Phoenix in Arizona
(Epilogue)
It had been quite a while since the last of the Legion scorched against the sands of the Mojave. Nothing had been heard of them, not even the former slaves spoke their name as they passed through Vegas. The Legion were the damned memories now, never to have a say in politics ever again. Never to bathe in the blood of thousands.
And now, the NCR seemed to be silent, only tackling the small chain gangs that wreaked small bouts of havoc on tiny towns. They were quickly pacified, of course, and life went on as normal. The sun still shone and the irradiated waters still glistened in the Mojave, but now it was unrushed by the fear of war.
Boone walked down the roads not alone, with Rene at his side, and Eli tagging along as usual. They were the heroes that were unspoken, and the NCR still had no idea what happened to them during those three or four months they dropped off the grid. Rene was happy to get off of Eli's odd schedule of traveling, and night was finally approaching. She silently hummed to herself, her lungs hurting. Her heart hurt as well, but in a literal sense.
"It's getting late", she whispered, and sat down in the middle of the road. Boone quickly scooted her off into a ditch and sighed.
"Why do you always sit in the middle of the road, Rene?"
"Why not?", she replied with a laugh.
"Did they originally travel on the right side of the road, or was it the left? She might be onto something with the middle." Eli shrugged.
"What do you mean?", Boone queried.
"Back in the old world. They used to keep cars and traffic going in the same direction on one side of the road. That's why you usually see lines in the middle. Right? Please tell me you heard something like that because I don't want to feel like I'm losing my mind here."
Rene rolled back to the middle and sat.
"If I lived back then, I would put my car in the middle. And go, to wherever I wanted!", She smiled, her teeth still missing. But they were mostly the back ones.
"I'm not sure that would have ended well. I'm told cars went at high speeds back then." Eli replied.
Rene's smile drooped and thought of it carefully, before moving back to the ditch with Boone and Eli. Boone of course, usually started falling asleep around this time. Rene did need to talk to Eli again.
For his part, Eli was tired. His hands and feet still bothered him at times but he felt a massive weight off his soul. He doubted he would ever be able do precise surgery anymore. Too much damage to his hands but at least he could still do basic medicine and aim with his weapons.
He sighed, relaxing into the rocks behind him. If there was something he did take solace in, it was that back East, things were starting to...stabilize. He left the now independent tribes one last order before he left, though.
Take down those crosses.
Rene watched Boone fall asleep, and made no move to disturb him. A serious air fell around her shoulders, and her scarred face looked to Eli, the bruises on her just starting to disappear.
"...I never told him. I don't think I can, Eli..", she murmured, her heart hurting again.
"Oh, for goodness sake. Why not?"
Rene sighed. Not only did her heart hurt, her lungs did as well. It was a constant pain that plagued her again. A plague that would inevitably be her bane.
"I'm sick again, Eli. I don't want to hurt him...", Her voice trailed off again.
"Rene, what's wrong?" Eli asked, becoming serious as he pulled himself up while leaning on his rifle. Rene saw that he never removed the symbol he painted on it.
"I'm sick, didn't he tell you?"
"I thought you got better. It was a tumor before, right? You're feeling the symptoms again?" Eli demanded, brows narrowing.
"They told me it was.. Tu-bur-cu-low-sis. Or something. I used to be a doctor, too, and I can tell you I know I don't have that. I think."
"Alright, work with me. What do you think it is? I have no clue of your medical history." Eli suggested, sitting at attention now, looking directly at her.
"It's probably nothing, I'm going to sleep. Maybe my ribs are healing?", she said, lying down. She closed her eyes and squeezed away a tear, only herself knowing the truth.
Eli sighed and rose to his feet. His spirit was disturbed. He didn't like the note of how that conversation ended. But, she was educated in that stuff, right? She said she was. Still...something was wrong. But what could he do? Even if his hands were perfect like they used to be, he couldn't force her under the knife. Especially out here in the wastes.
He did the only thing he knew how to do at this point. He stood a bit off, clasped his hands and prayed.
"Can you fix me?", she murmured, hoping he didn't hear.
"What was that?" Eli asked.
"Take me to a doctor in the morning. But not an NCR one, take me to a Follower. I know them... I was one of their physicians before I left for the NCR's army some time ago. They'll know who I am, but you can't let the NCR know I went."
"We can go now, Rene. We can wake Boone and leave now." Something inside him told him there was something drastically wrong.
Rene turned over, the moon shining upon her cheeks, still wet from tears. She shook Boone awake.
"What is it?", he grumbled.
"Boone, we have to go." Eli replied quickly.
The sniper blinked. This was rather out of the ordinary.
"Don't worry about it." Eli lied.
Rene stood, sniffling, and started walking. Deep down, from her months of practice, she knew. She played stupid to her own feelings, and that made her walk quicker.
The collapse, when it came, was sudden and decisive. One moment she was walking the next she was on the ground coughing up blood. Eli scooped her up and placed her on Boone's shoulder.
"Follow me. We need to move." he ordered, trying to play with the soldier he knew that was still inside Boone.
They had to move but something told Eli it was all empty. It was all motions and instinct now. It was all...grasping at the wind.
Her placid face was under the bright lights once again in a Follower's somewhat ramshackle facility, cutting along the scar between her breasts that was a reminder of what was inevitable. Everything was smooth at this point, though, and it was only twenty minutes into the operation. Nothing had been said as Rene danced past the broken wall.
She ran into the arms of the many tribe members that she once knew, with no intentions of going back now. Her heart skipped a beat, and she was gone.
Of course, they tried getting her back. But it was to no avail...
A doctor in bloody pre-war scrubs motioned Eli in as they were suturing Rene up. She looked too calm. She had a small smile on her face.
Eli sighed, frowned and took a deep breath again. He closed his eyes, trying to squeeze the water back. It worked for a moment, failed the next and then stopped. There would be a time for that later but not now.
"Do you want to know?" the doctor asked quietly.
"It doesn't matter. It won't bring her back." Eli murmured.
He reached over and placed a hand on her cooling forehead. For a moment he wanted to curse her but no one should do that to the dead. Her struggle was over now, her race finished. He swallowed the lump in his throat and moved his palm down to close her eyes.
"Rest in peace, Rene Ward. I will carry your one last message"
-
Eli and Boone did not speak to each other much the next day. Neither quite remembered what had happened. In the end, a lot of it did not matter. Rene was not there anymore and all they had were memories and ghosts of emotions. The two men stared at the freshly covered hole in the ground.
"What will you do now?" Eli asked him.
"I don't know." Boone murmured.
Eli sighed wondering if he should tell him. There was a reason some ghosts were better left undisturbed. However, he had a vision of her shooting him a dirty look. She was just a kid, gone way too young, used and discarded by two empires. She had next to nothing her whole life.
She deserved at least one last wish given.
"She loved you, Boone." Eli said.
Those words carried on the wind gently, floating. They seemed to spread across the Mojave, finally landing in the oncoming storm of thunder and fire that came in droves from the sky.
From Flagstaff, where a tall male with greying brown hair and insanely blue eyes felt the passing of the young girl, who made such a legend of herself. It was only some time before the NCR found out.
He knew that House couldn't resist the opportunity to claim this victory as his own. The game was not over. A courier still walked the length of the Mojave on some unknown but all too important agenda. The NCR grew complacent and it was all the overlord needed to snap shut a well hidden trap.
But such machinations were beyond two men as they walked a forlorn road. They had already done their bit for the story and walked several hundred miles more than they cared to. Boone decided it was time to go back to Novac. He would have plenty of time to contemplate what he saw in the lonely jaws of that dinosaur.
Eli? He was glad to disappear into the Mojave sands. He could speak his full name now. In fact, he whispered it to Rene's grave before he left because he never did get to tell her what it was though he remembered she had asked what seemed like an eternity ago. He was certain that wherever she was, she heard it.
"My name is Eli Graham."