Sand

Note: Hiiii! Sorry for not updating this story sooner. I had a block of all proportions: drawing, writing, reading, drinking, gaming. Kinda. But I just had trouble being creative. I have been working on this for the past few weeks. I now have a good idea of where this story was to go. (Ever since I started playing FONV...tbh...) I have already started on the next chapter.

I cannot write many chapters. I can't. 30+. Cannot. Maybe. But I can't.

I am also working on a one shot of one of my favorite couples: Shepard and Garrus Vakarian. I will get that up very soon! Very, very soon!

Enjoy!

Tom let go of me and he dashed to the door. He wasn't the only one. Deme, Amelia, my parents, the security crew, and the Overseer ran out after him. I took my canteen and ran, following the crowd. More screams filled the hallway as we all made it towards the entrance of the vault. People looked panicked, there was blood along the wall and I could see my mother over someone's body. I couldn't tell whose it was, all I knew something terrible has happened.

Moments later, Deme and his team came out, fully armed, and they rushed passed me. There were gun shots and people scattered, their eyes filled with fear. Crouching, I made my way through and could see what was going on.

Deme and his men were lined along the barrier, their guns pointed towards the door. Right there was a group of men, fully armored, blasting their guns to the wall. Tom was crouched down as he worked on his screen, clicking furiously away. Several of his robots came out of one of the rooms and started to respond the intruder's shots. The room filled with flashes of light and screams from both sides. I felt some beams fly past my head. I didn't know what to do. I could have just and hid but I wanted to make sure no one I knew was hurt. I looked behind me and still saw my mother over a body, her face pale yet covered in blood. I wondered where my father had gone. Shouting his name, I got up, looking all around, despite the array of laser beams and bullets. I saw my father dashing over to Tom, nodding, and then rushing over just in time to see one of Deme's guys go down. I shrieked and dropped down, feeling yet again a flash of hot electricity shoot past my head.

Tom yelled out my name. I got up, waving my hand in the air. More lasers flew past and I quickly pulled my hand down. I didn't know what to do. I freaked out. I didn't even know what was going on. Who got into the vault and now shooting at all of us? I heard some beeping , turned around, and saw a familiar sight. Moy hovered over, calling out my name.

"Moy! Over here!"
"Oh my dear, what is going on…"
"I need you to get me to cover and see what I can do."
"Sir Thomas sent me to get you safe. You must leave."
"No. I cannot sit somewhere when my family is actually doing something. I need to help."
"You cannot help, just come with me. I'll protect you."
"If you are going to protect me, you follow me."

I scurried over, trying to find a place to away, Moy behind. I saw one of the guard's guns on the ground, and I grabbed it. It was beat up, but not broken. I whipped out my tool pouch and I quickly fixed it. The light turned on and I kneeled down. Hidden behind a slab of metal, closer to Tom, I took careful aim at the intruders. All my shots were on the money: I aimed low and decided to take them out by shooting out their knees. Moy guarded me by shooting some his lasers and we were an unstoppable team.

After a few minutes, the shots slowed down and more bodies piled up. I heard some screams, but no one I knew. Tom looked scathed; as I was shooting, he also took it upon himself to join the fight, He wasn't the type to sit down and shoot, like me. He liked one-on-one fighting. And no one was better than him. I saw him take one of the guys, grabbing him by the waist, and using his strength, slams him down. I heard that crack. Yikes.

All the sudden, I heard several screams, one that made my blood run cold. I dropped my gun and started to run until I felt a something cold and hard pressed on the back of my head.

I turned and failed to notice Moy or rather pieces of him lying behind me. I raised my hands up and closed my eyes.
"Stop your fire Deme, Tom. Let's not get things get nasty."

I quickly opened my eyes when I finally knew who it was. I could see Tom holding up his hands, Deme placing his gun down.

"Pleasure to see the both of you. Man, do I miss you."

"Jace, leave her out of this. Just let her go," Tom responded.
"Oh you would like me to just back down. No Tom, I came here to grab some things and then one of Deme's rookies decided to take the first shot. I have to care for my men. I hope you understand."
He presses the gun against my temple. Nudging at it twice. "Stand up little Rayne. I heard it was your birthday. It would be a shame to end it in tragedy."

I carefully stood up, looking desperately at Tom and Deme, who were staring down the renegade.

"I need something of value. We ran into some trouble with a gang, and we promised something big. So, if you let me get those things, I will be on my way."
"Jace, let go of my sister. I will give you want you need. " Tom pleaded.
Jace threw his head back and laughed, "Oh Tom, I love seeing this side of you. Alright. I need some weapons and some HEPA cartridges. Perhaps all the weapons you have. What else… oh yes. Amelia. I need her."

Tom, perplexed, turned away from me and scanned the area for Amelia. She was by one of the security guards, tending to his wounds. Her face stared back at Tom's and she nodded. Tom tensed up and I felt the gun pressed harder that I gasped. Deme watched Amelia walk over to Jace and I, her hands over her head, her eyes swimming with tears.

"Ah, Amelia, good. Nice and easy, no one gets hurt. I want you to fetch the supplies. Have this mole rat help you." With his gun, he motions me to her side. She hugged me fiercely, her hands shaking. We both stared back at Jace, who was not finished with his demands.

"I will have my men watching over them and anyone else who would dare interfere. If one of you tries to be the hero, they will shoot one of the dwellers. I will follow them and make sure they will retrieve what I need. "

Jace pointed the gun and we turned and walked forward, looking at all the faces upon us. My parents were quickly tending to the fallen, but looked on with sadness. Tom's harden gaze followed us as we made it through the corridor and into the hallway. We didn't ask where to go, following Jace's gun to lead us.

"So, Rayne, 18? Wow. Time flies fast. I remember when you were just a kid. Maybe you still are. And still have that smug look on your face."

I scoffed, "Enough pleasantries. You won't get what you need. Why even bother coming back here at all?"

Jace laughed. "Oh Rayne. I can see already why they will love you. Feisty. Amelia, you should follow her example."

"You have gone mad, Jace," Amelia replied. "Did the Wastes already laid barren in your mind?"

"Amelia, do not pretend you even know me. You have no idea what it is like. You will learn it the hard way I suppose. As well, out there, there are so many things unimaginable. And things that make life a bit more exciting."

Jace led us into the room where Amelia's parents controlled the water systems. Amelia had access to everything here and knew where the cartridges were. Jace had the gun pointed at me the entire time. I stood there frozen and hoped that someone would save us.

Tom paced back and forth, feeling the eyes of Jace's team on him. He didn't care. His former friend had his baby sister and best friend captive. He needed to do something. He felt had to, since he was the one that let Jace go.

Deme watched him and was already formulating a plan. He knew that Jace was true to his world; Amelia and Rayne would be harmed if his team tried to go and save them. However, Jace knew little of security around the vault. Looking down at his pip boy and pressed a few buttons. He hoped that is secret task force would be enough to buy some time. He stared at Tom and nodded at him. Tom narrowed his eyes. He hoped that whatever Jace was thinking was not going to endanger the two captives under Jace's gun.

Making our way to clinic I was thinking fast. I could try and take him down, allowing Amelia to escape. However, I knew that he had at least 50 pounds on me and could easily take her on, possibly even kill me. I swallowed. I just needed to get the gun away from him. But how?

Once they stepped into the clinic, Jace pressed the gun against Amelia, motioning me to gather what was left. I noticed that Jace had his arm around Amelia, nuzzling his head against hers. Amelia closed her eyes, the look of repulsive and fear clear on her face. I immediately tighten my fists, feeling the nails digging into my palms. I knew what I needed. I slowly walked away, knowing exactly what to do.

"Hmmm, Amelia. Oh Amelia. The boys are going to love you. It is no wonder he harbored those feelings for you." Jace whispered. Amelia twisted her head away, causing Jace to chuckle at her reaction. "Jace, you are not going to get what you want tonight, or ever, for that matter. Neither you nor no one else."

"Ouch, is that what you told Tom?" Jace coyly responded. Amelia stiffed at the mention of his name. Jace pulled away and looked at Amelia. "Wait, you mean to tell me that…pussy didn't even…god. Well too bad. He won't be able to taste you…" He ran a finger along her neck. He didn't even notice Amelia grabbing a milk bottle that was being used as a vase off the table next to her. In split second, Amelia turned and swung the bottle with all her might towards his head. Jace didn't react fast enough and felt the bottle smashed into his nose, drawing blood. As he clutched his face, Amelia yanked the gun from his hand and pointed to him.

"Now who's the pussy now? Rayne, come out! Now!"

I walked around, quickly looking around, trying to find what I needed. Eventually, it took me a few minutes before I heard screams in the other room. I turned and grabbed the large syringe and ran out of the room. Coming out, seeing Amelia pointing a gun to Jace, who was holding his nose, trying to stop all the blood that dripped from his nose. I immediately ran over to him, and was about to stab him until several blasts flew past me, one hit squarely on the shoulder. I fell back, reeling from the burning sensation. Amelia turned and tried shooting at whatever stood in the doorway, but ended up in falling back, receiving a blast straight to the chest. I screamed and saw Jace kneeling down, unharmed. Behind him, the figure emerged forward, a laser rifle pointed at me.

Tom and Deme heard the screams. Desperately, Tom wanted to fight the five men with their guns pointed at him. Deme still was working on his pip boy, trying to figure out why his plan was working. When he realized that his plan wasn't working, Deme looked around. He saw that Jace's men all had guns, but they were outnumbered. He knew that his men and Tom could take the men on. He just knew that the civilians, like the doctors, may be harmed. He bowed his head, hoped no one else would die until he saw something fly past him. Smiling, he yelled, "DUCK!"

The pain was unbearable. My mind wasn't clearing up. I was so worried about all the people in the hall, about Tom and my parents, and about Amelia, who didn't move after she fell. Praying that she was still alive, I turned all my attention to the figure. The figure was a tall woman, with a red trench coat, wearing a tight leather top, matching her tight leather pants. She had two gun strapped behind her, and her belt was packed with grenades.

"Get up. You have wasted an enormous amount of our bosses' time. Not only that, you created a mess. Get up. Grab the items and let's go. You." She stared right at me. Her eyes seemed to burrow into my head and I felt like a bug under the microscope. "Follow us. If you dare disobey, I will kill everyone in here." When she spoke again, her voice caused a rumble of chills to roll down my back. I didn't want to disobey, but I didn't want to leave Amelia behind. I needed to know if she was ok, breathing, alive. But I knew that if I dared to do something, I would probably be shot, again. No win-win here. I nodded and I stood up, nursing the shoulder. Jace also stood up, hastily trying to wipe away the blood from his nose, with no avail. The woman looked over at him, shook her head, and walked over to the first aid kit. Few moments later, she came back, a syringe in her hand. Jace looked at her, his face utterly grateful at the woman. Without warning, she stabbed the syringe into his cheek. Jace's eyes rolled back and he slumped forward, trying not to scream. Then the effects took over and he straighten up and turned to face the woman.

"I didn't want blood all over my coat. Let's go."

Jace was in front, I in the middle, and the women tailing behind. She held her gun pointed at the back of my head, intending to be good on her word if I ever dared to bail. I took one last look at Amelia, silently hoping she wasn't dead.

Tom heard Deme scream and immediately dropped, covering his head to shield himself from the blast. A huge bang and the brightest light shone throughout the chamber. Many of Deme's men ducked just as he did. As for everyone else, the light caused everyone to buckle down, feeling the intense, sharp pain in their eyes. While people around him were reeling, Tom took a chance and grabbed one of the rifles and turning to one of Jace's men, he swung the butt of the gun at his face. Effectively knocking him out, Tom proceeded to take the rest of the guys near him. He noticed Deme and his lot doing to same and in a few minutes, all of Jace's men were in a circle, guarded by Deme's men and the new recruit, Tom's sentry bot.

Deme walked over to Tom and nodded. Tom looked at his sentry bot and returns a smirk to Deme. He scoffed and walked off, barking orders to his team. Tom looked over at his parents; they were quickly tending to the injured. The Overseer was being looked over by his father and his mother was taking care of one of guard. Relieved for the moment, Tom took hold of the weapon and was ready to find Rayne and Amelia. Deme came back and they both looked at each other, sharing each other's concerns through eye contact. Tom hoped Amelia was alright and that Rayne was unharmed. He knew that if Jace laid a finger on her, he would have no problem taking him out.

The boys were about to head off to find the captives until a blast echoed the room. They darted around and saw a horrifying sight: a woman pulled her shotgun and blasted towards the nearest person. Before anyone knew it, the blast hit his mother. Rayne's screams confirmed his fears as he watched her try to go to her, but the woman pressed the gun against her head again.

"Stand down or I will not hesitate to kill her too. Throw your guns down, Now."

Tom placed his rifle down, followed by Deme and his guard. Satisfied, the women motioned to her men and they gathered all the guns and stood by her. Tom noticed that Jace was not himself; dried blood coated the front of his shirt and most of his face. His eyes were glossed over and he stared ahead, his gaze unwavering and unnerving. However, he realized something more dreadful. He saw Rayne, but his heart sank when he didn't see Amelia. He looked at his sister: she was silently crying, clutching her shoulder that was also sporting blood. He hoped that the injury wasn't serious. Tom pulled his attention to the woman, who stepped forward, forcing Rayne to come forward.

"If you listen closely, no one else will die today. We only came to gather supplies and things got out of hand. We only ask that we leave unharmed. I will use this girl as collateral and your word. No one will follow us. No robots, spies, not a single thing. One wrong step and I will kill her."

Tom looked at his sister, who was trying not to cry, her eyes darting over to where her mother laid. Tom tighten his fists and looked over at Deme. He saw that the chief guard was furious, trying to process the situation. He fully understood that while he couldn't let them get away with everything the rogue group had done, he had to think of everyone' s safety, not just the safety of Rayne. Deme stepped forward.

"Alright. We will let you go unharmed, Just let I and this man escort you out. No weapons. We wanted to make sure Rayne comes out unharmed."

The woman nodded. "Good. Easy does it…no one else will be harmed today." Jace and his men moved out, followed by the woman and Rayne, with Tom and Deme closely behind. Tom's father walked to Tom and placed his hand on his back.

"Make sure my baby girl will be safe. Please." The strain in his voice pained Tom, but he nodded and followed the group out. He saw his father go to his mother's body, silently crying at her side.

I didn't know what was going to happen. The woman viciously took my mother and was going to get away with it. My mind was blank. I wanted her dead. I wanted her to pay. I didn't care if I died. I wanted revenge. But I thought about dad and Tom. I knew that two losses would devastate them. All I can do is be still and hoped that this night would end. The sand was running out and the end was near. Little did I know, it was just the beginning.

Next Chapter in a few days!

Preview:

The two men grabbed me from the arms, moving my motionless body towards the tent. They threw me in, snickering as they closed the flap. I tried to get up, but any strength I had left was gone. I laid on the ground, the dull ache of my head wouldn't go away.

Everything that had happened in the last few days...there was no way to wrap my head around it. Everything I ever knew was gone.

Tom was gone. My home was no longer mine.

Now, I am a prisoner, a slave.

And there was no way of getting out.