The Collapse (Joseph Seed X Deputy)

Chapter 1

You approached the church for one last stand off. The doors were thrown open by the prophet himself, he stood there for a moment just looking at you. He looked up at the sky.
"And the lamb broke the fifth seal, and I saw under the alter the souls of
Martyrs, slain because of the word of God..." He raised a finger and pointed at you.

"You've made Martyrs out of my family...and I am prepared to do the same to yours." He said as he stepped around you. You turned around and saw all of your friends, old and new.
It frightened you, but you chose not to show it.

"But, God is watching us. And he will judge us on what we choose in this moment." The prophet took a step closer to you. "I told you that we were living in a word on the brink...where every slight...every injustice...where every choice reveals our sins."
He raised his eyebrows.
"And where have those sins have led us? Where have those sins led you...?"

"Your friends have been taken and tortured, And it's your fault.
The world is on fire and it's your fault...was it worth it? Was it? When are you gonna realize that every problem cannot be solved with a bullet? When you first came here, I gave you the choice to walk away."
He began to walk back to the front of the church.

"You chose not to. In the face of God I am making you that offer one last time..." He said turning to you.
"Put down your guns. And you take your friends. You leave me and my flock...and you go away in peace."
"Go in peace? You're fucking insane?"
Hudson cut in.
"Is he? We never should have been here in the first place...you know what to do, Rook..."
Pratt commented.

You turned back to the Father and he took a step closer to you. He looked up to the sky and raised his arms.
"Remember...God is watching..."
He put his arms down and looked into your eyes again.
You thought for a moment.
"After all I've done...I don't know if I can just walk away..." You said quietly.
The prophet closed his eyes and looked down. "But, sometimes it's best to just walk away..." You said with a  smile...

Your eyes shot open and you quickly sat up. You sat there for a moment to catch your breath, you sighed and rested your head against the concrete wall behind you. A few nights ago you had convinced Joseph to move the handcuffs from the end of the bed to one of the higher bedposts. You looked up at the ceiling and heard the door open.

"Is everything okay in here?" You heard Joseph say. You took a deep breath and sighed. "Everything's fine...just a weird dream, that's all." You said and looked over at him.
Joseph nodded his head slowly.
You scooted back down and pulled the blanket up to your chin and drifted off to sleep...

***

When you awoke, Joseph was standing over you holding a tray of food. "You shouldn't do that." You said as you sat up. "Do what? Make you food?" You moved your feet on to the floor and  sat the tray on your lap. "Don't just stand over people when they're sleeping." You grumbled. Joseph pulled a chair over and sat in front of you.

"You should be thankful..." He said.
You looked up at him and cocked an eyebrow. "Who said that I wasn't thankful?" Joseph shrugged. "I don't know, maybe your attitude did." And for the first time in days you laughed.
You looked down at the tray and took a bite. "Did you make some for yourself?" You said. Joseph shook his head no. "No...I wasn't really hungry."

You nodded and continued to eat.
There was a sudden boom from outside the bunker that made you jump. You sighed and looked up at Joseph. "Do you think that was thunder or a bomb?" You asked. Joseph shrugged. "I'm not really sure...at this point it could be anything." He replied. You nodded your head in agreement.

After you finished your food, you tried to hand Joseph the tray but the handcuffs stop you from going too far and the tray fell out of your hands.
You looked down at the mess. "Sorry..." You whispered. But Joseph didn't respond, he just picked it up and left the room.

When the door closed you just lied down and closed your eyes. All that you could think about was your family and how you were never going to see them again. You just hoped that it was quick for them. You covered your face and began to cry. you couldn't help but turn your thoughts to Joseph's family and John's beautiful face in his final moments.

You pulled the blanket up to cover your face and sobbed harder. You heard the door open again. "Are you okay, Deputy?" You could hear that Joseph was worried. "W-why did you save me?" You cried out between sobs.
You could hear Joseph walk closer to you. "You're all I have left now...I couldn't just leave you." He said.

You quickly sat up and turned to him.
"But I'm a monster!" You said as tears ran down your cheeks. "I've killed your family, and you let me live."
Joseph looked lost. It had been a long time since he had seen someone cry like you were. Joseph sat down on the bed next to you. He held his arms out and pulled you into a calming embrace.

You were hesitant at first, but you rested your forehead on his bare shoulder as you cried. You wrapped an arm around his torso. you would've gave him a full hug, but the handcuffs stopped you.

After a few minutes, you calmed down and pulled away. You looked down for a moment. "Could you get me something to blow my nose with?"
You looked back up at Joseph he nodded his head and left the room.
A few moments later he came back with a roll of toilet paper and held it out to you. You gave a weak smile and grabbed it. You pulled off a few squares and wiped your nose.

"Thank you." You said, looking up at him. Joseph gave you a smile and nodded his head. He walked over to the door and turned back to face you.
"If you need anything just let me know...okay, Deputy?" You nodded your head. "Okay.." you said quietly.
And with that, Joseph left the room but he kept the door open.

You took a deep breath and sighed.
You scooted back up against the wall again and looked up at the ceiling.
You closed your eyes and heard another boom from outside and you felt the cold concrete behind you rumble...

Author's Note

This is my first attempt at writing an actual story. It'll probably have elements of some other things from my one shots. Please comment and tell me what you think!