As Luke traversed Holland Valley on Lucy, the Dep Followed close behind in a large Semi, The Widowmaker. Being in front of the large vehicle made Luke nervous, the vehicle could squash him like a bug. But, luckily it was the Deputy behind the wheel, so he felt at ease. Glancing back he smiled as her dog's head hung out. The sun gave the sky a nice orange hue for whatthey were about to due
Luke instantly fell in love with Boomer. He always wanted a dog, but they never got one, as his wife was allergic. Quickly turning back around, he went off-road for a bit. They were currently on their way to the Green-Busch Fertilizer Co. to liberate it. Luke would be taking the high ground with his rifle, while the deputy took the ground.
Stopping at a place that gave him a few good vantage points, he laid down and prepared his gun. Looking through the scope, he quietly counted the Peggies in the area. Nine that he could see.
"Hey Dep, I'm counting nine of them, be careful, there might be more inside." With both vehicles parked safely out of sight, they began their silent assault. In seconds, six peggies lay scattered along the building. As Luke searched for his next target, a sudden blare of the siren caught him off guard. Without another moment wasted, the deputy came over the radio.
"Shit! They sounded the alarm, reinforcements will be headed our way, I'm gonna go disarm the alarm, you keep them off my back!" Not even a second after, the Deputy was in Luke's sight. Carefully panning throughout the area around her, he watched as she made her way to the alarm. The sound of gravel sounded the arrival of more enemies.
With a flick of his body, and a rapid series of twitches from his finger, four more bodies littered the grounds.
This went on for two more vehicles. In the middle of the second one, one had fired and a stray bullet slammed into his shoulder. As pain tore through his being, he let out a loud yell of pain.
"Hold on Luke! You get somewhere safe, they're headed your way!" The Dep's voice eas filled with worry as Luke tried to regain his bearings. White stars began to fill his vision as he tried to crawl away. He watched as a third vehicle arrived. Waiting for a moment later, everyone but the driver exited. One man began making his way up towards Luke's position.
Panic finally set in as he pulled himself to his feet. He began to stumble around. Before he could disappear into the treeline, something tackled him from behing, slamming his head into the ground. His vision blurred further from the sudden impact.
The slurred sensation of someone pulling zipties around his hands jarred his mind as he began to thrash about to escape his captors grasp. After mere moments, he was slammed into a tree by whoever had him.
"Stop moving sinner! John wants to speak to you!" Luke immediately tensed at the mere mention of his name. How did they already know who he was? How did they know where he was? How could he get away?
Question after question ran through his head. Before he knew it, he was being loaded into one of many vehicles. The sounds of gunfire surrounded him as he slammed into a meral floor, before being dragged further inside the van. He could hear the distant sound of the deputy shouting at him. With one last burst of anger, he threw his head back into whoever was slowly dragging him inside.
Not taking the time to celebrate, he jumped out and ran, stumbling every so often due to the effects of the bliss. He could hear the cultist shout behind him, but by this time all he could hear was muffles.
As he ran he became more and more aware of his darkening surroundings. It was beginning to get dark. No alone, lost, and disoriented, Luke stumbled around as he hoped to find a familiar location. Panicking he began to run.
Step after step, foot after foot, he kept going. His body begged to stop, but still, he ran. But, slowly, a voice spoke, pushing him to keep going.
"Forward. Left. Forward. Right." He began to follow what it said. He turned when told, stopped when it told him to rest. He was scared. His thoughts were sparatic and irrational. Then, it told him stop. When it did, he remembered who the voice belonged to.
He looked at where he was, a small pond, his ragged breaths shook his body as he stared at the people just feet from him. Even through the haze, Joseph's figure. His breathing istantly calmed, his body relaxed, and his panicked thoughts stopped in that moment.
With all eyes on Luke, he took a step back and bumbed into someone. In an instant, he was restrained again. His ziptied hands were pulled up, and his arms held tight.
"Dammit! Let go you bastard! I don't have time for this!" He shouted as he thrashed about. His map slipped from his bag. The loop for his rifle hung loose, as his gun still laid at the fertilizer plant. His ammo pouch spewed its contents as he threw himself about in an attempt to free himself.
"Shh, there is no reason to be afraid, you are safe." The roughness of hands sent a jolt of fear through the young man. He knew this was a bad idea, and yet, he did not try to escape them.
He watched as Joseph slowly reached for his survival knife, and on instinct, he attempted to back away. Joseph looked at the follower who was holding Luke, and he turned him. Luke clenched his eyes as he awaited death...
But it never came.
Instead Joseph had cut the zip ties that held his hands. Slowly and reluctantly, he rubbed his wrists. Joseph once again placed his hands on Luke's face again, and this time the young man did not move.
"When I look into your eyes, I see pain, sorrow, and guilt. I see a man who has prepared to give up everything. A man who hates the world. A man who has abandoned God and shut him from his life." As Joseph spoke, Luke began to hold on to every word. He was confused, scared, and overall, just tired.
Tired of life, of hardships and pain. Of people and work. Tired of everything. It's true, Luke had attempted suicide before, but stopped halfway through. There was something that picked at him, that scratched at the back of his brain. Something that told him 'Not yet.'
"Joseph, if I'm being honest. Im tired. I dont want to fight anymore. I fought all my life, and, for what? There is no fruit of my labor, no wife to come to after work, nothing. I have, nothing. What is there left for me to do?"
Joseph pulled they're foreheads together, only to feel the other shake slightly, not much, but he still noticed it.
"Tell them to go home John, I will cleanse our friend, but i will need your help." John replied with a knowing look as he went tell the peggies to return to their homes.
"Yes Joseph." With that, the others loaded up into their vehicles, and left. That left only Joseph and Luke. Joseph slowly romoved Luke's bag, and began to search for it. Luke himself was just far to tired to care.
"I know this might be hard to understand, but God took your family in order to test you." His voice was filled with understanding, he felt the same pain as the younger soul in front of him.
"No, I was just a drunk idiot." His somber tone started to crack at the end.
"No, that is the lie your Sheriff has made you believe." The instant anger that flushed through his body with a fury unlike any other.
"LISTEN HERE ASSHOLE, DON'T YOU BRING HIM INTO THIS!" Fire burned in his eyes with nothing but hate for the man in front of him. As he grabbed at Joseph's collar, John began to speak.
"Alex Wilmette broke into a house on July 12 20XX, once inside he proceded to kill twenty-two Jane Wilmette, and her twin daughters Mimi and Lexi Wilmette, bothe were only two years old." Something in Luke's mind began to click together, he began to remember things. At first it was an image of his home with flashing red and blue lights.
"The only other occupant of the home, Luke Wilmette, was at work when the attack happened." An image of the home's door opened up, and a hand came into view. Luke felt tears roll down his cheeks as he pushed away.
"N-no, shut up. Y-your l-lying to get i-in my h-head." He began to desperately plea to Joseph to make him stop. Whatever he was remembering, he didn't want to.
"Luke returned home while the cops were trying to get Alex outside. Luke proceded to run inside against the words of the police. When they entered, Luke was holding Alex, who was later revealed to be his Father, at gun point." John continued reading from a case file. Luke desperately reached for it. He doesn't know why, but as he read of the incedent, he began to remember it happening. Feelings and emotions that felt too real passed through hus mind. Was the car accident a lie?
"After several attepts to talk Luke down from it, he pulled the trigger, ending the life of his Father." Luke couldn't take anymore and crumpled into a sobbing heap on the floor. Joseph kneeled down and place a comforting hand on his back. Slowly, Joseph glanced at John as a way to tell him he could go.
As for Luke, the experience that he just remembered was vivid and clear, while the "memory" of the car accident was riddled with holes and was fuzzy when he could recall it. To add onto it, no one could ever find the file on it, and for a crash that killed three people, it made no sense that he would walk away with no injuries.
Joseph reached into the large green bag that Luke had carried, and retrieved a white covered book, the Book of Joseph. Slowly and carefully, he pulled the calming man over to the pond, and gently began to lower him into it. Luke panicked for a split second as he submerged, until his vision began to cloud again. As he sat, submerged, Josephs voice was clear to him.
Joseph watched as Luke was raised from the water, his eyes were rimmed with red. His eyes were clear, and he was no longer crying. Joseph pulled him from the pond and handed him a towel.
"Keep this book with you. Go, when you are ready, come back to me." And with that, Joseph left. Luke stood holding the white book, now alone, cold, and confused. He sat down on the ground holding the book and drifted of to sleep.