Author's Note: Hellooo Capital Wasteland! This is Three Dog and you're listening to Galaxy News Radio! Bringing you the truth, no matter how bad it hurts. No wait, that's not right. This is TBM1...Dog? And you're reading Wasteland Survival! Okay, lame intro is lame. And I'll never do that again...

Thanks to Token Cylon for favoriting this story and thanks to everyone's continued readership :D This story would be nothing without you guys. Also, I released my first one-shot called Bye Bye Butch, so yay!

Speaking of one-shots, I'm thinking about writing one about the day Ray's parents were killed by the Yao Guai. Does that sound interesting? It would give him a little more of a back story and we could know some more about his parents and his life before being a wanderer. Anyways, enjoy and review :D

Wasteland Survival Part 11

Ray and Sarah crouched low behind the concrete highway divider that made up their cover. Jericho was laughing loudly as he ran between the different forms of cover, throwing taunts and wildly firing his Combat Shotgun at the Raiders that had decided to call this particular stretch of highway home. Sarah and Ray were frustrated with his recklessness as they were more calculating, but they couldn't deny that he somehow made his wild technique work.

Ray carefully leaned around the corner and aimed at a Raider with a large bright blue Mohawk. He had planned for a head shot, but his bullet decided to take its own course and slam into the Raider's shoulder. The Raider let out a small cry of surprise, but was cut short as buckshot from Jericho's Combat Shotgun burst most of his head into chunks of gore. Jericho let out a loud bark of mocking laughter, followed by more shotgun fire. Sarah leaned around the corner opposite Ray. In her sights was a thin looking woman with dirty skin and most of her hair shaved off except for the occasional dark patch of what hair remained. She held a Frag Grenade between her filthy hands, ready to pull the pin.

Sarah slowly let out her breath and squeezed the trigger. The red hot laser zipped through the air, striking the woman right in the face like a small red lightning bolt. The woman let out a wail of horrible pain as the laser covered most of her face with a nasty black burn. Sarah fired again, this shot hitting the same target, killing her this time. The woman fell face first to the ground with a resounding thump, sending up a small plume of stirred dust.

Ray leaned back around his corner and looked for a target. The sounds of the small war zone had disappeared. He could see no more Raiders. He and Sarah stood up from the makeshift cover and went to regroup with Jericho.

"Let's check out the camp further up the on-ramp. I've got a feeling we're not alone yet," Ray said as he turned to lead his friends towards the small, hastily constructed walls that made up the Raider's shelters. They only had about three walls to each small shanty. They didn't even have roofs. This was the typical Raider shelter, add the graffiti and mutilated bodies that made up their macabre décor and you had the full package.

The place definitely didn't feel dead yet. A shadow ducked unbeknownst around the corner behind the trio. Ray spun around, following his instinct, his eyes scanning the area. He slightly furrowed his brow, putting away his 10mm and retrieving his machete. He approached the corner, walking slowly. As he jumped around the corner and jabbed forward with the machete, the shadow disappeared. "Come on out you little bitch! Your buddies are dead and you're next!" Jericho taunted, followed by his mocking laughter as he pulled out his shotgun. Ray gave Jericho a silencing look and continued up the on-ramp.

Ray held his machete at the ready as they scoured the camp. They walked through the few small shanties and stopped near the top of the on-ramp. Ray glanced down at the fall below. The highway had crumbled here, a single car dangling precariously on the edge. The ruins of the fallen part of the highway lay below, several cars were buried under the rubble with various parts sticking up out of the debris.

"What a horrible way to die," Ray remarked. Suddenly, the shadow leaped from a perch atop the nearest shanty. The thin man flew through the air, his shoulder length, grungy-looking hair blown by the sudden movement. He landed easily on Jericho's back.

"What in the fuck!" Jericho barked as he stumbled, dropping his Combat Shotgun off the highway. It fell far below and audibly broke. The man scratched at Jericho's face and kicked at his kidneys. Jericho stumbled and nearly fell off the highway when the man suddenly began to pummel his shaved head with heavy yet bony fists. Sarah struggled to line up a shot while Ray rushed at them with his machete. He swung at the Raider, embedding the edge of the machete deeply in his back.

The Raider's wide, bloodshot eyes turned to Ray. He obviously wasn't fazed by the pain as he quickly swung his heavy boot into Ray's stomach then face in two fluid movements. Ray nearly puked when he was kicked in the stomach, but it was quickly forgotten as new pain ripped across his brow. Ray fell to his knees, his hands pressed to his brow.

He shook the pain away and grabbed his machete again, swinging a heavy blow at the man. It struck and once again the man didn't react. He howled with anger and swung his boot rapidly, kicking Ray in the head several times. Ray fell on his back, stars dancing beyond his eyelids, his world slowly going black.

Sarah let out a gasp as Ray was knocked out by the man who was unfazed by the deep cuts that poured blood down his back and dripped onto the hot pavement. The boots obviously had something in them to make them heavier, that was for sure. She fired, the hot laser searing the man's back. The drug crazed Raider howled with anger and pummeled Jericho some more. Jericho fell to his knees, the Raider jumping off and landing beside him. Jericho aimed a wide right hook for the Raider's knees, but the punch was dodged by a swift jump. The Raider delivered a heavy kick to the back of Jericho's head, causing him to fall sideways, cracking his head on the ground.

Sarah stood alone against the Raider. He turned to her, his eyes shifting crazily in his filthy head, his arms twitching and scratching at each other. His cheek muscle gave a few twitches, while his blood encrusted, blackened nails scratched roughly at his track-mark covered arms. Sarah was shocked at the number of track-marks. They dotted his arms like a macabre game of Tic Tac Toe. They even dotted his bare, thin torso.

"I'm going to have fun with you and your friends. Especially you, so pretty. I wonder if you'll still be so pretty with no skin?" The Raider said quickly in a low voice as he approached Sarah with a twisted and blackened grin plastered on his face. Instead of responding, Sarah leveled her Laser Rifle at his face. She quickly squeezed the trigger, sending a searing hot beam into the Raider's face. He howled in pain this time, his hands gripping at his burnt face.

"You fucking cunt! You'll pay for that!" The Raider snarled, letting go of his face and rushing at her. Sarah saw this coming and quickly side-stepped the move, allowing the Raider to slam into a grimy table covered with various alcohols and instruments used for torture. The bottles broke, the Raider landing on his stomach in the glass. A bloody lawn mower blade impaled his shoulder. He stood up, bits of broken glass stuck in his skin. He howled with rage at the lawn mower blade that stuck out of his shoulder before he grabbed it and ripped it out with a sick wet sound. He rushed Sarah again as she quickly fired at him. The shots hit him, but didn't slow his barreling advance. He slammed into her with a battle cry, taking them both to the ground. He gripped the blade with both hands and roughly stabbed it towards her face. Sarah grabbed his wrists at the last moment, holding the blade back. The Raider was surprisingly strong for his thin stature.

The Raider had to be addicted to the most volatile drugs. Med-X would cause his numbness to pain, Psycho his uncontrollable rage, and Buffout his strength. The tip of the blade caressed the tip of Sarah's nose. 'No. I'm not dying this way. Not at the hands of some fucking junkie Raider who will do God knows what to Ray and Jericho if I die.' Sarah thought. She suddenly brought her knee up, heavily hitting the Raider in the crotch. The sudden force pushed him forward and off of her. He tumbled over her head, the blade clattering away near her hand.

Sarah seized the blade and jumped to her feet at the same time as the Raider. They stood a few feet from one another, like two pugilists before a fight. "You're clever, aren't you? You'd make a good Raider. Why don't you join me? This was my gang after all. I'm a pretty good leader," The Raider offered with a disgusting grin, blood dripping from his lip and to the ground.

"Well, they're all dead now, and you'll join them soon," Sarah snarled in response.

"Such a waste. Oh well, you'll still be fun to torture I guess," The Raider responded with a snarl that bared his blackened teeth. He let out a growl like a rabid dog and rushed her again. She charged him as well. She rammed the lawn mower blade into his stomach, grabbing onto his thin shoulder for leverage. The Raider let out a gasp as the blade rammed into his organs. All the Med-X in the world couldn't help you ignore that pain. His hand weakly clasped at Sarah, who grit her teeth and shoved the blade further. His mouth was trying to form words, but they failed him. Sarah gave him a final rough shove and sent him tumbling off the on-ramp. He fell through the space, his eyes now enraged again, his mouth twisted into a grimace, his hands clasping at the empty space as his arms and legs flailed uselessly. He hit the broken concrete, fresh crimson staining it.

Sarah glanced at the Raider's broken and bloody body, then turned back to help her friends.

...

As the three sat back at the hotel, they looked over their loot from the Raiders' camp.

"I don't know what that last dude was on, but I'm surprised you could take him after he handed me and Ray our asses on a silver platter," Jericho said to Sarah with a grin, nursing a bottle of Whiskey while his hand held his aching head.

Ray grimaced. Sarah let out a small laugh. "Meh, it was easy enough," Sarah said with a small shrug.

"He just caught me by surprise is all. I'd have kicked his ass any other way. What's your excuse, Goody Two Shoes?" Jericho said, glancing at Ray.

"Well, that guy was fast. He caught us all by surprise. I've never seen a Raider move like that before," Ray said.

Jericho grunted in response, leaning back on his bed and taking a heavy shot from the Whiskey bottle. Ray rolled his eyes and looked down at their spoils. They had collected a Chinese Assault Rifle (which Jericho had already called dibs on) , three Frag Grenades, a Nail Board, a battered Missile Launcher, another 10mm Pistol, and a nearly decayed Hunting Rifle.

Sarah was busily fixing the Chinese Assault Rifle, 10mm, and Hunting Rifle. The Frag Grenades were tucked in Ray's backpack and the Baseball Bat, Nail Board, and Missile Launcher would be sold. The Missile Launcher was too big to haul around and the Baseball Bat and Nail Board were very common and not smart to use unless you were very desperate.

Ray glanced at his companions and finally decided to read. Ray was lucky enough that reading was a skill that had been passed down through his mother's family. His mother had then taught his father and finally they taught him. He pulled out his battered copy of "Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor" and began to read while his compatriots went about their own tasks.

...

About two hours later, Sarah had all the weapons repaired and the three went outside for a test shot. They stood about thirty feet from the bottles that Sarah had set up, their weapons at the ready. Jericho went first with his Chinese Assault Rifle, easily shattering five of the bottles with his first five shots. Ray went next, awkwardly holding the Hunting Rifle and missing all of the bottles. Ray looked down at the rifle, feeling embarrassed. He couldn't even shoot some fucking bottles with a Hunting Rifle. He felt like turning the gun on himself.

"Well, that was embarrassing," Jericho remarked, a mocking tone in his voice.

"I'm better with a pistol," Ray snapped back, glaring daggers at Jericho. Jericho made an angry cat noise and went back to fiddling with his Chinese Assault Rifle. Sarah stepped forward, a thoughtful look on her face.

"One of the problems is your form. It's all wrong. No offense," She said, gesturing for Ray to hand her the rifle, "This is how you're supposed to hold a rifle," Sarah explained after Ray handed her the Hunting Rifle. She stood with her feet apart, one slightly in front of the other. The stock of the gun planted firmly against her shoulder, her other hand firmly grasping the grip near the barrel of the weapon. Ray gave understanding nods as she explained, comparing her professional form to his own inexperienced one. Ray had had the stock under his arm, his feet a little too close together. Completely the opposite of the correct form.

On the next trial, Ray copied Sarah's form and was a little more comfortable holding the Hunting Rifle. He even managed to hit one of the bottles. As the bottle shattered Ray let out a cry of victory while Sarah clapped and Jericho rolled his eyes and said, "'Bout time."

Ray practiced holding the rifle and getting used to the form. He would've practiced shooting, but the rifle hardly had any ammo. After they had some Mole Rat meat roasted over their little campfire, they headed back into the hotel room.

...

They lay in their beds, gentle moonlight cascading into the room from the spaces between the curtains. Small snores came from Jericho, Sarah let out peaceful coos of sleep, and Ray lay awake. He simply couldn't sleep, he was too worried about Burke and Talon Company. They were always there, lurking in the shadows in the back of his mind. He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts by voices outside of the hotel room's door. They were deep and simple, the voices of Super Mutants.

Ray could see their massive, sickly yellow bodies standing outside the window. "I saw fire here. Humans are here!" One of the Mutants insisted.

"Then where humans? You too stupid to find humans!" A second Mutant growled at the first.

"I saw fire! Wait," The Mutant heavily sniffed at the air, "I smell humans too. Close."

Ray sharply pulled air into his lungs. The shadows moved closer to the door. Ray quickly and silently crawled out of his bed and towards Sarah's sleeping form. He shook her shoulder, stirring her from sleep. "What?" Sarah grumbled, swatting his hand away. Ray said nothing and pointed to the shapes that spoke outside of their room. Now wide awake, Sarah grabbed her Laser Rifle and crawled out of her bed to crouch beside Ray. They made their way over to Jericho. He grumbled a little louder than Sarah, but quickly went silent when he saw the shapes of the Super Mutants.

"Hear that? That humans!" A third Mutant yelled, its voice deeper than the other two.

"That sounded like an Overlord," Sarah whispered, her eyes locked on the door.

"A what?" Ray responded.

"A Super Mutant Overlord. They are basically commanders of the other Muties," Sarah explained quietly. Suddenly the Mutants began pounding on the door.

"FOUND YOU!" One of them bellowed. The three leveled their weapons at the door, waiting for the inevitable. The door flew off its hinges and slammed into the room from a final blow by the Overlord's Super Sledge. "Stop hiding! Can smell your fear." The Mutants entered the room, barely able to fit through the door. From their hiding spot underneath Jericho's bed, Ray, Sarah, and Jericho watched the Super Mutants' massive feet trample the carpet. The Mutants looked about the room and the bathroom, throwing open the fridge and cabinet, shouting taunts and telling them to come out.

"You so stupid. There no humans here! You waste time!" The Overlord bellowed.

There was a sound of something hitting tough flesh, most likely the Super Sledge, followed by a Mutant cry of pain. "Look under bed! Smell strong by there," The other Mutant responded in a voice colored with pain. The three held their breath as the Overlord's massive feet stomped over to the bed. Its sickly yellow fingers appeared on the frame, then the bed was tossed aside like a child's toy. The trio let out gasps as a look of satisfaction appeared on the Overlord's disgusting face.

"FOUND YOU!" It bellowed as it pulled out its Super Sledge. It gripped the massive metal hammer in both fists, swinging it downward with incredible strength. The three managed to jump out of the way in the brink of time, Ray and Jericho rolling to the sides and Sarah darting between its legs. As she moved, Sarah drew her Combat Knife, slashing a deep cut into the Overlord's tree trunk leg. It let out a cry of pain and rage as thick blood leaked down its leg. The Overlord spun around, swinging the massive Super Sledge in a downward stroke at Sarah. She dove to the side, nearly crashing into the other Mutants. The Sledge struck one of the other Mutant's feet, causing him to bellow in pain. Sarah ran out of the hotel room, her Laser Rifle firing wildly at the pursuing Overlord.

Jericho fired a burst of gunfire from his Chinese Assault Rifle into the chest of the Mutant who had his foot smashed by the Overlord. The Mutant let out a loud snarl and grabbed Jericho by his arm. "Get off me you stupid ugly fuck!" Jericho snarled at the Mutant, batting it with his rifle. The Mutant bellowed at him and threw him effortlessly out the door, grabbing the Nail Board that it dropped when the Overlord had smashed its foot and following Jericho out of the room.

Ray looked with panic at the sneering face of the Mutant that he was now alone with. "Give up and we won't hurt you too bad," The Mutant snarled at him as it raised the blood encrusted Nail Board it held. Ray darted past the Mutant, grabbing the pin out of the Frag Grenade that hung at its waist. The Mutant let out a cry of anger and swung the Nail Board at Ray. Ray dove outside, feeling the air whistling from the board as it narrowly missed the back of his head. The Mutant quickly grabbed the Frag Grenade from its waist and threw it after Ray. The grenade landed behind the Overlord instead before exploding and peppering its back with shrapnel. Luckily, the explosion missed Ray and his friends. Ray hauled himself to his feet and began firing his 10mm wildly at the Super Mutant that emerged from the hotel room.

The Overlord swung the Super Sledge in a strong horizontal strike at Sarah. She ducked and fired her Laser Rifle into its thick legs. The Overlord shouted in rage at the top of its lungs. It swung the Super Sledge in a vertical strike. Sarah rolled out of the way, firing at the Overlord's face. She was growing tired. The damn thing just wouldn't die! She was breathing heavily, soaked in sweat, her ponytail loose causing several strands of her hair to hang loosely. She couldn't keep this up much longer.

Jericho fired another burst of gunfire into the Mutant's torso. The Mutant howled and quickly swung the Nail Board. He tried to dodge the blow, but wasn't quick enough; the Nail Board caught the back of his legs. "You fuck!" Jericho howled at the Mutant. The Mutant let out a burst of laughter that sounded more like someone choking. Jericho ignored the pain that ripped through his legs and fired into the face of the laughing Mutant. The Mutant stopped laughing as the gunfire practically tore its head apart, killing it instantly. "Timber!" Jericho shouted with a bark of mocking laughter as the Super Mutant hit the ground like a sack of bricks.

Ray fired a shot into the Mutant's kneecap, shattering it. The Mutant fell to one knee and bellowed pain mixed with rage at Ray. Despite its injury, the Mutant continued to swing the Nail Board at Ray, a little sloppier this time. Ray jumped over the swing and fired a sloppy shot into the Mutant's neck. Suddenly Jericho came barreling out of nowhere. He jumped, planting his feet against the Mutant's chest and riding it to the ground like it was a surfboard. The Mutant sloppily swung the Nail Board at Jericho, the swing missing completely. Jericho shoved his Chinese Assault Rifle into the face of the Mutant, firing a long burst of bullets into its skull. "YOU LIKE THAT?" Jericho howled at the Mutant. After the Mutant's head was obliterated, he leapt off the Mutant's chest and onto the concrete.

Sarah fired into the Overlord's charred face again after barely managing to dodge a swing from the Super Sledge. The Overlord seemed weaker, but not greatly phased by the shots from her Laser Rifle. Jericho went darting past, firing his Chinese Assault Rifle into the Overlord. "Come get me you stupid fucking freak!" He taunted. The Overlord howled with rage as it watched Jericho run past. It suddenly grabbed Sarah by her arm and flung her after the ex-Raider. She missed him as she soared through the air, instead slamming roughly into the side of a burned out car.

Jericho led the Overlord away from Sarah, firing round after round into the Overlord's chest and head. He suddenly stopped running and dodged the huge swing that the Overlord had aimed for him. As Jericho fired at and dodged the Overlord, Ray snuck behind it and ripped the pin out of the Frag Grenade the hung at its waist. The Overlord didn't notice this, but it noticed Ray when it nearly stepped on him. "GET AWAY STUPID HUMAN!" The Overlord howled as it kicked him aside like a dog. He landed several feet away and pain exploded through Ray's torso and knocked the air out of his lungs. He coughed and sputtered, struggling to bring more air into his lungs.

The Frag Grenade at the Overlord's waist exploded, blasting it in two. The Overlord was miraculously still alive as it looked down at its severed waist. Its bloody entrails lay against the hot concrete, blood leaking from its disgusting mouth. The Overlord writhed in agony, coughing and spitting out blood. Jericho approached its torso, a sneer on his face. "Can't be..." The Overlord said weakly, in clear disbelief of its own death as it weakly reached an oversized yellow hand toward Jericho.

"Too bad it is," Jericho responded with a sadistic grin as he leveled his Chinese Assault Rifle at the Overlord's face. He let a long burst of gunfire into the Overlord's head, ending its suffering. Jericho put his rifle back onto its strap and let it hang against his back. He walked over to Ray, hauling him to his feet. "You okay?"

"I think so," Ray said, rubbing his now aching, previously broken ribs. They didn't feel re-broken, but they hurt like hell. "We gotta get Sarah." Ray and Jericho rushed over to where Sarah lay. They crouched beside her, Ray carefully rolled her from her side and onto her back. She grit her teeth as the pain worsened with the sudden movement.

"Are you okay?" Jericho asked weakly.

"I got thrown into a car by a stupid fucking Mutant, so I'm pretty great!" Sarah snapped sarcastically, "Sorry. Can you help me up?" She tacked on in a calmer voice, holding out her arms. Ray wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders while Jericho did the same with the other. They carefully lifted her up and helped her back towards the hotel room. "So, you like having your arm wrapped around my shoulders, Sarah?" Jericho asked, jokingly giving her his mischievous grin.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "You're more disturbing than the Super Mutants." Ray laughed while Jericho gave a small grin at his success to lighten the situation.