Legacy

Chapter 2 - The Road

  Arthur laid in bed, fast asleep. His mind swarmed with images of the Wasteland. He thought of the ruins and the raiders. He thought of the super mutant he killed and the several Sarah killed. He thought of mutated bugs that littered the place. He then thought of Jo. What if they got attacked? What if he shot her too? She would hate him. He imagined walking with her down D.C, everything calm until he felt the ground shake. She didn't feel a thing. Suddenly, the ground shook more and more until finally, a behemoth appeared and ran after Jo. Arthur froze, but Jo continued as if nothing was going on. Finally, the behemoth reached his friend and raised his fists in the air until BO-

 -OM! The bedroom door slammed open, causing Arthur to fall out of his bed. The boy looked up to see Jo standing at the doorway with a wide smile plastered onto her face. "Come on, Arthur! Ready to head out?"

 His jaw dropped. "T-to head out? You mean out in the Wastes?" The young woman nodded eagerly.

"I talked to Elder Lyons. He said we could go as long as...well, he said we could go together. I want to take you to Megaton out west. Don't just stand there! Pack some supplies and meet me out in the bailey!" And with that, the woman slammed the door shut.

  After what felt like an hour, Arthur felt like he could finally move and began to reach for his things.  His mind flooded with thoughts.

 We're going out into the Wastes? Is she mad? We'll get killed! But I'd be able to spend a lot of time with her. Maybe I can kill another super mutant! But if something happens I won't be able to protect her. What if it isn't just a flesh wound this time. What if I kill her? What if I die? Everyone will hate her for killing the last Maxson.

 Arthur packed a small bag of supplies and headed towards the Bailey. Once outside, he took a long breath of 'fresh' air. Did it always smell this nice? Nearby, Arthur could see Jo talking to Elder Lyons with a couple of Brotherhood Paladins behind her. As he walked closer, Arthur noticed a grim expression on the Elder's face.

"Just make sure you bring him back in one piece, Joanne! My men have their orders and will make sure you do..." 

  Both the Elder and Jo quickly switched to a smile when they saw Arthur approach them. "Hello, Squire Maxson," Elder Lyons greeted. "Are you ready for your trip?" Arthur nodded.

 "Yes, Elder," he said. "I am."

"Excellent! Now, squire, make sure to take care of yourself. I trust Miss Joanne here to take good care of you, however, I need to make sure you can handle yourself if things get difficult. Think of it as a test. I'm sure you'll handle everything better than last time." Arthur slowly nodded.

"Yes, Elder..."

Jo looked down at Arthur and smiled. "Come on, Arthur. Let's go. We have a lot of land to cover before nightfall." She walked towards the entrance of the Citadel and Arthur soon followed. As the two exited the building, Arthur looked over his shoulder at one last look of his home. He could have sworn those paladins were walking towards the exit too.

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   "So where exactly are we going?" Arthur asked. The two walked north of the Citadel side by side. Jo was fiddling with her Pip-Boy as the song Civilization played from the radio.

   "We're going to Megaton. It's Northwest from here. We'll probably get there by tonight." Jo looked up from her Pip-Boy and threw down her sack. She knelt down and began to rummage through it.