Silver Lining - The Host fanfiction

Chapter 43 The Unaware

Be careful… you’re all I’ve got left to remind me who I really am.

- Garth Nix

 

Sky

 

I’m frightened.

When Burns mentioned the Seekers and humans, I felt Emma quite clearly. She is more aware than I had initially thought.
Up until now, she had just been a presence in my head, a consciousness, slightly annoying and scary, but harmless.

Now I’m not so sure.

I can’t tell Burns. He already noticed something’s wrong. What will he think of me when he finds out? I don’t want him to know how weak I am.
I should have stayed with the Dragons. This adventure is more than I had bargained for.  I don’t want to fight with my own body for the remainder of this life term.
But I don’t want to be a coward either. Jumping hosts happens. It’s not something we are proud of, but it may be my only option. I don’t want to leave the friends I’ve made behind.

I’m not ready to leave Earth.

I’m not sure how Emma feels about my decision. I’m not even sure she knows. I don’t know how much of my thoughts she shares. I don’t really want to know.
I suppose it’s a good thing we’re headed to Vegas. There are Healing Centers here. And if the Seekers managed to capture the humans, there might even be a body available for me.

I glance at Burns. Will he still like me when I have a new body?

“Where do you want to stop for breakfast?” Burns’ voice distracts me from my thoughts. He smiles at my confused face. “We haven’t eaten yet.” 
That’s right. We haven’t.
“I don’t know. There’s a diner in town. I heard the family next door talk about it. It’s near the highway.”
“Okay,” Burns nods, “we’ll go check it out.”

It doesn’t take us long to find it and Burns parks the car against the sidewalk.
Even though it’s already late morning, the place is pretty crowded. All tables are taken.
“Looks like we need to find somewhere else,” I say.
Just as we’re about to turn, a young man puts back his chair and smiles at us. “There’s no need for you to leave. You can join our table. There’s plenty of room.” He looks at his friends. There’s five of them in total, but the tables are close together, so there’s room for all of them to sit. If they move over, there will be room for Burns and me.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Burns asks.
“It’s not a problem,” the girl across the table assures us. Her skin is dark as ebony and she has short black hair. Next to her is a girl with blonde curls that reach below her shoulders. She introduces herself as Melody. 
I wonder if she came from the Singing World or if it’s the name of her host.
She points at the black girl. “Her name is Green Coral. And they’re Snow Patch and Ice Spinner.” She points at the two boys across from her. They’re identical twins, brown hair and brown eyes.
“And I’m Kim,” the first boy says. He as jet back hair.
“I’m Burns,”  Burns says, “and this is my friend Sky.” 
“Hi,” they greet. 

We sit down with them while we wait for our breakfast.
“So, where are you off to?” Kim asks, “you’re not from around, are you?”
“We’re going to Vegas,” Burns says, “and to the Canyon from there.”
“Quite the adventurers huh?” one of the twins says, I’m not sure which one.
Burns chuckles. “You can say that.”
“How about you?” I ask, “did you all meet here on Earth?”
“Our hosts were all friends,” Melody explains, “it made sense to stick together so we wouldn’t rise suspicion. We really get along well.”
“And of course Patch and Spinner knew each other from the Mist Planet,” Green Coral fills in.
“We wanted to stay together,” one of the twins explains, “and we thought it would be fun to be siblings. The only bodies available were two boys though. It was a bit of an adjustment at first since my Bear body was female, but I’m used to it now.”
“Y-you’re female?” I blink.
“Way to go Patch,” Kim smirks, “you always know how to unsettle people.”
“What?! It’s not that weird. It doesn’t really matter what body we wear.”
“I’m sorry,” I apologize, “I just assumed you were male.”
Patch grins. “Well, this body is, so technically speaking so am I.” He shrugs.  “I thought it was something different for a change.”
“So where did you come from?” Green Coral asks.
“The Dragon World,” I say.
“I have a friend that went there,” Melody says.
“And you Burns?” Ice Spinner asks, “your name sounds like Fire World.”
Burns nods. “Yes, it is.”
We pause for a moment when our food arrives and our new friends wait patiently for us to eat.
“So Kim,” Burns says, “you kept the name of your host?”
Kim nods. “I always do. It makes me feel like I can experience the life on a planet better.”
“How many planets have you lived on?”
“This is my third,” Kim says, “I’ve been with the Spiders and the Flowers.”
Both tranquil places. Strange that he chose Earth. I wonder if he’ll stay here.

We finish our breakfast and say goodbye to our new friends.
“Come visit us sometimes on your way back,” Kim calls after us and Burns waves.
“They were nice,” he comments.
“Yeah,” I nod, “though I have to admit, I didn’t expect Patch to be female.”
“Well, it’s just a matter of what host you pick. It doesn’t make much difference, though I’d personally prefer a male body of any species I’d occupy.”
I bit my lip and hesitate before asking my next question. “So… would you still like me in a different body?” I’m afraid to look at him.
It’s quiet for a moment and I glance up. Burns is looking at me with something close to sadness. “The body is not important. It’s about the person that wears it.”
I feel a blush heat my face and I look down so he won’t see. I’m happy with his answer. It will make it a lot easier to skip hosts, because I know this body will be destroyed once I leave it. It’s damaged after all. I wouldn’t want another Soul to go through what I’ve been through.
Burns’ hands land on my shoulders and he smiles at me. “Come on. We still have a long drive ahead.”
I nod. “Hey Burns?”
“Yes?”
“Could we prolong our trip one more day? Stay in a hotel tonight?” I’ve already made up my mind about switching hosts, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
Changing species is hard, but changing hosts within the same species is a big adjustment as well. I’ve worn this body for months and I’ve become attached to it. I need some time to mentally prepare myself.
But it still feels like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

I’ll still have Burns.
He said it didn’t matter what I look like. He likes me for me.
I feel a smile tugging on my lips. I feel like I will finally be able to enjoy life in Earth.

One more day and I can finally be happy.