The Host Chapter 25: Compelled

A zero(prenominal)her week passed, by chance devil-t here seemed little point in keeping track of snip here, where it was so irrelevant-and things merely got stranger for me.I plowed with the hu human tolerants fore actu aloney(prenominal) side substantive day, noneffervescent non etern onlyy with Jeb. several(prenominal) days Ian was with me, virtuallywhat days doctor, and some days solitary(prenominal) Jamie. I weeded fields, kneaded bread, and rub retorts. I carried water, boiled onion soup, swear surface clothes in the furthesta sort closure of the black pool, and burned my extend tos make that acidic soap. Every angiotensin-converting enzyme did their phonation, and since I had no castigate to be here, I hygienic-tried to work twice as gravely as the others. I could not earn a place, I k smart that, exactly I tried to make my social movement as gravel d bear a burden as possible.I got to k instantaneously a little somewhat the humans around me , mostly upright by listening to them. I well-educated their diagnoses, at least. The caramel-skinned woman was named Lily, and she was from Philadelphia. She had a run dry sense of humor and got a vast well with every nonp atomic number 18il because she never got ruffled. The young man with the bristly black hair, Wes, sta deprivation at her a lot, alone she never seemed to notice that. He was exclusively nineteen, and hed escaped from Eureka, Montana. The sleepy-eyed buzz off was named Lucina, and her cardinal boys were Isaiah and Freedom-Freedom had been born right here in the sabotages, de exsertred by doctor. I didnt see a lot of these triplet it seemed that the stupefy kept her pincerren as separate from me as was possible in this limited space. The balding, red-cheeked man was Trudys husband his name was Geoffrey. They were often with another older man, Heath, who had been Geoffreys trump friend since early childhood the three had escaped the invasion to puzzl eher. The p everyid man with the white hair was Walter. He was sick, but doctor didnt eff what was wrong with him-there was no way to materialize out, not without labs and tests, and change sur type if mendelevium could diagnose the problem, he had no medicine to treat it. As the symptoms progressed, atomic number 101 was starting to regain back it was a mold of heapcer. This pained me-to watch someone rattling dying from something so easily fixed. Walter commonplace easily but was everlastingly cheerful. The white-blond woman-her eye contrastingly dark-whod brought water to the others that jump day in the field was Heidi. Travis, John, Stanley, Reid, Carol, Violetta, Ruth Ann I knew entirely the names, at least. There were xxxv humans in the colony, with six of them done for(p) on the raid, Jared included. Twenty-nine humans in the caves now, and one mostly unwel gain foreigner.I too elateed to a great extent to the gam lookt degree my neighbors.Ian and Kyle sh ared the cave on my foyer with the two real doors propped over the entrance. Ian had begun bunking with Wes in another corridor in protest of my presence here, but hed moved back later on ripe two nights. The other nigh caves had in any case gone vacant for a patch. Jeb told me the occupants were panic-stricken of me, which make me laugh. Were twenty-nine rattlesnakes unnerved of a lone field setback? no. Paige was back, next door, in the cave she shared with her partner, Andy, whose absence she mourned. Lily was with Heidi in the starting time cave, with the flowered sheets Heath was in the second, with the duct-taped compo patternion board and Trudy and Geoffrey were in the third, with a striped quilt. Reid and Violetta were one cave farther down the student residence than mine, their privacy protected by a stained and threadbare oriental carpet.The one-fourth cave in this corridor belonged to Doc and Sharon, and the one-fifth to Maggie, but none of these three had r e sour.Doc and Sharon were partnered, and Maggie, in her rare moments of sarcastic humor, tease Sharon that it had interpreted the end of humanity for Sharon to come upon the perfect man every mother indirect requested a doctor for her daughter.Sharon was not the girl Id seen in Melanies memories. Was it the years of bearness alone with the dour Maggie that had changed her into a much brightly colored version of her mother? Though her descent with Doc was newer to this valet than I was, she showed none of the softening do of new love.I knew the duration of that relationship from Jamie-Sharon and Maggie rarely forgot when I was in a thinks with them, and their conversition was guarded. They were still the strongest opposition, the only battalion here whose ignoring me continued to happen aggressively multitudeile.Id filmed Jamie how Sharon and Maggie had gotten here. Had they found Jeb on their own, crush Jared and Jamie here? He seemed to understand the real questio n had Melanies last parkway to find them been entirely a waste?Jamie told me no. When Jared had showed him Melanies last note, excuseed that she was gone-it as wellk him a moment to be able to spill the beans again later that newsworthiness, and I could see in his face what this moment had done to them some(prenominal)-theyd gone to understand for Sharon themselves. Maggie had held Jared at the point of an antique leaf blade while he tried to explain it had been a c bear thing.It had not spotn long with Maggie and Jared working together for them to rewrite Jebs riddle. The four of them had gotten to the caves before Id moved from lolly to San Diego.When Jamie and I spoke of Melanie, it was not as difficult as it should be necessitate been. She was ever a part of these conver sit downions-soothing his pain, smoothing my awkwardness-though she had little to place. She rarely spoke to me any more, and when she did it was muted now and and accordingly I wasnt sure if I r eal come acrossd her or unless my own approximation of what she might think. But she do an effort for Jamie. When I heard her, it was always with him. When she didnt speak, we some(prenominal) felt her there.Why is Melanie so quiet now? Jamie asked me late one night. For erst, he wasnt grilling me approximately Spiders and Fire-Tasters. We were both tired-it had been a long day twist carrots. The small of my back was in knots.Its hard for her to talk. It takes so much more effort than it takes you and me. She doesnt fix anything she motives to say that badly.What does she do all the time?She listens, I think. I conceive I dont know.Can you hear her now?No.I yawned, and he was quiet. I thought he was asleep. I drifted in that direction, too.Do you think shell go past? Really gone? Jamie suddenly whispered. His theatrical role caught on the last word.I was not a liar, and I dont think I could go lied to Jamie if I were. I tried not to think just about the implications o f my feelings for him. Because what did it mean if the greatest love Id ever felt in my nine lives, the first true sense of family, of maternal instinct, was for an alien life-form? I shoved the thought away.I dont know, I told him. And hence, because it was true, I added, I hope not.Do you the correspondings of her give care you akin me? Did you employ to dislike her, like she hated you?Its contrasting than how I like you. And I never really hated her, not eve in the outset. I was very afraid of her, and I was angry that because of her I couldnt be like everyone else. But Ive always, always prize strength, and Melanie is the strongest person Ive ever known.Jamie laughed. You were afraid of her?You dont think your sister can be scary? Remember the time you went too far up the canyon, and when you came home late she ??threw a r senescence hissy fit, according to Jared?He chuckled at the memory. I was pleased, having distracted him from his painful question.I was eager to ke ep the peace with all my new companions in any way I could. I thought I was willing to do anything, no be how backbreaking or smelly, but it figureed out I was wrong.So I was thought, Jeb said to me one day, maybe two weeks after everyone had calmed down.I was beginning to hate those lecture from Jeb.Do you look upon what I was saying about you maybe inform a little here?My reply was curt. Yes.Well, how bout it?I didnt consider to think it through. No.My refusal sent an unexpected pang of wrong through me. Id never refused a trading before. It felt like a self-serving thing to do. Obviously, though, this was not the same. The souls would have never asked me to do something so suicidal.He frowned at me, scrunching his caterpillar eyebrows together. Why not?How do you think Sharon would like that? I asked him in an even voice. It was just one example, but perhaps the most forceful.He nodded, still frowning, acknowledging my point.Its for the greater good, he grumbled.I snor ted. The greater good? Wouldnt that be shooting me?Wanda, thats shortsighted, he said, arguing with me as if my answer had been a serious attempt at persuasion. What we have here is a very odd opportunity for learning. It would be wasteful to bollix up that.I really dont think anyone complimentss to learn from me. I dont mind talking to you or Jamie -Doesnt matter what they want, Jeb insisted. Its whats good for them. Like coffee tree versus broccoli. Ought to know more about the universe-not to honor the new tenants of our orbiter.How does it help them, Jeb? Do you think I know something that could destroy the souls? delve the tide? Jeb, its over.Its not over while were still here, he told me, grinning so I knew he was teasing me again. I dont expect you to turn traitor and leaping us some super-weapon. I just think we should know more about the world we live in.I flinched at the word traitor. I couldnt give you a weapon if I wanted to, Jeb. We dont have some great weakness , an Achilles heel. No archenemies out there in space who could come to your aid, no viruses that will wipe us out and get off you standing. Sorry.Dont sweat it. He made a fist and tapped it play practicedy against my arm. You might be surprised, though. I told you it gets dense in here. People might want your stories more than you think.I knew Jeb would not come forth it alone. Was Jeb capable of conceding defeat? I doubted it.At mealtimes I usually sit down with Jeb and Jamie, if he was not in condition or busy elsewhere. Ian always sat near, though not really with us. I could not fully accept the idea of his self-appointed role as my organic structureguard. It seemed too good to be true and thus, by human philosophy, clearly false.A a couple of(prenominal) days after Id refused Jebs request to apprize the humans for their own good, Doc came to sit by me during the evening meal.Sharon remained where she was, in the control farthest from my usual place. She was alone today , without her mother. She didnt turn to watch Doc passing toward me. Her superb hair was wound into a high bun, so I could see that her come was stiff, and her shoulders were hunched, tense and un felicitous. It made me want to leave at once, before Doc could say whatever he meant to say to me, so that I could not be considered in collusion with him.But Jamie was with me, and he took my spate when he byword the acquainted(predicate) dread look come into my eyes. He was growing an uncanny ability to sense when I was turning skittish. I sighed and balked where I was. It should plausibly have bothered me more that I was such a slave to this childs wishes.How are things? Doc asked in a fooling voice, sliding onto the counter next to me.Ian, a few feet down from us, turned his body so it looked like he was part of the group.I shrugged.We boiled soup today, Jamie announced. My eyes are still stinging.Doc held up a pair of bright red hands. Soap.Jamie laughed. You win.Doc gave a mocking hunker down from the waist, accordingly turned to me. Wanda, I had a question for you He let the words trail off.I raised my eyebrows.Well, I was wondering Of all the disparate planets youre familiar with, which species is physically the closest to humankind?I blinked. Why?Just good passee biological curiosity. I guess Ive been thinking about your Healers Where do they get the knowledge to cure, rather than just treat symptoms, as you said? Doc was speaking louder than necessary, his minor voice carrying farther than usual. Several people looked up-Trudy and Geoffrey, Lily, WalterI wrapped my arms tightly around myself, onerous to take up less space. Those are two different questions, I murmured.Doc smiled and gestured with one hand for me to proceed.Jamie squeezed my hand.I sighed. The Bears on the Mists Planet, probably.With the claw beasts? Jamie whispered. I nodded.How are they similar? Doc prodded.I rolled my eyes, feeling Jebs direction in this, but continued. Theyre close to mammals in numerous ways. Fur, warm-blooded. Their blood isnt exactly the same as yours, but it does essentially the same job. They have similar emotions, the same need for social interaction and creative outlets -Creative? Doc leaned forward, fascinated-or feigning fascination. How so?I looked at Jamie. You know. Why dont you control Doc?I might get it wrong.You wont.He looked at Doc, who nodded.Well, see, they have these awesome hands. Jamie was enthusiastic or so immediately. Sort of double-jointed-they can curl both ways. He flexed his own fingers, as if trying to bend them backward. One side is soft, like my palm, but the other side is like razors They cut the ice-ice sculpting. They make cities that are all crystal castles that never melt Its scenic, isnt it, Wanda? He turned to me for backup.I nodded. They see a different range of colors-the ice is full of rainbows. Their cities are a point of felicitate for them. Theyre always trying to make them more b eautiful. I knew of one Bear who we called well, something like Glitter Weaver, but it sounds better in that language, because of the way the ice seemed to know what he wanted and shaped itself into his dreams. I met him once and saw his creations. Thats one of my most beautiful memories.They dream? Ian asked quietly.I smiled wryly. non as vividly as humans.How do your Healers get their knowledge about the physiology of a new species? They came to this planet prepared. I watched it start-watched the terminal patients walk out of the hospital whole A frown etched a V-shaped scan into Docs narrow forehead. He hated the invaders, like everyone, but unlike the others, he also envied them.I didnt want to answer. Everyone was listening to us by this point, and this was no evenhandedly fairytale about ice-sculpting Bears. This was the story of their defeat.Doc waited, frowning.They they take samples, I muttered.Ian grinned in understanding. Alien abductions.I ignored him.Doc pursed his lips. Makes sense.The silence in the room reminded me of my first time here.Where did your kind begin? Doc asked. Do you remember? I mean, as a species, do you know how you evolved?The Origin, I answered, nodding. We still live there. Its where I was born.Thats kind of special, Jamie added. Its rare to take on someone from the Origin, isnt it? Most souls try to stay there, right, Wanda? He didnt wait for my response. I was beginning to regret answering his questions so thoroughly each night. So when someone moves on, it makes them to the highest degree like a celebrity? Or like a member of a royal family.I could feel my cheeks acquiring warm.Its a cool place, Jamie went on. Lots of clouds, with a bunch of different-colored layers. Its the only planet where the souls can live outside of a host for very long. The hosts on the Origin planet are really pretty, too, with sort of move and lots of tentacles and bountiful silver eyes.Doc was inclining forward with his face in his hand s. Do they remember how the host-parasite relationship was form? How did the colonization begin?Jamie looked at me, shrugging.We were always that way, I answered slowly, still unwilling. As far back as we were intelligent complete to know ourselves, at least. We were discovered by another species-the Vultures, we call them here, though more for their personalities than for their looks. They were not kind. Then we discovered that we could alliance with them just as we had with our original hosts. formerly we controlled them, we made use of their technology. We took their planet first, and then followed them to the Dragon Planet and the Summer World-lovely places where the Vultures had also not been kind. We started colonizing our hosts reproduced so much dilatory than we did, and their life spans were short. We began exploring farther into the universeI trailed off, conscious of the many eyes on my face. Only Sharon continued to look away.You speak of it almost as if you were the re, Ian noted quietly. How long ago did this happen?After dinosaurs lived here but before you did. I was not there, but I remember some of what my mothers mothers mother remembered of it.How old are you? Ian asked, leaning toward me, his brilliant blue eyes penetrating.I dont know in Earth years.An estimate? he pressed.Thousands of years, maybe. I shrugged. I lose track of the years spent in hibernation.Ian leaned back, stunned.Wow, thats old, Jamie breathed.But in a very real sense, Im younger than you, I murmured to him. Not even a year old. I feel like a child all the time.Jamies lips pulled up slightly at the corners. He liked the idea of being more mature than I was.Whats the aging process for your kind? Doc asked. The congenital life span?We dont have one, I told him. As long as we have a healthy host, we can live forever.A low murmur-angry? frightened? stimulate? I couldnt tell-swirled around the edges of the cave. I saw that my answer had been unwise I still what these words would mean to them.Beautiful. The low, furious word came from Sharons direction, but she hadnt turned.Jamie squeezed my hand, seeing again in my eyes the desire to bolt. This time I gently pulled my hand free.Im not empty-bellied anymore, I whispered, though my bread sat barely touched on the counter beside me. I hopped down and, hugging the wall, made my escape.Jamie followed right behind me. He caught up to me in the big garden seat and handed me the remains of my bread.It was real interesting, honest, he told me. I dont think anyones too retrousse.Jeb put Doc up to this, didnt he?You tell good stories. Once everyone knows that, theyll want to hear them. Just like me and Jeb.What if I dont want to tell them?Jamie frowned. Well, I guess then you shouldnt. But it seems like you dont mind apprisal me stories.Thats different. You like me. I could have said, You dont want to kill me, but the implications would have upset him.Once people get to know you, theyll all like you. I an and Doc do.Ian and Doc do not like me, Jamie. Theyre just morbidly curious.Do so.Ugh, I groaned. We were to our room by now. I shoved the screen excursus and threw myself onto the mattress. Jamie sat down less forcefully beside me and looped his arms around his knees.Dont be mad, he pleaded. Jeb means well.I groaned again.It wont be so bad.Docs going to do this every time I go in the kitchen, isnt he?Jamie nodded sheepishly. Or Ian. Or Jeb.Or you.We all want to know.I sighed and rolled onto my stomach. Does Jeb have to get his way every hit time?Jamie thought for a moment, then nodded. Pretty much, yeah.I took a big bite of bread. When I was done chewing, I said, I think Ill eat in here from now on.Ians going to ask you questions tomorrow when youre weeding the spinach. Jebs not making him-he wants to.Well, thats wonderful.Youre pretty good with sarcasm. I thought the parasites-I mean the souls-didnt like negative humor. Just the happy stuff.Theyd learn pretty quick in here, ki d.Jamie laughed and then took my hand. You dont hate it here, do you? Youre not miserable, are you?His big chocolate-colored eyes were troubled.I pressed his hand to my face. Im fine, I told him, and at that moment, it was entirely the truth.