[科幻]宿主-第73章
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in and out。 It took a great deal of effort to keep that slow rhythm smooth。 I had to swallow; the blood
was still flowing in my mouth。
He’s both。
Well; maybe this means we don’t have to keep quiet anymore。 He knows。She was hopeful。 She’d
been very quiet lately; absent almost half the time。 It wasn’t as easy for her to concentrate when she was
relatively happy。 She’d won her big fight。 She’d gotten us here。 Her secrets were no longer in jeopardy;
Jared and Jamie could never be betrayed by her memories。
With the fight taken out of her; it was harder for her to find the will to speak; even to me。 I could see
how the idea of discovery—of having the other humans recognize her existence—invigorated her。
Jeb knows; yes。 Does that really change anything?
She thought about the way the other humans looked at Jeb。Right。 She sighed。But I think Jamie… well;
he doesn’t know or guess; but I think he feelsthe truth。
You might be right。 I guess we’ll see if that does him or us any good; in the end。
Jeb could only manage to keep quiet for a few seconds; and then he was off again; interrupting us。
“Pretty interesting stuff。 Not as muchbang! bang! as the movies I used to like。 But still pretty interesting。
I’d like to hear more about those spider thingies。 I’m real curious… real curious; for sure。”
I took a deep breath and raised my head。 “What do you want to know?”
He smiled at me warmly; his eyes crinkling into half moons。 “Three brains; right?”
I nodded。
“How many eyes?”
“Twelve—one at each juncture of the leg and the body。 We didn’t have lids; just a lot of fibers—like
steel wool eyelashes—to protect them。”
He nodded; his eyes bright。 “Were they furry; like tarantulas?”
“No。 Sort of… armored—scaled; like a reptile or a fish。”
I slouched against the wall; settling myself in for a long conversation。
Jeb didn’t disappoint on that count。 I lost track of how many questions he asked me。 He wanted
details—the Spiders’ looks; their behaviors; and how they’d handled Earth。 He didn’t flinch away from
the invasion details; on the contrary; he almost seemed to enjoy that part more than the rest。 His
questions came fast on the heels of my answers; and his grins were frequent。 When he was satisfied
about the Spiders; hours later; he wanted to know more about the Flowers。
“You didn’t half explain that one;” he reminded me。
So I told him about that most beautiful and placid of planets。 Almost every time I stopped to breathe; he
interrupted me with a new question。 He liked to guess the answers before I could speak and didn’t seem
a pterodactyl!”
“No; we used sunlight for food; like most plants here。”
“Well; that’s not as much fun as my idea。”
Sometimes I found myself laughing with him。
We were just moving on to the Dragons when Jamie showed up with dinner for three。
“Hi; Wanderer;” he said; a little embarrassed。
“Hi; Jamie;” I answered; a little shy; not sure if he would regret the closeness we’d shared。 I was; after
all; the bad guy。
But he sat down right next to me; between me and Jeb; crossing his legs and setting the food tray in the
middle of our little conclave。 I was starving; and parched from all the talking。 I took a bowl of soup and
downed it in a few gulps。
“Shoulda known you were just being polite in the mess hall today。 Gotta speak up when you’re hungry;
Wanda。 I’m no mind reader。”
I didn’t agree with that last part; but I was too busy chewing a mouthful of bread to answer。
“Wanda?” Jamie asked。
I nodded; letting him know that I didn’t mind。
“Kinda suits her; doncha think?” Jeb was so proud of himself; I was surprised he didn’t pat himself on
the back; just for effect。
“Kinda; I guess;” Jamie said。 “Were you guys talking about dragons?”
“Yeah;” Jeb told him enthusiastically; “but not the lizardy kind。 They’re all made up of jelly。 They can fly;
though… sort of。 The air’s thicker; sort of jelly; too。 So it’s almost like swimming。 And they can breathe
acid—that’s about as good as fire; wouldn’t you say?”
I let Jeb fill Jamie in on the details while I ate more than my share of food and drained a water bottle。
When my mouth was free; Jeb started in with the questions again。
“Now; this acid…”
Jamie didn’t ask questions the way Jeb did; and I was more careful about what I said with him there。
However; this time Jeb never asked anything that might lead to a touchy subject; whether by coincidence
or design; so my caution wasn’t necessary。
The light slowly faded until the hallway was black。 Then it was silver; a tiny; dim reflection from the
moon that was just enough; as my eyes adjusted; to see the man and the boy beside me。
I folded my arms across my body。
Finally; Jeb yawned a huge yawn that had me and Jamie doing the same。
“You tell a good story; Wanda;” Jeb said when we were all done stretching。
“It’s what I did… before。 I was a teacher; at the university in San Diego。 I taught history。”
“A teacher!” Jeb repeated; excited。 “Well; ain’t that amazin’? There’s something we could use around
here。 Mag’s girl Sharon does the teaching for the three kids; but there’s a lot she can’t help with。 She’s
most fortable with math and the like。 History; now —”
“I only taughtour history;” I interrupted。 Waiting for him to take a breath wasn’t going to work; it
seemed。 “I wouldn’t be much help as a teacher here。 I don’t have any training。”
“Your history is better than nothing。 Things we human folks ought to know; seeing as we live in a more
populated universe than we were aware of。”
“But I wasn’t a real teacher;” I told him; desperate。 Did he honestly think anyone wanted to hear my
voice; let alone listen to my stories? “I was sort of an honorary professor; almost a guest lecturer。 They
only wanted me because… well; because of the story that goes along with my name。”
“That’s the next one I was going to ask for;” Jeb said placently。 “We can talk about your teaching
experience later。 Now—why did they call you Wanderer? I’ve heard a bunch of odd ones; Dry Water;
Fingers in the Sky; Falling Upward—all mixed in; of course; with the Pams and the Jims。 I tell you; it’s
the kind of thing that can drive a man crazy with curiosity。”
I waited till I was sure he was done to begin。 “Well; the way it usually works is that a soul will try out a
planet or two—two’s the average—and then they’ll settle in their favorite place。 They just move to new
hosts in the same species on the same planet when their body gets close to death。 It’s very disorienting
moving from one kind of body to the next。 Most souls really hate that。 Some never move from the planet
they are born on。 Occasionally; someone has a hard time finding a good fit。 They may try three planets。 I
met a soul once who’d been to five before he’d settled with the Bats。 I liked it there—I suppose that’s
the closest I’ve ever e to choosing a planet。 If it hadn’t been for the blindness…”
“How many planets have you lived on?” Jamie asked in a hushed voice。 Somehow; while I’d been
talking; his hand had found its way into mine。
“This is my ninth;” I told him; squeezing his fingers gently。
“Wow; nine!” he breathed。
“That’s why they wanted me to teach。 Anybody can tell them our statistics; but I have personal
experience from most of the planets we’ve… taken。” I hesitated at that word; but it didn’t seem to
bother Jamie。 “There are only three I’ve never been to—well; now four。 They just opened a new world。”
I expected Jeb to jump in with questions about the new world; or the ones I’d skipped; but he just
“Why did you never stay anywhere?” Jamie asked。
“I never found a place I liked enough to stay。”
“What about Earth? Do you think you’ll stay here?”
I wanted to smile at his child’s confidence—as if I were going to get the chance to ever move on to
another host。 As if I were going to get the chance to live out even another month in the one I had。
“Earth is… very interesting;” I murmured。 “It’s harder than any place I’ve been before。”
“Harder than the place with the frozen air and the claw beasts?” he asked。
“In its own way; yes。” How could I explain that the Mists Planet only came at you from the outside—it
was much more difficult to be attacked from within。
Attacked;Melanie scoffed。
I yawned。I wasn’t actually thinking of you; I told her。I was thinking of these unstable emotions;
always betraying me。 But you did attack me。 Pushing your memories on me that way。
I learned my lesson;she assured me dryly。 I could feel how intensely aware she was of the hand in mine。
There was an emotion slowly building in her that I didn’t recognize。 Something on the edge of anger; with
a hint of desire and a portion of despair。
Jealousy;she enlightened me。
Jeb yawned again。 “I’m being downright rude; I guess。 You must be bushed—walking all over today
and then me keepin’ you up half the night talking。 Ought to be a better host。 C’mon;