Chapter 2: Bodyguard

Chris had a stroke of good luck. He came across an abandoned car on the side of the road. He was worried that he was going to have to carry Faith a long distance and that might complicate things. The car was marked with a cult symbol but that didn't bother him. He couldn't complain as long as it worked. He opened the passenger door and carefully slid Faith off his back onto the seat. He made sure to buckle her up then ran over to the driver side. Keys were still in the ignition, perfect. The car probably belonged to a peggy patrol that had tried to stop him on his trek across the region. As Chris drove, Faith stirred once again and saw her surroundings. She turned to Chris and was giving him quite the angry look.

"So what's the plan? You going to take me and parade me around in front of your little resistance?"

"No" Chris replied without looking at her.

"Then how about you take me back to The Father?" I'm sure he would be willing to forgive you despite all you've done if you return me safely.

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen."

Faith was getting agitated "So what then?"

This time Chris looked at her briefly when he spoke "The goal is to get you somewhere safe, let you heal up. Then we'll decide on what happens after that"

Faith grabbed at her wound. It was really starting to hurt. "First you shoot me, then you want to save me? You make no sense!"

"I did what needed to be done." You needed to be stopped and I accomplished that. Besides..." He turned towards her again "I'm sure you didn't want to die out there all by yourself"

Faith looked down at her feet after hearing that. Despite presenting herself as something more, she was still human. She still had a will to live. At that moment she had feared that it was all over and worse, no one would be there to mourn her.

"Looks like we got company."

They were coming up to a car in the middle of the road. It looked to be a checkpoint. Surprisingly it wasn't an Eden's Gate checkpoint but a resistance one. The 3 men manning it were just as armed though as they pointed their guns at Chris' car as he came to a halt.

"Out of the car!" Don't make any funny moves or we'll gun you down right here!

Two of the men proceeded forward, one to each side. The one on Faith's side ripped her from her seat while the one on Chris' side held him at gunpoint in order to get him to comply. He raised his arms and proceeded forward but he still got nailed in the back by the man.

"Well look who we have here." The man who looked to be the leader exclaimed. "We got us one Faith Seed; on the run it seems."

The one man handed her over and the leader gave her a quick look over

"She's wounded too. Guess the deputy couldn't finish her off."

He turned his gaze to Chris.

"And this peggy tried to save her but he brought her right into our waiting hands!"

The two other men had their guns pointed squarely at Chris but one seemed to be a lot more nervous than the other.

"Tom, he doesn't look like a cultist. I think this is the deputy..."

"What are you talking about Bill?" he spat at the ground

"Hey buddy, I would suggest for your sake that you let her go." Chris interrupted

The leader obviously had a short fuse as he pulled out his pistol and shot Chris right in the leg. He went partially down due to the shot while Faith gasped in fear.

"This guy is obviously a peggy! He's driving around in one of them cars." Besides there's no way the deputy would have spared Faith." He paused "And if somehow this is still him? Well then he's guilty of harboring the enemy!" Tom laughed

Chris started laughing too along with Tom which unsettled him.

"You have no idea who you're messing with. You should've listened to my warning buddy."

The leader scoffed. "Look 'buddy', there's three of us and one of you. Three of us with guns and none with you. I think its time we shut you up and put this seed in the ground.

Chris shrugged then quickly pulled out the double barrel shotgun he had hidden underneath his jacket. He shot the man on his right and then the one on the left. Both went down after fatal shots to their chest. The leader was so surprised as he looked back and forth that by the time he had his focus back on Chris, he had already reloaded.

"Stay back!" He pointed his pistol right at Faith's head "Try anything and her brains will be plastered all over the road!"

Chris raised his shotgun and aimed right at both the leader and his captive which made both of them have faces of terror. But he then quickly shot to the side which distracted the man enough for Chris to run up and punch the man in the face, making him release his hold on Faith. He caught her with one arm while the other was pointing the shotgun right at the staggered man.

"What the fu-?"

Boom. It was all over. Chris carried Faith back to the passenger side. He winced a little since his wound in the leg was gushing a little blood. After he was done, he entered the car on his side and carefully drove the car around the checkpoint with the now dead three bodies. There was a bit of silence as they drove but Faith broke it after looking as his leg.

"You're bleeding….."

"Ah, this is nothing" he said with a small side grin. "I've been shot many times before in many worse places then this. That guy was just trying to be tough. What's more important is that we get you some actual bandages. What I have on you won't do much good especially with you all moving around so much."

Faith looked down at the area where her wound was. It was extremely bloody. The shirt that Chris had used to wrap her up was drenched. It was also starting to be painful again.

"Finally, we're here."

They arrived at what was a small cabin. Chris parked then carried Faith out of the car. He was using both arms to hold her, but he managed to kick the front door open. The place was definitely abandoned. He carried her over to the bedroom and laid her on the bed.

"I'm going to go see if I can scrounge up some proper bandages. While I'm at it, I'm going to try to find some food for us too. I don't know about you but all of this drama has worked up my appetite" he said with a grin. Faith gave him an annoyed look in reply and off he went. She then looked out the window. Many thoughts were running through her mind

"What is his plan? First, he nearly kills me, then he saves me, then he kills people on his own side to protect me. Now he's trying to nurse me all while joking around. I don't understand it. I need to get back to The Father. I'm sure he knows how dangerous Chris is but he needs to know more. This guy is a real threat and unpredictable. He could use me as a hostage against Joseph."

Thinking about being a hostage made her remember the event that just transpired. Chris killed resistance members in order to save her. Then again, they were threatening him too. Stupid resistance, they didn't even know the face of their hero who was destroying everything she and the cult worked for. Faith needed to figure out what his plan was.

Chris fumbled around in the kitchen. There was good news and bad news. The good news is there was plenty of food for the both of them. The bad news is that there were no medical supplies except for one bandage.

"Damn" He thought to himself "Means I gotta go to the jail to get more supplies. Which also means I have to leave her alone here." He wasn't really worried about her escaping. The wound would keep her bedridden for a bit. But there was also a chance that she would TRY to escape and make it to a passing cult patrol or worse, be found by another resistance patrol. He would just have to convince her to sit tight and trust him despite the circumstances. Chris' cooking skills were non-existent so he made two sandwiches for him and Faith and carried them over along with the bandages to her room. She was still looking out the window when he came in.

"Foods here" he put the plate right on her lap.

She looked at it, then looked at him with a blank look before finally starting to eat. She kept wincing while she ate but she managed to eventually finish the whole thing. Chris had practically inhaled his since he was so hungry. When she was done, he took the plate away and removed the bloodied shirt he had wrapped around her wound. He applied the bandages in its place. The whole time, Faith just stared at him with a confused expression.

"Listen Faith, I have to head back to the jail for more supplies. Unfortunately, that means I gotta leave you here for a bit."

"How long?' she asked

"A few hours at the most. Just gotta get some more medical supplies along with other stuff. I'll come right back."

Faith looked away from him "Well I don't have much choice now do I?"

Chris frowned in response. "Look, I know you think that I'm only keeping you alive to use you as a hostage but its not like that. When I face Joseph, I'm going to face him like I did in the beginning. If it comes to a gunfight, so be it. But I think for some people, well their fight should be over."

He left the room and quickly returned with something in his hands. It was a pistol.

"Now I'm sure that you've never had to use an actual weapon. You've had people do that for you. But I found this while rummaging through the house and I think that you should have it for your own protection while I'm gone. Hopefully there will be no more incidents while I'm gone but better to be safe then sorry."

He gave her the gun and she looked at it with wide eyes while holding it. Chris then turned his back as he was about to leave. Faith could have shot him right then and there. But something was holding her back. Gratitude? Curiosity? Fear? Whatever it was, it prevented her from taking an easy shot.

"I'll be back as quick as I can." He then left and drove off. Faith sat in bed with the gun still in her hands.

"He trusted me with a gun to his exposed back…"

Faith suddenly felt tired and fell asleep, the gun falling next to her.