Author's Note: Well, I hope you enjoyed that last chapter. I certainly enjoyed writing it. And it was a bit longer, wasn't it? Let me know how you liked it, please?

Warning: This chapter is going to get a little...graphic. Just so you know.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Fallout characters, nor the source material. The only character who came from my own imagination is the name and personality of the Courier, (and I don't own the "Courier" name, either). Oh, and I will probably make some references to Elvis Presley and his songs (and I don't own those either).

Chapter 6: All Shook Up

The sharpness of his goatee grazed her skin roughly. He roughly grabbed her hands and pressed his entire body against her and she cried out as sharp metal sliced into the skin of her shoulder. Raven struggled against Orris but he didn't budge. This only made him laugh as he rubbed his groin against her. His mouth left hers and he laughed even harder at her. Raven held back a sob when he wrapped a hand around bother her wrists, leaving his other hand free to do as he pleased. Tears threatened to overfill her eyes. There was no chance in hell she was going to let this happen to her. Not again. As Orris' grasped the hem of her dress and yanked it up for easier access, Raven spit into his face. He growled in disgust and leaned in again to cover his mouth over hers. In a flash she pushed forward and latched her teeth onto his cheek. Orris let out a shriek as he felt hot blood gush down his face and neck. He yanked her away and clutched his face, hot tears stinging his dark brown eyes. Blood stuck to her lips like deep red lipstick and her body shook from the adrenaline pumping through her veins. Raven spit on the ground and red saliva stained the ground.

"You fucking BITCH!" he yelled as he pulled out his gun.

In no time she grasped the brass knuckles from beneath the ribbon of her dress and decked Orris in the face with it. Hard. He felt over, shocked and in pain. Raven stood over the man who assaulted her and gave him a swift kick into his face. He rolled over as he sobbed in agony. Her thoughts went back to Boone and she gasped his name. She turned to see Boone wobbling out the building, covered in blood and chunks of flesh. Raven forgot about Orris completely and ran to her injured companion. She grabbed him gently and frantically searched his body for any serious wounds.

"My god, Boone. Are you hurt? Are you ok? What happened up there?" she asked, her mouth moving a thousand miles a minute.

As the sniper assured her that he was fine, they both failed to notice Orris slowly getting up and pointing his gun at them. When she heard the click of a gun hammer, Raven turned to see Orris smile maniacally at her. Before she could react, a shot fired off to her left and Orris screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. His gun jumped helplessly out of his hand. Raven turned to see the King along with a few other members of his gang. The King's gun was smoking at the tip as he kept his eyes on Orris. Her knees felt weak from both the traumatizing experience and the look in the King's eyes. His cool gray eyes held a fury that an ocean couldn't dream to quench and it was damn near frightening to her. She only hoped he never looked at her that way.

"Are you two alright?" the King asked softly. With a swift gesture of his hand, his underlings went to subdue Orris.

Raven sighed in relief. "Yes, I think we're ok." She turned to Boone. "Hey, what happened on the roof?"

"Ah, well...it seems those men that Orris 'took care of' came up when you weren't looking and uh, caught me by surprise." Boone grunted in pain. "They're dead, but I...think they broke my leg."

Any other woman would be completely inconsolable right now. Raven was not that type. At least not while her friend needed her. She wrapped an arm around him and he lazily placed an arm over her shoulders. Raven looked at the King who was watched him them closely. He lowered his gun to his side.

"I need to get him some medical attention." she uttered, almost like she was asking for permission.

"Good idea. Just drop my name at the Old Mormon Fort and they'll give you everything you need. And don't worry about the cost. They can bill it to me."

They inched slowly toward the corner. As they got to it, Raven stopped and looked at the King. She looked unsure of something, and the King softened his face. Her hand lifted and she placed it on the King's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "...Thank you, Mr. King."

The King gave her a soft grin, pressing his hand onto hers. "You're welcome, Miss Wagner."

Something passed between the two. Understanding, respect, gratitude, and something else neither one of them could place. Her hand lingered for a moment before it slipped away and Raven started walking away with Boone. The ghost of her touch caused a reaction inside his chest that he wasn't ready to acknowledge. Maybe another time, but not now. His true focus was the rising anger that he felt toward a certain bodyguard. His eyes returned to a furious glare and he strolled over to Orris. His men held Orris by his arms and the King's fist smashed into his nose. Orris cried out as blood gushed from his nostrils. The King, usually calm under pressure, wanted to make this man suffer. His blood boiled as he recalled what he saw when he came around that corner. It was forever burned into his memory.

The King ran fast and hard, his men almost unable to keep up. According to a few women from Primm, Orris had a less than reputable way of courting the girls he wanted. Ex-NCR and a sadist. He was certain Raven could handle herself until one of his members ran in to tell him that Raven was doing a good job and had even dolled herself up in a dress to play the part of an 'innocent tourist'. Orris seemed to favor women in dresses. He got up instantly and ordered a few men to follow him as he ran out to the door. Rex shot up but the King told him to stay. With a whimper, the dog obeyed.

When he got to the corner of where she was last reported, he peeked around and saw a horrible sight. He felt like an anvil was settling into his stomach. Orris had the woman pressed up against the car with part of her dress up. The King watched with amazement as the defiant woman spit into Orris' face, and was bewildered when she bit his cheek. This woman was a pistol.

The King placed the end of his gun onto Orris' forehead.

"You're finished, Orris. I'm going to make damn sure that you beg for death by the time I get through with you." the King hissed angrily.

She had pain. Everywhere. Her gloved hands were tied together and she was confused. She had no idea where she was. Inaudible voices flooded her ears and the throbbing pain in her head reacted to it like nails on a chalk board. She tried to stand up but couldn't. She almost groaned in agony as she strained to hear what they were saying despite the pulsating sensation in her head.

"...what you were after. So pay up."

"You're cryin' in the rain, Pally."

She heard something moving around and she tried to get her wrists free. They were snagged tighter than a chunk of bone stuck between a death claw's teeth.

"Heh, guess who's wakin' up over here?"

Shit.

She slowly looked up to see three men before her, one of them holding a shovel. Her vision improved a little and she noticed one of the men was in a checkered jacket. She watched him take a drag of his cigarette and his eyes settled on her like a Legion mongrel locking onto its prey.

"Time to cash out," he said as he tossed his cigarette down and put the burning tobacco out with his foot. He paced slowly toward her.

One of them was impatient and obviously had a guilty conscience. "Would you get it over with?" he snapped with outstretched arms.

Get what over with? What was going on?

The checkered man held up a finger to shut him up. "Maybe Khans kill people without lookin' 'em in the face. But I ain't a fink, dig?" the impatient man sneered while the other reached into his jacket for something. He pulled out a small white chip...the chip she was supposed to deliver. "You made your last delivery, kid. Sorry you got twisted up in this scene," he paused as he put it back in his jacket. The chip was replaced with a gun. "From where you're kneeling, must seem like an 18 karat run of bad luck."

Fuck. No. Why are you doing this? Don't do this! I didn't do anything!

The mam aimed his gun at her and the men behind him lowered their heads.

DO SOMETHING! Why won't you stop him? Please!

"Truth is," the man with the chip continued with a look of pity on his face. "The game was rigged from the start."

A wave of horror and panic washed over her as a burst of flame emitted from the gun, and then there was nothing.

Raven shot up from the bed completely covered in sweat. Her breaths were ragged as she tried to remember where she was. Moonlight shot through the window and she turned to it. The moon was just like the one in her dream. Typical. It had been almost a month since she woke up at Doc Mitchell's place, and every night she had the same god damn dream. Raven wondered if it would ever stop. She wanted the bad memories to stop. The small woman hugged her legs to her chest and took a deep breath, and as Raven rested her forehead on her knees hot tears rolled down her cheeks. It wasn't her brush with death that made her miserable these days. Even though this particular dream was a nice change of scenery, her mind was plagued with inner demons before the dirt nap. No, dying was not the problem. Dying and then being brought back to the land of living was like a cruel joke.

Even though the courier had been scared out of her mind right before Benny pulled the trigger, the nothingness that followed brought her peace. The whole point of tracking the bastard down was either killing him for not making sure she was dead or thanking him for the effort. So whenever anyone told her she had a death wish, they had no clue how spot on the statement was. But Raven couldn't deny that her body was still walking around for a reason. Yeah, just her body. The girl she had been was still in a grave in Goodsprings Cemetery and was replaced by a bitter and almost suicidal carbon copy. If she survived her encounter with Benny, Raven would make a mental note to bring desert flowers to that grave once a year.

I don't know about you, but I think this came out REALLY WELL! I don't know when I'll have chapter 7 up but it certainly won't take me two months like it did with chapter 2.