I was choked till I blacked out. My weapons and some of my equipment were taken away leaving me with only my tank top and leggings. My necklace was replaced with an iron collar and my bare feet exposed. I was chained with shackles to the freight elevator, unable to move my arms. As the heavy footsteps of the person in the power armor got closer, I began to regain my bearings.

 

 

          From where I was restrained, the power armor had an even more daunting presence. It wasn't the Corvega raider's armor made from salvaged scrap metal, this one had been through War, the real thing. I could have had my nack broken but I was spared, I had to know why.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"I gotta hand it to you, it was quite a fight. But you're not the girl I was supposed to bring back. Young, skinny, long hair, not my bounty. I guess the auction will be quite content with you..."

"What? You're going to put me up for sale? Fuck you slavering bastard!"

"I wouldn't expect anything less as a reaction. I'm sorry for just doing what I'm paid to do."

"I hope you die on the road asshole."

"Speaking of which, we're about to leave. Before we do, I'll make sure I don't hear any more cursing out of your mouth."

 

 

            A rusty iron gag was shoved into my mouth. It was so humiliating and disgusting just like my body looked after a night spent in a train depot. The night closed, revealing the dawn. The slaver escorted me, his head flashlight lightening my progress on the tracks. There was no point in running, I would be caught in an instant. I had to accept the situation... 

 

 

          Thus began my journey into Boston to be sold... How I got there... I had taken Fahrenheit's place, she was the bounty. I hoped she would be okay and not shackled to the wall anymore. Kind of ironic that I ended up what I put her in... I had to think of something else, how to escape. Even though I was shackled and barefoot, the collar wasn't going to kill me if I ran away. I would only have one shot, I couldn't miss.

 

 

            We passed in an alley. I was forced to obey the route chosen by the power armor because I didn't know the location of the auction. We were close to Diamond City, I had seen the green painted brick walls just before we crossed the street. I figured it wasn't going to happen there, even though the green jewel didn't mind using slaves from time to time, much less often since the security chief was replaced. 

 

 

            We went around the stadium. I could still see its structure from the road. We stopped in front of a police station, my feet stepped into a puddle of rain water. I paid almost no attention to it, I had to listen to the slaver watching the horizon.

"Mmh. Trouble ahead. The intersection is blocked and there are wild ghouls wandering around. New plan, we'll go through this building and use the back stairs."

 

 

          The half-destroyed building had no ghouls inside. It wasn't easy for a barefoot woman tied up to walk through the rubble to avoid injuring herself. The difficulty increased when I had to go down one floor due to a portion of the staircase being buried in the debris. I preferred to sit down to help me land. I didn't want to damage my bare feet before I escaped.

"You're right, it will be silly to get hurt now. Take it nice and easy."

The slaver was messing with me, the shithead.

 

 

            We continued towards the river. Until we passed the church, a noise coming from the power armor halted our progress. The slaver stood ahead of me so that I would stop walking. I knew what the noise sounded like. I never wore power armor, but I understood that this one was currently low on energy. My window to escape was getting closer. 

"We need to take a short break. Head to the alley, I spotted a workshop there, I need it to maintain my armor."

 

 

            I was pushed and forced to sit on the concrete floor. The iron gag prevented me from complaining. All I could do was stare at the power armor, waiting for the perfect opening.

"Be quiet girl. We're almost there. It'll only take a minute. Don't even try, you won't get far anyway in your bare feet."

I didn't have to go far, just reach Diamond City which was two blocks away. I have traveled worse distances while barefoot. 

 

 

          When the fusion core was removed from the power armor, it became completely disabled. I quickly got up and ran to the first block. I couldn't go back, I didn't want to be ripped apart by the ghouls that were roaming around the previous intersection. I could do it!

 

 

            I turned down the first alley that brought me even closer to Diamond City. Unfortunately for me, a raider blocked my path.

"Hey who are you? Don't move!"

I couldn't go to the left because of the trap wire and I couldn't throw myself into the arms of the female raider in front of me. So I was forced to go through the small apartment on the right.

 

 

            I smashed the door with all the speed and weight of my body. I found myself on the ground. Looking up, another raider was guarding the side street.

"Wow wow wow! Where are you going girl? A prisoner falling from the sky, this must be my lucky day!"

I heard the footsteps of the power armor approaching. They were so heavy that you could hear them a block away. I had to flee before I was torn to pieces. The raiders would buy me a few seconds. 

 

 

            I got up and ran towards the river. I could hear gunshots coming from behind. The raiders were not likely to make a strong stand against the power armor. Another one watched the intersection. She wasn't about to turn the tables with a blade. I had to keep running and find a way to break the bond of my shackles.

 

 

            I ended up in a narrow alley. The gunfire stopped and I could no longer hear the footsteps of the power armor. I used the door of a destroyed car to split my restraints. At least I could pick up something to defend myself. I didn't have much hope of defeating the slaver, but I could reach Diamond City. All I had left to do was to reach the main street and follow it to the stadium.

 

 

            I looked back one last time. Boston was quiet again and I had managed to escape the steel claws of the power armor. Where had it gone? It must have been searching in other streets, good for me. However, something disturbed me. The ground quaked in a strange way.

 

 

          The person in the power armor landed in front of me. I fell to the ground from the impact. I tried to crawl back, to implore it to leave me alone with my hand... It had caught up with me and I was in big trouble.

"Little bitch, did you think your escape would actually work? Well guess what, not only did it fail but you pissed me off! I'm going to carry your little ass to the auction. If you try anything, I'll crush one of your feet."

 

 

            I was lifted and then carried by the power armor. Its heavy steel hand blocked my spine, I could not move. We passed through a tunnel, away from Diamond City, my old way out. I was distraught. I had faced something stronger than me, I had lost and now I had to accept the fate that was about to await me. 

 

 

            We were approaching a building with a green door. 

"We're here. It's time to collect."

I tried to lift my neck to see where I was, I had to do the same with my feet top keep some balance.

 

 

          Inside, I was taken to a room and chained up by my feet. I was treated like cattle, I had given up all hope of escaping. A few minutes later, one of the auction guards came to the slaver.

"What a catch! But it's not the right one, is it?"

"Look, don't fuck with me. This girl came in, fought like a lioness, she ruined my armor. I captured her, I had to fix my suit, she ran away but I caught her. She is worth just as much as the main target."

"Damn, she gave you a hard time huh? We'll start the bidding at 1,000 caps, you'll get half the final price. How's that sound

?"

"Deal. I need the money to get back to the Capital Wastelands. I miss the tranquility of Paradise Falls."

"I can imagine. You can join the lobby, we'll take care of your troublemaker."

 

 

            I was stripped of what I had left. A splash of water to clean me up so I was saleable and the guards chained me up from head to toe. The weight of the rusty metal restricted my movements. I had accepted my destiny. To be sold to someone in the Commonwealth. It wouldn't have been any worse than with the raiders where I was beaten and coerced into prositution.

 

 

            I was brought to the stage and put on display. It was so depressing. To normalize slavery like that... I guess I won't fit in with some mores of this world. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, here's the last batch of this noon. A young woman, in her twenties and in good health. She was captured because she had a contract on her head. It was either death or auction. Able to fight and satisfy all your needs, the first bid starts at 1,000 caps."

And the bids came in, 1,500 for a guy who wanted a sex slave, 2,000 for a woman who wanted a maid for her manor, 2,500 for a couple who wanted to adopt a girl... They were all nuts.  

 

 

          "Come on folks, I'm sure you can do better than that! Look at that fabulous body, those firm breasts, that pretty face... They're worth way more thant your little bids."

The assistant forced me to kneel down during the salesman's speech. I watched the audience on my right. A father and child, a robot and the woman who wanted a maid... In the middle of the lobby stood the power armor staring at me, counting the capsules it would earn from my sale... I couldn't believe a kid would see me like that. It really was a whole diferent world. 

"I just heard 3,000 to my left, mister really wants a sex slave. 3,500 raised by the couple. Who says better?"

 

 

            A person arrived from the back of the lobby and decided to finish the auction.

"5,000 caps. The next person who raises get a rebid."

No more voices were spoke. The auctioneer was therefore left with no choice but to conclude.

"Well, if there are no further bids... Sold! To the official of Diamond City for 5,000 caps. And we thank you."

My fate was sealed. I was now enslaved to Diamond City. And to think I tried to find help there... 

 

 

BONUS SHOT

 

 

 

END OF ACT 3