Artemis Files (1)

Chapter 10

The Pitt was a dark place. Was it day or night? Artemis couldn't tell. The sky was red and filled with smoke and it looked like the industrial areas of cities she'd seen in pictures in history books from before the Great War. The air...how could anyone breath here? Why on earth would anyone live here? The Capital Wasteland was clean enough to eat off the ground by comparison.

It was the creatures that really got her skin crawling. They'd obviously been humans once, but they walked on all fours. Hunched over, walking like gorillas or chimpanzees. Their skin full of cuts, blisters, scabs, every type of minor incision possible...and so pale as if they hadn't seen the sun in all their lives. The only color coming from where their skin was irritated.

Who would subject people to this, Artemis wondered. Why not just leave the area if this is what people become?

From what Elder Lyons and Sarah said about the area, the mixture of toxins and radiation in the air cause people to become ill and eventually lose their on mentality and become one of these creatures. She would kill any she came across, more out of pity then anything. No one deserved to live like that.

Artemis would be glad to step out of the railway tunnels regardless into the open air with a man she'd met along the way named Werhner who'd asked her for help in freeing the slaves. "Actually I'm already going there to do something of the sort," she told him though she wouldn't go into detail. Either way the man was glad he didn't need to work so hard to convince her. As they travelled there they came up with a plan.

"They'll be looking for me since I escaped but they wouldn't know your face," he said. He then proceeded to tell her she needed to pretend to be a slave in order to see about taking it down from the inside. She hated the idea. Having been something of a slave before joining the Brotherhood she had no ambitions in going back to that kind of life. But if it would get her mission to be a success then she'd just have to suck it up.

Werhner put the slave collar around her, she hated it though the Institute never used them. Just knowing what they meant was enough for her. The metal object clasped semi tightly around her throat and already she wanted to take it off and throw it as far away as possible.

"Alright," Werhner said once the thing was secure. "The gate is just up ahead. You'll need to act defeated like life on the outside is a lot harder then you realized it would be. You'll probably get beaten but they'll most likely let you live. They constantly need new slaves...workers is what the leader calls them though." He then reached behind her and grabbed her bow. "I promise I'll keep this safe in the meantime," he said. "If I don't take it they definitely will and who knows if you'll get it back. Once you're inside try to look for a woman named Midea. She'll get you set up and show you around and the small tricks the slaves use to survive. Maybe even help you plan how to free everyone."

This would make Artemis shutter. "I don't care what they call their slaves it's all the same to me. This Ishmael Ashur will pay for what he and his people have done." Elder Lyons had briefed her on what had happened. Back when Elder Lyons, who'd been a Star Paladin at the time, first came to the Capital Wasteland from the west in order to make contact with the Midwestern Chapter on orders from the High Elder at the time before her father became High Elder. When that had been deemed unsuccessful, he was ordered to establish a new chapter in the Capital Wasteland. Elder Lyon's wanted to help the people of the wasteland which put a strain between him and those in command in the west. It wasn't until her father became High Elder a couple of years later when the last on passed away that communications between them resumed. She knew they'd grown up close so it was only natural they'd want to rekindle their friendship.

"Owen may do things a bit differently," her father said. "But he still keeps the Brotherhood's main goals at heart. Making sure technology doesn't fall into the wrong hands. And there are our Brothers and Sisters in the Midwest to think about. They allow non humans to join yet they also keep the Brotherhood's goals close to heart. As far as I'm concerned as long as they do that and don't turn traitor who cares? Helping people in need has always been seen as a noble thing. And the more allies we have in this wasteland the better. More enemies is the last thing we need."

There wasn't much anyone could say to that. Regardless on their way to the Capital Wasteland they did stop in The Pitt. The Brotherhood attacked in an event known as The Scourge. Their forces combed through the ruins and killed anyone who tried to put up a fight. The Brotherhood sustained virtually no losses due to their numbers and technological advancements. They also took in many of the children who were now adults. Ashur, however, had been caught in an explosion in the steel mill and was presumed dead and left behind. It wasn't until years later when evidence started cropping up that he was alive did Elder Lyons realize what actually happened. And by then hundreds of people had been kidnapped from the surrounding areas, including the Capital Wasteland, and enslaved against their will. It was just a guess but Elder Lyons believed that he'd been saved from being crushed to death because of the power armor he'd been wearing.

And that's where Artemis came in. This kidnapping and enslaving couldn't go on any longer. As soon as she got up to the gate, she did as Werhner asked. She looked defeated. Pretended that she couldn't survive without her raider masters and that attempting to run away had been foolish. Had she more practice with her blade, she could take this whole place down and free everyone. Assuming one of them knew how to take off the collars without making them explode that is. That's what the other Trinity members would have been able to do. Take this place on their own. They had the practice. Much more then she did. All of them were even able to deflect bullets because of how much practice they had. Except her. With only three years of practice she wasn't that good yet.

"Well well. looks like one of them is crawling back," one of the raiders said when she got to the gate. She'd seen a couple of other slaves try to escape only to get shot down by some sniper on the metal arch of the bridge she'd just crossed. One of them wasn't so lucky and that damn collar had exploded causing the poor woman's head to pop like an over-ripe grape. It wasn't a pretty scene. Another raider stepped up to her and behind her, grabbing her arms roughly and pushing her forward through to the actual shanty town, presumably made by the slaves. Werhner had been right about the beating as they started doing it and with no weapons and her hands tied behind her there was nothing she could do. 

And eventually, the world goes black.