𝗥𝗢𝗟𝗘𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗢

𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲.

                               john seed : the herald
                               ❝ 𝐬𝐢𝐧 must be 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 so it may be 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝❞

      he looked at his clock. it ticked with every second that passed. it was late. 12 p.m.. he was laying down in bed, unable to sleep. thoughts kept him awake, nagging and eating at him. regrets, mostly . . . things he didn't say, things he did say . . . poppy. his poppy. he had her for such a short time, but he couldn't help thinking of her as his. it was . . . bad.

     john laid in his bed, watching the clock tick until it hit 12:30. he sighed, closing his eyes. he tried his best to sleep.

𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐓. is that all you have ?

      john managed to get a few hours of sleep. he woke up and got ready, brushing his hair and choosing his nicest clothes. he had a baptism today. five lucky souls, picked and plucked by the members of eden's gate. he walked through his farm to his truck, listening to the excited words coming from his brothers and sisters. "i'm so excited," a girl said as he passed, "to meet our new brothers and sisters." it brought a smile to his face, a genuine one.

      the lake was connected to a river, so he could hear the water rushing, loud as it could be. it muffled the terrified screams of their new recruits. john frowned, signaling for his brothers to put their guns down, which they did. the recruits were on their knees, tied up, with blindfolds covering their eyes. their mouths were left open, and he could see the way they gaped open in terror, screams and cries leaving them. as he stood in front of them, he motioned for their blindfolds to be removed, to let them see the light. to let them see him. he saw their faces and he smiled, "we must wash away our past. we must expose our sins." he unbuttoned his shirt, letting it fall, exposing his tattoos. his sins. sloth. lust.

     "we must atone," john froze. he saw her. poppy. he blinked; maybe it was his mind, playing tricks on him. did he sin? was he being punished for his lust? but he blinked and she didn't disappear. he tried to hold back a smile; perhaps, she saw the light. maybe she saw that eden's gate was the only way to redemption. maybe- she wanted him. his brothers looked at him and he coughed. "we must atone. only then may we stand in god's light and walk through the gate to eden." he finished his speech, pausing to let his words sink in. dread filled their faces. hopelessness. he wondered why; they were going to be saved. "deliver them," he breathed. "but not her, i will cleanse her myself." he motioned for poppy, and his brothers grabbed the other four, dragging them to the water. the screams started up again but he couldn't hear them. they were background noise to him as he looked at poppy, eyes wide.

                              rook : the deputy
                              ❝ 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 the 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 dressed like a 𝐦𝐚𝐧❞

     'only you and you alone can thrill me like you do and fill my heart with love for only you' the song echoed in his head, the blurry vision of jacob seed filling his sight, standing over him . . . his rough hands caressing his face, humming the song so softly . . . he wasn't sure if it was real, as he blinked his eyes open. green forest. birds chirping. "no," he breathed out, looking around frantically. "no, no, no-" why did he leave him? where did he go? rook needed him. rook needed jacob, so so so much. he could hear the shouts of men, the militia? eli? no, no! he didn't . . . he shook his head, letting out a low groan. he held his head in his hands, so confused. why did he feel this way? his heart ached- for the man who kidnapped him. kidnapped and tortured him!

     rook frowned, getting up on shaky legs. he needed to see him again. to see what'd it do to him. he turned away from the shouts, from the milita. he checked his pockets and found his pistol, deciding to go shoot up some cult members to get jacob's attention. the thought of it made his stomach flutter in a way it never had before.

     after a few hours of destroying cult strongholds and killing bastards, rook sat by his radio in his car, boomer settled in his lap. he pet the dog idly as he waited, oh so desperately to pick something up on his radio. he hummed the song quietly, scratching behind boomer's ears. "good boy," he whispered softly to him. the dog barked in turn and he smiled, shaking his head. "i know, i know. i'm acting a 'lil crazy right now, aren't i, boy?"