( @nicknamedrook asked: “There’s an exit wound, the bullet went through you.” / meme i’m too lazy to look up )
John’s throat feels thick as he swallows, visibly uncomfortable with the Deputy behind him. It’s bad enough he’s been dropped by a bullet through his side — but he handles vulnerability like an injured animal ( ready to bare teeth and fight ). The youngest Seed no longer wears the mask of the Baptist. Salvation is on the backburner, but he no longer wants to save her — he was ready to die if he could take her down with him.
( dying is easy until it breathes cold down his neck )
But he’s alive, injuries far from fatal.
He digs the heels of his boots into wet earth to scoot back towards the shade of an old pine. There’s no more cocky radio calls or violent threats after the hot bite of the bullet went through him. His gun rests on the ground, inked fingers pressed in his own blood ( for once. ) He expects her wrath to equal his, for her to kill him then and there, rather than checking for an exit wound. Still he means to face her, to pull away and rest against the bark.
He inhales a sharp breath, eyes locked onto her. In her place, he might have finished it and after all he’s projected onto her, after all of the wrath he saw in her — he can’t fathom her keeping him alive. Pulling a bloody hand from his side, he wraps it around the key against his chest instead.
❝ Mercy doesn’t suit you, Deputy.❞










