Alpha (Jacob Seed X Deputy OC)

29 - Protect The Pack

I could feel everyone's eyes boring into me as I stood stunned in the aisle of the church.

'Jacob I'm not pregnant.' I said slowly, trying once again to approach him. I gave my friends the signal to stand down, afraid that if anyone tried anything Jacob may go into a frenzy.

'Yes you are.' Joseph interjected, his voice calm and unwavering. 'Don't lie to him sinner.'

'You're the one who's lying!' I spat at the Father who just looked at me with a candescent expression on his face. Jacob's eyes drifted between Joseph and myself, unsure of who to believe. There was genuine fear painted across his features. Fear of responsibility and having to care for something so fragile. The overwhelming feeling that he may well fail and become what his own father was. Joseph knew that for Jacob, this was a nightmare coming true right before his eyes.

'You see brother? So desperate to sink her claws into you that she's defying the honest truth of God so that you'll stay.' Joseph walked behind Jacob, slowly taking hold of his elbows and lifted the sightline of the gun up. The red laser glinted onto my shirt, illuminating my stomach. 'But it's okay. We can cleanse you both of the sin you've committed. We can cut it out and make it go away. Then she will have a hold on you no longer.' He gently eased Jacob's fingers onto the trigger as I stood frozen on the spot. 'All you have to do is shoot soldier. Pregnancy will make her a burden, it'll make her weak. And we know what happens to the weak.' Joseph spoke softly in his older brother's ear and I watched the ginger-haired man slowly close his eyes, nodding his head along.

'Jacob don't.' I pleaded, defensively trying to cover my stomach even though I truly believed nothing was inside it.

'Hunt. Train. Kill. Sacrifice.' Joseph encouraged. 'Cull the herd Jacob. It's what you do. It's your purpose.'

'No it's not! Jacob, listen to me. Remember what you taught me; the wolf who hunts alone, dies alone! You don't have to be on your own anymore!' My desperate pleas seemed to get through to him as his eyes snapped open and narrowed.

'Protect the pack.' He growled, shrugging Joseph off of his shoulders and whirling the gun onto him. Backing up slowly, Jacob stood protectively in front of me and used his body as a shield.

'It is not an enemy who insults me, I could have handled that but it is you, a man whom I treated as my equal, my personal confidant, my close friend! We had good fellowship together; and we even walked together in the house of God!' Joseph repeated the psalm with malice in his tone, pointing an accusatory finger at Jacob. 'My closest friend whom I trusted, the one who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.'

'You've lost this one, give it up.' The soldier barked his order but Joseph shook his head. He looked blissful, almost happy as he inched towards the back entrance to the church.

'Have I?' He asked openly, jabbing his finger against a button on the wall. The speakers in the church came to life and I felt the edges of my eyes begin to enflame.

Only you,
Can make all this world seem right.

It only took the first lyrics of the song for me to get tunnel vision and reach hunting mode. Lifting the gun that hung across my front, I pushed Jacob out of the way and approached my colleagues who were still hunched on the floor.

'Shut that fuckin' music off now!' I heard Jacob's wavering voice as though I was underwater. It was almost muted in the haze of my cause. 

Only you,
Can make the darkness bright.

My attention landed on Hudson, her eyes aflame with terror. Bruises and cuts adorned her face, a thin trail of blood trickling from her nose. She was weak.

'Rook-'

BANG.

Only you and you alone,
Can thrill me like you do.

Whitehorse was next though he seemed to have already resigned himself to his fate. He had no drive to fight for his survival. How weak.

'I'm sorry Deputy. I should never have brought us here.'

BANG.

And fill my heart with love,
For only you.

Pratt glowered at me as the barrel of my gun rested neatly on his forehead. He was a fighter, it couldn't be denied but he was also a coward.

'After everything I did for you.'

BANG.

The music cut out and I stumbled backwards, colliding with a pew. Vision focussing back in, I saw Jacob and Nick heavily panting. Their guns were pointed up at the stereo outputs on the walls, bullet holes torn through them. Joseph was nowhere to be seen. My gaze then fell onto the now limp bodies of Hudson, Whitehorse and Pratt. Stomach twisting into uncontrollable knots, I let out a deeply set scream that escaped from the depths of my soul. What had I done?

'Pup! Pup stop!' Jacob ran to me, skidding to his knees and bracing his hands against my shoulders. 'Stop it soldier!' He instructed, shaking me hard but the screams wouldn't cease. I screamed and screamed and screamed until my lungs gave out. 'We need to get the fuck outta here.' Jacob barked his orders and for once, my team seemed to listen. They started to file out rapidly but I couldn't even stand up on my own. Jacob slung his arm around my legs and back, hoisting me up into his arms and rushed outside. I stared over his shoulder at the lifeless bodies we were leaving behind. The lives I had ended. 'Don't look pup.' Jacob said quietly but I couldn't take my eyes away.

'So what now?' Grace sighed, rubbing at her face tiredly as we all stopped in the courtyard.

'We need to find Joseph!' Nick tried to rally everyone but they seemed drained of any enthusiasm. A flush of birds tore across the sky above and I followed them lazily with my gaze. The wind began to pick up and I furrowed my brow.

'Jacob... something's wrong.' My murmur was lost as a gust almost knocked me out of his arms. The blaring sound of a siren screeched across the landscape and then bright light consumed me. I felt my body connect with the ground heavily and I struggled onto my hands and knees. The great expanse of white began to fade and a huge mushroom cloud came into view in the distance.

'You've gotta be fuckin' shittin' me.' I heard Jacob close-by and soon caught sight of him, nose bloodied from being knocked down. 'We gotta move now!' He crawled to me, moving into a crouch and helping me up to my feet. Everyone had already started to scatter, running for their lives from the nuclear blast.

'Jacob...' I mumbled, leaning into him woozily. The fall must've concussed me a little.

'S'okay pup I'm thinkin', I'm thinkin'.' He said urgently, trying to come up with a plan to save us.

'Seed! Get in!' Nick beckoned to us from a white Peggie truck, waving frantically. Hesitating for a second, Jacob gave in and took what was realistically our only option. He bundled me into the back before clambering in the passenger seat beside Nick. I stared out of the window, watching flames starting to consume the Earth as the pilot tore the car along the road. The Collapse was upon us just as Joseph had predicted and somehow I felt at fault.