The Host - Before And After The Rain

Chapter 7 - Clarifying Things

"Hey, Ian, are you awake?" asked Kyle in that voice of his, impossibly high for a whisper.

"No, I'm not."

"Oh, amazing how even in this situation we're in, you know to be an ass!"

"You woke me up to attack me, is that it?"

"No. It's just that I had an idea and now I can't sleep."

"Happens, Kyle. I know you're not used to thinking, but there's no need to be worried, sooner or later your brain will get empty again. Now go to sleep and leave me alone!"

"You want to stop being stupid and listen to me? It's to do with our father."

I woke up instantly! Doc was snoring quietly in the farthest corner of the hospital. Kyle came closer to me to keep our voices down to avoid waking him.

"When Jodi wakes up and everything's okay with Wanda, we can pick up our father in Portland."

Oh, crap!

There were so many implications in that statement, so many things I needed to say to Kyle that would be extremely hard to say and hear ... I knew it had to be me saying them, but I was simply not ready to do this in the middle of the night! Kyle was balancing on the edge of madness and normality lately. Any push and he would fall on one side or the other. If Kyle's normality was already scary, just imagine if he went nuts!

I myself, on my own emotional cliff, was in no shape to dive into the turbulent emotions of my brother. On the other hand, I couldn't stand to hear Doc and Candy whispering in corners, not daring to say certain urgent things to Kyle. I knew Doc would end up calling Jeb to resolve the issue and it presented all the signs of a real catastrophe! There was no other way. I had to be strong and lead his stubborn ass to the light. In the dark. In whispers. In the middle of the night. That was my fault for being too lazy to go to my room. Lately, things had a strange habit of happening when I was not prepared for them.

"Kyle, how did you find Sunny in Vegas? Why did you decide to seek Jodi there?"

"Well, because Jodi's mother and stepfather lived there!"

"But Sunny has no ... family ties, so to speak, with the Souls who are in the body of Jodi's parents, does she?"

"Dammit, Ian! Why are you asking these stupid questions? This all has nothing to do with what I said."

"Answer my questions and I'll show you it has everything to do with it."

Kyle snorted. A sound so loud that Doc ​​also snored louder from his corner. We sat in silence for a few minutes until we again heard the lower and more rhythmic sound from before.

"Okay, I'll bite this bait. Sunny went to Las Vegas because Jodi was very close to her mother. I knew this because Wanda came after Jared and Jamie."

"Right. And what was the reason for our father to come home every day when he was human?"

"What the hell do you mean, Ian? What kind of stupid question is that?"

"Just follow my lead, Kyle. Even that stubborn mind of yours will understand what I am saying."

"Our father came home because it was there where he lived with us, dammit!"

"And we've left that house more than six years ago. Why would he remain there without us?"

"Well..."

"We have no guarantees he is still there. This can be a risky venture and completely in vain. You've got everyone pissed with your trip to seek Jodi... Imagine if everyone decides to do this?"

"They don't do it because they don't have the guts. I have! What's wrong with you, anyway, huh, you idiot? Don't want our father back?"

"It's you who's being stupid! You think I haven't thought about it? But we have to be rational, Kyle. And prioritize the survival of all of us. Suppose we find him, that after all these years he is still in our house. And then we bring him here only to find out the Soul in his place has deleted him completely..."

"Nonsense. Melanie, Lacey, Candy, they all resisted."

Well, now was the hardest part!

"Yeah. Melanie and Lacey awoke immediately. With Candy it took several hours longer. With her it was a long shot. If she hadn't awakened, her body probably would have died soon. Would you dare to let our father's body die?"

"No, of course not! Maybe I'd ask Doc to put the Soul back until we find a way."

"And who said he would want to stay here? Who could guarantee this Soul would be as friendly as Wanda or Sunny, or whether he would be our ruin?"

"It's hard to admit, but you may be right about that part."

I may? Only about that part?

"His body was taken long ago, Kyle. Six years ago, the same time as Jodi. It's too long to survive, especially with nothing to hold on to."

"Where are you going with this?"

Oh, that part now would be really hard too!

"It's been ten days and you are still trying to wake Jodi up..."

Kyle didn't immediately understand what I meant. For a few seconds he gave me a blank stare. Then, just as I didn't think it was possible, his face looked even more sad and I could almost hear something inside him breaking. I could see his helplessness expression slowly turn into a beast's. At that time, it was easier to "shoot the messenger" than to face the truth, and fists coming towards me let me know that this was exactly their mission: to relieve pain. His, not mine.

There was only time for one instinctive move, which was to hug Wanda's tank, wrapping myself around it like a cocoon. I closed my eyes waiting for the blow, but it didn't come. What came instead was the metallic sound of something against the floor.

I squeezed Wanda stronger against my chest, making sure the tank was still there. Even before I opened my eyes, I heard the cry of my brother:

"Sunny! Oh, shit!"

The moment Kyle jumped to attack me, he bumped into the cot where he'd deposited Sunny for just a minute while we talked. Again, she had suffered for him, once again she had brought him to reason.

"Damn it, Kyle! What the hell did you do?" Doc yelled, waking up and coming our way.

"Oh, my God, I'm sorry, Sunny! Shit, Doc, I don't know where my head was. Help me out here, please!"

Doc came with a flashlight. The light struck first on Kyle's face and he was the picture of fright. Then the flashlight focused on the tank and the three of us held our breaths.

"Apparently it didn't open. No, it's not opened. Everything is okay, I suppose." Doc said, triggering a chain of relief among us. I could feel my muscles relax a little bit from the impossible tightness they held.

Kyle threw himself to the ground and carefully picked up Sunny's tank. Doc watched everything with a really angry expression on his face and then he held out his arms to Sunny:

"I don't think I should let you hold that tank anymore, Kyle."

Kyle's arms closed around the tank. His eyes begged for mercy, but not from Doc, from Sunny.

"It was just an accident, Doc. It won't happen again. I promised her she would be fine."

"Yes, but you almost killed her! What is it, anyway? Why is Ian curled around Wanda? And why were both of you, in the middle of the night, fighting for Sunny's tank?"

"Doc," Kyle sighed heavily "I got some things I want you to explain to me..."