James sat with the Reilly's Rangers group, eating together. They had made good progress to Rivet City with the rangers' help. They knew how to get around D.C. thoroughly and with ease. Her group was very close and well trained. "So we have been together for two days now. I have been wanting to ask you something." Reilly said to James. "Is it about me leaving my vault?" he asked. Reilly nodded, " I hear the vaults want for nothing. You have it all. Why come out here, or were you forced to?" she asked, chewing on a kebab. James told his story to the rangers, keeping it short and sweet. "Well, we should be at Rivet City by tomorrow around noon. Let's get some rest." she ordered, throwing her kebab stick. "Boss, eyes up." Jax said, reaching for his gun. The entire group bolted up, weapons ready. A group of solider in black armor walked up to them. "Easy, easy now. Just have some questions." one of the men said. "Talon mercs? Thought you guys were up at the Capitol building fighting Super Mutants?" Reilly inquired, her weapon lowered. "Our main force is, yes. We are here on another job." he explained and then looked at James. "Older white male, vault dweller, in a vault suit. Yeah, you definitely match the description. Name is James Kirk, right?" the merc asked. James anxiety grew. He didn't like this, it isn't easy to find someone in the wasteland. For someone to be searching for somebody with an accurate description wasn't good either. It means they were serious, especially if they hired mercs to find him. Before James could lie or answer, Jax stepped in front of him. "This isn't the person you are apparently looking for. My client isn't a vault dweller, he found the suit on a dead man. Needed clothes, so he took it." Jax lied, keeping his weapon lowered but ready. "Nobody has ever seen a 101 vault dweller. Do not lie to me." the merc snarled. "What do you want with me?" James asked. "Don't know, orders are to bring you to Tenpenny Tower, being paid a lot of caps. Now come with me." the merc ordered. At that statement, both groups aimed their weapons at each other. "He ain't going anywhere. Walk away or die here." Jax ordered. Brick revved her minigun. "Alright, alright. We are leaving, but we aren't the only squad looking for you. Our orders are final, and Mr. Burke's orders are high priority in our group. We will get you. It's just a matter of time." the merc said, walking away. The rangers relaxed and looked at James. "We will keep watch, don't worry. We will get you to Rivet City, but after that, you guys are on your own. I don't know how you pissed off the Talon's, but your life just got a lot more complicated." Reilly said. James settled in to get some sleep, but his mind was racing. 'Who the hell is Mr. Burke?' he wondered, over and over.
Kirk took the rest of the night treating the resident's injuries. Most were mild at best, just bruises and scrapes. A few gunshot wounds, but nothing fatal. He helped gather the deceased to one spot on the edge of the town. He now sat and stared at the bodies. It was hard gruesome work. Something he never thought he would do in his life. He was having more of those kinds of thoughts. His life had taken a complete turn, and he was barely prepared to handle any of it. "Are you ready, Kirk?" Lucy asked, holding her shotgun. "Yeah." he said, standing up and putting his pack on. He had gotten no sleep, but he didn't think he would anyway. He kept having flashes of the attack last night, and Lucy naked... which he didn't seem to mind, but it made him sick, thinking of it like that. The plan was to make their back to the Family via shortcut provided to them by Vance. As they traveled to the station, the two of them chatted over little things. Interests and such to pass the time. Kirk was enjoying the conversation. It kept his mind off the horrors in his mind, which he found himself handling a bit too well. Kirk wanted to ask how she was doing, but he figured their chatter is helping her cope too, so he decided not to. They made it to the station after a few hours and made their way to the Family's entrance.
Vance sat across from both of them, with his fingers pressed against his lips. "I said two days, Kirk, yet you return in one. I can speculate why, but I'd rather keep this short, so just tell me why you are here." Vance said quickly. He seemed on edge for some reason, not as calm and collected like before. Kirk wondered if it was his urges coming up. "Arefu was attacked by raiders last night. Jericho and a woman were taken back to their lair." Kirk explained. "Why are you telling me this?" Vance asked. Kirk shifted and worked up the courage to say his request. "Oh, you want us to help." Vance said and sighed, standing up. He walked over the rail, overlooking the rest of the station, putting his hands behind his back. Kirk walked over to him. "If you wipe out the raiders, you will secure the area around Arefu, showing them your Family is strong and can be trusted." Kirk explained. "Wipe out? An interesting phrase Kirk, are you sure you are not using my people for personal reasons?" Vance asked, turing to Kirk and staring straight into his eyes. Kirk was taken aback for a moment but realized he was right. It startled him how much he did want to kill the raiders. Just a couple of days ago, he hesitated on shooting one, but now... "Yes, I want to kill them, but my true goal is to rescue Jericho and Miss Schenzy. To show Arefu that you guys are not monsters." Kirk explained. "Oh, we are monsters, Kirk. I see your good intentions, but I hesitate to do this. I need to look out for my people. Attacking a raider gang is easy. It's the Arefu idea that is hard. The residents there could hurt my flock because they are...different, " Vance said, and then rubbed his eyes. "Saving them from the raiders will paint you in a different light, also will show your strength. They will respect or fear you depending on the outcome. It is up to you to decide which they do." Kirk said. Vance pondered on his words. "I am going to get some sleep, I will give you my answer when I awaken. You and Lucy can stay here in the room at the end of that corridor or come back later, up to you." Vance said, walking away. Kirk walked over to Lucy and asked, "Do you want to head back or stay here?" "Stay, I didn't get any sleep last night." she answered, stretching. "Same, let's get some rest." Kirk said.
Kirk and Lucy laid on a bunk bed, and Kirk was on top, Lucy, on the bottom. Both were trying to sleep but couldn't. "Hey Kirk?" Lucy asked, to see if he was awake. "Yeah?" he responded. "Do you think they will help us?" she asked. "I don't know. I hope so." Kirk said, putting his hands behind his head. "What if they don't? What, then?" she asked. Kirk didn't answer for a bit. Honestly, he didn't know what to say. He wanted to say that he would save them himself, but he knew that was crazy. The school was just pure luck. He doubted he could take out this gang, especially the leader. He was bigger than the one he killed in the school. "I will think of something." he answered finally. Lucy believed him for some reason. They stayed quiet for a while, both not sleeping still. "Kirk?" Lucy asked, seeing if he was still awake. "Yeah?" he responded. "I...um can't sleep." she stated. awkwardly. Kirk didn't answer, decided to be bold, and came down off his bed. Lucy got up, and they both looked at each other. "The bed is uh pretty small for the both of us." Kirk said. "Maybe we can put the mattresses on the floor next to one another?" she suggested. Kirk nodded and put the mattresses together on the floor. He laid down on his back, putting his hands behind his head, and Lucy laid her head on his chest. As they tried to go to sleep, Kirk couldn't help but pick up her scent. It was nice and calming. 'I hope I don't smell bad.' he thought. After a while, he felt her breathing deepen. She had fallen asleep. Kirk smiled and focused on her scent. Soon, he fell asleep as well.
Kirk awoke feeling well rested. The nightmares were there, but not as long and horrible. He noticed Lucy and tensed up immediately. She was still asleep, but he could see her cleavage clearly. He was also hard and it was very noticeable. Her thigh was hiked up across his crotch, so if she woke up, she would definitely notice it. Kirk stared at her face. She seemed so peaceful. He felt bad but knew he had to somehow move out from under her. He went to roll her off gently, but she started waking up. 'Shit.' Kirk thought and acted like he was asleep. Lucy woke up and saw Kirk was still asleep. 'I slept really good, best I had in a while.' she thought. She breathed in his scent. It was nice, different than anything she had ever smelled before. She wondered if it was because he was from a vault. She moved her hand down and felt something hard. She looked down and realized she was touching his hard crotch. She looked at his face and saw he was still asleep. She pondered on teasing him a bit and gave it a light squeeze. Kirk didn't react, he wanted to but didn't. Lucy stared at his face and squeezed it a bit harder. Kirk acted like he was stirring awake, and she quickly let go and got up. 'Oh, thank God.' Kirk thought as acted like he was waking up. "Evening." Lucy said, stretching. "Evening, did you sleep well?" he asked. Lucy nodded, "You?" Kirk nodded and got up, adjusting his crotch discreetly. "Let's go see if Vance is awake.' he said, grabbing his gear. Lucy followed him, imagining what she would have done to tease him further. Kirk didn't understand why he had been so nervous about women. He used to flirt and fool around all the time with girls in the vault. He was afraid he knew what the reason was but ignored it for now.
Vance was at his podium overlooking his flock, who were all seated below. Vance turned to see Kirk and Lucy and nodded at them. Vance composed himself and then stepped forward to speak to his Family. "Greetings, everyone! I have much to say to you all tonight. Let me begin by stating that our Family is in danger. We live in a world that adapting is necessary for survival." He paused for a moment. "Now, I have always said we need to live in darkness to stay safe and hidden from the world, but I have come to realize lately that I may have been in wrong in establishing this rule." he said and glanced over at Kirk. "Arefu. A town that we have set upon in the past for our needs. I believe now that this town could be our future, our new haven." he said, arms spread wide. "The residents there could help us sate our urges by providing us our lifeblood, and we can return the favor by protecting them!" he shouted with vigor. His flock began murmuring to each other, unsure of these words. Vance noticed this and raised his hand, which ceased the murmuring. "Adaptation. This is what we must do to survive. "This is our chance to be accepted by society and for us to grow to new heights!" he announced. "We are the Family! This is our chance to no longer hide in the dark! To be free from the unjust labels put upon us! This is our time!" he shouted. His flock started agreeing and showed it. Vance raised his hand once more to quiet them. "However, our future has been attacked by filthy raiders as of last night. OUR TOWN!" he yelled. "DID WE GIVE THESE ANIMALS PERMISSION TO ATTACK WHAT IS OURS?!" Vance yelled. "NO!" shouted his flock. Kirk could feel the energy in the room come to life, like electricity. "WILL WE ALLOW THESE MONSTERS TO HARASS OUR FUTURE PEOPLE!?" Vance yelled. "NO!" they shouted. "That what I thought! TONIGHT WE FEAST ON RAIDER BLOOD AND WE SHALL BRING THEIR HEADS TO OUR FUTURE NEIGHBORS!" Vance shouted. His flock shouted in agreement and ran for their weapons. Kirk was shocked at how easily he manipulated them to the idea of Arefu. He made it seem so easy. Vance turned to Kirk and Lucy. "Come friends, let me show you the power of fear." he said and led them to the surface.
Jericho had been fading in and out of consciousness since he was captured. They woke him up by splashing piss in his face. "Wake up, ya old bastard." Hammer said. Jericho groaned and spat the urine out of his mouth. He found himself tied against the fence. He did his best to get his bearings, but Hammer had given him quite the blow to his head. 'Pretty sure my skull is cracked, and I got a brain bleed or something.' he thought. His vision was blurry, and pain was all he felt. Then Hammer jammed a Stimpack into Jericho's neck. "AARGghhh..." Jericho said, feeling relief soon after. "Don't worry, I am gonna keep you alive until you see the boss." he said, tossing the Stimpack away. Jericho's vision started clear up, and the pain was much more bearable. He took this chance to properly get his bearings. The first thing he noticed was poor Karen being violated by the raiders, gagged and tied up from the overhanging fence. He noticed some of the raiders were different from the others. 'Ah, I see, Hammer took over this gang.' he thought seeing a few dead raiders some distance away. Probably opposed Hammer taking over, which didn't end well with them. "So bitch, how was 'retirement'? Leaving the group like that, tsk tsk, what did you expect would happen?" Hammer asked with a chuckle. Jericho groaned and looked over at Hammer. "Sucks honestly. Turns out...not being an asshole...is harder than...it's worth. But...better than dealing...with you...bastards." Jericho said, feeling his concisouness slipping again. Hammer slapped him. "Oh no you don't, before I take you back to the Boss, I am going to get my due from you." he said, grabbing his hammer. Before he could hit him, he heard yelling and snickering all around him. Hammer and his raiders stopped what they were doing and looked around into the darkness. The raiders fires made it hard to see past them into the darkness. The laughing got louder, and some raiders started panicing. "Oh no! It's them!" one cried, grabbing his weapon. "We are dead, fucking dead!" another whined. "What the fuck are you idiots crying about?!" Hammer demanded. "It's the Family!" one yelled. Jericho looked up and saw a small flame in the distance.
Kirk, Lucy, and Vance stood on a nearby cliff overlooking the baseball field. "I knew it. Another gang did show up. There weren't this many before." Kirk said. What did surprise him, though, was how quickly this other gang took control and raided Arefu all in about 24 hours. "Their numbers mean little, we will make short work of this gang." Vance said, pulling out a sword. Kirk looked at it and was intrigued. It was nothing like his other blades, and it had some sort of contraption on the handle. Kirk and Lucy got their guns ready and took aim. The Family had already surrounded the gang and had started laughing and yelling at them. They stuck to the darkness too well, even Kirk could barely see them. "YOU HAVE ENCROACHED ON MY TERRITORY! YOU HAVE ATTACKED WHAT IS OURS! FOR THIS, YOU WILL PAY WITH YOUR BLOOD! FEAST MY CHILDREN! REND FLESH! TEAR LIMB! BATHE IN THE BLOOD OF OUR PREY!" Vance roared, raising his sword and igniting it with flames. Kirk was stunned at this but quickly composed himself and fired.
The members of the Family were swift and deadly. At Vance's words, they darted in with blades and guns, killing raiders with ease. Throats slashed, guts spilled, heads rolled. It was chaos to the raiders. They could not keep up. Kirk and Lucy got closer and continued to fire at raiders. Lucy charged at a distracted raider, blasting him in half with her shotgun. Kirk was firing his rifle until it jammed again. 'Fuck, again?!' he thought, pulling out his 10mm and shooting the raider he meant to shoot with the rifle. Kirk saw his target, Hammer, and shot at him. Hammer took cover seeing Kirk shoot at him. Jericho saw Kirk and did his best to break from his restraints. Hammer shoulder charged from cover toward Kirk, who fired at him but only hit his arm. Hammer rammed Kirk to the ground and went to bring his hammer down on him, but Kirk rolled out of the way. "Who the fuck are you?!" Hammer asked, swinging at Kirk. Kirk went to shoot but Hammer smashed his gun out of his hand, breaking his fingers. Kirk yelled in pain, but Hammer kicked him in the chest, knocking the air out of him. Struggling to breathe, Kirk reached for his gun with his good hand, but Hammer kicked it away and then kicked Kirk in the face. "Why are you here?" Hammer asked picking Kirk up by the throat. Gasping for air, he pointed at Jericho. "Took...my...friend." he gasped out. Jericho heard this and was stunned. 'Friend?' he thought. Hammer started laughing. "Friend? That rat?! You have a poor choice in friends!" Hammer said, laughing throughout. "Put him down!" Lucy yelled, her shotgun aimed at him. Hammer turned toward Lucy, holding Kirk between them. "Make me bitch." he said, laughing.
Suddenly, Kirk was on the ground but could still see Hammers arm holding his neck. He looked up to see a stunned Hammer with a smoking stump. "AARRGGHHH!" he cried, grabbing the stump. "Quiet." Vance said. Hammer looked over at Vance and his flaming sword. "What the fuck..." he started, and noticed all of his men were dead and the Family were drinking their blood. It was a gruesome sight, seeing their mouths covered in blood, holding decapitated heads over their mouths, letting the blood fall in their mouth. Hammer horrified raised his Hammer and went to smash Vance. Vance dodged the attack and cut off his hand. "AAARRRGGHHH!" Hammer cried, backing away. Vance calmly walked toward him, as Hammer tried to run away. Kirk, Lucy, and Jericho watched as HammeIr, a giant of a man, had become prey to Vance. "Stay away! Freak! AARRGHHHH" Hammer cried, and fell foward. Vance had slashed the back of his knees. Hammer was on his knees before Vance and gave up on trying to escape. He looked up at Vance's cold expression and felt terror. Vance stood before Hammer and brought his blade to the raiders neck. Hammer roared in defeat as Vance sliced off his head.