Stranger In This Town

Community shower stalls weren't new to me. The vault was designed a bit more for efficiency than comfort, so there were a bunch in there. That being said, I still felt a little apprehensive about using these ones.

For one thing, the walls between them didn't go all the way up. Or down. They looked like they were slapped together by somebody that had a vague idea of what showers were supposed to be. Which kind of went with the theme of this place, I guess. But, the thing that affected me the most was that I was about to get naked in an area around people that I didn't know. Or trust.

I know, I know. The odds of somebody doing anything in this place were quite low. I mean, this was a town, basically. They had a sheriff. They wouldn't let people get away with shenanigans like that. But...I was still worried.

So, I took the quickest shower I have ever taken in my life. Ever. Not just because of the slightly unneeded fear, though. The water...was really fucking cold. The people here might have been used to it. But I was used to the vault. We had a water heating system. So this was cold.

Minutes later, I stepped out of the female shower shack, still wet. And shivering. I had forgotten a towel when I ran out of the vault. And, as one of my favorite books had often mentioned, a towel was one of the most useful items a traveler could have. I smirked a little bit at that thought. Which turned into a wince of pain. Right. Face was still hurting.

I knew I should have gone to the common house and went to sleep. But, my slight anxiety over the shower situation was still present, so I didn't want to sleep around people I didn't know. Which meant I might as well look into the places Lucas mentioned. Craterside Supply and Moriarty's. I looked around a bit, and saw the signs for both buildings. Moriarty's was a bit closer, so I went there first.

Moriarty's Saloon was the highest building in the crater. Also one of the largest. It was two stories, with a huge sign on top with its name. Like all of the other buildings here, it seemed to have been hastily slapped together with mostly corrugated metal. There were a few windows around it, but only one door, on the front side. So, still shivering, I approached the door and walked in.

Inside was dusty, smelly, and dark. Directly in front of me was an "L" shaped bar, with the short side facing me, and the long side on my left and running up away from the door. There were several small table with chairs scattered about the main room, Some were taken, but most were empty. I guess that made sense. I didn't really have any drinking experience, but I guess more people would be here at night. And it was still afternoon.

To my right was a small room with more tables. To my left was a set of stairs leading up. Probably to the rooms for rent that Lucas mentioned. Behind the bar was a door that probably went to a storeroom. I could hear a radio playing, but it was heavily filled with static.

As for the people here, like I said, there weren't that many. The was a sort of grizzled, grumpy looking bald guy at the bar, staring into his glass. In the room to the right was a man with sunglasses and a pale suit. He seemed to be watching everybody here. His attention lingered on me for a bit longer than I liked, so I kept looking around. A young blonde woman was at a table near the door, a glass in one hand, a pen in the other, and a sheet of paper in front of her with a bunch of writing on it.

I heard a banging noise, then a a very gravelly voice. "Come on, you stupid thing. Work!"

"Leave it alone, Gob. Radio's fine. Something's fucked up the signal."

I looked to the bar, where the noises were coming from. The second voice belonged to a woman leaning against the bar. She had short red hair, and was wearing a pale blue outfit that only went partway down her thighs. She appeared to be nice enough. She also looked tired.

I didn't have time to think about that, though, because I looked at the figure behind the bar. The one she was talking to. And I reacted without thinking.

"AH! The hell!?"

Everybody in the bar looked up to see me pointing at the figure behind the bar. Well, everybody except the bald guy. He just chuckled a bit and kept drinking.

The reason I jumped and yelled was because the man behind the bar looked like a zombie. Seriously. His skin was peeling off. I could see a lot of his muscles. I mean, he was wearing clothes. Thankfully. But his forearms and head were still exposed. And that was enough. He only had a few strands of hair left on his head. I couldn't really tell what color they were. What skin he did have left was peeling. And decaying. It was kinda nasty, really.

The man seemed just as shocked as I was. He threw his hands up in front of his face and cringed a bit. "I'm sorry! Don't hit me!" His voice was the first one I heard.

At that reaction, I realized what I did. And how I looked. A short, wet girl in a bright blue jumpsuit, point at the guy that was obviously the bartender, yelling at him, and then he reacts like that? Yeah, I felt stupid now. So, I lowered my hand, giving everybody a sheepish look. "Uh...ahem...sorry bout that..."

Way to go, Molly. Great first impression.

The man lowered his hands, still wary, but seeming to be slightly confused as well. "You're not gonna...hit me?" The red headed woman kept watching us. The blonde woman went back to her paper. And the creepy suit guy kept watching me. Wanting to get my attention off of him, I approached the bar, shaking my head. "No, no. I wouldn't do that. I just...um...I just got surprised, is all. I haven't seen somebody...like you, before. Heh." I nervously scratched the back of my head, wondering if I could make this more awkward.

The man breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, well, that's alright, then. Guessing you're from a vault, then, huh?" I nodded a bit. "That makes sense. Name's Gob. Nice to meet you." He offered his hand to shake. I was hesitant to reciprocate, but I couldn't leave him hanging like that. So, I took his hand. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Really. He wasn't slimy at all.

He seemed to like that I actually shook his hand. "I serve the drinks here. And this here is Nova." He gestured to the red headed woman. She gave a nod in greeting, before her attention went to the door as somebody else walked. in.

"Well, uh, nice to meet you. And, again, sorry about the way I reacted. I just...um...what are you?"

Yep. I could make this more awkward. Awesome.

Gob seemed to take the question well enough, though. "I'm a ghoul." I raised an eyebrow in confusion. He chuckled a bit. "Right, you were in a vault. Forgot. I was a human. I got hit by a lot of radiation, and instead of dying, I became this."

"Huh...does that happen a lot?"

Gob shrugged a bit. "No idea. There are a bunch of ghouls around, especially down by the Mall. But I'm betting most people just die from the radiation."

At that point, the door behind the bar opened up, and a man stepped out, looking right at us. He was a bit shorter than Gob. He had white hair on his head and face. He wore black pants and a black vest over a white shirt.

"Hey, Gob! I don't pay ya to talk all day!"

"You don't pay me at all, jackass," I heard Gob whisper under his breath.

The man came over towards us, looking right at me. "Newcomer, eh? Colin Moriarty at your service. Welcome to Moriarty's! My bar, my home, and my little slice of heaven in the backwoods little burg." He had a pretty prominent accent. Irish, I think.

So, yeah, I already didn't like this guy. But, he owned this place. If anybody here would have the info I needed, he would. Guess I had to play nice.

"Hi, nice to meet you. My name's Molly Brown." I offered my hand to him.

As he took it, I saw his eyes taking me in. Sizing me up, I think.

"I'm here because I heard you might happen to know if my father came through? Middle-aged guy, average height, gray hair. Wearing a vault suit. And maybe a lab coat."

Something seemed to click in his mind, because his expression suddenly went from mild interest to dawning comprehension.

"My God...it's you! The wee baby girl, all grown up! Persistent little flower, ain't ya? Been a long time kid. What, eighteen, nineteen years?"

I blinked a few times as I stared at him in dumbfounded silence. "...run that by me one more time?"

He feigned an expression of hurtful shock. "What, your daddy never told you about me? About how you were born out here in the wastes?"

I shook my head in disbelief. "No, we were born in the vault. Everybody there was. They never opened the vault before." Although...

Colin let out a bark of laughter. "Is that what he told you? Oh, the lies we tell those we love!" He shook his head a bit. "No, you were born out in the wastes. Daddy brought you to that vault to keep you safe. I know caused he stayed he a night before he went in. Him, that Brotherhood friend of his, and you, the suckling babe wit nary a tit to suckle. Sorry about your mum. Truly."

That...no. No, dad wouldn't lie to me about that. Would he? I mean...I saw notes saying that the vault was opened before...no! No, he wouldn't do that.

...just like he wouldn't up and leave without telling you, huh?

I shook my head a bit and decided to move forward. "Look, I'll buy your story for now. Point is, dad left the vault, and I need to find him. Did he come through here?"

Colin folded his arms across his chest and nodded a bit. "Oh, yeah, he came through alright. Didn't even have the courtesy to buy a drink. Just asked me for some information and took enough."

I felt some hope grow inside me. Finally, a lead! "Do you know where he went?"

Colin nodded again. "Of course. I make it my business to know everything that's going on around the town. I can even tell you." He then gave me a huge, shit-eating grin. "For a hundred caps."

My mouth fell open. "What!? You're gonna charge me!?"

Colin shrugged a bit. "I'm a business man, sweetie. Information is a hot commodity. I have it, and you want it. I need something I want in return."

"God dammit!' I slammed my fist on the bar in frustration. "You're really gonna make me pay to find out where he went?" Colin just nodded, still grinning.

Fuck it.

"Fine. I don't have caps, but you can have my armor. That's gotta be worth something, right?"

Colin shook his head. "Uh-uh. I don't do trades. Give me the caps, or we have nothing else to discuss."

I stared at him in shock. I couldn't wrap my head around somebody being this despicable. "But I don't have any caps!"

Colin shrugged a bit. "Well, guess you're gonna have to work on that." And then he turned around and walked back into the back room, closing the door behind him.

Gob watched his boss leave, then turned back to me, pity on his face. I think. It was kind of hard to read half of a face, honestly. "Sorry bout that kid. I remember the guy, but Colin's the only one he talked to here." HE glanced back at the door, then quickly brought a bottle up and slid it over to me. "Here. Nuka-Cola, on the house. Just, uh, drink it in that side room, so Colin doesn't see. He'd hit me good if he knew."

That was both unsurprising and sad. "Thanks...Gob." I took the bottle and headed into the room, still in a kind of shock. I sat down, twisted the cap off, and decided to pocket it. There's one down. Ninety-nine more to go.

I was about to take a swig when I noticed the suit guy watching me. He was still creepy. And I was extremely frustrated now. So, I got a bit...rude.

"The fuck do you want?"

He cleared his throat, got up, and sat down at my table, across from me. "Greetings, I'm Mr. Burke. I couldn't help but overhear the conversation you had with patron of this establishment."

"Yeah, probably because you've been staring at me since I walked in."

He cleared his throat again. "Yes, well, that's because your arrival here has opened up a unique opportunity that I wish to discuss with you. One we could both benefit from, judging by the previous conversation."

I thought on that for a moment. "Wait...are you saying that you know where my father went.?"

Burke shook his head. "No, as the ghoul said, your father only spoke with Moriarty. No, I can help you in another way. I have a job available for you. One that I would be willing to pay one hundred caps for you to do."

That got my interest. I took a swig so I could stall for time. To think about it. The guy was suspicious. But...I needed the money.

"Alright, I'll bite. What's the job?"

Burke seemed to light up a bit at that. "I work for a gentleman who has a wonderful view for the future of the Capital Wasteland. He envisions a future for the land that will make it a shinning example of civilization for-"

I decided to cut him off. "Drop the sales pitch. What's the job?"

He seemed slightly perturbed by that, but he continued. "Yes. The job is simple." He reached into his suit jacket and brought out a small electronic device, setting it before me. "Simply place this on the bomb in the center of town. Once you've done that, meet me at Tenpenny tower for your payment."

I picked up the device and looked at it. One side had a flat plate on it. The other had a couple LED lights. Didn't seem like much, really. "What is this?"

Burke waved his hand a bit. "Nothing of your concern. Just place the device on the bomb. That's it."

I didn't trust this at all. I mean, the first thing that popped into my head is that as soon as I did that, the bomb would blow up. Unlikely, but still. I didn't want to risk it. However, I also thought that if I told Burke no, then he'd do something to force me into the task. Or attack me. I wasn't sure. So, I took the device and placed it into my bag. "Okay. You got yourself a deal."

Burke grinned widely, apparently pleased with himself. "Excellent. I knew you were the right person for this." Then he rose from his seat and headed out the door.

I sat there, drinking my Nuka-Cola, wondering what I was gonna do next.

Young Lust – Pink Floyd