All Who Wander

Chapter Three - Ghoulface

Three figures moved unseen across the rocky cliffs surrounding Evergreen Mills; scouting the perimeter while the raiders inside slept on in oblivion. The soft light of morning limned their silhouettes against a brightening blue sky, but not even the caged super mutant at the center of the camp took notice. Evergreen Mills was a ghost town, and the shadows haunting the steep stone slopes above were getting ready to wake the dead.

"Three-Dog's report didn't say anything about a behemoth in the area," Digit observed as she eyed the lumbering creature, "How are we supposed to sneak in there without tipping that brute off?"

"Maybe we won't have to," Charon replied thoughtfully as he scanned the area for the tenth time, "There's no way for us to know how many raiders are holed up in those shacks, Dij. Might be better to draw them out rather than go in."

"You have a plan?" the woman asked. The ghoul smirked a bit and crouched closer to her. It pleased him to no end that he finally had a employer that valued his opinion, and, more importantly, put his skills to good use. He'd always suspected Ahzrukhal never really knew what he had in his ghoul bodyguard. Maybe the man didn't care. He'd been willing to sell Charon's contract, after all. Charon knew Digit found the whole exchange rather amusing, as she remarked from time to time how Ahzrukhal had gotten the raw end of the deal. "Man doesn't understand the true value of things," she'd say. Charon found himself agreeing with her more and more as they encountered - and conquered - the multitude of dangers presented by the Wastes.

"What we need is a distraction," he explained, gesturing to the camp below, "Do you see that guardhouse a ways down?"

"Yeah."

"I think I can reach it without trouble. If I can get in there and take out the guards while you cross to the gorge on the other side, we can trap them inside the camp. I'll set an explosion to get everyone awake, then start picking them off from up here when they come running out to see whats going on."

"Fish in a barrel, huh?" the woman clucked, "Serves 'em right for penning people up like they do."

Charon gave a grim nod before continuing. "When you come up the railway entrance, you can force them over here. None of them will want to approach rapid fire if they can duck and cover, and when they do, their backs will be to me, you see?"

"I got it, but what do we do if they decide to open that things cage? There are slaves down there."

"I doubt that'll happen. Especially since Ill be out of reach and your machine gun will be blocking the only exit. They'd be trapped."

"Good point, but raiders aren't known for brains."

"It'll be a risk no matter how we approach it," the ghoul pointed out, "There's no way to get to the mutant without taking the raiders out first."

"Yeah," Digit sighed as she chewed a dirty fingernail through her fingerless leather gloves, "I guess you're right. Whatda you think, Meat?"

The scruffy dog busy snuffling around the edge of the cliff turned and gave his mistress a blank stare. Digit huffed and blew a strand of hair out of her face. "'kay, fine. We'll do it your way, Charon. How much ammo do you have left?"

"Plenty of shells, but give me a few grenades will you? Need to make enough noise to get these bastards up and running."

Digit complied with the ghoul's request and offered him a half-dozen grenades in good condition. She closed her leather ammo-case and stashed it behind a rock with an odd shape so she could find it again.

"Be careful crossing over," Charon warned, "Give me a signal when you're ready for me to go in."

"I'll use my mirror, 'kay?"

"Take Dogmeat, too. He'll come in handy in case the raiders get too bold and try to rush you."

Digit leaned to the side so that her shoulder tapped Charon's in a show of camaraderie. "I'll be fine. You're a better shot than me, so it makes sense for you to take the high ground. I'll funnel them over and retreat if it gets too hot. Simple."

The woman stood up and brushed off the bottom of her pants. Dogmeat joined her as she loaded a full cartridge into her SMG.

"Better go now. Before the sun gets too high and they start waking up on their own," she said, "See you on the other side, ghoulface."

Charon's earlier smirk faded as he watched her disappear into the distant edges of the camp. Ghoulface. She'd called him that before, and still he didn't know how to react to it. While Digit's love of nicknames was obvious in the way she addressed her pet, he couldn't tell whether his was one of affection or ridicule. In his heart, he suspected it was a mix of both; that he was something of a novelty to her. She probably hadn't even known what a ghoul was before leaving that vault, and thus had no prejudiced opinions about them. At the same time though, it meant she might perceive them more as part of the landscape than as individuals. As something inconsequential that was shut out once and could be shut out again if need arose.

Despite his concerns, the nagging thoughts always faded in comparison to the welcome feel of her closeness. How every slap on the back, supportive hand and brush of the shoulders came without hesitation or pretense. She actually seemed comfortable around him; casual in behavior and open in conversation. It was starting to wear off on him, too. Even though it'd taken him sitting up all night alone in the dark to realize it, he knew that last night, by the fire, he'd wanted to tell Digit about himself. He had wanted to hear what she had to say about his past; to know how she would feel about his secrets. Maybe, just maybe, to have received a few words or gestures of comfort.

And then she had to go and call him ghoulface and light all the old fires of worry every ghoul knew by heart...

.oO-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Oo.

Digit's signal took longer to come than he'd anticipated, and only after she had crept around the camp for awhile on her own. The ghoul could see her burnt red hair even from his high vantage point, and he cursed under his breath at her daring. What was she doing? She was supposed to wait on the outer fringes until he'd set off an explosion near the guardhouse. Even as he grew antsy at her antics, he held his ground. The pair had been traveling together long enough to build up some trust - the kind that ignored the laws already written into his contract. There was a reason for Digit's behavior. He just wished she'd had a way of making him aware of it first.

At long last, his patience paid off and his partner below crept back into a hiding place inside a burned out boxcar to the northeast side of camp. Not long after, he saw the flash of sunlight off the strategically placed mirror shard she always kept on hand. It was time to move.

The ghoul slung his shotgun over his shoulder and began a slow decent down the path he'd picked out while waiting for Digit to get in place. Pebbles and bits of sand slid down the rocky precipice as he descended, but their hushed whisper did little to alert his prey in the shack below. He grit his teeth when a particularly sharp rock cut through his left glove, and he had to struggle to keep from wiping at the sweat that had begun running down the back of his neck. It made an uncomfortable tickling sensation, but he knew letting go for so much as a second could cause him to go careening down the side of the cliff. Digit wouldn't have much use for a heap of broken bones.

He made it to the guardhouse outcropping just as the sun peeked over the slopes and into the valley. A quick scan of the camp told him they were still safe, so he proceeded to the shacks entrance quietly. As he drew near, he could hear the sound of snoring and radio static. Upon pushing the door in slowly, he could see two men inside, both asleep on badly stained cots. The ghoul stalked close enough to pull a discarded pillow over the first man's face. He woke almost instantly and began to struggle, but the lack of air and Charon's heavy knee on his chest made his effort for naught. Charon took the pillow away when the man's eyes rolled into the back of his head and watched him expire quietly. It was far more merciful a death than the slaver deserved as far as he was concerned. His suffocation of the second man took a bit more effort. The raider was larger than the first, and had been in the process of waking up when the ghoul attacked him. He was taking too long to die, so Charon finally drew his combat knife and slit the man's throat. The desperate gurgling sounds he made sounded like the wounded warbles of ferals. The ghoul comforted himself with the reminder that unlike the ferals, this man deserved his fate.

Once he'd done a quick search of the place, he exited the shack and threw a flash of sun back Digit's way. She responded, and he pulled the pin from his first grenade. The chaos that ensued would have the Capitol Wasteland talking for weeks.

.oO-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Oo.

Charon's blast served as intended, but to his shock and surprise, a whole host of other explosions followed his in near-perfect succession. As the smoke cleared, he saw mutilated bodies piled outside the now-blackened doorways of the raiders rough-hewn shelters. When Digit rolled out from her boxcar and started firing on the survivors it hit him - landmines. She'd been planting landmines right on their doorsteps! The ghoul discovered a whole new level of respect for the girl as she forced raiders his way with wide sprays from her machine gun. He fired off at a couple quick-thinkers that were making their way up the ramp to his location first, then worked on taking out those that were closest to Digit.

The only breaks in her oppressive fire were pauses to reload. When a raider got up the gumption to interrupt her, he got an empty cartridge to the face and Dogmeat's teeth around his neck. New ammo secured, she shot him full of holes before turning back to tighten the noose on the other panicking psychopaths.

Bodies piled up rapidly, with the super mutant bellowing in contempt at the contraption that kept it from joining the fight the entire time. The echo of screams and explosions rattled the bowl and sent rocks tumbling loose; sometimes right into the raiders who once viewed them as protection against invaders. So much good it did them. Combat had begun and ended before the sun reached its zenith. Charon met Digit on the ground level to release the captured slaves and help finish off any raiders that had taken to hiding. By the time the dust had cleared, Evergreen Mills was a ghost town once more.

"Where'd you get the mines, Dij?" Charon asked her as they searched the camp for supplies and wounded survivors.

"From the railway in the gorge," she replied smugly, "Had a whole mess of 'em littered there. I thought they might want 'em back..."

The ghoul gave her an appreciative grin. "Good thinking. Probably cut our opposition in half."

"And to think," Digit joked, "My dad thought my interest in demolitions would never amount to anything. Hah! Shows him, huh?"

Charon thought he heard a twinge of bitterness in her voice, but he decided now was not the time to bring it up. They needed to salvage what they could use and patch each other up a bit first. No sense in opening old wounds when there were more immediate ones that required attention.

"That raider almost got you, didn't he Dij?" he asked as he drew closer to her for inspection.

"Grazed my arm," she replied as she tilted it to get a better look, "Stings a little, but not a bad hurt. Dogmeat got him a lot worse than he did me. Didn't ya, Meat?"

The animal perked his ears and gave an excited bark in affirmation. Digit grinned and stroked his ears while the super mutant rumbled in agitation.

"Oh, shut up!" Digit yelled as she picked up a can and threw it at the rickety cage. Her missile bounced weakly off the electric current being fed to the fence by a nearby generator, but it did shut the creature up. For a moment at least.

"[censored], that thing is loud," she complained once it'd start up again, "We need to get it taken care of or it's gonna start drawing attention."

Charon pumped his shotgun. "Ill take care of it, Dij."

"'kay," she agreed, "I'll see which shack is the most decent and clear it out so we can sleep indoors tonight. That'll be a luxury, huh?" 

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