Kate Chopins The Storm and The Story of an Hour Essay -- Papers Chopi

Kate Chopin's "The Storm" and "The Story of an Hour" 'The Storm' and 'The Story of an Hour' expresses the attitudes of two women's rebirth and liberation. These two stories are alike in several ways. Natures plays a major role in both of these women's lives. Calixta and Mrs. Louise Mallard struggle to find their independence and in doing so the endings are triumphant and tragic. 'The Storm' begins on a stormy spring day, with the protagonist Calixta at her sewing machine. She is alone, her husband Bobinot and son Bibi have gone to the store. Calixta seems to be a bored woman, confined to her duties as a housewife and mother. As the distant storm approaches she is unaware of what the storm brings, her former lover Alcee. Calixta allows Alcee into her home and opens her whole world to him. There is a connection between the storm that is going on outside and the storm of emotions going on in Calixta and Alcee. The weather sends Calixta into Alcee?s arms, he wraps his arms around her, and they can no longer hide their feelings for one another. They gave into their raging emotions and made love. Outside the weather was subsiding and Calixta and Alcee?s bodies felt relaxed and calmed. ?The rain was over; and the sun was turning the glistening green world into a palace of gems.? (1614) His face beamed with light like the sun. The storm inside of her was satisfied and for a brief instant Calixta felt liberated from her ordinary dull life. Unlike Calixta, Louise Mallard is a fragile woman afflicted with heart trouble. It comes to her attention through a trustworthy friend that her husband, Brently Mallard has been killed in a railroad disaster. She is overcome with intense grief and instantly weeps o... ... she has. Mrs. Mallard?s freedom did not last but a few moments. Her reaction to the news of the death of her husband was not the way most people would have reacted. We do not know much about Mr. And Mrs. Mallards relationship. We gather from the text that her freedom must have been limited in some way for her to be feeling this way. Years ago women were expected to act a certain way and not to deviate from that. Mrs. Mallard could have been very young when she and Brently were married. She may not have had the opportunity to see the world through a liberated woman?s eyes and she thought now was her chance. Bibliography: Chopin, Kate. ?The Story of an Hour.? Literature For Composition. Ed. Sylvan Barnet, et al. New York: 1996. 12-13 Chopin, Kate. ?The Storm.? The Norton Anthology. Ed. Nina Baym, et al. New York: 1999. 1612-1615

Demographics Diversity and Education in Texas

Demographic displacement has a great bearing on several facets of community development, regional development taking to the province and state development. Texas is one of the provinces where it will be pertinent to analyze these facets as it borders Mexico. Switching demographics over the old ages in Texas with regard to population of migrators, graduation from schools, employment rates tell a batch to us with respect to the hereafter development and related planning procedure.The Demographic Shift in TexasThe biggest demographic displacement seen in Texas is towards growing of population of Hispanics, which was found to hold increased by 33 % between 2000 and 2008. At the same clip, not Latino population excessively has gone up by similar per centum ( 33.7 % ) during the same period. However, populations of Whites and inkinesss have gone up by 5.4 and 16.2 % severally. Every county in the province of Texas did non hold similar growing. For illustration in the Dallas County the popu lation of Whites has gone down by 13.7 % in contrast to the Hispanic growing of population of 41.6 % . ( Former Census DirectoraˆÂ ¦ ) As per 2005 US nose count, individuals of Hispanic beginning accounted for 35.31 % that belonged to any race. Mexicans are considered to be largest lineage group in Texas accounting 25.3 % with African American and Germans accounting to 10.5 % each. English and Scots-Irish are at 7.2 % each. It will be interesting to see how this population displacement has affected the school graduation over these old ages. In one of the survey done by IDRA ( Intercultural Development Research Association ) during the twelvemonth 2006-07 across Texas populace schools it was found to hold abrasion rate of around 34 % . To farther elaborate, around 34 % fresh pupils who enrolled in 2003-04 left school before graduating from a Texas public high school before 2006. The current statewide abrasion rate in Texas is seen to be higher than that found during 1985-86 as per survey done by IDRA. Higher abrasion rates indicate schools ‘ failure to maintain pupils in school. ( Texas Public School )AnalysisSome of the main findings can be listed as under: One of every three pupils left school prior to graduating with high school sheepskin. Overall abrasion rate has gone up by 3 % from 1985-86 to 2006-07 The abrasion rates of black pupils have gone up from 7 to 18 per centum points. Attrition rates of Latino pupils have remained the same at 45 % ( Attrition and Dropout ratesaˆÂ ¦ ) In position of the diverse cultural groups and race in Texas, political economic system has a important importance for the growing and development of province. These groups do hold diverse spiritual religions excessively. It becomes indispensable that they work cohesively for the overall aim of growing and development. Besides public school, the State of Texas promotes charter school so that under privileged and deprived excessively acquire equal chance for the development and growing. Charter schools are attractive because advanced pedagogues have a freedom to develop new and refined attacks to formal instruction. The province of Texas is one of the taking provinces in advancing the charter schools and that is declarative from the fact that the province has excused charter schools from certain revenue enhancements. State Board of Education ( SBOE ) of Texas is a facilitating organic structure for set uping charter schools. Government has to guarantee that everybody gets an chance without any racial, gender or category prejudice. It becomes necessary that these diverse groups have a religion in each other. The manner European feudal society examined political economic system, the political orientation and schooling clip to clip in a societal context so is the demand to absorb and convey homogeneousness across these diverse ethnic groups and race. Native Americans were most conformable to assimilation through instruction as mentioned by Jefferson and the same is the demand of an hr for holding all unit of ammunition growing with full engagement of all diverse groups of any race and ethnicity. Steven Tozer states â€Å" schools are complex establishments with varied and intricate relationships to their surrounding communities † . While the survey of learning methods and direction is important to proper teacher instruction, instructors must understand the complex nature and the broader societal context of instruction in order to do determinations about educational ends and methods for themselves. In other words, in add-on to larning how to learn, instructors should develop an apprehension of the dealingss between their schools and the larger society in which schools are embedded. Thus school preparation is based on premiss that understanding the context of American schooling in general and Texas in peculiar can take to an apprehension of what it means to fix pupils to come in and populate in a democratic society.Determining and Bettering the Education SystemIn position of the above demographic displacement in Texas, it becomes imperative to develop and implement nece ssary alterations in instruction system and course of study, which eventually brings equal chance for all, riddance of poorness for the category who are deprived and therefore opening the door for inclusive growing. At this occasion, it will be pertinent to take note of the positions of some of the celebrated educationalists who have played a cardinal function in determining the American schools over the old ages. Horace Mann has possibly instilled most profound impact as an educationalist to carry through the above ends. He felt the demand to promote the moral orientation of the pupils and he was right in indicating out that it can better be achieved through public schools. He strongly believed that a set of values can be devised for citizens in the proper operation of democracy and that should be nurtured during the school yearss of a kid. These set of values are non identified with any spiritual religions and will ever be compatible to all spiritual beliefs and followerss. Mann emphasized on practical cognition. He believed that ownership of cognition means one is in charge of his/her fate. He believed that human existences are separate from all other species in their pursuit of cognition, intent and intelligence and if these are non decently harnessed so life is so full of waste. Mann strongly opposed rote acquisition as it is non effectual and does non convey coveted consequences. He viewed larning as a agency to an terminal which separates us from the animate being. ( Giants of American Education, pg 7 ) His positions on instruction in his Twelfth Annual Report as Secretary of Massachusetts State Board of Education clearly advocated about cosmopolitan instruction which will emancipate the domination of capital and obsequiousness of labour to a big extent.Educationist James ConantJames Conant put frontward particular plans for gifted pupils and screening them as per their ability and proposed academically less gifted pupils for work. Conant besides proposed scholarships to academically qualified pupils. He was concerned about â€Å" fringy † pupils and of the sentiment that excessively many pupils are likely to lend to societal instability through over-education. Conant steadfastly relied on experts as a means to make ideal democratic values and believed in equality of all type of labours. His survey of high schools conducted in 1957-58 along with run for the book ‘The American High School Today ‘ all greatly contributed to the public sentiment that comprehensive high schools were carry throughing its mission. He concluded that vocational instruction was suited for schools holding low economic strength. John Dewey stressed that the pedagogue must take into consideration that each pupil is different. Each individual has a different yesteryear experiences and different familial scenes. For him, instruction has a broader societal intent and purposes at giving freedom along with construction and order to the pupils and non based on merely caprices of the instructor or the pupils. So harmonizing to him it is based on the theory of experience, which is derived from continuity and interaction. Each state of affairs can be experienced otherwise by different individuals because of the singularity of each person. One pupil may hold a liking for one school while another one may detest it and for pedagogue it is indispensable to understand these state of affairss while showing the educational state of affairss to them. Therefore, the instructor with good apprehension of these varied state of affairss probably to assist pupils and supply quality instruction to the pupils, which is besides releva nt to the pupils. ( Experience and instruction ) In present extremely competitory sphere, any employer would wish to see following from his/her employees. Comprehension and reading accomplishments Communication skills – written and unwritten Computational accomplishments Problem resolution and decision-making capacity In order to foster above accomplishments, it is required to hold activity-centered instruction. Students should be trained for rational and moral growing with maximal flexibleness and freedom in their operations. Having seen assorted cardinal issues involved in the reform procedure, it can be said that the followers should be the most cardinal portion of the educational reforms procedure. Educational disadvantage linked with ethnicity, race, and low household income should non come in between while tackling the endowment of pupils. Ninety per centum of school instructors in U.S public schools are white so pedagogues of all race and cultural orientation demand to develop new teaching methods to run into the demands of altering demographics with extreme earnestness. Highly trained and effectual instructors are the demand of an hr and most critical ingredient for pupil ‘s inclusive growing and their public presentation. Teachers need to develop cultural competences – should be able to organize and develop effectual relationships across all race and ethnicity. Proper monitoring and timely disciplinary action with appropriate feedback to the pupils will assist accomplish higher public presentation from the pupils. There has to be changeless and echt interaction between instructor and pupils so that timely disciplinary actions keep the diverse race of pupils in one common watercourse. All support directed for the proper cause and used most efficaciously towards the attainment of aims laid down clearly and exactly in a given clip frame.DecisionFinally, any public school should come out with an effectual mission statement for instructors and school leading that ‘my school is committed to leave an just and indifferent educational experience for every pupil of the school regardless of their gender, race, ability, socioeconomic association, faith, beginning, age, or linguistic communication. ‘

Critique Nursing

Essay preview The purpose of this assignment is to critique and evaluate the chosen article in terms of strengths and weaknesses, to demonstrate an understanding of the research process. According to Polit and Beck (2004) the aim of critically appraising an article is an attempt to determine its strengths and limitations. Therefore, the research critique should reflect an objective and balanced consideration of the study's validity and significance (Polit and Hungler 1999). The task of critiquing is, according to Lo Biondo-Wood and Harber (2006) a challenging one and can only be effectively achieved through much practice and skill.For the purpose of this critique, the frameworks of Parahoo (1997) and Polit and Hungler (1999) have been used as a guide. This will assist in producing an organised sub-headed piece of work. Title The title of an article is the first part of a study to be encountered and Parahoo (1997) states that a title should draw the reader's attention to the precise a rea of study and make reference to the population from whom the data is collected. Cormack (2000) and Marshall and Kelly (2007) agree, stating a title should be concise and reflect the content of the study.The chosen article is titled ‘Perceived barriers and facilitators to implementing research findings in the Irish practice setting'. This title utilised by Glacken and Chaney is concise, consisting of 13 words in bold print. Rumrill et al (2000) state that a standard length title is 12 – 15 words. However, the title does not reflect the population of the sample group i. e. Registered Nurses. Although the title still provides insight into what the article is trying to accomplish. Author(s) According to Cormack (2000) researchers must be qualified to commence a esearch study. The researchers qualification and credentials in the article are clearly stated and easy to find. They both have initials after their names, one of which has a PHD, which indicate that they have an educational background. A search using Glacken and Chaney using the ProQuest database identifies several published articles by Glacken. According to Lo Biondo-Wood and Harber (2002) this enhances the credibility of a study placing confidence in the findings. The article was submitted for publication on the 1st July 2003 and was accepted on the 9th January 2004.This illustrates that it was still relevantly recent and not dated when published which could have posed questions regarding validity and reliability. â€Å"The Journal of Clinical Nursing† has published the article. This also adds to the credibility of the research study, as all published articles are double bind peer reviewed. Abstract The purpose of the abstract is to provide a short comprehensive synopsis of an article (Rumrill et al 2000). According to Parahoo (1997) it should quickly focus the reader's attention on the main points of the study.Langford (2001) also states that a well-presented abstract should be ac curate, self-contained and readable. This abstract gives a brief summary of the study and within the first few lines identifies what the study is trying to achieve – to ascertain what registered nurses perceive as barriers to the utilisation of research findings and discover what they perceive would facilitate the implementation of these findings. The remainder of the abstract provides a summary of approach (cross-sectional survey), the population (registered nurses) and overall findings.One limitation noted is that the researchers do not give the exact sample size in the abstract. By reading this summary it is believed that the reader would be able to make an informed choice about the relevance of the article for their purpose. The keywords used within the abstract were – barriers, clinical practice, facilitators, Republic of Ireland, utilisation. It is vital that researchers choose appropriate keywords for their articles in order to aid literature searching through d atabases (Webb 2005).The keywords used by Glacken and Chaney are all relevant to the research study. Introduction The purpose of the introductory section is to clearly identify the problem and give a rationale for the study been carried out (Cormack 2000). Poilt and Hungler (1999) agree by stating that the introduction should explain the research problem and why the study is important, worthwhile and relevant. Russell (2004) also states that the introduction should thoroughly describe the background of the research problem so that the need for the study is apparent.The introduction given by Glacken and Chaney builds a cause from existing literature that the problem is of adequate value to justify further research. The author of this critique believes the research problem is in the last sentence of the introduction. It states that there are many difficulties involved in achieving evidence – based practice and many barriers that may impede research utilisation. If this is in fa ct the research problem, the researchers comply with Russell's (2004) recommendation that the research problem should flow directly from the introduction and conclude this section.However one would feel that this introduction deals more with the importance of research rather than explaining that the remainder of the article will focus on the barriers that impede research. According to Cormack (2000) an introduction should also state the study's limitations. This particular introduction does not make the study's limitations explicit to the reader. Literature Review/Background According to Parahoo (1997) a literature review serves to put the current study into the context of what is already known about the subject.Cormack (2000) states that the literature review is a critical review of previous literature relating to the research topic. Therefore this section aims to provide the reader with an understanding of what the current state of evidence is in the selected area of study. This r eview is organised by heading that correspond to the key study concepts, which makes the review easy to follow. The researchers attempt to review previous studies relating to the topic, thus preparing the ground for new research. The studies presented highlight the significance of the problem under investigation.It was difficult to identify the exact research question, as there was no definite question asked. Although Valente (2003) states that sometimes researchers may hide the research question within the purpose of the study. The final statement of the literature review is therefore the purpose of this study – ‘it is timely that perceived barriers†¦ are identified and acknowledged'. Therefore as you read the review it moves from broad to specific relevance with the last section of the review clearly outlining the need for the study. Due to the article been published in 2004, it is expected that the references used will be relevantly recent.From reading the refer ence list, it can be seen that this is the case and only three references before 1994 have been used. There was a need for these older references as the original author who employed the Barriers scale did so in 1991 and the purpose of the 1978 reference was to illustrate that access to research reports has been a problem for many years. Also noted is that the articles included in the reference list are clearly related to the topic under study and include international resources, all nursing – related. http://repository. uwc. ac. a/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10566/308/RoweBlendedLearning2012. pdf? sequence=3 Method According to Polit and Hungler (1999) the heart of the research critique is the analysis of the methodology decisions adopted in addressing the research question. Cormack (2000) suggests the method section should clearly state the research approach to be used and asks whether the method is appropriate to the research problem and whether the strengths and limitations of the approach are stated. Although not written in text it is clearly pointed out that the article is of a quantitative approach.Burns and Groves (1997) describe quantitative research as a method used to gain more information, test relationships and uses numeric data to answer problems. In reviewing the methodology section which is under the subheading â€Å"Methods†, the researchers clearly demonstrate that the design method is a cross – sectional survey using a non – probability sample. According to Polit and Hungler (1999) a cross – sectional design involves the collection of data at one point in time. This descriptive study uses the established 29 – item Barriers 5 point Likert scale, after firstly gaining permission from the main author to employ the instrument – S.Funk. Therefore a strength of this article is related to the measurement tool. The researchers used an already developed measurement device in which the reliability of the tool would have been determined. They reinforce this fact by saying that the scale is recognised to be psychometrically robust. A further quantitative research tool – a questionnaire, was selected as the method to solicit opinions regarding the barriers to research. Cormack (2000) believes that questionnaires are the most widely used method of collecting data.However he recognises that if participants are aware that they are partaking in a study, it is natural that they might alter their response – the Hawthorne Effect (Cormack 2000). The researchers do not state how they minimised this Hawthorne Effect. In addition to the questionnaire, a demographic information sheet was utilised. This is in line with a descriptive design, as the purpose of such is to gain more information about the characteristics of a group (Vitale 2003). The research participants were a convenience sample of registered nurses who enrolled in a nursing focused academic course in Trinity College, Dublin .All who enrolled were invited to participate in the study. However the recruitment process is not described in much detail. It is not until the Findings section that the size of the sample is revealed – 169 participants responded. According to Thompson (1999) the sample size in quantitative research is preferably a large sample. Vitale (2003) states that the general rule regarding sample size is ‘sample error decreases as sample size increases'. It is harder to generalise a sample of this size. It is recognised by the researchers in the Discussion section that the particular mode of sampling employed may introduce bias into the findings.This may result in the findings becoming less reliable. A limitation noted in the method design used by the researchers was the lack of an explicit framework. The researchers did not identify if they used one. When researching the other studies that used the Barriers scale the vast majority used a framework. Ethical Consideration Ethics is an important part of nursing and nursing research. It is about researchers doing what is fair, decent and moral and is underpinned by values and believes of the community (Crookes and Davies 2004).There is no designated section allocated to ethical considerations, however Hek (1996) states that ethical issues may be integrated throughout the article. This article addresses ethical issues in both the abstract and under the method section. The researchers clarify that the ethical issues of a persons right not to be harmed, right of full disclosure, right of self-determination, right of privacy and confidentiality were respected. According to the researcher all participants provided their consent to the study by the returning of the completed questionnaire.Consent is vital as it respects the autonomy of individuals, their right to privacy and their right to choose (Tingle and Cribb 2002). Results Cormack (2000) states that the results should be presented clearly and in enough detai l so that the reader is able to judge how reliable the findings are. Polit and Beck (2004) agree by stating that the most critical element of any study is getting your results across and understood by your readers. Valente (2003) believes that the researchers should repeat the research question before delving into the findings.The researchers in this case presented the data in succinct form with little discussion at the start, but organise their findings under subheadings. According to Russell (2004) researchers frequently organise their findings by research question to facilitate readability. The aim was to quantify the barriers to research implementation. The authors of this article present their findings systematically, utilising a variety of graphs and tables. Figure 1 shows a graph depicting that 38% of the participants consulted journals more than twice a month.Table 1 presents the barriers to research utilisation in descending order of importance. Results were also explained and summarised alongside which according to Clifford (1997) is a form of descriptive statistics. According to Russell (2004) if a descriptive design was used the reader should find descriptive statistics such as mean, mode, median and standard deviation. All these statistics are included within the results section. The target audience (professional nurses) are more than likely to be able to interpret the figures within each table and, thus, judge hoe reliable the results are.It is important that results are presented in such a way that they are clearly understood (Cormack 2000). Parahoo (1997) is an advocate of comparing results with other similar studies. The researchers adopted this style and compared the top 10 barriers with those found in three recent studies (Table 3). The researchers showed their findings to be very similar with the studies undertaken in both Northern Ireland and Australia. Discussion/Conclusion The discussion section should flow from the data results and plac e the study's findings in context with what is already known (Parahoo 1997).Valente (2003) believes that under this section the researchers should summarise their major findings and conclude their application to practice, research, and theory and knowledge development. The researchers state that this section will discuss the findings in comparison with other studies undertaken. Valente (2003) states that author(s) should compare and contrast their results with other studies and interpret the findings. The discussion is unambiguous and supported by the results obtained. Again the researchers used subheadings to ease readability. There are many implications to practice identified by the researchers.According to Valente (2003) implications should describe how the results of the study could be applied to nursing practice. For example the researchers discovered that their study and many other studies identified nurses' perceived lack of authority as the most common barrier to research. T herefore they exposed a need to implement some change into the organisational setting. Also, more support from managers was noted to be the top ranked facilitator of research implementation. The researchers also suggest a further research study, which would explore the reasons why nurses do not access research journals on a regular basis. General ImpressionOverall the article was interesting with clear aims and use of methodology. It was quite simple to interpret and has provided interesting fact regarding this topic. The study contains few flaws and represents a valid example of descriptive quantitative research. The results have addressed the aims of the study and are both informative and descriptive. It is recommended that it should contain a section of ethical consideration however the ethical issues are evident throughout the article. In the introduction the article stresses the importance of research in nursing and health care. This builds a good case for continuing the study. Research is an essential part of every nurse's role. But as this study revealed there are many barriers for nurses to overcome to properly utilise and implement research. This study has brought these barriers to the foreground and identified ways to overcome them. The findings were interesting, although it might become more reliable if the study was replicated using a larger, random sample group. The top ranked barrier to research utilisation was surprising to read, as it was made known to be nurses' perceived lack of authority. The article was very good overall and a lot of interesting facts emerged from the study. References

Ciulla Essay

The first attempt for the new chief executive officer of Stratton Oil Company is to address some of the issues and complaints received for different difficulties with Stratton’s offshore oil drilling rigs. On his first excursion, he visited a rig off the coast of Africa, dubbed the Voyager 7, and what he discovered is the oil rig is really a small society, separate and distinct from the rest of the world. There are many facts for us to apply in this specific case, there is a very unfair treat between the two different employees in the Voyager 7, the first group are expatriates and the second group are African workers. The condition of living for both groups totally different. The expatriates are treated with many advantages in difference with the African workers. We can make different questions in this case, how an international organization is obligated to treat employees from different countries, what kind of policies are applicable to this case. I would like to say that there is nothing more important than treating everyone equally, this class of Ethical Consideration, is focus on teach us about ethic and moral principles that are applied at any place or organization. Human being is loosing the values, but we have to be ruled by the Word of God and there are principles to use to work according the mercy and love for others, Jesus called us for the sake of others, this is our first mission and I have to consider that we can work at any place in the market but I can’t forget that first I am a Christian and I have to do everything for the sake of others. This is the only way we can transform a society and transform what is around us.

The Host Chapter 49: Interrogated

I killed Wes. My hands, scratched and bruised and painted with purple dust in the course of the frantic unloading, might as well have been painted red with his blood. Wes was dead, and it was as much my fault as if I'd pulled the trigger myself. All of us but five were gathered in the kitchen now that the truck was unloaded, eating some of the perishables we'd picked up on the final shopping trip-cheese and fresh bread with milk-and listening to Jeb and Doc as they explained everything to Jared, Ian, and Kyle. I sat a little space away from the others, my head in my hands, too numb with grief and guilt to ask questions the way they did. Jamie sat with me. He patted my back now and then. Wes was already buried in the dark grotto beside Walter. He had died four days ago, the night that Jared and Ian and I had sat watching the family in the park. I would never see my friend again, never hear his voice†¦ Tears splashed on the stone beneath me, and Jamie's pats increased in tempo. Andy and Paige were not here. They'd driven the truck and the van back to their hiding places. They would take the jeep from there to its usual rough garage, and then they'd have to walk the rest of the way home. They would be back before sunrise. Lily was not here. â€Å"She's not†¦ doing so well,† Jamie had murmured when he'd caught me scanning the room for her. I didn't want to know any more. I could imagine well enough. Aaron and Brandt were not here. Brandt now bore a smooth, pink, circular scar in the hollow space beneath his left collarbone. The bullet had missed his heart and lungs by a hair and then burrowed halfway through his shoulder blade trying to escape. Doc had used most of the Heal getting it out of him. Brandt was fine now. Wes's bullet had been better aimed. It had pierced his high olive-skinned forehead and blown out the back of his head. There was nothing Doc could have done, even if he'd been right there with them, a gallon of Heal at his disposal. Brandt, who now carried in a holster on his hip a boxy, heavy trophy from the encounter, was with Aaron. They were in the tunnel where we would have stored our spoils if it had not been occupied. If it was not being used as a prison again. As if losing Wes was not enough. It seemed hideously wrong to me that the numbers remained the same. Thirty-five living bodies, just like before I'd come to the caves. Wes and Walter were gone, but I was here. And now so was the Seeker. My Seeker. If I'd just gone straight to Tucson. If I had just stayed in San Diego. If I had just skipped this planet and gone somewhere entirely different. If I'd given myself as a Mother like anyone else would have after five or six planets. If, if, if†¦ If I had not come here, if I had not given the Seeker the clues she needed to follow, then Wes would be alive. It had taken her longer than me to figure them out, but when she did, she didn't have to pursue them with caution. She'd barreled through the desert in an all-terrain SUV, leaving bright new scars across the fragile desert landscape, each pass getting closer. They had to do something. They had to stop her. I had killed Wes. They still would have caught me in the first place, Wanda. I led them here, not you. I was too miserable to answer her. Besides, if we hadn't come here, Jamie would be dead. And maybe Jared, too. He would have died tonight, without you. Death on every side. Death everywhere I looked. Why did she have to follow me? I moaned to myself. I'm not hurting the other souls here, not really. I'm even saving some of their lives by being here, by keeping Doc from his doomed efforts. Why did she have to follow? Why did they keep her? Mel snarled. Why didn't they kill her right away? Or kill her slow-I don't care how! Why is she still alive? Fear fluttered in my stomach. The Seeker was alive; the Seeker was here. I shouldn't have been afraid of her. Of course, it made sense to be afraid that her disappearance would bring the other Seekers down on us. Everyone was afraid of that. Spying on the search for my body, the humans had seen how vocal she was about her convictions. She'd been trying to convince the other Seekers that there were humans hiding in this desert wasteland. None seemed to take her seriously. They had gone home; she was the only one who kept looking. But now she'd vanished in the middle of her search. That changed everything. Her vehicle had been moved far away, left in the desert on the other side of Tucson. It looked as though she'd disappeared in the same way it was believed I had: pieces of her bag left torn nearby, the snacks she'd carried with her chewed open and scattered. Would the other souls accept such a coincidence? We already knew they would not. Not entirely. They were looking. Would the search become more intense? But to be afraid of the Seeker herself†¦ That didn't make much sense. She was physically insignificant, probably smaller than Jamie. I was stronger and faster than she was. I was surrounded by friends and allies, and she, inside these caves at least, was all alone. Two guns, the rifle and her own Glock-the very gun Ian had once envied, the gun that had killed my friend Wes-were trained on her at every moment. Only one thing had kept her alive until now, and it couldn't save her for long. Jeb had thought I might want to talk to her. That was all. Now that I was back, she was condemned to die within hours whether I spoke to her or not. So why did I feel as though I was at the disadvantage? Why this strange premonition that she would be the one to walk away from our confrontation? I hadn't decided if I wanted to talk to her. At least, that was what I'd told Jeb. Without a doubt, I did not want to talk to her. I was terrified to ever see her face again-a face that, no matter how I tried, I could not imagine looking frightened. But if I told them I had no desire for conversation, Aaron would shoot her. It would be like I'd given him the order to fire. Like I'd pulled the trigger. Or worse, Doc would try to cut her out of the human body. I flinched away from the memory of the silver blood smeared all over the hands of my friend. Melanie twisted uneasily, trying to escape the torment in my head. Wanda? They're just going to shoot her. Don't panic. Should this comfort me? I couldn't avoid the imagined tableau. Aaron, the Seeker's gun in his hand; the Seeker's body slowly crumpling to the stone floor, the red blood pooling around her†¦ You don't have to watch. That wouldn't stop it from happening. Melanie's thoughts became a little frantic. But we want her to die. Right? She killed Wes! Besides, she can't stay alive. No matter what. She was right about everything, of course. It was true that there was no way the Seeker could stay alive. Imprisoned, she would work doggedly to escape. Freed, she would quickly be the death of all my family. It was true she had killed Wes. He was so young and so loved. His death left a burning agony in its wake. I understood the claim of human justice that demanded her life in return. It was also true that I wanted her to die. â€Å"Wanda? Wanda?† Jamie shook my arm. It took me a moment to realize that someone had called my name. Perhaps many times already. â€Å"Wanda?† Jeb's voice asked again. I looked up. He was standing over me. His face was expressionless, the blank facade that meant he was in the grip of some strong emotion. His poker face. â€Å"The boys want to know if you have any questions for the Seeker.† I put one hand to my forehead, trying to block the images there. â€Å"If I don't?† â€Å"They're ready to be done with guard duty. It's a hard time. They'd rather be with their friends right now.† I nodded. â€Å"Okay. I guess I'd better†¦ go and see her at once, then.† I shoved myself away from the wall and to my feet. My hands were shaking, so I clenched them into fists. You don't have any questions. I'll think of some. Why prolong the inevitable? I have no idea. You're trying to save her, Melanie accused, full of outrage. There's no way to do that. No. There isn't. And you want her dead anyway. So let them shoot her. I cringed. â€Å"You okay?† Jamie asked. I nodded, not trusting my voice enough to speak. â€Å"You don't have to,† Jeb told me, his eyes sharp on my face. â€Å"It's okay,† I whispered. Jamie's hand wrapped around mine, but I shook it off. â€Å"Stay here, Jamie.† â€Å"I'll come with you.† My voice was stronger now. â€Å"Oh, no, you will not.† We stared at each other for a moment, and for once I won the argument. He stuck his chin out stubbornly but slouched back against the wall. Ian, too, seemed inclined to follow me out of the kitchen, but I stopped him in his tracks with a single look. Jared watched me go with an unfathomable expression. â€Å"She's a complainer,† Jeb told me in a low voice as we walked back toward the hole. â€Å"Not quiet like you were. Always asking for more-food, water, pillows†¦ She threatens a lot, too. The Seekers will get you all!' That kinda thing. It's been hard on Brandt especially. She's pushed his temper right to the edge.† I nodded. This did not surprise me one bit. â€Å"She hasn't tried to escape, though. A lot of talk and no action. Once the guns come up, she backs right down.† I recoiled. â€Å"My guess is, she wants to live pretty dang bad,† Jeb murmured to himself. â€Å"Are you sure this is the†¦ safest place to keep her?† I asked as we started down the black, twisting tunnel. Jeb chuckled. â€Å"You didn't find your way out,† he reminded me. â€Å"Sometimes the best hiding place is the one that's in plain sight.† My answer was flat. â€Å"She's more motivated than I was.† â€Å"The boys're keepin' a sharp eye on her. Nothin' to worry about.† We were almost there. The tunnel turned back on itself in a sharp V. How many times had I rounded this corner, my hand tracing along the inside of the pointed switchback, just like this? I'd never traced along the outside wall. It was uneven, with jutting rocks that would leave bruises and cause me to trip. Staying on the inside was a shorter walk anyway. When they'd first showed me that the V was not a V but a Y-two branches forking off from another tunnel, the tunnel-I'd felt pretty stupid. Like Jeb said, hiding things in plain sight was sometimes the cleverest route. The times I'd been desperate enough to even consider escaping the caves, my mind had skipped right over this place in my speculations. This was the hole, the prison. In my head, it was the darkest, deepest well in the caves. This was where they'd buried me. Even Mel, sneakier than I was, had never dreamed that they'd held me captive just a few paces from the exit. It wasn't even the only exit. But the other was small and tight, a crawl space. I hadn't found that one because I'd walked into these caves standing upright. I hadn't been looking for that kind of tunnel. Besides, I'd never explored the edges of Doc's hospital; I'd avoided it from the beginning. The voice, familiar even though it seemed part of another life, interrupted my thoughts. â€Å"I wonder how you're still alive, eating like this. Ugh!† Something plastic clattered against the rocks. I could see the blue light as we rounded the last corner. â€Å"I didn't know humans had the patience to starve someone to death. That seems like too complex a plan for you shortsighted creatures to grasp.† Jeb chuckled. â€Å"Gotta say, I'm impressed with those boys. Surprised they held up this long.† We turned into the lit dead-end tunnel. Brandt and Aaron, both sitting as far as possible from the end of the tunnel where the Seeker paced, both with guns in their hands, sighed with relief when they saw us approaching. â€Å"Finally,† Brandt muttered. His face was etched in hard lines of grief. The Seeker halted in her pacing. I was surprised to see the conditions she was kept in. She was not stuffed into the tiny cramped hole, but comparatively free, stomping to and fro across the short width of the tunnel. On the floor, against the flat end of the tunnel, were a mat and a pillow. A plastic tray was tilted at an angle against the wall at about the midpoint of the cave; a few jicama roots lay scattered near it with a soup bowl. A little soup was splattered out from where that lay. This explained the clatter I'd just heard-she'd thrown her food. It looked as though she'd eaten most of it first, though. I stared at this relatively humane setup and felt an odd pain in my stomach. Who did we kill? Melanie muttered sullenly. This stung her, too. â€Å"You want a minute with her?† Brandt asked me, and the pain stabbed again. Had Brandt ever referred to me using a feminine pronoun? I wasn't surprised that Jeb had done this for the Seeker, but everyone else? â€Å"Yes,† I whispered. â€Å"Careful,† Aaron cautioned. â€Å"She's an angry little thing.† I nodded. The others stayed where they were. I walked down the tunnel alone. It was hard to lift my eyes, to meet the gaze that I could feel like cold fingers pressing against my face. The Seeker was glaring at me, a harsh sneer twisting her features. I'd never seen a soul use that expression before. â€Å"Well, hello there, Melanie,† she mocked me. â€Å"What took you so long to come visit?† I didn't answer. I walked toward her slowly, trying hard to believe that the hate coursing through my body really did not belong to me. â€Å"Did your little friends think I would talk to you? Spill all my secrets because you carry a gagged and lobotomized soul around in your head, reflecting through your eyes?† She laughed abrasively. I stopped two long strides away from her, my body tensed to run. She made no aggressive move toward me, but I could not relax my muscles. This was not like meeting the Seeker on the highway-I didn't have the usual sensation of safety that I felt around the gentle others of my kind. Again, the strange conviction that she would live long after I was gone swept through me. Don't be ridiculous. Ask her your questions. Have you come up with any? â€Å"So, what do you want? Did you request permission to kill me personally, Melanie?† the Seeker hissed. â€Å"They call me Wanda here,† I said. She flinched slightly when I opened my lips to speak, as if expecting me to shout. My low, even voice seemed to upset her more than the scream she anticipated. I examined her face while she glared at me with her bulging eyes. It was dirty, stained with purple dust and dried sweat. Other than that, there wasn't a mark on it. Again, this gave me an odd ache. â€Å"Wanda,† she repeated in a flat voice. â€Å"Well, what are you waiting for? Didn't they give you the okay? Were you planning to use your bare hands or my gun?† â€Å"I'm not here to kill you.† She smiled sourly. â€Å"To interrogate me, then? Where are your instruments of torture, human?† I cringed. â€Å"I won't hurt you.† Insecurity flickered across her face and then vanished behind her sneer. â€Å"What are they keeping me for, then? Do they think I can be tamed, like your pet soul?† â€Å"No. They just†¦ they didn't want to kill you until they had†¦ consulted me. In case I wanted to talk to you first.† Her lids lowered, narrowing her protruding eyes. â€Å"Do you have something to say?† I swallowed. â€Å"I was wondering†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I only had the same question I'd been unable to answer for myself. â€Å"Why? Why couldn't you let me be dead, like the rest of them? Why were you so determined to hunt me down? I didn't want to hurt anyone. I just wanted†¦ to go my own way.† She leaped up onto her toes, shoving her face toward mine. Someone moved behind me, but I couldn't hear more than that-she was shouting in my face. â€Å"Because I was right!† she shrieked. â€Å"More than right! Look at them all! A vile nest of killers, lurking in wait! Just like I thought, only so much worse! I knew you were out here with them! One of them! I told them there was danger! I told them!† She stopped, panting, and took a step back from me, staring over my shoulder. I didn't look away to see what had made her retreat. I assumed it had something to do with what Jeb had just told me-once the guns come up, she backs right down. I analyzed her expression for a moment as her heavy breathing slowed. â€Å"But they didn't listen to you. So you came for us alone.† The Seeker didn't answer. She took another step back from me, doubt twisting her expression. She looked oddly vulnerable for a second, as if my words had stripped away the shield she'd been hiding behind. â€Å"They'll look for you, but in the end, they never believed you at all, did they?† I said, watching as each word was confirmed in her desperate eyes. It made me very sure. â€Å"So they won't take the search further than that. When they don't find you, their interest will fade. We'll be careful, as usual. They won't find us.† Now I could see true fear in her eyes for the first time. The terrible-to her-knowledge that I was right. And I felt better for my nest of humans, my little family. I was right. They would be safe. Yet, incongruously, I didn't feel any better for myself. I had no more questions for the Seeker. When I walked away, she would die. Would they wait until I was far enough not to hear the shot? Was there anywhere in the caves that was far enough for that? I stared at her angry, fearful face, and I knew how deeply I hated her. How much I never wanted to see that face again for the rest of my lives. The hate that made it impossible for me to allow her to die. â€Å"I don't know how to save you,† I whispered, too low for the humans to hear. Why did that sound like a lie in my ears? â€Å"I can't think of a way.† â€Å"Why would you want to? You're one of them!† But a spasm of hope sparked in her eyes. Jeb was right. All the bluster, all the threats†¦ She wanted very much to stay alive. I nodded at her accusation, a little absently because I was thinking hard and fast. â€Å"But still me,† I murmured. â€Å"I don't want†¦ I don't want†¦Ã¢â‚¬  How to finish that sentence? I didn't want†¦ the Seeker to die? No. That wasn't true. I didn't want†¦ to hate the Seeker? To hate her so much that I wanted her to die. To have her die while I hated her. Almost as if she died because of my hate. If I truly did not want her death, would I be able to think of a way to save her? Was it my hate that was blocking an answer? Would I be responsible if she died? Are you insane? Melanie protested. She'd killed my friend, shot him dead in the desert, broken Lily's heart. She'd put my family in danger. As long as she lived, she was a danger to them. To Ian, to Jamie, to Jared. She would do everything in her power to see them all dead. That's more like it. Melanie approved of this train of thought. But if she dies, and I could have saved her if I'd wanted to†¦ who am I then? You have to be practical, Wanda. This is a war. Whose side are you on? You know the answer to that. I do. And that's who you are, Wanda. But†¦ but what if I could do both? What if I could save her life and keep everyone here safe at the same time? A heavy wave of nausea rolled in my stomach as I saw the answer I'd been trying to believe didn't exist. The only wall I'd ever built between Melanie and me crumbled to dust. No! Mel gasped. And then screamed, NO! The answer I must have known I would find. The answer that explained my strange premonition. Because I could save the Seeker. Of course I could. But it would cost me. A trade. What had Kyle said? A life for a life. The Seeker stared at me, her dark eyes full of venom.

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