[IC] Atomic Rain (Fallout)

[Nekoholic]

Basil eyed Jace suspiciously, but nodded and decided against questioning him further. "Yes, I'm ready." He slung his bag over his shoulders and stepped from the crumbling house; ankle-deep puddles of murky water had gathered in the potholes and gaping holes in the nearby road, and mud had chunked together everywhere. Despite that, though, the wind had died down and only the occasional misting of rain splattered onto them; the storm could be seen in the distance, but it was, thankfully, in the opposite direction that they were headed. They'd survived the night--now it was only a matter of them surviving the remaining few hours until they reached the town.

[NinjaButterfly]

Jace looked around for a moment as he surveyed the land. He knew there may be some good scavenging opportunities in the abandoned houses but if they stayed around, then he honestly didn't think he would make it back. His strength was draining from him at an alarming rate, more so than the mere hunger he kept telling himself.
"We need to head northeast," he said before finally pointing in a direction. "That way." He repositioned the pack on his back and started trudging through the thick mud towards their destination. "You are good for this, right?"

[Nekoholic]

"Of course," Basil said, glancing worriedly at Jace. He was tense, eyes squinted in the early morning sunlight; it was obvious that he was not as well as he claimed to be. Pausing, he outstretched his hand. "Let me have at least one of the bags, okay? Lying to me isn't going to do either of us any good, you know. I know you too well for that."

[NinjaButterfly]

"I am fine," Jace said, shrugging Basil's hand away. He hadn't meant to snap at him and sighed heavily. "You will slow us down too much if you carry anything more. Trust me...I got this." He gave him a smile to try reassuring him and quickened his pace a little to prove the point, pulling ahead of him a little.
For awhile, he felt as good as a person under these circumstances could feel, but as the nausea continued to build his legs grew weaker and it was difficult to think straight. They had been walking for the better part of two hours and honestly didn't know how he had lasted this long.
"I think we should take a break here," he said just as his legs gave out from underneath him. He winced when he hit the ground, a sharp rock digging into his ribcage when he fell but he barely noticed it. He shrugged off the packs non too gracefully, that being a feat within itself in his current predicament. "Just give me a moment to catch my breath...I will be fine."

[Nekoholic]

"You just collapsed onto the ground," Basil snapped, hastily kneeling by his side. He turned Jace's face toward him, almost flinching from the heat. "I think it's pretty damn obvious that you're not 'fine.'" He chewed his bottom lip, contemplating on what the wisest course of action would be; Jace wasn't fit to continue walking, but he couldn't just leave him here while he went to find help. The town was still another couple of hours away, if not longer. And he certainly couldn't carry him, even if he did leave all of the bags.

[NinjaButterfly]

"I have to be fine,"Jace said as he fought to sit upright. "I can't just leave you out here by yourself." As the words came out of his mouth, they didn't sound right to his own ears. It almost sounded like he was sentencing himself to death, which wad almost amusing to think about. Just as he was about to say something more, his nausea won out and he leaned over as far as he could, emptying the little contents of his stomach. He stayed there for a long while, not able to sit up.
Suddenly a raspy chuckle found its way to the surface. "You know its kind of funny. All this time I was so worried about you I never once thought I would be the one to die." He hadn't even realized he'd said the words aloud.

[Nekoholic]

Basil shook his head, and said, "You're not going to die, Jace." He forced himself to take a deep breath; panicking would only make the situation worse. There had to be something that he could do. He could try and make the Rad-Away himself, somehow--then again, he didn't have the glowing fungus that he required for it. Would it at least work partially without it? No, that was a ridiculous notion. Antiseptic and water wouldn't do anything on its own at this point. He continued to chew his lip, and then said, "You're going to have to help me here, Jace. We have to keep going." If they cut to the main road, there had to be a caravan, right? There had to be a good chance of happening upon one, right, and they could help, right?

[NinjaButterfly]

Jace didn't feel as if he could walk another step but knew Basil wouldn't go anywhere without him. He gnashed his teeth together as he forced himself to stand, staggering a little. He barely scooped up his pack and there it onto his back. After taking one step, though, he almost fell back to the ground.
"This would be easier if you went off on uour own..."

[Nekoholic]

"No, I'm not leaving you," he said, holding onto Jace's arm. He was too tall for him to lean on him without losing his balance. "And either give me the bag or leave it."

[NinjaButterfly]

"If I am going to walk then I am at least carrying the bag. Besides, since you are helping me stay on my feet then you are technically carrying it anyways." He smiled slightly though it just looked like he was tired.
They hardly made any progress in the hour that they had walked and Jace's strength was draining rapidly. They finally reached a road and he noted how relieved Basil was upon finding it.
He craned his neck to look in both directions though everything was becoming blurry. He couldn't make out many shapes, but h3 did see movement in the distance...at least he thought he did.
"There is something over there...it could be a yao gauai..." he said in a quiet voice. He fell into a sitting position and pulled his rifle off his shoulder with a shaky hand.

[Nekoholic]

Basil hissed quietly, "Wait a minute. I think...yeah, that's a brahmin." He smiled shakily, shoulders sagging in relief. "A caravan. They may be able to help. They wouldn't kill paying customers, right?"

[NinjaButterfly]

Jace looked up at Basil for a moment before looking back at the figures. He still couldn't make out the figures but had faith in Basil's intuition. He was relieved that it hadn't been raiders to find him and knew he was now in good hands.
"Go. Go to them," Jace said, barely above whisper. Now that he knew Basil was safe, the rest of his strength was beginning to leave him completely. He closed his eyes to rest them for a minute. Before he realized it, he was out like a light...

[Nekoholic]

Basil chewed his lip when Jace's consciousness faded, but nevertheless nodded and hurried toward the caravan. However, he paused, wondering if they might mistake him for a raider if he basically bomb-rushed them while screaming. Clearing his throat, he called out, "Um, hey! C-can you please help? I-I have money!" He hoped that they were able to hear him, that he had approached them properly. He really didn't want to get shot, especially not before he got Jace the treatment that he needed.

[NinjaButterfly]

Kaye was walking down the road, shuffling her caravan deck in her hands absentmindedly just so she had something to do. She had been a travelling merchant for the better part of five years and had loved her job for the first year. She had never travelled outside of her home settlement until she had gotten a job with Butch Caravan and loved the travelling opportunities it brought. Now that she uad visited all the same locations a hundred times over within a one-hundred mile radius, she was tired of the endless walking and monotony of the job. Sometimes she actually welcomed a raid because it was something new and exciting.
She begun to shuffle her cards one-handedly, while she rummaged through her knapsack for a bottle of water. Trick card shuffling used to hold a new excitement for her, even when she dropped the cards and had to stop the caravan to pick them up but now she was as bored with it as the job. At least it was something to do.
In the distance, she saw two figures on the side of the road and paused momentarily. Adrenaline and excitement began to boil in her veins and she couldn't help but smirk. Call her a naive kid at heart or call her stupid, but unsure moments like this was what she lived for now.
"Two guys up ahead, crouched on the side of the road. they could be waiting raiders, preparing to attack when we get there so be careful. Might have even planted some mines, considering they are keeping their distance." For the better part of the past three months, she had gotten her guard, Lionel, to teach her a few things that made him good at his job, such as reading a possible threat situation. He claimed she was trying to take her job from him but he was just kidding...she thought he was, anyways. She continued her slow approach, keeping a cautious eye out for any attacks. The closer she got, she finally put her cards in the pocket of her vest and pulled out her 10mm pistol.
She almost shot at the guy who started running towards them but was glad she had waited when he yelled at them for help. Disappointed, she was but was also relieved she hadn't blown a potential customers head off
"If you have money, then we are here to serve...for the right price," she yelled back at him, grinning.

[Nekoholic]

Basil sighed in relief once he reached them, and grabbed the small coin purse that he kept on him. He then said, "Please tell me that you have Rad-Away and Med-X." He knew that even if he were to have the Rad-Away, it would take time for Jace to recover; Med-X would alleviate the pain of the process, as well as make it quicker. Rad-Away came first, of course, but he could hope. His thoughts wandered to last night. What would have happened if Jace had refused his offer for the Rad-Away? Would he have even made it this far, or did it not really help any, like he'd claimed it wouldn't?
He swore under his breath as he counted out the money. "Look, I don't have enough caps for the usual prices, but I'm sure we have something that you'd want. We...scavenge. In Vaults and whatnot, so we have stuff that'd sell for plenty, especially to the right person." He closed his eyes briefly as a wave of dizziness washed over him; perhaps he was becoming affected by the heat, the exertion of their journey, the radiation. But Jace was worse for wear, so he pushed it to the back of his mind. He then focused hopefully on the trader woman, completely ignoring the threatening presence on the other side of their loaded Brahmin.
"What someone like you doing exploring Vaults?" Leith asked. He eyed him up-and-down, not even caring. The kid didn't look like much, and he'd heard the horror stories of those places--well, more than just heard of them. He didn't go near them. He folded his arms over his chest, blue eyes narrowed.
"Research," Basil answered reluctantly. He shook his head, instantly regretting the movement as a spike of pain shoved itself through his skull. "Please, just...he won't make it for much longer, and we're too far away from the next settlement for him to make it. If they even have a doctor there. I haven't tried to mug or kill you yet, have I?"
Leith huffed. "Whatever. Kaye, decision's yours." He waved a dismissive hand, but kept his eyes glued onto the stranger. He hated these caravan jobs. Made him paranoid as hell. Sometimes, though, it was the only way someone like him could scrape by. He had to pay for his cigarettes somehow, after all.

[NinjaButterfly]

Kaye stared at the unconscious man for a moment in contemplation. She never liked selling things for trade, as her boss liked making profit right off the bat, as the old saying went and always gave her an earful later on. Butch was merely a fat, rich prick who had nothing better to do than make other people make his money for him then gloat on how amazing was and how much of a piece of shit everyone else was.
"I usually do not carry medical supplies nor do I allow people to scrape by on a purchase..." she begun before pursing her lips. "But that guy looks like he is going to die if you don't get him help." She spared a glance at Leith before starting to rummage through her personal knapsack strapped to her side. She pulled out two radaways and one med-x from her personal stash and held them out, though didn't give them up just yet.
"These are from my personal supplies, you see.. " she began. "I won't be the death of that guy, though. He is too handsome for something like that. I will give you these...for double the price on your part." She smiled sweetly at him.

[Nekoholic]

Basil nodded without hesitation, and took the supplies. Resolving to pay once he was done, he knelt back down beside Jace and began to prep the syringes properly.
Leith watched warily, but was mildly impressed; perhaps he was a researcher then. He looked practiced. He then looked down at the unconscious man, who was more muscular than his thin companion. He had to be the muscle of the duo then. That was the only feasible way that they could survive those metal death traps.
"He said that he doesn't have enough money for even the usual prices," Leith said to Kaye, glancing at her, "So are you accepting his form of payment? And do you actually trust him to pull through?"
"I'll pull through," Basil snapped, but didn't look back at the merchant and her guard.
Leith pursed his lips, and then said, "Just know that if you try to scam us, there's a bullet waiting just for you."
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Basil muttered under his breath. As he finished, he sighed in relief and looked up at Kaye, "Thank you, miss. I'll give you all the caps that we have, but I doubt that'd be enough. Like I said, though, we have stuff that you could probably sell for good money--probably more than the caps on their own, actually."

[NinjaButterfly]

Kaye smirked slightly and folded her arms across her chest in contemplation. "You know what? I have an idea..." she grinned mischievously. "Since you guys are scavengers and go into vaults, you must come across a lot of goods, yes? You owe me quite a bit of caps..so you will take us with you to one of these vaults. We are going with you and in turn as well, we will help out your friend. What do you say?" She quickly held up her finger and shook her head. "You know what? This isn't up for debate. You will take us with you."

[Nekoholic]

Basil was confused for a moment. He then said, "The next Vault isn't for another hundred miles of here. And we won't be able to set out for days with Ja--my friend in this state. Are you really up for that when I'm sure that you have a route to stick to?"
"You know, the kid has a point," Leith quickly agreed, glaring at Kaye, "And not to mention that you never know what to expect in a Vault. It's too dangerous. And that we have no idea what this kid is even going into those wretched things for."
"Water purification research," he said, tired of his third-degree. It'd be especially bothersome if he had to listen to it for the next hundred miles. Guy might put a bullet in his head not even half-way there just to be on the safe side. "Vaults were known for their experimentation, so we've been looking through them for the information and resources that we need. And those ghost stories you're talking about? Well, yeah, they're all true, so maybe you don't want to come, after all, especially when I have plenty in this bag here to pay you back perfectly fine."
"Kaye, just trade with him and let's be on our merry way," Leith said, genuinely spooked now.

[NinjaButterfly]

"Why are you scared of ghost stories, Leith? You are practically a ghost yourself," Kaye said, shrugging his silly superstitions off. "The schedule does put a damper on the situation, but can you imagine the treasures waiting for us?" When she looked at Leith, her eyes were two twinkling stars lost behind the clouds of her dilusions. "We could make more from these guys in a couple weeks than we would in three months in the caravan. You don't have to come with me...but I am going. Do you really want to keep working for asshats like Butch who could care less about us for the rest of your life?"