When Hope Dies

Secrets

Your P.O.V.

After a while, I decided that I'd go check on the Deputy. I walked around to the side of the pizza bar and found his car, like he said. But he wasn't in it. I was paralyzed with fear for a moment, desperately searching for him. Did Faith get him? A rogue capture party coming up from John's region?

"Just a deep breath. That's all it'll take. You'll stop hurting." Faith's voice. It wasn't directed at me. Climbing up the side of the hill where I heard her voice, I saw her with Daniel. They both knelt in front of each other. Her hands held his, and in his hands was one of the Bliss flowers.

"It's wrong. I can't. I'd be betraying... all of them." Daniel muttered, his grip on the flower loosening as he began to turn to look at the pizza bar.

"It's not betrayal, Deputy." Faith soothed, making Daniel look back at her, saving me from being spotted. "Your friends love you. They care about you. They want you to be happy and free from pain. This will help." She insisted, slowly bringing the flower to him.

Until her eyes landed on me and she dropped his hands. Daniel turned to see me, his eyes widening. Faith disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.

Daniel's eyes suddenly filled with fear and he started running to me on unsteady legs. "Faith don't!" Was the last thing I heard him yell before stumbling down the hill. A bouquet of Bliss flowers emitting the light green Bliss smoke was shoved in front of my face. In the blink of an eye, my surroundings changed and I was no longer outside the pizza bar. Daniel was gone. My head was spinning from how fast the Bliss worked.

"You shouldn't have been snooping, (Y/n)." Faith warned, walking into view. She looked so upset. It was so odd to see that expression on her face. "But I suppose that's what you do as a reporter. You snoop," She accused, jabbing a finger into my shoulder, "You go around and invade everyone's business and their lives!" She shouted, giving me a shove that seemed to send me flying away.

Faith was suddenly behind me, grabbing my shoulders and turning me to face her. "Eden's Gate was just fine until you showed up with your silly idea to investigate us. I was fine! We were fine!" She yelled, her hands squeezing my arms.

"We? That cult isn't fine! It's insane!" She looked triumphant at my words, opening her mouth to speak before I interrupted her, "Wait... we like... you and the Deputy?" Her expression changed from triumphant to defensive. "Yes, me and the Deputy. I was going to make him happy. He would've felt no pain, no suffering. He would've trusted me, he wouldn't have wanted to keep attacking my Family endlessly. But then you ruined it." She said, her voice becoming much quieter.

"Next time, I urge you to walk away. Turn around, and leave. It doesn't matter if I'm telling him to breathe in the Bliss or sit still for the rest of time or to put a gun to his head and pull the trigger. You don't intervene or else." Faith cautioned. The world around me began to fade away.

It felt like I'd only been talking to Faith for a few mere moments, but when my eyes opened I could tell that it had been more than a few minutes. I was laying in the backseat of a car. Daniel's car.

Sitting up and yawning, I noticed Daniel laying in the passenger seat. He was asleep. Closing my eyes again, I thought about what I had seen. What Faith told me. She'd become so upset and all I had done was prevent Daniel from going into the Bliss. He might not have even gone into the Bliss because it was just one flower. Yet she was still so upset.

"Are you feeling okay? After what Faith did?" Daniel suddenly spoke up and asked, sitting up in his seat. I nodded in response, watching him. "Okay good. I've just never seen her... well pull someone into the Bliss that aggressively." Daniel said, watching me.

Neither of us spoke. He opened his mouth, prepared to explain himself when I interrupted. "Deputy just tell me. You weren't actually going to accept the Bliss flower, were you?" I asked, hand on the door handle. "No. No, I wasn't. I'd never keep secrets like that from you or anyone else." Daniel said, nodding to the pizza bar. He could tell from the look in my eyes that I didn't believe him.

       "Okay. Okay okay okay fine. Sometimes... Sometimes when I'm alone I'll take a Bliss flower and smell it, so what? It's the same as stopping to smell the roses. Just... a little different." Daniel confessed, watching as I moved to get out of the car. The doors lock clicked and the door wouldn't open. Daniel had locked me in the car.

"Let me out." I said, trying to unlock the door myself. "Just listen to what I have to say before you run and tell everyone. Please." Daniel asked, pressing the lock button each time I unlocked the door.

       "Alright fine!" I shouted, scooting away from the door and folding my arms. Daniel gave a relieved sigh, turning to face me. "Look. All this fighting, bullets grazing me, all the running. It's tiring. And it hurts. Faith said she could help me. So I let her. She said to just stop and smell the flowers anytime I'm alone and I find them. It helps me, you know." Daniel confessed. I sat back, watching him, my arms still folded.

"Daniel. She's controlling you. The Bliss is her weapon. You can't let her, she'll have you turning on us in no time," I said, scooting forward and placing my hand in his shoulder, "Promise me you'll stop. You have to, Daniel. For yourself and for all of Hope County. You're the reason we're breaking free."

       He opened his mouth to speak but a look of defeat crossed his features and he sighed. "I'd love to. But I can't. I won't be able to help myself." Daniel admitted. "Alright. Okay, I have an idea. Every time you're going to cross into Faith's region, give me a holler. Just a 10 minute heads up. No matter where I am, I'll come find you." I comforted, rubbing his arm.

Daniel finally looked hopeful and nodded. "Yeah. That's a good plan. Come with me to Jacob's region, would you? I've got a meeting with the Whitetail militia. Couldn't hurt to have you with me." Daniel said as he moved into the drivers seat and started up the car.

       "Let me grab my bow. I'll be quick." I said, hopping out of the car and running inside. Grabbing my bow off the table, I gave quick goodbyes to everyone in the room and went back out. Daniel had pulled the car around to the front and was waiting. After I got in and closed the door, Daniel drove off, following the road North.

"Everyone else calls me Dep or Deputy. So... Why do you call me Daniel so much?" Daniel asked curiously, glancing over at me. "Oh. Well I don't know, it seems more normal. Maybe if I ran into you only once or twice then I'd call you Deputy." I shrugged, resting my bow on my lap. Daniel kept driving and I swore I could see Faith amongst the trees every now and then, the cloud of Bliss that followed her thicker than I remembered.