Chapter 4: The Morning After
When Sarah woke up the next day, she opened her eyes to see Charon sitting in the exact same position as last night, still intently watching the door. During their trip home, she had been in too much pain to really look at him closely, but now she was curious. Some of his hair was gone; red patches here and there were all that remained. His skin was ridged with rises and falls, like a topography map. It looked leathery, and sections of corded muscles showed through were other skin had fallen off. She wasn't sure, but it looked like some sort of epithelium covered the muscles to protect them. I'll ask dad, she thought, when I find him. When she had been chosen as a medical doctor by the G.O.A.T her father had been so proud, although he assured her that he would've been proud of her no matter what. She didn't believe that, but it took years to learn the medical field. The longer she was out in the Wasteland, the more knowledge slipped away. Instead of being able to recite the bones in the hand, she could now dress a field wound using a duct tape and a teddy bear. Both useful, but hardly equivalent.
Charon's face was much the same as the rest of his body. Sarah could tell that he had once been a handsome man. He's still handsome, for a ghoul, she thought. His eyes, milky and blue, seemed focused on the door. Her eyes trailed down to his chest. In his armor he seemed large, but now, seeing him in a faded black t-shirt, she could see how defined they really were. Most of the skin under his shirt looked intact, although it was hard to tell for certain. As she scanned over Charon again she noted just how tall he really was, over six-foot. Sarah made a mental note to get a measuring tape. She was still intently looking over his hardened stomach when he lightly cleared his throat. Sarah's eyes flew upwards and her stomach dropped when she realized that he had been watching her examine him.
Charon had just looked over to check on his employer, when he realized she was awake, and staring at him. She was examining his body, most likely because she had never gotten the chance to inspect a ghoul up close before. Slightly disgusted with himself, he cleared his throat. The look of surprise of her face was so amusing that he struggled not to laugh. "I see you are awake," he said flatly. She nodded once, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. He could see her body change when she remembered what had happened last night. Her face went pale and her eyes widened as she looked towards the door, shaking.
"Are-are they, I mean them. Did you…" she trailed off, her voice breaking.
Charon's face softened against his will. "They are downstairs. If you wish, I will dispose of them immediately."
"If you don't mind. Thank you, Charon. I don't think I can look at them," the smoothskin said, with a ghost of a smile. The expression didn't touch her eyes and he could still see the vulnerability. As he turned to leave, she got out of bed and began dressing herself.
Charon was about to leave on his task when the smoothskin flew around the stairs, clutching the railing. She had a wild look in her eyes and, before he could say anything, she began shouting, "Wadsworth! Charon, where is Wadsworth?" She looked around, frantically. Charon had almost forgotten about the three-armed bucket of metal. Wadsworth was slumped up against the wall, and she immediately ran over. After rolling up her sleeves, she unscrewed the back plate to access his mainframe. After a couple of minutes she pulled out a brick-sized piece of metal.
"Looks like they shot his sensor module. Not a difficult replacement, thankfully," she choked out, happily. Wiping a tear away, she turned to Charon and explained shyly, "Since Dad left I've been pretty much by myself. Wadsworth has been one of my only real friends out here. I know he's just a robot, but he tells me jokes and is always happy to see me…"
Not knowing what else to say, Charon grunted, "At least you're good with machines."
She smiled at him, and her eyes lit up. "Yeah, I guess I am. I'm gonna go to Moira's and see if she's got a replacement sensor module in that hoarder's nest of hers."
Without a second thought she was out the door, running through Megaton. Charon looked down at the bodies and weighed his options. The scum can wait, he decided, trotting after her.
He caught up to her outside a building with Craterside Supply painted onto the walls. A large airplane decorated the roof, with the word "Supply" in big letters staked on top. Walking through the door, even Charon was amazed at the variety and quantity of items in the shop. They seemed to be stuffed into every nook and cranny, with junk even overflowing onto the floor. A mousy woman in a Rob-Co jumpsuit smiled brightly as soon as she saw them walk through the door.
"There's my super-assistant! What's up?" the woman, presumably Moira, chattered.
His employer rather sheepishly, shrugged her shoulders and rubbed the back of her neck absentmindedly. "Well, I really just need a sensor module and then I've gotta go," she mumbled halfheartedly.
"Sure, I've got one around here somewhere…Hmm…Dootdeedo… Where did I put you…" Moira said, mainly to herself. "Oh!" she shouted, startling everyone. "Did you know that the human body can live without a stomach or spleen? I need to run some tests though… Wait, what was I looking for?" Moira asked, looking around.
Looking exasperated, the smoothskin began looking for the item herself while Moira hopped up on the counter and began telling her about Centaurs and ways of testing their intelligence.
Waiting patiently, Charon noticed a man standing in the corner. Making eye contact, the two men nodded to one another. They recognized each other for what they were, and left it at that.
Finally, she pulled out a sensor module out of a box titled 'Med Supplies,' and sighed with relief. After paying Moira and promising to stop by again soon, his employer exited Craterside Supply, rubbing her temples.
Slightly embarrassed, she stammered, "Moira is a really sweet person and I love her, but she kills me sometimes. Between her and that damn book..." She trailed off. "Oh, I guess you wouldn't know about that," she clarified. " I'm helping her create… The Wasteland Survival Guide," she said, dramatically placing her hands on her hips, eyes to the sky. She laughed, "At least, that's what the plan is."