After the Great War of 2077, the world has to crawl back from the brink. The thriving overpopulated planet becoming a husk of its former self. Few people, wildlife and the monsters (created by over zealous scientists) surviving. If you could see the world from space it would be reminiscent of a mangy dog with a slight rash with a growing population of fleas. Those that seemed to think they stood a higher chance of survival hid under the surface like a ticks buried head under the skin, or a ring worm tunneling through the dry cracked earth. The vaults hid them away, only few doing their job. When things calmed enough for people to attempt opening the door back to the world, most of the leftover population began rebuilding.
It seemed people were pretty tough. They thrived with what they were left with, made it through the war and began to cobble together communities. Good, bad, and strange. People found each other, found strengths in their common natures and began life anew. With the good you have common good-hearted, hard working people. Their whole existence became building homes with what they could, where they could. Attempting to grow food, dig for clean water that stayed relatively safe under the surface deep within, tame animals that spent to much time without humanity to provide comfort and love. And protect themselves the best they can. The bad realized they were given a chance to live free. Do as they wished, letting their lesser instincts take over. The opportunity to take and take, hurting those that only looked to survive. And the strange fell in line with those that, from an outside view, lost faith in something only to find it in something they perceived as greater. If the world could be allowed to end like it did perhaps what they believed so highly in wasn't really there after all. So they found new faith in the radiation, the glow, the power of it's devastation and its ability to rewrite people and things the way it does. The evidence of its existence everywhere. There were those that did still believe in an unseen higher power and nothing was going to falter their belief.
And then the fourth type of mankind. The Vault-Dwellers. Still locked away, some trapped, some stay because they were told to and took their jobs seriously, those that stayed out of fear of what awaits them of the outside world and those that didn't care to leave simply because they lost their minds a long time ago. They were content to stay in their metal hall maze, no routine just a semblance of living. A few of these vaults became tombs, and with the thought of a tomb came the idea of hidden treasure. The lure of an unknown wealth of any kind was more than enough to kick start adventure and greed. Sometimes it was as simple as what if it could be a safe place to start a colony of people? After the years went on, the words of these unexplored vaults ran rampant across the wasteland of the world. Along with the legends came the warnings but honestly no one ever believes the warnings. The vault your looking for has something of untouched value in it? But did you know there's a monster in it's basement? A friend of my cousin went after one of them vaults. Never came back. The more outrageous, the less the warnings steered people away. Then the less known, the more often people never returned.
Vault 108 was one of those vaults, although it was the haunted vault. This vault has a feeling of pure dread that people who attempt it's lure of a good scare rarely come back from or go into. The word around local settlements was there was a ghost. The ghost of a man looking for someone named Gary. The voice that people reported hearing was a male voice and he sounded like he was looking for this Gary to kill him. Stories began to become bedtime stories. Don't ever go near that vault Timmy, there's something evil still there. Children grow up and stop believing in ghost stories. The thought that someone could be hurt by something you can't see, like a ghost, was ridiculous. Those that believed they could handle what it has to offer were the ones never seen again. It was like watching a one way door, you could go in but nobody saw you come out. The smart ones always stayed away.
What no one knew was that it was no ghost that stayed within the vault, and no one was looking for Gary. Gary wasn't the cause of some angry dead man's wrath, in fact Gary was alive and well and still inside. He greets himself everyday, several times a day. Short cut dark brown hair, darkened blue eyes, pale porcelain skin and dirty blue jumpsuit. All vaults have the same style jumpsuit, thickened blue leather the kind of blue you would see from the sky that was in between midday and afternoon. A yellow strip running from the waist to the shoulders, encasing the zipper up the front following the collar to the shoulders stopping at the seam connecting the front to the back. These jumpsuits were one piece and standard vault wear throughout the vaults in the DC area. Footwear changed depending on the wearers work hours from the sturdy standard black work boots to the casual flat high top sneakers. Everything else in a vault was relaxed, you can be your own person, wear your hair the way you want, makeup, even your personality. Gary however liked his hair the way it was, wore no makeup and his personality remained consistent, with the tiny inconsistent that all new creations of him were psychotic and violent but overall normal. All fifty-four versions of him were, yeah, normal. Over the years the numbers have dwindled, being unlucky with an intruder or just simply wondering outside. But his look never changed.
And they didn't like those that weren't Gary.
The elevator was, what it was, an elevator, nothing more nothing less. It's only difference is the door has no buttons to call and open it and if you never saw it open, you would never know it was there. It blending entirely into the wall. It seemed the process was automatic, and random to say the least. Sometimes it was months before another clone emerged, sometimes it was years. Waiting and watching the door was something Gary just didn't do, however there were usually two nearby encase it wasn't Gary that came out. Weather it went up or down from the vault floor is unknown and it's never anyone but Gary that stepped out. It has been years since the elevator opened, so when it did it grabbed the attention of all of them. The door opening was announced with a ding and opened with a hushed hiss. Another Gary did in fact come out but he is very different. Not in the fact that he has the wrong hair color or eye color or that his skin tone is different but he's young. Very young. Large curious bright blue eyes, the kind of eyes that held wonder and childlike amusement, innocence. His hair wasn't any different although a touch lighter, newer, softer. Where Gary is an average height and weight for a man in his mid thirties, about five foot eleven inches tall, one hundred and ninety pounds. The newest Gary stood five foot flat and probably eighty five pounds soaking wet. All the things that came along with youth of an age of ten.
Being greeted by probably two men that looked the same and ten more coming to gawk was overwhelming and he began to tear up. The men just stood, staring, not looking to each other as most crowds would, oh no, because they all have the same expression, confusion mixed with the pull of a father mixed with the hatred of difference. When the tears began to fall they all collectively took a step back. There was no sound but that of a child sobbing in the throws of all out crying, then an echo from the hall. The sound was that of rummaging and they all collectively looked to the door. The youngest Gary rubbed his eyes and looked in the same direction, albeit slowly, in time to see them depart. He hasn't noticed they all have a weapon of some kind in their hands until they departed. Broken pieces of pipe, jagged at one end some having a bend at the other. Pocket knives, dented chipped blades. Besides being worn and used they all have one other detail in common dried blood. Some places so thick with dried blood it chipped off to reveal spots of clean weapon.
The boy stood in place one large hand braced against his chest to prevent him from following the others. He would look up to the man in question. This was the first time he heard it. "Gaaaarrrrryyyyyy?" the name eerily found it's way throughout the vault, every open room filling with the word. It caused his skin to prickle with goosebumps and the hair on his arms and neck to stand on end. Several of them said it at once making it even worse. When he heard screaming, he flinched stepping behind the Gary that stayed behind to guard him. The scream didn't sound anything like the others. Higher pitch, he wouldn't have a word for it until he's older but the scream is feminine. It became hysterical, and came closer, the closer it got the more fear he exuded. Gary grabbed him and drug him to a nearby room and tossed him inside switching the door to close then to lock with a loud hiss and seal like the sound of opening a fresh can of preserves. The boy didn't move from his position on the floor only to draw up into a ball and cover his ears. The louder the screams came the more pressure he put on the side of his head.
He hasn't realized when the screaming stopped, only he stayed in one position for so long his muscles ache. His eyes were puffy and red he didn't realize he fell asleep. He awoke to the same thing he came out of the elevator to. Several identical faces staring down at him. It seems they have no idea what to do. Usually an oddity of this caliber would be disposed of immediately but this. It would seem if they all have the same memories of being a boy and seeing him brought those memories out. Then again it also seemed as though they just have no idea what to do with him. When he began to move five of the six left. The one that stayed behind simply stare at him. It was unsettling, this is the first time he will feel judged like this. But it won't be the last. The Gary that stayed behind offered water to him and sat on the floor with him. It didn't feel so uneasy anymore, the room felt comfortable. That feeling would fade after a few years. Seven years in fact. It gradually vanished, along with the feeling of being that different, although his awareness grew just as he did.
Gary learned after so long how to tell the difference in them. Little differences in their clothing, a scar or two, where they are located, and their weapons. They have their weapon and would never let them go. It became easier to determine who was who with the weapon alone. Where one pipe would be more rusted than another or have green oxidation around the bended joint. Along with learning who was who, the need to steer clear of the violent Gary, which Gary's would ignore his existence and which one was the kind one. It was difficult at first, they were the same person mentally, all of them, but some seem to be more aggressive than the others. The hard lesson came when he tried to treat them all the same following, observing, learning but some of them seemed to hate him. Their need for semblance to strong, and they would lash out. Back hands, locking him in rooms to get away from him. The most violent of them punching him right in the nose. He would leave immediately, leaving the child sitting on his behind with blood pouring from his face.
Young Gary, spent a lot of time pondering, which the others did not care for. Rarely would they even sit during the hours they were awake, always moving, greeting each other over and over. He noticed two of them greet each other with a simple "Gary" about five times within an hour. Everyday they stalk the halls of this old vault whispering 'Gary' at the shadows. He poked around the vault instead of just wandering around aimlessly, found entries on boxes with screens that flashed words when poking at the tinier boxes with letters on them. He hoped the others never found the armory mentioned on them.
As he grew he gained a semblance of belonging. His appearance almost mirroring theirs. Even the hard ass Gary wasn't as hateful to him displaying the same attentiveness towards him as he gave the others. No more than greeting and moving on to greet the next four the same way. He still wasn't as old as the rest, perhaps a teenager. But then, in himself, he noticed the absence in them and wondered if he would become the same way at some point. They didn't age. No wrinkles, no grey hair, no breaking down of the body that comes with time. Hell even their hair never grew, where as he would have to hide and cut his own every so often. Shave his face to remove the bristle. It was as if they were constructed that way, to stay perfect. Or was it because their primary nutrition came from that of consuming other people. You are what you eat right?
It didn't seem to take long for one person to come in and then the next in a matter of days. Sometimes two or three would show up at the same time. And they would always most certainly end up the same way. Literal meat for the grinder. He never thought someone would ever be able to break that bubble of relative safety, until he heard loud yelling, gun shots, and the sound of one of them hollering "Gary!" in pain. He froze in place, in shock, staring at the door from the medical bay as if something horrible was going to tear the door down and rip his head off. As the sounds became louder he flinched and stood when they stopped on the other side of the door. He let his eyes slip to the door lock and attempted to move, only getting a fraction of movement out before the door opened. Half retreating into the ceiling the other into the floor the opened door revealed a stranger. Again he froze, staring wide eyed at the person standing there.
Short brown styled hair, dirty sweat coated skin, a slight tan shone through, sharp almond shaped green eyes that narrowed with ill intent in Gary's direction, the barrel of a .44 pointed center of his, Gary's, chest and… a vault suit. He has to take a second look at the strangers face to make certain it wasn't another Gary that completely lost his mind, his eyes completely missed the black leather jacket. He began to think his mind was tricking him. Failing to see such a large detail entirely. His attention fell back to the handgun and he stare at it intently. His heart felt as if it would climb out of his chest straight through his ribs and roll across the floor. His mouth suddenly dry and what he could work up to swallow felt like a bolder. The sound the ball of saliva made seemed as if it could be heard from the other end of the vault.
The person inched forward, his reaction to move the hell away. The movement came with a gasp and a tear fell from his eye. The expression of the stranger shifted to curious. One brow slightly quirked upward, his head tilted just a touch. He half grinned as though Gary was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. Then he spoke.
"One good reason." was all he said but the string of words caused Gary's mind to practically meltdown. When he received no response his rolled his eyes and released a loud and deep sigh. He took a moment to think and then holstered the pistol and crossed his arms. "Don't think I'm any less dangerous just because I don't have a gun out." he warned, Gary's attention going away from the gun to the strangers face. His focus was now on the foreign mouth forming words he'd never heard. "You seem rather fascinated by what I have to say." he closed the distance slowly with each word noticing the quiet attention from the clone, the smirk never leaving his face. "I take it you've never heard other words before? That's alright, I'll talk as much as you want."
He was inches away before Gary realized it, fear immediately etched across his face and he backed away tripping over the leg of a chair, a high pitched scared "Gary!" erupted from him and before hitting the table the stranger caught him by the back of the arms. No one has ever been this close to him, not even the clones, his face burned red, he could feel the breath from the other and he pushed away not knowing what to do.
"Easy!" he said letting go to watch Gary retreat to the other side of the table like a cornered bird. "I'm not going to hurt you." it seemed Gary could understand because he relaxed only slightly at the statement. "I was mostly curious about the vault. The stories I've heard." he tried his best to speak easily and it was working. He held his hands up in surrender "I promise I'm not going to hurt you." he repeated to re-enforce the statement.
Gary turned his head down slightly, looking around then his eyes looked back. He was judging his own actions and what to do. He has no idea who this guy is, what he really wants. Perhaps he attacked the others because they attacked him first. They were rather unhinged and the only reason the stranger didn't attack him was only because Gary didn't engage him in a threatening manner. The silence was heavy. No more echos of "Garrrryyyy" could be heard, Gary could only assume they were dead. He didn't know what to do with himself. He drew in a deep breath and turned his full attention to the stranger. "Gary?" he asked. because, yeah, that would clear everything up and ask all the questions. Good job.
"You have no idea do you? The stories people tell about this place." he watched Gary, taking ques from his expressions to keep talking. "Ghost stories, stories about treasure, monsters. The number of people that came here and were never seen again." he used the opportunity to sneak closer again. It was working, Gary was completely enamored by him speaking. "You don't hear very many people talking do you?" he was now close enough to touch him without effort. Gary however stare straight at his mouth, licking his lips and concentration so hard on trying to mimic the mouth movements. "You know there's not much left here now, if you come with me I'll talk as much as you want."
Gary only has to glance up to look into the eyes of the intruder. He glanced from eye to eye searching for the answers to every question he's ever has. The lure in those green eyes was strong, stay here alone or go with him and hear, see, experience more. Again "Gary?" a quick, almost, surprised question. Was he serious? Was this guy real? He would actually talk to Gary and as much as Gary wants? It has to be to good to be true but what if it's not? What if he is serious? So many damn questions, no way to ask them. He didn't realize how much expression he has because the stranger nods. "I'm serious." he says as though reading the others mind. Gary bit the edge of his lower lip and continued to debate. His gut churning and his head clouded. Taking a breath he nods. The intruder smiles, it's almost a sneaky smile although Gary doesn't know that.
"Okay then." he says triumphantly and turns to walk away, leaving Gary stunned. He looks to the table top Gary almost fell onto and picked up a Vault-Tec toy that has tipped over when the table jarred. It was a bobble-head of sorts, the figure, the little blond cartoon man, you saw this character on almost every wall of a vault if you ever visited one. He was more often seen with a inviting smile and giving a thumbs up, with some inspirational message to go along with it. It also wore the signature vault jumpsuit large 101 numbers in white on his back. Gary almost felt hurt until the stranger spoke again. "I'm Blake, by the way." he wiggles the toy making it's head bounce around, "Lets get out of here yeah?" he said turning away again to leave.
Gary hesitated for only a moment before his feet uprooted and began to follow him. Blake, so he has a name. It was different than Gary and it made him smile a little. That smile fading when they came to the first body. He paused, his eyes glued to the open eyed stare of a Gary. the frozen expression of pain on his face. It was almost like looking into a mirror. His breath shuttered in his chest. Blake took noticed and backtracked a few steps to stand near them. Looking at the body and then to the one still alive. He looked around, biting the inside of his cheek, sighed and wrapped an arm around Gary's shoulders and placed his hand over the clones eyes leading him away. He could feel the tears that fell, his hand becoming warm and wet, he held onto him all the way to the entrance before he let go. Once he released Gary he stepped to the console and fiddled with the controls. Once he was satisfied he walked out of the vault, crossing the metal threshold into the dirt tunnel, Gary followed like a puppy watching Blake's every move, the next move being to close the vault. That door hasn't shut in seven years, and who knows how many before and here it was closing.
The light from the sun hurt immensely. The pain made him want to gouge out his own eyes just to be free of it. He covered his eyes, rubbing them with fierce pressure. "Oh, I forgot about that." Blake said patting him on the shoulder. "Here these might help a little." Gary felt Blake placing something on his face, the feeling of thin light bars sliding against the sides of his face and over his ears. "There, just open your eyes slowly and try not to look up at the sun. It's not good for anyone to do that." Gary took the advice, opening his eyes just slightly at first. The world has a dark film over it, the light blocked just enough to ease the sharpness. He took the opportunity to look around at the barren landscape. It was just as dead as the clones he was leaving behind. He has always wondered what the outside would look like but he didn't expect this, honestly, he didn't know what to expect but what was presented before him was not it.
"Great isn't it?" the question brought up the question of what was so great about it. "Go where ever you want, do whatever you want. Hell we can kill whatever we want if we want to." He grinned widely and opened his arms wide like a mad man revealing his plot to the hero before trying to kill him. "The question is Gary, What do you want to do? Where do you want to go?" he smiled pointing at the younger boy. The smile was evil plain and simple, Gary however, didn't know that yet. Could only feel it in his gut that something was wrong but what that was he has no clue.
They traveled for a few days non-stop, Blake actually keeping his promise of talking. And talking he did. From everything about how much fun they were going to have together, to where they could sleep. Explained how things worked and promised to show him how to use a gun. That might be worth it. When their journey ended the sun has set, light faded giving way to the moon. The gates of a large oval shaped, high metal walled, settlement were what they came to. Blake also spoke of this place, Megaton. How it was okay, boring but the people were good-ish. The robot outside caught his attention and he simply stare at it. Blake waited with amusement, wondering how someone could have lived in one of those rat mazes for so long and not go mad. Having spent nineteen years of his own life in one but hell it was a hell of a lot nicer than that shit hole Gary was in. Gary himself was a mystery, that he would fill in the blanks as slowly as he could.
Once inside, Gary could see all the things Blake described. The crater lined with cobbled together homes and the disarmed nuclear bomb nestled in the center sitting in a puddle. Blake told him the water was highly radioactive but besides that it just looked disgusting. No doubt there was plenty of human and animal waste in it, that was probably all the water was made of anymore. His thoughts went from the bomb to the Brhamin, to the people, to the buildings. So much to see, he thought he would never be able to see it all. Blake nudged him with his elbow. "Lets go. There's more things to see and even more to do."
Gary responded with a smile, a nod and "Gary" the word was pleasant and happy. Excited would be an understatement. His smile almost went from ear to ear, his eyes were wide. "Garry?" he wondered what Blake has in mind. Blake however seemed to have an innate ability right out the gate to understand what all the variations of 'Gary' were, because he just grinned the sneakiest grin and pointed across the crater to a building that has a large sign above it. The sign was scrapped boards and metal, painted words spelling out 'Moriarty's bar' but the name 'Moriarty's' was X'ed out in red and the name 'Gob's' replaced it. More letters, more words, what was a Gob anyway or a bar for that matter. He shrugged and just kept smiling.
"One stop first, wait here I'll only be a moment." he stated walking through a door closing it behind him. True to his word he was only inside for a moment returning with less gear than he previously has. Gary guessed this was where Blake called home, unless he just threw his things in some random place. From what Blake said that sounded as if that would be true too.
There was a lot to learn, perhaps even how to speak now that he's able to hear how other words are spoken. He once wondered how he even knew how to read without knowing how to speak. He thought he'd lose his mind if he kept pondering these things, so he let it go. Then Blake showed up, he was able to understand the meaning in what he was saying instead of him sounding alien. Unfortunately for Gary, he didn't know a thing about how people work. The human mind was complex and in the two hundred years after the war, twisted. People learned how much they could get done through manipulation of peoples thoughts. Why do something yourself when you can use your words to incite fear, intimidate and manipulate someone else into doing it for you. You need information? How much do you have? These were all things Gary knew nothing about.
"Okay, ready?" Blake asked after another moment, letting Gary gaze about. Gary also didn't notice that each time he stopped to gawk at something, Blake was studying him carefully. Blake was smart, tough and perceptive. He realized when he ran out of his vault, there was no one out to help anyone else. Even simply trying to get help in finding his father, no one has heart but they did seem to have deep and empty pockets for him to fill. Everyone was in this life for themselves, what can they get out of you by acting one way or another. The shit stacked high in the wasteland. His own pile was higher than others. Blake also has this need to learn, anything, everything, as much as he could. He studied people, places, the habits of the animals in the wastes. In that way he learned how to manipulate people. With a silver tongue he could sell heaters in hell, ice to a penguin and at higher prices. He was able to out-maneuver whatever threat he encountered and take a hit like a steel wall. The black leather jacket on his back was well earned. "Lets get going." he finally said snapping Gary to attention and nodding.
The inside of the bar was packed with people, Gary wondered why there were so few people outside. What was so interesting about this place? It was decent sized, but the smell, it could knock you off your feet. Stale cigarettes, vomit, body-oder, it was enough to take his breath, as if his body was trying to make the decision not to breath for him. He has to halt a moment to adjust to it, his eyes burned as did his lungs. Blake pulled him along, pushing past people earning a few annoyed "Watch it!" remarks. Blake stopped and pulled Gary up to the bar top, Gary didn't know what he was looking at but he couldn't stop looking. The man there was, he didn't know how to describe him. He looked severely burned, his nose was missing and his eyes were so clouded he wondered how he was seeing anything at all. Even through all the noise he could hear Blake and the man talking. So this was Gob, at one point they both turned to look at him and he glanced back-n-forth between the two. Gob flashed him a smile that made Gary want to crawl out of his skin. He side-stepped behind Blake, Gob leaned onto the counter top and grinned at Blake.
"You don't have to be so jumpy smoothskin, I ain't a biter." he laughed, his voice rough like gravel under a boot. "Jeeze, you really did drag him out from under a rock." he laughed, after knowing Blake and then Moriarty's seemingly sudden demise, he gained a little confidence. Being the one in charge, he didn't have to take shit from anyone anymore. He stood back up and placed two short glasses and two bottles of whiskey on the top.
Blake began to take them and laughed. "When do you know me to not find something from under a rock?" in a swift motion without skipping a beat he hooked his arm around Gary's and pulled him to a small room that jutted to the right of the front of the bar. Gary immediately noticed the lack of people in this room, as if it has an invisible barrier keeping people out. It has a small table with two chairs across from one another next to it and a plush but disgusting red chair in one corner. The table, however, was actually clean. Blake approached the table and swung them, placing Gary next to the chair that has it's back to the door. When Gary looked at him in question "I like to be able to see the main room." He gave a reassuring smile and sat, the motion causing Gary to do the same.
As he sat he glanced around the room studying everything, nothing to interesting so his eyes moved ever everything about twelve times. He heard the clink of the bottle against the rim of the glass, once then twice and looked back to Blake and the table. Watched one glass be slid towards him by the tips of Blake's fingers then to his eyes just to see them staring right through him, that slight smirk pulling at the corner of the older boys mouth. For the first time he noticed being looked at and for the first time he felt self-conscious. He wanted to withdraw into himself and looked down never have felt judged before.
It wasn't until Blake cleared his throat did Gary look back up at attention, slightly startled by the noise. Blake wasn't smiling anymore, instead he looked sour, irritated. He leaned forward, one elbow on the table, glass in raised hand. "Don't make me drink alone, Gary."
He began to panic, spilling a bit from his glass as he scrambled to pick it up. He was snapped out of his frantic scurry by a snort followed by a sharp laugh that filled the small room. His eyes shot up to see Blake laughing using his forearm to cover his mouth, eyes shut tightly a tear slipping down the side of his cheek. "Jeeze Gary, I'm sorry." he gasped for breath "I did not expect you to freak like that." he whipped the tear away "Just take a sip and tell me what you think."
Hesitantly he did as told and the regret didn't hit him until the drink hit his gut. "Garry?" what the hell is this stuff? Why does it burn so much was what he was thinking and it showed all over his face through the grimace. Lips pulled into a frown teeth showing, eye shut tightly for a moment then looked back to Blake who was once again smiling at him. He shook his head trying to get the joint in his neck to unlock and keep from pulling it off to the right.
Blake snickers at the display, taking a large swig of his drink followed by the pull of air through his clinched teeth. He made it look easy. "Try again" he nodded to the glass setting his aside crossing his arms over the table top to watch him.
Gary looked at him with fear. Have mercy "Gary" he whispered out. Blake bit the inside of his cheek and nudged the glass slightly. Gary took a deep breath, picking up the glass once more. He hesitated but looked into Blake's eyes and threw it back all at once.
Blake's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped almost seeming scared. "Gary! What the hell? That was way to much at once man." He stood momentarily a hand close to reaching out.
Gary coughed and weezed banging his fist on the table before finding sense of calm. He still coughed but it was slowing up, he shifted in his chair when he looked at Blake with a wave of his hand, nodding to say he was okay.
Blake sat back into his chair and rubbed his face "I guess that's one way to do it." he shook his head. He rolled his eyes and finished his off not one ot being outdone by a novice. They sat in silence as he refilled their glasses. "Just drink it slowly this time." he raised his glass in a mock toast the sip being rather small. He set the glass on the table top softly and looked at Gary with his head slanted. "Is 'Gary' the only thing you can say?" he asks out of the blue, receiving a shy look and a nod. "Have you ever tried to say…" before he could even finish asking his question Gary saddened and looked away. Blake instinctively chewed the inside of his cheek. "Do you even like the name?"
Gary looked back to him in slight surprise. "Gary?" he asked and shrugged. He didn't even know any other names besides Blake and Gob, if that was even a name. He has only been outside his vault long enough to get to Megaton and inside a bar.
"Well that's other names other than 'Gary' like Fred?" Gary squinted trying to figure out what Blake was getting at. He began throwing out names each one eliciting a strange look and a few, a snicker. After lifting the clones spirit a bit he gave a genuine smile too. "Hey," he took another drink "Say it all creepy like, like in the vault."
It took Gary only a moment to realize what the was asking through his hazy thoughts and vision. He almost wanted to die of embarrassment. Never before has he joined in wailing the simple word throughout the vault he almost didn't want to. At least until he saw the expectant look on Blake's face so he indulged him, "Gaaaarrrrryyyy" his voice was not nearly as matured as the others but it was pretty damn close and he gave himself goosebumps. But the wail of laughter he got from Blake was worth it.