Reviews:
GuestDB: Good to see you got your own account. Let me know what you're username is in my PMs. And true statement about the T-51b Power Helmet being too powerful to pierce, but hey, had to leave a dramatic ending for the final fight. Send me the link to your story. I'm eager to read it.
Xypher1: Thank you for the review. The death toll will be revealed in chapter 21.
Fallout2281: I'm glad that you loved the last chapter brother. I'm sorry that this one took too long.
Horacioquinter0: I'm very grateful that you're enjoying this story. To answer your question the remnants of the U.S. Military will take over in helping the Capital Wasteland.
Anonymous: Much appreciated to you my friend.
Guest: Yes the last chapter was a bit rushed, but I managed to fix most of the spelling. And your idea of the Shalebridge ants was an amazing one at that. I give full credit of that idea to you my friend.
FallenAngelAlexander: Glad you loved it brother.
Gamerbox: I'm glad that you really love the story. Sorry that you got detention for reading it. It really has been a while since I updated, but now I have a new chapter for you to read. To answer your question. A lot of people in my story are friends of mine from various branches of service, with a few name changes here and there.
InflatedChimp: I can tell you're just enjoying this story my friend. Sorry for my late update my friend. Hope this chapter makes up for it.
Silentwarrior78: I'm glad you like it my friend.
Dragonbornwanderer: I'm glad you like it. Eric and Melissa may get together later on, as for Amata...read to the end of this chapter.
Texwolf117: You may need to reread it a 4th time. It's been too long since I've last updated, but I'm glad you like it.
Paladin Bailey: Arthur Maxon didn't survive the initial assault against Lyon's Brotherhood in chapter 2. The U.S. Military will do everything they can to establish a new government and a safe way of life for the people of the Capital Wasteland. If I do decide to create a Fallout 4 sequel in the future, it won't be following the game's lore timeline. Ad Victoriam Paladin Bailey.
Chapter 20: Hollow Victory
Old Olney: June 12, 2279. 1:00 P.M.
Lieutenant Mason looked up as one Super Cobra helicopter hummed its deadly song. It sent a burst of 20mm rounds into a squad of Lost Hills troops that were running away from the town of Old Olney, shredding them into bloody chunks. The metal beast rotated to its left and sent a short salvo of rockets into the building where the Lost Hills troops came from. Before any survivors could escape, the entire building collapsed on top of them, burying most alive and crushing others.
"This is Viper two three returning to base to rearm and refuel. Good hunting Lieutenant." The pilot spoke as the chopper gained altitude and flew off.
Lieutenant Mason smiled a warrior's smile before gesturing for his men into position outside a half-collapsed building. Two Green Berets took up positions to the left of the doorway leading inside while Lieutenant Mason and 2 others stood to the right. Mason listened closely and could hear movement inside, gesturing for the Green Beret behind him to place a door charge in the middle of the metal door. The Green Beret nodded and moved ahead of Mason and placed the charge. Mason and the Green Beret opposite of him each primed a frag grenade. Once the door charge was placed and the soldier was back in position, Mason gave the thumbs up.
The soldier nodded and detonated the charge, blowing apart the door. Mason and the other soldier rolled their grenades in the room. The Green Berets braced for the explosion. The grenades went off with a loud blast splattering the inside of the room with shrapnel. Lieutenant Mason sprayed the inside of the room with his rifle to make sure no one was still standing. The soldier across from Mason stormed in with his rifle raised, followed by the three soldiers behind him. Mason went in after with the rest of his men behind him.
"Clear left." One Green Beret shouted.
"Clear right." Another shouted.
"Clear the second level and watch your asses!" Mason ordered his men.
"Yes sir!"
Three Green Berets made their way upstairs while the rest remained on the first floor. Gunfire erupted from upstairs followed by screams of agony, a few seconds later, more shots rang out to silence the screaming. The three Green Berets returned to the first floor and reported.
"Second floor's clear LT." One of the Green Berets spoke while making his way over to one of the windows.
"Good work now let's clear the next-" Mason's eyes grew wide as he saw a Lost Hills soldier armed with a missile launcher on the roof of a building across the street from them. The soldier fired the missile. "RPG!" Mason and his squad hit the deck right as the rocket whooshed through the window and slammed against the adjacent wall, peppering the squad with rock and bits of concrete.
(Cough) (cough) "Report! Anyone hurt?" Mason asked as he got back to his feet and moved to the window where the rocket flew in. (Cough)
"I'm good sir!" One Green Beret said dusting himself off.
"Ahhhhh!" Another was digging a finger in his ear. "I think I'm deaf now." He said loudly as his ears were ringing.
Mason quickly peeked out the window and saw the Lost Hills Paladin on the roof of the fire station reloading his missile launcher.
"I don't think so motherfucker." Mason whispered as he aimed down the scope of his marksman carbine and fired one round. The bullet flew right into the missile that the Paladin was loading and it exploded, effectively killing him. The Green Beret smiled in satisfaction. "Clear!"
"Wolverine One this is Command, give me a SITREP!" Lieutenant Hawk back at Rebirth said over the radio.
Lieutenant Mason grabbed the radio. "Command this is Wolverine One, be advised, all remaining hostiles in Old Olney have been neutralized. Awaiting further orders."
"Roger Wolverine One, main force has already begun its final push into the heart of D.C. Hold your position until the engineers from the 249th arrive! We're going to use Old Olney to set up a refugee camp and reestablish our F.O.B. (Forward Operating Base) How copy One?"
"Good copy on all Command. Wolverine One out." Mason put the radio away and turned to his men. "Alright boys dig in and wait til the engineers get here!" The Green Beret ordered his men.
"Yes sir!" They all echoed and Lieutenant Mason's men quickly scattered and began setting up defensive positions around the ruins of the destroyed town and waited for the engineers to arrive. Mason wished he could some more action, but for now, they would hold their position in case any enemy reinforcements arrived.
As he and his men awaited the engineers, Lieutenant Mason looked through the scope of his marksman carbine towards the Capitol Building where plumes of smoke could be seen across the city. The sounds of explosions could be heard throughout the land, indicating the battle for D.C. was still going strong. The veteran Green Beret looked up when he heard the sound of jet engines. A flight of fighter jets was flying towards Paradise Falls, followed by two Chinooks heading towards the Mall, each one carrying a platoon of Shadow Knights eager to join the fight.
"Good luck boys." Lieutenant Mason said, knowing they were heading into one hell of a fight
The Mall: June 12, 2279. 1:14 P.M.
The entire Mall from the Capitol Building, all the way up to the Lincoln Memorial was a complete warzone. Lieutenant Jason Thompson and the other Rangers were pressing their assault as the Chinooks arrived to drop off the Shadow Knights. The Rangers all laid down heavy suppressing fire, giving the pilots of the choppers enough time to drop off their passengers and fly out of the area without taking damage. Many Knights and Initiates quickly retreated to the ruins of the Lincoln Memorial where several Paladins had dug in. The Brotherhood forces were completely boxed in from all sides. General Michaelson was leading his power armored Marines from the South while Lieutenant Colonel Boston's Rangers advanced from the North. They tried to retreat East towards the ocean but were cut off by the Navy dropping in more Marines from the USS Patriot, a Wasp-Class Amphibious Assault Ship. With no way out, the Lost Hills soldiers set up defensive positions and were willing to hold out to the last man.
Lieutenant Thompson and his Rangers were engaging a group of Knights that were trying to make their way to the memorial from the subways. Once the Knights were dealt with they kept pushing forward until a barrage of red beams and bullets forced them to take cover behind a burnt-out car. One of the Rangers was reduced to ash as a Paladin with a gatling laser opened up on them, allowing a few Knights to retreat to the memorial. The rest of the assaulting troops were forced to take cover as dozens of Paladins armed with miniguns and gatling lasers opened fire on a squad of Rangers, reducing many of them to ashes and tearing apart the rest.
Lieutenant Thompson watched in horror as some of the guys that were gunned down were close friends he had served with in Anchorage. Jason's blood was on fire, he wasn't going to stand for that. He signaled for a radio operator and grabbed the radio. "Command this is Hunter Two Five, enemy personnel have dug in at the Lincoln Memorial and they aren't budging, requesting air support to burn them out."
"Roger that Hunter Two Five, be advised I have Viper Five standing by, switch to TAC Freq one niner three and go to town."
"Roger that, switching to one niner three, out." Lieutenant Thompson quickly changed the radio frequency. "Viper 5 this is Hunter Two Five, several hostiles have set up defensive positions at the Lincoln Memorial and have us pinned down. I need you to flush those fuckers out ASAP, how copy over?"
"Solid copy Hunter Two Five, I'm over the area now, stand clear, fire mission danger close!"
"Roger that. GET DOWN!" Lieutenant Thompson alerted the other Rangers and Shadow Knights, who all ducked down behind their cover. The Super Cobra gunship locked on to the heart of the memorial and fired its sidewinder missiles. The explosion caused most of the building to collapse, killing a few of the soldiers and forcing the rest out of cover.
Now was their chance. Many of the Rangers had collected power fists and super sledges off of dead Paladins and Knights and were ready to turn this fight into a hand-to-hand battle. Many other Rangers readied their rifles with fixed bayonets as well. As they were about to attack, the sounds of several battle cries echoed from the subway entrances across the Mall. Seconds later, the remainder of the Lost Hills Army came flooding out of the subways like a hive of angry fire ants.
Lieutenant Colonel Boston, commander of the 1st Ranger Battalion had arrived with another company of Rangers and shouted the Ranger motto. "RANGERS LEAD THE WAY!"
"ALL THE WAY!" More than three hundred Rangers had echoed.
The Rangers and Shadow Knights all charged their enemy head on, letting out a battle cry of their own. Within seconds, both armies collided and though Lost Hills had power armor, the Rangers had enhanced close range weaponry and the Shadow Knights had advanced hand-to-hand training, making it an even fight.
Most of the soldiers were engaging in close combat, while some were using their weapons, mainly the Rangers and Shadow Knights as they dealt with soldiers that were clad in power armor
Lieutenant Thompson, super sledge in hand, swung hard into the side of a Paladin's helmet, knocking it off and causing him to stagger back. Jason swung again and the hammer connected with the Paladin's skull, sending his lifeless body flying to the ground with a loud thud. A second Paladin came running at the Lieutenant with a super sledge of his own and tried to bring it down on top of the Ranger's head. Jason rolled to the side as the massive hammer hit the ground and he quickly swung his own hammer into the Paladin's back, launching him face first into the ground. As the Paladin got to his knees a second Ranger with a power fist came running up and repeatedly punched him in the back of his power helmet until it was completely caved into his brains.
The Ranger checked with the Lieutenant to make sure he was good before turning to rejoin his squad who was currently fighting a group of Knights. Jason turned to see a Paladin in combat armor had one of his guys pinned on the ground and was slamming his fist into his face. Jason could easily tell the Ranger was too weak to fight back so he charged forward and tackled the Paladin off of him before he could get another punch in. The Paladin managed to get on top and tried to punch Jason in the face, but the veteran Ranger and Jiu-Jitsu fighter managed to deflect the shot and wrap his legs around the Paladin's neck in a triangle choke. The Paladin desperately tried to break free from the Lieutenant's grip, but the pressure Jason was putting in the choke was draining his energy to fight. No longer having the energy to keep fighting, Jason reached forward and violently twisted the Paladin's neck, resulting in a sickening snap.
Jason kicked the lifeless body off of him before standing up when he heard someone let out a battle cry. Jason turned to his left and saw a Knight in recon armor running at him with a combat knife. As soon as the knife was close enough Jason grabbed the Knight by the wrist and twisted it to make him relinquish his hold on it before throwing him over his shoulders and onto the ground. Jason quickly followed up by slamming the heel of his boot into the Knight's throat, crushing his windpipe and making him suffocate.
Not too far from Jason, a female Shadow Knight (the nametape on her BDU read Brawler) primed a grenade and tossed it into the heart of a group of Knights in combat armor. The grenade exploded knocking a few of the Knights off their feet, killing two and blowing another's arm off. She quickly drew a karambit (Indonesian curved knife resembling a claw) and ran towards the other four downed Knights.
At the speed of lightning, she kicked one Knight in the face before turning to another who got back to his feet and slit his carotid artery in one fluid motion. The Knight grabbed his neck in a desperate, but futile attempt to stop the flow of blood. The Shadow Knight then jabbed her karambit into the skull of a third Knight before slicing the second one's throat and kicking him to the ground as he bled to death. The first Knight that was kicked in the face tried scrambling to his feet but was still dazed from the hit he took. Brawler raised her leg high up and brought her heel down on the back of the Knight's skull, hard. She wasn't done there, she twirled her karambit in her hand before slitting the Knight's jugular.
"I'M GOING TO SKIN YOU WITH THAT KNIFE BITCH!"
The female Shadow Knight cocked her head to the side and saw a lone Paladin sporting a combat knife and was standing in what she recognized was a professional knife fighting stance. The Paladin was wearing a suit of recon armor, which wouldn't provide much protection. 'This should be interesting.' She thought darkly as a small smile crept on her face. Brawler twirled her knife in her hand before assuming a fighting stance of her own.
The Paladin took a step forward and tried swiping at her with his combat knife, jabbing the tip of the blade at her multiple times. Brawler quickly and effectively dodged each attack before slicing the Paladin's wrist in one quick hit. The Paladin grunted in pain as he moved the knife to his other hand and tried to attack her again. He didn't have time to prepare for what happened next. Brawler grabbed his hand and slit his other wrist before slashing against his left bicep and stabbing his left shoulder making him howl in unimaginable pain. She wasn't done though. Brawler delivered a backspin kick to the face, breaking his jaw. She used the tip of her blade and drug it against his abdomen until his entire stomach was cut open then finished him off by jamming the blade into his throat. Brawler retracted the blade and let the Paladin's lifeless form crumble to the ground.
As she wiped the blood off the blade and sheathed it, a power armored Paladin came up from behind and put her in a chokehold that was impossible for her to break. Brawler desperately fought to escape his grasp, but to no avail.
"Go ahead bitch. Keep struggling, it'll just make it easier for me to snap your fucking neck!" The Paladin said mockingly as he held her tight in his power armored grip. Brawler could hear in his voice that he wasn't wearing his power helmet. She tried slamming her head back to see if she could break his nose, but the bulk of the power armor kept her well out of reach. "Nice try, but you're helple-" The Knight was cut off as a bullet flew right through his skull, sending him to the ground with Brawler pinned underneath his suit. The female Shadow Knight tried to push the deceased Paladin off of her, but the suit's weight was too much. A couple seconds later, Brawler felt the power armored corpse being lifted off of her and saw a hand that was being offered to her.
Brawler gratefully took the hand and saw who it was that saved her. "Thanks Ryan." She said recognizing the fellow Shadow Knight.
"Are you ok Sage?" Ryan asked using her first name. He checked herself over to see if she had any injuries. Eric and the others quickly joined them from behind.
First Lieutenant Sage "Brawler" Michaelson, former U.S. Army medic who spent 5 years on the frontlines of Anchorage before earning her a spot in Shadow Elite. She was also Marine General Michaelson's daughter.
"I'm fine. Glad to see some help." Sage said noting the power armored Guardsmen rushing in to join the fight, looking to help even the odds a bit.
Eric aimed down the scope of his M16 and fired at a sniper that was positioned at the top of the Lincoln Memorial steps. The round hit the sniper in his left eye and flew out the back of his skull. Eric fired three more rounds at an Initiate running down the steps to join the fight. All three rounds hit the Initiate in the chest making him fall forward, his lifeless body rolling down the steps until it reached the bottom.
Butch came up from behind with his marksman carbine and fired full auto at several Knights in recon armor, forcing them behind cover. Captain Wilder and his powered armored Guardsmen where helping the Rangers lead the charge.
Ryan looked around at the carnage and fighting that was going on before looking back to Sage. "Where's the rest of your platoon?"
"We got scattered during the fighting. My platoon got dropped off at the Capitol Building to help the Rangers secure the Mall when Command radioed us and told us to head to the Jefferson Memorial. The Marines that had set up security inside the Memorial said there was a man wearing power armor approaching their outer patrol. Command advised the Marines to detain the man, but since then they've been radio silent."
When Eric heard Sage tell them that just one soldier was going to the Purifier, he didn't need any other clear indication to who it could be. "Marshes is going to make his last stand at the Purifier. If he wants it I'll give it to him." Eric loaded his last mag into the rifle before getting to his feet, about to run for the Jefferson Memorial.
Before he could go anywhere, Ryan grabbed him by the shoulder. "Eric, you can't go after him on your own!" He told the younger man as several bullets hit near their position forcing them all behind cover.
Eric peaked up and aimed his M16 at a Knight with a light machine gun. He squeezed the trigger once and fired. The round hit the Knight between his eyes, killing him in an instant. Eric ducked back down and looked to Ryan.
"This fight is between me and him and I'm not going to take the risk of Marshes getting away. I'm going after him now!" Eric told the Shadow Knight with fire burning in his eyes.
It was absolute chaos. Both sides were taking heavy losses in the fight for D.C. Though many of the American forces were being killed in the fight, they were dealing much more damage to Lost Hills as well.
Several Knights and Paladins had regrouped and decided to change strategies. They may have had superior equipment, but when it came to close combat against enemies with superior training and melee weapons, they didn't stand a chance. Tired of losing too many guys to a bunch of soldiers in hand-to-hand combat, they resorted to using heavy weapons again. Several of them had grabbed miniguns and missile launchers and opened up a barrage of fire down on U.S. forces. Entire squads and platoons were completely decimated within the first ten seconds of being fired on. The remaining forces were forced to take cover behind burnt out cars, craters, and buildings as Lost Hills pushed forward while their heavy gunners kept them pinned.
Ryan checked to make sure that Sage and Butch were alright before looking to see if Eric was ok, but Eric was nowhere to be seen. Ryan popped his head up for a quick second to see Eric disappear behind the rubble of a collapsed building. He knew where he was going.
"Stupid son of a bitch is going for General Marshes." He told the others.
Upon hearing that Butch tried to get up to go after Eric but Sage forced him back down. "You wanna get yourself killed?!" Sage asked.
"Eric can't fight Marshes alone, we have to help him." Butch argued as he tried to get up again.
"We will, but we can't just fight our way through this." Ryan reasoned as he kept Butch behind cover. "And as long as those heavies are still firing, we won't be able to make it two feet."
It was at that moment that an entire rocket salvo from a Midwestern Brotherhood vertibird slammed into the heavy gunners that were keeping the Rangers pinned. The sudden surprise attack threw the remaining Lost Hills soldiers into complete disarray. Several Midwestern Brotherhood troops immediately started pouring out of the buildings from the East and opened fire on Lost Hills.
Ryan grabbed his rifle and stood up from his cover. "Now! Hit them with everything you got!" He shouted out to all his comrades on the battlefield.
Many of the Rangers and Shadow Knights aimed their weapons and fired at their enemy while the rest did a bayonet charge. Many Brotherhood soldiers went down in and instant while the ones that were still alive charged again in a defiant last effort to fight the Rangers.
Ryan looked to Butch. "Alright let's go!"
Butch nodded determinedly as he, Ryan and Sage began to fight their way through Lost Hills to get to Eric at the Jefferson Memorial.
The Purifier: June 12, 2279. 1:58 P.M.
Eric slowly made his way down the hall towards the gift shop with his M16 trained at every corner. He came across a couple Marines who were lying dead at the entrance of the gift shop. Eric took a deep breath before he kicked the doors open and scanned every inch of the room, making sure it was clear before moving in. Eric looked around and saw a few more Marines that had been killed. Each one, like the two at the entrance had been shot in the head. He turned towards the doorway that leads to the rotunda and saw a dead Brotherhood soldier without his head. Eric knelt down next to the lifeless corpse and examined the holotags that were on the floor next to a pile of bloody bits.
Eric closed his eyes and took a deep sorrowful breath when he read them. 'Paladin Tristan'
Eric pocketed the tags and continued to make his way to the rotunda. Another Marine, who had a massive hole in the back of his skull, was lying face down at the entrance. Eric unloaded the mag from his M16 to see how much ammo was left. The magazine only had two rounds left with another one already loaded into the rifle chamber. With no extra mags left Eric loaded the mag into his rifle and leaned it up against a wall. Even if he had extra ammo, he wouldn't use it anyway. Three days ago, Marshes had beaten him in hand-to-hand combat. He had lost because he had underestimated the old General. That wasn't going to happen again.
It was time for the Lone Wanderer to get his rematch.
Eric curled his fists and walked into the rotunda where he turned and saw General Marshes standing in the Purifier control room. He slowly made his way up the stairs until he was standing behind the Lost Hills commander.
Marshes had completely removed all of his power armor and was wearing a set of recon armor. He was also wielding his .44 magnum.
He didn't need to glance back to see who was standing behind him. "Your father's work is impressive Eric. It's a shame he wasn't alive to see it finished."
Eric didn't say a word, even at the mention of his father. Instead he just stood there as Marshes continued.
"You really have accomplished a lot ever since you left your vault. Your victory over the Enclave, your destruction of the slavers, forcing the super mutants out of the Capital Wasteland…now this. Just when I thought I had you beat, you come back and bring an army with you. You are full of surprises." Marshes told the young man, his voice filled with admiration. Then he looked down as if he was ashamed of something. "A part of me never wanted any of this."
Eric narrowed his eyes at the General. "You never wanted what? To kill all of my brothers and sisters? To enslave innocent people? To destroy everything that me and Elder Lyons had worked for?" He growled through his teeth, wanting to snap the man's neck.
"All of it. If it were up to me, I would've left you alone and let you live your lives being the "noble" saviors you're trying to be." Marshes said, still voicing his displeasure at the decision that Lyons' made to help the people of D.C.
Eric was about to give Marshes a snide remark when he caught what he had said. "What do you mean if it were up to you? Last time I checked it was you that wanted to-" And that's when the realization dawned upon him. "You never went against your orders from Lost Hills. Everything you've done since you got here, those were your orders."
Marshes finally looked back up at the Jefferson statue in the Purifier. "You finally understand. We were never sent here to bring Lyons and the other's back to fight the NCR. We were sent here to reposition Lost Hills."
"Go on." Eric said.
"We're in a losing fight against the NCR and as much as I wanted to stay and continue the fight, the High Elder had a different plan. He sent a message to all of our remaining outposts and bunkers, recalling the soldiers for an important assignment. The idea was that we were coming here to gather our old chapters to return to fight. In reality…"
"You were abandoning Lost Hills and coming here to establish a new main chapter. A new Lost Hills." Eric finished for Marshes.
"Yes. To prevent all of our history and our main base from falling into the hands of the NCR, we had to relocate. Once we were certain that the Capital Wasteland was under our control, I would send word back to the High Elder so they can pack up and move here. Once they would arrive, we would wait, build up our strength again, and hopefully reunite the other chapters. With the Brotherhood at full strength we would finally have a chance to fight the NCR in a war where numbers wouldn't mean anything to them." Marshes explained to Eric.
"Then explain why you went out of your way to wipe us all out. I understand your contempt towards Lyons and the rest of us. Why the Outcasts when they tried to rejoin Lost Hills? Why all these innocent people?" Eric said wanting to know the answer to it.
Marshes lightly tapped his finger against the trigger guard of his magnum. "This may sound weird, but it was because the Outcasts turned their back on Lyons. Yes, they may have wanted to rejoin us, but they still turned their backs on Elder Lyons. Betrayal, no matter the reason or the party that does it, is something I won't stand for. As for the people…after everything you've done for them, they would take up arms to fight for you."
Marshes sighed. "It doesn't matter anymore. Our main force is all but gone and Lost Hills has only a skeleton force left to defend them. When the NCR realizes it, they won't hesitate in destroying them. We failed…I failed. It's over." He said, sounding so defeated.
For some reason, a small part of Eric sympathized for the man. For as evil as he was, he was nothing more than a dutiful soldier who didn't believe in disobeying orders. Unfortunately, that's all the man was. He may not have wanted this, but he still followed his orders regardless and hundreds, if not thousands of innocent people, plus his brothers and sisters were dead. Marshes needed to pay for what he had done. Now that he knew the truth, Eric would make sure the High Elder in Lost Hills would pay too.
Eric cracked his knuckles. "You're right Marshes. It is over. It's time to end this once and for all."
Marshes nodded his head. "Yes, it is." He agreed as he cocked the hammer back on his revolver. "It is."
As Marshes quickly spun around with his gun raised to shoot, Eric smacked his wrist hard, making the revolver fly out of his hand. At the speed of lightning, Eric immediately slammed a right hook into Marshes' jaw, following up with a left jab to the nose and ramming his knee into the old man's stomach. Marshes grunted in pain as Eric shoved him against the control panel with his left forearm pressed against his throat. The Lone Wanderer began to deliver power punches to Marshes face, causing blood to spill from the elder man's nose. Eric reeled his arm back to punch him again, but Marshes shoved him off and delivered a strong kick to his gut that sent him staggering back a few feet. Marshes charged forward and tackled Eric into the railing outside of the control room.
Marshes launched several punches at Eric, which the younger man swiftly dodged and deflected. The next punch Marshes threw, Eric grabbed Marshes by the wrist and twisted it before delivering a devastating right elbow to the face. The attack left a nasty gash across Marshes' left eyebrow. As Eric tried to hit him with his elbow again, Marshes grabbed him by the arm and threw him down the stairs. Eric hit each step hard before rolling down to the bottom.
Eric groaned. "Oh sonuvabitch."
Marshes made his way down the stairs and raised his foot up to stomp Eric's skull in. He didn't get his chance as Eric rolled to the left and kicked Marshes in the side of his knee, causing him to fall to the floor. Eric quickly got to his feet as did Marshes and they both assumed a fighting stance.
Each man had already dealt a good deal of damage to each other. Marshes nose was bleeding, possibly broken. Blood was running down the side of his face where Eric had hit him with his elbow and a nice bruise was starting to form on his jaw. Eric, though wasn't hit many times, had a bruise forming on his left cheek and another on the back of his neck from the fall down the stairs.
Marshes smiled and spit some blood from his mouth. "About time. I was wondering when you'd start acting like a challenge and not a little boy."
"Either way, I'm still going to kill you." Eric said not feeling this determined to take a life since Colonel Autumn.
Both men charged at each other ready to attack again.
The Mall: June 12, 2279. 2:12 P.M.
The remainder of the battle was completely one sided. Most of the surviving Lost Hills soldiers had fled into the subways, while the remaining soldiers had all surrendered. At least a dozen Initiates and a Paladin were on their knees, lined up in front of the Lincoln Memorial steps. Captain Wilder and his power armored Guardsmen along with several power armored Marines pursued the surviving soldiers into the subways.
Everything was quiet except for the small fires that continued to burn from the aftermath of the fighting. Even though they had won their war with Lost Hills, the U.S. Military wasn't celebrating. A lot of soldiers looked around at the remains of what used to be their nation's capital. Everything they knew about their country has been dead for centuries. There wasn't going to be any homecoming celebrations like Anchorage. There was no home for them to go back to. Now…now they were at a complete loss for what to do next.
A humvee pulled up a few feet away from the Memorial. General Brookes and General Wells exited the vehicle and approached Lieutenant Thompson, who was with Ryan, Sage, and Butch, who was injured during the fighting.
General Wells looked around at his soldiers and he could tell that they were all lost now that the battle was over. He knew what they were all thinking. What were they supposed to do now since they didn't have anything left to fight for? He wasn't about to let them give up hope now. They had been spared the horrible fate of the nuclear holocaust. They had been given a second chance and General Wells wasn't about to let this chance go to waste. He was about to give his men a reason to drive on and find something to keep fighting for to create a future for themselves.
"It's not over!" Andrew shouted, gathering the attention of his soldiers. Once everyone was focused on him, he continued. "This may seem like a bittersweet victory to us. Everything we knew and loved has been gone for a long time, but that doesn't mean we can't start over. We can rebuild everything from the ground up and establish something new and something better than the country we lost."
General Brookes looked around and could see each soldier starting to regain their motivation. Ashley had a feeling that once they defeated Lost Hills the soldiers would lose all sense of purpose now that America was long gone. Now as Andrew spoke, their forces were regaining their morale. She felt just as fired up as her friend continued to speak.
"Now that the fight against Lost Hills is over, it's our time to step up. We need to let the people of the wastes know we are here to help and that we are here to stay. The innocent will no longer suffer from threats like these men right here." He said pointing to the captured Lost Hills soldiers as they glared at him. "We will do everything we can to establish peace and security in the region and we will succeed. We will create a new life! Are you with me?" Andrew asked loud and proud raising his rifle in the air.
"YES SIR!" All of his soldiers shouted in reply, ready to get to work to start something new and great from the ashes of America.
"Commander's," The three-star general said looking to his Captains and Majors that had arrived. "I want you to spread your troops across the Capital Wasteland and start looking for any survivors that went into hiding or may have been taken prisoner. I've already sent word for the engineers to start setting up camps at Andale, Bethesda, Old Olney, and Springvale. Escort them to those camps and if any of them are injured make sure they're sent to the field hospital at the staging area!" He ordered.
Andrew got several yes sirs from his lower ranking officers. He turned to General Brookes. "Ashley, have your Guardsmen establish security throughout the region! Have them set up a defense grid around the wasteland borders and checkpoints across the map as well!"
The National Guard general nodded and got on the humvee radio to start issuing those orders.
"General Wells sir." Andrew turned to see Butch holding his side where he had been stabbed by a combat knife.
"Are you alright son?" Andrew asked concernedly. "Do you need a medic?"
Butch quickly shook his head. "I'm fine General, but we need to get to the Jefferson Memorial now. Marshes is there and Eric went after him by himself."
General Wells' eyes widened slightly. "Marshes is still alive?" He assumed that Marshes might've died during the initial first strike.
Before Butch could reply one Brotherhood soldier chuckled. "Your friend is fucked. Marshes is going to tear him apart."
Andrew snarled and looked to Lieutenant Thompson. "Lieutenant, put these fucking dogs down now!"
"Yes sir!" Jason said as he drew his sidearm and executed each soldier with a bullet to the back of the head.
"We need to help Eric now!" Butch stressed. "He can't take Marshes on his own."
Before Andrew could reply, a second humvee pulled up behind his. General Foster and a squad of his Shadow Knight's dismounted the vehicle. "One of my scouts saw Eric enter the Jefferson Memorial not too long ago."
"We know Mike. We're about to head there now." Andrew told his friend.
"They also radioed us and said someone else was heading in the Memorial. They couldn't ID him, but all they knew was it wasn't one of our guys." Mike supplemented.
Now the situation became very critical. If it was another one of Marshes' men, Eric was in trouble. General Wells looked to Butch and the others. "Let's move now!"
Butch, Ryan, Sage, and Lieutenant Thompson got in Andrew's humvee and they sped off towards the Jefferson Memorial with General Foster and his men in tow. As they made their way through the ruins of D.C. Butch prayed that they weren't too late.
The Purifier: June 12, 2279. 2:23 P.M.
The fight had gone from the Purifier control room to the center of the lobby area. Eric had gotten thrown around a couple times by Marshes, which caught him off guard. Though he wasn't wearing power armor, Marshes didn't look as strong as he did. Yet, he was tough enough to throw Eric over his shoulders and toss him to the ground.
Eric was groaning in pain as he got back to his feet. Things were not going good for him at all. The fight had started well for him since he knew not to hold back, but to also be smart and not make the mistake of underestimating him again.
Marshes delivered an uppercut that made Eric stagger back a couple feet before throwing a right jab at him. Eric grabbed the man by the wrist and slammed his left palm into his jaw, knocking a tooth loose. He followed up by grabbing Marshes by the collar of his armor, shoving him against the wall and punching him in the stomach repeatedly. He punched his stomach before lobbing punches at the man's face as well.
All of his anger, all of his rage, all of his strength. It was being unleashed at this moment. Thinking back to seeing all of his brothers and sisters, Elder Lyons…Sarah. Seeing them all lying dead at the Citadel after being mercilessly slaughtered by Marshes and his men. He thought about the friends he had also lost. Jericho and Charon. He wanted Marshes to suffer. Eric wanted the bastard to feel his wrath until he felt the pain that he had caused him.
Marshes grunted as Eric sent hit after hit after hit. He managed to deflect a few hits here and there, but most hits were making their mark. He was astonished that Eric had managed to deal this much damage to him. However, it wasn't going to last much longer. He knew Eric was letting all of his anger out on him. He knew Eric would slip up…now.
The old General threw a lightning fast jab that caught Eric in the throat. The attack wasn't severe enough to crush his windpipe, but it was enough to knock the air out of him. Eric pulled away from Marshes and put a hand to his throat, doubling over as he gasped for air. Marshes, still recovering from Eric's onslaught, noticed that the younger soldier still had his sidearm in his holster. Marshes yanked the sidearm from the holster, but he didn't get a chance to fire. Eric recovered fast enough to grab Marshes by the arm and slam his hand against the wall. Each impact caused Marshes to pull the trigger until he relinquished his hold on the pistol. Marshes punched Eric in the face hard before kicking him in the chest and sending him flying.
Eric hit the concrete hard. Marshes, thinking that Eric was too dazed to prepare for the next attack, ran at him in an attempt to kick him while he was down. Unfortunately for him, Eric jumped to his feet with his arm extended, giving Marshes one hell of a clothesline that took both of them to the ground. Eric grabbed the elder man by his collar and delivered one, two, three right hooks to the man's face. Eric threw another right hook which Marshes raised an arm to block. Marshes capitalized by pulling Eric by his collar and giving him a painful headbutt then pushing him away to get to his feet.
Eric was lying on the ground completely stunned by the blow he took. 'Is his skull made of metal?' He thought to himself.
Marshes kicked Eric in the side of the head, making the room spin more. Quickly dropping to his knees, Marshes wrapped his hands around Eric's neck and started choking the life out of him. Eric grabbed him by the wrists in a desperate attempt to pry the man's hands off of him. He tried pushing himself back to wiggle his way out of Marshes' hold, but the old man had kept him firmly in place.
Eric felt his energy began to drain away as he tried to break free. Lightheaded from the lack of oxygen, he frantically thought of how he could escape before it was too late. Eric's gaze fell upon Marshes' face and noticed that his left eye was a light milky color.
'He's blind?!' Eric thought, completely stunned by the revelation. 'I'm getting my ass beat by a half blind man?!'
Not about to dwell on it any further, Eric extended his left arm and grabbed Marshes' face. Marshes growled as Eric tightened his grip on his skull. He wasn't prepared for Eric digging his thumb into his good eye. Marshes yelled out in pain, before pulling away and bringing both fists down on Eric's skull, hard. Eric was knocked completely senseless.
Marshes vision was slightly blurred but he wasn't out of the fight yet. Marshes unsheathed his combat knife and raised it in the air, intending to bring it down on Eric's neck.
Eric's eyes widened, thinking this was it, he was going to die. Marshes was about to beat him again and he wasn't going to get away this time.
Marshes gave a battle cry as he brought the knife down. Eric clenched his eyes shut and braced for his impending death. To his surprise, it never came. Instead he opened his eyes to see that Marshes had been knocked off of him and was being attacked by someone else. Eric shook his head to try and clear his vision a bit more and immediately recognized who the man was.
It was Tyler Mullen, Marshes' former second-in-command and defector from Lost Hills. He had just saved his life.
Mullen was urgently fighting to get Marshes to release his hold on the knife and hopefully distract him enough so Eric can escape. Mullen looked to the man in question. "RUN ERIC!" He shouted as Marshes punched him in the back of his neck.
Marshes had gained control of his blade and immediately rammed it into his former friend's stomach. Tyler gasped, his eyes widening in shock. He looked down to see the blade imbedded deep inside his gut. He looked back up to his former leader, who was looking at him with a mixture of disappointment and pure rage. Marshes ripped the knife out of Mullen's stomach and jabbed it back into him again, causing him to shout in agony.
Eric witnessed everything unfold and knew he didn't have much time to react. Mullen practically sacrificed himself to buy Eric enough time to get away. Eric was going to make this chance count. He frantically looked around trying to locate his sidearm. He saw it lying on the floor near the doorway that lead to the hallway towards the rotunda. Eric used what energy he had left to scramble for his gun.
Marshes had finished stabbing Mullen one last time and pulled the knife out of him. The blade, from the tip to Marshes' hand was completely covered in blood. Mullen was coughing up wads of blood, signifying severe internal damage. He knew the damage was done. His organs were shredded and he was losing too much blood. He staggered a few feet back until he was leaning against the desk outside of the office. Mullen was breathing heavily as he applied pressure to his stab wounds in an attempt to stop the flow of blood. For what good it would do.
"After everything we've been through. Why?" Marshes asked, not withholding the betrayal in his voice. "We've served together since our first battle. You have been my true brother through thick and thin. So, tell me why!" He demanded as his grip on the knife tightened.
Mullen let out a violent fit of coughs. Blood leaking from his lower jaw. "Because, (cough) (cough) because it was the right thing to do. Everything we've done here. Everything we've (cough) (cough) (cough) done to these people. It's not who we are. These people didn't deserve any of this. (Cough) We've slaughtered former brothers and sisters (cough) innocent people (cough) for what? For a failed chance to save Lost Hills from certain death? All we've done here (cough) no (cough) all you've done here is poke the bear. Your actions have sealed the fate of Lost Hills." Mullen concluded with another violent fit of coughs.
"I was doing what was right! I was doing what was absolutely necessary to save our chapter, our history from being wiped out!" Marshes shouted, trying to justify his actions.
Mullen spit some blood from his mouth, though more continued to seep. "All you did was reduce us to nothing more than a bunch of well-armed raiders. That's all you've done. You've turned your men into a bunch of glorified murderers (cough)." Mullen looked Marshes dead in the eye and glared. "In an attempt to protect your image as the High Elder's lapdog."
Marshes growled in outrage and raised his knife up, aiming to put it right between Mullen's eyes. "Goodbye my friend."
Mullen prepared himself for the imminent strike, but before it came.
'BANG'
Marshes' right shoulder jerked forward and he quickly whipped around to see who had shot him. His eyes widened in a mixture of shock, disbelief, and something that he hadn't felt in forever. Fear.
Eric was standing there holding his side and wielding his 9mm pistol, which was trained on Marshes. He took a deep breath before releasing through his teeth. "You lose General." With that, Eric fired again and the bullet hit Marshes above his collarbone at the center of the neck.
Marshes gasped as the round made its mark. He staggered back, dropping the knife, and clutching onto the wound for dear life as the blood spilled. Marshes sunk to his knees, still looking at Eric with disbelief before his eyes rolled behind his head. His hand dropped from his wound and he fell face forward to the ground with a thud. A small pool of blood began to form around Marshes' head.
Eric sighed as he lowered his pistol and quickly limped to Mullen who was now sitting against the desk. Eric dropped his pistol and knelt down next to the injured man. He examined the wounds and knew Mullen needed immediate medical attention.
"I'm going to get you out of here Mullen." He said as he attempted to pull the man to his feet.
Mullen shoved his hands away. "Don't Eric. It's no use trying to save a dead man." He said, finding it more difficult to breathe with each breath he took.
"You're not going to die. I won't allow it. Hang on! I'm going to look for a med kit." Eric told him as he tried to get up, but Mullen grabbed his arm, halting him in place.
Mullen reached inside the collar of his shirt and yanked his holotags from their chain. He firmly placed them in Eric's palm. "I tried (gasp) I tried to make up for all the wrongs I have done. Just know that I'm sorry Eric." He gasped as tears fell from his eyes.
Eric held on tightly to Mullen's tags and nodded. "Consider yourself redeemed…brother." He said addressing him as a fellow soldier. Mullen nodded before his eyes slowly closed and his head slumped forward. Eric sighed and let go of Mullen's hand, taking his holotags with him.
Eric stood up and looked around the room, taking notice of his fallen brothers. He looked down at Marshes lifeless form lying a few feet from him. It was over. Eric let out a sigh of relief. His war against Lost Hills was over and yet…he didn't feel at ease. Though he and the U.S. had won, he had lost so much. All of his fellow soldiers, so many innocent people, and a lot of his friends. Sarah, Owyn, Jericho, Charon. Dead. All dead. Everything that he and the Brotherhood had worked for was in ruins.
At least now with the remnant American Army, there was still hope for a brighter future. Eric started limping for the exit of the Memorial, looking to link up with Butch and the others.
Back in the central office. The pool of blood around Marshes' head had completely stopped getting bigger. He looked completely lifeless. Until his eyes shot open…his sight landing on Eric's sidearm on the floor.
As Eric exited the building, two armored humvees pulled up and several Shadow Knights dismounted them. Along with them was Generals Wells, Brookes, Foster, and Butch and Ryan. Lieutenant Thompson and the Shadow Knights took off in all directions to set up a perimeter while Sage got on the radio to call a medevac chopper for Eric.
Eric limped his way towards his friends and the American Generals. "Good to see you guys." He said with a half-smile as his legs started to give out. Both Butch and Ryan ran forward to catch their friend, keeping him on his feet. "I'm alright. I'm alright." Eric said trying to sound alright, but they weren't fooled.
"Bullshit you look like you just came out of a minefield." Butch said while holding his friend up.
"Wouldn't be the first time, now would it?" Eric said keeping the smile on his face.
General Wells approached Eric and looked the young man over to see the damage that had been dealt. Andrew couldn't believe his eyes. Eric looked like he just fought this entire war on his own and somehow managed to come out on top. His left eye was black, his nose was bleeding and there were several small cuts and bruises across his face as well as his arms. Judging by the way Eric was holding his side, it was safe to assume he had one or two broken ribs.
"Are you alright son?" He asked concernedly.
"I'm fine sir. Just a few scratches, but I'm good." Eric replied to the Rebirth commander.
"And Marshes?" Ryan asked him.
"He's history." Eric informed the Lieutenant. He looked back to General Wells. "What about the rest of his forces?"
"They fled into the subways. My men are flushing them out now." Andrew told Eric.
Eric nodded. "Then it's finally over."
'BANG'
Eric cried out as a bullet hit his left arm. Almost instantly after being shot, the Generals drew there sidearms and the Shadow Knights raised their marksman carbines towards the Memorial entrance. They saw Marshes standing there looking like a deathclaw ready to strike. The Brotherhood General had Eric's sidearm aimed right at them.
Butch and Ryan pulled Eric to the ground and got on top of him, acting as human shields to keep him from being shot again.
"I'M NOT DONE YET!" Marshes bellowed, about to fire again.
"OPEN FIRE!" General Wells ordered his soldiers as he aimed his 1911 and fired. His round hitting Marshes square in the chest.
Foster and Brookes both fired their sidearms multiple times as the Shadow Knights unloaded their carbines at full auto. Almost every shot they fired hit their target. Marshes started to stagger back as he was pelted by the nonstop hail of gunfire. Lieutenant Thompson fired his rifle until it was empty before swapping to his sidearm. Andrew reloaded his pistol and was about to fire again until finally, Marshes dropped the gun and fell back to the ground.
"CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE!" Andrew ordered. Everyone stopped firing, but they still kept their weapons trained on the fallen enemy.
Foster, with his sidearm still aimed, looked to two of his Shadow Knights. "Mendez, Parker. Make sure he stays dead!"
"Yes sir!" They replied in unison. The two slung their empty rifles over their shoulders and drew their sidearms. They slowly approached Marshes while keeping their guns trained.
Butch and Ryan got off of Eric and helped him back to his feet. They looked to see the two Shadow Knights keep walking until they were standing right over Marshes' corpse.
The man definitely looked dead based on the amount of bullet holes that had riddled his body and the pool of blood that continued to grow. However, they weren't going to take any risks. They both fired their guns until Marshes' face was nothing more than a crater.
Mendez looked to General Foster. "Clear sir."
Foster nodded and Andrew looked to Eric. "Now it's over."
Eric nodded though, he couldn't believe what had just happened. He thought he had bested Marshes. Yet, the man was more resilient than he thought. He looked at the now fully dead Lost Hills commander. "Bastard."
The medevac chopper that Sage had called for arrived and was ready to get Eric to the field hospital.
"Let's go Eric." Butch said as he, Ryan and Sage helped Eric to the helicopter while General Wells and the others stayed back to supervise the rescue operations that were about to be conducted across the Capital Wasteland.
As the helicopter took off for the field hospital, all Eric could think about was how great it was going to be to see Amata now that this war was over.
Unfortunately, their reunion wasn't going to be a happy one.
Army Field Hospital: June 12, 2279. 3:12 P.M.
"Doc there has to be something you can do." Melissa said pleading with the medic.
After being evacuated from Canterbury Commons, Melissa had discovered that Amata been shot three times in the chest. She had the humvee driver radio the field hospital to prepare for Amata while she put her combat lifesaver training to use. As soon as they arrived, a group of medics immediately carted Amata off on a stretcher to one of the tents. While the doctors helped Amata, Melissa had a medic examine the bullet wound on her stomach. The bullet penetrated her kevlar vest, but the damage wasn't as bad as it looked. The bullet only pierced half an inch into her stomach.
Once the medic was finished patching up her stomach, she went to check on Harkness and Carter in one of the tents. Both of them were awake and were petting Eric's dog. One of the medics happened to be a former veterinarian and was able to take care of Dogmeat's injuries. Melissa knelt down to pet the dog, who licked her hand in response. She smiled before talking to Carter and Harkness.
As soon as she was done talking to them she walked back outside just in time to hear a radio report in one of the humvees. Their forces had taken back D.C. She sighed in relief upon hearing that. However, she was worried about her brother, about Eric.
After almost two hours, one of the medics came out of the tent and approached the Lieutenant with a solemn look on his face. He told her that they were able to remove all three bullets from her chest. Unfortunately, it didn't make a difference. The first bullet had pierced a lung and had gotten lodged into her heart. The damage to her lung could be repaired, but the damage to her heart was too severe. She would need a transplant in order to survive. The other two, though they were easy to remove, had caused massive blood loss.
Melissa had drowned out whatever else the medic had to say. The only thing she heard was the one thing she didn't want to hear. Amata was going to die. She wasn't going to make it. Melissa rubbed a hand down her face as tears started to build in her eyes. 'Fuck, how am I going to tell Eric?' She asked herself.
She sniffed and wiped a tear away. She looked to the medic. "How much time does she have left?" She asked him, her voice trembling.
The medic sighed dejectedly. "Not much longer I'm afraid. She's been fading in and out of consciousness. We gave her some morphine so she's not in any pain."
Melissa nodded. "Ok." She said as another medevac arrived. As the chopper landed, she spotted, Butch, then Ryan, along with her old friend Sage, then finally, Eric. She was absolutely relieved that they were alive, but she got a good look at Eric and could tell he had been through the wringer. The helicopter took off, the pilot received reports of more wounded outside of Andale. Melissa walked forward as Butch and Ryan helped guide Eric towards one of the tents.
Ryan spotted his adopted sister. "You ok Melissa?"
Melissa nodded, but by the look on her face, Ryan knew something was up. "I'm fine, but Eric, I need to talk to you…now."
Eric immediately knew something was wrong. "What's wrong."
Melissa didn't know what to do, on the outside she was calm, but on the inside, she was panicking. She didn't know how she was supposed to tell Eric how his girlfriend was dying. Plus, with how busted up he was, she didn't how he'd react.
Finally, she decided it would be best to be straightforward and just tell him the truth. With a deep breath, she spoke. "It's Amata."
As soon as the words hit Eric's ears he started to panic. "What about her? What happened? What's wrong with her?" He quickly asked each question as he tried to pull himself free from Butch in an attempt to find Amata. Butch held his friend close, but when he heard her say something about Amata, he grew just as concerned.
"On our way back here, she had passed out. I removed the breast plate from her armor…she had been shot three times in the chest." Melissa told him. "I helped treat her as best I can until we handed her to the medics, but-"
"Is she ok? Melissa, please tell me she's ok." Eric begged, hoping he'd get the answer he wanted to hear.
The tears started to come back to Melissa. "I'm sorry Eric. The medics did everything she could, but the damage is too extensive."
Upon those words, Eric's entire world had completely fallen apart. "She's…" Eric choked out.
Melissa shook her head quickly. "She's still alive, but she doesn't have much time left. The medic said that she's awake and she's not in any pain, but she won't be alive for much longer." Melissa got closer to Eric. "Come with me Eric. I'll take you to her." Eric started to shake his head as tears started flowing down his cheek. Melissa knew why. He didn't want to lose Amata yet. He didn't want to see her go, but this would be the last chance he would get to talk to her. "Eric. Eric look at me!" She said forcing him to look at her. "You need to be there for her. This will be the last time you get to talk to her. She needs you. Ok?"
Eric wiped the tears away from his eyes, but they kept coming. He nodded. "Ok."
Melissa took over for Butch and helped lead him to the tent that Amata was lying in.
Eric had her let go of him. "I got it. I can do this." Melissa nodded and she and Ryan let him go. Eric took a deep breath and wiped the remaining tears away, pushing the tent flaps out of the way, he looked around. Several soldiers that had already been treated were lying on cots and were recovering. He kept looking…and he spotted her. She was lying on a cot in the far corner. She was hooked up to an IV and blood pack. He slowly limped his way over to her and knelt down next to the cot.
She looked so pale. Eric took one of her hands into his and slowly rubbed up and down her wrist. Amata stirred a bit before turning to see Eric was right there. "Hey." She said weekly.
Eric tried to smile, but he couldn't muster up the strength to. "Hey."
Amata could tell he was conflicted right now. She already knew she wasn't going to survive. She had accepted it. She just needed Eric to be strong for her. She gently brushed her thumb against his hand.
"It's going to be ok Eric." She said in an attempt to reassure him.
Eric shook his head. "No, it's not"
"Eric…It is. It's going to be ok. I'm not afraid." She told him.
"I can't lose you Amata." Eric told her as the tears began to fall.
"You once told me that everyone's time comes eventually. I've come to accept that my time has come. And it's ok." Amata said, not feeling afraid for the first time in a long time.
"…Amata." Eric said, but didn't know what else to say.
"Eric, I need you to promise me something. Please." Amata told him.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Promise me you won't blame yourself for this. Promise to be strong for me. Promise me that you'll move on." Amata asked him as she started to slip further away.
"Amata." Eric sobbed.
"Promise me Eric!" She told him as a tear escaped from her eye.
Eric quickly nodded. "I promise." Amata smiled. "I love you Amata." He said leaning forward to give her a quick kiss on her forehead.
"I love you too Eric." She told him as she took her last breath. Her eyelids slowly closed and her head leaned into the pillow more.
Eric bowed his head as his shoulders started shaking as he silently cried. A few medics looked on wishing that they could've been able to save her. He wanted to deny it, believe it was all just a bad dream. He couldn't…this was all completely real. Amata, the girl he had loved since they were little was gone. He kissed her hand multiple times before gently setting it down on the cot. He stood up and quickly limped out of the tent.
Outside the tent, Butch, Ryan, Melissa and Sage were patiently waiting for him. Eric looked at them with tears in his eyes before slowing walking away, but as he got a few feet away he collapsed to his knees and started to sob uncontrollably. Butch immediately knelt down next to his friend and pulled him into a brotherly hug. Eric didn't resist. He clung onto Butch as he cried into his shoulder.
"She's gone Butch! She's fucking gone!" He cried.
Butch held Eric close. He tried to remain strong for Eric, but he felt his own tears fall from his face. "I know. I'm here buddy. I'm right here. It's going to be ok brother." He said as he silently cried.
Melissa, Ryan, and Sage looked on with sad looks in their eyes. Melissa felt the tears run down her face. She knew the pain that Eric was feeling. It's a pain that she'd never wish upon anyone else.
After everything that they had been through. They had defeated Lost Hills, killed Marshes, and liberated the Capital Wasteland. In the end. It all still felt like a hollow victory.
For those of you who were hoping Amata would survive. (Hides behind barrier) Please don't kill me. Again to all of you amazing and wonderful readers, I'm glad that you're still here and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I promise that I will do my damnedest to get the next one up much sooner. With that being said. Stay safe and have a good day everyone.
NCRMC signing off for now.