A/N: I STILL don't own Fallout. Damn.

The caravan was riding slowly south with the setting sun warming the right side of the guards and drivers still in good spirits after their stay in Junktown, where booze runs free. After so much time on her own feet, the newest member of the caravan party was glad to sit down on the edge of the wagon (not very comfortable but beats walking) and open up a Pip-Boy textbook about first aid. Strange how badly things like that have deteriorated in the wasteland. If Matthew was here...

Matthew. Her healing balm. Just imagining him beside her made her feel better in this crazy world. Funny she was now the prince saving him, the princess in the steel castle, by finding that water chip.

'Daydreaming?' she turned her head to Burt, one of the guards, a plump elderly man, ferocious with a shotgun, or so they say. She offered a smile.

'Yes. It's nice not to be walking. Thank you for taking me in; I know I won't be of much use'

'That's why we're not paying you anything, Evelyn' he chuckled 'Though I would like you to keep an eye out until it's completely dark, some of the nasty ones start their night early'

'Yes, right' she powered down her Pip-Boy and took a look around. The desert was a vast expanse of nothing, her own private torturer during her trips, but now, sitting in a wagon and watching the sunset, it almost felt nice and peaceful. The slow voyage lasted until the dark and she was almost ready to go sleep at the end of a day spent shamelessly doing nothing, but learned the caravan will continue travelling after dark until they find the shelter in the ruins of some town they knew. Travelling in the dark was something she feared after leaving the vault but now, surrounded by armed guards...

They entered the ruined town well into the dark of the night and headed for a large building in the centre. Four of its five stories were completely fine and according to these caravan people it was abandoned and not well known, an exquisite hideout for the Far Go Traders...

She noticed the dark shadow approaching the wagon at incredible speeds sooner than anyone else in the caravan and let out a shriek. Without knowing what she was doing, she jumped from the edge of the wagon to its floor, among the packs of jerky, and the next second, something heavy hit the wagon, turning it over. She was thrust into the air and fell on the sand gracelessly, suffered a rain of jerky falling on her, and then the dark night got even darker: the wagon, now upside down, slammed to the ground trapping her inside, unable to move under the pile of merchandise. The next twenty minutes were a symphony of screams and gunfire. She couldn't see anything, but understood the caravan guards were losing the battle against their assailants: the gunfire started dying out and the screams increasing in quantity. Ten more minutes later, the screams started dying out too, their sources getting further and further away from her.

In no time, all was silent, and she was alone.

Shady Sands

2161-12-13 11:37 PM

'Shit!' Tabitha swore as she dived into the common house of Shady Sands right after Ian looking for some cover, bullets flying all around her and into adobe outer wall of the house. They were outnumbered about five to one at this point, and she could only hope more guns were on their way after hearing all that commotion. The raiders, for that's who those 'caravan people' probably were, were firing 10mm pistols. Not very serious hardware, but it can still kill you.

'Shoot out the window' Ian barked a command 'fuckers are probably Khans, don't know shit about shooting.'

'Awesome' Tabitha thought to herself poking her pistol out the window and into the dark. Was she losing against some amateurs?

'Can't see Tandi!' Seth shouted from his position by the doorway 'Bastard probably went through behind the buildings'

'They're retreating to the gate!' Ian shouted. Good. The guys in the guardhouse by the gate are probably waiting to greet them.

'Why the fuck are they steering their brahmin around?' Tabitha wondered aloud. The brahmin that were pulling the three wagons were suddenly turned around towards the gate by a few of the non-shooting raiders.

'They're trying to get away!' Tabitha exclaimed 'Shoot the cattle!'

Sure enough, the raiders were soon in the wagons, using their sides for cover (ineffective; do these people know the first thing about gunfights?) and the drivers took a swing at the brahmin with their cattle prods, making them take off at speed Tabitha didn't know possible. The raider fire was heavy now, the idiots at least understanding the massive cattle to be an easy target.

The second brahmin on the run went down with Ian's bullet in its eye, and the one trailing behind them wasn't quick enough to stop, crashing into the former wagon and crushing the raiders. The first wagon was nearing the gate and the assailants now shifted fire to the guard house.

'They're getting away!' Tabitha exclaimed trying to mow down the fuckers that were in the third wagon before they got their bearings.

As soon as she said that the brahmin pulling the only intact wagon burst into a cloud of flame, blood, and shrapnel. An explosion sounded through the whole settlement and the wagon hit what remained of the brahmin making most of the raiders fall out to meet the fire of four men inside the guard house.

Tabitha suddenly understood she was just standing there gawking since the explosion and continued taking down the remaining raiders. The raiders of the first wagon took cover behind what remained of it from the fire from the guard house, and, to Tabitha's audible irritation, the four idiots inside actually left the house to get on top of them, three of them going down almost immediately while the fourth hit the ground and continued to fire.

'Someone's mowing them down from inside the house!' Ian suddenly exclaimed, running out of the common house after blowing the brains of the last raider in the third wagon. Indeed, while the sole surviving man who attacked the raiders from the guard house as slowly retreating the raiders one overturned wagon away were dropping dead with shots being heard from the interior of the house behind them. The raiders soon collected themselves and started shooting back to the house without even seeing their assailant in the darkness. The shooting from inside stopped, but it was a great distraction which Ian used to get on top of the raiders. Three more shots later the battle as over.

'Where's Tandi?' Seth started shouting around.

'Tandi? Something happened to my Tandi?' Aradesh appeared out of nowhere. He, Seth, and other people started flooding into the main street to gawk at the aftermath of the recent battle.

'Fuck, people!' Tabitha started shouting so probably half the settlement could hear 'Don't go wandering around here until you know all the raiders are dead! For fuck's sake!'

Seth's jaw fell open while Aradesh froze for a few moments and gave her a long incredulous glare. Tabitha approached the wreckage of one of the wagons with her combat knife in hand, noticing Ian was already taking care of the raiders near the gate. 'You leave one alive!' Tabitha exclaimed.

'You too' was his cold answer 'just in case'

He got to work and so did Tabitha, after a few moments of admiring the change in Ian: the blabbermouth was now cold and concentrated, his lips only a thin strip on his face.

'Fucker' Tabitha swore as she kicked a pistol from the hands of a still breathing raider 'Seth!' she called for the man still standing still and awkwardly staring at her 'Book that spit-fuck'

Seth walked up to her slowly and hit the raider with the butt of the gun and dragged him out, giving Tabitha another strange look. She just let it slide and looked around.

'Yeah' she thought to herself 'wasn't fast enough to leave here before it inevitably suffered a shitstorm. Fuck. Gotta book it first chance I get'

Ian was suddenly nowhere to be found and having nothing else to do Tabitha followed Seth to where he took the prisoner. Aradesh continued his frantic running around asking for Tandi and the people Tabitha stopped in their tracks with her shouting resumed their pointless walking around the wreckage and gawking.

Shady Sands

2161-12-14 00:51 AM

The infirmary was bright and filled with people that night. Women were carrying around hot water and all sorts of doctor's tools from one end of the room to another on account of two doctors being present. Razlo was working on a particularly bad bleeding while Matthew, apparently already up and about, was trying to dislodge several bullets from a man's arm. Tabitha squinted when she entered the room and immediately noticed Ian sitting in the corner watching the doctors and the younger physician, her saviour: a scrawny, pale, scared young man. Tabitha froze. What the fuck? It's the same guy, the guy that saved her... but... she remembered him as a cold and collected person with a demanding presence not... not a pale, scrawny twenty-something spit-fuck... She turned her head to Ian who simply motioned his head towards the young physician. Tabitha approached him slowly.

'Hi' she greeted him awkwardly. His head darted up and their eyes met. Tabitha read fear in them. Fear, weakness, desperation, confusion... was he -really- the man who saved her, the man with the strong commanding voice?

'You- you're Tabitha... Hi' he slowly lowered his head and returned to work.

'And you're Matthew' she replied, kind of hoping he'd say he wasn't and the real saviour was wandering around town. He didn't.

'Hey, I just wanted to say thanks. You know, for saving me. I appreciate it'

He nodded his head at the half-assed thank you and even managed to crack a small smile at the edge of one lip. Tabitha kept looking at him incredulously. Ian suddenly stood up from his chair at the corner and approached the two.

'Matthew and I've been talking' Ian said 'and we think we should try and get this situation under control as soon as possible... did any of the prisoners speak?'

'Yeah...' Tabitha replied cautiously, already hating where this was going 'and they both said they've taken Tandi to their usual hideout as a prisoner, though they couldn't tell if it was for the money or to have Shady Sands by their balls. Fucking idiots probably don't even know themselves'

'Figures. Anyway, Matthew and I have been talking and -he-' Ian put a hand on Matthew's shoulder and the younger man winced slightly 'thinks we should head on over there and save her'

Tabitha's eyes ran between the two men. She had no wish to aid this place of highly potential fuck-ups.

'I... we'd be outnumbered... That's idiotic'

'Well, we can't do nothing, can we?' Ian retorted 'Tandi's in trouble and we owe this place a little'

'I owe them nothing, especially not my dead body!' Tabitha exclaimed. The people in the room suddenly fell quiet.

She locked her eyes with Ian for a moment.

'You do' Matthew said quietly. Both Ian and Tabitha looked at him.

'What was that?' Tabitha asked. Matthew looked up at her, obviously scared and barely holding her glare.

'I said you do. These people treated you far better than that and...' he lowered his head and looked at the man's arm, already mended 'And you owe me'

Tabitha's glare was enough to burn through steel and Ian felt like wincing just looking at it being pointed at someone else. Matthew just kept looking down.

'A-fucking-mazing' she bursted and simply stormed out, looking for something to break into pieces. The work in the infirmary resumed slowly, though there wasn't much more anyone could do and some of the women just left to share the latest development with everyone else. Ian sat down beside Matthew who was staring at a single point on the man's arm.

'You've done well' he said quietly.

'She's going to kill me' he replied even more quietly.

'I'm sorry about that. But as I've already said, if it was me or her, the people wouldn't stand beside us, I'm a wounded caravan guard and she's a cold wasteland bitch. But you... you're a hero here twice over, people will follow you, and that's very important'

'Twice over?' Matthew asked, still glaring at one spot.

'Yeah, for saving Tabitha and that grenade stunt through the window of the house'

Matthew sighed deeply and cupped his forehead. Ian looked at his face. He was in pain for some reason.

'You're doing the right thing, you know' Ian added.

'I know' he replied coldly.

Ian didn't know what else to say so he just patted him on the back and stood up.

'Get some sleep. We'll have to rally people tomorrow'

Matthew nodded and Ian slowly left. Matt removed his eyes from that single spot not without difficulty. He saw that the room was empty except for Doctor Razlo studying him intently from across the room.

'It's difficult isn't it?' Razlo asked 'Doing the right thing, I mean'

'A bit, yeah. It's all so scary'

'Well, daring people like that are really needed around here...'

'Daring?' Matthew chuckled 'More like at the wrong place at the wrong time...'

Razlo made a fake smile.

'Well, we still appreciate it'

Matthew slowly nodded 'Good to know, good to know... thanks...'

Shady Sands

2161-12-14 02:11 AM

Tabitha needed somewhere to drink, but not in the common house with all the people staring at her. Since Ian's 'roommates' from the guard house were either dead or in Razlo's, she invited herself in for a bottle of scotch and a heap of cigarettes.

'You shouldn't smoke in here' Ian said half-teasingly as he returned.

'Fuck that' Tabitha replied without looking up from the bottle of scotch she was holding in her tight grip.

'Okay...' Ian sat down by the table in front of her uncertain how to proceed. Thankfully, she spoke up first.

'Shoulda booked it the first day I got up, before the shit hit the fan. But no, I gotta stay here waitin' for him, thinkin' I should at least thank him properly. Yeah, cool, try to be nice n'decent, you gonna get -fucked- in the ass'

'You're changing your story' Ian replied.

'What?' She looked up from the bottle.

'You're changing your story. At first you said you weren't waiting for him, then you said you're waiting for him to punch his face in and now...'

'Ah, fuck it' Tabitha waved her hand dismissively 'Who the hell cares why've been waitin' for' im'

She took a large swill.

'I sorta do' Ian said.

'Sorta?'

'Why were you?'

She closed her eyes, lips pursed in irritation, and then spoke up without looking at him.

'Who the fuck cares? I waited for him, for one fucking reason or another, and now I'm bein' sent to a fucking death row!' Her eyes snapped open 'For fuck's sake, the man's a complete wuss, if he wanted me t'pay back I woulda done it by teachin' 'im to shoot or somethin' like that! But to tell me to-'

She tried to find the right words but failed, and took another big swill instead.

'I think that the reason you don't like him is because he is not that battle-hardened' Ian stated 'If he was a badass wastelander you would have no problem, right? I mean, we both understand that those fucking raiders are weak now and we could take them on without a problem with a team of decent mercs, but you don't want to follow -him-, right?'

'Can you blame me?' Tabitha retorted angry.

'But more than that...' Ian's voice was suddenly quiet 'You feel like shit because you had your ass saved by the likes of him, right?'

Tabitha's eyes went wide and her lips curled in anger. Yeah, he was definitely right.

'I understand' Ian said 'I really do, I've already noticed you don't like people like that and to owe him as much as this...'

'Yeah, okay, you got me' Tabitha interrupted 'Do you have a fucking point or not?'

Of course, if Ian admitted it was all his idea to drag her into this, the matter would be resolved. He felt a sting of guilt when he understood he's not letting that happen.

'It was Matt who tossed a grenade at that brahmin, he's the one who shot at them from inside the house. He's not incapable. He's not weak, you told me so yourself when we talked days ago. It's okay, you shouldn't feel bad owing someone like him. Besides, we'll do good by doing this. I... seriously, I don't see why you're so angry. He saved you. He's not a hardened wastelander. Get over it'

She lit a cigarette and took a long drag, her eyes burning a hole on the surface of the table.

'Exactly' she finally said 'You don't understand. You don't need to. As you said, what d'you care.'

'Fine' Ian conceded 'Fine, hate him or whatever, maybe your thoughts will start making more sense after a good night's sleep'

'Doubtless' she replied sarcastically. Ian decided to say nothing and joined her little drinking binge. Until the first light they drank in silence, Tabitha burning things with her gaze and Ian sitting silently feeling like shit for being the mastermind of this whole 'shit-storm'.

Shady Sands

2161-12-14 10:21 AM

There were things Matthew was good at and things he was bad at. For example, he was good with impartial, rational analysis and making the most reasonable decision. That is why, when the people gathered in the town square by the obelisk the next morning and he was forced to give something approximating an inspiring speech, he just went ahead, coldly analysed the situation, and made some good points about what should be done. Persuasion was one of the things Matthew was bad at.

Tabitha just rolled her eyes through the whole thing: he wasn't going anywhere with that dumb speech. The people of Shady Sands understood all he had to say all too well, but that didn't mean they would agree to go and get their asses shot because of it: they were too cowardly. For a second, Tabitha felt sorry for the man who was obviously trying to do the right thing.

Matthew finished the speech and looked at the people of the town, all unmoved. There was a long moment of silence before, much to everyone's surprise, Tabitha took two steps forward, turned around, put a hand on Matthew's shoulder and spoke to the crowd.

'He's right, y'know. I mean, for how long have you been takin' shit from those raiders? They're scum, they're complete total shit! Are you gonna be pushed around by that? Why d'you think they bolted last night after taking Tandi? Because they're afraid! They know they ain't gonna do shit against you! So I say, let's fucking do this! You want peace? Then come with us, put the thieving dogs down, and bring back peace and glory to your town!'

One thing Tabitha was good at was determining just what to say to a certain person to make them do what she wants. Making farmers of a backwater town take the fight to the raiders? Just promise glory! Provided, her ability to sugar-coat her words was terrible as hell and her reputation with the people was somewhere bordering persona non grata, but she still was able to cause a stir as people, unmoved by Matt's speech, now started whispering with each other.

'I've been around all the towns down south' Ian suddenly spoke up, taking a few steps ahead and standing next to Matthew 'and I know how the greatest communities around were set up. And let me tell you, there wasn't a successful settlement that didn't have raider problems, and not one of them would be around if they didn't stand up for themselves. They're just raiders, you show them you can fight and they flee like scared mole-rats. We've got the guns, we've got capable people to lead us...' he took a brief look at Matthew 'we can do this!'

By then the crowd was already loud and excited, the few people who owned guns and could still stand at their feet holding their holsters tightly and looking at the three companions in front of them with determination. To the humble vault physician-in-training this was something entirely new: people were rallying behind him (provided, with a -lot- of help from Ian and Tabitha), and were willing to follow him into a battle. What looked like a hopeless endeavour last night was finally starting to look good. Yeah, he can do this. They can all do this. With the extra power the people were giving him, he started feeling more and more powerful, and in return, his determination, though scarred after last night, resurfaced.

Though was something he was afraid of.

Tabitha looked at the crowd, sizing the people up. They can probably do this, but people are going to die, inevitably. Might be that Ian and her will be the only survivors. Man, are they going to feel down when their hero doesn't return. She turned her head and looked at Matthew, and almost jumped up in surprise. The shy, gentle physician was gone and instead of him a man with eyes emanating skill, intellect, and confidence was standing. A second later, he spoke up, in the same steel-clad tone like when they met for the first time in the wasteland.

'Those of you who want to do this, get ready. We meet at the gate tomorrow morning and go save Tandi and the future of this place'

Tabitha's eyes went wide and jaw agape. Suddenly, the man she dreamt of al these days while recovering was back.

Shady Sands

2161-12-14 10:52 AM

The three 'heroes of Shady Sands' returned to the guard house. Ian came in first, excited to be back in the bloody business. Matthew came in second, empowered and eager to do hat needed to be done by the proof that actually -can- do it. Tabitha came in third, totally spaced out and confused.

'Okay' Matthew said when they sat down, Tabitha opening a bottle of booze 'I haven't got any clue as to how to proceed. Ideas?'

Ian smiled. Even without this skill this man somehow has the strength and confidence to proceed. He took a brief glance at Tabitha. Yeah, they're going to have a good conversation tonight.

'Their leader is called Garl Death-hand. If we kill him and his second-in-line to the title of the leader of those pissing raiders we'll scare them away for enough time for this town to slip under the protection of the caravan outfits'

Matthew made a confused frown and Ian continued 'The caravan outfits in the Hub don't have a steady trading route with this community, but if I make my way down there and speak with my superiors I am sure I can convince them to do just that. If this happens, armed caravans will start coming here, and if these raiders try attacking Shady Sands, or better yet, the caravans themselves, they'll take it upon themselves to rid the world of the Khans, and they've got a lot of guns and skilled people'

'Right' Matthew nodded 'Any chance we can do this without an all-out assault, like a stealth operation?'

Ian smiled at the definition 'Not likely. Their base is some small dilapidated building and shitty tents around it in the wasteland plains. They're not fortified but can see people approaching from miles away. We could probably sneak in at night, get Tandi, shoot Garl, and get away, but they'd probably return to Shady Sands to take revenge. If we hit them, we have to hit them hard'

'I've still got a frag grenade. If we come at night, take Tandi to safety, bomb the house to cause confusion and weed them out...?'

'Khans are brutes, they beat their children mercilessly as an initiation to manhood. I doubt the grenade would cause a lot of confusion. However, Garl and his strongest subordinates will probably all be at the same place. If we take them out with a grenade, our work will be a lot easier'

'Right. Are you good at throwing grenades?'

'So-so'

'I'm shit. You take it and do this'

Ian smiled 'I wouldn't have told'

Matthew seemed to not have heard the remark 'If these bastards will be inside the house, once we take them out we can fortify ourselves inside the house. If these people are as dumb as you make them out to be, they'll just come rushing to us. We'll have the fortification advantage'

Ian made an almost devilish-looking look 'Yeah, that could work... though we should consider another approach if they spot us coming'

Matthew frowned 'Yeah... no ideas so far though...'

The vault dweller powered up his pip-boy and brought up the map 'Where exactly are they located?'

Ian looked at the device confused, but after a while was able to pin-point the approximate location of their base.

'Okay... I'll go help Razlo, I'm not that good at this anyway'

'Right. I'll go look at the guns people have around here, I swear they nothing of gun maintenance. You...' he looked at Tabitha who looked like she was somewhere else 'You hold the home front'

With this, the two men left Tabitha alone to think.

Shady Sands

2161-12-14 10:14 PM

Ian returned to the guard house in the evening to find Tabitha sitting on his bed, drinking. This time around she looked like she did have an idea as to where she was.

'So... anyone attacked our fortress during the day?' Ian asked teasingly as he sat down beside her.

'Just some people looking for you. They bolted as soon as they saw me, though'

'Yeah, they found me eventually. All with their shitty guns. I swear, I still see gun parts anywhere I look'

Tabitha made no reply and the two sat in silence for a few moments.

'So... you finally got your shit together after this morning?' Ian asked, and Tabitha didn't give him a killing glare much to his surprise.

'Yeah, of course, I was just a bit surprised... but all is well now'

'So you no longer think he's a fucking loser who you're sorry that saved you?'

'Somethin' like that... It's just that when we met back in the wastes he looked like this tough sonuvabitch, and then back here he as this little wimp, and today... It's complicated...'

'So... do you or do you not fancy 'im?'

Tabitha looked at him and frowned 'No. That's crazy'

'Doubt it'

Tabitha put the bottle down on the floor.

'Are you daft? Why'd you think I was waiting for you on this lice colony of a bed?'

Before he could even express his surprise, Tabitha already had her hand wrapped around Ian's neck and pressed her lips against his. Ian closed his eyes and returned the kiss, letting her tongue into his mouth.

'You're a fucking smartass' Tabitha whispered in his ear when she broke the kiss 'But god knows I want you inside me'

'Wow; that was vulgar'

'Truth's vulgar. We're all dirty and vulgar'

She pulled down the zipper on his black leather jacket.

'Don't you deny that you love that side of us'

Shady Sands

2161-12-15 02:12 PM

The next afternoon a dozen people from Shady Sands were trudging through the wasteland in a slow train with a brahmin carrying their supplies. Tabitha, a scary person to Matthew, looked somewhat happy today, and somehow managed to be pleasant enough to have short conversations with the other members of their party. Matthew was in his serious mood, surveying the wasteland and occasionally asking Ian something about wasteland survival. Later on, Matthew came to walk beside Tabitha. They walked in silence for a while until Tabitha spoke up.

'So, Matthew... Can you shoot straight?'

'No' was his cold reply.

'Oh, nice. But you -can- throw grenades, right?'

'No'

'Awesome' she said sarcastically and the two fell quiet again, until Tabitha spoke up again.

'So, what's your deal? You wanderin' the wastes lookin' for people to save?'

'No'

'You're an awesome person to talk with'

'Yes'

'So what -are- you doing out here?'

'I'm looking for something'

'And what would that be?'

'Can't say'

'Awesome'

The two fell quiet again, and Tabitha was the one to break the silence once more.

'You did great when Khans attacked Shady Sands'

'I guess.'

'That's what I'm curious about. See, you look like you can't even hold a gun properly and yet you roast these Khans and become the Hero of Shady Sands...'

'Fuck off'

Tabitha raised an eyebrow. Matthew winced at his own words. 'Sorry. It's just that...' he tried to find the right words but in the end decided to say nothing.

'Let me guess' Tabitha started with a half-smile 'This is actually the first time you killed someone and you are torn between thinking 'oh my god I killed a man' and 'I had to killed them or they would've killed me and others', right?'

'Something like that...' Matthew said absent-mindedly.

'Well, take it from this wasteland merc bitch: you did alright'

Matthew didn't look up from the sand in front of him.

'The second statement is th'right one' Tabitha continued 'It's just this sort o'world we live in'

'How did you feel the first time you killed someone?'

Tabitha gave him a confused glare. 'Sorry?'

'How did you feel the first time you killed someone?'

She gave it a moment of thought.

'I felt good. I felt... powerful. I felt like I could actually survive, like I finally saw the light, y'know, the way to survive in this hell hole. And no, I felt no compassion for the ones I killed. They were lowlifes that went 'round town killing, raping, and taking other people's stuff. Y'know, the common variety wasteland garbage'

Matthew gave a weak nod.

'I guess it doesn't make you feel better?'

'No'

'Why did you sign up for this shit, then?' she asked, her irritation over the whole situation surfacing again.

'I have to kill them or they'll kill me and others' Matthew replied coldly. Tabitha cracked a smile and patted him on the shoulder.

'It'll grown on 'ya'

Matthew gave no response. The train continued its slow movement until a few hours before sunset.

Shady Sands

2161-12-13 11:37 PM

He woke up to the sound of gunshots.

'The Hell...'

Someone, a lot of people, were firing guns right outside the building he was in. He sprung up from the bed and took a look around.

'Shady Sands... the adobe walls, it's Shady Sands...'

He ran his hand across a fresh bandage on his torso.

'That's right, I left Vault 15 and...'

Memories of his trip down the abandoned vault suddenly surged back to his head, and so did the despair of seeing the salvation of his people buried under tons of rubble. For a few moments Matthew just stood there and watched the despair envelop him. But it did not kill him. It made it distant to the world around him.

The scream of a familiar person woke Matthew up from his stupor. It was Tandi, and she was in trouble. However distant he was to things right now, he did not want to let a... friend... of his get hurt. He put on his pants as fast as he could, took his gun out of the rucksack, and was ready to go see what's happening when he spotted another object in his backpack: a frag grenade from Vault 15. After a second of consideration he picked it up, feeling that much safer with it in his hands, and peeked out of the window into the main street to find Tandi.

The quiet settlement was now in chaos. He couldn't see much in the darkness but from what he could understand, someone invaded Shady Sands, and even got as far as Aradesh's house, though the people of the town were still putting up a fight. Matthew soon saw Tandi, a skinny little figure being dragged away by some bulky man. He managed to drag her past the entry to Razlo's, where Matthew apparently was now, and, running out of patience, thrust the little girl on his shoulder and made his way out of the town via a small 'alley' which was just the gap between the west-most row of houses and the western wall. Matthew sneaked out of the house and dived into the same 'alley' as the man, who was halfway to the gate by now. The man took effort to go slowly and not be noticed and Matthew dared only to pursue him at a speed slightly higher than his.

The way to the north-western corner of Shady Sands was short and Matthew didn't dare to shoot because of his abysmal skill and because that man had Tandi covering his back. The girl was hopelessly trying to fight her captor, and it was near the gate that she noticed Matthew gaining on them both.

Unfortunately, the hulking brute that captured her wasn't a complete idiot and as soon as he felt his hostage stop fighting figured there was something wrong and turned around to see Matthew following him in plain sight.

'Motherfucker!' the raider shot his gun held in his free right hand, but, thanks to Tandi starting to fight him again, missed Matthew's head by a hair's breadth.

However stoic Matthew was as he left Razlo's infirmary, he was not rendered immune to this situation, and as soon as he felt he bullet fly by his head so closely, he panicked. The damsel i distress was immediately forgotten as Matthew dove into a gap between two houses, and then through a curtain-door inside some house.

For a couple of minutes he lay still on the floor in the darkness of someone else's house, waiting for the hulking figure to come back and paint the walls with his brain. The man did not return and Matthew slowly regained his calm. There were still shots being fired by the infirmary and Aradesh's and carefully Matthew sneaked to the window to the main street to take a look at the situation, the idea of pursuing the man who got Tandi now completely out of his mind.

With his eyes now accustomed to darkness Matthew could make out the faint silhouettes of the raiders, firing at some houses. He could also make out the brahmin and the wagons they pulled being turned around and raiders getting into them.

'They can't see me now. I can do this. I can stop them' the cold thoughts ran through Matthew's head as he slowly looked down to the fist-sized object in his hand. Having left the holster at the infirmary, Matthew put his gun on the ground and wrapped his finger around the ring, not sure if he knew how to use it properly. Three wagon-pulling brahmin were approaching him and he was here, safe in the darkness behind walls, and ready to bow them all to hell. Mathew wasn't sure if he made a small smile just then or not.

The wagons were about to approach the house and Matthew could see the figures inside the wagon much more clearly in the light of the few street-lamp torches. He saw people, human beings in the wagon. He saw human beings exploding into a shower of body parts in his mind.

'For god's sake, man, just throw it!'

'No, I can't, I can't blow them all up, I can't...'

'You -so- fucking can!'

Before he knew it, his hand pulled the ring out of the grenade.

'Shit, shit!' Matthew brought his right hand back ready to throw the grenade, and took aim at his target. The raiders, the -humans- he was aiming at, started exploding in his head again.

'I can't do this, can I?' He thought bitterly as he threw the explosive, though with trajectory altered mostly by his conscious desire.

The brahmin pulling the wagon exploded like he thought the raiders would, and the wagon collapsed throwing the assailants into the dirt. This time, Matthew was sure he cracked a smile. The assailants were robbed of their way out and were now rolling around in the dirt.

'I did it. I showed them! I am powerful! I am so fucking powerful!'

Matthew heard more shots being fired from the guard house across the street, and saw the raiders crawling around, trying to take cover, and falling in the dirt dead in puddles of their own blood. It looked... glorious. It looked like justice. It was completely exhilarating.

He grabbed his gun from the floor and, grinning like a madman, took aim at the head of one of the unsuspecting raiders.

'Wait, that's no different than blowing them all up!'

His trigger finger froze.

'They took Tandi' Matthew's mind stated coldly as a justification and he started shooting. Because of his shitty aim the first three bullets hit the sand, but the fourth got one of the raiders in the shoulder. The way the shoulder thrust forward from the impact, the way the raider started screaming and dropped his gun, the way Matthew's next bullet got him in the lower back - it was all magical. He didn't know what it felt like to take drugs, but this must've been just like the high people take them for. He didn't stop. The next bullet missed a raider narrowly, and his target turned around to see who was shooting at him. Matthew pulled the trigger and the back of the raider's head exploded into a mist of bone fragments and brain matter. Matthew made a short sharp laugh. He was high. He was powerful. He was -god-.

A bullet from one of the raiders hit the adobe windowsill, sending a small cloud of dust at Matt's face, blinding him. A second later, he felt a bullet flying by him and narrowly missing his head, instead hitting some sort of a vase behind him and shattering it.

'Oh god'

And just like that, the ride was over. Matt's gun dropped to the ground and his knees suddenly lost strength, saving him from another bullet that would've hit him in the shoulder.

Matthew crashed to the ground trembling, bullets flying over his head through the window and making a mess out of the back wall. His hands were trembling and his whole body was numb, sending him into panic as he couldn't tell if he was shot or not.

'Shit, fuck, shit...'

The fire continued for some time, but the raiders then focused towards new targets, targets they failed to eliminate. Soon, it was all quiet, and Matthew kept lying down on the floor, trying to make any sense of the emotional roller-coaster he just went through.