The Host ¤ The Next Chapter

The Host ¤ The Next Chapter: 36

The Host ¤ The Next Chapter: 36

May

I sit on my knees, hovering over Skyfall. Cold sweat is running off his forhead. A hand is clenched over his bleeding wound as his life's liquid is pouring out onto the Store's white tiled floor. I don't know what to do. For the first time as a medic, I find myself panicking. Without the sprays, Heal, Cold, Sleep, ect, I can't help him. Only now to I see the disadvantage of learning how to heal the Soul's way. 

"May." Someone takes me by the shoulders, trying to get me to stand up. "We have to go." 

It's Jesse's voice. He's stronger than me and could easily pick me up and carry me out, but he doesn't. It has to be my choice if I want to leave with them. With BlackFire dead, I could easily slip back into the Soul's society.

I linger by Skyfall's side, however. I don't want to leave him. I made a pledge to do everything in my power to save lives.

"We can't leave him." I manage to say, but my voice is cold. It's unerving even to myself.

"May, there's no way..." he begins, but he's swiftly cut off.

"Take the man." Jenny orders him---it almost sounds like a retort. She's fed up with standing around here. She's trying to find everyone a way out.

Gabbie says nothing. She's still in shock.

There's a pause, like Jesse is trying to decide how much time they have until the authorites come and if it's possible to carry him out. 

"Alright." He gives in. Jesse bends down to pick up Skyfall's arm. He's going to have to help the man hobble---the human isn't strong enough to carry his entire weight.

While Jesse's busy trying to help Skyfall to his feet, I'm guided by Jenny. She reminds me to stand to my feet to give the boys some room. Once standing, however, I just stand and do nothing more. I'm rethinking everything; reliving the scene with BlackFire, every time I came in contact with Taylor, it's all just too much for me at the time. I feel like I'm a puppeteer moving my body, but the arms and legs are slow and my sight is blurry. 

Gabbie's calmed down a bit. She's just watching us, like some sentient being gazing down upon the world. It's like she's separated herself from us. She stands perfectly still as well. The only signs that she's alive is that her eyes are following everyone's little movements. In her hand, which is practically hanging down by her side, there's a cell phone flipped open. Her fingers are barely locked around it.

"What did you do with that?" I ask her, directing my body in her direction. I need something to bring me back to the now.

She looks at me, her grey eyes showing no emotion. Then she looks down at her hand, like she's forgotten what she's holding. When she looks back up at me, she mutters, "Speaker phone."

So that's how Jesse and Jenny knew to find us, I thought. When BlackFire started speaking, Gabbie must have hit speaker so the others knew we were in trouble. I didn't even realize that the humans still carried phones on them.

"Come on." Jesse calls all of us. He has taken on most of Skyfall's weight. The Seeker looks like he's slipping out of consciousness as we speak. "Let's get a move on. I already told the others to go back ahead of us."

Which means he's the owner of the other cell phone, I pressumed. I hadn't thought that they communicated with tech. In fact, I thought all the old models of cell phones had died along with their batteries.

Without questioning another detail, I walk ahead of the boys. My right hand goes to my belt without thinking and I keep my eyes out for any suspicious movement. When my hand comes back, I've drawn my gun that every Seeker is allowed. Although I'm still rattled inside, I'm not going to let anyone take us without a fight. Jenny brings up the rear, feeling the same way, with Jeb's shotgun. How she obtained it, I have no clue, but I'm glad that she does have it. We're more of a threat now.

Jesse, supporting Skyfall as he hobbles, stays close behind me. Gabbie keeps near them, but she's as frightened as a mouse trapped in its hiding hole with a cat outside. 

But since the shots rang out in Store, many of the costumers chose to flee. I figure that it's only a matter of time before the Seekers of this district come out to hunt us down. Every second is precious.

When we reach the front of the store, where the checkout desks are, the two door guards are on their communicators. They see us and reach for their own holsters, aiming to draw their own guns and shoot.

I can't even call it instinct. Before they can even twitch to get their weapons, I raise my own. I shoot the first in his arm, wounding him enough to make him fall to the floor in pain. The other, I shoot so it grazes part of his leg. He falls down too, the same way as his partner.

While they're distracted, we move out of the building into the bright, sun desert town. The parking lot's empty except for the employee's vehicles, Jesse's old red rusty pick-up truck, and the Seeker's car that belongs to Skyfall. There are no other silver cars in the area, either in the lot or the immediate surroundings, so I figure that we have at least a minute or two before a couple pops up into view.

Jesse starts moving Skyfall to his pick-up, but I stop him.

"We'll take the Seeker's car. Leave the truck." I ordered. "The sports vehicle is faster and no one will question why we're going over the speed limit." I added afterwards as an explanation.

Wordlessly, Jesse agrees. Gabbie and Jenny follow without question. We make it to the car and I hold the back door open. Souls don't need car locks because in their society, people don't steal. Although the back seat usually reserved for criminals, that's not what it's going to be used for today. Without having to say a word, Jenny moves into the seat from the other side. Jesse helps Skyfall sit in the middle and Jenny aids him from the inside. Together, they get him comfortable. When the Seeker's secure, Gabbie sits down on his other side. The two girls will monitor him on our way back.

Jesse and I move to the front. Jesse doesn't dare sit in the driver's seat. He has no clue how to drive the fancier vehicle. He takes the passenger seat instead while I slip into the drivers.

Once everyone is strapped up, I start the car, throw it into reverse, and pull out of the parkingspot. The motion is violent, but we don't have time to go around tip toeing and obeying the law. When I'm facing the exit, I flip the gear to drive and take off. In this miniature town, there's no small time police to arrest criminals and the road is bare, so I have free range. 

I punch it in the direction of the base and my one true home.