Chapter Twenty-One
"Hey, how's she doing?" Sarah called from the doorway softly.
Charon didn't take his eyes off Evelyn. "She is well. Her wound has been attended to. She is sleeping peacefully." He replied quietly.
Sarah crossed the room and squatted down. She was no longer wearing her power armor, she wore a pair of shorts and a tank top.
"It's too late to leave today now. So the vertibird will take off first thing tomorrow. I'll show you to where you'll be staying." Sarah told him.
"Evie?" She said softly. "You okay doll?"
Evelyn groaned as her eyelids fluttered. "Sarah?"
The shorter blond smiled. "Yeah Evie, it's me. You okay?"
Evelyn groaned again. "My arm hurts." She complained.
Charon rose to his feet, carrying her with him. After a minute he found another dose of Med-X. He carefully administered it and Evelyn sighed happily.
"Sarah?" She asked with cloudy eyes. Charon placed her on her feet, holding her waist with one large hand.
"Yeah Evie?" Sarah asked, stepping closer.
"C'mere." Evelyn ordered. The Sentinel obliged her and was rewarded with the former vault dweller throwing her arms around her. Evelyn kissed her enthusiastically, and after a moment Sarah returned her enthusiasm.
Charon stared at the scene before him with a blank expression but he was surprised. That certainly wasn't what he expected. Evelyn let out a low moan and Sarah slipped her hand under her shirt.
He pulled Evelyn from Sarah bodily. Evelyn whimpered in disappointment.
"No." He growled.
Sarah grinned at Charon. "Think you've got a chance with her Charon? Isn't that a girls name?" She baited the large man.
Charon glared at her. "She is already mine." He snapped. Evelyn was already nuzzling his chest happily. He had no idea where that came from. "My employer." He corrected quietly.
Sarah laughed good naturedly. "I was kidding Charon. Relax. Evie and I are in the past. Let me take you to your bunk." She said. He picked up Evelyn and she immediately started kissing his jaw.
She led him to a deserted room full of beds.
"See you in the AM!" Sarah declared, walking out the door.
He lay her down on one of the beds. He quickly unlaced and removed her boots. He shed his own clothing until all he wore was boxers and a thin shirt. He crawled into the bed with his already sleeping employer.
He wrapped his arm around her, resting his chin on the top of her head. "Goodnight Evelyn." He grumbled. Her hand rested on his hip.
He was awakened the next morning by a soft kiss to his neck.
"Hey. Time to fly." She whispered.
He rose quickly, pulling on his armor. He helped her put on her armor, taking care to avoid her wound.
"Thanks love." She said with a pained smile.
"Do you require medication?" He asked.
Evelyn grimaced. "No. I need to be conscious for this." She joked. She picked up her pack and swung it over her good shoulder.
He followed her outside, to the courtyard. A small vertibird waited for them. Sarah hadn't come to say goodbye.
"Have you ever flown before?" She asked him, settling into her seat. He secured their packs and shook his head.
"I do not recall flying previously." He grunted, tightening her security harness. He settled into the seat next to her, securing his own harness. As they rose into the air, he gripped his thighs tightly.
Evelyn reached over and took his hand. He was embarrassed by how tight he clung to her.
"We don't have any backup because we needed the extra fuel!" She shouted over the noise of the blades. "We're going to land outside somewhere called Cottonwood Cove. Then we're on our own!"
Charon nodded. The sooner they were on the ground the better. Unfortunately for Charon, the trip lasted about five hours. By the end of the trip he had relaxed somewhat and Evelyn had fallen asleep. How she slept over the roar of the vertibird he could only guess. When they finally landed she awoke with a start.
"Hmm?" She said, looking around groggily. It took her a moment. "Oh! We're here!" She fought with her harness for a while before it unlatched. Charon undid his own and grabbed their packs. They got off the vertibird and looked around.
Charon noted the cacti. In the distance he saw a large group of animals that he had never seen before.
"Whoa!" Evelyn yelped when the vertibird started back up. She and Charon quickly moved away from it. They watched as it rose up and flew off.
Charon looked at Evelyn. "What now?" He asked.
She looked at her Pip-Boy. "Well, the maps the brotherhood gave me are really bad. But Cottonwood Cove is up the road a ways. Must be some sort of settlement? Maybe we can get some better maps and a place to sleep for the night?" She said, sounding unsure.
They walked up the road until Charon spotted a sign. "Welcome to Cottonwood Cove." He growled. On both sides of the sign was a pike with what appeared to be a human skull on it. "That is not a good sign." He warned her.
Evelyn nodded. "Yeah that's not really welcoming is it?" She asked. "Looks old though. Maybe it's just to scare off raiders?" Charon just grunted.
"Charon!" Evelyn hissed suddenly. "What the fuck is that?" She pointed to an animal that had popped up along the road. It was about two feet long, with a scaly body. It was gray, with orange eyes, frills on the side of its head. It approached her cautiously.
"I am unsure. It does not appear to be hostile." He said.
"It looks like a lizard!" She exclaimed, reaching out to touch it. At the contact it rose up on two legs and ran off. "Oh! Come back!" It didn't even turn around. "We learned about lizards in the vault. They're little reptiles. Apparently they didn't stay little. How cool is that?" She trotted down the road happily. Charon followed, shaking his head.
Buildings loomed in the distance. As they moved closer, Charon became more and more uneasy.
"It appears deserted." He observed.
"Yeah. It does. Weird." Evelyn said slowly. "That looks like the main building there." She pointed. "There's stairs to the second floor right here. Wanna head there first?"
Charon nodded. "Height gives us the tactical advantage." He said. He drew his shotgun and followed her into the building. Once inside, Charon raised his eyebrows. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but that wasn't it.
It appeared that they had walked into a small home, with a desk at the forefront. In the right corner was a makeshift privacy wall. On the left was a refrigerator and stove. That's not what drew their eyes though. On the floor were four dead men in pools of their own blood. They appeared to be wearing leather skirts. Evelyn drew her gauss rifle and moved towards the right.
"Haven't I killed enough of y'all" A female voice sighed irritably. A redhead in a vault suit swung around the corner. She stopped short when she saw them. "Well, hi there." She said softly, large green eyes softening. She lowered her pistol.
"Uh. Hi." Evelyn said. "Sorry to intrude, we were just looking for some directions I guess."
The other woman nodded. "I kin prolly help ya w'that." She said. "Where y'all from?"
"Washington D.C." Evelyn told her, moving forward. She peered at something behind the privacy wall. "Um your friend..."
The redhead chuckled softly. "Yeah that's Veronica. She's dead."
"Oh." Evelyn said, her brown eyes wide.
"It's good you an yer buddy came along. I know Boone'd come lookin eventually but y'all kin help me get things rollin. Hey now! Is that there a Pip-Boy? I can download the maps right on there for ya. But I need ya to do me a favor if I do." The strange woman said with a smile.
"Um. Sure thing lady." Evelyn said.
"Amaya." The redhead interrupted. "M'names Amaya."
"Okay. Amaya. What do you need?" Evelyn asked warily.
"I need ya to deliver some letters for me. Got some real upsettin news that my friends need to know about but seems I won't be gettin to it." Amaya said, glancing back towards the bed.
"Why not? Are you hurt? I can help you." Evelyn offered. Charons curiosity got the best of him. He moved forward to peer at the dead girl on the bed. She was a pretty thing, even in death. Long brown hair contrasted beautifully with her pale skin. She wore a black dress with red trim. It was a daring gown, low cut and asymmetrical. On one side it went all the way to the deceased girls ankle, on the other side the dress barely covered her hip. A decorative flower graced that hip. The only thing marring her was the gunshot on the side of her head.
"Well darlin, see that girl there?" She asked, pointing to her dead companion. "I love her. More than I ever loved anybody. I seen a lot of shit in my life. Seen children sold into slavery, seen an old ghoul who spent damn near two hundred years obsessin over some damn money livin in a toxic cloud, seen old world scientists who done ripped out m'damn spine, seen two armies fight over an old dam an I seen a ghost story hate himself so bad he pretended he was Gods vengeance. Hell, I even met a guy who wanted to blow up everybody. I seen a lot in this life. But I'm done. Ain't goin nowhere else without Veronica." Amaya said decisively.