Mojave Wasteland

September 6th 7:23 AM

2264

The depth of the sleep he experienced was comparable to the sleep Martha had put him through. There was just nothing there at all. Just blankness, without thoughts or dreams, nothing, until bits and pieces of his consciousness started returning to him, carrying memories of the day before. First the death of his father, then the wounds on his chest and stomach, and then what had happened after. He remembered shooting Wesley in the head and then he remembered being taken to Fina's house. That's when his eyes opened, revealing the room to him. There was light seeping through the blinds like sand through the openings in someone's fingers. It was day time, and it was also chilly, meaning it was still morning. He breathed out, sat up, and threw the blankets off of him, looking down at his body after he did. There were bandages there but the fact that there wasn't as much pain as there had been the day before made it clear Fina had used a stimpak, which gave him a sense of appreciation.

When he stood up and out of bed, he was wearing nothing but a pair of clean boxers. Somehow, despite his somber mood, he managed to feel embarrassed at the idea that Fina had seen him naked. It couldn't be helped, though, after all, so he set the feeling aside. His legs sloppily carried him towards the window, trying to shake the sleep disorientation, and he pushed the vertical blinds aside to look outside. He saw the town and then he saw two men walking along. Joey and Brandon, who each noticed him and stopped to say something, "Yer awake already, kid?" Rem nodded to Joey, throwing a quick glance down at his overalls and then back at his face, concluding that it looked pretty silly. Brandon spoke afterwards, "How are you feeling?" Rem nodded assuredly, "The wounds don't hurt as much anymore. Fina used a stimpak." Joey nodded, "Yup, Fina's a darlin'. She dun fixed us all up at some point or another. Thought I'd let ya know," he began, when Brandon cut him off. "Wait a little." Rem stared at the both of them curiously but he didn't care enough to ask. Brandon spoke, "We'll see you soon, kid. We have some stuff to talk about." Rem pressed his lips together and nodded to them, leaning on the window sill, and he watched them walk away.

He continued watching the town, taking note of all the little things he hadn't noticed before, and then the door opened. When he turned to see who it was, he saw Fina. "Oh, you're up." Rem turned away from the window entirely, "Yes. Thanks ma'am, that stimpak fixed me up real good." He sounded weak, and it wasn't because of any physical ailment. "Of course," she answered, stepping in. A moment later, Barbara stepped in followed by Jasmine. Immediately, Rem felt smothered. "Mornin' everyone," he said, not forgetting the manners he'd been taught by his parents, "Thank ya'll fer what ya did fer me last night." All of them heard the lack of enthusiasm. Jasmine answered, "Of course, sweetie. You must be hungry." The idea of eating settled wrong in his stomach. It actually made him want to throw up, "Uh, no thanks, ma'am. Eatin's the last thing I'm wantin' to do right now." None of the three looked too comfortable to hear it. All of them wanted to say something but Fina felt she should be the first one, "You have to eat something." Rem ignored it and asked, "Where are mah pants?" Fina crossed her arms under her breasts, "Threw them away. They were too bloody." Barbara interjected before Rem got could get annoyed at the idea that he wouldn't have any clothes, "Hector's boy probably had something that fits." Jasmine nodded as she put her hands on her hips, "Yeah, he would. They look like they were about the same size. I'll go get something." She headed out, leaving him with just Fina and Barbara as he took a seat on one of the chairs beside the gurney. "Anyway, like I said, you have to eat something." Rem shook his head, reaching up to his face and rubbing at his eyes, trying to keep his frustration at their persistence under control. "Can I drink somethin' instead?" Fina frowned, "Well . . . " Rem cut her off, "I promise I'll ask ya to eat somethin' if ya jus' lemme drink somethin' fer now." Though she wasn't entirely pleased with his answer, she felt she couldn't do better. Besides, pressuring him to do something he didn't want to do yet likely wasn't a good idea. "Fine." She headed out into her kitchen, leaving Barbara alone with him this time.

As she stood there with him, she was wondering what to say. She thought to ask him how far away Ranger Center was but didn't want to trouble him to make him think about things he didn't need to think about yet. She also thought to say sorry about his father but right now, he looked okay. He looked like he was emotionally under control and she didn't want to do anything to break that. When she couldn't find anything, she just spoke to speak again, like the first time. "No pain?" Rem glanced at her and just then, it hit her how stupid a question that had been. "No ma'am," he responded, courteously. "Thanks for askin'." There was another pause and by then, she was just starting to feel so powerless. When Fina finally walked in with a nuka cola, she felt a huge weight lifting off her chest. "Here you go." Rem reached out and took the soda, sipping on some of it afterwards. "Thanks ma'am." As he continued drinking, Fina added, "Jasmine will be in with clothes for you to wear soon." Rem nodded as he drank another reluctant sip. There was even more silence after, which was becoming uncomfortably customary at this point, and then he finally spoke to break it, "Can ya'll do me a faver?" When he asked, he sounded sincere. It was the same way he'd asked Fina to put him to sleep. "Yes, of course," said Fina. Rem drank again and began, "I don' mean to be rude, miss, but . . . can ya'll leave me alone fer a bit? I know ya'll been nothin' but nice to me, an' I appreciate it, but I . . . " Fina answered gently, "Sure. I have an empty room. You can go there." Rem stood up slowly, "Thank you, miss." When he walked towards the door, Fina stepped out and led him to the guest room. He went inside and glanced back at her, "Sorry ma'am." He looked genuinely guilty, so she closed her eyes and shook her head, "Don't be sorry." She said it softly to make sure he could see she wasn't insulted by it and walked away as Rem closed the door.

When she reached the living room, Barbara was sitting on a couch. "I actually think . . . he's not doing so bad," Barbara commented. Fina sat down on the same couch and responded, "He's doing horribly. Can't you tell? The way he talks." Barbara shook her head, "He's not showing any signs of feeling, I don't know, violated. No signs of being bothered by what that raider did to him." Fina still didn't sound convinced, "Yeah, but you can tell he's devastated by what happened to his father." Barbara continued anyway, "Yeah, and I'm glad that's all that's bothering him. After all, it could have been that and it could have been that he was traumatized over being . . . decorated the way he was." The way she put it made her cringe, half disappointed with herself, and to get away from that sensation she had, she continued talking. "They were piercings, right?" Fina nodded, "Must've been." They heard a masculine voice from out of nowhere, "It was." Both the women's shoulders jumped, and Fina yelled, "Fuck, Michael! You could have told us you were here. Who the hell let you in?" Michael held his hands up, "Sorry. Door was open." Barbara furthered the conversation along, "How do you know?" Michael sat down on the couch beside Barbara, "Joey, Brandon and myself went to the house to do some clean up. We found who did it. Was a girl, right?" Fina responded, "Yes." Michael nodded deeply a few times, "Yup, we found her and her little toys. Bunch of hooks and barbells. He killed her with a scalpel. Stabbed her in the neck while they were in bed. At least, that's what it looks like." Both the women looked pensive, and Jasmine stepped in. "Hey mom," Michael said, turning his head to her as the door closed. She had a bag of clothes in her hand. When Jasmine started heading towards the room where Rem had been, Fina spoke, "Leave the bag on the table, Jasmine. He wanted to be alone for a while." Jasmine paused for a moment and glanced at all three of them, looking confused, "O . . . okay. Can't I just drop these off?" Fina rolled her eyes to the side subtly, "No. Just leave the kid alone." After she responded that way the irritation built up and leaked out even more, "Stop acting like you know what's best." Jasmine's eyebrows furrowed, "Excuse me? Mind your business, missy. I'm just trying to help." Fina didn't miss a beat when she answered, "But you're not helping, that's the thing." Jasmine's eyebrows contorted in anger and just when it looked like she was going to say something, she digressed and put the clothes on the table, "Fine." After that, she left. Michael didn't say a thing and neither did Barbara.

While Rem sat there on the bed with a half empty nuka cola in hand, his eyes started watering. "Damn it," he cursed under his breath with a shaky voice as he reached up and wiped tears out of his eyes before they could stream down his cheeks. When he'd woken up, it'd been pretty easy to not be emotional, but who was he kidding? No matter how numb he tried to be, he kept seeing the images of his father staring calmly at those two shotgun barrels, waiting for it to happen. Then he saw images of the shotgun firing, busting his cranium open into a disgusting mess that he just couldn't scrape off the canvas of his brain. "God damn it dad . . . why'd this have to happen to yew?" he asked, still whispering to himself. His body bounced like he was laughing but with those tears rolling down his cheeks despite his efforts, it was clear he wasn't amused. In fact, he was in pain. In an incessant, merciless pain that was gnawing on his heart. "I'm so sorry, Dad," he began, shaking his head, "Maybe if I wasn't caught . . . " The idea that this had all been his fault made it worse. "God damn it dad, why?" he asked again.

"What did you do with the bodies?" asked Fina. Michael took a sip of his Sunset Sarsaparilla and answered, "Burned the raiders. As for the Ranger, we took off his armor, cleaned it up, and wrapped him in a blanket for the kid to decide. I thought we should be asking him soon enough what he wants to do, before it starts to . . . you know." "Yeah," said Barbara. "We can ask him when he comes out." Fina sat by, listening to the conversation in silence when suddenly, she heard glass shattering. Everyone turned their heads to the direction and when they realized it came from Rem's room, the two women stood up and began rushing away. Michael stood up and followed them, "The hell was that?" Neither of the women said anything and when Fina pushed the door open, they all saw him on the floor, grabbing at the sides of his head, pulling his hair. The distress that shone so brilliantly in his eyes was vivid. "Remy!" Barbara yelled, having been told by her daughter what his name was. Rem just shook his head as he let go of his hair, "Why did this have to happen!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Fina and Michael just stayed unmoving, completely silenced. "Those fuckin' raider assholes killed my father! I'll kill them all! I swear to gawd from now on I'll kill every one of those basterds I see!" As he finished, he slammed his hands on the floor. Barbara began approaching further and the others didn't move until she started getting closer. "Remy, it's okay!" Rem turned to her and yelled at the top of his lungs, "No, it's not okay!" He stood up, his eyes fierce and his cheeks soaked with tears. "My dad's dead! He's dead! Don't you understand what that means? I'll never see him again! I'll never hear his voice again! Mom will never see him, ever! He's gone forever and I jus' . . . I don't know what to do! I don't know what to do!" As he spoke, he whipped his hand to the side in finality. "He's gone . . . " he uttered, weakly this time, as Barbara approached. "I know he's gone, Remy, but he'll never be gone in spirit." Rem sobbed, wiping tears away from his eyes. "As long as you never forget him, as long as you wonder what your father would do when things get difficult and always keep in mind that he'd never want you to do something harmful for yourself, he'll always be there." Her words resembled the ones his father had spoken and when he realized that, he just caved. He started crying loudly, letting it all flow out of him like a wound that was bleeding profusely, and as he did, he felt a pair of arms wrapping around him. They felt like his mother's, so much so that they compelled him to hug back. He threw his arms around Maggy's mother and hugged tightly. Against her, he shook his head, trying to deny everything, "Maybe if I I'da stayed outta trouble this wouldn'ta happened." He felt her caressing the back of his head, "It's not your fault, Remy. Your dad knows it wasn't, too. Trust me."

Fina and Michael each watched from a distance, both of them just locked up, taking everything they could take from the scene until Rem was crying into Barbara's chest. Michael shook his head, "Tch," he breathed in irritation. "Wesley really fucked things up." When Fina heard that, she felt a pang of regret. Sadness, actually. And it wasn't entirely because of Rem. Nobody knew that she and Wesley had been on their way to having a relationship together. "Yeah . . . " she responded, weakly. It wasn't until then that the fact that Wesley was dead started to get to get to her. While she began to secretly mourn, Michael added with more passion, "The son of a bitch deserved all six bullets the kid put in his skull." Again, Fina felt a pang of emotion towards the way Wesley was being treated, this time with more intensity. How could Wesley have been the cause of all this? She knew him better than any of these idiots. He couldn't have been responsible. "Are you guys even sure Wesley did this?" When the question was posed, it was like it had been singled out and that was the only thing that reverberated in Rem's ears. He pulled away from Barbara immediately and yelled, "That fuckin' pathetic sack o' shit killed my father! I saw him do it with my own two eyes! He pointed a shotgun at his face and blew his head to smithereens!" Barbara put her hands on his shoulders while Fina's heart dropped with every word. "An' then he left me with his fuckin' bimbo so she could do this to me," he patted his chest harshly, not caring about the pain it caused. "So yes, we're fuckin' certain that son of a bitch did all this!" Barbara tried to calm him, "Remy, she just . . . " Rem cut her off assertively, "That fuckin' pig killed my father in cold blood, and I did the same tah him, an' I feel damn good about it," his lips quivered. As Fina listened, she wavered emotionally, all because of the fervence in the boy's voice. "I'm not sayin' Wesley's pathetic corpse is makin' up for my father's death. Wesley couldn't make up for his death even if I'da killed him ten times over. But he is dead, and he's gone wit' six well deserved three fifty sevens in his head." When Fina broke, it was silent, and it only manifested in a bit of moisture in her eyelids. Before they could see her cry, she turned around and started walking out the door. Michael watched her go, wondering what was wrong with her. "Fina!" he called, and Barbara cut him off before he could follow. "Let her go, Michael. She looks like she needs some time to herself." Rem paced towards the bottle of nuka cola he'd thrown against the wall and started gathering the shards all up with the edge of a piece of cardboard he'd found.

Michael turned to Barbara, "Think they . . . " Barbara knew exactly what he was asking, "More than likely." Michael breathed out and regretted, "Shit." He shook his head as Barbara began talking again, "Get Rem's clothes, a broom and a dust pan." Michael headed out the door and Barbara turned to face Rem. He was sniffling. "Don't cut yourself now. Wait for Michael to come back with the broom." Rem wiped tears out of his eyes and obeyed, standing up and turning to face her. "I'm sorry, ma'am. Mah dad taught me bettah than to yell at people who done nuthin' but help me." Barbara shook her head, "It's alright. If he were still around, he'd tell you that emotions get the best of us can say sorry to her later though." He nodded weakly, acknowledging that he should, and then he thought about what she said. He realized that his father would still be there, in essence, as long as he wondered what he would do every time he had a complex question to ask. "Mhm," he added, as Michael came in and handed him a bag. Rem took it and Michael spoke, "We also got your shoes." Rem took his shoes he looked up at Michael, "Thanks. Ya went back there?" Michael nodded, "Yeah. We cleaned up the bodies." Rem set his hands lax to his sides, "What'd ya do wit' mah dad?" Michael was glad Rem was asking the question instead of him bringing everything up. "We took the armor off and cleaned out the blood. Then we wrapped him in a blanket so you can decide what you want to do. As for the raiders, we burned them. Wesley, too." Hearing that felt a lot better. That actually would have been what he'd have done. "Thank yew sir, I really appreciate that." Michael nodded, "Sure thing. So, what are you going to do?" It felt odd asking a fourteen year old that question. Rem opened the bag and pulled out a pair of black jeans, "I'm gonna bury him tonight." Michael nodded, a little surprised with how assertive the boy sounded, "We have a graveyard. You can lay him to rest there." Rem felt his emotions welling up again. His eyes teared up but he stiffened his lips, pushing it back to where it came from, "Yeah." After the jeans were on, he slipped on a belt and then threw on a white t shirt, and then his shoes followed, with a pair of clean white socks.

Once everything was on, Michael spoke again, "So tonight, huh. Alright. This town owes your father and you a favor for getting rid of the raiders, so I'll make sure everyone comes to see it. Joey and myself can dig the grave." Rem finished tying his shoes and looked up at Michael, "I think I should dig the grave. . ." "Alright," Michael responded, "We'll do it that way. Do you want to dig the grave now and have the funeral at night? Or . . . " Rem nodded, "Yeah, let's dig now and have the funeral later." Michael responded, "Alrighty. Come on, let's go." Rem turned and began following but before he left, he turned around and glanced at Barbara, who was cleaning up the glass with the broom and dust pan. "Thanks ma'am." Barbara turned to him and smiled gently, "No problem." With that, Rem headed off and as he walked through the town, a few of the people there glanced at him. There were some there he hadn't seen before. The town was fairly large but a lot of the establishments weren't inhabited, and aside from that, not everyone was the type to come out to see what was going on. They only got involved when they had to. The way they looked at him, however, made him see that word had gotten around.

They passed by Michael's house and Rem waited outside for him to come out with two shovels. When he took it into his hands and rested it against his shoulder, he was just out of it. He was walking, glancing at people here and there, but he wasn't all there. He was thinking about how he was about to dig a grave for his father. The emotions were still clawing at him but he kept trying to resist. Then he turned to Michael and spoke entirely for the purpose of getting his mind off of it, "How long has this town been around?" Michael responded without looking at him. He was more caught up with the people they saw on their way there, "Five years, but we've already had quite a number of people die, hence the graveyard. Barbara's husband settled this town with Joey and his family. Then me, mom, and dad came along, and others followed." Rem rubbed at his head as he spoke, "Ain't that long." Michael lowered the shovel and held it to his side, "Yup." A few minutes later, they rounded a corner and the graveyard was right there. It was a patch of dirt with a white, wooden fence surrounding it. There were nine crosses sticking up from nine mounds of dirt that were surrounded by small rocks. "Nine people in five years," Michael said, as he stepped into the patch of dirt and stuck the shovel down on the floor. Rem stopped beside him and took a deep breath. "Two of them were buried just yesterday. Hector and Brenda. His boy, Nathan, was killed two days before you and your dad got here." Rem stared at the crosses as Michael continued, "The Mojave is a cruel place." Rem silently concluded as he stepped along. He looked around for a moment and came upon a spot that he approved of for whatever reason, and began digging. Michael stepped up and began doing the same without asking any questions.

As the minutes passed, Michael watched how Rem worked mindlessly. Watching that absent look in his eyes as he shoveled dirt aside like he was on auto pilot brought back memories, and after a few minutes, he just stopped. As Rem continued, the sudden pause snapped him out of his trance and he glanced at Michael. Michael had pressed the shovel into the dirt and was reaching into his pocket, eventually procuring a pack of cigarettes. Rem went to continue but Michael's voice stopped him, "Hold on." The shovel dug into the dirt but he didn't drag the dirt out. Then he straightened out and, with his foot, pushed the shovel deep enough into the dirt to make it stay. "Wut is it?" Michael pulled out a lighter and lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag as his eyes went small. He looked up to the air and blew out smoke, and then he finally began. It was like he'd been trying to come up with a way to say this the whole time. "Is this the first time you've buried someone?" Rem nodded and did nothing other than stare up at him, wondering where he was going with this. "That sucks. First person you bury is your father." Rem breathed out, "Huh. Yeah. I don' need tah be told tah know that." Michael watched as Rem grabbed the shovel again and moved to work, but he cut him off again, "I buried my dad a few years ago, too." Rem paused again and looked up at the adult, staring at him with a different light in his eyes.

"I know exactly how you're feeling right about now." Rem breathed in deeply and sat down on the dirt after some seconds of thought, "Yeah. It's . . . god damn I can't believe I'm doin' this." Michael paced to his left and nodded, "Yeah, exactly. Never thought the day would come, right?" The boy nodded a few times as he grabbed a rock and rolled it aside, "Exactly." Michael added, "Worried about how mom will react." It was right on the money. Rem felt his heart get heavy and he reached up to his forehead, where he rubbed to try and relax himself. How would she react? "Truth is, you won't know that for a while. It took mom a long time to move along but I've been there with her every step of the way, and now, she's doing a lot better. I can see him in her sometimes, you know. Hell, I see him in me sometimes, too. You'll start noticing that eventually with your dad." He took in a deep drag and breathed out more smoke, "Another thing that takes a while is to be glad you did all the little things. Thinking back on it from my current stand point, I'm so proud I dug my dad's grave and laid him to rest myself." As he spoke, he took a glance at his father's grave. After he read the name on the cross he turned back to Rem, "Trust me, you'll be proud of yourself a year from now, and you'll realize your dad would have been proud, too. Now come on, let's finish this up so you can lay your daddy to rest." Rem glanced up at Michael. The words he'd spoken had actually been very reassuring, so he reached up and took the hand Michael had stretched out to him and stood up. "Thanks, sir." The adult responded, "Mike. Call me Mike." Rem nodded, "Alright, Mike. You can call me Rem." He took the shovel and in unison, the two continued digging the grave. This time, Rem's eyes didn't go absent. He was there entirely, focusing on every bit of dirt he shoveled away, determined to do this for his dad.

"That's deep enough," Mike commented as he straightened out and wiped some sweat off of his forehead. Rem stopped as soon as he said it and nodded. The two of them were standing inside of a hole six feet deep. "Come on, let's get out." Mike tossed his shovel outside and hopped up, hoisting himself up on his arms and when he stood up, he saw Rem was doing the same thing. He patted his hands together, dust coming off from them, and picked up the shovel, "Sun down, right?" Rem shook his head, "Around six is fine." Mike nodded. "I'll go around and let everyone know." As Mike began stepping away, Rem handed him his shovel and let him go. He found himself staring at the hole the two of them had dug. How unreal. That was where his father was going to be buried. Just when he started to feel emotional again, he took in a breath and released it. The feelings seemed to sooth when he did so, and then he heard a voice. "Remy?" He turned around to see who it was and found Maggy. "Oh, hello Maggy. How are you?" he asked, glancing back at the hole. "Not too good," she responded. "Oh?" his eyebrows raised and he looked at her again, "What's the matter, Maggy?" She shrugged her shoulders, "Well, to be honest I'm fine but it'd be rude for me to tell you I'm doing great when you're not doing so well." Rem stifled a laugh, and when he did, he found it so odd how she'd been able to amuse him.

"Yeah, thanks fer yer concern, Maggy." Maggy paced and stopped beside him, glancing at the hole in the ground. "Yup," she said. A pause ensued, during which she turned her eyes up to glance at his face a few times. She didn't know what to say, but she felt she had to say something. "You look so much like your dad." Rem turned his melancholy eyes to her, and the surprise didn't show up on his face, but it was there. "You act like him, too," she added. Rem took a breath and released it as he looked at the grave again. Maggy added, "I know he actually is gone and all, but looking at you, it's like he isn't." Rem's shoulders elevated and dropped just as quickly as they rose, shrugging, "Yew saw him when we came?" Maggy nodded, "Yup. He had his helmet off. Everyone was talking about how you both looked alike." Rem smiled, and Maggy noticed something odd about it. Even though he was smiling, he still managed to look sad somehow. "Hmmm." Rem heard the sound she made and got curious, "What?" Maggy stared, "You're smiling but you still look so sad. Are you going to cry?" The idea of crying, especially in front of a girl his age, made him defensive. "No," he said assertively, "I'm jest . . . sad, but I'm not gonna cry." Maggy took a moment to just kind of assess, and then added, "You've probably cried a lot by now." Again, he felt embarrassed. "No . . . well, I guess I have. I don' cry a lot though."

Maggy stepped closer to the hole Rem and Mike had dug, "I cry every time my dad leaves." Rem seemed to have the answer pretty fast, "That's cause yer a girl." She shook her head at him, "That's stupid. Aren't you crying because your dad left?" Rem glanced down at her, "That's different. Mah dad's dead, Maggy." Maggy didn't skip a beat when she answered him as well, "How do I know mine isn't? One day he might never come back, and I'm scared to feel the same way you do right now." The first image that came to mind was that absent glance in his eyes when he trudged into town for Wesley's blood. "I can tell it made you really sad. It's a little scary. I would cry forever." Rem reached up and rubbed his head as Maggy picked up a rock and threw it away from the hole. "Do you want to come see something?" When she didn't get an answer, she turned to look at Rem, who shrugged his shoulders at her. She breathed out, not too happy with his indifference. When she spoke again, she spoke with a little bit more strength, "Is there any place you ever wanted to be? Like the beach or, I don't know, a jungle?" Rem didn't look too reeled in even then, "I guess." At the moment, he couldn't think about anything he'd ever wanted to see, but his father came to mind. "My dad always wanted to see the beach in the way it looked before the war." Maggy paced closer to him, "What if I told you I could take you there?" Rem raised an eyebrow, "I'd call ya crazy, Maggy. The coast ain't nowhere near, and I'm not fixin' to travel far any time soon." Maggy just shook her head at him, "What if I told you there was one about ten minutes away from here?" Again, Rem looked uninspired, "I'd think yer crazy, Maggy." Maggy furrowed her eyebrows, "Fine, I'll prove it to you." She grabbed hold of his hand and began pulling him. He trudged at first but then he jogged, keeping up with her.

"We can't let anyone see us. My mom and dad don't know I know how to get into his secret place." When they arrived, Rem glanced at the building. It was different from the rest in the town. The walls were made of concrete but in one way it actually was the same as the others in the vein that it was wilting. There was one wall and roof in particular that had collapsed, revealing the room inside. There were filing cabinets, old desks and the floor had carpet on it, which had been decaying over the years. She led him over the wall and as she did, Rem just thought about how this didn't look much like a beach at all. "This ain't no beach, Maggy," he commented. She responded as if she was spitting poisonous darts at him, "That's because this place is a RobCo facility, not a beach." He thought to argue that she had told him she was taking him to the beach but instead, he stayed quiet. He decided to just let her lead him along. After navigating the facility, she led him down a flight of stairs that ended in front of an iron door that looked impossibly sturdy. It looked like it'd take a nuke to blow it open. Maggy, however, simply reached for the keypad beside it and pressed a few numbers with her slender fingers. The door budged, paused, and then pulled itself up, revealing an iron interior.

Their steps sounded metallic as they moved along and as he glanced every which way, he saw something that worried him. There were marks on the walls. Bullet marks, actually, and immediately, he stopped. "Maggy, are ya sher it's safe?" Maggy stopped and looked at him over her shoulder, "Of course. My dad defused all of the security systems." Rem didn't look too confident, but he decided to go along with it, "If ya say so, Maggy." She led him along for another few minutes and he started noticing that the place was huge. When they reached another door, Maggy pressed a few buttons on the keypad beside it, prompting the door to open. When Rem looked inside, his eyebrows raised in awe. "Woah, never seen this many sentry bots before." There were sixteen of those monstrosities in the room, eight on each wall, and they were marked from SB-1220 to SB-1236. "Wish we had these back where I'm from." Maggy nodded, "Yeah. This is why my daddy decided to settle here. He thought that if he could program these for town defense, we'd be well off." There was a pause as Rem walked towards one of the capsules, glancing up at the large, iron knight on wheels. "They're armed with gatling lasers and missile launchers. Each one carries four missiles. More than enough to make a few raiders pee their pants." Rem glanced back at her, "How do ya know all o' that?" She smiled innocently, "Got into the computers and read up." Rem turned away and nodded. He watched them for a few moments before Maggy called to him, "Let's go. This isn't what I came here to show you."

When they stepped out of the room, the door closed behind them. They walked down to the next underground level using the staircase and when they reached the room she was looking for, she pressed buttons on the keypad. The metallic door opened up and revealed a large screen to them, and they each stepped inside. "My dad comes here a lot to ask the computer questions." Rem turned a pair of curious blue eyes to her, "Ask it questions?" Maggy nodded as she spoke, "Username: Pink teddybear. Password: Aurora Borealis. Boot up. Command prompt: one one two seven." The screen flickered on and a robotic male voice responded, "Welcome Maggy. Booting up." It took a few moments but the screen showed a list, and Maggy began to explain. "I come here for a few things. You see that?" Rem was already reading through the list. "The Lion King. Good Will Hunting. What are those?" Maggy answered, "Movies." She stared up at the list and addressed the computer again, "Command Prompt: one two two eight." The screen changed, this time showing something else. Rem read them out loud, "Pac man. Duck Hunter. More movies?" Maggy shook her head, smiling, "Nope. Games, silly. I think that the people who worked here uploaded all these things into the computer without the administrators knowing. You know, so they wouldn't get bored." Rem nodded. "I've watched a lot of movies on here. They can actually help you learn. Anyway, I'll take you to the beach. Activate dual integration with command prompt one two two nine. Kehena Beach, Hawaii."

Rem glanced at her when she mentioned a beach. He didn't think it'd be too great to watch a movie or play a video game about the beach. It wasn't any different from looking at a pre war book. Amidst his rumination, two openings appeared under the computer and two platforms emerged. There were helmets on them. Maggy moved towards them and grabbed them, handing one to Rem, "Here, put this on Remy." Rem took it into his hands and studied it. It was made of gray plastic with a visor in front of it, where the eyes would be. Looked terribly expensive and fragile. "What's this, Maggy?" She answered him as she put hers on, "Integrators. They used them to integrate their minds to the computer so you don't have to speak commands out all the time. You think it and the computer does it. But uh . . . if you do it when you're watching a movie or playing a video game, it makes it so that it feels like you're there. They called it virtual reality. Saw that in a movie." Rem nodded. He guessed he could understand the concept. "Sit down, okay?" In the room, there were two chairs, and he sat down as he put the helmet on. When he did, he glanced through the visor and from one moment to the next, he blacked out.

When he opened his eyes again, he was stunned by what he saw. He was standing in a beautiful black sand beach on a summer day. He could feel the sand between his toes, he could feel the warmth of the sun splashing down on his bare shoulders and chest, and then he felt the cold water as the waves pushed up onto the shore and splashed against his feet. It felt so real but he didn't smile at all. His eyebrows were just raised, his mouth slightly open in surprise, shocked that he was there. "M - Maggy?" he asked, "Do ya see this?" he turned to his side to look at her, and she was there, staring at him with a smug grin. His eyes turned down to the rest of her to see that she was wearing a bathing suit, just like he was, except hers was a bikini and his was a pair of shorts. "Oh my gawd, Maggy," he commented as he looked back out to sea. He heard the seagulls cawing as they fluttered about in the air. "We're at the beach," he added, in disbelief. "We're at the beach!" he yelled, this time with more excitement. "Holeh shit!" he added as he jogged further in, immersing his feet further into the water. Maggy ran in right behind him, splashing water every which way. "Damn it's cold!" he yelled. The huge ear to ear smile that was on his face right then and there told Maggy she was doing something right. She stopped when the water was up to her stomach and covered herself when Rem tossed himself into the tide, splashing water everywhere.

When he opened his eyes underwater he was just in complete awe with how real this all felt. It genuinely felt like he was down under. He even had to hold his breath! And the sand below felt so real between his toes! When he emerged, he wiped his eyes and looked around for Maggy. She was gone, and then he heard a sound behind him. He turned around to see her wiping water out of her eyes and pushing wet hair out of her face. "Maggy, this is beautiful! It's like the bombs never fell!" Maggy nodded rapidly, "Yup!" On Maggy's end, she had been in all these places alone, but she started seeing it was better to be here with someone else. Someone her age, especially, made it a lot more fun.

They splashed around for a while. They even played what she said was called beach volleyball, and then they even used these short boards that floated in the water to ride in onto the shore on the waves. At some point in time, when he was standing on the shore, letting the water ravage his feet, he stopped to think, "Dad wudda loved comin' here wit' mom." Somehow, the idea didn't make him sad. It made him . . . nostalgic, weird as that was. Probably because he pictured the two of them splashing around in the water, laughing and playing beach volleyball together. They would have been so happy. Maggy approached him and stopped right beside him as he looked pensive. "Your dad is here, because you're here. Mom says she told you that, and I think it's true." Rem smiled and this time, Maggy knew it was genuine. He didn't look sad as he smiled. "Can I show you my favorite one?" Rem turned to her, "Yes, Maggy, 'course you can." Maggy nodded and spoke, "Bear Lake, Alaska." Rem glanced out to sea as he waited and then blacked out again.

When he awoke, he felt like he was wearing something heavier. He was wearing a few layers of clothing topped off with thick pants and a thick jacket. On his head, he was wearing a beanie, and ear muffs. "Jeez, Maggeh," he said, watching as his breath steamed out from his mouth, "It's cold." He didn't even notice he finally started pronouncing her name the way his accent coerced him to. When he looked down to the floor he saw that it was all white. This was snow. Furthermore, they were surrounded by a plethora of pine trees, all with more of the white stuff hanging off their green tendrils. Above them, the stars could be seen against the navy backdrop of the sky. "Maggeh, this is nice," he commented, looking around for her. He found her staring up at the sky, wearing the same thing he was wearing except in pink. She looked like she was captivated. "Maggeh," he called again, and she finally turned to look at him. "Oh! Follow me." She started walking, and so did he. A few minutes later, they emerged from the tree line and were revealed to Bear Lake, which was frozen over. It was . . . captivating, but his eyes didn't linger there for long. No, he turned his eyes skyward again and he saw why this was Maggy's favorite place. There was a smoky green shine spanning the air, floating in the backdrop of the skies and stars. Bewilderment crept onto his eyes and he asked, "What is that?" Maggy smiled as Rem turned to look at her. Her dark brown eyes reflected the green brilliance of the lights they were both seeing. "Aurora Borealis," she responded. "Aurora what?" She added, "The northern lights, Remy." Rem turned to look at them, stepping closer.

"Are they . . . are they real? Or did ya . . . program this?" Maggy stepped along with him and put her hand in front of his chest so he wouldn't walk onto the lake. He wouldn't die, of course, but it'd ruin the realism of the experience if they just ignored the dangers. "It's real, Remy. These lights really exist. They're not fake," she sounded so enchanted. Rem still looked positively stunned. "Wow," he said, simply. "That's . . . unbelievable," he added. Maggy smiled and stood there and then Rem felt her fingers wrapping around his hand. Without hesitation, his fingers returned the grasp, and they stood in silence, just staring, relishing in what this felt like. The cold breeze brushing against their faces, the smell of pine trees, the lake, and that beautiful lambency hovering over them in the air. It wasn't until another two hours that the simulation ended.

When his eyes came back and showed him where he was again, which was in that dull RobCo facility room underground, he felt some kind of detachment. Sort of like he really wasn't from here anymore. First thing he looked at was Maggy after he took off the helmet. The gentle smile on her lips said it all. None of them said a word as they returned the helmets back onto the platform and began leaving. When the final door opened and they stepped out, Rem turned to look at her. Their eyes locked for a few seconds and then, he closed his eyes and kissed her on the lips. Maggy's cheeks were tinged red and she closed her eyes, too, returning the kiss until Rem broke it. It had been such a childish, innocent kiss, with their lips simply touching. When their eyes opened again, they just stared into each other, smiling. It wasn't until then that one of them spoke, and it was Rem. "Thanks, Maggeh. You made me feel better." She nodded weakly, and then hugged back when Rem hugged her. "I have to get going, Remy. Mom's probably looking for me." His hands gently relinquished their hold, "Alright, Maggeh. I have to go and get things ready, anyway." They both walked up the stairs and exited the establishment, and then they looked at each other again. Maggy spoke, "I'll see you there, Remy." She waved her hand to him and he nodded, "Yup. See ya there." When she started walking away, Rem watched her until she rounded a corner, and then he turned and started walking in the opposite direction.

As he walked towards the populated section of the town alone, his mind started reattaching itself to this reality, but it didn't feel so heavy. He knew he had to go bury his dad but now that he was armed with wisdom from both Barbara and Mike, it felt lighter. The little field trip Maggy had taken him on also had a very good effect on him. It made him feel so easy, so alive, and when he started wondering if whether or not it was a bad thing for him to feel so good at a time like this, he asked himself what his dad would say. "It ain't like you're not still sad I'm gone, boy, an' I'm not exactly the sentimental type. You jus' found somethin' tah help ya get through this, and that's fine wit' me." There was a pause, "Now how 'bout that beach? Coulda used a bunch of half naked women like on dat magazine we have back home but it wudn't so bad. Don't tell yer mom I said that." Rem smiled at the idea and then he started to tear up. Funny how as the tears trailed down his cheek, he was still smiling.