Saved
The sun was hot on my skin. I was wearing sunglasses, it was so bright.
Stop being such a baby. Ian said.
He wasn't really paying attention to my complaints but was paying more attention to the direction that I was looking. There was two healers standing by and four seekers jabbed at the rock wall with shovels. When that didn't so much. The brought in some sort of machine that was used in construction. Ian didn't know what it was called and I didn't want to ask. All I wanted was to have the souls inside out safely.
It looked like a dangerous process to me. They had to position the end of the machine just right so that they could move just the rock in front of the cave.
Miraculously they did it. Ian wanted to run and help the seekers get Wanda out. I held the host to stay put though. I didn't want to seem to eager to have them out of the cave. I tried, since I woke up in this host, to not give any indication that Ian and I were at odds. I had been told a story of a soul who couldn't cope and was overcome by their host and I was determined not to end up like that soul.
The first to come out of the cave was Wanda. Her blonde hair covered in purple dust and dirt. Her hands were wrapped in what looked like a piece of her shirt. Then something strange happened. I wanted to run to her. Not Ian. Me, the soul Sings The Love Song, I wanted to go to her and curl her against my chest.
Ian growled in my head. He didn't like that I had thought and felt that.
It's your fault. I thought to him. The night of my insertion I had dreamt very clear dreams about her. Then during the walk to my room and the ride to the dessert he'd thrown memories of her at me contently.
I saw what he was trying to do. He was trying to make me see though his point of view. He wanted me to see how much Wanda had meant to him, and not just to him but to this body. But his efforts had had the effect he wanted and more. I was starting to fall for her.
The seekers handed Wanda off to the healers and then got Burns out. He wasn't injured like Wanda was. Ian guessed that Wanda had hurt her hands trying to break out but Burns was comfortable right where he was, with Wanda.
Anger swept threw my body as Burns was handed to the healers as well. Just a precaution.
I stared at Wanda and eventually I caught her eye. She struggled against the healers trying to get to me. I couldn't let her run to me and hug me as she always did. That would break the cover I had concocted at locking them up.
As much as it hurt Ian to break her heart, and as much as it hurt me to do the same I knew there was one thing that would stop her. I took off my sunglasses.
The silver of the soul shone from behind my eyes and I faced towards her in the sunlight and she stopped struggling. I knew it was breaking her heart to realize that her Ian was not taken by a soul. It nearly killed both Ian and myself to hurt her like that but it had to be done. At least that's what I told myself.
At least we have her back. Safe and sound. I told Ian as he was consumed by hurting her.