Liz was grateful to not be at the chalet anymore. The veteran's center wasn't much better though. She had only been there for two days and she already hated it. After her stunt at the cabin Jacob told her that she needed to be kept under his watchful eye. He also had told her that if she tried something like that again he would kill her without hesitation.
She had been put on wolf duty. Everyone had a job to do and even the weak had a purpose. The barracks in the veteran's center were mostly clean but the facility as a whole was her personal fucking nightmare. It was where Jacob ran his main operations. She was right in the heart of the wolf's den.
She had been woken up early this morning. She was on one of the teams that checked the wolf beacons. They were checked every morning to pick up any potential judges. Liz was riding in a truck with her wolf partner. His name was Marcus. He was older but he was nice enough. They didn't speak much. Liz didn't really know who she could trust.
The truck pulled up to the first wolf beacon of the day. The waling noise from the beacon carried across the woods. The air was cold and the sun had barely began to rise. There was only one wolf that had been drawn to the beacon. The wolf was average in size. He wasn't one of the strongest but he might survive.
Liz hated that she had to do this. These wolves should just be left alone, not turned into gruesome monsters. She was thankful though that she wasn't out in the field hunting down the resistance. She couldn't kill anyone else. Every day since she had gotten here she had hoped that someone from the militia would show up and rescue her. But every day she had been let down.
Yesterday Marcus had shown her the process of capturing the wolves and turning them into judges. They slowly approached the wolf with a net in hand. They threw the net over it and the wolf was trapped. They dragged it back to their truck and locked it in a cage. The wolf yelped and howled. Liz felt sorry for it.
Her partner had been very helpful. He didn't seem as crazy as the other cultists. When they were out of earshot of the beacon, she decided to break the ice.
"So did you join all of this by choice, or did the will of the father decide for you?" She asked.
There was a risk in asking such a blunt question. But Liz was a blunt person. The look he gave her indicated that he knew what she was asking. Was he just as crazy as everyone else or was he kidnapped like her? The man sighed.
"The father knows who belongs here, even if those he chooses don't know it yet." He said. In his eyes, Liz saw sadness. She knew what that meant. Marcus had been kidnapped by Eden's Gate. He had probably be separated from his family too.
"I'm sorry." Liz said.
"Don't be." Liz thought about how many other cultists were just like him, people who had been kidnapped and were playing along to survive. A lot of the cultists were crazy but some of them would defect if they were given the option.
The wolf they had locked up began to whimper, it was frustrated being locked in a cage. Liz approached the cage and threw some meat in it. Being mindful of where she put her hands.
"Shhhh. It's okay boy. It's alright." She patted his head while he was distracted with the food. His whimpering stopped and he calmed down.
"I wouldn't say that when we get back to base. Jacob doesn't want us talking to them like they're pets." Marcus said.
Liz felt a smirk come across her face. "Jacob Seed can kiss my ass." She said.
Her partner said nothing. Liz saw the corners of his mouth form into a small smile. It was nice to have some small form of rebellion. Even if they were both still captives. They both said nothing more and loaded into the truck. On the ride back to the veteran's center, Liz watched the sun come up.
It was a gorgeous sunrise. She felt at peace watching it. When they arrived back at the veteran's center, the cult had already started their operations for the day. Liz and her partner parked the tuck and brought the wolf to one of the several cages outside the center. Wolves weren't the only things that were kept in the cages. There were people in them too.
Liz's partner left to attend to other matters. It was her job to get them started on the process of becoming judges. All of the wolves ate and drank bliss. It's what turned them into the monsters that were so effective at killing. They were fed twice a day. When a wolf is first brought in they are given lots of meat with small amounts of bliss. As the days go on, they are given less meat and more bliss. The entire process took a little over a week.
With the resistance killing the judges out in the field, they had to make judges as fast as possible. Liz was given a chart of the dates the wolves were brought in and the doses of bliss to give them. Right now there were 17 judges being made and the one they brought in today made 18.
One judge would be completed today and the one she brought in needed to begin the process. She started to gather the food and water and put the doses of bliss in them. Liz had heard a lot of bad things about the bliss and what it did to people. She was afraid that handling it would have some side effects, but so far she hadn't turned into a brain-dead zombie, so that was a good sign.
Liz began to distribute the drug-infused food to the wolves. She would place the bowls of food in a separate part of the cage and banged on the bars to get them to come over. When the wolf was in the boxed part of the cage she pulled a lever and shut them inside. There was another part of her job that she hated. She had to clean out the shit that the wolves left in the cages. The cult was okay with starving the wolves and turning them into monsters but god forbid they had to sleep next to their own crap. She covered her mouth to try to help block the stench. It didn't help.
The morning burned on as she took care of the judges. The sun had taken its place in the sky and the July sun beat down on her. She had been given an Eden's Gate outfit to wear when she arrived at the veteran's center. She was wearing black pants, boots, and another white Henley shirt. She had also been given a long leather trench coat to wear with the cult symbol painted on the back. She had found a black baseball cap outside the barracks. It had probably belonged to a resistance member. A dead resistance member. Liz was disturbed to be wearing a dead man's hat but it was a lot better than having the sun on her face. She thought that another cultists would have pointed it out but they mostly ignored her. No one paid attention to her.
She had also been given a revolver. The gun sat at her hip but only contained one bullet. She knew the reason. It was a taunt by Jacob. Give her one bullet. She could try to kill him with it but she would get shot down herself. She could also use it to kill herself if she wanted to.
After a few hours of feeding the judges, she was almost finished. There was only one left and it was his last day. Liz filled his food with bliss and another drug that would knock him out. The wolf ate it and feel asleep. The wolf's fur was matted and torn. It looked like there were chunks taken out of him. It was crazy what the bliss did to things. It took a natural predator and turned it into a monster.
In one of Jacob's 'sermons' he had talked about the judges. He said that wolves had a mind that was a cluttered and polluted mess. That there were too many options and too many weaknesses. When the wolves became judges there was no longer any flight, only fight. And she was responsible for making them that way.
Liz opened the cage, bringing red paint with her. Whoever was on judge duty before used spray paint to make the crooked crosses on their foreheads. Liz took her time with a paint brush, painting the red cross that signified the wolf as a judge. When she was finished she inspected her handiwork. She petted to fur on the top of his head.
"There you go boy." She said.
"For God's sake don't sweet talk him. But you are good at that aren't you?"
Liz whipped around to see Jacob. She did her best not to let her disdain show on her face. "What do you want?"
"Got shit that needs to be done. You're coming with me, Palmer." He said.
Liz was shocked for a moment to hear him use her name. Most of the time he called her sweetheart, honey, and his personal favorite, little lamb. They were all equally demeaning to her.
"Why me, huh? Don't you have a million other soldiers that are more qualified?"
He huffed in response. "It's an order. Don't make me ask you again." He said.
Liz got up and shut the judge cage behind her. She followed Jacob away from the cages. They went over to the loading dock and got in his truck. That night when he brought her back they had found a car out on the road. Jacob's truck was a larg diesel with bright red paint and the cult symbol on the side. There was also a machine gun mounted on the back.
"Does he have something that isn't red?" Liz thought. He started the truck and sped off from the Veteran's Center.
"In the morning and at night you'll still be on judge duty. But any other time you'll be with me." Jacob said.
Liz nodded in response. She fidgeted with her hands. She didn't want to be at the mercy of Jacob again. What exactly was he going to do with her? She was probably the worst soldier in his army, why did he want her? There was no telling what he was planning.
She spent the car ride staring out the window, not saying a word. Half the time she had wondered if she could survive jumping out of the truck. They eventually came to a stop at an old hotel. It wasn't the chalet. It was the Grand View Hotel. This place had used to be a destination for couples and newlyweds. Now Jacob had turned it into his own torture palace. This was where she was brainwashed when she first got here.
Liz trailed behind Jacob like a well-trained dog. She kept her head down. Everyone's attitudes had changed when Jacob was in their presence. It was like pretending to work when your boss walked by. Except most people didn't fear their boss the way these people feared Jacob Seed. She had noticed the people were staring at her as well. Jacob must not bring visitors along with him much. Especially ones that looked like they were weaklings.
The inside of the building had once been very beautiful. It had wooden walls and high ceilings. There were also stuffed creatures that were spread out in the lobby. Liz had known this place from her childhood. When she was little she had wanted to come here one day when she got married. Now she was here with a psychopath who kidnapped her. Jacob turned back to talk to her.
"Wait for me here little lamb. Don't try anything stupid." He said.
Jacob walked off to attend to business. Liz waited by the front door. She didn't want to wander around. She was afraid of what she would find. As much as she wanted to, she wasn't going to run. There was no point in running. Anywhere she would run Jacob would find her and drag her back to him. There was nothing to do other than follow his orders.
She stood there for a while. Her palms had started to grow sweaty. She could hear the screams coming from upstairs. Liz was afraid that she would hear that damn song again. She couldn't see red again. Not again. She waited and waited to hear it but it never came. She didn't pass out and she never saw red. But she did see him.
"Liz?"
It was Pratt. He was there. Jacob had gotten to him. Liz felt her heart drop into her stomach.
"Pratt."
He walked over to her. Liz looked around for any sign of Jacob but she didn't see him. All of the cultists in the Grand View were busy and not paying any attention to them.
"Liz, what the hell are you doing here? Did you join them?" He asked.
Her mouth fell open at the accusation. He was assuming that she was batshit crazy like the rest of them. She was pissed but she kept her voice low.
"No I didn't fucking join them. What about you, huh? You can't even arrest one man." She spat.
Pratt looked like he had been through hell. He had cuts and bruises on his face and looked like he was dehydrated. They could have only nabbed him two days ago and he already had been put through the ringer.
"They crashed our chopper and they got most of us. When I saw you that night all I could think about is why you were with them. " He said.
"Staci what has he been having you do?" The look in Pratt's eyes indicated that he knew exactly which he Liz was referring to.
"I've been helping with the trials. That damn song. He's been grabbing people left and right trying to get to Rook. I heard that Rook has been fucking shit up over in the Henbane." He said.
Rook. Liz thought back to the young deputy in the church. The rookie must have gotten away. Staci inspected her face, looking for any signs of damage.
"How long have you been here Liz?" He asked.
"A month."
Pratt's eyes grew wide.
"A month? Why didn't you call me when you were on your way home? I could have helped you." He said.
Her mouth started to form into a snarl. Liz was pissed.
"Oh please. Since when have you ever given a shit about me? Not once in the past six years."
She was prepared to explode on him and yell at him for all the shit he had done to her. For breaking her heart and for never taking her seriously. Pratt didn't appear to be the same douchy guy from her past but it didn't matter. To Liz, he was still an asshole. She had been ready to cuss him out but the words never left her mouth. She heard footsteps walking towards them.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Jacob asked.
Pratt winced back in fear. He looked down at his feet. Jacob pointed to him.
"Little lamb, you never told me that you knew peaches. How do you two know each other?" He said.
Liz looked up at Jacob. Her eyes were pleading for him to stop. Jacob gestured between the two of them.
"Oh, I see. Ya'll used to fuck." He said.
Liz let out a small shriek. She felt her cheeks grow red from embarrassment. Jacob Seed knew exactly how to get under her skin.
"Get back to work peaches." He said.
His voice was deep and rough. Pratt scurried away without another word like a dog with his tail between his legs. The consequences would be severe if he didn't listen. She was alone with Jacob once again. He led her back outside and into his truck. He was probably going to drag her along to everything he had to do. Liz stared out the window. At some point Jacob had turned on the radio. It was turned to the cult station.
'Gonna build it brick by brick and stone by stone. Till it reaches up to the sky…' She didn't know the song but it was catchy. The cult may be crazy but they had some damn good songs.
They rode in uncomfortable silence once again. There wasn't much to say. She had expected him to scold her on the judges this morning or talking to Pratt but he didn't. Jacob's silence was sometimes more powerful than his words. She couldn't quite get a grip on why he hadn't killed her yet. It wasn't out of sympathy. The only thing Jacob believed in was sacrificing the weak. And she was weak. She was so weak. She had been taken from a normal life and thrown into the most fucked up episode of Doomsday Preppers.
She thought back to everything she had been through since getting here. The trials, the training, and her connection to Eli. The realization hit her.
As Liz looked out at the trees she finally understood. She had tried for so long to figure it out but now she knew. She knew her purpose. It wasn't to survive like Jacob had told her. She knew the reason that Jacob wouldn't kill her no matter how much trouble she was. The reason he saved her that night at the chalet. He didn't need her to fight or to be strong. Liz wasn't a soldier.
Liz was, a trophy. That was her purpose. She was no more than a stuffed deer head hanging on a cabin wall. A living conquest from Jacob's greatest hunt. The way Jacob treated her and the way she followed him around was all a message to the resistance. She was a taunt to Eli. A taunt from Jacob that he had already lost.
Now anytime the Whitetail Militia saw her face, all they would see is Jacob's pet, his little lamb. The weak have their purpose. She finally understood what that meant now.
…
1 month before the arrival of The Deputy
The Wolf's Den, Whitetail Mountains
Things had been slow in the Whitetail Mountains. Eli's militia did their best to fight off Jacob's army but they barely put a dent in it. They would take out supply vehicles and roadblocks but a week later the trucks were back with greater numbers. The cult wouldn't let up. Something had to change.
His men were getting picked off every day and getting put in Jacob's chair. They either would either join the Peggies or end up dead.
"Hey Eli! You gotta come see this!" Wheaty yelled.
Eli sighed. If Wheaty called him over for something stupid, he was going to lose it. He followed Wheaty's voice into the inventory room. Half of the residents of the Wolf's Den were gathered around the small analog TV that sat on the counter.
'Now the lamb does not fear the wolf. The lamb parades itself around instead of hiding from their predators.'
"Holy shit is that Liz?" Wheaty asked.
Jacob's voice carried throughout the bunker but it wasn't until someone stepped aside that he saw her. It was Elizabeth, his niece. She wasn't supposed to be here. She was supposed to be at college. Why was she in Hope County? Eli felt sick to his stomach. He had gotten Liz's parents out months ago only for her to be captured by Jacob Seed.
Liz looked more mature than the last time Eli saw her. The last time he saw her she was just a young girl. Now she looked terrified. She was shaking in the chair and tears ran down her face. The girl was scared to death and was at the mercy of the eldest Seed.
'These so called Whitetails that try to threaten our way of life will have everything taken from them. Even those that they are closest to.'
That was directed at him. Jacob knew that she was related to him. How Jacob knew that was beyond him, but he knew. When the video ended everyone looked at him. He was their leader. Everyone would look to him on what to do.
The TV began to replay the video and Eli left the room. He couldn't watch that again. Eli rushed back over to his cameras. Liz was out there somewhere. She was probably at the Grand View. That was where Jacob did his experiments. Everyone had followed him out of the inventory room, waiting for what he was going to say.
"Eli?" Tammy asked.
He didn't say anything. He only peered at the screens waiting for them to show an answer. But the screens showed no sign of his niece.
"Eli. Say something." She said.
"He's got her. Goddamn it. How did he get her?"
Eli was angry and distraught. He didn't have much family. He considered the Whitetails more of a family than anyone. But he had always cared for Liz. She was one of the bright spots in this god awful county. He turned from the screens to face everyone.
"If she was out on the roads it's no surprise the Peggies got her. They've been snatching up people left and right." Tammy said.
"I thought that once I got her parents out she would be safe. I didn't warn her because I thought she'd never come back."
"What do you think he'll do to her?" Wheaty asked.
Eli sighed. There was no telling what Jacob would do to his niece. He obviously knew they were related, which would only make things worse for her.
"I don't know. But Jacob's got her in the chair. There's no way she'd survive his trials. She's not cut out for shit like that. He's probably going to kill her."
"Yeah but Eli think about it. Most of the time he captures men since he's trying to build his army. He doesn't ever capture pretty little girls like her. And since she's related to you she might get something a whole lot worse than that chair. Jacob's one twisted fuck, who knows what he'll do." Tammy said.
Eli knew what she was implying. In war women received a much different punishment than men. The cult wasn't known to do things like that, but Eden's Gate had always surprised him.
"We've got to get her out of there."
"Yeah but Eli if she's in the Grand View there's no way to get her back. That place is a goddamn fortress." Wheaty said.
"We don't abandon our own people. Especially not to Jacob Seed."
There had to some way to get her out or at least find out exactly where she was. Eli had men all over the mountains, but none of them were capable of rescuing his niece. If he sent out a search party to the Grand View, they would all be killed or captured. But there was one person who was able to sneak in anywhere undetected. The only problem was getting her to help. Eli grabbed his radio and set it to the correct frequency.
"Jess. Jess Black. I need to talk to you, over."
Eli was met with static. He had tried for many years to get Jess to join his militia but the archer worked alone. With the right incentive though she would help him.
"Jess. Come on just hear me out."
She was the only one who could help him. Jess was a hell of a soldier. She might not be able to get Liz away from the Peggies but she could track silently.
"What do you want Eli?" Jess asked.
She was probably hunting down one of Jacob's zealots right now, The Cook. She had been trying to get revenge against the cook since she was young. Jess wouldn't stop until every single Peggie was dead for what they did to her family.
"Look I know you're out there fighting the good fight but The Whitetails could use your help. I could use your help."
"I'm hot on the cooks trail right now Eli. If you want me to do something for you, make it worth my while." She said.
If there was one thing Jess needed more than Peggies to kill it was the ammo to kill them.
"Whitetails got resources you could use. Help me out and anything you want is yours."
She didn't respond right away, probably considering her options. Jess didn't work well with others but she did care, at least a little bit. If Eli couldn't convince her he could probably get Dutch to talk to the girl. Dutch was always right about things. He was right about the Seed family being trouble. He had known all of this was going to happen but no one believed him.
"Sure. I'll help you Eli. You got any Peggies for me to kill?" She asked.
"Not exactly. I need you to go scope out the Grand View Hotel. Jacob is holding my niece there…"
Eli couldn't lose the only blood relative he had left. Liz was there when his son fell through the ice. His family had been broken that day. His wife had blamed him for the death of their son. Eli blamed himself as well.
"I saw that broadcast. Shit, that was your niece. I'm sorry Eli. It's always hard when someone you care about gets nabbed by those fucking Peggies." She said.
"Well she's not gone yet. Please head up there Jess and see what you can find out. I just need you to track and report. We don't need you getting caught too."
"I'm on it." She said.
Eli had faith in Jess. He was going to get his niece back and kill Jacob for all the pain he had caused the people of Hope County.
…
Present Day
The Wolf's Den, Whitetail Mountains
"She's a fucking Peggie!" Jess yelled.
The dark haired archer stormed down the steps of The Wolf's Den. She had only been to the bunker a few times to gather supplies and then she left. She didn't talk much and didn't make friends. Her only goal was killing Peggies and to uphold her deal with Eli. He turned away from the camera monitors to address the archer.
"I found her. Your niece is a fucking Peggie Eli." She said.
They hadn't known where Liz was for the past few weeks. After she had been taken from the Grand View they had lost her. Jess had been on the war path to find The Cook but still kept her ear to the ground looking for Liz. Eli had assured her that the search for his niece would be worth it.
"She's alive then? What do you mean she's a Peggie?"
"I mean she's fully indoctrinated into Jacob's bullshit." She said.
Jess walked over to the screens that mapped out the mountains. Eli had cameras everywhere and had almost every location on watch 24/7. Jess pointed to the screen showing the St. Francis Veteran's Center.
"The past few days she's been here. She is almost always with Jacob. She follows him around all over the mountains like a fucking dog. And when she's not with him she's making him those judge wolfs." She said.
Eli couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was thrilled that his niece was still alive but she couldn't have joined them willingly. The cult had a way of breaking people. Sometimes it wasn't their fault that they caved.
"Now wait a minute Jess we don't know what they did to her. She could be brainwashed with bliss for all we know."
Jess rolled her eyes.
"I'm telling you that your niece is gone Eli. She's a fucking lost cause. Jacob's got her wrapped around his little finger. I'm done tracking for you. But I can't promise you that if I see her with him that I won't blow both of them to hell." She said.
That was the reason she was always with him. Eli knew why now. She was his protection and his human shield. Eli wouldn't let any of The Whitetails hurt Liz even if they could kill Jacob in the process.
"Jess no. If the resistance went around killing their own we'd be no better than the Peggies."
"She's not one of us Eli. Your niece is gone. She's a Peggie now. I've got better things to do." She said.
Jess left the bunker without another word. That was the last time that Eli had heard from Jess. She had went back to her quest to kill The Cook. Eli had heard that she had been captured by the cult and was being held at the lumber mill. The resistance was being captured left and right. Eli had heard about a deputy that was helping liberate the Henbane River. If the deputy came up into the Whitetails he would be able to make a difference. He could be the one to put Jacob Seed in the ground once and for all.