It's the End of the World

Chapter 21

"Remind me again why I thought this was a good idea?!"

I yelled to Deacon over the sound of gunfire and explosions. We had our backs against a low wall, keeping our heads down as bullets whizzed past.

"Because you really, really love me?"

I put a hand over my face. Getting the gangs to fight was not the brightest idea. Mainly because they were fighting while we were still trapped in the park.

"If we ever get out of this alive, I'm going to kill Gage for making me think this was a good plan."

I pulled Deacon down as debris from a grenade flew towards us. I darted behind one of the buildings, towards the wall that seperated Nuka-World from the rest of the wasteland. There was a hedge that nearly reached the top of it, so I scrambled up the flimsy plant to get myself over. Once I sat on the top of the wall, I helped Deacon over it too. We landed on the other side, raising a cloud of dust. The fighting hadn't spilled out of the park yet, so we were lucky there was no one to catch us. I looked over at Deacon before jogging towards the train station.

On the train, I went over the memories of our planning. Once the traders could safely leave, they would meet us at the Transit Center in the Commonwealth. I settled into one of the seats next to a window and kept my eyes on the wasteland as it rolled past. I felt the seat sink a bit as Deacon sat by me. He dropped a duffel bag full of supplies in the aisle and leaned back. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, holding them out to Deacon.

"I thought you might want these."

He smiled a bit as he took them, sliding them over his eyes. 

"Thanks. I've missed these."

I nodded slowly and turned my attention back to the window.

...

"We're here."

Deacon said quietly as I woke up.

"I'm up."

I stood up and stretched before picking up my own bag exiting the train. Deacon followed me. I walked up the broken escalator and pushed open the door with my foot. I looked around the Transit Center, then gestured to the building in front of us.

"We should camp out there, on that parking structure. We'll have a good view of the station, and the road in case anyone unexpected comes through."

Deacon nodded in agreement.

"Sounds  like a plan, boss."

I pulled the strap higher on my shoulder as I walked towards the parking structure. We climbed a pile of debris to get to the top floor, tossing our bags up over the railing. I pulled myself on to the second level and scooped up the bags. I walked over to a metal barrel with some wood still in it.

"We'll camp out here. It's getting dark, so we should light this soon."

Deacon rolled out the sleeping bags while I gathered more wood to put in the barrel through the night. I dropped the wood pieces by the fire barrel and sat on one of the sleeping bags. Deacon took out a lighter and lit the barrel before laying down.

"I slept on the train. I'll take first watch. You get some rest, Deacon."

He nodded, getting himself comfortable. I stood back up and walked over to the railing. I looked at the Commonwealth. I didn't think I'd be coming back here, much less with Deacon. Last time I was here, I caused irreparable damage. But that won't stop me from trying.  I had a lot of work to do, but at least I didn't have to do it alone.