章 206: Disaster

"EAT LEAD" Karl shouts as he pulls the trigger, making sure to aim at the Fiends and avoid the hostages that were on the left side of the room.

*DAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA!*

[John Wick Style is in effect]

Quickly, panic overtook the room, Fiends trying to draw their weapons but being shot dead before they could get them out of their holsters. Some even using their allies as meat shields to protect themselves.

Their situation wasn't helped by the fact some Fiends weren't even dressed, having gotten completely naked for the orgy they were presumably going to have. Afton couldn't help but give a morbid chuckle as he began blasting both Lucky and That Gun at them, using VATS to slow down time and target Fiends that could be a threat to the duo.

This strategy clearly worked as the Fiends couldn't even get one shot off at the duo, simply being at their mercy as Karl mowed them down as if he had infinite ammo to use on their corpses. If the duo had any mercy for the Fiends beforehand, they'd lost it when seeing what they planned to do to their captives.

Screams of pain and terror continually came from the Fiends that'd somehow managed to survive, most having hidden under their friend's bodies. Afton could spot a few with his [Living Anatomy] Perk that were trying to play dead. A single bullet to their cranium laid his worries to 'rest' though.

Once they were done and blood was seeping through the floor, into the sand below the building the duo turn their attention towards the naked, and scared hostages.

Afton didn't really want to talk with them, learning of their experiences while trying to reassure them that neither was going to harm the would take a lot of mental effort on his part. Best just to leave it to Karl who was probably more experienced on that front. "I've got the door." he states, taking up a position where he was ready to destroy any intruders.

*Bang!*... *Bang!*

Afton's ears perked at the sound of Boone's hunting rifle firing off in the distance. The Fiends who were presumably about to storm into the building would have to find cover to stop getting sniped. He doubted any Fiend was a good enough marksman to one, locate Boone, and two, out-snipe him.

They'd either need to charge his position, leaving Karl and Afton a good opportunity to escape with the hostages. Or wait out the assault, the Fiends would probably try to send someone to get reinforcements to take out the sniper, but Boone wouldn't allow anyone to leave the Rock Crushing Plant, destroying those plans.

...

They'd been holed up in the building for around half an hour now, and Karl was slowly breaking through the barrier put up by the unfortunate people that'd been held here. Afton himself had tried to heal the woman who was being beaten earlier, only to find that she'd passed away.

The only thing harder than discovering that he was too late, was the fact that one of the young girls in the crowd was the daughter of this woman, sobbing over the corpse.

Afton glances over to Karl and spots that he's still speaking to some people. He sighs to himself before kneeling down next to the grieving girl, "Why're you crying?" he asks, feeling his Speech Skill kick in...

"M-my moms dead!" she says loudly in between sobs.

Afton nods, and gingerly pats her back, "Yeah, but she didn't die for nothing, right? She tried her best to save you, and gave me and my friend enough time to stop those evil men before they did something to you."

"It doesn't matter! I want my mom!"

...

"Look, I know how you're feeling right now, I lost my own mother when I was around your age. But this isn't the time to grieve, you need to be strong so we can escape. Once we're out you can cry for as long as you want, now though? Respect your mother's wishes and be strong." he says, not willing to tell the girl her mother was likely trying to escape without her...

The girl slowly nods, wiping her face and trying to stifle her crying. "Do you have anymore family here?"

She nods and points to a heavily injured teenage boy watching them from the larger group, "My big brother."

"Then go to him, he's probably struggling just as much as you are with the loss of your mother. At least you two still have each other, right?"

She nods and slowly walks to him, both hugging each other to find some comfort in this rather dire situation.

Karl finishes speaking with the group and walks over to Afton, "Some of 'em have been here a while, other's have just arrived... All of the will need some serious help after this, form what I heard about the men we killed, I don't feel anything for their deaths apart from satisfaction." he states.

Afton nods, "When do you think we can make our move? Killing Nephi is important, but getting these people to safety tops that."

Karl shrugs, "I don't know, but-"

*Thud, Thud!*

They both turn towards where the sound had come from and notice it had been something thrown against the wall the hostages were currently gathered at. Both their eyes widen at the possibilities, but just before they can yell for them to run, a huge explosion occurs.

Afton's eyes widen as he sees the young girl and her brother both get liquified by the explosion, their blood, guts, and bones all exploding in a red mist. Killing them instantly.

The other hostages don't fare any better as all who weren't instantly killed by the explosion are seriously injured, crippled, or unconscious.

That's not the worst of it, the two had managed to dodge the wooden shrapnel of the building, but out of the hole, they could spot many, many Fiends all aiming towards it, ready to fire at anyone who tries to escape.

*Creeaaaaaaaaaaak!*

The building beneath their feet begins rumbling, the foundations of it having been destroyed by the explosive. It starts lurching forwards, the Fiends running away as they hadn't expected to bring down the building. Afton scrambles towards the injured captives but is grabbed by Karl, "We don't have time!" he shouts as he pulls Afton towards the metal machinery that's used to crush rocks.

Both climb inside as the building starts collapsing in on itself, crushing the captives that weren't killed by the explosion. Afton and Karl were protected by the metal machinery, but that didn't stop them getting jostled around, their bodies getting painfully flung against the sharp walls.

"Fuuuuuuuuuck!!" both shout, not knowing if they'd survive this shit show.