#syb'll humble that out of him eventually

[direwombat]

a wip wednesday? on my birthday? it's more likely than you think 🎉

tagged by @adelaidedrubman and @g0dspeeed to share some wip (tysm~! <3)

enjoy the first little bit of katc chapter 6/interlude ii

Hope County, MT. September 13, 2018. St. Francis Veterans Center, Whitetail Mountains. 10:35pm.

Toiling away by the light of a single desk lamp, Jacob Seed sits hunched over his desk, going over the day’s reports. Throughout the course of the evening, his reading glasses have slipped down the bridge of his nose and now perch at its tip. His neck and shoulders ache, but the night isn’t over yet.

Years of meticulous planning and intense preparation have gotten them this far, but all that time, they were operating in the shadows. They were outcasts by choice, keeping to themselves and biding their time until given the order to strike. Joseph had taken care to amass an army, just as Jacob, John, and Faith kept them well trained, motivated, and dumb. But now that the Reaping has begun, now that they’ve declared war, they need to act fast

Victory is never a guarantee, and the longer the fight goes on, the more likely it is that the Resistance will start gaining ground. The element of surprise is gone; now, he and his soldiers are digging in for the long fight. 

This is his final stand against the world who wronged him. His swan song. His way of ensuring a better future for his brothers and sister to make up for the way he failed once before. 

He will not fail again. He can’t. 

Just as Noah survived the flood, so too will they survive the fires of war. 

And when his family is safe -- when they’re underground, hibernating in the safety of their bunkers, he can finally rest. He’ll watch the world burn, and when the smoke fills his lungs and his body gives out from exhaustion, he’ll lay his head down and close his eyes one last time. 

His work will be done. He’ll have served his purpose.

But until then, he must remain vigilant and on guard. He is their sword and shield. He has a purpose, and he can’t allow himself a moment’s weakness until that purpose is fulfilled. 

He sits up and groans as his spine realigns and a series of violent pops sound loudly in the silence of his office. With a heavy sigh, he lets the report he’d been reading float back down onto his desk. His hand reaches for the mug that rests off to the side and lifts it to his lips. The coffee inside has gone from tepid to cold since he last took a sip. His face scrunches involuntarily, the acrid bitterness too much, even for him. 

Rising from his desk, he takes a moment to stretch before moving over to the coffee maker resting on one of his filing cabinets for a refill. What’s left in the carafe is still warm, and he stops pouring only when the surface tension threatens to break. Carefully lifting the mug once again, he takes a sip. It burns his tongue and he breathes a small sigh of relief. That’s better. 

His attention turns to the bulletin board on the nearby wall and regards it with a critical eye. He’d been adding pins and grainy photographs to it as he’s been getting reports in. Overall, the Reaping has been going according to plan -- at least according to his Chosen. He holds an iron grip over the Whitetails, and according to the faxes he’s received from the Valley and Henbane, the infantry has done well to overpower the average citizen of the county.

His men are all in position and the outposts are secure. Roadblocks are in place at all entrances and exits to the Whitetails and there are regular boat patrols along the shores. Radio jammers are blocking all non-Project frequencies, cutting off enemy communication. Jess Black has been captured and is being held at the lumber mill, and Deputy Pratt is set to be shipped to the Grand View for conditioning at dawn. 

And with the rogue Deputy currently in John’s custody, he can focus his attention on neutralizing the one threat that’s his own damn fault. 

Eli Palmer knows too much.

Jacob should have known it was a mistake to trust him. Bringing in outsiders is always dangerous, but he’d been so sure he could convince Eli to join the cause. He was a former soldier and current prepper. He saw the state of the world; knew it was only a matter of time before it came to an end. It’s how he’d convinced the man to help build the bunkers in the first place. He never said anything to confirm or deny, but he’d allowed Eli to think that the bunkers were meant for everyone in the county. Or, at least he did up until a few weeks ago when he’d asked him to join the project; fight as one of his Chosen. 

After all Jacob had done to give Eli purpose -- especially after his wife took the kid and ran -- all he got in return was betrayal. The other man had all but spit in his face before sneaking away in the dead of night not just with the blueprints for the Armory, but his siblings’ bunkers as well. He’s been hiding somewhere in the Whitetails ever since, and if Jacob’s intel is to be believed, then it sounds like Eli’s trying to piece together his own army to fight back. 

The very man who helped build their arks -- their salvation -- could just as easily destroy them. Jacob needs to stop that before it happens. He needs to nip that little problem in the bud before Eli gathers enough bodies to launch a counter-attack. 

Eli Palmer needs to die.  

tagging: @wrathfulrook, @harmonyowl, @ivymarquis, @jillvalentinesday, @cassietrn, @poetikat, @confidentandgood, @strafethesesinners, @afarcry5fromstraight, @miyabilicious, @simplegenius042, @inafieldofdaisies, @josephslittledeputy, @aceghosts, @madparadoxum, @socially-awkward-skeleton, @voidika, @strangefable (taglist opt in/out)

#wip wednesday #wip: kneeling at the crossroads #i love writing jacob's pov he takes himself so comically seriously #syb'll humble that out of him eventually