When Hope Dies

The Soldier

Daniel's P.O.V.

       "Daniel, get out of there, now. Go to John's region or Faith's, just get out of here! I-" Then a scream. A distant crash. And then... silence. That was the last thing I heard from (Y/n). I had heard all that Jacob said. I knew I was in trouble, I knew. But I couldn't just let her be taken.

       Think straight, Daniel, you can't just run after her guns blazing. I hated to admit it, but I was right. All it could take is one good hit and then I'm down for the count. I needed help. Grabbing the radio I always had at my side, I went to press the button to speak into it but stopped. Soft footsteps.

       The grass crunching footsteps were getting closer. Taking a deep inhale, I held my breath as the unknown person walked past. They hadn't noticed me. I exhaled slowly, as quietly as I could. Pressing the button, I held the radio to my mouth. "I need 2 people to come help, as fast as possible. Pinned down at Elk Jaw Lodge. Jacob's hunters are in the area. Be careful. Do not respond, just come." I whispered into the radio. Putting it back in its spot at my waist, I crouch-crawled to a new area to hide. It'd be able to hide me hopefully until help arrived.

Your P.O.V.

       My head was foggy and my vision was blurred. Sitting up yielded no results. I was secured to a chair. Not just tied, fastened in. There was a projector playing a slideshow of wolves hunting and killing. The man fastening the straps on my wrist wore the same shirt I had seen Daniel wearing the very first time in Joseph's church. The tag on his shirt said Pratt. With some difficulty, I had grabbed his wrist and held him in place.

       "Daniel... Daniel's coming to help." I mumbled, trying to blink away the blurry state of my eyes. "He shouldn't keep trying." Was all Pratt said before pulling his wrist away and leaving me. He went and stood in the corner of the room. Jacob's voice, coming from somewhere behind me, interrupted my thoughts.

"This world is weak. Soft. We've forgotten what it is to be strong." Jacob said, walking within view and blocking some of the projector's light. He was still dressed in the clothes I'd seen him in at Joseph's church. Jacob went and stood at the front of the room, facing the wall.

       The door on the left wall opened, and in walked one of those hunter Peggies. He walked to Jacob, speaking quietly but just loud enough that I could hear him. "We have the Deputy at the veteran's center. The hunters found him." Jacob nodded, an accomplished look on his face. "Good. Have someone come tell me once he's waking up." Jacob waved a hand, trying to get the Peggie out of the room.

       "Actually... that's why I'm here." The Peggie hesitantly said, watching Jacob. An annoyed and even a little angry look crossed Jacob's features.

"This won't happen again. You know what'll happen if it does." Jacob threatened in a low voice, making the Peggie duck his head, and his hands even started to visibly shake. Jacob then looked at the man who had strapped me to the chair and nodded to me and the other 2 people strapped to chairs. "Peaches, get them out and into the van. We'll have to do this later." Jacob huffed, stopping before leaving the room. He backed away from the door and walked to my chair, stopping in front of me.

       I closed my eyes tightly, doing my best to turn my head away from him. An amused 'hmph' came from him. Still facing me, he spoke over his shoulder and said, "Peaches, bring this one to my office in the Veteran's center. We'll be seeing how strong they really are."

Then he left. After Jacob left, 2 Peggies walked in and immediately went to the other 2 hostages, unstrapping what held them to the chair.

Pratt came and unstrapped me from my chair, taking his time. By the time he had me up and out of my chair, the other 2 hostages were already gone. Pratt tied my hands together with rope and led me out of the room. He led me down a flight of stairs and I could see to the outside. I was so close.

There was a lamp on one of the desks in the hall. I paused, not letting Pratt lead me forward. There were no Peggie's around that I could see inside, just a few outside. "I am so so sorry," I fidgeted, looking over my shoulder to glance at Pratt, "Just say that it happened unexpectedly."

       He shook his head before saying, "You'll only make it harder on yourself." And he tried to nudge me forward to make me keep walking. Turning as fast as I could, I grabbed the lamp and swung it at Pratt. The glass lamp cracked as it hit the side of his head, and he fell against the wall before ending up on the floor.

"I'm so sorry..." I mumbled, checking his head to make sure I hadn't done too much surface damage. He was barely conscious and still trying to stand. Standing back up, I found my way to a back door and crawled my way out. There was a Peggie guarding a dirt path not too far away, a car facing the main road sat next to him. If I could just get that car... but how? I had no weapon, I couldn't kill him. An idea popped into my head, and I looked down at my bound wrists.

What would mom think of the murderer you've turned into? The little voice in my head asked me again. I had to ignore it. I wouldn't be able to get out of here if I started to feel guilty. Copying the way I had seen Jess crouch so many times before, I made my way over to the Peggie. He stood facing away from me, making him easy to grab. Putting my bound wrists around his neck, I yanked him backwards and to the ground with me. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for him to stop moving.

<~the next day~>

As I drove the Peggie truck I had stolen, my arms were shaking. I hadn't ever killed a Peggie that close. It felt awful. I'm awful. I'm a murderer. Even if these people deserved it. So many lives ended at my hands. Maybe I'm better off giving up... turning myself over to one of the brothers or even Faith...

No! What kind of thought was that? I couldn't just give up after fighting for so long. It had to be worth something. I had to keep fighting because I need to get home. To mom and to Ann. It had been more than the few days I said I'd be here. Mom and Ann would be worried sick.

The 8 Bit Pizza Bar finally came within view, just before the truck had run out of gas. Hopping out, I went to the door and pushed it open. Everyone else was already here. Except for Daniel. "You look exhausted." Grace commented, walking to me. Looking down she noticed my hands bound together. She pulled a knife out and cut the rope, allowing me to rub my sore wrists.

"Jacob's men got me last night. They got Daniel too." I continued to rub my wrists, walking into the kitchen with Grace at my heels. "Did he use the music box on you? The one with the old song?" There was worry hidden somewhere behind the cautious look in her eyes. "No, I don't even know what you're talking about." I admitted, watching her and Jess let out a sigh if relief.

"He's got this music box that'll brainwash you. Every time you hear the song, you go crazy and just start attacking everyone. That's why he keeps everyone in cages. That and he's a sadistic prick." Jess explained before leaving the kitchen. Looking to Grace, I followed her out of the kitchen. "How do you know so much? Has he kidnapped you too?" I asked both Jess and Grace, earning a 'no' in response.

"We hear about it from people who Jacob's captured. They can't ever set foot up North. They don't want to risk that song playing and making them kill someone they know." Adelaide said, sitting at the counter.

"That sure doesn't stop the Deputy. Dude's not afraid of anything." Sharky said, once again making a tower of glass cups.

"We're supposed to run if we hear the song playing and we're with him. He told all of us that." Jess said, waving a dismissive hand in Sharky's direction. "Either way, Deputy's not with Jacob anymore. Radioed in and said he'd be going solo for a couple days." Jess continued, cleaning her bow while Grace cleaned her gun.

"So what are we supposed to do while he's not here?" I asked, looking around. "Don't you worry, little Hurkies." Hurk said from behind the counter, earning a "I didn't join your little 'cult'" from Jess. He popped up, placing several bottles of various types of alcohol on the counter. Sharky cheered, abandoning his glass cup tower. Everyone just looked around at each other, Sharky and Hurk being the only ones excited for this.

With a shrug, Adelaide grabbed one of the bottles and opened it. "It's time to celebrate kicking some Peggie ass and getting on the road to take back our county." This earned a cheer from Sharky and Hurk. It also lightened the mood, encouraging myself and the others to take part in this celebration. Hurk raised his fists into the air, very loudly cheering, "Let's all get wasted!"