And my Soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor,

Shall be lifted,

Nevermore.

-The Raven

Emma

It's the first time since Burns and I arrived here that we've lost one of our own. The others may have been through this before, we have not.

It's not a milestone I wanted to make.

We are all gathered in one of the furthest and darkest tunnels in the mines. A few are holding flashlights while James and Logan dig two graves.

One for Marcus.

One for Patt.

The thought of the Seeker taking his own life still makes me feel sick.

My fault.

I should have known better.

How could I ever have thought he'd see things from my point of view? How he must have hated me.

I stand with Burns at the back of the group. I feel strangely detached. This isn't how it is supposed to go.

I lean closer to Burns' embrace and sigh when his arms tighten around me. He doesn't blame me. He never has. Even if all I cause him is grief.

Up front, the bodies of Marcus and Patt are lowered into the ground. The entire tunnel is silent as a sign of respect. When two more people file into the room, I glance up. Will has arrived and next to him is the male Seeker that was with Patt. It makes me flinch, until I realize it's not the Seeker at all. I saw the Soul being carried away in a cryotank. This must be the human that hosted him. He looks rather out of place. His uncertainty makes him seem younger than his face appears. How long had he been suppressed by a Soul? What must he be thinking now, seeing all of us together? How will he react to Burns?

As if reading my mind, the former Seeker looks my way. When he sees Burns, he stiffens, and his expression turns wary.

I sigh. Here we go again.

Others have noticed the newcomer's arrival as well. I can hear slight murmurs in the crowd. It seems to make him even more nervous.

The graves are filled again and people turn their attention on the former Seeker now. He flinches again.

Will pats his back. "Take it easy already. They're not gonna eat you. Guys, this is Holden. Holden, meet everyone."

"So it is true," Ellen whispers, "people really can come back."

Had she doubted that? Had the others? I sigh. It's probably just because they didn't meet me when I had just woken up. They only know the story. I know they believed me, but I suppose it's different witnessing it for themselves. I try not to be offended. My brain still is in turmoil over what happened with Patt.

"Alright," Nate works his way to the newcomer. Holden, was it? "Let's give the man some space. He'll panic with you all crowding around him. Why don't we move this to the kitchen? I think we can all use some food."

We all follow Nate, but I trail behind with Burns. To my surprise, Blake falls back too. "I should check on Rachel," he says sheepishly, "I left her with that female Seeker."

"She hasn't woken up yet?" Burns asks.

Blake shakes his head. "Still unresponsive. How long should we keep trying?"

Burns sighs. "I'm not sure. Until the body gives in, I suppose. At least then we'll know we've done everything possible."

We leave the group and follow Blake instead. There will be enough time to meet Holden. I'd rather do that without everyone else present. Let him get used to Burns and me slowly.

When Rachel spots us, she sits back against the wall. "Burial over?"

Blake nods. "Yeah, thanks for staying."

"It's not like I had much choice," she scowls.

Blake sighs. "Sorry, alright? Look, we're here now. If you want to go, the others were headed towards the kitchen, getting to know Holden."

Rachel averts her eyes. "I'll meet him later. I might as well stay and see this through." She looks at me. "Why are you two here? Shouldn't you be getting the newbie to trust Burns?"

I sit down across from her. "If we manage to wake her up, we won't have to go through introductions twice."

Rachel stares at me a moment, but then she nods and turns back to the woman. "She's not responding to anything."

Burns sits down too and takes the woman's hand. Just like with Rain and Storm, he starts talking in a random but soothing manner. "Will you not wake up for us? Holden already woke up. He's having lunch with the rest of us. It's all humans here, well except for me of course. So, we already know Holden's name. What is yours? Amelia? Betty? Celia? Denise? Evelyn? Fay? Gina? Maybe Holly?"

We sit there quietly as Burns holds her hand and tries to talk her into consciousness.

It's not working. But just like last time, Burns refuses to give up.

I don't know how long we keep sitting there. At one point, Blake leaves and returns with food for the four of us. Even the smell of the food does nothing to make the woman react.

Nate comes to check on us and leaves again. It's not long after that we have another visitor. Much to my surprise it's Holden. Will is at his side. He nods at us. There's uncertainty on his face.

"Hey," Blake greets him, "tired of everyone already?"

"N-no..." Holden says, "I was just..."

"He wanted to see your progress with her," Will says while slapping Holden's shoulder, "and meet Burns. Don't worry Holden, he won't eat you. We just fed him."

Holden pales and lets out a nervous laugh. "Haha funny."

"Just sit down," Will rolls his eyes and pulls Holden with him to the floor. "Any changes?"

"No," Burns sighs, "nothing. I don't think it will happen."

Will sighs too. "Well, at least we managed to bring back one."

"And we lost someone too," Burns whispers.

"Yeah," Will says, "I'm sorry about that Seeker."

"I meant Marcus," Burns says, "I'm sad to lose Patt too, but Marcus belonged here. He was human."

"And he died human," Will says, "you saved Nate, Burns. If you hadn't pushed him aside, it would have been him that died. We would have lost someone either way. You are not responsible for that."

"You've helped us a lot, Burns," Blake jumps in, "you brought Finn. If you hadn't been there, Emma and I would probably have been taken too. And look at Holden. If it weren't for you, he wouldn't be here."

"I still don't understand you did that though," Holden says, "the others, they told me what you did for Emma, but... I just don't get it."

"Actually," Burns says, "I don't understand it myself." He looks at me with a loving smile. "I just knew I wanted Emma in my life. Emma. Not the Soul that wore her body, but the Emma I met in that forest. Scared and stubborn and shy."

I lock my fingers with his. How many times have we told this story? How many times will we have to?

At least Holden isn't screaming his head off. He's rather calm about the situation. Maybe it's because all the others were present. Or maybe I'm just used to people reacting hostile. But it's nice to not have to defend us for once. Instead, Holden is looking at us as if we are the most fascinating thing he has ever observed.

"So you turned rogue?" he asks, "are you on some sort of rescue mission to save the human race?"

Burns looks down. "I don't want to hurt anyone, Soul or human. I just want to protect the people I care about."

"Aren't you a little hypocritical?" Holden asks, "removing these creatures from human bodies while you stay? Shouldn't you be giving your body back as well?"

It's silent for a while and I want to hit him. What does he know? It was Burns that brought him back. Without Burns he would still be suppressed by a Seeker.

Burns takes a deep breath. "You're right. I should give my body back. And I would. If David was still here."

Holden blinks. "David?"

"David was the name of my body's host," Burns explains, "I have looked for him, but he faded the moment I was inserted in this body. So even if I would leave it, no one would be there to return to it."

Holden stares at him. "How do you know in what body the human is still alive? From what I get from what you're doing with this woman, you didn't even know if she could come back. You didn't know I would come back. So what do you do to the creature if she doesn't wake up?"

"Every Soul we remove will be send to another planet," Blake answers, "they are not harmed. If the human doesn't wake up, we will give them a proper burial, but we will at least try."

"We don't expect you to understand," I say, "but if you want to live here, you'll have to accept it."

"What about you?" Holden asks me, "are you just with..." he looks at Burns, "because he brought you back?"

"No," I say annoyed, "we met long before that. I am with Burns because I love him." This guy is starting to get on my nerves.

Holden raises his hands in defense. "Alright, fine. It was just a question."

"I wouldn't piss off Emma if I were you," Rachel says casually. She's sitting crossed-legged across from me with her hand supporting her head, "especially if it's about Burns."

Holden looks at her uncertain. It doesn't help that both Blake and Will start to laugh.

"Come on, Rachel," Burns comment, "he'll be more scared of Emma than of me. That doesn't seem right."

"Burns," Rachel sighs and rolls her eyes, "I hate to break it to you, but Emma is scarier than you. It's only fair that I warn him."

And this time I'm laughing too.