บท 31: Beyond the Corn
I don't own Fallout
A lone man laboriously tilled a meager farm just past the land of corn. There was a small pond nearby but it, like much of the water found in the wasteland, was radioactive, and without proper treatment, it wasn't much of a good idea to drink or bathe in. He had a well for that. He stood up from tending to his tatos and wiped his brow of hard-earned sweat. He had a simple shack, a simple farm, a simple brahmin, and his name was Joe. But folks around these parts called him Average Joe… but since 'these parts' was pretty empty that was not really a lot of people…
Months ago travelers would come from the land of corn but they stopped coming for a long time now, he didn't know why. Didn't care to ask… but he paused as an odd group approached him, two women, one ridiculously tall but both beautiful, a ghoul, a dog, and a man…
They were all giving the man a very wide birth and as soon as the wind shifted, he knew immediately why. "Ugh!" he covered his nose as the stench of rotten meat and dried gore hit him. They approached him and he went still, like a radstag in headlights. If they were going to rob him, he found that he should just not resist and let them take what they wanted…
The foul-smelling man strutted right past him, heading for the pond. "Uh… wait, what-" the man jammed himself with rad-x, then without hesitating, leaped into the pond.
"Scrub behind the ears, Brat!" the ghoul shouted as Average Joe blinked between them. "…Howdy." The one-eyed ghoul noted dismissively as Average Joe fidgeted.
"He… does know that water's slightly radioactive right?"
"We just spent three days with him smelling like that." the attractive black-haired woman with large breasts said, "We don't care, and I don't think he cares…" the massive wolf sat at her side, scratching behind his right ear with his back paw as their companion continued to bathe.
Once the Rad-X wore off, Swat strutted out of the pond to find the others eating roasted tatos provided by Average Joe in a small stone campfire. "Not going to lie Swat, you were starting to smell like the outhouses in Riverside." Casey noted with a crinkled nose, "…I'd rather do it in public than in there…"
"Don't suppose you have one of those for me?" he mumbled, his clothes soaked in water as he began to strip, removing his coat, and boots, leaving only his shirt and pants as he sat down, spreading out his clothes to dry.
"Right here, sir." Average Joe noted, simultaneously happy to have company and not get shot… not particularly in that order. Handing Swat a toasted tato fresh from the fire. Swat stared at him for a moment before taking the plate.
"…Thanks?" he glanced at the others, "…Did you pay him for these?"
"I tossed him a few caps." Jack grumbled, "So what now?"
"Head to the Head…" Swat noted, "Turn east, northeast… keep walking to the last shack." Swat noted as they blinked at him. "I know the way from there, we keep going north."
"Nothing that way but the Rushmore crater." Average Joe said. "…And maybe a few Smallbears…"
Casey chuckled at the word. "…Small bears?"
"No… Smallbears." Average Joe repeated strangely "…Vicious things."
"In my day we called them wolverines…" Jack noted, brushing his now empty but greasy fingers on his pants and getting up. "…Might have become a little lost in translation… So we're going to Mount Rushmore then east? Shall we get going or would you like the dry off?"
"No… it's sunny today."
"It's sunny every day." Casey replied, helping him with his somewhat dried coat. "Thank you for the food." Casey noted as Average Joe tipped his floppy farmer hat.
"No problem." And, one of them squelching on in wet boots they walked on, leaving Average Joe behind them. He breathed a sigh of relief, before going back to farming.
Even in the back when times there wasn't a lot to South Dakota… apart from Mount Rushmore, four carved visages of the president's past… a monument to America, and one of many famous sites rigorously bombed. Miraculously to some… one of the four heads remained while the rest crumbled to nuclear fire… although it was hardly recognizable. For a few hundred years tribals considered it an idol of protection. Its survival meant that they too could survive… and then they were promptly killed by raiders.
"…I THINK… that was Abe Lincoln…" Jack mumbled, staring at the head in the dark. "Don't quote me though it's been a long time since I thought about it.
"Who the heck was Abe Lincoln?" Casey asked as they bunkered down in an old camp cabin. One or many… though the most intact and didn't smell like death. They roasted fresh radstag steaks, hunted by Jack, in the fireplace as Jack stepped away from the window to view the silhouette of the mountain.
"A president of a dead country." He noted sadly, "Doesn't really matter anymore does it?" she shrugged. They decided to camp in a relatively safe place, considering 'smallbears' were supposedly around and they wanted to see them coming…
Swat and Galoria soon returned Raid, entering the cabin and shutting the door behind them. Locking it promptly as Jack's eye rolled over them. "Anything?"
"There's a new town." Swat said, Moderately surprised. "It's a few hours from here…"
"Hope and settlements spring eternal." Casey said.
"Don't get your hopes too far up…" Jack noted, "Might be raiders, or cannibals…"
"We'll check it out tomorrow. We'll get a good rest tonight." Swat replied with a relaxed sigh, approaching one of the many mattresses and then dropping down abruptly. "…I can't tell you how nice it'll be not to fall asleep to rotten meat…" and with hardly another sound, Raid approached him dropping onto his back, and immediately began to snore… "…You know… I'd be irritated if he wasn't so damn cute." And Swat was soon asleep.
Jack sighed, leaning back in a chair, holding his Winchester in his lap as he watched the door. "…Why don't you girls take a rest. I'll take first watch…"
"Such a gentleman today Jack… Swat taking a bath must have improved your mood." Casey said, stretching towards the back rooms with actual beds as Galoria smiled sweetly at the Old Ghoul. Jack eyed the door, occasionally hearing the cry of an animal…
…Jack wasn't a young ghoul anymore. And his attempt to stay awake on watch lasted about two hours. Then the sounds of a growling dog woke him. "Brat shut your dog up…" grumbled the ghoul comfortably in his chair as Raid lifted his dozing head from Swat's back and snorted at Jack. The growls only increased as Jack suddenly got to his feet, the door rattling. "Brat." Jack stood up, his prosthetic leg clanking on the ground as the sound of clawed paws shifted outside. "BRAT!" Jack repeated, approached the dozing Swat and booting his leg as Swat jumped awake.
"Wha-What? I'm up I'm-" Raid pawed to his feet as the sounds only increased, Swat's eyes narrowed. "…Well shit." The door splintered as a bow smashed it, a hairless snout pinched through, gnawing the wood as Jack Raised his Winchester.
…The echoes of gunfire rang out into the night, flashes of light flickering from the cabin as the cries of dying animals and a particularly large and snarling wolf echoed out… soon followed by the battle cry of a powerful amazon and the smashing of wood…
"Damn it Galoria the DOOR." Hissed sway as the naked amazon pulled her oar from the smashed splinters, the outside permeated with dead animal blood. Swat loaded his sequoia as Jack kicked a dead wolverine… Raid absently chewing on the neck of another.
"Alright mutt, let go." Jack noted as Raid growled possessively. "That's not a toy! Give it up…" Raid just snarled and chewed eagerly as Swat eyed the naked Galoria up and down.
"Why are you naked?"
"It is hot!" declared Galoria smiling, standing proudly naked as Jack averted his eyes politely… after memorizing the shapely amazon's frame and burning it into his very old memory.
Casey came out, buttoning up her shirt as she fingered her ear in annoyance, spied the 'smallbears', and frowned. "…Well those are going to stink up the place… that and the gunsmoke." Then eyed the broken door. "I take it we're not staying?"
"Not when Galoria broke the door." Swat replied sighing.
"We could just occupy another cabin."
"This was the only one that didn't smell like corpses and bloatflys… not to mention a couple of Ferals…" Jack added as Swat directed Galoria to go put on clothes.
"…We'll make our way to the town and work it from there… it's on the way." Swat replied as Jack kicked the dead wolverines again.
"…Alright but first let's skin these…" Swat frowned. "…Fur is good caps Brat, I've always told you."
Swat growled similar to the chewing Raid before he pulled his deathclaw knife and grabbed the closest one, he was about to carve in as Galoria and Casey when to pack before he eyed Jack. "…Aren't you going to help?"
Jack just smiled, resting in the chair. "I want to see if you remembered what I taught you." Swat sighed again, glaring at Jack.
"…Can I at least have your knife? It's better for this than a deathclaw one…" Jack grinned back.
"Sure. I'll trade you." He replied smugly as Swat eyed his knife. They had this same conversation once long ago when Jack was teaching him how to survive with his mother. He gave him the same offer then, he was less inclined before…
"…Sure." He held it out handle first as Jack stared at it, not really expecting it before they swapped knives. Jack eyed his new knife, remembering the old one that he lost at cards when he was in a bad place… before sharpening it absently as Swat worked.
It took Swat a good few minutes trying to get Raid to stop chewing on the last Wolverine pelt, but when he finally did they were all packed up and on their way in the dark.
The town was little more than a few repaired buildings and poorly at that. But thankfully there were no rotten bags of meat, rotting corpses, spikes, or generally anything that would declare it a raider outpost or Super Mutant hangout… there was a very poor wall surrounding it made up of junked cars and wooden boards, and a couple of town watchmen with tin stars on their chest watching them as they approached.
"Hold it." claimed one, getting to his feet and approaching them. It was still dark. "…You raiders?" he held up his rusty shotgun. His grey beard twitching.
"Do they LOOK like Raiders, Bill?" the other watchman replied as Swat absently agreed. "…Where you from, where you goin?" he asked, holding a less rusty combat shotgun.
"Just passing through…" Swat replied, holding up the furs. "Our last camp got smashed up by these things." He said as 'Bill' eyed the fresh skins interestedly.
"Damn Smallbears." He grumbled.
"We just want to spend the night, check out a trader if you got one, then move on." Swat added as the other watchman nodded.
"Biggest building in the walls is the inn and casino." He pointed as Jack's eye twinkled, "Mason's is the shop but he's closed until morning." Swat sighed, but as to be expected. "Behave yourselves." He noted as they walked right in… but then he eyed Raid as if noticing him for the first time. "…Uh… is he… trained?"
Raid smiled at him, his tongue lolling happily from his mouth as he twitched nervously.
"…You'd be hard-pressed to find a better trained one…" Swat replied, rubbing the massive wolf's head.
"…Well make sure he doesn't pee on anything important." The watchman replied as they walked on.
They quickly found the biggest building in town, it looked like a repurposed office space. The bottom lobby was filled with card tables and a makeshift stage, currently occupied by a crooning singer and his backup Accapella.
"Country rooooooooads. Take me Hoooooome!" he sang, poorly, but nobody seemed to mind. Currently, the place was filled with rough and tumble-looking people, but nothing extreme like a raider… there was a man dressed in a dandy grey suit, only slightly torn. With a pencil-thin mustache and a smile… his eyes flicked briefly to Casey and her impressive figure… to Galoria and her VERY impressive figure, before heading back to Casey… probably eyeing her chest as Jack eyed the poker tables.
"Get us some rooms Brat…" Jack grinned, his pockets tinkling with caps as he rubbed his hands eagerly together. "I'm going to enjoy my evening!"
As the girls walked away to the counter Swat grabbed Jack's arm. "…Don't enjoy it TOO much…" he said whispering warningly as Jack frowned.
"…I haven't shot anyone over cards in years…" Swat eyed him suspiciously. "…Months…"
"I am NOT going to be run out of town again because you shot up a 'cheatin-sum-bitch'. Not when we're so close to Mom." He declared as Jack sighed, raising his hand, his dominant one.
"…I swear to not shoot a cheatin-sum-bitch… unless they try and shoot first." He added as Swat nodded, joining the girls at the counter.
"Rooms?" asked the counter girl sweetly, eyeing the handsome mercenary and his big friendly dog.
"How many beds?"
"We have rooms with ones and twos." she said politely as Swat nodded.
"Two rooms, two beds…" he said as she nodded, moments before.
"I ain't playing with no Ghoul!" roared out a particularly unpleasant thug as he got to his feet, his face was scarred, a jagged one ran down his chin, messing up his black beard. "Rotten corpse, might go Feral any moment!" he added, towering over Jack who to his credit didn't reach for his pistols… a common action from Jack when he was threatened by racists.
…Luckily...
"What did you say about my dad?" Swat declared coldly, his voice echoing over the sounds as everyone went quiet, even the singer. Jack's good eye lingered on Swat for a second, then he smiled like he was in on a particularly funny joke.
The thug turned his attention to Swat, then the girls, Galoria most amused at this as Raid scratched himself absently. Casey was just bored, absently drawing on the counter girl's notepad as she awaited the inevitable fight. "…Your dad?" he laughed, glancing back at Jack. "This rotten corpse is your daddy?" he then did the wrong thing… and shoved Jack, who stumbled back, looking bored, and conveniently giving Swat a clearer shot.
…I may have mentioned that Swat's infamy is fairly well known on the other side of the Rocks. It's been a few years since he ventured back east this far so it might be understandable that most don't know or remember who he is…
…But they often remember the Sequoia… shame he didn't use it at first.
The combat knife, formerly Jack's, whistled through the air and sliced the back of the man's extended hand before planting deep in the wood of the wall behind him. "Argh!" he clutched at his wrist and glared at Swat… or more specifically… glared down the barrel of the Sequoia… Swat had moved closer while the knife was in flight. The man hesitantly glanced down at the snarling white wolf next to him. Somehow now aware that regardless of the fact that Swat had a gun on him the DOG was far more dangerous.
Swat snapped his fingers, Raid stopped growling, and he pulled the man's attention back to himself as Raid merrily swung his head around the room with a big smile on his doggy face. "…My dad likes to play cards." He said, coldly. "You touch him again, and I'll kill you." Swat declared as everyone seemed to remember a rumor about a mercenary and his wolf, and vaguely rumors that he traveled with a ghoul once upon a time. "You even LOOK at him funny." he pulled back the hammer of the sequioa as the man struggled not to piss himself. "-and I'll kill you." Swat said coldly as Jack put a hand on his shoulder.
"Alright Brat stop scaring the locals. I'll just pick a new table." He said cheerily as Swat pulled his gun away.
"Sure Jack." He added calmly. In one fluid subtle moment, Swat warned the town not to mess with them and promptly made sure any ghoul racists realized that an Angry Swat might not be worth picking a fight with.
"Uh…" the dandy man raised his hand politely, smiling smarmily at them. "Please." He gestured charmingly to an empty seat. "I insist…" the other players and dealer at the table, eager to make sure bullets didn't start flying randomly, quickly agreed.
"Don't mind if I do!" grinned Jack sitting down as the chatter began again. Swat whistled at Raid, who promptly lay down beside Jack, and began to 'doze'… Swat retrieved his knife and returned to the counter as the girl replied rather calmly.
"Please don't kill anybody inside the hotel." She noted as Swat tipped his hat handing an exasperated and bored Casey a key.
"Certainly." He said as they all walked up the stairs.
"Was all of that necessary?" Casey noted as they were out of hearing. "That's just going to cause trouble."
"Or prevent it." Swat noted. "…There were a lot of gunmen eyeing you girls at the tables." He said as Casey sighed, she had seen their gazes. "Plenty of them might not have as much access to pretty girls as I do… now they know what I can do…"
"Well, they don't know what Galoria can do." Casey replied as Galoria removed her oar and they entered the next room. "…Pretty sure they wouldn't have tried that anyway. Nobody's that stupid."
....
Average Joe brewed himself some nice warm coffee inhaling the aroma as he sat by his campfire. He looked up glancing at the rows of towering corn in the distance before looking back down, tending to his fire before pouring himself coffee into a dirty-ish mug then sitting up. Just barely managing to hold onto it after jumping in shock as an Asian man with a Chinese officer sword across his back stood just a few feet before him on the other side of the warm fire… Average Joe gulped… he didn't even HEAR the Asian approach… and he certainly wasn't there a second before.
The imposing man, thin and muscular, but ruggedly handsome... squatted slightly near the flame, absently tending to the fire with a stick from the ground, eyeing Average Joe silently, as he gulped again. "…May I have some of this?" he asked, coldly polite and clear as crystal.
"…Uh… Sure…" the man nodded, as the Asian man pulled out a collapsible cup, something a military man would carry, and poured himself a cup of hot coffee, before downing it quickly and smacking his lips. Regardless of the heat. "…Ah…" he sighed smiling with cold politeness at Average Joe. "Thank you… I am Ranger Wuu… do you have something for me?" he said, as Average Joe… once again, nervously gulped.
End
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง