Re-Read: Chapter Forty Three- Frenzied

"Bringing Melanie back had not saved him."

As Jamie's condition worsens, Wanda is unable to leave his side or even move, sitting as still as a statue. Jared, Kyle, and Ian went on another raid, but after three days they only had a cooler of ice to show for their efforts. When Doc questions where they looked on their raid, Kyle interrupts telling him that all the antibiotics are gone since people had no reason to hide them and Souls have no use for them.  Ian tries to reassure Wanda that Jamie will "pull through," but even he cannot pull her from her stupor. Wanda can barely stand to see Jamie suffer and the painful sound of him trying to swallow water only exasperates her concern. 

"If they dug a hole for Jamie in the empty desert, they would have to put me in it, too."

Melanie tells Wanda that what they are doing is not good enough and Wanda tries to calm her down, reminding her that, even if they did find any medicine, it may not work. 

"They only worked half the time anyway. Inferior. He doesn't need your medicine. He needs more than that. Some that really works..."

With that, Wanda realizes what Jamie needs; he needs medicine created by the Souls. Finding her voice to speak out loud, Wanda tells the others her idea. Doc is hesitant because they do not know how they work, but Wanda bites back (fueled by Melanie's anger), asking if it matters how they work when she knows they will. Wanda can feel everyone's eyes on her as Jeb tells her it is just not possible to get them. They raid only deserted places and they cannot risk getting caught by going to a Soul hospital. Jared, Jeb, and Kyle mince words when Jared suggests that they could try a smaller hospital. Wanda tries to get their attention, crying out that they have to save Jamie. 

"Jeb looked at me. 'Hon, we can't just walk in there and ask.'"

"You can't. But I can."

The room falls silent at Wanda's words. Wanda tells the others that Souls, by their very nature, are not suspicious, so even if she was a terrible liar, they would not suspect any foul pay on her part. As she speaks, she begins to lay out her plan; she could tell them she was hurt while hiking and when she was alone she could grab as much medicine as possible, enough to last for years. It all makes sense to Wanda, but as she glances at the others, all she sees staring back at her is hatred, suspicion, and fear. Ian tries to comfort her, saying they will go out looking again, but it is not enough. She turns to Jared, "the one person who might possibly be in as much pain as [she is]" and begs him to believe her.

"Jared. You know. You know I would never let anything hurt Jamie. You know I can do this. Please."

Jared takes a moment to look around the room at the others before looking back down at Jamie. When he tells her "no," a sigh of relief passes through the others, but Wanda falls to the ground in defeat. Letting go of Ian, she crawls over to Jamie, pushing Trudy out of the way. She can do nothing but call out his name through her sobs. Slowly, the others leave the room and Ian comes to her side. He knows Wanda would never betray them, but he knows the others will kill her if she tries to go. Jeb leaves after Ian, mumbling "Sorry, kid" to Wanda before taking off. She does not hear Jared leave, but she is glad that he does. The only person left with her is Doc and she cannot bring herself to look at him.

Wanda continues to say Jamie's name over and over, unable to stop as day turns to night and Melanie does the same. Both are distraught that Jared did not believe them and fall into silence. The quiet is broken with a muffled cry from Doc. Wanda could not make sense of the action in the darkness and leans over Jamie to protect him from whatever came into the room. Doc stops flailing and begins to snore louder than he had before as a second figure moves towards her in the darkness. 

"'Let's go,' Jared whispered. 'We don't have time to waste.'"

"He believes."

Wanda jumps up and pours water over Jamie, soaking him in the hopes of keeping him cool until Doc woke from his Chloroform induced sleep. Jared and Wanda move quietly until they reach the moonlit garden room. Seeing him clearly for the first time, Wanda notices the gun slung on his back, the knife at his waist, and blindfold in his outstretched hands. Wanda agrees to being blindfolded and when that is done, Jared slings her over his shoulder. 

As Jared continues to down the path, Wanda has no sense of the direction they were moving in. She smells the dry desert air as Jared sets Wanda on her feet and asks if she can run blindfolded. When she responds, he grabs her elbow and takes off towards the jeep. At some point during their run, Jared decides to take off the blindfold, telling her to not look around as they continue forward. When they reach the jeep, Jared blindfolds Wanda once more and tells her they are on their way to Tucson. He also hands her a small capsule, instructing her to bite down on it if she is captured and they try to put another Soul in Melanie's body. Wanda correctly guesses that it is a poison capsule and laughs as she realizes that, while she has not been able to make the ultimate sacrifice for her own kind, her own children, she is able to do so for "one alien child."

When Wanda tells him she does not look right for walking into a hospital, he misunderstands her meaning and brushes off the concern. Jared squeezes the jeep into a carefully excavated rock slide, so tight Wanda has to crawl out of the back. He pulls out fresh clothes for Wanda to change into before leaving to get the sedan they would continue to Tucson in. Jared pulls up as she finishing changing, opening the passenger door. On the seat lays an empty backpack for Wanda to put medicine in from the hospital. Checking her face in the mirror, Wanda tells Jared again that she cannot go to the hospital looking as she does. When he questions her, she tells him that no soul would have a scar like the one marking her face; they would have had it healed. Jared tells her she should have thought of that before he snuck her out, but she retorts that they are not going back without medicine for Jamie. 

"What do you propose we do, then, Wanda?"

"I'll need a rock. You're going to have to hit me."