6

For the second time in two days, Norton was up and ready by dawn. He had woken up before the sun and looked around Lock and Load before leaving. He had found a can of red spray paint and took it with him when he left Paradise Falls. At the main entrance, an old blank billboard stood. He wrote "Everyone inside is dead. Head south. Find a town and stay there or you will die."

Praying that someone would heed the warning, Norton started going northwest. Raven Rock was maybe a two day hike to the north, in the mountains of the Wasteland. He knew the road was far from safe, but he had to go. He had to find out what this group was and what they wanted.

There were almost no clues to the puzzle. This group was far from rag tag. The soldiers had been trained and were very efficient. They had some kind of ranking system with newer soldiers working under higher ranking officers. Another odd fact was that they did not care about their equipment. The Brotherhood, the Enclave, and the Outcasts had always been picky on their weapons and armor. But this group appeared to be using anything they came across. Thinking, Norton realized that it was a smart idea, over all.

Even stranger, this group was not killing Raiders. The higher activity of Raiders down south clearly showed that. This group was allowing the Raiders to live, but not to stay in the north, where they had thrived. The Brotherhood had always arrested Raiders and the Enclave had always slaughtered anyone that seemed like a threat or a criminal. That did not seem to be the case here.

The unknown Mr. Rhoades entered Norton's mind. Crow had told him that people like Rhoades were traveling all over the northern Wastes, recruiting all sorts of mercenaries and settlers. Could these recruiters be the ones getting soldiers for this new organization? Had Crow mentioned something about these men buying ammo and weapons in bulk? That would explain the high prices of things in the north.

Out of all these things, Norton could only think of one move to make. Go to Raven Rock. It was the only logical choice possible. Norton knew something had to be done about this group.

The terrain was slowly starting to change as Norton moved onward. The ground became rockier and the hills were starting to turn into mountains. A few groves of trees were noticeable in the hills, but mostly scraggly, dead pines. The valleys deep in the mountains had started to show signs on life, similar to the valley in which Oasis rested. Norton remembered the little settlement with mixed thoughts. They had helped him, but they had also forced him into a dank cave system to hunt and kill mirelurks, his least favorite of the Wasteland's little surprises.

He had been walking for a few hours when he came upon the refugee camp. When it came into sight, Norton had to squint to make sure it was real. The mass of canvas tents and makeshift huts were surprising. A few light smoke trails were coming off of it, probably camp fires.

Norton headed towards it, hoping he could find someone in charge. When he was within a hundred yards of the place, he heard the crack of a rifle. The bullet landed near his foot, sending up a spray of dirt. Norton jumped to the side and looked towards the camp.

"Don't come any closer!" A voice yelled. But Norton knew that voice. Who was it. "Stay right there!"

Norton saw two people walking towards him. They both wore duster coats and cowboy hats, carrying Chinese assault rifles. Norton let out a sigh. They were Regulators! Norton knew their leader, Sonora. She would listen to him.

"Who are you, stranger?" The male Regulator said as the duo got close.

"My name is Norton." He said. "You guys are Regulators. I did some work for Sonora a while back. She'll remember me."

"Sonora doesn't remember anyone, pal." The male told him. "Sonora's been dead for a month and a half. Now Molly here is going to pat you down. Don't try anything. Sydney back at camp has you in her scope and she can end you from a mile away."

Sydney? He knew that name. Images of Abraham Washington and the National Archives flooded into his head.

"I know Sydney." Norton said as the female Regulator, Molly, took his shotgun and pistol. She started patting down his sides and legs.

"Bullshit." The male said. "I believed you knew Sonora, but Sydney? What are the odds? How many people do you know?"

"I did a lot of travelling." Stated Norton coolly.

Molly stepped away from him, still holding his weapons.

"He's clean, Aaron."

The male, Aaron, eyed him suspiciously again.

"What's your business in the area?" asked Aaron.

"I need to go to Raven Rock."

"Really?" Aaron let out a hearty laugh. "I thought you said you travelled. Raven Rock blew up man."

"I know. I'm the bastard who blew it up."

Aaron's laughter died and he looked at Molly, who appeared very nervous. After a pause, he looked at Norton.

"Come with us. Sydney will want to see you."

Norton followed the Regulators, unarmed and feeling naked in the open terrain. The sooner he got the weapons back, the better.

When they reached the outskirts of the camp, Norton saw Sydney climbing down a ladder of one of the shacks, a sniper rifle across her back. She looked just like he remembered. Shoulder length brown hair, combat armor, and a "don't stare at me too long asshole" look on her face. She walked up until see was a few feet form then.

"Norton." Said Sydney, no emotion in her voice. "I see your still alive. Rumor was you were beaten to death by some raiders and dragged away by a yao gui."

"No, I'm still kicking." Answered Norton. "It's been awhile."

Sydney flashed him a grin and he shook her hand. She was clearly glad to meet a friend. Norton couldn't help but notice that she looked tired.

"Who is this guy, Syd?" asked Aaron.

"This is Norton." Answered Sydney. "The Lone Wanderer. Helped me on one of the best jobs I've ever run."

Aaron looked at Norton in awe.

"You're….the Lone Wanderer?" He asked. "Listen. I'm sorry about the hard time I gave you out there." Shaking, Aaron handed Norton his weapons.

"It's no problem." Said Norton. "You were being safe."

Aaron smiled, then looked at Molly. It was as if he had met God himself.

"Thank you sir. I need to be going."

Aaron and Molly walked off, leaving Sydney and Norton alone. Sydney looked at Norton again.

"Come on. We'll go to my tent. Have a drink or two."

The two started walking through the camp. Norton saw at least two dozen people, huddled around camp fires, carrying items. He passed a tent where several men and women lay on bedrolls, being bandaged by a man in a lab coat.

"What the hell happened around here?" asked Norton.

"A few months ago, the Regulators joined up with the Brotherhood." Began Sydney. "Kinda annexed them. They gave them some land and the Regulators started a few colonies. These refugees are from one called Liberty Creek. It's a few miles northeast of here."

"What happened to the colony?"

"Two weeks ago, we were attacked." Sydney told him, opening the door to a tent. Norton stepped inside. Two bedrolls lay on the floor, with a footlocker in one corner. "Whole colony burned to the ground. We used to have thirty-one people. Know were down to eighteen."

Norton sat down in the dirt and Sydney opened the footlocker. She pulled out a bottle of vodka and two shot glasses. She poured the drinks, handed one to Norton, and downed the other. Norton finished his as she poured her second. After drinking it, she sat on her bedroll across from him.

"Do you know who it was?" he asked her.

"Not really. It happened in the middle of the day. I was sitting in my shack, minding my own business. Suddenly, I hear some screams and go out to see some of the shacks on fire. My first thought when I saw the guys was holy shit, the Brotherhood is attacking! But then I saw some Outcast armor."

Norton logged the information away in his head. Whoever these people were, they sounded just like the guys who attacked Paradise Falls.

"You were overwhelmed?" Sydney took another shot. As did Norton.

"Yes. It happened too fast. I just started herding people away, trying to avoid them. Before we knew it, the attack was over and everything was either on fire or burned down already."

Sydney got up and put the bottle back in the footlocker, not talking now. She turned to Norton and chuckled.

"You're probably wondering what I'm doing here, right?"

Norton nodded.

"Well, you know I started that vendor job in Underworld." She started. "But it got so boring! I missed the adventure, the excitement."

"Like hunting the Declaration of Independence?" joked Norton with a grin.

"Exactly! So one day I just put on my armor, picked up my SMG, and headed north. I knew about the Brotherhood starting colonies and how they wanted some freelancers for security. So I signed up and moved around. Arefu, The Republic of Dave, Canterbury, half a dozen other colonies just getting started with no names yet. Then I met Anita and everything changed."

"Who's Anita?" asked Norton with surprise.

"My wife." Sydney said. She must have been expecting more surprise out of Norton. "What? Not shocked?"

"I always kind of guessed." He told her. "The adventure, the hatred towards men. It was either that or you were a feminist."

"Anyway." Sydney said with a laugh. "I met Anita while stationed at Wheaton Armory. The Brotherhood was trying to turn it into one of those forts they have going on. Anita's a Regulator. One of the best. We got close and got married. My contract with the Brotherhood ended just about the time the Regulator's colonies started forming up and we moved to Liberty Creek to help protect it."

With her story done, Sydney sat back down on her bedroll and sighed.

"You know, Anita is great. She's on patrol right now, but if you're still here when she's done you can meet her. She'll love you."

"That sound's great." Norton said truthfully. "But first I have some questions. If Sonora's dead, who's in charge?"

"Well, I've sort of been in charge of this camp." Sydney said. "But I don't know who's in charge of the Regulators now. We haven't had any contact with the outside world since the attack. All we've managed to do was hold our own and wait for the next Brotherhood platoon to pass through."

"Have you sent someone out to get help?"

"No. Everyone who isn't sick or hurt has to stay here. If we aren't attacked by Radscorpions and dogs, we're attacked by raiders. We already lost five people since we arrived, we have six people wounded and four of those won't live ot see the end of the week."

"Well it's probably a good thing that you didn't send anyone." Norton told her, standing up to stretch. "Because whoever attacked you guys attacked Paradise Falls too and everyone there is dead."

"Everyone?" asked Sydney out of shock. "How the hell? There must have been three whole platoons there! What kind of army could possibly wipe out that many soldiers?"

"I don't know, but I need you to tell me everything you remember about the men who attacked Liberty Creek."

Sydney looked down, then back up at Norton's face. Norton saw how tired she was and how much she wanted everything to be over.

"They were wearing power armor, like I said. And they had all sorts of guns. Assault rifles, hunting rifles, pistols. One guy had a flamer. The power armor was all mismatched too. Outcast, Enclave, Brotherhood. I've never seen anything like it."

"Were they wearing armbands?"

"Uh…yeah I think so. Red ones. And I saw a couple with blue ones. The blue ones were barking orders at the red ones."

"Okay, Sydney. Thank you. But I should probably go. I need to find these guys before they attack more colonies."

Norton walked out of the tent and heard Sydney follow him.

"Norton!" She called, grabbing his forearm. "What are we supposed to do?"

Norton looked around the camp.

"Can you all travel?"

"Most of us. But the ones that are wounded can't."

"Okay. The best thing you can all do is the hold down this camp. Make sure everyone is armed and trained. Kill anything that tries to kill you. I'll send help if I find it."

Norton started walking towards the end of camp.

"Norton!" Sydney called again. He stopped and turned towards her. "Be careful….please."

Norton nodded to her and kept heading north.