Red spent much of the day working around Nordhagen. There was much to be done and she found herself all over the settlement, doing whatever task presented itself. Throughout most of it, she mulled over Gwen's story. It answered many questions she had but created just as many new ones for her to think about. The biggest one was what actually happened in the Dunwich Borers?

Lots of rumors swirled around that place. She figured most of them were just stories bored people made up during a long night. There were enough of them, however, that she was certain there was something not quite right with it. When she was a raider her gang would sometimes move to a new place to find better pickings elsewhere. Once, they passed by the quarry. They stopped only briefly to look around, but that brief stop convinced them to leave and never come back.

The outside of the place was what Red imagined a warzone might look like if left alone afterward. Bodies were strewn everywhere. Rusted weapons laying beside them. What remained of their clothes and armor they recognized as raider style. The creepiest part was that the bodies showed decaying, but showed no sign of predators or insects actually eating them, which would have happened anywhere else. There was no sign of any scavengers having come to pick the place clean either. Everything was left untouched by man or beast like the entire world had given the place a wide berth. The area around the quarry was also eerily quiet. Red couldn't remember hearing a single bird or animal the entire time.

Once they descended into the quarry fear began to build in all of them. As they were looking around, hoping to find some useful loot among the corpses and debris, Red found what probably used to be the entrance to the underground part of the quarry. Rubble covered the entrance so it would be impossible to enter without some kind of heavy equipment or a lot of spare time on one's hands. Idly, she poked at it with her gun as she wondered much debris was blocking the entrance.

At first, she thought she heard the wind picking up, but she didn't feel any wind. Confused, she listened closely. The sound was slowly becoming louder. She looked at her companions. They had all stopped what they were doing to listen as well. All of them were gripping their weapons tightly. The noise didn't sound like wind. Red thought it almost sounded like the quiet groan. The noise became louder. There was no mistaking it, it was not the wind. Suddenly, the ground shook and the debris covering the entrance shifted slightly. At the same moment, the sound became deafening. At that point, everyone lost what was left of their nerves and bolted out of the quarry and as far away as their legs would carry them. Later, they would joke about getting spooked by the wind, but they never came close to the quarry again.

Once Red finished the last bit of work for the day she got dinner from the dining hall. She ate in silence by herself, which is how she preferred it. When she was done she wandered around the settlement. It wasn't quite dark yet but she couldn't think of anything else to do.

'I wonder what Alec's been up to?' She hadn't seen him since he left the town hall. After a few minutes of searching, she found Sarge and she decided to ask him. At the moment, he appeared to be inspecting the gate, perhaps looking for damage.

"Have you seen Alec?" She asked as she walked up behind him. Sarge briefly turned to see who was talking but then returned to his work.

"He's at Fort Strong, I think."

"What's he doing there?"

Sarge shrugged. "I don't know. Before he left a year ago he used to spend a lot of time there. Maybe he's training or maybe he just wants to be alone."

"He left a year ago?"

"Yep, this is the first any of us have seen him since. We heard a lot of stories from travelers but none from any who'd actually seen him."

"He's built quite a reputation it seems." Red mused. "That gunner was scared to death of him."

Sarge chuckled at the reminder. "That guy probably needs a new pair of pants."

Red laughed. "What do you plan on doing with him, anyway?"

"Not sure, yet. Can't let him go and don't want to kill him in cold blood. We'll probably end up putting him to work until this whole gunner mess is taken care off; then we'll decide what to do with him."

"Ah."

Sarge finished his inspection and turned around. "You plan on turning in for the night?"

"Yeah, in a few minutes." Red moved to leave but another question crossed her mind. "Why did Alec leave a year ago?"

"I don't know that either, but I think he was hunting someone."

"Someone? Who could he be hunting?"

Sarge shrugged and let out a tired sigh. "Look, I don't understand him any more than you do."

"Does anyone understand him?"

"Gwen seems to. They've always been close, though."

Red had noticed that too. The way Gwen had told her story made her think that. She wondered how close, though. She yawned. She could think more about it later.

"See you tomorrow." Red walked back to her shack and flopped onto the bed. Immediately she began to drift off to sleep She hadn't realized how tired all the work had made her.

She had another nightmare, this one worse than the last. This time the corpses grabbed her and dragged her around, aimlessly. She thrashed about, trying to get them off, but their grip was like a vice.

"Let go!" she screamed. "Leave me alone!"

"Red!" They groaned back. "Red!"

"Go away!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and put every ounce of her muscles into throwing them off.

"Red! Red!" She felt a sharp jolt run through her back and she instantly awoke. As she regained her senses, three things became apparent. One, she couldn't move. Two, she was on the floor, not her bed. Three, Alec, visible only by dim candlelight, was standing over her and pinning her arms and legs to the ground.

"What… what are you doing?" She still felt groggy from her sudden awakening.

Alec released her and helped her to her feet.

"You were thrashing so violently I thought you might hurt yourself." He helped her back to her bed where they both sat down. "When I tried to wake you, you attacked me in your sleep."

"So you pinned me to the ground?"

Alec shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea."

"Thanks, I guess."

Alec didn't respond immediately but sat in silence. For several minutes, the only sound was the two of them breathing. Red figured Alec was waiting for her to say something about what happened, but she didn't want to talk about it. Eventually, Alec stood up and walked to the door, taking the candle with him.

"Come with me."

"Where to?" Red stood up but didn't immediately follow.

"Dining Hall."

"Why? Won't it be locked up or something?"

"Yes."

Alec walked through the door and Red followed. Curiosity, more than anything, pushing her forward. The moon and stars were out in force so Red guessed it was still late at night. It didn't take long for them to reach the dining hall which was, of course, locked. Casually, Alec produced a bobby pin and a knife and had the door unlocked within seconds.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised you can pick a lock," Red observed.

Alec said nothing and they walked into a back room. Red guessed it was the kitchen since there was a fridge and several closets and cabinets inside. Alec immediately began grabbing several items. Some she recognized, like a few fruits. Others she didn't, maybe they were spices. With practiced ease, he began to mix them together in a bowl.

"What are you making?"

"A drink."

'Obviously.' She thought to herself, but she held her tongue.

After several minutes of mixing ingredients poured out the contents into a glass and handed it to her.

"It should help with the nightmares." He told her as she took it. She almost asked how he knew she had a nightmare before catching herself.

'People having good dreams don't attack people in their sleep.' She berated herself. It was hard to get a proper look at Alec's concoction in the dim lighting but she thought it had a red coloring to it. She gave it a sniff and it smelled like alcohol of some kind.

Alec motioned for her to sit down at one of the tables. She did and Alec joined her, sitting across from her. In the dim light, he looked especially intimidating.

'Definitely not someone I would want to meet at night.' She took a cautious sip from the drink. It was surprisingly sweet and she took several more sips. She noticed Alec was watching her.

"It's good." She told him. Alec nodded.

"Good. I can't trust my own taste buds anymore." He leaned back in his chair. "I Worried it might taste like dishwater."

Red was surprised. The statement was so… normal. Alec always spoke, at least from what she'd seen, in a serious and monotone manner. What he had just said, however, sounded just like something a normal person would say, something Red thought was beyond him. Even his always droning voice had subsided slightly, if but for a moment.

"How did you learn to make this?" She asked between sips.

"Trial and error."

"Have you suffered from nightmares?"

Alec only nodded. Red decided to enjoy the silence for a few minutes, taking an occasional sip. After a while, she felt very tired. She yawned and looked down at her cup. It was empty. Upon hearing her yawn, Alec rose from his seat.

"We should get some rest. There will be a lot to do tomorrow."

"Okay." Red yawned her reply. Red vaguely remembered walking back to their shack and dropping like a bag of rocks onto her bed.

Alec watched her for a few minutes, making sure she had fallen asleep before stepping back outside. Quietly he sat down on a nearby bench and stared up into the sky, lost in thought. How long had he lived like this? Sometimes, it felt like an eternity. He figured he should be thankful he was alive but he often wondered if the alternative would have been better.

The wind picked up, causing some of the buildings to groan quietly. Alec's head twisted toward the source of the sound.

"Nothing." He told himself. "Nothing." He stared at the ground. He knew he should get some rest even though he didn't feel tired. He barely slept these days. Sometimes he did so out of necessity but most of the time, he couldn't bring himself to close his eyes. Every time he did, images he had been trying to forget came back to him. The drink he had created helped, but it could only do so much.

The wind moaned again and Alec's heart jumped in his chest.

Let go of me! He heard the whisper in his head.

Help! Stop! What are you doing with us? The whispers became yells. He looked up. He was no longer in Nordhagen but in a dark and wretched place hole in the ground.

Keep the sacrifice still. A man in a dark robe approached a man being held down on a crudely carved altar of stone. His voice reminded Alec of maggots and corpses. In one hand he held a black goblet, filled with an equally black liquid. The man continued to struggle against the four men holding him, even managing to kick one in his nethers. The captor showed no pain or even reacted to the kick but continued to hold the man down. The dark robed man stood over his prisoner and smiled.

You should feel honored. Your sacrifice will pave the way for the new world.

The captive responded by spitting into the man's face. The robed man grabbed the captive by the throat and forced the liquid down his throat. The captive immediately began to scream and writhe in pain, as if he was being burned by an invisible fire. He thrashed so violently that his captors lost their grip. Within seconds, the robed man produced a long, jagged dagger from his cloak and stabbed the writhing man in the heart. The captive's eyes bulged for a brief moment before glazing over in death.

Hm, another failure. He was too weak. Bring the next one. The four men that were holding the man turned their attention to Alec and began to move toward him. In a flash, Alec drew his sword and stood up, ready to fight.

He was in Nordhagen again. He collapsed back onto the bench, not bothering to sheath his sword. He stared into the distance, unmoving. The energy had been sapped from his limbs. Too tired to move, he remained where he sat until the sun began to rise on the horizon.

Red woke up feeling like she could conquer the Commonwealth

'What was in that drink?' Red thought to herself. 'I haven't slept that soundly since, ever!' She practically leaped out of bed and made herself presentable before she stepped outside. As soon as she did she felt something was off. She stood in the doorway and looked around but couldn't see anything odd. Then she looked up. The sun was high in the sky. It was noon. Her jaw dropped

'What was in that drink?' To her horror, she remembered that Alec had wanted to meet her at the south-east gate that morning. As she stepped forward her foot hit something, nearly causing her to fall on her face.

"What the…?" At her feet was a package. On the top was a folded note which read: For Red, From Nordhagen Security

Surprised and a little confused, she picked it up and brought it inside. She unfolded the note and saw there was more written.

If anything good came from the Gunner attack it's that now we have a great deal more supplies to defend Nordhagen with. Since you helped defend our homes we thought you deserved to reap some of the rewards.

Intrigued, she opened the box. The first thing she saw was a set of combat armor. Underneath that was a combat shotgun along with a box of shells for it. A huge smile crept onto Red's face. Immediately she began to put the armor on. It wasn't a perfect fit but a few adjustments could easily fix that. Once she finished putting the last piece on she inspected herself. She had never worn anything as high quality as combat armor and felt like a child that just received a new toy. Satisfied with her armor she picked up the shotgun. It was much heavier than her pipe pistol, something she would need to get used to if she was ever going to use it. She slung it over her shoulder and, still grinning like mad, she picked up the small box of ammo and walked outside.

As she made her way to the gate she noticed a pair of guards talking to each other. When she was passing by one of them poked his friend and pointed at her. Both smiled and high fived each other. Red pretended not to notice and continued on her way.

Once she reached the gate she looked around. The only person nearby was a guard sitting in chair smoking. She walked up to him.

"Hey, have you seen-"

The guard pointed in the direction of the gate. "He's waiting for you at Fort Strong. Just cross the southern bridge and you're there."

"How did you-"

"Slayer told me to tell you to meet him there if I saw you while I was on smoke break."

"Oh, ok, thanks."

The guard took a puff from his cigarette as he stood up and moved to open the gate. "No problem." After a few seconds of effort, he managed to force the gate open. "Stupid rusty hinges!" He muttered to himself.

Red thanked him again and walked toward Fort Strong. Even from a distance, she could see that the front end of the fort, probably where the entrance used to be, had collapsed. As she got closer she could see several small ruined buildings in front of the fort. Some of the buildings looked they had been destroyed more recently than the others. Sitting in one of the ruins was Alec, holding his rifle in his lap. Upon seeing her he motioned for her to come.

"Sleep well?" He asked her. If it were anyone else asking she would think they were smiling under their mask; but since Alec was the one asking, it was probably a sincere question.

"Yes, soundly. Why didn't you wake me up? It's noon." She unslung her shotgun and leaned it against a ruined wall and set the ammo down beside it.

Alec shrugged, as he often did. "You needed the rest."

"I suppose so. I didn't realize how much I needed it, though." Red stretched. "Can you make more of that drink?"

"I can, but only use it as necessary. It is addicting."

"I can imagine why." Red looked around. About ten yards away she saw several bottles lined up on a table. She raised an eyebrow "You want me to do target practice?" She wasn't sure what exactly she expected but it had been more exciting than this.

"I want to see your form." He handed her his rifle. "Shoot."

"Ok." She took the rifle and casually brought it to her shoulder, sighted one of the bottles and fired. She rewarded with the satisfying sound of glass shattering. She repeated the process until all the bottles were shattered. "Easy." She handed the rifle back to him. He didn't take it but pointed back down the range. "What?" She looked back at the range. After a few seconds, she realized there were more bottles, except these ones were about thirty yards away.

"Shoot." He said again. Red took a deep breath and brought the gun to her shoulder. She took a moment to get one of the bottles in her sight then fired. She missed. She fired again. Nothing. She fired a third time. Nothing. She groaned and sighted the bottle again.

"Stop." Alec stood up and gently pushed the rifle barrel downward, getting her attention.

"What?"

"You're pulling the trigger wrong."

"What do you mean? You pull the trigger and the gun fires. What else is there?"

Red took the gun from her and held it so she could see what he was doing.

"You're partly wrapping your finger over the trigger." He demonstrated. "This will make your shot go off to the side slightly. Only pull the trigger with the end of the finger." He handed the rifle back to her. "Try again."

Skeptical, she took the gun and sighted the bottle again. This time, she pulled the trigger back as Alec had demonstrated. The gun fired and the glass shattered. Red grinned. Alec nodded approval.

"At close range, it may not matter; but when accuracy is paramount how you fire your weapon is critical. Continue."

This went one for some time. Red would shoot some targets and Alec would comment on or correct her technique. After an hour her arms were aching and she could barely hit any targets.

"That's enough." Alec took his rifle back. "Get something to eat and meet me back here in an hour."

"More target practice?" She hoped not.

"No, but just as important."

"What?"

"You'll see. Go."

Red grabbed her things and began to walk away. However, she halted when a realization hit her. She was alone with Alec. Now would be an opportune time to ask him some questions she had. She turned back around.

"Can I ask you something?"

"I suppose." Alec had begun to take his rifle apart, probably intending to clean it.

"What happened at Dunwich Borers?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she immediately regretted it. Alec froze and the air itself felt colder. Slowly and in a manner Red found unsettling, he turned toward her. When he spoke, his voice seemed as cold as the air.

"You spoke with Gwen?" Unable to form words, Red merely nodded. Alec shook his head and turned back to his rifle. He motioned for Red to leave but she didn't move. After a few moments, Alec turned back toward her. "Go." She didn't move. Alec stood up and slowly walked toward her, appearing to grow a foot taller with every step until he was towering over her. Red could feel her arms beginning to shake.

"Go, now." The words felt like daggers being thrust into her. Subconsciously, she took a step back.

"No." Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Go." Red could hear the anger in his voice, which was one of the most terrifying things she had ever heard. It took every ounce of her will to keep herself firmly rooted on the spot. She shook her head. Red heard him take a deep breath.

"The only thing you need to know is that there are evil things. Things so evil that speaking of them would be tantamount to murder." Alec turned his back to her and Red breathed a sigh of relief. "I won't talk about what happened that day. Not to you, not to Gwen, not to anyone." Red could hear him take a few more deep breaths. When he spoke again his voice and the air seemed normal. "I will take that evil, and what happened, to the grave. Leave."

Red had to force herself to walk away instead of bolting as fast as her legs would go. As she walked she made a silent promise to herself that she would never ask or speak about Dunwich again. Whatever was there, if it could elicit such a reaction out of Alec, was best left unspoken of.