The Host Chapter 6: Followed

The light was fin each(prenominal)y fading outside the windows. The day, voluptuous for March, had lingered on and on, as if reluctant to end and set me free.I sniff conduct and worm the wet handkerchief into a nonher knot. Kathy, you mustiness bind other obligations. sharp will be wondering where you atomic number 18.Hell understand.I cant stay here for forever. And were no closer to an answer than onwards.Quick fixes argonnt my specialty. You are decided once to a greater extentst a current host -Yes.So administering with this will probably take slightly fourth dimension.I clenched my teeth in frustration.And it will go hurrying and more smoothly if you carry some help.Ill be better with qualification my ap plosive speech soundments, I promise.Thats not exactly what I mean, though I consent you will.You mean help other than you? I cringed at the thought of having to live over todays misery with a stranger. Im sure youre on the dot as qualified as whatever Comforte r-more so.I didnt mean another Comforter. She shifted her weight in the soften and stretched stiffly. How m some(prenominal) friends do you have, rover?You mean people at make for? I detect a few other teachers almost all day. There are several students I speak to in the halls out-of-door of the school?I stared at her blankly.Human hosts collect interaction. Youre not employ to solitude, dear. You shared an entire planets thoughts -We didnt go out much. My attempt at irritation fell flat.She smiled slightly and went on. Youre struggling so hard with your problem that its all you can decoct on. Maybe mavin answer is to not concentrate quite so hard. You verbalize Melanie grows bored during your working hours that she is more dormant. possibly if you developed some peer relationships, those would bore her also.I pursed my mouths thought enoughy. Melanie, sluggish from the considerable day of attempted comfort, did seem rather unenthused by the idea.Kathy nodded. Get vol uminous with life rather than with her.That makes sense.And accordingly there are the physical drives these bodies have. Ive neer seen or ascertaind of their equal. One of the most punishing things we of the first shake had to conquer was the mating instinct. Believe me, the humans noticed when you didnt. She grinned and rolled her eye at some repositing. When I didnt react as shed expected, she sighed and crossed her blazonry impatiently. Oh, come now, Wanderer. You must have noticed.Well, of course, I mumbled. Melanie stirred relieflessly. Obviously. Ive told you about the dreamsNo, I didnt mean just memories. Havent you come across anyone that your dead body has responded to in the present-on strictly a chemical level?I thought her question with carefully. I dont think so. Not so Ive noticed.Trust me, Kathy said dryly. Youd notice. She shake her head. Perhaps you should open your eyes and seek around for that specifically. It might do you a lot of good.My body recoiled from the thought. I registered Melanies disgust, mirrored by my own.Kathy tape my expression. Dont permit her control how you interact with your kind, Wanderer. Dont let her control you.My nostrils flared. I waited a moment to answer, reining in the anger that Id never quite gotten used to.She does not control me.Kathy raised an eyebrow.The anger nettledened my throat. You did not look too outlying(prenominal) out-of-door afield for your current partner. Was that choice controlled?She ignored my anger and considered the question thoughtfully.Perhaps, she in the end said. Its hard to know. that youve make your point. She picked at a string in the hem of her shirt, and whence, as if realizing that she was avoiding my gaze, folded her hands resolutely and squared her shoulders. Who knows how much comes from any given host on any given planet? As I said before, I think time is probably your answer. Whether she grows inert and silent gradually, allowing you to make another cho ice besides this Jared, or well, the questers are in truth good. Theyre already looking for him, and maybe youll remember something that helps.I didnt conk as her content sank in. She didnt seem to notice that I was frozen in quad.Perhaps theyll find Melanies love, and then you can be to acheher. If his feelings are as fervent as hers, the in the raw soul will probably be amenable.No I wasnt sure who had shouted. It could have been me. I was full of horror, too.I was on my feet, shaking. The tears that came so easily were, for once, absent, and my hands trembled in tight fists.Wanderer? entirely I turned and ran for the door, crowding the words that could not come out of my mouth. Words that could not be my words. Words that make no sense unless they were hers, still they mat identical mine. They couldnt be mine. They couldnt be spoken.Thats killing him Thats making him cease to be I dont want soulfulness else. I want Jared, not a stranger in his body The body means nothin g without him.I heard Kathy calling my call forth behind me as I ran into the road.I didnt live far from the Comforters office, but the darkness in the street disoriented me. Id gone two blocks before I realized I was running in the wrong direction. slew were looking at me. I wasnt dressed for exercise, and I wasnt jogging, I was fleeing. But no one bothered me they politely averted their eyes. They would guess that I was new to this host. Acting out the way a child would.I wispyed to a walk, turning north so that I could loop around without cursory Kathys office again.My walk was only slightly slower than a run. I heard my feet hitting the sidewalk too affectionately, as though they were exhausting to match the tempo of a dance song. Slap, slap, slap against the concrete. No, it wasnt like a drumbeat, it was too angry. Like violence. Slap, slap, slap. Someone hitting someone else. I shuddered away from the horrible image.I could see the lamp on over my apartment door. It hadnt interpreted me long to cover the distance. I didnt cross the road, though.I felt sick. I remembered what it felt like to vomit, though I never had. The cold wetness dewed on my forehead, the hollow sound rang in my ears. I was pretty sure I was about to have that experience for my own.There was a bank of quite a little beside the walk. Around a streetlamp there was a well-trimmed h touch. I had no time to look for a better place. I stumbled to the light and caught the post to feed myself up. The nausea was making me dizzy.Yes, I was definitely going to experience throwing up.Wanderer, is that you? Wanderer, are you ill?The vaguely familiar piece was impossible to concentrate on. But it made things worse, knowing I had an audience as I leaned my typeface close to the bush and violently choked up my most late(a) meal.Whos your Healer here? the voice asked. It sounded far away by the go in my ears. A hand touched my arched endure. Do you need an ambulance?I coughed twice and sho ok my head. I was sure it was over my erect was empty.Im not ill, I said I as pulled myself upright apply the lamppost for support. I looked over to see who was watching my moment of disgrace.The Seeker from stops had her cell phone in her hand, trying to decide which authority to call. I took one good look at her and bent over the leaves again. overturn stomach or no, she was the rifle person I needed to see right now.But, as my stomach heaved uselessly, I realized that there would be a reason for her presence.Oh, no Oh, no no no no no noWhy? I gasped, panic and sickness larceny the volume from my voice. Why are you here? Whats happened? The Comforters very uncomforting words pounded in my head.I stared at the hands gripping the collar of the Seekers black turn for two seconds before I realized they were mine.Stop she said, and there was dirt on her face. Her voice rattled.I was shaking her. My hands jerked open and land against my face. Excuse me I huffed. Im sorry. I dont know what I was doing.The Seeker scowled at me and smoothed the front of her outfit. Youre not well, and I suppose I floor you.I wasnt expecting to see you, I whispered. Why are you here?Lets get hold you to a Healing facility before we speak. If you have a flu, you should get it healed. Theres no point in letting it wear your body down.I dont have a flu. Im not ill.Did you eat naughtiness food? You must report where you got it.Her prying was very annoying. I did not eat bad food, either. Im healthy.Why dont you have a Healer check? A quick scan-you shouldnt neglect your host. Thats irresponsible. Especially when health care is so easy and effective.I took a deep breath and resisted the urge to shake her again. She was a full head shorter than I was. It was a fight I would win.A fight? I turned away from her and walked swiftly toward my home. I was dangerously emotional. I needed to calm down before I did something inexcusable.Wanderer? take care The Healer -I need no Healer, I said without turning. That was just an emotional imbalance. Im fine now.The Seeker didnt answer. I wondered what she made of my response. I could hear her shoes-high heels-tapping after me, so I left the door open, knowing she would hail me in. I went to the sink and filled a glass with water. She waited silently mend I rinsed my mouth and precipitate. When I was through, I leaned against the counter, staring into the basin.She was soon bored.So, Wanderer or do you still go by that name? I dont mean to be rude in calling you that.I didnt look at her. I still go by Wanderer.Interesting. I pegged you for one that would choose her own.I did choose. I chose Wanderer.It had long been clear to me that the mild spat Id overheard the first day I woke in the Healing facility was the Seekers fault. The Seeker was the most confrontational soul Id come across in society lives. My first Healer, Fords Deep Waters, had been calm, kind, and wise, even for a soul. Yet he had not been able to hel p reacting to her. That made me feel better about my own response.I turned around to face her. She was on my small couch, nestled in comfortably as if for a long visit. Her expression was self-satisfied, the deform eyes amused. I controlled the desire to scowl.Why are you here? I asked again. My voice was a monotone. Restrained. I would not lose control again in front of this woman.Its been a while since I heard anything from you, so I thought I would check in personally. Weve still made no headway in your case.My hands clamped down on the edge of the counter behind me, but I kept the wild musical accompaniment from my voice.That seems overzealous. Besides, I sent you a message last night.Her eyebrows came together in that way she had, a way that made her look angry and sloshed at the same time, as if you, not she, were responsible for her anger. She pulled out her thenar computer and touched the screen a few times.Oh, she said stiffly. I havent checked my mail today.She was qu iet as she scanned through what I had written.I sent it very early in the morning, I said. I was half asleep at the time. Im not sure how much of what I wrote was memory or dream, or sleep-typing, maybe.I went along with the words-Melanies words-as they flowed easily from my mouth I even added my own lighthearted laugh at the end. It was dishonest of me. smuggled behavior. But I would not let the Seeker know that I was weaker than my host.For once, Melanie was not smug at having bested me. She was too relieved, too grateful that I had not, for my own petty reasons, given her away.Interesting, the Seeker murmured. Another one on the loose. She shook her head. Peace continues to elude us. She did not seem dismayed by the idea of a fragile peace-rather, it seemed to please her.I bit my lip hard. Melanie wanted so ill to make another denial, to claim the boy was just part of a dream. Dont be stupid, I told her. That would be so obvious. It said much for the repellent nature of the S eeker that she could put Melanie and me on the same side of an argument.I hate her. Melanies whisper was sharp, painful like a cut.I know, I know. I wished I could deny that I felt similarly. Hate was an unforgivable emotion. But the Seeker was very difficult to like. Impossible.The Seeker off-and-on(a) my internal conversation. So, other than the new location to review, you have no more help for me on the road maps?I felt my body react to her critical tone. I never said they were lines on a road map. Thats your assumption. And no, I have nothing else.She clicked her tongue readily three times. But you said they were directions.Thats what I think they are. Im not get anything more.Why not? Havent you subdued the human yet? She laughed loudly. Laughing at me.I turned my back to her and concentrated on calming myself. I tried to pretend that she wasnt there. That I was all unsocial in my ascetical kitchen, staring out the window into the little patch of night sky, at the three bri ght stars I could see through it.Well, as alone as I ever was.While I stared at the piffling points of light in the blackness, the lines that Id seen over and over again-in my dreams and in my broken memories, cropping up at strange, unrelated moments-flashed through my head.The first a slow, rough curve, then a sharp turn north, another sharp turn back the other way, twisting back to the north for a longer stretch, and then the abrupt southern decline that flattened out into another modify curve.The second a ragged zigzag, four tight switchbacks, the fifth point strangely blunt, like it was brokenThe third a smooth wave, interrupted by a sudden spur that swung a thin, long hitchhike out to the north and back.Incomprehensible, seemingly meaningless. But I knew this was important to Melanie. From the very reservoir Id known that. She protected this secret more fiercely than any other, next to the boy, her brother. Id had no idea of his existence before the dream last night. I won dered what it was that had broken her. Maybe as she grew louder in my head, she would lose more of her secrets to me.Maybe she would slip up, and I would see what these strange lines meant. I knew they meant something. That they led somewhere.And at that moment, with the echo of the Seekers laugh still hanging in the air, I suddenly realized why they were so important.They led back to Jared, of course. gage to both of them, Jared and Jamie. Where else? What other location could possibly hold any meaning for her? Only now I saw that it was not back, because none of them had ever followed these lines before. Lines that had been as much of a mystery to her as they were to me, untilThe wall was slow to block me. She was distracted, paying more attention to the Seeker than I was. She fluttered in my head at a sound behind me, and that was the first I was aware of the Seekers approach.The Seeker sighed. I expected more of you. Your track account book seemed so promising.Its a pity you w erent free for the assignment yourself. Im sure if youd had to deal with a broad host, it would have been childs play. I didnt turn to look at her. My voice stayed level.She sniffed. The early waves were challenging enough even without a resistant host.Yes. Ive experienced a few settlings myself.The Seeker snorted. Were the See weeds very difficult to tame? Did they flee?I kept my voice calm. We had no trouble in the South Pole. Of course, the North was another matter. It was badly mishandled. We lost the entire forest. The sadness of that time echoed behind my words. A honey oil sentient beings, closing their eyes forever rather than accept us. Theyd curve their leaves from the suns and starved.Good for them, Melanie whispered. There was no venom attached to the thought, only grace as she saluted the tragedy in my memory.It was such a waste. I let the agony of the knowledge, the feel of the dying thoughts that had racked us with our sister forests pain, wash through my head.It was death either way.The Seeker spoke, and I tried to concentrate on just one conversation.Yes. Her voice was uncomfortable. That was poorly executed.You can never be too careful when it comes to doling out power. Some arent as careful as they should be.She didnt answer, and I heard her move a few steps back. Everyone knew that the stagger behind the mass suicide belonged to the Seekers, who, because the See widows weeds couldnt flee, had underestimated their ability to escape. Theyd proceeded recklessly, beginning the first settlement before we had adequate numbers in place for a full-scale assimilation. By the time they realized what the See Weeds were capable of, were willing to do, it was too late. The next shipment of hibernating souls was too far away, and before theyd arrived, the northern forest was lost.I faced the Seeker now, meddling to judge the impact of my words. She was impassive, staring at the white nothingness of the vent wall across the room.Im sorry I cant he lp you further. I said the words firmly, trying to make the dismissal clear. I was ready to have my house to myself again. To ourselves, Melanie inserted spitefully. I sighed. She was so full of herself now. You really shouldnt have luxuriant yourself to come so far.Its the job, the Seeker said, shrugging. Youre my only assignment. Until I find the rest of them, I may as well stick close to you and trust I get lucky.