Not much to say….

I haven't been hearing from very many of you.-NL

PAIN

NATE CAME IN AFTER A FEW MINUTES and pulled me to my feet. He hugged me as I cried. He whispered in my ear. "Come on now, all these tears can't be good for the baby."

Nate kept me by his side for the entire day. Wherever he went, I went with him. I was with him in the cave when he delivered his speech to the rest of the clan as to the plans they were implementing. It had been decided that the bunkhouse bathroom would be safer to use than the house because it was closer to the cave. Sunny and I packed up food into boxes in the kitchen with Nate and Kyle. At four o'clock, Nate decided to attempt to take a nap since he had the overnight with Kyle. The four of us went to the bunkhouse together and lay in the two beds. Nate wrapped his arms around me.

He chuckled. "I finally get to sleep with you." He took a deep breath. "You smell so good, I could eat you."

"Nate, Ian put his trust in you."

"Thanks for the reminder," he said sullenly. "I guess I'll have to settle for snuggling."

Being pregnant I often found myself taking naps during the day. All the tears I had shed tired me out and I fell asleep quickly.

When I woke up, Nate was sitting on the side of the bed speaking to Burns.

"What if they don't call?" Burns said.

"They'll call. I would call. They are probably waiting for the signal from a higher up"

I sat up. "Did you sleep?" I asked Nate.

"Yes. I woke up about fifteen minutes ago. It was very comforting sleeping with you. Thank you."

It was dark outside. Kyle and Sunny were gone. "Did Kyle sleep?"

"They went into the house in the bedroom. I guess they felt more comfortable there. I peeked in and they were still sleeping. I figured I'd let Kyle sleep for a while longer. Ian and Rob will be okay," Burns replied. He flashed a smile. "Ian called a little while ago. I told him you were asleep with Nate."

"Oh, no. You didn't."

"He was happy that you were able to sleep. He's concerned about you and the baby."

"We should eat," Nate announced.

"I'm not hungry."

"Mrs. O'Shea, your husband trusted me to take care of you. If he finds out you are not eating who do you think he's going to blame?"

"Okay, I hear you."

The three of us headed into the house to scrounge up something for dinner. While we were there, I duplicated the food I had packed for Ian and Rob. "Where is Lily?"

"She's in the cave with Jamie and Megan. I told her I would get her when

I was ready to sleep."

I thought about the fact that Tori had been on guard duty all day as well. "And what about Victoria and Blake?"

"Evan and Carl will be locked in with the prisoner tonight," Nate said with authority.

"His name is Eli," I reminded Nate.

"Right." Nate shook his head in agreement. "Well, we fed him already and he's been to the bathroom. Does that meet with your approval Mrs. O'Shea?"

I smiled at Nate. "Yes, thank you."

The phone rang. Burns looked at the number. "It's Ian." He picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Okay."…"Good."…"Yes, Nate and Kyle will be leaving later. Kyle is still sleeping."…"Got it."…"Bye."

"There's a police car coming up the road. Turn out the lights."

Nate ran and turned off the light in the living room and Burns got the light in the kitchen. As the car pulled up the road it turned a spotlight on the house. They didn't stop but passed slowly and kept on going up the hill. No one else lived up there but it is where the surveyors had gone. I clung to Nate in the darkness. He leaned against the sink and pulled his fingers through my hair in silence. We waited for the car to go up the road and then turn around and come back. The car passed us again with its lights on the house but thankfully it didn't stop.

Nate pulled out his phone and called Ian. "They should be passing you any moment now."…"Okay, bye."

"They passed. We can eat now."

There was leftover spaghetti sauce in the fridge. I threw it on the stove and made the spaghetti. As soon as it was ready we sat at the table and ate it quickly. We put aside a bowl each for Kyle and Sunny. Burns left to go retrieve Lily, Evan, and Carl from the cave. Nate and I sat alone in the living room. We turned on the news to see if there was anything about us. Luckily, there wasn't.

Nate spoke. "You know we are going to be all right. I have to believe that."

"I wish I could be as positive as you."

"Worst case scenario. They catch us and implant us. I'm not giving up my brain that easily. Whoever gets me will be stuck with my obsession for you. I mean it's pleasant, don't get me wrong, but eventually he's going to have to find you or he'll go insane."

"That's a sweet thought, but I'm afraid they won't bother implanting any of you. My fear is they will just destroy you all and call it a loss. As for me, they will rip me out of this body and send me somewhere far away and by the time…I get there…you all will have been dead for hundreds of years and I will have to live with that horrible memory. I couldn't. I'll shred this brain and pray that I die before they can save me."

Nate took my hand is his. "It won't be like that," he assured me. "We are an anomaly. We are too important a discovery to destroy. We're like a science experiment. That is the direction I will try to impose on them."

"Would you want to live like a science experiment?"

"As a human, here, on our mountain? Sure. It's better than destruction."

I placed my hand on his face. "Nate, I hope you are right. I love you."

"I love you too. I've loved you almost since the moment I met you," he said as he pulled my hand from his cheek and kissed my palm. My heart was beating very fast. It had been a long time since I had allowed my feelings for Nate to surface. My mind immediately went back to the last time he kissed me. I was afraid he might try to kiss me again. Afraid, because I knew if he did that I wouldn't fight him.

Kyle came out of the bedroom. "What time is it?"

His entrance had broken the spell and the moment passed.

I looked at my watch. "It's nine thirty. Is Sunny awake?"

"Yes, she's the one who woke me."

"We saved dinner for you." I micro waved their plates and served them in the living room. After they ate, Nate and Kyle geared up for the night.

"Wait for Ian and Rob in the game room," Nate instructed us.

Kyle kissed Sunny good bye. Nate hugged me and kissed me on the forehead. "Love you," Nate said quietly as he pulled away.

Ian and Rob returned after eleven. Obviously they had spent some time talking to Nate and Kyle before returning. Sunny and I were playing cards but we were really not paying a whole lot of attention. We didn't really talk much because as souls we both knew what the potential outcome of all this would be. Burns and Lily went to bed in the bunkhouse. No one was sleeping in the house tonight. As soon as Ian came through the door, I flung myself out of my seat and into his arms. I put my hands on his face and kissed him repeatedly. I didn't want to waste one minute of my time left with him.

Ian, Sunny, and I went to the bunkhouse. We asked Sunny to sleep in the same room with us so she wouldn't have to sleep alone but she refused. She didn't want to impose on what little 'alone' time we had left.

That night Ian made love to me and we both cried through most of it.

In the morning, Burns woke us early because his phone was ringing. He came into the room and shook Ian awake. "Yes, I am Seeker Burns Living Flowers."…"Yes."…"Yes."…"Yes."…"They live on my property with me."…"We live peacefully."…"Yes." He hung up.

"They are doing the primary investigation. Based on what I have told them, they are turning it over to the government. Someone will be calling shortly."

We all sat there and stared at the phone. When it finally rang we all jumped. "It's Nate."

He answered the phone. "Yeah, they just called."…"They are turning it over to the military. I'm waiting on a call."…"Sure, I'll call you as soon as I hear."…"Bye."

Ian sighed. "We might as well get them out of the root cellar."

Sunny, Lily, and I took turns in the bathroom. When it was Lily's turn, the phone rang. Burns answered. "Hello?"…"Yes, this is Seeker Burns Living Flowers."…"Hello, Colonel Jeffries."…"Yes, sir."…"No, sir."…"I did, Sir. I just didn't turn them over to the authorities. I rehabilitated them and they live here in peace."…"I'm sorry, Sir. I don't feel that a race that has fought as hard as these humans should be disposed of."…"I am not alone in my views. There are other souls who live here as well."…"No, they do not guard the humans. As a matter of fact, each of us is mated with a human."…"No, Sir. I am not pulling your leg. We live in harmony as one clan, both human and soul."…"Yes, Sir. A meeting is what we were hoping for."…"One of our souls is out of town at the moment. He is due to return in two days."…"We would appreciate that."…"Yes, he will be driving a white van. He won't stop for your men. I appreciate if you leave orders to let him through."…"Yes, we have seen the squad car."…"No, we have weapons. If we had wanted to do harm we could have easily picked off the officers. We want a peaceful meeting."…"I understand."…"Sir? I wanted you to know that the souls who live here are here of their own volition. One of these souls is the daughter of Ember Hollister. He is a man of position."…"Yes, Sir. We look forward to it."…"Good bye."

He hung up the phone and hung his head. "I only hope what I said will be enough."

"When are they coming?" Ian asked.

"They will be coming tomorrow to set up their camp but the meeting is the day after when the Colonel gets here."

"Well, I guess all we can do now is wait," Ian surmised.

Ian picked up the gun and took it with him to the root cellar. They were already awake. "Rise and shine. We're going into the house. The ladies will cook breakfast. We should be okay until tomorrow."

Eli was tied to Ian with a rope just as Ice had been. My phone rang. Carl had it in the root cellar with him. He handed it to me. "Hello?"

"Hey, I wanted to let you know that I'm almost halfway there."

"Ice? Okay, I'll tell Nate."

"Yeah, the sedan drives much smoother than the van."

"Wait you didn't take the van?"

"No, Jeb said if it came down to worst case scenario they would need the van."

"You had better call Burns. He needs to know you have the sedan instead of the van."

"Sure, I wanted to talk to him anyway."

"Okay."

I hung up the phone. "Crap."

"What?" Carl asked.

"Burns spoke to some Colonel and he told him that Ice was out of town and requested for him to be allowed to pass when he comes. He told him he would be in a white van. Jeb made him take the sedan instead."

"Well that's just ducky," Carl said sarcastically.

We entered the house and Carl, Evan, and Eli took turns using the bathroom to get cleaned up while Sunny, Lily, and I cooked everyone breakfast. We made scrambled eggs and toast. We didn't feel that extravagance was on the menu with all the rest of the clan stuck in the cave eating cereal and peanut butter and jelly for breakfast.

Ian, Sunny, and I sat at the kitchen table with Eli. I decided to make conversation. It might be good to get to know him and maybe he would understand us.

"Eli? Do you have family?" I asked.

He seemed reluctant to answer. "Yes."

"You're married with kids?"

He didn't answer.

"Ian and I just got married last year. We were hoping to start a family."

He looked at me. "What are you, twelve?"

"I'm eighteen thank you, but my soul has been to nine planets."

This interested him. "Is that a fact?"

"It is. In nine planets I've never found love like I have here." Ian stared at the table.

"Why him?" he asked.

"I don't know. I guess he's my 'soul mate'." I chuckled. "He's the one entity who's loved me as a soul and not just for the human form I possess."

"How can you know that?"

"Well, besides the fact that he's seen me in my true form, he's also offered himself as a host if the body I possess should fail before his own."

He looked at Ian. "You can't mean it."

My hand lay on the table. Ian reached out and interlaced the tips of his fingers in mine. "Please don't underestimate me, ever." He shot Eli a determined look.

"Okay, I just never thought…"

Ian cut him off. "You mean you never considered it."

"True. To answer your question, I am married and I have two children; a boy and a girl."

"Did you implant them immediately?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It just seemed like the right thing to do."

Ian again put in his two cents. "Again you never considered raising a human child. Tell me, how would you feel if someone came along and tore your whole world apart?"

"You sorta have," he remarked.

"Maybe so, but at the end of this you will be returned to your family and your normal life. My life, our lives here on the mountain are probably doomed."

"Ian please don't say that," I pleaded.

"You know what sucks? I fought so hard to be the kind of man you wanted me to be, to let go of my jealousy, and for what?" He slammed his fist down on the table. Both Eli and I jumped.

Nate came through the kitchen door at that moment. "Good morning all!"

"Nate, would you watch Eli please?"

I untied Ian and pulled him out of the room and into the bedroom. He leaned with his forehead up against the closed door. "I wanted a life with you, Wanderer." He punched his fist into the door.

"Don't give up Ian. Yesterday when I told you that I wanted to shred my brain you begged me not to give up. Now, I'm begging you."

"If you weren't in my life, I would be out there fighting like hell. Death wouldn't mean a thing. Now, I'm scared of death. Being without you in life or death is just scary."

"I know. Nate thinks this will work out. He has a plan. We need to believe in him. He's the master schemer." Ian closed his eyes and pointed his face towards the ceiling. "I don't know if there's a god but if there is, now is the time to look down and help us. Do you want this race you created to die out?"

He held me in his arms. "I'm sorry I lost it. I know I need to be strong."

"We can be strong together."

That day the squad car passed the house about every hour. Nate called another meeting at the cave. He planned where those with the guns would be positioned for optimum coverage during the meeting. He maintained that we were not looking for a fight and that killing anyone would only be a last resort. Victoria insisted on having the rifle with the scope. Several of them went on top of the cave and found the spots they wanted to be in. The elderly and the children were to stay in the cave in case they rushed us. Those to be interviewed would stay within sight of the opposing group.

That night I had the most horrible nightmare and my screaming woke up Ian. "Babydoll, it was only a dream. It's okay, I'm here."

He pulled me to his chest. "It was horrible," I cried. "I dreamt that every one of the humans was implanted with a soul. I dreamt that they put me into the body of a newborn and that by the time I was old enough to find you, you had given up on me and the soul who inhabited you had married another."

He didn't know what to say. There was the distinct possibility that it could very well happen. Finally, he croaked. "My memory of you will never fade."

We both cried until we fell back to sleep.

In the morning, there was a lot of action on the road. Military vehicles drove past the house to where the road ended and parked. Ian was on lookout duty and he said they counted ten vehicles filled with military personnel. They had a ton of fire power. He told Nate that if it came down to a fight we would have no chance in hell of surviving.

They set up in the woods just off of the property that belonged to Burns. There was a lot of hammering going on. They were obviously setting up tents and the like. We could hear them but we couldn't see them. We were sure they were watching us.

Ice pulled into the driveway in the late afternoon. He had Heidi, Doc, and Candy with him. Jared and Melanie wanted to come but Jeb told them they should stay put since they had Jesse to think about. Nate agreed with Jeb. Melanie was worried about Jamie but there was nothing we could do now.

That evening, Nate called his final meeting. Eli attended this meeting as well. After spending some time with us, he was showing compassion for our plight. Nate and Ian believed this might be helpful to our cause. We continued to try to make him comfortable even though we were so on edge, it didn't take much to make any of us snap. It felt like watching the sands of time running through an hourglass and for us, the sand was about to run out.

I don't think anyone slept much that night. I felt bad that Nate was lying alone in his bed and I wished I could comfort him.

In the morning we ate breakfast and by eleven thirty we were set in our assigned places. Everyone was ancy to get it over with. Why prolong the agony? Nate finally decided it was time to take action. He marched out towards the center of the field. He moved quickly and with confidence. No one expected the horror that unfolded without so much as a word spoken between the rivals.

A shot rang out and Nate fell to the ground. When I saw him fall, I reacted without thinking. "NATE!" I took off running towards him. I was only a few feet from where he lay when another shot rang out and then I felt the pain. It was the worst pain I have ever felt. I fell to the ground immediately. I heard Ian scream, "NO!" I didn't see anything because my eyes were closed. My face was in the grassy dirt. I couldn't even lift my head. I heard another shot immediately followed by someone on a bull horn calling out orders. "Hold your fire. This is Colonel Jeffries. I order you to hold your fire!" I felt someone roll me over.

"YOU BASTARDS! She's a soul! How can you shoot your own kind?" It was Ian.

"Ian, it hurts." I was barely able to speak. I opened my eyes only for a few seconds. I could see him above me crying. He cradled me in his arms.

"I know, my love. I'm going to help you."

I closed my eyes again.

Ian screamed out. "CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP HER?"

"Hold your fire. We are sending in healers," the voice on the bullhorn bellowed.

"They are coming to help you, my love. Hang in there for me okay?" I opened my eyes to convey that I understood, but I couldn't speak. The pain was excruciating. He was rocking back and forth with me in his lap. "Come ON!" He was panicking.

I assume that someone had finally come because Ian was speaking to them in a normal tone.

"Please, this is my wife, Wanderer, she's pregnant. You have to save her."

"She's a soul?" The healer asked not sounding as if he believed Ian's claim.

"Yes." He put his hand on my face. "Wanderer, baby, open your eyes so they can see who you are." I opened my eyes and I could see Ian and several other people staring down at me.

"Okay, let's give her some 'No Pain'. She's going into shock."

Ian spoke to me. "Can you open your mouth for me?"

I couldn't do anything. I couldn't move any part of my body except for my eyes.

The healer spoke. "You pull her mouth open and I'll slip it in."

I felt my mouth open and the movement of my head caused extreme pain. I couldn't scream. I could only moan in pain and I could feel the tears run out of the corners of my eyes.

"There, that should do it."

But it didn't. I was still in pain but I couldn't understand why. I had taken 'No Pain' before and it had worked miracles. I wondered if it had anything to do with the baby.

"Lay her down gently on her back and we shall see if we can get that bullet out."

My body felt limp but the movement again caused me horrible pain. I moaned and my tears continued.

"She's still in pain." Ian observed. "Why?"

"I don't know." The healer replied. "Unless…."

"Unless what?" Ian demanded an answer.

"Oh Damn!" He shook his head.

"Talk to me!" Ian hollered.

"Look at the blood," he said.

"What?" Ian was confused.

"The bullet hit her collarbone and ricocheted. It hit the soul. See the blood? It's red but it's also silver."

"So heal her. What are you waiting for?" Ian pleaded.

"I can heal the body," the healer explained.

"Then do it," Ian demanded.

"But I can't heal the soul…..not while it's in the host."

"Well, then take her out." When I heard this I opened my eyes. The healer was staring at Ian like he was insane.

"What are you waiting for?" Ian bellowed in frustration.

He took a deep breath. "I don't have the tools required to remove a soul. I wasn't expecting anything like this."

Ian screamed out in his own pain. "ARRRRGHHH! Colonel, we have our own healers, I know they can save her. Please let them come forward. PLEASE! She's dying!" He was begging.

"What are their names?" The colonel asked.

"Doc and Candy. Tell him to bring his bag." Ian turned his attention to me. "Baby, hold on, please, just a little longer. I love you so much."

The colonel spoke into the bullhorn. "We are requesting Doc and Candy to come forward to tend to the injured. Please bring your bag with you."

"Wanderer, hold on," Ian pleaded.

I was lying flat on my back. I could feel the healer working to free the bullet from my body. That's when I realized that it wasn't this body that was causing me the pain. It was me.

After a few minutes, I heard Doc's voice. "What's happening?"

The healer spoke as he worked. "The bullet entered here but when it hit her collarbone, it ricocheted and ended up here. You see the spot where I removed the bullet?"

Doc answered. "Yes."

"It wounded the soul itself. I can't heal the soul while it remains in the body and I don't have the scalpels needed to perform the surgery."

"Doc, tell me you brought all your supplies including the scalpels," Ian asked with a glimmer of hope in his voice.

I heard Nate's voice for the first time. "Is she going to be okay?" Even in the pain, I felt happiness that Nate was all right.

Ian answered him. "I don't know. They are doing everything they can. I know she will be happy that you are okay. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy too. I just…"

"It's okay, I understand," Nate replied.

The healer spoke again. "Okay, we need to roll her over very gently. Wanderer, the soul, is lying up against the vertebrae, so every movement against the bone is causing her pain."

I could feel many hands on me now and as I rolled I felt the pain. I wished I could scream but I couldn't. All I could let out was a squeak.

"Her body is trembling," Ian cried.

Doc tried to reassure Ian the best he could. "The soul uses connections to the brain to control the body. Right now those connections are weak. She's struggling to hold those connections."

"Okay, Doc. She's all yours. You cut and I'll get her out," the healer instructed.

I felt pressure where he cut into my neck, then the pain, and then relief.

"Oh my god, look at all the blood," Ian cried hysterically.

The last voice I heard was Doc's. "Stay calm Ian." Then everything went black.

9