Author's Note: An update to From The Vault and Wasteland Survival within a week of each other?! I know I'm as shocked as you are. My motivation has been thriving recently and I'm extremely thankful for that. On a side note, I've been going through the older chapters of this story and re-editing them. I've changed little details here and there, like giving a name to Rilon, the Talon that ensalved our heroes, sooner. I also added chapter titles and proper chapter breaks. I nearly forgot to mention something important (again); as of April 4th it has been exactly two years since I uploaded the first chapter of Wasteland Survival. It has been absolutely incredible to be with you all for two amazing years. Now, enjoy the story, dear reader...

Wasteland Survival Part 21

*About a week after the trio had been enslaved…

It had been a few days since Jabsco had given payment to Rilon's team for dispatching the troublesome Wastelander that Burke had put the bounty on. The Commander was currently packing a small duffel bag with supplies to take with him on the trek to Tenpenny Tower. He always hated making the long walk to the posh tower, but he didn't complain about the hefty amount of caps he usually left with.

He was still steaming about one of his recent encounters with Burke. The place on his hand where his pinkie used to be still burned and stung like a bitch whenever he accidently bumped his hand on something. The way the pinkie of his gloves flopped emptily around also pissed him off; it looked strange and was a constant reminder of what Burke had done to him. He hoped desperately that none of his men noticed it. He still sometimes had trouble getting them to respect him; they hadn't branded him with the nickname Jetting Jabsco for no reason.

The Commander would surely never hear the end of it if they had learned that Burke had been the one that had cut off his pinkie. None of the other troops had met the man, and as far as they were concerned he was just a rich man in a suit that held too many grudges and far too many caps.

Jabsco had taken to being more brutal towards his men to earn their respect and loyalty. If he so much as heard them question his leadership or call him Jetting Jabsco, he put a bullet through their skull, but his punishments were usually more slow and painful.

"Commander?" A voice suddenly called from behind Jabsco.

He whirled around, seeing the young Scouter Daniels standing rather meekly in his doorway; the Scouter quickly stood up straight and saluted Jabsco. The Commander often questioned why he kept the young man around; he was so sheepish and meek. But his skill with tracking was incredibly impressive and that constantly reminded Jabsco of why he needed Daniels.

"Scouter Daniels," Jabsco said stiffly, returning the salute, "What can I do for you?"

Daniels looked nervously over his shoulder before stepping into the Commander's room and closing the door behind himself. "Well…it's about Rilon and the target he took down for Burke."

Jabsco raised an eyebrow at the Scouter. "Yes?"

Daniels squirmed under his gaze and shifted from foot to foot, keeping his eyes down. "Well, he lied about why we didn't have the target's finger. We didn't really leave him for the Deathclaws; Rilon sold him and his accomplices to Eulogy Jones in Paradise Falls," He stammered out quickly.

Jabsco's jaw nearly hit the floor. "Rilon is up to that shit again? After I gave him a third chance? I promoted him to a fucking Lieutenant for fuck's sake! He's supposed to be one of my most trusted men!" He boomed, hurling his duffle bag at the wall, sending clothes and other random necessities flying around the room.

Daniels dodged a can of Pork'N'Beans that flew out of the bag. "I'm sorry Commander! I tried to talk him out of it, but he wanted more caps. I-I didn't know what else to do!"

Jabsco paced angrily. "I understand Scouter. I'm just so god damn pissed that he would go against direct orders again! What the hell am I going to tell Burke? I can't keep him waiting forever!"

Daniels opened his mouth to stammer more apologies, but he was interrupted when a heavy bag of caps slammed against his chestplate and fell to the floor.

"Take those caps. And thank you for informing me of Lt. Rilon's…mistake. He will be dealt with accordingly," Jabsco said quickly in a businesslike tone, waving the Scouter away.

Daniels scooped up the caps, gave the Commander a quick thank you sir and salute before leaving the Commander alone with a, now messy room, and his reeling mind.

…

Sarah was, for lack of better words, mind-numbingly bored. Day in, day out, it was the same routine. Wake up, do nothing, eat breakfast, use the bathroom or take a bath if she needed to, spend time with Eulogy and his girls, get shipped back into her room for more nothing, eat dinner (sometimes with Eulogy, Clover, and Crimson, or alone in her room), then finally more nothing until she fell asleep. Repeat.

She had already eaten dinner, alone this time, and was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling. She wasn't sure how long she had been in Eulogy's home; the days had begun to run together. She guessed it must've been two weeks, maybe longer.

In the beginning, she had spent every free moment trying to find a possible way to escape. She could no longer consider the balcony at the top of the stairs as a possible route; Eulogy had some of his men put a heavy metal door (painted to fit the color scheme of his home of course) in the doorway that had been previously open. It had two locks, just like the door to her room.

She knew she could pick them, but Eulogy wasn't stupid; he never let her have bobby pins. He never even let her pull her hair into its usual ponytail when she was around him. He loved her blonde curls, loved to touch them and run his fingers through them whenever she was around him. If she misbehaved, he made sure he pulled them hard enough to snap her head back.

If she didn't have the collar around her neck, she would have killed him the first time he had done that. She had to fight the urge to kill him anytime he laid a hand on her under any pretense. He loved to run his hands along her shoulders, arms, legs, any part of her body that showed skin really; his touch made her skin crawl.

She was thankful he hadn't tried to have his way with her. She had been terrified that he would, especially with the way he had eyed her after Clover had first taken her to bathe and give her the red dress. He promised her that she needn't worry though. After their first dinner he had run his fingers through her curls and assured her that he always took his women when they were willing; that's apparently what he had done with Crimson and Clover.

She had laughed at him, telling him that she would never be willing. He had simply given her a low chuckle and said that he was a very paragon of patience.

The Sentinel rolled her eyes at the recollection and shifted in her rather uncomfortable bed, willing sleep to take her.

…

Sarah cracked open an emerald eye reluctantly as the door to her room opened.

"You overslept Sarah. Get up and take that tie out of your hair," Eulogy commanded.

The Sentinel sat up, suppressing a groan as she pulled the tie out of her hair and slipped it onto her wrist. She stood up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and looking at the massive tray of food that Eulogy held out to her. "There's no way I can eat all that."

Eulogy chuckled. "It's not for you; I want you to take this out to the other…workers. You've been surprisingly well-behaved, so I figured I could give you some of your privileges to take a short walk and get a bit of sun."

Sarah gave him a confused look. "I get privileges?"

He chuckled deeply again. "Of course; I can't keep you cooped up forever. The more you show me that you can behave and obey me, the more I will allow you to do. But if you try something, you're losing all your privileges until you show me that you can handle them again," He paused for a second, "You should be grateful really; Crimson and Clover didn't get any privileges this soon and they were more well behaved than you."

Sarah wasn't really shocked that he had given her the privileges early; it was clear that the Slaver had a strong soft spot for her. A smile broke across her face, surprising the man and making him smile back. She wrapped her arms around him awkwardly as he was still holding the tray of food. "Thanks Eulogy; you're really sweet."

It was a lie; anyone other than Eulogy would've been able to see that, but he was too infatuated with the Sentinel to think clearly. Her body pressing against his just clouded his judgment even further.

The smile didn't leave Sarah's lips; these privileges were the first glimmer of hope she had seen in a long time. She had shut down over the past week or so, her hope slowly dying as she realized how trapped she was; but this…this was the best news she had heard in a long time.

If she made sure to be extra sweet to Eulogy, as much as it pained her to do so, she would gain his trust and more importantly, more privileges; privileges that she would make sure to use to her full advantage.

He chuckled against her, "Keep being this good to me and you'll have free roam before you know it."

She pulled away, smiling warmly at him as she took the tray. She kissed him quickly for good measure before making her way out of his sight and leaving him standing there, stunned by the feeling of her lips pressed briefly against his own.

As soon as she was out of Eulogy's sight she lost the cheesy smile and awkwardly balanced the tray on her knee to wipe her mouth roughly with the back of her hand. She hadn't given the man enough time to kiss her back, managing to catch him off guard with the kiss, but just the feeling of his lips on her own made her want to scrub her lips with a wire brush.

The Sentinel managed to hold the tray with one hand and pull open the front door to Eulogy's home with the other; surely luck was the only thing that kept her from dropping the food everywhere as she awkwardly opened the door.

…

Ray's eyes widened as Sarah walked towards the pen. "Oh my god…" He heard Jericho breathe as he came to stand beside Ray at the gate. Sarah looked absolutely beautiful in her elegant red dress. The garment clung to her figure in all the right places, accentuating her curves. Her blonde hair hung down to her shoulders in its natural curls, but her face immediately twisted with worry when she saw Ray and Jericho standing at the gate.

The ex-Raider and the Wastelander looked terrible. They were even thinner than before and their skin was dark with sunburn. This was meager compared to the bruises and cuts that marred their faces. Ray's full lower lip was split and swollen and he had a nasty looking black eye. Jericho looked similar; except his upper lip was split and he had another split just below one of his eyebrows.

They stared at her with their mouths hanging open and eyes wide as she approached. "Oh my god…what happened to you two?" She breathed, setting down the tray and sliding bowls of a questionable looking soup under the fence.

Ray couldn't help but smile just because he had heard her voice again. The last time he had seen the woman she had been covered in blood and shredded clothing, stabbing Bronson into a mutilated mess; he had been unsure of whether or not he would see her again as she had been hauled off, unconscious and draped over Eulogy's shoulder. "We got caught working on our little escape tunnel…they beat us pretty badly, but we're still here."

Sarah wished she could reach through the fence and hug them both; she settled for threading her fingers through the fence instead and resting her forehead against it. "I'm sorry I can't be in there with you guys anymore," She breathed, fighting the tears that were suddenly trying to surface. She hadn't realized how much she had missed them until now.

Ray's fingers met her own on the fence. "Have you been okay? I mean…has Eulogy been treating you okay?" It was the only thing he could think to say to her and he dreaded the answer.

Sarah sighed. "He doesn't hit me that hard; not enough to leave marks anyway. He's incredibly fond of pulling my hair and slapping me down though…"

Ray clenched his jaw in anger; Jericho was more vocal about his displeasure however. "I swear, I'll fucking kill him for laying his hands on you. He hasn't tried anything? Has he?" The ex-Raider fumed, fire burning in his eyes.

Sarah shook her head. "Apparently he will only take me when I'm willing. That's allegedly what he did with Crimson and Clover."

Jericho gave her a quizzical look. "I'm assuming they are the girls in pink dresses that follow him everywhere."

The Sentinel nodded.

Ray decided to ask a question of his own to get the subject away from the despicable owner of Paradise Falls, "How do you get along with them?"

"Good enough, I suppose. Well, with Clover anyway. Crimson isn't taking to me too well; she's jealous that Eulogy brought me around. Clover is a little jealous, but not like Crimson; I think Clover likes me a little too much really…"

"Which one is Clover?" Ray asked.

"The pale one with the white hair," Sarah responded.

Jericho gave a throaty hum and gave her his mischievous grin as he spoke, "Do tell us how she likes you too much."

Ray gave a laugh at Jericho's response, as did Sarah. The Sentinel was shocked that she even missed Jericho's perverted jokes. She blushed slightly as she responded, "Well she's really suggestive in general, but she makes sure that everything she says to me is basically a double entendre. And Eulogy usually makes sure that she's there if I'm going to get a bath."

Jericho gave a chuckle. "Well hello! Please tell me something has happened, kitty cat; morale is incredibly low in here and I could use something to…boost my spirits. Especially if that something is an image of you and that hot chick in a bathtub together…naked and wet and-"

Sarah interrupted him before he could say any more. "Jericho! Nothing has happened," She managed, blushing deeply and laughing slightly.

Ray laughed as Jericho's expression fell. "You dream crusher…please tell me you at least kissed or something," The ex-Raider pleaded.

Sarah rolled her eyes and laughed again. "She's washed my back a few times. She tried massaging it too once, but I pulled away when I realized I was moaning and that it was… too intimate," She admitted, blushing.

Jericho's eyes glazed over and he zoned out for a second. "That's all I needed."

Ray and Sarah laughed. The Sentinel relaxed; being around her friends for just this short time had helped her immensely. Jericho was great at easing tension and lightening the situation, while Ray was always ready to listen to her troubles and lend a helping hand; she would definitely miss them terribly when Eulogy locked her away again.

"Sarah! Hurry it up!" Eulogy was suddenly shouting at her. She stopped laughing and her smile fell when she looked over her shoulder and saw Eulogy standing near the entrance to his house.

She sighed and looked back at the two men behind the gate. "I'm sorry boys, I have to get back. I'm going to miss you," Her voice broke slightly as she threaded her fingers back through the fence and held Ray and Jericho's hands.

She hesitantly took back her hands after a minute and gave them a sad smile before turning to give the children their food. As she walked away, she waved and gave another melancholy smile over her shoulder. The newly discovered loneliness she already felt as she walked away was going to be unbearable.