Hey guys, just a quick note, Fallout 4 will rock, there, had to say it. Now then, on to chapter 10!
Chapter 10
Luther sits at the bar alone, staring hatefully at the glass of vodka in front of him. They made it back to the Capital area without much trouble after the storm passed, but Tyler was in critical condition. His entire system was flooded with radiation. When they got back to Megaton the first place they went was to Doc Church's place to get him patched up. The Doc assured them that Tyler would pull through, but Luther still isn't sure. That was a lot of radiation. With Tyler out and Clover refusing to leave his side, he and Nick searched out Lucy West to finally cash in on that job with her family from what feels like months ago. She was overjoyed at the news that Ian was okay, they left out the bit about how her parents died, and paid them well.
Then he and Nick got into an argument. About Maria. Nick wanted to hand the girl over to someone, claiming that she was no longer their problem. That didn't make much sense to Luther, seeing as it was Nick who was so bull headed about taking the baby with them in the first place. He wanted to keep the girl. He had become rather attached to the little tyke during their trip. Fortunately, Lucy West came to their rescue. She offered to care for the child, which was good because they would be able to visit her whenever they were in town and she would be safer than she ever could be out in the wastes with them. After a few more minutes of working out the details, they decided that was best and left Marie with Lucy. They then split company, Nick going to get supplies for his trip into D.C. to find his dad, and Luther wandering about until he ended up at the Brass Lantern.
He sighs heavily and runs a hand through his hair. Nick, the kid. They way he has been acting ever since they found him in the pitt has been bothering him for a while now. Hell, even Tyler noticed! Nick had changed. Whatever happened to him in the pitt transformed him into a completely different person. Luther had barely even recognized him when he saw him fighting in the hole. Gone was the innocent, clumsy, and annoying ignorant kid from the vault. In his place is a man. A man who is dark, cold, and angry. A man with no reason or purpose, besides finding his father. The kid had wanted to find his dad before being taken to the pitt, now that is all Nick seems able to focus on. Luther does not fully like the man the kid has become.
"Are you just going to stare at that or are you going to drink it?" a gruff voice asks. He turns in his seat and looks at the man beside him. The man is clad in thick leather armor and has a worn, but sturdy, Chinese model assault rifle on his back. The man's hair is cut close to his head and he has a bad look in his eyes, almost like he is searching for a fight. The man notices Luther looking him over and turns to face him full on. "Something the matter asshole? Or do you not know how to answer a simple question?"
Luther glares at the man coldly, "I don't associate with degenerates like you."
"Degenerates?" The man scoffs, "Just how am I? a humble town guard, a degenerate when you are a mercenary? Mercenaries, like you, don't got nothing but their own morals to keep them in line. Here I am, a guard, with all the power of the law behind me. The only one who can tell me what to do is Simms, and he don't got the balls to try that."
Luther turns away from him. "You are a degenerate because you used to be a raider." The man is taken aback and goes to respond, but Luther continues. "I know because of the way you carry yourself. You have a look in your eye that says you are on a hard withdraw from whatever chem you are hooked on, indicating that you are trying to quiet but are failing. You also have tattoos from the gang you used to run with. I can see the edges of them around you neck and wrists."
The man looks impressed and nods. "Good, you can use your eyes to see the obvious. My turn. You think you are better than anyone else in this town. Well you ain't. You are a fucking pussy Mercenary whose morals and ideals can be bought. At least a raider you can always trust to try and kill you, but a mercenary, all your type cares about is who is going to give you the highest pay."
Luther stares down at his drink. His fists are clinched under the table. This asshole has no fucking clue just who he is dealing with. He has been through too much shit here recently to be baited into a fight with some random bastard, but he swears to whatever deity rules over the wastes, if this guy says one more thing, he is dead. "What," the man sneers, "nothing to say you fucking pussy?" That seals it.
He hasn't had a sip of alcohol in months, but he lifts his cup to his lips and downs it all in one gulp. He regards the empty glass for a second, and then smashes it into the man's ugly face. The man curses wildly and stumbles back from the bar, knocking over his seat and crashing into a table behind him. Luther stands and grabs the man by the front of his armor. He takes a piece of the broken glass in his hand and moves to cut the man with it. The man jerks to the side and manages to get out from under Luther. He jumps back to his feet and lands a hard kick to Luther's chest. Luther stumbles back, hitting the wall and ducking as the man aims another kick at his head.
Luther rushes forward and lands a solid jab to the man's side. The man retaliates by catching Luther's next blow and twisting his arm around. Luther grunts in pain as his arm is pulled into an un-natural position. He sweeps a leg out, sending them both crashing to the floor. He gets above the man and raises a fist, intending to punch in the bastards ugly face, but a series of gunshots freeze him into place. "Now that's enough!" Lucas Simms shouts. The sheriff steps further into the bar and levels his weapon at Luther's head. "Stand up mister, real slow like." Luther stands slowly, keeping his hands where they can be seen.
The other man stands and moves to stand by Lucas, but stops when the sheriff aims the gun at him when he does. "Hold on there Jericho," the man growls, "I saw you fighting too. I have allowed you a long leash, you had better have a damn good explanation for what happened."
Jericho rolls his shoulders and glares angrily at Luther. "This pussy smashed a drink into my face. All I was doing was trying to have a civil conversation. Next think I know the man is on top of me with a shiv in his hands, trying to cut my throat."
Simms shakes his head. "For some reason I doubt your conversation was anything near civil." The Sheriff regards Luther. "Well stranger, is this true? You try and slit my guard's throat?"
Luther meets Simms gaze with a cold stare of his own. "Yes." he answers simply. He has nothing to hide. No reason left for trying to defend himself. As far as he is concerned, these assholes can try anything they want. He is in the mood for a damn good fight.
Lucas shakes his head. "Right, cause I really believe that. Well if you are not going to defend yourself, I am going to have to take you in. Come along quietly now, there are a few nights of jail time ahead of you."
"Sheriff!" Jericho shouts angrily. "Are you serious? This asshole tried to kill me and all you are going to do is put him in a cell for a few days? We should kill this bastard, teach everyone here a lesson in respect!"
Lucas looks at him coolly, "No. I know very well that you instigated this fight, Jericho, and I am not going to kill a man for responding the way anyone else would have. Especially when responding to the shit you pull." Jericho grumbles angrily and storms out of the bar. Lucas motions for Luther go get walking with his gun. Luther allows himself to be led up to the sheriff's house where he is locked into a makeshift cell. Lucas sits down at his desk and takes off his hat. "I have to say, I would not have expected something like this from you. We haven't ever spoken, but you seemed like the decent sort."
Luther does not answer. Instead he lies down on the small cot in his cell and sighs. This was stupid. He hasn't gotten into a bar fight in almost a year, and never has he been in one when he was still sober. Sure, he had a shot of vodka, but that hardly even left him buzzed. Maybe this is what he needs, a little time alone with nothing except his own thoughts. Things have been going crazy ever since the pitt, the way Nick has been acting, Tyler's condition, Maria, all of it. He hasn't had any real time to just sit and think through things. That is probably what he was doing at the bar, looking for a place to just sit and think, but then that asshole showed up. He decides what he really needs is some sleep. Rolling over onto his side, he closes his eyes and soon drifts off.
His sleep is fitful, filled with dreams about places and people from his past. At first, it is nothing but random images and memories, all jumbled together. He can handle that. Then the images solidify into a memory of his old home. He steps through the mechanize door into the room he shares with her. Normally he finds her standing there with a warm smile and the little one in her arms, waiting to greet him. Today though, her back is turned and she is sobbing. He goes to her and attempts to comfort her, but she will not speak to him. She only stares at the bundle in her arms and weeps. A sick feeling fills him and he takes the bundle gently from her arms. Slowly, he pushes back the folds of the cloth and reveals what is beneath.
Dead. The little one is dead. Not just dead, murdered, butchered, experimented on like a lab rat. Tubes run from the child's body, filled with liquids and strange materials. The guards hold him back as the scientists cut into the little one with scalpels and saws. The little one is dead. His little one is dead. They killed her. Again he finds himself standing outside the mechanized doors that lead to his room. Again he steps through and sees her. She swings from the ceiling, their bed sheets tied around her neck. They killed her. They killed them. They took them both from him!
He moves to take her down, but her face changes and instead of her hanging there, it is Nick! He recoils and trips over a body! Tyler's body! The scientists are back, crossing the room to where little Maria lies unaware in her cryo crib! He tries to scream, to stop them, but he cannot even move! He is forced to watch as they take Maria out of her crib and take out their scalpels and saws!
He jerks awake in a cold sweat, gripping the cot like it is the last solid thing in the world. "Luther," a woman's voice whimpers. No, the dream is over, he cannot hear her voice! He cannot! "Luther," this time his name is shouted. He whips around, and for a second is relieved to see Lucy West standing there. The dream really is over. Then he notices her face. "Luther," she repeats, "he is gone. Nick hired a guard and went off to that store to earn some caps! He went to the Super Duper!"
He lunges through the air, clamping his jaws down around the neck of the two legs who smells of blood and urine and whose body is covered in metal spikes. His weight pulls the two legs down to the earth where he whips his head back and forth savagely, maintaining his hold on the neck as he does. When the two legs stop struggling, he releases the neck and moves on. The Master is nearby, holding his boom rod that is louder than the one his old Master used. His new Master's boom rod is scarier too, even to the spiky two legs who are fighting them. They hold back, not wanting to be close to the boom rod.
Standing close to his Master to protect him, he growls low in his throat. He wants to kill the other two legs, to prove that this two headed four legs is their territory and that none may take it. The Master, however, has not yet told him to attack, only to protect, so he waits. They move slowly, the Master having to talk the two headed four legs into moving each leg after the other. The big animal is scared by all the noise and has panicked twice. He tries to keep a decent distance from it, hoping that his prescience will ease it, without scaring it further. The spiky two legs follow them, whooping and yelling and making all sorts of noise, hoping to spook the two headed four legs again. They have been following for a long while now.
The Master is tired. He has not slept the entire time they spiky ones have been after them. It has been some time now, two turns of the big light in the sky. His Master needs to rest, but he cannot because the spiky ones will come in the night. He watches, in fear, as his Master missteps, and falls to his knees. He barks once and rushes to his Master's side. He gently noses the Master, hoping he is not dead. the Master responds by reaching up and rubbing his ears roughly. The Master struggles to his feet and looks down at him. "Don't worry boy, I am not gone yet..." Blood spurts from the Master's chest and he falls on his face. He looks down, confused. Then one of the spiky ones yelps and runs forward with a boom rod of his own.
He turns to the spiky ones and growls fiercely. They stop in their tracks and look at him with fear in their eyes. They killed the Master. They would kill the two headed four legs and him as well. They have done very wrong things. Now they will pay. He lets out a snarl that is his only warning, and then he attacks. He rips into them, a whirling blur of ripping fangs and grey fur. Each of the spiky ones fall beneath his attack. He rips out their throats, their tendons, their insides. When the last dies, he limps over to some rocks and hurls up the contents of his stomach. Their blood and flesh is foul. He limps over to the body of his dead Master and curls up next to him. He looks out at the vastness of the wastes, wondering, what will become of him now?
Hey guys, man do I ever love cliff hangers. So I got a little deeper with Luther's character than I expected to, but I like the results. Both he and Tyler still have a lot of history that will be revealed, but this little hint really works with me. I hope you guys enjoyed it. If you have any guesses about who Tyler or Luther may have been or worked for before meeting, let me know! Also, If there are any specific NCPs you want me to try and work in, Let me know and I will attempt to do so.