Something went through him when he saw her. He felt it, in his bones. A mysterious sensation flooded his veins instantly, while she was frozen like a small doe in headlights. It was almost comical, he could agree, the two of them staring at each other, waiting for who would make the first move. He watched her, until the damn clouds blocked his view and he lost sight of her. The Deputy.

Jacob almost couldn't believe that the woman he just saw was the same junior member of the Sherriff's office obstructing him and his brothers' plans. He'd expected someone… taller? Older? More outwardly aggressive-looking at least. Someone who looked more like a soldier and less like….

He looked down at his own reflection. The scarred face of the marksman from the 82nd Airborne division stared back at him. The divots covering his right cheek didn't look any less ghastly in the dark than they did in daylight. Sometimes he preferred it to be that way, it made stalking around the St Francis Veterans Centre a breeze. His Chosen few took one look at him and walked in the other direction, and any prisoner he ever had to interrogate immediately turned twice as pale when viewing his scars up close. It was why during interrogations; he wore his sleeves at the elbow.

Jacob's eyes darted back to the treeline, where she had been only moments before. Her wanted posters didn't do her justice. Whoever it was in the Project who were tasked to make them was going to receive words from the usually silent soldier. He closed his eyes in rapture, the image of her face seeped in curiosity and shock seemed so good to him, and yet he was too weary to try to understand why.

The last time he had seen her was that fateful night on this very island – when she and her Sherriff had been led into hell on earth by that self-interested Marshall. For once, he was relieved Faith was dealing with something for once, he hoped that federal agent's brains were boiled in bliss. But ah, the look she had on her face. She wasn't timid when she had entered, she didn't keep one hand on her holster like the Sherriff, nor strutted inside confidently like the Marshall. He almost didn't comprehend her behind them, too focussed on the arguing authorities to spot the junior deputy in the background, until she stepped forward. She'd cuffed the hands of his brother, giving Joseph a look that said, "It's nothing personal". Of course, after everything his family had thrown at her, now she understood to be afraid. She had a reason to be afraid. It was a shame – someone like that caught up in a war…

"Sir?", an unwelcome voice broke shattered through his thoughts. He recognised the voice, but not the speaker. He didn't bother to learn the names of his subordinates. The amount of times they slipped up and were thrown to the judges, it seemed pointless to waste precious time memorising the names of those who wouldn't end up as anything more than an afternoon snack for the wolves. Jacob inclined his head towards the voice, acknowledging them but saying nothing.

"The helicopters are ready to take off, if you want to return to the Veterans Centre now", the Chosen spoke quickly, but not out of fear. Out of knowledge, for Jacob's thin patience. He felt a rare smile quirk at his lips – Jacob demanded nothing less than total respect and unwavering obedience. His men knew the consequence for anything less than that.

"Send out the boats, and search the shore", he pointed to the direction where he had last seen the Deputy's eyes, before they faded into shadow. He heard the movement of his soldiers, as they glanced at each other in confusion, but did not disobey. "The Deputy hasn't had enough of our family, it seems", he grunted.

"The Deputy was here?", he heard a quiet voice gasp. It was one of the newer recruits. Jacob whipped around, and any words that might have been said were swallowed in the young man's throat. His men carried out his orders, suspending the convoy for now until they had searched. Jacob stood on the shoreline, dropping his cigarette to the ground and stubbing it out with his boot. He didn't expect them to actually find her – he had been analysing some of her recent movements, in the few reports he had managed to squeeze out of John – and knew she was crafty. It had always taken many of Joseph's flock to take her down, and when they did she had always escaped before. But still, he wouldn't just let her run away. He had simply given her a head start.

The hunt is on

He searched the trees with his men, looking over the foliage and finding nothing on the ground. If she had been in a hurry to get away, which was likely, she had still been smart enough to partially cover her tracks, avoiding mud or anything that could leave an indentation on the ground. He was impressed.

The Chosen returned to the compound finding nothing but tyre tracks leading to the main road. Jacob figured as such. They took off back to the Whitetails shortly after. It was late, and they didn't desire to spend all night looking for a Jezebel who was already long gone. As they ascended into the air, they didn't notice dark brown eyes watch them from high up in a tree.

Jacob watched as the moonlight reflected off the lake, while the helicopters rose higher, deeper into the mountains. He had taken notes of what she was wearing: grey jeans with holsters strapped onto her thigh, a brown leather aviator jacket, black lace-up army boots. His hunters knew what they were looking for, and they would learn how to find her.

"You may have escaped this time, pup. But the real game is just beginning"

XXX

Dep put the Death Wish in reverse and parked it outside town. She didn't need to worry about parking it directly in town, Fall's End had an unspoken safe-circle, in which no Peggie entered, unless they had a literal death wish. The reason? Pastor Jerome's Church had been appointed the HQ for the Resistance in Hope County. Since the people of Holland Valley had managed to hold out against the parasite that was John Seed, the valley had become the safest place in the entire county for Resistance members to hold out. Consequently, it was now the strongest and safest place for the people, and the most dangerous place for the Peggies. The town was crawling with people, all banding together to fight against a common foe.

Rook felt a certain wave of pride rush over her as she strolled into town. Despite it being late, that didn't stop the town's liveliness even at nearly 3am. The neon lights outside the Spread Eagle were blazing brightly as ever, and music was coming from inside. The town hadn't been walled off necessarily, but resistance-operated roadblocks were in place, and self-built gates to prevent any huge Peggie vehicle from cruising into town. As she approached the North gate leading from the Golden Valley Gas Station, two of the resistance members on patrol spotted her and waved enthusiastically. She rolled her eyes fondly, bowing her head at the Redler twins – Susie and Steve, Wendell's grandchildren.

"G'morning Miss Deputy!", Steve called to her, bowing dramatically at her action. His twin shoved him in the back. "And Miss Everdeen!", Jess scoffed, Peaches padding alongside her.

"Stevie! Stop shouting!", his younger sister scolded. Steve waggled his eyebrows at her comically, unapologetic in his wit.

"What brings you to Fall's End so early?"

"I gotta speak to the big man", Dep made a cross-symbol with her fingers. They let her in briskly, agreeing that it was a bad idea to keep Pastor Jerome waiting. The two women and cougar walked through town, being greeted by odd members of the Resistance whom they had helped out with at one point or another. They saw Hurk, Sharky and Zip outside drinking like Vikings, each comparing stories centred around explosives and the like. Nadine Abercrombie was talking to Merle about her grandpa's retro 80s comics, and the mullet-wearing truck driver was listening intently. He raised his beer glass at Dep as she walked past, yelling something incoherent above the noise of the bar. She gave him a thumbs-up and a tired grin in response. Jess trailed over towards the hustle and bustle of the town's saloon, eager to throw herself into the middle of the hubbub. She gave Rook a friendly fist-bump, not having to say anything as she stepped inside the smokey bar.

Peaches stuck by her side as she approached the Church. The one thing she didn't have to worry about was her 'kids', which she was grateful for. Cheeseburger was found near the Drubman marina, having wandered too far from the FANG centre after the cult took it over and the bear miraculously wound up in the Henbane. She contacted Wade Fowler and he'd been relieved to hear that his favourite buddy was okay, telling her how to look after him. Cheeseburger did whatever bears do, wandering the woods up North but always coming to her beck and call if she was in the area. Boomer stayed by her side no matter what, but he took a particular shine to Grace. He'd sleep at the foot of the three women's beds, guarding the entrance to the Armstrong bunker constantly, although they didn't take him on missions. They'd scavenged some dog food from the Kay-nine Kennels in the valley, filling up his bowl every day. The kids of Fall's End adored him however, recognising him as the gundog from Rae-Rae's. Peaches on the other hand was a happy medium, she hunted her own food and took care of herself, while easily adjusting to life in a bunker. It wasn't the best thing for them, being cooped up underground but Dep promised that when the war was over, she'd give all her babies the space they deserved to run free.

Dep's black boots climbed the stone Church steps. She could hear loud voices from the inside, growing heated by the second. The resistance member guarding the door looked her up and down and stood aside without saying a word of objection. She leaned in the doorway, peering inside the warmly lit church. Thanks to the Peggies, power-cuts were sometimes frequent (or at least they were, until they had taken back control of the power station), so Jerome had made use of the many candles they kept for mass to keep his Church lit at all hours. When it wasn't a makeshift hospital or a base of operations for the Resistance, it allowed people to come together in quiet prayer. Of course, some of the residents of Hope County didn't understand the meaning of the word "quiet", but the general message was all the same.

In the middle of the Church's main room was a table, covered in blueprints and maps. Some of the most prominent leaders of the resistance were gathered around the table, all disputing what to do next. Dep saw the shiny, balding head of Earl to the left (who had politely refused to wear his hat in a Church) reflected by the dim candlelight, standing with the Virgil and Tracey, who was smoking and still wearing her hood up. Hudson and Mary-May stood on the right, closer to the table. Hudson's arm was protectively around Mary's torso. Rook felt warm at seeing Hudson's face again, all the bruises she had sustained under John's intensive torture had seemingly faded already. Adelaide, Xander, Nick and Dr Lindsey were all assembled as well, talking quickly with each other while Jerome and Dutch tried to make some sense of everything. There were many more people she didn't recognise, but some had the Fall's End insignia on their bullet-proof vests, while others had the Cougars. They looked like the civilian fighters who had joined them. She could only assume this was a similarly big meeting taking place, opposed to the one she had seen before in Eden's Gate, if they had even called upon some of peaceful residents of the county to join.

"Knock-knock", she jokingly announced her arrival, rapping on the door-frame with her knuckles. Earl was the first to turn, a huge grin on his face as he saw her.

"Rook! You get back alright?". She just managed to nod before she was swamped with everyone else. Rook received rowdy pats on the back and endless questions before she barely even had a moment to open her mouth a second time. Many people began to whisper amongst themselves as they turned to faced her, being the first time they had seen Rook. It would seem that her reputation preceded her, nearly everyone by now – in Eden's Gate or otherwise – knew of the junior cop, the figurehead of the Resistance.

It was ironic really; a Deputy's badge, once used as a symbol of authority, was now a symbol of rebellion.

"Ah! Deputy, we were wondering when you'd show up", Jerome gave her a warm smile despite the late hour and how uneasy he looked. Mary-May caught sight of Peaches, pulling out something from her jeans pocket.

"Have you been a good girl?", the blonde cooed over the big cat, feeding her a fish cracker. It wasn't Peaches' favourite treat but she gobbled it up regardless, purring loudly into Mary-May's palm.

"Hey Kiddo", Dutch pulled her into a hug. "You look like shit"

"Would've been in helluva lot more shit if I wasn't so lucky", she took off her jacket and leaned back into one of the pews, exhaling slowly. Peaches lay down at her feet, resting her head on her paws. "Sorry to bother y'all so late, but I think you should know. Something's up"

"How so?", Jerome calmly folded his hands. She noticed everyone's necks crane towards her, a mix of interest and worry.

"You know we've been tracking John Seed? Well, my squad had prepared to ambush his ranch, take it back from him finally and hopefully it'll be the trigger to draw him out", she stood up, walking to the large map spread out across the table. She pointed at the location of the lawyer's heavily-guarded home, drawing a circle around the surrounding area with her nail. "We were about to take out his snipers and watchtower, when he himself came out, alongside about a dozen Chosen. They'd set off in an armoured truck convoy, like the ones he used to patrol around the valley? And we thought it was too good of an opportunity to miss". Behind her, the Sheriff nodded. "He ended up at the Father's compound. We followed far behind in the Death Wish, and surveyed from the shore. And he wasn't alone".

"Whaddya mean?", Nick crossed his arms. His face was pulled into an anxious frown; a face he had been showing a lot more often since Carmina had been born.

"All of the Seeds were there", Dep emphasised. Jerome pursed his lips.

"Jesus Christ", someone swore behind her.

"Holy shit", Adelaide spat out the contents from her flask.

"Did you get a glimpse of what they were doing?", Dr Lindsey asked her quietly, in his usual anxious tone. He was almost drowned out by the noise of everyone's arguing.

"All right calm down", Jerome raised his hands, trying to settle the room. "Deputy, did anything else happen?"

"That's the bad news", Dep bit her lip. "We couldn't see what went on inside, but they were there for a good two hours. Whatever they were discussing, it must've been important, for all four of them to be present. Nothing had moved since they'd entered so I sent Grace and Jess back to make sure the coast was clear and the truck was safe, but then I saw all of them leaving together-".

"-Did they see you?", she was cut off. Rook swallowed.

"Jacob Seed did". The Church was sent into momentary chaos, Jerome had to clear his throat at least a dozen times before the mutters and whispering had silenced.

"What the hell is Jacob Seed doing so far down south?", Dutch took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"It can't be good, that psycho never leaves the mountains", Hudson's voice was bitter. Rook didn't blame her one bit – if the youngest Seed had tortured and imprisoned her so brutally there was no saying of how capable the eldest Seed was. Dep continued her turn of events, about how he had spotted her and then she ran back into the brush. She hadn't stayed long enough to find out if they were searching for her, but she asked Grace to stay behind to keep watch.

"As far as I know, none of them followed. The paths were too empty; they couldn't have seen which direction we went in once we got back on the main road". Jerome stood up, patting her on the back gently.

"Thank you for everything you've done, Deputy", he turned to the rest of the room. "The Seeds don't often gather together, so we know they're plotting something big. I advise we increase surveillance on all the roads and Eden's Gate activities". Even in times of crisis, Pastor Jerome's voice was able to calm the mind. After some more whispering, the room settled once more into silence. Almost everyone agreed on the proposition, except Charles who was nervously examining his medical notes. He sighed, raising his hand in agreement after a moment's silence.

"Deputy", Jerome turned towards Rook, the same worried expression he usually had when addressing her. She was used to seeing it, since he was frequently assigning her a last-minute mission, issuing a thousand apologies after. Dep was accustomed to it by now. Jerome needed all the help he could get to manage the Resistance, and she was happy to be the completer of his plans, if it helped relieved his woes a little. "We have some more bad news for you. The radio silence hasn't been lifted from the Whitetail mountains and we're still out-of-contact with Eli's faction". Dep felt her insides flip uncomfortably at the mention of the mountains.

Eden's Gate moved in five years ago, and the longest and strongest roots they had in Hope County were up in the Whitetails. Since the mountains had a better strategic location and more out of reach areas than any other region, it was easy for Jacob Seed and his men to set up shop, and secretly spread their influence throughout. Since her and the Sheriff's department's fateful arrival at Joseph's Compound - which declared the beginning of "The Reaping" - the Whitetails had been on total lockdown. Every road was fenced off and barricaded with barbed wire. Every radio signal was terminated through (presumably) some huge jammers the cult possessed. Mounted guns sat at the corners of each main road. Trios of helicopters carrying M60s patrolled the skies day and night. It was less than easy to get in or out, and even harder to piece together what exactly was going on inside the region, since they only had a very small group of witnesses who had survived to tell the tale. Only a few individuals, such as George Wilson, Dave Fowler and Hurk (who was luckily in the Henbane at the time, visiting his dear mom at her marina) had managed to get out either just before the lockdown or after, having to sneak past Jacob's armed guards. It had worried everyone, when Dave had rushed into Fall's End one day carrying a cardboard box of Cheeseburger bobbleheads, screaming about 'martial law'. The Resistance still hadn't been able to speak to Eli and the Whitetail Militia since the complete lockdown, and this was the heaviest weight on Pastor Jerome's mind. Those who attended his sermons still at the Fall's End church prayed every night for the safety of the Whitetails. They could only hope they had dug in somewhere and were trying to hold out.

"I volunteer", Dep cleared her throat. "I volunteer to monitor the Seeds". No one said anything, but she was met with grateful glances. They weren't surprised that she volunteered, Rook often did when she knew it was something truly important. Nick reached over through the sea of rebels and gave her a fist-bump.

"It's all settled then. Any last questions?", Jerome looked relieved to finally end the meeting.

"I got one", Tracey raised her hand at the back of the Church. Jerome nodded encouragingly.

"Why the fuck are we holding meetings at three in the morning!?"

"Language!", Virgil chastised, his face going pale and his hand on his bible as he fanned himself. Jerome barked out a laugh. Tracey took no notice, slipping past the others before Earl or Virgil could pull her aside for a verbal lesson on "profanity", but she stopped when she came near Dep. Since they were officially dismissed, the rest of the church-goers filed out quickly, eager to get some precious hours of sleep in before the next battle was forced on them.

"Is Jess in there?", she pointed to the Spread Eagle with one of her stubby nails. Rook nodded tiredly.

"Go crazy", she joked weakly, nodding down the street where it was clear some kind of party was in full swing. She just pitied poor Mary-May who would be the one cleaning up the broken glasses in the morning,

"Speaking of bars, that idiot son of mine's probably drinking himself dizzy", Adelaide laughed, slapping Xander on the rump as they exited the Church.

"That woman has no dignity", Dep stifled a laugh at the cougar's antics.

"Committin' acts of lust in the house of God? 'Tis a darn shame", Nick out on an exaggerated country accent. "Anyhow, I gotta get back the missus and the lil 'un".

"How's Carmina doing, by the way?", Dep leaned back against one of the pews. She felt guilty that she had been keeping out of touch the past few weeks with her friends – but the recent encounter with John had made her want to lay low for a while and work on recon, instead of rolling up to the nearest cult-owned property, guns blazing.

"Well… funny enough, she don't stop crying", Nick rubbed the back of his neck tiredly.

"Babies tend to do that, Nicky", Dep rolled her eyes with a laugh.

"Yea, 'cry and shit' was what my momma always used to say. I just realise how much shit", he pouted childishly, putting his sunglasses on despite it being still near pitch black outside. "I'll tell Kim ya said hi!", he called over his shoulder as he made his way back to his car.

"I'm just glad he hasn't started making dad jokes yet", Hudson remarked, heading out the door to the bar, Mary in hand.

"Just you wait", Jerome chortled to himself as he was preparing to blow out all the candles. Dep smiled as Mary-May and Hudson passed her by. It was nice to know that the two of them had managed to stay together throughout the war. Ever since Rook had saved Hudson from one of John's facilities where he kept his prisoners before they could "atone", Hudson had been staying with Mary in her bar. The Spread Eagle was one of the few reminders of a normal, civilian life amongst all the cult rampages, so she left Joey under the care of the bar-owner in hopes that they'll be able to get through it together. They definitely had. Her co-worker gave her a proud smile, while the young Fairgrave winked playfully.

"Wait, if you're here, who's running the Eagle?", Dep joked, pointing down the street.

"I left Casey in charge", the blonde shrugged, Hudson's arm resting over her shoulders. "I just hope he hasn't burned it down yet"

"If he won't Sharky will", she smirked.

"I told him to keep Hurk and his deranged cousin outta my bar!", Mary rushed through the door, her footsteps disappearing down the street. Rook laughed, watching Hudson rush off after her. She turned back into the Church, a warm beacon of amongst the chilly night. The only people left inside aside from her and Jerome were Dutch and Earl. It seemed that the only way the two men were able to tolerate each other was their shared hatred of Eden's Gate. That, and their love of whiskey, was the only thing they could agree on. Dutch's island had been a good ground-zero for them at the beginning to push back Eden's Gate. She understood her sense of loyalty to the guy, especially since he had been the one to carry her back to his bunker after that car-crash, unlike the Marshall who had left for dead. Twice. Dutch ruffled her hair as he passed by, giving her a faint but meaningful smile. It was just Earl left. He put his Sheriff's hat on, giving her a proud wink.

"Godspeed, Rookie".

Dep knew that when she finally got all her partners back safe, the Sheriff would definitely blame Burke. Strutting into their office, over-confident and self-interested, he'd all but slammed down the warrant on Earl's desk and demanded they prepared the chopper for the compound immediately. Staci had been even less willing to oblige, rolling his eyes in his usual snarky-Staci manner. She felt cold at the memory of Staci. Where was he know? Rotting at the bottom of a bunker like Hudson. A sickness churned in her stomach from the thought. She had heard of the brutality of the Chosen – they were rarely deployed in the valley – but their home was the mountains, where Jacob trained them. Ruthlessly efficient killers, she couldn't imagine what they were doing to Staci – the office jokester and occasional donut-junkie. Staci's cocky grin flashed through her mind, probably now missing many of his teeth. Her short time with her new co-workers hadn't stopped her from quickly fitting in however – she wanted desperately to get them back.

It was rumoured that the eldest Seed wasn't the one who carried out the so-called "trials" and experiments on judges. Some of their old intel had evidence that his right-hand man, a Peggie by the name of "Joab", was the one who was behind all the Chosen's acts of brutality. If Jacob was the general of the cult's army, then Joab was his lieutenant. She actually had a dossier on him, back in Grace's bunker. It was an old police report of his past arrests – sexual assault, grievous bodily harm – it was a miracle he wasn't already locked up, but his charges were always mysteriously dropped. She could sense there was more at play when she initially read the file, and that possibly John Seed's skills as a lawyer may have come into play. From what she had heard, if Jacob was the Project's sword, then John was the shield – keeping them out of legal danger. Dep's mind wandered back to Joab. She remembered his picture didn't paint him in a particularly innocent light either: this "Joab Ferguson" - if that was even his real name – had greasy black hair down to his neck and dark stubble across his face. His eyes were a steely grey, and looked like they were incapable of displaying any kind of human warmth.

Dep shivered, coming out of her daze. She walked down the street towards the Spread Eagle. The rest of the town was quietening down after the meeting was over and the most of the people still awake were either the town's patrols, or those distracting themselves with a party. Inside the bar was even rowdier, there was a layer of smoke near the ceiling from the amount of cigarettes and bear bottles littered over every surface. Dep cautiously moved through past Zip Kupka drinking his beverage from an oversized straw ("To keep the government from gaining a copy of my DNA!", was what he had once told her), and politely declined Sharky's invitation to dance. Jess was sitting on the bar next to Casey Fixman, who was trying to balance a tray of glasses in both hands.

"We going?", Jess shouted over the music. She wasn't one for loud parties like this – she was quiet both in combat and in how she liked her environments – but the temptation of a couple swigs from a cheap beer can had been enough for her tonight.

"Grace'll probably meet us back home", Dep tried to lower her voice as much as possible, while still being heard. They referred to Grace's bunker as "home", never specifying the exact location. It was deliberate of course, they didn't want the worry of having cult spies in the heart of the resistance who were gaining intel, but after Nancy's sudden betrayal… it was better to not take any risks.

The two women – and cougar in tow - headed back to the Death Wish, passing a wave to the twins as they sauntered through the north gates. Fall's End was pretty secure now that John's influenced had been reduced, but no chances were going to be taken. There were still families that lived in Fall's End. Children, even. The Resistance didn't fuck around when it came to the lives of innocent civilians.

Dep started the Death Wish, giving a grunt when it stalled and she had to restart it again. Jess sat next to her, pulling her hood back over her head since they were leaving the safety of the town. Peaches sat on the backseats, it was common for the animal to curl up on bumpy rides in the back where she could cat-nap without disturbance.

XXX

The dull whirr of the bunker lights murmured on.

Dep rested her head in her hands, praying for sleep to take her away for a short while. She was seated at the desk in their hideout, in front of her was a mess of papers, diagrams and maps. Boomer was lying over her feet, snoring into the floor. She placed another small red pin into the giant map laid out in front of her. Her notes from a few days ago read that John's endless amount of convoys were finally slowing down – thankfully due to her and Grace managing to hijack some gas tankers and deliver them to Fall's End. Without enough gas, John couldn't keep his trucks on the road. At least that was one less thing to worry about.

Dep's eyes flitted over the large map once again, past all the post-it notes and markers she'd left highlighting important shit - such as enemy patrol routes, strategic positions, and other places of interest where she'd heard some good gear was squirrelled away. Her eyes wandered past the Holland Valley. The Henbane river was still heavily under Faith Seed's influence, but the resistance were starting to set up. She'd helped Earl, Virgil and Tracey keep hold of the old jail, the Cougars' headquarters in the Henbane. Bliss was still being shipped around the county but until they gained the upper hand with John first, there wasn't much she could do. The Cougars had it under control however – she knew that the Whistling Beaver Brewery was at the top of the rebel's to-do list in that region. If they took out the cult's method of transforming the flowers into the drug – they could cripple the entire operation.

Rook felt her tired eyes involuntarily move North. The Whitetail mountains weren't exactly the priority right now, they knew that they had bigger fish to fry, such as the cult's rampant hoarding of all the food and supplies from the Gardenview Packing facility. Casey had been on her back from day one about food provisions, handing her a note about "proper sustenance" and how "adrenaline can only fuel you for so long". She understood it, she never denied nor brushed away his concern. But as she and Earl agreed: it was more important to focus on the lives of the people who were currently being kidnapped and forced from their homes – instead of a couple of crates of fruit and vegetables.

Dep marked the "Gardenview Packing Facility" on the map, and wrote it down in her notebook. Her journal lay next to it, looking dusty and untouched. The red highlighted border of the mountain region kept bothering her. Ever since the day of the reaping, nothing and no one had come out of that place – except for tonight, when Jacob Seed and his squad had visited the Father. It gnawed away at her brain. What could call them together like that? Jacob hadn't set foot out of his silent region until tonight, when he had looked directly into her eyes.

She leaned back and sighed deeply, causing Jess to stir in the bunk bed nearby. Rook hadn't had a spare second to herself since this started, and it was starting to show slightly. Not that her aim was getting sloppy, but she was taking less care over herself. She showered almost every day – the fierce Montana sun made it more than easy to work up a sweat, not including all the blood and mud that would stain her clothes daily – but the rest of her body was neglected. She had built up some muscle from the constant movement, but had lost weight overall. Her diet consisted of the powdered food and military rations that Grace had in her bunker, with the exception of the few times she could get a damn good burger down at the Spread Eagle (she made a mental note to thank Casey later). It was hardly enough nutrition, and the rest of her appearance was constantly dishevelled. The lack of nourishment and even lesser amounts of sleep had caused the constant dark shadows under her eyes. Her hair was short when she first came to Hope County – only a month before Joseph's arrest took place – and now it was messy and down to her shoulder-blades. She thought short hair would suit her new life in Hope County better, especially since being a cop, it was harder to grab and pull her off-guard.

"I'll have to find the scissors in the morning", Dep brushed some of it out of her eyes. It wasn't a priority now though. It could wait until later.

The clock beside her read "04:09". It was already four in the fucking morning. She hoped she could at least pretend to be asleep by the time Grace came back. Dep turned her attention back to map, letting out another quiet sigh and standing up. She stretched her aching muscles, and walked back over to the bunks. Jess was sound asleep on top, her bow hanging on a hook above her head. Dep smirked – Jess was always prepared for anything, even in the middle of the night.

She dug out her night clothes from the small dresser nearby – and froze. Her deputy uniform was folded up neatly inside. She hadn't worn it since that fateful night, when Dutch told her it'd be for the best if she tried to disguise herself somewhat. Dep looked down at her current clothes – she had taken off her bullet-proof vest, brown leather jacket and black lace-up boots earlier when entering the bunker – she was just in her pale-grey jeans with grass-stains at the knees, and the grey "Rye and Sons" t-shirt Kim had given her as a thank you gift after Carmina's birth.

"Tomorrow", Rook nibbled her lip. "Tomorrow I'll take time to properly relax"

Peaches opened her brown eye to stare at her from on the bottom bunk. Dep patted the cat's head lovingly, pulling off her clothes to wash in the morning. Boomer got up from sleeping under the bed and went to sit by the ladder, waiting for Grace's return. Dep wasn't too worried about the sniper – they'd been in worse situations before in the past few months.

Jacob Seed's eyes flashed through her head.

Dep shuddered. Why had she stared at him like that? She had dealt with people pointing guns in front of her nose before and hadn't frozen like an idiot.

"Was it just panic?", she ran her hands through her hair again. She hoped to not see him anytime soon. There was something strange about that man, both alluring and frightening. He had looked right through her, as if he could read her mind. His stare; she'd almost felt naked in front of him when he'd looked at her like that.

Dep bit her lip worriedly as she went to the bathroom, washing her face and brushing her teeth even though she'd probably be getting up in the next few hours. Climbing into bed, Rook left the fairy lights on for Grace when she returned. Was it sentimental value that made Grace keep them? Regardless, the soft light brought back comforting memories of her own childhood. Dep thought of her own parents' house. Their warm smiles, hugs and words. Every day was sun-drenched and happy – images of family and laughter tickled her brain dreamily.

Good. Let her forget the horrors she had endured that day. Jacob Seed could fuck off. She wouldn't spend another night worrying about shit she'd dealt with. She wouldn't. Because by tomorrow this'd all be a hazy memory…

XXX

Author's Notes:

I may have paired Mary-May x Hudson cause I noticed after we rescue her from John Seed, she's hanging out at the Spread Eagle and I thought it'd be a nice pairing. They're both strong AF women and I think they'd go nicely together ^^ Plus Joey's tattoo is hella awesome O.o

Also, if you talk to Mary-May and Kim Rye in-game enough times they'll tell you about John Seed and hoooo boi, his sin should definitely be lust instead of "Wrath" (unless I've got that wrong). Apparently he walked in the Spread Eagle and was eyeing Mary-May up like a piece of meat, and he was spreading rumours that Kim's baby was actually his and not Nick's (false tea tho). He is one sick cookie I'll say that much lmao

I love writing stuff that has all the #ResistanceSquad in it, like Zip, Sharky, Hurk, Tracey, Adelaide, Earl, Dutch and Nick xD They're super fun characters to write and even though they might not have main roles in the story (since it's not about them), I still think they deserve to have a few awesome appearances.

Please leave a review if you liked this chapter :) They may not all be super-long as this one (which is roughly 4k words, I doubled the entire word count of this fanfic in two days!) and I'm really enjoying this story.

Enchanted Mask

XoXo