Dust filled the air around in a massive cloud, settling slowly in the streets of Concord. Shaine wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, smudging tears and dirt over his cheeks. He knew there were raiders in the town somewhere, it was the entire nature of the mission in the first place. Knight Alexis was taking him out to observe as she put the raiders down, but they had never made it that far as the supermutant suicider came after them from the outskirts of town. 

As he stood, the kid felt pain shoot up his side from his thigh to his ribs. He hadn’t noticed in the panic and adrenaline, but he had been hurt and he was really starting to feel it. His thigh had been burnt. His pants had a jagged hand sized hole exposing the burn which was blistered and red. His ribs hurt on one side, his back had been bruised where the Knight’s armor had pressed too hard against him. He had been hurt more by Alexis protecting him than anything, but he was grateful for her sacrifice and every pain reminded him of it.

Shaine took out a stimpack from one of his pouches but then hesitated. He could walk. His injuries weren’t bad enough to need it. He put it back in the pouch and decided to save it for later. He felt fear well up inside at the thought of needing to save his stimpack for...later. He was alone in the wasteland. 

He moved down the street, closer to the center of town on the west side, to find a good hiding spot or something worth salvaging. Shaine only carried a single stimpack, two rations of squirrel on a stick, water, a pistol and some ammo. He wished he had a sniper rifle, but squires didn’t generally use them and when asked to be able to practice with one, Maxson and Kells both denied him. That did not stop Shaine who ‘borrowed’ a good rifle from Teagan and snuck away daily to practice from the Prydwen’s forecastle.

The squire turned down a street and stopped cold in his tracks. He started stupidly as a beast down the street shoved long claws up into a man he held up in one massive hand. The man’s screams were cut off as he was disemboweled ruthlessly. Shaine gasped and took a few steps backwards. Maybe the deathclaw was too preoccupied to notice him. 

The beast tossed the body to the side, down the street towards Shaine. Its massive horned head turned and it stared right at the boy. It hunched down on all fours and prepared to run. 

Shaine yelped and took off into the nearest building for cover, slamming the door shut behind him as the beast roared outside.