He came to the ghost town and all he found was her trailer. Rayne was actually working underneath the thing when she saw a pair of boots crunching her way. Her eyes rolled in the back of her head, and she rolled out from under the trailer, looking towards him.
"Yeah Rids?"
"Hey Rayne, long walks, no see. How you been doing?" Ridly shifted his pack and readjusted the straps. He was about 5'9" and 175 pounds, well built, with his head shaved but with a goatee. He wore the goatee well. Rayne stood up, her 5'6" lean frame a bit shorter than his, and she walked out from under the trailer, putting her long brown hair in a low ponytail.
"What do you want Ridly?"
"Well, I was running low on supplies when I saw this town, I didn't expect it to be deserted though." Ridly dropped his pack, heavily onto the dusty earth.
"I'm a tad antisocial, I was one of the girls that pushed the little boys down on the playground...I stayed out here because the others were too lazy to pump their own water." she said, leaning against the trailer. "What'cha need?"
"I'm almost out of water, and I'm pretty sure my food supplies have gone bad because they are starting to move around and make noises." Rayne looked towards him.
"I told you about keeping it next to your dirty clothes, DNA from your sweat..." She shrugged, and looked in the direction of the store. "There's still food left, and I can get you a couple dozen gallons..."
"Hey I listened to you this time but this damn radiation...you know. Do you mind if I shack up somewhere around here for tonight?" Ridly bent down and opened his pack, he pulled out the double barrel shotgun first and placed it carefully on the ground. Then he removed a tattered box of shogun shells. Then he grabbed the backpack and flipped it upside down; a few torn magazines fell out followed by some hairy and green objects that made squeaking sounds and twitched every few minutes. "See what I mean?" Rayne looked at the things, picked up the shot gun, and shot all of them, sending rather green looking goo everywhere.
"Shoot them when they grow eyes. that means they're starting to grow brains..." She shrugged, and looked at him. "All the old stuff is here, you can sleep anywhere'd you please..."
"Hey! You know how hard it is to find ammo around!" Ridly grabbed the gun away from her and returned it to his pack, then he stuffed the magazines and box of shells in after it. "I'll be in the hotel, the cockroaches still around?"
"...aren't they always?"
"Wonderful, that means I'll be up till late clearing the bastards off the top floor!" Rayne chuckled.
"Least you don't have those huge 3 foot long things like they do in old Cali and old New York." Ridly shuddered.
"3 feet is nothin', I've seen one the size of a man twice over. Albeit from a distance."
"Those ones mate in one day and have 65 hundred lil insects a year...the bigger they are, the longer it takes them to produce...the big ones are easier to deal with." Ridly shouldered his pack and drew the crowbar from the band around his leg,
"Yeah, but they're a hell of a lot harder to kill." He started walking back down the dusty street towards the hotel. Rayne looked after him.
"Want some help?" She said, putting her wrench over her shoulder and walking towards him.
"Well they are kind of easier to catch with two, sure lets go." Rayne nodded, walking into the convenience store, and picking up her gun.
"Okay...where've you been lately Rids?" She said, continuing to walk. "Looks like you finally grew a couple inches."
"Well I've been playing escort for a some caravans, but the raiders are getting tougher every day. On my way back here I stopped by a nice little town and helped fix their well, they gave me those hybrids you wasted my ammo on. Then I ran into a couple of big guys in metal suits, man I wish I had half of what they were carrying. Nice but a little short in the temper."
"Aren't we all these days?" She shrugged, and continued walking. "and I told you, once they start growing brains they're damned near impossible to eat, and even tougher to kill."
"Yeah…but I've never seen that type of people before, or that much technology in the hands of just two people. They made New Reno look like this place. God I really wish I had one of their guns, what a looker."
"Why didn't you just...take a picture...you know I can redesign most anything...I'm actually insulted!" Rayne chuckled, sticking out her tongue at him.
"Picture! That's a good one!" Ridly punched Rayne playfully in the arm. Rayne punched him back, and then pushed him slightly.
"ANYWAY, just ask for the designs next time okay?" She said, continuing to walk. Ridly immediately stopped laughing.
"I did…one of them almost shot me for my trouble." Rayne raised an eyebrow, and sighed.
"So touchy these days...sheesh...not like there's a lot of us professional builders left ya know..."
"They said it was a Brotherhood secret, whatever that means, probably another neo-militaristic group trying to take over the world. Those guys never last."
"Dear god...I'd rather completely nuke the world, AGAIN...then have more of them...what exactly do they plan on taking over? The cockroaches?" She said, walking into the hotel. Ridly laughed at that.
"Wonderful point, the could declare themselves rulers and demand tribute and people would go on as if nothing had changed." Ridly laughed even harder.
"We are the rulers of the earth...well, the deserts, since there seems to be nothing else left." She muttered, and started looking for the things. "What level you on?"
Ridly smashed his crowbar down on a roach and twisted it to make sure it was dead, "Third, where are you?"
"Second..." She shouted up, and smacking another one off the wall and squishing it too the floor with a wrench. "Where are you sleeping'?"
"Top as always," Ridly replied and jumped out of the way as 5 foot roach jumped at him from the shadows, Ridly smashed the crowbar into it then pulled his .44 Desert Eagle from his pocket and fired three rounds into it.
"6 foot?" She said, looking towards the ceiling.
"No just a fiver but aggressive bastard, must be a nest up here somewhere!"
"Wouldn't be surprised...once the humans move out, the roaches always move in." Ridly put his pistol away and gave the roach one last whack, then he moved up the stairs to the fourth floor. Rayne continued moving, looking around and slamming another foot long.
"How long were you planning on staying?" Ridly hit the landing on the fourth floor and immediately wished he hadn't put his gun away. Hundreds of five and six foot roaches swarmed the walls, floor, and ceiling.
"Well I was planning to stay a couple days but I don't think it will be here!" Ridly shouted as he jumped down the stairs. Rayne heard the rather large feet scattering across the floor and sighed.
"I KNEW there was a nest here." She said, catching up with him, and started running down the stairs to meet him, jumping over the larger ones. Ridly drew his gun and fired at the few that took more than a passing interest in Rayne.
"I think I'd better plan to sleep somewhere else tonight."
"Yeah..." Rayne slid down the stairs and landed on the bottom floor, waiting for Ridly. Ridly sprinted the rest of the way down the stairs.
"Any other place around town that is sturdy and remotely comfortable at night?"
"...My place...I've got an extra bed I guess." She shrugged. "The rest of these places are going to the bugs..." She sighed, and started walking out. "I'll have to be shipping out of here soon."
"Your place? Well it has to be better than this. And don't worry I'm gonna head off to New Reno to look for work anyway."
"Eh, maybe I'll join you, this prepackaged stuff has been here for a while..." She said, looking in his direction, and started on her way "home." Ridly followed her.
"New Reno's not a bad city but you have to watch who you work for. Most of the city has various Mafia ties so you have to be careful." Rayne looked towards him and smirked. "I'm a pretty girl, and I'm Italian..." She said shrugging. "I don't have too much to worry about." Ridly nodded.
"True you are quite a looker but there are some people who would love to get their hand on someone like you and turn them into their personal sex slave."
"...Most of those people will be finding themselves singing soprano if they touch me and I don't plan to be touched." She said, looking up at him. "That would be where you wince." Ridly shrugged.
"Hey I've seen some weird shit out there. Some of it I don't want to remember." Rayne sighed.
"Everyone wants to forget...that's normal." She said, hopping onto her trailer. Ridly dropped his pack outside and opened one of the side pockets, he pulled out some .44 magnum bullets and reloaded his gun before putting it back in his pocket. Rayne looked at him, and rolled her eyes. "You know my rules Rids...they go unloaded inside."
"Sorry, it's more or less become a habit for me." He pulled the clip out from his gun and dropped it into the side pocket of his backpack, then hoisted it onto his back and followed her inside.
"I know...but you're wasting bullets on things that multiply faster than rats used to." She shrugged, looking back towards him. "I don't have much, so you should come pick what you want to eat." She said. "I'm really not hungry."
"Hey does the fridge work?" He said eagerly, looking up at her.
"Uh...yeah!" She smiled, turning to face him. "Got that working a month or so ago." Ridly moved enthusiastically towards the fridge, "I swear this is the only place on the planet with a working fridge. What do you keep in there?"
She smiled. "I found the last couple beers in the grocery store, and just some other drinks and stuff..."
"Hey you got cold beer, alright!" Ridly grabbed two and popped one open, offering the other to Rayne. Rayne took the other one, sitting down in a chair. "Probably the last one or so on Earth..."
"Not the last, but the coldest!" Ridly found a chair and made himself comfortable, dropping backpack at his feet.
"Better be glad I was such a damn good mechanic."
"Oh I am, I am." Rayne laughed, taking a sip, and looking out into the red sky. "You miss it?" She asked, standing up to move the curtain over the window.
"Civilization or your mechanical ability?" Ridly asked with a smile on his face.
"The stars."
"In some places you can still see the stars...but the sky isn't what it used to be and the stars themselves have mostly been forgotten." Rayne nodded.
"No one tries staying outside longer then they have to, to wait for them to come back...I just remember as a kid, watching the stars..." She shrugged, taking another sip of her beer. "Whatever..."
"I heard rumors of some cult who believed that the stars were humanity's future. But they all disappeared about three years ago." She shrugged.
"I suppose they were mainly right for disappearing the way the stars dropped from the sky afterwards."
"They say some legendary hero wiped them all out but I doubt it, they probably pissed off the wrong band of raiders."
"Hn...I've been in that kind of trouble before...not fun.."
"Although some raiders aren't as bad as they are projected to be."
"Some of them are." Rayne said. "Eat that...and don't take anymore hybrids! Ask for threaded food next time."
"Raiders are only tough when they out number you."
"Raiders are tough when they're pissed off."
"True, but numbers make a big difference, remember I've wiped out my share of raider parties."
"I wouldn't be surprised."
"With help of course." Rayne nodded, sitting back down.
"And what's with the shaved head? That's not good for your brain..." Ridly ran his hand over his head impulsively.
"From everything I've seen that isn't true, besides it makes me look meaner and I don't have to worry about lice." Rayne rolled her eyes, playing with a strand or two of her hair.
"Whatever Ridly...if you turn into a bumbling moron because the radiation fried your brain..."
"If I turn into a bumbling moron I'll shoot myself."
"Unless you forget how to shoot a gun."
"Har Har." He said deadpan.
"What?" She grinned, taking another chug of beer.
"Look, you haven't changed a bit and you know how I don't like your abuse so I'm going to bed!" Ridly looked at her with a playful sparkle in his eye. "Now where do you want me to sleep?" Rayne looked at him, and laughed.
"Been a while since you went to bed with a woman eh? Or at least, bedded and didn't have to pay." She said. Ridly stuck his tongue out.
"You have a dirty mind child." Rayne laughed, and stood up. "Right...there's a bed and a hammock in the closet, pick which one you want."
"Hammock, wouldn't want to deprive you of your beauty sleep." She stuck her tongue out, starting to walk.
"Like I need it? You need it more than I do. You take the bed."
"Fine, but please don't be a bitch in the morning!"
"I'm a morning person, I have nooo idea what you're talking about." She grinned, getting the hammock out of the closet. Ridly took off his backpack and dropped it on the floor next to the bed, then took the .44 out of his pocket and put it on the floor at the head of the bed. Rayne set up the hammock in the corner of the room, getting in and putting a pillow under her head, and a dagger on a small shelf next to her. She pulled a blanket over her, and looked down to Ridly. "Night Rids." Ridly flopped down on the bed.
"Night," he said, his voice muffled by the pillow. Rayne laughed.
"You know what Rids?"
"What?"
"It'll be interesting travelling with you again.."
"Ditto, though I may not get much sleep with you around."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You keep talking!"
"I'm soooorry." Ridly began to snore as he lay face down on the bed with his head buried in the pillow. Rayne looked at him in disgust, and rolled her eyes. "I don't believe you!" She said, taking a bullet and smacking him in the head with it. Ridly rolled over with his .44 in hand, pointing it at Rayne.
"WHAT! What's going on!"
"I can't believe you fell asleep on me!" Ridly put the gun back where it was. "I thought that was the point of going to bed!"
"NOT WHEN YOU"VE BEEN GONE THREE YEARS IT ISN'T!" Ridly rolled over.
"Look it's been a long day for me, I'll tell you everything in the morning."
"It'll be longer if you don't tell me now."
"Christ!" Ridly sat up on the bed and glared at Rayne. "I've been wandering the wastes for a long time, most of it was spent guarding caravans and shooting raiders." Rayne looked down at him, her eyes locked with his.
"Good night Ridly..." She said softly, before turning over, and closing her eyes, sighing softly.
"Good night Rayne," Ridly said under his breath as he lay back down and fell asleep. Rayne looked up to the ceiling and sighed. She didn't mean to make him upset...