be heard in the bedroom and changed into her pajamas.

Having nothing else to do, Pet stretched out on her stomach and laid there, bored. The longer she remained there, the more she came to realize just how much she was missing Grant's company. She reached a clawed hand over to the other side of the bed and grabbed a fluffy pillow out of its neat arrangement to cuddle. She breathed in its fresh, clean smell and curled up on her side into a fetal position.

Time slowly ticked by, Pet not caring about what time it was. A knock just loud enough to be heard over the music channel on the TV interrupted Pet's thoughts. There were only two people that immediately came to mind as to who it could be. Both of those people she would rather not talk to and hoped by ignoring the visitor they would go away. Another knock.

Not long after Pet heard the door handle jiggle followed by the door opening. Derek's voice was heard next. "Pet? You better not have run off again!" The hybrid buried her face into the pillow and growled to herself. Derek's shadow crept across the floor and slowly entered the bedroom until its owner filled the doorway. He saw the hybrid's motionless form laying atop her bed's covers and whispered. "Psst… Pet…you asleep?"

A mumbled, "Fuck…off…" answered back. Derek leaped onto the bed and nearly bounced Pet off. "Damnit, you asshole!"

Derek snickered. "Don't tell me you're already going to bed. The night's still young, and this is our last night here!"

"Whoopee. I'm pretty sure I'll be back again, so what does it matter?" Pet got comfortable again and hissed a snort in annoyance.

"It matters because I phoned in a favor to someone I know and used to work with. We're going partying, Pet! Get that sexy as hell dress back on and let's go!"

Pet remained motionless, curled around her pillow. "You can go party. I'm just going to lay here."

Pet felt Derek get up, and the next thing she knew, she was being drugged off the bed by her ankles. "Get your ass up, Pet! This is a one-time favor that won't ever happen again, so take advantage of it while it's a thing!"

The hybrid hit the floor with a thud and screeched out in rage. "You son of a-"

By the time she was on her feet, Derek was almost to her suite's front door, calling, "See you downstairs!"


Neon flashing lettering on the side of a club lit up the street, and people lined up beneath it waiting to get in. Loud, upbeat dance music echoed through the open doorway and out into the street.

Pet's eyes followed the long line stretching from the main entrance and along the front wall. "We'll be standing in that line until time to leave tomorrow."

"Meh. Just watch and learn." He led Pet down an ally on the other side of the building to where a side door was. Using the side of his fist, he banged loudly on it.

The door cracked opened to reveal a burly bouncer wearing black slacks and a yellow shirt that sported the club's logo on the front. He took one look at Derek and laughed. "It's about time your scrawny ass got here! How's it going D-Wreck?"

"Hey, hey! It's my man, Tennessee!"

Pet busted out laughing at her friend. "D-Wreck? Oh, I have to hear this story."

The bouncer, Tennessee, chuckled. "Big D has been coming here for years and one night just happened to bump into someone he'd been looking for. Made a real mess of the club and wrecked one of the bars taking this guy down. From then on, he was nicknamed D-Wreck."

Derek shrugged. "Hey, what can I say? At least I got the bastard. Was worth twelve grand, too."

"Yeah, that you did." Tennessee laughed again, the two men meeting in a manly hug. "Hadn't seen you in a long time. Figured you got tired of the place."

"Nah, man. Been out in Montana with my little sis," he motioned to Pet, "and my uncle. Got a place out there, now."

The bouncer looked to the black-dressed woman and nodded. "Right on." He smiled, flirtatiously at her. "So, this is the little sis you were telling me so much about from…where was it again?"

"Costa Rica," Derek answered. "I had some business in the area to take care of and decided to show my sister a good time."

Tennessee held out a broad hand. "That's all fine and good, but you know the rules, man. No guns. I can let the girl pass by without ID this once, but your guns…nah ah."

Derek unholstered his pistol he kept tucked in the back of his pants and handed it to his bouncer friend. "That's the only one I brought with me, I swear!"

Tennessee clipped the holster onto his belt and shook the other man's hand. "You know it's safe with me. Now go out there and have a good time, guys. Drink specials for ladies until midnight."

Pet could feel the thundering of the music's base throughout her body as a rush of excitement filled her. They entered the central complex of the club, the hybrid squealing. The air was thick with smoke, sourcing from two smoke machines suspended from the ceiling. Sparkles from a disco ball and different patterns of swirling colorful lights sailed across the many club-goers below.

Derek took hold of Pet's hand, so as not to lose her, and brought to one of the bars. Various liquors sat in rows behind the bar, their clear plastic shelves glowing in neon colors.

A female bartender, one of three working the bar, wore a corset and a short skirt that left nothing to the imagination. She finished serving a group of people their drinks and finally came to where the two newcomers waited.

She leaned across the bar to give a hug to Derek. "Hey, sweetie! Welcome back!" She then kissed the man on the cheek, leaving a lipstick smear on him. "Long time, no see!"

"How's it going, Jazzy?"

Pet's attention quickly diverted off the chatting pair to examine the rest of the club. There were two floors, the center of the bottom level being the rather packed dance floor. In front of the dance floor was the DJ's booth, a series of speakers both large and small standing on either side it. Behind him was a screen where migraine-inducing, psychedelic images swirled.

This was going to be a new experience for the hybrid.


Shot for shot, drink for drink the two shared. They danced, they laughed, they drank some more. Pet's first time in a club was precisely how he hoped it would be and was happy she agreed to come out for a night on the town. When one thirty in the morning rolled around, they went to a twenty-four-hour diner and laughed at whatever they could over a hamburger.

Derek kept trying to throw bits of wadded up, paper napkin down Pet's cleavage while the hybrid would occasionally throw ice from her cup at him. After leaving the diner a little after three in the morning, they went back to their hotel rooms.

Pet didn't hesitate to take a shower and get ready for bed a second time. She fell onto her bed and wiggled under the covers, cuddling her pillow just as before. Despite the good time she managed to have that night, she still missed Grant and couldn't wait to get back to the dig site to see him.

Before that could happen, though, came the dreaded part of having to wake up at seven AM. She could already tell it was going to be a chore while nursing a hangover.