I raised my pistol, taking aim at the back of the closest feral's head. Even if I managed to take the ghoul out with one shot, I didn't like my chances of killing three more before they charged me. I was no coward, however. In the wasteland, the smallest mistake could cost you your life. I'd been in worse situations than this and had always found a way to elude death. This case would prove no different, I was sure of it. I grit my teeth, steeled my nerves, then fired. The laser flew towards its target unerringly. The ghoul didn't even have time to turn towards the sound of the gun shot before its head exploded into ash. Its three companions; however, hissed and spat with rage as they turned my way.
"Shit, shit!" I whispered under my breath as i frantically took aim once more. My next shot flew into my victims chest, blood erupting from the wound as the feral toppled to the floor. The remaining ghouls paid no heed to their fallen companion and rushed forward, their gore-matted hands reaching out for me. I pulled the trigger again, and then once more, but to my horror and utter consternation nothing happened. "Come on you piece of junk, don't jam on me now!" The gun remained unresponsive despite my best efforts to force it to fire. I threw it to the ground and tore my sword from its sheathe at my side as the monsters came upon me. I dove to the side, narrowly avoiding one ghoul as it lunged straight for me. Recovering quickly, I squared up my body and held out my sword defensively with both hands. Being smarter than they looked, the creatures approached slowly, waiting for an opportunity to strike out at me.
Was this it then? Was I to become a snack for a couple of feral ghouls, betrayed by my own stupid gun? It was likely that i could dispatch one, whichever had the misfortune of attacking me first, but then I'd have no ready defense against the second ghoul who would surely follow the first in his attack. I thought of my father then, wherever he was. What would he think when he found out about my death? Well, that was an easy one, he wouldn't think anything because he would never know what happened to me. No one came down in these tunnels, and for good reason. I'd just be another nameless wanderer with my mangled body added to the feral's collection. "And so I die?" I scoffed bitterly. The two ghouls seemed to smile at that, readying their attack. One of the ferals let out a hiss as it shot towards me. I held my ground, not attempting to stop it or to scramble out of its way. As it neared the end of its flight, its disgusting face inches away from mine, i spun passed it, slamming the hilt of my sword into the second ghouls face. "Psych!" I shouted. Bone cracked with the impact and the monster roared in pain as it reeled backwards, the sound brought a wide smile to my face as I scooped up my laser pistol and sprinted down the tunnel. Yea, like a couple of ghouls would best me. Not likely, I thought as i ran on.
Of course, it didn't take long for the ghouls to recover and begin their pursuit. I had expected them to follow after me, but I'd hoped I would be able to out-distance them enough to safety exit the station. I hadn't factored in that there might be even more ghouls further down in the tunnels to slow me. Sure enough, after making it over a steep incline, I spotted the form of three more ferals crouched together in the middle of my path. The trio were too preoccupied devouring their latest prey; an unfortunate adventure I deduced by what was left of him, to pay me any mind. I didn't slow my pace, the sight of the dead adventure had doubled my sense of urgency and I flew past the hostile creatures as fast as I could. One of them looked up from his meal as I went by. Leaping to its feet, it lashed out at me. I cried in pain as the warmth of my blood trailed down my arm. I clutched at the wound, but didn't dare to slow my pace. Fear overrode my pain, the feral and his companions had begun the chase and were closing in fast. Ahead of me, I could see the turn of the tunnel. It wasn't much further to the exit from there. I rounded the bend, my legs began to burn, my breath coming in short spurts. My arm throbbed as blood continued to pour from it. I felt as if I would pass out, ultimately meeting at my end after all.
Suddenly, a door along the side of the tunnel burst open and I couldn't slow myself in time to avoid the hand that shot out and grabbed me, pulling me back into the dark room. The door slammed shut behind me. I tried to open my mouth to scream, but it was quickly covered by a large hand. "Shhh!" came a voice, "stay quiet." The deep, raspy tone told me that it was a ghoul that held me. Their voices being quite distinct from a human. I was also only a hundred feet from the gate that lead up to Underworld's doorstep: a place loaded with ghouls. "You got a death wish or something?" The ghoul asked harshly, though the question must have been rhetorical for he didn't remove his hands and allow me to speak. Many moments of silence passed which I used to examine my surroundings. The room, from what I could tell, was small, something like a utility closet. There was no brightness in the room except for what came from an emergency light that flitted in from the small window on the door. The shelves that lined all four walls were filled with toolboxes and scraps of metal. I recalled one of my earlier visits to underworld when I had tried to pick the lock to this door. I'd failed miserably, the lock proving to be too much of a challenge. It did make me wonder, who exactly snatched me up into this inaccessible room? Why was he down here in the first place? Finally the ghoul removed his hand. " There may be more close by, keep your voice down." He moved away from me to stand against the door, effectively blocking the light from the window. I tried examining the ghoul, but could see nothing besides his massive silhouette. One thing was for sure, he was larger than the average ghoul and a monster compared to me, standing at least a foot over my head. "Shouldn't come down here. Its dangerous." He said, as if he were my parents or something. I shrugged, though i doubted he could see the motion at all.
"I'm going to Underworld."
"There are safer ways-"
"Uh, nope," I argued "between super mutants that want to torture then eat me and ferals that just want to eat me, I'd take my chances against ferals any day." I guess he didn't think that was funny, for he didn't make a single sound. I scratched the back of my head uncomfortably. Tough crowd, huh? He turned to look out the small window.
"They're leaving. Its safe now." He opened the door a crack, just enough light poured in to shine down on me. He turned around to look back at me, though I still couldn't see his face. Another moment of silence passed, then he spoke. "You're hurt. I have stimpacks." He shut the door again before any light could betray his own identity. I instinctively reached for my wounded arm, wincing as I did so. I had forgotten about the pain momentarily and now it was back with vengeance.
"Its okay! It looks worse than it is." Really, though, it was throbbing with every breath I took but I didn't need to owe this guy any more than I already did. The ghoul fished through his pocket then held two syringes out to me.
"Take them." He said, much more softly were his words than they had been the rest of our conversation prior. Whether it was the softness of his command or the pain in my arm, I couldn't refuse the offer. I took the aid, and I was grateful for the instant relief it gave me.
"Thank you." I sighed as he turned away to once again open the door. "Wait!" I couldn't just let him leave after everything he'd done, but more than that, there was something I had to know. Something didn't add up about his presence in the station. I'd traversed these tunnels a fair number of times and I had never seen anyone except for dead bodies and ferals. "No one ever comes down here. How did you know I would? Not that I'm ungrateful to you, but your rescue was rather...unexpected." The question gave him pause, though his answer gave nothing away.
"It is coincidence. The rest of the way is safe. I suggest you leave soon." And with that, he was gone, running off in the direction of Underworld before I could speak another word. I watched him leave, tempted to follow behind him and discover his identity but ultimately, I decided against it. He obviously didn't want me to know who he was and after saving my life I would oblige him, for now at least. Once I made it to underworld however, I would begin investigating. I can't just leave my debts unpaid, what kind of person would that make me? There weren't that many ghouls in Underworld, and I knew a few by name. I would find this guy whether he wanted to be found or not.