Chapter 24: Home, Where the Heart Is

Jacob Seed waited patiently in his office. While he waited, he read the reports that he was given concerning yesterday. Things were going well for his area. Despite being at 50% strength, his forces were making progress against the whitetails. The militia group had become sloppy. Their scouts frequently fell to ambushes that Jacob had his men set up. The enemy numbers were down enough where they were only a fraction of Jacob's current forces. Sooner or later, Eli himself will have to come out and when he does, Jacob will be ready for him. But first, there was also a of the Henbene. His forces had completed the transfer and had merged with Joanna's forces to assault the jail. Now it was just waiting for the results.

As if on cue, Jacob's second in command knocked on the door and entered. He saluted Jacob and stood at attention. He was clearly nervous.

"I have a report from the Henbene sir."

"I'm sure you do. First of all, what are the casualties?"

The man looked around nervously even though there was no one else in the room. "Well sir, I regret to inform you that the entire force that assaulted the jail has been eliminated."

Jacob was a man who rarely showed any emotion. He was known for never betraying what he was thinking. Even though he kept mostly calm, his eyes still widened in surprise. "The entire force was destroyed? Would you care to elaborate on how this happened?"

"The details are scarce. However, we do know that the mercenary and his entourage reinforced the jail. We also know for sure that there were no survivors on our end."

"I see. I didn't think he would be able to handle a force this big but perhaps we underestimated the power that he and his friends possess. What of Joanna? How is she handling these events?"

'It seems like she's panicking sir. She says she no longer has enough forces to hold the region, only important areas. Joanna proposes that we merge our forces completely and deal with the mercenary now before he destroys everything."

"I will consult The Father about this. You are free to leave soldier."

"What should I tell Joanna sir? She is expecting a response."

"Inform her that I will have a response shortly. But in the meantime, she should strengthen her defenses and prepare for when the mercenary attacks again."

"Sir!" The man saluted and then quickly exited the room, eager to leave. Jacob sighed and picked up his phone. Joseph had gotten more involved with everything and thus was always busy but Jacob knew he would always have time for his older brother.

"Hello Jacob"

"Brother." Jacob always had short greetings.

"I'm assuming you're calling about our cleansing of the jail?"

"I am Joseph. Unfortunately, everyone who attacked the jail has been reported to be killed. We are sure that the mercenary was involved."

There were a few moments of silence. "I see. Is Faith still with him?"

"We're not sure brother. It seems that he brought all of his friends to help in the defense. It is very likely that she was there with him."

"Hmmm, and what is Joanna doing in response to this failure?"

"Apparently, she's gathering what forces she has left to defend key locations in the Henbene. But she claims that she's unable to defend everything. She is requesting that I merge her forces completely with mine to be able to take down the mercenary. She's afraid of him."

"That will not happen. Joanna needs to understand that if she wishes to become Faith than she must have faith in herself. She will have to deal with on her own. I have faith that she will be able to fulfill her duties. Do you understand Jacob?"

"I do Joesph. So I shall inform her that's she's on her own until she has taken care of the mercenary?"

"Tell her that we have confidence in her to complete her task. Remind her that she has one of our most cherished gifts."

"You mean the bliss?"

"Yes Jacob."

"Then I will inform her at once." Jacob then ended the call and pondered. Sometimes he wondered about all of this. He had confidence in his younger brother, he would follow him to the ends of the earth. But he wondered if Joseph really knew what was going on. Did a voice really tell him that the world was going to end? Jacob had his doubts. But his role was not to question. He would do his best to see his brother's vision fulfilled.

Faith awoke to light pouring from a nearby window. She wondered where she was and felt around. She was sleeping on a cot. What had happened last night? Faith had gone to the upper floors to get some sleep after a long day of helping out the jail's doctor. She had passed by Kyle who invited her to sit by him and talk about what had transpired that day. They talked, but Faith's fatigue got to her and…she ended up falling asleep on Kyle's chest. A blush came over Faith's face. How long was she sleeping on him? Obviously he didn't stick around all night but when she had laid her head on his chest, he didn't move or protest at all. In fact, for some reason, she felt that when she had fallen asleep, she still felt his arm wrap around her. Was that a sign? Was she reading too much into it? Maybe now was the time to talk about things.

Faith got up and stretched. She then headed out into the hallways and towards the stairs. She hoped that there weren't too many people wandering around. She hadn't had any problems yet but she knew that we still getting looks of contempt and hate. After descending the stairs, she slowly wandered around the hallways. The place seemed deserted; apparently it was still early in the morning with everyone still sleeping. Well mostly everyone. Thinking about where Kyle would be, Faith headed outside. As she suspected, Kyle was on the walls, keeping watch. She climbed the stairs to reach him but he didn't react to her approach.

"Hey, good morning." She greeted him as she took up a position next to him.

He turned to look at her. "Morning. How did you sleep?"

'Wonderfully' she thought. But she just said, "I slept fine."

"Good to hear." Kyle turned his back to gaze at the surrounding area.

Faith figured she would try. "So about last night…."

"You were tired." Kyle said quickly. "Its alright. I would have stayed around longer but Jess showed up and wanted me to take over for her shift."

It didn't seem like Kyle wanted to talk about it, so Faith let the matter drop. "Were you able to get sleep last night?"

"I got some. I'm an early riser anyway which is why you found me out here. Let everyone else sleep while I enjoy the morning view." He turned toward her with a grim expression on his face. "We're going to strike back while they're still recovering from that losses. We'll be aiming right at the head, at their bunker. That means we're going to need you to guide us, ok?"

Faith frowned. While it was true that she had conflicting feelings about taking out her former right hand, that was not her true reason for her worry. She thought that striking against the bunker was a mistake. Even though the project was on the back foot, they still held a location that would be immensely useful to them should they be backed against the wall. But Faith didn't know if she should go back….

"What's wrong?" Kyle asked, worried that Faith was reluctant to attack the bunker.

"I don't think we should go to the bunker…..at least now yet." She said hesitantly.

"Faith, I know that you're worried about going back, about potentially killing those you once were close with. But this needs to be done. We need to end this as quick as possible. The sooner we clear the cult from the area, the sooner they can start rebuilding."

Faith turned away from him slightly. "Its not that Kyle…..I made peace with that possibility a long time ago."

"Then what is it?" He asked, confused.

She turned back towards him. "The project has a location where most of the bliss is harvested and produced. I don't know if you realize Kyle, but the bliss is a powerful tool. If Joanna got enough of it; she could use it as a gas, turn innocent people into mindless angels without needing to fire a shot. The bliss needs to be removed from the equation to eliminate any risk."

Kyle nodded. "That does make sense. Luckily I haven't encountered the bliss yet but I do know its dangerous. Where is this bliss location?"

"Its…." She turned way again, the memories coming back to her. "Its at the Jessop Conservatory…my old home."

Now Kyle understood why Faith it was so hesitant. Even if her life before the cult brought her misery, she still had a home. It also would be a definite possible that if that was the site of bliss production, it would need to be destroyed.

"Hey…" He put a hand on her shoulder. "Everything's going to be alright. We'll find a way to destroy the bliss without taking down the entire place. The others will take some convincing but I think I can create a plan that they'll be on board with." Kyle saw that she didn't seem to be reassured. "Are you worried about going back?"

"Yes" She said softly. "I haven't been there in years. When I was let into the cult, I told The Father about it. I told him about it, knowing my parents were still there. He knew about my hard upbringing. The Father said he would take care of it. Soon after, the project took over the place. They never told me what happened to my parents but I assumed they had been killed. At the time, I didn't care. They had abused me, cast me aside, but now? I don't know if I can go back…"

Kyle put his arm around her and squeezed her slightly. "You can make amends with the past. You're doing a good job so far. Most importantly, you won't do it alone. I'll be there with you."

Faith turned and looked at him with a slight smile on her face. "Thank you Kyle."

He smiled back. "We should get inside. I think they'll be gathering for our meeting soon."

Faith followed Kyle down the stairs and back inside the jail. Not much time had passed but it seemed that the jail had woken up. Now there were moving about doing various tasks. Faith noted that very few of them paid attention to her. She hoped it was because they had accepted her presence. They were the first ones to reach the meeting room. Kyle took a seat at one end of the table and Faith sat next to him. One by one, the rest of the group entered. After about a half an hour, everyone was present and seated at the tabled, including Tracey who Faith saw refused to look at her.

"Alright looks like everyone is here." Kyle started. "So as you all know, we dealt a pretty serious blow to the cult yesterday. It will take them some time to recover which allows us to take the initiative. So I would like to hear your guys' opinions on what we should do next.

"Th peggies lost a lot of their people trying to attack this jail." Grace stated. "I can't believe they would have many people left in this region. But what we need to do is take out whoever is leading them in this region. I think that would eliminate any cultist resistance in this area. The problem is finding their bunker."

"Right, we put those damn peggies on the run" Nick spoke next. "But I don't think we have to worry about finding the bunker. Faith can tell us where it is right?"

"Only if she's actually willing to." Tracey chimed in.

Everyone turned to look at Faith. She could feel their gazes like she was a specimen under a microscope. But she was still determined to speak her mind. "I do know the location of the bunker but…I think we should attack somewhere else." Faith waited for the scorn.

"Figures, she claims that she's on our side but won't even give up the location of the bunker!" Tracey said enraged. "Who are you trying to protect?"

"I just think that right now, there's something more important to take care of them going right for the bunker." Faith felt cowed. Tracey had always been better at projecting during arguments.

"What would that be?" The sheriff asked.

"Its…" Faith then felt a hand on her arm. She turned towards it source to see Kyle rise from his seat. He looked down at her with a reassuring smile before turning his attention to the group. "I'll handle this question. So I believe that in addition to the threat the peggies themselves pose, they also have a weapon they have yet to use fully, the bliss. Though I have not experienced it myself, I've heard that the bliss can do terrible things if a person to exposed to it for too long." Faith looked down with guilt but Kyle continued. "Tracey, I believe that most of the bliss is cultivated at a location in this region, is that correct?"

Tracey looked at Faith who had her head down then turned back to Kyle. "Yeah, that's right. Its at the conservatory out east. We've known about it for a long time but we haven't been able to do that because we've had our hands full."

"Then I suggest we make that our next target then. If the peggies are desperate, they won't hesitate to throw all that bliss right at us."

"I can definitely take all of that shit out from the air." Nick suggested. I'll be able to bomb their trucks and their fields. You guys might not even have to lift a finger."

Kyle shook his head. "No. We're not going to bomb it. We'll take it the old-fashioned way."

Tracey eyed him suspiciously. "Why? We could take out everything like Nick said without any risk to ourselves."

She probably knew Kyle's motivation but he would come up with another reason. "If we take it by foot, there's a chance that we could use the bliss ourselves. If the bunker proves too strong for us to overcome then we could always just turn the bliss on the peggies, give them a taste of their own medicine. We could gas the bunker to make any follow up assault that much easier.

"That does make sense." Grace admitted. "We could always use the base as a stronghold and like Kyle said, if we need to, use the bliss ourselves."

"Plus, we would know for sure that every one of those fuckers there is dead. "Jess suggested.

"I think it's a sound plan considering who would probably be leading the ground team." Whitehorse said.

"If you guys think it's a good idea, then I'm on board." Nick nodded with approval.

Everyone now looked at Tracey, including Faith who now had her head up to see that the tables had turned. But Tracey wasn't intimated. "I guess it makes sense. It would be sweet justice if those bastards get a taste of their own medicine. Plus, it'll probably completely crack their spirit if we actually take the place." She led out a small grin. "I'm in."

"Then its settled then. We'll get organized soon and we'll move to take the place. Tracey, would it be alright to borrow a few of your people to come with us just in case?"

"Yeah, that should be fine. I doubt they will be coming back here any time soon. I'll find a few volunteers to come with." She started to leave but then turned around. "I'll be going as well." Tracey then walked out.

"Well if there's nothing else that needs to be discussed, everyone get ready, and I'll see you in a few hours."

Everyone nodded and got up to leave, which left only Kyle, Jess, and Faith in the room. Kyle approached Jess. "Jess, we're not going to be going in loud. At least not at first. We don't want to alarm the peggies and potentially scare them into destroying everything. Can I trust you to be our lead?"

Jess scowled at him. "Seriously? You have to ask that? You DO know who you're talking to right?

Kyle smiled. "Of course I do. That's why I'm asking you. You're the only one I would trust for something like this. So, will you do it?

Jess waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, I'll do it. Just waring you though, with me in front, you guys might not get any chance for some action." She matched his smile.

"I think I can live with that."

Jess nodded and did a quick wave before leaving the room to just Kyle and Faith. "are you sure you want to come along with us?" He asked.

"Yes, I need to see it again with my own eyes."

Jess Black crept slowly forwards under the cover of trees. With her green attire, she blended in naturally with the woods. It was convenient that there was a forest that was elevated above where the conservatory was. The group had parked some distance away and Jess had led them up a hill into the forest which overlooked the place. Behind her was a whole squad that would leap into action at her command. They had split into two groups. One group was led by Kyle which consisted of Faith, Nick, and Grace. The other group was led by Tracey who brought four of her best fighters which her. Jess had no doubt that if she gave the word, they would be able to easily take the conservatory. However, she was able to dictate the rules of engagement and right now, what she saw confused her.

The place was sprawling. There were a bunch of greenhouses, storage areas for equipment. The bliss was everywhere, being watered by overhead sprinklers. The amount of bliss plants wasn't what Jess was worried about. It only proved that Faith was telling the truth when she said that this place was the main area for bliss production. What bothered Jess was the lack of guards. You'd think for a place that was as important as this, there would be more security. But even though Jess did thorough recon, she could only make out three guards. There had to be more, right?

Jess turned around and motioned for Kyle to come over which he did. "What do see?" He asked.

"Right now I only see three guards and that's what worries me. I don't know if they know we're coming and have laid an ambush somewhere."

Kyle crept forward a little to have a look himself. "They probably are expecting us to come after them obviously. But maybe they're still not ready. How about this, you think you could take out the three you see? If any more pop up, we'll have your back.

Jess looked back towards the conservatory. "Fine. They should be easy enough to take out. If I see anything suspicious, I'll make a signal.

"Alright, be careful." Kyle then headed back to rejoin his group.

Jess scoffed. She knew that Kyle had a good heart. It was why he was so protective of Faith and herself even though he knew full well that she was more than capable of kicking ass. Even so, she appreciated it, even if she didn't show it. Jess started towards the closest guard. He was one of two that was patrolling back and forth. The huntress lined up her shot, aiming for the head and let the arrow loose when she felt the time was right. The arrow hit the patrol squarely in the back of his head, killing him instantly without so much as a sound. One down, two to go.

Keeping her eye out for any surprises, Jess made her way to the other side for to the next patrol. This one was walking back and forth between two spots in front of the garage that was next to the large mansion. The problem was that he was out in the open and if Jess killed him as he was, the last guard that was overlooking from a balcony would be able to see what had happened. Thus Jess, waited patiently for the patrol to walk away and for the balcony guard to turn his attention elsewhere. When both conditions were met, Jess readied her bow to fire at the patrol. As before, the arrow flew and hit the cultist right in the head, silencing him.

She quickly got into position to aim at the final guard who was making his way back. Before, he could notice his fallen comrade, Jess shot an arrow that pierced his throat. The man stumbled a bit before he fell dead over the side of the balcony. She waited to see if there would be a reaction. After several moments, when there seemed to be no response, Jess stood up. She moved back to where she had started and made a signal for the other groups to move up. They advanced slowly, still cautious of any potential ambush. Kyle's group advanced along the side that Jess was at while Tracey's group moved forward on the opposite side. They moved between cover, as if they were ready to be shot at any moment. But nothing came their way. Kyle's party eventually reached Jess and she joined them in moving toward the mansion. Soon, the two groups met in front of the mansion without encountering any more resistance.

Kyle approached Tracey. "Looks like everything's clear except the mansion. How do you want to do this?"

Tracey pointed behind her. "We're going to make sure that everything is clear out here. We'll watch the roads in case anyone comes. You can take the mansion. I know you probably won't need it, but if you get into any trouble, just send a runner and we'll back you up."

They both nodded to each other and Tracey and her group headed off to check the last storage buildings in the area. Kyle turned back towards his own group. "Alright here's the plan. We're going to go right in through the front door. Jess, you're with me up front. Faith, you stay behind us. Grace and Nick, you watch our back. Everyone got it?" They all nodded "Good. Lets go!"

They all took their positions with Kyle and Jess right in front of the door. Kyle looked to Jess to see if she was ready and she nodded to let him know she was. With that confirmation, Kyle readied his gun and kicked the door. It flew open with a hard sound and Kyle quickly went through and scanned the room. But to his surprise, there was no one else in the room. Jess quickly came up from behind him but she too was surprised about the lack of resistance. One by one, the rest of the group joined them as they all looked around for their enemies.

"Where the fuck is everyone?" Jess yelled to no one in particular.

Suddenly there was a sound and Kyle and Jess quickly aimed at the stairs. "Movement" He whispered to the rest of the group.

They all aimed their guns at the top of the stairs. Then a shadow of a person appeared who stopped at the top of the stairs. "Please don't shoot!" Came a voice. "We're unarmed."

"Then come down and here and prove it!" Kyle yelled. "But if we see any funny business. You're all dead!"

"Alright we're all coming down. Please don't shoot!" The voice replied.

Kyle and his group kept their guns aimed at the top of the stairs. There was no telling on what kind of trick the peggies could pull. But soon the shadow started down the stairs and the cultist who had shouted down the stairs appeared. The man had his hands up as he slowly proceeded down the stairs. Others soon came down after him. There were two more men and two women. All of them had their hands up and all of them look terrified.

The man who had spoke before took one step forward. "As you can see, we're unarmed. Please put down your guns, we surrender."

Kyle still had his weapon up, not trusting them. "I don't understand why you're surrendering. Even if you're unarmed, you could have probably thrown bliss down at us or something. You guys usually always fight to the death. So why surrender now?"

"We knew you would eventually come." The man answered. "Joanna told us to pack up as many materials and bliss that we could and bring it all to the bunker. But we knew it was all futile. After loosing so many in the attack on the jail, we knew the end was coming. Ever since Lady Faith left us, things have gotten worse and worse. Joanna is not the leader that she was. Despite claiming to be the new Faith, she took order from Jacob. But now there's not many of us. Even though Burke continued to preach to us to have faith, we knew the inevitable was coming. We don't want to fight anymore. The Father had promised us salvation but all we have endured is misery." The man looked around at his fellow cultists. "Please show mercy."

Jess was furious. "After the shit you guys have pulled? What about all the misery you inflicted on others huh? You didn't give them a chance to go in peace? Why should we give you the chance?" She pulled back her bowstring.

The man was wide-eyed with terror. "Please! I know what we did is wrong. We all do! Hate us if you want but we don't want to die for The Father's crazy ideals. We just want to get away from this madness!"

Faith stepped forward. "You're James, correct? I believe you were one of the senior scientists that worked with the bliss."

When the man turned to look at Faith, his expression completely changed. He dropped to his knees and looking up to her with remorse. "Lady Faith! Please show mercy! Things have become terrible since you left us. We were all so unsure on what had happened. However, we now realize that your choice was the correct one. Please! We all still believe in you! Have mercy on us."

Faith looked down at the contemptable state of the man. She had never had anyone throw themselves like this at her before. There was never any need to. Faith had always tried to be forgiving, some would say too forgiving. No one had ever had to beg in front of her. But now here was this poor man who was now joined by his comrades, on their knees and begging for mercy. Faith looked back at Kyle for some sort of guidance but he was still aiming his gun at them, unsure of what to do. Thus, Faith had to make a decision, one she made without a second thought.

"Kyle, we need to let them go. They're scared. I don't believe tat they will be a threat to anyone any longer."

"Faith…." Kyle was still hesitant. "Jess does bring up a good point. You may have shown mercy, but these guys are still responsible for using the bliss on innocent people. We can't just let them go.

"Kyle…" She turned fully towards him and took a step. "These people have thrown themselves completely at our mercy. If they had wanted to, like you said, they would have found ways to resist us. But they instead completely surrendered. I can see it in their eyes. The fear, the regret, they are truly remorseful for what they've done. Please Kyle. I know you're not a stone-cold killer. Let these people have their lives." She pleaded.

Kyle lowered his gun. "Alright Faith we'll do it your way. However….we're gonna hold them until we clear this region. I know you say we can trust their intentions, but still, I don't want to take the risk."

James was ecstatic. "Oh thank you sir! I can ensure you, that we mean well! We just want to live in peace! We won't cause any trouble for you."

Kyle nodded then turned back to Grace and Nick. "Could you escort these guys to Tracey's group? Tell them that they've surrendered and that we're holding them until we take care of the bunker. Let them know that they're to be treated kindly."

"You got it partner." Nick and Grace started rounding up all the surrendered cultists and leading them out the door.

"I'm going to go with them, make sure they won't try anything. I'll be outside if you need anything." Jess sounded bitter.

"Jess…."

"Its fine Kyle. We'll talk later." Jess then headed out behind the rest of the group, leaving Kyle and Faith alone.

Kyle sighed and turned back to Faith. "Do you want to check the upstairs?"

"Yes, I need to see something."

The both ascended the stairs to the second floor. Scattered all around were boxes full of bliss, papers detailing its development, and various lab equipment designed to test the bliss. While Kyle was examining everything in the main room, Faith was wandering around, looking at what had once been her home. Memories of the past came flooding back. Each memory became more vivid than the last. Tears started falling down her cheeks. This place had been her home but she had destroyed it. When she gave up her name, she also gave up her home. Faith had told the cult about this place and it turned into a place where the bliss was grown. That same bliss was used on people who didn't agree with The Father's ideals. It was a tool of oppression, a tool of fear. She knew that the cult had killed her parents. Even though they had made her life a living hell, without them, Faith….Rachel….. would never have been given life. She never would have been where she is now, with Kyle, someone she had growing feelings for.

Kyle was taken aback when started hearing sobs. He looked around and saw Faith with her head down, sobbing. He started to worry so he quickly made his way over to her. Kyle stood in front of her where he would be able to see her face which was turning red.

"What's wrong?" He asked concerned. Kyle had the feeling that Faith would have reactions to returning to her old home. However, he didn't expect her to suddenly start crying.

"Its all my fault…" She sobbed.

'What's your fault?"

She looked up at him. Tears were all over her face. "All of this! I'm responsible for it all! I told them about this place. I gave up my family, my home, my name, just so I could belong. I only thought of myself! And in the end al it did was get people hurt and killed!"

So that's what she was distressed about. Even with all that had happened, the past was still haunting her. Kyle put his hands on her shoulders. "Faith, its not your fault. What happened, happened. We talked about this remember? It was all a plan by Joseph. He tricked you into wanting to feel like you only belonged with him. Its not your fault."

"It is my fault Kyle. I caused all of this to happen! I'm responsible for the bliss! I was selfish. I didn't even care about my fucking best friend who kept me going all of those years. I threw everything away! Just because The Father said that I would be a part of his family. I went along with everything he said! Everything he did! I could have fucking killed you Kyle! If you hadn't reached out to me, I could have fucking killed you!"

Kyle didn't expect her to swear. If Faith was swearing like Jess, then she was really in distress. Kyle did the only thing he could think of; he came forward and pulled her into a hug. Faith didn't resist at all, in fact she seemed to melt into it as she sobbed into his chest. "Faith, you need to realize that you made an effort to change. You've been making an effort. Some people don't try to change! They just makes excuses. But look at what you've done so far! I did make an effort to reach out to you, but you reciprocated. Not only that but you saved my life! You saved me from John. You have a good heart Faith. You're not the monster that you believe yourself to be. In fact, I don't think I know of anyone else who has a kinder soul than you. Those cultists are the proof."

"Kyle…"

"You just have to believe in yourself Faith, like I believe in you. I…."

He didn't get to say another word. Faith had taken her head off his chest and kissed him. As he felt her lips on his, a million thoughts went through his mind. But the only thing he was thinking right now was how good the kiss felt. That it was with Faith, the woman he was growing mor attracted to. He only thought of the now, how wonderful it was. This time he did not hesitate, he would reciprocate.