Kindness in the Wastelands

After the attack, I wanted to rest in the saloon while I figured my next move, a fresh hat on my head, and a whole slew of new, fresh guns in my pack. The bullet in the leg was easily patched up by a stimpack, sealing the wound, after I dug the bullet out, of course. I’d gotten information that the men who shot me had headed back towards the New Vegas strip. However, they had to head south, towards a town called Primm. Sunny had told me the town was easily visible due to a roller coaster, whatever that was. I had busied myself while thinking by working on Trudy’s radio, which she had asked me to fix. Turned out the group that had shot me, part of a group called The Great Khans, had knocked it over when she refused to give them free drinks. A voice from behind me pulled me out of my thoughts. A voice so quiet, I barely heard it.

“U-Um…E-excuse me. Could I, maybe, um, talk to you for a minute? I-If I’m not bothering you to much…” Looking up, I turned, seeing the pink haired girl from earlier. I gave a smile, putting my tools down.

“Bother me? A pretty thing like you? It’s no bother at all. What can I do for you?” The girl squeaked, jumping slightly, and looked down, apparently trying to hide her blush behind her bangs.

“O-O-Oh! Oh my. Thank you.” She said, trying to avoid my eyes. “N-Nopo-“ She stopped, shaking her head. “I-I mean, nobody’s ever told me I was…” Her voice dropped lower, and her face burned even brighter. “p-pretty before..” I chuckled.

“I can’t see why…Now come on, what do you need?” How I became the official odd-jobber of this lil town was beyond me, but I couldn’t find myself complaining at the moment. The girl closed her eyes, taking a breath, clearing her mind. Her blush faded as she focused on what she wanted to say.

“W-Well, you see, I’m kind of…stuck here. I don’t know where I am, and I want to go home, but…” She bit her lip, fidgeting with her hair, as though she didn’t want to ask, but I had an idea.

“But you’re scared. And you want to hire a bodyguard?” I frowned softly. I didn’t like the idea of another person’s life depending on me, of a woman like this… She looked away for a moment, before looking up to me. She nodded.

“Y-Yes.” She then quickly spoke again, as though she thought I’d be mad. “I-It’s just, I heard you were leaving soon, a-and you seem really brave, protecting the town from these meanies.” She bit her lip again, before lowering her voice though. “But...I…I really wish you didn’t have to…” She stopped, as though she was terrified of the word. “kill them…” I snorted, shaking my head.

“People like that deserve to die.” Her face contorted into a mask of horror, apparently appalled I would even think something like that.

“That’s a terrible thing to say!” She cried, her eyes looking at me with a little fear.  I cursed. Probably not the smartest thing to say to this woman, but it did confirm what I thought. If she was going to act like that over every kill I had to make… I shrugged.

“Well, regardless of how horrible what I say is, you said you wanted a bodyguard?” I asked, looking to her. She was silent for a moment, as though considering if she really wanted someone like me as a guard. Finally, she nodded again.

“Yes. I have to find some way to find home again. B-But..It’s…r-really dangerous out there.” She said, wringing her hands nervously. This girl really had issues. I had no idea how she survived out in the wasteland this long. She looked at me again, hope in her eyes. “But you don’t seem scared at all!” I raised a finger, noticing something about what she said.

“Wait. You don’t even know where your home is?” She bit her lip again, the hope draining from her eyes as she looked down.

“S-Sorry, no. B-But I’m looking for clues! T-That’s why I need help! N-need protection!” I looked back to the radio. She was cute, and there was something about her that called me, but…My mind flashed to the last image I could remember, the man in the checkered suit, the gunshot that started this whole thing. And how she reacted involving the Powder Gangers…

“I’m sorry sweetie. But I’ve got my own things to take care of.” I regretted those words as soon as I spoke as I saw the hope drain completely from her eyes, replaced by a depression I couldn’t describe. It shattered my heart just to see her like that, but I turned, biting my lip and focusing on the radio.

“O-Oh..” She spoke, her voice dropping to where I could hardly hear it. “I-I’m sorry for wasting your time…” She said, turning and leaving, sitting back in the same corner as when I first saw her. Sighing, I continued my work, trying to forget about the whole thing, just get the radio finished. However, her face stuck. That crushed look, that look that seemed to suck the joy out of the area. The way she apologized for wasting my time, and finally, the thought creeped in, joined with a heaping helping of guilt. What if she decided to go out on her own, and got caught by raiders? God only knew what’d happen to her. And that wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to her out there. I gave a groan, and slammed my tools into the bar, hearing a squeak from the girl. Standing, I tapped her.

“Hey, hold on.” She turned, that same crestfallen look in her eye.

“Y-Yes?” She asked, looking up at me. I took a deep breath, readying myself.

“Alright… Look…I’ll…I’ll help you.” As soon as I said it, her eyes lit up, a gasp on her lips.

“R-Really!?” I smiled and nodded.

“Yay!” She gave a cheer that melted my heart. It was, without a doubt, the most quiet, but sweetest cheer I’d ever heard, even to this day. “Thank you! I can’t tell you how much this means to me!”

“But!” I said suddenly, making her jump. “I have rules.” She seemed to calm down, and nodded, watching me intently. “One, I’m going to have to kill people, that’s all there is to it. So, if you can’t deal with that, I can’t help you.” She paled a little at the thought of that, but nodded. “Two, you and I work together. If you have an issue with killing people, fine, just stay out of the way when the bullets start flying, and carry your share of the weight, got it?” She nodded again, seeming to have less of a problem with this. “Three: We travel my pace. If you can’t keep up, you get left behind. If you don’t like where I go, you stay behind, understand?” Another nod. “And finally, something you need to understand.” I took a breath, this was my real issue with bringing her, and it had to be addressed. “This is a hellish world we live in, I’m sure you know that. You’re asking me to protect you, and I may fail at that. You. May. Die.” I said, emphasizing the words. She gulped, paling slightly. “Do you understand?” She bit her lip and tried to hide behind her bang again, looking down. Taking a moment, she took a deep breath, before looking back up, looking me in the eye. She gave me a single word.

“Yes.” This word, and, more importantly, the conviction behind it, made me smile. It was all I needed to hear. Keeping my smile, I stuck my hand out. She blinked, staring awkwardly at my hand, before slowly taking it. I shook her hand, her own moving merely in reaction to mine, the confused look never leaving her eyes.

“Good. So, what’s your name? I can’t very well call you ‘Sweetie’, or ‘you’ the whole time, now can I? My name’s Lee.” She brightened up at this, seemingly happy to be free of the topic of death.

“Oh, my name’s Fluttershy. Very nice to meet you, Mr. Lee.”