Chapter 23: Break the Siege
"Are you sure of this Dutch?" Kyle asked noticing everyone was staring at him, listening.
"100% kid. The sheriff sent out a distress call a few minutes ago. From the sound of it, the peggies are throwing everything they have at them. I don't know where they got all this manpower and weaponry, but it sounds like they won't last for long without your help."
"We'll be there as soon as we can Dutch. If you can, let them know we're on the way and to keep fighting."
"Got it kid. Good luck. Dutch out."
Kyle put down the radio as he looked up to address all his friends who were eager for news. "The jail in the Henbene is under attack. It sounds like they're throwing everything they have at it. We need to get over there before they all get wiped out. I'm going to need all of you. The problem is that we don't have the best transportation. If we go in there with what we have currently, we'll got shot to pieces with no good way of retaliating."
Grace stood up. "I think I may have a solution to that. Recently while we were making sure there no more peggies in the valley. We came upon two of their trucks. Both of them have heavy LMGs on their beds. They're at John's old ranch."
"Perfect! We'll use those then. Nick, I'm going to need you in the air again. You'll get their first and hopefully draw their fire until we get there. See if you can contact Adelaide and get her to bring her chopper to back you up.
Nick stood up with a grin on his face. "You got it. I'll go get Carmina warmed up." While he was saying his goodbyes to Kim, Kyle addressed the rest of the group. "The rest of us will split up in two groups for the trucks. We'll discuss the groupings on the way there. Let's move!"
The five of them scrambled to the truck that Kyle, Jess and Faith had arrived in and started quickly making their way towards the ranch. "I can drive one of the trucks." Jerome offered.
"I call dibs on one of guns." Jess said with her serious face.
"Alright. Grace if you would, I need you to drive the other truck while I man the gun. Faith, you sit in the passenger seat and be our lookout."
"Kyle?" Faith suddenly spoke up.
"Yes?"
"I think that Grace is one of our best shots. I think she would be best served in the passenger seat while using her rifle. I am able to drive."
Kyle frowned. "Faith, its going to be dangerous. We're going to be right in the thick of things, bullets flying at us. Are you sure about this?"
She nodded. "Yes. Bullets are going to be coming no matter where I sit. But I think this plan uses our talents the most effectively."
"Alright then. We'll do it your way." He gave a small smile, happy that Faith was become somewhat of a strategist. They soon made it to John's ranch where Grace led them to where their vehicles were. Indeed, there were two Eden's Gate trucks that both had guns on the back. Kyle only hoped that they were full on fuel and ammo.
"Jerome, we'll be the lead truck. We'll most likely take them by surprise at first due to the markings. But as soon as you start taking fire, take evasive action and loop back around. That goes for you too Faith."
They both nodded. With that taken care of, there was one more thing to do before they departed. Kyle took out his radio. "Nick, what's your status?"
"Just got into the air partner."
"Good. Were you able to get in touch with Adelaide?"
"Yeah. Hurk and Sharky will stay behind while she takes Tulip. She doesn't trust them fully but she understands the situation."
"Good to hear. We're about to leave now. From here on out, we won't be able to respond but we'll be able to hear you. You guys are our first wave so we appreciate any news on their strength as well as any you take out. If things get too rough Nick, you guys bail. Hopefully it won't come to that but best for us to live to fight another day and take back the jail if need be. Good luck Rye."
"You too partner. You guys stay safe too."
After the conversation ended, everyone got into their positions. Faith got into the driver's side while Grace sat in the passenger side with her rifle at the ready. Jerome and Jess boarded their truck. Faith started making her way towards the main road with the others following. The trip would be a long one, at least compared to the time it would take Nick and Adelaide to get there. He hoped they wouldn't take too much damage before the ground forces got there. But until that time came, Kyle did his best not to worry. He tried to enjoy the May morning weather. It was a rather warm morning and thus the breeze felt nice as the convoy traveled to its destination. Kyle admired the scenery when his radio came to life.
"We're just about there partner. From what I can see, there's a lot of peggies. A shitload of trucks. There's gotta be hundreds to them."
Dutch wasn't kidding. Nick's report seemed to confirm that the cult was indeed throwing everything it had at the jail. The place had thick walls but even it wouldn't be able to hold up against hundreds of cultists. It would be a race against the clock. The team just crossed over to the Henbene region when the radio came alive again.
"There's definitely a lot of them. We're engaging now. They're still trying to get through the outer walls. Our guys are holding for the time being. We'll do our best to keep them occupied."
Kyle gripped his gun. There were going into what seemed to be a warzone. Once they got there, chaos would ensue. Kyle's mind focused on the two biggest priorities. 1. Keeping his friends safe especially Faith and Jess. 2. Kill as many cultists as possible in order to fulfill priority one. Faith seemed to pick up speed though Kyle doubted she was able to hear Nick's reports. When they were almost at the jail, Nick reported in again.
"We've taken out their trucks but they've breached the outer walls. They're hugging around there trying to hit me. I can't engage them safely for hitting the jail. Adelaide is peppering them where she can. Hope you're close partner, its getting pretty dicey."
As soon as Nick finished his report, they arrived at the jail. As Nick had indicated, there were burning trucks scattered around with bodies strewn around them. Kyle saw that the peggies were indeed trying to shoot at Adelaide and Nick using the cover of the outer walls. They were split between being outside and on top of the walls. Faith halted the truck a good distance away from the jail and Kyle opened fire.
As expected, the cultists outside the wall were disoriented from the gunfire they were receiving. They turned to look at who was firing at them from behind and saw two of their trucks lined up side by side. The peggies had believed that all of their trucks had been destroyed; where did these two come from? But they had no time to ponder that as they were raked by gunfire from the newly arriving vehicles. The ones on the wall were able to take cover but the ones on the ground were not so fortunate. They were lined up against the wall, in the open, with no cover. Scores fell as the two gunners swept their fire across the area. The cultists on top of the wall, seeing their comrades being mowed down, starting firing at the enemy vehicles. Their fire was successful in getting the enemy to move. The cultists were growing confident as their fire seemed to be driving the trucks away when suddenly, one of them dropped dead from the walls. Then another. Where were the shots coming from? One of the peggies then noticed a rifle poking out from the passenger side of one of the trucks.
"Sniper! Take cover!" The cultist shouted. His comrades did what they were told and ducked their heads again. But one of them was feeling particularly brave. He had an RPG and was instrumental in blowing open an opening for his brothers to pour in to. He had been frustrated because he knew he wouldn't be able to hit the plane or helicopter with a rocket. But those threats had been driven away. Now he had a perfect opportunity to take out the current threat. He loaded the RPG with a rocket and took a peek over the walls. The enemy vehicles had circled back and were slowly advancing. The gunners were raking the walls with gunfire, keeping the gunners on the roof in cover. But the man with the RPG was fortunate. He was on the corner of the wall. He had a perfect angle. Finishing loading the rocket, he slowly rose up and took aim at the truck closest to him.
"Say goodbye sinners." The man mumbled to himself and he went to press the trigger. But as he squeezed it, he noticed he was in lot of pain and falling. 'What had gone wrong?' were his last words as he fell dead.
Kyle had noticed too late that one of the cultists on the walls had an RPG. He tried to swerve his gun over to the corner but he knew he would be too late. Thankfully, since the peggies were not distracted, Adelaide had come back and strafed the top of the wall with gunfire from Tulip. The man had been able to fire but he was hit as he did so and the notoriously inaccurate rocket sailed past the truck and exploded behind them. Kyle would need to thank Adelaide for that later. But now the situation was changing as Nick came up again after some time of being silent.
"Peggies are abandoning the outer wall. They're all in the area between the wall and the jail. Can't hit them, but Adelaide is coming in for another pass."
Now was the chance to finish the job. The peggies were now trapped in an area where they could be pincered and annihilated. Kyle ducked from his gun and shouted at Faith to stop the car. She dutifully did so and as soon as they halted, he got out and ran to the driver side.
"Grace and I are going in. You hang back here with Jess and make sure none of them get out." Faith nodded and Grace got out from the passenger side with her rifle ready. Kyle motioned to Jess and Jerome who had stopped by to pull back. Jerome turned the truck around and started moving away from the wall while Jess kept her gun aimed at the top. Faith followed behind them. Once Kyle saw that his friends were out of harms way, he had Grace moved up to the gate which was now open. Bodies were scattered everyone and as Kyle peeked inside; there were even more. The cultists were now exchanging fire with what remained of the jail's defenders. Their only hope was to break in, kill the rest of the defenders, and take up defensive positions. But now they were distracted by return fire from the jail which allowed Kyle and Grace to take shots from the gates. The cultists dropped but they figured it was because of fire from inside the jail. Once the duo had dropped a few cultists, there was the sound of a helicopter as Adelaide appeared once again. She strafed the area where the cultists were clustered, dropping scores of them. Kyle and Grace took this opportunity to enter to find the remaining peggies slowly being whittled away. Their lack of cover proved their doom as they were killed one by one. After a few more minutes, it was all over. The siege had been broken.
Kyle now had a chance to survey the aftermath. Mixed in with the cultist bodies were what had been the defenders of the jail. They had paid a dear price for defending their home. As Kyle walked along, he saw the casualties strewn in different places. Some were up against a wall, some were lying face down, while others gazed lifelessly at the sky. A few of the bodies were missing limbs, but almost all of them had been bleeding profusely. The scene reminded Kyle of his early days, when he took part in vicious gang wars. The carnage was early similar, enemy mixed with allies. Back then, it was only about winning. If you won, then you gained power. The loser would be weakened enough where they usually dealt with shortly after. But both sides had suffered greatly here, and there may be no end in sight.
Kyle was so engrossed in memory lane that he didn't notice the sheriff and a few of his men come up from behind him. "I have to hand it to you son; I didn't think we would make it out of there alive. But you and your friends came in the nick of time. We lost a lot of their own but they lost everything they sent here. They won't be back any time soon."
Kyle didn't say anything. He didn't even turn around. He continued to examine the results of this attack. Finally though, the sheriff moved to his peripheral which caused Kyle to turn and look at him. "How many did you lose?" He asked quietly.
"Its hard to say. We're still taking a tally of who we have left. But my estimate would be that we lost about 60-65% of our group. We lost a lot of good people today."
Kyle nodded in agreement and he suddenly heard movement by the gate. He had not noticed that Grace had left to go inform the others of the results of the battle. But it was Faith who had reached the gate first.
"Kyle, are you alright?" She came through, in full view of the sheriff's group. Kyle had been a bit detached from everything going on but Faith's appearance activated his brain and he rushed in front of her. Luckily, Whitehorse's people hesitated as Faith wasn't wearing his usual white dress and took longer to recognized. Kyle stood between Faith and what were now a couple of guns aimed at them.
"Sheriff! Its her! Its Faith! The one responsible for all this!" One of the exclaimed.
"Step out of the way man." One of the others threatened. "We can end this now, avenge all those that died today."
Kyle responded to the threat by aiming his own gun at the belligerent man. "She didn't have anything to do with this. In fact, she helped stop this."
"Lies! She's always lied! She's always tried to destroy us! I don't know why she's here but I don't intend to let her leave alive. I'll ask one more time, get out of the way."
"No. I suggest you drop that gun before join the bodies around here." Kyle threatened. He was in no mood to be diplomatic.
The sheriff finally stepped in. "All of you, put your fucking weapons down now." He was talking to his own group but he probably also included Kyle. "I'm sure there is a good explanation for all this. I'll talk to him. Go help Tracey with burying our dead."
Kyle waited until the others had lowered their guns and walked off before lowering his own. Seeing it was safe now, Faith stepped out from behind him to his side as the sheriff approached them.
"Son, you have a lot of explaining to do. This is going to cause a lot of issues. Everyone is already on edge because of the attack. I'm afraid this might put them in a frenzy."
"Sheriff, I promise I'll explain everything. But let me make one thing clear. Faith is on our side now. Under no circumstances will I allow anyone to threaten or harm her."
The sheriff knew that the mercenary was dead serious. His tone and the look in his eyes confirmed it. He also had the feeling that Kyle would kill every person in the jail if necessary to keep Faith safe. Was it because she had control over him? Whitehorse hoped now or they could all be dead if she wished. For now, her had to trust Kyle's word that she was indeed on their side.
"I'll do my best to keep everyone under control." He said finally. "But could you at least follow me to my office so you can explain everything?"
Kyle's mood lightened a little. "Let me discuss things with my people first. Need to update them on the situation. Can you wait for me?"
"Sure, sure. I'll be here right at the gate."
Kyle nodded and he led Faith back outside. As soon as he stepped out, he saw the rest of his friends walking toward him.
"We fucking kicked their ass huh?" Leave it to Jess to be proud of carnage.
"I think we got them all but our side lost a great deal as well. We're probably going to need to stick around to help them. Is that alright with you guys?
They all nodded but it was Jerome who spoke up. "I'd be happy to help. I don't have much medical knowledge but I'll do what I can."
"Thank you. By the way, where did you guys leave the trucks?"
Grace pointed backward. "We put them in the woods some distance from the jail. They should be hidden for the time being but we know where to find them."
"Good, I gotta contact Nick and Adelaide. I'll see you guys inside."
Grace and Jerome headed toward the jail but Jess unsurprisingly stayed with Kyle and Faith. "Nick, you there?"
"I'm still here partner. I'm heading back home right now. Carmina's a little low on fuel. Looks like we took care of all the peggies. I didn't see any escape."
"Yes, I think we got them all. But Nick, I'm going to need you to come back when you get a chance. You don't have to come back with Carmina but I would appreciate it if you could be here when we discuss what to do next."
"No problem buddy. I'll talk to Kim and be there as soon as I can."
"Thanks Nick." As one call ended, another began. "Adelaide, you there?"
"I'm here honey, just flying back home. That was quite a fight back there."
"It sure was but I was hoping you might come back. You don't have to come back in the copter but it would be nice for you to be here when we talk about what to do next."
"I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to make it darling. I still have business in the form of dealing with Hurk Sr. I'll send one of the boys over though. They can let me know what's going on but if you ever need me honey, you know how to contact me."
"Thanks Adelaide. Talk to you soon."
Kyle, Faith and Jess headed back to meet up with Sheriff Whitehorse. While he led them to his office, they noticed people coming and going, stripping supplies off the dead and moving them. Some of them noticed Faith and the looks ranged from curiosity and surprise to hatred and scorn. They soon made it to the sheriff's office where they found Tracey waiting for them.
"Tracey, what are you doing here?" Asked the sheriff, surprised that she was here.
Tracey crossed her arms. "I had heard a rumor that Faith Seed had graced us with your presence." She glared at Faith. "I see the rumors were true."
Whitehorse took off his hat and put it on his desk. "We were just about to discuss that, Tracey."
"Good because I was eager to hear about this." She shifted her gaze to Kyle, then to Jess who was glaring back at her and then finally back to Faith. "Its good to finally see you again Rachel."
"Tracey…." She responded back quietly.
"I figured this attack was your doing. Luring us into a false sense of security, and then striking at us when we least expect it. You've always been good at manipulation Rachel. But looks like your plan failed."
"The attack wasn't from me Tracey." Faith said with a bit of anger. "I left the cult. I've been helping Kyle now. I'm not who I once was."
"Oh, I know that. You were once my best friend. But then you abandoned me to be part of Joseph's dear cult. You abandoned me, never checking to see I was doing. All because you wanted to be a part of Joseph's family." Tracey's tone was full of venom. "But now you tell me that you're not with them anymore? How can I believe that after what you've done? For all I know, he…" She pointed at Kyle "..is your lapdog. He's here to finish the job that your regular people can't. Its all trick, a deception. Always using people then leaving them behind."
Kyle was about to say something but Faith stepped forward in front of him. "Tracey, I'm sorry about what happened. At the time it seemed to good to be true. I had a family that actually loved me, who cared about me. They had given me everything I wanted. But Kyle opened my eyes to the truth. Joseph was only trying to use me. I…"
Tracey's anger reached a boiling point. "Of course he wanted to fucking use you! He wanted to use all of us! While you were getting groomed for leadership, they had me go after people they said opposed their grand ideal. I quickly learned I was going after innocents, people who only the cult deemed a threat. So I left and joined the cougars. I tried to contact you but you ignored me! Pretended like I didn't exist! After all we went through!" Sadness now mixed with Tracey's anger.
"Tracey, I swear on my life that I never received anything from you. They must have intercepted your messages. But when they finally gave me a free moment, I did try to find you. But you were no where to be found. I thought you had died.
Tracey pointed an accusing finger at her. "How can I believe you? You've been built upon lies! Its how you were able to take hold of everything. But now you tell me everything is changed again? You're no longer with them?! How, after everything you've done, can you say that you're on our side now?"
"Tracey, I admit that what I did was wrong. Even though I found out that Joseph was just using me, it doesn't excuse what I did. I know I've made life hard for you. I've taken away people you once knew. But what I'm saying is that now I truly know where I stand. I've learned a great deal and I've chosen to do everything I can to help Kyle and his friends. I know that you cannot forgive me for what I've done. But I want you to know that I still consider you my best friend. I can never forget the good times we had in high school, how you gave me hold when my whole life was hell. I promise I'll make things right. I swear on my life."
Tracey looked at her, the sadness now gone and replaced by stoic look. "We'll see. I'll be keeping a close eye on you, all of you. Time will tell if you're really on our side." Tracey then quickly left the room.
Whitehorse put his hat back on as everyone watched Tracey leave. "Give her time. You two have quite the history which each other and then recent events only add to it. I'm sure she'll come around eventually. I don't fully understand what's been going on, but I'll welcome any help we can get, and boy do we need a lot of it." He turned to Kyle. "Would you and Jess be able to patrol the walls? All of our people are going to be busy cleaning up and taking care of our wounded. I know I can trust you two to let us know if the peggies come back and probably hold them off.
"We'd be happy to sheriff but…." Kyle hesitated.
"But what?" Whitehorse asked suspiciously.
"Well…." He jerked his thumb at Jess. "This one is very particular about her weapons and only uses bows. Do you think you have a spare bow she can use? He grinned as he spoke but it turned into a grimace after getting punched in the ribs by Jess.
Whitehorse chuckled. "Yeah, we probably got one stashed away somewhere. I'll go find it."
"What I can I do to help?" Faith asked the sheriff as he was about to leave.
"You? Uh…" The sheriff was hesitant. On the one hand, the cougars might be suspicious or even hostile about taking help from Faith Seed, the person they thought they had been fighting. On the other hand, he did say that he needed all the help that they could give. But what job could he could her? "Do you have any medical knowledge?" He asked.
Faith nodded. "I do, mostly with herbs. If you have any, I could probably make some medicine or pain killers for you."
Whitehorse was relieved. "Great! How bout this? You can help our resident doctor Charles. He's actually a veterinarian and not a real doctor but I believe he has a large stash of herbs you could use."
Faith smiled slightly. "I'll do whatever I can to help.
"Alright then follow me."
Everyone went to do their tasks. Kyle was hesitant to allow Faith to be alone especially when she could face a hostile reaction from the people in the jail. But he was relieved to find out that Jerome was also working with the doctor and he promised to keep an eye on Faith. With his worries settled, Kyle watched the surrounding area on top of the wall with Jess who was examining the bow she had received.
"This is such a shoddy looking bow." She complained.
"Since when did you care about how your bow looks?"
"I don't but I want to be sure that this thing doesn't fall apart on me. Damn it, I should've gotten a new bow in Holland Valley before we got here."
"Why don't you actually use a gun for a change?" Kyle suggested. "Then you'd never have trouble having a weapon." He knew it was a sore subject but he like poking fun at Jess about it.
She glared at him. "I told you before. Real killers use bows. They get the job done a lot cleaner."
Oh? That didn't seem to matter when you were manning a mounted gun. You looked like you were having the time of your life."
Jess took a swipe at him which he managed to dodge. "That's different. That's a fucking mounted LMG. No way I'm going to pass that up."
"I'm just saying, you should try out using guns. You might like them."
She smirked. "Okay smartass, how about this? You trade me your M4 for this bow and I'll actually use a gun.
"No way! Get your own fucking gun." He pretended to look mad.
"Guess I'm sticking to bows then." She concluded.
They stood around for some time watching the front approaches when Kyle spoke up. "Hey, did you know Tracey?"
Jess eyed him suspiciously. "Why? What's it to you?"
"I dunno. I saw the way you were glaring at her, so I thought she may have done something against you in the past."
Jess went back to fiddling with her bow. "I only met her once in high school. She was a real bitch. Acted like she knew everything. I had enough of her, and we got into a fight. I would have kicked her ass had the teachers not pulled us apart."
"Oh I see. Well she was friends with Faith in high school. Do you remember her?"
"Jess fired a practice arrow. "Barely. I only remembered when it was brought up. She was always quiet, staying out of other people's way. I guess Tracey was the only one she talked to."
Kyle nodded when suddenly he saw movement in the distance. He readied his rifle to aim at it when he noticed that the vehicle was a civilian truck. As it drew closer it honked as if it recognized the two standing guard on top of the wall. Upon closer examination, Kyle recognized its driver.
"Well looks like Nick made it." He said as he watched Jess fire off another practice arrow.
Faith was tired. The rest of the day had breezed by without her noticing. It was only when Jerome insisted that she get some sleep that she finally stopped working. She had asked him where she would be staying and he told her about an upper-level floor filled unused rooms. It would be nice and secluded from the rest of the jail. As trudged up the stairs, she pondered the days events. The attack had been brutal but at least it had been repulsed. It looked like they had gotten their just in the nick of time. Faith had done her best to maneuver the truck to help Kyle and Grace. In the end though, she was told to pull back and the other two finished the job themselves. She understood the reasons but a part of her still felt left out. Faith didn't want to feel like she had to be protected all the time; she wanted to help out too.
Then there was the matter of Tracey. Faith had not expected to reunite with her here. But a part of her that it made sense. Tracey was always the rebellious one. If anyone one going to lead a resistance against Eden's Gate, it would be Tracey. The reunion had gone about as well as Faith could have hoped. Tracey was not one to forgive or forget so easily especially when it came to Faith. The former Seed thought of all the things she had done when The Father put her in charge of the Henbene. She had mostly acted without violence but there were exceptions. People were captured and when some refused to submit, they were turned into angels. Faith reasoned that better these people live in complete ignorance than be given death. But she never knew her opposition was Tracey. They had been acting against each other the whole time. It was only when Kyle entered the picture that things truly changed.
Faith finally reached the top of the stairs where the long hallway of rooms were. She walked along slowly, her mind now on the mercenary. Everything had indeed changed when she had first laid eyes on him. Unlike everyone else, he was an outside; he was different. But he was different in a way that had made Faith curious. Sure enough, the man proved to be a sharp needle in the project's side when he routinely evaded capture and made a mess of things. When Faith was finally able to meet him; she had been so excited. Why? Is that when the feelings started, when everything really changed?
As Faith continued walking, she heard a whistle of someone trying to get her attention. She looked up and into the room she was passing. There she saw Kyle seated on a cot, grinning at her.
"Hey, you looked like you were in a trance. You want to sit with me for a bit?"
She nodded and went inside the room, sitting down next to him. She let out a breath, it felt nice to sit down.
"Busy day at work huh?" He asked.
There were many wounded. Charles and Jerome tended to them while I organized and made the medicine. Luckily, Charles did have a good supply of herbs but it was tedious to make what they needed. What about you?"
"My job was boring. All we did was stand guard on the walls. Jess just fiddled with her new bow and I just stared into the landscape" He shrugged. "Not as busy as you." He then frowned. "Did anyone give you trouble?"
Always so protective. "No, like I said Charles had himself and Jerome tend to the wounded while I was in charge of the medicine. They were the only ones to come into the room I was working in. Well except Tracey, but she just came in to garb something real quick and didn't say a word."
"You're worried about her, aren't you? I know what you said early but I get the feeling that you're taking her not forgiving you hard."
Perceptive too. Faith rubbed her eyes a bit. "She was my best friend Kyle. She was all I had before we joined the project. I had been so happy that we were joining together. But then I was swept up in becoming the new Faith. Like I said, when I finally had time, I tried to search for her but she vanished. I didn't hear of any desertions, so I thought she had died. I was so heartbroken. One time, The Father had to come calm me down because I was bawling over Tracey's death. Back then, the project was all I had. They were my family, until you came along."
"I'm sure she'll eventually come to understand like the sheriff says. Though from what Jess told me, her pride might make it take a very long time."
Faith said nothing. She suddenly felt more fatigued than before. Thus, her body started moving on its own and her head drifted to Kyle's shoulder. "I hope she forgives me." She said quietly.
Kyle felt Faith rest her head on his shoulder. She indeed had a long day. While he might have been in combat, he was well used to it. Faith had to drive with bullets flying everywhere, be a nurse and also finally reunite with her long lost friend who held a grudge against her. Kyle was about to speak again when Faith shifted again and rested her head against his chest. It was unexpected and he hoped that she didn't notice him blush furiously. She must have been really tired.
"Do you regret what happened?' He asked finally.
Faith didn't look up at him but kept her head where it was. "Sometimes I do. I wish I was able to go back and change everything. Maybe Tracey and I not joining the project, we should have tried to do something different. I should have been more diligent in trying to find out what happened to her. Still, what's done is done like you used to say. Besides…." She looked up at him with a smile on her face. "If thing would have happened differently, I wouldn't have been able to meet you."
"Maybe."
Faith rested her head on his chest again. "I'm so glad I met you Kyle. Even if it did cost me my best friend."
"I'm glad I met you too Faith. Even with everything that has happened to lead up to it, I wouldn't change any of it because I got to meet you."
He received no response and realized that Faith had fallen asleep on his chest. He wrapped his left arm around her. "Sleep well Faith."