Early Sunsets (Fallout 3)

Chapter 2 - Love and Faith

Punch. Jab. Duck. Punch. Punch. Right hook.

Levi could feel the sweat drip off of him as he continued to mercilessly beat the dummy before him to a pulp. Every hit became stronger, his lungs burned for air, his muscles were screaming for him to stop, but he couldn't. After his father died, Levi had spent about three to four weeks - he couldn't remember exactly which it was - in a deep depression. He barely ate, rarely slept and hardly spoke a word to anyone, not even Sarah. All he had done was lay in his bed at the Citadel and stare at the roof. Sometimes a few tears would shed themselves and run down his face, though they did so of their own accord. He never cried about it.

Finally he had gathered enough strength to move, to make a difference. Ever since, he had been pushing his body to it's limits and beyond. He would punch, kick and dodge until he collapsed on the ground, physically unable to do anything more. He would shoot from the time the sun came up until he had his ammo restricted from continuous use. He would run fifty laps at a time around the Citadel block, several times a day. Yet he was never satisfied. He wanted more.

"Up nice and early, as usual, I see."

Levi turned to see the shadowed form of Sentinel Lyons making her way towards him. Looking down at his Pip-Boy, he saw it was only 4:23 a.m., and he blinked a few times to see if it was correct.

"Holy shit, I didn't realise it was this late..."

"Wait, you mean," Sarah moved closer to him, close enough so they could see each other's faces in the dim morning light, "you've been out here doing this all night?"

"No. I mean... Sort of. But I-"

"You can't keep doing this, Levi. I know you want to be stronger, I understand that, and I commend you for doing so. But if you push yourself any harder, you'll end up killing yourself."

"I have to be stronger..." Levi clenched his fists at his sides, averting his gaze from the blonde Sentinel, "and the only way to do that... Is to push myself above and beyond."

That pushed Sarah over the edge. She knew right away that she wasn't going to reason with him like she was trying. She needed to be brutal, and as a soldier, she could do just that.

"You're no use to anyone, including your father, if you're dead!"

That did the trick. Levi looked down at the ground, closing his eyes at the memories. Swallowing hard, he took a shaky breath and opened his eyes again, but still didn't raise his head.

"Look, I'm sorry, but it's true. You can't expect to be of use to anyone if your body is broken and worn down. I know how you feel, you don't think you're good enough to take on the Enclave and take back Project Purity, but we can't have you in this state all the time."

Levi sighed; he knew she was right. At the current point in time, the Brotherhood of Steel were planning attack routes, gathering intel and supplies and preparing themselves for the battle against the Enclave. As it is, none of them were ready, but fortunately the Enclave had neither the Purifier's activation code nor the technological know-how to install the G.E.C.K., so they had some time.

While this gave them some breathing room, Levi also knew that at any given moment, an alarm could be raised that would mean they had to immediately begin the assault on the Jefferson Memorial, or the Purifier would be lost. He had been gambling every time he pushed himself so had he couldn't move for days, or wound up in the hospital wing of the Citadel, as had become a usual scenario.

"Come on, come with me and get some sleep. Your body needs to recover," Sarah took Levi by the hand, knowing by his expression alone that he had given in to her logic.

"Fine..." Levi grimaced.

~~

"Comfortable?" Sarah smirked down at Levi, who was buried under several blankets, with two pillows below his head - something that was uncommon in the Wastes.

"Yeah, whatever. You can go now," Levi turned away from her, his expression bordering on a childish pout.

"Alright," Sarah chuckled, "I'll come check on you later."

"I'm not a kid, you know. I don't need you to 'check on me'," Levi mumbled, his back to Sarah.

"No, maybe not, but you're still a high-priority target, and I've been assigned to make sure you're safe at all times."

Levi frowned to himself, annoyed at the prospect. He had never been one to feel comfortable in the metaphorical spotlight, and this was even worse, like he was literally in a spotlight. Sighing loudly, he closed his eyes, but opened them again and exhaled sharply at Sarah's final words before she left.

"You're also my friend, and I want to make sure you're alright. And I'll do just that."

Sitting up just in time to see Sarah walk out the door, closing it behind her, Levi felt a tightness in his chest, and put a hand up to grip his thin, sleeveless shirt he wore.

Friends... That's a foreign concept since I've been out here. It reminds me of home... But was it ever really my home in there? Levi thought to himself.

Next chapter: Truth In The Detail