"A gas station. Where the old auto-mobiles would get their fuel sources to keep going. My father told me that the wars that were fought before the bombs fell were over such fuel." Reginald grimaced. He had thought of the people that had been killed instantly in the blasts. Entire cities and towns were vapourised out of existence, and possibly billions of people were killed. Just the thought of it made him sick, and as his mind lingered to that subject, he decided to change it as they neared the station, "What's your name?"
Pulled into war to serve a vision;
That's supposed to last a thousand years.
Part of a machine;
Unstoppable, as merciless as tidal waves.
Olivia kept quiet as he explained what the gas station was, trying to summon back her early years of schooling, during which she had paid little attention to her lessons. History had never appealed to her, but mostly because it had been hard for her to summon up images of what the past must have been like, living on the outside.
"I... My name is Olivia," she said finally, in regards to his question. There was no harm in telling him, she guessed.
Originally Posted by Sophi, in regards to Hank
The gas station had about four service pumps, and above them was a cover that had a blank part in it. The entire thing had rusted long ago, and Reginald could make out faint markings of red and green. There was a small building in front of the pumps, but from the looks of it, the roof had caved in long ago. So much for that. As he inspected the old pumps, poking at it with his rifle, he craned his head to the woman, whom he now had a name for, "Reginald." He smiled, wiping his forehead, "Reginald Carswell."
Pulled into war to serve a vision;
That's supposed to last a thousand years.
Part of a machine;
Unstoppable, as merciless as tidal waves.
"Reginald Carswell," Olivia echoed quietly, giving a faint nod and crossing her arms quietly. "Hmm." She watched him for a moment, then let her eyes survey the abandoned building. She'd never seen anything like this before in her life. There had been, of course, sketches of what the speculated ruins of the ouside world looked like, but there was little actual evidence that remained in the underground Fallout. She scuffed her feet on the ground, eyes watching the little puff of dust that rose up. "I am from one of the underground shelters, y'know, Mr. Carswell," she said quietly.
"I suspected as much." Reginald replied, rather smugly, as he inspected the old pump with squinted eyes. There was a panel, which was long cracked, and some numbers and letters that made no sense. He yanked out a handle, which fell out onto the ground. Wiping his hands on his trousers, he turned to Olivia, looking over her with judging eyes. He didn't know what to make of her. She was obviously well-trained, and determined, but yet she must be so naive, so inexperienced of the wastes. Finally, he just gestured his dusty hand northward, up the road, "Again, you're free to go on back to the settlement I told 'ya about."
Pulled into war to serve a vision;
That's supposed to last a thousand years.
Part of a machine;
Unstoppable, as merciless as tidal waves.
Olivia's eyes flickered, and she took a slight step back, unsure what exactly to do. Her hands dropped to her sides, clenching and unclenching nervously. "You're trying to get rid of me now, I suppose," she said quietly, swallowing back another flood of panic and uncertainty as she took in the wastelands that surrounded them. "Besides, I don't think a settlement would accept me any more than you have already."
"I'm not trying to get rid of you," Reginald sighed, turning around fully towards her and taking a few steps, to stand about a feet or two in front of her. She was rather striking in her beauty, which was something to say, considering many of the women who were wanderers like himself hadn't reacted well to the radiation. But this woman, she was full of spirit, full of life, unlike the carcasses that shifted through the tall-grass here, "Listen, I'm all you got, and frankly, you're all I got."
He chuckled rather disquietingly, leaning against the rusted out metal beam beside him, "Besides, if it ain't for you, I'll probably go insane from the loneliness."
Pulled into war to serve a vision;
That's supposed to last a thousand years.
Part of a machine;
Unstoppable, as merciless as tidal waves.
Olivia bit her lip uncertainly, taking a slight step back from him, unnerved by how close he stood to her. Also perturbed by the way his eyes had swept over her, Olivia felt her muscles tense, but she kept her face as neutral as possible.
"I would think that loneliness would be a common sentiment up here," she said carefully, watching his face. "The upper world is a wasteland, full of degenerate, radiation exposed wanderers. So far it hasn't failed to disappoint."
"Degenerate is a understatement if there ever was one." Reginald smiled, laying his rifle up to the beam as he picked at a bit of dust clotted on his left hand, focusing his eyes on that rather than the person he was talking to, "Casting down judgements isn't something you should be doing, darling. I seem to be the only wastelander you've met, and I'm hardly the average wanderer."
As the dirt gradually fell, he dug into his left trouser pocket and pulled out a cigarette and a matchbox. He struck the match and lit the cigarette, and chuckled at Olivia, "It's a bad habit."
Pulled into war to serve a vision;
That's supposed to last a thousand years.
Part of a machine;
Unstoppable, as merciless as tidal waves.
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