I didn’t notice that Doc’s snores had stopped. His familiar voice was suddenly there behind me, too
gentle to startle.
“How is he?”
“Delusional,” Ian whispered. “Is that the brandy or the pain?”
“More the pain, I would think. I’d trade my right arm for some morphine.”
“Maybe Jared will produce another miracle,” Ian suggested.
“Maybe,” Doc sighed.
I wiped absently at Walter’s pallid face, listening more intently now, but they didn’t speak of Jared
again.
Not here,Melanie whispered.
Alone,she added.
I thought about the last time I’d seen him—the kiss, the belief…He probably wanted some time to
himself.
I hope he isn’t out there convincing himself that you’re a very talented actress-slash-Seeker
again.…
That’s possible, of course.
Melanie groaned silently.
Ian and Doc murmured in quiet voices about inconsequential things, mostly Ian catching Doc up on what
was going on in the caves.
“What happened to Wanda’s face?” Doc whispered, but I could still hear him easily.
“More of the same,” Ian said in a tight voice.
Doc made an unhappy noise under his breath and then clicked his tongue.
Ian told him a bit about tonight’s awkward class, about Geoffrey’s questions.
“It would have been convenient if Melanie had been possessed by a Healer,” Doc mused.
I flinched, but they were behind me and probably didn’t notice.
“We’re lucky it was Wanda,” Ian murmured in my defense. “No one else —”
“I know,” Doc interrupted, good-natured as always. “I guess I should say, it’s too bad Wanda didn’t
have more of an interest in medicine.”
“I’m sorry,” I murmured. Iwas careless to reap the benefits of perfect health without ever being curious
about the cause.
A hand touched my shoulder. “You have nothing to apologize for,” Ian said.
Jamie was being very quiet. I looked around and saw that he was curled up on the cot where Doc had
been napping.
“It’s late,” Doc noted. “Walter’s not going anywhere tonight. You should get some sleep.”
“We’ll be back,” Ian promised. “Let us know what we can bring, for either of you.”
I laid Walter’s hand down, patting it cautiously. His eyes snapped open, focusing with more awareness
than before.
“Are you leaving?” he wheezed. “Do you have to go so soon?”
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”
He smiled and closed his eyes again. His fingers locked around mine with brittle strength.
Ian sighed.
“You can go,” I told him. “I don’t mind. Take Jamie back to his bed.”
Ian glanced around the room. “Hold on a sec,” he said, and then he grabbed the cot closest to him. It
wasn’t heavy—he lifted it easily and slid it into place next to Walter’s. I stretched my arm to the limit,
trying not to jostle Walter, so that Ian could arrange the cot under it. Then he grabbed me up just as
easily and set me on the cot beside Walter. Walter’s eyes never fluttered. I gasped quietly, caught off
guard by the casual way Ian was able to put his hands on me—as though I were human.
Ian jerked his chin toward Walter’s hand clasped around mine. “Do you think you can sleep like that?”
“Yes, I’m sure I can.”
“Sleep well, then.” He smiled at me, then turned and lifted Jamie from the other cot. “Let’s go, kid,” he
muttered, carrying the boy with no more effort than if he were an infant. Ian’s quiet footsteps faded into
the distance until I couldn’t hear them anymore.
Doc yawned and went to sit behind the desk he’d constructed out of wooden crates and an aluminum
door, taking the dim lamp with him. Walter’s face was too dark to see, and that made me nervous. It
was like he was already gone. I took comfort in his fingers, still curled stiffly around mine.
Doc began to shuffle through some papers, humming almost inaudibly to himself. I drifted off to the
sound of the gentle rustling.
Walter recognized me in the morning.
He didn’t wake until Ian showed up to escort me back; the cornfield was due to be cleared of the old
stalks. I promised Doc I would bring him breakfast before I got to work. The very last thing I did was to
carefully loosen my numb fingers, freeing them from Walter’s grasp.
His eyes opened. “Wanda,” he whispered.
“Walter?” I wasn’t sure how long he would know me, or if he would remember last night. His hand
clutched at the empty air, so I gave him my left, the one that wasn’t dead.
“You came to see me. That was nice. I know… with the others back… must be hard… for you… Your
face…”
He seemed to be having a difficult time making his lips form the words, and his eyes went in and out of
focus. How like him, that his first words to me would be full of concern.
“Everything’s fine, Walter. How are you feeling?”
“Ah —” He groaned quietly. “Not so… Doc?”
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.
“Got any more liquor?” he gasped.
“Of course.”
Doc was already prepared. He held the mouth of a thick glass bottle to Walter’s slack lips and carefully
poured the dark brown liquid in slow drips into his mouth. Walter winced as each sip burned down his
throat. Some of it trickled out the side of his mouth and onto his pillow. The smell stung my nose.
“Better?” Doc asked after a long moment of slow pouring.
Walter grunted. It didn’t sound like assent. His eyes closed.
“More?” Doc asked.
Walter grimaced and then moaned.
Doc cursed under his breath. “Where’s Jared?” he muttered.
I stiffened at the name. Melanie stirred and then drifted again.
Walter’s face sagged. His head rolled back on his neck.
“Walter?” I whispered.
“The pain’s too much for him to stay conscious. Let him be,” Doc said.
My throat felt swollen. “What can I do?”
Doc’s voice was desolate. “About as much as I can. Which is nothing. I’m useless.”
“Don’t be like that, Doc,” I heard Ian murmur. “This isn’t your fault. The world doesn’t work the way it
used to. No one expects more of you.”
My shoulders hunched inward. No, their world didn’t work the same way anymore.
A finger tapped my arm. “Let’s go,” Ian whispered.
I nodded and started to pull my hand free again.
Walter’s eyes rolled open, unseeing. “Gladdie? Are you here?” he implored.
“Um… I’m here,” I said uncertainly, letting his fingers lock around mine.
Ian shrugged. “I’ll get you both some food,” he whispered, and then he left.
I waited anxiously for him to return, unnerved by Walter’s misconception. Walter murmured Gladys’s
name over and over, but he didn’t seem to need anything from me, for which I was grateful. After a
while, half an hour maybe, I began listening for Ian’s footsteps in the tunnel, wondering what could be
taking him so long.
And then I did hear something, but it wasn’t footsteps.
“What is that?” I asked Doc in a whisper; Walter was quiet again, maybe unconscious. I didn’t want to
disturb him.
Doc turned to look at me, cocking his head to the side at the same time to listen.
The noise was a funny thrumming, a fast, soft beat. I thought I heard it get just a little louder, but then it
seemed quieter again.
“That’s weird,” Doc said. “It almost sounds like…” He paused, his forehead furrowing in concentration
as the unfamiliar sound faded.
We were listening intently, so we heard the footsteps when they were still far away. They did not match
the expected, even pace of Ian’s return. He was running—no, sprinting.
Doc reacted immediately to the sound of trouble. He jogged quickly out to meet Ian. I wished I could
see what was wrong, too, but I didn’t want to upset Walter by trying to free my hand again. I listened
hard instead.
“Brandt?” I heard Doc say in surprise.
“Where is it?Where is it? ” the other man demanded breathlessly. The running footsteps only paused for
a second, then started up again, not quite as fast.
“What are you talking about?” Doc asked, calling back this way.
“The parasite!” Brandt hissed impatiently, anxiously, as he burst through the arched entry.
Brandt was not a big man like Kyle or Ian; he was probably only a few inches taller than me, but he was
thick and solid as a rhinoceros. His eyes swept the room; his piercing gaze focused on my face for half a
second, then took in Walter’s oblivious form, and then raced around the room only to end up on me
again.
Doc caught up with Brandt then, his long fingers gripping Brandt’s shoulder just as the broader man took
the first step in my direction.
“What are you doing?” Doc asked, his voice the closest to a growl I’d ever heard it.
Before Brandt answered, the odd sound returned, going from soft to screaming loud to soft again with a
suddenness that had us all frozen. The beats thudded right on top of one another, shaking the air when
they were at their loudest.
“Is that—is that a helicopter?” Doc asked, whispering.
“Yes,” Brandt whispered back. “It’s the Seeker—the one from before, the one who was looking forit. ”
He jerked his chin at me.
No. Not now. Please.
What is herproblem? Mel snarled in my head.Why can’t she leave us alone?
We can’t let her hurt them!
But how do we stop her?
I don’t know. This is all my fault!
Mine, too, Wanda. Ours.
“Are you sure?” Doc asked.
“Kyle got a clear view through the binoculars while it was hovering. Same one he saw before.”
“Is it lookinghere? ” Doc’s voice was suddenly horrified. He half spun, eyes flashing toward the exit.
“Where’s Sharon?”
Brandt shook his head. “It’s just running sweeps. Starts at Picacho, then fans out in spokes. Doesn’t
look like it’s focusing on anything close. Circled around a few times where we dumped the car.”
“Sharon?” Doc asked again.
“She’s with the kids and Lucina. They’re fine. The boys are getting things packed in case we have to roll
tonight, but Jeb says it’s not likely.”
Doc exhaled, then paced over to his desk. He slouched against it, looking as if he’d just run a long race.
“So it’s nothing new, really,” he murmured.
“Naw. Just have to lay low for a few days,” Brandt reassured him. His eyes were flickering around the
room again, settling on me every other second. “Do you have any rope handy?” he asked. He pulled up
the edge of the sheet on an empty cot, examining it.
“Rope?” Doc echoed blankly.
“For the parasite. Kyle sent me out here to secure it.”
My muscles contracted involuntarily; my hand gripped Walter’s fingers too tightly, and he whimpered. I
tried to force it to relax while I kept my eyes on Brandt’s hard face. He was waiting for Doc, expectant.
“You’re here tosecure Wanda?” Doc said, his voice hard again. “And what makes you think that’s
necessary?”
“Come on, Doc. Don’t be stupid. You’ve got some big vents in here, and a lot of reflective metal.”
Brandt gestured to a file cabinet against the far wall. “You let your attention wander for half a minute, and
it’ll be flashing signals to that Seeker.”
“See?” Brandt said. “Guessed its plan in one.”
I wanted to bury myself under a boulder to hide from the bulging, relentless eyes of my Seeker, yet he
imagined I wanted to guide her in. Bring her here to kill Jamie, Jared, Jeb, Ian… I felt like gagging.
“You can go, Brandt,” Doc said in an icy tone. “I will keep an eye on Wanda.”
Brandt raised one eyebrow. “What happened to you guys? To you and Ian and Trudy and the rest? It’s
like you’re all hypnotized. If your eyes weren’t right, I’d have to wonder…”
“Go ahead and wonder all you want, Brandt. But get out while you’re doing it.”
Brandt shook his head. “I’ve got a job to do.”
Doc walked toward Brandt, stopping when he was between Brandt and me. He folded his arms across
his chest.
“You’re not going to touch her.”
The throbbing helicopter blades sounded in the distance. We were all very still, not breathing, until they
faded.
Brandt shook his head when it was quiet again. He didn’t speak; he just went to the desk and picked up
Doc’s chair. He carried it to the wall by the file cabinet, slammed it to the ground, and then sat down
hard, making the metal legs squeal against the stone. He leaned forward, his hands on his knees, and
stared at me. A vulture waiting for a dying hare to stop moving.
Doc’s jaw tightened, making a little popping noise.
“Gladys,” Walter muttered, surfacing from his dazed sleep. “You’re here.”
Too nervous to speak with Brandt watching, I just patted his hand. His clouded eyes searched my face,
seeing features that weren’t there.
“It hurts, Gladdie. It hurts a lot.”
“I know,” I whispered. “Doc?”
He was already there, the brandy in hand. “Open up, Walter.”
The sound of the helicopter thumped quietly, far away but still much too close. Doc flinched, and a few
drops of brandy splattered on my arm.
It was a horrible day. The worst of my life on this planet, even including my first day in the caves and the
last hot, dry day in the desert, hours from death.
The helicopter circled and circled. Sometimes more than an hour would pass, and I would think it was
finally over. Then the sound would come back, and I would see the Seeker’s obstinate face in my head,
Brandt never took his suspicious stare off of me. I could always feel it, though I rarely looked at him. It
got a little better when Ian came back with both breakfast and lunch. He was all dirty from packing in
case of an evacuation—whatever that meant. Did they have anywhere to go? Ian scowled so hard he
looked like Kyle when Brandt explained in clipped phrases why he was there. Then Ian dragged another
empty cot beside mine, so that he could sit in Brandt’s line of sight and block his view.
The helicopter, Brandt’s distrustful watch, these were not really so bad. On an ordinary day—if there
was really such a thing anymore—either one of these might have seemed agonizing. Today, they were
nothing.
By noon, Doc had given Walter the last of the brandy. It seemed like only minutes later that Walter was
writhing, moaning, and gasping for breath. His fingers bruised and chafed mine, but if I ever pulled away,
his moans turned to shrill screams. I ducked out once to use the latrine; Brandt followed me, which made
Ian feel like he had to come, too. By the time we got back—after nearly running the whole
way—Walter’s screams no longer sounded human. Doc’s face was hollow with echoed agony. Walter
