CHAPTER 10: CANINE CONUNDRUM.
"Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war." -William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
Night over the Wasteland, a group of people with flashlights were chasing after something in the dark. They shouted and yelled while following tracks in the dirt, tracks of very large canine paw prints.
"It's over there! Hurry!" one of them shouted.
"Don't let it get away!" another yelled.
The group soon shined their light on what they were looking for. It was a large dog, but in truth it was also half wolf, the kind of wolves that have mutated into slightly larger beings. Its fur was dull white with dark brown on all four of its paws, on the top of its head and down the entire back and on the tip of its shaggy tail with black ears pricked up and tall. It looked to the hunters with bright yellow eyes. The large dog growled deeply and barked at the hunters. One of the hunters aimed his rifle at it and fired, missing the dog but grazed its shoulder. The dog yelped and dashed off while leaving a small trail of blood.
"Idiot! Don't shoot!" the leader of the group snatched his rifle. "We need that mutt for the arena!"
The hunters started the chase again, but they soon lost the trail of blood and tracks. The dog managed to lose them near an old town, it watched the hunters run pass while still panting hard. The dog whimpered a little and walked into an old building with the door busted open. It sniffed the floor for a moment before laying down. Exhaustion finally took over as the huge dog went to sleep with its wound still hurting.
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March 11/2296
The five Wanderers had been on the road for the past few days. Their journey would take some time in upstate New York, for the area was mostly burnt out towns and forests, along with small mountain ranges. So far they haven't ran into too much trouble, just the average critter and small group of Raiders. And just the other day they managed to barely see New York City in the distance. The city once known as the Big Apple still seemed to be standing, they even came into a settlement that told them they had trade routes to the city.
"How much longer until that next settlement?" Doug asked the group.
Louis held the map up and looked it over. "Still a bit longer. This map of Greenville is old and faded."
"We're gonna need more supplies soon. So we better find the settlement before dark." Victoria spoke.
"The funny thing is, the shop owner of that last place we were at seemed to warn us not to go to the next one." Chloe frowned a little. "It might be trouble for us."
"I think they just have some bad blood. Happens all the time..." Joe shrugged indifferently.
The group soon came up to a desolate town and decided to scavenge it. "Let's stop here for a bit, everyone stay within range of each other!" Louis waved to them before heading to one of the old stores.
"Whoever screams first because they're being attacked buys dinner!" Joe called out.
"It's not a race to see who gets attacked first, guys." Victoria said to them.
The group pilfered around in the main street of the town. Doug checked out a small corner store as Joe looked for anything like a liquor store. Chloe checked the cars while Victoria found a hardware store to search. Louis made his way behind an old shop in the back alley. He went over to a dumpster and slowly opened it, only to be hit by a horrible smell and dropped the lid.
"God, shit that smells!" Louis gagged and stepped away. "Sometimes the Wasteland really sucks..."
The Vault dweller suddenly heard the sound of junk clattering and reached for his gun. The back door of the building was ajar as the rustling got louder. He unlocked the safety and was about to aim as a large dog came out from the building. The two locked eyes, both of them not moving at all until the dog started wagging its tail.
"Hey there..." Louis crouched a little. "Are you okay? Are you lost? You look a little hurt..." he noticed the bullet wound on the shoulder that was covered in dry blood.
The dog whined a little and started slowly approaching him with a limp to its step, the Vault dweller got a better look at the huge dog. "Wow, you're a lot bigger up close..." he reached into his pouch and pulled out some dried meat. "Are you hungry? I'll bet you are."
The dog's tail started wagging like mad as Louis placed the jerky on the ground. The dog sniffed the meat before vigorously eating it all up. The Vault dweller then walked over to the side and looked at the wound.
"Hmm, seems like someone took a shot at you. But you don't seem vicious, probably a Raider getting their sick kicks." Louis slowly petted the dog's head, it didn't seem to mind while eating. "You're quite docile, or at least used to people." he then pulled out a stimpak and started moving the needle to the wound. "Don't worry, this will fix you up nicely."
The dog noticed he was up to something and started to move away. Louis quickly held on to the dog and buried the needle near the wound. The dog yelped in fear and got loose from his grip. It turned and started growling at him with a snap of its jaws as the wound was closing up. The dog suddenly felt the pain was gone and calmed down, its attitude turned back to normal and started becoming playful again.
"See? All better now." Louis kneeled down and started petting it. "Why don't you come with me? You deserve better than to just be a stray. Now come on, uh, boy." he quickly checked its gender. " Let's go meet my friends. I think you'll like them." the two started heading back to the group.
The other four gathered back together to show what they've found. "I've barely found shit..." Joe sighed at his haul.
"Where's Louis?" Victoria looked around for him. "He better not be in trouble..."
"I'm right here and fine!" Louis overheard as he came from around the corner. "And look what I found! A new friend! Which is a dog, in case you're wondering."
The dog followed him closely as the group gasped in surprise. "Good lord, Louis. That's not a dog, that's a horse!" Doug exclaimed in surprise at the dog's size.
"Is it safe to be near?..." Joe took a few steps back.
"He seems safe enough, guys." Louis kneeled down to pet him. "I found him injured and gave him a stimpak. He might have been someone's pet."
"And you think we can just take him? What if the owner is looking for him?" Victoria questioned.
"I said he might have been owned by someone, but you know how the Wasteland is." Louis started petting the dog's neck, making his leg thump. "And I think some Raiders might have taken a shot at him for fun."
Chloe stepped closer to the dog. "You still can't be serious. We can't keep this...drooling..." the dog panted happily and looked her in the eyes. "Smell...and mangy..." the dog tilted his head. She gave in to his cuteness and began petting him. "Oh! Let's keep him! Who's a good dog? You are!" she smiled happily and started petting the dog too.
"I am not cleaning up after him..." Joe mumbled.
"This is the Wasteland, Joe. He can take a shit anywhere!" Doug turned to him.
Joe threw his head back. "I was being fucking sarcastic! Geez!"
"I know, ass!" Doug sneered.
Victoria went over and started slowly petting his head. "I guess having a dog won't be so bad. We can teach him to hunt and search for things." she looked to Louis. "What shall we name him?"
Louis looked to the dog. "Hmm, I don't know, there's a lot we can name him. Maybe...Killer? Nah, too mean. Zwei? Nah, too cute. Duke? Nah, too obvious. Dogmeat? Nah, that's just weird. Hmm. This is a hard one." the Vault dweller pondered for a moment. "Let's see. I remember reading a book about the legendary King Arthur, and he had a dog named...Cavall! That's it! I'll name you Cavall!"
The dog started barking excitingly. "Hey, he seems to like it. That's a smart dog." Doug came over to pet him. To which the dog happily allowed him and leaped up to lick his face. "Okay, calm down! Easy boy! I swear, if he humps my leg..."
"Eh, he kinda reminds me of my dog when I was a kid, just not as big. I guess he'll be okay." Joe petted him next.
"Alright, now that Cavall has joined our crazy group, it's time to get moving." Louis smiled. "Come on, boy! Let's go."
Cavall barked in joy and followed them closely. The group of six continued on for awhile until they came up to the next settlement called The Bite Pit and walked in. The place looked horribly rundown and falling apart, and a lot of the people looked sketchy at best and it didn't seem like there was much to offer anyway.
"Anybody getting the feeling we could be stabbed at any moment?" Joe asked the group.
"I'd say stabbed, killed, robbed, and raped before being left in a ditch." Doug looked around the place.
"Just stay close to each other, we'll be fine." Louis placed a hand on his magnum.
Cavall's ears were perked down and seemed very on edge. Some of the people in the settlement took notice of them, and some of the people had dogs with them and even some other Wasteland creatures in cages.
"I've got a really bad feeling about this." Chloe looked at the dogs and animals in cages.
"That's because I know exactly what this is." Victoria answered in disgust. "Jeremiah would go to these things all the time, these places are dog fights. And the worst thing is, a lot of them were just warm ups, they would pit all kinds of animals against each other and even people against animals. All for people's sick entertainment."
"Then I think we should just leave before people get the wrong idea." Louis said as they started walking faster.
"Whoa, look at the size of that dog!" a few dusty looking people walked up to them. "You guys are gonna win the five thousand cap prize with a monster like that!"
Joe stroked his chin with intrigue. "Five thousand caps, huh?..."
"Joe!" Victoria snapped at him.
"I'm kidding! Why is everyone on my ass today?!" Joe threw his head back and grumbled.
"I'm sorry, but we're not participating in any form of animal fight. It's wrong." Louis stepped in front of Cavall. The large dog started to growl a little.
"You guys can't be serious! That dog will tear the others apart! We haven't seen a good fight in a long time!" the next one said with excitement.
"I said we're not interested in any dog fights! Now go on before there's a fight right here!" Doug warned as he placed his hand on his shotgun.
"Fine! You guys can go fuck off." the group turned to leave.
"We can't get out of this town sooner." Doug said as they quickened their pace.
The group pressed on to the other end of the settlement, but they need to cut through the center first. And as they got further in, they soon realized that there was a large group of people cheering as they came up to the source. There was a large pit dug into the ground with the walls surrounded by metal sheets and other pieces to hold it together. The top of the pit was covered by a chainlink fence with wide holes so everyone above could get a good view. Inside the pit was two large dogs fighting, the people cheered as the animals tore into each other. Blood covered the dirt until one managed to topple the other and sink its teeth into the throat to kill it. The people watching cheered as two men with poles came into the pit to drag the winning dog away and dragged the dead one off to prepare for the next fight.
"So sick and wrong." Louis shook his head. Cavall whimpered a little, the Vault dweller pet his head to calm him.
"Like I said before, this was Jeremiah's idea of fun." Victoria spoke before they turned away from the pit.
As they turned, there was several people standing in front of them, and they already had their hands on their guns. "Well, well, well. Look what we found here! We spent all night looking for that mutt and you guys bring him home!" the leader of the group laughed.
Cavall's ears were perked low and he started to growl, his teeth bared and his fur standing on end.
"So you're the sick bastards that tried shooting him?" Louis wanted to reach for his guns, but the hunters had the drop on them.
"If it makes you feel better, that was this idiot's fault." the hunter leader pointed to the man with the rifle. "We don't want to shoot that dog, we want him to fight in the pit! That half dog, half wolf of a monster will slaughter everything that fights him!"
"Like hell we're gonna allow you sick fuckers take him!" Doug reached for his shotgun as the hunters quickly pointed theirs at them again.
"Now listen, we don't want to fight you guys. But we're taking that mutt! You may think he's a sweet family pet, but I can assure you all, he's a demon of a beast." the lead hunter stepped in front of Louis. "The people that bred these kind of dogs crossed them with mutant wolves that were a lot larger than normal. They were meant to be fighters! Not house pets."
Three of his men went over with pole lassos and caught Cavall by the neck. The large dog struggled against their pull as the five Wanderers were about to attack, but they were once again reminded of the guns pointing at them.
One of them holding a single hand crossbow pointed his weapon at Victoria and chuckled with crooked teeth and lust in his eyes. "You with the red hair, you're pretty..."
"Just shoot me..." Victoria said to herself in disgust.
Cavall pulled against his captors, but they managed to slowly wrangle him into the cage area where they put the animals before they're dropped into the pit. The hunter leader and his men forced the group to the arena cage, they poked them in the backs to make them move.
"What are you doing now?! We're not going to let you do this to Cavall!" Louis turned his head to him.
"Cavall? You guys named that animal? How cute..." the hunter leader jammed his gun into Louis' back again. "I just want you guys to watch this fight. So you can see what kind of beast your pet is. Who knows, I might have done you guys a favor."
The hunters finally unleashed Cavall and slammed the cage shut. The large dog barked and tried to claw his way out of the cage, but nothing he did could get him out of his sturdy prison. The announcer of the arena then started to rile up the crowd for the next pit fight by using a microphone set.
"Gather around, everyone! Place your bets for the next event! We have a massive mongrel of a dog against one of our current campions, Mr. Snapper! The deadly red Radscorpion! So get ready for a cage match!" the announcer called out, making the crowd cheer with anticipation.
Cavall was forced down the caged tunnel by men with wooden poles and into the arena pit. The gate from across the pit opened up as a Radscorpion, which was red as hell, came out. Its claws clicked together and its tail swung around, ready to sting. The people above started placing their bets, the amount for both fighters was more or less even, so it was anyone's match at that point.
"Would it be okay if I step away to place some bets?..." Joe asked their captors.
"Seriously, Joe?!" Louis frowned at him.
The Ghoul sighed once more. "This just isn't my day..."
The fight below started, the red Radscorpion charged for Cavall as he quickly leaped out of the way and went for the back left leg. The massive dog bit down hard and crunched right through the shell. The mutant scorpion hissed and turned to attack and managed to clamp Cavall's back left leg with one of its pincers. Cavall howled in pain before lunging forward and bit the side of its face and broke the left mandible off. The Radscorpion raised its tail and took a swing with its stinger, Cavall managed to dodge in time as the Radscorpion began to sting wildly. Cavall started to run around the arena with the red scorpion almost literally on his tail.
The people cheered for the fight, Louis felt the hunter leader jab the gun into his back again. "Hey! I'm starting to get a lot of mixed signals with you jabbing me all the time!"
"Just making sure you know I hold your lives in my hands." the hunter leader chuckled. "This is what real entertainment is like! Beasts fighting each other, nature at its truest form!"
"Buddy, I grew up in a Vault, and this shit isn't close to natural. Even before the bombs dropped. I'm not some piece of shit hunter that needs a dog to earn my pay."
The hunter leader poked the gun to his head. "And I'm not the one with a gun to the back of my head! So you better enjoy the show, it might be your last."
A sudden gamble formed in Louis' mind and looked into the pit. "Well that sucks. Because the dog just lost..."
The hunter leader gasped in surprise. "That's impossible! We put everything on that mutt." he stepped to the side to try and look down, but saw that Cavall was still fighting.
Louis turned around and grabbed the gun in his hand. The two struggled and thrashed around as the Vault dweller forced the weapon into the air and caused him to fire a few shots. The people around the pit panicked and ran off, leaving the area mostly evacuated excepted for a few stragglers that wanted to watch the show.
"You assholes over there! Take it out of the settlement!" the announcer yelled at them, only for his cries to fall on deaf ears.
Louis and the hunter leader struggled against each other for the gun. His men were distracted by their leader's fight while the other four suddenly sprang into action by attacking the hunters behind them. Joe elbowed the man behind him as Chloe turned and kicked her guy in the groin. Doug head butted the man behind him, breaking his nose with ease. Victoria socked the man with the crossbow in the throat and took the weapon from him and fired a bolt into his knee to prevent him from getting up and tossed it to the ground.
The Vault dweller and hunter leader were still fighting as they fell over the rails of the pit and slammed on top of the cage. The chainlink fence started to give as the gun was dropped to the ground below, they started exchanging blows to each other and tossing around.
Cavall was covered in cuts and bruises, his fur was starting to become soaked in blood. The Radscorpion wasn't fairing any better, three of its legs were crippled and it could barely move its right pincer, and the tail had a number of bits on it. The scorpion attacked again as Cavall moved to the side and attacked, he bit down on the tail again near the stinger and held tight. The two animals struggled in a deadlock before Cavall bite down harder and broke the stinger off. The Radscorpion shrieked in pain with blood spraying out.
The chainlink fence finally gave out and the two came falling into the arena not too far from Cavall and the Radscorpion and hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of them for a moment.
The hunter leader managed to roll on top of Louis and started to strangle him. "You are gonna pay for this! I'll see to it that your friends go up against Deathclaws so they can be ripped to pieces! But you'll die right here in this pit!"
Louis managed to throw his fist and hit the hunter in the face to get him off and got back up. "Not a chance! It's round two now, asshole!"
Another of the hunters jumped into the pit with a knife in hand and started to go after Louis from behind, ready to stab him. The hunter was almost close enough as Cavall barked and leaped, the man was caught off guard as the massive dog bit down on his throat and toppled him to the ground. The man screamed as blood poured from his mouth, his struggle was over in moments as the leader took notice and cried out.
"No! You damn dog! You're not worth the caps!" the hunter leader started running for the gun on the ground.
Louis saw what he was up to and spotted the stinger laying on the ground and grabbed it. The hunter leader was about to grab the gun as the Vault dweller stabbed him in the gut with the stinger. The hunter leader gagged in agony, venom filling his blood before falling back to the ground with the stinger still in him. He gargled and twitched on the dirty ground before his eyes rolled back and finally died.
The Vault dweller sighed in relief and took a moment to catch his breath. The Radscorpion started to come after him as Cavall leaped on its back and bit down on the head and killed it. Louis turned to Cavall as he slowly walked up to him, whimpering in pain.
Louis kneeled down and gently petted him. "Thank you, Cavall. I owe you big time, now let's get the hell out of here." Cavall started to go limp from fatigue, Louis quickly picked him up and slung him over his shoulders and stood up. "Wow! You're a lot heavier than you look!" he strained a little and started to go towards the opening he and the hunter leader made.
The other four took care of the last hunters and saw Louis coming to the opening. They quickly climbed over the rails and held their hands out to pull him and Cavall up and out of the arena. With The Bite Pit in chaos, the group ran for the exit and kept going until they found an old Red Rocket gas station and stopped to rest. Cavall was in very bad shape. His cuts were deep and his breathing very weak.
Louis pulled out another stimpak from his pouch. "Only one choice now. This fixed him up before, it will fix him again."
"He only had a small injury before, and that Radscorpion really fucked him up." Doug said as he kneeled down to pet Cavall's head gently.
"It's his only hope. But if he does die, it won't be in some cage for people's fun." Louis injected Cavall in the front leg.
Several moments passed as they watched, Cavall seemed to fall asleep, making them fear the worse. But soon his wounds began to close and he perked back up. His tail wagged with joy and slowly stood back up and energetic as ever.
"It worked! Thank god it worked!" Chloe smiled and petted him.
"Good thing these stimpaks are so versatile." Louis tossed the used item aside and began to pet Cavall. "You put up a good fight in that arena. But you are officially retired from cage matches. So you'll be coming with us from now on."
"We should find a clean river first. The poor dog is covered in his own dried blood." Doug commented.
"He's right, all that blood will attract a bunch of dangerous animals." Victoria said as she twirled her crossbow.
"I'm guessing you're gonna keep that thing?" Joe asked her.
"The asshole I shot in the knee won't be needing it anymore." Victoria smiled before slinging it. "And I lifted his pouch of bolts for it too."
Louis stood back up and checked his Pip-Boy. "I got a new direction of the signal. Time to get going. Let's go, Cavall! You're one of us form now on."
Cavall barked happily and followed beside them to find a river first. The five wanderers have become six, the addition of a loyal and strong canine companion will help them immensely on their journey across the Wasteland to the end of the signal.
