Chapter 115 The Harbinger
Life, although it may be an accumulation of anguish,
is dear to me.
And I will defend it.
-Mary Shelley
Burns
A bullet rickets over our heads against a tree. Nate is on the ground and I land on him hard. It knocks the air out of my lungs and it takes me a moment to get back my wind.
Around me there's commotion. Will is struggling with Patt. The weapon is on the ground. Arashi has moved forward and I'm guessing he hit Yellow Cloud on the head with the weapon, because the male Seeker is on his knees on the ground, clutching his head.
The other weapon is still aimed at the female Seeker who seems to have frozen on the spot. Her eyes are wide and filled with panic.
"Marcus!" Will yells, "give us a hand already."
But there is no response. I crawl off Nate and look around and that's when I realize the bullet has not hit a tree at all.
"Marcus!" I yell and I crawl over to him. He is lying on his back and coughs up blood. I don't know much about Healing, but I know this is not good.
"Burns!" Nate's voice rings behind me.
I grab Marcus' hand and look at Nate over my shoulder. "We need to get him inside, Nate," I say, "he needs Heal."
Nate's hand lands on my shoulder and he shakes his head sadly. "It's too late, Burns," he says softly, "there's nothing we can do."
I shake my head vividly. This can't be happening. This isn't supposed to happen. Why did we only bring the 'Sleep' with us? Why did I not think to bring 'Heal'? No one was supposed to get hurt. No one is supposed to die.
Marcus coughs up blood again. His eyes are unfocused, but he manages a smile. "At least...," he raps, "I die human."
Nate nods. "That you do, son."
"Burns?" the voice is filled with disbelieve and I recognize it as Patt's. Slowly I turn to look at him. Will has managed to wring Patt's arms behind his back. He has stopped struggling and the look in his eyes tears through me like a knife.
Souls don't have a word for betrayal. The concept is foreign to them.
"You're with them?" he asks horrified, "you're helping humans? You helped kill Rain and Storm and burned down their house? And Sky? What did you do to her?" He shakes his head. "Is it your host? Is he resisting? We can fix that. You know we can."
I don't know what expression is on my face, but my hands are shaking. All around us it has fallen silent.
Arashi glances at Nate. "Marcus?" he asks.
Nate stands up and sighs. "Gone," he says.
Arashi nods and cocks the gun.
"No!" I shout.
"Arashi!" Nate warns, "that is not how we do things."
"They killed Marcus," Arashi says coldly. It's unnerving how emotionless his face still is.
"That doesn't mean we need to become killers as well," Nate says calmly. He walks up to them and fishes something from his pocket. It's the canister with 'Sleep'. "We'll solve this Burns' way."
Three bodies slump to the ground. Arashi scowls and walks towards the entrance to the hide-out while putting away his weapons. "You've grown soft, Nate."
"Call some of the others," is Nate's reply, "we need to haul these three inside and Marcus deserves a burial."
Arashi doesn't respond but it doesn't seem to bother Nate. Instead he turns towards me and presses my shoulder. "Burns," he urges softly. I look at him dazed. He sighs. "Are you alright?"
I swallow and take a deep breath. My head makes a nodding motion. I don't trust my voice yet.
His hand moves to my face now, forcing me to look at him. "It's alright, son," he says soothingly, "we won't hurt them. We promised."
"Marcus is dead," I rasp.
"Yeah," Nate nods, "he is." His hand finds the back of my neck and my head is pressed against his shoulder while his other hand pats my back awkwardly. "Thank you," he whispers, "for saving my life."
Crying is something that has always been foreign to David. His body has not shed many tears, but I can't seem to stop mine. Nate doesn't say anything, but keeps on comforting me by patting my back.
Death.
It's such an unfamiliar thing. Souls don't die. They move on. When the lifespan of their host body runs out, they leave that shell behind and start over somewhere new.
Death is so final. I didn't know Marcus that well, but now I never will.
Another pair of hands pries me away from Nate. "Come," Will's voice sounds, "let Nate handle this. Let's get you somewhere..." he seems searching for words. "Emma will worry about you."
It's only when he turns me towards the hide-out that I notice the others have arrived. Arashi has returned. With him are Evan, James and Anna May. They cast uncertain glances in my direction as they lift the bodies of the Seekers. Arashi and Nate carefully lift Marcus and carry him inside.
Will keeps steering me down the tunnel. I think that without his hands on my shoulders I would not have been able to move.
The group splits up. Arashi and Nate take Marcus one way while the Seekers are carried into another direction.
"They're going to prepare Marcus for his burial," Will explains without me needing to ask, "tell us what you need, Burns. What does it take to get these creatures out and the humans back?"
He seems to have forgotten I am one of those 'creatures'. I try not to let it get to me, but for a moment I wonder if that is all he sees when he looks at me. He didn't like me before. Does he still consider me not one of them?
"Burns," he shakes me lightly, "do you hear me? Are you sure you're up for this? We can't let them leave this place, you know that, right? Not now that they know about us."
I know what he's saying. If I don't take out the Souls, they will. And not in a way I will like. They are doing this for me.
"You can't let Finn see," I whisper.
"What?" Will says. He hasn't heard me.
"Finn," I repeat, "you can't let him see the Seekers. Two of them were there... they... when his parents died..." I swallow difficultly. I remember the boy's reaction when he first saw me. I don't want a repeat of that. It hasn't been that long after all.
"Sure," Will nods, "we'll keep him occupied. What else do you need?"
"Ah..." I run a hand through my hair. My brain does not seem to be working. I close my eyes and focus. "'Heal'... more 'Sleep'...'Clean' and 'Smooth'... a ... s s-scalpel. 'No Pain'."And cryotanks. We don't have cryotanks.
"Yeah we do," another voice says hesitantly. Blake stands behind us, a concerned frown on his face. When I blink confused, he clears his throat. "Cryotanks," he says, "we do have them." I must have said that out loud. He looks guilty and scratches his neck. "I took a bunch of them from that Healer place. I thought... well you never know when they come in handy. You know..."
For a moment I can only stare.
"Burns," Will pulls me out of my trance, "we need to get going. I don't know how long that 'Sleep' stuff works, but we want to be finished before that, right?"
I nod my head distracted. "Yeah, yes. You're right." I don't know if I can go through this again.
"Hey," Blake's hand lands on my shoulder. On his face there is only worry. "You sure you're up for this? We won't hold it against you if it doesn't work. I mean... getting Emma back was a miracle. If it's a onetime thing... at least we tried."
I sigh. "I'm not even sure how that happened. It's just... I knew her... somewhat. Maybe that's the trick. I don't know these people. I don't know."
"Well, you're never gonna know if you don't try," Will says pointedly.
I take a deep breath and nod. "I'll try."
"Good," Will nods, "I'll get those things for you. Blake, you take him, will you?"
"Sure thing," Blake nods. He looks at me. "This way."
We arrive in some part of the tunnels I haven't seen before. The three Seekers are lying unconscious on the ground. Cautiously I near them. I can feel everyone's eyes on me. Quietly I sit down next to the female Seeker. "I'm sorry," I say softly, "I'll make sure you're being sent to some nice planet. You can't stay here. I can't risk you hurting my friends."
It doesn't take Will long to return. He places the items I asked for next to me, though instead of a scalpel there's his pocket knife. I silently wonder if Blake hasn't taken any of the medical equipment Rain and Storm owned, but then decide it doesn't matter. A simple knife will do the trick. The 'Smooth' will prevent a scar regardless. "Can... can I have some privacy?" I'm almost afraid to ask, but having the others watch me as I cut short the lives of my kind is unnerving. It will only make things harder. I wet my lips. "I mean... it's okay if some of you stay. Two maybe. It's just... I ... please..."
Surprisingly enough, there are not protests.
"I'll stay," Blake says. He's seen me do this before and knows what to expect. Having him here will be good.
"Me too," I hear Will say.
The others silently leave the room. "Call us when something happens," Evan says.
And then it's just the three of us.
I take a deep breath. "Where is Emma?" I ask quietly. She wasn't with the others when we returned. Perhaps she doesn't want to witness this again. Perhaps it's because of Patt.
Blake is the one to answer. "She went to Logan when you all left. By now she must have heard the story. I'm sure she'll be here soon." He studies me carefully. "Do you want me to find her? Do you want her here?"
Honestly I'm not sure. I always feel better knowing she is safe, but I don't want her to be confronted with a scene like this again. Maybe it's good that she is not here.
When I don't answer, Blake sighs and gets up. "I'll be right back."
"Do we even have time for this?" Will asks once Blake is gone.
"The 'Sleep' won't wear off until a few hours," I assure him. It was designed to do exactly what it describes, make you fall asleep. One dose will ensure you will be passed out for a healthy eight hours of undisturbed rest.
We wait in silence for Blake to return. When he does, he is alone.
"Couldn't find her?" Will asks.
"She's waiting outside," Blake answers. He looks at me. "She wants to talk to you."
Confused and worried I stand up and walk towards where Emma is waiting. She is leaning against the wall, biting her nails nervously.
"Emma?" I ask, "are you alright?"
She bites her lip and looks at me uncertain. "Have you started yet? With the extraction?"
I shake my head. "Not yet. I was just about to. Do you... do you want to be there?"
She looks down and shakes her head. "I'd rather not," she admits.
I nod in understanding. Once must have been enough for her.
"Actually," she continues, avoiding my eyes, "there's something else I wanted." Her hands are fidgeting. "I... I want to talk to Patt." Her eyes move to mine hesitantly. "I want to tell him about Sky. I need to explain. I owe him the truth."
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