The Day They Came (WATTY AWARDS 2016)

Chapter 29

He watched as she awoke. He sincerely hoped that he hadn't harmed her any further than making her faint.

She sat up slowly, as if she were dizzy.

"Are you alright, Miss?" Xilnos watched her. He stood up when he thought she needed help. However, she nodded, but took his hand for the support.

"Just...a little, uh, light headed." She seemed disoriented. "For the record...if you let me stay in that tank for too long earlier, I could have serious brain damage. My name's Claire, by the way."

"I know. I worked with Mr. Sinclair before he passed." He helped her stand up. "He talked of you often, Claire. Xyzle does as well; he's quite taken by you, to borrow a phrase of yours." He gave her a steadying hand on the shoulder.

"Could you remind me of your name? The Mykalean names are...difficult for me to remember." She laughed a little. "I didn't pronounce Xyzle's full name right for two months. It took me three days to pronounce his nickname right."

"Of course. Xilnos." He smiled a little. "You are aboard my ship – now a mothership for the human beings and fellow Mykaleans. I surrendered willingly; others have not." She loosened her grip on his arm, but not by much, as he spoke.

"How long did you leave me in that thing earlier? After I passed out?"

"I took you out as soon as I believed you to be unconscious – about a minute after your eyes shut." He answered as honestly as he could. "I figured if I waited too long, I would harm you. After Xyzle entrusted your safety to me, I knew I couldn't leave you there for long."

"Thank you." She smiled a little. "I hope you find peace when this entire thing is over. Whether it be on Earth or on Mykalea." Now, he could see why Xyzle was falling hard for her. She had this kind demeanor to her, as if she wanted to embrace the Mykalean life.

"Do you want something to eat? To drink, perhaps?" He motioned to the fridge in the room. "You're welcome to anything in the fridge."

"Thank you." She smiled as she thanked him again. With a little help, she was able to walk to the fridge.

Xilnos watched as she pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge. He had stockpiled water bottles and protein shakes, unsure of what she would truly want to have.

She returned to the bed shortly after taking a long gulp of the cold water. A shiver traveled down her back, but the smile on her face told him that it was not a shiver of fear. It was probably from the water.

A comfortable, but slightly awkward, silence set in between them as she closed her eyes. He watched her carefully, occasionally switching his attention to the window behind her. As long as Nexivox didn't suspect him of treachery, there was no reason for him to suspect that Claire was on his ship.

"Where is Xyzle, anyway?" Her sudden question came after about ten minutes of sitting in silence.

"He is still on the battlefield. By the looks of it, more and more Mykaleans are surrendering. However...it will be a long and bloody day for both species." He did not like to admit it, but there was no way they would have a happy ending if this continued.

"Maybe...maybe I can talk to Nexivox. I could see that I was persuading him earlier...before he shot me..." She slowly sat up, lightly cradling where she had been shot. He wondered why, but did not ask.

"He is a difficult man to convince. Why do you think Xyzle is so stubborn? Nexivox is the same way. It was Christine who had made him wish not to destroy the Earth; her death made him bitter." As he spoke, he walked towards the window. "If Nexivox has his way, the human race will not exist when he's done."

"That's even more of a reason to try and reason with him. I will not reveal that you saved me, Xilnos." She stood up, and put a hand on his back. He was a good foot taller than her, at least. Therefore, she couldn't reach his shoulder.

"Xyzle specifically instructed me to keep you here." He couldn't keep her from knowing the truth. "He's afraid that if you try to talk to his father, you will end up with worse wounds than what you were given the last time."

She frowned.

"That's a stupid reason to keep me locked up while he continues to fight. I'm sure he's gotten wounded too." She started to walk to the door.

Xilnos could not stop her. She shared Xyzle's stubbornness.

Shortly after she left the ship, he noticed another female. She was wounded – a piece of something metallic stuck in her thigh. Due to this injury, she limped slowly across the outskirts of the battle.

This particular female was human. However, there was a certain beauty to how she handled herself. She did not look at her wound, as if she did not know it was there. Instead, she focused on what was ahead of her.

Then her gaze met his.

His heart began to pound – a feeling that was new and unknown to him. How could a human feel this way and not worry?

A spark of what he could only imagine was fear passed through her eyes. She attempted to move off her directed course, but was hit in the head as another Mykalean lifted his sword to kill another human.

Xilnos watched helplessly as she fell to the ground, her eyes closed and chest moving slowly.

He hurried out of the ship, and found his way to her. The poor woman would bleed out if he didn't get her to safety and help her.

Carefully, he picked her up. He took great care to make sure he stabilized the piece of shrapnel in her leg as he walked back to his ship. Due to being Mykalean, he was ignored as he walked back to his ship. The others must have believed he was taking her prisoner.

He boarded his ship once again, and set her down in a room just inside the hallway. She moaned softly, as if he had hurt her.

Despite that moan, he worked quickly to stop her leg from bleeding. He carefully removed the shrapnel. Afterwards, he wrapped the wound in plenty of gauze and applied pressure.

She woke up as he did so.

"Wh...Where am I?" She sounded more frightened than he would've thought. Then, he remembered that Claire's reaction to being on a Mykalean ship the first time had been, more or less, the same.

"You're on my ship." He spoke calmly as he pressed. "My name is Xilnos. I'm friends with Xyzlendisquin, and Miss Davidson."

There was silence as he got the wound to stop bleeding.

"Y-You know Claire?" She broke the silence with her silky voice.

"Yes. I was supposed to keep her safe, but she is a stubborn woman." He laughed a little. "I see why Xyzle has fallen in love with her."

"She's my best friend. Where is she?" She asked about her friend's whereabouts now. He was unsure of how to tell her, but found the words.

"She has gone to reason with our leader, Nexivox." He managed to state it in a clear fashion. "I hope she does not get hurt."

"You and me both..." The woman managed to sit up."My name is Anna, by the way."IL�QoW�c