Chapter 114 The Altruistic

"And if all falls apart, I will know deep in my heart,

The only dream that mattered had come true.

In this life, I was loved by you."

-Colin Raye

Burns

Finn is adjusting nicely. It's been a few days, but he is talking with everybody, though he is mostly attached to Blake. It's actually quite funny to watch.

There's still dark shadows in his eyes, but that's to be expected. He just lost his parents. I'm already glad he's not afraid of me.

I sit on the mattress in our sleeping space. Emma's prism I have in my hand is casting a dull rainbow on the wall.

My mind is thinking back on the past few days. Something doesn't sit right with me, though I can't say what it is exactly. All I know is that it leaves me uncomfortable, like there is something we're forgetting.

The curtain moves to the side and Emma sits down next to me. "So this is where you are hiding. Is everything okay?"

I smile at her. In the time we've been here, in the mines, she's become more confident, more at ease. She belongs here, and she's absolutely beautiful.

Her eyes study me concerned. "Burns?"

I shake my head. "I was just wondering how someone like you would choose to stay with a creature like me." It's something I will never understand. And it's something I'll probably never experience again, no matter how many lives I'll live.

Emma sighs. "We've talked about this, Burns. It doesn't matter what you are. It's you I love. Your personality, your actions. You."

"I know," I answer, "it's just...hard to grab the concept. I don't know how I deserve to be so lucky."

She cups my face and kisses me. "By being you," she answers with a smile. She sits back and my eyes fall on her necklace, the one I gave her when she still shared her body with Sky. The two rings that belonged to Rain and Storm have been removed and now rest on the shelf in our small room. Only the musical mote is still there.

It seems so long ago.

Was that when I realized I loved her?

"So what did you do today?" I ask.

Emma groans and stretches out on the mattress. "I had laundry duty with Evan and Rachel. My back is killing me."

"Did you take some No Pain?" I ask concerned.

She smiles at me. "Don't worry. It will pass. What about you?"

"Kitchen duty," I answer, "with Blake and Sophie. Finn is helping too." I run a hand through my hair. "I should probably get going. There's a lot of preparation to be done."

"Do you need me to pitch in?" Emma asks.

I shake my head. "We all have our chores. You already finished yours. I'll see you at dinner. Get some rest, okay?" I kiss her forehead and make my way to the kitchen.

The others are already there. Blake looks up from peeling potatoes when I enter and grins at me. "Well, well, look who decided to show up."

"I'm sorry I'm late," I apologize.

"Yeah, I'm sure there was enough distraction," Blake smirks.

Sophie slaps his stomach. "Stop teasing them all the time, Blake. I think they're adorable together. Just ignore him, Burns. He's an idiot."

"So harsh, Sophie," Blake pouts, "jut when I started liking you better."

Sophie's face turns bright red and she mumbles an excuse before moving to the counter to cut vegetables.

Finn is sitting on a stool next to the counter and rolls his eyes. Between his knees is a large bowl and he's popping peas.

I clear my throat. "So what can I do?"

Sophie motions towards the cooler. "The chicken needs dicing and seasoning." Her face is still red.

I nod and set myself to work. The herbs we received from Max' groups are growing well and give our food plenty of flavor.

It's amazing how resilient these people are, having to hide away from civilization and creating a new one. I'm lucky to be a part of it. We're almost self-sufficient. From what I understand from humanity before, putting many different personalities in an enclosed space is bound to end in conflict, but somehow they've made it work here. We Souls could learn from that. I still hope that one day we will learn to co-exist, that one day the Souls will come to understand not all humans are cruel. Then maybe one day I'm not the only one anymore.

We are almost finished with the preparations when Will enters the kitchen. His arrival makes us tense. He has guard duty with Logan. If he's here that can only mean trouble.

"Will?" Blake asks cautiously with one eye on Finn. It wouldn't be wise to worry the boy.

Will glances at Finn too. "Is Nate around?" he asks.

Blake shakes his head. "Did you try the greenery?"

"Thanks," Will says and he disappears again.

Blake, Sophie and I exchange worried glances.

Blake nods at me and I wash my hands before going after Will. I catch up with him half way to the greenery. "Will," I call.

The look he gives me is grim, but he nods at me and allows me to match his stride. "Seems the three of you stirred something with that little stunt you pulled," he says, "we have Seekers on our doorstep again."

I feel the color drain from my face. "They found us?" I rasp.

"Not yet," Will answers. He glances at me. "It's not the first time Seekers sweep the territory you know. We do have ways of dealing with them." He doesn't have to tell me they've resorted to killing before. "In any case, Nate needs to know. We may have to evacuate."

Evacuate? Where would we go? There are so many of us. We've made a home here.

"Nate," Will calls as soon as he spots him.

Nate looks up. Immediately he seems to realize something's wrong. He walks our way and holds a serious expression. "What did you see, Will?"

"Seekers in our area. We're not sure what they're after. They seems to be looking for someone."

Nate glances at me and back at Will. "You think it's Emma's Seeker?"

"We don't know," Will says. He looks at me. "Would you recognize him?"

A shudder moves through my body. Could it be Patt? Does he know what we did? Did he somehow follow us here?

"Did they find the van?" I ask quietly.

"Not yet," Will answers, "would you recognize him or should I get your girlfriend?"

I shake my head. I won't put Emma through that again. "I'll recognize him," I say.

Nate nods. "Good. Go with Will. Let me know so I can come up with a plan."

"I'm sorry, Nate," I say.

"It's not the first time this happens, Burns," Nate assures me, "we'll deal with this situation just as we did the others. Now hurry up. The sooner we know what we're dealing with the better."

I nod and follow Will to where Logan is still on the lookout. He quietly hands me binoculars. My hand is shaking slightly as I accept it. I don't know what I'm hoping for, recognizing the Seekers or not recognizing them.

Logan places a finger against his lips, indicating for me to be quiet, and makes room for me.

There are three of them and it doesn't take me long to recognize Patt. One female and one male Seeker are flanking him.

Suddenly I feel cold and I hand the binoculars back to Logan. I think I'm going to be sick. Why is he here? How did he find us?

The van, I realize. They must have seen the van before Blake parked it behind the house. We were there for two days.

Will motions for me to follow him again. When we are well away from the look out, he turns to me. "You know that Seeker."

"He's the one that took Emma," I admit, "he's the one we met in the forest."

Will's face is grim. "We need to get rid of them."

Now I know I'm going to be sick. "You can't do that," I force out.

"I know you don't like it, Burns, but we have to protect ourselves. What if they found Russell's place huh? You were near them when you ran into them. If they find us... what if they find the others too?"

"I know," I whisper, "I know. I know." I run a hand through my hair.

"Look," Will says, "we won't kill them. We promised, didn't we? But we can't risk them finding us. That thing you did... with Emma... will it work again?"

I take a deep breath and rub my face. I think about Rain and Storm, about that one Soul they brought when Emma and I just arrived here.

All failed attempts.

"I don't know," I admit.

It's not the answer he wants to hear. "Let's go get Nate," Will growls frustrated.

It's not that I don't want to help. I appreciate them wanting to keep their promise. I know we have to protect this place.

But these are Seekers, not regular Souls whose disappearance will be noticed but then forgotten. Seekers disappearing on a patrol, that will certainly raise red flags.

Still, I don't know how else to go about it. They are right. We have no choice.

Nate is already waiting for us. The looks on our faces are enough answer for him. He gives a grim nod. "Gather a few of the guys," he tells Will, "we'll take the back entrance and circle around to lure them away from here. You know the plan."

Will nods and turns to leave.

"I... I'll come," I blurt out. When Will looks at me over his shoulder I sigh. "You may need me."

Will looks at Nate questioningly and Nate nods. "I'll be coming too," he says in a serious tone.

Will nods and the three of us head down the tunnel.

Of course we have to run into Emma, who just exits our room. She bites her lip when she sees us. "What's wrong?" she asks in a frightened tone.

"Nothing we can't handle," Nate places a hand on her shoulder. "Go join the others in the kitchen, Emma. Start dinner. Don't wait for us. We'll be back soon."

She's not having it. "Burns?" she asks.

I can't lie to her. My hands cup her face and I take a deep breath. "Patt is here," I tell her quietly, "with two other Seekers. They're searching the area."

All color drains from her face and for a moment I'm afraid she will faint. My hands hold her upright as they move to her arms.

"They won't find us, Emma," I say, "I'll make sure of it."

There's panic in her eyes again. "What are you going to do?"

"We're going to make sure they won't form a threat," Will says. He looks at me. "We need to go now. The longer we wait, the higher the risk."

Emma looks from one to another. "I'm coming."

"No!" I say. I don't want her anywhere near that Seeker ever again. Or any Seeker at all for that matter.

"Burns, he knows me. He knows Sky. I can help."

"And what if he's figured it out? No Emma. Stay here. Please."

She looks conflicted.

"Please," I beg.

She sighs and kissed me. "Be safe."

I nod and follow Nate and Will further down the tunnel.

Nate adds Arashi and Marcus to our group. Neither are people I've had much contact with, but they don't ask questions when they see me. They must have done this a hundred times before. There's a routine to their actions.

They take with them weapons they have accumulated over time. I recognize the gun Patt handed me. The sick feeling of before returns.

Nate hesitates a moment but grabs a few canisters of Sleep as well. He offers me a rueful smile. "We'll try, Burns," he says.

All I can do is nod.

We head down a tunnel I haven't seen before. This must be Nate's back entrance. One they only use in case of emergency.

It's darker here and less stable. The ceiling is so low I can hardly walk up straight.

It takes a long time before we reach the surface and when we do we're standing in a clearing in the woods, maybe three miles away from our regular entrance. I look at Nate for an explanation on what to do next.

"Will, Arashi, you know what to do," Nate says, "Marcus, find a good spot to ambush. Burns, you're with me."

I watch as Marcus climbs one of the trees and hides from view. Nate nudges me and I follow him to hide behind some rock formation.

As soon as we're out of sight, Will and Arashi start yelling at each other. I gasp and look at Nate frantically, but he pats my shoulder. "Stay calm, Burns. It will be fine. We need to lure them away."

Of course I know that. I'm just not sure this is the way to go about it. They could get hurt.

It doesn't take long for the three Seekers to arrive. The two I don't recognize have raised their guns. "Halt!" the female Seeker calls, "surrender yourselves and we can resolve this peacefully."

Will snorts. "Peacefully my ass. You just want to put an alien being in our head."

"It won't hurt," the male Seeker says, "we just want to make things better."

"Yeah?" Will says coldly, "then leave this planet. You and all your little friends. We will never surrender."

"We made this world a better place," the male Seeker continues, "there is no more pollution, no more crime and sickness. If you are so concerned about this world, surely you want to help and participate."

"Seeker Yellow Cloud," Patt addresses his friend, "don't try and reason with these humans. They can't be trusted. Have you forgotten the reason we are here? Two Healers have died, their house burned to ashes and two of my friends kidnapped. They need to be taken in for interrogation."

"Unfortunately," Marcus now has dropped down from the tree and is behind the Seekers, "we don't plan on being interrogated."

Patt turns around while Yellow Cloud and the female Seeker keep their weapons trained on Will and Arashi. The latter hasn't spoken a word yet. His cold eyes seem to be taking everything in as if observing his opponents. He gives me an uneasy feeling and I'm glad he's not against me anymore.

I'm surprised none of the companions have drawn their weapons yet. Or maybe they're afraid the Seekers will shoot if they make a move. The three Seekers are now back to back, keeping a careful eye on the humans.

Patt hasn't drawn a weapon yet. Does he not have one other than the one he lend me?

Nate looks at me and motions for me to stay put. Before I can contemplate what he is planning, he has stood up and walks up to the group casually. "Now, now," he says calmly, "there is no need for all of this. Why don't we discuss this in a more civilized manner? Put away those guns, before someone will get hurt."

The distraction he caused seems to be the cue for the others. Before I can blink, Arashi rushes forward and in a move too quick for me to comprehend, he has kicked the gun out of Yellow Cloud's hand.

The Seeker is staring at him with open mouth and wide eyes.

The gun lands in Arashi's hand and in a matter of seconds, he has pulled his own gun. Or rather, Patt's gun.

Patt and the female Seeker gasp in fright, but then Patt's eyes narrow. "You call this civilized? What did you do to my friends? Did you murder them too like you did with the Healers?"

"We didn't murder anyone," Nate says, "and we were not the first to draw weapons."

Patt glares at him. "Not only are you murderers, you are also liars. That is my weapon you have there. I gave it to my friend and he is now missing. What did you do to them?!"

"Seeker Patt," the female Seeker mutters, "calm yourself. We'll never find them if you lose your temper."

"Seeker Reef," Patt answers, "I believe there is no use in finding anyone anymore. The weapon in his hand proves that they are dead." His eyes steel over. It is a horrifying view on such a gentle Soul's face. "All that's left now is revenge."

He moves to take the gun from Seeker Reef's hands and aims it at Nate.

My legs seem to move on their own as they push my body out of hiding. A shout leaves my throat. A warning? Or despair?

I push myself harder and shove Nate out of the way, just as the gun fires.