The Host ¤ The Next Chapter

The Host ¤ The Next Chapter: 34

The Host ¤ The Next Chapter: 34

Jenny

"Alright people." Tomas called everyone together. The small group assembled at the sound of his voice.

We'd parked around the corner from Store's enterance so the cameras wouldn't have us on tape. They only had security measures where they were necessary---the front and back doors. 

"We need to get in and out of the place quick." he continued. "I know we need to stockpile on some items, but don't risk exposure by taking too much. Focus on the starred items and work your way down to the less important stuff."

Jesse passed out the lists. The one I was handed included a lot of food and paper items. Nothing unusual or demanding. I could handle this.

"Meet back at your vehicle when you're done." Tomas instructed, making sure the new people knew what they were doing.

Everyone nodded or gave some signal they understood before the group split up. Some persons traveled in pairs. Others went alone. I decided that going in by myself was probably the better option. I didn't need another person to help me find the food if I was to appear the young adult living on their own. I entered Store alone, feeling confident about today's raid.

¤

May

We pulled into the parking space flawlessly. Although the sight of a seeker's car shouldn't have been too unordinary, there were still some curious locals looking our way. Ignoring them, Skyfall and I got out of our sides of the car and closed our doors simultaneously. We stared at the Store in front of us.

Skyfall looked at me. "Ready?" he asked.

"I don't think I have choice." I sighed.

Together we approached the front doors. Both he and I wore all white, like Seekers and Healers did, and it made us stand out in a crowd. Well, out here in the Arizona desert, there wasn't much of a crowd to hide ourselves in in a backwater town like this. We were painfully obvious, even if we tried to approach the human rebels cautiously. I really hoped they weren't carrying pocket knives or guns for that matter. That would make things even more messy for both sides.

The guards at the front doors gave us raised eyebrows, but otherwise, didn't bother us. We looked like we were on a mission and every Soul knew it was best to stay out of a Seeker's path when they were on the tail of something. We entered into the main lobby area, where the check out zones were. There were a few people going through them, but none of them were human. The piercing blue of a Soul's prescence tainted each of their eyes. 

We moved on around to the side, getting nervous glances from the shoppers. None of them had anything to worry about. We weren't here to take anyone in, we were here to prevent them from being found out. Instead of splitting up---because we knew that the humans would flee if they saw just one of us---we stayed together. Although that still didn't insure that they'd stop to listen to me, they'd be warry to fight their way out.

The hard part was getting them to recognize me. After all, I'd switched bodies for this one so I could release Jenny. I could only pray that either she or Whitney was among the raiders today---if there were any. I didn't even know if Whitney went on raids anymore after her friend's unfortunate demise, but if she wasn't there, then I didn't have a way of proving myself. I could, if I needed to, find my way to their cave if they truly required evidence. Hopefully that would convince them.

Skyfall and I scanned the aisles none the less, trying to stay confident. I was sure I wasn't the only one feeling nervous---the male Seeker's movements were too jerky for him to be feeling normal. I pretended I didn't notice. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of a figure in a clothing aisle. The person was long legged with a curvy frame. To top it off, they had dark brown hair with blonde streaks throughout it.

"Gabbie." I muttered under my breath.

The rebels were here, and out of all of them we could have run into, we had to find this one. She was number one on the list to flee before asking questions, since she knew what being caught and possessed was like. We didn't have a chance if she saw us first.

I knew I hadn't spoken her name very loud, but upon the mention of her name, she felt something tugging at the back of her mind. It was enough to make her turn around to look down the aisle at us. The girl didn't even take a second to decide to sprint. She ran to the end of the aisle and made a left.

"I'll go after her!" Skyfall grumbled, running the way we had just come. He started a couple of average shoppers as he pursued the human girl.

He shouldn't have wasted his breath. It wasn't like I could wait around here for him to come back with her. I turned on my heel and ran after him.

I was steps behind him and I could see we were already gaining on Gabbie, who ran in the parallel lane. Skyfall, hearing my steps, gave me the signal to hop over to her aisle. I did as he ordered. I knew we were going to have to separate from each other to box her in.

We were in the freezer section of the mart when she glanced behind herself. Seeing me, she ran faster, towards the boxes of pumkins and gurds that sat in the middle of the floor. Skyfall suddenly came at her from the left, forcing her into the corner. I closed the space by blocking the other end. I came to a slow stop, resting beside the end of the box. Skyfall remained at his side. Gabbie was now trapped between us, the walls, and the crate of plump pumkins.

Even trapped, she didn't look like she was going to give up. I saw her eyes dart to the box, as if she was evaluating if she could jump over it before we could get to her. Skyfall did as well, so he drew his gun.

She hesitated. The new threat was enough to make her pause and rethink her plans. She could jump over the box, but not without getting a bullet in the side. I could see the desperation in her face and knew she'd choose the bullet if it came down to it. That's why I knew I needed to speak up before she did something she'd regret.

"Gabbie." I said sternly. Her head jerked over to me. Although she was radiating hatred towards me, I could see the fear too. "Gabbie, it's May."

"Prove it." She spat, hands on the edge of the box, ready to throw her life away than give it to the Souls.

"I'm afraid all I have is this..." I replied, holding up the arm with the silver bracelet around it.

Gabbie looked like she'd just been smacked upside the face. She stared bewildered at the object. "Who gave you that?" she asked. Her voice sounded foreign and strange to me. I'd never heard her sound confused before.

"Whitney..." I began.

Gabbie left her post at the corner of the box and marched straight up to me. She grabbed my wrist, holding it out so she could get a closer look at the thing. Then, suddenly, she let me go.

"Alright," she said, looking up at me with determination. "I believe you. So why'd you come back?" 

A slow clap cut our conversation off. It had been unexpected by both parties. Skyfall and I turned around to see who it was, while using our bodies to protect Gabbie. She stayed where she was behind us, wondering what was going on.

There was a third seeker, this one dressed also in white, but had black hair trimmed in a egyptian cut. 

"Great job, you two." BlackFire said at the end of her clap. "I didn't believe that you'd lead me right to the human I was looking for." she gave a short laugh, "And from what it sounds like, you can lead me to the fall-out Soul as well. Lady luck must be on my side today." 

She smiled, but it was cruel, and not to mention, devious. Both Skyfall and I realized we'd been tricked and we had fallen for it hard.