When he awoke, he looked around and realized he was on the train. He didn't have on his duster, helmet, armor, or gloves. He had bandages all over the upper half of his body. He was in a makeshift medical cabin that used to be for overnighters on a train. Beside him was a window with the night sky only let in by the moon. He looks at his pipboy, and he sees that it is 9:14 pm. His gear was on the seat on the other side of the small room. Next to him on the table was a glass of purified water with ice on it. Ghost slowly lifted himself out of the bed, grabbed the glass, and took a sip. It was the first cold drink he has had in years.
The door opened in a sliding motion, and a Miss Nanny robot was there. Ghost, for a second, remembered some he read in the past about General Atomics robots. "The Miss Nanny robot is a utility robot with female programming. General Atomics created them internationally for the household. General Atomics developed the Miss Nanny robot design with the main purpose of performing caretaking tasks, intending it for parents of children of all ages." It had three eyes, each equally apart on its spherical body. It had three appendages that attracted the bottom of the body near the thruster: one arm had a claw so it could grab medical equipment; another arm had a saw so it could perform surgery; and a flamethrower to protect itself. It said in a female French accent, "Ah, I see you are awake. How are your injuries?"
Ghost looked at the robot and said, "They are fine, thank you." "That is good. Well, my designation is Yuri Nallisiss, and your young friend says you are called Ghost." Ghost nodded, still in a bit of pain. Yuri sees that and flies over to Ghost, grabbing a stimpack on the way. She injects the stimpack into his arm, and the pain fades mostly away. After disposing of the used stimpack, Yuri said, "You should be fine in a few hours pain-wise, so I will leave you to rest." Yuri goes to her charging station and goes offline. Connor comes in after she does. "How are you feeling?" Connor asked. Ghost said in response, "I'll be fine."
Connor asked hopefully. "Did you find a sign of my family there?" Ghost said in a sad tone, "Sorry, but no, I didn't find anything that proves that your family is alive." Connor released a sad "oh."
They were quiet for a while. Ghost had no idea what to say. He wasn't used to expressing his emotions. Before Ghost could try to figure out what to say, Connor asked in an angry voice, "Did you kill those monsters who attacked my home?" Ghost was quite unsure of what to say. Instead of saying anything, he just nodded. Connor then proceeded to hug Ghost. Surprise washed over him. It felt odd to him. It was a warmth he hadn't felt in a while. Ghost awkwardly hugged him back, and Connor just cried into his shoulder.
After a while, they stopped, and Connor left the small room so Ghost could change into a new outfit. It was a pair of bright blue jeans, a pale white short sleeve shirt with multiple stains, a pair of black military gloves, a pair of black boots, sunglasses, and a medical mask. It was a little difficult. His sore muscles scream from even the slightest movement. After finishing, he had covered his bandages for the most part. He heard a knock on the sliding door. He opened the sliding door to find Antonio standing there. Antonio said nervously, "Hey there, friend, how are you doing?" Ghost gave him a thumbs up. "That was good, so the conductor wants to see you in a moment, so uh, follow me when you're ready." Ghost nodded, stepped out of the room, and followed Antonio to the leading car.
When they reached the head car, Antonio opened the door and let Ghost in. He stayed out of the leading car. The conductor was standing there in a guttural and raspy voice. "Welcome to my train, smooth skin." Ghost just nodded. The conductor was a ghoul, but he wasn't feral like the last one he encountered. Uncle Ray looked like a walking corpse, hairless, his skin like burned leather, and his eyes were milky. His clothes were an old navy blue conductor uniform, worn from time and use. "Hmm, you don't say much, do you? I like that." The conductor said it in a joking way. "So smooth skin, my name is Raymond, but you can call me Uncle Ray," the conductor said.
Uncle Ray quickly grabbed two chairs and sat down in one, then said, "Sit down and take a load off." Uncle Ray grinned and said in a cheerful tone, "So you want to know how much it was to travel across the country?" Ghost nodded. "So anywhere Pacific?" Uncle Ray asked. "The capital wasteland." Ghost said blankly."Oh, that is far." Uncle Ray said it in surprise. Uncle Ray said, "That will be quite pricey." Uncle Ray then took a moment to think and then said, "It is about 50,000 caps, but I will lower the price to about 20,000 for helping us, the kid, and getting rid of the super mutants."
Ghost didn't say anything for a bit and then said, "How much would you take for the brahmin?" Surprise took uncle Ray and then said, "For the health yours is in, I would take 5,000 for it, but I can hire you for whatever needs to be done until we get there." Ghost has a shocked expression under his mask and nodded to agree. Uncle Ray lifts his hand for a handshake."Let's shake on it." Ghost lifts his hand and shakes Uncle Ray's.
Connor runs in through the door behind Ghost, which causes him to jump in surprise. Connor looked excited, which was surprising because of what happened only an hour ago. Connor yelled in excitement and joy, "Did they tell you that they gave me a job here?" Ghost said in a bit of shock, "Nice kid. What are you doing here?" Connor's eyes lit up when Ghost said that, and he responded, "They said I can help in the kitchen cabin." Ghost said, "That is good," and he lifted his hand for a high five. Connor smacked Ghost's hand hard. Ghost then said calmly, "I will also be working on the train too, and I will be doing security, repairs, and a few other things as well, I guess." Uncle Ray nodded.
Connor just said, Wow, and ran out, with Antonio chasing after him. Uncle Ray was smiling big. "Ah, to be 250 years younger. So I believe you should meet a few other members of the crew." Uncle Ray gets up and walks over to an intercom, turns it on, and says, "Janet, Daniel, Lisa, and Kevin, GET YOUR BEHINDS UP HERE!" He then turns it off and sits back down. "You already met Yuri and Antonio. Yuri is our head medic and also the one who has medical training. Antonio is the head of the kitchen and is the best chef in the country." Uncle Ray said it in confidence.
The door behind Ghost opens, and in comes a man. The man was tall and burly, with a rough appearance and tanned skin. He had white hair. He had a beard that was a few inches in length. He had a disdainful look in his eyes. He was wearing an engineering jumpsuit with leather armor covering his chest and legs. He also had a cast on his arm, which was in a sling. Uncle Ray waved at the man and gestured for him to get closer. The man walked up to Uncle Ray, who was grinning as big as ever. Uncle Ray looked at the man and said, "Well, introduce yourself." The man looked at Ghost and said in a rough and tired voice, "Hello kid, my name is Danel, and I am the only person on this tin can that can fix it." Uncle Ray then said, "Actually, there are now two people who can." Daniel's eyes opened wide in shock and then sputtered out, "There is now, who? Uncle Ray pointed at Ghost and said smugly, "While you were laid up in bed, this smooth skin here did the fixing."
Daniel smiled and laughed a deep laugh. "Sorry, kid, I am not laughing at you; it is just the fact that you did something a bunch of forty-year-old men couldn't do. Man, kids are better at life than my generation." Daniel grinned and got a warm look in his eyes. Uncle Ray looked at Daniel and said, "You can get back to bed; sleep well, old friend." Daniel yawned and walked out of the room.
After he left, a woman about the same age as Daniel came in. She was wearing a dirty white shirt, an old pair of cargo pants, and a pearl necklace. She had white hair and green eyes, with a sense of warmth coming from them. The woman was short, standing at around 5'2, and so skinny that her bones were visible. She had a grin on her face and a notebook with a pen.
She walked up to the chair that Uncle Ray was sitting in. "So this must be the new guy." She said it in a sweet voice. Uncle Ray nodded and said, "Introduce yourself, Janet." "Well, I am in charge of the trades with the caravans and making sure my husband does his job," Janet said in a joking manner. Ghost was about to nod, but she stopped him before he could and said, "Don't move; I am going to make a portrait of you real fast." Uncle Ray says quickly, "Get me too." It took a few minutes for them to hold still while she drew. After she finished drawing them, she dropped the paper she used on Ghost's lap and left the room. The portrait was well done; it was a moment frozen in time in a black-and-white filter. "I think she should have told you that she is married to Daniel," Uncle Ray said quickly after.
After she leaves, a man around Antonio's age comes in quickly. He is around the same height as Ghost. The man was wearing a maintenance uniform with the name Kevin on the nametag. He looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept in some time. He was a skinny man. He had red hair, pale skin with freckles, and green eyes. He was holding a coffee in one hand and a sandwich in the other. Uncle Ray looked at him, shook his head, and called him over. He hurries over to the chair and waves the hand with the sandwich to Ghost. Ghost waved back. Uncle Ray then said, "This is Kevin, the head of the train's maintenance, and he needs to get some sleep tonight." Kevin nods and then quickly finishes his sandwich. Uncle Ray quickly swipes his coffee, takes a sip of it, and says, "This is mine now." Kevin then said, "Ok, dude." He walks out afterward.
It took a while for anything to happen. Uncle Ray mumbled under his breath that the next person should be here any minute. After a few more minutes, a young woman opened the door and walked up to Uncle Ray, who looked a little frustrated. "What took you so long, Lisa?" Uncle Ray said, annoyingly. Lisa said in a calm and confident voice, "I made sure that the train was safe." Lisa was a tall woman, maybe 5'11. Tied back in a bun, her hair was slick and black. She had Liz-colored eyes that had the look of confidence. Standing out, she had a muscular physique and tanned skin. She had on a pair of light blue jeans, a gray t-shirt that was covered by a leather pilot jacket, and a pair of old biking gloves. She had leather armor on her leg, arm, and shoulder. There was a modified 10mm pistol in her holster. Uncle Ray points out that Ghost was there. Lisa looked at him and said, "Hi, I am Lisa, the head of security and the attack force of the train." Ghost nodded. "So I heard you were the one to take out the super mutant fortress with just a sniper rifle. I am impressed." Lisa said. While smiling. Ghost said in a quiet tone, "T-thank you." Lisa said to Uncle Ray, "I want him to join my elite squad; he would be perfect for it." Uncle Ray nodded and said, "I agree; that is why I had him join the crew."
Ghost expressed surprise after just meeting them and asked in a confused manner, "Joining what?" Uncle Ray grinned and said in an excited voice, "The elite squad, or the Chaos brokers, are the best soldiers on the train. Lisa, the best hand-to-hand fighter in the entire country, leads them."
Ghost was nervous that he would meet even more people that day and felt his face go red with the heat of anxiety. Luckily, the mask he was wearing was covering it. Uncle Ray looked at his wrist, at his watch, and said in a surprised voice, "Wow, it is later than I thought. You kids head to bed; you have a lot of work to do in the morning." Ghost nodded, stood, and started to walk to the door, but realized that he didn't know where his bed was on the train, so he said, "Um, where do I sleep?" Lisa walked up behind him and said, "I'll show ya." Ghost nodded and followed her. As they walked, she talked to him, and he listened to her. They arrived at the cabin in a residential cart. "This is your room on the train, and your stuff is sitting on the bed," Lisa said before she walked away. Ghost nodded and said in a quiet voice, "Good night." She replied with the same and continued to walk away. He felt exhausted from the few hours he had been awake. He wasn't used to interacting with people so often.
Ghost noticed that someone had neatly arranged his gear on the bed, exactly where she had mentioned, and it seemed like someone had also tidied it up. He looked around the small train cabin room. He saw that there was a bowl of Bighorner stew and a spoon. He grabbed the spoon, scooped up the stew in the bowl, removed his mask, and took a bite.
The broth is starkly salty, with undertones of lamb, tomato water, and carrot.
Ghost found it delicious, and it was the most delicious thing he had eaten in a long time. After finishing the stew, he placed it to the side and got up, closed the door, and locked it. He walked over to the table, grabbed a book, and examined it. It was an old romance novel called "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker. Ghost thought it was nice. Ghost cleaned off the bed and removed his gloves. He set the alarm on his pipboy to wake him in six hours. He laid down and closed his eyes. He fell asleep in the clean and soft bed for the first time in years.