. 4 .

Tanner was someplace dark and unfamiliar. His head was killing him as if his brain were swelling and trying to break free from his skull by pounding against it with an ice pick. He was hot and sweating but couldn't remember where he was. A sudden flash of memory shot through is aching head. Rats, the forest in the valley floor, and doughnuts. He tried to shake his head to clear away the fog. Was he dreaming? Was he dead? A shot rang out. It was from his rifle and one of the rats heads exploded while the other two went into a panic. A cool rush of air swept in behind him. Yaogui. The memory burst into his mind like a nightmare. After the first shot the giant mutated bear had lunged from the trees opposite him. He fired two more shots then turned to run. He didn't stand a chance against this thing.

Hunting parties in Rockshed had talked about these things, about their immeasurable strength and ferocity. That if you were ever unlucky enough to see one before it saw you, you were better off just leaving it alone. And, well if it saw you before you saw it, then luck didn't matter anymore. They were the mutated offspring of ancient bears. Over the years they had become stronger, bigger, and faster than just about any other creature roaming the waste land. A daemon born from mans war, here to reclaim the land from the species that had so ignorantly destroyed it.

Tanner ran through the forest, turning once or twice to fire quick shots at the creature's legs hoping to cripple it somehow. But the shots did little more than to cause it to stumble a few times and anger the animal. As he took to the rockslide he started yelling at Brooke to throw grenades. The yaogui was unfazed by anything they did and Tanner could remember it charging him. He was out of options, he worked the bolt action on his rifle so fast he was sure it was going to jam, but in a few seconds that wouldn't even matter anymore. Then the light, the pain, what was that last memory? It floated there at the back of his mind teasingly. Then he remembered.

'Fucking doughnuts,' Tanner snapped his eyes open then quickly wished he hadn't. The sun was high in the sky and the brightness drove spears through his eyes and into his aching mind that was still attempting to mutiny against his skull. He heard movement near by then felt a semi cool rag touch his forehead. He reached up and pulled it down over his eyes, his finger tips brushing against soft skin.

"Brooke?" He tried his voice weak and his throat parched.

"Just relax, let me get you some water."

He heard more movement and then the rim of a canteen touched his lips. He did his best to swallow as she gently poured the water into his mouth.

"I am so happy you're alive. I didn't think you were going to wake up." The note of concern in her voice was filled with honesty and fear.

"What happened?"

"I threw a grenade, it was amazing, time just seemed to stop and I could see you and the yaogui and everything else so clearly. The throw was right on target, it exploded directly beneath it's head tearing it's front legs apart and sending it hurtling down the mountain." Brooke slowly poured more water into his mouth. "But it was so close to you, maybe ten feet maybe a little more. I thought you were dead, but somehow your wounds are just superficial. Well all the wounds except the one in your head I guess?"

Tanner rubbed his temples through the damp cloth. "How long was I asleep?"

"A day and a half, I was really starting to get worried."

"Concussion most likely, from the blast or my head hitting a rock, probably both." Tanner reached out blindly for the canteen and Brooke placed it in his hand. "What's that smell?" He asked before taking a long drink, suddenly aware of a strong and appetizing smell wafting through the air.

"Oh I'm just cooking some yaogui. It's really good. I don't think I've ever eaten as much as I have in the past day." She laughed a little resting her hand on Tanners forearm. "It should be done shortly."

"You got meat off that thing?"

"Yeah, I mean I waited until I was sure it was dead before I went down there, and even then I shot it in the head a couple times to make sure." She paused to pat Tanners chest as he coughed on the water he was drinking. "Take it easy, what kinda person survives a yaogui attack, a grenade blast, and then dies drinking water?"

He couldn't help but smile through the pain in his head. "So you're telling me that little Miss Brooke, who I've never even known to touch anything before it was cook, let alone actually cook it, hiked down a mountain and carved up a bear?"

"Hehehe," she laughed her soft gentle laugh, "I was a bit surprised myself, but I was so hungry that I had to eat something. And you made it pretty clear that I was not to touch your doughnuts." She laughed again. "But you know what once I got started, and after the first two times I threw up, it wasn't that bad. If it didn't smell so bad I really don't think I would have a problem at all."

"The blood didn't bother you?" Tanner pushed himself up onto an elbow, his head began to spin and he immediately lay back down.

"I told you take it easy. I've got this under control. I haven't seen anyone or anything since that night, and yes I have been keeping a constant watch. At night I don't even light a fire, just to make sure."

'Who is this girl and what has she done with Brook?' Tanner smiled to himself.

"That's good, that's really good. Where'd you earn all that?"

"I've just been watching you for the last week; I know that you wake up several times during the night just to look around. I see how you scan the mountainsides carefully in all directions, and how you always watch the valley floor with extra caution. All that and you know, the rest is kinda common sense."

"And field dressing an animal?"

"Um… What?"

"Ha-ha, getting meat off the yaogui."

"Oh, well I don't know anything about that, but I know what meat looks like before it's cooked so I just carved pieces that looked like that off. And no the blood didn't bother me nearly as much as I thought it would."

"Mmmm. Well I have to say you are a quick learner now aren't you. But then again you always have been smarter than you like to let people believe." Tanner propped himself up on an elbow, this time the dizziness in his head passed quickly. He removed the rag from his face and squinted at the large piece of meat roasting over the fire. "That really does smell amazing."

"You sure you don't want a doughnut?" She laughed as she held a package in front of his face.

"No thanks, I think I'll try your cooking first. Can't make me feel worse than I already do."

"Hey now asshole, maybe I won't give you any you keep talking like that." Brooke smiled and jabbed him softly in the ribs with her elbow. "Why don't you get some more rest and I'll wake you up when it's done."

Tanner lay back down and returned the wet rag to his face. "That sounds great."

The two sat around the campfire watching the afternoon sun fade into dusk. Tanner ate the meat Brooke had cooked with a ravenous appetite. He couldn't remember anything having ever tasted so good. A few times he got dizzy from eating too fast and had to consciously force himself to slow down. He could already feel the protein from the juicy meat coursing through his veins. Brooke had been right a diet of nothing but prewar doughnuts was no way to live.

Having had their fill the two lapsed into a long satisfied silence that stretched on into the early evening hours. Tanner began dozing off and finally had to force himself to stand a walk around a little. His head was still swimming with blurred pain, but he was able to over come the dizziness easy enough now.

"You think you'll be ok to travel tomorrow or should we rest another day or two?"

"I should be fine. We need to get out of these mountains and get some supplies."

"Oh I almost forgot," Brooke pulled a grenade out of her pocket and tossed it to Tanner, "I got it while I was down collecting meat."

Tanner smiled at her as he tossed it into his pack. "Good work with those grenades by the way. That Yao Guai would be eating us right now instead of us eating him if it weren't for you."

"Are we going to die out here?" She asked softly.

"We all have to die somewhere."

"Tanner!" Her voice had gone from sweet and soft to annoyed and harsh.

"Look, we've already survived a Super Mutant attack, a run in with a psychotic trader, and an encounter with one of the scariest fucking things I've ever seen. What else can the wasteland through at us?"

Brooke shivered at the thought, 'what else indeed.'