Took me some time... I had surgery and couldn't write.. I'll try to update sooner. Please review! I do not own anything from the Host, it's all owned by Stephenie Meyer. I'm just using her characters for my imagination :)
Chapter 25.
Ian and I just fall quiet. How? I don't see how they will make that work. I know that Ian doesn't get it either, he isn't saying anything. Before I get to ask, Will starts again.
"We've been getting Souls on our side. There are several Souls on our side, so that the other Souls in the town don't suspect anything. We want to do it at night, take out the Souls and send them off."
I feel this is wrong on so many levels. I have a lot of objections against this and I don't even know where to start with it. But I have to start somewhere.
"But how do you decide? How do you decide which Soul gets to stay and which one has to go? The Souls on our side obviously aren't going to be removed. But if you keep them in, you're still not letting the humans get their world back. Take Nick, he is still in there with the Soul. But because Nick is on our side, he doesn't get his body back? We can't just go and randomly pick which human gets to come back and which one doesn't."
Will tries to cut in, but I just keep talking, while I stand up.
"And what when a human doesn't return in his body? Do you put the Soul back in? Which Soul? How do you decide which Soul gets to stay?
And what about humans who won't accept us? Look at Sharon, Maggie, Kyle how he used to be. They haven't really hurt me, but Kyle tried. There will be more humans who won't accept us Souls, even if we are on their side. If you get back more humans and the hating humans become a group, they could hurt us."
Ian takes my hand. "I would never let anything happen to you."
"Please sit down, Wanda." Will smiles at me. "Let me explain to you."
Ian squeezes my hand and I sit down.
"When we start, we're going to take out the Souls from the bodies in this village. We won't take out sympathisers yet. We just regain every body. The humans that come back, will come to the bunkers. The humans that don't come back, will get another Soul in their body. One of the sympathising Souls. It's like you, being placed into that body. The host didn't return, so in order to save the body, a Soul had to go in."
When I start to say something again, Nick says something first.
"It isn't ideal, but what is? We can't let the humans stay underground for the rest of their lives. They want their world back and we think they deserve it, would we be on their side if we didn't believe that? The Souls on our side, we don't like the idea of having to jump to another host, but we have hope that most humans will return."
"I don't know what to do about humans who still won't accept us, but we're going to let the humans deal with that themselves. It's time we stop meddling into their lives." Will states.
"We want to get all humans back that we can. The ones that can't come back, will have Souls. And then hopefully. we'll be able to live in peace together."
"We would like you to come up, so you can become a familiar face in the village. And like I said, we can use all the - "
"No."
Will stops mid-sentence and looks at Ian. "What?"
"No. Wanda will not go up. She has already endangered herself enough for us humans."
"It won't really be dangerous. She won't have to steal for you."
"You want her to find more sympathisers. What if she comes across a Seeker? What if she finds someone who says he is on the human's side, but then goes to the authorities and gets her first? I'm not taking that risk with her."
Ian has let go of my hand, but I reach out to him now.
"Ian…"
"No, Wanda."
"Ian, I'm not going."
"You can't – what?"
"I'm not going up. I want to help, but I'm not going up." I look at the three Souls. "I'm sorry, but I can't. It would mean being up there and not seeing Ian. Or Jamie, Wanda, my friends."
"I'm here now." Will says.
"Yes, but for the first time in a month. I wouldn't be able to go down daily. And I can't miss them that long."
"How long do you think it will take, Wanda? The plan is to start in three weeks."
I look at Ian. I didn't want to do this. I thought it would mean months. I didn't think they were this far into the plan. Ian looks back and his face changes from relief to tense again.
"Not even for a few weeks Wanda. You can't. I can't. It's still too dangerous." Ian's pleading. He knows I've already decided.
"She will be with me, Ian."
"What do you mean, I'll get a job near you?" I look at Will.
"No, you'll play my partner who came over from another town."
Wills partner? That makes me think twice about this. But still…
"Come on, we're going to our room." Ian gently pulls me with him, if I wanted, I could easily break loose from his grip.
"I'm going back up in three hours, Wanda." Will tells me, after Ian pulls me out of the room.
Ian doesn't lead me to our room though. He stops at Kyle's room and knocks.
"Jodes, are you in there?"
"Yeah, come on in!"
We walk in, Jodi is sitting on a chair, breastfeeding Helen.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Ian wants to head out, but Jodi stops him.
"Seriously, I'm not going to hide every time I feed her, I said come in, didn't I?"
We sit down and talk about the wonder that a baby is. I get to hold Helen for a while. When Jodi first handed Helen over to me, I felt strange holding her. I didn't want to let it show, but Jodi noticed anyway. We were alone and she told me it was okay. She couldn't relate, but did understand.
Jodi says Helen needs to sleep and that she'll take a nap herself, so Ian and I take off.
Almost immediately we walk into Jamie.
"Good, Jamie, I was looking for you! Let's go play a game." We walk to a room, sit down and take a board game. Jamie's talking a lot about how he likes this new life in here. The little chores we have to do. And then Melanie walks by.
"Come sit with us, Mel!"
Melanie looks a bit surprised at Ian's enthusiasm, but she sits down as well. I lean over to Ian and whisper in his ear.
"I know what you're doing."
"That's okay." He says cheerfully. Mel and Jamie look up at his comment, but Ian ignores them and continues the game. I get up.
"I need to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back."
Ian immediately stands up as well. "I'll come with you."
"Don't be ridiculous." I snap at him. "I can go to the bathroom alone, I will be right back." Ian looks a bit hurt, but I'm too annoyed, I stalk off.
When I walk around the corner, Jared is standing there.
"I was waiting for you."
"Off course you were."
"You should go." He says.
I stand still and look at him.
"Why?" I ask him.
"It would benefit everyone. We humans can be irrational. We would sacrifice everything for one person we love. Ian isn't looking at this rationally. He wants you to stay. For himself, for you, for us. So that you can be safe. But you know as well as I do, that up there, every Soul on our side, is needed. You need to go."
Jared is right. And I do agree with him. I just feel a slight twinge of hurt inside. He is always practical. But my irrational emotions want him to not want me to go.
"Will is still waiting in the kitchen, you should go now."
"If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting; that's not going to happen. I'm not leaving without saying goodbye to Ian."
"It would be easier." Jared says.
"Not at all. Not for him, not for me. I want to say goodbye, he doesn't need to feel left. I did that to him once, I'm not doing it again."
I know Jared is practical, but leaving without a word? I can't believe he suggested it. Jared's face hardens, but in his eyes I see he respects my choice.
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"Absolutely not." I turn around and go back to the group I left.
"Ian, come with me." Mel looks up, not even surprised, she knew. Jamie does look surprised though, but before he says anything, Melanie takes his arm and shakes her head. Ian doesn't look happy but walks with me. As we leave the room, we pass Jared. I feel Ian's hand tighten on my arm and I know he realises that I've been talking to Jared. When we get to our room, Ian turns me around.
"Please don't go. I can't stand the idea of it. Even a few weeks, it's too long. We can't protect you. I can't protect you!"
"Ian, you know I have to do this." I repeat part of Jared's words to him. "Humans – human emotions – are irrational. You would sacrifice a lot for me. You just want to keep me. And I get that. I feel the same about you. I would always choose you. But doing this, that is also for you. It's for you, it's for Jamie, Melanie, Jodi and Helen; everyone. And by that, it's for me. I don't feel like I need to, I want to! I want to help getting you your world back. I want to help to get you safe. Not just safe in hiding, but safe in your world. Ian, you would've let Sunny go, if she were still here. You would let Burns or Nick go. You're just not willing to let me go. But I have to do this. And you know I do."
Ian looks defeated. His breath leaves his body. He walks the one step towards me, holds me and whispers in my ear.
"I know. I know you do. I know you have to, my Wanderer."