Gencross

By Magdalena Rodriguez and Phi Duong Thai

Gencrosses are special individuals that cross genes with animals and can hear and change into them. Four new young gencrosses have been created. Each has a second power. They are supposed to be secret and discreet but these four have other plans as they set off on adventures they seek out. An evil one is threatening their mentors. Can they

• Language: English
• Publisher: Magdalena Rodriguez
• Release date: Apr 3, 2024
• ISBN: 9798988096665

Book preview

Copyright © 2024 by MAGDALENA RODRIGUEZ

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Illustrations Phi Duong Thai

For Abraham who loves stories

For Leah who loves manatees

GEN

origin, birth, produced, born, genetic, generation

CROSS

intersection, trouble, move one side to the other,

travel over it, exchange of DNA, Symbol.

CONTENTS

Prologue: Death Spiral

1. A Meeting of Friends

2. Internship

3. Manateeville

4. A Night Adventure

5. Sarah/A Phone

6. Concern

7. Pain Not Pain; Hunger Not Hunger

8. The Other Side

9. Wave

10. Redwoods

11. Lightning and Fire

12. On Different Fronts

13. Fosters

14. Healing Climbing

15. Christmas Train

16. The Meeting

17. Agua-quad

18. Competition

19. The Pack

20. The Hunt

21. Sisters

22. The Chase

Epilogue

Next Installment: Stewardship School

Prologue:

Death Spiral

Two bald eagles flew high in the clouds directly at each other. A hundred yards, fifty yards, ten yards! They resembled arrows piercing through the sky. Eyes locked as they were about to slam into each other. In unison, they redirected their bodies confronting each other with wide open claws. With the force of their momentum, they locked their long-nailed talons together. Propulsion redirected them into a spiral downward. They plunged rapidly and circled powerfully in a clockwise spin. Neither was letting go of the tight grip on the other’s claws. On downward they fell, straight for a river with rocks protruding at every angle. With only feet to spare, they let go and flung themselves outward. Harnessed energy rolled their bodies in opposite directions. Roll after roll, their wings and talons remained tucked. Dramatically they each burst out of the roll and opened their wings for a faster stop. Six-foot wings expanded into all their grandeur. They flew back up and hovered over the mountain tops. Their eyes gleamed with excitement.

Dude! Awesome death spiral! I got nine rolls, full 360s too. Well, the last one just made it. How many did you get? shouted a young male voice.

The other eagle did not answer. It held its wings forward as if they were hands and fanned them apart like fingers.

Dude, you got ten! Yikes, you win! Maybe if I tuck my wings an extra ten degrees next time, said the male eagle.

The quiet eagle then pointed to what would be a human wrist on its wing, as if a watch should be there.

You’re right. It’s go time, he said with a smile.

They flew higher and higher, past the mountain ice caps and into the clouds. The male eagle glanced downward and pointed with his wing to something on the ground. They looked at each other and nodded before stopping mid-air. Then, they tucked their heads to be completely upside down and plunged with the help of gravity. Whoosh! They plummeted in a tight, synchronized descending vortex between the mountains. Nature’s velocity was so invigorating.

Ooh, that Christmas smell, ran through one eagle’s thoughts.

Their keen eagle eyes began to see intricate details. The needles on the pine trees and the individuality of the brown cones on them were clear as day. They gleamed at every detailed feature in view.

Eagle eyes locked on the target. A tiny squirrel shimmied its furry little tail, as it looked straight at them. Was it in a trance? Why did it not move? It sat on its haunches, looking up. Its nose and whiskers pointed straight at the pair. Then with closed fingers, it held its little furry arm straight out. With a ta-da movement, it opened its palm to expose a tiny pinecone sitting on top of it.

With increased acceleration, the eagles descended. They traveled downward and closer to the squirrel. They pivoted their bodies to allow their talons to turn towards the squirrel for the grab.

Hello. My name is Dean, blurted a bat.

He flew right in front of them!

Woah! What? yelled a girl’s voice.

The pair broke synchrony to focus on their internal brakes. They both angled their wings in pain.

Argh! Watch it! Darn, it’s the stalker bat again, rumbled the girl.

The pressure was like a punch exerted by their own velocity, created by the free fall. The bat closed its eyes, expecting the full impact of a run-in with the bold pair.

The bat slowly opened one eye… then the other. They managed to avoid hitting the bat. The eagle pair abruptly made lateral rolls with their bodies in the air. They reunited, hovering above the bat long enough to stare him down. They shook their heads as they scowled into its tiny little eyes.

Now that is some stink eye towards Mr. Bat here. Look… into…his…eyes… Blahblahblah! Ha! Had to go there, called out the squirrel.

The bat nodded with a tilted apologetic smile towards the eagles. He shrugged his shoulders towards the squirrel.

That would be eagles zero and bat dude one. Sorry, guys, gotta go. Next time I can help you play grab-the-cone again, OK? Don’t forget, one day I want a ride. Oh, and for my kids too. But none of that death spiral stuff. Yes, it was preeetty amazing! But that is only for you eagles. Showoffs! continued the squirrel as he sashayed around. With a flick of his puffy tail, the squirrel scurried away.

Bye, PogoForks! ‘Til next time, and we won’t forget about your ride…and for sure your kids too, called the girl eagle.

She turned away.

Ozzy, let’s go high into the snow flurry to the east so we can leave this old fart in our dust, she shouted.

As they flew away, the bat tried to follow.

Wait. I just want to… started the bat. He was not built for this. His wings in another setting would look quite graceful. But next to this pair, he appeared to sputter along.

I wanted to introduce…myself…Nevermind. Next time…we can chat, he tried one last time, with a loud voice.

With strong wing strokes, the eagles were long gone. The bat looked up one last time, and shook his head with a shiver. He turned downward with a sigh. After a second thought, he smiled to himself.

Hmm… Ozzy! Now I know your name, Mr. Eagle gencross, said the bat to himself.

He headed down towards a swirl of soft lights. With a flash, he disappeared.

He went through the portal. He’s gone. Yes, we dodged the swirly bat again, said the girl eagle as she looked back.

You know, Ita, we gotta talk to him one day. He is getting, um… Ozzy’s words trailed off.

Pushier? Creepier? Let’s try to make one day be, oh, say… infinity, replied Ita with a scrunched brow.

Infinity is a little long, and how do we know it really exists? responded Ozzy.

I know, but he sounds like an old geezer. Bet he has rules and stuff. Grownups always have rules. Or worse, do not have rules. Can’t trust any of them. People are evil, keep them all away, she firmly added, trying not to let herself trigger mentally back in time. Too late. So many images of people doing bad things in her past raced through her head. She squeezed her own talons so hard, she pierced herself. She took two deep breaths and looked around. Focusing on what was in front of her, kept her mindful of the present, instead of the past.

Being in our animal form and hanging out is all I want to do, she stated in a quieter voice. I would like to enjoy it as it is…for a while longer, maybe forever. I know there are others, she finished in a virtual whisper.

I get you, Ita. You want fun? Let’s go. That white peak is only 3.5 more miles away, said Ozzy.

Dunno, I think 3.88. You and your numbers, replied Ita with a smile.

They accelerated their flight with a powerful burst of their wings.

Up, up they went due east. Straight into a flurry of snow. Ozzy smiled as he watched her. Knowing what she had been through, he was glad to see his dear friend being a, well…almost normal girl.

Chapter 1

A Meeting of Friends

Aswirl of lights spun around in a tight circle with a beautiful array of colors. It sat between two palm trees on a Florida beach. A faint, fishy breeze swayed the palm fronds back and forth. A man, Nestor, approached the lights.

"Haven’t portaled in a little while," he thought to himself.

He looked down as he walked forward through the lights. The lights flashed. The glistening soft moist sand became a hard rock floor from one step to the next.

The portal magically transported him thousands of miles away to New Mexico. Nestor continued his walk on the rock path. He now found himself in a dark cave. His hands clenched into fists. They had several scars of different sizes with no pattern. Those were working hands. Yet exactly what type of work, those scars were not divulging.

Were his clenched fists tense from excitement, from precaution, or both? It was not evident as his mind jumped around. His thoughts raced to past adventures. The fists relaxed and deep dimples surrounded a wide smile. His eyes brightened with fond memories. Nestor was eager to see his longtime friend Dean. Their friendship went way, way back, even though Nestor did not look a day past twenty-eight years old. He had not seen Dean in almost a year. In their last meeting, they decided that communication amongst the group must decrease. Something terrible had happened.

With that thought, the smile was gone, and his eyes were back down to the floor. The clenched fists were back.

Someone had intruded on their wonderful world. Out of hatred or jealousy, they had caused harm to his friend Dean.

Nestor was hopeful that things could go back to how they were.

"Completely unexpected adventures every time," he thought with a smile.

Then he shifted his thoughts to the possibility of being a mentor. That was the one word that stuck out from the phone call.

Someone will soon need mentoring. It is your turn to step into that role.

After so many years, he only recently looked forward to being one. He had done so many things, but being a gencross mentor was never one of them. This was his chance. He hoped he had the patience and wisdom to guide someone new. He took a deep breath as the musty smell reminded him of past meetings. As the caves widened, he could not help but forget his thoughts and looked up. The rock chamber was expansive. It had an intricate network of formed cylinder shapes. The tips of the points were sharp from the drip, drip, drip that created them. At times, it seemed the roof was coming towards the floor. At other times, it seemed the floor was coming up towards the roof. It was dark until a small flying lightning bug showed up a few yards in front of his feet.

The lightning bug flew low and lit his path. The path created by the million footsteps that had walked on it through the years.

Thank you, Gia, Nestor said with a side smile.

You are very welcome, answered the small lightning bug.

She shined her light as she guided him. When she reached a midway point in the cave, her light intensified. The radiant glow reflected a thousand light rays that provided a wider view. It made the ceiling look like stars in the sky. Nestor looked up at the spectacular view and heard the sounds.

A soft rustle came from up high. It was echoing through the chamber. They were faint, small sounds, ruffling, chirping. It was hard to distinguish what they were except when one already knew. This was Carlsbad Caverns. The sounds were from the bat battalion resting overhead.

He walked and looked up through hundreds, no, thousands of bats.

He stopped underneath a different bat. His furled brow gave way to a smile that tipped higher on one side of his face. It was not a large furry fruit bat like the others but a smaller vampire bat. Nothing special except if you looked closer and yet closer into its eyes. It was not using its sonar to detect Nestor like most bats would. Its little eyes looked at Nestor. Little fangs gleamed as it smiled.

Dear friend, you have been busy, said Nestor in a joyful voice.

Nestor, so good to see you. Yes, we will have additions. One indeed will come your way. I sense an inner strength in these youngsters that I have not felt… Well, I was going to say ever but it has been many years now. The next generation of gencrosses have something extra; a second power. You are to be a mentor. But as you know, she first must gencross to her form, said the bat.

She? Dean, you are giving me a girl?! Nestor blurted without thinking.

The small lightning bug suddenly flickered around Nestor’s head. The fast movement made a whizzing sound like a mosquito in Nestor’s ears. The light was very bright, and it pricked his temple, then his cheek, then his ears. A deep belly laugh finally let out of Nestor, and it made him look like a teenage boy.

OK, OK, girls rock. Sorry, I misspoke and wasn’t thinking Gia. What is that true saying… Boys drool, girls rule! I have always thought about what it would be like to raise a son. I regard mentorship like being a father figure. Of which I know nothing about, said Nestor lightheartedly.

The lightning bug stopped pestering him and flew up to give the bat the smallest peck on the cheek. As it came down, it went through a ring of swirling colorful lights with a flare. She touched the floor next to Nestor, changed into a young woman. She had flowing black hair tied into a loose ponytail and beautiful large brown eyes. She skipped over to Nestor and gave him a great big hug.

Now Nestor, you know we do not choose; nature chooses for us. So, give my husband a break. There are a few additions that are already giving him gray hairs in his, well…young age, give or take a decade or a century. He could use your help now, she scolded as she hugged him some more.

Yes, ma’am. These bat forms always need a good assistant. I will be happy to help. Let me know the boundaries. We were very independent. With only one major rule: Lay low. But it sounds like things are changing? Nestor asked.

Nestor, I am very excited. Dean is sensing new feelings…or powers. You know, as a teacher, I am so optimistic about our youth. They might be what you jocks would call gamechangers, stated Gia.

She did a little jump and grabbed his arm. He noticed the scar on her palm. It reminded Nestor of Gia’s story.

Gia had gencrossed over to her lightning bug form several years ago. Her major was petrology, the study of rocks. Rocks fascinated her. On one rock quest her hand endured a multitude of scrapes. She noticed a small insect next to a rock that she had moved. It twitched! It was still alive! It was now in direct sunlight. She ever so gently picked it up and placed it under the shade of a small cluster of weeds. Gia could not see that the insect had an injury from a predator that morning. It was an open wound at the base of its wing. When she handled it, their genetics crossed through the blood and cells from the open wounds. Later the swirling lights came into view. When the science nerd went through the lights, she became a lightning bug.

She visited and flew with her lightning bug friends often.

She met Dean on one of those flying outings. She mistakenly flew by the caves right after dusk. The bat battalion was on its way out. When she saw the black cloud of bats she froze in the sky. She was going to get pummeled in the air. Suddenly a bat wing shoved her to the side.

Get out of their way! Hmm you are a gencross. I did not sense you, said the bat.

At the time, she did not know there were other gencrosses.

She was overjoyed when she heard the bat talk. They then planned meetings, dates really. They fell in love and married in their human form the next winter. Nestor got to be Dean’s best man.

Nestor smiled at the nostalgia of his two dear friends. Gia shook him back to the task at hand.

Dear Nestor, we do not know the gencross animal yet, but as a veterinarian, you work with and are surrounded by so many. I would assume it to be a water species, like yourself and some of those patients you have. I can hardly wait to see what she is, she said excitedly.

Nestor smiled and turned towards Dean.

Speaking of water species and going back to students giving you gray hairs. Dean, how is Ita? Since she shares my gencross form, I always do wonder what she is up to, asked Nestor.

Hmph! Let’s just say she is having fun. I check in on her every now and then. Since I cannot be a human anymore, the cold takes a toll on my bat body. Thus, the trips are short. She has had it rough being sent to different foster homes. These last foster parents are stable. They still give her that small independence that makes her such a burst of energy. She is hard to sense. Sometimes so much strength, other times nothing but stillness. It has helped that she has met another one of us. Her friend, Ozzy, is an eagle gencross and has a total energy sense. Their secondary powers, if that is what they are, are different in each one. I do not have a full read on them. They are quite an extraordinary pair. I will be their mentor as they get older. They do lay low and keep to themselves, so at least they are following our one major rule, said the bat.

Gia whispered something in Nestor’s ear as Dean glided down. He landed on Gia’s shoulder, still a bat. Nestor and Gia shared a small moment of sadness. They looked at the ground where Dean might stand if he were able to turn back into a man. Gia sighed.

Maybe these new powers will have the key to letting you gencross back, blurted Gia.

We cannot take any chances of discovery. If there is game change to happen, it absolutely cannot be to help a simpleton like myself, interrupted Dean.

We also know there are people in this world who remind us that evil exists. Through the centuries, it has been a war of good and evil. Our own lineages have had internal battles. Some are misdirected souls. Some are simply born with an evil that evolves all on its own, continued Dean in a softer tone.

He lowered his head and nodded.

I still do not know to which Mel belongs. When he shanked me by my portal, it seemed he knew what gencrossing was. He has some information about us, but not all of it, said Dean.

Nestor looked at his old friend understanding what he was going through.

As a normal human, Dean should have died from the knife cut, but in his bat form, he healed. But something happened that kept Dean from gencrossing back to a human. He could still travel through portals but not gencross. Dean stealthily followed Mel. He was a loner and full of hatred. He went back quite often to the caves. Dean took special note that Mel pined around the caves looking for something. Perhaps looking for a way he could gencross as well. That is why, a year ago Dean had a special meeting at a western portal to inform and warn everyone. He hoped Mel would never find out there were more gencrosses like himself. Their communication with each other drastically decreased. Dean stayed in the caves of the infamous caverns where he met his gencross many…many years ago.

Nestor recalled his friend’s story and family well as he looked at him.

Dean’s family explored the world. His family knew the new world before the world knew it was there. Dean’s brother would say, We come from a lineage where we must roam. His brother remained on the old continent, but Dean chose to live in the new frontier. The day he was exploring the wonderful caves, his hands had many fresh cuts from rock climbing. When he placed his hands on a rock, the spittle of the bat above mixed within one of his still oozing wounds.

Several steps later, he heard a multitude of voices.

Dean looked up with a smile. He tilted his head back and took in all the voices. The voices were coming from the bats.

Woah, I can hear what each one of you is saying…finally, said Dean.

Suddenly, silence filled the cave, and every bat looked down at Dean with wide-open eyes. They could not contain themselves. Seconds later, there were so many voices at once. Hundreds