The forest was cold and dark. The nighttime winds ripped through the trees. Liz's head throbbed as she started to stir. Her body ached and her left leg was on fire. The air around her smelled like iron. The last thing she remembered was collapsing on the floor of the Grand View. Jacob would probably have an earful for her for being so stupid. She had been stupid. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her.
Her vision was still cloudy but it was slowly coming back to her. Her fingers curled into coarse grass. That wasn't right. Why was she outside? She pushed herself up on her forearms and rubbed her eyes. When she pulled her hands away she saw red. She sat up in a panic. She stared at her hands. They were stained with deep red blood that was already dry. She checked herself for injuries but saw none. Her hands went to steady herself but bumped into something. A dead body was laying right beside her. The man had been stabbed several times. A knife was sticking up out of his chest. Blood and guts oozed out from where his stomach used to be.
Liz screamed. The high pitched noised carried through the stillness of the woods. She felt sick to her stomach. She got to her feet and ran. There was no destination in her mind, she just had to get out of there. Her feet stomped against the forest floor and her breathing was winded. The injury in her leg slowed her down. She didn't make it very far before stumbling into a pool of water. She collapsed onto her hands and knees. Seeing that man had made her queasy. She emptied the contents of her stomach into the pond.
The pond was directly in front of the veteran's center. She somehow ended up miles away from the place she had passed out. That couldn't be possible unless she had ran. She had collapsed in the Grand View during the day and woke up in the forest at night. There was only one explanation. Jacob's conditioning was real. It wasn't just a trippy hallucination. That man had been stabbed. The only person who could have done it was her. When she was killing people in the hallucination, she was actually killing people in the real world. She was a murderer. Tears fell down her face. She let out another scream. She had gutted an innocent man all because of that damn song. It hadn't been in self-defense this time either. Jacob had conditioned her to be a killer. She was screwed up. She couldn't even count on her own mind anymore.
Liz was right about Jacob. She couldn't trust him. She wanted to though, so badly. He had looked at her this morning like he wanted her. Like he wanted them to take things further. She had pulled away from him in fear. Fear of actually caring about that man. He was her kidnaper. That was all he did, kidnap people and kill them. He believed that what he did was right. That by sacrificing those who were weak he was somehow fixing the human race. She can't believe that she almost bought into Jacob's bullshit. Culling the herd didn't save anyone, it was only the slaughter of innocent people. He was just as crazy as everyone said he was.
She was angry, at herself and at Jacob. She felt stupid for thanking him yesterday. He turned her into a killer and she had smiled about it. Even kissed him on the cheek too. All the while, he was planning this. There was no fighting him. If she didn't do what he wanted, he would get rid of her. She curled up into a ball on the ground. The water she sat in was about two inches deep. It was freezing to the touch. It soaked her pants and the tails of her trench coat. She should have been cold but she wasn't. Her mind was in a panic. She furiously tried to scrub the blood from her hands. It didn't come off. Her hands were stained red with the shame of her misplaced trust.
For the first time since she had gotten back to Hope County, she let herself sob. She didn't want to be strong. She just wanted to cry. Her spirit was broken. Any hope she had about surviving or being rescued was gone. She was going to rot away sitting in this pond. At least if she was dead she wouldn't hurt anyone else.
Her sobs were loud in the quiet woods. Anyone at the veteran's center could have heard her meltdown, even Jacob. It didn't matter though. Her screams were no different than the countless others in Hope County that were tortured and killed. She was only another victim of the cult, no one important. Jacob had broken her like he had done to thousands of others. She wasn't important or special. Despite what Faith had said, he didn't respect her. He would never care about her. She could still hear Jacob's voice in her head. Every time she had failed the hallucination he had spat out a new insult.
You are weak. Try harder. Do it again. No. You are meat. Again. You're no soldier.
She was just weak. Weak. So weak. She was meat. She just sat in the pond slowly rocking back and forth. There was nothing recognizable about her. Yesterday she was somewhat sane. She was planning an escape and she could function. The conditioning made her turn on a dime. It broke her. Jacob had broken her. In her distress, she softly sang the lyrics to Build a Castle.
"Oh Lord, the strong don't cry. Gonna open up the door when the morning light shines in. When the light shines in…" The words were choked by her sobs. It didn't comfort her at all. The strong don't cry, but she wasn't strong. There was no morning light coming to save her.
After a while, the tears stopped falling down her face. She stopped shaking. The water had grown cold around her. She would have to get up eventually. She didn't want to though. She would rather sit here forever than have to see Jacob ever again. Her breathing slowly leveled out. She sang that lyric over and over again to herself.
The strong don't cry.
The water she sat in was a sick mixture of bile, blood, and tears. The only thing that wasn't floating in the water was her mind. That was what she really lost today. She pushed herself up to her feet. Her bottom half was soaking wet. Her boots squished as she made her way out of the water.
The veteran's center was still brightly lit. There was something going on there at all hours of the day. There was always a judge to be fed, a soldier to be trained, or a civilian to be tortured. Jacob would be there by now. She just hoped that she wouldn't have to see him.
There was no point in running off. She didn't have to strength to run away. She was injured and broken. Even if she did, Jacob would find her. There was nowhere she could run where he couldn't track her down. She understood that now. When he broke someone, he got control over them. He had done the same thing to Pratt. Her ex-boyfriend was completely under Jacob's thumb. The bruises on his face were enough proof.
She carried herself back to the front gate of the veteran's center. She wiped the tears from her face but it was still red and puffy. There was no hiding her meltdown. Everyone at the veteran's center had probably heard it. She didn't give a shit though. There were two guards at the gate. They both gave her a confused look at her appearance. Tear streaks were still on her face. Blood covered her hands and she was dripping wet. She was a complete mess.
"Where've you been all day Palmer?" It was a stupid question. She had been sitting by the pond most likely all day. The Chosen soldier didn't look the brightest though. Just because Jacob's soldiers were the strongest, it didn't make them the smartest.
"Indisposed." She didn't spare a glance their way as she walked by. Her wet boots stomped furiously against the dirt road. The snarl on her face clashed with the red puffy cheeks. She tried so hard to cover up her emotions but failed. She wasn't like Jacob. She couldn't just turn it off like he could. When she was out of earshot from the guards, the anger faded from her face and she was left with brokenness.
It was time to feed the judges by now. She had fed them every morning and night since getting to the veteran's center. Watching them turn from wolves to judges was gruesome to see. It was almost like her situation. She was once a sniveling wolf, but now she was a judge. Something that was unhinged, who would kill at a mere command. Before they became killers though, they had to be broken. Things that were broken followed orders without question. The judges snapped at her feet when she walked by, hungry to be fed. She needed the work right now. Work made sense. It calmed her down. It was the only thing that kept her grounded.
Everything at the veteran's center was fed with meat. Bowls of barely cooked meat were given to the prisoners, wolves and people included. What was in these mystery bowls of meat? It looked like ground up beef but the cattle ranches were in Holland Valley, not the mountains. It would have made more sense to feed everything dog food. The canned monstrosity was cheaper and it would be more effective at breaking people. The cult didn't deal in financial terms though. They just took everything from everyone. She didn't bother putting bliss in the meat. She just slopped food in the silver bowls. The poor animals deserved to not starve for one night.
"You okay?" The voice was male. No one should ever ask her something like that here. It would be viewed as sign of weakness. Only the weak were concerned with their feelings. She turned to see her wolf partner, Marcus. He wore a concerned look on his face. The old man had been a comfort to her. He would always listen to her chitchat and didn't judge her. He reminded her a lot of Eli.
God, she missed Eli so much. The last time she had seen him was before she moved. Before she left he had given her a can of mace and a swiss army knife. The former was to put in her purse to protect herself. He had tried to buy her a handgun, but she hadn't been old enough. She technically wasn't old enough to carry a pistol. She was still twenty, but the doomsday cult didn't really follow US laws. The multitool had been for emergencies. Eli had always said that if all you had in the woods was rope, water, your wits, and a swiss army knife; you could survive anything. Anything probably hadn't included a crazy cult at the time. Eli had always been a bit of a survivalist back in the day. She never thought that he would have been right.
She wiped away a tear from her face and nostalgia from her thoughts. "No." Her voice was soft but broken. She wasn't okay. The meltdown she just had in the pond was proof of that.
"You just have to be strong. He wants a sacrifice. Just make it and he'll leave you alone." It was solid advice. That had partly been her plan, but she couldn't do it. She wasn't going to sacrifice anything to Jacob. If it came to that he would have to kill her. The sick bastard would probably enjoy it too.
The metal bowls clattered against the ground as she threw them in the cages. Her partner said nothing to the blissless meat. The wolves happily ate it up. They had probably been starving all day.
"He won't. I'm weak. We know what happens to the weak." The words had felt wrong in her mouth, but she believed them. She wouldn't make it through what he had planned for her. There was no getting out of it. There was no surviving it. There was just counting down the days until her demise.
Marcus gave her a sad smile before leaving her alone. She saw that he had wanted to help, but there was nothing he could do. If he stuck his neck out for her, helped her escape. The cult would kill him. She didn't blame him. The old man didn't owe her anything. He had done enough by just being there for her.
She finished feeding the rest of the wolves. There would be consequences for messing up the bliss schedule, no doubt. Her body was too tired to care though. It was late at night by now. She just wanted to go to bed. When she was little and she was upset, she would climb under the covers. The covers had felt like they would keep her safe from anything. Her mom would come and unbury her from them. She would sing her a song until she fell asleep. Liz needed that so badly right now. It had been such a long time since she had known comfort. Her mom was probably dead though. Her dad too. Liz was as good as dead. The Palmers were just a bunch of dead people.
She rounded the corner of the cages, with a lumpy mattress calling her name. A calloused hand gripped her arm. It was a grip that she would recognize anywhere. It belonged to the last person she wanted to see. She whipped around to face him. The back of her hand made a smacking sound when it collided with his face. Jacob barely even flinched. A sharp pain went through her hand even though she hadn't hit him that hard. Damn that man, even his jaw was rock solid. A scowl crossed his face. His hand wrapped around her throat and he slammed her back into one of the cages.
The metal bars imprinted into her skull. She let out a strangled cry. Spots formed in her vision once again. His meaty hand covered her entire throat. Her hands wrapped around his as she tried to peel him off her.
"We back to this, little lamb?" His voice sounded more frustrated than angry.
His grip was tight and partially cut off her airway. He towered over her. The lion had finally caught the gazelle. He had her trapped between his teeth. All he had to do was snap her neck and finish the kill. Her hands clawed at his arm but the redheaded wall in front of her didn't budge. He only tightened his grip on her throat.
"Let me… go." The words were barely audible and shaky. Tears threatened to spill over her cheeks. The strong don't cry. The strong don't cry. The strong don't cry. He cheeks were still red but she didn't want to cry in front of him. She slapped at him but it was useless. He had control over her once again.
It was wrong, what was happening. 24 hours ago their conversations were gentle and light. Her lips had pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. It had been so comforting. Now here they stood, ready to rip each other's throats out. The monster and the thorn in his side. Did he and Miller have days like this? Days when they couldn't tolerate the others bullshit. There was no way to know. The only thing she could hold onto now is that she hated him. She wanted a reason to kill him.
"So, you pissed at me again huh? You were pretty fond of me this morning." He was mocking her. He was referring to her groping his chest this morning. She had been fond of him, a bit too much. It didn't matter now. There was no forgiving what he did to her. The only way it ended was if he died or she did.
She gritted her teeth. Her leg thrusted up and kneed him in the crotch. Jacob let out a huff and slightly stumbled. The pain was all over his face. It was the only place on him that was vulnerable.
"Shut up." She spat.
He regained his grip on her throat. He slightly picked her up from the ground and slammed her back into the cage. Once again her head smacked against the metal frame. A whimper made its way past her lips. The back of her head was bleeding.
He leaned in close so he was growling in her ear. "I usually don't like to hit women but you needed to be put in your place, sweetheart."
She could feel his beard hair scraping against her neck. There weren't any thoughts running through her head when she had hit him, twice. There was only rage. A few days ago she would have thought about the consequences. Now, she just wanted to see him suffer.
Jacob pulled away from her ear. His hand was still wrapped around her throat, but not as tight as before. His body was pressed up against hers, keeping her pinned there.
"I didn't mean to send you back in there just yet, but you did good. You passed, by the skin of your teeth. You have to be smarter though. It's the only thing you got going for ya'." He wasn't wrong. It was her own fault that she had heard that song today. But he would have forced her through it eventually. He always got what he wanted. What he said about her being smart, surprised her a little. Jacob didn't look like a man to value intelligence. Most of his Chosen were strong but, dumb as bricks. She didn't question him on it. It wouldn't matter when he killed her.
"Just let me go. Please…" She was begging him.
"Little lamb all you gotta do is make your sacrifice. You're ready for it. Do this thing for me and it gets a whole lot easier."
Her sacrifice. To pass through the gate she had to sacrifice the thing that was keeping her here. What was preventing her from fully accepting the word of The Father into her heart? Her father, mother, brother, or her uncle? That was what a note in the Grand View had said anyways. It was all bullshit. Jacob didn't even preach religion. The sacrifice was just to break people. It was to make sure that they were fully devoted to Jacob, not The Father.
Her sacrifice was Eli. Even if her family was in Hope County right now, he would still want her to kill Eli. She wouldn't do it though. She wouldn't kill her uncle for Jacob.
"I'm not sacrificing anything for you. You can go to hell!"
In that moment, her fate had been sealed. Counting down the days until she died suddenly became a lot easier. It wasn't a 'what-if' anymore. She looked at Jacob and she knew that she was as good as dead. This was what Miller must have felt like in that desert. Stumbling around, lost, with no one in the world but Jacob Seed for company. Miller had seen that look in Jacob's eyes and knew that Jacob would kill him. Jacob was going to kill her too. She knew that. She had always known…
Jacob sighed. "I was afraid you were gonna say that."
His hand fisted into her ponytail. There was nothing gentle about the way he snatched her from the cage. She saw a patch of blood where her head had rested on the metal bars. His grip stayed firm in her hair as he drug her away. The only thing that was keeping her supported was his hand on her. If it hadn't been there she would have collapsed into the dirt.
The other cultists on duty just stared. They watched as their leader dragged the small girl across the grounds. She was an example, just like the resistance man he had killed this morning.
Her eyes fell on Marcus. The old man looked heartbroken. There was nothing he could do to help her. All he could do was watch. He gave her a small wave as she went by. A parting farewell to the girl he had known for a short time. Liz knew what that meant. It meant that she would never see him again.
Liz didn't want to die. There are so many things she had never done. She never finished college, never had a real job, never been out of the country, never had sex, and she'd never been in love. There were so many more 'nevers' in her life. All things that she would never get to experience. Jacob was going to kill her tonight. She had to accept that. She had to. Her death had been sealed ever since she had ever set foot in Hope County again. She just wished she could say goodbye to her family.
Her feet ached. Sharp pains went through her every time Jacob yanked her hair. He was leading her straight to her doom. Everyone on the grounds was watching them. She could feel dozens of pairs of eyes staring at her. She just stared at the ground. She didn't fight him. There was no use in fighting.
She didn't cry anymore. She didn't want to give him that satisfaction. When he killed her she was going to be strong. And besides, the strong don't cry. The strong don't cry.
He drug her all the way to the loading dock. They were headed somewhere. He was going to make an event out of her death. Probably film it and send it to Eli. So he would know what Jacob had done to her. So he would know that he had failed. When they got to his truck, he picked her up by her legs and threw her in the back of the truck. Her body slammed into it. The metal bed of the truck was cold. Her bottom half dripped water onto the metal.
Jacob didn't say anything else to her. He climbed into his truck and slammed the door. Where was he taking her? It had to be somewhere close. He wasn't one to waste time. She didn't want to think about how he would kill her. She curled up into a ball, letting the vibrations of the running truck calm her down.
The stars shone bright in the sky. The twinkling lights looked like beacons of hope against the blackness. They were so far away but felt so close. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. If the stars were the last thing she saw, that would be okay. Despite all the thing she had never done, Liz had lived a good life. Her family would always love her. Her uncle would always love her. She wouldn't get to talk to Eli again, but it was fine. She remembered all the times they had when she was growing up. All the fishing trips, campouts, and softball games. Those were the best times of her life. They were good memories.
Eden's Gate couldn't take those away from her. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't take away the love that she had. Jacob had broken her, but he hadn't changed her. She never gave in to the cult's lies and deceit. That should count for something. Liz was still herself. At least she could die with some dignity. She wanted to die right there in that truck, looking up at the stars.
She closed her eyes and said a prayer. Asking for peace and forgiveness. She hadn't wanted to kill that man by the lake. It was something that was forced upon her. Hopefully she would be forgiven. Her thoughts flitted through memories of her family. Her body sunk further into the truck bed. Between the stars and the swaying of the truck, she was finally at peace.
The truck eventually came to a halt. It was time. She was ready to die. She accepted it. She heard the slam of the truck door and the creak of the tailgate being opened.
"Just please make it quick, okay Jacob? I don't want to feel anything." Her voice was soft but desperate. It was the least he could do for her. That was all she wanted from him, nothing more.
"I didn't bring you here to kill ya' little lamb."
Her head perked up at the coarse voice. Could that be true? Anyone who refused to make the sacrifice was gotten rid of, she should be no exception. She searched his face for conformation. Jacob was telling the truth. Liz wasn't going to die tonight. She should have felt relieved. She was relieved, but she was also lost.
"But… I…"
"Just shut your goddamn mouth for once and get out of the truck."
She followed his orders. Arguing with him was futile. She wasn't going to be killed tonight, that meant something. There was a reason that she was going to get to live. Maybe those stars weren't to lull her to death, but to give her hope. God wanted her to live another day.
Her body ached as she climbed out of the truck. Jacob didn't offer to help her. His gaze was cold. There was no pity in his eyes as he looked her up and down. Bruises had already started to form on her neck. Bruises that were given to her by him. They weren't the fun kind of bruises either. She had taken a hell of a beating.
Liz and Staci finally had something in common. In high school he had told her that they were too different. That they wanted different things. That they shared no interests. They had all been excuses. He just hadn't had the balls to tell her to her face that he didn't like her. Now they both had gotten the shit kicked out of them by Jacob. It would be a hell of a conversation starter.
Jacob grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. She didn't want his hands on her but didn't fight it. He might throw her into something else. She couldn't survive another beating this week. He lifted up her blonde ponytail to check to back of her head. Why did he give a shit if she was injured? He was the one who threw her into that damn cage. His thumb ran over the bloody tissue. The touch was gentle but it still made her wince in pain.
"You're fine. Keep close."
Fine, that was one way to put it. If being brainwashed, beaten, and falsely led to her death was fine. Yeah Liz was fucking fine. By Jacob's standards she could fight off an army in her condition. That man was infuriating.
Jacob walked away from his truck. She ran off after him and took in the sight of their current location. She had never been there before. It was a place she had only heard of in stories. It was a large concrete structure, embedded into the mountain. Huge floodlights lit up the compound. There were at least a dozen Chosen guards on duty. Two metal doors stuck out of the concrete. The great protector. It was Jacob's Armory.
Jacob's Gate was the second gate to Eden. John's was the first. He was in charge of recruiting, that was where most cultists would go. His was the 'easiest' to get into. All you had to do was say yes. Yes to getting your skin cut off and forced to serve a crazy man. The cultists were so fucking stupid. Jacob's was the second, and arguably the hardest. He only let in the strongest. The trials were not something to be underestimated. The third gate was Faith's. Faith's was where the most disobedient would go. There they would live in a state of 'bliss'. More like just a bunch of brain dead zombies. None of the gates sounded pleasant to Liz.
All of the guards snapped to attention when Jacob walked by. The cultists didn't salute him but they did a version of one. Jacob was the herald of the Whitetail Mountains, but he was more than that. He was a general. A general of the largest army in Montana. Too bad most generals were assholes, and he fit the bill.
Some of the guards were staring at her too. What was it with these damn cultists looking at her? It probably had something to do with her appearance. She didn't know what she looked like, but she had a feeling it wasn't good. Her boots were still wet from her breakdown in the pond. They squished as she followed Jacob.
The metal doors of the bunker looked strong enough to withstand a nuclear blast. That was what it was designed for. Hopefully the bunker would never be put to use. Above the door read 'YOU ARE MEAT' in black paint. It was a subtle reminder about where her place was. As if Jacob growling it into her ear wasn't enough.
Jacob took his necklace off and stuck a key into the control panel. So that's what that was. It was his bunker key. What was the rabbit's foot for though? There was probably some story behind it, she was just too afraid to ask. The metal door opened with a buzz. He took the key out and placed it around his neck. Once they stepped through, he shut the door behind them. They were sealed off from the outside world. No one got in or out of there without that bunker key. She was trapped down there until Jacob said she could leave.
Inside was a stairwell. Two cult flags hung on both sides and 'CULL THE HERD' was written in the center. She was really sick of that damn catchphrase. She followed him down the stairs. Each flight she went down it became colder. It felt like this place was sucking the life out of her. The further she went down, the less human she was. Reality ceased to exist down here. This was "Eden". Her feet thumped down three flights of stairs until they reached another door. Above this one it read 'SACRIFICE'. Chills went down her spine. Refusing to make her sacrifice was what got her in this situation in the first place.
There were several other doors through that one. She was only at the front of the bunker but that place was already a maze. She kept close to Jacob as he waltzed through the barracks. Many Chosen were already asleep for the night, but the ones who were awake were happy to see him. They murmured as he walked by.
"Our protector!"
"Sir."
"Sacrifice the weak!"
Jacob would nod to his soldiers. He would chitchat with some of them, but it wasn't friendly small talk. He would ask them for status reports, supply amounts, and things like that. She didn't bother listening. The words went in one ear and out the other. She only focused on sticking close to him. The last thing she wanted was to get hit again.
They rounded the corner from the barracks. Boxes of supplies and ammunition were stacked everywhere. All stolen supplies to prepare for the collapse. There were even sandbags stacked up as barriers with .50 cals mounted on top.
'.50 cals in your bunker too? Really Jacob? ? No one is going to get in here.' She thought.
The florescent lights were the only thing staving off the darkness. The long metal halls of Jacob's Armory were truly terrifying. Despite the signs mounted to the walls, it would be very easy to get lost. Being trapped down there might be a fate worse than death.
They made it to the mess hall where there was a large kitchen and a bunch of tables. There were a few analog TV's playing one of Jacob's propaganda videos. They had played it at the chalet. It was a simple video. Jacob sat down in front of the camera and talked. But it just seemed, wrong. So unlike him. The man in the video had a raspy voice and had a sickly cough.
'My brothers. You know why we train. We train so that it becomes instinctual…'
The rest of the video goes on about like that. She had heard it a few times before. He didn't look angry in the video but he lacked his bravado. There was no confidence in his words, no calculated gaze, it was just monotone. They were just words, like even he didn't believe them.
A few cultists were sitting at the tables. They were eating the same MRE's and basic shit that she ate. The cult stole from everyone. You would think that they would eat good food but they didn't. Jacob the survivalist wanted them to eat shitty food because that would make them 'strong'.
Liz just trailed behind Jacob. She was his little shadow, always following, always taking orders. She just stared at the back of his head. His hair only sat on the top of his head, the rest was smooth and hairless. She knew that. She had seen him a million times before but it still looked different. What would Jacob look like with long hair, like Joseph? Crazy, the things that go through someone's head during stressful situations. It was a little better than looking around. There were horrors in this bunker that she didn't want to know about.
They walked until they came across a sermon. There were a few potted flowers and cult insignias on the walls. A few cultists were sitting in chairs around a podium. Jacob led her to a chair on the far end.
He pointed to it. "Sit. Learn something."
Liz nodded. She didn't look up at him but she could hear his footsteps as he walked away. One of Jacob's VIPs stood at the podium. He was shirtless and had ugly tattoos across his chest. The shrine behind him was to The Father. There was a portrait of him with a plaque above it that read 'WORSHIP'. Almost as if it was an order. The seven deadly sins were painted on the inside of the metal tube: Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Greed, Sloth, and Wrath.
What would her sin be? It's never something that she had thought about before. She went to church but they never talked about stuff like that. Eden's Gate wasn't even really a religion. They talked about God but none of them really worshiped God. They only worshiped Joseph. Joseph was only a man though. If he could turn water into wine, or come back from the dead she would worship him too. In his book he stated that he had only heard the voice of God twice. Twice. The cultists were willing to die for him because he thought that he thought he saw a prophesy twice. Both times Joseph had been under distress. He had probably made it up in his head to keep himself breathing.
The Cult VIP was preaching about the usual cult bullshit.
"The collapse is upon us brothers and sisters but we are ready. The Father had prepared us for this moment. Brother Jacob had prepared us for this moment. Blessed be those who have prepared us. If we…"
That was about all Liz could handle. She tuned him out. Joseph was wrong about the end of the world anyways. Liz read the bible before, she knew what she was talking about. When the rapture came, all of God's followers living and dead would be called up to him. If Joseph worshiped God, ya know the correct way, that means he and his followers would be called up on the rapture day. So there would be no point in having a bunker, they would all be in heaven. Then on Earth there would be the seven years of trials and trouble, where non-believers would be judged. After that would be the 1000 years in peace, where the followers of Jesus would live in a Garden like Eden. It was like Joseph made up his own religion. He took parts of different parts of theology and made The Project of Eden's Gate. The cultists were so damn stupid.
It was strange though, sitting there. Liz had expected to be dead by now. She had known it was coming. Jacob had been so close to wringing her neck or putting a bullet in her skull. She had accepted that she was going to die, but there she sat. It was like she wasn't even living her own life anymore. Elizabeth Palmer was dead and she was just a spirit living in her body.
"Let us finish in prayer."
That was her chance. There had to some other way out of the bunker right? Eli made this bunker. He wouldn't have dumb enough to only make one exit. Unless, that was what Jacob had wanted. Something in this bunker would help her, she just had to find it. And besides, she didn't need to stick around to pray. God had already answered her prayers today.
When the cultists closed their eyes for the prayer, she slowly slipped away. Her footsteps were quiet. The hallway before her was long and dark. She didn't see any cultists but she still had to be careful. Liz took her hair out of the ponytail so it was in her face and pulled her red bandana up to her nose. It was kind of cliché to change her appearance but it made her feel a little better. Hopefully someone wouldn't recognize her.
Ever since that night in the cabin, Liz hadn't tried to run. There hadn't been a point because she had wanted to live. Accepting that you were going to die uncomplicated things. In death, there was only one option and one end game. Now that she was going to live for the time being, she didn't know what to do.
There were a few more .50 cals mounted along the walls. If someone ever broke in here they would be in for a hell of shitshow. There were also a few targets scattered about. Even if the collapse came, they would still have to train. She kept tiptoeing down the hall. It was completely void of cultists, that was strange. After walking a few yards she saw a sign that said 'CONTROL ROOM'.
If she was going to get out of Jacob's Gate, that would be a good place to check. There had to be a lock release or a map in there. Even if there was something in there, it didn't mean that she would know how to use it. She had to try though. She didn't want to be stuck in this Gate forever.
There was light coming from a room at the end of the hall. That was it. The signs on the wall confirmed her suspicions. She slowly creeped up to the doorframe. Liz peeked her head around it to see a tall redheaded soldier.
'Fucking hell!'
She sighed. That was where Jacob had went. It made perfect sense that he would be in the control room. It did, but Liz was too frustrated to think straight. That man had a way of messing up her plans every time. Her body sunk back into the metal wall.
"You really don't know how to follow orders, do you?"
Jacob knew she was there. His voice sounded amused though, not angry. She stepped around the doorframe and removed her mask. The room was small but packed to the ceiling with electronics. He was bent over the control panel in the middle of the room. He hadn't even looked back at her. Three flat screen TV's were mounted on the front wall. They all flashed up the Eden's Gate logo. The bright light hurt her eyes. There were also about a dozen analog TV's stacked on shelves. A few of them showed prisoner footage. The lowest levels of Jacob's armory was the most horrifying. That was where they tortured people. About three of the screens showed Jacob's training speech she saw earlier.
All of the other screens showed her.
'The weak were preyed upon by the strong. But now the new world has evolved. Now the lamb does not fear the wolf. The lamb parades itself around instead of hiding from their predators.'
It was the footage from her first time in the Grand View, when she had gotten captured. She watched as Jacob circled the poor girl in the video. The girl in the chair was shaking in fear. Tears formed in her hazel eyes and mascara ran down her face. The camera angle switched when Jacob drug her closer to him. He leaned in close to her.
'If they want to survive the weak must become strong. The lamb will be turned into a wolf or their bones will thrown to the wolves.'
Elizabeth Palmer had been whimpering in that chair. She bellowed in fear at Jacob. He only smirked at her cowardice. He got up and addressed the camera.
'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. The weak have no place in the new world. The collapse is coming and we'll be ready. This is the will of The Father.'
The screens went to static for a moment and began to replay the message.
'The world was once owned by the strong. The weak were preyed upon by the strong…'
That girl had once been her. Just a normal girl who had been confused, afraid, and thrust into the arms of Jacob Seed. She wasn't that girl though, not anymore. Elizabeth Palmer was dead, she was just the ghost of her former self.
Tears began to well up in her eyes at the sight. "What the… hell? How often does this play?"
"It plays on a loop. All day long. Anyone in the Whitetail Mountains with a TV can pick it up."
She let out a choked sob. "So that's why everyone stares at me." All sorts of cultists had stared at her ever since she had gotten to the veteran's center. People would murmur as she walked by. That's why that resistance woman recognized her face today.
"It's not because I'm with you or because I'm Eli's niece. It's because of this. I'm the sniveling girl from your goddamn video!" She was furious. She had known that Jacob had been using her. But knowing something and seeing it for yourself were two different things.
"I don't know why you're so upset, little lamb. You know your purpose." He still didn't turn to face her. He kept busy with what he had been doing.
Her purpose was to be a trophy. She had done a hell of a job at it, some things without her knowledge. She was pissed. Even the deer head on the wall deserved to fight back against the hunter. Jacob wasn't going to use her anymore.
Liz charged forward and snatched his pistol from the holster. She jammed the gun into the base of his skull. She stood on her tiptoes and grabbed his bunker key. She pulled on the necklace until it was tight around his throat.
"You're going to give me this bunker key. And I'm gonna walk out of here."
Jacob hadn't flinched when she rammed the gun into his skull. He only sighed. The soldier was always two steps ahead of her. He had probably seen this coming from a mile away.
"Honey, it's cute when you get all riled up but can we not do this right now? I've got work to do."
She pulled the rope tighter around his neck. "Give me the key."
"Or what you'll shoot me?"
Static came over the radio on the control panel. "Jacob, you okay? What's going on?"
Jacob had been talking to someone over the radio when she put a gun to the back of his head. She couldn't have been more stupid.
"Yeah I'm okay Ramirez. Nothing I can't handle."
Ramirez was the man she saw on her first day of training. He had brought out the prisoner that Jacob had wanted her to kill. Ramirez was pretty high up in Jacob's army. He was never at the veteran's center though. He was Jacob's right hand man. He got free reign to do whatever he wanted. Jacob clearly trusted him enough to take care of things.
He turned off his radio. "If you're going to kill someone honey; you need to keep your head up, eyes open, and your finger on the trigger."
Liz couldn't believe it. She stood there ready to kill him and he was giving her advice on how to do it. "If you don't give me this goddamn key I'm going to blow your brains out all over that console."
He slowly turned to face her. She kept her hand wrapped around the key and jammed the gun under his chin. He raised his hands slightly to mock her. He wasn't afraid of her though. The smirk on his face was proof. "Go ahead. You think I give a shit if I die? I told you what my purpose was."
She jammed the gun further under his chin. "You think I won't?"
He chuckled. "I know you won't. You kill me and my Chosen storm this control room. You won't be able to fight them off. They'll shoot you and you'll be dead. I'm willing to die right here, right now. Are you?"
Was she willing to die to take Jacob out? She had accepted her death earlier but it was something that was forced upon her. Even if she did kill Jacob, it wouldn't stop the cult. Someone would just take his place. Eden's Gate wouldn't stop until The Father was dead. Jacob didn't care if he died. Yesterday she would have cared if he died. Now she just wanted to kill him but she wasn't willing to get herself killed in the process. Liz didn't want to die.
"You're afraid to die, I can see it in your eyes. You would have never been able to finish the trials. You are weak." He shook his head and tsked her.
"That's okay. Just let go, you've served your purpose. Make this easier for the both of us, sweetheart."
What did he want from her? Did Jacob want her to kill herself? That would be the only thing that would make it easiest for him. He had the video of her, he didn't need anything else. Turning her into a martyr would be just as useful as keeping her around. Why couldn't Jacob just kill her himself? It's not like he actually cared about her.
Her finger curled around the trigger. She wanted to do it, so bad. She wanted to kill him. To see that smug look blown right off. It would feel so good, but she couldn't. Liz wasn't a killer. Despite what Jacob had done to her, she couldn't do it. And if she did, she would die.
The anger faded from her face as she lowered the gun. It hit the floor with a clatter when it fell from her hand.
"You're no soldier."
Tears fell from her face and she let out a sob. How did her life ever come to this? Liz was normal before. The thoughts of killing and death had never plagued her before. Now it was the only thing that she thought about.
"How many people did I murder today, Jacob?" She looked up at him with pleading eyes. She needed to hear it. Knowing the number was important. She searched his face up and down for comfort but got nothing. There was no remorse or empathy in his eyes. It was like trying to find solitude in a blank wall.
"6."
Six. She murdered six people today in cold blood. Her hand covered her mouth to block a scream. The tears were flooding her face. She hadn't wanted to cry in front of Jacob before but now she didn't care. Her legs became wobbly. She backed away from him until she hit the wall. Her body slid down to the floor and she curled up into a ball.
Her kill count was up to eight now. She had killed those six people today, that man she kicked off the cliff, and a young girl named Elizabeth Palmer. All that was left was a cold blooded killer. She sobbed into her knees. The strong don't cry. She wasn't strong.
Something inside her broke. It was too much. There was no fight left in her. She had tried again and again to fight but it didn't do anything. In every possible outcome, Jacob won. He always won. There was no reasoning with him. There was no stopping him. And there was no way to kill him.
Liz just cried. There was nothing else to do. Her sobs echoed through the metal hallways. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to live anymore. She had no future where she was free. There was no morning light shining in. There was only darkness.
The girl in the video and her weren't that different after all. They were both cowards and they were both weak. Both were controlled by Jacob. The only difference between her and that girl was; she knew that she was a dead woman. Young Elizabeth Palmer hadn't known that yet.
She didn't know how long she sat there and sobbed. Jacob probably had her death all planned out by now. Girls who cried didn't have a place in his army. A large boot tapped at her side. It was time to go. She didn't move. She wouldn't mind staying there until she died. Jacob put his hands under her armpits and pulled her to her feet.
His embrace was softer than she had expected. He didn't throw her into the wall. It didn't matter what he did though, the trust between them was broken. Jacob had hurt her. She didn't meet his eyes. Red tear marks stained her cheeks. All of the dried blood on her face was washed away. His calloused thumb wiped away a tear. He was being gentle with her again. Too bad he didn't actually care about her.
"This is not how I thought this day was going to go."
How did he think this day was going to go? He started it off by killing someone, capturing the deputy, humiliating her, and then brainwashing her and the deputy. He finished the day by beating her, making her think he would kill her, and then trying to be sweet to her. She couldn't imagine a scenario where the day ended well.
His grip was tight on her arm as he led her out of the control room. Liz tried to stop her tears but couldn't. All of the Chosen stared as Jacob dragged her through his bunker. They probably all recognized her now. She looked exactly as she did in the video, she was just a sniveling girl. Someone who was weak.
He was the only thing that kept her feet moving. His grip was hard enough to leave bruises on her arm. Jacob led her all the way out of his bunker and into the truck. She cried the entire truck ride. She had expected Jacob to say something about her breakdown but he didn't. He didn't say anything to her. There hadn't been pity in his eyes, but there wasn't anger either.
Liz didn't trust him. Not anymore. She had thought that maybe there was something between them. Anything that they shared was gone now. There was no going back to what had been. She got to live today. There was a reason for it. There had to be. Something would change soon. For now she just had to be thankful for life because she might not be so lucky tomorrow.
When they got back to the veteran's center, she fled from the truck. He hadn't objected to her departure. Liz just wanted to go to sleep. She hobbled all the way to the barracks and found her bed. She didn't bother taking anything off. She sobbed into her pillow until exhaustion overtook and she fell into a deep sleep.
…
The typical alarm woke up the soldiers of the veteran's center. It was early in the morning, too early. The kind of early that made Liz hate herself. She hadn't slept in since she was in her apartment. Her head was groggy. She had only gotten about three hours of sleep. Last night had been, stressful, to say the least. Thinking about it was difficult. She just wanted to forget to past two days. She couldn't shed anymore tears about it. There was work to be done.
Liz was the only woman at the veteran's center. There had been several women at the chalet but they were trained and deployed elsewhere. Jacob only wanted the best men guarding his stronghold. Well, the best men and the girl that he needed to taunt the resistance. It was awful having to live with to all men. Not to mention the showers. There were no stalls. It was completely open. She would rather stay disgusting than go into a communal shower. The only time she had gotten clean since getting to the veteran's center was when Faith had given her a bath.
The food was terrible. Breakfast was usually something that looked like granola. She didn't want to know what was in it. It was better than starving though. Everyone pretty much had the same attitude in the morning. It was about 5 am. All of the Chosen looked exhausted. No matter how many time you do it, you never get used to waking up early for work.
Liz sat in the mess hall with Staci. He had been moved to the veteran's center. It was another shift in Jacob's master plan. Staci didn't talk to her or even meet her eyes. She had tried to grab his hand this morning, seeking some sort of comfort, but he had pulled away. Not even her ex gave a shit about her. They just sat at the table in silence. It was no different than their actual relationship. It was still nice to be around a familiar face though.
Staci's gaze flitted past her. His eyes grew in fear. He scrambled up from the table, not bothering to bring his bowl with him. Pratt practically ran away from her. Liz was alone again. What had he been staring at? She turned her head to see Jacob. He was leaning on the railing of the second floor. There was a big smirk on his face. Pratt had pissed himself at the sight of Jacob. That wasn't shocking. He had done the same thing in the Grand View, but why did Jacob single him out this morning? Pratt hadn't been screwing up. Unless, it was something to do with her. Why would Jacob care if he sat with her? It's not like Jacob actually gave a shit about her. The bruises on her neck were proof.
Jacob gave her a small wave. It had only been a few hours since her meltdown in the control room but his attitude had changed. Liz didn't care if he was being nice to her again, he was still an asshole. She looked around to see if anyone was looking at her but they weren't. The soldiers were too focused on their meager rations. Liz flashed a sweet smile before raising her middle finger to him. He only chuckled in response.
She didn't want to eat anything else. Her stomach hurt. It had everything to do with the sore tissue at the back of her skull. She picked up her and Pratt's bowls and put them away. There was only a few minutes of breakfast let anyways. Marcus would be leaving soon to check the wolf beacons. The old man probably thought she was dead. She fled the mess hall, not bothering to look back at Jacob.
The hallways were dark, but Liz knew her way around. The layout was simple enough. If she lived long enough to get out of there, she would be able to explain it to someone else. She found Marcus by the loading dock. He was prepping one of the cages on the back of the truck.
"You need any help?"
The old man perked his head up from his work. He smiled. "Yeah, I do actually. Never thought I would be seeing you again."
She walked over to help him strap the cage down. "That makes two of us."
They had come up with a routine by now. Getting the truck prepped was pretty simple. There were two cages in the back of the truck. They needed to be strapped down and secured. To capture the wolves they needed nets, food, and tranquilizer arrows. The arrows were for emergencies. Marcus had that part covered. The bliss arrows were standard issue for the Chosen. He always carried his bow on him. He only wore his mask when he was out hunting people out in the field. When he was gathering judges it wasn't really necessary.
They finished prepping the truck and took off. It was still dark outside. Sunrise wasn't until about 6:45. The hum of the truck was the only noise in the quiet woods. They were alone, with no prying eyes to listen to them.
"Did you know about the video?"
He sighed. "Yes."
Liz wasn't angry at him. He wasn't the one who had filmed it. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"He didn't want you to know. I sure as hell wasn't going to be the one to disobey him. You know what he would do."
She did. Anyone who disobeyed Jacob's orders was not going to meet a pleasant fate. She was surprised he hadn't done anything to her for flipping him off. There would probably be consequences for it later on.
"Do you know who I am?"
"Everyone knows who you are. Jacob won't let anyone forget that Eli Palmer's niece works for him. He uses you to intimidate Eli. That's all, I know that. Some people think other things happen."
Her eyes grew wide. People would murmur when she walked by, she had a feeling what it was about. "What other things, Marcus?"
"You know…"
Liz did know. "They think I'm sleeping with him? What the hell! That's… Why would they… No! Just no! I'm 20! He almost killed me! That's just disgusting…"
People really thought she was sleeping with Jacob Seed. If only it was simple as that. Jacob would probably enjoy strangling her more than he would enjoy fucking her. They did have that one awkward moment in his office though. She tried so hard not to think about that.
"Soldiers can be disgusting sometimes. It's wrong, but you're the only woman at the compound. A lot of them don't really adapt well to the 'no fornicating' rules. When you first got here, a few of them said some nasty things about you. Don't really know what happened to those guys."
Men at the veteran's center had never made advances at her before. There would be the only explanation to their sudden disappearance. Did Jacob kill them because they had been talking about her? Maybe Jacob had protected her more than she had originally thought.
"Ew… I really don't want to be the thing that turns on the Chosen." She shuddered at the thought.
"I know. I'm sorry for telling you all this but you deserved to know."
She nodded. He had sounded just like Eli then. Eli always told her things straight up. That's where she had gotten it from.
"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault."
The truck sped down the road until the wailing noise of the wolf beacon came into earshot. This beacon was one of the closest to the veteran's center. It was only about a mile down the road. The bright red light at the top shone through the forest. The wolf beacons were hard to find during the day but very visible at night. Marcus pulled the truck up close and turned it off.
"I fixed that thing with the judge food. I took care of it. You don't have to worry about anyone coming after you." He always had a way of taking care of her. She couldn't have asked for a better partner. It almost made her wonder if someone sent Marcus to her.
"Hey, in case I don't get to say this later. I just wanted to say thank you. For everything. You've really been a comfort in this whole situation. You remind me a lot of my dad." She laughed.
The old man smiled. "And I didn't want to miss another chance to tell you. Just in case you know, I'm dead tomorrow."
Liz could very well be dead tomorrow. She might only have a few days left. No matter what happened it would all be okay. She had to believe in that. If she hung onto that idea, it would keep her breathing for now.
There were two wolves at the beacon already. They howled at the noise, begging for it to stop. They would be in distress until the noise went away. By then, they would already be in a cage on their way to the veteran's center. Liz grabbed a net from out of the back and slowly approached one of the wolves. Marcus did the same to the other. When she was about two feet away, she threw it over the wolf. It whimpered but it had nowhere to go. She began to drag it back to the truck.
Bang!
A shotgun round hit the wolf beacon. It exploded into a ball of flames. The blast threw Liz at least three feet. She lost her grip on the net. The wolf scurried off in pain. Her body hit the ground with a thud.
Ash filled her lungs. A burning smell was in the air. Something on her was definitely burning. She rolled on her side to cough up the ash. She saw a body on fire and covered in shrapnel. The hand was still wrapped around a net. It was her partner. Marcus was dead.
Liz cried out but could barely hear her voice. There was a ringing sound in her ears. This was it. This was where she died. She was going to burn to death out there in the woods.
"Man she's on fire. I guess you can say she's, smoking hot!" The voice was fuzzy, but Liz could make out what he was saying. He was laughing.
"Really Sharky? Not cool man."
Two shadows loomed over her. It was two men. They threw a blanket over her and patted her down to smother the flames. One man had a grip on her arm. The flames from the explosion illuminated his face. She recognized the black cowboy hat. It was the Deputy.
"Are you Elizabeth Palmer?"
He was talking to her. She tried to choke out some words. She was in so much pain. "I… What…"
"Are you Elizabeth?" He asked her again.
"Yeah… Yeah. What is..."
Liz's head became foggy. Blackness clouded her vision and she passed out.