Aaaaand we are officially in the world of Fallout! Welcome to the Capital Wasteland, Kids!
The rules of time travel will be explained over time, but for now try not to let that distract you from what you will see before you.
Charlie didn't question the lunacy of Mr. Wonka building a jungle out of candy and a river out of chocolate, so I insist that you not question deliciousness and get right to eating. :P
As always, your feedback if lovely and I do not own Teen Wolf, Fallout, or any other minor pop culture references I've been making. This story is purely for entertainment. Enjoy!
The group of teens stared gobstruck at the thing that was in front of them.
The thing in question was a little taller than six feet and made entirely of metal. A bulbous, pear shaped body was supported by two ridiculous looking legs. The thing's arms were short and stubby, reminiscent of a T-Rex's arms. Each arm ended in three curved fingers that formed a pincer. At the top of its gourd body was a light bulb roughly the size of a kickball.
The metal was rusted over in numerous places, and a litany of cuts, scrapes, scratches, nicks, dents and other signs of wear and tear were coated along its body. Despite its aged appearance it was still more complex than any machine Derek had ever seen in his life.
Derek could have sworn it looked like a…
"Isaac, is that a Robot?" Danny asked, being the first one to be knocked out of his stupor.
"Yep. His name is Deputy Weld, and he says that there are a bunch of different places to visit within Megaton."
"Did you ask him if there was a Hospital?!" Derek asked incredulously
"Well, no. Everyone seemed okay, but I guess with Stiles in the shape he is..." Isaac trailed off for a moment then looked back to Deputy Weld and shouted:
"Hey Weld! Does Megaton have a Hospital?"
The robot faced the group of disoriented teens and began to make a whirring sound. Several seconds later it responded:
"Doc Church is the town's physician." It replied in its' garbled, electronic voice.
"Thanks! Can we come in now?" Isaac responded back to the doorman robot.
"Processing. Are you carrying weapons?" If so, please relinquish them at the front. Have a welcome stay in Megaton."
A loud whooshing sound filled the air, and the previously still jet engine roared to life. A hideous screech accompanied the engines' roar to life and the triangular pieces of metal rose upwards to reveal a small interior section, which led to two massive metal doors. All of the metal had a rusted and aged appearance, and the ground was littered with junk, papers, and other detritus. The group moved forward into the entrance before the engine roared back to life and the front gate began to close.
Isaac and Jackson moved to open the doors, which pushed open with minimal effort to reveal the town of Megaton:
A long, downward pathway led into a small gully, with a dozen or so large shanty buildings stacked around it. The metal walls of the town were anywhere from twenty to thirty feet high, and every building seemed to be connected via large catwalks that wrapped haphazardly around the second floors of some buildings and the outer walls of the town. The shanties were made of the same corrugated tin they had seen around the ruined town, but this metal was rusted to a brownish red, and no two buildings were alike in layout or materials. The paths were dirt, and large water pipes ran in every direction on the ground.
"What in the holy hell is this place?" Lydia murmured.
"I've never seen anywhere like this ever." Boyd said in either agreement or solitary curiosity
"Well we certainly aren't in Kansas anymore are we Dorothy?" Jackson said bitingly.
"Shut up Jackson. We need to find the Doctor."
As the started to move down the path they were stopped by a tall figure moving towards them. He was an older man, maybe in his late forties or early fifties, with a large gray beard and wrinkles all around his face. He was wearing a long, dirty brown trench coat, with a cracked, ten gallon hat on his head. Every member in the group was looking at his back, on which was strapped a massive assault rifle.
"Hold it right there folks. I see you're new to Town. Name's Lucas Simms and I'm the Sheriff and Mayor of Megaton. I'll need to you relinquish your weapons before you come any further."
The group looked at the Sheriff as though he were daft, which could have been a possibility.
Jackson spoke up "Look gramps, does it look like we are carrying weapons?"
Simms shot Jackson a cold stare before looking back towards the group. "Standard policy is for all newcomers to relinquish their weapons."
"We don't have any weapons." Derek said flatly.
"That so." Simms said, appearing rather unconvinced.
"Yes, and my S- Friend needs medical attention. Now." Derek gave an edge to his inflection. He wasn't going to put up with any bullshit while Stiles life hung in the balance.
Simms gave a long hard look to the group, and motioned Derek, Scott and the stretcher forward.
"You two will follow me with your friend. The rest of you will wait here until your friend is situated. Then we are going to have a long talk."
"Fine, c'mon Scott." Derek was rushing to get Stiles checked out. The teen was growing paler by the minute, and his breathing was uncomfortably light.
Simms escorted the three down the dirt path and to a small shack on the right. A sign out front of the shack read: "Megaton Clinic"
Derek was not paying attention to the sign, or Lucas Simms, or even Stiles on the stretcher. His eyes were wide with the sight lying in the middle of the gully.
"Dude, do you-?"
"Scott, shut up and help me with Stiles." Scott grew quiet and Derek's command, but he couldn't help himself.
After all, there was a bomb the size of a Prius sitting the middle of the Gully.
Simms helped opened the door for Derek and Scott. The clinic was a small, dingy building that would have looked more in place in war torn, third world country, rather than in northern Nevada.
In front of them was a partition, and on the other side was a shuffling of feet. A man, presumably Doc Church, came out from behind the partition. He was an older, black man with a beard and moustache. Both his close shaven head and his facial hair were snow white. He was dressed in a blood stained t-shirt and a pair of khakis.
"He's your doctor?" Scott remarked skeptically.
Church grunted and asked to see his new patient.
Derek and Scott moved the stretcher up onto one of the operating tables and Church began to examine Stiles.
After several minutes of testing his vitals and observing him, Church turned towards Derek and Scott.
"Did he fall in the river?"
Scott looked dumbfounded; Derek, maintaining some face replied "No, he did not fall in the river."
"Contact with toxic barrels? Eat too much pre-war food? Attacked by ghouls?"
"He… touched a radio." Derek finished unevenly. What the hell was wrong with this guy? Toxic barrels? Ghosts? What exactly was he raving about?
"Hmm." Church paused a moment then spoke again. "Your friend has critical radiation poisoning."
Scott, who was clearly confused before was now completely lost. Derek was also at a loss for words.
"I'll need to give him several doses of Rad-Away to flush the rads from his system. Then a week of bed rest with nothing but clean water and low rad-bearing foods should help him recover. I'll need 150 caps for my services and supplies."
Derek turned to the Sheriff and with a sense of self-control not known to many humans began talking.
"Our group is not from around here. We don't have 'caps'. We aren't sure what 'ghouls' or 'pre-war' food is. What I do know is that my friend is dying, and I will do anything to keep him alive. Do you understand me?"
Simms looked over Derek for a long period of time then replied.
"Church, waive their fees and start the boy on Rad-Away. This young gentleman and I are going to have a chat at the station."
Doc Church began to protest before Simms shot him a hard look.
"Rad-Away don't come cheap Sheriff."
"These boys will work for it Church. No one said they were getting off easy."
The doctor merely sighed and began working on Stiles. He ambled off to the back of the clinic and began attaching a brown bag to an IV hook. He carefully inserted the drip into Stiles' arm and moved to check on the other patients.
"C'mon boys. Let's go get your friends and have a long talk."
Derek knew that he should try not to get on the wrong side of the law, and it had less to do with his previous tumbles with the Beacon Hills police department than it had to do with a nagging suspicion that had been forming in the back of his mind.
"Will he be safe? Because I am not leaving this building if he won't be protected." Derek was firm, and Scott moved to support him.
"Safer than a Caravan in Canterbury." Quipped the burly Simms.
The reference flew by Derek, but the meaning translated well enough for him.
Scott and Simms moved to leave, but Derek took Stiles hand while Church was focused on his other patients and whispered:
"I'll come back for you Stiles. Don't leave me. Not now, and not ever." A quickly kissed his and left the followed Scott out of the Clinic.
As the two walked outside behind Simms Derek caught something on the other side of the gully that in a way confirmed his earlier suspicions: A red two-headed cow was grazing at the dirt next to another Shanty. Scott may have been perceptive enough to see the gigantic bomb less than a yard away from their persons, but if he had somehow seen the two headed red cow twenty feet away, he kept it to himself.
Simms led the two young men up the dirt path to the main gate, where the other seven teens waited for them. As soon as they were in eyesight, all seven teenagers moved forward and began asking questions: Where was Stiles? What was in the Gully? Is Stiles okay? What was that thing that greeted them? Why was everything so dirty? Why was Simms dressed like a cowboy?
Simms stopped the questioning and explained that he would answer everything in due time. He began to ask the group where they were from when a small black child ran up to the group yelling for Simms' attention.
"Daddy! Daddy, momma's been acting up again. She sees the raiders in the house but there's nothing there!" cried the young boy.
Sheriff Simms looked down at the boy, a mixture of worry and exasperation crossing his face. He sighed and turned back to the group.
"My wife hasn't been right in the head for some years. I need to go attend to her needs before she hurts herself, or someone else. I'm going to come find the lot of you later, and we'll set up some living conditions while you stay in town. Feel free to browse around. There's an eatery down in the crater called the Brass Lantern. Up a ramp over the clinic is the general store, Craterside Supply. The manager, Moira is mighty friendly if a bit… odd. The large building overlooking everything is Moriarty's Saloon. A word of advice: You want to stay out of trouble in this town? Don't go knockin' at Moriarty's door, because he's bound to get you wrapped up in some form of lawlessness. Finally if you are feeling spiritual you can go listen to Cromwell's lectures at the Church of Atom."
Allison perked up at the last activity. "Oh, what denomination of the Church?"
For the first time they had seen him, the Sheriff looked confused. "Erm, the Church of Atom is the Church of Atom. I'm afraid that's all I know about it."
Allison looked slightly confused, but quickly regained her composure and replied "Oh, well thank you Sheriff."
In another surprising moment the Sheriff softened up and smiled at the young woman. "You are welcome Miss. Now I need to go see to my wife. Don't cause any trouble, because I'd hate to waste any more bullets than I'd need to." With a slight chuckle he walked off with his son towards the rightmost house opposite the front gate.
Derek turned towards the group and began to talk.
"Okay, Scott and I just carried Stiles down to the clinic. The doctor was gruff, but he's currently treating Stiles." He paused and took a deep breath. "For radiation poisoning." Derek winced.
With the exception of Scott, every other pack member grew massive eyes and looked at Derek as though he had told them Stiles was being treated for growing a second head. Actually given the mutant cow Derek had just seen, that did not seem all that impossible.
"Derek." Allison began meekly. "Less than a day ago, we were ordering Milkshakes in a Diner in northern California. Now we are somewhere entirely different that is not California, stuck in a town with robots and cowboys and our friend is dying of radiation. I want to know WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" By the time she had reached her last phrase, she was practically screaming. Allison was on the verge of a breakdown, but looking at the rest of his group it became clear to Derek that they were all showing signs of extreme duress. They had down played their surprise and trepidation at being thrust into this new situation. Derek decided that he would share with them his theory, if only to give them something to grasp onto.
"Okay, follow me." Derek pulled the group up a small set of stairs to an overhanging porch that overlooked the crater as Simms had referred to it.
"I want everyone to stay calm and let me share what I think has happened. I need all of you to stay with me and keep it together. The LAST thing I need is for someone else to break down. Are we clear?"
Everyone nodded, even Allison who was still sobbing into Scott's arms, albeit much more quietly than she had been.
"Okay. Everyone remembers that Stiles touched the radio back in the Diner right?" The group nodded in the affirmative. "Well I think that when Stiles touched the Radio, something happened." The group looked uncomfortably at their Alpha.
Derek sighed before continuing, frustrated at his lack of handle on the situation before them "I don't know what Stiles did, and I don't know how he did it, and I really don't have anything to go off of besides what I saw. Stiles touched the knob on the Radio, and several hours later we wake up in the Desert and he has radiation poisoning. If that is a coincidence I will ."
The group began chewing on the idea. Finally Danny stepped forward.
"Are you suggesting Teleportation Derek?"
Derek shook his head. "Magic in the real world isn't strong enough to teleport people. Besides, this doesn't look like anything I've ever seen before. What part of Nevada has robots in it? No part does." Derek had spent his post Hale years touring the American southwest, spending time on the Native American reservations, engaging in spirit walks with friendly Wolf packs in New Mexico and Utah. Derek had spent many nights under the stars of the Mojave.
This place was not the Mojave.
"Isn't anything possible though? Up until a few months ago I wasn't aware that all of you could turn into dogs or that Jackson became a lizard monster with claws. At this point, my believability is open to anything. Now that I've said that, where are we exactly?"
"I don't know. This isn't the American southwest. After the fire, I traveled around a lot of Nevada and Arizona, and this place looks and feels nothing like either of those states. The ground is wrong, and the air tastes dirty."
Isaac, Scott and Erica nodded in agreement. Jackson and Lydia remained skeptical, but otherwise remained quiet.
"So here's the plan: We may not know where we are, but the townspeople do. Ask around town and figure out where we are. Learn as much as possible: What state are we in? How close are we to the nearest highway? Who are the power players in town? Try and glean as much as you can from these people. Two other things: Wherever we are, this is not California. Treat everyone you meet with caution, and don't provoke them or do anything to piss them off. We don't know how their legal system works, but if the Sheriff is any indication, they skip the trial and go straight for the sentencing. And here's the other thing: We are conspicuous enough as it is, so don't reveal anything about your personal lives or histories. And especially do not let your wolves out for any reason. Any questions?
The group looked uneasy, but they nodded their heads. Stiles life hung on their ability to figure out where they were, which put everyone in a strictly business style of thinking.
"Good. Isaac, take Scott and go to the nearby church. Maybe the pastor will have some clues as to where we are and some history on the local area. Allison, take Jackson and Lydia to the General store and get a feel for how much the provisions cost. We don't know how long we will be here for, so it is best to know now rather than later. And Allison, get a feel for the manager. Simms talks as though he doesn't trust her, and any enemy of the Sheriff could be a friend of ours. Finally, Erica: Take Danny and Boyd with you to this Saloon. Between the bar talk and all of the people there, you should be able to figure out more about the town and its' rules. We meet back here in two and a half hours!" Alpha Derek was on full display now.
As the various people got into groups and moved towards their respective goals, Isaac asked Derek what he would be doing. Derek looked at him with stony eyes and said:
"I'm not leaving Stiles. Now get moving." Isacc nodded slowly and turned away.
And with that Derek walked off towards the clinic, questions flying about his head like enraged hornets.