"He's… he's gone," I said, a sob breaking through my chest as I collapsed into the van. Jared's face was a mask of shock, as was Kyle's, but Mel quickly pulled me into a tight hug, which only made me cry harder. Why was she comforting me when it was my fault? Mel was running her fingers softly through my hair, trying to comfort me as I cried into her shoulder.

Finally I stopped crying enough to talk and I told them, through teary eyes, what had happened. I started when we had all split up into pairs. Jared had said the job would be easy; we were only picking up supplies to replenish Doc's dwindling stock. So Ian and I had gone to the loading dock around the other side of the building. I hadn't been very cautious, which was unusual for me, and once we got to the stocks, we were attacked from behind. I had been walking in front of Ian, so they reached him first, and he made a split second decision. As the third soul came toward me, Ian started to struggle very hard, and the soul was needed to hold him. They had all seen the sunlight reflect off my eyes, so they must have figured Ian was more valuable to them than I. Without thinking, I started running, and that's how I made it back here.

"Wow," Kyle said, running his hands through his hair. "I always thought that I'd be the one to do something stupid and get caught, not Ian." Jared elbowed him in the side and he winced, glaring at him. "What?!"

"You are such an idiot! Obviously Wanda is very upset about this, but you just decided that it didn't matter; you would make snide remarks about it anyways! Just shut UP!" Jared was mad, I could tell. So I took a deep breath and tried to calm them all down.

"It's okay, Jared, I know what Kyle meant. It surprised me too, but I need you guys to understand something. It wasn't Ian's fault- he didn't do anything but try to protect me! It was my fault! I wasn't careful enough… we should have been the safest, since I am a soul, but we were the only ones to get caught," I said with a humorless laugh that felt and sounded wrong coming out of my mouth.

"No. Wanda, this was NOT your fault. It could've happened to any one of-" I shook my head, cutting Mel off mid-sentence.

"I was a liability. Kyle was alone, so he could have easily run or fought them off. You and Jared would've been fine, because you can both trust the other to protect them and you are both fast. But I can't protect myself, so of course Ian felt the need to distract them. He could have fought off the three souls just like Kyle. I could tell he was holding back, letting them catch him so I could get away. It was horrible to…" I said, trailing off as I started to cry again. This body was so emotional.

"Shhh, don't cry, Wanda," Mel said, hugging me tightly. "We'll get him back, I promise."

The next two weeks were pure hell. My life was all wrong without Ian, and it was very evident. When I tried to throw myself into work, any work there was, someone told me to go rest and let them finish my job. It was as frustrating as when I first got this body. Without Ian there to lift a helping hand, I felt like the weakling I was.

I was bringing water around to all the workers in the fields, and when I got to Mel and Jared, I could tell they were hiding something from me. They had been talking in excited whispers when I was handing out water to the others, but they stopped as soon as I was within earshot. I sighed and put my hands on my hips, standing in front of the water determinedly.

"No water until you tell me what you were just whispering about," I said, trying to be joking and happy but failing miserably. They looked at each other and then Mel sighed.

"I can't stand seeing you try so hard, Wanda. It's obvious you aren't happy… but this news should cheer you up," she said with a smile. "Jeb has been out searching for Ian for the past two weeks, and he's finally found him. He lives in the city, not too far from here. He's bringing him home tonight," she finished, now smiling ear to ear. This stopped me in my tracks; not what I had been expecting at all.

"Are you sure? I mean, what if he's not… Ian anymore? What if…" I stopped, because there were so many things that could go wrong. What if Jeb got caught; what if someone followed him here? What if, and this was worst of all, Ian's soul inside him killed him before we could extract it? Mel took my face in her hands firmly so I would have to look her right in the eye.

"It's Jeb, Wanda. He'll be as careful as anyone, you can be sure. Andy and Brandt left this morning to go help him. They should be on their way back by now," she said, smiling so big it looked painful. I sighed.

"I hope so."

For the rest of the day I was restless and hyper, bouncing around rather than walking. Everyone seemed to know and quite a few were much more pessimistic than Mel. At dinner, many people were jumpy and paranoid, choosing to take dinner by the East Exit, waiting for Jeb, Andy, and Brandt to return, hopefully with Ian in one piece.

Finally, after the sun had set, I heard a set of tires pulling up toward the exit. I got up and sprinted to where I could see the car as it came closer and closer.

"Wanda? I can see your eyes from here. We found him, honey, he's right here next to me. Just gave him a large dose of morphine to make sure he stays out for a while. Jared? Think we need a little help, Jeb grunted as he, Andy and Brandt pulled Ian out of the jeep.

All I could do was watch as the four of them carried Ian to Doc's. Most people stayed hidden in the shadows of the night by the exit, still very paranoid about the Seekers, keeping watch, but Mel, Jared, Kyle, Sunny, and I followed the men to Doc's, along with a few others. Sunny took my hand as we walked.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Wanda," she said in a quiet voice. "He was had a very strong personality, and I'm sure he wouldn't let himself fade away. I'm sure he'll be just fine." I gave her a small smile in return for her assurances, and we walked the rest of the way in silence, a procession of people all holding their breath, all hoping for the same thing. Would it be enough? I prayed it would.