The Host - After the Rain

Chapter 4 - O'Shea of the Caves

Ian was the one who first opened his eyes. It had not yet fully dawned, but there was light enough to see the strange gunman who faced them. He stood startled and gave Kyle, who was squeezed in a lopsided way in the back seat, a nudge. Before they could straighten and find a good position to start the car, the man pointed a flashlight right into the eyes of each of them. When he finished, he lowered the gun and pointed the flashlight to his own eyes. The very miracle of faded blue eyes approached them and they hesitantly lowered the car windows.

"Hey boys," he said, "why don't you two just hang a neon sign saying for rent on those foreheads of yours? It would call less attention than this flashy car standing in the middle of nowhere..."

They were so confused and pleasantly surprised that not only they did not understand a word he said, but also failed to articulate any kind of response.

"What happens now? Will we be planted here admiring the sunrise or are you guys gonna let me in?"

No words yet articulate, Ian sat up in the passenger seat where he had been sleeping and unlocked the doors. The stranger entered, not letting go even for a second  of his rifle, which he laid there between the driver's door and his own body, out of their reach. He started the car and introduced himself while already driving:

"My name is Jeb. I survived the parasites and I can teach you two to do the same. But we have to learn to trust each other pretty quickly if you want to survive", he said, launching an incisive look in the rearview mirror when Kyle was getting too close to the gun.

I could almost imagine the look in Jeb' eyes, Ian's astonishment, Kyle's suspicion and the rifle among them, getting affectionate pats from Jeb every five seconds.

Jeb came back a few miles down the road, while telling his theories and discoveries to the stunned brothers. He again left the road and stopped the car in a place out of sight of anyone passing by the road, behind a hill.

"If you want to live in my hiding-place, there are rules to follow. The first is to abandon this car. We have vehicles there and this one draws a lot of attention. If we need more cars, we can steal a more discreet one from the parasites."

Kyle tried to protest, but he really could not argue against the fact that the big car he had, red and with flames painted on the sides, jarred with the much more common cars the parasites preferred. The truth, according to Ian, is that Kyle was too scared and relieved to find Jeb and have a place to hide. Even he realized that the car was a small sacrifice to make for a bit of safety.

They grabbed their backpacks and walked through the desert for a few hours to the point where Jeb had found them. A little further along, by some stones, Jeb had left his own provisions and, along with what they had, it was enough for the day's hike that followed until they reached their new home.

"It was hard at first. We could not resign ourselves to the fact that we couldn't do anything for my father or Jodi. In addition, there was the heat, the darkness, the horrible food..."

He paused for a moment, seeming embarrassed, and touched my neck with his fingertips, right where he had wounded me when I was in Melanie's body.

"Of course there were no wacky people trying to kill us."

I cringed a little, because I didn't like to think about those early days, and liked even less how Ian felt when we talked about it.

"Ian, you thought you were defending yourself and your friends. There's no need for so much guilt."

"You know there will not be a day that I do not regret that moment."

"And you know and I know you would never do that if you understood what you're seeing, if you knew me."

"You bet I wouldn't", he replied smiling, replacing the fingers by his lips, causing me chills that went through my whole body.