The Host (45 page)

I couldn't keep up that pace forever, but I'd run myself into the ground trying.

“You hear… anything?” he asked.

I listened. Just two sets of running feet on the sand.

“No.”

He grunted in approval.

I guessed this was the reason he'd stolen the gun. They couldn't stop us from a distance without it.

It took about an hour more. I was slowing then, and so was he. My mouth burned for water.

I'd never looked up from the ground, so it startled me when he put his hand over my eyes. I faltered, and he pulled us to a walk.

“We're okay now. Just ahead…”

He left his hand over my eyes and tugged me forward. I heard our footsteps echo off something.

The desert wasn't as flat here.

“Get in.”

His hand disappeared.

It was nearly as dark as it was with him covering my eyes. Another cave. Not a deep one. If I turned around, I would be able to see out of it. I didn't turn.

The jeep faced into the darkness. It looked just the same as I remembered it, this vehicle I had never seen. I swung myself over the door into the seat.

Jared was in his seat already. He leaned over and tied the blindfold over my eyes again. I held still to make it easier.

The noise of the engine scared me. It seemed too dangerous. There were so many people who shouldn't find us now.

We moved in reverse briefly, and then the wind was blasting my face. There was a funny sound behind the jeep, something that didn't fit Melanie's memories.

“We're going to Tucson,” he told me. “We never raid there–it's too close. But we don't have time for anything else. I know where a small hospital is, not too deep into town.”

“Not Saint Mary's?”

He heard the alarm in my voice. “No, why?”

“I know someone there.”

He was quiet for a minute. “Will you be recognized?”

“No. No one will know my face. We don't have… wanted people. Not like you did.”

“Okay.”

But he had me thinking now, thinking about my appearance. Before I could voice my concerns, he took my hand and folded it around something very small.

“Keep that close to you.”

“What is it?”

“If they guess that you're… with us, if they're going to… put someone else in Mel's body, you put that in your mouth and bite down on it hard.”

“Poison?”

“Yes.”

I thought about that for a moment. And then I laughed; I couldn't help it. My nerves were frayed with worry.

“It's not a joke, Wanda,” he said angrily. “If you can't do it, then I have to take you back.”

“No, no, I can.” I tried to get a hold of myself. “I know I can. That's why I'm laughing.” His voice was harsh. “I don't get the joke.”

“Don't you see? For millions of my own kind, I've never been able to do that. Not for my own… children. I was always too afraid to die that final time. But I can do it for one alien child.” I laughed again. “It doesn't make any sense. Don't worry, though. I can die to protect Jamie.”

“I'm trusting you to do just that.”

It was silent for a moment, and then I remembered what I looked like.

“Jared, I don't look right. For walking into a hospital.”

“We've got better clothes stashed with the… less-conspicuous vehicles. That's where we're headed now. About five more minutes.”

That wasn't what I meant, but he was right. These clothes would never do. I waited to talk to him about the rest. I needed to look at myself first.

The jeep stopped, and he pulled off the blindfold.

“You don't have to keep your eyes down,” he told me when my head ducked automatically.

“There's nothing here to give us away. Just in case this place was ever discovered.” It wasn't a cave. It was a rock slide. A few of the bigger boulders had been carefully excavated, leaving clever dark spaces under them that no one would suspect of housing anything but dirt and smaller rocks.

The jeep was already lodged in a tight space. I was so close to the rock, I had to climb over the back of the jeep to get out. There was something odd attached to the bumper–chains and two very dirty tarps, all ragged and torn.

“Here,” Jared said, and led the way to a shadowy crevice just a little shorter than he was. He brushed aside a dusty, dirt-colored tarp and rifled through a pile hiding behind it. He pulled out a T-shirt, soft and clean, with tags still attached. He ripped those off and threw the shirt to me.

Then he dug until he found a pair of khaki pants. He checked the size, then flipped them to me, too.

“Put them on.”

I hesitated for a moment while he waited, wondering what my problem was. I flushed and then turned my back to him. I yanked my ragged shirt over my head and replaced it as quickly as my fumbling fingers could manage.

I heard him clear his throat. “Oh. I'll, uh, get the car.” His footsteps moved away.

I stripped off my tattered cutoff sweats and pulled the crisp new pants into place. My shoes were in bad shape, but they weren't that noticeable. Besides, comfortable shoes weren't always easy to come by. I could pretend I had an attachment to this pair.

Another engine came to life, quieter than the jeep's. I turned to see a modest, unremarkable sedan pull out of a deep shadow under a boulder. Jared got out and chained the tattered tarps from the jeep to this car's rear bumper. Then he drove it to where I stood, and as I saw the heavy tarps wipe the tire tracks from the dirt, I comprehended their purpose.

Jared leaned across the seat to open the passenger door. There was a backpack on the seat. It lay flat, empty. I nodded to myself. Yes, this I needed.

“Let's go.”

“Hold on,” I said.

I crouched to look at myself in the side mirror.

Not good. I flipped my chin-length hair over my cheek, but it wasn't enough. I touched my cheek and bit my lip.

“Jared. I can't go in with my face like this.” I pointed to the long, jagged scar across my skin.

“What?” he demanded.

“No soul would have a scar like this. They would have had it treated. They'll wonder where I've been. They'll ask questions.”

His eyes widened and then narrowed. “Maybe you should have thought of this before I snuck you out. If we go back now, they'll think it was a ploy for you to learn the way out.”

“We're not going back without medicine for Jamie.” My voice was harder than his.

His got harder to match it. “What do you propose we do, then, Wanda?”

“I'll need a rock.” I sighed. “You're going to have to hit me.” CHAPTER 44

Healed

Wanda…”

“We don't have time. I'd do it myself, but I can't get the angle right. There's no other way.”

“I don't think I can… do it.”

“For Jamie, even?” I pushed the good side of my face as hard as I could against the headrest of the passenger seat and closed my eyes.

Jared was holding the rough fist-sized stone I'd found. He'd been weighing it in his hand for five minutes.

“You just have to get the first few layers of skin off. Just hide the scar, that's all. C'mon, Jared, we have to hurry. Jamie…”

Tell him I said to do it now. And make it a good one.

“Mell says do it now. And make sure you do it hard enough. Get it all the first time.” Silence.

“Do it, Jared!”

He took a deep breath, a gasp. I felt the air move and squeezed my eyes tighter.

It made a squishing sound and a thud–that was the first thing I noticed–and then the shock of the blow wore off, and I felt it, too.

“Ungh,” I groaned. I hadn't meant to make any sound. I knew that would make it worse for him. But so much was involuntary with this body. Tears sprang up in my eyes, and I coughed to hide a sob. My head rang, vibrated in aftershock.

“Wanda? Mel? I'm sorry!”

His arms wrapped around us, pulled us into his chest.

“'S okay,” I whimpered. “We're okay. Did you get it all?”

His hand touched my chin, turned my head.

“Ahh,” he gasped, sickened. “I took half your face off. I'm so sorry.”

“No, that's good. That's good. Let's go.”

“Right.” His voice was still weak, but he leaned me back into my seat, settling me carefully, and then the car rumbled beneath us.

Ice-cold air blew in my face, shocking me, stinging my raw cheek. I'd forgotten what air-conditioning felt like.

I opened my eyes. We were driving down a smooth wash–smoother than it should have been, carefully altered to be this way. It snaked away from us, coiling around the brush. I couldn't see very far ahead.

I pulled the visor down and flipped open the mirror. In the shadowy moonlight, my face was black and white. Black all across the right side, oozing down my chin, dripping across my neck, and seeping into the collar of my new, clean shirt.

My stomach heaved.

“Good job,” I whispered.

“How much pain are you in?”

“Not much,” I lied. “Anyway, it won't hurt much longer. How far are we from Tucson?” Just then, we reached pavement. Funny how the sight of it made my heart race in panic. Jared stopped, keeping the car hidden in the brush. He got out and removed the tarps and chains from the bumper, putting them in the trunk. He got back in and eased the car forward, checking carefully to make sure the highway was empty. He reached for the headlights.

“Wait,” I whispered. I couldn't speak louder. I felt so exposed here. “Let me drive.” He looked at me.

“It can't look like I
walked
to the hospital like this. Too many questions. I have to drive. You hide in the back and tell me where to go. Is there something you can hide under?”

“Okay,” he said slowly. He put the car into reverse and pulled it back into the deeper brush.

“Okay. I'll hide. But if you take us somewhere I don't tell you to go…”
Oh!
Melanie was stung by his doubt, as was I.

My voice was flat. “Shoot me.”

He didn't answer. He got out, leaving the engine running. I slid across the cup holders into his seat. I heard the trunk slam.

Jared climbed into the backseat, a thick plaid blanket under his arm.

“Turn right at the road,” he said.

The car was an automatic, but it had been a long time and I was unsure behind the wheel. I moved ahead carefully, pleased to find that I remembered how to drive. The highway was still empty. I pulled out onto the road, my heart reacting to the open space again.

“Lights,” Jared said. His voice came from low on the bench.

I searched till I found the switch, then flicked them on. They seemed horribly bright.

We weren't far from Tucson–I could see a yellowish glow of color against the sky. The lights of the city ahead.

“You could drive a little faster.”

“I'm right at the limit,” I protested.

He paused for a second. “Souls don't speed?”

I laughed. The sound was only a tad hysterical. “We obey all laws, traffic laws included.” The lights became more than a glow–they turned into individual points of brightness. Green signs informed me of my exit options.

“Take Ina Road.”

I followed his instructions. He kept his voice low, though, enclosed as we were, we could both have shouted.

It was hard to be in this unfamiliar city. To see houses and apartments and stores with signs lit up. To know I was surrounded, outnumbered. I imagined what it must feel like for Jared. His voice was remarkably calm. But he'd done this before, many times.

Other cars were on the road now. When their lights washed my windshield, I cringed in terror.

Don't fall apart now, Wanda. You have to be strong for Jamie. This won't work if you can't do
that.

I can. I can do it.

I concentrated on Jamie, and my hands were steadier on the wheel.

Jared directed me through the mostly sleeping city. The Healing facility was just a small place.

It must have been a medical building once–doctors' offices, rather than an actual hospital. The lights were bright through most of the windows, through the glass front. I could see a woman behind a greeting desk. She didn't look up at my headlights. I drove to the darkest corner of the parking lot.

I slid my arms through the straps of the backpack. It wasn't new, but it was in good shape.

Perfect. There was just one more thing to do.

“Quick, give me the knife.”

“Wanda… I know you love Jamie, but I really don't think you could use it. You're not a fighter.”

“Not for them, Jared. I need a wound.”

He gasped. “You
have
a wound. That's enough!”

“I need one like Jamie's. I don't know enough about Healing. I have to see exactly what to do. I would have done it before, but I wasn't sure I'd be able to drive.”

“No. Not again.”

“Give it to me now. Someone will notice if I don't go inside soon.” Jared thought it through quickly. He was the best, as Jeb had said, because he could see what had to be done and do it fast. I heard the steely sound of the knife coming out of the sheath.

“Be very careful. Not too deep.”

“You want to do it?”

He inhaled sharply. “No.”

“Okay.”

I took the ugly knife. It had a heavy handle and was very sharp; it came to a tapered point at the tip.

I didn't let myself think about it. I didn't want to give myself a chance to be a coward. The arm, not the leg–that's all I paused to decide. My knees were scarred. I didn't want to have to hide that, too.

I held my left arm out; my hand was shaking. I braced it against the door and then twisted my head so that I could bite down on the headrest. I held the knife's handle awkwardly but tightly in my right hand. I pressed the point against the skin of my forearm so I wouldn't miss. Then I closed my eyes.

Jared was breathing too hard. I had to be fast or he would stop me.

Just pretend it's a shovel opening the ground,
I told myself.

I jammed the knife into my arm.

The headrest muffled my scream, but it was still too loud. The knife fell from my hand–jerking sickeningly out from the muscle–and then clunked against the floor.

“Wanda!” Jared rasped.

I couldn't answer yet. I tried to choke back the other screams I felt coming. I'd been right not to do this before driving.