Page 18 of The Godhead Complex
He looked behind them to make sure no one could hear. “Cowan and Isaac need to stay behind.” He whispered even though the rest of the pack was a good bit behind them.
Orange didn’t seem to care all that much. “What about the third person, you said seven?”
He shrugged. “I just have a feeling someone else will choose them over Alaska when they find out.”
“Find outwhat?” Her curiosity finally appeared ignited. “You have to tell me.”
“Swear on Skinny’s life you won’t spill it.”
“I swear on his soul.”
Minho took wider steps as the path changed again. The rocks along the trail were smoothing out. They had to be close and were just turning a corner of jutting land loaded with palm trees. “Cowan’s sick. Isaac’s going to take her to the Villa.”
And then there it was, all at once. The ocean. Vast and blue and sparkling. Endless. Forever. The most stunning thing he’d ever witnessed. Without thinking he’d stopped walking and could only stare.
“Holy ship.” Orange said.
She pointed ahead at an inlet on the coast below them. A ship, alright. As big as a Berg, floating on the water as if it had always and only known peace. Remnants of missing letters along the side made it clear:
The Maze Cutter.
He felt as if he was looking upon the Maze itself.
A ship as solid as any Grief Walker. Ugly, but solid. Ready for use.
Maybe even a vehicle fit for a God.
The mood of the group shifted once they found the boat. Miyoko couldn’t stop smiling, Dominic sang louder than usual, and Roxy and crew were downright celebrating.
But not Isaac. He didn’t have anything to celebrate. Finding theMaze Cutterfelt so final. Once everyone boarded the ship, he might never see them again. An anxiety churned deep inside his stomach that wouldn’t settle. Seeing theMaze Cutteragain, he couldn't shake the memory of Kletter arriving on the island with eight dead bodies rotting on the deck of the ship. Was Minho different? He had an arsenal of weapons, after all. The people who went to the island with Kletter were once on her side, too. Of course, they only had her word for it. And now Minho’s.
While the others hunted and gathered for the long journey ahead, Isaac set up a secret forge deep off the coast of the beach with scraps of wood, concrete, and metal he found. He needed to prepare for the worst and have something that resembled a knife if he needed it. More than that, it was the break he needed. The therapy.
He pounded metal on metal,CLANK, CLANK, CLANK, hoping the noise didn’t echo all the way to the beach. He hammered the hot steel three strikes at a time to mimic a birdsong.
“Oh look, it’s the future Captain Sparks,” Sadina said as she pulled tree branches away to clear a path. “What are you doing?”
Busted.
“Making a knife.” He didn’t look up. He couldn’t.
“Minho and Orange have plenty of weapons, and grew up using them. I think if anything happens we’ll be—”
“It’s just in case.” He banged the metal harder. He didn’t want to tell her. Not here. Not now. Not ever. That her mom was sicker by the day and that it was up to him alone to save her or it’d be up to him to kill her.
“I guess it’s good to get some smithing practice before you get back to the island. The real Captain Sparks might finally promote you.” She smiled with innocence, with the ease of someone whose life had never been turned upside down. Thinking of going back to the island was like imagining his parents and sister alive again. It was a stretch to even create the images in his mind, they were too far away. And soon, Sadina and the memory of her would be just as far away.
“You think we’ll ever be home again?” He tried not to sound hopeless, but who knew if Minho and the group wouldn’t settle into a new home once they got to Alaska.
“Yeah, I do. It’s ourhome.” She said it without question, but Isaac wasn’t convinced. If a family could be taken away, then a home just as easily could cease to exist. “I know things are different. I know when we go back, nothing will be like it used to be.” She moved closer and finally reflected the amount of heaviness that Isaac felt. “Trish has been a littleextrasince we got kidnapped.” She let out a fake laugh that she only did when things were the furthest from funny.
He couldn’t return it. “Well, from what Jackie said, Trish almost didn’t make it through that. Cried every day and every night, it was all they could do to keep her from dying of dehydration after all that crying.” He looked over at Sadina but she wasn’t changed by this information, so he added, “You know people can die of a broken heart.” Sadina rolled her eyes. “She loves you.”
Now, a sigh. “I know. She just loves me in a very heavy way right now. I can’t even get up at night without her coming to check on me. Plus, since we got back with everyone I haven’t had much time to talk toyou.” She nudged him.
She was right, they hadn’t talked much since he saw the rash on Ms. Cowan’s neck because Isaac couldn’t lie to his best friend. He did his best to create natural distance between them, and Trish’s overprotectiveness lately helped the effort.
Isaac forced a smile. “It’s alright. We’re always going to be close even if we’re not right next to each other.” Sadina nodded but that wasn’t enough for him. “Promise?” he asked.
