Reposting properly because Ironmonger's tablet is from hell.

The Ohio Valley wasteland was hit particularly hard when the bombs fell two-hundred years ago, partly due to it being a major industrial center, and partly because of it's location towards the New England state. The massive albeit sparsely-populated city was never glorious like Vegas, Boston, or New York. It was simply a place ruled by the working class, where people would strive to better the lives of those unfortunate enough to live in such a chaotic place. Now, it's but a shadow of what it once was, a shattered monument to the drive of the common man for a better life, run down, bombed out, and overrun with raiders.

Towards the remains of what used to be Milford, Samuel Moses Browning, a large but not particularly tall man, scavenged the empty husk of what used to be a pre-war shopping center. He had short, black hair, dark-green eyes, and large features more fitting for a man at least a foot taller. He wore a dark-grey trench coat with faded brass buttons, long blue jeans, and a pair of black, steel-toed boots. He strode through a long aisle with flickering lights and splatters of blood as he looked for what he could loot.

2306508
Resting in the corner, against a shelf, was a most peculiar sight. A teenager, probably around seventeen, rested unconscious against the shelf. He was of average build, about as tall as Samuel, and had a short cropping of black hair atop his head as well. He wore a pair of jeans, black sneakers, and a grey hoodie emblazoned with a red fluer de lis on the back, and all his clothing was surprisingly clean. A soft groan came from his lips, showing that he was, in fact, still alive.

2306613
Samuel narrowed his eyes at the strange sight as he casually walked down the aisle, and when he came to be right by the boy he poked him with the barrel of his gun. "Anyone home?" His gravelly voice rumbled. As curious as he was about the boy, this was also no place for someone to be unconscious.

2306913
The boy slowly opened his eyes, observing his surroundings with tired eyes. "I'm in a store. An abandoned store with lots of dried blood everywhere. What the fuck..." He slowly stood up, rolling his neck and looking at Samuel. "Okay, then. I'm Conner, and i have no idea how i got here. Um...." He looked at a watch on his left wrist, a vintage looking one with metal rimming an old, ticking clock face, though it looked very sturdy. "Erm... What time is it? And the date. Full date, please." He said as he began fiddling with the knobs on the sides. Indeed, on the spot below the clock face was a set of numbers, on a digital battery. They read a date of April 3rd, 2013.

2307068
Samuel relaxed as he realized that the boy was no immediate threat, but he kept the grip on his brush gun tight nevertheless. He didn't want to be unprepared for any surprises. "It's the third of March, 2213." He said calmly. "At least I think it is, I sometimes have a poor grasp on time." Samuel's eyes widened we finally noticed the date on the clock. "...What." He said flatly.

2308499
The young man's eyes widened, and he looked up at Samuel. "Last time i checked, my clock was set to the right date. So.... Not where, but when am I..." Nonetheless, after setting the date and time to what Samuel had specified, he looked out the window, then back to the man. "So... Where am I, and why is this store spattered with blood? Sorry, i'm a little behind on current events." He said, motioning to his wristwatch and implying about the 200 year old date.

2308509
Samuel lowered his brush gun more towards the floor, hopefully showing Connor that he meant no harm. "First, I should introduce myself. My name's Samuel Browning." He said with a warm. "As for where you are and why there's crimson fluid everywhere, this is Milford, Ohio. The blood is my doing. This was a raider camp, emphasis on was."

(My brain is hnnnnging at all the possibilities of this setting.)

2308523
[]

The young man nodded and looked around with narrowed eyes. "Name's Conner. Let's see. Raiders, 2213, abandoned supermarket and other buildings." He said as he looked out the large storefront window. "So I'm going out on a limb... Post apocalyptic wasteland?" He said as he looked back to Samuel with a neutral espression.

2308524
Samuel nodded with a smirk, and then let the brush gun hang from the strap on his shoulder. "Damn Chinese got us." He pulled a Browning Hi-Power from his hip and handed it grip-first to Connor, then offered his other hand to help him up. "You'll definitely need a gun out here at some point."

2308536
[He's already standing up.]

Connor took the gun and nodded thankfully, finally offering a smile. "So... I would like to get somewhere safer as soon as possible. I don't plan to be a burden. I can survive well on my own, if you'd rather not have me around." Indeed, Connor's eyes shone with a glint of strong intelligence and cunning. He was mentally prepared to fight to survive, at the very least.

[Back by 8:30]

2308563 (Forgot about that.)

Samuel smiled back at him. "You can stay at my place if you want. It's actually better if we stick together out here, the raiders are smart and there's wild dogs everywhere. I live in an old house a few miles from here. It's not much, but you're welcome to stay."

2308603
Connor nodded and checked the gun, pulling the slide back halfway to check for a bullet in the chamber. Satisfied, he held the gun in both hands and nodded to the older man. "Lead the way. I'm just a tourist around here, it seems. As long as we avoid the locals, I think we'll be fine." He said with a smile.

2308676
Samuel turned and began leading Connor through the store and back to the entrance, seeming to move with confidence and purpose in his steps despite the scene around him. The corpses of about twenty men and women were strewn about their path to the front of the store, and the scent of fresh blood was heavy in the air. Both the men and women were dressed in armor made of scrap metal and leather straps, and many of them wore crude dusters and trench coats. Judging by the wear and tear on the coats, they certainly weren't for effect. Strangely enough, the helmets that some of them wore seemed to vaguely resemble old German helmets from nearly 300 years ago.

2308696
[Cue raider when ready.]

Connor put his gun away in his pocket, bending down and looking over the dead bodies. He unzipped his hoodie, letting it hang on his shoulders. "These helmets look..." He remembered back to footage tapes of World War 2, of the helmets the Nazi soldiers wore. He stood up and nodded to Samuel, stepping back to his side.

2308744 (I checked out the manufacturer's specs on my 14" laptop. Despite being a rink-a-dink midget of a computer, it has 1.5 Gigs of video memory. World's strongest midget. )

Samuel raised an eyebrow at his companion's actions, but he decided not to say anything as he continued to lead the way. Soon, they exited the store and now stood out in the open air. The air was cool, but not unpleasantly so, and the air was moist. The two men stood in the square of a decayed and destroyed shopping center, which a sign far off identified as "Mulberry Square". After the large man looked around at his surroundings for a few moments, a bullet struck the brick pillar beside them, sending small chunks of material and dust into the air. He grabbed tapped Connor on the shoulder and waved for him to come back inside, and he turned and darted back into the store.

2308870
Connor ducked behind one of the cashier counters, pulling out his gun and looking over to Samuel. "Okay..." He saud quietly. "It seems the locals aren't happy..." He narrowed his eyes and quickly peeked over the counter, then ducked back down, looking for who was trying to shoot them.

[Aww, I wanna break some limbs...]

2308933 (Your wish is granted.)

Samuel was knelt down behind the counter directly across from Connor, peering down the open sights of his brush gun as he rested it on the counter top. He couldn't help but grin to himself, he loved it when he got a chance to use his gun, it was far more powerful than much of what was out there, and it had so much utility despite its short range. A blood-curdling cry for blade came from over towards Connor's direction, one that was primal and fearless as if the crier had gone violently mad. A raider wearing metal armor that covered only his upper body, and some sort of skirt made of blood-stained cloth vaulted over one of the low-set broken windows of the storefront. He screamed and dashed towards the teenager, waving a long-handled lumberjack axe in the air with both hands.

2308974
Connor put away his gun. And grinned. This was perfect. This was easy. As soon as the maniac raider got close and swung his axe, Connor calmly stepped to the side, then brought his knee up into the raider's gut. He swung that foot back for momentum, grabbing the raider's arm and pulling him off his feet with a grunt. Once the raider was flat on his face and his arm lifted up so he couldn't get up, Connor held the arm upright and kneed the elbow, hyperextending the arm with a sickening crack.

2309343 (Sorry for the late response. I had to do the dishes despite my back pain, and the fact that my mom hijacked the computer while I worked irritated me so much that I couldn't type on my tablet.)

The raider screamed in agony as his arm was broken, and he flailed violently on the ground as he tried to get away despite the pain.

Samuel quickly swung his gun over to a raider who poked their head out from behind a car, and he pulled a trigger just as they pointed their gun at him. The raider's head exploded in a shower of gore, and their corpse collapsed behind their cover.

2309544
Connor set his foot on the raider's back to keep him down, then picked up his axe and hefted it in his hands. It was a nice feel and weight. With a grunt, he jammed the butt oft he handle onto the raider's neck, snapping the neck and crushing the trachea in one blow. Connor ducked behind cover once again, grinning like a maniac as he held the axe, feeling empowered. He pulled out his pistol and aimed over the counter, firing at a raider running for cover. Said raider collapsed with three bullets in his body, all placed squarely on hid chest.

2309650
Samuel's eyes lit up, and he grinned madly as he realized something that had somehow escaped him. "The cars won't save them!" He proclaimed. To prove his point, he hovered his sights over a car door where he had previously saw a raider taking cover, and he pulled the trigger. The huge lever-gun let out a powerful roar, and the raider behind the vehicle dropped like he had been touched by the grim reaper. "Can't beat a handload..." He remarked.

2309853
Connor peeked over the counter after firing a few more times. Silence. Finally, silence. He smiled and stood up, dropping the empty clip from the pistol. "Thanks, Samuel." He said as he turned to the man. "It seems I was lucky for you to find me. Since this is a wasteland, I'm going to scavenge the raider's bodies before we go." Connor hopped the counter and began picking his way through the corpses, pulling off any weapons and ammo he could find. He also found one raider with a strong-looking black backpack, and decided to keep it, using it to store everything he found.

[What were the raiders armed with?]

2309925
The raiders were surprisingly well-armed for such a rag-tag and uncoordinated group. Some of them had old Mosin-Nagant 91/30's and Colt 1911's, while others had Chinese AK-47's and .38 revolvers. Aside from their guns, most of them had crude knives or hatchets. Samuel walked over to Connor and pointed at one of the looted guns. "I've been finding stuff of that grade on all of them. Some of it makes sense, some of it doesn't."

2310018
Connor grunted and hefted the weapons and armor and ammo he scavenged in his backpack, looking around at the bodies. "Let's discuss this more once we're at your place. I'd rather not stay out in the open any longer." He looked to Samuel and nodded for him to start leading.

[Skip to Sam's house? And does he happen to have some kind of air tank and an air pump? A bike pump, perhaps?]

2310105 (I can write that in. )

After a little over twenty minutes of dodging through the wide and open streets of Milford, Samuel and his companion finally arrived at his home. It was an old brick house with a partially caved-in roof, and the windows had been shattered long ago. He walked up to the door with his brush gun in one hand, and he pushed open the door. His green eyes danced about the living room to make sure that all was right, and when he was satisfied he led Connor inside. In the room there were several workbenches lining the walls, each one with a different firearm laying atop it, and each one at various stages of completion. One table held nothing but various types of ammo and powder, which must have been for handloading. In the corner was a bike pump.

2310167
[Where's the air tank? And you can just make the bike pump a normal size. Anything will pump up the tank, and it can't be too big. Same for the air tank.]

Connor hefted his bag and looked around with a smile, a glint in his eye. He could fix up these guns. Oh, yes. He could fix and modify just about everything in this room. "Alright, I require two things. Well, three. Food at some point, a place to sleep, and if you have one, an unoccupied workbench." He walked over to the bike pump and picked it up, turning it over in his hand. "Got some kind of air tank? Shouldn't be too big, maybe a foot or so across at most."

2310239 (Alright, I'll change the pump size. Also, I managed to get New Vegas to cooperate on the computer, it's just a bit laggy. Brush gun rampage time. )

Samuel raised a hand and pointed to the far right wing of the house. "Should be one in the next room over there, laying on one of the dressers." He walked over to one of the workbenches and began examining an old hunting rifle. He picked up a rag and a bottle of cleaner, put the cleaner on the rag, and then began wiping down the internals of the gun. "It's almost like Remington knew I'd have raider issues." He mused with a chuckle. The gun he was working with was a Remington 700 rifle, complete with a scope mount and an old flash-hider. "There's another sleeping bag in the kitchen, along with another workbench I'm not using. Have at it."

2310371
[It still says "Large bike pump".]

Connor nodded and went into the kitchen, setting his backpack down, then going into the room Samuel mentioned and taking the air tank off of the dresser. It was a cylinder, eight inches long and six wide, perfect for what he was thinking about. He went back into the kitchen and pulled out a Moslin-Nagant from the backpack, half-broken, but with an intact scope and barrel. He took the barrel and set the scope aside, then pulled out the trigger mechanism from another rifle, the rest of it mangled to the point of being unidentifiable. All he could see was that it was once some kind of semi-auto weapon that took a clip.

He attached the barrel to the weapon after hollowing out what was left of the mechanism, then attached a trio of tubes into the tank. Two went in the top, and the other the bottom. The larger tube attached through where the hammer of the mechanism would normally go, and into the barrel. He also put it a small chamber, like where a gun would chamber a bullet, between the barrel and the tube as a bridge, with a trap door bottom and a spring. The second tube went to a circular pressure gauge that Connor attached to the side of the gun, on the side, so he could always read the pressure level inside the tank. The third went back to the bike pump, which was small enough to sit as an under-barrel attachment, which Connor did attach by welding the pump to the base of the weapon's barrel, just a few inches in front of the trigger guard. Connor covered the bike pump with the pump from a shotgun, welding the handle of the pump to the front of the pump. When Connor pumped the shotgun slide, he would pump the tank with the bike pump.

Connor then took some 12 gauge shells, some 00 buckshot, if he wasn't mistaken, then grabbed a few empty AK-47 clips and removed the springs. He took a long, straight metal tube and cut it into several four-inch pieces, then welded and hammered one end shut on each after welding a spring inside. After attaching flat, circular pieces of metal atop the springs, he also placed two curved pieces of metal over the top, like how a clip for a gun has two pieces to keep the spring platform from pushing the bullets out of the clip. After welding and cutting the gun's normal clip mechanism into a circle, along with notches on both the tubes and the gun to allow them to lock into place, he loaded several BBs into the three clips he had, and they stayed inside as bullets in a normal clip do. Each one held about ten shots.

Connor loaded the clip inside the hole he had made, watching and hearing it lock into place. He pumped up the pressure until the gauge read that the tank was a bit over-pressured, then pulled the trigger. There was little kick, almost none, and there was an almost-silent rush of air, but there also was a brand new hole in the wall, right where the barrel pointed. Connor smiled and pulled out the clip, then released the pressure in the gauge by turning a small valve on the neck of the nozzle where the bike pump attached. He took the wooden handle and stock of a hunting rifle, then hollowed it out with knife. He threaded the tubes through the stock, cutting a section out to place the tank into, then welding the air tank in place with some metal rods. He covered any exposed tubing with some scrap metal, as well as covering the air tank with a small hinged hatch to access the release valve, then made sure that the mechanism and handle were securely attached. He finally used a clamp and a few nails to re-attach the scope to the top of the gun. He stepped back and admired his last two hours of work, wiping a little sweat from his brow. It was a silent, air-powered sniper rifle with an abundant source of ammunition and an endless supply of a power source.

2311398
Samuel poked his head into the kitchen with a curious expression. "What are you up to in-" He went silent when he saw the large weapon on the table. He stepped into the room and pointed at the bizarre device. "Whaaaaaaat the heck is that?"

2311878
Connor hefted up the rifle, pocketing the extra clips and putting all the extra BBs into his backpack. "This, my friend, is a pneumatic rifle, and it's mine. Now, is there anything you'd like to do? We could talk. We don't exactly know much about one another."

2312209
Samuel nodded with a smile and motioned to the room to the left. "There's a couch and a few chairs in there for talking. It's not often that I get visitors that aren't rabid." He turned and went into the room that he had gestured to, and he sat down in one of the chairs.

2312283
Connor sat down in another chair, polishing his new weapon with a rag. "Well... Huh. So, you can ask whatever you'd like. I'm not sure what to say, to be honest. I don't talk with many people too often." He let out a yawn and looked at the bedroll from his spot. "Actually, we can do this tomorrow when we're not tired, if that's alright. We can share some breakfast." He smiled warmly and yawned again, then stood up and went back into the kitchen, putting his gun with his backpack, then turning out the light and clambering into his bedroll and closing his eyes.

2312671
Samuel stood up and walked into the living room, and he then pulled out a massive revolver and set it on the ammo table. He then placed the brush gun by his sleeping bag and laid down on the soft fabric. He let out a small yawn and closed his eyes, then drifted off to sleep.

2312718
[Connor is asleep. Just a short transition of the raiders moving him to the cave, please.]

2312897 (Let's see if I can pull this off correctly...)

Around dawn, raiders had come and taken Connor away to a cave as an act of revenge for killing their fellow raiders. The door had been sealed with a large rock, preventing escape, and he was seemingly all alone. The cave was pitch black except for a ray of sunlight which shown down through a hole in the roof.

2315425
[Does Connor have his gear with him?]

The first thing Connor notices is that he doesn't feel the bedroll beneath his head. He quickly sat up, but stayed quiet. He always was quiet when he wasn't sure what was around him. Slowly, his breathing silent, he slowly turned his head back and forth, looking for anything of interest. As he did, his eyes began adjusting to the low light levels, allowing him to better see the cave he was in.

2315515 (Yes.)

There was a low growl from deep within the cave, and the sound of dirt and gravel shifting echoed through the cave. After that, there was silence other than the occasional drip of water. There was no readily apparent source of the other noises.

2315620
Connor, relieved he still had his gear, quietly drew his pneumatic rifle, slowly and quietly pumping the tank with air, then putting a clip into the weapon, pulling the small lever he made on the side to open the mechanism and allow one of the heavy BBs into the chamber. He aimed his weapon at where he heard the noise, slowly getting into a low crouch on his feet. The worst thing he could do was panic, for he would most surely die if he did.

2315675
There was another growl and a shifting of gravel, and the horned face of a deathclaw poked its head into the ray of light. Its scales were dark grey, and its face was marked by numerous scars. It stepped a little further into the light, its hands folded up almost as if it were afraid to touch anything, revealing its huge physique.

2315740
Connor's breath caught in his throat as he stared up at the beast, but he remained unmoving, simply lowering the barrel of his rifle. If this creature was intelligent, he wanted to show that he was no threat. He looked up at his, he assumed the creature was male, white eyes, then slowly glanced over his grey scales and the scars, what Connor assumed were the result of many battles with similar creatures. Clearly, this beast, whatever strange species it happened to be, was at the top of the heap.

2315854 (Fun fact: Animals tend to develop darker fur due to lower light levels, which has been happening recently in areas with high pollution. Thus, the Deathclaw has darker scales.)

The creature took a few more slow and cautious steps closer before stopping, and then it leaned forward, placing its face just inches from Connor's. It sniffed him a few times, and then snorted, its powerful breath wafting over his face. It stepped back and then reoriented itself so that it was upright, and it gazed down at the teenager, as if waiting for him to do something.

2315896
[SCIENCE!]

Connor smiled softly, sensing no sort of initial malice from the creature. He slowly began walking backwards, picking up his gear and making no sudden movements. As soon as he turned, however, he saw that the only entrance was blocked off by large rocks. With a soft sigh, he walked back to the creature and sat down on the ground, trying to think of what to do. As he looked over the creature before him, he did have to admit that it looked quite strong. He was a bit jealous of such a physique, though he was not jealous of the life it probably had.

2315957
The deathclaw sat down a few feet away from him, and began looking him over. There was primal intelligence in its eyes, which gave rise to the question of whether or not it was an animal. It definitely seemed more like a person. It glanced up at the boulder, and pointed to it with its index finger, as if asking what happened, and it stared at Connor expectantly.

2316062
When Connor saw the scythe-like claw point to the large boulder, Connor let out another sigh. 'I think..." He started, wondering if the deathclaw could understand him. "I think someone blocked me in here with you, because they wanted you to end me." He looked back to the deathclaw and gave a grateful smile. "I'm thankful that you didn't though. Um... Can you understand me? Can you nod id you can understand me?"

2316094
The deathclaw grunted and a slow nod, still looking at him with anticipation. "Hear." It rumbled out, demonstrating that it was capable of at least some speech. It looked down at the ground and then jabbed its pointer finger into the dirt, and began drawing something. When it was done, it pointed at Connor, and then at the drawing. The lines in the dirt spelled out "Will move rock."

2316139
Connor grinned and nodded in thanks, stepping back and letting the deathclaw move the rock. "Thank you, friend." After a minute, he thought about this deathclaw. He certainly seemed civil and intelligent. "I have to get back to a friend of mine, but I'll come back to visit, if you'd like. Is there something you would like me to call you?" He wondered if this creature had the concept of a name.

2316186
The deathclaw slowly stood up, towering over Connor by several feet. "Thresh." It said slowly. It then stepped around the teenager and walked over to the rock. It placed its claws and forehead on the boulder, and it pushed on it with a grunt. Slowly but surely, the rock began to move, and eventually it was rolled completely out of the way. The creature strode back into the central chamber of the cave, and sat down against the wall.

2316203
Connor smiled thankfully as he picked up his gear. "Thank you, Thresh." He turned to leave, but looked back at the deathclaw. He must be so alone, living by himself in a cave. Connor set down his bag and took off his hoodie, his most prized possession, and walked over to Thresh, setting the garment in his claws. The red fluer de lis on the bag contrasted stylishly with the grey fabric. "Hey. I'll be back, okay?" Connor smiled warmly, standing up and turning to leave once more.

[Skip to Samuel's? And could I see a sentence or two of how Thresh reacts? I tried to go for a sympathetic bonding moment.]

2316329
Thresh looked at Connor as the boy turned to leave, a glint of happiness in his eyes. "Friend." He rumbled. He stood up with the hoodie in hand, and he walked over to his friend and put an arm around him. He felt so alone in this cave, and just having someone visit him, someone who didn't try to or want to kill him just made his day.

(I thought you might like this bit.)

2316347
[.... Thank you... I...]

Connor blushed a bit, but he happily returned the hug, wrapping his arms as best he could around Thresh's abdomen. He had to admit, the deathclaw's scales felt... rather soothing. Strong and firm, but not unpleasant and rough. "Friend." He echoed back as a sort of confirmation, before finally releasing the hug and adjusting his white undershirt. "I'll be back soon, I promise." With that, Connor left the cave, waving his new friend goodbye. He saw the towering buildings of Cincinnati in the distance, and began walking.

After a few hours, he arrived at Samuel's house. He made sure his air rifle was ready, as it had been for the past while, before knocking on the door. "Samuel? Hello?"