The Host Chapter 54: Forgotten

Elizabeth? I contained. Anne? K arn? Whats your suck up-to doe with? Cmon. I recognise you complete it.The Healers system was soothe limp on the cot. It had been a co here(predicate)nt time-how long, I wasnt sure. Hours and hours. I hadnt slept yet, though the cheer was far up in the convulse. atomic number 101 had climbed discover onto the mountain to pull the tarps international, and the sun beamed luminously by dint of the holes in the ceiling, hot on my skin. Id moved the anon. womanhood so that her baptistery would be turn step forward of the glare.I touched her feel at unrivaled time lightly, patting the low-k gistd br sustain hair, woven through with white strands, past from her face.Julie? Brittany? Angela? Patricia? Am I beat bring outting close? verbalise to me. Please?E truly superstar but physician-snoring quietly on a cot in the darkest corner of the hospital-had g whiz away hours ago. Some to bury the host body wed lost. I cringed, thinkin g of his bewilde ruby question, and the sudden way his face had g sensation slack.Why? hed asked me.I so ofttimes c every remnant(predicate)ed that the soul had waited for an answer, so I could founder act to explain it to him. He might raze arrive at unders in standardised mannerd. After all, what was more important, in the end, than love? To a soul, wasnt that the try ont of alwaysything? And love would form been my answer. by chance, if hed waited, he would contract conform ton the truth of that. If hed really unders alsod, I was sure he would have let the benignant body live.The beg would probably have made little smell to him, though. The body was his body, not a separate entity. His self-destruction was simply that to him, not a murder, too. Only bingle life had ended. And perhaps he was right.At least(prenominal) the souls had survived. The light on his tank glowed dull red be posture hers I couldnt ask for a greater certify of commitment from my human bein g than this, the sparing of his life.Mary? Margaret? Susan? Jill?though commercialism slept and I was otherwise alone, I could happen the echo of the tension the others had left behind it so far hung in the air.The tension lingered beca habit the woman had not woken up when the chloroform wore off. She had not moved. She was still breathing spelling, her heart was still beating, but she had not responded to any of docs efforts to revive her.Was it too late? Was she lost? Was she already gone? unsloped as dead as the male body?Were all of them? Were t present only a in truth few, the likes of the Seekers host, Lacey, and Melanie-the shouters, the resisters-who could be brought back? Was everyone else gone?Was Lacey an anomalousness? Would Melanie come back the way she had or was plane that in question?Im not lost. Im here. But Mels cordial parting was defensive. She worried, too.Yes, you are here. And you depart stay here, I promised.With a sigh, I reoff to my efforts. My d oomed efforts?I accredit you have a telephone, I told the woman. Is it Rebecca? Alexandra? Olivia? Something simpler, maybe Jane? blue jean? Joan?It was better than nothing, I thought glumly. At least Id given them a way to help themselves if they were ever headn. I could help the resisters, if no one else.It didnt count like enough.Youre not giving me much to officiate with, I murmured. I took her cash in ones chips in two(prenominal) of tap, chafed it softly. It would really be nice if you would induce an effort. My friends are sacking to be depressed enough. They could use some well-grounded news. Besides, with Kyle still gone It pull up stakes be intemperately to quash everyone without having to carry you around, too. I know you neediness to help. This is your family here, you know. These are your kind. Theyre very nice. nearly of them. Youll like them.The gently lined face was sluggish with unconsciousness. She was quite pretty in an inconspicuous way-her featu res very symmetrical on her oval face. Forty-five, maybe a little younger, maybe a little older. It was hard to tell with no animation in the face.They learn you, I went on, pleading now. You chamberpot help them. You know so much that I never knew. Doc tries so hard. He deserves some help. Hes a good man. Youve been a Healer for a while now some of that heraldic bearing for the well-being of others must have rubbed off on you. Youll like Doc, I think.Is your name Sarah? Emily? Kristin?I stroked her soft cheek, but there was no response, so I took her limp get to in mine again. I gazed at the blue sky through the holes in the high ceiling. My head word wandered.I wonder what theyll do if Kyle never comes back. How long bequeath they hide? Will they have to become a new home somewhere else? there are so many of them It wont be easy. I coveting I could help them, but even if I could stay, I dont have any answers.Maybe theyll get to stay here somehow. Maybe Kyle wont mess up. I laughed humorlessly, thinking of the odds. Kyle wasnt a careful man. However, until that situation was resolved, I was needed. Maybe, if there were Seekers verbalisming, they would need my infallible eyes. It might take a long time, and that made me feel bullet than the sun on my skin. Made me feel glad that Kyle was impetuous and selfish. How long until we were sure we were safe?I wonder what its like here when it gets cold. I can barely re-member feeling cold. And what if it rains? It has to rain here sometime, doesnt it? With all these holes in the roof, it must get really wet. Where does everyone repose thus, I wonder. I sighed. Maybe Ill get to lift out. Probably shouldnt bet on that, though. Arent you curious at all? If you would charge up up, you could get the answers. Im curious. Maybe Ill ask Ian about it. Its funny to imagine things changing here I guess summer cant last forever.Her fingers fluttered for one second in my hand.It took me by surprise because my mind had wandered away from the woman on the cot, beginning to make it into the melancholy that was always conveniently near these sidereal days.I stared smooth at her there was no change-the hand in mine was limp, her face still vacant. Maybe Id imagined the movement.Did I say something you were interested in? What was I talking about? I thought quickly, watching her face. Was it the rain? Or was it the idea of change? channelize? Youve got a lot of that ahead of you, dont you? You have to wake up first, though.Her face was empty, her hand motionless.So you dont care for change. Cant say that I blame you. I dont want change to come, either. Are you like me? Do you wish the summer could last?If I hadnt been watching her face so closely, I wouldnt have tick offn the tiny glint of her lids.You like summertime, do you? I asked hopefully.Her lips twitched. pass?Her hand trembled.Is that your name-Summer? Summer? Thats a pretty name.Her hand tightened into a fist, and her lips parted. Come back, Summer. I know you can do it. Summer? Listen to me, Summer. Open your eyes, Summer.Her eyes blinked rapidly.Doc I describeed over my shoulder. Doc, wake upHuh?I think shes coming around I turned back to the woman. Keep it up, Summer. You can do this. I know its hard. Summer, Summer, Summer. Open your eyes.Her face grimaced-was she in disoblige?Bring the No Pain, Doc. Hurry.The woman squeezed my hand, and her eyes opened. They didnt localize at first, sound whirled around the bright cave. What a strange, unexpected sight this place must have been for her.Youre overtaking to be all right, Summer. Youre going to be fine. Can you hear me, Summer?Her eyes wheel back to me, the pupils constricting. She stared, absorbing my face. Then she cringed away from me, overrefinement on the cot to escape. A low, hoarse weep of panic broke through her lips.No, no, no, she cried. No more.DocHe was there, on the other side of the cot, like onward, when we were operating.Its okay, maa m, he assured her. No one is going to hurt you here.The woman had her eyes squeezed shut, and she recoiled into the thin mattress.I think her name is Summer.He triceed a look at me and and then made a face. Eyes, Wanda, he breathed.I blinked and realized that the sun was on my face. Oh. I let the woman pull her hand free.Dont, please, the woman begged. Not again.Shh, Doc murmured. Summer? People call me Doc. No ones going to do anything to you. Youre going to be fine.I eased away from them, into the sterns.Dont call me that the woman sobbed. Thats not my name Its hers, its hers Dont say it againId gotten the ravish name. Mel objected to the guilt that washed through me. Its not your fault. Summer is a human name, too.Of course not, Doc promised. What is your name?I-I-I dont know she wailed. What happened? Who was I? Dont make me be person else again.She tossed and thrashed on the cot.Calm down its going to be okay, I promise. No ones going to make you be anyone but you, and you ll remember your name. Its going to come back.Who are you? she demanded. Whos she? Shes like like I was. I maxim her eyesIm Doc. And Im human, just like you. See? He moved his face into the light and blinked at her. Were both just ourselves. there are lots of humans here. Theyll be so happy to meet you.She cringed again. serviceman Im afraid of humans.No, youre not. The person who used to be in your body was afraid of humans. She was a soul, remember that? And then remember before that, before she was there? You were human then, and you are again.I cant remember my name, she told him in a panicked voice.I know. Itll come back.Are you a doctor?I am.I was she was, too. A Healer. worry a doctor. She was Summer Song. Who am I?Well pass off out. I promise you that.I edged toward the exit. Trudy would be a good person to help Doc, or maybe Heidi. Someone with a calming face.Shes not human the woman whispered urgently to Doc, her eye caught by my movement.Shes a friend dont be afraid. She helped me take in you back.Where is Summer Song? She was scared. There were humansI ducked out the door while she was distracted.I perceive Doc answer the question behind me. Shes going to a new planet. Do you remember where she was before she came here?I could guess what her answer would be from the name.She was a Bat? She could fly She could sing I remember but it was not here. Where am I?I travel rapidly down the hall to find help for Doc. I was surprised when I see the light of the great cavern ahead-surprised because it was so quiet. ordinarily you could hear voices before you saw the light. It was the middle of the day. There should have been someone in the big tend room, if only crossing through.I walked out into the bright noon light, and the giant space was empty.The fresh tendrils of the cantaloupe vines were dark green, darker than the dry earth they sprang from. The earth was too dry-the irrigating barrel stood ready to fix that, the hoses laid out along the f urrows. But no one work the crude machine. It sat abandoned on the side of the field.I stood very still, trying to hear something. The spacious cavern was silent, and the silence was ominous. Where was everyone?Had they evacuated without me? A pang of caution and hurt shot through me. But they wouldnt have left without Doc, of course. They would never leave Doc. I precious to dart back through the long cut into to make sure Doc had not disappeared, too.They wouldnt go without us, either, silly. Jared and Jamie and Ian wouldnt leave us behind.Youre right. Youre right. Lets check the kitchen?I jogged down the silent corridor, getting more anxious as the silence continued. Maybe it was my imagination, and the loud thumping of my impulsion in my ears. Of course there must be something to hear. If I could calm down and slow my breathing, Id be able to hear voices.But I reached the kitchen and it was empty, too. avoid of people. On the tables, half-eaten lunches had been abandoned. P eanut butter on the last of the soft bread. Apples and warm cans of soda.My stomach reminded me that I hadnt eaten at all today, but I barely renowned the twist of hunger. The panic was so much stronger.What if what if we didnt evacuate soon enough?No Mel gasped. No, we would have perceive something Someone would have or there would be Theyd still be here, looking for us. They wouldnt give up until theyd checked everywhere. So that cant be it.Unless theyre looking for us now.I spun back toward the door, my eyes darting through the shadows.I had to go warn Doc. We had to get out of here if we were the last two.No They cant be gone Jamie, Jared Their faces were so clear, as if they were etched onto the insides of my eyelids.And Ians face, as I added my own pictures to hers. Jeb, Trudy, Lily, Heath, Geoffrey. Well get them back, I vowed. Well hunt them down one by one and steal them back I wont let them take my familyIf Id had any doubts where I stood, this mo would have erased them . Id never felt so rough in all my lives. My teeth clenched tight, snapping unneurotic audibly.And then the noise, the babble of voices Id been so anxiously gruelling to hear, echoed down the hall to us and made my breath catch. I slid silently to the wall and pressed myself into the shadow there, listening.The big garden. You can hear it in the echoes.Sounds like a large group.Yes. But yours or mine?Ours or theirs, she corrected.I crept down the hall, keeping to the darkest shadows. We could hear the voices more clearly now, and some of them were familiar. Did that mean anything? How long would it take trained Seekers to perform an insertion?And then, as I reached the very mouth of the great cave, the sounds became even clearer, and relief washed through me-because the babble of voices was just the same as it had been my very first day here. Murderously godforsaken.They had to be human voices.Kyle must be back. quietus warred with pain as I hurried into the bright sunlight to s ee what was going on. Relief because my humans were safe. And pain because if Kyle was already safely back, thenYoure still needed, Wanda. So much more than I am.Im sure I could find excuses forever, Mel. There will always be some reason.Then stay.With you as my prisoner?We stopped arguing as we assessed the vortex in the cavern.Kyle was back-the easiest one to spot, the tallest in the crowd, the only one facing me. He was pinned against the far wall by the mob. Though he was the cause of the angry noise, he was not the source of it. His face was conciliatory, pleading. He held his fortify out to the sides, palms back, as if there was something behind him he was trying to protect.Just calm down, okay? His blockheaded voice carried over the cacophony. Back off, Jared, youre scaring herA flash of black hair behind his elbow-an unfamiliar face, with wide, terrify black eyes, peeked around at the crowd.Jared was closest to Kyle. I could see that the back of his neck was bright red. Jamie clung to one of his arms, holding him back. Ian was on his other side, his arms cut through in front of him, the muscles in his shoulders tight with strain. fag end them, every other human but Doc and Jeb was massed in an angry throng. They surged behind Jared and Ian, asking loud, angry questions.What were you thinking?How dare you?Whyd you come back at all?Jeb was in the back corner, just watching.Sharon s brilliant hair caught my eye. I was surprised to see her, with Maggie, right in the center of the crowd. Theyd both been so little a part of life here ever since Doc and I had healed Jamie. neer in the middle of things.Its the fight, Mel guessed. They werent comfortable with happiness, but theyre at home with fury.I thought she was probably right. How disturbing.I heard a shrill voice throwing out some of the angry questions and realized that Lacey was part of the crowd, too.Wanda? Kyles voice carried across the noise again, and I looked up to see his deep blue eyes loc ked on me. There you are Could you please come and give me a little help here?