Chapter 15:

"Who the fuck are you?" Tracey Lader said roughly to the woman walking towards her. She wore a hood and carried a bow.

"No one important," the woman said. "But I've come to warn you." Tracey looked at the woman, smirked and leant against the wall behind her.

"Go on." The woman stepped forward and holstered her bow.

"I know you think that the Deputy is on our side, but of course that's a fucking lie." The woman said. Tracey laughed once out loud before shaking her head in amusement.

"And why the hell am I gonna believe you, don't even know who the fuck you are?" Tracey shook her head again.

"Because he's likely to come to you for help, and we can't do that." The woman said roughly. "The bastard ran away with Faith Seed and we will shoot him on sight if we see him." Tracey stopped her thought when she heard that name.

"He ran off with… Faith?" She asked.

"Damn fuckin' straight." The woman said. Tracey couldn't believe what she was hearing. The saviour of Hope County ran away with the very reason that brought him here. Un-fucking-believable.

"Well, I don't know why we wait for him. How about we set up a trap, catch this motherfucker."

"Like how you think, miss. The woman said. She pulled out a radio and gave it to her.

"What's this for?" Tracey asked.

"You call him on this and I can listen in and track his location. Then I'll send to get his ass." The woman looked up at Tracey and she saw the woman's eyes. They seemed genuine so there was no doubt left in Tracey.

"I'll call him later on, and you go do your thing." Tracey said. The woman nodded and turned around and made a beeline for the forest. Tracey looked at the radio in her hand. "Rachel," she whispered to herself. "What the fuck do you think you're doing."

"Absolutely not!" Faith said firmly. Tyler held his bow in his hand and his quiver on his back.

"Come on, what if something happens to me?" Tyler asked. Faith cringed at her thoughts.

"There's no chance that I'll ever kill an animal, even for food." She said adamantly. Tyler groaned and ran a hand through his hair roughly.

"Well, I guess it's your choice." He said softly. He turned around and left the church. He reached behind him and felt the arrows in his quiver. There seemed to be 25, so he had to make sure his shots were recovered. He headed up the hill into the forest near where they had arrived from. Tyler walked slowly and listened to his surroundings. He heard the sound of the gentle breeze rustling the trees and the faint but yet constant sound of 60's rock and roll echoing openly throughout the land. Tyler took his bow back out and got low into a crouch and crept forwards, making sure to look out for any animals he could see. He kept moving through the forest until he lay eyes upon what looked like a moderately large deer. It was nibbling away at grass on the ground. Tyler took an arrow from his quiver and loaded it into his bow. He lined up the deer in his sights and held his breath. His aim steadied and he pulled back on the string. He exhaled slowly before letting go of the string. The arrow flew through the air and just before it made contact with the deer, the animal disappeared in a cloud of Bliss. In its place now stood a wolf.

"Fuck!" Tyler yelled as the wolf hurled itself in his direction. The animal jumped at him and Tyler stuck his arm out in defence. The wolf bit down on his arm and Tyler sucked in his breath sharply in pain. The wolf let go of his arm which gave Tyler a chance to grab his handgun and aim at the wolf. He didn't have enough time before the animal bit down again, this time on his pointer finger. Tyler screamed out again and kicked hard at the wolf and hit it on the jaw. Then his whole hand went numb. The wolf snapped its muzzle and dashed away into the forest and out of sight. Tyler reached out for his handgun and got a finger to it and his whole right arm burnt in pain. He looked over to see his hand caked in his own blood. The finger the wolf bit on was no longer attached to his hand.

"Faith! Seb!" Tyler yelled as he hobbled back towards the convent. He had wrapped his finger stump with a torn piece of his shirt. Faith and Seb both came rushing out and saw the sight. Faith put her hands to her mouth and bolted towards him and took him in a big hug.

"Tyler," Faith practically gasped. "What happened?" Tyler pushed away slightly and pointed to the forest he just came from.

"Fai… Wolf…. Fuck!" Was all he managed to say in between gasps of air and agonising pain. Seb reached Tyler and helped Faith move him back inside and lie him down on a church pew. Faith and Seb used one of Tyler's med kits to cauterise the wound and then patch it up with waterproof bandages. Seb took care of Tyler for the rest of the day as Faith went to their sleeping spot on the top balcony.

"So," Seb said softly. "What hasn't happened to you yet, Tye?" Tyler chuckled roughly before pulling himself up into a sitting position.

"Well, I thought I'd done it all until today," he joked. "But in all seriousness I don't know because it sure as fuck feels like I've seen and done it all." Seb nodded his head and reached behind him. He pulled out two longnecks from the pew behind him and handed one to Tyler.

"For all the troubles and pain, huh?" Seb suggested as he opened both their bottles. Tyler nodded and as soon as his bottle was open he let the liquor flow. Gee, it felt so good. He hadn't many beers in the last few months. They have almost been like collectors items since the cult took over.

"What we drinking to Seb?" Tyler asked as he examined the bottle in his hand. Seb took a drink and thought for a minute before smiling softly.

"To freedom?" He said as he raised his bottle.

"To freedom." Tyler clicked bottles and let the beer take control over him.

"I've got something Father." The woman said as she came running into the church. Joseph had his back to the door and he was hunched over something. He turned around and smiled at the woman at the back of his church.

"What did you find out, Amy?" Joseph asked softly as he stood up and placed the book he was reading on his chair and turned to face the woman. The woman looked up at him.

"I have an inroad to finding the heretic and your sister. The heathens at the jail gave me everything I'll need. When she radios them, I'll listen in and find where the call came from." The woman smiled as she pulled her hood off her face. A small cross was tattooed onto her head and she had brown shoulder length hair.

"That's wonderful," the Father said with just the tiniest hint of joy in his voice. "You have done your work, but it won't be necessary to track them like hunters. God will bring us all together he knows what needs to be done. Our family isn't a family without our sister and God knows that."

"So I won't need to track them." Amy asked.

"God is in control, He knows I'm waiting."

Note: Holy shit! It's been a while. Thanks for the patience and for whoever lost interest I don't blame you as I did for a bit too. I finished Far Cry 6 in that time and finally got back to thinking about this story after a few prompts. Not exactly the biggest comeback chapter but I hope you all enjoy it regardless. Hope you all had a great holiday season and may 2022 be a way better year than 2021. Cheers!