Chapter 13: Snakes in the Garden
Chris had another peaceful sleep. Even with a body laying on top of him, he felt this is one of the best nights of sleep he had ever gotten since this whole thing began. Even the weather seemed to agree as the sun shone brightly through the window. Faith was still sound asleep. As much as Chris didn't want to wake her, he needed to get up.
"Hey, sunshine," he poked her "rise and shine." Faith groaned as she shifted about.
"Five more minutes Chris? Pretty please?"
Chris smiled down at her. "Alright, but no more than that." He started thinking to himself while he waiting on Faith. The showdown with Joseph was fast approaching. Chris wondered if he should even let Joseph speak or just shoot him on sight. But then he figured that he might as well give him one last chance on the minimal gamble that he realized that everything was lost. Suddenly the radio that was on the nearby table cackled to life.
"Chris? Chris, you there? Wake your ass up! Looks like the peggies finally made a move. Respond ASAP!"
Jess' call seemed to stir Faith back awake. "Chris, did something happen? Wasn't that Jess?" She finally got up to let Chris move and reach for the radio.
"Yeah, it was." He then spoke into the radio. "Hey Jess, got your message. So you finally spotted a group huh? I'm surprised you didn't just take them all out by yourself."
"It's a fairly large group and I wanna make sure not a single one of those fuckers escape. I know you're more than capable."
"How many are there?"
"I've counted at least ten at one point."
Chris paused for a moment. "Nick didn't radio in anything about seeing anyone. How the hell did a group that large sneak in?"
"I think they came during the night. Explains how they took over Gardenview so easily. It must have taken them a bit to clear out all the bodies."
"Shit…well at least we'll have the surrounding woods to launch our operation from and nail their asses."
'Exactly, when can you be here? I'm here scoping them out."
"I'll leave in a few minutes. Be there soon." Chris put the radio down and was about to rise to get his guns when a voice stopped him.
"So you're leaving now?" Faith asked.
"It looks like Joseph finally made a move. I'm going to go back up Jess and clear out Gardenview. You should be safe here while I'm gone. You have Jerome or Mary nearby if you need anything and I doubt the peggies will penetrate this far."
Faith stood up. "I'm coming with you." She said firmly.
Chris stood up too, his face in shock. "Absolutely not! We're about to be going into actual combat. I know you've been practicing but this is the real thing."
Faith remained unfazed. "Chris, if this isn't an opportunity, I don't know what is. I need to show you that I can be by you without being a burden. Besides…." She gave him a stern look. "Didn't we say something about us always being together?"
Chris recalled the events of last night. "Yeah but…." He scratched the back of his head. "I could never forgive myself if something bad happened to you. I have no idea what to expect out there when the bullets come flying."
Faith walked up to him and put a hand on his chest. "You know what I think? I'll have no fear of anything happening because you'll be there. I know my badass deputy will protect me." She gave him her famous smile.
Chris couldn't help but blush. Damn it! Why did she have to be so convincing with her words and her looks? He had one last excuse. "What about Jess? You know how she is and she'll be furious if you show up."
Faith removed her hand from Chris' chest but kept her smile. "I need to prove myself to her too. You guys have fought through thick and thin right? I gotta show that I can be trusted."
Chris sighed, out of excuses. "Alright, you can come. But you gotta listen to me while we're there."
Faith's smile grew even wider. "You got it boss!"
Chris fetched the two weapons to have silencers on them, his sniper rifle and his Vector SMG. Faith would only have her 1911 which wasn't silenced but Chris hoped it wouldn't be necessary. After making sure they were stocked up on ammo, they hopped in the truck and headed out. During the trip, Chris glanced at Faith a few times to see if she was nervous. But every time he looked; she gave him that cute smile. If she was nervous, she didn't show it. Chris stopped some distance before the fork in the road that led to Gardenview. He unloaded the weapons and had Faith follow him into the woods. They soon encountered their contact. Jess was crouched, silently watching the outpost. She noticed Chris coming up to her but also immediately spotted Faith behind him.
"What the fuck is she doing here?" Jess snapped.
Chris calmly took a position next to her, scanning the outpost. "Calm down Jess. She wanted to come. She can act as our support."
Jess glared at him. "She is gonna get us spotted!"
Chris turned to Jess. "Look, how do you wanna do this?"
"From what I've seen they're pretty spread out, with some loading food crates and the others just wandering about. We gotta get in close and take them out one at a time and make sure none of them escape."
Chris nodded. "Alright, here's the plan. Me and you are gonna go down there and do our thing. Faith will monitor things up here." Before Faith could protest, Chris quickly turned to her. "Look, I know you want to help, but Jess is right. Bringing you down there would be a risk especially to your safety. Now, I need you to promise me something. If something happens to us, you will run back to the truck and head for Fall's End. Go to Pastor Jerome and tell him to proceed with the attack. He'll at least be able to keep you safe."
"But…"
"Faith….I'm not risking you getting killed. You're too important to me. So, do you promise to do as I've asked?"
Faith had tears in her eyes. "Yes Chris."
He gave her a kiss on the forehead as he slipped her the keys. "I love you."
Jess was witnessing everything and growing impatient. "You ready?"
"Let's go." They then started to make their way towards the outpost. Faith watched them descend the hill slowly. She was upset that Chris had left her behind. But she also understood his reasoning and knew he had a good heart behind it and only wanted to keep her out of harms way. She hoped she would not have to make the decision to leave him.
Chris and Jess did not have any trouble at all. They had done this countless times in the past. As Jess had stated, a few of the cultists were loading food boxes into a moving truck while the rest of them where scattered about the outpost. They were mostly isolated from each other which made them easy pickings. Either they got their neck broken by Chris silently sneaking up from behind or got an arrow in their throat from Jess. The ones loading the boxes were so busy that they never noticed that all their comrades had disappeared and that they were the only ones left. Chris and Jess took out them both with a burst of from the vector and an arrow shot respectively. It was another successful outpost victory. They soon met out in the open.
"Hey, I'm going to check the building by the road, make sure we didn't miss anything."
Jess waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, alright. I'm going to check the bodies to see if one of them has a lighter. I need a new one."
They then separated.