Chapter 22: To Understand a Siren
"What do you mean Eli turned his fucking back on us?" Kyle was stunned. He didn't expect this of Eli, not after their joint ops. How could he pull this?
"Not only did he turn his back and not let me in, he also said his people have orders to shoot you on sight if they see you….." She motioned her heard towards Faith who had come back from the trailer and was sitting the passenger seat. "….with her."
"He knows?" There was Eli's reason.
"Yeah, he knows. I guess they saw you when you were going to and from the radar station."
"Shit." Kyle stared at the ground trying to think of a new course of action.
Jess sighed. "Look, I know its not your fault…..or hers. I figured Eli would be a bit more understanding with us considering we've helped him in the past."
"What's done is done." He looked back up at her. "We'll just head south back into Holland Valley. There's that place where we found Boomer. Owners got killed. I feel bad taking over their place but right now its our best option."
Jess nodded. "That's a good plan. We'll cover the entrance into Holland Valley if Jacob tries anything.
"Then its settled. We probably shouldn't linger here any longer in case Eli tries to make good on his warnings. Go start the truck and I'll let Sarah know what we're doing."
Jess went to her truck while Kyle quickly ran to the trailer to let Sarah know the plan. She wasn't happy about it but he reassured her that the place they would be going to would be safe. He came back to his vehicle to find Faith staring down in front of the seat.
"Is my fault, isn't it?"
Jess started pulling the trailer towards the road and Kyle started to follow her. "No, its not your fault. You did nothing wrong."
"But I'm the reason you're being denied shelter, the reason why he's now threatening to kill you.
"You know what? Fuck him. If he wants to judge because of his dealings with the Seeds in the past, then that's his choice.
Faith looked up, surprised by Kyle's harshness. "You know you won't be welcome up here. I've heard from Jacob in the past that the whitetails have some of the best scouts. You won't be able to sneak back up here without them knowing."
Kyle followed Jess onto the road as they started heading south. "Then they can fucking fight Jacob by themselves. It just seemed to me that they weren't making any progress until Jess and I came along."
Faith sensed that Kyle was taking this personally. "So what are you going to do then?"
"We're going back to Holland Valley. I'm going to gather the people that do believe in us and discuss what we should do. Right now, we going to take up residence at the place that's across from Gardenview. I don't like taking over dead people's homes but its our best option for shelter at the moment. I don't to bother Jerome at this hour."
Faith nodded and went back to looking out the side window like she normally did. They made it into Holland Valley without any trouble. The group parked right outside the home of Rae-Rae, its former owner. There was a quick discussion on sleeping arrangements. Sarah was fine with the trailer, so she stayed there. Kyle urged Faith to take the bedroom. That left Kyle and Jess was the two couches that were in the living room. All three of them were so tired that they fell asleep almost instantly.
Kyle was the first to wake up. He had never been a heavy sleeper, the day prior being an exception. When the sunlight hit his eyes, they groggily opened. Even though he didn't get much sleep compared to normal people, he felt refreshed. Last night had been exhausting in more ways than one. But now that he was awake and feeling better; he felt energized to accomplish something. First things first though, he needed to meet with his comrades in arms. Getting up from the couch, he grabbed his radio and thought of who to contact first. Kyle decided on Nick mostly on the fact that he was the last person he had talked to.
"Nick, you there?"
There was silence. Then Kyle heard what he assumed was a yawn before a voice spoke. "Who is this?"
"It's Kyle."
A pause. "Partner, do you have an idea what time it is?"
Kyle had seen very few clocks in Hope County. He had mostly just used the sun's positioning. "Sorry about that Nick."
"Its fine man." There was another yawn. "So what did you need this early in the morning?"
"Well Nick, since we've last talked things have….escalated. The whitetail mountains are a no go right now so I feel that we all need to meet to decide on what to do next?"
"Geez, what happened Kyle? Did Jacob go all out on you for our job at the radar station?"
"Its more complicated than that Nick. We'll discuss it when we all meet. Do you think we should meet at the Spread Eagle again?"
There was a short silence as Nick came up with an idea. "How bout this partner? Kim has been eager for all of us to get together and eat with each other. How about we invite everyone to my place for breakfast. We'll set up a table in the hanger so we'll have lots of space for the us and the food. How's that sound?"
"That sounds great Nick." Kyle thought for a moment. "But along with discussing on what to do next; I think we need to have a discussion regarding Faith."
"Well, we kinda already had a discussion on her partner. We all agreed that you had your reasons for bringing her along and they we would try not to hold anything against her."
"Nick, I think you need to understand the why. Its important for you guys to understand why things happened the way they did. Understanding will lead to acceptance rather than tolerance. I don't want to have any of the suspicion I got up north. What time should we be at your place?"
"How bout you guys get here around 9:30? That gives you three hours."
"Alright Nick, see you guys then." Kyle ended the call. He got to stretch. Three hours was plenty of time. He'd figured he'd let the girls sleep one more hour. In the meantime, he would get ready himself and get some fresh air. Luckily the bathroom was separate from the main bedroom so he was able to shower without potentially disturbing Faith. After he had cleaned up, he went outside. It was a temperate, early may morning; the sun was just beginning to rise from the horizon. Kyle gazed at the surrounding scenery. If the place hadn't been torn apart by a militant cult, it would have been a nice place to vacation in the summer.
"Whatcha up to?" A voice called out from behind him. Before he could turn around, Faith had appeared by his side.
"I was just getting some fresh air. I'm surprised you're not still sleeping. I would have thought you would be exhausted after the events after yesterday."
"I didn't get much sleep. I heard you moving around this morning, so I wanted to see what you were up to."
"Oh, sorry about waking you up."
She shook her head. "Like I said its fine. I was basically awake anyways." She turned towards him. "So what's the plan for today?"
"Nick Rye invited us over for breakfast. We're going to go eat there and discuss what we should do next."
Kyle could see Faith frown from the corner of his eye. "Oh, well that sounds nice. I've heard that Kim is an amazing cook. I hope you guys have fun."
He looked at her with confusion. "You know you're coming too, right?"
Faith's eyes widened in surprise. "What do you mean? Are you sure they're alright with that? I still get the feeling that they don't trust me. I don't want to go if its going to make people feel uncomfortable." She shifted her gaze to the ground.
"Yes, they're alright with it." He was tempted to tell her that they had a meeting about her but he figured it would make her feel worse. "Look Faith, I think now's the time to tell everyone your story; what you went through, how you got to where you are today. They need to understand your story so they're able to fully accept you."
Faith looked up but still had a worried look on her face. "But what if what I say changes their minds and they want me gone? They'll turn on you like Eli did. I know I did some terrible things when I was with the project. I own up to what I've done but I'm afraid it'll cause them to become hostile."
He put his hands on his shoulders and looked her directly in the face. "Faith, its going to be alright. These are people we can trust. They're people we've helped out personally. I think they'll be willing to listen what you have to say with an open mind." He smiled. "And I won't let you go it alone. I'll be sure to tell them about Joseph's machinations. I'll be with you every step of the way."
Faith beamed at him. "Thank you Kyle. I'm so thankful that you're with me."
They gazed into each other's eyes, both wondering if the other would make or move. After a few moments, Kyle chickened out and took his hands off Faith's shoulders.
"Well I guess we better get ready huh?" He said nervously and headed back inside. Faith watched him. His eyes and face said one thing, but his mind was still in doubt. She saw that he truly did care for her. Faith resolved not rush things. Eventually, she thought, things will work themselves out.
Jess slept for a bit longer but eventually Kyle decided to wake her up. "Seriously Kyle?" She moaned grumpily. "What's going on that you had to shake me awake?"
"The Ryes have invited us over to have breakfast. While we eat, we can discuss on what we're going to do next?"
"What time are we supposed to be there?"
"9:30"
"What time is it now?
"8:15."
"Geez, well I better get ready then."
Faith found a change of clothes for both herself and Kyle from the bedroom. Jess was insistent on wearing what she had. They finally headed out in one truck with Kyle driving, Jess in the passenger seat, and Faith behind her in the back. The trio managed to arrive at the place on time with Nick waiting outside to greet them.
"Kyle Jess!" He lowered his tone and his smile. "Faith. We've got everything set up inside the hanger. Foods almost ready."
Jess headed for the hanger, but Faith opted to remain with Kyle who stayed with Nick. "So who else is coming?" He asked.
"Well Adelaide isn't coming. Apparently the peggies decided to move in on Hurk Sr.'s property finally and took it over. He ran with his tail between his legs to Adelaide's marina. So now Adelaide has got to deal with that issue. Also means that Hurk and Sharky won't be coming either depending on how you look at it.
"Mary's not coming either. Business at the Spread Eagle has been picking up since we drove the peggies away. Jerome said he would come though and pass down any relevant info down. Grace is already here and that's about it. So its me, Kim, you, Jess, Faith, Grace, and Jerome. Seven people in total, should be enough food for all of us."
Just then, Kim came out of the house carrying a huge plate full of pancakes. Nick saw Kyle staring at it and chuckled. "Looks good right? That should be the last of it so we should to the hanger before she yells at us."
They followed Kim into the hanger where she set the plate at a separate table containing all the other food. She turned and beamed at them. "Welcome! Help yourselves!"
Everyone started grabbing food and putting it on their plates. There was also freshly orange juice at the end of the table.
"Geez Kim, I think you'll be the hardest working pregnant women I'll ever know." Kyle remarked on the way back to the table.
"With Nick, I gotta be on my toes." She said happily.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Nick pouting like he was being falsely accused.
"Nothing Nick. Just eat."
Kyle sat at one end of the eating table. Arranged clockwise starting next to him was Faith, Jess, Kim, Nick, Grace, and then Jerome. Kyle was normally a fast eater so he was wolfing down his food. When he looked up to drink some of his orange juice, he saw Faith looking at him. He then felt self-conscious, but she dispelled that by giving him a warm smile. Kyle smiled back and went back to eating. He did notice that Faith was not eating much, or at least she was just taking small bites. Some time passed before everyone finished their food.
"Man, that was good!" Kyle concluded.
"We have a lot more food now thanks to you." Kim remarked. "With John gone, we don't have the to worry about the peggies trying to take it from us."
"They're still holed up in the bunker though, right?" Kyle asked.
"They are." Grace spoke up. "I'm in charge of the group that's monitoring them. They haven't been out at all since we've taken John out. With how much food he stole though, their stocks might last for quite a bit.
"You guys were up north right?" Nick questioned. "How is it up there?"
Kyle shrugged. "Its back and forth up there between the whitetails and Jacob's group. We took out the radar station, but I doubt we'll be back there any time soon."
"Right you told me about that, but you never mentioned why you guys had to leave. Did the peggies come after you in force?"
"No, we actually took out their pursuit but…." He briefly glanced at Faith then back to Nick. "The Whitetails didn't want us around anymore."
Nick nodded understanding what he was getting at.
"After everything we've fucking done for them." Jess said bitterly to no one in particular. "Eli will fucking miss us when Jacob is on his ass."
"Well there's nothing we can do about it for now." Kyle said glumly.
"Any word from the jail in the henbane?" Jerome asked
Everyone but Kyle and Jess glanced at Faith who shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Kyle answered. "I haven't heard anything. We took out their storage of weapons they were hiding in the statue but otherwise nothing."
There were a few moments of silence before Kim spoke up. "So Faith, you were in the cult. Could you tell us a little about yourself and what possessed you to join them?"
Faith glanced at Kyle for confirmation. He was a bit shocked that Kim was the one who brought up this subject but he figured that it must have been Nick to tell her about it. He gave Faith a nod who glanced around the room to make sure everyone was listening.
"So to start off, I'm actually from this area like most of you. My name is actually Rachel. I am…was the only daughter of the Jessop family based out in the eastern Henbene. My parents, my father especially, were botanists. It's a major reason that I was able to develop the bliss…..Anyways, my parents were always busy so they gave me little attention. What attention they did give me was my father either yelling at me or hitting me for the smallest infraction or even when he was just angry about work. My mother would always take his side. I….always took those beatings with tears in my eyes. I didn't know why my parents hated me so much." Faith looked around the room. There were a few faces of sympathy but one angry look plastered on Kyle's face.
"I tried to escape my family troubles. But my social life wasn't any better. The people in high school would always pick on me. Everyone knew my parents and thus everyone knew I was their daughter. The taunts, the sneers, the insults; they came in waves. Finally, I met someone who didn't try to do those things." Faith looked at Kyle briefly then back at the group. "Her name was Tracey Lader. Like me, she was outcast as well but for different reasons. While I was usually afraid of people because of the fear of them ganging up on me, Tracey was antagonistic. She was the angry kid no one wanted to mess with also not associate with. We first met when we were partnered for a school project. Of course she was rude at first but little by little, we got to know each other. We bonded over out similar situations and found that we shared interests."
"Tracey, beings who she is, managed to convince me to do many things I normally wouldn't have done. When I turned 17, we snuck some alcohol into my house to celebrate. We were getting a bit tipsy when my parents suddenly returned home early. Tracey was able to hide but my dad found me with the alcohol. The beating that day was worst then most but I think it was a turning point. That was when I finally decided to run away with Tracey to escape everything."
"I wouldn't have imagined you to be a drinker." Grace remarked.
Faith gave a small smile. "I wouldn't have thought it as well. But Tracey had her ways of convincing me. Like to run away and join this group of hippies. We smoked weed with them and enjoyed ourselves. Probably for the first time in my life, I was happy. One day we were visited by a man. He offered to sell us drugs at a vastly reduced rate then normal. We agreed, thinking to enjoy ourselves more. But the group we joined didn't approve of the harder drugs we were doing and cast us out. Then we were visited by the man again who this time offered drugs that he said would help take the pain away. Tracey didn't take it but I did. I was desperate. We were alone again, and I wanted something, anything to take the pain away." She looked at Kyle again who had a mixture of sadness and anger in his eyes.
"So how did you end up in the cult?" Jerome asked.
"About a week later, another man came to visit us. He said he had a way to save us from our troubles. We questioned him if he was selling us more drugs. But he proudly announced that he could help leave the drug addiction behind. Tracey had grown attached to alcohol and I to stuff like cocaine. We decided to go with him since we had nothing to lose. That was when I first met The Father.
"We were brought into his compound. I remember him standing at the front of the pews. He was flanked by two men who I found out later were his brothers, John and Jacob. The Father saw me and he smiled. It was such a warm smile, a welcoming smile. As I walked towards him, he opened his arms and embraced me. He stroked by back as I started sobbing. He said 'My child, your family welcomes you home.' They accepted us into the cult. Tracey got assigned somewhere but I was given special treatment. The Father visited me frequently, giving me a substance to help me get over a drug addiction. It took over a year but I was finally free from that despair. I was so happy to have finally found a family that loved me for who I was and helped me fight my demons. At the end, John gave me a tattoo of the formula for cocaine on my arm, as a reminder what I had conquered." She rolled up her sleeves to reveal the tattoo to everyone. There were surprised looks on everyone including Kyle.
"A few days passed and The Father visited me again. He said that he was proud that I had overcome my addiction. I told him that I was happy that he and everyone else helped me overcome it. 'As you have Faith in me, so do I have Faith in you.' He said. He wanted me to change my name to Faith and take on a new mantle. Rachel had been the one who had fallen to the addiction. I was now reborn as Faith."
Faith sighed. This would be the difficult part to tell. "As I'm sure you're well aware, the Project spread quickly. As Faith, I had two main roles. First, I was to convince all the shop owners to either join us as a supplier or to sell their business to us. Most I was able to convince with some persuasion. But a few were resistant and I used….harsher methods. Those included threats, vandalism, and when necessary, violence. At the time, I was brimming with confidence. Confidence that now gave me the power to dictate to those who had wronged me in the past. I now could dish out the justice that I was denied in the past. Which is where my second role comes in, developing the bliss. After doing some research, I managed to develop a substance that would put people in a docile state. The Father dubbed it 'bliss' for the state of mind we thought it put people in. It was used on those that were deemed hostile to our cause. Rather than wasting resources on harming or killing them, we just used the bliss on them. Those became the 'angels' reborn through the bliss." Faith looked around and saw a bunch of disappointed and angry faces which she knew were coming.
"That explains a lot." Kim said. "So you did this for years?"
Faith frowned. "Yes, years. At the time my thought was that The Father had finally given a family that loved me and who I had belonged with. My loyalty to them was such that anyone that opposed them; I would strike back at. The Father had to be right; he took me in, accepted me, his ideals couldn't be wrong."
"So what changed?" Nick asked.
Faith looked at Kyle and kept her gaze on him longer than usual. He nodded for her to continue and she turned back towards the group. "We received word from one of our plants that the police who hadn't joined us would attempt to come arrest The Father. He knew they were coming but said he wasn't afraid, that everything would work out. He just wanted us around to witness that God would not let these people take him from us. Three came in, one was loud, shouting at The Father. Then there was the sheriff who did his best to calm everything down." She became silent for a few moments. "Then there was a third man, but we didn't know who he was. I glanced at The Father and briefly saw surprise on his face but then he was calm like usual. I sensed that this man was different, out of place. He had seen his share of battles. I looked into his face and wondered if I should have been as calm as I was or terrified. Do you remember that day Kyle?"
"I do" he said simply slightly smirking.
She gave him a brief smile before returning to her story. "Anyways, they tried to arrest The Father but they were unsuccessful. We captured three out of the four. The Deputy Hudson was given to John, the other deputy was given to Jacob, and I was given the marshal. We were given orders to convert them to our cause and/or find out more information from them. I was successful in converting the marshal but from what I heard is that Jacob's deputy died from a test and John's deputy…well….Kyle was the only one to escape. I think most of you know what happened after that.
"I'll take over from here." Kyle announced. "I indeed manage to escape. Perhaps by pure luck. Back at the compound the Seeds each had their own looks; John had arrogance, Jacob had scorn, and Joseph had a combination of both. But Faith seemed to be only curious. So when she asked me to meet her in person, I sensed that it wasn't a trap. We had an amicable discussion."
"Which surprised me." Faith continued for him. "I had heard news of him tearing through John and Jacob's forces. I figured to meet the man himself. Rather than be the cold killer, I expected him to be, he was rather polite and friendly. He convinced me to have a truce of sorts with the resistance holding out in the jail. It ended up working out for both of us."
"In my time in the henbane," Kyle explained. "I uncovered some information about past 'Faiths.' The short story is that Joseph had people play 'Faith' in the past but had them killed when they didn't do exactly as he said. I also found out how he recruited the Faith before you. It was all a set up. They spied on her, watching for when she was most vulnerable. Then they sent someone to get her hooked on drugs and then offer a way out through the cult. I wanted to tell her, explain it to her, but John came up first. However, something happened."
"I had heard that John had Kyle captive." Faith continued the story. "I owed him for keeping my people out of danger and I also knew what John is capable of. I didn't want anything bad to happen to him so I used all my pull with The Father to convince him to have John transfer Kyle to me. I was supposed to convert him. Convince him to join us. But he told me everything. A small part of my heart had started doubting The Father. But after meeting Kyle again, everything changed. I wanted to go with him. The Father only wanted to use me. Kyle actually cared."
Kyle motioned to Jess. "Jess found us when we had made it out of the bunker. We went to find those responsible. We found out one was in whitetail and one was in charge of the statue in the Henbene. We righted a wrong, delivered some fucking justice and brought some closure.:
Faith smiled. "And the rest is history."
Nick wiped his forehead. "Man, you two have been on one hell of a journey."
"I always had wondered where those 'Faiths' came from. As if we couldn't find reasons to hate Joseph Seed." Said Kim.
"So you two came together and took out those responsible huh?" Grace smiled slightly. "I think you guys make a good team."
Faith blushed slightly. "Yes, we do."
"Faith, even with everything that has happened when you were in the cult, you took a big step by turning away from it." Jerome said solemnly. "Not only that, you actually helped us fight against it. I think that was very brave of you. You've earned forgiveness in my eyes."
"Mine too" Grace added.
Nick and Kim both nodded. "Ours as well."
"What about you Jess?" Jerome asked.
Jess who had been silent the whole time looked around, wondering why everyone was waiting for her to answer. Then she leaned back in her chair. "She's done what she's wanted to do. She's helped both Kyle and I against the peggies. She's alright in my book."
"Thank you Jess." Faith was happy that Jess had finally reconciled with her in public.
So, can we all accept Faith/Rachel as our ally now?" Kyle questioned.
Everyone nodded. "I'll make sure to convince Mary and everyone else." Jerome added. "You'll be welcome here in Holland Valley Faith."
Faith bowed her head a bit. "Thank you."
"Well now that the issue is settled we can talk about….." Just then a voice came over from Kyle's radio.
"Kid, you there?"
"Yeah, I'm here. What's up Dutch?"
"Things have become dire in the Henbene."