Fallout: Fury Blood

Chapter 19: United We Stand

Kelly's eyes followed the vertibirds as they circled the skies like hawks, daring to smile at the very notion of their assistance. Their miniguns were shredding the raider forces, making small play of their numbers and turret defenses. The sheer amount of projectiles gushing down through the air was almost breathtaking. Maxson had been adamant in his decision not to aid the Minutemen. What had changed his mind? Was Danse here?

Kelly's amazed distraction was short-lived, however, as she realized the raider who had previously been strangling her was very much still alive and kicking. Right at her stomach. Her leather chest piece dulled most of the force, but she still heaved and bent inward on reflex. He steadied himself on the railings then kicked again in a mad fury, but the Jet allowed her to strike out with lightning speed, the toe of her boot connecting with his groin.

It was his turn to heave, and he toppled over, clutching his precious pieces and whining in agony. She grabbed at the railing of the stairway and hauled herself to her feet, looking down on the man as he wept, probably both from pain and the loss of his companion, who she had killed moments before. Where the pre-war version of herself would have taken pity and been struck with guilt, she found herself sparing him not a shred of it, and simply ended him with a shot through the head, spitting on his corpse in derision.

The vertibirds were unleashing their payloads, power-armored troopers dropping from great heights right down to the pit of the quarry, their shockwaves rivalling the initial artillery bombardment. Kelly leaned over the railing and spotted Clay-Crawler guarding her from below, pumping his shotgun into a raider's face at point blank. It looked like fun, so she swung herself over the railing and dropped down to join him, bringing her laser rifle to bear on the closest target she could find. The two moved as one in their descent of the quarry, under the cover of Minutemen, sniper, and vertibird fire from above.

The rest of the crew were in the clear to begin their descent, too, and moved as a lethal parade with Strong at the helm and Hancock directing their offensive, gunning down anything in their path. Preston was not among them, and Kelly felt dread chill the pit of her stomach.

The tide seemed to have turned in their favor, and all was going well, until Slay screamed for more specimens. Their inevitable appearance had everyone back on edge, and even the Brotherhood tightened their formations.

"Slay!" Clay-Crawler suddenly hollered out at Kelly's side, pulling off his helmet and dumping it to the ground with indignation. "This face! Remember? Remember this face!?" Kelly hadn't seen him so incensed, revelling in the spotlight he had created, challenging his nemesis with scorn spitting out from his lips.

Slay ceased her fire and stared. "Clay-Crawler! You conniving little whore! You think you can turn on me and actually win? You're nothing! Just a weak little bitch! Get your ass back down here where it belongs, or I'll rip your heart out and feed it to you!"

"I kill you!" Clay-Crawler screamed down at her, teeth snapping beneath peeled back lips. He reached over his shoulder for the Junk Jet and shot out a Vault-Tec lunchbox, of all things. It bashed into her helmet and knocked her flat on her ass. Clay-Crawler just laughed at her in his typical high-pitched, manic way, before shoving something else into the Junk Jet from a duffel bag tied on his back, like an arrow quiver. Kelly realized that she wasn't so insane, after all.

The Brotherhood soldiers down below were making a mess of the incoming specimens, charring them into ash piles and stomping them into goo, but the wave just seemed to keep pouring out from the tunnel into the mine, and Kelly fretted for their safety. Too many of her allies had died today, she couldn't let any more of them down.