Chapter 10: And What a Return It Was

My mind was totally set on getting my vault food, now that it's been months since I left home. Soon, I realized something important, and stopped walking.

"What is it? We still have some ground to cover before sunset." Joe said, showing us the distance with his hand.

"I know what to do! I know how to help everybody!" I shouted.

"How?" Victoria asked.

"I'll tell the town tomorrow, just meet me outside the mayor's office." I smiled.

They agreed and we walked a short distance and finally found the town. Blood stains were still all over the dirt, but the bodies were moved away from it. We walked inside the gate and into the town. We walked to the bar for some rest and went inside. The place was packed with people, all laughing or drinking away their memories. Such things were very common in a world where you can die tomorrow and it would be normal. Jab waved to us as he served drinks and went up to us.

"Hey! My favorite smoothskins! Welcome back from the dead! Trust me, it ain't that bad though." Jab said, laughing playfully.

"Hey Jab, you still have our rooms?" I asked.

"Of course, Joe's been paying for them." Jab said.

"Thanks." Victoria said to Jab with a smile.

"Right, no need to thank your best friend for paying for your home while you could have possibly died, no-no." Joe sighed.

"Hey, thanks for all you guys did, I'm getting treated betteraround here now. Any drinks are on me tonight!" Jab exclaimed.

"Thanks Jab, but I'd like to get some sleep." I said politely.

"Well that's too bad for you!" Joe smile as he went up to the counter and pointed to a bottle of whiskey and slammed his fist on the counter.

"Don't do that." Jab told him.

"I'm sorry, I crossed the line." Joe said quickly as Jab poured a shot.

I went upstairs and put my holster and pack on my dresser and sat in my bed. I checked my pistol and put it down, changing my attention to my scarred legs. Victoria then came inside as I moved my hurt leg slowly.

"Hey, I want to say thanks for what you did. I might not be here right now if it wasn't for you, so, thanks." Victoria said with a kind smile.

"No problem. You guys saved my life, I should return the favor." I nodded.

She sat down in my bed and kissed my cheek.

"And thanks for keeping me company." She smiled.

Victoria got up and walked to the doorway and smiled at me. She walked back to her room as I smiled back. Joe then came up the stairs with bottles in his hand and called me to his room with a drunken arm gesture. I walked to his room and peered at him as he gave me a book that was written in pencil. The cover said "Joe's Wasteland Survival Guide."

"I don't believe it." I smiled, looking at it.

"I know. I've been working on it every day since you've been out." Joe smiled.

"No, not that. I just didn't know you could write." I joked. The both of us laughed for a moment.

"Don't you dare judge me, you condescending douchebag." Joe smiled as he tapped his gun against my shoulder.

"Thanks for this, Joe." I smiled.

"No problem, buddy." He smiled as he drank from his bottle.

"Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go back downstairs and find some feminine company." Joe winked as he took his bottle downstairs. He then quickly popped his head back up the stairs to see me.

"I'm gonna go and pay for sex, Jace. We—we do that out here." Joe explained quickly afterwards as he left with his whiskey bottle.

I headed to my room and began to read Joe's book. I read as much as I could before I went to sleep, reading up on basic survival methods and creatures of the Wasteland. I closed my eyes and took in all new information about the Wasteland, remembering for some reason to stay away from large buildings.

I woke up from a blissful sleep and went downstairs. I had some Nuka-Cola and noodles with mole rat bits in it. They've never tasted so good! After I ate, I went to the office and saw Joe asleep at Larry's old desk.

"Morning, Joe. Can you gather the townspeop—"

"OH MY GOD, CAN YOU NOT YELL AT ME?!" Joe screamed at me. "Sure thing." He added in.

People eventually gathered around below me, slightly impatient by my summoning. Soon, around 20 people gathered around and waited for what I had to say. Victoria and Joe stood next to me.

"Morning." I told them.

"OH MY GOD!" Joe shouted as he covered his ears and walked away.

"I know that things are hard around here after the attack, but I've come up with a compromise that will help this town." I shouted down to them.

"There is a vault, not far from this town. It's filled with people who are in need of food and water. They have adequate weaponry and a security force that can protect this town. If we can give them food, I will see if I can set up a compromise so that they defend the town. I'm going to need your support for this, everyone, what do you say?" I shouted to them.

The people started to talk among themselves until they started to shrug and shake their heads.

"How do you know there are people in there?" Someone asked me.

"Because… I used to live there."

"Ew!" Someone yelled from the crowd.

"Do you guys agree, or not?" I yelled down to them.

The people talked amongst each other. "Sure. A—Are we just supposed to clap in agree-ance, or…"

"Nah, that's fine, dude. Whatever. And don't worry, because of this, everybody can have a chance to live a safe life in Megaton!" I yelled with a smile.

"Alright, cool." A singular townsperson yelled back as the crowd dispersed.

I walked over to Joe and Victoria who were clapping and smiling at me.

"Well I think that went well, what do you guys think?" I asked.

"Couldn't have done it better myself! And I mean that this time." Joe nodded.

"Yeah, nice job!" Victoria exclaimed.

"AH! GUYS! I'm… hung-over." Joe pointed to his ears and shut his eyes in pain. I shook my head at him.

"Thanks, so let's get the caravans ready to transport, shall we?"

I turned over to Joe, anticipating him to wince and hold his ears. "Nah, I think I'm over it now." He shrugged as he walked away normally.

The townspeople gathered food from the town and strapped it onto bags. We gathered the irradiated animals in the area, which are called brahmin. It is a four-legged animal with two heads and an "udder". When I first saw it, I wasn't afraid of it, it just seemed normal after seeing the things out here. Around 8 brahmins were gathered and were strapped with bags of food, water and tools. We started transporting them towards the vault. I led them into the tunnel and towards the blast door. I told the caravan to wait out here. I called over Joe and Victoria.

"What do you need?" Victoria asked.

"I have some unfinished business in the vault... and... I'd like you two to be there." I told them.

"Sounds good to me, just be careful, all right? Remember who those people are. They're your friends and family. It doesn't sound like you're planning a party." Victoria expressed nervously.

I walked to the controls for the door and spoke into the intercom.

"It's me, open up." I said into it.

"About time. I mean—what's the password?" A man said with a gruff.

"Open the door, Haywood." I sighed at him.

"Please don't tell the Overseer I'm like this on the job."

The large, circular door made a loud sound as it grinded itself open. The three of us walked in.

"Wait, who are these people?" A security guard asked.

"Get out of my way; we're going to The Overseer's office." I said as I pushed him aside.

"Hey! What about my question?!" He shouted at me.

"Uh, shove it up your ass, and we'll take it from there." I pointed two finger guns at him and clicked my tongue twice. I walked forward into the vault, with the people moving out of our way as they recognized the shaggy haired kid in front of the two outsiders.

We walked through the hallways towards the office and answered the many questions Joe and Victoria had about the people here. We went to the office and I told Joe to wait outside as Victoria and I went in. I saw the overseer sitting at his desk. "Are you sure about this Jace?" Victoria eased me. "I've got it. You're better than Joe, anyway."

I looked at the Overseer as he worked.

"Well it's about time you got back; we've been surviving off scraps here." The Overseer said tiredly as he sat in his desk and wrote on paper.

"He sounds like a douchebag, Jace!" Joe shouted from the other room. I closed the door on him. "Awwww." Joe said continuously until the door shut.

"We're here to talk about a compromise." I said, still holding a grudge against him.

"We're not appointing you for this job to compromise." The Overseer sneered.

"A town outside will continue to feed the vault if you send people over there to help it." I said.

He scoffed. "Who are you to tell me what I should do with the people here? Those dirty rats will get nothing from this vault!" The Overseer snapped back.

"Those 'dirty rats' are normal people just like you and me! They need our help and I'll be damned if I let you kill everybody I know!" I shouted.

"Easy, Jace." Victoria said as she held onto my shoulder.

The door opened Victoria and Joe and Rachel walked in.

"I'm sorry; she said she knew you and that she wanted to see you, Jace." Joe told me.

"It's all right, Joe." I eased him and myself at the same time.

"Jace? People said you returned, so I came here. You look so different, is that a beard? What happened to your jumpsuit?" Rachel asked in rapid-fire.

"Rachel, I'm sorry, but this isn't the best time." I sighed as I held the bridge of my nose in stress.

"Who's this?" Rachel asked as she looked at Victoria, who was still holding my shoulder. Victoria's hand dropped to her side instantly. I guess she knew what was coming next.

"Oooh, shit! They both have a crush on Jace!" Joe called from the outside.

"Can you do me a favor?" I asked Rachel.

"Yeah." She closed the door on Joe. "Awwwwww." He said again until it closed on him.

"This is Victoria and that's Joe, they're friends I made outside." I explained.

"Friends?" Rachel asked as she studied Victoria closely. Victoria raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah. Friends, we're just talking to your father about something." I told her.

"All right, then. I'll... just be outside then." Rachel said as she walked out to Joe. "So he didn't pick you, huh?" Joe asked Rachel as the door closed. She sighed and slapped him in the face right before the metallic doors closed. Victoria and I turned back to The Overseer.

"Look at you, look at how you dress and how you talk, you're just like one of them." The Overseer said.

"'One of them'? These people are dying and they need our help, I could have let everyone die in here, but I didn't, you know why? Because its people who-unlike you-actually care about helping and rely on me. It's people like Rachel and my father who want to help people! Not you!" I yelled.

"Your father? Your father was a deadbeat just like you!" He shouted.

I punched The Overseer and he flew over his desk. Victoria grabbed my shoulders and kept me from The Overseer.

"Look at you..." The Overseer panted, feeling his jaw.

"Look at what the outside has done to you! You're an animal and need to be put down like one. This is how you treat people who disagree with you? You just beat them into agreeing with you?" The Overseer yelled.

"I'm glad I sent you out there, you want to know why? I'd rather see you turn into an animal than my own daughter! You don't know what it's like to be a leader… you don't know what it's like to be a father. You're just a child." He added.

"I told you that there was going to be change here, and now I'm going to make it happen, and you aren't going to stand in my way." I said in a softer tone.

"I knew this would happen if I let people out, and I knew this would eventually happen to your kind. You and your father. You're tainted. You're ending up just like him." The Overseer spat.

"You father turned on me just after you left. I told him there was no way you were coming back and that he was too late to save you. He yelled at me and he said that I ruined his life. He was going to rally the people to overthrow me. I sent my security to put him to rest, permanently, before this turned into a riot. Of course... everyone thought it was an accident. I know what this seems like, but this is the position I'm in Jace." The Overseer baited me.

We stood in silence for a moment as I glared angrily and emotionally at him. I couldn't face him the information he told me. I didn't know what I was about to do and it scared me. Victoria saw this in my face, and she backed away. My mind went blank after this. Victoria filled me in on what I did. I ran and kicked The Overseer in the head. He fell over and coughed, looking at me with his eyes wide open.

"GET UP!" I commanded with fury and tears.

He got up and I grabbed his shirt and sling-shotted him into the wall and into my fist. I grabbed his fist and broke his arm over the corner of his desk. He fell to the ground, screaming.

"GET-UP!" I screamed.

He moved to a wall and rested his head on it as he caught his breath.

"You couldn't even have the decency to tell people what you did, you piece of SHIT!" I punched him side of his head and it smashed into the wall. I screamed hysterically at him. He coughed and sobbed as he grabbed his head.

"Get up!" I shouted.

"Control yourself… I did what I had to do to keep people safe—"

"Well that fixes everything, doesn't it? That makes everything worth it?!" I grabbed his shirt and pulled him to his feet. I began punching him across the face, blood flew from him and onto the walls. I gave him a straight in the nose and he flew into a wall, grabbing at nothing to pull himself up. I grabbed his head and threw him back into the wall. He fell over and I picked him up again. I pulled him by the hair and brought his head into his desk. He bounced off with a crack and fell over, moaning. I grabbed his head and readied my fist at his neck. At that moment, I heard a voice echo in my head.

"You are meant to do a lot, but not everything."

I snapped back into my mind again and looked at him with hate. I wanted him to suffer, but I thought about my actions. I lowered my fist and crouched next to him.

"The only reason I'm letting you live is because your daughter can still scavenge some love for you, and I'm not going to put her through what you're doing to me. If it were up to me, I would kill you right now." I whispered to him.

"Then you… don't have what it takes to be a leader… your blood keeps you from seeing truth." He coughed.

"You… can get people to follow you, sure… but you don't know what it's like to be a leader until you had to do what I did… choose what I did."

"I did choose. And I made a better choice than you."

"You think that because you feel benevolent in its choice… but it's fleeting. A bold-faced lie. These decisions have far-reaching consequences. I know this because I'm not an insolent child. Not a dependent idiot stuck on a pre-meditated job… taking a fake 'test', you're not the legend this vault birthed. Just a puppet strung up by your own hands. The worst part is you don't even realize you're controlling it."

"Not a legend. Not evem... not Amat—Rachel. No… I've ruined that opportunity. There will be another. We will make one better than you."

He was speaking nonsense at the point, I dropped him.

Victoria stared at me as I got up.

"Get Joe to take him to a doctor outside the vault. Let him know what it feels like to be out there, and leave him in Springvale." I said as I walked out of the room. Joe looked at my hands and shook his head.

"Well... I didn't see that coming." He said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes and started to walk next to me.

Victoria told Joe what to do as I walked to a water fountain and rinsed my hands. I punched a wall afterwards in anger and moaned "ow" afterwards. I then sat against the "defeated" wall. Victoria walked up to me and sat next to me.

"I'm sorry about what happened." She told me.

"I am too."

"Thanks for not doing what you did; I'm glad you thought about it at the end." She said.

"The end's what we're all thinking about, now." I sighed.

"Can you blame us?"

I sat there for a moment and breathed in, looking at my hands.

"Why didn't you stop me?" I asked sadly.

"Because I know what it feels like. I wanted to get revenge for what happened to me, but I never had the chance... and he got away."

"What happened to you?"

"I was little... and I grew up in Megaton. My parents and I worked on the piping in the town and were teaching me what to do. I was little, and I didn't know much about the town. The sheriff at the time was a shady man and worked with Larry, who was the deputy at the time. I heard one morning the two argued, and the sheriff stormed out of town. The next day, he came back with raiders, armed to the teeth with weapons. They slaughtered almost everyone there in what seemed like an instant. I heard the noise coming from outside, so my parents moved me to a small bunker with other people. That's where I met Joe; he was also down there with me. My parents dropped me there with other kids and locked the cellar doors. We never saw our parents again. From that day forth, the sheriff was known as Chain because he used a chainsaw to finish off the wounded." She said as tear rolling down here face. I wiped it from her face and looked down.

"What did he do to you?" She asked me afterwards.

"My mother's dead because of him, and he's the reason I was stuck in this place for my childhood." I answered.

"He's got a thing for ruining children's lives." I added.

"Seems like this vault did that more than Chain." She told me.

"Yeah… I'm sorry about what happened to you, Victoria." I said.

"You too, Jace." She said quietly.

I got up and pulled her up to her feet. We walked down the hall towards the morgue to pay my father his respect. As we walked, Chip walked up to me angrily with a bunch of men behind him in leather jackets.

"Hey, Marston!" Chip shouted.

I made it obvious it wasn't the time for this. I dreamily grabbed at my pistol in its holster. Chip noticed what I was doing and they fled. I sighed and dropped my hand from the holster, knowing that I wasn't going to use it anyway. We soon entered the morgue with my heart heavy. It was cold and had many shelves with names on them, they covered the room. I walked down and found my father's name on a sticker. I pulled the sticker off and opened the shelf and saw the body covered by a cloth. I sighed hard and Victoria put her arm around me. Red-eyed and choking up, I picked up his body and began to walk.

"Do you need help?" Victoria asked.

"No… I want to do this alone." I said quietly.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes. Just go back and help Joe out or something." I said as I walked away.

"Alright. Sure." She nodded in agreement as she backed away.

"Find someone to replace The Overseer. And find someone worthy." I said as I walked out of the room with my father in my arms. I kept waking, ignoring the people who knew me and stared in surprise at me. "He's back." Were the whispers. "What happened to him?" "Oh God, he's dirty." "That's blood."

The caravan looked impatient, but their faces changed when they saw me walking. They took it as the sign to pull in the food to the vault. I took a spade from one of the brahmin's bags and walked out of the tunnel. I rested my father's body on the ground and started to dig next to him. The sun was setting when I started, but I didn't care. I dug until it was dark and the grave was complete. I then rested my father's body in the grave, looking down at him with tears in my eyes.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you fast enough, dad. I'm...I'm sorry. I should have stayed. I'm not ready to be out here. I need you." I said as I sobbed down at him.

I started to fill in the grave with the dirt, crying and weeping as I pulled dirt onto him. When I was done, I put the spade in my belt loop and looked around. I picked up an old sign that said "Scenic Overlook" and placed it above my father's grave. I put my father's sticker on it. I walked back into the vault, ignoring everyone with an angry or judgmental stare. I pulled out my bottle of "painkillers" and took them, hoping to either fall asleep easily, or develop an addiction to something more exciting and blissful than my life. I went to bed in my old room, hating every second of being there. I couldn't sleep that night there… until the roofies kicked in.