Fallout: In the Beginning The Warriors of the Wasteland Rocco, Canine Terror of the Wasteland (played by Gray) Jonah Travis, Human Tracker Supreme (played by PJ) VAT69-007, Super-Mutant Outcast (played by Rich) Arthur Nogardeep, Human Racer (played by Rod) Josiah Sawbones, Human Doctor and Death from Afar (played by Rich) Chapter 1: Pain & Suffering Like You've Never Seen! In a dark dank prison cell... *Fear...Hunger...Longing...* *Fear...Hunger...Longing...* *Fear...Hunger...Longing...* * * * * * In another dark, dank & smelly prison cell... CLANG! CLANG! CLANKity-CLANG! *sound of metal cup on cell bars* 'Walls and bars do not a prison make!' 'Well actually they do', a voice from below. 'Cut out dat racket man, me trying to commune with the spirits' 'Jailer! You can take away my freedom but you ca.. FFZZZZZIIIT! ..AAAAARRGHHHH!' *thud* * * * * * In another dark dank and very smelly cell... 'Looks like someones coming..' 'You sure..I can't *gasp*..see anything...' '..that probably cause your eyes are watering...why I don't know' '...*gag*..no wait I can hear the footsteps now' ON YOUR FEET MUTANT SCUM!....ITS SHOWTIME! * * * * * cue: eerie bittersweet soundtrack... Hmmmmmmm....hmmmmmm...hhmmmmmmmmm... A large green hand moving over a field of wheat... hmmmm.....hmmmmmmmm...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... A motley group of large humaniods moving slowly down a tunnel towards an imposing rusty door... Hmmmmmmm....hmmmmmm...hhmmmmmmmmm...tink..tink..tinktinktink.. ...the green hand sweeps across a distorted stalk, the chaff falls away to reveal a line of sharp teeth which then bite into the caressing hand! Dum dumidumidum dumidumidom dom dom dom.... A large metal door clanking up.... ...a wild roar..a crescendo of noise...bloodlust in the air.. Dum dumidumidum dumidumidom dom dom dom.... Bright, blazing sunshine...6 tall green figures emerge into a large rectangular arena...their features distorted by the sizzling mid-day heat... ...the mad cheering increases in tempo DUM DUMIDUMI DUM, DUMIDUMI DUM DOM DOM DOM.... The large green figures seperate into pairs, each bound at the wrist by a metre length section of chain. They head uncertaintly towards the centre of the pit. Here they find an assorted collection of brutal-looking melee weapons... 3 metal doors on the opposite end of the large arena begin to rise...rumbling bestial screams of anger bellow forth.... Understanding their fate, the green mutant pairs quickly arm themselves and head to different areas of the arena. Three enraged Deathclaws enter the pit, the cheer from the crowd drowning out the roars of fury from the gigantic creatures... Miraculously each Deathclaw decides spontaneously to attack a different mutant pair and in a short time deadly combat ensues... Chapter 2: Survival of the Fittest The mutant named Vat69-007 dodged another deadly deathclaw attack. His swaying body moving instinctively and with precision to avoid the multitude of blows coming from the enraged Deathclaw. Already bleeding from half a dozen cuts, the large mutant gains a temporary respite as the deadly mutated lizard turns his attention to Vat69's bound campanion. But Roden the Risque is not as skilled in the arts of melee combat as Vat69, he lets out a terrified scream as the Deathclaw's massive jaws snap shut with a bone-splintering crunch around the mutant's head. A fountain of blood erupts and moments later, the baying crowd. The headless corpse of the unfortunate mutant falls to the blood soaked sand. Vat69 seeing his chance quickly severs the bound hand of his fallen companion with his machete before sidestepping and bringing the weapon around to slice the side of the advancing lizard. The keen blade cuts deep.... More blood erupts...the sound in the arena goes up another notch to reach the eardrum rupturing level of 11...the texture of the crowd mass turns to a bright pink as the watching Raider horde show their delight in the time honoured wasteland way...by slapping the sides of their raised bare buttocks in pure ecstasy... In the combat arena, 3 other mutants are down, each of the fallen lying in macbre pieces strewn across the arena in a random fashion...a deadly testimony to the savage nature of the contest. One of the Deathclaws stops to feast on the remains of one mutant. The surviving member of the mutant pair retreats to another part of the bloodly pit...the boos and curses of the crowd follow him... ..a lit bottle arcs towards the gorging Deathclaw...a sudden explosion sends the hungry lizard flying and leaves his meal in oily flames. The stunned Deathclaw regains his feet and bellows once more...it staggers back towards its kill but is unable to feast again because of the flames...it schreechs in fury once more before turning to pursue the other mutant...the baying of the crowd returns...the ponderous charge of the huge lizard sends dust and a deep rumble echoing around the arena... ..but wait the surviving mutant refuses to fight, instead deciding to run away from the advancing deathclaw...the disapproval of the crowd is quick in coming...BOOOO BOOOOOOO..BLOOD BLOOD....BOOOOOO..... Several minutes pass as the chase of death continues. The lizard will never catch the wily mutant and the crowd know it...a chant of DEATH! DEATH! DEATH! begins in the arena. The running mutant stumbles suddenly and pitches into the hot sand. A speargun bolt protudes from the prone mutant's left thigh, a expression of pain crosses the mutant's face as he tears the bolt free....more blood sprays forth... The crowd howl in delight...one Raider Guard holds a spent Speargun aloft and the crowd cheer in approval...'DEATH! DEATH! DEATH!...' The crippled mutant tries to regain his footing but alas to no avail. His deadly adversary descends upon him like a thundering train and tears the mutant apart like a rag doll. (PJ & Rod put a line through their 'why don't we just run around' option). Vat69 falls heavily against the hard packed sand and hears a sharp crack from beneath him. A lance of pain shoots through his left arm as his vision begins to dim. As the darkness descends his eyes make out the form of the Deathclaw bearing down upon him, and then another shadow arcing thru the air towards the lizard giant..... ...a final guttural screech follows him into the black abyss...... Chapter 3: Survival of the Meanest (Parte 1) ....Dum dumidumidum dumidumidom dom dom dom.... Two queues of humans stand in near darkness, arrayed before a primitive anvil & roaring red forge... NEXT! The human known as 'Jonah Travis' steps groggily forward and offers his hand...one of the Ripper Guards grabs it and pulls it down, while the burly blacksmith hammers on a iron bracelet.. The blackened metalworker completes his work quickly and efficiently and then looks into the grim face of Jonah... NEXT! Jonah's looks at the new band on his wrist, his eyes then follow the length of chain and arrive at another bracelet..tied to another wrist....a woman's wrist... He stares up to examine the stranger in the dim light provided by the glow of the hot furnace. He notes her figure-hugging blue clothing, the material torn and discolouerd in many places. His keen eyes wander up into the mass of blonde and bloodied hair....the tear streaked face.... His female companion meets his gaze through squinted eyes and then begins to sob gently as the pair are lead away into the darkness once more... * * * * * Arthur Nogardeep steps forward and offers his hand. The leather enclased Ripper Guard grabs the hand and then slowly leans down to come face to face with Arthur... The guard's face splits into a grin, revealing a line of cracked and blackened teeth...he lets out a high pitched hyena-like laugh and then pulls Nogardeep's hand to the anvil... 'the comic relief' he sniggers to the blacksmith... The blacksmith lets out a snort and then commences in his task...the sniggering continues while the iron bracelet is fitted to Arthur's wrist. NEXT! The chain on Arthur's wrist suddenly becomes taught and he is jerked forward by a great unseen force. He stumbles in the darkness but then regains his footing. He looks to see what is attached to the chain and just who is to be his companion.... ...his eyes look into the furry crotch of a very tall and muscular human. 'Gulp' 'Don't vorry little man' booms a loud but gentle voice from above his head.... '...Sven vill protect you' as the face of his companion appears out of the darkness above him. 'ha ha' *weak smile* * * * * * The ritualistically scarred and tattoed man known as Josiah Sawbones rubbed the chaffed skin under his newly acquired wrist band. The metal chain linked him to a blond stranger dressed in strange blue clothing....material he has not seen before during his short but violent life... 'So whos ya tailor man?' Josiah's companion turned to stare at him and after a short period of analysis, a look of disapproval crossed his face... 'Just trying to be friendly' The stranger grunts in reply and looks away once more. '..in these parts, it's good to have a friend ya' know..' His tacturn companion remained silent..lost in his own thoughts. The metal door in front of the pair begins to rise. A sharp ray of light cutting into the darkness...Josiah's companion immediately brings his hands up to cover his eyes as the roar of the crowd greet them.... '...friends look after ya back...especially in these parts..' * * * * * ...in the darkness...standing together by a small metal door, from which the muffled sounds of brutal combat can be heard... 'What...is...that sound?' asks the woman in a stange accent. 'Death' answers Jonah blunty...'Death lies beyond that door..' The woman begins to weep once more... ...in the darkness..the corners of Jonah's mouth begin to curl up to form a smile...his eyes gleam with villianous intent... ..in the darkness... *..chunk-chunk-chunk-chunk....* * * * * * Chapter 4: Survival of the Meanest (Parte 2) RELEASE THE SCORPIONS! A joyous cheer echos around the arena. The 8 humans in the centre of the pit initially appear confused and bewildered and then slowly begin to form an uneven circle under the guidance of Arthur Nogardeep's barking voice... 'STAY TOGETHER!...HOLD THE LINE!...DON'T PANIC!' Various section of the arena floor give way to form ramps...from which 3 very large Radscopions and a pack of smaller scorpions scutter forth... 'OK...PANIC!...PANIC!....PANIC! ' 'Enough of yer racket little man, I vill defend you' booms the diminutive man's blonde companion. Arthur falls silent on hearing these words and grips the handle of his knife with more resolve. The rest of the members of fighting circle also ready themselves to meet the scorpion threat. The Radscorpions appearing passive and confused at first are forced towards the human circle by the liberal use of flamethrowers mounted around the arena walls.. The combat begins.. Josiah's blue suited companion trips and falls and takes a stinger in the back, he cries out in pain but Josiah's counter-attacks prove inffectual. The prone man's body spasms each time the Radscorpion's tail slams into his body. On the opposite end of the human circle (?)..Jonah and the blue suited woman are under attack by a horde of smaller Radscorpions. The overall threat posed is equally deadly. One of the critters lunges at the tracker while he is busy fending off another Radscorpion with his spear. Jonah barely escapes the kiss of the venomous stinger before swinging his female companion into the path of the clawed predator. She is unable to defend herself as effectively as one hand is held taught by the chain, the other desperately covering her eyes...this can only mean one thing... Another scream echos around the arena..radioactive venom courses through the body of the blue suited woman. The crowd roar in ecstacy, the vigorous buttock-slapping sounding like a huge drum...and then a peal of laughter ripples forth as one of the smaller Radscopions somehow manages to do something never before seen in the arachnid kingdom...it slices one of its own claws off!... 3 of the humans are down for the loss of one small Radscorpion. This is the signal for the combat to reach a new plateau of brutality. Survival instincts kick in, as Jonah grabs his companion by the hair and then throws the woman at one of the Radscorpions! She falls heavily against the mutated arachnid and suffer another puncture wound in her side..more venom courses. Jonah then appears ready to jump onto the back of the Radscorpion before deciding at the last possible moment NOT to attempt the manuvuer.... ...obviously the 'Stupid Plan Monitor' Chip is paying dividends for PJ now... On the opposite side of the circle, Josiah becomes the darling of the crowd as he severs the wrist of his downed & now dead companion with his serrated machete. The shaman then spins his body dramatically and brings the machete around in a graceful arc before sinking it to the hilt into back of Arthur Nogardeep... The small man staggers and goes down...the Radscoprion see its chance and attacks pincers outstretched...Sven leaps at the arachnid...his meat cleaver raised...Arthur Nogardeep recovers...the little man rolls over in the sand and then brings his knife up.... ...the Radscorpion's head is severed in two by the meat cleaver...the giant mutated arachnid crashes to the arena floor.... ...Josiah's right leg is sundered in two by the impact of the low thrusting knife...the shaman pitches backwards into unconsciousness... ..the remaining Radscorpion thrusts the stinger into the prone body of the shaman as Arthur & Sven thankful of the distraction, manuvuer out of harms way... Screams...stingers slamming into prone backs..weapons hitting chitinous sides...humans dying upon the hot sand...Radscorpions being sundered... The sound in the arena slowly dies down as the remaining Radscorpions are slowly ganged up on and then destroyed...the mid-afternoon matinee draws to a close...the surviving humans gain a round of applause from the crowd as their not so fortunate brethren are loaded up and carted away... Jonah stands with the heaving & swaying form of his female companion. He stabs his spear into the hard packed sand in a dramatic fashion. Arthur and and his new found friend Sven stand shoulder to crotch basking in the applause of the crowd. The broken but still living body of the shaman Josiah is picked up and trundled away on a makeshift cart... * * * * * Chapter 5: A Dog's Life *Hunger....Fear....Longing* *sniff* *Blood...Food...Hunger....2-leg-friend?...* HOWL! HOWL! HOWL! BARK! BARK! BARKity-BARK! *BLOOD....LIGHT...FOOD!...HUNGER...* *..LEADER...FOLLOW....LIGHT...FOOD!...* *...LIGHT...MANY 2 LEGS...BLOOD...NOISE...CONFUSION..FOOD!..* *...FOOD!...KILL!...BLOOD!...HUNGER...TEAR!...KILL!...* *...EAT..EAT...GORGE....FOOD!....CONTENTMENT...food...* *sniff* *2-leg-friend? * * * * * Chapter 6: To the victor, the spoils... The children's matinee of Geckos versus Dogs draws to a quick and bloody close...the Ripper guards let the pack sate its hunger on the corpses of the three mutated lizards. The contest had dissapointed the crowd by being over so very quickly...maybe more geckos next time.... The crowd in the arena slowly dissipate as the dogs begin feeding in earnest..a few hangers-on remain to watch the bloody feast. The pack of dogs finally has its fill and the Raider guards slowly herd the canines back into the kennels. The large pack leader is seperate from the others and lead away. The remaining dogs whimper in confusion. * * * * * Vat69 regains his senses and immediately whinces as pain shoots up his left arm...slowly the mighty super-mutant hefts his large frame off the cell floor and props himself up against a wall... Making himself comfortable, the green mutant then gazes around the cell and discovers he is alone. After a time Vat69 begins to slowly bind his broken arm with torn strips of cloth... * * * * * Josiah Sawbones opens his eyes to look upon the curious and bloodstained faces of Jonah Travis and Arthur Nogardeep. 'Am I in Hell?' inquired the prone shaman. '..as near to the real thing that you won't notice' replies Arthur dryly. The shaman then attempts to sit up but the pair towering above quickly restrain him and force his body back onto the floor. 'Your leg's broken tribal..better if you stayed where you were for the time being..' informed the tracker. 'Arse man...was it my lucky leg?' asked the shaman thru gritted teeth.. A look of puzzlement passes across the tracker's face as he then stares in Arthur Nogardeep's direction. He finds a similar expression on the face of his short companion. '..and your lucky leg is?' 'me right' informs the shaman 'ow..don't tell me it's me right one' Jonah peers over the shaman's legs.. 'then I guess your luck's broken tribalman' replies the tracker. 'ow shit!..dats all I need..captured...almost killed by de S'orpions and now me lucky's legs broken too!..OW! do the spirits mock me!' Arthur and the tracker leave the cursing form of the shaman alone for a while. After a time a group of Ripper guards appear brandishing an array of effective looking melee weapons. 'ON YOUR FEET TRIBAL SCUM...PARTY TIME's OVER!' 'party time over..well aint dat a crying shame.....OOOFF!' 'say..did that hurt?...is your leg supposed to look that colour tribal?' smiles the jailer prodding Josiah's broken leg with the tip of his iron club...' 'AWWWW!...you son-of-AWWWWWW!....mother-AWWWWW!....' 'Quite finished tribal?'... 'ngg..' 'Good' states the large jailer and then motions everyone to leave the cell. 'You guys have failed the grade...Rippers you aint......Slaves you will be...now get moving!' The humans are then lead away thru the underground tunnel complex to arrive in a holding pen outside the arena. Jonah & Arthur support the still cursing form of Josiah Sawbones. Amongst the humans in the pen stands one super-mutant. He stands alone in one corner, his left arm strapped to his chest and a look of disdain on his face. Jonah takes his gaze away from the scowling mutant and scans the outside of the holding penn. He sees a line of 6 makeshift wagons each tethered to a pair of docile brahmins. 3 of the wagons support large cages and in one, he spies a pack of 4 dogs. One of which is his dog Rocco. The blood smeared mutt barks at him in recognition and starts pacing and whining.. 'Stay Rocco STAY!' begins Jonah 'WHACK!' The tracker pitches to the ground as a large club strikes him across the face, Josiah & Arthur go down with him and the shaman unleashes another wail of agony and then another litany of choice curses from his vast repetoire.... 'Slave Rule Number 1 - No talking!' issues a large Ripper guard standing above them...he swings a large iron club in his hands..'do you understand?'...the trio on the floor nod in silence. 'See these wagons' begins a gruff man holding a rifle, '.. these wagons and these here cages will be your home for the next month..' 'I am the caravan master and my Ripper name is Hair Trigger.. ..is that understood..or would you like a demonstration? A wave of nods issues from the slaves as the trio on the floor quickly regain their feet and begin to nod rapidly. 'So without further ado...lets get going'. With that the slaves are loaded onto the 2 remaining wagons. The male slaves into one (mutant and all) and the females and young in the other. The small cravan train then slowly trundles out of Blood Town, Oregon and heads south into the deep desert. * * * * * Chapter 7: This was not in the travel brochure... cue: cheery tune that invokes images of a cravan on a long journey, of slow dissolves of magnificent windswept desert landscapes, perhaps even include a couple of shots of children running down hillsides drawn to the spectacle, who then stand and point at the slow moving wagons and their occupants as they pass.... ....zzzzzzZZZZZZIPPPP! *sound of whips...children crying...humans baking in the mid day sun..flat featureless desert..a nuclear wilderness..small swarms of files buzzing around the sphincters of two-headed brahmins...looks of despair and despondency on the caged captives... Arthur Nogardeep's eyes slowly wandered around the male slave wagon. He ignores the sound of buzzing flies as his gaze examines every minute detail of the cage in his quest to find a weakness..a flaw.. .something... *coughing sounds*... his eyes pick up a discolouration in one corner of the cage floor... *Bzzzz*... the small man slowly crawls over to it and sits down, his back against one wall... *creak*.. Arthur closes his eyes and then runs his fingertips across the flawed surface... *Gawd damn...this is some bad ass heat*... his fingers register a small crack on the wooden floor... *BZZZZZzzz*... warily he draws the knife filched from the combat arena... *snoring sounds* the knife tip finds the uneven blemish located by his probing fingers ...*mooo.........* ...*zzz..zzz.zzzz.zzz*... * * * * * 'Naw..your arms fine man..it get better on its own' informs Dr Sawbones after examining the bruised left arm of the green super-mutant.. 'But..Doc...it's been like this for a week now and...is it supposed to smell of almonds?' questions Vat69. 'almonds...*snort*..you going silly in da heat man...I can't smell nuthing from ya....' replies the tear stained shaman. 'but..?' begin the large mutant.. 'Nar buts man..you listen to olde Doctor Sawbones and just give dat arm a litte time and a lot of fresh air....prehaps move over to de other side of the cell...' proffers Josiah trying not breathe.. 'Ok' agrees Vat69 moving away from the rest of the huddled humans to sit on the opposite side of the cage...'fresh air is all it needs'.. *zzz..zzz.zzzz.zzz*... * * * * * 'Is this trip ever gonna end Ripper dude?...feels like I've been stuck in this cage forever' states Jonah Travis standing by the bars of the cage... 'Not long now slave' replies a masked Ripper guard 'we've nearly reached the canyons...it's all downhill from there...' he finishes. 'good...hey one other thing..do you think you could fix the tiolet in here...I think it's broken...' 'FFFFFZZZZTTTT!' 'aaaaarrrggggggHHHHH' *thud* *small chuckle of laughter* *zzz..zzz.zzzz.zzz*... * * * * * 'There it is again' exclaims the wide eyed and alert face of Jonah Travis '..did you hear that?' 'Hear what..' mumbles Josiah Sawbones...absently waving at the constant flies buzzing around his heavily bound right leg...'I can't hear nuthing...just let a tired man get some sleep will ya?' 'I heard it too' states Vat69 from the other side of the cell...'a strange whining sound...from above...the sky... listen...' Josiah, curiousity bitten, props himself on one arm and listens intently... 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee' 'I hear it...' whispers the shaman looking in Jonah's direction...'yeah...I hear it now....what could it be... I've not heard the like...' 'I heard it a couple of nights ago...but it didn't sound as close' informs the tracker, face peering towards the night sky....'whatever it is...it aint no bird...' Josiah and Vat69 exchange baffled glances... *zzz..zzz.zzzz.zzz*... * * * * * Chapter 8: Death from Above... The caravan beds down for the night deep inside the canyon complex...the wagons are drawn into a rough circle..a few campfires burn providing a faint flicking light, pairs of Ripper Guards patrol the perimeter...the desert air is blissfully cool....the night deadly silent.... *eeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE* *mooo...moooo....whine....bark-bark...howl....MOOOOOO!!!..* Confused faces peering out of sleeping blankets, brahmin straining against their tethers...the dog cage a torrent of howls, Raider guards awake and doning armour and boots, weapons begin loaded...wagon drivers attempting to calm & control the startled brahmin, the cravan master barking orders and gesturing armed guards to defensive positions...the faces of slaves behinds bars lit by the flickering fire light... 'EEEEEEEEE.....THWOPPATTHWOPPATHWOPPATHWOPPATHWOPPATHWOPPA! MOOOOO! HOWL! MOOOO!! BARK! BARK! MOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Brahmins panicing, drivers desperating trying to control wagons....dog barking frenzy...children beginning to wail... *zzzz zzzzZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ* THWOPPATTHWOPPATHWOPPATHWOPPATHWOPPATHWOPPA! L-I-G-H-T! From above, a rush of air, a large metallic thing swooping out of the night sky, great claws appearing from its abdomen, the creature descending, two huge wings spinning violently , it's roar intensifying .... The metal creature comes to ground on one side of the caravan. The campsite is now in complete chaos as wagons begin to move in a random directions drawn by the now terrified brahmin... The creature's belly splits open, more light, the wagon master holds out one hand to shield his eyes from the dust storm, as he peers at the monstrousity.... Tall humaniods appearing from the innards of the metal bird, humaniods encased in metal and with the heads of insects...they rush towards the caravan... The cravan master eyebrows rising as he brings his pipe rifle to bear....other confused Ripper guards following his action and also taking aim... 'zzzzzBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!' The body of the wagon master disappearing as the barrage of gunfire hits it...the chaos in the campsite becomes incontrollable as bullets thud home into dogs, guards, slaves and bovines alike... Wagons smash into each other, brahims crashing to floor as if pole axed, Ripper guards throwing down weapons and running out into the dark canyon...the metallic humaniods giving chase...the night echoing to thunderous gunfire and the screams of the dying... The male slave cage crashes into a bullet ridden wagon and then pitches to one side...flames erupts from below...there is a splintering and scraping sound...the insides of the cage is silent & still for a moment before bursting into life... The slaves look around the cage but are disheartened to find that it is still basically intact, they mill around in confusion. Arthur Nogardeep pulls himself off the floor and shakes his head. His eyes regain focus as they peer down upon a long crack in the wooden floor. The wood is sheared along the grain flaw that his knife had been vainly carving into..the little man gets up and then kicks the sundered area of wood. 'CRACK!' The material gives way to leave a narrow gap as Arthur stumbles groggily forwards and squeezes thru the opening. He falls to the desert floor with a thud. Regaining his feet the little man staggers away into the night. The others in the cage look to the opening but no other is compact enough to squeeze through... Meanwhile, the shaman Josiah is watching the antics of the tall humaniods within the remains to the slaver camp. He watches the strange creatures haul the kicking, screaming figure of the strange blue clothed woman from the female slave cage. She is dragged towards the winged bird by one of the large metalmen. The super-mutant Vat69 grabs hold of the splintered wood with one of his mighty arms and gives it a tug..more of the wood splinters..the other slaves join the green man in his efforts. Josiah's gaze returns to the female slave cage just in time to witness the barrage of gunfire and hear the wails as the remaining women & children are butchered....in his entire life he has never witnessed such a sight...the sound of gunfire subsides and the night return to a lifeless calm...the shaman's eyes bulge as the metal humaniods begin to walk in his direction... 1-2-3 HEAVE! CRACK! REND! SPLINTER! A large part of the wooden floor gives way and the male slaves quickly scamper out and fan out into the canyon. Jonah picks up a fallen spear while Vat69 finds himself a metal pole. Josiah crawls behind a large boulder and watchs from the shadows as the metal demons arrive at the remains of the male slave wagon. Finding the cage empty the metal humaniods quickly move out into the night looking for the occupants..Josiah slows his breathing and remains as motionless as he can....after a time his hearing picks out the sounds of sudden gunfire and screams ending abruptly. The super-mutant Vat69 hears the sounds of metal footsteps coming towards him. The green giant (Ho Ho Ho..8-)..) falls to the floor and stops breathing... Trudge...trudge....trudge... The footsteps become louder and louder...Vat69 looks around him futively for somewhere to hide..some form of cover..but alas nothing... Trudge...trudge....trudge... Near panic, the mutant begins to crawl in a random direction... Crawl..crawl...crawl...THUD! Vat69's head thumps into something that doesn't move and isn't a rock...his green eyes peer into 2 shiny metal boots..he slowly looks up to stare into the wrong end of a large multi-barrel gun.. ..he closes his eyes and prays to the God of Strange Mutated Green Giants... ..Huh!..trudge...trudge....trudge... (It was here that Sukh the DM was going to have his Armoured Trooper spit onto Rich's miserable green face...but luckily he remembered in time that the dude was wearing a full face helmet and decides against this...8-)....10xp Mr DM) Still alive, Vat69 opens his eyes and follows the retreating form of the metal humaniod as it disappears into the darkness... He begins to breathe again, taking in large lungfuls of cool night air. After a time the whinging noise erupts again in the canyon before slowing disappearing towards the east...the merry band of Vat69, Jonah, Josiah & Rocco the Dog emerge from their hideouts and join together to form what will become known in the wasteland as 'Team Certain Death'... * * * * *