17
Vincent watched as Patience tumbled into the building. He didn't like splitting up the group. Not least, because if he lost the vault dweller, he wouldn't be able to access the information he needed from the Vault-Tec HQ computers. Without that information, the whole enterprise, going undercover, having to work for that son of a bitch, Moriarty, everything would be for nothing.
It was lucky that he found himself paired with the old scavenger. He felt certain the young girl, Gia, would still be making a fuss, even now, that Patience had to take the detour through that building. Valrie, at least, remained calm. He didn't like it, no, but the alternative could be far worse.
"So, what now, 'Brother' Vacant?" Valrie stayed hunkered down against the door they had closed after Patience and Gia had made it to the building.
"I don't know." Staying low, he glanced outside.
The two Super Mutants seemed to be wandering around with no clear destination in mind. Walking from one side of the open area to the other. He had allowed himself to become distracted by the drama of Gia almost panicking and giving them all away. He knew it was a mistake to allow the raider to join them. Whether she followed them, or not, she was a liability, but the vault dweller couldn't help herself.
That helpful nature of hers was going to get someone killed before too long. The Capital Wasteland didn't suffer good people well. Good people often found themselves dead, while the bad ones thrived. Like him.
He knew he wasn't a good person. Even found as a child and indoctrinated in the ideals of Elder Lyons' brave new way never stopped him from being a bad person. He always retained that anger bred from seeing his parents killed and from learning to survive in a wasteland that wanted him dead. He wasn't unique in that respect. The Wasteland wanted everything dead. The Wasteland epitomised death. Joining the Brotherhood of Steel never changed that.
But the Brotherhood gave him purpose and an outlet for his anger. At first fighting raiders, then fighting a losing, ongoing war with the Super Mutants and then being part of the historic destruction of the Enclave. He never did it for the same reasons his fellow Knights did. He did it for the rush of it. For the way it made him forget, for scant moments, how much he hated the world and everything, and everyone, in it. It gave him a release.
And after the Enclave? Nothing. Nothing sated his anger the same way. He needed a new release valve and the chance of going undercover, doing the dirty work that most of the Brotherhood balked at, was that valve. He volunteered. He found a way into Moriarty's confidence. He did what he had to do to complete the mission. No matter what that entailed. And he enjoyed it.
Then this woman came along. Righteous, indignant, uncompromising, intelligent, taking on Moriarty at his own game and stopping him dead. Formidable. She was like a force of nature. A wind of change blowing through a half-closed door to the past. She had all the qualities, and more, that the Brotherhood prized. And, if he was honest with himself, the qualities he wished he had.
"We can't just sit here, Vacant!" Valrie fished out a pack of cigarettes from that ridiculous coat, thought better of it and stuffed the pack away again. "We have to do something. Fucking anything!"
"I'm thinking." He flipped to looking out of the other side of the booth. The radiation crater and the alleyway beyond were so close, he felt he could reach out and touch them.
"First time for everything." Valrie stretched out her leg, rubbing her knee.
"Really? Now? You want to push my buttons right now?" There goes that anger again. "You know you're protector isn't here to save you from that big mouth of yours getting you killed? You know that, right?"
"Like she wouldn't chase you to the ends of the fucking Earth if you did." She sat there, looking at him with that smug half-smile and he wanted to strangle her. "I'm just fucking with you, anyway. Get a sense of fucking humour, why don't you."
If Valrie's big mouth was going to get her killed, his anger was going to end up doing the same for him. He knew it. It was something he had known for years and tried hard to get past. His instructors at the Brotherhood knew it, spending hours trying to get him to focus that anger, to make it useful. No-one, especially himself, had managed to make it work.
He could fake being calm. Fake being stoic and unflappable, but, at all times, underneath whatever façade he projected, that white hot fury bubbled away in his gut, threatening to destroy everything he had built for himself. Everything that had dragged him far away from that hovel of a home and the bullet riddled corpses of his parents. They're empty eyes staring at him. Accusing him.
"Gimme those binoculars." He'd returned to the side where the Super Mutants were patrolling. "Something's happening."
Without argument, Valrie slapped the binoculars into his outstretched hand. Another Super Mutant had entered the area, bigger than the rest. Its skin a dark green, instead of the vomit yellow of the others, carrying what looked like a sword, almost as tall as it was. Flanked by two other Super Mutants, both carrying mini guns, ammo backpacks strapped to their backs.
The bigger Super Mutant shouted at the two on the ground, raised its sword to point to the one above and indicated it should come down from the overhead walkway bridge. Valrie had, by this time, sneaked her head above the edge of the window to have a look herself.
"Hey. Give me those a second." She grabbed the binoculars and took in the scene outside. "Mother fucker. I know that guy. The big green one. Greener one. That's the fucker who almost had me and Patience then walked away. They call it the 'King'."
She passed the binoculars back to him and he watched the exchange of words between the Super Mutant 'King' and its subordinates. At one point, the King reached out, grabbing one of the Super Mutants by the throat and lifting it, with ease, into the air. The King held the creature, its legs kicking ineffectually, for a few seconds before dropping it. Then the King waved his sword at all the Super Mutants present, started walking away and the others followed, clearing the open area.
"What the hell is that thing?" Vincent had never seen a Super Mutant cowed like that. Not even by another Super Mutant.
"I don't know. Some kind of fucking Super-Super Mutant?" Valrie slipped back to the floor. "The worst thing is, it talks. Like a fucking human! None of this 'Grrrr Aarrrgh Stupid Humans!'. It talks!"
"And it just walked away from you and Patience?" The Super Mutants were almost out of sight, so he slid down, sitting next to Valrie, handing her back the binoculars.
"More Patience than me. Took one sniff and that was it." Valrie shrugged.
"Well, whatever it is, it's taken them all with it. We're clear." Lifting his rifle back to his shoulder, Vincent moved to the door of the booth and opened it.
Now all they had to do was rendezvous with Patience and Gia. If they'd survived moving through that building.
As soon as she found her feet, Patience started scanning the area. The building was a wreck. Walls toppled in, floors and roofs fallen, desks and filing cabinets tossed, bent and broken. Computer terminals with screens cracked or shattered littered the area. Yet, with everything wrong with the building, there didn't appear to be any enemies to deal with. She continued taking in the environment a little longer, to be certain.
Satisfied, for now, she lowered her rifle and turned to her companion. Gia's well-being was important, for certain, but knowing they were safe had to take precedence over checking the young ex-raider. The girl, leaning heavy upon the cracked and crumbling wall beneath the window hole, looked better. Her breathing returning to normal, the twitching of her eyes, looking anywhere for escape, had reduced.
"Are you alright?" Patience checked the girl's arms and legs, brushed her hair back, checking her eyes and then felt her pulse. Fast, but strong. "That was a little close, wasn't it?"
"You called me 'Sweetie'." Gia's chest rose and fell as her breathing deepened and slowed.
"I did." Patience crouched, her rifle on her thighs, smiling at Gia, showing warmth to the girl. "Because you are sweet. And brave. You did well."
"I hate Super Mutants! They ..." Gia dropped her head letting her hair cover her face. "They took everyone. Back before I joined the gangs. They took everyone, but I hid. I just hid."
"Hiding is good." She dropped beside the girl, sitting, back against the wall. It was clear Gia needed a little time. "I'd have hidden too. Those Super Mutants are really big."
"But, you didn't. You killed some. Three Dog said so." Gia reached over, grasping Patience's hand, locking their fingers together. "You killed them and I hid and now, just then, I ..."
"I had help." She lied. Gia needed comforting, not Patience's foolishness thrown in her face. "And I was terrified. I was so scared, my hands shook for ages afterwards. And I nearly died. If it hadn't been for Vincent and Valrie, I'd be just another Wastelander killed by those things."
"You were scared?" Gia raised her head a little.
"Oh, god, yeah!" She leaned her head back against the wall. "So scared! You wouldn't believe! And I was just as scared out there, too. I'm still scared now."
"You don't look it." Moving slightly, Gia rested her head on Patience's shoulder.
"Sometimes, not looking scared is the bravest thing anyone can do. It helps other people that are scared to see someone who doesn't look scared, even though inside they might be as terrified as everyone else." Patience reached her other hand over, brushing Gia's cheek and then kissed the top of her head. "Come on. Let's pretend we're brave together and get out of this building."
Gia looked up into Patience's eyes and forced a smile. Then she released Patience's hand and began to stand. Patience looked out of the window hole but couldn't see anything. The window was out of sight of the overhead walkway bridge. The Super Mutant up there couldn't see her, but she couldn't see it, either, and where the other two Super Mutants were was concealed by vehicles and rubble.
She turned to look at the building they were in. Her first look was for security, to make sure they were safe. This look was to find a way through and out the other side. She could see a window on the other side, but getting there would be treacherous. She couldn't see any direct routes, the various holes in the floor and ceilings could provide a path, but it was going to be difficult.
Heading to the first obstacle, she aimed her rifle down into the darkness of the basement. She couldn't see anything, but, after the Metro tunnels, she knew ghouls liked the dark places. The last thing she needed was to fend off another ghoul attack, especially without Vincent to help. Satisfied, she continued to a section of the ceiling that would lead up to the next part of their journey through the wrecked building.
Finding an upturned desk, she pulled it across, underneath the hole. With a little effort, she set it back on four legs, pushing her weight against the top to test it could hold them both. Helping Gia up onto the desktop, she swung her rifle behind her back, climbing up beside her. Even with the desk, Gia wouldn't reach the edge of the gap. She knelt on one knee.
"Climb up. You should reach from my shoulder." Gia did as Patience told her. That was good. The girl was starting to learn.
Holding on to the edge, Gia pulled herself upwards, lifting a leg and swinging it up and onto the side, dragging herself up and to safety. She spun around on her belly, holding both her hands down into the gap for Patience.
"Grab my hands." Gia chanced a glance at her surroundings.
"No, it's okay. Move back." Gia furrowed her brow, but shuffled back, away from the edge of the gap.
Patience didn't know how she knew, but she felt certain she could jump up to the ceiling gap. Bracing herself, she launched upwards, catching the edge of the gap with ease and pulling herself up with little effort. As soon as she made it over the edge, her rifle found its way into her hands once again. She felt like a machine. As if everything she did, everything she could do, was hardwired into her mind.
The next section looked like it would be easier. All they had to do was navigate across the building, passing over small gaps to little island-like sections of the floor congregating around the foundational pillars of the building.
Patience led the way, crouch walking, setting her boots on each spot with care, placing only a small amount of weight there until she felt sure it could hold them. Every time she reached a new, stable spot, she would turn and urge Gia to follow, watching the girl close, ensuring she copied her movements exactly.
Gia did well. Not moving too fast, not moving too slow. Taking time to move across the sections of uncollapsed floor. They didn't have too far to go, now. Only two more 'islands' and then a small drop to the floor below to reach the window and they could leave and make it to solid ground. Gia, growing in confidence, smiled as she crossed another gap.
The cracking sound reverberated through the building setting Patience on higher alert. Gia's smile dropped as she looked down at her feet. Her eyes raised towards Patience. A hand reached.
And then floor collapsed, sending Gia falling.
Her reaction came without any hesitation. Diving forward, sliding on the rubble strewn floor, hand outstretched. She missed.
The slide arrested too early. Gia had already disappeared beyond the line of the remaining floor and Patience's clutching, stretching hand would never have caught the girl anyway. She slapped the floor and howled a noise almost inhuman. Still laid on her stomach, she edged forward, creeping towards the ragged edge of the hole, hoping, praying, that Gia hadn't fallen too far.
The floor still creaked, but didn't move as she reached the edge, taking a cautious look below. She could see Gia, sprawled, unmoving on the floor below, one leg dangling over a hole leading down into the darkness of the basement.
"Gia?" She could hear the slight crack in her own voice, mingling with the sound of dust and debris falling around her young friend. Her young friend that still showed no sign of life. "Gia, if you can hear me, don't move. Just stay still, okay? I'm coming down. Just don't try to move."
She looked around and below. She couldn't drop down from here, the tiny space where Gia laid seemed far too small to land upon and not hit the girl. The section of floor Patience laid on didn't feel safe, either. At first it didn't move, but now she felt an almost imperceptible shift and heard another painful creak.
There, to the right, she could see both a part of the floor closer to a support beam and, below that, a section of the lower floor with enough space to drop to. With one last look down towards Gia, Patience began the slow, careful crawl towards the concrete pillar. She had to choose between taking her time to be safe and moving fast enough to get to Gia as soon as possible.
Reaching the pillar, she dripped her legs over the edge, slipped down, gripped the edge of the hole with her fingers and then dropped, falling to a crouch to lessen the adding of her weight to the floor. It held. Now she had to reach Gia. She moved slow, crouching, testing each step before putting her weight down. Getting closer and closer, dust continuing to fall around her.
Upon reaching Gia, she found the girl's eyes wide open, staring upwards. Patience feared the worst until the girl's eyes flickered towards her, catching her movements in the periphery. Patience almost cried, reaching out slowly, grabbing Gia's arm and pulling her back towards herself, away from the edge of the hole to the basement.
"Patience!" Gia wrapped her arms around Patience's neck and hugged her tight, burying her head in Patience's shoulder. "I did what you said. I didn't move. I thought I was going to keep falling."
"You're alright now. I've got you." She backed them both away from the hole, reaching a still-standing section of wall. Feeling more comfortable and safe, Patience began checking Gia, testing for broken bones, cuts, blood. Apart from a large bump on the back of her head, she seemed otherwise fine. "How do you feel?"
"My head feels cloudy and I feel tired. Like I could fall asleep." Patience looked into Gia's eyes.
"You might have a concussion." She couldn't really see that well, too much shadow and not enough light reaching them. "Do not go to sleep! No matter what, you stay awake. You hear me?"
"Okay." Gia rolled her eyes and then looked back towards the edge of the hole to the basement. "I think there's something down there. As I was falling, I kind of spun around. I think I saw something."
Patience knew better than to dismiss anything. In her short time in the Capital Wasteland, she had learned that horrible things could come from anywhere. Especially the dark places. Hushing Gia with a finger to her lips, Patience swung her rifle to the front and crouch walked to the hole. Looking down, she couldn't see anything beyond vague shadows. The light from outside making little impression on the building's basement.
She had an idea. Lifting her arm, she switched on her Pip-Boy and selected the 'VATS' option. Once she did, the words 'VATS Activated' blinked on the screen. She pointed her arm down into the hole and a red beam of light shot out, moving so fast it seemed to make a continuous red line, moving up and down the area, then across from left to right. When the light blinked out, she looked at the screen.
"Human, one, deceased and 'Unknown', seven, deceased?" She frowned at the screen, then remembered something she had seen in passing. A flashlight option.
Setting the Pip-Boy to 'flashlight' mode, a beam of bright, white light shot out from the same place the thin red beam had appeared from, illuminating the whole area below. She gasped at the first thing she saw. A set of Brotherhood of Steel power armour, the rear opened up like the petals of a black, metal flower, a mini-gun and large ammo pack beside it.
Surrounding the power armour, she could see eight bodies. Seven ghouls and one human. The ghouls looked cut to pieces, bullet holes in them and several with body parts ripped off. The human, still in grey underwear, lay clutching at her throat, her leg bent at an odd angle. The woman looked emaciated, as if she hadn't eaten for a long time before she died.
Patience couldn't understand. It looked like the woman had starved down there. She felt certain that the heavy power armour would find it difficult climbing out of the hole, and the twisted leg of the the Brotherhood member showed that she either tried climbing out and failed, breaking her leg, or her leg had broken while fighting the ghouls.
Yet, Patience had heard the Brotherhood Knights communicating by radio. Why didn't this Knight use hers? She had an idea. She switched the Pip-Boy radio on. The signal crackled and hissed, but she could still hear the music. Reaching her left hand down into the basement, the signal disappeared.
Kneeling down, she trained the flashlight on the edge of the hole and saw the brittle concrete sandwiching a thick piece of metal. Lead, she surmised. The basement was, in all likelihood, meant to for use as a fallout shelter for the building. The Brotherhood Knight had fallen in, fighting the ghouls, couldn't climb out and couldn't radio out either, eventually starving. What a horrible way to die, she thought.
"Come on. Let's get out of here." Patience returned to Gia and began looking for a way over to the window and their escape from the crumbling building.
"What was down there? Ghouls? They're horrible are ghouls!" Gia almost began to move over to the hole, her flighty nature returning sooner than Patience expected. Patience held her arm before Gia got far.
"Yep. Ghouls. Dead ghouls and a dead human." She spotted a path to the right that would not take much navigating. A couple of wide jumps, but nothing more. "A Brotherhood of Steel Knight. I'll tell Vincent about her and he can get his friends to recover her body and armour. Meanwhile, we're leaving. Or do you want to fall down another hole, Alice?"
"I'm Gia, not 'Alice'. Gia!" Gia pointed to herself, saying her name slow as if explaining to a child. "Did you hit your head as well?"
"It's from a book. Alice falling down the rabbit hole." Gia looked blank at that. "From 'Alice In Wonderland'? You never read that book?"
"What's a 'book'?" Gia wasn't joking, either. The non-plussed look she gave Patience was genuine.
"Never mind. I'll show you one day." Patience pointed in the direction of the window out. "Right now, we're getting out of here."
Patience wished they could have used this route before, remaining on one level, but they had to pass a huge gap in the floor to get to this point and the only way to do that was the way they had used. They reached the exit window much faster than they had moved before and, after making a good examination outside, Patience boosted Gia through the window and soon followed her outside.