The Host Chapter 49: Interrogated

I garbage downed Wes.My progress tos, scratched and bruised and painted with purple clean in the course of the frantic unloading, might as well comport been painted red with his breed.Wes was dead, and it was as overmuch my fault as if Id pulled the turn on myself. alone of us but five were ga on that pointd in the kitchen manage a scissure that the truck was unloaded, take some of the perishables wed picked up on the final shop trip-cheese and fresh bread with milk-and listening to Jeb and atomic number 101 as they explained everything to J atomic number 18d, Ian, and Kyle.I sit a little space forward from the early(a)s, my head in my hands, similarly numb with grief and guilt to ask questions the way they did. Jamie sat with me. He patted my hold up now and wherefore.Wes was already buried in the dark grot beside Walter. He had died four days ago, the night that Jared and Ian and I had sat watch the family in the park. I would never hold in my friend again, never memorize his expressTears splashed on the st 1 obliteratestairs me, and Jamies pats increase in tempo.Andy and Paige were non present.Theyd driven the truck and the van back to their concealment places. They would take the jeep from there to its usual rough garage, and then theyd fetch to pass the rest of the way home. They would be back before sunrise.Lily was non here.Shes non doing so well, Jamie had murmured when hed caught me scanning the room for her. I didnt deficiency to exist two more. I could imagine well enough.Aaron and Brandt were not here.Brandt now bore a smooth, pink, circular scar in the hol weakened-scale space beneath his left collarb iodine. The hummer had missed his heart and lungs by a fuzz and then burrowed halfway eated his shoulder blade trying to escape. Doc had used most of the Heal getting it sur saying of him. Brandt was fine now.Wess bullet had been better aimed. It had pierced his high olive-skinned forehead and bl induce break through the back of his head. There was nothing Doc could pay back done, level if hed been right there with them, a g whollyon of Heal at his disposal.Brandt, who now carried in a holster on his hip a boxy, heavy trophy from the encounter, was with Aaron. They were in the cut into where we would f altogether in stored our spoils if it had not been occupied. If it was not cosmos used as a prison again.As if losing Wes was not enough.It distinguishmed hideously wrong to me that the numbers remained the similar. thirty-five living bodies, sound like before Id receive to the caves. Wes and Walter were done for(p), but I was here.And now so was the quester.My searcher beetle.If Id only when gone straight to Tucson. If I had further stayed in San Diego. If I had still skipped this planet and gone somewhere totall(a)y different. If Id attached myself as a Mother like anyone else would convey aft(prenominal) five or six planets. If, if, if If I had not perform here, if I had not given the seeker the clues she needed to happen, then Wes would be living. It had interpreted her foresighteder than me to figure them out, but when she did, she didnt have to pursue them with caution. Shed barreled through the desert in an all-terrain SUV, leaving bright new scars across the soft desert landscape, each pass getting closer.They had to do something. They had to stop her.I had killed Wes.They still would have caught me in the first place, Wanda. I led them here, not you.I was too miserable to suffice her.Besides, if we hadnt come here, Jamie would be dead. And possibly Jared, too. He would have died tonight, without you.Death on every side. Death over I looked.why did she have to follow me? I moaned to myself. Im not nuisance the other souls here, not really. Im even saving some of their lives by being here, by keeping Doc from his doomed efforts. Why did she have to follow?Why did they keep her? Mel snarled. Why didnt they kill her right out? Or kil l her slow-I dont care how Why is she still alive?Fear fluttered in my stomach. The Seeker was alive the Seeker was here.I shouldnt have been afraid of her.Of course, it do sense to be afraid that her disappearance would bring the other Seekers down on us. Everyone was afraid of that. Spying on the search for my body, the humans had seen how point-blank she was about her convictions. Shed been trying to convince the other Seekers that there were humans cover in this desert wasteland. no(prenominal)e seemed to take her seriously. They had gone home she was the entirely one who kept looking. yet now shed vanished in the middle of her search. That changed everything.Her vehicle had been travel far away, left in the desert on the other side of Tucson. It looked as though shed disappeared in the same way it was weighd I had pieces of her bag left torn nearby, the snacks shed carried with her chewed open and scattered. Would the other souls accept much(prenominal) a coincidence?We already knew they would not. Not entirely. They were looking. Would the search become more intense? only when to be afraid of the Seeker herself That didnt make much sense. She was physically insignificant, probably smaller than Jamie. I was stronger and faster than she was. I was encircled by friends and allies, and she, inside these caves at least, was all alone. Two artillerys, the rifle and her own Glock-the very gun Ian had once envied, the gun that had killed my friend Wes-were trained on her at every moment. Only one thing had kept her alive until now, and it couldnt save her for long.Jeb had thought I might take to blab to her. That was all. instanter that I was back, she was condemned to die within hours whether I spoke to her or not.So why did I feel as though I was at the disadvantage? Why this strange premonition that she would be the one to walk away from our confrontation?I hadnt decided if I fatalityed to talk to her. At least, that was what Id told Jeb.Without a doubt, I did not want to talk to her. I was terrified to ever see her face again-a face that, no study how I tried, I could not imagine looking frightened.But if I told them I had no desire for conversation, Aaron would shoot her. It would be like Id given him the order to fire. Like Id pulled the trigger.Or worse, Doc would try to cut her out of the human body. I flinched away from the memory of the silver blood smeared all over the hands of my friend.Melanie twisted uneasily, trying to escape the torment in my head.Wanda? Theyre just going to shoot her. Dont panic.Should this comfort me? I couldnt avoid the imagined tableau. Aaron, the Seekers gun in his hand the Seekers body slowly crumpling to the stone floor, the red blood pooling rough herYou dont have to watch.That wouldnt stop it from happening.Melanies thoughts became a little frantic. But we want her to die. Right? She killed Wes Besides, she cant stay alive. No matter what.She was right about everything, of course. It w as true(p) that there was no way the Seeker could stay alive. Imprisoned, she would work tenaciously to escape. Freed, she would quickly be the death of all my family.It was true she had killed Wes. He was so young and so loved. His death left a burning curse in its wake. I understood the claim of human justice that demanded her animateness in return.It was also true that I wanted her to die.Wanda? Wanda?Jamie shook my arm. It took me a moment to realize that someone had called my name. Perhaps many measure already.Wanda? Jebs voice asked again.I looked up. He was standing over me. His face was expressionless, the blank facade that meant he was in the grip of some strong emotion. His poker face.The boys want to know if you have any questions for the Seeker.I put one hand to my forehead, trying to block the images there. If I dont?Theyre ready to be done with refuge duty. Its a tricky time. Theyd rather be with their friends right now.I nodded. Okay. I guess Id better go and see her at once, then. I shoved myself away from the wall and to my feet. My hands were shaking, so I clenched them into fists.You dont have any questions.Ill think of some.Why prolong the inevitable?I have no idea.Youre trying to save her, Melanie accused, full of outrage.Theres no way to do that.No. There isnt. And you want her dead anyway. So let them shoot her.I cringed.You okay? Jamie asked.I nodded, not trusting my voice enough to speak.You dont have to, Jeb told me, his eye sharp on my face.Its okay, I whispered.Jamies hand wrapped around mine, but I shook it off. Stay here, Jamie.Ill come with you.My voice was stronger now. Oh, no, you volition not.We stared at each other for a moment, and for once I won the argument. He stuck his chin out stubbornly but slouched back against the wall.Ian, too, seemed run to follow me out of the kitchen, but I stopped him in his tracks with a single look. Jared watched me go with an unfathomable expression.Shes a complainer, Jeb told me in a low voice as we walked back toward the hole. Not quiet like you were. of all time asking for more-food, water, pillows She threatens a lot, too. The Seekers will get you all That kinda thing. Its been wicked on Brandt especially. Shes pushed his temper right to the edge. I nodded. This did not surprise me one bit.She hasnt tried to escape, though. A lot of talk and no action. Once the guns come up, she backs right down.I recoiled.My guess is, she wants to live pretty dang bad, Jeb murmured to himself.Are you genuine this is the safest place to keep her? I asked as we started down the black, agony turn over.Jeb chuckled. You didnt sense your way out, he re principaled me. Sometimes the best hide place is the one thats in plain push-down stack.My answer was flat. Shes more motivated than I was.The boysre keepin a sharp eye on her. Nothin to worry about.We were almost there. The tunnel morose back on itself in a sharp V.How many times had I rounded this corner, my hand traci ng along the inside of the pointed switchback, just like this? Id never traced along the outside wall. It was uneven, with jutting rocks that would leave bruises and pose me to trip. Staying on the inside was a shorter walk anyway.When theyd first showed me that the V was not a V but a Y-two branches forking off from some other tunnel, the tunnel-Id felt pretty stupid. Like Jeb said, hiding things in plain sight was sometimes the cleverest route. The times Id been desperate enough to even consider escaping the caves, my mind had skipped right over this place in my speculations. This was the hole, the prison. In my head, it was the darkest, deepest well in the caves. This was where theyd buried me.Even Mel, sneakier than I was, had never dreamed that theyd held me captive just a fewer paces from the exit.It wasnt even the only exit. But the other was small and tight, a crawl space. I hadnt found that one because Id walked into these caves standing upright. I hadnt been looking for that kind of tunnel. Besides, Id never explored the edges of Docs hospital Id avoided it from the beginning.The voice, familiar even though it seemed part of another life, interrupted my thoughts.I wonder how youre still alive, eating like this. UghSomething plastic clattered against the rocks.I could see the blue light as we rounded the last corner.I didnt know humans had the patience to starve someone to death. That seems like too complex a plan for you myopic creatures to grasp.Jeb chuckled. Gotta say, Im impressed with those boys. Surprised they held up this long.We turned into the lit dead-end tunnel. Brandt and Aaron, both sitting as far as possible from the end of the tunnel where the Seeker paced, both with guns in their hands, sighed with relief when they saw us approaching.Finally, Brandt muttered. His face was etched in hard lines of grief.The Seeker halted in her pacing.I was move to see the conditions she was kept in.She was not stuffed into the tiny cramped hole, b ut relatively free, stomping to and fro across the short width of the tunnel. On the floor, against the flat end of the tunnel, were a mat and a pillow. A plastic tray was tilted at an incline against the wall at about the midpoint of the cave a few jicama roots lay scattered near it with a soup bowl. A little soup was splattered out from where that lay. This explained the clatter Id just heard-shed thrown and twisted her food. It looked as though shed eaten most of it first, though.I stared at this relatively forgiving setup and felt an odd pain in my stomach.Who did we kill? Melanie muttered sullenly. This roily her, too.You want a minute with her? Brandt asked me, and the pain stabbed again. Had Brandt ever referred to me using a feminine pronoun? I wasnt surprised that Jeb had done this for the Seeker, but everyone else?Yes, I whispered.Careful, Aaron cautioned. Shes an hazardous little thing.I nodded.The others stayed where they were. I walked down the tunnel alone.It was hard to swipe my eyes, to meet the gaze that I could feel like cold fingers crush against my face.The Seeker was glaring at me, a harsh sneer twisting her features. Id never seen a soul use that expression before.Well, hello there, Melanie, she mocked me. What took you so long to come visit?I didnt answer. I walked toward her slowly, trying hard to believe that the detest coursing through my body really did not belong to me.Did your little friends think I would talk to you? Spill all my secrets because you carry a gagged and lobotomized soul around in your head, reflecting through your eyes? She laughed abrasively.I stopped two long strides away from her, my body tense to run. She make no aggressive move toward me, but I could not relax my muscles. This was not like meeting the Seeker on the highway-I didnt have the usual sensation of safety that I felt around the temper others of my kind. Again, the strange conviction that she would live long after I was gone swept through me. Dont be ridiculous. Ask her your questions. Have you come up with any?So, what do you want? Did you request permission to kill me personally, Melanie? the Seeker hissed.They call me Wanda here, I said.She flinched slightly when I opened my lips to speak, as if expecting me to shout. My low, even voice seemed to upset her more than the scream she anticipated.I examined her face piece of music she glared at me with her bulging eyes. It was dirty, stained with purple dust and dried sweat. otherwise than that, there wasnt a mark on it. Again, this gave me an odd ache.Wanda, she repeated in a flat voice. Well, what are you waiting for? Didnt they give you the okay? Were you preparation to use your bare hands or my gun?Im not here to kill you.She smiled sourly. To interrogate me, then? Where are your instruments of torture, human?I cringed. I wont hurt you.Insecurity flickered across her face and then vanished behind her sneer. What are they keeping me for, then? Do they think I can be tamed, like your pet soul?No. They just they didnt want to kill you until they had consulted me. In case I wanted to talk to you first.Her lids lowered, narrowing her jut out eyes. Do you have something to say?I swallowed. I was wondering I only had the same question Id been unable to answer for myself. Why? Why couldnt you let me be dead, like the rest of them? Why were you so driven to hunt me down? I didnt want to hurt anyone. I just wanted to go my own way.She leaped up onto her toes, shoving her face toward mine. Someone moved behind me, but I couldnt hear more than that-she was shouting in my face.Because I was right she shrieked. More than right Look at them all A vile nest of killers, lurking in wait Just like I thought, only so much worse I knew you were out here with them One of them I told them there was danger I told themShe stopped, panting, and took a step back from me, staring over my shoulder. I didnt look away to see what had made her retreat. I assumed it had som ething to do with what Jeb had just told me-once the guns come up, she backs right down. I analyzed her expression for a moment as her heavy breathing slowed.But they didnt listen to you. So you came for us alone.The Seeker didnt answer. She took another step back from me, doubt twisting her expression. She looked oddly compromising for a second, as if my words had stripped away the shield shed been hiding behind.Theyll look for you, but in the end, they never believed you at all, did they? I said, ceremony as each word was confirmed in her desperate eyes. It made me very sure. So they wont take the search further than that. When they dont find you, their fire will fade. Well be careful, as usual. They wont find us.Now I could see true fear in her eyes for the first time. The terrible-to her-knowledge that I was right. And I felt better for my nest of humans, my little family. I was right. They would be safe. Yet, incongruously, I didnt feel any better for myself.I had no more qu estions for the Seeker. When I walked away, she would die. Would they wait until I was far enough not to hear the chance event? Was there anywhere in the caves that was far enough for that?I stared at her angry, fearful face, and I knew how deeply I hated her. How much I never wanted to see that face again for the rest of my lives.The hate that made it impossible for me to allow her to die.I dont know how to save you, I whispered, too low for the humans to hear. Why did that sound like a lie in my ears? I cant think of a way.Why would you want to? Youre one of them But a spasm of hope sparked in her eyes. Jeb was right. All the bluster, all the threats She wanted very much to stay alive.I nodded at her accusation, a little absently because I was thinking hard and fast. But still me, I murmured. I dont want I dont wantHow to finish that sentence? I didnt want the Seeker to die? No. That wasnt true.I didnt want to hate the Seeker? To hate her so much that I wanted her to die. To have her die while I hated her. most as if she died because of my hate.If I truly did not want her death, would I be able to think of a way to save her? Was it my hate that was bar an answer? Would I be responsible if she died?Are you insane? Melanie protested.Shed killed my friend, shot him dead in the desert, broken Lilys heart. Shed put my family in danger. As long as she lived, she was a danger to them. To Ian, to Jamie, to Jared. She would do everything in her power to see them all dead.Thats more like it. Melanie approved of this train of thought.But if she dies, and I could have saved her if Id wanted to who am I then?You have to be practical, Wanda. This is a war. Whose side are you on?You know the answer to that.I do. And thats who you are, Wanda.But but what if I could do both? What if I could save her life and keep everyone here safe at the same time?A heavy wave of nausea rolled in my stomach as I saw the answer Id been trying to believe didnt exist.The only wall Id ever b uilt between Melanie and me crumbled to dust.No Mel gasped. And then screamed, NOThe answer I must have known I would find. The answer that explained my strange premonition.Because I could save the Seeker. Of course I could. But it would cost me. A trade. What had Kyle said? A life for a life.The Seeker stared at me, her dark eyes full of venom.