To Save a Soul

Chapter 13 Real life nightmare

Once again the landing was rough and jolted Katherine violently. They had were now on the southern bank of the river. On the other bank she recognized the old crumbling house that they had sought refuge in once before and not so long ago at that. Blue eyes gazed up at the sky in terror, she could hear the coming vertibird.
"This is it. They're going to kill us." she whimpered. She had completely lost it now. Maxson had beat the strength and fire out of her. Danse caught the back of her neck with a powerful hand and pulled her to him. She cried freely for a moment.
"Medford Memorial hospital is close. It's big and secure enough that we could hide and barricade ourselves in. It's out of the way enough that they may not look there first." he told her as he broke their connection and led the way along the bank. They ran as far as she could because there was no doubt that she couldn't run as far as Danse. She just didn't have the endurance.
    By the time the two reached the hospital Katherine was panting and exhausted to the point of swaying and stumbling as she walked. Elder Maxson had rarely brought her water or food and she was feeling the effects of malnourishment now. Katherine groaned and stumbled through the door as Danse opened them. Once inside Danse closed the doors and propped one of the metal desks up against the doors, and once again Katherine watch in awe at the raw strength the man possessed. By the time he was done barricading the hospital doors Katherine was already on the ground drifting off into a fitful sleep. She was exhausted. She had hardly slept while she had been the Elder's captive, she had had to be able to try to defend herself at all times. Danse picked her up off of the ground and carried her effortlessly down a long dark corridor. Lights flickered somewhere beyond the curve at the end. Rust ran down the white walls like massive blood stains. Even the building creaked and moaned around them.
"How do you know that there isn't anything here that will kill us?" Katherine asked. The hospital was like something out of a horror movie.
"First of all, as long as I am here nothing is going to kill you. Second, the Brotherhood had a squadron sweep this building for technical documents within the last month." he told her as they entered another dim room. One light was glowing weakly on the wall while another flickered against the debris of the collapsed ceiling in the far corner. There was no door to this room but it didn't matter. They'd hear anyone before they were close enough to cause harm. The only furniture in the dark room was a large L shaped reception desk. Behind that desk is where Danse set her down gently, before sitting down beside her.
    He sat with his head thrown back, resting again the cold metal of the reception desk. Katherine was tired and tried not to look at him but she just couldn't help it. He was so handsome and she couldn't figure out how she had gotten so lucky. She studied him in the darkness. She loved everything about him, but what stood out to her this time was the white gold ring glinting in the flickering light on his left hand. Danse could sense her watching him and he looked down at her to see her staring at the ring on his finger.
"Do you want it back now? I'd understand why." he said nonchalantly.
"What?" Katherine asked in disbelief at what he had just said.
"I don't deserve this. Look at you. Look what has happened to you because I didn't protect you. You're covered in cuts and bruises. Let me see them all." he demanded.
"Why? You've seen enough. It is what it is." she said, shaking her head, embarrassed.
"So that I can see just how many times that you needed me and I wasn't there." he told her. Disgrace etched across his features. Oh Danse.
"I don't deserve that ring. I am no friend to you." he said. Katherine stared at him before letting out an audible laugh.
"That was my choice to protect you and the citizens of Sanctuary. Wait...you're no friend to me?" she asked in exasperation. Had he really just used the term friend? He looked at her expectantly. He wasn't catching on.
"I love you, Danse, do you love me?" she asked. Katherine was confused and worried now that he hadn't understood what she had meant by giving him her late husband's ring. Hell, she had asked him if he knew what a wedding was and he had said yes.
"Things couldn't be better between us... and for the first time in my life, I'm truly happy. Of course I love you." he said hoarsely. Now Katherine was getting the sense that she may be frightening him.
"I asked you if you knew what...what a marriage was? You said you did. I gave you my late husband's wedding ring and I want you to have it, don't you understand?" she asked, staring over at him through the darkness. Danse didn't speak. He had frozen where he was. Katherine shifted and turned to face him, laying a delicate hand on his.
"I gave you my late husband's wedding ring because if I could have anyone in this new life of mine as a husband it's you Danse and I hope that you'd want me as your wife." Katherine told him. His continuing silence made her so anxious that she had to allow her gaze to drop to where her hand rested on his. Maybe she had sprung too much on him too fast. Maybe a wife was something that he never wanted or had never thought about. Katherine was ashamed and moved to pull her hand away but Danse caught it in his own rough hand.
"You're still sure that you'd still choose me?" he asked so seriously. Katherine smiled and nodded. Of course she did. Katherine climbed onto his lap and kissed him passionately, her hair tickling his cheeks.
    That night Katherine slept but Danse didn't. Someone had to keep watch and he wouldn't make his wife do it. It was his job to protect her and he vowed to do everything in his power to never fail at this again. The Brotherhood vertibird could be heard once every hour almost on the hour. They were circling a fairly large area searching for them. They were not going to give up. Danse toyed with the idea that she had let the Brotherhood take her of her own free will over and over in his mind. It just didn't make sense to him. After the fourth time that he heard the vertibird fly over he decided that it was time to wake Katherine up. It had become clear that things weren't going to get better simply by remaining hidden. Paladin Danse shook her lightly. Katherine groaned and her eyes fluttered open beneath thick lashes.
"What time is it?" she mumbled.
"Very early." he told her as he got to his feet. Katherine got up and wiped the dust and dirt off of her legs.
"The vertibird has been circling all night. I think that they're covering a fairly vast area so if we time it right we may be able to get away undetected." Danse said as he walked through the doorway.
    Going back out in the open was the last thing that Katherine wanted to do, did she really have a choice though? She stood close behind Paladin Danse as he cracked the heavy doors open a few inches. Above his head the sky was dark and ominous. It was the early hours of the morning but they would have at least an hour or two of darkness. Darkness that may just provide the cover they needed.
"Won't they have to refuel at some point?" she asked as she followed him outside. He didn't answer her verbally but she had seen him nod. The blades of the vertibird began to make themselves heard and the couple tensed. They were close to Wildwood Cemetery.
"We can take cover there." Danse grumbled as the tombstones came into view.
    Danse found himself seeking cover once again in an ancient and cold mausoleum. Katherine was in the corner shivering. Her long snowy hair flowing over her shoulders. Frustration was mounting as the vertibird could be heard nearby, too close for comfort. Would Maxson have sent another? Was it that important to him that Danse die? Danse stood with his back against the stone wall beside the doorway, holding his breath as the vertibird flew over. Danse watched Katherine as she stared blankly at the gun in her hands. It was times like these that he found himself caught off guard by her beauty or demeanor. The only explanation that he would ever be able to come up with was that she simply wasn't from his era. The dark clothes she wore clung to her petite body causing her to appear as nothing more than a swift shadow in the darkness of the tomb. The only thing giving her away was her long white hair and pale complexion. That pale complexion that was now bruised and battered because of him. One of her captivating grey eyes surrounded by a horrid purple bruise. It was his fault, of course it was. He reached forward and drug her over to him, snapping her out of her trance like state. Danse wrapped his arms around her, his rifle propped against the wall beside him and her's still firmly in her grasp.
"What's your plan now?" she mumbled. Katherine was exhausted, she couldn't attempt tp hide it anymore. She had been beat. She was sore. She was hurt. She was over it and all she wanted was to curl up back in her bed in her own house in Sanctuary.
"I like it when you're this close." he said quietly. His deep voice was soothing. Katherine whirled around in his arms, hands twisted up in his shirt as he looked down at her.
"I don't want to do this anymore Danse." she said softly.
"What do you mean?"
"I just don't want to run anymore. I don't want to live my life fighting. I want to stay in Sanctuary. I want a family and I just want to be safe there...if that makes any sense." Katherine said and she felt him tense beneath her palms. His hands remained warm on her back but something had changed.
"You don't want to go back to Santuary?" she asked. Katherine could understand why he wouldn't want to stay in Sanctuary. He had spent his entire life busy, always doing something for the Brotherhood. The Paladin shifted.
"It's not that I don't want to go back to Sanctuary. I...I just can't give you what you want. I'm a synth." he said after a moment. Katherine just shook her head. He wasn't a synth and she was sick of telling him that he wasn't. He would never listen to her. As soon as the vertibird made it's next pass and flew out of sight they ran. At that point they had agreed that their best bet would be to run towards Sanctuary. Get as far as they could. They ran and would hide for hours at a time. The vertibirds never stopped and Katherine was horrified at the lengths that Maxson was going to. The night went on and on. Running and hiding and running and hiding.
    Night had fallen as they were still being pursued. They had traveled an incredible distance in the time that they had had since they left the hospital. They had made it to the outskirts of Concord. Katherine could see the peak of an old rotting townhouse through the tree line. She had had it.
"I can't go any farther. There's no way that you can either." she blurted out as she took the lead, passing an irritated Danse and heading straight for the first ruined townhouse she saw. Danse didn't protest and followed her in. He did however, stop her at the door. He wouldn't allow her to clear this house herself. He took it upon himself. Katherine stood on the front deck, rifle in hand, staring down the flight of stairs that led up to the door. The railing had broken off half way down and was rotting below.
"It's safe." Danse said as he closed the screen door behind her. The actual door was missing, and the metal frame of the screen clanked loudly through the cold night air.
    Most of the townhouse was on the second floor. Down below was nothing but an empty carport. Danse found Katherine staring at the ancient and dusty television. The old piece of technology casting an ominous glow across her heavenly features. Her eyes aglow an unnaturally pure shade of blue.
"Someone had been here recently. There's a generator somewhere and it's on." she said flatly as she gazed into the static on the screen.
"They might come back." Danse said and Katherine shook her head.
"I don't care. I'll take my chances." she said. The events of the last week were taking their toll on her.
"Katherine, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. It may not be safe here." he said and received a seething look from his new wife.
"Danse. I am so exhausted. I just can't. Please? This place is so small there couldn't have been more than one person here. We can handle that can't we?" she almost whined. Danse couldn't help himself but smile, even though it was against all of his instincts.
"If we are going to stay the night here we should strengthen the defenses the best that we can. Relax." he told her.
    Katherine did as she was told and curled up on her side on the tattered couch. The room was dark and damp. It reminded her a lot of the interior of the Cambridge Police Station. Where she had met the Paladin. All Danse had managed to do was rig a grenade on a trip wire across the bottom of the back porch steps. They would hear someone coming up the front steps. When Danse was done he trudged back up the back steps and into the little dwelling where he found the woman curled up on the couch. The Paladin bent down and scooped Katherine up and laid down himself with her on his chest.
"I love you." Katherine mumbled before drifting back off to sleep. Danse's chin rested atop her head as she slept, his hand resting on her back.
"I love you too." he said and his words fell upon deaf ears.
    Danse knew he needed to stay awake in order to keep them both safe. He would keep watch. Katherine slept gently on his chest, the static from the television casting a glow over the two of them. Every now and then he thought he had heard something but nothing ever came of it. It wasn't until well into the night that he heard a heavy thud out back. He sat up slightly. Katherine woke up and looked up at him with tired, half open eyes.
"Shhh." he whispered before planting a kiss firmly on her forehead and nudging her gently off of him.
"What is it?" she whispered as she picked up Righteous Authority and sat on her bottom, knees pulled up, under big windows that overlooked the back deck. The wood paneling was cold against her back, her chest heaving and her hands trembling. Whatever was outside was wearing power armor...that left little possibilities other than that the Brotherhood had found them. The room was dark and the couch blocked her view of the room. The piece of furniture was ominously outlined in the sinister glow from the television. Danse was beside her now, a few feet away, in the same position as her. They'd been found. Was Maxson with them? Or had he sent others to do his dirty work as usual? Would they see the trip wire or would they hit it and blow half the house and possibly Danse and Katherine to hell? Suddenly everything seemed to real...happening too slowly. Katherine looked over at Danse. His thick black hair was disheveled and the sorrow in his eyes was so intense that it felt as if he was dying in front of her.
"Danse, no..." Katherine whispered.
"I told you that if it ever came down to it, I'd gladly spill my own blood if it meant keeping you by my side or keeping you alive." Paladin Danse choked the whisper out. Katherine could see the glow of the television reflect in the unshed tears that were welling in his eyes. Oh Danse. Katherine herself could feel tears welling in her own eyes.
"Danse we can run. Danse! Please just run with me!" she cried out, but Danse just shook his head as he knelt on one knee, a single tear trickled down his rough features and disappeared among the thick stubble along his jaw.
"Danse no! No, no, no!" she cried, the tears falling freely now as he lunged at her. He caught her face between his hands and kissed her deeply for what she sensed was the last time.
"Run, Katherine, for me and don't stop...Ad victorium." he said before he bolted out the back door, laser rifle firing. She leapt to her feet and peered out the back window to see Danse firing round after round over the railing. Below were a handful of Brotherhood soldiers in full power armor. There was no way he could survive. Danse looked through the window and gave her one last look before yelling at her.
"Run soldier!" he shouted...but this time Katherine didn't run. Her mind was reeling over the fact that she had dreamt this scenario over and over again and hadn't recognized it till that instant. No, she wouldn't run. She already knew how this would end if she ran.
    Katherine took a deep breath and steadied her rifle in her hands. If it was her time to go...then it was her time to go, she'd die trying to save Danse and she couldn't think of a better way to go. She hadn't been able to save her first husband but maybe she could save her second. Katherine whipped through the doorway and dashed down the steps to Danse's side, keeping low the entire way, just as he had taught her.
"I told you to run!" he snarled roughly.
"I have an idea. Quick, back up the stairs. We can shoot the grenade from there." she told him between ragged and panicked breaths. For once he didn't protest. That's how she knew that he had been willingly charging to his own death.
"The blast could still kill us." Danse panted as he continued to fire as they retreated up the steps.
"Then I guess that's a risk we're going to have to take." She panted as she reloaded her rifle. She was running low on fusion cells.
    Katherine threw herself flat on the floor beside Danse as she tried to get a clear shot at the grenade. This plan of hers may truly be impossible. Danse reached over and tucked her under his arm. He knew it he couldn't save either of them from the blast but he could try. Just when they thought they'd had no chance, the shots of a good old world rifle crackled through the air. Then another and another. The Brotherhood soldiers darted around in confusion as they were picked off one by one. Katherine dared to sit up but Danse yanked her back down.
"We don't know if they're friend or foe." he said heavily. Only when all of the Brotherhood soldiers were dead on the ground did Danse get to his feet.
"Who are you?" Katherine heard Danse say as she slowly got to her own feet. Up on the roof she could see two figures. One a man and one a woman, both holding similar sniper rifles.
"I'm MacCready and this is Rebekah." MacCready said.
"Oh and your welcome." Rebekah added with a smirk.