Chapter 2
Wasteland Wakeup
Chapter Warnings:
Cursing, Sexual Mentions
Aiden casually adjusted his coat, before firing at the radioactive rat sneaking up behind him. He didn't turn around; he simply readjusted his rifle and shot. The silencer muted the bang, the bullet hitting the creature in the head right between its glassy black eyes. He looked over his shoulder as the creature slumped into the ground "Tch,"
Even the animals here weren't any good for scavenging.
Aiden to be honest wasn't really keen when they picked up this bunkers location from a local druggie. It was too far out, too tightly sealed. But everything should have been pointing to a potential post war gun haul so they took the chance. But there was all the little details that sent Aiden's nerves straining.
The security on this joint was his biggest clicker. When the bombs fell the fallout wiped everything out, no argument on that. Then the nuclear winter that followed buried almost everything. But you could still after all these centuries and get a rough idea of how everything used to be.
Looking out at the waste's he could still see a lot of them. There was a fence around an old gated community. Or all those upside down houses? Used to be a trailer park flipped over by the heat wave. The melted metal sign was in front of a grocery store, the store was gone but the sign was still standing.
There hadn't been a single sign of military security for this bunker. No barbed wire fence bent and melted gates, no gutted security turrets. Getting inside the facility they only had to deactivate three- maybe four sweeper bots that still operated. The group had a tougher time dealing with the rad rat infestation then they did the security.
Aiden had seen his fair share of military bunkers, and those were always a bitch to get into. But now that he knew this place belonged to PAMA….Well, now, now it made sense.
Looking out on the terrain he could easily put the story together. A small community, but a good one, homely, with roughly ten thousand – maybe less- people living in it. But PAMA was there too, doing whatever it was they did before the war. They probably arrived under the guise that this bunker was a presentation for fallout survival. From what Aiden understood in stories people back then had been fearful of the end of the world. They would have accepted PAMA's story, and PAMA would have done everything to make this bunker look as friendly as possible.
People probably started to go missing after that…..
Aiden sighed, rubbed his metal arm, and proceed to shoot another rat.
The wastes were not a pretty place. The entire world was a poisoned and on a slow crawl towards inevitable oblivion. Bleak perspective, but it was truth. Humanity stumbled when the bombs fell, and all traces of it died when the winter set in. The world was a garbage cocktail of kill or be killed philosophy, monsters, radioactive storms, and cold residual winter. Survival was hard, adapt or die was the short gist of it.
But no matter how desperate people became, only the truly vile or truly dumb were desperate enough to go to PAMA. You worked for PAMA you were a PAMA bitch. You messed with them, or touched something that belonged to them; it was probably the last mistake you ever made.
Now his dumbass teammate was ten stories down smitten and helping a PAMA experiment who probably wasn't human at all.
Aiden did admire Lukas's rare attitude that many didn't see out here. He helped out people who needed it, and wasn't afraid to give to those who had less than him. He was a rare special stupid snowflake like that, but Aiden did find it endearing. He just wished Lukas knew when too far was too far.
Helping someone entangled in PAMA was too far.
"They're on their way up," Gill said, trudging out of the base.
"Why aren't you carrying him?" Aiden asked, not bothering to look away from the green cloud horizon and the storms in the distance. "You're the tanker."
Said six foot tanker looked down at him, "Lukas insisted he's got him."
Aiden scoffed, "Idiot. You think he's smitten much? Must be since he is willing to risk PAMA."
Gill scoffed, raising an eyebrow "What the hell makes you say that?"
Aiden looked over his shoulder as Lukas and Maya came up the last set of stairs. The stranger was cradled gently in Lukas's arms. Lukas had taken off his jacket, and wrapped it around the other, protection from the constant winter chill."Call it intuition." he muttered
Gill sighed, "Look man we all hate PAMA, but they probably don't know about this place. We'll be okay."
"We don't know what they're capable of either."
"Come on man, it can't be that bad."
Aiden clenched his hand, feeling the metal scrap against his gun. He looked over at Lukas. The blond made eye contact with him, eyes looking -silently begging- for support in his decision. Aiden looked reluctantly away, "Yes…..they are." Then before Gill could put another word in, Aiden moved swiftly away from the bunker to scout ahead.
"He doesn't really seem to be hurt anywhere,"
"We don't know how long he was in there," Maya answered.
"I just don't know if we should give him meds or-" Lukas sighed.
The female walked around the medical table, "I don't think so, the bacta was probably infused with medicinal drugs, he could have been in there ten or thirty years and come out unfazed and healthier than when he went in," She picked up the box of discarded tubes and restraints, "But as the unofficial team medic, I wouldn't, we need to get them out of his system so we can wake him up and figure out exactly who he is."
Lukas ran a hand along the sleeping males arm, "Doesn't it bother you that he was restrained like that?"
"They all were Lukas," Maya said. She looked at the box in her arms, "Who knows what PAMA did to those people."
"Yeah~" Lukas sighed, "…. His skin is really soft, is that from the fluid?"
She gave him a teasing look, "No, and as your friend I recommend you stop feeling him before you look like a creeper.
"Too late."
Lukas turned around as Aiden entered the room, he didn't have his rifle or most of his combat gear on anymore. But Lukas could still see the pistol holstered to Aiden's hip, and of course the knife attached to his other thigh. He took notice the gun was cocked and loaded.
"Aiden..." Lukas began
"Sleeping beauty up yet?" Aiden asked gruffly.
"It will take a few hours there were a lot of drugs in his system, he probably only reacted the way he did from an oxygen overload courtesy of the emergency ejection." Maya explained, "Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me. Gill and I are going to get some sleep; this…..has been a long day."
"So no sleep for the rest of us then?" Aiden asked.
Maya growled and flipped him off, stalking out of the room.
"You're a dick, you know that?" Lukas said.
Aiden ignored him and strode around the table, inspecting their unconscious guest. He grabbed the male's chin tilting it to the one side then the other.
Lukas frowned, "What are you doing?"
"Checking for mutations…"
"He's normal, Aiden." Lukas frowned, folding his arms "Maya and I have already looked over him, and he's healthy as can be."
Aiden stepped away from the table and picked up Maya's notes, "You already took blood samples?"
"Yes."
"Anything yet?"
"We don't exactly have the fast advantage of tech anymore you know," Lukas answered dryly.
Aiden sat down, on a chair and leaned back against it, throwing the paper work back onto the table. "We need to know he's not freakish." He said, pulling out is knife and fiddling with it.
"I really wish you'd be a little more supportive with me on this," Lukas said, "He needs our help Aiden-"
Aiden stopped fiddling with the knife, pointing it straight at Lukas "Your help. Don't drag me into this. The only reason I'm still here is to see you proven wrong."
Lukas snarled, walking over to the table Aiden was at "God Aiden! You act like bringing him here is the end of everything! PAMA didn't care about that bunker! They probably don't even know that it was there!" Lukas slammed a hand down onto the table, eyes boring holes into Aiden, who was glaring "Everything went to hell when the bombs fell! Any record of it probably was destroyed! What's the worst possible thing that could-"
Suddenly Aiden dropped his glare, eyes widening, "LUKAS WATCH OUT!"
Lukas's whipped fully around facing the medical bed, just as he saw the glint of metal. "Shit!" he lurched back and the stranger stabbed at open air. His eyes were wild and he was very much awake, a scalpel was now his weapon. He swung again, the small medical instrument caught Lukas's cheek slicing the skin and immediately drawing blood.
The stranger swung back for another blow, Lukas successfully was able to dodge the third time, "Hold on! Wait a second!" Lukas attempted to slowly get near the stranger, his hands up as a sign for peace. "We're not going to hurt you-"
"Get away from me!" the male screamed, kicking him square in the chest.
Lukas gasped, crashing back hard through the table and into Aiden, sending them both falling against the wall. "Augh!"
The other leapt off the table, stumbling a little on shaky legs and dropping the weapon in a mad rush to escape. Aiden yanked out his pistol, Lukas's eyes widened, knowing the gun was already cocked.
"Aiden no!" he cried, shoving his partner's arm down. From the corner of his eye he saw the other brunet flee.
Aiden shoved him off, "Are you nuts?! He just tried to kill you." he paused, "Again!"
Lukas pulled himself off from the ground, looking at the door where the stranger had just escaped from. "It doesn't matter! We have to bring him back! Who knows what will happen to him if he gets outside!"
Jesse raced down the hallway, lungs heaving heart racing.
Where am I?! What's going on?!
He couldn't remember anything; he didn't know where he was. This wasn't the same facility he recalled being in last time. Oh God have mercy they moved him, they put him in that God forsaken tube and they took him somewhere. Somewhere farther away from home.
He took a random turn into another unfamiliar hallway, bare feet slapping onto filthy and broken tile. This building looked old and decrepit, even the air smelled bad; it made Jesse's lungs burn and his head spin, but he still pushed on. There was a faint light at the end of the hall, glowing through the cracks on the door. His way out.
Escape! Freedom!
He burst out of the building sliding out as sharp gravel and broken debris tearing into the bottom of his feet. He stood there frozen and gasping, taking in with horror the sight before him.
Desolated buildings were everywhere, the horizon was smoggy green sky crackling with lightning, the air thick and painful on his lungs. People close by looked up through their layers and rags, curious at the sudden ruckus. Jesse choked on a scream, staring in fear and terror as one of them – a female- looked at him with burnt skin and white blind eyes.
This was hell!
Where am I?
"Hey stop!"
Jesse whipped around, seeing the blonde male from earlier racing down the hallway. "Stop!" he yelled.
He had a gun.
Jesse's heart skipped a beat, and he took two steps back.
"Don't run!"
Jesse turned and fled running down the nearest street, "Someone help me please!" he cried. He rounded a corner, screaming in fear at the sight of a small child with a horrid growth on the side of her face. He scrambled away, racing down an alley, "I don't know where I am! Someone please!"
"Hey where are you going sonny?" a man stumbled out of the shadows, his skin blotchy and withered, almost like staring at a ghoul, or a dried out zombie, "Why don't you stick around?"he slurred grabbing Jesse's hand.
"No! Let go!" Jesse wrenched free, crashing into the building behind him.
"Oh don't be that way sonny."
"No! Just- someone help me please!" He fled, tears pooling in his eyes, "Mom! Dad! Olivia?! Axel?! Anybody?! God just help me!"
He stumbled out into a clearing, wheezing and choking on the vile air. "W-where am I-" he fell to his knees coughing hard. The sharp gravel ripping the thin cotton hospital pants. He wheezed, head spinning as he struggled against delirium, "Someone I-"
"Well, well, look what we have here..."
Jesse gasped in a mixture of surprise and pain as he was roughly yanked from the ground by his arm. He was pulled into the unwelcome embrace of a filthy and ragged young male. The stranger grinned maliciously at him, teeth rotted, some missing, "Look at this little pretty face." He teased.
"He's like a little mouse," cooed a second male from behind Jesse, hand coming up to rest on the back of Jesse's neck, "A scared little mouse."
Jesse jerked away, despite his extreme dizziness, "No-no- let me go!"
"Where you going little mouse?" the first asked holding tight.
"I-I'm just trying to find home I-"
"Awww poor wittle thing is lost!" the man behind him sneered, hot breath tickling Jesse's ear as he pushed closer to his back.
"L-let me go! Please, I don't want trouble! I'm lost and confused and I don't know what's going on!" Jesse struggled on near tears and terrified from the grip holding him in place, "Please, let me leave!"
"What you do think Earl?" the first said, "Pretty face like him would be real hot in the ring,"
"Don't know Buck," Earl answered, "I think that pretty face would do better elsewhere if you get my drift?"
Jesse felt his blood run cold and he choked on a heightened spike of fear, adding to his already incredible amount of terror.
Buck chuckled, gripping tighter onto Jesse's wrists, "Suppose you're right. Soft skin like this shouldn't be cut up."
Jesse struggled, lungs heaving as he fought; inhaling more of the foul air with each rasping breath. "Let go!" he cried, fighting to stay conscious.
"Oh don't struggle little mouse," Earl purred, "It's gonna be okay-"
"Hey assholes!"
The trio froze, all looking towards the alleyway entrance of the clearing. Jesse immediately recognized the blonde from before. He stood there, panting a little, blood running down his cheek from where Jesse had cut him.
The male pointed his pistol casually at the two assailants, "Let him go."
"Fuck off Lukas, we ain't afraid of you!" Earl snarled.
Lukas.
Lukas sighed, rolling his eyes. "Earl you chem addicted dumbass, he's with me." The azure blue eyes flashed in hostility, "I suggest you let him go."
Earl growled and grabbed Jesse by his hair, wrenching his head back and making him cry out in discomfort, "This true?" he demanded of Jesse.
Jesse flinched, "I-I-"
"He is," Lukas cut off, "And unless you want trouble I suggest you and Buck go on your merry way."
"The world ain't puppies and rainbows anymore, you delusional punk!" Buck spat, "Helping every sob story don't get no one nowhere! Pretty boy here will do nicely at the casino," he shoved a hand up Jesse's thin shirt, running his grimy hands along his stomach, "Should fetch us a mighty fine price of credits"
Jesse held back a yelp, and flinched. He struggled against the unwanted administrations.
Lukas seemed unfazed, but there was a silent fury in his posture, "I don't give a damn about your opinions, now," Lukas raised his pistol, cocking the weapon, "Let my team member go."
The other two acted in unison, swiftly yanking out their guns, Earl putting his against the back of Jesse's neck, causing Jesse to still his struggling. "We ain't afraid of you blond bitch! Without your team, you ain't nothing!"
Lukas seemed to relent after a moment of tense silence eyes shifting between the two hostiles. He lowered his gun with a heavy sigh, then rather loudly he stated, "Two?"
"One!" someone else answered.
There was a sickening crack and Earl was screaming. He fell to the ground, gripping a broken arm. Jesse was forcibly yanked away from Buck, stumbling behind the other male from earlier who seemed to be teammates with Lukas. Jesse watched as the brunet kicked the cursing Earl's gun away, a gleaming metal fist coming up and smashing down to break his nose. Earl's head snapped back, knocked out cold.
The larger male shook the dark blood off his metal hand, "Take that you drug addicted sicko!" He snarled,giving Earl's body a decent kick.
"You fucker!" Buck yelled, only to go down as Lukas's pistol was instantly back up sights already set and firing. Buck screamed as he took a bullet to the thigh. "Augh! Shit!"
The other male kicked again, this time knocking Buck out cold, "God these bastards never cease to disgust me."
Jesse took a shaky step back from the other male, hands clenching his shirt tightly.
"Warned 'em," Lukas sighed and put his gun away, He looked over towards Jesse, with honest concern in his features "Are you alright?"
Jesse slowly turned to face him, unsure of how to act next knowing Lukas was armed and the other could break a man's nose. "I-" his knees buckled, sending him falling down.
"Woah easy!" Lukas lunged forward, catching him in his sturdy arms, "Take a second okay?"
"I- I- what's going on I-" Jesse stammered, shaking hard.
"God he's broken," the other scoffed from somewhere behind him.
Lukas glared over Jesse's shoulder, "Lay off Aiden," he warned, slipping off his coat. "Here," he wrapped it around Jesse, "You gotta be cold – um- "
"Jesse."
"Jesse...Look," the blond soothed, "We're not going to hurt you, okay? My team and I found you still alive in a bunker vault. We took you out of there to take care of you."
"T-took me? w-where did y-you,"
"This is Founder's Town." Lukas said softly.
Founder's Town?
"I… I don't know where that is..." Jesse cringed.
Lukas nodded, patient, like a parent to a child. "Do you know where you are from? Do you know what happened to you?"
"I- I-" Jesse struggled to process, "I-PAMA, they kidnapped me. I – it was Oct 28th when I went out-"
"What year?"
"2047?"
Lukas's eyes widened and Jesse flinched. "W-What?"
Behind him Aiden, cursed, "Oh fuck."
Jesse squinted, confusion hacking at his shock, "W-why? What happened? Why is everything so-" he fell into a fit of coughs, gripping his throat as he choked, eyes watering.
Lukas's eyes immediately softened masking whatever shock had been there moments before, "The air isn't as clean as it was….um…in 2047, here I'll-" he reached down pulling out a strange looking mask from his side pouch, it was connected by a hose to a small tank, "Let me-"
Jesse's heart stuttered to a halt at the sight of it and he tried to pull away, fear once taking over him again "NO!"
"What?"
"Get that thing away from me!"
Lukas grabbed his shoulder, "Jesse calm down! I'm trying to help I swear-"
Survival instincts and overwhelming fear again took control."You work for PAMA!" Jesse screamed, he shoved against Lukas, yanking out a knife from his thigh strap.
"Jesse wait!"
There was then a sharp agonizing pain in the back of his neck and Jesse's world went dark.
Lukas cursed as Jesse slumped forward into his arms, knife slipping out of the brunet's fingers and onto the ground with a clatter, "God dammit Aiden!"
Aiden lowered his pistol, slipping it back into his holster, "It shocks me that you still get mad at me even though this is the third time he has attempted to murder you."
Lukas snarled, adjusting Jesse against him as he scooped back up his knife from where it had dropped and angrily sheathed it, "He was scared for some reason! You didn't have to knock him out cold with your gun! What if you had killed him?!"
Aiden scowled, "I didn't kill him, I just knocked him out!"
"We're trying to get him to trust us! Not this stupid bull crap you've been pulling."
The mercenary jabbed a thumb towards the bleeding and unconscious druggies, "So me helping you just now….that's just bull crap then?"
"God you're so..." Lukas scooped his other arm under Jesse's legs, before lifting him up in his arms. Lukas grimaced as Jesse was a limp dead weight in his arms, head rolling loosely against his shoulder, "Let's just get him back to the base."
Aiden stepped into line next to him, the pair quickly leaving the clearing behind, "Do…do you think he's delirious?" he asked after a tense moment of silence.
Lukas cringed, but didn't say anything to Aiden.
"He said 2047 Lukas." Aiden spoke again, voice tense and low.
"I heard him just fine Aiden. But...those tubes were frozen," Lukas said slowly, "There is a chance he could have-"
"No one can survive frozen that long, none of the others did." Aiden warned. "There is no way he could be from 2047, no way in hell. It would be...impossible."
Lukas flinched again, his mind wandering to the current date and what this meant about Jesse.
It was currently the year 330 P.B – Post Bomb – the world that had been there previously ended in 2049. So officially by pre-war standard time is was 2389….
Which meant Jesse was frozen for over 300 years…..
Lukas looked at the unconscious male in his arms, the male's eyebrows scrunched together, he was trapped in a nightmare of some kind.
What happened to you?