Prologue:

It took very little for Hope County to be overrun with cultists, vying to be one of Joseph Seed's "family". Both willing and unwilling, Joseph had promised his followers protection from "The Collapse". The cult "Project at Eden's Gate", was known for drugs, coercion, manipulation or intimation to gain its members. It didn't matter the reason why they had confessed and pledged themselves to the father... They had betrayed the good, working class citizens of Hope county. They had become known simply as the "Peggies", followers of the Project of Eden's Gate.

The abundance of military grade firearms and lax gun laws led to every single one of the crazed maniacs having a semi-automatic rifle in their arms.

It wasn't exactly a surprise that when the Deputy and the other officers took down Joseph Seed that he managed to slip away and capture each of the officers who had planned to arrest him.

The Deputy was the only one not captured following the attempted arrest.

Officer Mack, or Carla Mack, was barely twenty-five. Her time in Hope County's police force had been short. She had transferred back to Montana as her father has become bedridden and needed a carer. He stubbornly wouldn't let Carla put her career on hold to care for him, but since his car accident he could barely walk on a good day. She made do with what she could by preparing meals and cleaning around the place.

Carla supposed that she was happy he died barely a week before the cult began to target people. She didn't want him to see what his hometown had become mere days after.

They bought out the farms and the radio tower, and then people started going missing. It was months before the police became aware the cult had become an issue, mostly because crimes that were reported weren't being relayed to the officers. Someone in administration had been falsifying and withholding reports. They had begun investigating the false and lost reports, but they had been given the order to arrest Joseph and that put things on hold.

She was briefed on the Seed family, and particularly Joseph. Their target for the arrest.

They were in a black, six-seated, heavily armoured helicopter specifically designed for extreme circumstances. Although, no amount of armour made Carla feel safe as they flew past the giant statue of Joseph or the "Father".

"Fuck, there he is." She heard Deputy Hudson say, her voice in awe at the towering figure.

"Jesus." The Marshall had ironically enough had compared the sick man to his idol.

She gripped the arrest warrant in her hands, she was shaking and had almost dropped the court sealed and signed piece of paper half a dozen times.

When they flew in, only Joseph was on their radar. He was being arrested for suspicion of kidnapping with intent of harm. None of his subordinates had committed any noteworthy crimes. Not yet, anyway.

She and all the other officers were completely caught off-guard by the followers devotion.

After a quick call to dispatch, they hopped out of the helicopter and felt every pair of eyes in the compound on them.

The walk to the church couldn't have felt any longer. They heard the distinct sound of rifles loading all around them as they walked through the wooden church doors.

Inside the church waited innumerable cultists suddenly becoming quiet as they saw who entered. Joseph stood, talking down to his followers, who too quietened. Behind Joseph were his siblings, Jacob, Faith and lastly, John.

John had grown a beard since she last saw him and it suited him, even though Carla would never admit it. John's baby blue eyes looked at Carla, he smiled at her. She scowled in return, but before she could blink the room filled with the fury of Joseph's angry followers.

They put their hands on their guns and his followers raised their guns in defence. It wasn't a simple situation by any means. It could take one itchy trigger finger to cut through the tension like a knife through butter.

However, Joseph calmed his followers down. "We knew this moment would come. We've prepared for it. Go… Go. God will not let them take me."

Joseph was a rather well-built man, like his brother who she had the displeasure of knowing all too well. She tried to not let her eyes linger on the word 'LUST' scarred into his lower abdomen. Various other tattoos marred his chest.

"Rookie, Cuff this son of a bitch." The Marshall ordered.

Seed put his hands out in front of him in surrender, his eyes rested on Carla's. "God will not let you take me." He smiled, ever so slightly. "Well, Deputy?" Behind his yellow bulky glasses, his dark eyes mocked her.

She looked to John who stood behind his brother, her eyes full of distrust. She squinted at him and turned to the Marshall, making her decision.

With an affirmative nod from her fellow officers, she put the cuffs on Seed's wrists. Seeming too comfortable given the situation, Carla should have realised then the mistake they had made.

If they thought the church was bad, outside was far worse. Guns now pointed at them from every direction. The officers were scared, though they dare not show it on their faces. She led Joseph towards the helicopter, he was the only one calm in the entire compound.

It all went downhill from there.

Carla tried to keep her face calm. They had just a few more feet to walk when the cultists broke out in rage.

It was hard to pinpoint the moment that things went from 'just peachy' to 'completely fucked' on this arrest. But if Carla had to guess it was when one the cultists threw themselves at the blades of the helicopter.

That sparked the shitfest of questionable and exceedingly annoying fuckups that continued to plague Carla in the months following.