Chapter 30: Future Bound

The trek back from the control room was slow but still laced with urgency. Although the main threat of nuclear Armageddon had been prevented, there was still the matter of the remaining cultists who were still putting up a fight. They would be unaware that their leaders, the Seeds, were dead. Out of the entire group, the cultists of the bunkers would fight the hardest as they were the last line of defense. The goal now was to find those holdouts and hope that the sheriff's group hadn't taken any casualties fighting a now pointless conflict.

Faith led the way, but Kyle was right beside her while Jess watched their back to make sure no one would sneak up on them. The trio advanced slowly; they weren't sure if Joseph would have had people lying in ambush. The fact that there were no sounds of gunfire also made things eerie. Faith had suggested that they not travel the exact way back but choose a different path in order to find the group. Wandering around blindly was not ideal but sooner or later, they would have to run into them.

After some searching, Faith spotted the sheriff's group after rounding a corner in a hallway. They were spread out with some watching the other hallway while the others were on guard. When Faith, Kyle and Jess, approached, two of the guards hopped to attention, surprised that there were intruders coming their way.

"Easy boys, they're on our side." Tracey appeared from behind the guards carry an assault rifle and wearing a smirk which was rare.

"I take it that since you guys are here that everything went well?"

Kyle nodded. "All three of the Seeds are dead and we managed to stop the launch."

Tracey pointed behind herself. "Seems like the others haven't gotten the memo. The peggies are fighting us to the death for a hopeless cause. They've really dug in at this hallway and no matter how much we shout at them to give up, they keep on going. Maybe you'll have better luck convincing them."

"Where's the sheriff?" Kyle asked.

"He's over there." Tracey indicated. "He's having Hudson in charge of the team engaging the peggies and he had me be in charge of the guards in case any came up behind us. We haven't seen anyone else so I'm guessing these peggies are all that's left."

"We'll take care of them." Kyle assured her. Tracey and the guards moved to the side to let the trio pass. Heading towards the frontline at the junction, Kyle spotted a couple of wounded off to the side being attended to. He should have asked Tracey about casualties, but he could probably get more information from Hudson anyways. They found her with a few fighters at the corner of the hallway junction. The fighters occasionally took potshots at the peggies down the hall, otherwise they stayed put. Hudson noticed the trio and approached them.

"You're back! Does that mean?"

"Yes." Kyle responded. "Seeds are dead and the launch has been stopped."

"Thank fucking God." She sighed. "These peggies have been a damn pain. They won't surrender no matter how hopeless their cause is. I wonder if they'd still fight even with The Father dead."

"I think they'll be at the end of their rope." Faith spoke up. "I'm sure if they hear from us that The Father is dead, they might be willing to finally stop fighting."

Hudson shrugged. "Its worth a shot. Just be careful. Those bastards strike back like cornered rats. They wounded a few of our people. Luckily all treatable. Anyways, good luck. Let us know if you need back-up in case diplomacy fails."

Hudson's fighters moved out of the way to allow Kyle, Jess and Faith to get into position. Kyle peeked over to see what was opposing them. He saw a bunch of cultists protected by cover, aiming their guns down the hall at them. He counted at least 12 of them. Evidently, he must had his head up too long because he was cause he was forced to duck down when the cultists fired on him. Jess launched a few arrows to put the peggies back into cover.

"You're fighting a hopeless battle!" Kyle shouted so the cultists could hear him.

"Shut it sinner! Joseph has commanded to hold back you sinners until the collapse! Then all of the sinners including you will be purged! That is when we will all march through Eden's Gate."

"Joseph's dead!" Kyle yelled back while firing a few bursts from his LMG. "The launch has been stopped. You're waiting for something that will never happen!"

There was a pause and Kyle thought that he heard a few murmurings among the peggies. Then the same voice who replied before spoke. "We won't fall for your lies sinner! The Father will lead us to the promised land! He will-"

An arrow from Jess forced him to stop and duck his head. "You fuckers don't get it do you? She started shouting. "Why do you think we're here in the first place? If The Father were alive, we wouldn't be here wasting our time with you! Joseph, Jacob, John, they're all dead! Do you want to join them in hell? We can easily make it happen!"

Kyle was tempted to tell Jess to tone down her threats but he heard more murmurings from the peggies. They were loud enough that he could make out a little of what they are saying.

"The Father is really dead?" One asked.

"Nah, they're just lying sinners. "Another answered.

"That was Jess Black." Another spoke up. "And the one from before is the mercenary. If that's the case the Black might have a point. They would be going after The Father."

"Not to mention that she claimed that Jacob and John were dead too." Reminded a third. "The Seeds were together, and it looks like they found out. She might be right."

"But what can we do? The sinners will never forgive us. We have to keep fighting for The Father's vision."

"The Father is dead, Lauren. Maybe we were all lied to. The Father promised us salvation but ever since the mercenary came, all we've lost is our brothers and sisters. We've been fighting a losing battle. Perhaps we should ask for mercy."

"How can you speak of such heresy Steven?! We need to believe in The Father!"

The peggies were now busy debating among themselves that they stopped firing back. Jess crept over from her position to where Kyle and Faith were.

"We should just take these guys out now while they're distracted." She suggested. "I don't think they're gonna surrender."

Kyle seriously considered her argument. He wanted this to be resolved. The cult's leaders were dead and their master plan had been stopped. Why were they wasting time on the grunts? These peggies had made their decision to resist. Just as Kyle was about to give Jess the go-ahead, he felt a hand on his arm and turned to see Faith shaking her head at him. He was about to speak but she cut him off.

"I'll take care of this." She assured him. Faith then stood up a bit so she could be heard across the hall.

"My brothers and sisters, please listen to me!"

The peggies side of the hall quieted down as they heard a voice that had been familiar to them.

"Its Faith!" One of the cultists announced.

"She is no longer Faith." Another immediately argued. "She chose to side with the sinners and she is a traitor."

"She never did anything to me." Another spoke up. "If anything, she was the kindest of the Seeds and also made an effort to look out for us. Let's hear what she has to say."

The cultists shushed themselves and when there was finally silence, Faith continued.

"I know you all want to fight for the cause that you were preached to believe in. Believe me, I know. I once fought for that cause too. But despite The Father's words, his goal was not peace, but destruction. Not only that, he used lies and deceit to get us, including me, to believe in his vision. But The Father is dead and his brothers are no more. We stopped his plan of bathing the world in fire. We are not your enemy! There is no longer any reason for us to fight. There is no longer a reason for you to fight those that some of you once considered neighbors. Now is the time for peace and healing! Drop your weapons return to your homes. Rebuild that which was destroyed and finally live-in peace with your neighbor."

Faith looked back to gauge Kyle's reaction. He thought she had made a good argument but was cautious about her offer about letting the peggies leave freely. At the very least, they needed to be detained or imprisoned as many of them had participated in the destruction of Hope County that Faith mentioned. But as he continued to think, Kyle began to feel that maybe this was the best option. Some of the peggies might have gotten away with murder, but it was better than having more blood spilled. He nodded to her to show her that he accepted her plan. She smiled warmly at him before turning back to listen to the peggies' answer.

They debated about it briefly. A few diehards still wanted to fight to the death. They were generally the ones who argued that Faith was a traitor as The Father had said. But a growing number of voices argued with them. Some of them were believers in Faith, others knew that their cause was hopeless, and some were tired of fighting. Gradually, the talking died down as the majority overruled the shrinking minority who wanted to resist. Finally, one of the cultists stood up, either he was the one in charge or he had been designated to be the one to speak. He took a few steps toward Faith, placed his gun on the floor, then took a few paces back. He then rose his hands in surrender.

"Lady Faith, as usual, your words are well spoken. The Father promised us peace but we have been at perpetual war. Most of us are tired of fighting. We are willing to lay down our arms and leave without incident if you allow us. The small group of resisters will be kept in check. If they continue to try to spill blood then we will turn them over to the authorities. Is this acceptable?"

The man shifted his gaze as he saw Kyle rise and move to stand next to Faith. The mercenary studied the man's face to try to see if there was any deception on his part. But the only thing Kyle could detect was a bit of fear. The man was obviously nervous, waiting to hear if he and his comrades would be spared.

"We are both in agreement in Faith's plan." Kyle spoke crossing his arms. "Place your weapons against the wall over there and you will be free to go. I'll let those outside know to not harass you. However, be warned that you will be watched. If there's any deception or hostility from any of your people, we will act accordingly."

The man nodded solemnly. "You will have no trouble from us." He then went back to his group and began directing them where to place their weapons. One by one, they piled their weapons against the wall. As that was going on, Kyle got on the radio to let Nick and the others know not to blast the peggies to oblivion when they came out. He then had a talk with the rest of his group. Jess and Tracy were not happy about it but similarly to the peggies, the rest of the group was also tired of fighting. It only took a short time for everyone to get on the same page. They all moved out of the way to allow the peggies to pass through. Kyle and especially Jess watched to make sure there was no hostility from either side.

Faith watched silently as the cultists passed by her. She was relieved that both sides were willing to come to an agreement and stopped fighting. The conflict was finally at an end. People could finally stop worrying if someone was going to rob them or kill them on any given day. Hope County could finally go back to normal. A lot of rebuilding would need to be done but that would be very doable. Faith had confidence that Sheriff Whitehorse would be able to also rebuild his shattered police force again in order to maintain the area. As she thought more about the future, Faith started think about her own future. A part of herself wanted to help rebuild her old home. After all, she was responsible for the cult getting its hands on it and all the evil came about. Faith still had guilt over being part of the cult that had caused so much misery for the people of Hope County. The least she could do was help out with getting everything in order.

But then her thoughts drifted to Kyle, the man she had fallen in love with. What would he do now that the conflict was over? Faith suspected that he wanted to move from Hope County. From what he had told her and from what she had learned around the time of the raid was that he had never intended to be here for long. He had expected to do the job he was hired for and then leave. But obviously things didn't go that way. After all the fighting he had done, Faith figured that Kyle might be unused to everything being peaceful. Thus, there was a dilemma. If Kyle wanted to leave, what would she do? Be with the man that she loved dearly or stay with the home she wanted to rebuild? Was there a possibility that Kyle could be persuaded to stay with her?

As Faith was thinking, she noticed someone approaching her. At first, she thought it was Kyle but he was over to the side talking with the sheriff. The man who approached her was the leader of the cultists they had let go.

"Lady Faith?" He asked with a polite tone.

She turned to face him. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to thank you again for allowing us to be free and embrace peace. You have my word that we will work hard to rebuild Hope County and convince the other remnants to do the same."

Faith gave him a small smile. "You're welcome. I look forward to everyone being comfortable again and enjoying life."

The man nodded in agreement. "I also wished to ask you something. The sin-…..the mercenary. When he approached, I could sense why he was able to defeat The Father and his brothers even all by himself. He looks as though he has had numerous battles in his life even though he's still young. However, I've also noticed that you seem quite comfortable around him. The Father preached to us how ruthless he was, how he tore through our forces without any mercy. He also spoke how terrible of a traitor you were to side with such a man. If I may ask, why did you end up joining with him?

Faith thought for a moment. "When I saw Kyle for the first time, I sensed something similar to what you saw. He was no stranger to conflict. But I felt there was more to it than that. He was also different from what you think of from a typical mercenary. When I met him for the first time, my suspicions were confirmed. However, even I didn't think I would become attached so easily. Even though he was a skilled gunman, Kyle showed kindness I didn't expect. He went out of his way to make sure he caused almost no harm to my followers. I became grateful to him that I had him transferred over to my custody for safety when he fell into John's hands."

Faith turned to gaze briefly at Kyle who was still talking to the others. She then returned his attention to the conversation. "I had hoped to convince him to join the project and at least work with me. But it was he who convinced me to leave The Father. He had found evidence that my position was not secure and that The Father only recruited me for results. He would be quick to dispose of me like the other Faiths. I had known about my predecessors, but I had brushed that issue to the side. So I helped Kyle escape, and we left together despite the risks to my safety. He did everything in his power to protect me, even standing up to his own friends and comrades to defend me. As we spent time together, we drew closer. Even with no combat experience to speak of, he never looked down on me, always treated me as an equal. The journey we had, even with all the dangers, I don't regret anything. I grew to love him, and I believe he has the same feelings toward me."

The man smiled slightly. "I see. Well, I think you two will make a good match and I wish you both well for the future. Goodbye Lady Faith." The man then left as the rest of his group had done. Faith watched him leave that she almost jumped when Kyle approached from behind her.

"Hey, sorry to startle you." He apologized. "I talked with the sheriff. They're gonna handle everything from here on out. He told me that we can head out and take a nice long break that we've earned. You good to go?"

She nodded silently and they started making their way back to the surface. Faith was still pondering her future choices while Kyle continued to talk. "I asked Jess if she wanted to come along but I guess she wanted to stay around a bit longer and help out." He said shrugging while leading the way. They reached the surface, where it seemed like nothing had changed besides a few cult vehicles being absent due to the remnants leaving. The duo entered their truck and started along the road to Falls End.

During the drive, Kyle noticed how distant Faith seemed to be. She was silent for most of the trip and just stared out the window, never glancing his way. Kyle had first assumed that her silence was due to her being tired. It was pretty plausible considering what they just did, especially what Faith had to go through. But he figured that she would be happier now that the conflict was over. Ever since they had let those cult remnants go, he hadn't heard anything from Faith. He had seen her conversation with the remnant leader out of the corner of his eye but thought nothing of it at the time. Was she told something that would affect their relationship? They had all the time in the world now to fully enjoy each other and Kyle didn't want that to be jeopardized.

Thus, instead of going right to Falls End. Kyle turned and headed for a hill that overlooked the town. This caused Faith to finally glance his way for a few seconds but he hoped that he would be able to find out what was going on. He parked the truck on top of the hill and got out. Kyle walked over to gaze out over the town and Faith shortly joined him at his side. At least she wasn't avoiding him.

"Faith, talk to me. You've been silent since we talked to those cultists. What's wrong?" He asked.

She turned towards him and Kyle noticed her lip quivering a it. "I don't know what to do Kyle…" She said softly.

"What do you mean? Its all over. Eden's Gate is done so you can finally relax. You don't have to do anything."

Faith looked downward, avoiding eye contact. "I want to help them rebuild. It's the least I can do with all the damage the cult did. I was a part of that at one point too. Plus, this is also my home, I need to help out."

Kyle suddenly remembered that Faith indeed had once been a resident of Hope County. "I'm sure they'll be more than happy for your help Faith. I don't think you should worry about the past. I think most have seen what you have done and know that you're an extraordinary woman. Honestly, with you helping out, things will probably go a lot smoother." He smiled a little trying to cheer her up.

It didn't work. If anything, Faith started to tear up. "But I also want to be by your side! I love you Kyle! You are the best thing that's ever happened to me! Without you, I would have stayed in the cult and hurt and killed people. You're everything to me! I don't want to be separated from you!" She cried.

It was one thing to have strong feelings for someone and suspect that they shared the same feelings about you. But to hear it out loud was something else entirely. Kyle would have been overjoyed had it not been for the fact that woman he loved was on the verge of tears right in front of him. He put his hands on her shoulders, trying to do her best to comfort her.

"I love you too Faith. You're everything to me too and believe it or not you've changed me for the better. I would have remained cold and cynical if it weren't for you. The best woman in the world is right in front of me. I'd never want to leave you."

Faith sniffled a bit. "I know you want to leave Kyle. You've been in Hope County longer than you should have. You've already done so much for everyone here." She composed herself a bit. "Would you be willing to stay a bit longer? I would at least want to help get everyone back on their feet. Then once I'm sure everything's going well, we can go wherever you want."

Kyle nodded. "Of course, Faith. We'll stay as long as is needed."

That was all Faith needed to hear as she leapt at Kyle wrapping her arms around his neck and smashed her lips into his.

THE END

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