Chapter 3: Home In Their Range

Chapter 3: Home In Their Range

Cazadores: giant, mutated insects that are the result of experiments done to the Pre-War tarantula hawk wasp. They usually travel in packs, which is a nightmare in of itself, but the sting of one of the babies is enough to poison anyone. If you ever encounter a Cazador, make sure you've got plenty of Antivenom to chug down. The Wasteland holds many horrid creatures and bastardized freaks from man's determination to create more things to wipe ourselves off the map with, but these abomination's of an abortion can fuck off and drown in the burning shit swamps of Hell. So it's unfortunate that our band of merry travelers had to stumble upon a nest of the pricks.

"Get down!" Rodger commanded to the group. He fired a grenade from his grenade launcher at the group of cazadores flying at them. He missed them.

"Nice shot, dumbass!" McKilla insulted from behind cover.

"I don't see you doing anything!" Rodger shot back at her.

"Well I would be of use if my fucking hands weren't tied!" She retaliated. "What about the old man? I don't see him doing anything."

"Where is he anyway?" Courtney asked. The Stranger was absent from the group.

"Oh, great. He fucking ditched us." McKilla said.

"He wouldn't just leave us! He's probably doing something." Jr. said. He didn't want to believe the old man had left them for dead.

"Oh bullshit." McKilla called. "What fucking good is an old son of a bitch gonna do?"

"He kicked your friends ass." Courtney remarked.

"Okay, we weren't friends. We were just rolling together." The raider corrected. "He was obviously weak if he lost to an old sack of meat like that loser."

"Guys! Enough chit-chat. We've got fucking cazadores!" Rodger reminded. The trio kept firing at the giant bugs, but they were only able to put down about five. All of a sudden, something emerged from a cave nearby. It was as big as a super mutant, wings big enough to push dirt as they fluttered, and loud as an engine on a car. It was the cazador queen.

"Holy shit." Jr. said at the sight of this rare beast. The queen fluttered her wings and a whooshing sound was made every time it swung its massive, orange wings.

"Fucking kill that thing!" Rodger ordered. The group fired everything they had at the beast, but it was barely making any kind of dent or scrape to its exoskeleton. If anything, they were only pissing it off.

"Come on! You guys are doing nothing to it!" The raider exclaimed in desperation. They pumped bullets, armor piercing rounds, grenades, everything they could muster. Their guns clicked when they pulled the trigger, they were out of ammo.

"Ah fuck me." Jr. said. The queen hissed at the group. She hovered above the ground at the entrance of the cave and the other cazadores were about to strike the mercenaries and raider. As all hope had seemed to have vanish, a massive boulder fell from above the cave entrance and squashed the queen cazador under it.

"Goddamn!" Rodger exclaimed at the sight. The group looked up and saw the old man at the top of the hill.

"Apologies for the wait." The old man called out. "These old legs aren't what they used to be." The cazador herd retreated and scattered away from the group as a result of their queens defeat. "Cazadores, dangerous beasts on their own, but rely on the strength of numbers." The old man said as he slid down the hill. "Shame too, a pretty cap could be made for the head of a cazador queen."

"Told ya he wouldn't ditch us." Jr. said to the raider captive. The group went up to the old stranger.

"Shit! Squashed that damn thing good. How'd you know the rest would scatter?" Rodger asked.

"Cazadores don't usually have a queen. But when they do, they gain an overwhelming sense to follow her." The old man explained. "If she dies, the pack is free from that urge."

"How do you know this?" Courtney asked.

"I've come across a few of them out here. Hard to kill with mere bullets." The old man said. "Speaking of which, you all seem deprived of ammunition."

"Yeah. Tried to put that thing down." Jr. explained.

"Lucky for you, I know of a small homestead a few miles from here. They owe me a favor." The old man. "Come! We have much land to track if we are to make it there." The Stranger started walking with his cane at his side.

"So..what happened next?" Jr. said as he picked up the raider.

"Hm? What happened next?" The old man asked.

"The Prodigy." Courtney reminded. "The kid from Vault 25, saved the town of Danbury from bandits."

"Oh yes! Yes." The Stranger remembered. "So, Micheal and his companions had left the town of Danbury to travel the dangerous Wasteland to reach Bordertown in search of a cure for his vault."

—

"So exactly how long have you been a mercenary?" Micheal asked Bonnie, who was clearly not in this job for conversation.

"Eight years." She said with an annoyed expression. They had been walking the road for a day now, but Micheal had not stopped asking questions.

"You've ever seen anything dangerous? Like, more dangerous than bandits or raiders?" Micheal asked.

"Yes." Bonnie said with the same tone.

"Like what? Mutated lizards? Giant man-eating monsters? Crazed robots?" Micheal said with stars in his eyes. Despite his vast intelligence, he was still young and naive.

"Kid. If we're gonna work together, I appreciate it if you'd stop asking so many goddamn questions." Bonnie said. "Talk to your dog for God's sake. Or listen to your radio."

"Alright..." Michael said sadly. He tuned his radio to Pilgrim Station. A song had just ended and the DJ had come on again.

"Howdy folk, it's me again, Long John DiVagria, with a very special news bulletin for y'all today." He said. "The town of Danbury had been harassed by the Maverick gang for months. They stole from the merchants and killed a lot of innocent people in their wake of terror. That was until a teenage boy from Vault 25 came into town with an old car and ran down most of them. He shot old Maverick in a duel and saved the town from the degenerates."

"He's talking about me!" Michael exclaimed.

"One merchant called him 'The Prodigy'. Well if you're listening to this kid, you're doing the lords work. Without Danbury, we might not have caravans full of goodies from the West." DiVagria said. "If any of you see a kid in a blue jumpsuit and the number 25 on his back, give him your thanks. Or better yet, some ammo. Alright, enough yapping. Here's All I Can Do Is Cry by Wayne Walker." A song started playing, but Micheal turned it off.

"Can you believe it?" Michael asked Bonnie. "I'm a hero!" The young prodigy was proud of deeds.

"Don't get cocky. You stopped one gang. Doesn't make you the savior of humanity." Bonnie was quick to shoot him off his podium.

"But..but I saved the town.." Bonnie has made Micheal sad now. Bonnie didn't want emotions interfering with work, but he was still a kid.

"Yeah. Yeah you did. But seriously, don't get cocky." Bonnie tried to brighten him up, but not let that victory build an ego.

"Thanks, I guess." Micheal said.

"It's beginning to get dark." Bonnie pointed out. "We should try to find some shelter to bunker down for the night."

"How bout there?" Micheal pointed out a large building in the distance.

"Hm...Yeah. I guess that'll do. Don't see anywhere else." Bonnie said. The group hiked over to the building just as the sun set. The building looked to be some kind of dilapidated barn. Bonnie went inside first to scour the place for any life. A couple radroaches and bugs, but that was about it.

"Alright. Coast is clear." Bonnie said. "You try to get some rest, I'll stand guard." Micheal obliged and rested his head on Dogmeat.

"Hey Bonnie?" Micheal said.

"What?" Bonnie reluctantly replied.

"Do you think we'll actually reach Bordertown?" He asked. He had his doubts about actually making it to his destination and back.

"I don't know. We'll see." Bonnie replied.

Micheal gazed up into the night sky from the holes in the roof and eventually fell asleep. His first day in The Wasteland was eventful, but the next day was a mystery that would certainly hold a new host of problems.

Micheal had awoken, well-rested from his slumber, the next morning. He wiped his eyes from the sleep and stood up. He had hoped he was back in the vault, safe in his bed and all of this had been nothing but a dream. Instead, he was met with the same barn he had fallen asleep in. The only difference: he was alone.

"Hello?!" Micheal called out. "Bonnie?! Dogmeat?! Anyone?" No one answered. He looked around the inside of the barn, but no sign of his companions.

"Where is everyone?" Micheal asked himself. He heard footsteps behind him. Micheal looked behind him to reveal no one. He was about to pull out his revolver, but was cut short with something blunt hitting the back of his head. He fell to the dirt and began to lose consciousness. He had been knocked out by some unknown force.

"Is he ever gonna wake up?" An unknown, blurry voice said. Micheal was slowly regaining his consciousness, but it would've been better to just remained out cold.

"I don't know. Quit poking him." Another voice said.

"Wait. Look! He's moving." The other voice had pointed out. Micheal moved his head and groaned. He blinked his eyes open and awoke from his catatonic state. When he could fully see again, he was met with a woman poking his face with a stick.

"Huh...eh...what?" Micheal garbled.

"Look Jessie! He's awake." The one poking him said in a giddy tone.

"Move. Give him some air." Jessie commanded. "Kid's probably still dizzy." Micheal was in a house, old and crusty, but still a house. He was tied to a chair in what appeared to be the living room. "You with us? You've been out for a while." Jessie said to Micheal.

"What? What's going on? Where am I?" Micheal said as he finally realized what was going on.

"Awww. He's confused." The other girl cooed at Micheal.

"Connie, that's enough. I'm tired of you thinking he's some puppy." Jessie said. "Alright, what were you doing in our barn?" She demanded answers.

"Where're my friends?" Micheal shot back.

"Friends? Sorry kid, you were the only one." Jessie said. "Now, why were you in our barn? I'm losing patience."

"We were just trying to sleep in there during the night. We didn't even know anyone was using it." Micheal said.

"Jessie, you're scaring him!" Connie said.

"Connie..just..just please go wait in the other room." Jessie said.

"Fine, but don't do anything to him. He's precious." She pinched Micheal's cheek before leaving.

"Sorry bout that. She has a habit of growing attached to young boys...Too attached." Jessie said as she pulled up a chair. "I know who you are. You're that Vault Dweller that saved Danbury. I know you ain't on the bad side of the stick, but I don't know you personally."

"Micheal Becker, but most people call me The Prodigy." Micheal introduced himself.

"Jessie Cubel, rancher and farmer 'round here. That other girl you met was my sister, Connie. We own this farm." Jessie said.

"That I could guess, but I had friends with me." Micheal said. "A mercenary woman and a dog. They were with me last night, but weren't when I woke up."

"Can't help you there. Although we did notice drag marks in the sand not too far from the barn." Jessie said. "They were probably hauled off to The Mine to work."

"The Mine?" Micheal asked.

"The Mine is a big hole in the ground controlled by raiders. They use slaves to dig out the metal and ore to make bullets and armor. They've been a pain these past few years." Jessie said. "The only reason they haven't kidnapped us is cause we made a deal with them."

"I need to get them. Who knows what's happening to them?" Micheal tried to wriggle out of his binds.

"Sorry champ, you ain't getting out of one of my knots." Jessie said as she watched Micheal struggle. "Besides, you cant just storm The Mine and expect to come out alive. You'll be dead, or worse, enslaved."

"Well, I have to do something to save my team." Micheal pleaded. "I can't just sit here and let them die."

"Sorry, you ain't going nowhere." Jessie said as she stood up. "For now, you're stuck with us until we decide what to do with you." She left the room and Micheal to his struggles.

"Damnit! Come on Becker...You can do this." The young prodigy said to himself. "You are The Prodigy, you escaped a vault full of murder-crazed dwellers and saved a town from bandits. You can get out of this." He tried his hardest to untie the rope. He noticed his Pip-Boy was missing. "Crap." He said. Not only did he had to escape, he had to find his stuff.

He wriggled and pulled at his restraints, but to no avail. He bounced the chair to try and move to the wall. He bounced one last time and fell to the rug. He was in a horrible position to be in: missing his weapons, his Pip-Boy, his companions, tied to a chair and cheek first on the floor.

"I need a shower." Micheal said to himself in defeat. Michael looked around from what he could see and saw what looked like his Pip-Boy on the table near the door and his weapons in an umbrella stand. He kicked himself forward, but by only an inch. He tried again, but to no avail. Michael looked around the room again and some old shattered glass on the floor near, probably from the shattered window of the house. Michael wormed toward the glass, the chair still strapped to him. He tried not to make much noise, but it couldn't be helped. Michael had made it to the glass and was able to flip the chair on its side, but something had lift him off the floor.

"Where do you think you're going?" Connie said, hoisting Michael up. "You think you can escape that easy?"

"At least I put in the effort." Michael said. Connie poked Michaels nose.

"Look at you. Poor thing so far from home." Connie spouted. "We're gonna take good care of you and treat you right." She was clearly infatuated with Michael. "We're gonna make you big and strong and keep you away from those nasties in the Wasteland." She grabbed Michaels cheeks and had this grin of both glee and a bit of sadness in there. Maybe she wanted Michael for another reason. "Alright. I'm gonna go clean up. Don't go anywhere." She said, leaving Michael in the middle of the room. Unfortunately for her plans, Michael had an alternative goal. In his tied up hand was a piece of shattered glass. He began to saw away at the rope.

"C'mon..c'mon...Yes!" Micheal said as he managed to free his arms. He cut his legs free and stood up. He scrambled over to his weapons and equipped himself again. He strapped his Pip-Boy back on and heard footsteps coming down the steps. The young prodigy almost ripped the front door off it's hinges and bolted to freedom.

"Hey! Come back here! Where are you going?!" Connie shrieked from behind him. Micheal ran through the farmstead with Connie on his tail.

"What the?" Jessie said as she saw what was happening. She pulled out her rifle and started firing at The Prodigy. Micheal ducked and weaved each shot and eventually ran into the stables.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Micheal shouted. He locked the door to the stables and barricaded it with a cart. He took a minute to catch a breath. He looked next to him to see a load of Brahmin in the pens. He got an idea.

"Come on! Help me get this door open!" Jessie demanded. The duo tried to open the door to the stables, but then the ground began to shake and rattle. "Oh shit." Jessie said. The door to the stable burst open with a stampede of Brahmin running out. The two women jumped out of the way as their herd ran off. Micheal, on the other hand, found a hole in the wall in the back and ran out that into The Wasteland. He ran until he reached the road, far out of sight from his kidnappers.

"Hah! Oh god! Holy shit." Micheal said between breaths. He was free, but he had bigger problems. "Fuck me. Where the hell do I go?" He needed to save his companions, but had no idea where to start. He walked down the road, trying to think of where to start. Jessie did say they were heading to The Mine, but where is The Mine?

Micheal had his work cut out for him, but heard something in the distance, It sounded like barking. It was getting closer. Micheal looked over to where it was coming from and saw something running towards him. He took a good look and saw his faithful companion, Dogmeat.

"Dogmeat?" Micheal said. Dogmeat ran up to Micheal. "Boy! Where have you been?" Micheal said as he petted his dog. Dogmeat seemed frantic and had a weird mechanical collar around his neck. It was destroyed, but it was out of the ordinary. "Did you come from The Mine, Boy?" He asked. Dogmeat barked in response. "Is Bonnie there?" The dog barked again. "Think you can take me to it?" Dogmeat began to run back the way he came and Micheal duo reached a cliff side a little way south of where they slept.

"This the place, boy?" Micheal asked his loyal canine. He looked down the cliff and saw the one place he needed to be, The Mine, a wretched hellhole full of scum and slaves. If you were brought to The Mine, you'd never make it out. The ones who die from black lung are the lucky ones. The machines plowed through the rock and explosions laid into the ore in the many mine-shafts. This was a hole in the ground that should've been wiped out from the atomic fire.

"God, look at this place." Micheal said in disgust and horror. He watched one slave fall to the dirt and plead for their life, only for the automated security to turn them into Swiss cheese and other slaves carry the corpse to the inferno. "Good lord." Micheal said.

"Got any ideas?" Micheal asked. Dogmeat whined in response. Micheal took a good look around the hole. He noticed a line of wire connected to certain parts all around the site, which led back to a certain building in the middle, this must've been the control center.

"Okay. I have an idea. It's a stupid idea, but it's an idea." Micheal stood up. "You try to find Bonnie. I'm gonna go probably kill myself." He ordered. Dogmeat left Micheal to try and search for their lost companion, while Micheal slid down the hole. He reached the bottom and hid. He sneaked his way through the machines and slaves. One of the slaves locked eyes with Micheal.

"Don't." Micheal said silently. The slave looked to one of the guards, but decided not to raise attention to the intruder. Micheal continued his trek and avoided many close calls. He reached the center scrap building and tried to open the door. Unfortunately, the thing was locked. He tried to jimmy the handle, but nothing.

"Crap. What am I gonna do now?" He said to himself. He was shit out of luck, but then he felt something small prick the side of his head. He looked over and saw the slave had thrown him something. It was a bobby-pin.

Micheal snapped the bobby-pin in half and bent the two pieces. He knew how to pick a lock, sort of. He twist and turned the pieces for awhile and eventually got the door open.

"Yes!" He whispered to himself in celebration. He walked into the building and locked the door behind him. Inside were a bunch of old consoles and terminals.

"Alright. Time to work your magic." Micheal said.

Meanwhile, Bonnie was hauling the mine-cart's on the surface with her fellow slaves. She had been working for hours non-stop. She couldn't run or fight cause of the bomb collar on her neck.

"Come on! Move it!" One of the raiders demanded she moved faster.

"I'm moving as fast as I can!" Bonnie grunted.

"Is that lip?" The raider pushed Bonnie to the ground. "You know what happens to people who give me lip!" He raised his hand to whip her, but Dogmeat came and stopped him by biting his arm.

"Dogmeat! No!" Bonnie called out to stop him.

"Damn dog!" The raider punched Dogmeat off his arm and the canine whined in pain. "I'll show you who to bite!" The raider pulled out his pipe pistol to try and put Dogmeat down, but he was cut short when his shin was blasted by buckshot.

"No one shoots my dog." Micheal had emerged and saved his canine companion in time. The raiders surrounding him all pointed their guns at our young Vault Dweller.

"Big mistake, dumbass!" One of the raiders called out.

"Micheal! What the fuck are you doing?" Bonnie said.

"Something bizarre in about...three seconds." He said.

"Any last words?" Another of the raiders granted him the luxury of such.

"Yeah." Micheal said as he put a bomb collar he stole on. "Three seconds are over." The automated turrets had reseted and began to fire upon the raiders. Micheal ran over to Bonnie and helped her up.

"What the hell is going on?!" Bonnie said.

"I hacked the main terminal, set the turrets to fire on anyone without a collar." Micheal explained. "I'm gonna have to turn that off when they clear house. I also deactivated the collars, so they don't blow up."

"How'd you know to do that?" Bonnie asked.

"There's a wire that connects around the compound. I figured it was for the turrets, but it was also for a central antenna for the collars." Micheal said. "I simply recoded the combat inhibitors on the turrets and shut down the antenna."

"Well what took you so long?" Bonnie asked jokingly.

"Well I'm sorry. I was nearly raped." Micheal said.

"What?" Bonnie questioned.

"I'll tell you later. Right now, I should go deactivate the turrets." Micheal ran over to a panel and pulled a fuse out. The turrets deactivated soon after, but they had just finished the last of the raiders.

"And that's that." Micheal said. He took off his collar and Bonnie followed. The rest of the slaves came out of hiding and looked in awe at their dead masters.

"They're dead!" One of the now free slaves shouted. The others cheered and rejoiced in the death of their captor's. They all took the collars off and threw them on the ground. Dogmeat shook off his and now the mine was theirs.

"Thank you. Thank you!" Another of the freed slaves ran up to Micheal and shook his hand. "How can we ever repay you?"

"Well first, my associate here needs her stuff back. Second, can you provide safe passage to Bordertown?" Micheal asked.

"Bordertown? Y-yes we can do that. We have a mine-cart track that leads right to the edge of Bordertown. You guys can take it." The freed slave obliged.

"Thank you. We'll leave in a bit. The mine is yours now." Micheal said as he tried to walk off.

"Wait!" The freed slave stopped him. "Who are you?"

"I'm The Prodigy from Vault 25." Micheal said with a smile. He walked off into the mines to help prepare the mine-cart for transport. A few minutes pass and Bonnie was now in her old leather armor and strapped with her trusty rifle.

"Ready?" Bonnie asked.

"I'm ready when you are." Micheal said. Bonnie hopped in the mine-cart and helped Dogmeat in.

"Thank you again, my friend. We will certainly not forget this." The freed slave from before said.

"No problem. Do what you guys do." Micheal said as he joined his companions. A few of the slaves pushed the cart and it rolled down the track.

"Hey." Bonnie said. "Thanks. You know, for saving my ass."

"No problem." Micheal said. "Wouldn't have you go dying on me now."

"Yeah. I suppose I owe you one." She said.

"Watch my back, I watch yours." Micheal reminded.

"Yeah." Bonnie said. The sound of the wheels on the track was the only thing that could be heard for a bit.