John Seed x OF Deputy - You're My Sin

Chapter Five

"When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations, then you must destroy them totally." I open my eyes and see the Peggie in front of me. I move for the back door, trying to shove it open as he starts moving. The door is jammed. I turn to face the Peggie and see the gun he has pointed at me. Right before he can pull the trigger, a hole appears in his forehead and he drops.

I turn back to the doors. They are now open and a man stands before me. He's wearing a bulletproof vest. He opens the cover of his Bible and places the gun into a hole cut through the pages.

"And show them no mercy," he finishes. He pulls a knife from his back pocket and cuts my hands free. "I'm Pastor Jerome. Stay with me. Didn't go to all this trouble just to lose you now." A woman comes up behind him and hands me a gun. I take it gratefully and head toward the yelling. Resistance members litter the roads. A group of Peggies is stationed at a building that blocks the road, shooting at everyone who comes close.

I rush forward, shooting as many of them as I can manage. After all of them are down, the Pastor comes up to me.

"I knew it meant trouble when we couldn't reach you," he says. "I'm glad the Lord pointed me in the right direction. We got you back, but there's still others that need our help. Cult's movin' the rest of the prisoners up the road. They got Merle too. Time's wasting. Grab what you can and go save 'em." I keep following the road and the bodies. There are more Peggie trucks and vans; how many people were 'cleansed' tonight?

Mortars drop from the sky, blowing the ground up in front of me. I take off running, moving as fast as I can. The bridge seems like the worst way to get across as constant bombs are exploding on it. I jump on a zipline and then run the rest of the way up. I shoot the Peggie that's using the mortar. He has two friends with him who I shoot before untying Merle.

"Deputy, we've sent in a chopper to pick you up. So just hold your ground 'till it gets there," Pastor Jerome comes over the radio. I start shooting mortars, keeping the bridge and the small paths beneath it under constant fire. It's unlikely that any of them will get past that. However, one of them does. A pipe hits me in the back, causing me to fall away from the mortar. I grab my gun and shoot them, taking them down before they can hit me again.

I hear footsteps, meaning more of them are on their way. I push myself up and crouch behind a rock for cover. They become impossible to hear as a helicopter moves in above us. Merle and I keep shooting as we run over the helicopter. It barely lands before we're in it and flying away.

Pastor Jerome comes back on the radio, "Now you see what we're up against. They're taking us against our will, Deputy. I know you're looking for your friend, but Fall's End was just a piece of a whole community that needs our help. Once we're strong enough, we'll free every last one of those prisoners. That's a promise."

The helicopter lands at a spot with some green lights. I stumble out of the seat and collapse onto a log. The past week of fighting seems to catch up to me at once. I place my head in my hands and try to steady my breathing.

The next time I open my eyes, it's no longer night and I'm alone. I'm laying on the ground next to the log. My clothes are all still drenched and I'm shivering. I really need to get somewhere safe and find something dry to wear. A house sits alone on the mountain below me. I slowly make my way down the trail.

There's a note on the shed next to the house about a prepper stash. The door to the house is wide open. Blood stains the wood floors, and a woman's body lies in the bedroom. The Peggies must have been here looking for the stash. I feel bad about it, but I search through the woman's closet and get some dry clothes. I strip off my wet clothes and use some dry ones from her closet to towel myself off. Once my skin is no longer dripping, I put the new clothes on. Even after layering up, I'm still cold.