Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“And the only solution was to stand and fight

And my body was bruised and I was set alight” - Florence + The Machine

Chloe glared at her captors. She was chained up in some kind of alter in a wound down chapel that has definitely seen better days.

The bandits weren't perturbed by her baleful look, not that they had any reason to be. Even before her kidnapping she was in a terrible state from her fight with Azrael, if you can call it that. He treated her more like a child throwing a temper tantrum than a legitimate threat. He merely threw her against the wall and told her that she had no idea the powers he had and other self-righteous proclamations. She was embarrassed to admit if the Marked Man and his gang weren't there she probably would have been killed or at the very least significantly wounded by Azrael's attacks.

Of course, considering they immediately took advantage of her weakened state afterwards, she knew they didn't help her out of genuine altruism.

“What do you want from me?” she asked, still attempting to put up a brave front. Chloe couldn't help but note the irony of the situation where last time she crossed paths with the Marked Man she was chained to him by her own volition. No doubt he was enjoying their reverse positions this time.

Instead of answering, he merely just glared back at her. It seemed to be his default expression.

“We're the ones asking the questions here.” It was the blonde psycho with the
knives that attacked Cliff and badly wounded him that spoke up. She shifted her glare to him, still enraged by the harm he caused her partner. He just smirked at Chloe's pissed off expression.

“Well, why don't you start asking them, then, instead of trying to appear intimidating.” She refused to admit that she actually was intimidated by them. Chloe was completely at their mercy and every single one of them had a fairly good reason to want her dead. Even Sid, despite each of their attempts of sparing one another Chloe still forced the girl through extreme tribulations that no child should ever go through. She wasn't apart of the current interrogation at the moment which made Chloe on edge that the bandits were planning on doing things that they didn't want their younger member to witness.

“Oooohh, you're a feisty one. Shamed we couldn't have a duel after I fought your partner. Sawyer got to have all the fun with you, instead.” The short bandit continued on with Chloe very much not appreciating the suggestive in that last remark. The Marked Man, Sawyer apparently, didn't appreciate it either as he moved his trademark glare over to his colleague albeit a more exasperated one.

“Enough with the joking around, Ollie, let's get the information about Azrael.” A new yet familiar voice spoke up, coming from one of the many pews. The leader of the bandits had been whittling a piece of wood in the shape of some kind of bird throughout the entire conversation. Chloe still couldn't help but be in disbelief in his presence despite already having to come face-to-face with the man she had previously sentenced to death by Delilah's hand. A man who was very much alive at the moment despite having his throat slitted and stabbed through the chest.

Ollie pouted towards him. “Aaaww, Shane, I'm just building up tension.” Chloe rolled her eyes. They were treating her captivity like it was just some fun game. And the worst part was that she knew that didn't mean they still wouldn't hurt her or kill her. Or both.

“If you're looking for answers about Azrael, I don't have any.” she told them. Chloe was just met with looks of disbelief from the bandits and she quickly continued on. “I'm serious. He forced me into joining the Outcry. Threatened to kill my partner if I don't join. If I had any information about him or who he even is, I wouldn't hesitate to tell you.” She was telling the truth, the bandits going after Azrael and killing him would free her of the terrorist group. Hell, maybe they can even get themselves killed along the way, perfectly killing two birds with one stone.

Shane stopped his whittling and stood up to stand in front of her. “Surely, he must have let something slip up in front of you. Everybody knows that you crossed paths with the Marked Man out here but how would they have known you would be perfect bait? It had to be someone perhaps close to you.” Chloe hesitated at that. Sure, she had suspicions about who Azrael could be but they weren't concrete and she wasn't going to send a pack of hitmen after them. She already felt awful about putting a mark on Cliff and she didn't even intend for that to be followed through.

“No one for sure. All I know about him is what you witness and that he seemed to have a more personal relationship with Charlotte beyond just Outcry business.” She glared up at him after she mentioned Charlotte Perry. Chloe still didn't forgive the bandits for her death. Even if she may not have been particularly close to Charlotte, her second death still was a horrible thing to witness, not to mention how devastating it was to Elijah. “Thank you for that by the way. If it weren't for her death, Azrael never would have forced me and Elijah into joining the Outcry.”

There wasn't an ounce of sympathy from the bandits about her situation. “If we didn't take out Charlotte Perry, she would have made bombs go off, resulting in the deaths of countless people.” Shane merely told her, nonchalantly,  with his hand in his pocket.

Chloe just glared up at him. “Yeah and all the Outcry did was frame Elijah by killing all of his servants and doing exactly the same thing but with him instead. Great job preventing all of that.” The gang of hitmen notably stiffened at that. Apparently, they didn't think the Outcry wouldn't simply grab the remaining Perry sibling to continue their ploy. This only angered Chloe more. “Do any of you ever even think about the people you kill? The amount of destroyed lives you leave in your path, not just the people you off but their loved ones and the pain you put them through?” All the memories of Elijah sobbing about causing his sister's death and the complete desolation state she left him in only for everything to immediately become worse for him by getting arrested and forced to fake his death to serve Azrael flooded her mind, angering her enough to push forward despite not being in the best situation. “You all really are a bunch of rapid dogs that chew on and destroy everything, huh?”

Chloe knew it was an extremely bad idea to insult a bunch of bloodthirsty hitmen, but she was always bad at controlling her anger, especially towards people who have ruined her life and countless others and for what? A few coins for each mark? Just the thrill of taking a person's life?

Shane leaned down to get up close to her face with a scowl on his face. While Chloe knew she should be afraid, she couldn't help but be a bit smug at how she managed to break that cocky, arrogant attitude of his.”That's rich coming from the officer that joined a terrorist organization and had no problem executing me and almost doing the same to Sawyer. I doubt Enforcement will be sympathetic if they found out about any of your secrets you have been hiding.”

Chloe grimaced at that. She didn't even want to imagine Hollis’ reaction to everything she had done. He would probably send her off to Corrections, not even caring if she decided to spill the beans on him and Cliff. All of the other officers will also likely show her even more scorn than they already do. And her father…

Chloe shook her head. “I told you I was forced to join the Outcry against my will. And about what happened…” she hesitated. Chloe highly doubted telling him that she only had him brutally killed to keep Cliff safe would help her case, especially after finding out about her partner's past with the man by beating him to death. At least now she and Cliff now both have something in common now: they're both responsible for causing Shane's death multiple times. If Cliff was here right now, she doubted he would find their newfound common ground comforting.

Chloe forced herself to look Shane in the eye. “I'm sorry. I really am. But I only did that to protect my partner from being killed. Even after I did all of that, Azrael wouldn't let me leave the Outcry. I went to the Gala in an attempt to stop him.” Chloe waited for his reaction to see if she might have won some good will with the bandits, even if it was simply understanding the situation she was in.

Shane just stood there, his arms crossed against his chest. He did have a somewhat complianting expression on his face so at least he was at least considering her words. Chloe glanced over at the other two bandits to see how they responded to her words. She couldn't help but wonder where that blonde woman that was with Shane and Sid the other night was. Surely, she couldn't have gotten herself killed in between the time they last met, right?

Sawyer still had a frown on face but she didn't really expect that to change. He did seem less pissed off than he was when she first woke up so that was something at least. Especially after she didn't necessarily apologize to him for almost shooting him, only being stopped by his gun running out of bullets. In her defense, he was just as likely to have killed her if Sid hadn't intervened so they had an equal number of murder attempts on each other which was something she never would have thought about before the chaos this past couple of months.

Ollie was rather indifferent towards her confession, not that she expected the little psycho to stop wanting to kill her. The fact that he had some kind of demon living inside his head that turned him into a man-eating praying mantis made her rather reluctant to interact with him. Not helped by the fact he seemed more bloodthirsty and ruthless than the Marked Man himself.

“So, you're saying you don't have any real importance to Azrael? Nothing to help us bargain with him?” Shane frowned down at her. Chloe quickly realized her mistake. They kidnapped her for her usefulness and knowledge for killing Azrael. If she made it seem like she was just a clueless foot soldier with no real importance to him, they could decide she's not worth the effort of keeping her around alive.

“I didn't say that. Azrael is protective and loyal to his followers. Simply kidnapping me would have already angered him. If he had no use for me anymore, he would kill me along with you.” Thinking about it, Azrael did warn her against going to the Gala. And even when she went to the Gala and try to intervene, he didn't try to kill her like he had with the bandits. But why keep her alive despite knowing she had no loyalty to him or the Outcry? Especially after she already try to defy him and stop his massacre at the Gala. Of course, she wasn't going to voice these questions in front of her captors. Chloe needed to make herself valuable to them to keep herself alive enough for Enforcement or even Azrael to come rescue her.

Shane seemed to genuinely ponder over her words which made her relieved. Even if she can't win over the other two, convincing their leader can ensure she will live long enough to see her partner and friends again. Even if Henry and Ainsley bailed on helping her at the Gala, she was worried they would react to her abduction. Henry, in particular, was likely worried sick and blaming himself for it. He had a tender heart and she didn't want him to feel guilty, particularly because of how she lashed out at him after he refused to go to the Gala.

“Listen… Chloe, was it?” The Marked Man spoke up for the first time, startling her. She had almost forgotten what his voice had sounded like. She nodded, wondering when he had heard her name. Probably when Cliff screamed it after the bandits knocked her out. “We don't intend on killing ya so you don't have to increase your value to us.”

Her eyes widening, fearful that they had already caught on to what she was doing. Shit, how was she going to negotiate with them now? He continued on as if he didn't just give her a heart attack. “We already know about Azrael not being a real God. He can only control tears in the veil. If we bring him out here in the Sticks, we have a chance of killing him and we need you to lure him out.” Chloe blinked as she reassured all of the new information she just learned. She wasn't entirely sure what the veil and its tears were, but it seemed to be the source of Azrael's powers. If they knew how to control them,  then maybe they had a fighting chance against Azrael. It was better than trying to fight him with a broken bottle.

However, that still didn't make her feel safe around the bandits. “If you don't intend on killing me, then why did you all chained me up?” she demanded, narrowing her eyes at the Marked Man. She still hasn't forgotten the feeling of his hands wrapped around her neck. Sure, she try to kill him first, but she highly doubted that he wouldn't have hurt her even if she hadn't done that.

Instead of answering her, the man merely leaned back against the wall, apparently deciding he had spoken enough. Shane took over for him. “Don't act all innocent like you haven't attempted at killing us, too. Besides, it is for your own personal safety.” he said casually, as if that entire statement wasn't ridiculous.

Chloe stared at him in disbelief. “How does being chained up somehow keep me safe?”

“If we would have left you free, you would have immediately ran outside. Since it's night out, you probably would have gotten lost and been attacked by the demons out here.” he said, gesturing towards the door. She didn't particularly hear anything but she knows that doesn't mean it was safe outside.

“Alright then, if you unchain me, I'll agree to whatever plan you have to kill Azrael.” Silence filled the chapel as the bandits considered her bargain. She hadn't really given them a good reason for them to trust her. Even if they had a common enemy, that isn't enough for them to let bygones be bygones and work together as a team.

Suddenly, a voice from upon ran out. One Chloe was both relieved and dreaded to hear. “I say we unchained her.” Sid called out above.

Shane looked up and scowled. “I told you to stay in your room, brat. Don't you ever listen?”

“I'm the one who came up with the plan, I can also be a part of this!” she shouted back. Chloe winced at that. Well that told her the girl still had a grudge against her even if Sid was willing for her to be unchained.

Sawyer walked across the chapel with a wooden cane that had a bird on top. Huh, she hadn't noticed he had a limp before. He bent down in front of her so they were directly eye to eye. “If I unchained you, you aren't going to start any trouble with the rest of us. No picking fights or trying to run off and attracting demons, ya hear?” His voice was low, the unspoken warning that she would likely be locked up again going unsaid.

Chloe let out an annoyed puff of air, blowing some curls out of her face. “I'm not stupid enough to pick a fight when I'm outnumbered.” Sawyer looked skeptical at that which annoyed her further. “And I know better now about demons so I'm not going to be running around the Sticks, either!”

That at least seemed to convince him enough at least as he pulled out a key from his pocket and began unlocking her chains. Now that she thought about it, why did they had them on hand anyway? They could have easily still kept her tied up with rope. The more she learned about the bandits, the more she became disturbed. All she can hope now was for Knox to launch a rescue crew like last time but she wasn't even sure he might do that. After all, last time they saw each other, she had him kicked out of the Gala. Even if he came to realize she was only trying to protect from the bombings, she still blackmailed him and outed his relationship to Henry and Ainsley. With it just being her out here, he could easily call it a lost cause. Hopefully, Cliff could convince him to sent out officers to search for her, but her hope of that was dim.

Finally, the chains fell off of her. Chloe stood up, stretching her back with a wince. After she was done, she regarded the bandits with caution. She absolutely did not trust any of them, but she had to play along now for the time being. No doubt, they were equally suspicious of her.

“So,” she started. “What now?”

Chapter Text

Cliff was in his least favorite place: the infirmary. Unfortunately, his everlasting bad luck had landed him here twice in just one month. No doubt all of the medics are growing sick of seeing him here. He might have to worry about them giving him something that'll cause him to “mysteriously” choke on his own blood and die in his sleep.

Okay, they probably won't go that far, but he doesn't doubt that the thought hasn't occurred at once inside some of their heads. He doesn't exactly have the best reputation in Shiloh.

“We should really stop meeting like this.”Cliff didn't have to lift his head to see who it was. There was no else who care about enough to visit. Except for his partner. Who just got kidnapped by a bunch of murderous bandits. One of them being a man who he thought was dead.

“Surprise, Cliff?” His voice rang through his head, clear as day, despite not hearing it in person for at least a couple of decades. Only in his dreams (nightmares more like it).

“Don't start.” he grumbled, probing himself up on his pillows.

Hollis narrowed his eyes on him. “Are you serious!? You and Callahan knew Azrael and the Outcry would be at the Gala and you didn't at the very least try to tell me about your little failed scheme. So much bloodshed could have been avoided to you two would have came to me. And for what? To play hero? I know that's not your reasoning so was it Callahan's? Did you just go along because she was your partner and you felt like you owed her for what happened back in the Sticks? Why would you do so utterly sup-”

“Enough, damn it!” Cliff cut him off, sharply. He scowled at Knox who did not appreciate being interrupted. “We didn't tell you because we think Azrael is someone inside Enforcement. Someone under you command.” He didn't mentioned how Chloe was certain that it was him.

Hollis frozen at that declaration. “Surely, you are mistaken. I can't imagine any of my officers doing any of this.”

“Chloe was being watched by the Outcry. They had a close eye on her.”

“It wasn't like what happened to you two was secret. Practically every officer knows you almost die out there.” Hollis argued.

Cliff gave him a flat look. “Azrael knew I was attacked by demons, not a pack of animals. He knows Chloe crossed paths with the Marked Man and lived to tell the tale. They knew she would be the perfect candidate for luring the Marked Man and killing him.”

“Did you two do that?” Hollis questioned him. Cliff knew he wouldn't be happy that he murdered another man (or at least what he and everyone believed for decades) even if that man was a killer of countless people. Hollis might not report him regarding everything he learned, but Cliff knew dame well he burned any good will between the both of them.

Cliff shifted eyes away from him. “Azrael threatened to kill me if Chloe didn't obligate him. The Outcry would have also probably faked her death and forced her into joining if she didn't agree with him.”

He heard Hollis let out a deep sigh. “This is just too much to deal with. First I learned you and Callahan knew about the Gala attack. Then you suddenly tell me one of my own men is Azrael. And now you're telling me Chloe joined that same terrorist organization?” Cliff didn't need to turned his head to see Knox's heated glare.

“Like I said she was forced into it, Hollis. If you are going to be angry at her, just know if she didn't join them, my throat would have been slashed the first night I was here.” Hopefully Hollis had some affection enough for him left. Or at least enough not to want to see him dead.

Hollis' expression softened just the slightest. “I understand, Cliff. But you still should have come to me about this Outcry business. I would have been far more forgiving towards you and Chloe if I knew why she was lashing out at me for every single thing. I could have had the Gala canceled or at the very least assigned more officers there. Why did you two think I wouldn't have helped?”

Cliff really hated telling him the truth if only because it would cause him to completely give up on Chloe but there was no way of getting around it.

“Chloe thought you were Azrael.” Cliff sighed, fully waiting for the outrage that would inevitably follow.

“What!?” Aaahhh, there it is. “How the hell are you two thinking I was Azrael? Especially you, Cliff.” The hurt in his voice made it worse. Cliff would rather he be angry and lash out at him than feel betrayed.

“I didn't, I swear on it! But I couldn't convince Chloe you weren't and the bad blood between you two only got worse…” he trailed off, hating how he was unable to make anything sound less shitty than it actually was.

“So, you choose her? You both decided I was the enemy that was getting in your way.” All Cliff could do was just shrugged, helplessly.

Hollis pitched his nose and just let out another sigh. When he looked up at him, there was a hard look in his eyes. “You know if I was any other Deputy, I would have you both sent to Corrections, right?”

“I would very much appreciate it if you don't.” Hollis rolled his eyes at that. Cliff cleared his throat, unsure how to broach the topic he was sure was going to lead to another argument. “About searching for Chloe…” He hesitated, waiting to see how Hollis would respond, seeing he was not in the mood where he was eager to help the both of them.

Knox crossed his arms over his chest. “How do you know she was captured? For all I know she could be with the Outcry right now.”

“I watched the bandits take it right in front of my eyes. They said she would make for perfect leverage against Azrael.” Cliff argued, slowly becoming pissed off by Hollis’ reluctance to find Chloe.

Hollis seemed to consider it for a tic before looking Cliff in the eyes. “If I agreed to send out a rescue team for Chloe, I could potentially lose some of my men.” Before Cliff could call him out, Hollis hold up his hand. “The last time you two disappeared in the Sticks, one of my officers completely vanished. The trace left of him was his horse and specks of blood in the grass. Can you honestly blame me for not wanting to sacrifice more of my men for a officer who joined a terrorist organization, defied me at every turn, and didn't tell me about virtual information that could have potentially saved countless people?” Hollis’ stare through him in way Cliff never saw before. He can guess that Knox never quite experienced an officer like Chloe before. Besides him, of course.

“Listen, if you are going to hold that against Chloe, then you might as well include me with her because I was right by her side.” Cliff shot Knox a withering glare. “And if you don't go looking for her, then I will go by myself.”

Hollis frozen. “You can't do that! You almost die last time!” he argued.

“Well, I know my way better than last time. I am not leaving my partner to be killed by a bunch of bandits out there, Hollis.”

Knox must have seen it in his eyes that he was dead serious because he became silent for a few moments before looking at him with a grave expression on his face.

“If- I mean when we find Chloe, she is no longer an officer, do you understand? I will not have someone under my command that continues to defy me and constantly undermine my orders. Do I make myself clear, Barrett?”

Cliff downcast his eyes. “Yes, sir.”

“Good, I'm glad that's settled.” Hollis turned to leave before pausing and giving him a side glance. “By the way, I will take your theory about one of my officers being Azrael… into consideration.” With that, he lefted, leaving Cliff by his lonesome

He dropped his head unto his pillow. “What a fucking day.” He muttered to himself.

Chapter Text

Sid came down the stairs, joining the rest of the bandits. She regarded Chloe with a level of aversion that she couldn't quite blame her for. Even if Shane's death hadn't stuck, Chloe and Sid didn't know that at the time so from the child's perspective, she sentenced her friend to a brutal end. She was likely concerned Chloe could also hurt or kill the rest of the bandits. Unless Shane wasn't the only one of them that somehow had the ability to resurrect. After everything Chloe has seen, she wasn't sure what more could surprise her, but she had the feeling that it will happen.

Sawyer turned and gave Ollie an indescribable look that caused the blonde to throw up his hands and go “Fine!” He walked over to where she was previously chained up and took her place in being held captive albeit willingly.

She shot Shane a confused look. “Why the hell is he being locked up now?” Chloe thought the bandits were close companions. Murderous ones but still closed.

“The demon inside of Ollie's head has a fixation on tasting Sid's blood so we have to keep him chained up around her until we know how to keep it under control.” he responded, casually, as if what he said wasn't one of the most terrifying thing she had ever heard.

She widened her eyes. “You mean to tell me that his demon can literally come out at any time to drink anyone of our blood and you all are just okay with that!?” She really did make a mistake offering to help out these demonic people. As soon as it becomes day, Chloe plans on taking off as fast as she can. Even if they know the Sticks better than her, she managed to escape once she can do it again.

“Nah, his demon is only obsessed with drinking the blood of someone pure and innocent.” Shane smirked at her. “Trust me, boss, you don't have to worry about it.”

Chloe just glared at him. Clearly there was still some bad blood between them, not that she expected all of her murder attempts to be brushed under the rug. Doesn't matter anyway, it's not like she intended to stay with them for long. Only for this one night.

She glanced towards the window. It was hard to tell what time it was supposed to be. “How long was I out?”

“Just for a couple of hours.” Shane answered. “Sun should be risin’ here real soon with it being summer and all.”

Chloe nodded and Sawyer finished up chaining Ollie in her place. He made his way over to Sid. She couldn't help but wonder how a little girl managed to befriend a bunch of hitmen, anyway. Judging from Sid's reaction to Sawyer almost killing her it didn't seem like she knew beforehand.

“Is Dusty passed out?” he asked the young girl. Ah, so she was still alive. Chloe couldn't help but feel a little bit relieved at that. Even if she was working with the bandits, Chloe still felt extreme guilt over what happened with Azrael and dragging her and Sid into the mess. At least now she can have some of that weight lifted off her shoulders. She hoped there were no hard feelings here, even if Dusty and the others are probably still going to chase her after she escapes.

“Nah, she was complaining about her hand earlier so she went to take White Eye's sage.” Chloe stiffened at that name. Shit, there were even more of them. How many more bandits were out in the Sticks!?

She took a breath to calm herself. Okay, she just needed to get more information out of the bandits on how many people they were working with so she can know who to look out for during her escape plan. Since they were stuck inside for the time being, it was the perfect time to learn more about him.

Chloe gave what she hoped was an unassuming smile to Sawyer. “Is he one of your medics for the group?” she asked, casually.

Sawyer just gave her a flat look like he knew exactly what she was trying to do. Was she really that easy to read? “He is just a Conduit who can help us figure out how to deal with the rifts.” he answered which surprised her as she thought for sure he would refuse to tell her anything.

“Julian is moving into the basement so ya have to claim some other room as yours!” Ollie called out to her.

She casted a glance his way. “I'll keep that in mind.” She lied. Chloe turned back to Sawyer. “What's a Conduit?”

“Someone who can sense the supernatural with the side effect of the supernatural being available to sense them in return.” It wasn't Sawyer who answered but a female voice. She turned to see the blonde woman, Dusty, coming into the room. “I see the plan went off without a hitch.”

“The hell that it did!” Shane scoffed to her. “A bomb went off and we got roped into a fucking death game.”

“Ah…” she said, like she didn't know how to respond to that. “Well, all wells that end wells, right?” Shane didn't look like he agreed with the sentiment.

Chloe glanced away nervously from the woman. Even if last time Dusty said she had no ill will towards her, she doubted they would become friendly with each other. Maybe now since Shane isn't dead, there won't be any resentment?

“So, did you find out anything about that Azrael guy?” Dusty pointedly asked Sawyer, not her. Chloe figured there would still be some tension with the female outlaw.

Sawyer jerked his chin towards her. “Says she don't know nothin’ about him. That she was forced into joining them.” Chloe didn't appreciate how his tone indicated that he thought she was lying.

“What about that Elijah guy you mentioned earlier? He might know something?” Shane asked. He had started whittling again as if his was just a casual conversation between friends.

Chloe narrowed her eyes at him. “Don't you dare go after him. He only ended up in Azrael's hands because you all murdered his sister and Azrael had to get another inventor!” She didn't mean to shout but Elijah's fake death was still an opened wound for her.

Sawyer immediately became defensive, taking a step towards her which made Chloe fall back a step. Sid watched on nervously, fully expecting a fight to break.

“I'm real sick and tired of you always actin’ like we're the only ones with blood on our hands as if you Enforcers don't dust innocent people everyday.” he grouched, his eyes narrowed at hers. She mimicked the gesture, hardened her expression to avoid revealing how nervous she actually was. She couldn't have defeated Sawyer last time and they were one-on-one, no way she would be able to do so with the other bandits here.

“Enough.” Dusty sighed, shooting dirty looks at the both of them. “We all have done shit we regret and it's not goin’ away the more we bicker about the past.”

It hasn't been that long since Charlotte's murder but Chloe understood what she was going for. Sawyer let out a huff and went by the smoldering fire to stroke the flames, completely ignoring her now. Fine, it's not like she cared at all.

Shane seemed unbothered by her outburst. Although, he had a gleam in his eye that indicated their conversation wasn't done yet. “Azrael faked both of the Perrys’ deaths, right? So that proves that he can't be a God or demon. If he's just an ordinary man it will be easier to kill him.”

Chloe gave him a peculiar look. “You have the ability to come back from the dead. Surely, you know what kind of demons are able to perform such feats.”

Shane notably stiffened at that which confused her until she noticed Dusty glaring at him. Huh, now that she thought about it, the two females of the group didn't know that Shane could come back from the dead, otherwise their reactions to his death would have been completely different. She wondered why the man didn't decide to share that information with them to avoid the girls learning during such a devastating reveal.

“It varies among different kinds of them.” he said, vaguely, not answering her question. Ugh, she really was going from one overly secret murder group to another albeit much smaller one. “If Azrael is a human, then he probably made a deal with one for his powers. All we need to do is find out which one he made the deal with, kill it, and then Azrael is powerless. Or if we're lucky, dead.”

“What if Azrael didn't make a deal with a demon? We'll just be going on a pointless wild goose chase.” Chloe argued.

Shane seemed to consider her words. “I guess we just have to talk with White Eyes and see if it is possible for an ordinary human to control tears.”

Chloe thought about it. While she did want to take off as soon as the sun is up, she also wanted to find Azrael's weaknesses and find out how to defeat him. It would also be a good idea to see this mysterious other member of the bandits. From what Ollie said earlier, he seemed to be a new member judging from how he hasn't officially cohabitated with the bandits in the chapel. It will do her well to meet the man first, find out all the information needed, and ditch the bandits. Besides, they probably think she would immediately leave as soon as she can so staying longer might let them lower their guard down just a little bit.

Chloe nodded. “Alright. We should meet him when it becomes day.” She paused as a thought crossed her mind. “Where is White Eyes for the night, anyway? Wouldn't demons be a problem for him out there since they can sense him?”

Shane shrugged. “He has his ways of warding them off.” He returned back to whittling, signaling he was done talking with her. Up close, Chloe recognized the bird he was carving was a raven.

Chloe looked around the chapel. She realized that until she can escape, she'll have to play nice with the outlaws and interact with them to get them to know how to leave the Sticks safely. She wasn't particularly keen on the idea, but she had to do what she could to survive out there. Hopefully, she can even get them to warm up to her enough to not constantly expect her to escape and drop their guard.

She talked enough with Shane, the man had become bored with her anyways. Sawyer was still sulking and she didn't want to poke the sleeping bear. Ollie, she had absolutely no interest in talking with him, not wanting to risk that demon coming out even if she knew she wasn't the purest soul, she still wasn't comfortable around him, especially after what he did to Cliff. That just left the girls of the group. Sid was telling Dusty about what happened at the Gala. One of the men, most likely Sawyer, must have told the girl while she was knocked out. When she got to the part about Chloe attacking Azrael with just a broken bottle, Dusty turned towards her with a perplexed look like she didn't know if she thought Chloe was extremely brave or extremely stupid to attack a self-proclaimed god with just sharp glass. Chloe decided to jump in the conversation, mostly because she didn't want to hear what happened next. Azrael tossing her around like a ragdoll, the bandits joining the fray, her and Cliff conforming the bandits the second time but with Shane that revealed his and Cliff’s intertwined pasts, escaping the barrack Gala only for her to trade one adversary for another. Cliff screaming after her as she was taken.

Chloe shook her head lightly as she approached them. “So, is White Eyes a part of the group?” she asked, wanting to know as much about the guy as possible. She doesn't want to be unprepared against the man if he also decides to capture her when she escapes.

Dusty gave Ollie an annoyed look. “He's not moving in, he was just camping in the woods when we came across him. He has been helping us figure out what the hell the veils are and what they can do.” She glanced down at her hand at that last statement. Chloe remembered how she punched Azrael's shield, full force although Chloe didn't expect her to still be feeling the aftermath of that. Considering how Shane recovered from literal death, she wondered if there was any resentment from Shane regarding his ability to heal while they live with their wounds.

“If you are going to stay here for a while, the bell tower is my room. It's not up for grabs.” Sid said with her hands on her hips, her previous hostility still lingering but not quite as strong as the last time they met, Shane's resurrection liking helping her case.

“I'll just sleep in one of the pews.” she answered. Chloe figured it couldn't be worse than the last place she slept in the Sticks.

“There are more places to choose from. This is a pretty big church.” Dusty said. Chloe decided that the woman's suggestion was a good sign of, not necessarily trust, but a willingness to keep the peace.

Chloe shrugged. “I'll have a look around then.” Chloe felt her stomach let out a low grumble. She hadn't really eaten anything at the Gala. “What do you guys do for food around here?” she questioned, hoping she wouldn't have to eat something disgusting like grass or bugs.

“We tend to get some food in the colony. If we don't have enough, Sawyer usually shoots some wild animal and we cook it. There's a orchard close by, too, if you are ever feelin’ something sweet.” Dusty told her. Chloe figured she would have to wait until sunrise until she would eat.

At the mention of the man, Chloe looked over at him and then back at Dusty. “Is he able to… you know, since he's the Marked Man?” Chloe asked. If he was able to also come back from the dead then he really had no right calling her a murderer.

Dusty's face tightened. “I'm afraid the rest of us are all just playing with one deck of cards.” Ah, well, there goes lessening her guilt for all of her attempted murders on the man. Sid frowned at the mention of her friend's mortality. She was likely hoping Sawyer could easily get back up from being killed like Shane.

“When it becomes daylight out there, we should probably get you some clothes to wear.” Dusty gave her what used to be formal attire that was now torn to an almost pitiful look. “I don't think you want to be wearing that for who knows how long.” Chloe stiffened at that. She didn't like how the bandit was unsure when the others would let her go.

“I guess I can borrow some clothes from you?” Chloe asked. She doubted the two of them were the same size but she figured it was better than wearing the male bandits’ clothes.

Dusty gave her an amused smile, the first one that was directed towards her. “You're welcome to it, but I doubt you'll like them. I'm pretty sure we have a different sense of style.” Chloe could see that, not that she was judging the woman for how she dressed. Chloe just preferred to dress in a more modest fashion.

“We keep Jackets and Jumpsuits uniforms in the sewers. I'm sure we can find something that fits you.” Dusty went on, pausing when she noticed the grimace on Chloe's face at the mention of sewers. “Relax, the sewers here are just mainly the water supply so there's no smell.”

“Alright, that's fine, I suppose.” Chloe knew the two of them probably thought she was a civilian snob, but it's hard going from freshly clean uniforms and clothes to stolen uniforms hidden in the sewers.

Chloe heard shuffling behind her and turned to see Sawyer opening the doors. A soft glow of sunlight poured in the chapel, not bright enough to see clearly without the fire, but noticeable enough to realize it was dusk outside. She hadn't realized how long the night felt until she saw the light.

Chloe walked towards Sawyer, slightly cautious, in case he still was snippy about earlier. He had a watchful glare on her like he fully expected her to start running as soon as he opened the door. Well, she wasn't that idiotic to make a break for it while he was right there. Not to mention how Shane, Dusty, and probably Sid will also follow after her.

“Since you are complainin’ about what to wear, we might as well head down there now.” he grumbled, as if it was a big inconvenient. Maybe he should have thought about that before deciding to kidnapped her.

“Right now? What if there are any more demons out there?” She took a peep out the door. She didn't see anything but that didn't mean there weren't any creatures still lurking in the darkness.

“Naw, they hightail it as soon as the sun rises,” he answered. Chloe figured he lived out here long enough to be certain about it so she nodded. As she walked towards the door, Sawyer stuck his arm out, blocking her from leaving. She looked up at him with a scowl. “Dusty's coming with us.” Chloe rolled her eyes at him. Apparently, they still were still at odds with one another. She supposed that happens when two people have a history of trying to murder each other.

Dusty bent down and said something to Sid Chloe couldn't quite hear that caused the young girl to nod solemnly and run out of the room. Before Chloe could ponder about the exchange, Dusty made her way to them.

“Fix us up somethin’ to eat while we're gone and unchained Ollie.” Sawyer gruffed out to Shane.

He halted his whittling and muttered “yeah, yeah” and got up to unchain his friend.

Sawyer turned back to her. “Ready?” Of course, she was ready to get out of being coop up inside this church and being stuck with people that hated her guts. Instead she just nodded at him and followed Sawyer out into the outside of the chapel

Chapter Text

As Chloe watched Sawyer walk ahead of her, she had a more clear view of his limp. It wasn't too noticeable at first glance, but upon closer inspection, he clearly favored one leg over the other. She was surprised by herself that she didn't notice it the first time. Maybe since the time they last saw each other it got more injured. There was that whole situation with Ollie's demon and it being drawn to Sid's blood. No doubt Sawyer would refuse any harm to come to the girl that he was quite protective of.

“We should be coming up to the sash ahead here.” Dusty said from behind her. No doubt she only came along to make sure Chloe doesn't run off, especially with Sawyer's injured leg giving her a fair good chance of actually outrunning him. It was a good reminder that no matter how nice Dusty acts towards her, the female outlaw will likely have no problem forcing her to stay as a captive.

Chloe made a humm of acknowledgement, not feeling like being chatty with her again. She had to remember who her enemies were here. Sure, she wanted Azrael dead, but the bandits were also her enemies, too. She just needed to get the information about Azrael's powers and then get the hell out of dodge. Also after getting a new change of clothes. Thankfully, Dusty wasn't lying when she said the smell wasn't too terrible. Maybe a slight mildew scent, but Chloe could tolerate that.

As she looked up ahead, she realized there was a chained gate that led into one of the Shiloh. Chloe mourned how close to the colony she was without being able to reach it. There was a lock on the gate which she knew the key was kept within the colony. The bandits most likely pick the lock to be able to enter to reach their marks at the Fate's Alter.

Chloe bit her lip. She doesn't know how to pick a lock, so being able to outrun the bandits and take the time to unlock the gate with skills she doesn't have is near impossible. But it was also a more clear path to Shiloh than running around the woods, hoping she could find her way back. She could try to retrace her steps from how to manage her way out like last time, but she was far deeper into the Sticks than she was last time,not to mention how much the woods all looked the same to her. She'll just have to find something to break the lock. She was sure she could remember the path to the sewers.

“Don't even think about it.” Sawyer turned his head towards her, startling her out of her thoughts. He had a knowing look in place of his usual glare.

Chloe huffed. She knew it would be pointless to pretend she wasn't thinking about it, but she didn't want the bandits to guard the place more closely if they noticed how to analyze all of the sewers. “I wasn't planning on running off.” Yet.

“Hmhm, you know, for a Civilian, you sure are bad at lying.” he drawled out.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Chloe glared at the back of his head as they continued walking. What does he even know about Civilians anyways? He wasn't born in the Colony. At least, she thinks he wasn't. Chloe never saw him take off those red gloves to see if he had a number on his wrist.

“I'm sayin’ your lot does nothin’ but lie, cheat, and backstab each other in order to get ahead.” he shot back, refusing to back down. Well, two can play at that game.

“Is that why you all kill Civilians? As some sort of revenge against us?” she questioned. The bandits never did explain why they take marks for people in Shiloh. From the way Shane acted when first met, they seemed to only go out people that are currently doing awful things.

But Charlotte didn't deserve to die. She was forced into joining the Outcry just like her. And even if she had no problem with working for the Outcry, everything that happened afterwards to Elijah wasn't deserved. He never did anything wrong to anybody.

Sawyer got quiet for a while to the point where Chloe was starting to get annoyed when he spoke up. “You wouldn't believe me if I told ya.”

Chloe rolled her eyes at the whole vague, mysterious act. Figures he wouldn't tell her the real reason for why they kill. She wondered why he was so secretive about it. It's not like she would be more accepting about being kidnapped if she knew why they were hitmen.

“I think I'm past the point of disbelief.” She merely told him.

He didn't respond back, instead taking a turn into a hole in the wall with a torn, red sheet covering it. Chloe peeked in to see it was full of clothing along with crates. They seemed to have a uniform from every district although it remained to be seen if they had anything that fit her.

“I'm sure we got something that should fit you in here.” Dusty said as if reading her mind. She began shuffling through the clothes. “I can get the uniforms I usually wear to see if they fit you.”

“Thank you.” Chloe replied. She would prefer to wear a Jacket uniform over a Jumpsuit. She was just more used to them.

“I know there's an Officer uniform in Sid's size but there should be an adult size in here…” Dusty muttered to herself. Soon Chloe heard an “Aha!” and Dusty pulled out an Officer coat. Dusty handed it to her. “The shirt and pants with it are probably too big on ya so I'll try to find another pair.”

“This will do. Thanks.” Chloe smiled, feeling a bit of joy for the first time since she woke up. So, of course, Sawyer decided to ruin it.

“We'll, at least now you can feel at home again.” he said in a tone that indicated that he didn't think that was a good thing. “Bet you'll be back to feelin’ like the great detective that hunts down the big bad outlaws like you did Sid, huh?”

Chloe glared up at him. “Maybe I wouldn't have to arrest you all if you didn't go around killing people in Shiloh.”

“Well, I know now you can't pull the same shit like last time since your partner ain't here.” he sneered back. Ugh, she knew he was taking pleasure in their reverse roles. She can't wait to hightail it out of here.

Chloe just crossed her arms over her chest. “Go wait outside for me.”

“Why, so you can go run off?”

“No, I want change and I'm not doing it with you here, staring at me!” she told him.

Sawyer freezed for a moment with what she can almost describe as a sheepish expression dawn on his face. Chloe felt amusement that out of everything she said, that is what got him to be embarrassed. He turned away from her muttering a half-hearted threat not to run off. Dusty seemed to share her amusement as she poked fun at Sawyer about “giving a woman's privacy” with him letting out an annoyed grunt.

With no eyes on her now, Chloe stripped out of her tattered clothes. Shame that it got destroyed even if she wasn't one for fancy wear. It was one of the good things about being down in Shiloh's hierarchy: no longer needing to dress formally for every single social gathering.

As she put on the stolen Officer uniform, Chloe realized the pants were tight around her waist while the shirt and coat were loose, making quite the mismatched uniform. She'll just have to make due for the time being.

“Alright, I'm finished.” she called out, pulling her hair out of the shirt collar. Sawyer turned back to her, the previous flustered expression on his face with a more apprehensive look. Apparently, her new uniform is bringing back old memories of their last outing together.

“Let's get back to the chapel. Hopefully,  Shane finally got off his ass to cook somethin’ for everyone.” Sawyer muttered, already heading out of the sewers. Chloe nodded and eagerly walked along the two bandits. They didn't have to worry about her trying to run off now, at least not on an empty stomach. She really should have ate something at the Gala, but she was too nervous about Azrael's plan to have even thought about it. It's not like she intended to be kidnapped and taken in the middle of the woods with no idea of what food the bandits had.

“So, what else does Shane got planned for us to do besides meeting with White Eyes?” Chloe asked, casually. She really needed to start having the bandits warm up to her instead of constantly being at each other's throats. Not that Sawyer was making it easy for her.

“Why would he have us do anythin’ else?” Dusty turned to her, looking genuinely confused.

“Well, he is your leader, right?” Chloe asked, hesitantly. Chloe slowly realized that was most likely another lie the man told her. Ugh, she should have figured that out earlier. It's not like Shane has said anything to prove his honesty. Everything about only targeting the corrupt in Shiloh was probably a lie, too. Although, that doesn't explain why he didn't choose Cliff as a target…

An amused snort from Dusty let her know that her previous thought was correct. Sawyer just just seemed irradiated, but that wasn't anything new. “The only thing Shane is leading us to is an early grave.” he grumbled. Well, that definitely revealed there was some tension between the bandits. She sensed it back in the chapel between Shane and Dusty with the Outcry's failed assassination attempt likely being the cause, but she wasn't sure what the deal was between Shane and Sawyer. Chloe doubted she would get an answer since the bandits wouldn't likely fill her in on the inner drama of the group.

Chloe let out a sigh as they exited the sewers and entered the fresh air of the outside world. At least now she knew were an entrance to Shiloh was as well as receiving new clothes that was far more easy to move in. All she had to do was get something to eat and meet up with White Eyes to discuss how to defeat Azrael.

And then she can finally enact her escape plan.

Chapter Text

As the three of them approached the chapel, Chloe saw Sid sitting on the steps, her chin resting on her propped up knee. She looked fairly bored outside and Chloe realized she was keeping her distance from Ollie. It made Chloe nervous about being around the blonde male bandit. If his demon can come out at any time, how can she or the rest of the bandits fight him off? She needs to ask about how they kept it at bay last time.

Sid frowned as she saw Chloe's new outfit which made her more than a little self-conscious. No doubt she was remembering how the Officer arrested her and fully attended for her to go to Corrections to be dusted. Chloe forced her guilt aside as she came closer to the rundown church.

“Do you have to always stay away from Ollie?” she asked Sid. It seemed like a bit of an overreaction considering he seemed fairly in control. Unless his bloodlust came from the demon, in which case he was definitely not in control.

“Only for a little while. I didn't have to before you came.” Sid replied, standing up and going down the stairs. Chloe pondered why until she realized it was probably in case she decided to attack the bandits; they didn't have to worry about Ollie's demon coming out while they were preoccupied with her. She supposed she'll have to take off while he was chained up so as to not risk Sid getting potentially eaten. Not to mention, it would be good not to worry about a man-eating praying mantis demon chasing after her.

“Why is his demon out of control? It wasn't like that before, was it?” Chloe pushed further. Sawyer hasn't said anything about her talking to Sid but he was frowning deeply while watching them converse.

“It came out when a pack of demon hounds attacked the chapel.” Sid said, casually as it was a regular occurrence. Chloe really hoped it wasn't.

“Does that happen often?” She shot Sawyer a concerned look.

He shook his head. “Nah, they usually never travel this far.” He nodded towards the chapel. “Holy ground wards off most demons. Doesn't mean they won't try attacking ya if they are in the area, though.”

“Huh, and here I thought you all just chose a church because it was ironic.” Sawyer just grunted at her snark. At least now she understood why the bandits didn't seem too worried about demons attacking them in their sleep. At least ones that don't live inside their friend's head.

Chloe decided to move the topic back to the information she wanted. “How did you all get Ollie's demon to retreat or go back inside of him?”

There was a awkward moment of silence as the bandits seemed unsure how to respond. Or at least Sid and Dusty didn't, Sawyer looked like he had a few choice words, but kept them to himself. Before she started to question if something was wrong, he decided to answer.

“Sid kept it at bay by shooting the chandelier on Ollie and feeding it some blood.” His tone was clipped and far more pissed off than how he spoke to her earlier in the sewers which confused Chloe. Wouldn't he be happy that Sid managed to fight off the demon herself? The realization hit her that was likely why he was pissed off in the first place. Sid fought the demon alone and, judging by his anger, it wasn't like it was just herself that was around when the demon showed up. Well, that explained Dusty's uncomfortable, almost guilty expression.

Chloe supposed she wasn't too surprised. From what she saw Shane didn't seem much like the fighter of the group, although the fact that he couldn't die definitely made him not helping Sid out really selfish. Even though she knows dying hurts, at least he can recover Sid. Dusty not helping surprised her, though. She seemed close to the girl, almost motherly.

“So, what exactly is Shane cooking for breakfast?” Chloe prompted the young girl, deciding to get rid of the tension clinging in the air. She wasn't sure what the bandits ate. It's unlikely they can afford the kind of Chloe ate, even after her downgrade to Jacket.

“Grits.” Sid responded, scratching at a mosquito bite.

“Grits?” Chloe repeated back, confused. She hadn't even heard the name before, let alone knew what was in it.

“You never had grits before?” Dusty asked, surprised. Chloe felt a flush rise to her cheeks. She didn't want the bandits to think she was some uppity Civilian even if she didn't really value their opinion of her. It wasn't like it was positive to begin with.

“No, but I'm willing to try new things.” Chloe merely said. She turned her attention back to Sid. “What exactly are they?”

Sid rubbed her chin as she was deep in thought. “Ehh, it's kinda like porridge, but with dried up corn instead of oats. Shane usually adds eggs to it to make them taste better.” Well, that didn't sound too bad. It didn't sound the most tasteful, but Chloe just counted her blessings that she was being fed at all.

“Sounds good.” she smiled, hoping to sway any thoughts of her being a food snob. Chloe usually wasn't one to care much of what other people thought of her (especially nowadays where she seems to become enemies with everyone she interacts with), but she needed to gain the bandits’ trust or at least have them lower their guard around her.

“I'm surprised you have never heard of grits before.” Dusty said to her, stretching her arms above her head. “Shane said he ate them all the time back when he lived in the Colony.”

Chloe had figured Shane already told them about her past status, although considering everything that happened afterwards, maybe he thought she was a better liar after all.

She just shrugged. “I stick to my favorites, I guess.” Hopefully that was persuasive enough. Although, judging by Sawyer's side-eye, he wasn't convinced.

Before he can say anything, however, the chapel's door opened and Ollie popped his head out. “Breakfast is done! I'm eating outside so I don't have to learn how to eat with my arms chained up.” he exclaimed, already making his way down the steps with a bowl of steaming grits in his hand. Chloe was glad she didn't have to interact with him. He moved way too fast for her before she even realized he left the spot in the first place. She'll definitely have to escape when he's chained up.

The rest of the bandits plus Chloe made their way into the chapel and where Shane had cooked breakfast. Chloe was more than ecstatic to finally eat something.

“Does Shane normally cook?” she asked, not directed to anyone in particular.

Dusty decided to answer her. “Only when he isn't in a shit mood.” At least that means he wasn't likely to pick a fight with her.

The bowls of grits were laying on the fireplace's surface, the stream rolling off of them. Shane had already begun eating, sitting in one of the many pews. Dusty took a bowl and sat in the empty pew across from him, presumably still keeping her distance from him. After the information she learned, Chloe could understand why the grudge was still there for not fighting alongside Sid despite his immortality. Not that she really had room to be too angry, though, since she also didn't jump in to help Sid either.

Sid and Sawyer both grabbed their bowls and sat together. Leaving Chloe to decide who to sit with.

She could sit by herself, of course, but she was supposed to be building trust. Not that she thought any one of them trusted her. Sure, they were willing to be cordial with her and answer her questions, but trusting her enough to not escape was a whole different story.

She considered Shane. He hasn't been too nasty to her, only really being rude after she was, but she didn't see him as much of a threat as the other two male bandits. He seemed content with others doing his dirty work for him and was fairly non-combat compared to them. Dusty was the one who had been the most cordial with her, although that was probably to get her to cooperate with the bandits. Chloe didn't feel like she had to work too hard to get her to trust her, or at the very least, let her guard drop around the captured Officer.

So that left Sawyer. She supposed he was the toughest one to gain trust with her. He appeared more upset by her arresting Sid than attempting to kill him (though she doubted that endured her to him) so maybe if she also had Sid warmed up to her, she could gain his trust by paradox. The young girl seemed pretty forgiving so it was worth a shot. She also didn't have to worry about dealing with Ollie either since he's not supposed to be around Sid.

Chloe picked up the remaining bowl of grits and took a seat in the same pew as Sid and Sawyer. She kept her distance, not wanting to seem overeager in case of suspicion, but close enough where she was able to converse with them.

Sawyer raised an eyebrow at her, clearly already suspicious. Sid was a bit more accepting of her company. Considering Sid was the one to come up with the plan to bring her out here, she presumably was already prepared to be around her.

Chloe picked up her wooden spoon and scooped up a large spoonful of the grits along with some of the egg on top. She didn't want to seem afraid of eating the unknown food. She promptly shoved the spoon into her mouth. It was… an interesting taste. Sid was correct with it being similar to porridge, particularly in texture, but the taste of corn was less poignant than she first thought. The yolk from the egg helped give it some flavor along with what looked to be chopped parsley. Overall, it wasn't the best meal she has ever eaten (which would have been a tough achievement even without the bandits’ limited supplies as she had food prepared by the best that Shiloh had to offer), but it was far from the worst. Not to mention how going all night without food made her appetite accepting of anything.

“We usually have peppers and mushrooms with it, but Shane and Dusty have to get it in the Colony.” Sid told her. Chloe understood what she meant; they didn't want to risk being recognized by any Outcry followers in Shiloh. Chloe knew with their faces hidden that it could be literally any person on the street that had pledged allegiance to Azrael and doing his bidding. Even she gets paranoid walking by herself, even if Azrael proclaimed Chloe was one of them.

“Hope you enjoy it.” Sawyer finally spoke up after his glaze had been on her since she sat down. “It'll probably be the only meal we have today.” If he thought that would dismay her, he was wrong. Chloe had spent plenty of days where she had skipped a meal or two because she was so focused on a case much to Cliff’s chagrin. She wasn't one to be detoured by disruptions of her meal schedule.

“I'll keep that in mind.” she replied, taking another spoonful of grits. The only thing she really craved was something to drink. She saw Dusty drinking out of a flak but Chloe had a feeling it wasn't something she'd like and she didn't want to deal with the bandits' mockery if she spat it out.

“Where is White Eye's staying anyways?” Chloe inquired. She heard the man mentioned multiple times, but she really doesn't know much about him. Didn't Ollie mention his name was Julian?

“He's set up camp up the hill. Julian has demons constantly after him so he figured it would be best not to stay here.” Dusty piped up. Chloe guessed that was why he wasn't among the rest of the bandits. She didn't know much about Conduits (hell, she just learned that demons existed), but being one didn't really sound good to her with always having to ward off demons. She already had enough on her plate with murderous bandits and a terrorist organization along with her regular job. She didn't need to constantly fight demons.

“You mentioned that he knows what Azrael's powers are?” Chloe questioned Sawyer.

He merely shrugged. “He's not a hundred percent sure. That's where you're supposed to come.” He paused for a moment, frowning. “Ya sure there's nothin’ else you know about his powers?”

Chloe pondered, biting her lip while lost in her thoughts. Well, I know he's unable to actually resurrect people. He had to fake both of the Perrys’ deaths. I don't think his followers are aware he can't bring someone back from the dead, but his second-in-command, Delilah is, although she seems to actually believe he's a God.” Chloe stopped herself before she could get started on her theories about who he actually is. Even if Hollis hated her guts she couldn't bear to give his name out to the bandits, especially after realizing how unlikely it was that he was Azrael.

Unfortunately, Shane caught her hesitation. “Whatever else there is, it's better than nothin.’” He told her.

Chloe considered what to tell them. Obviously, Hollis was out of the question, but surely there were other suspects for Azrael, right? Who has a hatred for the elite while spontaneous willing to be even more cruel and brutal than them. It had to be someone who put up a good mask, both figuratively and literally. Someone who also knew her well enough to know how to manipulate her.

Her mind flashed to her temporary partners. Surely, it couldn't have been Henry. She remembered how he cried over Elijah's “death” even though he barely knew him. Ainsley was another possibility. She didn't seem to like Chloe much and always kept her emotions closed off. Chloe had no idea about how she felt about Shiloh's upper class because she never opened up to anybody, but Henry.

“I might know someone…” Chloe started. The bandits perked up at that to which she quickly continued. “But I can't give you a name! They may not even be Azrael and I don't want you guys to go after them.” she finished, firmly. She doesn't care if they get upset at her, she wasn't going to make the same mistake of focusing all of her attention on the wrong person. She likely missed potential suspects she could have investigated further if she didn't have such a tunnel-vision on Knox. She can't send a bunch of hitmen after another suspect unless she is completely sure of who it is.

“It's not like we go around killin’ everybody we think is evil, ya know.” Shane drew out, annoyed.

“I would be more sure if I was back in Shiloh investigating them instead of being here.” she shot back.

“Look, it doesn't really matter anyway since we just need to draw Azrael out here to kill 'im. It's not like we're gonna need to rip off his mask before we do it, anyway.” Shane relented. He put aside his empty bowl for whoever is on dish duty to clean up. “Let's start making our way to White Eye's setup before he goes out.”

She nodded and quickly ate up the rest of her grits. After she was finished, she glanced over at Dusty and Sawyer. “Are you two coming with us?”

Sawyer shook his head while Dusty got up. “Sure, I need to pick up more sage anyway.” And to also serve as backup for Shane. Chloe remembered she got a good hit on Shane and likely could have done over damage if Dusty didn't stop her. “Ollie's probably going to want to come with us.” Chloe frowned at that. She definitely wasn't keen on the added backup. She just has to bear with it in order to appear reasonable.

“When you get back I need you for somethin’, okay?” Sid told her.

“What for?” Chloe asked, curious.

Sid just shook her head. “I'll tell you when you get back.” Chloe nodded even though she could have been agreeing to something she could potentially regret and headed on out with Shane and Dusty.

Chapter Text

Sawyer watched as the Enforcement officer left alongside Dusty and Shane. He didn't like leaving her with just the two of them, especially after the shit she pulled last time. Hopefully, Ollie does decide to join them; the officer acted fearful whenever he was around so she was less likely to pull a fast one on them.

He turned towards Sid, curious about what she needed from Chloe. He wasn't comfortable with the kid interacting with her, especially if whatever Sid needed involved being alone with her.

“What ya need the help with?” he asked. He didn't wanna admit it, but he was a little hurt. She was asking for help from the officer instead of him. He knew Sid didn't really hold a grudge, Fate knew every single one of them had hurt her either emotionally or physically, but trusting the officer that try killing all of them was a little too much forgiveness in his opinion.

Sid dropped her gaze into her bowl of grits as if sensing he was hurt, slowly stirring her spoon around. “It's not like I need help with somethin’ I can't just you for.” she mumbled, still avoiding looking at him. He immediately felt regret at jumping to conclusions. “I was just going to ask her to tell me more about Shiloh. Shane really don't like talkin’ about livin’ there and everyone else never grew up there so I can't ask them about it either.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. “Naw, you're good. I was just worried it was somethin’ serious.” He supposed it was only natural she was curious about the Colony. Sid would always ask to come along when he had to go to the Fate's Alter or completely a mark. Obviously, he always told her no until that fateful night she decided to follow him and Ollie to kill Charlotte. Where he showed Sid his true colors and wasn't the hero she thought he was.

“How come you didn't go with them?” Sid finally looked up at him with widened, curious eyes. “You're pretty distrustful of her.”

“Ehh, if we all go to Julian's camp, it'll look suspicious. Besides, I wanna know if she'll be compliant without me around.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Sid responded. “Aren't you worried she might say somethin’ to Julian about being kidnapped?”

Sawyer was a little nervous about Chloe saying something about how she actually ended up with the bandits. Julian was already hesitant to help them out with killing Azrael, he definitely wouldn't like being an accomplice to kidnapping an officer. They told him about Chloe joining them but they left out the minor detail of her being here against her will. At least Chloe seemed to think Julian was a member or the crew so she'll probably not tell him about her… unique recruitment.

He merely tipped his head back. “She seemed pretty convinced Julian is one of us. I doubt she'll try appealing to him for some kind of escape.”

Sid frowned. “Isn't he already a part of the gang?”

Sawyer awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck again. Technically, the man did help them out multiple times, but he also clearly didn't trust them. Honestly, he can't blame the Conduit, he wouldn't trust any of them either. Except for Sid.

Sure, he was more than willing to die for his friends, but that didn't mean he always liked them. Especially Shane. Sawyer was still pissed at him for thrusting them into Azrael's wrath in the first place.

“He is just passing through. He did tell us that he has to constantly travel or else the demons on his trail could kill him. That includes us. It's safer for everyone if he doesn't stick around here.”

Sid shoulders slumped. “Yeah, I guess you're right.” she glummed. Sawyer felt bad for disappointing the girl (again), but it was for the better. Unfortunately, Sid always had a habit of easily getting attached to people, even if she barely knows them. Which made him wonder about her feelings towards the officer.

Even though the woman had no problem dragging her off to arrest her and most likely dust her, Sid still went out her way to save and defend her after just one night of being her capture. Although Shane's “death” turned Sid against her, she still seemed more relaxed around the women than when they first brought her back despite being unconscious and unable to actually fight them.

Sawyer supposed he can't complain too much about Sid having a bleeding heart. She wouldn't have stuck around here if she didn't. It ain't like they have been anything better to her than the Rookie has.

Sid, as if sensing his thoughts, spoke up. “She's been pretty laid back about being here. Do you think she'll still try leaving?”

He snorted. “Oh, no doubt in my mind. It's just a matter of when, not if.” He was a little bit surprised that she didn't immediately try escaping when they went to the sewers, although she was certainly eyeing the hell out of the gate down there so it was definitely on her mind. She'll probably try escaping during dawn since the nighttime was too dangerous and dusk was too close to night, especially since she doesn't know her way around the Sticks like they do. Hell, he still had trouble sometimes and he's lived out here for years.

Sid fiddled with her braid with a thoughtful expression. “Well, I hope she sticks around long enough to tell me about Shiloh.”

“What did you specifically want to ask her about?” Sawyer implored. He never really had much of an interest in the Colony besides doing business there (which is the reason why he never goes for anything else no matter how much Sid pleaded with him), but he supposed he understood why Sid was curious. The Sticks was more vast and free compared to Shiloh's heavily restricted system even with the danger of demons, however, there will always be a desire to learn about other people's lives, to hear how different they are compared to yours. The grass is always greener on the other side as he once heard.

“Hmm, I guess I wanted to see what other kinds of food in the Colony.” Sid shot him a nervous look as if she was worried he would think her question was dumb.

“Like what?” he encouraged her instead.

“Um, well, I had some taffy from there that was pretty sweet. I was wondering what else was there that also tasted like that.”

“Like fruit?” he mused.

“Not like the apples in the orchard, but more, like, I dunno, honey? Or the sap we get from those oak trees in the springtime.”

“Well, I'm sure she probably has had other kinds of sweets in Shiloh,” he said. Judging by the way Chloe reacted to her breakfast, she was definitely used to the finer things in life. Shane mentioned that she told him she was the daughter of the Corrections’ Warden although they took her words with a pinch of salt. Now, though, he could tell she was from a higher district. He had to wonder how the hell she became an Enforcement officer, one as dedicated as her, too. It's not like she had to climb her way up to the top when she was born there in the first place.

Sid scooped up the last of the grits in her bowl. She gestured to his own bowl. “Ya done with yours?” He finished off what was left in it and handed her the bowl. Sid wasn't enthused by dish duty but she got stuck with it after claiming to want more responsibilities among the gang. Sid usually took the dishes down to the river bank to wash them up.

“Here, let me help with that.” He picked up the pot Shane used to cook the grits in. He didn't have anything else to do since he can't go into the Colony and he needed to keep close to the chapel in case Dusty and Shane needed to find him.

Ollie's bowl was left discarded on the steps with the blonde man nowhere in sight. He must have gone off with them to see Julian like Dusty said. Sawyer was pleased with that since now the Rookie will think twice before attempting something.

“Is this really going to be all that we eat today?” Sid complained. When they have a fairly constant amount of Marks, they could usually get enough food supplies for breakfast and supper along with whatever else grows in the Sticks. After having to limit how often they go into Shiloh, however, they had to ration the food they already had. Didn't help matters, they had another mouth to feed. Sure, they didn't have to feed the officer, but they knew that would be too cruel to do.

“We can stop by the orchard to see if there are recent apples that grew. Maybe peaches, too.” he reassured. That seemed to placate the young girl as she happily bobbed her head and ran ahead of him.

Before he could call out to her, he stopped short when he noticed something in the mud near the river bank. As he looked up closer to the tracks, he noticed the hooves imprints in the mud.

Shit, he thought. Another rescue team.  

Chapter Text

Dusty and Shane walked ahead of Chloe while Ollie happily pranced behind her. Unfortunately, Dusty was correct about him wanting to come so now she had to plan sneaking off another time. She had no idea when the perfect time was to escape except for obviously not leaving at night. Maybe at the break of dawn where all the bandits would be still asleep. So that meant she had to stay for another night with the bandits. Fantastic.

She sighed inwardly. It's fine, technically she didn't even spend a full night with them (at least fully concussion) she could survive one full night here.

“I thought he was closer up the hill than this.” Shane muttered.

Dusty shot him an unamused look over her shoulder at him. “Maybe if you weren't shitface last time you would know where he is camping.”

“Hey, don't act like you weren't drinking either!” he argued back. Chloe raised an eyebrow at the exchange although she can't be too surprised. The more she hung around the bandits, the more she learned how dysfunctional they were. Which was completely expected from a group of hitmen that lived in demon-infested woods.

“How was I the more responsible one looking for Julian?” Ollie complained behind her, far too close for Chloe's liking. She inched a little bit closer to Shane; she rather took her chances with him rather than the one with a demon in his head.

“No doubt Sawyer kept you in check.” Shane snarked back. Apparently, Sawyer didn't only play warden with her, too. No wonder he was grumpy all the time.

Ollie pouted at that until he saw her watching him and grinned, causing Chloe to immediately become defensive. “Heeey, so you're like a part of the gang now, right?”

“I don't think being a hostage counts, but I suppose I am stuck with you guys at the moment.” Chloe answered. Dusty snorted at her rather blunt reply.

“Yeah, anyway, do you mind helping me out?” he asked.

Chloe blinked, surprised. “You're asking for a favor?” First Sid, now Ollie. While it's not like the bandits haven't been shy about needing her help, it's mostly been for how to defeat Azrael. She wasn't expecting them to ask for her assistance for individual tasks. Chloe briefly wondered if this means that she was gaining the bandits' trust.

“If you're not busy at the moment.” he merely smiled, knowing she was just standing around while Dusty and Shane figure out where Julian's camp is located.

“What did you have in mind?” Chloe asked. Unlike Sid, she wasn't going to agree to whatever help he needs without her knowing what it is. The man was a loose cannon, even towards his own comrades. She didn't want to end up helping him dispose of a body or be used as target practice.

“So, I'm trying to get Julian to be more comfortable around me since he is able to sense the demon in my head and it obviously makes him feel anxious around me, especially since he's pretty clean when it comes to bad deeds. If I'm around you more, it'll show him it's okay since you're the good-doer, rule-following officer at least in his eyes.” he explained. “So, what do you say?”

Chloe considered it. While she preferred not to be around Ollie, it would work in her best interest by helping him connect better with Julian which would likely earn his favor. Maybe he'll be less likely to unleash his demon form (intentionally that is) by doing this for him. Besides, she is already stuck with him at the moment anyway. If he starts acting peculiar she can always take off and hope Dusty and Shane will be too distracted with his demon to chase after her.

“Alright, I suppose that's fine with me.” she relented.

“Thanks for the favor, pal!” Ollie immediately cheered, throwing an arm around her shoulder. Chloe immediately regretted her decision. Was he really going to hang off of her the entire time?

Shane who had been in the middle of arguing Dusty must have been half-listening in on their conversation because he stopped whatever he was saying to give Ollie a flat look. “That's got to be one of the dumbest plans you have come up with. You know that, right?”

Ollie frowned at him. “Hey, you didn't help me out with getting Julian to stay at the chapel so I'm just trying another plan!”

Shane just sighed, pitching his brows together. Chloe couldn't help but think that he looked alot like Sawyer at the moment. She wondered if the two of them were related.

Dusty decided to prevent further headaches for him by suddenly looking towards the left. “I see smoke tailing up the trees. Julian's probably still at his camp.” They all turned to see that she was indeed correct about black smoke drifting through the trees.  They followed the smoke like it was a stoned path towards Julian's camp. Chloe tried to memorize the path to his camp in case she needed to escape the woods. Every tree looked the exact same to her though…

Soon they finally came upon a camp that was very obviously inhabited. She looked around for the sixth secret member of the bandits when she saw ruffling in the tent. A deadlocked head poked out of the tent.

“Ah, it's just you three.” he said, his tone both relieved and annoyed. He gave her a lookover as he came out of the tent. “I see you weren't lying about having an insider to the Colony.”

“Of course!” Ollie chirped, a slight blush rising to his cheeks. “Chloe here is an Enforcement officer that was investigating the Outcry. She knows a good amount about Azrael and his powers.”

Chloe noticed that he left out her actually being a member of the Outcry albeit forcibly. She decided she'll avoid mentioning it, too, in case Julian had any personal grievances with the terrorist group. Although she was curious about how Julian is actually a part of the group if he wasn't aware of her previous encounters with the bandits. Was he a newly added member or just a traveler judging by his camp far away from the chapel? Although Dusty did say he had demons attracted to him so maybe he was just doing it to protect the bandits from dealing with them as well.

The man interrupted her thoughts. “Hello, I am Julian. I take it you're from Shiloh and have insight regarding the man who can control the veil?” Julian greeted her, already launching into questions. Chloe hoped everything she knew would be satisfactory to him.

“Um, yes. I do. I'm Chloe, by the way.” she greeted in turn, giving a small wave. Chloe wasn't the most social person so she never liked doing introductions. “I'll try to catch you up with everything I know.”

She went through and described everything she knew about Azrael's powers. From the way he has a forcefield surrounding him to the large scythe he can create, Chloe told everything she uncovered about Azrael. She left out how he forced her into joining the Outcry and instead brought up how to fake the both Perrys’ deaths in order to force them into working on his bomb and who knows what other inventions he needed. How his followers referred to him as a “God” or Death himself.

After she was finished, Julian stroked his chin, thoughtfully. “That's certainly quite a tale. Do you really believe he is all those things?”

Chloe shook her head. “Not a chance. If really was a God or even a demon, he wouldn't have to fake anyone's death. He's just a human. We just need to find out how he can control the Veil.”

Shane casted her a glance. “We never debunked if he has a contract with a demon, though.”

Julian cut in. “Most demons usually go after humans that are weak or in a position where they are vulnerable and can be easily tricked into making a deal. It is rather odd that someone from Shiloh has been in contact with one.”

Chloe looked over at Shane, wondering why he formed contact with whatever demon that can resurrect him. His expression didn't betray his thoughts as he put a hand on his chin, deep in thought.

“Um, the demon in my head doesn't like going into the Colony, she always waits outside for me. Maybe there's something in Shiloh that repels them?” Ollie piped up, looking a little hesitant to bring up his own demon. Chloe supposed he still was trying to get Julian to not be cautious around him.

“It could be that Shiloh is holy ground like the chapel.” Chloe pointed out, still trying to wrap her head around all of the rules that demons have. It was a lot of information to digest, especially with only just learning that they existed.

“Sure, but to protect an entire Colony of people?” Dusty countered, a hand on her hip. “Even our home isn't entirely safe from demons barging in. Not to mention how Ollie's head demon can be inside with no issue.”

Chloe shrugged, frustrated. “Hey, I'm just offering up suggestions. Before I met you all I didn't know demons even existed! None of the colonists do.”

Julian raised a brow, surprised. “Really, no one in Shiloh is even aware of their existence, much less run into one before?” Chloe shook her head. “Hmm, at least narrows down the amount of people who are able to be in contact with them. I'm sure Colonists that have more interactions with the outside world are more likely to be aware of their existence.”

“That explains why the Outcry is so insistent that Azrael is a God,” Dusty said. “I'm also sure he helps stroke the flames.”

Chloe thought about Knox. He was fully aware of demons existing and insisted that she never discussed them with the colonists. It was part of the reason why she was so sure that he had to be Azrael. However, it's not unlikely that Knox has done the same thing with other officers under his command. Who knows how many more Enforcement officers know what is luring in the Sticks. Who might even try to go out there by themselves. Especially if they get caught after curfew, they can easily claim that they are on patrol or had orders to investigate.

“It's likely someone in Enforcement that has the most availability to do such a thing.” Chloe conceded. She gestured to Julian.“I wanted to ask you though if it was possible that an ordinary human would be able to wield the tears in the Veil or Void?”

“It's a possibility, but I find it highly unlikely. The Void is extremely hard to control and dangerous. I don't see how Azrael would be able to utilize it to such an extent as you describe, especially with the limited knowledge you Colonists have regarding the supernatural.” Julian answered.

“But it is possible, right?” Shane argued. “You said you're not familiar with the demons in this area so maybe he could potentially find a way to wield the tears easily.”

Julian frowned, although it was more thoughtful than irritated. After some time, Julian finally decided to address her. “It would be more useful to see how Azrael controls the Void in person. However, I'm not sure how to do so since I cannot enter the colony and he seems unlikely to show himself that often, particularly after his grande display at the Gala.”

“Can't you just wear one of Shiloh's district uniforms?” Chloe suggested. “That's what everyone else seems to do.”

Julian gestured to his eyes. “I have a feeling that my appearance might give myself away.”

“Just say that you're blind!” Ollie chimed in. “I’m sure nobody will hassle you, then.”

“Don't worry, we have a plan for luring Azrael out into the Sticks.” Shane said, cryptic as usual. No doubt Chloe played a role in that plan.

“So, you really aren't from here are you?” Chloe questioned Julian. She was slowly starting to realize that Julian wasn't quite as close with the bandits as she first thought. She definitely attended to exploit that. If she just get Julian on her side, she could have him help her escape the other bandits. The man seemed like he wasn't anything like the bandits, more honest and tactful compared to them. Chloe just needed him to get closer to the chapel in order to help her.

Julian nodded. “Yes, I tend to travel all across the world.” He gestured to the bandits. “I'm curious as to how you came across these vagabonds, considering how isolated your Colony is from the outside world.”

The bandits notably stiffened at that. Chloe immediately knew why: Julian didn't know she was here against her will. Oh, that made her plan so much easier.

“We should really be headed back now.” Shane stated. “Sawyer probably is wondering if everything is okay.” Shane attempted to grab her wrist, but Chloe snatched her hand away.

She looked Julian in the eye. “They kidnapped me.” Chloe said, bluntly. “I'm supposed to be bait to lure Azrael out here so they can kill him.”

Julian looked disgusted. “I can't believe you all involved me and a woman you're keeping hostage in one of your schemes!”

Ollie frowned, likely disappointed that his plan to get Julian to warm up to him more was going in the opposite direction. In her defense, she only agreed for him to hang around him, not cover up all of his crimes.

Shane glared at her. “She isn't some innocent bystander. Chloe is a member of the Outcry.” Clearly Shane intended on dragging her down to their level. Chloe quickly decided to set the record straight. She didn't want Julian to think she was some terrorist.

“I was forced into joining them!” she told Julian. “Azrael threatened to kill my partner if I didn't help him.”

Shane snorted. “Yeah, I'm sure you also were forced into attempting to shoot Sawyer dead before the Outcry, right?”

Chloe glared back at him for airing all of her dirty laundry out and potentially damaging her chances of getting Julian on her side. The man himself just sighed, rubbing his temple. “I don't know who to trust. You all left out important information to me despite constantly coming to me for help!” He shot them all dirty looks.

Before anyone could defend themselves, a sound erupted through the woods that caused everyone to freeze still.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

It was gunshots.

Chapter Text

Cliff took a moment to observe his surroundings. He hadn't been the most attentive last time in the Sticks, too busy trying to keep that brat from running off and not getting murdered by hitmen and demons. While he wasn't as oblivious as some people thought he was, Cliff admittedly wasn't the person that would be deemed as “the greatest detective” that title going to Chloe's termopary partners. The both of whom were currently searching the great fields for Chloe with troubled expressions permanently plastered on their faces. No doubt, they were worried about their friend and the possibility of running into dangerous hitmen. There's also the fact that Chloe spilled the beans to Henry about the existence of demons so they had that fear ingrained in their mind, too.

“Need a smoke?” He offered a cigarette to the sandy-haired man. While he wasn't the guy's biggest fan, he knew the officer felt guilty about what happened to Chloe. Cliff knew Chloe had previously approached Henry about coming to the Gala with them to stop Azrael only to be shot down by him for whatever reason. Judging by his look of anger and sorrow when the news broke out about Chloe's kidnapping, he likely was burdened by thoughts of remorse and guilt, something Cliff was all too familiar with until recent discoveries.

“Huh?” Grant looked confused for a moment. Apparently, Cliff must have caught him deep in his own thoughts. He quickly shook his head. “Um, no thanks. I don't smoke.”

Cliff merely shrugged in response. “I figured. Just thought I'd offer.” He lit up the smoke for himself. Cliff took a long drag, the embers burning brightly.

Henry rubbed the back of his neck, clearly wanting to ask the older man something. Before Cliff could tell him to spit it out, Grant managed to work up his nerve. “Do you think… that the, uh, bandits are treating Chloe kindly?” He looked up at Cliff with pleading eyes as if he could make it happen if that wasn't the case.

Cliff snorted, bitterly, and looked away from him. He hated just thinking about it, but the true is he had no idea and the evidence pointed to the complete opposite. He liked to think Shane wouldn't be okay with it. Sure, the man was an lazy, arrogant asshole when he knew him, but he wouldn't have peg him as the type to torture people. Cliff also wouldn't have thought Shane would be running around with a bunch of hitmen either, so Cliff’s judgment was clearly rusty.

He thought about his and Chloe's last intercounter with the bandits. The freaky blonde one eagerly talking about giving him and Chloe slow, painful deaths and the Marked Man almost strangling Chloe to death. It definitely didn't seem like they would be gentle with her, but he didn't want to tell that to Henry (or himself).

Instead, Cliff decided to bluff his way into comforting the younger man. “Chloe is tough as rocks. She can handle whatever the bandits can throw at her.” he gruffed, hoping it would put the both of them to ease.

Henry nodded, the flicker of doubt still visible in his eyes. He must have been desperate to believe his words, however, since he forced a smile. “Yeah, Chloe is pretty headstrong. I bet she is fighting every step of the way.”

Cliff let out a grunt of agreement as the two of them fell in uncomfortable silence. The Fate's stars must have taken pity on him because Henry's partner, Ainsley, came back from speaking with Hollis and gestured to him. “Deputy Knox would like to have a word with you, Barrett.” she said, her tone and face completely neutral as it always is. She honestly gave Cliff the creeps. He didn't like people that were constantly closed off with their emotions.

Cliff gave them both a wave of this hand and walked over to Hollis, trying not to appear too eager to leave. He never really got along with the two officers in the first place, always feeling like the two of them were fake and superficial. He wasn't too keen that Knox made them Chloe's temporary partners while he was out of commission, but he couldn't complain too much. All of the other officers made it clear how much they hated her for various reasons such as being a former upper Civilian and believing that she was the cause of his near death out here despite all of them constantly wishing his death over the years, the bunch of fucking hypocrites.

He approached Hollis, doing his best to appear dutiful in front of the other officers. Gotta keep up appearances and all. “You needed me, sir?” he asked, struggling to keep a straight face at Hollis calling “sir” after everything they have been through.

Hollis turned to him with a frown. “Does any of this area look familiar to you?” He motioned to the woods that appeared endlessly.

Cliff shrugged, helplessly. “Can't say that it does.” He hesitated for a couple of ticks. “Maybe if I look around myself I could find the area we were in last time. The bandits came pretty quickly after the pipsqueak whistled for them. That probably meant their base was close by.”

Hollis just shot him an annoyed look. “For the last time, stay with the rest of the rescue team. You're lucky that you are even here in the first place.” That was technically true. Cliff was supposed to be in the Infirmary for another day since his injuries were so severe as last time, but when he heard that Knox was going to launch the rescue party as soon as daylight breaks, Cliff tried to force them to discharge him which didn't work until Knox use his Deputy status to get an early release for him on the reasoning being he is familiar with the Sticks and possesses greater knowledge of where the bandits likely are hiding out.

Cliff just blew out a cloud of smoke, away from Hollis. “Hey, can't blame a man for trying.” Knox rolled his eyes and barked out orders to another officer before turning back to him with a pinch brow that told him to put out his cigarette. With a sigh, Cliff dropped the smoke and stomped it out in the grass. Shame, it still had a lot left, too.

Cliff cleared his throat, nervously as he prepared his next attempt of asking even more from Hollis than he already did. “So, about Chloe's status in Enforcement…” he began.

Hollis cut him off. “I'm not changing my mind about her, Cliff. Chloe has been a good officer up to this point, yes, but everything she has done recently would have landed her in Corrections if not outright being sentenced to dusting.” He shot Cliff a glare. “I'm being far more charitable than most if not all Deputies by just demoting her.”

Cliff sighed, disappointed by not changing the man's mind. He knew Chloe would be crushed at having to be removed from being from Enforcement. She really thought she was making a difference, although he a feeling that Hollis didn't consider it a good change.

“Besides, Chloe is far better off than most in her position.” Hollis continued on, still surveying the scenery for any peculiar sights of the wanted men and their hostage. “She has a prestigious family to fall back on to help her out in terms of money and finding a new job. She is far more privileged than the rest of us.”

Cliff gave him a meaningful look. “Is that why you didn't also demote me despite also going along with her?”

Hollis didn't answer him, instead walking towards the treeline.

Cliff followed after him. “Look, I get your reasoning even if I don't like it, but could you at least break the news to her after everything is done? She might be in a shitty state when we find her and I don't want it to be made worse for her.” he pleaded. Cliff had a feeling after this, he would have officially used up any and all favors that Hollis was willing to give him.

“Of course.” Hollis replied, his tone a bit softer now. “I am not that cruel to kick somebody while they are already down.” Everything that happened at his apartment conadict that statement, but Cliff also understood that Hollis didn't have the full picture of what was going on with Chloe. It was still pretty shitty to reveal Chloe's private medical history to everyone close to her, though. He can't be too mad about her bringing up their secret relationship even if Cliff himself wasn't keen on Henry and Ainsley knowing that personal detail of his. He still didn't find them trustworthy the same way Chloe does.

“What are you looking for?” Cliff asked, also looking through the trees. He didn't like how dark it was despite the sun having already fully risen in the sky. Any of the shadows could be hiding anyone or anything within them.

“Hmm, thought I saw something moving.” Hollis gave a light shake of his head. “Might just have been a wild animal.”

Cliff shot a cautious glance into the thick forest of trees. “Yeah, I'm not too sure about it just being a deer or something.”

One of the first things Cliff noticed about the Sticks was that there was barely any wildlife around. Maybe a lone bird or snake roaming through the grass, but creatures such as deer or squirrels were a rarity. Almost like they all are hiding, fearful of whatever is lurking within the woods.

“We should probably cover new ground. I don't think Chloe or the bandits have been in this area recently.” Hollis commanded.

Cliff nodded. “This area ain't familiar to me anyways.” With that, the two of them walked back to the rest of the officers with Knox giving orders to relo to another part of the Sticks.

Cliff couldn't help but glance back at where Hollis was eyeballing earlier. He didn't see anything either, but that didn't mean that there wasn't someone who decided to stand still and wait until they were gone to come on out.

Cliff turned back towards the group who where already heading out, Henry and Ainsley giving him a noticeable, concerned look as if was going to have a breakdown over not finding his partner right away. Cliff was hardened enough not to let any of his worries show.

Cliff stopped Hollis before he could go off with them. “I gotta go take a leak.” Cliff said, trying to appear nonchalantly as possible.

Hollis narrowed his eyes as if seeing right through him. “Seriously? You want to go on a restroom break?” he exclaimed, disbelief oozing through his tone.

Cliff just shrugged. “You're free to join me if ya think I'm lying.”

Hollis gave a disgusted look. “I'll be waiting here for you to come back.” he stated, sternly. “Don't take too long. I have to lead the rest of my men.”

“Sir, yes sir.” Cliff gave a mock salute to Hollis which caused the man to roll his eyes. No doubt Cliff was giving Knox more grey hairs than he had.

Cliff walked towards the edge of the trees, not quite disappearing into the woods, but also giving him enough privacy from Hollis’ watchful eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Cliff called out to the dark forest. “I know that you're hiding somwhere in the dark. Comin’ out. Let's have a chat. I'll be friendly. I promise.”

Complete and utter silence followed after his words. Cliff just let out a sigh. “Fine. We'll do this the hard way, then.” With that, Cliff turned on his cattleprod, the blue electricity lighting up the trees.

The newfound light made his view of the forest. The blue glow illuminated every shadow of the trees, their branches, and anybody hiding behind them.

Cliff scanned the entire area. Before he could move any closer, he saw a shadow start sifting through the trees.

There you are. Cliff thought.

Cliff’s arm with the cattleprod shot forward to light up the mysterious stranger better and to potentially shock them with the device, too.

They jumped out of the way in just enough time in order to avoid being completely swung at. Now that Cliff got the person in full view, he saw that they were cloaked head to toe in black, a mask secured over their face.

“Aw, shit.” Cliff grumbled to himself. “You're one of those Outcry freaks, aren't ya?”

“This doesn't concern you, Cliff Barrett.” they hissed through their mask, using his full name as if they were trying to appear intimidating like the entire Colony didn't already know who he was. “We're actually both trying to accomplish the same goal of rescuing your partner, Chloe Callahan. It's best not to get in our way of finding her and riding Shiloh of those damned bandits.”

“Yeah, and let Chloe just become a hostage for the Outcry, instead? No thanks, buddy.” Cliff threw a punch with his left fist and his other to thrust out his cattlepull to prevent the footsoldier from ducking the other way.

Instead, they dropped to the ground, completely missing his fist, and rolled away from him before jumping to their feet with ease. Shit, Cliff wished he was still young to be able to move like that.

“You're lost, then.” they said, reaching into their pockets and throwing daggers with both hands.

Cliff quickly threw himself out of the way, not quite fast enough to avoid being slash in the shoulder. Aw, shit, the nurses at the Infirmary are not going to be pleased with him after constantly insisting he won't get himself injured again.

Cliff clinged to his shoulder while using his other hand to hold up his cattleprod as if to ward off the assassin.

“Shame that I have to kill you.” they drawled out, clearly wanting to act like their overdramatic leader. He rather they just get it over with than playing up the villain act. “I always thought you killing that Jumpsuit and getting away with it was the best middle finger to the bastards at Corrections.”

“Yeah, well, I didn't do it as some kind of political statement.” Cliff grunted out, ready to strike with his weapon when they get close.

“What a shame.” The Outcry follower hold up their dagger to throw it into his chest when-

BANG. BANG. BANG.

They crumbled to the ground with a choked gasp, clinging to their chest to unsuccessfully stop the bleeding. They dropped to the ground, completely still and dead.

“It's a good thing that I don't trust you in the slightest to not get into trouble while my back is turned.” A voice called out behind Cliff. He turned around to see Hollis dropping a pistol to his side, giving Cliff a pointed look like a disapproving parent instead of someone who just shot someone to death.

“You have a gun on you?” Cliff exclaimed, still in shock by the events that just happened.

Hollis rolled his eyes. “We're in woods that is inhabited by demons and murderous bandits that kidnapped one of our own after being attacked by a terrorist group. Of course I have a gun on me.”

“Well, when you put it that way, it does make sense.” Cliff let out a deep breath, trying to let out all of the tension in his body. “You shouldn't have fired off that thing, though.”

“You're seriously complaining about me saving you from that terrorist!?” Hollis bursted out, incredulously.

“I'm not pissed about that. You don't think that the bandits won't hear those gunshots echoing through the entire woods, letting them know that we are here and armed? What if they decided to do something to Chloe before we reached her?” Cliff shot at Hollis, worry already consuming him about what his partner was going through.

Damn it, Shane, if you or any of your buddies hurt her in any way, I'm killing you again. Cliff thought to himself.

Hollis pursed his lips, realizing his mistake. “Shit, you're right.”

“Heh, I don't think I ever heard that from you before.” Cliff jabbed at his superior. Knox just shook his head and walked over to the dead Outcry follower. He bent down to remove his mask.

“Do you recognize them?” Hollis gestured to their face. Cliff looked down. They were a bit older than he thought, being around Chloe's age.

Cliff shaked his head slightly. “Nah. Check their wrist for their district and Civilian number.”

Hollis took off their gloves and Cliff saw that they were from the Sanctuary District. “Shit, I didn't know that cleaners knew how to fight like that.” Hollis pulled out his notebook, likely writing their number to identify them for later.

Cliff heard some voices call out for him and Hollis about what the hell is going on and if they needed assistance.

“We have one of the Outcry followers dead. Let's remove their body from the premises and continue our search. Those gunshots likely alerted the outlaws to our present.” Hollis shouted out to them. Turning back to him, Knox seemed to finally realize that his shoulder was hit. “Shit, you're hurt! Is it bad?”

Cliff shook his head. “Nah, it was just a nick. Some bandages wrapped around it should be good enough.”

“You're just saying that so you can continue with the search and not go back to the Infirmary.” Hollis snarked.

Cliff just shrugged his good shoulder. “Guilty as charged.” Cliff paused for a moment, wondering how he should approach his next question. “So, I'm guessing that you have that gun on you because you don't intend on bringing the bandits down humanely?”

Hollis gave him a meaningful look. “I will bring the bandits in if possible, but I'm not going to be killed when they inevitably fight back. Look at what they did to you and how Chloe barely got away alive last time.”

“I know and I get that. I just need to tell you something that I have been meaning to after the Gala, but couldn't find the right time.” Cliff mumbled out, not really rrady to tell him who he saw with the bandits.

“What is it?” Hollis questioned, curious.

“It's about Shane. Shane Jackdaw.” Hollis froze at the mention of that name. He knew Cliff didn't like talking about him at all, so he was likely surprised he was bringing him up now. “He's alive. I don't know how, but he is a part of the bandits with the Marked Man and that demon freak.”

“What?” Hollis exclaimed in utter shock. “That's impossible. You caved his head in. I watched them scrape his remains off of the ground. There's no way he could have possibly survived that.”

“I understand the feeling, but it's true. I saw him in the fresh. No demon inhabiting his body, at least not one puppeting his corpse around. He recognized me and even addressed me by name. Hell, he looks exactly the same despite it being two fucking decades and he should have at least changed somewhat, but it looked as if he hadn't aged a single fucking day since we last saw him alive.” Cliff stated. He wondered if he intentionally avoided him and Chloe the last time they were running around the Sticks. If so, how much did he know about the two of them?

Hollis ran a hand, clearly hitting his limit on the amount of dramatic reveals coming from him. Finally, he spoke up. “If that's the case, what do we do with him? Apparently, he's immoral if he can survive getting his head bludgeoned and we can't bring him back to Shiloh. Everyone will wonder how a man who was killed in broad daylight is walking around alive?”

“Good question. Can't we just sneak him in Corrections undetected?” Cliff asked. It's not like with Charlotte where her death didn't have an entire crowd of witnesses and was easily passed off as a mistake with dusting vials. Multiple people saw that gruesome aftermath of what he did to the man.

“Maybe for a period of time, but we don't know how long his immortality lasts. People will start to notice a prisoner that never ages or heals from grievous injuries. Gossip will inevitably spread among the Corrections workers.” Hollis argued.

“Yeah, well, you got any better things on how to deal with him?” Cliff asked, irritated. “It's either let him run around loose, killing more people or we lock him up. Killing or dusting him isn't going to solve the problem.” Strange, just a few days ago, Cliff would have done anything to reverse what he did back then, and now he was regretting not being able to kill him again. Ain't life a bitch.

Hollis opened his mouth to continue arguing with him only to quickly close it as other officers began walking towards them. He shot Cliff a quick look to keep quiet about Shane which he didn't need to be warned about. He just hoped none of the other officers would recognize him. The incident was a long time ago so it was likely most people barely remember what the man looks like, but there was still a risk.

Some officers covered up the body and dragged them over to take them back to Shiloh. Enforcement will need to identify them to inform any family members as well as question them regarding any suspicious activity that likely went on with their loved one. While Cliff couldn't muster up much sympathy for the terrorist follower that tried to kill him and likely kidnapped Chloe, he hoped Chloe's parents didn't think that it was her body that was being brought back to Shiloh. Even if they both hated him and would have liked to have seen him dusted.

Hollis turned back to him after the other officers left. “Did they say anything of value about what the Outcry was doing out there?” he questioned.

“They mentioned about being out here looking for Chloe. No doubt the Outcry wanted their kidnapped “member” back.” Cliff rubbed his chin as another thing the Outcry follower said that caused him to freeze. “I think there's more of them out here, Hollis. They mentioned something about “getting in our way” of finding Chloe. Sure, he could have just meant in the metaphorical sense, but I don't think Azrael would only send one of his foot soldiers out in the Sticks.”

“Yes, I did suspect that there were likely more Outcry followers out there.” Hollis frowned. We have to go back to Shiloh.”

Cliff stiffened at that and took a step towards Hollis with a cold look in his eyes. “You said you'll help find Chloe-”

“I still attend to have a rescue team for her.” Hollis cut him off. Normally Cliff would be pissed by that, but he settled on just glaring at him. “I'm not going to have my officers roaming the Sticks at the risk of facing bandits and terrorists with just cattleprods. We are going to need more weapons out here if I don't want to lose anymore men out here like last time. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.” Cliff grumbled. He didn't like having to retreat back to Shiloh after alerting the bandits of their presence. While they likely knew Enforcement would be out here like last time he and Chloe disappeared into the Sticks, there's no predicting what they can do to her.

“Come on, Cliff. Let's get that wound taken care of.” Hollis’ tone became gentler now, putting a hand on his uninjured shoulder.

Cliff nodded and they both walked out of the forest together with no idea just how many enemies awaited in the Sticks.

Chapter Text

“What the hell was that!?” Julian exclaimed, although Chloe was pretty sure he already knew what the sound was.

“Do you think that was Sawyer firing those shots off?” Ollie asked, worried. It was the first time Chloe saw him as anything but lucky-go-happy.

“Coulda been Sid, too. She still has my gun.” Shane said, his tone low as if he was concerned the shooter could hear him. Or the one being shot at.

“It couldn't be a demon they are shooting at, right?” Chloe inquired, dread quickly taking over. “You all swore up and down that they couldn't come out during the daytime.”

“Yeah, they don't. Not counting ones that possess humans at least.” Dusty responded, looking off into the distance to see where the gunshots came from. “It had to be a person on the other end of those bullets.”

“Do you think it could be Enforcement officers?” Ollie asked her.

Chloe hesitated. “Enforcement officers don't really carry guns.” Granted, considering Shiloh just suffered from a terrorist attack, maybe they were just being extremely cautious.

“Either way, whatever they are shooting at is likely a threat to them and us as well.” Shane said.

“It might be the Outcry.” Dusty suggested. She gestured towards Chloe. “They gotta be here to rescue you.”

Chloe doesn't know why they would be here to rescue her. She attacked Azrael at the Gala. He should be glad she was taken by bandits were she would likely be killed, in his mind. Unless Azrael wanted Chloe to be brought back only for him to punish her personally. She shuddered at the thought.

“I thought they forced you into joining. Why would they care about someone that does not wish to be a part of their organization?” Julian questioned her, his eyes narrowed at her.

“It's the truth! I begged Azrael to let me go after I did want he needed from me, but he refused to. He's probably pissed that I'm not in his grasp anymore and wants me back to lock me up. It wouldn't be the first time he had done it.” Chloe explained, desperately.

Julian looked at her, complianting if what she is saying is the truth. Before he could speak up, Shane decided to cut in. “Look, we really need to get back to the chapel. Sawyer and Sid are gonna be thinkin’ that was us gettin’ shot.”

“You should come back with us, Julian. It could be dangerous out here with a crazed gunman on the loose.” Ollie coaxed, trying to appear suave. No doubt he was using the opportunity to try and convince the man to move in again.

“I would rather not. I'm still peeved at all of you for continuing to lie to me while asking for help.” Julian said, looking pointly at everyone.

“I get your pissed, but if it is those Outcry guys, they don't care if they kill innocent people in their way and that includes you. I know the bandits aren't any better, but at least you'll be sheltered in case they come across your camp and decide you're a witness they don't want to leave behind.” Chloe protested.

Shane gave her a flat look. “Geez, thanks for stickin’ up for us.”

Before Chloe could tell him that kidnapped victims tend not to think highly of their captors, Julian let out a sigh. “Alright. These Outcry fellows sound rather murderous.” He gave Ollie a weary look. “At least I know I won't be killed by the likes of your group.”

Ollie beamed at him despite Chloe being pretty sure that wasn't supposed to be taken as a compliment.

Dusty had been side-eyeing Chloe, as if she was expecting her to start taking off at any moment. To be honest, Chloe did consider it, but there was too many unknown factors for her to be sure if escaping would only lead to more harm towards her. She had no idea who fired off those shots. Even if it was an Enforcement officer, that only led to the question of who or what they were shooting at. Chloe had no other choice but go with the bandits unless she wanted to risk facing whatever threat that was out there that required three gunshots to take it down.

“Alright, then. Since you made a decision, let's start moving.” Chloe instructed, sliding back into officer mode. She had been out of it for so long due to being on radio and record duty it felt almost foreign to her.

Dusty and Shane both had their shoulders snagged with relief, secretly glad they don't have to worry about chasing her down without having to risk running into whatever was out there. She almost wanted to go running just because she knew there probably wasn't going to be a good as an opportunity as these moment, but then she remembered of the massacred bodies that the Outcry had mercilessly slaughtered and just kept her feet planted were they are.

Better the devil you know than the one you know is even worse. Chloe thought to herself.

“Great. Let's get going, then.” Shane said, grabbing her forearm, dragging Chloe with him despite her showing willingly to go with them. She jerked out of his grasp, annoyed by how much he invaded her personal space. Even back at the pub he was like that.

The group quickly raced back to the chapel, hoping the outsiders wouldn't cross their paths. Luck, for once, appeared to be on their sides as they didn't run into another person.

As they approached the chapel, Chloe saw Sawyer looking out one of the windows. Relief flooded his face and he quickly went to open up the chapel doors.

“Get in! Quickly!” he gruffed out, his voice more tense than normal, unsurprisingly.

They all rushed inside. After Sawyer counted everyone, he barricaded the doors.

“Didja see what happened?” Ollie asked.

“Naw, but I did see hooves imprints in the mud.” he replied back. “It had to be one of the rescue team officers that fired off those shots.”

Chloe stiffened. So Hollis decided to arrange for a search team for her despite everything that had happened between them. She regretted not leaving when she had the chance. Now she was locked in along with everyone else.

“So that means they likely killed whoever was a threat, right?” Dusty said, hopefully.

“Like it's ever that easy.” Chloe muttered. She looked around the more barren church now that Sawyer pushed a bunch of the pews up against the door, realizing someone was missing. “Wait, where's Sid?” Chloe asked, panicking. She didn't think Sawyer would leave her outside, but that didn't mean she was in the chapel. She had a habit of sneaking off that even Chloe was able to pick up in her short time with the bandits.

“I told her to go up and locked herself in the bell tower with Shane's gun.” Sawyer responded, giving her a peculiar look that she couldn't place what emotions he was feeling.

“Woulda been better for me to have it.” Shane grumbled.

Sawyer turned to him, looking ready to chew him out before a voice called out above them. “Thank the stars you're all safe!” Sid happily exclaimed, racing down the stairs.

Sawyer instead focused his attention towards Ollie. “Go over and get someone to chained you up.” he ordered.

Ollie immediately protested. “I wanna help fight in case someone gets in!”

“Yeah, and what if your demon comes out? Then we have to worry about the people trying to kill us and you.” Sawyer shot back.

Dusty spoke up in Ollie's defense. “If he's chained up, he's a sitting duck for the intruders to kill him. We can't fight off the attackers and make sure Ollie is safe at the same time.”

“Alrighty then, so in case his mantis demon comes out to kill us and drink Sid's blood, you gonna fight it instead of running off like last time?” Sawyer asked, harrowed. Dusty looked hurt that he would bring that up, especially in front of outsiders from the group. At least Chloe's previous suspicions about what happened were confirmed.

Julian cleared his throat, uncomfortably trying to get everybody's attention. “If I may offer some assistance, do you have any chalk here?”

“Huh? Uh, sure, let me go get some.” Sid quickly left the room, likely to get away from the brewing tension.

“What do you need chalk for?” Sawyer asked, his hostility dying down. Chloe was rather grateful for Julian's intervention; even if his anger wasn't aimed at her, she doubted a pissed off Sawyer was pleasant to work with.

“I have the ability to perform a protection barrier by drawing a circle around yourself and others that prevents others entering in or touching you.” Julian explained.

“That's actually pretty damn useful. How come you never try to do this before?” Shane accused.

Julian rubbed his chin, suddenly appearing self-conscious. “Well, my ability to perform such a feat is rather limiting. I can only do a small circle for a short period of time before I start experiencing headaches and nosebleeds. Otherwise, I would have offered to circle the entire chapel a long time ago.”

Sid came back into the room with a piece of white chalk and handed it to Julian. He thanked the girl and turned his attention to Ollie. “Are you okay with being chained up now?”

“Yep! Sounds good to me!” Ollie chirped, no longer airing his grievances. Chloe was convinced if Julian asked him to set himself on fire, he'd do it.

Shane helped chained Ollie up while Julian drew his protection, chanting in a language that Chloe never heard before. After the circle was complete, Julian pointed towards it. “Only I can enter into it freely unless I bring in someone else. That way you all can still come in while not having to worry about anyone else entering.”

Shane shrugged. “Seems easy enough to ‘member.”

“If you don't mind, I would rather sit in the circle than join the rest of you in case of any intruders. I won't be able to fight while also concentrating on keeping the circle up and I'll likely just get in the way.” Julian explained. He must have not wanted Sawyer to accuse him of trying to abandon the rest of them.

Instead of being angry, Sawyer appeared understanding. “I get it. This isn't your fight, We appreciate all the help you've given us.”

“See! We aren't a bunch of thankless vagabonds after all!” Ollie chimed in. Julian just let out an annoyed huff and entered the circle with him. Ollie was quite overjoyed at being next to his crush, even if he was chained up and Julian was standing with a reasonable distance between them.

“So, what do we do now? Just sit and wait to see if anybody attacks us?” Chloe asked.

“Pretty much.” Shane said, sitting down in one of the pews and started his whittling again. Chloe was starting to become irritated by how nonchalant the man was about everything. She was starting to see Sawyer's side of things of always barking orders at everyone.

“Since we're all in one place and none of us can leave, how about you tell me the truth of how you all met and how you joined the Outcry.” Julian stated, looking directly at her for answers.

She sighed. “Alright, but it might take awhile.”

“Not like we got somewhere 'portant to be at.” Dusty said, sitting crossed legs on the ground despite there being enough room in the few remaining pews to sit. Maybe she wanted to be alone after arguing with Sawyer?

“And we'll chime in in case you decide to leave anythin’ out that doesn't make you look good.” Shane piped up, cheekily. Chloe was tempted to flip him off, but decided on trying to avoid any more fights.

Instead, she took a deep breath and started with Charlotte's murder and everything that entailed afterwards. Chasing Sid into the Sticks, meeting the Marked Man and Ollie, almost getting murdered, learning about demons and how the Colony covers them up, waking up to Azrael in her bedroom with him threatening to kill her partner if she doesn't join his terrorist organization, and how she thought her Deputy was Azrael. She even told them about everything with Elijah and how the Outcry slaughtered all of these servants to frame him in order to have him “dusted” and become their new inventor to replace his sister.

Chloe made sure she didn't leave out any of the parts that made her look bad either. She told everyone how she blackmailed Knox to let her stay on the case, how she lured the Marked Man to be killed only for Shane to show up in his place, how afterwards she felt relieved after his death because she thought she was rid of the gang, and how she basically pushed every single person but Cliff away.

When she was done with telling about what happened at the Gala, there was complete silence that followed afterwards. While nobody had spoken up when she was talking, too invested into what was going on in the Colony, now Chloe was nervous how everyone would respond. No doubt everyone thought even worse of her than they did before.

Dusty was the first one to break the silence. “Well, at least now we know why you try so hard to catch us,” She gave her a surprising kind look. “You were just trying to protect your partner.”

Shane didn't look like he agreed with the sentiment, still upset over her failed attempt to kill him, but she spoke up before he could. “That wasn't the reason why I chase Sid down into the Sticks. I did it because I wanted to be the one to catch the Marked Man. I thought… I wasn't popular among the other officers even before everything that happened afterwards, so I thought maybe by bringing in the Marked Man, I'll finally earn their respect just like I had in my previous Job. It'll finally make me one of them.” Chloe took a deep breath, her voice becoming dry after speaking for so long. “I learned that their respect was worthless anyway. I never was ever going to be one of them no matter what. I don't think I would be proud of myself even if I somehow managed to earn their praise. They'll turned on you in a blink of an eye if it meant they could climb their way to a higher rank.”

Chloe took a peek at Sawyer who had decided to sit in one of the remaining pews with Sid by his side. She figured he would have said something about being right about her wanting to play the hero, but he just sat in silence, his expression even more brooding than normal. She wondered if bringing up Charlotte's murder and her brother's breakdown finally caused him to think about the people he had killed.

Sid piped up in his place. “Well, I guess I can forgive you since you regret it.” She looked over at Ollie. “If I can forgive Ollie trying to eat me, I can forgive you. You did also save my life, too, so that balances it out.”

“It wasn't me that try to eat you!” Ollie protested. Julian just shot him a writhing look. He looked like he would have rather risk his chances out in the open with terrorists on the loose than be there right now.

Sid turned towards Sawyer. “Well?”

Sawyer snapped out of his thoughts. “Well what?”

“Do you forgive Chloe for everything?” Sid asked. Chloe would rather she hadn't. She didn't tell her story because she wanted to make everyone feel pity for her. She had thought the complete opposite would happen, that she was an even worse person than they originally thought.

Sawyer stared at her for a tic or two before speaking. “It's not like any of us are any better anyway. Shouldn't matter what we think of you.” That answer surprised Chloe. Sure, it wasn't exactly forgiveness, but he didn't seem to judge her for what she did despite all of his harsh words to her this morning.

“You never try to kill me so we're good!” Ollie called out to her, cheerfully. It was good to know that he was forgiving as he was ready to stab someone.

Sid finally made her way to asking Shane about forgiving her. “Yeah, right, I'm the one who actually got brutally killed here. All of you just nearly died.” he scoffed.

“You are immortal.” Chloe pointed out, flatly. While she had felt guilty after the whole debacle, it was a lot harder now that he was alive and helped kidnapped her.

“Yeah, and it's not like I have an infinite amount of lives. I loose a piece of myself each and every time I die until there's going to be nothing left!” he shot back, angrily.

Dusty gave him an annoyed glare. “You could have mentioned that part to me earlier, right?” Shane looked away from her, clamping up. Chloe didn't know why he didn't discuss his immortality with anybody. It's not like it's written in a contract to never speak of it, right?

“Oh, well, everyone but Shane forgives you then.” Sid frowned at him. He ignored her and resumed his whittling with a pissed off expression.

“What about me?” Julian asked with a brow arched.

“What did I do to you?” Chloe asked, genuinely confused. She wasn't certain she never crossed paths with him until today.

“You lied to me and only confessed after Shane revealed your connection to the Outcry.” he pointed out.

“Oh! I really am sorry about that. I was worried you might have something against the Outcry and you wouldn't help me." She apologized. Chloe left out about potentially using him as an escape plan. It would not be best to mention that in front of everyone.

“Hmm, well I suppose it isn't as bad as trying to kill me or actually having me killed.” Julian snarked. At least he was willing to accept her apology.

“So now that we all are friends here, can we finally stop fighting each other all the time?” Ollie pouted. He looked like a little kid trying to get his parents to stop arguing in front of him.

Shane snorted. “I think Chloe being a cop that hunts down criminals, meaning us, for a living isn't going to give us the slip.”

“You heard how she's only been assigned to radio duty. It's not like that is going to have us crossing paths again.” Dusty pointed out. While Chloe appreciated the defense, it did kinda rub salt in the wound on how far she had fallen.

Chloe cleared her throat to smooth her voice before she spoke, gaining attention to her. “Since I told you everything that happened in Shiloh, can you answer a few of my questions?” She directed the question to Dusty in particular since Shane was still sulking and Sawyer seemed to return back to his thoughts, tuning out the rest of them.

“Sure, what did you want to know?” Dusty asked.

“Since we have a rescue team looking for me, I would like for my partner, Cliff Barrett, to be informed that I'm safe and alive.” Chloe announced.

Predictably, the bandits were not keen on that idea at all. “Yeah, how do you think it's going to go down when we show up, tellin’ him his partner is safe and sound? You really think he's gonna believe us and not attack on sight?” Dusty interjected. It was the closest she has gone to being hostile to Chloe since that night in the pub. Chloe decided to quickly make amends.

“Obviously, I am not saying you need to track him down and tell him. I can write a note telling him that I'm okay and one of you can drop it off, stuck to a tree or something, after the rescue team heads back for the night. I'll even include information that only I am privy to so he doesn't think it is a forgery.” She explained.

“What if someone else finds it?” Shane interrupted.

Chloe shrugged. “They'll likely handed it in to Knox as evidence, so Cliff will still find out anyways.”

“Alright, I guess we can do that.” Dusty frowned, still not hundred percent on board but was willing to accept it.

“”What's your other question?” Shane paused from his whittling to look up at her.

“So, after we kill Azrael and whoever is out there if it isn't already him, what are you all going to do with me?” Chloe asked, nervously. If her escape plan doesn't succeed or she is unable to leave due the mysterious gunfire, she wanted to know what the bandits plan on doing with her when everything is all said and done regarding Azrael and the Outcry.

Everyone just looked at her a bit surprised. “We're going to let you go, obviously.” Shane said, looking at her like she was a total idiot.

“Really, even after I know where your home is?” she questioned, skeptically.

“Well, we were going to knock you out and drop you off in some random district so you wouldn't know where we were. I doubt you will remember any of the area you've seen while trying to find where we are after the ruins, right?” Shane smirked, like he already knew the answer. Unfortunately, he was correct. Chloe couldn't remember the path she went down here last time. There's no way she would be able to navigate through the ruins, go through the Sticks, and find where they are hiding. Maybe if she went through the sewers, she'd have a better idea how to navigate back to the chapel, but the bandits were obviously not counting on her going through them in the first place.

“Fine, I guess that answers all of my questions then.” Chloe huffed. She paused as she remembered Sid's favor for her before they left and the gunshots went off. “Oh, what was it you wanted from me before we went off to speak with Julian?” Chloe asked Sid. “I don't know if I am still able to help you since we're all stuck inside for the time being.”

Sid looked down, seemingly shy, surprising Chloe. The young girl has always been loud, rude, opinionated, and bold from what Chloe had witnessed. “Um, I really didn't need your help, I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions.”

“Okay, then. Shoot.” Chloe responded. She couldn't really think of anything else she needed to tell the group, Chloe was pretty detailed in her story. She even told them about her relationship with Henry and Ainsley although she doubted they would go after them. The two of them made it clear that they would rather not get involved with the Outcry or the bandits unless it was related to Enforcement duties.

“What… What kind of candy does Shiloh have?” she asked, suddenly embarrassed, confusing Chloe until she realized that the girl didn't want to be viewed as a child by the other bandits. No doubt living out in the Sticks caused her to be forced to grow up quickly, not enjoying the little things like eating sweets that Chloe took for granted when she was her age.

“Huh, well, I don't eat that much sweets nowadays, but when I was your age I always would get rock candy.” Chloe confessed. She never really told anyone about her childhood, Henry and Ainsley only know as much they did because of Elijah. Even Cliff didn't know much about it, although Chloe doubted he had any interest in learning more about her past with people who wanted him imprisoned and dusted.

“You ate rocks?” Sid scrunched up her nose.

“No, it's better than it sounds.” Chloe insisted, quickly. “It's basically crystallized sugar that is really brittle so it's easy to chew. It melts in your mouth so it isn't that hard to eat.”

“Hmm, I guess.” Clearly, that one was not a particularly good suggestion. “Anything else?” Sid asked.

Chloe thought about it more. She had other sweets she enjoyed as a kid, but the problem was most of those sweets were fairly expensive, something that only Civilians could really get their hands on. She only suggested rock candy because she saw it once during one of Shiloh's festivals. The memory of walking through the streets with concession stands selling various foods reminded Chloe of one particular sweet she thought Sid would enjoy.

“Oh! There's also caramel apples. It's basically apples that are dipped in caramel which is pretty similar to taffy.” Chloe explained. It was hard to explain all of the things that were normal to her in Shiloh, but completely foreign to the bandits except Shane.

“That does sound pretty good.” Sid perked up, far more excited by that one than her previous suggestion.

Chloe hesitated on telling the girl that she could try it next time the autumn equinox festival rolls around. While they may be friendly now, that friendliness will disappear once Chloe escapes and the bandits succeed in killing Azrael if she doesn't do it first. They would no longer have a common enemy to fight against and the bandits weren't likely going to stop their slaying of Colonists. If she ever saw anyone of the bandits in Shiloh, she doubted they would greet her happily. Not to mention how Sawyer and Ollie have wanted posters with Dusty and Shane earning their own once Enforcement has her describe her captors to a sketch artist like last time she faced the bandits in the Sticks.

The sound of loud footsteps snapped Chloe out of her thoughts, panic running through her body when she realized nobody had gotten out of their seats. The bandits shared a similar sentiment as they tense up as they looked at where the source of the sounds were coming from.

The door leading in was thrown open with two figures dressed in black with masks obscuring their faces. It didn't take long to realize who they were: Outcry soldiers.

“Well,” one of them with a masculine voice drawled out, muffled by his mask. “Looks like we managed to find our kidnapped member and the Marked Man.”

Chapter Text

Everybody leaped to their feet except Ollie and Julian who, thankfully, were protected by his barrier. However, everyone else was fair game.

Sawyer shoved Sid behind him. “How did you get in there!?” he practically growled.

“You didn't board up the windows. Poor decision, really, it's the reason you're all going to die,” the female Outcry member said, the causal tone in her voice only making her more threatening.

“Listen, I'll go with you, willingly, if you don't kill anybody.” Chloe desperately pleaded.

The male Outcry member laughed. “Finding you wasn't our only order, Callahan. We were sent here to finish off the rest of the bandits. I thought you would be grateful considering they kidnapped you and all.”

“When you plan to do the same thing to me? Yeah, I'm not going to be thankful.” Chloe quipped, her heart still beating fast. The doors were completely blocked and they didn't have time to move them all without the two of them attacking them. The only thing they could do was to stand and fight.

“Too bad. Looks like we're doing this the hard way.” he said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cattleprod which completely surprised her. How did he have a cattleprod!? Unless in his daily life, he's an Enforcement officer, but Deputies are very strict about about cattleprods being used in officers’ lives off the clock. He had to have been on duty to be able to carry it around. Maybe he was a part of the rescue team searching for her. Well, mission accomplished, but not in the way Knox intended.

The blue electricity lit up the room, the crackling sound confirming it was the real deal. He immediately thrust his weapon towards her with Chloe barely throwing herself out of harm's way. She hit the ground with a loud “thud” and quickly scrambled up before he could corner her.

The female Outcry member decided to focus her attention on the bandits instead of her which was both a blessing for her, but also a curse since that put everyone else in danger as well.

“You're an officer, aren't you?” Chloe glared at the footsoldier, trying to use talk to him to cause a distraction. The man loomed over her, the cattleprod still gripped tightly in his hands. Instead of responding, he swung the cattleprod towards her face with Chloe barely jumping back, the heat radiating above her. Luckily, the chapel was more spacious and easy to move around without all of the pews.

Chloe shot a quick glance towards the bandits to see how they were faring with the female footsoldier. Her weapon of choice were daggers which gave her a disadvantage against Sawyer as she needed to be in close combat to strike her targets while his pistol allowed him to shoot without getting close. Sid and Shane were crouched behind the pew, taking cover against the attacks. Unfortunately, Julian didn't create the barrier to hold everyone, not that it would be a good idea to hide inside as the assassins can merely wait until his magic is drained to slaughter them all. The best way out of this situation was to take them out first.

Dusty was fighting defense to balance out Sawyer's offense. She threw a punch at the woman who dodged it while slashing at Dusty's forearm. She cried out in pain.

“Dusty!” Ollie called out, helpless against being able to fight off the attackers with them. He struggled against his chains before Julian stopped him.

“If you lose control, everyone will die.” he said, solemnly. Chloe knew the man didn't enjoy watching them potentially be killed either, but they couldn't risk Ollie's mantis demon taking over control.

Chloe decided it would be better to group with the bandits instead of being corner by her attacker, so she ran towards them, sliding behind the pew to avoid his hand lashing out at her hair to pull her back.

Shane shot her an angry look. “Why did you lure him over here? Now we have to worry about two of them!”

“I can't fight him off myself!” she snapped back at him.

Sawyer must have gotten the perfect shot he needed as Chloe heard a bang rang out, causing a ringing in both of her ears. The female cry of pain from a voice that clearly wasn't Dusty let her know that Sawyer at least wounded one of them.

What if I try to go up to the bell tower to get Shane's gun?” Sid asked, determination in her eyes.

“Too risky! Just stay out of the fight and take cover.” Sawyer urged her.

The man who had been chasing her got flown back by Dusty uppercutting under his chin, sending him back a good distance away from her. He shakily got to his feet, momentarily forfeiting grabbing her and, instead, focusing on Dusty. While it was a positive for Chloe, it caused trouble for Dusty as she was their only line of offense at the moment and couldn't fight off both assassins at once.

Chloe bit her thumbnail. She was seriously complating on having Julian set Ollie free to have him also join in with helping Dusty. However, whatever risk his mantis form poses must have been too great if Sawyer would rather he be chained up on the sidelines than helping them. Maybe if Sid wasn't in the room they wouldn't have to worry about risking it since the demon was drawn to her blood?

A painful scream interrupted her thoughts, dread quickly filling her mind when she realized it wasn't the female Outcry member but Dusty. Chloe turned to see Dusty falling to the floor, unconscious, after being shocked by the cattleprod.

“Dusty!” Shane shouted, the fear and panic clear in his expression. Despite the two of them being at odds since Chloe has been with them, Shane still clearly cared about his fellow bandit. He dashed out from behind the pew to prevent her from being killed by the Outcry assassins.

Shit, this is bad. Chloe thought to herself. They just lost their main defense in the form of Dusty's brute force. While she can put up a good fight one-to-one, the extra member would make things harder. Shane wasn't the best fighter to back her up, even if he can throw a decent punch or two.

Chloe closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them to look at Sawyer. “We need to leave the pew.”

Sawyer hesitated. “Sid can't go against them.”

The young girl looked like she wanted to protest, but Chloe beat her to it. “I'll cover for her to go up to the belltower. You take on the one with daggers while I'll deal with the cattleprod. I'm much more familiar with the weapon.”

Sawyer gave in and nodded to her, jumping over the pew to deliver a well-timed punch to the jaw to the female Outcry member as she was about to attack an unconscious Dusty and Shane who was holding the woman, dragging her towards the protection barrier. Julian stepped out briefly to grab ahold of her to bring her into the circle. It was a tight fit, Julian having to hold her in his arms instead of laying her down, but at least she was safe. For the time being at least.

Chloe leaned in close to Sid to let her in the plan. “I want you to go up to the tower as fast as you can and lock yourself up there like you did when you first heard the gunshots, okay?”

Sid wrinkled her nose at that. “I can help you fight! If I can take on Ollie's demon, I can fight these guys.”

Chloe gave her a stern look. “If you get shocked by the cattleprod, you're as good as dead. You'll risk getting us killed, too, since Sawyer will try to protect you and that'll just leave me and Shane.”

Sid flattened her mouth and nodded stiffly. She stood up and bolted towards the exit. The Outcry follower with the cattleprod lunged for her, but Chloe grabbed him from behind, locking him in a chokehold.

Shane chose this was the best time to join back into the fight and he turned around from the protection barrier to punch him straight in the stomach. The man let out a grunt of pain and swung his cattleprod in Shane's direction, missing him by a few inches.

Chloe knew the correct pressures points to reduce somebody unconscious, a technique she learned during Enforcement training in case of when an officer didn't have their cattleprod on hand. The problem with that solution was managing to hold on tight long enough to knock the man out and that's not counting his female partner who, thankfully, was busy with Sawyer at the moment. He decided to forgo his pistol in favor of hand-to-hand combat. It was riskier due to the greater risk of him being sliced with her daggers.

The man elbowed her hard in her gut. Chloe choked out a pained gasp, but continued holding on tighter. He clenched his hand on his cattleprod, likely complicating if he should swing the device behind him to hit her and potentially risk shocking himself. She decided to not find out the answer to that by biting down hard on his shoulder blade. He screamed in pain and loosen his grip enough for Shane to swing kick it out of his grasp.

Her opponent fell to his knees, the cut-off bloodstream to his brain slowly causing him to lose consciousness.

Shane decided that she was doing well enough in her fight to switch over to helping Sawyer, grabbing the woman from behind. She violently struggled against him. He was a lot worse at restraining someone than Chloe as the female footsoldier managed to break out of his grasp. The woman turned towards her and pulled a dagger out of her pocket. Before Chloe could react, she flew the dagger across the room and sliced her arm.

Chloe let go of his man with a hiss, grabbing her bleeding forearm. The woman likely didn't intend to kill her, but it did show a willingness to harm her in order to bring the Outcry's forced member back to Azrael's clutches.

The male Outcry member let a desperate grasp of air, falling to his knees. He was still disoriented from his temporary loss of oxygen.

Shit, she had to do something before he gets out to his feet, more angry than before he first decided to attack her. Chloe suddenly remembered the cattleprod that Shane kick out of his hand. She hastily looked around the chapel before seeing the device had flew all the way across the room towards the barricaded pews. She instantly knew what to do.

Unfortunately, the man seemed to recognize what she was thinking about as he immediately starting getting up, stumbling his way towards the door. Chloe quickly shot up and raced towards the door. At least she had the upper hand of being more oriented despite her still very much bleeding arm. She'll have to make sure to immediately bandage her arm after they are done fighting; she didn't want to risk bloodloss and infection out in the wilderness.

The female Outcry member tried to block her path, but Sawyer crashed into her, the both of them tumbling to the floor in a entangled fight. Chloe was grateful that he gave her no other obstacles in the way, leaving her just with the ever increasing speed of the man behind her.

His arm shot out to pull her hair, dragging her back. He use the opportunity to throw her to the ground. He tried to step over her, but Chloe kicked his feet out from underneath him. He fell to the floor with a loud thump and Chloe jumped to her feet again. Before she could even start her dash towards the door, she felt a hand grab her ankle, dragging her down again. Chloe had a feeling she was going to be extremely bruised after this entire ordeal with the amount of falls she had taken.

She desperately crawled her way to the cattleprod, trying in vain to kick the tightly gripped hand around her ankle. She was barely in reach of the cattleprod, her fingers shakily trying to grab a hold of the weapon before her arm was pulled back. The man climbed over her to reach it first and Chloe had to flip herself in order to shove the man off of her. He was knocked to the side and Chloe quickly crawled on her hands and knees to the cattleprod. The footsoldier mimicked the same desperate crawl as her as both their fingers reached for the cattleprod, but only one of them got a good grip on the weapon…

Chloe swang the cattleprod right into the chest of the Outcry member which was fairly easy to make contact with as he was practically on top of her, trying to pry the weapon out of her hand. He screamed in agony, collapsing to the ground twitching uncontrollably. He managed to stay conscious which admittedly did impress her given he was previously close to blacking out earlier.

She got to her feet and glance towards how the boys were faring.

Apparently, they did quite well while she was doing her own fight as Shane had the lady pinned against the wall. Sawyer pulled his pistol out of his pocket and gestured for him to move asides to give him a clear shot. Realizing what she was about to witness, Chloe quickly turned her head away from the sight.

BANG.

“No!” the remaining Outcry member cried out as his colleague fell to the ground, completely lifeless. A single headshot was all that it took to snuff out her life despite how desperately she fought them.

Chloe pointed the cattleprod threateningly against his chest. “You lost. If you tell us who Azrael is and what he plans to do with me, we'll consider letting you live.” she bluffed. Chloe honestly doubt that the bandits will let this guy go; unlike her, he would have no problem going back to Azrael and telling him where the hideout is.

The man just spat at her feet. “You think it was just the two of us that decided to search the woods for you?” He smirked at her when she realized what he was implying. “We were told to stick with our partners when going through the fields to find you.”

“Who else came with you? We heard those shots go off. We know that Enforcement took some of you out.” Shane pressed, not convinced that there was more of them out there. Chloe wasn't as sure; the amount of Outcry soldiers Azrael had just to kill the Marked Man was more than excessive. Even if he likely wouldn't have the same amount of foot soldiers searching the woods for her due to most of Shiloh's residents not even going outside the wall, much less knowing their way around the woods, it would still be rather strange of him to only send two members when he knew there had to be at least five bandits out here.

The man waved a trembling hand. “That was just a weak link. They shouldn't have ventured too close to the rescue team. You can thank your Deputy for that one.”

Chloe froze at the mention of Knox. So, he really did gather up another rescue team just to find her even after everything she had done to him. She'll have to do so much apologizing and groveling when she gets back to Shiloh. More than ever did she want to see her commanding officer again, something she never thought she could have imagined she would've felt just a couple of days ago.

A loud, young scream that came from above them snapped her out of it, confirming everything that the Outcry soldier was saying.

“Shit! Sid!” Sawyer immediately bolted from the room to race up to the belltower. A wave of guilt hit her; she was the one to tell Sid to go up there in the hope that she'll be safer up there. Instead, she walked directly into a trap.

Chloe glared down at the male Outcry member who just laughed at her.

“Told you so.”

In a fit of rage, she struck him with the cattleprod again. This time seemed to do the trick in knocking him unconscious.

Chloe frantically gestured at Julian. “Undo Ollie's chains.” She turned towards Shane and pointed at the now unconscious man. “Chained up in Ollie's place. I'll help Sawyer with the other one.” At least she hoped there was just one more left. She doubted there would be more Outcry followers out in the woods, listening to them kill their own. Although, they didn't seem too emotional about the one member who got shot by Knox.

Shane frowned at her, not too keen on taking orders from someone who was supposed to be his hostage, but reluctantly nodded. He knew now wasn't the time to argue about such matters.

Julian nodded as well, looking at her gravely. “Make sure the little one is unharmed.” He set Dusty on the ground gently who slightly stirred in her sleep and began undoing the chains. Ollie seemed quite eager to get out of his chains as well given he had been forced to watch his friends almost get murder.

With confirmation that everyone down here was safe, Chloe dashed towards the belltower. Despite never being in this part of the chapel before, she knew the path to the tower was just to simply keep going up the stairs until she came across Sawyer.

He kept slamming his entire body against the door, trying to get it opened. Chloe tapped him on the shoulder; he didn't even notice she was behind him.

“Let me try. They are here for me. Maybe I can offer myself up to get in there.” she whispered enough for him to hear, but not the intruder inside.

He stared at her for a tick too long before finally backing off from the trapdoor. Chloe banged her fist against the door. “It's me, Chloe Callahan! Let go of the girl and I'll take her place instead.” She highly doubted the Outcry soldier would let go of Sid just like that, but since she still was alive judging from the muffled curses coming from the other side, the soldier likely attended for her to be used as a personal hostage to keep the others from killing them.

There was a moment of silence from inside before a male, baritone voice answered from the other side. “Only you. If the Marked Man comes with you, I'm slitting the girl's throat.” he warned, threateningly. Chloe knew that the man wouldn't hesitate to do so. She had to be careful how to navigate this situation.

Sawyer gritted his teeth at that, but backed off. They both heard the click of the door being unlocked. Chloe considered this meant she was allowed to go in. She tucked the cattleprod into her side, hopefully out of sight enough for the Outcry soldier to not see it and pushed open the door to go up into the girl's room.

The place was a disaster with the window shattered and Sid's makeshift bed being trampled down when the Outcry members likely entered the chapel. They must have climbed the chapel to enter undetected. That fact they were able to completely scale the church and break the glass without making any sound disturbed Chloe; how many others did they do the same, too? She knew Elijah's estate had all the servants slaughtered without the man hearing so much as a peep.

The Outcry member held Sid tightly against him with a dagger pressed against her neck. When she started squirming at Chloe entering, he only held it tighter against her throat, drawing a line of red blood. She immediately stopped fighting against him.

Chloe holded up her hands to give off the illusion of being unarmed. “Let the girl go. I'm the one you want. Let's leave the Sticks together without killing anyone. It'll be five against one since one of your associates was killed by the Marked Man and another by my Deputy.” she reasoned.

“What about my partner?” he thundered out, still not lessening his hold on Sid.

“He's merely unconscious. We can bring him back with us to the Outcry's hideout.” she informed him. Wherever that was. While Chloe would like to see the Outcry's operation base, she knew if she went with him, there'll be the high chance that she'll never leave the place afterwards.

The man seemed to actually consider what she was saying which Chloe used the opportunity to scan her surroundings. He didn't appear to have a cattleprod on him. That wasn't too surprising; Enforcement usually only had one officer carry a cattleprod with them, likely due to practical reasons.

She looked around for Shane's gun and was easily spotted behind the man. She figured he would have toss the weapon out the window, but he must have kept it in case he might need to use it against the bandits.

“Hand me my partner's cattleprod.” he barked out.

Chloe grimaced. Shit, she was hoping he wouldn't notice it. She wished her pockets were bigger enough to conceal the weapon.

She pulled it out and held it up. “Drop your weapon and I'll let go of mine, too.”

He let out a laugh similar to his partner's. “And be unarmed while the Marked Man is waiting outside?”

“You have that gun behind you.” She gestured towards it to prove a point. “You can go out the window and I'll receive your partner downstairs. I managed to gain the bandits’ trust so I can convince them that'll ensure you won't hurt their member. Then you can bring me back to Azrael. That would be better than failing to kill the bandits and recovering me from them.”

That finally seemed to convince him. “Let's both lower our weapons to the ground at the same time so we both won't get any ideas. Understood?” he asked.

Chloe agreed and he lowered his dagger to the ground while she did the same to the cattleprod.

“Kick it away as well,” he commanded.

“Only if you do the same thing.” She shot back. He grunted in agreed and they both kicked their weapons, sliding all the way to the left side of the room.

As soon as they both hit the wall, Sid bit down hard on the man's hand that had been pressed against her neck and kicking him in the shin at the same time. He let out a yelp and jerked away on reflex. Sid used the opportunity to break free completely and reach for the gun behind him. He swang a arm out to yank her braid, causing the girl to loosen her hold on the weapon and it fell between Chloe and the footsoldier.

She charged forward and grabbed the strap of the gun. He slammed his foot on the barrel, but since all the weight was at the butt of the gun, she managed to easily slided the gun out underneath him.

She held up the gun (it was a lot heavier than she thought it would be) and pointed at the man. “Don't move or I'll shoot!” Chloe warned.

Instead of heeling, he merely thrust his hand forward to lift the gun above his head. Startled by his boldness, Chloe's finger involuntarily pulled the trigger.

BANG.

The man fell to the ground, his body doing one of those afterdeath twitches she heard about but never actually saw before until now.

Sawyer started shouting and pushed open the trapdoor (she must have forgotten to lock it) and took in the scene. The Outcry member lying dead in Sid's room with blood leaking out slowly out of his head, Sid crying at the events that she was force yet again to watch somebody be killed in front of her, and Chloe kneeling on the floor in a frozen state as she slowly realized what she had done.

She had taken a human life with her own two hands. 

Chapter Text

Hollis stared out his office window, wondering how it got to this point. Just a few weeks ago, he couldn't imagine that Callahan and Cliff would last as partners for longer than the seasonal change. Now, they were both each other biggest defenders which he wouldn't have a problem with (it would be nice for Cliff to keep a partner long enough for him to at least finish the partner transfer paperwork from his previous ones) if it weren't for the fact that it led to them constantly defying him and getting into more trouble.

He let out a sigh. It's a real shame, too. He did like Chloe in the beginning; she still had that optimistic rookie attitude that she could really make a difference and even had the skills to back it up. Cliff made frequent complaints to him about how much she, and by extension him, worked overtime. Anybody who could get Cliff to work overtime was a plus in his book.

But then she started acting paranoid and irradiated. Hollis was generous to her at first until it became clear that she had no intention of listening to him and when he tried to enforce his role as her Deputy being far more leant compared to others, she blackmailed him!

He doesn't even know how she found out about it; Cliff appeared quite shocked that she knew as well although that may have to do with her revealing it in front of Ainsley and Henry. While looking back on it, he knew it wasn't appropriate to reveal her personal health information to her partners, but he didn't know what else to do to keep her in line especially after she threw his concern in his face by accusing him of being Azrael simply because of him rightly insisting she inform him of what's going… he let out a heavy sigh.

He had thought the accusation back at his home was simply a heat-of-the-moment thing, just lashing out in whatever manner she could in the middle of a breakdown, but the fact that she had actually believe it and refused to confine him because of her suspicions… it hurt more than it should have, but Hollis always did have a hard time not getting personal with his officers.

There's also Cliff who decided to go along with her whole plan at the Gala. Hollis still felt the sting of Cliff going along with Chloe's paranoia regarding shutting out everyone and not telling him about the terrorist attack. Sure, he was quite distrustful of Chloe's concerns in the first place on if Azrael had even appeared before her, but he could have at the very least given him a heads up about keeping a eye out at the Gala and post more men there.

Hollis let out another deep sigh and sat at his desk. At least he didn't have to worry about assigning Cliff a new partner for the time being. His return back to the Infirmary was obviously met with disgruntled nurses who did not appreciate Hollis breaking his word of ensuring that Cliff would not be involved in any action and to stay out of harm's way (even though Cliff was the one who went looking for trouble).

If Chloe still hasn't been rescued by the time he will be discharged, Hollis will assign him a “temporary” partner that will become a permanent one after Chloe is fully recovered and moved to another position. Knowing how much civilians protect their own from consequences, she'll probably be kicked upstairs to a nice, cushy position where she can't act out, but have that prestigious reputation intact.

A knock at his office's door, causing him to snap out of his troubled thoughts.

“Yes, come in.” he called to the visitor.

The door opened, revealing Henry Grant. That wasn't much of a surprise. Hollis knew he and Chloe grew close during her time as his temporary partner. Henry was one of the first officers that volunteered for the rescue team after Cliff despite him being in the Infirmary at the time. although Ainsley didn't seem to have grown closer with the new addition to the pair, explaining her current absence despite her almost always accompanying her partner.

“Evening, sir. I wanted to talk to you about what happened today, out in the Sticks.” Grant explained, awkwardly scratching at his chin.

“Yes, I figured that is what you are here for.” Hollis replied back.

Grant cleared his throat, uncomfortably before speaking up. “After the… recent setbacks involving the search, you're still going to continue looking for Chl- uh, I mean Officer Callahan, right?” His eyes were wide and desperate, stirring discomfort in Hollis’ chest.

“Of course, I merely postponed the rescue party for the time being to ensure no more attacks by the Outcry will occur out in the Sticks. The Colony was caught off guard by the Gala, but now we are more vigilant of the terrorist organization that lurks within the depths of Shiloh. We will be more prepared when we resume the search.” Hollis explained, hoping he sounded more in control than he actually was.

Grant nodded his head, uncertainty clear in his movements. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I was here to tell you about something Chloe told me a few weeks ago. It's about why she was acting out so much.” Grant looked guilty about revealing whatever secrets Callahan confided with him. Hollis decided to save him the trouble of spilling the truth; he had a good idea of what it was.

“Cliff already told me about Callahan’s involvement with the Outcry and her deal to help them kill the Marked Man. I'm assuming that is what you are here to tell me?” Hollis suggested with a raised eyebrow.

Judging by Grant's shocked expression, he hit the mark. “Uh, y-yeah, um, I mean yes, it was, sir.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “I apologize for not telling you sooner, but I honestly wasn't sure what to make of her confession. It really did seem like Chloe was involved in something strange, but after learning about her… uh, condition, I wasn't sure how truthful her confession actually was.”

“Yes, I had a similar hesitation trusting Callahan and Barrett regarding the Outcry until what happened at the Gala. I'll be sure to question Callahan about her involvement when we recover her from the Marked Man and his cohorts. After she is fully healed and well, of course.” Hollis added, seeing Grant's forehead creased in worry.

“R-right, about what happens after we find Ch- Callahan… is she still going to be an Officer?” Grant questioned. Hollis supposed it was rather obvious that Callahan crossed the line more times than he could count. Any other Deputy would be calling for Corrections by now and while Knox was known for his goodwill, everyone had a limit.

“I am afraid that I don't intend to keep Officer Callahan under my command after she is recovered and released from the Infirmary for all of her disobedience and general behavior these past few weeks.” Grant immediately opened his mouth to protest until Hollis held up a hand to stop him. “You don't need to worry about my decision. Callahan was likely always going to be moved from an Officer position to something more cushy anyway. You know how civilians operate. I'm just making it happen sooner rather than later.” Hollis finished.

Grant continued frowning which didn't surprise Hollis; he was basically the only other person besides Cliff that got along with and enjoyed working with Callahan. Grant was labeled the “Golden Boy” not just for his detective work, but for his ability to be friendly with everyone, even among other districts. Even the ever prickly Officer Todd had warmed up to him which was why Hollis placed Chloe with them.

“I understand your reasoning, sir, but Chloe has important connections to both the bandits and the Outcry. It would be a waste to move her from Enforcement when she is being targeted by the two groups, not to mention all of the information she has on them. She probably is at the Marked Man's hideout right now, learning more about them as we speak.” Grant argued. It was the most the man had ever talked back to him; Hollis hoped that didn't mean that Callahan was rubbing off on him. He already kept her secrets until it was detrimental to Callahan’s safety.

“All the more reason to keep Chloe out of Enforcement, endangering herself. I'm sure the higher ups can arrange for Callahan to be placed under protection while still helping other officers solve.” Hollis explained. Thinking about it more, it was actually a good idea. That way Chloe could still technically be on the case while not constantly getting into trouble. Hollis will have to talk with her family about allowing Enforcement officers to be placed on bodyguard duty for her; the former Warden wasn't rather fond of Enforcement.

Grant frowned and pushed further. “We don't know if the bandits even attend to keep her alive after they get what they need from her. It clearly involves the Outcry and they are most likely holding on to Chloe until it ends with either the Outcry killing everyone or the bandits killing Azrael and then finishing off Chloe. We have to do something right away.”

Hollis raised his eyebrows. “You're a lot more friendly with Callahan than I originally thought.” He wondered if Grant's reputation for being rather… active in relationships involved Callahan. She didn't seem like the type to be interested in such affairs, but Hollis was proven wrong before.

Grant didn't take the bait. “Please, sir. Continue the search for Chloe today. We only got a few hours left before nightfall and I don't want her to be alone out there with… those creatures.” Henry confessed.

Hollis’ eyes widened. Dammit, Callahan really did have to go tell Grant everything that happened. He pinched his nose. “I see that you have been informed about the demons that lurk within the Sticks. Well, it goes without saying not to tell anyone else about what you know. Although, I'm sure that Ainsley is also aware about them as well, correct?” Grant nodded, guilty. Hollis let out a frustrated groan. “I understand your concern, but Callahan has survived one night out in the Sticks before. I'm sure she could last another night.”

“But she had Barrett out there with her! Not to mention how she wasn't being held hostage by a bunch of hitmen, one of them being a mantis demon!” Grant protested.

Hollis pursed his lips and gave it some genuine thought. Chloe was definitely in a higher risk situation than before. While he normally wouldn't have any trouble with resuming the search after gathering more resources, Hollis knew Cliff would give him utter hell for going out to find his partner without him. The man was not keen on returning back to the Infirmary nor were the nurses that he had promised that their patient wouldn't be hurt. Hollis supposed that he would just hope he will be too overjoyed to get his partner back to considered getting angry that they looked without him.

“Alright, I'll gather up the regular evening and night officers to resume the search.” Grant's face lit up like a cattleprod and Hollis continued on. “But I don't want to hear  complaints about returning back to Shiloh when it becomes dark and we haven't found Callahan yet. Understood?”

“Oh, yes, of course, sir! Thank you for continuing the search! I promise I won't disobey your commands.” Grant gushed, happily.

“I'm glad that's the case. Because I will subject much harsher punishment for disobedience among my officers going forward.” Hollis said. Grant's grin dropped at that, looking at the man nervously. No doubt he was thinking about how he had also technically rebeled against his Deputy by not reporting everything that Chloe had told him. Hollis felt some guilt over the thinly-veiled threat, but he doesn't attend to be kept in the dark anymore. If he had to put on a more cruel mask than so be it.

“O-of course, sir. I will be on my best behavior out in the Sticks.” he complied.

“Good. Now that is out of the way, I want to give you this.” Hollis pulled out a pistol his desk door. He held out the butt of the gun for Grant to safely grab.

“Uh, wow, thank you? I didn't know we were allowed to use firearms.” Grant stuttered.

“Yes, well, drastic times calls for drastic measures.” Hollis deadpanned.

“R-right, of course.” Henry attached the gun to his side. “I will tell the others your orders if you don't mind.”

“That's fine. Before you go, however, may I ask where your partner is?” Hollis inquired.

“Huh!? What about Ainsley?” Henry asked, scratching his chin.

“It's just you and Officer Todd are almost always together even outside of Enforcement duties that I was wondering if something was wrong with her. I hope she wasn't overwhelmed by being out in the woods and seeing that dead Outcry member.” Hollis explained.

“Oh, no, sir. Ainsley just had an errand to run.” He let out a small laugh. “ I'm sure she is going to be thrilled when I tell her that we're doing overtime again, though.”

Hollis gave a tiny smile in return. “Yes, I'm sure I am going to lose my benevolent reputation after this.”

Grant gave him some parting words and headed out to inform the other officers of the news. Hollis’ mind, however, was elsewhere. He tried not to be bothered by Ainsley's absence, but Cliff’s previous words still haunted him.

One of your officers is Azrael.

Chapter Text

Chloe sat on the ground with her legs pulled up to her chest as she watched Ollie and Shane dig a shallow grave for the Outcry soldiers. The two of them struggled a bit, probably used to killing their marks and leaving them dead on the streets for the Colonists to clean up. The afternoon was slowly turning into dusk, the sunset approaching the horizon closer and closer.

She rubbed her now bandaged forearm, the stinging pain slowly lessening after Julian put some of his ointment on it. He decided to stay with them for the rest of the night to look after Dusty who was still unconscious.

Chloe was still reeling from her first kill. If she thought having Shane indirectly killed by Delilah's hand was bad, this was even worse. This time, she pulled the trigger and killed a man that she had seen at Enforcement announcements before, maybe even helped work on a case before. She regretted even pulling the mask off after it was done, desiring the bliss of ignorance. Yet, Chloe couldn't find it in herself to do things differently. He would have absolutely killed Sid if she hadn't taken him out and she doubted that he would have let her go alive if Chloe had given herself up.

It was rather strange, too, considering the Outcry were willing to let her live last time. Maybe since it was just those few soldiers, they could get away with going against another member's wishes, especially one that constantly fought  their leader. Or did Azrael change his mind and decide that not a single member of the bandits were to be left alive, even a little girl that couldn't get revenge for her fallen friends.

Sawyer interrupted her thoughts by sitting down next to her. He had recovered enough from the shock to comfort Sid regarding everything she had gone through and left her in the chapel to avoid further traumatizing her, letting her stay in his room while he dragged the dead body from the bell tower. She likely was not going to sleep up there tonight.

Chloe avoided looking at him, mostly because he had the man's blood on him. Thankfully, he didn't demand she look his way just sitting in silence with her for a while. After a moment, he finally spoke up. “That was your first kill, wasn't it?” His tone was surprisingly soft, almost gentle-like. She thought he only talked that way with Sid.

She didn't stop staring at the growing hole in the dirt as she responded back, bitterly. “Are you here to tell me that it gets easier?”

“Naw, trust me, that's the last thing ya want to happen. You lose a piece of yourself when you stop feelin’ anything when you take another life.” he merely answered.

Chloe finally lifted her chin off of her knees to turn and look directly at him. It was oddly comforting, something she thought the man would never be towards her. He started off the most hostile of the bandits, even Shane less confrontal towards her than Sawyer had been with her this morning. She couldn't help but wonder what the hell was going through his head.

“Thank you for protecting Sid, by the way.” he continued speaking. “Ya coulda easily escaped back there. Ollie was chained up, Dusty was out cold, I was busy goin’ after Sid, and Shane wouldn't have been able to stop you with ya wieldin’ that cattleprod. Instead, you decided to save her. I ain't forgettin’ that anything soon.”

“It's not the first time I did that, you know.” Chloe reminded him. Granted, she was the one who put her in that situation in the first place where she needed Chloe to demand she be unharmed by the Outcry. Unfortunately, the second time wasn't as easy as the first.

“Yeah, thanks for that, too, even if that was ‘cause ya planned on killin’ me instead of Shane.” Sawyer made eye contact with her. He was less angry about that than she thought he would be. Maybe the relief that Sid's wellbeing was safe helped lessen any ire he felt about her failed assassination attempt. The first and second time.

Chloe figured now was a good time to formally apologize for both times. She already did it with Shane with predictable results, but at least she can claim that she tried to make amends.

“I'm… really sorry about everything. I still don't like what you all are doing, but I don't want to be someone that constantly goes against the law, enacting vigilante justice for anyone who steps outside it. Even if they are murderers or terrorist members. I wanted to do things the lawful way, but Shiloh has too much corruption to tell if even doing things by the book is even the most moral way to go about dealing with the Outcry and other criminals.” She confessed, her mind drifting to Elijah. How many people went through what he did and completely slipped through the cracks?

Sawyer didn't immediately scoff at her and tell her that a simple “sorry” made up for nearly murdering him twice, instead just quietly complicating before finally responding. “I was more pissed about Sid gettin’ involved than whatever shit is goin’ on in the Colony,” he admitted. “I know we haven't been real better ‘bout keepin’ her out of danger either, but I have always been short temper, so I fucked up as much as you have. I can't hold it against you.”

Chloe's eyes widened as she slowly realized Sawyer was also apologizing to her albeit in his own crude way. It was definitely a shocking turn of events since the rest of the bandits haven't brought up the role they have played in the current prediction they are in.

“And ‘bout ya said earlier when you first woke up,” he said, “I do think about the people I killed and their families. Every single day in fact. Sometimes I can't sleep without seeing their lifeless faces when I close my eyes. So trust me when I say that I truly am sorry ‘bout what happened with Elijah Perry. I never would have thought Azrael would go after him and frame him by killin’ all of his servants.”

Chloe was speechless. She didn't think Sawyer felt anything about his murders. Even if he didn't take joy in killing like Ollie, she still thought he was despicable for taking innocent lives. If that was the case, though, how was he a hitman in the first place?

“Why?” she asked, a question she had thought about countless of times while working on the case. “Why accept marks and kill people? Surely, there has to be a way to earn enough without resorting to killing. Even if you are pickpocketing, it's still better than murder.”

Sawyer fell silent for a few ticks before answering. “How did you think Shane became immortal in the first place? We have made our own deals like you have. Though, I reckon yours involves less sacrificial rituals.” Huh, so they made a deal with a demon of some sort and granted Shane the ability of never being killed. That doesn't really answer her questions about how he and Ollie were involved and why Shane has immortality in the first place if they were just going to be forced to sacrifice human souls for the rest of their lives.

“There's more to it, isn't there?” she accused.

Sawyer just put a hand on his knee and pushed himself up. “That's all you need to know. It's best not to get involved with the occult the same way we have. I'm doin’ you a favor by not discussing it further.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. She figured he was being too open with her. As soon as demons and deals with them are brought up, everyone clamps up.

“You two done chit-chattin’ over there? ‘Cause I need you both here for a tick.” Shane called out to them. Chloe assumed her time waddling in self-pity was over.

She got up and went with Shane over to the dead bodies. She tried not to look at her own kill and stared at Sawyer's own instead. It was odd being accepting of his kill considering how much his previous ones upset her. She hoped that wasn't her becoming more accepting of the bandits’ killings.

“I thought since you already killed one of them, we can use her for the ritual. Saves us from having to get a mark, right?” Shane suggested.

“Sure, beats dealin’ with the colony right now.” Sawyer gruffed.

“What do you need me for?” Chloe asked.

“I wanted to see if you might by chance know you she is? If not, I'm sure we can still make it work, but it'll be easier if we knew her name.” Shane explained.

Chloe shrugged. “Sure, but there's a good chance I might not.”

Shane removed the woman's mask. Chloe stared at her, startled by the fact that she actually did recognize the woman.

“I… I think I actually do know her. She works in Corrections, although we never really knew each other. She was assigned a different wing.”

“Think ya can remember a name?” Sawyer asked.

“Hmm, Ruth… no, Ruby… Gales? No, I believe she is… was Ruby Wales.” Chloe responded. It felt odd having to discover not one but two people she knew who were not only part of the Outcry but were tasked with finding her. She wondered if Azrael also knew that information and sent them to search for her.

“Thanks for the help. You just made this a lot easier for us.” Shane grinned at her for the first time. Chloe didn't say anything back and instead looked away, troubled. She really didn't like helping them out with her demon pact or whatever they were involved in, but this was the more cleaner route of taking an already dead life, one who was a part of a terrorist group and trying to kill all of them. It was arguably the less harmful option to take.

“Are you two going to… perform it right now?” Chloe asked. She wasn't sure what the deadline was to collect souls for whoever or whatever demon they made a deal with. She can't think of any recent killings they have done in Shiloh since Charlotte's murder, so she figured they had a time limit of around a month or so to get a “new” soul.

“Might as well. I don't think that many more Outcry followers are goin’ to come knockin’ with nightfall here real soon.” Shane grunted, rummaging through Ruby's pockets. He found a dagger that she didn't have the chance to use before she got killed. Not that Chloe felt any particular sadness over that fact; she could have very well used that dagger to kill someone.

“Think this will do?” Shane questioned Sawyer.

“I doubt it. It's probably only used sparingly for Outcry biz.” Sawyer answered.

“Um,” Chloe spoke up, causing the two of them to look at her. “She has a locket around her neck. I'm pretty sure she will still be wearing it since she always wore it when I was there despite the rules of no personal accessories in Corrections. They're concerned someone could slip prisoners a weapon concealed in it.”

Shane rummaged through her Outcry uniform until, sure enough, he found a silver locket. He gave a hard yank, breaking the chain around her neck. “Good to know.” he said, holding the now broken locket up to his face.

Upon closer inspection, Chloe saw that the clasp had been broken as well as the heart-shaped locket was open, revealing a tiny photo of a young man. Possibly a male relative since she wasn't married.

Chloe forced herself to look away. It was bad enough she was someone she knew, even in brief passing, she didn't want to know who she was leaving behind if the man in the picture wasn't already dead.

Judging by the troubled expression on Sawyer's face, Chloe figured they were both thinking the same thing.

“Before you leave, can you take my note meant for Cliff with you?” Chloe asked.

“Might as well since we're already goin’ into the woods.” Sawyer responded.

Shane notably stiffened at the mention of Cliff’s name and looked away. Once again, she couldn't help but wonder what was the story behind those two and why Cliff decided to beat him to death in public. Cliff’s file was completely useless in figuring out why and she doubted Shane would tell her if she asked. He was already cagey with the truth with his companions, let alone the officer who got him killed.

Ollie tossed his shovel to the side. “Ya think this is big enough for the two of them? I really don't wanna have to dig another one.” he complained.

Hmm, depends on where we are going to put the captured Outcry member.” Shane responded.

Chloe looked at him, sickly. “We're not going to kill him, are we?”

Shane gave her an annoyed look. “Ya forgettin’ that guy tried killin’ us all and taking you back to Azrael? And even if we do keep him alive, he's not going to keep a secret about our hideout.”

“I know, I just…” Chloe trailed off, not sure what she is trying to tell the bandits about what to do with him. They were going to interrogate him to see what kind of information he'll have and if Chloe recognized him. After that, his fate is to join his partner in the afterlife. The thought of the man with the half-blown off face plagued her mind again. That was going to be a image she'll see for the rest of her life, no doubt.

Shane decided to have tact for once.  “Listen, you don't gotta worry ‘bout all the Outcry stuff for now. Just write yer note for Cliff and stay in our room for the night with Sid. We just need to lure Azrael out there and with four of his men gone, that'll definitely make him come here. So, just sit tight for the time being.” he reassured her. She must look pretty pathetic for Shane to try and cheer her up.

She looked him straight in the eyes, trying her best to muster up her bravo from this morning when she thought the bandits were going to do awful things to her. “You promise to put up the note for him or Knox to find?”

Shane smirked. “Cross my heart and hope to die.” A poor choice of words given he could be killed any moment by the Outcry, but, then again, he is immortal so it holds less weight than the normal man's words. Still, Chloe decided to go along if only because she wasn't planning on stick around after today.

“Alright then, I'll get to writing it.”

The four of them headed back to the chapel. When they entered, they were greeted with multiple curses thrown their way.

“Bastards! All of you! Azrael will make sure your deaths are excruciating!  Don't think you're an exception Callahan!”

“Ugh, good, yer finally back. Make this asshole shut the hell up. He just gets louder when I tell him to put a sock in it.” Dusty's voice rose up from the pew that she was laying down in. Julian was by her side, trying to alleviate as much pain as he could with his healing ritual and the first aid the bandits had on hand.

“Dusty! Yer awake!” Shane exclaimed, relief openly shown on his face. He was a lot less closed off with his emotions than Chloe originally thought he was.

“Yeah, do me a favor, will you, and knock that fucker's teeth in for me. White Eyes says I'm on bedrest for the rest of the day.” She grumbled. Clearly, she wanted revenge for when the officer/terrorist member shocked her.

“Don't worry, we'll have our fun with him.” Ollie reassured her with a smirk. Chloe stiffened at that. She had almost forgotten how much of a psycho he could be. Even if she had no warmth for the footsoldier, she didn't want to see him tortured.

“I hope you don't plan on having too much fun.” Chloe glared at him.

Ollie quickly held up his hands. “O-of course not. I just meant that we'll question him, that's all.” Chloe just stared back, not convinced until she noticed his glaze darted to Julian who was watching them with a frown. Ah, that's why he wasn't in feral mode; he didn't want Julian to be disgusted or afraid of him. Chloe supposed him only bothering not to torture someone because he wanted his crush to still like him wasn't the most moral reasoning, but still good enough for her not to worry.

“Do you got a pen and paper for me?” Chloe asked Shane.

“Sure, hang on for a tick.” He departed from the room for a few moments, leaving her with the Outcry soldier hurling more insults her way.

“You're a fool for putting your trust into these bandits, Callahan. You really think they are going to let you go after you fulfill your usefulness to them? Azrael was going to have a special place for you in the revolution, but you decided to throw it all away for some unwashed, charlatan outlaws.”

Sawyer had enough of his insults and took a step towards him. “Shut the hell up.”

“Wait for a moment.” Chloe held up her hand and Sawyer paused. She walked in front of the chained up man, the irony not lost on her how she first started the day waking up in the same chains and being interrogated for the same reasons as well. Despite everything he did to her, Chloe couldn't feel anything amusement about the role reversal. “What do you mean about Azrael reserving me a special place?”

She could feel his glower through his mask. Chloe was surprised he still had the thing on, but it's not the others who would be able to recognize him. Chloe, however, could.

She ripped the mask off his face revealing someone familiar yet not at the same time. It took her a few moments to realize where she saw him from. “We have met at Enforcement announcements before. You're under Deputy Grimes, aren't you?”

He continued glaring at her, but Chloe knew she had raddled him by recognizing who his Deputy was. She only knew that because the officers under Deputies that weren't Knox were far more hostile towards her, knowing that they could get away with insulting her without being reprimanded for not getting along with their case colleagues that could potentially ruin an investigation with hostility among officers. He was one of the nastier ones which didn't surprise her that he would jump on a chance to drag her back kicking and screaming.

“What does Azrael have in store for me? I already fulfilled my role for him and judging by your presence, he's not hurting on having to need any Enforcement officers under his command. I'm only going to continue fighting him every step of the way so he might as well do away with me.” Chloe pushed further. While it's not like she wanted Azrael to kill her, it's odd he was so insistent on keeping her alive and apart of the Outcry. He's not low on followers so what does he need a rebellious officer for?

“Believe me, I have the same thoughts as you do. But orders are orders and Azrael wants you brought back to him alive. I personally think it would be less troublesome to just slit your throat and find another way of ridding the bandits from Shiloh.” he sneered at her. Chloe wasn't particularly surprised by his hatred; even without the added bonus of all of Enforcement hating her, Chloe attacking Azrael at the Gala was a sure enough way of earning his ire and the rest of the Outcry as well not that bothered her. Chloe had a knack for having everyone despise her wherever she goes from her old district to her current and now her “rebels in arms” terrorist organization. At least now she truly understood what Cliff feels every single day.

Shane returned with a piece of paper and pen to write with. She decided that any further interrogation would be left to the bandits and took a sit in a pew, using it as a flat surface to write better.

Chloe instantly noticed Shane hanging his head over the pew really to watch everything she wrote. “Do you mind?” she scowled up at him. “You're blocking my light.”

He moved his head a bit, but otherwise, continued watching her. She rolled her eyes and resumed her previous action. Clearly, she didn't win Shane over by helping fight off the Outcry soldiers.

She took a breath and started writing:

Dear Cliff,

This is your partner, Chloe Callahan. I know it might be a bit surprising that I am writing to you despite having been captured by the Marked Man and his gang, but worry not. I am being taken care of by them. As long as I don't run off back to Shiloh, I have plenty of freedom out in the Sticks except, of course, not going out at night. I hope you are recovering well from your injuries. I know Azrael was much harsher fighting you than me. When you are fully healed, pass on the message that I am okay to Henry and Ainsley. I know they must be feeling guilty over everything that happened at the Gala, or at least Henry will. Tell Hollis when he visits that I am truly sorry for how I treated him for the past few weeks. I know that probably won't quell his anger, but I really do want to make amends with him if he's willing to give me a second chance. This next task might be challenging for you, Cliff, but also pass on the message to my parents that I am safe and alive as well. They already worry enough about me as it is, I'm sure my mother is having sleepless nights by now.

Shane gave Chloe a “wrap things up” gesture. She frowned and looked at what she wrote. She mostly said everything she wanted to say, but she felt like the letter wasn't enough to ensure that Chloe wrote it and not be forged by the bandits. Sure, she mentioned Henry and Ainsley, but Cliff and Hollis could easily think that she told the bandits about them (which was true) and Shane knew about Cliff and Hollis as well. She paused when she thought of a good way to identify herself as the real deal.

That's all I can say for now. I hope you are recovering well and staying away from the Sticks until you are fully healed.

P.S. Make sure to give Hollis’ cat a scratch behind the ear for me.

Sincerely,

Your partner, Chloe Callahan

“Here, I'm finished.” She handed the pen and her note to Shane. He quickly read over the paper which annoyed Chloe even though she obviously knew he was going to read the note for any information about the bandits slipped in. His face was scrunched up while reading her letter to the man that killed him. She wondered what he thought about their relationship. Was he angered by it or understood because he also had a close relationship with Cliff in the past? If so, why did Cliff decide to kill him? Chloe was definitely going to probe answers from Cliff when she returned back to Shiloh.

“Alright, let's head out. Don't do too much damage before we get back. Ollie.” Shane tucked her note in his pocket.

“Don't worry! I got this thingamajig.” Ollie waved the cattleprod around which wouldn't be so worrisome if he didn't have it on.

“Would you please stop that!?” Julian scolded him. Ollie quickly turned it off, sheepishly. While Chloe was rather uneased with Ollie having the weapon, it was for in case more Outcry followers showed up and they didn't have to worry about Ollie's knives slicing through enemies, the shedded blood causing his demon to stir.

Sawyer shot her a parting glance. “Catch up on Sid to see how she's donin’, okay?”

Chloe blinked in surprise. Was he… trusting her to look after Sid? She supposed it shouldn't be too shocking since he let her into the bell tower by herself to handle saving Sid, but that was completely different in the heat-of-the-moment thing.

Now that the dust had settled, though, he seemed to trust her enough to be around Sid alone which was quite the contrast compared to how they first met. Was she finally earning his trust? It was what Chloe wanted since she first was released from her chains, but all she felt now was empty.

“Yeah… sure, I can do that.” Chloe slowly responded. Sawyer gave her a nod and followed after Shane.

Silence fell over the chapel for a few ticks before Ollie spoke up. “Welp, time to get answers.” He turned to the captured Officer with a smirk, using the cattleprod to tilt his chin up. “Mine telling me how you managed to find our hideout?”

The man just spat in his face in response. Instead of getting angry, Ollie just licked off the spit dripping off of his nose. Chloe looked away in disgust.

‘I think I'm going to rest up now.” Chloe announced. “Um, where do the guys sleep?”

Dusty told her the directions as well as some reassurances that she did the right thing with the Outcry soldier she killed. Chloe just nodded, numbly, not really absorbing her words. She didn't attend to kill the man, she just wanted him to surrender. Why did he have to grab the gun?!

By the time she reached the male bandits’ shared bedroom, Chloe was ready for the day to end. She didn't even think she'd have the energy to escape in the morning, knowing full well that she wasn't going to get a lick of sleep tonight. She only did so last time because of Henry.

She paused at the door, leaning her head against it. She desperately wanted her friends right now. She may not have that many of them, (Chloe honestly wasn't sure if she could count Ainsley on that list) but all she wanted now was familiar arms to wrap her into a hug and tell her it's going to be alright.

Chloe pushed the door open to be greeted with a red head popping up in surprise. Sid had undone her braid and was laying down in a hammock, mostly likely Sawyer's.

“Hey,” Chloe greeted, awkwardly. “The guys said I could bunk in here tonight.”

Sid pointed towards the bottom of the bunk bed. “You can sleep there. Shane always sleeps on the top.”

Chloe thanked her and practically fell head first onto the bed. It vaguely smelled musty, but she was beyond the point of caring. If Sid wasn't also in the room with her, Chloe might have balled herself up and started crying, but she didn't want the girl to see her like that even Sid was unlikely to judge her for doing the same thing she did.

Sid was quiet for quite a while before speaking. “I'm sorry that I brought ya out here.”

Chloe lifted her head up to stare at her. “I'm pretty sure you weren't the one who dragged me out here.”

Sid rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. I'm the one who came up with the plan in the first place.”

Chloe hummed and propped herself up on a pillow. “I'm assuming that it was payback for what happened with Shane, right?” Sid nodded. “Hmm, I guess I can understand that. I still have trouble being around Ollie for hurting my partner.”

Sid studied her for a moment. “I didn't know you two were so close. You both fought each other more than you did me.”

“I guess near death experiences bring people together.” Chloe replied back. She didn't want to get into their somewhat entangled yet distant past with the girl. Even Chloe was still confused about how to feel about Cliff’s dodged Corrections sentence even more so now that she met the man who he had killed. She had to wonder how her partner was handling that revelation on top of her disappearance.

Sid fell back into silence again which Chloe took as a cue to lay back down before Sid continued talking. “If you want to leave, I won't stop you.”

Chloe sat up, startled, convinced she hadn't heard the girl right. “What do you mean?”

“You heard what I said. I won't do anything if you go out that window.” Sid nodded towards it.

“Wh…why are you letting me go?” Chloe questioned, slowly.

“‘Cause I didn't think you care ‘bout any of us. So it was easier to keep you here, against your will ‘til we could take out that skeleton guy.” Sid glanced away from her. “Then you helped us out with the Outcry soldiers and now I don't know what to think. I just know yer not the bad guy.”

Chloe paused, not sure how to respond. It's not the first time Sid has given her an out before; she tried to stop her from confronting the Marked Man even after Sid knew she was being condemned to death by Chloe bringing her back to Shiloh. How someone can be so forgiving, Chloe would never understand. Maybe she should take a page out of the young girl's book; she'll likely get into less fights that way.

“Listen… I know it might seem hard to believe, but I don't want to kill anyone. I want the hits to stop, but I rather do so without anybody dying.” Chloe confessed. While she had intentionally been willing to kill the Marked Man or lead him to his death, every single time it weighed heavily on her heart. Now, after taking a life with her own hands, even by accident, Chloe knew she wouldn't be able to pull the trigger on any of the bandits. Even if she wouldn't call any of them her friends, getting to know them and even having amiable interactions with them would make the act excruciating.

“Then, can you do me a favor? Can you not tell ‘em where we are? Just leave us be while you go back to yer regular life in the Colony.” Sid pleaded.

Chloe solemnly nodded. “You have my word. I won't bother you all again. At least I hope not. I'm still considered a part of the Outcry so who knows what Azrael has in store for me and I don't know how I am going to explain how I escape to Enforcement. But I'll figure something out. I won't tell anyone about the chapel.”

“I guess this is goodbye, then. It was good talkin’ to you ‘bout Shiloh. Hope I can try one of those caramel apples next time I'm there.” Sid said, giving her a somewhat rueful smile. Despite how much the two have been at odds with each other, Chloe was going to miss Sid. The girl had a good head on her shoulders, better than most adults despite living out in the woods. Chloe hoped she would be alright if more Outcry followers came into the Sticks.

“I hope so, too. Take care, Sid. And tell the others… I'll try to stop Azrael within the Colony. Everyone knows about him now after the Gala, so there's definitely going to be more Officers trying to capture him and I could offer up everything I know about him. And after that…” Chloe hesitated. She didn't want to say they are welcomed back to Shiloh since they are just going to continue killing, but she also promised she wouldn't rat them out to Enforcement. She didn't know how she could put a stop on marks if she couldn't get involved with the Marked Man's case.

Sid seemed to pick up on her hesitation because she looked away, more guarded. “You better get a move on before night hits.”

“Right… I better go now.” Chloe wanted to say more, but Sid was right; it was close to sunset. By the time she gets to the sewers, it'll be dark out. Hopefully, demons can't enter the sewers.

With a last parting glance towards the girl, Chloe opened up the latch for the window. A soft click rang and Chloe slowly rose up the window, trying not to make too much sound despite being far away from everyone else to hear.

Chloe took a deep breath and then thrusted herself out the window, hitting the ground with a light thud.

She was finally escaping.