THE MOST ELITE AND DANGEROUS
Back at the entrance, the residents were gathered. Killian and Kalnor were making sure their guns were ready. Dawn and Maddie sat on a bench at the gas station. Then, Damon walked up to them.
"You still wanna have that talk?" He asked Dawn.
"Let's talk," Dawn answered with enthusiasm.
Dawn stood up and walked away with Damon. Maddie watched them for a bit. Damon led Dawn into an alley between two brick buildings. He leaned against the wall and Dawn stood next to him.
"Dawn, I just want to say that you've been a good friend to me," Damon appreciated and then confessed, "And I haven't been entirely truthful with you."
"Well, let's hear it. The truth that is. I know what you are, but who exactly are you?" Dawn anticipated his answer.
"You know I'm part of the Institute and that I'm a synth. What you don't know is that I was sent by them to recruit you and Maddie."
"Recruit me?"
"The Director has known about you for quite some time. He wants to speak with you. He wants you to join us."
Dawn had a loss for words.
"Dawn, listen to me and don't be mad," he continued, "You remember when we were in that alley and I held a gun to you?"
"That fake gun…"
"It was part of the plan. We had to test you to make sure you were cut out for this type of work."
"What type of work?"
"I am a courser. We are the most elite and dangerous members of the Institute. They want you to be part of our organization."
Dawn brushed her hair back, still trying to comprehend what he was telling her.
"You have proven yourself to be valuable to the Institute," he progressed his proposal, "I want to remain friends with you. I like being around you. Since I was created twenty years ago, I have never met a human who cared about me as much as you."
"Damon, I really don't know what to say," she uttered, "This is a lot to think about."
"You believe me, right? I know I had to deceive you, but I couldn't just say 'Hey Dawn, you wanna join the Institute?' Please come with me and you'll see what the Institute is."
"But I'm not a synth. Is everyone there a synth?"
"We have humans who work alongside us. In fact, the Institute was created by humans."
"And how would we get there? You said it was in the Commonwealth. That has to be three thousand miles from here."
"The Institute has advanced technology. They have created teleportation. That's how I arrived here and that's how we'll get back."
Dawn laughed and then looked at Damon who had a serious look on his face.
"You're for real," she came to realize.
"I wouldn't lie to you," he stated.
Suddenly, a loud crash was heard near the entrance. Dawn and Damon ran out of the alley and followed the sound of gunfire. They saw a large black armored vehicle with a gun attached to the top. Rowan was in the driver's seat. Dawn shot at the vehicle, distracting it from firing on the residents. The vehicle began firing at Dawn and Damon. They ran down a narrow alley between two buildings. They reached the other side, but Rowan drove by. They ran into an ice cream shop as he fired shots at them. The bullets shattered the glass and destroyed the tables. Dawn and Damon hid behind the counter as the bullets ripped through the building. Dawn returned fire, but the bullets had no effect on the vehicle. Damon saw the back entrance and grabbed Dawn's arm. Together, they ran out of the shop and into the back alley. There was a small building in front of them with small holes in the brick wall.
"Up there," Damon instructed.
No ladder was present, so Dawn began climbing up using the broken parts in the wall. She grabbed onto the ledge and pulled herself up to the roof and Damon followed. Dawn laid down on the roof, trying to recover. Damon kneeled beside her.
"You okay?" Damon asked.
"Maddie and the rest of them are still out there," Dawn worried, "We need to help them."
"That damn thing is still on our ass. You have any frags?"
"I'm out. Maybe one of the Outcasts has some."
"I guess we're corpse looting then."
Dawn sat up. They heard the vehicle drive by below them and went near the edge to see the vehicle. On the opposite side of the road, there were dead bodies. They climbed down and ran towards them. Dawn and Damon searched through the bodies but found no explosives. Dawn did find a few smoke grenades. Suddenly, the vehicle crashed through a building. They remained still as the large mounted gun was pointed directly at them. Rowan smirked.
"Damon, it's you I want," Rowan said over a speaker, "Surrender and no one has to get killed."
Damon realized he had inadvertently shielded Dawn.
"I'm not surrendering," Damon objected.
Rowan tried to aim the gun at Dawn, but Damon stood in front of her. Dawn pulled the pin on the smoke grenade and dropped it. The smoke quickly spread around them as Dawn grabbed Damon and ran towards a liquor store. Dawn opened the door and they ran to the back. The store was small and there were only a few shelves of liquor. Dawn grabbed a bottle of bourbon and took a few sips. On the outside, Rowan saw the trail of smoke where Dawn had dropped the grenade. He shot at the liquor store. Inside, Dawn and Damon dropped to the floor and the bullets flew over them, smashing the bottles. When the bullets stopped, they got up and ran out the back into the alleyway, stepping on the broken glass and spilled liquor. There was a large dumpster, a small shipping truck, and a fence with a locked gate.
"I really like that store," Dawn muttered.
"Everyone around here does."
Dawn looked both ways.
"Which way to the entrance?" Dawn asked.
Damon pointed and they ran away from the fence. Then, Rowan appeared in the road behind the fence. They ran as fast as they could down the alleyway as the vehicle drove towards them. The vehicle crashed through the fence and Dawn tossed a smoke grenade behind her. Rowan's vision was clouded and he crashed the vehicle into a wall. Dawn and Damon rounded the corner as the vehicle followed. Damon ran behind Dawn, preventing Rowan from firing. Dawn threw another smoke grenade down. Rowan crashed into a dumpster and spun to the side. He struggled to get the vehicle straight. Damon saw a way up a small building.
"Up there!" He yelled.
Dawn climbed the ladder as Damon followed. Rowan finally got the vehicle straight but could not get a clear shot at Dawn as she reached the rooftop. Rowan rammed the vehicle into the ladder causing it to shake. Damon nearly fell off and the ladder twirled to the side. Rowan backed up and rammed the ladder again. Dawn tried to grab him, but the rusted ladder bent away from the building. He held on as he dangled over the alley. Dawn shot at the bullet proof window of the vehicle. Rowan returned fire, causing Dawn to duck behind the ledge. Then, she grabbed the ladder and pulled Damon closer. She pulled him onto the roof as the ladder fell into the alley. Damon landed on top of her and Dawn was breathing heavily. They stared at each other, locking onto each other's eyes. Damon realized how close his face was to hers and got off her.
"Thanks," he felt relieved.
"Why'd you do that?" She asked.
Damon looked at her with confusion.
"Do what?"
"Stand in front of me, ready to take a hail of bullets."
"I owed you one. But I'm still in your debt. That's why the offer from the Institute still stands."
"I haven't had much time to think about it under a hail of bullets and that damn thing chasing us."
They both stood up.
"Let's head back," Dawn said.
They leaped across the rooftops of the small buildings and saw the entrance. There was no sign of anyone else or Rowan. Down below, the streets and buildings had bullet holes. Dawn looked around and began to worry about Maddie.
"Maddie!" She yelled out.
Her voiced echoed. Then, Rowan appeared. A laser sight appeared on Dawn's chest. Quickly Damon stepped in front of her.
"Damon!" Rowan violently expressed, "Surrender now! I'll kill everyone in the damn town."
"I know you won't, you're too desperate. If you kill everyone, you can forget about the Institute."
"You…son of a bitch!"
Dawn reacted with disbelief. She thought he implied that he would end his own life to protect the Institute and the residents of Junktown.
"Damon, no," Dawn whispered.
"It's okay."
Rowan smirked. Then, Killian, Kalnor, and Maddie appeared by a large building. The surviving residents also appeared.
"The hell with it!" Rowan yelled.
Rowan drove forward. Dawn and Damon quickly moved to the side. He drove out of the smashed wall he came through. Dawn rushed over to Maddie and they hugged.
"I was worried about you," Dawn told her.
"You should stop worrying so much," Maddie said.
"I'm glad to see everyone is okay."
Killian approached them.
"Dawn, thanks for fighting with us," he complimented.
"I couldn't have done it without you or them."
Then, Dawn wondered why Rowan had given up so easily. She stared at the smashed entrance. Then, a plasma grenade fell in front of them. Dawn shoved Killian back and everyone else scrambled away. The grenade exploded, sending Dawn into the air. Her combat armor broke apart when she landed on the ground. She was in a daze as the dust and smoke flew around her. A few seconds later, someone had a shotgun pointed at her. The Outcast reinforcements had arrived. Rowan stood over Dawn. Killian and the residents were ready to fire.
"It's a damn shame I gotta kill you," he said in a sinister tone.
Damon stood up and saw Rowan and two other Outcasts.
"Rowan!" he yelled.
Rowan looked up at him. The other Outcasts surrounded him.
"I tell you everything," Damon pleaded, "Just don't kill her."
"No Damon, just go!" Dawn demanded.
Rowan pulled his gun away and walked towards Damon.
"Looks like I win," Rowan gloated.
"Kill anyone here and you lose," Damon scolded.
Rowan smirked and then patted the side of Damon's face.
"Synthetic flesh…mechanical components…amazing…take him to the plane," Rowan ordered the Outcasts.
They held Damon by the arm and walked towards the entrance.
"Damon!" Dawn shouted as she stood up, "Don't…!
Rowan and the Outcasts took Damon outside as Dawn ran towards the entrance. Killian stopped her.
"Dawn, please, they won't hesitate to kill you," he warned.
"We can't let them take him!"
"If I know Damon, he'll never give them any information about the Institute."
"What do you mean?"
"Synths have an emergency protocol-"
"That better not mean what I think it means."
"Rowan and the Outcasts will perish. Trust me, he has to do what he has to do."
Dawn broke free from Killian.
"No, he can't," she sobbed.
"It's to protect you, Dawn," Kalnor added, "He cares for you and doesn't want any harm to come to you."
"He told me about the debt he owed you," Killian explained to her.
"He can't do this, I won't let him," Dawn continued, "I can't let him die, I care about him…"
Maddie stood next to her and placed her hand on Dawn's shoulder.
"I'm with you Dawn," she comforted her, "I can't let him end it like this."
"We have to go; It's my fault he got into this. I should've stepped in that teleporter and got the hell out of here," Dawn regretted.
Dawn tried to hold back tears. Killian took a deep breath.
"I know better than to try and stop you," Killian told her.
He looked over at the motorcycles and then looked back at her.
"Make sure he's safe," he advised.