FALLOUT: NEW ERA
My name is Tai Mason, son of Richard Mason…
When I was young my father would tell me of stories about the soldiers of the nation that was once called The United States of America. Of course he learned of these stories through his father and pre-war books. He told me that there were soldiers and then there were warriors, men who were born into warriors on the battlefield, warriors who lived on the battlefield, legends that died on the battlefield...
The nuclear war of 2077 that tore the great nation of America apart happened three hundred and fifty years ago. Humanity preserved itself amazing and in times of desperation, heroes emerged from the radioactive wastes of this land and saved countless lives. Some that were noted as the most important were the success in the Capitol Wasteland, now called Washington D.C. again. It was at the end of the year 2277 the irradiated waters of D.C. were finally purified and saved the slowly dwindling civilization of the area and soon the rest of the dying nation. Another breakthrough happened in 2305 when the Brotherhood of Steel organized and succeeded in Project Unity, setting up communication, transport checkpoints and safe routes from Western America to the East and from the South into the North. The last great achievement was the resurrection of the Television in 2325.
Still, the lands of America are unlawful and treacherous. Raiders and slavers still have a strong influence across the nation. The Midwest of America is the most dangerous as it was hit the hardest in the nuclear war. Most life was lost and any still there has been dangerously radiated and mutated to survive its hostile conditions. Men sent in to investigate the area never come back and those that survive came back as feral ghouls. Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri are now called the Dead States.
This is my story of survival…
March, 12th 2327
Tai's eyes slowly opened to the rusty with daylight slipping through the rusted holes. He could see the dust and dirt drift through the air as he laid on his dirty sunken mattress. It was another day in his life of survival. His ears picked up the sound of a small female voice filled with innocence. He turned his head over to his TV to see the smiling face of Millie, a young girl who came on TV everyday to update anyone in the Alleghany area of dangers, news or events. Her cherry red hair and smile helped people around the area make it day to day. Tai thought of it to be amazing with the reinvention of the TV how much of a difference it would make it everyone's lives.
Tai sat up from his lousy bed and stretched his sore muscles. He had restocked his refrigerator yesterday after a long week of heavy hunting. He knew the area like the back of his hand as he was born and raised in the area. His sturdy shack was located in Monroeville, Pennsylvania in a place called Evergreen Park. It was something of an ironic name now as everything that was green was barren and dead. Rows of half destroyed homes could be seen from his hilltop home. To the south of his home was a baseball field and further from that an soccer field that overlooked Evergreen Elementary. Past that in the far distance was the Miracle Mile Shopping Center. The Brotherhood set the Center up as a resupply checkpoint for those traveling through Route 22 or the turnpike.
Even with the brotherhood around the area, they weren't the police. He lost his mother when his was four in a super mutant attack that caught his family off guard. He lost his father then his was sixteen to slavers that came from Plum. He was nineteen now, still surviving on his own. Thankfully his father trained him for the day that he would find himself alone ever since he was eleven.
Tai looked over at the pictures of his family. Two pictures, one of his father, one of his mother. Two more pictures were beside those, one of his mother and father together holding him when he was an infant and the other of him and his father on the week that he died. He missed them dearly, but he had to continue to push on day to day.
Tai made his way into his small bathroom and gazed at his reflection in the dirty mirror. His shoulder length black hair was in a mess and his green eyes showed signs of fatigue. He also noticed that he had gotten a nice tan while being out in the sun for long periods of time hunting. He stood at 5'10 and weighed a lean hundred and sixty seven pounds. His body was well defined from all the years of hard work to make it day to day.
"Whoa, Joey…watch that mine."
Tai's eyes shifted to his window as he heard multiple voices outside of his house. He saw six figures twenty five yards away from his home, all armed and they didn't look friendly. "Shit." He cursed under his breath as he rushed back into his bedroom and reached under his bed to grab his sawed off shotgun, checking it to find two slug shells loaded within it. It had been a couple months since unfriendly intruders came around…
…and every time they did, none make it away alive…
"Be on your toes fellas, with this many mines here someone doesn't want us to get to this house." One of the raiders said.
"That means there must be somethin' good inside."
Tai quickly moved into his dingy living room and checked his traps to make sure they were set. It was about to get messy, fast. He could hear them right outside the windows of his home as his heart started pumping adrenaline through his veins.
"Mack, take the other window…"
Tai heard the window in his bedroom being opened and a slight grin crept upon his face…
Mack slowly opened the window and looked into the small bedroom to see no one. He held his 10mm pistol close as he hopped up onto the ledge and began to lean into the window. His eyes caught sunlight reflecting off a string at the last second before his body applied pressure to it. Suddenly it snapped and he heard something metallic unlock.
Rick watched his fellow raider Mack climb into the window, but out of the blue he was hurled back and with him came a car engine. Mack landed and his skull was viciously crushed under the large engine with a sickening crunch. "Shit! Mack!" Rick yelled.
Johnny was just half way in the living room window when he heard Rick's horrid scream. "What the…?" He felt a wire on his chest and a sudden snap of the wire. "Shi-!"
Joey was behind Johnny, but his attention turned to the sudden screams from Rick on the side of the shack. His head turned back when Johnny tried to push himself out the window and was only half successful, meaning only the bottom half of Johnny made it out after a guillotine came down from the top of the window. "Fuck!" Joey screamed in disgust as he watched Johnny's entrails slip from the window seal onto the dusty ground.
Gabe and Steve heard the commotion from the front door. "Shit, whoever it is they're dealing with the others so we can catch them off guard!" Gabe said as he pumped his shotgun. He quickly opened the door as it swung to the outside of the shack. Gabe caught sight of Tai and raised his shotgun. "GOT YOU NOW!"
Tai looked back at Gabe and quickly slipped into his bedroom as the door was right across from the front door as the shotgun fired. Tai felt a sharp pinching pain in his arm as he was caught with some of the buckshot. "Ahh…"
"I hurt em-!" Gabe said triumphantly as he took a step into the shack.
Steve followed behind and heard the snap of a wire. Suddenly Gabe's right arm and most of the right side of his head was gone in a violent blast from a rigged shotgun on the side of the door. It was a trap that did its job and more. Steve was shocked to the point where he couldn't more or react as he looked down the barrel of a shotgun after Gabe's body crumpled to the floor. A slug ripped through his left thigh dropping him to one knee. "AAAHHHH!" He screamed in agony as he looked up once more and saw a flash.
Tai sent the last slug into Steve's face and watched everything above his jaw turn into a fleshy jelly and spew onto his front porch. "Four down, two to go." He said to himself as he looked down to reload his shotgun.
Rick rushed around to the front of the house, meeting with Joey at the same time. They both saw what was left of Steve, but knew they had to act quick to catch the person responsible off guard. Rick pulled out his .45 revolver and took a glance in the front door to see Tai reloading his shotgun. He took aim and had Tai, dead bang.
BANG!
Tai felt sharp sting across his cheek as he heard the .45 go off. He dropped his shotgun in retreat to avoid anymore gunfire. He cursed himself in his head for being careless, but thanked lady luck for being on his side.
Rick tried to fire again, but the trigger was freely swinging back and forth. "Fuck!" He cursed as his weapon broke at the wrong time. He threw the weapon down and pulled out a lead pipe, rushing in at Tai. "You're dead! You're fuckin' dead!" Rick yelled as he tried to swing down on Tai, but Tai shot upward catching his hand. "Shit!" He yelled as he was flipped, landing hard on the back of his head.
Tai quickly turned to see the last raider Joey, rushing in at him with a rusty combat knife ready to kill. In one swift motion Tai pulled out his knife and impaled Joey's wrist with the knife hand. Joey's wrist stuck a wooden beam forcing him to drop the knife. Tai caught the falling knife, spun and forcefully stuck it deep into Joey's skull, leaving him to hang from the beam.
Rick's fingers clutched around the pipe once more as he pushed himself up from the ground and turned to see Joey's lifeless body dangling from the beam. "I-I was only down for a second…Joey…" His fearful eyes met with Tai's dark murderous gaze. Five guys against one man and they all get wiped out except for one and now things. Rick's fear drove him as he rushed at Tai once more and swung.
Tai pulled out another knife and caught Rick's wrist once more and slid under the inside of his arm pulling it with him, forcing Rick into a hammerlock. He kicked the back of Rick's knee to drop him to a kneeling posistion and held the knife to his neck. Tai had the last raider in his last moments and it was a feeling that he had become used to.
"Ahh…I didn't believe…" Rick said through the pain feeling Tai's grip and pressure on the lock loosen. "Raider's for awhile…said…not to come around…Evergreen…"
"What are you talking about?" Tai seethed.
"We thought…something of value…something great was here…because of so many that never came back."
"Yeah, I'm protecting something valuable here…My life."
"Not…pleading for my life…" Rick said with a slight nervous chuckle. "But they tell stories about you…They call you a ghost. A man when seen disappears in an instant… You kill without hesitation…"
"Looks like I'm hesitating…'
"I'm…kinda glad that's not true with me." Rick chuckled once more, but stopped when the knife pressed against his neck more. "Wait…Just let me go and I'll tell the other raiders to stay away. No one will want to come here ever again after I tell them about this. I swear…"
"…Alright." Tai said as he pulled away. "Get out of here."
Rick looked back slowly. "R-really?"
"Yeah." Tai said as he holstered his knife.
"W-wow…" Rick stood up. "I tell everyone to steer clear of here! I swear!" Rick said as he backed out the shack. He lost five good comrades, but still held his life and he couldn't be happier as he stepped back outside.
"There's only one problem…" Tai said as he watched Rick stop and turn to face him. "How did you hear about this place?"
"…From a buddy of mine."
"How did he hear about it?"
"Uh…from someone he knows?"
"The last guy I let go went and told people to not come up here, but that didn't stop you guys. So how about keep everyone wondering about what happened to you and your crew?"
"No…Please don't…" Rick said as he felt his heart drop into his stomach. On instinct he turned and took off running as fast as he could toward the baseball field. With every step he felt freedom come closer and closer.
Tai pulled out a detonator and watched Rick run. "Consider yourself lucky as you don't know you're already dead." He said as he squeezed the detonator. Rick suddenly disappeared in a poof of black smoke. Tai had slid a plastic explosive charge in his pocket before letting him back to his feet.
Once more there was silence…
Dead silence…
xxxx
Kayla Rose closed the door on the transport truck after clearing it for further transport. She pressed on her radio. "Alright Bolwen, these trucks are green. Let em' through." She said with a thumps up to the Turnpike tower. She wiped the sweat from her forehead as she looked out at the Miracle Mile shopping center which was a Brotherhood base now, filled with barracks and a large armory. The rest past that was still being renovated, but once past a bridge at the other end of town it was unsafe for anyone as raiders controlled the urban areas surrounding Pittsburgh.
Kayla walked toward the processing building, a small one floor building that held information on traveling vehicles and status reports from other checkpoints. It had been a long twelve hour shift as most of the post was on patrol for mutants or hazardous wild life.
She opened the doors and felt the cool conditioned air hit her. The marvels of man were many, but mankind only found a few so far and in a new world such as this one, new inventions were always innovative and helpful for survival in the wastelands. "Another shift in the books," Kayla said as she wiped beading sweat from her forehead. "Can't wait to see home."
"Lucky you Kayla," Said a young Knight sitting in a cubicle wearing desert camouflage. "I have to stay here for another six hours processing all this data."
"Sucks to be you Lance." Kayla chuckled. "Just be happy that you get to sit in a nice air conditioned office for six hours and not in the sun doing transport checks and patrol for twelve."
"No…that's tomorrow." He sighed as he continued to type in data on the computer. "By the way, when do I get to take you on a date?"
Kayla stopped and looked back at him. "A date?" She said a bit taken back. "And where do we go on this…date? Oh, I know! Let's take our sniper rifles to upper Pitcairn and pop off some Super Mutant heads!"
"Not what I had in mind for a date."
"Oh…me either." Kayla said with a chuckle as she made her way to the locker room in the back of the office. She walked into the room to see some of the day shift Knights already gearing up. The room filled with sexy whistles and chants from the men. "Oh hush guys!" She called out with a smile as she made her way to the locker. "Enjoy the show, as you guys always do."
She opened her locker and looked at herself in the mirror placed on the inside of the door. Her brown chestnut hair fell as she pulled it out of the bun. She eagerly took off her Xa-21 armor and her desert camo. She look another look at her fit curvy body in the mirror once more and knew the men in the room were looking as well, but she didn't care. Kayla knew her looks caught the eyes of men.
Kayla took off her bra and underwear with a grin as now she really caught everyone's attention in the locker room, but it was just another day as she made her way into the showers. She turned on the warm water and felt the soothing stream ease her tense body. "Ahh…" She let out as she relaxed. She looked over as another shower was turned on and saw the lean body of another fellow soldier.
His body was well build with every detailed muscle visible and his black wavy hair slicked backwards as the water hit him. Kayla knew him as the only man that she would love to date and get close to, but couldn't.
His name was Kaz Kudak, one of the highest regarded knights in the Brotherhood. Two years ago he was a vibrant young man full of jokes and laughs. Back then he had two other brothers that kept him company, but then a super mutant attack happened. That was a year ago and from then on he stopped laughing and joking. He wasn't even serious, as he really didn't care for life that much anymore. Kaz was still one of the best, but he was distant from everyone.
Kayla didn't know how to explain it as maybe he didn't care for anyone or didn't want to get close to anyone as he would be afraid to lose them too and feel that same hurt all over again. "Hey Kaz," Kayla called out as she caught his attention. His blue eyes met hers and didn't wander as every man's would. Kayla's eyes on the other hand took in every bit of him physique. "Why don't ya cheer up?"
Kaz shrugged his soldiers and continued to clean himself up. Kayla's eyes came across the scars on his body, all of them from that fateful attack. He was a warrior alright, but maybe that's what attracted her most to him. Most men held a sense of honor and duty to the brotherhood, but would always try and hit on her. Kaz was different though. No matter how many passes Kayla would try on him, he wasn't interested. He never said it out loud, he just never showed any feelings toward anything she'd say and it would drive her crazy.
"I guess I'm not used to a man telling me no or not giving me his full attention." Kayla thought, but then again it was a challenge.
And boy did she love a challenge.
XXXX
It was a little after noon, with the sun still high in the air and the heat barring down on the dry dusty park...
Tai had finished cleaning up the last bit of blood in his shack after hours of cleaning. Still the stains of blood didn't leave his hands and the smell of blood and gun powder still lingered in the air. Death was an everyday thing in the world still and not just death, but killing. He remembered his first kill when he was twelve as a three bandits attacked his father. He remembered how he plunged the combat knife deep into the neck of the unsuspecting bandit. How the warm thick blood covered his hands and how the bandit wouldn't die easily even in his final moments he clung to life...
"Life..." He thought to himself as it was a funny word to him. When he lost his parents he wondered why his body moved on it's own to survive even as his mind still missed them dearly, he would get up and hunt and kill and live...Still his time would have to come too, but he would probably kill a lot more before he met his demise.
"When will this end? How many people have to...?" Tai stopped in mid sentance as he looked out his door into the distance as a girl came into sight, slowly and wearily stumbling toward the shack. As she came into view he could see the tired look on her dirty face, as if she had been running for hours. "This could be a trap..." He sighed as he stood up and grabbed a lever action rifle that was leaning near the front door. He took a step out onto his makeshift porch and took aim.
The girl didn't stop coming toward, her pace picked up as his blurry figure came into her view. "Stop right there or you will die!" He shouted as he knew he had mines set up, but the girl didn't stop. "Did you hear me?" He yelled in rising anger. "Stop or you're gonna get yourself killed!" Still the girl kept moving. "Shit!" He said as he saw her running toward a mine. Tai adjusted his aim and fired, setting off the mine. It threw dust and dirt into the air and the girl fell on her backside looking at him in shock.
"Hey, dumbass! Didn't I tell you to stop or you were going to die? Geez, you'd think a gun pointed at you would stop you!" Tai shouted as he lowered his gun and took a look at the girl. She was a young blonde girl with short hair and green bright eyes. Tai was taken back by her looks as he hadn't seen a good looking female in a long time. "What are you doing out this way alone? It's safer around route twenty two..." He said, but his eyes caught something behind the girl. To the naked untrained eye it would be nearly impossible to see, but Tai's perception was top notch. "Cloaks..."
Tai cranked the lever and took aim. His shot rang true as it nailed a thick fleshed target and he heard a roar that made his heart sink into his stomach. The cloak deactivated to show a green hulking mutant with a rocket launcher. Three others behind him appeared, one with a mini-gun and two with large pipes. "Oh shit..." Tai said breathlessly as the mutant with the rocket launcher took aim. Time seemed to slow down as the rocket was fired. Tai's feet moved on their own forward as the rocket passed him and went into his shack.
BOOM!
Tai felt the heat and shockwave throw him forward as his home was obliterated with a single rocket. He hit the ground and heard multiple motion detectors going off as he knew he landed in his mine field. Quickly he slapped four mines in less than two seconds, with the last mine only having half a second left before it would have gone off setting off the rest and leaving Tai looking like a pile of chewed bubble gum. Tai looked up at the girl who was locked eye to eye with the mutant, almost as if the girl was their target. "HEY!" Tai screamed as he caught her attention. "Run as fast as you can to me! NOW!" He barked as he took cranked the rifle and fired, hitting the rocket mutant again in it's thick head, but the .22 calibur round only stunned the moster for a second.
The girl quickly scrambled and barely escaped the reach of the rocket mutant was he was furious. It quickly gave chase as the girl ran toward Tai. Tai could only hope the girl was fast enough as she came into range of more mines. The motion detectors went off as she ran past them, feeling the explosive force push her forward, but she kept her feet under her as she had to...One trip and it was over.
The mutant behind the girl caught the blasts fully as his legs were cut and battered as it made it's chase, roaring in pain as it pushed through the explosions. "Come on!" Tai yelled as he backed up as the girl ran toward him. He cranked the lever on the rifle and took aim at the group of mines he deactivated. "One chance..." He said as sweat dripped from his nose. He fired as she cleared the mines setting them off, leaving the mutant to disappear in a poof of thick red mist. Thick chunks of flesh and muscle pelted the ground.
For a few moments it was peaceful in Tai's eyes...But all that would end soon. The dust settled as the view of what was left of mutant, it's upper halve was only left with entrails splattered all around. Tai soon heard the roars of the fellow mutants as they saw their dead comrade. "Shit..." He cursed as he looked at the girl who was still laying face first on the ground. He grabbed the back of her dingy white shirt and pulled her up as the sound of the minigun spooling up. "Hey girly! We ain't safe yet! Get up!" He yelled as he pulled her up to her feet and yanked her behind a pile of sheet metal as the minigun's thunderous sound filled the air and bullets pelted Tai's cover.
The girl cried in fear as she covered her head. Tai looked at her for a second and saw her long wavy black hair and blue eyes. She was beautiful..."Not the time for that now Tai!" His mind screamed at him as he focused back on the matter at hand. Suddenly he heard the sound of the two pipe armed mutants coming as the gunfire died down. "Shit...Shit..." He looked at the girl. "They want you...Not me..."
The two mutants stepped up to the destroyed shack cautiously, with weapons ready to kill. "Rahh..." One mutant grunted as he peered over the cover the two humans were hiding behind. The girl looked up to the two with eyes filled with fear. "Only human...Where other human?" The monster questioned as he looked around.
The minigun mutant looked on waiting for death, but only saw it's comrades with the girl they had come for. "No other human?" It said out loud as it looked on. Suddenly it felt something jump on it's back and then a sharp pain in it's neck as blood spurted from a deep gash. Tai appeared on it's back as he gashed the neck of the mutant open. He had grabbed the still intact cloak from dead mutant earlier.
"Bet you didn't see this coming...Ya big dumb son of a bitch!" He yelled as he drove the knife into the mutant's neck at the end of his cut, feeling the thick dark crimson blood drench his hand.
Tai landed on his feet as the mutant fell, gurgling with every attempt to breathe. "And another one bites the dust!" He said in semi-victory as he heard the mutants roar in anger. Quickly Tai grabbed the minigun and used all of his strength to lift the heavy gun. "Hey girly!" He yelled out as the frightened girl looked at him. "Duck!" He screamed as the minigun spooled up. The recoil was insane, but he did his best to hold it together as the bullets hit the ground leading up to the mutants.
The girl's eyes widened as she ducked quickly. She could hear the screams of the mutants and the sound of the bullets pelting their skin. She suddenly felt warm and wet as she as the mutants fell to the ground with a sound solid thud. The sound of the wind came to her ear as she opened her eyes to see her arms and hands covered in blood. "I...I'm alive...?"
"Yeah, you are..."
The girl looked up to see Tai looking at her with seriousness in his eyes. His dingy, sweaty toned figure stood over her on a pile of rubble. "Now...I have no where to live..." He seethed, but not in anger...
The girl looked and saw a blood stain on his white beater around his lower right abdomin. The stain was getting bigger, meaning the wound was bleeding and badly at that. "You're...hurt..." She said timidly.
"Screw that..." He seethed once more. "Mutant's chasing...a...girl. They destroy my home...now I need..." Suddenly Tai was looking at two girl's as if they were twins...Then things started getting blurry as he tried his best to focus. "To know..." He looked up at the sun, blinding himself. "...Fuck it..."
Blackness...
XXXX
It was evening as the warm wind blew dust down the cracked road in front of Kaz's rebuilt house. It was settled on the outskirts of a housing plan called Garden City. Kaz sat on his roof gazing at the clouds in the sky. Rain only came three times a year showing that mother nature is skilled enough to bounce back from any damage that mankind could do. Kaz took a slow pull from the cigarette that hung from his mouth.
"Mmm...Marlboro's..." Kayla said as she sat next to Kaz and gazed at the sky as well. She had gotten him to agree to let her come and hang out, claiming that she was always bored at her place, in which she was. Re-runs of TV shows from the pre-war era were boring as she couldn't stand another Ed Sullivan Show. "Pretty good cigarettes...must have cost ya a pretty cap or two."
"Nah, found a carton on some dead dried up corpse down the street from here." He said as he handed her a pack without looking. "Poor bastard."
"Thanks!" Kayla replied as she began to pack the red and white box. "So...Why do you live outside the wire? I mean you could end up getting yourself killed. Anyone could come here and you'd be alone with no help."
"Hasn't happened yet." Kaz replied with another drag. "Hell, raiders or anyone else doesn't come this close to the wire in fear of getting blasted on the spot. Anyways Yates has a sniper post two hundred meters from here and he's facing this direction. He would radio me if he saw trouble coming from a mile away."
"Always got your ass covered as usual."
"Kept me alive so far..."
Kayla smiled as she knew he was one to always be ready for anything. Kaz was quick whitted and should have been a Brother Hood Paladin, but he turned down the spot to stay with his unit here. "Oh..." Kayla said as she pulled out her cargo bag and opened it. "I made you some food when I got home..." She pulled out a box and handed it to Kaz.
Kaz sat up as he smelt the instantly delicious smelling food. He looked at Kayla and then the box as it was handed to him. "Thanks Kayla...you didn't have to..."
"Well, I would think you'd get tired of eating those stale rations command always gives us." She said with a smile. "Open it."
Kaz opened the box to see brahmin streak with rice and seasoned potatoes. "Oh...my...god..." He gasped. "How did you get rice and potatoes? This is..."
"Expensive? Yeah, I know, but I also have a friend that works in the greenhouse plantation so they sent me a sack of potatoes and rice. I thought you deserved a hot meal."
Kaz picked up one of the potatoes and took a bite. His mouth burst into a flavorful frenzy as he chewed. "Mmmm...This is incredible Kayla!" He said with a smile as he took another bite.
"I know..." Kayla said as she finally saw him smile for the first time in forever...He sure was handsome and it made her feel good that she could get him to smile like that.
Kaz closed the box and sat it down next to him as he looked at Kayla with a smile still on his face. "It's been awhile since I enjoyed myself...Thanks Kayla, I'll eat the rest later."
"Oh no problem and if you ever want a hot meal, just come to my place or ask me!"
"Heh, I bet you do this for all the guys on post huh?"
Kayla took off the plastic to the pack of cigarettes and opened them. "Nope, just for you." She said as she lit one up. "Ahhh...Heaven..."
"...Why me though?" Kaz asked as he looked back up at the sky.
"Kaz, I don't know if you are dumb or playing dumb, but you know I do like you right?"
Kaz looked at Kayla once more seeing the sly interested look in her eyes. "Geez...Kinda blunt aren't we?"
"I don't fuck around."
Kaz chuckled. "Ahh...I see. Yeah I knew you did...I just...I just don't like getting close to people ya' know? Out here people can die at anytime and I feel like if I'm not close to them then I won't be affected as much..."
"Because of your brothers, huh?" Kayla said with a drag of the cigarette.
"...Yeah..." Kaz said with a drag of his as he pushed the memories to the side which was always easier said than done.
"Well I'm not going to let you do this stupid lonely thing anymore...That and I would like to have a boyfriend sometime because this powder puff single shit has got to go." Kayla said with a slight chuckle.
"You're more of a man than most at this post with how aggressive you are."
"What do you expect? Someone fucks with us and I gotta blow their head clean off. I'm sure you don't find too many simple woman that do that." She replied with a smile. "Hell, when you're a woman...out here you have to have a bigger set of balls than men just to survive."
"I hear that."
"Hey Kaz, heads up." The reciever blared as Kaz turned to it and picked it up.
"What's up Yates?"
"Two people coming your way...Looks like a girl dragging someone...Three O'clock."
Kaz stood up and took a look down the road as Kayla stood next to him looking out as well. He could make them out pretty well from the distance. "A girl dragging a guy..."
"We should help them..."
"Ehh...It could be a trap." Kaz said as he grabbed his bolt action rifle and made his way to the ramp on the side of his house. Kayla unshouldered her assault rifle and followed as they came out front and cautiously made their way down the street toward the two.
"I hope there's no snipers out here..."
"Nah, Yate's could pick out and off anyone within range of the shitty rifles any raider or psyco could have." Kaz replied as he took aim at the two. "Halt!" He called out as he saw the girl stop and look at him with tired eyes. "This is brotherhood territory, state you business."
"Th-This boy...he's hurt badly and needs help."
Kaz's eyes shifted to the boy, who was unconcious and covered in dirt and blood. "Hmm...Alright." He grunted as he shouldered his rifle and walked up to the two and took hold of the boy. He looked back at Kayla. "Kayla, get the first aid kit in my house ready."
"Right!" Kayla called out as she turned and quickly made her way back to Kaz's house.
Kaz carried the boy along toward the house with some help from the girl. Once they were inside Kaz set the boy on his bed as Kayla came down with the first aid kit. "Looks like a bullet wound, lower abdomin." He said as Kayla grabbed some scissors and cut the boy's shirt off.
"I don't have medical skills to remove a bullet..." Kayla said as she looked at Kaz.
"Me either..." He said as he thought of what to do.
"I..." The girl timidly called out from behind the two. Kaz and Kayla looked back at her. "I can take out the bullet."
"Well get to it, you brought him." Kaz ordered as he handed her the first aid kit. The girl stepped up to him and slowly took the kit and began to work, preparing everything she needed.
XXXX
Tai could feel himself floating in darkness as his mind opened up to memories of his mother and father. Flashes of happy times when him and his dad would hang around and play silly games. Suddenly the fun times disappeared and he was alone again. The sudden change weighed on his heart and soul as he felt pain shooting up his side.
"H-hey..."
He questioned the life he was giving and survived through. What was the point of living? To Tai is was all worthless when his parents had died, but he knew his father taught him everything he knew to live on...
"Take it easy..."
More than just to live on...His father taught him how to not only hunt, but how to kill a man. How to break bones and disable people. How to sneak around without being seen and how to pick pocket. He even taught him how to use basic explosives...
"Hey...you're going to hurt yourself..."
Maybe his father wanted him to do more than live...?
Tai's world of darkness suddenly was filled with light as he sat up, but with that sudden movement his right side lit up in burning pain. "Ahhh..." He winced as he held his side, which to his surprise was bandaged. He looked at himself as he was topless and cleaned up from the blood and grime. His eyes shifted up and around the decent sized room with dressers and a TV. The air inside the room was cool and moist...Refreshing.
"Shit...the last thing I remember is that...girl..." Tai thought as he felt the battle he went through was only a few minutes ago, but it was night now as he looked out the window. "This area...This is the edge of 22..." Tai quickly looked at the door as someone walked in. It was a man and woman with the girl behind them.
"Ah, you're awake." The woman said as she walked up to Tai. "Hungry?" She asked as she handed him a plate of hot steak, rice and potatoes.
Tai looked up at her in confusion, but he quickly ignored his confusion and went for the food. He started devouring it, filling his mouth to where we could harly chew. "My god this is the best food I've had since..." He stopped for a second. "Mom..."
"Geez, you'd think he hadn't eaten for days." The man said as he pulled up a chair for the woman and himself. "Now, do you have a name kid?"
"I ain't a kid..." Tai sneered. "And the name is Tai...Tai Mason." He replied as he continued to eat, savioring every bite.
"Well Tai, my name is Kaz Kudak and this woman here is."
"Kayla Rose." Kayla said as she looked at Tai. "You're friend here told us about you...and I'll admit that, that is an incredible feat. One person to take on three mutants and only come away with a bullet to the gut is amazing."
"One..." Tai said as he stopped eating. "She is not my friend. Two, I live to survive and three, I have some questions to ask her." He said as his eyes shifted to the girl who seemed to move behind Kaz a bit. "What the hell where those mutants after you for? I lost my home and nearly my life because of you!"
The girl closed her eyes as she could hear the hatred in his tone. "I-I'm...sorry...They wanted to eat me..."
"How can you blame her?" Kaz said as he caught Tai's attention. "If I'm not mistaken, she said you fired at them...Meaning you meant to save her, so the blame is one you." Tai looked at him and then looked away. "And even more so, you saw them even with cloaks on."
"Which brings us to our questions..." Kayla added. "Are you military?"
Tai grinned proudly. "Heh, better than military..." He looked at them. "I'm a survivor."
"...Okay..." Kayla said in confusion.
"Where did you pick up your skills?" Kaz asked.
"My father...He taught me everything I know and after he died the wastes honed my skills."
"That's amazing how you can see cloaks with just you're eyes...Our power armor has a hard time catching cloaked enemies." Kayla said as she looked at Tai's facial expression change.
"Power armor?" Tai said as he looked at the two. "You guys are brotherhood?"
Kaz and Kayla both nodded.
"Great...First my house gets blown to shit, I get shot and then wake up in Brotherhood territory." Tai said with a sigh.
"What's wrong with us?" Kayla asked.
"No offense to you personally, but my father was in the Brotherhood."
"What was his rank?"
"Shadow Paladin of the Twelve Peers."
"Holy shit..." Kaz gasped in amazement. "That explains the skills you have if your father taught you."
"Shadow Paladin of the Twelve Peers?" Kayla asked as she looked at Kaz.
"The Twelve Peers are twelve of the top Brotherhood Knights who work directly under the High Elder. They're special forces, but they are extremely dangerous as every Paladin has specific traits and skills that allow them to be utilized in certain missions." Kaz looked at Tai. "Your father's skills were that of stealth and recon. No wonder you could see those cloaks, he trained your eyes to pick up on anything and everything. He probably taught you all the basics to a Brotherhood soldier and then added the spec ops training."
"Right on." Tai nodded.
"Why did your father leave the brotherhood?" Kayla asked as she looked at him.
"I don't know...He never said why. Maybe 'cuz he had me and my mom to look out for?"
"He could have kept you guys on base, unless he wanted out, but even still we would have given him a safe place to stay."
"Does it really matter now? He's dead." Tai looked over at the girl. "By the way, I never got your name."
The girl looked at him, but shifted her eyes to the side. "My name is Lily."
"Where are you from Lily?" Kaz asked as he turned to her.
"I-I was a slave...In the Pitts, but I escaped with my brother...we got seperated around Edgewood..."
"And you made it all the way out here?"
"Well...I was captured in Edgewood by some slavers...I thought I was going back to the Pitts, but...they took me to Turtle Creek...but were attacked by mutants and the slaves were taken to Pitcairn. Most were eaten and I was next, but I escaped when they left me alone for a minute...I made my way here...but they kept chasing me..."
"How did you cross 22?"
"I snuck across during the night and thought I was safe until the mutants appeared and I ran again...I made it to where I met him."
"And that's when I lost everything." Tai said as he set his plate on the table next to the bed.
"I'm sorry..."
"Sorry won't bring my home back."
"Hey don't blame her." Kayla intervened. "It's not her fault...She was trying to survive like you." Kayla stood up. "I gotta report this to command to beef up patrol if you and three mutants crossed over 22 without us noticing." She said as she began to walk out. "I'll be back in the morning to check up on you." She said as she left.
Kaz looked at Tai as he stood. "I've got night patrol. Feel free to make yourself at home since you lost yours." He looked at Lily. "Take care of him alright?"
"Al-alright..." She said timidly as Kaz walked out closing the door behind him. She looked at Tai who was laid back looking at the sky out the window. "I-I'm truly sorry about-"
"Save it..." Tai said as he continued to look at the creeping night sky. "...It's not your fault...I guess I just didn't want to blame fate. If anything I'm sorry for blaming you." He looked over at her. "I'm going to get some sleep so you don't have to stay by me."
"C-can I? Stay by you?"
"I mean, you can if you want to."
"I-it's just that...I haven't felt safe...until I met you..." She said as her eyes shifted away again.
"Well, I guess that's alright then." Tai said as he slowly laid back and relaxed. He smiled some. "I'm glad that you at least feel safe."