In Hope County, the sun began to rise over the beautiful mountain valley engulfing everything in its bright morning light. Sunrises were a really beautiful thing in Hope County people would sometimes wanna get up early and watch as it rose, but not anymore, the sunrise meant that now it was time to get up.
In Hunter's room, Hunter and Carmina slept soundly together. Last night was filled with the quietness of sleep for the teens. As the sun started to rise over Prosperity, Hunter's eyes slowly fluttered open to see Carmina laying beside him with her hand still holding Hunter's close to her. Hunter carefully sat up being careful not to wake his girlfriend and looked at her, smiling a little.
"She looks so pretty when she's sleeping," Hunter thought to himself as he slowly started moving his hand along her head, gently stroking her long brown hair.
As he watched Carmina lay quietly asleep beside him memories from last night suddenly filled his head. The memories mainly consisted of mainly Carmina coming into his room, how she was upset that he lied to her, how he told her he was afraid of her thinking less of him, how they reconciled and he promised never to lie to her again. That was a promise he wanted nothing more to keep, after all, Carmina was his best friend and the woman he loved unconditionally. However, there was one secret that Hunter has been keeping from her and everyone else for pretty much everyone in Prosperity, except for Jerome, the truth about his identity.
Everyone believed that Hunter's mom was a woman that entrusted her son with Jerome before she disappeared. Part of that was true, but Jerome knew far more than just what he or Hunter had told them. The whole truth was that he was the son of the Junior Deputy Jake Rook and the Huntress Jess Black.
Jerome never told anyone because he promised Jess he wouldn't, and Hunter had his own reasons why he never told anyone the truth. One; It was because it never mattered to him. And two; Because he was afraid that people would look at him differently, he didn't want to be seen differently than who he was and didn't want to be treated like the hero his dad was to them. After all, Marcus is more of the hero in this story. Hunter doesn't want to be the hero, all he wants is to protect his home and the people he holds close.
Hunter looked up at his desk seeing his knife sitting on it, the same knife that belonged to his mom. He carefully freed his hand from Carmina's grip, then carefully got up and tip-toed his way over to his desk. When he got there he picked up the knife, unsheathed it, and looked at it, reflecting on his identity, Hunter Rook. Hunter wanted to be honest with Carmina about himself, but he wasn't sure if he could, but sooner or later the truth will come out whether he likes it or not, and the longer he hides it from her then the more likely he'll destroy their relationship, he didn't want that.
Thinking it over for a minute, Hunter decided to tell Carmina the truth about himself, but only when the time is right, and now isn't that time.
Suddenly Hunter heard a sleepful groan behind him, he quickly turned to see it was Carmina awake with her sleep written eyes on Hunter. "Oh-I...I'm sorry d-did I wake you?" Hunter asked, stuttering.
Carmina rubbed her eyes then got a better look at Hunter, before giggling a little at him. "No, I woke up on my own,"
"Oh," Hunter replied, putting his knife back on the table then went back over to her taking a seat on the edge of his bed smiling at her, Carmina returned with the same smile.
"Good morning," Hunter said softly, planting a kiss on Carmina's forehead.
"Good morning to you too," Carmina replied chuckling as she sat herself up.
"So...how'd you sleep last night?" Hunter asked.
"I slept great actually, with you," Carmina said, she placed a hand on Hunter's cheek, then kissed Hunter on the lips for a few seconds then pulled back. Hunter looked out his window seeing the sunrise, then he quickly turned back to Carmina.
"Hey, you should probably go get dressed, we're gonna have a lot to do today and I need to get ready too," Hunter explained. "Also if your parents see you in here with me like then this then they'll probably kill us,"
"Okay," Carmina nodded in understanding, she wanted to spend a little more time with Hunter, but duty calls. She removed the bedsheet from over then proceeded to get up and walk to the door out, but she stopped at the door and turned to look back at Hunter. "Hey…"
"What?"
"Thanks for letting me stay with you last night," Carmina thanked.
"Um...anytime," Hunter replied.
Carmina smiled then opened the door and walked out, closing the door behind her, leaving Hunter alone in his room. With Carmina gone Hunter got into some fresh clothes for the day, he kept on his shirt from yesterday but put on a black hoodie over it, then put on a fresh pair of blue jeans, and his usual hunting boots. After that Hunter picked up his knife then strapped it to his right thigh, grabbed his pistol then put on his quiver, and picked up his bow.
With all of his equipment in check, Hunter exited his room, as he did he saw Carmina coming out of hers wearing her usual beanie on her head, she had on a simple red sweater with her favorite vest over it, a pair of black jeans on her legs, and a pair of her boots on her feet. Just then she saw Hunter coming out of his room so she walked over to him. The two walked together to the command center to meet the others. There would be much to discuss today.
In the main building of Prosperity, the members stood idle talking amongst themselves as they waited for Rush to arrive so they could begin the meeting. The Judge and Ellie were among the members, Ellie was currently talking with Carmina and Hunter while the Judge remained distant from them, just sitting on the couch watching the group talk amongst themselves.
As the Judge sat quietly on the couch something caught his eye, a book sitting on a shelf next to the couch. He reached out grabbing it, looked at the cover, "Rye Album" was written on it. He opened it up to see pictures from before the collapse. Some of them he recognized, but some he didn't. The Ryes had the idea of taking pictures so they could remember those days, though nobody wanted to remember the war it was still good to remember the bonds that have been made during those times.
The Judge flipped from page to page until he stopped on a page that showed an all too familiar photo. It was a photo of the Junior Deputy, Jake Rook, and his girlfriend, Jess Black. Along with many of his friends with him. When that photo was taken, all three regions were liberated and the resistance was near victory, it was just a few days before the collapse. His eyes were mainly directed to Jess in the photo, he gently moves his fingers on the part of her on it. As he does a single tear leaks from his eye inside his mask.
"Jess...I'm...sorry," The Judge whispered as quietly as he could so nobody could hear him.
A few moments later, the photo album was snatched out of his hands, he quickly shot up from the couch and turned to see that Nick Rye was the one who did it. "Keep your bloody hands off this you fuckin' psycho,"
The Judge said nothing and just stared.
"This is meant for the eyes of my family and our friends, not for the likes of you, or your religious fanatics, and especially not your insane father!" Nick spat.
Carmina heard the familiar voice of her father but raised significantly. She saw that he was yelling at the Judge, her dad holding their priceless photo album. Not wanting a fight to break out, she went up to them.
"Whoa, Dad, calm down," Carmina said, pushing Nick away from the Judge. "He's our guest and we can't be so hostile to people we agreed to take in." She paused to look at both the Judge and Ellie, before continuing. "If we're gonna work together against the Highwaymen, we can't be at each other's throats."
Nick was internally amazed at his daughter's wisdom but was filled with too much pride to let go of his anger entirely. He only sighed and put the album back where the Judge found it and walked away.
It was Carmina's turn to sigh, embarrassed by her father's behavior towards her new ally. "I'm sorry about that," she apologized to Joseph's right-hand man.
The Judge let out a single grunt, placing his fist on his chest, and lowering his head for a second. Carmina smiled and nodded at the Judge's gesture.
Just then Rush came in and clapped his hands, silencing everyone in the room. They all turned to see that Rush had arrived. "Alright, everyone. I'm here now, let's get started."
With Rush here now, everyone gathered around the table to talk about their plans to fight back against the Twins.
"Okay everyone, I hope you all slept well last night because today we have much to do," Rush informed everyone.
"Rush is right." Kim agreed. "The Highwaymen's attack on Prosperity has left our community with a lot of damage, we've managed to repair some of it but since we're short-handed from the attack, our people are gonna have to start working around the clock to get the repairs done faster,"
Jerome shook his head. "Even if we work our hardest, it'll still take a lot of time to get back to full strength."
Sharky was next to speak. "Well...If we're buddies with New Eden now, why don't we get them to help us rebuild?"
Many members of Prosperity were visibly taken aback by Sharky's suggestion. While it could logically be beneficial to Prosperity, many people including Nick, Kim, and Jerome did not even need to speak to express their dissatisfaction with the thought of more New Edeners coming to their home. Some already weren't comfortable with having a Chosen and Joseph's dog walking around, and certainly didn't want more walking around.
"That's…actually a good idea, the more the merrier," Hunter agreed, supporting Sharky's suggestion.
"Yeah, Joseph may be willing to spare some of his people to assist in repairing our defenses." Carmina agreed.
"I think we've got enough peggies in our home," Nick said, not caring what anyone else thought.
Before anyone else could respond, Kim said her piece. "To be honest, I agree with Nick. A lot of people here are already on edge with this whole truce with New Eden. It would probably be best to keep the number of people from there to a minimum around here."
Then Marcus added his opinion. "While having more workers to help us rebuild would be good, Joseph needs all of his people to fight against the Highwaymen to give us the advantage we need."
"Marcus, we should at least ask them, after all, they've agreed to help us," Hunter argued.
Deciding to ask somebody who would be able to help with this argument, Carmina turns to Ellie, "Hey Ellie,"
"What?" Ellie replied, turning to the Rye.
"Do you think it's possible that at least some of your people can help us rebuild Prosperity?" Carmina asked her new friend.
"Most likely," Ellie supposed. "Even if all our Chosen are fighting the locusts, New Eden should have some people that they could spare."
Upon hearing that, Carmina felt hope fill her and many of the other people in the room. However, many others were hoping that the New Edeners were not available to help them out.
"If you're gonna go to those hippies for help, then take this psycho with you," Gina told Ellie, crossing her arms referring to the Judge. "I've seen this guy take out a Highwaymen captain twice his size like it was nothing, then he massacred at least a dozen of his men. The less time he's around the kids here, the better in my opinion."
The Judge could feel the hostility in Gina's words. He could understand why she felt that way, though. He's killed more Highwaymen than he could count, and he didn't exactly look friendly. If only she knew how unstable he was on the inside.
"If I were in charge, I wouldn't let this creep inside our walls. I bet he can't feel human emotions like love," Gina accused. "I'm sure the only thing he kind of loves is that maniac of a Father he has!"
Most of the time, the Judge was calm and collected, even when killing, but Gina's words made his anger boil inside. He walked up to the former Highwaymen member with menacing intent, his fists clenched tightly.
Hunter could tell that a fight was imminent and quickly appeared between the two, stretching his hands out. "Alright, break it up!" He turned to Gina. "Gina, shut up because I'm pretty sure you're agitating him," he said, doing what he could to avoid conflict. However, Gina didn't back down, which was her way.
Before she could say anything else to add fuel to the Judge's fire, Marcus raised his hand in Gina's direction. "That's enough, Gina. Seriously," he said in a serious tone.
Then Rush entered the fray. "If we fight ourselves, the Highwaymen will kill us all for sure. This isn't the time for that. We're here to plan our next move against those assholes, and that's what we're gonna do. So let's get back to the real reasons we're here, huh?"
After taking a minute to breathe and think, both Gina and the Judge backed off and let the brains of Prosperity come up with a plan to take on the Highwaymen. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief knowing that the situation had been diffused.
With the situation diffused Kim spoke up.
"Alright, now… with the heavy casualties that the Highwaymen sustained in their attack on Prosperity, and with New Edeners attacking them in the night and now the day too, they're probably gonna have to divide their forces to counter us," Kim supposed.
"So that means the Highwayman will be vulnerable in one way or another?" Carmina asked. Kim nodded.
"I think I know of a way we can kill two birds with one stone," Marcus suggests, pointing to a location in the old Henbane River region of Hope County on the map on the table. "Bean's scouts told me about an outpost in this area, a logging camp. If we kick the Highwaymen out, we can deal a blow to them and get the materials to rebuild at the same time. Not to mention, it can give us a new place to move our people and keep tabs on the Highwaymen. What do you guys think?"
"I agree with Marcus, taking that Highwaymen outpost will make some things easier for us," Hunter supported.
"Yeah well, there's a problem with that," Rush said.
"What kind of problem?" Marcus asked.
"Well, I've been receiving reports from our scouts that the Highwaymen have been improving their defenses on their remaining outposts so they've been filling them with more experienced fighters with better training and weaponry," Rush explained.
Grace came up to the table. "I can help by designing better weapons to take them on, but we only have a few materials left. We won't have enough to take them on if this goes to shit."
"Then we go in quietly," Marcus suggested. He turns to the former sniper. "Grace, use what resources we have left to make suppressed weapons or anything that's silent." She nods at the Captain. He then turns back to the map. "Me, Hunter, and the Judge will attack the outpost and secure the materials there. Carmina, you and Ellie go back to New Eden, talk with Joseph, and ask if he has anyone he can spare to help us rebuild."
"Got it," Carmina said with a smile.
"I'll go with them," Jerome offered, grabbing his shotgun.
"Are you sure, Jerome?" Kim asked, concerned for his and Carmina's lives. She wondered how a true man of God would act in the presence of Joseph.
The pastor nodded in affirmation. "Don't worry, Kim. We'll be fine, I'll make sure of it."
Hunter went up to Jerome. "Don't do anything stupid, out there," he warned his foster father.
Jerome smiled at the young hunter. "Same with you," he countered.
Satisfied with what they've come up with over the last few minutes, Rush nods. "Alright then," he says. "Let's get to it."
Outside the two groups were getting ready to head out to their respective objectives.
Hunter grabbed a quiver of homemade arrows to take with him to the Sacred Lumber outpost. After gathering his things, he looked to see Carmina with Jerome and Ellie near the gate. He wanted to say a thing or two to his girlfriend before they separated for a while. He walked up to the Rye girl and smiled at her.
"Hey, Carmina," he greeted.
"Oh, hey Hunter," Carmina replied, turning to him.
The young man smiled at his girlfriend. He knew Carmina could handle herself, but he couldn't help but feel worried about her. This plan they had set in motion was full of uncertainties. Despite their new alliance with New Eden, he knew that nothing was certain. "I just wanted to say be careful out there," he began. "Now that we've got a new advantage over the HIghwaymen, it's probably more dangerous out there, you know?"
The Rye daughter nodded. "Yeah," she agreed. "Those masked assholes already have enough problems with New Eden, and now Joseph's told them to kick it up a notch. If the Twins find out that we've joined forces against them, there's no telling what they'll do." She paused, taking a breath.
"But I'll be careful. We all will," Carmina said as she gestured to herself, Ellie and Jerome. "If there's anyone who should be extra careful, it's you. You're gonna attack an outpost after all."
Hunter nodded. "I know, but I've got backup, two guys who can really handle themselves, not that I can't. Anyway, it should be fine. Let's just get this done so we can build up Prosperity and be prepared in case the Twins come back."
Carmina nodded in return. She leaned in to give Hunter a kiss for good luck. With both of them blushing, Carmina turned to meet with the members of her party while Hunter went back over to Marcus.
Jerome finished loading the last of his gear into his truck, where he, Carmina, and Ellie would be driving North to meet with New Eden. New Eden, descendants of the people that had caused so much pain, not just to him and not just to the Rye family, but to the whole county. Partnering with them and Joseph Seed was not the first thing he wanted to do, but he and the members of Prosperity were desperate, not in a position to be picky with who to make alliances with.
He looked over at Hunter's group. He was proud of what the young man had accomplished over the last few days. He had done what he and the other veterans from the Eden's Gate catastrophe could not. Not only secure an alliance with the people he fought against, but forgive them for what they had done. He's watched that boy grown from an infant to the deadly huntsman he is now, and he couldn't be more filled with pride. Jerome wondered if his parents would feel the same way, had they been around for as long as he had been.
His gaze drifted from Hunter to one of the newcomers to Prosperity, the Judge. That man was arguably the most feared man in all of Hope County, and he was now on their side, more or less. He didn't exactly trust the masked man with his life, but Hunter was. The man saved his pseudo-son from almost certain death when he wasn't there to do it himself. Jerome knew when to be thankful and he certainly was for the Judge being there when Hunter needed someone the most.
He left his own truck to meet with the Judge before he and the others left for the lumber yard. He saw that the masked man was checking on his own gear before leaving. He was most likely busy and did not want to be bothered, but Jerome had to get something off his chest, and he didn't know how many chances he would get to do so.
"Hey Judge," Jerome called to the Judge.
The Judge turned to Jerome, letting out a grunt.
"Mind if I talk with you in private for a second?" Jerome asked.
He nodded and followed Jerome to a spot away from the others. The Judge was a man of few words but he didn't need to say any words for Jerome to know that he was curious as to why he just brought him away from the others.
When Jerome was certain that they were alone, he spoke up. "I understand that it was you who saved Hunter from the brink of death a while ago?" He asked the masked man to which he nodded in response.
Jerome hesitated continuing his conversation with the Judge. He had been around Joseph's inner circle in the past, but none of them had the reputation for brutal murder than the man before him. Perhaps now that they were joining forces, the Judge could use those "talents" for the greater good? Only time would tell.
"Hunter told me that you risked your life to save his, which shocked pretty much everyone in Prosperity. He understood the value of that kind of secret and vouched for you and your people. He seems to trust you, but not a lot of other people around do. But until you give us a reason to not trust you, I'm going to have to believe in your desire for peace between us. So, what do you say?" He raises his hand to the Judge for a handshake. "Truce?" he offered.
The Judge looked at Jerome's hand for a few seconds. He had shaken that hand before, but that was a long time ago, a time when he had no real purpose and was fighting the inevitable. However, he knew how important this alliance was for the two factions. After some hesitation, he raised his own hand and used it to shake Jerome's, making the old pastor smile. Though Jerome couldn't see it, the Judge smiled underneath his mask.
Now that there was no baggage between the two groups, they got into their vehicles and headed out to their respective destinations, to secure Prosperity's future.
Marcus, Hunter, and the Judge arrived at the Highwaymen Outpost, "The Sacred Lumber," They parked their vehicle a suitable distance away from the outpost and continued the rest of the way on foot. They climbed up to a ledge where they could get a good view of the area, when they got there they crouched down to minimize the possibility of being detected.
Marcus pulled out his binoculars, brought them up to his eyes, using them to get a closer look at the area. As Marcus was scoping out the Outpost he noticed that the defenders were wearing stronger and more protective armor and they had better weapons compared to the other Highwaymen he and the others have fought.
"Oh shit," Marcus muttered, lowering the binoculars from his eyes.
"What is it? What did you see?" Hunter asked.
"Rush wasn't joking when he said that the highwaymen were upping the defenses on their remaining outposts. I count at least over a dozen defenders, but they're wearing stronger armor, equipped with better weapons, and I'm guessing that they're also better trained than the Highwaymen we've been fighting. There are also three alarms so if they're set off then reinforcements will come," Marcus explained.
"We're backing them into a corner, so they're being more protective over their resources," Hunter said, "This is gonna be hard,"
"How are we supposed to take that outpost with just the three of us?" Hunter questioned then a thought came to him. "Hey, Marcus can't you use those abilities that you got from New Eden? Because aren't they supposed to make you invincible?"
"They don't make me invincible, Hunter," Marcus replied. "They may make me stronger and harder to kill, but I can still die so we can't just go in there and attack recklessly."
"OK, so any ideas?" Hunter asked.
Marcus shook his head, "No, but we should stay here and scope out the place so we can find any weaknesses we can exploit, then when the time is right we attack,"
"Seems reasonable," Hunter agreed.
"OK then we'll wait," Marcus said.
With that, the group will eavesdrop on the outpost and wait until they have a plan of attack.
1 Hour later...
An hour had passed and the group had not come up with any ideas on how to take the outpost and they were growing bored from the quiet. Hunter was the one scoping out the place. Nothing interesting has happened. Just then, Hunter spotted a Highwaymen a suitable distance away from the outpost and an idea suddenly clicked into his head. "Hey, Marcus,"
"What?"
"I just had an idea," Hunter announced to the Captain and the Judge.
"Well, what is it?" Marcus asked.
Hunter handed the binoculars to Marcus and pointed to the Highwaymen he saw. Marcus looked at the Highwaymen Hunter pointed to but didn't understand where he was getting at.
"Umm, Hunter what's your plan here?" Marcus asked, confused.
"Well that Highwayman is a suitable distance away from the outpost so I could quietly sneak my way over to him and kill him," Hunter explained. "Then I could use his outfit to infiltrate the outpost and disable the alarms making things easier for us. The Highwaymen probably won't be able to figure it out till it's too late"
Marcus thought it over, while it wasn't a bad idea it was also very risky, these Highwaymen probably wouldn't be dumb enough to fall for that.
"You can't be serious, right?" Marcus asked the young man. "Sure, the Highwaymen are stupid, but they're not stupid enough to fall for something like that. What if you get caught then they kill you? I've seen what they do to prisoners."
Hunter rolls his eyes and sighs. "I can handle myself, you know that," he replies. "Besides, if something does go wrong then I know that you both have got my back," Hunter added.
Marcus sighed. "You know even we can't be everywhere at once." He paused. "I can't stop you if you truly think you can do this, just be careful. Not just for me, but for Carmina and Jerome."
"Don't worry I will," Hunter reassured them.
With the Captain's approval for him to go along with his plan, Hunter made his way down the hill and quietly approached the Highwayman, remaining crouched to minimize the sound. As soon as Hunter was close enough to the guy he quickly grabbed him and snapped his neck using all his strength then quietly put the body down on the ground. With the guy dead all that was left to do was take his armor, then use it to infiltrate the outpost. Hunter grabbed the body by the arms and dragged it with him behind some large rocks where nobody would see him as he changed into the armor. When he got there he quickly removed his gear then changed into the armor, it didn't take long surprisingly.
Hunter glanced down at the Highwaymen armor he had on, it was lighter and more flexible than he expected. These Highwaymen certainly had good armor, he'd admit that. With the armor on, Hunter picked up his radio. "Captain, are you there?" Hunter asked.
"I'm here," Marcus responded.
"I've got the armor on now, let's hope this works," Hunter hoped.
"Hunter, if it doesn't work then get the hell out of there as fast as you can," Marcus warned.
"I will, besides I don't want to have you alone dealing with Carmina if I do die," Hunter attempted to make a joke.
"Not funny Hunter," Marcus said, not amused.
"Oh...umm sorry," Hunter apologies then said. "I'm gonna infiltrate the outpost now, you both should move in closer in case I may need your help."
"Okay," Marcus replied then the radio cut off.
Hunter puts away his radio, then picks up the Highwayman's rifle and walks over to the outpost. As he walked into the outpost none of the Highwaymen seemed to pay any attention to him, so far things were looking good. All he had to do was sabotage the alarms and get out of here. Seemed easy enough.
"OK, so far so good," Hunter muttered quietly underneath his helmet.
"Hey!" A feminine voice yelled from behind him stopping him, he turned around to see a woman wearing armor similar to the set he had on standing right behind him staring at him with her arms crossed.
"Uh, uh umm, y-y-yes m-ma'am?" Hunter stuttered.
The woman walked over to him and inspected him, "Jackie, where the hell have you been?"
Hunter assumed that Jackie was the person he just killed to get his armor, but she didn't know that he was dead. So he had to play along until he disabled the alarms. "Oh I-I...was patrolling outside the outpost for any signs of scavengers, but e-everything's fine,"
"...Good, then get back to your assigned post, just because everything's been quiet since we've been assigned here doesn't mean that an attack won't come at any moment," The woman stated.
"Yes ma'am," Hunter nodded nervously.
She nodded and walked off, as soon as she was gone Hunter let out a sigh of relief. "Damn, that was close,"
As Hunter walked through the Highwaymen outpost, camouflaged, he got a first look at life for the bandits. While many of the Highwaymen, the ones that were in the more heavy armor, took their jobs seriously, some were shooting practice targets, some were just getting drunk, some were fighting with each other because there was nothing else to do. The whole time, he wondered how people can live like them, with no regrets and no morals. He thought back to right before the attack on Prosperity when Lou offered him a place among the Highwaymen. While he would never betray his loved ones like that, he did have a couple of curious thoughts about what that might be like. And now, some of his questions were answered.
The Highwaymen look like they know how to pass the time, and have fun. But Hunter could never imagine himself doing the horrible things that these psychos do pretty much every day. Pushing these thoughts aside, Hunter focused on the task at hand, he looked around and saw the first alarm close to him.
He went over to the alarm and inspected it, the alarm system didn't seem that complicated. All it took was cutting a few exposed wires and the alarm system was disabled. He quickly looked around his surroundings. Fortunately, no Highwaymen were paying any attention to him.
Hunter went over to the second one, disabling that one wasn't as hard as the first one. Things seem like they may actually work out. "Okay, two down just one more to go," Hunter muttered to himself.
The Highwaymen guarding this outpost may have better armor, weapons, and training but they weren't smart enough to notice a scavenger disguised as a Highwaymen sabotaging their alarms. However, he shouldn't underestimate these guys, after all, he's fought these guys before and they put up a decent fight against him and the captain.
Focusing on the task at hand Hunter went over to the third alarm, but before he could do anything a familiar feminine voice yelled out behind him. "Hey, Jackie!"
Hunter turned around and the female Highwayman from earlier was standing behind him, staring at him with her arms crossed.
"Umm...yes ma'am, is there something wrong?" Hunter asked, turning around to face her.
The woman took a few steps closer to him, placing her finger on his chest plate. "You bet your ass something is wrong. I ordered you to head back to your post yet you are here."
Hunter was at a loss of what to say. He wasn't exactly around Highwaymen often enough to know what to say to each other, especially in this situation. "Yeah...um...I...uh...forgot where my post was…" he trailed, stuttering as he went along.
The Highwaymen officer looked perplexed at what Hunter had said. "The fuck are you talkin' about, Jackie?" she asked. "You'd never forget something as important as this."
"Well I...uh...I-I-I...oh fuck it, this is getting me nowhere," Hunter attempted to beat her with his rifle but the woman quickly grabbed it and slammed the butt of it at Hunter's Helmet. "Ahhh"
Hunter took a few steps back, letting out a grunt of pain.
"Hands up dirtbag!" The officer spat, aiming the rifle at him, seeing that Hunter couldn't do anything he raised his arms up in surrender and got down on his knees.
"Who the fuck are you because you sure as hell aren't Jackie," She demanded to know.
Hunter scoffed and only spit in her face as she got close. Naturally, this didn't make her any less angry and she kicked Hunter in the ribs, causing him to keel over.
"Hey, dipshits! Get over here! We've got a scab who likes to play dress-up!" She called to the other HIghwaymen minding their own business. They immediately dropped what they were doing and came to their boss's position, as she made it sound much more interesting than their endless patrolling. They arrived to the sight of the Highwaymen officer giving Hunter another kick to the torso. Basically, all of them were entertained by someone weaker than them being abused.
"Well, what do we have here?"
"Finally, I've been waiting to kick the shit out of a loser or two!"
"Let's take our time!"
The Highwaymen talked and joked among each other as they watched Hunter get beaten in front of them.
A highwayman ran up to the commander, "Ma'am!"
"WHAT!" She snapped at the soldier, mad for being interrupted.
"We have a problem. The alarms have been disabled, someone has sabotaged them." He said.
She turned to Hunter and leered at him. "You think you can sneak in here, make us look like idiots, and fuck up our shit?!" She puts her finger on the trigger, eager to end Hunter's life. At this moment, Hunter reflected on how dumb of an idea this was. He didn't expect things to get this bad. He should've listened to Marcus.
As she was about to pull the trigger, an arrow suddenly flew right into her throat. The hit was so sudden and so clean that she barely felt it. She could, however, feel blood filling her throat and coming out of her mouth. She tried to stand upright, but she was dizzy from the blood loss. She soon collapsed, with gasps erupting from the mouths of the other Highwaymen around.
"Holy shit!"
"What the fuck!?"
"Where did that come from?"
The Highwaymen around Hunter turned away from Hunter and tried to search for the shooter.
From a High point of the outpost, the Judge stood with his bow. The Judge sighed in relief, knowing that he was able to help Hunter right in the knick of time. He readied another two arrows at the remaining bandits, who were trying to find out where that first arrow came from.
Back to Hunter, he was amazed to see two more arrows pierce the bodies of other Highwaymen who were desperately trying to find the shooter. Hunter used this distraction to his advantage. He pulled out his knife and plunged it into the control box of the alarm system, causing sparks to fly, and then quickly took off. By the time the other marauders found out that their only hope for reinforcements had been destroyed, Hunter had already found cover.
It was nothing short of a firefight, the Highwaymen unloading their rifles and handguns into the trees and foliage, trying to get a hit on whoever was shooting the arrows at them. Unfortunately, just as they think they have a good read on where to aim, more arrows come from somewhere else.
The Judge kept moving through the forest, being smart and not staying in one place, making it much more difficult for his enemies to hit him. Not only was he trying to pick them off before he could get hurt, but he wanted to take the heat off of Hunter so the young man could get away safely.
Meanwhile, the last member of the assault team was readying for a fight.
Marcus closed his eyes and sighed to himself. "Ok, let's do this," he muttered, internally tapping into the new power the Father had given him. He opened his eyes and his vision had been enhanced, although it seemed like he was seeing red. He could feel every muscle in his body strengthen and fill with energy.
Marcus turned to the Highwaymen who were too busy shooting at the trees to notice him flanking them. "Aaaaaaaagh!" He let out a battle cry and launched himself at one of the Highwaymen who was in the middle of reloading his rifle. By the time the masked marauder heard Marcus charging at him, he turned and saw the Captain unloading several rounds into his chest. The bandit went down in a heartbeat, his torso full of holes.
Satisfied with his kill, Marcus went to move onto the next one, who was currently attempting to shoot at the Judge's last known location. However, he didn't see another Highwayman to the side of him, who used their rifle to knock Marcus's out of his hands. The rogue went to stab Marcus with a blade attached to their gun in the style of a bayonet, the weapon plunging into the Captain's left side.
"Ah!" Marcus cried as he felt a stinging sensation in his abdomen, but he didn't feel as much pain as he imagined. Even the Highwaymen in front of him was perplexed by this, how Marcus was still standing. The Captain clenched his teeth and reached for the head of the rifle, slowly pulling the blade out of his body. The Highwayman was sweating bullets, never seeing this kind of thing before.
"Rah!" Marcus growled as he threw the rifle aside when the blade was fully extracted and tackled the enemy in front of him to the ground. He straddled them to the ground and readied his fists for a counterattack. He punched them in the face once with his right fist, then gave them another hit with his left. Now, with both fists dripping with blood, he clasped them together and pounded them straight down onto the bandit's face, smashing their head into the earth.
When he was certain that his target had stopped moving, Marcus moved onto another guard. He found himself fighting with strength and speed he's never had before, it was like a huge battle rush. It felt incredible, almost like he could take on the entire Highwaymen army on his own.
Hunter fought beside Marcus with his rifle, as much would like to use his bow right now there wasn't any time so he had to stick with his current weapon.
The three were winning, the defenders were dropping like flies. The outpost would soon be under their control. However, all of them were so focused on killing the defenders that the Judge was unaware of a Highwayman sneaking up behind him, Marcus looked in the Judge's direction and saw the Highwayman sneaking up behind him.
"Judge! Look out!" Marcus yelled. He aimed down the sights of his rifle at the enemy behind his masked ally. But when he pulled the trigger, he only heard an annoying clicking sound that made his blood run cold. When he realized that his gun was empty, he just cursed, "Shit!"
The Judge quickly turned around, but the Highwayman raised his pistol and emptied five rounds into the masked edener. The bullets made the Judge stumble back a few steps grunting in pain, he looked down at the gunshots as blood began to leak from the wounds.
Hunter watched, shocked that the Judge just survived getting shot five times, it didn't even look like it hurt him as bad as it should've. After hearing that the fruit the peggies eat gives them superhuman abilities, he shouldn't be surprised like this. But seeing the Judge survive getting shot five times was still quite a shock to see.
"Whoa," was all Hunter let out.
The Judge looked back up at the Highwayman who just shot him, growling like a vicious beast before making his way over to them.
The soldier's eyes widened as the Judge was somehow unaffected by his bullets and charging at him with murderous intent. He quickly reloaded his pistol and fired another round at the judge but he just ignored it and just continued charging at him, he unloaded another round but the judge ignored that one too. The Highwaymen attempted to fire another bullet but the Judge quickly grabbed his hand and gripped it tightly making the gun fall from his hand.
"Oh shit!" He exclaimed in terror, trying to escape the Judges grip but the masked man's grip was strong.
The judge growled at him and strengthened his grip, it was so hard that he cracked the bones in the man's hand, making him scream in pain. "AAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGHHHHHH!"
The Judge delivered a hard punch to his face. The force was so strong that he knocked some of his teeth out along with some blood, sending him to the ground. The Highwayman remained motionless for a moment until he tried to crawl away but the Judge walked over to him and placed his foot on his back, stopping him from going anywhere. Making short work of this Highwayman the Judge grabbed his head and cleanly snapped it.
Hunter and the Captain watched as the Judge brutally killed that Highwayman with horror written on their faces. Gina wasn't kidding when she said that the Judge was a psycho.
Marcus carefully walked up to the Judge, who was panting heavily. The New Edener staggered for a second or two from the injuries he suffered. Marcus clutched his own injury as he went to check on his ally. "You ok?" he asked the Judge, who appeared to be getting his bearings.
When the Judge walked closer to him, Marcus's eyes widened as he saw blood pouring from the masked man's body. What baffled him the most was the fact that the Judge did not seem to be in as much pain as he should have been. He noticed that the Judge's pained breathing got slower and calmer with each passing second. Marcus looked at his own injury and was shocked to realize that it was no longer bleeding, despite how deep the knife wound was.
"This miracle really is something," he said out loud, looking at his bloodied hands and clenched them. He looked at the other two and sighed. "Alright, let's let Prosperity know that it has the resources it needs to rebuild."
With the outpost now under their control, now all that was left to do was contact Kim and tell her that the area was now secure. Hunter nodded while the Judge only grunted, in confirmation from what Marcus and Hunter could gather.
Marcus pulled out his radio, tuned its frequency then brought it up to his lips. "Kim are you there?"
"I'm here captain," Kim responded.
"Just letting you know that Me, Hunter, and the Judge have secured the lumber outpost," Marcus informed.
On the other end, the captain could hear Kim letting out a sigh of relief at this news. "Oh thank god. I was fearing the worst, but you've come through again,"
Marcus scoffed playfully at Kim's doubt. "Don't worry, Kim," Marcus assured. "I promised you and all of Prosperity that we weren't gonna let you down. And now that we've delivered, we're gonna need some people to help secure these resources for the long ride back to Prosperity."
"Not a problem," Kim agreed. "We'll send word to our people to send some trucks to gather those materials."
Marcus smiles. "Sounds good. Hey, have you heard anything from Carmina's group yet?" he asked, concerned about their other team to secure more time for Prosperity. It was quite a long drive to the New Eden compound.
Marcus could hear Kim sigh over the radio. "Nothing yet," she answered. "I'm worried about them, Cap."
"Don't be," Marcus assured. "You know Carmina and Jerome. They can handle themselves. Not to mention, they've got the support of one of the Chosen's best. They'll be fine. They just need some time and they'll be back."
Marcus could not hear it, but he could tell that Kim was smiling on the other end of the line. "Alright, Marcus," she said. "We'll be sending some of our people to help lug all of that wood and supplies back to Prosperity. See you soon." The transmission ended with both people on the line satisfied and waiting for the next step to come.
Marcus put away his radio then turned to Hunter, "Hey Hunter,"
"Yeah?" Hunter replied, turning to the Captain.
"You did a good job in disabling the alarms and handling yourself against these Highwaymen bastards," Marcus told the young man.
Hunter smiled. It was good for him to know that Marcus didn't resent him for getting caught, but he still wished he could have done better. For now, he was satisfied with the gratitude he was given. "Thanks, Cap," he replied and looked down at his armor. "I'm gonna change out of this crap. Be right back."
"OK," Marcus nodded.
Hunter walked off then Marcus turned to the Judge, who he saw was breathing more calmly than before, but he could tell when someone was in pain. To be honest, he was surprised that the masked guardian was still alive after taking shots from a handgun at point-blank range.
Deciding that he wanted to do something about it, Hunter reached into his bag (after changing back into his own gear) and pulled out a rudimentary medical kit. Inside was a set of herbs and tools that Selene had given out to him and others at Prosperity in the case they got injured. Hunter didn't feel the need for them, but he had a feeling the Judge would make good use of them. And since the treatment is almost all-natural, he didn't see a reason the Judge would argue about taking it.
The Judge actually cooperated well in having Hunter help him with his wounds. The first thing Hunter had to do was extract the bullets so he pulled out a set of tweezers and extracted the bullets which proved to be easier than expected. With the bullets extracted the next thing to do was use the herbs and since the bullet wound would heal faster with the aid of the fruit then there was no need for stitches so Hunter just mixed the herbs and applied the ointment onto the wounds.
Eventually, the scavengers showed up and could handle things for now. So the Captain, Hunter, and the Judge went back to the truck and drove back home.
Meanwhile, Ellie, Carmina, and Jerome arrived at the New Eden compound. The Pastor pulled up the car at the broken bridge in front of the Compound, then stopped the truck's engine. Jerome turned his head and stared at the compound in front of him, he never thought that he would ever come here, especially to see 'The Father'. The thought made him shudder a little, seeing Joseph in person could fuel the anger he still held for him. Even though he still held much anger at Joseph, he knew that they needed his help so he needed to cooperate with him. The Captain and the teens worked hard to secure this truce and he shouldn't let himself destroy it over the resentment he still held for Joseph Seed.
Carmina noticed the look Jerome had as he stared at the compound. "Jerome, are you okay?" Carmina asked, concerned.
"Oh...um y-yeah, just-just being here is…" Jerome trailed off.
Carmina leaned closer to Jerome and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's OK Jerome, just have faith in yourself and our new allies. This won't end badly or anything if we have faith."
The old pastor smiled at the wisdom of the young girl he watched grow up. "You and Hunter are wise beyond your years," Jerome said.
Carmina smiled. "I'm only preaching what you taught us, Pastor," she replied.
Jerome chuckled. "I wish I had your confidence right now, Carmina," he said, taking a breath. "Alright then, I suppose it's time."
Everyone got out of the truck, then Jerome went over to Ellie, "Ellie, you should be the one to do the talking, Joseph and your people may respond better if you're the one speaking to them."
"Yeah, that sounds reasonable," Carmina agreed, nodding.
"If you think that's then I'll do so," Ellie complied.
The group crossed the stream and approached the gate into the compound. Carmina and Jerome stopped in their tracks as the young chosen and approached the frog of the gate. Ellie knocked on the gate, a few seconds later the hatch opened showing the chosen Scott on the other end.
"Ellie, you're back, so soon?" Scott questioned, surprised to see Ellie.
Ellie nodded, "Yes Scott, but I'm afraid that my return is brief. We've come to speak to the father on an important matter,"
"I'm assuming this matter is why you've brought these sinners with you," Scott said, looking at Carmina and Jerome.
"Yes, they must speak to Joseph at once," Ellie said.
Scott closed the hatch then opened the gate to let them in. "You may enter, but ensure that the sinners with you don't try anything,"
"Don't worry, they won't," Ellie reassured.
With that Scott extended his arm out to the entrance, "Joseph, is in the church, that's where you need to go,"
The three entered the compound with mixed emotions. For Ellie, it was a relief that she was home, even for a little while. For Carmina, it was of curiosity, eagerness to learn more of their ways. For Jerome, he felt many things such as anxiety, as he had heard how these people treat those who they consider to be "sinners." However, Jerome felt hope above all. He looked at these people just living out simple, peaceful lives. He never expected to see this after fighting against Eden's Gate for so long. It was at this moment that he thought, perhaps them and Joseph can help Prosperity.
As the group of three arrived at the Church, which the pastor found impressive, they entered and saw Joseph at the podium teaching a group of young children his ways. While he was reading them an excerpt from his Word, he heard the entrance of his church open and saw three more people enter. He smiled when he saw the familiar faces of Carmina and Ellie, one of his Chosen. He then saw another face, one that he thought had been burned away in the Collapse. Pastor Jerome Jeffries.
He looked back at his children. "Alright, children," Joseph said. "We will continue this lesson at a later time. I must speak with some guests." The students nodded and grabbed their things, leaving the church.
For the longest time, Jerome wouldn't believe that Joseph was still alive after everything that had happened. And now, he was looking at him with his own eyes, alive and no less of a cult leader than he was seventeen years ago. And he was about to ask him for more help.
"Father," Ellie began the conversation. "I have returned, but for only a while."
"I see that my child," Joseph said. "And with some guests." he looked at Jerome and Carmina, mainly Jerome, who was all but scowling at the leader of New Eden.
Ellie nods. "Yes, you already know Carmina," she presents the girl her age who came with the Captain the last time. "And this is Pastor Jerome-"
"We've met," Jerome says bluntly, interrupting Ellie and not breaking eye contact with Joseph.
Joseph nodded. "Indeed we have," he agrees.
After a few moments of tension and silence, Ellie cleared her throat. "Father, these two have come as representatives of Prosperity to ask you for aid," she explains.
Joseph raises an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I don't understand," he says. "Was the help I already sent not enough?"
"We've been grateful for the help you've sent so far, Joseph," Carmina answered. "But we need more manpower to help us rebuild Prosperity after the recent Highwaymen attack. We were hoping that you could spare a few of your people to help us build our home back up?"
Joseph nods. "Ah, I understand," he replies. "I suppose I can spare a few of my builders to help you, but without materials, they will not be of much use to you."
Jerome spoke up this time. "We've sent another group to take over a lumber camp south of here. They should be done securing building materials as we speak."
"The only lumber camp that I know of is one that has been taken by the Highwaymen. I hope your people are prepared for a fight." Joseph crossed his arms.
Jerome smirked. "That's why we've sent two of our best out that way, along with your Judge. All of them have built strong reputations when it comes to killing Highwaymen. I have faith that they will have it secured soon, if not right now."
Joseph nods at the pastor's explanation. "The Judge has been known to never fail me or New Eden. If he has your faith, then I suppose you will indeed have your materials soon. Very well, I will let my builders know that they will be resigned for the time being. Although, I would prepare myself for a long trip, as I don't believe they would be willing to go in the vehicle I'm assuming you came here in."
Ellie smiles and nods her head, Carmina following while Jerome remained stoic. They turned to exit the church.
"Jerome," Joseph called, making all three of the group stop and turn.
The leader of New Eden sighs. "I know we have had our differences, and many people died on both sides, but I want you to understand that I only wish to live in peace with my flock, my family. I am sure you wish to do the same with yours. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I only wish you can trust me when I say that I want the Highwaymen off this land as much as you do."
Jerome dropped his stoic look for a second and lowered his eyes in thought, thinking that there was a possibility that Joseph really had changed over the last few years. Whether he changed or not doesn't excuse what he did in the past, but he felt the tension between them lessen. Without giving a response to Joseph's confession, he left the Church, with Ellie and Carmina in tow.
Hours later, the two groups returned to Prosperity, with both the materials they needed to build up their home and the people to do it. While the people of Prosperity had mixed feelings about New Edeners helping to rebuild, they were overall glad for the assistance. By midnight that night, Prosperity would be stronger and better than ever. Before the repairs were complete, Rush and Kim held a meeting in the main building, letting the people know what utilities were ready for upgrades and which ones were the most important.
When the meeting adjourned everyone walked off to assist in the repairs or help out around the community wherever they're needed, but Marcus and Kim stayed at the table to go over a few things. As they were working Marcus looked up at Kim and noticed her looking at him with a look of sadness followed with a tear coming from her eye. "Kim, are you okay?" Marcus asked, with a concerned look.
"Huh...what?" Kim looked up at the captain, wiping the tear from her eye.
"Kim, I asked if you are okay because you look sad," Marcus said, he went over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort.
"Oh I'm fine, Marcus, it's just that…" Kim trailed off, "It's just that since you've since here things have been getting better. You've brought hope back to our community and gave us the courage to fight back against the Highwaymen. Your actions remind me of somebody that me and some of our other people knew...somebody we miss dearly,"
"Really, who?" Marcus asked, curiously.
Kim took a breath, preparing herself to tell the story of the Junior Deputy to the Captain. "As you know, before the bombs dropped Hope County was suffering under the oppression of Joseph Seed and his followers. We formed a resistance and fought back against him, but when it seemed like victory was in our reach, the collapse came,"
"Yeah, I know the story," Marcus nodded.
"Well there are some details that are missing that we haven't told you," Kim said. "One night a few deputies came to arrest Joseph but the peggies wouldn't stand it so they resisted and took them hostage, but one of them managed to escape captivity. It was a Junior Deputy, his name was Jake Rook."
"Jake Rook?" Marcus has heard that name a few times in the community, people seemed to idolize him. "Who was he?"
"He was a good man," Kim said, with sadness in her voice as she told him the story. "Jake was the one who helped us and gave us the courage to stand up to Joseph and his cult. Me and Nick thought so highly of him that we named him Carmina's godfather."
Marcus was amazed with the Deputy's story, this was a man he certainly wanted to meet. "What happened to him?"
Kim shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. When the bombs dropped he and his fellow deputies got into a truck with Joseph, but that was the last we saw of him. When the surface became habitable again some of us tried to find him but there was no trace of him. Sometime later Joseph reappeared with his people and started their New Eden. Some of us think he's dead but me and my family refuse to believe that's true. We all miss him a lot, but I have hope that one day we'll see him again."
Marcus nodded. "This guy sounds like a survivor," he stated. "I'm sure he's still out there, somewhere."
"I hope so," Kim hoped.
The Captain of Security smiled at Kim. "In a place called, Hope County, hope is all you need. He's out there, Kim. Maybe he's just waiting for the right time to come home, you know?"
Kim returned his smile with one of her own and nodded. "You're right, Cap. Maybe he's out there taking the fight to the Highwaymen? If I know him, he's doing whatever he can to protect his home and the people who live in it."
"In that case, I can't wait to meet him," Marus said, before leaving the Rye matriarch alone for the night. "Night, Kim," he called with a wave.
"Night," Kim replied. Once Marcus was gone, she reached for the photo album from before and scanned over the photos of her dear deputy friend. He had been there for her and the others so many times. She could only wonder why he hasn't come home yet.
Outside the building the Judge listened in as Kim told the Captain the story of the deputy, hearing how much his former allies and closest friends missed him pained him inside. All this time he thought that they'd moved on and forgot about him, but no. They've held on to hope, hope that they would see him again.
A part of him wanted to take off his mask and show the others that the deputy they had been searching for was still alive, but he was hesitant to do it. Joseph has given him a new purpose and he was afraid that he would fail again if he lets his feelings get in the way.
"Kim...I'm...sorry," The Judge let out then walked off.
When night came everyone in Prosperity turned in for the night, but the Judge however didn't. There were better things he could do with his time than just sleeping. Even before the bombs, he was nothing if not productive with his time. It was how he managed to destroy Joseph's family and give him a taste of what he had dished out all over Hope County seventeen years ago.
He stood guard over the walls of Prosperity for an hour or so before confirming that it was going to be a quiet and uneventful night. He sighed underneath his mask and decided that he needed to clear his head, but he needed somewhere with solitude to do so. He looked to the roof of the main building of Prosperity, which now resembled a greenhouse with plants growing out of the top.
The Judge climbed to the roof of Prosperity with ease, it was never hard for him to climb, there wasn't anything that he couldn't climb. When he made it to the top he walked over to the edge and looked up at the breathtaking view of the beautiful Whitetail Mountains, combined with the beautiful lights illuminating the sky. The wind blew past the Judge but he didn't pay much attention to it, for he was too focused on the beautiful mountains. Hope County never failed in displaying such breathtaking views, views that would make a man wanna stare at them for hours, it was one of the things that he came to love about the valley when he first arrived here, which felt like such a lifetime ago and things were much different back then.
As the Judge stood quietly on the roof staring at the mountains he decided that he wanted to see this without the mask. He looked around for a moment to see for anybody, when he saw that nobody was watching him he lowered his hood, then slowly reached for his mask but he was hesitant to remove it. He rarely removed his mask from his face, sure he may lift it up so he can eat or drink but not remove it.
The mask symbolized who he was, The Judge of New Eden, Joseph Seed's most obedient follower and protector to the people of New Eden. Without the mask then he would be nothing, just a broken man. As hesitant as he was with removing his mask, his desire overpowered his hesitation. With his hesitation pushed aside, the Judge removed his mask revealing a rather handsome face with a head of short black hair, a set of brown eyes, and unhealthy pale skin that hasn't bathed in sunlight in a very long time.
With his mask off the Judge looked back up at the Whitetail mountains staring at them with his own eyes. "So...beautiful," The Judge murmured.
When he had enough of the view he glanced down at the mask. He turned it over and looked down at it. Ever since he left New Eden it felt like he abandoned his duty of being its silent protector even if he left under Joseph's will it still felt like he abandoned a part of who he was. Joseph claimed his skills were more useful in aiding the sinners in their fight against the Highwaymen, but he didn't like coming to Prosperity to see the faces of the people he once called friends.
In his short time being in the community of Prosperity and among the people, he once called, Family has made the compassion and loyalty he once held for them slowly return.
Hearing Kim's words have pained him greatly inside, as if his heart was trying to break out of the iron shell he cast around it when he became born again as New Eden's Judge. Any love he had he had thought had been locked away, never to resurface again. If Joseph knew about this, the Judge would think he would say God was testing him and must not deviate from his path. He tried his best to make sure that the shell wouldn't break, but with each familiar face, it was becoming a more difficult task.
He sighed, the cool and crisp air filling his lungs, and put his mask back on. It was as if by putting on the mask, he shut his old self away again. Or at least, he would try to. What he fears more than anything is what could happen if he broke his facade and everyone he knew and loved from his past life would see what he had become. To him, living in a world where he would be rejected by both his old family and new family was a fate worse than death.
I apologize for the long wait on this chapter, but I've had a serious case of writer's block so I've had a hard time writing it.
I hope all you readers continue to read my story.
And I would like to give another shout out to Fairytail96 in helping me with this chapter, I probably would've never completed it without his help. One more thing Fairytail96 has been working on his own Far Cry story. Far Cry: The End and a New Beginning, I recommend it to all of my readers.
Please leave a review and if any of you readers have any ideas for the New Dawn please don't hesitate to tell me.