Two explosions erupted through the Whitetail Mountains. The Deputy could hear them all the way from out here. That was good. They were just on schedule. This was going to work, he knew it. It had only been a matter of time till Liz turned on them. It was a good thing that he planned for that.
He still felt betrayed by what had happened. He had known her allegiance to Jacob a long time ago, but it still hurt. Liz was actually fun to be around at times and she was a hell of a fighter. Sharky and Wheaty liked her too. So, her having worked for Jacob this whole time was just salt in the wound. He didn't like what he did to her, but she hadn't left him a choice.
Liz had shot Wheaty and paralyzed him. He couldn't forgive that. Even if she hadn't meant to. Her betrayal had affected everyone in the Whitetails. Sharky hadn't been as chipper, Tammy was pissed, Wheaty was heartbroken, and Eli was something else… He'd heard part of a conversation they had this morning. It hadn't been good. Afterwards he saw Eli do something that he'd never done before, cry. His mentor was in complete shambles all because of some stupid girl.
Deputy picked his hat up off the ground and motioned for Cheeseburger and Peaches to attack. It had taken awhile to train the two of them. But those two animals would never turn on him. He'd thought about bringing Boomer but Liz, bless her heart, would just try to pet him or something.
His plan was to trap them in there for as long as possible. Not necessarily to kill them. It could be done, but Jacob was kind of terrifying. He didn't want to put his friends at risk right now. Jess had climbed up one of the radio towers and cut all the signals. Jacob needed to stay in there long enough for the Whitetails to move to Fort Drubman.
It wasn't the ideal location, but they just needed a place to go. He figured that the Peggies had left that place alone for so long, that maybe it'd stay that way. Hurk had begged his father to let them hold up there. To which Sr had said no. It had taken a little more persuasion from the Deputy, specifically with a shotgun in the man's face. To that, he had wholeheartedly agreed. As long as every rebel agreed to vote for him once there was an election again.
Peaches and Cheeseburger had faded into the distance. That meant it was time to go. He didn't want to stick around while Jacob was here. He was going to get the hell out of the mountains. Sharky and Hurk were overseeing the transfer of the Whitetails. Deputy was going to go meet Jess in the Henbane.
He picked up his shit and climbed down the mountain. His truck was waiting at the bottom. Time to get out of here. He sped off from the Whitetails. There were no Peggies out tonight, surprisingly. Thank gosh. He didn't need anything else bad to happen tonight.
It didn't take too long to get to the Henbane at the speed he was going. He crossed over Joseph's island and into the yellow scorched Earth. He loved it here for some reason. The Mountains were nice, but just too restraining. He liked the complexity of the Henbane. It always kept him on his toes.
He drove until he saw lights up ahead. He put the truck in park and got out. Through his binoculars, he could see a Peggie roadblock in front. He couldn't really get around it in the truck. He pulled his bag of explosives out, but he didn't get very far with it.
Something pricked at his neck. Shit. Dep reached up and pulled the tranquilizing dart from his skin.
"Oh fuck!"
His vision started to fill with spots. This shouldn't have happened yet. He hadn't been back in Faith's region for so long. But yet here he was being called in. His vision continued to blur until he collapsed to the ground unconscious.
…
Everything was bright. Too bright, considering it had been nighttime. The Deputy awoke with a groan. His head was spinning and everything was a big green blur. Dust floated in the air. Every plant around him sparkled like stars. And there were small animals that roamed about.
Shit. He was back in the bliss. This was not good. Not good. He needed to be with Jess right now, not here. She was probably wondering where he was.
A pair of hands enclosed around his wrists. Deputy looked up to see none other than Faith standing over him. Once again, shit. Faith gently helped him to his feet. He wouldn't have been able to stand without her. His head was spinning too much. He hated being here, fucking hated it. If there was one thing Dep disliked most in this world, it was not being in control. And all that had happened to him in Hope County he'd not been in control.
Faith smiled at him. It was one that was so innocent, but hid so much. That was what she was best at. Faith was better at it than anyone.
"Hello again, Deputy"
"Faith…" His jaw clenched. He wasn't going to let her be in control. It was hard sometimes to even be aware here. Every sense was on overload. But he was going to stay strong. For the Whitetails, for Sharky, and for Jess.
She kept that wicked smile or her face and paced around him. Those floating sparkles followed her. A blue butterfly floated over her head too. Her hands traced all across his body. Faith's touch was as light as a feather. Dep found himself relaxing at it, even though he shouldn't. He didn't enjoy it, it was just familiar.
"It's been a long time since you've came to see me." Faith came to face him again. She flicked his hat up so it sat on the top of his forehead. Jess did that to him… How did Faith know that? Was she trying to act like Jess?
Dep would not be fooled by this. "I've been occupied with your dipshit brother."
"Which one?" Faith asked. Her hands came to a stop on his chest. She gently stroked up and down. Dep felt paralyzed. He couldn't move. His body slightly shook but he refused to lean into Faith's touch.
"I suspect you already know. But the tall dipshit." He hissed. A butterfly landed on his head. He really hated it here.
Faith laughed. "Of course I know. I'm still sad that you left me. You came to my region first before fleeing to Jacob's. You also left me for… someone else. Do you remember what we had, Deputy? The things we did?"
Dep's eyes grew wide. No, he didn't want to remember that. It seemed so long ago. It was true that Dep had come to Henbane River first. At the time, he had been so entranced by Faith. She was so tempting. He'd been easily influenced and had done some things that he shouldn't have. He'd been so foolish. The things that they did… But then he met Jess. He fell in love with her fire and her spirt. And Jess never lied to him. There was no way he was going to betray that now.
He shook his head. "No. You fooled me Faith. We didn't have anything. I moved on from you."
Faith moved her hands to behind his neck. She stood on her tiptoes and moved in closer. The woman didn't look phased. She never did. This was probably all part of her grand scheme.
"Are you sure, Deputy? Or should I call you Peter? Did you ever tell that archer your real name? You shared it with me because you know we have something." Faith hummed.
Peter felt his body seize up. It had been so long since he'd heard his real name. Peter Rook. He forgot that he had told Faith that. He hadn't told anyone else since. Not Sharky and not Jess. He thought it would be too dangerous for anyone to know. Peter still had people in the outside world. If the Seeds were to find out, it could be disastrous. That had been the idea but Faith already knew. So, that plan was fucked.
There had been so many times he'd wanted to tell Jess. All the nights they'd spent alone out in the woods. He had decided against it every time. But Faith that wicked bitch knew his name.
"No. Jess doesn't know." He said.
"Mm. That's because you know you belong with me." More sparkles came off her. Almost blinding to the sight. Fucking bliss.
Faith knocked his hat off. She yanked him down and pressed her lips to his. It was just as magical as it had been the first time. When being in the bliss, it was like every sensation was cranked up to eleven.
For just a moment, Peter found himself kissing her back. Faith's tongue slipped into his mouth and he moaned. But then Jess's face flashed through his mind and he instantly felt like garbage. This wasn't real. He didn't care about Faith.
He used all his strength to push Faith away. She went tumbling and collapsed onto the ground. If this was real, dirt might have stained her white dress. But this wasn't real. A collection of blue butterflies helped her get to her feet.
The façade on her face was gone and in its place was Faith's true self.
"Why do you continue to do these things, Peter? We've welcomed you into our home and into our hearts. Into my heart… and this is how you repay me? With all this violence!" Faith asked.
"You're a liar, Faith. That's all you do."
Faith scoffed. He'd never seen her this frustrated before. The anger was all over her face, but still her tone was calm. "I lie? You claim to be a hero but all you do is hurt people. You hurt our family. You hurt my friend! Why did you hurt Liz?"
Oh no. Here it was again. Of course, Faith would be concerned about that fucking girl. They were probably two peas in a pod. She was the reason he was out here to begin with. Despite his anger and whatever he said, the whole situation still stung a little. But he had destroyed the dreaded music box. That's what was important.
"I didn't want to do that. Liz was my friend too, you know. But she betrayed me. She gave me no choice!" His entire body tensed up. He didn't like thinking about that night. Peter found himself missing the Gun for Hire he thought he knew. Their little trio with Sharky was broken beyond repair. He didn't know if either he or Sharky would fully recover.
Faith took a step towards him. "There was a choice but you chose wrong. Liz has accepted her place here. She knows that she belongs with Jacob. Why can't you accept your role?"
Peter took a deep breath. He would not be manipulated by this. Faith didn't love him. Sharky did. Jess did. He needed to remember that.
"As tempting as you are, Faith. You're a lying piece of shit. Liz might have lost her way, but I won't. I'll never join your fucking project."
Something in Faith's eyes changed. It went from heartbreak to pure rage. He'd never seen that precious woman so angry before. She grabbed onto his jacket and pushed him. The world began to spin and move at high speed. His vision became blurred with starlights and butterflies. She pushed him until his feet were learning off an edge. Her fingers stayed gripped into his jacket.
Peter looked down to see a pit full of snakes. Giant snakes. All with dark green scales and neon pink eyes. They were piled on top of one another, slithering across without a care in the world. Every single one was hissing at him with large fangs. Probably not real, but he didn't want to find out.
"Snakes, why does it always have to be snakes?" Peter sighed to himself.
Faith leaned in closer to him. "I will give you another chance, Deputy. But if you hurt Liz or my family again, you won't like what happens after."
She let go of his jacket and shoved him forward.
"Shit!" He shouted.
Peter could feel every sensation as he sunk through the air. He braced himself for impact against the snakes but it never came. His back crashed into the snakes, and they turned into butterflies. He screamed again. He sunk for a few moments more before crashing into the ground.
He passed out on impact. It seemed that Faith was the sibling who wasn't putting up with his bullshit after all.