Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Despite their preparation, they were losing. The townsfolk’s defenses were overrun one by one. Mayburn, the bastard, was leading the raiders.

In the end they made it through and the town fell. Everyone was dead, dying or about to be enslaved. Piper held back hot tears as she closed her eyes and tried to tune out the screaming and sobbing of the women being dragged into the shacks and houses. She was old enough to know what would happen to them, and probably to her.

She tried to look small in the crowd of captives gathered in the town square, hugging young Nat tight in her arms. It didn’t work and Mayburn saw her. With an evil grin he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out. Piper screamed as she struggled, and screamed louder when he snatched her sister from her arms. Why wasn’t anyone helping her? The other townsfolk kept their heads down and looked away, too defeated to dare anything.

“I don’t know which I’ll enjoy more,” Mayburn said as he pulled her up close to his face. “Breaking you in as my little fucktoy, or the look on your face as I feed your baby sister to the mirelurks.”

“No! Let her go! Let her go!” Crying in fear and desperation now, she flailed to reach for her bawling sister as the former militia captain held Nat dangling by an arm. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she noticed most of the raiders were looking on in amusement.

Mayburn sent a knee up to her gut before letting go of her, causing Piper to gasp in pain as the air was forced out of her lungs. She dropped to the ground, trying to keep her eyes open through the tears and the pain. She wanted to make him stop, wanted to do something, but she could only curl up in pain and look up helplessly as the man lifted Nat up with both hands.

Mayburn sneered victoriously down at her. “Take a good loo-”

His words were cut short, along with his head as it toppled off his neck. Piper’s instincts kicked in first, diving to catch her falling sister despite the pain. Only then she realised the raiders around the conquered town taking up arms and firing towards something. They started dying, and keeping Nat under her, Piper looked to the source of their attention.

Just out of the town square, someone in some sort of combat gear was firing a weird looking laser rifle, atomising the raiders like they were targets in a child’s shooting gallery. The return fire the stranger received was simply ignored, bullets and laser beams not leaving a mark on them even though she was sure the hits connected. Some of the raiders charged in with their melee weapons. They were promptly targeted and died without getting within spitting range of the stranger.

Piper reckoned it took about 15 seconds for the stranger to kill off all the raiders, the last few seconds spent shooting the fleeing ones in the back.

Lowering its weapon, the stranger gave the apprehensive and formerly captive townsfolk a look. After removing its mask-like helmet, she saw the face of a young man, maybe a few years older than her. His grey eyes studied the town square for a moment before he walked over and knelt before her.

“You both ok?” he asked, his voice slightly worried. Piper felt herself relaxing and held back a sob as she nodded. “Sorry, but I just arrived or I’d shoot the fucker before he could lift your sister so high like that.”

“It’s alright, thanks for saving us.” He had saved Nat from being bashed in and killed Mayburn, Piper wasn’t going to complain about how it was done.

The stranger gave her a nod before he got up and headed over to the others. He helped unbind those that were chained and collared up, and gave out stimpaks and medicine like they were Sugar Bombs. He also helped make sure the houses were clear before helping out the women who were dragged in earlier. Most of them were in various states of undress and sporting fresh bruises and cuts. More medical items were handed out.

With the mayor and new militia captain dead, the surviving townsfolk walked up to the stranger to thank him, looking like they were about to mob him. Hugging Nat even more protectively than ever, Piper could make out the stranger’s words over the muddled noise of thank-yous from the adults.

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“-orry about it, I cou- help, so I did.” “No, reall- -o big deal.”

Picking herself up, the pain in her stomach a dull ache now, Piper made her way to the stranger and the grateful mob surrounding him. “Are you staying here?” she asked at the edge of the crown, amazed at herself at how loud and clear her voice was despite the nervousness she felt.

That silenced everyone else, and pretty much everyone looked expectantly at the stranger. He gave her a look first, then to everyone else around him before shrugging and sighing. “I guess I could stay a few days to make sure it’s all ok here.”

The cheer that rose up made Piper giddy and caused Nat to cry again. Piper didn’t care as she joined in, happy to have someone to protect the town, to protect her and her sister for the time being.

She won the honors of hosting the stranger, Sev. It just took a bit of looking at him with wide pleading eyes, and the man relented. Thankfully most of the town only suffered superficial damage from the attack, and everyone’s homes were more or less intact. After being led into the house, Sev had another look at the injuries on both girls, applying some cooling lotion on the bruises that quickly eased the pain.

“So it’s just the two of you?” he eventually asked as he helped clean up the mess made when the raiders breached the house. Nat was sleeping, thankfully able to fall into it with seemingly no care considering what she went through.

Piper gave a single steely nod. “Yeah. Pop was killed by Mayburn who wanted to let the raiders in.” She relayed the story of the traitorous militia captain, of how he killed her father and was exiled after she plastered posters all over town. That he decided to join up with the raiders was something that surprised everyone but in hindsight, should have been expected.

“You’re a brave girl,” Sev said after he patiently and attentively listened to her tale. For some reason his words caused her eyes to sting as tears threatened to build up. Piper shook her head as she struggled to fight back a sob.

“I made things worse,” she replied with a trembling voice. The realization that she might have blood on her hands made her head and stomach hurt. “We lost. We could’ve all died i-”

“No.” Sev interrupted her, shaking his head as he tried to reassure her. “You did the best you could, you did the right thing. It might have been worse if that Mayburn let the raiders in without a fight.”

Piper wasn’t sure, but the smile he gave her helped strengthen her resolve. She managed a fragile smile back at him, then before she knew it she dove towards him for a hug, breaking out into ugly sobs that made her feel so pathetic. Sev’s pat on her back as he hugged her back made her cry even more, releasing the terror and grief she held up until now.

Piper’s exhaustion caught up to her and she was too tired to notice Sev picking her up and carrying her over to join Nat in her bed.

Joining her sister in deep sleep, she didn’t see Sev run his hand down his face with nervousness, or hear him whining to no one in particular.

“Wasn’t this place supposed to beat off the raiders? The hell did I get myself into?”

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