Extinction (2 page)

“I need something that’s in the truck.” I didn’t
know why I was explaining myself to him. He was the hostage and I was the
hostage taker. Was that even a proper word? My mind was in a jumble around him.
I slid the rope around his ankles.

“What will your father say if he knows you’re
stealing from him, Alexis?” I gasped and my eyes snapped to his. He knew my
name, which meant he knew who I was this whole time. He knew my father was the
Prime Minister of Palasium.

“Technically you can’t steal stolen goods.” My voice
cracked. I had to keep it together; I was still the one in control. “You
recognized me?” There was no use in denying who I was.

“You’re Alexis Miller, the beautiful daughter of a
traitor,” he answered and my heart did a little flip. He thought I was
beautiful? It didn’t matter that he called Robert a traitor. He was one and a
lot of things a whole lot worse that no words could describe.

“Okay, so you know who I am. What’s your name?” 

“Chai, milady.” A smile tucked at my lips. He was
doing his best to be charming. He leant forward and inspected the knot I was
making.

“You’re doing it all wrong.” I rolled my eyes. I was
proud of the sturdy knot I made.

“You’re going to give me a lesson in tying knots
now?” I scrutinized my handiwork and felt satisfied that he wasn’t escaping any
time soon.

“I can give you lessons in many things.  In fact, I’ll
enjoy giving you a few lessons, Alexis.” His voice turned soft and seductive and
my eyes widened. He was definitely flirting with me. Two could play this game.

“I’m sure you will and maybe I can teach you a few
things as well. And only my father calls me Alexis. My name’s Lexie.” I gave
him my best kittenish smile and tucked at the tight knot. I didn’t need any
lessons, especially from him. He threw his head back and laughed.

“Why don’t you untie me?” His eyes caressed my face.
“We can start the lesson right now.”

“We’ll have to do it some other time.” My hand moved
of its own accord and for a second I let myself have the luxury of touching the
waves of his hair.  I snatched my hand back.

 I was so going to hell. I stood, grabbed my
backpack and stretched my cramped legs, before heading for the truck. I wished
I didn’t need to leave him there, knowing that after I found what I came for I
would never see him again. I might just as well admit it. I liked him. 

      I lifted the canvas
covering the back and scanned the stacked rows of boxes. It had to be here, I
saw it listed on the requisition form sent to Cyrius yesterday. I shoved boxes impatiently
out of the way until I finally saw a smaller one hidden underneath a heap of blankets.

 I tore the tape on top that sealed the box and
opened it, relief flooding me. There was a lot more than I anticipated inside;
it would be enough for at least a couple of weeks. I grabbed the vials of
antibiotics, little plastic bags with painkillers and bottles of medicine with
names I couldn’t even pronounce. I felt like leaping up and down and doing a
little dance. This whole day and facing a very dangerous, but extremely sexy rebel
fighter was definitely worth the treasure I now had in my possession. I emptied
the box into my backpack and turned around. I gasped as I bumped into a
rock-hard chest.

“How did you…” I glanced at the tree and the frayed pieces
of rope lying on the ground.

“You should’ve listened. You were doing it all
wrong,” Chai said and I shuddered at the steely glint in his eyes. Mr. Nice Guy
was gone. His face was carved from marble. I took a step back, my spine
pressing against the cold metal of the truck.

He pried the backpack from my clasped fingers and I
made a strangled sound in the back of my throat. Where did I put the gun…my
hands instinctively searched my pockets.

“Looking for this?” He dangled the gun in front of
my face and panic filled me to the core. I left it at the tree. How could I be
so stupid? He dropped the gun on the roof of the truck with a loud thump, well
beyond my reach and zipped open my backpack. 

“Let’s see what you took.” He took out a couple of vials
and twirled them between his fingers. “Why did you take the medicine?” He
frowned at me, as if I was a gigantic puzzle he was trying to solve.

“It’s none of your business.” My voice was strangled
with emotion.

I was terrified. I saw what he did to the soldiers
in the desert. There was no doubt in my mind he was going to kill me with one
of his sharp knives and leave my body to rot in the jungle. Nobody knew where I
was. Nobody would find me. Only my bones would be left after the wild animals
were done feeding on my body. My eyes darted to the right. I could make a run
for it. His legs were longer than mine, but I was fast, I was sure I could
outrun him.

“Don’t even think of it,” he said menacingly as if
he could read my mind.  He let the backpack drop to the ground and rested the
palms of his hands on the side of the truck, trapping my face between them. I
was caged in, there was no escape.

“Are you selling the medicine?”

“Selling? No! I need them!” I was mortified. I would
never sell something so valuable. Tears of frustration welled in my eyes. A
couple of minutes ago I wondered how it felt to kiss him and now I’d give
anything to escape him. I actually thought I liked him. I thought he was
flirting with me, it was obviously all an act.

“Why do you need the medicine, Lexie?” His voice was
low and intimidating. He may be as handsome as hell, but he was more terrifying
than any wild creature in this jungle.

“I’m not telling you anything! You’re going to kill
me, no matter what I say. I saw what you did to the soldiers in the desert. You’re
a murderer!” I blurted out.

 His jaw tensed and he narrowed his eyes. Fury
rolled off him. He slammed his fist down on the roof of the truck with such
force that I could hear the metal bending and ripping. I yelped in fright. Instinct
took over and I slid to ground and covered my head with my arms. Years of
experience taught me a valuable lesson in protecting my face. I had been on the
receiving end of this kind of rage for many years.

I waited in anguished anticipation, but nothing
happened. He didn’t touch me. I peeked through my eyelashes. Chai stood frozen.
He stared at me cowering on the ground, his face contorted in shock. He slowly
took a step back as if he was scared of frightening me. 

“I’m not going to hurt you, Lexie,” he said gently
and I hesitantly lowered my arms. I couldn’t get up. My legs felt weak and I
didn’t trust them to carry my weight if I stood. He lowered himself on the
ground across from me, his hands resting on his knee caps.

“I didn’t kill the soldiers in the desert. They’re
still alive. We’re not murderers. We don’t kill if we don’t have to.”  He ran a
hand through his tousled hair. “By now they’re heading back to the city. But
I’ve had to kill people and I will again if necessary. We’re fighting a war
against the Vandelrizi and those that stand with them.”  His honesty surprised
me, but he was wrong. The war against the Vandelrizi was lost seven years ago. Humanity
was near extinction.

“The war is over. The Vandelrizi won.” I whispered. I
didn’t know who I preferred – the boy taunting me or this version of him that
looked so serious. My fingers itched to touch the little frown on his forehead.

“The war’s far from over,” he said with such
conviction that I envied him. I had lost hope a long time ago. The only thing
left for us to do is survive. “Now will you please explain to me why you need
the medicine?”

“You don’t understand.” I looked at my hands,
inspecting my short cut nails. “The people in Palasium, the humans...”

“You mean the slaves.” I cringed, but he was right. They
were slaves; all the humans in the cities were slaves. You did what the
Vandelrizi told you to or you were executed, as simple as that. 

“They’re ill. Some kind of flue and the Vandelrizi won’t
give them any medicine.” I begged Robert to intervene on their behalf to the
Vandelrizi. Maybe he could convince them to help the humans that were ill, but
he wouldn’t hear of it. He never went against the wishes of the Vandelrizi and
he didn’t have an inch of compassion left in his cruel body for the slaves.

“You’re going to give them the medicine?” Chai asked,
surprise written all over his face. “Why do you care about the slaves?”

I couldn’t blame Chai for his disbelief, although it
hurt. I was the daughter of a despicable tyrant – a man that lived in the lap
of luxury, had a humungous house, more than enough to eat and access to the
best medical care, while the rest of the humans in Palasium, with the exception
of the Guard, suffered on a daily basis. Why would I care? I didn’t know how to
explain it to him and I thought long and hard before I answered him.

“My mother once told me that you shouldn’t waist
time trying to change what you can’t, but you had to try to change the things
you can.” 

“She sounds like a wise woman.”

“She was.” I didn’t want to think about her right
now or the ache in my heart for her. I needed to stay focused on the danger in
front of me. I couldn’t let myself trust him.

Chai rose and strode to the foliage, retrieving his
knives from between the bulky leaves. That was my cue; I wasn’t going to wait
for him to use the knives on me. I scrambled to my feet and sprinted as fast as
my feeble legs could move towards the darkness of the jungle next to road. I
didn’t know where I was going, but anywhere was better than here with him,
waiting for the angel of death to come and fetch me. I could try to hide from
him in the dense undergrowth. 

A pair of arms circled me from behind and my back slammed
into his solid chest. I didn’t know how he got to me this fast. Adrenaline
pumped through my veins. I kicked backward and thrashed wildly with my arms. I
wasn’t going down without a fight. It was useless, the more I struggled the
tighter he held me against him. I writhed and twisted until I was too weak to
move, hanging limply in his arms. He loosened his grip and spun me around.

“Stop struggling!”  

 I wasn’t done yet and swung my fist towards his
jaw. Chai easily blocked my arm and I lost my footing and stumbled backward. My
back hit the ground and I winced. He was on top of me in seconds, straddling me
and pinning my arms to my sides.

“Stop struggling, you’re going to hurt yourself.” Tears
streamed down my cheeks and he frowned. 

“Get it over with!  Kill me!” I clenched my teeth. It
was no use fighting him anymore. He was faster and stronger than me. The sooner
it was over, the better.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said quietly. I
didn’t know if I should believe him. There was no reason for him to let me
live.

“You’re letting the daughter of the Prime Minister
live?” It didn’t make any sense. He reached for my face and gently wiped away a
tear from my cheek with his thumb.

“I can think of a lot more pleasant things to do with
you.” He gave me a lopsided smile. “But unfortunately we’ll have to do it some
other time.” He echoed my words from earlier and I exhaled slowly, my tensed body
relaxing under his weight.

“That’s better.” He leaned forward and pressed his
lips on my forehead. I was stunned. He stood and I stared at him, jaw open. Did
he just kiss me? He held out his hand and I took it warily. 

He pulled me to my feet and I nervously rubbed my
hands over my clothes. I must look like a mess. Strands of hair escaped from my
ponytail and I was covered in dirt. My eyes were probably red and puffy from
crying.

“It’ll be dark soon and the jungle at night is no place
for a little girl. You must go back to the city.” He walked to the truck,
scooping my backpack from the ground and handed it to me. He reached for my gun
on the roof of the truck and held it toward me. I hesitantly took it, the metal
cool in my hand. 

“Never point a gun at me again if you don’t intend
to use it. Lesson 1 – never take your finger off the trigger,” Chai said. 

 “Oh.” He knew I took my finger of the trigger. I
must be the worse armed robber in the history of the world.

“You’re letting me go?” I asked. He wasn’t going to
kill me and now he was letting me go. I was wrong about the rebels. They weren’t
ruthless or murderers. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his warm eyes
resting on my face. Again I felt an incomprehensible connection to him. 

“Don’t look so disappointed. I’ll be seeing you
soon, little one.” He grinned wickedly. I flushed and reluctantly stepped onto
the road, heading in the direction of the city.

He was right; I didn’t want to be in the jungle
after sunset. Palasium wasn’t very far from the jungle and I could reach it
before dark. I didn’t understand why he was letting me go. He could have killed
me or used me as ransom. I could just as well admit it – I didn’t want to go
back. A very big part of me wanted to stay with him. I should’ve been thankful
that he didn’t hurt me or worse. He even let me keep the medicine. But deep
inside me, I knew the prospect of returning to Palasium and to my father,
sapped the life from me. I turned. Chai still stood where I left him, watching
me. I wanted to run back to him.