POV Rio
After the massive drain that was the trap, I searched for where my friends had gone. The first one I found was Nick. He was tangled up in old power lines. Thankfully, they were long since inoperable, so he was just tied up.
"How's the weather up there?" I ask sarcastically.
"Just lovely, I can almost see my house from here. Now, if you're done poking fun at me, can you help me down?" Nick responds with an equally sarcastic line.
I laugh a little and help him down. I do take the wires as they are made of high-quality steel and aluminium.
"Let's try not to do that again," Nick comments.
"What you didn't like fighting through a trap to and then getting hit by a Nuclear Weapon?" I ask.
"No. No, I did not," Nick responds with a deadpan look.
"Well, I've got to leave you for a bit. The others still need to be found. Are you good enough to make it to the garage we used as a base?" I ask with some concern.
"I'll be fine. Go save the others. I'll meet you at the garage. Assuming it's still standing. A Nuke did just go off," Nick responds.
"It's still there. I saw it while searching the area for you. Just head a bit Southeast of here," I respond.
Nick nods and starts walking that way. I fly up and begin my search again. The next friend I find is Dogmeat. He was stuck in a tree. Literally, his entire body was skewering a tree, and it seemed like the poor thing was stuck. He was also surrounded by Molerats that looked angry.
"What is it with you and getting attacked by Molerats. It's like you're their arch-nemesis or something. And we've got to stop meeting like this," I say to Dogmeat while shooting at the Molerat Matriarch leading the pack.
Bark! That is the only response I get. The Molerats are easily cleaned up, and some flee once the Matriarch dies. Once the enemies are gone, I start whittling out Dogmeat. It was a bit of a mess, but aside from a lot of wood chips and the smell of freshly cut timber, Dogmeat got out unscathed.
"I almost prefer this smell over you usually stink," I joke.
"Grr! Bark Bark!" Dogmeat responds unhappily.
"Hahaha, sorry, sorry. But at least you're free. Now, can you make your way back to the garage we camped at a couple of days back, or do you need my help?" I ask.
Pfft
Dogmeat just starts walking towards the garage, but not before farting, making me gag.
"Gag. What the heck did you eat, and furthermore, how can you even fart? We don't have most bodily functions?" I say while flapping my wings to dissipate the stink.
'I am going to give him a bath when we get back.'
Dogmeat must have sensed something as he froze before running away as fast as he could. I shook my head before continuing the search. The next to be found was Piper. Her head and the top of her torso were buried in the ground. I only discovered her thanks to her bright red jacket.
"You practicing your Ostrich impression? If so, I must admit it's very convincing," I say while looking at Piper.
"What? Who's there?! I'm warning you, I don't good. I ate a few mouthfuls of dirt, and I smell bad," Piper responds.
"That's not very convincing, Piper. You couldn't come up with something better? Like you would be worth more sold as a slave, or that you can read and write, allowing you to help them make more money?" I reply.
"Huh? Wait, I recognize that sarcastic and nasally voice. And I think I smell horse sh*t. Either there's an annoying @ss out there that smells like a horse pen or my friend Blue has come to help me," Piper responds.
"You know I can leave you here. Also, I will have you know that I am not related to the African Wild Ass, nor do I think I have any Donkey in my family. I was being nice and came to help, but instead of thanks, I got insults. Think of what the Press would say. Local reported caught being a xenophobic jerk to her rescuer. Hmm, maybe I can send that to Lightbringer Radio. I think they would love a story like that. Right, Piper?" I ask.
"Ugh. Fine, you got me. I was just being mean. You don't smell bad. In fact, you kind of smell like lavender. And you are very kind to help me... So can you help me out of here? I wasn't joking earlier when I said I ate some dirt. It tasted really bad," Piper pleads.
I sigh and then use my magic to yank her out of the hole in a not-so-friendly manner. She pops out and rolls back a few times before recovering.
"Thank god I am out of that hole. Thanks, Blue, for the help. I was just a bit stressed from being stuck for the last couple of hours. So sorry about being a jerk," Piper apologizes.
"It's fine, I figured you were just stressed from being stuck like that. Now, do you know how to get to the garage we camped at a couple of days back?" I ask.
Piper looks around and then nods confidently.
"I have no idea," Piper responds.
I chuckle a bit and then give her some directions. Once I am confident she can find her way, I fly away to find the last member of our group. It takes a while to find Cait. The reason was that she had crashed through someone's roof and onto their bed. Beyond that, she was sound asleep when I found her. How she was asleep at this time, I wasn't sure. But I wasn't going to wake her up. We were all tired mentally from what we had just gone through, so she deserved some rest. So I just lifted the bed and Cait with it all the way to the garage. I was strong enough to do so while flying. It wasn't super easy, but it could be done.
Once I returned to the garage, we all decided it was best to rest for a bit before continuing on. I at least scoped out the area to see if we were being watched or if there was anything dangerous in the area. There were a few things, like a family of Deathclaws. But we weren't in their way, and it was unlikely they would find us before we left.
While we rested, I also got approached by Piper to talk.
"Always on good behavior, aren't ya?" Piper asks.
"It's the right thing to do. I must lead by example. A wise man on said, Be the change you wish to see in the world." I respond.
"That's... A good quote to live by. I appreciate what you do. Too few folks can be bothered. Course, in my experience, if you want to do real good, playing nice only gets ya so far. I mean, look at Diamond City, a place I've been trying to warn of real danger. But every issue I publish, all I hear is: Oh, Piper, why don't you ever publish anything happy? Piper, why can't you write something nice for a change? It's enough to make me wanna to hang up my hat some days," Piper says with an annoyed tone.
"You know they aren't fully wrong. Only reporting sad or bad things can bring down the mood. And before you say anything, I am not saying you have to report only nice things. Just add some heartwarming or nice stories every once in and while. People need to see that the world still has good in it. That there are good people out there fighting the good fight, or that things aren't pointless. That there is hope," I respond.
"I... Sigh. You got a point. But I am not trying to make everyone sad and depressed, I am just trying to help others. Because people need to know the truth. Even when it's bad. Especially when it's bad. Sure, it can be scary, knowing what's really out there," Piper says with slumped shoulders.
"I can't tell you how many nights I've spent awake, counting off the list of folks I've pissed off that day. But I know - it's worth it. Because the truth, that's what really protects us," Piper responds with passion.
"The truth is powerful. How can you protect you and yours if you don't know what you're facing?" I reply.
"Exactly. Most folks, though, they'd prefer a comforting lie. Not me. I've seen firsthand what the truth can do. My sister and I, we grew up way out in the Commonwealth. Tiny little settlement. Our Dad, he was part of the local militia. 'Keeping the Raiders off our backs and the Mirelurks out of our latrines,' as he'd describe it," Piper says with a reminiscent look in her eyes, but that fades.
"Well, one day, our Dad turns up dead... His captain, asshole named Mayburn, claims Raiders must've gotten him on watch. Well, I didn't buy it. I start making inquiries. Turns out, the captain, he'd sold out. Thought he wasn't getting paid enough to babysit the town. He was going to leave the gates open one night, let a group of Raiders sack the place, and take a cut of the profits. My dad found out and was going to turn Mayburn in, but Mayburn got to him first. And I wasn't about to let that bastard get away with murder. I tried talking to the Mayor, but he wouldn't listen. So I papered the entire town in posters, Wanted for Gross Dereliction of Duty. Captain Mayburn. The Mayor sure wanted to talk after that. The town threw Mayburn out on his ass, and were dug in when a very surprised group of Raiders finally showed," Piper says with what started out a sad and now shifted to more proud.
"Your father sounded like a great man. I'm sorry for your loss," I reply.
"Thanks. It was hard after he was gone, but knowing that he died doing right, that's always made it easier. But, hey, I-I'm sorry if I've been rambling. I just get fired up sometimes. It's just nice to talk to someone who, who actually seems to get it, you know. So, thanks for chatting with me," Piper says with a smile.
"Sure thing, Piper, I am always willing to talk," I reply.
We go back to resting for a bit as I also send out orders to those who need them. Then I catch up on what has happened in the last little bit.