Destroyer

Chapter 16

Here she comes dressed in white
Her mouth is filled with flames
Her skin is black, her fingers trace
The diamonds in her veins

Here she comes down from the sun
To wash this country clean
Comes down for us, down from the dust
To murder what remains

Here she comes now dressed in red
To heal this ruined race
I know somewhere, where there's a god
He's lying at her feet

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Nayeli sat quietly in the pick-up truck she had commandeered from a Peggie patrol, having stolen it just outside Joseph's designated Cease-Fire Zone. Her gaze was fixated on the front gates to Joseph Seed's compound. From the looks of it, the Resistance was already way ahead of her, the sounds of shouting and gunfire ringing through her ears. Her hands gripped the steering wheel as though her life depended on it, fear coursing through her as she tried taking deep breaths.

Despite knowing she needed to have a clear head, the entire way here, all she could think about was Jacob. The amount of blood he lost, combined with the time it would be before he received any medical assistance for his bullet wounds made his chances of survival astronomically low. She wasn't even sure if they had made it to the bunker yet or not.

The thought that she had may have to bury another person that she loved was one she could not fathom. She would not know his fate until after she contended with Joseph.

Nayeli exited her vehicle, a pistol strapped to her thighs and her bow and quiver ready to go. She approached the gates cautiously, picking off any stragglers that were fleeing towards the open gates as she spotted the rest of her forces pushing through. At the head of the front line, she spotted Eli, taking on what appeared to be Joseph's Chosen at the front. Nayeli was no use all the way back where she stood but she could not get a clear hit. Nayeli dashed for the nearest low-rise building, grabbing onto the edge of the roof and pulling herself upward to get a tactical view.

The Chosen formed a line of defense around the church in which she knew Joseph Seed was hiding, protected by its walls. The Chosen were mowing down those on the front, Eli having ducked for cover, was spared, fortunately.

"Eli!" Nayeli shouted.

The Whitetail's leader looked up to her direction as she mentioned to the Chosen. If she could just break their wall of defense and get to Joseph, this would all be over.

"Cover me!" she yelled again, holding her breath as she leaped to the next building over.

She could hear Eli shouting to the other Whitetails to continue firing, slowly pick away at Joseph's defenses. Perched on the rooftop, she picked off the distracted Chosen who were unsure which way to look as the Whitetails approached from all directions, backing them to the entrance of the church.

Once she saw a gap in Joseph's defenses, Nayeli took action. She jumped down from the rooftop, rolling across the ground, drawing her bow as she came to a kneeling position, taking down the closest Chosen to her, and proceeded to take another arrow from her quiver and jabbed it into the knee of another as she moved to stand. Chaos continued to erupt behind her as she approached the Church doors, chills running across her skin.

Holstering her bow, she drew her pistol and pushed one of the doors open. The rest of the compound seemed too busy lost in its own chaos as the lamb approached the self-proclaimed Shepard. He standing right where he had been when she and the others had come to arrest him so long ago, though he was faced the other way.

"It's over Joseph." She huffed, her breath barely catching up with her.

He turned around slowly. He was, for some reason, shirtless, even in the face of danger, wearing his signature aviators as he gazed at her with a look of sadness and disappointment. Joseph was, unsettlingly calm as she held the gun to his head. His hands were raised, completely defenseless.