Chapter Thirteen

Butting Heads

First off, I would like to start of by saying how sorry I am for not posting sooner. I know its pretty much been an entire year since I've uploaded. I havent forgotten or neglected this story. Quite the opposite really. I've been writing in my free time-which theres not too much of. My process for writing is very slow, and I'll just say that I hand write all my chapters and they turn out to be over forty hand written pages in one chapter. I really do try to make them short trust me.

But on better news, I do have chapter already written. Besides this chapter, I have 14, 14, 15, and 17 is being edited. Plus i have18 and 19 already hand written. So trust me i havent forgotten this story and I dont plan too.

On to the Chapter!

I took one more brief glance at the roof and checked all visible windows. No raiders in sight, it was safe to head out. Slinging my rifle I withdrew my pistol. I waited until Danse and Hancock had engaged the last raider. Cringing when I got close enough to see Danse's beat red of face and the murder intent in his eyes. He was livid. He whirled around to face Hancock who was wiping the blood of his knife, "what. Was. That!"

Hancock merely shrugged and gave a grin of satisfaction as he surveyed the mess around him, "I'd say that went pretty smoothy." He said as he stretched, a mischievous grin on his face. "Definitely feels good to stretch the o'l legs out here in the Commonwealth, eh sweet cheeks?" He said with a wink at Danse.

My whole body physically cringed when I saw Danse. He wasn't one to openly project his feelings, but I had picked up on ways to tell when he's angry. His eyes would widen to the size of saucers, and the vein on his forehead would stick out quite prominently.

"That had gone anything but smoothly!" Danse said his voice strained with anger. "You deliberately ran in my line of fire! And another thing I am fed up with is your attitude!"

"Well you aint a fresh spring wind either there, sweet cheeks."

"Okay let's reel it in!" I said pushing the two away from one another-they didn't get very far apart but at least they weren't in one another's face anymore. "We don't know if we finished off the raiders. For all we know there could be more in there."

They both looked down at me then towards the store. Slowly I could see Danse slip back into his rank, as Hancock fixed the collar of his shirt. Danse shot Hancock a warning look as he reloaded his rifle, "do not go against the plan again freak or I swear-"

"What? Everything went just fine crew cut. Plans change." He said shrugging, "just gotta go with the flow and let loose-"

"Enough!" I hissed. I was beginning to lose my own temper. "Danse!" I snapped whirling on my heels towards him, "I want you to cover the entrance while Hancock and I go in dark! I want you two a football field away from one another for a while!"

Danse opened his mouth as if he had planned to challenge the plan, but was silenced by Hancock who said, "aye, aye general." He said with a grin, "I'll meet you on the inside, wanna get some air, if yah catch my drift."

Danse shot him a look, "your taking chems at a time like this!" He fumed. But before he could continue, I placed a hand on his chest plate.

"Danse." I said looking up at him gently.

He gave me a sharp intense stare that caused a ripple effect through my body as if I had been hit with a cool winter chill. "Affirmative." His voice was as tense as the lines on his face.

Danse gave a shook of his head and walked away just as I moved towards Hancock. I followed his gaze back to Danse as he was heading out I heard Hancock mutter, "jackass" as he shook his head and looked at me, "just what the hell you see in that guy."

Pinching the bridge of my nose I held back every urge I that screamed 'slap Hancock with his hat'. "Your not exactly helping. Your practically begging him to shoot you!" I walked past him towards the back of the building. "You know what he's like, yet you keep provoking him. And don't say its your favorite past time!" I shot him a look as he opened his mouth, " just lay off Danse, please."

"I cant make promises I wont keep, " he said wryly.

"Hancock…" I groaned taking cover besides the wall next to the back door. Hancock moved to the other side across from me. "Please, at least until were done with the Glowing Sea?"

He remained silent, watching me as I fiddled with the lock. When he did speak up the serious tone he used caught me off guard. "What do you see in a bigot like him?" He paused. "I know you aint like those asshat brotherhood bigots, but what do you like about him?"

I heard the beautiful click of the lock opening. I dimly recalled him asking me this before-but with a much more aloof tone. "Well its not his love for ghouls and synths that's for sure." I said in a hushed tone, "But he's not a bad man. He's been in the Brotherhood practically all his life. I think he's forgotten things." I slowly pulled open the door. "Wanna continue this later?"

He glanced into the dark of the room, "yeah." He said, "care to do this the fun and quick way, or the slow and painful way."

I squinted towards the direction Danse walked in. I couldn't see him but I knew he wouldn't approve of Hancock's way, "we'll do it your way, if we run into hostiles," but there was a need for swiftness.

We had run into hostiles, in fact a lot of hostiles. By the time we reached the basement we had been greeted by at least fifteen other raiders. The stairwell we were lit up with a blaze of gunfire, the noises bouncing off the walls creating an echo that vibrated my eardrums and made my teeth ache.

I fired a few rounds of my pistol before I turned to give Hancock some cover to fire his. "Gotta say, that armor is pretty handy." He said as we both ducked behind the wall again, only a few left now. "But only when I trust the person using it."

"Honestly, I trust Danse in one, way more than I trust myself." I said between reloading. I took a quick peek over the wall just as my shoulder plate deflected a bullet. Flinching, my body jolted back in cover, "Its too tight through here, we need another plan. Got any ideas?"

"Do I."

"I don't like that grin Hancock…"

I watched with silent horror and curiosity as Hancock dove from cover to the adjacent wall, grabbed a bottle with something in it, stuffed it with a cloth and grinned up at me, "Ready to light these suckers up."

"So long as you don't get us."

"Wouldn't dream of it!" He said as he tossed the impromptu molotov towards the last group of raiders. The hallway exploded with heat the moment the glass shattered. The roar of the fire rose almost as if competing with the raiders screams of pain. My teeth clenched to the point my jaw ached as I held on tightly to my rifle. Ignore it, I told myself. These raiders did far worse to those who were innocent. They deserved no less…

"Hey sunshine!"

Blinking I saw Hancock standing in the hallway before me, "Coast is clear, just don't breath too deeply."

"Too late…" I said standing up,

"Shall we do our normal sweep? You take right I go left and make a pile of goodies?"

I nodded my head vaguely as I felt my stomach turn. Scorch marks still burning adorn the walls while the air was filled with the scent of burning flesh. Eyes burning, I tried blinking away the tears that welled in my eyes from the stench. I pulled my scarf to my nose as I took quick shallow breaths. "How can you breathe this without gaging." I said holding back a cough.

He gave a shrug as he dug through a bag, "no sense of smell. " He pulled out a pack of mentats and smiled, "aye that's what I like to see!" He then turned back to me, "whether the chems took it or the ghoulness I aint got a clue. Haven't been able to smell nothin' in years."

I raised an eyebrow as I stepped out of my armor "does it bother you?"

He let out a laugh shaking his head, "are you kiddin'? Hell no!" He boosted, "have you've ever taken a deep whiff of the air. Smells worse than Brahmin shit! Aint no way I miss that!"

"But what about your sense of taste?" I asked fishing through a cabinet. I smiled when I found ammo I could use.

"Nah, I still got a sense of taste somewhat, but its gotta be strong-like Bobrov's moonshine, now that stuff packs a wallop!"

"Doesn't that stuff kill people because it's so strong?"

He shrugged, "its an acquired taste-hey!"

"What?"

"Now that your using your armor, I think your gonna need an up close and personal weapon." He said turning around. Looking down he had an old beat up laser rifle. It wasn't nearly the quality of Danse's rifle or the one he gave me, but it looked decent enough if not worn. "Why don't you try it out?"

"Alright, I'll see if Danse can check it over-he knows energy weapons. Maybe he can show me how to fix it up." It looked fine on the outside who knew what sort of work it needed on the inside.

"Speaking of the racist, you didn't finish answering my questions."

Grumbling I set the rifle down besides my armor and turned to dig through the desk next to the couch. "Why does it matter so much." I rolled my eyes, "you and Piper are such busy bodies."

"Because sister, he's a bigoted Brotherhood Officer who hasn't shown a sense of humanity since I first met him." He said with a sneer as he threw an empty bottle over his shoulder. It shattered with a crash. "I trust you Em, but I'm seriously worried with your trust in him."

Fiddling with a loose string on the couch, I felt that all too familiar bubble pool and gurgle in my chest. If I didn't hear the serious tone he used I would have shrugged him off. But Hancock was hardly ever serious-well about these matters. I didn't want to dismiss him.

But what answer could I give him. I didn't fully understand my feelings for Danse. I cared for him, that was as painfully obvious as a bad zit on a wedding day. I liked him, respected him-hell even admired him. But I don't know, could I really like someone as I did Nate?

Was this only a simple infatuation due to the admiration I felt or was it the simple basic need to be close to a man again.

Either way I couldn't dwell on those thoughts, not while Shaun was within arms reach. Once I found him, and he was safe and secure maybe then I'd broach the subject.

It was only when I shrugged had I realized how tense I felt. Hancock was watching me intently, concern creeping into his weathered expression. If he was my friend, he deserved a truthful answer. "I see a lot of good in him. I've never seen anyone so devoted to keeping those that follow him safe. He'd rather dive head first that lose a squad mate." I said slowly, picking my words out before my big mouth blurted out something instead "and while I could say he's not as bigoted as other members of the Brotherhood that wouldn't make it right. But behind all that rotten crap the Brotherhood brain washed into him, lies a good man with a good misguided heart. I've seen it. He was so willing to help me find my son, without even asking. He has helped people, and although he's not the kindest towards anyone whose different, but maybe with time, I feel like his attitude will change."

Hancock scoffed, while throwing an empty bottle over his shoulder, it landed with a crash, "it'll take until the end of the world for that to change."

I gave a shrug, "well I've already seen that once. Hancock, " I said scooting over to him and resting my hand on his shoulder, "please trust me. He is a good man and I wouldn't let him do anything to hurt you or Nick, ever. I wouldn't put my faith in someone if I didn't see the good in them."

He glanced down at my hand, then dragged his eyes over to our small horde, "you don't have the best track record on that front. Remember that doctor we ran into on the road. You gave him all your caps cause he claimed he needed them to help a family in need. The we find him at the combat zone betting all those caps on Cait's opponent. Face it Em, you're the most naïve person left on the planet."

My cheeks burned with the accusation but I couldn't find the desire to argue against it, he was right. "That's because I'm from an era that didn't need to be suspicious of everything-well at least not to this extent."

Hancock snickered and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, dragging me close, "don't get me wrong Sunshine, your naivety is refreshing to the stale air of the Commonwealth." He said with a grin, "I do trust you Em, but your Paladins as Brotherhood as they come, so it's kind of hard to see it the way you do."

Wrapping my arm around his shoulder I flashed him a grin, "trust me, he'll get there, I know it." I frowned, "and quit it with the 'your' crap. I swear your just as bad as Nick with that!" Standing up I brushed off the dust and dirt from my pants, "come one, lets clear this up before Danse comes down here. And please stop poking him. You'll see a better side of him if you stop annoying him."

"While I wont be making the bigot a friendship bracelet anytime soon, I'll try to not piss him off-as much. Its still hysterical watching him control his anger."

Smiling we went back to work. Unfortunately our small horde didn't become anything other than small. After the room was completely stripped I realized that the rifle Hancock found was the only one that could possibly we fixed up and used. The others having been damaged during our scuffle.

I heard the creaking of the stairs and ducked for cover, relaxing when I saw the familiar armor and insignia. I stood up and lung my rifle, "Danse, were over here!'

Danse pulled off his helmet, his face twisted into a sneer, as he glanced around at the scorch marks. "What the hell happened in here?" He said as his stare settled on me. "I thought you said you were going in dark? Why did I hear all that gunfire?"

I opened my mouth to answer but Hancock beat me to it, "oh relax tin can, we were only lettin' off some steam."

Nudging Hancock I quickly added, "we underestimated how many raiders were holed up down here."

He gave a skeptical glare towards Hancock, "affirmative." He then turned back towards me, "good work none the less. We can make camp here for the night and start early tomorrow. I want to reach the sea by mid-morning."

Which translated to, 'I want to end this as fast as possible'. I couldn't help but agree. As much as I enjoyed both of their companies, they were wearing down my patience. Thankfully they remained silent as they set up their own spots on opposite sides of the room. Hancock had settled into the corner and had begun to enjoy a can of jet. His eyes closing blissfully as he inhaled. This hadn't gone unnoticed by Danse whose neck twisted so fast towards Hancock I thought he got whiplash.

Wanting to avoid another confrontation I walked over and showed Danse the rifle Hancock had found. "Danse, I was wondering if you could help me fix it up."

The corner of his lips twitched in an almost look of disgust. "What for?" He said turning the file on its other side. "I gave you a perfectly good Energy Rifle already."

"I know and its back at Sanctuary." I said honestly. It was an amazing gun, but the recoil needed work. It shook to much and hurt my shoulders when I fired it. The problem was, Danse had crafted it to fit him, not me. So if I wanted it to work, I would need to mod it for myself, "but this one is just for the mission. Since I'm using power armor, maybe I shouldn't hang back."

Danse shook his head dismissively, "negative." He said placing the rifle down on the desk, "your strengths seem to favor distance. Let me handle the brunt of it. I'm fully trained on close quarter combat. And I seem to recall your talents at close range during ark jet."

Flinching I gave him a hard stare, "you're never gonna let me live that down are you?"

"Never,." He said with a grin, it soon drifted when he realized I wasn't smiling back. "What is it?"

"Why won't you help me fix up the gun?" I said crossing my arms, "normally you jump at the chance to mod a gun."

"Because we have enough close range fighters." He said shortly, "even if one of them is a ghoul." He gave a dark glare towards Hancock, who was still blissfully puffing his jet, his tricorn covering his eyes. "I need you at a distance, where you'll be more effective."

Pursing my lips I shook my head, "but its not." He raised his brow so I continued, "its not because I'm in this massive suit meant for close range combat so I might as well use it like how its supposed to be used. It's designed to take a beating. I could tell you horror stories of the times Nate used an old fashioned model. The Knicks and dents…"

"Be that as it may, you only have your sniper-which is not a close range weapon." He remarked tactfully. "And while you may have your pistol they are not optimal in close range."

"But the salvaged rifle-"

"Is not field ready." He cut in glancing down at the rifle. "We wouldn't be able to get it working in one night-even if we found the right parts. '

The tiny stitches of my patience were slowly unraveling, just as all of his excuses were. "The gun is usable, may not be up to your high standards but it will still get the job done. And if it doesn't, well I'll switch back to my sniper. It's not like I can't go back and forth."

Danse gauged my expression with a guarded look. He casted a cautious glance towards Hancock his brow creased. It remained there until he let out a sigh and looked back at me. "Even in power armor you can still be injured. I'd rather not let that happen, not if I can prevent it."

Touched as I was, it wasn't a valid argument. I reached out and placed my hand on his forearm. Which to my surprised he didn't flinched at my touch. "If that's the case what about you? You may be trained for the front lines, but even in power armor you can still be injured." I said looking at him directly in the eyes. "And if I join you up there then it'll be less likely you or Hancock will be injured."

His brow knitted as his eyes trailed to my hand on his arm, "I haven't been able to probably review your close range abilities-"

"No time like the present!" I grinned, "I've had to fight close range before, and I'm still alive."

He gave me a hard stare, "that is not very reassuring." He paused and looked out the broken cellar window, "I don't want to put anyone in danger again, not if I can help it."

"We're already in danger, we're heading to the glowing sea. You can't get much more dangerous than that." I earnestly said with a smile, "and you can't keep me out of the fighting anymore than I can stop you."

"I know," he said with a sigh looking at the floor, "but you are danger prone-"

"Look at it this way." I pulled at his armor, "If I fight up close you'll be able to keep an eye on me, and I can keep Hancock out of your way."

Snickering he shook his head and turned back to me. He smiled making his deep brown eyes flicker with a bright glow. My heart thundered as warmth kept up my neck. "You have a point Emery." He said, his voice felt smooth like rich caramel. "At least I can make sure you don't trip over your own two feet. "

Glaring I slapped his armor lightly. My heart beat still frantic I clumsily picked up the rifle and offered it out to him, "so," I said steading my voice, "wanna at least attempt it. If not, then I'll use the sniper, deal?"

"Deal."

Much to my disappointment we hadn't been able to get the rifle working. Many of the parts had corroded with age and could not be replaced. The main mirror used to magnify the laser had been clouded with a thick white film that rested in between the lenses even if we weren't in the sea those parts would be hard to come by. So, true to my word, I would stick with being the sniper.

We had reached the outskirts of the Glowing Sea or what I assumed it to be. I could see the brewing of a rad storm in the distance, just as the landscape began to change.I hadn't noticed it when we passed the Roadside Pines Motel. Upright trees became scarce as the ground grew more and more uneven with lightening shaped cracks all around. It looked as though someone had stepped on thin ice.

The feeling of dread began to loom the closer we got to the giant green fog. No one spoke as we approached. More and more ruined or toppled buildings appeared. What trees were still standing were gnarled and singed black.

Feeling a crawling sensation down my neck I looked up towards Danse, whose grim expression only fueled my own anxiety. He rarely showed emotion during a mission, and for him to already look so anxious. Well I didn't want to think about it for much longer. Clearing my throat I said to Danse, "So, you've really never been to the Glowing Sea?"

He turned his head to me then back ahead, "negative, nor has any Brotherhood agent." He said tensely, "we hadn't the resources to send a team in to map it."

"I'm beginning to think that's your answer to everything." I quipped.

"Knight," he said sternly, giving me just as hard of a warning stare.

Rolling my eyes I turned back ahead mumbling, 'no fun' under my breath. I glanced over at Hancock who gave Danse a glare before he put his thumb to his nose, wiggled his fingers and stuck out his tongue.

It was all I could do to stop myself from laughing. My stomach clenched with the action as I relented and let out an airy laugh, still trying to hold it back. God he looked ridiculous, maybe it was the no nose that did it.

Danse whipped his neck around just as Hancock dropped his hand and blinked innocently at Danse who was sizing him up. "What's up tin can?" Hancock said putting a cigarette between his teeth, "wanted to stare at my lovely face some more? Maybe I outta charge you per minute."

Danse's glare shifted into a mean scowl, "don't light that cigarette." He said authoritatively.

His brow creased, "and why the hell not?"

"Because, freak." He spat, "can't you see the gas fumes around us? I know with your lack of nose you might not smell the gasoline in the air."

My lips pressed ,"Danse," I gave him a long stare, "that was a low blow…" But paused before going in on him again. Now that he mentioned it, I did see the dancing fumes coming from off the ground. "Are there pipes underneath us?" I asked looking at the jagged cracks on the ground.

"Either that or it's remnant from the bomb." Danse said turning to me. "Keep rifle fire to a minimum don't aim at the cracks and do not strike a light." He said directing a glare at Hancock.

Hancock shrugged and substituted his cigarette for a jet canister. "I got my jet anyway."

"Typical." Danse sneered walking ahead. "We're getting close to the border of the Sea. Keep your eyes peeled and be on high alert. There's no telling what's in this region."

We began walking deeper into the Sea. The land shifted drastically. The ground was black and littered with the same lightening scared surfaces except they were getting wider and deeper, and there were little to no signs of life.

My heartbeat increased as we walked, my growing unease mounted into a gallop with each unsteady beat. Something didn't feel right and my body reacted to it, violently. My stomach turned as I felt bile rose to my throat. I wasn't sure if it was my surroundings that caused such a reaction or if it was the not knowing as we made out way through.

Suddenly as if struck by a bolt of lightening, my Geiger counter sounded off in a chorus of static. We weren't even in the Glowing Sea yet and already it was going nuts.

"Knight." Danse said, jerking me out of my thoughts. I turned and it seemed even Danse was as unnerved as I was. The lines on his face were course as he put his helmet on, "helmets on."

Words failing I nodded mutely before detaching mine from my hip. I glanced towards Hancock who also seemed to have been swallowed up by our grave surroundings. My helmet hissed as the gears locked into place. The HUD screen whirled to life as gages and numbers displayed transparently in my line of sight. The visor disoriented me with its closeness. It always did this, which was another reason for my dislike of power armor.

"I feel a little left out." Hancock pouted. "You're both in your matching armor and all."

"Least you're the most fashionable." I quipped.

He blinked, grinned and pulled his collar a bit, "well there is that. Metal ain't my color." He said pushing his hat up. "That and its not very flattering to the figure. " His grin turned wrying and I felt as if something bad was about to happen. He glanced towards Danse with a that same wryly grin and said, "though sweet cheeks can certainly pull off the metallic look."

Thankfully the armor hid my blushing face. I couldn't see Danse's face but I knew he was glaring-venomously towards Hancock. Gotta shift the joke! "Aw Hancock, what about me?" I said striking a pin up pose-which was incredibly difficult in the bulky armor. "Are you implying something?"

He turned back towards me and burst out laughing, "Sunshine, I hate to be the one that breaks it to you, but you looks like a bus in that getup."

"Oh you wound me so-" the words died in my throat as a bolt of lightening enveloped my vision. I blinked a few times and felt my heart freeze.

The Glowing Sea definitely was not a sea, and I could understand why words had failed Nick when describing it. There were no words that could accurately describe the wake of what the bombs had left.

The air was thick, giving us almost zero visibility. The very air around us was electrified with green static, causing the Geiger counter to crackle. Crumbled stone walls were the only standing buildings around, their decay the only marker that life had been here, once. Pieces of cars, trucks and unrecognizable objects littered the ground, their surfaces tinged with not only thick layers of rust but scorch marks as well.

Despite the heat, a cold sweat trickled down my neck the deeper we walked. The destruction kept getting worse. My eyes scanned the remnants of the battered broken street that once thronged with life, now devoid of the very presence that built and maintained it. My breath caught in my throat as my whole body seemed to shut down.

Amongst the decaying walls and torn up ground, skeletal remains of a once used jungle-jim poked out from the ground.

My stomach lurched violently as my knees began to shake, the armor's exo-skeleton the only thing keeping me upright. This-this place, it hadn't been a military base, it had been a civilian town. People lived here! With their families-their children!

Bile rose in my throat as I leaned forward to try and stop the sudden vertigo that seemed to have swept over me like a title wave. I now fully realize why Nick had been so concerned about this trip-about me going down here…

This area-it was a skeleton, stripped of life long ago. All that remained were crumbling walls and half turned building. Trees reached up as if they were a hand reaching for help.

Distantly I could hear the cries of ghost long since past, wailing in pain. Children crying for their parents Mother's and Father's searching for the families. The wails grew louder until my ears felt like they were about to burst. They were all crying for help that never came.

It was too much! My teeth were clenched so tightly I feared they would crack with the pressure.

"You alright there, Sunshine?" Hancock's raspy voice called, causing me to jump out of my skin.

I gulped in the filter air and looked around. I had hoped I had been dreaming. But this was just a realistic nightmare. Somehow I had dropped down to my knees without ever realizing it. I glanced up at Hancock who had his hand on my shoulder. Both him and Danse were watching me, Danse's expression veiled to me by his helmet.

Breathing deeply I tried to calm my over worked heart, "I'm fine," I rasped out and slowly stood up. Even that sounded like a lie to me. "I just-this used to be a town-civilians homes, schools-they had no direct involvement with the war yet they were bombed!"

Danse turned slowly around, taking in the sight he was silent and as still as a statue, when he spoke his voice was even, "it's collateral damage I'm afraid. It happens during war and cant be avoided. But that is what the Great War caused. It affected those that had no part the most."

I didn't miss the dark, almost disgusted look Hancock shot at Danse, "collateral damage?" He spat as if he had venom in his mouth. "And you call me unfeeling! Bet you and your Brotherhood Zealot marvel over the atomic bomb like those Children of Atom fuckers. Don't you care about all those innocents-"

I couldn't find the ground to stand on as I lost myself with the pit of emotions I was falling into. They're argument not helping I groped and fumbled for the words, "stop, just stop!" I pushed out. I shakily stood up, a sense of vertigo rushed me and it was all I could do to keep upright. I closed my eyes and fought against it, "I'm fine, lets go."

Hancock turned to me, his black eyes slightly wider than normal, "You sure about that sister?" Concern was wrapped around his tone of voice, quite different form his normal aloof nature. "We can take a break and I can give you something to take the edge off."

"Absolutely not!" Danse's voice raged into a snarl as he marched over to us. His face was obscured by his helmet but I knew he was furious. "You can induce yourself into a drug coma, but you will not push your drugs on my Knight do you understand me, freak!"

Hancock straightened his spine, his hand slipping from my forearm, "she needs something to keep the edge off is all I'm saying. And I got a few fixes that can help."

"She is a knight of the Brotherhood and can handle any situation without the need to 'take the edge off'-"

"And she ain't a robot like the rest of you lot! Its only natural to feel overwhelmed-"

Turning away I tried to block them out. Before I knew it, I was already a good distance away from them. Even if their tempers flaring I could barely hear them now. I couldn't stand listening to another freaking argument, not now. Not when I needed a moment to calm down and process my surroundings. The closer we got to the crater, the worse the destruction seemed to be. It was hard to imagine how big the Glowing Sea was. Did it all look like this-was this what the whole continent look like after the bombs fell?

I couldn't think about that now. That train of thought would only lead me to more thoughts I couldn't afford to broach. I couldn't crumble-Danse was right. I could handle the situation. But yet the destruction around me crumbled that dwindling resolve. The rest of the Commonwealth looked like the Ritz compared to the Glowing Sea. The grumbled ruins of highways, blackened trees the sunken building and wait-

My body stiffened as I squinted at the object in the distance. It was far from our location but the shape reminded me of a-

'Radscorpions the size of cars…'

-a scorpion…then four more dug their way to the surface, five more joined. That pattern continued until from the distance I could see there were ten.

Shit.

I grappled for my rifle to get a closer look, I must have made too much noise for the one closer to my location turned towards me, then began to burrow. Each followed suit.

Shitshitshit!

Sprinting towards Danse and Hancock, I threw a look back to see if they jumped out yet. Nick hadn't been exaggerating with them being as big as cars.

Danse and Hancock were right where I had left them-still arguing. "Radscorpions!" I shouted just as one burst from the ground blocking my path. I stumbled but caught my footing before I fell. Soon we were surrounded by even more than I saw before.

At least five huge-angry-Radscorpions had me surrounded while the rest zoomed in on Danse and Hancock who were caught completely off guard. If this wasn't such a terrible situation, I would say it served them right for arguing with one another when they should be on guard.

Taking out my pistol I mentally cursed at the fact that the beat up old rifle couldn't be fixed .I couldn't effectively use my sniper so close. I had grenades-but would need to get myself out of range.

Jumping I narrowly avoided a tail aimed at my arm. They were quick-a lot quicker than me in my heavy armor. I wouldn't be able to dodge all of their attacks at once. Hopefully they weren't that smart.

Narrowly dodging another swift tail attack I shot one in the tail, staggering it enough to rush past it. I heard their legs scuttle behind me as I drew out a grenade. Vaguely in my rushing I vaguely heard Danse frantically call out to me before I pulled the pin and through it behind me.

In that next second a strong force pushed me from behind. I felt myself fly through the air before black spots floated into my vision as a blinding burning light engulfed me.

Chapter Thirteen

End