- XII -
(August 2277)
Part 3
Butch stirred at the distant sound of a shrill voice, its steadily increasing pitch grating on his nerves as he tried to bury his head under the pillow.
"Ivy! You've got to wake—oh my God!" someone yelped from behind him when the lights came on. "Jesus! Both of you get up and put some clothes on! And make it fast!"
Please let this be a dream, Butch griped when Ivy rolled out from under his arm.
"Amata?" she asked sleepily.
The other girl had already darted out of the room. "Hurry! Your dad is gone and my father is sending half the security force after you!"
"What?" Ivy exclaimed, snapping awake as she scrambled over Butch and hopped off the bed. "What do you mean my dad is gone?"
Goddammit.
"He's left the Vault!" Amata called from outside the door. "I don't know why, especially when we were so close to resolving the whole Stevie Mack situation. And now my father… he's kind of gone crazy!"
Growling out a curse, Butch flung off the blanket and joined Ivy in dressing. "Your old man losin' his shit ain't news, princess," he hollered, pulling on his boxers. Great, just what we fuckin' need right now.
"Well, this time it's really bad. He released Stevie and had him bring in Jonas for questioning, but…" Amata paused to draw in a shuddering breath. "He… oh God. Jonas is dead, Ivy. I had to watch Stevie gun him down."
Butch stopped in the middle of zipping up his jumpsuit as Ivy's entire body went rigid. He witnessed the shock cross her face, followed by a series of emotions that ended with caged fury. Her expression hardened as she laced her boots and threw on her jacket, her entire demeanor resonating with solid resolve. He hurried to catch up, half-listening to Amata's verbal stream of additional information while he stepped into his own boots. If Stevie had reached the point where he was outright killing people with the Overseer's permission, Butch would need to stick to Ivy's side and ensure her safety.
So much for tryin' to stay away from her. Didn't know I was setting an impossible goal.
He retrieved his jacket from the floor just as Ivy called Amata back in and began grabbing several things from her desk. Two agitated voices argued outside before the other girl appeared in the doorway, followed closely by Paul, who was out of breath.
"Guys," he wheezed, bending over to brace his palms on his knees as he gasped for air. "It's nuts out there. I'm gonna try to head off my dad and keep him and some of the officers preoccupied, Ivy. And Butch," he remarked in surprise when he noticed his friend, "what're you doing here? I saw a bunch of radroaches head into your apartment when I ran by. Like, a lot. Your mom's not there, is she?"
A wave of cold terror washed over Butch at the mention of the giant insects, and he stood rooted in place as he gaped back at Paul. His mother was defenseless, more so if she was drunk again—which was most definitely. Although the two of them had been at odds, she was the only family he had, and he couldn't stand by doing nothing. He glanced at Ivy, who had paused to watch him. If he pulled himself together, he could take out the radroaches in a few minutes and regroup with her before she ran into Stevie. He needed to overcome his phobia, now more than ever.
Seeing the baseball bat she held in her hand, he nodded toward the other weapon on her desk. "I need to deal with this real quick, Ivy, but I'll meet up with ya in a bit. Give me the BB gun. I'm gonna go save my mom."
She tossed it to him along with the BB rounds without missing a beat. Catching the items in unsteady hands, he exchanged a silent look of support with her and stuffed the rounds into his jacket pocket. She took a step toward him and appeared to want to say something, but he pivoted on his heel and strode away, burying all thoughts of their night together. If anything went wrong for either of them in the next hour, he couldn't afford to let emotion overwhelm him.
Amata rushed past him to address Ivy, and as he exited the apartment, he spotted Officer Kendall down the right side of the hall battling a number of radroaches. He froze at the sight and nearly jumped out of his skin when Paul placed a hand on his arm.
"Hey, Butch. I know about you and Ivy, and it's cool," Paul told him. "Even though you two used to hate each other. And even though you totally knew I liked her."
Butch scowled and jerked his arm away. Seriously, who doesn't know about me and Ivy by this point? "Dude, now ain't the time—"
"Just wanted to make sure the air was clear in case we don't make it out of this. Wally might have turned his back on us, but Freddie and me, we're your brothers till the end, man."
Butch rolled his eyes even as his fellow Tunnel Snake's words warmed him. "Yeah, okay. Look, I know, Captain Cosmos," he replied, referring to the comic book that had forged their friendship all those years ago. "But hold the sentimental stuff for later. We got things to do."
"Sure thing, boss. And hey," Paul said, pumping both fists in the air, "Tunnel Snakes rule!"
Butch echoed the declaration and wished him luck before they headed in opposite directions.
The flashing Vault alarms rang throughout the dimmed corridors, and his legs took on the consistency of jelly during his trek down to his own residence. A sudden bout of dizziness swept through him, and he doubted that it stemmed from Wilson's this time. He gritted his teeth and broke into a jog, tightening his grip around the stock and barrel of the BB gun.
Several groups of people ran by in confusion, all yelling at each other and asking what was happening. This Vault-wide emergency seemed to be a first, judging by the mass pandemonium. And fortunately, with all the chaos in the residential area, no one noticed him wielding the weapon as he dashed for his apartment.
Ellen's screaming hit his ears the instant he barged through the front door. He waded across the messy living room and blanched when he heard the hissing noises of the mutated insects. Apprehension crawled up his spine and lodged in the base of his skull, dispelling his earlier bravado. Halting to take a few deep breaths, he double checked the loading door of the BB gun and steeled himself.
I can do this. I can so do this. They're just roaches. Bugs, is all they are. Really, really huge-ass bugs with sharp antennae and scratchy feet… and can fly up and rip my face off in two seconds flat. Urgh, God.
Sweat rolled down his forehead as he gathered all his willpower and stomped into Ellen's bedroom before he lost his nerve. The sight of the three radroaches curdled his stomach at once, and he fought the nausea that flared up in his gut. His limbs quivered as he swallowed, imagining this was how Ivy felt at the onset of every panic attack. He was two seconds away from panicking himself. But when his vision landed on his mother crouched and wailing on the floor, he raised the BB gun and aimed, his heart thundering in his chest.
The first five BBs missed, and he swore harshly as he wiped the perspiration from his brow and tried to still the trembling in his hands. Come on, get it together, damn it, he fumed at himself. You can't afford to be a fucking pansy ass right now.
Ellen's jumpsuit sleeves had torn, and drops of blood ran down her arms from the radroaches' attacks. She needed him, and here he was, quaking in his boots and barely able to shoot straight. It was enough to make him despise himself. Six years shooting with this weapon, and after one hiatus, he'd forgotten everything he'd learned?
Resuming his stance, he tried again. Pop. Just nicked the radroach on the left. Pop. Hit the bedframe. Pop. Wedged into the mattress. Pop. Ricocheted off the wall. Pop. Whizzed right between one radroach's antennae.
Unbelievable.
A noise of frustration ripped from his throat as he swiveled around and almost chucked the BB gun across the room. His blood pressure elevated as his mother's shrieking grew louder, and he felt hot tears of self-loathing sting the corners of his eyes. Useless. He was going to fail. He couldn't do this after all.
"Line your sights, squeeze the trigger."
The steady and familiar words that drifted from his right quelled the panic that had risen inside. A heaven-sent reminder. A balm to his beleaguered mind. He didn't need to see the speaker to recognize her display of faith on his behalf.
He stilled and exhaled, summoning every ounce of concentration he had left to shut out all other distractions. The BB gun lifted one more time, and the muscle memory gradually returned as he stabilized his aim. With renewed focus, he targeted one radroach and fired. The BB struck and cracked its shell. Four more shots followed, and as soon as the creature redirected its attention to him, the fifth lodged squarely into its head, killing it.
Finally. Game on.
He made short work of the other two, landing every single one of his shots as years of target practice came rushing back. Once the radroaches lay dead on the carpet, Ellen stumbled away and collapsed in a sofa chair, catching her breath as she gazed at her son in gratitude. He lowered his weapon and glanced toward the doorway.
Ivy stood there with her baseball bat over her shoulder. "I figured you might need some backup." Shifting her eyes to his mother, she asked, "Are you all right, Mrs. DeLoria?"
"Jus' peachy," Ellen slurred, already in the process of shaking off the attack by taking a swig of a beer bottle that materialized from out of nowhere. "My Butchie is a good boy even though he's… not. I'm sure he didn't mean to put you through those pictures, Ivy."
Butch bristled before rolling his eyes. Shoulda known she'd still talk smack about me. "For the last fuckin' time, I didn't—you know what, I'll deal with you later. Get those scratches patched up, Mom. And stay put," he added as he trudged away from her.
Ivy declined the BB gun when he tried to return it, instead jerking her head toward the exit. "Coming with me?"
"Right beside you."
They trekked on high alert through the emptied halls, the alarms still blaring across all corridors. Ivy gave him the rundown of Amata's instructions as they headed toward the admin floor, but he tuned her out when they passed the destroyed cafeteria. His step faltered as he glimpsed the radroaches and the corpse of Agnes Taylor on the floor inside.
"Holy shit," he murmured, shuddering. He'd been through a lot in the past year, but he was still ill-prepared for the very real sight of a dead human.
And to his astonishment, Ivy strode in boldly to crush the radroaches with several swings of her bat. After checking to confirm that the old lady was indeed deceased, she rose and walked out with a fixed grave expression. Butch hurried after her, a bit unsettled by her brusque demeanor. He noticed the morbid air surrounding her as she resumed relaying Amata's instructions, and he hadn't missed the 10mm pistol tucked into her belt.
What he did miss was the intended outcome of the plan until she mentioned the Wasteland.
He stopped dead in his tracks right before they reached the stairs leading to the upper level. "What? You're leavin' the Vault?"
She turned to fix him with an impatient look. "Butch, I need you to hear me out once we get to the Vault entrance, but until then, we have to keep moving."
"No, hold up," he snapped, reaching out to grab her arm. "You were the one who said you were workin' on a cure for me, the one who didn't want me to stay away, the one who wanted to be with me last night. And now you're sayin' you're gonna leave?"
"My dad is gone and the Overseer has practically put a bounty on my head. I don't have a choice. And we don't have time to discuss this. Come on," Ivy told him, pulling away from his grasp.
He would have protested further, but a figure clad in a security uniform had appeared and proceeded to descend the stairs. Butch repositioned himself into his aiming stance while Ivy drew the pistol in one smooth movement.
"Hold on! I just want to talk to you for a minute!" Officer Gomez cried when he found himself faced with the business end of two guns. "Ivy, you're lucky it was me who found you. The others won't be so forgiving."
"I know. I had to put down Officer Kendall earlier," Ivy stated grimly.
Butch gawked at her as the words sunk in. "You what?"
She ignored him as she addressed Officer Gomez, and Butch reminded himself that it was a free-for-all during a crisis like this. In fact, Ivy appeared to be doing a whole lot better than he was at handling it. He would have expected her to feel more shaken, to exhibit more of a mortified reaction, but her determination to blaze a trail right out of the Vault seemed to override all other emotional encumbrance… including her feelings for him.
"You have to get out of here. The Overseer's orders are ruthless, and if they catch you…" Officer Gomez trailed off, shaking his head. Then, noticing her companion, he frowned as he said sternly, "Butch, you'd best keep out of Ivy's way. You've already gotten Freddie involved in enough trouble, and I don't want you hindering Ivy at such a crucial time—"
"Goddamn, talk about layin' on the hate today," Butch snarled, brandishing the BB gun. "I'm tryin' to keep her safe from Stevie, like I've been doin' all year. You're the one who needs to move your ass out of our way."
Ivy bid a hasty farewell to Officer Gomez as she tugged on Butch's jacket sleeve and urged him up the stairs after her. He was still peeved when they reached the top, but when he spotted the Mister Handy robot setting several radroaches aflame up ahead, he forced himself to concentrate on the situation at hand. The absence of all other security personnel led him to infer that Paul had successfully stalled them, but Butch kept a sharp eye out regardless as they approached the clinic.
"Ah, young sir and madam, how very good to see you," Andy greeted in a cheery tone from atop a pile of radroach carcasses.
"Yeah…" Butch replied uncertainly as Ivy led them into her father's office.
Stanley nearly collided with her when he stepped out from around the doorway. "Ivy! You're the one everybody's looking for, right?"
Butch stiffened, but she carried on without slowing down, swiping a bobblehead from her father's desk while drilling Stanley with questions on what had happened here. He claimed no clue aside from her father's departure, and he wisely iterated that he wouldn't be interfering with her business. She moved with swift efficiency around the office, spending a minute trying to pick the lock to a wall safe hidden behind a picture frame. As she muttered under her breath with each broken bobby pin, Butch peered sideways at Stanley, who had preoccupied himself with maintenance work on Andy.
The continuous alarms instilled a sense of urgency, and Butch called for Ivy to hurry when he heard frantic voices in the distance. She abandoned the safe and stuffed a few more things into her pockets before grabbing her bat and telling Stanley good bye. Butch stayed close on her heels as they ventured back out into the corridor and took a left toward the atrium. As they progressed without speaking, he tried to wrap his head around the day's turn of events and Ivy's impending escape.
Everything had happened so fast, and even as he kept his mouth shut and trailed after her, there were a hundred things he wanted to bring out into the open. Yet he stifled them, knowing now wasn't the appropriate time, and it was possible there would never be an appropriate time. So he pressed on behind her, feeling somewhat inadequate as he deliberated her surprising combative proficiency. Whatever had scarred over within her throughout the year had toughened into this austere manner that left him on edge.
Ivy halted when gunshots reverberated from inside the atrium. A shrill cry followed by a thud twisted his insides, but he readied himself to plow ahead and use himself as a shield for Ivy if need be. However, her arm came up to stop him.
"We'll do this together," she declared, securing the bat onto her back with a strap as she switched to the pistol.
He disliked the idea of her charging into the line of fire, but refrained from arguing when two sets of footsteps advanced toward them. As soon as the pair of security officers came into view, she fired before they could even draw their weapons. Butch's grip on the BB gun slipped when they dropped, their visors cracked and smeared with blood.
"Wha—what happened to 'together'? And damn, they never even had a prayer," he exclaimed, identifying them as O'Brian and Richards.
"Neither did that woman they shot. And it looks like they killed a man, too," Ivy returned as she stepped over the officers' corpses and pointed to the sealed Vault entrance. "Right now, almost everyone on the security force is an enemy. I'm sorry, but I can't take any chances. Let's go."
He didn't know if it was the news of Jonas's death that finally made her snap, but she was changing right before his eyes. And there was little he could do about it besides continue on and wonder if she'd always possessed the capacity to kill in cold blood.
This route to the Overseer's office turned out to be the long way, and they hurried along the top level of the atrium and into the systems room, where even more radroaches leaped at them from behind several consoles. His residual fear didn't inhibit his aim this time, and he took each of them out while Ivy checked the map on her Pip-Boy. Once they entered the admin floor, they immediately crouched down after spotting a trio of people through the window of the security station.
"Shit… they caught Amata," Ivy whispered.
Butch spotted the other girl sitting in a chair in front of the Overseer and an overbearing security officer, who was none other than Stevie.
Ivy crept closer, pistol held out in front of her. He followed her lead and strained to listen to the muffled conversation inside. The atmosphere was tense, fragile, and he tried to persuade Ivy to back away and head to the Overseer's office, but relented when she held a hand up to silence him. He exhaled irritably and peered through the glass again, his jaw dropping when he witnessed Stevie lose his patience and backhand Amata across the face.
In an instant, Ivy sprang up to slam her fist on the door switch before barreling inside. The Overseer had shoved Stevie away while roaring at him, and neither noticed Ivy at first until she had the barrel of her pistol pointed at Stevie's head. Butch's heart sank as he entered the station after her, the prompt descent of stillness acting as another weight on his abdomen. Amata held her cheek and gazed at Ivy as the men beside her froze to take in the unexpected intrusion.
"Hey, easy there," Stevie said warily, eyeing the gun aimed straight at him. "Don't do something you're going to regret, Ivy."
"Shut up," she snarled as her voice shook with rage. "I have a long list of regrets, but killing you definitely won't be one of them."
"Yeah? And how's that going to look after all the trouble you went through to prove that bastard's 'innocence' with that trial yesterday?" Stevie demanded, sparing Butch a fierce glower.
"It's going to look like she doesn't give a fuck since this asshole let you go, anyway," Butch shot back, jabbing an accusing finger at the Overseer. "Hey old man, you sure that was a good move? Was his bitch-slapping your daughter proof enough that he's an insane motherfucker?"
The Overseer composed himself and lifted his chin in persistent arrogance. "I will have Officer Mack sent to the detention center for his misconduct here, but the most pressing issue at the moment is Ms. Ashburn."
While Ivy's fingers clenched tighter around the pistol, Stevie whirled on the Overseer.
"What did you say?" he rumbled with unadulterated menace.
"You heard me," the Overseer barked. "You dared to strike my daughter, which by itself is a highly punishable act. After this ordeal with the Ashburns is remedied, I'll have you know that you will spend years serving in the detention center. Possibly decades once I launch a thorough investigation of your background and crimes against a minor—"
An earsplitting bang pierced the air, and the Overseer collapsed on the spot, blood seeping from the bullet wound in his forehead.
Amata's anguished scream cut through the space as Stevie lowered the pistol he'd drawn in a flash. Butch had enough time to watch Ivy gasp before a heavy blow to his temple knocked him sideways. He staggered back, his eyes meeting Wally's cold ones as the former Tunnel Snake swung at him again. The station erupted with noise, and Butch used the BB gun to block the fist flying at his face. Something darted past them in the corner of his vision, but he momentarily dismissed it to focus on his opponent.
Behind him, he heard Amata's continued wailing and Ivy's enraged yells, and he grew more furious by the second as Wally came at him, sidestepping his jab with the butt of the BB gun to land a right hook to his ribs. Butch gritted his teeth and launched himself at Wally, striking down with his elbow to hit the other in the clavicle.
"What the fuck are you doin' here, you goddamn traitor?" Butch thundered as he tried using the firearm as a bludgeon.
Wally caught it and pried it out of his hands to fling it away. "I've had enough of you and Ivy bringing trouble for Stevie."
"You're fuckin' delusional! The truth has been starin' ya right in the face and you're still siding with your psycho ass brother?" Butch demanded incredulously as he recognized and dodged a combo of cross punches.
"The truth is something you never trusted me with, so of course I'd choose my family over you," Wally snapped, parrying another jab. "And now with Ivy and her dad turning the Vault upside down, who looks guilty here?"
"Uh, your brother just murdered the fuckin' Overseer, so I ain't gonna bother answering that."
Wally made the mistake of hesitating to glance over at Amata's morose form holding her father, and Butch took the opportunity to rear back and slug him full force in the nose. With a grunt, Wally went down and clamped his hands over the gush of blood pouring down over his mouth and chin. Butch panted from the exertion, and his breath caught when he glimpsed the showdown to his right.
Ivy still had her pistol pointed at Stevie, but in front of him was Susie's terrified figure.
"Get out of the way, Susie," Ivy ordered.
"You're gonna have to shoot me down first if you want to kill my brother," the other girl cried.
A brief silence followed. Something switched in Ivy's eyes. "If you want to be collateral damage that badly, then I'll oblige."
The hell?!
Butch panicked and jumped in the way when her finger started to press the trigger. "Ivy!" he exclaimed. "Seriously?!"
He could understand her gunning down the security personnel, but Susie?
Her features darkened with anger at his interference. "This is a loose end I can't leave untied, Butch."
"Yeah, I know, but Jesus… you're gonna mow a path through helpless people to get to him?"
Before she could issue a retort, a shout outside interrupted them.
Freddie appeared in the doorway of the station, almost tripping over Wally on the floor. "Hey! There you are, Ivy! You gotta get the hell out now. All of security is heading this way!"
Spitting out a colorful phrase Butch had never heard from her before, she glared once more at the Macks and withdrew the pistol as she turned to move out.
Stevie shoved his sister away from him and marched after her. "Ivy! You're not fucking going anywhere. This isn't over. You and I aren't over. We—"
A gunshot cut him off.
He growled a stream of profanity through gritted teeth as he clutched his right arm. Ivy would have fired again, but the sound of running footsteps echoed from the stairwell, and Freddie grabbed her jacket sleeve to yank her toward the Overseer's office. She swore and sprinted out, and Butch darted after her, deciding to deal with the aftermath later. His priority at this time was her escape.
"Freddie, try to keep security back while I help her outta here," Butch called over his shoulder as he raced down the hall.
Once he crossed the threshold into the office, he found Ivy standing over Jonas's body, her fingers curled in her hair. Butch took her by the elbow as she sniffled several times, dragging her to the Overseer's terminal and urging her to keep going. Swiping a palm over the dampness on her face, she nodded and set to work on hacking the systems. Upon successful entry of the password, she stepped back with him as the floor slid open to reveal a hidden passageway.
They dashed inside together, using the faint surface lights to guide their way. The cold and damp interior chilled their skin as they proceeded through the linear path, which opened into what appeared to be an underground escape route. Butch had no chance to think, no chance to reflect, but when he stood next to her as she activated the console that opened the Vault door, he paused to consider the finality of the situation.
The massive metal construct creaked and groaned as it rolled aside, revealing an outer door that streamed in bright sunlight through its shutters. He watched it in awe, and as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, incensed cries rang from the direction of the office. Ivy grasped his wrist and jogged with him toward the entrance, both hesitance and eagerness evident in her gait. Once they reached the border separating the Vault from the Wasteland, she released her hold and rotated back to him, having gone from livid to desperate.
"Come with me," she pleaded, backing closer to the sunlight as she held out her hand. "After we find my dad, we'll develop a treatment for Wilson's out there. The whole world will be at our disposal."
So this was what she'd had in mind. Butch stepped forward, the offer the most tempting he'd ever had. A life with her by his side, and one where he was free of the inherited liver disease, was more than he could have ever asked for. But…
It wasn't the right time.
In order to keep protecting her, he had to stay. The Macks would retaliate. Stevie would want to go after her. Butch needed to be here and ensure that they failed in all their malicious vendettas.
And if it cost him his own place beside her, so be it.
He reached up and removed the serpent pendant from around his neck, the motion more difficult than he'd thought possible. His fingertips grazed the body, the spines, the illegible writing on the side that he'd never been able to read. He memorized its shape, its weight, its colors through touch. And then, with tightness growing in his chest, he placed it in her open palm.
"That shit you pulled back there," he started hoarsely, praying she accepted his deceitful words. "Gunning people down, willing to shoot Susie. I don't know you anymore."
His statements stunned her, struck her from left field, he could tell. Her mouth opened and closed soundlessly. He swallowed before continuing.
"Wanting me to go with you… that's askin' too much. We didn't have a future here, and we sure as shit don't have a future out in the Wasteland."
A raw ache rose to his throat when he witnessed the distress on her face.
"I want you to have the pendant back for good luck out there," he went on, trying to mask the effort it took to say these things. "But I ain't goin' with you, Ivy."
She had to buy into it, or else she'd keep begging him to go with her until security caught up and apprehended them. This was the only way he could think of to force her to leave him behind. Shattering the stitched-up heart that already carried the burden of so many tears.
It worked.
Her eyes glistened with a flood of devastation, but she nodded shortly. Gripping the pendant in her hand, she whirled around and fled without him.
x-x-x-x-x
A/N: Finally got this chapter out! Thank you for reading, and as always, I would love any feedback!