Hesitating, I managed to collect enough bravery to pull my body away from the safety of the cradle that was the barrel. It looked like she wasn't coming back, but I imagined I'd see her in the future again. Was she their leader? It seemed like it, but they mentioned Papa Knoth in their letters, not her. Who was this Papa Knoth? How did he fit into all of this? It was probably better for my mind that I didn't ponder these things until I was able to gather more evidence about it.

Stepping away from the shed, I came across a house that looked a bit out of order. The door was jammed, and the windows were all barred shut with wooden pallets. My best bet was probably going back in direction the pickaxe wielding maniac chased me away from. I passed the house she ambushed me from, and came across a large shed. The gate was shut, but there was a lack of ground beneath it where I could slip through just enough to get to the other side. This opening was smaller than the gate before, so I put in more effort to get through.

I was in a building. Good. Most likely away from her, for now. Not standing around to waste more time, I vaulted past a wooden barricade and came across a ladder with its primary function crippled. It was broken. Lynn could probably do this to a ladder when she was overweight in college. I chuckled, but ultimately strayed my mind away from her thought. I needed to focus, and thinking about her made vulnerable to surprise attacks.

Looking around, I noticed a cabinet laying on the side that I could push near the ladder to climb up to the roof part of this barn. Drawing in a sharp breath, I gripped the handles and pushed the thing all the way to the ladder, sighing in relief. I looked around for a bit to make sure no one was watching me again, and quickly made my way up to the roof.

On my right stood a paper above some pieces of hay. I slipped it into my hands and went through the words, eager to know more about this place.

...

What the...

I tossed the paper away and evaluated what I had just learned. This Knoth guy had created a few verses resembling the Bible, and considering that this was chapter 13, I imagined there were a lot more verses. One of the verses mentioned killing the Antichrist several times. Okay, the woman that wrote the madman letter mentioned it too. Antichrist and wombs had a connection, and it didn't take me too long to figure out what was going on.

Papa Knoth was instructing them to do these things, and most likely made them do it in some way. They believed his fake verses and killed every child their women birthed and dumped them in the weird named temple I found prior to meeting the pickaxe woman. Antichrist was probably their sick incentive for killing. Still, I didn't know why they were bent on stalking me, or killing me. I was starting to have doubts that Lynn was still alive, but even if she wasn't, I needed to see her corpse.

I shrugged and moved onto the left path, having to crawl to get through this area. I was above wooden beams, and piles of hay were scattered throughout the path. Timber groaned with every sudden jerk of movement I made, I was more than cautious as I trampled through, making sure I didn't sink too much of my weight onto them. But of course, luck was never on my side. The last beam collapsed as I put my arm on it, I tried to jump back but was too slow, eating shit towards the ground.

Ow. Fuck.

I picked myself up, noticing that my glasses had flown away. I searched for them with my hand, swiftly putting them on before standing up.

"God."

What the-

"Do you want him? Then you'll have him..."

It was her again, she was watching me from behind a wired fence, her face overshadowed by her cloak. I backed away, thinking that she was going to bust through the wall. She stared at me for a minute before backing away, her figure blending into the fog.

Okay, now that was another thorn in my ass. I needed to watch out for her. Judging by her demeanor, she was intent on killing me.

Survived a helicopter crash, stumbled upon a satanic cult, received many injuries and now hunted by a mutant freak wielding a pickaxe. Ugh, I hate it when that happens. I headed back, taking a left to find a way out of here.

To my left were some hay and a dead end, to my right was a barrel and more hay stacked near an open window. At least I found my way out. I noticed some pitchforks situated near the stacks of hay I found. They could be a good weapon to protect me against attackers. But how was I gonna hold both the camera and the pitchfork? I left them be. NV and directional microphones were more useful than a weapon I didn't know how to use and would slow me down.

The window it was. I hopped through, setting my boots near a single barrel and a steep slope I couldn't climb up to. My only available path was to go right. What awaited me was some wood cutting technology and a large generator offline. I touched it to determine if it had been activated recently, but only sensed the same cold the winds were made out of. Surely an abondoned town, but the residents were still here.

Across from the generator was an open window to another house. I quickly hopped through and adjusted my eyes to the sudden brightness, the lamp above was active despite the lack of a generator. From the table near me stood a handheld lamp with some juice left over. I swiftly snatched it and shut it off, it was less useful than the NV and would give away my position, but I needed something in case the camera died out.

I was planning to record, but I misclicked and activated the microphones, being suddenly bombarded with several footsteps. Oh no, was it her again? I listened again, picking up some sort of male mumbling of religious phrases like the pickaxe woman.

I needed to be careful. I couldn't know if they wanted to kill me, but from their past actions, I wasn't stepping one foot towards them. I locked the door and flipped on the window, hopping through and keeping low through the tall grass. I took a right, coming up to some sort of road with barrels stationed on the sides. I still kept near the grass, not daring to step in their view. My camcorder could pick out a fire burning and someone mumbling to themselves. Again, I needed to watch my back.

I passed a wooden rolling cart and some more barrels before spotting a window into another home. Another one. I quickly ran over, pushing it up and hopping in, making sure to close it behind me. I wasn't sure what I was hiding from, but there was certainly someone around here. Safe inside for now. I quickly rummaged through the house, making sure I didn't miss another battery or another lamp. Looking through the window, I could see a fire burning amongst the darkness, but nothing living so far. Where the hell was he?

I locked the door and flipped the window on, scouting the area with my mic. I hear you moving, jackass. I hopped out, remembering to crouch and not generate too much noise. I moved towards the right, passing by a small shed with some more pitchforks and hay. I turned on my NV, seeing the guy through the wooden planks. Oh fuck. I crouched again, hiding near the hay. He didn't know I was here, he didn't know I was here. You're okay...

I have to run. My plan was to run through between houses and take the path to the right get out of this little town area. Okay... On one, two, THREE! I scrambled to my feet and began into a wild dash, glancing to my left and seeing him strolling in my direction.

"Hey!"

Fuck! I pressed on forward without hesitating in the slightest, drifting right and onwards towards the carved pathway leading under a ravine. I didn't dare look behind me, a small group of screaming men a confusing blockade in my path. I ducked down the instant one of them raised his club over his shoulder, but was forced to his knees along with the booming sound rushing through the air. I didn't have time to comprehend what it was, my mind went blank as hot white clarity flooded my entire vision, I clamped my eyes shut and flew backwards onto the ground with a firm thump.

It took a moment to recollect everything and open my eyes, locking sight towards the dazed and thrashing cultists. They were waving their machetes around wildly and screaming gibberish that didn't make an inch of sense.

"Daddy help... Daddy help me..."

They can't see me. It's like they're... hypnotized.

"Please father. Please father!"

I looked behind me, another one of them was in the same state, hands on his head, barely able to stand. It's like they were seeing something I wasn't.

"Fire. The lamp spilled, daddy!"

I've got to get the fuck out of here. I snapped a picture of a paper on the ground, and simply ran away until my legs gave out. Stumbling onto the ground, I gave a sigh as my exhausted body laid motionless on the sand. Oh fuck... what was that? My ears were ringing, and I felt static travel through my brain. Some questionable things were happening here, that was for certain.

I managed to pull my head away from the ground for a second, seeing a blurred building with torches set around it, and promptly passing out.

"...We stand in our position towards the Antichrist! If we hope to beat him, we cannot only try to be like Jesus."

My head was hit with a surge of soundwaves as I slowly came to, trying my best to open my eyes. Fuck, I passed out. Where am I?

"Do you hate us God? Do you hate this world? And do you know what God says? God said unto Moses: I am that I am. And that's all there is to it. We need to be like God!"

Someone was talking through the speakers. Oh god no. Don't make my headache worse. I slowly rose to my feet, setting sight to a path leading to some kind of chapel. Torches were set around as some sort of welcoming committee. I trudged forward, hesitant to enter this building.

"Now... God has sent us this woman. Fallen like a rebellious angel from the sky. Take the gag off."

Lynn? Oh god, they have her. I need to hurry.

"God, I ask you, who is this outsider? This stranger come into our midst?"

Her cries were audible from the speaker, getting interrupted by his speech. What are you doing to her you fuckers?!

"Listen to me. Please. We crashed. We-"

"Hush, child. You've already revealed your tongue fit for nothing but lies. God's truth is here now, come to reckon. God, I lay these hands on this dissembling sinner and ask that you reveal the truth. Pray with me, children. 'God give me voice, God guide my hand.'

Recording

"It's enourmous. Like some sort of hillbilly Vatican. How could have all of this been here and nobody knows about it? It's not possible."

I ambled up to the entrance, finding the main gate to be locked. Okay, it's not gonna be that easy. I scouted the wooden fences around, finding one area to be unstable. It came off with one quick kick. I wasn't thinking straight, my only attention was on the speakers, hoping that sly voice hadn't hurt her in any way.

I crawled through, evaluating my next path. I turned on my NV, finding the battery completely dead. Shit. Hope these ones I picked up still had some power in them. I stuck it in, giving a smack to get it into the camcorder.

Now I saw better.

I walked through some sand and dirt, finding a pathway to the inside held up by pillars. It was a hallway with a double set of doors on the end. Through the little opening in between was some white light seeping out. I tried to connect it to the bright lights I was hit with earlier but it still didn't make no sense. All I had were some half assed theories, needless paranoia and conspiracies. Thinking about them wasn't going to help me find Lynn. Only chanting was discernible. What are they doing in there?

Fortunately, there were some other doors to my left and right that looked like an opportunity, I tried the left one, finding it jammed. The right one was left ajar, and I slowly pushed it open, coming across another pathway. To my right was another paper with some writing. I curiously picked it up, rummaging through its contents.

It was another chapter of this Sullivan Knoth's Gospel, this time mentioning someone named Val. They apparently betrayed him and Temple Gate, then joined a group named "Heretics?" I wasn't sure. I snapped a picture and went back down into my photos gallery. The only unchecked photo was the one I took a picture of when the white light hit. Oh yeah, I had completely forgot about that. I opened it up, beginning my read.

My Love

Please try to be as strong as you can. Papa tells us at ever service that God remembers our sins in our dreams. And we gotta face our sins if we wanna get right with God. If the visions are gettin' worse, and the dreams are in our waking eyes, it just means that the tribulations are getting closer and that'll be hard but there's a paradise on the other side. God loves us, and don't never give us more than we can handle.

Yours as Always

Philip

Another psycho letter I couldn't make sense of. Moving on. But I wonder if the guy on the speaker is the Sullivan Knoth I've been encountering in every letter. He seems to be reminding them something.

To my left were torches set to light up the place, and the picture of the same overweight guy that I thought was a photo from before. I'll bet the rest of my purity that this is him. Knoth. Nice to know that he is a fatass.

I opened the deadbolts of a type of door that you'd see in a castle. Stepping to my left, there was a staircase I needed to descend from in order to proceed. Once I was down, I was met with crosses on the walls which really resembled medieval castle walls. Holy fuck. This just might be the most hardcore cult I've seen so far. They seemed truly dedicated to their made up religion, and they were brainwashed to the point where they just seemed broken. Knoth was probably the person responsible for this. Seeing as the rest of them practically worship him and "God."

"Give me everything you own. Give me your life. Give me children. Give me their lives. I'll save you."

I turned towards the direction of the voice, distracted by some writing on the wall beforehand. The person speaking seemed to be in a cage area with multiple tight cages stacked into a room. Were they keeping prisoners here?

"Only so many bodies can promise the end of the world."

Mildly disturbed, I continued on with my way, finding the door to the cage room to be open.

"Val? Val is that you?"

I decided not to make a sound as that would probably upset them. Instead, I picked up a key sitting on a counter and placed it in my pocket for later use. You never know when a key is useful.

From up the floorboards, I could pick out Knoth's voice and a woman standing above us. I swiftly activated my microphones and listened in.

"Lay bare what she kept hid! Make plain what she would confuse. Make true what's false. Enter my lord, please. I don't know the way, only you to know what you do. Please. I..."

Lynn persisted, making cries of agony that could be heard through the walls. Then after that Knoth screamed with all his might, the crying ending. I wasn't sure if that was Lynn, since her voice was a bit different, but I knew Lynn was up there somewhere.

"You hear Knoth up there? He's doing something nasty with her. The Antichrist is sure to be emerging from her womb."

A few corpses were tied to the support pillars, and a letter was sitting above a grate that led to the sewer system of this place.

"She is ripe with the antichrist. The Enemy waits in her womb!"

This guy was off his fucking meds, I needed to stop whatever his little operation was. I searched around frantically looking for a way out, meeting nothing but more corpses and trapped prisoners. I picked up a battery from the counter, deciding to lean in to pick up the letter I saw in the grate before. I took a picture and reminded myself to read it later. But right now, Lynn was top priority. She couldn't be very far.

I climbed out, spotting an opening between the cages that I could slip through if I crawled. I put my knees on the ground, eyeing the prisoners whom I was crawling right past. They'd decide to grab me and snap my neck and I would be dead.

"Hey! Help me! Please help me!" I fucking called it. One of them gripped my neck and tried to pull me in as I kicked at his hands, forcing him to back up as I crawled through the rest of the opening, scrambling to rise on my feet. What awaited me on the other side was a cell dor that you would expect to see in high security prisons. But unfortunately this one was locked.

I could try the key. I tried to fit it in and twist it to right, the door giving a small click and opening, while I stood there dumbfounded. It actually worked! Nice. I went past, going past a maintenance room before reaching a ladder. Well, I had nowhere else to go, suppose I had to take it. I gripped the wooden bars, beginning my ascend to the top. Lynn, please be alive.

I pushed the hatch upwards, climbing up and setting eyes to a dining table of a sort. Mops and bleach sat on the walls while more bleach sat on the main table. No, I was mistaken. This is a storage room. The ticking clock overhead made me more anxious with each tick, an ominous reminder to how much time I was wasting while my wife was suffering.

Dirty sinks were to my left, and I checked if they were running before progressing forward. They were, but the water tasted like crap. Nope. I don't want to contract any diseases thank you. That'd be the least of my worries, but still something.

The only door in the room was jammed, and I had nowhere else to go but up the stairs. I was beginning to pick up chanting, but not nearly in enough intensity to turn on my mics and waste more battery. Upstairs, a dusty wardrobe and a table lining with some chairs was present. The air had also started to become dry, and I found breathing to be suddenly harder. Just what was I walking into? On the table was another chapter of the gospel, and I didn't waste too much time before taking a picture and ripping it to shreds. Burn the whole thing to the ground, please.

I unlocked a door and flicked it open as the air got even drier. Christ, were they cooking with magma? I paced forward, noticing the blue lighting of another room seep into the hallway. This was getting interesting.

"Get your fucking hands off me!"

LYNN! She was alive! Oh thank fuck. I scrambled to get on my toes and sprinted towards the door where her noise was coming from. Fuck! It was jammed. I tried to bash the door down, but it was a stubborn piece of shit. Move godammit! Knoth's groaning was audible from here, accompanying Lynn's cries for help. Fucker!

"I'll fucking kill you if you lay one more finger on her. Do you understand!?"

No response. Fucking hell. I moved forward, there had to be another way in. From the cracks in the wall, I couldn't make out much. Just some cultists and more chanting. I tried the other door, and it was locked as well. Lynn and Knoth had become strangely silent, and I waited, in the verge of tears. Had he killed her?

Well, I wasn't going to find out just standing. I ran to an open window, hoping it led the area where they were.

"Oh fuck!" I set relieved eyes on Lynn, who had escaped out of a window and had landed on the dirt quite painfully. Oh my god, I actually found her! I jumped from the window without thinking, landing on my feet and rushing towards her to help her get up.

She had landed with a loud thud. I grabbed her in the shoulder, signaling her my presence.

"Oh god Blake." Her tone sounded unpleasant, and I was eager to find out what that bastard did to her.

"Are you okay?"

"No."

"What the fuck?" I simply asked, just dumbfounded by it all. What had Knoth exactly done to her?

"I don't know... Oh shit, we have to run!" I turned my head towards the window she jumped out of, spotting a hooded cultist looking at us.

"Hey! We found the outsider!" They headed back to presumably let Knoth know. Fuck, we had to run. I turned my head back towards Lynn, finding her absent. She was already one step ahead of me, jumping onto a slope and riding it down without effort. I followed her and did the same, my landing a bit more painful. She'd be better at this than me.

"Lynn, where are we going?" I inquired, putting my hand on her shoulder. She stared off into the distance, a hint of anger on her face.

"Away from here. Anywhere but here." She replied with certainty in her voice, holding my hand and dragging me along. We were strolling through a natural pathway, two of us unsure of where we were going.

We reached the end, the path widening a bit this time. I glanced at Lynn, seeing her unsettled made me angry even more. Fuck those guys, I'd pay money to see one of them tortured to death.

"Oh god, my stomach."

Fuck. Now what?

"What is it?"

"Agh, it hurts." She started to slow down, and we stopped for a bit to let her recover.

"Fuck... something's wrong. It hurts." We started to trudge forward again, but she was still slow as a turtle.

"I have to stop. I just... I need... oh god."

I started to panic. Did they do something to her stomach? Would she die if untreated?

"Jesus christ Lynn, what's happening here?"

She was having trouble standing up. It didn't matter, I'd carry her all the way out of this desert if I needed to. She had to live.

"I thought you were dead. When you fell, I thought we were all dead."

The dread in her voice got me worried. Fucking hell, what did I do to deserve this?

"It's okay. I'm here. We're gonna get out of here, okay? What did they do to you?"

"I can't talk about it..."

"Please Lynn just tell me what happened!"

I pushed her with my hand, immediately regretting my decision. Fuck you Blake, what did you do?"

"Please Blake, don't ask me..."

"This evening, after all these years, after all this suffering, our faith has been proven."

The sick fucker was talking again. No way he was catching us now. Nuh uh. I stood up, motioning her to do the same.

"They're coming!" She mentioned in agony, barely standing up and managing to walk. Her state didn't seem too good. I was going to have to treat her when we found some shelter.

"The woman who came to Temple Gate from the outside world brought with her the foul burden we've been awaiting all this time."

We were speeding up, Lynn was slowly recovering from her injury. Good. We hopped through a fallen tree as Knoth continued his ramblings.

"She has a child in her belly. I performed the examination myself, and it is empirically true."

That's a nice way of spelling empirically false. Silly Knoth... Bunch of lunatics.

"He's insane. They're all fucking insane."

She mentioned, nodding back when I nodded to her true words. I didn't know how far we were from Knoth, but I liked to imagine we had lost them.

"Find them, children. Kill them. Soak the earth with their blood!"

Fuck! He was commanding everyone under his command to kill us. We need to hurry. As much as I loved Lynn, she was being a liability right now. They say love makes people stupid, and I agree. But I just love Lynn too much to let her go. I gripped her hand tighter, we were now traveling through some sort of shallow waterway.

"Rip the devil from her belly, and crush it beneath your boot heels!"

Flashlights turned on in front of us, revealing a few figures hidden behind the rocks. I immediately got Lynn behind my back, I was ready to protect her from whatever these psychos tried to do. Fuck, I could really use that pitchfork right now.

"God wants the child. God wants the child."

"Oh god. STAY BACK!" Lynn yelled out, trying to scare them off. She wandered away from me, and I let her be as I was too busy concentrated on the cultist in front of me.

"We'll be gentle." One of them reassured. But I still really fucking regretted not taking that pitchfork from the shed. Stupid, Blake.

"I swear to fucking christ, the first person who touches me loses their eyes!"

She backed away, unaware that another one was going to ambush her from the side. Footsteps appeared behind me, and I turned too late as a cultist thrust a punch into my nose, sending me tumbling onto the ground.

"No, NO!" Oh shit Lynn! LYNN! They pinned me to the ground along with Lynn, keeping me in place while they did something horrible to her.

"God wants the child. God wants the child."

"Get the fuck off me! LYNN! LYNN! Get off... Get the fuck- OFF! No! No no no no! LYNN! Motherfuckers! Fuck you!"

They were undressing her! I tried to thrash out of their grip in a raged frenzy, her screams were reaching throat shattering levels. What the fuck are you doing with my wife! LET GO! LET...

"AAAAGGHHHHHHH!"

"Heretics."

Their holds loosened as distinct figures glanced past the view of the flashlight, the cultists pinning me down were subdued, and the others dropped to the ground like flies with each thwack that splint the air. This was my chance to run for it. My knees effortlessly heaved me up to my footing and towards Lynn, I extended my hand towards her face, but a firm grip snared me by the throat and knocked me backwards, down again. They were doing something with her! Her pants were unzipped and about to be removed, I fought and struggled against them, but was too weak. Come on!

The final cultist sheathed his machete from his waist and stared at Lynn with a sly expression, I screamed and felt my nerves pulse with the sensation. I was on the verge of tears, he was going to kill her! My legs thrashed back and forth, but were proved futile. I closed my eyes and waited for the impact, that moment where she would join death. It was all happening too fast.

But it never came. Instead, he broke his entire demeanor and whirled around towards... They looked to be about eight feet tall, almost the same as that woman I encountered earlier. He was too late to react, the figure gripped him by the temples of his head and squeezed their fingers into his eyes. His thrashing screech practically impaled through dry air, he was standing for only a few seconds before he slumped onto the ground. The only thing I could see was what their flashlight was focusing on, it was too dark. I struggled again, something inside me boiling with rage and urging me to reach her.

"I watched my father fuck your god to death."

They spoke, drawing their words out in an attempt to sound more intimidating. And they damn sure succeeded. They crouched alongside Lynn, licking her from her waist all the way to her forehead. I could see that she was passed out, but didn't know from what. I struggled one last time, trying to get these fuckers dirty hands off me.

"Take her home. I want to share my love with the father."

Oh fuck, they were another ally of Knoth. Motherfucker!

They walked over to me, and I felt a surge of fear travel through me as their tall body stood near. They lowered their upper body into my face, making sounds that I could only match up to lustful sex.

"God doesn't love you. Not like I do."

My heart was trembling uncontrollably. My jaw locked tight, teeth gritted together so much that my skull ached. I dug my fingertips into the fiber of my coat with every inch of my strength, waiting in anticipation for the impact as they extended their tongue towards my face, trailing it along my forehead and leaving a wet patch in its place. Only our moans were audible sounds, one composed of disgust and the other made up of hungry sex. They pulled out to rest, but not for a long while before wiping their tongue across my cheek, leaving the skin exposed to their spit.

"Fuck you!" I managed to blurt out among the chaos, hoping it would amount to something.

"Yes, my love? Oh, we have mother." They said, kneeling up.

"I think I'll see you again."

My breath hitched as I hauled myself up, determined to get Lynn back. I ran forward with all the anger I could muster, my wife and her captors my sole focus. HEY! COME BACK YOU FUCKERS!

I had almost thought I could see that thing with Lynn on their back trudging away from me, but a hard blow to the side of my chin sent me toppling sideways to the ground with a thud. My vision faltered as I turned my head to locate the source, it was one of them, he stared me down with what seemed like forceful eyes, the rest of his faces was obscured by mud. I tried to gurgle something out of my mouth, but he whipped away and caught up with the rest of his filthy kind before I could say anything.

Silence overtook the area, only my silent weeps and the moist blood oozing out of the dead cultists on the ground making a change in the scenery.

I laid there in agony, too powerless to even get up. Lynn, shit. I managed to fucking lose her again. How dumb can I be? I should've taken that pitchfork. Maybe it would have helped. I let out a tear in this place for the first time, defeated again by broken men. Lynn. Be safe, please. I'm sorry baby, I fucked up. I don't know what I was thinking, I should've made better decisions, I should've been a better husband. This is all my fault, please forgive me.

I'm coming for you.