Note: I don't like to make long author's notes in general, but just to make sure everyone knows, this story is changing the canon of the story. When Joseph Seed was changed by the birth of his daughter, all of Eden's Gate changed as well. The influence of having a daughter made Joseph more benevolent and less cruel. I'm not saying he's a decent person in this story, for that is up to the reader, but I feel that when he chose to sacrifice his daughter in the original, it truly darkened him as a person. He became angry and hateful. This is a more enlightened, at peace Joseph Seed. Many things are different in this alternate universe version of Eden's Gate, such as no human sacrifices, as mentioned in an earlier chapter. In this universe, Joseph did not abuse or go through multiple "Faiths." Rachel Jessop is the only Faith, and while she does have doubts in herself, she does not fear the Father nearly as much as in the game. This version of Faith, like John and Joseph, has less darkness inside of her, and the practice of using the bliss to change people into mindless creatures known as angels never manifested. Again, I'm not trying to paint Faith as a good person, but to show her and Eden's Gate as a whole in a more sympathetic light than the game did. Anyway, sorry about that. Now to the story.

Chapter Eleven: A New Prophet

To those on the outside of Eden's Gate, Faith always had a mysterious air about her. Sightings of her could never be confirmed. It was hard to tell when she was somewhere and when she wasn't. She was like a phantom who could disappear at will, but she was never really there at all. Those were hallucinations, plain and simple. Bliss was a powerful drug, and Faith used it to her full advantage. Some of the hallucinations were deliberately crafted illusions, and others were born entirely from imagination. Behind all the smoke and mirrors, however, was a very misunderstood woman. They called her a liar, but Faith never lied about anything. She told her truth. The only truth she knew. Her misery with her previous life, and the happiness she found when she met Joseph Seed and his family. She was an outcast her entire life, but finally she had found people who understood her and accepted her. She tried to show everyone what she saw in the Father, but they refused to see. The Seeds were always seen as enemies, but Faith was seen as more than that. She was seen as a traitor to her people for joining the Seeds, and they turned her into a monster in their minds. That is what they decided to see, so that is all they saw. They painted her as a deceitful temptress, a siren who lured people away using her charm and good looks.

A whore.

Faith cut herself off from the outside world almost entirely as a result, severing all ties with her old family and friends. She told herself those people didn't matter anymore, that she had finally found her purpose and place in the world. But on her worst days, those hateful voices got to her. During those times she would lock herself in her inner sanctum, and no one would see her for days, or weeks, contributing to her mythical reputation. The only people who she let in, the people allowed to see her when she was at her most vulnerable, were Joseph and Mary. She took refuge in her little fantasy world, "The Bliss." In reality, it was just her well decorated bunker, also known as Faith's Gate. It's a hard task, making a metal hole in the ground look beautiful, but somehow Faith managed it. Hallucinations caused by heavy use of the drug bliss, either used recreationally or medically by Eden's Gate members or as a sedative for hostile captives, was the reason behind the reported exaggerated, often fantastical features of Faith's bunker. Marshal Burke, one of law enforcement officials who tried to arrest Joseph Seed that fateful night, was as hostile as hostile could be. After constant threats, assaults, and attempts to escape, many recommended he should just be put to death. Instead, Faith subjected him to heavy doses of bliss every day to sedate him. Since then, he had become the model of good behavior. No one would ever come out the same after being exposed to that much bliss, but Faith saw it as better than the alternative. Many of those taken forcefully were given similar treatments, and many of them never completely recovered. Faith figured it was better than killing them. A soul saved is a soul saved.

Mary had woken up several times in the middle of the night due to unpleasant dreams or outright nightmares. The act of her first kill and unsettling visions she couldn't make sense of continued to plague her mind. She at least got some rest, and afterwards she went to go see Faith in her inner sanctum. Faith was a very private person, and for good reason. There were guards posted outside the door, but none in the vast room itself. And it was vast. The largest room in the bunker that Faith had made entirely for her own personal use. It would be possible to view that as selfish or vain, but in Mary's mind that would be foolish. It was Faith's home after all, she could do whatever she wanted with it. Faith's room was very much a garden, filled with scenically placed plants and flowers, kept alive by special lights creating artificial sunlight. Paintings of beautiful landscapes lined the walls, the only picture not depicting nature being a grand portrait of her family. The Seed family. Faith sat in a table in the middle of the room with Marshal Burke, surrounded by a circle of greenery. Faith would often take sedated captives into her sanctum so she had someone to ramble to. Many thought that the bliss clouded minds, but in Faith's opinion it made everything clear. You start to think about the things that really matter in life. Happiness. Fulfillment. Enlightenment. Through the use of bliss, sinners became much easier to influence. Freed from their worldly desires, the path to salvation and absolution became all the more clear. Faith beckoned Mary over when she saw her enter, glad to see she had finally left her bed.

"Hello Mary, how did you sleep?" she asked thoughtfully as Mary took a seat at the small table.

She sat opposite to Faith, while the Marshall was between them.

"About as well as can be expected," Mary said, letting out a yawn. "Better than the night before, at least."

With the visions haunting her, it made her wonder how Joseph got any sleep either. How did he make sense of them? To Mary they were just scattered, confusing images.

"Don't think of it as a loss of innocence. Think of it as a coming of age. That's how I coped," Faith said with a sad smile.

Mary decided the subject needed to be changed. "I see you've made great progress with the Marshal. We still need to keep Hudson in a cell."

"It's only because of the bliss," Faith said, turning to him with a worried stare, who just smiled, lost in his euphoric state of mind. "He's still very much a work in progress. We have to keep him on a heavy dosage, otherwise he'll return to his violent, sinful ways. The bliss can help, but alone it is not enough to reach salvation. That's why he's in here, with me. I'm hoping a more peaceful environment and my ramblings of the Father's wisdom will rub off on him. Hopefully your presence will help as well."

"Perhaps we should try some bliss on Hudson," Mary wondered.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Neither you nor John are experienced enough with the drug. If you give her too much it could drastically affect her, or even kill her."

"You're probably right," Mary said, looking to Burke. "Does he know I'm here?"

"I should hope so. Marshal, don't be rude. Say hi to Mary, she is our guest."

"Hello Mary," Burke finally spoke. "You look beautiful."

Mary blinked, going a little red at the unexpected compliment. Mary thought she looked like a tired wreck.

"Marshal, how sweet. Though I hope your motives are pure, for I fear she is much too young for you," Faith said playfully, amused.

"Did you tell him to say that to me?" The embarrassed Mary asked.

"No, people are just a lot more honest when they're under the influence of the bliss. They feel invincible, like nothing can harm them, so they don't think about being embarrassed or shy. They just say what comes to mind. I do agree with him though, you do look beautiful," Faith said with a smile.

"Come on, stop. I look awful," Mary said, looking away uncomfortably.

"Mary, Mary, always so modest. Always so contrary. Any fool could see that you could never look bad, not even on your worst day."

"Enough flattery Faith. I'd like to get to what I came here to do, if that's alright. You wanted me to appear in front of the pilgrims, didn't you?"

"Oh, very well," Faith said, rising from her seat. "No more putting it off I suppose."

"Is he coming with us?" Mary asked, rising as well.

"No, I don't want him to leave the bunker. The resistance already managed to steal the Sherriff back, I'm not letting them get the Marshal too," She turned to Burke. "Besides, you don't want to leave, do you Marshal?"

"No, I never want to leave," he said with a sigh. "It's so wonderful here. So peaceful."

Faith nodded to Mary, and the two departed the table, leaving the Marshal alone to his hallucinations.

"I don't even think he knows he's in a bunker," Faith whispered to Mary.

"It certainly doesn't feel like one," Mary said, looking around. "Your room really is something else Faith."

"I know, I don't like leaving it most days honestly, but we must. God's work won't do itself."

Mary nodded, "No, it most certainly won't."

Outside Faith's Gate, up in the trees, hid a resistance scouting party, spying on the bunker. Tracey, one of the resistance's leading members in Henbane River, looked through a pair of binoculars at the entrance. They were always looking for an opportunity to take out Faith, but she was hard to pin down. Any actual sightings of her were rare to say the least. They had been there for a while, for earlier Tracey noticed a convoy of helicopters heading towards the bunker. She figured maybe, just maybe, it was an escort for Faith. There was a lot of extra activity in front of the bunker that day, as if they were getting ready. Something big was going down, and they were going to be ready for it, whatever it was. Then, a number of Eden's Gate members exited the bunker and started up the helicopters. Something was about to happen, Tracey could feel it.

"Hey, look alive," she said to the resistance members with her. "I think we might have something here."

"Finally," said one of her more impatient companions.

Tracey watched the open bunker door intently, and guards now lined the outside of the Faith's Gate. A few seconds later, stepping out from the darkness of her bunker, was Tracey's once best friend. Rachel Jessop, better known now as Faith Seed. She walked out with a smile on her face, then stopped, turning her head back as if waiting for something.

"Shit, there she is! That's Faith!" Tracey said, slapping one of her comrades on the arm.

"You sure it's really her?" the man asked as he got a sniper rifle ready.

"Fuckin' positive," Tracey said, her blood pumping fast now. "I see you, you two faced bitch."

But Faith wasn't alone, and a second later a second figure stepped out from the bunker. An even younger woman than Faith, and perhaps an even more valuable target. When Tracey realized who it was, she nearly dropped her binoculars in a fumble.

"Holy shit," she said with a gasp, rising up. "That's Mary Seed."

"Joseph's daughter? She's here?"

"Looks like it. This is big guys, this is huge," Tracey said, an idea forming in her head. "Marcus, fuck the sniper rifle. Get the RPG. We're gonna take out the helicopter they get into."

"That'll definitely give away our position."

"You don't think it's worth it? We have the chance to take out Mary and Faith here. Two bitches with one rocket. Eden's Gate would be crippled if they lost both their poster girls at once."

Tracey had come to terms with killing Faith a long time ago. She was the enemy now. Rachel was dead, and only Faith remained.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Marcus agreed, taking an RPG from one of his comrades. "This is risky as hell though."

"You're only gonna get one shot at this. Make it count." Tracey said, looking back through her binoculars.

The two women were heading towards one of the helicopters, when Mary stopped in her tracks, a disturbed expression on her face. She felt chills, as if a cold snake was creeping up her body ready to sink its teeth into her neck. She had a terrible feeling about this all of a sudden. Joseph himself verified she did have the vision, so she took this sign very seriously. She looked to Faith, who was almost prancing alongside her, in a remarkably good mood.

"Faith, stop," Mary said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Something's wrong."

"What?" Faith asked, looking suddenly worried. "Did you change your mind?"

"No, it's not that. You might think I'm crazy . . . but I think our lives are in danger. I think we're being watched. I can feel it. I think God is trying to warn me. If we get in that helicopter right now, we'll both die."

Maybe it would have sounded crazy to someone else, but there was a reason she was named Faith. Mary was the daughter of Joseph, and it was clear she inherited at least some of his clairvoyance. Faith believed her, and turned to one of her Chosen.

"Did you hear that?"

The elite guard nodded, coming forward, "Brothers and sisters, this area is not secure. Postpone the take off! Scan the area! Mary and Faith aren't going anywhere until we're sure it's safe," he ordered, directing the soldiers away.

"Come on," Faith said, grabbing Mary's wrist, tugging her towards the bunker. "We should go back inside where it's safe."

"Wait," Mary said resisting, another feeling coming to her. She turned to the guards, "Hold on! Don't go yet!"

Tracey watched the two women carefully, realizing something had gone wrong. The helicopters were being turned off, and the guards were being scrambled. Faith had turned back towards the bunker, trying to bring Mary along, but she wasn't moving.

"What's happening? Were we spotted?" asked one of the group.

"I don't see how," Tracey said, almost positive they hadn't been seen by anyone, yet somehow it seemed the situation may have been compromised. "Maybe they forgot something. We'll just wait a little longer."

She kept her binoculars trained on Mary, who looked like she had called out to the guards. Mary looked up now at the hills, slowly turning her head. It seemed like she was looking for something.

"What the hell is going on?" Tracey asked herself, not letting her eyes off the Prophet's daughter.

Mary cast her view in their direction, slowly rotating her head. Tracey had nothing to fear. They were too far away and too well camouflaged in the trees to be seen by the naked eye. An eagle couldn't spot them at this distance. Mary looked right past them, meeting Tracey's gaze for a split-second before she kept turning, as Tracey knew she would. Even so, Tracey felt some chills when Mary briefly looked at her. It wasn't a menacing glare, more of a worried stare, but it unnerved her all the same. She wasn't physically intimidating like Jacob, she didn't have John's sinister atmosphere, and she could never possess Faith's mysterious aura. No, there was something else disturbing about Mary. Something knowing. Something calm and relaxed, yet undeniably ominous. Something like Joseph. Tracey, like so many others, always underestimated Mary. They figured her for naïve and misguided, an easily influenced daddy's girl. It was only recently she started displaying her power. Her power to control. Her power to inspire. Her power to see. She was more like her father than anyone ever knew, and she didn't look like she was giving up. Faith tugged on her again, probably worrying for her safety, but Mary ignored her. She kept looking.

"Quit the crap lady, you can't see shit. You're just being paranoid. Tell your backstabbing friend Faith everything's okay, get in the damn helicopter and fly away. No one's trying to kill you, nothing's wrong, you'll be just fine," Tracey muttered to herself, as if trying to telepathically coax Mary into leaving. "If your snipers can't find us, you sure as hell can't."

But Mary stopped and blinked, as if something had just registered. For a moment she looked straight ahead. Then her gaze shifted, looking at a very specific location out of the corner of her eye, looking past everything. Through the trees and the branches and the leaves. Through the binoculars.

Right into Tracey's eyes.

Tracey didn't know how to react, she just froze in a stunned stupor. This was impossible. She refused to accept this. This wasn't just vigilance or perception. This was beyond belief. This was inhuman. This was clairvoyance.

Mary turned her head and faced Tracey head on, her expression changing. She eyed the petrified Tracey like an eagle eyes its prey. She raised her arm, pointed in Tracey's direction, and spoke. Tracey couldn't hear it, but she could see her mouth moving. She could read her lips. Mary said just one word.

"There."

Then everyone near Mary turned at the same time, and suddenly everyone was looking at Tracey. She nearly had a heart attack. The guards began scrambling, and all the snipers had to do was follow where Mary was pointing. It only took them seconds to find the scouting party through their scopes.

"Holy shit, she knows we're here!"

"Impossible," said Marcus, the man next to her.

The words had barely left his lips when a shot rang out in the distance, and a bullet passed through his skull. Tracey watched on in horror as her comrade fell, dead before he hit the dirt. Then the alarm sounded. Everyone in the base knew exactly where they were now.

"Run like hell!" Tracey screamed. "Scatter! Now!"

As the resistance fled, Mary lowered her arm, but didn't take her eyes of that spot. She couldn't see anything at all, but she could sense their presence. Faith stood idly, unsure what to make of all this. She had seen Joseph do something similar once in the compound. A spy was recording everything with his phone, and Joseph somehow sensed his presence. If Mary turned out to be right about this, then she would have proven, without a doubt, that she shared Joseph's powers. Then a voice came in on the Chosen's communicator.

"By Joseph, she was right! There were assassins in the trees, just waiting to spring a trap. We have a confirmed kill on at least one, and the rest are fleeing like cowards. We'll radio ahead so the rest can be intercepted."

Everyone looked to Mary in awe now, who stood silently, not turning to see them.

"How did you know?" asked one of the guards, dumbfounded.

Mary turned her head to him, but she didn't know what to say. She couldn't believe it herself.

"She has the Father's gift, clearly," Faith smiled. "She has the vision."

"Unbelievable," the Chosen said.

Prisoners that were being escorted into the bunker nearby had seen everything, and they stared on in disbelief. Could it be possible that Joseph and Mary really did have clairvoyance? Did God really speak to them? There were no smoke and mirrors here, no parlor tricks that could be explained away with a bit of logic like Faith's illusions or Jacob's mind games. Mary had done something impossible, something truly supernatural.

"Holy crap it's true," said one of the prisoners.

"I don't fucking believe it. It's gotta be some trick. Has to be," said another.

"It's safe now, right?" Faith asked the Chosen, who didn't respond. He was still focused on Mary, who still hadn't spoken a word. "Right?" Faith repeated.

The Chosen turned to Faith, caught off guard. "Oh, well it should be. Just give us a few minutes to finish securing the area."

"Be quick about it, the pilgrims await us," Faith said excitedly, now tugging Mary in the other direction, towards the helicopter.

This time Mary didn't resist, and together they boarded the helicopter. Finally, when it was sure there were no more sinners in the area, they could be on their way. The propellers began to spin again as the pilots started the helicopters, and soon they had lift off. Mary was more in shock about what happened than anyone, and offered no explanation or reason to those who were curious. Only silence. She couldn't tell them how she knew, she just did. There was no way around it, she had performed an honest to God miracle. A real miracle. Like when Jesus Christ walked on water. She just couldn't believe it had really happened. Was she dreaming right now? Had God truly chosen her, as He did her father? She couldn't help but wonder why. Wasn't one prophet enough? She didn't think she deserved His gift, but God didn't make mistakes. She had never seen herself on the same level as Joseph, and still didn't, but now others would surely begin to. None who were there that day would ever forget it. She had caused sinners to question their resistance, and if any of the believers had doubts of their faith, they had been washed away in an instant. Stories of this day would spread like wildfire. It would be remembered as the day Mary Seed carried out an act of God.