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30.46% Steel Waste / Chapter 216: Test Subject 69...

Chapter 216: Test Subject 69...

Afton found himself back in bed while wearing a hospital gown... Dr Kemp had just looked him over and taken some blood tests, though Afton was reluctantly to grant him his blood. He disliked any and all information the NCR may have on him... He wasn't able to refuse treatment though, otherwise Karl and Boone would actually begin to suspect something was wrong.

"Well, it'll take a while for the blood test results to come in, other than your sudden bout of bleeding though I have no idea what might have caused it... Perhaps some strange symptom of shock from losing your arm?" Dr Kemp speculates with a hand on his chin.

"Is that what they call it? 'Losing your arm'? Kid here had to cut it off himself after it got crushed." Karl says, causing those that were listening to pale.

"At least we got some payback." Boone says from the side with his arms crossed, Afton had to agree. He'd rather lose an arm than have a nuke dropped on him, that was for sure.

"Ah yes, I, as well as the entirety of the NCR inside and outside the Mojave have heard of your 'payback'. That was one of the things that I would have suspected your symptoms to have come from, had you not already been immune to radiation."

"I checked with my Geiger counter, we were far enough away from it to avoid any radioactive material." Afton says, more to reassure his companions than anything else. "When can we get out of here Doc? I feel fine and would rather get back to work."

Karl and Boone don't look happy to hear this, Afton was younger than them both, and even despite his apparent leadership role over the group they still considered him their responsibility. Fortunately Dr Kemp steps in before they start an argument.

"I think that would be ill-advised Mr Parker. You've come in and out of my care and I suspect that your original mutation hasn't completely healed, thus the bleeding after going through such an ordeal."

Afton shakes his head and is about to retort when someone he hadn't met before walks over to them.

"Ah, my favourite test s-*Cough*, Patient. You truly are a marvel Mr Parker."

...

"Who are you?" Afton asks, clearly not happy to see this man who seemed to have malicious intent towards him.

"Ah, forgive me. I am Doctor Hildern, director of operations of the Office of Science and Industry, or OSI for short. I alongside Dr Kemp have been monitoring your condition since you first started mutating."

...

"Do you need something?"

Dr Hildern jolts slightly as if he'd just received an electric shock, "Yes! Yes I do." he says, handing a clipboard to Dr Kemp whose eyes widen. "Another one?"

Dr Hildern nods, "Indeed, I pushed forward the test as I had a hunch... Mr Parker, it seems that you are undergoing some sort of rapid evolution, something we at the OSI or any other NCR department has witnessed before."

Afton gets a cold sweat as he rapidly tries to think of an excuse for this, but even using VATS to give him all the time in the world, he can't find an excuse aside from revealing the existence of his system...

Karl and Boone look at the men in confusion, "What does that mean?" they ask.

"It means that Mr Parker here is evolving at a rate that shouldn't be possible. Millions of years worth of mutations and progress all happening within a matter of days." Dr Hildern days before grabbing his clipboard back and flipping to a paper. "I've made some observations on Mr Parker's blood, and am astounded by what I have found... Mr Parker, were you aware that you are essentially a plant?"

...

...

"Is that an insult Dr Hildern? I might have lost an arm but I'll take your greying ass on any day." Afton threatens, more to throw the researcher off than anything else.

His threat clearly works, the doctor taking a small step back but quickly recomposes himself, "No, I don't mean it in a disparaging manner Mr Parker, No, I mean that your skin, flesh, and blood are all currently performing photosynthesis at an almost impossible efficiency."

...

Afton chews on the inside of his cheek, "And? Why does that matter?"

Dr Hildern scoffs, "W-why does that matter!? Why, you literally do not require food to sustain yourself! And I suspect a whole litany of other benefits! Not to mention what we've found in your latest blood test!"

Dr Kemp looks at his colleague in interest, "What have you found?"

"Why, Mr Parker's blood becomes what I can only describe as supercharged in the presence of radiation! Cell division, retention, and durability increase to a rediculous degree depending on the level of radiation! I need to perform more tests to discover what other effects have occurred, but it is still a marvel to witness!"

Dr Kemp looks shocked at this, occasionally taking glances at Afton as he reads through Dr Hilderns report, "Truly, this all feels like a dream... It's almost as if you are becoming superhuman Mr Parker..."

His words cause Boone and Karl to look at each other, both remembering the various situations they'd found themselves where Afton had performed incredibly difficult feats of strength and skill. Just one example of this would be repairing a vehicle in only a few weeks.

"Mr Parker, upon seeing all these incredible changes, I want to request that you stay under observation so we can research these changes properly. Just think of the advancements we could make, perhaps we could grant similar mutations to other people!"

Afton quickly shakes his head upon hearing this, "No. I refuse. From what I've heard these mutations only began occurring due to an incredible amount of radiation I'd been exposed to. How can I be sure you won't start doing the same and accidentally turning people into ghouls to try and replicate it?" he says, having already thought of a few arguments to refuse such things.

Dr Kemp stalls at this, realising that yes, such research would probably lead to that. Dr Hildern isn't phased however, "Nonesense, I can guarantee that nothing of the sort would occur under my watch... Just think of the benefits to mankind! Can you really refuse to solve the number one problem of the wasteland? That being radiation!?"

Afton looks the man in the eye and growls out, "I refuse."

...

Dr Hildern looks shocked by the hostility Afton had displayed but still looks as if he wants to argue his case... "But I-... Very well, good day to you Mr Parker, Dr Kemp." he says before briskly leaving.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross Niggross

Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know.

If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.

next chapter

Chapter 217: Don't butcher the messenger...

After Dr Hildern left Afton had tried to leave his bed, only to be glared at by both his companions. Apparently they wanted to him to rest for a day or two to prevent another bout of 'Bleeding' from occurring. Obviously he couldn't just tell them what i actually was so he'd reluctantly agreed, no point in completely ignoring them for something so trivial.

In the meantime, Afton started playing around with his Pipboy, more specifically the map and his new Perk [Explorer]. Before him was everything of note inside and outside the Mojave, every single residence was named under their owners, whether it was meant to be kept secret or not.

Of course, the millions of ruined houses weren't individually named, only those that currently had owners or held significance of some kind had unique names. This helped somewhat to find specific places on the overwhelmingly saturated map.

Unfortunately, the Pipboy map didn't come with a search function, nor did it have any way to assist the user in finding anything. So, he was left with a map chock-full of useless information and places.

...

The only silver lining was the fact unique locations usually had unique icons that he could somewhat make out in the chaos. Vaults for instance, their gear-logo was immediately identifiable which allowed him to quickly locate every Vault in the Mojave, these being Vault 3, 11, 19, 22, and 34.

This would help a lot when he finally decided to track done those ventilation components and return to his family... Of course, only if they'd have him back. He wondered what they currently thought of him, whether or not he had been 'tainted' by the wasteland, or if he was just a straight and simple traitor.

Whatever the case, he'd do his best to alleviate their concerns... Though, if they tried to force him back into the same situation he had been in before he left, he'd leave for good. There was no point hiding in the Bunker when there were so many opportunities to be had on the surface.

Shaking his head at the thoughts of his family, he focussed on the various Vaults on the map. These would not just hold ventilation components, but would likely have intricate parts that could be used for cybernetics. It might take a while to acquire such machinery but it'd return his arm to him, something he wouldn't scoff at.

He continued making and breaking plans until he drifted off to sleep, the comfortable bed beneath him somehow seeming unfamiliar from his time in the wastes...

Suddenly, he was awakened, his eyes darting open as he scanned his surroundings... The airport terminal being almost entirely empty apart from the NCR guards protecting the place.

He tried to sit up but stopped when he felt something crinkle under his remaining hand... Picking it up and looking at it, he discovered a rather badly written note obviously meant for him. It read :

"Meet in Freeside Fiend Sewer. L"

...

"Fiend Sewer?" Afton muttered to himself, wondering where it could mean... The only place he could think of would be the Freeside Sewer that the Fiends had managed to break into and were subsequently trapped. Last he was down there he'd seen an army of Mr Houses robots repairing it...

If they truly were asking him to go to that place then they had to be someone who knew about the involvement he and his companions had with killing the Fiends there... Though, Afton sincerely doubted it was Karl or Boone who'd left the message.

Another thing he was puzzled about was who it was from, he'd not met anyone who could be put with 'L' that would do something like this...

Regardless, he now had a choice... Whether he went to meet with whoever it was or not. He could already imagine the angry faces the Boone and Karl would show him if he just up and left without any notice at all. Plus, Afton himself wasn't exactly in top fighting form, was this just a ploy to capture him?

No. He wouldn't sit around and wait for shit to happen, he'd go and see what this person wanted and decide how to deal with them there and then. Afton quickly sits up and pulls the curtains to conceal him from the rest of the terminal. Walking over to Dr Kemp's vacant desk and tearing a piece off of one of his documents before writing a small message for his companions...

Afton nods to himself as he places it on top of his pillow, it read, "BRB" and had Afton's best attempt at drawing a Vault Boy with a peace sign... Yeah, he wasn't any good at drawing so it just looked like a shoddy stick figure.

He throws off his patient gown and starts putting on his equipment that'd been left beside his bed. Of course, he only grabbed his armour, weapons, drugs, ammo, and other essential equipment. Leaving his bag, Anti-Material rifle, and other heavy or needed things behind.

Afton expected to be back in the morning or tomorrow at least, plus, he'd need to sneak out of here, so carrying an excess of equipment would be counter-intuitive.

Honestly, it was like the NCR guards weren't even paying attention. They didn't bat an eye when he snuck out one of the shattered terminal windows and climbed over one of Camp McCarren's walls... That, or his 100 Sneak Skill had something to do with it.

Not to mention how difficult it actually was to climb a wall with only one arm... At least the guards on the wall didn't hear him grunting and spluttering in an effort to pull himself up with only his left hand.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross Niggross

Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know.

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