Chapter Text
You didn't really know why they decided to take you on this mission. After all, you were only a junior deputy! A newbie! But here you were, standing by a helicopter, arms crossed and feet tapping as you waited with the sheriff and the other two deputies. Deputy Pratt and Deputy Hudson. You liked them, they were always quite sweet and went out to drinks with you. Hudson was few years older and Pratt was a bit younger, only by three years however.
Marshal Burke strode up, eyeing all of you. "All ready?" Sheriff nodded. "Yeah, all ready to go." Burke turned to you, "I didn't know we were taking the rookie." Whitehorse clapped a hand on your shoulder and you jolted. "I assure you, they're perfectly capable. They'll be the one slapping the cuffs on that bastard." Your heart stopped. You were gonna cuff him? Why couldn't you just wait in the helicopter? You gave the marshal a smile, straightening your posture. "I won't let you down. Plus this will be easy right? Go in, get the guy, come back." The marshal chuckled lowly. "Alright. Let's go then."
You sighed when the video cut, a 'no signal' message across the screen. "Don't waste your time rook," You looked up. "There's no signal out here."
"Crossing over the Henbane now."
"Oh fuck. There he is."
You saw a huge statue pass by the window, it was of the father. Holding a bible with a hand outstretched. 'God... what a narcissist..' You thought frowning. Hudson's voice came through the headsets. "We're in peggy country now."
"How much longer?" The marshal grumbled.
"Just long enough for you to change your mind" Sheriff replied, giving you a look. "So we can turn this bird around."
"You want to ignore a federal warrant sheriff?"
"No sir." A pause. "I want you to realize the reality of this situation. Joseph Seed... he's not a man to be fucked with." You swallowed a lump in your throat.
Why oh WHY did they take you? You were starting to regret getting in this helicopter.
Maybe if you jumped-
Nah. Not an option.
The sheriff continued, "We've had run ins with him before, they didn't exactly go our way."
Yeah... yeah you remember him talking about those...
After some more bickering between the two men, sheriff turned to Pratt. "Pratt, open a com with dispatch."
You listened as he exchanged with Nancy.
"You going through with it? Over."
"Unfortunately yes, still trying to talk some sense into our friend the marshal.."
Burke snorted, glancing at you. You averted your eyes, zoning out as the Montana landscape passed you. Soon a compound came into your view. Big white buildings with green roofs. 'Aw fuck.' You thought, chewing your lip. You could feel your heart hammering in your chest, almost like it was trying to break through the ribs.
As the helicopter landed, Whitehorse spoke again. "Dispatch you still there?..... If you don’t hear from us in 15 minutes send in everyone, call the goddamn national guard if you have to. Over." You all began to unbuckle your seatbelts. 'Or just call them now..'
"Ok three rules. Stick close, keep your guns in their holsters and let me do the talking. Got it?" You nodded.
You didn't want to be here.
"Alright everyone. Stay sharp. Let's go!" You hopped out along with the marshal, sheriff, and Hudson.
You tried to keep your eyes ahead as you walk through the compound. The crunch of gravel under your boots as you walked and your heartbeat was all you heard. Along with your quick and small breaths. God you gonna have a panic attack.
You sped up as you glanced behind your shoulder and spotted some cultists following you, gripping guns. You nearly ran into Hudson and she gave you a worried glance. "You ok?" She whispered. You nodded. "Yeah... nerves." She gave your hand a squeeze. "It'll be ok. In and out. Easy."
All four of you finally arrived at the church, where you could hear a faint song going on. Marshal Burke reached for the door, but the sheriff stopped him. "Whoa, if we're doing this we're doing it my way. Quietly.. Calmly. Got it?"
Marshal sighed. "Yeah, fine."
"Hudson, on the door, watch our backs. Don't let any of these people get in. Rookie? On me."
Why can't they just say your name instead of calling you that? Especially in front of a bunch of cultists. It was like they were announcing you were an easy target.
Sheriff turned to Burke. "And you? Just... try not to do anything stupid."
"Relax sheriff.." Marshal put a hand on Whitehorse's arm. "Your name is gonna be in the papers." As they went to open the doors Hudson turned to you. "You'll be fine." You nodded, following the two men into the building.
First thing you noticed.
Did... No one shave in this cult? Like seriously. Do they not have razors? You saw the figure of man at the front, light surrounding him as he spoke. The wooden floors creaked as you moved forward, everyone in the building turning to you and watching as you approached the speaker.
Joseph Seed. The Father.
He stood in front of you, wearing only pants, showing off scars and tattoos. His hair was tied up in a bun and he wore theses big orange-yellow sunglasses. A cross attached to string wrapped around his left hand. He looked older than you, a scruffy beard covering the lower half of his face. You spotted three others in the front. A woman, wearing a floral white dress with shoulder length blonde hair and a curious look on her face. The other two were also men. One had a long coat on, dark hair smoothed back and a neatly trimmed beard. His blue shirt was unbuttoned, showing off a scar running across his chest. The other man was more of a red head. With the sides of his head shaved all the way down. He wore what looked like army clothes.
They all stared.... at you. You shivered, wanting to look away but not wanting to show weakness. So you stared back at the four.
"Joseph Seed!" The marshal took out a piece of paper. "I have a warrant issued for your arrest. On the suspicion of kidnapping with the intent to harm. Now I want you to step forward, and keep your hands where I can see em."
You started to sweat when cult members started surrounding you. Joseph raised his hands. "There they are.. Locusts in our garden. They've come for me. Come to take me away from you."
This man was nuts. With a capital N.
"They've some to destroy all that we've built!" The cultists stepped forward but the sheriff held his hand out. "Stand down! Everyone calm down!" Your hands went down, gently grabbing the handcuffs on your belt.
Joseph stepped forward. "We knew this time would come. We've prepared for it. Go." Slowly the members filed out, giving you glares as they passed.
It was you three and the Seeds now.
You heard Joseph start talking again before marshal cut him off. "Step forward."
"And I saw.. And behold..." He slowly turned his head. "It was Whitehorse..." He turned his gaze to you, holding his hands out. You seemed frozen, hands clutching the cuffs as you stood, glued to your spot as everyone seemed to look at you.
"And Hell followed with him.."
"Rookie, cuff this son of a bitch."
"God will not let you take me."
You took a step forward. God you were sweating. Were your hands shaking? Fuck fuck fuck. You hope they didn't notice. You felt faint. God was it hot in here? Jesus Christ it's so hot...
You locked eyes with the four leaders and their gazes seemed to taunt you.
Do it.
Cuff him.
Just see what happens.
Do. It.
You finally reached out, grabbing his hands and locking the cuffs around them.
You felt like you just did something horribly wrong.
"Sometimes the best thing to do... is to walk away."
You led The Father through the compound back to the safety of the helicopter.
Almost... So close. You almost screamed when you heard a gunshot, nearly shoving Joseph forward. Hudson waved to you. "C'mon!!" You pushed Joseph forward, climbing into a seat across from him. Marshal shoved a cultist away as the helicopter took off. The helicopter shook as more followers leapt onto it, trying to grab at you from the outside. One ran into the wings, splattering blood everywhere. You heard Hudson shriek. Whitehorse and Pratt were yelling something as was the marshal but you couldn't hear them.
'I'm gonna die. This is where I die. I never got to say goodbye. I'm gonna doe here with this insane man in a fiery crash. Fuck! Fuck!!!!'
You don't know if you were screaming or not, you just remember hearing everyone yelling as the copter spun out of control. The Father was serene, his eyes closed as he sang to himself.
That was the last thing you saw before you crashed.