Crossfire - Fallout 4 - [R J MacCready x Sole Survivor]

Chapter 16

He could hear the gunfire.

Each shot echoed in the night air, metallic and rippling off in different directions. MacCready lowered his cap to shade his eyes from the red flare above, forcing his eyes to adjust to the darkness, the adrenaline sharpening his senses as he ran across the broken bridge of Sanctuary.

There were minutemen ahead, shooting and shouting, and when MacCready cleared the hill he saw the Red Rocket Station in chaos.

Raiders, lots of them. Against the minutemen they were weaker, their makeshift leather and scrap armour had little protection against the damage of minutemen laser muskets. But there were so many of them, and they stormed the station with reckless abandon.

Dawn ran ahead, mowing down any raider that dared get close to her with her shotgun, and she disappeared into the building with such fierceness, it was a wonder what was worth protecting inside. MacCready chose to skirt around the battle, moving quietly to higher ground above in the nearby brush. He crouched down, profile low, and then readied his rifle as he scoped the fight below.

The minutemen were holding their own, and the sniper picked off any raider that planned to run into the station. A high-pitched whistle whizzed past his ear – he was spotted by a raider psycho – and MacCready quickly shifted back to move to a new position. The psycho pointed out MacCready's old position to his comrades, and the sniper watched a small group of raiders advance up the hill.

Time to move. Rifle gripped tightly in his hands, he bolted to the trees, creating as much distance as he could. There was a large broken tree ahead, and he hid behind it as he reloaded his gun, focusing all of his senses to pinpoint any nearby enemies. He held his breath. He could hear them.

"Where'd that fucker go?" Called out one of the raiders, clumsy boots noisily thumping closer through the brush. "Come out, you fucking pussy!"

MacCready stayed silent and still, watching the raider trudge past the tree he was hiding behind, but four more were somewhere nearby.

"I swear I saw 'im run here," another said, voice low and gruff, and he sounded close. Then the gruff raider rounded the tree, and MacCready was spotted. "Shit! He's here!"

The sniper launched forward, using all of his momentum to smash the butt of his rifle into the raider's face. A grunt and splutter, the gruff raider covered his bleeding nose with both his hands, and MacCready took this chance to grab the raider from behind in a chokehold. With MacCready's other hand he stole the raider's sidearm and shot at the other thugs.

One outlaw fired at MacCready, but he gripped tight onto his captive and used him as a meat-shield. Bullets hit his shield, impacts dull and wet, and MacCready shot back. The raider became limp and heavy in his hands, and the sniper let the dead body go as he returned fire at the outlaw.

A clean shot between the eyes. MacCready ducked behind another tree, chips of wood splintering into the air as more shots fired at him. He blind-fired around the tree with the stolen pistol, a lucky shot hitting one raider and causing them to scream in pain, and MacCready took advantage of the distraction to peek round. One raider was writhing on the floor, hands scrabbling over the bullet wound on their stomach, and MacCready finished him off with a well-aimed bullet to the head.

"He got Crooks!" One raider shouted to MacCready's left, but the sniper was focused on the thug with the shotgun running towards him.

A deafening boom blasted through the air as MacCready maneuvered around the tree, buckshot tearing through the frayed ends of his duster. He fired around the tree again – second time lucky – and more pained screams from the other side.