This chapter was inspired by the song "Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins.
~O~
World of Refreshment
The following morning, all the raider groups had collected with their volunteers for the trip to the Nuka-World Bottling Plant. The entire time, Gage was talking and Laura barely listened to him at all. She noticed Mags and William in the distance and the woman didn't even look in her direction at all before walking into the Parlor.
Then, the Operator she'd helped stepped into her field of vision - Dan.
"Hey," Dan said, smiling down at her.
Laura snapped out of her daze and looked up at him. "Oh." she said, "How's..." She gestured to the bandage around his neck.
He chuckled. "Mackenzie works wonders." he remarked. "But, uh, I'm here to do what needs to be done. Mags filled us in. We're supposed to follow you and Gage's lead."
Laura looked apprehensive. "Anything else?"
"Nope. That was it."
Laura frowned, thinking on what had happened last night. Mags didn't speak about it with anyone? She began to wonder why or what the raider leader thought about it. Then again, maybe it was best to forget about it. Mags seemed to.
"Alright!" Gage told the groups. "We're heading off to the Bottling Plant! The place is flooded with Gunners and god only knows what else. We ready?"
A few cheers and howls from the Pack members joining them. The Operators and Disciples were also quite eager to go.
"Let's go carve up some Gunners and their little friends!" a Disciple hissed.
The group made their way toward the Bottling Plant, and along the way, two Pack members were arguing; Laura knew them both. One was Needles and the other was Jet. They had both been seeing one another in the gang, but argued constantly about their Chems.
Needles wore a feathered mask and Jet was wearing a helmet with moose antlers. It was easy to tell them apart as Needles often times used blades on his knuckles and Jet had a scar across his face.
"...You always do this!" Needles snapped. "You take my Chems and have no fucking courtesy to even share!"
"Maybe I wouldn't take them if you'd just pay a little attention to me!"
Laura glanced over her shoulder at the sight before she looked at Gage. "Should I...?" she asked.
"What? Oh hell, you can try." Gage muttered, shaking his head, "Those two are always fighting about those damn Chems. We need to keep them level."
Laura turned, stopping the group. "Needles? Jet?"
The two raiders looked at her.
"What?" Needles snapped.
"The two of you argue a lot about your Chem issue," Laura said, "Jet?" She looked at the other raider. "Why do you take his Chems all the time?"
Jet scoffed, shrugging his shoulders. "It's about the only time he pays attention to me anymore." he muttered.
Laura looked at Needles. "Do you think Jet's doing this as a way to get your attention?"
"Well, if he is, it's fucking working!" Needles snapped, glaring at the other Pack member.
"I saw you! You were hitting it off with Shag!"
"I told you, we were talking about what to give you for your birthday! You peek all the fucking time! I had to have him hide your present this time!"
Laura looked at Jet after listening to their argument. "Do you feel like Needles isn't giving much in your relationship?" she asked him.
Jet stood there, shifting a little on his heels. He swung his rifle back over his shoulder and his eyes wandered before he nodded. Laura looked at Needles.
"Maybe Jet's taking your Chems because he misses you," Laura told the other raider.
Needles seemed to think about that. He glanced down at Jet skeptically before sighing and hanging his shoulders.
"Look. Sometimes I need my space after a raid," he told him, "The screaming, the yelling, the gunshots. It gives me a headache and I gotta unwind, you know?"
Jet smiled and nodded. "Sure. I can give you space."
A skeptical look from Needles.
"I can! Promise!"
A Disciple from the group groaned, shaking her head. "If we're done this sickening display of 'Puppy Love', I'd like to get going," she snapped, "We got Gunners to gut."
Gage gestured for Laura to follow alongside him and the group continued on. He raised his eyebrows, amused and looked down at her.
"I can't believe you got Needles and Jet to stop fighting," he remarked.
"My mother worked as a psychologist in Goodneighbor," Laura replied, "You know, back when people used to do stuff like that before the War. She knew how to talk to people and wanted to revive the old practice. I watched a few of her sessions. She thought I could be like her, I guess. But it was hard since most people never really noticed me."
"Hell, they missed out then."
Laura looked up at him, then chuckled. "I guess you're complimenting me?"
Gage chuckled now and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you've done more work as a trader than Colter's done his whole time here. Just sayin'. Don't get used to it, though. I ain't gonna hug ya' or anything."
Laura thought about that, distracted by the idea.
When they arrived at the Bottling Plant, they immediately took cover behind a broken wall, just as several Gunners were patrolling the area. Laura turned her attention to the raiders at her side.
"Okay..." she told them, hesitantly. "How do you guys want to...uh...go about this? They have turrets mounted nearby. And there's at least four guarding the doors."
"If there's only four, I can take them from here," Dan told her, gesturing to his rifle he had by his side.
Needles hissed, giggling. "Yeah! Let's turn 'em into dog food!"
Laura held up two hands to calm the gradually growing anxious group. "Wait! We need a plan!"
Gage scowled at them and added in agreement. "We can't go running in there like the last ones! Remember Todd and Ham?" he added, "The kid's right. We need a plan. Now hush up and listen to her."
Laura glanced at him weakly, then to the raiders in front of her. "Okay, first we should - "
A gunshot suddenly went off, narrowly missing her head. Everyone quickly ducked for cover and the anxious shouts of Gunners behind the wall filled the air. Bullets rained down from above and everyone shielded their heads to avoid being shot at.
"NOW do we fucking shoot?" an Operator shouted.
"Shoot! Definitely shoot!" Laura yelled, gesturing frantically over her head, "Shoot now!"
The raiders were forced to scatter to avoid the hail of bullet-fire above them. Laura took cover beside Gage while she noticed the others struggling to keep themselves shielded behind an overturned trailer. She winced and then paled when she heard the sound of turrets powering up.
"This situation needs to get unfucked, right now!" Gage shouted, over the roar of bullet-fire.
Laura nodded frantically. "I know!"
She looked back at the raiders taking cover, then noticed a suit of Power Armor sitting in a station nearby. Her eyebrows went up and Gage looked at her, knowing full well what she was planning. He shook his head rapidly.
"No, no, you're crazy!" he yelled, "You'll never make it!"
Laura winced, missing being grazed by a bullet. "Well! We can't sit here forever!"
Gage looked stunned, but grinned and nodded. "Alright."
Laura looked toward Dan and gestured to the Power Armor. "Dan! Give me cover!"
Dan didn't hesitate. While Laura made a mad dash for the Power Armor, he took shots at several Gunners who tried to gun her down. Laura ducked and yelped, narrowly missing being shot at before rushing behind the Power Armor.
The other raiders looked up, surprised to see her climbing inside it.
"What is that dumbass doing?" a Disciple snapped.
"Saving our asses, now go!" Dan yelled.
Laura studied the digital mapping of the information laid out in front of her. She winced, struggling to move forward inside the armor.
"Shit," she hissed, "How the hell do you move in this damn thing?"
A few bullets clipped her arms and legs and Laura grunted sharply from the impact. Well, she was going to have to learn quickly. She looked up to the raiders and seized a nearby car with one hand. With the armor, it wouldn't be hard to lift it up. She'd seen Colter lift things twice his size and he was huge enough on his own.
"Hey! Get behind me!" she yelled, to the hiding group. "I'll give you cover while you get close enough to take them out!"
The raiders didn't even question it; they rushed to take cover behind the armored woman as she picked up a car and advanced, receiving several shots of bullets in the process. The Gunners grew desperate and more began to join in the fight.
Laura advanced close enough so that it allowed the Disciples to rush in and slash the throats of anyone in their path. Needles cackled and howled while Jet kept close to him; they rained hellfire from their rifles onto the Gunners in their sight.
A Gunner Commander took aim from a nearby balcony with a missle launcher right for the group of Operators and Gage caught sight of it.
"Hey! Look out!" he shouted.
Laura looked up, saw the Gunner and she aacted fast - rushing in between them and managed to grab the missile into two hands. It inched her back several paces and toppled her over, just moments before dying out completely. A Disciple flung her knife right toward the balcony, where it embedded itself into the Gunner Commander's chest.
He folded to the floor with a wet groan before stilling.
Gage approached the toppled woman in Power Armor and knelt down, moments as she removed the helmet with a gasp. He giggled and shook his head, tapping hers with two knuckles.
"Your brains still in there?" he joked.
Laura blinked, breathless and smiling with a mixture of shock and delight. "That was the coolest thing I've ever done!"
Gage laughed. "Yeah, it was. Dumb as hell to catch a missile with your bare hands. But shit, cool as fuck to watch."
Laura rolled to her side and stood up. She huffed out a breath and looked up at the sight of the raiders taking out Gunners gradually. A few tried to run, but didn't make it very far. Gage watched the sight as well, impressed by it.
"Well, I ain't never seen all of them work together like that before," he remarked, "It's a nice change in pace, really."
Dan made his way up to Gage, taking a moment to catch his breath. "Alright. Most of them retreated back into the plant." he said, "Shouldn't be too hard picking 'em off." He looked up at Laura now with a laugh. "That was some trick. Didn't expect that out of you."
Laura smiled and shrugged, looking down at her armored hands. "Yeah. Never thought I could do something like that either."
Gage looked at Dan now and gave a small wave over his head. "Hey, bring those maniacs back here so we can talk."
Dan nodded, turned and whistled loudly.
It took a few moments before the raiders regrouped together. Laura looked at them; they were fired up, but seemed quite happy with their acquisition and success. She clasped her armored hands together and took a breath before speaking.
"Alright, so we have the plant...for the most part," she told them, "And you guys actually worked together to do it."
The raiders glanced at one another, skeptical at first by this compliment. An Operator looked at the Disciple who had thrown the knife and managed a smile. He scratched the back of his head.
"It was pretty sweet when you tossed that knife at that guy." he admitted.
"Yeah?" the Disciple said, with a chuckle. "It's all in the wrist...and position of the organs. You have to know where to aim. Like a game of darts."
A series of chuckles from most of them. Laura and Gage laughed a little too. It was a little weird being so comfortable among them, but Laura found that she didn't mind it. It was a nice change to being on edge all the time.
"Well, we should get inside," Laura suggested, "We'll see what we have to deal with before it's safe for you guys to move in."
O
"Welcome to the Nuka-Cola World of Refreshment, now featuring a river of Nuka-Cola Quantum! Nuka-Cola Quantum: Twice the calories, twice the carbohydrates, twice the caffeine, and twice the taste! And just look at that amazing, patented blue glow!"
An Operator tapped her foot into the river of blue water. It looked like it had once been part of a boat ride before the War.
She snorted. "People actually drank this shit?" she muttered, shaking her foot.
Having removed the Power Armor, Laura took a moment to stretch her muscles a little. She made a face and flexed her arm before turning attention to Needles, who was kicking at a Mirelurk nest nearby. Jet was holding one of the eggs.
"Hey, I had an idea!" he said. "What if we try to bring one of them back? It could end up being a Queen! Imagine the Pack with a Mirelurk Queen!"
"Remember LAST time we brought back a Mirelurk?" Needles reminded him, with a skeptical look.
"Oh yeah..." Jet said, shaking his head. "Poor Johnny. Walked in a brave dog, walked out dog shit."
Gage was tinkering away at a computer, all the while the announcer system continued its speech about the ride. He didn't quite have the knack for it, but he figured it shouldn't have been too hard.
"Nuka-Cola began its journey in the year 2042 when our founder, John-Caleb Bradberton, was a budding chemist!"
Gage chomped on a cigarette and continued working. "Nobody in this plant gives a flying fuck." he muttered, under his breath.
"He dreamt of a delicious soft drink that would provide energy, focus and 120% of the recommended daily value of sugar!"
Laura walked up to him and tilted her head. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm trying to get that cage downstairs open and - Ah! Got it!" Gage smiled, pleased as the computer lit up, revealing rows of information. "Hey, not too bad for me, huh? Now we can get down into the manufacturing plant. There's a shitload of caps down there and more Gunners hiding out. Shouldn't be too hard to pick 'em off."
"It took almost two years to perfect the formula, but in late 2044, Mr. Bradberton was finally successful and Nuka-Cola was born!" the announcer continued, as they made their way into the manufacturing plant, "It quickly surpassed other, lesser beverages to become America's number-one favorite soft drink."
Gage pointed his gun at one of the speakers and shot it. The device fell from its mooring and onto the floor in a shower of sparks.
"Shut up." he muttered.
Laura looked around and noticed a few crates of Nuka Cola. She smiled, retrieved one and popped it open for a quick drink. A few of the others joined in once she did after watching her; they were just as thirsty as she was, not bothering to be annoyed by the fact that it was Nuka Cola. They'd only drank the stuff for so long.
"You know, I never actually had a Nuka Cola after a raid?" an Operator said.
Dan laughed. "When do you know anyone who gets you cola after a raid?"
Laura shared a giggle with the others. She was interested in making conversation with them for some reason. The mood seemed quite alright to do so. "So did Colter ever do anything like this with you guys?" she asked them.
"Nope." they all answered at once.
Gage looked back at them after a few moments of attempting to hack the terminal nearby. He sighed, hung his shoulders and frowned.
"Hey, let's not make this a social event, you guys," he said, "We have a job to finish."
Laura nodded, then turned to the others. "Well, let's go."
Gage made a face, gesturing to the terminal. "Shit's locked up tight. Those Gunners are trapped like sardines." he said, "I ain't got the head for numbers or passwords or whatever."
Laura shrugged. "Let me try."
Gage gestured dramatically with a sweep of two hands. "Be my guest."
Laura attempted it a few times, grunting with frustration before she sighed, backing away. "It's locked. The password's needed to get us in there."
"No!" Gage drawled, in an almost playfully mocking voice.
Laura raised an eyebrow at him. "Alright...So, how are we going to get in now?"
"Like this!" a Disciple hissed.
She stepped forward and unleashed a barrage of bullets that had Gage and Laura recoiling with their arms over their heads. Once the Disciple finished, she kicked the door open with one foot and turned to them, smirking.
"Well we could have done that!" Gage snapped.
"Then why didn't you?"
Gage rolled his eyes, looked down at Laura before he gestured to the door with one hand. The two were the first one through, but immediately took cover behind a counter when two turrets opened fire on them from the ceiling.
"Dammit!" Gage cursed. "Gettin' sick of these fucking turrets!"
Round after round of bullets rained down on them. The raiders who hadn't stepped through yet kept hidden behind a protective wall beside the doors. Dan glanced down at a bottle of Nuka Cola, grabbed it and tossed it into the room.
The turrets shot at it and he took that moment to shoot his gun at the two turrets; it obliterated both of them into nothing more than metal shards and smoke. Laura and Gage rose from their hiding spot and Laura gave Dan a smile.
"Thanks, Dan." she told him.
Dan smiled. "Don't mention it."
The group made their way into the second half of the building - an underground testing lab where the remaining Gunners were hiding. It didn't take long to dispatch the rest of them in a violent spray of bullet-fire and vicious stabbings from the Disciples.
The entire time, Laura had been going over some data on a terminal. Behind her, Gage was rubbing his one good eye.
"Damn flash grenade." he muttered, "Aw God, I think I just went blind in one eye..."
Laura looked up at him before she giggled.
The return back to Nuka-Town USA yielded a massive celebration at Cappy Cafe from the raiders. Laura was given quite the amount of praise from the gangs for her effort. Alcohol was passed around and stories were being told about the entire trip to the Bottling Plant.
"...You should have seen it! She got in that Power Armor and - I shit you NOT - caught a fucking missile with her hands!" Needles said, "That shit was fucking awesome!"
Laura laughed along with the raiders, finding a strange sense of camaraderie among them. It was an unusual change, but one that made the day much better than most days with them had been before. She felt herself welcoming it.
"Well, I didn't really plan to catch it," she admitted, "It just happened."
"Dude, it was fucking sweet!"
Gage had been sitting nearby, talking with a Disciple when he noticed how content and happy Laura seemed to be. He smiled, shook his head and approached her table. The other raiders departed at his wave and Laura looked at him.
"I never thought they'd be so happy to celebrate with me like this," she said.
"I'll tell ya' what it is," Gage told her, "You were willing to put your neck out on the line out there for them. Now they won't say it, but what you did out there...You were willing to bleed to get us ahead in this shitty world and it means something."
Laura furrowed her brow, thinking about that. She smiled now. "Thanks Gage."
"You're welcome." he replied. He gave her a little elbow and chuckled. "Just don't let it get to your head. Piss me off, and I'll still kick your ass from here to the Atlantic."
Another laugh from the woman.
"Hell, enough of this, let's celebrate!" Gage told her.
And celebrate they did.
All the while, Lauren watched from behind her counter top with Keith. He folded his arms across his chest at the sight of Laura dancing with Dan. She was laughing with delight the entire time. The man made a face and whispered to Lauren.
"She's been drinking the Nuka Cola, Lauren..." he said.
"Don't worry. The girl's not gonna forget." Lauren added.
Keith seemed to doubt it.
While the celebration went on outside, Colter watched from Fizztop. His features were hard as stone as he thought about what had been happening lately and the respect Laura seemed to be getting from the other gangs.
O
That night, Laura was ready to rest up at Cappy Cafe, but helped Lauren and Keith clean up a bit. She pushed a broom, sweeping up bottles while Keith dumped them into a can. They had both been quiet the entire time and Laura was getting concerned by the odd silence between them. She looked from Keith to Lauren.
"Hey, you guys okay?" she asked.
Keith shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah. Just a long day."
Laura nodded in agreement and managed a smile now. "It sure was." she replied, "I never thought I'd been able to do the stuff I did today. But wow, it was amazing."
Keith made a face. "I'm sure."
Lauren sensed his tone and waved him away. "Keith, why don't you go into the back for a second?" she suggested. "Let me talk to her alone."
Keith nodded his head and walked to the back of the cafe. Lauren watched him shut the door, then approach Laura with a frown.
"Don't worry about him, kiddo," she assured her, "He's...got a lot on his mind right now."
Lauren seemed contemplative and the younger woman sensed that there was more to their behavior. She furrowed her brow and stopped sweeping, leaning against the broom.
"You seem like you do too." she said.
"Well...we're all worried."
"Worried?"
"About you."
Laura looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"We think you may have forgotten what your plan was," Lauren admitted, "Seems like from the sidelines, you're having a bit of fun with them. Too much fun?"
Laura scoffed and shook her head. "I'm trying to make the best of it."
"Make the best of it. Right..." Lauren still didn't seem convinced. "You sure as hell seem different these days. I've noticed it and I'm sure the others at the Market have too. And after you went and kissed Mags - "
"Shhh!" Laura hissed, covering her mouth with one hand immediately. Her face was red and her eyes were wide. "I don't want anyone else to know about that!"
Lauren pulled away from her and grimaced. "Sorry. Just thought you'd want to hear about it."
Laura exhaled slowly. "I don't know, Lauren. I don't know what I'm doing."
"Makes sense. That kind of life is addicting. I'll give you that much. Hell, if I wasn't as old as I am now, I would have joined myself."
Laura looked concerned now. She hadn't been thinking much on it lately. In reality, she'd had fun out there at the Bottling Plant. She'd never felt as on top of the world as when she'd been in that Power Armor, carrying that car and shielding the raiders from the Gunners.
"Oh God..." she mumbled, running a hand over her face.
Lauren patted her shoulder. "Come on. Let's finish this in the morning and get to bed." she said. "Whatever you choose, make sure it's the best choice for you."
O
The following morning, Laura was sent back to the Bottling Plant to help clean up the mess left by the Gunners. She had a lot on her mind that day, including what Lauren had been talking about at the Cafe. She didn't know just how in deep she'd gotten in such a short time.
Needles suddenly poked his face into view, waving a hand in front of her. "Yoo-hoo, you still in there?" he teased. "Hit the Jet too hard again?"
Laura blinked and snapped out of her reverie. She laughed weakly, shaking her head. "No, just got a lot on my mind."
"Yeah?" Needles said. "Well, here..."
She looked down when he placed another Chem into her hand: an injectable drug known as Psycho. Laura had heard about the drug and what it did to people who took it. It was designed at the orders of General Chase specifically for military use. It was known to increase damage resistance, and had dampening effects on higher brain functions.
"What's this for?" she asked.
"Just a little thank you present for what you did for Jet and me," Needles told her, "Sometimes you just gotta cut loose and bring out the animal in you. Feel me?"
He snapped his fingers, howled and rushed off to do his work. Laura glanced down at the Psycho and pocketed into her side bag. She suddenly needed air to breathe and made her way out of the plant. Nisha had been nearby and noticed her depart. A thin smile lit her lips.
Laura wandered out beyond the stone wall and leaned against it with a heavy sigh. She didn't know what to do. What was she becoming? Was she really getting in too deep with the raiders?
She opened her eyes and noticed two men approaching. Frowning, Laura shielded her eyes from the sun and noticed that they seemed quite familiar. Her eyes widened when the men in body armor spotted her. They whispered to each other, just as she turned to go.
"Laura? Laura Holdren? Is that you?"
Fred and Marcus. They were two men who knew her father and worked as Mercenaries for him when he needed to find special parts for his shop. Sometimes they even hunted down people who robbed him for a good price. Fred was shorter, wearing a military helmet; he had scars all across his face and rough stubble. Marcus was tall, skinny and donning his favorite leather trench-coat with welded armor on his shoulders.
Laura withered at the sight of them and backed up against the wall. They studied her with a mixture of dismay and shock.
"What in the holy hell?" Marcus exclaimed, "Laura, what is this? Are you a raider now?"
Laura shrank in their presence as they backed her flat against the wall. Fred scoffed and glanced at Marcus once.
"I'm-I'm not..." she mumbled.
"Look, she's wearing their armor!" Fred said, to his friend, "The damn girl's one of them now!"
Marcus made a face and looked at Laura with disgust. "What do we tell your father? He sent us to come find you, Laura! When he hears that you're a raider now..."
"I'm not..." Laura tried.
As always, people spoke over her. Never let her talk. Even now, when she stood there trying to assure them, all they did was insist what they thought they knew.
"Are you a raider now, Laura?" Fred demanded, "We need to know! You need to tell us right now!"
Laura clenched her teeth, fisted her hands against her eyes and shouted.
"I AM NOT A RAIDER!" she shrieked, at the top of her lungs.
The two men looked stunned by the volume of her shout and Laura shoved them viciously from her.
"Listen to me!" she spat, glowering at them with a stare full of purpose, "You WILL listen to me now! I am not and never will be one of them, you stupid pieces of shit! Now you go home and leave me alone!"
Fred and Marcus backed away in disbelief. Behind them they failed to see Nisha now standing there.
"Hey there, boys," she said, maliciously.
They turned, mere seconds before Nisha's knife was out; she sliced their throats with methodical precision. Laura watched with shock as the two men collapsed to the ground, choking to death on their own blood. Nisha watched them with a shake of her head. She looked up at a horrified Laura and smiled, wiping her knife on Marcus' coat.
"It's just like I told you, Laura; we follow the natural way of the world: kill or be killed, survival of the fittest. In times like these, it's the only thing that makes sense," she said, approaching the woman, "If you ignore that, you'll end up just like them; throat slit, spilling blood all over the dirt."
Laura stared at her, still shaken by what had happened.
"Now, let's get back inside," Nisha said, "We have more work to do inside the Bottling Plant and I'm not looking to have the day marred by two fuckups. Don't be a third one."
The woman nodded numbly and followed Nisha back into the plant. She gave one last lingering look back at Fred and Marcus.
The frightening part about it?
She wasn't affected.
What if they were right about her?
