Fandom The End of the World (closed)

[Interstellar Bun]

The morning left Victoria feeling more rested than the night before but, as they began to walk, she felt an eerie sense of irritation sinking in. A pain, dull and persistent, started in the back of her head. There was an aching in her heart, not for love or affection but, rather, for coffee. God she hated herself now for drinking it so religiously, she doubted that anything even like it had survived the war and it was a dreadfully sad thought.


She tried to focus on other things, on the scent of the air, or how their boots sounded as they walked, but her thoughts returned to the drug again and again until the diner finally gave her something to focus on.


With a glance to Ruby, Victoria stepped forward.


"Us? Goodness, we were just looking to see what could be causing such a fuss on a lovely morning like this." And her smile was back, the one that never showed any teeth.


The man looked her over, curling half his lip back in disgust. "Woman in there won't give us our caps and we aren't leaving without them. Have half a mind to just storm the place and blow her brains out."


"Well perhaps you should let me and my friend here go talk to them for you. I'm sure we can settle this dispute without a drop of blood being exchanged...in return for some caps." The word felt awkward on her tongue. Caps. Such a weird form of money.


"Caps? Fuck, fine, if you can talk them into giving u what we rightfully earned we'll give you twenty caps."


"A piece."


He snarled. "A piece."

 

[HoneyedHopes]

Ruby grunted. So the youth hadn't changed much, in spite of the nuclear fallout. She trudged up the small incline and banged on the diner door.


"Open up!" She commanded. With a tone of voice that left little room for negotiation, the old woman complied, though she kept her weapon pointed at their chests.


"Whadya want?" She growled, trying to keep her tone hushed. Ruby assumed she did so to keep the words from the dealers outside. Not that she cared.


"The money," she said, with full volume. The woman shushed her as a whimper arose from the young man on the floor to their left. "Just give it to me so those guy–"jackasses, she thought to herself, "–Will get out of the way." Again, she was shushed.


"You're scaring my boy!" she hissed "And I won't give those bastards a single dime."


Ruby slammed her fist on the table, her impatience growing. She had a son to find, dammit! She just wanted the issue solved so she could go on her way in peace and with a bit more money in her pocket. "Just give them–" Her voice had raised to the point of yelling, but her words were cut off but a cry of pain. Before RUby could process the situation, the boy lunged at Victoria.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Victoria stood back as Ruby spoke to the mother, impatient and sharper than Victoria thought she would be. All the while her eyes moved to the son. He was in his teens, wearing an old letterman jacket that had seen better days. He looked strung out, his eyes wide and just sunken in enough to show that he deserved better. The drugs had hurt him, whatever he was taking, they were going to kill him.


His hands, long and thin, were twitching, eyes blinking rapidly before they focused on her. His pupils dilated, then, the blacks blown wide to make him look like night had swallowed his irises. Just as she was starting to feel mildly uncomfortable, he was on his feet and the lanky boy lunged. She was too small and unprepared and, with a shocked scream, she hit the ground.


It was different from when they had been fighting raiders. She could see his face. It was too close to hers and she could smell his rotten breath gusting over her cheeks.


"Chems! Give me the chems, I-I-I know you have them, you can't hide them from me. I just need a hit, one more, jet, please, give me the chems you bitch!" His voice was rising in volume until he was all but screaming, his words stumbling together so they were just noise in Victoria's ears.


The instinct to reach for her gun wasn't there and, instead, her hands went to his face, still manicured nails cutting canyons into his flesh. "Get off of me!"


He recoiled just enough for her knee to make contact with his groin, the force more than enough to send him away. She was on her feet quickly, breathing heavily as she gripped her side and finally produced her previously hidden pistol. She pointed it at the mother, her expression darkening as a few small drops of his blood started to dry on her skin.


"Give them the money." The gun was quivering but her eyes looked like a cold storm, her voice as crisp as silver. "Please."

 

[HoneyedHopes]

The woman, with her mouth wide open from the altercation, muttered a string of curse words before hunching under the counter to shuffle through her strongbox. She produced a shaky hand filled with the caps, which she was quick to pour into Ruby's hands before she ran to her son. Her harsh tone did little to comfort the boy, and her rough hands even less to soothe his sore parts, but the fear sounded clear to Ruby, and she supposed they'd be okay.


"If you're finished beating down my boy, take your coin and leave," she growled back at them, throwing a hand in the direction of the door. Ruby inclined her head before placing a soft hand on Vicky's shaking shoulder, directing her outside.


"Your caps," Ruby grunted, and resisted the urge to shove them down the man's throat. She had nothing more to say to the dirty bastards.


A ways down the hill, she turned back, looking over at Victoria to see if she'd followed.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Ruby had shoved the caps at the man and headed off, but it was Victoria who lingered as the man counted out the money they were owed.


"You're a tough son of a bitch aren't you?" He chuckled, showing a silver tooth as he shoved the coins into her hand. "You know, doll face, if you ever want a job there's good money to be made here."


"I'll keep that in mind, thanks." She glanced back to the diner. Through the window she could see the mother cradling her son and something akin to regret formed a pit in her stomach. It wasn't his fault, was it? It was just a bad situation for everyone involved.


"What's your name anyway?"


"Fisk."


She vaguely heard the drug dealer repeat her name before she hurried off, moving quickly in order to try and catch up with Ruby. Sticking the gun away once more, her rifle awkwardly sticking half out of her backpack, Victoria crossed her arms and kept looking forward.


When she spoke, it was ultimately a simple sentiment. "I feel bad for them."

 

[HoneyedHopes]

"Me too," Ruby agreed, frustration still hot on her breath. She pitied everyone who lived in this jungle, herself included. She kept hoping she'd blink and everything would return to normal. No war, no bombs, just her and her family. Safe.


Instead, she blinked found herself alone with her neighbor, the two of them against the rest of the world. She sighed. and kicked a rock. She watched it fly through the air, making a satisfying clink against a far off truck. She coughed and looked back at Victoria, feeling strangely proud of herself. I mean, she just punted a rock 15 yards.


Anything they might've said to each other was halted by a responding growl. It was soft, not loud or demanding, but most certainly bloodthirsty. Ruby turned her head back around and spotted the source–three humanoid bodies crawling their way out from under the truck. Ruby lifted her gun and took another step. And, of course, her heel slid over loose gravel, causing three decayed and mangled heads to flick their way.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

It was as though the monsters wouldn't stop coming. Everywhere they turned there was a giant lizard, a person, or...zombie looking to end them. They were disgusting malnourished things with bloated stomachs that looked like they might burst. Their faces were drawn in tight, skin twisted against muscle and bone. Nausea washed over Victoria, mixing with the fear in the pit of her stomach that left her almost shell shocked with what they were seeing.


The creatures made a noise in the back of their throat like a pained scream and they moved. They were fast, faster than Victoria could level a weapon, faster than she could even load it. Their teeth, rotten and sick, glimmered in the daylight as they opened their jaws and their arms stretched out like the hands of death to grab and destroy.


Two of them went for Ruby, one throwing its full weight against her to grapple her to the ground, gnashing teeth fighting to shred her face to bits, to consume the skin it no longer had.


The one that decided Victoria was the better of the two meals grabbed her gun, struggling to tear away that last boundary between them. The thick stench of death and mildew filled the air as Victoria fought to knock the creature back and not lose her own footing in the process. It was somewhere in that panic, in the fear that she wouldn't be able to save Ruby as she had been saved, that a gunshot rang out. Blood and grey matter painted her face as a hole carved its way into the ghoul in front of her and the creature crumpled to the ground, dead.

 

[HoneyedHopes]

Ruby managed a couple of good shots before the... zombies overtook her. All it took was one quick look backwards at Vicky before they overcame her, pushing her to the ground. She couldn't move, couldn't shoot, she could only hold the gun in an effort to keep the reeking jaw as far away from her face as possible. One gnarled fist got a hold of her hair, fingers digging in to her scalp, and that's when she thought it was all over.


Then, shots rang out. The monster slumped to the side of Ruby, freeing her from its deathhold. She leapt up and leveled her gun, shooting a crawling one before it got too close. The world stilled around her.


Ruby crossed over to Victoria as quick as she could, giving her the twice over and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked unharmed, save for the terror still twitching in her eyes. If not for their new amigo, Ruby would have pulled her into a bear hug.


"Gracias, amigo," Ruby said, and turned to check out the new face, "We were almost done for."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"Jesus fucking Christ." Victoria breathed the words, relaxing only when Ruby touched her. There was a moment in which she gave her friend a brief smile, something that told her that, really, Victoria was just fine, before she too turned to look at their apparent hero.


From over a slight slope came a man, his skin a cool shade of umber, the black beard on his face graying and a worn ball-cap with some old baseball team fitted to his head. He was smiling, handsome eyes warm and painfully friendly as he ambled to close the distance. A rifle was slung over his shoulder and the hand that had previously been taking aim and pulling the trigger found itself occupied as the small girl at his side, no older than ten, reached up and took hold of it.


The girl in question had a hat of her own, warm brown curls fluffing out from under her red cloche. She was cute, eyes wide and coat too big, her curious gaze moving from one woman to the other.


"Not a problem. Are you two ladies alright? They didn't get you did they?"


"Dad that was so good! Can I go look and see if they had anything? Can I?"


"Go for it kiddo, just be careful about touching their blood alright?"


"Kay!" And with that the little girl let go of her dad's hand and hurried forward, waving a little to Ruby and Victoria before she crouched by one of the bodies and started digging through their pockets.

 

[HoneyedHopes]

Ruby removed her hand from Victoria's and reached out to shake the man's hand. Ruby looked him over, studying his features for any trace of malice. She found none. Rather, Ruby felt herself tearing up from the kindness in the man's eyes that was so akin to Nathan.


"We are fine, sí," She paused, glancing towards the little girl. She was elbow deep in the bodies, pulling miscellaneous trinkets from their pockets. "May I ask your name?" She asked, working to pull her gaze from the girl. Already she felt her instincts kicking in, the urge to wipe the child's mouth and hands clean strong enough to make her clench her fist.


She hoped he didn't find them strange looking. Thankfully, Ruby and Victoria were out of vault suits, but a once over of the man indicated that maybe jumpsuits and slacks weren't in fashion these days. Rather patchwork leather looked all the rage.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"Ezra, Ezra Grady, and my daughter over there is Delilah. Pleased to meet you both." He shook Ruby's hand easily, keeping his grip light before he offered a hand to Victoria.


"Likewise. I'm Victoria and this is Ruby." Their handshake was quick, her smile even quicker as she tried to parse out if he really was as genuine as he seemed to be.


"Victoria and Ruby." He nodded a little, trying to remember their names. "Well I'm glad you two are alright, people underestimate ferals most of the time but they can really get you if you aren't prepared." He had shifted his pack on his shoulders, twisting his arm to reach back into it as he spoke. From it he produced a cloth and a bottle of dirty water, which he handed to Victoria. "You got some blood on your face, best wipe it off now. I've seen people break out in hives because of it."


There was a moment in which Victoria looked terribly owlish before she accepted the supplies. She dampened the cloth and started to wipe her skin clean.


"So," he continued, "Where are you two heading?"

 

[HoneyedHopes]

Ruby was equally as quick to take the cloth from Victoria when she finished, wiping the rag across her face vigorously. She could still feel the saliva of the creatures of her cheeks, her hands. No amount of rubbing could calm the crawling of her skin.


When she finished, she handed the rag back to Ezra and glanced at her companion. They didn't really have a reason to hide anything, did they?


"Diamond City," she responded, trusting her gut, "What about you two?"

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Just as Ezra was about to answer, Delilah hurried back to his side, holding up a small toy car in her hands. It was tarnished and missing a wheel, but that didn't seem to make her any less excited.


"Dad look! How cool is this? It's one of the Firebird models, I've been looking for this one, remember?"


"Shoot, kiddo, you have to be one of the luckiest people in the Wastes to find one of those." He smiled at her, reaching down to rub her shoulder for just a moment before turning his attention back to Ruby. "And what a coincidence, we're heading that way ourselves."


Delilah unzipped her small backpack and gently placed the model car inside of it along with a few other cool things she'd found before her attention popped back over to the women in question, her gaze curious. "You're going to Diamond City too? Well, we should walk there together right? There's safety in numbers and we can save you again if more ghouls attack."


Ezra chuckled, a soft warm sound. "I'm sure they can handle themselves, but she has a point, there is safety in numbers."

 

[HoneyedHopes]

Ruby glanced at Victoria, who seemed neutral at the idea. Ruby couldn't help but notice the way the woman slid backwards each time the man got too close to her. So maybe time didn't heal all wounds, after all. Ruby tried her best to help Vicky by placing herself strategically between them.


"We would welcome the help, gracias. How far is it?"


How many more days would she have to survive to find her son? And then what would she do? She had no home, no job, barely any money. In spite of new friends, Ruby felt the world grow bleaker by the second.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"Should just be two more days if we don't get held up in any storms. Of course, I probably just jinxed us all with that, huh?" He smiled a bit more at that, watching as Ruby moved in front of Victoria.


"I take it you know the way there, then?" Victoria lifted a slight brow with the question. "We've mostly just been hoping for the best."


"Do that too much and you'll get lost before you know it. But yeah, I know the way. My sister lives there." He paused, glancing to the sky. "But if we're all in agreement that we should stick together we should head off before we burn too much daylight. Shouldn't have to worry too much about any more attacks until we get closer to Boston. And you," he looked to Delilah, "are going to have to stick real close to me once we get in there. No wandering off, alright?"


"Alright."


"Great." He adjusted his rifle. "Lets get moving then."

 

[HoneyedHopes]

Ezra took front, leading the group deftly around the ruins and areas of danger. Ruby trailed along behind, every few minutes checking over her shoulder to ensure that no one would sneak up behind them. As Ezra promised, no new surprises popped up, and they made it to the edge of Boston by nightfall.


They took shelter on the top floor of a dilapidated townhouse, laying out their sleeping bags in a neat row. Somehow, RUby found herself stuck exactly where she didn't want to be, in the middle, cuddled up to Delilah. The young stared at her with her huge, round moons, the start of a smile on her lips. Ruby wanted to move away, but couldn't bear the thought of upsetting the child. She made due with not looking at her, and choosing instead to close her eyes and pretend to sleep.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Delilah watched Ruby for a long moment. She considered going to go talk with her father, to ask him to tell her another one of his stories, but she opted against it. Her father was still up and she could hear the low rumble of his voice through the walls as he spoke with Victoria, though she couldn't make out anything they were saying. What mattered was that she was bored and she couldn't sleep.


Apparently neither could Ruby.


"You're not asleep." The statement was simple, her little voice not even close to a whisper.


Her head tilted as she looked at Ruby, her eyes having already adjusted to the darkness.


"You don't talk a lot do you? Dad says I talk too much sometimes."

 

[HoneyedHopes]

Ruby opened her eyes and turned her head towards the young girl, swallowing her groan. Her wide brown eyes swallowed Ruby whole, leaving her without nowhere to escape.


"I don't really talk a lot, no. What do you like to talk about?" Maybe small talk would appease the child.


It's not that Ruby disliked the child. But she looked through her; she saw illusions of a young boy with his father's crooked grin and her moss green eyes. Would he be as curious as Delilah? Would he give such eager smiles? Or would he take more after her gruff nature?


She wanted to see him so badly her chest seemed to pull apart at the seams, her heart leaking blood from the wound.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

She shrugged a little at that, messing with one of her short nails to keep her hands busy.


"A lot of things. Stories, mostly. People have a lot of fun stories. Dad and I have been traveling a lot, we've met people from all over." She smiled at that, pleased that she had been able to talk with as many people as she had. They were always so strange and weird, and as long as Ezra trusted them, she did too.


"You're different." It was another simple statement, one that held as much tact as a child could muster.


Small things about Ruby told her something was odd. She looked soft in her face, her body, and though her eyes weren't terribly kind, they didn't hold that dark edge Delilah had seen before.


Ezra kept her away from people with eyes like that.


"Where are you from?"

 

[HoneyedHopes]

Ruby blinked her eyes, caught off-guard by the question. She thought for a moment before answering, devising an answer that caused her eyes to smile. After all, Ruby had always like stories too.


"I'm from Mexico. My family traveled to the Commonwealth to find a better life." She whispered her little piece of truth to the girl, as if to hold the words back from reaching the dark night sky.


"Where are you from?" She asked the girl. Already she could feel her shoulders relaxing bit by bit. "Do you have any favorite stories?"

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"Mexico." She smiled at that. "You've come really far, that's so cool. I'm from Vermont, Dad and I have been traveling for a while."


Delilah could see Ruby's shoulders relaxing, a little bit of warmth finding its way into the woman's eyes. The little bit of fear that had ebbed in her core vanished when Ruby made an effort to talk to her as well. It was silly of her to have been scared in the first place.


She hummed a little in thought. crossing her legs so she could put her elbows on her knees and cradle her face in her little hands.


"I like the story dad tells about when he first met mom. Do you want to hear that one? It's really nice."


And she smiled, her expression warm and friendly, completely raw and open.

 

[HoneyedHopes]

Ruby turned so that her body faced Delilah completely, and propped her head up on her elbow. Though the dim light that emitted from the moon, she saw how the girl's eyes were eyes with anticipation, and Ruby wondered how that innocence had survived such a dismal place.


"I would love to hear that story. Those are my favorites." Though Ruby rarely expressed emotion in her features, she made a conscious effort to lift the corners of her mouth. If this little girl could find reason to smile, she needed to find one too.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Her expression came alive, then, warming quickly as soon as Ruby agreed to listen to her story.


Delilah sat up, hands in her lap as she swayed back and forth just for a moment, needing to expel some energy.


"Okay, okay so," she began, "dad was a mercenary and used to travel with a lot of different caravans that took him allllllll over the East and even down into the Capital. I've never been to the Capital but he says it's really scary - anyway, so one day he ends up in this town called New Kingston, right? Money's fine so he goes to get some dinner and in the diner he sees this man harassing this lady so dad being dad he steps up and asks if everything is okay. The woman says no but the guy insists everything is fine. He grabs her arm to drag her out of her chair and right as dad puts his hand on the guy's shoulder to stop him bam, the guy lashes out blindly and slices dad right down the left arm."


Her pace was picking up then, words coming easily as she spoke.


"Dad decked the guy in the face but he'd hit some, like, important vein or something and dad went down and he was sure that he was dead. Of all the things he's faced, of course it'd be some guy in a diner that would take him out. He woke up a bit later and he sees the woman from the diner looming over him and the first thing he says to her is," she paused, lowering her voice to sound more like her father, "Now I'm sure I'm in heaven because I'm looking at an angel."


Delilah giggled, amused not only with her own impression, but with the story.


"And the woman, his nurse, laughed and that's how he met my mom. He says that it's why he never minded losing his arm that day, because it let him find her...and then I came along."

 

[HoneyedHopes]

THe story was a whirlwind, and Ruby found herself so caught up in the little girl's telling of it–odd interruptions and all–that she felt genuinely disappointed.


"That was a bien story," She murmured, forcing every ounce of feeling into her tone, "Gracias. What... what happened to your mom and dad after that? Did they have any more adventures?"


She wanted to ask where the woman was now, but not if would hurt Delilah.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Delilah might not have known what bien meant but the fact that Ruby was asking for more stories had the little girl all but glowing.


Dad told the stories better, but she was proud that she could apparently recite them well enough to keep Ruby's attention, especially considering how quiet and aloof the woman had seemed to be before.


Now? Well now Delilah considered her a friend.


At the question, she nodded.


"Dad had to stay in Kingston for a while, you know, because losing a limb is hard and everything, but it just gave him and my mom more time to talk and get to know one another. So, by the time he was healthy enough to head out he was already head over heels for her and they left together. Apparently she was really good with energy weapons an smaller, faster guns so they made a really good team."


"My favorite story of theirs," she began once more, "was after they'd been traveling for a few months together. Have you ever been to Vermont? It's really pretty up there and there's a lot of water and trees and such. So, one night they're looking to find a place to settle down and dad happens to find an abandoned shack right on a crystal clear, clean lake front. Mom says they should just keep going because there has to be some sort of catch but dad insists so they settle in for the night.


"So because the water is clean they both decide to wash up before the sun's gone, right? So they're out there, enjoying the water when they hear something. My mom was the first to notice something was wrong so she makes for the shore and right as she reaches it and her gun raiders appear. Turns out she was right, the place was too good to be true so they have to fight the raiders soaking wet and in nothing but their undies."


By that point she was giggling, far too amused for her own good.


"Dad says it was like something out of one of those nightmares you have where you think you're wearing clothes but you're not so everyone laughs at you. Anyway - so by the time it's over they're both dirty and exhausted again and dad's got more wounds that she'll have to stitch up and he just looks over at her and says-"


"Darling I must be crazy, but if you've stuck with me for this long you must be crazy too. Will you marry me?" It was Ezra himself who filled in the words as he stood in the doorway, smiling.


"Dad!" Delilah churped, smiling brightly.


"And she said 'I was wondering when you'd wise up and ask me' right before she threw herself into my arms and knocked us both back into the water." He chuckled as well, shaking his head as he fully entered the room. "She knocked me off my feet in more ways than one. You'd have liked her, I think. Strong women always tend to get along." The last comment was an idle one aimed at Ruby herself.