Page 62 of The Godhead Complex
“Not sure.” But Sadina saw a watery look in his eyes that worried her. Something like fear, so unusual for him. “It’snotgood, you’re right. Reminds me way too much of the Remnant Nation’s war formation. Everyone grab a weapon.”
Of all the things running through Sadina's head lately,warwas not one of them. The island where they’d grown up was so peaceful and dedicated to generational growth that war wasn’t even in their sphere of thinking. What would Old Man Frypan say if he were here? Probably something like,nothing good ever happens in Alaska.
“Here.” Minho handed Dominic a small knife no bigger than the ones he’d been scaling fish with. “Don’t be scared. Maybe they’ll fly right over us. Or even better, seems like they’re heading north, not right at us.”
The boy shrugged, trying to hide the tremble in his shoulders. “How’d you know I’m scared . . .”
“Just a wild guess,” Minho responded, and then he handed a small gun to Sadina. She knew absolutely nothing about how to use it.
“I don’t want it.” She tried to give it back to him, but he pushed it against her.
“Armory is an extension of yourarms,” he insisted, placing the gun in her right hand and showing her how to hold it correctly. “Respect. Control. You can handle it.” She looked over at Dominic with his knife and wished she had that, instead. But Dom never had control, likely would shoot his foot off.
Sadina met eyes with Trish, and Trish nodded as if she could hear what Sadina was thinking. “Wait.” Sadina tried one more time to give the gun back to Minho. “You’ll be with us, you can protect us. I don’t wanna kill anybody!”
“I can only use one weapon at a time,” Minho said. “Everyone listen up. We’re going to make a pack-run for the woods and go as far in as we can and then slightly north once we’re under cover. Keep quiet and keep alert. I don’t think the Bergs will spot us or care about us. Not yet, anyway.”
Sadina didn’t know what that meant, exactly. She put the gun in her back pocket but it felt like it was weighing her down in more ways than one. She wished Minho could’ve said something a little more encouraging like,don’t worry everything will be okay. Her mom would have if she were there. But Sadina was never more aware of the danger all around. “Trish,” she reached for her hand as they left the ship. “You okay?”
Six more Bergs whipped past them overhead, a little closer this time. Miyoko covered her ears and asked, “How many of those things are there?”
“That makes twelve,” Roxy said as she strapped a long gun across her chest and a knife around her waist.
“Are you okay?” Sadina whispered to Trish again.
“I don’t know what to think . . .” Trish watched in fascination as the Bergs flew farther north. “But wherever you go, I’ll go.” She clasped her fingers around Sadina’s and held them tight. Sadina was thankful to feel something other than fear in that moment, and she squeezed back just as hard. She whispered her response into Trish’s ear.
“Wherever you are, I’ll be.”
Bergs. Lots of Bergs.
Six of them. They appeared as suddenly as a stroke.
Dizzy from the spectacular, horrifying sight, she almost had to grab on to Flint for balance. The sound of the flying machines was like anger from the ancient gods, displayed with thunder and lightning. Her ears ached from it, the noise much worse than the maddening tone that had inflicted her of late. Perhaps it had been a warning all along.But what good was a premonition if she could do nothing to stop it?
SixmoreBergs appeared. Twelve!
Her vision flashed red.
Just as the monsters of metal, exhaling blue fire like dragons of ancient lore, spread out in the sky above, the people of New Petersburg dispersed through the streets in a mad panic. As if her body had taken charge, taken over her troubled mind, Alexandra abruptly realized that she, too, was already running for cover, her Evolutionary Guard and Flint right beside her.
Her feet pounded the ground like never before.
A wild, foreign feeling of fear rushed through her.
She turned to her Evolutionary Guard and shouted over the Bergs above, “We have to get back to the—”
One of the Guards dropped to his knees.
“Get up!”They had to get away from the city.A mild grunt escaped the Guard’s lungs as he collapsed fully onto his stomach. An arrow stuck out from his back.
“Goddess!” Another one of the Guards pulled at her, but she looked up, tracing the arc of the arrow. A Berg, as loud and bright as the sun, hovered above them; Alexandra swore she could see a child holding a bow.A child? Is that all it took to kill her strongest Guard?Panic filled her like an aurora in the night sky.
The remainder of the Guard yanked her into a building to escape the crossfire, then pushed her through the empty bakery, all of them running to nowhere. But the Berg was targeting the Goddess with more than just arrows.
Explosives. Bombs.
Walls crumbled around them, the world becoming dust and noise, cracks of cement and the warping of metal. And death. Several Guards crushed.
