Chapter 2:

Tyler was scared. He always had that feeling as he journeyed into a new region. His guns for hire and friends were all still in the Holland Valley cleaning up the aftermath of the final fights between the the cult and resistance to reclaim the region. It would be another week before they would be able to help him here. By himself Tyler had freed the Truck Stop and saved some civilians on the side of the road. That was what he spent most of his time doing, wandering around until he saw or heard hostile activity. Dutch had already told him to make his way to the Hope County Jail which was where the local resistance was based. He made his way along the river, following Dutch's instructions, and kept checking his map of the county. It was once he reached Nolan's Fly Shop and he saw Her for the first time

She was dancing in the field, surrounded by a pale green cloud and within seconds, Tyler realised who this was.

"I know who you are, Deputy," she said as she spun towards him. "You've caused my family all kinds of trouble. You've killed my brothers and have ruined what we built."

"It's my job Faith," Tyler growls in annoyance. "Shutting down this sick operation is my number one priority. You're brothers did terrible things to innocent people". Faith looked up at the Deputy and looked at him with a curious expression. She tilted her head ever so slightly and a small smile broke out on her face.

"Oh, this is gonna be way more interesting than the Father said it would be!" She said while grinning broadly.

"The hell's that meant to mean?" Huffed Tyler in clear frustration.

"You'll see.." and then she disappeared into a cloud of Bliss.

Having restocked his ammo after liberating the truck stop, Tyler felt more comfortable and confident in being able to defend himself as he walked alongside the river. As he stared into the water he couldn't help but think about what had just happened to him. The two other Heralds both would only ever show violence and would use more aggressive methods of getting their methods across. Faith however, she seemed gentle. Like all the stories and rants he'd heard in the other two regions, Faith was more gentle and tried seducing her victims into joining the Project. From what Tyler learnt, the Bliss was used to escape all the worries of your life and be happy in your own head. John forced people to confess their sins before cutting it physically off their chest. Memories of what John did to Nick Rye back at the church in Fall's End still make him sick. Jacob mutilated bodies on the side of roads, dangled them from lampposts and drugged wolves to become warriors that would "only know fight" as the gingered douchebag said himself. Faith, well… Tyler was going to find out one way or another.

"What's happening man?" Tyler says as he walks up to a man with a fishing line cast out into the river.

"Oh my, it's really you?" Said the fisherman almost a little to eagerly. "Deputy it is a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Likewise, by the way, just call me Tyler." Said the Deputy as he extended his hand outwards for the man to shake.

"I'm Seb," the fisherman said, shaking Tyler's hand. "So what is it that I can do for you Tyler?" He asks. The Deputy just looked out at the cast line and sighed.

"I'm real lost man, I ain't got a damn idea where to start here. I'm trying to get over to the Hope County Jail, but the hell's a jail gonna do to solve this little flower problem?" Tyler explained as he slowly turned to meet Seb's gaze.

"What the fuck? Man, that jail is the home of the Hope County Cougars." Chuckled Seb as he felt a fish hook on the line. "They been giving it to Eden's Gate since this whole shit storm went down. Last I heard of them, they were having some trouble with the Peggies trying to break into the stronghold." He kept reeling his catch in and successfully reeled it out of the water.

"Shit," mumbled Tyler under his breath. Then an idea popped into his head. "Listen, you seem to know a lot about what's going on, about the situation down here. Do you mind coming along with me to lend a hand? It's a lot of work and we need people like you to help get this working." Tyler looked at Seb and offered him a radio, the last one he had spare for civilians for him to hire. Seb looked at the radio and smiled at Tyler.

"I'd do it gladly Deputy." He said, taking the radio from Tyler's hand.

"Alright, just a few important things. First of all stop calling me Deputy, it's a bit formal for my liking. Second, try and stay as quiet as you can unless a loud firefight is the only option. And lastly, save everyone that deserves saving. No matter what side that they may be fighting on." Tyler looked at Sen to see if he was agreeing to these terms. " A friend of mine in the Holland Valley always said that if we weren't open to forgiveness, we are no better than the cult."

"This man seems like he was always looking for the best in people." Said Seb.

"Yeah," Tyler said, whilst looking out onto the river again. "Yeah he was."

The two men started traversing the banks of the Henbane. Walking for a while until they both heard the very distinct sound of gunfire, lots of it. Both of them picked up the pace and ran in the direction of the commotion. They ran through a small forest before braking out into a clearing. The concrete walls in front of them were flashing constantly through the smoke and haze of the multiple fires now burning around some destroyed trucks. In the car park were cultists shooting up at the walkway. Tyler pulled out his AK-M and Seb pulled out his AR-C and as Tyler motioned forwards, the two of them shot at all the Peggies they could see. The radio on Tyler's belt buzzed and he heard a familiar voice. " Hey is that you Rook?". It was the Sheriff.

"Yeah, it's me." Tyler spoke into his radio.

"Thank Christ, help us out here!" The Sheriff said.

Tyler and Seb kept firing until there were no not Peggies left breathing. Tyler reloaded a fresh clip into his assault rifle and then holstered it to his back. The door underneath the watch tower opened and Sheriff Whitehorse walked out and waved his Deputy over.

"Sheriff," Tyler said as he walked up to his friend.

"Rook, you really saved our bacon." He said as he put a hand of gratitude on his shoulder.

"The fuck's been happening here?" Asked the Deputy as he looked around the prison yard and saw dead bodies and broken metal fences, probably removed to keep the fight going for longer i some way.

"They've been throwing themselves at these walls for days, just won't let up. We really kicked open a hornets nest." He said before being cut off by a shout from the walkway.

"Trucks on the road!" the voice screamed before a body shot off the platform and hit the ground below. Tyler looked up in shock and only heard the Sheriff yell "Medic!". Tyler snapped back into focus when Seb shook him on the shoulder and said to him.

"Tyler, we need to be up on that tower. Let's go man!". The two of them scampered over to the ladder and took off upwards to be only met by a spray of wildly placed bullets that whizzed overhead.

"Quick, behind cover!" Tyler yelled at Seb as they both his behind the metal sheet on the railing. Seb threw a grenade over the railing into the Peggies down below. The scream from the cultists down below would suggest that some were hit or killed. Tyler peaked out from cover and shit at three soldiers, downing two and hitting the other one in the shoulder. A random resistance woman yelled to the group of fighters, "They're coming from the west wall. West wall!" Before receiving a bullet in her head. Tyler threw a stick of dynamite as far as he could and succeeded in blowing up the first truck that rolled out of the bushes. The other two had mounted turrets on the back and they let fire on the resistance members. Two well thrown remote charges ended both vehicles easily. They all kept fighting as more cultist seemed to appear out of nowhere. It wasn't until Tyler finished unloading his clip into an Angel, he ran out of assault rifle ammo.

"Fuck!" Cursed Tyler as he equipped his bow and loaded an explosive arrow.

"Watch out, fuel tanker coming for the gates!" The Sheriff yelled. Tyler and Seb both looked out and saw a small convoy of two pickups and a large gas tanker speeding towards the wall, Tyler pulled the string back on his bow and sent the arrow flying right for the tanker. The shot hit the top of the tank and the whole convoy went up in a fiery explosion. The sound of gunfire ceased and Tyler knew that they were in the clear. Seb walked over to him and grinned.

"Whatever happens next, I'll be by your side Tyler. All the way to the end."

Tyler smiled and patted him on the back.

"I'm glad to hear that. Welcome to the team."

The two of them followed the Sheriff inside and they met Tracy Lader and Virgil Minkler, both who seemed wary of the newcomers. The Sheriff then waved Tyler and Seb over and told them about the resident doctor, Charles Lindsay, who had disappeared recently. He also debriefed them on a place called the Misery, a supposed myth where the cult tortured captured resistance members who refused to do what the cult wanted. With a bit more of a clear pathway ahead, Tyler and Seb made their way out of the Jail and out into the Henbane River.

Note:

Hi, to whoever was patient enough to deal with my ramble, thank you so much. My plans for this story aren't to just do a recap of the Henbane River missions, I want to explore a few characters in depth and make something that the game doesn't tell/show us. Thanks for reading!