Extinction by Daleen Viljoen

Neither is Arianna or
Gaios. We’re here to help the humans against the Vandelrizi.” I wanted to
believe him more than anything else as I stared into his warm chocolate brown
eyes.
    “And after you help them? Are you going to finish
the work of the Vandelrizi and kill the few humans left on this planet?”
    Chai looked hurt by my question. “Is that what you
think of me?” he asked and he dropped his hands to his sides. I noticed how
tired he looked. It didn’t look like he slept at all last night. There were
dark bruises underneath his eyes and stubble lined his jaw.
    “I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore.” I had
no fight left in me. I didn’t know who I could trust anymore. I felt terribly
lonely and broken. Tears silently kept flowing over my cheeks and I slid down
the truck, collapsing on the sand. Chai groaned and in a split second he was
next to me and crushed me to his chest.
    “Don’t cry, little one.  I’ll never hurt you,” he
said as he pulled me onto his lap and cradled me. I rested my head on his
chest, closing my eyes. I didn’t care anymore if he was an alien or a cyborg
for that matter. All I cared about was his arms around me and the beating of
his heart next to my ear. 
    “So many people died today,” I whispered against his
chest. 
    “They hurt you and would’ve killed you.” He lifted
my chin with his thumb and I opened my eyes. “I’ll kill anyone with my bare
hands that hurt you.” I stared at his exquisite face.  I should have been
filled with horror that he was prepared to kill for me, but instead I felt
warmth in the pit of my stomach. 
    Gaios cleared his throat behind us. “We have to get
going.  The explosion would’ve been visible in Palasium and more soldiers will
be on their way.” He smiled broadly. “I’ll enjoy another battle, but I think it’ll
be better for her if we leave now.”
    Chai sighed. “Gaios is right.” Chai stood lifting me
in his arms as if I weighed next to nothing. He walked towards a truck idling
next to the road.
    “I can walk.” Chai gave me a small smile and I could
see a twinkle returning to his eyes.
    “I like carrying you,” he said as he carefully lifted
me into the backseat of the truck. In a flash he was at the other side of the
truck, climbing in. 
    “Wait! We have to find Emily. She’s out there all
alone.” 
    “We already did,” Erich answered. He was in the back
and a visibly shaken Emily sat next to him. Relief flooded me.  Emily avoided
looking at me, staring out the window, her tear streaked face grim. Gaios got
in the driver’s seat and Arianna rode shotgun.
    I shivered uncontrollably and I pulled my knees to
my chin, hugging my legs to my chest. Chai carefully moved my hair back to
examine the cut on my head. His brow furrowed and a muscle popped in his jaw.
    “I told you it’s bad. She’ll need stitches,” Erich
commented from the back.
    Chai took a canteen and a rag of cloth from under
his seat. He poured water on the rag and very gently began wiping the dried blood
from my face. I winced as he touched my tender skin.
    “I never should’ve left you last night. I should’ve
taken you with me,” he said so softly that I barely heard him.
    “It’s not your fault.  Robert was…” I couldn’t think
of him now or I would lose the last bit of whatever was holding me together. “If
they caught us, you’d be dead now.”
    I lifted a hand to wipe away a tear when I saw the
metal bands on my wrists. Something snapped inside me.  Revulsion filled me and
I tried to claw off the Vandelrizi torture devices with my fingers, but they
wouldn’t budge.
    Chai caught my wrists and took a knife from his hip.
He carefully used the knife to undo the clasps of the bands and they fell on my
lap. I stared at them for a moment and then I snatched them and flung them out
the truck window. Ugly red welts covered my wrists and I rubbed them with my
fingertips.
    My reflection in the rearview mirror caught