Chapter 19:

"Tyler, where are you going man?" Seb asked as he ran to try and catch up to Tyler. They had been walking for a while since they parked their car at the Youth Camp.

"See that giant ass statue up there," he motioned upwards. A huge statue of Joseph towered above the two of them. "We're bringing it down." Seb widened his eyes is surprise.

"Won't that be heavily guarded?" He asked with a slight quiver of uncertainty in his voice. Tyler turned his head to glance at Seb.

"Course," he grunted. This terrified Seb. Tyler was too used to violence and now that he was on a warpath of extremities, death was never too far away from either of them. Seb still has something worth living for, something without vengeance. To just spread positivity and… fish. He realised that ever since he met Tyler and started journeying with him, he had not touched his fishing rod. What he would give just to be able to sit on a collapsible chair, cold beer in his hand, bucket of bait and rod in hand… enjoying fishing by the Henbane. Seb had, one day, hoped to catch the infamous Admiral but there was never a good time, and just weeks ago Tyler had worked with the other crazy fisher over in the Whitetails to catch that jackpot.

"You got a plan?" Seb asked Tyler as the statue began to appear larger and larger the closer they got. The structure looked as if it was made out of solid concrete so bringing it down looks near impossible. Tyler shook his head.

"Tracey hinted that the statue may be hollow," he said. "But I'll check on that." He pulled out his radio and said coarsely, "Tracey, that statue hollow?" There was a moments silence before the radio crackled back to life.

"Yep. You hitting it now?" Asked Tracey.

"Now." Tyler said. "I'm doing this myself."

"Whatever you say." Tracey muttered before clicking off.

The two continued through the trees upwards towards the statue before Seb felt his everything slow down around him. He started to feel light headed, his balance felt off and his vision began to flicker slightly. Tyler began to walk forwards through the forest and Seb felt too fatigued to call out for him to stop. He fell to his knees and his vision completely clouded over. His hears began ringing and he could smell a distinct sweetness, one so common in this part of Hope County. Bliss. All to soon after, he could sense another presence, a light presence, a presence within. The feelings were what he could only describe as euphoric.

"Sebastian…" a soft and quiet voice sounded. "It's good to see you again." Seb lifted his head to meet a very familiar face. Faith Seed.

"Faith…" Seb gasped. She walked over to him and grasped his hands and pulled him up to his feet.

"Shh," she whispered. "Just close your eyes and breathe." She closed her eyes so Seb did the same thing. He reopened his eyes when he felt her hands let go of his. They were back at the Convent.

"What… are… you…doing?" Seb slurred as he looked around slowly at the familiar setting, although this time without the bullet holes around the place. Seb reappeared from behind him and took him by the hand again.

"Showing you just how much I appreciate you and what you've done." She said softly. Seb just stared blankly back at her, not knowing what words to say. "Without you, I would've never been able to return to The Father. You were always better than Tyler, always the level head and the one to take on his burdens. You were the most supportive friend to him and your faith in him was truly enlightening." Seb shook his head vigorously.

"But weren't you happy with us?" Seb asked with confusion clear in his tone. "Weren't you beginning to doubt what this Project means to you?" Faith smiled and let out one of her iconic giggles that sounded so childish but at the same time, incredibly disingenuous.

"Of course I was, silly," she said. "But you took me with you, you brought me back home and now he's forgiven me without any consequences." Seb's heart skipped a beat. Did he give Faith back to the cult? Surely he would've known about that.

"But I'm not a part of it," Seb reasoned. "It can't have been me." Faith's smiley façade dropped and she let go of his hands.

"It was you," she said bluntly. "You were the one who brought me back, it was you." She took a step towards him. "You gave me another chance with Him." She put a hand on his neck and pulled his head towards hers. "You renewed my Faith." She pressed her lips softly onto his. The kiss was soft, gentle and Seb felt a heat rush through his veins. All his life, he never felt at home anywhere, but what was on offer for him here was a chance to feel at peace. A part of him at the front of his mind told him that this wasn't real and just a side effect of the Bliss but another part of him, a little bit deeper in him told him that this felt right, that being here would give him what he wanted. It was perfectly clear now. Seb pulled away from Faith and his eyes remained fixated on her.

"We must all Walk the Path." He said, now without any life in his voice. "We'll all be together in the Bliss." He then turned on his heels and began walking away, taking each step slowly, but deliberately. He knew where he had to go to truly find meaning in his life.

"I'm coming home, Father." he said softly as he felt his vision darken.

Seb woke up to find himself lying down on a cold, hard floor that was vibrating. He looked around and saw that he was in the back of a van, his hands and ankles zip tied together. Seb's brain felt dull and heavy and due the large amounts of Bliss he induced, he shut his eyes. A few minutes later, the van came to a stop and he heard the front doors open. Footsteps were audible from the side of the van and then he heard a loud click and felt a slight breeze hit his skin. Two hands pulled at his ankles and cut the restraints off. He was then helped out of the truck by a cultist and lead towards these large metal gates protruding out of a mountain. He didn't even bother resisting when he was harshly shoved through the doors and felt multiple gun stocks hit him hard all over his body. He just didn't care any more. He walked onwards until he reached a room that had an alter surrounded by pews. On one of the pews, was Faith Seed. The real one. She looked up at Seb and smiled a hurt smile.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly. "I had no choice." Seb could start to feel his thoughts become controlled again.

"No choice about what?"seb asked as he offered his bound hands, looking to her to cut the ties. She looked down, however and pushed his arms down.

"Being His Faith," she replied. "If I don't follow through with this, I'll be left alone again." Her words came from a place of past hurt. Seb sat down and looked at Faith who had her eyes fixed on the ground by her feet.

"But why don't you just stay with us?" He asked. "Tyler's been tearing the whole County upside down trynna find you and whilst doing that, taking down the who operations of this place." Faith smiled and shook her head.

"It's not that simple," she said. "As much as I want to, I need to stay strong to my Faith, to my Faith in the Father." Seb nodded sadly. Suddenly a thought came back to him in that moment.

"Did Tyler destroy that statue?" He asked. Faith looked up and by the look of discomfort on her face, an answer wasn't required. "Right. Well was any of what happened in the Bliss real then?"

"I don't know what's real half the time," she said. "But what happens in the Bliss is what you want to see, I am there to expose your vulnerabilities so that you feel compelled to join or cause, but I can see that there's no point trying to bring you in."

"Well actually," Seb said. "I wouldn't go that far anymore."

Nothing left but cinders and chalky concrete all over the place. That book at the very top was now somewhere in the trees below. Tyler took hardly any time to blast the statue apart and scale the tall structure, cleaning out each level before proceeding to burn the Book of Joseph at the top. Tyler was sat by himself just looking up at the destruction he had caused. The blood of dozens of Peggies now painted the grounds around the statue and they were all due to his actions. The lucky ones received a few rounds from a gun, whereas most were beaten to a pulp with either a baseball bat or brutally slain with his knife. Yet again, the blood had collected on Tyler's hands. At this point, he almost had a whole new skin tone to his hands: a mixture of black, red and white. Tyler brought his hands back out in front of himself and stared. Not feeling any terror at all, just feeling deeply satisfied with his efforts. He kept staring that he didn't even notice the footsteps behind his get louder until two hands covered his mouth and nose and the other for his holstered hand gun. The Deputy struggle against the assailant but eventually he began to fade out of consciousness. His eyes dropped shut and he collapsed.

Tyler reawakened to see that he was back in the place he never thought he'd return to.

"Don't you understand what we are tying to build?" Faith appeared in front of him and put her hands on his chest and pushed him. Hard. "Or do you just not care. I've watched you run this way and that," she Toole his hand and pulled him towards a lake. "Inflicting violence on those who wish no harm upon you." She then lets go and backs away. "They are at peace here, they want to be here." She then grabs his shirt and leans towards him. "I know you have your doubts, but this is the only way, Tyler. Nothing you can do can change that." She lowered her head and came closer to him. "Help me." She whispered before letting go of his hands, leading him to a boat on the lake, in that boat…

"Hey Tyler," said both Marshall Burke and Seb.

Authors Note:

A bit of a stranger chapter but hopefully you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Cheers!