Wherever you are going
Chapter 1: loose ends
Martin
Martin sat by the fire, taking the occasional swig from his bottle of whiskey. It never used to be like this... never this hard. He took a deep slug and smacked his lips. It had been five years. Five long, arduous years since he was alone. He, his brother and his niece had travelled from Louisiana when he was twenty, and it had been hard, sure. But he had his family, and he loved them. His brother, Stuart and his niece Cassandra. He was the oldest brother... and responsible. He could still hear his dad when Stuart was born:
"You gotta look after your brother, an' make sure no harm comes to 'im... you're the eldest..."
He smiled... a ghost smile... and took another deep swig from the whiskey and gagged. The stuff was awful, but he needed it. He looked at the molerat steak in front of him and sighed, wondering what the food tasted like before the war. He took a bite and tried to avoid thinking about the radiation, it tasted the same as always, bland. He looked in his pack and grimaced at the lack of anything, he was hoping he wouldn't have to forage again until he got to the ruins of New York. He scanned the horizon, looking for a town, or raider hideout. His eyes were drawn to an old church with a light on inside and he heaved himself up, shouldering his pack and checking his weapons. The hike would take a while, but Martin had learned patience in his thirty three years. He could cope.
Stephanie
Stephanie hated herself... a deep loathing that never went away. No matter how much she tried to do the right thing... it could never be enough. It wasn't as though she chose this life, nor was it that she enjoyed it... she was born into it. Whether or not she registered this, she hated herself for what she was. And whatever happened, she would never be able to stand up and say "I did good in my life." Her life was ruled by hate and pain, malice and greed. She was a raider, and completely ashamed of it. She hoped she could pass herself off, but word had gotten around that she was letting people go, and genuinely not being psychotic enough. So she was stuck in the basement of the hideout with the rest of the don't-knows. They'd left her with a 32. Pistol with one shot and a flask of water. She had almost finished the water and was rationing it, praying that someone would save her. It was so surprising when she heard the gunshots upstairs, that she thought she was hallucinating due to dehydration. The sound of the key in the lock drew Stephanie from the shadows, looking at a figure, haloed in the grainy light from the door. He walked down the steps and cocked a shotgun.
"The last raider..." he murmured "Any last words?"
"Please... help me... wherever you are going... take me with you..." she whimpered, tired and hungry.
"What?" the figure almost reeled in surprise "Who are you?"
"Stephanie. My name is Stephanie." She stood up, shakily and hobbled over to him.
"Christ, you must be starved..." said the figure "Here, and my name's Martin by the way." He handed her some squirrel bits and sat her on the stairs to eat it. He had a pleasant southern twang to his voice, which was deep and rich. He had stubble over his face and straggly dark hair framing startling blue eyes. He smiled at her and waited while she ate. He passed her some purified water and waited while she drank that down.
"I'm going to New York, are you sure you want to come?" he checked. She said nothing, but nodded. He smiled again and offered her his hand "Well let's go then." She took it and he led them through the bodies of her erstwhile captors and into the dawn light. She smiled as the rays touched her face... it felt good to be free.
Please review. I'm working on characters so advice on that front would be appreciated.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Fallout universe... not actually sure who does... only the characters and storyline belong to me.