CHAPTER 34: RAMPAGING WRATH.
"It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle." -Norman Schwarzkopf.
With a few strong gulps, Radcliffe finished his beer, and his eighth one at that, and placed the bottle down on the bar and raised his finger to order another one. The bartender frowned before reaching into the bar fridge and took out another bottle, popped the cap off with a bottle opener and placed it in front of Radcliffe. The former Raider snatched it up and already gulped more than a quarter of it, soon to be joining the other empties near him.
Before he could finish his beer, Louis came up from behind with a frustrated frown. "I should have known you would run off to the bar. We're about to face a small army of Super Mutants tomorrow, and the last thing you need is a hangover."
Radcliffe belched lightly and sighed. "Which is why I'm drinking." he said before another belch escaped. "This is how I get myself in the mind set before a big fight. And since we're about to go against said Super Mutants...I need all the encouragement I can get."
Louis shook his head disapprovingly. "I'm amazed you haven't killed yourself with alcohol poisoning..."
Radcliffe choked on his beer and looked at the bottle. "Alcohol can poison you?!"
Most of the wanderers and Ezrah came into the bar area. And just like the workshop and medic bay, the bar area was once the section of the Super-Duper mart where alcoholic beverages were shelved. And a very big section at that, which made one think what was in constant demand before the Great War.
"I see you've made yourself at home in the bar." Ezrah spoke to him from behind. "But keep in mind...you still have to pay for those drinks. They aren't part of the rewards."
Once more, Radcliffe choked on his beer and looked to the bartender waiting for his caps. Three caps each. Before he asked for another drink, Radcliffe began fishing around in his side pouch for the caps. "And while you're at it, give me a bottle of vodka..."
Ezrah turned his attention away from Radcliffe and back to the others. "And good news. We managed to put together a room for you all. It helps that Asimov doesn't need a bed since he's a robot."
"Thanks for that. I hope it's not too much of an issue with everyone." Louis didn't want them to be looked at as special guests.
"No, it's perfectly fine." Ezrah waved his hand up. "We have plenty of beds to spare."
"Is it because a lot of people have died?..." Radcliffe asked just as he finished his beer. The room went silent, all eyes of offense and disgust looking right at him. "What?! What's with the looks?!"
"Radcliffe! Will you just shut the fuck up already?!" Joe whispered through dark gritted teeth.
Ezrah quickly spoke to end the awkward moment. "Uh, why don't we go to the mess hall and eat? Can't fight on an empty stomach."
Before the mood of the room became even more uneasy, the wanderers agreed and followed Ezrah to the mess hall as Radcliffe paid for his beers and took the bottle of vodka, not wasting time by twisting the cap off and drinking as he walked.
The mess hall rested at the far right corner of the store, which was once the eating area for shoppers, and most of the cookware and kitchen equipment had survived and been fixed up and cleaned with more equipment brought in to help feed everyone in the settlement.
The wanderers filled their trays as one was sent off to Inez so she wouldn't forget to eat while elbows deep in a Power Armor suit. And despite sitting at the back of the mess hall, all eyes were on them with whispers and murmurs mixed in. Needless to say, it made their dinner a bit tense since it was obvious most of their concern was on Wayland.
"So is it me...or are all eyes on us?" Chloe asked, despite knowing the answer.
"We can't blame them for being concerned about Wayland. And we're just strangers passing through." Joe said while picking through his mixed vegetables. "Just give them space as Ezrah said."
Ezrah sat at the end of the table, slowly going through his meal. "If don't mind me asking, how long have you all been traveling together?"
Doug paused for a moment and looked to him. "Well...it started with me and Louis. And then Joe came along, then Victoria, followed by Chloe. Cavall, then Wayland. Then Inez and Asimov, and Radcliffe despite much concern."
Radcliffe stopped chugging his vodka and frowned at the farmer.
"So all in all, a few months from beginning and up until now." Doug finished.
"I see." Ezrah nodded before turning his eyes to Louis and looked over his Vault jumpsuit. "And I understand you came from a Vault, but why do you wear your jumpsuit? Doesn't it make you stand out?"
Louis tensed for a moment, he noticed Doug had the same look on his face but no one noticed him. Everyone else started to have the same question on their minds, even Cavall looked up from his meal with a curious look. "Well...I guess the reason why I still wear a jumpsuit is...I've pretty much worn one all my life. I guess I just wouldn't be the same without wearing it." he said with a bashful chuckle and hoped that would deter their questions.
"Hmm, I understand." Ezrah nodded. "I also feel the same with my Power Armor. I've worn it for so long for hours a day that I sometimes forget I'm in it."
Louis sighed in his mind and continued with his dinner. "By the way, how did it go with the leaders of this settlement? Did you get their approval on attacking the power plant?"
"Not exactly. The idea of using Wayland to infiltrate was...mixed...to say the least." Ezrah answered him. "They're talking it over even now, and just so you all know, Hiromi has a say on the vote too."
"Then I hope they see reason and allow it." Victoria spat disapprovingly. "We want to help, but we can't wait around forever just for them to come up with a decision."
"She's right. We have to keep moving." Chloe said next.
Ezrah blinked in confusion. "I'm sorry, is there some place you need to be?"
The wanderers realized their mistake *and looked to each other to see who had a good excuse. Radcliffe looked around at them, his face already redden from drinking so much. "Oh, that's right! We're trying to-"
A swift kick to his shin from Doug silenced him. The Raider jostled in his seat but didn't show any signs that he was kicked. They filled him on what Louis and Doug set out to do by following the signal, and told him they didn't want too many people to know about it unless they could be fully trusted. It was even difficult at first for Chloe to explain that she was a Synth out of worry on what he might have heard if stories of the Institute had reached that far and somehow discovered she was one by accident. But thankfully Radcliffe didn't seem to mind either way, or even understand it, no matter how much she tried to explain it as simply as possible to him.
"We're just traveling." Joe spoke to distract Ezrah. "It's a personal thing for all of us."
"I understand." Ezrah dropped the subject and continued his meal before it got cold. "But anyway, if we're lucky, they will vote to allow this mission. They have to consider how this will affect our already limited resources just to get a look at the Super Mutants' den. And considering it's a power plant, there's no telling what the radiation levels are like."
"That's what my Pip-Boy is for." Louis pulled back his left coat sleeve and showed the device. "This will let us know if there's any radiation and even detect how far it is."
"Good to know. That will come in handy." Ezrah looked at the rare device that was even rarer to see in the Wasteland.
"Then we better get a good night's rest. It won't do us good to be exhausted." Doug said, looking down at his ankle and hoping, if not praying it will be better by then.
()()()()()
Inez smiled with joy as she and Asimov placed the shoulder piece back on the Power Armor. Asimov held it in place as Inez began to bolt it back in with a power tool. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with a clean cloth and looked over her work to make sure everything was back in place despite the temptation of opening it all up and seeing what was inside. But worried it might have some kind of internal defense.
She went over to the table where the Gatling laser rested and began taking inventory on what she might need. It was no wonder any of the fixers could repair it, the parts are just as rare as the weapon itself. "Now let's see what we got." Inez began. "I'm gonna have to be careful with this. I doubt they will have replacement parts laying around." she picked up one of the rectangular parts that was supposed to be inside the main body. "I suppose it's a good thing this is one of those models without the battery pack to power it."
"Yes, I believe those are early models of Gatling lasers, but they still stayed in service because of their firepower. Even as newer models were made." Asimov nodded while coming to offer assistance.
"This country's war machine never stopped growing, even in so called peace times." Inez looked over the Gatling laser's body, it had armor plating to protect the insides like the rotating barrels against the elements. "Even this has been modified as well. Those Brotherhood people sure do have the good stuff." she fiddled around with the back trigger handle and noticed another button and pressed it to see what it would do. At the end under the barrel, a red laser beam shot out but didn't cause any damage. "Would you look at that, a laser pointer. That's handy."
"He's taken good care of his equipment." Asimov noted as he watched her get to work.
Inez worked for a little while until her dinner was brought in and told the person who delivered it to thank the others. She was quickly done and continued her work, taking precious care because of the delicate parts that might be irreplaceable if broken.
The hours ticked by until almost the entire settlement had turned in with guards beginning their nightly patrols. The rooms were set up with sections for families, another for those recovering from injuries, and another for the guards to rest and keep their gear and weapons organized and respond quickly to any threats.
The wanderers were given a spacious enough room that was closed off. They each picked a bed and started stripping down to their underclothes and placed their weapons and backpacks on standing coat hangers. The door to their room gently flew open as Asimov helped Inez walk in, she had worked herself to exhaustion and didn't get the Gatling laser fully fixed.
"Is she gonna be okay?" Victoria asked as Asimov helped Inez lay down on her bed.
"She just worked too hard, but she will be fine." Asimov answered and started taking off her boots.
"Did she get everything fixed?" Joe asked.
"The Power Armor is repaired, but she needs time on the Gatling laser. It proved to be difficult because of its damage. Inez always had a habit of losing track of time when she's focused on her work." the Assaultron looked down to her with concern that could be seen even in his visor. "I recall countless nights where I find her slumped over her work."
"And speaking of slumped..." Chloe looked over to Radcliffe's bed. He laid there with an arm over his eyes and sprawled out with the blankets over and under him, all tangled up from him tossing and turning. "He's gonna have quite the hangover in the morning."
On the outside, Ezrah approached their room door with some much needed news and noticed it was slightly cracked open. His hand raised up to knock before a strange topic was heard.
"Louis, are you sure this is a good idea to fight someone else's battle?" Doug asked him.
"It's not a matter of being a good or bad idea. It's the right thing to do." Louis responded.
Ezrah didn't want to eavesdrop, but at the same time he knew there was something very odd about them and didn't believe they were traveling just for personal reasons.
"But once again we're getting sidetracked and no closer to the end of the signal on your Pip-Boy." Doug went on. "We've only been back on the trail for a few days. For all we know, it's too late to find out what it is."
"Nothing has changed since we started, it's still broadcasting even now. I just checked!" he held the device up to show the signal direction on the screen.
"What are they talking about?..." Ezrah said to himself.
Victoria stood up and got between them. "Okay, let's calm down and not get into an argument this late at night." she said. "We'll help get rid of the threat and be on our way."
"Yeah, sure, we face armies of Super Mutants all the time." Joe grumbled before laying back in his bed.
"Sarcasm aside, I have to admit we're not making record time. And there's the issue of still not knowing how far it is." Chloe said, sitting on the edge of her bed.
"That's why I'll finish this quick." Wayland spoke out. "I'll stop all of them if I have to and we can continue."
"Whoa, hold on, big guy." Louis waved his hands out as if to stop him from leaving. "You don't have to do this alone. Let's just take this one step at a time before we make any big leaps against them."
Ezrah figured he heard enough and waited a minute before knocking on the door to announce his presence. He walked in and closed the door behind him. "I have news..."
"Well don't keep us waiting." Doug said while sitting up.
He stood straight with his hands behind his waist. "They decided to allow the mission tomorrow. We'll take a group of ten and scout the power plant. And as planned, Wayland will go in as one of them and find out as much as he can and what their plans are. If he's still up to it."
Wayland nodded and stood from his bed. "I'll do it."
"Then I bid you all a good night. Rest well." Ezrah said, he wanted to ask what they were talking about from before, yet decided to not get into their business. Old habits from the Brotherhood and their endless need to find prewar tech and info.
Soon they were under the covers and fast asleep, and they would need it for the battle to come.
April 8/2296
Morning came, the settlement was abuzz with preparation, gathering weapons and ammo and armor. Even the wanderers were allowed to get what they needed as far as ammo and supplies. Ezrah made sure that everyone else continued their usual guard duty and that the settlement was on lockdown until further notice.
Back in the wanderers' room, Louis watched Doug as he began to slowly stand up. He put weight down on his ankle and winched a few moments later as a dull pain shot up and slowly flopped back on the bed.
Louis crossed his arms and hummed. "Still hurting a bit? Probably best if you sit this one out."
"Are you kidding?" Doug said in disbelief, almost standing back up. "We need as many of us as we can get! I can handle the pain, I work my family farm all year round. I've had worse!"
"Except you're not fighting for your life on the farm." Louis pointed out. "And it's not like I'll be alone. Everyone else and a group of Ezrah's people will be coming. And for now this is a recon as he said, we're not looking for a fight."
"So then what am I supposed to do?" Doug asked while laying back on his bed.
"You can just take it easy until we get back." Victoria suggested, she came in while putting her long red hair into a big bun.
"Speaking of Doug staying behind," Asimov approached, carrying some bulletproof vests and handing it out to the two. "I want Inez to stay behind, she still doesn't have that much combat experience. And this would be too big of a leap."
"Hmm, that might be for the best." Louis agreed while throwing the vest on before getting his trench coat. "And she still hasn't fixed the Gatling laser. I get the feeling she's not the kind of person to leave a job unfinished."
"You have no idea..." Asimov nodded.
"Then I'll talk to her about it. She's actually back in the repair shop anyway." Victoria said before leaving the room.
()()()()
Ezrah entered his armor and raised his left arm up. With a few rotations, he tested to see if the hitch was gone. "Amazing! I don't fell the pinch at all." he complemented. "I can't thank you enough, Inez. It was starting to drive me crazy, and I was worried it might have gotten worse."
"It was actually not that big of a deal." Inez spoke with a smile. "Turns out one of the support rods of the frame was a little bent and getting caught in the gears. So I took it out and straighten it with a press machine."
"I never would have guessed that." Ezrah said before the panels flipped open and stepped back out. "Anyone would be lucky to have your skills, the mechanics at the Brotherhood would be jealous."
Victoria soon entered the room and found Inez. After a few minutes, Inez ended up agreeing to stay, despite many protests and went back to work on the Gatling laser while mumbling her frustrations in Spanish. Hiromi soon had his people, five men and women, ten in all as offered since their able-bodied people who could fight were already limited. He stood in front of them and gave the quick rundown of the plan, and to stay close with Ezrah in the lead. The former BOS man stepped back into his Power Armor, got his modified laser rifle and a large pouch of microfusion cells that was fitted to attach to his waist as if it was apart of the armor.
Inez came by and gave Asimov a tight hug around his body. "You better be safe out there. And no funny ideas this time if you know what I mean." she shot him a firm look.
"I promise you, I will fight just as hard for myself as I would for you." Asimov held his hand up in assurance.
Doug slowly walked up to his friends, this time with one crutch, and stopped for a moment with his sprained ankle raised. He watched the people finish their preparations and slowly hobbled over to a long table where people gathered supplies and ammo and spotted Chloe picking up some plasma cartridges for her weapons.
"Hey," he spoke plainly to get her attention. "Almost ready to leave I see."
Chloe stopped and looked to him. "Yeah, I just getting a few more plasma cartridges." she said. "I heard you're not coming..."
Doug frowned and looked down at his ankle. "Yeah, my ankle is still hurting. Guess I'll hang back and...I don't know...help Inez if she needs it."
She threw her combat helmet on and started securing the strap under her chin. "Just take care of your ankle until we get back. Hopefully it won't take all day."
"I hope not." Doug pulled up a nearby chair and sat down. "Just promise me you'll keep an eye on Louis. You know how he gets when others are in danger..."
"That won't be a problem. I know Louis can get a little too protective." Chloe said before walking off to join the others.
"Also..." Doug suddenly spoke, their eyes meeting. "Take care of yourself too."
Chloe gave a smile and held up her thumb before going off to meet up with everyone else.
Ezrah stood in his armor, laser rifle held firmly in hands before giving the wanderers and Hiromi's squad the signal to move out. In minutes they reached the closed off gate as it started to open for them, the people outside wished them well and to come back alive. Ezrah saw Sid and his friends in the crowd, waving to him as if he was a knight about to go on a crusade, which in a way wasn't too far from the truth. The other thing the people were glad to see was Wayland leave, the Super Mutant could see it in their eyes as he walked out the gate. And most of them no doubtfully hoped he didn't come back.
Once the gates slammed shut and the guards took their positions on top, Louis went beside Ezrah with Cavall padding along side him. "So how long will this walk to the power plant take?"
"Little more than three or four hours if we walk at a steady pace." Ezrah answered as he looked at his helmet's HUD. He used its tracking software to make a map readout of the distances he traveled in the town. One of the many benefits of a new Power Armor. "We'll move cautiously in case there are some Super Mutants out on patrol. Hopefully their loss from yesterday will keep them from attacking. For awhile."
"That is unless Wayland's theory pans out and they are somehow making more Super Mutants there." Joe pointed out. "For all our sakes, I hope he's wrong."
"Same here." Ezrah nodded to him. "From what our studies show, new Super Mutants take some to time to readjust to their transformation. Kinda like being a newborn."
"You guys can talk about that stuff all you want, but can you keep it down?..." Radcliffe grumbled while rubbing the side of his head with two fingers. "I got a fucking headache."
"You mean a hangover from drinking too much." Asimov corrected him.
"Don't you have a mute button somewhere?" Radcliffe glared back at him.
"Try and find it. I welcome the attempt." Asimov replied coldly.
Victoria quickly got in between them. "Save it for the enemy. We got to work together."
"Well said, Victoria." Chloe complemented her.
"Then enough talking already." Hiromi said as he walked forward with his squad tailing behind. "We've wasted enough time as it is." he stopped quickly and gave Wayland a deadly look before moving forward again.
Wayland sighed and went over to Louis and Joe, not wanting to be alone in the group. Ezrah took the lead, standing in the front like a great shield. Something that he always believed the Brotherhood of Steel should have been in the first place.
()()()()()()()()()()
Demon stood in its personal room, which was once the main office for a boss of the power plant long ago. It looked out the cracked and dust covered window with a furious frown, scratching at the scabbed over skin around the metal shard sticking out of its head. Demon's mood was shifting again from frustrated to angry, there was no telling where its mood would fall next.
"Not right..." it said while glaring out the dusty window. "It's not right! It not right at all!" its fist collided with the wall, shattering the already cracked paint and left a deep indent in the wall near the window. "Not right! Not right! Not right!"
It shouted between each punch, the wall shook and the indent got deeper and bigger and moments away from busting through to the outside. More cracks spread across the window, tiny pieces fell off while some panes just fell out.
Splitter quickly burst into the room, its door long gone. "Demon! What is wrong?!" it asked, about to raise its axe arm up in defense.
"It not right! That's what's wrong!" Demon answered as its fist stayed stuck in the deep crack for a moment. "The humans! The humans fight back and win for too long! Humans are supposed to be weak! We are strong! They fight back and kill more of us for too long!"
"But the science man said he make more of us. He said we can make more today!" Splitter said, trying to reason with its deranged leader.
"That's not good enough! The humans need to learn their place!" Demon reached for a nearby empty desk crumbling from age and picked it up over its head. The desk went flying through the air and splintered into pieces once it smashed against the wall. "We are the future of this world! And the humans should be running scared from us!"
Demon threw its fists up and bellowed, its scream echoed down the halls. It huffed and seethed with anger, the arms hanging limply at its side. But just as quick as its anger, Demon's mood shifted to that of a twisted smile. Splitter knew this mood shift all too well as it stepped back, it was the mood when Demon came up with something insane and dangerous. And considering how big it was smiling, Splitter felt a chill down its spine.
"And we will make them fear us! Once we destroy their home!" Demon said, its right eye twitching.
"We can't attack their home! It too well defended!" Splitter tried to reason, despite knowing it was pointless.
"Follow me! You're slow to the details." Demon said while brushing past Splitter and chuckled. "Perhaps the scientist should make you special medicine too..."
The two moved down several flights of stairs until reaching the loading dock of the power plant. It was mostly dark and very large to store materials, and any leftover materials from before the war had long been taken by either scavengers or the Super Mutants once they moved in.
Demon found itself standing in front of eight other Super Mutants mulling about with pointless activities and even some old board games. Their clothes were made of animal pelts, from mole rats to Brahmin skins and worn as if they were trophies from a grand hunt. They stood at attention once seeing their leader approaching.
"Demon, what bring you here?" the one wearing Brahmin skin asked, trying to hide its nervousness.
Demon grinned, baring its horrid yellow teeth. "I want you to unleash Wrath! Take it to the human settlement and kill them all! Burn it to the ground!"
The eight mutants looked to each other, even they knew Demon was well known for sudden mood shifts and irrational plans and commands. A minute passed until one of them stepped forward, wearing a pelt made of feral dogs with the faces still attached and shoulder pads made of mirelurk shells.
"But, Demon, we still haven't fully tamed Wrath. If it gets out of control, we won't be able to bring it back!"
"You all call yourselves tamers! So deal with it then!" Demon yelled with its finger pointing hard. "Take half of you and attack the human settlement."
Splitter grumbled to itself, it knew once Demon got like this there was no stopping it. "We shouldn't act so recklessly, Demon. Maybe we should talk to Al and the scien-"
The Super Mutant suddenly found itself hoisted up in the air, feet dangling more than a foot off the floor and Demon's eyes burning into it like the fires of Hell. "I do not need their permission to do a damn thing!" it said through clenched teeth that threatened to break. "I am the leader here! Whatever I say, goes! Don't ever forget that!"
Splitter came falling back to the floor, feet landing with a thud as the other eight tamers knew their was no point in arguing anymore as Demon looked to the other end of the room. A wall made of metal sheets rested at the end, the thickness of each welded piece varied, as well as the sizes and shapes. Some looked very new while others were rusted to the point of being brittle enough for a single tap to break it. Long metal rods and I-beams held the wall up with chains strung across for added support and a concrete base that was poorly molded. The only way in and out was a tall double door that almost reached the top of the jagged wall. Large bars held the doors closed against what was on the other side.
Once up close, a heavy breathing could be heard, low and very disgruntled about its captivity. Something large and aggressive shifted around, testing the strength of the wall with light bumps. A few lights hanged above inside the walled cage, and the tiny holes in the metal wall allowed the lights to beam out, only to be shadowed by the being inside. It growled deeply, knowing the ones holding it were on the other side.
Demon came up and slammed its fist on the wall, and in moments the creature on the other side responded with its own wall rattling slam. The other Super Mutants reeled back, the tamers held long poles wrapped in cable and rubber with prongs on one end and car batteries powering the prods on the other end.
"Crush them all like bugs..." Demon hissed.
()()()()()()()()
Almost two hours went by for the wanderers and company. They remained quiet to not draw attention, and mostly because there was still an awkward air between the wanderers and the settlers since they still had a hard time fully trusting the odd mix of strangers with a Super Mutant in tow.
Radcliffe shifted around a lot during the walk, never staying close to anyone for long and sometimes getting on their nerves and scurrying off with a grin on his face. He looked over and saw that Wayland had a light frown across his face, racing with a million different thoughts and dashed up to see what was on his mind. "So tell me, what's up? You seem really tense."
"A lot of us could get hurt, or worse." Wayland answered without even looking his way. "So of course I'm very tense..."
"Yeah, about that," Radcliffe gave his chin a quick scratch. "Are you okay with infiltrating those Super Mutants? Your own kind and all? Even kill them if needed?"
"Humans kill each other all the time. Why should it be any different with Super Mutants?" Wayland answered.
Radcliffe reflected on that and hummed. "You have a very good point there. Still, I can't believe Super Mutants actually used to be humans. Kinda crazy..."
"Yes," Wayland frowned deeply. "It is..."
Louis and Ezrah scouted ahead of the group to get a better lay of what was ahead. "So how much longer 'til we get to the power plant?" the Vault dweller asked him.
Ezrah came to a stop, his armored footsteps thudding hard on the ground. "Not much longer. Another hour or so. But it's best that we keep a slow pace in case there are patrols in the area. We're heading deeper into their territory with each step."
"Yeah, I can see it in everyone's faces." Louis looked back to Hiromi and his group. All of them held their guns tight, paranoid of every shadow and corner they came across. It was pretty much the first time they had ever gone this far into Super Mutant land. "I'm surprised they volunteered for this. I want nothing more than for all of them to have a good life."
"And we appreciate the help." Ezrah turned his eyes back to the road. "I don't want to think where they would be right now if I never showed up."
"Speaking of which, what will you do when the Super Mutants are gone?"
"Keep moving forward." Ezrah answered while thinking of last night and what he overheard. "I have to. In case the Brotherhood tracks me down. In fact, I know they are keeping an eye out and an ear to the ground for any information on me."
"I'm guessing that Power Armor was quite an investment on their technology development." Louis turned his attention back to the road. "From what you've told us, I would want to get something like that ba-"
His voice suddenly stopped, a large puddle of very murky water suddenly rippled. And it was a ver noticeable ripple to that. Ezrah stood confused for a moment before seeing the puddle ripple again, and after that an indicator on his helmet HUD picked up heavy vibrations traveling through the ground. Cavall suddenly got low to the ground as if he was about to strike, all his teeth bared and growling deeply.
Victoria approached the two after noticing they were quiet for awhile. "Is everything okay, guys?"
They didn't answer as another thud echoed through the streets. This time everyone seemed to take notice, it sounded like a storm was coming as pebbles on the ground rattled and the hanging street light started to wave back and forth. Hiromi quickly ordered his squad into position before another thud came, this time sounding more like a building collapsing in the distance.
"What the hell is going on?" Victoria asked with a slight tremble in her voice while reaching for her 12.7mm.
Louis felt his hairs on his neck stand on end, a slight shake in his hands. "I...don't know. I don't know what that is."
Ezrah on the other hand feared the worst. For a long time he heard whispers of the most dangerous type of Super Mutants. Even the pictures and archive information on them made him pray he'd never face one in person as a single word escaped his mouth. "Behemoth..."
"What did you say?..." Louis asked, barely hearing his faint word.
Before Ezrah snapped back to reality and answered, a loud crash made everyone jolt and step back. A roar came next, a mix of anger and pain as if something was hurting it. The thudding got closer and closer as they realized it was something very big and dangerous coming their way.
"It's a Behemoth!" Ezrah finally found his voice and shouted it out to everyone.
As Ezrah said, the Behemoth came running out from around the corner, smashing through the side of a brick building and sent crumbling bricks falling to the street like rain. It stood over twenty-four feet tall, a bit taller than average for its type. Its arms and upper chest wrapped in welded armor of scrap metal with leather underneath and shoulder guards made of large hubcaps.
It had old leather pants that reached its knees with a thick chain wrapped around the waist and secured with a heavy lock. It had nothing on its feet but there were metal greaves that went up to the knees and made of car pieces welded together and tied on with cables that left the back of the legs exposed. In its right hand was a long and wide helicopter blade, most likely from a rescue or firefighting helicopter, fashioned with a wrought iron handle and sharpened into an actual cutting blade.
The Behemoth suddenly cried out as the wanderers noticed a shower of sparks came from its waist. Their eyes fell onto four other Super Mutants wearing animal pelts and holding crude long prods to shock the Behemoth.
"Holy shit! The rumors are true!" Joe said with a tremble, switching up to his combat shotgun. "They really do get that big!"
Everyone stood frozen in place, the Super Mutants and the Behemoth didn't notice them yet because they were so occupied on keeping the giant under control. But soon one of them in a pelt made of bighorner hair happen to turn its head their way.
"Hey! The metal man is over there!" it screamed and pointed its finger.
The other three turned their heads, lowering their electric prods while the Behemoth bellowed to the fresh meat in front of it.
"Yeah! What they doing out here?!" another with Brahmin skin asked.
"No matter! We kill them anyway!" the one with mirelurk shells cackled out.
"Wait, who that Super Mutant? Why it with the humans?" another with mole rat pelt asked with a crooked brow.
"Oh, dammit!" Louis cursed, fearing that would happen. "Hey, Ezrah!"
"I know, I know!" Ezrah was quick to pick up what he was thinking. "Hiromi! Take out the four Super Mutants!"
"And leave you to fight that giant monster alone?!" Hiromi argued back while trying to get his squad focused.
"You have to!" Ezrah aimed his laser rifle right for the Behemoth's chest. "If those muties get back to their den and alert everyone of Wayland, then our whole plan goes up in smoke! We can't let this mission fail! I can handle this!"
"He won't be alone! We'll help too!" Louis answered while aiming his AN-94 at the Behemoth.
"We will?!" Radcliffe asked surprised before he could try to run.
"Just shut up and start shooting, Radcliffe!" Chloe ordered, not wasting any time by firing away with her plasma rifle.
The four Super Mutants dashed off to stay out of the Behemoth's rampaging path. After that, everyone opened fire to get the Behemoth's attention and in hopes that they could kill it down quick. But the Behemoth only cried out in annoyance rather than pain, the bullets pin pricked its thick skin while the lasers and plasma left shallow burns that did little to harm.
"Spread out! Spread out! Now!" Louis waved his arm out to everyone, and they didn't waste a moment to do so.
Ezrah started backing up, firing steadily while Louis started to circle around and reload a new magazine as Cavall followed him while barking fiercely. Radcliffe never stopped firing, a pile of shells and the rings that held the bullets together littered the road. Chloe and Asimov teamed up to let their lasers and plasma fly in volley. Joe went behind an old car for cover and fired his combat shotgun, hoping the drum full of shotgun slugs that he got from the weapons locker of the settlement would do better than buckshot.
Victoria notched an arrow and took aim at its neck, thinking it might be weaker. She let it loose and it flew straight into its target. The arrow stuck like a pin and the behemoth jerked to the sting and turned its head to the shooter, growling with anger. Victoria felt her stomach twist up as the Behemoth started charging for her while swinging its blade above its head. For whatever reason, the arrow in the neck enraged it even more.
"Vicky! Run!" Louis called out to shake her from shock.
The redhead spun around on her heels and ran with no particular direction in mind, clumsily holding her bow. She spotted Hiromi's team running into an alleyway to circle around before remembering the Behemoth getting closer. Near a row of buildings was an overturned long truck with three large sewer pipes on the road. Victoria dived in and started crawling on her hands and knees in the dirty pipe that was barely big enough for her. The Behemoth kneeled and reached its left hand into the pipe, shifting it around violently and shaking her inside. Victoria ended up cut off as the fragile metal started to crumble near the exit with the Behemoth's hand getting closer. She spun around while pulling an arrow from her quiver and waited, the hand big enough to snatch her was inches away as she let go the breath she was holding and stabbed the arrowhead right under its index fingernail. The Behemoth screeched with pain and jerked its hand out of the big pipe.
Ezrah charged in as soon as the Behemoth went after Victoria. He heard it cry out in pain and looked to see that it was waving its left hand with an arrow sticking in the finger. He pushed his curiosity aside as the left arm blade flicked out and found his mark by driving the blade into the back of the Behemoth's lower leg, which towered over him alone. The Behemoth's scream echoed across the street as it spun around and lashed its left arm out and struck Ezrah dead in the chest. Even with the shock absorbers at full power, he still felt the wind knocked out of him and went flying several feet and into a rusted out car, crumbling it like a can in a press and left him stunned.
That put everyone on the warpath. Their shots grew more focused and spread out more. Radcliffe finally started reloading a new magazine drum for his LMG as Asimov suddenly dashed off to an open building and started running up the flight of stairs with a plan calculating away. Louis closed in with his Mossberg shotgun and kept pumping off rounds at the Behemoth's face to draw its attention. It turned to its attacker and started swing the sword at him as he began backing away. Despite the crudeness of the blade, Louis had no doubt the Behemoth could cleave him or even a few people in half with ease thanks to its immense brute strength.
Victoria came out from the pipe and watched the Behemoth close in on him. "That's only making it angry!" she shouted, pointing out the futility of his attack.
"It was already angry!" Louis retorted as the last shell in his shotgun popped out. "Oh, fuck!"
The Behemoth loomed over him, sword raised for a moment before bringing it down. Louis let his instincts take over and leaped to the right as the blade struck the road, shattering the asphalt with ease. In moments the Vault dweller was back up as the Behemoth raised its blade again and swiped sideways. Louis anticipated the attack and leaped over it in time and landed hard on his hands and knees. Thankfully the Behemoth was sluggish with its moves, but it would soon get him one way or another, either by slashing him in half or just stomping him into a paste on the road. Once more the blade hanged high above and the Behemoth brought it down, but Louis stood ready and ran forward and between its legs as the blade crashed to the road once more.
The Behemoth stood bewildered and bended forward to try and find the human. It was the reaction Louis was hoping to see, not only was it sluggish, it was slow to figure anything out. But being slow didn't mean it wouldn't catch on as it spun around quite quickly and looked back down at Louis.
Despite the bullets still pricking its flesh and voices and barking trying to get its attention, the Behemoth kept its focus on Louis and lifted its blade up once more. But unknown to both, Asimov stood on the roof of the building he entered and waited for the right moment before gearing up power in his legs and leapt off the roof. All eyes fell on Asimov as he soared surprisingly graceful and landed squarely on the Behemoth's unarmored back near the right shoulder. And to anchor himself in place, his right blade sprung out and stabbed deep into its shoulder, one side of the blade could slide inward and give it a serrated side that allowed him to hang on without slipping out.
Once more the Behemoth roared in pain, stumbling around blindly and throwing its arms up and shaking hard to buck the Assaultron off and even tried to reach behind with its left hand. Asimov wasn't satisfied with just one blade in, his left blade came next, stabbing over and over in the back, trying to either cause a lung to collapse from punctures or get it in the spine for some real damage. Unfortunately Asimov's attack only lasted more than a minute and a half before the Behemoth stabbed its blade into the concrete to free its other hand and reach back to grab Asimov by his torso and pulled him off hard.
He was charging up a laser beam to strike the Behemoth in the back of the head. But it was too late and he found himself flung around as the beam streaked off into the air. That only seemed to enrage the Behemoth more as it held onto his torso tight, Asimov looked like an action figure in the hands of a dangerous child. The Behemoth grinned and began squeezing, sparks popped from Asimov's body as a dozen warning alarms came up in his point of view.
A cinder block flew through the air and shattered against the Behemoth's head. It groaned and dropped Asimov, who landed on his feet and quickly dashed away before it wanted to play again. Another cinder block flew and struck the Behemoth dead in the nose. All eyes turned to the one tossing the blocks as yet another cinder block hit the Behemoth straight in the jaw.
Wayland held another cinder block in hand, leftovers from an unfinished construction site. The Super Mutant frowned deeply and got ready to throw again, impressing everyone on how far away he stood, at least fourty feet away from the Behemoth.
"Hey! Over here, blockhead!" he shouted before tossing it.
The Behemoth was ready this time, it threw out its left fist and shattered the cinder block into dust. For a moment it stood confused, it had been tamed to not attack Super Mutants, yet it grew angry as Wayland tossed another cinder block that ended up striking its armored chest. That finally set the Behemoth off to grab the hilt of its standing blade. It roared before charging with the tip pointing right at Wayland. Just before the blade made contact, Wayland leaped to the left while holding his sledgehammer. The Behemoth lumbered forward, almost tripping over itself as Wayland quickly spun around with the melee weapon raised and swung out, striking hard on the side of the Behemoth's knee, feeling it reverberate up his arms. The Behemoth's eyes bulged and it screamed while falling onto its hands and knees, the blade flying from its grip.
Wayland held tightly with both hands and ran up to the Behemoth's head before it could get itself together and stand up. The Super Mutant swung hard and struck the Behemoth hard on the left side near the eye, leaving a noticeable indent. But instead of going down like he planned, the pain only angered the Behemoth further and got it back on track. It snatched the blade back and rose, shadowing over Wayland despite being almost eight feet tall himself.
Ezrah moaned as the daze from being thrown finally faded away. He placed a hand at the side of his head to rub the pain away before remembering he was inside his Power Armor. "And now I know what it feels like to be tossed like a deflated ball."
"Hey, Ezrah!" Louis called to him, he was about to hold his hand out to help him back up before remembering he was in heavy armor. "That thing sent you flying! Are you okay? If that Behemoth swiped anyone of us, then we'd be dead!"
Ezrah lifted himself up and grabbed the laser rifle, checking it over for damage before looking to the battle. Wayland faced the Behemoth by himself, waving the sledgehammer around in one hand while firing the AK-47 in the other. The rest of the wanderers stayed spread out on the street, doing what they could to get the Behemoth's attention. Yet no matter how many bullets they shot into it or taunts they yelled, the Behemoth kept trying to split Wayland in half with glee.
"That's an understatement." Ezrah said, holding the laser rifle tight. "This needs to end now. We're losing time and wasting ammo as it is."
"Couldn't agree more." Louis said while loading a new magazine. "And I have a plan. That Behemoth is tough on the outside, but I figured its insides aren't."
Ezrah raised a brow under his helmet. "I'm not sure I get what you mean."
"Follow my lead."
Wayland dodged another downward blade strike, barely pulling his foot away and had to do a double take to make sure his toes were still there. The wanderers had to stop and reload once more, at this point most of them were down by more than one fourth of their ammo and had no choice but to dial it back. And even though most of the Behemoth's body was covered in tiny holes with thick blood trickling out, it barely showed any signs of slowing down from exhaustion or blood loss.
"Dammit! Why won't it die?!" Joe cursed as he threw the shotgun drum aside.
"We're just pissing our ammo away." Chloe said while reaching for a new plasma cartridge. "At this rate we won't have any left to defend ourselves when we get to their den!"
"And that monster is gonna kill Wayland sooner or later, we have to do something!" Victoria stated with worry.
"I hate to say it, but there's nothing we have that can take it down quickly." Asimov spoke, trying to form a plan that didn't result in someone getting killed or depleting their ammo.
Louis overheard their conversation and ran over. "Not so fast, I think we do have something." everyone turned around to him, waiting for him to explain. "I believe we have what we need to kill that Behemoth. It's Wayland's missile launcher."
"And what if it doesn't work?" Joe asked. "Even if it didn't have armor on its chest, you don't know if it will be enough. Our bullets barely slow it down."
"I know, but we're low on options as it is. Just try to distract it again, focus your shots at its legs. Make it stumble. I'll get to Wayland and give him the details!" he didn't wait for them to ask more questions before running off.
Ezrah came up to them and pulled back the front slide to his laser rifle that started to charge. "Just follow what Louis said! Aim for its legs!" the charge completed, he aimed and pulled the trigger, releasing a steady laser beam that even left Asimov very impressed by its power.
The laser struck in the back of the Behemoth's right thigh, burning through at least a few inches of flesh and muscle. Ezrah ejected the spent cell and reloaded a new one. It cried out in pain and staggered, a slight whimpered escaped from its throat. Joe switched over to his Sako 85 rifle and aimed for the back of the knees. The Behemoth finally spun around to its attackers and ran for them, staggering with each step thanks to the gaping hole in the back of its leg. Its counterattack was predictable to them, all they had to do was spread out and provoke it with a couple of shots at a time to save ammo and get it to run around aimlessly, struggling to pick a target.
Wayland finally collapsed to the ground, his rear hitting the pavement hard. "I can't believe...I survived that. I've never seen a giant one up close before..." he panted deeply.
Louis stood over him, once again about to offer a hand to help Wayland up before realizing the Super Mutant probably weighed more than five times his own weight. "Glad you're okay. You held out well against that Behemoth."
Wayland found his strength again and stood back up. "I can't kill it...none of us can. I was about to use my minigun to see if that would work."
"Good plan, but you actually have something a whole lot better." he pointed at the quad-barrel missile launcher hanging from his back.
Wayland glanced to his weapon for a moment before reaching his right arm back and grabbed the barrel and pulled it into his hands. "You want me to blow it up?"
"Close. I don't want you to waste any shots by hitting its body. I want you to give it the worst case of heartburn its ever had!" he said with enthusiasm, but Wayland didn't understand what he meant by heartburn. Louis realized his confusion soon enough. "I mean, shoot it in the mouth with a missile."
"Oh! I get you now!" Wayland grinned and held the missile launcher tight.
"I knew you would, but we need to wait for the right moment." Louis gave him a thumbs up before turning back to the fight. "We'll only have one shot at this, we can't afford to waste a single missile on that thing."
Wayland frowned with determination as Louis took the lead in hopes their plan will work.
The Behemoth screamed and twirled the blade above its head like a helicopter taking off. It started swinging the blade down, shattering the ground thanks to its blind rage. Chunks of concrete flew everywhere from the impact, the Behemoth had lost all sense of control. Not that it ever had much control with itself to begin with. Not taking any chances, everyone backed away as far as they could to avoid its attacks. The Behemoth suddenly used its free hand to pick up random objects and toss them about, forcing the wanderers away further to avoid the chunks of asphalt or rusted car bodies or even a lamp posts and so on.
As the Behemoth kept its attention on the group who hid behind walls or piles of debris for protection, Louis circled around with his Desert Eagle and fired four shots into the Behemoth's left knee. It snarled from the pain and turned to its attacker, Louis didn't think the gun would aggravate it that much as it started coming after him.
"Guys! Continue the attack! Go for its knees! Bring it down for Wayland!" he shouted out as the Behemoth picked up a motorcycle and hurled it towards him.
While the Behemoth chased him down, the rest came out from hiding and focused their fire back on the joints. But Ezrah and Asimov stayed behind for a moment, the two ended up talking after the Assaultron witnessed the charged shot from his laser rifle. And soon enough they came up with a plan, one that would force Ezrah to fully spend another microfusion cell and Asimov to fire off another head beam at the same time.
The two ran ahead of the group, weapons already beginning to charge. Both had one chance to topple the giant and give Wayland the opening to end this. But the Behemoth suddenly spun around, swinging its blade clumsily at them, the edge pointing at an awkward angle. In that instant, Ezrah tossed the laser rifle into his left hand and raised his right arm up. He didn't know if it was a split decision, or wanting payback from being tossed earlier, but either way, Ezrah caught the blade with his arm and held it under to keep it in place, the impact of it almost knocked him over and could have sworn his ribs felt like they broke. The blade edge scraped against his metal palm, along with the sides scraping against his arm and body. Ezrah could feel the harsh vibrations run up through his armpit where the plating was a tad lighter. He held firm, cranking the torque of his Power Armor and anchoring himself in place as the Behemoth tried to pull the blade away.
"Asimov!" he called out while taking aim. "Do it now!"
The Assaultron needed a moment to refocus after watching Ezrah's risky gamble before turning back to the Behemoth, head laser ready to fire and burning brightly in his optics. Two red lasers screamed through the air and burned into the Behemoth's knees. As the old proverb goes, the giant came falling down with palms that couldn't support its weight before hitting the road face down.
Ezrah spun his body around and threw the blade aside, he looked at the scratches on his Power Armor's palm and sides, grumbling at the newly added marks. The Behemoth began to stir, lifting its head and slowly flail its arms and legs around. The lasers went deep through its knees, all the way down to the bones and ligaments, and the throbbing pain only got worse as blood poured out.
Not letting the opportunity slip away, Wayland ran past them, missile launcher slung and ready. A low grumble came from the Behemoth as it slowly pushed itself up, still confused and disoriented as it looked around the area for its weapon. But instead it saw a large green fist sock it right in the thick cheek. The Behemoth's screamed as its face stung with pain, Wayland lifted his missile launcher up and aimed right at its open mouth.
All it took was a simple pull of the trigger. A missile launched from the quad-barrel and entered the mouth, scraping against the front teeth. The missile just barely left its housing as the tip slipped in a few inches down the Behemoth's throat before detonating. Wayland fell back, the kickback was stronger than he anticipated and didn't have time to firmly plant his feet. But that proved to be a good thing as it saved him from the shock wave and flames. The explosion washed over the area, rattling old windows and could be heard like thunder in the distance.
Wayland's ears rang, muffling all other sounds and forced himself to slowly sit up. The buildings around him spun and he forgot why he was on the ground before remembering. He looked up to see Ezrah holding out a metal clad hand to him. The wanderers stood several feet from the Behemoth as the smoke cleared. It upper body was propped up by its forearms and elbows with the head slumped down. The explosion blew open the throat, the lower jaw having almost no trace of flesh or muscle. The eyes popped thanks to the intense heat and most of the lower face was burnt black and completely unrecognizable. Moments later the body came flopping back to the ground with a pool of blood starting to spill out from the head.
Despite the victory over the fallen Behemoth, the wanderers and company stood exhausted with heavy sweat at their brows and a good portion of their ammo spent. And the worse was still to come at the power plant against countless other Super Mutants waiting and bloodthirsty for a fight.
