Never before in my life had I ever experienced so much pain. I had gone a week without food, 3 days without water, and what felt like a lifetime without any human interaction…in a positive way, I mean. The armor I wore didn't defend my body as well as I had hoped it would, though with my crappy repair skills…I am not surprised. I was completely surrounded with nowhere to run. It was as if every raider, dog, and Super Mutant in the entire Capital Wasteland was on a mission to kill ME. Never before had I allowed myself to think of death, but now, it was the only thought that could enter my mind. I was convinced I had no chance of survival. I was running out of ammo on my 10mm, the only weapon I had left that I hadn't broken in the process of trying to repair, and Rivet City was at least two days travel from here. Dogmeat was dead. I had used my last stimpak trying to save that little bastard, and he died on me. I guess he wasn't good for much, anyway. He was nice to have around, though. Even if he was only a dog and didn't understand half of the commands I gave him.
"Kill her!" Someone off in the distance commanded. I swore under my breath. Let's welcome the guys being PAID to kill me to the party. Might as well. At least someone will earn some kind of reward for my death. If the Super Mutants wouldn't rip me to shreds and stuff my severed limbs into one of their gore bags first, I mean.
I took out a sledgehammer and finished off another mutant, then quickly took what ammo he had left and his mini-gun. This SHOULD make the fighting more fair. I unloaded what ammo I had taken on another mutant with the same weapon, taking his ammo, which was a little more than the last, and repeating this until I had enough to finish everyone else off. Just in case, I knocked off a few raiders and took their weapons, dropping my old broken ones so I could make a quick escape once the damage was done. I then killed the guys who were hired to kill me, (I can never remember their names…Talon something…) and searched them for anything of value. One of them had a laser rifle, which is one of my favorite weapons; and, from what I could tell, it was in good repair. I also found a contract to kill me for 1,000 caps (surprise, surprise). I also found a few grenades. I then crossed over, trying not to step on a body, to where Dogmeat's lifeless figure had fallen. He was the only true friend I had out here in the Wasteland…and I got him killed.
"You were a good friend." I mumbled, feeling the tears forming in my eyes. "I'm sorry you died for me." I first met the dog in the scrap yard, hanging onto life and in desperate need of someone to take care of him. So I, because I cannot stand seeing a friendly creature die, gave him one of my few stimpaks and he had followed me around ever since. I didn't have a pet back in Vault 101, where I grew up, so it was a nice change. Especially when he was the first friendly thing I'd seen out here in the Wastes without trying to cheat me out of caps for some over-priced merchandise. "I'll find somewhere nice to bury you…" I mumbled, gathering him in my arms and slowly standing up. Suddenly, I heard a shot go off, causing me to drop Dogmeat's lifeless body and spin around in shock.
"Fuckin Talon bastard…" I heard someone say, which scared me even more. There was no sign of any enemies as far as my Pipboy could tell me, but no technology is perfect, right?
"Who the hell is here?" I demanded.
"Keep down and outta sight. You've got a raider investigation team comin' up your six." A voice-obviously male-said.
"What the FUCK is that supposed to mean!" I asked.
"Shut the hell up, hide, and don't question my authority. You can't see me but I've got you covered."
"Alright…but if you get me killed I'm dragging you with me all the way to hell."
"Welcome to it, sweetheart."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"The vault don't teach them like they used to…" He said under his breath. Ignoring his comment, I went to the best hiding place I could find. It wasn't a great hiding spot, but I haven't been at my best with sneaking lately. It started about the time I ran out of Med-X…or was it Jet? Either one…
My thoughts were interrupted with gunshots.
"What the fuck was that!" I heard someone said. More shots went off.
"Where the Hell is that comin' from!"
"There! Look ou-" the last voice was cut off when a different gun went off…then everything got uncomfortably silent. I heard footsteps toward where I was hidden, and I drew my knife from my side, ready to kill whatever was going to try and kill me. What I was using as cover was removed, and I stared up at a silhouetted person, obviously not a raider…He would have slit my throat by now.
"Now you can move." He said.
"And you can introduce yourself before I kill you." I growled.
"First of all, try, you mean. Second, you're welcome. Third, I'm Nero. And you are?" He said. This angered me a little. JUST because I had little ammo left didn't mean I couldn't use the knife to kill him…but I answered his question anyway.
"Maria." I said, almost forgetting my own name. It'd been a while since I've been called by it..12 years to be exact. But I'll get into that story at a more appropriate time, "You might have heard about me around the Vault 101 area…you know, if they even knew I existed down there…"
"Yeah, Three dog has said a few things about you. I'm sure you've heard about me. The Wasteland Ghost." Who the hell was Three Dog? Was he one of those creatures from Hell…the dog with three heads whose name escapes me at the moment? Given some of the things I've seen in the month I've been out here, I wouldn't be surprised at all.
"I'm assuming that is the man on the Galaxy News Radio, which, I never listen to." I said, trying to sound a little smarter than I was, "I usually can't pick up a signal."
"That's strange. I always get signal…Bullet! Come here girl!" He said, the tone of his voice changing.
"Bullet?" I asked, looking confused. A white dog came running towards Nero.
"Arf!" It said.
"That's Bullet." Nero said.
"Dog…" I glanced over at Dogmeat's lifeless figure, feeling the tears coming to my eyes again.
"My dog." Nero said.
"Nice of you to shove mine's death back into my face." I growled, "He was kind of my best friend."
"I get that. I'm sorry. I know someone who might be able to reanimate him." He said. Bring my Dogmeat back? I was just gonna bury him…or eat him…
"But his soul is gone…Reanimating him won't bring but his body back."
"That's what you think. Just try to trust me on this." Trust HIM? I'd just met him! I didn't even trust my own mother for the first three years of my life!
"I…I don't think he'd be too happy to see me…"I said, trying to make up a good excuse.
"Won't know till you find out." He walked over to my dog's body and picked it up, placing it on his shoulder. "Male or female?"
"Male, obviously, why would I name a female Dogmeat?" Actually, I didn't get much of a choice on his name. He wouldn't respond to anything. I thought he was a cannibal at first…
"He'll live. Males are far more resilient and seem to stay in the body longer."
"You sure?" I asked.
"Pretty." He tipped his hat and began to walk away.
"Am I supposed to follow you?" I asked, feeling really ignorant of everything at that moment.
"You could always just sit there and die."
"I've come too far to die."
"Then keep up. I don't bite." He said, not slowing as I scrambled to catch up. I was wounded in several places, near dying of radiation poisoning, and I was starving to death. I couldn't exactly walk as fast as everyone else who knows where to find food and water that isn't irradiated.
"Could I at least carry my own dog? He didn't even know you." I mumbled, almost afraid to ask.
"If you want to carry him then I will leave the burden to you."
"It's no burden. He's my best friend." I said, taking the dog. I almost collapsed when the dog, which weighed about 50 pounds, was placed in my arms. His body, already going cold, was awkward in my arms, and he felt like he was gaining weight by the second.
"We must hurry. His time is fleeting." Nero said, making me forget how heavy Dogmeat was. I could only manage to nod.
"Where are we headed?" I asked.
"The Commonwealth." He said, "There's a doctor up there who's life I saved. She's a genius in reanimation. But if HIS body is cold by the time we get there, there's no saving him."
"Think she might have purified water there? This irradiated stuff is about to kill me." Last time I had checked, I had just broken the "950" scale on the radiation poisoning…and that was a week ago.
"Plenty of."
"And food?"
"That's a dumb question."
"I haven't eaten in a week…possibly more. It is NOT a dumb question."
"Then here," He removed something from where I'm guessing he stored his food, "All you had to do was say something."
"What part of 'I'm usually not anywhere near people' did you not understand? I don't know this kind of stuff. Not even in the Vault did I speak to people!"
"Interesting. Not that it matters, but interesting. Here. Chew and swallow, don't choke. Try to go slowly." He handed me the food in his hand. A box of Salisbury steak. I struggled to eat it slowly, but somehow I managed to, feeling myself getting closer to dying as the radiation in my body grew.
"It paid off in the end, you know? Not speaking to anyone. They don't even know I'm gone."
"…"
"Less blood was spilled that way. Very much unlike whoever it was who escaped the year before me. Too many lives were wasted on his escape."
"Interesting."
"I wasn't supposed to know he even escaped. But I find out a lot of things I'm not supposed to by eavesdropping."
"Sneaky little girl, aren't ya?"
"Only sometimes. When I need to be, anyway. I'm not really good for anything else…" I USED to be, I USED to have amazing bartering AND speech skills when I first crawled out of the Vault….but I'm not sure what happened after that.
"So says your empty weaponry." He said.
"That IS not my fault! I drank my last bottle of whisky the other day and I tried to rig my mini gun to shoot lasers…and have a bayonet." I said defensively. I wasn't in my right mind…and I broke all of my weapons…someone, please, kill me.