Reviews:
TheSeagullMilker: Here's another update for you bud!
GuestDB: Thanks bud. As to your suspicions on General Chase's death, they'll be conformed this chapter.
coastierks: Thanks, I wanted to give the feral ghoul scene a more terrifying ambiance.
StaticBomb93: Yes, Marshes can be a dick and you're right, he does think ahead, but he's thinking wrong at the moment.
InflatedChimp: I'm glad you liked it friend.
TheEliteDucky: Good question, it would take 11 hours to travel from D.C. to Chicago. I'm really glad you're enjoying the story.
ReblSnake: Thanks friend. Here's the next chapter.
boozenpuken333: You'll find out how there are still human soldiers in this chapter bud.
EclipsePheniox: Sorry for the long wait friend. Here's the next chapter.
Guest: Thank you friend. Here is the next chapter
Chapter 12: New Allies and a Fallen Hero
Washingtonville Hospital: June 10, 2279. 10:43 P.M.
Eric slowly opened his eyes and was met with a bright light. He raised a hand up to shield his eyes from the brightness and sat up to exam himself. He found that he wasn't wearing his black undershirt or his jacket and the cut on his head from the Vertibird crash was stitched shut and all other wounds had been treated. He examined his surroundings to find that he was in a small room. It took him a few minutes to remember how he got here before realization dawned on him. They had made it to Washingtonville, which meant they were only 45 miles away from Rebirth. He looked to his left and found that his weapons, remaining ammo, pistol belt, and beret were lying on a table. Next to the table was a coat rack that had his shirt and jacket. By the bed was a nightstand where his assault pack and boots were.
Eric suddenly heard a loud sigh. He looked to his right and saw Amata was sound asleep, her head lying on the mattress. He smiled at how beautiful and peaceful she looked while sleeping. Her hair was a bit of a mess, but no matter how she looked, she would always be beautiful to him. He used his right hand to gently move a strand of hair from her face, but this action caused her to stir in her sleep before waking up. Amata looked up and saw that Eric was awake.
She smiled. "Hey, you're awake." Amata said sitting up.
Eric stretched out his arms that were still a little stiff. "Yeah, how are you feeling?" He asked her wanting to know that she was doing ok.
Amata snorted. 'Amazing how he worries about everyone, but himself. I guess some things never change.' She thought. "I'm fine; it's you that I'm worried about."
Eric checked himself over to see if he had any new injuries…nope all good. He remembered that his wounds on his head had been taken care of. "Who fixed me up?"
"The doctors here did." Amata replied.
"So then we're in Washingtonville?" He asked, checking to make sure.
"Yep. We made it." She replied.
"Is everyone else ok?" Eric asked about the rest of his group.
"Yeah everyone's fine. Butch, Jason, Sydney, and Harkness are talking with the town mayor. Charon, Fawkes, and Uncle Leo are helping the guards with protecting the town walls, and Jericho said something about 'getting some hooch'." Amata rolled her eyes causing Eric to smirk.
"Jericho needs to lay off the booze, then again he's improved. He can go a good two weeks without a drink now." Eric said. He looked around the room and found that his loyal companion wasn't there. "Where's Dogmeat?"
"He's with Butch." Amata answered.
Eric nodded and looked at his Pip-Boy to check the time. 10:45 P.M. "Jesus I've been out for an entire day." He threw the blanket off of him and got up off the bed to stretch out the rest of his muscles. "Do the bathrooms here work?" He asked her while looking at the bathroom on the left side of the room. He didn't get a reply so he turned around to see that Amata was staring at him, mainly the many scars that littered his body. She only saw a small portion of the scars when he was lying in the bed, but now that he was up and the blankets were gone, she got a good look at them all.
There were three large claw marks across his chest. He had gotten those from a deathclaw that he narrowly escaped death from a year ago. Along with the claw marks were the scars that he received from the many guns that raiders, super mutants, and mercenaries had used against him. His left shoulder had taken a 5.56 round, three 10mm rounds had pierced his upper right torso, and a .32 round had hit him in his upper left abdomen. The most recent scar he received was from when Marshes had impaled him with his own shocksword.
The look on Amata's face told Eric enough. "Amata."
Tears were building up in her eyes. "Eric." She chocked out, looking down at the floor. "I'm so-"
Eric knew she was blaming herself for all the pain he had to endure. He wasn't having any of it so he cut her off. "Uh-uh, Amata, don't." He quickly walked over to where she was standing and grabbed her shoulders. "Look at me Amata!" She slowly and reluctantly looked up at Eric with tears streaming down her face. Eric used his thumbs to wipe away the tears. "I want you to listen to me Amata. Everything that has happened to me was not your fault."
"But I was the one who sent you away from the vault. All of those wounds could've been prevented. Just look at yourself!" She almost shouted.
Eric looked at all the scars of various shapes and sizes that were scattered across his body. He looked back at Amata and nodded. "Yeah I know, but here's the thing, I got most of these scars long before you exiled me from the vault." He stated truthfully.
Amata still wasn't convinced. "But Eric…"
Eric put a finger on her lips to shut her up. "Let me ask you something Amata. Every time I got shot, were you the one that pulled the trigger?"
Amata shook her head. "No." She answered.
"Every time I was stabbed were you the one wielding the knife?" He continued asking her.
"No." She answered again.
"Every time I was damn near blown up and had shrapnel pulled out of me were you the one who threw the grenade, set the mine, or fired the missile?"
Amata shook her head again and answered. "No, but Eric-"
"BUT NOTHING!" He exploded giving her a little shake. His outburst startled her a bit so he toned down the volume. "You are not to blame for anything that has happened to me. Everything that has happened to me has happened because of my past actions and those that have attacked me. Do you understand me?"
Amata wiped away the rest of her tears before nodding and wrapping her arms tightly around Eric's neck. Eric wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him.
He loved the way she felt against his body, her soft smooth skin, her beautiful brown hair, her nice physique. 'It's now or never Eric.' He thought to himself
Eric slowly leaned down and whispered into Amata's ear. "I love you Amata."
Amata's eyes widened and she pulled back to look Eric in his. Tears began to build and she smiled at him. "I love you too Eric."
The second Amata returned her love for him; he immediately dove in and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. To say Amata was stunned was an understatement. She had waited years for this one moment, and now it was finally happening. Eric said he loved her…and he was kissing her. As soon as the shock wore off she returned the kiss with just as much passion. After a few more seconds the kiss turned into a full blown make out session.
Eric felt like the luckiest man in the world right now. His closest childhood friend had finally become his girl. He could never explain why, but when he turned 17, he began developing feelings for her. It wasn't because of her slim curves or her beautiful looks; it was because of who she was. Now it was happening, they were finally together.
While the new couple was engaged in their heavy make out session, Butch was strolling down the hall towards Eric's room wanting to check and see if he was awake yet. He looked down at his Pip-Boy to check the time and as he walked in the room he looked up and saw what was transpiring. Since the two were too caught up in the moment, they didn't hear Butch enter the room. His eyes widened and he mouthed 'holy shit' before quickly and quietly backing out of the room. As soon as he turned the corner he looked back in the room to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. When he made sure what was going on was real he walked back down the hall towards the exit with a big grin on his face. He looked back at Eric's room one last time before doing a fist pump.
"My man!" He said proudly and continued walking. "'Bout fucking time."
As he got to the exit, the door flew open and was met by Jericho.
"What da fuck? Kid not awake yet?" He asked loudly in annoyance.
Butch quickly silenced the former raider. "Shhhhhhhhhh shut up Jericho! I don't want Eric and Amata to hear you!" He said quietly.
"Why?" Jericho asked.
"Because," Butch tried to find a delicate way to word his sentence. "Amata and Eric are enjoying a private moment together."
Jericho's eyes widened, obviously taking that statement the wrong way. "No way! The kid's gettin' some ass?!" He again said too loudly. "Dis I gotta see."
Jericho brushed past Butch, but the former Tunnel Snake didn't want any intrusions on his best friend's moment. He quickly ran up behind the ex-raider and wrapped him in a bear hug and started dragging him away.
"Kid let me the fuck go right now!" Jericho snarled.
"And what if I-OOF" Butch was cut off by the elbow that Jericho launched at his face. Butch could feel blood trickling down from his nose. "You son of a bitch!" Butch growled as he hoisted Jericho up and delivered a suplex that knocked the wind out of him.
Jericho groaned in pain. "Ok kid you win." He quickly got back to his feet and moved for the exit. "I'm getting' to old for this shit."
Butch chuckled and pushed himself back to his feet. He wiped away some of the blood from his nose with the back of his hand when he heard. "Butch!"
Butch turned and saw Amata and Eric (who now had a shirt on) walking towards him; it was Eric who had called his name. Amata immediately noticed the blood from Butch's nose. "Butch are you alright?" She asked concernedly.
"Yeah, I'm all good, just had a little run in with the door." He lied casually pointing at the exit door behind him.
"Uh-huh." Eric said unconvinced. "You sure you're alright?" He asked.
"Yeah." Butch answered wiping some more blood away. "Good to see that you're awake. Captain Maverick has been wanting to speak to you."
Eric was confused. "Who?"
"Captain Maverick is the man in charge of the town." Butch informed him.
Eric nodded. "Alright. Give me a few minutes." He said turning back towards his room before looking to Amata. "Do the bathrooms here work?"
"Yeah." She answered. Eric smiled at her before giving her a peck on the lips and going back to his room. Amata turned to look at Butch who was smiling broadly at her. "Be honest Butch, you didn't run into the door did you?"
"Only if you tell me how much you enjoyed sucking faces with Eric." Butch stated pointing a finger at her.
Amata was blushing furiously. She cleared her throat. "So can we forget that I asked?"
Butch chuckled. "Sure." He turned and left the building.
10 minutes later
Eric was now fully clothed and had all of his equipment with him. He followed Amata to the town hall, where Captain Maverick was waiting. As they walked, Eric looked around and saw that most of the town inhabitants were ghouls. There were a few smoothskin people here and there, some of them were guards. The town hall was a two-story building. It looked old and battered, but it was still standing strong. The most distinguishing characteristic was the almost perfect looking American flag standing at the top of the building. As the two approached the building, there was a smoothskin soldier standing guard outside the main entrance. When they were a few feet away he immediately snapped to attention and opened the door for the couple.
"Go right on ahead, Captain's waiting for you." The soldier said in a raspy voice. "Go upstairs, down the hall and his office is the first door on the right."
"Thanks." Eric and Amata said. As soon as they were inside the guard closed the door and resumed his duties.
Amata and Eric walked up the stairs and down the hall until they made it to the first door on the right. Eric knocked on the door.
"It's open!" A raspy voice called out to the two.
Eric opened the door and stepped aside to let Amata through. "Ladies first."
Amata smiled. "How gentlemanly of you." She said jokingly and walked in the room; Eric quickly followed her in and closed the door. On the right side of the room were a couple gun cases and a closet. To their left was a massive queen size bed with a small nightstand next to it. In front of them were a desk and two chairs. Behind the desk was a man wearing combat armor. He was tall, at least 6 feet 5 inches tall, mid-forties, pale skin, bald, and very muscular. Hell he looked like he could lift Eric, Amata, AND, Butch over his shoulders without breaking a sweat.
The man turned around and smiled at his two guests. "Ah, you're awake. Good to see you up and about." He said in a raspy voice. Captain Maverick walked around his desk and over to Eric to introduce himself. "Captain Alan Maverick. Town mayor and chief of security." He said holding out his hand.
Eric took the man's hand and shook it. "Eric Daniels." He took note of Captain Maverick's eyes. They were as white as a ghoul's.
Alan's eyes widened. "Eric Daniels?" Captain Maverick looked at Eric more intently. "You wouldn't happen to be Star-Paladin Eric Daniels of the Capital Wasteland Brotherhood of Steel aka the Lone Wanderer would you?"
Eric was thrown off by the older man's question. When the shock wore off he found his voice. "As a matter of fact, I am Captain."
Captain Maverick gave Eric a big smile. "Good to meet you in person son! Please sit down!" He said gesturing to the two chairs. Amata and Eric looked at each other before taking a seat in the chairs. The Captain sat down in his own chair behind the desk.
Eric looked at the man with confusion written all over his face. "Forgive me Captain, but how do you know who I am?"
The Captain smiled and opened a drawer in his desk, pulling out a small tape recorder and a few tapes. He put one of the tapes in and hit play. "Heelloooooo Capital Wasteland, this is Three Dog, OOOWWWWWW! Coming to you loud and proud from GNR!"
Eric couldn't believe it. He was listening to an old broadcast that Three Dog had done during the Enclave War. Eric and Amata listened to Three Dog talk about Eric's accomplishments of destroying four key Enclave Outposts that had crippled their supply line to the Jefferson Memorial when it was under Colonel Autumn's control. Once the recording was over, Captain Maverick put the recorder back in the drawer and closed it.
He looked to Eric. "Believe it or not Eric, stories about what you and the Brotherhood of Steel have done for D.C. and its surrounding areas have traveled great distances. Most of the stories are about you and how you've become the scourge of super mutants, raiders, and mercenaries." He pointed to the drawer that contained the tape recorder. "I got that from a caravan that came all the way from D.C. The man gave me that and he was preaching about how you were a beacon of hope, a protector of the wastes, a savior of souls, hell that man was preaching like you were some sort of God." Captain Maverick reached into another drawer and pulled out a book that Eric was very familiar with. It was a copy of the 'Wasteland Survival Guide'. "He also gave me this and told me that you did all the research and fieldwork to get this book done. This book has helped many of the townsfolk learn the basics and advances of survival."
Eric was both shocked and proud. Shocked because he thought it would take a decade for any copy of the survival guide to even make it a hundred miles outside the Capital Wasteland, and proud because many people were benefiting from the guide.
Meanwhile Amata was trying her best not to smile. She was glad that Eric had done so many great things for the people of the wastes, but couldn't believe that people would go as far as making him look like some kind of God. 'I guess when people have someone that fills them with hope, that's how they look up to them.' She thought.
"Well I wouldn't say I did all the research on the book, I had a little help from Moira Brown." Eric stated. "Plus I'm just some guy willing to lend a helping hand." He added.
The Captain and Amata both snorted. Maverick looked to Amata. "Is he always this modest?"
Amata nodded. "Oh yeah, you have no idea." She answered him.
The Captain chuckled and looked back at Eric. "You do more than lend a helping hand Eric. You save lives, give people food and water, run off mutants and raiders. You give people hope and a safer and better life to live."
Eric smiled. "Thanks Captain, but tell me! Since you know so much about me, tell me a bit about yourself and perhaps the town as well."
The Captain gave Eric a sheepish smile. "Sure, though you might think I'm crazy on some parts."
"I've seen a lot more crazy things out in the wastes. Try me." Eric challenged.
Captain Maverick leaned back in his chair. "Would you believe me if I told you that I'm over 200 years old?"
Now he had both Eric and Amata's complete and undivided attention. "Go on, I'm interested."
The Captain continued. "I was a member of the New York National Guard. The 42nd Infantry Division, 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment, Troop C. I was in command of 128 guardsmen en route to New York City when my CO called on the radio and told us that the whole city was a deathtrap and that it'd be suicide to go there. He told us to turn around and come here to Washingtonville. The town chief of police, William Edwards, was sending out calls for help, because the whole town had erupted into chaos and he didn't have enough officers to contain the violence. When we got here, it was exactly as the chief said. Complete chaos."
Flashback: Washingtonville: October 23, 2077. 11:40 A.M. (2 hours and 3 minutes after the last bomb fell)
(Authors note: The town of Washingtonville has almost 6,000 people, but in this story it has twice as many)
It was a complete warzone, panic had completely overtaken the town, cars were abandoned across the streets, some of them were on fire, and people were looting the local stores. Some of them had started killing others. Police officers armed with riot shotguns and police batons had donned riot gear and taken to the streets to try and contain the violence, but to no avail. Six police officers had already been killed by the escalating violence and a dozen more had been critically wounded. A police officer was speeding off to assist another officer when a Molotov cocktail went through the windshield of his car, instantly setting him ablaze. The car spun out of control and drove through the town post office. The car's gas tank started leaking. Soon the fire spread to the tank and the car exploded, igniting the post office as well.
One officer was calling for help over his car radio when a group of teenage boys swarmed the car armed with Molotov cocktails. These boys were the start of the first post-apocalyptic raider gangs. The officer managed to get out of the way just in time as they all lobbed the incendiary explosives at his squad car. As the cocktails connected with their target, the car was engulfed in flames. While the car was burning, the group of sadistic boys were all cheering with pure joy and giving each other high fives.
The officer drew his .357 sidearm and pointed it at the closest raider. "Go back to your homes! NOW!" The group of teens all started moving towards the cop with baseball bats, crowbars, machetes and knives. They had evil smiles on their faces that unnerved the cop. "I SAID GO HOME NOW!" The officer warned them again. When they kept moving towards him, he raised his gun at one teen and fired. The round had hit the boy square in the chest, effectively killing him. The moment the kid's lifeless body hit the pavement the rest of the group stormed the cop. He knew he had no choice now but to open fire on the rest of them. He shot two of them in the head and a third one in the chest twice.
Before the cop could fire again, one of the raiders came up from behind him and bashed a baseball bat against the back of his skull. The officer was knocked unconscious and the rest of the group, including the one who hit him with the bat started beating and stabbing him to death.
Outside the town hospital, an ambulance had arrived to drop off a patient with a gunshot wound to the back. As the driver pulled up to the building, he got out of the ambulance to help his partner with the injured man, when suddenly a man armed with a hunting shotgun came up and unloaded a shell in both of them. To make sure that they were dead he discharged another shell in each medic. The man slung the shotgun over his shoulder and started raiding the ambulance of all its medical supplies before taking off running at the sound of police sirens, but not before putting a shell in the already injured man lying on the stretcher. A police car came to a stop and the officer got out of the car to check and see if the paramedics and injured man were alive. When he realized they were dead he got back in his car and took off looking for the man responsible.
A mile outside the town a New York State Police officer was leading a convoy of military vehicles all carrying heavily armed Guardsmen dressed in NBC suits and gasmasks. Following behind the police cruiser was two humvees with .50 caliber machine guns, a dozen M35 army trucks with light machine gun emplacements, two M113 APCs, and another police cruiser. Each of the humvees were carrying six soldiers, the APCs had thirteen and the trucks were carrying fifteen. As they approached the town there was a burning car that was blocking the convoy, the police cruiser moved aside for the lead humvee. The driver of the armored truck stepped on the gas and rammed right through the car, creating a clear path for the other vehicles.
The soldiers were given their orders to spread out and try and contain the violence. All vehicles took different directions across the town. One truck pulled up to the town hall and the soldier on the LMG spotted two guys shooting at a cop who was taking cover behind his car. The gunner aimed and fired a burst of bullets at the men, killing them. The soldiers all jumped out of the back of the truck and ran inside the building. Several cops armed with hunting shotguns came running out of the main entrance and set up a perimeter around the building.
The soldier sitting in the passenger seat of the truck jumped out and walked into the town hall, where he encountered the chief of police and four other cops.
"Captain Maverick. Man am I glad to see you!" Chief Edwards said shaking the Captain's hand.
"Chief Edwards." Captain Maverick acknowledged. At the time, the Captain's voice was deep and had authority. "We heard your call for help. What do you want us to do?"
Chief Edwards sighed. "At this point anything, my officers are getting their asses kicked out there, and innocent people are getting gunned down in the streets. Do everything you can to get people off the streets and back to their homes, if they resist then arrest them; if they are armed use lethal force."
"Ok, where's the mayor?" The Captain asked.
Chief Edwards face went solemn. "He's up in his office…he took the quick way out."
Captain Maverick nodded knowing what that meant. He turned to his men and started issuing orders. "ALRIGHT MEN, I WANT FOUR GUYS TO STAY HERE AND GUARD THE TOWN HALL! I WANT TWO MORE UP ON THE ROOF TO PROVIDE OVERWATCH FOR OUR BOYS ON THE GROUND, THE REST OF YOU, GO OUT AND PUT A STOP TO THIS! LETHAL FORCE AUTHORIZED! UNDERSTOOD?"
"HOOAH!" His soldiers replied. All but six of them turned and ran out the building spreading out around the town. The ones that stayed behind set up defensive positons around the building while two of them ran up to the roof with sniper rifles.
Outside, two soldiers turned a corner and saw two men mercilessly beating a woman for a can of food. The two soldiers ran forward and tackled them both to the ground pretty hard. They got up off the men and went to check on the woman who had been beaten badly. One soldier got on his radio to call a medic for the woman. The two men that the soldiers tackled had a murderous look in their eyes. One of them pulled out a .357. magnum and the other pulled out a knife, both had the intent to kill the soldiers.
However, one soldier caught their movement in his peripheral vision and had his R91 assault rifle aimed at both assailants in half a second. "DROP YOUR WEAPONS! NOW!" The soldier ordered the two. The other soldier had his weapon in hand, aiming it at the man with the pistol. "I SAID DROP THEM!" The men didn't listen. They figured that these two were bluffing and wouldn't shoot them. The soldiers both fired a three-round burst into the two men, killing them both. They slung their rifles over their shoulders and returned their attention to the injured woman.
Back at the town hall, one of the snipers was peering down the scope of his rifle at a group of people that were looting a store for supplies. He spotted a young girl that was sitting on the sidewalk crying while clutching on to a teddy bear. 'I need to get her out of there.' He thought. The sniper spotted one of his fellow soldiers that just finished handcuffing a man and handing him over to a police officer. He was about twenty feet away from the little girl.
He got on his radio. "Rodriguez come in!"
"Go ahead!" The soldier on the ground replied.
"Behind you there's a little girl on the ground, about twenty feet away." The sniper informed him. "Get her back here to safety!"
The sniper saw the soldier turn around to look for the little girl.
"I see her. I got her!" The soldier took off towards the little girl. When he approached her, the little girl looked even more afraid. Rodriguez got down on his knees and did everything he could to assure her that he wasn't going to hurt her and he just wanted to help. The little girl slowly got up and walked towards Rodriguez. He opened his arms telling her that everything was going to be ok. When she came up and wrapped her arms around his neck, he wrapped his around her small frame and assured her that everything would be ok before picking her up and running towards the town hall. It would be the safest place for her to stay.
The sniper sighed with relief before focusing his attention elsewhere.
On the other side of town a squad of troops was patrolling in a humvee when they came across the group of teenage boys that had been attacking police officers. The raiders were about thirty yards away from them. The soldiers all got out of the humvee while one of them manned the .50 caliber machine gun. The squad leader, Sergeant Miller got on the radio. "Disperse!" The speaker on the humvee echoed the Sergeant's order. "Disperse now or you will be fired upon!" Sergeant Miller ordered again.
The kid leading the group of raiders turned to them. "They don't have the balls! Let's get them!" They all cheered and charged towards the Guardsmen.
The Sergeant got back on the radio. "DISPERSE! DISPERSE NOW!" He frantically ordered. The raiders weren't going to retreat. Miller had no other options. "OPEN FIRE!" He ordered. The soldiers all aimed their assault rifles and fired at the charging teens. The soldier on the .50 caliber fired and was literally tearing the raiders apart one by one. After firing their weapons for over a minute, the Sergeant gave the order. "CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE!"
The troops all stopped firing. When the smoke had cleared, all that was left of the raiders was blown off limbs and torsos with gaping holes. Sergeant Miller sighed, he didn't want to do it, but had no choice. It was going to be him and his men or them. He turned to his troops. "Let's get moving."
Back at the town hall, Captain Edwards and Chief Maverick were discussing tactics on how to get a better hold on the town when one of the Guardsmen entered. He quickly saluted the higher rank. "Captain, the wind's changing directions. The radiation from New York City will spread here in less than 20 minutes."
"Great, more problems." The Captain ran a hand over his face. "Ok there was a semi-truck that we past about a quarter mile back outside of town. It's carrying Rad-X and Rad-Away. Go out and bring that truck back here!"
"Yes sir!" The soldier saluted again before leaving.
The Captain sighed. "Today is going to be a long day."
(End of Flashback) Washingtonville Town Hall
"It took us a week to contain the violence and restore order. A lot of people died." The Captain said finishing the story."
Eric and Amata nodded. "So explain to us how you're more than 200 years old and still look human."
The Captain scratched his chin. "That's the thing. I don't understand how. No one does. For six straight weeks, everyone in the town had been taking Rad-X and Rad-Away. When supplies ran out, we all just waited for the inevitable. Many people died from radiation sickness, others became ghouls, some of them feral but for me and some of my men, we remained the same. The town doctor believed that our continuous and nonstop use of Rad-X while living in the radiation had caused some sort of mutation that caused us to remain the way we were. Sure we lost our hair, our voice, and our eye color, but we also suffer the same effects that ghouls do. We can be healed by radiation."
Eric was astounded by the Captain's discovery. Normally it would sound stupid and crazy, but because of the experiment that Moira conducted on him when he suffered severe radiation sickness, any wound he had could be healed when he hit 600 Rads.
"So what happened to Chief Edwards?" Eric asked.
Alan sighed. "He became a ghoul and eventually he got worse and went feral ten years ago. 3,000 townsfolk had gone feral over the years. We figured the best thing to do with them was to send them off to the train tunnels about eight miles to the south. Now whenever someone goes feral, we just put them out of their misery." Eric nodded. "Now if you don't mind me asking Eric. What are you doing all the way in small-town Washingtonville?"
Eric sighed knowing that it was going to take some time explaining this. "Well you might want to sit back, because it's a long story."
Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel Checkpoint: June 10, 2279. 11:32 P.M.
Six guards were patrolling the checkpoint. It was 15 miles outside of Chicago.
"Halt!" One Midwestern soldier ordered the two Brotherhood humvees that pulled up to the gate.
The driver of the first humvee got out with his hands up. "My name is Paladin Glade of the East Coast Brotherhood of Steel an-"
Glade never got to finish what he was saying. The soldier in charge raised his laser rifle at him. "EVERYONE OUT OF THE TRUCKS! NOW!" Gallows, Colvin, McGraw, Morril and Artemis got out of the Humvees with their hands behind their heads.
"Listen to us-" Paladin Glade tried to speak, but was again interrupted by the soldier giving the orders.
"SHUT UP!"
"LISTEN! WE HAVE EVIDENCE THAT PROVES GENERAL MARSHES AND HIS MEN ARE THE REAL ENEMY!" Glade exploded. "We need to speak with General Monroe." He said. General Jack Monroe was the commanding officer of the Midwestern Brotherhood.
The Midwestern soldiers all looked at each other before looking back at Glade. The commanding officer lowered his rifle. "Where's the evidence you have?" He asked.
Colvin spoke up. "In the back of the first Humvee. Two power armored helmets with helmet cams."
Glade was next to speak. "They have footage of Marshes men burning down and massacring an entire settlement."
The soldier looked unsure for a moment, but right now he was willing to go a little faith. "Alright, we'll take you to Monroe, but you're going to have to do what we tell you."
Glade and the others let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."
Washingtonville Town Hall: June 11, 2279. 12:14 A.M.
Once Eric had finished explaining the situation to Captain Maverick he leaned back in his seat. The Captain had listened to everything Eric had told him. From the invasion of the Capital Wasteland, to the downfall of Lyons' Brotherhood, to the complete and total control by General Marshes and his army.
"God. When the bombs fell across the world, I thought that would be the end of all wars. In the end, if there's something that someone wants they'll do whatever it takes to get it." Captain Maverick scoffed and shook his head in disbelief. "Hasn't enough blood been spilt in the past 200 years?" He looked to Eric. "So what brought you all the way up here?"
"We're trying to get to Rebirth Army Base." Eric answered the Captain.
Alan's eyes widened. "How do you know about Rebirth?"
Eric narrowed his eyes. "How do you know?"
"My scouts came across the base a while ago. We could see Rebirth written on the base sign. Because of its tight security and none of us ever hearing about it, we immediately knew it was top secret operations base." Maverick explained. "How did you find out about it?"
Eric reached into his assault pack and pulled out the files on Rebirth and showed them to Captain Maverick.
The Captain looked over each page in disbelief. "My God." He put the pages back in the folder and handed it back to Eric. "Well, you've come a long way, but if you plan on getting through the base's main entrance, you're in for some trouble." He told them
"Why?" Amata asked not liking the sound of that.
"When they sealed up the base they had several defenses set up to keep the entire world out. Minefield, guard towers spread 20 feet apart from each other with automated turrets on each tower, Sentry Bots, Mister Gutsies and Protectrons patrol around the base 24/7."
Eric just realized something. "Hang on. I think I might have an idea." He looked through the folder until he found General Chase's list of demands. He skimmed down the list until he came across number 53. "Facial recognition scanners." He said showing the list to Captain Maverick. "I'll bet my soul that the scanners were designed to identify anyone that was enlisted in the U.S. Military."
Captain Maverick looked up from the piece of paper with a skeptical look. "What are you suggesting?"
"Would one of your men be willing to take a chance Captain? One of your men who hasn't been ghoulified?" Eric asked Alan.
Captain Maverick knew where this was going. "That's a big risk to take Eric. Since none of my men were chosen for the base, facial recognition or not, they'll probably be recognized as unauthorized personnel."
"Captain Maverick, the last thing I want to do is put the lives of your men on the line, but I am running out of time and options here. For every day I don't come back with help, hundreds of people continue to die." Eric got up out of his seat and leaned forward. "Please Captain, I need your help."
Alan scratched the back of his head and looked to be deep in thought for the next couple minutes. He sighed. "I can't promise you anything Eric. Even if we could get you inside the base, there's a good bet that the base commander won't help you. If it were General Chase in command, he'd help you in a heartbeat."
Eric was confused. "I thought General Chase was the base commander?"
"Uh," Alan tried finding the words. "General Chase had a cabin about a mile to the north of town. It caught fire and the water tank exploded. General Chase was killed. Before the bombs fell, several people in the town said that a Vertibird flew over heading north towards Rebirth. It's a safe bet that it was a replacement commander."
For some reason Eric found himself asking questions. "What caused the fire?"
"The fire marshal never could figure that out. He believed that it was bad wiring." Alan answered.
"What was the time it started?"
"The fire marshal said that a neighbor down the road from his house called in an explosion at 9:08 A.M. He believes that the fire started somewhere between 8:55 and 9:00 A.M."
Eric was having a hard time believing that someone like General Constantine Chase would've died by a fire. Why? A military man like Chase would've been wide awake by 5:00 A.M. plus, Eric had seen the time that the clocks had stopped on and that was 9:47 A.M. The fact that it had happened less than 30 minutes before the bombs fell…Nope Eric wasn't buying it.
"Do you mind if I take a look around General Chase's cabin?" Eric asked.
Captain Maverick looked at Eric with a knowing look. "You don't think was an accident."
"No I don't." Eric confirmed.
Alan smiled. "Good." His face went dead serious. "I don't either."
Eric frowned. "You don't?"
Alan shook his head. "No. Ever since I found out about it, I knew that something wasn't right. For years I have gone back there to try and find anything that would tell me different, but never did."
Eric nodded. "Alright show us the way!"
Chicago Command Center: June 11, 2279. 12:25 A.M.
Glade and the others were being lead to a room where they would meet with General Monroe. However they felt very naked at the moment. They had been stripped of their power armor and weapons and they were shackled together. Plus they were under heavy guard so that didn't help any.
They entered the room and were met with a man dressed in a modified T-51b Power Armored suit. He smiled. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"
Glade stepped forward. "General Monroe my name is-"
"Paladin Glade." General Monroe interrupted the Paladin. "You and your band of misfits are all part of Elder Lyons' killer force." The General began to size up Glade and the others. "The question is what should I do with you?"
Before the General could say another word, one of the Paladins that arrested Glade stepped forward. He was holding the power helmets that had footage of what was really going on. "General."
"What is it Paladin?" Monroe asked.
He held out the power helmets. "I think you should see the footage on these."
Monroe frowned, but took the helmets and walked over to a nearby projector, where he had a cord that connected to the helmet cam. As soon as he hit play he saw a squad of Lost Hills soldiers beginning their assault on Big Town.
A fireteam of soldiers from Lyons' Brotherhood were able to hold their ground for a few minutes but were quickly outgunned by the opposing force. As soon as the soldiers were in the town, a surviving soldier from Lyons' Brotherhood was standing in front of a girl acting as a human shield. The girl was Bittercup. The soldier had his laser rifle raised at one hostile. He knew he was going to die, but he was going to take one of them with him. As he pulled the trigger and shot one of the hostile soldiers in the head, a stealth soldier decloaked behind him and slit his throat before turning to Bittercup and stabbing her repeatedly.
The soldiers finished off the settlement by burning the bodies of its deceased inhabitants before heading off to Arefu and repeating the same actions. "Nice job, boys! General Marshes will be pleased!" The commander of the squad said.
The moment those words reached General Monroe's ears, he was livid! His teeth were gritting, his fists were clenched so hard his knuckles were white, and if this were a cartoon his eyes would be on fire.
Then he realized that he was about to place six innocent soldiers in front of a firing squad. He turned to the Paladins that were guarding them. "Guards, unshackle them now!" The guards all quickly removed their restraints. When they were free Glade walked forward. "Paladin Glade, you have my deepest apologies. When Marshes and his men arrived they had showed us some credible evi-"
Glade raised a hand that stopped the General in his tracks. "I understand General and I assure you there's nothing to apologize for. General Marshes played you along with a group of Outcasts back in the Capital Wasteland, but you have a chance to make up for that now." Monroe nodded. "We need help."
"And you'll have it." General Monroe guaranteed. "Marshes just made the biggest mistake lying to me! He may be a tough bastard, but when someone crosses me…" He just smiled evilly and left that sentence hanging. Seeing how pissed Monroe was, Glade didn't want to know what he was going to say. Monroe walked over to a radio and activated it. "General Monroe to Paladin Lord Thompson. Come in Thompson!" He waited for a reply from his second-in-command.
"This is Thompson, go ahead General!"
"Mobilize battalions one and five, armored columns two and three, and first squadron!"
"Copy that General!"
General Monroe looked to Paladin Glade. "3,500 men along with 50 tanks, and two dozen Vertibirds. Keep in mind though Paladin Glade, it'll take some time to get all of that mobilized."
"How long?" Glade asked.
"Three days." Monroe answered.
Glade sighed in desperation and ran a hand across his face. "Let's hope we won't be too late."
General Chase's Cabin: June 11, 2279. 12:30 A.M.
There wasn't much left of the cabin. There were a few boards and beams that were still standing, but everything else had been reduced to splinters. Behind the destroyed cabin was a small tool shed that had a padlock on it.
"Damn…there's hardly anything left." Eric whispered. With him were Amata, Captain Maverick, Butch, Harkness, Jericho, and Dogmeat. He turned to the rest of the group. "Alright let's see if we can find anything." Everyone moved around the area. Eric, Captain Edwards, Jericho and Amata were digging through the rubble seeing if they could find anything. Harkness and Butch were checking the ground around the cabin to see if there was something hiding in the dirt and leaves.
Jericho was looking at a burned-out support beam that was still standing. He wiped away some dirt and dead wood and saw something that caught his attention. Bullet holes. Jericho pointed at the holes then pointed at a specific direction in the woods. He began walking towards the trees in the direction he just pointed at.
Dogmeat was sniffing around in the dirt until he came across something that alerted his nose. The dog started pawing at the dirt trying to dig up the item that caught his attention. Butch noticed this and knelt down next to the dog. "What'd you find boy?" Butch asked while scratching the dog's ears. He kept moving dirt aside until he found the item. "Hey Eric!" He called out to his friend.
Eric and the others walked over to Butch. "What'd you find buddy?" Eric asked.
Butch stood up and looked to Eric. "Not me, Dogmeat did." He held up his index finger, where two pins were dangling.
"Grenade pins?" Eric asked.
Butch nodded. "Yep."
"Not only that!" A voice called out to them. Everyone turned and saw Jericho walking towards them. "Check out what I found." He held out his hand, which was full of bullet casings.
"5.56 casings. Where'd you find those?" Eric asked the former raider.
Jericho pointed in the direction he found them. "By dem trees." He turned and pointed to the beam he inspected earlier. "I found a couple holes in the beam. Normally I wouldn't have wasted my time with them, but the holes had an angle so that caught my attention. No nails made dem, it was something else. I went in the trees and found the casings."
Eric was impressed by the level of initiative Jericho was showing. Jericho noticed the look on the younger man's face. "I may have been a raider kid, but I was smart enough ta pay attention unlike dese dumb fuckers that let the drugs do the work." He chuckled.
"Well, I guess that proves your theories then." Amata said to Eric and Captain Maverick. "This definitely wasn't an accident."
"Yep, someone was gunning for Chase." Butch agreed. He looked towards the shed, which looked like it hadn't been touched in years. "I'm going to check out the shed." When he approached the shed door he activated his Pip-Boy flashlight. Butch noticed the padlock was completely rusted, so he used the butt of his rifle to break it off. He opened the door and walked inside. Each step he took caused the floor to creak loudly. All Butch found was a variety of tools and toolboxes.
"Anything?" Eric's voice rang.
Butch shook his head. "NoOOO!" Butch yelled as he fell through the wooden floor and down a flight of concrete stairs.
"Butch!" Eric exclaimed as he ran over to the shed. He saw the gaping hole and walked down the stairs where he helped Butch back to his feet. "You alright?"
"Yeah." Butch groaned. A few seconds later he felt a stinging sensation in his arm. He hissed. "Ooowww." There was a nasty cut from his wrist to his elbow. He'd worry about it later. Butch looked to his left and spotted a skeleton lying on top of a manhole. "Eric, look!" He said pointing at the skeleton.
Eric saw what Butch was pointing at. He also noticed the silenced 1911 in the skeleton's hand. Harkness walked up and moved the bones aside.
"What do you think's down there Eric?" He asked drawing his 9mm pistol.
Eric drew his Beretta. "Let's find out." Harkness lifted the cover and set it aside.
Everyone started climbing down the ladder until they reached the bottom. They found a door that lead into a fallout shelter. Harkness and Butch both gave Eric cover while he opened the door. They walked in and found six more skeletons lying on the ground. Each one had a silenced 1911. On the left side of the room was a large assortment of guns and ammo boxes. On the right side was a bed, fridge and first aid kit. In front of them was another skeleton that was in a chair slumped forward against a desk that had a ham radio that was still on.
While Eric, Butch and the others were inspecting the skeletons, Harkness went to examine the skeleton at the desk. The skeleton was wearing a military service uniform that was riddled with bullet holes. Harkness looked at the name tag of the jacket.
"Eric. Take a look at this." Harkness said. Eric came up to where Harkness was. Harkness pointed at the name tag on the skeleton. "Look at the name!"
Eric tilted his head to get a clear view of the name. When he read it, his face had gone pale white. He took a few steps back in shock. "Oh my God…It's General Chase."
Cliffhangers suck don't they? Well Glade and the others made it to Chicago AND they've enlisted the Midwestern Brotherhood's help. Who killed Chase? Wait till the next update to find out. Remember to leave a like or review...or both. Tell me how I did. Constructive criticism/ideas are welcomed.
NCRMC signing off for now.