Jayd sighed in relief as she saw the familiar Red Rocket Stop in the distance. The sun was making its slow descent to the horizon behind her, indicating it would be nighttime soon. The wary Sole Survivor was all too overjoyed she had managed to return to Sanctuary Hills in time. Camping out in the Wasteland tends to be a gamble, at this point. Jayd didn't dare to imagine whatever else would roam the radiated lands during late hours of the night.
Ghouls, Deathclaws, and other radiated animals were enough to deal with.
Beside her, Dogmeat trotted happily, his tongue lolling out from the side. Jayd chuckled softly at the sight and scratched behind his ears affectionately.
"That's right, boy," she cooed. "We'll be home soon. I'm sure the kids would love playing with you again."
The German Shepherd's tail wagged all the more excitedly, prompting a happy woof. Jayd had been gone for almost a month and had only brought Dogmeat this time for her venture. She thought the others deserved a break and Piper needed to take care of Nat in Diamond City, despite the reporter's protest that "Nat was fine with her nanny."
Outpost Zimonja needed a better home and she decided to help them build one for the settlers living just northeast from Sanctuary Hills. They were amongst the few settlements that were far from civilization and wouldn't get much outside help other than the Minutemen's. Being General of the Minutemen meant any settlements allied with them also fell upon her protection and responsibility. It was exhausting work sometimes, having to travel throughout the Commonwealth from settlement to another. However, it was a comforting thought knowing the settlers within their alliance had some piece of normalcy in their lives.
As they got closer to the truck stop, Jayd heard the familiar sounds of a gunfight in the distance. Dogmeat instantly lowered himself to the ground, a low and warning growl reverberating from his chest. The fur along his spine stood on its ends. Jayd felt her blood turn ice cold when the gunshots seemed to come from. . .
Shit!
"Let's go, Dogmeat!" She shouted, bursting into a sprint up the steep road. Dogmeat barked, quickly changing his pace into a gallop. Jayd reached to her side and pulled out the .44 Pistol from its strap. She tossed her pack onto the side of the street, behind the guardrails, reminding herself to come back for it later. When they approached the damaged yet still intact wooden bridge, Jayd's suspicions were confirmed at the sound of screams of pain and cries of loss in the distance. The sound of maniacal laughter and cheers from rough and raspy voices being amongst them.
Raiders.
There were three standing by the entrance of Sanctuary Hills with one of them carrying a minigun and spraying the neighborhood - and any unfortunate settler caught in the crossfire - with bullet holes. Jayd felt nothing but rage as she crossed the bridge, her booted footsteps catching the attention of the raiders before her. They whirled around, wanting to find the source behind the hurried footsteps behind them. By the time the three raiders had faced her completely, Dogmeat had rushed forward, leaping into the air and crashing into the Raider with the minigun. The German Shepherd clamped his sharp, canine teeth down onto the throat of the dirtied Raider as he collapsed onto the ground.
His dying breath was nothing but a blood-gurgled scream as Dogmeat ripped his jugular to shreds.
The other two shouted out of shock and pointed their weapons on the dog. Jayd aimed her pistol and fired off two shots, quickly disposing them before they could harm her furred companion.
"Bout' goddamn, freakin' time!"
Jayd looked up. Cait, alongside with Hancock and MacCready, slipped out of cover and ran to her. With the exception of the fiery redhead, both Hancock and MacCready wore grim and panicked expressions. She couldn't blame them, especially when several members of the settlers were scattered along the street; their bodies limp as they lay on top of a pool of their own blood. Some were nothing but unrecognizable corpses filled with bullet holes.
Hancock nodded at her, flashing her a small smirk. "Couldn't have cut it close there, pal."
"Cowards had us pinned," MacCready panted, running a hand down his face. "While a group of them snuck behind the houses and made their way deeper into the settlement. The others herded everyone back to the safehouse when things got worse. We manage to take down a few of them, but we just couldn't - " He looked over his shoulder, looking at the dead bodies.
Cait cocked her shotgun, refilling the empty barrel with more shotgun shells, her glare even more murderous than usual. "There were at least ten of em'. Maybe even more if they're so hellbent on takin' over."
Jayd nodded. The situation was a lot more gruesome than she could had originally thought.
"So, what's the plan?" Hancock asked.
Jayd looked past them and towards the direction of the safehouse. She hoped it was holding up long enough for them to get there in time. The safehouse was just a safety precaution at first, since more and more settlers were making their towards Sanctuary as the weeks come and go. The safehouse served the purpose of being a fortress for them to retreat into if a threat they couldn't handle ever arises. Today, Jayd was all the more glad she had decided to go through with it and had the safehouse built. But she needed to turn the tables quickly or else the Raiders would find some creative way to get into the safehouse.
"Let's not waste anymore time then. Make every single one of these bastards pay." Jayd practically growled.
Cait smirked menacingly at the thought. "Couldn't have said it better meself."