Hunter/Hunted - Chapter 2

No Rest for the Wicked

Theme

After ditching the small boat on the nearby mainland coast, Huntress headed inland; still scared and confused by what had transpired back in Far Harbor. As she climbed the short hill from beach she stopped at the top and turned back to stare out at the stormy seas battering the nearby islands - Well, at least I made the right call there - With a heavy sigh she turned her back on the sea and started to walk; her footsteps trudging through the wasteland as heavily as her heart felt.

As she walked, she stared straight ahead yet did not really even see anything in front of her; the occasional radstag along the side of the beaten old highway she followed would glance up with a briefly glance up with a startle as she passed by before bolting off into the wilderness - she did not even register them, at least not consciously. Her mind raced and backtracked over the events which led to her being chased out of town by those she had come to think of as her friends. For all her efforts, she could not comprehend what happened - what came over her when the bar fight broke out. She closed her eyes briefly with remorse as she pictured the memory of seeing young Andy fly backwards in slow motion through the bar window; arms flailing as he vanished forever into the stormy sea below the pier, before glancing down and seeing her own hands still open from releasing him after she had spun him around her shoulder during the fight.

Her train of thought was broken by a deep rumbling in the skies overhead. She stopped a moment and looked around, actually observing her surroundings now - How long have I been walking...? - as she glanced ahead she could see the distinctive sickly green hue washing over the landscape as a radiation storm swept in. With little taste for the alternative, she jogged forwards towards the old tunnel mouth she could see a short distance ahead. Every instinct in her body was telling her that such an enclosed space would be dangerous, but right now the uncertainty was favourable to the guaranteed danger of remaining outdoors.

With a gentle shove of her shoulder, the old access door on the side of the tunnel mouth creaked open enough for her to squeeze through. She squinted as she peered ahead and her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. Huntress crept forwards until her eyes became fully adjusted; barely able to see still, but enough to identify a lot of the junk and debris she was passing by. Making note of a few items of potential interest, she pressed forwards favouring the narrower maintenance tunnels along the side of the highway tunnel until she found what she was looking for - a small utility room of sorts, or at least what once was. Visually surveying the room in the darkness Huntress surmised that she would not likely find better and so returned to the main highway tunnel.

Returning to the resources she identified on her way in; Huntress promptly stripped a seat out of the back of an old vehicle of some sort. Her mind briefly wandered as she took in the sleek metallic curves of the wreck; curious as to what that world must have been like for people to have such things. She pictured the vehicle new - clean and gleaming in the sunshine - sitting proud in front of somebody's home. Her momentary fanciful sidetrack quickly passed as she pulled the back seat clear of the vehicle and dragged it back to her room, along with a barrel and some armfuls of junk that she could burn. A short while later, she lay on her makeshift bed staring through the flames of her barrel fire as the lack of distraction forced her mind to wander back to earlier events. She even tried to think back to before she was found in the hopes that she may recall some clue about herself that could explain what she did - not to mention how. These efforts proved to be in vain however as the memory just wasn't there to be recalled, at least not so far as she could fathom. With a gentle flicker, her eyes slowly closed as she drifted off to sleep.

When Huntress' eyes slowly opened she did not know how long it had been. The only thing she knew was that she had not woken naturally; something was moving in the tunnels beyond her room and the combination of unfamiliar sounds had roused her. The fire had almost completely burned out leaving her once again fighting to adjust to the darkness. She squinted in the direction of the sound before her eyes slowly widened as a light seemed to approach - illuminating further into her room with an eerie green glow before she heard the first haunting groans from beyond the door. Huntress jumped to her feet just as the first ghoul came stumbling through the doorway, closely followed by a glowing one and even more behind it. Letting out a shocked yelp having never before seen such creatures she dodged and rolled around their lazily swinging arms and bolted out of the room as the pack quickly followed in her wake.

- Damn these things are fast - she thought as she ran through the narrow hall; jumping and weaving around the various debris along the way as the ghouls following just stumbled and ploughed through it all. Huntress did not make it further than the opening into the main highway tunnel before the faster ghouls caught up to her, with one lunging forwards to grab at her. She dodged in the nick of time and with little choice remaining she turned while raising her fists and attempted to defend herself. Her speed and agility were no match for the ghouls, though for all she was able to slow them they all just got right back up and kept coming at her - I have to get out here! - fighting her natural instinct to try and fight she turned and ran once more, letting her adrenaline fueled legs carry her further ahead of the relentless ghouls towards the tunnel entrance.

Bursting through the side door she did not break pace as she continued to run along the highway, determined to put distance between her and the ghouls. She glanced back briefly to see if they had followed, cursing loudly as she turned back to face along the path ahead only to find a raider stood in front of her with a pistol trained at her head, "You have got to be kidding me!" she hissed as she instinctively raised her fists into a defensive posture.

"Weeell... ain't ya just a pretty 'lil thing..." The raider quipped with a dirty smirk as she eyed Huntress, "...Lookin' all fanciful an' the like in ya nice pretty clothes an' ya soft skin. But I reckon them there clothes lookin' a damn sight better on me". Feeling no time for games - still fearful that the ghouls may follow her out of the tunnel at any moment - Huntress narrowed her eyes at the raider before swinging her nearby fist across the barrel of her pistol, forcing a shot into the tarmac behind Huntress while she spun herself into the raider and jabbed her elbow force force into the raiders nose - smashing it and sending her tumbling backwards. The sound of the gunshot roused the raiders partner however, and seeing what had become of her, he charged at Huntress as he drew his own weapon. Lacking the element of surprise with this one, Huntress raised her fists once more and stood prone ready to dodge if he raised his gun to bare.

In a vengeful rage he charged at Huntress, raising his pistol with the intention of beating her death slowly and painfully with it as punishment for what she had done. He quickly learned his err in judgement as she ducked and dodged every swing her threw whilst landing more than her fair share back on him before she finally seized an advantage over a particularly lazy swing of his and pulled herself in close; wrapping an arm around his neck and hoisting him up off the floor. There was only the briefest of moments before a sickening crack saw his body fall limp against her.

Huntress dumped his body to the ground and glanced around quickly to check if there were any more raiders nearby. Seeing that - for what felt like the first time in living memory - her luck was in and there were no more raiders in sight, she quickly grabbed his pistol and tucked it into the back of jeans as she ran once more. This time heading across the wilderness and away from the deadly highway in the hopes of finding some place peaceful enough to get a decent amount of rest. After jogging gently for what felt like an eternity she came to a halt at the edge of a pond and stared ahead. The dipping sun shined on the old house like a beacon as she quietly observed it before deciding this would be her refuge for the night.