Chapter 5: Return of the Cult

As Chris went off to do his work, Faith felt that she needed to be doing something as well. She moved to get up and the pain from the wound came on. Still, it was much more tolerable now than it was before. Faith decided to take a shower as it had been a bit since she had been able to. As she navigated toward the bathroom, she saw bodies still in the hall. They stared upward, lifeless, covered in bullet holes and blood. Faith had dealt with a lot of death these past few days. The shower was a welcome respite. As she was getting dressed afterwards, she heard Chris collecting the bodies from the hallway. He had now killed seven Cougars to protect her. Not long ago, he was gunning down her followers. How things changed. Faith needed to learn more about Chris. Sure, he gave his reasons for saving her but he was still a mystery. On one hand, he killed without hesitation or remorse. But he also seemed kind, patient, and very loyal to those he cared about. Faith made her way to the living room and sat on the couch, waiting for him to finish. When he did, he finally noticed her on the couch.

"Seems like you can move around now. That's a good sign." He grinned at her as he sat next to her. "I took care of the bodies but there's still some blood laying about. We're leaving tomorrow though so it won't matter."

"Chris?" she turned to face him.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you fight? I mean why go through all this. All this killing, seeing people die or suffer. It would weigh so much on anyone yet not only do you continue; you add more burdens to yourself." She hinted about herself. Chris dropped his smile, thought for a moment then spoke while staring at the ground.

"When I first got here, I didn't know all this would happen. They had asked for volunteers for this operation. I was on my way to Colorado to visit my cousin. I didn't think the job would take long. But we saw how that went and I came to the realization that this situation would last awhile. My fortune was that I was able to make allies into friends. Nick Rye, Grace, Jess, Hurk and his mother, and Sharky. They all helped me steady myself through these times. But the ease of killing…" he paused "I don't know. Maybe Jacob's crap pulled some darkness that was always there…. that thrives on causing death."

He sighed and Faith was beginning to understand. His friends' loyalty was to him was mutual perhaps even more so. Chris relied on his friends as they could rely on him. But it seemed the Jacob's conditioning how really gotten to him. She had heard about it through rumors and a few reports. Now Chris was conflicted between his loyal, protective side and his dark, merciless side. Faith suspected that a secret reason why Chris saved her was to prove that he could overcome the bad side by sparing an enemy. She put her hand on his arm.

"All I know is that you have saved me from death more than once. I've seen you both kill and rescue. I've been told that I'm a good reader of people. You know what I think?" he turned towards her. "I think that you're a brave soul that's bound by loyalty and passion. Its only a matter of keeping that passion on the right path."

Chris looked at her with hope and happiness in his eyes. "Thank you, Faith." Instinctively, he hugged her. She did not pull away, instead found it soothing and hugged him back.

Chris and Faith weren't given much time to dwell on this moment. A noise appeared outside and grew louder and louder. Chris broke the hug and ran to the window. He saw a helicopter approaching along with a truck with a .50 cal on the bed.

"Dammit"

Faith stood up. "What's wrong? More Cougars?"

"No, looks like its project this time. They're coming in force, helicopter with rocket bods and a .50 cal pickup."

Faith walked over to him to see for herself. She then turned to Chris. "You need to get out of here."

"What? Why?" Chris had planned on her escaping.

"With that kind of firepower, they can level the entire cabin. But I can go distract them so you can escape."

He shook his head. "I made a promise to never leave you again remember? Besides, would you really be willing to go back?" He had a small tinge of doubt that she did.

Faith hesitated for a moment. Her expression became sadder. "If it will save your life…I will deal with it."

"Well it ain't happening! I'll die before I let them subjugate you to their shit again!"

Faith sighed. She could admire Chris for his loyalty and devotion, but man was the guy stubborn. "Alright then, I'll stall them. Go do what you need to do."

Chris knew what she meant and was a little surprised. "You sure about this?"

"I'll be fine."

Chris nodded and made his way towards the back while Faith approached the front door. As she stepped through, she could see that the helicopter had taking a position, aiming at the cabin. Two occupants of the truck were already coming towards her while the third stayed on the gun. Unlike the resistance, they recognized her instantly even in her different attire.

"Lady Faith! Thank the lord that we found you! We feared the worst after we left the bunker." Both men had broad smiles; they were completely relaxed.

"My brothers, I'm relived to see that you are safe." Faith was smiling too but it was that infamous smile she had used when she had been with the cult. It worked just as well on them.

"When we escaped to The Father, he questioned us extensively on your whereabouts. We told him about your plan. He told us to have 'faith', that you were alive, and to search you out. God must have spoken through The Father because here you are!"

Faith had a moment of doubt. Did Joseph really have hope in her surviving? Did he have confidence in her? "Yes, The Father was right. I was wounded," she pointed to her side "…but I survived."

The other man spoke up. "That reminds me Lady Faith, what happened to the sinner? How did you survive that demon?"

Faith thought quick and gave the only sensible explanation she could think of. "I turned him into an angel. He resisted awhile but he finally submitted." She had a brief feeling of sadness at the thought.

"A miracle! Where is he now?" Faith pointed back to the cabin.

"Exellant! The Father will be pleased." Faith gave them a confused look as the first man who spoke signaled the helicopter to land. The other one noticed Faith's expression. "The Father also told us to capture the sinner so he could be brought to our side with the bliss or Jacob's conditioning trick." Faith subdued the anger rising within her about Chris being a pawn.

"Since how numbers have been reduced, the Father put us in two groups. Our group of those from the bunker are to scout and 'convert' people using the bliss to bolster our numbers. The chosen are to guard the Father and are used on special assignments. I'm guessing he'll have the sinner as part of the chosen and you in charge of our group again." The copter landed and Faith was having trouble suppressing her anger. Joseph only wanted more pawns, more tools for his cause.

"Lady Faith? What's wrong? We'll go collect the sinner. Please board the helicopter for transport back to base."

Faith changed back to her manipulative smile. "My brothers! I look forward to this plan. We will rise again!"

She lifted her arms in the air. It was a signal. Thump. An explosion engulfed the helicopter as Faith ran and dove to the ground on the side. The gunner on the truck started firing wildly in a random direction. Thump. The truck exploded in a ball of flame. The two men who had been talking to Faith were in frantic confusion, trying to find where this was all coming from. A silenced shot, and one of them dropped with a bullet in his head. His partner had enough time to see his fate before he too met the same end. It was now quiet besides the sound of the two vehicles burning. Faith got up and saw Chris emerging, sniper in hand, from the side of the house. He gave Faith a thumbs up but she did not return his gesture. Her mind was focused on what had been said and what just happened. Any doubt had been erased from her mind. Her actions had proven that she had chosen Chris over the cult. As she watched him take care of the bodies, her mind focused on him and Joseph. One had full hope that she was still alive and sent people to bring her back. But she was viewed as a tool, to be used to further his goals. The other man had destroyed everything she had built up these past few years. He even had her on the verge of death. But he chose to save her and even killed his own allies in order to protect her. His saving of her was much different than Joseph's way. Thus, in part due to her rising feelings, she would place total trust in him as he had chosen to also stand with her.

Faith went back into the cabin to let Chris work without distraction. She had a lot on her mind and needed time to think. Joseph knew that she was alive. Would he keep sending people to bring her back? When would he find out that she was helping Chris? Faith pondered these questions before she was interrupted by Chris coming in.

"Hey, I know it wasn't easy to watch your people die like that. I'm sorry you had to do what you did but I'm deeply thankful for it."

"Its fine…. you've gone through way worse. You killed people on your own side to help me out."

He turned and looked out the window. "I made my choice. I guess I cared about my own wishes, of wanting to protect you."

"And I've made my choice too." He turned around with a confused look.

"What I did wasn't a one-time thing. I want to help you. I want to help you end this thing once and for all."

"What do you mean?"

"They told me their plans. Plus, I have knowledge about what kind of defenses Joseph will have guarding him. I can help you guys strategize."

Chris rubbed his chin in thought then looked directly at her. "I appreciate the help but I don't want you to be involved with this anymore. You've already gone through a lot with this shitstorm. Besides, I'm not sure that my little group will be as accepting, especially Jess. I don't want to place you in any more danger if things went south." Chris had a point. There would be no one else as welcoming as him, quite the opposite probably. But Faith was determined to repay Chris for all he had done for her.

"I think your companions are smart. They'll listen to you Chris. If you can get them to at least give me a chance, I'll prove that I'm on your guys' side." She spoke with determination.

"Why? Why do you want to help so badly? After going through this for all these years I would think you would just want to get away from it all, to be free of this mess."

Faith moved closer to him and stopped inches from his face. "Chris, I am free thanks to you. Not only did you save me from death but you showed me my foolishness for following Joseph, for believing in him. But now you've shown me someone who actually cares, who loyally tries to keep the people he cares about safe. Now I want to keep you safe, so please…"

Chris' heart was beating rapidly. He did not expect Faith to be this passionate and this close to him. And that face, those eyes, piercing blue eyes. There could be no resistance to that.

"Alright, you win. We'll meet them tomorrow morning and see how things go."

"Thank you, Chris." Faith threw her arms around his waist. He hesitantly hugged her back. What the hell was he thinking, or rather feeling? He felt like his heart was going to burst. After a few moments he broke the hug.

"We should get some sleep." The sun had just vanished below the horizon. "We'll meet them at the morning at the 8-bit pizza place." Faith nodded and Chris took one more glance at her eyes. They were filled with happiness. Faith made her way to the bedroom while Chris headed for the couch. He hoped his friends would see reason. No, he would make them see if needed. He then thought about his feelings he experienced a moment ago. They were real and would not be going away. But for now, he had to focus. Tomorrow was important.