The Sun had just dipped below the horizon, the moon began cast beams of light through the mutated pine trees. As darkness descended over the Radium Groves, Gaz and Floyd set up a perimeter for the night. The captured Mercenary laid passed out of the ground. For some reason Gaz felt completely exhausted. Floyd rigged a trip wire through the trees and attached tin cans to the wire as makeshift alarms. When he was done he turned to Gaz.
"Let me take a look at that cut on your cheek."
"It's nothing don't worry about it."
"Nonsense. You want to have a scar that big on your face? I don't think so. Now have a seat."
Gaz rolled her eyes and sat down on a log, Floyd then proceeded to wipe the blood away and then rub some of Daniel's medical cream into the cut.
"You won't need stitches. But you're lucky that shrapnel didn't take your eye out."
"I've had worse."
"Yes you have. You really should have taken the power armor helmet off of that soldier."
Gaz frowned "I hate wearing power-helmets. I can barely breath in them. And you're one to talk, you don't even have a helmet."
"I spend twenty minutes every morning getting my hair just right. If you think I'm gonna mess it up with head wear then you are mistaken."
Gaz smiled and yawned. "That fight with the Mercenaries really took it out of me for some reason."
"Fighting like a New Canaanite will quickly exhaust you. It requires ample amounts of concentration to shoot like that so only use the Canaanite technique when you REALLY need it… I'm not sure how Joshua dose it for so long."
Floyd finished treating Gaz's cut and put a bandage over it. The pair then gathered wood and made a fire. Floyd put some dried big horned next to the fire to heat up. The smell of cooking soon flooded the camp site and nearby woods. The two sat down and began to eat dinner. Floyds head perked up when he heard the trip wire and cans vibrate.
"Don't think I don't know you're there" Floyd called into the darkness. The two feral children slowly emerged from the shadows. Gaz could hear the children's stomachs grumbling.
"Get over here and get some food before you drop dead." Floyd said, and handed each of the children s bottle of water and a plate of meat.
"We friends? Yes?" The boy asked
Floyd chuckled "Yeah kid, we're friends."
"You and pretty lady are good friends to us. You not like Bad Man. I tell Mother in Forrest to watch over you."
"You have a mother? She's probably worried sick about you right now." Floyd said
"She not worried. She ALWAYS knows where we are." The boy said licking his dirty fingers
After dinner the feral children scaled the trees and disappeared. Floyd cracked a smile
"They sure are cute. I remember when I was their age, it was rough, but at least I had the privilege of growing up as an orphan in Freeside, not the complete wilderness."
"What are the chances that those two could survive out here for such a long time?"
"Luck favors certain people. Do you know what the chances of surviving a headshot are?"
"Less than .05% I think."
"That low? Damn I really am lucky… My point is you will discover crazier things in the wasteland. Like you not turning ghoul like everyone else in those tubes."
"Right. Joshua said it all happens for a reason."
"That's one way of looking at it. I try to see all things and occurrences as acts of chance. Tell me, have you ever heard of the multi universe theory?" He asked
"Yeah. Hugh Everett. For every possible outcome there is a universe that corresponds to that outcome."
"Exactly. You see this scar on my head?" He asked and pulled back his hair "I was shot in the head by a ratty-fink named Benny. You said the chances of surviving a headshot are .05%? Do you know what that means?"
Gaz thought for a minute "It means nearly infinite universes exist where you get killed by Benny?"
"Isn't that fucking amazing? It means that there is a universe out there where the Great War never happened. Where you woke up from stasis to a land of peace and prosperity. I guess there's also a universe out there where the Enclave got to you first. My point is; the most unlikely situations will occur at some place and time, just as long as there is a possibility. Doesn't that explain so much of the random and crazy shit that happens?"
"So there's a universe where you work for the legion." Gaz joked
"I doubt that…"
"Would you two shut up!? You're giving me a goddamn migraine!" A hoarse voice said. The captured mercenary had regained consciousness and was sitting up
"Oh good. The scum sucking gun-for-hire came too." Floyd said and walked over to him. Floyd sat down cross-legged in front of him then carefully began to look over the mercenary. He was a ragged looking man; bald, scars on his grotesque face, there was also bruises all over his arms from where he had injected needles. Floyd took a smell of the air
"You stink of cheap vodka." Floyd said and stood up. He began to slowly walk in circles around the man.
"Do you know how long three inches is?" Floyd asked
"What does that have to do with anything?" The man snarled
"Three inches is the distance my bullet missed your spine by." He continued to walk in circles around the man. Floyd saw the bruises on his arms and laughed
"You didn't get those bruises from injecting stimpaks did you? What's your fix pal?"
"Fuck you! So what if I like my chems?" The man said and spat on Floyd's boot
"Hey, hey, hey man, I ain't a square. I sometimes like to partake in chems and reefer to. Heh, I'd even smoke one with you right now if I wasn't tryin' to pry the info out of you…"
"You go to hell! Whatever you do to me, my employer will do double if I squeal."
It was as if Floyd didn't even hear him "….Ya see I personally like buffout and whisky myself. But a puff of jet and just a tad of psycho will always give me a good kick on a rainy day. Judging from the bags under your eyes I'm guessing you like your MedX? "
The mercenary's eyes went wide, then he smirked at Floyd "It takes a junky to know a junky."
Floyd laughed "Look here buddy. When I was a teenager in Freeside I did a good bit of chems. I'll admit that. But I had the wherewithal to visit the Followers of the Apocalypse and they cleaned me up. Addiction is a horrible disease, and a man in your position should never become addicted." Floyd then rummaged through the man's shirt pockets. He smiled when he found what he was looking for; ten brand new syringes of MedX.
"I knew it. MedX. You can always tell by the eyes."
The mercenary's face dropped when he saw his entire stash in Floyd's hand "Hey careful man. That's some expensive high grade shit right there!"
"Good to know." Floyd said and began to empty one of the syringes onto the ground.
"Hey! That's the good stuff! Don't waste it!" The mercenary said as he watched the MedX soak into the dirt
"Waste it? Like this?" Floyd said and emptied another syringe
"Don't do this to me man! I need my fix!"
"You did this to yourself."
One by one Floyd emptied the merc's supply of MedX onto the ground until there was only one left. The battle hardened hit man had tears in his eyes as he looked at the small, very expensive puddle of pain killer. Floyd placed the remaining syringe in front of the man, but kept it out of his reach. Floyd looked at the syringe, then looked at the man.
"Have you ever gone through MedX withdrawal? It's one of the least pleasant experiences you will ever have. Worse than any kind of torture."
The hit man didn't talk, he only stared at the needle in front of him and shivered with an inner cold.
"You know what you need to tell me. If you're a good dog, then I'll give you a treat. But if you're a bad dog, you get nothing. Only more junk-sickness."
"You're a sadist…" He muttered
"Only when I'm at Gomorrah and only when I'm on top." Floyd said and picked up the needle. He squeezed a little drop out onto his finger and licked the MedX off. "Mmmm. That brings me back… I feel a little high just tasting the stuff. You get this off Dixson?"
The cold sweat ran down the mercenary's forehead. He reminded Gaz of a dog begging for scraps at the dinner table. The man clenched his fists and ground his teeth.
"I'll give you the rest of the night to maul it over. Tomorrow morning is gonna be hell for you without a fix, so I'd start talking before the REAL symptoms of withdraw start to take hold. You're gonna get the shakes, the chills, night terrors, maybe a bad hallucination or two…" Floyd said and walked over to his bed role.
It didn't take the full night for the hit man to crack. As the cruel symptoms of MedX addiction set in, the will of the mercenary broke.
"The Legion… We were paid by a Legionary Centurion called Gaius Magnus. Now please I can't take it anymore! Give me my fix!" The man said in-between sobs
Satisfied with his answer, Floyd got up and jabbed the syringe into the man's arm. The mercenary let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh thank you man! You are truly merciful!" He said
"I have mercy. The Legion dose not. Do you know what they're gonna do to you if they find out you failed to kill me?"
"I hear they have a thing for crucifying people." The said, his voice began to slur from the MedX
"In your case, they're probably gonna show you your guts before they nail you up. I recommend you leave the country before they find you." Floyd said and untied him
"So that's it? You're just gonna let me go?"
"I could kill you if you want" Floyd said half serious/half joking
"I'll just make my way out of here then." The mercenary said and began to limp away
"Hold up" Floyd said, the man turned around
"It really sucks going through withdraw on the trail. Take this." Floyd then tossed him a small tin case of fixer
The hit man smiled "You're a good man. Most folks would simply kill a mercenary-scumbag like me, but you spare me AND give me a little upper. Tell you what, there's an abandoned hunting lodge at the southeast edge of the forest. That's where you'll find Gaius Magnus."
"Interesting, is there anything else we should know?"
"Yeah, he's a real hard ass. He dominated the 87th tribe for the Legion. Unlike other legionaries he uses a goddamn minigun, he keeps it loaded with armor piercing rounds. So you and your power-armored girlfriend need to keep your distance or get ripped to shreds." The hit man said
"We're just partners!" Both Gaz and Floyd said simultaneously
"Ok Ok jeez. I'm just saying. Thanks for the fixer paly, I'm getting the fuck out of this forest."
"You should really consider changing your profession if you want to live longer." Floyd said
"I could say the same to you, Walker." He said
"How'd you know my name?"
"We both know that ain't your real name. Everyone in Legion territory knows you, Walker. Caesar put a wanted poster of you in every settlement in Arizona. Anyway, tootles." He said and hobbled away
Walker nodded and returned to the campfire.
"You used to be an addict?" Gaz asked
"Hey! It's the end of the friggin' world! Sometimes there's not much else to do except sit around and get high. So I can't judge him… At some other time and place that could have been me."
The next morning, Floyd sleepily sat up in his bed role. He glanced over, Gaz was flat on her back asleep, her armor had a padded interior so it felt like a bed. He walked over to a tree and unzipped his trousers. As he relieved himself he heard a heavy breathing. He rubbed his half asleep eyes and glanced up. A massive black object was sitting fifty feet in front of him. He zipped back up his pants and then focused ahead of him. The object was the biggest Yao Guai Floyd had ever seen, standing a full three feet taller than him. This one was different from the others, aside from its monstrous size, it had a nearly full coat of thick black fur unlike the regular mangy and bald Yao Guai. The only weapon Floyd had on him was his .45, the rest of his guns were by his bed roll. He slowly walked backwards, he knew if he turned his back the Yao Guai would instantly come after him.
"Gaz!" he sharply whispered
Gaz didn't hear him and remained fast asleep. He continued to walk backwards, the Yao Guai then took a few steps toward him.
"Gaz!"
"Five more minutes…"
"Open your eyes and look what's coming." He said under his breath
Gaz opened her eyes and stretched, when she saw the giant Yao Guai she froze
"Do not make any sudden movements. Hand me my rifle." He said and reached behind him, not taking his eyes off the mutant
Gaz handed him his 12.7mm Survivalist Rifle. He got down on one knee and took aim. He placed the front sight on the left eye of the creature and wrapped his finger around the trigger.
"STOP! Don't hurt Mother In Forrest!" The Feral Children had dropped out of the trees and put themselves between Floyd and the Yao Guai
"Kid, get out of here! That Guai will kill you both!"
"She not kill us! She our Mother!"
Floyd slowly lowered the rifle.
"Your mother?"
"She love for us and care for us. She not hurt you! I promise!" The boy pleaded
The colossal mutated bear looked at Gaz and Floyd. It had a different look in its eye then other mutants. A tamer, almost compassionate look. Floyd nodded and put the rifle down. The feral children climed atop the Yao Guai's massive shoulders and then the bear lumbered away.
"I've been as far east as Colorado, and I've seen a lot of oversized critters. But that was the biggest fucking Yao Guai I've ever seen in my entire life. Good to know it's on our side."
"One less thing we have to fight I suppose."
"Speaking of things we have to fight, I believe Gaius Magnus is waiting for us at the edge of the Radium Groves. We should go pay him a visit."
Author's Note: Hello my loyal readers! Sorry if this chapter was a little uneventful. Anyway, should I start writing smaller chapters? There would be less content but they would be quicker to write. OR should I write longer chapters? There would be more content but would take longer to write. Also, I am open for suggestions for the story,
~ChopChop21