Rewrite/repost.
Disclaimer: All characters and ideas coming from The Host by Stephanie Meyers are being used for entertainment only. Original characters are mine.
Rating: T
Summary: When a soul never wakes up after insertion, the human host's thoughts are all that are present. What happens when the paranoid rebel humans get a hold of this anomaly?
Human Tendencies
Chapter 2
Austin finally got her vitamins to fit in her bag with the DVDs she planned to return and looked up just before she ran into yet another person that day. She opened her mouth to excuse herself but the sly grin the soul gave her stopped her short.
He was tall, probably close to six and a half feet, and scrawny. Scrawny like she hadn't seen since she herself was starving and on the run from aliens. He wore clean clothes and was clean shaven, but he still looked sickly and strangely translucent.
All kinds of alarms were going off in Austin's head, and most were ones that she hadn't heard since before she had undergone her failed implantation in Japan. "I'm sorry, Sir," she said in a quiet, gentle voice. For some reason, the need to prove she was a normal soul was heavy in her chest.
"No, please, don't apologize," the man said and continued smiling at her. His orange-red hair reflected the sun just as much as his silver eyes and Austin found herself wondering if it made his head extra hot. "I'm Burns, it's nice to meet you. And you are?"
"Nice to meet you too, Burns, I haven't seen many Souls from the Fire World." She deflected and caught the sight of the crosswalk flashing that she had ten seconds to cross. "Oh, if you'll excuse me-"
She was interrupted by tiny lavender scented droplets of Sleep mist, a cold shock on her skin in the Arizona heat, and she was glad to be out before her head bounced off the pavement.
Wanda stared at the sight in the back of the van without being able to formulate a question to find out how this had happened. Ian was being restrained by Jared, and his violent expression changed quickly to one of concern when he met Wanda's eyes. Brandt was on the direct opposite side of the van from Ian, holding his hands to his face, blood leaking through his fingers presumably from his nose. He was smashing some of the groceries Wanda had previously collected, and one leg was extended out with the foot pressing to Ian's knee to help keep him back. Lastly, Melanie was sitting next to Ian and Jared, a fist full of Ian's shirt with the other palm held out towards Brandt.
"What is going on!" Wanda screeched, watching Ian try to pull out of Jared's grip to get to her.
"Didn't you see him?" Ian asked, finally getting himself untangled from everyone's restraint to fumble his way up to Wanda. He put his hand on her pale, tiny cheek and she was shocked to feel him trembling. "I thought he was after you."
Wanda was still confused. She had been afraid of the suspicious girl in the store, but hadn't noticed any male. Was Ian being jealous?
"Who are you talking about?" Wanda asked, placing her hand over his for just a moment before pushing him back away from the exposure of the front seat.
"Burns," Melanie answered for Ian, pulling him back by his t-shirt. "He's been right behind you the entire time, Ian wanted to go get you but obviously that would be stupid, so Brandt tried to hold him back and got his nose broken."
Wanda gaped at first Ian, then Brandt, who was now wiping his face off on his sleeve. Violence still twisted her stomach into knots, and she shot a glare back to Ian and was about to give him a piece of her mind until she registered the beginning of Mel's explanation. "Burns?" Wanda turned around and tried to spot the red-head somewhere out in the sunlight. She hadn't been especially worried about anyone behind her seeming as how she was so concerned with who was in front of her.
"Yes, Burns." Jared answered, also smoothing out his shirt and trying to put the back of the van back in order. "I don't know the chances that they're in this part of Arizona at the same time as us, but I'd be willing to bed they're slim."
"Well he didn't say anything." Wanda said, turning back to her stowaways.
"Didn't do anything, either," Brandt growled, still glaring at Ian with a deep scowl.
"I didn't see him," Wanda said quietly, and let her posture relax and gaze become distant as she thought about the brunette in the store again, Austin.
"What are you thinking about?" Ian asked, moving up towards her again. "What happened?" His question came out harsher than he intended, but for once Wanda didn't notice.
"There was a girl in there," Wanda started, still not completely focused on what she was saying. "She was... different. She was strange. She was... grumpy."
"So?" Brandt asked without looking up from where he was looking for a clean shirt. Souls would react poorly to the blood on the sleeves of his shirt if they stopped at a hotel.
"So, Souls aren't grumpy." Mel answered for him, having firsthand knowledge of the temperament of the aliens that now controlled their planet. "Ever."
Before any of the three humans had an opportunity to stop her, Wanda jumped back out of the van and very quickly headed in the direction that she had watched Austin leave. She was determined to see if this was a Soul or another well-adjusted rogue human. As soon as she came to the end of a row of shops, Wanda could see Burns' bright head of hair standing with the brunette with unmistakable silver eyes less than a block away at an intersection.
For a moment, Wanda was relieved at the sight of Austin's eyes but very quickly felt panic itch at the back of her throat when she saw the body of the girl crumple. A scream of warning, protest- anything- was on the tip of her tongue, but at the exact moment a figure stepped out to collect Austin's unconscious body, a hand grabbed Wanda's elbow and jerked her backwards and clamped a hand over her mouth.