One Shot - Another Day in the Nuclear Wonderland
A loud clang erupted as metal struck against the decayed metal of the Corvega's door, a bullet stopped in its track and deflected but an inch from the man's head.
The man and woman froze, their eyes grew wide and their hands dropped the small eating utensils as their brains processed the sound - and what it signified.
"I'm going to EAT YOU!" The guttural howl of the Super Mutant followed a moment later, and the couple turned as one to look at their attacker.
One. Two. More, so many more, Super Mutants appeared over the horizon that the elevated hill made.
It lined up a shot and fired again, missing by mere inches with the old, worn hunting rifle that it sported.
"Run, Initiate Holland! Dammit, Laura! Run!" The man ordered, his arm reached out and grasped the arm of the woman as he took off, half-dragging and half-guiding the still stunned younger woman along as they fled.
The man reached with his free hand and withdrew a Laser Pistol, primed and charged, to fire back with a moment to curse to his lack of foresight in not bringing something bigger.
The Super Mutant that fired first fell after two shots burned through its orangish-green torso and another through its face.
Several shots sounded out in return, only to ping against the Corvega they had been near a mere moment again - and then a wall farther on as they sprinted away to the side. Not directly away, to the side and away.
Never away.
It only shows them your back.
In D.C., as long as you can avoid direct gunfights with the Super Mutants, you can survive. If you ever find yourself separated from your unit: ambush. Use guerrilla warfare. They're strong, resistant, and deadly - but they're also stupid and can be taken down if you have the ammo and don't try to be a hero.
The two fled, deeper into the jungle of destroyed buildings and wrecked cars, antique junk piles nowadays, as they ran the game of the Super Mutants' hunt.
Seven more Super Mutants fell as the man counterattacked at every available opportunity, always quick and with minimal wasted shots.
"We have to stop, John. We can't keep running, it's been hours and there hasn't been anyone. No patrols come in this far; and for every Mutie you kill, two more take its place." Holland gasped as she ran alongside the man.
"No, we have to keep going. We stop running, we die." John growled through clinched teeth, his exhales becoming more ragged by the moment.
He'd been slacking too much, had gotten too comfortable around the Citadel.
"Besides, I recognize this place." He said as he glanced around. "We can't be all that far from the Washington Monument, it's probably just around the corner. We get there, and we can group up with the attachment assigned to guard the damn thing." He finished, a small smile flashed across his face as he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling them both to a stop. "We're going to laugh about this whole misadventure later, trust me."
Laura nodded, obviously forcing a smile as he attempted to reassure her.
A loud shot rang out, and John faltered slightly, his body dipped, before he pushed her on ahead.
"Don't stop running!"
He fired twice, and a Mutant dropped, before he trekked after her quickly fleeing form.
Grunts escaped him, his free hand at the side of his left leg, as he half limped, half ran after his lover; his strength was starting to fade.
And then, another shot rang and she staggered as she ran around the corner of the building.
John pushed forward with new urgency, his weary body revived with adrenaline, and rounded the corner to spot her leaning against a doorway farther ahead. With a push forward, he came to her, pulled her up, and hurriedly opened the door into the unknown.
"Keep moving, Laura. We gotta keep moving. Come on, come on." He pulled her with him, ignoring the blood that fell from her wounded arm and too distracted to notice his own.
Through deep, dark corridors he pulled her, carrying her when she said she was too weak too move.
"We're going to make it."
"All we have to do is find somewhere to lay low."
"I'll patch you right up and we can wait them out."
"Remember that time when..? Forget it, we can reminisce later."
"Gunny will tear us a new one when he finds out we were stupid enough to get lost in Mutie territory."
"I can't believe..."
John talked on and on, his voice hushed as he whispered to her. Distracting her.
Finally, when he became unable to go any farther, he pushed into a nearby room, a formerly lavish office - couch and all, and locked the door behind him.
Thunderous steps ran by a moment later, unaware of his and her escape.
He waited a beat, then two, before he hobbled over and collapsed on the couch, setting her on his lap and clasping her tightly to his chest.
The two sat silently, his breaths the as the steps of the mutants faded into the dilapidated building.
"I love you, Laura. I never told you that, did I? The Brass would have my ass if they knew about us. A Knight Sergeant in relations with an Initiate, a subordinate. But, you know? Fuck 'em." John whispered, his arms tightening around her. He knew what he felt, or rather what he didn't, but he didn't care. "You and me, girl. We're going to live a long life, and fix everything wrong with this hellhole."
His words slowed and his gaze rose from her hair to the large windows ahead.
"I...don't...want to set the world on fire~ I just wanna start, a great big flame, down in your heart~" He sang softly to imagined music. "Remember when I first sang for you? This very song..."
A tall structure loomed overhead, weather and poorly maintained yet sporting a large dish at its top.
"So close, yet so far. I told you so. We just need to hold on a little longer." John whispered, his arm rose slowly as he took aim at the large monument with his laser pistol.
One shot, it melted and shattered the glass. Second shot, the glass fell away with a lout crash, half falling in and the rest down to the road below.
His third, fourth, fifth shot all went out to strike low on the monument as he started to signal.
S...O...S...
And his weapon then failed, its charge empty and energy cell needing replaced.
And then...his arm fell and he went...silent.
The lock clicked open and a younger, more youthful voice shouted a sharp cheer.
"Hah! Got it, guys!"
"Okay, okay. You sure this is the room, Zombie?" A rough voice answered, a moment later the door slid open on rusted hinges.
"Yes, the glass on the ground was newly broken; the burn from the laser shot was fresh, still warm." A hoarse, male voice responded from farther back. "And the blood trails looked new too, maybe just a few hours."
"That puts it at the timeframe the Knights at the Monument said they saw the message." 'Kid' said and stepped into the open room quickly. Before him sat two people, corpses from the large blood pool that had formed below them, in a flower-decorated couch; one, a woman with light brown hair, sat on the other's - a man with a military-cut for his own blonde hair - lap. "Yeah, this is the place. Two members of the Brotherhood of Steel in the recon armor." He strode forward and crouched down to look at their holotags. "Looks like a through and through for the man, may have nicked the femoral artery, and a shot to the side for the girl - could have nicked or punctured any number of organs, depending on where it hit. Likely from one of the Hunting Rifles the Mutants were carrying earlier."
"'Knight Sergeant John Allen and Initiate Laura Holland of the East Coast Brotherhood of Steel.'" He read off, the man's and then the woman's. "Looks like he really cared for her, his hands are holding her wound closed; probably trying to save her from bleeding out." He pried at the man's fingers.
"He's got a death grip on her side, she must have really meant something to the big guy." 'Kid' muttered as the two behind him stepped forward tentatively, the elder man began to look around for anything of value while 'Zombie' watched over the younger. "Someone call up the Brotherhood, we can see about recovering the bodies and giving them a proper burial."
He finally managed to pull back on the deadman's hands, only for a fresh squirt of blood to shoot up from the exposed wound.
"Fuck!" He cursed as he then placed his own hands over the woman's wound. "We got a live one! Charon! Get out a Stim and some gauze, we may be too late for the man, but we can save the girl!"
Author's Note:
The story of two members of the Brotherhood of Steel in the good ol' D.C. Wasteland.
Anyone just wonder how things must be for the Wastelanders of the Fallout series? Those in the background that would have their own lives in this fictional universe? Day-to-day survival a constant struggle, love, loss, and all that good stuff? Well, here's a little snippet that came to mind while chowing down on dinner and I figured I'd quickly write it out afterwards.
To be fair, this was anything but ordinary for two survivors of the post-apocalypse, but hey. It's Fallout and writing scenes like this has its perks as it gets the brain rolling.
What will happen with the girl, Laura? Probably nothing as this was a random one shot, but if the story were to go on, and it may at some point, then what may life entail for her following this experience? And that assumes that she lives. She could die, she could become crippled and wind up forever in the Citadel as a scribe instead of a soldier. The world may never know.
For those that know my other fics, this was really just something to write because it came to mind. The others, mainly Our Forgotten Heroes and The Wanderer of the Inquisition, will go on, I've just been busy these last few months and have had writer's block.
Comment, Favorite, Tell Me What You Loved About This Or What You Hated. Anything, it doesn't matter what.
Just remember: Stay Classy, Fallout Lovers.