Ambivalence
Chapter 7: Conflictions
By: Knowledge Eater
Disclaimer: Ubisoft owns Far Cry 5, I just like to play with their world and characters.
Tracey was conflicted. That was the best word for it. She couldn't remain at the jail ever since the rook told her that Faith—Rachel— was still alive. There was still a lot of things for her to do, injured people to look after, supplies to count and sort, help with patrols, the list was near limitless. But she couldn't focus on any of her tasks, her mind kept drifting back to Rachel.
When the jail was attacked and she found Virgil bleeding on the floor, dying, she was overcome with anger. No, anger wasn't a good enough word. Tracey was angry when Rachel chose to stay with the cult. She was angry when Rachel became a puppet and started calling herself Faith. She was angry when Rachel helped create the Bliss. She was angry when Rachel forced the Bliss on Hope County's populace.
Everything she did as Faith pissed her off more and more, and it steadily made her accept that her friend, Rachel, was dead. But when the jail was overrun by the Peggies, Tracey felt it appropriate to compare Faith to a rabid dog. The dog may have once been considered a friend, but once it was beyond control it was best to put it down. That was when she was so angry that she told the rook, Aiden, to kill Faith.
It was days later when Tracey learned that Faith had indeed been killed by the deputy. Her anger was still there, though it had simmered just the tiniest fraction. She felt…relieved at the news. As she digested the finality of Faith's fate, the grief started to kick in. She thought she had come to terms of accepting Rachel's death, but buried deep within she had that small spark of hope that Rachel could come back, could be saved. But her death snuffed that hope, and sorrow and guilt slowly ate at her.
The guilt formed into thoughts in her head. What if she hadn't suggested they both join the cult? What if she tried harder to convince Rachel to leave with her?
That was when Aiden showed up. His cheeks were puffed out with pizza, making him look like a damn hamster, but his cyan eyes saw straight through her, saw the sorrow and guilt she tried so hard to hide from everyone. When he led her outside she was ready to burst emotionally. She hadn't expected to spill her guts out to the rook and it got even worse when damn tears leaked out. But when Aiden confessed that Rachel was still alive, Tracey felt conflicted again. She couldn't stay at the jail and she couldn't wait for Aiden to return, so she left for the bunker.
Whatever Tracey had been expecting it hadn't been this.
When Aiden said he couldn't kill her, she expected to see Rachel skipping about the bunker in that god awful white dress. Instead, she almost didn't recognize the prone figure that was laid out on a bed. The ugly white dress was replaced with a long blue button down shirt, hair disheveled but damp and clung to a bruised and swollen face.
"Rachel?" She said more to herself.
The woman across from her looked confused for a moment and studied her for a long moment. She seemed to be a little more aware when she was called by her real name. "Tracey?" Her voice came out as a croak and was slurred.
Tracey looked down and was even more surprised to see a half empty bottle on the floor. She bent down to pick it up and read the label. Her eyebrows shot up. "Well, this brings back memories."
When they were younger, they both had their own ways of coping with their problems. Tracey found comfort at the bottom of a liquor bottle. Rachel, on the other hand, needed harder stuff. She didn't smoke weed or snort coke like the other kids their age did at high school, no she needed the serious stuff that was delivered via needle.
They both took turns checking in on each other whenever one of them didn't show up to school. They had found an abandoned shack that wasn't a terrible walking distance from either of their homes and they transformed it into a place they could call their own whenever they needed an escape from their so called families. She'd often find Rachel cowering in a corner, high as a kite. It was the few times she ever saw a smile on her face. Then there were times where Rachel would be the one to show up and find Tracey very much like how she was finding the flower girl now, drunk and passed out.
Despite reminiscing on their past, Tracey was still angry. And to see Rachel laying in a bed looking worse for wear didn't do anything to simmer that anger. But she couldn't talk to the woman while she was hammered.
"Get up," Tracey commanded sternly. She retreated into the kitchen she passed through and returned with as many water bottles she could carry before she tossed them onto the bed. She had too many questions to ask and she wasn't leaving until they were answered. Her fingers twitched as they craved to reach over to the gun she held at the back of her jeans waistline.
Of all people Aiden had to get to check in on her it had to be Tracey. Then she realized why her gut twisted in fear, she was afraid for her health. And that was coming from someone with a nasty leg wound that oozed foul smelling pus.
Faith had half a mind to ignore the woman, she was much too tired to move. But she was motivated to comply, she really didn't need any more hurts to be inflected on her. She remembered Tracey to be a hard ass, she was unafraid to get physical if she was angry enough. She'd be a fool to think Tracey wasn't furious with her.
The world began to spin again when she sat up and her stomach lurched. For a moment she thought she was going to be sick. When the feeling passed she picked up a bottled water and twisted the cap off. Thankfully the sip of water didn't aggravate her stomach as she anticipated. If anything it cleared a signal to her brain that suddenly became aware of just how thirsty she was. She drained the bottle in a series of gulps.
"Keep drinking. You need to sober up," Tracey said. She didn't move from her standing position. She crossed her arms over her chest and watched her.
Faith's thirst allowed her to drink a second bottle easily, but halfway through the third she felt full. "Keep drinking," Tracey pushed.
Faith shook her head, which she immediately regretted since she still felt dizzy. "I can't, I'm full."
Tracey sighed and then retreated back into the kitchen. When she returned she handed her an opened can and a spoon. It was Pork n Beans. "Start eating. This will help absorb the alcohol."
The thought of food made Faith's stomach lurch again. She just wanted to sleep. "I don't…I don't think I can eat that."
"Yes you can." Tracey forced the can onto her free hand. "Eat."
To appease the woman, Faith scooped up a single bean onto the spoon and slowly chewed it. "Can't this wait," the words were a little hard to enunciate clearly.
Tracey's frown deepened, she opened her mouth, probably to yell at her, but after a moment she just shook her head and stepped closer. Her eyes scanned over her appearance, which made Faith uncomfortable. Her shirt was too short to cover her bandaged leg. Tracey snickered when her gaze lingered on said limb.
She bobbed her head towards her injury. "The rook do that to you?"
What do you think, Faith wanted to say. Again, she was weary of Tracey's fists. Her face hurt enough. So she settled with a simple, "yes."
A whistle escaped her former friend. "Did he do that," she gestured to her face, "to your face as well?"
Faith nodded before she forced herself to finish the rest of the water. There were still more unopened bottles, but she wasn't in a rush to start on them. She just needed a moment for the liquid in her stomach to settle.
Fear clenched in her gut again and Faith looked up at Tracey. "Aiden? Is he okay?" Was that why Tracey showed up, because Aiden didn't return? What was going to happen to her?
Tracey was silent as her eyes narrowed. "You're on a first name basis with him? Why?"
The question was odd and caught Faith off guard slightly. "I…know ev—everyone's name." Words were still hard to pronounce. The water helped wash away the taste of vodka, but her tongue still felt numb.
"You mean you know everyone's name that you drag into the Bliss."
Faith nodded. There was no need to deny that. When she welcomed people into the Bliss she made a connection with them. Tried to build their trust. It was easier to save people if she had their trust. And knowing their names helped.
"Why did you," Tracey paused and rubbed her eyes. She scoffed. "We both knew something wasn't right with the Peggies. So why did you stay with them?"
The shorter woman figured Tracey would be heading in that direction when she tried to get her to sober up. Ever since she accepted the name the Father gave to her she lost contact with Stacey. She tried to communicate with her with letters, and Tracey did respond once, but that was the end of it. They hadn't spoken for seven years.
"I had no ch—"
"Don't start with that!" Tracey roared.
Some of the drunken fog in Faith's head cleared up slightly. Her blood shot eyes watched Tracey's hands. If she started swinging her fists around she had no way to defend herself. She suddenly felt like she was a teenager again, in her room and watching her father's fists.
"You say you had no choice, but you could have left with me." Tracey began to pace. She did that when she wanted to hit something. "You could have left with me, but you chose to stay with that nut job."
The insult to the Father boiled in Faith's veins. He was not crazy. God simply chose him, talked to him, gave him a mission to save people.
Faith shook her head in denial. "I had no choice." She repeated.
"Yes, you did!" Tracey shouted and threw her arms up in the air. "We all have our own choices. You chose the easy road. Stay with the crazies so you don't get hurt! It's what you did with your parents and it's what you did at school."
Faith fought back a shout of her own. Of course Tracey would go there. She always knew how to hurt people.
"If I," Faith swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in her throat with difficulty. Despite the three bottles of water she was thirsty again. "You don't understand."
"Oh don't give me that, Rachel."
Faith winced at the name and she felt her anger flare. "You don't understand!"
"Then make me!"
The injured woman closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. She set the can of beans on the bed beside her and reached for another water and took a sip. "I had no choice," she paused when Tracey snickered. "They threatened me. They threatened you."
For a quick moment Tracey's eyes softened. Then her brows pinched together in a frown.
"I couldn't," Faith paused. Her throat tightened with sorrow. "You were my…only friend. I couldn't lose you. By staying with them I saved you."
Tracey laughed.
Faith's hands tightened in anger. How could she laugh? She endured so much because she was more afraid of them killing Tracey than herself.
"You have a real hero complex, you know?" Tracey shook her head, a smile still on her face. "Those bastards were powerless then. They couldn't touch me if they tried. You were too naïve to believe otherwise. Save me?" She laughed again.
There was a quick flash of hurt, but then Faith's anger snuffed it out.
"You really are full of it," Tracey continued, her face no longer carried a smile. "The rook told me what you said. How Joseph Seed offered you drugs. That's why you stayed with them, wasn't it? Free drugs must've been really hard to pass up."
Anger flared in Faith's eyes. "That's not true!"
"Then they," Tracey shrugged shrugged, "brain washed you just like they did to the others."
Faith shook her head. "That was after they threatened to kill you. The drugs were…
"Like offering a feast to a starving person?" Tracey interjected.
"Something like that." Faith didn't understand where Tracey was going with all of this. A headache bloomed behind her eyes.
"Okay," Tracey started pacing again. "So you stay with the crazies because they threaten to kill me and offer you drugs to keep you happy. Of course you want to make them happy so you stay and help them, start believing in their crazy stories."
"Stop saying that! The Father is not crazy."
Faith was confused for a moment at the way Tracey looked at her. She recognized the looks of pity she gave her in the past. Why would she look at her like that now?
"Oh so it's perfectly normal to offer love and acceptance to total strangers, and then torture and murder the others that don't want to be a part of them?"
Faith remained silent for a moment. She didn't like the violence the Father and his brothers resorted to, but she could understand that it was necessary. "God charged the Father to save everyone, whether they are willing or not."
Tracey threw her arms up. "Do you honestly believe in that? How many times have we heard that the world is going to end? Has the world ended yet?"
Another moment of silence. While Faith could firmly believe in the Father's teachings, she was a little doubtful about the Great Collapse. How could a God so loving want to destroy something he created, even with all the greed and corruption that infested it?
"So let's just pretend that Joseph has good intentions to 'save people' whether they are willing to accept that help or not. Do you think it's right to outright kill people over it? Torture people and children?"
Faith didn't have a moment to respond, Tracey continued and resumed her pacing. "And then there's you. You help them create the Bliss and use it to rob people of their minds. You use it to manipulate people into murdering others."
"It's not like that," Faith defended, which resulted in another scoff from Tracey. "I wanted the Bliss to help people. It brings peace."
Tracey laughed at that, loudly. When she settled she wiped one of her eyes. "Please, enlighten me of why you think that crap brings peace."
"It offers absolute freedom," Faith explained. "In the Bliss there's no fear, no hate, no sorrow, no responsibilities, only peace. It's something we all want."
Tracey looked unconvinced. This was frustrating, to answer her questions and not convince her of the Father's good intentions. It was easier to talk about the good of the Bliss if she was able to show it. She looked at her former friend and tilted her head to the side. "Have you experienced it?"
Tracey didn't answer, but her eyebrows bunched up in another frown. "If it's so peaceful then why does it rob the humanity in people? Why are they so accepting of killing others?"
Another difficult question Faith was kind of hoping Tracey wouldn't touch on. She wasn't proud of the creation of the Angels. "That wasn't my fault! I was only trying to save those people. If they couldn't be saved they would be killed or sent to John or Jacob." Faith knew her method of converting former members of the resistance was the better one, more merciful. "Too much of a good thing can still be deadly or have undesired effects. This applies to everything, food, water, medicine, and the Bliss is no exception."
"And just using them like tools is so much easier than putting them out of their misery, right?"
"They're not miserable. They don't suffer like we do. They're…content."
Tracey looked at her in disgust. It surprisingly felt embarrassing to be looked at in such a manner. Faith still felt abnormally hot and sweaty.
The look of pity changed to something Faith couldn't identify. But Tracey sighed and then shook her head. "Looks like I was right." She stopped pacing and faced her. "You're truly messed up just like they are. Guess you fit into that…family perfectly."
Faith's thin eyebrows rose so high they nearly touched her hairline. The confrontation and the questions, it all clicked. Was Tracey upset because she found a loving family that didn't include her? She just then remembered the promise they made to each other about leaving the county, their families, and starting all over elsewhere. She considered Tracey her only friend back then, and as a result she was her only family too. But she had the opportunity to stay.
"If you had stayed…"
Faith's gut twisted in fear when Tracey stomped towards her. "And what? Get brainwashed into mindlessly killing people simply for not joining the club?"
Her accusations didn't jar Faith. Instead she couldn't help but feel guilty. Tracey was her only family and then she was replaced with a new one. She did try to convince her to leave, but Faith was too scared to leave at the time. But once she learned the good intentions of the Father and his family she didn't try to convince Tracey to return.
She wanted to touch Tracey then, to comfort her. But she had long ago learned that Tracey wasn't one that enjoyed physical contact. It was ironic really, Tracey's family never laid a finger on her but she detested a human touch. Faith, on the other hand, endured pain and physical punishment, but she still loved the comfort a mere hand on the arm or shoulder could bring, she craved it.
Faith felt sober now, the room was no longer spinning and she could speak clearly, but she still felt awfully tired. "Tracey," she paused and licked her lips. "I'm sorry."
The words had the opposite affect than what she expected. The standing woman's face contorted into anger and rage. "You're sorry?! You can't just…kill innocent people and say sorry!"
Did she not know what she was apologizing for? "What? N-no, I'm apologizing to you for not trying to—"
Tracey interrupted, her tone near a screaming point. "Don't you dare apologize for not trying to 'save' me, Rachel! I don't believe in that bullshit and I have a right to! You can't force me otherwise."
One of Faith's eyebrows twitched. She was patient and willing to ignore the previous times Tracey used her former name, maybe it was because she was so tired or because she's been in pain ever since she was shot, but she was getting quite frustrated and annoyed to be called by the wrong name. "That's not my name."
"Yes, it is, Rachel!" Tracey looked smug when Faith winced. "It's sad that you cherish a recycled name."
"At least it's a name given to me by someone that loves me!" Faith wished she could stand up to be on even eye level with the other woman. "I'd rather keep a 'recycled' name given by a loved one over two…people that hated me."
Tracey laughed again which promptly boiled Faith's veins. She could only take someone mocking the Father so many times. The hands on her lap curled into fists.
"You think he loves you? I know you and I never experienced that sappy emotion, but you seriously can't be that blind and stupid. You're just a replacement for Joseph's dead wife and the cult mascot. It's easier for people to believe the Peggies are good and loving with you as their success story. A sad little local is accepted into a loving family and finds happiness. Who wouldn't believe the cult is just a bunch of hypocritical murderers."
The anger in Faith's veins simmered and dread crept into her chest. That wasn't true, it was just Tracey being cruel and trying to get into her head. "No, that's not true."
"Deny it all you want, Rachel, you know it's true."
The anger came back tenfold. "Stop calling me that! The Rachel you knew is gone!"
Faith wasn't sure what she should be more surprised by. The fact that she was standing, her hands still clenched in fists by her side, or that Tracey had a gun pointed right at her. She couldn't move and couldn't speak. Was this why Tracey came to talk to her? To interrogate her before she executed her? Faith fully understood why Aiden wanted to keep her in the bunker in secret, he was right when he said others wouldn't be so forgiving. Her own best friend, former friend, was willing to kill her. All she did was try to survive.
She was still emotional from all the events that transpired up to this point so she couldn't stop the warm tears that rolled down her cheeks.
"You're finally right about one thing," Tracey took a step forward. Faith instinctively stepped back, but once she put weight on her injured leg she collapsed onto the bed with a yelp. "Rachel is dead, but I'll make sure you'll follow her same fate."
A sob escaped the injured woman. "Why?"
Tracey was silent for a moment, but she kept the gun aimed at her. "I'm doing this for them, all those people that lost loved ones because of you."
Faith bowed her head down. There was nothing she could do, she'd be too slow to try to fight back. If their earlier conversation convinced her of anything it was that Tracey wouldn't believe anything she told her, even if it was the truth she'd brush it off as lies.
A shaky, bitter laugh escaped Faith. She felt her nose run so she sniffed and wiped the long sleeve of her sleeves across her nostrils. "You want to kill me so easily, and for others. You've never done anything for other people, you were always so…proud and strong."
"Shut up. It's too late for talk now."
Faith closed her eyes for a moment, but she steeled the last of her strength and looked up at Tracey. The anger was still on her former friend's face. She wanted to see if she looked regretful, but of course there wasn't a flicker of that emotion in her eyes. "I never…I may not have tried to convince you to join us because I always knew you'd never believe us, wouldn't come back just for me."
"Where are you going with this? You won't convince me to spare you."
"You saw how easily we took over the jail. But you know why I left it alone all this time? It was because I knew you were there."
"Spare me the sentimental"—
—"When we did attack, do you know why you were just tied up and left alone? I commanded everyone to spare you. I may have ordered the deaths of other people, convinced others to take a Leap of Faith off of the Father's statue to atone for their sins, but I couldn't bring myself to cause any harm to you."
Tracey smirked. "Are you done yet?"
Faith really hadn't expected to change her mind, she just wanted to get that off of her chest. It was strange to suddenly remember Aiden then. She was still touched by his words, about not being able to let her die alone. If there was one thing Faith could safely say she was afraid of it would be loneliness. Even with Tracey as her friend when they were younger there were still times where she felt lonely. And here she was, about to die again, and she was definitely alone despite a former friend standing right in front of her. More tears streaked down her face.
If only she could see Aiden one more time. Just so she wouldn't be alone.
"What did you say?"
Did she say that out loud? She could have sworn she was thinking her thoughts.
"What does it matter?" Faith's words were quiet, her tone sad and accepting of her fate. The exhaustion pulled at her again and it became a struggle to open her eyes each time she blinked. Maybe she could finally rest her eyes, she'd be dead before she could fall asleep anyway.
She did just that, bowed her head down and closed her eyes.
A long moment passed, Faith's body was clenched in fear and anticipation of hearing the gun fire, awaiting to feel one last flash of pain as the bullet struck her, and then nothing.
Another moment and the silence continued to gnaw at Faith's nerves. She hesitated to open her eyes and peek at Tracey in fear that she was waiting for her to look at her before firing. Her pulse quickened and with it her blood pumped fiercely in her veins, her leg throbbed in response.
A curse escaped Tracey. Then she let out a series of more curses. The silence of the room was further broken when something crashed onto the floor. Faith opened her eyes and looked up. Tracey's back was to her, at her feet was a cluster of things that were once laid on a nearby table.
Faith was afraid to say anything lest she anger the other woman and she stopped hesitating to kill her. Tracey swore again and quickly turned to face her, her breath froze upon their eye contact. Faith stifled a squeak as she was suddenly closing the distance between them and she lifted her gun and all but pressed it against her forehead. The metal strangely felt cool and soothing against her hot skin.
"He's at your bunker right now, you know?" Tracey spoke with her teeth clenched. "Tell me, is he wasting his time? Did you already kill the people you took?"
When she failed to promptly respond, Tracey dug the barrel of the firearm further into her skin. It hurt, but it was nothing compared to the fire in her limb. "I didn't—I didn't kill them! A little Bliss to keep them calm, but that's it, I swear!"
"And what is a 'little,'" Tracey jabbed her forehead, "to you? Did you wipe their humanity?"
"No," Faith answered. Truthfully, when the surviving followers arrived with some hostages Faith only spent a little time with the Sheriff. He, like the Marshal, welcomed the peace and freedom the Bliss offered. She used that to her advantage and created a failsafe. The Sheriff was an important figure with the Cougar's, at the time she felt it was a necessary trade to kill him if she didn't survive her encounter with Aiden. So she convinced the Sheriff to take his own life if she didn't return to him in the Bliss. In reality it would be her or one of her chemists, the few other people other than herself and the Father that understood how to use the Bliss, that would talk to him to trigger his suicide. She meant to use him as a hostage should her Gate be attacked by the resistance in retaliation from her attack. She just hadn't expected Aiden to be leading that attack.
"I know that look," Tracey jarred her from her thoughts. "What did you do?"
Faith hesitated to respond and the gun was pressed against her skin again. But even if she answered wouldn't she kill her anyway?
"What did you do, Rachel?!"
The name made her wince again, but she remained silent. The reward for her small defiance resulted in Tracey striking her with the butt of her gun. Pain exploded in her right temple and the mattress reached up to press against her cheek. Then there was darkness.
When she came to she was sitting upward, her back pressed against a hard, flat surface. Her head hurt and she felt nauseated. She closed her eyes again, preferring to sleep through the pain and sickness. There was a shout and then she was being shoved against what she was assuming the wall at her back. The pain nearly made her pass out again. A few blinks later and she noticed Tracey glaring at her.
"I'm not asking you again," Tracey said. Her hand gripped the collar of her shirt. "I don't have to kill you, but I can always just shoot your other leg."
It was difficult to think straight, and Faith struggled worse to form words than when she was drunk. It was like her brain took too long to send signals to her mouth and tongue to enunciate.
Faith was at least successful to utter a pathetic whimper. She missed Aiden already, he at least still treated her like a person despite all the hurts she inflicted on him. It was strange to admit that she was suddenly feeling remorse for her actions, even if it wasn't because people lost their lives.
"Th—the sher…sheriff," Faith managed to voice. Her tongue felt like it was too thick and stuck to the roof of her mouth.
"What about him? Did you kill him?" Tracey's eyes practically glowed in rage.
"N-no."
"Then what did you do to him?!"
Faith glared at the other woman. Maybe if she didn't hit her in the head she wouldn't have such a hard time speaking. "Bliss. He'll…have to sa—save him quickly. Pull him out of the B—Bliss."
Tracey swore and her fist connected with her swollen cheek. She cried out from the impact and pressed herself onto the mattress, her vision was swimming and she was worried to fall off the bed. She focused on her breathing to avoid throwing up and only just managed to keep everything in her stomach down.
It was a very slow and painful process to turn onto her side and curl up, all the while she heard Tracey speak. For a moment she thought it was her she was speaking to, but as slow as her head was working she caught on when Tracey mentioned Aiden's name.
"Listen to me, rook!" Faith noticed Tracey held a small radio in her hand. "You need to get to the Sheriff quickly. And you have to pull him out of the Bliss."
"What? Why?"
Faith felt her ears perk at the sound of the deputy's deep voice.
"He'll die if you don't hurry."
There was silence for a few long moments. Faith didn't realize she had closed her eyes until Aiden's voice echoed in the dim room.
"Please tell me you didn't"—
—"Just save him and the others!"
Faith suppressed a groan as she watched Tracey stalk towards her.
"Where are they held?"
She just wanted to be left alone to rest. But at the same time she still very much wanted to live. If she had to look down the barrel of the gun again she wasn't sure if she could deny any questions asked of her.
It must've taken her too long to process Tracey's question because suddenly fresh paralyzing pain sprouted from her lower half. The pain was so intense just her crying out made her head feel like it would crack open. The corners of her vision darkened and bile burned at the back of her throat.
Looking down revealed Tracey's hand squeezing her bandaged thigh, her thumb painfully pressed directly on the wound. Tears, snot and sweat soaked her face, but she didn't care about the embarrassment, she just wanted the pain to stop.
"Stop!" She struggled to whisper. "Please!"
The hatred in Tracey's eyes scared her. Was this how Tracey felt when she abandoned her old name? Scared of seeing someone that looked like an old friend, but very much a different person.
"I'll…please stop, Tracey," she cried. The name seemed to have snapped the woman out of a trance. The hatred vanished from her dark eyes and then they widened as if surprised of what she was doing. She pulled her hand away, but her face hardened after.
It was still hard to form words, but Faith forced herself to make an attempt quickly. "Th—they're…bottom level. Together in on—one room."
Tracey's eyes softened, which made Faith confused. It was probably the pain and her headache that was making her see things. Maybe if she told her everything she'd leave her alone. As traitorous as it was to the Father, the information she could give about her Gate could help Aiden survive. He could return and this nightmare would be a little more bearable. She couldn't help but shake the feeling that if he didn't survive then neither would she.
It wasn't betrayal if she was just ensuring she survived, right? The Father would understand.
Every time Tracey relayed information to Aiden she pressed her for more information. What were her defenses, what weapons did her people have at their disposal. So she kept talking, whatever was asked of her she answered.
"I found them," Aiden said over the radio. "But it looks like they're in a gas chamber, it's locked airtight and Bliss keeps pouring in everywhere."
Tracey looked at her. Fear gripped Faith so she was prompt to open her mouth. "Con—control room. End of western hallway, stairs lead down."
There was a long pause after Tracey forwarded her message. She didn't mean to close her eyes and the pain in her head flared when Tracey shook her awake.
"Hurts," she muttered weakly. "Please, st—stop."
"Stay awake," Tracey commanded.
Her radio flickered back to life, Aiden shouted a curse. "It's a maze down here. Where to next?"
"Western hallway. Control room th—there."
Faith's chest tightened in worry when Aiden spoke again. He sounded pained.
"It's blocked off. Pipes burst. We can't get through, too much fire and Bliss."
Tracey let out a series of curses of her own. So that was it, there was no choice. Faith was hoping to give them enough information for them to rescue their people and leave. All that work to build her Gate…
"Pressure," Faith responded. "If—if he shuts off the central valves it'll stop the Bliss production." She paused to take a deep breath. Thankfully Tracey didn't push her for more information. "If he destroys the pumps the pressure will build up. All the-everything will unlock. But he…everyone will have to get out quickly."
Tracey gave her a hard look. She gulped. "It's the truth!"
Content, the other woman stepped away from her and passed on the information. They waited a long time, every now and then Faith was shaken awake, but thankfully Tracey didn't hurt her anymore. She didn't become angry with her either in the few times she sobbed as quietly to herself as possible, but it was impossible to keep anything silent in the small, quiet bunker.
Finally, the radio flickered to life and both of them became attentive.
"It's done," Aiden announced. He sounded tired, hurt. Faith's chest squeezed in worry. "The bunker is destroyed."
Faith closed her eyes at the news.
"The sheriff and the others?" Tracey immediately asked.
"They're alive. We all made it, a few are hurt, but nothing life threatening. We're heading back to the jail."
Faith could hear the smile on his face, as strange as it was to say. Still, she couldn't shake the fear that crept into her. What would happen to her now? Did she outlive her usefulness to Tracey?
The thought seemed to have summoned the woman's attention back towards her. The fear intensified and she began to feel sick, her stomach churned painfully.
Tracey stepped next to her, a small grin on her face. "So the little flower girl can be helpful."
Faith ignored her jab, but slowly did her best to sit up and stand.
"Where are you going," Tracey frowned. She made no move to stop her at least, but she didn't try to help either despite the struggle Faith had to walk. The room still spun, she wasn't sure if it was from the alcohol, she didn't feel drunk anymore, or if it was from the blow to her head.
"Bathroom," she muttered. She was grateful to be hidden away in the tiny bathroom before her stomach emptied itself of everything she consumed recently, all the vodka, water and some of the beans she forced herself to eat.
Long after she finished dry heaving she stayed kneeling in front of the toilet. Her body shook and her leg and head continued to throb, but Tracey allowed her the moment of solitude to which she was immensely grateful for.
Fear continued to web itself throughout her body. She knew that this was only the beginning of her nightmare.
A/N: I wasn't expecting to add in Tracey's POV in this story, but such things tend to happen with writing. Considering that she was the one that told the junior deputy to kill Faith, I felt it necessary to add more depth to her. No Aiden in this chapter, but he will return in the next. I most likely won't write out his adventure in Faith's Gate, we've all played the game (I'm assuming) so we know what happens in there. As usual apologies for any typos/errors. I'll eventually get to making any corrections, I just wanted to get this chapter out.
