Extinction (11 page)

We finished our breakfast, or Gaios finished my
plate for me. He had the appetite of a baby elephant and finally there was
nothing left for him to eat. Chai slung an arm casually around my shoulder and
pulled me closer.

 “I have something to tell you,” he said and I could
feel a heaviness emanating from him.

“What’s wrong?” I asked hesitantly. I wasn’t sure I
had the energy for bad news.

“I have to leave.” My heart sank and my breathing
sped up. I wasn’t expecting this or the terrible way his words made me feel.

“Where are you going?” My voice was barely a whisper
and I clenched my hands on my lap. 

“It’s only for a couple of days. I have to go to the
CSS
Přízrak
.
It’s one of our other ships still in orbit of earth. My commander wants to see
me straightaway,” he explained and I relaxed a bit. A couple of days were not
that bad, besides I was a big girl, I could cope with being on my own. It would
be a good thing and give me time to work through these feelings inside me, I
reasoned with myself. I had to get clarity on what I felt for him. I didn’t
even know what exactly he felt for me.

“When are you leaving?”

“Half an hour. A truck is already on standby to take
me to the pick-up point.” He sighed and pressed his face in my hair. “I hate
leaving you like this.”

“A couple of days aren’t that bad,” I said and tried
my best to sound cheerful.

“Gaios and Arianna will look after you while I’m
gone.”

“I don’t need babysitters. I can look after myself,
besides its safe here.” I didn’t want him to see me as helpless and pathetic.

“I know, little one, but it’ll make me feel better,
knowing they’re here with you.” His fingers played with a strand of my hair. “I
trust them with my life. They’re my family.”

“It’ll be fun,” Arianna said with enthusiasm. “I
have a lot of plans for us. We can have slumber parties and you can tell me all
about these silly human customs about dating and weddings.”  I scrutinized her
face to see if she was teasing me, but she genuinely looked stoked about
spending time with me.

“And I’ll protect you from Arianna,” Gaios added and
ducked as Arianna tried to punch him.  “I’ll even tell you all of Chai’s deep
darkest secrets.” I laughed as Chai jumped from his chair and the two of them
mock wrestled like two teenage boys. People were giving us strange looks, but
it didn’t bother the three aliens in the room. When the time came for Chai to
leave, he pulled me in his arms and whispered in my ear:  “You’re my
prijatelj
. And when I get back I’ll tell you exactly what it
means.”

      Arianna wasn’t joking
when she said she had a lot of plans for us. She reminded me of these gumballs
my mother used to buy for me when I was little. They were hard on the outside
and if you sucked them long enough you reached the soft chewy center. Arianna
was all tough on the outside, but inside she was like any other girl. She wanted
to talk about boys and clothes and all the other normal teenage girl stuff. It
was fun to be a normal teenage girl for once. We did have a slumber party and
although I explained that traditionally only girls were allowed to attend,
Gaios joined us. He brought real Epsilon snacks and he was more than welcome
after I tasted the
zemiačiky
.
It tasted like potato chips and I was in heaven. Only one thing was missing –
my best friend.

I found Emily in her room. She was wearing another
ridiculously skimpy outfit. Her short brown curls bounced as she opened the
door, the smile disappearing from her face.

“Hi.” I wiped the palms of my hands on my jeans. 

“What do you want?” She stood with her hands on her
hips, her eyes narrowed into thin slits.

“We’re having a slumber party. Sort of. Gaios is
there too. He doesn’t understand it’s for girls only.” I was rambling. “Why
don’t you come?”

“No thanks.” Emily laughed bitterly. 

“Please Ems. You can’t stay mad at me forever. I
said I’m sorry. I never meant for this to happen.”

“If it weren’t for you…always meddling…I’ll be in
the city now.” She pressed her lips into a thin line. “I’ll never forgive you.
I had a life. A life! Now I’ve got nothing. Go back to your party.” She pressed
the button on the console next to the door and it slid shut.

     
I
missed Chai
with a ferociousness that I didn’t thought was
possible and I repeatedly caught myself thinking of him. I missed the way his
eyes lit up like the sun when he smiled, the careless way his hair fell over
his face, the way his body moved when he walked. Hell, I missed everything
about him.

Arianna and Gaios took turns in spending time with
me in between the other tasks they had.  Arianna was a lot of fun to be with
and made me laugh, but it was Gaios that surprised me. He was more serious, but
it was his vast knowledge of books and poetry that amazed me. He was very
interested in earth – the way earth was before the terraforming. He constantly bombarded
me with questions. He never got bored of hearing me speak of how things were
before the invasion. 

I enjoyed watching them train the rebels. Arianna
was determined to get them combat ready before the galactic fleet arrives and
was a fierce teacher, training them in all the intricate details of hand-to-hand
combat. Gaios enjoyed the sparring sessions, but his true forte was explosives.
I swear he could build a bomb using only chewing gum. 

People still stared at me and I heard whispers
behind my back more than once. Most of them still felt uncomfortable having me
around. I couldn’t believe I thought the rebels were dangerous, now I knew they
were ordinary men and women trying to survive the circumstances they were given.
None of the vicious rumors I heard in Palasium were true.  

The only person on the ship that truly upset me,
were Emily. She would say something nasty as soon as I was near and more than
once she shoved me with an elbow as I walked past her. It was clear she wasn’t
going to forgive me anytime soon. She hated me. She had reason to, the fact was
that it was my fault she was plucked from Palasium and ended up here. I hoped
that with time we could get past this. I missed my friend.

I decided to explore the rebel base; it wasn’t every
day that your new home was on board an alien spaceship. The ship was divided in
five decks, one on top of the other. Cylindrical elevators, dispersed among the
corridors, stopped at each deck.   

Deck A was the heart of the ship. It was more
commonly called the flight deck. The enormous windows covering nearly two
thirds of the deck had a view of the uneven rock walls of the humongous cave
the ship was nestled in. It also had the only exit from the ship leading into
the caves of the mountain. All the controls for flying the ship were on this
deck.  A very friendly four-armed alien, Zalzi, gave me a tour and tried to
demonstrate how the myriad of controls worked, explaining that at top speed the
ship could travel  a couple of light-years in mere hours. I didn’t understand
everything he was saying, most of the technical information was lost on my
human mind. I would rather leave the flying of the ship in the hands of the
experts.

Deck B was off limits and armed aliens quickly
escorted me back to the lift, but not before I saw the computers and screens
used to survey the outside world. They were keeping a close eye on the cities
and the Vandelrizi. The aliens on this deck were not so friendly, although
painstakingly polite. A couple of them seemed almost human, they must be
Epsilon, but I noticed a few that reminded me of the abominable snowman.

Deck C was where the weapons were kept under lock
and key and Gaios promised to show me around later.

The living quarters, mess hall and infirmary were on
deck D.  The humans were given rooms separate from the aliens on the other side
of the deck.  Most of them preferred living among their own kind. I was the
exception. I didn’t want to know who Arianna had to bribe or threaten, but she
managed to get me a room wedged between her room and Chai’s. 

The whole of deck E consisted of the engines of the
ship. Arianna showed me around, but I was more interested in the alien mechanical
crew working down there. Physically they looked human, except that they were
the size of elementary school children. Arianna explained that due to their
size the, Brakalorn, were ideal for the job as they could easily crawl into the
smallest of spaces. 

Most of the alien crew of the ship didn’t care who
or what my father was unlike the humans.  They treated me the same as anyone
else and for once I felt like I belonged.

 I tried to find Erich, but Arianna told me he went
back Palasium. He was their eyes and ears in the city and Robert didn’t suspect
a thing after he explained how he miraculously survived the attack on the
convoy I was in. I hoped I would see him again soon and get the chance to thank
him for what he had done for me. I liked the boy with the unruly curls. 

      
It
was on the second
day on the ship that Bill summoned me
to his office. I felt apprehensive as I stood before the metal door with his
name in black lettering on the door – Major Bill Stanton. I hadn’t seen him
since I left the infirmary two days ago and was nervous why he wanted to see
me. I hoped he hadn’t changed his mind about having me here. I didn’t have
anywhere else to go. I could never return to Palasium.

Bill sat behind a practical white desk, made of the
same shiny material as the walls. A battered rusty cabinet against the wall
seemed out of place in the white sterility of the room. Papers were scattered
across the desk and he shoved a pile of manila folders to the side as I
entered. A framed picture of him and Erich caught my eye. They both were
smiling broadly at the camera, arms draped around each other’s shoulders.

Being here reminded me of all the times I had to go
and see Robert. It usually entailed that I did something wrong and had to be
punished. Bill smiled and leant back in his chair when he saw me standing in
the door. Again I had the feeling that I’ve seen him somewhere before. I racked
my brain, but I couldn’t remember where or when we’ve met before.

“Have a seat, Lexie.” I didn’t want to sit, but it
would be rude to keep standing and I hesitantly took a seat as far away from
him as possible. The seat of the chair was covered in a white foamy substance
and it buzzed underneath me, the foam molding to the contours of my body. I
widened my eyes; it was very comfortable and creepy at the same time.

“How are you?” Bill asked and interlaced his tanned fingers
on his desk. His lively blue eyes watched me keenly.

“I’m fine,” I answered and wondered how many times
I’ve repeated the same words in the past couple of days. Everybody assumed that
I was going to fall apart at any moment after what happened to me.

“How’re you fitting in?”

“Gaios and Arianna are going out of their way to
help me. Others…I think a lot of people feel uncomfortable having me here,” I
answered and hoped he wouldn’t be offended by my honest answer.

“It’s understandable. They know who you are. They
need time to adjust and see that you’re not a threat to us.” His face was grim.
“But I’ll not let anyone on this base treat you badly. This is your home now.” I
was surprised at his words. He really seemed to care about how I was fitting
in, someone he barely knows.

“Why’re you nice to me?” I blurted out impulsively. “I’m
the daughter of Minister Robert Miller and he’s a tyrant and a monster. He’s
done terrible things and everyone knows how he treats the slaves in Palasium. Why
do you care what happens to me?”

Bill gave a faint smile as he watched me. His eyes
were sad. “You even sound like her,” he said and cleared his throat as if to
rid himself of the sudden emotion he felt.

I was confused. Who did I remind him off?  Then the
fog cleared. 

“I know you!” I exclaimed. “I mean I’ve seen you
before. I’ve seen you with my mother. In Palasium.”

I didn’t know why I hadn’t recognized him before –
it was years ago and I was very young, but I could still remember it clearly. I
had seen him several times in Palasium talking to my mother. She always smiled
and laughed when he was near and it was the few times I had seen her so carefree
and happy.

“Yes, we were friends.” For a moment he seemed lost
in his own thoughts. “Your mother was a remarkable woman. I’m sorry you had to
lose her at such an early age.” The familiar ache welled in my chest. 

“She was with you after she left?” I pulled at a
loose thread on my sweatshirt with trembling fingers. Maybe he knew where my
mother was all those months after she left.

“Yes. We found the caves in the mountain. A lot of
people left with us and we tried to create a safe haven for all the humans
fleeing from the Vandelrizi.”

“I never could understand why she left me with him,”
I said softly. I had never admitted to anyone the resentment I felt in my heart
towards her. I loved her so much, but I struggled to forgive her for leaving
me. For not taking me with her.

“She thought it would be the best thing to do at the
time. We didn’t know where we were going and if it was safe. She thought you
would be safe in Palasium. The plan was always to fetch you later.” 

“But I wasn’t safe.” My voice was barely a whisper. If
I thought of all the times that Robert hurt me, not only physically, but all
the times he told me how worthless I was, how much he despised being in the
same room as me…anything would’ve been better than being left with him.

“She didn’t know. She never thought he would hurt a
child.” Bill stood and walked around the table. “I want to show you something.”

I followed him through the corridors taking the
elevator to Deck A. We exited the ship and I was astonished by the sheer size
of the cave the ship was hidden in. Above us the roof of the cave opened up,
showing the clear blue sky. I had no idea how they managed to lower the ship
into the cave without destroying half the mountain. Bill headed towards a dimly
lit tunnel. He gave me no explanation as to where we were going or what he
wanted to show me. The tunnel ended a smaller cavern. The air was dank and I
heard a faint trickling of water. I scanned the uneven rock walls. They were
covered with hundreds of pieces of paper, drawings and photos.

“What’s this place?” I asked astounded. 

“This is where we remember everyone we lost - our
family, friends, neighbors. We don’t have graves where we can go to mourn, so
we created this place. We must never forget what we are fighting for.” 

He walked to the farthest wall and stood very still,
his back as straight as a rod as he stared at a photo of a woman – my mother.
She smiled and her eyes laughed at the camera. She looked younger and more relaxed
than the last time I saw her. Pain sliced my heart in two.

“Every day for the past five years I come here and
light a candle for her.” 

He removed a burnt out candle from a holder mounted
on the wall below her photo and replaced it with the new one and lit it with a
lighter from his pocket. The little flame flickered and cast shadows on her face.
Bill’s face was etched with grief as he watched her picture and I knew in that
instant that he cared more for her than just a friend. The kind of pain I saw
in his face was the kind you felt when you lost the love of your life…or your
mother. I knew that kind of pain well. I lived with it every day of my life. He
loved her. I reached for his hand and held it, uniting us in our pain and loss.
Bill didn’t pull away but held on to my hand. 

“Every single day she regretted not bringing you
with us. That’s why she went back. She left one night without telling me. I
don’t know why.”  He swallowed hard. “I would never have let her go alone. If I
had gone with her…she may be still alive.” We all had our own demons we carried
with us and my mother was his. “I was so angry with her…for a long time…”