Prototype Wasteland Story

As time began to pass, Johnny decided to look into the history of the town. Buying books, which he read enough and rarely finished. Along with asking people for information, eventually this would bring Johnny to two new people, who would change his life greatly. The first of which was a man by the name of Henry Rogers. Henry told no one his last name, except he had the name "Rogers" written on a safe in his house. Henry was oddly fat, used too much of acid, and had a disturbingly out of place mustache that was rather curly much like his black hair. The second person came from rumors. Almost out of nowhere as people started moving into the Trading Post. Normally the town was silent, peaceful, except for Henry, the purple rat of any society, who was never at peace. That all changed when people noticed several bounty hunters arriving in town. People felt something was going to go down, fearing that maybe they might owe some money to someone. Many people, who lived in the Trading Post were hissing, many would show up in the night stay for a week and leave. Several of the townspeople started to play this game, which required fear to play. They gathered this fear and proceeded to not leave their house, who ever lost their mind and committed to commit suicide was the winner. If only that were true, it was merely a bitter thought Johnny harbored inside, too afraid to speak his words. The bounty hunters that stayed in a nearby hotel on the west side of the town, were young and brash. Some older ones stayed at the hotel, but many stayed outside the town "exploring" and "Going on nature walks with old friends", who would be questioned for information. It became clear these bounty hunters were cruel bastards, not in a slick way, but just assholes. These men stayed away from the commercial areas and Johnny only saw some of them once. That one time Johnny was wearing a stripped red flannel shirt and black jeans with patches of silver tape and Johnny had grown his hair down to his neck, his hair almost covering all of his eyes and his beard was full with greasy brown hair now spoiled black. Johnny walked down the shirt out of Henry's house, heading towards a nearby bar. Johnny turned down an alley after he saw a man in leather following him. On a roof one building over, laid a girl with a large rifle, aimed at the alley ready to fire. The man approached Johnny, now revealing a pole, " You dirty hippie, tell me where Lester is?" Johnny heard the voice fine, just fine he heard the deep voice that came from the man. The man looked tough, no, the man before Johnny breathed toughness. The man wore a leather vest over his leather clothing and white shirts, with the words, " Wendell" pasted on. Johnny laughed seeing the vest, then shut closed, and he grinded his teeth, which shined in the midday sun, before letting out a scream. " FUCK You!" With that Johnny jumped forward, fast, lunging his body and fist into the man, who stood in shock seeing the cheer size of the scream. By the time the sniper girl realized what was happening, Johnny was choking the bounty hunter, now on the ground. " You Stupid little prick." The Bounty hunter painfully spat out, his faces turning red. Johnny moved his attention to the pipe, which he picked up after letting the bounty hunter go. Ten slow slaps to the head, killed the bounty hunters. Johnny looked down in horror as he had killed a man, his shirt now bloody. Johnny linked that shirt to his old life, despite only recently acquiring the shirt. In many senses, Johnny's life was becoming like his shirt, dirty and blood ridden. Johnny took the body further down the alley and placed the body at the end of the alley. Johnny searched the body for money at that point. He found no money on the body, but a journal with several loose papers. The journal was made of leather and had amazingly bright paper, filled with a history of the bounty hunter's deeds and on the loose papers, were the names and information on his current bounties. Henry appeared under a different name, a girl named Alexis appeared too. Also, Alexis appeared in the journal saying, " That Alexis bitch, is bullshit. It is pointless to have people go after her, no guns my ass, She shot several of our top hunters, her dad may be head of Wendell, but is doesn't mean her little bitch ass should be fried. This search is gonna kill me. Charles Wendell." Johnny didn't care for most of what he read, but was worried about Henry. Johnny started to talk to himself, " What happens now? Who wants Henry? Where can I get another shirt? Who is Alexis? Where can I clean my fucking shirt? Will this happen again? Fuck." The girl on the roof had left with her gun, heading into an apartment where she put down the rifle and grabbed a compact tranquilizer pistol. With that, the denim wearing sniper shot downstairs and into the alley. Once Johnny was in sight, the female fired twice, Johnny spun around, but then fell to the ground. Greeted by the same ground as the female stomped over the ground. " Shit, not another Wendell hired hand. These people are just getting annoying, my cannon fodder. Not yours. This was a kill only meant for me, A is for Alexis and Alexis is for killing." The female, Alexis, whispered to herself proudly. Alexis started out of the alley and headed back to her room, after taking all the man's papers and vest. When inside, she packed everything up and waited, this would be her last full day in the apartment. Six Hours Later: Johnny woke up to find himself laying next to the dead body, now without a vest. Johnny looked for the paper to try and find out about Henry to avail, Alexis had stolen the papers. Johnny's first meeting with this woman not a prime example of a good relationship. Johnny stumbled out of the alley, feeling the cold set in and blood now dry was still a bother. It was now very dark outside and Johnny found Henry's house eventually, after aimlessly walking through the streets of the trading post. Henry was still up and somewhat sober, he was drinking whiskey mixed with cough syrup, but no acid. Henry's noose was red and he sniffled as Johnny spoke forcefully, " I just killed a man, I need clothes and I'm sleeping here tonight, I was passed out in an alley for a few hours." "Ok, sit. You want any acid?" Henry asked smiling, Johnny did not smile, and a few seconds passed in silence before, " Ok, I got some old clothes that should fit. You can stay, but you own me a favor? It's a job, you interested?" " Yes, but I need to say something if you don't mind?" Johnny asked patiently, looking around the room of music as Henry left to find some clothes. The room was covered in music, posters, vinyl, tapes, cds, and an MP3 player filled with music. Currently Henry was playing 'Reeling in the Years' on the MP3 player. Johnny sat back in enjoyment hearing the guitar work from Steely Dan. Henry soon came bursting out with a set of clothes. In the pile, a white t-shirt(thick cloth), blue jeans(covered in dirt), and a pistol. " You can have the clothes to keep, and the pistol too, but don't use it for a hat. I had a friend once and you know, he didn't not take a lot of acid and shoot himself in the foot. You know I once was told..." Henry slowly spoke with little enjoyment put into his words, but deep inside he was happy. Happy to not be alone. " The guy I killed worked for Wendell and I think he was after you. What is Wendell? Are they connected with the slavers?" Johnny asked wanting to know what Henry had to say, Johnny said the words in a slow pace, but he did seem worried. "Oh, well. Oh, ok, I guess I may have to leave," Henry said very slow and sad as the news came to him, " And Wendell is connected to the Slavers. in that. The two don't hate each other. Wendell sometimes finds runaway slaves, but mainly is about other things. I stole medicine from them that they were using to not help their hunters." " I was once a slave Henry." Johnny fell apart as he said those words, head pointed straight towards the floor. "Shit, maybe we both have to leave. Anyway, I'm staying up, please go to sleep and Johnny. Here's an idea for you to never think about again, what if you could take down the Slavers?" Henry said smiling as he sat down near his music and continued to listen. Johnny frowned, " I'll need to tell you about it later. Henry, stay away from the acid. Someone, really is out to get you, so it would help if you didn't think I was after you, that would help so much." Henry didn't seem to care,  Johnny walked to a 'guest room' that was in fact the only bedroom in the rundown house Henry lived in. Henry slept on a comforting set of floorboard. Johnny laid in bed for some time before finally going to sleep. In the night, he heard a noise, a sharp bang. Johnny ran out of the bed into the living room. He saw only part of the room, half was dark, half was lighted. In the light was Henry's body with a buddle of blood surrounding him, expanding. Henry's face out of the light partly, was torn apart. A bullet had located itself in his skull. To say that Henry was at peace was a lie and in the corner near a pile of records and CDs stood a man with a gun, a large man. Johnny stood in the light for about a second before jumping on the man, who fired a bullet at Johnny. The bullet ripped off some skin ass it glazed by Johnny's arm. at which point, Johnny landed on the man. Johnny started to beat the man, then taking his fingers and slamming them into the eyes of the man until his fingers were covered in blood. The man screamed in pain, pure pain as his vision was torn from, his eyes crushed. Johnny pulled the man into the light to find, there before him, his father. Jeffery lay dead on the floor. In his head, he heard Lucien say, " Good job, but you failed." Those words haunted Johnny's mind now, playing nonstop, repeatedly. Johnny screamed violently, picking up Jeffery's gun and firing it into his skull. Nothing happened, he had no bullets to fire, and the world around him ignited in fire and Johnny screamed as he went to Hell. Covered in sweat, Johnny fell down to Hell, waking up on the floor of Henry's apartment. Johnny rushed out into the living room to find Henry on the floor sleeping, it was now in the early noon. No bullets, no guns, no dead bodies, nor blood just Johnny and Henry. " What's wrong with me? What's fucking wrong with me." mumbled Johnny as he put on his shoes. Before Johnny left though, he went back to the bedroom and looked through  Henry's clothing. He found a dirty old army jacket and jeans. which both fit. So he put them on and at that point left the room to wake Henry. Johnny in his dirty sneakers, kicked Henry in the chest and said in a dry voice, " Wake up, wake up. You sleeping bastard you, wake up." Henry took a few seconds to wake, but when he finally did happen to, he screamed. After he screamed, he rolled on his back, glaring up at Johnny. Henry grumbled out, " Do not, ever wake me up. Do not, every. Every, fucking come near me." " Ok, yeah da ladada, I'm a horrible idiot and blah. I need some money, I know you have some." Johnny said in a bored hurry, asking Henry to hurry, but not so interested in the bullshit either was saying. Henry sprang up and as Johnny opened his mouth again, he snapped back with, " I'm not giving you money, if you want you money. You'll need to work for it." " I will, I want to actually. Do you have any job, I can take now, shall I pick up your acid, sir boomrod?" Johnny slithered out as he smiled and bowed. " Oh just fuck off for now. I'll think of it later, but it will pay," Henry smashed back, " Oh yes, I've got it. I've got it. A record store is outside of the trading post to the north east I believe. Only about one mile out of town. I need some stuff there, but mainly a record player and some you know records. If the records aren't broken from wear or" " Or if the store isn't destroyed. That would be nice, you know. I think I may not get paid if the store is gone." Johnny spat back out. "Ha ha ha. I'll make a list for you. You know what, even if the store isn't broken, I'll give you some money. As a show of good faith and spare change, I will give you right now some JG & P coins. That should get you, mildly drunk. Maybe if you go to a bar hammered." Henry shot out. Bang, bang, these words hit Johnny in the gut as he stumbled and fell reaching for the money. Henry laughed at Johnny, as any friend would. Except maybe, just maybe, Henry was laughing like a madman because he felt like it. For all Johnny knows, Henry may have started laughing before he fell. " You laughing at me?" Johnny asked childishly, frowning. Henry looked up, Henry looked down, and Henry then flipped Johnny off as well as nodding his head. Johnny disgruntled left the room. As soon as Johnny was gone, Henry put all of his attention to making a list. Johnny walking down the streets of the Trading Post, wondered where to go. To the bar with his limited amount of money or to Layla's shop, a haven for him. Layla was very nice to Johnny, plus she had a big heart. So big was her heart that when it got cold her chest would remind travelers of two very large mountains. Johnny saw this and poked fun at it mostly, which is a big reason he actually liked Layla. Also, Dmitri lived with Layla now, so if he was attacked again, Johnny would not have to do anything and just let Dmitri do the fighting, but Dmitri was getting stubborn. Dmitri still worked for Layla as a guard for her store. To compensate for a lack of morals most his life, Dmitri developed a very high sense of morals. Dmitri refused to go near Henry, he did drugs and most be considered an enemy to anyone. Anyone, who is smart enough to think and care about life. In many ways it made sense to hate Henry, but in truth as much as Henry seemed to use drugs. He was just another lonely person, except he and Johnny got along. Johnny thought about this and became frustrated, breathing deeply. In his heart, Johnny knew Dmitri was right, but currently wanted to stay by Henry's decisions. As Johnny thought about this, Henry sat in his home with half a list formed, soon he got bored threw the paper away from him. Henry then stood up, walked over to a floor safe, opened the safe, and pulled a thin piece of paper out. Blotter paper, LSD-300, super acid. Henry started to destroy his brain again, maybe he would be as smart as Johnny one day.                             Johnny soon found himself at the store. He entered the store and found Layla wearing a mechanics jumpsuit, loose fitting and grey with duct tape patches on it. Dmitri wore leather armor and boots, along with a baseball hat. He carried a bat on his shoulder, in his hands he carried a shotgun with the back fold cut off. Dmitri didn't bother to look at Johnny as he approached Layla, Dmitri was focused on some boys going through the store's collection of junk. " Layla, I need some help." Johnny rushed out, before Layla could even say hello. "I haven't seen often since I helped you with the bullet, are you really in such a hurry?" Layla playfully asked, then pushed Johnny lightly in the shoulder. Johnny frowned for a moment, looking highly disappointed. " A man from a company Wendell attacked me yesterday and I killed him. Then before I knew it, I was knocked out, but before that I looked through the guy's papers. He had several targets, one was my friends Henry and a girl named Alexis. I am a little worried. "Johnny began to say slowly before speeding up his word to frightened pace. Dmitri heard Johnny and looked at Layla for a moment in unexplained disappointment. Layla cared little and turned back instead to Johnny, saying, " Ok, let's go up to my room and talk." Johnny nodded his head and walked past a doorway standing to the left of Dmitri. Layla followed Johnny up her wooden stairs. Johnny arrived in her room to find it a hot place. "Ok, so what is so wrong with life? You killed someone, you're afraid, right?" Layla asked with a stupid tone, nearly angering Johnny with the mere tone of her voice. " Yes. The guy worked for Wendell, have you heard of them?" Johnny asked. " I think Wendell is a gun dealing company in Jersey City, not sure though, but I think they are. Many people think they are a dirty company, so having workers also act as bounty hunters would make sense. I'll ask around about this Alexis, maybe she is a runaway slave like you?" Layla asked calmly "Probably not, in one of the letters I read, it said that this Alexis was daughter of the head of Wendell. I am starting to think maybe she is a runaway badass." Johnny said with a cool overtone ever time he mentioned Alexis. " And you saw this in the short between killing the man and begin knocked out? Are you sure you're not just trying to find someone you want, but doesn't exist? Look at yourself, " Runaway badass" you have no idea if this is just a whining brat." Layla said in a high pitch spat. " I have an idea that the person, who knocked me out was Alexis. I think I heard her name in my knocked out state. Oh well, so how can you help me?" Johnny said starting angry, but by the end sounding painfully young. " Ok, maybe I can get Dmitri to give one of his guns, but I don't know about him anymore. Come by later and ask." Layla said kindly, wrapping her arm around the neck of Johnny and hugging him. " You smell old, you've been around Henry haven't you." Layla said after hugging Johnny. Johnny starched his head and said, " About that. Henry hired me to find some records, could Dmitri maybe possibly.." " I know what you want, but sorry Johnny. I'm sorry he's been hard on you recently, but he's been trying to save his soul." Layla said in her average kind, dumb voice. " I think he doesn't have a soul, he worked with slavers. I think he rebuilt his own soul from nothing and made it into this. He doesn't want to bad, so he can only be what he thinks is good, but fuck him." Johnny said upsetting. As soon as Johnny finished his rant, the sound of screams came from downstairs. Both Johnny and Layla rushed down the stairs, to find Dmitri standing above one of the kids in the store before. The kid was crying and bleeding pain and Dmitri stood above with hid knuckles covered in blood. Layla looked at the child mortified, " What happened, Dmitri?" " He tried to steal some scrap metal?" Dmitri said with bold conviction thinking, he was in the right for attacking the kid. The kid, who was most likely ten years old or older, was in complete shock. With his blues eyes gazing out at Johnny, who looked on in anger. Johnny walked up to Dmitri and glared at him. " If I punched you in the face right now, I would still want to hurt you after." Johnny whispered to Dmitri, whose face went from proud and spoiled sour. " Just you try to punch me, you little runt..." Dmitri bolt out filled with anger, before Johnny whipped his fist at Dmitri's face. Dmitri fell back, blood spilling out of his nose, but instead of crying like the kid Dmitri shot back up. AS he did so, the kid crawled out of the store. Dmitri slashed his leg up to Johnny's side. Although, Dmitri held back on his attack in fear of breaking Johnny's ribs, Johnny fell to the ground in pain. " Get out Johnny, I'll cool down, but get the fuck of my store before I shoot your ass into another fucking lifetime." Dmitri blasted out of his mouth as Johnny stood up and went packing out of the store. " Dmitri, I was talking to Johnny. He said someone tried to kill yesterday, someone from Wendell. I think he may have found out, who the target that all the bounty hunters are after. He said her name is Alexis and is the daughter of Wendell, if you see her, see probably will have some skill." Layla said with a calm voice. Dmitri said to breath heavily, "Really... That's interesting... I think the whole town is after this person, but at the same time in fear they are being chased after. I can it and return things back to order and she probably killed some people, so I feel the need to find her anyone." " Why do all my friends cheat me." Dmitri said coldly and walked to the back of the store and into the back room. A hot room with one table in the center of the room. Around him a set of safes and lockers. At the end of the table was a chair. This was Dmitri's office. Dmitri sat down in his chair as Layla cleaned up the store. On the table were several files on the bounty hunters, from data he had collected. Several pages and several pencils on the table. " Most of the bounty hunters write, but only one shows signs of giving away valuable information like this time. Chuck Stanford a.k.a. Charles Wendell. Terrible fighter from accounts and slightly a drunk." Dmitri thought it now made sense. Johnny started out of the store and went back to the home of Henry. On the way, the three kids from the store came up behind him. The one with the blood on his face seemed like the leader. " Hi! Hi, man! You put that guy in his place." The kid said. Johnny frowned at having to speak with someone and turned to face them. He stood at least two feet above them, but to him it felt like three feet. " It was not right for him to attack you. What do you want?" Johnny asked slightly annoyed. The kid anxiously took out of a bag he had with him a snub nose revolver in a holster and a small stack of paper money. " This is for helping me." The kid said before running off. Johnny removed the gun from its holster, it was very old, but unlike what he thought it still worked. Johnny placed the gun back in the holster and attached the holster to his belt. Before he could ask about where the gun was from, the kids had bolted off. It surprised him and made him think how a kid could get a gun, " Maybe it was an informant for Alexis." Johnny thought, bringing Alexis back on his brain. It was strange how although he never met her, the idea of her made him smile. Then he would think about how she would probably glare at him for smiling, losing his smile quickly after that. This would continue for five minutes or so, then Johnny reached Henry's home and entered. Henry laid on the floor sweating heavily. Johnny walked up to him and Henry screamed, " Get out RICE! Please don't kill me." Johnny looked puzzled and then remembered that Henry dealt with cannibals' at one point and one of the head warriors was named Rice. Henry once said, Rice tried to kill him, and constantly sees him after using acid. Johnny waited for a few hours for Henry to cool down. Johnny started playing something called After the Gold Rush by Neil Young on Henry's MP3 player. Johnny played the album three times before Henry seemingly came to. Johnny still wanted a job, but didn't know if Henry even remembered offering a job, so he asked, " Why don't you have something to play these records?" Johnny examined Henry's stacks of vinyl records. Henry still seem tired with his wife beater shirt still on. Henry's black curly hair and mustache, was covered in sweat, to the point of looking black and heavy. AS opposed to silky and brown, " I hear just outside of the trading post." Henry said before dozing off for a few seconds, " A record store." Henry spoke like he was amused, but tired, " They may have a record player, but I haven't been here long enough to know if the slavers near or if there are other threats." " Like Wendell?" Johnny said bored, feeling like he was almost reliving the beginning of the day differently. Henry jumped up and with both hands pointed at Johnny, shouted, " Exactly. That is exactly what I'm talking about. Ok, oh the job. Find this list of records and other things for me please. I will pay you reasonably. Also, you may need to rob Layla's store for the money." Johnny formed a scowl at Henry and said, " Please do not talk about Dmitri or Layla's store. Someone just tried to steal some scarp metal. They were ten, I think." Henry smiled and laughed, " Ok and Dmitri the big guy shot him right? How dare you steal my store." Henry began acting like a monkey as he said his joke. Johnny seemed even less amused. " He beat the kid up. I hit him. He kicked me." Johnny said. Henry wrapped his arm around Johnny's neck, but Johnny pushed it away. " Dmitri feels like all his friends are betraying him. Sometimes they are, but he is not the greatest person ever. So as much as he feels he is losing you, he lost himself. So the next he bitches hit him harder. He needs it." Henry spoke wisely. " You need to stop using fucking acid." Johnny said laughing. " Ha ha. You're very funny, maybe you should lose some brain cells with me. Oh and take this list I made for you before." Henry said smiling. " There is one thing you should never do, don't go back to the store and say that you're sorry." " Ok, will do. You know what." Johnny said. " I asked Layla about giving me a job maybe before and she said she didn't hire anyone anymore for work. You know why?'] " Nope, don't care." Henry blurted out. " The last person she hired, she hired to find a book I think. Or maybe it was to help her make a book, but it doesn't. She sent this guy off and he never came back. She says he was probably. That is depressing. So thanks for giving me a better, easier job." Johnny said, full of life. Henry just nodded back to Johnny, uninterested. " Ok, well goodbye. Have a good day. Come back if you need a place to stay, but only if you NEED a place to stay. I don't want to be bothered by your morality rants when I do acid. Your turning into the shell of Dmitri's characters. I'm afraid, you make the full transformation, I'll have to kill you." Henry said laughing as the end of his statement. " Goodbye. You've been a great friends." Johnny said leaving for the door, when he reached the door he said, " Don't take acid." " Don't die in a hole, you bastard." Henry replied as Johnny walked down the street heading for the bar. Johnny entered a bar named, The Mass Kin Bar. It was a medium sized building, they sold beer and also had some rooms for rent. Johnny purchased a room for the night and went to the bar area, which was the majority of the bar, and ordered a shot of scotch. Johnny drank the scotch and thought about his life. He missed his dad, he missed the vault, and he missed his security. However more than anything, Johnny missed his innocence, but Johnny couldn't get any of it back now. Johnny thought about the things he wanted. He wanted to meet Alexis, he wanted to kill Lucien, and he wanted to get Henry off acid. He felt he would never do any of those and if he could one or two, Johnny would be unset that he couldn't do all of them. Johnny, however couldn't do all of the three. As he thought, a female about his age came up to him. She had silver hair, she wore an army jacket like Johnny and jeans with duct tape covering holes. She smiled and grabbed Johnny's shoulder, " Hi, Mr Soul, you feel lucky today?" " No." Johnny mumbled, with no emotion. The girl leaned in close to Johnny, as he tired to push her away, she whispered, " I saved your ass yesterday, my name is Alexis. I see you have a room, let's talk" "Ok, can I say, I love you right now." Johnny said nodding his. " You're an idiot." Alexis said as the two walked up the stairs to Johnny's room. Johnny probably wanted sex with Alexis when he hadn't seen. Now seeing her, Johnny definitely wanted to have sex with her, be her friends. The thought of planning out a way to protect Alexis was not what he was thinking of at the moment, Alexis knew it and was not very happy by that thought. The room was small and pained white. It had a bed that looked worn out, a coffee table in front of the bed. In front of the coffee table was a normal table with a desk, Alexis sat there. Johnny laid on the bed looking at the wall above him. It stared down at Johnny and looked sharp and ragged. " Ok, so you probably want to know about Wendell, right I would only make sense that you would want to know." Alexis said looking at the table. " Yes, I would. Are they a mercenary company?" Johnny asked like a child still looking at the ceiling, white and stark. " They sell guns in Jersey City and Atlantic City, two different branches. My father owns the business, it runs in the family. He raised me to be bounty hunter, so I wouldn't get picked on as a kid or some bullshit. I didn't like what he was doing, so I left. Any questions or may I continue?" Alexis fired off. " That was quick, but no questions for me." Johnny said calmly sitting up and yawning. " We don't have a lot of time to discuss. Anywhere, so after I escaped from the compound I was living in since I was a young girl. I ran away, going everywhere and anywhere. He sent hunters after to me. I started outsmarting them, one time though I dealt with an angered elder bounty hunter. He had been trying to find for months, so I broke into his hotel room at night and killed him. He's been sending more and more. This time it is disturbing how many are after me. Now, can you help me with this. We need to find a place for them to find us and strike them." Alexis said a little more slowly. " I have a job to get some things from a nearby record store, we can go there and have them attack that. More importantly you got one of those things will the pedal, that gas is used for?" Johnny said going from a laid back man to stone age caveman. " Yes, I have a car and yes that would be a nice plan. Now we can go the fun way or the comfortable way." Alexis said walking over to Johnny, she jumped on the bed with him and took a flask of whiskey from her pocket. " If I take the fun way, will I be able to drive with you to the store." Johnny asked in joy as he took a swig off the flask. " No, but the fun way is very fun." Alexis said putting the whiskey down and wrapping herself around Johnny. Johnny smiled and said, " I like your silver hair." There was something very childish about Johnny at that time. The two started kissing and it felt good. Except, Johnny felt he couldn't kiss well. Alexis then started suddenly, finding it strange to be kissing a child, " Let's not take the fun way." Johnny kinds of mellowed out at that point and became depressed after. " Oh, okay. That's good. Why didn't you kill me before." He said. " You had s nice resistant feeling about yourself. I saw it and just smiled. You took down a Wendell operator with ease, given he was a drunk, but you did it before I could. I saw it excited me, so I found you." Alexis slowly let out of her mouth. " Do you want to sleep here with me? I can sleep on the floor" Johnny asked humbly. " Ok, but I think I hear footsteps. Alexis hid glues to a wall by the bed watching the door with a slim gun out. Johnny took out his revolver and went to another part of the wall. The footsteps grew louder and louder. The two then heard voices, mumblings and such. " This may be a local search party, or it could bounty hunters, fuck." Alexis muttered in grief, this was not part of the fun way. When Alexis said that, three Wendell bounty hunters burst into the room. " Sir, it appears you have exceeded your welcome." One stupidly said. Johnny rose out of his cover and said, " No, I'm never been welcomed. You have overstayed your welcome. Face meet bullet." Johnny rose his gun and fired. Blam, one fell to the ground grabbing there side. Before the bounty hunters could take out there weapons, Alexis opened fire on them. Shooting three round, hitting another man, but killing him instead. The two living ones exited the room and took out there guns. A fire fight ensued. Each side firing at each other. Until, Alexis took the whiskey flask made of glass, opened it and put a rag on it. The rage was just laying on the coffee table, used by Johnny to wipe off his sweat. Then she took a match, lit said match and ignited the rage. After that she threw the bottle. When the bottle burst open and the flames spread, one man was killed and the other was burned badly. The two took the opportunity put away their guns and jump out the window. Alexis landed with little pain, almost with grace and beauty. However Johnny landed in complete and had to limp back to Alexis' apartment. It was now night time and both were tired, but refused to show it. When Johnny and Alexis entered Alexis' apartment, Johnny starting telling Alexis about his past, after Alexis asked, " Where did you learn to shoot like that, you shoot well, but man you suck." Johnny started looking around her apartment, very little light and several bags. That is what he noticed, little light and many bags. Filled with what he thought were guns. " I grew up in a vault, you know what vaults are? With many other people and my father, a police officer. He taught me things about shooting, but I never really had time to learn a lot. He only started teaching me a month before I left the vault. The vault was attacked by slavers and part of it filled with water. Me and my dad were the only to escape the vault. Then I was taken by slavers and I've never seen my father since. I escaped the slaver main base with the help of a guard named Dmitri. When we escaped, I was shot. I forget where to be honest, I passed out." Johnny said slowly as Alexis listened. " Dmitri, the one that works for the idiot doctor Layla?" Alexis snapped at Johnny in the middle of a thought. " Yes, did you think he could help us or something?" Johnny asked not knowing the truth. " Dmitri has been trying to find me by working with Wendell, he feels he needs the cash." Alexis said with anger. " That bastard. Anyway. So we met, Layla a merchant and dcotor. She fixed me and we traveled together. I trained, getting used to pain and firing guns. It didn't do much. All three of us moved into the trading more than a year ago I think. After awhile a riff between me and Dmitri emerged and he started fucking Layla. I made friends with a man named Henry, drug user, thinker, music fan. That made Dmitri hate me more. I punched him in the jaw today after he attacked a kid for trying to steal scrap metal. Then some other stuff happened." Johnny spoke slowly with an increasing sense of boredom. "Interesting. I think he may try to kill you later, but that's ok you have me. Henry however may not make. Just guessing, but it sucks what could and most likely will happen. So should probably head out tonight to get the records." Alexis said getting more and more stressed as she continued. " You still want to help me out?" Johnny said surprised that Alexis still wanted to get the records. "Yes. let's go." Alexis said with conviction and a smirk. " Now I'm grabbing one bag, you grab another. We leave now." Alexis grabbed a bulky bag and Johnny a slimmer, more compact bag. In Alexis' bag, she had a sniper rifle and other guns, but in Johnny's bag was a collection of small pistols and explosives. The Two grabbed the gear and headed out of the building. Alexis led Johnny to her car, an old dark green compact car. The car was called a Camel and had sun burnt dashboards. " Let's rock." whispered Johnny in Alexis' eye as she turned on the car. Slowly the two drove through the streets and eventually out of the town. Heading northeast to the records store, Alexis was driving by the directions she was getting from Johnny. By driving through the streets, Alexis hoped bounty hunters saw her and would follow. Alexis smiled in delight as they drove and in a short time, the pair was there. Quickly they found the store was small, with two entrances front and back. The roof of the store looked weak and had collapsed in a bit. Johnny and Alexis wasted no time in parking the car and then piling the records up in the trunk of the car. It took them only vie minutes to find all the items that were in the store and a records player. The store was very dim and had checker board floor prints. The record store used to be a warm happy place where friends would go and enjoy music together, but now it was a cold barren store. Haunting and foreboding in its appearance. Johnny's heart sunk when he found that many of the records were destroyed or not useable. Alexis moved the car to the garage underneath the store. The store was oddly placed around many destroyed building. There was the main level of the store, the roof, and the garage below the store. There was a ladder from the main level to the roof in the store itself. Johnny was told by Alexis to take two machine pistols from a bag and guard the downstairs with a bag of goodies to help. Alexis would snipe from the top of the building with a scoped assault rifle. If thing got bad, she would torch the roof, but that was not a smart option. Nor was it a fun option. The pair waited for some time, nothing. no one was coming. Johnny flipped over a store counter and planned on using it as a hold postion. The night turned to day, early day, while the sun was just raising. The sky was a light blue and was so young, when the bounty hunters descended upon the store. One jeep filled with old bounty hunters came plowing down the road to the store. There were a total of five bounty hunters and each had grey hair and dressed sharp. Each one carried not only a large pistol, but a small revolver, ballistic knife, and some had shotguns. One had a rifle, but on top of all of that, they wore advanced amour. Part of them was high class, part of them was the future, and part of them primitive violence. They were one of the best units of Wendell, they were the Loaded Rats. Each one had served as a bounty hunters for more than thirty years and were amazing shots. They were waiting to arrive at the store to search it, that was a mistake. Like a fire cracker, Alexis shot off at the jeep. Mangling the vehicle with her bullets and hitting three of the five hunters in her first burst. One bullet blasted off a hunter in the back's ear off, another landed in a big fella's mouth killing him instantly, and lastly one bullet hit eye of the driver. The driver was killed instantly as well and the car slammed into a building. The living men struggled out of the car, leaving there heavy weapons there. Alexis finished off the her first shot and then needed to reload her weapon. The other bounty hunters, now bleeding from there wounds too marched toward the store with pistols drawn. Alexis let them go into the store. The two opened the door and Johnny popped up as they did. Johnny sprayed the door with bullets. The two men both were shredded by them and fell dead, like that. Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang BANG! Dead, Dead. Just like that, no last words, no change of heart, just death and the blackening of a youthful soul. Johnny then walked up the dead bodies, took their pistols off their body and placed them on table nearby. After that, he unloaded his guns into one of the bodies. Like Alexis, Johnny then reloaded. " You've got to be kidding me, this was easy." Johnny laughed to himself before he saw that from the rubble several riflemen appeared, then out of the buildings came more teams. At least thirty bounty hunters, both young and old, dressed in the same way as the other men. Alexis started picking off some of the bounty hunters, but it only dented the tin can trouble that was the bounty hunters. It seemed that Alexis' goal went from eating cereal with a spoon to killing an armed man with a spoon. The hunters wouldn't let up either. She grabbed the bag and ran downstairs. Johnny started to panic, " What should we do now?" " We run, it is better to run now. I can right them off, but they will strike when I reloaded and you aren't ready enough to take on this many of bounty hunters. We run." Alexis stated with boldness as she prepared for a final attack. " You go downstairs and wait, I'll take some of these assholes out." As Johnny ran to the garage downstairs, the bounty had approached the door of store. Alexis took out her assault rifle and opened fire quickly. Several of the hunters standing in the front were shot down. More came to replace the dead hunters as Alexis ran downstairs to the garage. The hunters broke in the store as Alexis and Johnny got into the Camel. The car was started and they burst out of the store without a dent on the car.