Page 37 of The Godhead Complex
“So . . .” Orange thought out loud. “This Iblis guy. He’s in charge down there?”
“Sent there, then ruled it.” Roxy paused. “Still does, I suppose?”
Minho stepped in to correct Orange’s steering again. “I got it, I got it,” she said. “Go check the rudder, already.”
He nodded. Yeah. He’d check the rudder. Anything but this Devil nonsense.
He thought about everything Roxy had said as he walked toward the other end of the ship. It seemed like every generation on the Earth had a different idea of God, and every generation their own idea of a devil. He had his own beliefs and would stick to them.
Mencouldbe Gods, no need for a Heaven or Hell.
Maybe those left back in the Remnant Nation already thought of Minho as a devil for not returning. They’d surely think it when he joined the Godhead.
It didn’t matter if they did.
He’d never go back to find out.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
Blind Luck
It had been over a day since they watched theMaze Cutterdisappear beyond the horizon, but Isaac couldn’t stop thinking about everyone on board. His only solace lay in the fact that he trusted Minho more than he’d ever trusted Kletter.
“Think they’ll be okay?” Jackie asked quietly as they walked south along the coast.
“Yeah . . .” Isaac rubbed the grass-braided bracelet around his wrist that Sadina had made him. “They’ll be okay.” He wanted to fill the silence that Cowan and Old Man Frypan left open. Isaac didn’t blame Frypan for not wanting to go to Alaska. To everyone else, the stories of old were just stories, but to Frypan they were memories. Painful, terrible, memories.
“They’ll be something.” The old man added, “Long as they don’t come across any Grievers, they’ll be fine.”
Isaac couldn’t tell if he was joking.
Cowan coughed. “They’ll come back to join us soon. Once they reach the Godhead, we’ll be their next stop.”
“You think it’ll happen that quickly?” Jackie quickened her step with this news.
Isaac wondered if Ms. Cowan was going to tell the others what she’d told him—that everyone from the island was a test subject, not just Sadina. Well, except for Isaac and the old man, who were last-minute additions. It made sense now why Cowan had hesitated to let them come on board. Surely Frypan didn’t look at manipulation kindly. Not about test subjects, at least, with the infamous tattoo still visible on his neck.
“What do you think will happen when we get to the Villa?” Isaac directed his question to Cowan in an attempt to invite the whole truth to the rest of their group. He’d kept the secret of her infection and he didn’t want to carry another one.
“We’ll introduce ourselves and our lineage and we’ll ask them for help,” Cowan answered matter-of-factly, as if it would be that simple.
Frypan chimed in, “Nobody’s going to help us if they don’t see any help in it for themselves.” The trees on the path started to look weak the farther they went, more and more bare. Something was eating their leaves. Or infecting their leaves.
“We don’t have to go in the Villa, you and me,” Jackie said, turning to Frypan. “We can just stay in the woods until they—”
“Nah, we’ll go in. If there’s something in my old blood that can help you recover Ms. Cowan, I’ll help.”
This brought an honest smile across Cowan’s lips. “Thank you.”
“It doesn’t look like the Flare.” He added, “A new variant, maybe, but it’s not the Maze-forsaken-Flare, that’s for sure.”
Isaac’s shoulders relaxed at hearing that. He had nothing to compare Cowan’s symptoms to in his mind, but the rash lookedbadand the woman’s face had begun to droop, as if the sickness in her body pulled her down in every possible way.
“Anyone need a rest?” Isaac asked, looking back specifically at the adults. If his legs were tired, then Cowan’s and Frypan’s had to feel twice as worn.
“I’m good,” Cowan said.
“A little farther,” Old Man Frypan added.
