Talking to a Corpse
Summary – James can finally have a chat with Ben...
Note – After Season 2 Episode 6; AU
Disclaimer – I do not own or pretend to own anything from either the Fallout games or from Nuka Break, the web-series (but I'm very happy to be a huge fan!)
"I grew up with you Ben." James said as his makeshift shovel broke into the crusty earth. Placed within easy reach next to him were his weapons, his helmet and the outermost of his coat - while normally he wouldn't think of removing them, for his current task they would only get in the way.
"Day in, day out at the Vault - and of course, our family more than the rest. Growin' up, we were never compared to others, just you. 'Benjamin would never do that.' mom would say. Or 'Benjamin would share his toys.' when I didn't share with my siblings."
Another shovelful - another grunt of effort. His throat burned from the windy sand.
"I know. You're gone, so why am I botherin' to talk?"
James put down his shovel to wrestle a huge rock out of the way. Then the rhythmic scraping started up again.
"It's just that, I was so interested in you that I didn't really tell you about me. Us. Your family. Or at least, what's left of it. I'll try to stick to the happier things though."
A couple more shovels of thankfully loose dirt, although the smaller rocks he kept striking were more than a little annoying.
"Our vault had three unofficial holidays. Your birthday, yours and Clem's wedding day, and the day that you got her into the vault. That was "Giver Day". All us Vaulties went around to others and sacrificed somethin'- usually food."
A snicker.
"There was a time I sacrificed my pride to publicly proclaim my love for Debbie Ryans. While all the adults approved of the non-item gesture, thinkin' it more like how you would have acted, Debbie broke my arm later for embarrassin' her. 'By accident' of course."
More dirt went flying.
"After that, I stuck to food. That broken arm almost interfered with me leavin' the Vault, but thankfully I was able to persuade Mr. Williams to pick me over that jackass Sam White. Having your name helped, of course. I honestly think that Sam never really had a chance against an Eldridge."
The hole was deeper now, and wider, but still not quite enough. James didn't want anyone, or anything, to think of gave robbing.
"We used to have history lessons, like all the other Vaults I'm sure, but later on, when it became clear that the world was never going to go back to normal, they became more and more centered on you - psychology replaced geography, ethics / morals took over religion. Other than that, school was mostly the same - G.O.A.T.s and all that shit. I was supposed to be a security guard, but since our Vault was opening that year, it became an explorer position."
James stopped for a few moments, lost back in the blinding light of leaving Vault 7.
"Oh, and med classes thanks to Clem. After they saw what a big bullet they had actually managed to dodge, what with having no medical personnel, our Vault swung the other way and made the knowledge mandatory. Basics at least for each person, but in the vault there's actually another test after the G.O.A.T. for anyone wantin' to pursue medical. Called the R.A.T.s - Research and Application Tests. Supposed to help you figure out what branch you wanted to get involved with. Heh – heard they're as shit as the G.O.A.T.s."
James eyed the grave, judging it to be about 5 feet deep, and then threw the crappy shovel to the ground with a sad clang.
"I guess I'm still a kid in some ways - you weren't supposed to die. Not when I had finally found you, against all the odds. You should have been like...like the old Grognak the Barbarian comics, with him always comin' back, rising from the dead. Even when I saw that you were turning feral, I knew that you could fight it, and we could be together, at least for a little while. Just...damnit, you weren't supposed to die."
Benjamin's body didn't move, but James was sure he would have agreed - he wasn't supposed to have died. The fact that it had been by Leon's sword made it worse in the ranger's opinion, even compared with turning feral.
"And-" he let out a deep sigh, wiped some of the sweat off his forehead, dashed some tears from his eyes. "Damn it, again when you can't listen. I'm sorry Ben...I really thought we had more time."