Chapter 6:

No Doubt

I was awoken suddenly by a slight kicking to my shin. I immediately sat up and grabbed my rifle, levelling it at my assailant, before realising it was just Freddy, come to wake me up.

"It's your shift, get up!" He whispered sharply, seemingly unfazed by the barrel of my weapon being in his face.

I mumbled an apology as I dragged on my ammo belt. I wandered outside as Freddy went to lie down for a few hours. Struggling to stay quiet, I dragged a chair out onto the deck where I could see the road properly, and sat down, prepared to stare into the dark night with its many dangers, whilst my friends put their lives in my hands, and slept soundly in their beds. I had an odd feeling about this trip, I couldn't figure out why though. We were off to meet a detective who could try and decipher a meaningless phrase into something that we could use, to find where to meet someone who might be able to tell us where to find the railroad. I was with one person I thought I knew, two I'd known for only a few weeks at most, and a slightly mad journalist who owed me a favour.

"You need to find a home." I whispered to myself.

I knew full well I'd not found a home at Corvega. It was a crutch at most, a place to keep me fed and sheltered, mostly. I thought I might find a home, or at least, a family within the railroad, but it seemed increasingly unlikely as time went by. Suddenly I heard the almost silent tread of a boot from inside the shack, seemingly just behind me. It was probably Piper, she liked talking during the night. I'd indulge her, I needed something to keep me awake. I pretended not to notice the footsteps, it was only when I heard the ragged breathing behind me that I realised. It sure as hell wasn't Piper.

I don't know what made me duck my head down, I'd like to say that I heard the swing, or that the background radiation had made me grow eyes in the back of my head, but I think the unfortunate truth is that I knew if they'd had a gun I'd be dead already. Once the swing had missed I'd already stood up, knocked the chair to the side, and slammed into the attacker, making him drop his club. Unfortunately, the wall I slammed him up against was the one made of weak, rotten planks dividing Piper's mattress and the outside world. There was a tremendous crash, and I landed on top of the man, who in turn, had landed squarely on top of Piper, who was up until then, snoozing peacefully. I got to my knees, and was quickly knocked onto my back, in the middle of the ruined wall. The man was on top of me, and all I could see in the dim light was the silhouette of a mad drifter, with long, tattered hair, and what looked like part of his ear missing, bitten off.

We were locked in a desperate struggle as he made for my throat, and it was all I could do to keep him from strangling me to death. He was incredibly strong, more so than you would expect from a crazed, probably half-starved lone raider. After just a few seconds, he'd pinned my hands down with his elbows, and began strangling me. When I asked later, I was told he'd only been on me for a few seconds at most, but it felt like minutes. As his meaty fingers dug into my neck with an unstoppable force, I could feel my life force being squeezed out of me. In the back of my mind I heard a cry of alarm, before the flash of light, followed almost imperceptibly just later by a deafeningly loud crack. It was only then that the world went black.

"Is she awake?" I heard a voice floating through the misty void towards me.

"Come on Kay! Talk to me, please!" Another terrified voice reached me.

It was distorted, and I couldn't really think properly, but I recognized the voice. Jerry. As I opened my mouth to speak I found it difficult to draw breath. When I tried to speak I found my throat almost burning. I put a hand to my neck, brushing against another's in the process. It was overwhelmingly painful to put any kind of pressure on my neck, but I could breathe. I opened my eyes to see Jerry kneeling next to me. I must have been out a while, as I could easily make him out in the early morning light. I found it easy to move, and quickly sat up, before my neck began hurting me again, and I fell back against the bedroll that had been laid out for me. Despite my less than advantageous point of view, I could see only Jerry and Freddy. Both Glory and Piper were nowhere to be seen. I had no doubt that if they were here, they would be within view, or at least I'd be able to hear them. I could sense it was only myself, Jerry, and Freddy.

"Whe- where's Piper?" I croaked out painfully. Jerry bit his lip.

"After you fell on her, she hurt her arm. Glory is taking her up to Sanctuary, and she's going to wait for us there." Freddy replied. I felt a twinge of guilt at injuring Piper how I did, but it was unavoidable. I had to try and overpower the attacker, even if it meant a few scrapes and bruises. It was my own fault I was injured the way I was. I'd let him get the upper hand, and my hesitation after landing on Piper had been the cause of that. "And that's where we're going now." He continued, and handed me a stimpak. With difficulty, I injected it into my shoulder.

I would have tried shaking my head but that would likely have finished me off. Instead I croaked my reply. "No. We've still got a job to do. Help me up." They both seemed reluctant, but after a short discussion, we decided to continue onwards to Fort Hagen. Hopefully Glory would run into Nick and meet us back there.

Nobody knew how the drifter got in behind me, and I was certain he hadn't come from the road, or round the side of the house. I would have heard or seen him. I only heard his boots on wood. Nobody questioned it too much, but it was eating away at me the entire morning. We'd made it quite far yesterday, meaning Piper and Glory didn't have long to walk before they got to Sanctuary. I was confident they'd manage it within a few hours. Two people can get through most places unnoticed, whilst larger groups often can't. Chances are they'd be able to bypass Fort Hagen, then go straight north to the old camping grounds and wrap around the west side of the lake, leading them towards the old vault. I considered the last thing Piper asked me: 'Do you trust him?' We were under the clouds now and it was this question that haunted me throughout the long, foggy morning. Freddy was on point, whilst Jerry and I hung back, watching our backs. How did that drifter get in? I'd eventually come to just one conclusion.

Freddy. How had he escaped the prep school? Somehow, I just didn't buy his story. The mercenary had cleared out the entire building, yet he never said anything of Freddy. When we were scavenging the building after, we'd found no evidence of any bedrolls in the basement. I'd thought nothing of it at the time, hell, I was too busy keeping myself sane, but little things like this slowly eroded away all my trust, to the point where I would keep looking in front of me, thinking that the moment I blinked, he'd be facing us, aiming Trish's laser rifle at me. What's more, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched the entire time. I would see weird shapes jump out at me from the fog, but once I'd aim, or look properly, they'd disappear, and I'd be facing a blank wall of white fog, thirty feet in front of me. Fog was common this time of year, especially this close to the glowing sea. We were only twenty or so miles from the edge. We were making our way slowly uphill, though undoubtedly towards Fort Hagen, and I hazard to guess how Freddy knew the way so well. Jerry was equally on edge. I don't know when my thoughts turned from mere suspicions to absolute certainty, but I when I did, I realized I was stupid not to have seen it earlier. Trust no-one. That's what Trish had said, and I hadn't put the fucking pieces together until now. Fort Hagen had just come into view, as the road was levelling off. We stopped near the top of the hill, not far from the main building.

"We ought to try to find that guy Nick is with, meet up with him." Jerry suggested. Freddy agreed, the fucking snake.

I said nothing, and just followed Jerry. We got a bit closer and could see several unsuccessful attempts to breach the front door, but the sheer amount of concrete made it impossible to get inside.

"We won't find shit in this fog. We should go down to that parking lot and rest there." Freddy said after a while.

I was apprehensive, sensing a trap, but I didn't want to give my suspicions away, and especially since I didn't know Jerry's views on the matter. Jerry went first, and then Freddy, whilst I brought up the rear.

There was a camp of some sort set up down there. A small chemistry workbench, a few bus seats, and a bed frame with mattress. There was a trail of blood leading from the seats outside. It seems someone had moved the body Nick had mentioned. We sat down and rested for a while. I avoided talking, and simply fiddled with my knife. I knew a trap was coming, the only question was when, and if he would wait until he could get Nick and the other one as well. I became increasingly convinced that he would wait until he could get the other two before showing his hand. He couldn't afford not to. Eventually he said he needed to go to the toilet, and left to head outside.

I wasted no time and turned to Jerry. "He's setting us up." I said simply.

Jerry turned to look at me and appeared somewhat relieved. "I know."

"Since when?" I asked, not exactly surprised he figured it out, but that he hadn't told me. I suppose after my colossal mistake at the prep school, he wasn't sure if I was trustworthy either. I didn't blame him, but the thought of him not trusting me depressed me immensely.

"I had suspicions after he wasn't at the school, and definitely after he let that drifter in."

"Do you think he's a synth?"

"Maybe, but If he is I don't know how long he's been one." He replied thoughtfully. Fair enough. Jerry had figured out Jennifer was a synth fairly quick. If he hadn't figured out Freddy until now, then it was possible he wasn't a synth at all.

"How long have you known him?" I asked, slightly sad.

"Since the beginning, four years now. I was a new agent when he was recruited. He helped us rescue a synth from some gunners in Cambridge. He fought well, and we worked well as a team, so I sponsored his entry, and he became a heavy like Glory. He was fairly low level until a few months ago, and then HQ was attacked." Jerry shook his head, berating himself. "I figured it was Jen feeding that intel to the institute, but I guess not." He finished quietly.

"How long did you know Trish?"

"Not as long as him, but uh, we were friends." He replied, but there was something more he wasn't telling me.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault she's dead." I croaked. He put a hand on my shoulder to comfort me, but I had to say it. "I wouldn't listen to Jack, it's my fault we were captured, it's my fault she got killed, and I'm sorry." I got out, tears welling up in my eyes.

"It's not your fault she died." Freddy's voice came from the door suddenly. He stood there, holding the laser rifle passively at his side. I could barely keep my rage from boiling over. I looked at Jerry.

He nodded, almost imperceptibly. "Let's cut the bullshit. Did you do it?" Jerry asked him, a new hardness to his voice.

Freddy smiled. "Kill her, or betray you?" He asked simply. Before Jerry could snap a reply, Freddy continued. "Well, yes, to both of those questions, sorry." He said unapologetically.

I was furious. I grabbed my rifle, jumped up, and aimed it at him, flicking the fire selector to auto. I wanted to chew him to pieces. He didn't seem concerned, and meandered towards us.

Jerry stood to match him. "How long?" He asked, heartbroken.

"How do you think I found that synth back in '83?" Freddy replied.

"Since the very beginning…" Jerry said to himself quietly.

"Yeah, well, they saw my skills and thought I'd be a good plant, not to mention, the pay was damn good." He replied, with no hint of shame to his voice.

"You bastard… Why did you kill Trish?" I demanded.

"She saw me talking to someone she shouldn't have." Freddy said simply, as if it was evident.

"So what's your play now?" Jerry asked him, as I kept my gun trained directly on his chest. He wouldn't be talking to us if he didn't have an exit strategy.

"We're going to have a little chat." He replied.

"Oh are we?" I demanded bitterly, readjusting my aim. "I've heard all I need to."

"Well I haven't." He replied nonchalantly, before instantly disappearing in a blinding flash of blue light.

Jerry and I stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, before suddenly, a foul smell filled my nostrils, and before I could do anything to stop it, my vision went blurry and my legs gave out. I was out before I hit the ground.

As my hearing began returning to me, I became aware of the sounds of a struggle. I wasn't sure until I heard someone shout.

"Stop squirming!" I heard one man yelling. Another one laughed. I heard a distraught yell from someone who could only have been my mother. The sound she made terrified me. I'd never heard it before, yet I knew it was her. "Hold her down!" I heard the same man shout. I had to help her. I checked my gun and rounded the corner. I saw light spilling through an ajar doorway and took cover beside it.

"Where the hell is Harold, he's gonna miss out on all this." I heard another man say, deathly close to me. We were separated by a couple feet and a few wooden boards alone.

"Who cares. I'm going to make this bitch pay for killing King!" The first one snarled. I heard a loud smack, and my mother cried out in pain.

Enough was enough. I drew back and shoved the door open, as hard as I could, aiming my pistol. My mother was lying on the ground facing the door, her hands taped behind her back. One man was sitting on my mother's legs, holding her down as he tried to get at her pants, the other one had been knocked over by the door, dropping my mother's rifle, and landing on his back beside her. I didn't allow myself to stop, I knew I couldn't. I just aimed, and fired three times. The other one had just about gotten off my mother and reached the rifle when I swapped targets and the remaining four bullets slammed into him. They were both dead, but I knew I had no choice.

My mother was shaken, I could tell. I had no idea at the time what fate would have befallen her, had I not intervened, but it was enough for her to allow me to take care of her for a bit. Neither of us had the will, nor the energy to keep moving that night, so we settled down for the night in the shack at the east side of the lake, which had excellent views of almost all directions anyone could approach from. My mother had found a good hunting rifle on one of the dead raiders, so she'd effectively given me her automatic rifle. I'd used it when hunting before, but I wasn't accurate at any meaningful range. Though I knew that with the automatic fire mode, I didn't need to be if I got up close enough. We feasted on two-day old radrabbit and a can each of purified water we'd taken from the packs of mother's would-be rapists. I knew my mother was exhausted, not just from her close shave with mortality, but from the running. We'd been walking tens of miles every day for weeks now, and my mother had been sleeping with one eye open most nights. The end was in sight, but I couldn't help but feel she was at her limit. Perhaps that's why I insisted on keeping watch and letting her sleep. The adrenaline rush had worn off, but I still couldn't sleep with all that had happened. My mother, for all her stubbornness, agreed, and let me keep watch.

"I love you. You make me proud, every single day." She said to me before she laid down her head and slept.

"I love you too mom."

I awoke with the usual throbbing pains in my head, but at least this time my ribs weren't getting kicked in, and I wasn't staring into the face of my rapist, or looking down the barrel of my own gun, so it wasn't the worst wake up so far. However I couldn't see anything, as there was a bag of some kind over my head, and my arms were tightly secured behind me with a pair of rigid handcuffs. Given that, it was still close. I struggled to sit up, and instead settled with lying on the cold concrete floor, with little to no idea of what was going to happen to me or Jerry. The only thing keeping my panic from rising was the burning fury I held in my heart, directed squarely at that bastard Frederick, or whatever his real name was. I lay there for a while, and could hear someone walking around in the room I was in, the sounds of heavy boots. An odd jangling noise accompanied the footsteps of the mystery man. It didn't sound like a Freddy, the footsteps were heavier, it didn't sound like a synth either, that is, the classic metal and plastic synth.

I wasn't left to my own thoughts and fears for long though, as upon realising I was awake, they walked over to me, dragged me over to a chair, sat me down, and removed the bag from my head. Once my eyes adjusted to the harsh artificial light, I could see that I was sitting in the middle of a bare concrete room, furnished with nothing but the chair, a drain, and a featureless grey door along one wall. I was face to face with a middle aged, tough looking balding man, with a long scar across his left eye. He was wearing a tattered black leather jacket over a greying white shirt, olive combat trousers, and an odd fabricated metal piece on his left arm. It looked strangely medical, like it was part of an exoskeleton of some kind, yet it was clearly a form of armour, due to the shape and location of the metal pieces. I looked around me, yet Jerry was nowhere to be seen. As my anger wore off, my panic was finally starting to rise, especially when I saw the monstrous revolver he had in a holster at his right thigh.

He crouched down in front of me, sizing me up. He seemed to notice my fear and panic rising. I wasn't looking at him, and instead faced away. He put a hand under my chin, and turned me towards him. He stared me down. "I'm going to ask you a simple question, no dog and pony bullshit. You're going to answer it, truthfully, or I'm going to kill you." He said quietly, staring into my eyes the entire time.

I tried to speak, but found my throat was burning, so instead I nodded.

"Follow the freedom trail." He said simply. When I didn't say anything, he sighed. "What does it mean?" He asked quietly, as if embarrassed by such a question.

"I don't know." I croaked out in reply, terrified that he'd believe I was lying and decide to just shoot me. Instead he looked somewhat disappointed, but seemed to believe me. I let out a breath of relief when he stood up and walked over to the other side of the room, next to a heavy steel door.

He knocked on the door twice. The viewing slit opened, and the nightmarish skeleton-like face of a generation 1 synth was on the other side. "Bring in the other one." The mercenary commanded. The synth closed the viewing slit and after several moments, opened the door and pushed Jerry inside. He was also wearing handcuffs, but he appeared to have already seen some action. His face was beaten and bloody, with blood stains all over his shirt. He looked nothing like himself. My heart jumped at the sight of him in this state.

"I already told you Kellogg, you won't get anything out of me." He mumbled defiantly, in a voice not his own. His nose was broken.

The mercenary, Kellogg, sat him down on a chair next to me, stood back, and pulled out his revolver. He levelled it at Jerry's head. "You're going to tell me what it means, otherwise I'm going to kill you." Kellogg said.

Jerry looked up at him and across to me. In that brief eye contact I realised something. He knew, he'd known what it meant all along, he just didn't trust anyone to share the answer with. Not even me, but I didn't blame him.

"You know I'm not going to do that." He replied with a nervous laugh.

Kellogg glanced across at me, then back at Jerry before smiling sadly. I knew where this was going, so I wasn't surprised in the slightest when he moved the gun over to me.

"You're going to tell me, or I'm going to kill her." He added inevitably. I could see the pain in Jerry's eyes when he said that, but I could see reluctant acceptance there too, and my heart sank.

He stared into my eyes, before closing his own, looking away. "I'm sorry." He said to me quietly.

There was silence, as nobody spoke a single word for several moments, until Kellogg holstered his pistol. I looked up at him right as he hit me. The slap came almost entirely without warning, and left the taste of blood in my mouth. I didn't fall off the chair, but I came close. I didn't blame Jerry for not telling him, just as I didn't blame him for not telling me. I knew full well that my life, objectively speaking, wasn't worth the lives that would undoubtedly be lost if he told Kellogg what the code meant.

"Make it quick." I begged him, as he pulled on a pair of knuckle duster gloves.

I heard Kellogg laugh, moments before the first punch sent me sprawling to the ground. I drifted in and out of consciousness as he punched, kicked, slapped, and pistol whipped me for what felt like hours. Eventually, when I could sense the next punch coming and had prepared for it, the slimy bastard's voice reached us. He was talking through the viewing slit in the cell.

"You won't get anything out of him just now, let me talk to them."

"Fine." Kellogg replied coldly, and left us in the room with Freddy, closing the door behind him.

"She loves you, you know." Was the first thing Freddy said to him, walking around our chairs, but looking at Jerry the whole time.

Jerry said nothing, but glanced across at me, before looking back at Freddy. He wasn't wrong. I would've stood by Jerry through anything. Yet I had no allegiance to the Railroad personally, only through him and Trish really.

"She went through hell to find you. Now she's willing to die for you." He continued, and again, he was right.

I said nothing and looked at my feet. I didn't know what I should say, or if anything should be said. Jerry was still silent, so Freddy continued.

"That's love. No doubt about it. She loves you, you know that. But you, you never loved her, not in the same way, hell, you couldn't. In fact, part of you hates her." He finished.

I'd had enough of his expositional bullshit. "So what, you can read minds now?" I spat sarcastically and glared at him through my one good eye as he walked round to face me.

"No, but I can read people, that's why I'm so good at my job." He replied, before continuing. "He loved Trish, and you got her killed, so he can't love you, not in the same way you love him." He concluded, and looked at me for a response.

I didn't know what to say. I was thinking over what he said when Jerry started going at him instead.

"This is what you do best, isn't it? You play with people's emotions, you turn them against each other and, an- and, you use them to get what you want. You lie, kill, and steal. You're scum, Frederick, if that's even your goddamn name, you're scum." He ranted. There was an edge to his voice, not that of anger, but one of pain.

I looked across at him, and I could see the glint of tears on his face. I never knew he loved Trish, but thinking back, it should've been obvious. How distant he became after she died, and how he must've blamed me, initially drawing his suspicions away from Freddy, why he wanted to leave me at Bunker Hill, how he never trusted me with the answer to the code, how he sat by her grave for hours upon hours. I was overwhelmed with shame, at my cowardice to tell him the truth, my undeniable, yet unwilling part in Trish's death and finally, how I couldn't help but blame him for being distant with me, even though I know I'd have done the same. After the school, we'd barely had a proper conversation, like the ones we used to have back at Corvega, in the early hours of the morning. I'd destroyed his trust. I'd broken his heart and in turn I'd broken my own. I loved him, I always had, why else had I gone to such lengths to stay with him, even when he'd tried to lose me? There was, as he put it, no doubt about it. Freddy left, and we were left to ourselves for a while.

"Did you love her?" I asked quietly, looking at my feet.

"Yes." He replied after a brief pause. I could hear his voice near breaking, saying just that word alone.

"I'm sorry." Was all I could think to say. Even though Freddy had killed her. I'd led us into a trap that gave him the opportunity. I was still to blame.

"Did you- do you…" He began, but I cut him off. I knew what he was asking.

"Yes." I said sadly, and turned to face him. "I- I've loved you, ever since what you did for me, that day back in January." I got out, and smiled sadly at him.

"I'm sorry." He replied, and looked at his feet. "I'm not much to look at. You could've chosen far better." He said quietly.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud, before meeting his gaze. I was glad that everything was on the table now, but my heart sank like a stone as I realised we'd never get the opportunity to explore the possibilities now. My smile faded, and I looked away.

"We're not going to make it are we?" I asked, my voice betraying me.

"You could, if you tell us what we need to know." Freddy's voice came from behind the door.

Jerry seemed somewhat torn, and said nothing, so I had to say it for him. "No."

"That's a shame." he replied, as if he cared, the traitorous bastard. "Alright, Kellogg, they're all yours." The door opened and Kellogg walked back in again.

He wasted no time, and went straight for me. I barely had the time to look up before he slammed a fist up against my good eye, knocking me off the chair this time. I could barely see, and I'd probably never been abused more than I had today. That's a lie, Zeller's abuse was worse.

"I've killed worse than you." I spat at his feet, feigning as much confidence as I could muster.

He grabbed me by my ponytail and dragged me back onto the seat again. He was about to swing a fist at me again when I heard it.

"Stop it! For God's sake stop it! I'll talk! I will, I'll talk." Jerry cried, the desperation clear in his voice.

I guess he did love me. I couldn't speak, but I knew that he was about to save my life. I wasn't overjoyed, as one might expect. I wasn't angry at Jerry for not trusting me with the truth either. But I also knew Jerry by now. He loved me, and he was about to bargain for my life. I just hoped the information he was going to part with would come to nothing of worth. I couldn't see, but I heard Kellogg stand up, and walk over to him. Silence for a moment, and as Kellogg started walking back to me, then he spoke.

"All I know is that there's an old history walk, called the freedom trail, in Quincy somewhere. I swear to god." He said slowly, and looked at his feet, muttering silently, a shameful grimace upon his face.

Kellogg paused, clobbered Jerry's face and turned him to face me. He held me still with a hand on my shoulder, before drawing his pistol and placing it against my gut. I couldn't see Jerry, but I knew he wouldn't be able to look away.

"If you lie to me again, I'm going to shoot her in the stomach, and you're going to watch her bleed out in front of you."

I closed my eyes instinctively. The brave thing would be to say I wasn't afraid to die, and there might've been a time when that was true, but I couldn't say that now and have it be true. I was terrified, not of dying, but of losing out on the opportunities that had opened up to us.

"I told you the truth!" He cried, and I knew he was starting to lose it.

"No you did not!" Kellogg roared, and began pulling the trigger of his double action revolver.

I could hear the compression of the springs as he put more and more pressure on the trigger. I opened my eyes, but I couldn't stop the tears streaming down my face as I saw the hammer slowly pulling back, ready to snap forward and send a bullet down the barrel and into my gut, faster than the speed of sound. Despite everything, I wasn't broken. I just wasn't ready to die.

"B-Boston Common! Boston Common! That's where the trail starts!" He shouted, and immediately began sobbing.

"Good man." Kellogg said quietly, and pulled the gun away from me, apparently satisfied with his answer. I could breathe again, and looked down at my feet, relief flooding through me. Jerry had just saved my life.

"God help me, tell them I tried, tell them I tried, I'm so sorry..." Jerry continued sobbing to himself, whispering heartbreaking apologies to friends, colleagues, and the dead. Mostly people I'd never met, and one that I had.

"You can tell them yourself, they'll be joining you before long." Kellogg said coldly. It was only when I heard the click of the hammer being cocked did I understand what he meant.

"NO!" I yelled, right as the shot rang out, deafeningly loud in the bare concrete room.

My ears were ringing and I could barely see a thing, but there was nothing I could do, I had to know. I fell off my chair, and crawled on my chest and knees towards Jerry, who was lying still on the floor. I could see the pool of blood and where he'd collapsed, but my injuries prevented me from being able to see the scene fully in the poor light. Nonetheless, I had no doubt it would join many others in haunting my nights for years to come. I kneeled over him, unable to hold him. I didn't cry, I just kneeled there, in a state of shock. This wasn't supposed to happen. He'd lied to us. Of course he'd lied, what else had he done for the past four years?

As my hearing began to return I heard the dull metallic clicking as the hammer drew back for a second time. I looked up and saw the outline of his monstrous revolver staring me in the face. It's odd, I don't think I expected him to shoot me, it's almost as if I thought that our betrayal, and Jerry's death was enough misery and injustice to last me a lifetime. Then again, life isn't fair.

"Sorry kid, it's nothing personal." He said, with absolutely no emotion in his gravelly voice, before the world went black.

It seemed our luck just couldn't hold. As dawn broke, I glanced glanced to the west, past the other houses, I could see a group of maybe ten, fifteen people, all heavily armed and one with a bloodhound on a leash. They must've come searching for the men we killed. I ran to my mother and awoke her. She awoke, seemingly overjoyed to see me, but her smile faded when she saw the look on my face.

She jumped up, grabbed her hunting rifle and went to the window. The group was approaching the first house where I'd killed the three men. "Too many, we need to run." She said, and grabbed her pack. I did the same, and waited at the door. "They'll see us that way, we need to run east. We can follow the edge of the swamplands to Quincy." She said and went to check the window on the east side of the shack.

I could see the Quincy church spire, maybe three miles away to the north-east. We were very close. Mom lifted me up and helped me through the window, before following me through herself. We took but a few seconds to ready our packs and weapons, before taking off at a full sprint east, doing our best to get as far as we could before heading north. I was sprinting flat out, just to keep up with my mother, who was pausing to glance behind us every so often. We'd just about reached the sparse dead woodland by the swamps when they noticed us. We were at least 200 feet away, but once the first yell came, the gunfire followed. I heard whizzes and thuds as bullets passed all around us, embedding themselves into the soil beneath our feet, and the trees all around us. We just ran as fast as we could, not stopping to look back. After a while the gunfire seemed to get more sporadic, with more time between the shots. I just hoped they'd lost sight of us in the poor light. I was beginning to believe we'd get away, that we'd make it to Quincy and put this ordeal behind us. Then a bullet went through mom's leg.

She dropped like a stone, and immediately got back up again, before crying out in pain, and falling against a tree. I stopped running and ran to her aid. After a few moments of shock, I went for my first aid kit, but she stopped me.

She held my hands in hers and stared right into my eyes. "I won't make it, not with this leg. And you can't carry me." She got out, and pushed her pack towards me.

I began crying, I couldn't fathom the thought of losing her. "I won't go. Not without you!" I cried, and tried to lift her up, but her legs wouldn't take her weight.

She grimaced in pain as she slumped against the tree again. She reached into her pack and retrieved the magazine bandolier to her automatic rifle, it was heavy, and must've had at least six magazines of ammunition there. I could hear shouting in the distance, as the raiders got closer and closer.

"You've got a good heart, and a strong will. You will need both in this world." She said with conviction, and pushed the bandolier towards me.

I hesitated, then took it. "Mom, I-"

"You make me proud, every single day." She said softly. "Now go!" She commanded.

I stood up and nodded, tears streaming down my face. I secured the belt across my shoulder, grabbed my rifle by the carry handle, and ran. I didn't look back, but I heard gunfire and panicked shouting, as my mother picked off as many as she could. The gunfire picked up, with shots being exchanged from both sides, and it didn't stop until I was at least halfway to quincy. Once it stopped I wept. I heard one last muffled shot, and I knew. I didn't know what I'd do now, but I knew I had to make my way on my own now. I looked back and couldn't see anything through the trees. I kept running, as fast as I could.