KP:
FALLOUT
2: Shady Sands
One Week Later.
Ron knew conditions out in the wasteland weren't going to be like anything he knew inside the vault, but he didn't know they would be anything like this. The heat that bore down on top of him was almost unbearable. Hell, it was unbearable. He had to remove his shirt several times and used it as a turban to keep his head cool. The only time he felt comfortable was when the sun set and the night rolled in. It was almost freezing in the night, but it was better than the blistering sun he had to endure on his journey. He had been traveling for days, and hoped he was still on the right path.
It had been a week since Ron had started on his journey and decided to sit and rest against a large rock he had found along his journey. He was so soaked with sweat that he could feel his shirt sticking to his skin, and he could swear his hair was soaking wet. As he leaned against the rock, he glanced at his surroundings. He spotted a small cactus, and decided it was better than nothing. He removed his knife, carefully placed his hand on the cactus so he would stick himself, and cut a section of it off.
Ron quickly brought the severed plant over his mouth and squeezed the liquid into his mouth. He knew certain types of cactus could cause hallucinations, but he didn't care at that moment. He couldn't stand rationing the canteen of water he had been given at Vault 13, it just wasn't enough. As he enjoyed the feeling of the liquid sliding down his throat and into his stomach, he began dreaming of the days when he would sit in the mess hall and eat all of his favorite foods. Pot Roast, Potatoes, pies, and the recipes he had discovered from one of his older neighbors. Recipes for such wonderful food that was known as Tex-Mex. Oh, it was heaven of Earth that you could put in your mouth.
He was so enthralled into his dreams that he didn't even open his eyes until his head fell backwards and hit the rock he had been leaning against. As he hissed from the pain and rubbed his soar spot as he shot up straight and opened his eyes. He was surprised that he had been dreaming for so long, that he was now watching the sun set. This was one sight he could never get tired of, no matter how harsh this world was. The blending of colors as the sun went to rest was so beautiful that words couldn't describe it. When he returned to the Vault, this was one sight he would miss the most.
As he watched the sun set, he glanced to his side when he heard something. He didn't recognize it at first, but he could almost swear that it was some kind of scratching. He glanced behind himself, but couldn't see anything. That was strange. He was turning his attention back to the sunset, when he heard it again. Ron spun around, but his eyes were able to catch something. It was a glimpse, but he saw something large duck behind one of the larger rocks. Ron quickly stood, and drew the gun from his holster. He was really wishing the guns they had in the Vault weren't simulated ones.
Ron's breathing was shaky as he looked, and waited. He didn't know what it was but it couldn't be good. Ron tried to calm himself and steady his hand as he waited. The light was fading fast, and knew he wouldn't be able to see once the sun was down.
"I know you're there, so come on out!" Ron called out to whatever was hiding from him.
What Ron made him wonder if the heat of the sun had finally gotten to him. He knew what he was seeing, but at the same time it shouldn't be. It was a giant insect. Not just any insect, but a scorpion the size of a Saint Bernard. He could make out several black orbs in its head that must be its eyes, and something below them that gave him a bad feeling that it was its mouth. The giant insect snapped its pinchers several times as it curled its tail in a tense pose and ready to strike.
Ron didn't really see a point in cursing which is why most of the time in his life he always used the terms that children came up with so that they didn't get into trouble. But while he was looking a hideous monster bug in its eyes, only one phrase fit his situation.
"Holy shit."
The giant insect let out a hideous squeal and charged Ron. Ron began to back away, but this thing was damn quick. Ron squeezed the trigger and fired two rounds at the creature. One shot pierced its back, with the other shot grazing its tail. Before Ron could squeeze of another shot, he had to quickly dodge out of the way of its tail. Ron rolled and grabbed a large stone as he came to his feet, spun, and immediately used it as a shield to block the creature's tail. The bug let out another squeal of pain as its stinger broke from the stone, freezing for a moment or two. When it turned toward Ron again, it immediately tried to attack Ron with its pinchers.
"Great, I pissed it off." Ron said as he kept backing away from it.
Ron reached down to his holster to try and get a better shot at this thing, but he realized it wasn't there. When he dodged this thing the first time, he never put it back! Ron glanced and saw his gone was about three feet behind the giant bug in front of him. Ron had to do something fast. The monster made another attack with its pinchers, trying to remove Ron's leg. Ron jumped onto one of the near by rocks and took a flying leap as the insect tried to hit him again with its broken stinger and barley missing him.
Ron made it to his gun, spun to face the charging bug, and squeezed the trigger to put a bullet through the bug's eyes; but nothing happen. Ron squeezed again, and still nothing happened. The gun had jammed!
"You've got to be kidding me!" Ron said as he looked up and saw the creature was almost on top of him as it was emitting that horrible sound.
That's when a loud gunshot rang out and its tail exploded in burst of exo-skeleton and blood, making Ron jump back in surprise and hitting his head against one of the large stones. He opened his eyes when another shot rang out and saw the area where its eyes once were was now as mashed mess of blood and the organs beneath. The creature just stood there, like it had become a statue. Then it slumped down dead, its blood pooling underneath it as its pincher and leg still shook every so often.
Then pain in Ron's head was throbbing and he could quickly feel himself loosing his ability to stay awake. Before everything went black, he saw a pair of green eyes and red hair looking over him.
"You've got to be either the biggest idiot, or the biggest klutz I've ever seen." The woman said before Ron lost consciousness.
The only thing he knew at that moment was it felt like someone had shoved the planet Mars into his head. A small groan escaped his throat as he tried to sit up and immediately felt like his skull was trying to squeeze his brain.
"Take it easy, son. You got a pretty bad bump on the head." A man said as he helped Ron sit up.
"I remember." Ron said as he opened his eyes. "Who are you?" he asked.
"I'm Razlo, the doctor around here." The man introduced.
"I'm Ron Stoppable." Ron replied as he shook the man's hand.
"That's a different name." Razlo said with a small laugh.
Ron noticed he was in the back room of some sort of adobe hut. From what he could tell, he had been laid next to three other people that looked like they were in bad shape. One thing Ron noticed was each had a spot that had swollen to almost the size of a tree stump. In the middle of each swelled bump, there was a puncture wound. The bump and area was either a deep purple to a bright red. All three were pale and in a cold sweat and mumbling something he couldn't understand.
"What's wrong with them?" Ron asked his host.
"Radscorpion stings." The man answered.
"What?"
"Radscorpions. The thing that attacked you in the dessert?"
"That's what they're called?" Ron asked as he stood. "Where did they come from?"
"The Radscorpions are just like their smaller cousins, but the massive dose of their poison causes sickness with its sting. Most of the time, death follows slowly." Razlo told him.
"How the hell did they get like that?" Ron asked as both of them walked into the front room and sat at a table that had seen much better days.
"Well, it's a long story. You see, during the war, everyone used nuclear weapons along with the latest in biological and chemical warfare. When all that stuff got mixed in the fallout, it made a bunch of things change. The land almost became shot to shit, and a couple of animals and people changed. Don't tell me your village hasn't encountered a few. They're as common around here as the heat." The man said.
"I'm - not from around here." he said, wondering how this man would act when he told him the truth.
"That much is obvious, son. Everyone knows not to hang around the Radscorpion caves unless they have a death wish or just plain stupid." Razlo said.
"So I guess it was someone with a death wish that rescued me?" Ron asked.
"Close. Just be thankful she was out there when she heard your gun shots." Razlo said to him.
Both of them turned when they heard someone knocking at the door frame at the front of the hut. The person knocking was a small girl who looked no older than twelve years old, with long chestnut hair that went down to the middle of her back.
"Is he up yet?" she asked Razlo.
"He is. Let me guess, Slim wants to talk to him?" he asked the girl.
"Please and thank you." The girl replied.
"Who's Slim?" Ron asked.
"The village leader. Joss over there will take you to him. Just don't act like an ass, and everything should go well." Razlo said as he and Ron stood up.
"Thanks for the advice." Ron said as he followed the girl out the door. "You're Joss?" he asked.
"Yup. What's your name?" Joss asked as they began walking down the dirt road.
"My name's Ron Stoppable." He said.
As they walked, Ron was able to finally get a good look at the village as the sun began to rise. The buildings looked to be made out of a combination of adobe and stone. The smaller homes were domed shape while the larger buildings were complete rectangles. They looked much like smoother, better built buildings he had seen in many of the old western and Zorro films he had seen back in the Vault.
"Nice place." Ron said.
"Yeah, if you like watching the Brahman mate and crap all day." Joss said.
"That boring, huh?" Ron asked her.
"We have a little excitement. Every so often, a few caravans from The Hub or the Boneyard come through here. Then there are the Khans." Joss said.
"The Khans?" Ron asked, wondering if he wanted to know.
"They're a gang of raiders that live not too far south from here. Usually if we just leave them alone, then they leave us alone. Then there are other times." Joss trailed off.
"I take it they don't always decide to leave you alone." Ron said.
"No. They all got drunk and raided us years ago when I was a toddler. They took my mom, and threw her back to us after they were done with her. She's buried not too far from the entrance." Joss said.
They were silent for a few minutes as Joss lead Ron to the town square. Ron felt bad for bringing up bad memories for the little girl and decided to change the subject so she wouldn't think about it.
"So, do you know anything about the guy that rescued me?" he asked.
"It wasn't a guy, it was Kim."
"Who?"
"You've never heard of Kim Possible?" Joss asked him.
"Nope."
"She's awesome! She can do anything! Last time the Khans came around here, she almost ripped their leader's nuts off before shoving the barrel of his gun down his throat. She told them to beat it or she would paint our walls with brain matter gray." Joss said in a very excited voice while Ron just raised an eye brow.
"She does sound like something." Ron said. 'Sounds like a complete psycho.' He thought.
"Here we are. Listen, just tell Slim the truth, and you'll be okay. He might act tough, but he's really a nice guy." Joss told him.
"How do you know?" Ron asked her.
"Because he's my dad. See you later, Ron." Joss said and walked into the building across the street from him. As Joss entered, Ron thought he saw a woman with red hair in the window. Could that have been?
Ron shook his head back into now and decided not to keep Slim waiting. Ron took a deep breath and walked in.
The room was large and spacious. It looked like a home, but also doubled as a meeting hall. Sitting at a large table in the middle of the room was a man with a large mustache, long hair tied back into a pony tail. He was wearing a simple shirt and pants, but the man had a very lean frame. It was easy to tell that this man had done a lot of work in his life just by the look of his face.
"You can have a seat if you want." The man said to Ron.
"Thanks." Ron said as he took the seat across from Slim.
"Glad to see you're awake. For a while there, we thought we were going to have to put another grave out on boot hill." Slim said.
"Thanks for helping me. You have a very nice town." Ron said, remembering his manners.
"Which is why I want to keep it that way. From the way you're dressed and act, it's obvious you're not with the Khans or the Skulls. And I doubt the Hub is starting to cater to high society. If you don't mind me asking, where are you from?" Slim asked.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Ron said.
"I've seen a lot in my life, son. Try me." The older man said.
They had been hospitable to him and helped him when they didn't even know one thing about him, and he needed all the friends he could get out here. It was obvious things had changed since the Vault was first sealed, and he wasn't going to last long out here without a little help.
"I'm from a Vault west of here." Ron told him.
"A Vault?" Slim asked him.
"Yeah, They're these giant,"
"I know what they are, son. It's just that vaults are more of a modern myth than anything else round here." Slim said.
"Myth?" Ron asked, a little confused.
Slim noticed the reaction to what he had said, but also took a good look at his clothing. In the wasteland, you had to rely on recycling for just about everything. The shirt Slim wore on his back was once a blanket his wife used years ago. But the clothes Ron was wearing was made out of a fabric no one had seen in ages. Especially with the detail that was in the gold trim of it. Not to mention the way he carried himself and the way he acted spoke volumes as well.
"If you're from a Vault, then why inn God's green Earth are you out here?" Slim asked him.
"I'm looking for a water chip. The one we've used to purify our water shorted out and we don't have the resources to build another one." Ron told him.
"And you think you're going to find one out here in the wasteland?" Slim asked, thinking this kid was probably feeding him a line.
"Actually, I'm heading to Vault 15. We lost contact and think its no longer active, but their chip still may be in working order."
"Vault 15? Out of curiosity, where is it?" Slim asked as his expression quickly changed.
"To the east of here. Actually, your village is about half way in between my Vault and Vault 15." Ron said to him.
"Oh my God. No one else knows about that place." Slim said to himself.
"Huh?"
"The place you're heading is where a lot of us came from; me included." Slim said.
"Wait a minute, you're a Vault Dweller?" Ron asked, shocked to hear this piece of information.
"I haven't heard term in ages. Like I said, it was a long time ago." Slim said.
"What happened? We lost contact with your Vault and couldn't find out anything." Ron said, eagerly hoping that this man had the answers to one of his Vaults many questions of the world outside.
"I don't remember that much, kid. What I can remember is the whole place started to shake. My parents pulled me out of there like hell itself was trying to break in. I remember screams, a few shouts. Something had gone wrong, but I couldn't hear what. A few days later, my family and the others found this place.
"Shady Sands wasn't anything like it is now when my family came here. With a little know how and work, we were able to expand and build this wall to keep out the varmints that wonder around here." Slim said.
"Oh." Ron said, a little disappointed that Slim didn't have the answers he was hoping for about the Vault. "Did you ever found out what happened?" Ron asked him.
"About three years before I got married, I asked my dad about it. He said he wasn't sure either. He said that a few of them thought the Vault had been built on an unstable fault line." Slim said.
"Do you think the water chip there is in one piece?" Ron asked.
"I don't know, kid. Like I said, I was a youngster when we left that place. Younger than Joss. Anyway, I believe you for now." Slim said and stood up. "Welcome to Shady Sands." He said and held out his hand.
"Thanks, sir." Ron said and firmly shook it. "I won't stay long. I've got to head to that Vault as soon as I can." Ron said.
"Not right now you're not." Slim told him with a chuckle.
"Why not?" Ron asked him.
"Because,"
"PA! COME QUICK!" Joss screamed from outside.
Both Ron and Slim rushed outside as fast as they could to see a bunch of the villagers had already started to form a crowd. Slim and Ron pushed their way through it as best as they could, trying to figure out what was going on. When they finally passed through, they saw someone carrying a person over their shoulders as fast as they could. The person being carried was most likely wounded or dying of thirst. Slim pushed the villagers back enough so the person could have room once they entered the gates.
The person gently set the wounded man they had been carried onto the ground with Lazlo quickly kneeling beside him. The man was jerking wildly with what looked to be foam escaping from his mouth in a torrent.
"What happened?" Lazlo asked the man's rescuer.
As an answer, the rescuer jerked his dirt covered jacket back to reveal two large stab wounds to his chest that had a large part of his combat green t-shirt caked with dried blood.
"Radscorpions." The rescuer answered, and caused Ron to look up and finally get a decent look.
The rescuer was a young woman that was no older than him, with long flowing red hair that seemed to almost be like living fire. She was wearing a pair of jeans with what looked like steel shin guards strapped to her legs. An old black leather jacket was wrapped around her with part of the left sleeve missing with an old white shirt under it. A pair of black leather gloves that were missing the fingers covered her hands as she wiped the dirt and grim from the man on her jeans. Her eyes were an olive green and her skin looked like it had been sculpted by the finest artisan. Ron was so taken by the young woman, he didn't even realize what was happening until one of the villagers accidentally shoved him.
"Can you do anything for him?" Slim asked the doctor.
"He's been hit twice, and he's already paralyzed. There's nothing I can do, Slim. He's going to be dead in about two minutes. Kim, please tell me you got the venom sack." Razlo asked the young woman.
'That's the Kim Possible the little girl was telling me about?' Ron thought to himself.
"I saw him walking in the desert before he collapsed. I didn't see any bugs." Kim told him.
"Damn it to hell. Joss, get the gate guards from the night shift. Tell them we need to make another grave on boot hill." Razlo said as the jerking man stopped all of his movements and rolled his eyes into the back of his head.
As the crowd started to part, Ron was a little puzzled. He didn't know a lot about medicine. So he was wondering why Razlo wanted a venom sack, whatever that was.
"Razlo?" Ron asked as the doctor stood to his feet.
"Yeah? Oh, hi Ron." Razlo said, his voice heavy with the disappointment that he was unable to save the man.
"Why were you asking about a venom – whatever it was." Ron asked him.
"A venom sack. It's in the tail of the Radscorpions. If I can get one intact that hasn't been ruptured, I can probably make an antidote to the poison they carry. If I don't get one soon, a lot more of us are going to die." Razlo said as he started to walk off.
"So you need the whole tail?" Ron asked as the gears in his head started to turn.
"It would help. I don't know the exact location of the sack, so the whole tail would be a safe bet." Razlo said as he made his way back to his hut to look after the others.
"Well, that complicates things. HEY!" Ron called out as he ran to the woman that had brought in the poisoned man.
"Are you talking to me?" she asked him as she turned; raising a questioning eyebrow.
"You're the one that saved me last night, right?" he asked her.
"That's me. If you're here to tell me thanks, it was no big." She said.
"Not to sound ungrateful, but it's not about that." Ron said to her.
"Oh?"
"This is going to sound crazy, but do you know where the Radscorpion caves are?" he asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"I need you to take me there." Ron said and saw the questioning look that appeared on her face.
"That's doesn't sound crazy. It sounds suicidal!" Kim said and began to walk back to the adobe hut that was her home.
"Wait! I need to go there to get one of those venom sacks." Ron said as he ran in front of her to make her stop.
"Those caves are filled with dozens of those suckers. Last night, you couldn't even handle one." Kim said to him.
"Last night was dark and my gun jammed." Ron said.
"Which brings up another point. What are you going to fight them with?" Kim asked him.
"With my," Ron stopped as he padded his side and noticed he was missing something. "Where'd my gun go? AH, MAN! I left it out in the dessert, didn't I? CRAP!" Ron shouted.
"Amp it down, Ron. I've got your gun at my place. The thing needed to be cleaned and repaired like you wouldn't believe. I'd be surprised if it was able to fire anything at all." Kim told him.
"Thank God. Look, I know I seem like some kind of – buffoon to you; but, I really need your help. Your town was kind to me, and I just want to repay it. It's at least the fair thing to do." Ron told the woman in front of him sincerely, but doubted that she would help him judging from her questioning look.
"I must be crazier than you. Okay, we'll go to the caves. But if I think it's too dangerous, we leave. Got it?" she asked him.
"Sure. You're the boss, KP."
"Huh?"
"Your initials. K & P. Or do you want me to just call you Kim?" he asked her.
"KP is all right. I've just never heard anyone do that to my name before. I'll get the guns and the ammo. Wait for me by the gate." She said to him.
The cave before them rose out of the ground like a gaping, festering wound of the earth with its dirt and rocky path descending downward. Echoing from the inside of the cave were the few faint clicks of the giant insects that dwelled within. As both Kim and Ron stood before the opening, Ron took a loud gulp.
"That's them?" Ron asked her.
"Yup. Still want to go through with this?" Kim asked him.
"Honestly? No. But it wouldn't be right for me not to help your town in some way. Lead on, KP." Ron said as he cocked a round into his pistol's chamber.
"Your funeral." Kim said as she removed what looked like a modified semi automatic handgun with a large clip locked into it.
The slow decent into the large cavern was a little creepy for Ron. Both had several glow sticks that Kim had brought, and both had one cracked to light their way. The clicks were slowly growing faintly louder as they heard drips from the moisture inside the caves they moved. Ron was starting to shake, and that wasn't what he needed right now. Especially if he was fixing to use his weapon at any moment. He needed to find a way to calm down and quick. Maybe talking with his companion might loosen him up.
"So KP, did you grow up in Shady Sands?" Ron asked him.
"Why do you want to know?" she asked him as she kept her eyes and ears open for any sign of danger.
"Just curious and I'm trying to find a way not to piss myself." Ron told her.
"I didn't need that mental image. If you want to know, I don't really remember where my real home was. I wondered around with my mom and dad for awhile with a few caravans." She told him.
"What brought you to Shady Sands?"
"My dad grew up there with his brother, my uncle Slim. Him and a few of the others we traveled with heard about something dangerous and went to check it out. They never came back. So for awhile, it was just my mom, me, and my brothers Jim and Tim." She said as the path leveled off and they saw the giant cavern that looked more like the mouth of madness itself. The large stalactites seemed to lower down from the roof of the cave like horrifying teeth that would be ready to chew them up at any minute.
"This just screams bad road." Ron said as he switched the safety of his weapon off as a bad feeling in his gut began to grow. "So – will I meet your family anytime soon?" Ron asked.
"The Tweebs, maybe." Kim said.
"Tweebs?"
"My brothers are twins, and they're also dweebs in my book. So I call them Tweebs." She said as they cautiously walked further, following the clicking.
"What about your mom?" Ron asked her.
"About two years ago, she wanted to find a way to help us. She heard rumors about a place called the Brotherhood of Steel and that they had technology to help them survive the Wasteland. She went with a caravan to find them and plead her case. I don't know if she's still alive or not." Kim said.
"I'm sorry to hear that, KP. It must have been rough for you." Ron said.
"Sometimes. But I'm not one to sit and do nothing. So when I can, I do my best to help out." Kim said.
"Like fight Raiders and gangs?" Ron asked her.
"Joss has been talking again, I see. I learned a few things growing up among the caravans, like how to fight and how to handle a few weapons." Kim said, shrugging it off like it was nothing.
"From the way Joss talks about you, it practically sounds like you're saving the-"
BLAM!
"world?" Ron squeaked as his ears rang from the loud gun shot. He looked at the direction she had fired, cracking another glow stick and saw a twitching Radscorpion with a gaping hole in what used to be its face. "Good shot." Ron said.
"No big." She said with a smirk as she glanced at Ron.
She saw the look on his face. It was cold and unreadable. Something wasn't right. When he turned fully toward her and raised his gun to her face, she took aim and had her finger on the finger as she began to calculate when to dodge his bullet.
"GET DOWN!" Ron shouted at her.
Kim instantly dropped to the stone floor as two shots echoed across the cavern, making the clicks louder and faster. When she stood and looked behind herself, she saw a Radscorpion with two smoking holes in it's body as it collapsed into a heap. As a reward for saving her life, she punched him hard in the shoulder.
"What was that for?" he asked her.
"You could have said something!" she shouted at him.
"I did say something!"
"You know what I mean!" she shouted back at him.
Both heard the clicking multiply and heard it growing closer. They knew the rest of the cave's occupants weren't happy about the noise or the unwelcomed guests.
"If we scream and run, they'll still attack people?" Ron asked her.
"Oh yeah." Kim said.
"And if we kill them all?" Ron asked.
"And smash the larva? Problem solved." Kim said to him.
Ron checked his clip, checked the bag he kept the spare ammo in, and took a deep breath.
"Just call me the exterminator." Ron said as he saw a few more bugs coming there way with their pinchers snapping.
"Then make your shots count, bug boy." Kim said and took aim.
"Hasta La Vesta, baby." Ron said in a deep voice as he aimed and began to open fire.
Razlo was dabbing the forehead of one of the poisoned villagers, and shook his head as the man mumbled in his delirium. The people who had been attacked by the damn bugs were getting worse. Paralysis would kick in, and then a slow death. He wished he could do more, but there was nothing. He hated feeling so helpless right now. What was he going to do. He knew most of these people, and even delivered their children. This was no way to die.
"Merry Christmas, Doc." A voice said before dropping a large burlap sack in front of him.
"Ron? What's this?" Razlo asked as he untied the bag. The smell from was worst than the Brahman crap on a hot summer day. When he opened it and looked in, he couldn't help but gasp at what he saw. In the bag had to at least be ten whole tails from Radscorpions. From what it looked like, the tails had been cut off at the root and were still dripping with blood. "H-how did you do this?" Razlo asked him.
"Me and KP decided to drop by the caves and say thanks to the bugs for hurting so many people." Ron said.
"By putting a slug in the head of every last one of them." Kim said as removed her jacket and grimaced at the smell of Radscorpion blood and other fluids that had come from their corpses.
"You – you mean you destroyed the nest?" Razlo asked, unable to believe his own ears.
"Note serious face. Also the fact that our clothes need a good wash. Eeewww." Ron said as he saw the multiple blood spatters on his blue uniform. "Can you make an antidote now?" Ron asked him.
"You bet your ass I can. Thank you so much. HONEY! GET ME SLIM!" Razlo shouted as he ran to another part of his hut while Kim and Ron left the hut and watched the sun begin to set.
"Thanks again for helping." Ron said.
"I should be thanking you. I couldn't have done that by myself." Kim said, making Ron blush a little bit. "So where are you going to go?" Kim asked.
"After I get this washed and a few supplies? I'll be heading east again." He said to her.
"Why East? There isn't anything out that way." Kim said to him.
"I've got to check out Vault 15 if I want to save my Vault." Ron said to her.
"Vault?" Kim asked him, unable to believe what he just said.
As the last minutes of the day slowly passed with the setting sun, Ron told Kim his story. From his training, the water chip, and when she rescued him in the dessert. Ron didn't leave out a single detail. He didn't know why, but he felt a strange connection with Kim. It was as if they had known each other before. Perhaps in another time, or in another life. By the time Ron finished his tale, Kim still wore a look of disbelief. Growing up in the vast wasteland, you hear of many things. Strange mutants, attacks by ruthless gangs, even some of the tales of normal life in the Hub or the Boneyard. The stories of the Vaults though were that of Fairy Tales. But to discover that they were real seemed to open parts of Kim's mind to possibilities she had long forgotten about.
"So everything in there, it's all electric? I mean, you don't have to worry about droughts or wondering if you'll live long enough to see the next day?" Kim asked him, captivated by his story.
"No. Frankly, some of us get a little bored every so often. Now I'm starting to think I took it for granted. I just hope I can find that water chip though." Ron said to her.
"What happens if you can't?" Kim asked him.
"I don't know. The Vault will die, and everyone won't have a choice but to come out here. Most of them probably wouldn't survive out here. Let alone those damn bugs. We've been cut off from everything." Ron said.
"Talk about living a sheltered life." Kim said.
"You don't know how sheltered." Ron said as he replayed everything that had happened to him since he came out here.
"Excuse me?" Slim asked, making both Kim and Ron stand from their spot. "Razlo just finished the cure for the Radscorpion poison. He wanted you to have some, in case you had another run in." Slim said and handed Ron a small jar with a leather cover tied around the opening.
The liquid inside reminded Ron of the Hawaiian Punch he used to drink with his friends back in the vault. A small smile graced his lips at the memory. He was fixing to pocket the antitoxin when he remembered all the sick people back at Razlo's hut. All those who were so sick. He also remembered that poor man that had died that morning.
"Tell Razlo to give it to the others. They need it more than I do." Ron told Slim and handed him back the jar.
"Are you sure?" Slim asked him.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Maybe you can tell others about it. I'm sure I gave Razlo more than enough Scorpion tales." Ron told him.
"Thank you, Ron. For everything. If this place had more people like you in it, maybe we could have prevented that war." Slim said and shook Ron's hand.
As Slim walked back to Razlo's hut, Kim turned to Ron with something on her mind. "How soon are you leaving?" she asked him.
"Probably at sun rise. The sooner I get to Vault 15, the better." Ron said to her as he stretched.
"Do you mind a friend tagging along?" Kim asked him.
"What?"
"You are thick headed. I'm asking if I can come with you." Kim said to him.
"What about your brothers?" Ron asked her.
"Slim can take care of them. He did a good job with me. Besides, I want to see what a real Vault looks like. Also, you need more work with handling a gun." Kim told him.
"I thought I did well back at the caves." Ron said, acting offended.
"You missed three out of five, and your pants fell down." She said.
"That was a wardrobe malfunction. And I did shoot the bugs I missed. Eventually." Ron said and saw the red headed woman fighting back a laugh. "Okay, I need work. I guess you could teach me along the way." Ron said to her.
"Good. I let Slim know, and we'll leave at dawn." She told him.
"Why so early?"
"Because we're going to have to cover as much ground as possible before that sun rises." Kim told him as she walked back to her place.
Ron thought about what his journey might be like with her tagging along and began to smile. She was a good person and he enjoyed her company. And he was sure the Overseer would let her stay in the Vault. She could inform him about what's going on. And maybe – stop thinking that, Ron! She's practically an Amazon Goddess compared to you. Still, it would be nice to have her along.
"Booyeah!" Ron said to himself before heading to Slim's to see if he could crash there for the night.