Not knowing if there might be more thugs out on patrol or some such, and also not knowing if those aquatic hell beasts could scale up the bridge, I opted to head out immediately. Dug the bullets out and got some cloth against the wounds first, but that was the extent of my first aid. Was really testing the upper limits of my magic healing powers.

Which reminded me that I didn't even take a bite of the two who died on the bridge to buff it.

I was just a wee bit scared.

Though interestingly enough, that dead bastard on the bridge hadn't been lying to me. I was fortunate enough to make it to the city without any more trouble on the way. Might have been better to give them my pistol after all. If nothing else I'd of arrived without any holes.

The walls were enormous, got a good view of them coming up along the highway. I think this road was a highway anyway, the overgrowth wasn't great. I jumped when I bumped into some woman, a masked woman I might add so it was justified, but when she didn't rush me I quickly lowered the gun.

"Easy mate, just another couple blocks to the city, sent me to make sure you'd make it," she assured. I had to fight the immediate desire to collapse. This could still be a trap. All the same, I gave only a minimal berth as I walked past her. She walked alongside me. We made it to the gate, and I was surprised when she left without so much as a pat on the back.

Here inside I could see it was some kind of uniform, that mask, the sports gear, and she was letting the guy with bullet wounds just stroll into town with nay a question? Again I wondered if this might be a trap. I still had my pistol just a quick yank away, and honestly, I'd probably have handed it over if they demanded it. So there was that.

Nothing else to do, I'd walked this far.

I entered the city.

Any concerns I had about this being a trap were quickly banished. No, the explanation was much more simple. This 'town' was a goddamn shithole. Quickly found my way to some kind of cafeteria or commons area, where a man was currently pointing a gun at another man, screaming like a lunatic. Judging from the spectators this was only mildly concerning. Some ducked behind cover, some just held real still, and a handful seemed to be ignoring it completely.

Then some guy in a mask blew the gunman's head off, and just about everyone stopped giving a shit. Not but six of them actually spared a second look at the dead man. Deciding not to stand out, I quickly made tracks towards the smell of cooking meat. The tunnels of this place quickly dissolved into a sort of bazaar, all kinds of shit,

Some greasy girl, drenched in sweat and who knows what else, sat between a set of fires, roasting the various bits and bobs I'd smelled. Three of those rat things were up on hooks behind her, and the torso of an animal much bigger.

"Can I help you?" she asked in the most 'done' tone I'd ever heard in my life.

"Uh yeah, mole rat? That's cheapest I presume uh… a double serving? It was a long, hard walk here," I justified.

"Don't need your fuggin life story mate," she replied coldly, lifting a couple of wooden stakes piled with meat. Easily a pound of flesh on each one. Though what's really disgusting is I actually ate all of it. Those assholes on the bridge had plenty of 'caps' in a pouch I'd taken the time to grab. More than enough for a hot meal at least. Ate it huddled against the wall like some kind of vagrant.

Was I vagrant technically?

What the fuck was the exact definition of the word?

Good God I was tired.

A man in a uniform pointed me towards the only hotel in town, unless he was lying to me, a place in the dugout outside funnily enough. Gave me a nice view of the amber waves of grain, the big fucking field swollen with plant life. It was almost like a jungle or something, so much view was blocked by crops taller than me, but then I made out the paths between the rows, mostly because of those walking them. Quite a few out there, pulling weeds, moving dirt or harvesting their crops. Paths seemed to form a grid pattern, very efficient, very nice, it was actually a nice walk to the hotel.

This place was like a paradise.

Then I stepped into the dinky little hole in the wall. The literal hole in the wall, looked filthy on the outside, but I still hung on to a shred of hope until I walked in. Old ancient-looking furniture, crappy music playing out of crappier speakers, and two ugly dudes loudly arguing.

I sat on the other end of the bar, grabbed the attention of the woman standing there.

She was about what you'd expect, clothes dusty but functional, hair clean but not kempt. She also didn't look especially cheery or helpful. Though she did initiate our conversation.

"Not every day someone comes in all by himself, no caravan, hell not even a pack animal. What's that about?"

"How the fuck do you already know about that?" I asked, still the just least bit paranoid. Though nobody seemed to be paying us much mind. Not even the grown-ass adults screaming at each other not two yards away.

"Bartenders know everything," she told dryly, even poking her tongue out.

"Yeah? You know who could help me find a missing person? Like a police department or something?" I asked with my last shred of optimism.

She laughed exactly once, but loudly.

It stung.

"Most the police will do is put up a sketch and pinky swear to come running and alert you if she's spotted from the lookouts,"

"Didn't tell you it was a girl," I asked, mildly suspicious.

"Oh who else would a creepy guy with no friends be traveling across the wastes to track down?"

"Fuck you, it was my wife for your information, and she was fucking kidnapped, and she was holding our goddamn infant daughter!" I barked loudly, drawing attention, but not much, as it was only as loud as the brothers by our side. "So… fuck you! Jut give me a room key or whatever I have plenty of those… caps," I continued, starting to feel awkward yelling at a silent girl.

In my defense, it'd been a real fucking day.

"I'll hook you up with a room, free, can you wait here just another hour, I'll get you a free drink too" she offered, nearly making me sob.

"I… I'm sorry uh, it's been a real rough week,"

"Out in the wastes? I bet, so dangerous to travel these days, it's brave of you doing that, and it's damn good of you doing that for your kin," she rested a hand on my palm, brushing the skin ever so slightly.

"Really it's okay, I have caps I can pay for whatever," I mumbled, looking away. I breathed a sigh of relief when her hand left my side, but when she put a nuka cola on the table in front of me, frosty cold and still whispering out above the bottle's mouth, my breaths spread up once more.

She was leaning on the bar now, right to my right, her face eye level with me and not a foot away. And her damn bust right under it. Her smile told me she knew exactly what she was doing.

"I want to give it to you," she said coyly. "It'll be a lot cozier than sleeping in the bunkhouse too," she promised.

God's above the day I'd had!

The hell I'd gone through?

And the choice between a grubby barracks I could see through the bar's open doorway, or go to a private bedroom with this fucking angel? No, not an angel. It sounds strange but there was something about it. That mud-brown hair and soft brown eyes, it felt like she was some kind of nymph, some spirit of the soil.

"Okay, just tell me when you're ready to go," I agreed, averting my eyes in shame.

She chuckled before standing up.

The nukacola was beyond flat but I guess I should have been grateful for anything cold, even so, I failed to drink it as my bunkmate danced around the bar, shaking her ass and bending over every chance she had. Even winking more than once, as if intentionally being as brazen as possible, thank fuck nobody was paying attention.

And what a shame, for what a show it was.

We basically sprinted down the hall, into a room just as dirty as the outside, almost enough to make me hesitate in grabbing the now half-naked woman. It felt like a failure that she'd gotten any of her clothes off without my help. I corrected this by devouring her mouth as I yanked off the bra and ripped off her panties.

This actually paused our energetic kissing.

"Fuck! You asshole I only have two more of those!" she scolded, though her face remained quite red and flustered. I growled.

"I'll buy you a new one," re-devouring her mouth before she processed the words. All the same, she groaned euphorically, two seconds later. We fell onto the bed and I realized my shirt was off. I realized this as my beautiful partner worked my buckle. Her eyes were wide, her breaths heavy as it came out.

"Don't worry it'll fit, it'll feel really good," I promised, pulling her up and kissing her neck as she remained dazed. When she finally turned her face to me I paused, only for her to shove her lips against mine again. We drowned in each other's heavy breaths as I lined my cock up with her entrance. Tickling her there, just poking and prodding as I kissed her, and felt up those lovely little breasts. This didn't stop until she broke our kiss and yanked her face away, just about as far as she could stretch.

"Put it in!"

I obliged.

She felt warm and right. Like a comforting friend, a beautiful girl you've known since childhood. The soft purs and groans she let out were certainly another heavy contributor. The reason that is, why this woman was so unbearably erotic. It was all I could do to hold off my release, to just try to survive one rut at a time.

If I was gonna be a bastard I had to at least make it good for the girl. Besides this had a bit of the same magic, that magic I shared with Press, about having 'survived' together, about what a special bond that created. Or maybe just the thrill of still being alive, after you could have died so many times. That was the justification I used for my uh … dariances while in the army.

She groaned and gasped, driving me insane as I kissed her collar and massaged her breasts.

It wasn't long before she screamed out.

I let myself go without pushing it.

It felt so much like this was just a quick stress relief after a busy day to her. This feeling was not helped by the terribly careless smile she wore, crawling onto me. It was clear she thought little of this 'exchange' but I was too tired to care. Hell, I think I was asleep before she stopped moving.

Thanks for reading!

And if you want to read non-smut apocalyptic stories by me, check MackoBole books on the kindle store!