Chapter Text
A soft cry spills from one of the sinners as one of their flock yanks them harshly towards the water, Caleb watching with cold eyes as the man sobs and pleads with them to let him go. There’s a few of them lined up, ready for their baptism and they all stand there in varying degrees of emotion.
He rolls his eyes, ignoring the pleading cries and swears cast at him and the rest of the flock. If any of them cause trouble, he'll step in but he's more than certain the Chosen can at least handle this. He has permission from the Baptist to do what needs to be done, of course, but they do need (most) of these people alive if they are to confess their sins. Killing them all wouldn’t be fair and plus John needs their confessions. Something Caleb is more than happy to help his Herald achieve. Helping sinners is what they're meant to do after all. It’s the Father’s Will.
He straightens up as he hears a car pull up from behind, turning his head to see John getting out of the car with a few members that have been tasked with being his guards. An esteemed position that Caleb would be jealous of if he didn’t have his current one.
The blond man quickly moves to offer his hand as John takes off his coat and passes it off to him, the man’s blue eyes focused on the sinners in front of them as he speaks and folds up his sleeves "Have they confessed?"
He shakes his head, smoothly and neatly folding John's coat over his arm and tucking it close to his body "I'm afraid not Herald, they need some work. But there’s no one better than you to do it.”
John lets out a quiet hum as he nods, wading into the water until it’s up to his thighs and begins to prepare himself and them for their confessions as Caleb watches from the shore. He's completely indifferent to the screaming and swears as they are repeatedly dunked under the water to cleanse them. These sinners will say anything to get themselves free.
As he watches the baptism, Caleb absentmindedly neatens the way his shirt sleeves are folded up since he didn’t like the long sleeves of his shirt getting in the way. He is dressed differently to the other members of John’s flock, much more pristine since John had insisted his right-hand man look the part and some scruffy pants and shirt weren't appropriate attire in John’s opinion. So, Caleb stands in a shirt and a waistcoat, pressed slacks and sturdy dress shoes but his shirt isn't as unbuttoned as John normally has his. He dressed similarly to his Herald and he can’t help the rush that it gives him when he thinks about it. His Herald had wanted him to look similar and Caleb really couldn’t think of a higher honour.
Of course, he’s heard the whispers and scathing remarks from other members of the flock who equate him to nothing more than John's butler or his pet. There are accusations that he got his position in a less than… Godly way. He doesn’t care about their thoughts at all though and he supposes they’re not wrong in a way about what he does for John. He does do a lot of things for him like organising his clothes or sermons, he does a lot more than that. He oversees a lot of John's operations when the man doesn’t have the time to look at everything and herd everyone. He’s even done his fair share of less than savoury things. He doesn't mind, it's something that needs to be done. Eden's Gate needs him and he's more than happy to assist. Especially with his skill set.
There's a commotion as one of the awaiting sinners suddenly slams his elbow into the gut of the man guarding him and he runs as fast as he can, the other members pulling their guns to stop him, and John looks towards them all to see what’s going on. He makes no move to order them though, his eyes flicking to Caleb and knows that his man will take care of it.
The blond's hand flies to the pistol at his side, faster than most of the other Chosen expect and with the trained elegance of a man who's most certainly used the gun more than once in the past. He hardly needs time to aim, shooting the runner straight in the right calf and then he goes down, landing hard into the dirt with a loud cry of pain and a dust cloud kicking up. Smoothly, Caleb holsters the gun and watches a few men haul the sinner to his feet and they drag him back.
Whether or not his new wound gets treated will be up to John, and Caleb looks to his Herald for his permission. John meets his gaze with cool blue eyes, giving him a simple nod before Caleb gives his own in return and turns to face the awaiting men. John turns back to his work and leaves Caleb to it. Words go unspoken between them, but they've been around each other enough for Caleb to know what exactly John means. To some extent, he can do the same with the other Seeds; he's been around them all for so long, but he’s most in tune with John. He loves and worships the Father but John is his Herald and he would do anything for him if he asked.
The blond turns back to a few members who stand at attention under his gaze and nods towards the bleeding man “Get him some medical help. The minimum though. Atonement is not without pain.”
The other members nod in confirmation but also in agreement with his statement and one radios back to John’s Gate for a doctor as they drag the man away, who is whimpering from the wound yet he occasionally struggles and tries his best to stop them from taking him. As feeble as his attempts are.
Caleb simply follows along behind them before he pauses to address a few guards and his eyes narrow in warning as he hisses “Make sure the Baptist remains safe. Or there will be Hell to pay.”
They nod in understanding, fear in their eyes. They’ve seen him beat a man to death with his bare hands before, they know very much what Caleb’s capable of. They square their shoulders, determination in their eyes and they are more than ready to lay down their lives for their Herald. Caleb nods, satisfied with their renewed dedication and he hands over John’s coat carefully to one of the guards with a warning look in his eyes to take care of it before the blond casts the Herald one last glance. He stands in awe for a second as he watches John work before shaking his head slightly to get himself back to the present and he gets into the passenger’s side of the truck. No use getting distracted when there was work to be done. He’d have to just take the opportunity to watch another time.
The injured man will have his wound cleaned and stitched shut before John comes for his confession. Escape is not an option, and it needs to be punished. He’s lucky they aren’t with the eldest Seed right now since no doubt Jacob would either thrown him in a cage without food or water for days, or simply feed him to the wolves he keeps. These people are lucky his Herald treats them with such kindness, but they take it for granted continuously. It sickens him.
John spends so much time trying to save them yet time and time again, they throw it back in his face. It takes all of Caleb’s willpower not to just beat someone until they confess but he doesn’t want to show John his wrath. It’s something he needs to control but it would at least save John from having to waste his precious time and energy for their pathetic confessions. But that’s what he admires about the man. He’s so dedicated to saving people, even when they don’t want to or don’t think they need to be saved. Being able to watch him work is really a magnificent thing and Caleb thinks himself truly blessed that he gets to assist John so much. He couldn’t be more grateful and every day he thanks the Father and God that such an opportunity came to him.
He can’t help the small smile that creeps onto his features at the thought of being able to assist John today, his green eyes looking out of the window at the scenery flying by. He’s hardly paying attention to the outside world and he can’t wait. It’s going to be wonderful watching John and he sends his thanks to the Father once more for the wondrous opportunity. To be able to help Eden’s Gate so much, even if it’s just something like assisting his Herald is more than enough for him. Caleb just wishes he could do more. Give himself more to the other. Whatever he needed from Caleb.
They pull up to John’s Gate, the blond climbing out once the van comes to a stop and he watches with crossed arms and a bored look in his eyes as the man is dragged, kicking, and screaming from the back of the van and down into the many corridors and rooms of the Gate where he’ll give John his confession. Caleb had gotten sick of the kicking and screaming quite early on. It was all the same really. Same sinners, same sins and same pathetic excuses to try and convince them to let them go. It never worked.
He hovers nearby as the man is strapped down to the chair by a few members, yelling and swearing at them all the whole time. He’s learnt to tune it out, it didn’t take him very long to do so at all, but he commends his brothers and sisters for managing to keep their own heads. Caleb’s more than familiar with screaming but for some of the others they have less experience or it’s something entirely new and he really must thank them on John’s behalf for being so faithful to their cause.
He watches as one of their doctors scurries in, quickly cleaning and stitching up the wound neatly before leaving again. Caleb crosses his arms and leans against the wall, simply watching quietly as the man yells at him angrily from across the room. He’s unimpressed by the snarling and spitting, watching with bored eyes and he’s hardly listening to him as he twists his wrist to check the time on the watch that John gifted him a while ago. He pushes off from the wall, straightening up and silently walks past the man to begin preparing the things that John will need to draw this man’s confession out of him. He does this whilst pointedly ignoring anything the man tries to say to him. It’s punishment in a way. Being ignored until they can learn to behave.
The blond methodically puts together John’s tattoo gun, pausing for a second to admire it and remember how his own sin had been written and carved from him. It had been quite the ordeal, but he’d come out of it a better person. Clean. He’d have to thank John once more for it when the Herald had some time to talk.
Next, he picks up the box of tools that John tends to enjoy using, putting it down on the nearby workbench gently and opening it up to check the tools inside. He would lay them out for the other, but John had said he liked the methodical act of doing it personally, getting himself in the right mindset as he got his tools out before he gets to work. He'd appreciated Caleb trying to do it for him though.
Caleb moves to stand by the door, patiently waiting for John to arrive and he offers his Herald a warm smile when the man finally strides in before he quickly takes his coat to hang it over the back of a nearby chair, making sure the bottom doesn’t touch the floor. He steps back into his previous position by the door as John looks over Caleb’s work while he rolls up his sleeves, the blond silently waiting for the other's opinion on his work and he can't help the smile that breaks on his face as John turns his head and nods at him approvingly. Pride blossoms in his chest and he’s sure it’s not the sinful type of pride. He’d had that carved out of him already. It’s pride for being able to satisfy his Herald and make him happy. Pride for being useful.
He closes his eyes for a second, remembering himself and he forces his expression back into a neutral one, reminding himself that John still requires him, and he needs to be helpful to him. His eyes focus back on John, watching as he begins to speak to the sinner and then picks up one of his tools as a slow smile begins to spread on the Herald’s face.
The sinner’s screams start up as John gets to work, carving his sin into him and Caleb can’t help but marvel at how lucky he is to watch this whole process.
He really is truly blessed.