When All Else Fails (A Push of a Button Novella)

Chapter Eight

He squeezed Seb's shoulder with a sigh. "Well, it's out, and she'll be just fine. It didn't release the poison, and we'll crush it in the basement once we have her stable and comfortable."

"What about mine?" Seb crossed his arms with a frown. "Can you remove it too?"

"I can, but I won't."

"What?" He stared at the old man. "Why?"

"I know you feel that it's an unnecessary risk." Mr. H began cleaning the tools and putting them away. "But Viv told me she was certain yours didn't have an active GPS signal anymore. The files she reviewed said it was removed when you were no longer considered a flight risk."

"Oh, wonderful. Because the Supremacy would never lie or document things incorrectly." He stalked to the window and stared out across the blooming, green garden. "As long as it's inside of me and on, it makes me a potential danger."

"Sebastian..." Mr. H's warm hand settled on his shoulder. "That button is a gift from the Father. You shouldn't want it removed."

A gift? Well, if it was, it was the worst one he'd ever been given. "It's a thorn in my side. How can you possibly see that as a gift?"

Mr. H stood beside him and gazed out across the backyard. "Sometimes we need to be given something that's entirely out of our control to understand Who is truly in control. He never makes mistakes, Sebastian. He meant for you to have that button, and you're going to need His gift in the days to come. If it didn't kill you like it should've years ago, then can't you trust He can keep the GPS offline if He wishes?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "It just seems like everything is going wrong, so why not that too? Look, Mr. H... It's not that I don't believe there's a God out there. I do. But with everything going on, I'm having a stars-confounded time believing He cares."

A nod from the older man was the only response he got.

He frowned. Wasn't the other man going to give some sort of sage advice to bolster his confidence? Or make a remark that helped him believe that all this was in the hands of a God who would always work things out? The little book he'd given Seb not even a month ago had promised that and more, but right now, he just didn't see it. How could being on the run, having a defective button, and being forced to remove Viv's be considered working things out for good?

Mr. H continued to stare out the window in silence, leaving him alone in his thoughts. The silence wore through his nerves, and anything would be preferable to the quiet chirp of insects outside the window and Viv's soft breathing. Normally, quiet was peaceful. Today, it felt like a wire stretched to breaking point. "Aren't you going to say anything?" he murmured.

"No. I find silence and the quiet of your own mind is the best way to let the Father speak. He sees, He listens, He answers. I can tell you that all day. But it means nothing because in moments like these... Moments when it's quiet and no one is here to encourage?" Mr. H tapped a gnarled finger against his chest where his heart lay thumping. "Moments when it is just you and the Father? Those moments will reveal what is really in here, son. And right now, there is only doubt, fear, and anger."

Seb chewed on his lower lip and stared down at the windowsill. Guilt tore at him, but Mr. H was right. That was all that was left now. At first, he'd believed because it seemed like the right choice. But now, when faced with trials and hardships, he was left with confusion, hurt, and anger. He didn't understand anything anymore. Not why this was happening, not himself, and certainly not what the Father was doing. He believed, but Skies above, he was struggling.

"Son, someday, you will come to a point where you and you alone must decide. He brought you to Himself, and He gave you faith. But being His doesn't guarantee that you'll do anything with what He gave you." Mr. H hobbled off and picked up the tools.