Chapter 25: Breaking the Past
Kyle didn't know how long his moment with Faith lasted. A part of him wanted it to last forever. But all good things must come to an end and a voice downstairs jolted the two back into reality.
"Kyle? One of the prisoners wants to talk to you. He says he has information for you to prove their sincerity."
Faith had broken off already and Kyle could see that she was blushing with a smile even though she tried to hide it by keeping her head down.
"Alright! I'll be there in a minute!" He shouted downstairs. The mercenary then turned to the woman he had just made out with, perhaps looking for an answer on what just happened.
"Go on ahead." She said, looking up at him. "I'll catch up with you in a minute. I wanted to poke around here for bit more." When he was still hesitant to leave, her smile returned and she continued, "We can talk more about it later. I promise."
That was good enough for Kyle as he silently nodded and descended the stairs. There standing with the prisoner was one of the people from Tracey's group.
"The prisoner sir," The man greeted him as he ushered the peggie in front of Kyle. He then returned to his post of guarding the doorway.
Kyle eyed the cultist, who was the same man from before who had begged for forgiveness. "So, I'm told you want to tell me something?"
The cultist nodded. "I want to prove that we are sincere in our surrender. Thus, I would like to provide some information about the bunker that I'm sure you'll be assaulting soon."
"Go on…."
"As you may have guessed, Joanna does not have many people left under our command. However, what they lack in numbers, they make up for in zeal. They will all die fighting and even when they know the fight is hopeless, they'll try to take as many of you down as they can. With that being said, Joanna has positioned most of her remaining forces right inside the bunker, watching the main entrance. They believe that you will attempt to force you way in that area and they are prepared to make it a killing zone."
"Then there must be another way in, correct?"
"There is. The main entrance is on the bottom part of the base near the road. However, there is another door that is hidden away further up the hill that the base is nestled in. It was intended to be used as an emergency entrance or exit in case the main entrance could not be accessed."
Kyle rubbed his chin. "That sounds too convenient."
The man nodded. "The door is protected by a security lock with a code. I believe that Joanna hasn't considered this entrance because of that. She obviously wouldn't think any of you would know the code. But….."
"Faith would know the code." Kyle finished for him.
"Correct. The lady Faith would know the code. After all, she had it programmed. She should be able to get you inside. However, I must warn you, there are cameras on the inside so once you're in, they'll probably know you're coming. But I know you can probably handle anything they throw at you once you're in.
"I see. Well, thank you for the information."
"Of course. But one more thing. Joanna is desperate to earn Joseph's favor. She still holds onto the belief that the Lady Faith can be persuaded to rejoin the project. Do not underestimate her."
"I'll keep that in mind." Kyle waved the guard over. "We're done here. You can take him back. Make sure they all are treated well. They are sincere in their assistance."
The guard nodded. "I will let Tracey know." The man then escorted the prisoner outside.
At that moment, Faith came down from the stairs and stood close next to Kyle. "So, what did he say?"
"He pretty much let us know what to expect when we go for the bunker. They're all guarding the main entrance but apparently there's another way in that requires a passcode that you know?"
She leaned against him. "Yes, I do know the password for that door. I could show you where it is." She looked up at him. "I'm not sure why they would neglect such an entrance, they know by now my involvement."
"He also said that Joanna still believes in you. She thinks that you will eventually rejoin them."
Faith sighed. "Joanna…..she was indeed my most devout supporter. I shouldn't be surprised about her views. I feel that my departure distressed her greatly."
"I remember when we passed her in the halls when we were planning to walk out. Joanna really did believe in you."
Faith took hold of Kyle's right arm. "I wish we didn't have to fight her."
"Do you regret how things went?"
"No, I have no regrets. I may have been uncertain at first, but as time went on, I knew I had made the right decision."
Kyle turned so he was facing her. He placed his free arm on her right shoulder. "Perhaps she will listen to reason. If not, we'll do what has to be done." Come one, lets go meet up with the others."
Kyle shook free from Faith's grip and headed outside, with a worried Faith behind him. They met everyone else who was gathered in a group by the entrance to the conservatory.
"So, it looks like we have our next target." Kyle announced.
"The bunker, right?" asked Nick.
Kyle nodded. "One of the prisoners we took told me that what remains of this regions' forces are holed up in the bunker. Most of their people are position to defend the main entrance, where they expect the attack to come from. However, there is another entrance that we can use. The only thing is that its protected by a passcode. But Faith knows the code." She nodded in confirmation.
Tracey scoffed in response. "Hmph, that's awfully convenient. How do we know its not a trap?"
"We don't know if it's a trap or not. But regardless, it's a risk we need to take. This entry might let us get to the head quicker and put an end to this once and for all. Regardless, I'll take the lead. We'll advance as one group, then one part will split off to hold the defenders at the main entrance, so they aren't able to rush back to defend their leader. The rest will move on and look for the bunker command room. Any other questions?"
"When do we leave?" Asked Grace.
"Right now."
The trip to the bunker took longer than expected. The group took two trucks as they as they had when they went to the conservatory. The bunker itself was not far. The main road eventually winded its way to the main entrance. But to get to the other entrance was a different story. The trucks were left behind at a certain point so the team could scale one of the cliffs. With Faith leading the way, they made their way on foot. From one elevated position, they crossed a long bridge to get to the other area where the bunker was imbedded. After the bridge there was a path. The right side twisted until it ended where a bliss shrine was. The leftmost path led to an area where the team could see the top half of the white bunker sticking up from the ground. From there, the path led around the side until it reached a catwalk which led to the door that the team had been seeking. The team looked around for any sign of cult activity but couldn't find any. While Faith was entering the passcode, Kyle check for cameras.
He found none outside as he was told. "So what was the password?"
There was a confirmation that the door was unlocked as Faith turned around with a uncomfortable look. "The password was…Rachel."
Kyle nodded and didn't press further. Faith led them inside where it was eerily quiet. Kyle had remembered when the place was full of bustling people. Now it seemed that the whole place had been abandoned.
"Where the hell is everyone?' Questioned Nick from the back of the group.
"The fact that its this empty makes me a little on edge." Commented Grace who consistently checked every corner.
Faith then halted the group unexpectedly. Kyle was wondering why until he followed her gaze upward and saw a camera. It had a red light underneath it, indicting it was recording. It also swayed slightly back and forth as to get a reading on the whole group.
"Well, they know we're here now." Said Tracey.
Faith resumed leading the group and they soon came to a four-way junction. She looked around then started right when Kyle heard footsteps and told everyone to take cover. But as they did, the peggies who were responsible for the sounds saw them.
"It's the sinners! Open fire!" As soon as the leader was done shouting, a barrage of bullets came flying. Everything had happened so fast that the Kyle and Faith were separated from the rest of the group who had taken position on the other side of the hallway junction, pinned down by bullet fire. Tracey had her people return fire from around the corner while Kyle's friends helped as they could.
"There looks like a shit-load of them Kyle!" Tracey reported. "I get the feeling that this is probably the group from the main entrance!"
"We can't let them pin us down like this!" He shouted back. "Their leader might try to escape!"
Kyle tried to provide support fire for his group but Tracey was right. There were a ton of peggies. Kyle had his head around the corner for a few seconds before bullets started whizzing past him and he had to take cover.
"Shit!" He cursed in frustration about the current situation.
"Kyle!" Jess who had been silent for a while, finally spoke up. "You guys go ahead without us! We'll handle these fuckers!" She quickly readied an arrow, peaked out from cover, and fired hitting a peggie in the neck.
"Are you sure? They could have more forces between us and her." Honestly, Kyle doubted it. He just didn't want to leave his people behind.
"We'll be fine! Just put a bullet in the bitch's head for me will you?" Jess shot another arrow that hit its mark.
"Alright, you guys be careful then." He then turned towards Faith and nodded at her to continue forward.
"You think they'll be okay?" She asked as they proceeded deeper into the bunker.
"They'll be fine." He said reassuringly. But Kyle was on high alert. Even though Faith knew how to use a pistol to defend herself, Kyle feared what could happen if they ran into any more groups of cultists. He hoped that at the most they would only run into patrols that were one or two people but he couldn't be sure about anything.
"How much further?" He asked as he scanned in all directions, watching for any threats.
"We're almost there." She replied.
They soon reached another junction. Although this time, there were no enemies around, Faith stopped right in the middle. Faith turned around and looked at Kyle with a solemn expression.
"Kyle, I think we should split up here. You go that way, and I'll go this way."
Kyle was shocked. "Faith, we can't split up. We don't know what's ahead. What if you run into a group of them? I know you know how to handle a gun now but multiple enemies, especially with automatic weapons are too much for you!"
She smiled slightly, appreciating his concern. "I know that Kyle. But you were right before. Joanna might suddenly try to escape to fight alongside The Father. There's two ways out of the command center. There's the way you're going, and there's my way. By splitting up, we'll be sure she can't escape."
"I would rather us stick together and risk letting her escape." He argued. "Faith, I can't leave you alone. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you."
She approached him and rubbed his upper arm soothingly. "Its alright Kyle. I'll be fine. If something come up that I can't handle, I'll run back and find you, ok?
Faith was looking at Kyle with a smile and he couldn't help but be entranced by her blue eyes and the soothing of her touch. "Fine, but if you run into any danger, you run right back to find me, okay?"
She gave him a quick hug. "I promise. See you soon." Faith then started down her path while Kyle reluctantly followed his.
As he continued, Kyle couldn't help but worry. What if Faith got pinned down by enemy fire? What if they captured her and used her as a hostage? He also wondered how he would know which path to take if he were to hit another junction. Kyle was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he only barely noticed a long figure barring the way up ahead.
"Its been some time Kyle." The man called out.
Kyle snapped out of his thoughts and sized up the man blocking his path. It was Cameron Burke, the marshal who had led that fateful raid on Joseph at what seemed like a lifetime ago. Things had greatly changed since then. Burke was still wearing his old marshal uniform. But now it had been painted by the cult cross. The symbol was also present on Burke's forehead as he blocked Kyle's path with an AK-47.
Kyle stopped about 15 feet away from him. "Still sticking with the cult huh Burke? Quite a far cry from earlier when you were so gung-ho about capturing Joseph that you didn't consider that you were in over your head."
Burke simply smiled. "You're correct. I had been determined to capture The Father at all costs. Back then, I was ignorant, hot-headed. Now I know the truth. The Lady Faith educated me on what The Father was trying to do and my eyes were opened. The Father is trying to save us all from the coming collapse. Yet there are those like you who continue to interfere, continue to attack us, continue to try to destroy all the work The Father has done."
Kyle sneered. "Are you aware that Faith is with us now? She realized how shitty this cult was. That its only goal is power for Joseph's family. This collapse you speak of isn't coming. Its all a ruse for Joseph to scare people into serving him. If Faith could see the truth, why can't you?"
Burke's smile grew wider. "The Lady Faith has a plan. She went with you in order to gain your trust. Even with all that has happened, it was all a ruse. Joanna knew that Faith would lure you to be overconfident, reckless. Now we have you alone. Faith will soon return to her rightful place at Joseph's side."
As much as he wanted to deny it, a part of Kyle's mind couldn't help but wonder if Burke was telling the truth. "You're a fucking liar! Faith has been helping us. She knows that you guys are fucking bullshit!"
"Kyle, if that's the case, then why did you leave the conservatory intact? You could have easily destroyed it, either with your pilot or through other means. Yet you let it be, along with all the bliss that is currently there, the bliss that you oppose. Tell me, wasn't it Faith who told you not to destroy anything? Its because she knows its ours. Once she has returned to her position, she will take it back!"
Kyle's mind was now torn between, a feeling of betrayal, and anger at Burke. "You're fucking dead!" He aimed to fire at Burke, but the former marshal reacted well and took cover behind nearby crate, causing Kyle's shot to miss his head. Burke returned fire, forcing Kyle to do the same.
"It is inevitable Kyle!" Burke shouted from behind his cover while trying to take potshots. "You cannot accept that you were tricked. That you have lost."
"We'll who loses you bastard!" Kyle kept trying to aim shots at Burke, but he would always duck just in time. The mercenary knew he couldn't let this drag out. If Burke was telling any sort of truth, Kyle needed to get to Joanna before Faith did. He needed to stop this before it proceeded any further. Kyle calmed himself down and focused. He looked for patterns in Burke's firing. A constant emerged where Burke would fire, duck, wait then fire again. But he would have to reload sometime. Thus, Kyle reloaded his gun early and waited. He counted how many times Burke fired and used that to calculate when he would need to reload. After Burke fired again and ducked down, Kyle started moving up to have a better firing angle. It was a risk, but it paid off as Kyle could hear Burke reloading his weapon. When Burke rose to aim at his target, you found it was no longer there. Before he could react, Kyle had fired a burst that hit the former marshal in the upper chest dropping him.
Kyle quickly ran over and found Burke was bleeding out. He quickly kicked his gun away, and looked for any sidearms which he had none. Despite being on the verge of dying, Burke was still smiling. "It doesn't matter if I fall here. You cannot stop what is already in motion. Faith will take back her place. The collapse will come. And you Kyle, will be defeated."
Kyle's anger resurfaced and he shot Burke in the head to kill him for good. He was not in the mood to speak or listen to Burke any longer. Right now, all his attention was focused on getting to Joanna as quickly as possible. He hoped that the fact that Burke was here meant that he was getting close. He quickly started back down the hallway with his mind racing Was it really all a ruse? All those moments that he shared with Faith, were they really fake? Kyle thought back to their kiss. It had seemed so real, so full of passion. But was that only because that's what he wanted? Had he blinded himself to the truth?
Kyle finally saw a door that looked different from the others. He saw that above it read a sign labeling it has the command room. Finally! He had reached his destination. But when he tried to open the steel door, it wouldn't budge. Cursing, Kyle instinctively turned around to try to find a different way when a wall suddenly slammed down behind him. He realized that he had been trapped, tricked again. The only thing he could do was peer through the small window of the door that led to the commander's room. What he saw caused his heart to sink. Joanna was indeed there, looking right at him. Right next to her, was Faith.
"Are you enjoying your cage sinner?" Joanna taunted him as she moved toward the door with Faith following behind. "Don't even bother shooting the glass, its bulletproof."
Kyle hadn't even considered that but now that was another option closed off to him. "So why did you trap me in here?"
Joanna smiled sinisterly. "Because I want you to witness your folly. I want to show you that everything Burke said was true. You may have killed him but that has changed nothing. The Lady Faith has returned to us, and in doing so, she has brought the biggest prize of all, you."
Kyle's heart continued to sting. He switched his gaze to Faith who was staring straight at him. He looked for something, anything to suggest that this wasn't real. "Is this true Faith? Was this all just a trick?"
Faith took a step forward, her eyes still locked on him. "Everything that has happened has led to this moment Kyle." She said simply.
Joanna cackled and Kyle was on the verge of despair. So all really was a trick then and he had fallen for it completely. He was now trapped, and now at the mercy of the cult who had every reason to snuff out his existence. Kyle wanted to take one last look at Faith's face. Even if it was a betrayal, he couldn't deny his feelings. He had grown attached to her. Despite everything being a ruse, his feelings for her were still real. When he locked onto her eyes, he saw something. They were sending a message.
"You are a fool sinner!" Did you really think that someone as pure as Faith could be swayed by the likes of you? Did you really think that she had feelings for you? Faith would never have feelings for a mercenary like you, someone who kills only for money."
Joanna continued laughing then turned serious. "I must admit, you were difficult to kill. Even the Father's brothers couldn't do the task. I began to despair that it wouldn't even be possible. But once I saw what Lady Faith was doing, I knew that we would be victorious. Our patience was rewarded. "She gestured to him. "And here you are, trapped like the rat you are."
She pulled out a device with a large button. "This controls the vents leading to your little enclosure. As soon as I hit this button, bliss will start flooding in. There is no escape for you. Normally, we would just wait until the bliss turns you into an angel but you're far too dangerous for that role. So the bliss will continue until you die."
Joanna started laughing again and Kyle prepared himself for what was about to come. But then out of the corner of his eye, he noticed movement. Then he heard a click and he saw that Faith and pulled out her pistol. Joanna had also heard the noise but as soon as she turned around, Faith fired a shot, right into her chest. As she fell, her device fell from her grasp. Faith swiftly moved and kicked the device away from Joanna's grasp as she made her way towards a control console. She pushed a button and Kyle heard a click on the door in front in him It was now unlocked and he wasted no time in getting through it and closing it behind him. He then met Faith by where Joanna fell, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Lady Faith, why?" Joanna groaned weakly.
Faith looked down at her with scorn and contempt. "Nobody hurts Kyle." She said softly. "He was the one who opened my eyes. He showed me how Joseph and tricked and was only using me. Joseph claimed that he cared about me but in reality, he never gave a damn. Kyle, someone that I just recently met, have given me more compassion and kindness than I have ever received in my life. Even when we were on opposing sides, he was still kind to me. He means more to me than anyone else. I care so much for him."
Joanna finally realized what had transpired and resigned herself to die. "Forgive me Joseph…I have failed you." Joanna took her last breath and became silent.
Kyle turned to look at Faith who was still angerly staring at Joanna's corpse. Seemingly reading his mind, she spoke before he could get a word out. "I'm sorry Kyle." She said sadly. "I knew that Joanna would use the lowest means possible to try and kill you. I had known about that area you were trapped in. Its why I suggested we split up. Once you had made it here, I had deceived Joanna so she would lower her guard. Thinking I was coming back, she sent Burke after you. But I knew you'd win. When she trapped you, I should have shot her right then and there."
She turned towards him and he could see tears in her eyes. "But I wanted to make sure she had nothing else up her sleeve. I put you at risk, and I'm so sorry." She started sobbing to herself.
Kyle closed the distance and embraced her to comfort her, and she buried her head into his chest. "Its alright Faith. You did what you felt you had to do. It all worked out in the end." He led her cry a bit more then pulled back a bit so he could look down at her face.
"I must say." He said with a smile. "You really had me fooled. You are quite the actor."
She smiled back at him; the tears were now gone. "I promise I'll never deceive you again Kyle. I will be by your side, always."
Author's note: Going to be going on vacation so next chapter won't be out for a bit.