Gunpowder lingered in the air. It filled her nose and lungs. The black powder clung to her body in every nook and cranny. It was a sickly-sweet smell that left an unsettling feeling in her stomach. The sound of the gunshot was still ringing in her ears. A sound that would stick with her for a long time. Andrea was splayed out on the ground, she was dead. There was a gaping hole where her forehead used to be.

Liz should have felt terrible, she should have. But she didn't feel anything. Not guilt, remorse, or sorrow. None of it. What was wrong with her? She had just killed a woman in cold blood and couldn't feel an ounce of sadness.

Her kill count was up to ten now.

She hadn't wanted to do it. She had warned Andrea to just let her leave. But that didn't happen. It had been nothing personal, only doing what she had to survive. She had 'culled the herd'. She could imagine the giant smirk on Jacob's face if he knew that she said that.

There was no satisfaction that came with culling the herd though. It wasn't a divine purpose. It was just a job to do, a burden. It was his burden. And somehow that burden had fallen to her too.

Liz didn't get to run away from Hope County, she knew that now. This was where she was meant to be. This is where she would die.

There was no more running. Only the fight.

She let out a shaky breath. She was still gripping the AR-C. There was a small tremor in her hands. They were still covered in Andrea's wet blood. It was quickly drying in the afternoon sun. The blood on her chin had already stained her face a deep red.

There was something she could still do for the woman though. She had made an Andrea a promise. She flung the rifle strap over her shoulder and bent down. The blood flow around her gut had started to slow and clump. She withdrew her knife and cleaned it off. Her movements were mechanical, making sure to only touch what she needed to.

She laid Andrea so that her hands covered her stomach. She removed her denim vest, radio, and sidearm. She didn't have the tools or strength to bury the woman, but she could still do something. There was a field of bliss flowers a few feet away. She walked over to the flowers, with knife in hand.

There was a lot of terrible side of effects to the bliss. The flowers weren't as potent as that liquid, but they still made her head spin. When she got close to them, she started seeing spots. Nothing strong enough to make her pass out, but it still made her uneasy. She hurried up and cut a dozen of the white flowers.

She gathered the flowers in her arms and brought them back over to Andrea. She made a small bouquet and placed it in her hands. The flowers covered the ugly wound in her stomach. Liz laid out the rest of the bliss flowers around her body. Using her knife, she scratched the word 'ANDREA' into the dirt above her head.

It wasn't much, but that was all she could do for her. She still didn't feel bad about killing her, but she had made Andrea a promise. At least she knew what name to put on the grave.

For some reason unknown, she felt compelled to sing.

"We'll watch the sun come up, from its bed of black. We'll enter Eden's Garden, and never look back…"

It might have been the worst renditions of We Will Rise Again. Her voice was coarse and cracked. But it didn't matter. The only one who was around to listen to it was her.

"Oh Lord, the great collapse, won't be our end. When the world falls into the flames, we will rise again… We will rise again."

Liz didn't know if the woman would have liked it, but it was a nice gesture. Something that might have put her at peace. Andrea had given her life for her love. That might have been enough for her. John would never know about her sacrifice though.

"This isn't what I wanted."

She didn't tell her that she was sorry, because she wasn't. It would have been a lie. She had done it for survival and she wasn't going to feel bad about it. That was the last thing that she told Andrea, even if the woman couldn't hear it.

This isn't what she wanted at all. She wanted her old life back. She wanted to see her parents again. To not be plagued by the ruthless decisions she had to make. But she wasn't to get what she wanted. The weak sat around and complained about their lives, the strong did something about it.

That's what she was now, strong. Not weak. No one was going to hurt her anymore.

She stood and gathered her bearings. She put the sidearm in her own holster and clipped Andrea's radio to her belt. The vest in her hand was a trophy. Something to present to the Whitetails as a gesture. So, they would know that she was on their side. So, Eli would know that she was capable and was willing to fight.

Liz began to backtrack the way she had come. Her goal was the same as it was this morning, to get the hell out of here. Only the direction had changed. She had thought she could leave Hope County for good, but she couldn't. There was no way out. Now she just needed to haul ass back to the Wolf's Den, before more Peggies found her. That would be the safest place.

Static came from the woman's radio. Now who could this be?

"Just talked to Jacob. It's Palmer we caught. Hurry up and bring the girl to the Veteran's Center. He's waiting for her."

It was the soldier that had went to the mountains. He had left her in the 'very' capable care of his VIP.

Liz scoffed. It took the soldier a long time to get to the Veteran's Center. How pathetic. The man probably didn't even talk to Jacob. He didn't want her back. That was all lies spewed to her by Dep and the Peggies.

Jacob didn't want her back. He didn't.

She had outgrown her usefulness to him. If he did want her back she would already be with him. There was no real threat. And besides, she would be long gone before that man got back to the Henbane.

Right now though, she had nothing better to do. Why not screw with the Peggies a little more?

"I'm sorry… But the girl will not be coming back to the Veteran's Center today." The vulnerability that she had when singing to Andrea was gone.

There was a scuffle on the other end. Sounds of movement were coming through from the radio. She heard someone grunt. That was weird. As silence continued to come from the radio, Liz grew impatient.

"Your VIP is dead. And the rest of you goddamn Peggies are next."

Still no response from the Peggie. Come on, hurry up. Her threat wasn't that scary. What was taking this dumbass so long? She just wanted to insult the Peggie, so she could get the hell out of here.

Heavy breathing came through the radio.

"Is that you, little lamb?"

No.

All at once the air left Liz's lungs. It felt like she had been kicked in the gut. Her expression was blank. Her mouth hung ajar. She couldn't think and could barely breathe. The radio fell from her trembling hand and hit the ground with a thud. So much for being strong.

There was that coarse voice again. That rough but gentle voice that she loved and hated so much. It was attached to the man that had caused her so much pain. The man that she put her trust in only to have that trust betrayed.

Jacob had that effect on her. He could take all her confidence and crush it with five simple words. She hadn't been expecting to talk to him. Not so soon. It hadn't been long since she had heard his voice. Two days to be exact. But it was alarming all the same.

She tried to speak but the words caught in her mouth.

He chuckled. His voice had even more grit to it though the radio. "Cat got your tongue? Out of all the times you could have shut up, you choose now? Just when we've gotten back in touch too…"

The radio was still sitting in the dirt. She didn't bend down to pick it up. She stood there frozen in fear with her knees locked into place. Why so soon? Why? She didn't want to talk to him. No… Not now. Not after what she had just done, and said…

"You killed one of Faith's VIPs. Good work. I'm proud of you."

Proud? Why would he be… The realization hit her. Of course, he would be. She had culled the herd of the weak, the sick, and the unworthy. He didn't know that she uttered his catchphrase, but she still had said it. She had acted like one of his mindless soldiers.

For some reason she got satisfaction from hearing that he was proud of her. His praises did that to her. Just like in the hallucinations.

Good, cull the herd. Not bad. Yes, sacrifice the weak. That's it. You're a warrior…

Those were the things that kept her going during the trials. She was always chasing after that respect. She needed to be loved and respected. Always taking more than she needed. Stop it. She shouldn't gain a sense of pride from him. Not when Andrea's blood still stained her hands. Jacob being proud of her was not a good thing. She shouldn't be happy about that, but she was… And that's what scared the hell out of her.

"You still there, little lamb?"

She took a deep breath. Calm down. She bent down and picked up the radio. Her hand gripped it a little too hard to stop the shaking.

"Yeah, I'm still here, asshole. And stop calling me that. I'm not your little lamb."

He liked to use her pet name a lot. He probably didn't even know what her first name was.

She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of being nice. He had hurt her. Remember that. He threw her into a cage and choked her. He had given her the ugly bruises on her neck. He used her. He treated her like she was his pet. She should hate him. Nothing good would come from playing nice.

"Oh honey, you'll always be my little lamb…"

Everything about that didn't sit right with her. It mainly came from the way he had said it. It almost sounded endearing. Or, as endearing as Jacob could possibly be.

"But I am glad to be hearing back from you so soon. I thought I'd lost ya' for good."

What? It sounded like he wanted her back… But no. No. That's stupid. He didn't want her back. He was just screwing with her. Don't give in to his probing. Jacob didn't want her.

"And you are the last person I wanted to hear from today. Your scratchy ass voice ain't exactly comforting."

He laughed once more. "Now where did all this fire come from? I half expected you to burst into tears, again."

"Oh, go fuck yourself Jacob! Just leave me alone!" Her voice unwillingly cracked. Shit.

She let go of the button and clipped the radio to her belt. Don't talk to him. No good would come from it. She gathered her things and took the rifle off her shoulder. It would be better to have it ready. There was no telling what was still out there in the Henbane. Her left hand gripped the trophy of her kill.

She began to backtrack the direction they had went. They hadn't made it far down the path. That was mainly due to her berating of Andrea. Jacob continued to talk to her through the radio.

"I heard from one my soldiers that you were trying to run away. That you had your bags packed and everything. Did you really think you could just leave?"

Liz didn't answer him. She left the radio clipped to her belt and continued to walk. It didn't take long until she was out on the road again. It was completely empty of anyone.

"You can't run away from this. Where were you planning on going? Back to your cushy life down south? There's no going back to the way things were. You of all people should know that."

There was no going back to her old life. Not after what she had done. She did know that. Her life back in Florida didn't matter now. All that mattered was survival, her survival.

She kept silent.

He sighed. "So, you're not gonna' talk to me huh? That's okay. I'm a patient man."

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Of course, he was patient. That was one of his greatest virtues. It was so tempting to answer back just to yell at him more, but she shouldn't. Don't talk to him. Don't humor him. He would only enjoy it.

One of the white trucks was still parked in the middle of the road. She jogged over to inspect it. There weren't any keys in there.

Shit. So much for taking the Peggie truck. She walked over to the car she had driven in. But when she got to it, she knew immediately that it was undriveable. Andrea had fired a stream of bullets into it to shut off the radio. Oil was leaking out at the bottom and it was still smoking. Better not drive it, she didn't need to blow up. She snatched her bag up from the passenger's seat and placed it around her shoulders. It was surprisingly undamaged.

"How's your good old Uncle Eli treating you? Is being a Whitetail everything you dreamed of, sweetheart?"

Just ignore him.

It looked like she was walking, fine. It was less than ten miles to get back to the Wolf's Den. Which would only be about three hours if she didn't stop. But in her weakened state, it would probably take longer. This is what she got for trying to run away.

"I'm guessing that you told Eli everything that you knew. Did you tell him about the other things?"

Oh no. Her eyes grew wide and her footsteps slowed. She knew exactly what other things he was referring to. And there wasn't a chance in hell she would have told her uncle about it.

"How do ya' think ol' Eli would feel if he knew everything? If he knew that you couldn't keep your hands off me, about that kiss, and how pretty you looked on your knees in front of me…"

Rage boiled up inside her. Her grip grew tighter on the rifle. They didn't kiss, she kissed him on the cheek. That's not the same thing. And her on her knees is something that he forced her to do. The stroking his chest just sort of happened…. She had to bite her tongue to stop herself from screaming at him through the radio. Don't do it. She was too pissed to even comprehend that he had called her pretty.

Eli would not be happy at all if he knew those things. He already knew that she had once cared for Jacob but didn't know the extent of it.

"You're a fool if you think that Eli will keep you safe. The Whitetail Militia are cowards. He is a coward. It doesn't matter if you have his last name. The second he thinks you're a threat, he will get rid of you to protect his militia. I promise you that."

Hmm, that sounded a lot like another person she knew. He got rid of people when they weren't useful to him and called it sacrifice. Eli wouldn't get rid of her… right? They were family. But he did care a lot about his militia… Stop it. She shouldn't let him get into her head.

"So, let's say you make it back to the Whitetails, what's next? You gonna' sit in some bunker all day, or you gonna' try and fight me? Because honey, either way that won't end well for you."

Ignore him. Keep walking. The afternoon sun beat down on her. The blood on her hands had dried and left a sticky feeling. Strong winds blew through the Henbane grass. The wind didn't do much to cool off. Her legs started to burn. She had walked about half a mile by now.

"Truth is, you're nothing without me. Before you met me, you were just some dumb college bitch. I turned you into something important. Eli didn't do that… I did."

A scowl crossed over her face. Fuck him for calling her a bitch. But the craziest thing was… he was right. She wasn't anything before Jacob. Before she had wasted countless hours of her life scrolling through social media. She couldn't shoot a gun, couldn't fight, and couldn't do anything for herself. But now she could protect herself and she could fight.

Jacob did do that. But it didn't mean she owed him anything. He also turned her into a killer. That wasn't something that she had wanted.

"Y'know… you can always come back. None of all this running and fighting. Don't go to the Whitetails. Come back to me little lamb, remember your purpose."

What? What the fuck? Did he just say that…?

Dep hadn't been lying. Jacob really did want her back. But why? He didn't want her like that. He probably just wanted to use her again. Looks like she hadn't outgrown her usefulness after all.

"I know you're afraid, Liz."

She stopped dead in her tracks.

That was the first time he had said her name. He didn't call her Palmer, honey, sweetheart, or little lamb. He called her Liz. He did know her name after all. There was something unsettling about Jacob calling her that.

She took the radio off her belt and held down the button. Don't do it. Don't give in to his taunts. Nothing good would come from it. She should have been better than this, but she wasn't.

"First of all, I'm surprised you know my fucking name. And second, what makes you think I'm afraid?"

"If you weren't afraid, you wouldn't have run away. Your judgement is clouded because you have too many options in front you."

Options. That was what he said wolves had too many of. Once they were judges they didn't have any options. He was wrong. She didn't have any options in front of her. He had taken them all away. Just like one of his judges. The only option now was to fight.

"But I can help with that. I can remove that fear and give you strength."

"I was scared when I was with you, Jacob. But now that I'm not, I'm not afraid anymore. I am strong. Your shithead trials don't determine that."

"But who was the one to make you strong Liz?"

Damn him. She didn't like it when he said her name. It made her uncomfortable.

"Not you!"

He laughed again. "Oh, there's that stubbornness that I missed so much. Like I said before, you're nothing without me. Just make this easy and come back. I don't want to send my hunters after you."

"What, too afraid to come get me yourself?"

Poor choice of words. It wasn't the best idea to be taunting Jacob. He always took threats seriously, no matter how small.

"Is that an invitation? Little lamb you know I can find you. I've done it before and I'll do it again. There's nowhere you can hide from me. Or… you can just tell me where you are. I'll come pick you up. It'll be easy and painless."

She let out a scoff. "You must think I'm stupid or something! Under no circumstances, ever, am I coming back to you! Not after what you did to me…"

She glanced down to the bruises that covered her collarbone and neck. That night had been one of the worst ones of her life. She still remembered the feeling of his hand wrapped around her throat. Her windpipe hadn't appreciated being crushed by his meaty hands.

"Please, I didn't do anything to you. Not like I could have."

"Didn't do anything to me? Let's look at the list shall we! You kidnapped me, held me prisoner, brainwashed me, used me as propaganda, threw me into a cage, and choked me until I almost passed out. You abused me."

It was a strong word to throw out there, but it was true. Jacob hurt her. She should hate him.

"You thought I abused you? Oh, sweetheart… You have no idea the litany of shit that I have done for you."

She rolled her eyes. Yes, not killing her was such a kind thing to do. He kept her as a war prisoner, all because of her last name. He could go to hell for all she cared.

"I saved your ass from dying countless times. You slept by yourself at the Veteran's Center. That wasn't a coincidence, honey. I put you with the night guards, so you didn't have to sleep in the same room as my men. And your buddy Marcus. You think he was nice to you out of the goodness of his heart? I'm the one who told him to do all those things."

Her eyes grew wide at the mention of her old wolf partner. So, every conversation that she had with Marcus was all because of Jacob. He told Marcus to ask about her all those questions and to be so nice to her. He had probably been the one to tell her partner to fix the judge food that night. Essentially, Marcus had never been nice to her, and probably didn't care about her. It was all Jacob.

"And on your… second night at the Veteran's Center. A few of my men took it upon themselves to come up with a plan. They were going to snatch you out of bed, take you out into the woods, pin you to a tree, and take turns with you…"

She was frozen in place. Just the thought of that happening to her made tears well in her eyes. Her hand covered her mouth. Marcus had told her that some men said vulgar things about her and that those men had disappeared. But he didn't say that they had been planning worse things for her.

"Now I didn't want you to go through that. So, I spared you from it. I put a bullet in all of their skulls for you."

A single tear fell down her face. She wiped it away as quickly as it came. It was a difficult thing to hear. Jacob had saved her from getting… from being… She shook the thoughts from her head. She didn't want to think about it. He had killed more of his men to protect her from something truly awful.

"How's that for abuse, Liz."

"I…"

What was she supposed to say to him? He had done more for her than she imagined. But he had also done horrible things to her. How could she thank the man who had kidnapped her but also protected her?

She let go of the button and clipped the radio back to her belt. There was no clear answer on what to do now.

Did she want to go back to Jacob?

Of course, she didn't. Don't think like that. That wasn't an option in front of her. She knew what he did, she'd seen it firsthand. He wasn't a good man. It would make her sick to be around that. He would just use her again and she didn't want to be used. There was no way that was happening.

She pushed forward. Her boots crunched on the loose bits of gravel in the road. The roads were still thankfully empty. Who knows that long would last, but she was armed now. Anyone who tried to come after her would be sorry.

Still no response from Jacob. Maybe throwing around the word abuse towards him wasn't to smartest thing to do. She read the Book of Joseph. She knew what his father had done to him. Old Man Seed had beaten him for countless things. Jacob always took the worst of the beatings for his brothers.

Jacob had been abused and tossed aside, she hadn't. She had parents that loved her and cared for her, or at least she did. He might have killed them. Jacob had been through some fucked up shit, she'll give him that. But that didn't mean he got a free pass to treat her the same.

Their times together weren't too horrible though. But only when it was just them. Just like when they were on that balcony at Seed Ranch a few nights ago. That had been perfect, just the two of them talking. Thinking about it made her feel happy for a moment. A small smile crossed her face.

But it faded away when she thought of all the people he's killed. The sick smirks that would be on his face when he did it. The nice moments with him always faded away. Just like the sinking sand. Always sinking.

If she went back to Jacob, she would drown in the sand.

She couldn't help but wonder though, why he wanted her back. It could have been a tactical advantage. She knew where the Wolf's Den was. She had only been the Whitetails for about a day. She hadn't gained much information about the rat tag group of rebels. But Dep could tell him all that stuff. He didn't need her for that. Something told her that it was more than tactics.

She walked for another half mile before the question was eating at her. She snatched the radio off her belt.

"Why do you want me back?"

She waited for a minute but got no response from him.

"Because it keeps going through my mind and I can't understand why. I thought I was useless to you. I refused to make my sacrifice and you said I was weak. That should have been it. But it wasn't because I'm still breathing. I thought you hated me… Why do you want me back?"

Still nothing.

Fine. She kept walking. Her leather duster billowed in the breeze. She should be out of the Henbane soon. Then it would only be a few miles back to the bunker. Oh, Eli would definitely have some shit to say to her for trying to leave. It didn't matter, he wasn't her father. He had no say over her actions, only she did.

Her body ached with every step. She was battered and bruised. The past week had been hell for her. She didn't want to think about all the shit that happened. It was too much to comprehend. But as much as she tried to forget all of it, she couldn't.

Static came from her radio.

"I don't want you… I need you."

What? A confused look crossed her face. Once again, Jacob never ceased to amaze her.

"But… why? What do you want from me? I have nothing for you. I'm useless."

She couldn't think of single reason that Jacob would want her. She didn't have knowledge or decent combat skills. She would be one of the worst of the Chosen. But everyone wanted her on their side for some damn reason. She wasn't Dep. No one really needed her.

"Oh, little lamb you have so much more to offer me."

"Like what, being your soldier? I don't want to fight! I don't want any part of this! I won't be used by you or by Eli!"

Shit. As soon as the words left her mouth she wished she could take them back.

He chuckled. "You're not any good at this are you?"

She wasn't. Damn her honesty for getting her in trouble. It wasn't a good idea to be giving information to the enemy. But it was so easy to tell him things sometimes.

"So, Eli wants you to fight for him. I must say I am surprised. I thought he'd keep you stuffed in that bunker and not let you out. But having you fight makes sense too. He's ashamed that he couldn't keep you away from me. He'll have you fight and die for his militia."

"You're wrong. Eli wouldn't let me die."

"You sure about that?"

No. She wasn't sure about anything anymore. Eli had looked ashamed of her. Their talk this morning had done little to comfort her, and he gave her very few answers. He left her in the hands of his greatest enemy for over a month. He had those cameras all over the mountains but didn't do anything to get her back before sending Dep. Maybe didn't care that much about her after all…

"If you came back to me, you wouldn't have to fight. Just tell me the Whitetails hide, I'll do the fighting."

Her head perked up. Not fighting. That's what she wanted all along. But could she live with herself if she was the one picking the targets instead of pulling the trigger? She would still be taking lives. It only added a middle man.

"Is that all I would have to do?"

"Interested, are we? I knew you'd come around. Just help me take down the Whitetails, tell me where their bunker is. You don't have to lift a finger. You'll be safe, taken care of, and have a guaranteed spot in the Armory when the Collapse comes. Save yourself Liz… You don't owe your uncle anything."

The offer was tempting. She wouldn't have to be anyone's soldier. She could just live out the rest of this war with the cult. Just surviving. But there was no avoiding the fight. She would have to fight, she knew that now. It always found her.

"That seems a bit too good to be true. What's the catch?"

If she knew anything about Jacob is that there was always a catch. The terms to his 'deals' always changed when he wanted them to. He was silent for a moment.

"You stay with me."

"Well, yeah. I mean if you killed all the Whitetails I wouldn't go back to the resistance."

He chuckled. "You're so clueless sweetheart."

"Clueless? I can't take all this cryptic shit from everybody anymore… Be direct. Please just tell me what you want from me."

She rolled her eyes. She wasn't clueless. It wasn't her fault that everyone wanted to be confusing as hell. They all gave her little cues on what they wanted her to do but never said it outright. If someone would just say what they needed from her, it would make her life so much easier.

"Fine. I'll be direct. I want you back here with me for you to be my good little lamb. You won't be my soldier, you'll be mine. And mine alone..."

For some reason, his words didn't register in her brain. He couldn't possibly mean that. She began to laugh.

"Yeah, okay. That's a good one Jacob, but come on… What's the real reason? What's the…

Her laughter slowly started to fade as the realization set in.

"Please tell me you're joking."

"You sound surprised. It thought I made it pretty clear for ya'." He said.

She was surprised. Just a little bit. Just a little damn bit. There was no way that was true. Men like Jacob only wanted power and destruction. They didn't have time for anything else. The rest were just details.

"You're so full of shit! You think that you can throw me off my game with some comment like that. Sorry to break it to you, I'm not that easy to manipulate. And besides, if you did want that... why would you want it with me? You hate my guts."

Was she missing something? Because that last time she checked, Jacob threw her into a cage. He hurt her and called her weak. Almost every day of the past month was a living hell for her. But now he wanted to sleep with her. It was the biggest load of horseshit she had ever heard, but yet there was still some truth to those words, and that's what scared her.

"Is this just because I'm related to Eli? Keeping me prisoner hasn't been enough. Now you want to make me your little plaything. Would that finally break Eli if he knew you were doing that to me? I'm just another tool, right?"

There unfortunately was more than one type of tool. There were tools that had a purpose and then there were those that didn't. Tools without a purpose were used for different… reasons.

Jacob sighed. "You make it sound like such a bad thing. But it's not. If you came to me, you wouldn't have to fight. I'd take very good care of you."

"Yeah well you've done a fantastic job of taking care of me before. You only beat the hell out of me a million times! Is that why you saved me? Just so you could do more shitty things to me?" She spat.

"No, that's not why I saved you. I already told you why I did it."

It was so hard for her to know what was the truth anymore. Everyone on both sides was telling her things and she didn't know what to believe. "Doesn't matter why. I know for a fact though that you'd put me in a cage and you'd hurt me again, just like you did that night."

He scoffed. "I didn't want to do that. You forced my hand. You tried to fight me in front of my men, I couldn't just let you off easy. If you just followed my orders, that wouldn't have happened to you."

Following his orders wouldn't have kept her safe. If she had followed his orders, Eli would be dead. And she would be a mindless Peggie. There wasn't a chance in hell that was going to happen. She had almost given into joining him, but she couldn't. Even if it meant she wouldn't have to fight.

"Yes, it still would have, because that's who you are. You hurt people. You hurt me. That's all you're capable of…"

Jacob was a terrible man. She couldn't be with someone like that.

"All I'm capable of… I guess you didn't know me as well as I thought. Spend a few days with Eli and you'll see what he's really capable of. You'll be begging to come back to me."

"Begging, really? You're such a dumbass." A small smirk crossed her face, gaining some of her confidence back. She liked using his own words against him. He wasn't going to manipulate her anymore.

"Little lamb, I'll have you crawling back to me on your hands and knees in no time. The Whitetails will let you down eventually and you'll know how good you had it with me. They'll turn on you, just wait and see."

That wasn't going to happen. Eli would never turn his face on her. They were family...

"Let me make this clear, since you can't get the picture. I do not want that. Not with you. Never in a million years would I want that from you. Not even if the Collapse came, we were stuck in a bunker, and you were the... Last. Man. On. Earth. Not even then would I want to be your trophy, Jacob. So why don't you just leave me alone and got back to hell you fuckin' shitface assh… Agh!"

Liz hadn't been paying to where she was going. She tripped on the small ledge where the bridge exiting the Henbane began. The radio flew from her hand and skidded on the hot asphalt. Her rifle fell to her side. She collapsed onto her hands and knees.

She cried out in pain. One of the stitches in her leg popped open, ripping off skin with it. The wounds on her thigh hadn't fully healed from the bear attack. Blood seeped through her jeans. Shit.

"You okay little lamb?"

The radio was lying a few feet in front of her. Liz laid in the road clutching at her leg. Her teeth clenched to fight back more screams.

"Liz… What happened?" He sounded concerned.

She threw the rifle over her shoulder and began to scoot across the road. The asphalt scraped across her bottom half. She winced with every movement.

"Come on, sweetheart talk to me."

"Give me a minute asshole!" She shouted, even though he couldn't hear her. It still felt good to yell at him. She crawled over to the radio, leaving a trail of blood behind her.

"That's it, I'm coming to get you."

She wrapped her hand around it and pressed down the button. "I'm fine. Don't come after me."

"What'd you do?"

"I… tripped."

"God, you're such a klutz." He scoffed. She couldn't see him through the radio, but she was ninety percent sure that he rolled his eyes.

"I am not a klutz! One of my stitches popped because somebody did a shitty job. It really hurts…"

"You bleedin'?"

She removed her hand from her leg and saw red. Too much red. Her wound had opened up again. Damn that stupid bear. She sighed.

"Yeah. Fuck…"

"I'm coming to get you. Tell me where you are."

She laughed. "Not a chance Seed. I'm not going back to you. You can go straight to…" She winced when she moved her leg. "… hell."

"Honey… Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be. Tell me where you are." His tone grew darker. It didn't scare her though. She didn't have to listen to his orders anymore. She wasn't his soldier.

"No."

There she went being stubborn again. The smart move might have been to tell Jacob where she was. But she wasn't going to. She didn't want to go back to him. Not after all those things he said he wanted to do to her. There's no way that was happening.

"Fine. We'll do this the hard way then. I'll find you. Try not to get run over before I get there."

"Do your worst."

It was such bold words from the girl who was now being hunted. But she didn't care. She wasn't going to roll over for him. He was going to have to put in effort if he wanted her to be his bitch again.

She turned off the radio and clipped it to her belt. No point in talking to him anymore. She could probably do it face to face soon. Jacob was going to find her, she knew that. Just like that night when Joseph got arrested. There was no avoiding it. But she wanted to at least try and fight him.

She pulled the AR-C off her shoulder and checked the magazine. It was about half full. There was only about fifteen rounds. Not much but better than nothing. It may be enough to kill Jacob. Somebody needed to kill that bastard, it may as well be her. It didn't matter what she might have felt for him. That didn't matter now. She wasn't going to be his pet.

Liz steeled herself to get up. She took three deep breaths before pushing herself off the ground. She used the rifle to steady herself. A whimper made it past her lips. It took her a moment to get adjusted once she was on her feet.

Her leg was limp as she hobbled across the bridge to Joseph's island. Blood continued to seep through her jeans and she winced with every step. Despite her pain, it was nice to be out of the Henbane. She spotted the infamous sign on the side of the road.

MISSOULA

So much for that plan. She didn't get to leave, she knew that now. There was no escaping this.

There was a driveway a few feet in front her. It wasn't to the cult compound. There might be somewhere decent to rest down there. She drug her injured body over to the dirt driveway. At the end of it, there was a small mobile home with a green roof. That was perfect.

When she got close to it, she saw all the bullet holes that covered it. And the Peggie symbol that was painted next to the front door. She limped all the way to the front door. She turned the door handle, but it was locked. She walked over to a window and rammed the butt of her rifle into it. The glass shattered inwards. She slowly climbed through the window, being careful of her leg.

Inside on the dresser, sat the yellow key. Oh well, she was already inside. She looked around. There were carvings on the walls, lots of them. They were all bible verses. Yep, this was definitely a Peggie house.

A picture of the Seeds was smashed on the floor. Liz picked it up for a closer look. Joseph sat in a chair and was surrounded by his siblings. Jacob stood in the back of the photo. He was holding his sniper rifle, except it was black instead of red. His hair was a little bit shorter. It didn't have that one curl that fell in his face on the right side.

Gosh. Why did she remember little details like that about him? Like really Liz? He was on his way right now to kidnap her. Fucking hell. What was wrong with her? She insults him and plans to kill him, but then thought about what way his hair looked best. It was just one of those things about him that just drove her crazy.

Everything about Jacob drove her crazy, and not in a good way. She constantly changed her mind about him. One second she hated him and the other second, she liked him. She just wanted this torment to end. She threw the picture down on the floor.

There were some papers sitting on the kitchen table. One of them was an unsent letter.

Dear Matt,

I'm so sorry we couldn't convince you and Ann to make the big move and join us out here. I think you would have found the air quite bracing, and the quiet mornings restful for the mind. And of course, Father Joseph's words are food for the soul. Maybe bring the kids out later in the year. I'm sure the quads would love it, and Marty is old enough to join Jacob's training program.

May the Father bless you.

Jody Holmes

Liz couldn't help but laugh. Training program. So that's what he called it long ago. There was nothing about training with the Chosen that made it a program. It was hell, that's all it was.

She sat her rifle and bag down on the table. She found a dirty towel in the kitchen and wiped her hands off. It didn't do much to get Andrea's blood off her hands. She had almost forgotten about the poor woman she had killed. The woman she had culled. That was all because of Jacob. He always managed to get her distracted.

Liz shucked off the black jacket and bandanna. There was no need for them anymore. He would probably be here soon. She stuffed her cult gear as well as her trophy in the bag.

There was another paper on the table in edition to the letter. She hadn't noticed it before. It read, Living with PTSD: How to adjust. She flipped through it and read though some of the symptoms; hostility, self-destructive behavior, mistrust, insomnia, nightmares.

Did she have PTSD? She had been through some shit… But no. No. She wasn't crazy. She didn't have that, she didn't. Liz was fine. Anyone who said differently could go fuck themselves. She didn't have that. That was what crazy war vets got. Not people like her. She wasn't like Jacob. She crushed the pamphlet into a ball and threw it at the wall.

She explored the small bathroom down the hall. Bullet casings covered the tile floor. She rummaged through the cabinet until she found what she was looking for. A yellow medkit sat in the corner. Thank gosh. She took the first aid supplies and hobbled back out into the kitchen. She sat down in the chair.

There wasn't much in the medkit. Just a few bandages and a few ointments. That would have to do. There was a large patch of blood that had seeped through her jeans. Here goes nothing. She wrapped the bandage around her leg and pulled it tight. She winced from the pain. It looked like it would stop the bleeding. Hopefully she would be in a little better shape when he got here.

Jacob was on his way and it wouldn't be long before he found her. He always found her. There was nothing she could do to stop it. All she could do was sit and wait. She picked up the rifle off the table and let her hands wrap around the cool metal.

She was going to do the one thing that she hated. She was going to kill him. It didn't matter what he said he wanted from her. That was not going to happen. He wasn't going to take her back. If that meant she had to fight, then so be it.

Everyone needed her to fight for them, but no one respected her. They didn't want her, they just needed her to be a tool. She was done being used.

Liz was going to be doing the 'culling' from now on. Her finger curled around the trigger, ready… waiting for her target.

…

The sound of an engine woke Liz. She sat bolt right up in the chair. The rifle was laying in her lap. Exhaustion had taken over her and she had fallen asleep. So much for being ready to kill anyone that stepped through the door.

'Fucking hell'

It was dark outside. She had slept for at least half a day.

Headlights poured into the living room. It covered everything in a blinding white light. He was here. Shit. She scrambled up out of the chair. Her leg slightly buckled under her, but she powered through it. She threw her backpack around her shoulders and ran over to the window.

Her heart was beating out of her chest. Her hands were shaking. The muzzle of the AR-C stuck out through the broken window. Her finger rested on the trigger. She was going to kill Jacob. She was going to be the one to do it. It had to be her.

The lights obscured her view of anything outside. She didn't think he'd be stupid enough to roll right up to front door. But he always had a way of surprising her.

The sound of a car door slamming startled her. There was a shadow of a tall figure in the headlights. This was it, she was going to end this. She lined up her shot.

'Goodbye Jacob, I'll miss you.'

Her finger had begun to pull the trigger when the headlights shut off. It wasn't Jacob standing at the doorstep. She immediately let go of the trigger.

That cowboy hat was recognizable anywhere. It was Deputy.

Liz lowered her rifle, chest heaving. She had almost shot Dep. Damn it. She had almost killed the resistance hero. If she had, that wouldn't have gone over well with the Whitetails. Jacob would have been happy though. He's been itching to kill Dep, but Joseph wouldn't let him.

She couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed at her last thoughts about Jacob. She told herself that she would miss him…

"You trying to kill us Liz?" Dep asked.

She let out a shaky breath and opened the front door. Dep was standing on the side of the truck. A woman climbed out of the passenger seat. She had dark hair and scars that covered her face. She gripped a compound bow in her right hand. The woman was on several cult wanted posters. It was Jess Black.

"Yeah, sorry… I thought you were some Peggies."

Liz walked down the porch steps, clutching her leg. Her eyes darted in every direction looking for any sign of Jacob but didn't see him. Maybe he just hadn't found her yet… but that was unlikely. He said that he would find her, which meant that there was no avoiding it.

"What'd you do to your leg?"

"I… uh… had a run in with Eden's Gate. They were trying to take me back to the Veteran's Center." It wasn't completely a lie. Better not tell Dep that she had been talking to Jacob. There's no telling what he'd do with that information.

Jess scoffed. "Too bad they didn't get ya'. Would have made my day a lot easier. And I bet Jacob would have been happy to have his little bitch back."

"Jess… come on." Dep said.

"We've been running around all day to find this a fuckin' girl and she's probably working with the goddamn Peggies."

A scowl crossed her face. Who did this woman think she was throwing around assumptions around like that?

"You think I wanted to be with the Peggies? I was kidnapped! I didn't want of any of that! I'm not Jacob's bitch. Fuck you!"

Maybe it wasn't the best idea to be yelling at this woman. She looked dangerous. But Liz had killed that VIP, how different could this woman be?

Jess dropped her bow and lunged at her. She grabbed Liz's shoulders and slammed her into the hood of the truck. Her spine crushed against the hard metal. She cried out in pain. There wasn't anything she could do to fight back. Jess's fist collided with her face. A cracking noise came with it. Something was definitely broken.

"Jess!"

Dep ran over to pull her off Liz, but the woman shoved him away. Two more punches slammed into her face before Dep could pull the archer off. Liz collapsed into an injured heap on the ground. Her whole face hurt. Blood poured from her nose like a faucet. Some of it even made its way down her throat. Great, first her leg now her nose.

"You're just a fuckin' Peggie! I don't trust you and neither should anybody else."

She looked up to see Jess squirming in Dep's arms. There was something gentle about the way Dep was holding her. There might be something going on between the archer and the deputy. But right now, Liz didn't care. Everything just hurt all over.

Some sort of exchange went on between the two. Most of which she didn't listen to.

"I think you should leave Jess." Dep's tone was grim. He didn't look too happy.

"Fine. But when that girl sells you out, don't say that I didn't warn you. I don't care if she's Eli's niece, she's a Peggie. See ya' around Dep, maybe…"

Jess gathered up her things and took off into the woods. It was crazy how quickly she disappeared. Almost as if she was one of the animals herself.

Part of her almost wished that Jacob had gotten here when Jess punched her. That wouldn't have ended well for anyone. Dep would have ended up in a cage and Jess would probably be dead. Maybe she should have told her where she was after all… It would have saved her from another beating.

"You alright?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I think. I really wished people would stop beating the shit out of me though."

Dep helped her to her feet. He threw her arm around his shoulder. She wiped the blood off with the back of her hand. She cried out when she touched her nose. Yep, it was broken. Jess had broken her nose.

"You have to forgive Jess. She doesn't really trust a lot of people. You weren't with the Peggies by choice. I know that, she knows that too. She'll come around to you eventually."

Eventually. Liz didn't have time for eventually. She might not live that long. Especially if people kept beating her face in.

"She knows how to throw a punch."

He laughed. "Yeah she does." It sounded like he was speaking from experience. He probably was.

Dep helped her into the passenger side of the truck. He put her belongings at her feet. He climbed into the truck and started it up. The stars in the sky were dimmer than usual. Or maybe it was just because there was blood in her eyes. Either way her vision was wonky.

There were a few dead judges on the side of the road. They had several arrows impaled into them, courtesy of the woman who had beaten her face in. Judges didn't wander this far south. Jacob had sent them. Shit. He had come after her or at least sent someone.

Her eyes darted through the woods but saw nothing but darkness. Stop worrying. He wasn't out there. If he was, she would already be with him.

A beam of light shone into her eyes. She followed the light and a red dot formed on her shoulder. Her heartbeat quickened. It was the laser sight for a sniper rifle. The red light to a red sniper rifle.

She braced herself for the impending bullet, but the light was gone as quickly as it came. She blinked several times. Did she imagine that? Was there any light at all? She looked over to Dep, but he was focused on the road. Maybe she had just imagined it. But something told her that it had been real. Jacob was out there, and he knew that she was with the Deputy. He probably wouldn't be too happy about that.

Dep kept speeding along the small roads of the mountains. He wasn't much of a talker. He had looked upset when he sent Jess away.

They passed the Grill Streak again. The jumbo screen had electricity but there was no video playing. Elizabeth Palmer wasn't strapped to a chair with tears running down her face. There was nothing playing, only static. That was strange.

The ride back to the Wolf's Den didn't take very long. Dep parked the truck a little ways from the entrance. He helped her hobble all the way back to the bunker. He took her rifle away from her. Whatever she didn't need it anyways.

Eli, Tammy, and Wheaty were all gathered around the TV monitors. They all stopped talking when she and Dep entered the room. Dep stood off awkwardly to the side. Tammy and Wheaty stood back as well.

"Lizzie, where the hell have you been? We've been looking for you all day." Eli asked.

She said nothing. Her gaze was steeled. She removed the denim vest from her bag and sat it on the table. The trophy that she had obtained from 'culling the herd', from killing Andrea. Her trophy was on display for all to see.

"You killed a Cult VIP? Is that why you ran out by yourself, so you could play hero?"

She scoffed. Everybody had their assumptions about her. Even her own Uncle. No one respected her. They just wanted to jump to conclusions about her.

"Play hero? I left because I wanted to leave Hope County for good! I was going to kiss you all goodbye and save myself! But there's no leaving…. I know that now…"

Eli sighed in frustration. He looked angry. It was a strange thing to see. Eli had never been angry at her before. "Goddamn it Liz! You can't go out there by yourself! What if Jacob's men had gotten you? They would have tortured you to find out about the Wolf's Den!"

"They almost did…"

It should have been apparent from the blood that was all over her. Jacob had almost gotten her, but for some reason he let her go. She couldn't figure out why.

"And that's why you can't go out there by yourself. You're staying in the Wolf's Den."

"I'm not just going to sit in this bunker! You don't control what I do!"

The words felt wrong in her mouth. How did she end up yelling at Eli? She loved her Uncle. She shouldn't be yelling at him. But a part of her didn't care.

"You need to stay safe!"

"Oh please! Let's not pretend for a moment. I know how everyone looks at me. Like I'm on edge, like I'm the cult freak!" She pointed a finger at Tammy. She disliked Liz the most. The woman had made lots of assumptions about her ever since she got here. "I know what everyone says about me! I see the way you look at me Uncle Eli! You're ashamed of me! I'm your disappointment of a niece!"

The anger faded from Eli's face. "Despite what you think of me, I'm not ashamed of you. But you're right... I can't control what you do. If you leave you at least need to go with Dep. It's not safe out there."

"Deputy doesn't want to babysit me Uncle Eli…"

"Actaully…" Dep interrupted. "I wouldn't mind. If you want to fight, you can. Sharky and I will take you out tomorrow."

She nodded. At least Dep was being somewhat decent to her. He was the only one that didn't want to use her for the time being.

"You were going to leave home without saying goodbye. Why?"

"Because I didn't want to fight. Not for you and not for Jacob. You two are a lot alike, actually. You both want to use me as a tool!"

She walked away. It was a cold thing to say to her Uncle. To the man that had helped raise her and take care of her. To compare him to Jacob, who killed and tortured the county. But she didn't care. She was pissed at everyone and everything. She had just wanted to leave, but everyone stood in her way. They could all go to hell.

Her body ached with every step down the hall.

"Hey, Liz!" She turned her head to see Dep walking towards her. He looked her up and down with a concerned look on his face. But it was a calculated concern. It was an obligation to protect and serve, not because he actually cared about her…

"Let's get you stitched up."

Dep helped her to the one of the mattresses in the back room. He removed his cowboy hat and sat down in front of her. He found out a medkit and went to work. He used an anesthetic to clean the scrapes on her face. He placed a few butterfly sutures on the cuts. She winced every time he touched her. Damn Jess had a hell of a punch.

"Your nose is broken."

She sighed. "I figured."

"It'll take a little bit, but you just to have to let it heal. Try not to touch it."

She nodded. That would be a little difficult, but she could manage.

"I'm going to have to look at your leg…" There was a bit of apprehension in his voice. Oh no. Her injury was on her thigh. She knew what that meant. At least she wasn't the only one uncomfortable with the idea.

Liz shucked her pants down to her knees. Thankfully her flannel shirt covered most of her underwear. Blush started to grow on her cheeks again. But Dep's gaze wasn't lustful or longing, it was just calculated. It still made her a little uncomfortable though.

There were three long lacerations on her leg. One of them had torn open. Dep carefully began to stich it back up.

"Jacob threaten you again?"

Her head perked up. "Yeah. How did you…"

She searched his face for answers. Dep didn't answer her question. But of course, Dep would know. He'd met Jacob, he knew what he did. It was nice to have someone who understood, even if they weren't that close. He didn't judge her for having spent so long with Jacob. Dep was nicer than she thought. He was a good guy.

"You still up for tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I think so. I can't just sit around. I need the work."

"We'll see if you got what it takes to be a Gun for Hire. If not don't worry about it, there's other places you can help out."

He continued to stich up her leg. His stiches were sloppy, but they looked like they would hold. This felt so familiar. Except there weren't blue eyes to distract her and a touch that set her ablaze.

"Who patched you up before?"

"A Peggie medic." Lies. All lies, but Dep didn't question it thankfully.

"Well, whoever they were, they did a hell of a job."

Liz couldn't help but laugh. A small smile made it across her lips.

"Yeah, he did."