Chapter 8: Past and Present
If there was another skill that Faith had confidence in, it was being able to listen very well. She managed to pick up most of what Chris and Jess were discussing. She and zeroed in on the part where Chris admitted he had feelings for her. Part of her was unsurprised. It was widely known that a lot of men in Hope County were attracted to her. But Chris seemed different. He genuinely seemed to care and wanted nothing in return. His protectiveness and kindness were the reasons she was starting to develop feelings for him as well. Perhaps one time they would be able to talk to each other about those feelings. That time would have to wait however. Chris came out of the room and gestured to her to follow him. As she did, Jess quickly came behind him and looked her straight in the face. For once, she didn't look angry to Faith. The woman always seemed pissed about something. But this time, her expression was neutral as if she was acknowledging Faith's existence. They all walked back to where Chris' friends had been mingling with each other, waiting for him to return. He got their attention.
"Hey guys, sorry about the wait. So anyways, getting back to what we were discussing before. Are you guys alright with Faith joining our squad?"
Hurk and Sharky quickly approved. Not only did they have their little crush on Faith but they had also always revered the deputy ever since they teamed up with him.
Nick spoke up next. "Well she hasn't done anything bad to my family so if you think its ok man, I'm with you."
Chris' eyes went to Grace. "I don't agree with the decision because she's still a Seed. However, if there's anyone I can trust with decision making, its you deputy. So I suppose I can give her this one chance."
Chris nodded and shifted his gaze to Jess. But he already knew the answer and all she gave was a silent nod. Chris smiled at everyone's approval.
"Thanks everyone! Appreciate the support. As for planning, we're gonna move our operations to Falls End. I think it will be a lot quieter there, more protected, and we have housing and food there. So I'll meet you all there."
As everyone was leaving, he turned back to Grace. "Grace, did you get a hold of the sheriff?"
"Yeah, he said he's on his way here but he said to call him asap."
"Got it. See you at Falls End soon."
Chris took out his radio and set it to the frequency he had used to get in touch with the sheriff in the past.
"Sheriff, you there? Its Chris." There was a cackling as Whitehorse quickly replied.
"Looks like the cat is out of the bag eh Rook?" Chris could only mutter only a 'yeah' before Whitehorse continued. "I was at the jail and everyone saw what went on the tv. The Cougars were poised but Tracey was absolutely livid. I'm glad I got out of there before anyone asked me about you."
Chris sighed. The bridge had been burned. It was the main reason he wanted to move everyone to Fall's End. He knew this would happen eventually. Holland Valley was probably the only place he'd be welcomed. The Whitetails were suspicious of him ever since Eli died. Now with the word out, there was no doubt that the Cougars and Whitetails would team up to hunt him down, at least in their own territories.
"Rook?" Chris was jarred out of his thoughts.
"Sheriff, we're going to Fall's End. Probably the safest area right now. We can plan for Joseph there, get it done, and get the hell out before this shit becomes a bigger issue."
"Good idea Rook. I'm gonna contact Hudson and Pratt to meet us there as well. Hopefully we can wrap up all this nonsense up quickly. See you soon Rook."
With the conversation finished, Chris turned to Faith. "You ready to go?" She nodded and they made their way to the truck. They were the last to leave of course. It would be a long drive so after a few minutes on the road, Chris spoke up.
"Hey, I never thanked you for what you did back there." Faith turned away from him to hide her blush.
"It was nothing. I just wanted to show that I could be helpful."
Chris cast a glance in her direction. "Well, you really saved my ass. Plus, you impressed everyone, even Jess." Jess, this gave Faith the opportunity to ask about her.
"About Jess, you guys seem to be really close. What's the story behind that?" Chris facepalmed mentally. Of course she would ask about Jess. She probably thinks we're an item or something.
"What I'm about to tell you stays between us got it?" He glanced over to see Faith nod so he could continue. "I met Jess way back at the beginning of all this. I wasn't sure where to go from Dutch's bunker. He mentioned that his niece might have been captured at the lumber mill up by the mountains. Who could have ever guessed that Jess was his niece? Anyways, I managed to free her with the help of some locals. She immediately asked me to come with her to track down a cult lieutenant named The Cook. Along the way, we saved some hostages from a few of his camps. We had a few close calls because she wanted to do things quiet with her bow but I wasn't really good at being stealthy at the time. Regardless, throughout this entire journey, she told me a story about some kids who were tortured with their parents by The Cook. With how much detail there was, I knew she was one of the kids but I kept quiet. We finally caught up with him and, oh man, we….I raised some hell. I used almost every explosive I had to take out his men. I managed to shoot his fuel tank and he barely survived the explosion. I let Jess finish him off. She gave him a few angry words to let him know it was before she put an arrow into his brain. Afterward, she thanked me for all my help. She said to give her a call if I ever needed help. After seeing her skill with the bow, I didn't even let her walk away. I asked right then and there if she wanted to come along. We've been together ever since. Liberating outposts, destroying convoys, killing John, helping me steady myself with all of Jacob's shit, then…"
He paused knowing where the next part led. "I'm sure you noticed that we always traveled together. She got really angry when you kidnapped me for those 'talks'. 'If I ever get that bitch Faith in my hands, I'm shoving a arrow into her throat' he did his best Jess interpretation.
"She was with me when we came across those messages. Obviously, she didn't give a shit like I did. I guess she always assumed that I shared her hatred of you like I did with John and Jacob. Anyways, that's about it."
Faith nodded in understanding. If she hadn't overheard Chris before, she would have assumed that they were a couple. With Faith's questions answered, it was Chris' turn. "Since we're on the subject of the past, how were things when I was running around?" Faith had to think for a bit and Chris assumed it was hesitation. "Its alright if you don't want to talk about it. I probably caused a lot of grief for you, destroying everything. I'm sure you never would have expected now as the result." He gave a small smirk to lighten the mood.
"Well everything was going well until you showed up." She sighed. Faith didn't want to sound resentful but..
"Go on, its fine." He reassured her.
"We received trickling reports about what was going on in the valley when you were there. News became worse and worse until we got word that you had killed John and destroyed his gate. We were informed that you were most likely going to head for Jacob next. I was told to ramp up bliss production tenfold and Jacob was told to 'go all out'. Then that whole mess happened and next thing you know, we get a report that you had also killed Jacob. I was told I was the last line of defense. Told to resort to any and all measures to stop you. My soldiers were frightened. With how fast you tore through everything plus the rumors of what Jacob had done to you meant that only my most zealous people and angels were willing to take you on. Everyone else wanted to stay in the bunker or be assigned to a safe bliss production area. All the pressure was on me. I was told to kill you any chance I got. But as you well know, I didn't do that. I instead tried talking to you. Like many others in the past, perhaps I could convince you to join us rather than fight us. I knew it was a slim chance. You kept going, but I clung on to the hope. Some of my followers disagreed and I'm sure one of them told Joseph that I wasn't trying to kill you. He didn't take any action until after you destroyed the statue and burned the book."
She paused for a moment. "You heard my fear about that didn't you? There was a reason. He summoned me, looked me straight in the face, and told me that if I didn't deal with you, he would replace me with someone who could. The message was clear. Either I die or you died. So that was the reason I did what I did." Faith stopped and looked out the window. She regretted her actions that led to the deaths of the marshal and mayor Virgil but at the time it was kill or be killed.
She continued. "Didn't stop you, knew it wouldn't. So I prepared myself for the end. I told you what I did because I thought it would be my only chance to say it. Like you said, the rest is history." The last few lines were laced with sadness as she continued looking out the window.
"I don't blame you for anything." Chris spoke up quickly. "We both did what we needed to do. I appreciate that you didn't try to kill me until you were absolutely forced to. It makes me more certain that I made the right choice. I…" he was getting embarrassed. "…. I'm glad that things ended up working as they did."
Faith turned back towards him and noticed the feeling on his face. "I'm glad things worked out too. Not just because I'm alive, but that I was able to meet someone who truly cared. I haven't had a true friend like that in a while….no, never. Someone like you, you are definitely one of a kind. Thank you, Chris."
There was a long period of silence. Chris and Faith were looking away from each other, trying to hide the redness on their faces from the other. Luckily for them, they were almost at their destination. "Hey, before we get there and get in this meeting…. just do your best in telling everyone what you know ok?" They seem to be willing to listen. Just tell them what you know and I'll come in to take all the pressure off you." He gave her a big grin.
She returned his smile with a bigger one. "Got it."