City of Death

Wandering from town to town, unable to find my place, I slowly began to think that solitude had become my escape from the past that followed me wherever I went. Now I had another chance. After twelve days of travel, a town finally appeared on the horizon.

The man approached the first house and unslung the sniper rifle he carried on his shoulder. Through a makeshift scope attached to the weapon with a piece of old rope, he surveyed the area. There was no sign of a soul in the streets, and the ruins seemed deserted, yet the bandits were skilled at camouflaging themselves. The memory of them made Jim clutch his arm; the wound from the last encounter still bothered him. Uncovering the secrets of deserted towns had never been his favorite pastime, but his supplies were dwindling with each passing day, so he was forced to delve deeper into the ruins. After all, no one said a wanderer's life was easy. Approaching the center of the city, or rather what had once been the city, he came across something he never expected: the bodies of murdered people lay scattered all around.

"The bandits must have found their amusement in the natives, who were clearly trying to settle here," he thought, approaching one of the bodies

. "Don't look like that, you can't help them," a raspy male voice suddenly said.

"Who are you?" Jim asked, surprised, seeing a short, bald man with a scar across his face

. "I'm one of them." The man spat out his pipe and approached Jim. "I was." A faint smile spread across the man's face, trying to joke about the situation

. "Who did this?" he asked, wanting to get away from this place as quickly and safely as possible.

"Damn deathclaves. They have nests all over the area, that's why I'm sitting here." The man fell silent, and an awkward silence fell.

Jim, still standing over the body, noticed the bullet wound, but decided not to investigate why the man had lied to him. Then he noticed a flash in one of the windows, and he knew perfectly well it meant only one thing: a sniper, waiting for his next victim. Before he could react, the sound of a gunshot pierced the area.

"Sniper," he managed to shout to the man, but the man was already slumping to the ground.

The door crumbled to pieces under his weight, the piece of it lodged in his hand the first sign of an unlucky day. The makeshift bandage would have to suffice for now. The climb up was long and arduous, but from the top floor of the tallest building in the area, the view was excellent. Jim tried to spot his opponent, knowing that until he eliminated him, he wouldn't be able to leave this place. This time, however, a burst of automatic fire surprised him; a quick leap out of the way saved him from death. Knowing he couldn't spot his opponent from this vantage point, he climbed onto the roof. From this vantage point, he had a perfect view of the entire area, several buildings surrounding the makeshift square; his enemy could be anywhere. After a moment of staring, he noticed the barrel of a rifle protruding from one of the windows. He reached for his sniper rifle, but he couldn't get a clear shot. He fired, however, to discourage his opponent.

"Now he'll know he's not hunting just anyone," he thought to himself as he headed down the stairs.

When he reached the next floor, he heard panting. The first thought that crossed his mind was the appearance of a deathclave, but he immediately realized he'd never seen one panting like that before. He reached the second floor and saw a pile of old computers scattered throughout the room, the panting coming from under a pile of cardboard boxes. When he picked them up, he noticed a child huddled in the corner of the room.

"Who are you?" he asked, but the child, clearly terrified, remained silent. "Get out of there, no one will hurt you. "

The boy timidly rose and moved slowly toward the window.

"What are you doing here?" he asked again

. "I'm hiding from the evil master," he replied, clearly gaining confidence.

"How do you know it's not me?" he asked, trying to determine who his opponent was.

"I saw him; he doesn't look like you.

" "Are you one of those people?" - the boy nodded his head in agreement - come with me, I'll take you out of here

Jim continued down the hill, the boy stood there for a moment, looking out the window, and then followed him.

Several hours passed, and darkness began to envelop the city. The sniper didn't reappear during that time, but Jim spotted a manhole near the exit that could lead him to the building where the shooter was. Night fell quickly, leaving the boy under the cover of darkness. He headed for the manhole, which was clearly frequently opened, as it gave way after a slight tug. The sewers beneath the ruined cities were large, making it easy to pass under the square. The neighboring building resembled the one he had been in before. Maintaining as much silence as possible, Jim began searching the rooms. Holding his battered Beretta, he reached almost the top of the building. The top floor was clearly his hideout; all the windows were boarded up, making it almost impossible to see anything. Only then did it occur to him that the automatic rifle in his backpack might solve the case. As he crossed the threshold, a strong impact unsettled him. The gun fell from his hand, and he was unsure where it had landed. As he tried to spot it, another impact came. Seeing a slim chance of finding a weapon, he pushed his opponent away.

"Who are you?" he shouted at the shadow moving across the room.

Instead of a response, he received another attack. This time, he was prepared, he struck his opponent, and a moment later, realizing that the blow had knocked him to the ground, he lunged at him and began punching him.

"Stop it!" a woman's voice broke out between blows.

Jim stood up and, pulling the woman with him, took her to a place where he could examine her.

"What do you think?" he shouted at her reproachfully. "You think this is funny?"

"Excuse me, I'm in the same situation as you. I've been stuck in the house next door for three days before I managed to break through the wall.

" "What?" Jim's surprise was gradually growing. "Do you know who the sniper is?

" "I have no idea, he attacked me a few days ago

." "No time, let's go, there's a kid waiting for me in that building."

They both left the building, and then the building where Jim had been hiding exploded. Blowing up the bottom floor was enough for the ruin to collapse like a house of cards.

"Oh no," Jim expressed his displeasure.

"Was that your kid?" the girl asked.

"No, but I feel sorry for him, let's go, we have to hide ."

They sat in silence, observing the square, but not for a moment could they notice the enemy's presence.

"Maybe he's gone," the girl said after a few hours.

Jim dismissed her remark with a dismissive look and continued to observe the neighboring buildings. As dawn began to break, he approached the girl.

"Wake up," he said, nudging her with his foot. "Let's go."

"Where?" she asked, surprised

. "We can't wait here like this, we'll sneak out and leave the city." He looked at the girl getting ready to leave for a moment. "What's your name, exactly?

" Elisha.

Surprisingly, no one tried to stop them from leaving the square. The rest of the way was silent. Finally, they reached the metro station, and Jim carefully headed inside.

"Why are you going in there?" the girl asked

. "From experience, I know that in places like this, there are city maps.

" "Why do you need a map? I know how to get out of here.

" "Maybe so, but as you've probably noticed, we're out of supplies, and that would be a good idea.

" "There's a settlement nearby; we can get water there.

" "Have you thought about ammunition?"

Elisha didn't answer, just shrugged off the worn backpack on her back and showed Jim its contents, which consisted of a dozen or so ammunition packages.

"Did you rob bandits?"

"You guessed it, now let's get going, I don't want to stay here."

Not wanting to argue with his new companion, he politely moved towards her, only to be blocked by several of the previously mentioned bandits. Their leader approached the girl and with a powerful blow knocked her to the ground. Jim drew his gun and shot the guy, but quickly found himself knocked to the ground by one of them.

"My hero," the girl said cynically, looking in his direction

. "You think you can rob us with impunity?" said the bandit who looked like their leader.

"I see you have interesting friends," Jim said

. "Shut up, savage, I'm not talking to you right now.

" "Savage?" I'll excuse myself.

"That's it..." Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot pierced the area, and the bandit leader collapsed to the ground.

A few more shots, and his companions shared their fate. Elisha noticed a man in one of the windows.

"Jim, the sniper!" she shouted at him, but he had already grabbed the pistol lying on the ground and ran in the direction of the shots.

The building was chilly inside, but it was clear no one had yet left. Rushing up the next floors, he managed to reach the sniper's position. As soon as he entered the room, he spotted him. He stood there as if nothing had happened, loading his rifle. When he noticed Jim, he grabbed a Desert Eagle lying nearby. They both stood there, aiming at each other.

"Who are you?" he asked, but the man didn't answer. From under the black hair falling across his face, one could see narrowed, hate-filled eyes

. "The hunted don't need to know the rules," he grumbled, glaring at Jim.

"So you're just a psycho, hunting people." At that moment, the kid Jim had found earlier appeared in the doorway. "And that little bastard was helping you."

"My son is learning how to survive.

" "You call murdering innocent people survival?

" "It was humans who brought this city to ruin, the only way to survive is to eliminate them all."

Elisha ran into the room and, seeing the situation, aimed at the sniper. However, his son was faster, picked up his father's sniper rifle from the ground, and without hesitation, shot her. The girl dropped the weapon and slumped to the ground. A mocking smile appeared on the sniper's face.

"You have a problem now, stranger. Will you chase after me or help the girl?" With these words, he approached the door. "See you later."

Jim wordlessly ran to the girl and lifted her head.

"I don't want to die," the girl whispered, grabbing his neck with a bloody hand. A moment later, she lost consciousness.

Elisha opened her eyes and tried to get up, but the intense pain effectively prevented her from doing so. She looked around the room; she was alone, and on the ground lay the remains of the medkit and a few empty Stimpaks.

"Why did you interfere?" she heard suddenly from the doorway where Jim had just stood. "We could have been far away, and now he's somewhere out there, waiting for us.

" Why didn't he kill us?

"He's a lunatic, he hunts people for fun. If he succeeds, we'll be just another scratch on the butt of his rifle. Rest, we'll set off at dusk, maybe we'll be able to get out of the city.

" "You didn't leave me up there, you could have run after him," she said as if to herself

. "I'm probably making the same mistake I always make: getting too involved," he replied, then left the room.

Night fell quickly, and they both headed for the exit, but as soon as they reached the doorway, they heard a shot. The bullet hit right next to them, and a moment later, someone screamed.

"You're not giving up, are you?" Now that the game was getting interesting

, "I can't believe he's actually playing with us," the girl said.

They moved on, hiding behind buildings and heading for the exit.

The sniper didn't give up and followed them until he finally spotted them.

"That coward, he's running away." I hoped he was looking for a fight, but such a disappointment. Too bad, it looked like it was going to be fun.

Another rifle shot knocked Jim to the ground. Elisha grabbed his hand and dragged him behind the nearest building.

"Run together, we can't do it," Jim said, trying to push the girl away.

"No way, you saved my life, now I'll save yours," she protested, pulling his Beretta from its holster, and then moving along the wall.

As she peeked around the corner, she noticed the sniper's son running toward the street where they had been attacked. From one of the windows, a man was watching him through the scope of his sniper rifle. Taking advantage of his distraction, she ran to the other side and approached a neighboring building. Inside, she encountered two men, one of whom had a gun pointed at her.

"This is our shelter," he shouted, then began firing at her.

The girl managed to jump out into the street at the last moment. As she was getting up, she noticed the sniper aiming at her. She was close enough to see the smile on his face. With a quick movement of her hand, she blindly aimed at the window he was looking out of and began firing. The man hid from the bullets, and Elisha ran to the building he was in. It was dark inside, with a faint light coming from the stairs. The girl approached, then heard footsteps behind her. When she turned, she saw the sniper standing right behind her.

"Not many people are going to resist me, I'm impressed, woman," he said, raising his gun. "You'll..."

His sentence was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot.

"Rafael," he said to himself

. Elisha had only just noticed the butt of the rifle the sniper had stunned her with.

Jim came around the corner of the building, holding the wounded boy by the neck. He spotted the barrel of a rifle in the window and headed in that direction.

"Where's the girl?" he shouted, pointing the gun at his head .

For a brief moment, there was dead silence.

"She's with me," the man replied. "Let the boy go if you want to see her alive.

" "Let her go first.

" "Fool, do you really think this brat means anything to me?"

Before he could finish speaking, he fired, hitting the boy squarely in the head. Jim released his neck and took a few steps back, waiting for another shot. The silence was suddenly broken by the sound of a gun being reloaded, realizing that the sniper had managed to duck closer to the building, where he couldn't be hit. After destroying the boards that covered one of the windows, he gained entry. When he reached the floor from which the shooting was taking place, he saw no one. By the window stood an old chair the sniper used to kill people.

Jim went outside and approached the spot where he had parted ways with Elisha. After a moment, he heard gasps behind him, and when he turned around, he saw the sniper holding the girl on his back.

"I've had enough of this game," he said, dropping her to the ground. "It's time to end this."

The man raised his sniper, aiming to shoot. Elisha, who had regained consciousness, grabbed a knife and stabbed him in the leg. Jim reached for his rifle and fired at him, then approached the girl and helped her up. The sniper was still conscious, but the gunshot wound left him with little chance of survival.

"Now you see what it's like when the prey becomes the hunter," he said to him, heading toward the outskirts of town.

"Maybe we should stay and tend to your wounds?" the girl suggested

. "We'll do it as soon as we leave town. I don't want to stay here a moment longer ."

A short, bald man with a scar on his face approached the dying sniper and looked at him for a moment.

"Help me," he growled, spitting blood from his face.

The man reached for the revolver in his belt.

"I guess I don't have to tell you this means the end of our partnership."

The sound of a gunshot echoed through the area. The sniper picked up the gun from the ground and wiped the dust from it. He then slung it over his shoulder and, whistling, moved deeper into the city.