A/N: Hello everyone, thanks for reading the first chapter, hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing it. Just to clear things up, I am a sophomore in high school right now and I also wrestle, so, as you can imagine, I have many time constraints. I will probably post a new chapter every two weeks, at best. Any reviews, positive or negative, are always welcome as they help me decide where to go with the story. So, without further ado, here is the second chapter.
It had been a long while since Orion had seen life in anything. Sure, he'd seen his share of humans, creatures, and God knows what else. But every man and woman he had come across on his various treks across the wastes were devoid of the spark, the unexplainable 'it' inside of man that makes him hunger and thirst for knowledge. To any random traveler, Orion was just another psycho that was, for the most part, left alone. He didn't mind, though; his solitude gave him room to think, to breathe. Orion needed nobody to burden him with their sorrow and anguish. He no longer cared for the quandaries of others. Those days were past him. Once he was a zealous idealist, but now Orion cared for nobody but himself. And he was content.
So he found himself alone, sitting on a cold, rocky outcropping, eating his meticulously prepared dinner, consisting of Yao Guai, a carrot, and some purified water. Sure, it wasn't gourmet by any means, but it would have to suffice.
"Alright," said the stranger to himself "I have enough rations for 3 days, and by that time I-"
His thought was cut short. In the distance, about 300 yards away, Orion spotted two figures slowly walking, not appearing to have seen him yet. He quickly extinguished the fire with his remaining bottle of water and went prone. He took out his binoculars and peered through, seeing two scruffy, poorly armed men. One was a tall Hispanic man with a holstered pistol at his side. He, along with his counterpart, looked to be harmless enough. The other was a shorter African-American armed with a baseball bat. Both were extremely dirty, and carried nothing particularly valuable. Nonetheless, Orion drew his prized rifle and took aim at the weary travelers. As they drew near, Orion fired a warning shot at the feet of the two men.
"What the fuck?!" screamed the shorter man.
"What's your business out here?" Orion called out in an intimidating voice.
The taller man replied "We're simple travelers; we just need somewhere to stay and maybe a little food."
"Bullshit," Orion replied, "If you really were travelers you'd have more supplies than a baseball bat and a shitty Chinese pistol."
"Alright, fine, we're escaped slaves, but we couldn't do anything to you if we wanted to! I'm out of ammo and Andre's bat is about to break. So please, all we need is some protection!"
Orion thought about this for a few moments. Neither looked as if they were lying, nor did they look like they posed any particular threat.
"Alright, you can tag along for a few days until we reach a settlement. But if you do anything, and I mean anything that would get any of us killed, you're gone" Orion called out, lowering his rifle.
Both nodded their appreciation and walked to the doused fire. The taller man held out his hand to Orion, "Name's Oliver, pleasure to meet a friendly face out here."
Orion shook it as the shorter black man held his hand out, "Andre," he said simply.
"My name isn't important, so don't bother asking. Anyway, there's an abandoned power station nearby where we can stay the night. Let's get moving before 'Guai smell us out."
"How do you know raiders won't slit our throats during the night?" complained Oliver
"Land mines, kid. Ever seen one? And, besides, raiders wouldn't slit our throats. They'd probably make us watch as they ripped our organs out one by one" replied Orion.
A moment of awkward silence took over as the trio began walking towards the small building in the distance.
"So, what's your story?" Andre finally spoke up.
"Not much to tell, really. I'm an escaped slave like you guys, believe it or not. I escaped about 10 years back, during the 1st Paradise Raid. And now, I find myself out here, searching for any clue as to where my father or his captors may be."
"Wait, you're father was caught, too? He's probably either dead or many miles from here, friend," Replied Oliver.
"I still have faith." Replied Orion simply.
Oliver was about to enter the small building when Orion put a hand on his shoulder
"Are you insane?! Wait." he whispered.
Orion pulled out a small, homemade grenade from his pocket. Pulling the pin, he opened the door slightly and tossed it inside. A loud 'crack' could be heard inside, along with the moaning of two individuals. Orion opened the door, spotting two unarmed wastelanders.
"Get out." Orion yelled, aiming his rifle at them. Still in shock, the two ran outside and into the dusklight of the Wasteland.
"Well, looks like we have beds, and a bit of food for the night. Do what you will, but do not stray from this building. I'm going to set some mines, you'd best get some sleep." Said Orion.
Orion walked outside, pulling out two round discs from his belt. Pressing the button, he set them both under the dirt, hiding them from any would-be invaders. Taking one last look at his surroundings, Orion proceeded back into the safety of the old, run-down power station.
"Just another day in Paradise," he thought.