Soulless red lenses glowed softly in the darkness of the abandoned building, the occasional streak of light breaking though the boarded windows and illuminating narrow strips of the rooms within. Atlas stepped down the darkened hallways one step at a time, his modified .44 in his left hand, until he drew closer to the room ahead. The only light came from a roaring fire in the middle of the room, and four figures were standing around it, all wearing rusted scrap metal on their arms legs and torso with markings painted across their faces. Raiders. Three men, one woman, one dog resting at her feet. He raised the revolver and clicked the safety off, catching one of the men's attention. the Raider froze in shock for a moment before Atlas squeezed the trigger and a high-calibre pistol round exploded out of the barrel of the weapon, replacing his head with a shower of red mist and bloody gristle. The other three scrambled for their weapons, only to be met by a similar fate. One shot to the heart of the first man, one the head of the second, one tearing out the woman's neck and two into the charging dog, one to slow it down and another to finish the creature.

With a practised hand, he ejected the spent bullet casings, loading six fresh rounds as they clinked softly to the ground. Sliding the gun back onto the holster on his leg, he pushed open the door to the outside. He covered his eyes as the sun overwhelmed his night vision before he flicked it off, the glow of his lenses disappearing the morning sun. Without a word, he set off to Tenpines Bluff. Home, for now.

As he drew closer to the front gate, he stopped for a second, watching people come and go for a moment. His eyes settled on a redhead trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible and he gained an expression somewhere between a frown and curiosity, although leaning more towards the latter. It was strange to see [i]her[/i] again, seeing as the Gunners had stopped trying to recruit him a while ago. The fact she was wearing what equated to civilian clothing and none of the other guards were attacking on sight, however, meant she wasn't a threat, so he just shook his head and continued walking. He nodded to the tin-can cowboy as he passed, having run into him a few times (thankful not from the other end of their guns), before stepping into the settlement proper, and leaning against a building a short distance from the redhead from before. He didn't say anything, instead pulling off his Elite Riot Helmet and taking one of the Nuka-colas out of his Pipboy, popping the cap with his armoured hand and tilting it to his lips. He rolled the cap in his fingers before pocketing it and taking another mouthful.