“We can’t all be Mad Hatters.”

 -Howl’s Moving Castle

Blake

“Come,” I say once I’ve finished my lunch, or at least what’s supposed to pass for lunch, “I spoke about it with Nate and it’s time you two make yourself useful.”

I pull Emma to her feet and nod at her alien friend. She struggles free from my grip and I grin. “Don’t fret, squirky.  I mean no harm.”

“Where are we going?” she questions.

“You’ll see.”

“Blake!” she growl

I roll my yes. “Just come.” I walk out of the room, knowing that she’ll follow me. “Try to remember the turns and curves,” I tell her, “you’ll have to find your way around and it’s easy to get lost here. We use the flashlights sparingly. We can’t just change the battery whenever we want.”

She nods seriously.

Burns keeps quiet. I find it hard to read him. But Emma trusts him, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.

We turn a corner and arrive at the bathing area. “This is my task today,” I say and I point at the water stream we use for drinking. “Will and Philip built the filter to purify the water. We have to check it every day to see if it needs repairing.”

“That’s very interesting,” Burns says and I eye him carefully.

“You know something about engineering?”

“No,” he shakes his head, “but David was a mechanic. He fixed up cars.”

“David?” I question and I look at Emma confused.

“My host,” Burns explains quietly.

“You speak as if he is still here,” I narrow my eyes at him. The way he speaks of the human whose life he took so casually makes me angry.

Burns’ eyes sadden and beside him, Emma looks away.

There is an awkward silence.

“So,” Emma clears her throat, “what do you want us to do?”

I nod. “You can help haul water. We’ll need it for dinner and for drinking. After that, we’ll see if they need help at the greenhouse.”

“Greenhouse?” Emma blinks surprised and I smirk.

“We have to get our food from somewhere, squirky. There’s a lot of us and we can’t just go to the store.”

“But we’re underground,” she protests, for once not commenting on the use of my nickname for her.

“There are types of food that actually grow underground, you know,” I say dryly.

She grits her teeth, but doesn’t comment.

“What do you grow?” Burns asks curiously.

I lean back against the wall with my hands in my pockets. “Potatoes, carrots, leeks. We even grow some grain. We have an aggregate for the light. We get by.”

“How about soil?” Burns asks, “we’re in a mine, is the ground fertile enough?”

“You’d be surprised,” I tell him, “come, I’ll show you, but first I have to check the filter.” I kneel down next to the device and make sure everything is still in order. The water from the mine is grimy and tastes like dirt, but when it’s filtrated, it’s clean enough to drink. It’s all we have. No point in worrying what else it could be contaminated with.

I nod content and straighten up. “Get some of those containers,” I point at some waterskins hanging from the wall.

Burns is quick to carry them over.

“Fill them up,” I say, “we need to take them to the kitchen.”

“Are you sure it’s safe to drink?” Emma questions.

I lift one of the filled containers and look at her. “It’s all we have, Emma.”

She bites her lip and I wonder at her sudden expression. “What?”

“You called me Emma.”

“It’s your name, isn’t it?”

“You never call me Emma. You always have some stupid nickname for me.”

“I thought you hated those nicknames?”

She opens her mouth and closes it again. There is a blush on her cheeks.

“Come,” I say, “this way.”

I know it should worry me more than it does, to have Burns walking behind me, but I guess there’s not much he can do to me here. There’s only one of him and he’d have to haul my body through every tunnel in order to get to the surface. Still, I can’t help but feel a little uncomfortable. “Hey,” I tell him, would you mind not walking behind me?”

Burns blinks at me confused, but Emma rolls her eyes. “Would you rather have me behind you, Blake? To guard your back?”

I bite back a comment about preferring to have her somewhere else, because I think she might smack me for that. “I just want him somewhere I can see him,” I say instead.

“He’s not gong to do anything.”

“Emma…”

“It’s alright,” Burns says, “I don’t mind, Emma. Don’t argue please.”

“It’s not fair how the treats you,” she mutters.

“No?” he asks, “is it so different from how you treated me at first? I understand. I don’t blame them.”

“But I was wrong,” Emma says.

Burns doesn’t answer her, but it pikes my interest. I know better than to ask any questions right now. There seems to be something they don’t want the others to know. I can see it in the way she fidgets whenever Burns speaks to someone. She was avoiding my earlier questions about why she trust him. And the way she so readily throws herself in the line of fire for him goes beyond normal friendship.

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I’m going to find out.

We reach the kitchen where I drop off two of the water bottles and then we head towards the greenhouse. Rachel is there. So are Kelsey and Will. They briefly look up when we arrive but then focus on their task again.

Will and Kelsey are weeding and Rachel is gathering the vegetables that are ready to be harvested.

I walk over. “Emma, Burns, this is Kelsey and Will. Guys…”

Will gives them an indifferent look. I know who they are.”

Kelsey offers an uncertain smile.

“We brought water,” I say, “for the crops.”

“You can leave it here,” Will says curtly, but I shake my head.

“Nate said to put them to work.”

“Do they have to do that here?” Will growls.

Kelsey looks at him uncertain. “Will…” but Will cuts her off.

“I had to watch them take my father and my mother and then my mother took my siblings. I was the only one that could get away. And what about Logan? He lost his wife. How about Rachel?!”

In the corner, Rachel stiffens.

Will grits his teeth. “Everyone here has lost someone. Why should I tolerate him?”

“I’m sorry,” Burns says quietly, but if only flares up Will’s anger.

“Yeah, you say that now. But it won’t bring anyone back. Will it?”

“You can’t blame Burns for that,”  Emma says softly, “he didn’t take your family.”

“But he took someone,” Will insists, “he has no regard for human life. He just wants to save his own skin.”

“That’s not true,” Emma says.

“Really? Does he even know whose body he stole?”

“His name was David,” Burns says calmly, “he had a younger brother named Charlie and a sister named Megan. One older sister Mallory who had a husband and a baby on the way. He was a car mechanic. His best friend Luke died in a motor accident when he was sixteen. He crashed his bike into a truck that didn’t give way.” He is still calm as he looks at Will. “I know whose body I’m wearing and I am honored that I received this one.”

On the other side of the greenhouse, Rachel starts to cry.

Will and Kelsey both look startled and Kelsey bites her lip. “What… what happens to the humans when you take over?”

There’s a laden silence and I notice how Emma starts to fidget again. She looks like she wants to run away and take her alien friend with her. I wonder what it is to make her react so strongly. It’s not that strange a question, is it? She must have wondered herself.

Buns lowers his eyes. “Their memories remain,” he says, “we know everything they did.”

“And that person just disappears?” Kelsey asks softly.

Before Burns can answer, Rachel speaks up. “Stop!” she calls. There are tears in her eyes and her hands have turned to fists. “Just stop! I don’t want to hear it! Stop it!”

Will narrows his eyes at her. “We have to know.”

“No!” Rachel says, “you don’t. I don’t. I don’t want to hear it!” She runs away and I watch her sadly.

I catch Emma’s look as I turn back. She gives me a sympathetic smile.”Go,” she says, “she needs you.”

She’s probably right, but truth to be told, I don’t really want to go after Rachel. There’s nothing I can do or say that will make her feel better. But the decision is taken away from me when Logan enters the greenhouse. He eyes us carefully, probably sensing the tension. Then he looks at me. “Nate wants all of us in the side tunnel. We’re having a meeting.”

“What about?” I ask, though I have a feeling I already know and it’s confirmed when his eyes move to the side, to Burns and Emma.

“What to do with the alien.”