Chapter 3:

Courting with Disaster

Blazing heat poured over Bartholomew as he was shoved outside of his home. His mother always kicked him out when she had some money to make. Her only response when he asked why was that he needed to lose weight and gave a pinch at his boy tits. He hated her for it, and hated the fact that he was fat too.

"Go on, go play with some skags for all I care. Just don't be comin back til dinner time." She said and gave him a cruel stare. "Don't you be a fool like last time, mama'll beat you like a psycho midget if I see your fatass around here before dinner."

Fucking whore, maybe I'll bring over Grif or Smitty and show them who you are with now…

His home was nothing more than a built-up shack with additions for commodity. White washed walls held together by a light framework of steel beams, ply wood, and a tin roof. Posters of some merchant "Marcus" engulfed the walls along with the Tediore logo and a few missing persons ads. On the northern wall an inkblot of human blood marked where a man was killed due to his mother other business arrangements that night. His home, at least, was outside of city limits, but that didn't stop assholes from stopping by for a quick heyoo to his mother.

White hot desert heat enveloped him when his mother shut the door. Bart turned around slowly and gave a glance to the sand dunes and skag dens. His mother always gave him some crappy Dahl repeater for protection.

I guess shootin some skags will waste some time.

He climbed atop a nearby New-U station and leveled his sights on a grunt.

After the tenth skag dropped his thoughts wandered back to his pa. He never really knew his father, but he always thought of the man he might have been. Day dreams were the only thing that lifted him out of this hell hole and into someplace better. His mother had never told him about his father. She probably never knew which one he was. He envisioned his "father" would strut through their home laughing it up with his mother while making quips with his son. They would go out and use wildlife for target practice with their new rocket launcher or grenade mod. And sometimes….

A soft rustling came from behind him.

What th... how did they get behind me so fas...

As he began to turn around the New-U station started to shake violently. He reached out for purchase as his momentum took him over the edge. He caught one edge but lost his grip and tumbled backward. He landed with a hard thud and a sharp pain diced at the back of his head. As he started to pass out he noticed the shape of a small boy... or girl look over him.

A few minutes later…

Warm water splashed against Barts face. His instincts betrayed him as he opened his eyes to a white world.

"Wake up boy, I only meant ta scare ya. But ya had to go and fall on your head. See here." The girl said as she poked the back of his head where the pain already filled his thoughts.

"Oww. You are lucky I almost sho..." Bart stopped suddenly as he gazed at the girl in front of him. She was a petite girl with fire red hair and thin features. One long braid reached over her shoulder and lay loosely against her chest. She wore a dirty white cotton tank top and tight jeans that cut off at mid shin. His gaze lingered in bewilderment on the logo on her shirt. It was a chibi teddy bear with a machete in one hand and a grenade in the other. She lifted her hand to where his eyes were fixated and pointed back up to her face.

"Shoo...shooo..Damn, you must'a hit your head real good. You can't even finish a sentence."

"Ah, um, yea." Bart said as he sat up rubbing at his temple. "I was going to say I would of shot you thinkin you were a skag. Next time, give some fair warning before makin a guy fall for you. Alright?"

Who the hell is this girl? She ain't dress like shes from around here

"The name's Bart, thanks for the wake up call." He held out his hand still inquisitive if she was nice or not.

She spit in her own palm and shook his. "My pa calls me Lilly."

...Lilly...

He rubbed his hands against his pants still content on trying to figure out what was different about her. "You ain't from around here are you? Where did you come from?"

Lilly looked at the ground shyly and kicked some stones. It took a moment before she looked back up and answered him. "My pa came here looking to work for Dahl, but when we arrived they told us that Dahl was close'n shop and no work was ta be found."

Haaaarrrrooooooooo…

They both turned and saw the Elder Skag looking at the dead grunts on the ground. They shared a stunned look for a moment and started to sneak off in the opposite direction. They snuck behind the wall of the runner garage and waited there.
"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

The faint sound of sniffs shrouded Bart in fear.

Hrwaooooooorrrrrrrrrr.

They took off at full speed in random directions."C'mon, I know a spot over there by the cliffside. Hurry!" Bart said as he noticed she was heading toward the gully. Lilly turned around and bucked after him. The distance between the New-U station and the cliffside was only broken by a dry riverbed filled with loose rocks. The cliffside scaled ten stories high and would be perfect if only they could get up to the small cave that Bart knew about.

Lilly met the lip first and hurdled high over the two yard span of rocks and boulders. She landed with cat like grace a foot from the face of the rock wall. When Bart met the edge he thrust his weight forward hoping to all ends that he would make it.

Mother have mercy let me make it…

He landed at the edge of the rocks and fell hard against the ground. He rolled to his side and picked himself up with a quickness he did not know he had. He chanced a look back and saw the Elder five yards from the riverbed. The beast's eyes were fierce with rage and the mouth curved slightly upward portraying a maddening grin.

The hulking figure pounced on him and bit down on his shoulder. He heard a snap and then a crunching sound as the beast began to thrash its head ripping muscle and ligaments alike. Claws sang bitter tears against his cheek and chest as Bart fought feebly to gain leverage on the beast. Blood blinded his eyes and the weight of the beast pinned him down without any remission. His vision began to dim and the last thing he remembered was two loud cracks followed by hard thuds above him. Then, darkness took him.

That night…

Pain throbbed through his whole body as he struggled to grasp the idea of where he was. His eyes were swollen nearly shut and his right arm was bandaged up tight. "Cunt rag… mother fucker… ahhhh" Bart shimmied up onto his elbow and the pain brought clarity to his memory. He remembered the attack, the girl, his mother, but something was missing…

How the fuck am I alive?

"Oooh, he has a perdy lil mouth ain't he gents. Oh and, ah, lady" Came a voice through the darkness.

Shut the fuck up… I fucking hate people…always kicking you while your down…

"You know, you are one lucky shit stain. If it weren't for Mord's health packs and Roland's med experience well, you wouldn't be there hurt'n now would ya? So take it or leave it, but by all means, stop wastin our supplies if ya wanna die. Hey Rol, will ya cut the swellin on his face so he can see at least."

"Uh, Sure."

Bart could hear the sand rustling under the stranger's steps but he still flinched when a hand grabbed his head and held it firmly. A poke touched each brow, and then he could feel hot blood rolling down his face as skin deflated granting him vision. When he opened his eyes he met the greeting of four other people all enveloped in warm yellow light at the edge of the cliffside. A quiet campfire was dancing through the night painting the stranger's faces a calming yellow and a majestic orange. He looked around the campsite and saw Lilly leaning against a rock drawing patterns in the sand around her. The boy to her left was standing with a large bird perched on his right arm. He was lanky but with an air of weight to his presence. There was a bloodied bandage wrapped around his left forearm and he gave the bird a cocksure grin. He wore a vest of dark brown leather over a blue tattered shirt with a small circular device attached to his belt over blackened leather pants.

An SDU … thought those were still in testing…

The boy took his eyes off the bird and looked at Bart with what seemed to be compassion. "The name is Mordecai. What's yours?"

"Bart, just call me Bart."

He sat up a bit more and regretted it immediately. His chest burned from the scratches and the torn muscles in his shoulder only multiplied his torment. Just then he realized the third boy directly across from him cooking on a makeshift skillet. The smell of cooked skag meat filled his nostrils and his mouth started to water from the sweet and tangy aroma. The boy got up and walked over to offered up some meat to Bart. He was dressed in a tight fitting shirt and loose pants colored all black dirtied from travel. A red bandana settled over his collar under a pair of goggles. Roland took a piece of sliced skag bacon from the skillet and handed him some bread along with it. Bart ate the meat savoring every flavor the swirled in his mouth. A piece of bread caught in his throat causing pain to shoot through him at each convulsion. Roland searched through the duffel bag and produced a rusted canteen that was filled with a strong dark liquid.

"Drink. It will dull the pain too."

"Well, this has been a prosperous day for us all hasn't it Mord?" The old man said as he whistled for the bird.

"Why do you say that Yuj? My arm is fucked up, he nearly died, and we have no more supplies to get us back home. What do you find prosperous about any of that?"

"Wha? Well, I guess you're right about that. Hahaha! I take it back, it has been a prosperous day for me. Ya wanna know why?"

Bart watched as Mord shrugged and took a swig from the canteen.

"Because we got a new mate," he said as he motioned toward Roland. "We got two new friends, who seem to be able to take a beating quite nicely and can run like all hell. Although, we gotta change that name of yours boy."

"Yeah, and?"

"And we got this." He said as he produced an alien artifact. They were all doused by the blue and purple glow of it.

"Proof of the vault and the key to money, power, fame, and women!"