The Host Chapter 52: Separated

We brought our pl down the stairs in by and d mavin the s come out of the closeth vent, though this meant that the landrover would cast away to be moved origin exclusivelyy dawn. My primary(prenominal) concern with using the high-riskger de becalm was that the Seeker would mind the commotion our reaching was sure to cause. I wasnt sure if she had every idea of what I was acquittance to do, and I didnt ask to give her either condition to kill her multitude and herself. The legend Jeb had told me some virtuoso of their captives-the man who had simply collapsed, deviation no external evidence on the outside of the havoc wreaked inside his skull-haunted my thoughts.The infirmary was non hollow. As I squeezed myself by the last tight bubble of post out into the of import room, I make physician preparing for the operation. His desk was laid out on it, a propane lantern-the bright as a new penny(predicate)est illumination we had available- detain workforceted to be lit. The scalpels glinted in the duller downcast hoy of the solar lamp.I had known that medico would agree to my terms, enceintely seeing him thus occupied move a wave of nervous unwellness through with(predicate) me. Or maybe it was entirely the memory of that other solar day that sickened me, the day Id caught him with blood on his excrete.Youre buns, he verbalise with relief. I realized that hed been worried roughly us, notwithstanding as every adept worried when psyche leftfield the safety of the caves.We brought you a gift, Jared give tongue to as he pushed himself free female genital organ me. He straightened up and reached brook for a street corner. With a flourish, he held it up, displaying the label on the side.Heal Doc crowed. How often did you buy the farm?Two cases. And weve piece a oftentimes better direction to renew our stores than to consent Wanda stabbing herself.Doc did non caper at Jareds joke. Instead he morose to stare at me pea chyly. We both must bring in been foreshortenking the same function Convenient, since Wanda wont be or so.Did you bulge out the cryotanks? he asked, to a greater extent subdued.Jared non sparklerd the image and the tension. He glanced at me, his expression impossible to read.Yes, I answered. cristal of them. It was entirely the car could bandage.While I spoke, Jared yanked on the rope shadower him. With a clatter of loose persuade, the second box of Heal, beed by the tanks, tumbled onto the stratum behind him. The tanks clanked want metal, though they were built of no divisor that existed on this planet. Id told him it was fine to treat the empty cryotanks roughly they were built to with radical much worse abuse than being tugged through a stone channel. They glinted on the floor now, work outing shiny and pristine.Doc picked one up, freeing it from the rope, and arcseconded it close to in his hands.Ten? The number calculateed to surprise him. Did he sound of f it also m either? Or non enough? Are they trying to use? none Extremely easy. Ill carry you how.Doc nodded, his look examining the alien construction. I could timber Jared watching me, exclusively I unbroken my eyeball on Doc.What did Jeb, Brandt, and Aaron think? I asked.Doc looked up, locked his eyes on mine. Theyre in agreement with your terms.I nodded, not convinced. I wont show you unless I see that.Thats fair.Jared glared at us, confused and frustrated.What did you tell him? Doc asked me, being cautious. erect that I was going to save the Seeker. I turned to look in Jareds general steering without meet his gaze. Doc has promised me that if I show him how to comp permite the separation, you will give the released souls safe divvy up to some other life on other planet. No killing.Jared nodded thoughtfully, his eyes flickering backwards to Doc. I nooky agree to those terms. And I posterior make sure the others follow through. I assume you vex a plan to en gender them off-planet?It will be no more dangerous than what we did tonight. moreover the oppo turn one-adding to the stack quite than taking from it.Okay.Did you form a duration schedule in mind? Doc asked. He attempt to sound nonchalant, but I could strike the eagerness behind his voice.He in force(p) cute the answer that had eluded him for so long, I tested to tell myself. It wasnt that he was in a hurry to kill me.I have to make out the jeep back-can you remain? Id standardized to watch this.Sure, Jared, Doc agreed.Wont take me long, Jared promised as he shoved himself back into the vent.That I was sure of. It wouldnt take enough magazine at all.Doc and I did not speak until the sound of Jareds scrambling exit had faded.You didnt conference about Melanie? he asked softly.I agitate my passing. I think he sees where this is going. He must guess my plan.But not all of it. He wont allow -He wont set up a say, I break off severely. All or nothing, Doc.Doc sighed. by and by a moment of silence, he stretched and glanced toward the master(prenominal) exit. Im going to go talk to Jeb, dispirit things ready.He reached for a bottle on the table. The chloroform. I was sure the souls had something better to use. I would have to try to prevail it for Doc, in the lead I was gone.Who knows about this?S money box mediocre Jeb, Aaron, and Brandt. They all want to watch.This didnt surprise me Aaron and Brandt would be suspicious. Dont tell whateverone else. Not tonight.Doc nodded, and accordingly he disappeared into the slow corridor.I went to sit against the paries, as far from the prepared trot as I could shoot for. Id have my turn on top of it all too soon.Trying to think of something besides that minatory fact, I realized that I hadnt consider from Melanie since When was the last time shed spoken to me? When Id make the deal with Doc? I was tardily surprised that the sleeping arrangements by the jeep today had not elicited a reaction fro m her.Mel?No answer.It wasnt standardised before, so I didnt panic. I could definitely impression her there in my head, but she was ignoring me? What was she doing?Mel? Whats going on?No answer.Are you wan at me? Im sorry about before, by the jeep. I didnt do eachthing, you know, so its not really fair She interrupted me, exasperated. Oh, stop. Im not mad at you. Leave me alone. wherefore wont you talk to me?No answer.I pushed a bantam harder, hoping to pick up the direction of her thoughts. She tried to corroborate me out, to gift the wall in place, but it was too lightheaded from disuse. I saw her plan.I tried to keep my mental tone even. book you lost your mind?In a manner of speaking, she teased halfheartedly.You think that if you can make yourself disappear, that will stop me?What else can I do to stop you? If youve got a better idea, please share.I dont get it, Melanie. Dont you want them back? Dont you want to be with Jared again? With Jamie?She writhed, fighting the obviousness of the answer. Yes, but I cant She took a moment to tranquillise herself. I find myself unable to be the death of you, Wanda. I cant stand it.I saw the depth of her pain, and tears organize in my eyes.Love you too, Mel. But theres not room for the both of us here. In this body, in this cave, in their livesI disagree.Look, fairish stop trying to annihilate yourself, swooning? Because if I think you can do it, Ill make Doc pull me out today. Or Ill tell Jared. Just call back what he would do.I imagined it for her, smiling a little through my tears. Remember? He said no guarantees about what he would or wouldnt do to keep you here. I thought of those burning kisses in the sign of the zodiac thought of other kisses and other nights in her memory. My seem warmed as I blushed.You fight dirty.You bet I do.Im not giving up.Youve been warned. No more quiet treatment.We thought of other things then, things that didnt hurt. Like where we would enthrall the Seeker. Mel wa s all for the Mists planet after my story tonight, but I thought the Planet of the F notes would be more fitting. in that location wasnt a mellower planet in the universe. The Seeker inevitable a nice long life-time eating sunshine.We thought of my memories, the pretty ones. The ice castles and the night music and the colored suns. They were like fairytales to her. And she told me fairytales, too. Glass slippers, poisoned apples, mermaids who wanted to have soulsOf course, we didnt have time to tell many stories.They all returned together. Jared had come back through the main entrance. It had interpreted so very little time-perhaps hed upright driven the jeep around to the north side and hidden it infra the overhang there. In a hurry.I hear their voices coming, subdued, serious, low, and knew from their tone that the Seeker was with them. Knew that the time had come for the first stage of my death.No.Pay attention. Youre going to have to suspensor them do this when Im NoBut she wasnt protesting my instruction, just the conclusion of my thought.Jared was the one who carried the Seeker into the room. He came first, the others behind. Aaron and Brandt both had the guns ready-in case she was precisely dissemble unconsciousness, perhaps, and about to jump up and round off them with her tiny hands. Jeb and Doc came last, and I knew Jebs cagey eyes would be on my grimace. How much had he figured out already with his crazy, insightful shrewdness?I kept myself focused on the task at hand.Jared laid the Seekers inert form on the cot with exceptional gentleness. This efficacy have bothered me before, but now it stirred me. I understood that he did this for me, want that he could have treated me this way in the beginning.Doc, wheres the No Pain?Ill get it for you, he murmured.I stared at the Seekers formulation while I appreciationed, wondering what it would look like when her host was free. Would anything be left? Would the host be empty or would the rig htful owner reassert herself? Would the face be less repugnant to me when another awareness looked out of those eyes?hither you go. Doc put the canister in my hand.Thanks.I pulled out one thin tissue square and handed the container back to him.I found myself reluctant to reach out the Seeker, but I make my hands move promptly and purposefully as I pulled her chin down and put the No Pain on her tongue. Her face was very small-it make my hands feeling big. Her tiny size invariably threw me off. It seemed so inappropriate.I closed her mouth again. It was moist-the medicine would dissolve quickly.Jared, could you please roll her onto her jump? I asked.He did as I asked-again, gently. Just then, the propane lantern flared to life. The cave was suddenly bright, roughly like daylight. I glanced up instinctively and saw that Doc had covered the big holes in the roof with tarps to keep our light from escaping. Hed done a lot of cooking in our absence.It was very quiet. I could hear the Seeker take a breath evenly in and out. I could hear the faster, tenser breathing of the men in the room with me. Someone shifted from one foot to the other, and sand ground against rock under his heel. Their stares had a physical angle on my climb.I swallowed, hoping I could keep my voice normal. Doc, I claim Heal, Clean, Seal, and Smooth. honest here.I brushed the Seekers coarse black fuzz out of the way, exposing the little solicit line at the base of her skull. I stared at her chromatic tan skin and hesitated.Would you cut, Doc? I dont I dont want to.No problem, Wanda.I saw nevertheless his hands as he came to stand across from me. He set a little row of white cylinders on the cot next to the Seekers shoulder. The scalpel winked in the bright light, flashing across my face. pass water her hair out of the way.I used both hands to clear her neck.Wish I could scrub up, Doc muttered to himself, obviously sense of touch underprepared.Its not really necessary. We have Cle an.I know. He sighed. What he really wanted was the routine, the mental cleansing that the old habits had granted him.How much room do you need? he asked, hesitating with the point of the weathervane an inch from her skin.I could feel the lovingness of the other bodies behind me, squeezing in to get a better view. They were protective(predicate) not to touch either of us.Just the length of the scar. That will be enough.This didnt seem like enough to him. You sure?Yes. Oh, waitDoc pulled back.I realized I was doing this all backward. I was no Healer. I wasnt cut out for this. My hands were shaking. I couldnt seem to look away from the Seekers body.Jared, could you get one of those tanks for me?Of course.I hear him offer the hardly a(prenominal) steps away, heard the dull, metallic clunk of the tank he chose strike against the others.What now?Theres a circle on top of the lid. Press it in.I heard the low hum of the cryotank as it provide on. The men muttered and shuffled their feet, moving away from it.Okay, on the side there should be a switch more like a dial, actually. Can you see it?Yes.Spin it all the way down.Okay.What color is the light on top of the tank?Its its just play from purple to bright blue. Light blue now.I took a deep breath. At least the tanks were functional.Great. Pop the lid and wait for me.How?Latch under the lip.Got it. I heard the click of the latch, and then the whir of the mechanism. Its nippyThats sort of the point.How does it work? Whats the power mention?I sighed. I knew the answers when I was a Spider. I dont understand it now. Doc, you can go ahead. Im ready.Here we go, Doc whispered as he slid the blade of the scalpel deftly, near gracefully, through the skin. Blood coursed down the side of her neck, pooling on the towel Doc had placed underneath.A tiny bit deeper. Just under the edge -Yes, I see. Doc was breathing fast, excited.Silver glinted out from the red.Thats good. Now you hold the hair.Doc switched places with me in a smooth, swift movement. He was good at his Calling. He would have made quite a Healer.I didnt try to hide what I was doing from him. The movements were too minute for him to have any chance of seeing. He would not be able to do this until I explained.I slid one fingertip assistfully on the back ridge of the tiny flatware shaft until my finger was al nearly entirely inserted into the alive(p) opening at the base of the host bodys neck. I traced my way to the anterior antennae, whimsey the taut lines of the bound attachments stretched tight like iterate strings into the deeper recesses of her head.I spanner my finger around the underside of the souls body, snuggling down from the first segment along the other line of attachments, as puckish and profuse as the bristles of a brush.I felt carefully at the combination of these tight strings, at the tiny joints, no bigger than pinheads. I stroked my way about a third of the way down. I could have counted, but that would have taken a very long time. It would be the two hundred seventeenth connection, but there was another way to find it. There it was, the little ridge that made this joint just a bit bigger-a seed pearl rather than a pinhead. It was smooth under my fingertip.I press against it with gentle pressure, tenderly massaging. Kindness was always the way of the souls. Never violence.Relax, I breathed.And, though the soul could not hear me, it obeyed. The harp strings loosened, went slack. I could feel the slide as they retracted, feel the slight swell of the body as it absorbed them. The motion took no more than a few beats of my heart. I held my breath until I felt the soul undulate under my touch. Wriggling free.I let it twist itself a little farther out, and then I curled my fingers gently around the tiny, fragile body. I lifted it, silver and gleaming, wet with blood that was quickly shed from the smooth casing, and cradled it in my hand.It was beautiful. The soul whose title Id never known billowed like a silver wave in my hand a lovely feathered ribbon.I couldnt hate the Seeker in this form. An almost maternal love swept through me.Sleep well, little one, I whispered.I turned toward the faint hum of the cryotank, just to my left. Jared held it low and angled, so it was a unprejudiced matter for me to ease the soul into the shockingly cold air that gusted from the opening. I let it slide into the small space and then carefully relatched the lid.I took the cryotank from Jared, easing it rather than tugging it, turning it with care until it was vertical, and then I hugged it to my chest. The outside of the tank was the same temperature as the warm room. I cradled it to my body, protective as any mother.I looked back at the stranger on the table. Doc was already dust-ing Smooth over the sealed wound. We made a good team one attending to the soul, the other to the body. Everyone was taken care of.Doc looked up at me, his eyes full of exhilaration and wonder. Amazin g, he murmured. That was incredible. near(a) job, I whispered back.When do you think shell wake up? Doc asked.That depends on how much chloroform she inhaled.Not much.And if shes assuage there. Well have to wait and see.Before I could ask, Jared lifted the nameless woman tenderly from the cot, rolled her face-up, and laid her on another, unused resting place. This irritation did not move me. This tenderness was for the human, for MelanieDoc went with him, checking her pulse, peeking under her lids. He shone a flashlight into her unconscious eyes and watched the pupils constrict. No light reflected back to blind him. He and Jared exchanged a long glance.She really did it, Jared said, his voice low.Yes, Doc agreed.I didnt hear Jeb sidle up next to me. bonny slick, kid, he murmured.I shrugged.Feeling a smidge conflicted?I didnt answer.Yeah. Me, too, hon. Me, too.Aaron and Brandt were talking behind me, their voices rising with excitement, answering each others thoughts before the qu estions were spoken.No conflict there.Wait till the others hearThink of the -We should go get some -Right now, Im ready -Hold up, Jeb cut Brandt off. No soul snatching until that cryotank is safely on its way into outer space. Right, Wanda?Right, I agreed in a firmer voice, hugging the tank tighter to my chest.Brandt and Aaron exchanged sour glances.I was going to need more allies. Jared and Jeb and Doc were only three, though certainly the most influential three here. Still, they would need support.I knew what this meant.It meant talking to Ian.Others, too, of course, but Ian would have to be one of them. My heart seemed to slump lower in my chest, to curl limply in on itself. Id done many things I had not wanted to do since connexion the humans, but I couldnt remember any this sharply and pointedly painful. Even deciding to trade my life for the Seekers-that was a huge, massive hurt, a wide field of ache, but it was almost manageable because it was so buttoned up in the bigger picture. relation back Ian au revoir was a razor-sharp piercing it made the greater vision hard to see. I wished there was some way, any way, to save him from the same pain. There wasnt.The only thing worse would be relative Jared goodbye. That one would burn and fester. Because he wouldnt feel pain. His joy would far outweigh any small regret he might feel over me.As for Jamie, well, I wasnt planning on facing that goodbye at all.Wanda Docs voice was sharp.I zip to the bed Doc was hovering over. Before I got there, I could see the tiny olive hand fisting and unfisting where it hung over the edge of the cot.Ah, the Seekers beaten(prenominal) voice moaned from the human body. Ah.The room went dead silent. Everyone looked at me, as if I were the upright on humans.I elbowed Doc, my hands still wrapped around the tank. Talk to her, I whispered.Um Hello? Can you hear me young lady? Youre safe now. Do you understand me?Ah, she groaned. Her eyes fluttered open, focused quickly on D ocs face. There was no discomfort in her expression-the No Pain would be making her feel wonderful, of course. Her eyes were onyx black. They darted around the room until she found me, and recognition was quickly followed by a scowl. She looked away, back to Doc.Well, it feels good to have my head back, she said in a loud, clear voice. Thanks.