Extinction

by Viljoen, Daleen

  “I know its small and not what you’re used to, but you’re safe here.”

  “It’s not that. The room is fine.” I smiled weakly.

  I felt ashamed that I seemed ungrateful. I wasn’t. My room in Palasium was bigger and more luxurious, but I didn’t care about stuff like that. I never want to return to that house. It was the first time I was alone with Chai since last night and I felt nervous. So much had happened. Yesterday I didn’t know he was an alien from a far off planet. Not that it made a difference. He was still a very gorgeous boy and that was what unnerved me. My gaze dropped down at my filthy and torn tunic.

  “Where’s Emily?” I was surprised that she wasn’t in the infirmary.

  “She’s in her room. I’ll take you to her later after you rested. Everything you need is inside the bathroom. Why don’t you take a shower and I will find you something to eat.” I nodded. My stomach rumbled at the thought of food. I stepped inside the small bathroom as Chai left.

  It was a tiny cubicle with a shower, toilet and basin, with no room to spare. The entire bathroom was white – sparkling white tiles lined the walls with matching white tiles on the floor. The only color was from a blue fluffy towel neatly folded and placed on the edge of the basin. I peeled off my clothes and stepped inside the shower. It took me several minutes to find the right button to push, but finally warm water engulfed me and I went through the automatic motions of washing myself and shampooing my hair. Chai was right and everything I needed was right there. I watched the blood and grime swirl down the drain and I felt human again. I finished and wrapped my body in the soft blue towel, hoping that I didn’t finish all the warm water on the ship. Chai wasn’t back yet and I stared at the empty room, uncertain of what I was supposed to do in the meantime. His room was immaculate. Not one thing suggested that he even lived here. I sat down on the edge of the bed and waited.

  I thought about the people I left behind in Palasium. Rosa would now be busy dishing out bowls of soup to the slaves. She probably thought we were dead. Emily was the only family she had left and now she was all alone in Palasium. I rubbed the welts on my wrists. A single tear ran down my cheek.

  That’s how Chai found me when he came back and he swiftly deposited his parcel on the table.

  “You want to talk about it?” he asked gently and I shook my head. The last thing I wanted to do was to share the horror of last night with him.

  He lifted my face with his thumb and wiped away the last remnants of the tear from my face with his fingertips. The gesture was so intimate and heart rendering that I nearly started crying again. He frowned and ran a finger gently across the finger marks on my throat. I gasped at his touch.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” he said gruffly. “I should’ve protected you.”

  “It’s not your job to protect me.” My father was supposed to protect me and instead he let this happen to me. I felt cold inside and I pressed the palm of my hand against Chai’s chest where the tattoo of the sun would be underneath his shirt. I needed his warmth and strength.

  Chai looked down and took my hand in his, slowly lifting my arm and pressing his lips on the angry welt on my wrist. He then did the same with my other arm. Heat spread through my cold body. I raised my head and looked into his eyes. They were so sincere and tender and without thinking I leant forward and pressed my lips against his. Chai made a small sound in the back of his throat and lowered me on the bed, kissing me. His lips were soft and gentle as he tenderly moved them against mine. His body pressed down on mine and his hands swept over my bare shoulders. His lips moved from mine and he pressed small kisses on my brow, moving down to my bruised cheek and then my neck. Fire spread through my limbs and my fingers crept up his shirt. His lips moved back to mine and this time his kiss was hungrier and more intense and I molded myself to him. He lifted his face and his breathing was as uneven as mine. He trailed a finger down my shoulder, sending shivers down my spine.

  “We must stop now,” he said gruffly and disappointment filled me. I didn’t want to him to stop. Not yet. I wanted to lose myself in him, to forget all the ugliness of the hours before.

  “Don’t stop.” Chai groaned and turned his head and buried his face in the cushion for a moment.

  “We have to stop, little one,” he said and grinned at me. “The doctor said you must rest and this isn’t resting.” He rolled off me and stood.

  He pressed his hand against the wall and a drawer glided open. He lifted a t-shirt from the drawer. “Arianna promised to find you proper clothes, and in the meantime you will have to make do with one of my shirts.”

  He tossed me the black t-shirt. I realized I was still wrapped in only a towel and blushed. He gave me a wicked smile.

  “Aren’t you going to put it on?” he asked. I became even redder and I was sure I resembled a fire truck.

  “Turn around,” I said and Chai winked at me as he turned obediently with his back to me. I stood and pulled the shirt over my head and let the towel drop. The shirt was far too big for me and the hem reached my knees. I looked very respectable even if I was wearing only his shirt and nothing else.

  “You can turn around now.”

  Chai turned and smiled broadly. “You look like a wood nymph.” He cocked his head to one side. “My little wood nymph I found in the jungle.” I pulled a face at him.

  “I grabbed us something to eat,” Chai picked up a plate of sandwiches off the table. He placed it on the bed between us. I was starving and I tried to remember the last time I ate – it was yesterday morning when I grabbed a piece of Maria’s freshly baked bread. A lump was in my throat as I stared at the sandwiches and my appetite vanished completely. Maria was now all alone in that big house to bear the brunt of my father’s unpredictable moods. I picked up a sandwich and toyed with it between my fingers.

  “You must eat, Lexie,” Chai said as he watched me disintegrate the sandwich into little pieces.

  “Are you always this bossy?” I took a piece of bread and popped it into my mouth. It had a smooth sweet jam on and contrary to my expectations tasted great.

  “Yes I am. I’m all-knowing, so you better listen to me.” Chai grinned at me.

  “You are exceedingly fast and super strong. What other superpowers do you have?” I asked as I took another sandwich.

  Chai laughed. “I’m super good-looking and exceedingly fabulous. I’m Wonder boy.” I tossed a pillow at him and it bounced off his chest.

  “Seriously, do you have other abilities like…oh my g…you don’t have x-ray vision, do you?” I asked and wondered if I should cover myself with titanium or some other impenetrable metal.

  “Except the strength and speed, our race, the Epsilon, have some telepathic abilities. We call it Akai.” That was even worse than x-ray vision if he could read my thoughts and I flushed.

  “What kind of telepathic abilities?” I asked cautiously.

  “It’s easier to show you.” Chai pushed the plate aside and moved forward, closing the gap between us. He placed the palm of his hand on my cheek.

  Hi beautiful. I inhaled sharply. I heard the words loud and clear, but his mouth wasn’t moving.

  “I wasn’t wrong. Earlier, in the desert, I thought I heard you speaking inside my head.”

  “If we connect to someone we can project our thoughts to them. It’s like opening a communication channel between us,” Chai explained.

  “You have to touch me for me to hear you?”

  “Not necessarily. Once a channel is created, it is possible to communicate without me touching you.” To prove his point Chai removed his hand from my cheek. Why don’t you try it?

  Me? I wasn’t the alien. Give it a try. Clear your mind. Think only of me and then talk to me.

  I closed my eyes and brought up Chai’s image in my mind. I wrinkled my nose and tried to think of something to say to him. This is stupid. I will…

  It’s not stupid.

  My eyes flew open and I gawked at Chai. “You heard me?” I was practica
lly shouting at him, but it came out as a hoarse whisper.

  “Loud and clear.” Chai laughed at the shock on my face.

  “That’s awesome.” I felt like a child who got a new toy. “You can’t read my thoughts?”

  “Not your thoughts. I can access your memories, through a mind meld, but that’s something we don’t often do. It’s a very invasive and painful process.” I watched Chai as if it was the first time I saw him. He was an alien and not the creepy kind like the Vandelrizi. He was from another planet somewhere out there in the galaxy and yet he seemed so normal. My mind was in overload. I had so many questions to ask him.

  “What do you want to know?” Chai asked. “Don’t look so surprised, it’s written all over your face. That’s one of the things I like about you – I can see exactly what you’re thinking. Your face is like an open book.” I didn’t exactly like that my feelings were so clearly visible to him.

  “How long have you been on earth and why can you speak our language. Why…” Chai threw back his head and laughed loudly.

  “Only one question at a time.” He held up one finger to emphasize this. “We’ve been on earth for seven months.”

  “Why can you speak our language?” I asked.

  Chai took my hand and placed it on the nape of his neck. “What do you feel?” I let my fingers wander over his skin and ignored the sudden ache in my belly. I didn’t want him to see what it did to my insides to touch him.

  “There’s a lump underneath the skin. What is it?” I dropped my hand to my lap.

  “It’s a computer chip implanted under the skin and connected to the brain. It’s uploaded with vital information on the planet we’re sent to, like for instance language, politics and culture. It makes things easier once we get to the planet.” Wow. I wished I had a microchip in my brain for all the times I had to sit and struggle with algebra when we still used to go to school. It would’ve made my life much easier.

  “Next question?” Chai asked. I stretched out on the bed and rested my head on a pillow.

  “Why do you look so normal? You look human and not like an alien.”

  Chai dropped his head into his hands. “Why do you humans think aliens must be red with horns on their head?”

  I laughed and it felt good. I hadn’t laughed like that in a long time. It made me feel alive again.

  “It’s green with antennas on your head. Demons are red with horns.” I explained when I finally stopped laughing.

  “I don’t know. On every planet everyone looks different. My planet has the same atmosphere as earth and basically the same gravity, maybe it plays a role in every living creature’s evolution, but I’ve never seen a green race with antennas.”

  I yawned. “You’re anatomically the same as we are?” Chai grinned and I knew his mind wandered somewhere very dirty. “I mean you have all the same body parts that I do?” I tried my best to make the question seem less sinful.

  “I don’t have the same body parts as you do, Lexie. You’re a girl, but anatomically I’m the same as every other male on this planet.” Chai grinned wickedly at me. “I could show you.”

  I covered my burning face with a pillow. He had this way to make me blush all the time. I felt Chai’s weight shift on the bed and I lifted the pillow. He was stretched out on the bed, next to me and the plate of sandwiches had disappeared.

  “I think that’s enough questions for today. You need to rest. Close your eyes, little one.” He placed his fingertips on my cheek and warmth spread through my body. The warm caressing smoke was back and I felt very contented as it spiraled through my body.

  “How do you do that?” I asked drowsily.

  “Magic,” Chai whispered, his arm snaked around, pulling me closer. I inhaled his scent and closed my eyes, feeling very safe for the first time in a long while.

  Chapter 7

  It was hard to tell if it was morning yet, with us being underground inside a mountain. There were no windows or rising sun to tell me the time. Far-of voices echoed through the corridors and I reluctantly opened my eyes. I wanted to stretch but something heavy was on top of me, pinning me to the bed. Chai lay next to me on his stomach, an arm and leg thrown casually across my body. My stomach fluttered with excitement. Sometime during the night he got undressed and was only wearing a pair of navy blue boxer shorts, showing his lean well-defined legs.

  My eyes wandered over his perfect body. He looked so peaceful as he slept and my hand itched to touch him and to run my fingers through the waves of chestnut hair that fell carelessly across his face. It was hard to imagine him as the same person that could be so deadly if he needed to be. He was full of contradictions. He was funny, teased me mercilessly, but was also caring and tender. There was also a side to him that was a hardened soldier and I knew I never wanted to see the iciness again I saw in his eyes yesterday when he fought the soldiers.

  “Stop staring at me.” Chai peeked at me through thick eyelashes. He smiled lazily, rolling onto his back and pulled me closer to him. “I could get use to waking up next to a wood nymph every morning.”

  I gave a shy giggle and snuggled closer to him, resting my cheek on his chest to hide the rising heat in my face from him. I inhaled his minty scent. Last night was fresh in my mind and I clearly remembered the way I pushed all inhibitions aside and practically begged him not to stop. Who knows what would have happened if he didn’t keep a clear head. I lifted my head and gazed at him.

  “I was making sure you haven’t grown antennas yet,” I said and pushed my fingers teasingly through the waves of his hair. I suppressed the urge to start purring like a kitten as I touched him. Chai opened his eyes wider and grinned at me. The next moment his arm hardened and he pulled me on top of him. He held me in a steel grip and I couldn’t move, not that I wanted to. I liked feeling the length of his body pressed against mine. He was as hard as I was soft. His warm eyes scanned my face and I felt happy and contented.

  “How’re you feeling today?” he asked and his eyes wandered to my lips and I licked them self-consciously.

  “I’m fine.” I really was fine today. I felt much calmer and relaxed with him so close to me. A lot of other feelings stirred inside me, but I wouldn’t dare to mention them to him.

  “Good.” He sighed deeply. “I would love staying like this the whole day, but I have to take a shower. I need to see Bill and I have a few other things I need to attend to.” His fingers drew little patterns on my back and it was driving me crazy.

  “Then you must go and do your duty,” I said, though it was hard to concentrate on anything at that moment.

  “Arianna brought you clothes last night and I’ll ask her to escort you to the mess hall for breakfast.” He rolled me back on my side and stood. His muscles rippled across his body as he stretched and I couldn’t help but stare in awe at his glorious body. He was absolutely perfect and I grinned devilishly as I took my time and gawked at every inch of him. This gorgeous alien boy was far better to look at than little bug eyed green men or the pasty lizard- resembling Vandelrizi. If there were more aliens like him, there was certainly hope for the human race. Chai caught me staring at him and I blushed, hoping my face didn’t show what I was thinking. He smiled and disappeared into the bathroom, not before he popped his head around the corner and said mischievously: “You can join me.” My aim wasn’t very good and the cushion missed his head by inches hitting the wall and falling harmlessly to the floor.

  After Chai left, I stretched languorously out on the bed and tried in vain to steady my breathing. Chai drove me crazy, just the mere presence of him set my body on fire and I lost all capability of thinking rationally. I was either going insane or I liked him far more than I should. I had never even had a boyfriend – it wasn’t like the boys in Palasium lined up to date the Minister’s daughter.

  I pushed myself from the bed and got dressed in the clothes Arianna brought. The jeans fit perfectly, though the green sweat shirt was a bit big and I tucked at the sleeves covering my hands. She even
got me a pair of black lace-up boots. I was busy brushing my hair when there was a knock on the door. Arianna stood in the corridor looking exceptionally beautiful, painfully reminding me of what a mess I was with the ugly bruises on my face and neck. Raven hair fell like a shimmering waterfall over her shoulders. She had flawless olive skin and the most perfect full mouth. She was dressed in the same black t-shirt and combat pants Chai wore, the Epsilon uniform, but her pants were tight fitting and accentuated every curve of her slim body. Her sapphire blue eyes inspected me and she cocked her head to the side.

  “You clean up very nice, not bad at all,” she said as she looked me over with narrowed eyes. “I see the clothes fit. You don’t know how difficult it was to find clothes small enough to fit you.”

  I glared at her. “I’m not that small. Not all of us can be alien giants.”

  She threw her head back and laughed and threw her hands up in mock surrender. “I’m joking!” she said and punched me in the arm and I nearly toppled backward by the force of it. I grimaced and wondered if I had to remind her I was only a puny human and not a super strong alien.

  “Are you ready to go? We better get breakfast before there’s nothing left.” I dropped the brush on the bed and pulled my hair back in a ponytail on my head.

  “I’m ready.” I followed Arianna through the countless corridors and this time I paid close attention and memorized as much as I could. If this was going to be my home, I should learn to navigate my own way around here.

  The mess hall was a large room filled with shiny metal chairs and matching tables and it was nearly filled to the brim. The lights were dimmed and gave the room a more intimate atmosphere – Arianna explained that it was so that you couldn’t see what you’re eating. I stared in astonishment at the amount of people seated at the tables eating breakfast. There must be a few hundred humans on the ship and my heart raced with excitement to know so many had survived. It was beyond my expectations. Together with the slaves in Palasium and Cyrius there were at least a couple of thousand humans left on earth. It was sad if you considered that there were once 6, 5 billion people scattered across the globe and now we were a couple of thousand short of extinction. We were the last of our race.