Crawled Out Through The Fallout

Chapter 14

Saugus Ironworks wasn't too far from the Finch's farm. When we got closer, I stood behind a wrecked car and pulled out my gun to look through the scope. I aimed at the building, searching the grounds and the roof.

"Seventeen total. Eight on the ground, nine on the roof. That I can see. This could get ugly."

I looked at Deacon over my shoulder.

"Good thing you've got me. We can do this. No problem, boss."

I rolled my eyes slightly at his first comment, but agreed with his next statement.

"I'll take down as many as I can from the roof. Cover me from the ground."

He nodded, and held his gun ready. I aimed carefully at the men on the roof, shooting three of them before they could scream for help. The others noticed, and began shooting at us, mostly missing. I shot at the raiders running towards us, ducking down to reload. Deacon ran at a raider, and hit him in the face with his gun, then shot him when he was on the ground. An assaultron attacked him from behind, and I quickly shot it down.

"Not smart to attack Deacon with me around. Sure-fire way to get yourself killed."

Deacon was quickly surrounded by raiders and robots, and I shot at them, careful not to hit Deacon. Who then held up his arms and yelled.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Everyone stop! I've got a splinter!"

Drama queen.

A couple of the raiders froze in surprise, and I used their hesitation to make a few clean headshots.

When only two remained, I ran over and shot them from behind while they swung at Deacon with pool cues. They collapsed, and I kicked one of them, sending a pool cue rolling.

"Seriously, what is it with the pool cues? It's not smart to go after someone with a gun with a pool cue."

Deacon nodded in agreement, chuckling.

"Lucky for us, they aren't the sharpest tools in the shed."

I grinned, and picked up a pool cue and poked his side with it.

"I mean, does that even hurt?"

Deacon lifted an eyebrow, and shook his head.

"Not a bit."

I snapped the pool cue in half over my knee, then stabbed the dead raider with it.

"That's how to make a pool cue hurt, you idiot."

I started walking to the door of the ironworks, and Deacon followed. I opened the door carefully an walked in, looking around. I saw raiders on patrol everywhere. I gestured for Deacon to come closer, then whispered to him.

"This place is crawling with raiders, and not many places to hide. I think we should just go in guns blazing. Take them by surprise."

Deacon nodded, and ran out into the middle of the area, shooting like crazy. I rushed after him, shooting as quickly and as accurately as I could. 

"Insert something Shakespearean about death and your inevitable doom here!"

I tried not to laugh at his sassy remarks while fighting, but sometimes he was just really funny.

A guy with a flamer snuck up on me, and began burning me. I ran back, jumping over a stair railing. I started running backward and shooting at him, hitting his arms and chest. I felt my skin overheat, and my blood start to boil. Deacon ran over and hit the back of the flamer's head, knocking him down. I shot him through the eye, killing him. I nodded to Deacon, thanking him. Then went back to fighting. We cleared the room, and I pulled a key off one of the corpses.

"We should go look for where they're keeping that kid. This might be the key to that room."

I tucked the key into a pocket, and looked around for a hallway or door or something. I found a stairway heading to a room, and walked over to it. I didn't hear footsteps behind me, so I glanced over my shoulder. And there was no Deacon. He was here just a minute ago. Where the hell did he wander off to now? I muttered under my breath.

"Dammit, Deacon."

I looked around the room, and there was no sign of him, so I just went up the stairs on my own. I figured I could handle searching a bit without him by my side. I pushed the door at the top of the stairs open, leading to a hallway with several doors. A raider leaned against the wall with his back to me, and I shot him in the back of the head, killing him instantly. I glanced around, picking up useful items and searching cabinets for ammo. Then I opened the doors one by one, finding nothing of interest. When I opened the last door, a wave of heat rushed over me. I saw a man in power armor standing above a giant vat of melted iron, and a boy standing in front of it. And who was on the floor nearby, with a gun to his head? Deacon. And his hands were tied behind his back. I got angry, glaring at the man in power armor.

"Did you lose something? Or, rather, someone?"

I spat at the man, pissed off.

"You let him go right now, or I'll kill every one of your men."

Deacon tried looking over his shoulder at the power armor figure, who chuckled.

"She'll do it. Really."

I held my gun out, staring the man in charge right in the eyes, and shot one of his men in the face, making him fall forward on to the ground. 

"Like I said, I will kill all of you if you don't let my partner go."