Ch.6 Battle for Big Town
They had been walking wordlessly for a few hours, making their way down the broken remnants of the old road. Chris stayed behind Simms, his eyes planted firmly on the ground. He almost hoped for Raiders or Talon mercs to attack them. Anything to take his mind off of what he'd in all likelihood done. It bothered him that he was troubled at all, a vicious cycle running in his mind. He hadn't been like this before, he'd been strong and self reliant. Now he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown from guilt at consigning a good man to die along with a whole town.
The logical part of him tried to reassure him. Chris hadn't been lying when he'd told Simms what would happen if they had stayed. Billy and Simms would loose their children for good, and Chris would never catch Chevron. But that was what mattered most wasn't it? It was all about getting back at Chevron in the end he told himself, sickened by the truth of it. Was he even trying to help Abigale anymore or was he just out for revenge? And more importantly how would she react if she saw him now, if she knew all the things he'd done to try and bring her back. Why even go through so much to save her if she couldn't stand the site of him when she woke?
Billy Creel stood in his mind, repeating his rejection of the abandonment of the townspeople. The people he had saved once before stood behind Billy and watched him with desperation in their eyes. And he denied them again and again as he had done in reality. He was letting them die, damning them as surely as if he was pulling the trigger himself.
His internal struggle was interrupted when he ran face first into Simms back. The man had stopped dead in his tracks, turning to look at him. Chris cursed silently and shot Simms a questioning stair.
"Something wrong?" Simms asked hollowly. "You've been muttering to yourself for an hour..." They both knew what was wrong, Chris was sure of it. He sighed and looked back in the direction they had come, though Big Town was far out of sight by that time.
"We have to go back," Chris muttered bitterly. He waited for the rant he knew he deserved. Something along the lines of having his ass kick for convincing the man to leave and then asking him to come back, or flat out refusing to turn around. Instead all he got was.
"I know," Simms told him, blowing out a similar sigh and smiling sadly. "Harden forgive me... I will find you,"
-( )-
Billy walked from house to house, followed by the woman named Red. The townspeople had returned to their houses during the calm before the storm but if he was going to fight off the Super Mutants he'd need all the help he could get. Red waited behind him each time he knocked on a door, giving him a pat on the back each time he was denied help by the very people he was trying to save.
"I'm sorry," The next woman said through her half opened door. "There's nobody here who can help... they already took my husband and son." He was expecting just such an answer. The Super Mutants hadn't left many men behind, and those that had managed to hide weren't exactly the fighting sort.
"Ok then," He mumbled, letting the woman close the door in his face. Red looked confused and sad but Billy supposed he did too. They walked to the next house slowly.
"I'm sorry about all this," She apologized miserably.
"Nothing to be sorry about on your part," Billy chuckled ironically. The sun was lowering in the sky, turning the sky orange as they reached the last few houses in the town without any promises of assistance. "Just bad luck I suppose," Red stopped beside him then, hugging the taller man around the waist.
"I'm so sorry you got pulled into this!" She was crying into his dust leather vest. Billy put his hand on her shoulder hesitantly, shocked at the sudden outburst. But he'd been taking care of Maggie for years, and had learned many lessons in calming people down when they got hysterical.
"Hey, hey," He whispered gently, lifting her trembling chin up so their eyes could meet. "I chose to stay, didn't get pulled into anything." She nodded her head, still holding him close. "Now lets go see if we can't find somebody worth carrying a gun, hu?" Finally she dropped her arms and took a step back.
"Ok, lets do it." Her voice had taken on resolve and she dried her eyes quickly. Satisfied with the situation Billy continued to the open doorway of the next house.
"Hello?" He called, not wanting to just step in, despite the lack of a door. One of the Super Mutants must had destroyed it during the attack. A warm light poured out of the open doorway, the yellow of the light bulbs contrasting strangely with the orange light of evening outside. Billy was just about to repeat himself when a voice called from the back of the house.
"Just a minutes, hold on!" The man the limped into the doorway was pale, whether from blood lose or nature Billy couldn't tell. But he was shirtless and had bandages wrapped around most of his stomach. His hair was a dirty tangle of blond pulled back behind his rather large ears. Though the man was leaning on the door frame he didn't look like he was about to fall over, at least not yet. His eyes were piercingly blue and radiated strength.
"I uh," Billy stammered under the lanky man's glare.
"You are one of them yes, who save the town?" His accent was thick but understandable and firm. Billy nodded his head dumbly, unsure of how to go about asking the man for anything. "You has come wanting help fighting off Super Mutants again, yes?" Another nod from Billy. "I am still able to lift gun, if propped where I can shoots steady." Billy blinked in surprise.
"You're sure you can fight like, well uh..."
"What this?" The gruff man wheezed, poking the blood dampened bandages with a grin printed on his sharp features. "Is nothing compared to stuff I get back in the fatherland!" Billy had heard of the place before, Germany, they'd called it. Before He could question further the man limped back inside, shouting back at him. "You and Red get back here, too many mines for me to carry myself!" Billy waited a moment, looking back at a smiling Red.
"Who is this guy?" He asked in wonder.
"That's old Victor Bauer, he's the only reason we lasted long enough for you to get here." She told him happily. He was probably the one shooting at the Super Mutants when they'd arrived, Billy thought as they followed Victor into the ruined house. The floor was littered with spent bullet casings and blood, which Billy and Red walked slowly over to avoid tripping. They found the wounded German in the back of the house, digging frantically through a closet in a barren room.
"I has mines all over place, old ones from military days!" He shouted happily, tossing what Billy hoped to god wasn't a mine out of the way and continuing to root through the closet. Red had fallen silent once more, nervously shrugging her shoulders at Billy's questioning look. "Ah here is what we are looking for!" He shouted triumphantly. He was holding what looked like a ball of wire and metal plates the size of two fists clenched together. Billy and Red stared blankly at the object.
"Is it a mine?" Billy asked hesitantly. Victor frowned, then switched to a smile in an instant. The effect was unnerving to say the least.
"Yes is one of a kind mine!" He joined them in the middle of the room, cradling the mine like a baby. "I make it from, er how you say... mini nuke!" Billy backed up a step at the proclamation.
"A mini nuke," He gasped with a wide eyed smile. "Hot damn, that'll blow those things to kingdom come!" Victor smiled widely, nodding his whole sale agreement.
"Yes my friend, I know is real reason for them to be attacking town," He leaned toward Billy conspiratorially. "They are wanting to copy plans of my special mine," Billy shared a smile with him, afraid of what might happen if he didn't. The man was clearly crazy as hell, but he was tough and had enough explosives to level a city.
"So let's get to work," Billy laughed, feeling a hell of a lot better about his odds now.
-( )-
He had no name, none of them did after they were reborn. But he was big and that made him the boss. The smaller Super Mutants crowded around him in the dark, waiting for him to tell them what to do. A short distance from where they hid the lights of the human town flickered in the night. The sight would have made him grin, if his mouth wasn't stuck in a permanent grin anyway. He always savored he moments before a good fight.
"When are we attacking?" One of the twelve Super Mutants under his command shouted in what passed for a whisper among the naturally loud race. He only growled and slapped the questioner hard enough to kill a mortal, sending it flying to the ground outside the circle.
"When I say we do," The other Mutants laughed as the punished one sat back up and regained his bearings. He was a smarter Mutant than most, but not so smart that he would be cast out like the other freaks. It had helped him stay alive in the hostile world they called home. "I don't want them hiding again, so we wait until they are all asleep. And this time we take them all alive!" They snickered at the last bit, remembering the high mortality rate of the last raid. It was a fun time for all, except for the humans. The laughter cut off as her raised his heavily armored hand. The light on the bridge had gone out, which only one thing. "It's time boys, move out!" They ran into the night with gusto, ready for the fun to come.
-( )-
"They're out there alright," Billy whispered calmly, his eye traveling through the scope of his trusty old magnum. He lay prostrate on the roof of the house closest to the entrance bridge, beyond which shapes were moving in the darkness. He had been right in having Red shut off the entrance lights, knowing the Super Mutants were waiting for a vulnerable target.
Below him Victor giggled maniacally, trying and failing to keep himself from showing his joy at the "special mine"s approaching test run. Chris shushed him hastily and went back to scanning the darkness outside the town wall. Finally a shape came forth, stepping into the scant light cast by the house lights behind the wall. It was followed by half a dozen more before the first one came halfway down the length of the small bridge, which coincidentally was where Victor had set the mine.
"Billy my friend," Victor shouted up, breaking the silence as the Mutants charged forth.
"Ya?"
"You may wish to close you eyes," Before he had a chance to comply a flash of all consuming white engulfed his view, blasting him backwards and nearly flinging him from the roof. He skidded to a halt on his back, a few inches from the edge of the building. The rumble was deafening, shaking the very foundation of the house on which he had perched. There were no sounds of wounded after the blast, only the crackle of burning debris and the howl of the wind stirred up by the small scale nuclear detonation.
Billy shook his head woozily, a piercing ring echoing in his head. He scrabbled down the side of the building slowed by the fact that he was still nearly blind from the dazzling light show. Victor emerged from the inside of the house and ran to Billy, jumping and hooting the whole way.
"Billy my friend, beautiful is it not!" He cried happily. Billy managed a smile before he went back to rubbing his eyes painfully. Nothing could have survived that blast, but he needed to be sure they were finished. It would be nice if it was that easy.
"Is it over?" Red asked once she had exited the house she had hidden in.
"I think so," Billy chuckled as he walked to the edge of the bridge. He had to shield his face from the heat of the still burning landscape outside the wall, which was also on fire in more than once place. Victor and Red joined him in watching the scenery blacken and crackle.
"A successful trial for special mine yes?" Billy didn't answer, his attention drawn to the other side of the fire.
"No way!" Billy gasped.
"You think nots?" Victor muttered before he too became aware of the towering figure crossing the flames. Red stumbled backwards at the sight of the Super Mutant marching through the flames as though they didn't even hurt. It was covered from head to toe in sheets of metal, a pilots bomber hat sitting atop its yellow head.
"Run!" Billy shouted, throwing an arm out in front of Red and Victor. "Go now!" He shouted, listening to the two pairs of feet flee into the town. It was a Super Mutant Master, one of the toughest son of a bitches out there. And Billy knew his chances were nill. The Mutant reached the town unscathed, its armor blackened from the crossing. "No way you survived the blast..." Billy stammered, his gun hand trembling. The Mutant paused and looked almost thoughtful as it drew the massive Super Sledge from its back.
"Waited in the back," It corrected him in its harsh voice. The diplomatic moment was dreamlike in its oddity.
"Oh," Billy murmured as the thing charged.
-( )-
His vision was still too damaged for him to do anything flashy but Billy still managed to fire off a couple of shots as he dove out of the way of the jack hammering Super Sledge. None of the shots managed to pierce the strong armor the thing wore but it had missed too, its powerful weapon sweeping across the space he'd occupied a moment before. He came up in a crouch aiming three shots at the Master's head. Two went wide of the target and vanished into the night sky. The third bounces off its helmet causing it to stagger but not doing and harm.
He had one bullet left in the gun, and his chances of reloading in combat were bad. The Master circled him slowly in the open road, learning from the first attack. It would bide its time Billy knew from the way it held its weapon steady but ready. The dance continued for a while, neither willing to give the other the advantage of a counter attack. But his plan was already working out, for his vision was slowly coming back to him.
"Hey my friend!" the strangely accented voice of Victor called from behind the Super Mutant Master. The thing turned around ,surprise making it forget its situation for a moment. The man's arm stuck out of the nearby building, tossing something into the air. The Mutant caught the flying object it its spare hand by reflex, staring down at it in confusion. Apparently it was not familiar enough with the shape of a frag grenade to distinguish it in the dark.
"WHAT'S," It was interrupted by the detonation of the explosive in its hand. Billy shielded his eyes in time this time around, shouting laughter over the crack of the blast. He was still chuckling when the smoke began to clear, until he saw the now one armed Mutant standing in the same spot and looking very pissed off. "THAT HURT!" It bellowed, charging Billy again.
Billy tried to fire his gun, but the moment of surprise had given the Mutant the edge. He only managed to put his final shot in the ground as the thing barreled into him with the outstretched end of the Super Sledge. The air left his lungs in a whoosh as he was thrown to the ground, rolling like a rag doll down the road. His gun flew out of his hand as he skidded to a halt, not that it would have done him any good in its empty state.
If his ribs weren't broken the mind numbing pain in his chest was lying to him. he rolled to his side, the tightness in his chest forcing a spasm from the depths of his lungs. All thoughts of the Master bearing down on him were forgotten as he groaned out his pain. The thing pushed him onto his back with the end of its weapon, the movement prompting another pained groan from Billy. Victor had vanished without a trace after his improvised surprise attack it seamed. The Mutant stared down at him with a face that was unreadable and inhuman.
"You," It growled at him, lifting a booted foot above his bleeding and bruised face. "Have put up a good fight..." Billy laughed with an agonized wheeze, ignoring the pain. It was just too funny to be complimented by a monster right before it squished him. The joke ended when a hail of bullets bounced off the things armor, more inaccurate than Billy's original attack. Both victim and monster looked to the entrance of the town, where two figures now stood. The one holding the smoking gun lowered it and pointed a wicked looking knife threateningly.
"My turn," Carrington called to the Mutant.
-( )-
The Mutant didn't have a name, but he was big and that had gotten him through life pretty painlessly. Of course he had never lost an arm before, but the pain was a distant an vague thing in the red haze of battle. The little man had been very tricky, and a good fight. But if looked like he wasn't going to be the first one to die that night. They had killed all of his war band, which would have been a cause for revenge in a human. But such attachments didn't exist amongst the Mutants. He was only in it for the fun of the challenge.
The man who had spoken up from behind him was tiny just like all humans, almost laughably so. But he showed no fear before him, and the Mutant respected that. He retracted his foot from over the fallen human's head, choosing not to end his life before the battle. The way he saw it, if the new humans were able to best him they deserved a chance to save the broken one. And if they couldn't... well then he would feast well that night.
Holding the Super Sledge was slightly more difficult one handed but he wasn't bothered too much. The hand would grow back a few days after he had eaten the last morsel on this human's bones. He walked toward the knife wielding human slowly, once again taking in the moment before battle. The Human with the rifle and dark skin crept around him slowly and without attacking. Once it was behind him it rushed to the fallen human and picked it up, rushing away from the battle. Saving others was a strange idea, but one it distantly remembered from its old life. Let them try, and if he won it wouldn't matter anyway.
"Come on!" The man yelled, darting forward with surprising speed and grace. The Mutant obliged, swinging the weapon in an upward curving side slash. In the split second the weapon obscured his eyes the human vanished, re-appearing only a foot away from it. Still staggering from the powerful swing the Mutant was too late to stop the counter. Faster than his eyes could follow the man jabbed the knife straight through his armor and into his gut, making a dozen little slits in it that leaked his blood.
"GOOD ONE!" It Cackled, taking an unexpected rout and kicking the human away with a huge metal clad foot. The man went airborne, managing to stay on his feet when he slid to a halt a few yards away. This man was indeed stronger than the last. There was a thin trail of blood running down the side of his mouth but other than that he seamed unhurt. Not many humans could even survive a kick from a Mutant as strong as him.
They charged in unison this time, The Mutant bringing the weapon low for another feint and kick. But at the last split second the human jumped, the motion turning into a flip as he went over the passing Mutant's shoulder. The Mutant tried to stop, and managed after a few stumbling steps. It turned and looked back at it's enemy with confusion printed on its face. Had the human done something to it? It must have, because his remaining hand dropped the hammer without him even feeling it. He finally became aware of the faint impression of pain in its neck.
Probing fingers reached up to its neck, forgetting about the human. They found an open wound, which he hadn't been aware he had received. And with a deep probe a human wouldn't have been able to stomach its finger found...
"This knife is special," The human told him calmly as his legs gave out. He was staring at the ground, and the puddle of his own blood accumulating there. His head wouldn't move as he commanded. "So sharp it can easily sever the trachea, jugular artery and most of the spinal cord in one slice..." He went one casually, wiping the knife off on the edge of his long coat. "As was the case with you,"
"Good one," The Mutant repeated in a wheeze, then its head met the ground and everything went black.
-( )-
Billy looked up from the bed he had been dropped on while he was still in a daze. Red was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at him with a worried frown. He couldn't manage any words in his condition, but a little smile twitched to his lips with some effort. She smiled back, taking his numb hand in hers carefully.
"We have a lot of stimpacks between the three of us, he'll be ok." A gruff voice told her from the other side of the room. Billy forced his neck to move slowly, turning toward the voice.
"L, Lucas?" He couched, his chest and neck on fire. The old sheriff stepped closer, joined by Carrington who looked grim as ever.
"Ya we're here Billy," He told him comfortingly. The words had hurt too much to try again, so Billy just starred at Carrington questioningly, knowing they would understand the question. Carrington nodded his head and went as close to smiling as Billy had ever seen.
"We changed out minds," He answered the unspoken question.
-( )- Writer's note: Thanks for reading this far, just a few things to mention. I had planned on letting Victor be a one shot character, but what do you (the dear readers) think? I think he has potential to remain with the group. Anyway let me know what you think before I post the next chapter and I'll decide then! Also A note about Big Town. According to the game the Lone Wanderer would have saved the town from the Super Mutant threat a few years ago, this is a separate and later incident involving a different group of Mutants. Thanks again for reading! Inquisitor Herron-( )-