Silver Lining - The Host fanfiction

Chapter 70 The Forlorn

Who made you God to say ‘I’ll take your life from you’?

 

-James Hetfield

 

Will

 

It’s ridiculous. My eyes follow the alien and his friend as they walk with Blake.

I don’t know her story or why she trusts him, but why are the others so ready to let that thing infiltrate our lives?

“Don’t glare, Will,” Kelsey leans over and kisses my cheek, “your face will say that way.”

“I can’t believe you’re not troubled by this,” I tell her. I watch them again. The girl is following the alien around like a lost puppy. And he’s looking at her as if she is some exquisite species he has never seen before.

“It’s hard to believe he’s not human, don’t you think?” Kelsey mutters. She’s watching them too now.

I blink at her. “What?”

“He acts so normal,” she continues.

“That’s not normal,” I point out, “it’s creepy. He’s only trying to get us to lower our guards. Its just a matter of time.”

“I don’t know,” Kelsey muses, “Nate is convinced we can trust him.”

I don’t comment on that. Kelsey is lucky. She still has that naive innocence about her. She hasn’t seen the things I have. She got away on time.

Yes, she’s lost friends and family. Her sister sacrificed herself so she could escape. We don’t know what happened to her. She could either be dead or taken.
But one of her cousins is in Max’ group.

Kelsey is the lucky one.

I have been to war. I was part of a group that fought back. We took out quite a number of them. One day we got cornered by a group of those Seeker things. Evan and I were the only ones that made it out alive.

We went into hiding after that. Evan was injured. It took weeks for him to heal and we didn’t have a lot of medicine. It’s hard to come by these days. The aliens threw all of our medication away and replaced it with their own.

As soon as Evan was able to walk again, we stayed on the move, never staying anywhere for long. That was when we found Arashi.

Or he found us.

We were raiding the same store one night and after a hostile start, we deiced it would be safer to stick together.

I’m not sure how long we traveled together when we stumbled on Nate’s group, but we’ve been here ever since.

“Will,” Kelsey says quietly.

I sigh and turn my head away from the alien. Kelsey is the best thing that ever happened to me. She calmed the anger that had been raging through me. It took a long time for me to open up to her. I lost my fiancée to the aliens. Fortunately she was killed, not taken.

I don’t want to lose Kelsey too.

“Just be careful around him,” I say.

“Nothing’s gonna happen,” Kelsey tries to assure me, “he’s done nothing to harm us. He didn’t even defend himself when James and Philip tried to kill him.”

“Only Seekers fight,” I mutter. It doesn’t mean we can trust him.

When I look across the room, my eyes land on Rachel. She’s been following Bake and Emma and that alien around all afternoon, but at a distance.

She came here with Blake. I remember how scared she was of everything. She doesn’t talk much about her old life, but whatever happened to her has left its marks.

I wonder how she’s feeling under all of this. I know she’s been to school with Blake and Emma. And ever since Emma came here, Blake has been following her around.

I’ve always had the feeling that Rachel was a little bit in love with Blake. I suppose it’s natural. He saved her life and he’s the only one left of her old life. Blake never gave any indication that he’s interested in her and she seemed to be fine with that. But now Emma is here.

I don’t think the two got along in their former life.

“There’s going to be trouble,” I mutter.

“It’s gonna be alright,” Kelsey says.

I look at her again. “What if his friends start looking for him?”

Kelsey bites her lip. “The world’s a big place, right? They wouldn’t know where to start.” But she doesn’t seem too sure anymore.

I sigh and get to my feet. “I have to meet up with Milo and the others. We need to make arrangements for our next raid.”

“You’re going back so soon? Nate only came back yesterday. TJ is dead. And with Emma and that alien here… shouldn’t you wait a bit longer? There might still be Seekers out.”

“That’s why we’re meeting. We need supplies since we lost the car last time.”

“Just promise me you won’t go.”

I shake my head. “I can’t let the others take all the risks, Kelsey. They went last time. Nate is still injured. It’s my turn. Besides, I know how to fight.”

“I don’t want to lose you, Will,” she whispers.

I trace her cheek with my finger. “You won’t. We haven’t even decided yet when  we’re gong. It will have to be soon though. Russell’s group is  waiting for news.”

“I know,” she sighs.

I smile. “I’ll see if I can bring you some cinnamon biscuits.”

Her eyes light up. “You think you can find some?”

I laugh. “I’ll do my upmost best.”

Her eyes turn serious again. “Just come home safe. That’s the most important thing.”

I nod. “I’ll try.” It’s what I always say. I’ll try. There are no guarantees in this life. We need to go out there and raid what we need, but every time can be our last. And we swore we wouldn’t let them take us alive. We’ll protect the group above anyone else. Even against our own.

I lean in to kiss her and she lets out a soft sigh. A smile tugs at my lips, one only she is able to steal from me. “Ill see you soon.”