Chapter 2: Close Call

"Damn, still a good eight hours walk." I mumbled to myself. Well, if the info I downloaded leads me to my dad, it's worth it. It wasn't long after I had set out once again that I happened upon a grim sight. A group of seven or so bodies were strewn about atop a hill I had climbed over.

"My god…" I whispered as I placed my hand over my mouth. All of the people had been gunned down and had varying bullet wounds on their bodies, and I could tell that they had been robbed because all of their packs and bags were lying about as well, most of which were completely empty.

I quickened my pace, for fear had settled in to my heart…fear of Raiders patrolling the area. The sun had gone down by now, and the dark sky was lit up with luminescent lights, and the moon was crescent and didn't provide much light. I spotted an old, run down house off in the distance, and figured I'd better settle down for the night. Boy, what a stupid mistake that was. I crept up to the house and scanned it over to make sure that it didn't already have any residents living within. I found an old sign on the ground next to me. I picked it up and brushed the dirt off. It was hard to make out in the dark, but I'm sure it read: Kaelyn's Bed & Brea-. A piece of the sign was missing, but I know the last word said Breakfast.

The sound of loud laughter caused me to fall on my ass in surprise, and I lifted my Assault Rifle I had acquired to my front. Two men dressed in spiky leather armor came walking around the corner of the house.

"Heh, can you believe them wasters had all this loot on them?" one asked the other. "Yeah, I would've figured they had jack shit, but it turned out to be the exact opposite!" the two of them laughed together once again, then stopped about twenty or so feet to my left so they could light up.

I looked them over and saw that one was carrying a Hunting Rifle in his hands, and the other sported the same Assault Rifle that I was carrying. "So, these must be the raiders that attacked that poor caravan." I thought to myself. Maybe I could serve a little justice and avenge them. And, in the process of doing so, I could score some more ammo and medical supplies.

I crept a little closer, but stopped when I noticed three more raiders coming around my right flank. They hadn't noticed me yet, thank god, but they were getting too close for comfort. "Hey!" one shouted, "The boss wants everyone inside for a meetin'." He finished. "Ugh, the boss and his meetin's." one of them grumbled.

The five Raiders then proceeded to make their way back in to the house. I thought I was home free, but I lost my balance while I was kneeling and fell over again. Damn my clumsiness, damn it to hell.

One of the Raiders near the back of the group looked back and saw something lurking in the shadows, and that something was me.

"Well, well, well boys, lookie what we got here. We got us a snoop who should know to mind his own business." The five of them then ran over before I could get myself up and restrained me.

They took my gun and supplies from me and looked through their contents. "Not a bad bag of stuff you got here stranger. We'll just be takin' this for ourselves and get rid of you." one said.

Another of them pulled out a .32 Pistol and pressed it against my cheek, "You want it in the head, or in the heart?" he asked me in a sadistic tone.

It was in this instant that I was sure that I was a dead man. There was no hope of escape for me, no elaborate scheme that I could pull in order to save my own ass at the cost of my supplies. No sir, this should have been the end for me….but miraculously, it was not the end. Just as the sick son of a bitch was about to pull the trigger, everyone, including me, could hear footsteps drawing ever closer.

I couldn't see much of the person who had interrupted our little "group meeting". All I could make out was the shape of a Fedora atop his head, and a large trench coat that covered most of his body. "You shouldn't be here stranger, unless you want to suffer the same fate as this sorry fella here." the Raider who was holding the gun to my cheek threatened. The man brought up a lighter and lit himself a cigarette. The dim light emanating from the end of it just barely gleamed off his experienced eyes. Before anyone could even blink, the mysterious stranger fired off five rounds with amazing speed and precision.

All went deathly quiet, and one by one, each of the Raiders fell to their knees, then flat on their faces. Each had received a single shot to the head before they could even pull their guns up. "What the fuck is all that noise?" someone shouted from within the house. That's right! There was still the boss to deal with. As soon as the leader poked his head out of a window, another Magnum round was fired off by the stranger that hit right between the leader's eyes. He hit the ground with a loud thump, and I swear I even heard his neck snap on impact.

I slowly turned around to meet my guardian angel. He simply stood there with a .44 Magnum in his hand; smoke was still spewing out of the barrel. He opened his coat and placed his gun back in its holster, then took another puff of his cigarette.

"How can I ever repay you?" I managed to say through all my shock and fear.

But the only response I got was a cigarette flicked at my feet, and the stranger immediately vanishing in to the shadows. I dropped to the ground and placed a hand on my forehead, "Holy shit…" was all I could say. I don't doubt that it was lady luck herself that had sent this "Mysterious Stranger" to save my ass from certain death, but I couldn't help but wonder…who was he, and would I ever see him again? I didn't have much time to think on it. I quickly picked up my gun and supplies, then rummaged through the Raider's corpses and looted the house for supplies.