The Host ¤ The Next Chapter

The Host ¤ The Next Chapter: 1

The Host ¤ The Next Chapter: 1

From the moment I came to life I knew what I was and my purpose---I was a Soul and I was tasked with spreading kindness to all corners of the galaxy.

"Can ya hear me Dear?"

The mind from which I opperated from told me I was in a creature called a human and that the sound that had entered an organ called the ears was a voice. What a strange sensation. I had never experienced anything like this before. In fact, this was my first time in any being. The tendrils that made up my real body controlled the nerves of the human. I moved its appendages called fingers.

"Can ya sit up?" The voice asked me next.

The database within my mind fed me more information about the sound. It was feminine---a word used for a female kind of this species. The ears, my ears, could tell because of its pitch. The sound also had an accent which was a variation of dilect in the same language. My mind told me I would be able to see this voice if I opened two globular organs on the front of the head.

The eyelids---the things that kept me from seeing---flickered open and let light fall into my pupils. With my first sight came my first breath. I felt the lungs beneath the skin fill with air and exhale. At first it was tedious, but then breathing became natural. I didn't have to remind myself to take in air through my nose or mouth. The process was done automatically.

"You're doin' wonderful sweetie." The voice complimented me. 

My eyes found the source of the noise. It was another Soul in the body of a female human. Her skin was like sweet caramel where it showed. Elsewear, she was covered in a substance called cloth that was sewn into clothing. The outfit was white with a piece of clothing called a shirt, jacket, and pants. Things made out of leather, called shoes, covered her feet. Those were also white. Thin strands grouped together on her head was called hair. The human mind told me that it was a color called blonde. Her eyes, the organs that both of us saw each other through, were blue with a ring of lighter color around the pupil.

Every sensation that came through my body was new to me, but I understood everything because of this host's memory bank. The original consciousness that had controlled this body was gone. As soon as I had been implanted into this human, she had gone out like a small flame on an object called a candel. The mind I inhabited supplied me with the correct description for this experience. I was like a newborn baby who had yet to discover this world in a body that already had.

"Would ya like to name yourself darlin', or would you like one of us to?"

The accent was southern. This body's ears had never heard the variation in person, but on a device called a TV that showed you pictures and sound. 

"I don't think she can understand you, Healer." a second voice came to life in my ears.

This sound was masculine. The Soul was in a male human body. His skin was an adverage peach color and brown hair coated the top of his head. The eyes in his head were also blue like the woman's. A layer of hair covered the edge of his face and above his lip called stubble. He wore a white outfit simular to the Healer's, but it was tailored to fit his own host's needs.

I understood the word Healer in a human sense. The term was used on a person who could fix the wounds inflicted physically on a body. However, I had yet to know what Healer meant in my own kind's way. 

"Please Seeker," the woman used a tone of voice called pleading, "Do not confuse the poor child. She can barely understand what's happening to her as it is." she told the other Soul inhabiting the man. The woman turned to me. My mind informed me that the information coming next would be for my ears only. "My name is Healer Sunshine. I'll be taking care of you from here on, honey."

I wanted to reply. The database in my brain told me I could if I opened my mouth and used threads called vocal chords in my throat. 

"Take...care?" I echoed.

I knew what the words meant. She, the Healer, would tend to my needs until I learned how to take care of myself. As a newly born Soul in a foreign body, the first week would be the hardest.

"That's right, darlin'. I'll take care of you." Healer's eyes looked at me in a way that a human would call endearment. She quickly changed moods when she looked at the man. "See? I told ya she's a quick one." she boasted, staring at Seeker with her eyes narrowed.

"Alright. I admit that I was wrong." Seeker replied in a defeated tone. "If you need me, I'll be outside." he informed Healer and exited through a panel called a door.

Healer turned back to me and smiled. "Do you know what a name is, sweetie?" she asked once Seeker had disappeared.

"Title." I replied.

That was as close as I could get. These vocal chords were hard to control. 

"Yes, a title. Something to call yourself by. Something for others to recognize ya by." Healer confirmed.

My mind told me she was waiting for me to pick out a name. I examined the human body's memories. The last person to inhabit this body had been a person called Jenny Marks. That name didn't sound as appealing to me as it had to Jenny. I looked further. This human had been caught in a month of May. May. I liked the sound of that.

"Sweetie?" Healer asked.

I had gone off in a daze. Imediately, I pulled myself together, as humans say, so I could reply to Healer.

"Like....Name....May." I told her, doing my best to get a hang of Jenny's vocal chords that were now mine.

"May." Healer tried the name on her own lips. "That's a wonderful name. You chose well." she congradulated me. "And I bet you're just dyin' to see what ya look like."

Look. She meant the body I was currently living in.

"Yes." I answered in the voice that was surprisingly strong for me. Not at all my reserved nature.

Healer walked over to a metal platform called a table and lifted a square object in her hands. When she returned and held the thing up to my face, I saw an image. 

The human staring in the mirror had pale skin that was completely covered in freckles. Her rosebud lips were full and open in awe. The irises of her eyes were blue like all Souls. Using Healer's word wonderful was the only way I could describe the long, ginger hair that flowed to the mid of the back. 

My back, I corrected myself. Yes, this was my body and I was looking at it through a mirror.

Healer had another smile on her lips. "Do ya like how ya look?" she asked. I recognized the undertone of her voice was playful.

"Beautiful." I answered, using the smiling gesture that Healer had been kind enough to use before me.