(Charon)

It's definitely Trog. Dez's skin peels like it did the day she first returned to me in Underworld, fresh from The Pitt. Of course, it looks like a horrible sun burn right now, but I can only assume with time it will progress and ultimately worsen. She never went into detail, about what exactly happened when one turned into a Trog. Only that they hopped on all fours, and had no hair or gender. Similar, to that of a feral ghoul.

I had planned to propose to her, in an act of pre-war romance. If anything, it would have made her smile. After thirty years, I still feel the warmth I felt when we first met, when she smiles at me. She sleep now, just as I should be doing. But instead I cannot. I woke a few hours ago, a dreamless sleep, and saw the sunrise. Over Megaton, with sleeping, drunken bodies passed out from the festivities before. The celebration isn't my idea of fun, but Dezbe enjoys it. At least, she did.

Today, hopefully, I will begin my travel to The Pitt. Finding a cure isn't what worries me. It is time, that worries me. I do not know how fast this disease moves, or the effects. Only that I am entrusting two young adults with the task of caring for a mother, with a disease they know even less about than me. It is something that does not rest easy with me. There are so many things, that could possibly go wrong. On both my end, and my children's end. It is worse, however, to simply sit and wait for a miracle.

Standing up from the floor, I am careful not to wake Dezbe as I climb the stairs. Knowing Dizzy, she will have slept in Cain's room. Their relationship grows stronger, closer, and at times I remember when they were children. It was not my bedroom, Dizzy ran to when she was scared of imaginary monsters. It was Cain's. She has kept that tradition alive throughout the years.

My eyes are heavy, and tired. With the time spent here in Megaton, much of my routine has changed. No longer to I spend long nights, waiting for an enemy that may not come. I no longer rise at dawn, and I no longer watch everything with a keen eye. I have let my guard down. Yet it rises, when need be. I will never lose my skills, only Megaton puts them to rest. My body is tired, not use to being up all night since Dizzy was a baby. Caring for a newborn, is worse than fighting a Deathclaw. Although it has its rewards, I'll admit.

My boots are heavy against the floor, but I pay it no mind. Dezbe, and everyone else, is a heavy sleeper yet will rise at the drop of a bullet casing. It is simply the way things work. Before I open Cain's door, I knock a bit to make sure I'm not intruding on whatever it is young men and women do these days behind closed doors. It could be from anywhere between sex, or a tender heart-to-heart. I'm too tired, to care about which I walk into, as I open the door. Not surprisingly, there is no answer to my knock. They have a reputation, for sleeping late. Just as their mother does. Without thinking twice, I open the door.

"Cain, Dizzy. It is time to get up. I am…"

I look around to find nothing. There is no trace, of either my son, or my daughter. My skills kick in, as I quickly observe Cain's room. No shoes, no jacket, no weapons. He has left. Perhaps, though, he did not take Dizzy with him. Hurried, I make my way towards her room and throw open the door. I find the same results. They would have had to be very quiet, or else their departure would have waken me. I was not in a deep sleep. Going back to Cain's room, I find how they escaped.

Hanging from outside Cain's window, is a rope. One, they shimmied down. Fresh footprints are at the bottom, and they are deep from what I can tell. Knowing they are deep from the second floor, means they jumped halfway down. The footsteps vanish soon, telling me they rushed, lifted the dirt as they ran, and the wind cleared their trails. I see Gob heading towards my home from Cain's window. There is no time.

Downstairs, Dez still sleeps, her breathing deep and shallow. Loading my gun, I strap it to my back. Last night I changed back into my leather armor, in case anything happened. The suit, anyways, didn't suit me. It wasn't comfortable. I didn't feel like myself. Glancing over at Dez, as I pause my motions of getting ready, I can't help but feel worried. She has been injured, and near death so many times in the past. But never, has she fell ill. Always, it seemed, she was in good spirits. Healthy. Unless she was wounded. I've never had to quite deal, with Dez as being sick. She simply never was. Her immune system, for someone who was raised in a vault, was astounding. In time, it only grew with her immunization to radiation. But now, the Trog may take her over. It may consume her, if I cannot find the cure fast enough.

Before I am able to leave my home, Gob walks in. Good. I won't have to leave Dez's side and go looking for him. It saves me time. He notices the look on my face, and I notice the look on his. He is calmer, more subdued. Perhaps Zack's return has something to do with that.

"I must speak with you."

I say, grabbing his arm and pulling him outside. Dez needs her rest, and our words may wake her. I shut the door silently behind me, giving Gob a glance in the process.

"What's up? Is she gonna be alright?"

"I need you to watch over Dezbe for me. Until I return."

"What? Charon, return from where?"

Sighing, I light a cigarette. This morning has not gone as planned.

"Cain and Dizzy snuck out last night. I do not know where they went. I must find them, send them home, and reach The Pitt before Dez's condition worsens beyond repair. I cannot leave her alone. I trust no one here, except you."

"Whoa, whoa slow it down, Charon. What do you mean the kids left? I know Dez is sick and all but…could you elaborate?"

Gob's questioning tries my patience, and my time.

"I woke this morning, to say goodbye to the kids. I was planning on leaving them here to care for Dez until my return. But in the night, they snuck out and vanished. Where, I do not know, but I know I must find them."

Gob listens to me. To my surprise, he chuckles and lights his own cigarette.

"What do you find so funny?"

I question him, wanting to know where the humor lies in all of this.

"Charon, the kids ran off to The Pitt."

"How do you know this?"

"Where else would they go? They heard us talking last night. I'm sure it's where they went. Hell, they're smarter than you think."

"Gob, I still do not understand."

He turns to face me, and our eyes meet.

"Charon, those kids know they can't care for Dez. If she does have Trog, and you've explained it to them, then they know they're unable to handle it. You, on the other hand, know Dez in a different way. You are her lover, they are her children. You understand how to handle her. They probably figured it was easier for them to take off, and you to stay here. But they also knew, that you wouldn't listen if they tried to argue this."

A sadness washes over me. Knowing, my children feared speaking to me. Knowing, that I wouldn't listen. But still it does nothing to change my mind.

"It doesn't matter, Gob. They are my children, and they are alone out there. It is not as if they are staying in the Capital Wasteland. They're heading to a place they don't know."

"And they don't know the Capital Wasteland, either."

I toss him an evil glare, as time begins to slip by. I cannot risk any more of it.

"Gob, you must watch her for me."

"Charon, stop for a minute. Dez is sick, and she needs you. Your kids…Cain and Dizzy, they were going to go off on their own anyways. At least now, they have a direction."

"And if something happens?"

"It's a chance you have to take."

"They're my children."

Gob swallows hard, and thinks over his thoughts, before thinking them.

"And you have to let them go."

"I was planning on that. But now…Gob you do not understand. I cannot lose both my children, and Dezbe. At least, if I went, there would be a chance. I am positive I would return with the cure in time. Cain and Dizzy…they have no idea."

"Have faith, Charon. I know, that it's hard to let children go. Especially in this world. But it's something you have to do. Trust that they'll be safe, and they'll return safe."

"I know my children, Gob. If they don't return together, they won't return at all. Cain would die before letting harm fall upon Dizzy, and in turn…"

"…In turn Dizzy would die, knowing Cain is dead."

"Yes."

The silence that follows allows the thought to solidify in my mind. I imagine my son, dead and bleeding. I imagine my daughter crying out, for someone to help her, someone to save her. And no one will come. Because this world isn't kind. It isn't kind, like Megaton is. People passing by would only take advantage of her. They would hurt her, and she would be hurting enough to let them. I would not be there, to protect my daughter, my children, as I have their entire lives. The thought of all this, enrages me.

"They need this, Charon. They'll be back, and on time at that."

"How are you so sure?"

"Because they are you. Cain is your genetics, as is Dizzy. I know, that Dizzy isn't as stupid as she pretends to be. She's smart, witty, tactical. Her mother may run blindly into things but Dizzy…Dizzy is a bit more manipulative than that. Like a bomb. She waits before she blows up. That is something she inherits from you."

"And what are you basing this on?"

"Paternal instinct. Faith in the offspring of the saviors of the Capital Wasteland. No one, aside from a Raider, would dare touch the daughter of Charon and Dezbe. Not only because their son would defend her, but also because you're just as respected, as you are feared, Charon."

"And what makes you think they need this?"

"They need to find themselves. Just as you and Dezbe, found yourselves."

Gob is right, although I hate to admit it. Tossing my cigarette to the ground, I stomp it out with my boot. It's early morning, and the sun has yet to rise fully above the horizon. He holds valid points. I can care for Dezbe better than Cain and Dizzy combined. And they do need to venture off and find themselves. Yet, time runs short. It is not as if they can enjoy themselves out there. Their mother's life is at stake, along with their own. Neither Dez nor I have ventured back to The Pitt since settling down here in Megaton. We do not know how much it has changed for the better, or the worse.

"You're right, Gob. Dez will get worse in time, but if they're not back soon enough, and she gets sicker, you will need to watch her. I will then have to save, both my children, and my wife."

"And really, Charon, there's no better man for the job. You did save the world, after all."