Barren Kindness -Chapter 1-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw9SA-TJLgM

 

>The rocky ground below your feet crunched with each step you took as you passed under the wreckage of a bypass.

>You poke your head into skeletal remains of cars, rooting around for anything to salvage.

>Spotting a truck nearby, you think that maybe there'd be some good salvage within.

>Climbing into the bed of the rotting machine, you rummage around in crates and boxes that look as if they'd been tossed around.

>Someone must have gotten here before you.

>Despite that, you manage to find something valuable.

>An old box of Dandy Boy apples.

>These were hard to come by.

>You haven't eaten in a few days, so when the smell reaches your nose as you open the box, you're already beginning to salivate in anticipation.

>Of course, your excitement is cut short at the quiet slopping sound behind you.

>You turn around.

>Great.

>Looks like she was still following you.

>The small... thing, looks at you with her blue eyes, her face slightly hidden behind her pink hair.

>Mane.

>Whatever.

>She eyed the box of apples you held in your hands.

"No. Oohh no. These are mine."

>She says nothing back to you, only staring longingly at the food you hold.

>You set the box down and wave your arms at the small, winged creature.

"Shoo! Go on, fly away. Get."

>Still no response, although when you say "fly" to her, she looks to one of her wings.

>It's slightly bent at an odd angle.

>Maybe it was broken?

>Why should you care? This thing wouldn't stop following you for two days now.

"Fine. Stand there. Won't stop me from eating these."

>You take one of the candied apple snacks and pop it into your mouth, savoring the taste.

>Sure, it was a tad musty, but anything was better than nothing around here.

>Swallowing down the snack, you pull out another and prepare to pop it onto your food-hole.

>And then it whimpers.

>You glance at the yellow, winged thing and see that she's looking desperately to you, her eyes pleading as you hold the apple snacks away from her.

"Oh come on, I haven't eaten either."

>*whimper*

>You sigh, and rub the space in between your eyes, and finally give in by tossing the box out of the truck and to the thing.

>Kind of looked like a little horse.

>You remember seeing a picture of one in a book you found.

>Said that small horses were called ponies.

>The details were fuzzy. You were in the middle of hiding from raiders at the time.

>The pony gasps in delight and rummages through the box with her snout, gobbling the candied apple treats quickly.

>Watching her made your stomach groan out in despair.

>Giving a grumble of defeat, you hop out of the truck and carry on past the bypass, the pony in tow not five feet behind you.

>It'd been like this ever since you came across her two days ago.

 

Two Days Prior

 

>The embers of the fire you made the previous night were still smoldering as you were aroused from your sleep.

>Your back was a bit stiff, but that's what you get for sleeping in an old baseball dugout.

>You stomp out the remains of your fire and sling your backpack onto your back, your cap fixed to the top of your head.

>One last ammo check.

>Four rounds for that small revolver you found.

>Hopefully you wouldn't have to use it.

>You start back on your treck South towards the Super Duper mart.

>A trader back in Rivet city had told you that the place was fairly abandoned, so you hoped that you could find some decent food, maybe even some medicine.

>The morning sun was rising quickly today, and you found yourself walking rather briskly.

>Today was feeling like a good one.

>As you continued onward, you pulled out a bottle of water you found in the dugout.

>You chug down two gulps, fighting back the urge to gag when it burns at your throat.

>The Super Duper mart better have purified water. This irradiated shit was going to end up killing you.

>Your attention get drawn away from the burn in your mouth to the figures ahead in the distance.

>Two men.

>Combat armor.

>One with a rifle, the other with something small in his hands.

>You run up and behind a large rock and try to get a closer look.

>It looked like they were chasing something around.

>"For fuck's sake, man, just grab the damn thing."

>"Fuck you, it's faster than I thought, alright? Stupid animal's got wings and shit..."

>"Well it ain't flying after you kicked it like that, so hurry the hell up and fuckin' grab it."

>You peer over the boulder and see that the one guy without a gun is holding a collar.

>A slave collar.

"..Paradise Falls..."

>You reach a hand to your neck, holding it softly as you eye the collar in the one slaver's hands.

>Whatever they were chasing around, it was certainly giving them a run for their money.

>"FUCK! Hold still you little shit!"

>Jesus, Jacobs, hurry it up."

>"Why don't you just shoot the damn thing and stop it from squirmin' around, eh?"

>"Yeah, because I definitely want to kill the goddamn thing we've been chasing for the past half hour. Good going you fucking idiot."

>You had heard something about wings.

>Were they chasing after a bird?

>"HA! Gotcha!"

>The one slaver, Jacobs was his name you think, hoists the thing they were chasing by the scruff of its neck.

>That... is not a bird.

>It was yellow, and pink, and it had wings.

>Was it a mutant? Some kind of dog gone wrong?

>No, no it was slightly bigger than a dog.

>And this Jacobs guy was holding it up like a trophy.

>"Okay, hold it still so I can putt the collar on it."

>"I don't have all day, man, just hurry up and do it."

>The yellow thing squirms around desperately as the other slaver clamps the collar to its neck.

>Well, it was done for, that's for sure.

>You get one of those things on you, you were good as dead.

>You try escaping from slavers that have already collared you, then they would press a button and BOOM, no more head.

>You're about to slink away when the yellow thing looks directly into your eyes.

>She mouths a few words: "Please help."

>Those eyes...

>They seemed so human.

>...

>Dammit.

>You take a few collective breaths as you pull out your revolver.

>You peer out from the rock, but now the slavers are looking in your direction.

>"What was it looking at? You heard it right?"

>"Yeah man, it talked. Said 'help me' or some shit."

>The slaver with the rifle loads it and cocks it, and begins walking towards your rock.

>The other follows suit, pulling the yellow dog-thing by it's pink hair, pained whimpers coming from it.

>"Shut that thing up, Jacobs."

>You can hear a dull thud.

>Jacobs must have kicked it again.

>You take the hammer of the revolver and cock it back, taking deep breaths as you try to make yourself as small as possible.

>Footsteps were getting closer.

>Closer.

>Closer.

>The yellow winged thing whimpers again.

>You hear the turn of boots against dirt.

>"Jacobs I thought I told you to shut that thing-"

>You rise to your feet, aiming the revolver right at the rifleman's temple.

>Jesus, he was only a foot away from you.

>Before he can react you pull the trigger, the kickback from the pistol shaking your shoulder.

>You don't miss, and the slaver falls dead to the ground, a gaping wound in his head.

>You aim to Jacobs, but he already has a pistol aimed at you and you stagger back as a bullet slams into your left shoulder.

>You fire, and catch Jacobs in the neck, blood spurting from his wound as he gags.

>You stand your ground, and take aim once more, both hands holding the revolver.

>Taking a final shot to his chest, Jacobs falls to the dusty earth below.

>The yellow thing is shivering like mad, her head in between her hooves.

>Her fur is spattered with slaver blood.

>The adrenaline that rushes through you dulls the aching pain in your shoulder, but you collapse and moan out in pain nonetheless.

>All that because that thing looked at you funny.

>You hope it's worth it.

 

Hours Later

 

>You pull drawer after drawer out from the kitchen cabinets you were rifling through.

>You clutch at your shoulder, the pain increasing with each second that damn bullet stayed lodged in there.

"Knife... knife, knife, c'mon where's a fucking knife..."

>You rummage through drawer after drawer, the kitchen of this abandoned house seeming the likeliest of places to find a simple cooking utensil.

>Then you finally find it.

>A dull, slightly rusty kitchen knife.

>God this was going to hurt.

>You sit down in the kitchen, the knife in your hand, and place the tip of it at the bullet wound.

>The stinging is already god damn horrible.

>Taking deep breaths, you dig the knife into the wounds and try to wedge it underneath the bullet.

>God it feels like your shoulder is on fire.

>You let out a cry of pain as you try to carry on, but eventually you cast the knife down to the ground in frustration.

>Beads of sweat dot your forehead, and your breathing is ragged from the pain.

>You look across from you, and see that the yellow things is still with you ever since you killed those slavers.

>She's looking at your wound, then back up to you.

"...what?"

>She timidly makes her way up to you, and pokes her snout towards your shoulder.

>You flinch back from it.

>She adopts a stern but calm look up to you, and you assume she doesn't mean harm.

>You calm down, and allow her to do whatever she's about to do.

>She reaches out to your wound, and you can feel her teeth lightly and delicately grasp the edge of the bullet.

>With one swift motion, she pulls out the speck of lead, and you gasp out in pain.

>The yellow thing hold the bullet in her mouth and smiles at you, dropping it to the floor next to her.

"...thanks. Thanks for that."

>She smiles again at you.

"Can... can you understand me?"

>She nods timidly, her previous shyness returning.

>You pull out a bandana from your pack and wrap it around your wound tightly.

"So *ach* can you talk?"

>She hides her face from you, and nods again.

"...WILL you talk?"

>No nod this time, just more hiding behind her hair.

>You breath out a sigh and wipe the sweat from your forehead.

>Whatever this thing was, it had helped you out.

>That was good enough for you.

>You just hoped it wouldn't end up following you around like a fucking pet.

 

Present Day

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdlIilJvw24

 

>This thing was following you around like a fucking pet.

>You didn't need a fucking pet.

>Maybe a teammate.

>Hell you could definitely use a spotter out here.

>Not a fucking pet though.

>You lug your pack on your shoulder, the pony following behind you.

>You turn to look at her, and she freezes, darting behind a shell of a car.

>She pokes her head out slightly to see if you're still looking at her.

>You are.

>She darts her head back behind the car.

"Okay, yeah, come out."

>Nothing.

>You get down to a knee and ask her to come out again.

"Seriously, come here. I need to get that collar off you."

>The pony pokes her head out again, and you carefully motion for her to approach you.

>She takes a few timid steps to you, but she's still shaking slightly.

"It's fine. I've taken one of these things off before, so it shouldn't be a problem."

>You reach out and disconnect a few small panel hinges, revealing some basic circuitry.

>You grasp the wire that maintains the ground of the field, and give a quick tug. The beeping from the collar ceases, and pops open.

>You tug the collar from the neck of the pony who looks up at you with a small smile.

>You toss the slave collar away from you two and you pat her on the head.

"See? Told you."

>You stand up, and proceed walking.

>"...*mumble*fluttershy*..."

>You stop and look back at the pony.

"You say something?"

>She quickly shakes her head, and trots back up to you, keeping up with you as you carry on your journey South.

>And here you thought things in the Capital Wasteland couldn't get any stranger.

 

~End~