Calli checked their position on her Pip-boy relative to the marked area she wanted to get to. "The mountains to the north are pretty rough if I remember right. I think our best bet is to go a little south before we swing west, then back north around the mountains. Wasn't there a path there that leads down to the river?" Hawk agreed with her assessment. They left the bikes inside the lesser shack that wasn't used as a crash pad for the occasional super mutant pack that wandered through.
The Enclave was also inordinately interested in the area and the partners sometimes ran into them when visiting the Settlement. Calli feared they were looking for the super mutant settlement, or maybe they too were chasing the dream of Oasis. They would have to be alert so they didn't get taken by surprise. Enclave soldiers were fast, well trained and dangerous.
Even walking the trip to the path entrance took only a little over an hour. As they strode up the path they noted the green bushes growing on each side. The super mutants had explained to her how they had brought apples with them when they escaped the vault and started their orchards from the seed, but now she wondered where these healthy, bright green bushes came from. Most of the green growing in the wasteland was sicklier looking unless tended by humans.
It was a human that stopped them with a surprising greeting.
"Welcome, stranger, welcome. We have been expecting you. He said you would come and I am to take you to Him right away." He was addressing Calli.
"Whoa, hold on.", Jack said. "Who's expecting us and how did they know we were coming? We didn't even know until this morning."
The man glanced at him dismissingly. "Not you two. Her. He said to bring her to Him."
"Well", Jack started to object but Calli put her hand on his arm. He glanced at her and fell silent. This was her world.
"May I ask who I'm greeting?", she asked mildly.
"Oh, sorry, I got ahead of myself. I am Father Birch. He sent me out here to meet you and bring you in; otherwise you wouldn't have been allowed inside the gate. We don't let wastelanders in." They were following him toward the gate.
"You say 'He' with a great deal of awe and respect. Who is 'He'?", she asked.
"He is a god.", Father Birch said, motioning to the guard to open the gate. "He gives life to the Oasis. We take care of Him. Come on, now, you'll have to undergo the purification ceremony before you can see Him."
He led them to a ceremonial circle. The residents gathered around. "You have to drink from the purifying vessel", Father Birch said.
Calli eyed the thick, viscous liquid and sighed. Why was it never something tasty?
"I don't like this.", Jack said. Hawk didn't bother to object; he knew it wouldn't make any difference.
Calli was studying the nasty looking goo. "Yeah, I didn't figure you would.", she said. "It's not the first time I've taken part in ceremonial activities. Back on the Island I lost my head. Actually it was just a piece of my brain. I keep it in a jar in my room."
"What?", Jack asked, startled.
She grinned at him. "That was an interesting experience. The hallucinations were really weird and while I was out a guy went in and took a piece of my brain out and put it in a jar. I got it back from him but that's a long story. I'll tell you about it some time. It didn't hurt me any I can tell. In fact, ever since then I've been able to tell if there's anything nearby that's likely to be a danger to me. I don't even have to see it. I'll be fine." She leaned over and sipped at the nasty concoction before Jack could raise any objections.
The world slowly came into focus. With a low groan Calli sat up and looked around her. Her vision gradually cleared. She took in the small, enclosed grove with glowing torches reflecting off standing pools of water. She was sitting on a knoll just inside a wooden gate. She pulled herself to her feet and tried the gate. It was locked.
It seemed she was going to stay in the grove until she met Him. At least she was feeling better, not quite so nauseous, and her head had quit spinning. She began an inspection of the grove. May as well start with the strange, twisted tree in the middle of the grove. She walked up to the tree, walked around it, and stopped dead, staring.
"Huh, you're finally awake", the man-tree muttered.
Calli studied the bent, twisted form, a human form made into a tree, rooted into the ground, unable to move limbs now solidified into branches, one arm reaching down into the ground, the other spreading out into the air, supporting a large green canopy of glistening leaves. One eye glared at her, gleaming with madness. The twisted mouth was barely able to form words.
"I suppose I have the pleasure of addressing Him.", Calli said. The tree guffawed madly.
"Yeah, those crazy Treeminders, they think I'm a god.", he said. The wind blowed gently through the green canopies of the surrounding trees. "Crazy Treeminders", he repeated. "Gaw, haw, yeah, they're crazy aren't they Bob. Can't believe they made you do that crazy ceremony and drink that nasty sap, ha ha."
"So your name is Bob?", Calli asked.
"No, no, my name's Harold."
"Okay", Calli said, confused. "Who's Bob then?" Harold cackled.
"It's like this. About 20 years ago I was on patrol around a place called Mariposa with my troop when we got attacked. During the battle I got knocked into some green goo. Pretty soon this tree started growing out of my head. People kept asking me about it so I named it Bob, you know like it was a friend or something. Bob just kept growing and grew around me and grew roots into the ground so I couldn't move. I've been here all this time with nothing to do. Then these people came and decided I was a god. That was entertaining for a while, but they don't talk to me. They don't listen. They hear, but they don't listen! They make up all these interpretations for anything I say. Gack, agh, I can't take it anymore!".
"That's very interesting, Harold, but I have a question. How did you know I was coming?", Calli asked. "And why did you want to meet me?" Harold cackled.
"That's two questions. I can count. Ha aha. Still count. Yeah, well." His voice trailed off. "I saw you coming. That is Bob did. Somehow he can kinda 'see' from all the leaves on all the plants that grow from his seeds."
"His seeds?", Calli questioned.
"Once a year, you see, Bob puts out the seed pods and the seeds float away and make all kinds of green things. It's humiliating, really. Anyway Bob saw you and I said, Bob, I said, that's the one. The one that will help us."
"Hmmm, if I were you I wouldn't tell the Treeminders that you can 'see' through Bob's children. It would make you seem even more god like." Calli pointed out. Harold cackled.
"Yeah, god-like, crazy treeminders, gack, crazy,", he grumbled, his voice falling off.
"What do you want me to help you with?", Calli asked.
"I want you to kill us."
Hawk and Jack were arguing with Tree Father Birch. They wanted to go in the Grove after Calli. "How do we know she's all right?", Jack demanded. Just then the gate opened and Calli stepped out. "Calli", Jack said. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine.", Calli said. "Gather the Treeminders, Father Birch. He has a request."
Calli explained to the gathered community what the tree-creature had asked of her. "I will need the key to the gate to the caves beneath here. He has asked me to go below and find his heart. He wants to die." Father Tree Birch ordered she be given the key. The group broke up.
Father Tree Birch got Calli alone. "We have been taking care of Him and this Oasis for over ten years. He doesn't want to die. He's just testing you, to see if you can be trusted. He means he wants to stop spreading before he draws attention to this place. You can do that for him. Here, take this sap. If you spread it on his heart it will keep him from seeding. This place will remain hidden and He will be safe."
Calli took the jar of sap. It was now very late and they went to find empty mats to sleep on. As they came into a sleeping area they were accosted by Mother Laurel, Father Tree Birch's wife.
"Listen, Calli.", she said. "My husband means well but he's wrong. We can't keep the Oasis a secret forever. The seeds are needed to wake the wasteland, to make it green again. Here, take this bottle of liniment. Spread it on His heart and it will accelerate his seeding so that he produces a much larger crop. It could help the wasteland recover in decades instead of centuries."
Calli accepted the jar. She had already talked to all the other members of the small community as was her wont but hadn't learned anything else important, though she enjoyed all their stories and carefully considered each person's opinion.
They went toward the mats to get a good night's sleep without worrying about protection from the wasteland.
"Oh, there you are, Sprout.", Calli said, sitting down beside the young girl playing on her mat. She giggled. "My name's Sapling Yew, not Sprout.", she said.
"That's a nice name too.", Calli smiled. "What do you think about Harold's request? I bet you know him better than anyone."
Sapling Yew's eyes got big. "You want to know what I think? No one ever wants to know what I think. They just say I'm a kid and don't know anything."
"Well now, just 'cause you're little don't mean anything. Harold says you're his best friend.", Calli said seriously.
"He does?", she said, delighted. "I like Harold. He says funny things. I go to talk to him a lot 'cause he listens to me. We tell stories. You're not really gonna kill him, are you?", she asked anxiously.
"I don't know, Sprout. He says he wants me too. Do you think I should since he wants me too?"
Sapling Yew looked down at the twig doll she had been playing with. Tears shimmered in her soft brown eyes. "He's nice. He plays with me. I won't have anyone if you kill him but if he really wants you to maybe you have to." Calli patted the girl gently on the arm.
"You're a good friend, Sprout. I promise you I'll think about what you said. I have to do what's best, you know? I've just got to figure out what that is. Say, what's your doll's name? I used to have a doll when I was little."
"You're nice. You can call me Sprout if you want.", Sapling Yew said. "What was it like when you were little?" Calli and Sprout talked into the night, playing with her doll and giggling over tales from Calli's childhood.
The men had already bunked out on mats nearby. Jack watched Calli with the girl, listening to their banter. She was so good with children. It was selfish of him to be glad she couldn't have any of her own but he couldn't help the fear when he thought of it. Finally he drifted off to sleep to the sound of their voices.
After breakfast they took their packs and weapons and entered the gate to the underground caves.