Author's Note: As of April 4th, it's been exactly one year since I posted the first chapter of Wasteland Survival. I'd hoped to get this finished by then, but that didn't work out obviously lol. There are many reasons this chapter took forever, mostly trying to bring up my grades in school, the fact that I was depressed for a while, and the fact that I rewrote this and edited it a lot. But enough of that depressing shit! It's been a year guys! And I couldn't have made it this far without your encouraging reviews :) Thanks to my two constant reviewers that have been with me since the start, Andrew . Was . Here and Shadow knight1121. You guys are the best :D
Wasteland Survival Part 15
"Sarah, what'd he mean by 'Taking us to Paradise'?" Ray mumbled quietly to Sarah who walked solemnly beside him.
"Probably his way of saying we are getting dragged to Paradise Falls. This is definitely not good," She responded grimly, looking at her hands.
Those few words made Ray's stomach churn. Paradise Falls, the slaving hub of the Capitol Wasteland. He should've guessed that's where they were headed. "This is all my fault."
Sarah gave him a glare. "Don't you even try to blame yourself. It's my damn fault for falling asleep," She said sharply, chewing at her cheek in anger.
"Will you shut the fuck up back there? Why don't you play the blame game when you're all sitting in a pen?" Rilon seethed at them with a cold scowl.
Ray clenched his jaw, looking down at his hands as hopelessness filled him.
Jericho glanced over at Sarah and noticed her eyeing the closest guard. He picked up his pace a little to fall into step with her. "You got any ideas?" He murmured, too low for the troops to hear.
"That guard, he's wearing Ray's pack. I can see the grip of the 10mm sticking out," Sarah muttered back, pretending to look at her hands when in all reality she was looking up at the guard's back through her eyelashes.
"Good eye. I was eyeing that guy's Assault Rifle. He's holding it too casually. It'd be easy to grab and unload into these fucks," Jericho said back with a sly grin at her.
"Great. When I scratch my nose, we grab the guns and take these guys down. Hope you got a fast trigger finger," She responded.
"I may have aged, but I haven't lost a beat," Jericho whispered confidently, his eyes returning to the guards.
Ray gave Sarah and Jericho a questioning look. They walked closer together than they normally would have, but you could hardly tell they were talking with the way they rarely looked at each other and it seemed like they were trying to talk without moving their lips too much. His stomach twisted, a bad feeling that they were about to pull something stupid coming over him. He noticed Sarah eyeing the grip of his 10mm sticking out of the pack of the guard in front of her. He didn't want to try grappling with a guard over a gun. He clenched his jaw nervously, deciding that he'd go for the Switchblade tucked in his boot if things went to shit.
If they didn't do it though, he would keep it hidden until they got to Paradise Falls. He'd be gunned down as soon as he grabbed for the knife right now. It'd be best to have it when they weren't being watched as closely.
"So who do we got with us this evening? Tell me about yourselves, we'll have some story time before you spend the rest of your lives in slavery," Rilon said suddenly, spinning around to look at them as he walked backwards, talking to the three as if they were old friends.
Sarah gave him a glare, while Ray looked at the psychotic man in confusion. Jericho rolled his eyes. "What's the matter with you guys? No one really wants to talk? No "I got a family! You can't do this!?" That's weird. We usually get a lot of that. Well I might as well tell you who I am. You can call me Rilon, weird I know but that's my last name. I don't think we're on a first name basis yet."
"Oh my God, shut the fuck up! We don't care who you are," Jericho groaned, giving the man a look of irritation.
"No Jericho, this might prove useful information when we hunt him down and cut his fucking head off," Sarah said back, glancing at him before giving Rilon a deadly look.
"Wow!" Rilon said with a laugh, "Sorry honey but I don't think you'll be getting out of this one," He said to Sarah with a satisfied smirk before turning back to Jericho, "And your name's not any weirder than mine, you old dick. Jericho? That your first or last name?"
"None of your fucking business. Jericho is all you need to know, but you can get more acquainted with my boot when it goes up your ass," Jericho growled back, his eyes furrowing.
"Geez, I was just asking," Rilon responded, feigning hurt before turning his attention back to Sarah, "And what's your name blondie?"
Sarah said nothing, instead continuing to stare daggers into him. Rilon shrugged, "Fine. Be that way. And you, you're Ray," He said looking over to Ray.
"No shit. Otherwise you wouldn't have come after us," Ray responded sharply, cutting the man a glare.
"I thought you were one of those pacifists or some shit. Why the hostility?" Rilon said sarcastically, slowing his pace until he was only a few feet away from Ray.
An overwhelming feeling was coming over Ray. It wasn't depression at the situation as it was before, but it was pure, red hot rage. Without thinking, he rushed Rilon and pulled his head back and slammed it into Rilon's as hard as he could. Rilon hit the ground and Sarah yelled "Now!" at Jericho. Faster than a wink she had the 10mm out of the Talon's bag as Jericho jumped at another Talon for his Assault Rifle.
Rilon kicked Ray's feet out from underneath him, causing him to nearly land on Rilon. Ray took advantage of the fact that his hands were bound in front of him instead of around his back, and jumped on Rilon, clubbing him in the face with both of his fists; he managed to strike him a few quite a few times. Seeing red, he went to grab his Switchblade as Rilon covered his face, but as soon as the blows stopped, Rilon drew his .44 and put it under Ray's chin.
Sarah managed to shoot the guard that she took the gun from in the gut before another Talon grabbed her from the side and tackled her to the ground.
Jericho grabbed for the Assault Rifle but took a quick elbow to the face. He growled and reached again, only to be hit with an elbow to the eye. The guard spun after successfully stunning Jericho and hit him in the face with the stock of the Assault Rifle. Jericho went to his knees, a knee to the face finally dropping him.
Rilon shoved Ray off of him, keeping his .44 trained on him. "God damn it!" He gently grasped at his nose, feeling it out of place, blood streaming from it and coating his lips. Ray was about to reach for the small switchblade in his boot again, but Rilon grabbed Ray by the back of the neck and hauled him to his feet. "I should put a bullet in your fucking skull right now." He took the heavy gun and slammed it over Ray's head, causing him to slump to the ground. Rilon kicked Ray in the gut then pushed him over with his foot. Ray's vision blurred and went black.
Jericho was out too, the blows to the head not fairing too well. Sarah was pinned underneath a Talon, his hands holding her's above her head, her legs pinned as he straddled her. Rilon holstered the gun and walked over to Sarah. "Satisfied? Normally I'd make a joke about the position you're in but I'm no longer in the fucking mood. Try any more cowboy shit like that and I will kill your friends slowly and painfully, and then carve off your pretty face. That, I promise," He said in a deadly serious tone, his eyes clouded over with rage. He turned his eyes to the Talon that was straddling her. "Get off her, get some boys to drag those sorry fucks."
The man gave a prompt nod and rolled off of Sarah, turning to the shaken up Talons. Sarah started to climb up, but Rilon stalked over, grabbing her roughly by her upper arms and pulling her to her feet. "I don't know how you managed to pull that shit, but you know I've got my fucking eyes on you now," He warned lowly, his eyes burning.
Rilon looked down at the Talon that Sarah had shot, seeing that he was gut shot. Rilon sighed at the thought of losing a man, but the thought left as soon it made itself known. He pulled his .44 once again and put a single round in the injured man's head. Rilon's brutality did not surprise Sarah or any of the other Talons; she had realized quite a while ago that the man was insane. Rilon pried Ray's pack off the dead man, putting it on his own back before scavenging some bullets and an Assault Rifle off his corpse. A beefy Talon grabbed Jericho by the rope that bound his wrists and began dragging him across the ground, another doing the same for Ray.
...
Ray came to a few hours later, aware of intense pain in his wrists and arms, and the sensation of the ground dragging painfully across his knees. He looked up, his neck popping achingly and a migraine making itself known. They were still with the Talons, and he was currently being dragged by one of them. "Let me go."
The Talon looked wordlessly down at him and dropped his hands without warning, causing him to flop face first in the dirt. "God damn it you fucktard! Why'd you drop him?" Rilon shouted, stopping at the thud of RAy hitting the dirt.
"You want me to drag him while he's awake?"
"Hmph. 'Bout time he woke up, we're almost here. I can see the walls up ahead," Rilon huffed, glaring at Ray as he pulled himself to his feet. With that he set off walking again, barely giving Ray enough time to stand up.
It hurt to move his arms, the sudden flow of blood returning making them tingle and giving him a pinprick sensation. To his left he saw Jericho still being dragged across the ground, the knees of his Leather Armor torn and covered in dirt and some blood. Ray's knees had fared better, but his pants were ripped and filthy, his knees only beginning to get scraped. Somehow he wasn't bleeding that badly.
Sarah fell into step beside him. "Thank God you're awake. You've been out for over an hour. But it looks like we're here."
"At least you tried. Looks like you managed to take out one of them," Ray said, grinning at her.
"Yeah," She returned the grin, "Too bad it couldn't have been more though."
"We'll get out of this. I don't know how long it'll take but we will," Ray said in a quiet tone, glaring at the walls of Paradise Falls.
"Are you reassuring me, or yourself?" Sarah asked him, raising an eyebrow and glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.
"To be honest, I couldn't tell you."
...
After being looked over by Eulogy Jones himself, a dark skinned man who wore a red suit, Ray and Sarah were shoved into a pen while Jericho was hauled off to see the doctor. In said pen were four other slaves; an old man with little hair on his head, but a massive beard, a washed out looking man with drooping eyes, a ghoul woman, and an African American woman.
"Been awhile since we've seen a new face in here," The African American woman said, examining Ray and Sarah, "What are your names?"
"I'm Ray, this is Sarah."
"I'm Bleak, we call the old guy Breadbox, don't ask and don't bother because he's deaf, the ghoul is Jeanette, and the drunk over there is Bronson," She said, pointing to the other slaves as she introduced them.
"Did you manage to smuggle a weapon in? Please say yes!" Jeanette all but shrieked as she ran up to the duo, grabbing Ray by his shirt.
"Shh!" Ray hushed her, prying her hands off his shirt. "I've got a small switchblade in my boot."
Jeanette released his shirt, her milky eyes brightening as she let out a small squeal of excitement.
Ray pulled up his pant leg to show the small leather pouch he had custom made and sewed onto the outside of his boot.
"That's great! But, I'll be straight with you, I've been observing the guards patrol routes as long as I've been in here. These guys just sit around and moan about our situation or degrade themselves for alcohol," She said quietly, looking at Bronson, "The best shot we're going to get at escaping is if you two do some planning with me. I'd say that knife helps our chances a lot."
"Fine with me. Won't be the first time I've had to escape from something," Sarah shrugged.
Bleak raised an eyebrow and looked to Ray. "You guys escape the Brotherhood's law or something?" She asked slowly, her tone cautious.
"No. I'm Sentinel Lyons of the Brotherhood Of Steel, Ray is a wastelander that I'm aiding," Sarah explained with a small laugh.
"You're Brotherhood? How the hell you wind up here?" Bronson chimed in from where he leaned against the fence, suddenly taking an interest in the conversation.
"I'm helping Ray take care of some important business. Unfortunately my Elder knows that I'm not expected soon, so no rescue is coming from the Brotherhood," She regretfully informed the other slaves.
"Damn it! You've no way to contact them?"
With a frown, Sarah shook her head, the grimness of the situation fully settling in.
The looks of hope that had appeared on Bronson and Bleak's faces were quickly lost, emptiness returning to Bronson as he drifted back to his place at the fence.
Bleak sighed. "Oh well. Let's get back on track. There's two main guards that watch the pen. There's Forty and some girl, I don't know her name. They watch in shifts with small breaks in between. Maybe, if someone could get one of them to get in here, we could take them down with your knife and sneak out!"
"Slow down. There are a lot of flaws in that plan. First of all, they would notice the guard go missing. Second of all, how would we sneak out? We have no Stealth Boys, there's one exit, and we only have a Switchblade. I saw a guard up front with a fucking Minigun. The only way we're getting out of here is if we shoot our way out or if someone buys all of us," Sarah explained.
Bleak opened her mouth to argue shut it with a huff. "God. You're right. I'm getting about as desperate to get out as these guys," She sighed, looking at the other slaves.
"Let's just try to come up with another way to get out. Maybe there's something we can make to help us climb the wall," Ray suggested.
"That's a good idea Ray," Sarah complimented, giving him a small smile.
"We could take a gun off the guard we kill," Bleak offered.
Sarah sighed. "We should talk about this in that little building. You guys sleep in there?"
Bleak gave a nod. "It's pretty gross. And you guys have to choose between some old, flat mattresses or the floor. And to be honest, I prefer the floor," She explained, giving a look of disgust toward the building.
...
Early in the night, in the office of the resident doctor, Jericho awoke. His head wasn't hurting as bad, as the cut on his cheek that had been gushing was now closed shut with several bandages and, judging by how fast it was healing, a Stimpak. He could tell he'd been out for a while; his back always ached when he laid on it for too long. He was on some form of hospital bed, in a building that smelled of heat and blood. He tried to slowly sit up, to slow the eventual head rush, but it didn't really help. He swayed a little as he stood, holding his head and letting out a groan. On swaying and unsure feet, he dragged himself around the off white divider that kept his bed from being seen by anyone in the main room. A woman with short gray-white hair sat at a desk reading, her back to Jericho.
He was confident. One woman would be no trouble, then it was just a matter of sneaking about until he found Ray and Sarah, then they could get the hell out of this place. He picked up a scalpel, and snuck behind the woman, preparing to cut her throat. He roughly grabbed her by her chin, pulling her head back and pressing the blade to her throat, just to have her Chinese Pistol shoved under his chin. "You've got one second to get the fuck off of me before I blow your brains out."
Jericho clenched his jaw. Her finger tightened around the trigger, the gun producing a small groan under her heavy grip. He dropped the blade and backed away. He let out a small growl of irritation as the woman rose out of the chair with the gun still pointed at him. He muttered in frustration. "Guess I really should learn to sneak better."
The woman gave a smug grin, and opened the door to call the Slavers.
Authors Note: Well, the gang are officially slaves. How long will they wear their collars? And how long until I update again? Hopefully not long because school is finally wrapping up in about two weeks, so hopefully with summer updates will be more frequent, but I can't make any promises because inspiration is a cruel lady. I did write a little baby Skyrim one-shot for you guys though, to make up for my absence!
As for news on From the Vault: I may change the title, and I'm still working on plotting out the story, so it's kinda on hiatus for now. I've been focusing more on this story, but I'm trying to put some of my energy into that one as well :) Now it's time for me to get outta here and I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!