Fallout 3 - Beautiful Stranger

Chapter 14 Part 2

"You're listening to the adventures of me, Herbert "Daring" Dashwood, and my stalwart ghoul manservant, Argyle. Today's episode: My ghoul has no nose.

"Remain calm, Argyle, old chum. These chaps haven't killed us yet."

"'Yet' is a big word, boss. Where are you dopes taking us?"

"The High Priest will want to talk to you."

"The High Priest? Is this some kind of cult? And why am I tied up and my manservant isn't?"

"Don't worry, boss. You'll think of something. These tunnels are winding around, I don't even know which direction we're going."

"Look, Argyle, there's some kind of room ahead. Maybe we can turn the tables with a bit more space?"

"Behold! The Great Ghoul and our High Priest."

"Is that ... is that a statue ... of you, my faithful friend?"

Well, it's something alright."

"Ah, my flock have found you at last, oh Great Ghoul. The statue is, indeed, of you."

"I don't see the resemblance. The nose is all wrong."

"Whatever do you mean, Argyle? The statue is you to a 'T'."

"Yes, you are the Great Ghoul. The prophesied one and we are yours to command."

"You'll do anything I say?"

"Anything, oh Great Ghoul."

"Then the Great Ghoul commands you ... to kill each other."

"Argyle! That can't possibly ..."

<sounds of furious gunfire>

"Well, I'll be gosh darned, Argyle. It worked! They're all dead!"

"It was worth a shot, boss. Now, let's get you untied and get out of this dump."

"But, what about that statue? Don't you want to know why they have a statue of you?"

"Nah. Like I said, the nose is all wrong. That ain't me."

"If you say so, old chum. If you say so."

"Be sure and tune in next time for another exciting adventure of me, Herbert "Daring" Dashwood and my stalwart ghoul manservant Argyle!"

-+-

Patience emerged from the bathroom several minutes later. Everyone had left the canteen. Everyone except Three Dog, sat lounging still in the same chair, hands in his pockets. He said nothing, only pushing a chair around and inviting her to sit.

"You're friends are being assigned cots for the night. Your buddy, Vincent, won't be out of debrief for hours yet." He waited for Patience to sit and then leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "Look, I get it. You have your own thing going on, you don't need the hassle of being raised up as a hero of the wastes. I get it."

"Do you? Just days ago, I woke up with no memory of who I am in a country that I don't remember. In my mind, there should be fields and trees. Kids playing in the parks. There should be colour and life and ..." She waved her hand in an aimless fashion then used the same hand to run fingers through her hair. She could feel tears forming, but she'd be damned if she started crying.

"And instead you found the Wasteland. You found bad things and bad people everywhere." Three Dog's voice soothed her, somewhat. He had a kindness to his voice that she hadn't heard in a while. "You know, the Lone Wanderer was a lot like you. A vault dweller, dropped into the wastes without a clue what was going on. All they wanted was to find their father. And they did! But, along the way, they did some great things. Fought the Good Fight, even though that wasn't what they set out to do."

"I never set out to fight anyone." She looked away, her hand covering her mouth, holding back those tears. "It all just happened."

"Whether you meant to or not, you helped people and that's a good thing, right?" He reached over, clasping her hand. "Sierra is alive because you didn't think, you helped. Those four Wastelanders are alive because you didn't think, you just did the right thing. Not everyone goes looking for the Good Fight. Sometimes the Good Fight comes looking for you. And you? You stand up. You say you didn't want to do those things, but you did them anyway. That makes you a hero in my book."

The tension of all the days since Valrie had found her had built up inside. She couldn't relax. She couldn't take any time to take anything in. It had all washed over her in a continuous river of desperation and violence crashing against a dam and she felt like she was drowning. She looked at Three Dog, his circular sunglasses removed and those soulful dark eyes watching her with such sympathy and the dam burst.

She couldn't stop it. The stress of everything she had experienced poured out. Deep, wracking sobs lurched her shoulders. Three Dog gathered her up in his arms and she clung to him as the tears trailed down her face. He held her tight enough to be comforting, but not too tight to make her feel restrained. He gave her just enough of his own strength to supplement hers.

It took several minutes before Patience found herself able to let go. She pulled back from Three Dog and the radio man released her from his arms, looking into her eyes and smiling. She wiped her eyes with swipes of her fingers and gave a hiccuping half-laugh.

"Not so heroic now, eh?" She blinked a few times, looking up at the ceiling of the canteen.

"Biggest damned hero I ever seen." He patted her hand and stood up. "Well, I got a radio station to take care of. Come see me before you go. Oh, and just so you know, I'm gonna keep talking about you. The Wasteland needs its heroes and its my job to give those heroes to the Wasteland. That's how I fight the Good Fight."

Three Dog left the canteen with an easy-going saunter, replacing his sunglasses as he left. The man had a way about him. Different from the persona he had over the radio. More reserved, yet more intense. Less overtly friendly, but more sympathetic and thoughtful. Patience guessed that was the nature of his chosen calling. No-one wanted to hear someone dour and quiet over the radio.

Seconds later, Gia returned to the canteen. At first it didn't look as if she saw Patience, heading straight for the serving hatch into the kitchen. Seeing no-one around, she came over and slumped next to Patience.

"I was hoping to get more stew." She didn't notice the redness in Patience's eyes or, at least, she didn't draw attention to it. "You should see the beds! I swear, there's barely any stains on the mattresses. I mean, like, hardly any! Not the good kind of stains, or the bad."

"What's a good stain?" Patience screwed her eyes trying to figure that out.

"You know!" Gia made exaggerated moaning sounds, thrusting her groin up and down while rolling her eyes. "The good kind."

"You're a strange little creature, Gia, but I like you." Patience stood up, holding her hand out to the young ex-raider. "Come on, show me where my rack is."

"It's right there." Gia stood up and made a sweeping gesture with both hands across Patience's chest. "You can't miss it. Trust me, no-one can miss that rack!"

"I meant my bed for the night and you know it." Gia grinned and winked, grabbing Patience's hand and leading her out of the canteen towards the dormitory area.