Chương 50: Pity or Pride?

After the new Elders speech, Afton walked to the barracks and fell into his bed. The room he was in was large with many beds beside one another, a single footlocker next to his bed to keep his possessions in...

He couldn't even work up the energy to talk to his friends, or to see if Veronica had even survived... His parents were dead, mother killed right before his eyes, and father sacrificing himself for everyone else.

It hurt, a mixture of fear, anxiety, sadness, pain, grief, and fury all bundled into one jumbled mess. He had no idea what to do with himself. So, he did nothing, it took a couple of hours for him to fall asleep, memories of seeing a bullet enter his mother's visor playing over and over.

Eventually though he just stopped thinking, his world turning black as sleep took him.

The next day he was shaken awake by someone, he still didn't feel up to getting up, much less doing work... He glances at whoever was shaking him and the harsh words he was about to spit at them died in his throat. "Veronica..."

She was sitting beside his bed, a hand on his shoulder as she slowly shook him awake. She showed him a dim smile, it was clear she'd been crying last night due to her slightly red eyes. Whether it was because of Elder Elijah abandoning them, the numerous deaths caused by the NCR, or something else, he didn't know. "You're finally awake."

"Veronica..." he repeats, not really knowing what to say, "Are you okay?" he asks at having nothing better to say.

She nods, "I am... I'm... I'm sorry about your parents Afton, maybe if I could have gotten through to Elder Elija-"

"Stop." he says in a dull tone, "Just stop... There was nothing we could do about it Veronica, I promise you, if I thought for a moment you were responsible for the deaths of my parents, I'd kill you the first chance I got... Right now, you're the only family I've got left, so don't start blaming yourself for something that wasn't your fault." he reassures her after gathering his thoughts.

Veronica upon hearing this pulls him into a hug, both had lost almost everything during only a few short months. Almost everyone they loved and cherished had been taken from them, who knew how much time they had until that was taken too.

They remain like that for a couple minutes, before Veronica lets go and rubs her eyes, "Afton, the Elder wanted to speak with you."

Afton slowly nods, "Ok. Once I'm ready I'll be there." he says as she gets up to leave, sending one last glance over her shoulder at him as she exits.

He gets out of bed and pulls on his Initiate clothes, they hadn't been cleaned and were still covered with dirt and blood. The metal plates were smudged and the bullet hole where he'd been hit in the shoulder was still there.

He didn't know who, but someone must've attended to his wound... He hadn't felt the wound after he'd been dragged away from his father. Sighing at the fresh memory he left to the Elders office, passing by a few Knights and Scribes who were setting up the automated turret defence system.

McNamara was sitting behind his desk and brightened up slightly when Afton came in, though, it dimmed when he saw the state of his uniform. "Initiate Parker."

Afton nod at him, "Elder. What have you called me for?" he asks as politely as he could manage.

"Before I speak on what I called you for, I wanted to apologize for your parents, both were amazing people and very dedicated to the Brotherhood. The Chapter is less than it was before after losing them."

"Doesn't matter how good they were, they're dead now." he can't help but mutter.

McNamara hears him but doesn't have a valid response, shaking his head he continues, "From personal experience and eye-witness accounts, I've decided that you're ready to advance. I think you could've been promoted a year or two ago, but its better to be safe than sorry."

"Before I ask you what you want to do, there's the prerequisite that all Initiates must decide... Do you wish to stay within our ranks? You may not be able to leave the bunker anytime soon, but the Codex dictates that you have the choice." he says, all the other Brotherhood members guarding the room perking up, wanting to hear his answer.

...

Afton didn't know what he wanted to do, to be honest, he felt like flipping the board and starting over ago, saying "fuck off" to his responsibilities. If he accepted, he'd likely be trapped down here all his life, not something he was particularly looking forwards to, but... He still had a lot to learn. Perhaps there'd be a day where they'd be allowed to leave the bunker for missions?

...

He couldn't leave the Brotherhood, he didn't care about the Codex, or most of the people in it... Only the friends that'd survived the NCR. If he wanted to get back at those bastards, he'd need every advantage he could get. The only real place to do that is in here. "I want to stay with the Brotherhood."

McNamara breathes a sigh of relief at hearing this, Afton had clearly thought about it, most just instantly refuse to leave, but it was clear the boy had misgivings about the Chapter. He couldn't blame him either, he'd just lost his parents mainly due to the previous Elder's failure. "Have you thought about what Order you wished to join?"

...

Afton nods, "Knights." he states, the Scribes would help him understand technology better, but he wanted to learn to fight, to attack and defend against his enemies.

"Becoming a Knight, hm? The reason I've promoted you is because two people came to me to ask to apprentice you, Scribe Adah Lindgren and Knight Katie Stanton." the Elder looks to a nearby Knight and gestures at them, "Retrieve Katie Staton for me." he commands.