//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 Anguish 
// Story: The Strange Pair, a story from the wasteland 
// by Wubsy 
//------------------------------//

Author’s note: Character development. It can happen without a gun going off. Just sayin.
Also sorry if this is not back on par with my previous work I'm a bit rusty taking up the keyboard again after like three months.
Either way enjoy more to come soon.


***


The clouds parted and once again the world returned to its brighter self, if only for a while. The sun would soon set over the ridge and I would finally be back in Prim. My nerves were still on edge and my body sore from the day’s ordeal. I was tired in body, mind, and spirit. The sky still shown the beauty of the rainbow only to have it lost with the setting sun. But when I saw the town once again I felt renewed. At least until I saw who was standing at the edge.

Twilight stood there with two troopers and Hayes standing close behind her. That was to be expected but a strange looking figure caught my eye.

The man was leaning against the wall within ear shot of Twilight and Hayes. His face was obscured by a hood but I could make out that his skin was pale which was quite rare in the wastes but his armor stood out even more so. It was a leather suit made from the various geckos that called the Mojave home. The leather was an aged to a grayish-white color by the sun and long travels. Its various holes showed that conflict was in his nature or just seemed to follow him around. A long repeater hung from his back; the scope on it was an archaic piece of tech running almost the length of the gun. A well-used combat knife hung from his belt with a silenced .22 pistol hanging almost hidden on his right side. He seemed to be waiting for something, someone or just stopping in town for a spell.

Twilight eyes gleamed when I approached and she charged out to meet me. Hayes stood with his troopers until he waved them away with his left hand while taking a cigarette out with his right. He lit it and took a long drag as Twilight reached out to hug me.

I hugged her back, “Great to see you too.” I said unable to contain a smile.

“Are you ok? I saw… Are you hurt?” Twilight said choking her words.

“Fine, except for a new wound I need you to patch… What’s this about you ‘seeing’ something?” I asked while letting go of her.

Her expression changed from one of joy to one of regret, “I, I…” Twilight stammered.

“Yes?” I asked raising an eyebrow.

“I used a spell to be able to see the world through your eyes…” She said kicking a hoof in the still wet dirt.

My expression turned from happy to sad, “I didn’t want you to see any of that…” I said in a somber tone.

Her face turned a slight shade of red, “I was worried that this world wasn’t safe…”

“Look, you didn’t have to.” I dropped down on one knee to try to talk at eye level. It did not help much.

“You didn’t have to risk your flank to keep saving me from the horrible things that roam your world. It’s like your whole world is the Everfree Forest!” A tear almost came to her eye.

“I… I don’t know what to say…” I said thinking about how I really never had someone worried about me for a change and not my gear or how much I found.

“*Cough* I could come back if you would like.” Hayes said after watching the scene unfold.

I looked at Twilight who seemed to be a mix of emotions, “We can talk about this later tonight.”

I got up off my knee and walked over to Hayes, “The pay better be damn good, or I will make you deep- throat a shotgun barrel.”

“What? Isn’t the thanks of the Republic reward enough?” He said with a smirk.
I stared at him with a glare that spoke tomes to the hatred I felt at the moment.

“Can’t take a joke, can you?” Hayes said as he pulled a small bag from off his side and tossed it to me.
I poured the bag out into my left hand. I counted the caps… only eighty fucking caps. I would have plastered his brains across the pavement but I was stopped by him talking again.

“The rest is waiting for you at the Mojave outpost.” He took a long drag from the cigarette, “A major wants to meet the hero of the Republic.” Hayes said in a mocking tone.

“Fine but we are spending the night here on the NCR’s tab first.” I said in a calm tone.

“Only because I’m such a nice guy.” He waved a trooper over passed him a bag with a whisper and sent him down the road into Prim proper. “Just follow the road and you’ll find some warm beds already paid for thank you very much.” He said with a smirk as he turned around and walked back to his tent.

I saw the strange figure walked off when I looked at him. He followed Hayes as if stalking prey until I lost sight of him behind some rubble. Twilight seemed to still be upset and wanted to talk some more but I just looked into her bright eyes and spoke.

“When we find a place to bed down for the night we can talk farther. Right now I want to lie down and lick my wounds.” I said as I started walking down the road with a little fatigue showing.

She pouted a bit as we passed the Mojave Express office. An elderly man walked out from the building looking eager to talk. But I showed no signs of stopping so he merely returned to the office closing the door behind him disappointed. Twilight gazed upon the decrepit roller coaster in amazement. If only I could see this world through her violet eyes, maybe it wouldn’t be such a shithole to me…

She stopped at the front door of the Bison Steve admiring the faded neon bull sign overlooking the roadway. I felt weak, maybe the shot I took to the chest wasn’t stopped entirely or the harsh work of the day had taken its toll. As I approached the door I stumbled and Twilight caught me with her body. Her purple coat of hair felt soft against my dry skin as I got back up and opened the door for Twilight to enter.

I felt a sense of safety and warmth from the old lady behind the reception desk. As I approached the woman, I noticed that the place seemed clean, even by post-war standards. Dust and grime permeated all corners yet the main rug seemed to be in good shape. The walls were covered with tattered wall paper yet had many carefully hung decorations; from old posters to the occasional skull or worn-out weapon. The place had an old world western theme, yet it felt homely.

Twilight stared at the skulls probably thinking about their ‘realism’. I reassured her that they were just decorations put up to attract people.

“Those old things are just wall pieces to look at while you wait to get a room.” I said in a cheerfully deceiving tone.

“That seems very morbid…” Her voice trailed off before the old lady moved closer and spoke.

“Welcome to the Bison Steve motel you two must be the strange couple that trooper paid for.” The old woman spoke in a grandmotherly tone.

“I’d hope there aren’t many out there like me. Then I couldn’t be one of a kind.” I smiled as she knelt down to pet Twilight.

“Aren’t you just the cutest thing?”

“Please stop doing that…” Twilight said unhappily.

“Bwahaha!” I bellowed.

The woman stood up and glared at Twilight confused.

“She’s not from around here.” I interjected holding back a laugh.

“Quite… Well here’s the key to your room.” She said regaining her smile and composure.

“Thank you.” Twilight said as I took the key and went into the lobby.

Twilight stayed to talk to the receptionist some more so I took the time to look around a bit. The walls were a shade of yellow with decaying drywall breaking through the paint in large areas. Two red recliner chairs were in one corner opposite of something strange. The weird guy from before was sitting in a chair much like the recliners just with less springs jutting out. His face was now uncovered. His red hair, pale skin and even paler gray eyes made him look like an apparition of a Brother lost long ago.

He smiled somewhat coldly as he waved me over to him. As I walked I could not help but utter the name Forrest Richtoven. One not said since the loss of Helios One. I, like the other paladins, believed him dead. Just another person lost to the war. I reached for my .45 slowly, but was stopped by him speaking in a straight to the point manner.

“No need for that here ‘brother’.” He said raising a hand patting a chair next to him, “Sit, we should talk.”
I moved my hand away from the holstered gun, “Fine, but what goes the ghost of the Brotherhood want with me?”

“Aww, it’s good to be remembered… But the ghost has returned and the name fits even better now don’t you think?” He said with what I could only describe as a shit eating grin.

“Answer my question.” I said as I sat down next to him.

“What? No questions? No ‘O by the codex you’re alive!’?” He asked with a grin that spoke tomes about how he saw the situation… in his favor… best not to see why.

“Why are you here?” I said annoyed.

“Don’t worry about me. Bet you received worse treatment when they threw you out.” He laughed a little.

I leapt up from the chair and drew the handgun to his forehead right above the gray almost lifeless eyes.
Then I felt something cold against my neck… jagged like the teeth of a death claw.

“Don’t worry about me. I am here to see that you can do some good in this world not like our short sighted ‘former brothers’.” He said cynically.

“How did you know?” I asked swallowing throat pressing harder against the blade.

“I was called ghost before I left for a reason you don't need to know. Plus you’re not a hard man to follow. Not exactly keeping low; wasting powder gangers, saving two curious caravan guards and being soldier boy for the NCR. Good for now, but you need to do more.” He said coldly.

“What do you mean?” I asked weapon still pointed in his face, his eyes never showing a pang of fear.

“You have important roles to play as does your little friend… People are going to try to take her power for themselves. I am going to make sure you play the right part and that her unique abilities don’t fall into the hands of those who seek to destroy this world again.” He said pulling the blade away from my neck and spinning it before placing it back into a holster.

“What stake do you have in her? In me?” I asked moving the M1911 45. closer to his head.

“My stake is that you are not ready to wander alone ‘brother’ and I’d hate to see a good paladin die. So I offer my aid.” He said putting a hand out as a gesture of faith.

I lowered my weapon. “Okay, seems like a weird way to try and help.”

“Have to make sure you’re not too green for this, it’s a hard place to survive out here.” He said with a strange smile.

I shook his hand, and then heard him holster a small pistol.

“Offer peace in one hand, take life with the other.”

“Learn that lesson well. Ah, your friend’s coming back. Tell her I am an old friend and remember to get some rest never know when you will not get the chance again.” He laughed a little, “Remember I will be watching.”

He walked away before Twilight got to me. Her expression showed that a lot of questions would come my way. 

“Who was that?” She asked curious as always.

“Just an old friend...” I said unsure of where I believed him not to mention trusted him.

“Our room is on the second floor, third door down.” She said with a happy gallop towards the stairs.

As I ascended the stairs, my fatigue started to catch up to me with every step. I suffered through it for her sake if only to not have a repeat of our time in Goodsprings. When I finally reached our floor, I saw an area far removed from the clean and proper bunker I called home. The red carpet on the floors was almost black with grime. The walls a bland tan color with broken planks of wood jutting out.

“Five star all the way…” I said in a sour tone.

I went up to the door. It was marked a small sign hung poorly saying honeymoon suite. I rolled my eyes in utter displeasure. Haynes must fancy himself a comedian… I sighed then unlocked the door to see the place I’d have to rest my weary head in.
The door flung open and Twilight rushed in to lay down on the first thing passable as a bed… It was a bright red heart shaped bed with frilly shit covering it and a small mountain of pillows against the headboard. The sight of the room was some sort of throwback to the time of leopard print and overly ornate displays of affection. The lights were dim scarlet color and a bottle of some kind of alcohol sat on the night stand next to the bed.

I looked around for anything to lie on besides the gaudy monster of a bed before me. All I saw was the floor and a set of chairs and a fur rug next to a fireplace. Twilight seemed to be relieved that she no longer had to stand. I on the other hand wished to get back at Haynes for making this difficult. I swallowed my pride and gave into my lesser instincts. I laid down beside her taking care not to disturb her rest as I removed pieces of my armor.

With the burden of my armor gone I felt better until Twilight turned over and started to ask me about everything from how I was feeling to what she saw using her spell.

“Are you okay? Why did you have to do that to those people? Is Hayes a friend of yours?” She asked showing concern.

I sighed annoyed at this point seeking any reprieve from her incessant questioning.

“… Can we please not do this?” I asked in a sad tone.

“I am merely trying to better understand…”

“You can’t understand… the world you know is nothing like the wastelands formerly known as Earth.” I said in a growl.

Twilight fell silent and turned back over.

My heart grew heavy but at least now I could go to sleep and in the morning I would tell her I was sorry…

Even within ones dream you cannot escape from reality long…


I tossed and turned within the bed finding little comfort in sleep. The horrors of the wastes proved to be the stronger once again as I descended into another nightmare… or memory…

I sat upon a cart made out of a rusted car’s remains with my legs kicking off the side lazily. In the cart lay an assortment of edible goods; from food to junk picked up along the way. Four dark figures walked beside the cart with two of them carrying knives, one unarmed and the last leading them had a double-barreled shotgun. After what felt like hours to me the cart stopped suddenly almost knocking me off.

“Get down.” Said one of the dark figures as he pushed me down into the cart out of view.

I fell back into the cart under some clothes picked up at the last stop. He then moved to the front of the cart with the others close behind their forms looked tense. I started to breath heavier but I calmed myself down so I could hear what was going on at the front.

“We are not looking for any trouble here…” A freighted female voice said.

“Too bad...” With that I heard the female voice scream and the shotgun firing off…

I moved a few things around to try to get a look at what happened. As I moved the last few things covering my eyes I was blinded by the sun’s light…


I leapt up from the bed in a cold sweat eyes very much wide open now. Panting I looked about my surroundings. The hotel room looked familiar in it’s all-but-gaudy glory.

“Twilight… I’d love to have that talk now.” I said with a bit of cheer in my voice.
There was no response.

“Twilight? You still asleep?” I turned to see she was gone.

“Damn it…” I shouted.

With haste in my actions, I jumped from the bed and donned my clothes and armor. Shaken at the thought that she may be in danger or that she just left… Left. She said they would come back to retrieve her at some point. I never really put much thought into that until now.

I shook my head and fought back anger… and perhaps sadness. I grabbed my messengers bags taking one can from it then donning it also. The can opened easily and as I eat and made my way out of the room I heard steps outside the door. I stopped for a moment then rushed to the door swinging it open to see no one there.

I sighed then stepped out into the empty hallway locking the door behind me. The colors seemed dimmer, the walls more decrepit and the light from the outside sun bleaker. I pressed forward down the stairs back to the lobby to return the keys to the withered old hag that run this dump.

“Here’s your key to that shit box.” I said in a growl.

She seemed to detest my choice of words, “Well aren’t you too good for us.”

“Yes I am, you savage…” I said as I tossed her the keys and beating a hasty retreat.

I marched through the doors to return to the wastes so I may be alone with my thoughts. I opened the doors out into the world where I was alone. Anyone and everyone was just a passerby another soul awaiting its turn to return to the infernal shattered earth. 

As I walked past the Mojave Express office a lone man walked out to meet me.

“Hey you there, youngster?” A man with age and something stranger written into his dark features said with a small envelope in his hand.

“Yes?” I said with a sigh wishing to leave this place and be on my way.

“You seem to be a wanderer in these parts. Am I right?” He said with a small smile.

I noded my head in agreement.

“Then can you take this to the Mojave outpost just a mile down that road? Lacey would be happy to compensate you for the trouble.” He said handing over the envelope.

“I guess… Seeing as I am heading that way anyways…” I took the envelope from his strangely cold hands.

“Thanks. May the road be safe for your travels.” He said with a cold smile before turning away and returning to the office.

His cold expression left me with more than a few questions, but it mattered little to me I just wanted to get along on my merry way. With the envelope tucked away I set down the long I-85 to some piss-ant outpost to maybe get some more caps into my bag. Walking by the decaying ruins of an old drive thru movie theater with the broken rusted husks of cars left behind from before the great war filled me with a bit of malice.

I walked farther down the road until I reached an abandoned State Highway Patrol station. The building seemed to house no living creature in its concrete tomb so I entered to see if I could not salvage something of use.
The room was awash in a black hue due to the lack of natural light. I felt a lighter in a puddle of blood as I stepped forward to get a better look at the area before me. I picked the lighter up and with a few frantic attempts I was rewarded with a guiding flame.

As I looked throughout the room I saw only a horrific mess of blood, body parts, flipped desks and ruined prewar paper work. The smell was over powering. The scent of blood and the decay of the bodies of humans… to the best of my knowledge, sickened me to my very core. I grabbed a black rag from my bag and covered my face to repel the foul odor. With my makeshift mask on I treaded deeper into the building picking over the remains of those most likely just as adventurous as I. Finding little to nothing of use I turned to a hallway from which I heard an eerie sound like that of a Night-stalker’s claw running along a suit of T-45D. I raised my shotgun in hopes that if it was in deed a Night-stalker or any creature that it would not get first strike.

I checked the weapon making sure I had it more than loaded enough to take down anything I may stumble across. With weapon drawn I slowly marched forward down the hallway checking my corners and the two doors along the way.
Door one I tried to open quietly but the lock was jammed. I walked silently as I could to the next door and set up. A low, inhuman hiss descended into the air leaving my morale nearly broken. Thoughts of all manner of horrid beasts filled my head but I shook them out and lined up before the door.

“3… 2… 1…” I said before I kicked in the lock of the door.

I charged forward to see only a withered corpse flesh eaten away by time and predators in a restroom. At the base of the shattered toilet at the feet of the corpse atop it lay a single blood stained sheet of paper. With that I heard another hiss louder than the last and even more disorientating. I swore it came from the corpse before me…

I moved closed weapon aimed for the corpses head just in case. I stared at the unmoving corpse then at the piece of paper. I reached for the paper slowly as if to try to not wake the corpse… With a loud snarl I fell back the corpse stayed still as it ever was. Perhaps my time in that vault did more damage than I thought. The paper was held tightly in my trembling hand…
I sighed got up and gained my composer. The note felt cold and wet as if the blood was neither fresh nor human. I studied the note further and found a portion that was not completely stained beyond comprehension. 

‘Scout unit Lazarus report

The feeble force at Prim stands little chance against a proper raid. If not taken in a day it would fall within a week of blockage. Recommendation: wait for a sizable force then smash into them, crushing their will to fight.

Goodsprings as of now holds no value to us and as such shall be razed if any usurpers are found. Recommendation: leave them to their farms as they pose no threat to us.

The Mojave outpost a bastion of our enemy and a strategic point on the map stands well against an attack from outside. Many travel its boundaries freely and this could be used to our advantage. Recommendation…’

The rest is indecipherable mess of blood and grime.

I dropped the note and turned to leave the small restroom. I didn’t know what to make from that note but that wasn’t important to me right now. As I turned to face the last door a horrendous scream left me afraid. I readied myself for the task at hand. Whatever had chewed these people apart lay just beyond this door.

I set up at the door same as the last.

“3… 2… 1…” I kicked the door inward splintering the old word wood apart and taking the door off its hinges.

I stormed in weapon ready to bear against any foe who dared stand against me…