The plan was simple. Take out the Peggies, don't get detected, and claim the outpost. It was a pretty simple plan, but one that could be easily screwed up if everyone didn't follow it. It was technically her plan. She had been the one to tell them about the layout of the Whitetail Park Ranger Station. She told Dep where every Peggie would be stationed and where every reinforcement in the area was.

Liz rested her back against the office building. She stood right next to Jacob's 'Only You' poster, angry finger pointed to the world and a scowl on his face. His 'sermon' was being broadcasted across the outposts.

'Culture and technology hasn't improved us. It's brought us to our knees. If our ancestors could see us now, they would be ashamed. They would be sickened. They would be angry.'

Her fingers tapped against her bat. She only had one job, and that was to take out the alarms. Dep and Jess were going to take care of the rest. Neither girl had been thrilled with working with the other. They agreed to stay out of each other's way. Liz would have rather Sharky come along on this occasion, but he wasn't the best in stealth ops.

The alarm was around the corner of the building. Two Peggies constantly patrolled it. She would have to take them out or wait for her moment. The latter seemed like the better option. But it didn't always work out that way. She slowly creaked open one of the windows to the office and slipped inside.

One Peggie stood guard with his back to her. She slowly crept forward, keeping her footsteps silent. She raised her bat and slammed it down on his head. He collapsed into a heap on the ground. Splotches of red covered her bat. Like always, she had to suppress the sickening feeling in her gut. Killing was never an easy thing for her. That made thirteen.

She crept to the door. She could see Dep positioned atop the Warehouse. He gave her a small nod. Two guards walked by the door to the office. Once they were out of sight, Liz crept out the door. Her eyes darted around for other guards but didn't see any. She was in the clear.

She ran over to the alarm. She yanked the wires out and clicked the knobs to off. The Peggies wouldn't be calling anyone for help. That was almost too easy. She rounded the corner of the building only to find another guard. There wasn't supposed to be anyone posted there.

"Hey! They're here!" The woman shouted. She raised her gun. It wasn't the metal barrel that made Liz panic, but that face holding it. The woman looked exactly liked Andrea… The same face and the same hazel eyes. That was impossible though. Andrea was dead.

In that moment, Liz felt herself freeze. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe, and couldn't move. She stood there planted like a statue. Her heart pounded out of her chest. She felt her bat slip from her hands. This is how she was going to die, shot by a cultist, standing there like an idiot.

The woman's finger was curled around the trigger. Liz let her eyes flutter close, awaiting her impending doom. This was okay. She wanted to die like this. She deserved to die like this, for what she had done to Andrea.

The bullet never came. Instead she heard a gargling sound and something wet splatter across her face. She opened her eyes to see an arrow sticking out of the woman's eye socket. She gasped. The woman collapsed onto the ground in front of her. Jess stood on the other side of the property, bow raised.

"Get your fucking head in the game, Palmer!" Jess shook her head and ran off in the other direction.

Liz felt her hands shake. She stumbled until her back hit the metal wall. There was gunfire and shouting in the background, but she tuned it out. Her legs gave out and she curled into a ball on the ground. All she could do was stare at the woman. The only thing she could see was the cult VIP that she had manipulated and murdered in cold blood.

She buried her face into her knees. The ruckus around her continued as Dep and Jess presumably took out the rest of the cultists. They were doing just fine without her. Everyone was better off without her. The whole time she sat curled up there hoping a stray bullet would hit her.

Eventually there was no more shooting. Her hands stopped trembling. She felt someone grab her arm. She jolted upwards, looking for the suspect. But it was only Dep.

"You okay, Liz?"

She looked back over the woman that Jess had killed. She didn't see Andrea's face anymore. She had been imagining it. Andrea wasn't there, because Andrea was laying dead in the Henbane. Liz let out a deep breath.

"No. I'm not okay."

Someone came stomping around the corner. She looked up to see Jess fuming. Her bow rested in her hand in a vice grip. "What kind of bullshit was that!"

"Jess." Dep said.

"I had to save her ass again! She almost got us fucking killed!"

Dep stepped forward to grab Jess. His hands rested on her shoulders. He pulled her aside to tell her something that Liz could barely hear. Once again though, there was something almost gentle about the way Dep talked to her. Almost like he cared for her. Her suspicions were confirmed when his thumb brushed across her cheek. A small amount of blush formed on her cheeks from it.

Jess was clearly upset, and he was doing his best to comfort her. He looked at Jess like she was the most precious thing on the planet. Liz couldn't help but feel a little jealous… because she had no one. There was no one that truly needed her. Everyone would just be better off if she was dead.

Their conversation lasted for a few minutes. Jess left them, still looking angry. She couldn't help but wonder what was said between the two. Dep walked back over to her. He extended a hand to help her up.

"Let's go for a walk."

She shook her head. "No. I'm good."

"Liz… you just almost got yourself killed. We need to talk."

"Okay." Hallucinating Andrea had completely fucked her up. And in result, she had almost messed up her own plan because of it. She picked her bat up off the ground and followed Dep.

Resistance members already had begun to filter into the camp. They started clearing out some of the bodies and Peggie flags. Everyone acknowledged Dep when they walked by, but not her… She was just the cult girl, the traitor. The rebels treated Dep the same way that the Peggies treated Jacob. It wasn't a shocker that everyone looked up to Dep. He was their savior after all. He had taken out more of the cult single handedly than all of the Whitetails combined.

When they walked by Jacob's poster, something inside Liz snapped. She ran over to it and ripped it down from the wall. She put her foot right in Jacob's face. She stomped on it a few more times before feeling satisfied.

"You feel better?"

"Extremely." She glared at the crumbled-up poster like it could get up and attack her at any moment.

"Good. But let's get out of here before you break anything else." He raised his eyebrow at her. She shrugged in response. They walked north from the outpost. She did her best to ignore the glares from Whitetails as she walked by. She could hear their whispers about how she sold them out. But none of that even happened. Rumors just spread like wildfire in small towns and apparently in small militias too.

She kept her eyes firmly planted on the ground as she followed Dep. They walked a few yards south from the outpost. The whole time she thought about calling up the one person that might understand. He was also the one person that she shouldn't talk to but did it anyway.

They walked until they came to a small hunting blind ontop of a hill. There were two lawn chairs sitting underneath them. Dep sat down in one and motioned her to do the same. She obliged.

"Why are we here, Dep?"

He gave her a strange look before propping his feet up on the railing of the blind. Where the hell was this going? This felt exactly like what her brother used to do when he had something important to say. He would screw with her head a little bit before just getting to the damn point. Guys just sucked.

"I know you're feeling like shit, girl. And I know that you're doing the best you can."

She scoffed. "Yeah I am feeling like shit. I just fucked up the entire plan and almost got myself killed."

It was truly a miracle that she wasn't dead right now. That woman should have shot her. She should be dead right now. She wished she was dead right now. But things had a funny way of working out the opposite of the way she wanted them.

"Yeah… you totally fucked it up. We took the outpost and none of us got hurt. That's the definition of a fuck up."

She turned towards him in shock. Damn. Dep could be snarky. "Jess had to save me from being killed. I alerted the guards. I…"

"Hey! That is not your fault. Okay. We all freeze up every now and then."

"Oh please, Dep. You can't do anything wrong. Everyone thinks you're their hero."

He chuckled and shook his head. "I don't know if you've noticed this, Liz. But I'm kind of the master of fucking shit up. Did I ever tell you about the first outpost I took?"

"No."

He grinned harder. "Well… it was pretty bad. I had just helped take back the jail. Had no idea what I was doing. I ended up getting chased by a turkey all the way to Whistling Beaver Brewery. Well, I alerted all of the guards and they called reinforcements. I had to fight off three helicopters with a sniper rifle all of because that goddamn turkey."

Liz couldn't help but smile at his story. Yep, that sounded like a normal day in Hope County to her. It was nice to hear that she wasn't the only fuck up on the team. Maybe she should stop being so hard on herself.

"Yeah… that's pretty bad. That story gives Sharky a run for his money."

"Oh, hell yeah. But don't tell him that story. He'll make fun of me."

"Don't worry. You're secret's safe with me."

She sighed. Even though Dep had fucked up several times over, no one was calling him a Peggie. But the Whitetails called her one. Everyone thought she was 'Jacob's little bitch' as Jess so eloquently put it. She wasn't either of those things though. She was just a broken girl trying to navigate through this war.

"Dep… can I ask why you even have me as a gun for hire? Because the more I think about it… I have nothing that can help you. I'm worthless…"

His face went slack. He removed his cowboy hat and placed it on the ground. "Hey… look at me. You are not worthless okay."

"But all the Whitetails…"

"Doesn't matter what they say. They're not important. And I don't know if you've noticed, but Sharky, Wheaty, and I freaking love you. And I think Jess likes you too…"

She was so thankful to have the boys in her life. She hadn't known them very long, but they all got along pretty well. They were like her trio of older brothers, always looking out for her. Three new brothers in her life, to replace the real one she had lost. She couldn't be thinking about that now. David Jr. was gone. She just had to accept that. But Jess was not someone that was important in her life.

She scoffed. "If my broken nose has anything to say about it, yeah I'd say we're best friends."

"Jess could have easily let you die today. But she didn't. She saved your life. I think that means something."

Liz hadn't really thought about that. He had somewhat of a point. If Jess hadn't saved her, it wouldn't have been the archer's fault. It would have just been Liz's fault that she was dead. But there was always some other motivation behind people's deeds. No one did things out of the goodness of their hearts.

"And the real reason I wanted you on the team Liz, is because I thought you two would get along."

"Really? Why the hell would you think that?"

A small smile crossed his lips. "Because you're both amazing, strong women. Who went through some shit that they shouldn't have. And I thought you could both use a friend who would understand."

As nice as the thought was, Liz couldn't see herself being friends with Jess. She didn't need someone to talk about her feelings with. It didn't matter if anyone understood. She just needed her problem on the other end of the radio to be solved.

"You two seem like a bit more than friends."

Dep gave her a look that was somewhat between amusement and annoyance. He sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

"Holy shit. I was right? I mean I was just taking a wild guess. Damn Dep…" So, he and Jess really were a thing. She hadn't been so sure a few days ago when she saw them. But there was no denying what they had. It was kind of sad to think about at times. Liz knew that there was no room for that in all this shit. It could only end badly.

"Yeah well… don't go spreading it around. I don't care if anyone knows, but Jess is a little anal about this shit. She doesn't want anyone thinking that she's soft."

Liz scoffed. "I don't think anyone would ever think that… ever. But can I ask, why her? I mean I don't know her all that well, but she's kinda a bitch."

Dep only laughed. "I guess some men some men like em' feisty. In all ways."

It took her a minute to realize the meaning behind his words. She rolled her eyes. "That's gross Dep." Besides, some men were just foolish. And by some, she meant all of the males in Hope County. Not that the ones down south were much better. But in Montana, they sure were a special kind of breed.

"What about you, Liz? You leave anybody behind when you came back here?"

She shook her head. How did they get to talking about relationships? That topic was a little too touchy for her, but she decided to indulge him anyways. "Nope. There was nobody… But I did have a thing with your boy Pratt back in the day. Don't know if he ever told you that."

"Nah. It never came up…" Of course, it hadn't. She didn't know why she wanted to talk about her ex anyways. Nothing good was going to come from hashing up her old life. "…But I was only here a month before all this shit went down."

"Really? That's it? You really are the rookie!"

"Would it make you feel better if you called me Rook?"

She laughed and shook her head. "No. You're Dep. Always will be."

"Good."

They sat in silence for a minute. As always, Dep had a way of making her feel a little bit better. He was a good guy. She was lucky to have him as a friend.

"I just… I don't know Dep. Being with the Whitetails just ain't what I imagined it to be. You know I thought about being rescued every day when I was with him?" Those had been the only thoughts that had gotten her through being captured. She had begged every single day that a Whitetail would come and snatch her away, until the day that it did happen. And she hadn't been given the kindest welcome.

She sighed. "Then I get here, and I'm just the Peggie girl. Everybody thinks I'm going to turn on them, and I haven't even done anything yet. I-I think… that even Eli is disappointed in me." All of the Whitetails hated her. If she just died, no one would care. Not even her own uncle…

Dep shook his head. "You know I think that's the stupidest thing you've ever said. Like... Sharky level stupid. Eli's not ashamed of you."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because he's ashamed of himself. I can see it every time he looks at you. He doesn't blame you for what happened, he only blames himself. Do you know what he asked me when I first met him?"

Liz shook her head.

"It was right after he pulled me out of the Grand View. He said I couldn't leave the bunker until I helped him. He told me about how you were captured, about how Jacob was using you, and he begged me to go save you. I… hadn't been too sure at the time. I was against getting you out…"

"Wow thanks!" She scoffed.

"Hey, would you have done anything differently?"

"Eh, nope." If she had been the Deputy, she wouldn't have saved anyone. She would just left Hope County. She would have saved herself. To hell with everybody else.

"Anyways… Eli had to convince me to go get you. When I asked him why, I'll never forget what he said. He looked me in the eyes and said that you were the only family that he had left. That you didn't deserve what was happening to you. And he said that you were the most fun person to be around, that you were his best friend. And that… if the joy in your eyes went away, he wouldn't be able to live with himself."

It had been a long time since she and Eli had been best friends. That last time had been probably when she was 7 and he had been 17. He would drive her around places and take her to get junk food. Those had been the days. That all changed after he and his girlfriend were expecting a baby. Her relationship with her uncle didn't truly crumble though until that one day in December. It had gotten better over time, but now it was just as broken as it had been when his son died. Now, he was also trying to be her father, not her friend.

"Did he really say all that?"

"Every word. I don't know if I've ever seen any joy in your eyes, Liz. I didn't know you before all this. But the girl that Eli described that night and the one that I've gotten to know are two different people. And I just think... that broke Eli."

If only her uncle knew what being broken really meant... To have your mind completely torn apart. Eli hadn't been captured or tortured. He had brought this war onto himself. All he had to do was leave Hope County. Instead, he decided to fight the one man that was impossible to beat.

"Yeah well, I don't know what he expects from me. Because Elizabeth Palmer is dead..."

"Is that what your buddy on the other end of the radio tells you? That you're dead? You're only going to find pain there." Dep said.

Her head perked up in surprise. The way he said it almost made it seem like he knew. Because… he did. He'd met Jacob face-to-face. He knew what went on at the Veteran's Center. Anytime anyone met the eldest Seed, all they got was pain. Besides She, Dep, and Pratt had gotten the worst of it from Jacob.

"He's not my friend. He was just the one that killed her. I don't want to talk about him though. I'm fine. Let's just go back to the Station."

Liz stood up and slung her bat over her back. Dep just sat there with his feet propped up on the blind. Their talk had been nice, but it didn't change anything. She was just as upset as she had been earlier for freezing up. She began to walk away.

"You seemed pretty eager to talk to me yesterday, sweetheart."

She stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes darted around, searching for the voice that she knew all too well. She searched through the trees and bushes but came up empty. There was no ginger haired asshole lurking in the trees for her. It wasn't until she looked down at her radio that she realized. She had been sitting on it the entire time. She stomped her foot in frustration.

"Damn it." She hissed.

She looked over to Dep to see that he had scrambled up from his chair as well. There was fear in his eyes. Jacob had that power over them. With a few simple words, he could convert them both into a submissive puddle. She gave Dep a weary look before holding the button to the radio down.

"How much of that did you hear, Seed?"

"More than you would have liked me to." That asshole probably had the biggest smirk on his face right now. Liz would love nothing more than to slap it right off him.

She let go of the button and looked at Dep. "What do I do?"

"Hell, if I know. You're the idiot who sat on the radio!"

A scowl crossed her face. "That was an accident!"

Jacob continued to talk, unaware of their bickering. "And I can't believe you're still running around with the Deputy. How you doing, Cowboy? You still culling the herd for me?"

Liz threw the radio at Dep like it was a live bomb. She didn't want anything to do with that thing. Dep caught it with both hands. He sighed before holding the button down. "What do you want, Jacob?"

"Well, I didn't want anything today. Not until I heard my precious little lamb talking to you, Deputy. That's not something that I'm happy about." She felt blush rise in her cheeks. Why did he have to say shit like that? It just always made her uncomfortable. She bit her lip in embarrassment. "Honey, I thought I told you that if I caught you alone with the Deputy, that there would be consequences."

She snatched the radio back from Dep, nostrils flaring. "You don't get to control what I do!"

"You should know by now that you belong to me. You both do. Little lamb, if you continue to hang around Deputy and his band of misfits, it'll all end bloody. For everyone. Including you."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh please, what are you going to do to punish me? Send your hunters after me?"

Liz scoffed. The idea was ridiculous. Jacob never did anything himself. That hadn't been him out there that night when she rode back to the bunker with Dep. She refused to believe it. It had only been only one of his hunters. Jacob would never do anything himself when he had a whole legion of men to do things for him. She was fine. Her empty threat would yield nothing.

A clicking sound came from the radio, singling that he had tuned out. "Seed?" She asked. There was still silence. She looked over to Dep. He just stayed quiet.

"Seed?" It was about a minute before static came from the other end.

"I've given you time to run around and play hero, but I think it's time that you come back home. You said you were at the Ranger Station, right?" Her face went slack. No. He knew where she was. Of course, he would. They had taken his outpost. He knew everything that happened in these mountains.

"I just sent the order out to my hunters. I'll see you soon, little lamb."

No. Liz felt like she could throw up. She didn't want to go back to him. No. She couldn't go back to that place. His men were going to come for her. She wouldn't even be surprised if the words 'You're being hunted' flashed up in front of her eyes.

"Dep… what do I do?"

He sighed and gave her a look that she would never forget. It was the look of a man that had truly lost hope. A look that told her he couldn't do anything to help.

"Run."

That was the only thing that he said, but it was all she needed to convince her to haul ass. She gathered up all her shit and sprinted off in the other direction of the outpost. Her boots slammed the forest floor in a frenzy. Trees whizzed by her peripheral vision. She had no destination in mind, only to get the hell out of there.

Her legs burned with every stride. Her breathing became shallow. The last time she had ran this fast was on the softball field. But this wasn't a game… this was life and death. She couldn't go back to him. She couldn't. She didn't think she could handle it. Not again.

She got about half a mile from the outpost before an arrow whizzed by her. It sliced into her arm, cutting her shirt sleeve open and leaving a nasty wound behind.

"Ah!" Her footsteps slowed. They were here. She clutched at her arm but kept moving.

Her head started to feel dizzy. That arrow had been drugged. Red began to cloud her vision. She kept moving. Her feet dragged against the grass as she tried to stand upright. This isn't how she wanted to get taken down. But she couldn't fight the drug. It became too much. She began to see white spots in her vision. She collapsed onto her knees in defeat.

"You even hit her?"

Liz felt someone grip her hair and yank her head upwards. She cried out in pain. She stared down two-no three Chosen members. She didn't know which ones were real and which ones were just a blur.

"Shit." She cured.

"Yeah I hit her. But Jacob said she wasn't to be harmed. Don't want to piss him off."

The Chosen members eyed her up and down. "She won't be."

The man slammed his compound bow against her forehead. Her body hit the ground. The effects of the drug quickly came over her. Red clouded her vision as she passed out. She would be seeing her old friend again very soon…