Intense sobbing caught Rhydian's attention. She listened closely to see if she could decipher where it was coming from. Disturbing sentences followed the crying as Rhydian tip-toed toward the sobbing.
"I eat brain first. Make me smarter."
"You dumb. Nothing make you smarter. I eat eyes first. Make me see better."
Rhydian could easily tell by the deep gurgling tone of the voices that it was two super mutants who were carrying on a conversation. The severe lack of grammar and intellect that laced the sentences only confirmed her suspicions.
"Grandma, what large eyes you have!" One of them crowed, causing them to erupt into a fit of cackles.
Rhydian found it interesting that they knew that sentence. She wondered if they knew the whole story of Little Red Riding Hood or if only just bits and pieces of it remained lodged into their irradiated brains.
"What's this?" One of them asked at the same time as a man started shrieking.
"That hair, stupid!" The other supermutant answered and a smacking sound followed.
Rhydian didn't know why, but she found the thought of a supermutant pulling someone's hair rather comical. She snickered as she tip-toed closer toward them.
"Pretty! I eat it and grow some!"
"Eat now!" The other one yelled, clearly growing impatient.
"Well, it's now or never," Rhydian told herself, running around the tent and to the entrance. She dropped her pack outside the doorway and stood next to it, so she could grab another weapon if the need arose.
"Aaahhh! Human!" A supermutant shouted struggling to load his assault rifle. "You die!"
He took a few shells to the face to the face from her scattergun without blinking. She sidestepped, narrowly missing a bullet, and she thanked God that supermutants had terrible aim. She shot him once more in the face. He dropped his gun and exclaimed in agony. She took this chance to grab her combat knife and hurl it at his head. That was enough to send him hurling into the dark oblivion of death.
An eerie quiet spread. She walked in the tent, carefully searching for the second supermutant. Her head exploded in horrendous pain as she fell face first into the dirt. She rolled over just in time to miss being hit a second time by the sledgehammer in the supermutant's hands.
She'd been hit too hard in the head to immediately stand up, so she fired from the comfort of the ground. A couple of shots fatally wounded the supermutant. He stumbled forward.
"Oh, no, no, no," Rhydian whimpered, struggling to stand before the supermutant fell. She didn't make it. In all other instances, a supermutant falling over and dying would be a good thing. However, the massive giant fell directly on top of Rhydian.
"Oh, son of a bitch," she wheezed, struggling to pull herself from beneath the giant's body. She was convinced that if the supermutants started tackling people and wailing on them, no one would survive a supermutant attack.
She finally managed to pull herself from beneath the giant. As she stood up, she wobbled a bit before the dizziness dissipated. Blood was smeared on the ground where her head had rested. She ran her hand over the back of her head and felt mush.
"Oh, please don't let that be my brain," she muttered, fingering the wound. She felt something hard and gave it a tap. It was completely solid. Thankfully, her skull was still intact, but she knew it wasn't good idea to roam around the wasteland with her skull peeking out at everybody.
She walked over to her pack and threw miscellaneous odds and ends out of it. Her hand rested on the 10 mm pistol that Amata had given her. She pulled it from her pack along with an extra clip of ammunition.
She walked toward the frightened man in the tent. He was on his knees, his legs and hands tied behind him. She set the pistol down beside him and untied the dirty, frightened man.
"Thank you! I thought those motherfuckers were going to kill me for sure. You saved me! Thank you so much!"
He threw his arms around her quickly, still whispering gratitude in her ear. Rhydian smiled, ignoring the awful stench coming from him.
"Here, take this! You need it more than I do!" He said excitedly, holding out a jet inhaler.
"No, you keep it. Take this," she said, handing him the pistol and ammunition from the ground.
He thanked her and ran out the door quickly as she sat down at the table to rest.
"Oh, my head," she groaned, rubbing the back of her throbbing skull. She angrily threw the ashtray from the table at the dead supermutant's head. "Why can't you things just be nice?"
She pulled up her pipboy menu, groaning when the light intensified her headache. Light sensitivity wasn't always a serious thing, but the extent of hers was unsettling.
It was only a little after five. She'd definitely have time to make it to Rivet City before dark. She didn't mind traveling in the dark. Traveling in the dark with a busted head is what made the difference.
She started putting her things back in her pack when something she saw crushed her heart into a million pieces. A lump settled in her throat as she picked up Jonas' lab coat from the ground. She ran her fingers over the bullet hole in the breast pocket.
She immediately grabbed her pack and turned it over. Sure enough, a bullet had grazed her pack. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at the lab coat. There were bloodstains on it from when Jonas' had been killed.
A bullet hole is different, she thought as she held the coat close. She knew the bullet hole was her fault and that made her feel as if she'd killed Jonas all over again.
She dug through her pack, examining everything closely. She'd hoped the bullet hadn't hit anything else important. A sharp pain ran up her arm as she yanked her hand back out of her pack. She thought she'd run her hand across a knife until she saw the glass stuck in her hand.
"Oh, please, no," she sobbed, pulling out the broken and shattered picture frame. The picture was of Rhydian and her father on her tenth birthday. She'd just gotten a BB gun. Jonas had taken the picture.
The bullet had only gone through the corner of the photograph, sparing both of their faces. She let out a sigh of relief, but wished the whole frame had been saved.
She packed her things away and started walking in the direction of Rivet City. On the way, she couldn't chase away the thoughts of Jonas and her father. She missed them both dearly. She wished she'd been there when her father escaped. She'd have saved Jonas.
She couldn't search for her father yet. She didn't have enough caps to fund her expedition and she didn't expect him to actually be in Vault 112 anyway. She was told he was at the Galaxy News Radio station and he wasn't there. Three Dog told her he was in Rivet City. He wasn't there. Doctor Li told her he was at the Jefferson Memorial. He wasn't there. His holotape had said he'd be in Vault 112 and she didn't think he'd be there either.
A howl broke her away from her thoughts. A rabid, mangy dog bee lined for her from the side of the road. She cocked her shotgun and blew his head off. For some reason, she felt bad about killing the wasteland dogs. She knew she had to, but she wished she had a dog of her own.
She sighed, walking over to what the dog had been chewing on. It was the captive wastelander that she'd rescued. He'd walked half a mile just to get mauled by a dog- a dog. She ruined Jonas' lab coat and her picture for nothing.
She loomed over the wastelander's body. His guts were lying on the ground next to him and bloody covered the ground like it had been poured there from a jug. She jumped when the wastelander coughed.
"Help me," he pleaded weakly.
"What is your name?" She asked coldly as she stared down at him.
"Doug," he choked weakly. "Why? Please, help me."
"I did," she stated harshly. "I sacrificed the only two things I give a shit about because of you! I just wanted to know your name before I put you out of your misery."
She didn't give him a chance to question her before she caved his head in with her foot. She couldn't help but wishing that she'd just walked on by when she'd heard his screams earlier. That was all for nothing.
She made it to Rivet City just after nightfall. She'd have made better timing if she hadn't stopped to cry over Jonas' coat. The stars lit her pathway across the bridge.
"Welcome to Rivet City, keep your nose clean," Harkness greeted her as she reached the edge of the bridge.
"I don't suppose that Doctor Preston is still working, right?" She asked as she approached him. "I kind of need him."
"Is it serious?" Harkness asked, checking the safety on his rifle before it let it hang on his back by the shoulder strap.
"Probably," Rhydian said with a shrug. She motioned toward his flashlight and turned around.
"Holy shit," Harkness muttered under his breath. "Come on. I'll wake Doctor Preston. This is definitely serious. What the hell happened?"
"The big booger hit me with a sledgehammer," Rhydian replied as they made their way to Doctor Preston's room.
"Go watch the bridge, Ramirez," Harkness demanded, pointing at Ramirez, who was leaning against the wall half asleep. "Ramirez, go watch the bridge!"
Ramirez's eyes snapped open quickly and he bolted down the hallway like something was biting him in the rear end.
"Preston, get up! We have a problem!" Harkness exclaimed, banging on Doctor Preston's door.
"I'm coming, Harnkness. Keep your damn drawers on. I swear, if Cantelli has overdosed again, he's going to have to wait until tomorrow," Preston growled as he unlocked his door. "Oh, Rhydian, what a pleasant surprise."
Rhydian could sense the sarcasm in his voice, but she smiled none the less. Her smile didn't falter as Harkness grabbed her shoulder and forcefully spun her around until her back was toward Preston.
"Escort her to the clinic," Preston sighed. "I have to find my glasses. I'll be there in a moment."
"Woah, when did the floor get all watery?" Rhydian asked, noting the sudden change in the texture of the floor.
"Aw, shit," Harkness mumbled as Rhydian passed out on the metal floor.
"Is this your definition of escorting my patient?" Preston asked with an agitated sigh as Harkness began to roll her over. "No, don't do that! Are you stupid? You'll get dirt in the wound. Pick her up, you idiot."
Harkness cursed Preston under his breath as he threw Rhydian over his shoulder. He'd never met a doctor in the wasteland who wasn't a complete asshole. When he dropped her on the table, Preston scolded him again.
"Damn it, Harkness! What are you trying to do- break her nose?" Preston rolled her over to make sure her nose wasn't broken. "Your services are no longer needed. Get out while I work."
Harkness walked away in annoyance, mumbling under his breath about Preston being a dick. Doctor Preston heard, but he didn't snap back at Harkness. He had more pressing matters to attend to than a smart-mouthed guard.
Rhydian woke up early the next morning. She jumped out of bed quickly before realizing she was in the Weatherly Hotel. Her head throbbed and she reached back to touch her wound, which was swollen and stitched shut.
"I have a bald spot!" She exclaimed to Doctor Preston once she'd reached the clinic.
"Are you high?" He asked in irritation and she blinked in response.
"Probably," she answered after a thoughtful pause. "There's no telling what kind of drugs you pumped into me."
"I had to shave around the wound in order to stich it closed."
"Well, shave me a mohawk. I don't like the idea of walking around with one bald spot," Rhydian demanded, sitting down in a chair.
"I'm a doctor, not a damn barber!"
"I'll pay you extra. Just do it."
"Don't you think you have more to worry about than a bad haircut?"
"I can handle myself," Rhydian scolded.
"You don't need to be hit in the head again until this heals over. It would be very easy for these stitches to be busted open," Preston advised her as he started shaving the sides of her head.
"Well, next time I'm fighting, I'll spin around in circles so that no one can hit me in the back of the head," Rhydian snickered.
"Have someone travel with you until your stitches heal. Either that, or don't go anywhere."
"The only person who will travel with me is Jericho," she muttered. "I don't think that will be a pleasant trip."
"I'm sure it will be more pleasant than death."
"I don't know about that," Rhydian mumbled beneath her breath.
After Preston finished her mohawk, she set off to Megaton, to enlist the help of Jericho.