New proofread version! Enjoy, story is still the same


CHAPTER 2

Emily

Not that far away, you reached a small lodge guarded by only one Peggie. This was perfect. You could sneak up on him, knock him down and grab anything useful. And at this point, almost everything was useful. So as quietly as possible, you went around the lodge to position yourself behind the Peggie. You weren't the best silent assassin and definitely not a ninja, but this half-wit Peggie appeared to be almost deaf which made it easy for you to knock him out from behind with a big rock you had picked up. Feeling kind of bad for him, you checked his pulse and breathing just to make sure you hadn't done too much damage.

Luckily he had a gun on him, which you took before checking inside the lodge. You couldn't have been more lucky with what you found: a compass, ammunition, a small medkit, a backpack to stuff it all in and an energy bar which you instantly swallowed.

The radio alerted you. ''Hello…? Anyone hearing me? Hello? It's Burke… Hello?'' The Marshal almost gave you a heart attack, but you were truly happy to hear his voice. This meant he was okay and that you could regroup.

He continued, ''I think I lost them…I see a…a trailer nearby. It's next to a long bridge…I'm gonna try and get inside…If anyone's still out there…Listen, if anyone's still alive…''

Fuck. The signal was too weak. Instantly, you remembered passing a long bridge. Maybe that's the bridge the Marshal was talking about. You had to check it out.

John

He was almost glad that they had arrested his brother, but he would have never voiced it. Especially to his other siblings. Siblings. Pffh. Faith wasn't even his real sister. They didn't grow up together, but unfortunately, well...fortunately for her, she didn't know what it was like to be a part of the Seed Family…not really. She was just some junkie his brother found and kept for…he didn't even know why Joseph kept her around. Because of the Bliss? And Jacob was his exact opposite. Jacob was all about body strength, while he himself was more interested in the strength of will. Apparently, each member of his family was blessed differently. His parents with death, something he couldn't be more happy, but again, he would never talk about that to anyone. John had accepted his submissiveness to Joseph, like his other siblings. Joseph was the Father. He lead them, and John had to follow him.

But unsurprisingly, Joseph returned. ''God did not let them take me.'' He declared once again.

''Everything I have told you has come true…''

Joseph was seemingly unharmed from the helicopter crash, and three others were captured. The Marshal and that young Deputy were on the run, but not for long. They controlled the area of Hope County. The Whitetail Mountains region belonged to Jacob, who was also head of security for the whole cult. The Henbane River region belonged to Faith, and the Holland Valley region was his territory. Of course all together, the whole area was therefore controlled by Joseph, who couldn't be bothered with the prisoners and divided them between his other siblings.

At least John got the female Deputy Hudson. Not that he had taken any interest in her, but he enjoyed the company of females more. The Deputy was not to be cleansed until he got to Her, the young Deputy. He knew her, he just couldn't remember how.

''Father, could I have a word with you before we depart?'' John addressed his brother Joseph. He was to be called Father in front of his followers.

''Of course, John. Can I help you with something?'' Joseph looked him deeply in the eyes. John instantly understood that he did not care about him. He just wanted this conversation to be over quickly, but he would never dismiss his brother in front of so many followers. So John spoke up

''Once the others are captured, I would like the young Deputy to be brought to me, unharmed…I would like to cleanse her,'' He added since he knew his brother was all about the Project.

''Sure, they should be in your area anyway, but I will let Jacob and Faith know.'' And with that Joseph left.

Emily

''C'mon, Rook. We're going!'' Burke yelled. ''Get in, Rook! Leave 'em,'' And with that you drove off.

The trailer was attacked by Peggies shortly after you joined the Marshal. You guessed that the Seed family was not far behind either, even though you couldn't imagine them engaging in this kind of fight...well, Jacob maybe.

''You okay?'' The Marshal seemed to be talkative in stressful situations, unlike you. ''Nice work back there. I'd be dead if it weren't for you.''

You didn't know what to say, so you simply nodded and focused on you surroundings. Peggies could be anywhere, and they sure did not care if they survived or not. Most of them were just savage, you had no other way of describing it.

Luckily, neither the Marshal nor you were hurt badly. You only got winged once, the Marshal apparently twice from what you saw. Besides that, just cuts and bruises, most from the helicopter crash.

''We gotta get back…but we gotta be smart. We don't know who we can trust…Fucking Nancy…'' Yeah…she was your only connection to the station, and she clearly betrayed all of you. ''Oh no… Oh no…'' A flare gun was shot ahead of you. ''They got the roads blocked! Hold on!'' And with that, you ran through the blockade. You tried to shoot a few of them, well, actually you shot at them. You weren't too keen on the killing part of this job, but well. This right now was not the job. Fuck.

''We gotta get of the main road. BEHIND US!'' The Marshal yelled at you. He was right. It was on you to get them off your backs, so you aimed for the tires and got rid of one car before you crashed back into the seat. He drove above some rocks past some house, and it all went by so fast. ''Rook! There's a case of dynamite in the back of the truck! Use it!'' He yelled at you, once you reached some rail tracks. Fuck! Seriously! He really expected you to blow them up. There were five trucks behind you now, so you took the dynamite and hoped that it would only damage them and slow them down, not kill them…And thankfully, it worked. Well you didn't know about the not killing part. but you already lost three of them.

''FUCK! Gotta lose 'em…'' The Marshal tried to keep the truck as steady as possible for you. So you threw more dynamite. And another truck stopped.

''Fuck, is that a plane?! Don't you tell me they have fucking air support.'' They did… You had to lead back into the car since the pilots aim wasn't half bad. ''Oh shit shit shit!''

''Fuck!'' You finally joined the Marshal in cursing. This really started to look bad, and you were headed for a bridge. But before you could stop the Marshal and tell him that this was a bad idea since you could not dodge anything and were stuck, he had already reached the bridge.

''Oh no… Oh no no no no! Rook! Jesus Christ! Incoming!'' You didn't even saw it coming. You only heard the explosion, saw the bright light burning up before you and felt…like you were in the most horrible rollercoaster ever built. Then you crashed into the water.

John

He was seething with rage. Surely this must have been Jacob's brilliant idea to blow up the bridge. How he ached to give Jacob a bit of his mind, but he knew it wouldn't make any difference and would only lead to him being questioned about his loyalty.

''Drive to the shore!'' He hoped she was still alive. Something inside him yearned for her, and he wanted to know what and why. With his eyes on the water the whole time, he could make out one figure rising from the water, trying to reach land and probably safety but being knocked down immediately. His Peggies already arrived at the crashing point, and he joined them.

''There were two in the truck! In the trees! Look at the trees! Check the Shoreline!'' John yelled while getting out of the car.

''No! Get off me! I am a United Stated Federal Marshal!''

''This one needs a little Faith…'' John heard someone saying, but his focus was in the water. There she was. But she didn't fight as much as the Marshal, in fact he lost sight of her in the water again. ''Find the other one! Keep searching!'' He cursed, searching the surface desperately. He saw her again on shore, while a shadow carried her away. He was calmer, now that he knew she was alive.

Emily

You slipped in and out on consciousness. Light, crash, black…water…black...out of the truck, still in the water…black…air! Black…water, shore…

''There were two in the truck! In the trees! Look at the trees! Check the Shoreline!''

''No! Get off me! I am a United Stated Federal Marshal!''

''This one needs a little Faith…''

A stranger…

''Find the other one! Keep searching!''

Lifting you…

Black.

You had a splitting headache and your lungs felt like they were crumbled, but you were alive!

Ouch… fuck. You finally opened your eyes, just to find yourself tied to a bed with cable tie.

''I am your Father. You are my Children. And together, we will march to-'' The radio was turned off by the stranger who carried you away from the shore. He did not seem happy.

''You know what that shit means? It means the roads have all been closed. It means the phone lines have been cut.'' He sat down on a chair placed in front of you. ''It means there's no signals getting in or out of this valley. But mostly, it means we're all fucked.'' He sighed and shook his head, but you didn't understand. Whatever it was must have been bad, because all he had told you so far really meant you were fucked. He must have seen your confusion, because he continued.

''The goddamn 'Collapse'… They all think the world's coming to an end now. They've been waiting for it, for years. Waiting for somebody to come along and fulfill their prophecy and kick off their goddamn holy war.'' Wait, what? It sounded like he blamed her for all of it. ''Well, you sure as shit kicked…'' That must mean you killed most of them while you were trying to escape… Shit. ''The smartest thing for me to do would just be to hand you over.'' No way! Somehow you didn't think he would since he sighed. ''Fuck…'' Yeah, you knew that feeling. Fuck.

He knocked the chair over while standing up. You were uncertain what he would do as he pulled out a knife. Too much crazy shit had happened today, not all unexpected but still crazy. You were thinking about kicking him, but you realized in time that his focus was on the cable tie. Finally he cut you free, and you let go of a breath you didn't realize you were holding.

''Get out of that uniform-we need to burn it. There's some fresh clothes there. When you get changed, you come and see me. We'll see if we can un-fuck this situation.'' He did not seem too happy with his decision. Well to be fair, he didn't seem happy at all, and who could blame him? You simply thanked whatever lucky star you were apparently born under.