'So…Here we are again… Running for your life while someone else fights your battles.' Amata couldn't help but berate herself as her feet pounded on the ruined pavement carrying her farther and farther away from the bravest individual she had ever met.
'There's nothing I can do… I'll only get in the way.' She countered reasoned with herself.
'Only with that kind of thinking.' Was her only retort.
Grimm emerged from the school building drenched in raider's blood, it's beady white eyes turned it's gaze on the lone figure standing in the middle of the street. The figure raised what looked like a metal rod, suddenly a small pop and a small object nicked it's shoulder. Grimm didn't feel a thing, it let out a terrifying roar as it readied to charge.
The Lone Wanderer fired another .308 round this time hitting Grimm's thigh but it did little to slow him down, 'One more left.' He minded himself before firing. His last .308 round manage to strike a tender spot on Grimm's chest and knock it off balance for only a moment. It had lost momentum but it was still charging.
"Well, I didn't expect it to do much." The Lone Wanderer said commenting to himself as he discarded his sniper rifle and readied his Lever action rifle. Grimm launched itself in the air in an attempt to pounce on it's challenger. The Lone Wanderer dodge to his right as Grimm came crashing down kicking up dust around it. The deathclaw's momentum caused it to slide across the cracked pavement, the Lone Wanderer took note of it. Grimm launched itself again at the Lone Wanderer this time the Wanderer dodged underneath, the deathclaw took a swipe at it's target but couldn't connect and skidded again upon landing. Grimm felt several pinches on its back as the Lone Wanderer fired his Lever action rifle. The predator turned to face its agile foe and charged, The Lone Wanderer noted that it wasn't trying to pounce on him like before.
'Oh great, this one likes to adapt.' He thought as he turned to run heading for a nearby burned out house, he needed to break Grimm's line of sight on him. As soon as he had entered the entryway of the building he dove to his left. Grimm came crashing through over the Lone Wanderer and out the other side of the house causing bits and pieces of wood to fall on him. The Lone Wanderer fired another round this time catching Grimm in the jaw. The Lone Wanderer didn't know much about deathclaws but the way Grimm looked at him made it seem that he just pissed it off. He got up and took off running heading for an abandon car and threw himself over it. When he stuck his head back up Grimm was charging again this time with its head lowered and his pointy horns heading directly for the Lone Wanderer.
'It's not going to do, what I think it's going to do.' He thought as the deathclaw was charging. Realizing the immediate danger he got as far away from the car as possible, Grimm impaled the car with his horns which pierced the miniature fusion reactor in the car causing an enormous explosion. The force hit the Lone Wanderer throwing him several feet in the air before he crashed back down to the unforgiving pavement.
Amata felt the ground shake beneath her and looked towards Springvale, she could see a small mushroom cloud rise above the ruins, "what the hell is going on over there?" she asked herself as she stood outside the ramshackle door leading to vault 101.
'Are you really comfortable letting him fight that thing alone?' she thought to herself. Amata took one last look at the door and back at the mushroom cloud and made her decision.
The Lone Wanderer was in bad shape and he could feel every bit. The blast had knocked most of his senses loose; he could guarantee he had a few cracked ribs. Legs weren't broken so he had that going for him, as his vision cleared he could see a hulking black mass standing among the ruins of the old world car.
"That damn thing is un-kill-able." He muttered, he then notice that he had lost his Lever action rifle in the blast. Armed with only a combat knife he faced his adversary. Grimm roared once more and was about to charge when a .32 round pierce one of its massive horns on its head causing it to brake off and fall to the ground. Grimm turned to see where the bullet had come from.
'I hit it!' Amata mentally cheered, she didn't know much about V.A.T.S outside of the vault manual but it didn't seem too difficult to use, in fact it was designed so that any idiot could use it, but her small dose of accomplishment was short lived as the deathclaw sets its sights on her.
"Oh, dear god I hit it." She muttered dreadfully as she realize it would soon start coming for her and come for her Grimm did but the Lone Wanderer still had some fight in him. He jumped on Grimm's back and dug his combat knife deep in the deathclaw's shoulder. He couldn't tell if the heat he felt was body heat or the deathclaw's scales cooked from the car's fusion reactor but none of that mattered as Grimm continue its advance towards Amata. The Lone Wanderer needed to slow Grimm down as it started picking up momentum, he dislodged his combat knife and slid down to Grimm's right leg and slashed a tendon in it's massive thigh causing it to buckle underneath Grimm's massive weight. Grimm rolled onto its back as the Lone Wanderer was about to attack again and manage to kick him with it's left leg. The blow knocked to wind out of him and sent him flying into the air. Amata could see him crash through a roof of a nearby house and hoped he was ok but there was a more immediate problem that needed her attention. Though wounded the deathclaw was still making its advance although a bit slower than before. Amata activated her V.A.T.S and it started highlighting parts of the body she quickly picked a target and fired.
The Lone Wanderer suddenly found himself gasping for air and starring at the sky from the hole he had made in the roof from when he landed. He didn't even bother looking at the road killed vault boy on his Pip-boy, he didn't need to be told to seek medical attention though his brain would appreciate it if his body would stop telling him how much everything hurts. He rolled himself onto his stomach and willed himself to get up but his body was having a protest of performing such an action.
Amata fired another round and another, each one find its mark, each one did nothing to slow Grimm down.
'Come on! Think smart.' She chided herself, she suddenly remembered what the Lone Wanderer did to slow Grimm down. She took aim at the deathclaw's good leg and fired, just as she guessed Grimm collapse to the ground effectively crippled. She was relieved for only a moment as Grimm started to get back up and hobble towards her, she took aim again and to her horror her hunting rifle jammed. She quickly gave it a look over but she didn't know anything about weapon maintenance. Sensing an opportunity Grimm pushed itself off the ground with it's hands in an attempt to pounce on its prey. Amata had managed to get clear before the deathclaw came crashing down it quickly took a swipe and barely manage to slash the side of her abdomen. The cuts weren't deep enough to put an end to her but she could feel pain and adrenalin starting to mix with the burning sensation on her sides. She quickly ducked under another swipe but Grimm's tail managed to find its target as it slammed into her knocking her clear of the road and into a nearby tree. She crumpled to the ground, pain washed over her and no part of her body wanted to move despite the danger it was in. Sensing that it's prey was immobilized Grimm took its time approaching. Amata could feel something metal pressing against her, it was her 10mm handgun the force of her landing had caused it to leave a nasty bruise and imprint. She grabbed it and rolled over only for Grimm to step on one of her legs. She hollered in pain and Grimm roar at the sun in triumph. It lowered it wide open maw to feed, Amata could see its black insides. Figuring she had nothing to lose she pointed at the open mouth and fired. The 10mm rounds made quick work of Grimm's fleshy soft membrane and found their way to his brain. The continual explosions that were going off inside its head manage to break through the back of its skull sending bits and pieces of grey matter into the air. Grimm stumbled off Amata before collapsing to its kness and started tilting toward her.
"Oh don't you even." Amata grunted as she tried to pull herself clear but despite her best efforts Grimm's heavy corpse landed on the lower half of her body pinning her underneath.
The Lone Wanderer grabbed onto an nearby stove for support as he pulled himself up. He tried straightening his back but was rewarded with a few loud cracks. He let out a silent scream and nearly collapsed from the pain. He spotted a door and next to it a floating first aid kit. He quickly chalked the sight up as a result of his concussion and stumbled out the door. The bright sun greeted him relentlessly even as it started to disappear under the horizon. He found it hard to look around with his vision blurred and the blood flowing from a cut on his for head wasn't helping either but he did notice that it was oddly quiet. The Lone Wanderer started making his way back toward where he had last seen Amata along the way he spotted something massive and black just off the side of the road he feared the worst as he got closer but noticed that it wasn't moving. He picked up a rock and threw it, the rock bounced off but the thing he had thrown it at made no movement. Building up whatever energy he had left he approached it and quickly realized it was Grimm but with a hole in the back of its head.
'No fucking way.' He thought as he kicked the corpse. He suddenly notice something was underneath it, he rolled the corpse away to reveal Amata underneath.
"No fucking way." He said trying to stifle his laughter because it would only hurt to do so.
"Way, I got that bastard." Amata answered as she coughed up blood.
'Shit she's losing a lot of blood.' The Lone Wanderer noted as he saw the slash marks on Amata's side. It didn't look good, if she didn't get medical attention soon she was going to make it. Something began to stir inside the Lone Wanderer it was a feeling he didn't want to feel. The feeling that he was about to lose someone close to him again. He frantically searched his mind for solutions, it wasn't until he came to the floating first aid box did he realize how stupid he was being. It wasn't floating it was hanging on the wall! With renewed vigor he got up and ran back to the house.
"Please be real, please be real, please be real." He chanted on his way, he nearly stumbled through the door and found it. Snatching the entire box off the wall he ran back not knowing if what he needed was inside. When he got back to Amata she had loss conscience due to blood loss. He quickly opened the first aid kit and froze. Inside the first aid kit was a single stimpak and med-X. The Lone Wanderer cursed the Capital Wasteland as he faced a decision he didn't want to make. The stimpak and med-X was only enough patch one person up until the individual could get proper medical treatment and the Lone Wanderer had to decide whether to save himself or Amata.
'You know what you must do, you have to save yourself, she'll understand.' A voice pulled him toward one option.
'She has risked her life to save yours, surely you cannot let her die.' Another pull him in the opposite.
'What is she to you? Have you forgotten that she had banished you from your home? Save yourself!'
'Remember that it was her that helped you escaped the vault in the first place!'
'And look what good that did you! Getting shot at! Hunted! So much pain and suffering as a result!'
'And look at all the good you have done because you left, don't forget why you saved her from a life of slavery.'
'but if you're gone, who will take up the mantle? You are worth more to this world than she is.'
'but who am I to place a value on my life over someone else's. What would farther do?'
'he'd save his son'
"No, he would find away to save us both." With that the Lone Wanderer made his decision, he injected himself with med-X and gave Amata the stimpak. The stimpak stopped the bleeding but she wasn't out of the woods yet, the med-X he took numb the pain as he prepared himself for the task ahead, He pick up Amata's unconscious body and headed toward the nearby settlement of Megaton.
"I seriously can't see why we should leave. Didn't you hear those roars? Grimm is obviously in the area and I don't get paid enough to end up as its meal." A caravan guard was complaining to Crazy Wolfgang as night started to fall across the Capital Wasteland.
"A good tradesman never shy away from danger but finds ways to profit off of it." He retorted.
"Oh yeah? And a good tradesman is a 'living' tradesman in my book. Profits don't mean squat to Grimm just your fleshy insides." The caravan guard answered back.
"Well I'm paying you so we're leaving." Crazy Wolfgang retorted.
The caravan guard was about to protest when he spotted an individual bloodied from head to toe with a woman in his arms. It was a gruesome sight to behold, the individual spotted the caravan and fell to his knees.
"P-Please, H-Help." Was all the individual said.
"Well now see what we have here? Customers!" Crazy Wolfgang walked over and started his sales pitch.
"You my good man you seemed to be in need of som-" Wolfgang didn't get to finish as the Lone Wanderer grabbed him by the neck.
"If you don't shut the hell up and get us to Doctor Church right now, I will rip your spine out through your ass!" He threatened.
"You have a unique way with words, has anyone ever tell you that? but I'm afraid I don't nearly have the caps to assist you." Wolfgang choked out.
"You want caps? Alright I'll give you caps but only if me and the girl survives, and if you cross me? I know a place full of deathclaws that would like to see your wares." The Lone Wanderer said before passing out.
Crazy Wolfgang stood up and dusted himself off. "you see that? That is how you make a sale!"
AN: Thanks for reading in all honesty I've thought of ending it here but so many Ideas keep popping up that I don't know if I should try to put it in a continuing story or simply continue this one. Let me know what I should do and thanks for your support.