Spectacle Island: A Fallout Story

Small Joy

"MacCready," I stress, throwing my hands in the air.
"What's wrong now?" He snaps back, his arms crossed. "I didn't do anything."
"What are you, 16?" I bite with a mocking tone. "I didn't do anything."
"Get off my back." He turns away from me, heading back to the bar. "I don't have time for a lecture, mom." He sarcastically continues with the theme of my insult.
"No," I chase after him, my updo falling out in black strands. "You can't ever talk to Nick like that," I hiss with a strong toxin.
He walks quicker, clearly fed up with me; he doesn't like being challenged.
"You have no idea what he's been through. He's fucking destroyed after the city."
He laughs with a twinge of irony in his voice.
"I don't care," he flips around with a crooked smirk and a flame in his eye. "He's a piece of junk, hardly worth a penny."
I clench my fists.
My frown starts twitching uncontrollably.
I have an overpowering urge to sucker punch this arrogant bastard.
"Besides, he's a~"
"How dare you," I spit, cutting him off and grabbing his soft black vest. "You~ you~"
My voice cracks.
I feel tears well in my eyes.
I can't believe he'd say that about him.
"It's the truth," he breaks out of my grip and my hand flies untethered.
"Truth?" I shout, my voice raw and honest. "You don't know anything about truth."
He ignores me; I stand; he walks.
"You're a fucking liar!" I shout like a little girl throwing a temper tantrum. I hold Nick so dearly in my heart; it's as though he were my beloved childhood teddy bear, torn to shreds.
"I'm not listening!" He strolls along, making me feel absolutely voiceless.
"Lies? You like lies MacCready?! They'll only get you pain in the end!"
He stops cold in his tracks.
Then, he slowly looks over his shoulder with a victim in his eye. I see him slip in hand in his pocket; then he hangs his head in shame.
"The truth is always worth it, MacCready..."
We both pause.
I remember Nick's blissful smile and the cold, pained look that followed after.
That flashback...
He must've seen Jenny again...
"Why can't you see~ Nick~ he..." I whimper like a wounded animal.
A heavy tear runs down my cheek for Nick and all he's been through.
MacCready quickly whips around with a troubled expression on his face.
"Are you crying?" I hear something a little genuine come out of him.
I quickly turn away, putting a rein on my emotions. I just have to remember how resilient Nick is.
"Just~" I quickly wipe away my tears, "ha," I laugh, "Go ahead; you can think I'm weak. But... that'd be another lie."
He holds his hand over his face and sharply exhales. Then, through his fingers he looks at me with deep sorrow.
I...
I feel like I'm missing a piece of his story.
I huff.
"Whatever. I'm not your mother and you're a grown man. Go back if you want."
"I'm sorry," he apologizes under his breath and storms back inside.
Great.
I wipe away my tears and collapse under the bare, sick tree.
I definitely made things worse.
I sigh and look up at the night sky with watery eyes. The way those twinkling stars hang like little fairy lights makes me hopeful for some reason though.
The truth is always worth it...
That was the right choice for the future... somehow I know it.

I watch the rad-doe from a tree, my eyes pinned on my prey. She can't see me, or the crossbow aimed at her mutated form, which by some miracle, only has one head.
She wobbles through the forest of eternal sleep, stopping to graze in the yellow, lifeless grass.
I'm sorry, but your path ends here.
Shk.
My arrow drives into her flank.
She wails and sparks to action, bolting through the bare brush.
Shit!
I jump from the tree and chase after her, my crossbow hung on my back. I weave through the trees, fling myself from a strong branch, and land on my feet like a cat, my eyes still stuck to her.
I'm so close now, I can see her mottled hide and wild eyes.
Now.
I throw my knife and thunk; it hits her in the neck.
She falls to the earth with weak legs and a defeated, low moan.
I slide down the smooth cliff and approach her, falling to my knees and disarming myself.
She looks at me with drowsy eyes, her body draining of life with every second that ticks by.
I gently caress her brown face, staring right into her wide brown eyes.
It's okay baby.
Go now.
They're calling.
She looks at me like she's ready to leave this world; memories of a life roaming the wasteland are told through her eyes.
The beast deeply exhales and her muscles relax. Then, I watch her spirit release her distorted body.
I sigh.
A tear falls on her bare, irradiated skin.
Thank you.

"Nick!" I shout into the forest, slowly removing my knife and arrow out of the radstag. "Come help!"
I hear him ripping down the rocky path, an occasional twig snapping on his descent down.
"Bea," he exclaims behind me. "Look what I got."
I turn around to find a squirrel dangling from his metal hand. He holds it smug, like a proud kid that finally listened their mentor's advice and graciously decided to use it.
"Nick! Good fucking job!" I jump with enthusiasm, giving him the validation he wants and deserves.
He'a had empty hands for too long; we all know he's been put off about it.
"I know the gunshot is about the size of the whole damn creature, but yanno; I'd like to think it's a kiddie snack," he smirks, clearly satisfied with himself.
"Aw, Nick!"
I hug the proud synth, wrapping myself in the smell of old cigarettes.
Ah, there it is.
That bright, clear expression I feel in him every once and awhile. He feels like both a guide, a truth seeker, and a confidant.
I trust him.
That's when I know he's got a soul... it's different from a human, but it's there.
My pink crush on the poor old bot seeps into his clothes, I can't hold it all anymore.
"Awh," he coos in my ear, still holding the squirrel. "Well, it was all thanks to you. You gave me some good tips."
I laugh off the butterflies in my stomach.
"Ha, yeah, I used to hunt with my Dad before the war... when I was a just a kid, yanno?"
I place a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"His knowledge is now yours... even if I only remember bits and pieces..." I trail off with my father in heart, but then I find a mischievous smile, "and even if you only caught a squirrel."
He smiles and does a little dance; the squirrel is good enough for him.
He needed something to lift him up, and honestly, sometimes it's as simple as this.
A small joy.
"Well now," he stands still, fixing his yellow eyes on the radstag, "let's not get too excited; we've gotta lug that old thing. Damn." He mutters, "Good job yourself."
"I guess I've had practice after a couple years out here."
He places the squirrel in his trench coat which is a odd sight, but I suppose he really doesn't have anywhere else to put it.
Man needs a sack or something.
How's he run around the commonwealth without one?
"So," I catch his attention. "Do I get to eat that?"
He stops with a sarcastic confusion, "Well yeah, who else was gonna eat it?"

~

"Nicky," Piper runs up to all of us, interrupting his narration of an intriguing pre-war case. She's short of breath. "Blue."
I look up from my grilled radstag, still trying to chew a chunk of meat; we've all been commenting on how good it tastes.
Probably cause it only had one head...
The squirrel is up next.
The sentimental synth wanted to hold on to it for a bit... I respect that.
"What's wrong?" Nick stands up, illuminated from the orange fire.
"There's..." Piper looks down at me with conflicted eyes. "Some people just landed on shore. They're from~ from some settlement."
"Or so they say," Nick interjects, looking down at the pier with a troubled expression.
"More settlers?" I hiss through my full mouth.
"Yeah, yeah~ just ah, come down, would ya Blue?" She sounds a little frantic. "I don't trust em."
I finally swallow the big chunk of meat.
"Ha. Considering the history of this land, it's pretty fair to be weary of settlers..." I add sharply, unsure if they got my reference.
Nick looks up with a twist in his face; I know he's got pre-war on his mind.
Piper looks down with a mix of fear and discomfort, then her eyes pin the pier forebodingly.
"Okay," I stand up, clapping my hands. "Let's see these lost souls."
I can hear battling voices shouting from the dimly lit pier, now that I'm paying attention.
"I don't like the looks of this," Nick mutters, his face completely shadowed by his fedora.
Ha, yeah.
Me neither.