Chapter 10: Angel or Siren?

Chris and Faith were out for so long that Chris finally noticed the sun was going down as they were running low on ammo. "Hey, why don't we call it a day and get some food?"

Faith agreed. She only just noticed that she was getting hungry. On the way to the bar, Chris evaluated Faith's progress in his mind. She did pretty well for not having any experience holding a gun. But its easy to shoot at a target that's stationary and doesn't fire back. Even though Chris had acquiesced to Faith coming along with him to get Joseph, he hoped she would see reason and stay behind. That place was going to be a warzone and the last thing he wanted was to have Faith in any danger. There were a few people at the bar when they arrived, mostly regulars from town. Mary May talked Chris' ear off about the upcoming operation and ignored Faith besides giving her the food she ordered. On the way out, Faith spoke up.

"So where are we staying?"

Chris gave her a smirk. "Luckily for me, one of the houses that was abandoned has no damage to it so I've been using that when I've been in the area."

They moved their truck to the place that Chris mentioned. The place was a one-story home, but it seemed much bigger than the cabin they had been at previously.

"Go in and get settled. I'm gonna unload supplies. There's only one bedroom so its yours of course." Chris figured he would do and ammo count and inspect the guns. He would need to figure out what he would be bringing to the final showdown.

Faith was appreciative of Chris being a gentleman. She found the bedroom to be much larger than the previous one and it even had a closet. Even better was the fact that they were now in a much safer location so maybe she could sleep easier. After bringing what little she had in, she rummaged through the closet. It appeared that young couple had lived here at one point. There were men's clothes at one end and women's clothes at the other end. Examining the women's clothes, Faith came up with an idea. It was time for her to adapt.

Chris was sitting on the couch inspecting the ammo when he heard something. It sounded like singing…very beautiful singing. It wasn't coming from the outside but seemed to come from Faith's room. Chris went to investigate and his mouth dropped in shock. To date, he only knew two kinds of Faith Seed. There was the one who wore his infamous white dress that had been a menace to the region for years. Then there was the one who had donned a hoodie to hide herself from those who were hostile to her. A third version was now visible. Faith was singing a song that Chris felt like he had heard before in his travels. She was looking out the window. Her long, brown hair was on full display. She sported a fresh pair of blue jeans. She wore a black shirt that stopped right above her stomach which was in full view. Chris was also familiar with this look as he had seen some of the resistance fighters in Holland Valley sport this look. Chris just watched and listened to her sing. He was sure that she knew he was there. Only after she was finished singing did she turn to look at him. She had the widest smile on her face. The sun was also close to going down but its light still showed in the background, making her radiant. She looked like an angel…no… a siren.

"Faith 'Siren' Seed" was all Chris could whisper.

She didn't hear him or she ignored it. "Chris? Did you need something?"

She kept her smile as she closed the distance between them. Chris couldn't shake the feeling that this was all planned. She had lured him in. Was this a master plan to fake everything, get him to lower his guard completely and kill him? Chris despaired at the thought. Faith must have noticed his face being filled with worry.

"Is something wrong?"

Chris snapped out of his thoughts. "N-no nothing's wrong. I just heard singing and came to see who was doing it. I shouldn't be surprised that you were singing such a beautiful song."

"Thank you." She walked back towards the window.

"When I saw the sunset, I just thought of everything that has led to this point. I feel genuinely happy for the first time in a long time. It made me want to sing. Even the fact that it's a sad song from the cult didn't stop me."

That's where he heard it. The song she sang sometimes played on the radio. The women who sang it was pretty good. For some reason Chris had always felt drawn to that song. Faith had taken it to a whole new level. "I've heard it before on the radio."

"Oh? I'm surprised you even listened to it at the time. What did you think of it?" She moved next to Chris again.

"It was one of the only cult songs I liked. It was a tragic song but I always found it comforting for some reason." Chris was getting nervous. "Hearing you sing it; I think it's the perfect song for you." He hoped that didn't offend her.

"How so?"

"Well, now whenever I hear it; the song will make me think of you."

The big smile came back to Faith's face. "I'm really happy to hear that Chris." Her face was now inches from his. Was she going for it? Should he go for it?

"You truly are a siren" was all he managed to say. There was movement. There was not kiss but Faith laid her head on his chest near his shoulder. They embraced, the kind of embrace that a young couple in love would do. It seemed to last an eternity, but they both wanted to bask in it as long as possible. They finally separated at the same time as if they were in synch.

"I'll be on the couch if you need anything. Goodnight Faith."

"Goodnight Chris."

Faith still had that smile on her face. Chris had that 'feeling' in his chest.