Chapter 19: Rest and Retrieval
Kyle opened his eyes to darkness. He wasn't sure how long he slept but it couldn't be dark already right? Then he realized he was in Faith's room adjacent to the church that had no windows. Right. He rolled over and began to get up hoping he wouldn't bump into anything and wake Faith. When he was finally upright, he let his eyes adjust to the dark room. Once he could see enough, he slowly made his way to the bathroom, carefully closing the door. He breathed a big sigh of relief as he turned on the lights in the bathroom so he could hop in the shower. So what would they do next? Jess had already gone north. Perhaps Kyle and Faith should follow her? But Jess was adamant about going alone. Should they go east? It was Faith's former region. Would she be reluctant to go against her former people? There was also the fact that Kyle didn't know who had taken over. Jacob might have been then he would be spread thin. So it was probably someone else, an unknown. Kyle hates unknowns. It made things risky. The last option was to remain in Holland Valley. But what good would that do? He wanted to make some more progress, not sit around and rest.
Kyle hadn't come any closer to deciding what to do when he was done showering but least his body had felt better. He dressed and made his way back into the main room. Just then he heard a knock on the door. Kyle's first action was to check to see if it woke Faith but she just seemed to turn in her sleep. Before another knock could be made, he quickly made his way over to the door and opened it. Pastor Jerome was on the other side.
"Hello Kyle."
"Morning Pastor. What can I do for you?"
Jerome chuckled. "Its actually 4pm. You've been asleep for quite a while.
Kyle closed his eyes. I guess they had slept longer than they thought. "I'm assuming we missed something?"
"Well, you didn't miss anything you were expected to show up to. Some things just happened while you were asleep. May I come in?"
"Sure, hold on." He turned on the room light to rouse Faith and sure enough, she woke up.
"Ugh, what time is it?" She said with a groan.
"Time to get up sleepyhead." Kyle said with a grin.
Faith glared at him but said nothing. She rolled out of bed and made her way to the bathroom to shower. Kyle motioned for Jerome to come in.
"So what's been happening?" Kyle asked
"Well we had a discussion regarding what was left of Eden's Gate in this region. We decided to at least neutralize John's ranch and then just keep a close eye on the bunker. We're not sure if we're ever going to be able to assault that location but perhaps they will eventually give up."
"I see. So you need my help to take John's ranch?"
Jerome held up his palm and smiled. "No need Kyle. We actually sent a small group to watch the place and they reported that the place was empty. It looks like the cult cleared out of it before we were able to get there. So now all that's left is to watch the bunker."
"I guess they realized the writing on the wall. That bunker is probably the only thing they could adequately defend right now. Did they leave anything behind?"
"They left behind some weaponry and a few vehicles that they couldn't take. We already distributed the weapons, but the vehicles should still be there."
Kyle grinned and pat Jerome on the shoulder. "That's good. We'll probably need them whenever we decide to head out."
Jerome suddenly looked nervous. He glanced to the bathroom door then back to Kyle. He looked like he had something else to say but the words wouldn't come out.
"Was there something else?"
"Well…" Jerome hesitated and then sighed. "I'm not supposed to tell you this but we also discussed the matter of you and Faith."
Just as suddenly as Jerome has changed his demeanor, Kyle turned serious. He crossed his arms. "Go on…"
"Everyone is still confused why Faith is here. I'm afraid I couldn't reveal the fact that I harbored her. However, most of your comrades were in agreement that no action should be taken against you or Faith."
"Why would there be any action taken against me? I just took out John Seed and convinced Faith to leave Joseph. I feel like I've accomplished a lot in a short amount of time." Kyle felt betrayed.
Jerome seemed guilty as he avoided eye contact. "I know it looks bad. But believe me when I told you that everyone really appreciates what you have done. That's why they're willing to put aside their mistrust of Faith. They're willing to put that aside for all you've done."
Kyle seemed unconvinced "She'll prove it."
"Prove what?"
"Prove that she's genuine in wanting to be here, that being in the cult was a mistake. She'll show everyone." He turned to glance at the bathroom door.
"I hope you're right Kyle. Believe me when I tell you that after you, I want her to prove everyone wrong. It'll show that those who want to make up for what they done, can be forgiven."
He turned to leave and made it to the door when Kyle spoke again. "Do you have any spare clothes? I'm realizing that I've worn the same stuff for a bit now and I don't want the peggies to smell me coming."
Jerome grinned slightly as he turned his head back towards Kyle. "I'll see what I can find." He then left.
Kyle waited for Faith to finish her shower. He heard Jerome open the door again, drop a bag off, then slip away. He decided to take the chance to change while Faith was still in the bathroom. He just managed to finish before she came out. For some reason, his eyes were transfixed on her. Her hair flowed loosely down; her face radiant. Even when she looked back toward him and saw him staring, he couldn't take his eyes off her. It was not until she spoke that he snapped out of his trance.
"What?"
Kyle quickly looked away embarrassed. He went to go organize the bag he grabbed his clothes out of so he could do something to take his mind off what just happened. Kyle was a bit upset with himself for having lost his composure. Faith seemed to take it in stride as she moved on to another topic.
"So what did Jerome have to say?"
Kyle continued organizing the bag. "He let us know that they cleared out John's ranch while we were asleep. Or more accurately, the cult cleared out and left it deserted."
Faith sat on the bed watching Kyle mess with the bag of clothes. "That most likely means they're all huddled up in John's bunker. Its their last refuge and its very defensible."
"That's my thoughts as well. Luckily, it seems in their haste that they left a bunch of weapons and even vehicles back at the ranch."
Faith nodded slightly even though Kyle wasn't looking at her. "So what's the plan then?"
He finally turned back to look at her and shrugged. "First we'll go see what we can get from the ranch. Jerome said that the weapons have already been distributed but we could use one of the cult vehicles to get around." He stood up and faced her. "The widowmaker is a big target and I also get the feeling that its almost out of ammo anyways."
"Hmmm okay. Well, I'm ready when you are."
Kyle looked at her in confusion. "Don't you want to change first?"
Faith got up from the bed and frowned at him. "What's wrong with my clothes?"
He hesitated. Faith was wearing tights jeans and a tight shirt. Kyle fought the urge against the urge to stare again with mixed results. "Well…uh…I was just thinking that you want to be something that was a bit more clean."
He noticed the edge of her lips curled up. "Oh ok. I have some more clothes in the drawer.
Kyle nodded and turned away. There wasn't much to look at, so he just stared at the door. He waited patiently as he heard Faith open drawers and changing clothes. After a few minutes when it seemed to be much longer, she was done.
"I'm ready now."
He turned back to look at her and his mouth almost dropped. She had chosen blue jeans and an even tighter black shirt that exposed a part of her midriff on the bottom. "Let's go" He said trying to get things moving so he wouldn't be distracted again.
Before he turned around to leave, he thought he saw a smile on Faith's lips. Shit…
Kyle found it to be a bit of a slog trying to get a ride to the ranch. Everyone seemed to be out doing something, even Jerome who he just had talked to not too long ago. Finally, he was able to flag down someone to take them to the ranch. The guy seemed nervous about it but he finally relented. Kyle sat in back with Faith and watched as the man kept stealing glances at them from the rearview mirror. When they finally reached the ranch, Kyle thanked the man who merely nodded then drove off.
John's place was relatively unchanged from when Kyle last saw it. The buildings looked like they were untouched and there were still barricades and defenses all spread out in front where the driveway began. The only difference was that instead of cultists milling about, there were civilians. Civilians that were armed with rifles. A few were patrolling about, some were chatting with one another, while others just stood and watched their surroundings. There were many more people than Kyle expected, with John gone, people had less to fear.
One of the people on guard duty noticed the pair standing around and came around his post to greet them. He was young, younger than Kyle or Faith. He looked like he was barely twenty-one.
"Hey! How's it going? You must be Kyle right?"
Kyle nodded, getting annoyed that people were ignoring Faith.
"They told us that you were probably going to be coming here. Man…." The kid smiled, full of excitement. "Its really you, the one that took out John Seed. Its an honor sir."
The kid stuck his hand out to shake. Kyle looked back to Faith to see what she was thinking and she had an amused look on her face. Trying not to sigh, Kyle turned back and shook the kid's hand. "Do you need help with anything?" he asked cheerfully
"Actually, we do." Kyle made sure to emphasize the we. "We were told that there were still a few cult vehicles parked here. Also, we were wondering if all the weapons really had been distributed like we were told."
The kid's smile grew wider at the opportunity to help. "Yeah, there were some vehicles left over. There's a couple of trucks parked over there." He pointed to the area near the garage. "The doors are unlocked and the keys are on the seats so if you need one of them, feel free to take it. As for the weapons, they assigned someone as the quartermaster for weapon distribution. You'll find him over there." He pointed to a man that looked familiar to Kyle.
"Thanks" It was all Kyle said as he started making his way towards the quartermaster with Faith in tow. The kid frowned as he saw he was being ditched but his eyes were overcome with fear at seeing Faith following Kyle. He didn't say anything but the kid was shocked for a few moments into inaction before he snapped himself out of it and returned to his post.
As Kyle drew closer, the quartermaster grew more familiar to him. He finally recognized him as the store owner for the shop at Falls End. The man saw Kyle coming and greeted him with a smile.
"Hey, look who its is, my best customer! How are you doing Kyle?"
Before he could answer, the man turned his attention to Faith who was now standing next to Kyle. The man's smile had disappeared. "Faith." He said acknowledging her presence.
Well at least it was a start. "So, I heard you're the quartermaster for the area. You have anything left over that hasn't been taken?"
The man's attention returned to Kyle and his smile was back. "Hmmm well, most of the weaponry that was found around here has already been taken. However….." The man's grin widened. "I do have this." He reached down and pulled out an M4 assault rifle with a grenade launcher attachment.
Kyle's eyes widened as he marveled at the weapon. Launcher attachments were military grade gear. He wondered how the cult was able to get its hands on this sort of tech. All he knew is now he wanted it.
"So how much to convince you to part with it?" He asked
"Well, seeing this is some advanced gear, it's going to set you back a bit. How about 3k?"
"Done. I'll make sure Adelaide pays you." Kyle went to reach for the gun but the man took it away."
"Ah ah ah, that's not going to work this time. I had to pester that woman to no end to get her to pay the money that you owed me. She eventually paid, but she was pretty ticked off at me. I'd rather not have to go through that again. So you either pay up front with cash or trade in guns. Otherwise, no deal."
"You gotta be fucking kidding me. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even have all this weaponry to begin with" Kyle complained.
The man held his ground. "That's true. Even so, I can't just part with it so easily. I'm a business man you see. Right now, selling guns is my livelihood. So I'm afraid my offer still stands."
"Scott, you should just give it to him." A voice came from behind said. Kyle turned around to find Grace approaching them.
"You gotta understand Grace. This is how I make my money. I can't just be giving away weapons left and right. I was the one who found this, I should be able to sell it."
Grace crossed her arms. "Think of it like an investment. With that gun, I'm sure he can put an even greater hurt on the peggies. More dead peggies means more weapons for you. The second reason is that it would be wise for you to get on the good side of the man who took out John Seed. You wouldn't be in the position you are right now if it weren't for him."
The man looked like he wanted to argue but Grace looked like she had won the argument. He sighed and pushed the gun towards Kyle. "Fine, she has a point. You make sure you take care of this gun, you hear?
Kyle smiled as he took the gun and held it in his hands. "Do you have any ammo for this, also for the launcher?"
The man looked at Kyle like he had told him he was going out of business. "You're lucky I like you so much. You're going to have to give me a few minutes while I go get it." The man wandered off so Kyle turned his attention to Grace while continuing to examine his new gun.
"You have no idea how grateful I am to you Grace."
She waved her hand dismissively. "Don't mention it. With all that you do, make sure you have the best weaponry for the job is a no brainer."
Grace then glanced at Faith; her expression unchanging. After a few moments, she turned her gaze back to Kyle. So what brings you guys here?"
"Jerome told us that you guys had taken John's ranch. Figured there was some leftovers that the cult had so we figured to drop by and take a look."
Grace chuckled a bit. "Always the opportunist uh? I was the one that led the team that was supposed to scout this place. But then we found it to be completely empty. After radioing it in, we now seem to have a whole platoon guarding it. Though I'm inclined to believe that most showed up for the spoils or because of the fact that the cult couldn't retaliate."
Kyle nodded in agreement. "I imagine so. Still, at least their presence means that the cult will be hesitant to push out of the bunker."
Grace shrugged. "That's the plan. Hold them there until they give or something. But I get the feeling they're never going to do that. We're going to need to take the fight to them one day."
They stood there in silence, contemplating what was said. Suddenly Grace smiled. "Anyways, I've taken up enough of your time. I need to get back to patrol anyways. You two take care now."
She gave them a wave then left. It was the best of timing as at that moment, the quartermaster had returned with a large box.
"Here's what I got for you." He said trying to catch his breath. You have enough magazines to last you quite a bit. As for the grenades, they're a bit hard to come by so you only have a limited amount." He opened the crate so Kyle could look inside. "Also I decided to be extra generous and give you a suit of body armor to hold all this stuff."
Kyle reached inside and pulled out the mentioned body armor. He felt like a kid at the candy store. He quickly put in out than started taking the magazines out of the box and putting them in the pouches. When he was done, he looked down at himself with pride.
"You definitely look the part of the commando now." He said pleased with himself. "Don't forget the gun. Like I said, you should be fine on magazines but use those grenades wisely. If you need any more, you can come back to me but no more giveaways."
Kyle picked up the rifle and slung it over his shoulder with a smile. "Got it. Thanks again for the armament."
The man waved his hand dismissively. "Sure, I'll see you again I'm sure." The man then left to take care of other business.
Kyle turned back to Faith and was a bit guilty that he had forgotten about her while he was marveling over his newly acquired weaponry. However she was smiling at him, holding no grudges which he was incredibly appreciative for.
"I do agree with him that you definitely look like a commando with all the gear on." She said.
Kyle felt suddenly embarrassed and instinctively scratched the back of his head. He intended to change the subject. "Why don't we go find that truck now huh?" He started making his way over to where he had seen the vehicles parked. Faith kept up, walking side by side with him. Kyle looked over at her and suddenly had a thought.
"Hey, do you still have the 1911 I gave to you?"
Faith nodded and pulled it from behind herself and held it, showing him. "Why don't I teach you how to fire that like I promised?
She frowned. "Now? Here?"
"Don't worry about it. Let's get to the truck first."
The truck that Kyle had his eyes on was parked by some barricades. He found it odd that no one was patrolling near them as anyone could just come along and take them. Kyle figured it was because this group was just newly formed.
"Just wait right here. I'm going to see if I can find some targets you can practice with."
Faith watched him leave feeling conflicted. One part of her didn't want to have anything to do this whatsoever. She wanted to avoid any violence or killing. Those things only made things worse she reasoned. Violence brings more violence. Another part of her felt the opposite. She didn't want to feel helpless, to have to always be protected. She wanted to be able to defend herself, to strike at those who wished her harm. Avoiding violence just gives a green light to those who wish to harm because there no will to stop them. But there was also a third part. A part that had started out small but was continuously growing. Faith hadn't overheard all of Kyle's conversation with Jerome but she caught the end of it, the part about proving herself. Kyle had confidence in her that she would prove everyone wrong. She had experienced something similar with Joseph. He had faith in her to be something special, to finally succeed when her past had been a miserable hell. But Joseph only wanted her to succeed so she could serve him, his grand design. Kyle wanted Faith to succeed for her own well-being, to show that she was the good person he believed her to be. Faith didn't want to let him down. She wanted to prove she was on Kyle's side, that she would fight with him when necessary. But deep down, she was determined because of her growing feelings for him. She would fight not only for herself, but for him, to support him.
Faith snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Kyle coming back. It looked like he was carrying some beer cans with him. "Managed to find these lying about. They're not the best but they'll work."
He set them up on top of a nearby barricade. He then directed Faith to stand a certain distance away, about fifteen feet. "Alright, now first things first. Since this is your first time probably firing a gun, you're going to hold it with two hands." He instructed. "I know its common to see people to fire with one hand but I'd be better if you start out with two so you can practice steadying and be accurate."
Faith awkwardly held the gun in her hands and did her best to take an aiming position. "Like this?"
Kyle grinned and came over to her. "Almost. But you don't want to have the gun stretched too far out. You want it so you can aim properly." He moved her arms so the gun was a bit closer to her. "Also, you want to grip it like this." He put his hands over hers and showed her how to properly grip the gun. Faith's cheeks were turning a bit red but luckily Kyle was distracted. "Then all you gotta do is look down the sights and pull the trigger." He kept his hands on hers as she did what she was told and pulled the trigger. The bullet pinged through the can, knocking it off the barricade. For some reason, Faith felt elated about this. Maybe it had something to do with the way Kyle was smiling at her like a proud parent.
"Alright, nice shot! Now try hitting the next one." He took his hands off and stepped back a few paces to allow Faith to aim. She shifted over to the right can, aimed and pulled the trigger. The bullet had the same effect on this can as the last one. "Good, now one more to go."
Faith shifted her focus to the last remaining can. She noticed that a feeling of excitement had replaced the nervousness she was feeling previously. She again took aim and fired. The can dropped as the other two had done.
Faith heard clapping as Kyle approached her again. "Well done. Three for three."
Faith's excitement now turned into shyness. "It was just three cans." She said softly.
"Sure, it was only three cans but everyone's going to have to start somewhere right? Sometimes people let nerves get the best of them on account of holding something dangerous like a gun. But for your first time firing a weapon, I say you did pretty well!"
Faith looked at him to see Kyle beaming at her. Even for something as simple as shooting three cans, he seemed to treat it as an amazing accomplishment. Perhaps he was just being overly supportive due to the fact that this was her first time firing a weapon. Still, it would be a whole different story if she had to fire a gun at a person. She was still a bit conflicted on that.
Faith looked up from her thoughts to see Kyle had turned away from her and was watching the surrounding area. She felt something was wrong and moved over to his side to better see his face. Indeed, his smile had disappeared was replaced by a look of concern. "Is something wrong?" She asked the obvious.
He turned back towards her. "We're getting some nasty looks from some of the guards. I think they're a bit on edge and us firing over here is making it worse. Why don't we try this again somewhere more secluded next time? Then we won't have to worry about any assholes giving us shit."
Faith nodded. "That's fine. The sun's going down anyways."
The sun going down. It put a new thought in Faith, one that she did not expect. As she and Kyle entered the truck, Faith suddenly thought about Jess. For what reason, she wasn't sure. But Jess had still been gone and hadn't contacted Kyle at all about where she was. Perhaps it was Faith's tendency to worry but for some reason she had a feeling that something bad had happened to Jess. A bad feeling that was amplified by the fact that she knew that Jacob could be as cruel as John, perhaps even more so. Faith knew that Jess was the closest one to Kyle. Even though Faith could see her as a rival for Kyle's affection, she still felt that something should be done.
"Hey."
Kyle glanced her then turned his eyes back on the road. "What's up? Something wrong?" He had noticed her worried look.
"Shouldn't you check in with Jess? We haven't heard from her at all."
He certainly didn't expect that question. It took a few moments for him to process that it was Faith asking about Jess before he could come up with a response. "She should be fine. This isn't the first time she's been up there alone. With what she's told me, she was doing this before I even came to the region. Even when we were separated up there, she managed just fine."
It didn't seem to reassure Faith. "Even so, you'd think she would have radioed in and given us some info. I don't know Kyle; I just have a bad feeling."
Kyle took his eyes off the road again to examine Faith. She did indeed look worried, genuinely worried. It didn't make any sense to him why of all people she would be worried about Jess but he figured it was just one more conformation that she had a good heart.
He tried to give a reassuring smile. "Alright, I'll check with her. Should be handle annoyance." With one hand on the wheel, Kyle pulled out his radio with the other hand. "Jess, you there?"
Silence.
He waited a few moments before trying again. "Jess, you having fun up there?"
No response.
"Jess, are you alright? Respond!"
Nothing.
Now Kyle was getting worried. He was expecting Jess to at least snap at him for being overly concerned about her. But now she was not even responding. Either she forgot to take her radio or…something bad did happen.
"Fuck!"
Faith struggled to hold herself steady as Kyle made a hard turn at an intersection. It looked like he was now heading north instead of going back to Falls End. The truck's speed had picked up too. She could see the panic and worry all over his face.
"Why the hell won't she answer?" He mumbled, talking to himself.
It was almost like night and day. Just a short while ago, he was as happy as anyone could be. Now he was in a state of desperation. Faith had a feeling of guilt as she was the one who caused all this.
"Calm down Kyle. She'll be fine. We just need to find her."
Kyle glanced at her with a hint of anger. "If she was fine, she would have responded!" He snapped at her. He didn't mean to but the present situation was causing him to not think straight.
"How are we even going to find her? Its not like we have a tracker on her or anything. She could be anywhere up in the mountains for all we know or…." He didn't even want to think of the possibility that she had gotten captured.
"She probably went to the Whitetails first." Faith said playing the voice of reason. She had known about the whitetails, especially their leader Eli. He had helped design their bunkers. But soon he was opposed to what the project was doing and formed his own militia to combat them. They had been the most organized resistance in the county.
"I'm sure if we head there and ask them, they'll probably know where she went." Faith wasn't keen on meeting them. They would be a lot less accepting than the people of Holland Valley. But it was their only lead in finding Jess.
Kyle seemed to calm down a bit. "Alright….we'll go see if they know anything."
The rest of the trip was in silence. Kyle kept his eyes on the road, filling with determination to get to their destination as quickly as possible. Faith played the role of lookout, watching to see if any cultists would be suspicious and follow them as they passed by. But the few cultist vehicles she saw up north didn't seem to care. They were much too focused on their own destinations that the truck's affiliation on the outside was more than enough for them. They soon arrived at the Whitetail's bunker, or at least some distance from it. Kyle didn't want to spook them by driving right up to the entrance in a peggie vehicle. He parked the vehicle near the side of a hill while he motioned for Faith to follow him. The walked a little bit before the came to the entrance to the bunker, something that had eluded Jacob for such a long time, or perhaps he always knew where it was.
"Stay over here to the side so they don't see you. I'm just going to ask where Jess is." He pointed to an area beside the bunker door where he wanted her to stand. Faith nodded and moved to the spot where he had indicated. She noticed she was gripping her pistol tightly. Hopefully she wouldn't have to use it so soon.
Kyle knocked on the metal door. A few moments went by before the hatch slid open and a familiar voice was heard. "State your business."
"Its Kyle Volker."
"Well, if it ain't the hero of Holland Valley! You sure fucked up John. Who would have ever thought about causing a bridge to collapse? Its going to take forever to rebuild that one."
Faith thought she could she Kyle rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I'm just here to ask a question."
"Oh? What might that be? Eli and Tammy were really curious about the details. They wondered how the fuck you pissed John off so much that you got him to chase you half way across the county."
"I'm not here for a social call Parker." He said with notable distain. "Did Jess come here? Do you know where she went?"
"Man, you guys are like too peas in a pod. Yeah, Black was here. She was asking what she could do to fuck up Jacob. Eli wanted her to scout the radar station up north. She then left in such a hurry. Like holy shit, we just wanted to know what happened down south. We've heard some rumors but nothing concrete yet."
Normally Kyle would have asked what rumors they were hearing but right now, he was focused on finding Jess that he didn't care. "Thanks for the info Parker." He turned to leave but Parker still insisted on yelling back to him.
"Make sure you come back when you're done alright? Tammy kept asking about the rumors she heard of Faith Seed being loose down south."
Kyle froze, hoping Parker couldn't see him. The whitetails wouldn't be as welcoming to Faith as the people of Holland Valley. If rumors of Faith did spread up here, he would have to deal with the whitetails very cautiously. "We'll see" It was all he said as he motioned Faith to move in such a way where she couldn't be seen by Parker looking out through his slit. Kyle and Faith made it back to the truck and Kyle started driving north.
"Looks like they know about me." Faith lamented.
"For now, they think its just rumors. We'll deal with it when the time comes, but first we need to focus on finding Jess. Keep an eye out for her car."
Faith pushed her worry of the Whitetails to the back of her mind as she scanned the road. Kyle was driving slowly to make sure she didn't miss anything. About halfway to the radar station, Faith spotted something on the side of the road.
"Kyle stop!"
He stopped the truck and turned to look at what Faith had her eyes on. Out on the side of the road leading to a forest was Jess' car. As soon as Kyle saw it he pulled the truck so it was parked on the side right behind it. He quickly got out of the truck, weapon in hand, and headed for the driver side door with Faith following him. The car was riddled with bullets. The driver's side and windshield had been hit as well. Kyle opened the driver's door fearing the worst but to his relief he found nothing. It looked like Jess had taken some fire, but she had escaped. But Kyle's brief relief was replaced by worry. Where did she go?
"We're going into the woods. Stay close to me and keep an eye out."
Faith followed him as moved into the woods. She wondered if a similar thing had happened when Kyle and Jess were ambushed up north. Faith knew that Jacob had chased Jess all around the region but still couldn't catch her. Now it looked like the cult had seen her. She hoped that Jess didn't get caught.
They wandered through the woods for a bit when Kyle suddenly came to a stop. Faith was following so close behind that she almost ran into him. Confused, she moved up to his side to examine his face. It was something she had never seen before. Before she had seen panic, but what she saw was fear. His eyes were wide, his body motionless. Faith followed his gaze to a nearby tree. It was there she saw what caused him great fright. Lying next to the tree was Jess's bow and a trail of blood.