James walked out of the house, a deep feeling of regret and sadness present on his face. Jericho was standing outside of the house, covered in what James assumed was the blood of a few fire breathing ants. He had a look of impatience on his face, and smelled like a dead Brahmin that had been out in the sun too long.
"Out of Ammo?" James asked as he covered his nose.
"This is like a fucken birthday party…there's a lot of these fire breathing piss-ants!" Jericho said enthusiastically, laughter erupting from him as he realised what he had said.
"Fire breathing Piss ants! That was fucken perfect! Get it?" Jericho asked, laughing at his own joke.
"What's that smell?" James asked, taking a step back from Jericho and the smell.
"Your gonna fucken love this…" Jericho started, clearly believing he was some kind of king.
"So I shoot out these things antennas as a fluke, and it goes wild. And I mean virgin on a professional, Deathclaw versus deathclaw, kind of wild. Upchucking fire like it drank too much vodka!" Jericho explained as colourfully as James expected.
"Then I find out I'm out of Ammo, and decide to ram the fucker!" Jericho continued, pride growing in his tone.
"Then I leap on the fuckers back, and rip his antenna clean off!" Jericho explained, re-enacting a ripping motion on two invisible antenna.
"Its squealing and ranting like a little bitch! Spitting fire everywhere, so I stomp a hole in its fucking head…!" Jericho continued, chuckling at his own description.
"Then…It blows up like a fucking grenade… Except a lot more puss!" Jericho concluded, making another hand motion to resemble an explosion.
"Interesting…." James responded, as he didn't realise that something could smell so bad.
"That's all you gotta say?" Jericho said, disappointed at the lack of an applause.
"Fine…at least I don't smell like something dead!" James said, a big grin crossing his face.
"Shut the fuck up kid." Jericho barked, displeased at the kids mockery.
"I ought to knock you fucken down on your pansy ass, and leave you to the ants." Jericho mumbled as James rubbed his shoulder, the med-x having worn off he now felt the stim-pack regenerate some of his burnt skin.
"Jericho…" James said remorsefully, the hint of regret catching the old Raiders attention.
"What?" Jericho asked, a hint of enthusiasm in his tone.
"Bryan's dad is dead…" James said, sadness in his voice.
"And...?" Jericho asked, his manner lacking compassion.
James did not know what he was expecting from telling someone like Jericho this sad fact. James just sighed and opened the door to the shack next door. Before venturing inside, James turned to face Jericho. What James did know was that some of the files he found on Mr. Wilkes computer, indicated that some scientist lived next door to the Wilkes. This guy could either be responsible for the ants, or have a solution to them. He needed to sort out the boy's house first…and he hoped he could live with his choice. Lie.
"There is a couple of clips of Ammo in the house." James began, as he ran his hand through his hair.
"Go in, see what's useful, and then burn down the fucking place." James told Jericho, as he considered his options.
"You Serious?" Jericho asked, smiling his honey coloured teeth smile as he walked towards the house.
"And don't tell the kid…" James started, taking a deep sigh wondering how awful it would be to find one's own father dead.
"About how we found his father. No son should see that, his father dead in such a horrible way." James explained, trying not to think of the possibility that his father might be dead.
"I don't have to listen to-"
At that moment James grabbed Jericho's collar and flung him to the wall of the house. Ramming against him, James glared into Jericho's eyes and gritted his teeth like a rabid dog.
"You listen here fucko! I hear that kid knows his father's dead I'll make whoever told him's life a living fucking hell! Or at least what will be left of it when I find him!" James barked, not breaking eye contact with Jericho.
"I will rip out his fucking balls! Pop his eyes in their sockets with a heated blade! Cut him a new fuck hole and then give him to a nice Centaur looking for a good time and snack!" James threatened, as he glared into the old raiders eyes.
"Don't fucking threaten me you little shit? I won't tell the brat, but you fucking owe me. " Jericho barked, pushing the kid away from him.
Jericho wanted to know where this side of the kid was, all those times they passed traveling raider groups or slavers. This badass, Jericho could get used to. Smiling to himself, Jericho entered the house.
James entered the shack cautiously, not exactly sure what this guy was working on. Inside the shack, James saw what one would expect to find in a laboratory. There were test-tube's, computers, and files scattered across the shack. James decided the smart place to start would be the computer. Surely there would be some files on it that would tell him what was going on. Sitting down in the chair facing the screen, James turned on the computer... The only problem was, that there was a password.
"Fuck…" James grumbled, staring at the computer screen.
James decided to look through the files instead, after all he couldn't be wasting his time with guessing games. Lifting up a folder from the desk, James opened it and began reading the files it possessed. Nothing but documents concerning two different serums. Putting down one folder, James picked up a new one. A small pre-war tape recorder bounced out of the folder, upon opening it. Pressing the button, a nerdy whiney voice erupted from the small recorder.
"This could be the fifth time I've forgotten the code to my desktop terminal. I really must learn to be more organised. The password for my terminal is Formicidae. How hard could that be for me to remember? Note to self: Destroy this Holo-tape once move to new lab is complete."
"Jackpot!" James said smiling to himself, as he turned to face the computer.
Typing in the word, James knew the spelling thanks to a spelling B he participated in years ago, back when he was in the vault.
"Formicidae – F-O-R-M-I-C-I-D-A-E" James said aloud as he typed in the password.
The screen grew bright as three different files showed up on the screen. Clicking into the first file entitled "Where did I go wrong?" James began reading the file aloud.
"Batch A27 is a complete failure. I must return to my original formulas and begin the process all over again. Perhaps the pressure of working in these conditions without proper laboratory equipment is to blame, perhaps I simply didn't splice the correct genetic instructions of perhaps I am fatigued. Whatever the case may be, A27 is proving to be a disaster. I must interoduce a new formula soon or I may not be alive to see my Hypothesis come to Fruition."
"More about these serums?" James asked the ghosts of the lab, now curious about them.
James exited the file and entered another file called SLD, which stood for Sample location discovered. This was probably the place the good doctor was hiding out, and most likely gave the location too.
"I've found the perfect specimen for my experiments inside marigold station! I've set up shop underground for now while I prepare the experiment. All I need is a bit of last minute programming in my robot and it will be ready to perform the delivate injections. Soon I will prove to everyone that my formula is a viable alternative to the destruction of these misunderstood beings. "
James smiled as he finished reading the file. Marigold Station couldn't have been too far from here, if he was willing to leave so much documents behind. He would have burnt them, if he couldn't get to and from his lab. Another file caught his attention, it was entitled "Dangers". Against his better judgment, James opened the file and began reading it.
"I realize the dangers involved in tampering with nature. I've heard the rhetoric and hoopla about "playing god". However, I am determined to reduce these poor things back to their original state when they were harmless. Only through genetic recording is this possible. All that is needed is a proper test subject. My search continues as I tweak the formula."
James felt a hint of recognition in the scientist's files. Like he was reading his father's work, and not that of another scientist. Getting up from his seat, he smelt the smoke and ash in the air. The house must have started burning down, and with it the charred corpse of Mr. Wilkes. Outside Jericho was waiting for James, a smile on his face that looked like it belonged on a clown.
"We have to take the kid with us…" James said, sadness and defeat in his tone.
The shelter door slid open, as Bryan Wilkes came face to face with his protectors. The elderly one was smoking again, and had a look of complete objection on his face.
"Kid, you're coming with us." James said, extending his hand to the young man.
"This is a fucking dumbass idea, kid." Jericho said, aggression in his tone.
"I'm sorry, do you know where the fucking station is?" James asked, peeling his teeth at Jericho.
"Marigold?" Young Bryan Wilkes's asked, the dark of night shrouding their surroundings.
"Yeah, you know it?" James asked, kneeling down once more.
"Yeah it's close by… Is my dad there?" Bryan asked, beginning to get agitated with the Lone wanderers tone.
"Um….I don't know." James lied, hoping that he wasn't making it obvious.
"Okay…I'll show you the way." Bryan said, noticing the sadness in the older man's tone.
"Great lead the way!" James said, smiling and bolting up straight.
"And one more thing…" Bryan said, catching the twos attention.
"Yeah kid?" James asked, before Jericho could say something crude.
"I want a gun." Bryan asked, looking at the two men with a serious look.
"Um…we will see." James said, as he tried to process what he had just been asked.
Throwing their back packs into the preservation shelter, and taking what ammo they could carry, the group set out. The small group of three traversed the streets of Greyditch, avoiding getting close to the fire breathing insects at all costs. Using what ammo they could, they killed any ants they couldn't run around until they finally reached the Marigold station.
"No…No, fucking way am I going into that train station kid!" Jericho objected, as he was clearly sweating.
"What the hell man? What's wrong with you?" James asked, turning to face Jericho.
"Look…I got…a problem with run down metros." Jericho admitted, as he backed away slowly.
"You fucking serious?" James asked, anger in his tone.
"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Bryan asked, trying to draw attention from the conflict.
"I didn't think we would find a fucking entrance." Jericho announced, hiding fear.
"Jericho, we are going in there. Whether you like it or not." James said, as he put his arm between Bryan Wilkes and himself.
"Who's gonna make me?" Jericho asked, a threatening tone in his voice.
"With all your fucking shouting, probably got a lot of attention from these things and god knows whatever else is out here." James said, recalling the mention of other creatures in the doctor's files.
"Comon Bryan." James said, walking towards the entrance of the metro.
Left alone outside, Jericho began to hear the scuttling of insect feet approaching him. He didn't see anything though, and that scared him. His finger was itching and his nerves were shot. Since Jericho's old days, he had hated cramped areas and hated anyone living in them. The irony was that he owned the smallest house in Megaton, which is why he could only sleep in it when he was drunk.
"Fuck it!" Jericho shouted, as he ran towards the entrance of the metro.