Extinction by Daleen Viljoen Page B

me of Christmas
bells.
    “Who’s Bill?” 
    “I see I’m right on time. I’m Bill. I’m the leader
of the rebel base.” I turned and came face to face to a middle aged man dressed
in a desert sand combat uniform. I remembered that soldiers in the army used to
dress like that when they were fighting in the war against the Vandelrizi. He
nodded at Chai and turned to me. Despite his age, he was very attractive with a
lean body and tanned face. His dark hair was short and sprinkled with grey. Lively
pale blue eyes regarded me intensely. I shifted uncomfortably under his intense
scrutiny. The next moment he stepped forward and hugged me to his broad chest. It
wasn’t what I expected and I didn’t know if I was supposed to hug him back or
make a run for it. He let go and took a step back, looking embarrassed for a
moment.
    “I’m glad you are safe,” he said and gave me a
self-conscious smile. He looked very familiar, but my weary brain couldn’t
process where I’ve seen him before. He gave me a quick once over again. I
wondered if he was always this touchy-feely with all the rebels here on the
base. I always thought these military men were hardcore. 
    “What is the verdict Doc?” Bill asked and looked
fondly at Sylvain. She blushed and I wondered if there was something going on
between the two of them. 
    “I stitched the cut on her head. Quite a nasty one -
needed seventeen stitches.”  I touched my head self-consciously, running my
fingertips over the rough edges of the stitches. “She doesn’t have any other
serious injuries. A slight concussion and there’s no permanent damage to her
throat or vocal chords, and her voice should be back to normal in a couple of
days. She has a lot of bruises, cuts and scrapes, but they will soon heal.”
    It irritated me that she talked about me as if I
wasn’t in the room. I was right here beside them.  You couldn’t miss me. I was
the girl that looked like Frankenstein. 
    “Physically she will be fine. But she needs a lot of
rest. Her ordeal is a lot to work through, especially at her age.”
    “I’m fine,” I said irritably. She made it sound as
if I was unstable. I remembered the scene I made in the truck and the
slobbering mess I was. Maybe they should think I’m unstable.
    “I know you are, honey.” She smiled patiently at me
again. “But you should take it easy.”
    “She will,” Chai said firmly and gave me a concerned
look. My irritation soared. I hated seeing the pity in their eyes and feeling
this weak and vulnerable. I knew my irritation was fueled by the fatigue I
felt. I didn’t know how long I’d been sleeping, but I still felt exhausted.
    “Is it safe to come in?” Erich sauntered into the
infirmary and gave a boyish grin.
    “Perfectly safe. I promise not to lose it,” I said
and gave an apologetic smile. 
    “That’s a relief,” Erich answered and chuckled at
me. He whipped around and yelled out the door.  “Hey you two!  It’s safe to
enter the dragons’ liar.” A smile tucked at my lips.  Erich was one of those
people you immediately liked, even if you had just met them. Arianna and Gaios
strolled in and I was once again amazed at what a good looking pair they made. The
small room was getting crowded. 
    “I’m sorry about last night. They doubled the guards
in the city and there was no way I could get you out of there,” Erich said and
rocked on the balls of his feet. 
    “You helped me…if you weren’t there last night…” My
voice cracked and I turned my head away. 
    “If it wasn’t for Erich watching over you last
night, Chai would’ve torn the city apart with his bare hands. I nearly had to
knock him unconscious to stop him taking on the Vandelrizi single handedly,”
Gaios said. I glanced at Chai. He kicked the chair next to the bed and sent it
flying to Gaios who sidestepped it at the last moment and it crashed into the
wall.
    “As if you could stop me,” he mumbled and Gaios
winked at me. 
    “Where