There are many dangerous people out in the Wastes.
Tessa fell to the dirt, sending dust puffing up all around. She was surrounded by the time she got up to her knees. Her wide eyes took in the leaping silhouettes of men, encircling her in a case of loud bleating and primal yelps. Animals excited at the prospect of fresh meat. She was an attractive young woman. Meat. They'd chased her down into a dip surrounded by rocky cliffs. The perfect secluded killing ground. Nothing but rock and nowhere to run. The dust cleared and she recognized all four of them. They'd been there at the Brass Lantern down in Megaton, eying her. She'd turned to leave and her dress had caught on the edge of the metal stool, revealing leg up to the thigh for them to see. She knew it'd been enough. She got through the town gates and started running. Didn't stop till near sunset. That's when she saw the shapes over the horizon. She tripped more than once looking back at the growing shapes. The sounds of warm blooded monster men filled the air. Then they were upon her.
They were much different now. The dirty ragged clothes they'd wore in town made them blend in, they'd looked and acted like real people. It was rare, but not irregular bandit behavior. Every once in a while they managed to murder some folk with clothing in their size and smuggled themselves into honest folk's territory to trade. But out here in the Wasteland, they'd reverted to reptiles, merciless; on the hunt for food, drink and a warm spot. They bounded around screaming, exposed as demons.
Two wore gas masks. Another had a twisted grin that strayed off in a dark brown tattoo that ended on the side of his shaved head. It looked like it had been dug in with a knife with all the care of a child dragging a crayon across the wall. Then the alpha, a giant bald gorilla of a man with beady eyes and a mottled beard. They all had something sharp hanging off the chunks of leather strewn haphazardly around their bare chests. A blade, a screwdriver with a sharpened tip, one had a hunk of wood with a bunch of bent brown nails hammered through it. One of the gas masks and the gorilla had holstered pistols at the side of their dirty jeans. Then the personal stuff, the trophies on display. A necklace of teeth that looked human. Another had a tiny pair of shoes laced through his belt loop.
They'd done terrible things because they were terrible people with nothing left in the world to stop them. No reason to stop.
The one with the scarred shaved head made a grab for her leg, but came back with a handful of dress instead. The material ripped apart like a zipper, leaving her with nothing but her undergarments. She screamed and kicked as another leapt in and touched a grimy hand to her thigh before jumping back, whooping with excitement. Soon their excitement would subside and they'd get violent.
As expected, the gorilla man stepped forward. He smacked her kicking legs aside, set his hands on her shoulders and with one yank brought her up to her feet. Everyone was quiet and still in the swirling dust. He dragged her close, keeping a crushing hand between her neck and her shoulder. She could feel her skin bruising, he could break her collar bone if he wanted to. The other beefy hand slid up her leg. She winced as he rubbed her crotch a few times through the thin material then continued up her stomach.
"I'm going to feel you all over, little girlie."
She turned her head away from his hungry grin, that putrid breath worse than ghoul flesh.
"Then I'm going to feel inside of you." He held her face and made her look at him.
"Then we're going to cut you into small pieces."
There are plenty of dangerous people out in the Wastes.
"And eat you!" A muffled shout came from one of the gas masks. They exploded into leaping and shouting as the beefy man reached down between her legs again. But something unexpected happened. Tessa rested her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. Such a tender, passionate gesture. It threw him off balance.
But I'm one of the smartest.
The man pushed her away and all noise died away again. His face was confused. It was only when he brushed a hand up to the wetness at his neck, felt the huge flap of skin lift up, and brought the hand back in front of his face drenched in red that he knew he was dying. He fell to the ground with a loud thump and the other men stood silent and frozen in place. All eyes were on her hands, wrapped around the handle and trigger of the fallen man's pistol, all too aware of the tiny beige spike protruding a few inches long under her pinky.
"Don't say a word," She kept the gun trained on the mask with the holstered gun as she backed off with small controlled steps, enough to pick him off and anyone who tried to rush her, "One move and I'll cap you. That's a promise."
The shaved one wasn't buying it.
"Oh yeah, lady? You fast enough to gun all three of us at-
There was a loud bang and a spray of red. He dropped, a thumb sized hole spilling blood between his still glaring eyes.
"What did I say? What the fuck did I say?"
The two masked men were shaking now.
"The gun. Out real slow then drop it to the ground. Two fingers on the handle only, got it?"
It was disarming for the raiders. A young slender lady in her panties, commanding as a drill sergeant ordering them around to maximum success. He did as he was told then walked over to the other side of his buddy where she told him to.
"Now," A smirk crept across her mouth, "Undress."
They looked like they might grumble then thought better of it. They began removing the leather strips and shuffled off their jeans till two men in gas masks stood in their underpants. She made them toss everything over.
"Good. Now kiss the ground."
They dropped to their knees and pressed their masks in the dirt without hesitation.
"Stick your asses up in the air. Nice and high."
She stifled a laugh as they did as they were told, shaping out like roast chickens. Then she shot them both in the head.
It was silent again and the sun was creeping down further past the horizon. She gathered up her spoils, quickly slid into a pair of jeans and strapped enough leather over her to hide her chest and then started climbing boulders in the direction of town. People would pay a good amount for any sort of clothing without blood on it.
