Raymond's steps weren't ever as quiet as he'd like in buildings, sound waves would bounce of walls. Outside it wasn't as difficult, but in here, it was a whole different scenario. A bullet pierced him, going straight through the right edge of his lower torso. His immediate two instincts came into play, he took cover behind some sort of metal box, he couldn't tell the purpose as it was faded and covered in soot. Not that he bothered to look anyway, adrenaline had began to kick in.

It wasn't for a few moments of silence, after he'd seen KimRae escape, that he'd put some things together in his mind. The bullet was likely hollow point, as it went straight through him, and then ricocheted. Armor piercing would have either stopped in Raymond or in the wall. Truth be told, the bullet wound presented a sensation of blistering pain and numbness at the same time, it wasn't a pleasant sensation. He had chems and stimpacks, he'd be able to fix himself up later. KimRae too if she was around anymore.

Raymond scanned through his mind for what to say, a firefight was something he could potentially lose with this person. Rookie raiders and junkies were one thing, and getting the jump on Super Mutants was another, but a skilled shooter was someone he didn't want to risk with. He could threaten her with the knowledge he had a ranger with him, but there was no guarantee Victor stuck around once KimRae had left. After all, she was the only one that he could tell was shot. It was a sticky situation, for sure. But she was alone, he knew this much.

"Do you really want to waste more bullets?" Raymond questioned, behind cover, of course. His voice asserted many things, some anger, some understanding, and some hopefulness. Getting out of here without dying would be a win, but of course, he wasn't going to give up anything that was his to do it. "Trust me, you don't want the noise of them echoing out into the streets! Super Mutants, deathclaws, fire ants, you name it, and they're infested in this city somewhere I bet!"

_________________

The sound of gunfire kicked the ranger into action, slowly opening the door to the building he had barely seen KimRae slip out of the buildings window. The last part of her he had witnessed was a foot, and when his eyes looked to the blood on the ground... and the blood on the windows edge. Victor felt responsible for the injury more so then he probably should have. I should have been the one to enter the building, especially since whoever was inside probably would not have even heard me.... and I could have probably disarmed the threat as well- wait, no. I have to focus on the event at hand he thought to himself. Head now turned to the location where bullets had been fired last, Victor aimed his firearm in the direction.

Quickly he took cover behind a couch, eyes looking over the darker room. Victor then made out the arm of a person behind a metal box, then he made out the form of a person. Possibly a lady? who was crouched by a wall, stray objects just barely guarding her from his aim. "A girl, then that other arm must be- Raymond" he whispered to himself. Victor knew that if he said something, that his position would be known, but he also knew that Raymond was the only one who could actually help KimRae effectively with his skills in medicines and stimpacks. The Ranger made a split decision, and he knew it could possibly end badly for himself, and nothing else but good for KimRae. Against his better judgement, he shouted over to the man he knew as Raymond. "Hey Raymond! go out through the back and catch up with KimRae, find her- or she may bleed to death. I will handle the girl" Aiming down his sights, he fired a shot toward the women, knowing plainly well that the bullet was going to hit the wall next to her, but not actually harm her. "I said go Raymond, I will explain things to whoever this is or at least try to. Right now, KimRae needs your help... not mine, after all I am pretty sure she got hit during the first few bullets! I will not be as effective as you for bandaging her up."

Victor looked once more for the girl who shot at them with her gun. "Okay, girl- you must understand that we are not your enemies. I am an N.C.R Elite Ranger, and you must stand down or be fired upon." He growled at her "Trust me, please. I would prefer not to shoot you, or get shot. Let us all walk out of this building in peace!"

_________________


"Don't Lose That 'Little Spark of Madness' "-Personality Test Website.
And you thought I did not fit in here.

The thing charged straight towards Cyprus, wielding its sledgehammer wildly. When it finally cleared the mist, Cyprus saw the grotesque humanoid standing in front of him. Its skin was green, its muscles were huge and its temper was wild. It was gazing Cyprus right into his eyes, testing his resolve. After this seconds-long mental battle, the mutant violently and hurriedly gripped Cyprus by the neck and lifted him up with tremendous force. The thing held him close to its face, restarting the mental battle that ended a few seconds ago. But then, with a voice that could be heard for miles, it shouted: "WE ARE THE FUTURE!"

It was with this that Cyprus was thrown onto the the ground, pain shooting into his body and quickly spreading everywhere. His vision was wavy, as though he was looking through a fishbowl. Cyprus got up and faced the mutant head on, but he could not stand because his bad leg would not allow it.

_________________
"Only $199,999!

Aito's hands gripped her pistol with it being readied and raised, but the wait killed her patience. It was in the heat of the moment that old habits found a way back to herself. Grinding her teeth together, biting her tongue and even licking her lips brought irritation to her conscience. Her back pressed the wall, as her ears tuned in to a voice in the distance. "Do you really want to waste anymore bullets..." she heard.

The strangers words forced her to think, and her mind forced her to search for a decision. Subtle creeks came from a door in the distance but her attention lied on the voice of reason. Her eyes stared down the steel in her hands as she lowered her weapon and slowed her breathing. "Wasting bullets... wasting time... How should I even-" her thoughts switched when she heard a shout. Muscles tightened, and her heart raced.

"Another one...lucky me..."

A quick shake of the head and her weapon was readied. Shots were fired towards the wall, while she braced herself from the debris left from the bullet. Negotiating wasn't in her plans, but with the words coming from the ranger, a decision was made . A deep breath came from her when she heard the man claiming to be an Elite Ranger. Her ignorance and pride about the situation depleted as her weapon lowered once again. She averted her eyes towards the ceiling contemplating on the decision she was about to make. Butterflies swarmed her stomach leaving her hand to relieve some of the angst. Another deep breath left her as her eyes traveled forward, then closing. The room grew silent for a few seconds and as her eyes open she found herself lifting up from the wall. The weapon in her hand lowered, until it found its way towards the ground. Whoever this man was, and whoever he claimed to be appeared in Aito's line of sight. It was hard to keep eye contact towards the two in front of her. It was harder to for the words to come out of her mouth.

"I really... don't want to waste anymore bullets." she said calmly.

Aito's foot slid the gun towards the Ranger, while she dropped the knife carried on her side. She kept gazed her eyes at the ground filled with blood. Blood, that caused to spill. The regret of shooting the others came to play as she tried to speak up.

"Never meant for this to happen." she mumbled under breath.

_________________
Personal Works
The Rules!

Raymond wasn't happy with the current hand he'd been dealt. Sure, he had nothing against this KimRae girl. But where he stood, he was no closer to what he'd set out for. What he was a hell of a lot closer to though was dying. From where he stood there was someone with a gun close by with every reason to shoot him, a bullet in his lower stomach, a ranger who was adamant that they save a person they hardly knew, and noise was echoing in the street from that bullet likely. Sure, Victor's heart was in the right place, but Raymond was a little sore over it. Having a bullet wound and pending danger all around you was a good way to get in a stressful mood. All Raymond offer in response to Victor was a nod, he was too far into this to turn back. He was going to need this ranger to live, and so he decided while they were trading words to run. He was certain he could have talked the girl down, but it seemed Victor had the same motives.

He didn't examine his own wound until after he was outside again, he was bleeding, but he'd seen plenty worse upon himself. The familiar sharp sting surrounded by numbness cut away at him once more as he continued to walk. So often in the Wasteland people took bullets and walked away from it. Raymond couldn't help but wonder if some genetic mutation had happened to cut some amount of the population's pain nerves. Though, he theorized that it was more psychological than physical. Those thoughts quickly left his head as he looked down, some bloody prints lead forwards. He started to follow them for a moment until he turned his head at the sound of a howling voice that must have reached for miles. While they were only hearing the echo of it, the tone of it certainly wasn't a person. Raymond could sense the hostility. He was just hoping no more gunshots would attract whatever was shouting to their location.

Turning his head back to the tracks, it only took a few moments of following them until he found her. There she was, her head face down in the dirt. For a moment, Raymond thought she could have been dead. His eyebrows narrowed as he registered a feeling he hadn't felt for a long time. Any corpses he'd generally found were ones he'd loot from because they were dead on arrival, or living beings he'd have to kill. It had been years since Raymond had looked upon a body and actually felt upset by it, that was how some lived in the Wastelands, and most commonly, those were the ones to survive.

He thought about it logically, with the amount of blood loss and what looked to be the bleeding point, she wasn't likely dead. And with the adrenaline kicking in, she probably wasn't unconscious either. She was more than likely just shocked, not too badly, he hoped. He didn't feel safe trusting the instincts of a survivor, he could have a knife in his throat if she panicked. "Kim, it's me, Raymond." He said, stepping closer to her. "I was one of the men from earlier, I'm here to help you, I can ease the pain." Raymond said, speaking softer than usual, the last thing that would be good for her would be if she was freaking out. He squatted down next to her, his own wound spiking in pain for a moment as the area was adjusted during his body movement. He put a hand on her back, for assurance. "I need permission to look at your wound so I can help." Raymond requested.



Six soldiers exactly walked through the streets of Manhattan on patrol, it was much more open than any of them would like. But the New California Republic had taken an interest to owning "key areas" in Manhattan. Not many people understood the point in owning the city, but the grunt soldiers only did as asked. Their automatic riffles were pointed forward and ready to fire, the boots moved swiftly through the streets, their eyes were in constant search for anything that would move. Silence was the only thing that came from their mouths, save for their breaths. No one dared wanted to attract any unwanted attention of snipers or lurkers. A fair fight was a fair one, but with streets like this, they found themselves hugging the walls of buildings in their path.

It was at that moment they heard the echoing roar, very close. "WE ARE THE FUTURE!" It echoed, one of the soldiers even foolishly broke stance and covered his ears.

"Let's move!" One of the soldiers said, hesitantly. But orders were orders, and they were to clear anything they found to be a threat. The soldiers moved in formation once more, taking only moments to turn a few corners in haste. When they spotted it, guns were raised quickly, four automatic rifles. One solider watched their six while the other went over to the man identified as alive. The solider realized the man was from the Brotherhood of Steel, but despite bad blood, protocol was protocol, and he was to attempt to keep this man alive.

"Sir, I need you to calm down! Can you stand!" The young soldier asked, his words being muffled by the sound of rapid fire, blood came from the beast, but it only faltered, as it barked out in pain. One soldier landed a burst of bullets into the beast's eyeball, which caused another screech in pain. It replied with a slam of his sledgehammer, leaving a lot more than just blunt trauma damage to the head of the solider it hit in the firing line.

_________________

KimRae had been swallowed by darkness and felt nothingness surrounding her. No fear. No pain. No sound. Nothingness permeated by a sense of relief as if nothing in the world could possibly matter anymore. Maybe she was dead and sincerely hoped so. She was so tired of scrambling to live in this burned out world where no one was friends, no one were ever truly allies. She was tired of being alone and having to prove herself to others. No one cared for her and if she was dead, she would no longer have to care for anyone else. No one had cared for her since …..

“Kim… I’m here to help. I can ease the pain.”

She thought she heard his voice. No one else ever called her Kim. KimRae was her name and she had always insisted on it to everyone and only,.. The voice was soft, almost a croon as a solid warm hand rubbed her back.

“It’s Raymond.” The man’s voice continued.

KimRae frowned. Who was Raymond? How could there be a Raymond in nothingness? She opened her eyes a slit and was struck by the light. She thought she had tumbled into a basement into blackness and now she was surrounded by light. Truly she must be dying because that is what the folktales said about death, the light at the end of the tunnel and being surrounded by a bright light.

“I’m one of the men from earlier and I need your permission to look at your wound so I can help.” The voice insisted.

KimRae groaned and tried to roll over but the hand on her back held her in place. Sounds of gunfire and monsters screaming filled the background sounds but still the voice speaking to her was calm and quiet. She focused on the soothing voice, craning her neck to see who it was.

“I need your permission to look at your wound so I can help.”

The face of the man swan into view and she dropped her heavy head back to the pavement.

“Hi,” she acknowledged him. “ It’s you. Did you die too?”

His face was grim and finally his words penetrated her brain.

“I’m wounded?” she asked groggily and reached to feel the wound in her side. When she pulled her hand away it was sticky.

“Help me.” She whispered before the blackness overtook her again.

_________________
http://youtu.be/89Zrto8bq7k

Bite was torn from his sleep by the sound of harsh automatic gunfire too close to his darkened dwelling for comfort. Panic swallowed him for a second, and for a moment he was certain that he was on the receiving end of that fire, his imminent death reaching his ears before he could feel the bullets tear him apart. Fortunately, it was not so. Not yet, anyways.

Bite groped blindly in the familiar murk of his dwelling for his backpack—an ugly, improvised thing made of brown cloth and brahmin leather—that held everything he owned. It was time to move on; the neighborhood was going to hell these days. He crept with caution from his dwelling—a small underground hole dug into the hard-packed earth that probably once served a pack of mole rats, but had recently served as his own den—and held a dirt-covered arm up to shield his eyes from the blinding light of day. As his squinting gaze scoured his surroundings another round of shots rang out, echoing emptily throughout the ruined city that surrounded him. With them came a low and wrathful noise filled with pain and anger, the sound of a super mutant in battle. Bite smiled beneath his gray rubber gas mask; a relic of the pre-war days and his prized possession, looking out at the world feeling slightly safer behind the circular glass windows. Someone just made a really big friend, he thought, acerbically amused at his own joke.

He approached the sound of gunfire as he skulked through the ruins, shotgun at the ready. He felt a familiar and welcome rush take hold; an elemental intuition that screamed for blood and thrummed with a vital urgency. It told him to shoot, stab, kill, and survive above all else. His pace quickened. As he came into view of the source of his unexpected wake-up call he crawled into the closest shaded gap, accustomed to the jagged rubble biting into his arms and legs as he moved farther into the relative safety of darkness. He couldn't satisfy his need for combat just yet, he was too careful for that. His dirty hands shook violently, and he held his gun with a death grip as if he meant to strangle it.

As he looked out he saw five soldiers. NCR troopers, by the looks of their gear: brown sand-colored cloth pants and shirt, dull silver-grey armor plating on the upper chest, with a matching brimmed helmet the same color as dirt. They patrolled the streets occasionally, although Bite didn't know (or particularly care) why. They were fighting a super mutant, one of the city's more destructive denizens. The super mutant fought viciously, but it was bleeding profusely from what looked like dozens of bullet wounds peppering its sickly green skin. The crimson liquid poured down the once-human abomination, weakening it with every drop that left its veins. It seemed unlikely that it would survive much longer.

What really caught Bite's eye was the fallen armor-clad figure amongst them. One of them Steelers, or whatever they called themselves. Have a preference for technology and big guns. Bite didn't particularly care about that, though; the main thing that interested him was that these Steelers often carried high-tech toys. The Steeler here didn't seem to be doing so well, and corpses are plenty easy to take from. A loose hope for death formed in the raider's mind.

This might just be my lucky day, He smiled greedily, biding his time in his hidden place and watching the fight progress. He could gladly hold back his adrenaline rush for a while to for the sake of gear. He fumbled a chem syringe out of his pack and waited for the inevitable end to the fight.

Cyprus could faintly hear a human voice, one that was questioning his condition, no doubt. He could hear the rapid fire of the bullets, the screech of the super mutant and the slam of it's sledgehammer. Cyprus looked up at the soldier that was speaking to him, a concerned look on his face. No words would come out of his blood-filled mouth, however, no matter how hard he tried to speak. Finally, he managed to mumble a faint, "H-help", in the hope that the soldier could hear him over the violence that was taking place. "G-Gun.." he gestured to his laser rifle.

Cyprus wanted the soldier to take it, so that in the event that he should pass away from his wounds some part of him would still survive. But I must survive, he thought as blood seeped from the multiple wounds his his body. Hopefully, they would kill that thing and put him back together again, but if not so be it.

I try really hard not to fear death, he thought a few moments before all of this. For many years before he had been training his mind and his body to block out the pain and the fear that being a Knight brought along with the fancy suits and the deadly laser weaponry. Being a Knight meant that you had the whole wasteland against you. Against the suit. Against the guns. Against everything you stand for and more. Most Knights held on for what they were fighting for, whether it be for a better wasteland, or just for a sense of authority and protection. Cyprus? He had forgotten a long time ago what he was fighting for and now with blood running everywhere it was hard to focus on the road ahead, where ever that road may lead. One thing was clear however, clearer than the clearest water that he had ever tasted: War never changes. It would always escape his memory as to where he had heard that before, but it was true. War never changes.

Coughing and wheezing, he tried to reach out to the soldier. Touch him. Grab him. Let him know that this body was still kicking and ready to take what the wasteland can dish out. Please, he thought again, Help me...

Help me!

Help me!

"Help me!" He finally summoned all of his strength to shout at the soldier, much to his surprise. Maybe it was the adrenaline coursing through his body that aided him or some other force, but what ever the case may be the soldier must have heard him now.

_________________
"Only $199,999!

He nodded in Raymonds direction, but it was not soon after that the women had walked out and slid her gun to Victor. It was somewhat surprising, but in hearing the girls quiet plea. It did not take much for him to understand. With slow movements, Elite Ranger Victor stepped out from his cover, picking up the pistol on his way to standing up straight. hands careful, he placed the pistol safely between his belt and thigh. A makeshift pistol holster if you will, then he put his own gun away. "I am sorry you had to go through such panic..." he began, hands raised. "-but that does not give you the right to shoot an unarmed civilian in the midst of a situation you could not have guessed would happen."

The Ranger stepped softly up to the girl with studied movements. 'I want to make sure she is okay, but I cannot forget that she caused quite a bit of trouble for us...' he reasoned with himself. Noticing the girl was looking to the ground, Victor followed her gaze. As his eyes sighted the blood, Victor sighed. "Look, it is okay. There is no need for anymore blood shed, and I am happy that you realize this, you know- my friend will save her so you don't need to feel too bad... but you should still remember to learn from your mistake at least" he whispered. Removing his helmet after a split second decision. "Look at me, I am human and I have guns- but have not shot you like most would for your injuring my friend, you can trust me if not anyone else..." His eyes spoke true despite the amount of caution they also show. He extended his left hand- the hand that did not hold the helmet, and nodded once. "Come on, take my hand we can meet with the others... then- if you still decide to stay with us I will gladly hear out your story for being in a place such as this... Remember, you can trust me- if no one else" he assured her. Surprising himself with his own kindness. 'It seems if I put my mind to it I can speak to someone in an assuring manner... I just hope that she decides to trust me' he pondered.

"Come on..." he murmured after another moments of thought. "Let us go and find the others, then we can all get to know one another" Victor persuaded as well as he could. It became evident to himself, that he really wanted to get out of this without the girl completely losing her mind and temper again.

_________________


"Don't Lose That 'Little Spark of Madness' "-Personality Test Website.
And you thought I did not fit in here.

Aito heard the subtle footsteps of the Ranger, as she averted her eyes to his direction. Her stomach tightened when the words traveled to her ears. The buttons controlling her emotions were pressed by the Ranger without him being aware of it... His kindness confused her; aggravated her; angered her. Breathing became less of an issue when she balled her tight, dried fist together and she looked into the eyes of Viktor, who recently took off his Helmet. It came to a surprise when the man showed his face.

“Hmm... thought he was a lot older.” she thought in the back of her mind.

“Look you may be human, but you are not my father... and you will never be my father. Quite talking to me like you know me. I can handle myself... I always have and I always will. I may not be perfect like my father. I may not be as strong... and I sure as hell make a lot more mistakes then him, but one thing that's for damn sure is... I'm still here and I'm not a little girl anymore. Don't treat me like one.”

The unwanted shaking increased when she finished her statement, and breathing became an issue. Her right arm swiped the ground picking up her knife again, while giving Viktor the cold shoulder. She turned quickly, staring back at the man behind her.

“I didn't ask your friend to be here. I didn't ask you to be here. I didn't ask to be here. Give my gun back....” she said without thinking.

Her hand shook, as her aggravation and impatience increased.

"I need my gun!" She said, cracking her voice. Staring at the man, became harder until she found herself sobbing.

_________________
Personal Works
The Rules!

Raymond yanked a stimpack out from a pouch, but in his rush, he stopped for just a moment. He looked at it, and let his thoughts wander. What he was holding was the most valuable thing in the wasteland next to RadAway and clean water. Stimpacks could bring a man shot in ten places back to full health if administered properly, and Raymond only had so many. More chems were being used to make Psycho and other drugs these days, and stimpacks were only becoming more rare to find, and more expensive at markets. He'd have made a better doctor than explorer, he was starting to think.

He had one plus side, KimRae was unconscious. He wouldn't have to use anything to numb the wound, and she wouldn't have to struggle, which was good for her. That, and she wouldn't yell, the less attention, the better. Normally the stimpack wouldn't sting too much, but as he examined the wound, it became clear, it was one bullet fragment that hit her, and it was still in the wound. Patching it up wouldn't do anything, she'd be in intense pain when she'd wake up. Raymond considered walking away, away from the ranger, away from KimRae, and away from all of it. He could navigate the streets, and certainly find that key. But he couldn't survive alone, he knew that much. That and he wouldn't be able to leave her here to die, not after her plea to help her. KimRae would be one of the people that would be forever burned into his head if he left her.

Without another though, he grabbed some tools, small ones, and got to work on getting the fragment out. It wasn't nearly as deep as it could have been, but it was still important to get it out. Carefully, Raymond operated, getting the fragment out as fast as possible, she was bleeding pretty badly, as the fragment hadn't spun the way a bullet did. Raymond's own bleeding wasn't nearly as bad, his wound would heal fully with time. However, KimRae's needed attention. Getting the fragment out, he injected a needle into her side, a stimpack, and took her hand. With the stimpack in effect, she'd wake up any moment, and Raymond decided it'd be best if she did as calmly as possible.

"Kim?" He asked, waiting for her to gain consciousness. The best game plan he could come up with was to get KimRae up and on her feet, and then go find Victor. After that, it would be to lay as low as possible until there was some kind of lead on where they should be going? "We need to get moving, can you stand?" He asked, as gentle as he could, hoping she'd be awake by now.



The NCR soldiers soon had shelled an abundance of rounds into whatever this green beast was, its body and face looked nothing like it had moments ago, and blood pooled all around it, though the sight sickened several of the soldiers, who looked away, except for one that only walked up to the beast and started stabbing it in what was left of its head. The beast was dead, but this soldier clearly wanted to be sure it wasn't coming back.

"Freeman is down!" One of the soldiers yelled to the medic, that soldier was quick to get down to what was left of his fellow brother in arms. When it came to his head, there wasn't much left. Bits of brain and skull were everywhere, as that soldier in particular cursed before taking the dogtags from his corpse. There was a lot going on, and the one soldier not performing a task was simply panicking.

"Listen, sir, this will numb the pain and get you standing and moving for the time being. We're not doctors though, this is only temporary." He insisted, before injecting a stimpack into the paladin. "Listen up, we have to move!" The soldier tending to Cyprus announced. "Anything within miles just heard that, and it looks like it came from the west. That means moving west is going to result in anything trailing it to find us, travelling back north will have us run into whatever might have been tracking us, and any snipers in those building will have heard this. Any more south, and we're going to run into the 'slums,' which means we're heading east. If we stay here we're dead, we have to leave Freeman." The soldier declared, standing up, helping Cyprus up.

"Move out!"

_________________

"Thank you," Cyprus said to the soldier with a weak voice. The stimpak that the Ranger injected into him not only numbed the pain in his legs but also clouded his mind and made his vision blurry; he still had to get used to its healing powers. To Cyprus, everything happened in a flash. One minute he was on the ground in what seemed to be the last few seconds of his life and the next minute he was being helped up by the NCR, a group which as of late was not on good terms with the Brotherhood. But, help was help and he made sure that he was thankful for it, even though he was in a very bad shape at the moment. "It-it's good to see that even though we're at each others throats at the moment that you'd take your time to help a fool like me instead of going in the other direction."

"You know, you all are not as bad as the propaganda makes you out to be, I'll tell you that." Cyprus babbled on and on, going on to talk about the time he had once kept a radscorpion as a pet once and had to give it away because it cut someone's finger off. The drugs were making him like this, but he could not really control himself after a while.

"Eh, but what could you do? Those things belong in the wastes anyway, am I right?"

He then let out a hearty laugh as he limped on. He then began to sing the first opening lines to Frank Sinatra's "Blue Moon" in a slurred voice that was akin to that of a drunkard. "Blue moon you saw me standing there alone!"

He was out of it now. He was totally out of it now.

_________________
"Only $199,999!

Bite crawled from the darkened corner when the dust of battle had cleared and the NCR troopers had moved out of sight, making furtive glances in the direction that they had gone. He was mildly disappointed that the Steeler one didn't die, but was quite willing to settle for the trooper that had been smashed by the super mutant. He nimbly leapt upon the bleeding corpse like a vulture and expeditiously searched him for valuables. The man's service rifle was coated in blood and bent nearly in half, useless except for spare parts. However, his 9mm handgun was in a much better shape. He took the trooper's hip holster, fixed it to himself, and put the handgun within. He also removed the man's remaining 5.56mm and 9mm magazines, stored them in his pack, and prepared to move on. Bite looked back in the direction he had came, overcome with the feeling that he would probably not see this place again.

He followed the troopers' trail east, not yet willing to give up on acquiring the gear that the Steeler carried. A laser rifle and a suit of Brotherhood of Steel armor in good condition could bring him around two thousand caps, not even including the ammunition or chems they might carry. With that amount of money he'd be free to binge on whores and chems for a few weeks, or perhaps purchase a new set of gear. He smiled in thought for a moment before putting his mind back to the task at hand.

As Bite followed the trail closer to his prey he could hear drunken singing, the kind one might hear from a saloon or 'round a campfire. The lonely sound echoed through the desolate gray ruins, oddly dismal despite the upbeat lyrics. Bite was drawn to remember earlier times spent with companions. He mouthed the words in tune with the ghostly echoes of a former age, smiling bitterly under the grey mask that he wore.



He continued to follow the sound east, remaining out of the sight of the troopers and his quarry.

Aware of the danger, Victor nodded "Of course- of course. Just, don't try and strike me with that knife, we both know that will not go over well. You especially should know if you have heard about the NCR Elite Rangers" He warned her with a good amount of caution showing on his face. "Look, I never hurt anyone unless I think I need to- so that is why I did not go outright and shoot at you, besides that warning shot which is imbedded in that wall over there where you were trying to take cover. I could have killed you at any time." I spoke to her as honestly as I could make myself seem to be, figuring she would prefer that instead of lying. Slowly I slipped her pistol out from my belt, checked the amounted rounds she had and whistled as though I was impressed. "You know, you could have caused some serious damage with these to us. I want you to think about why you did not take a chance to try and murder us all- I think I may already have an idea about your reasoning. But out of respect for your feelings I will not tell you- to avoid any over thinking and panic on your behalf."

I put my helmet back on and I walked over to her, keeping one hand on my own knife while I put the gun on the ground in front of her and backed up again. It was a stupid decision, and in his own set of rules she was someone who was qualified to be killed. It was Victors own decision to do this, go out on a limb for someone that is.

"I never claimed to be your father, I did not intend for anyone to get hurt, and it was my fault my friend went in here and not me. I should have been the one to get shot- or at least have a risk of it. Though it was ultimately your decision to fire your gun, even if your judgement was clouded. Even if you told yourself not to, and that it was the wrong thing to do- you did it anyways, most likely because of panic." For some reason, it felt like he was talking about himself at this point. "I suggest you find someone to care about and put your trust into, when you reconnect with a human being and finally understand what your actions mean, you will find that you will learn how to stop yourself from shooting instead of doing it. Even if you get burned in the process, you do it anyways. That is what I am doing with you, and I hope you do not disappoint yourself with the next choice you make." After that the Ranger quickly exited the building, drawing his revolver as ran down the road and followed the blood trail of his friend. '"God, where the hell did that come from, I am never good at talking to people- so... oh... right" he murmured. Remembering what happened to him in the past "I guess she is similar to me when I was younger and sniped targets for the rangers.... she is very much like I was indeed, I hope she calms down though..." he whispered. Still running along the blood trail as quietly as his worried steps would allow. "I also hope I did not make a mistake when it came to letting her live, and giving her weapon back."

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"Don't Lose That 'Little Spark of Madness' "-Personality Test Website.
And you thought I did not fit in here.

“Help me,” was the last coherent thought that crossed her mind before everything went blank.
KimRae rode the wave of quasi-consciousness, dimly aware of a man’s voice. She was too weak to care. Maybe it was really a ghoul and she would be finally out of this hell of life. Hands turned her over and sharp claws tore through her, sending to a place where pain could not reach her.

Strangely she began to swim toward a gray sky and a strong hand gently squeezing hers.
“Kim?” the voice inquired softly.

“Hmmm?” she murmured, turning to the sound.

“We need to get moving. Can you stand?” the man asked.

It was a man, not a ghoul, KimRae realized. She slowly opened her eyes.

“You are the man from the street.” She said, shoving loose hair from her face. “Hi, I’m KimRae. Did I get your name?”

She felt drunk, euphoric, just hazy and relaxed. KimRae couldn’t remember ever feeling this well. There was no sense of emergency. Looking around, she saw bloody cloth and an empty packet of something that was vaguely familiar.

“That’s a stimpack,” she said pointing as she pulled against the hand holding hers to stand up. “I think I was shot and I ran and then ghouls ate my side.”

“We need to get moving.” The man insisted.

KimRae nodded and followed him along, talking, with no sense of urgency.

“Where are we going?” she asked him. “ Oooh, you are bleeding.”

The farther she followed him, the more the stimpack’s drunken effects began to lessen as her vitals stabilized.

“I remember now. There was a danger in the building. Where’s the ranger? Did he make it out?” she asked as they picked up the pace.
A sense of urgency prickled the hair on the back of her neck as her survival skills returned in full force. A sense of something else overwhelmed her as well.

“You came after me.” She said quietly, “Thank you. It has been a long time since anyone done something that selfless for me. You have my gratitude.”

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http://youtu.be/89Zrto8bq7k

Every word that left the rangers' mouth caused her blood to boil, and the only thing keeping her going was the survival instincts that bled inside of her. The gun on the ground was set, waiting to get picked up. Waiting... to do what it was born to do. All of this madness damaged the woman's morale's, and as she fought the voices inside of her the Ranger's words brought her back to reality. Was his claims true? Was the whole situation at the fault of over thinking and panic? Aito fell in and out of thought, eyeing the weapon on the ground. Finally she came back to her senses, listening to the last of the rangers words.

“Your friends caught me off guard... I would have done the same thing...I will do what I must to survive. If a person comes at me with a weapon, I'll defend myself... If a ghoul attacks me.... I'll kill it... If someone threatens me...I'll retaliate. Why does it feel like I'm the only sane person on this godforsaken land... Who in the hell does he think he is? “ Aito's eyes traveled to the hole the ranger pointed towards. Causing her to sigh. What was with these people and their claims? Placing her knife back to her side, she picked up the gun the ranger left on the ground. Voices tortured her sanity as she fought her way out the building shortly after the male left. It was easy to tell the Ranger had a good sense of his surroundings, so the chances of him jumping at her arrival was low. Her quick agility helped her catch up to him.

“ Wait...” she said pacing herself next to him.

“I... need your help, and you can use mine. What else was I suppose to do? This is hard....”

The exposed sun, caused her pale skin to sweat. Talking and running grew to be a nuisance, but what she said needed to be heard. It needed to be expressed maybe not to Viktor, but herself.

“Your friend that I shot... If the wound is bad. I'll lend you all my last stem-pack. If you are willing to trust me. I am..Sorry for...the trouble.” She said avoiding eye contact with the ranger.

“Am I really... the only sane person here?”

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Personal Works
The Rules!

The group navigated as fast as they could, while the man who gave the order stayed close to Cyprus, it seemed like he was able to walk again, but with the way he was walking, it didn't look like he was going to stand forever. They walked through the streets, each and every building had them on edge. Not to mention, the singing soon began. Except for one straggling soldier who started humming along with Cyprus. Shortly after that, new orders were firmly handed out.

"Hansen, I need you on our six, keep an eye out. Philips, for the love of God, get on navigation, even if it's on memory only, we need a safer place, especially now." The man said, who'd injected the Brother of Steel with the meds he needed, it was becoming more clear that he was the one in charge. "McKinnley, for the love of God, get on point, and wipe that grin off of your face." He ordered to the solider humming along, slightly more irritated than before.

The new formation took place, with one soldier behind, one in the front, and two in the middle, with their guest. "What the hell is going on?" Philips whispered. Taking out a little booklet, he'd used it for navigation purposes on previous voyages, and began flipping through it.

"He either hasn't been in need of meds for a long while or he's been in need of meds more than once today. It's hard to say, I'm not a doctor, I'm a first-aid medic in a leader's boots." The man replied, he eyes wandered along the windows of passing buildings. "Sir! I need you to lower your voice!" The man asserted. "We don't know what's watchin-" The man was speaking, though cut off by the sound of a bullet, which penetrated through the skull, in and out, of the man on point. "Cover!" The man shouted, now yelling his orders. "Spread out!

The bullet came from a large grey building, most lively a condo building, with five stories to it. Several chucks of it were gone, ash coating the craters in it, though it still stood moderately strong. There were a dozen or so cars on the now abandoned road, all of them were black and grey with ash and soot, and they were all destroyed. All the served for now, was cover. Hansen and the leader ran for one car, the man giving orders yanked on McKinnley's dogtags, taking them from his neck as he ran. Philips grabbed McKinnley's service rifle, now having one in each hand, though there was no way he was effectively using two.

"I know it's not really your forte." Philips began, urging Cyprus to another car to take cover with him. "But it's the only thing we have for the moment." Philips said, handing him the service rifle.



Raymond found himself in thought, as usual. Her actions slightly resembled that of an intoxicated person, though, he envied that she was at least somewhat happy for the moment. It did alert him to a new observation on KimRae though; she wasn't often wounded. She either knew how to avoid the danger or was very lucky. Either way, she'd managed to not need meds in a city as hellish as this. Raymond couldn't remember the last time he had any side effects from meds, he'd grown such a tolerance over his life. He couldn't tell how she'd possibly managed so well thus far.

"Raymond." He replied to her question, he might have tried to just pull her along, but it wasn't a good idea in the moment, it was better to cooperate and keep her as calm as possible. Relaxed and happy could turn into loud, and fast. "It was a stimpack, and it will be again at some point." He replied, as simply as possible. "You're fine, I promise, I took care of the ghouls. We need to get moving."

He was glad when she was standing, but he didn't let go of her hand still. It was better to make sure she was moving, and not slacking. "We're going to see a friend. And I'm fine, I promise." He replied, again, as simply as possible, to keep KimRae moving. They kept moving, but, shortly after, the side effects of the stimpack began to fade, as she spoke about what she was remembering. He released his grip on her hand when she began to speak. He nodded after she was done speaking, but he got stuck as she went to reply.

He questioned himself, why did he save her? He wasn't sure, he didn't even know anything about her, besides that she went by "KimRae" and that she was in a city as hellish as this. After Victor told him to help KimRae, he'd made his way to her, and watching her body nearly lifeless left a mental scar on him that he wouldn't have been able to shake if he'd walked away. Helping her wasn't just the right thing to do, he oddly couldn't make himself not help her as well. "You're welcome. I couldn't have left you out there." He said, his answer was simple, like his others were, though, this time it wasn't to keep her moving. He'd stopped in his tracks for a moment, because he couldn't think of more to say.

He was about to speak more, but at that moment, he heard the footsteps, and saw the shadows. His hand instinctively reached for his gun, though they'd both turned the corner as he'd gripped the handle, but left the gun in the holster. Raymond eyed Victor. "Explanation?" He requested.

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Cyprus and his new-found allies had been walking for a while through the wasteland. He continued to trudge though the mud and ash as the man that was with him continued to help him walk, and he was still going off on that song; his voice slurred but still audible. After a while, the man that was carrying him parted his lips and issued orders to the others that were with him. Cyprus, even his is current state, could see that this man was the leader.

What made Cyprus a little sad was the fact that he told one of the soldiers to stop humming along to the tune he was singing as it warmed his heart to know that he wasn't the only one that liked to have a little fun now and then. It was at this time did they take on an organized formation: one in the front of him, one in the back of him and the rest, including him, in the middle. One man, whom the leader addressed as Phillips pulled out a booklet and began flipping through it, searching for the answer to something. More chatter made its way to Cyprus' ears, but he could only make out the word 'meds', a word that he didn't hear much of these days.

"Sir! I need you to lower your voice!" Another man, whom was named McKinnley, shouted to the leader. "We don't know what's watchin-"

The sudden pause in hit statement was due to the fact that a peculiar lead projectile had found its way into his skull. Needless to say he collapsed and the whole party went into panic.

There was an explosion of movement and speech and in a short amount of time he was behind a car, Phillips pushing a service rifle into his hands and telling him something about it not being his "forte", whatever that meant.

I guess he means I got to shoot someone with it, he thought to himself. Right after, he peeked over the hood of the car, his eyes darting around for the sniper.

The stimpak was starting to wear off.

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"Only $199,999!

She may not have been able to see it under his helmet, though Victor had a kind look on his face. "I am sure Raymond will accept those stimpacks gratefully after having to use some on KimRae, after all. He is sort of the doctor of the group" Victor said. "Just- when we meet up with them you should let me do the talking, I will admit that I am not sure what Raymond might do if he sees you..." he warned the girl. "Sorry, did I catch your name-?" his words got cut off as he heard Raymond speak when they rounded the corner. Slowly, Victor turned to look at Raymond, then he nodded. "I suppose I should explain things a bit... you see- while I was talking to the girl I realized that in her panic, she was just another victim of this world. Someone who has found themselves endangered by their own minds reaction to the events around her. I vowed to kill anyone who deserved death if they killed another without cause. This girls cause I assume was survival instinct and panic. The girl may or may not agree with me, but that is what I think about the situation."

He stood straight and still, not letting his opinion pass by everyones heads. "Now that I have told you everything, may I ask what the situation is on KimRae's wound?" He asked, The Ranger finding himself looking at KimRae almost immediately after he spoke. "I mean, do you feel like you are in pain?" he questioned, feeling slightly guilty for have not been the one to enter the building. He did not say sorry though, not when they were out in the open like this. He would offer a proper apology when they were all safe... at least, if he knew how to apologize- and all of them making it to safety was also assuming that everyone else accepted the girl behind him to travel with them. Even if it is despite the fact that she had shot KimRae in the side, or at least cause injury with the bullet. "If you cannot trust her, trust me" was the last thing he said before awaiting their reaction to his questions and answer. Of course, if they did try and harm the girl- which he highly doubted that Raymond would do. Along with KimRae who probably was not fit enough for it. Victor would protect the girl according to his word. He only hurt and killed murderers, not human beings who needed help. Certainly not people who were just trying to survive... though he could not count the amount of times he could have possibly hurt someone who was not actually a bad person.

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"Don't Lose That 'Little Spark of Madness' "-Personality Test Website.
And you thought I did not fit in here.

KimRae decided she liked the calm, quiet tone with which Raymond answered her. She appreciated him letting go of her hand as she came back into her head after the drug wore off some. He was respectful and wasn’t full of hot air, like boastful, she thought. Suddenly, she heard footsteps and stiffened, drawing back toward cover when shadows full ahead of someone coming. Raymond went for his gun but refrained from drawing it. His cool voice demanded from the ranger,

“Explanation?”

The voice from the ranger was clipped and strained as it came through the helmet. He spoke confidentially to Raymond, and mentioned the “girl”. KimRae stared at the girl in question. Was this who had been in the building, shooting at them? Was the ranger insane? Or had he killed the assailant and rescued some girl along the way? She came out of her haze to hear,
“This girl’s cause I assume was survival instinct and panic. The girl may or may not agree with me, but that is what I think about the situation."

KimRae looked her over and realized that she was seeing another female, much like herself. For a minute, she marveled that in this godforsaken hull of a city, there was someone else like her. Surviving along, doing the best she could. Doing someone else before they could do her. KimRae looked her in the eye and nodded, in a sisterhood of survivors sort of way.

The effects of the stimpack still dulled her senses and she started when the ranger say as he looked at her with a mixture of concern and curiosity,

“"Now that I have told you everything, may I ask what the situation is on KimRae's wound?” He spoke to Raymond but then shifted his eyes to her "I mean, do you feel like you are in pain?"

“I’ll live, thanks to Raymond.” She answered with a thrust of her chin. “Sorry I let you down back there. I could have sworn that building was deserted. Getting shot served me right, I guess.” KimRae’s voice was husky and street smart gritty. She worked hard to keep her face set to what had been called military bearing in the old days. Never let anyone see what you are thinking because you never know who to trust.

KimRae was sizing the girl up, testing her metal, so to speak, deciding that she would get to know her better, like give her a chance when she heard,

“"If you cannot trust her, trust me" it was the ranger again.

KimRae squinted her eyes at him, looking like a feral cat about to leap to attack.

“I thought that was where we left off and YOU weren’t sure you could trust me, even though I had run at your back for several blocks without causing you harm. But this person who shoots at us, we trust her on your say so?” she crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow.
Turning to Raymond she said,

“You I definitely trust. So where are we going to get off the street? I’m new to this section of the city so I’m not going to be a great tour guide. I will follow where you say to go. As for you,” KimRae turned to the girl and held out her hand,

“I’m KimRae.”

There was other commotion on the streets so she glanced at Raymond as if to say inquire about his earlier instructions of finding a safe place to crash for a while. She nodded her head to let him know she was ready to move out.

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http://youtu.be/89Zrto8bq7k