Here's the next chapter… :)
Everyone holds their breaths as Doc slowly cuts along the faint pink scar on the back of Pet's slender neck. I watch in awe, for I have only ever seen a removal when Wanda was in my body, and of course she was focused on what she was doing and the body, but she kept thinking about giving me my body back that it was hard for me to understand what she was doing. I see Doc spray the cut area, and immediately the blood ceased to flow. Doc gently reached in and began to coax Pet out of her host's body. Pet's skin already had a silver undertone, but as Doc relaxes the soul, I see the small body of the soul glow more, the light shining through the paper thin, soft skin. Ian steps forward and opens the crytotank for Doc, who slowly places the soul in the tank, while Ian slides it close.
"What do we do know?" Jared asks quietly.
"Now we wait." Doc says unsure, meeting my eyes.
I nod. "We also should talk to her. We have to make sure no one is in there, so we should talk to her like we did with Candy." I say, speaking as if I was physically present when Candy woke up.
Ian frowns, not liking the idea that the host could wake up. I know he is trying not to be attached to the body in case she does wake up, but I saw the adoration in his eyes as soon as we entered the room with Pet.
I reach for Pet's tank, wanting to hold her. Ian willingly gives her to me as her reaches for Wanda's crytotank. I don't understand my motives for why I would want to hold Pet. I only know that if things were different, Pet would have been accepted instantly into the cave family, human or soul.
Doc sits down next to the body, taking the small, limp hand in his big, strong one. "Hello. Would you like to wake up? There are a lot of people that want to meet you. We are part of a human resistance. We are trying to stay alive and work against the souls. I think you would like it here. If you just woke up…" Doc looks over at me. "What did you say her name was again?" He questions.
"Petals Open to the Moon. But her family calls her Pet." I reply, wanting to help, but also hoping she wouldn't wake.
"Pet? Petals Open to the Moon. That was the name of the soul that used to live inside you. But now she is gone. She is going off to the…" Doc looks at me again.
"Flower Planet. She used to live there, didn't she?" I ask the limp form. As I looked at her, I feel slightly guilty. The girl looks very young, and I don't want Wanda to be in the same position I was in when I was younger and with Jared. I know Ian would be just as pure as Jared, and would feel like he was taking advantage. She also looks very small and weak. I know Wanda my not like that, but I hope it will prevent her from doing so much work around the caves. I know Jeb will give her a break too, in which she can spend that time with Ian, getting used to being alone in her body.
I smirk slightly at the thought. I just hope we all won't be confused when Wanda wakes up. Ian fell in love with Wanda when she was in my body, and Jared spent so much time with Wanda, I can tell he is sometimes surprised to hear my words coming from the body Wanda once occupied. But I can't be too jealous, after I got my body back, I sometimes found myself touching Ian's arm or grabbing his hand, as if Wanda still controlled my body. But I know Wanda will have it the worst. When she wakes up she will love Ian, but after spending so much time in my body, she will also still have feelings with Jared. I sigh. Everything was so confusing lately.
"I think I just felt her move!" Doc says, the defeat in his voice poorly hidden. Ian jumps up and grabs the stranger's hand.
"Are you sure? Maybe you just imagined it?" Ian says as if he is begging. I know he wants Wanda back just as much as I do. I miss hearing her voice, I miss her selfless personality, but most of all I miss her love. Wanda had an ability to make anyone love her, if she is given a chance to explain (which I can't help but remember that Jared and Kyle didn't give her that chance for a long time).
Doc beings to repeat everything he just said to the girl, trying to stimulate the same reaction from the girl. Ian's usual sharply defined snow, sapphire, and ink eyes blur together, creating a sad gray. I know Ian is in pain. He just wants Wanda back, and he can't wait for Jamie, Jared, and I to go on another long raid for a body. And I don't think I could do that. Wanda belongs in this body.
Doc gives up after a few hours and begins to talk about other things to the girl. Hope is present in everyone's eyes, hoping Doc just imagined the movement and that we can have Wanda back by tomorrow.
I know Jared wants me to go back to our room to "sleep" but I can't leave the hospital. I pull up a cot on the left side of Pet's old body and hopefully Wanda's new body. I can't leave, for I want to continue to try to wake up the girl. I owe Wanda, and one way I can pay her back is to make sure that she has her own body that she shares with no one. I know Wanda would accept having another person in her head, but I know she would despise herself, for she would feel like she was a killer again.
Ian sleeps on the other side of the body, holding onto Wanda's crytotank tightly. Throughout the night, I speak to the girl, talking about the caves and even talking about my experience in Wanda's body. At one point during the night, I notice that Ian's snores had stopped, and he was staring right at me, listening.
I stop mid-sentence, hoping he isn't offended by the topic. But he smiles sleeply, assuring me that he liked my story.
"You are a very good story teller." Ian slurs his world together slightly, obviously exhausted. "Just like Wanda." He smiles and hugs Wanda's tank tighter. He lies back down, but I know he is still listening. I start off where I left off, about how I felt and how Wanda felt right when we entered the caves for the first time, when I realized that no one would believe I was alive inside Wanda's body.
I fall asleep late at night and sleep dreamlessly. I wake up to Jared, who gently shook me awake. "Good morning Jared." I smile and give him a quite peck on the lips. I sit up and stretch, poping my joints and glance at the motionless body.
Jared follows my gaze. His expression is indifferent when he speaks. "Oh yes. I have some news…"
Oopsie Daisy, I'm sorry about the cliff hanger! But I really want to try something new. I want all of my readers to choose what happens next. You can either have Wanda go inside Pet (like the actual Host plot), or you can have Pet's host wake up. You decide and I will write about the one with the most votes. So please follow and favorite, but most of all… review and place your vote!