Chapter 2: Rescue and Revenge

Kyle marveled as Dutch led him further into the bunker. He had seen his share of strongholds in the past, but he had never seen something quite like this. It almost seemed like it was an old military installation with how fortified it was.

"So did you have any contacts from the military help build this place?" Kyle asked as he continued to scan his surroundings.

"Nah, built this place myself. Can never be too careful with what can go on. Looks like it worked out pretty well eh?"

They ended in a large room filled with radio equipment and maps. On the wall, Kyle noticed pictures of the Seeds, the ones he had seen on the compound. Next to the pictures seemed to be notes on each of them. Kyle couldn't help but think of just how massive the cult problem was.

"So I received a call from Falls End a few minutes before you showed up." Dutch suddenly turned and faced Kyle, knocking him out of his thoughts. "Mary May said the peggies just appeared and swept through the town. On the verge of falling she said. Falls End is the biggest community here in Hope County." He walked over to the map. "Its over here in the southwest in the Holland Valley. With how desperate Mary sounded, I would tell you to go there first but…."

Kyle eyed him "But what?"

Dutch sighed and switched his focus to another part of the map. "Around the same time, I received another call from Jess. She told me she was on the trail of one of Jacob Seed's lieutenants, named The Cook. Said she was up by Baron's Lumber Mill up here." He pointed an area on the map. "That place is a cult outpost. The worst thing is that at the end of the call I heard a struggle and the line went dead."

"So it's a choice between going to help a town and going to help one person. The choice should be obvious."

Dutch continued to look nervous. "You're right. The choice should be obvious. But Jess is my niece. She's the only family I have left and even though we've been distant in the past, I still have a soft spot for her like she was my own daughter. So please, if you could go and rescue her, bring her back here so she's safe. I will be forever in your debt. Then we can really start unfucking this situation."

Kyle felt no emotion after what Dutch told him but he understood his predicament. He gave him a nod and Dutch's eyes lit up. "In order to get this done, I'm going to need two things. First, I'm going to need a vehicle to get there. Second, I need a sniper rifle. I have my pistol if things get hairy up close but I need a long-range weapon. Preferably one that has a silencer."

"The vehicle is easy. There's one right outside at the abandoned ranger station. It looks like a regular car so the peggies shouldn't be suspicious as long as you can keep your head down." As for the rifle…" He frowned "I'm afraid I don't have a sniper rifle but I do have a scoped assault rifle that thankfully has a silencer on it. It's yours for helping me. Let me go get it."

As Dutch left to go get the gun, Kyle studied the map to know what route to take. He then studied the area around where Baron's lumber mill was marked. He noted the roads, where he could retreat to, and potential hideouts nearby. He was still looking at the map when Dutch returned. He was carrying the rifle and also what seemed to be body armor.

"I did you one better. I know you think you're a hotshot…kid, but its better to be safe than sorry. That vest has pockets for ammo. I'm giving you some for the rifle and your pistol." He handed the things to Kyle who quickly outfitted himself strangely fast in Dutch's mind. "Please bring Jess back safe. She may be a bit of a hard ass but she's close family."

Kyle smiled for the first time in a while. He did it mostly to give Dutch some assurance that everything would be alright. "Everything's going to be fine Dutch. I'll bring her back safe and sound."

As Kyle turned to head out, Dutch interrupted him. "Here" He handed him a mobile radio. "So we can keep in contact. You let me know when you've got her so I can stop pacing around like a fool."

Kyle simply nodded and took the radio and attached it to his belt. He then made his way out of the bunker. As he stepped out he cursed, he should have asked Dutch where this ranger station was. But then he noticed a path which he assumed would lead to the station. His instincts proved to be right as the path led to where he needed to go. The car was where Dutch said it would be. Car was unlocked and the keys were already in the ignition. After starting it, the fuel gauge showed the car having a little more than three forths of a tank of gas. Should be enough. Kyle put his foot on the gas and headed out the only road that led to the island. It was finally nice to have some wheels for once instead of walking. He decided to turn on the radio until he got to his destination. Music came up that he never heard before. Help me Faith? The music was relaxing but these cult tunes distracted him so much that he turned it off.

The trip went as about as smooth as Kyle had hoped for. He did indeed see some cult vehicles driving around. Some had mounted guns on their flatbeds, some looked like delivery trucks, others looked like vans. The things they all had in common were that they were painted white and they had the Eden's Gate logo on the side. Kyle did his best to keep his head down but the cult members wouldn't be able to get a good look at him with how quickly he passed by. He was lucky though that none of them tried to stop him for any of their cult reasons. He finally saw Barron's up ahead and parked the car a bit aways in the forest to lessen the chance it would be discovered.

Kyle made his way to a nearby hill on the southeast where he could scan most of the area. Pulling out his rifle, he looked around to find as many patrols as he could. He could only see four at the moment. Two were guarding the road entrance to the mill. One was patrolling with an assault rifle along the catwalks to the roofs. The last individual was a sniper perched in one of the towers. Easy first choice. Kyle took aim at the sniper's head. Precise shot, but he was lucky that the man didn't fall from his area and present an easy to find body. Next was the catwalk patrol since he was most likely isolated from his comrades. Kyle waited until then man got completely back into view then took the shot. After he dropped, he waiting to see if anyone would come and investigate the body. When no one showed up, he swung his gaze towards the two individuals by the road, a man and a woman. Both were armed, had to be done. He waited until they stopped facing each other than aimed at the man first. Another headshot. As soon as the woman looked back to see her compatriot dead, Kyle already had his aim on her. Quick death at least. That took care of everyone he could see so he holstered his rifle and pulled out his pistol and slowly crept toward the mill. He figured he might as well collect some more ammo. As he reached the man he had killed along the catwalks, a cult member stepped out from one of the nearby doors. They were spooked but still raised their gun at the intruder. But they were not fast enough and Kyle downed them with a shot with his pistol. The pistol was not silenced and attracted the attention of another cult member.

"Bill, what the fuck's going on?' As the voice stepped out, he noticed the body. It was too late for soon after his shock he was dead. Kyle waited for more to show up but the place was quiet. Seems like only a few were guarding this mill. Kyle now had the task of collecting what ammo he could from the bodies. He then saw the cages on the ground floor and saw what appeared to be a woman in one of them. Thus while collecting ammo, he also searched for the key. It was not on any of the Eden's gate members but was on a desk. Kyle then made his way down to the cage while the woman eyed him with a stoic expression. He unlocked the gate.

"You Jess?"

She stepped out of the cage. "Who the fuck is asking?"

Guess Dutch was spot on about his niece. "Kyle…..Kyle Volker."

"Never heard of you. I know everyone around here so you must be an outsider. Boy, did you sure pick the wrong time to come visit." Jess started making her way to a couple of nearby boxes. Rummaging through them, she eventually found what she was looking for, her bow and arrows.

Kyle eyed her. Who uses a bow nowadays? "Anyways, Dutch sent me to bring you back. I got a car hidden nearby. You ready to head out?"

Jess strapped on her equipment then gave Kyle an angry look. "No fucking way. Look, I already told Dutch I'm going after The Cook. I finally found where the fuck he is so no way am I letting this chance pass by. You can go back and tell Uncle Dutch that I'll be by later." She then started walking off towards the back area of the mill.

Kyle sighed. This one was going to be a pain in the ass but he wouldn't go back empty handed. "Hey wait!" She stopped and faced him.

"What do you want?! I gotta get going."

"I'm coming with you. We'll take down this guy and then we'll head back. Sound good?"

Her annoyance seemed to fade. "Suit yourself. Follow me." They then started to make their way up a nearby hill. "I'm sure you're wondering why this guy is called The Cook, just look over there." She pointed to a nearby ditch. There was a pile of corpses, obviously charred and still smoking. The image didn't affect Kyle as much as it should have.

"Cook wasn't just into flaming people." Jess continued "He also kidnapped and tortured people. All under the guise of Jacob's cull the herd bullshit. Nowhere was safe. You be taken off the street, in church, or from your own home. There was the one family…." Before she could continue, she stopped. "Hold up, looks like we've found some of Cook's people."

They made their way to a ledge overlooking the area. There were three hostages bound by ropes guarded by three armed cultists. The victims kept begging for mercy, and occasionally they would be answered by a slap from one of the cultists guarding them.

"Those sons of bitches!" Growled Jess. She turned towards Kyle. "We've got to rescue them. But we gotta do it quietly. If they spot us, they're going to kill those people."

Kyle nodded. "I'll take one and you take one. Then I'll handle the third." He then started to get in position to line up his shot. Jess eyed him like she didn't believe him but she also started get into position. "I'll fire first as a signal." Kyle then lined up his scope on the first cultist. He made a mental note of where the other two were so he knew where to go after Jess finished. He then squeezed the trigger and the first guard went down. He immediately looked for the third one as he heard Jess silently fire her shot and hit the second one square in the head. The third cultist heard bodies hit the ground but by the time they were able to turn around to see what happened, Kyle had a bead on them and all three were dead.

Jess seemed to be impressed at their handywork. "Not bad. Now I can see how you took out all the guards at the lumber mill without the alarm being raised."

Kyle stood up from his position. "You're not so bad yourself. I've never known anyone who's good with a bow. Guessing we should go free those people huh?" Jess nodded and they made their way down to where the hostages were. They were fearful as they had just seen their three captors go down almost all at the same time. But then they saw the two coming to free them and they were overjoyed.

"Thank you so much!" One lady cried.

"Where's Cook?" Jess asked.

"He's just over that ridge over there." Another freed man pointed.

"Thanks, now get out of here before more come."

The three didn't have to be told twice as they quickly ran in the opposite direction of where Kyle and Jess were going. As they continued climbing the slope, Jess continued her talk from earlier. "So Cook kidnaps this family and starves them so they have to drink their own piss. The parents tried to force it down the kids throats but they threw it right back up. Cook didn't like that so he strung up the parents then asked the kids if they were hungry. They said yes. He asked if they wanted pork. They said yes. Then he started cutting the toes of the parents while saying 'this little piggie went to market…' There was blood oozing down. Then he set the parents on fire. There was this smell…..I'll never forget it. My eyes were closed not wanting to believe all this was goin on. When I opened them, he was gone. Like he was a bad dream. But the nightmare still remained…." She trailed off.

Kyle listened intently to the story and finally understood why Jess was like she was. Something like that would motivate someone for revenge, even bloodlust. Strangely he didn't seem to be affected by it and a small part of himself cursed that. But there was a reason for that too. Before he had any more time to ponder, they had reached the top of the ledge. Down below they saw The Cook at work. He was busy burning one of his last prisoners alive. They were screamingly loudly but it only seemed to motivate him to continue. "Burn! Burn with the light of our holy Father!" He shouted.

Around him were a few of his soldiers. Kyle counted five of them all milling about. They seemed to be waiting for Cook to finish his task but he was taking his time. "There's that fucking son of a bitch. He's mine!" Before she could move though, Kyle stopped her.

"What the fuck? Lets get down there and kill them!"

Kyle looked at her with a solemn expression. "Just one question, does it matter who kills him?"

Jess frowned. "I guess it doesn't as long as he's dead."

"Then allow me." He then waited for Cook's people to get closer to their leader. He then aimed for the tank on Cook's back and fired. The shot punctured the tank and caused an explosion. Cook's body was blown to pieces while his underlings were killed by the shrapnel. Everyone was dead in one shot. Jess' was stunned. She had expected to be the one to deal the killing blow but after what she had witnessed, this had to be the next best thing. Cook was taken out by his own equipment. The two then started to climb down to survey the damage. Kyle had indeed taken them all out with the explosion. Jess sought out Kyle while he was checking the bodies for ammo.

"Hey, I just wanted to say thanks. Dutch was right. Cook's dead and I don't feel a goddamn thing. I've been tracking him for a while and now that he's dead, I don't feel like I have a purpose anymore. But at least this is done. So thanks."

Kyle nodded. He couldn't think of anything to say. Here was someone revealing sensitive information and he had nothing to say. He was good at listening, understanding people, knowing where they came from, but comforting, not his realm. He was also distracted with finding a way back. They had traveled a ways and left his original mode of transportation behind. Thankfully, the cultists had a vehicle parked nearby that they could use. It was better than nothing.

"You ready to go?" Kyle finally asked.

"Yeah lets hit the road."

As they got in the car Kyle noticed two objects in the rearview mirror. They were approaching fast. He then realized what they were.

"Ah shit!" He then stepped on the gas and floored it. Bullets started coming immediately from the two pickups that were now tailing them.

"Fucking peggies" Jess spat. Kyle was doing his best to swerve around to avoid some of the incoming bullets but a few of them were still hitting the car. He couldn't evade them forever. They needed to be taken out.

"Hey! Can you shoot back at them?! I can't keep avoiding them forever!"

"Can't shoot a bow from inside a car. "Jess said flatly.

"Don't you have a pistol or something you could use?"

"Nope."

"Then reach down and grab mine and use it on them."

"I don't do guns."

Kyle was getting annoyed. He had seen that Jess was a master archer. But now he seemed to have stumbled upon a purist who could never a touch a gun in their life. He continued to swerve hoping that the junctions with turns would give them some distance. But the pursuers were relentless. They also seemed to have plenty of ammo. Car was starting to smoke. Looks like desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Take the wheel! Can you at least do that?" He shouted.

"Yeah, what the fuck are you going to do?"

"Save our fucking asses!" He pulled out a pistol with his right hand while keeping his left hand on the wheel. He waited for Jess to take the wheel before he moved. Kyle then leaned out the window and took aim at one of the pursuing trucks. Specifically, he aimed for the driver. Bam! There was a splatter of blood on the windshield at the bullet hit home. Without the driver, the truck lost control and crashed into a tree. The second truck saw what happened and its gunner started trying to aim his shots where Kyle was. But Kyle already had his aim on its driver. Wait for it…..bam. The two vehicles were over a bridge at the time and the truck swerved off and flew into the river. Kyle breathed a sigh of relief as he leaned back in and took control. The car was spewing black smoke.

"Look's like we won't make it today" He lamented.

Authors Note: Introducing Jess Black, everyone's favorite badass huntress. But why does she have to be so useless inside of a vehicle? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed.