AUTHOR'S NOTE:
If by any chance anyone here is a longtime Project: Andromeda reader, I profusely apologize for the lack of updates. Unfortunately, I have started my new career as a healthcare professional and I have very little time to rest, let alone write. Well, don't get me wrong, I do enjoy writing, but I want Project: Andromeda to be a proper thing, not a slipshod piece of work, and with my current schedule I am afraid that if I do continue to write Andromeda, the results would be a half-baked mess, which would spoil it all for not just me but you as well, dear readers.
Hence, I'm scratching this writing itch by doing something a wee bit more sensible for someone strapped for time - writing a fic with scene-jumps. And I do love Hope County in all its splendor. Only wish I could visit it in real life, or maybe even travel to Montana to see the mountains and woods that so inspired such a faithful recreation that I spent most of my time in Far Cry 5 simply taking in the scenes and imagning what it's like to live there.
Andromeda is officially on the backburner for now. Again, I apologize, especially to Yexius, who actually PMed me to ask about Andromeda's progress. Nope, I'm not killing it, just putting it on indeterminate hold while I figure things out. In the meantime, I'll be keeping my writing skills sharp by doing a small bit here, a couple of words there.
Anyway, enough rambling. Hope you all enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Peace.
This was wrong. All of it.
Junior Deputy Charlene Chu hesitated, her fingers already curled around the smooth, cold metal of the handcuffs on her belt. It was a familiar gesture, having cuffed perps before, but this time, with Joseph Seed standing in front of her, his hands already outstretched, something in the cult leader's unblinking gaze behind those yellow-tinted sunglasses gave her pause, made her stay her hand.
It was quiet. Charlene could hear Sheriff Whitehorse cough quietly behind her, and the heavy breathing of Marshall Burke beside her, his words still ringing in her ears though the echoes of his voice have all but faded into the shadows of the church around them.
Rook. Put the cuffs on him.
A bead of sweat threaded its way down Charlene's forehead and went straight into her right eye. She blinked hard, feeling the burn. Afterwards, she would ponder this moment of hesitancy, of uncertainty. She'd tussled with unruly perps before, engaged in fistfights and gunfights, but now with Joseph Seed all but presenting himself to be arrested, she found herself not quite willing to snap the cuffs around his wrists.
Maybe it had something to do with all those armed cultists outside. Maybe deep down, Charlene's subconscious was subtly trying to warn here that this would definitely not end well for anyone. The seconds ticked by as Charlene stayed like that, her internal conflict freezing her in place.
"Ah, fuck this."
Marshal Burke stepped forward, the clink of metal audible as he removed his own set of cuffs from his belt and expertly ratcheted them around Joseph Seed's wrists in a single, fluid motion. The spell broken, Charlene let her hand fall limply to her side as she beheld the Marshal's deep frown, the fire in his eyes.
"Guess you're not going in the papers then, Rook. But you'll definitely be going into my report. Both of you," he added, glaring at Sheriff Whitehorse. "Let's move. We've got what we came here for."
Numbly, Charlene turned to follow the Marshal. It was as if she was underwater, her ears full of cotton, everything was muted. A hand on her shoulder - Sheriff Whitehorse, his moustache twitching. He said nothing, but nodded once and squeezed her shoulder.
She felt it then - it was as if something in the world had torn. She'd failed to make a critical decision when she needed to, and the world kept on turning, bringing her along for the ride whether she liked it or not. It made her feel uneasy, a cold shiver down her spine, feeling helpless to act as her eyes fell upon the back of Joseph Seed's head, the various scars across his back and arms. Despite his calm demeanor and quiet whisper of a voice, Charlene could sense that this man in front of her was... dangerous.
"Sheriff, get the door, if you would kindly?
As Sheriff Whitehorse hauled the large wooden door open, moonlight streaming into the church, Joseph Seed half-turned to look at her. She tried not to flinch under that piercing gaze - there was something uncanny valley about the way he looked at people, as if he wasn't just seeing them - he was looking into their very souls, their very being. And right now, Charlene Chu felt as though Joseph Seed was looking right through her, sifting through her, examining each part of her, and found her wanting.
He whispered, the words actually making Charlene take an involuntary step back.
"Sometimes, the best thing to do, is to walk away."
Those words stayed with Charlene for a long time after.