Crossfire - Fallout 4 - [R J MacCready x Sole Survivor]

Chapter 14

It must be a nightmare.

It has to be.

Skin and flesh and meat and bones and they were everywhere. It was her. All of it was. She used to hold him together and now she's torn apart. MacCready's heart was ripped to shreds, yet he could hear it beating so violently in his ears.

"Look at me!"

He was. Lucy was staring back at him, but she was screaming.

"Mac!"

Duncan was crying so loud in his arms, but the weight of the pistol in his other hand felt heavier. His finger toyed with the trigger as he lifted it up-

"Look at me, Mac!"

He was looking into her eyes. They did not belong to Lucy.

"That's it, eyes on me, Mac!"

Then everything rushed back to him.

Dawn was breathing heavily as she kicked at the flailing ghouls, dislodging their grip on her arm and then she was free. The door scraped open a little further but Dawn scrambled back and she shoved against it with a grunt. She twisted to face MacCready as she pushed.

His stomach dropped when he couldn't feel Duncan's weight in his arms, and he whipped his head around to search where he was. Then he remembered himself, and his hand shot up to his chest and he felt the familiar bump of the wooden soldier in his jacket pocket.

"Get my shotgun!" Dawn yelled over the shrieking ghouls. She kicked the weapon and the gun slid to his feet. "Do it!"

It was like electricity had suddenly shocked him back into existence, his body responding fluidly to his commands. He crouched down quickly and scooped the shotgun from the ground, making a dash for the door. A feral ghoul poked their head amongst the sea of limbs – eyes vacant and teeth gnashing – and MacCready stomped it back with a powerful kick before he lifted the gun.

The roar of each blast grounded him. He didn't care if his hands shook. He didn't care if their blood sprayed into the air like a red mist, sticking to his clothes, sticking to his skin.

Relentless – and enraged – he kept firing. Stray buckshot fell to the ground like rain, bouncing off the walls, joining the bloodshed. Before long the shells were spent, now replaced with the laser pistol, and he shot blinding streaks of fire at the remaining onslaught.

Then there were only corpses, piled on the floor or in pieces around them.

MacCready was still staring down the gap. More might be coming. He was breathing hard and his whole body trembled but he was vigilant. He was always vigilant and he must make sure he is prepared when they come back.

But Dawn carefully stepped in front, diligently watching his reaction, and she placed her palm on top of his pistol and slowly lowered it.

"They're dead, Mac." Her voice sounded so far away. But she coaxed the pistol further down until his arms were limp by his sides. "Take a breather."

MacCready stood there, his breathing ragged as he tried to calm down. Every part of his body trembled, but it was subsiding, and he took in deep breaths as he willed himself to stay in control. Dawn started typing on the terminal, and when the doors hissed open he bolted out of the confined security room on instinct.

He reached the middle of the atrium before he leaned on the railings, head hanging low and eyes squeezed shut as he tried to clear his head. He was closer than he ever was to reaching the cure for Duncan. He can't let his moment of weakness hinder him from reaching that goal.