The world is a forest,
In which all lose their way.

Thought by a different path,
each goes astray.

-George Villiers

Burns

I don't know what to do. Of course I knew they were going to try to get people back. Perhaps I should have realized what it meant. Had I really thought they were going to do this my way?

"Hey," Nate says, "it's going to work out. You'll see. We'll figure something out."

"I do want to help you," I tell him, "but I don't want to hurt my own kind. We are living beings too, Nate."

"I know," Nate pats my shoulder.

Next to us Logan snorts. "Will is such a hothead. He's gonna get us all in trouble."

"Honestly Burns," Nate says, "how dangerous is it to steal cryotank like you said?"

I frown. "I'm not sure. There's always a chance of being seen. When Emma and I brought Sky to the facility, we were caught by a worker. Emma could hide in time. There's a risk, but... for Souls the risk isn't so big. I was only asked why I was there. No one doubted me."

I take a box of screwdrivers from Logan and place it in a crate on the floor. We've already cleared a lot of space.

Working with Logan isn't so bad, though he doesn't really talk to me except for some curt instructions.

"That Sky person," Nate says, "what was she like? Why did you decide to take her out and ship her off?"

I lower my eyes. "She was nice. I liked her, but..." I sigh, "she wasn't Emma."

Nate nods at my words and Logan eyes me curiously. I'm starting to think Nate is asking me these questions for Logan's sake.

"How did she feel then when she realized you wanted Emma back?" Logan asked.

I look down in shame. "She didn't know until I took out the sedative. I hurt her feelings, but I had no choice. She was going to jump hosts and then Emma would be gone forever."

"What do you mean, 'jump hosts'?"

I look at Logan hesitantly. Perhaps I shouldn't have said anything. I take a deep breath. "It's not something that's talked about. It's not something to be proud of either, but... sometimes... when a Soul has a hard time adjusting to a host... they may decide to abandon that body in exchange for another. It doesn't happen often, because it's a waste of life, but it happens."

"And this Sky wanted a new body? Why?"

I give a rueful smile. "Because Emma was still there and Sky was afraid of her. She wanted a body all to herself, with no one else in it."

"And you stopped her," Logan says puzzled, "because you didn't want Emma to disappear?"

"Yes," I say softly.

Nate seems to notice my mood dropping. "Hey don't you tell us about the other planets you have seen?" he asks, "I've been wanting to ask you."

I glance at Logan. "Are you sure?"

"Definitely."

"Alright," I say, "I'll tell you."

***

Talking about other planets helps me take my mind of things. Surprisingly enough, Logan listens with interest and asks a lot of questions.

We walk towards the kitchen for lunch, still in conversation.

As always, my eyes are drawn to Emma as soon as I enter the room. She is sitting at a table with Rachel, Blake and Sophie.

When I make my way over, Nate stops me. "Why don't you sit with us today?" he suggests, "you can't cling to Emma for the rest of your life. If the others get to know you individually, they might accept you sooner."

From Emma's table there is the sound of laughter and I look up. They seem to enjoy themselves. Suddenly I am reminded of the group of friends Sky and I met on our way to Vegas. And I miss Ocean and Core and Scales.

Emma catches my look and she smiles at me. I point at Nate to let her know I'm going to sit with him and she nods.

After I sit down, Logan continues asking questions about Fire World and Souls in general, about my Calling as researcher and why I chose Earth. So when Carlos sits down at the table, he doesn't even realize I'm here. He stares at Logan oddly, but after a while starts paying interest in the conversation. And he's not the only one.

From the corner of my eye, I catch several people turning their heads to hear my words. I wonder if this means they have decided to give me a chance.

After lunch, we have a few hours to ourselves and I find my way to Emma's table. She smiles at me. "We're going to the game room," she says, "are you coming?"

"Sure," I say and I follow them.

Sophie and Rachel start on some board game while Blake comments on every move they make. They don't seem bothered by it though. There's an obvious air of friendship about them and good-natured banter.

"How are you doing?" Emma inquires quietly.

I try to find a smile that's assuring. What am I supposed to say? That I wish it was just the two of us again? Is that even fair? Things have never been easy with us. First it was Emma in my world, back when she was still afraid of me. Then there was Sky. And now it's me in her world. It would be easier with just the two of us, except that there is no place where we can go.

"Burns?"

I smile at Emma. "I've noticed you get along with Rachel now."

She shrugs and glances at the trio. "We've made peace." She turns to me again. "You haven't answered my question."

I should have known she wouldn't be fooled that easily. But I don't want to make her feel guilty. This isn't her fault. She didn't even want to come here.

"Do you miss them?" she asks.

It seems she knows me better than I thought. "Do you think they'll look for us? Ocean will start to worry eventually and Rain and Sky talked almost every day."

She bites her lip. "I don't know. Maybe not for the first few weeks. But when they hear nothing for weeks... they know we're travelling, right?" She looks at me hesitantly.

I nod. "Yeah..."

She smiles at me sadly and presses my hand. "We'll figure something out."

"Hey, you two," Blake's voice calls out, "don't sneak off together, come join us."

Emma looks in his direction and sighs.

"Come," I say and I pull her towards the table. Maybe a game will distract me. The others haven't been gone for long, but I'm already thinking about their return. What if the Soul they bring is one of my friends?

***

"Burns."

I look up at the sound of Nate's voce. "What is it?"

"Can you walk with me for a moment?" he asks, "there is something I need your help with."

Emma glances at me concerned, but I nod at Nate. "Sure." I follow him down the tunnel towards the storage room we cleaned earlier. Nate lifts a box and opens it. He takes out several bottles and boxes. It doesn't take me long to recognize them. They're the medicine bottles I brought with me.

"This stuff," Nate says, "this alien medicine... what does it do? I know it works and that it doesn't harm us, but I need to know more about it. What is in it?"

"I don't know," I answer honestly, "it is not my field of expertise. I only know it works." I know it's not what he wants to hear, but it's all I have to offer. "Every Soul," I try to explain, "has their own calling. Mine is Researcher. All the information I collect is forwarded to a Research Center and they distribute the information to the right people. A Healer might know what is in the medication. I'm sorry."

Nate nods, as if he had expected that answer.

"It's safe to use," I assure him, "we take good care of our host bodies."

Nate nods again and turns one of the bottles in his hand. "Heal," he mutters, "but what does it heal exactly?"

"Anything basically," I say, "from a cut to a disease." I arrange the different kinds of medication. There is not a lot of it. "Heal for healing, Clean for cleaning cuts and infections, No Pain to stop pain." I stare at the last tube. Sedative. I used it on Sky.

"Huh," Nate says, "you don't waste a lot of words, do you?"

I shrug. "Why use more words than is necessary? An object should tell you its function. There is no need to complicate things."

He chuckles. "I suppose you're right." He sighs. "Those could come in handy. There isn't a lot of regular medicine around nowadays."

"These work better anyway," I answer.

"We'll make this work, Burns," Nate says, "somehow we'll find a way to co-exist."

I don't comment on that. It's nice to see him so optimistic, but I'm not so sure. This world seems too small for both our species.

I wonder which out of the two will cave first.