She had a plan.
It wasn't a great one. Not even a good one, as far as escape plans went. She wasn't the Silver Shroud, after all. There would be no sneaking through windows or knocking out the guards. Disguises and distractions were out of the question. But by the end of Lily's third day at the Combat Zone, she had a finished plan, at the very least.
"Dic-" She leaned forward. The next part was hard and would require her full focus. "ton-a-ry"
"Dictonary!" Lily declared, tossing the book onto her bedside table. As far as she was concerned, that was the title of the book and all she needed to know. No more time would be wasted on cracking the rest of its contents.
When Tommy had walked in with a whole box full of books, she'd barely managed to keep her excitement in check. After all that had happened in the last few days, disappearing into the Silver Shroud's world would be the perfect escape. But as she'd rifled through the box, her initial excitement faded away to be replaced by a dull confusion. Each book was as thick as her arm and each page was covered from top to bottom in words. She'd spent a few minutes on each one, tearing through the pages searching for a comic, a picture, anything. Dusty, yellowed pages filled with text were all she found.
She sat in silence, her eyes wandering around the sparsely decorated room. They lingered on the half-eaten Mutfruit Tommy's lackey had given her for lunch. Nope. No matter how bored she was, the Mutfruit was off-limits. She'd much rather count the patches on her blanket than eat another bite of a fruit that was somehow sweet, salty and bitter all at the same time.
After about ten more seconds of aimless fidgeting, she begrudgingly reached for the book. She scooted closer to a flickering lantern and squinted hard. The author's name was just as complicated as the title. She'd just made it through the first word (Vo-lu-me) when she was mercifully interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Come in." She tried to sound as uninviting as possible, knowing full well that the person beyond the door would come in regardless. Sure enough, a pale, luminous face appeared at the door, silhouetted by the Combat Zone's floodlights.
"Are you alright?" Curie immediately moved to her usual place by Lily's bedside. The redhead offered up her arm without a word, looking pointedly away as Curie's fingers danced across her skin. "Your arm has healed marvelously."
Lily risked a glance and was glad to see she was right. She couldn't even see where the needle had punctured her skin.
"It wasn't that bad." She muttered, gently pulling her arm away. She felt a torrent of emotions. Excitement first, since she was finally speaking to a real person. Then annoyance because the person was Curie, and she didn't like being excited about her. And finally, as Curie poured out a glass of water and handed it to her, she felt guilty. She owed her life many times over to this dark-haired Vault dweller.
"I think you're almost ready to move, Lily. Tomorrow, I'll let Tommy know your condition has improved." She smiled, and Lily's heart fluttered stupidly. "We'll meet your sister soon enough."
Fat chance. Tommy wasn't going to let either of them go until he got his caps. If he didn't get them from Rachel, he'd squeeze them out of Curie. No, their only hope of getting out of here was her plan. And today, she needed to decide whether to include Curie in her escape.
"What is Tommy making you do?" Lily asked, being careful not to sound too concerned.
"I serve drinks!" Curie answered with a grin. "I didn't think it would be so easy for me to work."
"That's all?"
Curie tapped her chin.
"I serve food too."
"What about the raiders? Are they rough?"
"Oh no. Although they are a little too friendly sometimes."
Friendly? Raiders?
"What do you mean?"
"Sometimes they do this." Curie reached out and placed a hand on Lily's chest. The redhead froze, her heart pounding maniacally. Curie's hand travelled left, then right, then left. Her face glowed with childlike curiosity.
"C-Curie." Lily managed to sputter, once she found her voice. "Remove your hand."
Curie immediately pulled away, looking concerned.
"Did I hurt you?"
"N-No. No." She waited until her heart no longer threatened to leap out of her chest and wiped a trickle of sweat off her nose. Her hands were shaking, and she wasn't sure why. "But don't do that. And don't let anyone do that to you."
"Why?"
Why? Don't they teach this in Vaults?
"It's not for—I mean—It's not something you should do."
"Those raiders did it." Curie's brow furrowed in confusion. "They were very nice about it too."
"Don't let them!" Her whole body was shaking now. "It's wrong."
Curie pulled back, wary. Her eyes searched Lily's, trying to figure out what she'd done wrong.
"Only people who love each other," Lily swallowed "should do that."
Curie's face transformed in an instant, the confusion shifting to amazement. She gazed at her hand with a look of awe.
"Is this what love is?" She marveled, glancing back at Lily's chest.
The sooner this woman leaves the Combat Zone, the better. Lily decided, shifting to cover herself with her pillow. There was no telling what Tommy and the raiders would do to her if she stayed. Leaving her here would be worse than if she'd left her to the ferals.
"Listen, Curie. I have a plan to get us out of here."
"Are we leaving already?"
"Yes, we are." Lily glanced at the door to make sure it was shut. It was, but she lowered her voice anyways. "Tommy usually ends the fights around 7 or so, right?"
"Yes." She made a face. "That's when I have to go clean up. His patrons are so messy!"
"I know. Right after the fights end, the raiders go to collect their money from the betting table." Lily drew idly on the bed, growing more excited with every word. Her plan had sounded so silly in her head. But now, she really did feel like the Silver Shroud, picking and choosing the best time to strike. "Tommy will be there, making sure nobody swipes caps. When he goes, I want you to come straight to me."
"What about the cleaning? The floors-"
"Forget the floors! We're leaving!"
"Oh but that seems rude. Lily, he paid for your medicine."
"Don't worry, I paid him back." She lied. "I gave him a little extra too."
"Really? So I don't have to work anymore?" Curie seemed relieved.
"You don't. Tomorrow, I need you to come straight to me when Tommy leaves, ok?" Lily reached over to grab Curie's hand, squeezing it hard to make sure she had her attention. "Ok?"
"Yes." Curie nodded. "I understand."
"Good." Lily sighed and stretched out on the bed. Her fingers grazed the book she'd been trying to read. "Here, try this." She tossed it towards Curie.
"A dictionary!" Curie's fingers awkwardly pried the book open. She turned each page gingerly, using just the tips of her fingers. "In such good condition too."
Lily stared at her.
"You can read?"
Curie didn't reply. She looked down at the book, eyes narrowed to slits. She didn't move for nearly a minute.
"Hey, if you're having trouble I-" Lily scratched her neck. "I can read the letters out loud, if you wa-"
"Oxford English Dictionary. Volume One." Curie looked up, a broad smile on her face. "What a rare find!"
Lily turned away before Curie could see the scowl on her face. She's a vault dweller. Of course she knows how to read. Vault dwellers went to schools. Her sister only ever had time to teach her the letters of the alphabet. Rachel herself could identify maybe a handful of words.
"Is it a Silver Shroud story?" Lily asked, trying not to sound too interested. Curie looked up, shaking her head.
"It's a list of things that start with the letter A." She explained, holding open the book. "Look! The first word is Aardvark!"
"Sounds like a chem."
"It's an animal, Lily. A mammal."
"A what?"
"And then there's Aardwolf, a type of hyena."
At this point, Lily was well and truly lost. Curie plowed on, reading out every entry as she made her way through the pages. Eventually, Lily rolled to the edge of the bed and closed her eyes.
"Alabaster. An ornamental stone consisting of fine…"
The sound of Curie's voice was soothing in a way. Her peculiar accent, which Lily had hated at first, was starting to grow on her. There was an almost song-like structure to her words that reminded her of the lullabies Rachel used to sing. For a few moments, right before sleep took her, she almost felt peaceful.