[科幻]宿主-第173章

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The　room　went　utterly　silent。　Everyone　looked　at　me；　as　if　I　were　the　expert　on　humans。　
I　elbowed　Doc；　my　hands　still　wrapped　around　the　tank。　“Talk　to　her；”　I　whispered。　
“Um…　Hello？　Can　you　hear　me…　miss？　You’re　safe　now。　Do　you　understand　me？”　
“Ah；”　she　groaned。　Her　eyes　fluttered　open；　focused　quickly　on　Doc’s　face。　There　was　no　disfort　in　


her　expression—the　No　Pain　would　be　making　her　feel　wonderful；　of　course。　Her　eyes　were　onyx　black。　
They　darted　around　the　room　until　she　found　me；　and　recognition　was　quickly　followed　by　a　scowl。　She　
looked　away；　back　to　Doc。　

　

　CHAPTER　53

　Condemned

　The　Seeker’s　host　body　was　named　Lacey；　a　dainty；　soft；　feminine　name。Lacey。　As　inappropriate　as　the　

size；　in　my　opinion。　Like　naming　a　pit　bull　Fluffy。

　Lacey　was　just　as　loud　as　the　Seeker—and　still　a　plainer。

　“You’ll　have　to　forgive　me　for　going　on　and　on；”　she　insisted；　allowing　us　no　other　options。　“I’ve　been　

shouting　away　in　there　for　years　and　never　getting　to　speak　for　myself。　I’ve　got　a　lot　to　say　all　stored　up。”

　How　lucky　for　us。　I　could　almost　make　myself　glad　that　I　was　leaving。

　In　answer　to　my　earlier　question　to　myself；　no；　the　face　was　not　less　repugnant　with　a　different　

awareness　behind　it。　Because　the　awareness　was　not　so　very　different；　in　the　end。

　“That’s　why　we　don’t　like　you；”　she　told　me　that　first　night；　making　no　change　from　the　present　tense　or　
the　plural　pronoun。　“When　she　realized　that　you　were　hearing　Melanie　just　the　way　she　was　hearing　me；　it　
made　her　frightened。　She　thought　you　might　guess。　I　was　her　deep；　dark　secret。”　A　grating　laugh。　“She　
couldn’t　make　me　shut　up。　That’s　why　she　became　a　Seeker；　because　she　was　hoping　to　figure　out　some　
way　to　better　deal　with　resistant　hosts。　And　then　she　requested　being　assigned　to　you；　so　she　could　
watch　how　you　did　it。　She　was　jealous　of　you；　isn’t　that　pathetic？　She　wanted　to　be　strong　like　you。　It　

gave　us　a　real　kick　when　we　thought　Melanie　had　won。　I　guess　that　didn’t　happen；　though。　I　guess　you　
did。　So　why　did　you　e　here？　Why　are　you　helping　the　rebels？”

　I　explained；　unwillingly；　that　Melanie　and　I　were　friends。　She　didn’t　like　that。

　“Why？”　she　demanded。

　“She’s　a　good　person。”

　“But　why　does　she　likeyou？　”

　Same　reason。

　“She　says；　for　the　same　reason。”

　Lacey　snorted。　“Got　her　brainwashed；　huh？”

　Wow；　she’s　worse　than　the　first　one。

　Yes；I　agreed。I　can　see　why　the　Seeker　was　so　obnoxious。　Can　you　imagine　having　that　in　your　
head　all　the　time？

　I　wasn’t　the　only　thing　Lacey　objected　to。

　“Do　you　have　anywhere　better　to　live　than　these　caves？　It’s　sodirty　here。　Isn’t　there　a　house　
somewhere；　maybe？　What　do　you　mean　we　have　to　share　rooms？　Chore　schedule？　I　don’t　understand。　I　

　

　Jeb　had　given　her　the　usual　tour　the　next　day；　trying　to　explain；　through　clenched　teeth；　the　way　we　all　
lived　here。　When　they’d　passed　me—eating　in　the　kitchen　with　Ian　and　Jamie—he　threw　me　a　look　that　
clearly　asked　why　I　hadn’t　let　Aaron　shoot　her　while　that　was　still　an　option。

　The　tour　was　more　crowded　than　mine。　Everyone　wanted　to　see　the　miracle　for　themselves。　It　didn’t　
even　seem　to　matter　to　most　of　them　that　she　was…　difficult。　She　was　wele。　More　than　wele。　
Again；　I　felt　a　little　of　that　bitter　jealousy。　But　that　was　silly。　She　was　human。　She　represented　hope。　She　
belonged　here。　She　would　be　here　long　after　I　was　gone。

　Lucky　you；Mel　whispered　sarcastically。

　Talking　to　Ian　and　Jamie　about　what　had　happened　was　not　as　difficult　and　painful　as　I’d　imagined。

　This　was　because　they　were；　for　different　reasons；　entirely　clueless。　Neither　grasped　that　this　new　
knowledge　meant　I　would　be　leaving。

　With　Jamie；　I　understood　why。　More　than　anyone　else；　he　had　accepted　me　and　Mel　as　the　package　
deal　we　were。　He　was　able；　with　his　young；　open　mind；　to　grasp　the　reality　of　our　dual　personalities。　He　
treated　us　like　two　people　rather　than　one。　Mel　was　so　real；　so　present　to　him。　The　same　way　she　was　to　
me。　He　didn’t　miss　her；　because　he　had　her。　He　didn’t　see　the　necessity　of　our　separation。

　I　wasn’t　sure　why　Ian　didn’t　understand。　Was　he　too　caught　up　in　the　potential？　The　changes　this　would　
mean　for　the　human　society　here？　They　were　all　boggled　by　the　idea　that　getting　caught—the　end—was　
no　longer　a　finality。　There　was　a　way　to　e　back。　It　seemed　natural　to　him　that　I　had　acted　to　save　the　
Seeker；　it　was　consistent　with　his　idea　of　my　personality。　Maybe　that　was　as　far　as　he’d　considered　it。

　Or　maybe　Ian　just　didn’t　have　a　chance　to　think　it　all　through；　to　see　the　glaring　eventuality；　before　he　
was　distracted。　Distracted　and　enraged。

　“I　should　have　killed　him　years　ago；”　Ian　ranted　as　we　packed　what　we　needed　for　our　raid。　My　final　
raid；　I　tried　not　to　dwell　on　that。　“No；　our　mother　should　have　drowned　him　at　birth！”

　“He’s　your　brother。”

　“I　don’t　know　why　you　keep　saying　that。　Are　you　trying　to　make　me　feel　worse？”

　Everyone　was　furious　with　Kyle。　Jared’s　lips　were　welded　into　a　tight　line　of　rage；　and　Jeb　stroked　his　
gun　more　than　usual。

　Jeb　had　been　excited；　planning　to　join　us　on　this　landmark　raid；　his　first　since　I’d　e　to　live　here。　He　
was　particularly　keen　to　see　the　shuttle　field　up　close。　But　now；　with　Kyle　putting　us　all　in　danger；　he　felt　
he　had　to　stay　behind　just　in　case。　Not　getting　his　way　put　Jeb　in　a　foul　mood。

　“Stuck　behind　with　that　creature；”　he　muttered　to　himself；　rubbing　the　rifle　barrel　again—he　wasn’t　
getting　any　happier　about　the　new　member　of　his　munity。　“Missin’　all　the　fun。”　He　spit　on　the　floor。

　We　all　knew　where　Kyle　was。　As　soon　as　he’d　grasped　how　the　Seeker…worm　had　magically　
transformed　into　the　Lacey…human　in　the　night；　he’d　slipped　out　the　back。　I’d　been　expecting　him　to　lead　
the　party　demanding　the　Seeker’s　death　（I　kept　the　cryotank　always　cradled　in　my　arms；　I　slept　lightly；　

　

　Jared　was　the　one　to　realize　the　jeep　was　gone。　And　Ian　had　been　the　one　to　link　the　two　absences。

　“He’s　gone　after　Jodi；”　Ian　had　groaned。　“What　else？”

　Hope　and　despair。　I　had　given　them　one；　Kyle　the　other。　Would　he　betray　them　all　before　they　could　
even　make　use　of　the　hope？

　Jared　and　Jeb　wanted　to　put　off　the　raid　until　we　knew　if　Kyle　was　successful—it　would　take　him　three　
days　under　the　best　circumstances；if　his　Jodi　still　lived　in　Oregon。　If　he　could　find　her　there。

　There　was　another　place；　another　cave　we　could　evacuate　to。　A　much　smaller　place；　with　no　water；　so　
we　couldn’t　hide　there　long。　They’d　debated　whether　they　should　move　everyone　now　or　wait。

　But　I　was　in　a　hurry。　I’d　seen　the　way　the　others　eyed　the　silver　tank　in　my　arms。　I’d　heard　the　whispers。　
The　longer　I　kept　the　Seeker　here；　the　better　chance　that　someone　would　kill　her。　Having　met　Lacey；　I’d　
begun　to　pity　the　Seeker。　She　deserved　a　mild；　pleasant　new　life　with　the　Flowers。

　Ironically　enough；　Ian　was　the　one　who　took　my　side　and　helped　hurry　the　raid　along。　He　still　didn’t　see　
where　this　would　lead。

　But　I　was　grateful　that　he　helped　me　convince　Jared　there