Seth lead them to a deep, darkened cave, stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Its dark mouth beckoned Ian and Natalia deeper into the lair of the Radscorpions.
“Cover my back,” Ian said as he held his Desert Eagle ready, slipping around a corner. In the shadows, an enormous scorpion loomed, unaware of their presence. Ian held up his pistol and fired twice, gouging two giant holes in the scorpion’s side. It screeched and fell over on its back with its legs curled, just like your average dead bug. Ian smirked, turning around.

“Shit!” He shouted, staggering back a bit. “Behind you!!” Natalia turned just in time to see the scorpion behind her lash its tail into her shoulder. Yelling in pain, she fired her SMG rapidly until she felt the creature retract its claw. Natalia held her shoulder and looked to the bloody pulp in front of her.
Ian tossed her a stimpack. “Be more careful next time.”
Natalia sighed slightly. “Look, I get distracted too easily by all this ‘excitement.’ You watch out from behind this time.”

Ian nodded as she reloaded her SMG and stood ready. As she turned the corner, sneaking in the shadows, she saw a small nest area. Several eggs lay nearby, with two large scorpions nearby. Switching her gun to single-shot, she took careful aim. When she was lined up, she fired and watched as its head suddenly bent inward and the creature slumped to the ground.

Its mate however went directly for her, scuttling along the ground at extremely high speeds. Natalia fired, blowing the tail off but not doing much else. As it got close enough to touch, the creature prepared to strike with its massive claws.....

And Natalia stuck her gun up against its eye, switching to full automatic as she pulled the trigger. The scorpion found it hard to attack when its brains were blasted out of the back of its head.
Natalia stood up, breathing heavily. She reloaded her gun and leaned against a wall until she calmed down from the rush, then took out the silver lighter that Albert had given her.

“I’m damn glad I have this thing” she said softly under her breath. Then she walked over to check on Ian. A pile of about 5 radscorpions lay at his feet. He looked to her. “I think we got them all”

After a quick sweep of the cave, they found no more scorpions. Natalia remembered to go back and shoot the eggs. Emerging from the cave and returning to Shady Sands, they felt truly victorious. Natalia went to Aradesh with her news

He smiled. “Things are much more settled now. Razlo has been working on a cute for Rad Scorpion poison, and with that, we should be able to fight what’s left of them.”
Natalia smirked, tapping her gun. “You don’t need to worry anymore. We destroyed the nest.”
Aradesh’s smile brightened even further. “You are truly a hero! Know that the people of Shady Sands are most grateful.”
Natalia searched the town for the water supply, hoping there would be a mechanism........

But all she found was a tiny well. It was more than sufficient for this village, and for watering the mutated corn and giant cabbages growing in the fields, but it wouldn’t do diddly nor squat for the vault. Sighing, she walked back. Ian suggested they go to a place called Junktown just a ways south of here. It would be a good place to stop before going on to the Hub, which would probably have what they needed.

Junktown was much larger than Shady Sands. It was named after the wall surrounding it, which consisted of mostly scrapped cars, a truck or two, crates, metal barrels, and other scrap. A cleared-out segment of a subway train formed a tunnel through the wall, and a guard stood by it.

Inside, it had the same look. A nice quaint place, not pretty, but it worked. There were wooden buildings, chairs were made out of seats from cars placed on cinderblocks, and most storage was done in icechests. Natalia got an iguana-on-a-stick from someone, which she saved in her pack as a treat for later.

A man on the street, probably having just staggered out from the bar, looked Natalia up and down, eyeing her with a leer on her face.
“Hmm...you look juicy...” He said, grinning. Ian hardly had time to blink before Natalia smashed her head square into the bridge of his nose, making the man fall backwards with a thud. She turned to Ian and motioned for them to move on forward. They reached a large building, probably a store, that had a sign that said “Darkwater’s” on it.
“This is Killian’s, a general store,” Ian said. “Killian’s a good man, and they have plenty of stock.”

Inside was a roughly handsome man, with light brownish hair, slightly curly, and nice eyes, wearing jeans and a white shirt with a denim jacket.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
“Who are you?”
He smiled and extended his hand. “The name’s Killian. Killian Darkwater. I’m the mayor of this fine town. And who might you be?"

Natalia smiled and shook his hand. “I’m Natalia. I come from up north.”
Killian raised an eyebrow. “Not much up that way ‘cept desert and Shady Sands. You from there?”
Natalia shook her head. “No, I come from a Vault, to the west.”
Killian’s expression turned to a scowl, much to Natalia’s surprise. “Oh yeah, sure you do. And when you were a baby, your crib was a safe.”
Natalia realized he thought she was mouthing off. She quickly tried to reassure him. “No, no. It’s called a Vault. It protected us from the war. It’s been full of people for 80 years!”
Killian’s expression returned to normal. He gave a slight chuckle. “Don’t feel bad, ain’t the worst story I’ve been told. So...what can I do for ya?”
Natalia smiled. “I want to buy something.”
“Well that’s a damn fine coincidence!” Killian said, smirking. “That’s what this store is here for. We got about everything you can need. Let me show you some things over here...”

Suddenly, a man with dark brown skin, wearing jeans and a dirty red shirt walked in, taking out a hunting rifle from his shirt and aiming it at Killian.
“Gizmo sends his regards” he said, aiming. Killian’s hands went directly for the Winchester shotgun on the table of goods. A shot from Ian missed and smashed into the wall, making a small hole. Natalia was faster, for no sooner had the assassin spoken that ominous and unnecessary sentence than those words became his last, as she whipped out her SMG and fired on full burst, as the left side of the murderer-to-be’s torso was ripped into chunks by the salvo. Falling over, still with the stunned expression on his face, he hit the floor. Natalia put away her gun after reloading it with hollowpoints.

Killian looked to her. “Listen, thanks for saving my life. It’s a mighty brave thing to do. Looks like we got ourselves a situation here. I know Gizmo’s behind this, but I need proof. You interested in helping?”
If there was one thing Natalia hated, it was some asshole who thought he could push people around. “I’m in.”
Killian’s face broadened into a smile. “Ok. You have to wear a recorder and tape Gizmo confessing, or plant this wire tap in his office. Either way, and we got him.”
Natalia nodded. Killian handed her a tiny tiny microphone with an antennae on it, and what looked like a small tape recorder, pocket sized. “All right, I owe you. Here’s the bug and the wire tap. You let me know when it’s done.”
He clapped Ian and her on the shoulder. “And good luck.”

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