Radiance Ch. 106

The most prominent and obvious smell was that of a Deathclaw but it didn't smell like the ones that had around here this one smelled quite different, first of all, it was blatantly female that much was obvious but she was more than that, the scent was strong, powerful so an Alpha Claw maybe?

Then came the most curious of the scents he was detecting, heavy metal almost like one of the robots that wandered around the place but not quite, there were definitely some human undertones to the scent, it was like it was layered kinda like an onion with one scent hiding under the other, so a type of armour maybe?

Whatever it was was powerful and heavy too, Varrel could see the footprints from it in the sand next to the three-toed Claw footprints quite easily, the pair were working together by how close they were to one another, a tamed Deathclaw seemed unlikely but how else could one explain the proximity of the pair?

This place was forming more questions in Varrel's mind with every step he took and that's when he saw something that defied all logic entirely.

Sat outside the house of what had blatantly been the town leader's house by the powerful smell of despair and forced sex was a dead human, the man had blatantly had his neck snapped clean by something very powerful but the strange part was there was no scent on him at all, whatever had done this did it without touching him even once otherwise they would have left trace but there was nothing.

"Who or what did this brother?" Vizzy asked in their native tongue quietly glancing over at Torch who was busy looking at another body which had blatantly been run through by the female Deathclaw by the massive puncture wounds exploding out of his chest.

"I have no idea but whatever they are they are powerful, did you see the man with the broken neck?' he said and she nodded.

"No scent marks or even hand prints," she said her voice carrying the notes of both concern and curiosity in equal measure.

Varrel nodded causing his feathery antennae to bob and swish on his head, "Exactly whatever did that did it without touching him," he said and Vizzy glanced at Torch who was still studying the dead man.

"But who or what could do such a thing? And how is it possible to kill someone in that manner without laying a hand on them?" she asked and Varrel shrugged his four arms in response.

"No idea but whatever it is if it is targeting the slaving humans it might very well be the answer to our prayers sister because it did not kill a single one of them what's more it freed them," Varrel said and Vizzy looked at him in suspicion.

"How do you know that?' she asked and he pointed at something laid on the floor nearby with one of his lower arms so as to not draw the attention of the raiders.

Vizzy glanced where pointed and her black eyes widened, "Is that what I think it is?" she asked in surprise and Varrel nodded.

"It's one of the locks from these accused collars, so who or whatever did this freed the people held here otherwise where are the bodies and we'd smell the detonated explosives a mile off, but there's nothing, nor is there any blood or death that doesn't smell like raider anywhere around here," he said.

"Did you notice the scent of the female Deathclaw?' Vizzy asked and he nodded.

"Yeah I think she is working with the other one because I'm not detecting any scent of coercion here though to be fair I've never smelled this species before so I guess anything is possible but it sure doesn't seem like it to me," Varrel said and Vizzy nodded.

"If this is true brother this could be our way out, do you think whoever did this would help us too?" Vizzy asked and Varrel shrugged.

"I honestly don't know sister but I have to hope I mean if its a human and a Deathclaw working together then its already outside of the reality of what we've ever seen before so who knows but let's be fair it's better than spending another second in that fucking cage," Varrel snarled and Vizzy nodded.

"But how are we going to find them without leading these animals right to them?" Vizzy asked but before Varrel could answer Torch stood up and then moved over to them.

"So bugs have you detected anything yet?" he asked and Varrel nodded he was going to have to be careful with what he said next as he didn't want to give away too much as he didn't want to lead them right to the people who did this but at the same time certain things would be obvious to even an idiot.

"This was the work of two individuals one human wearing some kind of armour and what I believe to be a Deathclaw of some kind though I can't be sure as I've never smelled this scent before," he said.

Torch growled and nodded his head in agreement, "Yeah that was my guess as well, it looks like a dude in power armour and somehow he's got himself a fucking tamed Deathclaw but this one isn't like the fucking big alligators we got living around here, this one is like the ones that live out in Boston though I'd love to know how he fucking pulled that trick off, Deathclaws don't have death in their name for fun," he said glancing back at the dead man with busted out rib cage.

"But how did a dude in fucking power armour and a fucking massive Deathclaw manage to sneak into the camp, take out all of our guys and fuck off with all of the bosses slaves?" one of the other radiers nearby who had been listening in on their conversation asked and Torch shot him an angry look that caused the man to recoil slightly.

"That's what you fucking numbskulls are here to do, figure that shit out or rather it's what I'm here because you lot couldn't figure out your arse from your elbow without a fucking diagram and even its debatable," Torch growled.

"How we gonna deal with a dude in power armour Torch most of these guns won't do shit against it if he's got a good set?" one of the others said and Torch scratched his grizzled chin.

"Fuckers will cook in the can just like a tin of pork and beans in a campfire if you hit them with enough of it, just gotta keep 'em busy so they can't put it out," he said smugly.

"What about the Deathclaw? Those fuckers they got back in Boston are nasty to say the least, once seen a single one of them tear an entire camp of heavily armed mercs up for taking a pot shot at it," another said glancing around themselves like the expected the Claw to simply pop out of the ground at their feet like a molerat.

"Put enough lead in the air and they'll go down just like anything else and failing that I've heard barbaqued Deathclaw tastes just like chicken," Torch growled making some of them laugh.

"Whats a chicken?" someone asked and they all looked at the offender like he'd just farted in a closed room.

Torch turned back to the twins after snarling at the man, "Can you track them?" he asked and Varrel nodded.

"Yeah should be able to though the terrain will make it difficult," he said and Torch growled again.

"Difficult how?" he asked sounding suspicious.

"Loose dust and rock don't hold a scent signature for long as the wind tends to displace it so it can either create gaps or erase a trail altogether, same as footprints really, one good dust storm or rain shower and it all gone," Varrel explained trying to buy them time, he had absolutely no intention of leading these fucking animals right to those poor people who had been freed by this odd pair of strangers and he most certainly wasn't going to deliver them up to them either but he was going to have to figure out how to slip them en route, also he figured that by planting a seed of doubt in Torch's mind right now it could help them out later if he needed to stall.

Thankfully his sister had picked up on what he was trying to do and was nodding her head along with what he was saying, "Well you'd better hope that there's been no fucking dust storms then, hadn't you? Haven't got a lot of use for trackers who can't find shit now have we?" Torch said menacingly.

Varrel had to force himself from clenching all four of his hands into fists, oh how he'd love to jam his stinger right through this smug human's fucking face until it punched clean out the back of his thick fucking skull but he couldn't afford such a show of anger, he had to stay calm and collected for Vizzy, she'd already lost her entire hive same as him, losing her only living brother would destroy her.

"I'm gonna report to the boss and see what she says, the rest of you fuckwits keep looking and see if you can at least tell me how these fuckers got in here or at the very least which direction they went when they got out," Torch said and with that, he wandered off a few meters away pulling a small boxy device from his bandolier as he did extend a thick wire out of the top before speaking into it.

"We're not really gonna lead these fucking animals to those poor people are we?" Vizzy asked switching to their native tongue as soon as she was sure that none of them were paying the pair any attention.

"Not a fucking chance," Varrel said.

"But how are we going to escape them with these fucking things around our necks?" Vizzy asked her antennae drooping and her voice wavering.

"I'm not sure yet but I'll think of something, we just need to stall these fucking morons long enough to get ourselves a chance," Varrel said.

"I trust you, brother," Vizzy said making him smile and nod.

"Alright you fuckwits listen up, the boss wants this place turned upside fucking down and everything of Valuge salvaged, she's sending more guys to help us get anything we can carry back to base, I gotta stay here and make sure you fucking morons don't miss anything so I'm sending Volt out with seven other guys, you lot are gonna take the bugs with you and you are gonna find where these fuckers went but given a choice between finding the slaves and the fuckers that did this you go for the slaves, the boss wants her property back you got that?" Torch said loudly.

"Yes Torch!" all of them yelled and Varrel glanced at Vizzy with a slight smile on both his lips and mandibles he got the feeling that they might very well have their chance sooner than they thought.

Volt was most certainly not the sharpest stinger in the hive, he'd apparently gotten his name because someone had dared him to stick his reproductive organs onto a lantern battery contact and it had caused his hair to stand to bolt upright and electricity to arc between the points, hence volt.

He was also as jittery as if he was still plugged into said battery though Varrel was under no illusions that were due to the copious amounts of narcotic chemicals that were flowing through the man's bloodstream right now, he absolutely reeked of the stuff.

The smell was so bad that Varrl could smell the man from the other side of the compound with zero issues, it was an aromatic blend that kinda reminded one of month old cats piss mixed with brahmein shit and smelling salts, so kind of obvious to say the least.

"Alright, yous bugs fucking lead on, don't want to be letting the boss down now do we? I really don't want to have to explain why I'm brought yous back with no fooking heads," he said in an accent that was almost as bad as his smell, he was, unfortunately waving around one of those little fucking remotes that triggered their collars, it had obviously been gifted to him by Torch to keep them under control.

"Alright there's no need for threats we're moving," Varrel said trying hard to keep his cool, now all he had to do was to wait for the right opportunity.

And so it began the two hybrid Cazadors leading the way as the group of ten left the compound behind and headed out into lands surrounding on the trail of the pair who had killed the entire camp and their freed slaves, or so the clueless raiders following the twins thought, in reality, the pair were leading them as far away from them as it would be possible to get so if this went wrong there would still be a chance that those innocent people could still get away with this because no matter what happened Varrel and Vizzy were not going to have innocent blood on their hands, not this day or any other.

It didn't take long for Varrel to pick up a rather familiar scent and it made him smile as he glanced at his sister, "You smell that?' he said with a grin that spread onto his mandibles and she read his eyes and nodded as she followed his train of thought.

"This way I think we're getting closer," Vizzy said calling back to the clueless group following them.

"Bout fucking time we have been walking for fucking hours, can't believe we've not seen a single fucking Deathclaw footprint in all this time, you'd think something that size would leave a fucking trail a mile wide," Volt said.

"Yeah just as well we got them bugs or we'd have no clue where wes was goin," another said and the others seemed to nod in agreement making Varrel smile to himself, little did any of them know what they'd found but it most certainly wasn't the slaves.

"It smells strong in there I don't think they've left well not unless there's a rear entrance we don't know about?" Varrel said gesturing to the cave mouth.

"You sure about this?" Volt asked sounding a little suspicious.

"Caves are a good place to hide remember them last lot we ran down? Theys was hiding in a cave like this one," one of the others said.

"Well if you don't want to go in we could always go back to tell Torch and you can explain to him why you gave them the chance to run because you were scared of the dark?" Varrel offered and Volt snarled at him and waved his gun in his face.

"I ain't scared of fucking nufing you hear me? If theys in there we'll dig them the fuck out just you watch, Micky you stay here with the bugs while the rest of yous follow me, we's gonna get those fuckers outta there!" Volt said standing up and pointing to the cave as the others cheered following Volt into the darkness behind the cave mouth.

But it wasn't cheers that came from the depths of the cave, it was blood-curdling screams and gunfire.