The night is filled with images of Charon's body. Jake pressed himself closer to Evelyn, trying to forget everything that he had seen. Charon had been his fault. The people had a vendetta against him, and for what? Him trying to better the Wasteland?
Who was next? Verity? Evelyn? He couldn't condemn Evelyn to the torture Charon had been through. He couldn't condemn her to death just because he was selfish. He wished that this was a different time, and he could be as selfish as he wanted to with her.
Jake contemplated leaving a note and dealing with these mother-fuckers himself. Verity would be able to watch over Evelyn until he got back, and even if he didn't, he would rely on Verity taking her out west.
He slowly and quietly got up from the bed. His muscles were cursing him with every step he took. Jake's blue eyes glanced back at Evelyn to make sure she was really sleeping. She was.
The steps gave him so much hell, he was almost crying like a bitch when he finally reached the bottom step. Jake dug through his bag, to his medical supplies. He grasped the familiar Jet inhaler and dropped it back into his bag. He found the Med-X, and the numbness it gave him felt so good. He picked up the bag with ease.
He didn't struggle walking anymore. His muscles no longer ached. He heard footsteps behind him and he turned quickly. Cool azure eyes met teary emerald eyes.
"So you just expected to leave? Again?"
It was the first time seeing her really break down. It was something that shook him to his core. Evelyn wiped at her eyes. She wasn't supposed to cry. It wasn't right. She was supposed to be the strong one, the person who took care of him when no one else would.
"Eve... You don't understand..." He started.
"No, I don't. Please explain it to me. You're always leaving me hanging. You just disappear into the night without a fucking word." She snapped. Jake reached his hand out to her, but she shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself protectively.
"I'm trying to protect you. I couldn't protect my Dad. I couldn't protect Charon. Just let me fucking protect you."
"You think you're some bad-ass who can deal with everything on his own! You don't think you need anyone! But you do, and it scares the living hell out of you." She moved forward, closer to him. "I have you figured out, Jake. If you pull this 'I'm leaving to protect you' shit again, I'll be the one leaving and you'll never see me again." Evelyn promised.
His hand brushed stray pieces of black hair from her face. Her hand kept his against her cheek.
"Please stop crying, Eve."
Evelyn laughed and wiped at her eyes. Jake pulled her close to him and kissed her forehead.
"I'm tired. Can we please go back to bed?" Her breath was a whisper against his neck.
"Yeah." He agreed softly. This time he helped her up the stairs.
LWLWLWLW
He took care to kiss Evelyn's forehead. To remember the sharpness of her eyes. Her fingers dug into his arms, but he took it in stride. These small details were engrained in his memory. Just in case.
He whispered to her in Russian, and he could see the curiosity in her eyes. A few more words and he kissed her. The kiss pleased her and she hoped this wouldn't be their last.
"No heroics okay?" Evelyn requested.
"Can't promise that." Jake picked a slightly heavy piece of armor off of the worn pink armchair. He shrugged into it, with Evelyn's help. He exhaled at the added weight and waved off her concern.
Verity opened the front door and led Billy in.
"Billy's agreed to help us. Jericho is rounding up others now."
Evelyn could guess what Jake had been thinking. It was easy to.
"Stop it," She chided gently. "They're protecting Megaton, not doing you any personal favors."
He didn't say anything, even as the need to protect these people who had given him a home, readied to risk their lives.
"Stay here, Dog Meat. Okay? It's to dangerous for you buddy." Jake mumbled and patted the dog's head affectionately.
LWLWLWLWLW
They had assembled a small group of people. Simms, Jericho, Billy and a few other settlers. Evelyn divided the Stims up evenly. Jake was explaining what was going to happen. There was to be no shooting unless he gave the signal.
There was little complaining, mostly coming from Jericho. The sun shone down on them, easily heating everyone up. There was tension in the air, making everything worse.
Jake led the group outside Megaton's gate. Verity stopped Evelyn.
"I'm not much for a mushy thank you so. Thanks for saving me. Now don't go dieing, okay? The Wasteland needs more people like you. And Jake needs you, kid."
A smile graced Evelyn's features. Verity looked, much much better. She wasn't as skinny anymore, a healthy weight, which pleased Evelyn.
"You're welcome." She murmured, and took her place next to Jake.
There was a group of people, leaning against the buildings of Springvale. How far Evelyn and himself had come. They were fairly well armed. The air was still. Evelyn held her breath when the group noticed them.
"So whose idea was it to kill my friend?" Jake's voice called out.
"Your friend deserved to die. He had to make a statement." The man talking was older, but the glint in his eye screamed crazy. He was clean, almost pristine. Him being from a vault was painfully obvious.
"Why is that?" Jake asked, making sure not to make any sudden movements. There was uneasy shifting from a couple of people on the other side. They were bloodthirsty and hoping for a fight. The old man gave them the means.
"Because we've come to enlighten the masses of people that the Wasteland is changing, and there is much need to change with it. We are the prophets of the new Wasteland."
There was complete silence.
"Are you fuckin' kiddin' me? Is this what the pussies were afraid of? A bunch of crazy assholes that crawled out of a vault?"
Evelyn let out a sigh. Of course. Jericho had to step forward with as much grace as a Yao Guai. But these people were something to be afraid of. They obviously had a few screws loose, with a set objective.
"And your self appointed leader is Jacob. We know him well. Come, Jake. You could help the cause." The old man grinned, seemingly ignoring Jericho. "The people of the Wasteland need structure, they need law and order."
Jake resisted the urge to sigh, but instead smiled.
"You are from a vault, right? As you know, I am too. I chased my father who had escaped the vault. He had a dream for the Wasteland too," Jake's voice was calm and alluring. Evelyn listened intently to the story, not quite sure where Jake would take this.
"He wanted the people of the Wasteland to have clean and fresh water. He wanted generations to come to have fresh water. My father died for his dream. Your dream as noble as it sounds in your head isn't worth dieing over."
The man's gray eyes narrowed. "Jacob, what about this don't you understand? They need law..."
"And order. We get it. But you obviously have not lived in the Wasteland to get how it works. So I'm going to give you a small tour. People live by their own morals and do what they think is right. Justice is served by the ones affected." Verity's voice was loud and clear.
"And we have every right to serve you justice for what happened to Charon. We have every fucking right to string you up on the walls of Megaton to show people what happens when you mess with one of us." Jake's tone was calm and bored, and the expression on his face suggested just that.
A second person, a strikingly beautiful woman stepped forward and gave a sly grin. "So why don't you? Serve up a cold dish of justice." Her tone was mocking.
"Sarah, calm down." The old man snapped. Jake stepped forward and the other side's attention snapped to him.
"So, are you all going to die for his crimes? Or will you leave and never look back? This is your chance. You don't have to die for him." No one moved a inch, just tensed and their hands hovered over weapons of choice. Two young women in the back sprinted away, as fast as they could. Jake watched them go.
"We're gonna do this the hard way? Alright." In a instant, gunfire filled the air. There was a sickening impact of a bullet hitting flesh. He wasn't hit though. Jake couldn't focus enough on much more then ending the man before him; getting justice for Charon. Even as a ghoul, he had more living to do. He had to tell the stories of pre-war, and now no one would get to hear them.
The stock of the M-16 crashed onto the old man's head. He wasn't dead. Not quite yet. He would suffer. Jake would make sure of it. There were the calls of combat, all around him. But for now he was in his own personal bubble. His foot collided with the leader's chest. There was a crunch that Jake reveled in.
"Jake, stop. He's dead."
It took a few seconds of Evelyn's nails digging into his hands for him to fully grasp the world around him. The man beneath them was disfigured. Jake's breathing was heavy. He surveyed around him. The small militia was crowded around a body on the ground. It was Billy. His breathing was shallow, and blood stained his shirt.
He dropped to his knees and had his medical pack out before anyone else could respond. Jake removed the armor carefully, wincing when he saw the bullet wound. It wasn't deep enough to do permanent damage but Billy was losing more blood than he liked. He watched as Evelyn gingerly touched his cheek.
"You'll live. Don't worry." She whispered. Jake cleaned his hands, and stuck Billy's side with the needle of the Med-X. A couple of doses, and Jake started working as quick as he could.
"Hey, Simms? Take care of her, okay?" Billy coughed out. "Tell her I love her."
Jake's pace was steady, even as Billy closed his eyes. Evelyn panicked. His breathing had stopped. He stopped working on Billy, and he heard a choked sob behind him.
A few hours later, they had a small burial for Billy. Evelyn dug her nails into Jake's hand when Maggie started crying. He noticed the tears, and her black hair sticking to her wet face. Simms spoke of Billy fondly. His first day in Megaton with a crying Maggie latched onto him.
After the small funeral, Jake led Evelyn back to the house. They wearily helped each other remove clothes and slipped into bed. Evelyn let Jake hold onto her as she sniffled and cried. Another piece of her childhood, gone.
LWLWLWLWLW.
A/N: Oh my God. It has been so long. No I haven't forgotten about this story, it was just on major hiatus. I just could not figure out how to write this chapter.
For those of you that are still here, I love you. 3
Also, I've created a facebook page where I spend most of my time.
It's the facebook url/ImpaSageOfShadow.
I promise the next chapter won't take nearly as long.
