That's An Order, Deputy
Chapter1:
As his wet steel-toed boots squelch onto the shores of the muddy banks of the Henbane River, he immediately felt a change in scenery. Gone were the darker and flat flowing land of the Holland Valley, instead replaced by a much lighter green, mountains and hills all around. The empty AK-M now no more than deadweight on his back, his 1911 with only 4 rounds left and his Compound Bow without any arrows left. For the past week he was in the Holland Valley across the river helping the folk of Fall's End liberate the region from The Project at Eden's Gate. More importantly, killing the lieutenant of the cult, Joseph's younger brother, John Seed. The images etched into his already scarred mind. The brutality and extreme actions of the cult left a lasting impression on him. All the times he saw cultists 'baptising' innocent folk in the river and drugging them in the process, just the thought of it made him sick with revulsion. In fact he went through the whole 'cleansing' process the cult forced upon all the civilians in the Valley. The reminder being the crude and still bloody wrath tattoo on his chest. He absentmindedly felt under his shirt and traced his fingers over the letters. Casting aside the events of the past week, Tyler, the now infamous Junior Deputy trudged over the river bank and got his first proper look at the Henbane River region.
His radio crackled to life. Tyler reached down and unfastened it from his waist. A familiar voice crackled from inside. It was Dutch.
"Deputy, you've crossed into the Henbane. Don't trust anything you see., and sure as shit don't believe a word that Faith says. Also, steer clear of those white flowers. They seem harmless but they will fuck your shit up. If you don't believe me, just wait until you come across those shambling' junkies… cult calls them 'Angels', but they will tear through you like shit through a goose". With that, the radio clicked off and Tyler returned it to his waist. Tyler opened up his satchel and counted his remaining explosives and medkits, three sticks of dynamite and one medkit. He closed it and sighed in frustration. Destroying John's bunker took literally everything he had. He wanted to get out of the Valley as soon as he could afterwards. One of the civilians he rescued on the side of the road near Kellet's Cattle Co. told him about Lorna's Truck Stop which was a gas station across the bridge connecting the two regions. So that's where he believed he could start the sparks of resistance in the Henbane River. With that thought in mind he started to pickup a light jog and made his way to, what he hoped to be, the coordinates the civilian gave him.
As Tyler travelled through the forest, he could start to see thick black smoke rise up from above the tree line. He knew exactly what to expect now. He climbed up a final hill and he lauded eyes on the truck stop. Taking out his binoculars, he scanned the area to see what was there.
"Two buildings, the shed and the store," he whispered to himself. "Two by the front of the shed, two behind the truck and leaning on the blocks, one inside the store, one on the roof and maybe one more by the refuelling stations and two alarms. I can do this." He crept down and made a hasty slide for the back door to the shed. He pushed it open and heard two pairs of footsteps enter.
"You heard 'bout what happened to John?" Came a voice from one of the cultists. He sounded as if he was on the other side of the crate the Tyler was crouched behind.
"Yeah, heard he got taken out by the sinner. He's probably off celebrating with the other heathens of the Holland Valley." The other voice said. One of the cultists turned around and headed for the exit, but didn't notice his friend disappear over the top of the crate. Tyler pulled the lone cultist over the box, shoved him against it and kicked on his head breaking his neck. Tyler then moved to the window where the other cult member went and he did the exact same thing. Flip and snap. Tyler then dashed into a small field of white flowers and immediately felt a bit odd. His vision started to dance with white lights and he could hear everything echo around him. They must've been the flowers Dutch was talking about. Trying to clear his head, he moved towards the next cultist who was leaning against the concrete blockade separating the flowers from the outpost and repeated the same thing again. Flip and snap. The next one was the same. Carefully checking the paths, he hopped over the blockade and headed for the alarm by the front door of the store.
Tyler carefully cut the wire from the switch to the speaker. He then moved around to the front window and vaulted over. Another cultist was looking at something on a clipboard, completely distracted. Tyler snuck over and hit him across the head with his shovel, killing him instantly. He then snuck out the door and made his way up to the roof and walked towards the top of the gas station. A cultist was looking out onto the road, but he was looking in Tyler's direction. Tyler quickly moved to behind the billboard and took out his 1911 with a square suppressor. He told three deep breaths and turned around and fired one shot and watched as the bullet travelled cleanly into the mans forehead. One left. The last one was easy work and took a quick shot to the head and he dropped down instantly. The first steps to freedom were complete.