Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

   The last thing the deputy had known was that they were in the middle of a fight with Faith Seed, the bliss fueled siren of the Project of Eden's Gate, but now they laid in a creaky old bed, with a radio host saying the wrong date. Is this what death was? Dep had slowly made their way up and out of bed, the creaks from the bed only became louder and more frequent the more they moved. As they rose to their feet, the floors proved to be just as loud, if not even louder. The room looked old, yet new. As far as they were aware, the style was old. The walls were beige but covered in bands they did not even know, and yet it all looked brand new. It honestly reminded them of Wheatys makeshift room back at the Wolves Den. What caught their attention next was the muffled screaming from outside. They slowly made their way to the window to see what the fuss was about, they peaked through the curtains only to be confused.
   "I just don't fucking get it!" the woman in the street was pacing back and forth, and was probably yelling at whoever was on the porch. Her hair was in a messy looking bun, and not an intentional one. She was so skinny her clothes were falling off of her body, and her face was undeniable. The woman was screaming about money for a good ten minutes before they heard another voice.
   "God dammit Leah! Why can't you leave your poor mama alone for ten minutes!? You can count the days the poor woman has left with your fingers at this rate!" and then nothing. Silence was usually calming, but after what rookie just heard the silence was painful. They slowly stepped away from the window and closed the curtains in the process. The floorboards made a lot more sound this time, but it was not just their feet. The noise started far away and got louder. Dep braced themselves for whatever was coming. Whatever was out there simply knocked on the door.
   "Rook? Rook sweetie are you up yet?" a woman asked from the other side of the door. The woman had a very thick southern accent, and here you thought Adelaide Drubman had a thick southern drawl.
   "Uh- yes! Who is it?" they responded as the reached for where their gun usually was. But it wasn't there. Now that they thought about it, all of the stuff they had with them in the hell called Hope County was gone. The woman slowly opened the door and offered a warm smile. The woman was average height, and a little heavier. She had light brown hair that was being taken over by gray hairs, and her fair skin had wrinkles to show her age. She wore a nice floral dress you'd expect someones grandmother to wear, and over that was a plain white apron. On her feet were fluffy bright pink slippers.
   "Oh dear, you must have hit your head hard" the woman had said, her smile turning to a frown. She let herself in and made her way over to them. She checked their head, as if she was looking for something. "Strange, there is no cuts or bumps, but you know" she paused before stepping away, the womans warm hands went on the sides of their face. "it is strange you forgot your own mother".
But, that wasn't their mom. They knew their own mother well, and they were certain that that woman was not her. "I have to go to work".
   "But honey, you're unemployed" the woman tilted her head like a confused dog.
   "You called me rookie, that's a job thing. You know, rookie, newbie?" they tried to reason with their supposed mother, but that only made the woman more confused.
   "That is your family nickname. your aunt Cassie gave it to you when you were little. You need me to pull out the photo album?" the woman then laughed. "I'm sure a nice meal and your daily walk might jog your memory". No, no it won't. Ma smiled at them yet again "if you are feeling up for it you can heat up some left over waffles from yesterday, they're blueberry too.". One part of Mas rambling interested them.
   "My daily walk?" they asked, not meaning to sound as eager as they did.
   "Oh yeah, you like walking down to that corner store down the street. You've loved doing that since I let you when you were thirteen. Oh how times ere quick. Here you are, eighteen and choosing to live with your mama to help her as she ages" she said before embracing Rookie into a tight hug. Rookie awkwardly returned he embrace, simply to appease the woman during her little emotional tangent.
   "I'll go for my walk now" they said with a smile.
Ma could not help but laugh. "How did I not assume that? Be sure to talk to Henry when you get there, he has been worried sick about you. And remember our number one rule: don't talk to the Seed boys. Those kids are nothing but trouble.". Oh you can say that twice. Everyone knew the Seeds well enough to know that trouble was an understatement. They were dangerous.
   After the honestly uncomfortable conversation with Ma, Rookie ran downstairs and was shocked to see their shoes and jacket was all here too. A confused sigh escaped their lips before they quickly threw their shoes and jacket on and left. Of course they were going to question this Henry guy. Rookie had not clue where they were, and questioning Ma would feel wrong. The woman was too pure for that. They quickly regretted wearing a jacket due to how hot it was. They removed their jacket and tied the sleeves around their waist before walking again. The neighborhood was very worn down. Practically all of the houses desperately needed repairs, the sidewalk was filled with cracks, and it was too loud. Every home they passed either had a dog barking as if it was threatened, or someone screaming about money. This was not Hope County. It was clearer the longer they stayed. After about ten minutes they arrived at the corner store. The building was slighter better looking then the rest, but still not good. The building was made of bricks and was covered with graffiti. Rookie nervously walked up to the door and opened it, making their way inside.
   The man behind the counter was a tall but scrawny black man. He did not have a uniform, instead a plane white shirt and a black baseball hat. On his chest was a name tag that read "Henry". Henry was scrubbing the life out of the counter and jamming out to the radio. "You know Henry, its dangerous to have your radio on that loud. You can get hurt" Rookie spoke up once in front of the counter. Henry jumped, eyes darting to the person in front of him. Before he spoke he turned the radio down.
   "Well I'll be dammed! You're not dead!" Henry smiled at them. "How you holding up?".
Rookie sighed "where are we?".
   "Telale Avenue, Rome Georgia".
   "When is it?".
   "Saturday July Seventh 1985, it is noon. Listen Rookie are you okay? You're asking a lot of questions". Before they were able to answer the conversation was interrupted by the bell. The bell let Henry know someone either just came in or just left the store. Henry waited a few moments before speaking up. "Who might that be?" he asked. Footsteps crept closer, it was not just one person, it was two people. Children. The taller one of the two wore baggy blue jeans and a sleeveless gray shirt. His sneakers were stuck brown due to the amount of mud on them. The kid had big ears, and had familiar ginger hair, bright blue eyes, and a bitchy freckled face. The smaller child had black dress pants, equally muddy sneakers, and a light brown t shirt. His physical features were equally familiar. He had decently long brown hair that was pulled into a small ponytail, the same blue eyes, and glasses. The two boys were holding hands, it seemed like they were mainly doing it to calm their nerves. "Oh hey you two. The usual?" Henry asked as he stepped out to the other side of the counter. The ginger boy nodded. "Right in the back as usual". And with that the boys were off to the back of the store.
   "Who are they?" Rookie asked, and dreaded the answer.
   "Jacob and Joseph Seed.".
   "How old are they?".
   "Jacob turns twelve in December, and Joseph is going to be ten in August. You may not remember, but just so you know your ma don't want you talking to them. She says she don't want you getting wrapped into their family drama, but if you share a few words with them I won't rat you out". Henry said as he watched the boys from his post.
   "What family drama?" they asked as they looked over to the boys. Joseph was grabbing a bottle from the back while Jacob counted a few crumpled up dollar bills he had fished out of his pocket.
  "Their dad beats them" Henry said nonchalantly as if it was nothing.

Chapter Text

   Henrys words were complete and utter nonsense. That was all Rook could really feel. According to them, Henry thought that this was normal, that this was acceptable behavior. But it wasn't. Yeah he was doing good deeds for the young and already traumatized Seed boys like letting Joseph read magazines off of the small shelf, and giving them discounts to stop the wrath of their father- but he didn't even bother trying to get them away? Henry never considered calling the police. Rooks fury for Henrys calm response was visible. "Your face looks like a damn Looney Toon" Henry pointed to their face.

   "Why do you say that as if they're not getting hit? They're children! This is going to effect them in the long run. Who knows, they might start a giant cult and hurt plenty of innocent people because they think they're helping!" they flung their arms in the air.

   "Rook... that was all too specific.." Henry tilted his head, clearly confused. "Are you like, okay? You can tell me" Henry was clearly concerned. He had every right too. Like every cheesy time travel movie, they couldn't share that they were from 2018. People probably think the world ends eighteen years  before that. And like every science fiction movie or book, it could mess with the timeline or something. They honestly didn't know, but they've seen Back To The Future enough times to know. 

  The bottles from the refrigerators in the back of the store clinked together like a bunch of drunken sailors celebrating as Jacob fished for the specific bottle. A bottle, decent of size, of Seagrams 7 Crown Whiskey. For whiskey standards the alcohol was fairly cheap being practically half the price of most other brands. Jacob walked to the counter and set the bottle down. Joseph was counting crumpled up dollars and spare change with a finger. "That'll be $5.99" Henry told the boys as Joseph slowly continued counting the change.

   "That is a dollar less than last time" Joseph spoke up. His words broke his focus, and he began counting the money again. Jacob seemed to have gotten frustrated with how long the process was, because the ginger ripped the money out of his little brothers hands and put it on the counter. He quickly took the bottle in one hand, then his brothers hand in the other and quickly made his way out of the door.

   "Wait Jacob this is only $1.99 kid" Henry said, rushing to catch up with the boys. Jacob panicked and did what he knew best. He kicked Henry in the stomach then ran out the door.

   "Stealing is a sin Jacob!" Joseph yelled at his brother as his feet tried to keep up with the pace his upper half was moving at. Jacob was very different than Joseph. Jacob was taller, faster, and stronger. However, Joseph had his strengths too. The young boys mind was large, he was very smart compared to Jacob. He always grasped things easily, never having to be told something twice. But Joseph was no survivalist. 

   "Wanna know what else is? Pissing off that sick excuse of a father!" Jacob yelled back as they ran. Joseph threw his eyebrows up at the sound of his older brother cursing as if it was nothing. They didn't run far, no one would chase them. That's how things always have been around here. Authorities took a blind eye to everything simply because they thought it was inconvenient. The two boys stopped to catch their breaths about two blocks away from Henrys corner store. 

   "Stealing can get you into some serious trouble you know" Rook had followed them here. All of that time sneaking around to murder peggies and save civilians is oddly enough paying off now. They looked down at the two kids, tapping a foot like a disappointed mother. Joseph panicked and hid behind Jacob for protection. "So are you two going to say anything or?".

   "Listen, you don't know our lives. Not everyone in this goddamn world gets everything handed to them. People, like us, have to learn to survive." Jacob looked Rook in the eyes as he spoke, seemingly he has always had that threatening aura to him. Maybe it was for protection. "And that's just what Joey and I are doing, so best you bug off". All Joseph did was nod along and occasionally look at Rook. It was clear he really looked up to Jacob. As a protector, as some sort of hero. After his explanation he turned his back and went to leave back home with Joseph.

   "You were four dollars short, I'll pay that off" Rook spoke off, looking at the boys. "That stuff strong?".

   Jacob stopped in his tracks, puzzled that Rook asked that. "Its a potion" he said simply before leaving with Joseph.

   And that, that is the legend of cheap liquor.