My Calling

Preparing for her departure proved to be easier than originally anticipated. From what little information she had received from the man and Twilight, they didn’t say anything of what would be required.

Saying that the cultist have vehicles and heavy artillery didn’t say much, it just either showed that they were great thieves or had deep pockets which probably was a combination of both. But it also showed that she would need heavier weapons than she usually had with her.

However, she could steal one of the weapons the cultist used if the worse became worse.

Sunset triple-checked to see if she had everything she needed for her long “trip” and walked out of the front door of her apartment and locked the place.

The last two days had been rough, she mentally prepared herself for the long battle ahead. The man, from what she remembered, sounded as though the leader, Spike Seed would come willingly. However, his voice did betray the doubt he had.

There was one question, however, that Sunset forgot to ask when they visited her. Why were they interested in arresting him now when they should have done so a few years or a decade ago?

She did not remember the exact date, but it was a long time ago.

The cult leader or the cult itself must have done something very atrocious if the government decided to finally arrest him for his crimes. Before, they didn’t seem interested. The commander that had contacted them when she was stationed overseas did not look the least sympathetic.

Walking through the double doors of her apartment building, she headed for the parking lot where she had her bike. The area did not have many cars, suggesting that Monday morning had kicked the bucket for most people.

When she spotted her bike, she couldn’t help but smile proudly. The colours were matching red and gold just like her hair which shone brightly in the summer when she was riding in the city of Canterlot which hadn’t changed much from when she was a teenager when she moved there with her parents.

Nonetheless, the bike took her from point A to B.

Throwing the bag over her shoulder and putting on the helmet, she got on the bike and loudly rode out of the parking lot.

But deep inside, she felt strange. Sighing, she realized what she was feeling again. It had been the same whenever she would be sent somewhere. The feeling of not knowing whether she would come back alive or not. Maybe this was the mission that would end her?

Shaking her head, she continued towards the station.

The station, as always, was very rowdy with some officers signing paperwork while others pretended to be finished so they could breathe some fresh air. And of course, there were the criminals with petty crimes or more serious that waited for interrogation.

It was a normal day for officers, but for Sunset who was a rookie, she would be sent to war. This time, inside of the country she had made a vow to protect. But it didn’t just feel strange for her, it felt … out of place.

It didn’t feel real like it was in some kind of action film. Sighing, she walked past a few officers who greeted her with smiles and she smiled back. The reality of the situation was that it was reality.

It was by no means a comfort, the complete opposite, but it gave her a sense of purpose. Like she would do—not just the county—but also her nation a large favour.

She was about to knock on the office door where the man was when she was stopped by a voice behind her.

“Sunset!”

Turning around, she saw both the man and Twilight walking towards her with armour covering them like three days ago. But they were also armed. They had pistols in their holsters and packets for a few rounds if things didn’t go smoothly …

“Great timing,” Sunset commented. “I was about to knock on the door and tell you to hurry up.”

Twilight looked slightly proud of herself while the man chuckled heartily. Little did they know, they wouldn’t chuckle or laugh for quite some time.

“So, are you ready?” The man asked, nodding towards Sunset and the bag she had over her shoulders.

“Yes, I’m ready.” Sunset lied slightly but it wasn’t picked up by either the man or Twilight.

“Okay, let’s go!” Twilight slightly shouted which caused some officers who passed by to look at her weirdly, making her blush in embarrassment.

Quietly, they headed over to the staircases that would lead them to the higher levels where the helicopters were stationed. From what Sunset understood, the man had asked if they could use one of the helicopters to capture Spike Seed to which they had been affirmed that they could. Luckily for them, it wouldn’t be a long flight.

Moving up the staircases, the man started to tell Sunset about Spike Seed that the profile didn’t have on him.

“His minions call him ‘The Father’, he claims to have met God and even spoken to him in which ‘God’ told him about the ‘Great Collapse’. He then made it his mission to purify everyone before judgment is upon us.

“From the sources that I read, he was once considered to be a normal priest until the people there attended their first mass … they saw armed cultist, their mark, even our nations flag with their versions of stars.

“By then though, it was too late, most of the people there were convinced by his words, brainwashed and ‘cleansed’ of their worldly sins, and were stable enough to join Spike Seed’s cause.”

The man had a tone of disgust edged on his voice as he spoke about the cult leader.

Twilight listened to the story that she probably had heard before. At least, that is what Sunset was assuming. “From what she had just learned, she wasn’t surprised. A man comes into town and starts preaching about the Lord and no one thinks anything of it, just that he is a priest. Was there any reason to be afraid of a priest?

If it’s a cultist, then yes, but if it’s someone they don’t know then they should meet the person before they make wild assumptions. Of course, there are dangers in meeting strangers, but a priest should be the one person you could trust.

But Sunset had come to realise that history would beg to differ.

“Okay, but why did he decide to take Hope County?” Sunset did know the answer, however, there could be something that the cult leader saw that she wasn’t seeing at the moment.

Turning a corner, Twilight glanced at her friend and opened her mouth to reply.

“It’s a strategic point.” The lavender woman stated. “I’m sure you knew that. However, it could also be because he saw something that we just aren’t seeing.”

The man chuckled bitterly when they made up the last flight of stairs. “He most likely was told by ‘God’ that Hope County was the place everything began.”

Twilight cringed at the tone the man used while Sunset felt slightly amused by the loathsome words spoken.

Walking through the hallways, they came across the door that led them to the helicopters lined up. The helicopters had the same black and white colours with the bold words; Police painted in black while the white colour around it made it more visible.

Looking around, Sunset saw a chubby man wearing a police costume that was greenish. He wore a cowboy hat that reminded Sunset of an old friend she left— The man also wore a golden sheriff star on his left-side chest. He wore glasses and had a long mustache. He looked to be in his forties or fifties.

Sunset saw him look up and focused specifically on the man. There was a look of pleading. She felt her stomach churn. It was strange, she’d never had that feeling, even when she was sent on her first mission.

“Agent, are you sure you want to go through with this?” His voice sounded raspy. The man, Agent as the sheriff called him, didn’t waver or look different than he did a second ago.

“Sheriff, I have my orders to arrest Spike Seed.” The agent spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. “He needs to know that there are laws for a reason, laws that he has clearly broken.”

The sheriff looked like he wanted to argue, but he was cut off by Twilight.

“Look, we can discuss this on our way there.” She said while stepping inside of the helicopter and putting on the necessary equipment for the ride.

Begrudgingly, the sheriff followed along with Agent.

Sunset stood there, contemplating whether to continue or not. Life wouldn’t be the same. She would be haunted by the things she would have to do. The worst part was that it wasn’t on foreign soil that made it somewhat easier to cope.

Looking up, she saw Twilight staring at her intently before smiling motioning with her head for Sunset to come.

Sunset got into the helicopter and put on the necessary gear for the flight before they had their take-off. This time, she felt her body being washed over with determination. There was no going back now.

The helicopter swayed slightly with the harsher wind but the two pilots in the front weren’t deterred. Looking out the window, Sunset could see the city of Canterlot below her, the people walking about their day, having their personal problems they needed to fix. If only they would remember Hope County.

Or maybe they did but chose to forget.

“Agent?” Sunset called. The agent turned to look at her with inquisition in his eyes. “I forgot to ask you this yesterday; what did Spike Seed do that caused the higher-ups to shit their pants?”

Twilight tried to stifle her laughter as best she could. It was unusual to hear Sunset curse but when she did, you knew things were serious. The sheriff was about to speak but the Agent beat him to it.

“Spike Seed has been found guilty of massacres, blackmail, murder, torture, and another whole list of things that he’s done.” The Agent snorted. “The higher-ups—as you say—have been trying to shun the problems in Hope County for years, but a little girl was found dead on the road with her throat cut. Her clothes had been torn off and a sharp object had carved the word on her back; Sinner.”
Abruptly, Twilight wasn’t laughing anymore. She turned to Agent in shock with her eyes betraying her with the horrified look that her face was contorted into. The sheriff didn’t look to be far off from Twilight’s situation.

As they flew, the sheriff decided to retell some stories of when Spike Seed and his siblings grew in power the story’s only difference was that they were a cult that had the most extreme views than someone who was ultra-religious.

“You see, when they had just come to Hope County, no one thought much of them, we welcomed them and they accepted us. Spike Seed created a church by himself and started the preach the same way any other priest would. I even went there during mass and what I saw honestly made me feel unnerved.

“His siblings were there to the side while Spike was there preaching over Revelations. The people there, most of them, wore costumes that looked raggedy for wear. They had long hair and beards but what stood out the most were the weapons they held in their hands.

“Assault rifles. That is what they held while they heard ‘The Father’ tell them how the collapse was ‘upon us’ and how we needed to prepare for the end. After mass, I never returned to that church and instead kept a watchful eye on them.

“However, what no one realised was that they slowly bought up several acres of land from the different farmers around here. They even bought several houses and stores just to tear them down and build whatever they planned on building. They bought the radio stations and media networks all across the county until the only thing we could hear and listen to was their music and ‘news’.”

“That sounds horrid,” Twilight said with fear on her face. She looked a little bit pale and her eyes didn’t have the same spark that they used to have when she was in the academy.

“Oh, it is,” The sheriff affirmed. “Right now, they do everything they can to make other people hear their voices and propaganda.”

The agent didn’t look entirely bothered by the story, but it could be that he was trying to silently gather information. Sunset would have to watch him closely when they try to arrest Spike Seed.

“Has there been any outsiders that have joined their cause?” The sheriff turned to look at Sunset with something that resembled respect.

“Yes …” He confirmed. “There have been hundreds of people who came to join—the Peggies as we call them—and spread the message across to other towns near Hope County or even cities. But usually, they just stay where they are.”

“Good to know,” Sunset acknowledged.

As they neared the church where Spike Seed would be, Sunset couldn’t help but notice the giant statue of what looked to be Spike holding the Bible while his other arm was stretched out as if to give a half-hug.

“There he is,” Twilight quietly spoke.

“Motherfucker …” The agent swore as he glared at the several-meter-long statue.

“He sure seems full of himself.” Sunset coldly said. Twilight didn’t turn away but she did murmur something to Sunset that sounded like; ‘don’t say that while we’re here.’

“He’s not far from it,” The agent spoke. “I have heard the dictator in Kyrat has a golden statue.”

“Really? Where is Kyrat located?” Twilight eagerly asked, happy with the change of subject.

“It’s somewhere in the Himalayas region, I think,” Sunset said while trying to remember the dictator of Kyrat.

“Oh, who’s the dictator?” The lavender woman asked while staring slightly at the ground below where a church was waiting for them.

“We can discuss that another time,” The agent said as they prepared for landing. He took off his headset and checked his gun in his holster to see if he had ammo. Sunset did the same while Twilight looked at her pistol awkwardly.

The lavender woman wasn’t used to holding such weapons.

“You know it’s not too late turning back.” The sheriff tried weakly.

“We’re going in,” The agent said after taking a deep breath, preparing for the worst.

As they got out of the helicopter, the cultist around the area looked at them with either confusion, neutrality, or hate. They walked past a few houses, making their way to the church where mass was in full swing.

Sunset kept her eyes ahead while Twilight looked at the mud on the ground as they walked. The sheriff looked his age and kept glancing at the agent as if he would attack the cultist any second.

As they walked by, they heard the whispers from the cultists around them.

“What are they doing here?”

“Are they cops?”

“Are they here for The Father?”

It was quite a frightening experience for Twilight. She had only been with the police force for two months, so she had no idea how to deal with a whole group of nutjobs. Not that anyone there blamed her, the other also felt unnerved by the cold stares.

When they got closer to the church, they saw several cultists armed with assault rifles who watched them with cold gazes.

‘Spike Seed certainly has many followers,’ Sunset thought with bitterness. It meant that there would be more paperwork than she wanted to spend time with.

Reaching the church, the agent opened the door and was about to step inside but was stopped by the sheriff who put a firm hand on the agent’s arm.

“Whoa, Agent, when we go inside let me do the talking.” Sheriff sounded pleading while Agent simply rolled his eyes.

“Relax, you are about to be on the first page in the paper!” The agent spoke with an enthusiastic voice.

He opened both doors fully, revealing the dark, warm church inside with sitting places from the left to the right while the middle had a large aisle that led up to the altar where a shirtless Spike Seed stood.

“I saw when the lamb opened the First Zeal, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts say, come and see…”

“Step. Forward.” The agent spoke in a cold voice which made the cultists inside of the church glare at him and reaches for their weapons, But Seed put his hands up to signal his men not to do so.

“...And I saw, and behold it was a white horse…”

He walked towards and pointed toward the agent slowly before he looked around and the other officers inside his church. He did not look at them hatefully. He probably didn’t want them there, but he didn’t say anything.

“And Hell followed with him.”

“Now, why are you here officers?” Spike Seed asked in an eerie voice that draped into what could only be described as sarcasm. However, he had the same look someone had when it was a serious discussion.

His sunglasses didn’t make things easier.

“Spike Seed, you are under arrest for several massacres, kidnapping, murder, abuse, abuse of power, and rape.” The agent growled with disdain. “Put your hands where I can see them.”

At this, the cultists stood protectively around ‘The Father’ with their weapons ready. The Agent was about to pull out his weapon when the sheriff shouted at him not to, pulling his arm forward as if to make a point while the cultists told them to go home and never return. Sunset prepared to pull out her weapon when Spike stopped it.

“Enough!”

The cultists immediately stopped and turned to look at their ‘Father’ for answers. The agent pulled his hands away from his weapons while the sheriff still looked at the agent and occasionally glanced at the cultist leader.

The tension was almost unbearable. The room felt hard to breathe in, their clothing and protective vests didn’t do much to help.

“We prepared for this,” Spike spoke with a calm voice as if to calm his ‘children’ from something uncomfortable. He glanced around with a small, comforting smile. “God won’t let them take me,”

He didn’t sound arrogant. It was like he was stating a fact.

“Go.” He said quietly enough for his followers to hear. “Go.” He repeated.

Slowly, the cultists walked out of the church but they kept shooting ugly looks at the cops who were there.

When Sunset looked up, she realised that they were not alone. Behind Spike, stood a tall man with gray skin, black hair, and scarlet-red eyes. He wore a suit that belonged to a businessman. He had a menacing aura around him that made Twilight squirm slightly when his gaze landed on her.

The other one was a red-skinned man with orange hair and his eyes were dark purple. He wore a military-like outfit and he wore what looked to be a dog tag.

‘A former soldier?’ Sunset thought to herself, scanning him as thoroughly as possible.

The last one was a female. She had light pink skin and dark pink puffy hair. She wore a white dress and was barefoot. She had ocean blue eyes and a look of curiosity on her face.

Spike Seed then suddenly started to move. Snapping her attention to the cult leader, she saw him approach her, but stopped a few feet away and stretched both of his hands and arms at her. The sunglasses he wore damped his emotions slightly, but she could still see his eyes.

“Remember child; God is watching.” He said with an intense gaze that made her almost yell at him. She composed herself however and waited for her orders.

“Rookie, cuff this son of a bitch,” The agent growled out the order like a wolf. Sunset saw that Twilight was frozen in fear and the sheriff refused to arrest the cult leader, so she stepped forward and cuffed Spike Seed.

Cuffing him, Sunset felt dread form in her stomach as she walked away with him, the agent in the front along with the sheriff while Twilight was with Sunset.

It didn’t surprise the red and gold-haired woman. When they started at the academy, she saw how nervous the lavender woman was. Twilight was all theory and no practical. So, Sunset decided to help her with how to reload a weapon, who to disarm, how to remove all the parts and reassemble them, and so forth. She also helped her train so she would be able to run after the fast criminals.

Since then, Twilight had always been close to Sunset as she physically could.

Walking outside, she saw how the night sky poured its darkness like a blanket over them with only the moon shining bright enough for them to see. The dirt path looked to be used daily with the number of shoe prints she saw.

While she was walking away the cultists gathered around with shocked looks on their faces.

“They’re taking The Father!” One of them shouted in outrage.

One of the cultists ahead tried to attack the agent but was subsequently punched down to the muddy ground and landed with a thud.

“Stay back!” He ordered while aiming his gun at the cultists. Somewhere during the confrontation, he had somehow pulled it out and made sure they all could see it.

Sunset picked up the pace with Twilight following, while the agent and sheriff made sure they weren’t attacked from behind by any of the loyal followers. The sheriff was too afraid to pull out his weapon while the agent glanced from the left to the right for any possible attackers.

When Sunset reached the helicopter, he made sure that Spike Seed was fully seated and had the safety belts on.

Then, she sat herself down with the other three replicating her actions. But the agent wasn’t able to put the safety on before he was attacked by two cultists who tried to drag him out of the helicopter.

Sunset punched one of them away, her fist connected to one of their noses and she heard a crunch that satisfied her. Before she could gloat, however, she was attacked by another cultist who tried to bite her cheek.

In response; Sunset pulled out her gun and fired into the chest while the helicopter was taking off. What they didn’t anticipate, was the loyal followers who refused to let go of the vehicle that would take them out of the hellhole. Some of them tried to climb inside but were either shot or lost their grip while another one tried to jump on the roof which caused the person to be shredded to pieces.

Subsequently, the pilots weren’t able to fly anymore because of the accident and tried to steer it but couldn’t they shouted “Mayday, Mayday,” over and over while Sunset glanced to Spike Seed who was singing softly, not the least bothered by what was happening.

“We’re going to crash!!” The agent shouted as loudly as he could over the sounds of the engines failing.

Sunset saw how they were reaching the ground at a rapid speed. Closing her eyes she realised one thing; Spike Seed wasn’t lying. God wouldn’t let them take him.