Three days later

Early morning always proved to be the most quiet, peaceful, and slow part of patrolling the town. The sun was just starting to rise, and the air was actually cool, though it was quickly being warmed by the sun. It was time for the daily rounds, and he knew it.

Once Elias stepped out of Alison's house, he instantly felt the mild chill in the air. It was seven in the morning, and he was used to it being much hotter then this. He raised his arm and checked the pip-boy as he walked down the hill to main-street. The calendar read it was August 21st. It had been a while since he checked that calendar.

Lowering it, he continued on his way, keeping an ever vigilant eye out for anything out-of-the-ordinary. It had been quiet the past few days, all Elias had heard was the metal ting of his spurs against the ground as he walked.

The mid-day brought more hustle and bustle to the town. Elias had broken up one bar fight, and found a missing stuffed-animal for a crying child that wouldn't leave him alone. Afternoon's were a little more tense, the guards doubled their patrols, and anyone coming into town hurried to get here before sun down. That was usually the time when Elias stressed the most.

But, this was morning, and he could take it easy. A woman was out carrying groceries back from the store. She had her hands full, but still gave a smile. Elias gave a small smile and tipped his hat, asking if she needed any help. She declined, but thanked him.

When Elias made it to what he had taken to calling the town square, as it was the road that lead into town and had several other roads branching off of it leading all through the city, he saw familiar sight. Near the front gate, Carter was saddling up his Strider to leave town once more.

He glanced over at Elias as the man in black approached him. "Headin' out again?" Elias asked, grabbing one of the saddle bags off the ground and handing it to him. Carter took it and nodded. "Yeah," He gruffly replied. "I got a feeling like I need to be out there."

"Where's out there, exactly?" Elias questioned, tilting his head a little and resting his hand on his gun belt. "Ever since I got here, you've been riding off every day in search for bandits. Who I'm guessing you got history with."

Carter moved forward towards Elias, grabbing the last saddle bag off the ground and strapping it on with the rest of them. "You guess too much." He retorted. "But yeah, I'm looking for someone. Best leave it at that."

He mounted the horse and Elias stepped clear of his trot as circled the beast around. "I'm just sayin', if you need help out there I know the wastes and am a fair shot in a shoot-out."

"I don't need help!" Carter called back as he trotted off. "Just take care of the town and look after Alison and Sam!"

Elias sighed and watched the leather-clad ghoul ride off towards the rising sun. He sighed then tipped his hat at the man, turning away and going back to his rounds. Carter was one of the most stubborn men he'd ever met when it came to accepting help. He knew that Carter knew his help wasn't just offered out of kindness or offered to just anyone. But he still refused it. Whoever the bandit Carter was looking for was, he was being hunted by a hell-bound ghoul with a hard-on for revenge.

The town always seemed peaceful. It was morning still, and Elias always kept that in mind. He had circled the town once already, took a break to see if Vic needed any help setting up. Avery was at his normal spot, reading his book and drinking his coffee. He waved at Elias who tipped his hat in return and left confidently.

It was around that time, when he reached the square for the second time, that he heard music from people's nearby radio's or record-players. Some houses played faster paced big-band music, while others played slower music. The kind that makes you wanna grab a gal, hold her tight and slow dance with her until the sun comes up.

He began the walk up the hill towards Alison's house when the door to the brothel flew open. A young, short lady in the most sheer and short sleep-ware Elias had ever seen ran out, looking desperate. She looked up towards Alison's house on the hill, then down a the square and saw Elias making his way up.

"Sheriff!" she squeaked in panic, causing Elias to look up at her and wrinkle his brow as she began to run down the hill towards him. She slipped and nearly tumbled, causing Elias to rush up the hill and catch her. His hands held her soft arms tightly, and she looked up from his chest and into his glaring dark eyes. Her's were baby blue and teary, and her hear a light brown. She only came up to his chest in height. "Oh god, Sheriff, come with me!" she begged.

Elias could sense the panic in her voice, and in her eyes when she rapidly glanced back at him to make sure he was following. "What happened!?" he demanded as he ran up the hill after her.

"It's Bethany!" she nearly sobbed as she ran up onto the brothel, Elias chasing right behind her.

She grabbed pulled open the door, unleashing sounds of distress and pain. All the girls were huddled around on the ground near the bar, a few sobbing. Elias could distinctly hear a moan of pain, and one of the girls telling Bethany to "Shhh, it's going to be alright. Jordan went to get the doc, it's okay."

The small girl, Tiffany, ran to Bethany's side and crouched down beside her. Elias wrinkled his brow and gave a quick glance around the empty building. "Samantha!" he shouted, startling a few of the girls and causing them to look at him.

"I'm gonna kill 'em!" Sam suddenly shouted from the back room. She came storming around the corner, carrying a caravan-shotgun on her arm and a handful of shells. "I'm gonna fuckin' kill that son of a bitch!" she screamed again, loading the shells into the shotgun and slamming it closed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Elias shouted, getting in her way and grabbing the shotgun out of her hands. She put up no effort, knowing that Elias was much stronger then her. He held it away when she reached for it. "Would someone tell me what the fuck going on!?"

She looked over at Bethany, laying on the ground with the other girls surrounding her, then back at Elias. She snarled a little and threw down the shells, reaching out and grabbing his arm. She dragged him over to the end of the bar and looked down at her. "That." was all she muttered.

Bethany, a girl in maybe her mid to late twenties, laid on the floor, trying not to sob in pain. Her face was mostly swollen, her lip split and left eye bloodshot and blackened. On her left cheek she had a cut, and her hands were cut from some sort of struggle. She clinched her gut and gave a single sob of pain.

Elias laid the shotgun down on the bar and looked down at Bethany with fear in his eyes. "Jesus..." he muttered, shoulders slumping. His heart sank for the poor girl. He suddenly heard the shotgun slide off the bar beside him, and turned to see it was gone. He swung around to see Samantha walking towards the door with it clutched tightly in her hands. He ran forward, quickly catching up with her and grabbing the shotgun.

She spun when he grabbed it, but wouldn't let go. Instead she had an even angrier expression on her face and in her eyes. Elias yanked on the gun, telling her to let go, but she didn't loosen her grip at all. "Sam, let go of the gun and tell me what happened! You're not even allowed to have guns in the town!"

She growled out a huff of breath and slammed her foot down, pushing the gun into Elias' chest and nearly knocking him back. "Ryan Shaw happened! Thirty year old, pompous drunk came in here half blasted from the night before. Bethany was the only one in here, the rest of the girls were in the back and I was upstairs managing caps. She told him we were closed, and apparently he tried to get a freebie out of her. When she refused...he did that to her."

Elias' jaw clenched and he turned his head, looking back over at where Bethany was laying. "He punched her several times, slammed her head into the bar then when she was down he kicked her in the gut. One of the girls took a shot at him with a little derringer, but missed. Scared him off."

His blood boiled in his veins, and his adrenaline surged through his heart. He felt nothing but the warm, hot demon that was rage. It stirred inside of him, and his clenched jaw escalated into a slight snarl and nose twitch. His eyes became even more black. Cold and dead. He could see nothing but red, and his hands itched. "If I ain't allowed to kill him, then how you gonna give me justice? Sheriff." Sam growled at him.

Elias suddenly threw the shotgun onto a table and turned away, causing Samantha's expression to shift from anger to curiosity. "Elias?" She asked him as he pushed open the brothel door. She quickly ran after him.

He was on a war path, taking large strides back down the hill. "E-Elias?" She asked again, trying to keep up with him and not sprint. He didn't answer. He kept a steady path through the square and towards the store.

He pushed open the door, and though the building was well lit all he could see was a dark red. "S-Sugar, where you going?" Samantha asked from behind him. They walked all the way to the back of the store, where Elias finally growled 'Wait' and went into the armory.

Samantha was now more worried then curious. She wanted justice, but what was this? Was this justice in Elias' eyes, getting whatever he wanted to kill Ryan with? She didn't even know if that was the plan. She didn't even know if he was going to walk out of there with a hunting rifle or a minigun.

But to her surprise, when Elias left the room, he had nothing. She wrinkled her brow and backed up as Elias marched towards her. "Where does Ryan live?" he growled his demand, marching past her. She shook her fear and quickly followed, moving past him and declaring that she'd lead him to the bastards house.

And lead she did. They went back up the road and past the doc's clinic, and down through a small street of tin houses. "Furthest down on the right, see the guy sitting in his rocking chair? That's Ryan." Samantha said, then slowed down to stop, letting Elias march forward without her.

People were out-and-about on this street, but Elias didn't notice. He didn't notice the elderly or the kids. Didn't hear the music playing or the laughter. He only heard the crunching gravel under his boots, and felt the itching in his hands. He stuck them into his pockets, and took a deep breath.

Ryan sat rocking in his rocking chair talking to some woman across the street. He raised a water-bottle and took a drink of it, turning his head just in-time to see Elias walking up on him. "You think it's fun to hit girls?" Elias growled.

"What-?" Ryan didn't even have time to complete his sentence. Suddenly Elias' hands were out of his pockets, and fitted around his knuckles were a pair of solid brass-knuckles. They were gripped tight in his hands. Ryan didn't get another word out before Elias lunched forward, swinging his right hand forward and slamming his reinforced fist into Ryan's cheek.

Ryan grunted and fell to the left out of his chair. His head was spinning, and he could see stars. But he knew that Elias meant business, and that business was bad for Ryan's health. The whole street froze, and a few people gasped from the sudden outburst.

Ryan groaned and got onto all fours, turning his head and looking up at Elias with a swelling cheek. Suddenly another punch, this one angled down. The brass chimed against his cheek bone, and it knocked Ryan into the dirt. He groaned again, rolling over onto his side.

Elias grabbed the man's shoulder and pulled him over onto his back. Elias dropped to his knees, which were along Ryan's sides, and threw his right arm back. Everything just kinda slowed down for Ryan. He could see the devil in black, coming to claim the prize of Ryan's soul. His drinking and whoring and life of sin had finally caught up with him, and god saw it fit to unleash hell upon him. He had time to come to this conclusion as another reinforced punch slammed into Ryan's cheek again.

Then a left hook, knocking his head in the other direction. Then right, but this one connected with the jaw. Blood flew with that punch, and when his head was knocked back to his left, it did again. This time, a tooth broke.

Fury was overwhelming. The power it gave man was too much. The strength that rage and adrenaline bestowed was godly and sinful. Elias could feel it running through his entire body, and packing more strength behind each punch. It was good he had the advantages, as normally he was in Ryan's place when it came to fist-fights.

Another right hook. Then another. Then once again. Over and over and over until teeth were breaking and flying out of Ryan's mouth. Elias grunted louder and louder with each punch, hitting him from the left a few times. One punch connected right with the jaw, and dislocated it with ease. Elias swung again with a louder grunt of rage, knocking Ryan's head the other way and breaking his nose.

It wouldn't stop. The rage Elias felt. It wouldn't stop flowing through him, fueling him. He kept punching, feeling blood hit his hands and hearing the brass chime against the bone when it connected. He jabbed forward a few times, slamming his fist into Ryan's mouth twice then into his right eye.

Finally, Elias gripped the man's shirt and pulled him forward. He spat blood and teeth, and Elias brought the man's broken and bloody face right up to his. "I swear to god, if you ever, EVER, hit another woman, you EVER treat a woman any less then a fuckin' goddess! I will hunt you down and I will not stop hitting you! You hear me!? I will bash your fucking skull in with my bare hands!"

He threw his right arm back with a roar then launched it forward, like it was rocket propelled. It slammed into the side of Ryan's head, knocking him out cold. He slammed into the ground, and a bloody and sweaty Elias was left standing over the man. His chest rose and feel quickly, his heart racing, and a blood splattered snarl on his face. Greasy bangs dangling in-front of his sweat soaked brow and black eyes. He stood up, hands covered in blood, staring down at the horribly beaten man.

Samantha reached down carefully, picking Elias' hat up off the ground. She stood just as carefully, reaching out and grabbing Elias' arm. "C'mon" she whispered to him, pulling on his arm. He stepped back, still staring at the man with nothing more then anger and hate in his eyes.

He was pulled away from him, leaving the residents to gawk in fear. After he had been pulled away, a few of them rushed to Ryan's side, one of them ordering people to get the doctor. Mothers hurries children into their homes and closed the doors.

Samantha had Elias by the coat, and was leading him down the street. She would admit that she was nervous and afraid. She'd seen plenty of horrible things. Death in abundance. But what she had just seen had to be the most brutal of it all. She'd never seen such rage flow threw a person, and the thought had crossed her mind that just shooting Ryan would have been less painful and cleaner then brutalizing him and disfiguring him. She didn't pretend to know what was going through Elias' mind. She just clutched his coat-covered wrist and pulled him up the hill towards Alison's house.

They barged through the front door, Elias stopping when Samantha put her hand on his chest. "Alison!" she hollered for the mayor, turning her head and looking at Elias. His face was blood splattered and sweaty, but he just didn't care. His cold dead eyes stared off into space. It sent a chill up her spine, just from his pure lack of empathy.

Alison came out of her bedroom and tilted her head. Samantha looked nervous, and she cemented that fact by turning around and closing the door. "What's going on?" Alison asked as she drew closer to the two, not seeing the fine details of blood that covered Elias's face and hands.

Samantha turned around stepped in-front of Elias. Alison stopped walking and wrinkled her brow. "Don't hurt him." Samantha pleaded, knowing her old friend and her tendencies to take a swing when she was angry.

Alison's brow only wrinkled more, and she was about to ask why when she looked up at Elias to see the fine mist of blood that was sprinkled across his face. Her heart suddenly began to race and her jaw slightly dropped. She looked at Samantha who looked distressed. "What...happened...?" Alison demanded, clenching her hands tightly into fists.

Samantha put her hands up and backed up against Elias. "Calm down first."

"My Sheriff is covered in blood and you're telling me to calm down! That's all the reason I need not to be calm! What happened?"

Samantha looked up at Elias who looked back down at her. She gave a sigh, staring into the man's dark eyes. She turned back around and looked at a furious Alison. "Ryan Shaw was drunk off his ass from last night and came into the brothel. He beat one of my girls when she refused to get him off, then ran away like a little bitch. Elias found out and there was a fight-."

"I won." Elias suddenly said in a low and gruff voice as he stared down at the floor.

"-Which Elias won." Samantha added. "But it was...rough."

Alison was silent for a moment, then drew a breath and tried to calm her self. "So...why is he covered in blood...?"

Elias looked over at Alison and replied in a strong voice. "It was rough." Samantha sighed and bowed her head, stepping out of the way as she pinched the bridge of her nose with her eyes closed tight.

It was when she did so, that Alison got the full look at Elias. Bloody brass knuckles clung to his blood covered fingers. His hands trembled slightly and loosely hung to his sides. "Are you fucking serious?" Alison asked, looking up into his eyes. "With your temper, did you really need brass-fucking-knuckles!?"

Elias raised his hands and slid them off, laying them on a small table to his left that had only an ashtray and a lamp sitting upon it. He looked down at the blood on his hands, and the slight bruising where the brass-knuckles had slammed tightly against his hands. Maybe she was right, and it was just pure psychotic rage that fueled his need for violence.

"I don't need to explain myself to anyone-"

"Bullshit!" Alison screamed at him with fire in her eyes. "You beat a man so bad you're covered in his blood, you better get to explaining!"

As soon as the last word left her lips, Elias screamed back and took a step forward. "He BEAT a woman! Beat her! Like a man would beat another man...so I showed him." She stared into his full dilated eyes as nose twitched and and fists clinched tightly. "I gave him exactly what he deserves...you don't do that to a woman."

Alison stared into those cold eyes for what felt like an eternity. They were just an endless void of darkness. But in that darkness, she the condition of his soul. Tortured, pained, filled with remorse. Regret on every level of his being. There was no light in them, no life. No hope.

She reached forward and gently laid her hand softly on his cheek, feeling to stubble under her palm and fingers. His twitch suddenly stopped, and eyes narrowed to their normal state. Hands relaxed. "Was this justice, Elias...?"

Her stared at her for a moment, then turned his head away, letting her hand drop to his chest. His heart skipped, but he maintained himself. Even if inside of him, an overwhelming since of guilt and shame boiled to the surface. "There is no justice," he mumbled, fully believing in what he was saying. "there's just a guy with a gun. And all you can do is pray he has morals. Has some notion of right and wrong."

He turned his head back and looked at Alison with hopeless eyes once again. "There is no justice. Just vendetta's, revenge, and convection. You do with your bullets as you will. You make yourself that kinda man, you're not born as him."

Her hand slid from his chest, and dropped back to her side as they both stood there staring at one another. She knew he believe in everything he just told her, but deep down she knew he was wrong. "There are good men, Elias. You have a chance to be one of them."

Her words tried to work their way into his cold, iron-clad heart. But he had been told different from the day he was born. "Good men are the first to die. There's no place for good men in this world anymore, just survivors."

Her moved away from her, brushing past her arm as he walked towards and up the stairs. His footsteps carried through the house until he closed the door to the guest bedroom, leaving the two woman down there in utter silence. Samantha was still in mild shock, and Alison looked just about as hurt as Elias does when he think's no one's looking. "What do we do...?" Samantha softly asked.

Alison looked over at her and sighed, stepping forward and grabbing her denim coat off the rack and sliding it on. "We're gonna tell the town the truth, over the intercom."

She turned towards the door and Sam went to follow, but stopped. "And what is the truth?" She asked, causing Alison to look over her shoulder at Sam, blonde bangs partially obscuring her vision. "That Elias' morality told him to get a pair of brass knuckled and...break a man's face?"

Alison turned around and faced Samantha, hand still on the doorknob. "Is that what you see?" She asked inquisitively, but didn't give her enough time to answer. "Because I see a man who looked down at a broken and bloody girl, and decided the monster that did this didn't deserve a clean bill of health...sound familiar?"

Alison turned around and turned the doorknob, pulling open the door and leaving the house. Samantha sighed, then followed, closing the door behind her. The house was silent now, no screaming, no whispering. No broken hearts or heated tempers. No music or soft words to calm the mood.

Elias remained upstairs, his upper-torso stripped of his clothes, and the water running in the bathroom. He had thrown some on his face and watched the murky red tinged water go down the drain. Now he stood scrubbing at his hands. The blood seemed to be everywhere.

"Is that who we're gonna be one day, Elias?" her voice echoed from beside him, though he knew she wasn't there. "Are we gonna be dead heroes?"

"No." he had replied. He remembered this as the water grew hotter and his breathing more shaky as he scrubbed at the red staining his hands. "Heroes don't exist, Jenny. And good people die too early in life for them to make a real difference. No, we're just survivors. People who've walked the wastes and tamed it."

She scoffed and shuffled around next to him. He couldn't remember what she was doing. "Ever hear of survivor's remorse?" The water was scolding now and the blood was finally starting to come off, but Elias kept scrubbing. "I just don't want us to be old one day and to look down at our hands to find they're callused and covered and blood."

"We won't." he replied, laying a hand on her shoulder and looking at her with trusting eyes. "Things are gonna get better. This...this life we lead...it'll come to end. And the survivors like us? We'll finally have peace. It'll get better, Jen. Just believe it will."

He jerked his hands out from the water and turned off the tap. The steam fogged the mirror, but now the room was silent. Elias looked up into the foggy mirror, then wiped at it, seeing his reflection. "Just don't let too much blood get on your hands, dad. Sooner or later, that's all you'll be able to see."