A/N: Well, here we go, with my second story, if you're also following Iconoclash, don't fear as I'm no where near done with that just yet but I've decided to write a second story for multiple reasons.

This story is going to be a lot shorter than Iconoclash, with shorter chapters and it's also going to be more teen friendly for people who don't like mature themes. It isn't directly linked to Iconoclash but viewers of that story may find some recurring themes and possibly some recurring characters. :P

And... For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, welcome!

This story follows a young slaver and his victim as they journey back to Paradise Falls, the idea was to attempt to create a more sympathetic slaver character who isn't portrayed as being evil, simply for his occupation and to explore the mental conflict of someone in that position as well as exploring the relationship of the person who he's enslaving.

This story will be around three to five parts, though it could be more. I'm aiming to keep it a lot shorter than my previous stories though, so it won't be the epic size of Iconoclash.

Anywho, I hope that people enjoy it, please leave a review and share any thoughts, all thoughts towards the story help as I can keep them in mind, for the next chapter or for all of my future projects.

The road to Canterbury Commons was desolate, almost completely void of life, a heavy wind was blowing, due to the autumn season and with it came a blast of cold air, which, combined with the hot sun, made the conditions just right for travelling in.

A man could be seen, wandering down the road, with a hunting rifle slung over his shoulder. He was a young man, with short, brown, shaggy, greasy, unwashed hair, that went down to his lower neck. He was quite young in his face, a long, slender nose and hazel brown eyes and even with the stubble that had grown around his chin and on his cheeks, over the two days that he had been travelling and the dirt and grime that also clung to his face, he looked no older than Sixteen.

He wore a merc trouble maker outfit, which had seen a great deal of action but not from his back, most likely from various other people who had worn it over and over for the past two hundred years…

Garry's feet dragged along the gritty floor of the wasteland as he wandered the approach to Canterbury Commons, the young man, of around sixteen had his eyes set on the road as he continued his approach towards the spot, that would be his ambush point.

There was a stretch between Canterbury Commons and the Wheaton armory that was quite well travelled. Most caravans would pass through the area as it was a quite well known travel route, which made doing a cycle between Megaton, Canterbury Commons and Rivet City a breeze.

As a result, many believed the route to be as safe as houses, travelers often wandered alone down this route, believing that it was overall avoided by slavers. No slaver, with half a brain would attack a caravan as many of them traded with Paradise Falls, however, individuals? That was another story, if they weren't travelling with a cow, that was carrying four times its body weight, then they were fair game.

As soon as he reached the ambush point, Garry readied his ambush for any unsuspecting travelers, he had all the time in the world to wait for some asshole to wander through and when they did, they were as good as collared.

The Slaver knelt down, in a small hole, so that he was out of sight, he was obscured by some foliage, to hide his presence from his target, whilst allowing him to be quite close by, so that he could jump out and nab them.

He decided to check his list of instructions, once more, to make sure that he didn't miss anything.

Here are some simple rules for you to follow.

Don't tinker with the collar - you'll probably blow yourself up, which would serve you right.

If you lose a collar, or get it stolen from you, you'll end up wearing one. We won't tolerate any threat to our business.

If you have any questions, piss off. I don't have time for retards.

- Grouse

Seemed simple enough, just clamp it onto someone's neck and presto, instant cash!

Provided that they don't go hysterical and run off, getting their head turned into grits in the process, of course…

Despite the simplicity of the task, despite how well planned out it was and despite how little risk there was of failure Garry was incredibly nervous about this. Garry had been desperate to be accepted, among the slavers for years now, ever since he was around fourteen.

Garry's friend was quite close with some of the slavers and he eventually got them into the camp. It had everything, drink, chems, pussy…

Walking through the gates of Paradise Falls was like walking through the pearly gates of heaven, with a more grouchy St Peter. It was from then on that Garry grew more and more fond with the idea of joining their cause and so, he did everything he could to stay on their good side. From the obvious sucking up to doing some minor jobs for the slavers, just to try and leave an impression.

Eventually, he'd licked enough ass to earn himself a trial, him and two other kids were given a collar each and told to piss off and come back with a new friend.

It wasn't a race or anything, if all three of them came back with slaves, then they would all be accepted, freelance slavers were always useful, they only wanted competent slavers. This shit was easy money and yet Garry still felt some fear as to whether or not he'd be able to pin a guy down and slap a collar on him.

Anything could happen…

Anything…

He kept his eyes fixed on the road, waiting for the ideal target, one would have come along at some point or another…

Annie sat at the bar, hunched over her bowl of noodles and enjoying her reward for a stress free delivery. Porter Joe, the proprietor of the restaurant that she was eating in, leant back against the cooker.

Annie was a young girl, in her mid to late teens, she had short, blonde hair, that like most wastelander's hair hadn't been groomed much. She was remarkably clean otherwise, due to her coming from quite well off family, who had plenty of access to clean water and radaway.

Porter Joe had his arms folded, with a slight grin on his face as he watched the courier stuff her face, oblivious to the fact that she was being observed as she devoured the bowl. It wouldn't take the most perceptive soul to see that her last delivery left her famished.

"You know, if you ate it slower, you'd be able to taste it." Porter Joe mocked, slowly pulling himself upright as he observed her.

"If I ate slower, I'd starve to death…" She grumbled, her mouth full of noodles, muffling her words and getting another grin out of Porter Joe as he shook his head.

"You know, you're more than welcome to stay the night, Uncle Roe won't mind it, if it means that you get home safely. You could enjoy your meal and sleep here, instead of giving yourself indigestion and having to run home in the dark." Porter Joe and the rest of the town didn't give this offer out easily but Annie was incredibly young and her father was a valued supplier of mechanical parts.

Her Father, Frank, was quite reluctant to use his daughter as a courier for his business as the wasteland as a dangerous place but the town and even Annie herself agreed that she was faster than he was and could make the deliveries in no time.

That and she would more likely survive any encounters as she was quicker on her feet and could easily outrun any creature and probably most men. Though she wasn't much, by way of strength or fighting skill, she was a fast runner and in most cases, that was all that she needed and she knew enough as far as self-defence goes to slowly her opponent down, so that she may leave them in the dust.

Of course, in the dark, it was another story, sprinting was risky, when there were tripping hazards all over the road, one wayward rock and her lightning fast sprint would turn into a shamble as she would likely fall and injure herself.

Even in her leather armour, she was at risk of bruising something or hitting her head and then she was vulnerable to whatever monstrosity or sick mind was after her.

"I'm fine." Annie insisted, looking over her shoulder at the crimson sky.

"It's not even dark out, I'll be home within the hour, if I set off soon."

Porter Joe knew that she wasn't exactly bullshitting, Annie was fast and she knew the road better than most, if she believed that she could make it back before dark, then she could.

The Diner owner sighed and gave in, she wasn't his kid, she had to make her own mistakes and 'Daddy' can pick up the pieces, once she gets back to her shack.

"How is your old man anyway?"

"He's okay…" Annie replied, with her mouth full.

"He's thinking of moving us to Rivet City, said that we'd be safer there and that he'd have more room to work."

Porter Joe didn't especially like this idea as it would mean that Annie would have to travel further, every time she made a delivery but if it meant that she'd be safer, then maybe it's for the best.

"He could move here, it's near his scavenge sights and it's just as safe as Rivet City, hell, he'd really be helping this place grow."

The young, blonde girl shrugged and continued to eat, it wasn't her decision to make and she wasn't all that bothered about leaving the shack behind. From what she had seen, the wasteland was perfectly habitable, if you're careful.

"I could tell him, that you wouldn't mind letting him stay… But he did kind of have his heart set on being able to go to the church of Saint Monica, on a Sunday."

Porter Joe shrugged, a church could quite easily be erected here, in one of the vacant buildings and if not, he could always have some sort of shrine built in his house.

"I'm sure that we could arrange something."

Annie shrugged, in truth, she also looked forward to going to church on a Sunday, like old world families used to. Annie, like her father, was quite religious and the idea of having a church, a community of people with similar faiths, a few feet away from her home was more than appealing to her.

Still, the people of Canterbury Commons liked her father and her, they welcomed her with open arms, perhaps, in a strange way, those two things were the same…

"I'll… I'll ask him, when I get back, it's nice to know that we're welcome somewhere."

Annie finished her noodles and dropped the fork back in her bowl as she slowly stood up, pulling herself up as she moved the stool away, with her foot before turning around and making her way out of the diner.

"Thanks Joe!" She chirped, leaving through the front door, leaving her money and the bowl on the table as she did so. She quickly ran down the street and began to her journey home, not bothering to bother anyone with goodbyes as she'd be back in a few days' time and could catch them then.

Garry sat by the roadside, cross-legged, with his rifle on his lap as he stared off to his right, watching and waiting for someone to come over the hill and unwittingly walk past him. It was then that he heard it… footsteps…

Boots were pounding against the tarmac road as a victim drew in near. Garry didn't look as to look was to risk getting spotted, though it didn't matter as the person was running, like an idiot.

He'd nab them, first chance he got, hit them, square in the cheekbone, with his rifle and then slap a collar on them.

Piece of piss…

Annie continued to sprint along the road, oblivious to the ambush that was lying in wait up ahead, just waiting for an opportunity to pounce. She didn't seem to be paying much attention to things that weren't directly in front of her, she was focussing on her speed and her feet, rather than her surroundings.

This proved to be her undoing as something flashed, out of the corner of her eye and before she knew it, she had a rifle butt driven into her left eye. The strike was a heavy blow and the fact that she wasn't expecting it didn't help either.

She shrieked in both fear and pain as she was sent off balance and stumbled towards the floor, seeing the shadow of her attacker following her as she shambled to the floor and rolled over, winding up on her back.

The bright, setting sun obscured him for a moment before he stepped out, into its light and blocked it, looming over her, with the barrel of the rifle pointed at her face.

"Move and you'll be whistling through your forehead!" He barked, his voice sort of strained when he yelled, to the point that it almost sounded like a shriek. The man descended to his knees and mounted her, pinning her forearms down, with both of his knees as the, slightly older, blonde girl just stared at him, the blow to the head had left her oblivious to the danger that she was in.

The boy drew a large metallic ring from his vest and snatched at her hair, yanking her head forward as he bent the ring back and placed half of it behind her head before dropping her head, unceremoniously, to the ground.

Before she could even blink, he snapped the choker shut, over her throat and a little red light came on.

A wave of relief hit Garry as he took a minute to sigh, expressing his relief as minimally as possible before lunging forward and grabbing his newly caught livestock by the collar, pulling her up as her head hung limp, the Slaver slapped her face to keep her conscious.

"Don't you pass out on me, bitch!" He snapped, back-handing her across the face, twice and bringing some life back to her. She looked up and stared at him, oblivious as to why he was yelling at her and why her arms, hands and fingers really hurt and why her neck felt heavy and uncomfortable.

"You and me are going on a little trip together, if you wanna survive that trip, you're gonna do everything I say!" He bawled in her face but she didn't seem to be taking anything in.

Annie's eyes rolled back into her head and her head fell limp to the side as she finally passed out, in the Slaver's hands.