Destroyer

Chapter 7

Two days had passed since Pratt helped Nayeli escape Jacob's compound. She was still visibly shaken from the ordeal but refused to stop moving until she knew she was out of Jacob's territory. She still remembered her first encounter with Jacob years prior, in her mother's shop. He had scared away three of her childhood tormentors, proceeded to purchase a knife, and stood and chatted with her for almost two hours. Nayeli had made a mad dash for the cloth sheet that she knew was hiding away her mother's body but his large arms scooped her up without any effort. He held her until the until she calmed down. He let her kick, scream and cry on him until her lungs felt like they were going to give out. Whoever that man was was definitely not the same one who willingly starved her and kept her imprisoned in a cage. Who forced her to murder those that she had aligned herself within what he called "trials".

Any genuine interest she believed him to have in her life in Hope County was just a strategic move on his part. ironic, out of all the Seed siblings, aside from Joseph, he had been the most kind, if you could even call it that. Every time he went to open the music box, he would hesitate and look at her, but only if it was just them present. When Staci was present or any other cultist was present, you could tell Jacob's bravado was amped up. Had to show who was the alpha when others were present.

Staci had warned her against seeking out the Whitetails before the escape so that left three options: Faith's region, John's region, or Dutch's island. Faith's region was a mind-fuck as it was, and in her already vulnerable state, that was probably the worst place to hide out..not that John was a better option, but the quickest route to Dutch's bunker was via boat which she lacked, and going by foot would mean traversing on the main road, leaving her open to being captured again. At least based off the map she nabbed from an abandoned gas station, she knew she could make it to John's territory within a few hours.

The American-Psycho wanna be was probably still pouting about Nayeli liberating Fall's End anyway. It would be some time before he regrouped his forces. Nayeli continued on by foot, avoiding the roads and sticking to the foliage. At least the sun had begun to set at this point so she would have the cover of darkness to hide her from prying eyes. By her calculations, if she continued Southwest, she could set up camp somewhere near or inside the Silver Lake Trailer Park and then in the morning, continue onto Fall's End where she could recollect herself, gather supplies and regroup with her companions.

It was pitch black by the time she reached the park. She half-expected the Peggie's to return after she rescued Merle Briggs from their grasp during her first bout through the Valley after leaving Rae Rae's pumpkin farm weeks prior, but evidently, they left it deserted. Nayeli picked a trailer with a good sight of the main road but still on the edge of the forest to spend the night in case she had to make a quick getaway. She did a quick search of the trailer, making sure there were any unwanted guests. Nayeli got lucky with this trailer; there were some food rations left behind, and a gas lantern that just needed to be ignited, providing her a bit of light as she prepared her dinner.

Nayeli could not get the food rations open quickly enough; as soon as the wrapping or container came loose she was shoveling the food into her mouth like a wild animal. She choked a few times at the rate she was eating. The weeks she spent in Jacob's hell hole had left her drained to her lowest point.

Midway through eating she finally broke down. Her stomach was cramping from suddenly going from starving to trying to ingest a week's worth of rations, the mental realization that she just up and left Pratt behind (despite her being thrown onto a moving truck being his own action) and the fact that she could be triggered into a killing machine by some 50's song she had once loved to listen to on repeat as a teenager was too much. Who's to say Jacob wouldn't pass on that last bit of info to his other siblings. They could have her at any moment and she would be nothing less than compliant, lest she even remember it. Combined with her side-effects from Faith's Bliss and she would be nothing more than a puppet for the Seeds.