Hey so it's Halloween and I decided to upload another chapter. It's a little shorter and gets a little strange at the end, but the two are on their way to Rivet City and whatnot. Enjoy and thanks for reading this little haphazard fanfic! Also just to aware last update added two chapters so if you want the whole story remember to read them both :) BETHESDA OWNS FALLOUT
Chapter 9 – Conductor
Chrys looked out over the expanse of the wasteland ahead of her. The clang and shuddering of the Megaton gate closing behind her made her huff and heft her bag firmly onto her shoulders. They were heading for Rivet City to find her father and Charon said it would be a two day trip with the Potomac as their halfway point. The day was still young and Chrys silently cursed at having to get up so early, but she trusted Charon's judgment. With the Potomac marked on her Pipboy map, the two set off.
Charon's desire to read the night before had rather shocked her if she were to be honest. He rarely participated in things outside of contract bounds and she hadn't forced him to read the book. She hoped that maybe he was starting to embrace freedom after only a short amount of time, but she knew that probably wasn't the case. It was more probable that he did it out of need to make up for what he had said and implied about her earlier yesterday. Whichever was true, she would never know unless she asked him, but she decided to try and respect his desire for quiet travelling as unnerving as it was for her to resist asking him a million questions.
"Hey." Charon called and signaled for her to stop. She peered up at him and saw he was looking to their right.
"What is it?" she asked, unable to tell what he was looking at. 'Curse this poor vision.'
"Caravan. Might be traders. Might be slavers. Most likely the former."
"There aren't really slavers out here are there?"
"Oh there are. Whole establishment of them to the north. We got to remember to avoid there." He said as he kept his eyes on the moving dots in the distance. Chrys nodded and finally Charon identified the dots, "Just traders."
"Should we trade with them? Maybe they have ammo for that gun I got at the museum?" Chrys suggested as she already started walking off toward them. Charon shrugged and followed suit. "Hey can I request that my next shooting lesson not have live targets? I mean I'm sure it's more experience giving, but I'd like to know a bit more basic stuff. Like I said I don't want to be a sideline hugger all the time." It had been awhile since Charon's first time instructing her how to properly use and fire a gun and with the raider incident the day before she decided it was time to quit putting them off.
"Very well." Charon agreed.
"Do you think you can turn me into a decent shot?" she asked, glancing up at him hopeful.
He looked down at her for a moment and clicked his tongue, "A decent shot? Yeah. Give you killer instinct? No."
"What's killer instinct got to do with it?"
"Guns kill. It's a simple fact and that's why they were made. You don't have a violent nature or desire to kill anything, so if you're gonna be useful with a gun you're gonna have to get over that." He explained.
"I shot that raider."
"And then you proceeded to vomit. Don't need you doing that all the time." Chrys rolled her eyes and lightly punched the ghoul on the shoulder.
"Excuse my weak stomach." She paused for a moment, "Shit. That didn't just count as violence did it?"
"What?"
"Me punching you on the shoulder?"
"Oh that was a punch. I thought a breeze just rolled by."
"Hey!" And surprisingly Charon let out a small laugh coupled with a smirk. "Since when did you get so sarcastic? What happened to big grumpy Charon?"
Charon simply shrugged and his face went back to its stoic look. Chrys smiled, "You can unwind big guy. I doubt that contract forbids you from having fun. I sure as hell don't." The large ghoul looked down at her and she could swear there was a small twitch at his lip but his demeanor held true.
"Haven't had much reason to. Forgotten what it's like." He said after a moment.
"You'll get the hang of it again. You're getting sarcasm down pretty quickly."
"Whatever you say mistress." Chrys paused for a moment.
"Any possible way I can break that 'mistress' calling habit of yours?"
"Order me to stop calling you it."
Chrys cringed at the thought of ordering him to do anything. "Anything else you're used to referring to people as?"
"Just smoothskin or ghoul or whatever other name something has been labeled as. My employer has always been master or mistress though."
"Never their names?"
"Nope."
"Oi."
"You can order me to not call you it if it bothers you so much."
"But I don't want to order you and I don't want to feel like I… you know, own you."
"Well all things considered you do. You have my contract."
"But I refuse to use and abuse it." Charon rolled his eyes. "Well I won't!"
"I know mistress."
Chrys stood pondering for a moment. "Hey I'm human right?"
Charon gave her a perplexed look, "Really? I hadn't noticed." Chrys couldn't help but laugh.
"You get what I mean. Anyway, you said you called humans aside from your employer 'smoothskin' and since I'm a human, you have every logical right to call me 'smoothskin' right? I mean you did before I had your contract." Chrys wasn't sure how much deductive reasoning could fix this, but she figured it was worth a shot.
"Must you complicate things?"
"If it means I don't have to give you an order then yes I must." She said planting her hands on her hips and looking up at him with a wide grin.
"Fine… smoothskin. You win."
"Success!" Chrys shouted and held up her hand to him. He looked at it for a moment unsure of what to do. "Come on high fives existed back in your day didn't they?"
He raised his brows, "Oh. Haven't done one of those in a long time. Let alone to an employer."
"Well I'm your friend too aren't I? Well I can be. It's not like they have to be mutually exclusive or something." Charon looked down at her with his stoic look.
"You have a strange taste in who you want to make friends with, smoothskin." Charon stated. Chrys shrugged.
"Hand is starting to hurt here." She replied as she shook her upheld arm a bit. Charon sighed and gave her a high five. "Sweet! Now let's go catch those traders!" The two picked up the pace to intercept the traders. They weren't very far away, but going off course to find them again would have been a decent waste of time and daylight. When they got to the caravan, a couple of the men and women raised their guns slightly.
"Uh… we come in peace?" Chrys stated unsure of how to begin. One man, an older fellow came forward and motioned for the other men to lower their guns.
"Sorry about that. What can I do for you?" the old man said as he held his hand out.
Chrys shook it and added a soft smile, "We're looking for some ammo. Got anything to trade?"
The old man nodded and motioned for a younger boy to bring a couple boxes off one of the Brahmin. "We ain't got much but if you've got the caps or something to trade then we can spare."
"Where are you from?"
"Up north a ways."
"Why are you heading down this way?" Chrys asked. The man's eyes flashed to Charon standing behind her then back to Chrys.
"Our reasons are our own."
"Oh okay." Chrys said as she looked through the various supplies and ammo the caravan was willing to trade. "Charon what do you think? Any of this good?" When no response came she looked up at her companion to see him eyeing one of the men who had raised a gun at them earlier. The man still had his gun raised, eyes wary as he looked at Charon. The gun shook in his hands. The old man, obviously the head of the group, turned to the wary man.
"Carmine it's okay, they're just looking to trade."
Carmine gulped but didn't take his eyes off the massive ghoul. "But what if they're…?"
"Carmine!" the old man raised his voice a bit, "It's just a girl and her ghoul. They only want to trade."
Chrys watched the exchange anxiously.
"What if it's too risky?" Carmine babbled, the gun shaking more violently in his hands. Chrys watched as the man's eyes finally turned to her and the aim of his gun swiftly changed to her. Charon automatically stepped in front of her and drew his shotgun.
"Stop!" both Chrys and the old man shouted. Charon was tense, coiled and ready to spring the moment Carmine did anything unwise. Luckily Carmine did nothing except violently shake. Chrys stood and laid a hand on Charon's shoulder.
"He's just scared." She said to him. Charon looked down at her, slight anger and frustration in his eyes.
"He was pointing a gun at you." He hissed.
"You're pointing one at him now." She stated, poking the shotgun in his hands. Charon groaned and lowered his gun. Carmine still only shook. Finally one of the women came over and calmed him down.
Crisis averted, Chrys returned to bartering for some ammo with the old man who apologized vehemently for Carmine's behavior. "Is he always like that?"
The old man gave a soft and concerned smile, "Yeah, always a little jittery around strangers."
Chrys pursed her lips at that, "But it's a trade caravan… shouldn't he be used to it by now?" The man tensed a bit. The other members of the caravan started to shot each other worried glances and Chrys felt Charon move closer. She could tell a lot of warning signals were going off in him.
"He's… new."
"Then how do you know he's always like that?" Chrys knew she should have just let it go there, but something just wasn't right and her undying curiosity wouldn't let it just sit there. After a few tense moments that seemed to stretch on far longer, the old man sighed.
"Listen, have you ever heard of the Railroad?" the old man asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
Chrys tilted her head, "Railroad?"
The old man nodded, "We're a group dedicated to freeing those bound in any sort of chains. Namely androids."
Chrys was shocked. 'Androids are real? Then again there are robots and successful AI units so maybe it's possible?'
"By your face I can tell you don't really believe me." The old man said.
"Well… I can't say I don't, but… where do they come from?"
"Most androids we save are created at The Institute. They manage to escape and we find them and bring them to someplace safe and away from the Institute's clutches. Then they can live a free life."
"The Institute?" Chrys had never heard mention of that place before. But if it had the capability of making androids it must have been a very advanced place compared to the rest of the wasteland. The old man nodded.
"It's an evil place. Nothing good comes from there. That's why the androids with enough awareness leave to seek a better place."
"How is it bad?" Chrys wasn't expecting an interjection from Carmine.
"Nothing but horrific studies and experiments on Lord knows what! They've lost any sort of humanity there! It's all just for science and discovery… and shit!" Carmine proceeded to curl up on the ground as he rocked back and forth. The woman who comforted him earlier tried in vain to calm him again.
"He's a subject isn't he?" Charon voiced his tone empty and distant as he watched the man rock back and forth and whispered nonsense under his breath. The old man's face turned sad and pained.
"Yes. He never said what they did to him. It's pretty common for them not to open up about their experiences there."
"I thought they just made androids?"
"They do many things there just to a lesser extent. No less horrific however." Chrys looked down at Carmine's trembling form. She knelt down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder before she started to rhythmically rubbed his back to try a soothe him.
"Hey it's okay. We're not here to hurt you. You're safe. They're not going to find you." She cooed, attempting to console the terrified man. He shook his head.
"The compliant androids… they send them after you… to hunt you… t-to take you back."
"There aren't any here. You're safe." Her reassuring did little to calm Carmine. After a while, Chrys stood and finished her trade with the caravan. She looked at the old man, "Can I ask your name?"
"Dale." The old man said politely. "If you could keep all of this quiet-"
Chrys raised a hand to politely stop him, "I won't breathe a word." Dale looked at Charon.
"Him neither?" Chrys turned around to look at Charon. He was still watching Carmine's trembling form on the ground, but his eyes were distant.
"Charon?" She asked, worried about her companion's state. After a moment he shook his head and looked at her and Dale with a stoic look.
"Nothing." He said, "I won't say a word."
Dale nodded. Chrys turned her attention back to the old man and shook his hand, "Good luck Dale. And to all of you."
He smiled, "You're kindness is a blessing. May I ask your name?"
"Chrys." She responded.
"And…?" Dale asked gesturing to Charon.
Chrys looked back at him waiting for him to respond. Charon shook his head again as if coming back to reality, "Charon." Chrys smiled.
"Chrys and Charon. Thank you for the secrecy." Dale said as he signaled for the caravan to get ready to move on. Chrys waved to them as they wandered on. Charon watched impassively. When they were a considerable distance away Charon turned to continue on their original path to the river. Chrys jumped a bit and scurried to catch up with her companion.
"That's amazing isn't it?" Chrys piped up when she caught up to him, "A whole organization dedicated to freeing people." Charon said nothing, keeping his eyes on the horizon.
"You alright big guy?" Chrys asked, knowing his demeanor had changed quite a bit during their encounter. He nodded.
"I'm fine."
"You don't… seem like it. Sure?"
"Very." He said curtly. A bit of anger welled up in his eyes and Chrys decided to let him be. She checked the map to be sure they were heading the right direction and continued on the trek in silence. When they reached the river Charon signaled to a structure along the river that looked abandoned. After scoping it out and clearing the radroaches from it, the two set up their bedrolls to camp for the night. Chrys laid on her bedroll staring up at the ceiling as Charon prepared their rations for dinner. She accepted hers with a smile and sat up to indulge in the packaged, processed meat. She noted how slowly Charon was eating and how distant he looked. His anger was gone but so was his awareness and it disturbed her. "Charon?" He jolted a bit and looked at her, the awareness back in his pale eyes.
"What's the matter?" Chrys asked, setting her food down to scoot closer to him. He shook his head.
"Nothing, I'm fine."
"You're not afraid of androids are you?"
"No."
"Worried about Carmine?"
"I couldn't care less." Chrys frowned a bit at that but only sighed.
"So what is it?"
"I told you. It's nothing."
Chrys looked down at the ground and sighed, before nodding and letting the topic go. "I'm here if you need me, Charon." She looked back up at him and smiled.
Charon nodded, "I'm fine, I promise."
Chrys nodded, smile still present on her face. "So what's the game plan for tomorrow?"
"We'll have to head through the Grayditch settlement to the south. It's peaceful last I heard so that's the safest route, then we'll have to follow the river till we get to Rivet City."
"It's by the river?"
"You can say that."
"Have you been there?"
"Not inside, but I've seen it from afar. Hard to miss."
"Okay. So we should be at Rivet City by tomorrow night! Awesome!" Chrys settled into her bedroll, turning to look at Charon. "And I can get some answers and find my dad. Wonder what we'll do once we find him?" Stretching she curled up in her bedroll, her usual sleep position. "You'll like him."
Her eyes got heavy and soon it was a struggle to keep them open. "Goodnight Charon."
"Goodnight smoothskin."
Charon watched silently as his employer drifted off to sleep. Today hadn't been that bad of a trip in the grand scheme of things, but the encounter with Carmine was taxing. He was fine, nothing was wrong with him, but seeing Carmine only brought about things that should've stayed buried.
"What is your purpose?"
"To serve whomever holds my contract. To protect them. To give unquestionable loyalty. For good or ill."
Charon tensed, he knew nothing stayed buried forever. He watched and listened as the small blonde girl lightly snored in her sleep.
"What is your purpose?'
"To serve whomever holds my contract. To protect them. To give unquestionable loyalty. For good or ill."
She squirmed a bit in her sleep. Afterwards she looked peaceful… tranquil. There was no worry, no pain, and no sadness. She looked happy in her sleep, as if in the midst of a good dream.
"What is your purpose?'
"To serve whomever holds my contract. To protect them. To give unquestionable loyalty. For good or ill."
As much as he was sure he wouldn't be able, he laid down on his bedroll to sleep, his gaze fixed on the ceiling as he waited for his eyes to close. He remembered the long stretches of time he would go without sleep. Where he had no choice but to stay awake and watch nothing. When time came for him to rest it seemed nearly impossible no matter how tired he was. And if he did, memories resurfaced in dreams, reminding him only of pain.
"What is your purpose?'
"To serve whomever holds my contract. To protect them. To give unquestionable loyalty. For good or ill." He whispered quietly, his voice distant and monotonous… almost robotic. He turned his head to look at the sleeping girl that was his employer. Still peaceful… still innocent. She was full of hope when everyone else in the wasteland had thought it'd gone extinct, that it'd been lost.
"That is your purpose. To serve and protect. Should you abstain from your programming or orders… well that's not possible now is it?"
He could swear her smile got bigger. He wondered what she dreamed about.
"What's going to happen?"
Finally, he tore his gaze away from her, knowing it was wrong and unsettling to watch someone as they slept.
"You'll live…"
"Charon?" Chrys' soft voice sounded. He turned to find her sleepy eyes open and looking at him, a concerned look on her face. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah. Go back to sleep, smoothskin." He said, attempting to not sound gruff or commanding.
Tear filled eyes looked up at him, "You can't leave!"
"Don't stay up too late big guy." She said before giving him a smile.
He gave a little huff, "Says you. Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" She stuck her tongue out at him in response. Finally, she shut her eyes and dozed off again. He watched to make sure she was sleeping before finally returning his gaze to the ceiling. After what seemed like hours, sleep finally overcame him.