ERADICATE THE HUMAN RACE

He couldn't hurt her if he wanted to; this fact hammered him. His job was to eradicate the human race and if this wisp of a child was throwing a wrench in his destiny, then he had a problem with her. He had to try and get rid of her. He would let someone else do it, but that would be the coward’s way out, he was not a coward!

If he couldn't hurt this girl, did that mean he suddenly cared for her? Impossible! Unthinkable! He glanced at her again, playful, full of life, unconcerned with what lurked outside her window and what it meant for her. Her oblivion was sweet, her youth vibrated from every pore of her being. He knew the light he saw around her. He'd seen others with it too, but he had spared none of them out of fascination or pity. Only her.

He scrunched a little closer to the window, wanting to see the color of her eyes. Oh, he did want her! What was he going to do? He was setting sail on a voyage where he was not steering the ship. He was headed into uncharted seas, hiding away in the bowels of the ship, shaking like a deckhand. He had no alliances or friends to share this information with; only Lilly, and only as a last resort.

He felt like a disgrace, an embarrassment to his tribe. Embarrassed or not, he watched the girl get under the covers and turn out the light. He watched her in the dark, no lights needed to see her glow warming the bed. Ridiculous as it may seem, he stayed a few hours longer, listening to her breathing change with each turn; her gown adjusting its ruffles after each twist of the fabric. He felt he was being tortured, like standing in a huge room full of humans. His mouth watered. Would be made to suffer and devour with his eyes what he could not touch with his hands?