Silver Lining - The Host fanfiction

Chapter 27 The Unwanted

I live in company with a body,
a silent companion,
extracting and eternal

- Eugene Delacroix

 

Sky

 

I stare out of the window and let the cool breeze in. I love the city by night. It gives it something mysterious. A sigh escapes my mouth. It’s not the first time I wake up at this hour.
Dreams make me restless.
It’s not that I’m unfamiliar with the concept. Dragons dream. They don’t really sleep, but have waking dreams in their slumber. They drift through the sky motionless. It’s too complicated for my human brain, but I understood when I was a Dragon.
They do dream, but their dreams revolve around the sky. About their tumbles and dances as they fly. Their dreams are light. Like clouds.
I can’t speak for every Human, but Emma’s dreams are restless. They unsettle me. She dreams of raids and Seekers. And about the people she loves.
People she’s lost.
They make me feel lonely.
I shouldn’t be having these dreams.
This is my body now.
I don’t want her memories.
Not anymore.

I stare at the sky. Stars always made Emma happy. Maybe it works for me too.
It’s been a month since I moved here to Toledo. I have a nice view of the Observatory. So far I haven’t accessed any new memories. Emma’s friends aren’t here and no one has heard of her parents.
I try to stay positive.
My thoughts return to Emma’s latest dream. A memory of the raid at school. Well, she would call it that, but in reality, the Seekers were very calm and gentle. They used the school busses to transport the students to the Insertion Center. Everything went very smoothly.
I’m glad I figured out now how Emma was able to escape. She had skipped class and hidden in the attic of the school to draw. She forgot the time, but she saw the busses leave through the window. She knew something was wrong when a few students lingered and were herded into he busses, the wrong busses, rather forceful.
She waited until all the busses had left before she raced home, carefully making sure no one would see her. There was no longer anyone she could trust.
At home she packed a bag and ran. And she had been running ever since.

I take a deep breath and close the window. I might as well try to get a few more hours of sleep.
The Comforter’s number is still in the drawer of my nightstand. I haven’t called yet. I did speak with Rain though. We talk a lot on the phone. I miss her. She was my fist friend here.
I miss Patt too. I talked to him a few times and he came to visit two weeks ago I like his company.
Rain laughed when I told her, though I’m not sure why.

I stare at the ceiling as I pull up the covers. There’s still so much I have to do. For now, I’ve found a job at one of the restaurants in town, but it’s not my Calling. I haven’t figured that one out yet.
When I was a Dragon, my tumbles were the best out of everyone’s, so I’d love to be a Dancer, but Emma’s body isn’t used to dancing. At least not the kind of dancing I have in mind. She only knows ballroom dancing. So that’s not an option.

Perhaps I should talk to Reads the Stars again. He’s been a real good friend ever since we met that first day. He helped me find a job and this apartment. I’ve met his mate too and his children. Both were given for Insertion after birth. They’re the cutest pair I’ve ever seen.
My body hasn’t protested again when I visited the Observatory, so I’m a frequent visitor there too. It’s nice to learn a bit more about the place Emma’s father used to work.
It’s sad rally. He wanted to make contact so badly. It wasn’t us though that he found. We would never contact a planet we were about to assimilate. We would never contact any planet at all.
A sigh escapes my lips and I close my eyes. Immediately I’m targeted by familiar faces. Harold and Caroline, Blake, Jeremy, Ashley.
Every now and then another face cuts in. A male face with ginger hair and freckles. One I don’t have a name for. And now matter how hard I try, I can’t pry it from Emma’s memory.