(inspired by: "The Host" by Stephanie Meyer)
As I walk down the small, brightly lit hallway, the soft tapping of my feet is covered by the frantic pounding of my heartbeat. I absentmindedly wondered about the fluorescent lights and how they power them. If the seekers decided to check where the power was running to, they could get suspicious about who lives out here, in the middle of the Arizona Desert. It would be traced back to a mountain range though, and they would probably be a bit confused. As I looked down at my small hand-drawn paper map, I couldn't help but feel the tears prick in the corner of my eyes and squeeze my chest. I looked very carefully at the map and then I looked around at my own surroundings. I had been to school for 10 years, but this was a bigger school than my host's body remembers being at, ever. That though is strange, since this school was made in the mountains and underground. I wipe away my tears of frustration again and see that I'm standing at something called the "Aux Gym". Checking the map I find it and mentally think of a route to get to the counselor's office.
Finally making my way to the counselors' office through the maze of fluorescent lights and clocks, which were not really needed since the souls took over earth and we were forced into the caves. Silently, I wished I still had Melanie in my head to talk to. In my new, unfamiliar body, emotions took over faster now, and all because before, I had at least had a general idea of what being human was like. Once I had inhabited Pet's body, all those expectations got thrown out the window. I got distracted with thoughts of my appearance and whether it was suitable or not. I didn't like how this body got easily nervous, and how I was always unsure of myself. The constant churning of anxiety in my stomach about going to school again didn't bode well with the fact that this school was full of humans who would probably kill me in a heartbeat. I was still scared of being killed, even if they had told me that nobody would bite the hand that feeds them. I wished for Ian as I looked around and spotted a mirror. Something about this made me stop, and feel a bit of relief about knowing if I was presentable.
The quiet tapping stopped as I slowed to look at myself in the mirror. I did look nice in my white summer dress. The dress was a soft white that went just past my knees, and it had a cloudy lace section on my collarbone, and around to the very top part of my back. I looked down at my shoes and got a glimpse of my complexion, it was not too pale but it was not too tan to look washed out in the white dress. My shoes were some pretty, white ballet flats that were a little different from my dress, a more vibrant white. I loved this dress, as it was my only one, and it looked brand new because it was Ian's gift to me from a raid he went on with Burns. Now that native souls were more common now, we could all go on raids and life in the caves was much better. That was probably how the humans had built this miraculous building. Then, I thought about the reason they could power this place. Solar power, and there was bound to be lots of that here in the hot Arizona desert.
Quickly glancing up at my face, it was exactly how I (this body) remembers it being. Crescent moon, child-like and with my curly hair barely tamed, framing my face but poofing out just a bit. On a raid a while back, I had decided to dye my hair to a deep brown. It was a very human thing to do, but then again, the only thing now that was soul about me was my eyes.
As I quickly assessed my eyes, I realized that I had some dark lines under my eyes, from the slightly uncomfortable mattresses, and from the hard work this morning. I remember that Ian had asked me why I wanted to go back to school, and how I explained to him my reasons. Three weeks (21 nights) before, he had given the dress to me in a small paper bag and I was amazed when I saw it. He said it was a birthday gift, but just a really, really late one. He didn't say anything for a minute straight when he first saw me in the dress. I giggled and went to change again, and to start the day. It was my dish day. I no longer told stories, because everyone had already heard everything I knew.
The caves were a lot bigger now that the other pockets of surviving humans had moved here. They still got upset about souls living there with them, but all the newcomers and everyone who had lived here prior have helped to create spaces for everyone to live. The project had been completed after a long while. It could have been a year, but time passing here really didn't mean much, only night and day mattered here. To get to the newest building, the school, I had taken the long walk through the south tunnel, where they had fashioned a decent-sized underground school across from Doc's hospital. It was really surprising, considering the life we lived, that they could do things like build a school. A door opened creakily down the hallway and I jumped, snapping out of my reverie.
Peeking across the hall, I saw a young male walk out of some kind of office and walk away with a small paper slip. The door slammed after him, making me jump. He didn't look familiar, not even from when I had seen some of the people from the other caves. As if he could hear my thoughts, he turned and I saw a flash of silver eyes, and the familiar pattern it lay on the ground. That fact made me a little less afraid, as I realized that I was not the only soul. I didn't know before that other souls that live here would want to continue their education as I did. I didn't notice, but he caught the flash of silver in my eyes as well, and he was so surprised that he almost walked into a wall, but he did manage to turn before he did. I didn't get a good look at his face, but from what I saw, he had a pretty unremarkable face, pale, roundish, and he had dark brown eyes, even with the silver lacing through. No other features were visible from my vantage point, and looking at him reminded me of Ian, working in the caves and helping to support our way of life. Remembering my mission, I walked away from the mirror and quickly speed walked over to the door. There was a sign above the door indicating that this was the main office, and I realized that I had made it to the counselors. Checking the time, I realized that it was 9:30. I was late, I was so used to not having to worry about the time that I forgot it could be important in times like this, just as when I go on raids.
After taking a deep breath to expel all my doubts, I walk in. Even if the school is practically a separate building inside the caves, they never found out how to run the AC here, so the school is just as stifling as the caves, if not more because there is no fresh air coming in at all, not even from holes in the ceilings. Stepping quickly into the room, the door closed behind me with a hard thud and a sad shutter. This office was quiet, but it had clear signs of someone working here. The room was not very empty, every small space filled with something; even some broken things on the desk, like a nameplate, and a broken pencil cup. It was a small room, just a bit bigger than my and Ian's room. I looked over all of them until I found it, the sign I was looking for. The handwritten, loopy letters above the door were welcoming.
Stepping inside, and being careful with the door, I looked around at the small office. There was a small wooden desk with a very small number of papers scattered around. There was an owl pencil cup with pens without caps and neatly sharpened pencils. The only other thing in the room was the enormous bookshelf to the far left of the room. There were enough books to last for weeks, depending on how fast you read or how many you read a day or week. I jumped and squeaked, turning as the old heavy door creaked on its hinges and a nice looking lady walked in, distracted by something she was reading.
"H-hello, are you Ms. Carter? My name is Wanderer." I said in an almost whisper as the woman who walked in jumped and quickly flashed her eyes at me.
It only took a second for her to recover and she smiled a nice, welcoming smile with her shiny white teeth as she sat down at her desk and folded her hands on her lap. She had a nice oval face with soft features.
"Hello there, Wanderer, you must be the soul that I was meeting with today!" She says calmly, but I can see a bit of fear in her eyes as she judges me silently.
"Yes, ma'am," I say
"Ok, so here is your schedule, and a new map of the school, and I've given you several ways to get to your class and don't worry, this school is completely safe, and we are extremely lucky to have so many nice things to be able to use for a good education system for the remaining human, and native soul, pockets in the world." She says, seeing the disbelief flashing in my eyes as I appraise the room.
"Ok, thank you, was that it or do I need to do something else?" I question, not expecting the end of world education to be so simple.
"Nope, that's it. You will stay in two classrooms all day, one before lunch and one after. Right now, if you look you have morning classes with Ms. Stryder and evening classes with the other Ms. Melanie Stryder. Since lunch is so late, though, Melanie, as you know her, is only going to be teaching two classes, history of the souls," she flashed a look at me," and World History."
"Ok, ma'am, will I be starting now?"
"Yep, you can go ahead and go now, thanks for meeting me, Wanderer," she said with a little too much innocence. I chanced a glance at her when I left, and she had her head down, and her face turned in slight disgust. It made me slightly sad that I was still not accepted completely.
Wanting to get away from the hostility, I quickly walked out to my first class, and opened the old, heavy door. Silence. My heart was beating so fast, and this body was known to shrivel up when unsure of itself. I wrung my hands nervously and flashed my eyes down. Sharon nodded to me to take a seat but didn't make any move to do anything else. Looking around the room, every pair of eyes was hostile, except for one, which was the face of another soul, the soul I had seen walking out of the room. I could see his face better now, and it was narrow, coming to a soft point at the end. He was pale, but not unnaturally pale like he had been living somewhere very cloudy his whole life. His eyes were definitely silver, and he turned, purposely flashing his shiny eyes, smiling comfortingly, showing me that I was his friend. He seemed to know me, and sent me secret signals, like moving his hands in a distinct way. I knew I shouldn't know them, but they seemed familiar nonetheless. I faked indifference, walking, unsure of the empty seat next to him.
The desks were no desks, but old pieces of scrap metal with colors splashed in random places. Some had words on them like, GE and Bobcat. Pet's memories help me to understand that these are companies that create machinery; Not that I didn't know that from my time in Melanie's body, but Pet had a more recent connection to the outside world. The seats were dented metal chairs and had obviously been thrown in the garbage and heading for a place where the souls would cleanly and easily dispose of them. I sat in my particularly dented chair and at the makeshift desk. There were only about 12 people in my class, but it felt like there were hundreds of hostile eyes on me and I crumbled under the weight of the stares as if they had a physical toll on my small form. The guy next to me smiled and took my hand. I looked up, shocked, and wrenched my hand away. He quickly lost his smile, and then his eyes narrowed suspiciously, but I didn't have any time to react because Sharon glared at me and then continued with her lecture about… Gerunds?
The rest of the day went fairly easily, I went to lunch and sat on the floor near the dish bin, not eating. I was too nervous. The second half of my day went in a flash, I was introduced to another, less hostile class. My first day at the new school in the caves was similar to my first ever time in the actual caves. Other than that, I left the school with no injuries, only a few hostile silences, and stares. In the kitchen, I found Jared, Jeb and Ian talking in a hushed tone, obviously not wanting any eavesdroppers to listen in. I walked closer to the table and Ian spotted me. His dark expression cleared and you could see hearts in his eyes. I flushed and looked down, still walking to him. He kissed me on the forehead and asked me to sit while he went to get food.
"Psst, Wanda, hey did you hear?" Jared said, still being gravely serious.
"No, hear about what," I asked, still feeling the unnecessary and unwanted pull to him. I hated that I still loved him, but I had Ian, who I love with my whole soul. As if on cue, he came back with two sandwiches, halting our conversation.
"Hey, Wanda, so how was your day?" Jared asked smoothly, covering up what I thought was disappointment at what he couldn't tell me.
"Yes, Jared, thank you for asking," I said softly
"So, O'Shea, you going to tell her or will I?" Jared said, his eyes flashing some kind of warning. As if to send a message to not tell me everything
"I will," Ian offered, a bit peeved," Wanda, we're having problems at the school with the humans from the 'other' settlements."
"Oh, what are the problems?" I was surprised that survivors had problems with other survivors. Then again, I have spent enough time in the caves to know that humans are unpredictable and irrational. They won't be courteous to the souls who took over their world, and they won't be any different to their own kind, which is now an endangered species. Oh well, not all humans are bad, Ian is that example.
" Wanda, I just don't want you to go to the school until this is sorted out," he said, forcefully. I gulped and nodded, keeping my eyes in my lap. But my curiosity won out, and I tried one more time.
"What is going on with the humans that just moved here, that makes it unsafe for me to go to the school?
"Well, I didn't want to tell you, but we think that there is a seeker who managed to blend with the humans." He said this quietly, hoping not to upset me. I gasped, immediately thinking of the strange, never before seen soul that was in Sharon's class with me. I debated whether or not to keep this to myself. Turns out I didn't have to.
"What is that look on your face for, what are you thinking, my Wanderer?" He said in a smooth voice, but there was an undercurrent of worry around it.
Involuntarily, I told him all about my experiences at the school today. When I was finished, Jared and Jeb, who had been silent this entire time, along with Ian gasped and my eyes snapped up. I hadn't wanted to tell them, because I wasn't sure, and now that Ian knew, he would try as hard as he could to keep me away from the school. After the proclamation, everyone seemed stunned to silence, so I got up and ran away. When I got to my and Ian's room, I kicked off my shoes and laid down, sighing and panting from my run here. If I was still Melanie, I could have run back and forth 50 times before getting tired. Tired, I changed into more comfortable clothes that I had gotten on the previous raids. I flopped down and hugged Ian's pillow. Taking a deep breath, I drifted to sleep.
The next morning, I was alone in bed, but the spot next to me was warm, so he had obviously been sleeping here and recently. Ian must be mad at me for him holding my hand even though I did not want it. Ian was the only partner for me. After we have lived out our lives together, I don't plan to take another host body. Life would be way too painful without Ian. My chest hurts just thinking about it, and I rubbed the spot where my heart is. Sometimes, I am still surprised at how vivid and how these emotions could have such a hold over me physically. Before Earth, I thought that heartbreak was a technical term. That it had no physical meaning, but the first time I felt it, it was almost enough to bring me to the ground.
Reluctantly, I got up and sighed, rubbing my small hand over my face. I ran my hand through my hair, an unconscious gesture. Getting dressed in my chore clothes, I met Ian coming back from the washroom. He looked a little resigned, but smoothed out his face quickly, flashing a smile, and pushing past me to get in the room. My small hand tugged on his arm and normally it wouldn't have stopped anyone, but he seemed so shocked that it was like time froze, and nothing moved. I sighed, moving my hand away and he jumped, not expecting me to move. I braced myself to walk away, but his hand snatched my arm and I turned around, I knew that my face was twisted in despair, but he just pulled me in and we hugged for a while. Finally, he let go and spoke
"I'm sorry, I know you love me and I love you." I nodded along, glad that he was remorseful and that he forgave me.
"Thanks, Ian," I said, thinking about having to be away from him at school today. It was like he read my mind and said," Ya know, I could come with you today." I beamed, not having thought about that and I agreed. Finishing up our chores as quickly as possible, me and Ian headed down the long south tunnel. Saying morning to Doc, Ian and I walked hand in hand into the school. He pulled a map out of his pocket and spread it out. I pointed to my class, and we walked, enjoying the blissful silence. We had come before the school would have opened, but Ian had wanted to snatch a seat next to me so that we could enjoy each other's company, and so that he could check out this new and mysterious soul that I had claimed to see.
As we got to the classroom, Sharon was already there and reading a book called Twilight, this was an interesting name and I wondered what the book was about. That day, I and Ian just talked throughout all my classes, Sharon shooting us a glare when she caught us. The boy wasn't present today, but there was only a flash of disappointment from Ian before we continued the day. At lunch, I picked up a bologna sandwich and went again to go sit by the bins, but as I sat down, Ian went to easily pick me up by the arm. I wobbled, but stayed upright, glaring at him.
"What was that for?!" I said, harsh
"Why are you sitting here?" He asked me, pity lining the edges of his statement. He hadn't waited for me to answer, just pulling my apparently insignificant weight along to the nearest populated table. We ate in relative silence, the other girls at the table always glaring at me leaning on Ian, only to try and talk to him. He responded with relative friendliness but never reacted when they tried to flirt. This made me happy. At night, I went to bed as normal as ever, following my daily routine. There wasn't much conversation in my day, because I had a lot on my mind. The next few days continued like this, walking to school with Ian, eating quickly, going to Sharon's class, wondering where the mysterious boy was, going to Melanie's class, which was always fun, and I could practically read her mind, and then going back to the main caves, eating and doing chores, then going back to my and Ian's room for a night of sleep. After that one morning, Ian didn't leave in the morning until I was up. Today, I slept in especially late, since I had already had 5 days of schooling this week. Rather, 5 times of schooling, since we had no way of knowing what day it was. Wandering around, as it was not our day to do the irrigation, we met up with a few people, such as Melanie, Jamie, and Jared. They all had said that they miss me and Ian and that we were caught up in our own little world as of late.
After two days of relaxing, I went back to the building, not really into the idea of school anymore. The guy was there today, but Ian was not. He said that there had been no other news circulating about the 'Seeker', so I was free to go alone today, and he had to work on harvesting the fields, anyway. I spent the first part of the morning thinking of ways to confront the person next to me. I decided to ditch the rest of the day and go on a super sneaky mission. I imagined meeting at the door and then going to the kitchen to meet Ian and interrogate the mysterious soul.
I had gotten my plan perfect in my head when the bell suddenly rang. I quickly got up and walked to the door, waiting to leave and follow the guy. He walked by me, but then suddenly latched onto my hand and dragged me out. I tried to struggle, but still, I was physically weaker than everyone, including Jamie, even. I tried to say something that would be useful, like help, but it got caught in my throat. We got to the destination- a deserted classroom. He shut the door, flipped the switch and faced me. I was terrified, multiple scenarios running through my mind, but all he did was say," Sorry, about that, I probably could have been a little more… gentle and friendly. I nodded my head, calming down and rubbed my hand. He sighed and asked me what I was doing here because it was not safe.
I didn't say anything, only looked at him as if he were insane. He was confused for a second before realizing that I was here because I wanted to be.
"Why," he asked, quietly
"Why what?"
"Why would you stay here with these humans, they are all bound to be found out one day," he looked down and seemed almost sad.
"Hold up, first off, who are you?" I asked, perplexed on why he wasn't like other souls.
"My name's Jacob, nice to meet you," he said, sweeping his hair to the side, flashing a smile, and holding his hand out for me to shake.
"Wanderer, nice to meet you too," I said, grabbing his hand. Our height differences were pretty significant and I put my hand almost all the way out just to reach him. He then again asked me why I stay here with humans.
"Because, I love them, and this is my world I'm never leaving," I stated, getting defensive on why he was asking that.
"Oh, so you're not a seeker?" He asked like it was an accusation, and he looked a little… disappointed? In me, or because I wouldn't intentionally cause the downfall of a colony of survivors.
"W-what no," I said, horrified at the thought. Then it dawned on me," Are you?!" He must have heard the horror in my voice.
"No," he reassured, but I heard the false note. I guess even trained Seekers can't hide their true nature from their own. I stared with my mouth open, and then without a thought, I ran. He called after me but I kept going, slowing slightly along the way, until I found Ian and Jared in the fields, working the soil. I had slowed to a speed walk by now and would have collapsed, if Ian had not reached me, holding on and asked what happened. I told them, but it took a while to get it out because I had to breathe. I grabbed the water bottle that Jared was holding and drank it all in one gulp, apologizing afterward. Their eyes widened, and they looked at each other. Ian told me to stay put and then motioned for Jared to follow him. Naturally, I followed after them, still panting uncontrollably. The long trip back seemed even longer the second time. When I got there, I heard signs of a struggle. Jared and Ian had Jacob in a headlock, and they were leading him somewhere. Ian took one glance at me before continuing his journey.
Even after living with the humans for so long, I still was not used to violence and it made me feel a little bad as they led the undercover seeker to the… storage room. This place still horrified me, as I remember the days I spent in the small hole, terrified and hurting. I swallowed and took a deep breath, following them in. There was a step behind me and I looked to see Jeb and the leader from a different group. They had been conversing but watched as a soul was dragged into the dark tunnel. All six of us make the hallway cramped. The two guys holding the captive released him on the ground. He sat there on his hands and knees, panting and I ran up to Ian, latching onto his arm. The Seeker on the ground scared me. They are all bad, right?
"What'd Ya do that for huh?" He asked until he looked at me, realizing and his eyes tightened in mistrust.
"You know, in this past year, there have been 100 souls that have gone missing." He said, sitting back against the wall now. This shocked me and I gasped. Ian pulled me closer and glared at the man.
"Hey, what is going on here?!" The leader of the other group asked, making himself known
"He's a seeker," I explained, assessing the situation in my mind. I couldn't believe that this had happened, it was ridiculous that good people should have to fear for their lives.
"No he is not, he's a good man!" The leader said, looking horrified. We all glanced at Jacob, looking for any confirmation. He then explained that he was a Seeker, but he had been growing used to humans. He then stated that he presently had no want to harm the humans, only that the souls knew where he was and would be coming soon. After the guys talked for a while, Jared led Jacob to a cell and put Aaron up as a guard. All night, I tossed, wondering if I could fix this.
The realization came to me. I quietly got up and left my room. Walking to Doc's hospital, I explained to him what had happened, and what my idea was. Jared decided to make himself known and he agreed to move the body far away from here, to one of the most far off human settlements, 20 miles away from here. We all three agreed to enact the plan in three days and to not tell anyone. I went back to bed, satisfied that the danger would be gone soon, but worried about how it would turn out. The first day was the hardest. I and Ian had just agreed to stay close together and to make sure frequently that there was no suspicious behavior. We woke up, and I guess I had seemed a bit off at breakfast, so when we were turning the soil in the garden room, he asked what was wrong.
"Nothing," I said, the lie falling flat. He stopped working and looked at me. He pleaded with me to confide in him. Finally, I told him I was worried. It didn't sound like a lie because it wasn't, but I just didn't tell him fully what was bothering me. Yes, I was worried, but for more reasons than he thought, probably. I was worried about Ian, and for all the humans involved. I was worried for the soul, and for the human mind trapped inside. I was worried for myself because the caves were no longer considered completely safe by me. I worried that the plan would fail if someone would find out how to stop us from doing this. I'm sure that some humans would not mind me saving a soul, even if it was a Seeker, Ian, for instance.
"Ok," he said simply, still looking suspicious but I paid no mind to him. We finished the backbreaking work and put the tools back, heading to the kitchen for lunch. Lunch was a comfortable silence. I was so tired, though, that I ate with no motivation and with my eyes closed, leaning back in my seat. I don't know why I was tired, as I had the easiest job out of all of the possible jobs. After lunch, Ian and I used the washroom, and I almost fell asleep in the pitch-black darkness. I met up with Jamie and Melanie. Jamie asked a lot about the other worlds I had lived on. It was like old times, but I had my own body now and I wasn't afraid of mentioning anything that would hurt his feelings, he was a strong boy. Really, Jamie was more of a man now; he was 17 and starting to age. I was proud, and I wasn't surprised to know that I still loved him like he was my son.
Melanie and I talked about what had been happening in school. I tried to concentrate on our conversation, but thinking about school made me think of Jacob and the plan that was happening in 2 days. Melanie noticed this, but she must have thought that I was tired, because she just sent me off to bed. I complied easily, trudging all the way to my room, I found that Ian was already asleep, limbs hanging off of all sides of the mattress. In my sleep-deprived state, this was hilarious. I bit my fist to keep from making too much noise, and laid down, falling asleep almost immediately.
The second day was easier. Ian didn't question why I was acting strange, and it wasn't my group's turn for doing chores.I did, however, make lunch and wash the dishes in the darkness of the washroom. For the past few days, I hadn't seen much of anybody I knew except for Doc and Jared, to discuss plans, Jamie, Ian, and Melanie. I took the rest of my free day to meet up with my friends and we all played a game in the game room. They brought in the bright lamp and we played until everyone, including me, was on the ground, not wanting to do anything except breathe. I had been on a team with Jeb, Ian, Jamie, Melanie, Jared, Kyle, and obviously, Sunlight Passing Through Ice (Sunny) was with him. The opposing team was Maggie, Sharon, Trudy, Brandt, Lacey, who was annoying as ever, Candy, and Burns Living Flowers (Burns) Over the past few years, Sunny had grown more accustomed to life here and she was more outgoing. Sometimes she and Melanie teased me by calling me, Rides The Beast. I never thought that it was funny, but they did.
On the third day, I was a wreck inside. I basically stayed with Doc and Jared, making cactus soap, so that we could talk about what would happen that night. Ian had to go on a raid, a short one, so he would be back in about 1 day. Naturally, I was worried about him too; but I was glad he couldn't stop me from doing this. Ian mostly has the spirit of a soul, but he was still human. He did not take it well when I told him how Jacob had gotten me into a separate room; I constantly reassured him that it was fine, but it made no difference.
That night
My hands were shaking as I helped Doc get all of the supplies ready for the Seeker. I remembered the last time I did this, it was almost the same, except this time, only the Seeker was being taken out, not me. When Jared came in, hauling the Seeker's heavy body, I was suddenly calm. I was doing a good thing and saving two lives.
I watched Doc give him the No Pain. Flipping him over, he used the scalpel to cut the length of the scar on the Seeker's neck.Thinking about it, I wondered if Jacob was his real name. The flow of blood was kind of revolting, and Doc did everything he could to slow it down as he lured the soul out. As Doc placed the shiny silver being in my hands, I felt a wave of maternity wash over me. Gently, I placed the soul in an unoccupied cryotank as Doc put the Clean inside and out on and then the Heal, and Smooth. The body was then turned over and some Awake was sprayed. Nothing happened, I guess that we would have to keep trying to get him awake as we did with Candy.
I asked the others to tend to the rest as I went to put the cryotank safely in a clear spot on Doc's crate desk and then sat down, closed my eyes, and leaned my head back, sighing. I heard the man himself walk over and sit next to me.
"You did the right thing, even if he wasn't planning on turning us in, they would have tracked his body here. Jared is ready to leave for the truck, do you want him to take the cryotank as well?" Doc asked, comfortingly.
"Yes," I breathed, less trouble for me.
"Alright, I'll be back," Jared said as he carefully held the cryotank in a fanny pack, and carried the body on his shoulders, running away to get the truck before sunup. Doc helped me up and suggested that I go rest. I nodded and headed off. When I woke again, Jamie was sitting in my room, messing with a knife.
"Morning Jamie," I said, groggy, with my voice cracking as I stretched
"Oh 'morning Wanda," He said, just noticing me," glad you're up!"
"Why how long was I sleeping?" I asked him
"Oh, only a day," he answered casually
"A DAY?!" I yelled, flinching as my voice echoed across the unstable-looking cavern.
"Yep, now come on I'm sure you're hungry, oh and Ians back, also I have some good news and some bad news, but we'll discuss that later." I met with Ian and he talked to me about how tired I must have been, what happened while I was asleep, not much, and how it was coming springtime, bad news, so we would have to move into the game room and how some people, like last year, would sleep in the school, good news. This excited me, as I loved the springtime and I loved how everyone always banded together to face the future. That night we moved in, Ian had carried our mattress in and laid it down in the far corner, but away from the small sulfur latrine across the room. Again, everyone laughed when Jeb made some comment about 'shutting yer yappers so he could get some sleep'. All the lanterns went out as everyone laid down to go to sleep. I knew that this time, I couldn't sleep through a whole day, what with the soggy mattress in the morning, and the commotion of everyone waking up.
The next morning, Ian gently shook me awake and pointed to the bed a few people over, where Jamie was snoring and looked like he was about to fall off the bed. I snickered and got up stretching out while Ian shook out our bedding so that it was dry. We then started our trek to the kitchen with the other groups and pairs, to get something to eat. Ian informed me that there had been multiple raids out that had people from other groups in it, and they had all apparently gotten back last night, meaning more good food and good toiletries as well. He also explained how they had brought back new mattresses and they were being switched out tonight. That statement made me happy, and I thought about my new, white, clean, soft, and comfortable mattress that I would have by the end of the day today.
This all happened while leading me to the kitchen and grabbing 4 sandwiches and sitting down at the table with Melanie, Jared, and Ian. Jared subtly nodded to me as to say, it's done. I felt very relieved as Ian hugged me and said," Good morning, sleepyhead," kissing my forehead.
"Morning," I responded. We ate and talked. There was more talking than eating, and I felt that true sense of kinship and love as we ate in that room, no longer worrying about trivial things such as the Seeker, and I felt the glow again, this time I hadn't had No Pain, so I knew it was just the love circling around this moment in time, and again I was reminded that this was my family, and I knew that whatever hardships we ever have to endure, we would do it together. We would support each other, encourage each other and be brave and courteous along the way. I was pretty sure Melanie felt the glow as well, because she gave me a loving look, and smiled fondly, and I did the same, overjoyed that I had come to Earth and let the winds of fate bring me to the only true family I have ever had, and ever will have.