[A/N: Because I'm in a good mood and I know the time between updates is long, I decided to drop the first, out of the next 5 chapters, ahead of time to help keep you interested. The next 4 will drop on the 15th. Thanks for reading!]
Embers rose over a crackling campfire, nestled miles away from the settlement of Action.
The light from the fire illuminated the interior of an old ruined gas station.
I had made camp in this place on our way back to my vault.
The raider woman, Lady, who I had placed a slave collar on sat opposite from me with a feral scowl on her face.
Upon waking up, I had left her still injured so she couldn't fight against me before she understood her situation.
Needless to say, she only begrudgingly followed behind me now that she knows her life is in my hands.
If she killed me, she wouldn't be able to reset the detonation timer I built into the Pip-Boy.
Every two days I have to input a password or a pulse would go out and trigger the collar.
Also, if she leaves the geofence centered around the Pip-Boy, then it will also explode.
If she kills me or removed the Pip-Boy off of me, say if I'm sleeping, then that's also gonna trigger a Pop!
She really has no hope to escape me except death or she gets really lucky and meets someone within a half kilometer of me that has the technical expertise to remove the collar safely.
Yeah she would be more likely to get struck by lightning.
"*munchmunch* What... you're not gonna eat? We still have long walk till we get back to my place..."
She just silently stared at me before looking down at a can of beans with little weenies in them that I heated up for her, out of the kindness of my heart.
She started eating but she did so aggressively by forcefully stabbing her fork into the can.
'I bet she is picturing stabbing me, heh.'
I could only laugh internally. She was already giving me the silent treatment after the long string of curses when I first told her about the collar.
It was fine. I didn't need to rush things. My idea was to turn her into a loyal subordinate. And I had a few options in my hands to accomplish that...
"Here's some water to help wash it down." I tossed a bottle to her which she caught but there was no gratitude to be seen from her.
When morning came I woke up to her just staring at me. It was clear she barely slept all night and instead watched me like a hawk.
A bit creepy but I've dealt with worse.
The march back to the vault was uneventful. At this point in time, the world just feels empty.
There are wasteland creatures but they seem to be few and far between in this area.
As we walked the ruined roads, I attempted to make conversation with her but got ignored each time or was given a look of disgust or a scowl.
As we approached my vault, I was able to see a crowd of robots standing around waiting for me.
"Those are mine. Don't think about doing anything stupid." I had to warn the woman because she looked like she was about to do something rash after seeing the robots.
"Whatever..." she said as if she had lost interest. But I could see something in her eyes. Curiosity, perhaps?
For now, I ignored the robots and opened the hatch to my vault and then pointed down while looking at her. "Ladies first."
She rolled her eyes at my attempt to joke about her name but she quickly became wary while looking at the hatch.
"No! First tell me what you want from me. I'm not going down any dark hole just because you say so!" She demanded me.
I rose an eyebrow and then smirked. "What do you think I want with you?"
If looks could kill, I'd be eviscerated.
"Pig. I'd rather die!"
"Is that so?" My dark eyes met her blue ones in a fierce staredown.
I pulled Fuckbringer out and aimed it right between her eyes.
"Is your mind made up?"
Her face and stance remained strong, full of defiance. But I could see that little flicker of panic swimming around in those sky blue orbs of hers.
I could tell her mind was racing, trying to think of a way out of this situation. But my gaze didn't waver.
"I... Fuck! Fine, I'll go!" She gave in as my finger began squeezing the trigger. She must have finally figured out that I was going to get her down there one way or another or she dies, so she folded.
"Good. Was that so hard?" I mocked as she began climbing down the ladder.
I already knew that behind that tough facade, she still had a fear of death.
She was smart to comply since my plan B would have been rough on her.
I jumped down the hole behind her and landed with a thud.
As usual, the flood light clicked on and revealed the cavern in all its glory. A beautiful vault door resting in the back.
I noticed Lady was wide eyed at seeing everything and then excitement flashed in her eyes when she noticed the vault door.
"You live in a fucking vault?! Really?!" She shot me a curious glare as if she was re evaluating my existence.
"Oh? Impressed? Yes, I live in a vault." I said smugly as I pressed my hand to the scanner, initiating the opening procedure. "Well, I should say WE live in a vault."
As we entered, gone was the hardened angry beast of a woman and in its place was a girl filled with wonder.
'Eh? Is she charmed already? She seems really excited all of a sudden.'
I decided to question it later and instead take care of business.
"Follow me."
I pulled her arm, leaving no time for her to inspect everything.
"Hey watch it!"
I pulled her through the decontamination arch and led her to the med bay.
Rosie and Alfred were busy and didn't notice our arrival yet.
Inside the med bay, I stopped and then told her, "Take off your clothes."
To which, she recoiled and glared at me like scum.
I sighed and then pointed at the symptomatic. "That machine will tell us if you have any diseases or anything harmful, and that one will fix you up if there's any problem. So listen to your master and strip, or would you rather get punished~?."
She gritted her teeth and then began to take her clothes off. She did her best to keep me from seeing anything important, so I threw her a hospital gown from a cabinet and let her wear it.
"Ok. Now get in." I commanded.
She still looked wary but stepped into the symptomatic.
The door closed behind her and then medical devices began probing her and revealed she was clean of disease.
'That's good. I'd rather not catch something even if I could cure it easily.'
There was no need to put her in the auto doc at this moment so I grabbed her clothes off the ground and then threw them into a garbage bin to be incinerated later.
"What the hell are you doing with my clothes?!" She snapped.
"These filthy rags need to be cleansed. I'll give you something better so mellow out."
She was still wearing the gown I had given her but it completely left her backside exposed so she held the fabric tightly to keep herself concealed.
I then grabbed a syringe from medical tray, "Give me your arm. I need to give you this vaccine so you dont get vault sickness."
More glaring. She really hates me right now but at least she knows her situation and doesnt realize vault sickness is something I just made up.
She cautiously gave me her arm and I injected the needle into her vein.
"What... is this?" She became weak and nearly fell over but I caught her. She tried to push me away from her but her eyes fluttered closed and her body went limp.
"Sorry. That was a sedative. I still have work I need to do with you..."
I lifted her up and noticed she was heavier than Savannah, likely because she has more muscle mass.
'I'm getting good at drugging women. Not that I want to add that to my resume...'
I laid her down on a gurney and then strapped her arms, legs, and torso to it so she can't escape when she wakes up.
I might be called a villain for what I am about to do...