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| It was too late to change my mindThis didn't feel as horrible as I'd anticipated,
because I felt sure these four humans would care for the souls just as I would
?Look out!? Jeb suddenly shoutedThe gun came up in his hands, pointed past us
We whirled toward the danger, and Jared's tank fell to the floor as he jumped toward the male
Healer, who was on his knees on the cot, staring at us in shockIan had the presence of mind to
hold on to his tank
?Chloroform,? Jared shouted as he tackled the Healer, pinning him back down to the cot
The Healer stared straight at me, his face childlike in his bewildermentI knew why his eyes
were on me?the lantern's rays danced off both his eyes and mine, making diamond patterns on
the wall
Then his face went blank, and his body men's omega watch slumped, unresisting, to the cotTwo trails of blood
flowed from his nostrils
?No!?I screamed, lurching to his inert form, knowing it was far too late?No!?
CHAPTER 54
Forgotten
Elizabeth?? I asked?Anne? Karen? What's your name? C'mon
The Healer's body was still limp on the cotIt had been a long time?how long, I wasn't sureI hadn't slept yet, though the sun was far up in the skyDoc had climbed out
onto the mountain to pull the tarps away, and the sun beamed brightly through the holes in the
ceiling, hot on my skinI'd moved the nameless woman so that her face would be out of the
glare
I touched her face now lightly, patting the soft brown hair, woven through with white strands,
away from her face
?Julie? Brittany? Angela? Patricia? Am I getting close? Talk chanel black handbags to mePlease??
Everyone but Doc?snoring quietly on a cot in the darkest corner of the hospital?had gone away
hours agoSome to bury the host body we'd lostI cringed, thinking of his bewildered question,
and the sudden way his face had gone slack
I so much wished that the soul had waited for an answer, so I could have tried to explain it to
himHe might even have understoodAfter all, what was more important, in the end, than love?
To a soul, wasn't that the heart of everything? And love would have been my answer
Maybe, if he'd waited, he would have seen the truth of thatIf he'd really understood, I was sure
he would have let the human body live
The request would probably have made little sense to him, thoughThe body washis body, not
a separate entityHis rolex quartz watch suicide was simply that to him, not a murder, tooOnly one life had ended
And perhaps he was right
At least the souls had survivedThe light on his tank glowed dull red beside hers; I couldn't ask
for a greater evidence of commitment from my humans than this, the sparing of his life
?Mary? Margaret? Susan? Jill??
Though Doc slept and I was otherwise alone, I could feel the echo of the tension the others had
left behind; it still hung in the air
The tension lingered because the woman had not woken up when the chloroform wore offShe was still breathing, her heart was still beating, but she had not responded to
any of Doc's efforts to revive her
Was it too late? Was she lost? Was she already gone? Just as dead as the male body?
Were all of them? Were there only a very louis vuitton metallic bags few, like the Seeker's host, Lacey, and Melanie?the
shouters, the resisters?who could be brought back? Was everyone else gone?
Was Lacey an anomaly? Would Melanie come back the way she had? or was even that in
question?
I'm not lostut Mel's mental voice was defensiveAnd you will stay here,I promised
With a sigh, I returned to my effortsMy doomed efforts?
?I know you have a name,? I told the woman?Is it Rebecca? Alexandra? Olivia? Something
simpler, maybe? Jane? Jean? Joan??
It was better than nothing, I thought glumlyAt least I'd given them a way to help themselves if
they were ever takenI could help the resisters, if no one else
It didn't seem like enough
?You're not giving me much to work with,? I murmuredI took her hand in both of mine,
chafed it chanel jewelry for sale softl |
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