Chapter Twelve

The more time Roland had to see how capable V was, the more she amazed him. They had found numerous military duffel bags in the police station lock up, and she had loaded up four bags and easily swung them over her shoulders. She was now making the trek back to Brockton's Pass with all first aid, food, weapons and ammunition in tow.

"You sure I can't take one of those off your hands?" he offered.

V just laughed. She was breathing heavily and sweating noticeably, but she shook her head. "Trust me; it sounds worse than it is."

Daylight had broken over the Wasteland and they were finally within the limits of Brockton's Pass. Roland could see Jones at the front gate and he smiled. He knew Jones wouldn't have slept since getting back and must be exhausted. Roland made note to let him sleep as long as wanted for the next day or so.

As they got closer to the main gate, Roland's limp had begun to really take over, and he had never wished for his cane more than he did at that moment. Jones noticed their approach and Roland's limp and ran as fast as his legs would allow to them. He stopped in front of Roland, running right past V without notice, and embraced the old cowboy tightly. Roland winced for a moment, then smiled.

"I'm okay, Jones, I'm okay," he insisted. "Come on; let's help get this stuff into town."

Jones finally pulled away and noticed the four large bags slumped over V's back. He took two from her and led them to the gate, staying by Roland's side the entire time.

"Whole town's been on alert," Jones explained. "Got the gates chained and everyone hunkered in the hotel, ready to escape."

"Are my friends all right?" V asked.

Jones nodded in response. "Worried for you," he turned back and eyed her from head to toe, taking in how she carried the weight of two oversized and full military bags and snorted. "Not sure why, though."

V could only laugh.

They entered the Pass through the main gate, Jones pounding on the large wooden doors and two marksmen along the gate approving their entry. They made their way to the end of town to the hotel, and V felt a shiver run down her spine as she saw how things had simply been dropped and abandoned so that the inhabitants could get to safety. How easily things could have gone wrong for these people had she and Roland perished at the station, or if they allowed Markman to continue his reign of power…

'Or if Alistair decided to come through…'

V shuddered at the thought as they neared the hotel. The old city hall was renovated enough to double as a tavern/hotel and the main office for Roland and Jones to operate their… law enforcement of sorts. They had four remodeled rooms and an outfitted conference room to store all weapons, ammo and provisions. They would divvy up their winnings there, and discuss the journey to the Commonwealth.

"V! Oh my god! You're okay!"

As they entered the hotel, V was instantly greeted by Evan. He threw his good arm around her and she dropped the bags to hug him back, tightly. Over Evan's shoulder, V saw Rob and Amber watching from a distance, smiling. Even Callie, who was standing with them, had a softer expression on her face, though V was sure it was more for Evan than for her.

Finally, Evan pulled away and began dragging one of the bags without a second thought. "We all thought the worst when Rob came back without you. We've been up all night waiting for you."

"Here Evan, let me take that form you," Rob offered and took the bag from his brother's hand.

Amber swooped in and gave V a big hug. "They were worried, but I knew you could handle yourself," she said with a wink. "Come on, we've got a room on the third floor. Let's get you cleaned up and then we can all get some sleep."

But V shook her head. "No yet. We have a lot to discuss with Roland, plus, we need to separate our stock from the rest."

"There'll be time enough for that tonight," Roland said from behind the group. They turned to see the old cowboy clinging to Jones as he limped hard in the main lobby of the hotel. Jones helped him onto a barstool and Roland sighed, removing his hat with wiping the sweat from his forehead. Under the dim lighting, his scars and leather-like skin stood out even more, aging his drastically. V had a lot of respect for someone his age that had faced years of the Wasteland with noticeable difficulty; so she agreed.

Jones came up and took the bag she still held and Rob's and grunted to Roland.

"Jones will keep the bags in our office under lock and key. We'll reconvene for dinner and count out and split our findings. I'll tell you all you'll need to know to get to the Commonwealth as well, and then we can drink." Roland yawned and stretched, cracking his back. "But for now, I think we all need a long rest."

V nodded and allowed herself to be led upstairs to the third floor. Upon entering the doorway, V was pleasantly surprised to see their rooms were much nicer than the ones on the second floor. Though the beds and mattresses were still rundown, they at least had blankets and pillows. The furniture wasn't completely falling apart and there were bright, working lamps along the wall, making the neutral tones a little cheerier.

"Did we win the caps lottery or something?" V asked, amused when Evan rushed by her to claim 'his bed'.

Amber laughed. "Jones said we were to get the nicest rooms in the place, so here we are."

V looked down to her right and saw a stack of relatively fluffy towels and she nearly cried. She begun to reach out a shaky hand and touched the blue towels ever so gently; afraid that at any moment, she would wake up from this dream and be back at the police station.

"There's a shower room at the end of the hall," Rob explained. "Two showers in the men's room and two in the women's."

"I think they were empty when we came up," Evan said. "No steam was coming from the doorway."

A lump formed in V's throat. "I swear Rob, if you tell me we can go and have hot showers, I will kiss you right here and now," V turned to Amber, smirking. "Sorry, Amber, but this is happening." She walked over to Rob and draped her arms around his shoulders, jokingly trying to plant a kiss on his lips while he tried to dodge her.

"Okay, okay," he laughed. "The showers are warm at best. Go clean up, we already did. Then we all need to get some rest. We'll talk about the police station before dinner."

V didn't need to be offered twice. Their personal belongings had been brought in, so she rummaged through her pack and pulled out a pair of jogging shorts and a long sleeved tee shirt with a towel and ran to the bathroom to shower.


V opened her eyes to hear actual birds chirping outside of the window. She pulled back the incredibly soft yao-guai fur blanket and swung her feet over the bed, stretching out her sore muscles. It had been so long wince she had a decent night's sleep in an actual bed that it felt like her body forgot how to relax in a bed while she slept. V wiped the crusted sleep from her eyes and took a moment to get her bearings, quickly recalling her daring and bloody rescue and the hospitality that went along with it.

She rose and re-rolled her baggy sleeves of her oversized tee shirt to her shoulders and dislodged the wedged boxes from her backside. Looking out the window gave her a perfect view of the crops on the farm she had just stumbled upon. Rows upon rows of corn, razor grain, muttfruit and melons grew from the ground, while along the fence line tables had been set up for carrots and tato plants. There was a large patch of land behind the crops where three brahmin grazed on the sparse grass and lounged under a thicket of trees in the high noon sun. It was all very picturesque and peaceful out here, and all V could wonder was how they survived out here for so long without proper defenses?

V's stomach mumbled, impatient with her and she groaned. She turned and left her room, clunking loudly down the stairs, her feet screaming at her with every step. She grew more cautious as she rounded the corner into the kitchen, nervous that there was no sound of voices or clunking and thumping of housework. She stood still in the doorway and listened, but it was only the chirping of birds and the mooing of the brahmin that she heard.

'Why would they leave when a complete stranger is upstairs?' she wondered.

Her stomach growled at her again and she sighed, trudging across the floor to raid whatever they had in their cupboards to eat. There were boxes and tins lining the bottom cupboards and the bowl, plates and glasses were up top. V noticed the box of Sugar Bomb cereal and took it out, setting it on the counter as she reached for a bowl. After pouring an overflowing amount of cereal into her bowl, she began to inhale it, dry and without a spoon, her stomach thanking her with a loud groan.

"We have brahmin milk in the downstairs – OW!"

The instant V heard the voice from behind her; she quickly picked up the bowl and threw it at her attacker. It hit him square in the head and shattered when it hit the ground, leaving Evan sprawled on the floor, groaning in pain and confusion.

"Oh shit!" V cursed and ran over to the young man, kneeling next to him, mindful of the broken glass around them. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

Evan seethed, sitting up slowly and rubbing his head. "Holy fuck lady! What the hell was that for?!"

"You startled me!" V exclaimed.

"Well that seemed a bit excessive!"

V waited until he took a few breaths and gave him a tentative smile. "I'm really sorry. You okay?"

Evan checked his forehead for any blood and, thankfully, found none. The bowl would leave a nasty egg on his head, but otherwise, he was fine. Evan scanned the floor and saw fragment of glass and cereal everywhere. He looked up at V and smirked.

"You gotta clean this up," he said.

V nodded. "No problem." She stood and offered Evan her hand, gently pulling him to his feet. "You got a broom anywhere?"

After the mess had been swept and discarded, Evan poured V a new bowl of cereal and had her follow him. He led her down a set of steps into the cellar where cold air blasted up to them. V shivered slightly in her thin shirt and shorts, but kept it to herself. She followed Evan down a few steps and was amazed when he turned on a light overhead. Their cellar was full of canned preserves, meats, milk and beer. She had never seen any sort of refrigeration without power, but this was something else completely.

"Your father built this himself?" she asked.

"Yeah, before me and my sister were born. Every spring there are ice traders coming all the way from up north and they supply us with ice in the spring, and we offer building supplies and food as payment, as well as a place to stay. We get ten large blocks and keep them down here. They last through the spring and summer and are completely melted off by the fall – close to this time, actually, then the cellar stays cold on its own until next spring. I guess they did it centuries ago and he learned it through his dad." Evan talked casually as he brought out a small glass bottle containing an off-white liquid and handed it to V. "Here, cereal isn't cereal without brahmin milk."

She took it and noticed him reaching for a beer bottle. V raised an eyebrow in questions. "A little early don't you think?"

He shushed her and placed the bottle gingerly on his head, sighing in relief and V couldn't help the smile that spread across her face.

Once she had mixed her cereal in with her milk, V felt as if she had died and gone to heaven. It had been so long since she had enjoyed a breakfast staple like cereal, and she savored every bite.

"So," she managed to mumble between mouthfuls. "Where is everybody?"

"They went to town to trade some crops and supplies for caps and other stuff," Evan explained.

"And the trusted you alone with me?"

"You wouldn't wake up no matter what we did. For a while, we almost thought you were dead. After day two, though, you're breathing became normal and your temperature dropped. So, we thought it would be okay to leave me here to watch you."

V stared at him. "I've been asleep for two days?"

"Almost three, if you didn't wake up by dusk tonight." Evan stared at how she ate so ravenously and he wanted to laugh, but wouldn't. He wanted to prove to his father that he took his opinion to heart and welcomed this woman. So, instead, he offered a distraction. "You ever played chess before?"

V paused mid-bite and nodded. "Played it a lot in the Vault."

Evan beamed. "Well, how about we pass some time, then? All the chores are done, so there's not much else to do around here." He stood. "I'll get the board set up; you finish up here and meet me out on the porch. It's a bit cold, but sunny and refreshing outside. So wear a sweater."

He disappeared into the next room and V quickly slurped down the remainder of her meal. She made her way back upstairs and threw on the clothes that were left for her: a pair of dark jeans, a plaid button up shirt with a moth balled camisole underneath. The shirt was quite large, even or her tall and muscular frame, so instead of buttoning it, she tied it into a knot at the front. There was a knitted shawl on the end of the bed and her black combat boots sat on the floor, freshly washed. She slipped them on, tied back her long white hair, and we down to meet Evan outside.

The front porch wrapped around half of the house and had a long picnic table to the side. At the front, where she stood, there were multiple chairs lined along the wall and a card table to her right. Evan sat up at the table and had placed her chair opposite his. He was placing all the pieces of the chess board in place and looked up, smiling at her and offering her the chair to sit. She obliged, wrapping the shawl around her as a light fall breeze blew through.

"Is it too cold?" Evan asked, noticing her shivers.

V shook her head. "It's fine. I'll warm up, and besides, it's a beautiful day today. Now, stop with the chit chat and let's play."

V took her first move and smirked.

Evan shrugged, then bent over the table and made his move. For the first few minutes, their turns were quick as they set their pawns accordingly. Soon enough, though, strategy began to come into play, and their turns started taking a little longer, both falling completely silent as they calculated their moves. V noticed how Evan tried to spare every man on the table, wary to place them in dangerous positions where the risk of losing them was too high. She stored that information away.

An hour passed before their first game ended with V as the victor. Evan groaned.

"I'm used to always winning. My family isn't this good."

V sat with a smug look of victory on her face.

As Evan studied the board, he noticed her strategy. "You sacrificed all of your pawn and bishops. That's super risky, using them to protect your queen. The knight's movements are so limited, and you used your king just like your pawns!"

V stood and stretched out the tightness in her back. "That's what they're on the board for, to use as shields for the queen. So long as you have a strong formation and you sacrifice your smaller pieces, winning is easy. You play defensively, and you do it well; but you retreat too quickly."

He sighed and stretched as well. "Tea and a rematch?"

V nodded, grinning.

As Evan busied himself in the house, V decided to walk around the perimeter of the place. She needed to get a good feel of where she was and how well it was defended. To see how easily the raiders had come and tried to take over, she guessed their defense was lacking, and as she walked around the house, she got a sense of just how right she was.

Their land was roughly one acre, stretching far behind the house and over half of it was filled with crops, and the rest with livestock. There was a well right behind the house and three water pumps lined up next to it – one built to be inside the house where the washroom was – and beside that, a large industrial generator hummed away, supplying power to the house.

"What are you doing back here?"

A hand touched V's shoulder suddenly and she grabbed it, throwing the man over her shoulder. He landed on his back in a loud oomph! and V gripped his arm tight, snarling.

"Shit! Shit! What the fuck?!"

V noticed the familiar face below her and she stopped her attack, he eyes wide and full of shame. She stepped back and offered her hand.

"Fuck, Evan, I'm sorry! Oh my god! I'm so sorry! You… you just startled me," she tried to explain, her face bright red from embarrassment.

Evan took her hand and slowly stood, grumbling something below his breath that V couldn't quite make out; though, she was sure she didn't want to.

"I'm really, really sorry," she tried again.

'Make her feel as safe and welcome as possible…'

Evan heard the words of his father echo in his mind and he sighed. He forced a smile and shook his head. "I'm okay. Don't worry about it." He looked around the back of the house and frowned. "What the heck are you doing back here, anyway?"

"Assessing the safety of this place," V replied matter-of-factly. "You have a very prosperous piece of land here, so I wanted to see how well defended from attacks it could be, seeing as how the raiders got to you without much issue. I'll be honest; I'm surprised you and your family are still alive. You have no turrets, no traps, no alarms. How is it your father feels safe leaving you alone?"

"Hey, I'm only here because of you," Evan defended hotly.

"And yet, you and you're family are still alive because of me."

That pissed Evan off. He balled his fists and glared at her. "We've gotten along just fine for the nineteen years I've been here. We have each other, and we sleep just fine at night knowing we're safe. You may have saved us from a serious situation, but don't think you get to criticize how we've survived for so long."

V was surprised at his tone. Her eyes widened for a moment until she realized her error. With a slight, apologetic smile, she softened. "I've offended you; I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I was just curious to know how you've held out so long in… less than ideal conditions. I'm sorry I was so abrupt. I haven't been around other people for… a very long time and it's easy to forget how to act."

After a moment, Evan's shoulders relaxed and he smiled faintly. "S'okay," he sighed and pointed towards a shed on the left of the pasture. "We have three turrets in there, but they've been broken for months. I've tried to fix them again and again, but we're missing a bunch of parts."

"Why not get the parts in town?"

"They're hard to come by," Evan explained. "Meaning they're either too expensive when they are in stock, or they're never available, and we aren't allowed to go scavenging. Dad says it's way too dangerous, even if we all go together. So now, they're in the shed, probably collecting rust as we speak," Evan sighed.

"But you can fix them?"

"Oh yeah," he replied, his smile more natural and relaxed. "I've been fixing our machines since I was a teenager. I love to repair and tinker with stuff." He clapped his hands together. "Well, enough about that. The tea is by the chess board, and I'm itching for another round!"


When V returned from the shower, she opened the door to one of their rooms quietly. Evan and Callie were asleep in the large bed, both curled on their own sides. A cot was set up a few feet from Evan's side for V to lie on. She closed the door behind her and tip toed to her bed. There was a fairly clean pillow at the foot and a blanket folded on top. She eased into the cot and placed the pillow under her head and the blanket over her body. The cot creaked under her weight and she tried to shift as little as possible as she made an effort to get comfortable.

"How was the shower?" Evan mumbled through the pillow covering half of his face."

"Sorry, did I wake you?" V asked, rolling to her side to face him.

"Nah," Evan grinned. "I just got into bed. Isn't running water fantastic?"

V laughed softly. "Oh my god, it felt amazing."

"You sure took long enough. There any water left?"

"Probably not."

"What were you doing for so long?"

"Thinking about you." Grinning, V reached out her pointer finger and pressed in gently to Evan's nose. He didn't react.

"That's weird."

She laughed a bit louder this time. "Remember the first time we really met? When your dad took the others into town and we played chess all afternoon?"

Evan finally opened his sleepy eyes. "How could I forget? You beat me up. Twice."

"What?! I only hit your head and flipped you-"

"I had bumps and bruises," Evan cut in. "That qualifies as a beating." After a pause, he continued. "You had me so freaked out that day; but I just knew there was something about you. Something told me you needed a friend of some sort. At least now you don't whoop my ass every time you get spooked near me."

V smiled. "I'm glad it was you who decided to make me family. You're my brother Evan, and I love you. I just… I really need you hear that."

Evan returned the gesture, his eyes drooping. "Me too. Now go to sleep! I'm so tired! If you love me, roll over and leave me alone!"

Rolling her eyes, but her smile still there, V rolled over and let sleep take her.


Everyone sat at the table in Roland's and Jones' homes, eating ravenously. It had be a long time since V and the others hadn't needed to make a meal for themselves, and V felt that food always tasted better when you didn't do the work. All over the table were plates of steamed vegetables, razor grain bread with brahmin butter, breaded radroach and brahmin steak with mirelurk pieces. There were ten bottles of wine on the table, uncorked, and V could tell by the flush of their cheeks that Amber and Callie had already had their fair share. Amber was starting to get flirty and handsy with Rob, making him turn beet red every time she brushed against him inappropriately. It made V laugh inside. It was nice to finally have a relaxing night after all they had been through.

"So, V, Evan tells me you all play instruments together. Do you play shows?" Roland asked taking a sip of wine.

V nodded and swallowed her food. "We try to trade music for lodging whenever possible. Not everyone takes us up on the offer."

"Must be nice to get that damn 'Jingle Jangle' tune out of your head, though," Roland laughed. He glanced around the room and nodded towards the corner. "I have a guitar over there. Do you have anything you could play for us?"

V was surprised by the request. Roland had only been personable to a point to get information from her, not just for the sake of getting to know them. She supposed she was able to see the relaxed side of the cowboy, now that the immediate danger had passed. Plus, for all that had changed about her, and for all that had happened to her over nearly three hundred years of life, must was her only constant. She still loved to play, and she was always happy to share. So, she stood and picked up the guitar a few paces behind her, the wood neck feeling wonderfully familiar against her palm. A moment or two of tuning, and then she began to strum a tune, adding her words soon after.

"You're a fire, burning up my brain

You can't be tamed for me

You struck a match and you left me to burn

It doesn't feel right

To fell the weight of your world, the weight of your world on my spine

You've had me going out of my mind…"

The way V's voice carried, and the way the guitar played its haunting tune made the room go quiet. Evan knew V had been writing a new song lately to help her through Alistair, but he hadn't heard it yet.

The melancholy tune brought tears to his eyes.

"And all the walls are caving in, and I feel you entering

I shouldn't give in, but I let you win

I let you in…"

There was no applause that followed when she finally stopped playing, but that was just fine for V. She simply put the guitar back where she had found it and picked up where she left off with her meal.

"That was beautiful," Roland finally said as he stared at her. "You have a gift, V, truly. Thank you for sharing."

She shrugged and smiled. "It's what I do when I'm not out killing and trying to survive."

Jones cleared his throat and nudged Roland.

"Speaking of which," Roland said, taking the hint. "Let's go and cash you out. I'm sure you'll all be eager to be on your way tomorrow."

So V and Rob quickly finished off their meals in jovial spirits and they followed Roland and Jones to the weapons cache. They spent the better part of an hour categorizing and bartering all of the cache they had taken from the police station. In the end, they ended up with five new guns, ammunition for all of their weapons, a fair amount of chems and first aid, and two weeks' worth of food. They even acquired some new clothing items: jeans, jackets, shirts and shoes that fit.

"A great haul," Roland mused. "Thank to you two, we were able to secure it and stay alive. Our town will be in your debt. And Jones, here, is appreciative of you keeping me alive, V. So, thank you for that."

Jones squeezed Roland's shoulder and nodded at V, his face a stoic as always. V smiled and nodded back.

"It's no problem," she replied.

Roland pulled up a chair and motioned for everyone else to do the same. Once all had found a spot around the long meeting table, he neatly folded his hands in front of him, turning serious.

"Now, about getting you to the Commonwealth…"

Rob looked surprised and turned to V, who kept her gaze on Roland.

"Any help you can offer would be beneficial."

Roland coughed. "Now, I can't take you there myself, and I can't spare Jones, either. We need to stay to keep the peace around here."

"I understand."

"You got a map?"

Rob quickly reached into his back pocket and pulled out their ragged paper map. The lettering was fading in spots, and creases were wearing out form being folded so many times; but it was still legible. It had the marking of their journey so far and Roland studied it for a moment, his eyes widening.

"You came from New Greenwich?" he asked.

"From the outskirts of town, a couple miles out. We had a little farm we all took care of with our father," Rob explained. "He passed away a few short months ago."

"My condolences," Roland offered. "Did it happen to have anything to do with this Alistair fellow?"

"Jeez, V, how much did you tell him?" Rob asked, annoyed at Roland's sudden knowledge of their lives.

"Enough," V replied hotly. "He said he can help us, Rob, and we're going to need it." She took a breath to calm herself; even after her death-like sleep, her nerves and patience were shot. She was still shaken from the information she had received about Alistair. All she wanted was to run somewhere he wouldn't be able to find her. The Commonwealth, she supposed, was the next best thing.

Roland pulled a pencil from his pocket and began to write instructions and pathways on their map. "You're going to leave the gates here and get onto route twenty eight north. Now, given the state of th route the last time I traveled it, the journey should only take half a day with your caravans in tow to get to Milton. You'll know you're close once you go under the overpass, or what's left of it, at least.

"Now this," he said, marking a large circle on the lower west side of Boston, "is the Glowing Sea. It's one of the initial bomb drop locations and is still deadly to humans from residual radiation. The wildlife is mutated and strong here, the land inside the Sea is barren, and the outskirts suffer from frequent radiation storms. It settles a few miles north of Neponset trail, which is where you'll be heading to walk around the zone. You'll cross the river here, then go east on the trail.

"Be careful. The trail is home to a yao-guai breeding ground where the bears hibernate when it gets cold. They'll be stocking up on food for the winter, so don't be that food. Now, walk the trail until you get to the far east side and meet up with the train tracks. Head north as far as you can until you get to the Boston South Station. From there, Goodneighbor is only a quick walk north… right here."

"Goodneighbor?" Rob asked incredulously.

Roland nodded. "Just up old Congress Street there's a bright neon sign; you can't miss it. The whole journey should only take you a day and a bit, barring any altercations. Raiders do tend to watch the main roads, but you can usually spot them from miles away."

Roland handed the map back to V and she and Rob checked the route over. After a few moments of murmuring back and forth, both seemed satisfied with the path given to them.

"Thank you," Rob said. "Really, this is great."

Roland nodded. "When you get to Goodneighbor, you're going to ask for John Hancock. Tell him I sent you, and he should be able to help you out. He's got connections and knowledge that no one else in the Commonwealth seems to possess. If the Institute is what your end game is, he'd know best how to get there." Roland paused for a moment, then frowned. "Only… you'll need to be patient with him. I've heard he's not the man I left twenty years ago."

"What happened?" V asked.

"Not sure," he replied. "But if he hated the Institute before… he absolutely abhors it know, I guess. Lots of changes were happening when I left, and he was finding it hard to adjust to them. Don't know why, but just… be gentle with him."

V scoffed. "So get information about the Institute from a man who hates the Institute without actually asking about the Institute? That about sums it up?"

Both Roland and Jones nodded.

"Great," V replied sarcastically. "Solid plan, guys."

Roland raised his hands. "Hey, I'm just giving you the intel you need. Hancock hates the Institute, but he'll have the most information. Do what you can to gain his trust, and I'm sure you'll be fine." He stood, done with talking business, and stretched. "Now, enough talk! There's still wine to drink and midnight oil to burn! Let's celebrate our victory!"