Challenging Saber

Chapter 2-2

Shewta, she’s fast, and slippery, and…, he thought as he wiped the white gooey food matter from his face, creative when it comes to escaping.

“I am so looking forward to wrapping my hands around her little neck,” he muttered under his breath as several warriors chuckled from where they were sitting and watching from the safety of a corner table. “Taylor, get down from there right now!” he ordered, looking at the top of the cabinets attached to the far wall.

“Why don’t you try to make me, you… you moron!” she snapped. “I’ve got a bowl of…,” she glanced at the orange mixture with a frown. “Orange goop and I’m not afraid to use it.”

Saber flicked a piece of green food particle off his left shoulder as he stomped toward the metal cabinets. Right now, he was wearing just about every other color of food matter the cafeteria served. Why not add the last? He was going to need to visit a cleaning unit as it was.

“I won’t hurt you,” Saber promised, watching warily as the cabinet under her shook. “Taylor, that cabinet is not secured to the wall properly. Be careful.”

“You’re just…,” Taylor started to say when the cabinet shifted under her. Her eyes widened in alarm when it began to tilt. “Catch me!” she cried out before slinging the bowl in her hand to the side and jumping.

The sound of the warriors shouting a warning was drowned by the loud crash of the cabinet as it fell. Saber ignored everything but the small figure flying through the air. His arms opened and he caught Taylor.

The force of the impact sent him backwards. On the second step, his left foot hit one of the items that Taylor had thrown at him. The combination caused him to lose his balance and he fell.

His arms instinctively wrapped around Taylor to protect her as his back hit the hard, tiled surface. He was surprised when he felt her hands wrap protectively around his head to cushion the back of it. It took a moment for him to draw in a deep enough breath to speak. He opened his mouth to give Taylor a piece of his mind, but he snapped it shut when he locked gazes with the bright eyes staring down at him in worry.

“Are you okay? I didn’t mean for that to happen,” she said in a breathless voice. “I… Thank you for catching me.”

Saber’s expression softened. The feel of her in his arms reminded him of just how small and fragile she was. He glanced over her shoulder and scowled at the grinning faces of the other warriors who had come to make sure that Taylor was unharmed.

“Is she alright, Saber?” Arrow asked with a grin.

“Yes,” Saber grunted with a wince when Taylor pushed up on his chest and accidentally kneed him in the groin. “Careful, little one. I’d like to keep those intact.”

“Oh, sorry,” Taylor muttered, turning a little red as she climbed to her feet and stared down at him with a wiggle of her nose. “Boy, I didn’t miss you much, did I?”

Saber grimaced when the other warriors chuckled. “No, you didn’t.”

“I was a kick-ass softball player before….” Her voice died and she looked around at the group of warriors towering over her before she turned her head to look back down at Saber. “I want to see my sisters,” she said, wrapping her arms protectively around her waist.

The other warriors registered the change in Taylor from bubbly pain-in-the-ass to a somber young girl at the same time as he did. Saber rose to his feet, wiping a hand down over his side before he tentatively reached out and drew her into his arms. With a fierce glance at the other warriors, he jerked his head for them to leave them alone.

“It will be alright, Taylor,” Saber murmured, holding her stiff body against his. “We will not harm you or your sisters.”

Her arms slowly unfolded and she slid them around his waist, resting her cheek against his chest. That protective possessive feeling he felt the first time he saw Taylor swept through him.

“How can we be sure?” Her muffled voice asked. “Everyone else… I wish my dad were here.”

Saber frowned at her fractured words. He wondered where the male was. Taylor and her two older sisters appeared to be alone, but what if they had protectors? He didn’t know if Hunter or Dagger knew the answer to that question.

“Where is he? If you tell me, I will do everything I can to reunite you with your protector,” he promised in a husky voice.

“You can’t,” she replied with a sniff. “He’s… he’s… dead. It’s just Jesse, Jordan, and me now.”

A shudder ran through Taylor, and Saber frowned when he felt her ribs through her threadbare shirt. She was too thin. The knowledge that his people and the Alliance were partially to blame for that fact did not sit well with him.

His species, the Trivators, had come to Earth four years ago. Their mission was to initiate first contact and prepare the Earth for inclusion into the Alliance, a vast coalition of planets that encompassed a large number of star systems.

They had encountered resistance before, but never like this. Mass chaos had reigned around the planet. While the humans were all the same species, their beliefs and lifestyles went from one extreme to the other. Tribal groups, fanatics, those greedy for power and wealth, and those that refused to accept they were not the only ones in the universe fought against not only the Trivator forces, they fought each other too, until their civilizations crumbled.

Bending, he scooped her up in his arms. He glanced at where Sword, Edge, and Thunder were watching in silence. All three men had a tense look of regret on their faces. He bowed his head in acknowledgement. They couldn’t change what had been done, but he could change what happened to Taylor. She would not only have Hunter to protect her, but Saber and Dagger, as well.

“You are not alone any longer, little one,” Saber whispered as he carried her out of the cafeteria. “I will watch over you.”

Neither one of them spoke as Saber turned left at the end of the hallway. They had been negligent about Taylor’s welfare. He felt another shaft of guilt pierce him. Taylor’s two sisters, Jesse and Jordan, had been critically ill while Taylor had been a fireball of rebellion. She had fought like a warrior trying to protect her sisters. Because of her resistance, it never dawned on Saber that Taylor might need medical attention as well. The medic had checked her over and said she needed food, but otherwise appeared healthy.

“Where are you taking me?” Taylor asked, not moving her head which was nestled just under his chin.

“To the medical unit,” he replied in a gruff voice. “I should have insisted that the healer check you over.”

“Is that where Jesse and Jordan are?” she asked, tilting her head back to look at him. “You have dried mashed potatoes in your hair.”

A startled chuckle escaped Saber. “I think I have more than that. You hit me more than you missed. You have a very good aim for a female. You are also very….” He stopped as he tried to think of the right word to describe her quickness.

“I’m very what?” Taylor asked with a puzzled frown.

Saber glanced down at her as he paused outside of a dark green door. “Fast. You are very fast, but the way you could jump and flip… I’m not sure the correct human word to use,” he said in frustration.

“I’m very limber,” she replied with a small smile. “I was in gymnastics. I was really, really good at it. Dad…,” her voice choked for a moment and her eyes glittered with tears. “Dad said I needed it because I was born with too much energy for anyone to keep up with.”

“I’m sorry about your father, Taylor,” Saber murmured, reaching down to open the door.

Taylor shook her head and snuggled up against him again. “It wasn’t your fault,” she whispered. “He was killed the first day by a human. We’ve been running ever since. I’m tired of running. So are Jesse and Jordan.”

“You’ll never have to run again if I have anything to do with it,” Saber said grimly, glancing as one of the medics came forward. “I want a healer to check her.”

The medic looked at the grim expression on Saber’s face and gave him a sharp nod. “Follow me,” he said.