“Chai.” I whispered his name. He didn’t hear me and stalked from the cave. Erich pushed me from his arms.
“Go!” I didn’t need him to tell me again. I sprinted after Chai.
“Chai, wait!” He headed to the concealed entrance leading into the desert. My shorter legs struggled to keep up with him.
He angled past the rebels guarding the entrance and disappeared into the blinding light outside. I followed him and blinked several times, letting my eyes adjust to the sudden brightness outside.
He stood rigid on a jutting piece of rock overlooking the endless sand stretching before us.
I stopped inches from his back. I wanted to touch him, but instead I clamped my arms around my chest.
“You don’t have to explain. I made a mess of everything and now…you don’t want to be with me.” There was so much pain in his voice.
“It’s not what I meant…”
Chai swung around. His breathing was uneven as if he was trying to control his own emotions.
“You could’ve been killed today. Because of me. I knew Emily was working for the Vandelrizi. I knew!”
“How?” I reeled. He couldn’t have known…could he? The pieces started clicking together.
“That’s why they wanted me on the Přízrak. They picked up communications between Minister Miller and her. She had a Vandelrizi communication device with her. They sent her with you to find out where the rebel base was. She was working with them. They were planning to kill you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“She wasn’t working alone. I needed to find out who else on the ship was working with them. I needed to get close to her, make her trust me.” Suddenly everything made sense. That’s why he was suddenly so interested in her after he returned.
“But you didn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth?” The hurt was barely concealed in my voice. Why didn’t he tell me?
“Of course I do. I couldn’t tell you. I needed to convince Emily I felt nothing for you. I wanted to make you hate me. To convince her there was nothing between us.” He rubbed his face with a fist. “I didn’t know what she had planned today.”
“You should’ve told me.”
“I thought I was doing the right thing. I wanted to protect you.”
“She was my best friend. Maybe I could’ve helped her.” All the pain I felt bubbled to the surface and I directed all the anger and hurt at him.
“I’m so sorry.” He looked at me helplessly. “Every time I looked at you…I saw the hurt in your face. I hate what I did to you.” He stepped closer and lifted a hand to touch my face. I jerked away. He let his hand drop. “Lexie, please.”
“She’s dead. Because of you!” I wasn’t being fair, but the need inside me to hurt him was greater than the rational side. He flinched as if I slapped him.
Lexie.
“Get out of my head!” How many times had I walked away from him?
His voice reached me at the entrance of the cave and I stopped.
I’m not going to give up this easily. I’m not going to lose you.
I woke up with a start and stared confusedly at the darkness around me. I wasn’t sure what woke me. My eyes adjusted to the dark and I checked the room. Everything was just as I left it. My clothes hang haphazardly over the chair by the table. Mom’s letter lay on the desktop where I put it last night when I came to bed. Nothing seemed out of place and still I had the feeling that something was seriously wrong. I rolled off the bed and headed towards the bathroom to get a glass of water. I didn’t take two steps when the shrill sound of an alarm sliced through the darkness. Alarms were never a good thing. It meant that something bad and disastrous had happened. I heard doors opening and the pounding of feet in the corridor outside my room.
I ran outside and I rubbed my eyes, squinting down the corridor. I saw a boy sprinting around the corner and I yelled after him, but it was too late. He was already gone. The siren kept howling, drowning out my voice as I ran down the corridor. I had to find out what was happening. My bare feet slammed down on the floor as I ran. Around the corner I saw Chai pushing past a group of people and he looked openly relieved when he saw me. He reached me in a flash and grabbed my shoulders with both hands.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“The Vandelrizi are here,” he answered and stark naked terror took a hold of me. The Vandelrizi are here on the ship?
“It can’t be,” I gasped and looked at Chai’s face, hoping that he would deny it – tell me that it’s some mistake or a joke, but his face was gravely serious.
“Lexie, go back to your room,” he ordered and pulled me out of the way as a group of rebels ran past us. They were heavily armed.
“No!” I was not going to stay in my room alone, while the ship was under attack. “I’m coming with you!”
“Lexie, listen to me! Go to your room and lock the door.” Chai was shaking me to make me listen to him. “Lock yourself in the bathroom.” He let go of my shoulders and pressed something cold into my hands. I looked down – a gun was in my hands. “If anything tries to get through the door, you shoot it. Do you understand?”
I nodded. I wanted to stay with him, but one look at his face told me he was deadly serious and there would be no arguing with him. He leant forward and pressed his lips against my forehead for a second. It was so quick I wasn’t even sure his lips actually touched my skin. Then he was gone in a blur and I was alone in the corridor.
I did as he asked me and went back to my room in a haze. This couldn’t be happening. Wherever the Vandelrizi went, they left a wake of death behind. How many people are going to die tonight? How many more lives would they take before no one is left? People I care about were out there fighting right now at this moment. I couldn’t stay here and hide. I had to help. This was my future too. I shoved the gun into the elastic band of the sleeping shorts I was wearing. The gun was cold against the skin of my back. There was no time to change and it wasn’t like anybody was going to notice my short pajama pants. I pulled the white tank top over the gun to conceal it and rushed out the door of my room for a second time tonight.
I decided to follow the sound of yelling I heard. Further away I heard gunshots and I prayed that everyone I cared about was safe. I was torn between going to Bill’s office and heading for the infirmary. The chance that Bill was in his office was very slim and besides I could help Sylvain in the infirmary. There were bound to be a lot of people needing medical care tonight and I had a lot of experience in dealing with that. I raced to the infirmary with a growing feeling of concern. The corridors were deserted; the worst part of the fighting had shifted to the other side of the ship.
The door of the infirmary stood open and I was about to rush through the door when I stopped dead in my tracks. I recognized the voice immediately emanating from the room. I would recognize the voice in my dreams and my nightmares. It was Nuevo. I felt bile rising in my throat. The alien snake was here on the base, only the thin walls of the room separating us. I wanted to run as fast as I possibly could, but a second voice coming from inside had my feet glued to the ground. Bill flung a string of curse words at Nuevo that would even make pirate blush.
I clamped a hand over my mouth to stifle the scream that was fighting to escape my mouth. Please…not this. Bill was inside the room with that monster. My father was trapped inside. Nuevo was going to kill him. I knew it for a fact as I stood there in the corridor like a mummified statue. I inhaled deeply, burying the panic deep inside me. I lifted my chin and pulled back my shoulders and stepped through the door.
Chapter 16
Utter chaos greeted me. The room was turned upside down. The beds were pushed into a corner and overturned chairs and tables scattered the floor. The doors of cabinets were ripped from their hinges and vials of medicine littered the floor. Nuevo stood across the room floating a few inches from the floor in his flowing black robe. His face was nearly see-through in the bright light and his red eyes ominously turned to
me. In his grey bony fingers was a little black box. Great, he brought his toys with him.
It was the people on the opposite side of him that made me inhale sharply. Bill was on haunches, his hands covered in red, as he tried to stop the flow of blood from Erich’s shoulder. Erich lay prone on the floor. He wasn’t moving and my nails bit into the palms of my hands to keep me from rushing over to his side.
Next to them were two Palasium soldier. They had something chained between them. They pulled the chains taught between them, stretching two arms in the air. One soldier moved to the side and a strangled sound escaped my mouth. Chai was on his knees, his arms stretched to the side by the chains. His head hung limply forward, but I could see the muscles in his body contorting. No, please not this. On his wrists were steel bands – the torture device they had used on me before. I snapped my head towards Nuevo, hate pouring from every cell in my body.
“Stop it!” I growled at him. He lifted his finger from the button of the box in his skeletal hands.
“How good of you to join us, Miss Millar,” he said in his snake-like voice. Chai’s body went slack and he lifted his head. When he saw me, he pulled on the chains and tried to get up from the floor. Immediately Nuevo pressed the button again, and I could see how the currents of pain rippled through Chai. He didn’t make a sound as the muscles in his body spasm and contorted. Anger, deeper than I’ve ever felt before, rose in me. Nuevo would pay for what he has done.
“Let them go.” My voice was eerily calm as I glared at Nuevo.
“Why would I do that, Miss Miller? Everyone that I am looking for is here now.”
My gaze wandered to the people I loved. Emily and whomever else she was working with informed them that Bill was the leader and about the Epsilon. They provided them with all the information they needed. They knew exactly who to look for and where the ship was. There was nothing I could offer him, nothing I could trade for their lives. Everyone would die.
“You spared us a lot of time looking for you. Unfortunately we will …” I stopped listening to Nuevo. I blocked out his voice. I knew what I had to do. Nothing else mattered, but saving those I loved. I looked at Chai and cleared my mind.
Chai. I said his name softly inside my mind. His head snapped up and his eyes found mine. He heard me. I could feel the desperation in him as he searched his mind for a way to escape.
Chai, tell Bill…tell my dad that I’m sorry we don’t have more time to get to know each other. Look after Erich, please. He’s still so young. Chai’s eyes widened and his pupils dilated, then he roared like a wild animal and pulled with all his strength at the chains, nearly toppling over the soldiers.
Chai…please listen to me. He stopped struggling and his eyes pleaded with me. He knew what I was planning. I’m sorry…for everything. I don’t blame you for Emily’s death. None of this is your fault. Chai, I love you. I had to tell him at least once.
I turned my head to Nuevo and smiled.
“You messed with the wrong family.” My voice was strong as it rang through the room.
I reached for the gun and pulled from the elastic band of my pants and aimed it at Nuevo. A couple of things happened instantaneous. Nuevo lifted his hand towards me, the power emanating from his fingers lifting me off the floor and slamming me into the wall behind me. Pain radiated through my back. I pulled the trigger and watched the bullet from my gun hit him squarely between the eyes, instantly killing him. Nuevo crumpled to the floor and the hold he had on me released. Three more shots rang out and I slid to the floor.
My eyes searched for Chai and saw him throw a soldier straight across the room, hitting a wall with a sickening crack. Bill had the other guard in an iron grip and smashed his head into a medicine cabinet. They were okay. I did it. I saved them.
I touched my chest and when I lifted my fingers, they were covered in blood. I looked down. Blood seeped through the white fabric of my tank top. Strangely, I felt no pain. You should think being shot would hurt like hell, but I didn’t feel anything. My body was numb.
In a second Chai was next to me and carefully lowered my body to the floor. His eyes were wild as he frantically scanned my bloodied body. He pressed his hands to my chest to stop the bleeding.
“You will be okay,” he kept repeating the words over and over and tears streamed down his cheeks.
I wanted to tell him I love him, but only a gurgling sound came from my mouth. I was dying. I could feel it, but I was happy. They now had a chance to live. I slowly lifted my hand to touch Chai’s face one last time, but the darkness swallowed me whole.
Lexie. Someone kept saying my name. I forced my eyes open, but the face above me was an unrecognizable blur. I didn’t understand what was going on. Did I oversleep this morning? Then it hit me. I remembered everything. I killed Nuevo. I was shot. I should be dead. Was I dead? I blinked and tried to focus on the face above me. My vision cleared and Sylvain smiled reassuringly at me.
Either I wasn’t dead or Sylvain was also in the afterlife. I tried to speak, but my throat was dry and only a hoarse sigh escaped my mouth.
“Hi, honey,” Sylvain said and squeezed my hand. She shone a small light in my eyes and I blinked confusedly at the brightness. She continued prodding and poking me and finally I had enough and raised my hands to stop her.
“What’s going on?” I croaked and tried to sit up.
“Let me help you,” Bill said from next to my bed and helped me to sit and handed me a glass of water. I took a few sips thirstily. He looked terrible. Tired lines etched his face. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. His lower lip was split and he had a nasty bruise under his left eye.
“The Vandelrizi…where are they?” I asked terrified and grabbed the edge of the bed. Nuevo wouldn’t have come alone.
“It’s over. We killed fifteen of them and the rest fled back to Palasium.” He grinned. “They messed with the wrong family.”
“I was shot.” My hand instantly went to my chest, but I felt nothing, not even a bandage. There was no pain; whatever Sylvain gave me was working very well.
“You were shot three times. You took one bullet in the chest and two in the stomach,” Sylvain explained.
“How am I still alive? I was dying, I could feel it?” Sylvain shot Bill a quick glance.
“Lexie I couldn’t do anything for you using earth medicine. You almost died.”
“Then how am I still here?” I didn’t understand how I survived. I felt fine, I felt more than fine - I felt great.
“We used our technology to save you. Alien technology. I wasn’t sure at first, but Chai insisted. We’ve never used it on a human before.”
“But it worked?” Why was she looking so concerned?
“Lexie, it works with your DNA in order to heal you. We’ve never tried it on a human. It’s not calibrated for human DNA. In order to make it adapt to you, I had to change your DNA. I had to infuse alien DNA into your system.”
“Alien DNA?” I repeated the words. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it.
“Yes. The closest species we have to a human on the ship is the Epsilon. We used Chai’s DNA to change yours.”
“You lost me. Did you turn me into an alien?” I was totally confused.
“Not entirely. Your body is still adapting to the change. You’re still human, but also Epsilon now.”
“Oh.” I was trying to make sense of it all. I was human and also an alien. Luckily they didn’t use any other alien species to change me. I didn’t want to grow facial hair or webs between my toes. I was a vain little girl.
“Where’s Chai?” I didn’t see him anywhere in the room.
“He left. When you started waking up.” I didn’t understand. Why didn’t he wait?
“Lexie, he’s very upset. He blames himself for everything.” Nothing was his fault. He wasn’t to blame for anything. I needed to tell him.
“How long have I been sleeping,” I asked Sylvain.
“It’s been two day days” she answered and frowned. “
When you didn’t wake up…we were very worried about you.”
“But I’m healed.” I lifted my shirt to reveal my stomach. Two pink scars were visible. It looked like weeks had passed since I was shot. “Wont the Vandelrizi come back?” I hated turning the conversation to more serious matters, but it bothered me that they could return at any moment.
“The galactic council lent us a bit of their technology. We have generated a shield around the mountain, no one is coming in. It’s not a permanent solution, but it will do for now.”
“Erich…how’s he doing?” I remembered all the blood on Bill’s hands.
“He got shot in the shoulder, but he’s doing fine. He’s sleeping at the moment. He’s right next door.” Sylvain said and I felt relieved.
“He’ll be very happy that you’re okay. We had a tough time keeping him in bed and not by your side.” I smiled, Erich was very stubborn.
Zalzi walked into the room and cleared his throat before speaking. “I’m sorry Major, but there’s a problem in section C.”
Bill sighed and gave my shoulder a squeeze
“I have to go. I’ll come by later to see you,” he said and left.
Sylvain excused herself to check up on the other wounded in the attack. We were fortunate. No one was killed, but a lot of people did get hurt. I swung my legs from the bed. Somebody changed me into a clean pair of tracksuit pants and a matching grey sweatshirt. I needed to find Chai. He couldn’t blame himself for what happened. I didn’t care if I was an alien or human. It didn’t matter. He was all that mattered to me. I didn’t want this rift to be between us anymore.
It was late at night or early morning, I couldn’t tell. The mess hall was deserted and the light dimmed. Chai was slumped in a chair, his fingers twirling a salt pitcher on the table. Dark shadows were beneath his eyes and stubble lined his jaw. He looked exhausted.
Extinction Page 15