Session 40.5: Naked and Afraid
General Summary
The Liberators settled in after the battle. RM and Kutter began instructing the village's fighters on basic tactics, May was mending a fishing boat out on the docks, and Alexandru smoked with the mayor, comforting him. But Kenny had other ideas, he meditated allowing his wounds and his body to rest. The hole was a wake-up call, he had to get serious if he and his friends were going to make it through this war, he couldn't continue stumbling through the wasteland without a care in the world. He touched up his camouflage and stole a villagers hunting rifle and snuck off north towards the surviving raiders and towards the enemy FOB.
A few hours into the excursion the cold was biting into his flesh, he couldn't keep his teeth from chattering but he felt the Ki flow through him and pushed his body onward. Not far in he caught up to the retreating troops. Four raiders pushed through the thick alpine woods even as their wounded nightkin leader lagged behind. Kenny hit the nightkin with a tranquilizer and hid him. Then he moved in on the squad, taking the backmost hostage. They surrendered and he interrogated them. One by one he asked them their force's locations on a map along with battleplans and any other intel they had. Which they happily provided, however, three of them told Kenny that the fourth, Billy had killed a kid in the assault. Kenny shot him in the knee and told the rest to go back to the village. Pushing onwards Kenny found a few nightkin they were muttering something about a tall man in the trees or who is a tree. Kenny leaped into a tree above them and convinced them he was the tree man, terrifying them. He ordered them to water him with a bucketful of water. When they protested they didn't have a bucket he ordered they use their hand. With that, they started frantically and unsuccessfully trying to run water from a nearby creek onto the tree's roots. Satisfied Kenny moved on.
An hour or more so passed until he passed across a clearing, he couldn't see much but ahead he smelt gore. He moved closer finding a hunter's camp with eight or more mutilated bodies killed in savage and ritualistic manners. He saw marks from singular giant blades or claws marking the camp, the bodies were still warm, which put him on edge. During his investigation, he heard footsteps south of him. He looked outside and saw a figure in the clearing walking towards him. He hit it with an extra-strength tranquilizer dart, he saw the figure stumble and then fall to the ground with a heavy thud.
He ran into the clearing to find May, he pulled her away from the camp to the other side of the clearing. He realized he hit her with enough tranquilizer to kill her, he pulled the needle out and began frantically looking through his pack, he found some jet, put it to her mouth, and plugged her nose. As she awoke with a start she grabbed his neck weakly, then headbutted him as hard as she could, scrambling to her feet and reaching for her shotgun before recognizing him in the darkness of the forest. He told her what happened and then asked what she was doing out there. She said she was checking on him after watching him sneak off, thinking it was stupid. She took the rest of the jet to even out. She went to retrieve her anchor and Kenny followed. When she got to the anchor she saw the camp. The breeze picked up and the smell of gore washed over them, causing May to vomit. She asked if it was a Yaoguai but Kenny told her about the claw marks. Kenny showed her the map, and he asked if she ran into the raiders he sent back she said she killed Billy after he shot at her.
May finally spoke her mind and confronted him, telling him she heard about him jumping into the pit, she asked why he always goes out and does these things, if he's trying to get killed. He told her this world doesn't feel real to him anymore, he said ever since the virus and fighting his master it hit him what the world had become, and wanted the world he used to know back. He said his life and the wasteland just feel like a dark comedy. She said ever since Far Harbor she feels like she's already dead, just living someone else's life, that being awake and asleep felt the same to her. Kenny suggested she try and make a new better life but she says it'll never be the same, after she lost Johnny there's a hole in her that can never be filled. Kenny began frantically flipping through his book of Rizz tips given to him by Gerrek but he couldn't read it in the dark. He said she was not the only one who lost family, she asked if he was talking about Henderson and he nodded. He said "So you get-you have your actual dad die. Then you kill your other dad, then you get corrupted by the fucking dark god your dad was worshipping." She asked him if it hit him yet and he said he was defiantly still in denial. Finally, she said the only reason she hadn't run headfirst into enemy lines was because she didn't want to hurt the people she had left, and she asked him to do the same. He tried to extend his hand, again forgetting it was gone so she put her hand on his shoulder awkwardly then grabbed her anchor.
They started walking and rain began to fall making Kenny realize the forest had been dead silent up until that point, putting him on edge. He moved to a tent and stole a canopy. He heard a huge branch crack and fall to the ground 200 feet west. He immediately ran to May and grabbed her looking frantically for somewhere to hide. They dove into the nearest ditch and Kenny covered them in a tarp. As they heard something get closer May started hyperventilating, Kenny pulled her closer and gently put his hand over her mouth. After a moment she stopped. After 10 minutes Kenny slowly peeked from under the tarp, seeing gaunt pale legs standing above the ditch facing towards him, and two-bladed gauntlets strapped to pale hands. After another 10 minutes, he checked again, seeing nothing. He gave May a thousand-yard stare and she stared back inches from him with sadness and fear, then she looked down and wiggled out of his arms.
They both slowly made their way out of the ditch after making sure the coast was clear. Kenny asked May if they should go after it before remembering seeing a large caliber round stuck in its hide, not even having broken skin. She asked "What?" in terror and he decided against it. She said the people up here are defenseless against it, but so are they. She said she wished the minutemen had nuclear weapons or enough artillery pieces to level the state, at least that way she said they could see it coming.
They moved on, sneaking through the forest in unison, checking each other's corners and following each other's path. They eventually came upon the enemy FOB. They saw the town devastated and a massive pile of burnt bodies in the center. They counted sixteen guards on the perimeter and three sniper towers. They spotted a generator on the dock and decided to take it out. May said to leave it to her and meet up after it goes dark. Kenny waited till he saw the dock collapse then moved in on the nearest sniper tower, sneaking over the wall and past the guards to take the sniper hostage. He interrogated the sniper, named David, and found out he was actually pretty miserable, May caught up to him on the sniper tower and after some protest from May, Kenny reluctantly gave David a chance to defect and help them sabotage the camp. Kenny asked for Davids uniform and he asked if it was "some kind of swingers thing?" Kenny shook his head, dawning the uniform and giving him some .308 to use.
May stayed put while Kenny went undercover. He meandered over the church on the west side of town where the second sniper was posted he saw the camp at high alert as grunts searched the area by flashlight but he laid low. He ran into some soldiers smoking, but keeping it casual he joined them, they complimented his .45 and gifted him an ankle holster to keep it hidden from superiors looking to tax his loot. He thanked them and moved on. Heading around the church he could hear a familiar voice he couldn't quite pin muttering something about having failed a master, Kenny tried to hone in on it but felt he'd been noticed psychically, so quickly moved on. He climbed to the sniper's roost sneaking up and holding a gun to his back. The sniper complied but when Kenny pulled his gun off him to take the sniper's pistol from his belt the sniper attacked, Kenny wrestled back control and stuck him with a tranquilizer, saying he can't blame a guy for trying. He moved back down the tower stealthily but landed on the church roof with a bang, unnatural dread crept into his soul.
Kenny quickly left the area, blending into the crowd as they continued searching for him. He got to the third sniper and tranqed him by tricking him by pretending to leave the trapdoor open but was caught by some guards he was unable to deceive after they heard the sniper's body hit the floor. A full firefight began in the attic but Kenny was assisted by David with a sniper round to deflect into the final raider. All hell broke loose as Kenny made his way over to the storage depot where he guarded May as she rigged together some kind of explosive. She yelled at him to throw her and he compiled, she smashed through the rickety roof of the shed and into the air, pulling a ripcord on her IED causing a dozen RPGs to flair to life flying off in every direction raining havoc on the village.
May and Kenny fled the chaos as Kenny called in artillery on the command table in the center of town. They saw as David's sniper tower collapsed but he jumped off miraculously unharmed. They all retreated into the woods to watch the chaos from a safe distance.
A few hours into the excursion the cold was biting into his flesh, he couldn't keep his teeth from chattering but he felt the Ki flow through him and pushed his body onward. Not far in he caught up to the retreating troops. Four raiders pushed through the thick alpine woods even as their wounded nightkin leader lagged behind. Kenny hit the nightkin with a tranquilizer and hid him. Then he moved in on the squad, taking the backmost hostage. They surrendered and he interrogated them. One by one he asked them their force's locations on a map along with battleplans and any other intel they had. Which they happily provided, however, three of them told Kenny that the fourth, Billy had killed a kid in the assault. Kenny shot him in the knee and told the rest to go back to the village. Pushing onwards Kenny found a few nightkin they were muttering something about a tall man in the trees or who is a tree. Kenny leaped into a tree above them and convinced them he was the tree man, terrifying them. He ordered them to water him with a bucketful of water. When they protested they didn't have a bucket he ordered they use their hand. With that, they started frantically and unsuccessfully trying to run water from a nearby creek onto the tree's roots. Satisfied Kenny moved on.
An hour or more so passed until he passed across a clearing, he couldn't see much but ahead he smelt gore. He moved closer finding a hunter's camp with eight or more mutilated bodies killed in savage and ritualistic manners. He saw marks from singular giant blades or claws marking the camp, the bodies were still warm, which put him on edge. During his investigation, he heard footsteps south of him. He looked outside and saw a figure in the clearing walking towards him. He hit it with an extra-strength tranquilizer dart, he saw the figure stumble and then fall to the ground with a heavy thud.
He ran into the clearing to find May, he pulled her away from the camp to the other side of the clearing. He realized he hit her with enough tranquilizer to kill her, he pulled the needle out and began frantically looking through his pack, he found some jet, put it to her mouth, and plugged her nose. As she awoke with a start she grabbed his neck weakly, then headbutted him as hard as she could, scrambling to her feet and reaching for her shotgun before recognizing him in the darkness of the forest. He told her what happened and then asked what she was doing out there. She said she was checking on him after watching him sneak off, thinking it was stupid. She took the rest of the jet to even out. She went to retrieve her anchor and Kenny followed. When she got to the anchor she saw the camp. The breeze picked up and the smell of gore washed over them, causing May to vomit. She asked if it was a Yaoguai but Kenny told her about the claw marks. Kenny showed her the map, and he asked if she ran into the raiders he sent back she said she killed Billy after he shot at her.
May finally spoke her mind and confronted him, telling him she heard about him jumping into the pit, she asked why he always goes out and does these things, if he's trying to get killed. He told her this world doesn't feel real to him anymore, he said ever since the virus and fighting his master it hit him what the world had become, and wanted the world he used to know back. He said his life and the wasteland just feel like a dark comedy. She said ever since Far Harbor she feels like she's already dead, just living someone else's life, that being awake and asleep felt the same to her. Kenny suggested she try and make a new better life but she says it'll never be the same, after she lost Johnny there's a hole in her that can never be filled. Kenny began frantically flipping through his book of Rizz tips given to him by Gerrek but he couldn't read it in the dark. He said she was not the only one who lost family, she asked if he was talking about Henderson and he nodded. He said "So you get-you have your actual dad die. Then you kill your other dad, then you get corrupted by the fucking dark god your dad was worshipping." She asked him if it hit him yet and he said he was defiantly still in denial. Finally, she said the only reason she hadn't run headfirst into enemy lines was because she didn't want to hurt the people she had left, and she asked him to do the same. He tried to extend his hand, again forgetting it was gone so she put her hand on his shoulder awkwardly then grabbed her anchor.
They started walking and rain began to fall making Kenny realize the forest had been dead silent up until that point, putting him on edge. He moved to a tent and stole a canopy. He heard a huge branch crack and fall to the ground 200 feet west. He immediately ran to May and grabbed her looking frantically for somewhere to hide. They dove into the nearest ditch and Kenny covered them in a tarp. As they heard something get closer May started hyperventilating, Kenny pulled her closer and gently put his hand over her mouth. After a moment she stopped. After 10 minutes Kenny slowly peeked from under the tarp, seeing gaunt pale legs standing above the ditch facing towards him, and two-bladed gauntlets strapped to pale hands. After another 10 minutes, he checked again, seeing nothing. He gave May a thousand-yard stare and she stared back inches from him with sadness and fear, then she looked down and wiggled out of his arms.
They both slowly made their way out of the ditch after making sure the coast was clear. Kenny asked May if they should go after it before remembering seeing a large caliber round stuck in its hide, not even having broken skin. She asked "What?" in terror and he decided against it. She said the people up here are defenseless against it, but so are they. She said she wished the minutemen had nuclear weapons or enough artillery pieces to level the state, at least that way she said they could see it coming.
They moved on, sneaking through the forest in unison, checking each other's corners and following each other's path. They eventually came upon the enemy FOB. They saw the town devastated and a massive pile of burnt bodies in the center. They counted sixteen guards on the perimeter and three sniper towers. They spotted a generator on the dock and decided to take it out. May said to leave it to her and meet up after it goes dark. Kenny waited till he saw the dock collapse then moved in on the nearest sniper tower, sneaking over the wall and past the guards to take the sniper hostage. He interrogated the sniper, named David, and found out he was actually pretty miserable, May caught up to him on the sniper tower and after some protest from May, Kenny reluctantly gave David a chance to defect and help them sabotage the camp. Kenny asked for Davids uniform and he asked if it was "some kind of swingers thing?" Kenny shook his head, dawning the uniform and giving him some .308 to use.
May stayed put while Kenny went undercover. He meandered over the church on the west side of town where the second sniper was posted he saw the camp at high alert as grunts searched the area by flashlight but he laid low. He ran into some soldiers smoking, but keeping it casual he joined them, they complimented his .45 and gifted him an ankle holster to keep it hidden from superiors looking to tax his loot. He thanked them and moved on. Heading around the church he could hear a familiar voice he couldn't quite pin muttering something about having failed a master, Kenny tried to hone in on it but felt he'd been noticed psychically, so quickly moved on. He climbed to the sniper's roost sneaking up and holding a gun to his back. The sniper complied but when Kenny pulled his gun off him to take the sniper's pistol from his belt the sniper attacked, Kenny wrestled back control and stuck him with a tranquilizer, saying he can't blame a guy for trying. He moved back down the tower stealthily but landed on the church roof with a bang, unnatural dread crept into his soul.
Kenny quickly left the area, blending into the crowd as they continued searching for him. He got to the third sniper and tranqed him by tricking him by pretending to leave the trapdoor open but was caught by some guards he was unable to deceive after they heard the sniper's body hit the floor. A full firefight began in the attic but Kenny was assisted by David with a sniper round to deflect into the final raider. All hell broke loose as Kenny made his way over to the storage depot where he guarded May as she rigged together some kind of explosive. She yelled at him to throw her and he compiled, she smashed through the rickety roof of the shed and into the air, pulling a ripcord on her IED causing a dozen RPGs to flair to life flying off in every direction raining havoc on the village.
May and Kenny fled the chaos as Kenny called in artillery on the command table in the center of town. They saw as David's sniper tower collapsed but he jumped off miraculously unharmed. They all retreated into the woods to watch the chaos from a safe distance.
Report Date
25 Nov 2024
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