Silver Lining - The Host fanfiction

Chapter 132 The Victims of Circumstance

It's hard to believe that a man is telling the truth,
when you know that you would lie if you were in his place

-H.L. Mencken

Nate

We hide the car as much as possible. Jared points out a place where it will be fairly secluded until we can take a look at it. They don't have a spare tire that will fit, but they told us they can take us to a car shop soon, either with Wanderer's help, which they seem reluctant of, or at night by simply stealing one.

The three of them argued for a while about the van, but then decided to drive it all the way up to their hide-out where it will be safe for a day or two. It's quicker than unloading the whole thing and having to haul everything across the desert.

Jared nods at Brandt to take the wheel. "You drive. Mel and I will walk them." He takes her hand.

"Tom, you go with him," I say and he nods before climbing into the passenger seat. Kim stays next to me.

Jared nods his head, motioning for us to follow him.

"So," I say once we're walking, "those disappearances lately, I'm guessing that was you?"

Melanie and Jared share a look. "Some," Melanie says, "not all of them."

I nod. I guess we are to blame for the latest missing people.

"That little one, being one of 'em?" I ask and then I chuckle. "Wanderer, was it? I have to admit, I was surprised when Burns pointed her out. She seems like such a timid little thing. Would never have expected her to have the courage to stickup with humans."

Jared's eyes slightly narrow. "Wanda's tougher than she looks. We owe her a great deal." He sounds stiff. Melanie presses his hand. He glances at her with a soft smile on his lips and his arm snakes around her waist, pulling her close.

Huh. Interesting.

"Yeah," I say, "Burns helped us out a lot too. If it weren't for him, we'd still be struggling. Things are a lot easier now."

"That's not what we mean," Melanie says, "sure she does that too, but... Wanda... she saved my life. She brought me home."

Jared's eyes flicker with grief a moment but it's gone before I have the time to study it more closely.

I smile instead. Maybe I'll hear the entire story later.

A chuckle escapes my lips. "I remember meeting Emma and Burns. They stumbled on me by accident. We'd been on a raid you see," I pause, feeling sad again of losing TJ that day, "we lost one of our own and I got myself f injured. We lost the car too with all our goods, so the others, they hid me best as they could to go get help from our home." I smirk. "Emma and Burns, they were on the run, camping out in the Canyon. They found me, broken leg and all and delirious with fever. At first I hardly noticed what was going on, but then I saw." I shake my head. "Burns was the one that insisted on helping me. Emma would have gladly abandoned me." I laugh. The memory still amuses me. "Far more concerned with me possibly harming Burns than me possibly dying."

Curiosity sparks in Jared's eyes. "You're saying they were already together then?"

"Sure am," I grin, "little lass even threatened to end my life if I so much as thought about hurting Burns. Feisty little thing that one."

Kim laughs now too. "Don't forget to tell them she caught a bullet for him when the others finally showed. And she told Philp and James that if they were going to kill Burns, they had to kill her first."

An amused smile tugs at Melanie's lips. "I like her already."

Jared rolls his eyes. "Of course you do. You're the one that almost gave me a concussion when you thought Wanda was gone."

"You could have just told me in the first place."

"You weren't exactly being reasonable, love."

That earns him a punch against his stomach, though there is not much force behind it. "Don't you dare call me unreasonable, Jared Howe."

He chuckles and kisses her temple. "My little fighter. What would Wanda say?"

I grin at them. "If she's anything like Burns, she'll be upset that you two are arguing."

"Yeah," Melanie sighs, "probably."

"You two care a lot about her, don't you?" I say.

"Of course we do," Jared says, "she's our family."

I nod. "I mean you two specifically. And the other one, Ian was it?" I chuckle. "If you had told me a year or so ago that Souls and humans would end up in relationships, I would never have believed you. But I've seen the lengths Burns would go to keep Emma safe. I mean... bringing her back like that..."

"Nate!" Kim hisses, "maybe you shouldn't..."

"Don't worry," I wave her away while glancing at Jared and Melanie thoughtfully, "I don't think they'll be as shocked as you might expect." I know I've seen it right, the scar in her neck.

I don't have to wait long. Melanie studies me a moment before speaking. "Bringing her back?"

"I thought Emma was human when they met?" Jared says.

I grin. "Funny how you think that's what I meant by 'bringing back', but yeah. She was. I wasn't there for that part though, so you'll have to ask Burns. But she got taken at some point and once Burns realized Emma was still there, he took her back. That's why they were on the run. They knew Emma'd be in constant danger if they stayed in civilization."

Jared and Melanie exchange glances again. "And you just believed them when they told you?" Melanie asks.

I shrug. "It was pretty obvious how they felt about each other and with the way Emma threatened me there was no doubt she was human. Besides, there was her eyes of course. I guess Burns knew I'd eventually notice the scar in her neck, so he told me while she was sleeping, begged me to take care of her. I knew she was telling the truth. Convincing the others was the problem."

"Yeah," Melanie mutters, though I don't think she intended for me to hear her.

"But you did," Jared states, "convince them." He presses Melanie closer to his side.

"Took a while though," I nod, "a long while. Blake was the first. He and Rachel knew Emma from before, went to school together." I chuckle at how protective Blake was over Emma when we first took them to our place. "Saw the scar and forced the story out of her. Took the rest a while longer though."

"Some people can be stubborn," Melanie says with a glance at Jared. His expression turns slightly annoyed and the guilty.

"I wanted to believe you, Mel. I told you and Wanda that part of me already did. I just thought it was too good to be true."

"Jamie knew," Melanie says, "and uncle Jeb. Even Ian."

"Please don't remind me," Jared pleads.

Melanie looks at us again. "What happened to the Soul that was in Emma's body?"

"They sent it to another planet far away," I answer.

"So they... weren't friends?" Melanie looks down at the ground, a frown on her face.

"No," I say, "they weren't friends."

"Seems you and Wanda were lucky," Jared says softly.

"You too huh," I say, "but you and that little one learned to get along. That's good to hear. Burns will like that."

"It took some time though," Melanie says with a smile, "but we worked it out. She's my best friend, my sister. I owe her everything."

I want to ask more, but Jared and Melanie have stopped walking and Jared looks at us. "We're here."