//------------------------------// // chapter 3 // Story: Fallout: Newfire // by TheDoctor //------------------------------// Chapter 3 :Upper wall of the Burning city :Later that night Ransom does not remember what woke him up, it might of been the screaming, it could have been the guards rushing by him to get a look over the wall at whatever was at the main gate. Whatever it was it was causing quite the uproar, As ransom is trying to find out what is going on he is knocked out of his chair. He pulls himself out of the dust and looks over the wall. ” Oh god..."One of the guards starts to ring the warning bell and other bar the doors.” At arms, everypony be ready for a fight!" That should is yelled out after every few rings of the bell. Ransom stumbles down the stairs when somepony grabs him by the collar and asks.” What is it sir?" Ransom looks at her and her screaming child.” There are raiders..." She looks horrified, a few tears well up in her own eyes.” Ho...how many?" Ransom sighs.” More than enough...Im sorry..." Now tears are freely flowing from her eyes and she runs off into the crowd with her child. Ransom just walks calmly to some abandon corner and plops down. "Well...guess this is one way to go..." Raiders, no one knows where the group started but they have been here as long as we have, they are a bunch of savages that tend to raid small farms and travelers, every once in a while they get a large enough group to hit a small town, but nopony thought that would every happen here, there was nothing they needed, the town was mainly miners and farmers... Ransom is snapped out of his thoughts by somepony pulling off his hood and yelling at him.“You need to move, its not safe here! When ransom looks it he sees it Mel standing over him with a worried look in her eyes.” Why, so I can die somewhere else?" Asks ransom. Mel looks at him and yells.” Look I know you have had a bad day but suck it up for now, we are going to get out of here!" and with that she pulls him to his hoofs and starts running with him in tow.” Maybe we can hold them off..." Ransom stops and says.” Mel how could we stop them?" Mel thinks for a second, but before she can say here idea they are pulled into a crowd who is gathering at the gate. A rough looking pony stand on a crate and says.” Ok I need someponys who are willing to lead a charge to try to run off these raiders, I am not going to lie this does not look good, there are at least twice as many of them as there are us but we need to try, will anyone join us?" It is slow at first a pony here and there than Mel turns to ransom.” We need to help, we know how to use guns and fight..."And with that she pushes her way though the crowd to join the group. Ransom does not know what to say. He has never killed anyone before, yes he knows how to fight but he has never had to put it into play. He stands there for a second than mutters under his breath.” Fine...this ones for you pa..." As he says that he pushes his way to join Mel. After being outfitted with a what they could offer he finds Mel cleaning her rifle.” How do you think we will do, Mel?" She smiles some.” Twenty some ponies agents a hundred savages, great odds!" Ransom sighs.” I am sorry about this afternoon... maybe after this we could go on that date..." Mel smiles but is cut off before she can say something by somepony yelling "We charge in thirty seconds!" Mel says.” Well guess that’s are cue, eh?" As they gather around the gate ransom checks his rifle, Its an older, maybe even from before the war but it still works, most of the ponies have swords and axes and swords but a few have guns, it is vary hard for a pony to learn how to use a gun they are large, awkward and you need to use two hooves to use it, But ransoms father thought him well. Him and Mel are standing near the end of the group. "Ten, nine, eight,..." The count down must have lasted forever, but as soon as it ended the gates flew open and they flooded out, to ransoms horror one of the radars threw some kind of Molotov cocktail, a favorite of the radars at a group of the ponies and with that five of the twenty lay burning in a pool of flames. Ransom stairs in horror not knowing what to do when out of the corner of his eye he sees movement and he raises his gun, it is thunder rolling on the ground fighting hoof to hoof with one of the raiders Ransom runs over, aims and shoots the raider in the head, the sound shocks the bartender and he looks up.” Oh its you son... Thanks for that.”  Ransom loads another shell into the chamber and says.” Well better find a weapon sir." Thunder nods and gets up to grab the club of the body of the raider that was just killed, he grabs it and runs off to rejoin the fight. Ransom takes a glance back at the pool of flames that is lighting the battlefield, He spots a raider to he right about running at somepony and he raises his gun.” Sorry..."He pulls the trigger and pumps the next shell into the chamber… The fight must have been hours, but it felt like just a few seconds.” I need some help!” Some pony yelled out who must have been somewhere near ransom, as he ran to the voice he seen two ponies in the dirt fighting for control of a knives. Ransom raises the gun, aiming it at the raiders head, but as he pulls the trigger and the gun just clicks.” No..." He fumbles in his pocket for a spear shell but before he can load it the raider overtakes the pony and stabs it in the chest. Ransom slams the shell into the gun and shoots hitting the raider in the leg. He runs over the see how bad the pony was when he sees it was Mel. Tears welt up in his eyes and he checks to see if she is still breathing.” Mel, Mel are you ok?!" Her eyes open a little and a smile crosses her face.” Hey...*cough* how goes it...?" Tears rundown ransoms face.” You are going to be ok Mel..."He looks at the knife sticking out of her chest and yells.” I NEED SOME HELP, SOMEPONY GET A DOCTOR!" Mel looks up at ransom and says. ” Its ok... everypony has there time..." Ransom shakes his head and says in a horse voice with tears still freely flowing down his face. "No You cant die, You are my best friend, my family... I love you Mel.." Mel smiles.” I know, *gasp*... You think I would not notice how you talked to me and how you talked to everyone else, *cough* But you know...I have felt the same way...guess that what we get for being quite..." She gasps for breath, you can tell she is in great pain. "No Mel not like this, you will make it we still have to go on that date. Oh god, there is so many things I need to as..." Than everything goes black as a sharp pain shoots though ransoms skull….