Megaton, Revisited
The caravan march started, as they all did, at the edge of the Tidal Basin, all milling people and mooing Brahmin as each group sorted itself out. From there it wended its way around the Memorial and down to the old roads, the river sliding southward as the cattle and their guardian humans worked their way north. Now and again they had to stop- here for raiders, there for mutants. Once, near the Anchorage Memorial to fend off a wave of mirelurks. They paused a little while there when it was all done; even the Brotherhood knew better than to pass up a bounty of fresh 'lurk meat, but more importantly, two of the cattle had been injured. There were loads to redistribute and stimpaks to administer before they could continue. Any resource was a precious resource, whether in the barrel or on the hoof.
Ellen remembered bringing Mr. Mills there, all those months ago. She wondered if the scar one of the 'lurks had left on his arm had ever faded.
Then she stopped wondering, because Dogmeat was growling. Not at the 'lurks, but at the mines inserted into every possible crack and pothole in the bridge, keeping the 'lurks on one side and the humans who came to Wilhelm's Wharf on the other. Clearing the bridge, and then mining it again, would take a while. She didn't mind, really. Since those long-ago days she'd done that kind of thing so many times she could've cleared the bridge in her sleep.
They moved on once it was done. From the bridge and the Wharf they turned and headed north along the river, pausing only briefly to watch warily as a group of wild dogs milled uncertainly on the next rise. Fawkes hefted his Gatling laser, stepped in their direction; the animals scattered, and the caravan moved on. The cracked road under their feet split after a while, curving away to the southwest- towards Grayditch, if Ellen remembered right. And again, a little later, towards the northwest this time. That one led up to the ancient Super-Duper Mart, dead raiders and dead Deathclaw and that first attack by the Talon mercenaries and all...
She shook herself off and picked up the pace. The road was curving around with the remains of the river now, guiding them westward. Springvale was ahead. Tanya had taken to guarding the area with her giant ants, and the last thing they needed was to upset her by killing one of her colony. The only ants in sight scrabbled out of their way immediately, vanishing into the heaps of rubble. They didn't come back.
"There," said one of the caravaneers, pointing westward suddenly. "See that, Baran? That's Megaton."
"Huh? I don't see anything," the younger, smaller man answered. "Just a lot of wreckage."
"It is the wreckage," the first caravaneer said. "That's the city walls. I've been here a couple of times. You don't forget that outline."
Ellen exhaled suddenly, sagging against Groucho and Harpo's side. She felt a hand on her armored shoulder and looked up into Fawkes' face. "Are you all right, my friend?" the meta-human asked, hairless brow creased in concern.
"Oh- oh yes," she said, pushing herself away from the Brahmin bull. "I'm sorry. I've just- been worried, you know? Ever since that Enclave patrol ran us off..."
"Of course," said Fawkes. "But now you no longer have to carry your worries." He turned, squinting towards the blotch in the distance. "And I think you may even have cause for celebrating."
"Oh?"
"I remember you spoke to me once of seeds you'd planted," Fawkes said. "That you'd gathered in some valley far in the north, beyond Fort Constantine. Did I hear you say that you'd planted them outside the Megaton walls?"
"Yes," Ellen said slowly. "There's not enough room inside the walls to protect the plot, so I got my robot to put his atmospheric distillery towards watering the ground, and paid a couple of people to tend the area when they could... why?"
"Because, my friend," said Fawkes, "unless my eyes deceive me, I do believe that I see a stretch of ground near the city that I can only describe as green."
Ellen remembered bringing Mr. Mills there, all those months ago. She wondered if the scar one of the 'lurks had left on his arm had ever faded.
Then she stopped wondering, because Dogmeat was growling. Not at the 'lurks, but at the mines inserted into every possible crack and pothole in the bridge, keeping the 'lurks on one side and the humans who came to Wilhelm's Wharf on the other. Clearing the bridge, and then mining it again, would take a while. She didn't mind, really. Since those long-ago days she'd done that kind of thing so many times she could've cleared the bridge in her sleep.
They moved on once it was done. From the bridge and the Wharf they turned and headed north along the river, pausing only briefly to watch warily as a group of wild dogs milled uncertainly on the next rise. Fawkes hefted his Gatling laser, stepped in their direction; the animals scattered, and the caravan moved on. The cracked road under their feet split after a while, curving away to the southwest- towards Grayditch, if Ellen remembered right. And again, a little later, towards the northwest this time. That one led up to the ancient Super-Duper Mart, dead raiders and dead Deathclaw and that first attack by the Talon mercenaries and all...
She shook herself off and picked up the pace. The road was curving around with the remains of the river now, guiding them westward. Springvale was ahead. Tanya had taken to guarding the area with her giant ants, and the last thing they needed was to upset her by killing one of her colony. The only ants in sight scrabbled out of their way immediately, vanishing into the heaps of rubble. They didn't come back.
"There," said one of the caravaneers, pointing westward suddenly. "See that, Baran? That's Megaton."
"Huh? I don't see anything," the younger, smaller man answered. "Just a lot of wreckage."
"It is the wreckage," the first caravaneer said. "That's the city walls. I've been here a couple of times. You don't forget that outline."
Ellen exhaled suddenly, sagging against Groucho and Harpo's side. She felt a hand on her armored shoulder and looked up into Fawkes' face. "Are you all right, my friend?" the meta-human asked, hairless brow creased in concern.
"Oh- oh yes," she said, pushing herself away from the Brahmin bull. "I'm sorry. I've just- been worried, you know? Ever since that Enclave patrol ran us off..."
"Of course," said Fawkes. "But now you no longer have to carry your worries." He turned, squinting towards the blotch in the distance. "And I think you may even have cause for celebrating."
"Oh?"
"I remember you spoke to me once of seeds you'd planted," Fawkes said. "That you'd gathered in some valley far in the north, beyond Fort Constantine. Did I hear you say that you'd planted them outside the Megaton walls?"
"Yes," Ellen said slowly. "There's not enough room inside the walls to protect the plot, so I got my robot to put his atmospheric distillery towards watering the ground, and paid a couple of people to tend the area when they could... why?"
"Because, my friend," said Fawkes, "unless my eyes deceive me, I do believe that I see a stretch of ground near the city that I can only describe as green."