In a blink things seemed to return to normal, The marshal and the deputy walked ahead of him their footsteps muffled by the red carpet on the floor. Jack walked just behind them, his head and thoughts racing, he was back to where it all began and now he knew what was coming.
"Joseph Seed! I have a warrant issued for your arrest-" Here it was, the moment of truth. Rook took a shaky breath and calmed his trembling hands, this wasn't the time for hesitation, he already had a plan and all he needed next was the strength to follow it. "-Destroy all that we built!" His eyes focused on Joseph, the father was once more surrounded by his family and followers, ready to give their lives for him if that was what it took. Perhaps it was wrong of him to think he was different, if Joseph died here was no telling what the cult would become.
Jack's eyes glanced at the back of the angry mob and he wondered if any of the brothers would be capable of leading as Joseph did, would everything be doomed once more if he made a mistake? "God will not let them take me" Rook closed his eyes as the mob slowly left the building, there would be no mistakes, not again.
"And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see." No more meaningless death, no more misguided ideals.
"And I looked, and behold, a white horse... and hell followed with him..." The father held his arms towards him, his calm demeanor never wavering, as if he knew they could not harm him "God will not let you take me".
"Rookie, cuff this son of a bitch"
Jack stepped forward and took a deep breath, the marshal noticed how sweat ran down his forehead and placed a hand on his shoulder to push him forward the moment the marshal's hand touched the rookie he made his move.
The Sheriff could only stare in surprise as rook tosed the marshal over his shoulder and punched him leaving him unconscious on the floor, it happened so quickly his trembling hand barely had any time to move for his pistol before rook was on him too. The struggle was over quickly with one punch to the gut and a knee to the face the sheriff went down in relative silence, Jack turned around to look at the door and sighed with relief as Deputy Hudson remained outside.
The father slowly placed his arms down, staring with great interest at the deputy, now a traitor. Jack took his pistol out of its holster and tossed it on the ground, fully aware of the rifle being aimed at his head, courtesy of Jacob "Looks like the cub has some teeth" His eyes glanced at the bodies on the floor before focusing once more on the deputy.
John and Faith stood to the side, more confused than threatened "I came here to talk to you" Jack replied calmly, staring deep into the eyes of the father, his heart trembled in his chest, this was a gamble at best but time was against them all and this was the easiest way to begin his work.
With each second that passed Jack worried more and more that things would go south, his trembling hands-only stoped when Joseph signaled for Jacob to put down the gun which was done reluctantly "You risk a lot deputy, for what purpose I wonder..." Jack glanced at the brothers and shook his head "I will talk but only to you, for now" John walked up to stand next to his brother, a pistol ready in his hand "That's not happening, you'll say whatever you have to say here and now" Jack frowned at the reaction, he had hoped to speak to Joseph alone but there was no telling for how long would Hudson wait outside or if he would even be able to convince the family to leave.
"I say we-" "I saw" John was interrupted as Jack confessed, Joseph's eyes widened slightly "I... saw the collapse" Jack closed his eyes as his head filled with images of the end, forests tuned ablaze, birds engulfed in flames falling from the sky, screams of pain and prayers for mercy. The father hugged him, whispering reassurance in his ear and wiping away the tears that spilled from his eyes.
"Leave us" Joseph commanded, Jacob and John looked at their brother like he was crazy but neither wished to have his anger pointed at them. John and Faith walked past them followed closely by Jacob who looked ready to kill Jack on the spot, Jack let out a breath he hadn't noticed he was holding, this was good, the brothers would leave and-
"WAIT!" Jack shouted a second too late, as the doors to the chapel opened and Hudson came face to face to the people she was supposed to arrest, it took her a second to realize what was happening and her hand moved on its own. John's first instinct was to move out of the way, making sure to keep Faith behind him, Jacob hesitated for a second and that was all that it took, the gun went off once before Hudson went down, her hands scratching at the hand over her throat holding her down.
Jack looked down at his chest and was thankful to find no bullet hole until he heard a gargle behind him, he turned around to see blood seep out of Joseph's chest, his fingers doing little to stop the flow. They looked at each other and for a second Jack could swear he saw recognition flash in the father's eyes, Joseph's knees wobbled before they gave out under him, his fall stopped as rook held him in his arms.
Jack laid the wounded man on the floor and quickly took off his shirt, placing it over the wound, Footsteps were all around him and he saw the marshal and the sheriff be dragged outside before a group of cultist surrounded him and Joseph, he took a medkit from one of the shocked women that had come into the chapel but a kick pushed him away "You're fucking dead!" John punched him and before rook could defend himself a group of hands held him in place, John punched him again before grabbing his pistol and aiming it at his head.
"Enough" The voice of the father drew the attention of everyone in the room "You will not harm him, for he has seen what is to come and has been sent by God to aid us, yes lord we will follow your will... yes... his champion will come..." Joseph's eyes looked all across the room his words losing coherence the more he talked "T-the father is in shock, he's losing blood!" One of the women tending to his wounds said as they prepared to carry him out.
John glared at Jack but he placed his gun down as instructed, the group of cultists carried the father in their arms and Jack followed them, Faith joined them outside and the junior deputy noticed that his friends and Jacob were gone, the walk was silent except for the sound of the helicopter waiting for them, Jack tried to ignore the blood splatters in the seats as he watched Joseph be carried inside it. When he moved to climb inside John pushed him back "You're not coming with us" Jack simply nodded in return as he stepped back and could only watch as the helicopter slowly disappeared in the distance.
Jack rubbed his head as the situation finally calmed down, his thoughts racing with possibilities of what would happen now. He looked around and now that the father was gone everyone set their sights on him, some looked wary, others afraid, and others...
"Champion... please guide us" While a minority of the group accepted him without a second thought Jack still couldn't help to be surprised at the sight of the kneeling cultists in front of him "That's enough" Jacob commanded and some of the group rose to their feet immediately "I don't know what you are playing at but you better hope my brother survives or else I'll kill you myself" Jack opened his mouth to reply but Jacob was already walking away with his most trusted men behind him.
His words seemed to have an effect on the group, however, as the remaining cultists keep their distance or dispersed. It was late and the previously filled camp now barely had anyone left in it, Jack walked towards the main road hoping to find a car that didn't belong to anyone, to his surprise he found a convoy of trucks getting ready to leave, the green smoke that clung to the men and women revealing who all that belonged to. "It's a long way back on foot deputy or is it champion now?" Faith joked carelessly as if she were talking to an old friend.
"I liked rook more, actually" Jack replied, trying to ignore the blank looks in the eyes of the angels that protected the caravan "Very well then rook, would you like to accompany me?" Faith opened the door of the truck and climbed inside, patting the seat next to her.
"After everything that happened you're just... inviting me in?" Jack couldn't help but ask and Faith laughed at him like he had asked the most obvious thing ever "Of course I do, the Father believed you, he believed in you... and I believe in him" Once more she patted the seat next to her with an inviting smile on her face. Jack took the seat next to faith and the convoy started moving right away, out of the corner of his eye he could see Faith staring at him from time to time before going back to watching the forest around them.
The ride was silent for the most part yet Jack tensed up each time they passed through a cultist checkpoint, he used to destroy them and kill anyone around but now he was allowed to pass through, like a guest of honor. "They are curious you know? many heard what the father said about you and they wish to see who this champion is" Faith whispered in his ear and Jack jumped in his seat "I am rather curious myself..." She mumbled under her breath and Jack sighed.
"The collapse is coming, I saw it and I... will help as much as I can so long as we do it my way" Faith stared at him, her blue eyes looking deep into his own "Your way...?" She questioned and Jack felt a pang of fear in his chest "I meant, that the people of hope's county need our help. And we will help them but not through pain, suffering, and fear, they need to understand we are not their enemy" Jack felt like a weight had been taken off his shoulders as Faith smiled brightly at his words, she grabbed his hands and giggled happily "Yes! that's exactly right, with the bliss the both of us can make sure the people don't have to worry about pain anymore. We will show them the path and they too will find redemption" Jack smiled sincerely at the sight, he had never really believed that Faith was evil. She was good, she wanted to help people even if her methods to do so were misguided.
The ride seemed to last hours, no doubt thanks to all the precautions taken to ensure Faith was not in danger at any time, despite his efforts to stay awake Jack's eyes felt heavy as the ride continued and he barely noticed when Faith pulled his head into her lap "Shh it's okay..." Her voice was as soothing as he remembered and his eyes closed, his work had only just begun but for now Jack could rest, if only for a little while.
-END-
AN: eh... it will do for now
