Nate sat on the couch, waiting for Piper to get her things, thinking.
Why did I go all the way here on the words of a drugged out grandma.
He felt stupid, being led to believe that his son could still be alive, nearly dying on his way here. He'd just about given up on trying to find his son, he was already running on low morale after seeing his wife killed.
Now seeing the world for what it was, he thought it would be impossible finding his son, plus, his son could've been taken 60 years ago, and he would have no idea.
"Whacha thinkin about Blue?" Piper said leaning over to him.
Nate lifted his face off the ground.
"Trying to find a way out of the city center without getting torn to shreds by bullets"
Her eyes really were like Nora's, Nate thought to himself, looking at Piper.
"Well, don't think yourself to death there, we gotta story to find" Piper said helping Nate off the couch.
"Oh yeah? What story is that?" Nate asked.
"I don't know…" Piper said a bit frustrated "…Something- anything apart from this damn city. I couldn't go out there on my own, but I think I could find something with you watchin my back."
Piper smiled and nodded to the door.
Walking out of the city and straight to the outskirts, trying to avoid any raiders as Nate's body still ached, so if they got attacked, he couldn't do much.
"So where we goin' Blue?"
"Where I use to live, a place called 'Sanctuary'" Nate said. "It looks like total dogshit now, but It looked better before the bombs, there's also something I want to get inside the vault"
"ooooooh" Piper said intrigued, "I get to see inside the vault for myself, I'm glad I brought the camera"
"Who said that?" Nate said with a laugh. "You get to stay outside, and not go in the vault"
"Oh come on Blue" Piper said, stopping herself and Nate. "I just need a couple of pictures- say what, I'll buy you some drinks afterwards"
Nate really wanted to say no, but he really needed something to drown in, to help with Nora, to get her out of his mind for a night.
"Fine, but it better be some good stuff, I'm not settling for a warm beer"
"Trust me, I'll get the good stuff, whether it be from scavenging or Vadim"
It got dark, Nate noticed that he was close to a bunch of houses.
They decided that going straight west and the straight north would be the best plan to get to Sanctuary.
"It's getting dark, I don't feel like being mauled by whatever's out in the dark. We could use the houses over there as a spot to get some rest"
"Finally, I've been waiting for some time with yo- I mean, I'm so tired"
Nate shot her a confused look as she looked away and blushed.
"We need to check for ghouls or something" Piper said, eager to move on from what she'd said, "I don't wanna be eaten in the middle of the night"
"Ghouls?"
"Jesus Blue, did you jump outta the ice box a day ago? How the hell have you never run into a ghoul?"
"I guess I didn't go far enough into the 'wild'" Nate said sarcastically
"Yeah well, you know one when you see one. Brainless, growling and groaning all the time, melted flesh and a desire to eat other's"
"Like a zombie?" Nate said, laughing with disbelief
"What's a zombie?"
Nate shot her another look of disbelief, 'What's a zombie?', really?
"We can have this conversation later, right now lets clear this spot out"
They walked closer to the houses, there was a multitude of them surrounding a large store room of sorts.
To the left of them there was a greenhouse- or rather the remains of a greenhouse- that had strange noises coming from it.
Nate assumed it was a ghoul, because it sounded exactly like a zombie.
Nate signaled Piper to hang back, and walked closer to the greenhouse looking inside the broken window. Nate saw something moving, it looked human-esque.
He slowly lifted his gun, aiming for the head of a ghoul that was hunched over some boxes.
Bang.
The ghoul now lay on the floor, twitching slightly, but before Nate could take a closer look at his handiwork, he heard another shot.
He turned around like lightning and readied his revolver, however when he took aim, a ghoul fell to his feet, with a very smug Piper behind it.
"Thanks" Nate said sincerely
"No problem Blue" Piper said with a smile.
Nate figured they could split the work, "We should probably check the rest of the houses out, and seeing how your handy with a pistol, we could split them between us, I'll take the ones on the left of the storage room, you take the ones on the right"
"Will do" Piper said, walking off to the other houses.
Nate found another one in the house next to the greenhouse, it was almost trivial taking them out if you had the jump on them.
He and Piper quickly eradicated the remaining ghouls, deciding to hunker up in the shed that was in the middle of all the houses.
"You know, those things are a lot like zombies" Nate said, sitting down and starting a fire in the middle of the room with the dried branches of the once green trees.
"I still don't know what the hell a zombie is" Piper said, dragging a sleeping bag into the building.
"Have you never watched a movie before, hell even television?"
"Those are all pre-war relics, much like yourself" Piper added with a smirk.
Nate noticed the one sleeping bag, "Hey! Where's mine?"
"Come one Blue, no freebies, you get your own"
Nate mumbled something incoherent as he got up and left the building in search of a sleeping bag.
Coming back with a mattress, he sat it down next to the fire, with Piper's sleeping bag on the other end of the fire.
Nate walked around the building, closing the doors so they wouldn't freeze to death. Sitting down on the mattress Nate looked across to Piper on the other end of the fire, taking out a cigarette.
"You smoke?" Nate asked Piper
"You don't?" Piper said, laughing as she lit the tip of the cigarette.
"No, never needed to" He never did need to, but after all he's been through, he could really use this. "Although after all the shit I've been through, I'm tempted to"
"I got an extra one here if you want, damn things are hard to come by"
Nate sat there for a few seconds, looking into the fire, thinking. He'd made it this far without a smoke, maybe he could make it a little longer.
"I think I'll skip this one" Nate said with a smile.
"Suit yourself Blue, but hey" She said as she threw a chocolate bar at him, "Gotta eat something"
"Thanks Piper" Nate said, breaking it in half and throwing the other piece back at her.
"Where are we going again Blue?"
"Sanctuary, I need to check on a few things there"
"What was it like… before the war?" Piper said, changing the topic.
"It was a lot cleaner for one, no broken-down houses, dead trees and two headed cows wandering about" Nate said, with both him and Piper laughing.
"Yeah, yeah I know all that, I was sayin, what was it like for you" She said, leaning into the fire a bit.
"Well, I already told you what I want to, I don't real-"
"Come one Blue, can't you give me something. I don't put everything I hear in the paper!"
"Fine" Nate sighed, "My childhood was pretty boring, no doubt you've had a more exciting one, what with all the radiation, and mutant creatures about. Anyway, I joined the Military around 19, seemed like fun-"
"Really Blue? Kind of a weak excuse for throwing your life at the enemy"
"I was a dumb, young adult who had nothing better to do, it looked like a good choice. I did some time in Alaska, even got myself a few awards. After I left the army, I met N-"
A silence same over Nate as he stopped talking, realizing what he was about to say. "-Nobody, I met nobody when I came out."
"Jesus Blue your killin me with all this mystery shit. Just tell me! Come on, what's the worst that can happen"
"No" Nate said, his voice cold as the night was dark.
"Fine then… You wanna tell me how you got those scars?" Piper said, reluctantly changing the subject again.
"The one across my eye was a grenade, I was lucky enough that it only ripped through my skin, and plus, it happened a while ago, I'm surprised you can see it, I thought it faded away"
"It suits you" Piper said with a smile, looking into Nate's eyes.
A long period of silence came over, Piper just looking into Nate's eyes, and Nate looking straight back.
"Yeah… well, I just hope I don't look like I belong in a B rated superhero film" Nate said with an awkward chuckle.
"I'm betting you could play the lead act, Blue" Piper said, softer than normal.
Sensing the flirtatious air around the fire, Nate decided he would take the cigarette.
"You still offering that cigarette?" Nate asked, trying to ignore the previous comment.
"Sure, here you go" Piper threw a cigarette pack with a single cigarette in it over the fire.
"Thanks" Nate said as he caught it.
He got up, and took a twig from the fire with the tip of it ignited, and opened a side door to get some 'fresh' air.
He leaned against the shed, feeling a cool breeze in the night air. He put a cigarette in his mouth, and lifted the burning twig to it. He threw the twig on the ground and stomped it out.
Cupping his lips around the cigarette and breathing in. Feeling a burn go down his throat and into his lungs, filling it with smoke, but also feeling a pulse of pleasure in his body.
He leaned further down on the shed, sitting down with his back against it. Exhaled the smoke, looking at it disappear into the night.
Breathing it in again, feeling the burn and pleasure, he managed not to cough.
Few more breaths and the cigarette was finished, Nate holding in the last one to savor it.
Nate threw the cigarette to the side, and smothered it with some dirt.
He sat there, staring into the night, feeling dazed, but also relaxed. He thought about what made him do it, he'd gone through his entire life without a smoke, yet his lady came along and he found no other choice. With Nora gone, Shaun out of reach, his entire life ripped away from him, and being thrown into a wasteland with mutated creatures and merciless raiders. He needed this, he just hoped he wouldn't need another one.
Nate started to feel the tiredness grip him tighter, his eyelids felt heavier, so he got up slowly, and went back into the shed, closing the door behind him.
"So, how was 'man's first smoke'?" She asked.
Nate just responded with, "It was nice… I'm gonna go to sleep, I'm pretty tired"
Piper nodded with a smile and she also relaxed and lied down on her sleeping bag. Nate was lying down, looking in the opposite direction of the fire.
"Goodnight, Piper" He said quietly, feeling the sleep take him.
The last thing he heard was soft, smooth "Goodnight Blue", before he fell asleep.