ONE THOUSAND VIEWS!

Now that may not be a lot to some FanFiction veterans out there but to me, well that's just huge.

Also a big thank you to my lovely favouriters and follows, I'm glad to see new names popping up.

My reviewers, you're all just so lovely. A few replies:

Ichigo – Thank you, as always. X

mundane-pansycakes – Ha! I love your name. Firstly, your name question has been added to my Q&A on my bio so that's your answer . About older Lily (let's call her Lily 2) though: I think dead would be a little dramatic. As I'm basing this on characters as they are in the film, which the events from the book, Jeb is about sixty in the Host and therefore about eighty here. I see Lily 2 as part of the middle generation. The actor that plays her, beautiful Raeden Greer, in the movie isn't that old at all but for the purpose of the story I'm taking her as late thirties in the book, so she's in her late fifties now. If I have to kill her off then I think Kyle and everybody else would be off to early graves too!

Chapter Twelve

The returning raider had made life easier in the caves by arriving home with arms full of desperately needed clothes, tools, food and a new chair for Doc's office, which he appreciated immeasurably.

Whilst the chores were mundane enough to numb my mind from thinking too long on James' strange behaviour, I was beginning to become concerned about the blank look in his eyes.

For weeks he spoke very little, or at least very little for him, and was almost always missing. Ian had assured me that it was his turn to play lookout but Melanie claimed that he was just busy helping Doc 'spring clean' the hospital. On further investigation I found the hospital to be much the same as it always was, if not more cluttered than Doc usually kept it. It was not until even Wanda became reluctant to speak to me, other than about chores or the universe, that I decided there was something they were hiding from me.

I found Jeb in the main field. He was long past harvesting the wheat himself but he dutifully perched himself on a ledge cut into the wall to oversee his workers. I crossed the field with hurried steps, ignoring the worried looks my stern face earned from the workers.

Sharon's expression had not changed since our last meeting and her hatred stung me as it rolled across the walls of wheat between us. Behind her, Sunny's brow creased in worry and Kyle mouthed a 'You okay?' in my direction. I shook my head and Kyle bent down to Sunny's ear. She seemed to relax somewhat and I felt better about that. At least somebody wasn't worried about me, or angry at me, or, in James' case, completely indifferent to my presence.

I turned away from them all and continued my path around the field to Jeb. He said nothing as I took a seat beside him. I waited for him to speak first. It was clear from the resigned glint in his eyes that he had been anticipating this very conversation.

We sat in silence.

"So, cat got your tongue, kid?" he said. His voice was deep but had a soothing edge that more often than not put me at ease. Except for today.

"No," I replied, raking my hair out of my face. It was still wet from my morning wash.

"Then I assume you've got something to say."

He turned to me and his faded blue eyes, hooded by wrinkled skin, glinted in the darkness.

I nodded.

"I just want to know what's going on," I muttered quickly.

He turned his head back to the field and nodded to himself. His white beard jiggled as he licked his lips and sighed like the conversation exhausted him. I'd noticed he did that a lot. Perhaps he was finally beginning to realise that most things exhausted him.

"This field needs a whole lotta people working on it. You can't have one person working harder than the others though or else you end up with just one skinny strip of wheat that's not much good for feeding anyone. Not fair for hard workers to starve now is it? You've worked hard since you got here.

"Thing is though, we've all gotta work hard, Lily, real hard. This is a community and under my roof that means we live in harmony."

He paused, leaning out of the alcove we sat in. He whistled, and Jamie, who'd been talking to Isaiah with his scythe cast aside, promptly picked it up again and began cutting away at the rows of wheat furiously.

Jeb leaned back again.

"You see, every so often something happens that messes up that harmony. It splits the community in two. First it was Wanda, bless her little Soul," he laughed, "then Sunny, and now, well, now it's you."

My stomach churned a little and he could sense my worry.

"Oh don't go getting upset about it; we're not about to throw you out into that wasteland."

My stomach knotted again and images of sand snakes and scorpions flashed in front of my eyes. I shuddered with revulsion.

Jeb's explanation made sense. It was natural that some of them wouldn't believe me. This situation was more complicated than Wanda's had been, if that was possible. I was human and that meant I could lie to them, play on their weaknesses in a way the Souls could not. I knew that scared them.

None of what he had said however explained the way that those I considered to be my friends had been acting.

"But James has accepted me and now he won't speak to me!" I exclaimed suddenly, exasperated.

Jeb looked a little surprised but recovered himself quickly.

"Well now James is just a little busy at the moment," he clarified but I could hear the forced nonchalance in it.

"Doing what? Cleaning the hospital with Doc? Washing dishes? Out on lookout? Because I'm starting to think he's not doing any of those things, Jeb."

Jeb chewed the inside of his cheek. I could almost see the cogs turning in his head and I held my breath, afraid that even the sound of my breathing would distract him.

I was on the edge. The precipice of the answers I wanted and if he said nothing I was prepared to hurl myself over the edge after those answers.

"Hey, Jared," Jeb shouted hoarsely, breaking out of his reverie.

Beside Jamie, Jared stood up and wiped the sweat from his creased brow with his arm.

"Yeah?" he yelled back, dropping his blade.

Jeb waved him over and stood up from the ledge. I followed him. I noticed for the first time that he leaned more heavily on his right leg, the left lolloping along behind a second too late.

Jared swung down and grabbed his shirt from the dusty ground. He tugged it over his head as he walked towards us.

Fully dressed, he stopped in front of Jeb and his eyes flickered from Jeb, to me, and back again.

"What do you need, Jeb?" he asked, rubbing dirt from his hands.

Jeb looked at me. "Lily here needs to see James and I was just wondering if you wanted to show her the way."

From the way he said it both Jared and I both knew it didn't matter if Jared wanted to or not.

"Sure," Jared said.

Jeb waved us off, slumping himself back onto the ledge. Jared began to lead me quickly through the winding network of tunnels until we burst out into the main plaza. I almost had to run to keep up with the strides of his long legs. The plaza was empty. I didn't think I'd ever seen it empty and it seemed much more expansive than before. We had reached the inclining tunnel that I had taken with Ian and I stopped.

Jared turned back to me.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

His face took on a far away look, like he was experiencing déjà vu.

"I'm fine; it's just that I've been here before. I know the way from here."

His brows knitted together.

"You know the way outside?"

He seemed taken aback that I had been permitted such information. I should have been insulted that even he didn't trust me yet but instead it was amusing to me, as the knowledge was useless anyway.

"What are you expecting me to do, Jared? I'm not sure this shirt is quite big enough to abseil down that cliff.

I smiled and stepped past him. He opened his mouth to speak but I cut his off before he could say more than a word.

"But-"

"I'm fine, Jared."

For a moment he didn't seem to know what to do but I didn't stay to find out. I felt safer this time as I stepped into the darkness, allowing it to cloak me in shadow. The perfect hiding place.

The tunnel grew steeper and narrower as I remembered and it didn't feel like long before I could see the orb of light ahead of me.

Sky. I had decided on my last visit that this was my favourite view of it because I knew that just a few more steps and I could be out there, truly beneath it. It always seemed so far away through the gaping holes in the field and the plaza.

As the exit grew nearer I could just make out the sandy crown of James' head. Beside him stood another man with jet black hair wound into tight coarse ringlets.

I slipped my feet out of the hole and jumped down onto the rock behind them, freezing when they spun around, their eyes alight with an instant fire.

James was the first to react and dropped the binoculars he had planned on using as a weapon onto the soft matt spread out on the ground.

His burning blue eyes didn't leave mine as he spoke to his companion.

"Freedom, do you think you could give us a minute?"

Freedom grunted a quick reply and scrabbled back into the caves, dragging his long legs through the narrow entrance behind him.

"Found me then," commented James.

There was a soft breeze today that eased the baking heat of the desert but my skin still burned with a blush that spread up my neck. It suddenly seemed embarrassingly pathetic to have searched for him for so long.

"It wasn't as hard as I would have thought. You mother did tell me you were good at Hide and Seek."

James smiled a half smile, probably reminiscing on his childhood games, and sat himself down on the matt. He patted the space beside him. I hesitated but his wink drew me forwards and I took a seat beside him.

"You're mad at me," I said, tugging my knees up beneath my chin.

He barked out a laugh and looked at me incredulously.

"Now who told you that? Of course I'm not mad at you."

I supposed that was good.

"Well you're not exactly around anymore. When I first got here you wouldn't leave me alone and now I barely see you," I grumbled.

It was selfish, I knew, to want him with me but it helped me feel like I knew what I was doing in the caves. I had told everybody that I wanted to stay. I did want to stay here and live here, but before that moment I hadn't realised how much that depended on James' company.

"Lily, when you first got here you didn't know your way around and half of those idiots wanted…"

He didn't finish. He didn't need too. 'To kill me,' was what he had meant to say. Another shiver rolled over me.

"Are you cold?" James asked.

"No."

Despite his concern I still sat in the shade of the same impenetrable wall that separated us indefinitely.

"Look, James, I don't know what it is that you're not telling me but I won't wait anymore. If you won't tell me what's going on around here then I will find out another way."

I began to clamber to my feet but he grabbed my hand and stood with me. I struggled against his hold but he gripped me tighter.

"Please, please, just don't run off," he pleaded.

He loosened his grasp on me but did not release my hand.

"Then answer my questions," I shot back.

"You really want to know?"

He pulled me closer. My feet shuffled, hesitant to welcome his sudden nearness.

I nodded, biting my lip.

I could see his mouth moving but I was paralysed by what he said. My hand began to sweat in his as he spoke in a voice that was barely a whisper.

"She's not giving up."

Ooooo…

I actually don't have anything to say about that. I guess I'll just get on to writing the next one.

As I said in my authors note at the top, another question has been added to my Q&A on my profile so if you want to know how Lily got her name then go have a look at that.

Now to prevent this story from becoming too slap dash I want a chapter in a little while that's not so much dedicated to storyline but just a nice characterisation chapter, or a typical 'life in the caves' chapter. What I'm saying, is that of course I can come up with something myself or if there's anything that you particularly want to happen or maybe just a cute moment you'd like me to write, then let me know and I'll dedicate that chapter to you