Fallout of the Heart

Chapter Twenty Six

Over the next two-ish weeks, I found myself spending almost my entire day working with the soil and the plants under Jeb's watchful eye, and I couldn't have been happier. I still checked in with Jackson and the rest of the crew either every morning or evening, and two days ago Jackson had said that he was going to extend his stay for another week. He seemed happy that I had found something I really liked doing to keep me occupied, and we didn't speak much more before I went off to work with Jeb, almost skipping as I went.

I ate dinner with everyone that night and breakfast the next morning, but last night I ended up staying up so late that I crashed in one of the sheds, where a make-shift camp had been set up for just that purpose. Mid-morning sunlight streaming through the windows hit me in the face and jerked me awake with a snort, and I scrambled out of bed once I realized what time it was, roughly. I brushed myself off and made my way to the Inn, apologies ready to fly off my tongue for oversleeping and missing our breakfast chat. None of the crew was in the main bar, however, and I frowned as I made my way to our rooms. They were all empty, and in the process of being cleaned.

Near tears, I rushed back out into the main room, to find the owner looking at me. Someone touched my arm, and I jerked my head, to see Jeb standing there. He smiled sadly at me, and I followed his silent beckoning out the front door of the Inn. Once we were outside, he turned to me, sadness written all over his face. "They're gone, Maya." He said, tone barely above a whisper.

"What?! He said they were –" I started, but another voice spoke up from my left.

"Going to stay another week, yeah. He didn't have the heart to tell you that he was retiring, and this was his last run. He had hoped you would find something along the way that would capture your attention and get you interested, since he knew you have a wanderer's spirit, and you'd be okay if you did that. He left your gear with Jeb, and your caps with me. He wanted to tell you goodbye, but figured it would be painful for everyone if he did, so they left last night. From what I gather Lynn and Avery are going back to the Capital Wasteland, and Bryson is going back to the West Coast with him. You were the only one who didn't have a spoken retirement plan, so to speak." The voice said, and I turned to see those strangely expressive black eyes looking at me. My eyebrows knit together, and I looked back to Jeb, and he nodded.

I opened my mouth to speak a few times, but I found that I couldn't get any words to form. I backed against the wall, then slid down it with a thump. I was all alone? In some place that I had no friends, knew no one, had nothing? There weren't places here to delve into like lesser settled places, where I could revel and live in the history, or salvage scrap to trade for supplies, not the way they'd built things up. What was I supposed to do now? Join a local caravan? Make my way back to the Capital Wasteland and hope I didn't end up with another Silas?

"Now, I understand this is probably a punch in the gut for you – I know it would be for me – but I have a bit of a solution, if you're willing to listen." Hancock said, and I looked up at him, mind still reeling. "I've seen a bit of the work you're doing with our crops and whatnot with my own eyes, and Jeb won't stop speaking highly of you. I understand that you've been working with the intent that it's temporary, and you would be moving on after a short time. So, I propose that you try it out for a while, without the caravan lingering in the background, see if it's something you could do permanently. If it is, we see about getting you a permanent roof over your head. If not, then we give you what you've rightly earned, and we all part ways amicably. Hm?" He asked, and I just tilted my head, looking at him. I turned and looked at Jeb, who also nodded solemnly. I sighed, and looked down for a minute.

"If I say no?" I asked, without looking up.

"Then we give you your belongings now instead of later, make sure you're supplied up, and see you off on whatever adventure you might have planned. Far be it from me to keep anyone here that doesn't want to be." Hancock said, and I heard a little note of something – almost like regret, or maybe like he felt sometimes he was being held here against his will. I sighed again and looked up at him. I could see he was genuine, and I had only heard good things about this place and how he ran it. Not perfect, but good.