Gods of the Wasteland 1:
The Drums of War
1
The little house in Megaton had always been a good home, and Norton was almost sad to be leaving it. He had lived there for nearly four years now and it was the first home he had actually enjoyed.
For a minute, he stood in his cramped room, containing only a bed, a filing cabinet, and a desk. He opened the top drawer of the desk and pulled out a faded photograph. Without looking, he stuffed the photo in a pocket and walked out of the room. It was time to go.
"Good morning, sir!" Wadsworth said. The robot was an old Mister Handy model that had been left in the house when the last owner left. When Norton got the house, Wadsworth just became a sort of butler. He had lived there much longer than Norton had.
"Morning, Wadsworth." Said Norton as he headed towards the stairs. "I'm going out." He didn't have the heart to tell the robot that he was never returning. Moira Brown at the Craterside Supply had told him that the robot didn't have a sense of time or friendship, so he probably wouldn't be affected by Norton's leaving. Hell, he could come back in fifty years and it would feel like ten minutes to Wadsworth.
"I'll see you when you return, sir!" Wadsworth called cheerfully from upstairs. Norton almost felt sorry for him.
Suddenly, Norton stopped at the door and looked around the room. An old locker stood in the corner. He had cleared it out the night before, but he opened the door and checked anyway. Nothing but dust. He turned to the little bobblehead collection stand in the center of the room. He was never a fan of bobbleheads, so the thing had mostly been an end table.
The house felt so…empty.
Norton let out a sigh and opened the door. Without thinking, he locked it behind him, knowing that his key was sitting on the desk upstairs. No turning back now.
He stood outside the house and looked around Megaton. The town had been built around an old, post-war crater. The bomb that caused the crater lay down in the bottom, in plain view for everyone in town. No one had known if it was live or not until Norton had gone in and looked inside four years earlier. He had disarmed it within twenty minutes and "saved the town" as Lucas Simms had put it.
The rim of the crater was surrounded by a fence made of sheet metal and various fencing that had been scavenged from the Wasteland. Megaton rested inside, its buildings linked by ramps and walkways made of makeshift scrap metal and pipes. Walter, the city maintenance worker, kept clean water pumping through town with pipes salvaged from the nearby town of Springvale.
Norton shouldered his pack and walked down a narrow ramp around the side of the house. He went maybe three hundred yards before he saw the small group of people standing by the city gate. Four of Megaton's residents were waiting to give their final goodbyes. Norton grinned and little and walked over to them.
"Finally!" Moira Brown exclaimed. "We've been waiting for half an hour, I have a shop to run, buddy!"
With a chuckle, Norton hugged his good friend. Moira had been one of the first people he actually called a friend in the town and their friendship had only gotten stronger throughout his residency.
"I've said it once and I'll say it again, Norton." A voice said behind him. Norton turned to face Lucas Simms, the sheriff of Megaton. "I could always use a deputy. Hell, I'll be the deputy and you can be sheriff if you really wanted it."
"Thanks, Luke, but that job really isn't for me." Said Norton, shaking Lucas' hand. "But I'll definitely keep it in mind."
The next person in line only looked at Norton for over a minute before saying anything. His name was Gob, and he was very different from everyone else in Megaton. Gob was a Ghoul, an average person who, through radiation exposure and breeding, had the appearance of a corpse.
"Out of everyone in this stinking town." Gob began. "You are one of the few people that have actually treated me like a human being. If my tear ducts worked, I'd probably cry right now."
Norton went to hug the Ghoul, remembered he hated human contact, and stopped.
"Thanks, pal. That means a lot." Gob nodded in approval and stepped back with Moira and Lucas. Norton turned and knew that this goodbye would be the hardest.
The girl that stood before him was named Nova. She had lived in Megaton her whole life and, at the age of sixteen, joined the work force at Moriarty's Saloon. To be blunt, Nova was a prostitute. The first time Norton had come to Megaton, at the ripe age of nineteen, he had gone to the Saloon and met the girl. Instantly, he felt something for her.
But, Norton soon had to live and finish an adventure that lasted much longer then he had hoped. Eventually, nearly two years later, Norton returned and the girl was still there. So was that feeling.
"Look at you." Said Nova, stepping up to him. She was nearly a head shorter and had short, red hair. To his joy, she was smiling even though tears filled her eyes. "You're all grown up, Norty."
God, he hated that nickname! Since they had first met she had called him that and it drove him crazy. They had been very close, almost a couple, ever since he had moved in permanently. If he had a cap for every time he had awoken to find Nova in his bed, he would be rich. But, they had never technically dated, which Norton was regretting.
"You're only two years old than me, girl." Norton said, commenting on her "all grown up" statement.
"Just the same, lover boy."
Without words, Norton enclosed her in his arms and kissed her. It was a parting kiss, deep and knowing that it would be the last. He held her close to his body, not wanting her to go. Eventually, they parted.
"You can still come with me." Urged Norton, holding both of her hands in his and looking into her eyes. "You and me, in the Wastes."
"I've told you, Norty, that life isn't for me." Nova told him, sadly. "My life is here. My life is Megaton. I would never survive out there. In here, you'll always know I'm safe."
"Why are you saying that like I'm never coming back?" Norton asked her. "I'll visit."
"Please!" Nova laughed. "Last time you said that you were gone for nearly two years and became a hero. Don't say see you soon, Norty. Just say goodbye."
The facts were finally out there. The odds of him ever seeing Megaton, or his sweet Nova, were very thin. He didn't want to admit it, but it was true.
"Goodbye, Nova." Norton said. He kissed her again, not letting go of her hands. God, what was he doing? Why was he leaving this perfect life?
He pulled away from her and dropped his left hand. Norton barely felt Nova slip a tiny, silk bag into his right hand. He looked from her smiling face and then to the bag. Quickly, he opened it.
"No." He told her bluntly, trying to hand the bag back. "This is yours. You've earned. It's your money to get to Rivet City."
"Shut up, Norty." She chuckled. "I'll make more. It's only a hundred caps."
"I don't want it."
"Too bad, lover boy."
"Damn it Nova, no!"
"Damn it Norton, yes!"
The argument ended like that. Like they always ended between them. A stalemate. Norton shoved the bag into the pants pocket of his old Leather Armor and smiled at her.
"I'm gonna miss you, Nova." He told her bluntly, not wanting the moment to end just yet.
"Oh, kiss me and get out of here you big dummy! Before you make me cry!"
Norton pulled Nova in for a third and final time, kissing her harder than he ever had before. The moment ended to quickly and before they could say anything else, Nova turned from him and walked away. Quick and easy, like ripping off a band aid. Following suit, Norton turned to face the Megaton gate and his three friends.
"I almost forgot!" Moira suddenly announced, reaching into a faded satchel on her hip. "I found this in my shop, you probably forgot all about it. I fixed it! Got it working like new again."
Norton was shocked to see that Moira was holding a Pip-Boy 3000 in her hands. Not only that, but the same one he had worn until about eight months ago, when it had suddenly died on him. Without a thought, he clipped it onto his wrist and flicked the ON switch. To greet him was a familiar green glow and a map of the Capital Wasteland.
"How did you fix it?"
"I just needed to charge the batteries." Said Moira happily. "I just hooked them up to a Conductor and a Fission Battery and it booted right up."
"Thank you so much, I missed this old thing."
Norton hugged Moira and shook Lucas' hand. With a final nod to Gob, he shouldered his back and stepped out of Megaton for the last time.