The light was blinding. Nathan shook his head. Helmet? Here. Carbine? Two mags. Food? None. Water? One bottle left Sleep? … Nathan rubbed his eyes as he flicked his lighter back on to produce some light. Nathan was panting hard, his fatigues were cut and his helmet had a Deathclaw's talon stuck in the top portion of it, rendering it almost useless. Nathan held his 9mm pistol, Maria out with his left hand. The front sight poised at any target that may present itself. Hale soon realized that his breathing was being matched by another's. Oh right. Hsu. The Colonel was slumped over; his body limp with one arm draped over Nathan's shoulders. How am I gonna get out of this one?
"Get it! Get it!" a voice shouted.
"Die, Motherfucker! Die!" another shouted. Gunfire. Long burst. Probably light machine gun. There was a growl, a snarl, and a roar. Then gunfire, and after the gunfire came the screams.
"They don't die! Run!" a voice shouted.
"No! NO! Help!" a third voice shouted. It only just occurred to Nathan that there were hundreds of cries for help. Screams in the darkness that no one would here. The place was a maze. Nathan had gotten lost too many times already. By chance he had found Hsu, Hsu had his Service rifle knocked out of his hands by a Super Mutant's rebar club. The Mutant responded by quickly throwing Hsu against the wall. Jenkins held fast but the Mutant clubbed the boy's head off with one stroke. Hsu drew his pistol and managed to fire three shots before the mutant closed in on him. Nathan arrived just as the mutant lifted Hsu above its head and brought Hsu's back against its knee. Nathan heard the bone crack and shatter as Nathan emptied the clip into the Mutant's head. That was a day ago. Now, Alpha was down to Hayes, Hsu, and Nathan. McGee went down valiantly when a Glowing One ambushed Nathan from behind. McGee was already with Nathan when Nathan woke up. The Glowing One was about to explode behind Nathan's back when McGee tackled the ghoul down. The explosion caused fatal amounts of radiation to surround Sergeant McGee. The explosion also drew attention from other feral ghouls in the area. McGee died before Nathan could clear out the Ghouls in time. Nathan limped forward, carrying Hsu was slowing Nathan down tremendously. With a broken back, there isn't much Hsu could do. Even if I get him to safety, who can help him? He may not ever recover. Nathan held Maria up as long as he could. It was his emergency firearm, should That Gun ever be lost, destroyed, or out of ammunition. Maria held 16 rounds and Nathan only one magazine for it. Nathan still had the carbine, but he wouldn't be able to use it as long as he had to carry Colonel Hsu.
"Damn it. What the hell do I do?" Nathan grunted as he shifted Hsu's body to help make carrying him a little easier. Nathan's earpiece cracked. The hell?
"Is anyone still broadcasting? This is Hayes. Report! Jenkins! Dammit!" Hayes 's voice broadcasted in the helmet. Hale slid the helmet over his head.
"This is Hale. Hayes? What is your position?" Hale asked as he began limping forward again. Hale took care to try not to notice the talon the came in from his left forehead area and pressed through the left visor.
"I'm at—" Hayes was cut off by an explosion. There was a yelp and a roar.
"Fuck!" Hayes shouted.
"Hayes?!" Hale shouted. He try moving faster. "Talk to me! Status, now!" Hayes grunted and the other man's voice shouted.
"Retribution!" Oh no.
"It's a fucking Praetorian!" Hayes shouted. Hayes never raises his voice. This is bad. Nathan reached an intersection. "He's got a ballistic fist!" An explosion. Nathan saw it and began walking over.
"I see the explosions. I'm heading over right now." Hale panted into the earpiece.
"You mother—" Hayes voice was cut off again by a crack. Hayes lost connection. Fuck! Hales moved faster. Maria began dropping. Hale's vision grew blurry. He turned left again. He saw the Praetorian. The Praetorian held Hayes' collar as Hayes stabbed his combat knife into the man's neck. Nathan aimed the front sight. Hale quickly tapped the VATS button. Time slowed. Nathan was able to breathe easier. He aimed Maria carefully and lined up the front sight with the Praetorian's arm. He opened fire. Hale pulled the trigger three times. The Praetorian's arm exploded, the man's face contorted and the man began to scream. The second bullet entered the base of the man's neck. The jugular veins were cut by the bullet grazing the two veins. The man grabbed one his neck with his remaining arm as the third bullet went wild. Hayes then proceeded to kick the man down and stab him numerous times with his combat knife. Nathan arrived shortly after.
"Glad you came when you did, Hale." Hayes grunted. He was sitting against the wall. The right side of his face was cut and burned, likely the Praetorian had grazed his face when Hayes wasn't paying attention. At the base of Hayes left elbow was a stump where he arm should've been. The bandage that wrapped the wound was soaked in blood and dripping. Hayes looked up at Hale and noticed Hsu. "What happened?" he murmured.
"He and Jenkins met a Super Mutant. Jenkins had his head clubbed off, while Hsu had his back broken." Hale sighed. Hayes twirled the combat knife in his right hand.
"When I first woke up, the Deathclaws were in the middle of dumping you guys down these metal chutes. They were fucking talking, man. Deathclaws that were talking! I thought that was just some bullshit story!" Hayes whimpered. "I tried to rescue you guys. I escaped by using this knife to stab one of the deathclaws in the eye. It responded by clawing my arm off. I was lucky I guess. I still had my rucksack when I jumped into the chute. It had a full med-kit in there; not the bullshit they give to the grunts, but the kind of kit actual doctors back home get. I was able to use the chems and supplies in there to treat my arm and fix it up. Then I managed to survive with just my knife until you came along."
"Can you walk?" Nathan asked. Hayes nodded slowly. Hayes stood up and stretched himself. Then it happened. The clicking sound came back.
"Oh no. No. No. No." Hayes muttered. He readied his combat knife.
"Hale. Put me down." Hsu's voice came clearly and confidently.
"Colonel?" Hale responded. "But, sir. Your back."
"Lean me against the wall. Give me your sidearm. I can still shoot." Hsu responded coolly.
"Yes, sir." Nathan relented. Nathan slowly leaned Colonel Hsu against the wall. The Colonel paled and his eyes widened. "Sorry, sir." Nathan muttered as he passed Maria to Colonel Hsu. Hsu nodded and aimed forward. Nathan drew his Carbine and aimed it forward. The clicking sound grew louder and louder. Slowly the sound of metal scraping metal filled the air.
"Sound's coming from there." Hayes pointed. Nathan aimed his carbine in the direction that Hayes had pointed out. Hale reached into his coat and produced a flare. He pulled the top off and tossed it down the corridor. A Deathclaw slowly stalked its way down the corridor. It sharpened its claws as it approached the group.
"Shit. Shit. Shit!" Hayes murmured. He flipped his knife so that its tip pointed to the ground. Nathan checked the carbine. 5 rounds left in the mag. Not enough. The deathclaw started picking up speed. Nathan released the magazine. The Deathclaw was running now. Nathan slid the new magazine into the rifle. The Deathclaw was now ten feet away from Nathan. Nathan's right arm reached for his Pip-Boy. The claw slammed straight into Hale's torso, the force of the blow sent Hale flying backwards into Hayes. Hayes caught Hale and grunted as the two landed. Hale struggled to breath, the blow knocked all the air from Hale's lungs. Hsu fired twice more and reloaded.
"Fuck!" Hale muttered. Hale propped himself on one knee and took aim. Hayes sprinted forward and tackled the Deathclaw in an attempt to bring it further away from the Colonel. He might as well have tackled a soldier in Power Armor. Hale inhaled and exhaled, he aligned his crosshairs with the Deathclaw's eyes and openeded fire. 6 rounds of armor piercing rounds tore the Deathclaw to pieces. The hulking beast collapsed just before its middle talon reached Captain Hayes' face. Hale sat back. Hayes laid on his back, under the skulking and colossal corpse of the Deathclaw. Hayes chuckled.
"Live another day, I guess." Hayes muttered. Hsu still had his pistol raised.
"You there!" Hsu shouted. "Identify yourself!" Hale looked past the deathclaw.
"There's nothing there." Hale responded.
"Now!" Hsu shouted once more, with more intensity. A dark, slim figure approached the three soldiers. His hands were moving and a clapping sound began to fill the corridor. The man stepped into the light provided by Hsu's flashlight and continued clapping. The figure was a man who seemed to be wearing an altered version of the Enclave power armor.
"Now that was something!" the man said. "By far, that was the most successful result yet. After two hundred years of this, I had just about given up on finding the right candidate."
"What?" Hale asked. The man then proceeded to draw his pistol and shoot Colonel Hsu. The Colonel's body slumped forward. Hale barely had time to respond when another shot slammed into Hayes. Hale propped his gun up and fired once, the man stepped to the side, almost as if to dodge the round that was directed at him and fired once more.