Blurred Deception • MacCready

01 | Friendly Little Community

"A desk fan? Who the fuck carries around a desk fan!?"

A soft, almost delicate breeze played with my tied back, auburn hair, threatening to let it lose. Goosebumps begin to ambush my skin, though the bright morning sun will keep them at bay for now.

I've been a raider for half my life. Sure it's not the best group of crazies I could be hanging around but it beats taking the on harsh wasteland alone.

Kaz threw the rusted desk fan to the cement and fished through the scavengers other pocket. I rearmed the frag mine that the scavver hadn't seen, being cautious not to set it off myself.

"And a lousy 12 caps!" Kaz flung his hands towards the sky. "Shit!!! Thought we had a caught a loaded idiot"

I rolled my eyes, "you know the only bastards that have full pockets are the traveling merchants, and we were lucky that Booker saw that weapons merch from his sniper position last week."

"Yeh, I love little Veronica" he replied stroking the plasma rifle strung across his back.

You wouldn't think my friend Kaz was a raider just by looking at him. His bright smile pared with those cute hazel eyes wouldn't scare a defenceless settler. The only things about him that you could link to a person that shoots anything for fun, would be his foul mouth and the nasty burn that is smeared up his right cheek.

In fact his skin is almost covered in them. One laces it's way over and up the back of his left palm, a massive one can be found covering most of his back, one even claws at the front of his thigh.

They've branded him with the horrid reminder of his father. Like me, Kaz wasn't always a raider, him and his parents use to occupy a small place up north in the hills.

His father use to make and sell many different kinds of grenades, mines and Molotov cocktails for a living.

Kaz told me it was a good life, until the day his mother was killed by some ferals. That's when the drinking started.

It's how his father had coped, drowning the sorrow with booze, which Kaz said brought on the abuse.

It had began to happen more, until 14 year old Kaz decided he was going to leave. His father was filled with drunken rage, he snapped and that was the day the Molotov cocktail had drowned my friend in fire.

I've always been amazed that he actually has any unharmed skin or his mop of raven hair at all, though he's told me the raging flames were quickly extinguished. His father left after that, I guess he couldn't handle what he had done to his only son, and Kaz found himself here with a gun in his hand and a new family, I guess you could say.

He then came across me when I was alone and broken. He convinced me to go with him and we've been inseparable ever since.

"I wish it was one of those gunner dickheads, or a whole team of them, so I could send a message to their leader and tell him not to fuck with us raiders!" Kaz almost yelled following me through the south east door with the scavver in tow.

Every raider in the Commonwealth would love to see the end of the gunners since those pricks turned on us in the plaza take over.

We use to be allied, taking the Commonwealth on together, sharing the loot and the kills. However, when we came across the plaza down south, the leader of the gunners, Captain Wes. The son of a bitch decided that the plaza was theirs and theirs alone. They turned on the raiders. Bullets few. Trust was betrayed.

Only a small group escaped with their lives, left to rebuild our faction and seek revenge on the gunners at every opportunity.

"Oh yeh sounds like a great idea, coz I'd love to have squads of gunners knocking at our door step, you idiot" I said crossing the Layton Towers court year.

"Your funny" Kaz stated, clearly imitating my sarcastic tone. His old leather armour creaking as he dropped the scavenger in the centre the open area.

Kaz is like a brother to me. We grew up together, trained together and annoy each other like there's no tomorrow. Although we shouldn't be this close. Leverage is a deadly thing in the Commonwealth, anyone close to you could be easily used against you, for the benefit of somebody else.

The dogs had obviously smelt the scavvers body, slowing producing a putrid stench under the warm morning sun, since loud barks and snarls could be heard from the direction of their pen.

I looked towards the mutts as Fletcher bumps the bulky padlock secured to the gate of their pen with the nozzle of her shotgun, looking my way, waiting for a nod of approval to set her vicious pets on the dead scavenger.

The rusty metal plates and dirty goggles that make up her cage armor reflects the bright sun, making my jade eyes squint as I nod my head towards her.

Kaz shoots her his bright smile and a proud thumbs up, as he grabs my wrist and pulls me out the way of the mutts breakfast.

We take a seat at the edge on the court yard, as the dogs don't hesitate to attack the unfortunate scavver that walked by Layton Towers in the early hours of the morning. We sit on two chairs that lurk at the bottom of the cement stairs leading their way up to one of the main doors of the hotel.

Kaz leans Veronica against his chair, then lights a cigarette between his lips and hands another my way. The warm sensation in my lungs as I inhale sends me sinking into the back rest of my chair. I exhale as the cigarette slips out of my mouth, filling the air with a small cloud of smoke.

The atmosphere of our little camp is almost...friendly?? Raiders converse over breakfast, the kids play tag along the cement, even some raiders attempt to play a leisurely game of basketball with the hoop standing tall on the edge of the court yard.

Anyone walking past would think it was a welcoming town, if only it was.

Kaz takes a puff from his cigarette, tilting his head back as he sends perfect rings of smoke towards the sky.

He ruins the rings with a smile that breaks across his face when he notices me staring.

"You know you have the most beautif-" Kaz's sentence was interrupted, as loud shouts from one of the east guards grabbed our attention.

He jumps from his chair, snuffing out the cigarette under his boot as he retrieves his beloved rifle, finger on the trigger.

And in a spilt second our friendly little community turned into a gang of fully trained killers. Guns raised, ammunition collected and curse words at the ready. Eyes scanning the surroundings, looking for the first sight of movement, first sight of fear.

"Their here!!" Someone shouts in the commotion.

I trail Kaz sporting my assault rifle, "what's going on?" I call out. I hear the mutts barking, skidding across the cement that makes up the court yard, joining the commotion by the east gate.

However there's no gunfire, no grenades, not even the sound of Von attacking the intruder with his fucking pool cure. Like your going to run head on into gunfire armed with a stick, dickhead.

"Bosco's here!!" Von shouts, speaking of the devil. We reach the east gate, pushing our way through the crowd that had gathered.

"Bosco....??" Kaz states, clearly confused. His brows furrow in the shadow cast by his raven hair. "Wait, as in Bosco the leader of the downtown Boston raiders?" He lowers his rifle, finger still cautiously lingering near the trigger, "why is he coming here??"

I looked past Kaz down the street to see a group of at least 8 people. Most of them armed with shotguns and rifles. And sure enough the raider boss wearing that creepy, broken mascot head of a bear was strolling straight towards our gate.

••
Well there it is, the first chapter of the first book I have ever actually written!!

I have posted 4 other chapters with this one and hope to update some more within a few days :)

I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading xx