@@@@@When I was helping with the corn
@@@@@When I was helping with the corn harvest,
for example, and Lily thanked me for a fresh basket with a smile, Andy's eyes bulged in their
sockets at the exchangeOr when I was waiting for the bathing pool with Trudy and Heidi, and
Heidi began playing with my hairIt was growing, always swinging in my eyes these days, and I
was planning to shear it off againHeidi was trying to find a style for me, flipping the strands
this way and thatBrandt and Aaron–Aaron was the oldest man who'd gone on the long raid,
someone I couldn't remember having seen before at all–came out and found us there, Trudy
laughing at some silly atrocity Heidi was attempting to create atop my head, and both men
turned a little green and stalked silently past us
Of course, little things like that were nothingKyle roamed the caves now, and though he was
obviously under orders to leave me in peace, his expression made it clear that this restriction was
repugnant to himI was always with others when I crossed his path, and I wondered if that was
the only reason he did nothing more than glower at me and unconsciously curl his thick fingers
into clawsThis brought back all the panic from my first weeks here, and I might have
succumbed to it–begun hiding again, avoiding the common areas–but something more
important than Kyle's murderous glares came to my attention that second night
The kitchen filled up again–I'm not sure how much was interest in my stories and how much
was interest in the chocolate bars Jeb handed outI declined mine, explaining to a disgruntled
Jamie that I couldn't talk and chew at the same time; I suspected that he would save one for me,
obstinate as everIan was back in his usual hot seat by the fire, and Andy was there–eyes
wary–beside PaigeNone of the other raiders, including Jared, of course, was in attendanceDoc
was not there, and I wondered if he was still drunk or perhaps hung-overAnd again, Walter
was absent
Geoffrey, Trudy's husband, questioned me for the first time tonightI was pleased, though I
tried not to show it, that he seemed to have joined the ranks of the humans who tolerated me
But I couldn't answer his questions well, which was too badHis questions were like Doc's
“I don't really know anything about Healing,” I admitted“I never went to a Healer after…
after I first got hereAll I know is that we wouldn't choose a planet unless
we were able to maintain the host bodies perfectlyThere's nothing that can't be healed, from a
simple cut, a broken bone, to a diseaseOld age is the only cause of death nowEven healthy
human bodies were only designed to last for so lo