The next few days are chaos. Everybody's hustling around the caves with excitement, nerves practically crackling through the air. After Jamie told me the news, Jeb called a formal meeting to discuss it. Apparently, Margaret sent a message to us, which had just arrived. It simply stated that, "We've figured it out. Your Healers will be home shortly."
I practically fainted in joy. Everybody was dancing with happiness, glad that we've finally figured a way out of this. And before we knew it, plans were being made, meetings were being scheduled, and problems being discussed.
After three days of going nuts with excitement, the sound of a car rumbling in the distance makes me jump. I'm in the storage hole, sorting through some of our remaining foodstuffs, when I hear it. I burst outside to find a sleek, black van approaching, rolling softly along the desert sand. I recognize it as one of Margaret's, remember seeing the car parked in her driveway.
When they climb out of the car, I can't help but barrel into them. I hug Fords first, happy to see him healthy and alive. He's practically glowing, his silver eyes full of hope for once. "Wanda! It's incredible to see you again," he smiles, pulling me away slightly so as to study me.
"As to you, Fords." I can tell by the look on his face that he's discovered something incredible with this cure of sorts. He's always thirsty for knowledge, and it's obvious that he's finally fulfilled one of his cravings.
"Oh, it's good to be back!" Jane squeals, looking at the nearly hidden entrance to the caves. She embraces me quickly before turning back to the van to collect her belongings.
"Who drove you?" I ask, just as Echo's stepping out of the van. Behind him is Miles, who's wearing the same creepy grin he had back when I met him. I hug Echo and give the strange Soul a nod of acknowledgement, before turning to Fords for an answer.
"Miles here drove us, but Blue came along, as well." He twists his body around, as if awaiting her entrance. And right on cue, the petite, black-haired beauty hops out of the passenger side of the van, stretching her arms and legs when she lands.
"Hello, Wanderer. It's a pleasure to see you again," she says, almost tiredly. The ride must have been long for them.
"You, too."
"You have received our message, yes?" I nod in agreement. "Wonderful. Well with the help of your Healers and mine, we have discovered what we think is so-called 'cure' for insertion. I would like to tell you all of the details, but I would feel safer if we were to go inside. Shall we?"
"Yes, of course," I smile, gesturing for them to head through the tunnels. Miles stays outside, apparently on watch for any trouble, while the rest of us pile inside. "Ian, Jared, Mel, Jeb!" I call, hoping that somebody will come. "They're back!" I yell, my voice echoing through the purple rock.
"Aunt Wanda?" somebody calls as I near the center of the caves, the others trailing behind me. I see Will peek his head around the side of a wall and grin as he catches sight of Jane, Fords and Echo. "You're back!"
He runs over to hug them while I continue to search for someone else. "Will, can you run to the fields and let everybody know that they're home?" He gives one last squeeze to Jane - who is not only an amazing doctor but great with children - and scurries off to find the others.
"Wanda, is that you?" Trudy says as we enter the dining area. She's working in the kitchen, stirring together some sort of soup, the smell practically intoxicating.
Jane practically bombards Trudy from behind, who laughs and hugs onto her friend. "Oh, thank God you're all okay." The others reunite with her as a steady stream of humans pour into the room, each thrilled to see our doctors returned.
Ian finds me immediately, smiling and holding me close to him. "I can't believe this," he whispers into my hair. "This is actually happening. We're . . . we're going to get our lives back."
"It's incredible, isn't it?" I smile, looking up at him. He nods and kisses me on the forehead, just as Jeb starts to quiet everyone down.
"Okay, everybody, shut your mouths!" he calls, though his voice isn't as powerful now that age is starting to take its toll. "I know your all excited that we've got our doctors back, but there's more important business to be discussed. So, if we could all take a seat and get started, that'd be great."
Conversations quiet down and we all take a seat. Lena finds her way to us and sits beside me, her expression and tense and worried. "As we learned just a few days ago, we have discovered a way to end the Souls' occupation on our planet. Our doctors have worked very hard alongside those of Margaret's and we're very proud to have them back." Jeb coughs for a few seconds before resuming. "Now, I'm gonna hand it over to Blue, who will explain it all for ya."
Jeb steps off to the side and the young Soul takes his place. "Hello, everyone. My name is Blue of the Sea. I have come to you from another group of resisters to bring you this exciting news. With the help of your healers, we have found away to fight back against my species. Your Wanderer's idea to eliminate the Souls by giving them somewhat 'defective' hosts has proven successful. We have created a medicine that fights back against the Soul's insertion, eventually forcing the Soul to remove itself or, well, die. The human will be unharmed in either case.
"We have made this cure so that it can be easily distributed throughout the world. It is a liquid mixture that we plan to inject into the food of Souls, starting with the Seekers and government officials. We will then continue to inject this serum of sorts into the majority of food and water. Once ingested, the medicine starts working immediately, as we have tested it on multiple subjects over the past few weeks. We hope to not kill off many of the Souls, but it all depends on how they react to it. If possible, we would like to get the message across that the only way to save themselves is to leave this planet. If they choose to listen, most will be unharmed. However, if they ignore us, the remaining Souls will die off, leaving their human bodies free."
Blue tucks her hands behind her back, awaiting some sort of response. I try to process what she's said - about how not only are we successful, but we have a plan as to how to retake our planet. It's incredible. Ian squeezes my hand and I lean against him, overfilled with delight.
"So when do we start?" Kyle asks, breaking the silence.
Blue glances towards Fords, who then takes over. "During our drive back to the caves, we have already started injecting the medication into some items at stores. We even accessed a few water towers, which we assume will prove to be a great success. Our next step would be to send out groups to the Seekers headquarters. If we can takeover them first, the rest of the population will be easy."
Murmurs flow throughout the crowd - some of confusion, some of excitement, and others of worry. Lena turns to me with her eyebrows knit together, her expression scared. "Mom," she whispers, not looking at me. "What if . . what if it gets to you? Or Aunt Sunny?" she asks worriedly. I purse my lips together and look at Ian, unsure of what to say. How will we protect ourselves from this?
"Don't worry about that, Lena," Ian says, answering for me. He looks unsure, but I can tell that he doesn't want Lena to worry, even if he is himself. "We'll make sure we raid well enough before we spread the cure. Mom's going to be fine." Lena nods hesitantly and turns away from us. I give Ian a look of worry - there's no way we'll be able to keep enough food for all the Souls here to survive for so long. Surely Blue must have thought this through, though. I make a mental note to ask her later.
"How much of the medicine do you have made?" Doc asks, his brain hungry for information.
"Not much," Jane sighs. "But once we spread the word to the other resisters, they'll be able to help in processing it. And all we really need is the threat of the medicine. If we can get enough Souls to believe they're endangered, they'll leave."
"I agree," Jeb says, scratching his forehead. "I think it'd be best if you and I have a chat together about the logistics of it. Jared, Fords and Doc, come with me. Everyone else, get back to work!"
The crowd immediately disperses, a constant buzz of anxiety filling the room. Everybody is anxious for this revolution to start, as am I. Ian kisses me goodbye as he heads back to the fields to work. I make my way back to the storage whole to finish taking account of our remaining products. I practically shake as I count each can of food, my mind is so full of emotions.
The idea that Ian, Lena and I could live happily as a family, outside of this cave, makes my heart pick up. We could have a beautiful house, fresh food, jobs, even. Our lives wouldn't be confined to raids and fear. We could be free, for once.
I smile as I sort through things, only one thought burning in the back of my mind. How will the good Souls - the ones like Sunny, Fords and I - survive through this all?
Okay sorry if that was a really bad chapter. I'm really tired right now but I wanted to post something for you guys. Hopefully next weeks will be better. Let me know what you think, though!