“Thank you. Lead the way,” Jace said.
Immediately, Gehenna listed off all the young man’s accomplishments. She also gave him a rundown of his family. Mother was a school teacher--fifth grade--and his father had worked as a truck driver. She even offered him William’s medical history, his parents’ medical history, his grandparents’ medical history and...
Gehenna, do we really need to know this all about poor William? He’s just driving us about three miles, Jace told her as they followed William out of the Armory, though some hallways and out of the Osiris itself. Every step he took, he felt the distance from who he had been and who he would be. It feels a little… invasive.
But he could have a myriad of medical problems that could impact his ability to drive us safely! she informed him.
If that happens you can take over the driving for him, Jace suggested.
Gehenna brought two of her tentacles together as if rubbing her hands together once more. Really? You’d let me drive?
I’ll make a deal with you, if dear William keels over from some medical malady--or Hell, for any reason whatsoever--I give you permission to drive, Jace told her. You can crawl right over William’s prone body and grab that wheel!
Oh, Jace, you’re so silly! Gehenna laughed. I wouldn’t have to physically use the steering wheel, brake and gas pedals, I’ll just have the Jeep’s computer!
Jace’s lips twitched. Okay, right, sure.
Gehenna hummed happily as they rode up in the elevator. They were at the top in seemingly no time. As they stepped out of the elevator, Jace turned to Khoth who had been holding himself very stiffly. Jace didn’t get the sense that Khoth was tense, more that he was preparing himself.
“This ride took more time when we were going down,” Jace said to him.
“You were dying. Everything felt like forever,” Khoth answered.
He’s right. You actually did die for five minutes--
I don’t need to know, Gehenna! Jace interrupted her. My mom was right. I really will have to freak out at some point.
“Have you ever done this before, Khoth?” Jace asked.
“Only… once,” Khoth answered.
His sister, Gehenna filled in.
Oh, man, maybe I shouldn’t ask him then--
But Khoth continued on, “When people are taken by the Khul, we do not attempt to rescue them.”
“They’re already infected and they can pass that onto others?” Jace recalled.
“Yes, and there is no way to cure them. For a long time, we attempted to find a way to stop or reverse the process,” Khoth told him. “But that only ended up infecting whole cities, sometimes whole planets.”
“Oh, my God,” Jace breathed.
Their conversation was interrupted as William took them, not back the way they’d come to the medical facility, but instead down several corridors that lead to a set of doors. The doors took them out onto a tarmac where a Jeep waited. There were two other soldiers waiting by the Jeep. They again saluted. Khoth ignored it while Jace waved awkwardly.
William slipped into the driver’s seat while Gehenna somehow folded herself into the front passenger seat. William gave a look of horror, but then he rigidly looked forward and pretended there wasn’t a 10-foot tall metal squid beside him. Jace didn’t have the heart to tell her that she was scaring William even as she tried to communicate with him. William was sweating heavily and gripping the steering wheel with white-knuckled fingers.
As the Jeep pulled away from base, Jace looked back towards it. The base looked so unremarkable. A dusty, dry place in the middle of the desert. Aircraft hangers that looked rusted and old, battered by the elements. Undistinguished low off-white buildings that looked to have been built in the 1970s dotted the flat plain. Nothing about this place indicated the wonders of the Osiris below.
Khoth surprised him by filling the silence, continuing his experiences with the infected.
“We never were able to do anything for the infected and the cost to even try…” Khoth shook his head and the beads clacked in his hair.
“So what did you do? What do you do?” Jace asked.
“We destroy the ships. We do not normally go inside. The risk is… high. But we should be fine,” Khoth said.
“Why?” Jace asked, wondering if he should have asked this before agreeing to go inside of the Khul ship.
