Tales of the Wastelander Ch. 24 - Teaser (Patreon)

“What do you want?” Rainer demanded, facing the old man while putting himself between Rokel and Solena.

“I just wanted to thank you, boy,” Old Rokel chuckled.

“Thank me? For what?” Rainer questioned, more than a little confused.

“For warming the girl up nicely for me. Now stand aside, and let a real man have at her,” the man said snidely, expecting Rainer to obey him.

“How about… no, old man! The lady picked me, not you. So you can buzz off and just dream of having her, because I’m not letting you take her,” Rainer told him acidly, bringing his arms up.

“I do what I like and take what I want! No little shit like you is going to stand in my way!” Rokel snarled.

The old man brought his arm up and backhanded Rainer hard. The blow was hard enough that it sent Rainer tumbling back onto his ass, more than a little dazed. Rokel then closed in on Solena, who opened her mouth to scream. Seeing this, the old man then slapped his hand on her throat and squeezed, choking the girl enough to stifle her scream.

Markie moved closer, ready to jump on the man, but Rainer had recovered fast and was on the man in a matter of seconds. Rainer flailed wildly, his arms and legs lashing out, seeking to hurt Old Rokel as he was hurting Solena. The man gasped in pain as a few lucky hits made Rokel yelp in pain. Rainer almost laughed, but didn’t let up, getting the old man to disengage from Solena as he tried to defend himself.

Solena rubbed at her neck, then jumped in on the fight, delivering a few blows of her own. Rokel might have been outnumbered, but he was far from outmatched, as he weathered each blow. Once he found an opening, he smashed Solena in the face, dazing the poor girl and taking her out of the fight. Rainer roared in rage and went nuts on the old fart, playing right into his hands.

Old Rokel might not have had Rainer’s speed, stamina or strength, but he made up for it in experience and cunning. After several wild blows, which he deftly dodged, Rokel then delivered a few of his own, hitting soft points on Rainer. Rainer yelped and eventually fell to his knees, the pain too much for him to even stand. Rokel smiled and advanced on him, pulling a long knife from his belt.

“You should have just stood aside, boy! No one tells me no and now, you will find out why that is! Pity that you won’t live to tell of this!” Old Rokel cackled as he put the knife to Rainer’s throat. Not hesitating, Markie drew her pistol, aimed and fired, shooting the knife right out of Rokel’ s hand.

“What the… who dares…” Old Rokel bellowed, but he quickly shut his mouth as he saw Markie bearing down on him with her weapon drawn.

“I dare, you sniveling old bastard!” Markie shouted as she closed the distance. The old man was paralyzed by fear of what could come next, trying to think of a way out of this. He then stopped thinking about anything else altogether, as Rainer lashed out with a blow, punching the old man in the nuts.