Silver Lining - The Host fanfiction

Chapter 92 The Sheep in Wolfskin

Our lives are not our own.
We are bound to each other, past and present
And by each crime and every kindness,
We birth our future.

-Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell

Burns

There's a knot in my stomach when I see Emma walk away with Arashi. I wish I could make her stay here, or at least go with her myself, but I know it's not an option.

Emma is right. My friends won't stop searching and neither will Sky's.

It doesn't mean I'm comfortable with letting her go. I don't want to be parted with her, not now that I know she loves me.

"Hey, don't worry," Blake tells me, "I know Arashi can be a bit stiff, but he knows what he's doing. He won't let anything happen to her."

I close my eyes. "If she gets caught again, they will kill her this time. They'll know she was taken before."

"She won't get taken," Blake says, "she's tougher than she looks, you know. She made that Sky person look for you. She'll be back before you know it."

Will snorts. "Give me a break."

"Why don't you just shut it?!" Blake snarls at him.

"Quit arguing you two!" Logan interrupts, "everyone is sick and tired of it."

"I don't understand why you all just believe everything he says," Will points at me.

"Listen Will," Logan says, "you were gone for two weeks. Things changed around here. If you would just get to know Burns, you'd see he's not like the others."

"Of course he isn't," Will says sarcastically, "until Seekers file into our hide-out." He snorts and walks out of the room.

I look down guiltily. It's my fault they are arguing with each other. If I hadn't been here, everything would be different.

Some of my thoughts must be obvious on my face, because Blake presses my shoulder. "He just needs some time, okay? Don't blame yourself. Come, let's kill some time until they're back."

I follow him down the tunnel towards his sleeping space. I haven't been here before. It's larger than ours and very homely. A makeshift cabinet holds some personal items.

"Cards?" Blake holds up a package and I nod.

"Sure."

Blake shuffles the cards and divides them. "You have to understand," he says, "Will has his reasons for hating your kind so much. Before he met Kelsey, he was engaged. His fiancée was killed by Seekers. The two of them were part of a human unit that fought your kind. Evan was part of that group too. Will's fiancée got shot by one of the Seekers. Only he and Evan survived."

I close my eyes a moment and inhale deeply. I had not know. No wonder he can't stand to be around me.

Blake continues. "Arashi's story... no one really knows. He met Will and Evan one day and they stuck together. Eventually they ended up here, but that was before I arrived. Arashi doesn't talk much, especially about his past, but we know he had some military training. He is good with that kind of stuff." Blake throws a card between us. "Your turn."

It seems like he means more than just the game we're playing. I take a moment to think about what to say. I add a card to the pile. "I was born on the Mist Planet," I begin and I tell him about life as a Bear. "When my lifespan ended, I decided it was time to try out a new planet. I chose Fire World, the complete opposite of the Mist Planet."