I was standing there for minutes, until I finally managed get a on the grasp the situation. The tribal woman was still clinging to me like an excited child, while cheered: "I found you, I found you." in a childlike manner for the dozen time. I shaked her off of me and pushed her away to keep a distance.
- What… are you talking about? – I asked her stepping back, away from the woman. – Were you following me from last night? –
- No. – She bluntly answered rocking back and forwards a bit. – I was looking for you. – She said.
- Same thing! – I declared then sighed, trying to calm myself down. I guess I won't be able to shake her off that easy, I might as well ask her what did she meant by Brotherhood Tribe, but I had a few wild guesses.
- So… uh… - I began but I realized I didn't even ask for her name.
- Jay. – She said with gleaming eyes. – Or you can call me Echoing Shadow! –
- Echo? – I asked her, I knew little to nothing about tribals and their customs so the name came out a surprise. I recalled, that someone once told stories about them in D.C, they live in small communities, some nomadic, some settled. They don't know much about technology and rarely use sophisticated weaponry, other than spears, bow and arrows and such.
- My tribe calls me Echo, but the Brotherhood Tribe calls me Jay. You are from the latter so you can call me that. – She smiled at me the whole time she said that.
- Ooookay. – Something in her personality gave me doubts about her sanity, but at least I got what I wanted. – I'm Star-Paladin Fox, you know the Brotherhood of Steel? – I introduced myself to her.
- I know only about the Brotherhood Tribe. And your name does not suit you well. – She answered while cheekily put her hands on her hip, trying to sass me.
- Look, I don't care about my name. How do you know about me, and why are you saying you have been looking for me? – I said while frowning at her, which earned her to turn her back on me.
- You are a grumpy fox, who doesn't even look like a fox. I already said, I was seeking the Brotherhood Tribe, are you not from them? If not, then why are you holding their crest? –
This woman was slowly getting on my nerves; nothing she told me made much sense or at least held relevant information. I grunted and picked both the Cram and the bottle up from the road and put them away. I also put away my gun and prepared to continue on with my journey, I honestly didn't want to leave her behind, but I had a feeling I won't be getting anywhere if I continue to reason with a local.
- Hey! – I heard her shouting from the distance. Took her long enough to notice I left, I heard the soft tapping of her bare feet as she was running along the road to catch up to me. – You can't leave me like that Grumpy Fox! – She huffed after me as she finally caught up with my pace.
- Don't call me that! – I said continuing to push my bike. – And who said you can come whit me? –
- I need to find the Brotherhood Tribe! If you are not with them, then you can lead me to them. You wear their crest; you must know where to look for them. – She was really pushing my buttons to annoy me.
- I can't lead you to them, unless I know for sure you won't cause trouble for us. The Brotherhood has its own routine; we can't allow it to be compromised by you or any other tribal. – I explained to her as clearly as possible and I hoped she gets the message.
- Grumpy Fox. – Here we go again I thought. – Why are you pushing that thing, instead of sitting on it? I saw the Brotherhood Tribe using these, but they never pushed it to move, they moved by sitting on it. Didn't you know?-
- I said to drop that name, and secondly I know that, but you see. There is a thing called gasoline which I need to make the bike, not thing, to move by its own. – I was seriously running out of patience for the savage woman. I know I should be more considerate, but this heat was getting the worst out of me.
- What is gasoline? – She asked still walking beside me.
- Fuel. –
- What is fuel? – Oh for Creator's sake. I stopped and wiped my face in exhaustion. Since my head began to ache I took out my canteen and took a sip of water.
- Listen… if you are still insisting on following me… - I began but, she got ahead of me.
- I do! – She declared without consideration and childlike enthusiasm in her voice.
- Then we have to lay down some rules. – I said ignoring her comment. – First, you can't ask me dumb questions all the time. –
- Why? –
- Ah-ah, you just did it. Secondly, since my resources are scarce, we need to lump everything we find together and ration it out. Thirdly, you have to tell me why you want to find the Brotherhood. Right? – I listed the ground rules and she crocked her head at my words as if she didn't get it.
- I get it! –She finally managed to say after a cool minute of silence. – Don't worry; I can get my own feed and water. I don't need your poison you call feed. – I would be lying if I say that didn't surprise me. – Also… I want to find the Brotherhood Tribe for bed. –
- For a bed? – She was officially nuts in my book now.
- No! For bed. – She scolded me as if I was the one who was talking nonsense. – Everyone knows who goes to seek out the Brotherhood Tribe they can get a bed and a tent to stay in. And the Brotherhood Tribe has a great hut, carved into the mountains far beyond the Big Water and the desert. –
- Oh… - I said trying to make sense out of her explanation. – You mean to join them, right? – I somewhat hesitantly asked and expected something completely different for an answer.
- Yes! Are you seeking them for bed as well? – She cheered on me and her eyes gleamed at me again as she said those words. At least we are making some progress on defining our goals in life.
- No, I already have a "bed" within the Brotherhood. I seek them for something more important. – I was trying to explain, using her terms to be clearer. – It is not something you can understand, and you are not an official member of the Brotherhood, yet. So I cannot tell you. –
- Grumpy Fox… - She began to call me by the stupid nickname again.
- I said to…- I began to say to drop it, but then a bullet flew by my ear and hit the car behind her. I looked behind me and saw that a raider waving his rifle was yelling to his friends, he had found us out. – Great… Jay you should… - I ducked down and wanted to warn her but she was gone, what was with me and women disappearing when I'm in danger. Don't tell me she is also using stealth boys as well, I haven't see anything on her wrist so, it was very unlikely she had one on her.
I couldn't worry for her, as the bands of raiders were now onto me, shooting and cursing at me to come out. My bike was out in the open and a few stray bullets managed to hit it, I could only pray that the tank won't suffer a leak. I drew my gun and began to fire back at them from my cover. I only could count on blind fire, so I wasn't sure if I hit anyone, but from the salvo of bullets it seems that I was unlucky with my shots.
I crawled to a better position and was now able to duck out a bit for better aim. My first series of shots managed to hit and kill two of the raiders, causing the rest of them to fall behind cover. I still didn't know where Jay was, but since I haven't heard any of the crack heads making any remarks of killing or finding a woman, so I thought she escaped a long while ago.
I was about to duck out of my cover to fire back, until I hear one of the raiders screaming in surprise. As I peeked out, I saw Jay behind the raiders with a machete as she cut the raider's throat open; the rest of the group didn't even notice her until she killed the raider who spotted her.
Using her diversion, I charged out from my cover while firing at them. I hit one in the head and Jay killed the other one. The only survivor turned his back on us and tried to run away, but Jay threw her machete at him and precisely hit him in the back of the neck. At that moment I couldn't decide whether to be impressed or afraid.
I began to search the bodies, while Jay walked over to the dead raider to retrieve her machete. What scared me little that when she came back there was a childish smile on her face as if she was asking me: "Did I do well?"
We got 108 caps and a few chems out of them, unfortunately they didn't use the kind of ammo I needed, so I could only collect those for sale, if we ever find a civilized place to sell them in. Not wanting to carry extra weight I left their weapons, meanwhile Jay was looking out, or to be exact watched me as I took my time looting. When I turned back to her she was sitting on top of a wrecked car, dangling her legs.
- Would you mind telling me where the Hell were you all this time? – I asked as I walked past her position.
- I went to look for something to fight with! – She cheerfully declared. – They took my weapon when I got captured, you can't expect me to fight barehanded can you? – She scolded me as if I was not making any sense.
- Good. – I said as I packed away the loot. – At least I won't have to worry about protecting you all the time. – I answered and locked the trunk of my bike, just then she hit me in the shoulder.
- As if! – She pouted at me. – I ventured all the way here from the marshlands; I think I can handle some trouble. –
- Marshlands? – I asked suspiciously. – Where are you from actually? –
- I hail from the northern regions, once called the Great Lakes by our ancestors; my tribe lived on the northern shores of the furthest one, named Ontario. –
- And you say you made it here all on foot, by yourself? – I inquired further but at the same time began to push the bike and we continued talking on the way.
- I did. When the Brotherhood Tribe came to our village they showed many wonders called: Tecology. –
- It is technology, but go on. - I corrected her, but encouraged her to continue.
- They chased away a rival tribe, who came from the south. They wore clothes of metal and carried weapons that shot smiting fire, turning our adversaries to ash with a single bolt. In return they asked us about the City of the Great Spire. –
- City of Great Spire? What did you tell them? –
- That it is not worth risking their lives… you see. Many eons ago, when our ancestors inhabited the city, and the lakes haven't flood the lands, warriors came bringing fire on the city, they say women and children wept while the men fought and were killed by the tribe called the U.S. The U.S Tribe took the city and the streets were filled with woe, the blood and tears of our ancestors filled Mother Ontario on that day, as punishment the sisters of Ontario brought the Great Fire on the U.S Tribe which ended them and the world around us as punishment. – She stopped and walked beside me in silence with a serious expression on her face for the first time since we met. – The elders tell this story to remind us that violence incited by greed and hatred will never do us any good. The Brotherhood Tribe listened but they still ventured inside the city, they returned unscathed, the elders took it as a miracle and they explained that the Brotherhood Tribe entered the city with pure intentions, thus not earning the wrath of Mother Ontario and her sisters. They left, but since that day, they are recognized as pure warriors of the Great Lakes, the tribes who also came across them told about, them offering bed and shelter for those who are willing to join them. So I decided to make the journey, as a sacrament to become stronger, so I may join them in their noble cause of peace and purity. -
This woman managed to surprise me the second time this day, first I've never expected her to be a silent killer who can jab a machete into someone's neck from 10 feet and have this much dedication towards the Brotherhood. I was still far from trusting her, but I got to give it to her, she might be a good addition to our forces.
We continued on for another ten miles, Jay was keep asking me questions all the way, her serious demeanor completely disappeared and reverted back to her childish, annoying and curious attitude. Every explanation just lead to more questions, even the simplest things didn't seem to make much sense to her, and I must say she was starting to get on my nerves.
- So… if you what you said is true… then can you really use Brahmin milk as cure? – Sheasked for the fourth time.
- Yes, and please knock it off already. –
- Why? There is so much wisdom in your words; the Brotherhood Tribe is really wise. – She mused.
- It is common knowledge, you know? From the place called Civilization! –
- I wish we would come across a store hut… - She said gazing off into the distance.
The Sun was way past noon and looking at my pip-boy it was already 3:40 p.m. Though, it didn't make the weather much better, the Sun was still blazing down on us, which made me stop more frequently to drink some water. When I offered some to Jay, she only shaked her head and said she'll find her own in due time. I would have argued with her on that, but it was too hot and I was too tired to do that.
- Grumpy Fox, look! – She excitedly claimed running forward down the road. I was about to yell back at her to drop that nickname until I saw what she meant.
We managed to stumble upon an abandoned store complex along with several smaller shops along the road. This could mean that there was a settlement nearby, but the chances of being inhabited by reasonable people was slim. Also this whole suburban store complex might be a raider fort as far as we know.
I wanted to share my idea with Jay, but she already ran off towards the stores. I cursed and began to push the bike down after her; by the time I got down I lost her yet again. I found a place to hide my bike and covered it with the same dusty canvas to make sure they'll take it as wreck.
After that I started walking towards the store complex, it was a smaller Super-Duper Mart. Usually these are the most common nest for raiders and other jet-junkies to settle in, but since no one began to shoot at us or scream obscene nonsense at us, I hoped it was just picked clean.
I carefully pushed the doors apart and looked around for traps. I found no wires, or springs so I decided to step inside. As I guessed this place was a total mess and was just an empty mess. I began to walk down the aisle in front of me and searched the shelves with my eyes, nothing but empty can, broken glass, Nuka-Cola bottles, which were of course also empty, and trash. I arrived to the pharmacy section of the store; there I managed to find an unopened first aid box and some small metal crates. From those I got five stimpaks, Buffouts and a med-x, so far so good, but I was hoping for something more spectacular.
I put the stuff away and turned around; as I turned around I found Jay's face less than an inch away from mine. She was looking at me with childlike curiosity and was silently asking: "Whatcha doin'?" I couldn't help but scream in surprise and I instantly reached for my gun. It almost took me another second and I would have capped Jay in the head. My heart was pounding like crazy for another ten seconds while Jay was laughing her ass off on the floor.
- Damn it woman! – I yelled not caring if anyone beside us heard it. – I could have killed you! Why the Hell would you sneak up behind me, and why would you… - I couldn't finish as Jay showed a box of Sugar Bombs close to my face and smiled with childish joy.
- I found a bunch of these behind a door! – She excitedly claimed and stood back to show a whole bunch of more boxes of Sugar Bombs, Salisbury Steak and BlamCo Mac & Cheese. I looked at the pile, then back at her, then back at the pile again and lastly at her.
- How on Earth did you… - Was all I could say. Even though this was a bit too much I figured we would need it, since now there were two people who were travelling for who knows how long. This stash will keep us going for days, or weeks if we ration it out. Then again, there was the question: "How did she do it?"
As I put away my revolver she already tore open the box of cereal and began to wolf it down. She consumed the dry cereal with so much delight as if Sugar Bombs were the most delicate dish in the whole world, well after a nuclear war I wouldn't be surprised if it actually were. She finished with the box and was ready to open another one, but I took it out of her hands. At that she looked up from her excitement and shot me a pouting look.
- Don't gorge all of it down at once! – I ordered/scolded her. – We must ration these out, if we want to keep on going without starving, and also… you'll get a stomach ache if you eat this much sugar at once, and I'm not going to stop while your body rids itself from it. – I said and gave her a Rad-X pill. – Also, you should take this… those things are irradiated you know. –
I hoped she'll have enough temperance to not eat most of the supplies she found, I left her to scavenge a little bit longer. I was pretty sure she stuck her tongue out at me for not letting her have her fill, but I couldn't care less about it.
As I expected the rest of the building was empty, her haul was the only lucky one, beside my small stash of meds I found at the pharmacy section. We scouted the rest of the area, but found nothing of use to us. Well… I couldn't find anything to be honest; Jay somehow always stumbled upon something that might be useful on the way. They were usually caps, bobby pins, some chems and stimpaks.
When we returned to my bike, I was glad that she had the self-control of not eating half of our food. It was already past five, but I suggested that we should trek for another mile or two before making camp. For some reason she agreed, silently this time, and was walking beside me, behaving like a pouting child. I have an idea why she was mad at me, for taking away her treat, but I need to make her understand that she can't gorge down food as she pleases, if we want to survive out here.
When the Sun was about the set, we pulled over to a ruined building where we made camp for the day. As usual I hid the bike and began to gather some twigs and some dried weed to start a fire, but Jay beat me to it. She already found a few planks and some rags we can set on fire, I thanked her but she didn't say anything.
The Sun was half way down on the horizon when I finally managed to start a fire and poured a bottle of clean water into my pot. I usually don't prefer to cook on the road, since it would attract unwanted attention and guests, but since there were two of us now I thought it was safe enough to give it a go.
- You can keep up the silent treatment; I won't change my mind from before. - I said as I opened up a box of Mac & Cheese and spilled the paste into the boiling water. – You can't expect to survive in the wastes if you are greedy. – I stirred the paste a bit. – But I can understand that you are hungry… I met people… people who chewed their own fingers off, or have eaten their own friends, just to stay alive. – I calmly explained as I added the cheese powder to the mix, I honestly didn't know how could the pre-war people eat this stuff, or those who made this, thought it was a good idea to sell this junk and think it will be delicious, but beggars can't be choosers, I guess.
- Disgusting. – She finally said something. I looked up and huffed in agreement.
- Yeah… there are a lot of messed up people out there. –
- I meant the food. – She corrected nonchalantly. – It smells so… strange. – She wrinkled her nose as she leaned closer to the pot.
- Smelly or not, we can't let it go to waste. – I added as I stirred it a bit more. – I don't like it either, but… food is food. –
- Oh, don't worry… - She said now looking up at the sky wondering about something. – I'll still eat it… I'll eat anything if it is edible. – She said then looked down at me now.
Before digging in I handed another Rad-X pill to her, I explained that this stuff is radiated and can kill her if she lets the rads stack up in her took the pill and once I handed her plate over she began to wolf it down. Even if she said it smells, she ate it like there is no tomorrow. I hesitantly began eating; I recalled something similar being served at the Citadel's canteen. I hated it as an initiate, and I still hate it as a Star-Paladin.
I just ate as much as I needed, there were still some left over in the pot, but Jay volunteered to clean it up. I didn't want it to go to waste, so I let her eat the rest. I couldn't understand how a native woman like her can eat an almost full pot of pre-war stuff. Guess she was right about not being picky, although for her appetite her body was relatively small.
The bottom of the two-piece, tribal garment she was wearing revealed a slim waist, but concealed a wide hip, while the top strained against a sizable bust. Other than those areas, she was rather slim for eating this much. As a man, I had nothing to complain about, but as a soldier I still couldn't figure this woman out, which made me suspicious.
- What? – She asked, when she noticed I was watching her eating.
- There is something on your face. – I pointed out to draw her attention way, and she really was messy. – How did you manage to survive this long? – I asked as she wiped her mouth and cheeks.
- What do you mean? – She asked back at me. – Is there a good way to survive? –
- No… I'm just curious since your attitude doesn't really boost the chances of living out here in the wastes. –
- I still don't understand you! – She declared with a sing-song tone.
- You are childish. – I said it as clearly as I could; I was done beating around the bush. Jay remained silent, as she was trying to comprehend the words I just said.
- Is that… a bad thing? – She asked crocking her head a bit, while looking curiously at me.
- Only if you are an adult. – I answered. – And as far I can see you are one. –
- OOOHHH. – She mused for a bit then busted out laughing. – Then I'm childish! So what? – She said between giggles.
- Being childish is not something to be proud of. – I started to elaborate for her. – You won't be surviving out here too long if you keep up acting like that. –
- I can manage just fine. – She sassed back. – You don't know about the adventures I had to find you. – She smiled at me with gleaming confidence.
- What you can do alone won't matter once you join the Brotherhood. – I retorted back at her. – You'll be assigned into a team; you need to consider the needs of others, especially your teammates. – I continued and put the pot away. – You'll be expected to learn discipline… so in short, you can't afford to be childlike. –
She frowned at me then pouted, it seemed that she didn't want to listen to me, but I wasn't sure to be honest. I hoped that she was reasonable enough, to understand my point, and true I can't expect her to change overnight, but it'll be better for her to know this now, than to realize it the hard way later.
We went to sleep soon after dinner, or at least I went to sleep, last time I checked on her, Jay remained wake for quite a long time. The next morning I woke up to a slight pain in my head, I took a sip of water from my water bottle; I really need to watch my hydration. I looked around, but couldn't find Jay anywhere nearby.
I got up from the ground and had another look around the vicinity, but still no signs of her. She also took her stuff along with her, or at least I couldn't find the machete she found and killed that raider with. I assumed that she had a change of heart, and realized that hardcore disciplined Brotherhood life didn't seem too appealing for her so she left. Honestly, it was for the best, for both sides I guess.
I was in the middle of packing up, when I heard a dragging sound behind me. I readied my revolver and was ready to turn around and shot any given time. I turned around only to see Jay coming back, dragging some kind of animal behind her. She happily waved at me and continued her way towards our camp with her spoil.
- What is that? - I asked looking behind the tribal woman.
- Provision. – She smiled tiredly at me, dragging the dead wasteland creature closer to the bike. – You said we have to do our best to survive, so… here you go. – She said as she dropped the game and placed her hands on her hips, while giving me a content smile.
I actually wanted to argue with her about bringing the game with us, but I had to admit she was right in terms of survival. Also, I felt she only went set out early in the morning to capture this thing, to prove I am wrong about her capabilities. I rolled my eyes in defeat and let her enjoy her "victory".
- So… where to now, Grumpy Fox? – She asked, once we finished packing up everything.
- Just Fox… - I told her while frowning, I honestly hate it when she calls me that. – And we… are heading west. – I pointed out after I quickly checked my map. – If we follow the road, we might get somewhere civilized hopefully. –
- Shouldn't we look for some of that… feul thing for your machine? – She suggested as we began to get farther and farther from the shopping areas. – It would make traveling easier. –
- Easier said than done. – I said while pushing my bike. – Fuel… is not exactly something you find at every gas station these days. –
- How so? – She curiously asked me, walking by my side.
Things went on like this almost all day, once question lead to another just like yesterday. It was still a bother, but… at least it kept my mind of the heat and the weight on my back. I was surprised to find Jay's company somewhat reassuring. I don't know why though… maybe I spent too much time alone out here… then again… Nate was alone most of his life as I recall.
(2277, Capital Wasteland, five months after the assault on Adams Air force Base)
- This stinks. – I said through my helmet radio as I and Nate patrolled along the road towards Fort Constantine. – There is nothing here to patrol around for. –
- Just standard protocol Will… we'll be done in a jiffy. – Nate spoke back from his side.
- You said you cleared this area out months before. – I retorted. – Couldn't you mention that to old man Lyons too? –
- Hey… I might scraped most of the hostiles around here. – Nate spoke up again, his voice cracked a bit through the built in radio. – But I'm not the sharpest mind when it comes to technology… Lyons and Rothchild might want to salvage something out of this base. –
- I wasn't talking about duty, bro. – I responded. – Past months were pretty uneventful… makes me miss the Enclave… or the mutants. – I snickered jokingly as we and the patrol proceeded towards Fort Constantine.
- I actually like it this way more. – Nate said with a bit of a gloom in his voice. – Not being alone… to actually have a place to get some shut eye and semi-decent food. –
- What about your friends back in that Vault? – I asked, actually being curious about it. I read files about these whole experiment things in the Vaults and stuff, but I couldn't really imagine life being shut in some kind of steel bunker for the rest of my life. I mean, I knew that back west the supposed original Brotherhood lived in bunkers, but… I just didn't feel comfortable thinking about it.
- I'm not exactly the guy they want to see right now. – Nate admitted looking down for a moment. – Also not very keen on returning either… too many bad memories. –
- Do any of those memories have to do with that girl you talked about? – I asked without thinking and I realized too late that I hit a sensitive spot with my question. Soon an awkward silence came between us, and for an hour we kept on walking that way.
- Sometimes… I miss her. – Nate said after the long radio silence. – Sometimes…I regret coming out… leaving my life behind, only to lose everything. –
- Sorry about that. – Was only I could say to him at the moment. I wasn't really considering him as my friend, but he was my brother in arms, and as such I cared for him enough to feel sorry for his loss.
- Will… - Stopped, also making me stop along with the rest of the patrol. – Fan out and secure the area! – He ordered to the rest of the patrol, leaving only the two of us together.
- What now Nate? – I asked, not sure about his motives.
- Do you believe in what you are doing? – He came up with the question out of nowhere.
- What do you mean? –
- Project Purity, the assault on the Enclave. You have been in the Brotherhood far longer than I am… do you actually believe what you are doing is right? –
- I honestly don't know where you want to get with this. – I said shaking my head a bit. – What I believe in… has nothing to do with the Brotherhood. If you want to know… if am I some kind of idealist, then no. I don't know whether we are good or bad, but I don't care that much… inside these suits of armor are humans. – I said and pointed at my chest, where my heart was to emphasize what I am about to say next. – Living and thinking humans, who are also my friends and only family. Anything that threats this "family" is automatically considered bad in my book, regardless of reason or intention. All that matters that they came, shot, kill and we must fight back, simple as that. – I wasn't expecting Nate or anyone to understand my reasons, but I believed that it was simple enough to get the idea. What Nate said after that surprised me.
- Then we at least have one thing in common. – He said and snickered a bit in the radio, while also shaking his head at me. – Let's get moving… brother. – He said as he went ahead of me. I watched skeptically, as he walked up the road, looking at his back as he got farther away from me, while still hung up on his answer.
(2781, present times)
- Fox… - Jay began, wanting to ask yet another question. – How is it, that you don't have a suit? –
- Because it is heavy. – I answered tiredly while pushing. – Also… it runs on Fusion Cores… which are rare to find in the middle of nowhere. – I said and wiped the sweat off my brow.
- What are those? – She asked looking curiously at me.
- It would be too difficult to explain it to you. – I huffed. – In short… it is pre-war tech… a very handy piece of technology. –
- Can I also wear armor when I became one of the tribe? –
- It is not a tribe… - I corrected her. – But… yeah. Once you make it to the rank knight… you might get your own suit, but… I'm not sure how the Midwest Brotherhood does things, so I'm not really sure. –
- Why? Isn't there only one Brotherhood tribe? – She asked looking away and up the sky.
- I only know about three… - I answered not caring anymore.
- Is your tribe the same as theirs? –
- I don't know… they have to be, otherwise they wouldn't have made contact with us. – I said nonchalantly and stopped for a moment.
- What is it? – Jay asked, also stopping in her tracks.
- Just need to take a breather… this thing is heavy… - I panted and grabbed my canteen.
- I can help you carry some of it. – Jay offered stepping closer.
- I think it would be too much for you. – I said after taking a gulp of water. Jay pouted and grabbed my backpack, yanking it down with a swift motion, taking it over for me. It didn't seem to bother her carrying the stuffed bag, noticing my expression she raised one of her eyebrows in a sassy way.
- You still don't get it do you? – She smiled back smugly. – I can handle it just fine. –
Alright, I can live with that, I said inside my head. Actually, it was great that she decided to help me out with the carrying. We took a ten minute break, then continued walking along the road towards the nearest settlement, or in this case ruins. I noticed that there are barely any settlements in this area. All the time, I was journeying on the road I was lucky if I came across a caravan at best.
The only civilization I found so far were raider camps, which can't be called your typical friendly settlements. They had loot, but the more I came across with, the less I had to take to avoid being over-encumbered.
- We should start looking for a place to make camp at. – I said, once the Sun began to set in the distance.
- Can't we just continue on? – Jay asked looking back over her shoulder. – All I can see is road for the next miles… -
- Normally, I would keep going on but since we are in unknown territory, I'm not risking to run in something that can kill us in the night. –
- That would be a good adventure! – She joyed once I caught up to her.
- There! – I pointed out the base of a large sign. – Not much places where I can hide the vehicle, but it is better than nothing. –
- I'll scout ahead! – I heard as she dropped the bag on the ground and ran off. I wanted to call her back, or do anything to stop her but she was gone. I saw her running along the road, towards the sign, but I lost track of her after a collected my backpack she carried all this way.
I made it to the base of the sign, looking up it was one of those Vault-Tech advertisements, encouraging people of the old world to make the call for a Vault reservation. I shaked my head, then stopped the bike next to the framework. I scurried around for a bit, to see if anything or anyone was near our vicinity, but there were no signs of life. I began to wonder where Jay could have ran off to, but I guess I have to deal with it if we are going to travel together.
I made fire and the Sun have already set, even the stars began to appear on the early night sky, but Jay hasn't come back from scouting. Not that I was worried or anything, but as time passed by I was seriously considering to go and look for her.
- Surprise! – I heard someone yelling and the next moment I felt a pair something heavy, but soft pressing up against my back and a pair of arms hugging me from behind. – There is nothing near us! – Jay declared victoriously.
- Damn it! I told you not to surprise me again! – I scolded her, after she let me go and sit on the opposite side of the fire. – One day you'll get hurt or killed if you keep showing up out if thin air! –
- Not if I do the killing first! – She sassed back at me with a confident smile on her face. – Still think I'm incapable of surviving by myself? – She asked smugly, while leaning back on the ground, stretching her legs and bare feet out at me.
- I never really doubted your skills; I only said to think a little about what you do before acting. – I said regaining my composure from before. – And I wish you would stop doing that. – I added the last part as personal request.
- Aw, sorry. – She said sitting back up, hugging her legs to her chest. – But at least I got a compliment out of you! –
- Don't let it get to your head. – I advised shortly after. – You may have the skills to join the Brotherhood, but it takes more than just a few moves to actually become a full-fledged knight. – I said, taking out a water bottle and my canteen.
- Say whatever you want… Fox! – She pouted at me and took the bottle out of my hand. – I'm still going with you and you'll see… I'm going to be the best out of whatever you expect me to be! – She declared raising the bottle in the air.
I didn't really want to take her seriously, but at that moment, in my head I just said why not? Like I said, I won't be the person who'll burst her bubble, but then again if she really succeeds with her plans of joining the Brotherhood, then… she might become a fine soldier at the end of it. Who knows? I certainly don't.
Echoing Shadow "Jay"
Age: 21; Gender: Female, Caucasian
Strength: 4
Preception: 6
Endurance: 4
Charisma: 4
Intelligence: 2
Agility: 5
Luck: 3
Perks: Locksmith; Night Person; Lead Belly; Aqua Girl; Childish ( The whole wasteland is your playground, ready for you to enjoy; +1 AGI; +2 LCK; extra dialog options); Action Girl; Ninja; Sneak; Savage Ferocity ( Born and raised by the tribal society of the wastes, to become the fine warrior of the wilderness; allows melee weapons to be thrown from a distance (-30% damage); +50%damage with melee weapons; +40% critical chance with melee weapons; +50% damage against robots, raiders, slavers and other more "civilized" cultures)
So after a long wait here is the second chapter, I know that I couldn't ride the hype train (I'm 1 year late for that), but I hope that people are still interested enough to read Fallout related fanfictions. Anyway, I hope you'll like it, if you have any suggestions or ideas you'd like to discuss with me, then feel free to review or send me a message . I'm sorry for any grammar, and spelling errors, most preks here are from the game, if not then those with descriptions are made up by me.
Enjoy, and until next time! :)