Chapter 55 Chapter 53: Imminent Execution

The host body of the hunter is called Lacey, an elegant, gentle and feminine name.Lacey.In my opinion, both the name and the size of the host are highly inappropriate for hunters, like calling a pit bull "curly". Lacie was as loud as Hunter—still whiny. "You'll have to forgive my babbling," she demanded, not giving us a choice. "I've been yelling out there for years, but never got a chance to speak for myself. I've got a lot to say." We were so lucky, I'm even a little glad I'm leaving. She answered the question I asked myself earlier.Although there was a different thought behind the face, the face was still repulsive.

Because, in the end, I found that its thinking was not that different either. "That's why we don't like you," she told me that first night, before she had changed from the present tense or the plural pronouns, "when she realized you could hear Melanie, She was scared as much as she could hear me. She thought you might guess that I was her deep, dark secret," a harsh laugh, "and she couldn't shut me up. That was The reason why she became a hunter is because she wanted to find a way to better restrain the resistant host. So she asked to be assigned to you so she could watch what you do. Isn't it sad that she is jealous of you? She wants to be as strong as you. We thought Melanie won and we got a kick out of that, but I guess that didn't happen and I guess you won. So why are you here? You Why help the rebels?"

I reluctantly explained that Melanie and I were friends, and she didn't like the idea. "Why?" she pressed me. "She's a nice person." "But why does she like you?" For the same reason. "She said, for the same reason." Lacey snorted: "Brainwashed her, huh?" Wow, she's worse than the first one. Yes, I agree, I now know why hunters are so annoying.Can you bear the constant buzzing in your head? I'm not the only thing Lacey objects to. "Have you any better lodgings than these caves? It's so dirty here. Don't you have a house? We have to live in one house, what do you mean? Watch? I don't understand. Must I work? I don't think you understand"

Jeb showed her around the next day as usual, and through gritted teeth he tried to explain to her how we all lived here.As they passed me—I was eating in the kitchen with Ian and Jamie—he gave me a wink that unmistakably asked me why I hadn’t given up when I had a choice. Aaron killed her? Her tour schedule was more packed than mine, and everyone wanted to see this wonder for themselves.It seems like most of them don't even care that she's a difficult person, she's popular, and not just popular.Again I felt a tinge of poignant jealousy, but that feeling was stupid.She is human, she represents hope, she belongs here, and after I leave, she will always stay here.

you're very lucky.Mel teased me quietly. Talking to Ian and Jamie about what had happened was not as difficult or painful as I thought it would be. This is because they were completely unaware, and although for different reasons, none of them realized that acquiring this new knowledge meant I was leaving. I knew why Jamie didn't know, he knew better than anyone that Mel and I were separate items in a package deal.He is very open minded and understands the fact that we have dual personalities.He treated us like two people, not one.Mel was so real to him, so close—that's how Mel felt to me, too.He didn't need to miss her because he owned her and he didn't see the need to separate us.

I don't know why Ian doesn't get it, he's so obsessed with the prospect of the future?What does this event mean for the human population living here?They were all overwhelmed: being arrested, the end of the road, was no longer a foregone conclusion.There is a way to turn things around, and he seems to think it's no surprise that I saved the hunter.Such behavior fit perfectly with what he thought I was, and maybe that was what he had in mind. Or maybe Ian never had a chance to figure out what was going on, and before he could see the obvious end result, he was distracted, distraught, and furious.

"I should have killed him years ago," Ian snapped angrily as we prepared what we needed for the raid, my last raid, and I tried not to think about it, "No, we His mother should have drowned him at birth!" "He's your brother." "I don't know why you insist on saying that, do you want to make it harder for me?" Everyone is furious with Kyle.Jared's lips were drawn into a tight line, angry, and Jeb touched his gun several times. Jeb was thrilled, he had planned to launch the raid with us, this landmark raid, his first since I was here.He really wanted to get a closer look at the launch site, but now that Kyle was putting us all in danger, Jeb felt he had to stay back, just in case, and not getting what he wanted made Jeb unhappy.

"Stay with that guy," he muttered, rubbing the barrel again—the new addition to his turf didn't cheer him up. "Missed all the fun." Spit on it. We all know where Kyle is, and as soon as he learns how the soul hunter magically transformed into the human Lacie, he sneaks away from behind.I thought he'd be the first to call for the Hunter's death (I've been holding the cryochamber in my arms, I'm a light sleeper, feeling the smooth surface of the cryochamber with my hands), but he's gone, and Jeb was gone when he left It easily calmed everyone's resistance.

It was Jared who found out that the Jeep was missing, and it was Ian who connected the two disappearances. "He went to Jody," Ian grumbled, "where else?" Hope and despair.I gave them one and Kyle another, will he sell them all before they get their wish? Jared and Jeb wanted to hold off on the raid until we were sure if Kyle was successful or not - three days in the best case scenario, assuming his Jody was still living in Oregon, and if he can find her there. There was another place, another cave, where we could move to, but it was much smaller and had no water, so we couldn't possibly hide there for long.They debated whether to evacuate everyone now or wait.

But I'm anxious, I've seen other people staring at the silver freezer in my arms, I've heard them whispering.The longer I keep the hunters here, the more chances they'll have of killing her.After meeting Lacey, I began to sympathize with hunters.She deserves a new life on the planet of flowers, a gentle, amiable new life. Ironically, Ian was the one who sided with me and urged them to launch a raid as soon as possible - he still didn't know what that meant. But I'm grateful that he convinced Jared that we had time to launch the raid first and then discuss what to do with Kyle when we got back, and I'm grateful that he was acting as bodyguard again.I knew I could trust Ian with that shiny freezer, he could be trusted more than anyone else.He's the only one I can let him hold the freezer when I can't.In that little container, there was a life to protect, and only he understood that.He could have a creature of that shape as a friend, a friend to be cherished, and he was my best ally of all.I am grateful to Ian, thankful that he didn't know the truth, because it spared him the pain for a while.

We have to act fast, before Kyle ruins everything.We went to Phoenix again, to a neighborhood right next to the city center.In a town called Mesa, there is a vast launch site in the southeast, and there are several healing departments nearby.That's what I want - to give them as much as I can before I leave.If we hijack a healer, maybe we can keep the memory of the healer in the host body.This one knows all the medicines and their effects, this one knows the best way to access unattended stores.The doctor will welcome him, and I can imagine all the questions he can't wait to ask. First, go to the launch site. I'm sorry Jeb missed this one, but he'll have plenty of other opportunities in the future.There is a long line of small black space shuttles, with their noses slightly facing the ground, taxiing to land, while other planes are preparing to take off, and the line cannot see the border.I drove the battered delivery van, and the others sat in the back—Ian, of course, kept the freezer.I drive around the launch site, away from the busy terminal.The space shuttles leaving Earth are clearly visible, large, sleek white objects that do not take off as frequently as smaller planes.All the large planes I saw were parked, and none were ready to leave immediately. "Everything has a label on it," I said to the others, out of sight in the dark, "now listen to me, this is important. Avoid the planes to Bat Planet, and, especially, avoid Flying to the eye grass planet. The eye grass planet is only one galaxy away-it only takes ten years to travel back and forth, which is too short. The flower planet is the farthest, and there are also the dolphin planet, the bear planet and the spider planet, go there It would take at least a hundred years to get the freezers on those planes." I drove very slowly and gradually approached the shuttle. "It's very simple, there are all kinds of transportation here, we can just blend in. Oh! Jared! I saw a delivery truck - just like the truck we saw at the hospital gate, unloading ...someone is watching the cargo stack he's moving the cargo onto the trolley, he's going to load stuff into the "I'm driving slower to get a better view," yes, on this plane, straight into the open cargo hold .After he got on the plane, I turned back and started to move." I walked past him, watching his movements in the rearview mirror.There is a neon sign next to the pedestrian tube that connects the nose to the terminal.I read the words above from back to front and smiled slightly.The plane was bound for the Planet of Flowers, the sign said so. The man disappeared into the cabin and I slowly turned back. "Get ready," I whispered, slipping into the shadow of the cylindrical wing of a large plane next to me, only three or four yards away from the cargo truck.In front of the plane bound for Flower Planet, several technicians were busy, and further away, there were also some technicians in front of the plane on the old runway. I was just another figure in the night. I killed the engine, jumped out of the driver's seat, and pretended to be indifferent, as if I was just doing my job.I went to the trunk and opened a hole.Nearby was the freezer, which glowed dimly red to indicate its contents.I picked it up gently and closed the door. I walked slowly to the open back of the truck, but my breathing became short of breath.This place seems more dangerous than the hospital, I am anxious, can I expect my human friends to take risks here? I will stay there, and I will personally send your kind to outer space.I know if it were me, you would do the same.Just have a little bit of hope and you'll make it, that's all. Thank you, Mel. I try not to look back so as not to keep staring at the cabin the man walked into.I gently place the freezer on top of the stack of freezers closest to me on the delivery truck, one more than a few hundred, unobtrusive. "Goodbye," I whispered farewell, "good luck finding a good host." I walked back to the car as slowly as possible. I turned the car around and pulled out from under the shuttle, and there was silence in the car.Back along the same road, my heart was pounding.I saw in the rearview mirror that the cargo hold of the plane was still empty, and the man didn't come out until the plane faded out of my sight. Ian climbed into the passenger seat: "It doesn't look difficult." "It's not bad luck, the timing is just right. Next time, it may take a long time to have a chance." Ian leaned over and took my hand: "You are our good luck talisman." I am silent. "She's safe now, are you feeling better?" "Ok." There was a lie in my voice, and the insincere words surprised him, and I saw him turn his head sharply, and I avoided his gaze. "Let's get some healers," I faltered. The distance was very short, and we drove to the small treatment department. Ian was silent and thoughtful along the way. I had expected this second assignment to be challenging and dangerous.My plan—if conditions and numbers allowed—was to lure a therapist or two out of the therapy department by pretending to have an injured friend in my car.It's an old trick, but it's more than adequate for the unsuspecting, gullible therapist. As a result, I didn't even have to walk in.As I pulled into the parking lot, I happened to see two middle-aged therapists, a man and a woman in purple surgical gowns, getting into the car.They got off work and were about to drive home.Their car was on the corner near the entrance, and no one else was around. Ian nodded nervously. I parked directly behind their car and they looked up in surprise. I opened the door and slid out of the seat.Voices choked with sobs, faces full of regret, which could fool them. "My friend is in the back - I don't know what's wrong with him." They immediately responded to me with concern, which I knew they would.I hurriedly opened the back door for them, and they followed the car straight away.Ian moved to the other side, and Jared had the anesthesia ready. I didn't look at it. In a matter of seconds, Jared dragged the unconscious therapist to the back of the car, and Ian slammed the door shut.Ian looked into my swollen eyes for just one look, then got into the driver's seat. I was carrying the shotgun, and he took my hand again. "I'm sorry, Xiaoman, I know you're not feeling well." "Yeah." He didn't know how bad I was, and how many different reasons there were. He squeezed my fingers tightly: "But at least everything is going well, what a talisman you are!" It went so well, both tasks were accomplished very well, very quickly, and fate was urging me. He drove back onto the freeway, and a few minutes later, I saw a bright, familiar sign in the distance.I took a deep breath and wiped away my tears. "Ian, can you do something for me?" "You can say whatever you want." "I want to eat fast food." He smiled: "No problem." We changed seats in the parking lot and I drove up to the window to order food. "What do you want to eat?" I asked Ian. "Nothing, I like to see you do something for yourself, this is the first one." I can't laugh at his jokes.For me, it was a bit like the Last Supper—the last gift to the condemned, and I could never leave the cave again. "Jared, what about you?" "What do you eat, I'll have two of the same." So, I ordered three hamburgers, three bags of chips, and three milkshakes. After I got the food, I switched places with Ian and he drove so I could eat. "Ugh." He saw me dip the fries into the milkshake. "You should try it, it's delicious." I hand him a chip full of milkshake. He shrugged and took the fries.He threw the fries into his mouth and chewed them: "Interesting." I laughed: "Melanie also thinks it's vulgar to eat like that." That's why I got into the habit in the first place.It was funny thinking about how I tried to piss her off then. I'm not actually hungry, I just want to taste some of the flavors that impress me, again.I was full and Ian ate the rest of my half burger. With no wind or waves, we arrived home without any sign of a hunter watching.Maybe they have accepted such a coincidence, or maybe they think that it is inevitable for people to disappear-walking alone in the desert for a long time, something bad will always happen.We have such a proverb on the misty planet: Walking on the glacier alone, the beast eats on the plate, probably translated like this.Speaking in the language of the bear planet, it sounds more natural. What awaits us is a grand reception ceremony. I smiled absently at my friends: Trudy, Jeffrey, Heath, and Heidi.I have fewer and fewer best friends, Walter is gone, Wes is gone, and I don't know where Lily is.It makes me sad, maybe I don't want to live on this sad planet with so many deaths, maybe it's better to be ignorant. I was also saddened to see Lucina standing next to Lacey, and Red and Violetta standing across from them.They talked and laughed happily, as if they had questions and answers.Fritton was on Lacey's back. He didn't seem afraid of being carried by Lacey. On the contrary, he was happy to join in the adults' conversation, and he didn't mean to try to break free. They never let me be near the kids, but Lacey was one of them and they trusted her. We went straight to the south tunnel, Jared and Ian trudging along with the healer on their backs.Ian carried the heaviest on his back, and he was carrying the male therapist, with sweat dripping from his white face.Jeb drove the others back to the tunnel entrance and followed us. Ian was waiting for us in the hospital, rubbing his hands blankly as if washing them. Time passed quickly, and the brightest lights were lit in the hospital.The therapist took painkillers and lay face down on the operating table.Jared showed Ian how to open the freezer. They opened the freezer and got ready. The sudden cold air made Ian shiver.The doctor stands next to the female therapist, holding a scalpel, and the medicine bottles are lined up on the table. "Xiaoman?" he asked. My heart tightened painfully: "Doctor, do you dare to swear? Promise me all the conditions? Do you dare to guarantee it with your life?" "Yes, I will meet all your conditions, Man. I swear." "Jered?" "Well, definitely no more killing souls, ever." "Ian?" "I will protect them with my life, Xiao Man." "Jeb?" "This is my home, anyone who can't abide by the agreement, get out of here." I nodded, with tears in my eyes: "Then, all right. If we don't do it, we won't stop." Ian became agitated again, and he cut open the healer's skin until the silvery light could be seen, and he immediately put down the scalpel. "What to do now?" I put my hand on his. "Fumble along the back, do you feel it? The shape of each segment. The closer to the front, the smaller. Well, at the end, you should be able to touch three small...a bit thick things. You found what I said. ?" "Yeah." He breathed a sigh of relief. "Very well, those are the anterior tentacles, start here. Now, gently, run your fingers down the base of the body. Find the tentacles that wrap around the body, tense like wires." He nodded. I guided him, groped to the third, and told him how to count if he wasn't sure where.With the blood flowing so fast, we don't have time to count.I firmly believe that when the therapist wakes up, her body can help us - there must be gains, and I helped him find the biggest joint. "Now, move your hands slowly close to the soul and rub it gently." The doctor's voice suddenly became louder, a little panicked: "It's moving." "Very well—that means you're doing the right thing. Give it time to retract its tentacles. When it curls up a little, place it in your hand." "Oh." His voice trembled a little. I reached out to Ian: "Give me your hand." I felt Ian take my hand, and I opened his palm, bent it into the shape of a cup, and pulled his hand to the edge of the doctor's operating table. "Give your soul to Ian—gently, please." Ian would be the ideal assistant.Who else but he will treat my poor companions with such care when I am gone? The doctor put the soul into Ian's hands, and immediately turned to heal the body. Ian stared at the creature in his hand, which was like a silver ribbon.Ian's face was full of surprise, not disgust.Seeing his expression like this made my heart warm. "It's beautiful." Ian whispered, not surprised.Whatever he felt about me, he was preoccupied with what he expected to see was a parasite, a centipede, a monster.Cleaning up the divided soul last time did not make him expect to see such a beautiful scene this time. "I think so too, let it crawl into the freezer." Ian cupped his hand, protecting the soul, and remained in that position for another moment, as if trying to remember the sight and the feeling.Then, with the utmost care, he let the soul crawl into the freezer. Jared showed him how to close the lid. A stone fell from my heart. It's done, it's too late to change your mind now.It's not as bad as I thought it would be, because I'm sure the four will treat the soul as well as I did, when I'm gone. "Be careful!" Jeb yelled suddenly.He raised his gun and swept across us. We turned quickly to the danger—the male therapist was kneeling on the operating table, watching us in astonishment, and Jared dropped the cryochamber as he lunged at him.Ian is unflappable, still holding on to his freezer. "Anaesthesia." Ian yelled as he grabbed the therapist and pushed him back down on the operating table, but it was too late. The therapist stared at me with a puzzled expression that made him look childish.I knew why he kept looking at me—the lights from the lanterns flickered in our eyes, making diamond-shaped spots of light on the walls. "Why?" he asked me. With a dazed face, he collapsed on the operating table without any resistance, and two lines of blood flowed from his nostrils. "NO!" I screamed, moving closer to his motionless body, knowing it was too late, "NO!"