Author's Note: Yes, I realize it has been about two weeks since an update. I'm REALLY sorry! I've been soo overloaded with school that it's ridiculous. I tried to make it up to you guys by giving you nine pages :D Thanks to eLRock for favoriting this story. I don't know if I thanked eLRock before, but I'm too lazy to check lol.
Wasteland Survival Part 9
Ray sighed in relief as The Citadel finally came into view. The trip had been a long one, made worse by Jericho's constant complaining and trying to fight with anyone they passed. Ray's mind kept replaying how close of a call it had been with a passing caravan.
...
He and Jericho had been walking along, Jericho being surprisingly quiet. They had crossed paths with a caravan. The caravaneer, a man in a suit who called himself Doc Hoff, was offering to show them what he had for sale. Ray began to replay the scene in his mind.
"How would you fine gentlemen like to see my wares? I specialize mainly in medical supplies and things of that nature," Doc Hoff had said, a cheesy salesman's smile plastered on his face.
Ray was about to respond, but Jericho took the small pause as a chance to start a little trouble. "I hate suits. And no, we don't want to see your medical horseshit," Jericho said nonchalantly, throwing his cigarette at the doctor's face. The caravan guard turned his attention to Jericho and trained the barrel of his 10mm submachine gun at him, his brow furrowed, his eyes daring Jericho to make a move. Jericho gave a small grin. "Do it. I dare ya," Jericho said with the same grin, fingering the combat shotgun on his back.
Ray grabbed Jericho by his arm and began to haul him away. "Sorry about my," Ray gave a small pause, trying to find the correct word to describe Jericho; they weren't exactly friends, "traveling partner," He finally decided, wincing inwardly at his poor choice of words. Doc Hoff didn't respond, instead giving a glare, wiping cigarette ashes from his face, then turning to lead the caravan away. The caravan guard gave a parting middle finger to them, then turned to follow Doc Hoff.
...
Ray was snapped out of his memories by Jericho suddenly breaking his silence. "Goddamn, is it hot enough? My feet hurt, can we take a break soon?"
Ray's jaw clenched. His last nerve was about to snap. He had never been so annoyed by anyone in his life. Jericho was very effective in battle and Ray barely had a chance to grab his own weapon before Jericho was laughing with glee as he splattered some poor sap's brains over the Wasteland's floor, but Ray was beginning to feel that he would rather take his chances of his own brains being splattered if he meant that he wouldn't have to deal with the old Raider anymore.
"So can we take a break or what? I need a drink," Jericho's rough voice snapped him out of his pondering.
"Can you shut the hell up? The Citadel is right there for Christ sake!" Ray roared, pointing at the large metal structure that was The Citadel.
"Well then, looks like the white knight has a bit of a temper," Jericho said tauntingly with his mischievous smirk.
Ray rolled his eyes and walked a little faster. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response."
"You just did," Jericho said with a grin, quickening his pace to match Ray's. Ray opened his mouth to snipe back at Jericho, but quickly snapped it shut again; arguing would get them nowhere.
...
Finally they reached the gate of The Citadel. Two people in matching suits of power armor with matching mini-guns and a sentry bot stood guard. One wore a helmet while the other's head, was bare, showing his chin length brownish-blond hair. Ray and Jericho approached, receiving looks of mistrust from the two Brotherhood guards.
"May I help you civilian?" The one without a helmet asked.
"Yes, I need to speak to Sentinel Lyons. It's very important," Ray said.
"Sorry. I can't let you in."
Jericho stepped forward threateningly. "Look here asshole, I don't care about your rules and regulations. This is a life and death situation!" Jericho shouted at the man.
Ray shot Jericho a glare. "I'm sorry for my companion's behavior! I helped Sentinel Lyons at GNR and I really need her help," Ray begged.
The man sighed. "I'll let you in, but I'm not taking her to you right away. You tell me what you need to say to her and if she knows you, she'll come to you."
Ray sighed in annoyance. Why did everything always have to be so complicated? "Fine."
"Also, I'll have to check you for weapons before I can let you in," The man explained.
"Now why the hell do you have to do that? Do you really think we're dumb enough to shoot up a place full of you power armored maniacs?" Jericho snarled, his voice dripping with irritation.
"You'd be surprised," He responded with a roll of his eyes as he came forward to frisk them.
...
Soon, Ray and Jericho's weapons were tossed in a small pile near the other guard.
"Damn. You done now, or do you want to give us a cavity search?" Jericho growled sarcastically.
"Any more comments like that and you'll get one with a Power Fist," He snapped back.
Jericho gave him a dirty look, but remained silent. The guard reciprocated, then led them through the gate of The Citadel.
It was like Underworld all over again, but instead of hundreds of milky, radiation ravaged eyes turning to Ray, it was hundreds of eyes that were hidden by power helmets and some that weren't hidden. The ones that weren't hidden shot Ray and Jericho looks of distrust. Ray's stomach gave an uneasy flip and he awkwardly looked around, not sure of where to cast his gaze. Jericho shot glares back at whoever stared.
"Who are you and what do you have to say?" Their escort asked.
"Tell her that Ray from GNR is here and I need her help taking out Talon Company," Ray responded.
As Ray finished, the man threw back his head and laughed as if Ray had just told the funniest joke in the world. "Do you really think Sentinel Lyons is going to care about your little piss-ant problem? We have bigger problems with the Enclave and the Muties right now."
"Look, can you please just ask her? I really helped out the Brotherhood at GNR," Ray pleaded.
The man wiped tears from his eyes. "Sure. Just don't be surprised if she can't help," He replied gruffly, turning and leaving them standing in the square.
Ray shifted his weight from foot to foot. He could feel their distrustful glares burning into him. This was worse than Underworld. At least in Underworld he wasn't surrounded by heavily trained, heavily armed killing machines.
"Would you quit squirming? You're making me want to scream that you're a spy for the Enclave," Jericho said, turning a mischievous look on Ray.
"Well, how the hell are you so calm? If you haven't noticed, we're surrounded by Brotherhood who will end us if we even move too quickly. These guys are more paranoid than a Jet junkie about to run out of their stash!" Ray hissed.
Jericho simply shrugged. "I've been through worse," He replied, putting a hand in his pocket to retrieve a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. There were several sharp intakes of air and several Brotherhood leveled their laser rifles at him. As Jericho held up the pack of cigarettes they slightly relaxed, but continued to nervously eye him as he pulled out a cigarette, lit it, then slowly returned the pack to his pocket.
"God! Are you trying to get us killed you jackass?" Ray frantically spat, watching the Brotherhood turn even more attention to them.
"Chill out. Everything's all right," He replied, exhaling a small plume of smoke and shrugging.
...
Finally, Sarah Lyons walked out, shadowed by the man who had escorted Ray and Jericho inside. Ray was surprised to see that she wore a typical Wasteland Wanderer outfit with a duffel bag slung over her shoulder, instead of her Lyons Pride armor. She smiled as she approached, the man shadowing her walking past them to stand guard at the front gate once again.
Ray opened his mouth to greet her but was – as always – cut off by Jericho. "Well, hel-lo kitty cat," Jericho said lecherously, his eyes slowly examining her form.
Sarah's smile faded, shock crossing over her face. She let her duffel bag slide off of her shoulder and onto the ground with a heavy thump. "What did you just call me?" She asked lowly, her cheeks flushing an angry red.
"Oh God," was all Ray could manage.
"Ooh, the kitty cat's got claws! I like that," Jericho said, grinning down at her. Faster than Ray could imagine, Sarah swung her booted foot easily through the air, roundhouse kicking Jericho right in the face.
Jericho hit the ground hard, smacking flat on his back. His hands flew to his face, holding his nose. His fingers quickly became stained with crimson. "That's the second time this month that I've gotten dropped," He said flatly, although his face twisted with pain.
"I didn't realize you could count," Sarah responded, grabbing her bag from the ground and slinging it back on her shoulder.
Ray couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. "That was awesome! You have to show me how to do that!"
Sarah gave a light chuckle. "I would be more than willing if he's up for more practice," She responded, watching Jericho trying to climb to his feet with an amused look.
"Goddamn it; for a small girl, you kick hard," Jericho grunted, finally managing to stand.
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Please don't tell me that you're actually friends with this guy," She pleaded more than asked, looking at Ray.
"Not exactly. He's volunteered to help me take out Talon Company," Ray said, glancing at Jericho.
"And may I ask how the hell you got tangled up with those sorry excuses for mercenaries?" Sarah asked, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow.
"Nothing's concrete, but I'm pretty sure this guy named Burke is pissed at me for messing up his plot to blow up Megaton. I think he works for Allistair Tenpenny," Ray tried to explain.
"Great," Sarah muttered.
"Yeah. So, do you have the time to help us? I thought that you were really busy with the Enclave and Muties?" Ray asked.
"Well, Star Paladin Cross volunteered to take over the Lyons Pride while I'm away and, after much convincing, my dad, the Elder, finally decided to let me go. Plus Talon Company is a problem for the Wastes, they're just not exactly at the top of our list right now. The Enclave and Muties are definitely more harmful to the entire Capital Wasteland, thus making them top priority for the Brotherhood," Sarah quickly explained.
"Okay, so where should we start? I'm not exactly sure of how to take on an army," Ray sighed, his shoulders slumping with discouragement.
"Not bringing any power armor? That would really help our chances," Jericho asked Sarah.
She shook her head. "No. Being inconspicuous would really help right now. Power armor tends to stand out and attract a little too much attention."
"Well shit. Anyway, we are going to need somewhere to stay to plan things out. How about we head back to Megaton?" Jericho offered, his voice slightly muffled by his hand placed over his mouth and nose, trying to slow the flow of blood.
"I don't want to head back to Megaton. They know where I live and they will probably hurt people there to get to me," Ray responded, his voice sounding worried.
"They attacked you in your home? That's odd. Even for the Talons. Talon Company may act like bad asses but they are cowards who wait until you're alone and away from major settlements to attack you. If they attacked you at home they were either inexperienced or they really mean business," Sarah said, confusion coloring her tone.
Jericho huffed, his face twisting up angrily. "Then where the fuck are we supposed to stay? We just got started and already we are stuck!"
"Calm down. We will find a place. There are tons of people surviving out in the Wastes. We'll find an old building or something," Sarah said, rolling her eyes at Jericho's reaction to the situation.
"I know several safe houses, but none are nearby," Ray said, pulling out his worn map and looking at the scattered dots. The nearest one was the thrift store where he had stayed a few weeks ago, but there was no way he was willing and able to go trekking back through DC.
"Looks like we'll have to do some scouting. We need a place away from settlements or large groups of people, and most importantly, a place that looks abandoned. We are trying to keep a low profile after all," Sarah explained.
"Great. More damn wandering," Jericho growled, rolling his eyes sarcastically.
"And your sterling personality is going to make it so much funner," Sarah said sarcastically with a grin.
"Nice to know you guys are best friends," Ray said jokingly.
Sarah shot Jericho a glare and he reciprocated with a mischievous grin. Ray turned to lead the group out of The Citadel. "After you my lady," Jericho said to Sarah, grinning broadly and waving his left arm after Ray.
"God, this is going to be a long trip," Sarah groaned as she moved to follow Ray.
...
The three had been walking for awhile, an awkward silence cloaked over them as the sun took its bow behind the horizon. They were approaching a quite small building that Ray had spotted hovering on the horizon, neighboring the setting sun. They approached it now, realizing that it appeared to be the remains of an old hotel. There were four doors on top and four on bottom. The lower doors were blocked by rubble that used to be the concrete walkway of the top floor.
"There's still a little walkway left. We can climb up and stay in those rooms," Jericho pointed out.
"Good thinking," Sarah mumbled as she approached the rubble and looked up at the rooms.
"You need a boost? I wouldn't mind lifting you up there," Jericho offered in a suggestive tone, his mischievous grin darting across his lips.
"Please Gramps, you'd probably throw out your back," Sarah shot back, jumping and grabbing what was left of the railing, agilely pulling herself up. Ray chuckled slightly at their back and forth. Jericho and Sarah had hardly spoken and each time they did it had been incredibly sarcastic.
Ray approached the walkway next, jumping and grabbing onto the ruin and hauling himself up, though not quite as agilely as the Sentinel.
Lastly, Jericho approached, jumping and missing the walkway the first time. He grabbed it on the next try. His legs kicked through the air as he struggled to pull himself up. His arms shook with the strain and his face turned a bright scarlet. Finally, with much grunting and swearing, he managed to haul himself up.
"God damn," He panted, gasping for breath. Ray and Sarah burst out laughing at his struggle. "Shut the fuck up!" He panted at them, face turning even redder, which only made them laugh harder.
"Well, that was entertaining," Sarah said, wiping tears from her eyes as she struggled to stop laughing, then turned to the nearest door. She turned the knob and pushed the door open. The three were instantly hit with an incredibly foul smell. They had all smelled some terrible things, but this was definitely one of the worst.
"Aw! What the fuck is that?" Jericho howled as he recoiled from the smell, nearly falling off the remains of the walkway.
"That," Sarah said, one hand covering her mouth and nose while the other was busy pointing at the dead body as Ray gagged and hurriedly scooted further down the walkway. The body had clearly been there for a while. A few Radroaches skittered around the body, pulling at loose strips of flesh. The body's clothes were tattered and filthy, covered with dried blood. The skin looked as though it had begun to decompose, a few bones were showing through the ruined flesh of the fingers. A Radroach stopped eating at the fingers to turn and hiss at them.
"I'm sure none of us want to clean that up. Let's check the other rooms," She said, her face twisting with disgust as she slammed the door.
...
The other rooms were equally disgusting. One held a chem addict who appeared to have recently overdosed, the next room's roof was caved in, the floor covered with rubble and mold, and the last room contained a Giant Radscorpion for some reason. Ray gasped at the massive Radscorpion and quickly slammed the door just as it turned around and lashed at them with its massive stinger. The stinger hit the door a few times, making solid thwocking sounds before finally stopping.
"Great. So this place is just as much of a shit hole as it looks. What now?" Jericho sighed, looking over at Ray.
"We could try to clear the rubble from the rooms downstairs," Ray offered.
"I"m in. Let's do it," Sarah responded, jumping headfirst from the walkway and landing agilely in a roll that brought her gracefully to her feet.
"Show off," Jericho shouted at her. "I can do the same thing!" With that, he jumped headfirst from the walkway, slamming face-first into the dirt and landing in a heap. Ray burst out laughing, as did Sarah. Jericho climbed to his feet with a huff, blushing deeply as he wiped his face and arms off. "Shut your fucking faces!" He shouted, causing more raucous laughter from the Wastelander and the Sentinel.
...
Jabsco walked towards Burke's room, an act he had performed too many times to count. Unlike all the other times, he felt a heavy knot in his stomach. He had never had to inform Burke of failure before, and he was certain that his failure would set off Burke's volatile anger. Burke had a nasty temper. He knew that for certain.
Jabsco would never forget the time they were talking about a contract on the balcony and a guard had brought up Burke's requested Vodka. The stupid guard had managed to stumble and spill the drink on Burke; Jabsco had never seen someone so angry in his life. After unleashing a torrent of curses at the guard, Burke had loosened his tie and told the guard to go. Much to the surprise of Jabsco, Burke took his tie off and wrapped it around the guard's neck quicker than he could imagine. Burke's face twisted with sadistic glee as he strangled the guard, the fine silk of the tie not even straining with the pressure. Soon, Burke had let the guard's lifeless body drop to the hard ground of the balcony, calmly retying his tie around his own neck as if he had not just strangled a man with it.
A tingle shot down Jabsco's spine at the recollection. He had seen his own mercs do some crazy things, hell he had done some crazy things, but Burke was the only man who seemed so genuinely satisfied as he killed in his sadistic way. Jabsco struggled to push the memory back down into the recesses of his mind as he pushed open the door to Burke's suite. Burke sat in a comfy-looking faded pink-red chair, a book cradled in his hand.
"Ah, there you are. So, have you brought me his head?" Burke asked excitedly, his dark eyes lighting up behind his sunglasses.
Jabsco squirmed under his excited stare. "Well, um... I sent a team after him, but, um, he's still... alive," Jabsco whispered, his eyes looking everywhere but at Burke.
"WHAT?" Burke roared. He cocked his arm back, sending the thick book flying at Jabsco's head. The book hit with a heavy thunk, sending Jabsco's combat helmet crashing to the floor. He was out of the chair and gripping the chest plate of Jabsco's armor, yelling in his face with his teeth bared in about two seconds.
"YOU BASTARD! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN THEY FAILED?" He roared, spittle flying from his lips and hitting Jabsco in the face. Jabsco sputtered, racking his brain for an answer. Burke shoved him roughly backwards, causing him to stumble to the ground.
Jabsco hit the ground hard. His eyes were wide with shock as his feet scrabbled at the floor, pushing himself backwards and away from Burke. His back hit a file cabinet, bringing his retreat to a halt. Burke didn't move towards him, nor did he say a word. He ripped his fedora off and let it fall to the ground. He paced back and forth, his hands grasping at his shaven head. "You damned moron. I'm completely lost as to how you managed to fuck up such a simple task," Burke suddenly hissed, halting his pacing and scooping up his fedora.
"You will kill him, or I will kill you," Burke spat coldly. Even through the sunglasses, Jabsco could feel Burke's eyes burning into him. Burke walked back to his chair. Instead of sitting down, he reached into the cushion, pulling out a combat knife. Jabsco couldn't see what Burke was doing, but he seized the opportunity to quickly jump to his feet.
"I'll be sure to do better next time, Sir," Jabsco quickly said, trying to save a little face. Burke turned and approached him, one hand slightly behind his back. Jabsco noticed this and looked into Burke's face, hoping to read his emotions. Burke kept a perfect poker face, no trace of any emotion anywhere. Suddenly his left arm flicked out, grabbing Jabsco by his wrist.
"What?!" Jabsco cried with surprise. Burke's right arm produced the combat knife. A sadistic grin was now stretched across his mouth. He slammed Jabsco's hand against the filing cabinet, splaying out his fingers. Jabsco cried out, trying to pull his hand away, but Burke was surprisingly strong. Burke suddenly brought the combat knife across Jabsco's pinkie finger, cleaving it off.
Jabsco let out a cry, cradling his hand to his chest, blood gushing from the stump of his pinkie. "Next time you come here, this Ray better be dead, or you'll go through more pain than losing a pinkie," Burke growled at Jabsco, wiping the blood off on the merc leader's armor. Burke grabbed his book from the floor and calmly headed back to his chair.
"Leave. Now. You better not have gotten blood on my floor." Jabsco gritted his teeth with the pain. He cradled his hand to his chest and grabbed his finger off the floor with the other. He grabbed his prized combat helmet and ran from the room, not even bothering to shut the door behind him, and dashed to the elevator, mashing the down button with his unhurt hand.
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope to see your wonderful reviews! I'm not sure when the next chapter will be uploaded, but please, bear with me.