Poet was back in the waste once more, though he didn't want to leave the safety of the trash city, he saw there was little point when he had no money.
One thought came to mind, rather an excuse to hold off going further in the depths of the cesspool, he thought he'd sit down and take a few shots at some trash he set up. The sound of gunfire rang out as he pulled the trigger on his 10mm, training his trigger finger as well as his eye.
Some trader wondered from her brahmin to see what the commotion was, holding a brown revolver in her hand as she walked over by the right side of Megatons walls. She saw a vault dweller, of all things! Shooting at some cans and bottles while standing with his legs spread apart. The fuck is he doing? She thought as she stood watching him.
There was one last ring of gun fire before he just stood there, looking at his handiwork.
"You still got any rounds left?" She asked. Poet turned around with a startled jump. She gave him a smile as he looked at her with a pistol clenched in his left hand. "Names Ariel," She looked back behind her, where a brahmin came looking for her. "That's my pack brahmin, Maddie. She's got all my wears, which I trade and sell!"
The look of Ariel was different than anything Poet had seen; She had bangs that didn't stray far from her forehead, infact it hadn't gotten farther than the top of her head. She had herself a dress made from some kind of furniture fabric, it had these animals like bulls and horses on it. She also had on a thick brown leather armor on her torso.And she had one worn out sneaker on, accompanied by a boot. "Do you often come up to strangers shooting guns and sell them ammo?"
She laughed at the question. "Your a funny fella, ya look like a funny one as well so tell you what! I'm gonna give you a discount. And it so happens I have some..."
Before she'd continue on, she saw him wrap a leather jacket around his shoulders, a snake painted on its back. She gasped, moving quicker then Poet thought normally possible. She felt the skin of the material and gazed at the serpent. "Where'd you get that jacket?"
Poet turned around toward her, looking at her curios blue eyes. "I got it from someone when I was at the vault." She kept touching the jacket before he pulled it away from her. "I'd rather not give it away, miss."
The curiosity she carried vanished as her eyes narrowed on him. Poet didn't know these eyes too well, but he backed away, covering his hand behind the jacket as he placed it on his pistol. She noticed and her cheery look returned. "Whatchya called?" She asked.
"My names Poet..." He answered, his hand slowly inching away from his gun.
"Well, Poet. I will give you... an unopened box of ten mil'meter ammo! If you give me that jacket!"
Poet held the jacket in both his hands, looking the snake in its eyes. It's kinda the only thing I have left of Paul... He looked up to see Ariel retrieve the ammo, hearing her shake the box as she turned around and looked at him with a toothy smile.
He looked back at the jacket. But it's not exactly Paul's jacket. Besides, I need the ammo. I'm pretty sure. He let out a sigh before nodding to her. She strutted over to him, handing the ammo to him and grabbing the jacket. Poet heard her sniff it and giggle, which bothered him slightly.
"Hey, why do you want it so bad?" She looked at him once more, hardly thinking of the answer when she said "I love this prewar stuff! And this jacket makes me think of those greaser gangers. And the leather! it's real and dyed!"
Yeah, real couch leather.
"Well, I'm glad we had good trade then!" she nodded in response as he looked away from her and at his pip-boy.
Ariel went to Maddie and excitedly strapped the jacket in a bag of her things, giddy with delight. She turned her head to the side to watch Poet walk off in the distance.
Ariel was an entrepreneurial woman with an eye for specific items she considered ancient treasures even curiosities. She tugged on the rope around Maddies neck and waited awhile before pursuing the vault dweller, wondering what troubles and what merchandise he'd find on his travels.
Walking through the desert made him miss the air conditioning of the vault; the hallways and any where outside the apartments had controlled temperatures that'd change with the month, trying its best to simulate the weather in a prewar time.
It was supposed to be fall, yet being outside felt like he had fallen in a furnace. The heat made his steps slower, his head dripping with sweat. What reached his suit cooled him off slightly, but even after a few minutes it dried up. Some of the creatures made it feel like walking through Hell.
Traveling past Megaton, he saw a pack of wild dogs; he wouldn't of known they were alive if he didn't see them prowling, their bones bulged from their mangy bodies, some of the flesh even peeling off.
Poet wondered if whatever gob had or is would be something similar to these dogs. They turned their direction towards him and stopped before suddenly flashing fangs.
Poet hastily pulled his ten millimeter out and aimed, their running made it difficult for him to get a clean shot so he began firing off at them. He took one down with a lucky two bullets while the other two seemed to shrug them off.
He tried to to put them down with the rest of his clip but only hit a few rocks and the dirt floor.
One jumped past him while the other sank its teeth into his wrist, the sharp pain driving him to yelp and drop his ammo box. It was like the dog was trying to pull his arm from him, it was excruciating and mortifying when he felt his skin tear further.
He turned to the other dog running towards him again. This time, without even thinking, he kicked the running dog away from him.
The one still gnawing at him felt his gun hit against its face, he continued to do so till it let go and ran back from him. The other dog was preparing for another attack, as did Poet; he put the clip Officer Gomez gave him in his emptied gun and aimed it at the feral hound.
This time, as it ran towards him once more, he fired another round into it. The bullet broke through its skull and shattered its head, the body fell and its blood pooled over.
He was shooken at the sight of so much blood, yet he kept his composure and let his eyes seek the other.
Licking its bloody muzzle, the dog walked around him. The two stared at each other while it seemed to circle him.
It stepped away from him, its eyes not leaving his till the bleeding man was out of sight. He cried out once the dog was gone, feeling his bloodied hand. The pain was pulsing with his racing heart. Poet put his gun away in order to grab his ammo box and seek somewhere to recoup.
He found himself a spot under what looked like one of those highway bridges, the shade only doing so much, injecting himself with a stimpak he escaped with, the bites that were made became swallowed up in reforming skin cells until it was nothing but a mark.
A sigh of relief escaped his lips. Thank god I got some of those stims from the vault. The
Snapping and grunting noises were running towards him, he could hear little feet thump the dirt floor. Poet stood up and spun around and saw a little mole like creature. He screamed and bashed the creatures face with his gun.
"Get-the-fuck-away-from-me!" He screached repeatedly. He hit the molerat a few times and yelled at it before it ran back off.
When it ran far enough from his eyesight, his frantic breathing stopped and let out a deep breath. A moment had settled him down and a chuckle emitted from him, which turned into a laugh. "That bastard didn't know what to think..." He didn't finish, he just laughed some more.
The trip was exhaustive to say the least, his steps haggard and his suit torn. He made it up a hill, every move upwards slower and more hesitant than the last. When the new wastelander finally got up that hill, he saw a building that still stood amidst the rubble and torn metal fences; it was tall, and caked in the worlds dirt, it sat unbroken by time and what destroyed the world.
There was a glint of hope on Poets face. His body became rejuvenated with excitement as he ran down to the store, racing to the front of it without a care in the world.
Bodies hung from the entrance, entrails dangling from their owners who moved with the wind. What they wore was soaked with crimson. They're blood was red like the dog it shot.
That hope, that excitement, it was torn away by dread.
His steps were just as quick as his feet ran back up the hill, running till he wasn't there anymore. That was the plan anyway, but he stopped when he caught that Ariel girl and her brahmin walking towards his direction.
She stopped when he did, the two staring at each other in surprise.
"W-well hey! Poet right?" Her smile formed awkwardly as she tried to talk casually. "Are you-"
"There's fucking bodies over there!" He exclaimed in hushed whispers, pointing to the direction he came from. "Hanging. We have to get out of here."
"What the fuck?" She yelled, he shook his head and told her to be quiet. She lowered her slightly shrill voice but still continued. "What are you doing running into some raiders? Dumb ass!"
"Like I was supposed to know?" He hissed.
"Yeah! You fuckin' were!" Their hissing match had an interruption thanks to a frag grenade landing over the hill.
The two looked at it before Ariel moved back, dragging her two headed cow from it. "Get away!" She shouted. He ran by her before it exploded, fragments scattered as well as chunks of dirt.
The two stood watching, Ariel unholstered her pistol. Some shouting was heard over the hillside, angry almost franticly. "Keep throwing them fuckin' things! we'll get them fucks to come out!" Ariels eyes met with Poets, she narrowed her gaze at him and shook her head. "You did it now."
"Did what? Try to get away and instead fought with YOUR stupid ass?" He yelled at her.
"At least I wasn't running all over the place shooting willy fucking nilly and screaming!" She screamed back at him.
"The fuck are you... Were you following me? You batshit crazy b-" another explosive was thrown and went off closer than the last one. Poet watched it before he turned from the scattering. He looked back at her and cried "Fuck!" He shook his head and moved from the tree. "Lets just get out of here."
"Those junkies are feeming. If they ain't got they're fix then they'll be too pissed to let us go." She laughed bitterly.
Another explosive was thrown, this time it bounced off the ground farther from them and went off.
"Christ what do you want to do? Have a shoot out?"
She wrapped Maddie's leather lead on a dead tree and stepped away from her. "Ain't gonna get my shit." She said before marching towards the hill. Shit, Poet thought.
She dropped to the edge and began firing off her gun, she took cover when automatic fire was returned. Poet crouched over when she fired back, but it was shorter this time when the other unloaded at her. She saw the vault dweller lay by her, which made her slap his head. "Get over the other side! We gotta flank them."
Didn't have to hit me, he thought as he crouch walked to the farther side of the hill. He looked over at the people below, saw two strangely dressed men aiming their guns at Ariels direction.
He could see they hadn't noticed him and took an opportunity he could grasp.
He unholstered his gun and aimed it at them, he tried steady his aim and focus on one of them. He hadn't shot to kill another human being before, bugs and animals were off the list of things he hadn't killed yet.
His finger was hesitant, until one of them looked over at him. If he didn't do anything now he knew he'd die.
He pulled the trigger, that mans head shot up as his blood splattered on the other. The man besides him yelled profanities in response before being shot down with him. Poet lowered his gun and stared at them for a while, then moved his eyes on blonde trades woman who looked over at them too. She ran down the hill and searched the bodies.
"What are you doing?" He walked towards her, seeing her pull items from their pockets and parts of their clothes.
"Getting some compensation. They don't need it anyway." Poet didn't necessarily agree but he didn't think it mattered with these men.
"Besides, an automatic rifle would sell for quite a bit. I knew it'd be a good idea to follow you!"
"Still creepy by the way." Poet responded.
She chuckled before grimly responding. "Could of been worse. Slavers could of followed ya."
Oh great, raiders and slavers? This world is really to hell. "Well gee wiz, I guess i should thank you then."
She grinned, patting down the bodies. "No need, I got thanks enough."
Poet nodded, moving past her to the front of the store. "Hey!" Ariel hissed. "The fuck you doin?"
He slowly turned back towards her and stepped back by the wall. "I came here because of a job i got up in megaton. I'm supposed to go in there and check it out."
"You piss your boss off or something? Sounds like a messy way to.fire someone." She smiled snarkily.
"Actually, its my first job from her."
"Well hey! Quit your job. Besides, you already know nothing but raiders are in there." She stood up with a bunch of items wrapped up in some fabric. "I wouldn't risk it, whatever your boss is paying you ain't worth it."
As she walked off, Poet considered what she said. But he knew why he was doing this. "I have to. I need the money in order to find my dad, this man in megaton won't tell me unless i have two-hundred caps."
She stopped and for a moment she seemed to ponder. She had a brief and charming smile appear on her face. "Tell her you checked the place out. Found out didn't ya?" She answered. "So lets head on back."
He didn't say anything, just walked away from the building and followed her. On the way back, he felt glad she followed him. Was even nice enough to tag along with him.
"So, you're looking for your dad huh?" She asked, maybe to kill a dull trip, maybe just curious.
He looked up at the darkening sky, seeing the sun make its way down to the edge of the horizon. His demeanor changed solemnly as he followed along with her. "Yeah. I am." He sighed.