1 Prologue

On that day Arriz learned he was the only one who believed his father was a hero; for the rest of the world Daddy was a terrorist.

This new understanding, clear and simple, brought pain into his heart for some reason, but he couldn't quite realize why that happened. Not like he met his father that often… He just heard a lot about him. Other kids were getting bedtime stories about castles and dragons. Arriz was listening to the tales of his Dad's adventures every night. Daddy and his friends were fighting the forces of evil, he learned that when he was little. Every time he saw his father, Arriz got a proof of that: he was a tall man, broad-shouldered and muscular, like those knights they put into fairy-tale books. The kind of man everyone should admire…

But in reality he inspired nothing but fear. Arriz stood in the middle of a scared crowd, clutching his mother's hand tightly. People around him were crying or whispering something bitterly. Some of them were screaming and trying to break through the line of police officers standing by the road. The area around the hospital building was empty: every time someone dared to step too close to it, they were greeted by bullets flying out of the windows.

Arriz suddenly thought that he probably wouldn't be an exception. If he managed to break through the crowd and walk forward, his father would kill him without any doubt or regret. Because Daddy was fighting for higher values, which were more important than his family. Arriz had heard this phrase before, but he couldn't have imagined that it would cause such chaos.

The only person in the crown who watched the scene calmly was his mother. Her eyes were shining with joy and pride. She shared Daddy's beliefs completely and she knew he was right. She stood such a contrast to the rest of the women here, pale and crying, that it could easily cause suspicions. Luckily, nobody cared about her, all eyes were locked on the hospital.

That building seemed so peaceful! Only three floors, crème-colored walls and a sloping roof covered in copper tiles. It had small decorative shutters by the windows with funny cartoon heroes painted on them. They made the hospital look like one of those gingerbread houses that filled the shops by Christmas.

There was a reason why the building looked this way. It was created for kids – so that the little patients wouldn't be afraid to stay there. And now the crowd was whispering about the blood that had already been shed inside… Daddy wouldn't allow those children to walk out of the hospital alive. And Mommy was proud of him for that.

Arriz wanted to feel that pride too. He wanted to believe his father could do no wrong, like he used to. But the boy just couldn't! He sensed the icy wave of horror pulsing inside the captured building, and he saw the hatred reflected on the faces of the crowd. Why was his father doing this if it made people miserable?

"The bastards from "One Breed" have gone too far," people were whispering beside him and his mother. "It was bad enough when they hunted down the hybrids. But now they started killing normal people… kids! The police should put an end to this!"

"They can't – there are hostages inside!"

Hybrids… This word caused a flash of anger in Arriz's soul. While his father was a hero in his mother's stories, hybrids were always the monsters. Disgusting creatures that easily traded their human souls for demonic power! They were the incarnation of evil, the symbol of everything wrong with the world.

But they weren't the ones attacking the hospital. They weren't the ones who stained the hallways with blood by killing most of the doctors. They didn't lock all the patients in their rooms, turning them into hostages. And the people standing here didn't hate them.

So were hybrids really that bad?

"Mommy…" Arriz pulled on his mother's arm, trying to catch her attention. "Mom!"

"What is it?" she snapped, clearly displeased with the distraction.

"I wanna leave…"

"Are you out of your mind, child?! This is your father's greatest achievement!"

"I want Dad to leave with us too!"

His mother's eyes burned with anger. If they weren't surrounded by people from all sides, she'd probably slap him. But she controlled herself, not wanting to attract the attention of the bystanders.

"Shut up and stay still!" she hissed.

"But Dad… He's going to get killed there!"

"He won't get killed. He'll accept death in the name of his beliefs. There's a difference."

Arriz couldn't see that difference, but he didn't dare to voice his doubt. He didn't understand much of what was going on, but he could feel one thing: his father and the men who followed him weren't planning to leave this building alive.

The people in the street were saying that the terrorists didn't make any demands. Arriz felt it was a bad thing. Nobody understood why this hospital was attacked and what they were waiting for. He didn't know either – he was too young to know. But his mother still believed he had to stay here and witness it till the very end.

And then Arriz realized what the terrorists were waiting for – or rather, whom they were waiting for. A black helicopter landed onto the road beside the hospital, causing a powerful gust of wind to run over the crowd. Five hybrids walked out of it, one by one.

It was the first time he had a chance to see them with his own eyes. The stories he had heard about them made him imagine vicious ogres, bloodthirsty giants and monsters with horns and tentacles. In comparison to that, the reality was disappointing. Standing by the helicopter were five average people, with nothing dangerous or even extraordinary about them. The only thing that made them different from the police was their uniform – dark gray and made of leather-like material. It was the same for men and women: long trousers, heavy boots, black shirts with long-sleeved jackets above them. There was a symbol embroidered on each of the jackets – a glowing red triangle.

The more Arriz looked at them, the easier it was to feel they weren't so average after all. Their heads were raised high, and they held their shoulders straight. There was not even a track of fear in their eyes. He knew he had to hate them – he felt the hatred coming from his mother. But Arriz just couldn't share it. The hybrids, with their noble faces and confidence radiating from them, seemed much nicer than his father's nervous, easily irritated friends.

He shook his head, trying to wipe those thoughts away. It was wrong! The hybrids were just surrounding themselves with illusions and deceit. His parents couldn't have been lying!

"Move back," one of the hybrids told the crowd. "It's going to get very dangerous here".

"Make sure we have enough ambulance cars and helicopters," his partner instructed the police. "If they didn't make demands, then we're dealing with a typical destructive operation. Their true goal is to kill us, the hostages are just a bait. We'll do everything we can to protect them, but the chances are high someone gets hurt."

So that's how his mother knew Dad was not coming back… That was his "greatest achievement"! Arriz couldn't understand this. Dozens of people were killed inside that hospital mere hours ago… normal people, whom his father swore to protect! And those kids could die too, just because they had to lure five hybrids in there!

Meanwhile, his mother seemed surprised.

"Five… only five!" she whispered desperately. Then she continued, talking to herself. "Well, so it's five, but they're most likely the best ones. Killing five good ones is like killing twenty weaklings!"

"Mom, I want to leave!"

"Shut up and keep your eyes open!"

Other kids were led away from the street, and soon Arriz was the only one standing in the crowd of grown-ups. People around them were looking at his mother with reproach, but she didn't seem to care. Her burning eyes were directed at the hospital, and Arriz thought he could hear the frantic beating of her heart.

The hybrids entered the hospital simultaneously. Before they went inside, Arriz had one more chance to see their calm faces. Either they were absolutely confident in their invulnerability, or they accepted their possible death as part of their work. They couldn't just leave those kids behind, so there was no reason to panic.

The monsters were better than the heroes. Arriz couldn't forgive himself for thinking that.

The shooting started the moment they entered the building, followed by an explosion. Fire broke through the windows of the second floor, orange flames painting the walls black. Some people in the crowd, most likely the parents of the captured kids, were crying and fighting to get inside. The police held them back, but they were screaming so desperately, their voices filled with absolute misery…

The misery brought by his father.

There was not a single moment of peace inside the hospital. Arriz could hear shouting and shooting, bombs were exploding, with walls and roof collapsing because of this. The heat was rising to the clear sky, destroying the Christmas gingerbread house completely, turning it into nothing but a skeleton of what it used to be. Watching it hurt him, and the desire to leave was growing stronger with every moment. But his mother was holding his hand in a vice-like grip, refusing to move from her spot.

And then everything grew quiet. After the previous minutes of hell this pure silence was so overwhelming that Arriz was afraid he became deaf for a second – as a punishment for his father's sins. Even the huge crowd couldn't utter a word, paralyzed by what they had just observed.

The remains of the hospital doors suddenly broke into pieces, crushed by a single powerful blow. The police became instantly alarmed, preparing to shoot, but that wasn't necessary, because the doors were opened for kids – dirty, scared, some of them limping and covered in blood, with clean lines washed by tears on their faces. Still, they were alive!

But not all of them were that lucky. When the hybrids left the building, everyone could see they were carrying small bodies wrapped in blankets. On some of the blankets there were vicious crimson spots, turning larger with every minute, heavy dark drops falling from them onto the asphalt… Arriz closed his eyes in horror, but the scene already burned itself into his memory.

"The terrorists are terminated," said the hybrid who talked to the crowd first. "The building can be cleared of corpses now. Take care of the wounded, some of them are critical!"

"Move!" His mother jerked his hand sharply. "We're leaving!"

She began making her way through the crowd. People were relieved, cheering for hybrids happily. That made his mother angrier. She was ready to cry, but held the tears back. Arriz had enough time to see that four hybrids had left the building unharmed, but the fifth one was missing… The terrorist attack had some results after all.

They left the hospital street and turned to a narrow lane. The further they walked from the crime scene, the less people they met on their way. Finally they reached an empty alley, where his mother stopped. She was crying and Arriz couldn't help but cry with her.

He couldn't tell why though. He saw too much and felt too much on that day. He knew he wasn't going to forget this – he already anticipated seeing those flames in his nightmares. But his mother interpreted his tears differently.

"There, there, honey, be strong," she hugged him briefly. "Daddy is gone. But we can't let his sacrifice be in vain! You father died to pass his mission to you. Always remember his bravery and the cruelty of our enemy. There will come a day when you'll bring more honor to the Organization than he ever could! You will be the one to destroy the nest of those demons from within."