Chapter 1
The Deputy felt her cheeks and nose burning with icy wind as she pulled her jacket closer to her. It was wintertime in Hope County and the Whitetail Mountains didn't disappoint. Delicate snow fell over the trees while the Deputy trudged through the already stacked up snow surrounding her. There was no sunlight to be seen through the thick, pillowy clouds that seemed to sock the area in, making her feel even more isolated.
This was supposed to be an isolated journey, that's why the Deputy chose to go alone. It was actually a hunting trip, mixed with a bit of pleasurable hiking. But then the snow came. The Deputy was just glad that it didn't get too cold, just cold enough to cast large ducktails of snow down. It was incredibly beautiful, with the snow clinging to the trees so amazingly. When the Deputy turned to look at where she'd came from, all she saw was trees. Her footprints were being filled with snow as she walked, hiding her path.
It also effectively hid the tracks of the deer she was hunting. But to the Deputy, just getting the chance to hike and see the County from such an incredible view was worth it, even if she didn't get any extra meat. That was when she found a creek. Well, more like the creek found her.
She knew she was near a stream, she could tell by the impressions in the snow, but she'd figured that it'd be frozen by now. By God, it was almost January. She used a stick to check the ice, tapping it and waiting to see if there was any water below a thin sheet of ice. She was pleased to hear absolutely nothing, not even running water. The reason she wanted to walk on it was because there was a pair of steep hills that the Deputy didn't want to climb. Past the hills the ground seemed to flatten out, so the Deputy figured that if she followed the much less steep stream then she'd be able to make it up easier.
She had a plan and everything, once she reached a nice space with some trees and a flatter area she'd make a fire and spend the night, returning to the Wolf's Den tomorrow, hopefully with a deer in tow. All she had to do was walk up the creek. She brought her stick with her, using it to check the ice in front of her. As she walked, the snow under her feet crunched and flattened into the ice. The Deputy had to be careful as she walked to not slip and fall.
The snow crunched so loudly it made the Deputy pause. That sounded much louder then any of her other footsteps. She dismissed the concern, sure she'd only imagined the noise and that her paranoia was making it sound worse in her own head. So she pressed on, continuing forward up the creek. Her stick gave her no warning of a weakened spot of ice, but her feet found it.
She paused on the creek, a wolf was watching her from upstream, standing on a rock that overlooked the rest of the creek. She shifted her weight, not sure whether or not to grab her gun off her shoulder. She reached for it, deciding it was better to arm herself then let the wolf taunt her and then the ice broke. The 'shallow creek' she'd been walking on turned out to be deeper than she was tall. When she broke through the crust of ice she had no time to move, it just plunked right to the bottom of the creek. She thrashed and screamed, plunging into the water.
The freezing water flooded her clothes, cutting straight to her bones. Instantly her chilled body temperature turned to frigid. The fast flowing water threatened to pull her under the ice, only being stopped by her stick she refused to let go of, that was longer than the hole she fell through was wide. It was dark under the ice and the cold knocked the Deputy's breath right out of her chest. She hurriedly pulled herself up to the hole, gripping the thin ice sheet over top the water. Breaking through the watery surface, the Deputy took a large, painful breath.
She tried to stop her brain from focusing on the pain she was in and tried instead to focus on getting out of the hole. She used her stick to try and stab another hole in the ice to anchor her stick so that she could try and heave herself up out of the water. She managed to get her stick anchored and she scrambled to pull herself up. Then that section of ice broke that was under her, plunging her back into the icy water again.
She felt like a wild animal, trapped in the ice. Her breath came out in panicked pants, trying desperately to get a hold on something she could use to pull herself out. She glanced up, seeing the wolf watching her with a strange expression, it almost seemed intrigued.
"Do you want to help me?" She yelled at the wolf, it didn't even flinch. The Deputy chided herself for spending valuable time yelling at a wild animal instead of getting herself out of this situation.
The Deputy began panicking, her fingers and toes were already going numb, her clothes and pack were weighing her down and making her incredibly heavy. She knew that she had to just stay focused on getting out but it was hard when her mind wanted to panic. She held fast to her stick, using it again to get an anchor, inching her way to the river shore. The snow was melting away under the water she splashed all around, creating an even colder slush that packed onto her clothes.
Eventually, she was able to pull herself up onto thicker ice, getting her out of the freezing water. Now she had to face an even more difficult challenge, getting somewhere she could build a fire and warm up. The air around her was already causing the tips of her hair to freeze, her face was numb from the wind that was inescapable. She realized how heavy water made her, and how challenging the next part of her journey was going to be.
How unlucky she could possibly be, the Deputy didn't know, but she couldn't be more unlucky than this.
She was wrong.
She packed herself and her soaked gear up the river, reaching a flatter area above the two hills. Quickly, she found a tree to build a fire under and brushed the snow away till she reached the ground. She dropped her pack off her shoulders, hurriedly taking off her gloves so she could try to get out her fire starter, praying that the inside of her bag didn't get wet.
As soon as her gloves came off her fingers they became number faster. The tips of her fingers felt pins and needles every time she brushed them against anything. She could barely get a grip around the zipper, but she managed to unzip it just enough to plunge her hand inside, reaching around for her firestarter.
She pulled out her lighter, given to her by Sharky, and her lint. Much to her dismay, it was wet. It would never be able to light while damp. The Deputy cursed and dropped the lint back into the bag. She turned to the tree, hoping to find some sort of pitch she could use to start a fire with. She found a single drip, frozen to the tree. Hopeful, the Deputy went back to her bag to try and find her hunting knife.
Then she made a heartbreaking discovery. It had fallen off in the river. It was normally tied to a pocket on the back of her pack, but now it was gone. It had to be at the bottom of the river now, lost to the world until the spring thaw. And, to make things worse, her radio had gotten wet and now it wouldn't turn on.
So she was stuck. Alone. Drenched in freezing water. With no radio. And no firestarter.
She let out a sigh. Then she cursed. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" She exclaimed, angry at herself for not bringing somebody else like Grace. Angry that she was too lazy to just climb the hill instead of taking the river. She knew there was no way she could get anywhere fast enough to be able to warm up. She really had no options.
Angry, shivering, and cold, the Deputy turned and leaned against the tree she couldn't cut the pitch out of. She folded her arms over she chest, trying her best to hold in some body heat. She hadn't noticed that the snow had stopped falling, turning everything calm and cold. She could hear the sound of running water now, coming from the hole she'd punched in the ice. She adjusted her hat over her head, but it didn't help. It was wet too, and was beginning to get ice crystals on it. She slid her freezing glove on as well, figuring that it'd be better to have some barrier between her and the unforgiving wind.
Part of her was hopeful that something amazing would happen, that she would be saved somehow. But another part of her was certain she would die. She rested her head against the base of the tree, a deep sigh exiting her quivering lips. She looked over the Whitetail Mountains as she thought about what she was doing there.
Everything had spiraled out of control. She wasn't even supposed to be here, she wasn't supposed to die. Not like this. Not stuck like this, so helpless against the world. So vulnerable against the unforgiving elements. She was supposed to die when she was old. When she had tons of grandkids that didn't realize she was anybody but Grandma. When she had kids that didn't realize she was anybody but Mom. She was supposed to live fully, but now she was just cold on a mountain, swept up in a religious cults mess.
She let out a tear, quickly wiping it away so that it didn't freeze. She realized that she couldn't feel her fingertips under her glove. Everything was closing in. Her arms were getting harder to move, her legs seemed fixed in their position, too tired to move. The Deputy just swallowed, and stared at the beautiful snow.
As her eyes got heavy, the Deputy heard a noise. She looked up to see a wolf standing before her. It was the same wolf from before. It was cautious but could tell she was no threat. He edged closer and closer to her, laying down about 20 feet away from her. He rested his head on his folded paws, he didn't seem to be the least bit affected by the plunging temperatures.
"Hello." The Deputy spoke in a ragged voice. "C-come to see me again? I'm a-afraid I'm going to be l-little more than a meal to you s-soon." She spoke gently, her voice couldn't reach a very loud octave now. The wolf appreciated her speaking so softly, he didn't like being yelled at earlier.
He watched her with keen, dark eyes. He seemed to be mourning with her, quietly watching as she suffered.
"Is someone there?" A voice called out in the wind. The Deputy was sure she'd imagined it. Great, now along with hypothermia she was hallucinating.
But just as she convinced herself that it was in her head she heard the voice again. "Deputy? Is that you?" The wolf perked up, looked over to her left at the woods. The Deputy followed his gaze to a tall man with winter clothes on. No way. No way is she this unlucky.
It was Jacob Seed. She had to close her eyes, processing what was happening. When she opened them, the wolf was gone and Jacob was marching over to her with his long snowshoes gliding over the top of the snow. "Deputy, wake up." His gruff voice demanded and she barely tilted her head up to him. She was shivering so violently that she was certain he could hear her teeth chatter.
Jacob leaned down to her level, studying her face. "What the fuck happened to you?" He asked, looking over at her wet pack and lighter sitting in the snow.
With a tired, shaky hand the Deputy motioned to the river. "Fell...fell in." She shivered. "Couldn't...fire..."
Jacob muttered a curse and stuffed her lighter in her bag, zipping it back up. "I don't...want to die." She said, her voice barely higher than a whisper.
"I'm not gonna let you die, not that easily." Jacob said, throwing her pack and gun onto his shoulder. "Come on." He uncrossed her arms, pulling one up around his neck. He heaved her up to numb feet, wrapping one arm around her waist. The pain she felt in her feet was immense, like daggers being stabbed through each nerve with every step.
She couldn't help but whimper at the pain. "Come on now, don't get soft on me." Jacob grumbled. The Deputy was too tired and cold and in too much pain to respond. She didn't even know where they were going, maybe Jacob had made a fire somewhere? Just thinking of fire, warm, crackling, it was nice to imagine.
"Deputy, come on we're almost there. Don't you dare fall asleep." Jacob gave the Deputy a good jolt, making her head bob back up from looking at the ground.
"Where..." Was all the Deputy could get out, but Jacob understood.
"You'll see soon enough, come on you're getting heavy." He said, rousing her and trying to get her to move more. If she stayed moving and working then her blood would pump and help her stay alive.
Jacob's beard was scratchy against the Deputy's stinging cheek. The pain of it did help her stay focused, but it was incredibly tasking. "Look, up ahead, we're almost there." Jacob said, adjusting his grip on the Deputy's waist.
Up ahead of them was a small cabin with a warm glow ebbing through the windows. The chimney pipe had smoke pouring out of it. That meant there was a fire waiting for them. That meant being warm. And that meant the Deputy may not die on that cold mountain side.
"...How?" The Deputy stammered out.
Jacob went around a tree stump, walking down a small hill to where the cabin sat nestled in the trees. "It's my hunting cabin." He said simply and shuffled the two packs on his shoulders.
When they got down to the cabin's door Jacob opened the door. He helped the Deputy inside the dimly lit cabin and dropped their packs on the ground. Instantly, the Deputy was hit with a wave of warmth. It was so amazing that she clung to Jacob's shoulder to stop her body from falling to the ground and going to sleep. Jacob took off his snowshoes and began taking the Deputy's clothes off.
First came the hat and gloves, which he tossed on the ground next to his. He leaned her against the wall, letting her keep her balance by holding onto a coat rack. Then he unzipped her soaking jacket, peeling it off her shoulders. He tapped his shoulder, signaling for the Deputy to hold it while he took off her snow pants and snow boots. She almost fell over when he asked her to lift her feet but he stabilized her by placing a hand on her hips.
"Damn you really did get soaked, even your base layer is wet." He remarked with a scoff. The Deputy nodded tiredly, trying to wiggle her way out of her damp undershirt. Jacob stood up and stopped her. "Let me." He said, not asking, and reached for her undershirt. The Deputy grabbed his hand, stopping him.
"Look I'm not going to do anything to you, I'm just getting you out of your wet clothes." He said and lifted her undershirt. He quickly realized why the Deputy didn't want him taking off her undershirt, she wasn't wearing a bra. So he walked behind her back and finished taking off her base layers behind her. She had a bandage patch stuck to her abdomen, but it wasn't that wet, mostly her base layer protected her skin from the water, so Jacob didn't try to change it.
The Deputy's face flushed red, of course it had been from the heat before, but now it was from embarrassment. She folded her arms over her chest, though her arms were shockingly cold to her chest. Once he got her base leggings off (yes she was wearing underwear) he carefully walked her over to the couch sitting in front of the fire. He walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a blanket, which he laid over the Deputy.
"Thank you..." Her voice was still weak from cold but Jacob could hear her.
He didn't respond, he only took off his own snow clothes and hung both of their clothes in front of the fire to dry. When he turned to look at the Deputy she was laying down on the couch, her eyes closed with the blanket covering everything but her forehead.
Jacob shook his head and walked over to the small kitchen cabinets, pulling out a can of something. He grabbed a spoon and walked over to a chair next to the couch, lowering himself down to it. He leaned back into the chair and looked over at the Deputy's sleeping figure. How fucked up is this situation. He thought to himself. All I wanted was a night to myself and now the Deputy is sleeping on my couch, naked.
Jacob finished his can of food and took out his large knife. He grabbed a piece of wood that was sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch and began to whittle it. He was whittling for quite some time, occasionally getting up to put another couple of logs on the fire.
He thought about how he found the Deputy. Sitting up against a tree, talking to nothing in a small voice, her eyes basically rolling into the back of her head. It was as if she'd given up entirely. And she didn't look thrilled to see Jacob, but he had that affect on people. He knew just how strong the Deputy was, she'd passed every trial he'd thrown at her with flying colors. He had a hard time believing that was all it took to kill her.
Every time he'd seen her, on the cameras, when he captured her, when John and Joseph spoke of her, she was this strong almost unbeatable force. She was fueled by some sort of anger or wit that made her tough, that was what he liked about her. She acted like she wasn't afraid of anything. But he had felt her fear today, when she told him that she didn't want to die that was genuine. She had every reason to turn away Jacob's help, of course he wouldn't have listened and would have simply drug her back to the cabin himself. He was actually expecting her to ignore him and tell him to fuck off. But she didn't, it was strange. It was so strange that it kept him up wondering what her reasoning was for doing so. It couldn't have been more than her internal will to survive, right?
At some early hour of the morning, Jacob looked over at the Deputy. She was fast asleep, never moving from her spot under the blanket, not even to shift her weight. It was amusing to watch her, it almost caught him off guard how peaceful she looked. In his head he knew that she was the one causing all of the chaos he tried so desperately to control but watching her in such a weakened state was...confusing. She appeared harmless, more like a young child than a combat trained adult. But Jacob knew from watching his cameras the type of destruction she was capable of.
Joseph always preached about loving everyone, even your enemies, but if Jacob tried that then he was afraid it would hinder his ability to create more Judges and fighters for Eden's Gate. So Jacob looked on to the sinners as the weak he can make strong, that's what he's done so far with the Deputy. He could tell from the moment he started working with her that she was strong willed and bull headed, almost to a fault. But Joseph assured him that with enough time, he could show her their side of the story and that she would be able to appreciate what they do.
"Remember Jacob, no one is too lost to be saved. The Deputy shares our ideals for peace and comfort for our families, we must use our tools to show her the right path and she will follow." He told Jacob after their first encounter with the Deputy. He had to respect the Father's wishes and try to turn the Deputy over to their side. He wondered if that was one reason why he saved her in the first place, to show her what it would mean to be one of them.
The wind shook the roof of the tiny cabin, effectively jolting Jacob out of his thoughts. Outside the window Jacob could see snow whirling at intense speeds. He shook his head, thinking about how terrible it would be to be sitting out there, under a tree.
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