Ch# 4

All he could see were bright blue eyes looking up at him and the loose strands of hair being brushed behind her ear except this time by his own hand instead of hers. Leaning in, their lips coming together— until the mask over his face stopped them from proceeding. She leaned back slightly and raised one eyebrow giving him a quizzical look and said; "you know if this goes any further you are going to have to take off that mask, right?" He was about to answer when he opened his eyes to the dark sky being slowly injected with light from the sun, that hadn't broken the horizon yet.

He lay on the top of the wagon listening to the sounds on the trading post just beginning to stir, a little bit before first light the next day. He knew what his dream was trying to tell him, and he knew he could never show her his face—if she did, she would be that much closer to seeing his true nature; the darkness that he was trying to hide that was lurking just below the surface.

So he did what he had done before, he shoved the newfound feeling deep down next to the rest of his emotions that let him get to close to people. He would leave it there until it slowly died and left him forever. It may have been a feeling that he hadn't had in over a year but with a little more effort, just like the feelings connected to Amata, he shoved them down until they couldn't grab hold of his heart anymore.

He then sat up and turned to watch as the 'golden hour' was once again taking hold of the world around him; he didn't notice the warmth in his chest from where the newfound feelings had taken root in his heart. He just let everything fade in the warmth of the light summoning the new day.

—

Lyons

—

The Sentinel stood and stretched— walking away from the circle of her brothers who were sitting down and eating during the small break they had on the top of a small hill, overlooking the surrounding landscape. She turned to the East where the sun was beginning to break over the horizon and closed her eyes as she felt the warmth of the light on her face; she had always loved the sunrise and sunset, though none of her brothers really understood the sentiment. It just felt special to her, like the light gave everything around a special quality during that time.

She did like sunset a little better however, because afterwards she could lose herself in the blanket of stars— slowly finding the constellations that marked the sun's path through the sky, she remember the time her father had taken her up to the roof of the Citadel to point them out to her. She smiled warmly at the memory.

However she was pulled away from the warmth of the light by the sound of her brothers, who had finished eating and stood, beginning to ready their gear for the rest of the journey. She took a deep breath grabbing the last few seconds of the warmth she could before turning back to her team set for the new day. "Time to move, boys."

—

Leo

—

This leg of the journey was much shorter than the boring ride from Megaton but, it was filled numerous encounters as soon as they came into sight of the city almost to Wilhelm's Wharf. As they came into sight of the settlement they realized it was under attack.

Leo immediate started laying down fire, ending a life for every cough of his suppressed rifle. He first targeted their snipers who were providing overwatch for the assailants— currently pillaging the settlement. Only the last sniper left alive noticed the absence of his allies, puzzled that he hadn't heard any gunshot that signaled their executioner; he began searching for the source of his friends' demise.

Before he could spot the incoming caravan, a bullet travel through his skull, turning the end of his life into nothing more than a pink mist that Leo saw through his scope as he watched the body fall from the window.

Once the snipers were taken care of, Leo felt the wagon train grind to a halt. Guessing what was happening he jumped down from the lookout position to the ground, looking back at the Kinde family and the other terrified looking passengers and said, "Stay in the wagon, I am gonna go take care of it." Before breaking into a jog to the front of the caravan.

As soon as he saw the caravaner with fear in his eyes he knew he was going to run rather than fight to help the burning settlement. Without letting the disappointment at the attitude he had come to expect from most in the wasteland creep into his voice he just said, "I'll take care of them. I'll signal you when its safe to approach." and moved towards the sound of screaming and gunfire without waiting for a response.

—

Upon getting closer to the settlement's front gate he slowed and saw two armed men standing watch over the breached and burning settlement. Leo slid behind a pile of rubble and rested his rifle against it to create stable place to shoot off of.

At this close range with smoke and rubble perfectly hiding him, the two lookouts didn't even have a chance to know what hit them as one then the other went down in the space of a few heartbeats. Reloading to a fresh magazine Leo then made his way to the gate.

Once he moved into the settlement scanning for threats he saw a sight he had seen countless times, carnage and bodies strewn about in the muddy road. The men and older women had been killed and showed signs of torture and the absence of children and any younger women led him draw an obvious conclusion— Slavers.

Leo made his way quietly to the center of the small town to find a group of about 10 slavers binding a group of young women and children. Four of the slavers were splitting off dragging a few screaming and bruised young women towards the house Leo was hiding behind. These would be the first ones to die. He then went to hide in the most likely place they would go in the house, one of the bedrooms.

—

As they came in the slavers drew straws on who got to go first leaving the youngest looking one to stand watch; who was looking like he was unsure of even wanting to be there and was on the verge of running off.

A slaver entered the room and threw the screaming girl on the bed, laughing, while she was begging for mercy desperately. Before he could get his belt undone, Leo had emerged out of his hiding spot without a sound and buried his steel dagger at the base of the man's skull. His knife severed the brain stem and the man's life ended without a sound as Leo slowly pushed the man onto the bed, signaling for the girl to be quiet.

Once she nodded fervently, whispering her thanks; he moved out the door and silently behind the young man who was whispering to himself, "I shouldn't be here, this ain't right. These guys are fuckin' nuts."

Without hesitating, Leo came behind the young slaver and put one large hand over his mouth and chin and the other on the back of his head— roughly gripping a handful of hair for a better grip and proceeded with a quick jerking motion to twist the young man's head; followed by a thick crunching sound of his cervical vertebra breaking apart.

His eyes were as wide as saucers as Leo let his body fall to the ground with a thump and moved on without looking back at the young man's body— torso facing down and face pointing toward the ceiling. Some might have spared him, but not Leo, he had no time to give mercy to those who had made their choice to commit evil and then doubted it and tried to escape it after it was already done.

The next slaver, he dispatched with a quick blade to the back of the skull and again motioned for the girl to be quiet. He crept up to the next room only to have the door flung open as he reached for it, revealing an older slaver with nicer armor— most likely the leader of the slaving party. He had been in the midst of yelling one of the now dead slaver's names but, when he saw Leo looming above him— he froze in terror. Leo didn't hesitate as he saw the man, after seeing that he was most likely the leader; He sent a half strength right hook into the side of the man's face causing his head to launch into the door frame, splintering the part his face made contact with. Following this the man was thoroughly KO'd and crumpled to the floor of the room in a heap.

Silently giving a nod in greeting to the half naked girl on the bed, who was so shocked at the rapid action of her savior that she just silently returned the nod with wide eyes. Leo picked up the lead slaver by the back of the collar and dragged him across the room, which had a window overlooking the center of the town. Leo took his rifle off his back and pulled a nearby wardrobe to establish a stable shooting platform.

As he looked outside he saw the last four slavers. One was off to the side taking a leak, facing away from the street— he quickly put a bullet through the back of his head; not stopping to watch the body fall forward into the puddle of piss. Moving on, he saw two more slavers in the middle— one messing with some of the captured children and one torturing an almost dead man; in front of what was most likely a member of his family. Leo put a bullet through the skull of the one taunting the child and then through the chest of the one torturing the man.

Leo looked for the last man which he caught a glimpse of casually entering the house he was shooting from, apparently not noticing the cough of his suppressed rifle over the still screaming prisoners. Leo was silently thankful for the hyper-advanced and insanely silent suppressor that he had made when he had been aboard the alien flagship, now dubbed with the name 'USS Kickass,' renamed by Sally and the Medic who's name he forgot but, found to it awkward to ask again what it was.

—

Turning and slinging his rifle on his back, he picked up the body of the still unconscious slaver and slung it over his shoulder without any effort. He motioned for the still silent girl to stay and walked out of the room. He then heard the slaver who had just entered the building and discover the young slaver's body, wide eyes still pointing toward the ceiling.

"What the fuck?!" the slaver yelled, "Boss what the fuck happened to kenny?!" Leo yelled back in a gruff voice that was close enough to the unconscious slaver's voice to pass from upstairs. He made the words purposefully a half yell and hard to hear from downstairs as well to draw the last slaver upstairs, which he succeeded at doing. He back into a room right in front of the landing at the top of the stairs to wait.

The last conscious slaver moved up the stairs leading towards the second floor room he had heard the unclear voice from, "I can't understand what you're sayin' boss, I know Kenny was annoying and kind of a pussy but he was young; not like he was gonna—" his words stopped he reached the top of the stairs and a large dark figure emerged from the door way in front of him. Before he could start to reach for his weapon, a large boot connected with his chest; simultaneously snapping most of the ribs in his ribcage and propelling him backwards down the stairs where he smack, hit, and thunked into many of the steps on the way down. He was left wheezing and broken at the bottom of the staircase.

—

Slaver

—

He heard heavy steps down the staircase and saw the huge dark figure with his boss thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He tried to take a breath to beg for his life but his shattered ribs only let him wheezing out a single, "Please…mercy"

He felt the figure lean him up against the wall and put a large boot on his shoulder, pinning him against the wall. Unsure of what was happening he held onto a small hope that his plea had worked; until he felt the large hand enter his mouth and grip his lower jaw.

All he could do was scream as his mandible was slowly pulled from his skull, taking with it much of the skin of his neck and part of his trachea. His eyes fell to the mask adorning the dark figure; He saw the bright red blood of his own spurting arteries paint lines up the mask. As the blood dripped back down the mask it caught in smiling mouth carved into the mask and followed its length until finally dropping from the lowest point; the action left the mouth painted red and dripping with his blood.

The slavers last thoughts were consumed in the terror caused by the demon before him.

—

Leo

—

He kept staring into the slaver's wide terrified eyes as he gurgled— letting the blood spurt onto his mask, he finally stood when he saw the light fade from the man's eyes. He then turned to the eyes he had felt upon him since a moment ago.

Mary stood in the door way rooted defiantly to the ground shaking like a leaf, with a violently frightened expression plastered on her face. Leo waited for her to speak after he faced her, mask covered in the blood of the dead man still leaned up against the wall— his mandible, dripping blood, still gripped in Leo's hand.

"Why…he asked for mercy. So why would you do THAT?!" she ended the question in a desperate shout. Looking desperately to the man she had thought she was meant to be with for some kind of explanation or rational behind his gruesome, nightmarish actions.

Leo took a breath and spoke, firm and cold, "He was a slaver, a murder, and a rapist; he did not deserve mercy." After he had finished he began walking towards her to leave the house. Upon seeing the hero, now turned blood stained demon, walking towards her; she staggered back away from him— stumbling and falling into the mud outside the house.

Then Leo saw the look on her face; one he had seen countless times from people who had witnessed his true nature, who had briefly seen behind the curtain— terror, betrayal, and pain. It was one of the reasons why he didn't let anyone close.

As he moved past her he spoke without looking at her, "Go back to the wagons, tell them it is safe to approach." Then continued toward the hostages currently busy spitting and kicking at the bodies of the slavers. He came to the man who had been tortured to the edge of his life and quickly dumped the body of the unconscious slaver to the side and applied first aid with stimpacks and bandages.

After stabilizing the man, he moved to free the captives; ignoring their gratitude he ordered them to take the man into a house or Aid station and get him a stretcher so they could move him more easily out of the settlement. After hesitating for a second they obeyed. He began looting the bodies of anything useful, until he saw the wagon train pulling in through the gate.

—

Over the course of the next 30 minutes he directed the injured man to be loaded into the passenger wagon, then speaking to the remaining settlers telling them that the settlement was breach and half burnt to the ground so if they want to grab anything they should grab whatever they could carry and climb into the passenger wagon that was bound for Rivet City. Clearly seeing what he said was true, they ran off to do exactly as he told them.

He then noticed the lead slaver begin to stir and proceeded to look through the stirring man's gear for anything useful or any information— he finally found a crumpled note in his pocket with a small map to a familiar location and a password to give to gain entry.

The man opened his eyes and looked around in confusion, his gaze landing on Leo who was kneeling in front of him with a knife in one hand and the note he was supposed to memorize then destroy waving slightly in the other. "Shit, who—" His words were cut off as the knife was unceremoniously shoved into his eye socket and then twisted further into his brain, ending his life for good.

—

Leo came to the caravaner who said, "He buddy, you may have done some good things here today and these people hit some hard luck but I'm not in the business of giving free passage to everyone I come across." Leo quickly tossed him a large bag of caps with more than enough to cover the cost for every new passenger two times over.

"Oh. Well then everything seems to be in order; tell them to squeeze in tight back there." He said, his mood now almost joyful at the large amount of money he had made.

Leo stately plainly, "Tell them yourself when they get back, I am going to move ahead of you and clear the path to the Rivet City for you, so that you can move as fast as possible to get the injured man medical attention." Not waiting for the caravaner's response Leo walked back to the last wagon in the line-up and pulled his pack down and threw it on his back. He looked up to see the passengers giving him an assortment of looks, all except for Mary; who was staring at her hands— 'she told them' he thought to himself.

He wasn't angry; he knew he couldn't have hid his true nature for long. He addressed them all together to answer their stares, "Yes, everything she said is true; It's a cruel and evil world and I never claimed to be a hero." he then continued "I will be moving on ahead to clear the path for the caravan; hold on tight, its gonna get a little bumpy going faster." They didn't have a response for him and he didn't wait to hear one, he turned on his heel and pulled his rifle into his hands as he made his way out the gate— alone once again.

—

Wagon

—

No one spoke for a long time in the wagon. They slowly realized nothing they thought about him or his actions would change the facts. He may not be perfect or a shining example to live by but, he was keeping them safe and saving many people who otherwise wouldn't have had a chance at life— he became one with the darkness so he could protect those who lived in the light.