Hey all fallout loving people!
Here is capther 4 of ''The Ranger's way'' Some new characther's and some old. I apologize for the time that had gone by since the last upload. For that I have made this chapter a bit longer then the previous ones. I hope you enjoy it.
Don't forget to review and give it a follow so you won't miss out on the rest of it when I update it!
K1ngthedog out...
Corporal Johnson changed his aim from down the tunnel to the mutants head, he was just about to fire when the mutant pulled up his axe with Jones still hanging in it. Johnson couldn't fire without the risk of hitting Jones. Johnson had no doubt that Jones was dead, if not dying. But he didn't want to cause more suffering to him.
''No. Don't use guns. The mutants up ahead will hear it.'' Mark said and with all of his force rushed at the mutant. Mark and one of the other rangers slammed into the mutant, making it stumble back and dropping the axe along with Jones's body.
Mark pulled out his kukri as the other ranger pulled out his combat knife.
''Let it make the first move and we'll strike after that.'' Mark told the other ranger who nodded.
The mutant swung his big fist at Mark who easily dodged the strike. Mark took the opportunity and swung at the mutants stomach. He pushed the kukri into the stomach of the mutant. It didn't seem to react as all it did was look at Mark's face and laugh. The mutant tried to grab Mark but it missed his body but managed to get a hold on Mark's Carbine that was hanging on his back. The mutant pulled up Mark and swung him on the wall next him two times before Mark managed to slip out of the hold the carbine's strap. He fell to the ground looked up to see the other ranger stab the mutant in the shoulder. And for that he received a blow to the head with Mark's carbines.
The mutant got distracted when Luna jumped at it and bit its leg. The mutant started to swing its legs with Luna attached to it, trying to get the dog to fall of. It succeeded when it swung its legs towards the wall, making luna lose her grip of the mutants leg and fall down towards the ground.
The mutant suddenly stumbled back and fell down as Robin appeared behind Mark and fired 8 shots at the mutant. 5 in the chest and 3 in the head.
''I said no guns.'' Mark stood up and said.
''It doesn't matter now. The mutant's are coming at us!'' Robin told him and went back to her position at the line. Mark went and picked up his carbine from the dead mutant only to realize that it had a big dent in the chamber. And the pipe had been bent.
''Fucking useless now.'' He said to no one.
Mark looked around and saw Jones's R91 Assault rifle on the ground. He picked it up, checked it over, checked the magazine and ammo and then went up to his position on line.
There were now only 6 rangers on the line instead of 8 that they had been just 2 minutes ago. Jones was lying on the ground barely breathing while the squad medic was doing everything she could trying to save his life.
The two scouts was running towards the rest of the rangers. With 15 mutants chasing them. Mark could see the big creatures, it was hard to miss them actually.
The mutant's that carried firearms started to shoot at them, missing greatly but adding the pressure to the scouts to run faster.
''We will feast on you tonight!'' On of the mutants shouted out.
''Why the fuck aren't you firing back yet!?'' One of the scouts shouted to the rangers.
''Nobody fires until they are clear of the field of fire'' Waltz ordered his rangers.
The scouts were only 5 meters from the line when one of them got her foot trapped under a piece of old railway track and feel to the ground.
''SHIT!'' She cried out and started to scream as the pain in her leg was registered in her brain, telling her it was broken.
''FIRE'' Waltz shouted out and all of the rangers fired their weapons at the same time.
5 mutants fell at first, then more as they attempted to reach the wounded ranger in front of the of the line. Within the first 10 seconds 9 mutants lay on the ground bleeding from the multiple bullet wounds. The rest of the mutants managed to take cover behind what was available.
''Remember, single-fire only. No spraying and praying.'' Mark thought to himself and fired at the mutants.
One of the rangers threw a grenade and managed to kill one of the mutants. The 4 left must have had a frenzy because they all came out of their cover and rushed the rangers. They were all cut down by the ranges firepower.
''Ramsey go and help Dawson. The rest of you make sure the mutants are dead.'' Waltz ordered his squad who went to action.
''Hey how are you girl? You didn't get hurt when you hit the well did you?'' Mark asked Luna and checked the dog for any injuries. Mark was satisfied when he didn't find any and Luna let out a happy bark.
Waltz went over Jones who was lying on the floor. The medic had put a gauze roll around the neck and throat to try to stop the bleeding.
''How is he?'' Waltz asked.
''He died during the firefight'' the medic replied.
''You did all you could Lane. Take out the stretcher, put it together and then go check on Weaver. She might have broken her foot.
''Yes sir.'' The medic said.
''You wanna help with this specialists?'' Waltz asked Mark and Robin
''Of course'' Mark replied and assisted in putting the stretcher together and lied Jones's body onto to it.
''Corporal what's the status?'' Waltz asked his second in command.
''All mutants are dead, Weaver's foot is busted up but not broken according to Lane, she can move though with some help.''
''Good to hear. Alright let's move out. Lane and Ramsey carry the stretcher and keep in the middle, Weaver you too and Wells will help you. I will lead and the specialists in the rear. Move out.''
When they passed the mutant that killed Jones Mark bent down and removed his kukri from the dead mutants stomach. Blood came pouring out from the still fresh wound. Mark wiped the kukri on a piece of clothing that the dead mutant had around its waist. He then picked up his carbine and hung it on his back, while still carrying Jones's R91 assault rifle.
The walk back to the compound was a quiet one. Not even the mole rats running around in the tunnels could be heard. They were probably having a feast on the dead mutants that were left behind. It was also quiet because nobody said anything, sure you were suppose to be quiet so not to give yourself away. But after taking out 14 Super-mutants there should have been some bragging and cheering. But losing one of our own hits hard. The rangers are not suppose to lose people. They are the best out here.
They arrived back at the checkpoint where the rangers who stood guard looked onto to the stretcher that held Jones's body on it while the squad passed them by up to the compound.
When they arrived at the at the compound it seemed as all of the activity of the other rangers around them died down when they saw the what the stretcher hold. Two rangers stepped forward and walked towards the squad and stopped in front of Waltz. Mark recognized both of them. One was the staff sergeant from the day before, from 1st other one was Captain Donovan. Chief of the engineering and motor pool. And one of the founding members of the Rangers
The staff sergeant looked at Waltz and then on the stretcher. ''You did all you could. Get him the clinic so they can clean and stitch him up.'' He said and took a step to the side. So did Captain Donovan
As they started walking Mark could hear captain Donovan give out a command to the rest of the rangers.
''AHHTEEEENTION'' He called out and all other rangers did a quick snap and stood up in attention as respect to their fallen comrade.
The group walked towards the clinic and were meet by 2 nurses and Doctor Markus. Mark recognized one of the nurses that had treated Mark's grazed wound. Doctor Markus was probably one of the best doctors in the capital wasteland. Well he was one of the few doctors actually. ''There can't be more than 15-20 of them in the entire Capital wasteland.'' Mark thought.
Doctor Markus was an old man. In his 60's, his hair was starting to get gray and he had some wrinkles on his face. He was in good shape though, he regularly visited the gym when not tending to wounded rangers or working in his office. He carried a 10mm pistol strapped to his thigh. Though Mark have seen him at the firing range from time to time, practicing with different weapons. He knew for sure that the doctor had a shotgun somewhere in his office.
''What do we have?''` Doctor Markus asked.
''He took an axe wound to the throat. Almost decapitated him. He died of his injuries just minutes later.'' The group medic, Lane told him.
The doctor let out a sigh.
''Alright take him in and we'll get him cleaned up. Nurse escort them inside please.'' Doctor Markus told the nurse that had treated Mark the day before.
''Thanks Doc. Take care of him.'' Waltz told him.
Doctor Markus only nodded and turned around and walked inside of the clinic.
''Thanks for the assist during the mission. And for taking down the mutant that got the drop on us.'' Waltz told Mark and Robin.
''Don't mention it. This belong to you. Sorry for your loss, Sergeant'' Mark told Waltz and handed him Jones's R91 assault rifle.
''Thank you specialists, both of you. I'll take it from here. And report to our CO.'' Waltz said and turned around and started to give out orders to his squad.
Mark and Robin turned around and walked towards their barrack.
''I need to stop off by the workshop and see about my carbine. You can head back and report to staff sergeant Grey that we're back.'' Mark told Robin.
''Sure thing sergeant.'' She said and headed of.
Mark walked to the workshop that was located next to garage that housed all the vehicles and engineering equipment. It was right next to the main entrance to the compound. It even had its own garage door that led out of the compound so the vehicles could roll in and out with more eas.
Mark entered the workshop and the bell over the door rang when he opened it.
''Hey Rob you in here?'' Mark called out.
''Yeah i'm in the back. Come in!''
Mark walked past the counter and entered a backroom that was filled with tools and workbenches.
''Oh hey Mark. Didn't expect you to come and visit.'' Rob who was one of the mechanics working there said.
''I got a job for you Rob. My carbine took a hit during my latest fight. I'm wondering if you could take a look and see what you can do about it.'' Mark said and handed him the Marksman carbine.
''Yeah sure let me take a look at it.'' Rob said and took the weapon and put it down on one of his workbenches. He looked it over from every angle. Feeling on the dents and missing parts.
''Well you got a problem here. Let's start with the most obvious one. The pipe is bent, I could bend it back but the chance that it would break is big. And the chamber area has taken a hit. You got a big dent right here. The stock has got a small crack in it, shouldn't be a problem to fix. Your trigger is a bit loose too, need to tighten that a bit. And the magazine well has a dent so it won't let go of the magazine.'' Rob said after he examined the carbine.
''Shit that's a lot of damage.'' Mark thought.
''Can you fix it?'' Mark asked Rob.
''I'll give it my best shot. Get it? Shot? hahaha.''Rob said and laughed at his own joke.
''Thanks Rob. Mind if I take a look inside?'' Mark asked and pointed at the garage.
''Go ahead. Just don't break anything.'' Rob said and waved him inside.
Mark walked into the garage and looked at all the different vehicles. He immediately recognized the all terrain jeeps and supply trucks. There were only 4 jeeps there. ''The other 2 must be out on missions'' He thought.
There was also other vehicles there. 10 motorcross cycles and 4 ATV's. They were mostly used inside the DC ruins as they are small and can get over most of the rubble and are quite fast.
All of the vehicles had been refitted with an engine that runs on fusion cores. Reilly's Rangers had a made a deal with the Brotherhood of steel for the exchange of fusion cores that was being manufactured at Old Olney, the rangers would extend their patrol of DC while the Brotherhood was still carrying out their expedition in the Commonwealth.
''I really need to head up there on day and check the place out. See who the Minutemen are and visit Diamond city and the Castle.'' Mark thought.
Mark suddenly heard a small bang from across the garage and he went there to examine the source of the sound. When he got there he could see two rangers standing over a fusion core generator and scratching their heads.
''What's going on here?'' Mark asked while Luna was sticking out her head while hiding behind Mark.
''Oh just some experimenting. Trial and error you know.'' The man who answered was Lieutenant Curtis. Commander of the motor pool and the workshop. The man next to him was Captain Donovan.
''Aren't you the one of the specialists that came in with the squad from 1st platoon earlier?'' Captain Donovan said and pointed at Mark.
''That's correct sir.''
''Damn shame to lose one of our own.''
''It sure is sir.'' Mark answered
''What do you think the problem is?'' Lieutenant Curtis asked Captain Donovan.
''Probably some faulty wiring. I don't think these wires can handle the amount of power we are trying to push through them. Need some better conductors and isolation.'' Captain Donovan said and removed the wires from the generator.
''These are the best wires I got.'' Lieutenant Curtis said.
Mark leaved the two to their experiment and exited the garage and headed to his barrack. When he entered the building he saw Robin exit staff sergeant Greys office.
''Hey, he want you to talk to you. And the LT is in there. Robin told Mark as they passed each other.
''What now'' Mark thought to himself.
''Go to our room girl.'' Mark told Luna and walked into Greys office.
''Sit down sergeant.'' Grey told him.
''I already received the mission report from Corporal Andersson. Damn shame about private Jones. Anyway your mission was a success and the super-mutant threat has been dealt with. Our checkpoint in the tunnel should be secure for some time now. Until the next enemy shows up that is.'' Grey told Mark.
Mark couldn't ignore 1st Lieutenant Foster that was standing behind Grey and looking down on Mark. Foster was probably the best of what the rangers had to offer. He was tough and had years of experience, as a survivor in the wasteland and as a rangers. He had been there in the beginning, when the rangers went from a group for hire to a force of power in the Capital wasteland.
He was big, though not as big as Grey. But he had the strength to take down a super-mutant brute by himself.
''I would like to give you some time off but we have another mission for you. We received a transmission earlier today. Apparently our ambassador in Megaton, Mr. Thompson was killed yesterday in a shooting with the town's law enforcement. He apparently threatened Miss Brown of craterside supply when she refused to sell him more ammunition. He had been drunk. And we know his history with alcohol ever since his daughter was killed by raiders outside ot the town. Anyway you are to escort our new ambassador there, Her name is Claire White. She is new to all of this. We would have sent another specialist with you but everybody else have been given an assignment.'' Grey told Mark.
''Every specialist agent have been given an assignment at the same time? That doesn't make sense. We usually always keep at least one back here at the compound.'' Mark thought.
''What kind of assignment needs all of our agents if you don't mind me asking?'' Mark said.
''I've been given orders from commander Reilly to track down Pat's green. And the ones responsible for the death's of our rangers.'' That was the first time Foster had said anything during the conversation.
''I understand sir.'' Mark said.
''Not everybody is given the same mission but we are focusing our attention on Pat's green. As we heard from sergeant Woods yesterday, he was very close to discovering their hideout. We might have a chance to take them down before the winter gets here. And that's something that need to happen.'' Foster told him.
''You will leave tomorrow at 7am. You should be able to reach Megaton during the late evening. You will find Miss White at the command central if you want to talk to her before. When you reach Megaton you can take some days of. But don't be gone for to long. We might need you soon again. Dismissed.'' Grey told Mark who got up and exited the room.
Robin, Benjamin, Elizabeth and Corporal Tony Reid was all sitting around a table, no one of them said anything, they all just looked into the empty space in front of them. Mark was the first to break the silence.
''Hey Tony good to see you.'' Mark said.
''Likewise Mark. Been a while.'' Corporal Tony Reid told him.
''Yeah it has. What have you been up to?'' Mark asked him.
''I have been at the Lincoln memorial and helping out with some slaver problem. A slaver gang thought they could try their luck and try to bring back the escaped slaves there. We repulsed 4 attacks before they got tired of dying and left.'' Corporal Reid told him.
''Just you?'' Mark asked him.
''Nah I had 2 squads from 3rd platoon with me. With us and the people under Hamlin it was quite easy. Hamlin lost 3 guys who got to brave and fell to a grenade. Other than that we had no casualties.'' Tony said.
''It has been a while since I was there. How is it?'' Benjamin asked Tony.
''It's good. There is about 80 people living there now. They had put up some more tents and even started to build some houses. They got some more brahmin and they have started to grow some food in the ground. It's a decent place to live.'' Tony said.
''So how many of you are going after Pat's green? Elizabeth asked.
Tony, Benjamin, Robin and 3 other rangers in the room raised their hands. The other 3 had just gotten in earlier today and are already heading out tomorrow. Mark recognized them all. They were all Corporals and all were male. They had been with the specialists for about 2 years. They mostly kept to themselves, though Mark knew one of them quite well.
Martin Ramirez. He and Mark did a mission together 8 months ago. They had taken out a raider leader that had been on a killing spree in the DC ruins, killing merchants and travelers. Mark and Martin had been lying in wait for the raiders at a place where they usually attacked. And that day was no exception, the raiders attacked a caravan group that belonged to the Capital trading group. It was trading organization based in Canterbury commons and led by a man called Uncle Roe. He had done a great job with turning Canterbury commons from a simple settlement with 15 inhabitants, to a trading hub with about 160 people living and working there. All trade in the Capital wasteland goes through there at least one time, if not more.
And with that information Mark knew that he could count on the caravan group to defend themselves while Mark and Martin took out the leader with the use of Mark's sniper rifle. One shot was all it took and the rest of the raiders started to panic when their leader died. They were easy pickings to the caravan group.
''What about you?'' Robin asked Mark.
''Escort mission to Megaton. Might join you guys later.'' He told the group.
''Well we better go and prepare.'' Benjamin said. Mark looked at his watch.
''6pm!? Shit this day has gone by quickly.'' Mark thought and went up to his room that only had Luna in it.
''Hmm, no Brad. Wonder what he is doing out there. I haven't seen him since I left for Megaton before my scout mission.'' Mark thought and gave Luna a scratch behind her ears for which she wagged her tail.
Mark removed his body armor and jacket. He put it in his locker. Next he removed his magazines for his carbine and replaced them with magazines for his sniper rifle.
''5 magazines with 10 rounds each should be enough.'' He taught.
Next he repacked his bag. It would only take a couple of hours to walk to Megaton. But being prepared for worse is the key to survival in the wasteland. So Mark packed 5 extra pair of underpants, 3 extra pair of socks, 3 more T-shirts. He also put in 2 fragmentation grenades, that makes 4 grenades in total with the ones that he had on the pouch on his chest armor plate.
''Stay here girl. I'm just gonna go and get some food for the journey.'' Mark told Luna who didn't seem to care.
Mark left his room and was surprised to see Elizabeth standing just outside and was about to knock on the door when Mark opened it.
''Hey Beth. What's up?'' Mark asked her.
''I want to tell you about my mission'' She told Mark.
''Uh yeah sure. Can we do it while we head over to the mess hall? Gonna get some food for the journey to Megaton.'' Mark asked her.
''Yeah of course.'' Elizabeth answered and they both began to walk towards the mess hall.
''So what do you want to tell me?'' Mark said while they walked.
''Oh just that my mission will take me to Grayditch and then maybe Megaton the day after tomorrow. So if you are still there. Well you know.'' Elizabeth told Mark.
''Hmm? I'm sorry I don't quite understand what you are trying to tell me.'' Mark said with a grin on his face.
''For real? You serious?'' Elizabeth asked him.
''Mhm.''
''Ugh. So we could get together and have sex!'' Elizabeth told him.
''Ohhhhh. Uh yeah sure that could work. We will see if i'm still there when you get there.'' Mark told her and opened the door to the mess hall.
They both went to the counter where Dave was standing and doing some paperwork.
''Hey Dave. Do you have some canned food for sale? I need maybe 3 cans.'' Mark asked him.
''Uhm yeah sure let me have a look.'' Dave said and walked back into a storage room.
''What are you going to Grayditch for? Isn't it a dead settlement?'' Mark asked Elizabeth.
''We got a tip that there is a Talon company merc camp in the area. So i'm being sent to check it out. And no there is about 30 people that have moved in there.''
''Talon company? Be careful. You know how fond they are of taking out rangers.'' Mark told her.
''Ahh are you worried about me, sergeant?''
''I don't want you to get killed. That's all.'' Mark told her and looked in Elizabeth's eyes.
''Don't worry. I'm meeting up with your roommate Brad at the Anchorage memorial before.''
''Oh really? Well tell him I said Hi.'' Mark said.
Dave returned from the storage with 3 cans of noodles.
''This is all I can spare at the moment. 10 caps please.''
''Thank's Dave.'' Mark said and handed him the caps.
''Hey could you bring these back to my room? I need to head over to the command central and see the one i'm escorting tomorrow.'' Mark told Elizabeth and walked towards the command central.
He entered the basement and went to the place where the civilians lived. He saw a young woman sitting on the couch, reading a book. The girl couldn't have been more than 20 years old. She had blonde hair that was resting on her shoulders. She also wore a pair of glasses that only made her look more attractive in Mark's eyes.
''Excuse me miss. I'm looking for a Claire White?'' Mark asked the girl.
''My name is Claire White. So I guess you are looking for me.'' Claire put down her book and stood up. She wasn't much shorter than Mark. Which surprised him. There weren't that many people that grew tall these days.
''Oh. I'm Sergeant Mark Emerson. I am the one escorting you to Megaton tomorrow.'' Mark said and reached out for he hand.
''Nice to meet you sergeant Emerson.'' She said and shock his hand.
''Have you been told what to bring for the journey?'' Mark asked her.
''I have. I packed my backpack and already put out my clothes for tomorrow.''
''Good good. Have you been issued with any weapon?''
''I have a 10mm pistol and some extra magazines for it.'' She said and showed Mark the gun.
''Looks like it's in good condition. Have you received any training for it?''
''Some hours at the firing range is all.'' Claire answered. With a little irritation in her voice.
''So no real combat experience. Let's hope she doesn't get me killed.'' He thought.
''I am just wondering so I can prepare, Miss White. Have a nice evening and I will see you tomorrow at the seward square south station entrance at 7am.'' Mark said and exited the command central and went back to his barrack.
He entered his room and saw the 3 cans of noodles on his bed. He picked them up and put them in his backpack along with 3 bottles of water, making it a total of 5 bottles with the ones he packed for his earlier mission down in the subway.
With that Mark was ready for his mission to Megaton. He looked at his watch.
''Only 7pm. I could work out for about an hour and then get a good night's sleep.'' Mark thought and went to gym and did his work. He then returned to his barrack, got a shower and went to bed.
Mark was waiting at the subway entrance for Miss White. He shivered a little because of the cold. He decided to put on a extra sweater. He put down his sniper rifle on the ground next to him, resting the barrel on his foot so it wouldn't get any dirt in it. He put down his backpack and pulled out a thick sweater and put it on and then his jacket and picked up his rifle.
''Don't you think it's cold?'' Mark asked Luna. He didn't get any responce from her.
He could now see Miss White walking towards him. She wore a pair of beige combat boots, black BDU pants and dark green BDU jacket. She had her glasses on and a black wool cap. She had her 10mm pistol strapped on her right thigh. She didn't wore any armor though.
''Wow she really is beautiful...NO! Focus on the task at hand.'' Mark thought to himself.
''You're late.'' Mark told her with a little bit of irritation in his voice.
''Only for like 5 minutes.'' She answered and petted Luna.
''In combat 5 minutes is the difference between life and death. Do you understand?'' Mark told her.
''Yes sergeant. She said.
''Good. Let's move. We got a lot of walking ahead of us.''
The two walked down into the metro and across the bridge where the ranger checkpoint were located. They walked towards the exit at the Anastasia crossing station.
''Why are we taking this route? Wouldn't it be faster to go through the mall or use the tunnels?'' Claire asked Mark.
''Both of those options have become too dangerous. We'll use the Megaton-Rivet city highway.'' Mark said.
The highway wasn't really a highway. It was just called that because it linked Megaton and Rivet city. It was the road being used by all of the merchant caravans when traveling to Rivet city.
They exited the subway at Anastasia crossing. They immediately saw the massive carrier. Mark could see that they were loading some goods up on the freight elevator up to the deck. They didn't pay much attention to it though as they walked past it with Megaton in their minds.
They walked up on the highway and saw an old road sign that had been reused at the name Megaton had been written on it, with an arrow pointing in the direction of Megaton.
They had been walking for a little more than 2 hours when they met a caravan group.
''Hey there ranger! Care to purchase anything?'' The merchant asked Mark.
''No thank you. Any news about the road ahead?'' Mark asked the merchant.
''Yeah we spotted a group of raiders back there just 2 hours ago. I don't think they saw us, but if they did they didn't care about us.''
''Where exactly?'' Mark asked.
''Just east of the Super-duper mart. On our side of the Potomac. I would stear clear of that area. We got information from Canterbury commons that the shopping mall have been turned into a raider camp.'' The merchant warned Mark.
Mark already knew about the raiders in the shopping mall. Hell the information from Canterbury commons were probably Mark's own report from his scout mission. The people back at the command central at the ranger compound had probably already sent the information to every settlement with a radio receiver in the entire Capital wasteland.
''Thanks for the heads up. The road behind us are clear all the way to Rivet city.'' Mark told the merchant who simply nodded and motioned for his group to continue.
''Let's take a break over there inside of that diner.'' Mark told Claire and pointed towards the building.
They both entered and Mark searched the place with his 9mm pistol ready in his hands in case there were any dangers lurking inside. When he was satisfied that the diner was clear he waved for Claire to enter.
''We'll eat some food and rest for 30 minutes then we'll continue.'' Mark told her and put his rifle down on the bar. He took of his backpack and took out his remaining radstag jerky and a bottle of water. He took a bite of the jerky and noticed that Claire didn't have anything to eat.
''You didn't pack any food with you?'' Mark asked her.
''No. I thought that we would stop at Rivet city first. Or at least purchase some from a potential merchant on the way. But you told him we didn't need anything.'' Claire said.
''You knew that we would be walking for hours. And that is if everything goes according to plan. And I didn't stop you from buying anything from that merchant.'' Mark told her with a firm voice.
Claire didn't give him a response but only looked down on the floor and kicked an empty can.
''Here, take some jerky and some water.'' Mark told her and handed her some jerky and a water bottle from his backpack.
''Thank you, sergeant.'' She said and took the food and started to eat the jerky.
Mark took of his boots and started to change his socks. The ones he was wearing was a little bit sweaty.
''Why are you changing your socks?'' Claire asked him and took a sip from her water bottle.
''To keep my feet dry.'' Mark answered.
''What?'' Claire said.
''To keep my feet dry. So I won't damage my feet. If you don't wear dry socks your feet will get wet. You ever heard of trench foot?'' Mark told her.
''Yeah I've read about.''
''Then you should already know why i'm doing it. You should change your socks to. Wouldn't want to stop and lose time just because your feet hurt because you didn't change your socks when you had the time to do it.'' Mark said and laced up his boots again.
Claire took his advice and took out a fresh pair of socks from her backpack and changed her socks.
''What do I do with my old and wet socks?'' She asked Mark.
''You hang them inside your pants against your thighs. That way your body heat will dry them.''
Claire did as Mark said and pushed down the socks inside her pants. Mark tried to sneak a peak but quickly refrained himself from doing it.''
''Which way should we take to avoid the raiders at the Super-Duper mart?'' Claire asked Mark who was looking at the enormous building across the Potomac. He could see the flag of the Brotherhood waving from a flagpole that stood on the roof of the building.
''Sergeant?'' Claire said.
''Huh? Sorry. Uhm we'll cross the bridge just north of the Citadel and follow the river down south towards Arlington library. Then we'll go west towards the Nuka-Cola plant and when we get there we turn north towards Megaton. Sounds good to you?'' Mark said and picked up his rifle from the bar and put on his backpack.
''Sounds good.'' Claire said and put on her own backpack.
''Let's get going.'' Mark said and looked at his watch.
''9:40am. We should make it to Megaton before the evening.'' Mark thought to himself and held the door for Claire.
It only took them 20 minutes to reach the bridge. And only 5 minutes to cross it. When they arrived on the other side they turned south and headed for Arlington library. After just 10 minutes they passed the Citadel. Mark could see numerous Brotherhood knight's on the guard platforms on top of the walls. And there were a trio of knights that were patrolling the outside perimeter. One of the knights that wasn't wearing a power armor came up to Mark.
''Halt ranger. State your business this close to the Citadel.'' The knight said.
''We're just heading towards Megaton. We're taking this way to avoid the raiders at the Super-Duper mart.'' Mark told the knight.
''A fair reason I suppose. Be careful though. Our brothers at the Arlington library have spotted several raiders at the Nuka-Cola plant.'' The knight told him and let them pass.
''Will the raiders at the Nuka-Cola plant be any problem?'' Claire asked Mark with a worried voice.
''We will see when we get there Miss White.'' Mark said and began to walk, with Claire next to him.
It didn't take long to reach the library. Outside at the entrance of the building there was a brotherhood guardpost. Two knight's was guarding the entry. They give Mark and Claire to much of their attention. As they noticed that Mark and Claire came from the Citadel so they must have been cleared already.
''We will stop over there and eat lunch.'' Mark pointed towards a building opposite of the library.
The two started to walk towards the building. When they were just 5 meters away from the doorway that led in Mark's flashlight fell out of his pocket.
''Crap.''¨He said and bent down to pick it up. Just when he reached for it he saw that Claire was about to enter through the doorway.
''STOP!'' Mark shouted to her.
But it was too late. Claire only had time to turn her head around and look at Mark when her leg pulled the small string of line that had been hanging just some centimeters above the ground.
They both heard the sound of the grenade that just had been freed of its pin. Mark quickly got up and ran towards Claire.
''One-thousand, two-thousand three-thousand.'' Mark counted in his head. When he reached two-thousand he could hear the metal clang when the safety lever released the grip of the body of the grenade.
When he reached three-thousand in his mind he was finally in reach of Claire. He took a firm grip on her jacket and pulled her with all of his strength away from the doorway, towards the side and then he pushed her down onto the ground with him on top, to shield her from any shrapnel. Mark hoped that the grenade would land inside of the doorway and that the shockwave would be absorbed by the thick concrete walls.
''Four-thou…'' Mark's counting was interrupted by the loud explosion from the grenade, followed by the feeling of every bone in his body shaking. Then came the rain of dirt and stone. Then the ringing in his ears started.
When the dirt stopped to rain on him he quickly got up and searched himself for any injuries and wounds.
''No injuries. No feeling of blood pouring out of my body. Good. Shit what about Miss White.'' Mark thought and looked down on Claire who was still laying on the ground below him.
''Miss White are you alright?'' Mark asked her.
Claire turned around and looked up on Mark. She couldn't really understand what had just happened. The ringing in her ears was loud and she couldn't even hear herself think.
''Are you okey?''
''What is Sergeant Emerson saying. It sounds like he is whispering but it looks like he's shouting at me. OW MY FOOT.'' The pain had only just now registered in Claire's brain.
Luna was barking loud and smelling the area around them, trying detect a possible enemy.
''Are you hurt!?'' Mark asked yet again.
''My foot hurt!'' Claire shouted to Mark.
Mark looked down at her feet and could see that Claire was bleeding from her left foot. Mark got down on his knees and examined the wound.
''Shit. A piece of shrapnel has pierced her foot.'' Mark thought and looked over the wound again.
''Miss White you have a piece of shrapnel in your foot. We have to remove it or it could do more damage later on.'' Mark told her.
''It hurt so much!'' She cried out.
''I know but it will be over soon.'' Mark told assured her.''
One of the Brotherhood knight's that had guarded the entry to the Arlington library came running up to them.
''Do you need any help?'' He asked them.
''I need a stretcher and a doctor or medic to help my friend here.'' Mark told the knight. The knight took off running towards the library and entered it.
''Help is on the way. Take deep breath and try not to think about your foot. I'm going to have to check you for any other injuries while we wait.'' Mark told Claire who simply nodded at him.
Mark took of his gloves and began to examine Claire's body for any other injuries. Moving his hands from her legs and thighs all the way up across her stomach, chest, back and arms to feel for any blood.
Just when Mark was finished a trio of brotherhood knight's and a scribe arrived at them.
''I'm scribe Young, the physician of this outpost. What is her injury?'' Young asked.
''Shrapnel in her foot caused by a grenade. No other injuries. Her name is Claire White.''
''Alright Miss White. We'll take care of that wound for you. Put her on the stretcher and let's bring her inside.'' Scribe Young told the knight's.
They carried Claire onto the stretcher and 2 knight's carried the stretcher inside. With Mark grabbing onto Claire's hand.
''It's going to be alright Miss White. Don't you worry.'' Mark told her.
''When people say that you shouldn't worry, it's probably time to worry.'' Claire responded with some tears now leaving her eyes.
''It's not a live-threatening wound. But we have to take care of it right away.''
They entered the library and Mark was almost paralyzed when he saw what was inside.
''Books! And they aren't burned or completely soaked with water!'' Mark thought. He have seen books that survived the wasteland before. But not this many of them. It must have been thousands of them.
''Do you see the books Miss White? Maybe you can borrow one later.'' Mark told Claire to try and to calm her down.
''No time for that just yet. Bring her to the infirmary.'' Scribe Young told the knight's that was carrying the stretcher.
Inside the infirmary there was all kind of medical equipment. Med-x, Rad-X, Radaway, Stimpaks and much more. There was a bed that Claire was carried onto.
''Alright let's get the boot of so we can see what we have to work with.'' Scribe Young said and grabbed a pair of scissors and cut of the boots laces. She pulled of the boot and examined the wound.
''Shouldn't be to hard to treat it. The shrapnel didn't get that far in. Should be able to pull it out without damaging anymore tissue.'' Scribe Young told the Mark.
''That's good. You hear that Miss White?''
''I still hurts like hell.'' Claire told them.
''I could give you some Med-X. Then you won't feel a thing.'' Scribe Young told her.
''Do it.'' Mark cut in before Claire could give a response.
''Alright. But you all need to get out of here. There are to many people in this room.'' Scribe Young told the knight's and Mark.
''No. I want Sergeant Emerson to stay.'' Claire said and looked at Mark.
''Okey you can stay. But the rest of you get out!'' Scribe Young said with an irritation in her voice because of Claire's insisting that Mark should remain in the room.
''I'm giving you the Med-X now.'' Scribe Young said and pushed the needle into the foot close to where the wound was.
Mark took Claire's hand with his own and started to talk to her. To draw her attention from her foot and to let scribe Young work alone in peace.
''So what was that book you were reading last night when I came to present myself?'' Mark asked her-
''Its called The great gatsby. It was written by a man called Francis Scott Fitzgerald. It was published in 1925.'' She said and squeezed Mark's hand.
''Wow. That's along time ago. How did you come by it?'' Mark asked her and embraced her hand with both of his.
''My dad gave it to me when I was a kid. He said he found it in a room in Rivet city when they expanded the city and explored the ship more.''
''That was really nice of him. You know I like to read to.'' Mark told her.
''Oh really. What do you read?'' She asked him.
''Anything from instructions manual to the back of a can of beans. You would be surprised by the kind of things you can learn from a 200 years old can.'' Mark told her and smiled. Claire let out a short laugh.
''I had the wrong idea about you specialists. I thought all you did was spying on the enemy and firing your weapons.'' Claire said.
''We do a lot of things. Those things included. But today I had the pleasure of escorting you to Megaton. We didn't get that far today though.'' Mark said.
''This is just a necessary stop along the way sergeant. We'll get there.'' Claire said. She closed her eyes and rested her mind. And before Mark knew it she had fallen asleep.
Mark let go of her hand. He looked at her, her blonde hair had been thrown out of the ponytail that it been in before. Her face was dirty from the dirt. She had a small wound on her check. Probably from when Mark pushed her towards the ground. Her BDU Pants had gotten some scratches on them.
''Shit.. She really is beautiful. And she came close to dying today. On MY watch. Fuck!... Never again Miss White, I promise.'' Mark thought to himself.
''How's it going doc?'' Mark asked scribe Young.
''I have removed the shrapnel and cleaned the wound. I am stitching it up now. The shrapnel wasn't as big as I feared. She will make a full recovery. But she should rest now. She will be safe in here if you want to look around.'' Scribe Young said and cut of the remaining wire from Claire's wound.
Mark leaved the infirmary and walked around in the library. He could see several scribes walking around and sometime picking up a book and then putting it down after writing something on a chart.
''Probably cataloging it for the future. Just think of the knowledge and tales stored in these books!'' Mark thought to himself.
He picked up a book. He felt the cover of it, he smelled the pages.
''Amazing isn't it?'' Mark heard a voice him. He turned around and faced one of the scribes.
''Oh sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt your work.'' Mark said and put the book down.
''It's okey ranger. My name is Lana West and i am the commander of this outpost.'' Mark was surprised by the fact that a scribe was the leader of a Brotherhood outpost.
''I thought that the command of the Brotherhood outposts always fell on a knight?'' Mark asked Scribe West.
''They usually do. Put as this location is a wealth of intelligence and forgotten knowledge, Head scribe Rothchild saw it fit that a scribe would be command. So he convinced former Elder Lyons that I should be sent. I was promoted to senior scribe and positioned here. Though knight-sergeant Hill is in charge of the defence and of the squad of knights that are stationed here.'' Scribe West explained to Mark.
''Oh.. I see. I am really fascinated by all the books you have here. How many do you have?'' Mark asked scribe West.
''Over 2500 different books. All different. We have books written about made up stories and books full of knowledge and thoughts by great men and women before the Great war. We are currently working with transferring the contents of all of the books into computer discs for safekeeping.''
''What will you do with the disks?'' Mark asked. He was intrigued by all the books and knowledge that they held within.
''We will move them to the Citadel. They will be safer there. And then we will continue to read them. To rediscover forgotten knowledge so that we can make our world better again.'' Scribe West said and smiled when she told Mark of a better world.
''That sounds amazing. And like hard work.''
''Hard work that will pay of. In the end it will be all worth the years of work.''
'''What will you do with all these books?'' Mark asked and picked up another book.
''That is still to be decided. I want to keep them. But it's up to Elder Maxson.''
Mark read the title of the book he had picked up. Systema Naturae it said.
''That is one of my favorite books. It was written by a man called Carolus Linnaeus in the 18th century, over 500 years ago. It catalogs the different kind of animal and plant life that existed before. It is incredible to read about what kind of life that existed back before.'' Scribe West said with passion.
''I bet it is. Do you mind if I were to keep a book?'' He asked scribe West.
''Of course you can. Just tell which it is so I can check that we have cataloged it first.'' Scribe West said. And with that Mark started to search for the book he wanted to keep. He looked at several different books, turning them over and reading the small teasers on the backsides.
After 40 minutes of searching he finally found the books he wanted to read.
''I would like to take these 2.'' Mark said and showed Scribe West the books.
''Let' see. First one is The Godfather and the second one is Odessy. Good choice. We have cataloged both of them. You can take them.'' Scribe West said.
''Thank you.'' Mark said and put the books in his backpack. He looked at his watch.
''12:15pm. Better eat something.'' He thought.
''You hungry girl?'' Mark asked Luna who smiled and noded.
''Do you have a kitchen where I can heat up my lunch?'' Mark asked Scribe West.
''Yeah just down the hall.'' She said and pointed down a hallway.
Mark picked up his backpack and walked down the hall and entered the kitchen. He saw that the Brotherhood already had a place where they cooked the food that was in cans. Mark took out a can of noodles and started to cook it.
''I Wonder when Miss White will wake up. If it's too late then we maybe have to sleep here.'' Mark thought and sat down on a chair.
He took his noodles which had finished cooking and ate them in 10 minutes.
''Let's take a nap girl while Miss White is still sleeping.'' Mark said and laid down on a couch that was in the same room as the kitchen.
Mark woke up when someone shook him.
''Sergeant.'' He could hear someone say.
''Yeah?'' Mark responded and scratches his eyes.
''Miss White is awake and she is asking for you.'' He was now full awake and saw the knight in front of him.
''Thanks.'' Mark said and looked at his watch.
''8:30pm! Holy hell that was some nap.'' Mark stood up and walked towards the infirmary. When he entered it he could see Claire and Scribe Young. Claire was eating some kind of fruit and drinking some water.
''Sergeant Emerson. Good to see you.'' Claire said and smiled.
''Likewise Miss White. How is your foot?'' Mark asked her and sat down on a chair.
''It feels good. Scribe Young told as long as I don't go running in a marathon that I should make a full recovery.'' Claire said and finished her fruit.
''That's good news.'' Mark said.
''So are you ready to head out again?'' Claire said and stood up from the bed.
''It's really late. And you should be resting your foot for at least the night. Mark said with a surprised face. Miss White showed that she was serious. But heading out in the wasteland with an injured foot is just foolish.
''I need to get to Megaton so start my mission there. It is important that I fix the relation between the settlement and Reilly's Rangers. We will move out tonight.'' Claire said with a firm voice.
''Miss White I seriously suggest that we stay here.'' Mark said.
''ENOUGH! Sergeant we will move out. Or I will go alone.'' Claire said with an angry look on her face.
''Fine. Get ready and we will go as soon as you want.'' Mark said and stirred in Claire's eyes.
Mark exited the room and went to get Luna and his stuff. When he arrived back at the main entry he saw that Claire was waiting for him. With both scribe Young and West by her side.
''Good luck out there. Be careful by the Nuka-Cola plant. We spotted raiders there this morning.'' Scribe West told them both.
''Thank you scribe. And thank you for treating my wound. I will not forget your hospitality.'' Claire said and opened the door and walked out in the wasteland with Mark and Luna trailing behind.
They headed west and passed the flooded metro after just an hour of walking. With Claire's wounded foot they had to walk at a slower pace.
''How are you feeling?'' Mark asked Claire.
''I'm good sergeant.'' Claire responded.
They continued their walk until Mark could see the Nuka-Cola plant. He halted Claire and told her to stay back with Luna while Mark would scout ahead. He took out his sniper rifle and climbed up on some rubble up to a balcony that overlooked the plant.
He looked though his magnification scope and tried to spot any danger.
''Doesn't look like anybody is there. Perhaps they packed up and left.'' Mark thought to himself and continued with trying to spot any raiders. Just when was about to be satisfied with that nothing was there he heard a shot coming from the plant. He searched for the origin and found it when another shot was heard and a muzzle flash lighted up a window on the building.
One raider came running out from the doors of the plant followed by a group of 4 other raiders that was chasing him with knives and axes. It looked like the one raider was getting away when he suddenly tripped on a rock.
The other raiders catched up to him and one was getting ready to hit him with an axe
''No, no please!'' Mark could hear the raider pleading for his life. But the other raiders didn't care. One of the struck the raider with his axe right on his knee and cut of his leg.
''Aaaaargh!'' The raider shouted in pain.
The rest of the raiders started to stab him several times all over his body with their knives. Only the sound of stabbing could now be heard. The voice of the dead raider now gone.
Mark watched as the other raiders left the dead body on the street and walked back into the plant. He climbed back down onto the street and rejoined Claire and Luna.
''What was that screaming?'' Claire asked.
''The plant is full of raiders. But there isn't anybody outside guarding the perimeter. We will try to sneak past it. Be quiet and follow me.'' Mark told Claire.
The trio walked down towards the street that passed the plant. Trying to stay as far away as they could from the plant. They could see that the body of the dead raider was already attracting the creatures of the wasteland.
A pair of small radscorpions was facing of 5 mole rats over who was to feast on the body that night. They didn't seem to care about Mark, Claire and Luna. It all went well when suddenly a mole rat appeared from a burned car and tried to bite at Claire's leg.
Mark was faster and pulled out his kukri and stabbed the mole rat in its stomach. Put Claire had already let out a loud shriek of fear. Mark could see the doors of the plant opening up and 7 raiders running out looking for the source of the human sound.
Mark looked around and saw a rope ladder to his right that led up to a window on the building behind him.
''There! Climb up but be quiet!'' Claire tried to run as quiet as she could towards the ladder and climbed up and entered through the window. Mark was following her and picked up Luna and placed her on top of Mark's backpack. She put her paws around Mark's neck and held onto him. He finally reached the top and let Luna jump in through the window before entering himself.
He pulled up the ladder up and made the shush sign at Claire. He could hear the raiders walking outside the building, searching to them.
''Don't stop looking. Whoever made that sound can't have gotten far.'' He could hear a voice.
After an hour of just sitting there Mark finally dared to peek through the window.
''Shit they have posted guards everywhere. Must be 5 of them. We won't be leaving this place tonight.'' Mark thought and let out a sigh of both relief and fear.
He walked low to Claire and told her about the situation on the street.
''Are we gonna sleep here?'' She asked.
''Yes. We have no other choice. We will move again when the sun rises in the morning, but right now it's too much of a risk.'' Mark whispered to her and put down his backpack. He took out a blanket and one of his sweaters.
He placed his sweater on the floor as a pillow and put the blanket on the floor, he laid down on the blanket and then pulled the sides over him. Luna lied down in a corner and Claire just sat there on the floor.
After a minute she decided to lie down on the floor too and tried to fall asleep.
''Should I tell her? No she'll figure it out soon''. Mark thought and snuggled up in his blanket.
After 30 minutes of if freezing and shivering, Claire crawled over to Mark.
''Sergeant Emerson I am freezing.'' She said.
''You didn't prepare for a night out?'' Mark asked her jokingly. Knowing the answer already.
''What do you think.'' She said.
''Alright crawl in under the blanket with me.'' He told her and held up the blanket.
''What? really?'' Claire said with a surprised look on her face,
''We will use each other's body heat to survive the night. Now are you gonna crawl in here or am I gonna get more blanket for myself?'' Mark told her.
Claire didn't hesitate and crawled under next to Mark. He pulled the blanket over her and wrapped his arm around her to bring them closer together to get as much as heat as possible. He could feel after just some minutes that Claire had stopped shaking and moved in closer towards Mark, their faces only centimeters from each other's.
''Thank you sergeant. I'm sorry for putting our lives at risk before.'' Claire whispered.
''Don't worry about it. You couldn't have helped it.'' He said.
They looked into each other's eyes. It was right there and then that Mark saw it. Claire had different colored irises in her eyes.
''I can't believe I haven't noticed your eyes before. That's really cool.'' Mark whispered.
''Thank you. Most people think of me like some kind of freak because of my eyes.'' She said and smiled.
Mark was completely taken by surprise by Claire's next move. She moved in and kissed him He didn't have time to react before Claire moved back again.
''I'm so sorry. I don't know why I did that. '' She whispered.
''It's alright Miss White. Try and get some sleep.'' Mark said and closed his eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.
Claire woke up when she suddenly felt something wet on her forehead. Thinking it was a dream she tried to sleep again. Only to be licked all over the face by Luna.
''Ugh! Luna stop it'' Claire said and pushed Luna's head away. She wiped her voice with the arm on her shirt. She turned around expecting to see Mark. But he wasn't there.
''Must be up checking for any raiders.'' Claire thought and stood up from the floor. She shivered a little and looked down on her wristwatch.
''7:30! We better get moving to Megaton soon.'' She thought and looked around for Mark. He wasn't in the room. Claire hadn't noticed it the night before but there was more rooms in the apartment that they had climbed into last night.
''Mar… Sergeant Emerson?'' She said. She didn't get any respond.
''Do you know where he is?'' Claire asked Luna, who took of into one of the other rooms. Claire followed and when she entered the room she could see that Mark was sitting by the window, aiming his sniper rifle down towards the street below.
''Maybe he didn't hear me.'' Claire thought and was just about to speak to him when Mark held up his index finger as a sign for her to wait.
Mark was aiming all over the area below them. At the street, the Nuka-Cola plant and the surrounding area. It took almost 5 minutes before he walked back from the window.
''Good morning Miss White. I hope that you have been sleeping well?'' Mark asked her and took out a can of noodles from his backpack, he also took out his own small personal mess kit. It contained a metal cup and a plate but that was rectangular in shape.
''Good morning Sergeant. I did sleep well thank you for sharing your blanket with.'' Claire responded and couldn't stop herself from thinking about when she had kissed Mark.
''Don't mention it.'' Mark said.
''I would like to head out as soon as possible towards Megaton.'' Claire said.
''Sure thing. But first we need to eat.'' Mark said and walked into another room which Claire soon discovered to be the kitchen.
''We need to move out no…'' Claire stopped herself. She thought back to the night before when back at the Arlington Library when she practically had forced Mark to follow her out again.
''I should start listening to Mark. He probably knows what he's doing.'' She thought and sat down at the kitchen table.
''So I discovered that this had used to be someone's hideout or safehouse. There was a small fusion generator in the attic. So we have power to use this hot plate. Mark said and began to heat up the noodles. He took out a water bottle from his backpack and put it on the table.
''You still had some water left, right?'' Mark asked Claire.
''Uhh yeah. I have it hear in my pocket.'' Claire said and pulled out her water bottle from her right thigh pocket on her BDU pants.
''Excellent. I hope you don't mind but we are going to have to share.'' Mark said and placed the metal cup filled with noodles on the table. He handed Claire a fork and sat down on the chair opposite of her.
They began to eat from the cup. At first they didn't speak to each other. But it didn't take long until a conversation started.
''How long do you think it will take to reach Megaton from here?'' Claire asked and picked up some noodles with her fork.
''Probably about 2 hours. Depends if we face any problem on the way. We will follow the road north until we arrive just west of Grayditch. There we will turn for Megaton. '' Mark responded.
'Good. I hope we don't face any more problems. I faced enough of challenges yesterday.'' Claire said.
''Huh, yeah. How is your foot?'' Mark asked Claire and pointed at her left foot. You could still see the traces of blood on the boot.
''Oh and I was suppose gonna give these to you yesterday when you woke up from the Med-X. I must have forgot.'' Mark said and handed Claire a lace for her boot.
''Thank you sergeant. My foot is feeling better. I can support more weight on it now.'' Claire responded and took the lace and started to apply it to her boot.
''Good. As soon as we have finished eating we will get out of here.'' Mark said not realising that Claire already had finished the noodles. He looked into the cup and simply smiled.
'' Then I guess we're getting out of here.'' Claire said with a smile.
They both got ready to leave. Mark went into the room they had slept in and threw down the ladder from the window. He climbed out and down a few steps so that Claire could place Luna on Mark's shoulders. He then waited for Claire to climb down. She reached the ground and they continued their walk north towards the second biggest settlement in the Capital wasteland.
It took them only 30 minutes until they could spot the Red Racer factory in the distance.
''When we reach the factory I will do some recon. Just to make sure it is safe.'' Mark said. They stopped just 50 meters from the factory. Mark told Claire and Luna to hide inside an old clothing store. While waiting for Mark to return Claire looked around the store.
''Every bit of clothing was probably lotted a long time ago. Don't you think girl?'' Claire asked Luna. But Luna's attention lay elsewhere. She was growling at a door.
''What is it girl? Is there anything behind the door?'' Claire asked and approached the door. When she was about to lay her hand on the handle Luna barked and backed away from the door.
Claire thought that maybe she should wait for Mark to return.
''No i'll investigate it myself.'' She said. She raised her 10mm pistol from the holster and aimed it towards the door. She slowly turned the handle and opened the door.
She was immediately pushed to the ground by the ghoul that was trapped inside. The ghoul tried to bite her throat. But Claire held it away. She tried with all her strength to push the ghoul away but it was to strong. It clicked its teeth at her. Suddenly it was pushed from the side when Luna threw herself at the ghoul.
Claire quickly picked up her pistol that was on the ground next to her and fired of 2 bullets at the ghoul. Both impacted with the ghouls head and it stopped moving.
Mark came running it with his rifle aimed at the dead ghoul. He examined the dead creature and lowered his rifle when he saw that it was dead.
''Are you okay?'' He asked Claire.
''I'm fine. It was hiding behind that door and threw itself at me when I opened it. I would probably be dead if it wasn't for Luna.'' At the mention of her name Luna smiled and her tail came to life.
''Glad to hear it. The way ahead is clear. Let's get out of here.'' Mark said and walked out.
''Yeah let's'' Claire said and holstered her pistol.
''Good shooting.'' Mark said.
The trio had been walking for about 1 hour when they came across a sign that said Grayditch. It was a sign for them that it was time to switch direction.
''I wonder if Beth is still there.'' Mark thought while they were passing the resettled settlement.
They headed of in the direction of Megaton. It didn't take long until they could see the big metal walls of the large settlement. The settlement had grown the most of all the settlement in the Capital wasteland.
Sure Rivet city was the largest, but it had been a large settlement 10 years ago. Megaton had grown in all directions. The walls had to be expanded in effort to make new space within them. So they had sent salvage crews to the scrapyard north-east of Big town. They had almost picked the place clean. They had even managed to retrieve the large sky crane and put it to good use when expanding the walls. Never before had the merchants and caravans of the Capital wasteland earned so many caps in selling scrap metal, nails, screws and other metal parts.
''There you have your new home Miss White.'' Mark said and pointed towards the large walls.
''I see it sergeant. Can't wait to get there and start my task.'' Claire said.
''Your very dedicated to the job Miss White.''
''Thank you sergeant. I wouldn't want to destroy the rangers relationship with Megaton. It will take some time to get into my work but I will do my best.''
''I'm sure you will Miss White.'' Mark said and took some sips from his water bottle.
''I only have one more water bottle after this. I need to refill them at Megaton.'' Mark thought and put back the bottle in his thigh pocket.
''You can call me Claire, sergeant.'' Claire said and drank the last water in her bottle.
''Alright, Claire. You can call me Mark. Now come on. We are almost there.'' Mark said with a smile.
The trio reached the walls after only 20 minutes. They followed the walls until they reached the entry. At the entry of the settlement the engineers of Megaton had constructed several covers in case of an attack on the settlement. There were several concrete and metal barricades. On the sides of the gate there were 2 guard towers, both maned by the Megaton security forces. Also when the engineers expanded the walls they added sniper platforms at the top to provide extra protection.
The towers were armed with an M60 machine gun each. The M60's along with 50 Service rifles and 20 Assault carbines had been purchased sold to Megaton by Reilly's Rangers when the two groups first signed the deal to cooperate. Reilly's Rangers received 2500 caps and a safehouse in the city.
The trio walked towards the entry. There were 4 guards posted there. 2 in the towers and 2 on the ground right in front of the gate. The 2 that was on the ground both carried an Assault carbine each.
''Welcome to Megaton ranger. What is your business here?'' The guard in charge asked.
''I am escorting this lady here. Her name is Miss White and she is to replace the former ambassador Thompson.'' Mark said and ushered Claire to take a step forward.
''I see. Wait here a moment please.'' The guard said and motioned for his colleague to check if it was true. He talked into an intercom behind on of the concrete barricades. It was a quiet minute that Mark, Claire and the guard just stood there and looked at each other.
''They are expected.'' The other guard finally said.
''Can't be too careful. The guard in charge said and motioned them to enter the city.
''Are you ready Claire?'' Mark asked her.
''Let's head on inside.'' Claire said and took her first steps inside the sprawling city. With Mark and Luna following close behind.
Claire took it all in. The buildings, the people, the water pipes and the entire scene. Sure she had grown up in Rivet city, a settlement larger than Megaton. But living inside a massive carrier is another thing. There she felt trapped inside the walls. Here it was open, she could see the sky and breathe the fresh air.
''Claire. I think it is best that you report in at the city hall.'' Mark said and motioned her to follow him. They walked through the streets of the city. Trying their best to not bump into other passed the sheriff's home and some other new buildings that was used to different things, shops, workshops or just ordinary homes. They reached the city hall after just 5 minutes. They stood at the door and looked on each other.
''Well my mission ends here. You have reached your destination. It has been a pleasure to get to know you, Claire. Mark said and presented his hand.
Claire pushed his hand away and gave him a hug.
''Thank you for taking me here. And likewise Mark.''
Claire turned around and entered the building. Mark just stood there for a minute until he also turned around.
''Come on girl. Let's go.'' He told Luna, and they both disappeared into the crowd of people.