"Where do you think we should start?" Violet asked, as they made their way down the overpass.
Johnny thought for a minute. "King said the Family lives somewhere northeast of Arefu," he said. "There are a few places I can think of that might fit the bill. There's the Meresti Trainyard, Hamilton's Hideaway, and the Northwest Seneca Station. The scrapyard is too far, if they lived there they'd be attacking Cantebury Commons or Big Town, and Germantown is home to a bunch of super mutants, so those are out."
"Of the three that are likely, which one's the closest? We may as well get that one out of the way first."
"Northwest Seneca Station is just across the river," Johnny said. Then he paused, a sudden thought having come to him. "Hey, can you swim? Did they teach you that in the vault?"
"Yeah, of course!" Violet replied. "Swimming was pretty much the only sport I was good at. Why, are we going to have to swim across? Aren't there any bridges?" As much as Violet loved swimming, she didn't much fancy the idea of taking a dip in the brown, irradiated waters of the Potomac. It'd take hours to dry off, and most of her things would get ruined. She'd also heard that mirelurks, well, lurked in the deeper parts.
"Most of the bridges are gone, but don't worry, the river's dried up in spots. We won't even have to go out of our way too much."
The water may have been gone, but the riverbed was still muddy, and by the time they got to the other side, Violet's boots were caked with brown sludge. As she was sitting on a rock scraping it off, she thought over the task she had ahead of her. First, she had to find the Family, wherever they were. Then, assuming they didn't try to kill her and Johnny on sight, she had to try and talk them into leaving the residents of Arefu alone. That, or use violence to forcibly stop them, an idea she wasn't entirely comfortable with. She was starting to wish she had just listened to Johnny and walked away. Really, what could one person do?
"You about ready to go?" Johnny asked. "The station is just over there." He pointed to a small cluster of buildings Violet had seen while they were on the overpass, almost directly north of Arefu. She nodded and stood, her feet considerably lighter now that the dried mud was gone.
"You left home when you were fourteen, right?" Violet asked once they had started walking again. Johnny tensed up, as he usually did whenever she asked about his past. Violet could tell such questions bothered him, but she was determined to find out more about Johnny and why he had people trying to find him, and she didn't back down. She didn't think it was someone looking for vengeance or anything like that; Johnny may have been a bit of an opportunist, but he wasn't malicious or evil. Most likely it was as Billy said: someone 'unsavory' was looking for him for some reason. Of course, she couldn't just ask him something like that. He'd get angry, and want to know how she knew. Ideally she would get him to tell her himself. If he wasn't in the wrong, he had nothing to hide, right?
"Yeah," he said finally.
"Why did you leave?"
"Like I said before, my mom died and my dad and I didn't see eye to eye on most things, so I left."
"Have you ever been back?"
"No."
"Have you spoken to your dad since then?"
Johnny sighed. "Yeah, a couple times. I didn't want to though. Anyway, he's probably dead now, so it's not important. What's the plan when we get there? Are we going to sneak in, or go in guns blazing?"
Violet could tell she wouldn't be getting any more out of him, and didn't press the issue. "Either of those would send the wrong message," she said. "We're going there to negotiate, remember?"
"They'll probably shoot us as soon as they get the chance. I don't know about you, but I'm not very good at negotiating when I'm dead. Don't forget, these are the people that killed the Wests while they were sleeping in their beds."
Violet hated to admit it but he was right. "Well, okay, how about this. We'll go in quietly and get a feel for them first, before we show ourselves. Those old train stations are big places, it should be easy to sneak in undetected."
"Alright. Sounds better than getting shot, anyway. Marginally. But remember, there's no guarantee they're even in one of the old train stations. That plan won't work if they're in Hamilton's Hideaway, that place is really nothing but hallways and a bunch of rooms."
"We'll deal with that when we come to it. For now, lets just check out this station." The stairs that lead down to the old subway were dark and foreboding. There probably wasn't much light down there. Violet looked back and could see the overpass that Arefu was on directly behind her, towering over the river. "All right, lets go. You ever been down here before?" she asked as they descended the stairs.
"No. Once you've seen one abandoned subway track, you've seen them all," he replied. "Besides, I don't like being underground. I like having somewhere to go if I get into trouble. Oh, that reminds me. Even if we don't run into the Family down here, we'll definitely run into some ghouls, so be prepared."
Violet was confused. "I have no problem with ghouls though," she said.
"Oh, not ghouls like Gob. Feral ghouls. Mindless zombies basically. They'll attack anything on sight, except for other ghouls of course. They like dark, dank places, so the underground train stations are full of them. You'll usually hear them long before you see them though, they tend to hiss and screech before they attack. They're easy enough to take care of. A shot to the head will do. They're pretty weak, but where there's one, there's probably a few more, lurking in the shadows, so be aware. Oh, and don't let them bite you."
"You're kidding, right? About the biting?" Violet asked nervously.
"No, of course not. Bites are painful. Would you let a raider bite you? No. So why would you let a ghoul bite you? Anyway, we'd best get down the sneaking aspect of your plan, so let's keep talking to a minimum from here on in."
Violet nearly pointed out that so far, it had been him doing most of the talking, but she held her tongue. If she started a fight here their voices would carry, and she didn't want to announce their presence to anyone that might wish them harm. They continued in silence for a few minutes, Johnny in the lead. Amazingly, the lights were still on, for which Violet was thankful. She hadn't been afraid of the dark since she was three, but she didn't like the idea of something sneaking up on them in the murky blackness. Johnny didn't seem to carry a flashlight on him either, and she hadn't thought to bring one when she left the vault.
The station didn't show any signs of recent habitation. There were old newspapers littering the floor, an overturned Nuka-Cola machine, and plenty of rubble, but nothing that would indicate that a large group was staying there.
They turned a corner and Violet heard an odd, breathy sounding screech come from deeper in the station. "Is that a feral ghoul?" she asked, keeping her voice low.
"Yeah," Johnny replied. He grabbed his pistol and began to screw something onto the end of it. A silencer, she realized. He must have been keeping it in his pocket. "Let me take care of it. If we take it out quietly, hopefully the rest won't come running." They began to inch forward silently, Violet making sure her hand remained at waist level. As they got further into the station, the dry, breathy sound got louder, and she could hear shuffling footsteps.
Suddenly, a cadaverous looking form shambled out of one of the side rooms into the main hallway of the station. It had to be a feral ghoul; there was no way a human could be that skinny and still remain standing. The term 'bag of bones' would not be an understatement if used to describe the unfortunate creature now wandering aimlessly up the hall. Its hip bones stuck out a good few inches, and Violet could count its ribs. It looked more like a victim of starvation than an old horror movie zombie. It hadn't seen them yet, and seemed to be inspecting something on the wall. Johnny raised his silenced 10 mm and fired off a single shot, straight to the back of the neck.
"It's so sickly looking," Violet said, as they passed the body on their way deeper into the station. "What do they eat?"
"Brains of course," Johnny replied with a chuckle. "No, I'm just kidding. They eat pretty much anything, I think. I sorta feel sorry for them. I like to think I'm doing them a favour, putting them out of their misery or something when I kill them. No way they're happy like that."
It became more and more apparent as they made their way through the station that the Family was not staying there. If a large group like that was coming and going all the time, they'd leave more evidence. Maybe even try to clean the place up a bit. Eventually they arrived at the main station entrance, or at least, what had once been the main station entrance. Now it was just a pile of rubble.
"Dead end," Johnny said, apparently feeling the need to point out the obvious. "I guess we'll have to try Hamilton's Hideaway."
Violet groaned inwardly as they made their back to the surface. The more time they spent running around trying to find the Family, the further away her father got. She was starting to wish she had just taken Johnny's advice and gone straight to D.C. instead of offering to deliver Lucy's letter.
A sound from one of the old maintenance rooms made Violet reach for her pistol. She could see Johnny do the same out of the corner of her eye. They both stared at the closed door, ready to act if something jumped out at them. Suddenly, the door swung open, and a ghoul walked out. He started at the sight of them, and took a few steps back into the room.
"You're not here to steal my secrets, are you?" he asked hurriedly, glancing down at their guns. "Cause I have a bodyguard you know."
Violet and Johnny lowered their pistols and looked at each other, confused.
"Uh, no," Violet said finally. "We aren't here to steal anything. Sorry if we startled you. I'm Violet, and that's Johnny."
The ghoul glared at them suspiciously. "If you're not here to steal my recipe for Ultrajet, then what the hell are you doing down here?"
"We're looking for a gang known as the Family, and we were told they might be somewhere in the area. Would you happen to know where they're staying?" Violet thought it very unlikely that the ghoul would know anything, or would be willing to share any information he had if he did, so she was surprised when he nodded.
"I think they're living in the old abandoned tunnels of the Meresti Trainyard," he said. "They've never bothered us before though, and we mostly stay out of each other's way."
Violet was shocked that a violent gang like the Family would let anyone who knew their whereabouts live, but didn't dwell on it. After all, now that they knew where they were staying, she and Johnny wouldn't have to go searching through every habitable place within walking distance. "Thanks, that's a big help," she said. "Um, what did you say your name was?"
"Murphy," the ghoul replied. "Hey, you two smoothskins do a lot of traveling? Find a lot of things while you're out there?"
"Yeah, I guess. Why do you ask?" Johnny said.
"Well I have a proposition for you. Most of the materials I need to make Ultrajet are easy enough to come by. I can buy them off of local merchants, or find them myself if I have to. That's not the case with Sugarbombs though. There aren't many boxes of it left, and people eat the few that remain for breakfast. If you bring me Sugarbombs, I'd be willing to pay you."
"What's Ultrajet?" Violet asked.
"Like normal Jet, but more concentrated. Normal Jet hardly effects us ghouls for some reason, so I came up with something more…potent. So what do you say? Fifteen caps per box, plus, I'll sell some Ultrajet to you, once I have enough of it."
Violet didn't know what Jet was, but she knew an opportunity when she saw one. "Make it thirty caps per box and you have yourself a deal," she said.
Murphy scowled, and mumbled something under his breath. Violet thought for sure he was going to decline, but then he held out his hand. "Fine. Deal," he said as they shook.
"I didn't know you were such a haggler," Johnny said as ascended they steps to the outside. Violet noticed that he seemed to relax once they were out in the open again. "I thought you wanted to save all the helpless wastelanders, and then you go and ask for more money from one of them."
They began to head east, towards the old trainyard. "People will never pay more than they're able," Violet explained. "If Murphy was really that hard done by, he wouldn't have accepted my offer. Notice he didn't even try to talk to me down? I probably could have gotten even more out of him if I'd wanted. Oh, and what's Jet?"
"It's a chem. You didn't have Jet in the vault?" Violet shook her head. "What about Psycho, Buffout, Mentats and Med-X?"
"We had Mentats and Med-X, but people only ever used them for medical reasons. Mentats cure headaches, and Med-X was used as an anesthetic. People use them recreationally out here?"
"Of course. Not much else to do for fun, in case you haven't noticed. I used to be quite fond of Psycho in my younger days. Wouldn't touch the stuff now though, it's too dangerous. Wouldn't want to stumble into a herd of deathclaws in the middle of a trip, you know? That's one of the reason raiders aren't nearly as dangerous as they could be, they're all addicted to chems. They're either tripping when they attack, or if they haven't had any lately, in withdrawal. Either state makes them ill-suited for a combat situation. They can't aim properly, they take unnecessary risks, and they definitely can't organize a proper assault. Not that I'm complaining of course. Anything that hinders them is good for us." An image of a dying raider, curled in on himself as he writhed on the ground, popped into Violet's head. She suppressed the memory as he continued. "Anyway, I'm all for giving that Murphy guy Sugarbombs for caps," Johnny said. "As the name implies, they're pure sugar. They taste disgusting, and I wouldn't be caught dead eating them. But if we find any chocolate flavoured Sugarbombs, we're gonna keep them for ourselves, right? Those ones aren't so bad, because you can suck the chocolate coating off the cereal flakes."
Violet laughed. "Yeah, we can keep any chocolate flavoured Sugarbombs we find," she said, remembering Johnny's penchant for the delectable confection.
The Meresti Trainyard was a mere half hour's walk from the Northwest Seneca Station where Murphy made his Ultrajet. They kept the Potomac on their right as they walked, but made sure to keep their distance. At one point Violet was sure she saw something moving in the water, but decided not to point it out to Johnny. For a guy who went up against raiders and deathclaws daily, a single mirelurk (if that's indeed what it was) was hardly worth noting.
"So what's the plan?" Johnny asked once they'd arrived.
"Same as before I guess," Violet replied in a lowered voice, as they wound their way through the derelict train cars towards the station entrance. "Sneak in, get a feel for them, then take it from there. And by the way, why are you leaving all this tactical stuff to me? You're the one with all the combat experience and wasteland savoir faire."
"Hey, you're the one that wanted to talk to them. If I leave all the 'tactical stuff' to you, it'll be your fault if we get killed. Not that I think we're going to, of course. If your plan was that dangerous, I'd have put a stop to it already." Johnny held the door open for her, and Violet was happy to see that the lights were on in this station as well.
Once Johnny had closed the door gently behind them, they both went into sneak mode. Violet crouched down and peeked around the door frame. The tunnel extended into blackness and curved right farther down, but Violet didn't see anyone and beckoned Johnny forward.
Violet had never had much occasion to sneak before. The few times she and Amata had snuck into the restricted areas of the vault however, her sneaking skills had proven less than stellar. They had never been caught, but that was mostly thanks to Amata's extensive knowledge of the secret passages and hidden alcoves than any skillful slinking on Violet's part. As the two of them made their way through the eerily silent subway tunnel, it became painfully obvious that Violet's sneaking had not improved at all over the years. Compared to Johnny, who didn't make a sound, Violet was downright noisy. At one point she stubbed her toe painfully on one of the rails as she tried to clamber onto the platform. They both paused and turned their head towards the inky blackness farther in, expecting an angry mob to converge on them at any second, but no one came.
"If there's anyone down there, there's no way they didn't hear that," Violet whispered furtively.
"Maybe we got lucky and are sneaking up on the only all-deaf gang in the history of gangs," Johnny replied. "That would sure make all this sneaking, if what you're doing can even be called that, pretty pointless."
They continued onwards, Violet doing her best to keep the noise level to a minimum. Eventually they came to a fork in the track, but as the left path was completely blocked by rubble, they were forced to go right. After they'd gone another hundred meters into the station, Violet began to wonder if Murphy had been lying. There were no signs of life at all; not even a radroach had crossed their path since they'd been down here. She was about to suggest turning back when Johnny roughly grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him, nearly causing her to trip. She turned towards him angrily and was about to call him out when he put his finger to his lips and pointed down. She looked where he was pointing and saw an active mine on the track, not three feet in front of her. If Johnny hadn't grabbed her, she'd have been killed.
"I think we're in the right place," he whispered, reading her mind. "Feral ghouls don't usually lay mines for unwanted visitors. Here, you better let me lead from now on." Violet nodded wordlessly and moved aside. "Oh, a word of advice," he said as they forged ahead, leaving a wide berth between them and the mine, "if you hear beeping, just start running. You can usually outrun them."
There were a few more mines scattered on the tracks, but the spaces between them were wide enough to allow the two friends to pass through safely. Besides worrying about the mines, Violet was starting to wonder why they hadn't run into anybody yet. Surely the Family would have guards posted, along with their traps?
An overturned train resting along one wall forced them to move onto the platform in order to continue. The space between the bottom of the train and the side of the tunnel was very narrow, allowing only one person to go through at a time. Luckily there didn't appear to be any mines in the bottleneck, which made sense of course. Mines were easy to avoid if you knew where they were, but since this was the only way forward, the Family wouldn't dare booby trap it.
Johnny went first, his dislike of enclosed spaces made obvious by the expression on his face. He must have been in a rush to get to the other side because he nearly set off the tripwire/shotgun trap the Family had laid. A fan of spy flicks and crime capers, Violet had been expecting something of the sort, and managed to spot the shotgun barrel poking out of a hollowed out cavity in the wall seconds before Johnny stepped on the wire. Apparently she'd been wrong about the Family not booby trapping the area.
"Thanks for that," he said, after he'd deactivated the trap and they'd made it through. "I guess we're even now. Well, in the 'saving each other from traps' department anyway. You still owe me for saving you from those raiders, and you still owe me a whole ton of caps, but at least we're square as far as traps are concerned. I just hate being cooped up inside, makes me antsy. That's no excuse for getting lazy though. Confident, cocky, lazy, dead."
"What?"
"It's my mantra," he explained quietly. "Saved my life on many an occasion. As soon as you start assuming you're tougher and smarter than everyone else out here, you'll wind up dead."
Violet and Johnny were extra cautious after that, but their caution was unnecessary. The way was clear after the tripwire trap; apparently the Family thought their mines and tripwires would be more than enough to kill off most intruders, and scare away the ones that weren't dead. Violet wondered if the fact that they were heading deeper into the tunnel meant that they were extremely brave, or extremely stupid. Probably a bit of both.
The sound of a man coughing up ahead stopped them both in their tracks. They crouched down and sidled to one side of the tunnel, partially hidden by darkness. They couldn't see anyone, so unless the man was hiding, he was probably beyond the next curve in the track. Had the Family been alerted to their presence? Was the man just doing his rounds? Violet knew they'd be hard to pick out from a distance, but they'd be practically impossible to miss if the man were looking for them.
Thankfully though, no one appeared, and the next time the mystery man coughed, he sounded no closer than before. Johnny looked at Violet and jerked his head forward. They moved out of the shadows and continued on, as quietly as they could. Violet moved slowly as she made her way around the curve, hoping to spot the man before he spotted them. She drew back immediately when a human like form came into view, but when no one shouted or started shooting, she risked another peek around the wall. The man had his back to them, and was sitting in a dirty old lawn chair reading a book. She could see a 10 mm submachine gun on the table beside him, but couldn't tell if he had a pistol on his hip or not.
Violet turned to Johnny. "There's a man just up ahead, a guard maybe," she whispered, her mouth close to his ear. "He's got a gun, maybe more than one, but he's not looking this way."
"So what's the plan?" he whispered back.
"I don't know. If we go up to him, arms raised, he could kill us both, but if you were to shoot him from here, before he noticed us, that would ruin all chances we have of negotiation. We can't really sneak up on him either. If you were standing guard and two people suddenly jumped out at you, you'd probably shoot first and ask questions later."
Johnny nodded in agreement and bit his lower lip, thinking. "How about this. One of us goes and hides behind that pile of debris over there," he whispered finally, pointing, "and the other goes and talks to him. If he makes any hostile movement at all, the one hiding will shoot him."
Violet considered Johnny's idea. It definitely wasn't the safest plan, but it certainly seemed like the most practical. "Alright. You go hide, and I'll talk to him. Signal me when you're in position and have a clean shot, and I'll call you if and when I think it's safe, okay?"
"Wait, why are you the one going to talk to him? It could be dangerous."
"Because you're good at sneaking and I'm good at talking. Now go." She left out the fact that she wasn't entirely sure she could kill the man if the need arose, and shooed Johnny to the other side of the tunnel. Violet was once again amazed by how quiet he could be when he wanted to. He didn't make a sound as he snuck to the other side of the tunnel and crouched behind the rubble. He grabbed Vera off his shoulder and leaned her barrel against a rock, then looked through the scope to make sure he had the man in his sights. When he had his shot lined up, he gave Violet a thumbs up. She stood and began walking towards the man, doing her best to look casual. She didn't want it to appear as if she'd been trying to sneak up on him, so she didn't go out of her way to be quiet.
At the sound of her footsteps, the guard stood and turned around swiftly. He didn't look aggressive, just surprised, but looks could be deceiving. Now that he was standing, Violet could see that he did indeed have a pistol; she hoped Johnny noticed it too.
"Uh, hi," she said. "Are you a member of the Family?" As she spoke, Violet was careful to keep in mind where Johnny was in relation to the man. She didn't want to step between them and block Johnny's view.
"Yeah. And who are you?" The man's eyes slid down, paused on her pistol, then slid back up to her face. He looked indifferent, and still made no move towards either of his guns.
"My name's Violet," she said, for what felt like the twentieth time in the past few days. "I was wondering if I could be allowed to speak with the leader of the Family? Oh, and Ian West too, if he's here. I have a letter for him from his sister, Lucy. She's very worried about him."
"Ian West? Oh, you mean the new said we should be expecting someone. You can go in. Just don't cause any trouble, or they'll bring me in to deal with you. Trust me, you don't want that," the man said gruffly. He grabbed the back of his chair and pulled it towards him, then sat down and continued reading.
Violet stood there, stunned. Of all the possible scenarios she had gone through in her head, this wasn't one of them. The guard, for that's indeed what he seemed to be, was a bit grumpy, but definitely not hostile. And was he really just letting her into their inner sanctum? Perhaps he thought she was harmless, and it was all part of their plan to get her alone in their hideout.
"Um, can I get my friend? He needs to talk to Ian too," she said, realizing as she did that she probably could have chosen her words better.
"Sure. Whatever," the guard replied, not even looking up from his book.
Violet called Johnny, who stood and began walking towards them. Vera was slung over his shoulder again, but he had one hand in his pocket, and Violet was willing to bet he had a gun in there. The guard spared Johnny a cursory glance, then returned to his reading. "Like I said, don't go causing any trouble," he said, as the two friends made their way past him.
"Huh. Well that was…unexpected." Johnny said, once they'd left the man behind.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. For an evil, bloodthirsty gang, that was quite a nice welcome. They may as well have laid out the red carpet for us. It might be a trap though, so stay on your guard."
Johnny looked at her, surprised. "You learn pretty fast, don't you?"
The tunnel went on for about a hundred more feet, then opened up when it hit the main station. Violet could hear voices, and laughter. When she stepped into the light, blinding after walking through the dark tunnel for half an hour, she saw some people milling about. Two men were playing pool in the corner, a woman and three men were sitting around a table chatting, and another woman was sitting up on the second floor, watching the activity below. The chatter stopped when everyone noticed her and Johnny standing there. Violet was reminded of the first time she walked into Moriarty's Saloon, only this time, the talking did not gradually start up again. The people seemed genuinely surprised to see her, which meant this wasn't a trap. But then what was it? Was this really the Family?
A tall, broad shouldered young man broke off from the group and advanced towards them. "Uh, hi. Who are you guys? You must be okay, or Robert wouldn't have let you in," he said, obviously a bit unsure of himself.
Johnny gave Violet a look that clearly said 'I'll let you do the talking,' then took a small step back.
"My name's Violet, and this is my friend Johnny," she said, pointing to each of them in turn. "Any chance we'd be able to speak to, uh, the leader? Of the Family?"
The young man's face broke into a grin. "Oh, you mean Vance. Sure, you can talk to him." He turned back to everyone else. "They're just here to see Vance," he explained, and they went back to their business. "Here, I'll take you to Holly. My name's Justin by the way," he said as they climbed the stairs to the second floor.
The main station was much cleaner than the rest of the subway. There were no stray papers littering the ground, and what little rubble there was had been used to block the tunnel on the opposite wall from where they'd entered. Since the only entrance to this place was booby trapped, these people, whoever they were, clearly did not want visitors. But the man had let them in without a problem. Violet just didn't understand it.
When they got to the top, the young man pointed to the woman Violet had seen from the main floor. "That's Holly, Vance's wife," he said. "She'll take you to see him." Then he left to rejoin the conversation down below. The woman smiled and beckoned the two friends towards her.
"Man, this is weird," Johnny said quietly as they walked towards the woman. "This isn't what was expecting at all. They all seem so cheerful." Violet didn't reply.
Holly held out her hand and shook with them when they reached her. "So I think Justin mentioned that you want to speak to my husband?" She asked.
"Yes. Oh, and Ian West as well," Violet replied.
She smiled kindly. "Are you friends of his? How nice. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if that will be possible, you'll have to ask Vance about that. Stay here, I'll go get him."
"So what do you think?" Johnny asked, once the woman was out of earshot.
"I honestly don't know what to think," Violet replied. "They seem nice enough. But she obviously knows who Ian West is, and the fact that we aren't allowed to talk to him doesn't bode well. Are they keeping him captive? Is he even alive? And their cheerfulness is kinda creeping me out."
"Hello. I heard you wanted to speak with me?" said a smooth voice from behind her. Violet turned and saw the most handsome man she'd seen in her entire life. He was easily twice her age, but somehow that just made him seem more attractive. He had shaggy, russet brown hair and piercing grey eyes that Violet was sure could see right through her. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't seem to string the words together to make a coherent sentence.
Johnny could tell from the way she was looking at the man what her problem was, but he was enjoying watching her make a fool of herself. Finally, he came to her rescue. "You Vance? The leader of the Family?" he asked. The older man nodded. "Well the Wests were friends of mine, and I don't appreciate people murdering my friends. You better not have hurt their son Ian or-"
"What my friend means to say is, is Ian West here?" Violet broke in. Johnny was taking the conversation in a dangerous direction, one Violet wanted very badly to avoid. The people here seemed nice enough, but they still outnumbered her and Johnny four to one.
"Yes, young Ian West is here," Vance replied. Even his voice was attractive, Violet found herself thinking. "We managed to save him just before his craving for flesh drove him over the edge, and beyond all hope of redemption."
Violet's mouth dropped open in shock. "What? Wait, what are you talking about?" she asked. A quick glance at Johnny showed that he was just as confused as she was.
Vance chuckled. "I assume you came here looking for our newest charge, perhaps to 'save him', or maybe to exact vengeance for your lost friends, the unfortunate Wests? Your heroism, though touching, is misguided. The Wests met their end not at the hands of any of my people, but rather, those of their own son. You see, Ian is one of us. One of the Family. I can tell you don't fully understand what the Family is, so allow me to explain. This settlement here is the last bastion of hope for the downtrodden and misunderstood, those society has labeled cannibals, freaks, the unclean. I offer them sanctuary, a place to call home, but most importantly, a family. I teach them our ways: eat not of the flesh, but rather, drink only of the blood. Of course, I don't expect you to understand."
Violet let what Vance had said sink in. While she wasn't sure she believed it, she thought she knew what he was getting at. He was either dangerously insane or telling the truth; either way, she figured it would be a good idea to play along. "I think I understand," she said. "You're vampires. Or rather, you follow their mythical traditions."
Vance laughed. "Well, we don't turn into bats, and we won't burst into flames if we walk out in the sun, but yes, I see you get the general idea. I realize this must be a lot to take in, but please, try to understand. We're just trying to survive. We mean you no harm of course; you two may come and go as you please as long as you don't cause trouble."
"So wait, you're saying Ian is one of you? Am I hearing this correctly?" Johnny asked. "We're supposed to believe he just up and attacked his parents one day, and that you're somehow helping him by bringing him here? I've met him before, he's a really nice guy! Why would he kill his own parents?"
"Our craving for blood is not something we can control," Vance explained, his voice level. "Obviously we would quell our hunger if we could, but it's beyond our power. I do my best to guide my flock; now that Ian's here, he will be taught our ways and his cravings shall be reined in."
"That's all well and good, but we'd like to speak to Ian if you don't mind," Johnny said, annoyed. He obviously didn't believe what Vance had told them.
"I'm afraid that's not possible," Vance replied. "Ian is at a critical time in his life right now. After all that happened in Arefu, he's understandably scared and confused. I cannot allow you to speak with him while he decides what he wants to do."
"What do you mean, decide what he wants to do?" Violet asked.
"Whether he wants to remain here with us, or return to the surface, to try and live among humans again. I'm hoping he chooses to stay here, but ultimately, the decision rests with him. You can't speak with him until he's decided."
"We have this letter here for him, from his sister," Violet said. "Can we at least give it to him?"
"I'm afraid not. I don't want any outside influences affecting his decision."
"But that's just it! Ian needs to know that there are still people out there who love him. Don't you think that if Ian is to come to a decision, one that is truly best for him, he should have all the information?"
Vance considered Violet's words. "Alright, I suppose I see your point," he said finally. "I'll allow you to speak with Ian. He's in the room at the end of the hall. Here's the key." He dropped the key into Violet's hand. "And if he does reach a decision, please, let me know."
Vance left them and walked down the stairs to the main floor. "Man, what a freak," Johnny said once he was gone. "And they're keeping him locked up? That's not what I can helping someone."
"If what Vance said is true though, he might attack someone, so maybe they keep him in a locked room for their own safety," Violet said, leading the way to Ian's room.
"You're defending them?" Johnny asked, incredulous.
"No. Just offering a possible explanation. Besides, it's not like they can control it."
"In case you didn't follow what Count Chocula back there was saying, allow me to clear it up for you: they drink blood! And they've been harassing the people of Arefu for months! Or have you forgotten why we're here? Maybe Vance's rugged good looks distracted you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Violet said, reddening a bit.
"Oh please. You think I didn't notice you floundering as soon as you saw him? You're not very good at concealing your emotions kid."
"Whatever. We're here now." Violet took a deep breath to calm herself and knocked softly on the door. There was no reply. "Ian? Is it okay if we come in? We have a letter here for you."
"Sure, I guess," a small voice called.
Violet turned the key in the lock and gently pushed the door open. Ian was sitting on a small cot in the corner, partially hidden by shadows. He was very skinny, and there were dark circles under his eyes; he looked like he hadn't slept in months. There was a haunted look about him, but his face lit up a bit when he saw Johnny.
"Johnny? What are you doing here? And who's that girl?" he asked.
"That's Violet, she's a friend. As to why I'm here, your sister sent me with a letter," Johnny explained. "Here." He pulled it out of his pack and handed it to the boy, who grabbed it like a drowning man would grab a life preserver. He scanned the letter quickly, then read it a second time. Violet's heart went out to him when she saw tears starting to form in his eyes.
"Lucy says she misses us, and wants us to come visit her now that everything's settled in Megaton," Ian said, now eerily calm. Then the dam he'd been using to hold back his emotions broke, and he was sobbing. Johnny looked down and shuffled his feet; Violet could tell he felt bad for the boy, but Ian's tears made him uncomfortable, and he didn't know what to do. Violet wasn't too sure herself, but she knew what she'd want someone to do if it were her. She sat down on the edge of the cot and tried to comfort the crying boy, but he flinched away from her touch and withdrew further into the shadows.
"Ian, what happened isn't your fault," Violet began.
"Not my fault! Don't you get it? I killed my parents!" the boy cried. "I'm a freak!"
"You're not a freak Ian," Violet said firmly. "What happened was terrible, and you have a problem that needs to be addressed, but staying here might not be the best way to do that!"
"I can't go back. Everyone will hate me, Lucy especially."
"Your sister loves you, Ian. She talks about you all the time, how proud she is of you," Johnny said suddenly, much to Violet's surprise. "If you stay down here, she'll be heartbroken."
"But what can I do? If I go back the same thing will happen all over again."
Violet thought about this for a minute. "I agree that you need some sort of guidance," she said finally, "and Vance does seem to know a lot about controlling the…urges you seem to be experiencing. But I think the support you'd get from the people of Arefu and your sister would be more effective than the support you'd get from the people here, nice as they are. They just don't know you that well. So how about you strike a balance between the two. Arefu isn't that far from here. Move back, and tell the people there about your problem; problems like that are easier to deal with when the people close to you are helping you through it. Maybe your sister will move in with you for a while too, to help out. And if you ever feel in the slightest that you're going to regress, come straight here and talk to Vance. You didn't have anyone to talk to about it before, which is probably why it got to the point where you couldn't control it."
Ian stared at her. His tears had left shiny streaks on his face, but he had stopped crying. There was hope in his eyes. "You really think I could move back?" he asked.
"Yes. I'm not saying it'll be easy, but I don't think staying here is the right thing for you to do."
Ian glanced around the dark, dingy room he'd been staying in. He sighed. "I guess you can tell Vance I've made my decision," he said. "I'm going back. I just have to get my things."
"I don't know how you do it kid," Johnny said as they left Ian's room to find Vance. "You really do have a way with words. Ian didn't even know you two minutes before he was hanging off your every word."
"Are you back to calling me kid again?" Violet said with a laugh. "You know Johnny, it's possible to solve a problem without shooting at it."
"Yeah, I know! I'm just saying. Speaking of speaking, what are you going to tell Vance? About Arefu I mean. The whole reason we came here is because he and his gang have been harassing the town. How are you going to solve that without bullets?"
"I'm way ahead of you on that one. I have a little proposition for Vance, one I think he'll be all too happy to accept. It'll also make things easier for Ian, so there's that too."
Vance was standing on the mezzanine, watching his 'flock' when Violet and Johnny found him. "I trust your talk with Ian went well?" he said as they approached. "And what did my young charge decide?"
Violet shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not sure we're the one's who should be telling you this…"
"If you anticipate violent retribution on my part, fear not. I know you have the boy's best interests at heart."
"Well, alright then. Ian has decided to return to Arefu."
Vance nodded. "I had a feeling you'd be able to sway him. While I can't say that's what I would have chosen for the boy, I wish him all the best."
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. I told Ian that the next time he felt the urge to…drink blood, he should come here and discuss it with you, to keep it under control. Would that be alright?"
"Of course. I live to serve all who have been afflicted with this terrible curse. I'll tell Ian he is welcome here any time."
"Great. Another thing. About Arefu…I can't have you and your people attacking the town anymore."
"Are not my people just as important as those of Arefu? Sad though it may be, we require blood to survive. What do you suggest we do?"
"I'm sure the blood in blood packs is just as good as the stuff you'd get from a living person, with the added bonus being that you don't have to kill anyone to get it. They're probably not that hard to find out here, seeing as, unlike stimpaks, they're pretty much useless unless you know how to use them properly. How about the people of Arefu supply the Family with blood packs, and in return, you send someone to protect the town and act as a confidant to Ian?"
Vance smiled. "There really is something something special about you girl," he said. Violet hoped neither of the men could see her blushing. "Very well. I'll send Justin back with the boy. He and Ian have grown close in the short time he's been with us. Justin will also find out what the people of Arefu decide to do. If they accept your proposition, he will stay. Now go. Tell the people of Arefu what you told me."
All the walking she'd been doing lately was really taking it's toll. Violet's legs had never ached this much in her life. They were only halfway back to Arefu and she couldn't wait to sit down and take a break. Johnny didn't look tired at all of course, and was oblivious to Violet's throbbing calves.
"Man that guy was annoying," he said. "Such a windbag."
"Neither you nor I are particularily taciturn, so I don't know why you're complaining."
"Yeah, but at least we don't use big words to make ourselves sound smart and condescending. And I've never heard you use the phrase 'fear not' before. Don't, by the way. Use that phrase I mean. So do you really think King will approve of your idea?"
"Why wouldn't he? Not only do they stop getting harassed, they also get someone to help guard the town. All they have to do in return is give them blood packs. I assume the people of Arefu get their supplies the same way as all the other towns do, from the caravans. The caravaneers will probably sell the blood packs cheap, because like I said before, they're pretty much useless to most people. And you could always bring any that you find while on your travels. So it all works out."
"Wow, you really thought this through," Johnny said. "I still have one question though. Do you really think the people of Arefu will accept Ian? I mean, the kid murdered his parents. I like him and all, but I'm not sure I'd want to live next door to someone who could go off on a murderous rampage at the slightest provocation. Not everyone is as accepting as you."
Violet sighed. "I was worried about that too. But I think if Lucy and Justin are there, Ian won't explode like he did when he killed his parents. Plus, Justin would be able to control him if he did go off like that; he's a pretty big guy, and Ian's pretty small. I just hope the townspeople agree."
They finally reached the bottom of the overpass, after trudging once more through the muddy riverbed. Evan King was waiting for them at the top, still standing guard.
"So, how'd it go?" the older man asked. "You don't have Ian with you, so it can't have gone well…"
"Actually, Ian is fine, and will be returning here soon," Violet said. "He has some things to discuss with you when he gets back. All I'm going to say is, I hope the people of Arefu are willing to be open-minded and supportive of him."
"That shouldn't be a problem," King said. "Ian's quite popular here, and I'm glad he's safe. Why didn't he come back with you though? And what happened with the Family?"
"That's the other thing I wanted to tell you; Ian's been staying with them. The Family isn't some gang of violent hoodlums, quite the opposite in fact. They're actually quite kind and level-headed." King looked like he was about to protest, so Violet hurried on before he could interrupt. "You see, the Family is sort of a support group for people with…certain cravings. Okay, I'll just be honest here, they drink blood, there's really no way to make that sound pleasant. But other than that, they're completely normal people trying to get by, just like everyone else in the wasteland. They regret having harassed your town, and want to make peace with you. If the people of Arefu would be willing to donate blood packs to the Family, they'd agree to stop terrorizing you and would even send someone to help guard the town. A young man named Justin, I believe." Violet realized she'd been rambling, but she was desperate to get her point across. She understood how the whole 'drinking blood' thing would be off-putting for most people, but she genuinely believed this was the best solution to everybody's problems. Arefu (and all other towns in the area) would be safer, Ian would get to move back, and the Family wouldn't have to kill people to live.
King looked absolutely flabbergasted by what she had said. His mouth was opening and closing like a fish that had been pulled from a lake. He obviously didn't know how to respond. "So…is Ian…like them? He…drinks blood too?" King finally managed to say.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean he's no longer the Ian you know," Violet explained hurriedly. "It's not something he can control, and he's learning how to curb the cravings before they start. That's another reason Justin's coming here, to help Ian."
King turned to Johnny. "Is what she's saying true?" he asked.
Johnny nodded. "Yup. Strange as it may seem."
For a while no one said anything. Then Violet spoke. "So, Mr. King? Would you be willing to accept Ian back in Arefu and give the Family blood packs in exchange for protection?"
"I…suppose so. As long as Ian isn't a danger to the rest of the people here, he's welcome. And we have to have the Family's word they would leave us alone."
"Ian won't be a problem. He'll be glad to be back among friends, I'm sure. And don't worry about the Family; if you agree to this proposal, they'll be your allies. Ian and Justin should be by shortly. Oh, and Ian's sister Lucy might come to visit as well. Just remember: try and be understanding. Anyway, we have to get going. Um, it was nice meeting you Mr. King!"
"So did that go as well as you expected?" Johnny asked on their way back to Megaton. It was too late to start heading to D.C., and they had to tell Lucy what had happened, so they decided they'd stay the night at Johnny's new Megaton house.
"Which part? Delivering the letter, confronting the Family, or telling King what we found out? 'Cause delivering the letter was like a hundred times more complicated than I thought it would be, confronting the Family was easy, and King reacted about as well as anyone would, considering what we told him."
Johnny laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But I noticed when you were telling King about Ian that your forgot to tell him who killed the Wests."
"I didn't forget. I mean, it wasn't Ian that killed them, not really. If he wants to tell them, I'll leave that up to him. It's not my place. I really hope him going back is the right thing."
"I think you helped him make the right decision Violet. Staying down in those tunnels might have been a good idea for some people, but not Ian. I know him, he's a bright kid. He'll be fine." Johnny sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm not looking forward to telling Lucy about her parents though."
"Yeah…to lose both parents at once like that..."
"She'll be okay too though, she's tough. Besides, being an orphan isn't that bad. Just look at how I turned out!"
"I thought you said you weren't sure your father was dead," Violet said, hoping to get some more information on Johnny's past.
"Well, he isn't in my life, is he? Good riddance to bad rubbish, I always say."
"Why do you dislike him so much?"
Johnny was silent for a minute, and Violet thought he was going to clam up again, but then he spoke. "He was just evil. He never hit me, never even raised his voice to me, but…well, I don't know. It doesn't matter. Come on, we'd better hurry if we want to get to Megaton before dinner."
Violet knew better than to pry. Johnny would tell her when he felt like it, and not a moment sooner. In the meantime, they had bad news that needed delivering, dinner that needed eating, and a father that needed finding.
AN: Yes, I realize it's been a month and a half since the last update, and I'm very sorry *hangs head in shame* V_V Fear not! I'm not abandoning this story, and I don't plan to, so even if it takes me a while to get a chapter up, that doesn't mean another update isn't coming. Anyway, I spent three weeks at my cottage without a computer, and then there was frosh week, and classes, and a minor case of writer's block...that's no excuse though, I know. I'll try to keep updates more regular, and hopefully not leave such big spaces between them, but since I'm starting university and I'm not sure how much free time I'll have, I'm not making any promises as to their frequency. I'm aiming for one a month, but who knows.
About the chapter itself: it's my longest one so far, yay! Also the hardest to write. I tried to keep Vance in character (I always thought of him as the 'ladies man' character) but whether I succeeded or not is up to you. Not much action in this chapter, just some hardcore walking, and x-treme dialogue, and then more walking. There'll be blood and guts in the next chapter though, when our heroes find themselves in Grayditch! Hooray for fire breathing ants! Hope you enjoyed it, leave a review if you have time. I recently enabled anonymous reviews, so that'll probably mean I get more, at the expense of getting flamed by random internet trolls. If you think there's something I can improve upon, by all means tell me. But try to do so politely (do trolls even know the meaning of the word?). Oh, and yes, I am being purposefully vauge in regards to Johnny's past.