Running away

[Wild]

Wild dropped the lantern and started to run with Flames. It was a n easy thing to keep up with her pace. He could run just over a 5 minute mile, and then do it again. He followed behind her, scanning the desert. He saw some one in the distance. Two figures, or shadows more like it. He pointed into the distance and then put a finger to his lips for Flames to see. He didnt know if they were humans and he didnt want to deal with them right now.

[Melanie Flames Stryder]

Flames followed
Wild’s finger to the distant figures. She nodded. They didn’t need to run into anyone right now if they didn’t know who was a human and who wasn’t. It was a good thing there was a light over there or they wouldn’t have seen the two people at all. It was pitch black everywhere else. Flames realized with a pang that they wouldn’t be able to find the entrance again. This girl’s mind better clear up soon. Flames looked over her shoulder, but there was nothing there except blackness.

And there never will be for you. Flames disguised her reaction well on the outside. Oh fuck. Mel was still there. She wasn’t supposed to be there anymore. Flames was strong enough to block them out now. She wasn’t like before. Any human should be gone with her here. Too bad for you I’m not any human.

Fine. Fine, she was here. But she was just stuck back there. Mel did not speak up again until Flames spotted a car. She didn’t notice it until she was only a few feet from it. Flames paused and touched the car it looked like a Seeker’s car. At this point, Flames didn’t even wonder, she just needed to get out of there and get a group back here to find the humans. Flames open the drivers door (unlocked, as usual). "Come on." This was almost over. Soon your humans will all be gone. Her smile turned down as Mel spoke up.

Not a chance, bitch.

Tag: Wild
Notes: La la la

[Wild]

Wild saw the car when Flames touched it. It wasnt his but it was a fastish car. He got in the passenger side and slammed the door. It was all leather inside. Sweet. he thought, checking the seats behind him for anything usefull. He found nothing and turned back. He reached up to the visor and pulled down the keys. Stupid humanshe thought.They cant do anything properly. He tossed them onto Flames lap and checked the glove box for a light.

[Melanie Flames Stryder]

This was an excellent car. But better yet, Flames was tall enough to be comfortable driving it. She caught the keys when Wild tossed them, loving these reactions. Starting the car, she tried to find and reply to her body’s mind, but Mel seemed to be hiding in the back somewhere. Flames started to drive slowly toward the highway.

In the back of her own mind, Mel waited patiently until they were going on a straightaway toward the road before selecting a memory. She didn’t want the car to crash, after all. Mel picked something with plenty of anger.

I can’t breathe. If I do they’ll find me. It’s a wonder they haven’t already. My heart is beating loudly enough. It’s all I can hear. The beat fills my ears and pounds in my head. I can’t keep holding my breath. I have to, though. They’ll find me. I’ll be erased.

Jamie. Jamie is safe. At least he isn’t with me now to be taken as well. But what can he do without me? He needs me. And I—

Something falls. It jangles when it hits the ground—keys? Doesn’t matter. They’ve found the kitchen and what I’ve done to it. I pull back farther into the closet. Or, rather, pantry. But it’s the size of a decent closet. I strain my ears to hear them.

Talking. Panicked voices. The voices of the people who they destroyed. My nails dig into my palms as I clench my fists tighter. They’re afraid. Of me! How amazingly messed up. I’m the one who is going to die. The second they come to look in here, it’s all over. Maybe even sooner: I can’t hold my breath anymore. For the first time I remember, I give up. I can’t believe myself. I just give in.

I gasp for air. Their conversation stops, the one pretending to be a woman halfway through saying to call the Seekers. I shrink towards the shelf of food behind me. This isn’t fair. They will erase me, I know. But it isn’t fair. They’ll kill me, but they’ll be able to kill him too without even seeing him once. It isn’t fair.

Footsteps draw closer and then the door flies open. A short woman stands there. Her expression becomes shocked when she sees me. I make use of it. I shove her back as hard as I can and dart out. Behind me she crashes into something loudly. I don’t look back until a hand lands on my shoulder. I stumble and fall head long into the fridge. My head hits it with a bang and my vision clouds for a minute, but I still leap up. I will not be erased without fighting.

The man is in front of me. He grabbed my shoulder before and he reaches for me again. I grab him, though, as tight as I can and throw him toward the glass door beside me. It shatters when he goes through it and into the porch railing. He doesn’t get up. There is blood all around him. Oh my God. Oh God. I’m going to be sick. I look back at the woman. She is huddled in the corner where I pushed her. She looks up at me with fear and I, for once, get it.

Then I run and don’t look back again. Behind me, she screams and screams and screams.

Flames avoided swerving with difficulty. She thought the car might have wavered a little bit, but that wasn’t why her heart was racing. The face of that poor soul stuck in her mind. Flames’ hands fell of the wheel. She wondered if there was any blood at all in her face. She coughed. ”Why don’t you drive.”

Tag: Wild
Notes: That was long.

[Wild]

Wild looked out the window at the speeding road. They were going fast and he could feel the car huming underneath his feet. It wazs a familiar motion and he closed his eyes. He wondered what they would do once they got back to town. What would they say to others? oh a there are wild humans in the desert. Everybody get out of town. No. He relized they ahd no plan. Flames would have to get info out of her host to get back to the hidden entrance. They would have to get a group or a squad of seekers out there with lots of back-up.

He heard Flames tell him that he should drive. Wild smiled. He loved to drive. He pushed open the car door and stepped out. He took his time while he walked around the car. He stopped and loked around. Oh how he hated the desert. Hewalked the rest of the way and pulle dopen her door.

[Melanie Flames Stryder]

Flames pressed her hands to her head while Wild walked around. It was pounding. Was that Melanie intentionally hurting her or a side effect of two of them pressing together so much. She leaned on her window and almost fell out when Wild opened the door. Flames pulled herself up, brushed off her shirt and stepped out. She took a deep breath and walked around to the passenger side door, taking a seat

against the cave wall and wrap my arms around him. I lean towards him.

“Did you have one?” Jamie holds out a banana to me. I look at him. He’s so thin.

“Yeah,” I lie. He smiles and takes it himself. I know we should ration more, but things feel brighter now with Jared and his jeep. I look across the cave to watch him again. Jared. I keep saying his name in my head, as if it will make him more real. Jared who has a car. Jared who runs faster than me. Jared who is human.

Jared who kissed me. My cheeks color at this last one and I hold onto Jamie tighter.

As if he heard my thoughts, Jared looks up at me. I try to smile, but I’m not sure I succeed. Part of me is glad he is over there. Away from us, a safe distance from Jamie. Part of me wishes he were next to me. Maybe he is over there because he doesn’t want to be here, though. After all, I did freak out back there. I can’t believe myself. I had seen his eyes after all, but still, feeling the scar…I hope he knows I was just shaken. I hope he understands.

Jamie head falls onto me. I look down. The banana is gone (of course) and Jamie is already asleep. He isn’t nearly as wary of our new addition as I am. Good. He isn’t so jaded. He isn’t me.

I sneak another peak at Jared. I hope he is who he says he is. I hope he can help us. I just might need it.

And she was Melanie again. No! And she could feel her hands. My hands! My hands now! And the Seeker—Flames—may have been screaming at her in her head, but everything was better again. Mel smiled and looked up at Wild. There was no way to get him to turn back without being suspicious and this was a bad position to try to knock him out from. She breathed deeply, trying to calm down and—

And Flames sat in the seat. It was okay. That was just a glitch. Now she was better. They needed to get those Seekers fast, though. “Go to Tucson as fast as you can,” she told Wild. Not fast enough. You’ll never get them. They’re safe.

Tag: Wild
Notes:Two people in one.

[Wild]

Wild waited until Flames was in the car and he pressed on the gas. If she wanted t get to Tuscan fast, then he would get there faster. he slammed the gas pedal to the floor, excelerating the car in a jerking motion. He was soon going 90 mph, and only the car was keeping him from going faster. It wasnt the nicest car ever but it fast, just not even close to being as fast as his other car. He turned on the radio, looking for a descent song to set the fast paced mood. He found a rockish sounding song and turned it up. It would help keep his mind off other things.

[Melanie Flames Stryder]

The car sped away and Flames could tell Wild was pushing it as much as he dared. At this rate, they would be getting Seekers out to the desert in no time. She pressed her hands on the dashboard and watched Wild drive. Melanie seemed to have started up a kind of soothing chant in the back of her mind. They’re safe. They’ll live. They’re safe. They’ll live. They’re safe… Flames found it easy to tune out. She supposed this meant the human was done trying to steal her body.

Melanie was not done. Scrunched up where Flames couldn’t hear her, she sorted through the memories, trying to find a good one. Any that showed Jared like she saw him now were out; Mel had learned her lesson with Wanda. And anything with plenty of adrenaline was perfect. She chose one she had used before on Wanda, but made sure to trim it.

Too much panic, too much terror, too much adrenaline.
I jerk my knee up in a sharp thrust.

He chokes out a wheezing sound, and I'm free. Instead of running for the front of the house again like he expects, I duck under his arm and leap through the open door. I think I can outrun him, even with my load. I've got a head start, and he's still making pained noises. I know where I'm going–I won't leave a path he can see in the dark. I never dropped the food, and that's good. I think the granola bars are a loss, though.

“Wait!” he yells.

Shut up, I think, but I don't yell back.

He's running after me. I can hear his voice getting closer. “I'm not one of them!”

Sure. I keep my eyes on the sand and sprint. My dad used to say I ran like a cheetah. I was the fastest on my track team, state champion, back before the end of the world.

“Listen to me!” He's still yelling at full volume. “Look! I'll prove it. Just stop and look at me!”

Not likely. I pivot off the wash and flit through the mesquites.

“I didn't think there was anyone left! Please, I need to talk to you!”

His voice surprises me–it is too close.

“I'm sorry I kissed you! That was stupid! I've just been alone so long!”

“Shut up!” I don't say it loudly, but I know he hears. He's getting even closer. I've never been outrun before. I push my legs harder.

There's a low grunt to his breathing as he speeds up, too.

Something big flies into my back, and I go down. I taste dirt in my mouth, and I'm pinned by something so heavy I can hardly breathe.

“Wait. A. Minute,” he huffs.

Mel smiled with her own lips, in her own body, with her own mind. It was the emotion. Anger and adrenaline helped her push the Seeker away. It didn’t last long though; the memory already began to fade. Mel couldn’t wait for an opportunity. She had to do it now, before Flames (”This can’t happen!”) Took back control.

Mel lunged toward Wild and shoved the wheel to the left. She was aiming for a telephone pole on his side. Hopefully they would hit and he would take the whole blow.

Tag: Wild
Notes: Melanie’s memory bit is property of
Stephanie Meyer and not me

[Wild]

Wild sped down the highway, finaly pushing past 90 mph at to 100 mph. He wasnt paying attention until Flames lunged towards him, turned the wheel left. He grabbed onto the wheel tighter, trying to turn it back. He knew that if he couldnt , they would hit something. His efforts were useless. They hit the pole and the car bent around it. Wild flew forward and through the windshield. He flew past the pole, luckly, and into the desert darkness. Everything was a blur until he hit the ground. His back slid across the dirt, hitting a rock and cracking it. He flew up again and landed on his stomach. He couldnt feel any pain now. He layed there for a minute before reach to his back and making sure none of the spinal bones was broken or crushed. He felt a bump but it was a bruise already forming. He checked his whole back and then his head, finding cuts everywhere. Suddenly, he felt the pain coming on, and he screamed into the dirt.

[Melanie Flames Stryder]

Mel had a moment of relief when he failed to turn the wheel back. Then she went into panic as they sped quickly towards the pole. Mel pulled her arms in front of her just before they crashed. The airbag blew up against her forearms. Mel sat there for a moment before slowly straightening out. She felt like her arms had been hit by a truck, but besides bruising, she seemed to be okay. Not like Wild who had obviously flown all the way through the windshield. She reached for the door just as she heard the scream. Mel cringed in pity and guilt and—

Flames sat up. Acting on memory, she pushed under the airbag and grabbed a travel size contained of No Pain from the glove box. So they weren’t always completely unprepared. She grabbed the door handle, but there was no need—the door almost fell off the car. Smiling at her new control, Flames evaluated the causes. Anger and energy seemed to help the human get back in, but Mel couldn’t use fear to her advantage. Anger was sharp and precise; fear was not. The guilt probably helped too—it was a pathetic mushy motion. She climbed out of the car and gritted her teeth. Okay, bruising everywhere.

Wild was surprising far away. Flames knelt daintily beside him and glanced at his face. It was—

The face of the Seeker who had stabbed her just for the fun of it. Even in his current condition Mel could be angry at him for it. And anger was a good thing. In fact, though she know she shouldn’t, she couldn’t help but feel a twisted victory for doing this to him. Mel regretted the thought, though. It wasn’t a good thing though. Wanda wouldn’t have that way. And she shouldn’t—

Just sit here and let the human take over. She was stronger than that. With a gentleness she rarely showed, Flames carefully put a square of the No Pain in Wild’s mouth. Then, glad this body was strong, she pulled him very slowly to his feet, not wanting to disturb his injuries too much. She could mostly carry his weight for a short distance, though his feet might drag on the ground a little. She turned towards the highway and walked towards it. Pausing on the side of it—

Not pausing on the side of it, Mel dragged the Seeker all the way across and to the nearest rock formation. Thank god it was close. She couldn’t carry him for a long ways and she couldn’t be fast while she did. And Mel needed to get away from the road so Flames wouldn’t try to signal a car. She tucked Wild into a crevice, hoped vaguely that no one would find him, and turned to run into the desert. Running like this was good. Running was her thing and it helped her keep her head. In the middle of her mind, though, she was still fighting with Flames. She started to list things about herself just to keep her own identity. Melanie Elaine Stryder. Wonderful brother Jamie. Father, Trev. Mother, Linda. Uncle, Jeb. Love of—wait. No thoughts about Jared. Um…birthday, July 21st. Wait a second.

Mel thought for a moment. The next to last day of the raid she had seen one of those page a day calendars on July 19th. Which meant they had run into the Seekers on July 20th. And it was easily past midnight now. In fact, bits of light were beginning to show up over the horizon. Fantastic. Not only did she get a soul stealing Seeker in her head, she got a soul stealing Seeker in her head on her goddamn birthday.

Mel slowed up. She didn’t want to run anymore. She was exhausted. She had been shot and stabbed and had her neck cracked and run into a telephone pole and been in a car chase and she hadn’t had any goddamn sleep and she was fucking tired. So tired that she and Flames both had the same intent for once. They stumbled over to a nice, large rock, leaned their head against it, and closed their eyes.

Tag: Wild
Notes: I like writing this.