Chapter 15: Surrounded
I checked my Pip Boy and reviewed the locations of the Vaults I needed to search. Vault 108 lay just north of the DC Ruins, while Vault 87 lay on the other side of the Capitol Wasteland.
Vault 108 it is then.
The suns rays beat down on the back of my neck as I started my journey for Vault 108. The Citadel soon passed from my sight and I found myself out in the barren of the wastes that I had grown so used to. I downed half a bottle of purified water to keep my energy and strength up and continued on the long trek.
I took a short break near an abandoned shack and ate a mild lunch consisting of a can of Pork n' Beans and a Nuka-Cola. I picked my pack up and checked my Pip Boy.
Fifteen passed two and still barely a quarter of the way.
The heat had a big hand in keeping me at a sluggish pace. The days seemed to be growing hotter as summer had just rolled in. The temperature usually reached in to the triple digits in the other seasons, even winter, but summer time often brought about an average of 115 degree weather. Such is to be expected from a post apocalyptic wasteland.
The first sign of danger along my journey came when I ran across a group of mercenaries that looked suspiciously like the mercs that had attacked me back when I was still looking for my father. They were set up in a makeshift base made from scraps of metal and discarded bits of wood and concrete on the outskirts of an old pre war neighborhood.
I snuck through the old, run down homes and made my way closer so I could scope out just how many mercs I had to deal with. Two of them were sitting at a table playing cards, one of them stood atop a raised wooden platform overlooking the front side of the little camp, one lie asleep in a hammock near the back, and I couldn't be sure, but judging from the laughter coming from a tent in the middle of the camp there could be at least two more.
Normally I wouldn't have chosen to sneak in to the camp, but the sound of the laughter and chatter coming from within would drown out the sounds of my footsteps. I made sure to take each step as lightly as I could, and when I reached the outside wall of the camp I looked around for a way in. Luckily I found a hole in the wall big enough for me to crawl through.
I came through next to the merc sleeping on the hammock and nearly fell on my ass at how close I had come to accidently running in to him. I looked over at the still distracted mercenaries playing cards and sighed under my breath.
I knew I wouldn't be able to take them all, so I needed to make a distraction that would cause them to follow me somewhere more suitable for a fight. Somewhere like…Aha, the old neighborhood nearby! The houses were mostly hollowed out, but still provided enough cover for what I had planned.
Now for the distraction…
An evil sneer came across my face as my gaze rested upon the napping mercenary. I plucked a single frag grenade from my belt and slipped it in to his pocket.
"Sweet dreams." I whispered, and then snuck off to an adequate place to watch everything unfold.
A sudden explosion immediately put the other mercenaries on alert and they all made their way over to the source.
One of the mercs cocked the shotgun in his hands, "Talon Mercenaries, we got us an intruder! Spread out, he couldn't have gotten far!" he ordered.
I aimed my rifle at one of their backs and let loose. The bullets tore in to his backside and he fell to the ground.
"There he is! Get that little fucker!" the one with the shotgun shouted.
I headed back for the neighborhood as the mercenaries trailed behind me. If I kept to the houses and singled them out I would probably come out of this fight in one piece.
I ducked in to the first house I came across and headed upstairs. The only thing that remained of the roof was a single section in the back corner, and bits of torn up beds and couches lie scattered within.
I crouched just inside the doorway of a room upstairs and waited.
"You, check in here!" a slightly muffled voice said from outside.
As soon as the mercenary entered in to the house the old wooden floors creaked beneath his metal boots.
"I know you're in here!" the merc whispered in a cocky manner.
I could hear him starting up the stairs and pulled the Sawn-Off from its holster. His footsteps grew closer and closer, and I could feel myself sweating bullets.
I aimed the Sawn-Off up at the doorway when I was sure he stood right outside. Right before he stepped in to the room, gunfire erupted from outside the house, and the mercenary turned to run down the stairs and headed back outside.
"We got ourselves some company!" I heard one of them yell from outside.
I crept to one of the windows and looked outside. The mercenaries had garrisoned themselves in one of the other houses nearby and were firing on an unknown enemy that I couldn't see yet.
I dropped down from an opening on the top floor and headed towards the mercenaries right flank. I found one crouching behind a fallen stone pillar firing his assault rifle like a mad man. I got behind him and held the Sawn-Off to the back of his head.
BLAM!
The back end of the mercs head exploded in to a mess of brain chunks and splintered pieces of skull. He fell to the dirt and I searched his corpse for ammo or anything else that I could use. I looked up and noticed that I hadn't managed to alert the others.
I popped the Sawn-Off open and quickly loaded two more shells in to it. I slammed it shut and crept closer to where the others were. I took a route through a nearby house and headed to an overlook point upstairs. I could see two more mercenaries firing over a fallen tree. I still couldn't make out exactly what they were shooting at.
"Incoming!" one of them shouted as a missile soared through the air right at them. The two behind the tree pulled back and the missile blew the tree in to thousands of tiny splinters.
I took my Chinese assault rifle off my back and aimed down at them. I pulled the trigger and took one of them out. The remaining merc spun around and fired randomly at the window I had been peeking out of.
More bullets penetrated the rotting wood so I shuffled away from the wall.
"Shit! Here comes another one men!" one of the mercs shouted.
Another missile had been fired and made contact with the house I currently resided in. When the smoke cleared a large hole had been blown out of the upper wall. I got myself to my feet and brushed the dust and grime from my armor.
Something struck me in the side and sent me in to the wall to my right.
"Fuck…" I grunted as I hit the floor.
I looked over and saw the mercenary who wielded the combat shotgun standing on the stairwell with a smirk on his face.
"Gotcha now you little fuck!" he shouted, and then took aim again.
I whipped my Sawn-Off as fast as my arm would carry it and blasted him right in the chest. The blow sent him flying off the stairs and he hit the floor with a deafening crack.
I sat up and looked at my side. Buckshot lie embedded within the thick metal plating of the upper half of my armor. It hurt like hell, and would most likely leave a helluva bruise, but I would live.
I stood up and looked over the railing. The merc who had snuck up on me lie motionless on the floor just feet below, blood trickling from his mouth.
I leaned against the railing and attempted to catch my breath. The sounds of battle still surrounded me, and there were still at least four mercenaries to deal with, not to mention whatever had attacked them.
I stumbled down the steps and took the shotgun shells the mercenary carried and headed back outside. I grasped my side as I made my way through the different houses until I suddenly found myself directly in the middle of the firefight.
I leaned against the wall and reloaded my sawn-off. I brushed my hair out of my face and wiped the sweat from my brow.
Damn it's hot.
I took a half empty bottle of purified water from my pack and finished it off, then tossed the bottle to the side.
"All intruders must clear the area or you will be shot on sight!" a somewhat synthetic voice shouted over the sound of the gunfire.
What the fuck? Is that a robot?
Just then a massive robot rolled in to view and turned its sights on me. The thing must've been at least eight feet tall and had a Mini-Gun attached to one arm and a missile launcher embedded in to the other. It rolled along on three pivoting ball joints and had an eerie looking red eye which slid back and forth across the visor in its metal cranium.
"You are wielding firearms in a cease-fire zone civilian, lethal force authorized!" it chimed, and the mini-gun on its right arm revved up.
My eyes went wide and I reacted as quickly as I could. I rolled away just as the bullets spewed forth from its arm and scurried behind a broken down wall. I placed my hands over my head and closed my eyes as bullets whizzed all around me.
The robot stopped firing and I could hear a loud beeping noise coming from it. "Hostile eliminated, continuing search." It then turned back towards the mercenaries and rolled up the street.
I slumped against the bullet ridden wall and realized that my hands were shaking like crazy.
"Jesus fucking Christ!" I shouted as the robot plowed through a wall behind me and started revving its gun once again. I pulled a frag from my belt and tossed it behind me as I darted away from danger. It went off, but I could still hear the bullets spewing from the metal demon's weapon.
"There he is!" I heard someone shout from my front. I now stood directly in front of the four remaining mercenaries, and they all had their weapons aimed at me. I threw my hands in to the air and stood there stiff as a board.
"I am authorized to use lethal force to take you out!" the bot stated as it busted through a wall at the mercenaries right flank.
"Shit, kill that scrap heap!" a merc shouted and they all unloaded in to the oversized robot.
The robot stood perfectly still as the mercenaries unloaded every bullet they had in to its metal hull. Sparks flew off of it as the bullets made contact and the mercs thought they had it outmatched.
The sound of empty chambers rang out through the air and all went silent. The robot remained still, and then spoke up, "Damage sustained, minimal. Eliminating all hostiles in the area!"
It revved the Mini-Gun on its arm and mowed down the remaining mercenaries with little trouble. I took this as my cue and got the hell out of there.
"Running will do you no good civilian, I will find you." I heard the robot say in its creepy voice.
I ran until my lungs felt like they would explode and then took cover in an outcropping of dead trees. I placed my hands on my knees and breathed heavily.
Is that damn thing still behind me? What the fuck is a robot doing way out here?
My fears were soon confirmed when I heard the familiar sound of the robots ball joints grinding against the loose rocks in the dirt.
"Scanning area for hostiles." It said in an emotionless voice.
I peeked out from behind the trunk of a tree and saw it moving its head around. I stepped back behind the tree and slowly started to back away when my foot caught a fallen branch and I fell on my ass.
I looked up and saw the robot's head swing in my direction.
"Suspicious noise in immediate vicinity. Investigating."
I scrambled to my feet and took off once again. My lungs were already burning and I knew I wouldn't make it much farther before I would collapse from exhaustion. I looked back and saw the robot tear through the dead trees.
This is like a nightmare! Wake up, wake up!
"Hostile spotted. Engaging!" I heard it shout.
I suddenly found myself tumbling to the ground as I tripped over a rock protruding from the ground. Another jagged rock dug in to my palm as I hit the ground. I wouldn't be getting up this time, I was spent.
The metal beast rolled over to where I lie and stopped about ten feet from me.
It pointed the missile launcher at me and I could hear a missile being lodged in to place.
Oh great, at least this will be quick and painless. Madison, everyone….I've failed you.
A large blue orb came out of nowhere and landed right in front of the robot. It erupted in to a field of electricity which engulfed the metallic demon. It twitched in place and then aimed its missile launcher up at the sky and fired off.
Another blue orb landed at its front and more electricity cracked through it.
"System failure, shutting down…" the single red eye in its visor faded away as the robot went dormant.
I looked over and saw a pair of leather boots approach me, "Well I never thought I'd see you again." the voice of a man said to me. I looked up and saw a semi-wrinkled face staring back at me.
"Kirk?" I asked, still unsure of whether I had actually died or not.