Chapter 6

I lay in my room, next to Jamie. He breathed deeply. Does he know? I asked myself. Probably not. I sit up, and get out of bed. I walk to the doorway, and glance back at Jamie. I wish she knew I got her here safely... I turn and walk out into the hall. I walk through the twists and turns, until I'm in the hospital.

"Doc." I nod at him. He smiles. I glare. That's when Brandt and Kyle carry it in. A limp body. One of them. I look at Doc as they set it face first on a table. He grimaces and looks close to collapsing. It must be so hard on him. Doc straightens the body out,and retrieves a scalpel. I look away as he cuts into the back of it's neck, right on the pink line that was the first incursion. It won't work, but it's our only hope. I think. I turn, and walk out of the room. I can't watch this fail. I walk back into the room that Jamie and I share, and lay down, doubting I'll fall asleep. I'm wrong, and I drift into a deep sleep.

I sit up suddenly. I overslept. I glance next to me. Jamie is gone.

"Dang it!" I bolt out of bed. I found them in a dark hall, next to it's prison, Jamie's back to me. He sits cross legged. Jamie shifts, and I see her face. Then I glance down and see the shotgun in Jeb's lap. I freeze with anger.

"What the heck?!"I yell. Jamie wrenched himself upright.

"Jeb didn't bring me here. But you should have." Jeb sighed and got slowly to his feet. As he did so, the gun rolled from his lap onto the floor. It stopped only a few inches from it. It scooted away, uncomfortable. I lunged toward the, closing the length of the hallway in a few running strides. It cowered into the wall, scared I would hurt it, and covered it's face with it's arms. Peeking around it's elbow, It watched me jerk the gun up from the floor.

"Are you trying to get us killed?" I almost screamed at Jeb, shoving the gun into his chest.

"Calm down, Jared," Jeb said in a tired voice. He took the gun in one hand. "She wouldn't touch this thing if I left it down here alone with her all night. Can't you see that?" He stabbed the barrel of the gun toward it, and it cringed away. "She's no Seeker, this one."

"Shut up, Jeb, just shut up!" I yelled.

"Leave him alone," Jamie shouted. "He didn't do anything wrong." I turned on Jamie. How could Jeb let him be here?

"You!" I shouted back. "You get out of here now, or so help me!" Jamie balled his fists and stood his ground. I clenched my fists, and brought them up. What the heck am I doing? I ignored my own question.

"You shouldn't have tried to keep this a secret from me," Jamie said between his teeth. "And you shouldn't have hurt her." One of his hands unclenched and flew out to point at it's face. The dark purple bruise wasn't fading. A twinge of guilt went through me.

I spit on the floor. "That's not Melanie. She's never coming back, Jamie." Even though she promised.

"That's her face," Jamie insisted. "And her neck. Don't the bruises there bother you?" I drop my hands. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. "You will either leave right now, Jamie, and give me some space, or I will make you leave. I am not bluffing. I can't deal with any more right now, okay? I'm at my limit. So can we please have this conversation later?" I am filled with pain, and I try to ignore the guilt. I open my eyes, and feel the pain showing on my face.

Jamie looked at me, and the anger drained slowly from his face. "Sorry," he muttered after a moment. "I'll go… but I'm not promising that I won't come back." Of course. I thought.

"I can't think about that now. Go. Please." I calmed my voice. Jamie shrugged. He threw one more searching look at it, and then he left. I looked at Jeb. "You, too," I said in a flat voice.

Jeb rolled his eyes. "I don't think you've had a long enough break, to be honest. I'll keep an eye on –"

"Go."

Jeb frowned thoughtfully. "Okay. Sure." He started down the hall.

"Jeb?" I called after him.

"Yeah?" I thought about my next words.

"If I asked you to shoot it right now, would you do it?"

Jeb kept walking slowly, not looking at me, but his words were clear. "I'd have to. I follow my own rules. So don't ask me unless you really mean it."

He disappeared into the dark.

I watched him go. When I turned back to look at it, it had scrambled into it's cave.

The rest of the day was silent. Jeb brought us both food. I didn't speak, but I heard it whisper,

"Thank you" to Jeb.

"You're welcome," he told it. I grunted in anger at them talking to each other. Then after hours of silence, Jeb came again.

"'Bout time for another walk?" he asked it. I almost yelled. But I breathed deeply and stood up.

I'll do it," I growled. "Give me the gun." I reached for it, and held it tightly to me.

"Go ahead." Jeb said to it. It climbed out awkwardly, and held Jeb's hand for balance. I made a sound of revulsion and turned my face away, gripping the gun tighter. I stalked off into the black tunnel without pausing for me to catch up, and heard it scrambling to catch up. Mel would never have been clumsy. I thought angrily. I didn't guide it, not wanting to touch it. I walked through the dark tunnels with it behind me. I heard it fall twice, but each time I stopped and waited for it to get up. Once, I felt it close to me, then it touched my back, traced across the shape of my shoulders, before it realized that it hadn't reached another wall. I hesitated, thenI jumped ahead, jerking out from under it's fingers with an angry hiss.

"Sorry" It whispered. It really did sound sorry. I ignored it, and sped up my pace, to stay as far away from it as I could. It was night, so the caverns were silver with moonlight. The moonlight reflected off the mirrors we use to provide sunlight for our crops. The alien slowed down to stare at the light.

"C'mon," I ordered angrily from several paces ahead. It hurried to follow. I hated speaking with it. It stumbled into the dark room that held the pool for bathing, and behind that the bathroom.

"Move it," I barked from the other room.

When we returned, Jeb was waiting by the blue lamp; at his feet were two lumpy cylinders and two uneven rectangles. Bedrolls and pillows.

"Are you sleeping here tonight or am I?" Jeb asked me in a casual tone.

"I am," I answered curtly. "And I only need one bedroll."Jeb raised a thick eyebrow.

"It's not one of us, Jeb. You left this on me–so butt out."

"She's not an animal, either, kid. And you wouldn't treat a dog this way." I didn't answer. My teeth ground together.

"Never figured you for a cruel man," Jeb said softly. But he picked up one of the bedrolls, put his arm through a strap, and slung it over his shoulder, then stuffed one pillow under his arm.

"Sorry, honey," he said as he passed it, patting it's shoulder.

"Cut that out!" I growled.

Jeb shrugged and ambled away. It hurried into it's cell, and I spread my bedroll out on the floor.

"You won't be able to sneak past me," I warned. My voice was softer than before–sleepy. "If you try…" I yawned. "I will kill you." It was silent.