Page 47 of Worshiping Faith

He’s still wary. But he’s listening.

“It ain’t the first time,” Jinx says.

My stomach knots. I’m suddenly glad I’m not facing him. “The program, you mean? They tested things on you.”

He exhales slowly. Like he’s afraid of his own words. “They made those things before. Out of us.” The coldness in his voice sinks into my bones.

I swallow, forcing my throat to work. “I won’t let them get to you. Dax won’t let them on this island.” It spills out too fast, too certain, a promise I don’t know if I can keep.

“Had ‘em in the cells. Old block. The crumbling one,” he mutters.

Like I’m supposed to know where the hell that is.

“Didn’t work on me,” he says, voice flat.

I hesitate. “What didn’t?”

Jinx lets out a dry, humorless chuckle. “I didn’t turn into that.”

The bottom drops out of my stomach.

“Must’ve been all the drugs in my body,” he adds.

Suddenly, it’s too fucking cold in here. The walls feel too close.

“They gave you the shot?” I ask.

He reaches for more food, like he’s discussing the weather. “Twice.” His fingers tremble slightly as he unwraps a candy bar. “Dunno what the second one was.” He takes a slow bite. Chews. Swallows. “Ain’t the bad bit, Faith.”

He says my name like a challenge. Like I have to live up to the shit I just said about protecting him.

I turn toward him, finally facing the weight of this. “What did they do to you?”

Jinx lifts his chin, eyes meeting mine. He wants me to see this. “Gave me to ‘em. Let ‘em eat at me.”

The candy bar I ate twists in my stomach.

He moves toward the bars, rolling up his sleeves.

Tracks. Scars. Teeth marks.

I feel sick. “Fuck, Jinx.” My voice barely works. “I’d have killed Sinclair slower if I knew.”

The scars are healed over, but my mind is already ripping open the horror of it.

“When did they give you the shot?” I force myself to ask.

He drops his arms, leans against the bars. “Years ago. That time, they didn’t let ‘em loose. Kept us locked up. Watching. I never did get like them things.”

And that’s it. That’s why they want him.

My pulse pounds in my ears.

“You’re the fucking answer.” My voice is barely above a whisper. “You’re how they unleash this and survive.” My body goes ice cold.

The world outside is already burning, and Jinx, this strung-out, half-starved, broken man sitting in front of me, he might be the most valuable person alive.

“Joke’s on them,” he mutters, tilting his head back against the wall. “I’ll be gone soon.”