Extinction (20 page)

      My head pounded
.
I touched my forehead. It felt as if I was on fire. I trudged to the mirror and
examined my face. Two bright spots of red were on my cheeks. My pupils were
dilated and my eyes shone too brightly in my flushed face. I was definitely running
a fever.

I managed to get dressed, though every move I made
sent daggers of pain through my body. Something was seriously wrong with me. I
wished Chai was here, but he left with the patrol early this morning.

Sylvain would know what to do. I shook so much; I
could barely push the button to open the door of my room. The corridor swayed
and tilted and I pressed my hands against the wall to stay upright. I hadn’t
far to go to reach the infirmary and I willed myself to move forward. The floor
seemed to give way under me and I grabbed at the wall, but my hands only
touched empty air. I slumped to the floor in a groan.

“Lexie, what’s wrong?” Gaios scooped me from the
floor in one move, scanning my face.

“I’m…flue…hot,” I mumbled incoherently. The words in
my mind were incapable of reaching my mouth. He rushed me to the infirmary and
deposited me on the nearest bed. Sylvain was next to me in seconds, her hands
moving across my hot face.

“She’s got a fever. I need to run some tests…” I
slapped her hand away. I didn’t need any tests. I needed Chai. I would feel
better if he was here. I tumbled from the bed. Immediately the floor dipped and
I couldn’t stop myself from falling into the dark hole below.

      The darkness
was everywhere. I couldn’t escape it. But the dark wasn’t the worse. There was
pain. Stabbing and prodding and slicing pain. Everywhere. I was on fire. Everything
burned. My whole body. Voices drifted in the darkness. They called my name, but
I couldn’t answer. I tried to yell, to cry to move. I tried to reach for the
voices, but I couldn’t. 

      The room blurred
.
I blinked. Why was I so tired? I tried to lift my hand, but it felt too heavy.
I looked down. Someone was holding my hand. Why was the bed shaking?

“I’m here,” Chai tried to reassure me, but panic
built in me. His brows furrowed. I tried to swallow. The fire was gone.
Extinguished. But something else had taken its place. Ice. A cold so
overwhelming it could slice through bone. It wasn’t the bed shaking. It was me.
I was trembling uncontrollably.

I tried to say his name, but I only croaked. I
focused on his face, tapping in on the little energy I had left.
Help me
.
Pain and frustration flashed in his eyes. He heard me.

“Do something,” he snapped at Sylvain. She stood
next to my bed with a small handheld device. She slowly shook her head.

“I don’t know what to do.” She looked helplessly at
me. “Her DNA is changing, her body adapting to the change. I can’t do anything
to stop it. It’s too late. You knew we took a big risk using our technology on
a human.”

“She’s turning blue! She’s freezing.” Chai looked
like he was about to throw something across the room and Sylvain was the
nearest.

“She’s hypothermic. We need to get her core
temperature back to normal.”

“Get her another blanket.” Bill ordered. Next to him
was Erich, balling his fists at his side. His face mirrored the helplessness he
felt. I wanted to tell them it’ll be okay, but I couldn’t. My teeth chattered so
hard when I tried to open my mouth that I nearly chipped a tooth.

“A blanket won’t help.” Sylvain tapped the device in
her hand thoughtfully against the palm of her hand. “I’ve tried everything,
from heat packs to warmed IV fluids. Her temperature keeps dropping.”

“Sylvy…” Bill’s voice sounded broken as he used his
nickname for Sylvain. She sharply bent over me.

“It’s getting worse. Her breathing is too shallow
and her blood pressure is dropping fast. Her heart won’t be able to keep it up
longer, before shutting down.”

“Chai, use the Aikai,” Gaios said. I didn’t even see
him and Arianna in the room. Chai stiffened next to me and something like hope
flashed across his face. 

 He pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it on
the chair.

“What’re you doing?” Bill asked and arched his
eyebrows.

“Trust me,” he answered and slid his pants to the
floor, leaving on only a pair of boxer shorts.  He slid his arms underneath my
body and cradled me in his arms. He lay down on the bed and held me tightly in
his arms, pressing his warm skin on my icy body.

 He pressed the palm of his hand against my cheek. I
felt the swirling smoke enter me. I felt it searching and trying to soothe my
tired cold body. It swirled and wound its way through my body, warming me
wherever it touched, expelling the iciness inside me.

“It’s working,” Sylvain said and clapped her hands
together, tears dampening her cheeks.

 I relaxed and closed my eyes, drifting away on the
waves of warmth.

      I was all alone
.
The heart monitor beeped away monotonously. I wasn’t cold and I wasn’t on
fire.  I felt normal. Exhausted but better. I pushed myself upright. I was
thirsty. There was a glass of water on the bedside table. I reached for it. It
moved across the table, picking up speed and smashed into the wall across the
room. My eyes widened and my jaw slackened. I hadn’t touched it.

I clasped a hand across my mouth, stifling the
scream building in my chest. Did I do that? I lifted my trembling hand,
pointing my fingers at the heart monitor. It quavered and then the trolley
rolled away, snapping the wires from my chest.

What was happening to me? Sylvain said my DNA was
changing, but this…I could move things with my mind. I was changing into a
freak. I threw the blanket of me. I saw movement in the corner of my eye as I
rushed from the room, but I kept going.

      The knife hit
the target dead center in the middle. I hadn’t touched the knife. I picked it
up with my mind, letting it hover in the air before I flung it across the room
to hit the target.

“It’ll be okay,” Chai said, his hands skimming my
shoulders. It was him I saw moving in the infirmary. The concern in his eyes
belied the calmness in his voice. He was just as freaked out as I was.

“What’s happening to me? I’m a freak.” 

“You’re not,” he said calmly. “My DNA fused with your
human side. It changed you. It gave you powers. You can do things now…things
you weren’t able to do before.”

“Do I…do I look different?” I was still a vain
little girl. I didn’t want to look like a freak. The Vandelrizi could move
things with their minds. What if I started to look like them?  I shuddered at
the thought of their red lizard-like eyes.

“You’re just as beautiful as always.” A smile tucked
at his lips. “And the horns suit you.”

My hands flew to my head, searching through my hair.
I found nothing. Chai grinned smugly. 

“Very funny!” 

He pulled me to his chest. “I promise it’ll be okay.
You’re not alone. We’re in this together.”

“But am I still me?” I didn’t want to change. I
didn’t want to lose myself. Not now that I had everything I ever wanted within
my reach.

“It can’t change what’s inside you.”  He rested a
hand on my collarbone. “You’re still my wood nymph. You’ve only got some
abilities now.”

I inhaled his minty scent. Maybe he was right.  I
still felt the same on the inside. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.

“Let’s get you back to the infirmary, before Sylvain
organize a search party.”

      Arianna looked
disapprovingly at the mess in my room. All the clothes I owned were strewn
across the floor. I lifted a hand and a crumpled shirt flew across the room and
disappeared into a drawer. I was practicing using my new ability.

“That’s all you can do?” She chewed her thumb nail,
seemingly unimpressed. I lifted my eyebrows at her. I thought this was pretty
awesome. “You didn’t get any super strength?

I hit her on the arm with my fist. She barely felt
it and smirked at me.

“Nope, still a puny human.” I stuck out my tongue at
her. Apparently the change my DNA underwent only influenced some telepathic
ability to develop that was already latent in my body.  According to Sylvain
future generations of humans would’ve developed this ability on their own
through decades of evolution, the Epsilon DNA infusion only served as a catalyst
in me to develop it quicker. I was a bit disappointed I didn’t get the Epsilon
strength or speed.

Arianna’s eyes narrowed and she grabbed my arm. I
winced as she painfully twisted my arm to take a better look at the delicate bracelet
around my wrist. Her eyes widened and she gasped.

“He didn’t!” 

“What?”  I didn’t understand why she was so shocked.
“Chai gave it to me as a birthday present.”

She squealed and hugged me so fiercely to her chest,
that the air was pressed from my lungs.

“Ouch! Puny human girl remember.” I pushed away from
her. She looked like she was about to explode. “It’s just a bracelet.”

“He didn’t tell you! Oh my …this is the best news
ever.” She was nearly bouncing up and down.

“Okay, spill it. What didn’t he tell me?” Arianna
shifted uncomfortably and bounced to the door, pressing the button.

“I have to go…” she stammered. I flicked my eyes to
the button and the door closed. My powers came in handy.

“You’re not going anywhere. Not until you tell me
what’s up with the bracelet.” She may be stronger than me, but I had some power
of my own now.

She sighed and flopped down on the bed.

“It’s an Iishga. On our planet, Epsilon, things are
different than on earth. We’re different from humans.” No kidding. They were
stronger and faster than us. “We don’t date.  We don’t get married.”

“You’ve said something like that before. What does
it mean? Don’t you ever fall in love?” I was confused. Chai loved me. He said
so himself. I even thought of him as my boyfriend.

“When we fall in love…its different. When you see
that person for the first time…you just know.  They’re your mate. The one you’re
destined to be with. Nothing can change that. You’re together forever. That’s
why we don’t date. We don’t need to search for our true love.”

I sat down on the bed beside her, twirling the
bracelet between my fingers.

“What does the bracelet have to do with it?”

“The Iishga is very important. It’s a symbol of your
love, telling everyone that you belong together.  It’s the start of the
Shidmina.”

“What’s the Shidmina?”

“I’ve already said too much. Chai’s going to smother
me in my sleep.” 

No matter how much I begged, Arianna refused to say
another word.

      Surprise was written
all over his face. I sat cross-legged on Chai’s bed, the bracelet lying in
front of me on the bed. 

“Hi, beautiful,” he said. His eyes darted to the
bracelet, but he didn’t ask why I let myself into his room.

“Hi.” My answer was less than enthusiastic and he
frowned, dropping his jacket on the chair.

“What’s up?” He didn’t sit down, swaying on the
balls of his feet.

“Why didn’t you tell me what the bracelet means?” Annoyance
crept into my voice and I folded my arms across my chest.

“Let me guess…Arianna?” He sighed. “That big mouth
of hers…”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I interrupted. He shifted
and wiped his hands on his pants. He was nervous. Good. I hated that he was
keeping things from me.

“I didn’t want to scare you. You’re not like us. You’re
human.”

“Oh, and humans aren’t capable of love?” He fidgeted
with his belt buckle.

“You don’t understand. The Epsilon doesn’t fall in
and out of love. We believe the cosmos brings us together. We don’t change our
minds.  Ever. We don’t cheat. We don’t get divorced. Our love is forever.”

“You thought I’ll change my mind? You think I’ll
fall in love with someone else.” I swung my legs over the side of the bed and
stood. 

“No…I want you to be sure. You’ve been through a
hell of a lot these past few weeks. I don’t want to pressure you into
anything.” There was a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead.

“And the Shidmina?” He took a step back and ran a
hand through his hair. I swear he wanted to run away.

“It’s a custom we have on our planet.”

“Explain it to me.” I wasn’t backing down. 

“The Shidmina is a mating ritual. The Iishga is the
first symbol when you find your mate. It’s the start of the Shidmina. It’s the
claiming. I claim you as mine.”

“I belong to you now?” I arched an eyebrow. Chai
cleared his throat.

“We belong to each other. Then we tell our friends
and family.”

“You have to get their permission?” This didn’t
sound so different from human customs.

“No. It doesn’t work like that. The cosmos brought
you together and no one is allowed to interfere. They can ask you to do certain
tasks to show your commitment to the union, but they can’t undo what the cosmos
decided.”

 I turned my face to the wall. I didn’t want him to
see the smile tucking at my lips. Not yet.

“What happens then?”

“When the time is right…we…” He cleared his throat
again. “We complete the union.”

“How?”

“We…the Epsilon don’t have sex until they find their
mate.” He flushed, looking at everything in the room, except me. He and Emily
never…relieve flooded me. That answers a question that bothered me for some
time now. And it explained his extra ordinary willpower.

“We have to…” I gave him a look of pure innocence. 

“Yes.” 

“And you didn’t think it was important to tell me
this?”

He took a step toward me. “Lexie, I’ll never force
you into anything. I want you to be sure it’s what you want. I’ll give you all
the time in the world, if that is what you need.”

I grabbed the bracelet and angled past him to the
door. He appeared in front of me.

“Where’re you going?” 

“I’m going to show everyone the Iishga. I love you
and nothing on earth or in any galaxy can change that. Then I’m going to find
Bill and give him some ideas what to do with you.” 

I didn’t make it to the door. Chai’s lips on mine
distracted me. I slid my arms around his neck.

“Never keep something so important from me again,” I
whispered against his lips.

He didn’t answer. His hands slid down my hips and he
pressed my back against the wall. His mouth closed over mine, claiming my
heart.