Fallout 3 - Beautiful Stranger

Chapter 23 Part 1

"You're listening to the adventures of me, Herbert "Daring" Dashwood, and my stalwart ghoul manservant, Argyle. Today's episode: Defeat At The Hands.

"We're doomed, Argyle. Doomed!"

"Wait! Can you hear music? "Hail to the Chief". And are those ...?"

"Vertibirds! And they're dropping cages onto the Deathclaws. We're saved!"

"I haven't seen a Vertibird since that unfortunate incident back in the Summer of '63."

"Ah, good times, Argyle. Good times."

"Why would anybody cage Deathclaws though, boss? Who'd be crazy enough to mess with those things."

"That would be me, your president, John Henry Eden."

"Boss! It's an Eyebot ... and it's talking to us!"

"I never knew the president of the Enclave was an Eyebot. That is a rather surprising development."

"The Eyebot isn't your president. I'm talking to you through the Eyebot and I'd just like to thank you boys for baiting the trap for those creatures. You've done your president, and our great nation, a service that can't be repaid."

"Money would be payment enough. Right, boss?"

"Now, don't go telling anybody about these Deathclaws, boys. It's all very hush hush and I, your president, would hate to have you killed for treason."

"You can count on us, Mister President. Argyle and I know how to keep our mouths firmly closed."

"Especially if opening 'em gets us killed."

"Well, so long, boys. Don't forget to vote in the next election."

"Sure. When is that?"

"He's gone, Argyle and look, over there. Someone is waving at us. Right in the building we've been searching for."

"Then let's go meet the mysterious Doctor Dérobé!"

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

-+-

Patience pushed the remains of the door off to the side. She couldn't hear the crash that it made. In fact, she couldn't hear anything. She reached up to her ears and her hands came away with blood on the fingertips. Making a quick check of her body, she found several cuts and pieces of shrapnel embedded in her legs and chest. She pulled the shrapnel pieces out, glad that she couldn't hear her own screams of pain.

With difficulty, she pushed herself upright, wobbling for a second. She reached out towards the nearest wall to steady herself, almost missing it. Misjudging the distance. Her eyes out of focus. She felt a coughing fit begin to erupt and watched, as if separate from her own body as she coughed a splatter of blood onto the floor. Internal injuries, she surmised.

Hobbling outside, she began to call for Valrie and Gia, finding it strange, unable to hear her own voice. To the right, a fresh mound of rubble had fallen from the face of the next building. To the left, a small, smoking crater was all that remained to show where the missile hit. She had been lucky, the missile appeared to have had less explosives in than she would expect, or less powerful explosives. Either could be the case in this world of scarce resources.

She opened her jaw wide a couple of times, attempting to clear her ears, looking around for any sign of her friends. Then she saw it. A pool of blood and Valrie's football helmet in the centre of it. She dropped to her knees, reaching out, ignoring the pain, and grabbed the helmet. Valrie and Gia were nowhere in sight.