Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

"Ugh, what happened?" Rubbing his head only to feel a large knot. "How did this get here?" He felt the sun bear down on his skin, it was hot like usual. It was alway hot, ever since the nukes went off. "Where is all my stuff?" As he looked down at his barely clothed body. He looked around to see others around him. They were all in a simalar state, some knocked out some waking up from their state of darkness.

"Where am I?" The last thing he remebered was looking at a Raiders camp from atop a hill, and then all of a sudden darkness. Trigger! His trusty companion for years, where was he? "Trigger!, Where are you? Come here boy." Nothing answered back. Something wasn't right, Trigger always answered when he called for him.

A cage? "Why am I in a cage?" A putrid smell reached his nostrils. "Raiders." He said with malice in his voice. "If they hurt Trigger, I swear to God that I will kill every last one of them!"

Now was the time to think of escape. If only he had his equipment.

Dry. Rough. Uncomfortable. Hmmm, he'd been sleeping on the floor again. But he wasn't usually this confused when he awoke, you didn't survive long in the Wasteland if you slept too deep and didn't come awake fast and ready for action.

Opening his crusty eyelids he was blinded by the sun and he knew something was wrong. Nobody slept outdoors, that was just stupid. And where was his... was he NAKED? No, a tattered loincloth covered what was left of his decency. He liked to keep most of his body parts attached, but had long ago given up on his reproductive organs. Waste of thread really.

Sitting up slowly he looked around groggily and saw bars, other prone forms in a variety of positions.

"Oh, gak in a hole..."

He looked to his right only to find himself a ghoul, that was just waking up. He thought to himself, "What is he doing here?" He never had any problems with ghouls. Only if they weren't trying to eat him that is. They were loners just like him only trying to survive in this cruel world.

"Hey there. Do you know how we got here?"

Hopefully this ghoul had the answer.

He had to blink a few times to clear some of the crud from his vision, finally he could see more clearly. Trust that it would take a group of Raiders to bring smoothskins and ghouls together. Nothing like being threatened with slavery and death to bring living creatures together.

Opening his mouth he found that something had slipped, possibly a chunk of tongue, so he had to hack a few times, spitting out a small lump of dead flesh before he could answer.

"Beats the heck out of me... I'm guessing this isn't the free holiday I won a few years back off the trader I sold my boots to..."

Moving over to the bars he smelt the smell of fresh death... he was used to old death, a smell that followed him everywhere he went, but fresh death... that was a smell he'd never grow used to.

"Seems we're Raider's bait. And they've cleaned out the old captives recently."

He gestured at a row of gutted and beheaded corpses dangling from chains nearby, the wind sighing through the rusted chain links, like the sad sound of cruelties done for the sake of cruelty. Turning away he leaned against the fence, surveying the motley group of huddled wretches, his eyes finally coming to rest on the man who'd spoken.

"So, smoothskin... the name's George, as far as I can remember. What's the moniker I should apply to you?"

Partridge shifted uneasily. His bones hurt, and he knew the raiders had smacked him hard, bu he cared not. He had been awake for hours, long enough to assess the other captives around him. Raiders. He smiled through cracked and bleeding lips at the ignorance of the viscious sadists. No better than the tribals back home. Shifting uneasily, he looked right and into the eyes of a man staring straight at him.

"Hey there, Do you know how we got here?"

Partridge rolled his shoulders and smiled again, before replying.

"Raiders want more captives to feed their pet I imagine."
Partridges accent was unfamiliar in the DC wastelands, it was a combination of southern american drawl and deep gravely croak that ghouls get as their throats begin to rot. However, the stranger seemed unphazed by the accent, but he shifted uneasily at the mention of a pet.

"what do you mean by pet?" said the stranger. He was obviously curious and frightened at the same time. Nothing would require so many people to be fed to it unless it was large and very dangerous.

"Im safe to be honest, nothing in these wastes likes the taste of ghoul flesh. You on the other hand would be fair game, even if your a little on the emaciated side." The ghoul smiled, but continued on. "I heard there was a raider base that had a captive Rad scorpion. A real big'un. You might be lucky and theyre keeping us as captives for slave trade, but if these are the raiders with the scorpion, i dont fancy your chances. Now if you dont mind, im trying to have a siesta, so talk to some of the other wastelanders whilst i figure out if i cant pull the bars wide enough for me to slip through."

The stranger looked at him in disbelief for a second. Surely this thin ghoul wouldnt be able to pull apart the bars of the cage?

One of the ghouls seemed quite rude, which was expected from ghouls seeing how most of the "smoothskins" treated them as if they were dirt. So he let it slide. The other ghoul named George seemed friendly enough.

To think that ghould said he was going to pull the bars apart. He laughed inside his head. I'll just let him be, if he doesn't want to talk then that is fine with me.

He turned his head back to George and said,

"Well hello George. My name is Karek. So as long as we are here, tell me a little about yourself since aren't going anywhere soon."

He always found it funny how he could be so calm in the face of death and danger. It must of been something he picked up from his father..... his father. He remembered how the Raiders had strung him up and brutally tortured him before they killed him. He clenched his fists, and anger rose through his body. He soon caught himself as he didn't want to expose his emotions to his newly found companions.

Adrian woke up suprised he was not dead most Raiders kill on site. he wonders if the have GNR? then goes to seek out some one to talk to.

George listened to the new ghoul and inside he shrugged. Rad scorpion meat, slavery, death... they were all pretty bad. Very few slaves lived long and the ones that did were usually broken inside, unable to cope with what they had to see and do. Leaning against the bars he knew he wouldn't be able to chip, let alone bend one, these had held humans and ghouls before. But the lock he was leaning against and secretly scouting with his fingers was big and old. Not an easy pick, but it should be within his capabilities, if the guards ever gave him a few minutes alone with it. Lot quieter than beanding thick rusty metal bars, especially if he rubbed some of the pus from his wounds over the hinges first.

For now though, nothing to do but wait. No weapons, no armour, no hope of getting ten yards, let alone the ten miles to the Underground.

He watched Karek for a few seconds after he introduced himself and then smiled, showing that very few of his teeth had fallen out, but most were the colour of old dirt, the smoking didn't really affect him, but he enjoyed the motion, as if it were familiar from some previous life.

"Karek. Good strong name. I have a feeling you'll go far in this wasteland. You ever hear that show on GNR? The adventures of Daring Dashwood? He got away from Slavers, but if we can do something similar then maybe there's..."

He woke up face down in the dirt, pushing himself groggily to his hands and knees and looking behind him. The Raider was wearing a Psycho-tic mask, but there was something in the stance that said he was new blood. Looking to make a name for himself. Before the Raider could speak, George interupted.

"Whoa, officer, you got a warrant to go with that attitude? I'm not complaining, I like the rough stuff, but you should watch where you swing your stick, the ladies will think you've got a thing for the dead."

The sneer in the Raider's voice was clear as he drew a 10mm pistol, "A smart mouth on a zombie, who'da thought it. Mostly you gaks just gargle flem. Maybe if I put a round in your throat you'll learn to be respectful of your betters."

"Sure, respect, I'll respect the bullet, but I wouldn't respect your trigger finger, or the loser attached to it."

The raider raised his gun and seemed ready to shoot, then he laughed, "Nah, I'll just make sure you're chosen first. Tell em you look strong. We'll have another experiment, see if you feel it when we pull off your arms. Dirty zombies, we'll kill all of you."

George would have been breathing hard if his lungs still worked properly, he got the familiar pain in his side, but he didn't make any sign of it. It sucked that fear manifested as pain in his messed up biochemistry. Tonight. He'd be out of there tonight if he could.

The threat of the Raider hit home with Karek. He knew he was in trouble but never realized how much trouble he was in until now.

I can't die like this, I have to much to live for. How will my dog Trigger survive all by himself out there in the Wasteland, if he is still alive that is.

Knowing what the stakes were, Karek knew what had to be done.

"Hey George, we need to find a way out of here and we need to do it now. I don't know about you but getting killed by raiders is not on my to-do list."

Karek knew George would help him but how much help could one really be when locked in a cage with nothing but the clothes on your back.

Maybe they could jump the guards when they came for them. Karek threw the idea out, because he knew that would end up with some of the other captives dead, and he didn't want that.

Maybe it was just the wind but Karek swore he heard barking in the distance.

Trigger?, he thought to himself.

"ugh, what hit me?" leroy looks around the enclosure and see's nothing but blurs and moving shapes.

"hey, if there's anyone else here, please talk to me, i cant see that well" trying to rub his eyes to see better but it doesn't work and only makes things worse.

"DAMN IT!!!!" leroy screams in anger

"I HATE BEING HELPLESS!!!" leroy screams untill he cant anymore, and just sits in the corner quietly, sulking.

(OOC: well, how do you guys like my intro? sorry its so short, i wasn't really concentrating on it)

The sudden screams from the corner startled George, after being cracked over the head he wondered if another Raider had started his fun early, but as the words became clear he realised it was just a newly awakened soul, realising his situation. No point in screaming, that would just make the Raiders enjoy it more. No point giving them the satisfaction.

Quickly deciding that of those currently awake and functioning, only Karek seemed sensible enough to deal with the information he had, he moved over to him and whispered quietly what he had found, about the lock and the picks he had concealed about his person.

"Maybe when it gets dark we can make a break for it, we'll have 2 choices, a small group making a dash and maybe getting past, or everybody scattering to the winds and hoping a couple of us make it. Either way, it's a huge risk. But I'm not staying here to have my arms pulled off and my guts dragged out of my abdomen and shoved into my mouth for their amusement."

He noticed that Karek wasn't paying full attention and wondered if he'd heard something or thought of something. Best not to intrude right now... there were many hours until darkness, lots of time to work out what they would do.

as leroy's eyes begin to clear up, i can see two figures in another part of the enclosure, he calls out to them
"hey, you guys over there, dont leave me out on your fun" trying to make light of the situation.

Jolting, Greg opens his eyes, woken by a voice screaming in rage.
What the hell was that...where am I?
Starting to rise, Greg spies a pair of Ghouls, one of them whispering conspiratorily.
"hey, you guys over there, dont leave me out on your fun"
Hmmm, that sounds like the screamer, guess he calmed down. Is this a raider camp? Oh, there's one of them there. At least it isn't mutants.
Greg walks over to the man that had been screaming earlier.
"Hey, I'm Greg. You alright?"
Was that barking?

leroy looks up at the figure, his eyes still blured
"hey, i'm greg. you alright?"
"yeah, im fine, i just cant see so good, i hate feeling like this, being helpless, so, how'd you get here?"

The screaming brought Karek back to reality.

What the hell?

Karek looked at the newly awaken man, and laughed.

He turned back to George.

"It doesn't matter what we do. People will die either way. It's only a matter of time."

How easy those words came out of his mouth. Was he that unafraid of death that he didn't even shudder at the mention of it? He started thinking about all the possiblities of the plan George had layed out. For some reason he trusted George, which was suprising for Karek, because he never trusted anyone.

"George I think we should escape as a group, because once we make it out of here we are gonna need each other to survive out in the Wasteland."

It was true, no one could survive by themselves out in the Wasteland. Especially with the Yao Guai wondering around.

Karek looked around seeing what he could use to fashion a weapon for the inevitable escape. Seeing a small piece of scrap metal buried in the dirt, he quickly uncovered it and stowed it away.

Now if I could only find something to sharpen it......

He looked back over to the man who was screaming, who was now talking to another man who had awaken.

I wonder if I can trust them?

Adrian looks around and sees the one who was yelling and goes over to talk to him

leroys eyes finally cllear up and he see's that almost everyone appears to be looking at him
"huh? when did i become so popular?"
stil making jokes

Others were beginning to move around within the cage, conversations starting up. Right now there was nothing to do but wait, so idle chatter seemed to be the best course of action. If Karek was right then they all needed to have at least a nodding acquaintance with each other... but something held him back. He grunted at Karek's response and then moved away, leaving the smoothskin to his own things. There were only a couple of other ghouls in here and one had gone back to sleep. Even they seemed like too much. Claustraphobia reared it's head and George moved away from the others, keeping distance from the bars.

Weapons were impossible this side of the bars, escape was some time away... if the Raiders got bored before nightfall, if they were a nocturnal bunch and didn't drink themselves into a stupor like other Raiders...

Too much to deal with, got to get out...

Dropping to his haunches he fought back the rising wave of panic and fear. That was the path to going feral. You had to hold back the fear, stop the panic, redirect the nausea and fill your mind with who you were, what you had done. He couldn't go feral... not again...

leroy looks at the ghoul who appears to be going insane and gets up to walk over him.
"hey, you ok?"
leroy kneels beside the ghoul, trying to comfort him.
"don't worry, we will get out of here, i got a plan"
leroy smiles at the ghoul, and in his hand has a small bobby pin.

The interruption pulled him back to reality. With the flick of a wrist he was holding 2 bobby pins, little bits of dead flesh clinging to them.

"I came prepared as well, friend. Nobody can frisk a ghoul without pulling off all their skin."

With a flick they were hidden again.

"Have you checked out the lock? Do it carefully if you do, don't want the raiders seeing what we're up to here. I'm not going to relax until we're out of here and away. Far, far away. The name is George. What's your handle?"

"no handle friend, i just wanted to make sure you were ok, if we are going to get out of here, we might as well do it together"

leroy looks around the enclosure

"i dont want to loss another party, not after i've been through, my name is leroy by the way"

hey Leroy ,George do you guys need help with whatever your doing

Sudden paranioa comes over him. He's just shown his hand to two seperate strangers... What if one of them is a Raider spy, put in the cage to find out plans. Damn him for a fool, that Raider's blow to his head must have made him stone cold stupid.

"There's no way out of here... no way out. We'll all be dead tomorrow. Best we all go make our peace."

Moving away he watches everyone suspiciously, this place is wrong now, maybe there's more to this than simple Raider tactics...

leroy watchs as the ghoul walks away, started by his words, he then looks to adrian.
"if we die tonight we need to get out of here, but first we have to now these guys strengths and weaknesses"

well i can't lock pick but im good with heavy weapons.
what are you good with?

"well, im a demo expert, and im good at lock picking, but i dont think im anywhere near as good as that ghoul though, we need to get him onto our side"
leroy looks at the ghoul with interest

Partridge smiled through croked teeth. They were all getting along. Making happy families, because there was nothing else to do. Out in the wastes they'd probably not even give each others a moments notice, he knew he didnt.

Idly cracking his jaw, he tested the bars. They were stronger than they looked, but he found he could get some leeway. Enough space for a thin person to squeeze through. Without looking back, he pulled the bars apart. The gap was large enough for him to pull himself through, he just needed to wait for an oppertune moment. Where was a raider when you needed one...

OOC: O' snap ^^

leroy looks over adrians sholder to see a man bending the bars and walks over to him. making sure that he isn't noticed leroy wraps one arm around the mans neck and he whispers into his ear.
"either we all leave, or none of us do, i am not afraid to kill you"

whoa whoa whoa what are you doing leroy?!