Before Longfellow could continue, Piper chimed in with a question,
"Do you always hide from super mutants? A small party like that shouldn't be that tough to take out." A soft smile curled along Longfellow's gray beard,
"Well, super mutants ain't exactly good eating." He found that remark funnier than Piper did, "Mutants, like cheaply made whiskey, are best avoided. Sure, a small group isn't nothing too much to handle, but after a while they start wising up to whose killing them and then they come looking for ya. I'd rather not have to look over my shoulder every time I go to snag some Gulper meat." Piper was content with this answer, and so Longfellow continued, "After I was sure we were well out of those mutants' earshot I tossed that stinking carcass off me, gathered up a few of the good small cuts of meat, and went to check on my two tagalongs. They were a little shaken. Said it was the first time they ever got so close to one of those green meanies. I let them recompose themselves while I took a rope and pulled the Angler body up high into a strong tree." Longfellow took a drink of whiskey that emptied his glass again, "Do that when I don't want to lug the whole thing across the Island. Tie it up high enough most things will ignore it and I planned to grab it on my way back to town. As we continued down towards the Vim! factory I kept us about 5 ft. off the main path with the hope we'd avoid bumping into any more wandering mutants."
"Hoped to avoid them?" came a journalistic question from Piper.
"Yeah, it didn't quite work out for us that way." Longfellow answered as he poured himself another glass, "We were just west of the Hotel now, and the Fog was getting soupy. Of course, after our first encounter with the local mutant population those two had even more questions about the green monsters. I remember the husband was asking me why they had chosen the Vim! factory to hold up in. In my attempt to answer I didn't pay attention to the sound of broad shoulders brushing back overhanging tree branches, not till it was too late. By the time I silenced those two and got down I could hear the mutants already heard us and started searching. I had to keep them moving, we were no good as sitting targets. They were following my footsteps exactly. Could hear the breathing of one of the mutant's, probably only…" Longfellow stopped to think a moment, "6 feet off. We were almost passed them when the wife misstepped and cracked a bundle of fallen twigs under her boot. Immediately, footsteps started towards us. There were 4 mutants that came from the mist. I took sight of the one closest to me and cracked off a shot that hit him in the skull. Two of the other mutants scooped up both of my customers and shouted how they were going to eat good tonight." A drink of whiskey was required before Longfellow went on, "That couple may've been a pain in my ass, but I wasn't going to let them get carried away from super mutants. Ain't no one deserve that, except maybe a few of those fools from the Children of Atom. Anyways, I sighted in the fleeing monster who had the husband slung over his shoulder and fired a round down range. Hit him in the calf, but didn't cause him to drop the man. Before I could lever in a new round, I got clobbered upside the head by the third super mutant. I didn't come to until much later."
"You told us you did get a second shot off, Longfellow." Once again the table of rowdy fishermen interrupted the interview.
"Yeah, make sure you write this down mainlander. He hit that mutant a second time. Know where?" came Livesey's voice.
"No, but I'm sure you'll tell me." Piper responded while taking a chance to grab a drink from her glass.
"Hit the super mutant right in the ass." Came the answer. Longfellow got a humored look from Piper,
"Did you really?" she asked holding back a laugh. Scratching his neck, Longfellow shamefully answered,
"Yeah, I hit him in the rear before that third mutant knocked me out."
"Why'd you neglect to mention it?" Piper asked, now failing at holding her laughter.
"Cause of that reason right there." He motioned to her snicker, "It ain't very fitting for the story. I was in a hurry and happened to be off my mark." He then shot a glare at Livesey, "It happens to the best of us." With another shot of liquor, Old Longfellow returned to his story after Piper recomposed herself, "So, after I shot that mutant in the ass I was knocked out. When I came back to my senses the three mutants were carrying us across a shallow part of one of the inlet streams. Turns out they were taking us right to the pop factory. The mutant carrying me had Henrietta slung around his wide forearm. The other two with that couple were a ways ahead of me. Without alerting the brute carrying me, I reached for the knife I keep on my belt." He tapped to the knife in question hanging on his leather belt, "Worked it out of the holder and tried to get the bastard in the side, right under the armpit. The super mutant hollered as he dropped me in the water. On my way down I grabbed the stock of Henrietta. Couldn't get her off the brute's arm, but I did swing the barrel towards his torso, about the same place I stabbed him, and pulled the trigger. I got lucky and it struck him true. Course you, shot someone that close with a high powered rifle it's gonna tear them up good. Turned his right side into a tangled mess." Longfellow again stopped his story and turned to the table of fishermen who were eagerly listening, "You okay with that part of the story? Anything you'd like to add?" he asked them in a heated tone.
"Sounds good to us." And other affirmative statements echoed from the table, so the story went on,
"While he was laying down and dying I pulled Henrietta off his arm and started across the stream towards the Vim! factory. I figured I had a chance to catch up to those other two mutants and save that couple before they got took deep into the factory."
