Rook was woken by a light shaking.
It made his eyelids fly open and heart rate spike, he thought he was under attack. He tried to quickly rise from his bed, taking in a deep breath as he did, balling his fists, ready to fight, but before he could properly rise, he was stopped.
"Hey, hey, easy there, Deputy, it's just me, Eli" Eli's voice came.
"What, who?" Rook stuttered as his senses came back to him.
The sleep quickly fell from his eyes and could see Eli standing over him in his bunk, he had taken a step back from Rook as tried to rise, just in case.
"You ok?" Eli asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I just…" Rook sighed before sinking back into his bunk
"Shit" he exhaled, his eyes tightened shut.
"If your feeling up to it, we're in the final stages of deciding on how to deal with Jacob's wolves, and I would really want everyone to hear your opinion on the matter" Eli stated.
"Uhh, yeah, I'll be there in a minute, just give me a minute to pull myself together" Rook replied, opening his eyes, staring at the bunk above him.
"Alright, sounds good, and uh Deputy, good luck getting up" Eli said with the smallest hint if a smile before walking away, back to the planning room.
"What?" Rook questioned before trying to get up.
But as he did, he felt a weight hold him down, like something was sitting on his chest, curious, Rook looked down at his body to see Jess was practically on top of him.
Jess might as well of claimed the entire bunk for herself as she was sprawled out over then entirety of mattress, even though she lay to his left, somehow both her arms lay across Rook's chest as her foot dangled off her side of the bed, all the while being parallel with Rook.
Rook was shocked too see Jess take such a sleeping position, she was such a closed off person, physically and socially, it was very weird to see her almost stretched out across him, even her hood was down, allowing Rook to clearly see her face, which also felt weird as her peaceful, resting face was a stark contrast to her usual scowling expression, Rook could feel his cheeks heat up slightly as he couldn't help but notice she was actually quite pretty when she wasn't irritably glaring constantly.
Pushing his feelings down, Rook assessed the best way to escape her hold on him without waking her up. He found the only real way he could get out was to very carefully lift her arms off his torso enough so he could wiggle out, but when he tried to escape, her arms were not halfway high enough before one of Jess's eye's cracked open.
"What?" She slurred, not fully awake.
"Eli wants me to join him in the planning room" Rook said gently.
Jess made some sort of grunt before responding.
"Yeah, yeah, go play your little scheming shit" she yawned as she rolled over.
Feeling glad she wouldn't rip his head off for disturbing her, Rook slowly rose from the bunk, feeling his joints click and his muscles moan, no matter how much he rested, his body would always ask to stop, but he promised to himself he wouldn't until Joseph was behind bars.
Once his body was acclimated to moving again, Rook left the bunk room and wandered the Wolves Dens halls for a few minutes, looking for the big room that had the big land development table, eventually he found it with the help of a Whitetail who gave him directions, but before he entered the room, he wanted to look halfway decent to the militia, they counted on him to a degree after all. As he prepared himself for whatever they had in store, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and tried to tame the mess that was his hair, once he felt half way decent, he opened the pressure sealed door that kept prying minds out.
"Alright I'm here, what's going on?" Rook asked, smoothing the wrinkles in his shirt out as he entered the room and approached the planning table.
Just like the last time he was at the table, it was surround by Eli, Tammy and a handful of Whitetails, some of which was the Militiamen that was with him on stealing the C4. It was clear they were discussing something prior to him showing up, but now he was here and had all eyes on him, and it didn't feel right.
"Well as you know Deputy, we are planning to put an end to Jacob's Judge manufacturing site by blowing it up with all the C4 we stole, we have our infiltration and exfiltration routes planned, but I want you to tell everyone your thoughts on what we should do once we get to the lodge" Eli explained before turning to face the Junior Deputy.
"I don't understand, why don't we just blow it up?" Rook questioned.
"We never entered the place much less go anywhere near it, it is to dangerous as it's where we believe Jacob to be making his Judges" Tammy said.
"Wait, you believe? Not know, I thought you said y'all know that's where the judge wolves are coming from" Rook stated.
"We believe it to be where the Judges are manufactured as there's been a lot of peggies going in and out for a long time know, something is being conditioned in there, we need to stop it" Eli affirmed.
"And we should verify what's actually in there, it could be hostages for all we know" Tammy interrupted.
"And this is why I want you to say your piece Benjamin, I also believe we should verify what's actually going on in there, but I want to take as many precautions as possible" Eli stated.
"I think we should plant the explosives and leave just like you said, the place is full of wolves and guys with guns, so let's just be extra careful, I mean you guys did say you've been casing the place for like what, weeks? Y'all must have seen something to think there are wolves in there and not people, I'm sure you would have noticed innocent people being forced inside right?" Rook questioned.
Tammy looked away from Rook, looking a little nervous as a few militiamen shifted uneasily in place.
"You do know if people have been going in or not?" Rook asked, feeling something was off.
"Like Tammy said, we don't go near the place, we just watch from a distance" Eli said grimly, crossing his arms
"So then what, Eli and I are just going to sneak in, semi blind?" Rook asked again.
"I won't be joining you, but yes" Eli stated.
"What why not?" Rook asked, slightly alarmed.
"Like I said, we got the infiltration and exfiltration route out, myself and a few of my guys will provide support and if needed, cover in the event something goes wrong and you and your team need a quick exit" Eli described.
"So hold on, you just want me and a few dudes who don't trust me to just saunter up to a place possibly filled with bad guys with guns and wolves that are being trained to explicitly devour us alive and just plant explosives, then slink out?" Rook confirmed, he couldn't help but sound a little irritated as he did.
Even though he was down to do whatever it took to but a stop to Jacob's reign, he didn't like being voluntold to go on highly dangerous missions, it made him feel like he was in Falls End again, being ordered around constantly like another grunt, it didn't help that the people ordering him around didn't seem to trust or him or care for his well being.
"In essence, you are correct" Eli said.
"But I want you to take a look to make sure our target is actually in there, it would be a waste of time, resource and housing structures" Tammy said in rebuttal, knocking on the planning table to pull attention back to herself.
"I feel like y'all would know better than me, you've been fighting Jacob longer then me" Rook said as he eyed everyone at the table.
As he eyed everyone, the last person he looked at was Eli, in doing so, it reminded him that he had specifically asked for his opinion, he needed to give a concrete one instead of half guessing if he wanted to gain some trust.
"But uh, I could always I'll poke my head in and see what's up when we go down there and place the explosives, it couldn't hurt to check" he shrugged.
"Alright then" Eli said, bringing his hands together in a clap.
"Rook, Rodgers, Redd and Tims, your team A, you'll go in first and plant the explosives and check to see what's actually in there, Valdez, Crest, Conway and myself, will be team B, we'll watch from a distance and make sure no one surprises team A and gets them out if things goes sideways" Eli described.
Everyone made noises of agreement as the plan made sense to them, even Rook agreed despite having no say in the matter.
"Then get your things together, I want everyone by the front door in ten minutes, so grab everything you'll need" Eli commanded.
And with that, everyone broke off from the table, they all hurried off to separate areas of the Wolves Den to get whatever possessions they deemed important enough to help them. But before Rook could break off from the table to retrieve his bow and arrows, Eli stopped him, grabbing his arm, making Rook stop to address the militia leader.
"Deputy I know we'll be flying blind to a degree, and I know Tammy is really pushing for checking out the inside of the Lodge, so am I but if something happens down there and it comes down to finding out what's in the lodge but getting caught and not finding out and getting away Scott free, then please, get away Scott free" Eli implored him.
"Alright sure, if that's what you want me to do, you're the boss" Rook shrugged.
Eli heard Rook's answer, but something about it didn't agree with him.
"I mean it Benjamin, be careful out there, this isn't the Holland Valley anymore, these peggies will kill you the first chance they get, and please, help us make this pay off, I don't want people thinking you're a liability" Eli almost begged Rook.
The morning, sun was just as hot like Rook remembered.
But he found it almost comforting, as he, Eli and their teams, trudged through the mountains to the Lodge, the slowly rising sun that sat in the cloudless sky helped Rook reset the long broken internal clock, by his guess it was around nine in the morning, which Rook was also glad about as he slept at an appropriate time, but the irritating weight of the sack of explosives, bow and quiver on his shoulders reminded him of what lay before them, he didn't know how to properly set up the C4, perhaps he should have asked how to do before they ventured outwards, or even where would be the best places to even place the explosives, but like all things he had encountered in the county, he'd just wing it.
By now, they had walked for a long time now and Eli had said the lodge was close by a while ago, he'd ask Jess how much long it was until they made it to the lodge but he couldn't as he left her behind at the Wolves Den, he decided to let her sleep, he could imagine what she went through, running from Jacobs men, finding her way to Eli, begging for his help then waiting from them to return, despite being the tough, stoic woman she was, she was still human.
Eventually Eli suddenly stopped and raised a hand to his side, brandishing a fist to the Whitetails who trailed behind him, the fist made them and Rook freeze on the spot, Rook's hand subconsciously drifted to the bow dangling from his shoulder, he expected enemy confrontation and was ready to take out whatever made Eli freeze like he did.
Then Eli crouched down and crept forward a few meters until he was behind some bushes, looking down at something up ahead, his Whitetails joined him and took cover behind various bushes and trees also looking at wherever he was, since Rook was more towards the back of the group, he crept forward and joined the rest of his allies in scouting whatever Eli found.
He could see, ahead of them, a few hundred feet away, on the other side an asphalt road, was what looked to be Elk Jaw Lodge. It was a wooden longhouse with a barn roof, a brick chimney poked up from over the top on the far side, puffing thick clouds of black smoke, there were no windows or any way to look inside without going through a door, a few empty, human sized cages were placed near the house on a raised platform as if the captives were supposed to be on display, the cages were surrounded by green tarped chain-link fences. A few armed guards milled about the outside perimeter, nothing new to Rook or the Whitetails. The building itself was situated near a large river that ran parallel to the building making the only point of entry the way both teams were entering from, but there was no signs of wolves or any animal, it was just armed goons, marching up and down the property.
"Alright, B Team spread out and find decent vantage points to cover A Team" Eli ordered quietly as he pulled the bow off his shoulder and took an arrow from his quiver.
And with that, the three men that orbited Eli's space broke off, two of them going left and another going right, they moved to cover the front of the building, forming a four point semi circle around the face of the building they could see.
"Ok, now B Team, the time is yours, don't disappoint" Eli ordered.
"You got it, Boss" one of the B Team Whitetails before moving in.
The other two and Rook followed him, the four of them gently worked their way towards the lodge, moving in two pairs of two, side by side with bows drawn and ready, they crept out of the trees and towards the road, thankfully the peggies didn't watch the road and stuck mainly to guarding the lodge, it allowed the men to get ever closer to the lodge, once they crossed the road and hid in the embankment to get a better look at what they were walking into.
"So how you guys want to handle this?" Rook whispered.
"Let's split up gents, two of us go loop around the place and do our thang" One of the Whitetails said, pointing to both ends of the building.
"Sounds good to me, don't give us away Deputy" Another Whitetail said.
"Don't worry I won't" Rook replied, trying to rebuff the Militiaman.
"Good, then Rodgers, you take the Deputy" The same Whitetail said before hustling out of the embankment, the taunting Whitetail following close behind.
The two kept low as they hurried off to the right of the building, a peggie was seen in that are a little while, the two Whitetails also must have seen him as they readied their bows as they approached, quickly and quietly. with them gone, it left Rook alone with the Whitetail, he didn't know the name of the man, but he was pretty his name was name Rodgers. Regardless of his name, Rook silently wished it was Jess with him.
"So uh, you wanna get this over with?" Rodgers asked uncomfortably as he fiddled with the strap that affixed the explosives bag to his back.
It was clear being near Rook perturbed the militiaman.
"Yeah, come on, let's move" Rook retorted.
"Alright, follow my lead then" Rodgers said as he scampered out of the embankment, pulling back an arrow in his bow.
Rook hurriedly followed the man, also trying to fluidly move as he did, but found he couldn't keep par with him.
As the two men crawled their way up to the building and flanked the left side, near the large, human sized cages, bows at the ready for any confrontations that they may run into, they could see a two peggies near the end of the building, they were heavily armed with large machine guns, they were talking and trading handfuls of papers with each other. Seeing the cultists, both men froze before scampering over to their immediate left and hid behind one the chain link fences with tarps affixed to them.
"Alright guy, we're going to take them out at the same time, you know how to use that thing?" Rodgers asked nervously as he pointed at the bow in Rook's hands.
"Yeah, Jess Black taught me" Rook nodded.
Rodgers regarded Rook for a few seconds, it was like he might not have believed him or doubted what he was capable of.
"OK, fine, let's just keep an eye out for our opening" Rodgers said as he inched his way to the edge of the fence to get a look at the peggies.
Rook carefully joined Rodgers and watched the peggies for a ideal time to fire their arrows, it was a straight shot essentially, there was nothing obstructing their shots, as they were a few dozen meters away from them at the other end of the building, there was no visible peggies to notice the murders, there was next to no wind so it should be easy, the peggies weren't even holding their guns, they dangled from their necks via straps while they traded their several papers and conversed.
"What do you think are on those papers?" Rook whispered, really focusing on the papers.
But Rook's question was met with a shushing from the Whitetail.
"Shut up, I'm trying to hear what they are saying, you're not helping" Rodgers muttered.
Rook made some noise of acknowledgment, as he didn't really appreciate the man's tone nor choice of words. Not being able to say anymore more, he and Rodgers watch the peggies for a few moments until the peggies put their papers away and bid each other adieu and departed from one another, most likely to return to their posts and keeping the location secured, as the two peggies turned away from each other, one of them almost looked directly at the two men, then began walking in their direction.
"Oh shit, get back" Rodgers whispered loudly as he shambled onto his knees while grabbing a handful of Rook and pulled the Junior Deputy and himself to the green tarped fences
"What do you want to do?" Rook whispered loudly.
"I'll take him out and you move him" Rodgers ordered through stutters.
"Yeah sure, you got it" Rook nodded before scuttling down the length of the tarped fences, trying to work his way around it and get closer to the peggie.
As Rook moved, he wasn't sure where the peggie was due to the tarped fences, but he knew Rodgers would take care of him if anything were to happen.
Then Rook reached the end of the fences, carefully he poke out just in time to see the peggie near Rodgers end of the building, right before he could signal to the militiaman was ready to go, a arrow suddenly flew through the air and buried itself in the peggie's throat, causing him to fall backwards silently and hit the ground with a dull thud, the second the body hit the ground, Rook leapt from his hiding place, powered by the fear of being caught and jogged up to the body and grabbed the corpse by its ankles and pulled with all his might as he tried to move backwards as fast as he could, retreating back to the fences he emerged from.
As he dragged the body back, rook's head snapped from left to right repeatedly, desperate to make sure there was nobody around to see what happened. Thankfully he was able to make it back to the fence without being caught, the second Rook felt the body was properly hidden, he let go of the corpse's legs, catching his breathe, Rook examined the peggie, besides the arrow protruding from his bleeding throat, the man reminded Rook of himself, the peggie was a twenty something looking Caucasian man, far to young to be doing what he was doing. Not wanting to dwell on that any further, he pulled the arrow from the corpse's throat, he was about to return to Rodger's before noticing that a handgun resting in the corpse's hip holster, looking at it, Rook wanted to take it, it would make a good back up, but he also knew the militia didn't really smile upon using firearms, but again, it would still make a good back up. Rook glances back up at Rodger's who wasn't looking back at him as he was keeping an eye out for more peggies,
He retrieved the handgun from the corpse of his firearm and promptly tucked it into his waistband
"What are you doing?" Rodgers asked, whispering loudly, finally noticing Rook was taking too long.
"Uh nothing, coming back now" Rook replied just as quietly loud.
Then he properly stood up and hurried back to his ally, who know stood next to the length of the building the peggie once patrolled, as soon as he regrouped with the man, Rook removed the bag of his back and knelt down before opening it up, revealing the abundance of C4 bricks within.
"You know what your doing, right?" Rodgers asked nervously.
"Yeah I believe so" Rook replied as he picked a brick up and squeezed it in his hand.
"Ok good, you get to work here, I'm going to take care of the front of the place, yeah?" Rodgers said.
"Sounds good to me, be careful" Rook warned as he stood up and approached the wall.
Rodgers didn't offer a reply as he turned to leave for the front of the building, leaving Rook to work by himself, he fastened a few bricks to the side of the building, attaching a few every few meters along the walls, even placing a few at the base of the building. Rook worked diligently, using up half of his bag on the wall, he felt paranoid as he worked, he feared getting caught as he worked, he didn't have the confidence to go head to head with Jacob's men, Eli made it painfully clear the only way to survive was to sneak around and use quiet weapons.
Rook was so focused on doing his work and trying not to get caught, he almost didn't notice Rodgers quickly returning, he didn't say anything to Rook as he did, instead he examined the wall that Rook decorated, he must have deemed it satisfactory as he then began chucking what little bricks he had left upwards onto the roof of the building.
"Is that wise?" Rook asked.
"Fuck if I know, I just wanna take the place down" Rodgers shrugged before throwing another brick onto the roof.
Rook looked down at the C4 in his hand then at the C4 covered wall in front of him, then up at the roof, he thought for a few seconds before also throwing a few bricks onto the roof as well.
"Hey, I think this side is good, let's catch up with the others in the back" Rodgers spoke as he packed up his bag.
"Yeah, sounds good" Rook replied, now also packing up his bag.
With everything ready to go, the two men quickly moved to the back of the building, the second they turned the corner, they were greeted by the two other Whitetails, Rook was pretty sure their names were Redd and Tims, they were standing at the back wall, coating it with their C4 bricks, a few dead peggies littering the floor around him.
"Look's like y'all been busy" Rodgers joked as he joined them at the wall, placing what little C4 he had left on the wall.
Either Redd or Tims said something that made the other two laugh as they worked, the joke inaudible to Rook, he didn't mind as he casual walked up to them and joined them in redecorating the walls, even throwing his last few bricks onto the roof.
"It looks like we used all the explosives up, you guy ready to jet?" Tims asked as he closed his empty bag and put it over his shoulder.
"Hey, did anyone like, check the inside yet?" Redd asked, also closing his bag.
"I'll go do it, you guy get out of here" Rook replied.
"Alright, don't ruin this, we'll be in the ditch by the side of the road" Redd spoke as he quickly hurried away, Rodgers and Tims in close pursuit.
With his allies gone, Rook examined the lodge's exterior for a way in, there was a door at the front but it was most likely locked, there was nothing on the side he and Rodgers worked on and it was most likely the same on the other side. Rook was thinking so hard to concoct a way in he almost failed to notice the low hanging balcony was attached to the second floor of the lodge, just low enough for him to just as high as he could and grab onto the ledge, with a self disappointing sigh, Rook looked up at the balcony and the two wooden logs that supported it, it was definitely low enough for him to jump and grab the ledge, with nothing better to do, he removed the bow, quiver and bag and placed it on the ground next to him, he believed that little weight reduction was enough to give him that little extra lift, he approached the balcony's lip and dropped low before springing back up, arms outstretched above him. And with a single hand, he was able to grab the lip, and with some effort, he was able to get his other hand on the balcony and slowly pulled himself up, grunting and groaning as he did.
Once he finally made it over the balcony railing and got his feet on the ground, he looked up to see a single plain door in the side of the building, his way in.
He carefully approached the door, fearing someone might be on the other side, once he got to the door, he reached for the doorknob and turned it very slowly, and against all odds, it popped open, which felt a little weird to him as the door should be locked.
Before Rook even entered the building, he could hear noises emanate from deeper within. He could hear movement inside, it was no doubt human, it was a bunch of low noises, like grunts of struggling or resistance, it was followed by the occasional rattling of chains and creaking of wood, it was probably Peggies dealing with the wolves, but there was also nothing to suggest there was wolves inside.
Regardless, it was enough for Rook, he felt he doesn't need to take a peek inside, there was no doubt the militia was right on the money, they were conditioning wolves here.
He gently closed the door and hurried back to his allies, hoping over the balcony, stumbling as he landed, grabbing his abandoned items and sneaking around the side of the building. Rook stayed low to the ground as he worked his way back, a few peggies still guarded the area, but thankfully they patrolled the perimeter and didn't worry about the building itself, since they were so far away, they failed to notice the Junior Deputy sneaking by them, a skill he was fast developing.
As he escaped the site, he could see his three allies who waited for him back in the embankment they hid in before moving on the lodge, their heads poking out of the ditch, watching him and the lodge intently.
"There are no wolves in there, but it sounds like a bunch of peggies" Rook said as he climbed into the ditch.
"All the more reason to knock the place down" Redd shrugged.
"So how do we set off the C4?" Rook asked, getting comfy among the dirt and weeds.
"With this little beauty here" Redd smirked, brandishing a small plastic box; a detonator.
"This will be one hell of a chain reaction" Redd grinned.
"Then press the button and get it over with, Eli is waiting on us" Tims spoke.
"Hold on, don't press it just yet" Rodgers interrupted.
"What's wrong?" Redd asked, looking at his friend.
"The Junior Deputy was the one who found out if we should actually blow the place or not, so why not let him do it" Rodgers offered.
"What, seriously?" Redd whined as he eyed Rook irritably.
"Yes seriously, we need to trust each other, if Eli says he can be trusted then we have to try" Rodgers retorted.
With another sigh, Redd limply tossed Rook the detonator, causing Rook to lurch forward so it didn't hit the ground.
"Just get it over with already so we can get out of here" Redd whined.
"Ok, get to cover then guys" Rook muttered as he looked down at the switch in his hands.
The three men ducked down further into the embankment, then Rook brought himself lower in the ditch, hoping it would protect him from whatever might be sent flying, once he found himself at a safe position, he glanced over to the three men who also looked like they were also ready to see the fireworks, then he looked back at the building before tucking his head down, then he pressed the button.
A second later the building was engulfed in smoke and fire, the structure shuttering and incinerating, the explosion launched pieces of the wooden building in every direction, the projectiles were various sizes ranging from tiny shrapnel splinters to blocks the size of tires, thick black smoke and vibrant brown dust clouds inflated, masking the bulk of the deconstruction, what didn't get launched outward, collapsed inwards, the whole building fell in on itself, the roof splitting into several pieces and shifting into different places like a porcelain plate being dropped onto the floor. Any and all remaining Peggies were on the floor and unmoving, either hid with the projectiles or simply bowled over from the force of the explosion.
As the smoke clear, everyone could see that the lodge was reduced to a smoldering pile of cooked tinder and seared brick, like a firework destroying a replica Popsicle house.
"Hol-ly shit, that was awesome!" Redd cried, shooting up from the embankment, fists in the air.
"Yeah, that was pretty rad" Rodgers said calmly as he also rose from the dirt.
"Alright boys, mission complete" Tims spoke as he and Rook rose from the ditch.
"Hold on, I want to make sure there is nothing the Peggies can salvage" Rook said as he marched to the building's ruins.
"Dude, the place is gone, you're not going to find anything in there, just bodies and wood" Redd groaned impatiently.
"Do you know how Jacob brainwashes?" Rook asked, turning around and walking backwards to the lodge's ruins so he could look at the man he was addressing.
"No?" Redd shrugged.
"Then Eli would want us to make sure there is nothing Eden's Gate can't use" Rook replied, turning back around and walking to the lodge.
"He has a point, if there's something still of use under there, we can't let Jacob get his hands on it" Rodgers said as he climbed out of the embankment.
"You can't be serious?" Redd groaned
"Come on, Eli would want us to verify, let's just get it over with" Tims sighed as he too climbed out of the ditch and walked towards the building's ruins.
With another irritated groan, Redd also rose from the ditch and reluctantly joined his friends and Rook to dig through the rubble.
They were able to shift a few smoldering pieces of lumber and layers of shingles, trying to find anything that looked like brainwashing tools, and with a few minutes of teamwork and heavy lifting they were able to sift through the wreckage and found what was inside, but what they found, made them all freeze in horror.
They found what they believed to be two dozen bodies, their bodies had been roasted a sickly red and black, their charred faces stuck in a twisted face of half melted horror as they understood what was happening at the very last second, their hair had caught fire and burned right down to the down, revealing patches of their sooty skulls that peeked through the blackened flesh, many snapped and jagged bones protruded from their ruined bodies as the weight of the roof and walls crushed and squashed them, those who still had their arms in one relative piece had their arms close to their chests as their wrists were bound together with chains that connected to the walls, the chains had been partially melted and burned into their captive's wrist, searing and cooking the flesh, almost becoming one with the metal, and not a single wolf was visible.
Rook looked down at this horror in horrified silence, the bodies were so badly ruined it was almost a struggle to decern if the bodies were male or female, just the smell alone made his knees buckle.
He was hit with a severe wave of nausea and dizziness, the world spun as he his stomach threatened to climb its way out of his chest and crawl out his mouth, his chest compressed and rose at uneven rates, going up and down like a broken accordion, breathing became a challenge as hyperventilation tried to overtake him, he truly couldn't handle what he was looking at, it was so bad it felt like it wasn't even real, but the truth of what happened here smacked him in his face and swirled around in his skull like swarming bats.
He pressed the button and killed all these people, he should have ventured further into the lodge and found the scared people who were to be shipped off to be conditioned, this could have been avoided, he wanted to stop explicitly this, these people looked just like the souls that were trapped on the Revelator, no matter what he did, he couldn't save anyone.
"It is all my fault, it is all my fault, it is all my fault, it is all my fault, it is all my fault" Rook's mind screamed on repeat.
It's Jacob's fault.
Then something clicked in his brain, it was like something suddenly slipped into place, what it was made so much sense, so much that it felt like it was too obvious to be taken seriously, it was not his fault this was happening in the slightest, it was Jacob's.
Jacob was the reason he was in the situation he found himself in, John was a sick bastard who tortured people for fun, so why wouldn't Jacob be any different, he just had army training, Jacob need to suffer for this just like his brothers.
"Fuck!" Redd screamed as he stumbled backwards, trying to get away from what was once his countrymen.
"What the fuck!?" Tims shouted as he tripped backwards on smoldering rubble as landed on his butt, then kicked away from the crater.
"Fuck! This was a prison camp!" Rodgers screamed with his hands on his head before he threw up.
Rook saw his allies tremble and break just as he did, he wanted to say something that would encapsulate the now building anger of how this was Jacob's fault in hopes it would bolster their morale, but before he could, Redd suddenly charged at Rook, stepping over the bodies and got right up in Rook's space and punched him in the jaw, making him stumbled backwards.
"This is your fucking fault! We trusted you!" Redd screamed furiously.
"What are you talking about? I didn't do anything?" Rook rattled out as he regained balance and clutched his jaw, utterly bewildered his ally had struck him for no reason.
"You motherfucker!" Redd screamed as he charged Rook again but was stopped by Tims as he restrained him.
"Redd, enough, kicking the shit out of him won't solve anything!" Tims yelled.
Rook regarded the spectacle in front of him, and how Rodgers sinisterly eyed him from off to the side, he was shocked at their ignorance, how couldn't they understand, how could they not see the truth, it wasn't his fault, he was just doing what he was told, its Jacob's fault.
"What are you talking about?! Jacob caused this to happen, I didn't put these people in here, I wanted to save them, that's why I'm here" Rook desperately explained as his body began to shake.
"Stop shifting the fucking blame!" Tims yelled.
"It's Jacob's fault!" Rook yelled in exasperation, throwing his hands in the air.
"This is your fault!" Rodgers screamed as he pushed through his friends and shoved Rook backwards, not wanting such a monster near him or his friends.
As soon as he fell back a step, he pushed himself forward, returning the shove.
"Don't friggin' touch me!" Rook barked as he shoved the man back, more aggressively then what he had received, gulping down as much air as he could all the while.
The act of being shoved ignited the anger within Rook, it was clear they were upset over what happened, but that was no excuse to take it out on the untrusted, it was like they were crazy, everyone these days were crazy except for him, the men before him had been living in a while for weeks, screws were bound to come loose, it made sense, they didn't trust him because he was conditioned, this was they're excuse to make him the villain and expelled from the Wolves Den. Rook couldn't let the go off and act like he caused all this to happen intentionally.
They are looking for someone to blame, they don't trust you, you're a threat to them.
"Don't you fucking tell me what to do!" Rodgers retorted with great anger.
"You said you checked, what is all this!?" he screamed.
It's not my fault, It's not my fault, It's not my fault, It's not my fault.
"It's not my fault!" Rook yelled angrily.
"Yes, it is, you didn't check like Tammy said, you have no one to blame but yourself!"
"No, it's Jacob- this is his fault… and Joseph's- I'm just a Rookie for Christ sake, you would have done the same, I didn't have time to check!" Rook screamed, trying to get the Militiamen to back off by any means.
"I bet this was some sleeper cell shit, you're just working for Jacob, aren't you?!" Redd accused, pointing a finger at him.
Upon Redd accusing him, both Rodgers and Tims seemed to freeze for a second before regarding Rook strangely, Rook could feel their eyes examining every inch of him, looking for something, that's when a dark thought passed through Rook, he still had the handgun in his waistband, if they got hostile, he had a way to protect himself.
Then Redd's hand twitched and slowly reached for the bow dangling from his shoulder, and Rook knew what he was going to do.
His hand then slowly drifted to his back, for the handgun he was carrying.
"What the hell is going on down here!?" Eli's voice suddenly came.
The four men's heads snapped up to the source of the voice to see Eli standing feet from the ruins, glaring impatiently at his men and Rook.
"That psycho just killed a bunch of civvies!" Redd exclaimed, taking a few steps towards his leader.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Eli scowled.
"Look! Look at what the fucking Deputy did, he didn't check the interior!" Redd shouted, gesturing to the corpses that were sticking out of the ground.
It was clear Eli's curiosity was piqued, he stepped forward through the rubble and saw what was keeping the on site for so long. Seeing it all made Eli lurch back in shock and horror, not expecting such a sight, but once he eventually calmed down, he looked up at his men and Rook.
"Ok here's what we're going to do" Eli said gravely.
"We're not going to say anything until we get home an-" Eli began.
"You can't be serious?!" Redd explained.
"Zip it, Redd!" Eli barked, silencing the man.
Once everyone was silent, Eli began again.
"We're not going to say anything until we get home and then we figure out what really happened" Eli commanded.
"Boss, you can't just let this walk!?" Tims argued, stepping towards Eli.
"We are going to settle this back home, like adults" Eli stated.
"Are you being serious?!" Rodgers cried.
"Enough!" Eli yelled, silencing his men once again.
Then he pointed up at the hill the originally come down on.
"March" Eli said gravely.
All three men understood, they didn't want to march up back up the hill, but they still did it nonetheless, they dragged their feet as they climbed out of the rubble, giving Rook a whispered curse as they left the Junior Deputy in the ruins, leaving him and Eli in once used to be a happy little lodge a lifetime ago.
Rook was still frozen in his spot staring at the militia leader, neither man said anything, they didn't have too, Rook could read the look on his face like a book, his face said You better pray you have a good explanation on this or you're in danger.
Then Rook silently climbed out of the ruins and shuffled his way towards the hill.
As Rook, Eli and his Whitetails quickly traversed their way back to the Wolves Den, the atmosphere around them was so heavy it almost forced Rook to the floor.
Through whispers, Redd told the A team exactly what had happened, which in turn made them look at Rook with anger and hatred. It made Rook both angry and scared as Redd had so much more credibility then him, he could turn the whole Wolves Den against him, he was already in a negative light, and now this new thing was going to make him a pariah, his only saving grace was getting back to Jess as soon as possible, she knew these people more then he did, she could talk some sense into these people, he was just trying to protect them but Jacob was one step ahead of them, it made so much sense, they just didn't understand, if this happened back at Falls End, he could talk this whole mess away, Mary and Jerome knew he'd never hurt the innocent, he was a good man.
When they finally made it back to the Wolves Den, the whitetails, almost led by Redd, marched Rook right into the planning room, none of the returning Whitetails allowed Rook to go anywhere much less move, which angered Rook as he couldn't get to Jess before things could get worse, Eli must have picked up on that anger and whispered to a whitetail that was passing by, after hearing what he had to say, the militiaman took off into the bowels of the den, which did not inspire any confidence in Rook. All he could do was stand around at the planning table and wait as six men stood around him, wanting to beat him into the ground. As they waited for whatever Eli set in motion, others began to take notice of what was going on, when pressed for info, Eli demanded a silence to stop the spread of info until the time was right, eventually Jess and Tammy emerged from the doorway, seeing one woman made Rook's confidence skyrocket and seeing the other brought him back down to the sea of anxiety, then a few other Whitetails filtered into the room, curious to what was going on.
"What's going on? Tammy questioned Eli as she was able to pick up something was wrong, only to be ignored.
She sauntered up to the planning table and eyed the room, seeing the angry militiamen and uneasy Junior Deputy, Jess hanging around the edges of the room.
"There has been a hiccup in the Elk Jaw op" Eli stated dryly to the room, pressing his hands against the planning table's edge.
"A hiccup?!" Tims cried, not believing the casualness of the matter.
"What the fuck happened out there?" Tammy said accusingly, looking at Rook.
But neither Rook nor Eli acknowledged her, Eli merely questioned Rook.
"Benjamin, in your own words, tell us what happened out there?" Eli said cautiously.
Rook was silent for a moment, glancing at all the Whitetails who surrounded him, then to Eli and Tammy, then Jess, feeling the odds against him.
"We, we did the thing just like you said, we pl-planted the bombs and got out, I peaked inside, and it sounded like wolves inside" Rook stuttered helplessly, scared they might not see things his way.
"But did you or did you not get visual conformation on what was inside, wolves live, dead or otherwise?" Eli questioned, leaning on the table
"N-no, I-I that there was ch-ch-chains, wolves had ta' be in th-them" Rook stuttered, feeling every set of eyes on him, who knew how many people Redd, Tims and Rodgers had been whispering their lies too.
"Eli, what the fuck happened out there?" Tammy demanded again, marching right up to him.
Eli stared at Tammy for a few seconds, trying to put together a sentence that would deliver his message without causing an uproar from Tammy and everyone present.
"I'll tell you what the fuck happened!" Redd cried angrily, pushing through the people at the table.
"Redd wait a minute" Eli said worriedly, moving around the table to try to stop him.
But it was to late.
"The deputy murdered like, fifteen people!" Redd yelled for all to hear.
"He didn't even bother to check the interior! He brought the building down on a dozen or so civvies after tell us it was full of peggies!" He yelled.
Then the room erupted into a chorus of gasps, angry comments and spiteful stares as the room's energy became more and more hostile, from their collective reaction, it was like they almost expected something like this was going to happen, like Rook was a bad guy. It was clear no one was going to easily believe Rook's side of the story anymore, he wasn't even sure if Jess was on his side as she was still haven't said anything and seemed more concerned with the emotional state of the room.
"He did what?!" Tammy shrieked.
Then Tammy charged Rook, her eyes filled with vitriol and powered by anger, but she didn't around the table in time as Jess came up behind her and grabbed her, holding her in place long enough for Eli to swoop in and help, the two working to restrain the furious woman.
"Tammy wait, he was a right to explain himself" Eli said as he struggled to restrain her.
"I don't give a fuck!" Tammy roared.
"That son of a bitch killed our people! I don't want him in our home! I told you this was going to happen! He's one of Jacob's dogs!" Tammy screamed.
The second Tammy screamed that, all the resentment stopped, and the room's energy shifted, it was like everyone was reminded that Rook could go into a killing frenzy at the sound of a song, the room became one hundred new degrees of hostile as the vocalized anger simmered down and all eyes narrowed at Rook, fists were clenched and they became extra aware of the bows and arrows on their backs. It was then Rook realized the name Wolves Den was too on the nose for his liking, with everyone staring him down with blaming, accusatory eyes he felt like wolves were encircling him.
They were going to kill him for being one of Jacob's agents.
"Now hold on everyone let's take a minute" Eli tried to say to the room as he wrestled to keep his slipping grip on Tammy.
But it was useless, Tammy broke free from Eli and Jess's grasp, instead of trying to hurt Rook again, she turned to Eli, stabbing a finger into his chest.
"He is your mess, so you clean this up! If you don't I will, and you wont like how I do it!" she declared furiously.
Eli stared at Tammy before exhaling, then he turned to face the group of angry Whitetails
"Nobody is killing anybody" Eli voiced to the room.
"If we just start killing people over disagreements and arguments, we will be no better then the peggies, that's not how we do things around, situation withstanding or not, we will find a different way to deal with this" he declared.
Then the Whitetails finally spoke up in one big mob, airing their grievances, making it painfully clear they did not like Eli's decision or their alliance with the Junior Deputy.
"Get him out of here!" a Whitetail yelled angrily.
"Fucking asshole!" Another yelled.
"He's a threat to everyone here!" another screamed.
"He's a monster!" Redd yelled.
"Saving him was a mistake" Tammy yelled adding to the mob of voices.
Anything else was drowned out in the dozen angry voices that bounced off the cold steel walls of the bunker.
"Ok, enough, enough!" Eli tried to tell over the mob of angry militiamen.
He looked over at Rook who still stood where he was, at the side of the planning table, watching Eli nervously.
It was clear by the look on Eli's face he wanted to believe Rook, but the uproar of his militia pushed him to believe otherwise.
"Benjamin" Eli said sorrowfully, before slowly walking around the table and approached him.
Once Rook was within arm's length, Eli but a hand on his shoulder.
"It is clear no one is willing to work with you much less tolerant you or your actions... for the good of everyone I'm going to have to ask you to leave the Wolves Den" Eli said gently, a pained look on his face.
Rook stared at Eli in stunned silence, unable to believe what he just heard, how could he kick him out just like that after everything he had been through, he was supposed to help the locals, not be hated by them, Rook was desperate to argue his stay in the militia, but he also knew if he fought to stay, things would get worse for him.
"I think it would be best if you left now" Eli said gently, removing his hand from Rook's shoulder.
That's when the dozen Whitetails began booing and threatening him to leave their home again. And with that, Rook knew he was beat, there was nothing he could do anymore, he was hated now.
Without some much of a word, Rook slowly turned for the open bulkhead door and begun dragging his feet to the bunker's exit, booed and shunned as he went, a thrown Styrofoam cup or two bouncing off his person, it made him feel like Frankenstein's Monster being harassed by the village mob, as he neared the door, he could see Redd off to the side, smiling arrogantly, looking down his nose at him.
For some reason that better then you smirk was the final straw for Rook, it made something in him burn up like the lodge he brought down.
After everything he had done for this county, this is how the militia treat him, how dare they do this to him.
Didn't they know who he was, he was Benjamin Rook, savior of the Holland Valley, bane of Eden's Gate, and killer of John Seed, they needed him if they wanted to get to Jacob, Eli begged him for help, why else would they rescue him from Jacob's conditioning center, hell, at this point Rook wasn't sure if that was even true, maybe he wasn't conditioned at all and the Whitetails merely said he was to give him incentive to help fight Jacob and not leave for the Henbane.
As he passed Redd, he had to restrain himself from accosting the man as it would cement his supposed villainy that Redd was so eager to impose on everyone.
He was jealous of Rook's reputation.
Rook almost prowled the halls as he almost stomped his way through the halls, towards the exit, a few of the offending Whitetails trailed behind him to make sure he really was leaving, giving a few sparse threats and curses. A few Whitetails in nearby rooms who heard the commotion poked their heads out to see what was going on. A few half-concerned Whitetails dared to ask Rook what was going on, but he merely ignored them, too lost in his own rage, it wouldn't be to long now until everyone knew of Redd's smear campaign.
Rook shoved open the door to the metal staircase that led up to the surface, with each step up the staircase, he stomped, a hard echo reverberated up and down the corridor.
He flung open the topside hatch and trudged through the grass, not bothering to close the hatch behind him, he didn't know where to go, but he didn't care, he just wanted to get away from the Whitetails and make Jacob pay for what he had done to him, he was so caught up in his feelings he failed to notice the hooded woman following behind him.
"So that went sideways faster than I expected" Jess shrugged.
Hearing Jess's voice, Rook spun around to she her standing next to him.
"The hell you are doing out here, you here to shit on me too?" Rook spat angrily.
"Fuck no" Jess replied vehemently.
"You're not welcome here anymore so I'm coming with you, we got a lot of peggies to kill
Rook regarded Jess for a moment, he didn't believe her for some reason, he expected her to be against him.
"And your just fine leaving those guys" Rook asked, pointing at the bunker.
"You'll kill a hell of a lot more guys working with those idiots" Rook spat.
"Pssh, bitch, I hate these fucks, if I wanted to work with them, I never would have left them in the first place" Jess replied, shaking her head in disagreement.
Jess's casualness was starting to bother Rook, she was completely silent as Eli passed judgment on him, she didn't even remark upon Jacob's ploy to make him look like a monster or Redd who burnt down any sense of credibility he had, he wasn't sure if her motives really were to just kill peggies or wait for him to drop his guard and then get revenge for the people in the lodge.
"Do you even care that I'm being blamed for what Jacob has done?" Rook barked.
"Shit happens" Jess shrugged.
Rook wanted to scold her for her indifference, but who was he to judge, he was a monster apparently.
"So, what you just want to wander around the mountains, killing every peggie we come across until Jacob enters our cross hairs?" Rook sighed, his anger waning, he couldn't bring himself to take his anger out on Jess.
"Well you're not one hundred percent wrong" Jess said.
"We'll kill every Peggie we come across in the valley until we get Jacob in our cross hairs, but before that, we make our own little hideouts where we'll rest up, then we strike, I've seen you with a bow, my teachings somehow stuck in that big music and goodie two shoes brain of yours, we'll hit every outpost and hidey-hole they got, we'll beat the info we need out of them, no more pussyfooting around, we'll hit them hard and fast, they won't see us coming, they'll expect the militia, not two badasses like us, we're different then them, better than them, we can do what they're to afraid to do, what do you say, Partner?" Jess finished before extending a hand to him, wanting a handshake to seal the deal, a shark tooth grin on her face and a fire in her eyes.
Rook stared at her outstretched hand, heavily considering her offer, every time he tried to think of a reason not too his mind was flooded with memories of the countless cadavers that littered the county, executed, tortured or mutilated, the burning twisted corpses that were strapped to the Revelator, the buried and ruined bodies under the lodge's ruins, and every other atrocities that was caused by the Seeds.
He needed to make it all stop, he needed to get to Jacob, for revenge for all he had done, ruining his reputation, making him look like the bad guy, conditioning him into being his slave.
Rook took her hand and shook it.
"Let's make them pay for what they have done" Rook said emotionlessly.
Jess's shark tooth grin seemed to grow just a little bigger.
"Then let's get a move on" she said before freeing her hand and moved for the nearby forest, ready to get to work immediately.
He looked down at the bunker, doing so reignited his anger for the Whitetails and felt a scorn for them, no wonder they disliked Jess, they couldn't handle working with actual talent, it made Rook almost feel pity for Eli, having to keep all those imbeciles and inbred rednecks in line everyday, he was going to make everyone regret believing Redd's lies and kicking him out of the militia.
With is resolve set, he turned and quickly followed Jess, ready to do whatever it took.
Faith stared intently at the telephone that sat on her desk.
Benjamin made it quite clear that he aimed to venture out into the mountains in hopes of dealing with Jacob, hopefully not in the same manner as John. Thinking of John made her sigh, she knew the depths of John's cruelty, it made her shutter, but at the same time, he didn't deserve to die, he was an important piece in God's and Joseph's plans, it was unbelievable to think someone as sweet as Benjamin would gun down John, no matter how hot-blooded he got. But Jacob wasn't like John, we was something else entirely, which led Faith into the predicament she was in now, staring at her phone, she wanted to call Jacob and persuade him into using less aggressive tactics against the Junior Deputy, but Jacob was a stubborn one, he only seemed to follow Joseph's orders,
"You know I was expecting you to call me, hoping to get me to take it soft on the Deputy" Jacob replied.
"You did?" Faith asked, caught a little off guard.
"Yes, I know how you spin your webs and catch your flies, the Deputy is no different from the countless you seduced into our project, so that's why you should expect me to say I will not take it easy on him, I will do things my way, he is my concern now" Jacob explained.
"But you don't know him like I do, I know how he operates, he can be persuaded with kindness, not cruelty" Faith argued.
"Coddling men won't make a decent soldier, I will break him down and make him into something better, John told me what kind of man Benjamin Rook is, is emotions will just slow him down, I will remove those as well" Jacob remarked.
"He's not some machine you can take apart and put back together, you can't swap out his parts when they break, he's a human being, a complicated, thinking, kind human, we need humanity after the collapse, without it, what's the point of all this?" Faith preached.
"When the collapse comes, only the strongest will survive, everything else will be preyed upon and devoured, I intend to do the devouring, and I intend for the Deputy to devour whatever the Father points at" Jacob said.
"But he's not like that, he just someone who wants to do what's right" Faith argued.
"Then perhaps you need proof, be silent and listen" Jacob said before falling silent.
Faith did what she was asked and waited for whatever Jacob was preparing, after a few seconds of waiting she heard a soft beep, indicating Jacob had put his phone on speaker.
"Get in here!" Jacob called out.
His voice was distant as if he was facing away from the phone.
Then she could hear an odd shuffling, feet scraped against the floor more then they should, as their gait was slightly off. By the sounds they were giving off, they must have walked right up to the phone, next to Jacob, a rare event.
"Name and rank soldier" Jacob suddenly said.
"Matthew Gordon, First Officer" The new person addressed themselves as.
"Where have you been the last few days?" Jacob demanded
"Assisting John in the Holland Valley in capturing the Junior Deputy" Gordon replied curtly.
"And want is your assessment of the Junior Deputy?" Jacob ordered.
"The Junior Deputy is inexperienced in modern warfare and has no actual training to speak of, but yet he is smart enough tactically assess what is going on and engage in a manner that will secure his victory, what is more is it is clear he does not wish to kill if he doesn't have to, but if provoked he will engage lethally" Gordon surmised.
"What was your last exchange with him?" Jacob questioned.
"Inside John's ranch, John had planned to use the building as a cage and myself as the lion tamer, needless to say he escaped but not before wounding me with light lacerations to the shins and ankles" Gordon answered.
"As you can hear, time and time again, the Junior Deputy has been slipping by on luck and tactical planning, words alone won't bring him to our cause" Jacob said
"Mister Gordon, how do you expect to capture Be- the Junior Deputy if your legs are injured?" Faith asked.
"With all due respect ma'am, you don't need legs to fire a gun" Gordon said.
"I said capture, not kill, he needs to understand what we're doing before he can join our family" Faith asserted.
"What we are trying to say, Faith" Jacob cut in.
"While you are trying to play house, I am killing two birds with one stone, I've been forging a way to get rid of Palmer and his little militia and get the Junior Deputy on our side" he said.
"But you're not letting him join on his own, your forcing him too, your brainwashing him! It wouldn't be him anymore!" Faith cried.
"You heard my soldier, he has no experience and training, he refuses to fight, he is weak, cowardly, passive, but he has tactical genius, once I'm done with him, he will be strong, a true warrior, armed with his knowledge and my training he will be unstoppable, he will be just what the Father needs to keep everyone safe after everything collapses" Jacob stated grimly.
"You don't need to do this though, just talk with him" Faith cried.
"Faith, I don't tell you how to whisper your sweet words and seep your poison into people, so I would trust you would leave my work to me, I am the one who fought and bled for this country" Jacob asserted, growing tired of Faith's whining.
"Your going to get him killed!" Faith exclaimed.
"If he dies, then he dies, he needs to be ready if he really is to be our messiah, or so Joseph says" Jacob stated.
"But the Father said, we need him, he can't die!" Faith cried.
Jacob let out a groan, now tired of Faith's whining, he had much better things to do.
"Goodbye Faith" Jacob sighed as he moved to put the phone back on the receiver.
"Wait Jacob, don't-" Faith said before hanging up the phone.
With Faith gone Jacob looked over at Gordon who still stood near him, yet to be dismissed.
"You will keep everything you heard to yourself, you take that to your grave" he ordered.
"Yes sir" Gordon replied confidently.
"You will return to capturing the Junior Deputy as soon as possible" Jacob ordered.
"Yes sir" Gordon replied again.
"And if those two entry level followers are still alive, I will permit them to aid you in your mission" Jacob added.
"Yes sir, thank you sir" Gordon responded once more.
"Then get to your post, I have work to do" Jacob said gruffly.
"Yes sir" Gordon said one final time before hurrying out of the room, leaving Jacob to himself.
The second Gordon was gone and Jacob felt alone, he turned and walked over to the side of his room, up to the far wall where a cork board hung, it was covered in a mess of photographs, hand drawn pictures and small maps depicting Eli Palmer, Jess Black, other important Whitetails, strategic, important places and strategies, all of them were connected in someway by a thin red thread, creating a blood red spiderweb, but almost every piece of data was connected to a single photo in the center of the cork board.
The photo was an un-obfuscated, perfect photo of Benjamin Rook, bow in hand and a red Eden's Gate logo drawn on his forehead with a marker.
