Chapter 18: Calm After the Storm

"Did we just kill John Seed?"

Kyle heard Sharky speak over the radio but he was still in awe as he stared at the collapse bridge and the flames below it. 'John Seed killed himself.' Kyle thought. "He went after us and he paid the price.' Faith and Jess were beside him inspecting the destruction as well. Then there was the realization that they would not be the only ones looking at the wreckage. He grabbed his radio.

"Hey! We need to clear out of here. Cult's probably on its way to check on what happened here. Split up and meet back in Falls End. Be careful."

There was some chatter as the message was received. Kyle, Jess and Faith made their way back to the widowmaker. With the bridge out, they would have to travel south and cross the bridge by the gas station in the Henbene. It was very possible that they would encounter cultists on the way.

"Jess, let me know if you see anyone coming."

They started driving along the road going south. Jess scanned the up ahead to see if anything was coming and Faith was doing the same thing. Kyle wondered how the rest were doing, what route they would take, if they'd be able to avoid detection. But he couldn't think about that right now. Right now, he had to concentrate on his own, Jess, and Faith's safeties. Sure, they still had the widowmaker, but the glass wasn't bulletproof. If the cultists came towards them; they could easily aim for the windows.

"Incoming at 11 O clock."

That meant that there were peggies headed straight towards them coming the other way. They would easily recognize the widowmaker as the enemy vehicle. The only question would be if they were intimidated by the guns mounted on the front. The cultists came into view. It was a convoy being led by a truck with a mounted gun on the bed. Three more vehicles followed it, two whites vans and another truck. As they got closer, Kyle gripped the wheel, ready to take evasive action. The cultiat on the lead truck turned his gun towards the widowmaker. But he didn't fire his weapon and the truck passed by. There were peggies riding in back of the last truck and they turned to stare as the passing semi-truck. But they didn't fire either. The whole convoy had passed them by without firing a shot.

"What the hell is that about?" Jess questioned. "I would have expected them to fire on us but they just went on by."

Kyle looked at Faith for answers seeing that the people were most likely from her region. She looked confused as well. "It might be because they were afraid. I remember that many of the people that were assigned to my region where among the least experienced in combat. Besides some exceptions most of the people I was given had skills such as construction, gardening, and inventory management. That's why the statue was built in my region and also explains our bliss production."

Kyle nodded. It made sense. Faith, who was the one who handled things diplomatically, was given the least amount of people who could wield a gun. That information might be also useful in the future. It would mean that Faith's former region was most likely run by an inexperienced leader with few actual soldiers. Such a region would be easy to clear out and take over, leaving just Jacob and then Joseph himself. But there was also the matter of John's remaining followers. Would they stay and continue the fight, keep to his bunker, scatter to the other regions? Kyle was so deep in thought that Jess yelled at him almost missing the turn to cross the bridge.

"Yo, watch the road! I know you're probably tired, but we still need to get back."

Kyle knew that wasn't the reason but it did make him think about his fatigue. He hadn't slept since he was at the whitetails' bunker and he had been running around ever since. The more he thought about it, the more the fatigue got to him. But as Jess said, there would be time to rest when they got back. Kyle kept his eyes on the road, watching for any more cultists. Luckily, they did not run into any more and soon made it to Falls End. Kyle parked the truck next to Mary's bar and got out to stretch. It was still early in the morning and the sun was just peaking up over the horizon.

"I don't know about you girls but I'm pretty beat. I think I'm going to rest a bit before thinking what our next move is."

"I'm pretty tired too" replied Faith.

Kyle turned to Jess who didn't see to show any signs fatigue which he found incredible.

"I'm going to head north." She said softly.

"What? Why? I know you like being in the action but don't you want to take a break first? We both have been doing a lot lately, a little bit of rest wouldn't hurt."

"Jacob is not going to take too kindly to John's death. I'd rather head up there and find out if he's planning anything. I'll check in with the whitetails to see if I can get any leads on anything."

"Are you sure?" Maybe we should come with you."

Jess shook her head. "No Kyle, I'll be fine. You stay here and rest. Coordinate with the rest of your people. They should be grateful that you helped take care of John. They might be willing to help us out in the regions too."

"Dammit Jess, you can be so stubborn sometimes." Kyle complained.

She gave a faint smile. "I guess that's something we have in common." She turned to walk back towards her old car that they had left here.

"Wait! Can you at least take a radio? I know you love playing ninja but it would be really reassuring to at least be able to check in on you when we're on our way north."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine, only because you care so much."

Kyle tossed her his radio. "Be careful up there."

"I'll be fine." Kyle and Faith watched her get in her car and drive off to the north.

"She really is something else." Commented Faith who was wondering if Kyle was attracted to Jess' drive.

"She is, but she's still just human. Hopefully she'll be okay."

Kyle started heading for the church and Faith followed him. He noticed that she was still carrying the pistol he had given to her. "One of these I'm going to have to teach you how to use that." He motioned towards the gun.

Faith looked down at it. "I would hope that I wouldn't ever have to use it. But I guess that would be pretty naïve of me huh?" She looked back up at him with a slight smile.

"There's going to be times where you have to fight whether to defend yourself or those you care for."

She looked away so he wouldn't see her cheeks turning red. "That's true. Maybe after we get some sleep?"

"Sounds like a plan."

They reached the church and entered. Jerome had already made it back before them and came up to greet them. "Well, if it isn't the heroes of Holland Valley. That was quite a stunt you pulled Kyle."

He rubbed the back of his head. "I'm just glad it worked out in the end." He looked towards the door to the side room. "Do you mind if we use that room again Jerome?"

"Not at all. I'll bring some sleeping bags so you don't have to sleep completely on the floor."

"Thanks."

Kyle and Faith made their way to the room while Jerome went to go fetch a sleeping bag. Kyle's fatigue was really starting to come on him. He couldn't wait to go to sleep.

"You can have the bed of course. Do you want me to leave so you can change?"

Faith smiled. "No, that's alright. I'll change later once we both have gotten some sleep."

Jerome came in and gave the sleeping bag to Kyle. "I have something I need to get to so I'll lock the door. Here's the key if you need to leave for whatever reason." He handed Kyle the key. "Pleasant dreams you two." He then left.

Kyle plopped the sleeping bag in the middle of the floor where he would be between the door and the bed, just in case. He immediately laid down and felt that sleep was close to claiming him.

"Wake me if you need anything. "Goodnight Faith."

Faith watched him almost instantly fall asleep. "Goodnight Kyle. You've definitely earned your rest."

Pastor Jerome almost never left his church. It had basically been his home for the last couple of years. When he did leave, it was for something very important. This meeting qualified as such, or so he was told. He made his way to the Spread Eagle. Mary had wanted everyone to gather again to discuss recent events. This time though, Kyle's influence would be absent. When he came in, he saw that everyone had made it here before them. They were all chatting amongst themselves. It was an odd thing to see the place so crowded early in the morning. Mary noticed him come in though, and she approached him with a smile on her face.

"Glad you could make it Jerome." She shook his hand and her smile faded. "So where at they at?

Jerome noticed her tone was suspicious. Kyle and his companions had just removed John Seed from the picture and here Mary was treated them like the enemy. He didn't like it one bit but he held his feelings in check. "They're back at the church, resting."

"Did they say what they were going to do afterwards?"

"No."

She asked no more questions. She instead directed him to find a seat at a large round table that had been set up. She ushered everyone else to take a seat then took the last seat for herself.

"I'm glad everyone could make it." She started. "I know its been a tiring time for all of us recently but I felt that we should discuss recent events and how to move forward. Let's start with the most recent. John Seed is dead. His death means that the peggies are void of leadership in this area. They currently hold two area, John's ranch and his bunker. Now the bunker will be difficult to take as we currently have no way to access it. However, I believe the ranch is well within our power to clear out. But I would like to hear your opinions on how to proceed."

"We do have the power to clear out John's ranch." answered Grace. "But I'm not sure we have the willpower for it. The people around here have been fighting for what feels like forever. Now John's Seed's finally dead, they finally have a chance to rebuild. They're tired of fighting. I don't think the peggies are going to be a threat any more in this area. I think they'll be cautious and stay put for the foreseeable future."

"That may be true but they're still in the area." Nick spoke up next. "Even if John's dead, what's to stop those peggies from coming back at us. They might go for revenge or steal supplies from us again. I live close to John's ranch and I have a family to take care of." He glanced at Kim who was sitting next to him. "We should at least take out the guys at the ranch. I'm more than willin to help out with that. If we can just keep them at the bunker, I think our lives will be that much safer."

"I'm glad that you're willing Nick, but we're still going to need a sizable ground force to take John's place." Grace replied. I'm also willing to participate, but we need more people. Right now, I'm getting the feeling that people think the fighting is over."

"They have to realize the fighting isn't over." Deputy Hudson argued. "They cult still has a bunch of people that they're holding prisoner at the bunker. We can't just leave them there! Sure, John is dead but Joseph could always send someone to replace him. What if he sends Jacob down here? We need to strike while we have the momentum. We need to get rid of the cult here for good.

Guys and gals, I think I have a simple solution." Surprisingly Hurk spoke and everyone turned to him. "Why don't we just ask Kyle to clear out John's ranch and maybe the bunker too? He's pretty badass from what I can tell. I bet and Jess could wipe out those peggies with no sweat."

There was suddenly silence around the room and Hurk thought he said something wrong so he slunk back into his chair.

Mary finally spoke up. "Kyle's situation is complicated. We'll put the cult issue to the side for now and discuss this. We need to decide on Kyle and Faith Seed."

"What's there to discuss?" Adelaide snapped. "He just took out John Seed, for us! Ever since he's been here, he's been helping us out. He didn't have to, he was obligated to, but he went out of his way to help us with our problems. Yet here you are, treating them like they're some sort of prisoners awaiting their verdict."

"Kyle has helped us out a great deal along with Jess Black, that much is true. However, then he brought along Faith Seed who is responsible for a great deal of our misery and suffering. He hid her from us, and probably would have continued had John not revealed his secret."

"You can't blame him too much Mary." Jerome defended. "He probably expected the sort of reaction you're having right now. Now I do admit, Faith Seed had done bad things in the past. But it seems like so far, she seems to want to amend her way." Jerome was trying to be careful with is words. He didn't give away the fact that he been harboring her, something that only Hudson knew.

"Kyle could be keeping her around for a reason." Grace pointed out. "She might be a valuable piece that can be used against Joseph."

"I'm not sure about that." Kim said. "He seemed pretty adamant about not giving her up to John. He seems to be very protective of her."

"Whats more….." Sharky blurted out. "..is that Jess Black was with them when they came here. That girl probably hates the peggies the most of anyone. So I'm surprised she didn't try anything."

"I'm guessing that would be because of Kyle." said Grace. "Jess is pretty loyal to him so that even she would retrain herself around Faith."

Mary crossed her arms. "So it seems like he is the key here. I honestly think that we should keep under some sort of house arrest, watch her at all times. Then when this is all over, we hand her over to the authorities. Kyle will just have to listen to us and deal with it." She saw a lot of those gathered at the table staring at her. "But it seems like you all have different opinions. So lets hear them. Adelaide, you're up first."

"I think we should just let things be as there are. Like I've said, Kyle's been doing the best he can to help us out. We've made tremendous progress because of him. If he believes that someone like Faith Seed can change then let him. Maybe he's right. I'll say that she was polite when she tried to purchase the marina off of me. I may have been a little rude to her because she was from the cult but she never held it against me. Jacob's men were the one who took over my marina, not her's. She's left me alone all this time so I have nothing against her."

"I'm with mama on this one." Hurk blurted out. "Kyle is a cool dude and Faith is such a sweetheart. It would be mucho bad karma if we did anything to those two."

Sharky nodded his head. "For once, I agree with Hurk here.

"Grace?"

The war veteran thought for a few moments before giving her answer. "I have to admit, I'm still a bit wary of Faith. For all that she has done in the past, her being around here is very off putting. I'm not sure at all why Kyle brought her here or why he is determined to protect her. However, I do recognize his determination. I respect the fact that he seems to have no doubt, and he is going all in on this. He's shown that he'll go through great lengths to achieve what he wants. I advise that we keep the status quo. We will learn more as time goes on, either he was a fool to trust Faith or a hero to achieve what we never thought was possible."

"Nick, Kim?"

"I have to agree with Grace on one thing, the man is determined he is. I saw it right away when he helped me get back my plane. I saw it again when he sacrificed himself to John. He's shown it in defending Faith Seed. The man has a fire that is going to torch those peggies to ashes. We need someone like that on our side. As for Faith Seed, I can't really say. I've heard things but she's never done anything to my family. That's all I can say on that."

Kim picked up where he left off. "Kyle has gone out of way to help people like we have discussed and witnessed. If it weren't for him, who knows where he would be right now? Regarding Faith Seed, I think we should try to understand more about why she's here instead of shutting her down. There's probably things we don't know. I believe we need to keep an open mind on this. Faith is a mystery we need to observe more before coming to a conclusion."

"Pastor?"

"I believe that if a person seeks forgiveness or attempts to atone, they should be welcomed. Kyle was able to see good in her and turn her away from evil. I believe that people deserve a second chance if they desire to change their ways."

Mary looked at them all. Most of them were agreed in principle. But there was still one more voice to be heard. Everyone at the table turned to the last person who had not voiced their opinion. In fact, she had seemed invisible since last she spoke. Deputy Hudson had her eyes closed making a few believe she was asleep. But in reality, she was thinking long and hard about what to say.

"Deputy Hudson?"

Hudson's eyes remained closed then they suddenly opened and she stood up. "I still remember that day when we went to go arrest The Father. Despite all the shit that went down, Kyle kept his cool. He managed to escape from the peggies against all odds. In such a short time, he caused so much trouble for John Seed that he was willing to trade me just to gets his hands on Kyle. On that day when we passed each other, I saw the same look that he had when we had arrested The Father. No fear, no hesitation, no guilt. Against all odds again, he escaped the cult. Kyle is a god damn hero in my book. The bravest man I've ever seen. I'm certain of this because when next we met, he came to me for help." Jerome saw here she was going with this and his eyes widened in fear.

Hudson continued. "He boldly asked if I could help watch over Faith Seed while she was hidden away. The very same Faith Seed that was in charge of producing the bliss that made lives hell and supposedly ruled over the Henbene with an iron fist." Jerome breathed a sigh of relief that Hudson did not reveal the location. "Now I was just a skeptical as some of you were when you learned that he had been hiding Faith Seed away. But I brushed those thoughts away. Why? Because Kyle earned my trust. He did his best to help me like he helped each and every one of you. I think we owe it to him to be able to trust in him. He trusts Faith and he also trusted us. We went through with his plan and we actually killed John fucking Seed. If anyone could change Faith Seed, turn her away from evil like Jerome said, its Kyle. He's never let us down and seeing his devotion, I don't think she'll let us down either." Hudson sat back down after finishing.

There was no dissent, Mary thought. They all believe in Kyle and after Hudson's speech, they realized that Kyle believed in them too. Perhaps it was time to have an open mind, to give people a second change, let go of hate. Kyle had done more then help those at the table, he had influenced them, shaped their views. They were a mish-mash of people that were united by Kyle's drive, his ambition. Faith Seed had become a part of that group. Who were they to decide that she didn't belong? Mary suddenly came to the realization that besides Jess, Faith may be the most devoted of them all. The decision was made.

"I see you're all mostly in agreement. Then we will give Faith Seed a chance, for Kyle."

Joseph Seed was in his office writing on a notebook. He was trying to write a speech. Something he could use to reassure his followers that everything would be alright. Normally, Joseph just spoke from his mind and heart. But recent events had caused both to be unstable. The mercenary's acts, what he did to John; it had to be a test from God. That's what Joseph kept telling himself. He hoped he would hear the voice again so that he could receive guidance on what to do, how to proceed. Joseph wanted to be calm about the situation but human emotions were getting in the way. There was a knock on his door.

"Come in."

Jacob came in and closed the door. He was wearing his usual military fatigues and his usual grim look.

"We found John, brother."

"Joseph looked up from his paper with wide eyes. "Did you?"

"Yes, we fished him out of the river. My soldiers couldn't believe it. Some of them had not believe what had happened to John but then they saw the truth."

"So, what did you tell them?"

"I told them that this is why they fight, so things like this don't happen. What happened to John was a warning. I told everyone that they need to fight their hardest to make sure that something like this never happens again. They seemed to believe me but I might have been because I was fucking pissed as hell. You're better than me at inspiring speeches brother."

The fact that Jacob swore in front of him, and tried his hand at humor showed that things had changed. Jacob had never done any of those things before. It just showed how much things had changed.

"I have to admit Jacob, I'm quite at a loss of what we should do. I don't think its time yet to resort to the final option, do you?"

Jacob thought for a moment, his expression unchanging. " I think we need to hold fast to what we have Joseph. John has shown that 'the best defense is a goof offense' is not true in this situation. We need to wait, we need to fortify, we need to rebuild. We need to let Kyle come to us, on our turf. I think traps and ambushes are the key. We had him on the run a few times because of it. The guerilla tactics I saw in the middle east were effective. That can work here too. Eventually, the mercenary will let down his guard. That is when we will destroy him."

Joseph nodded in agreement, proud that is older brother was so confident. "You always did know war Jacob. I can trust in your plans."

"We are most likely going to have to abandon John's ranch. I'll send a runner to have the remaining forces relocate to the Holland bunker. That should protect our final option."

"Very well." Jacob turned to leave but Joseph stopped him. "Before you go, could you send John up here when you can? I wish to see him before I give a sermon to our brethren."

"It will be done brother" Jacob said tonelessly as he nodded and left.

Joseph went back to writing his speech, feeling more confident than before.