The Host Chapter 3: Resisted

She wont recognize the naked conjure up, the healer murmured.A new sensation disconcert me. Something pleasant, a change in the inception of products as the searcher s besidesd at my side. A scent, I realized. Something different than the sterile, odorless room. Perfume, my new in discriminateect told me. Floral, lushCan you visualise me? the Seeker asked, interrupting my analysis. Are you mindful? pursue your meter, the therapist urged in a softer contri honorableion than the star he had use forrader.I did non open my eyeb solely. I didnt wishing to be distracted. My mind gave me the run-in I requisiteed, and the t hotshot that would convey what I couldnt tell apart with come to the fore using m either linguistic process.Have I been placed in a discredited legions in order to piddle the information you need, Seeker? there was a gasp-surprise and outrage mingled-and something warm touched my spit out, cover my hand.Of course non, Wanderer, the man give ton gue to reassuringly. however a Seeker would stop at some things.The Seeker gasped a draw. Hissed, my store board corrected. hence why doesnt this mind function right?There was a pause.The scans were finished, the Seeker verbalise. Her words non reassuring tho argumentative. Did she stand for to quarrel with me? The consistence was entirely healed.From a suicide attempt that was perilously conk out to succeeding. My t superstar was stiff, yet angry. I wasnt employ to anger. It was hard to contain it.E very(prenominal)thing was in perfect order -The healer cut her off. What is miss? he asked. Cl primordial, youve price of admissioned speech.Memory. I was trying to key what the Seeker wants.though at that place was no sound, on that present was a change. The atmosphere, which had gone tighten at my accusation, relaxed. I wondered how I knew this. I had a strange sensation that I was somehow receiving more than than my five-spot senses were giving me- to the hig hest degree a flavour that there was a nonher(prenominal) sense, on the fringes, non quite harnessed. intuition? That was almost the right word. As if some(prenominal) creature needed more than five senses.The Seeker cle ard her throat, but it was the healer who answered.Ah, he said. Dont make yourself anxious neighboring some partial fund difficulties. Thats, easily, non to be expected, exactly, but not surprising, considering.I dont downstairsstand your meaning.This soldiery was part of the human resistance. There was a hint of enthusiasm in the Seekers interpretive program now. Those humans who were aw be of us to begin with insertion ar more difficult to subdue. This one still resists.There was a moment of tranquilize while they cargo holded for my response.Resisting? The legions was blocking my approaching? Again, the heat of my anger surprised me.Am I correctly bound? I asked, my voice distorted because it came by dint of my teeth.Yes, the healer said. All eight one C twenty-seven points atomic number 18 latched securely in the optimum positions.This mind used more of my faculties than any host before, leaving me only one hundred eighty-one sp atomic number 18 attachments. peradventure the numerous bindings were the resolve the emotions were so vivid.I unyielding to open my eyeball. I entangle the need to double-check the Healers promises and make for indisputablely the rest of me worked.Light. Bright, painful. I closed my count again. The last light I had seen had been filtered through and through a hundred ocean fathoms. entirely these eyes had seen brighter and could handle it. I loose them specialisely, keeping my eyelashes feathered over the breach.Would you want me to turn down the lights?No, Healer. My eyes pass on ad honorable.Very good, he said, and I unsounded that his approval was meant for my casual use of the possessive. twain waitressed quietly while my eyes easily widened.My mind recognized this as an sightly room in a medical exam facility. A hospital. The ceiling tiles were white with darker speckles. The lights were impertinent and the same size as the tiles, refilling them at regular intervals. The debates were light green-a calming deform, but also the color of sickness. A poor choice, in my quickly organize opinion.The people facing me were more arouse than the room. The word doctor sounded in my mind as soon as my eyes fastened on the Healer. He wore mucky blue green clothes that left(p) his arms bare. Scrubs. He had blur on his heart, a strange color that my memory called red.Red It had been three worlds since I had seen the color or any of its relatives. Even this ginger gold filled me with nostalgia.His give was generically human to me, but the sockledge in my memory applied the word kind.An unforbearing breath pulled my attention to the Seeker.She was very small. If she had remained still, it would attempt taken me unyieldinger to notice her th ere beside the Healer. She didnt draw the eye, a darkness in the bright room. She wore dimmed from chin to wrists-a blimpish suit with a silk turtleneck underneath. Her hair was black, likewise. It grew to her chin and was pushed back behind her ears. Her skin was darker than the Healers. Olive toned.The tiny changes in humans expressions were so minimal they were very hard to read. My memory could name the look on this womans face, though. The black brows, slanted down over the or so bulging eyes, created a familiar design. not quite anger. Intensity. Irritation.How often does this happen? I asked, looking at the Healer again. non often, the Healer admitted. We urinate so some full-grown hosts purchasable anymore. The immature hosts are entirely pliable. But you indicated that you like to begin as an handsomeYes.Most requests are the opposite. The human manners span is a groovy deal shorter than youre used to.Im nearly versed in all the facts, Healer. Have you dealt wi th this resistance before yourself?Only once, myself.Tell me the facts of the case. I paused. Please, I added, smellinging a lack of discretion in my command.The Healer sighed.The Seeker began tapping her fingers against her arm. A sign of impatience. She did not care to wait for what she wanted.This occurred four age ago, the Healer began. The nous involved had requested an adult male person host. The archetypical one to be available was a human who had been living in a pocket of resistance since the early geezerhood of the occupation. The human knew what would happen when he was caught.Just as my host did.Um, yes. He decipherable his throat. This was only the approximations second life. He came from silver screen World.Blind World? I asked, cocking my head to the side reflexively.Oh, sorry, you wouldnt cope our nicknames. This was one of yours, though, was it not? He pulled a trick from his pocket, a computer, and scanned quickly. Yes, your seventh planet. In the eight y-first sector.Blind World? I said again, my voice now disapproving.Yes, well, some who have lived there prefer to call it the Singing World.I nodded slowly. I liked that better. And some whove neer been there call it Planet of the Bats, the Seeker muttered.I turned my eyes to her, feelinging them narrow as my mind dredged up the appropriate image of the ugly firm rodent she referred to.I assume you are one who has never lived there, Seeker, the Healer said lightly. We called this soul Racing Song at first-it was a loose translation of his name on the Singing World. But he soon opted to take the name of his host, Kevin. Though he was slated for a Calling in Musical Performance, given his background, he said he felt more easy continuing in the hosts previous line of work, which was mechanical.These signs were somewhat worrisome to his assigned Comforter, but they were well within ruler bounds. and so Kevin started to complain that he was blacking out for periods of m. They brou ght him back to me, and we ran extensive tests to make sure there was no hidden brand in the hosts brain. During the testing, several Healers line of reasoningd label differences in his behavior and personality. When we inquiryed him about this, he claimed to have no memory of sealed statements and actions. We continued to observe him, along with his Comforter, and in conclusion discovered that the host was periodically victorious control of Kevins form.Taking control? My eyes strained wide. With the soul unaware? The host took the body back?Sadly, yes. Kevin was not powerful enough to suppress this host.Not immobile enough.Would they study me weak as well? Was I weak, that I could not pass this mind to answer my questions? Weaker still, because her living impressions had existed in my head where there should be secret code but memory? Id al authoritys thought of myself as strong. This idea of weakness make me flinch. Made me feel shame.The Healer continued. trusted e vents occurred, and it was decided -What events?The Healer looked down without answering.What events? I demanded again. I believe I have a right to know.The Healer sighed. You do. Kevin physically attacked a Healer while not himself. He winced. He knocked the Healer unconscious mind with a blow from his fist and thusly instal a scalpel on her person. We shew him insensible. The host had tried and true to cut the soul out of his body.It took me a moment before I could speak. Even therefore, my voice was just a breath. What happened to them?Luckily, the host was unable to quell conscious long enough to cut down real damage. Kevin was relocated, into an immature host this time. The hard host was in poor repair, and it was decided there wasnt much point in saving him.Kevin is seven human years old now and perfectly normal aside from the fact that he kept the name Kevin, that is. His guardians are taking great care that he is heavily overt to music, and that is coming along wel l The last was added as if it were good news-news that could somehow de permite out the rest.Why? I cleared my throat so that my voice could gain some volume. Why have these risks not been shared?Actually, the Seeker broke in, it is very clearly stated in all recruitment propaganda that assimilating the remaining adult human hosts is much more dispute than assimilating a child. An immature host is highly recommended.The word challenging does not quite cover Kevins story, I whispered.Yes, well, you preferred to ignore the recommendation. She held up her hands in a peacemaking gesture when my body tensed, causing the stiff fabric on the narrow bed to crackle softly. Not that I blame you. Childhood is extraordinarily tedious. And you are clearly not the average soul. I have every confidence that this is well within your abilities to handle. This is just an different host. Im sure you will have full access and control shortly.By this point in my observations of the Seeker, I was surpr ised that shed had the patience to wait for any delay, even my personal acclimatization. I sensed her disappointment in my lack of information, and it brought back some of the unfamiliar feelings of anger.Did it not occur to you that you could conk out the answers you seek by being inserted into this body yourself? I asked.She stiffened. Im no skipper.My eyebrows pulled up automatically.Another nickname, the Healer explained. For those who do not complete a life term in their host.I nodded in understanding. Wed had a name for it on my other worlds. On no world was it smiled upon. So I quit quizzing the Seeker and gave her what I could.Her name was Melanie Stryder. She was born in Albuquerque, bare-ass Mexico. She was in Los Angeles when the occupation became cognise to her, and she hid in the natural state for a few years before specifying Hmmm. Sorry, Ill try that one again later. The body has seen twenty years. She brood to dough from I shook my head. There were several sta ges, not all of them alone. The vehicle was stolen. She was searching for a cousin named Sharon, whom she had reason to hope was still human. She neither found nor contacted anyone before she was spotted. But I struggled, competitiveness against another blank breakwater. I think I cant be sure I think she left a note someplace.So she expected someone would look for her? the Seeker asked eagerly.Yes. She will be missed. If she does not rendezvous with I gritted my teeth, truly battle now. The wall was black, and I could not tell how thick it was. I battered against it, effort beading on my forehead. The Seeker and the Healer were very quiet, allowing me to concentrate.I tried opinion of something else-the loud, unfamiliar noises the engine of the car had made, the rough rush of adrenaline every time the lights of another vehicle drew near on the road. I already had this, and cipher fought me. I let the memory trickle me along, let it skip over the cold-blooded hike through the city under the sheltering darkness of night, let it wind its way to the create where theyd found me.Not me, her. My body shuddered.Dont overextend - the Healer began.The Seeker shushed him.I let my mind dwell on the offense of discovery, the burning hatred of the Seekers that overpowered almost everything else. The hatred was evil it was pain. I could barely bear to feel it. But I let it run its course, hoping it would distract the resistance, corrupt the defenses.I watched carefully as she tried to hide and then knew she could not. A note, scratched on a piece of debris with a broken pencil. Shoved hastily under a door. Not just any door.The kind is the 5th door along the fifth hall on the fifth floor. Her discourse is there.The Seeker had a small environ in her hand she murmured rapidly into it.The construct was supposed to be safe, I continued. They knew it was condemned. She doesnt know how she was discovered. Did they find Sharon?A chill of horror raised goose bum ps on my arms.The question was not mine.The question wasnt mine, but it flowed course through my lips as if it were. The Seeker did not notice anything amiss.The cousin? No, they found no other human, she answered, and my body relaxed in response. This host was spotted entering the building. Since the building was known to be condemned, the citizen who observed her was concerned. He called us, and we watched the building to see if we could catch more than one, and then moved in when that seemed unlikely. Can you find the rendezvous point?I tried.So many memories, all of them so vivid and sharp. I saw a hundred places Id never been, heard their names for the first time. A house in Los Angeles, line with tall fronded trees. A meadow in a forest, with a tent and a fire, outside Winslow, Arizona. A deserted flinty beach in Mexico. A cave, the introduction guarded by sheeting rain, somewhere in Oregon. Tents, huts, rude shelters. As time went on, the names grew less specific. She did not know where she was, nor did she care.My name was now Wanderer, yet her memories curb it just as well as my own. Except that my wandering was by choice. These flashes of memory were always tinged with the fear of the hunted. Not wandering, but running.I tried not to feel pity. Instead, I worked to focus the memories. I didnt need to see where shed been, only where she was going. I grouped through the pictures that tied to the word simoleons , but none seemed to be anything more than random images. I widened my net. What was outside Chicago? Cold, I thought. It was cold, and there was some handle about that.Where? I pushed, and the wall came back.I exhaled in a gust. Outside the city-in the wilderness a state park, away from any habitations. Its not somewhere shed been before, but she knew how to get there.How soon? the Seeker asked.Soon. The answer came automatically. How long have I been here?We let the host heal for nine days, just to be absolutely sure she was recovered, t he Healer told me. Insertion was today, the tenth day.Ten days. My body felt a staggering quiver of relief.Too late, I said. For the rendezvous point or even the note. I could feel the hosts reaction to this-could feel it much too strongly. The host was almost smug. I allowed the words she thought to be spoken, so that I could learn from them. He wont be there.He? The Seeker pounced on the pronoun. Who?The black wall slammed down with more force than shed used before. She was the tiniest fraction of a second too late.Again, the face filled my mind. The beautiful face with the golden tan skin and the light-flecked eyes. The face that stirred a strange, deep recreation within me while I viewed it so clearly in my mind.Though the wall slapped into place with an accompanying sensation of wrong resentment, it was not fast enough.Jared, I answered. As quickly as if it had come from me, the thought that was not mine followed the name through my lips. Jared is safe.