Road Gangs: Ray Part II

Dawning put out his cigarette and shifted his sunglasses for comfort, eyeing his opponent with an intensity that made him break a sweat before the rising sun could bake the dunes hotter. He was alert, ready for anything, so he thought, his concentration far too dire to break. His opponent was not only in plain sight, but in close proximity. Extremely close proximity. Literally only two feet away.

"Well ask me already, don't wait for the second apocalypse!" The Changeling Model 4 driver in front of Dawning was obviously growing impatient and irritated with how seriously he was taking this game of cards.

"Okay," Dawning finally spoke, holding up his cards, "Do you have any... threes?"

The Changeling threw the cards down and got up. "That's it, I'm out."

"You're supposed to say 'go fish.'"

"Pick another number and I might, pony boy!" He walked away, joining the spectating crew of his IFV.

Dawning lit another cigarette and gathered his deck with a sigh. "I knew I should've taken up those poker lessons."

"Incoming chopper!" someone shouted, catching the attention of every Thorne Three inhabitant as they eyed the sky for any sign of the aircraft. The voice finally clarified: "Approaching from the East!"

From where the gangs took the prisoners... where the recovery team went! Dawning dropped the card deck and ran up the nearby slope to get a better view, removing binoculars from a pouch on his belt. He peered through and watched as a sleek helicopter gunship headed for them with daunting speed. He was relieved to find what appeared to be REDF ponies and Changelings peeking through the open windows of the rear cabin, filling him with exhilaration at the realization of who they were. He got up and turned to the rest of the occupants of the well site. "It's the REDF! They've got the prisoners!!"

Cheers errupted from everywhere, even the Changelings as they quickly moved their IFVs out of the way to clear a path for the aircraft to land.

The screaming sound of the helicopter's Fenestron blade harmony was almost deafening as it came in for a landing, cabin doors swinging open as soon as the wheels touched the ground. Faust and the REDF ponies emerged and collapsed to the ground, prompting Dawning, Dusky, and others to gather around and help them up, ducking and shielding their eyes to avoid the whirlwind of dust as they made their way to the safety of the Model 4s. The Changelings that accompanied them, however, stayed behind in the cabin, manning the door guns.

"Welcome back!" Dawning greeted. He halted when he noticed the pilot door swing open and a hole-riddled hoof beckoned him to head over there. "Dusky, take over, I'll be right back!" He left the group and approached the cockpit to find Queen Chrysalis at the controls.

"First Lieutenant Dawning!" She shouted, "Make sure they get to the border ASAP! And radio HQ! Tell them Ray has commandeered a tanker and is with the rest of the recovery team en route to Equestria! They're being tailed by a hostile gang faction and require reinforcements!"

"I'll send the message right away!"

"One last thing! The ramrod is friendly!"

"What ramrod?!"

"The one with the big cow-catcher! Just tell them!" She left it at that and shut her door, preparing to take off.

Faust broke away from the group, having overheard the conversation and ran up the hill to get a better view of the desert. He could spot a faint glint in the distance, moving down one of the roads. He identified it as the tanker Ray had taken in the escape from the Zone, but he could also see more vehicles chasing behind, most likely the gang of Zone Ravagers. "Don't get yourself killed this time, Ray."

Junkers, Washington, and Shining Armor finally made it to their vehicles, with the crews of the Sprut and Model 4 waiting for them around a burning barrel at the center of their makeshift camp. Shining signaled the Sprut crew to saddle up as he entered the turret hatch of the formidable tank-destroyer, with the Model 4 crew following their example as they prepared the Changeling IFV.

Washington was first to start his engine. The mighty ramrod sounded almost like a tank as it warmed up, yet was oddly louder than the 2S25. It was obnoxiously more toxic as well, immediately coughing up its familiar plumes of black smoke and hissing jets of white condensation.

Junkers was about to enter the Scrambler until he could hear a distinctive shrieking sound accompanied by a repetitive pitter-patter. He looked towards the sky to see Chrysalis' Dauphin heading towards them, easing into a sideways drift that stopped into a hover.

"Team One," Chrysalis hailed on the communicator, "Package has been delivered to Thorne Three. Faust and the other REDF POWs are safe."

"Yes!" Junkers shouted with great elation, "Are they on their way to Equestria now?"

"Affirmative, the armored unit is escorting them back as we speak!"

"That's great news! What about Ray? Did you see him along the way?"

"Yes, but we need to hurry! He's reached the highway but the whole Ravager gang is closing in on him! He won't make it to the border without us!"

"Alright, lead the way!" Junkers jumped into the Scrambler and slid the door shut, quickly starting his engines and kicking dirt as he sped from the dune, the other vehicles close behind as they followed him and the Dauphin back to the roads.

Ray struggled to control the metal beast as he was not accustomed to driving larger vehicles like this. Turning was bothersome and he could only reach 44 miles per hour for some reason, no matter how hard he pushed the tanker truck. The gang was sure to catch up to him at this pitiful speed. He checked the ammo in his CX-4 carbine and unscrewed the suppressor on the muzzle, being no longer necessary as he wanted as much accuracy as possible when a confrontation arises. He set it on the seat next to him and checked his other weapons; a tactical crossbow and a Serbu Super Shorty that he found under his seat, but he could not find any more 12 gauge shells than the six already clipped to the holder on the side of the weapon.

He caught a glint of something in his mirror and adjusted it to see the Ravager vehicles approaching him from behind. Here we go... He set the weapons next to him and attempted to push the tanker past the 44 mark again but was still not permitted to. Cursing under his breath he tried to think of solutions, such as to escape the confines of the road, but the dunes, rocks, and canyons forbade the idea.

A red flatbed technical sped to the left side of the tanker trailer just as a turn was coming up and Ray used it to his advantage, taking up the technical's side of the road and forcing it into a bed of rocks where it tumbled onto a twisted heap.

The road became straight for a long distance, allowing others to catch up to him with ease. A pair of motorcycles split off and headed for the driver cab from each side, each cyclist holding out some kind of flechette-launchers on their wrists. Ray swerved and ran the one on the left into the dunes, but the one on the right had already made it to the cab, swinging his arm around to aim his weapon. Ray instinctively grabbed the crossbow and shot an arrow into the cyclist's neck. The man gripped the arrow in pain, losing balance of his bike and forcing him crashing to the road, sliding and rolling until he was run over by another technical.

Ray tossed the crossbow aside and grabbed the Shorty, loading two of the shells into the magazine. He could see the armored technical gaining, but staying close to the trailer behind. He strained to find a weak point on the body, but it was covered in far more ghetto armor than the last one, with only very narrow vision slots and wheels barely visible behind the thick fenders. A shot at the driver would be pure luck that he feared was run out by this point. Ray thought to run him off the road like the others but noticed that two Ravagers had already jumped onto the trailer between him looking at the road and checking the mirrors. They climbed over a mesh netting covering the cylindrical tank, edging towards the cab. The technical backed off, anticipating Ray's next move.

Shit! Ray almost lost control as he came across another turn in the road, before it became straight again. He tried yet again to pass the 44 mark but was met with the same results. It made no sense to him as he was nowhere near the red zone on the meters and the transmission made no signs of struggling through high RPMs.

Without warning the technical exploded into pieces just behind the trailer, sending a shock through the vehicle that shook Ray's senses as he frantically looked into each mirror to find out what happened. He looked rearward to find a familiar band of vehicles approaching from behind the marauding caravan, as well as a helicopter gunship that passed over the tanker.

"Welcome to the party!" he pressed the headset, but he was met without reply. Checking the communicator he found a crack in the receiver and promptly ripped the headset away.

Chrysalis' Dauphin lowered to the right side of the cab so he could see her. She gestured to her ears, obviously indicating the SATCOM gear.

Ray replied with the same gesture followed by a hand across his throat, conveying to her that his communicator was shot.

She made another gesture, this time pointing at either him or the cab.

THUD! Ray looked up at the roof, realizing that one of the barbarians had reached the cab, when suddenly a fist with spiked knuckles punched through the glass of his door and grabbed his neck into a chokehold. He dropped the Shorty into his lap and grabbed the arm that restrained him, trying to pull away while steering the tanker with the other hand. A gnarled metal weapon smashed through the slotted armor across the windshield and shattered the glass all over the cab, repeatedly until the entire protective grill was ripped away.

"Help him!" Chrysalis shouted to her door gunners, "Get the one on the roof!"

"I can't!" the Changeling gunner replied, "He's to close to Ray!"

"Oh, for hell's sake!" She pulled out and guided the aircraft over the trailer, somewhat off center to allow access from the port side of the cabin. "Disembark! Both of you!"

"But I'm not SMF!" the gunner protested, "I'm not trained for-..."

"Get out! Get out!!" Chrysalis yelled like a maniac.

Heinkel abandoned the starboard door gun and grabbed the frightened Guardling, shoving themselves out of the cabin and landed onto the top of the tank, both struggling to grab hold of the mesh.

Chrysalis pulled away again, falling back to provide gunship support.

"My Queen," Lancer started, "We're low on rockets! I suggest using the machine guns! I'm reading full capacity!"

"I'm not trained for this!" the Guardling yelled, following the SMF agent as they crawled towards the cab.

"Oh, shut up!!" Heinkel replied, unslinging his crossbow.

A buggy approached the left of the trailer, with another pair of barbarians throwing chained grappling hooks onto the mesh. One of the hooks caught the guardling's legs and trapped him, causing him to pannic and yell for help.

Heinkel looked back at the commotion and quickly shot an arrow into the first Ravager's chest, sending the man colliding with the road.

"Your horn!" Heinkel shouted to the trapped Guardling, "Use your cutting spe-..." He spotted the other barbarian emerging from the side of the tank and quickly loaded another arrow, but was quickly shot in the head by the Ravager's sawed-off shotgun before he had a chance to aim. His lifeless body hung from the mesh off to the side of the tank, crossbow still attached to his hoof.

The buggy scraped against a rocky hill along the road and swerved out of control, toppling and spinning into a mess of debris as the sandrail body got snagged on the chain, being dragged behind the tanker and flailing all over the road.

The Ravager's leg caught onto the chain as well, trapping him upside down onto the side of the tank. The man struggled to grab hold of the mesh, grunting at the pain of his bond as he could feel the chain digging close to the bone.

Ray kicked at the Ravager on the hood with his free foot while he continued to struggle with the other that held his neck. He struck the barbarian twice until the man grabbed the kicking leg, trying to crawl into the cab after him.

He let go of the arm that held him and grabbed the Shorty, firing one of the scatter shells at the Ravager in front of him and sending him rolling off the hood, meeting his fate under the wheels of the tanker. He then turned and fired a shell at the arm, deafening his ear as blood splattered all over him.

The man withdrew his arm with a cry of pain, as he took in the sight of a large chunk missing as if a bite were taken out of it.

"Can't you speed this thing up?!" Shining Armor asked the driver of the Sprut.

The driver shook his head. "I'm going the max speed allowed for it!"

Shining looked at the speedometer and noticed it was just shy of the red zone, meaning it could be pushed further if need be. "That's not what this thing says!"

"Any faster we might seize the engine!"

"Do it!"

"But sir!"

"That's an order!!"

The driver pushed the old tank-destroyer harder until the hull shook, gaining on Ray's tanker.

As soon as they were in close proximity to the rear of the tank trailer, Shining turned to the turret operator. "Raise the turret a couple of feet! I want it touching the top of that tanker!"

The REDF pony did as he was told, raising the 125mm gun until the barrel met the upper edge of the tank.

Shining emerged from the hatch, climbing onto the gun in order to get to the tank.

The driver popped his head out of his own hatch and called out to the Royal Guard Captain: "Captain Armor! What are you doing?!"

"There might be crude or refined petroleum in this thing and Ray needs all the help he can get! Now keep it steady!"

Something popped at the rear of the Sprut, making it choke and slow down, just as Shining reached the tank and grabbed hold of the mesh net. The barrel slipped out from between his legs, sending them colliding with the tank. The Sprut's engine died and stopped dead in the road, forcing an armored car crashing into it, crumbling the front end like a tin can. The pair of vehicles suddenly exploded, likely the result of a fuel leak sparked from the impact.

Shining shielded himself from any debris and pressed on, having no time to grieve over the loss of his men and rare equipment. He followed the chain that dragged the buggy carcass to the side of the tank where he was met with a ricochet of buckshot on the edge, forcing him back to cover. He unslung his G3 rifle and spun back around, firing several shots at the Ravager that hung from the chain until satisfied he was dead. He started making his way along the side of the tank until an explosion impacted the ground next to him, fragging his shoulder and forcing him off the net. He quickly grabbed hold of the chain for support, dropping his gun on the road in the process.

An armored car sped closer to him as a roof gunner tossed a spent M72 LAW launcher and grabbed the machine gun mounted in front of him. The rear of the car blasted apart, killing the gunner and forcing the vehicle into a ditch.

Shining saw that it was Junkers in the Scrambler, operating the rear turret with the second set of controls in the driver area. Shining grinned with a salute and grabbed the mesh again, continuing his journey to the top of the tank where he met a terrified Changeling trapped from the grappling hook.

"Please!" the Changeling yelled, "Help me!"

Shining continued past him and made way for the driver cab where Ray was, then stopped and turned around after another plea from the Changeling.

"Don't leave me here like this!!"

He thought for a moment, then cursed as he crawled back, attempting to pry the hook off of the holed leg.

"Here!" a voice called next to them. It was Washington in his ramrod, holding up the bolt-cutter. He threw it to Shining, who struggled to catch it but was helped by the Changeling.

Shining cut through the metal, freeing both the Changeling and the sandrail that dragged behind.

"Thank you!" the Changeling shouted, the look of relief on his face difficult to ignore as Shining helped him cross the top of the tank towards the cab.

As they reached the other side, they found a Ravager clung to metal protrusions behind the cab for support as he bandaged his wound. He then looked up, staring incredulously at the creatures before him for a brief moment before succumbing to his instincts, raising his other arm and firing a flechette at one of them.

Shining ducked and grabbed the crossbow caught in the hooves of Heinkel's body still hanging from the mesh and shot an arrow into the man's head, causing him to fall off the supports and onto the road below the tanker.

The Changeling beside him choked, eyes wide as he gripped his neck with his hooves. Shining was almost brought to tears from the look of helplessness on the creature's face, his eyes fixed on the stream of blood pouring from the flechette wound. He brought himself back to eye level.

"I'm sorry..." was all that Shining could think of to say or do, as nothing could help this poor Changeling now. "I'm so sorry!"

And just like that, the Guardling fell lifeless in his arms, eyes still wide from the previous shock.

Shining's mind was a blank, holding on to the body unsure of what to do now but remain there. When thoughts did finally flood his mind again, it was a replay of events. The face of the terrified Changeling caught in the hook. It was a face he knew he would never forget.

Ray loaded more shells into the Shorty and checked his mirrors, watching as another pair of motorcycles approached. One of them was quickly gunned down by the Dauphin, but the other still charged. He reacted and swerved to hit it, forcing it to collide with a rock and sending the cyclist flying down a drop into a dry ravine.

The passenger door opened, prompting Ray to whip the Shorty in the direction of the intruder, only to put it down as he recognized the hooves gripping the doorframe.

"Friendly!" Shining Armor shouted as he entered the cab, shutting the door behind him.

"How d-... What are you doing here?!"

"Helping!"

Ray noticed a wound on Shining's shoulder. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing, just watch the road! I'll cover you!" He grabbed Ray's CX-4 from the seat and checked it.

Ray then shifted his vision to the mirror, watching as another flatbed followed next to the tank, preparing to unload a group of Ravagers. "Over there!"

Shining emerged from the window and fired at the technical, attaining a kill as one of the barbarians fell off the vehicle.

A gunner behind the flatbed's cab shot a barrage of arrows at the tanker, with one hitting Shining in the same wounded shoulder, forcing him back into the cab.

"Ah, damn it!!" He roared, "That's the same place they got me before!" He gripped the arrow in pain.

Chrysalis destroyed the flatbed technical with the last rocket, switching back to the machine guns with the control on her cyclic.

"Well," Lancer said, "That does it for the unguided rockets! Except for those things..."

"What?"

"Those!" Lancer pointed at what appeared to be lone rockets at the wingtips, larger than the ones from the pods. There were only two of them, one for each wing. "I think they might be some kind of guided missiles!"

Chrysalis looked at her cyclic to find the switch for them, but could only find the controls for the rocket pods and machine guns. "Where's the controls for them?"

Lancer observed a kind of periscope-shaped device protruding from the ceiling where a roof window would be, ending in front of him. "I think this thing's the sighting device! Perhaps my stick here has the-..."

A barrage of metal arrows struck the port side of the cockpit, shattering the windows.

Chrysalis pulled away, taking a look at her copilot to find three of the arrows lodged in his now dead body. "No!! You bastards!"

She guided the Dauphin back to the highway, ready to attack when suddenly she noticed another vehicle catching up to the tanker. She was taken back by the odd display, as it appeared to be a carriage of sorts made from the front end of a Volkswagen van, minus roof, being pulled by two motorcycles as ponies would.

Overdog! She could see him as the "driver" of the bizarre setup with reins made of chain that led to the cyclists wearing spiked collars. Behind Overdog was a gunner position, firing another barrage of arrows that struck the belly of the aircraft, forcing Chrysalis to pull away again.

"What the hell is that?!" Ray asked in surprise of the cycle-drawn carriage, staring at it's image in the mirror.

"Watch the road!" Shining yelled, reaching for the wheel.

Ray quickly brought his attention back to avoid the debris of a wrecked sandrail FAV in the middle of the road, leftovers from the first attack on the oil wells.

Overdog's carriage shot arrows into the front wheels of the tanker then sped up, heading back on the road attempting to cut Ray off.

Ray began losing control of the Peterbilt, running over more debris from wrecked guard technicals until the vehicle started tipping over. "No, no, no, no, noooo!!"

The tanker rolled onto its side, forcing Shining to land on Ray as he braced for the impact. The vehicle slid to a halt with the tank trailer blocking the road. Much to the danger of Junkers as he crashed the Scrambler straight through the tank, flying into the air and flipping over as he met the road again.

Overdog whipped the cyclists with the reins for speed as he watched in terror as the upturned Scrambler headed straight for them, colliding with the chariot in a total mess of twisted metal that crushed the two cyclists under the remains.

Washington stopped his ramrod next to the Peterbilt wreckage, exiting the vehicle with his AK-47 drawn at the wrecks of Overdog's carriage and the Scrambler, then ran up to the tanker cab when he could not see any sign of life from them. He slung his weapon and shoved away various debris. "Ray! You okay?"

The Dauphin came to hard landing next to the tanker with Chrysalis exiting the cockpit, running up to Washington to help him uncover the cab.

When they moved the last piece of debris away from the broken windshield they saw Shining Armor laying unconscious on Ray's body and decided to pull him out onto the road, with Chrysalis checking his pulse to make sure he was still alive. Ray was still awake as he kicked away shattered glass and metal fragments, being helped out by Washington.

"Goddamn, man," said Washington, "Do you ever know when to quit?"

Ray grinned with blood staining his teeth, looking down to find Shining on the ground. "Is he okay?"

Chrysalis got up and approached him, ecstatic to see the both of them alive. "Yeah! He's fine, he's just unconscious. I'm glad you're okay, Ray."

"Thanks, same to you my Queen." His smile faded when he noticed the remains of the Scrambler ahead and began approaching it.

"Maybe you should sit down." Washington tried to stop him but was brushed away.

Ray ran up to the wreckage and began shoving debris away to get to the driver's area, struggling to get it all cleared away until he found a hand emerging from below, frantically helping him. Eventually Junkers surfaced, his head covered with blood as he sported a gash along his hairline.

"Hurry up, man, get me out of here!"

Ray pulled Junkers onto the road and helped him to his feet.

"Thanks, much appreciated." He looked back at the wrecks with a whistle. "Man, sorry about your ride."

Ray laughed. "Don't worry about it. I'm used to it."

A familiar pair of motorcycles with rollcages rumbled towards them and stopped to join the group, with the two brothers slowly getting off with expressions of disappointment as they looked at the remains of Overdog's carriage.

Ray spoke up to them. "Nice to see you two again."

"The death of Overdog was our brainworking!" Jarrett barked, "Our purpose to-..."

Duster put his hand on his brother's shoulder to silence him. "I'm sorry, what he meant to say was... while we felt it our duty to see that death be brought upon the Overdog by our own means, we are relieved that his reign of terror over the wastes has finally been put to an end once and for all. We can't thank you enough for that, outlander."

Ray simply stood there, taking in what the wastelander had to say.

"I think we now may be able to live in peace. Sort of."

"Why don't you come with us?" Ray asked, nodding towards the Dauphin.

"We appreciate your offer, but our place is here. Our family is here." He paused for a moment. "Perhaps we'll rebuild at Overdog's abandoned compound. Finally settle down somewhere safe."

"And the minefields?" Jarrett reminded him.

"Hey, it's an idea. We'll brainwork those problems when we get to them." He turned back to Ray. "You're welcome to visit us any time you wish. We are indebted to you." He then escorted his brother back to the motorcycles and they both took off, heading back up the road from where they came.

Washington put his hand on Ray's shoulder. "Well, look at you, making a name for yourself out in the wasteland."

Ray shrugged with a sheepish grin and started walking towards the Dauphin.

"It's a beautiful thing, man! Hot damn, I love it!" He noticed Junkers struggling to stand and quickly moved to support him. "Oh, sorry."

"You're a strange human," said Chrysalis.

Washington gave her a puzzled look. "Why do you say that? Is it because I'm black?"

"No. You're just strange. But my kind of strange."

"Huh, well, back at ya... cheese horse."

It was her turn to give him a look.

"Sorry. Your majesty, your royal hind-end, or whatever."

She excused his bumbling demeanor and rolled her eyes with a snicker, trotting up to Ray as the group approached the Dauphin to leave this godforsaken land behind, careful to load Shining into the cabin before they finally took off.