They had been marching for days. His feet were swollen and blistered and he could no longer feel the cuts in his wrists from the ropes binding him to the slave next to him. The man had told him his name on the first day but he had forgotten it several days ago. Was it James? No, my name is James, I must not forget that. The man who forgets his name forgets everything he ever was and ever will be, and I refuse to let that happen to myself.
James was jarred from his thoughts by a kick in the back that brought him and his fellow prisoner down to the ground. He had been staring at the ground deep in his own thoughts and had never realized that they had reached what appeared to be their destination. Crucifixes lined the road leading into the town; it didn't take a genius to figure out who those were for.Â
"Rise," said a lean, dark legionnaire with a wolf hood over his head. "You are all sinners, but by the grace of Caesar you will all be absolved of your sins." The slaves rose, almost in unison. Smiling, the wolf legionnaire pointed to a tall man wearing the armor of an NCR trooper and said "You shall be first." Legionnaires rushed forward, grabbing the man by the arms and shoulders as he began to struggle. He began to scream, a high, wailing scream that caused James to wince and cover his ears. The wolf man stepped forward and punched the man in the gut, silencing the screams.
In a matter of a few short minutes the legionnaires had him nailed to the cross and an eerie silence seemed to fall on the group as all of the fight drained out of the man. The other slaves stood in stunned silence as the legionnaire with the wolf hood turned back to the group and pointed to another slave at the head of the line, still smiling. The crucifixion went much smoother this time. The slave was a withered old man who went to his death silent and willing.Â
Time seemed to crawl along as the group was slowly whittled down. Some screamed, some fought, some pleaded, but most had accepted their fate and went forward to their slow death almost willingly. With a naive hope James prayed that his turn would never come, but it was not much longer before the smiling wolf man stood in front of him. As that cruel smile reached James his insides turned to ice and he became paralyzed by fear. He silently mouthed the word no, as his bonds were cut and he was drug to the nearest empty cross. They had just reached the base of the crucifix when his captors froze mid-step. Glancing up, James saw what had caused the distraction. A pair of deathclaws stood at the far side of the road, steadily making their way to the group of slaves and legionnaires, attracted by the screams and smell of blood and the promise of fresh meat.
The two legionnaires dragging James flung him to the ground and ran back to the group, arming themselves with anything they could find. Gunshots exploded from the crowd of soldiers and the deathclaws began to run, charging for the group of legionnaires. James closed his eyes and remained as inconspicuous as possible, hoping the deathclaws would run past him and give him a chance for escape. His wish was granted as the first deathclaw reached the soldiers and began to tear them to pieces. Screams erupted from the throats of captive and captor alike as the bloodthirsty monsters began to slaughter the group.
James jumped to his feet and tore off towards the town and the nearest shelter, ignoring the swelling and blisters. He had just made it to the first house when the screams stopped and silence filled the air. Glancing back James saw the deathclaws feasting on the corpses and continued to run. He ran towards a building with a faded sign naming it as the general store. He flung open the door and ran inside. He didn't stop to survey the building, he grabbed all he could and began to barricade himself inside. He was halfway through completing his makeshift barricade when his panicked breathing began to slow. Leaning against the wall James slid down onto the old wood floor and began to laugh hysterically. He laughed for several minutes before he finally caught a hold of himself and turned back to the process of completing the barricade. The sun had begun to set by the time James completed the barricade. He glanced around the empty store until he found a room set towards the end of the building. He walked into the room and gave a huge sigh of relief when he discovered an old, dusty mattress lying on the floor. Collapsing onto the bed James slid into a dreamless sleep.
When he awoke James began to take careful inventory of all of the store's goods. He found two boxes of Cram and three bottles of purified water and threw them into a makeshift pack he made out of his shirt. Carefully walking towards the door James listened for any sound that could potentially be dangerous, hearing none he tore the makeshift barricade down and walked outside. The town was empty except for a few crows that were gathered around the bodies at the end of the road. James knew there would be weapons by the bodies but he didn't quite have the heart to loot the mangled corpses that were all that remained of the group he had been marching with for the least couple of weeks. Turning his back to the bodies James walked out of the town and into the wasteland, praying that his luck would last.
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