“I’ll buy it along with 200 round of ammo and a couple of spare mags if you them it.” Steve stated “oh and by any chance do you have a silencer for it? I imagine it will be pretty deadly with one.”

“Let me take a look for some mags real quick. I don't have a silencer but I can build one, all I need to do is check the thread pattern.” Waylon pulled a plastic pencil box from under the counter full of various nuts with different threading, the pattern was written neatly on the side of the nuts. He grabbed a couple and tried them on the end of the barrel, “Looks like ¾ x 10 thread pattern. Give me a couple of days and I should be able to build one for you, we can settle on a price then, sound good?”

“As far as the 9mm ammo, 2 caps a piece and the Cobray will set ya back... $350 caps. I went through the entire pistol, checked headspacing, springs, cleaned and oiled it up. She should fire like a champ, oh, and I worked the firing pin and bolt, she's a full auto now. She has a bit of muzzle rise under fire, but if you're sprayin’ and prayin’ in close quarters she'll make a person into Swiss cheese real quick.” Waylon laughed and finished counting out the ammo. He swapped the ammo and pistol for Steve's caps, he reached out and shook Steve's hand, “Enjoy, thanks for the business. I need to run upstairs and check on Eliza. Say, have you seen Shelby? She hasn't been here since I woke up, seems a little off to me.” He listened to Steve, “OK, well, if you see her, tell her to get her ass home would ya? I'll see ya later.”

Waylon fetched two mugs of coffee from his office and went back upstairs after Steve walked out. He gently knocked on the door, “Eliza? I brought you a coffee.” He walked into the room and sat the coffee down, “Freshly brewed, careful it's hot. So, how's it feel to be upright again?” he asked before taking a sip of his coffee.

Steve cooper- S&W Weaponry - Morning

“Looks like ¾ x 10 thread pattern. Give me a couple of days and I should be able to build one for you, we can settle on a price then, sound good?”

“Yeah, that sounds fine. "Steve “If you need any parts, tell me and I’ll keep an eye out for them.”

“As far as the 9mm ammo, 2 caps a piece and the Cobray will set ya back... $350 caps.”

“Reasonable price.” Steve replied as listened to Waylon talk about the gun “ I went through the entire pistol, checked head spacing, springs, cleaned and oiled it up. She should fire like a champ, oh, and I worked the firing pin and bolt, she's a full auto now. She has a bit of muzzle rise under fire, but if you're sprayin’ and prayin’ in close quarters she'll make a person into Swiss cheese real quick.” Waylon laughed and finished counting out the ammo.

“Good to hear but I reckon the gun will become abit more controllable once the silencer is on... even looks like it was built to have as standard issue.”

He swapped the ammo and pistol for Steve's caps; he reached out and shook Steve's hand, “Enjoy, thanks for the business. I need to run upstairs and check on Eliza. Say, have you seen Shelby? She hasn't been here since I woke up, seems a little off to me.”

“No but Maybe she’s checking out the vetibird, speaking of which Acey was the one who called for it, made some deal with the tin-cans for an generator but idiot forgot to tell every-“ Steve replied but stop when he felt something buzzing in pocket.

Reaching into his pocket he took out the vibrating item, it was the turret detector; something or someone had attracted the attention of his turret but it wasn’t red yet so hadn’t fired upon the target... yet.”

“Looks like my turret’s picked something up, perfect timing to test out my new gun.” Steve chuckled as he left the store and made his way towards to the turret when suddenly the buzzer began to flash red... it was now engaging with hostile forces.”

Turning back to face the diner he called out to Betty “Put the coffee on and hunker down, something is attacking the town.”
Again

Rushing up the hill to where his turret was pumping out bullets Steve saw Ace, the guy from the horse and Rook fighting off several mutants who appeared to a fighting another heavily armour super mutant. Out of range for his new pistol Steve drew his rifle and began firing at the mutants.

Outnumber and outguned the mutants were defeated pretty quickly although one had fallen back and seemed to be trying to escape. Once the fight was over Steve made his way over to were the others had gathered. “Looks like my turret was a success, but what’s going on here? Who’s that armoured mutant?, Why where those Wankers attacking him.”

“And whose blood is that.” Steve added on as he pointed to the blood trail leading into town.

FRIEDA RICHTER -- Salem Clinic - mid-morning

The sun appeared to become brighter and brighter as time went on. She saw a piece of dead grass off in the distance break from its root and fly into the breeze. The breeze seemed to coo between the nearby buildings in rhythmic intervals.

Frieda reached up and rubbed her eyes vigorously, trying to shake herself of the fixation on small details she couldn't stop noticing. She didn't feel tired, that was certain -- and she certainly didn't feel like her body was humming artificially, like it would on the boosters in the Enclave. It was a different kind of alertness, much more comfortable, even if a little...disorienting. She wondered how she'd put up with the body buzz all those years.

Occasional use only, Richter. The doc gave you one as a favour so you could do your damn job...so, do it!

She reached into her back pocket for her smokes and pulled out her last one. "Son of a bitch," she grumbled. She rolled it between her fingers, considering just saving it until she desperately needed it, when movement in her peripheral vision caused her to look up and down the street. Approaching the clinic, dragging a body, was Ace.

Frieda swallowed and stuffed the cigarette into her pocket. No, it wasn't a body, but a ghoul, and it was in horrific condition. She paled completely, hoping beyond hope she wouldn't have to touch it, herself. She tilted her head back, so as not to lose sight of their approach. "Doc?" she called into the clinic. "You should come down here." Frieda paused. "Uh, bring some extra gloves."

"This way," Frieda directed Ace, keeping a very polite distance away from him. She swallowed her sudden nausea. "There's an empty cot over there," she pointed. Her eyes snapped to the trail of blood, imagining that that couldn't be a good sign. Mind you, she didn't really know anything about ghoul anatomy or physiology, other than how to shoot them dead.

She bit her tongue to remind herself of her place. Frieda cleared her throat and turned to Ace. "Situation under control, out there? What happened?"

Ace Makovich - Salem - Morning

Ace carried the bloody ghoul as far as he could, but even soon his strength started to give way. The ghoul was muttering unintelligibly most likely due to blood loss, and of course due to loosing limbs. Ace stopped for a moment, by the diners back wall, and leaned the ghoul up next to it. He looked down at his clothes they were covered in blood, he groanned realizing he'd have to throw his clothes out.

His arms ached and he tried lifting him up but struggled. He saw no other option but to drag him. He made his way around the diner and headed for the clinic. Frieda was standing guard outside, she probably heard the fighting. Ace Pulled the ghoul over to the clinic and made his way u the few steps. Frieda kept some distance from him, "This way," Frieda directed Ace. "There's an empty cot over there," she pointed.

Ace placed the ghoul on the cot and stepped back. Frieda cleared her throat and turned to Ace. "Situation under control, out there? What happened?"

Ace looked at his hands and then back up to Frieda. "Ummm...well..." He scratched his heads unsure of how telling Frieda of a super mutant attack. After all she was super mistrustful of Rook already, and she was suspicious of him. He mumbled, "super mutant attack..." She gave him a look, and he looked up at her, "Its a super mutant attack...but before you whig out and freak out or something... Rook is fighting them... and... and... so is another mutant..."

Brandy hustled towards the Museum of Witchcraft and found herself at the large front door. She looked at the ancient, but remarkably pristine door. The stories of the evil that was contained inside rushed through her head. Sudden chaos erupted as the town was under attack, she looked around quickly, “I can't make it back to town,” she closed her eyes and opened the door. Upon opening her eyes there were no immediate threats, she shut the door behind her.

She glanced around, while looking for a place to hide as yelling and gunfire raged outside of the museum's walls. She was scared, she ducked down and continued to look around as the sound of bullets smacking the exterior walls filled the museum. She blinked as her eyes fell on a pistol, it was bigger than her .22 pistol, but that was all she knew. Placing it in her backpack, Brandy inched closer to another door, she heard some scratching, “Radroach.”

She unslung her shotgun and fumbled for the safety. Her heart raced, both the sounds of a radroach and the gunfire outside brought beads of sweat on her forehead. Wiping the sweat from her brow she quickly turned the knob and pushed the door open.

“HOLY SHIT!!!” she screamed as a lizard type thing looked at her with nearly as much shock. She pulled the trigger, spraying the lizard square in the chest with a round of 00 buck sending it on it's ass. A roar brought Brandy to full attention as another, much, much larger lizard with horns and claws like swords nudged the smaller lizard with its muzzle. It's baby, as it would seem, whimpered and cried, the mother turned and looked at Brandy, rearing it's massive blade like teeth at her, swinging its claw just as Brandy turned to run busting the frame of the door.

“RUN!!!!” screamed Brandy as the sound of breaking wood and glass filled the museum's main room. Has to be one of those deathclaw beasts I've heard about. All she could hear was the carnage ensuing behind her as she reached the front entrance and burst out onto the street slamming into a super mutant carrying a gatling laser. She looked up at him and immediately realized that it wasn't Rook, and this mutant was breathing heavily and sweating profusely as if he had been running some time. The mutant smacked a piece if his gatling laser and took aim at Brandy as she sprinted towards the old car husk when a massive explosion it seemed like made her even more petrified.

Looking over her shoulder she saw the mama deathclaw clamp her jaws over the of the mutant, tearing him from the ground and shaking her head like a dog with a chew toy. She ripped off the mutant’s head as laser beams shot all over hitting several buildings and the street around Brandy. “RUN, RUN, RUN, RUUUNNNNNN!!!!” A burning sensation tore into her left shoulder causing her to stumble, when her right hand touched the ground to regain her balance she looked back. The Mother Deathclaw glared at her, curling its lip and licked the mutants blood dripping from her lower jaw before discarding the mutant like little ball. She roared louder than Brandy had ever heard before. Tears flowed down Brandy's cheeks as she reached the car and dove inside, crawling to the back floorboard. She heard the claws on the concrete and the deathclaw used her head to overturn the car, Brandy screamed in sheer horror as the deathclaw began slashing at the car before flipping it back upright.

Brandy's hands shook terribly as she tried to gain control of her shotgun. Her heart beating out of her chest, the deathclaw arched it's back and roared once more. Brandy shot her remaining four shells, not even fazing the massive beast, but just pissing it off even more. The deathclaw shredded roof from the car and darted its head towards Brandy. She held up the shotgun and closed her eyes, the heat and stench from its breath covered her arm and then vanished leaving saliva running to her bicep. She opened her eyes to see the deathclaw thrashing about with the shotgun stuck deep in its mouth. She seized the opportunity and jumped from the car in shambles.

“RUN, RUN, RUUUNNNNN!!! DEATHCLAW!!!!” She ran towards town screaming at the top of her lungs and crying. She looked back, the Mother Deathclaw started after her once more as it crushed her family shotgun in its mouth. Making matters worse, five smaller deathclaws poured out from the museum and were taking part in the chase. Up ahead she saw an old semi trailer and headed that way as the movement of a new turret caught her attention for a split second. She couldn't hear it spin up over her breathing and screaming. Puffs of concrete dust popped up near her as the turret tried to settle on the Mother deathclaw. Brandy flew past the turret and towards the trailer, sliding like she was stealing a base in a baseball game. Coming to a stop, she fumbled for the pistol she had found, when she looked up she saw the Mother Deathclaw rip the turret from its mount like it was nothing but a nuisance. Finding the safety, she flipped it and jumped up backpedaling towards the center of town. Her eyes pried as wide as they possibly could when the raging Mother Deathclaw tore through the trailer and roared. “SHIT!!! DEATHCLAW, RUN, DEATHCLAW!!!

The Deathclaw jumped onto the trailer, snarling as it watched Brandy run. She tried running faster but her legs just wouldn't, she pointed the pistol back at the Deathclaw and started pulling the trigger. Her aim was poor, as usual, hitting all around the pissed off monster and even taking out a couple of windows. Her lungs felt like they were gasping for air straight from her throat, her voice kept getting more hoarse with each scream, “DEATHCLAWS, SHIT, SHIT, RUN, RUN, RUN, DEATHCLAWS!!!” The last scream brought a crack in her voice, leaving her barely gasping the words hardly audible.

Brandy rounded the corner of the clinic trying to scream, still pulling the trigger of the empty pistol. The deathclaw swiped at her, tearing the backpack right off of her back as well as breaking off some of the wood siding from the ancient church. She felt more burning and its claws caught her back. Her left shoulder still burnin. As she could see her house, Betty ran out from the diner to see what all the ruckus was about. Brandy shoved her, "RUN, DEATHCLAW, GO BACK INSIDE." Brandy yelled at Betty, the deathclaw took another swipe at Brandy slicing her left arm open. Looking at Betty, "RUN!!" Brandy looked to see her shirt bloodied as she turned to run home causing her to stumble and fall right in between Ace’s Diner and her house. Rolling onto her ass, Brandy kept trying to shoot the angry beast as it reared up throwing its claws out wide, like a victory roar.

“RUN, RUN, RUN!!!!” her mind screamed but her moving mouth did not as the monster crashed down before her, its left horn resting against Brandy's boot.

CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, she pulled the trigger, “RUN, RUN, RUN!!!” She kept repeating, though nothing more than a whisper at this point, while squeezing the empty pistols trigger, though the deathclaw lay dead at her feet as she sat bloodied and in a pool of her own urine.

Mary Hawthorne - Her house

“Teach me", Shelby said, "Tell me what type of shit I have to do to learn. I still am in disbelief, but I can't unsee what I witnessed so I know it's real.”

"Are you sure?", Mary asked sternly, "I'm concerned that you don't realize what the price of such knowledge is." After a pause, Mary continued. "For one thing, you can forget normal relationships. Everyone and everything you care about will turn to dust while you live on. Fame, renown, wealth...learning what I know will bring you none of those things. You will learn and see the most amazing things....but one terrible day you will realize that the world of men has passed you by, and that you are truly alone....and you won't care anymore. And if that wasn't enough....you'll know about those Outside...who, if they could, would gobble up this whole world and every soul in it like you would a Fancy Lad Snack cake."

She settled back in the tub and continued.

"Ignorance is bliss, Shelby", Mary said, "Those Outside cannot enter our world unless someone lets them in. People have tried to let them in, but so far they have failed....because there are those who will gladly kill someone like me to make sure that door is never unlocked. Witchfinders, Hunters, whatever you call them...you'll always be looking over your shoulder for them, iff'n you aim to live, that is."

Before Shelby could answer, the faint report of a pistol came from out in the street. Mary climbed out of the tub and reached around Shelby to grab the bathrobe on a hook on the door behind her.

"Think on it and come back to me after dark and we'll discuss it some more", Mary said as she put on the bathrobe and tied the belt, then walked out into the hallway and into one of the front bedrooms.

"What the hell is going on now?", she muttered to herself as she approached the window. Just before she got there, more shots were fired and a bullet flew through the window and hit the wall with a thud. Mary looked out to see the young woman who lived next door frantically running down the street, with a familiar looking Deathclaw hot on her heels.

"Damnation! A Deathclaw!", Mary exclaimed as she whirled about and sprinted towards her bedroom, where her double barrel 12 gauge leaned in the corner. She opened a drawer on her dresser, rummaged through the contents until she found a worn, half full box of shotgun shells marked "12g Sabot Slugs - For Police and Military Use Only" and dumped the box's contents into her pocket, then snatched up the shotgun and broke it open, jamming two of the shells inside, then closing the breech and running for the stairs. As she ran out the front door, the Deathclaw had cornered the foolish child between the houses and was closing for the kill. Mary raised the shotgun and fired, first one barrel and then the other, then as smartly as she could broke open the shotgun, ejecting the spent shells and loading two more, hoping if that didn't do the trick, others were on the way to help out.

Steve Cooper -Deathclaw Attack–Morning

“RUN, RUN, RUUUNNNNN!!! DEATHCLAW!!!!”

Steve had been worried about people stumbling across a pack of sleeping ghouls in one of the apartment blocks but what he hadn’t expected was a (hidden) deathclaw nest and ofcourse it had to be brandy the bloody little twerp who would stumble across them and even worst began leading family of fucking deathclaw’s directly towards town.

“THEN WHY FUCK ARE YOU RUNNING TOWARDS ME? DO NOT LEAD THAT BITCH STAIGHT TO TOWN! HEAD TO OCEAN! HEAD TO THE FUCKING OCEAN.” Steve replied back as he fired a shot from his level action rifle at the mother deathclaw.

Should be able to piece its skin

Wenether the bullet had hit or not the Mother Deathclaw simply shrugged it off and continued to charge after Brandy who had seemlying pissed off somehow..

Luckily for the twerp Steve’s turret locked on the deathclaw and began firing, it didn’t last long with Mother Deathclaw ripping the turret from its mount like it was nothing but a nuisance but the few seconds gave brandy and (more importantly) Steve time to escape.

Bitch fucking killed Terrance... worked all night on that

As Brandy ran toward an old trailer Steve headed to back to town, hopefully with enough combined firepower or something from Waylon’s shop they could kill that Bitch and her kids, unfortunately they wouldn't have time to prepare as Steve wasn't coming back alone....

Looking back he could see that four of five Baby deathclaw's had stopped following their mother and where following him directly into the town centre. Although smaller, weaker and presumably less pissed off that their mother they could still cause alot of damage and kill an unprepared person.

“Fuck....ACE, FRIEDA, WAYLON, BARNEY AND WHOEVER THE FUCK YOU ARE YOU.” (ooc: Gorge) Steve shouted out as he reached the town centre and jumped though the diner window “WE GOT DEATHCLAWS INCOMING”

“Steve what the fucks going on? W-WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?” Betty screamed as she saw the deathclaw following him.

"A Giant fucking overgrown lizard, now find some place to hide."Steve replied only to be slashed on the upper chest by one of the Baby deathclaws that had lunged into the diner attempting to strike him.

Caught off Guard the blow, whlist not powerful (compared to it's mother or an adult claw) it knocked steve off his feet and caused him to drop his rifle on the floor. The now somewhat stuck in the window fame the deathclaw thrashing began around attempting to strike him Steve who was only just out of it's reach on the floor.

With his rifle out of reach Steve pulled out his 50. eagle pistol and began firing at the creatures head "FUCKING DIE!!!!!!" unlike with the Mother these bullets hit, shattering the creatures skull before blowing it's head clear off and covering Steve in Baby deathclaw blood.

Too fucking close.

"RUN, DEATHCLAW, GO BACK INSIDE."

No No No do not tell me that twerp lead the mother into town.... fuck, fuck, fuck..

Getting back up onto his feet Steve watched Brandy stumble and fall on the ground, the Mother slashing her arm and getting ready to make the final blow... Taking a deep breath Steve aimed his level action rifle at the mother deathclaw’s head and fired.

ARCHIE - Sandy Coves Inn -- late morning

Archie hummed some tune from the old world as he re-sorted the miscellaneous junk behind the counter. Too valuable to throw away, but too inane to barter for anything. There were some pencils of various condition, a notepad, some paperclips, half a box of staples, the caps float, and then, of course, the room keys. It had been several minutes since Manager Celeste had left. He had already made her bed and tidied her affairs. He had drifted past Ms Sara's room, too, but while her door was slightly ajar, something in his programming had filed her situation as "politely avoid" and he didn't dare ask if he could enter.

"I suppose I should re-organize the kitchen," he said to himself as he came back into the lobby. As he passed the large double doors to the outside, the distinct sounds of a gunfight could be heard. The robot paused, several protocols running through his circuits as the programming rant statistical analysis on several courses of action. By the time it had concluded, the gunshots had ceased -- but was replaced by shrieking.

"That sounded like Miss Brandy!" the robot exclaimed. The algorithms all agreed on protecting the premises as priority. The screaming of "DEATHCLAW, RUN!!" sounded too close for his robotic comfort.

Archie rose his saw-arm and his flame-thrower arm. "Ms Sara," he directed up the stairs, "I must exit the inn to investigate the threat outside. I shall return in a jiffy." With that, he spun his saw arm and left the in, just in time for his ocular sensors to observe the tip of a larger deathclaw's tail disappear past the edge of the inn towards town, and five young deathclaws quick in pursuit.

Brandy shrieked again.

"Duty calls!" Archie propelled himself towards the deathclaws. The trailing one noticed him and broke from the line, screeching from the road and changing its trajectory. Archie responded by sparking up his flamethrower. The deathclaw slid to a scared stop, the heat and light causing it some confusion. The robot approached closer, aiming the flames towards the young deathclaw's knees, wo responded with an outraged and pained cry. The sound and sight of searing skin filled Archie's sensors. He kept up the fire until his internal mechanisms shut it off for his own safety. The deathclaw made to instinctually leap towards the threat, but its knees both gave out and it stumbled, instead. Archie swooped in, saw blade buzzing, and swept to disconnect the deathclaw's right calf from the knee, but the deathclaw reached out and had its hand sawed off, instead.

"Oh, my! That was not what I meant to do." The robot tilted and finally cut the deathclaw's leg in two. It roared and fell to the ground. "There we are, chum! I dare say you'll have a bit of a difficult time pursuing Manager Celeste's inn, hmm? Now, then..."

Archie returned to the entrance and awaited any more potential threats.

Rick Noel – Salem Outskirts – Morning

Rick stopped as he heard a bellowing roar. Unlike the screams of the super mutants, this sounded deeper and more ferocious. He stood there and faced the museum where the sounds came from, and stepped back as he saw a deathclaw emerge. He froze in place unsure of what just to do. He had read a lot about wasteland creatures, and the entry on deathclaw always scared him.

He could feel his legs frozen to the ground, his mind said move, but his body stood still. As the deathclaw emerged, he noticed a young girl and mutant in front of its path. What happened next, made Rick turned pale, as he saw the it pick up the mutant and kill it in one bite by biting his head off. The mutant was holding a Gatling laser, and as it limp body fell, the gun shot out hitting everything around him.

The girl ran off, and soon the deathclaw was on the chase. Rick’s eyes turned wide open, as she ran in his direction with the monster right behind her. His legs unfroze and he found himself stepping back. He hit a branch and fell backwards. He curled up and covered his head, and he could feel the wind whirl by as the deathclaw ran right by him roaring. It was deafening and Rick couldn’t help but cover his ears.

Rick slowly stood up and was on his knees. He looked over to his side, where he had accidentally dropped his rifle in the confusion. He staggered as he tried to get up and dropped to the ground once again. As his belt was snagged on a branch. As his hands trembled he hastily unfastened his belt, wishing not to waste anytime in case the big one returned.

He got up on his feet, and dusted himself. He walked to his rifle and as he was leaning over to pick his rifle out he felt a powerful push and was thrust forward. He rolled on the ground, over dead leaves and broken branches. He looked over his shoulder and saw a young deathclaw. He fumbled up, and stood almost frozen in place as he stared the young creature down. It roared in a high pitched growl, just beginning to develop its roar.

It charged at Rick and he dropped and rolled to the side. The young claw had run at him at full speed and it slid on the ground as it tried to stop, and soon rolled on the ground, giving out another high pitch roar. Rick took the opportunity and sprinted to his gun and dove forward rolling on the ground, grabbing his ground.

As he turned to face the creature, his hands shook in fear. He let off some shots but they all missed, due to his trembling hands. THe claw was upon him and slashed at him, hitting the gun and causing him to drop it. Rick stepped back, and done dove for the spote between the deathclaws feet, tumbling behind it. He grabbed his gun by the barrel, and did what he could. He used rifle like a bat and hit it right on its face.

The deathclaw shrieked in pain and it moaned. It looked at Rick, causing him to fumble with his gun in order to shoot, but as he got ahold of his rifle's stock, it was busted and broken. THe deathclaw had run off into the distance chasing after the big one. Rick dropped to one knee as he tried to catch his breath and steady his nerves.

Gorge the mutant - Salem center of town - Morning

Gorge stood there alone for a little while, the town wasn’t as populated as he expected it to be. The trail of Harold’s blood still contrasted brightly with the dark colors of the ground. Honestly he felt tired of waiting around for someone to come talk to him or ask why he was there. He figured not being shot at was a good start. Yet still he had a feeling at the back of his mind, something that kept him tensed up and unable to relax.

Then he heard it well felt it would be a better description, the rumble in the distance followed by the report of a gun. The echo of the shot was low and rather quiet, a shot gun perhaps then a scream nearby that drew closer, “Deathclaw.” The very word sparks fear and alarm in most. Acting quickly Gorge put his helmet back on and picked up his gun.

The armored mutant ejected the half spent fusion core and jacked a full canister in, then moved to a spot in the open where he could get a few good shots off at whatever came down the road. The barrels on his gun were spinning ready to fire, hesitating as a man round the corner yelling about the Deathclaws. Gorge couldn’t fire, not yet, the man was in the way of the firing line and would be hit by him, so he waited. Watching the man that called out to him, five young Deathclaws hot on his heels, still he waited.

Then right before he would have been hit by one of them, the man dove through a window. Without skipping a beat the large mutant opened fire on the group of Deathclaws, powerful red beams of light streaked through the air leaving small but brief fires where they hit. Keeping concentrated fire on the group of them while individuals splintered off to pursue other targets one from the group charged at him, roaring in pain as it took the brunt of the shots from his gun.

Gorge didn’t flinch, he didn’t waver, and he just kept firing as the young death claw came closer and closer. Once it was within feet of him it lunged forward only to be stopped by a sudden yet powerful front kick from the mutant that sent the Deathclaw to the ground. As it lay on the ground struggling to get up, the mutant dispatched the creature with a few concentrated shots to the chest. Satisfied with the kill Gorge turned his attention back to the Deathclaw Matriarch and fired.

Dr. Arthur West - Salem Clinic

On the second floor of the clinic, Arthur was running a few tests on the sample of the mystery substance that Freida had brought to him. With the rudimentary equipment he had available, it was taking a bit longer than it should and more a game of trial and error than anything.

"Hmm...interesting," He muttered as he examined a small droplet of the substance under a microscope. Suddenly he heard a voice from below call out,

"You should come down here. Uh, bring some extra gloves."

"Frieda?" He called back, concerned, "Why what is it?"

Not waiting for a response, he quickly got up, grabbed a spare pair of sterile gloves and came down the staircase to find a mess. A trail of blood led from the clinic door to a bed where a ghoul lay dismembered and quite clearly in shock due to bloodloss, barely clinging onto life.

"Good lord, what happened?" Arthur asked. And received only some vague information in response that there had apparently been another attack on the outskirts of town: a caravan this time. Arthur shook his head in dismay, as much a sign of pity as denial. He knew the prognosis immediately.

"There's nothing to be done I'm afraid...if there were even the slightest chance of saving him, he'd required advanced medical technology and supplies that I couldn't even remotely hope to have here. Best I can do is give him a shot of Med-X to dull the pain a bit and ease his passing."

Arthur recalled that ghouls had a far different physiology than humans and that chem doses required to affect them could often be much higher than that normally required. A single shot might not be enough...but he couldn't spare more than that. He needed what supplies he had for the living, not the dead. It was a harsh choice, but these were the sorts of horrible dilemmas the surface-world forced on you.

Just as Arthur had begun to turn around to fetch a syringe, he heard a cacophony of crazed shouts coming from outside. Shouts of "DEATHCLAW!" and "RUN! RUN!".

"Deathclaw?" Arthur's eyes grew wide, "But how.."

He peeked out one of the old church windows and saw the monstrous creature chasing Brandy as they both ran past,

"HOLY!" Arthur cried out as stumbled backwards from the window and fell to the floorboards. He glasses went skating across the wooden boards, but thankfully didn't break. He was damn near blind now however, and began desperately searching around the floor for his spectacles. He'd never seen a deathclaw before up close before, and only heard stories from the various settlers and caravaners who told tales of the creatures. His hands were shaking with fear as they patted around the ground: it was like a monster out of some horrid nightmare had charged into Salem,

"How heck can we stop that thing!?" He yelled desperately.

FRIEDA RICHTER - Clinic -- mid-morning

Ace looked at his hands and then back up to Frieda. "Ummm...well..." He scratched his head. Frieda pursed her lips while she waited. Finally, he mumbled, "super mutant attack..."

Frieda narrowed her eyes. "What?"

He looked up at her, "Its a super mutant attack...but before you whig out and freak out or something... Rook is fighting them... and... and... so is another mutant..."

"Before you freak out," he said. How obnoxious. She wanted to say something acerbic, but bit her tongue as Arthur appeared from upstairs. He and Ace exchanged a few words about how the ghoul came to be in his particular condition.

"There's nothing to be done I'm afraid...if there were even the slightest chance of saving him, he'd required advanced medical technology and supplies that I couldn't even remotely hope to have here. Best I can do is give him a shot of Med-X to dull the pain a bit and ease his passing." Arthur's face expressed the hard truth with little other emotion. Frieda nodded.

"Sorry you wasted your time," she said to Ace, reaching over to clap him on the back but pulled back at the last second, electing not to touch his blood-soaked clothes. Her ears picked up what sounded like loud, rhythmic thudding and the screams of a familiar voice.

"DEATHCLAW! RUN! RUN! RUN!!!" Brandy was bellowing, over and over again.

"Deathclaw?" Arthur's eyes grew wide, "But how..." He leaned towards one of the old church windows just as Brandy tore past with the huge mutated lizard-like creature on her heels in pursuit. Brandy looked like she'd been running for some time, her cheeks were fully flushed, sweat streaming down her face and neck. Frieda and Arthur both turned in unison to see what was chasing her.

"HOLY!" Arthur cried out as stumbled backwards from the window and fell to the floorboards. He glasses went skating across the wooden boards, but thankfully didn't break. His hands were shaking with fear as they patted around the ground. Frieda's face paled as huge creature thudded past, fixated on its prey -- Brandy.

“ACE, FRIEDA, WAYLON, BARNEY AND WHOEVER THE FUCK YOU ARE YOU.” Steve shouted out as he reached the town centre and jumped though the diner window “WE GOT DEATHCLAWS INCOMING.”

"How heck can we stop that thing!?" Arthur yelled desperately from the floor.

Frieda's eyes flicked around the floor and landed on Arthur's glasses. She quick-stepped over to them, picked them up gently between two fingers, then knelt next to the doc. "You let me worry about that, all right? I've encountered these, before. Not...from the ground, mind you, but..." She cleared her throat. "Just let me worry about it. You need to stay safe, and stay alive. These things move fast, but only when you draw their attention. Stay low, and stay quiet." Frieda took another survey of the clinic. "Get behind a closed door, maybe your storage closet? Just stay inside and stay quiet. It'll keep them on the outside and hopefully from destroying your space." Her expression turned grim. "Chances are, you're going to be fairly busy after this whole thing is done."

"Everythin' all right in here?" Barney called from the door, holding his rifle and looking around.

"Yes, it's fine," Frieda called back. "Get out there and help take down that huge one." Just as she finished saying that, at least two smaller deathclaws ripped past the clinic. "...or one of those ones."

She looked over to see Ace hovering by the door. "What the -- get out there!" Frieda directed, pointing off in the direction Brandy took. She watched both men retreat back into the fray, then turned to the trembling doc. She and Arthur exchanged a look. She remembered, suddenly, that her old dog tags were still in her back pocket. She pulled them out and placed them into Arthur's hands.

"If something happens to me, you're the only person, right now, that...well, you know. You're the only one who knows." She swallowed, then nodded. "Now go get out of sight and stay alive."

Frieda dove down against the wall beneath the window and pulled off her sweatshirt. It was bad enough she had to face these freaks on the ground, rather than from the air in a fully armed Vertibird, she didn't want to be weighed down by any extra bulk. Gunshots seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, echoing through the walls of the clinic and outside. She pulled herself up just enough to see some kind of fight happening within the diner. Something large and covered in armour was walking away from a smoking pile of dead deathclaw, marching straight past the diner and clinic both, on the path of the large deathclaw. She'd decide whether or not that was a threat, later.

Frieda crept along the wall back towards the doors of the ancient church and pushed them closed, before crouching beneath the next closest window. Sounds of a struggle entered her ears, a couple moments of quiet, then the slow approach of feet larger than a human's. Fear and dread turned her veins to ice, but she forced herself to stay focused. The clinic -- Arthur -- was counting on her, and she'd be damned if she didn't stick to her commitment. She readied her pistol and looked out, just in time to see a smaller deathclaw than the one that had torn past, shuffling through the streets, shaking its head occasionally as though it had already sustained some injuries.

Their heads are weak spots, but they're hardy assholes, she thought to herself, pulling up as many memories of tactics that she could muster. Gotta keep it from running after you, first.

Frieda steadied her pistol, desperately trying to ignore the fact that her plasma gun was hardly on the same level as the huge automatic turret guns on the Vertibirds. The deathclaw didn't notice her there. It shook its head, again.

Steady, Richter...steady...the moment you fire, it's gonna charge. She aimed at its bony right ankle when she noticed some old world trash cans sitting out plainly in front of one of the houses just behind it. Frieda squeezed off one shot, causing a loud crash to echo as it fell over into the street. As hoped, the deathclaw stopped, straightened, and turned towards the sound, exposing the back of both ankles.

Frieda fired two shots into each ankle. Both bolts hit the left but only one hit the right. It didn't matter -- the deathclaw roared in its anger and pain, wobbled on its left leg, and fell to the ground. Frieda rose and continued to fire on the creature all up its leg, into its ribs. It rolled over and launched itself off its wrists towards the clinic and Frieda.

"Shit!" she spat, ducking herself down and scrambling past the doors to the other window. The deathclaw, despite its deep injury, pulled itself into the window. Frieda popped up and leaned out of the next one, reaching out and aiming again at its ankles. Out of shape and out of practice, the recoil of her fire caused her to lose her balance completely and tumble head first out of the glassless pane.

She fired off the last few rounds of her charge, each landing into the deathclaw's side and abdomen, searing into its flesh but only marginally wounding it. "Stupid fucking things have to have fucking tough fucking skin --"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND TAKE IT DOWN, RICHTER," roared her brother's voice in her head, snapping her back to her focus. She'd ruminate later on why a memory of some drill decades ago would come up, just then. Frieda centered herself, pulling another charge cell from the back of her belt, loading it, and taking fire just as the deathclaw was nearly over her. It snapped its head down to bite her, but her enhanced reflexes were just a little sharper. Her plasma was fully in its mouth, and she pulled the trigger three times, until the bolt shot out the back of its head. Blood, bone, and other spew sprayed down the front of her body and into her face, causing her to gag as its dense, lifeless body fell forward onto her, pinning her to the ground.

Frieda scrambled and flailed beneath the dead mutant, unable to free herself from the awkward way it had fallen onto her on the ground. "Good thing you told the doctor not to come out for any reason, Richter, real great idea." She simply couldn't maneuver herself to a position with any leverage.

"Huh...help? Help! Anyone?!"

The fight raged on, elsewhere. She sighed, realizing she'd just have to wait until the worst of it had passed before anyone came to her aid.

"Are you sure?", Mary asked sternly, "I'm concerned that you don't realize what the price of such knowledge is." After a pause, Mary continued. "For one thing, you can forget normal relationships. Everyone and everything you care about will turn to dust while you live on. Fame, renown, wealth...learning what I know will bring you none of those things. You will learn and see the most amazing things....but one terrible day you will realize that the world of men has passed you by, and that you are truly alone....and you won't care anymore. And if that wasn't enough....you'll know about those Outside...who, if they could, would gobble up this whole world and every soul in it like you would a Fancy Lad Snack cake."

Shelby exhaled and kind of slumped down against the bathroom door, “I've had people try to kill me for what I have done before, for who I was and being associated with Calypso. I would live forever like you?”

Mary settled back in the tub and continued, "Ignorance is bliss, Shelby", Mary said, "Those Outside cannot enter our world unless someone lets them in. People have tried to let them in, but so far they have failed....because there are those who will gladly kill someone like me to make sure that door is never unlocked. Witchfinders, Hunters, whatever you call them...you'll always be looking over your shoulder for them, iff'n you aim to live, that is."

Before Shelby could answer, more gunfire came from outside. Both women looked at each other, "Think on it and come back to me after dark and we'll discuss it some more", Mary said as she put on the bathrobe and tied the belt, then walked out into the hallway and into one of the front bedrooms.

“Alright, I will.” Shelby backed out of Mary's way. She went downstairs and opened the front door to see what all the commotion was about and froze, “You've gotta be kidding me?” She reached for her pistol but it wasn't there, “Dammit,” she cursed under her breath and looked to see a fire poker sitting by the fireplace. She grabbed it and got a feel for how it was balanced, “This'll have to do.”

As Shelby stepped outside Mary rushed by her in a robe with a double barrel shotgun that looked huge in her hands. Mary raised the shotgun and fired, first one barrel and then the other, then as smartly as she could broke open the shotgun, ejecting the spent shells and loading two more, hoping if that didn't do the trick, others were on the way to help out. “Holy shit, you don't fuck around,” Shelby winked at Mary and spun the poker around once,, grasping it with both hands and charged as the deathclaw flailed.

Then she froze in her tracks, “A fucking mutie.” Shots rang from everywhere, Steve had his hands full, so Shelby ran to Brandy and pulled her arm. Brandy was still staring at the beast pulling the trigger in an empty pistol and would not budge, “You're fuckin’ funeral Twit.” Shelby left, uncertain if the deathclaw was actually dead or not and headed back to S&W in a dead sprint to get away from the m super mutant, which she was more scared of than a deathclaw. Up ahead she saw the tall blonde woman she had only seen briefly the day before, the woman was covered in deathclaw blood, with the smaller beast on top of her. Shelby bit her lip, “FUCK!!!”

Taking the poker and using it to pry off some of the beasts weight she yelled, “We don't have all day Honey, c’mon.” The woman scrambled to her feet as Shelby winced trying to hold the beast up, as soon as the blonde was clear she yanked the poker back, “Fun shit huh? Take care of these then those muties.”

Shelby resumed her course back home and saw what appeared to be a baby deathclaw hauling ass towards the center of town. In a split second Waylon rushed out from the store colliding with the mini monster and both fell to the ground. The deathclaw howled and Waylon struggled to hold it back, he managed to get the barrel of his SKS to it's chest and unloaded the magazine. The creature reared back, Shelby sprinted as fast as she could, the deathclaw swiped at the side of Waylon's head scratching it. Shelby flipped the poker and tightened her grip, “MMMPH,” she grunted as she thrust the poker through the soft skin under the deathclaws jaw up through its head. She yanked back and the creature fell, screeching and failing. Waylon jumped up and slapped in a fresh magazine and began shooting it's chest as Shelby relentlessly beat it's head until a section caved in rendering the minster motionless.

Shelby looked at Waylin and smiled, wiped spatters of blood from her face, “Fun times, I miss this shit.”

“Me too,” Waylon replied, “Grab something and let's go, there's more of them.”

Shelby stepped inside the shop, grabbing the AK47 she had the day before and slinging it over her shoulder before snatching her staff and joining Waylon back outside. “Let's go have more fun,” she gave a devilish grin.

Giraud- The Lisette

Aboard the Lisette, Giraud carefully applied a weathered Fumigus blowtorch to the ship's corroded guardrail, bathing the metal in flame. The Lisette was always a demanding one, and it was a constant task to keep her in proper shape. It was worth it, however- answering her constant demands was well rewarded, for she was an excellent fishing vessel capable of bringing in all manner of beasts that prowl the coast on legs or fins. To maintain such a fine ship was a labor of love.

That wasn't to say, however, that it wasn't unpleasant. Giraud had made a point to do this repair work while sober, as to not risk causing any harm to the Lisette, and these repairs were taking longer than he had anticipated. Right now, he just wanted to be done with it so he could slink back in his captain's chair with the bottle of whiskey hanging on his belt.

Suddenly, the monotony of the repairs was broken by the sounds of gunfire and yelling coming from the town. Probably another raider attack, he thought to himself as he lifted his welding mask and looked up at the town. He was about to go back to repairs when he saw it. A small Deathclaw, a juvenile from the look of it, attempting to claw its way into one of the houses nearest to the docks.

"Well I'll be," he said, throwing off his welding mask and reaching for his shotgun. No, that's no good, it's too far away, and it doesn't want to come over here. He might be able to injure it, but not kill it, and it was unclear if it'd abandon its current quarry even if it was tickled with buckshot.

Hmm, if it doesn't want to come over here, maybe I ought to make it, he thought, formulating a most unorthodox plan. He put on his hat and hobbled over to the ship's harpoon gun as fast as his bad leg would let him. First, he pulled both triggers at the line holding the ship to the dock, messily severing it. He then tossed the now-unloaded gun down, quickly knotted the line to a harpoon, loaded the weapon, and lastly, took a swig of whiskey.

Let's see how you like being hunted, you overgrown iguana," he said as he took aim. A moment later, he pulled the trigger. The barbed projectile flew through the air and struck the beast, embedding itself in its back. Without looking to see how the beast reacted, Giraud limped to the bridge (if it could even be called that) and engaged the throttle in reverse. The engine sprung to life, sputtering out black smoke, and the ship pulled out of the docks, briefly jerking when the line went taut as the Deathclaw resisted. Once there was clearance, Giraud flipped the throttle forward and spun the steering wheel to starboard. The Lisette responded and made its way away from the docks. It struggled momentarily with its harpooned quarry, but overpowered the beast's struggle to stay on land and dragged it over the beach and into the water as it helplessly released a pained, almost pitiful cry.

They may be big stuff in their own element," he laughed to himself, "But take them out of it and they're as helpless as a whale on land."

Mary Hawthorne - Between her and Brandy's house

The Deathclaw shrieked in pain as the sabot slugs hit and bit deep, whirling around and roaring out a challenge. Fortunately, before it could leap at Mary while she was reloading, Shelby stepped in with what appeared to be the poker from her fireplace, and took a swing at the deathclaw, connecting with it's head and sending it reeling until it fell at Brandy's feet, thrashing spasmodically in it's death throes, Shelby's blow being the final straw.

“Holy shit, you don't fuck around,” Shelby winked at Mary and spun the poker around once, grasping it with both hands and preparing to charge in and finish the Deathclaw off when she stopped in her tracks and looked back, over Mary's shoulder in the direction of the church. Immediately, the sassy expression, and the color, drained from her face.

“A fucking mutie”, she said. She then turned and sprang forward, grabbing Brandy by the arm and trying to drag her away. Brandy, frightened out of her wits, just sat there aiming at the dying creature and pulling the trigger of a pitifully small (and empty revolver) over and over again. “You're fuckin’ funeral Twit.”, Shelby hissed and then she dashed off towards the church. Mary raised the now loaded shotgun to finish the Deathclaw, but it finally expired. Mary then lowered the weapon, and looked around to take in the situation. The streets were in total chaos...by the church Shelby was helping up the blond mercenary woman from under a dead Mutant. Gunfire was sounding all across town, another Mutant with a huge gun of some sort was killing another Deathclaw over by the Diner.

At this point, the bourbon no longer shielded Mary from the realization of how much danger she had placed herself in. While she could use a gun...at least a simple one like her shotgun or revolver...a double barrel shotgun was not the tool to be hunting a Deathclaw with. while she did have means of dealing with these creatures....it would completely blow her cover to make use of her magic. She had to get indoors at once. The clicking from Brandy dry-firing her revolver reminded Mary of her presence.

"How did you make it to adulthood?", Mary thought irritably. "I haven't seen someone so shielded since I was her age."

But it was clear, if Mary left her there, she would die. For some reason, that bothered Mary...stirring feelings she thought long dead. After a moment of internal struggling, she rationalized that helping the younger woman would ingratiate her with the others, and wasn't just fooling altruism. the decision made, she tried to take her by the arm to lead her away.

"Come on, Brandy", Mary said, "It's not safe here! We need to go inside!" But like with Shelby, she resisted and continued blankly staring at the now dead Deathclaw and pulling the trigger of her empty revolver.

"Damn ye, ye foolish girl!", Mary said, "Ye don't have the good sense God gave ye!" She then leaned the shotgun against the dead creature, and bodily picked up Brandy and threw her over her shoulder. The younger girl resisted, but Mary was stronger and once she picked Brandy up, she grabbed her shotgun and headed back towards her house, ignoring Brandy's feeble struggle to get free. She walked in her front door, pushing it shut again with her foot as she passed, and took Brandy upstairs to her bedroom, throwing her onto her bed.

"Stay in here until this is over, you silly girl", Mary said sternly, then closed the door behind her and went back downstairs. Walking back into the living room, her eyes lit upon the two dormant robots in the living room.

"Looks to be as good time as any to try you out", Mary said, as she examined the nearest one. "Now, how does one turn you on......".

After some pushing and prodding, she found a small panel that opened, revealing a flip switch marked on and off. She flipped it to on, and some whirring noises began to emanate from the robot. Something was happening, but Mary wasn't sure what. She then went to the window and peered out around the curtains, to see what was currently happening.....

Ace Makovich - Salem - Morning

Ace listened to the doc as he gave his assessment that the ghoul was done for. Ace knew it be so as well, after it had lost a lot of blood and was missing its limbs. Only reason Ace had brought it over, was because it wasn’t feral. He may be disgusted by it, but as sentient being it deserved to live. Ace looked down at his clothes and then back up at the doc, “Do what you must doc.”

“Sorry you wasted your time,” Frieda replied. Ace shrugged his shoulders, knowing that she was right. As he stood there, he straightened up as he heard roaring and thumping. The ground seemed to vibrate as the sounds got louder. He could hear a familiar voice and it was shouting deathclaw, over and over, telling people to run.

Ace’s hand went straight to his gun, but he froze as he saw it had been Brandy yelling a deathclaw following along behind her. He walked over to the door and just stared, but was pulled back as Frieda yelled at him to take cover. He wasn’t sure what to do, last time he had faced a deathclaw, he was with a full brotherhood team, and it had shredded one man’s armor like it was hot knife through butter.

As Ace turned to check on those in the clinic, Frieda and the doc were not to be seen. As h turned back a smaller deathclaw, a juvenile, stared at him. Ace quickly slammed the old church door closed. The young ‘claw slammed on the door and Ace held it shut, struggling. He closed brought down the old wooden bar, to help keep the ‘claw out but it seemed to grow angrier.

Suddenly the old door gave and splinters flew all over the room, pieces both large and small, flying towards Ace. The door burst with so much strength, Ace was thrown down on his back towards the floor. He lifted his head up as the ‘claw walked in through he door. He grabbed his pistol and began to shoot.

The shots struck the ‘claw as it roared in pain, but after multiple shots, it slumped forward and laid on the bottom half of the door that still remained on its hinges. Ace quickly got up and began running towards the bigger deathclaw after Brandy. He ran towards it shooting what round remained on his gun.

Deathclaw Results -

Awoken by the cries of it youngest. The mother deathclaw stared at the young woman that lay before it. As it was about to slash at her, it felt the burning sensation of multiples shots, and being slightly pushed by the force. A woman stood by her with a shotgun, although she seemed familiar, it was too angry with rage to notice whom she was. It swiped at her, but missed.

As its swiped missed, another shot came from behind. This one stung with great pain, as it felt it strike its neck, making it bleed. This made it angrier as it threw its arms into the air and let out a loud roar. A man with a rifle stared it down. It saw him and moved its body from side to side, and its tail slammed into him, throwing him further inside.

As it moved to try and take down its prey, a large creature seeming to wear some sort of armor approached and stopped. It began firing at it, but its shots were erratic. The deathclaw lifted its arms to shield it from the shots. It blocked most but some did find their mark. It lowered its head, and charged at the mountainous creature, hitting it pushing it back. Its armor luckily stopped it from penetrating whatever was inside, and saved it from a serious injury.

The creature lay before it but the deathclaw lost interest as it wanted to kill the one that had harmed its young. As it walked back to its prey a man ran to it, shooting at it with a green blast. It struck its back heel, causing it to drop to one knee. It leaned back, and with a swipe of its hand, threw the man gains the wall from the building (church) where he had come out of. He hit hard, as some wood fell on top of him as he slumped to the ground.

The deathclaw struggled to its feet, seriously wounded from various hits, it was as almost if only one more struck it, it would be done for. It readied its claw to swipe at the young woman to shred her to pieces. When all of a sudden the towns turrets began to whirr in unison, and let out a barrage on the creature. The shots were precise as they centered on it and followed it as it fell to the ground, it’s head landing right in front of the girl.

--------------------------------------

Barney let out a loud sigh as he leaned back on the chair. The monitors showed the deathclaw dead. If he had taken any longer, Brandy would be dead. He pulled out his pipe and lit it, he had gotten to the turret controls right on time. Perhaps it would be best to rethink policy of turning them off during the day, but that’d require having someone man them full time.

CELESTE BROWN -- Salem Diner - mid-morning

Betty didn't seem to be much for chatting. The young woman had taken to fussing over her hair, leaving Celeste to tap her fingers on the counter and quietly finish her cup of coffee. "I should probably get going, I have an inn to run, after all."

Betty muttered something. Celeste sighed, slid off the bar stool to the floor, and picked up her mug to bus it herself. Just as she plunked the mug into the sink, thundering and shrieking could be heard outside, and getting louder. Celeste pressed herself against the edge of the counter, her eyes widening as she watched a huge deathclaw cross past the diner, chasing something she couldn't see. Betty tore out of the diner, leaving Celeste alone. She thought she heard gunshots and yelling. Suddenly, Betty tore in just about as fast as she'd left, with Steve and a deathclaw on her heels.

Celeste shrieked and wasted no time bolting from behind the bar and further into the diner. She hauled the cellar door open with all her strength and flew down to the floor. "Betty!" Celeste shrieked. "Betty, come on!"

"Go hide!" Steve bellowed from the front of the store.

"BETTY!"

Suddenly a pair of feet appeared at the cellar door. Betty stooped and made her way down.

"Help me shut the door," Celeste called frantically. Betty just stood there, staring at Celeste. "Please! I...I can't reach it and pull at the same time."

Betty turned her gaze to Celeste, her mouth gaping open.

"Come on!" Celeste pleaded, her voice shrill.

"R...right," Betty replied, reaching up and over Celeste's head and easily pulling the door shut. Celeste swallowed and said nothing more. She stood and strained her ears. Sounds of a struggle could be heard just above her head. Thudding, gunshots, snapping. She cringed after every sound.

The fight seemed to be outside the diner, or at least, it sounded more distant. Celeste was not at judge of such things by any means. The sounds seemed to go on for an eternity. Suddenly there was a loud crash above her head, some kind of dull, repetitive noise. Then, full quiet.

Celeste looked at Betty, who still seemed frozen in her fear. She swallowed. "You think it's safe?" she whispered. Betty shook her head, then shrugged. "It sounds quiet. Let's just check it out, and if it's still unsafe, we'll just come back down here. I need to check if I can leave, I need to go back to the inn."

Betty took a breath. "Fine. I'll open the door, but I ain't going out there."

Celeste poked her head out the door and looked around. Shrapnel from broken furniture and fixtures littered the floor from her perspective. She slowly crawled out and kept herself low as she poked her way through the kitchen and to the main room of the diner. She continued to advance slowly. There sounded like there was some activity outside, but nothing like the fighting from before. She crept past the edge of the counter. First, she saw the dead deathclaw. Then, she saw the crumpled form of Steve in a pile against the bar stools.

She started screaming.

Rick Noel – Salem – Noon

Rick headed towards the museum, where the deathclaw had emerged. It was foolish of him to do so; after all there could be other lingering creatures. Nevertheless, he needed to make sure no more danger emerged from the building. He rounded the corner with his gun ready, thought with a broken stock, and turned into the gaping hole of the old museum. He turned away in disgust, as a foul stench emanated from the building.

He covered his nose with his shirt, but even that was too much. The pack of deathclaws had done a number in there, and it reeked. He leaned against the wall, but from the quick view he got, there was no movement, not that he wanted to double check. However his stomach turned as he say the mutilated super mutant dropped by the deathclaw, with its missing had.

However, the weapon next to it highly interested him. The Gatling laser dropped by this mutie would prove invaluable. After all, this town lacked in defenses and this gun could be converted into a powerful turret to defend the town, or at least an area of it. He went o grab it but the muties hand was tightly wrapped around it.

He tried to loosen its grip but no good. He thought for a bit, and then began to stomp on the hand, over and over again, bones crunched and blood splattered, but soon the weapon was free. He did his best to pick it up but it was heavy. He pulled the fusion core out, and placed that in his pack, and then continued to drag the weapon next to him towards the town. He stopped part way, as he came about a dead mutie holding a combat rifle, with the same stock he used to have. He grabbed it, planning to replace the one on his broken rifle.

The fighting in town had subsided, it sounded as if the turrets in town had been activated. Why they took so long, was another matter. He dragged the gatling laser and placed it next to the diner. He looked at the dead deathclaw that lay there at the old intersection, and rick slowly walked over to it. He checked the rifle he had grabbed from the mutie, and made sure it was loaded as he approached.

He had never seen a deathclaw up front, and this was a rare opportunity to miss. His natural curiosity took hold of him, and he needed to check it out up close. Even as it lay dead on the ground, it possessed a menacing look. He looked at its claw, and squatted to take a closer look. He pushed his glasses and slowly reached for the creature and touched the claw. It was solid, and sharp; felt like sharpened combat knife made of fine steel.

He looked at its horn and how it spiraled up. It sort of reminded him of a drill bit, in this case a highly sharpened drill bit. What terrified him though was its teeth. How many it possessed, all finely sharpened, almost looked like a bunch of knives coming out of its mouth. How in nature such a creature came to be, was beyond him. It seemed like a sick experiment by a twisted scientist, unleashed upon the wastes.

Rick turned towards the diner, when he heard a loud scream. He readied the gun and made his way over but stopped as he saw ace laying in front of church with a pile of wood on top of him, along with the earlier armored mutie he had seen before. He stood there, but decided to check diner first as that’s where screaming came from, it could mean there was another small deathclaw running about. He pushed open the door as it lay on its hinges, and it crumpled to the ground. There stood a short woman, Celeste if he wasn’t mistaken screaming. Rick looked down and there lay a dead young deathclaw, and another man crumpled on the ground.

He looked at Celeste, and made motion for her to quiet down. He went over to the man, Rick looked around and grabbed a piece of broken glass and placed it by the man’s mouth and nose. He watched it fog up, telling him he was still alive. He looked over at Celeste, “we need a plank or something to move him, don’t want to pick him up in case he broke anything.

Gunfire, yelling, screams, roaring, all were just white noise as Brandy stared blankly at the massive beast that lay before her. She looked down at it's large teeth, her eyes never leaving the beast, Brandy picked up a piece of her grandfather's gun stock that had been dislodged when the beast hit the ground. It was covered with the creature's saliva. Suddenly, she was jerked, making her wince as the pain was beginning to set in from her injuries. Someone pulled as eas yelling at her, Brandy pulled back but it was a struggle she was destined to lose, any fight she had, it was long gone. She found herself in pain as she was slung over the person, she continued to stare at the beast, “The are real.” Her voice nearly gone and nothing more than a whisper.

She stared back, concentrating on the large dead deathclaw until she was inside a house, not her house. Wincing as she landed on a bed, "Stay in here until this is over, you silly girl.”

“They're real, they're real,” she whispered as tears flowed down her cheeks and dripped onto the pillow. She reached up touch her shoulder and snapped her hand back to her side, covered in blood from the searing pain. She stared at the ceiling until the sounds of fighting ceased to enter through the window of the room. Brandy’s entire body was beginning to hurt, she looked at herself, her clothes had been torn and bloodied, but for once, it was the least of her concerns. She wanted to go home and hide.

It took her a couple of minutes to finally be able to stand, her eyes felt dry in spite of the tears. They were still pried open in utter shock and disbelief. Slowly, she opened the door and looked down the stairs, carefully inching down them with the chunk of gunstock still in her hand. She was as quiet as a church mouse as she walked by Mary who noticed her, “They're real.” She paused, “I need to go home.”

Brandy shuffled her way into the sunlight, looking at the carnage about the town center. She wobbled on uneasy legs, walking like a zombie to her place. She didn't bother reaching back to close the door and went straight to her mantel. Looking up at her old family photo, Brandy placed the piece if gunstock on the mantel before the portrait, “Deathclaws are real Nana, Papa, Rick. There is no hope anymore.”

Shuffling to the kitchen Brandy pulled the largest knife she had from the knife block and went to the basement. The chicks chirped pleasantly still, she just pushed the feed off the shelf. It scattered covering one of the chicks, it shook it off and went about picking it's food. Brandy walked to the corner and sat on an old trunk, painfully pulling her knees to her chest, “They're real,” she kept whispering. Her eyes still pried wide open, the pain bringing more tears along with the emotions she was experiencing.