Wanda POV

"Ian?" I croak. My voice sounds different than before. Gentle and soft, almost melodic. I blink a few times, tilting my head to see Ian smiling down at me in awe. "What . . . what happened?" I say, trying to sit up. But Ian pushes me gently back down against the cot. He leans over and kisses me softly, his lips tasting warm and familiar. I close my eyes and try to push the Soul-who's scared about Melanie-out of my mind. It's no use.

I pull away and breathe out slowly. "Is Melanie okay?" I ask nervously.

"I'm right here, stupid," Melanie laughs. I twist around and see that she's on the other side of the bed, laughing with Jamie. "Can't you just think about yourself for one moment?"

"No," I say shyly, biting my lips. Ian's hand is still holding mine and I look at it quizzically. "Who am I?" I ask. I was flooded with memories while I slept. A young boy dancing through sprinklers. An old woman laughing as she poured a glass of lemonade under the summer sun. A mundane classroom, filled with students looking like they're about to fall asleep. Stacks of books piled precariously atop of a nightstand. A huge party full of dancing teens in flowing dresses and sharp tuxes, music blasting everywhere. There were so many memories it was almost hard to think about.

"You're you, Wanda," Ian says, exactly like when she had woken up in Pet's body. "Okay? You're here and you're yourself. That's all that matters."

"But-"

"Shh," he whispers, leaning over to kiss me sweetly on the forehead. I blush.

I push myself up onto my shoulders so that I am on a more even level with the others. Doc is off by his desk, but I can see him watching silently, a smile on his face. Melanie is grinning ear to ear, her arm wrapped around a jumping Jamie. He is so thrilled with excitement that I can't help but laugh. Not giggle-Pet was the one who giggled. Luckily, this body is a little less dainty. "I'm glad you're safe, Wanda," Jamie says, leaning over and hugging me. It feels weird to move in this body. My limbs are much more stronger than before. Even sitting down, I can tell that I wouldn't have as much of a height issue as before. Jamie would probably be just as tall, maybe even shorter. I smiled selfishly at the thought. "Did it hurt? When you were shot?"

I pull back and look at him sadly. I'm not in the mood to discuss the previous events, but I can't not tell Jamie. He is like my brother. "At first, yes. But I . . I think I passed out immediately. Besides, I didn't really feel it. Pet did." Though she wasn't looking at him, she could almost feel Ian roll his eyes. "But don't worry about me okay?" I turned to Mel and Ian, looking back between the two. "What happened? I was scared that you . . that you were gone, Mel."

She shifts uncomfortably from side to side. "I know, but I was fine. I think that my mind just kind of shut down when you were inserted. I don't think the human's supposed to be awake during it, and my body was kind of in shock."

"Oh," I say, nodding slightly. I guess that makes sense, but it still scares me to think about it. "You should've have done that, you know. You should have let me-"

"Don't, Wanda," Melanie says, her voice almost harsh. "If you even think about that I'm going to smack you!"

"But-"

"Wanda, she's right. Nobody would've just let you," Ian swallows, glancing cautiously at Jamie. " . . let you go. We all love you, Wanda. You can't be mad at us for that, can you?" His lovely eyes are shining and I can feel myself getting sucked into them, believing his words.

"I guess not." I look around the room, searching for a mirror. "Ian, could we maybe go back to the room?" I don't want to talk to everybody right now. I just want to be alone with Ian, to figure out what's going on. And I'm eager to see myself, even if I won't admit it.

"Of course," he says, smiling. I jump off of the cot and smile as he holds his hand out for me. I slip mine into his, his grasp familiar. I look up at him and notice that he's only a few inches taller, which makes me even more pleased to be in this body.

"Will you come talk to me later, Wanda? Maybe we could eat in my room together?" Mel asks. Jamie seems eager for this too, so I nod my head. "Great. I'll see you later, okay?" Her and Jamie head towards the entrance to the hospital, but Mel turns back. "Please just try to be happy, Wanda. This is your life. You should enjoy it." With that, she turns and leaves.

I silently wonder why Jared isn't with her, but assume that he's sleeping or something. Who knows how long it took for me to wake up? "Thanks, Doc," I say lightly, looking over at him.

"Anytime, Wanda," he says.

"You ready?" Ian grins, looking down at me. I nod and he leads me out of the caves, though I know the way. It's strange to walk in this body. I feel so much stronger, so much more sturdy on my feet. I can feel my hair, swaying against my back and I'm anxious to get a look at it.

Luckily, we don't run into anyone on the way through the caves. Everybody must be working in the fields already. Ian takes me back to our room, where he promptly slides the red door closed, leaving us alone. I walk over to the small mirror that we keep in our room and study myself carefully. Ian watches me from behind, but I try to ignore it.

Gentle, light waves of auburn hair cascade down my back, ending near my chest. My lips are light pink, standing out against my pale, clear skin. I bring my hands to my face and touch my skin, exploring this new body. I run my hands down my hair, which curls around my fingers. My eyes are silver, but I can make out a faint green behind them. As for my body, my limbs are long and thin, but still slightly muscular. I have gentle curves near my waist and broad shoulders. I smile shyly in the mirror, pleased with this body, but still somewhat mournful. A human life is gone because of me.

"Hey, don't think like that," Ian says, wrapping his arms around me from behind. My thoughts must have been plain on my face, as he kisses my neck gently, whispering soft it's okays. "She didn't wake up, Wanda. She was too long gone, okay? You're the reason she's still alive in some way."

I lean back against him, closing my eyes. I can picture myself now in the visions, dancing with the young boy in the sprinklers. He has similar hair and I realize that he's her brother, Graham Her grandmother is pouring lemonade, holding it out for them. Beside her in class is her boyfriend, Dylan. He passes her a note as the teacher rambles on about parametric curves. She smiles as she reads it; a note telling her what time he's going to pick her up. For prom, I think. That's what the dance was; her senior prom. Dylan twirled her around as a beautiful song played, wrapping her in his arms.

A new memory appeared then, one of the girl grinning as someone handed her a diploma, an older man with bright green eyes. At first, I thought it was high school, but her memories told me this was college. Dylan was sitting in the audience and he winked at her. Her grandmother and little brother were beside him, clapping as she stepped back into line. And then I'm watching her standing in an empty room, painting the white walls olive, Dylan passing her a new brush. Her hair is tied in a loose bun, her shirt splattered with paint. She's laughing, so happy.

And then the last glimpse I get: the girl running, sprinting, through the house. She dashes under the table, covering her mouth with her hand. She's absolutely petrified. I watch as the familiar uniform of a seeker comes into view, heels clicking slowly against the wooden floors. The feet stop right in front of the table and I can almost hear her smile. She leans down and looks the girl in the eyes, silver to green. "Hello, Emily," she grins before holding up a can of Sleep and spraying the girl into unconsciousness.

I open my eyes, unable to take this anymore. I jump away from Ian, hugging myself. "Wanda?" he asks nervously, approaching me. I shoo him away, holding my face against the wall. The images play again and again in my head. New words form, names and pictures, smiles and tears. I push them away, but they flood my mind. "Wanda, please. Tell me what's wrong," Ian says. I can feel his hand pressed against my back, but I don't move. One thought occupies my mind, scaring me in the most horrific way.

Ian mumbles my name again, now getting closer. I find a way to voice the thought that's terrifying me."Emily was human. She never had a Soul in her. So how did I end up in her body?" My voice is soft and almost harsh, something new for me. I fight back tears as I try to come up with an explanation, but find none.

"Wanda, please, don't do this. Not now. I'll . . I'll explain later. I just want to be with you right now. I've missed you so much," Ian says. He wraps his arms around me and gently eases me off the wall. I don't fight back-I don't want to hurt him. He sets me down on the bed, still tucked inside of his arms.

"How is it possible, Ian? I don't understand," I gasp, my breath turning shallow. "She's human. They never put a Soul into her. I can tell."

"I should've known you'd notice," Ian mumbled to himself. "Look, we found her in a sort of hospital. She was recently captured. They were saving her for an insertion soon-probably today or tomorrow-but we found her in time. Okay?" It sounded like he was lying, but I couldn't figure how. What other explanation is there? And I wanted to believe it so bad. That they had only just captured her, but she was unconscious too long to wake up.

"Oh-okay," I agree nervously. I know there's more that he's hiding, but I'll figure it out later. Maybe talk to Jared; he would never lie for my protection. "I'm sorry. I just . . I got scared for a moment."

"It's okay," he soothes, stroking my back. "I understand. How about we just talk for a little bit, okay? Calm down," he suggests. I nod and lay back against him. He shifts us so that we're lying down, our bodies molded together. His hand moves gently up and down my back, his other trapped under my head, a pillow. I close my eyes and listen to him talk. His calming voice lulls me to sleep.