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The Courier grinned, like a cat that just caught it's prey. He smacked the queen of diamonds onto the table, completing his deck.
"And that's caravan." He said in triumph. "Hand it over, sucker!"
Catherine glared daggers, brushing a pile of caps over the table and to Bray's side. He happily scooped them up and put them in his own pouch.
Nate looked back from the cockpit of the VTOL at their game, eyes dulled slightly from lack of sleep. He was never one for Wasteland games, especially the complex Caravan which was played by merchants. He preferred poker and blackjack.
He kicked his feet up on the Dashboard, staring out the cockpit window as the environment zoomed past. He noticed several towns in the distance, some beaming with electricity, others darkened blots on the landscape.
"You remember them?" Bray asked, walking into the cockpit and taking a seat in the pilot's chair. "The towns?"
Nate narrowed his eyes in thought, looking out the window again.
"Umm...Maybe." He pointed out a few places. "That's Bridgewater...Over there is MiddleBorough." He pointed past Bray to the Coast. "And over there is Plymouth."
Bray looked to where he pointed, a large glowing city met his eyes. "Oh, Neat. Have you been down here?"
"To Plymouth, yes." Nate grumbled, leaning back in his chair. "The other places? No."
An awful sound met their ears, both turning in their seats...To find Catherine asleep in a cot and snoring loudly.
"She do that often?" Nate asked, bewildered.
"No." Bray muttered.
They both leaned back in their seats, staring out the viewport.
"So, what did you do back then?" Bray inquired, throwing his arms behind his head.
"Back then?" Nate cocked an eyebrow.
"Y'know, before the war."
"Oh, I was a Soldier."
Bray shot up from his seat.
"You fought in the war!?" He almost yelled, slack jawed. Nate blinked, unsurprised by the reaction. "Dude, you've got to tell me! What the hell was it for!?"
Nate let out a suffering sigh, reaching into his pocket for a cigarette. He had told this story many times.
"Protecting Freedom. The American way of life." He blew out a cloud of smoke. "The Reds...Kept pushin and pushin. Somebody had to stop them."
"Amen." Bray smirked. "You were kickin ass 200 years before we were even born."
Nate chuckled, grinding his cigarette in the ashtray. He laid back for a nap before they got to Atlanta.
[An Hour Later.]
He awoke to an explosion. The VTOL tilting to the right. He almost flew out of his seat, bracing his hands against the door.
He pressed a button the on side of his neck, his helmet extending from his neckguard and covering his face.
The HUD informed him that the VTOL had suffered a direct impact from a RPG, the right engine was gone.
Staggering from the cockpit, he saw Catherine holding on tight to the handstrap on the roof. Bray was at the side door, shooting off a M1 Garand at unknown assailants.
"Nate! Grab hold!" Catherine almost screamed. He reached from the straps, grabbing the closest one. Bray slammed the side door shut, grabbing hold as well.
"Brace!" He roared, holding tight and bracing for impact. Catherine and Nate did so as well, a rising screech accompanying the action, followed by darkness.
When he woke, his HUD told him that his armor on his left leg, right arm, and stomach were compromised. A flashing red light illuminated the dark interior of the VTOL. He looked down, a piece of rebar sticking out of his abdomen.
"F-fuck..." He hissed, the pain finally registering in his mind. Searching through his belt, he pulled out some Med-X and a Stimpack. Injecting both into his wound, before yanking the protruding object object.
His faceplate flew up as he vomited blood, the pain slowly fading away as the Med-X kicked in. Some metal next to him creaked, he peered across the red-streaked room to the side-door, the door being pulled off.
A hand blindly reached in, grabbing a hold of his arm, and pulled him out into daylight. His faceplate came down quickly, adjusting to the light to not damage his vision.
The first thing he saw was Bray and Catherine looking down at him, repeatedly saying his name.
"I'm up..." He mumbled, placing a hand to his head, pushing himself up on his elbow. "Christ, my head."
He stood up, looking around. They were in a large trainyard, the VTOL embedded in a nearby building. Various Tracks stretched for miles, a city was in the distance.
"We're near Terminus." Catherine sighed in relief. "Thank God."
Bray and Nate weren't as calm, both scanning the environment. Whoever shot them down was obviously not gonna let them just walk away.
"The Bridge." Nate said, pulling out his Deagles and taking several pot shots at the nearby rail bridge. Sure enough, a body toppled over the rail, landing with a splat.
They quickly moved to Cover, more hostiles making themselves known by returning fire. Rifle Rounds and Shotgun slugs embedded themselves into the VTOL's Hull, narrowly missing the Wanderers.
"Jesus Fuck!" Bray hissed, a bullet almost grazing his shoulder. "How many are there!?"
"Dammit!" Catherine yelled over the noise, bringing her rifle to bear. "Atleast thirty!"
"Forty-Two." Nate corrected, his HUD working quickly. He stood up, dual wielding his Deagles, and promptly racked up several headshots. "Thirty-Eight."
Tink tink tink!
All three looked down to see a grenade poised at their feet. Time seemed to slow dramatically, all three running from cover as fast as they could. The VTOL exploded brilliantly behind them, sending them all sprawled out on the ground, shrapnel stabbing into their skin and armor.
Nate groaned, pushing himself up. He felt something being jabbed into the back of his head, the subtle click of a shotgun making him freeze.
"That's some hi-tech armor, friend." The Raider whistled. "It's a shame you're gonna loose it soon."
Two more Raiders grabbed him by the arms, hauling him up to face a force of more than thirty raiders. Bray and Catherine were dragged over next to him.
"What should we do with 'em, boss?" One asked. The leader Raider regarded Nate and Bray indifferently, but took interest in Catherine.
"Ooh, We've got ourselves a hottie." The Leader stroked the Lone Wanderer's cheek, making her squirm in disgust. "Kill those two and bring her along. But Strip her first."
Bray held back a chuckle. "Careful Pal, she'd sooner bite your dick off than consent."
"I wouldn't put it past her." Nate muttered.
There was whistle in the distance, causing all of them to look up in confusion. "Was that what I think it was?" One Raider said, a hint of fear in his voice.
"No, they wouldn't care about these poor saps." The Leader barked. "They keep to themselves."
"Who're they?" Nate questioned.
"The schmucks that run Terminus, but you don't have to worry about that." He smirked.
Another whistle, the Raiders seemed Very Nervous.
"Strip her!" The Leader ordered. Catherine attempted to struggle, but it was pointless. They began grabbing at her armor and vault suit.
"Computer..." Nate whispered, low enough so nobody heard it. "Activate Hydraulic Exoskeleton, set strength to 31 pounds."
The computer beeped in acknowledgement, a bar of progress taking up his left field of vision. Another whistle, Much closer made the attempted rape all but stop. Every single Raider Frozen in fear.
A train rounded around a nearby corner atop the bridge, the Engine heavily armored, a series of Cabins and Flatbeds taking up the rear, all of which carried many heavily armored and armed soldiers.
As they took aim, Nate's suit suddenly jolted with power. He yanked his arms down, outright breaking the arms of the poor raiders who were holding him. He grabbed Bray and Catherine, smashing the heads of several Raiders into paste on the way.
With his friends in tow, he quickly rushed into the VTOL, pulling the door shut just as the Train reached them, a hail of bullets accompanied it.
All they heard were screams of the Raiders and various thumps of corpses hitting the ground. After about five minutes of continuous fire, Nate's HUD deemed the area free of Hostiles.
Nate kicked the door open, standing out in the light. The Soldiers had rappelled down the Bridge and were sweeping the area, kicking the Raider's bodies to confirm kills.
Bray and Catherine joined him, the former helping the latter put her clothes back on. Nate stepped over to block her from the view of the Soldiers. One walked up to them, peering at Nate through his greenish visor.
"You're friends of Butch?" He asked, pointing his rifle into the air, he had a thick southern accent. Nate nodded, recognizing Catherine's friend's name. "Well Shit man, you do know how to make an entrance. Taking on ol' Ogre's gang like that."
"It wasn't exactly intentional." Nate shrugged. "But It happens."
"Damn Straight." The Soldier said bewildered. "Name's Sergeant Hades, Terminus Task Force. Co-Leader of the Tunnel Snakes."
"I'm Nate, that's Catherine and Bray." Nate pointed behind him.
"Sarge! Look who it is!" Another soldier hollered, Hades turning to face him. The soldier holding up the Raider's leader from earlier by the hair, blood staining his dead face.
"Well I'll be damned!." Hades hooted, flipping up his visor. "Ol' Ogre finally kicked the bucket! Hell, Nate, We outta pay ya."
"That won't be necessary." Nate waved a hand, an itching pain making itself known on his back. He turned slightly, looking down his side. Hades took notice and looked at his back.
"Whoa Man, you've got shrapnel in your back." He said, putting a hand on his shoulder to look closer. "Some of it's in your armor, but the rest is diggin into your flesh."
"Yep, I noticed." Nate rolled his shoulders, the pain almost tripled.
"We'll get you to the City." Hades motioned them to follow. "Getcha patched up."
Nodding Tiredly, the three followed behind him through the crowd of Soldiers and corpses. They climbed up the nearby hill and onto the Bridge, hopping onto the Train. They were escorted into a Cabin and told to take a seat to rest.
As the train began to move, the remaining soldiers quickly hopped on, pumping their guns into the air and firing off shots.
"Tunnel Snakes Rule! Tunnel Snakes Rule!" They chanted, occasionally getting cut off by the whistle.
"Heh...Things haven't changed much." Catherine mused.
Nate nodded tiredly, the last thing he heard before blacking out was the train's final whistle.
When he came to, he was laying on a medical bed. His armor was still on, but with bandages wrapped around it, several stimpacks and Med-X needles were on the tray next to him. He sat up, rubbing his head at the ensuing headache. Bray and Catherine were on Beds opposite of him. The ward was small, with just the three of them in it.
"Morning sleepy-head." Catherine chuckled, her entire torso covered in bandages. Bray had gotten similar treatment, but to to her extent.
"I haven't slept in like...a week." Nate muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Give me a break."
The doors to the Ward opened, a man in a armored leather jacket walked in. Nate and Bray didn't recognize him, but Catherine sure did.
"Hey, Catherine!" Butch grinned. "You miss me?"
[In Text-To-Speech MLG Voice.] I'm back. What is up, bitches? *DAB*
But seriously, how's everybody doing? School has kicked my ass around the corner and back again. I nearly didn't even finish this on time. (Personal Deadline was Noon Tomorrow.)
Catherine has dealt with situations like this, but has had the luck to not Actually be raped. (Bray typically rescues her or she manages to escape.)
And we're in Atlanta, aka Terminus! Home of the Tunnel Snakes! (Who are Scientifically proven to Rule.)
I'm now working on the Skyrim version of this Series (Of Fire, Steel, and Allies.) Make sure to check it out! Thanks!
Next Chapter will be out either next week OR Early March. (I'm getting the Switch and Zelda: Breath of the Wild, so Updates will be spotty.)
No FAQ today, sorry!