Marie was lightly singing in the truck, happy. It was really late now, closer to the light of dawn than anything else, she should have been in bed 6 hours ago. And yet she was here, next to her dad, their truck making their way back to what she called home. They had crossed a lot of faithful along the way, the closest to the church were searching for the deputy and the others, and the further they got, the calmer and more encline to simply be happy about the events they were. The deputy Pratt was in the back seat, his hands tied up so he couldn't try anything without it being obvious. He was awake now, scared but at the same time it was like he was relieved to be here. Perhaps the hope that since a kid was there, Jacob wouldn't be too rough with him ? Foolish if that was the case; her father knew very well how to keep her away from anything he didn't wanted her to see. Sometimes, when she was supposed to sleep, she could hear pleas and gunshots in the yard. She knew, but she never saw. Other than that the trials were a good example, she still had no clear idea of what they were. She hoped that Staci wouldn't have to go through them, it seemed a harsh experience. Behind with the deputy, making sure he was under control while the Herald was driving and his defenseless daughter was sitting next to him, were Gabriel and his wolf. Even if Bucky wasn't a bliss-crazed judge, he still was good enough to be a guard dog, and he was Gabe's personal wolf. They both sat across the deputy, watching him with suspicious eyes. The wolf was making him uneasy.
Jacob was silent, simply tapping along the song on the wheel of the car, smiling. The little girl knew that if it was just the both of them, he would probably sing along. She liked his singing voice, it was one of the rare times she would see him actually relaxed, even if she had only witnessed it a few times. But right now, with one of his men and a new prisoner in the car, he couldn't allow himself to be anything else than the frightening Jacob Seed. Marie didn't like when he was putting on the mask, it was like her dad was someone else around other people, but she understood why he had to do it. She kept singing until the end of the song, before her father turned the radio down a little. She pouted but didn't protest, catching Staci looking at her in the reflection of her window. Had he be listening to her singing ? She once again found him surprisingly calm for the situation he was in. When he had awoke in the back seat, he had seemed about to cry, looking around and not understanding what was happening. But when he spotted Jacob, and the deadly glare he was giving him, he suddenly turned calm and swallowed back his tears. At first she had thought he was too scared, but now she wondered, maybe he wasn't scared, maybe he felt safe knowing it was her dad who would take care of him. She felt a bit sorry for him, because she was sure he was not going to enjoy his stay. Or maybe he would, if she was to put her grain of salt in the matter...
The radio started to let out another song, but this one she did not know the lyrics of. They weren't listening to the cult radio, it was one that had somehow escaped the wrath of Eden's Gate toward pop music. Thankfully no one in the car gave two shit about it and they could listen to it. This time Gabriel started humming, still hearing the song in the silence of the car, and Jacob was tapping again in rhythm. Marie was thankful for the radio station, because no matter how much she loved the church's song, if she was to heard the tribute to Faith one more time she would wish she was deaf. Even though she was so full of energy and extremely excited about having the deputy with them, the hour was still taking a toll on her, and she found herself yawning as her eyes struggled to stay open. She grumbled something under her breath even she couldn't really understand, and earned a light chuckle from her dad. "We're almost there, you can keep it up for a few minutes ?" She nodded and hummed some sort of agreement, but even rubbing her eyes was not helping anymore.
The girl guessed she had not, after all, managed to stay awake, because in the blink of an eye the truck was stopped and Gabriel was gently shaking her awake. She didn't believe they could teleport so the only explanation was that she had dozed off for a while. "Do you think you can walk ?" She looked into his green eyes and shook her head no, she was way too tired. He nodded and took her into his arms like she weighted nothing. She slid her arms around his neck and held herself there. Her eyes were heavy because of how exhausted she was, they almost hurt. She could see, however, that Jacob was not coming with them any time soon : he was holding Pratt's arm and giving orders to some of the faithful, she recognized the outfit of a Hunter on one, with their red beanie.  Staci seemed scared, but she had to close her eyes before seeing more. She was so tired. After saying something to her dad, Gabriel took her inside. It was weird seeing the building during the night, or rather the very early day, everything was so quiet, so peaceful. Sure there were sounds, but it wasn't as loud as during the day, like what she was used to. She liked it, it felt calmer, as if everyone finally had a time to relax for real. She hugged him tighter and hid her face in his neck. They were in her room quickly enough, and she wondered if she had zoned off again. The adult put her into bed, she was too tired to think about changing clothes, and anyway they were clean...maybe they smelled a bit like smoke. He brought the covers over her tiny body and kissed her on the forehead, something he would have never dared to do if Jacob was around. "Sleep tight now. Have some good dreams." He smiled at her and turned off the light before closing her door, leaving her in the dark.
Marie turned around in her bed, the covers were light but feeling their weight brought her comfort. She had nothing to be comforted about though, did she ? Maybe her meeting this Camille, and how she felt hollow and wrong by simply being next to her. She decided she would hate this woman. She was only bad news, she could feel it, and she didn't liked it at all. Even dad was seeing her as potentially dangerous. The deputy's face flashed before her eyes, and she suddenly felt tears streaming down her own. What ? She groggily rubbed her eyes, what was happening ? For a moment the vision of her face wasn't any bad, on the contrary it was gave her a terrifying sensation of yearning to see it again. It was so weird, it wasn't normal. She really didn't liked it. She tried to think about something else. Why not Staci ? Yes ! Staci was a nice guy, he was pretty and he was funny as well. He had been very nice to her the first time they met, he had left a good first impression. She wondered if her dad saw the same thing in him. If he did maybe she had a chance to make it better, maybe she could make Jacob happier, somehow. She didn't knew how love work, but if the Herald had been able to learn to love her in three months, maybe he could learn to love Staci as well, and the other way around, maybe Pratt could learn ho to love him. It sure would bring a new light onto the Veteran Center, perhaps the place would become even brighter with time.
The girl heard footsteps in the corridor, and her dad's office door opening and closing. She heard him pacing around the room, he wasn't going to be able to sleep before a while. Was the deputy responsible for that ? And if so which one ? She heard the statics of a radio, the low grumble her dad makes when he's upset at someone. She guessed they had not caught Camille, or worse they had and she had escaped. In the end it always came back to her didn't it ? A weird though crossed her mind : 'well she's the main character after all.' marie was too tired to consider analyzing whatever she just had thought, and just closed her eyes. Jacob had said she could sleep away most of tomorrow because of the time they had got back, but she wanted to make him happy, proud even. She forced herself to sleep, bracing herself for any kind of nightmare.

But all she got was Camille standing in front of her, everything else white. And she knew that just for the time of this dream, that she would forget at her awakening, she was where she truly belonged.