Chapter Twenty-Two: Compound Visits

"So. What happened next"

I thought for a moment, trying to figure out exactly how I wanted to respond. Then it hit me. I hastily scribbled down a reply and showed it to the group crowded around me. Several of their eyes grew bright with anticipation.

I woke up about half an hour ago. Not long after that, I was informed what had roughly transpired, from second-hand accounts, and then a few of Blake's comrades, fellow soldiers, huddled around me, asking about anything special I'd done. While initially embarrassed, I relented and began writing up some of my journey, in short tid-bits. I had just told them about my assault on the train yard and my death battle against the super mutant Muck.

Before I could conclude the story, however, a man wearing a white lab coat strolled on over. He wore a mean glare and his short hair was raggedy, as if he hadn't had a chance to lend some care to it for several days. And the moment the soldiers spotted them, their expressions turned into a mixture of fear and shock. They had to get out of there, and fast.

Suddenly alone, the lab donning fellow stepped right up beside my bed. He studied me meticulously for a moment before gruffly inquiring, "You the one that did the battlefield surgery?" I cocked my head, trying to recall such a thing. Noticing my confusion, he clarified, "That lad, Kyle... or some such."

That was what he meant. Yet, I had a sinking feeling that I shouldn't answer him. And against my better judgement, I nodded. He sighed in response, rubbing his nose with his right thumb and pointer finger. After a few seconds, he muttered, "Of course you are."

He released another deep and troubled sigh, as if he was letting all his frustrations out, but his glare never left him. Then he took a deep breath and practically yelled, "Are you fucking insane?!" My eyes flung wide and I practically jumped out of the bed. "You can't just do those kinds of haphazard operations, it causes more harm than good. That boy is going to be in worse shape because of you. If you had just applied pressure after cleaning the wound and then waited, he'd be up and about by now."

He thought for a moment, then corrected himself, "Well, he'd be awake. Instead, you left him with a hole greater than the size of the initial injury. Frankly, the only thing I can congratulate you on is the sterilization; not that it was all that great, but it was something." He straightened his clothes and observed me once again, "But listen, kid, it–"

"Are you harassing another patient, Doc?" A familiar voice called out as footsteps crawled up to us, he was accompanied by two others.

"Drury, why am I not surprised. Only you'd have the gall to speak to me that way." The doctor didn't sound surprised, if anything he sounded melancholic. Blake just smiled in response, and the doctor waved him off, "Bah, if this one is with you, then I'm out of here; no point talking to anyone crazy enough to follow you. Besides, she's gotten a decent earful... for now, at least."

I watched as the doctor left. My attention then turned to Blake and the others as they started to address me, "How are you feeling?" Addison was the first to ask.

I stretched my arms and didn't feel any immediate pain, so I must be doing well. Yet, with what the doctor said about my emergency surgery on Kyle, I honestly felt quite down. So I just shrugged my shoulders as my head hung low.

The others took a seat on the multitude of chairs scattered close to my bed, which had been occupied by the soldiers mere moments ago. I could see that Blake was covered in bruises, he must have had a hard time dealing with all the mercenaries. Addison seemed much calmer now, perhaps she and Blake discussed what happened and he was able to help her process her emotions. And Anton. Anton looked like the definition of serene with a cool, calm smile spread over his lips (yet, no matter how much I looked, it didn't seem like he was actually smiling).

"You likely need more rest. You've been pushing yourself for a long while. I'm honestly surprised you made it this far." Addison thought for a moment, "It's almost impressive."

Blake nodded, "Yeah."

I responded with a sheepish grin, and then jotted something down: I'm fine. How are you doing, Addison? Last I saw you you were... not well. "Hah," she sighed, "Let's not focus on that right now. Blake and I talked. I've decided to hitch a ride with him back to San Antonio. My next destination isn't that far from it."

"We were wondering what you had planned after this. Addison tried asking Anton, but all he gave us was—"

"I'll follow Miss Muna wherever she wishes to go," his voice held a certain tone, it was reminiscent of sarcasm, but not quite it. I couldn't place it.

"—That." Blake heaved a deep sigh, and quickly checked his emotions. "Anyways, what're your plans?"

Without missing a beat, I started writing my response, and within a short amount of time I was producing the results for them to read. I'll be heading back out. I can't leave here. Not yet. Not when there are far too many things that require attention.

"You want to do more?" Addison asked, her voice hushed; almost as if she didn't intend to actually speak and it was a slip of the tongue. I gave her a look that was part understanding, part tiredness, and part confused. I knew what she wanted to say, but I couldn't stop. I shouldn't. Things had to get done. She saw my expression and a wave of emotions passed over her features, her mouth hung open but closed moments later.

Having noticed as much, Blake placed a hand on her shoulder and ushered for them to leave, "We'll talk later. Rest up."

I gave a small wave as they left. And suddenly the room became very quiet. Despite Anton just sitting where he was, the soft smile permanently etched across his lips. It didn't look like he'd say anything either. So we sat in silence, neither making any effort to communicate. Eventually I got tired of it and laid down. It wasn't long after that that I slowly drifted off.

I dropped the last of my things in my bag before I slung it back over my shoulder, I was all set. I had received news that Kyle had awoken, so I prepared and began to head toward where he was being treated. This base was pretty massive, or I thought it was. Kyle was being kept in a different wing. It seemed many of the soldiers were kept with me, while non-combatants were kept in the other wing; not that too many of them were injured.

I rounded a bend and came face to face with Anton, who still wore that relaxed smile, and he nodded down at me, "Miss, would you like me to accompany you?" I shook my head. I didn't have any reason to say no, but I felt like talking with Kyle alone for now. Anton, for his part, simply nodded once more, "Then if you'll excuse me," and headed another direction. I didn't know where he was going.

Shaking my head before I got distracted, I continued down the hall until I made it to the door. As I went to push the door open, my hand lingered. It wouldn't move. I couldn't move. A sense of dread washed over me, and all my instincts were telling me to run. But I slowly inched my hand closer until it touched the hard metal.

With a little bit of effort, it began to move, almost as if it were a feather in the breeze. I winced briefly at the ease at which the door opened, but quickly collected myself and stepped inside. Beds lined either side of the place, and Kyle was situated on the far end. Without further hesitation, I strolled on over until I was by his bedside.

Kyle had been propped up with pillows, allowing him to be in a sitting position. He seemed occupied, almost lost in thought as I approached. But as I stood beside him, he finally caught wind and turned. His eyes dropped and a short, defeated sigh escaped his lungs, "I'm..." his hands balled into fists, frustration was clear and present in his tone, "I'm sorry. I-I... I wanted to do more." His head bowed and a dark expression flickered across his features, "I should have been able to do more. If only I didn't get surrounded. If... if only I had gone a different way. If—"

I cut him off by wrapping my arms around him and pulling us together, squeezing tightly. He groaned slightly at the exertion, but I didn't stop. I pulled us close and refused to release him from the tight embrace. One hand found his mid-back while the other found the back of his head, as I nestled his head into my shoulder.

After several confused groans, something inside him broke and he choked and sniffled, "I'm sorry..."

We stayed like that for some time; until he eventually reached out and grabbed my shoulder and lightly pushed me away. I acquiesced and gave him his space. He looked me in the eyes and a certain warmth was spread over his features, a light smile spread over his lips and he looked like he was mulling something over in his head.

Before he could come to any sort of conclusion, however, Blake walked over, Addison tagging along behind him. As they gave their greetings to Kyle, he returned a momentary glare, but it vanished the moment he noticed me looking. "So," Kyle began, "What did you need?" his tone sounded tired.

Blake grabbed a nearby chair, setting it back facing Kyle, and then straddled the thing, "How you feeling?"

Kyle scanned the room, and once done he seemed satisfied, "Tired. Like I got shot and then cut opened."

"We wanted to ask what your plans were moving forward."

"Yeah," Blake agreed, "If you'd like to stay here, we can find something for you to do." He rested his arms on the top of the chair, "Or if you'd rather leave on your own, we can offer what supplies we can spare."

Kyle looked at Addison, then Blake, and then down at his lap. He mulled things over for a moment and then asked, without raising his head, "And Anton? What's he doing?"

Addison looked put-off by the question, but Blake heaved a sigh, one filled with deep tension, "He's going with Muna." Addison shot Blake a glare, but he opted to ignore it; maybe they'd be having some sort of discussion later.

Kyle turned to face us once more, his eyes filled with a fiery determination, "I'll be going with her then." The look in his eyes said he couldn't be swayed, so I gave my assent and responded with a nod.

Blake and Addison both looked at me in unison, an expression of disbelief flickered over their faces for a moment. Perhaps they had a plan and I ruined it. I replied to their gazes with a big, warm smile. It seemed to have been effective, as their expressions relaxed seconds after they saw it; perhaps due to giving up and not acceptance, either way it worked out.

Before any more conversation could be had, Kyle raised a question, "Blake, I take it the mercenaries didn't pose too much of a hassle for you?"

Blake opened his mouth and then shut it, looked at me for a second, and then turned back to Kyle, "Yeah."

Kyle sighed, "I need more sleep, could you all go?"

"Okay, let us know if you need anything," Addison answered for us. And we three exited into the hallway. In the hall, we briefly lingered near the door, slowly moving away eventually.

We'd been moving in silence, but Addison finally spoke up, her voice full of frustration, "You're going to be the death of him if you keep dragging him with you." I stopped and gave her my full attention, but she kept her back to me as she moved farther ahead, "You go fast. Way too fast. Just... think about slowing down; it isn't good for him – or you..."

She looked over her shoulder, and I got a brief look at her face; her expression showed her frustration, her helplessness, and her guilt. It swirled with a deep guilt. But as quickly as I saw it, it was gone. Her head turned and she left without another word, leaving Blake and myself alone. Blake looked like he wanted to go after her, but had something on his mind preventing him from going.

He gave up on following after he turned toward me, sighed, and then said, "Come on." I didn't know where we were going, but we began to move deeper into the compound, Blake leading the way and myself following along. It was quiet between us, until we rounded a bend and he finally spoke, "Look, about Anton," he began in a hushed tone. "He's dangerous. You should make sure to keep an eye on him."

Completely changing the subject, as if a dime had been dropped, he spoke in a louder voice, matching a normal talking level. "We finished collecting all the loot from the mercenaries. Feel free to take a look and get what you need from it, anything you leave behind will go toward the compound."

I nodded, and the moment he confirmed I heard everything, he sped along after Addison. Just like that, I was back to being alone here in the compound. I began to wander the halls without any clear destination in mind. All I knew was that I didn't want to sit still.

We met, Kyle, Anton, and I, near the back of the compound; after Kyle had awoken, someone informed me that this would be where all the loot was gathered. We were being given our pick of the goodies, and we'd likely be able to take as much as we could carry, if not more. It was almost too good to be true. But I didn't want to waste time pondering moral quandaries to myself, and set about looking over the piles of loot.

Stacks of guns, neatly piled in rows, some even looked like they might be arranged based on the quality alone; crates full of ammunition stacked in tidy groups near the back; medical supplies scattered out across several tables on the right, each seeming like a community in and of itself; then there were several stacks of miscellaneous objects placed in their own individual groupings of the the left side. It was a lot to take in, and I immediately made my way for the weapons.

After looking through several of the piles, I found another hunting rifle (one to repair my current one); and after an intense look, I couldn't find anything else that I'd need, at least for now. Maybe I'd come to regret it, but I just didn't want to pack too much extra. From there, I moved over to the ammunition crates. I was able to find loads of shots, but the crates, standing as tall as my knee, were, after a small observation, actually lifted. Even though the crates had looked full, they were probably only halfway filled at best. I took several rounds for my various weapons, but made sure to leave plenty for the people here.

From the ammunition, I moved toward the miscellaneous items. One of the first things I found was the grenades, they even had a couple different types. Amongst the stuff, I found a comic book – Grognak the Barbarian; I'd never been much of a fan, but I stashed it for later. Sitting right beside it was a queer little statue, a boy with a parted blonde hair giving the most gracious of triumphant poses I'd seen. I picked it up, and my Pip-Boy beeped once, notifying me of the item: bobblehead. Near the base of the black plate on which the blue-clad figure stood, on the bottom, it was labeled as strength. I decided to stash it, and then picked up a plate and slid it toward the front of my bag.

As I moved farther down, I found several assortment of drinks. I grabbed a few of the irradiated water bottles, two bottles of vodka, and two nuka-colas. I placed one in my bag and opened the other. Drink in-hand, I moved over to the last bit of miscellaneous items – food. There I gathered several food items that sounded good; mac'n'cheese, some steak, more cram, instamash, and some beans with pork. My bag was close to being full, but I was mostly just glad I could still carry everything.

Having finished with the miscellaneous things, I moved over to the opposite side of the room where the medical supplies were laid out. I spent a few minutes browsing before I finally got around to picking items up and plopping them haphazardly into my bag. I grabbed a bottle of something called buffout and read the label, but I didn't know what most of the words actually meant. I grabbed a handful of med-x and considered grabbing more, but left them alone. Some radaway and rad-x, as radiation could end up becoming serious and it wasn't wise to walk around without much protection. And then some stimpacks, as I can't seem to ever have enough.

Releasing a held breath, I headed back toward the entrance for the room and sat and sipped the nuka-cola, waiting for the others to finish their business. While I waited, I opted to watch as Kyle paced back and forth around the weapons, as if he couldn't make up his mind. And Anton checking out the crates of ammunition. After a few minutes, we met back up and I waved them through the door.

It wasn't long until we made it toward the front of the complex, where a makeshift wall had already entered construction. I nearly vomited as a deep, terrible odor filled my nostrils and spread through my entire being. Whatever it was, it was putrid and smelled burned. A great plume of black smoke rose from the south, and as we cleared the wall, I saw it: the bodies of countless mercenaries being 'cleaned' through fire.

With a quick check of the direction the wind was traveling, we began to head upwind of the smoke. After about a minute of walking, we bumped into Blake as he was scanning the horizon for something. Kyle walked up and said hello, and the two got to talking about this and that. I looked around but couldn't find Addison. I knew that we probably couldn't linger for too long, so I tore out a paper I'd written on earlier and tapped Blake's shoulder.

He turned and I handed him the paper. It was a note I'd written for Addison; I made sure to add her name on the folded parchment before it was passed off. With that, I waved goodbye and motioned for the others to follow. Kyle shouted his goodbyes and mentioned that he hoped to see the siblings again some time. Anton remained stoically quiet, his face held in a neutral position, as if he were deep in thought. As we made some distance, I turned and waved one last time before he fell out of sight.

-Transmission Received-

-Quest Complete-

-Level Up-

Author's Note: With the release of this chapter, it marks the end of the collaborative effort between PicadillyGrey [ u/15357997/] and I on this side of the story. Their characters, Blake and Addison, will be off on their own adventures, whether together or separate, while my party shall continue on their own journey. It's been fun working together and, thanks to some downtime in writing for both of us, an amazing four years (I think). If you haven't already, you should be reading Picadilly's Fallout: San Antonio.

I have other news as well; I've begun rewriting some of the early chapters of the story to make them more approachable. I'm testing the waters with the opening chapter, the prologue, which was released yesterday. There isn't really any new content with these rewrites, per say, but they should make things a whole lot easier to read; though, I am contemplating adding a new scene to chapter one, but that'll be for later.