Chapter 2: Faith
"Ovidia! Ovidia, I know you're in there! Would you just speed things up and open the damn door for me please? It's freezing out here."
Radioactive crickets chirped as Ursula stood all alone outside the abandoned shack that she and Ovidia had spent their early childhood calling a "fort." She rubbed her bare arms in the chilly air.
"At least stop pretending like you can't hear me. I don't know what's your problem, but this? We both know this isn't fixing anything!"
Slowly, the old wooden door creaked open, and Ovidia stood in the doorframe. She was a tall girl, and strong for her age- with how small the frame was, she almost actually looked intimidating.
"You're starting to annoy me, Roland. If you're so cold then take your goddamn jacket back and go home." Ursula shook her head in disbelief.
"I- seriously, what is your problem? I came here to tell you that maybe I should've had more faith in you, and that I will in the future, but now I'm starting to think that you really have lost it!" Ovidia spit on the ground and turned away. "Ovidia, I-"
"Get. Lost!" Ovidia heaved Ursula's jacket down at her feet. Ursula rushed up to the cabin door, and managed to wedge herself in just before Ovidia slammed it shut. She let out a grunt of pain as she registered her new human-doorstop status. Ovidia stared at her with a mix of anger and honest-to-god confusion.
"I'm… not… leaving… without… a PLAN!" she muttered, as she struggled to wiggle her way in. Ovidia scrunched up her sweaty red face at her.
"What!? I thought you came here to apologize, or try and talk or whatever?" Ursula nodded.
"I… did! Gotta get you on board… with this idea…!" Ursula closed her eyes and pushed with all her might, but it was no use. She was at the mercy of Ovidia. She put her hands up. "I- I surrender. Jus' lemme explain. Please." She gave Ovidia her best puppy dog eyes, and while that probably wasn't the deciding factor in why she was allowed into the fort, she liked to think that it was a key factor in her success as she went tumbling to the floor.
"So, I take it you broke our promise already," said Ovidia. Ursula nodded wearily.
"Sorry. But the sudden appearance of a crate full of gold- if I did the math right, several metric tons full of it- seemed to me like enough of an emergency to break a little promise like that. I had to know urgently." Already, Ovidia's face had darkened once more.
"A... little promise?" Ursula nodded. Ovidia clenched her fists. "There's no such thing as a little promise. And that was a pinky-promise. If I can't trust you to keep a pinky promise, how can I trust you to do anything?" Ursula gave Ovidia a baffled look.
"... Ovidia, you're thirteen. Aren't you old enough now that you get that like, sometimes circumstances change?" Ovidia shook her head.
"If I ever get too old to keep my promises, then you better take me out back and shoot me, because lying adults are half the problem with the world. Seriously," she said. She pointed a finger gun at her head to show just how serious she was. "You know, I wasn't even especially upset at you tonight, but now I'm gonna be watching my back whenever we're hanging out. Maybe I should start taking those threats of yours more seriously!"
"Whoa whoa whoa, Especially upset? What do you mean by that?" Ovidia waved dismissively.
"Ursula, I'm a little mixed up tonight! Can we maybe, like, not talk about my feelings any more? I just want to hear what you have to say, so I can decide whether to kick your ass back out or not." Ursula nodded sagely.
"Okay, fine, I can get behind that. You want the long version, or the short one?" Ovidia gave her a look. "Alright, short version it is! Basically, the wishing well appears to work, and furthermore, it may even be an "exact-words" type deal, which makes it extra dangerous!"
"Dangerous how?" asked Ovidia. Ursula threw out her arms.
"Think about it! So far, by some miracle, everyone who's made a wish there has made a wish for something smart, but how long do you think it'll be before some schizo, or some Psycho addict, or just some stupid and curious person wishes for something that makes the world fold in on itself?"
"Like, give me an example?"
"I don't know, there's a million examples! How uncreative do you have to be that you can't think of one yourself?" Ovidia kept on staring expectantly. Ursula groaned. "Fine. There's, uh, there's a guy, and his name's Randy. Randy wishes that it could be sunny all the time, because he's a simple minded idiot, and the entire Earth's climate is decimated. Or, how about Gael, a scientist, who wishes to see a black hole in his lifetime. A black hole appears on top of him and Earth is instantly destroyed. And that's not even accounting for people who want to destroy the world, or universe. These are nice, sane people we're talking about!"
By now Ovidia's manner had changed. She'd been leaning back miserably before, but now she was at least minimally intrigued. She raised an eyebrow.
"Alright, I hear you. But what are you getting at?" she asked. Ursula steepled her fingers.
"I'm going to destroy the well. Hopefully before anyone starts questioning whether it was the well that gave us all this gold." There was a moment of silence. Ovidia hung her head.
"I… I mean, it makes sense. I don't like it, but it makes sense. I knew as soon as I saw that Gold that you weren't gonna approve." Ursula put her hand on Ovidia's shoulder, and Ovidia didn't do a thing to stop her. "Sorry for yelling at you. Well, sorry for the stupid yelling that you didn't deserve anyways. I meant all that stuff about promises."
"And I'm sorry for breaking our pinky promise. Honestly," replied Ursula, even though she was starting to sense that this definitely ran deeper than that. Especially upset? The hell was that supposed to mean? A few moments passed in silence, and eventually, Ursula decided to change the subject. "Now, moving on. For now, the gold in there,"
"The measly few bars," muttered Ovidia. Ursula widened her eyes.
"What- no, see, that's not how gold works! Is that seriously what you've been crying about!?"
"I haven't been crying." Ursula let out an exasperated sigh.
"Whatever! You wished for "Tons of Gold" right? Exact words?" Ovidia nodded reluctantly. "Gold is heavy, so "tons," if we're going by the measurement, isn't that much gold. But, just that small amount is still enough to put us on bargaining terms with, like, the NCR!" Ovidia still didn't look convinced. Ursula got up and started pacing about the room. "You know, I heard once that a bar the size of an NCR dollar and an inch thick, like the ones out back, is worth 10,000 caps?"
"I guess. Still, with you talking about all this universe shattering stuff, I feel kind of like I wasted my wish. You know?" Ursula stuck out her hand to put a stop to the idea.
"Nope. Simple wishes are the best. The more complicated the wish, the more likely you are to destroy the world." Ovidia snorted.
"And who made you the expert on the technicalities of magic, and wishing and shit?"
"Same person who put me in charge of planning our upcoming adventure. Now follow me, I'll fill you in along the way!"
Ursula pushed open the creaky wooden door, and stepped out into the chilly night air. She removed her rosary beads from about her neck and slid them between her fingers, taking comfort in the imagery, and in the texture of smooth green stones. Surely, Saint Mary would approve of this plan- even if some rules were about to be broken. She turned her gaze towards the quarry, and beckoned for Ovidia to come forwards.
"Alright, step one: Ovidia, head home, grab your cigarette lighter, both our backpacks and anything that seems useful to you, then meet me at the supply building," she said. Ovidia gave her a look of doubt.
"Isn't the supply building locked?"
"That didn't stop you last time." Ovidia gave Ursula one last worried look, then plodded off into the night. Ursula swept her jacket up off the ground and dusted it off. Despite herself, Ursula couldn't help but smile. Adrenaline was running hot through her veins now, that special drug that only adventurer's crave.
Tonight was the start of something beautiful.
Feeling as though she might explode at any moment, Ursula strode off in the direction of the quarry, as the waxing moon rose further and further in the sky above...
-break-
"This is insane!"
"It's for the greater good."
"That's what insane people say!" Ursula didn't so much as glance at Ovidia as she packed the stolen dynamite around the edges of the locked, bolted door. She stuck her hand out.
"Light?" Ovidia shook her head.
"This is crazy…" nonetheless, she flipped out the lighter with her shaking hand, and allowed the flame to dance around the tip of the long, long fuse. "It's not catching. Wind probably. Maybe we should just give up, you know-"
Wordlessly, Ursula cupped her hand over the flame, and within a matter of seconds the fuse sparked up. Ovidia did not look very pleased as the two retreated an appreciable distance away, at least five or six buildings down.
"I'm wondering if we put enough…" muttered Ursula, as the two ducked behind one of many red stone block houses. Ovidia put her head in her hands.
"¡Por Dios, Ursula! Have you ever seen one of those things go off? I'm pretty sure that-"
Before Ovidia could finish her sentence, there was an Earth shattering BOOM and an almighty cloud of dust, which swept through the street like some sort of vengeful ghost. Neither of the girls were able to see much through it, nor were they able to keep from coughing as the dust rose up into the air. Ursula pointed towards the supply building.
"Alright, now's our-" she stumbled forward and fell down on all fours, coughing all the way. Ovidia tried to help her back up, but the dust was clearly getting to her. She dedicated one arm to wiping the grit out of her eyes as she helped Ursula up with the other.
"We're gonna have to be quick- people definitely heard that," said Ovidia, and Ursula nodded. They ran through the dust, and found the door and the frame around it had been torn to shreds. The room inside was dark, and completely filled with dust. Ursula swore.
"Looks like the explosion knocked out the lights…" she looked around the large dark room. All along the walls were rusty metal shelves, lined with supplies. In the middle, crates of food and water sat stacked atop each other. "Alright- split up, stuff your pack as full as you possibly can, and remember your list! Got me?" Ursula took Ovidia's silence as a yes, and headed off to fulfill the particulars off her list, which consisted of:
-A few bottles of clean water, for drinkin'
-Cheese and Brahmin Jerkey, for eatin'
-A pocket knife, for cuttin'
-Rosary beads, for prayin'
-A rope and carabiner, for scalin'
-All the money I've got to my name, for buyin'
-A Road flare, for burnin'
-A big blanket, for sleepin'
-And a map and compass, for footin' it!
She already had about half the things on her list, but it was clearly going to take her a moment to locate the rest. She spotted a shelf with assorted tools fairly quickly, and stumbled through the dust to look for a knife, any kind of knife, before eventually settling on a pair of particularly nasty looking scissors. She started looking for rope.
"Hey, Ursula, I found a lamp! Can I take-"
"Whatever you can carry!" The walls lit up as Ovidia lit her lantern, and Ursula spotted a box of the fabled road flares she'd been looking for. She couldn't help a little evil grin. "Taking two of these guys, just to be safe…"
Outside, people were clamoring. Among the voices in the night were a few people who Ursula recognized as guards, and they were getting worryingly close. She scanned the shelves desperately for the travel section.
"I'm ready to bounce- what's keeping you?" Asked Ovidia, brushing past Ursula with a pack that was absolutely stuffed with loot. Ursula pointed at the food crates.
"Still need food and water, and I'm missing a compass, map and blanket…" Ovidia looked over her shoulder at the chance for a guaranteed escape, then back at Ursula, who, realizing what was going on, was once again employing her puppy-dog eyes. She grunted in frustration.
"Start packing the provisions. I'll find the other shit for you." Ursula silently thanked Ovidia as she ran over to the provisions crates and immediately started stuffing her backpack full of chunks of cheese and strips of brahmin jerky everywhere that it would fit.
Her luck didn't last long. As soon as Ursula got around to the water, three armed guards burst through the door, weapons raised.
"Hands up!"
Startled, Ursula turned around and threw her hands into the air. Immediately, she could see the confusion on the lead Guard's face.
"Miss De Leon? What the heck are you-"
Suddenly, Ovidia peeked up from behind one of the crates, and something went clinking across the floor in front of the guards. They all started shouting something about a "Flash" and leaving the building, so Ursula took the hint and tried her best to curl up behind her box before it was too late.
An instant later, her ear's were blasted out, and all she could hear was ringing. There'd been a great flash of light, too- bright as lightning- but thankfully she hadn't been looking. She tried to stand up.
"I'm trying to say something to you but you're deaf right now," said Ovidia, pointing at the entrance and stumbling forward. She caught herself on a shelf full of mining tools.
"WHAT!?" Shouted Ursula, but she didn't hear it. She had slightly more success making it forwards, but soon Ovidia pulled her back.
"We're never getting out of here with them watching us!" said Ovidia, and this time, Ursula actually heard about half the words. She laughed.
"Oh, but I disagree! Where did you get that fake grenade?"
"Container back here, but…"
"Get me a real grenade."
That might have raised some questions for Ovidia. She gave Ursula a look of abject horror.
"A- a real one?"
"Yeah, a real grenade! The kind that kills people." The ringing in Ursula's ears was starting to wear off, which meant that she was starting to be able to hear herself think again. She coughed and dusted off her coat. "Preferably the kind that looks like a green waffle, cause I know how those work."
"You better have a plan," muttered Ovidia, handing off the grenade in question to Ursula. She turned it around in her trembling hands.
"...Always, amiga. Follow me close."
Slowly, Ursula and Ovidia stepped out into the night, hands above their heads. The guards outside had their weapons at the ready, but not raised.
"Hello friends! Glad to see-"
"Miss Ursula, Sweetheart, Mija, what the fuck are you doing with that grenade?" interrupted one of the guards. Slowly, Ursula placed her hand on the pin.
"Getting ready to blow me and my friend here up, if you don't all lie down on your stomachs for me…" The guards all exchanged bewildered expressions. Ovidia gave Ursula a similar look.
"Excuse me?"
"My uh, partner here wasn't really aware of the deal, but she can't really go back now, can she?" She smiled sheepishly. Ovidia glared.
"Look, we see what you're doing, but what I want to know is why? What do you expect to achieve with this?" asked another one of the guards. Ursula shrugged.
"Honestly? We're going on a little trip, needed some supplies that we couldn't get any other way. No harm done, right?" Everyone except for Ursula looked pointedly at the unfortunate remains of the door, and the ruined supply room. Ursula coughed. "For the greater good. I promise."
"Believe it or not, I actually don't think she's wrong about that," admitted Ovidia. "That is NOT an endorsement of this new death or glory strategy though. What the fuck Ursula!?"
"Eh, don't worry kid, she's not actually going to do it," said one of the guards. Ursula's grin widened as her grip tightened around the safety lever, and her fingers played on the pin…
"Are you really okay with my death on your conscience, Mr. Santos?" She yanked out the pin, and made a show of tossing it to the ground. All that was keeping the grenade from blowing up now was Ursula's uninspiring grip on the safety lever. Suddenly, the situation was much more tense. This grenade was going to blow up. The only question was when, and where. "I don't want to do this, but if I die- well, it'll be for a good cause. So I can stomach it."
"Alright boys, surrender," said the lead guard, and there wasn't any debate from them. They weren't taking any chances on this stupid game. Carefully, each of them laid their guns down and laid down on their bellies. Ursula started backing up, and almost instantly, she tripped over Ovidia's leg and tumbled onto her butt. In front of her, the grenade was rolling towards the 3 men…
"Ursula, you… IDIOT!" shouted Ovidia, punting the grenade like the world's heaviest soccer ball through the gaping supply building entrance. Her cry of pain was drowned out by the sound of the explosion.
"That looked- that looked bad! Can you run?" Although her expression was one of excruciating pain, Ovidia nodded. She stuck out her arm for Ursula.
"Come on, get your ass up- guards are coming!" Newly invigorated, Ursula allowed herself to be hauled to her feet and immediately began running alongside her friend. She pointed off towards the residential area.
"Let's split up in the crowd, find a place to hide! Meet me at our spot in an hour, alright?" Ovidia stared at her for a moment. The emotion in her eyes was difficult to discern. "Alright?"
"...Yeah. Yeah, alright."
And with that, the two shared a solemn fistbump, and then went their separate ways, quickly disappearing into the clamoring, densely populated urban area like… well, like two perfectly normal, if oddly well-packed schoolgirls.
Normally, Ursula would be smiling ear to ear right now, but this time she was mostly just shaken. It'd been a tough score. She'd nearly gotten people killed, gotten herself
killed, but heck, this was important! At least Ovidia understood that. This situation with the well was so much bigger than anyone, or anything else…
For the greater good. Everything that Ursula did, it was for the greater good. She just had to keep reminding herself that, and this would all work out great!