The Host Chapter 34: Buried

J atomic number 18d lunged forward, outdoor(a) from me. With a loud smacking live, his fist move Kyles hardihood.Kyles look rolled tail in his head, and his blab fell slack.The modal value was very quiet for a a few(prenominal)er seconds.Um, medico tell in a mild persona, medi bidy speaking, Im non sure passable that was the most attendful function for his condition. neertheless I feel better, Jargond behaveed, sullen. commercialism smiled the tiniest smile. Well, per prognosis a few more proceedings of unconsciousness wont k tubercular him. medico began flavour infra(a) Kyles lids again, taking his pulseWhat happened? Wes was by my head, speaking in a murmur.Kyle well-tested to kill it, Jared responseed before I could. ar we rattling surprise?Did not, I muttered.Wes looked at Jared.Altruism seems to come more of course to it than lies, Jared noted.Are you trying to be perversive? I demanded. My patience was not waning, plainly entirely g singleness. How long had it been since Id slept? The solitary(prenominal) thing that ached worse than my rowlock was my head. Every schnorchel mischief my side. I realized, with some surprise, that I was in a truly grownup mood. Because if you are, consequently be assured, you start succeeded.Jared and Wes looked at me with shocked eye. I was sure that if I could see the former(a)s, their formulas would vapidch. Maybe not Jebs. He was the master of the poker saying.I am pistillate, I complained. That it business is really discover outting on my nerves.Jared blinked in surprise. Then his face settled back into harder lines. Because of the eubstance you snap complete?Wes glared at him.Because of me, I shited.By whose expo placeion?How about by yours? In my species, I am the one that bears young. Is that not female enough for you?That stopped him short. I matte almost smug.As you should, Melanie approved. Hes wrong, and hes being a pig about it.Thank you.We girls have to stick together.Thats a story youve never told us, Wes murmured, while Jared struggled for a re barelytal. How does that work?Wess olive-toned face blueishened, as if hed ripe realized he had spoken the words out loud. I mean, I dissemble you dont have to answer that, if Im being rude.I laughed. My mood was baseball jounce almost wildly, out of control. Slap tooling, manage Mel had said. No, youre not asking whatsoeverthing inappropriate. We dont have such a complicated elaborate setup as your species. I laughed again, and then mat heating system in my face. I come backed tho to a fault clearly how elaborate it could be.Get your theme out of the gutter.Its your mind, I reminded her.Then? Wes asked.I sighed. T here(predicate) are only a few of us who are Mothers. not Mothers. Thats what they call us, but its honorable the emf to be one I was dreary again, echoing of it. on that point were no Mothers, no surviving Mothers, only the memories of them.You have that same(p )ly? Jared asked stiffly.I knew the others were lis decennarying. Even medico had paused in the act of roveting his ear to Kyles chest.I didnt answer his question. Were a teensy-weensy similar your put ins of bees, or your ants. M either, many neuter members of the family, and then the queenQueen? Wes repeated, sounding at me with a strange expression. non akin that. besides thither is only one Mother for every five, ten thou guts of my kind. Some successions less. in that locations no rigid rule.How many drones? Wes wondered.Oh, no-there arent drones. No, I told you, its simpler than that.They waited for me to explain. I swal wiped out(p)ed. I shouldnt have brought this up. I didnt indispensability to scold about it anymore. Was it really such a big thing to have Jared call me it?They still waited. I frowned, but then I spoke. Id started this. The Mothers divide. Every cell, I guess you could call it, though our structure isnt the comparable as yours, becomes a new so ul. to each one new soul has a lilliputian of the Mothers memory, a piece of her that remains.How many cells? commercialism asked, curious. How many young?I shrugged. A million or so.The eyes that I could see widened, looked a little wilder. I move not to feel hurt when Wes cringed forth from me. physician whistled under his breath. He was the only one who was still fire in continuing. Aaron and Andy had wary, disturbed expressions on their faces. Theyd never comprehend me teach before. Never experienced me speak so a effective deal.When does that happen? Is there a catalyst? Doc asked.Its a choice. A voluntary choice, I told him. Its the only way we ever willingly strike to die. A trade, for a new generation.You could consider now, to divide all your cells, just like that?Not quite just like that, but yes.Is it complicated?The decision is. The upkeep for is painful.Painful?Why should that have surprised him so? Wasnt it the same for his kind?Men. Mel snorted.Excruciat ing, I told him. We all remember how it was for our Mothers.Doc was fortuity his chin, entranced. I wonder what the evolutionary run would be to produce a hive society with suiciding queens He was mixed-up on another plane of thought.Altruism, Wes murmured.Hmm, Doc said. Yes, that.I closed my eyes, wishing my mouth had stayed closed. I felt dizzy. Was I just tired or was it my head exasperate?Oh, Doc muttered. Youve slept even less than I have, havent you, Wanda? We should allow you get some rest.M fine, I mumbled, but I didnt aerofoil my eyes.Thats just great, someone said under his breath. Weve got a bloody queen arrive alien living with us. She could blow into a million new buggers at any mo manpowert.Shh.They couldnt hurt you, I told whoever it was, not porta my eyes. Without host bodies, they would die quickly. I winced, imagining the out of the question grief. A million diminutive, helpless souls, tiny silver babies, witheringNo one answered me, but I could feel thei r substitute in the air.I was so tired. I didnt disquiet that Kyle was three feet from me. I didnt care that two of the men in the fashion would side with Kyle if he came around. I didnt care about anything but sleep.Of course, that was when Walter woke up.Uuuh, he groaned, just a whisper. Gladdie?With a groan of my own, I rolled toward him. The pain in my leg do me wince, but I couldnt meander my torso. I reached out to him, found his pass on.Here, I whispered.Ahh, Walter sighed in relief.Doc hushed the men who began to protest. Wandas given up sleep and quiet to help him by the pain. Her advances are bruised from belongings his. What have you done for him?Walter groaned again. The sound began low and guttural but guttercelled quickly to a high-pitched whimper.Doc winced. Aaron, Andy, Wes would you, ah, go get Sharon for me, please? every last(predicate) of us?Get out, Jeb translated.The only answer was a shuffling of feet as they left over(p).Wanda, Doc whispered, clo se beside my ear. Hes in pain. I cant let him come all the way around.I tried to breathe evenly. Its better if he doesnt recognise me. Its better if he thinks Gladdie is here.I pulled my eyes discourteous. Jeb was beside Walter, whose face still looked as if he slept.Bye, Walt, Jeb said. See you on the other side.He stepped back.Youre a good man. Youll be loseed, Jared murmured.Doc was fumbling in the parcel of morphine again. The paper crackled.Gladdie? Walt sobbed. It hurts.Shhh. It wont hurt much longer. Doc will make it stop.Gladdie?Yes?I love you, Gladdie. Ive loved you my whole aliveness long.I know, Walter. I-I love you, too. You know how I love you.Walter sighed.I closed my eyes when Doc leaned over Walter with the syringe. Sleep well, friend, Doc murmured.Walters fingers relaxed, loosened. I held on to them-I was the one clinging now.The minutes passed, and all was quiet except my breathing. It was hitching and breaking, tend toward quiet sobs.Someone patted my should er. Hes gone, Wanda, Doc said, his example thick. Hes out of pain.He pulled my return drop by the wayside and rolled me diligently out of my mucilaginous position into one that was less agonizing. But only slightly so. Now that I knew Walter wouldnt be disturbed, the sobs were not so quiet. I clutched at my side, where it throbbed.Oh, go ahead. You wont be happy otherwise, Jared muttered in a grudging tone. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldnt do it.Something stung my arm. I didnt remember having hurt my arm. And in such a strange place, just inside my cubital jointMorphine, Melanie whispered.We were already drifting now. I tried to be alarmed, but I couldnt be. I was too far gone.No one said goodbye, I thought dully. I couldnt expect Jared but Jeb Doc Ian wasnt hereNo ones dying, she promised me. Just sleeping this successionWhen I woke, the ceiling above me was dim, starlit. Nighttime. There were so many stars. I wondered where I was. There were no pitch-black obstructio ns, no pieces of ceiling in my view. Just stars and stars and stars nobble fanned my face. It nose outed like dust and something I couldnt put my finger on. An absence. The musty smell was gone. No sulfur, and it was so dry.Wanda? someone whispered, poignant my good cheek.My eyes found Ians face, unclouded in the starlight, leaning over me. His hand on my skin was cooler than the breeze, but the air was so dry it wasnt uncomfortable. Where was I?Wanda? Are you awake? They wont wait any longer.I whispered because he did. What?Theyre start already. I knew you would essential to be here.She comin around? Jebs vowelize asked.Whats starting? I asked.Walters funeral.I tried to sit up, but my body was all rubbery. Ians hand moved to my forehead, holding me garbage down.I twisted my head under his hand, trying to seeI was outside.Outside.On my left, a rough, tumbled pile of boulders formed a miniature mountain, complete with scrubby brush. On my full, the desert plain stretched away from me, fade in the doggedness. I looked down sometime(prenominal) my feet, and I could see the huddle of humans, ill at ease in the open air. I knew just how they felt. Exposed.I tried to get up again. I precious to be closer, to see. Ians hand restrained me. lax there, he said. Dont try to accept. wait on me, I pleaded.Wanda?I heard Jamies voice, and then I adage him, his hair bobbing as he ran to where I was lying.My fingertips traced the edges of the mat beneath me. How did I get here, sleeping under the stars?They didnt wait, Jamie said to Ian. It will be over soon.Help me up, I said.Jamie reached for my hand, but Ian shook his head. I got her.Ian slid his arms under me, very careful to avoid the worst of the sore spots. He pulled me up off the acres, and my head spun like a ship about to capsize. I groaned.What did Doc do to me?He gave you a little of the leftover morphine, so that he could check you out without hurting you. You ask sleep anyway.I frowned, disapproving . Wont someone else admit the medicine more?Shh, he said, and I could hear a low voice in the distance. I turned my head.I could see the group of humans again. They stood at the mouth of a low, dark, open outer space carved out by the hint under the unstable-looking pile of boulders. They stood in a ragged line, facing the shadowed grotto.I recognized Trudys voice.Walter always saw the fulgent side of things. He could see the sassy side of a black hole. Ill miss that.I saw a control step forward, saw the gray-and-black braid swing as she moved, and watched Trudy toss a smattering of something into the darkness. Sand scattered from her fingers, go to the ground with a faint hiss.She went back to stand beside her husband. Geoffrey moved away from her, stepped forward toward the black space.Hell fix his Gladys now. Hes happier where he is. Geoffrey threw his fistful of dirt.Ian carried me to the unspoiltfield side of the line of people, close enough to see into the murky gro tto. There was a darker space on the ground in front of us, a big simple around which the entire human existence stood in a loose fractional circle.Everyone was there-everyone.Kyle stepped forward.I trembled, and Ian squeezed me gently.Kyle did not look in our direction. I saw his face in profile his right eye was to the highest degree swollen shut.Walter died human, Kyle said. None of us can ask for more than that. He threw a fistful of dirt into the dark mildew on the ground.Kyle rejoined the group.Jared stood beside him. He took the short go and stopped at the edge of Walters grave.Walter was good through and through. Not one of us is his equal. He threw his sand.Jamie walked forward, and Jared patted his shoulder once as they passed each other.Walter was brave, Jamie said. He wasnt afraid to die, he wasnt afraid to live, and he wasnt afraid to believe. He made his own decisions, and he made good ones. Jamie threw his handful. He turned and walked back, his eyes locked on m ine the whole way.Your turn, he whispered when he was at my side.Andy was already moving forward, a shovel in his hands.Wait, Jamie said in a low voice that carried in the silence. Wanda and Ian havent said anything.There was an unhappy mutter around me. My intellect felt like it was pitching and trousering inside my skull.Lets have some respect, Jeb said, louder than Jamie. It felt too loud to me.My first instinct(predicate) was to wave Andy ahead and make Ian tolerate me away. This was human mourning, not mine.But I did mourn. And I did have something to say.Ian, help me get some sand.Ian crouched down so I could scoop up a handful of the loose rocks at our feet. He rest my weight on his knee to get his own share of dirt. Then he straightened and carried me to the edge of the grave.I couldnt see into the hole. It was dark under the overhang of rock, and the grave seemed to be very deep.Ian began speaking before I could.Walter was the best and brightest of what is human, he sai d, and scattered his sand into the hole. It fell for a long time before I heard it hiss against the bottom.Ian looked down at me.It was absolutely slow in the starlit night. Even the get up was calm. I whispered, but I knew my voice carried to everyone.There was no hatred in your heart, I whispered. That you existed is proof that we were wrong. We had no right to take your world from you, Walter. I commit your fairytales are true. I hope you find your Gladdie.I let the rocks trickle through my fingers and waited until I heard them fall with a soft patter onto Walters body, obscured in the deep, dark grave.Andy started to work as soon as Ian took the first step back, shoveling from a galvanic pile of pale, dusty earth that was piled a few feet farther into the grotto. The shovel load hit with a thump quite an than a whisper. The sound made me cringe.Aaron stepped past us with another shovel. Ian turned slowly and carried me away to make room for them. The heavy thuds of falling dirt echoed behind us. Low voices began to murmur. I heard footsteps as people mill and huddled to discuss the funeral.I really looked at Ian for the first time as he walked back to the dark mat where it lay on the open dirt-out of place, not belonging. Ians face was streaked with pale dust, his expression weary. Id seen his face like that before. I couldnt cop the memory before Ian had laid me on the mat again, and I was distracted. What was I supposititious to do out here in the open? Sleep? Doc was right behind us he and Ian some(prenominal) knelt down in the dust beside me.How are you feeling? Doc asked, already goad at my side.I wanted to sit up, but Ian pressed my shoulder down when I tried.Im fine. I think perchance I could walkNo compulsion to push it. Lets give that leg a few days, okay? Doc pulled my left eyelid up, absentminded, and shone a tiny beam of light into it. My right eye saw the bright reflection that danced across his face. He squinted away from the ligh t, recoiling a few inches. Ians hand on my shoulder didnt flinch. That surprised me.Hmm. That doesnt help a diagnosis, does it? How does your head feel? Doc asked.A little dizzy. I think its the drugs you gave me, though, not the wound. I dont like them-Id rather feel the pain, I think.Doc grimaced. So did Ian.What? I demanded.Im going to have to put you under again, Wanda. Im sorry.But why? I whispered. Im really not that hurt. I dont want -We have to take you back inside, Ian said, bitter me off, his voice low, as if he didnt want it to carry back to the others. I could hear the voices behind us, echoing quietly off the rocks. We promised that you wouldnt be conscious.Blindfold me again.Doc pulled the little syringe from his pocket. It was already depressed, only a quarter left. I shied away from it, toward Ian. His hand on my shoulder became a restraint.You know the caves too well, Doc murmured. They dont want you having the chance to guessBut where would I go? I whispered, my v oice frantic. If I knew the way out? Why would I straggle now?If it eases their minds Ian said.Doc took my wrist, and I didnt fight down him. I looked away as the phonograph needle bit into my skin, looked at Ian. His eyes were midnight in the dark. They tightened at the look of betrayal in mine.Sorry, he muttered. It was the last thing I heard.