Re-Read: Chapter Forty Four- Healed

"Do it, Jared!"

Jared hesitates, turning the stone over and over in his hand. Melanie speaks up, urging Jared to do it, and Wanda relays the message to him. Pressing the good side of her face against the headrest, Wanda shouts for Jared to do it and is met with his deep breath and the sound of her skin tearing. She tries to stop herself, but she cannot hold back her sounds of pain and the tears from creeping down her face. Jared apologies to both Melanie and Wanda as he pulls her to his chest. After a moment, he settles Wanda back in her seat before restarting the car and continuing towards the hospital. 

Wanda pulls down the visor to inspect the wound and, though her stomach turns, tells Jared he did a convincing job. She also suggests that he let her drive the rest of the way since there would be too many questions if it looked like she walked to the hospital in her condition. Jared relents, but not before threatening her if she takes them off course, an accusation that hurts both Wanda and Melanie. He climbs under a plaid blanket in the backseat as Wanda seats herself behind the wheel. From his spot in the back of the car, Jared directs Wanda through the city to a Healing center where she parks in the darkest part of the parking lot. Putting on the backpack, Wanda asks Jared for the knife, realizing there is one more thing she must do to make her visit convincing. Jared thinks she wants it in case she runs into trouble, though he doubts she would actually use it, but she needs it to inflict a wound similar to Jamie's so she will know how to heal him when they return. Jared is not convinced, but eventually hands the knife to her, telling her to be careful and not cut too deep. Wanda decides to cut her arm, bracing it against the door. Melanie tells her to think of it as "a shovel opening the ground," and with that, Wanda jams the knife into her arm. She tries to muffles her screams and when Jared leaps to help her, she tells him to stay put and not expose himself. Jared does not listen, but she launches herself out of the car before her can stop her. 

Wanda tries to stave off nausea and panic as she crosses the parking lot and enters the Healing facility. The receptionist jumps up at the sight of her mangled body and calls for Healer Knits Fire. When she asks what happened, the lie spills from Wanda; she was kicking and fell on some rocks with a knife in her hand. When the receptionist asks for her name, another lie rolls off the tongue and Wanda gives the false name of Glass Spires. Wanda relays her story again when the Healer joins them and walks her to an exam room and seats her on the mattress. Healer Knits Fire heads to the cabinet and pulls out several white cylinders labeled rather simply with No Pain, Clean, Heal, Seal, and Smooth. In an attempt to find out more about the medicines and how she should replicate the treatment on Jamie, Wanda asks about the Healing profession and the purpose of each medicine. Healer Knits proceeds to explain the medicines as she works on both of Wanda's wounds. When the Healer is done, she leaves the room to get Wanda water, leaving her the opportunity to raid the cabinets.

Pulling the backpack from her shoulders, Wanda opens it and begins tossing in canisters of Heal, Clean, No Pain, Seal, and Cool. Not wanting to press her luck, she closes the cabinets, returns to her spot on the mattress, and tries to look relaxed. The minutes tick by, two minutes, then three and Wanda's worry mounts. Will the Healer bring back a Seeker? Did she see through the lies?

"I thought of the small pill in my pocket, and my hands shook. I could do it, though. For Jamie. I heard quiet footsteps then, two sets, coming down the hall."