Chapter 11: Change
Chris slept peacefully. He was worried that with the conditioning rearing its head that his nightmares would become more frequent. But the only thing in his head was Faith. Her long hair, those piercing blue eyes, her smile, everything. To him, she seemed too good to be real. Chris had gone from trying to kill her to absolutely being in love with her. How things changed. Chris was suddenly awoken by a loud noise. A few moments later, it happened again. Gunshots. Chris rushed to Faith's room and found it empty. Panic set in. He grabbed his LMG and headed outside. It sounded like the one who kidnapped Faith was in a shootout behind the house. Chris was ready to fire at a moments notice as he ran onto a field. He then noticed a lone figure. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the figure was indeed armed but didn't seem to be dressed like a cultist. As he got closer, he saw the figure was facing away from him, shooting at a wooden target. They had a green hood cover. It couldn't be Jess, she never used guns. That could only mean….
"Faith?" The figure turned around.
"Good morning Chris!" she said with a beaming smile as she lowered her hood. She then noticed that he had a gun and her smile faded. "Is something wrong?"
Chris stared at her for a few moments in disbelief before responding. "Yeah, I got woken up by gunshots, saw you gone from your room, and feared for the worst."
Faith walked over to him with her smile back on her face. "Sorry about that. I was going to let you know but you looked like you were sleeping so peacefully. You even had a smile on your face."
Faith giggled as Chris grew red. She continued, "I didn't want to wake you. I put on this hoodie so people wouldn't recognize me. Just wanted to get some early morning practice in." She playfully tapped Chris on the arm. "But it looks like the practice woke up the big bad deputy from his peaceful slumber." She tried to stifle a laugh.
Chris sighed. It was impossible to get mad at her. Even when her actions caused his deepest fears to come out. "Well, just be more careful next time. Someone else could've came besides me and given you problems. You know I worry about you."
Faith hugged his arm. "Oh, I know. You're very protective. But that's why I'm getting this practice in so you don't need to worry."
Chris patted her back with a smile. "Alright, just be smart."
Faith nodded. "So what are the plans for today?"
"Not much at the moment. I'm going to check in with Jess, see if she has any intel for us while she's been going around. I'm probably going to head over to Nick Rye's place to see if he can do some aerial scouting, make sure Joseph or even the other regions aren't moving in on us before we strike."
"Mmhmm, I have an idea for something once you take care of all that."
Chris looked at her with confusion. "What idea?"
"I'll tell you later. I will say it will be very beneficial." She teased. "I'm guessing you left your radio back at the house. I'm almost done here. I'll meet you back home."
Chris started his walk back while Faith resumed shooting at her wooden target. Her plan was proceeding smoothly. Yesterday went almost perfectly. Everything would culminate today.
Chris searched around for the radio. His mind was preoccupied with how Faith had been acting recently. She was no longer shy and fearful. Faith was acting like her old self in a way, flirtatious, innocent, confident. He wondered what the reason was. Could see be reverting to her cult self now that she's safe or was this something new? Chris shifted his thoughts as he finally found the radio and turned it on.
"Hey Jess, you there?"
A brief silence. "What's up Chris?"
He hoped he wasn't interrupting anything. "Just checking in on you. How are things?"
"Boring as fuck. The peggies seem to be really trying hard to hide themselves. I only have managed to kill two and that was because they got lost from their groups. Other than that, its been a whole fuck-ton of nothing."
Must be the scouting parties. "Hey, I need a favor from you. I need you to keep an eye on the entryways to Holland Valley and see if any Whitetails or Cougars try to pass over here."
Jess let out a snort. "You think they're that pissed off because you've been holding the flower girl alive?"
"We can't be too careful. Whitehorse said they were livid at the jail. I'm sure with Tracey in charge now they will go on the warpath and convince the Whitetails to join them as well. I'm gonna have Nick help you out from the air but you'll be the main eyes and ears on the ground."
Jess was silent for a few seconds like she was thinking "Chris, you know damn well that I only kill peggies. If I see anyone else, I'm going to let them through with no issue."
Chris let out a sigh. "Fine, could you at least let us know if you see them at least?"
Jess laughed. "I'm just fucking with you Chris! Geez! I'll put an arrow in anyone who wants to harm you, peggy or not."
Chris couldn't help but smile to himself. "Love ya Jess. Appreciate it. I'll talk to you later. Chris out."
The sound of a door closing meant that Faith had just returned. Chris moved to greet her.
"So how do you think you did with target practice?"
She smiled. "I practiced both shooting while standing and also while crouched. I think I'm pretty set at least with shooting a stationary target with a pistol."
Chris nodded in satisfaction. "I'll let you try out other stuff in time but for now I think this is a good start for you. You ready for a little trip?"
Faith went to grab more ammo for the pistol. "Where are we going?"
Chris eyed her. "We're just going to Nick's house. Do you really need that ammo?"
"I just want to be prepared. For all we know, Joseph may send a group after Nick to help his chances."
"Fair point." He appreciated the fact that she thought about his friends and not just self-defense. "Shall we?" Chris went and tossed his LMG in the back of the truck, taking heed of Faith's words. Then they were off.
The ride was uneventful. Chris remembered that back in the day, he would always have to watch for cult patrols as well as rescue civilians who were being harassed on the side of the road. Those times seemed like a lifetime ago. Now the roads were mostly empty except for the occasional civilian's vehicle and resistance patrol. When they got to Nick's, they parked outside the house. Chris hoped that things wouldn't be awkward with him having Faith with him but he felt that they would need to cope. Knocking on the door, he heard some movement before Nick opened the door.
"Chris! How ya doing buddy?" He had a big smile on his face.
"Doing well. May we come in?" that alerted Nick to the presence of Faith behind Chris. He dropped his smile but nodded for them to come inside. While Nick shouted for Kim to come downstairs, Chris and Faith took a seat on the shorter couch. When Kim came down, she had the same reaction as Nick; smiles for Chris, a look of trepidation for Faith. It was an expected reaction.
"So, what brings you here?' Nick asked as he and Kim sat on the longer couch.
"I actually came to ask for a favor. Would you be able to do a fly-by and check on if there's any movement coming from the other regions? I wanna be sure we keep an eye on the peggies but also the Whitetails and Cougars in case they try something."
Nick nodded. "You got it man."
"You don't need to do it today. Just do it before we move in so we're aware of what we'll be going up against."
"You got it."
"Thanks." There was a silence before Nick spoke up again.
"So, uh, what are you planning to do when this is all over?"
"We'll probably head to Colorado to visit my cousin. Been meaning to do that before this whole mess started." Chris made it a point to emphasize 'we'.
Nick turned to look at Faith. "You're going with him?"
"I do not have a place here after what has happened. Chris has helped me so I feel good about traveling with him."
It was Kim's turn to speak up. "Faith…." They turned to look at each other with solemn expressions.
"Do you have any regret for all that you've done in the past?"
Unlike past instances, Faith did not look away when answering. "I do regret what I've done. My biggest crime was being weak to where Joseph was able to get me to believe in him. Make no mistake, I was very grateful to him for giving me a purpose and a place of belonging. So much so that I was able to do the terrible things I did and feel happy. I truly thought that everything I did was for the greater good of Joseph's vision. I was even willing to die for him because at the time, I saw no alternative."
She looked at Chris and gave a slight smile. "But Chris showed me that there was another path. Joseph's path would eventually lead to a dead end, literally. I was only cared about as long as I was devoted. Joseph had his ways to ensure 'compliance' if there was any hint of straying. But I'm here now, alive. Its time for me to fight for myself and those I care about. I will make up for what I've done because of Chris and I won't be a burden."
Kim smiled slightly. "Well I hope you find the better life you are seeking. I think sticking with Chris will be good for you. It seems that everyone he helps benefits greatly including us."
Faith smiled back. "Thank you."
Chris suddenly spoke up. "Thanks for having us. We should probably be heading home."
They all got up and Chris and Nick shook hands. Chris let Faith go out first then turned back and whispered, "Thank you for giving her a chance." Then he left to catch up with her.
After closing the door, Nick looked at Kim with a serious expression. "Did you notice she was carrying a gun?"
"Yeah, I did. Seems strange for her."
You think she'll try something?"
Kim shook her head. "I can't believe I'm saying this but I think she's telling the truth. She really wants to help. I also get the feeling that she is madly in love with Chris so much that she'll go into any danger with him.'
Nick was in shock. "Really? Well I guess if she changed for anyone, it would be for Chris."
A cry was heard upstairs. The Ryes went to go attend to their baby Carmina. But both their minds were in thought about Faith's words and tone. They were believers in her change.
The ride home was much different than the ride to Nick's house. Chris was quick to speak up.
"I don't think you were weak."
Faith looked at him with a bit of surprise. "What would you call it then? I let him convince me to do all the horrible things and believed in his cause."
Chris kept his eyes on the road. "He took advantage of you at your lowest point. Of course you would be grateful for him bringing you up from the bottom. That allowed him to convince you to do everything you did. You weren't weak, you were vulnerable. What you're doing now proves as much. All of us have our times of vulnerability…" His last sentence seemed to trail off.
Faith pondered his words and came to a realization. "This is about Jacob, isn't it?"
He cast her a brief glance. "He always talked about the strong and the weak, the need to sacrifice the weak. That bastard only created vulnerability and exploited it for his own damn gain."
Faith could sense the hate in his tone. "Jacob was skeptical when Joseph took me in. I don't think he or John truly accepted me, at least when not in front of Joseph."
"Just one more reason why the world was made better with his death."
Faith could sense that Chris had not let go of the past. Even with Jacob's death, his conditioning still lingered within Chris and was a constant reminder of what he did. Faith was not the only one that needed to shed an ugly past. She hoped that her plan would finally give him peace of mind.