Melanie and Jared raced down the tunnel, hand in hand. Jared couldn't resist touching her after missing her for so long. He wanted to hold her and kiss her and love her. But he had to wait. Melanie needed some time; Melanie needed Wanda.
Though she felt sick to her stomach by the fact that Wanda is gone for now, she couldn't stop the feeling of joy rising inside of her. She was back. Back in her body and back in her life. It felt so good to hold onto Jared like she'd wanted to for so long. Her mind was clear of voices and it felt wonderful.
"Mel," Jared breathed as the reached the end of the tunnel, to where the center of the underground area opened up. She turned and looked at him, tears in her eyes, before he pulled her close. He kissed her fiercely, running his hands all over her body, through her hand, under her shirt. Mel smiled in surprise and slid her hands over his neck, loving the control she had over her movements. Jared pushed her against the wall and kissed her harder, more hungrily. God, he had missed this. She crept her legs around his and pulled him in tighter before fighting away for a breath. "I've missed you so much."
"I know," she whispered, cupping his face. "But we can continue this tonight," she laughed. "We need to explain this to everybody, first." Melanie's desire to be with Jared was pretty strong, but she had to set her priorities straight. She needed to see Jamie.
The two walked slowly into the common area. Luckily, no one was around. They were all in the cafeteria. Breathing a sigh of relief, the two strolled carefully towards the room, the smell of food sucking them in. Sure enough, everybody was gathered inside, laughing and smiling like it was a normal day. Crouched over a bowl of soup, Jamie sat, smiling across the table at Lily. Jamie caught sight of Melanie and stood up, rushing towards her. "Guess what, Wanda?" he exclaimed, bombarding Melanie.
"Jamie," Mel smiled, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight. Tears flooded her eyes as she realized how hard this would be. Having to tell her brother that his other sister is gone, even if only for a while. "Oh, Jamie."
"What's wrong? Are you okay, Wanda?" Jamie asked, concerned.
"Jamie," Mel sighed, looking into his eyes. "It's Mel." Jamie furrowed his brow, confused for a moment, before taking in his sister. Her eyes should be silver, he thought. Wanda's eyes are silver! His mouth opened wide as he finally realized what she was trying to tell him. Wanda's gone, Melanie's back.
"Mel?" He whispered, his voice cracking. He buried his face in her chest and cried. "I've missed you a lot, Mel."
"I know, Jamie," she soothed. "Me, too. But I'm here now, okay? Everything is going to be alright." She ran her fingers through his hair. By now, the whole cafeteria was silent. Everybody was focusing on the scene before them, eyes wide in confusion, shock, and a little bit of happiness.
"But . . . but where's Wanda?" Jamie asked although he knew the answer. There was only one place she could be if she wasn't inside of Mel. "She's not really gone, is she?"
Melanie bit her lip and looked up at Jared, who was rubbing his temples. "Wanda's in a cyrotank, Jamie," he said.
Tears rolled down his cheek. He fought them away, but it was no use. "How . . . how could you do that, Jared? How could you let her do that? I mean, I love you, Mel, but I love Wanda, too! And I got to have both of you when she was inside of you. Now . . . Now I only have you." Jamie didn't mean to offend Melanie, and luckily she didn't feel that way. She felt the same about Wanda.
"I know, Jamie. That's why we're going to get her back. Tomorrow we're going to go on a raid for a new body for her. I don't want to lose her either," she said, wiping the tears off her face. "It will be okay."
At the sound of that, Jamie's face lit up. "Really? She's going to be fine?"
"Yes. Everything will be back to normal in just a day or two!" A small crowd had gathered around the three, all anxious to hear more.
"Wait-you're going to put Wanda back into another body? Are you crazy? All that's doing is taking another innocent human life away!" Maggie complained. She didn't even bother saying hi to Melanie. Just started arguing. "Next thing you know, you'll be giving yourselves up to those parasites."
"Don't talk about her like that!" Melanie snapped, standing up and getting in her face. "She's much more of a human then you'll ever be! It makes me sick that I'm related to you."
"That's my Mel," Jared murmured under his breath. Having Melanie speak such forceful words proved to everyone that Wanda was really gone.
"And of course we're not going to take another human life away! We're going to make sure that the human doesn't wake up before insertion. That way, Wanda's not a parasite, and we're not taking anyone's life," she added.
Maggie just scowled and turned away, taking Sharon with her. Jeb took the opportunity to come forward and hug Melanie, squeezing her tight. "It's good to have you back, kiddo. I must say that it's reassuring to know that Wanda hasn't taken any of your anger away from you," he laughed.
Melanie hugged him back and grinned. "Thanks, Jeb." The others slowly came around and introduced themselves properly to Melanie, all saying that they're glad she's back, but also can't wait to find Wanda a new host. All of them seemed pleased with the idea of finding a new host that doesn't respond. All that was left to do was figure out the plans for the raid.
Melanie soon realized that Kyle and Jodi were missing. She looked towards Jared and asked, "Where are Kyle and Jodi?" Jodi had been brought back a little while ago and should be fine by now. Maybe they're just spending some time alone.
Everybody's eyes dropped a little bit at the questions. "Jodi didn't wake up, Mel," Jared whispered, rubbing her arm softly. "Doc thinks that because Sonny was in there for so long, Jodi's . . . gone." Mel looked away, feeling horrible, and tried not to cry. Though Kyle had tried multiple times to kill her, she still felt sympathy for him.
"So what did you do?" she said.
"Kyle wanted us to put Sonny back in. He . . . he thought maybe she could search for Jodi and bring her back," Jared replied. "I don't think it will happen though."
Everybody was silent for a moment, until Jamie piped up, "But Sonny's super nice! She's even more Soul-like than Wanda," he laughed. They all smiled at that, and Melanie silently wished to meet Sonny in person sometime soon. Hopefully before the raid tomorrow. After a while, Jared finally asked the important question.
"So, how exactly are we searching for a host? We can't just go out there and look for one," Jared asked. He secretly hated the idea of putting the thing back into a human body, but he knew that Wanda was a good Soul, and deserved it. The idea still creeped him out, though.
"That's exactly what we'll do," Mel shrugged. "We'll just drive around a little bit until we find somebody. We can wear sunglasses or something. We'll be careful."
"We have to make sure that she looks like Wanda. She can't seem to tough or anything. She has to look sweet and caring. And pretty! Wanda has to be beautiful," Jamie put in. Mel had already declared that Jamie would be allowed on the raid, considering he wanted so badly to help pick out the host.
"She is beautiful, Jamie," Ian smiled from the cafeteria entrance. He still looked a little broken, but definitely better. Jamie grinned at him and raced over, hugging him.
"Are you okay, Ian?" he asked. He knew how much Wanda meant to him, and how hard this must've been. He saw that Ian was carrying a glossy cyrotank, faintly glowing blue.
Ian sighed and pulled away from Jamie's grasp, steadying him by the shoulders. "I'll be okay once we get her back. Please pick out the perfect body, Jamie. I'm trusting you with that, okay?"
Jamie grinned and nodded, then rushed back over to the group. Ian stayed behind as the others talked excitedly about getting Mel back, asking her questions about how it feels to be back again. Mel answered their questions happily as Jared rubbed her back, grinning. Jamie sat beside her and held her hand, anxious to spend more time with his sister. Ian watched silently as the family was reunited, and his was broken.