Chapter 6

                                    

                                          
Warning: language, violence, cult talk, etc.
                          
***
                          
Opening my eyes, I was in an unfamiliar room on a leather couch with a blanket covering me. I just now realized I had a rather large black t-shirt on. This was a nice, tidy office room. Obviously, the person that worked here was organized. There was a desk and a swivel chair with papers and manila folders neatly on the desk. Looking on the wall, I seen a picture I'd never forget... It was a picture of Miller, Seed, me, Sanders, Smith, and Ron in that order; the photograph was from when we were all in the army together, right before we went to Iraq... right before everything changed. The picture was in a frame hung on the wall behind the desk. I wonder who would have that photo? Who would hang that picture up in a frame? 
                          
The door was being unlocked from the other side and it swung open rather harshly to reveal a man I used to be really close with. Jacob Seed. Then, he shut the door, locking it. 
                          
"Now, don't you try anything." Jacob ordered, just sparing a glance at me and stalking toward the desk; he started going through files and were skimming through them, not paying any attention to me. 
                          
I guess he knew I wasn't really a threat right now. I didn't have a weapon and I didn't hardly have any energy. 
                          
"What happened?" I asked incredulously, dying to know what occurred all those years ago. 
                          
Jacob was silent for a moment, knowing what I was talking about. "You tried to escape John's bunker, but failed. Hit your damn head and passed out. John was going to make you Atone or some shit, but I had better plans for you. So, I brought you here." 
                          
"You know that's not what I was asking about." I scoffed. 
                          
"I know. Just give me a second to get my thoughts together..." Jacob paused for a good few minutes. "Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we? It's not all sunshine and rainbows... Anyway, did you know it takes ten days for civilization to collapse? Yup. You take away a man's basic needs and he'll revert to his primordial instincts in just ten days. Ah, it's a difficult thing to understand unless you've lived it... That night, when we got ambushed. Our helicopter crashed. Remember?" 
                          
"Yeah... Of course I remember. I'll never forget it." I spoke with a little bit of sadness in my voice.
                          
"Me and Miller dragged you, Smith, and Sanders out of there. Ron was already dead. All three of you were knocked out. Miller and I were the only ones awake, so, we went out to get some help. Fought off a few men. Then when we ventured out farther, I realized we had no food. No radio. Nearest base, two hundred clicks to the south. And we were far away from you guys, so we just kept on walking. Well, by the third day, I knew we were lost. Day six... ran out of water. We both know what that's like... Difficult to swallow." Jacob confessed as he looked down at his shoes, thinking hard about what he was going to say next. 
                          
"Yes." I closed my eyes, thinking about our time in the war. 
                          
"On the seventh day, Miller's legs started going all wonky. Did you know your brain starts to eat your muscles in order to survive? And by the eighth day, the wolves were closing in... And I looked at Miller and I could tell we're as good as dead. And I accepted that. And in that acceptance, came clarity. You see, I wasn't looking at Miller, I was looking at an opportunity. It wasn't something I wanted... it was something that I had to do. It was, it was my test." Jacob spoke softly and looked up into my now open eyes. "Now you see, Miller's sacrifice wasn't about me walking out of that desert. It was about bringing me here. The weak have their purpose. You'll understand that soon enough." 
                          
My mouth fell open; I was in complete shock. "So you... you ate him." 
                          
Jacob nodded his head. 
                          
"I get it. That'd be a hard thing to do. You do what you gotta do to survive. I'm just shocked, that's all." I stated, holding the blanket around me tighter.
                          
The oldest Seed sibling replied, "Yeah."
                          
Silence filled the air for a few minutes; it wasn't an uncomfortable silence though. 
                          
"So, uh... Why am I here?" I questioned, wondering why I was truly here.
                          
"I want you, Johnson, to be my right hand." Jacob stated matter of factly.
                          
"What? Why? I'm just a Deputy." 
                          
His bright blue eyes looked into mine. Seed replied, "You know how to fight. I've known you for years... I can't see anyone else being my right hand. You're more than just a 'Deputy.' You've killed more people than you can count; I need someone like that." 
                          
"I can't just give up on the resistance, Jacob. They need me." 
                          
"I know you better than you think I do. Think of it as an offer. I know you're not gonna just quit leading the resistance. Because you're loyal. You're strong. You're a soldier. A better leader. You don't take shit from anyone. I need someone like you for that job." 
                          
"Your cult hurts people, Jacob. Joseph thinks of himself as the modern-day Noah and he's not. He's blinded you, he's blinded Faith, he's blinded John, he's blinded... shit. He's blinded this whole fucking county! I'm just trying to do what's right." 
                          
Jacob paused for a moment, seeming to gather his words. "My brother saw all this coming. I don't know if he talks to God... that doesn't matter. He was right. Humanity is once again in crisis. It doesn't matter what we build or achieve... we will always find a way to break it down. Babylon. Rome... Empires rise, empires fall... America. We're no different. We think we're indestructible... World War II. War on "Terror"... we survived it... but it only brought us closer to the edge. And this is where we are. Right here on schedule, just waiting for someone to push us... and oh boy, have you pushed us... You did everything he said you would do. And you didn't even know it. You had no fucking clue." 
                          
"Jacob, I can't join you. I can't leave my people behind." I explained. "And what you, John, Faith, and Joseph are doing to these people, is wrong. I have to go." I shook my head in disappointment, walking toward the door. I put my hand on the doorknob, but stopped. "Where is my shit?" I asked, turning around to look at the gigantic man that was now standing up. 
                          
"In the bag by the door. Just take them... I'll let my guards know you're leaving so they don't shoot you on sight." 
                          
I grabbed the bag and threw it over my shoulder while opening the door halfway, "I'll see you later, Seed." And left the Veteran's Center, heading toward the Baron Lumber Mill to rescue Jess.
                          
***
                          
Is Axl's reaction to Jacob sacrificing Miller how you expected it?
                          
I feel like this chapter was kind of short. Tell me what you think about this book so far! I'm trying to take baby steps in Jacob and Axl's relationship. Should I go faster? Should I go slower?
                          
Thanks for reading! 
Much love, kittycatlukey