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In chapter 27 saw a Jamie and Jared engaged in some serious guy drama due to Wanderer. Although Jamie had fled the scene, when Wanderer wakes up, he’s there again beside her. They contemplate breakfast, but Wanderer is kinda spooked. Jamie tells her that he talked to Jared, and that he’s going to stop picking on Wanderer.
They make their way to the kitchen and Jamie notices Wanderer’s bruised face. Wanderer notices that the caves are pretty empty. When she asks Jamie, he’s acts somewhat secretive again, and Wanderer and Mel can’t help but feel that there’s some shifty business going on…
Jamie gets excited over eggs and forces Wanderer to eat with him, even though she insists that this food isn’t meant for her. “Don’t be stupid, Wanda,” Jamie says, “You live here now, just like the rest of us.” She digresses and eats just so Jamie will. They eat and Wanderer begins to notice how sad everyone looks. She ask Jamie what happened, but he won’t tell her.
After breakfast they head for the caves and there they see Ian. “My regular bodyguard found me,” Wanderer thinks, noticing how dirty he is at the moment. She can tell that he’s been outside the caves… “There you are,” he says, then takes Wanderer aside. They pass through an area and Jared and Kyle’s voices can be heard. Mel and Wanderer want to go see Jared, but they hold back. They listen for a bit and Jared and Kyle are talking about Doc needing some brandy.
Jamie goes off to school and Ian tells Wanderer that she should take a day off because everyone else is. Wanderer asks him what the heck is going on but he flat out refuses to tell her. Instead he asks Wanderer a question. “Is she still in there with you? The girl whose body you wear?.” Wanderer tells Ian that she is, and then they discuss what would happen to Ian if he were to get caught. Wanderer tells him that he’d probably be inserted with a Seeker. They discuss some more about the Souls: what they’d do to Wanderer if she’s found, the soul’s version of “capital punishment”, etc. Then… they go wash some dishes.
Ian asks Wanderer where she slept the night before and she’s hesitant to tell him she slept in a hole again. Instead she says, “You can’t watch me every second,” to which Ian replies, “Wanna bet?”
Wanderer still doesn’t understand why Ian’s acting like this and is convinced that it’ll only make things worse in the end. Ian tells her not to think like that, then they head deeper in the caves. And there waiting for them is none other than Jared.
