Chapter Text
‘Well look-y here, got us a couple of Vault kiddies. Long way from home aren’t ya?’
A very large (and intimidating, but neither would admit it) man jeers at them from a stool in the corner of the saloon. For the most part Clarke and Wells ignore him, more interesting in the woman with a short cropped pixie cut behind the bar. The entire rooms eyes are on the pair so its not hard to get her attention, however they are momentarily distracted by the radio sitting on the bar playing a song they’ve never heard before. Who knew music still existed let alone was being broadcasted out here.
‘Um, hi. We were wondering if you’ve seen a middle aged man, blonde hair, roughly 175cm tall come in her recently?’
‘Would you look at that boys,’ the man in the corner pipes up again, gesturing to the pair with a bottle in his hands, ‘the vault babies want information without paying for it. That’s not how it works out here, you either pay or you fuck off.’
Wells noticed the flash in Clarke’s eyes but before he could stop her she was heading over to confront the man. It hasn’t even been half an hour and they were already in trouble.
‘I’m sorry, have we done something to offend you?’ Clarke snapped as she glared at the man.
‘Yes, actually. Your privileged arses think you can just walk in here an--’
‘Enough, Quint. Get the fuck out of here before I call the sheriff. Y’know she’s gonna kick you out for good if--’
‘Yeah.’ Quint growled, pushing roughly past Clarke and slamming his bottle hard on the bar in front of Wells. ‘I fucken get it. You two vault fucks are gonna pay for this.’ The door slams so hard behind him the bottle falls of the edge of the bar and shatters.
The entire bar is silent for a moment, no one dare making a sound, a very surreal feeling for Clarke and Wells, before a switch seems to flick and everyone goes back to talking. The pair are so stunned that it takes them a moment to realise the lady behind the bar is talking to them.
‘...strike away from being out permanently. Now, who’s this man you’re after?’
‘Um…uh, yes. Yes, we are. His name is Jake Griffin. We think he might’ve come through here.’ Wells recovers first, stepping up to the bar just as a slightly shaken Clarke joins him.
‘Any information at all would be so helpful…’
‘Indra.’
‘Right, yes, Indra.’
Throwing the rag on the bar, Indra moves around the front and ushers the pair up a set of stairs neither had noticed before and leads them into a room. Like the main room downstairs, the walls are old and rusted corrugated iron and the bed is just as bad. Two dead pillows and a musty blanket adorn the bed and Wells is hesitant to take a seat when prompted but Clarke doesn’t care. Wells only sits when Clarke pulls him down.
‘Know that I don’t usually do this for anyone no matter their circumstances, but I’m making an exception for the two of you. Clearly you’ve just wandered out of that Vault and have no idea where you are or what you’re doing.
‘Currently, you are in Megaton. Any escapees from your Vault come here as well as many travellers, most who want to live a quiet life. Quint was a Raider in his glory days but now lives here. Myself, like many, moved here many years ago. As for this man you’re looking for, Jake Griffin, a man matching your description came through town a few days back, but did not say where he was going.’
Clarke feels herself deflate a little bit at the news, closing her eyes and wondering what the fuck they’re going to do now. Its not like they know where he would be going or how to get there and she feels bad for dragging Wells out from the Vault on this hopeless mission. He should’ve just stayed when he had the chance.
‘Thank you,’ Clarke says after a moment of gathering herself and gets to her feet, ‘I really appreciate your help but--’
Indra holds up her hand to silence Clarke before grabbing her arm and inputting something on her Pip-boy.
‘I may not know where he’s going, but I know where he might. These are the only two locations I would think he would go but others might know more.’ Indra does the same to Wells’ before dropping his arm. ‘I will arrange with Niylah to get you both some decent gear and you are welcome to stay for as long as you like until you are ready to leave.’
Both Clarke and Wells opened their mouths to speak before Indra silences the again.
‘Niylah’s is just down the ramp, Craterside Supplies, and I am downstairs if you have any questions.’ Just before she leaves, she turns around and says, ‘consider this a favour, you both owe me next time you come through here.’ and leaves.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A few hours later, once Clarke and Wells have been down to see Niylah and gotten the supplies they need, they’re back in their room.
‘Clarke, c’mon, if we’re going to go all the way to Rivet City then we’re going to need more than just a pistol each.’
‘Yeah, but if we go to Tenpenny Tower its half the distance and we wont need more stuff. Besides Niylah told us we need caps next time and there’s no other way to get them unless we want to kill a couple Raiders.’
‘There is another way. The armoury.’
Clarke immediately stops pacing and turns to Wells with an incredulous look.
‘No,’ she shakes her head, ‘no fucking way. We are not stealing from people who have done nothing but helped us from the start.’
Does Wells want them both to die? This town has been so kind to them and he wants to repay that by stealing from them. A town that remembers too. If they succeeded in stealing
from the Armoury or not they’re as good as dead the minute they step foot in the town, why cant Wells see that?
‘But Clarke,’ Wells gets to his feet and grabs Clarke’s hands to stop her from pacing a hole in the floor to face him, ‘it has what we need to survive. What happens if we do come across Raiders or worse? Do you really think a handgun will protect us? It doesn’t matter if we go to Tenpenny or Rivet City, we need more than this.’
Wrenching her hands from his, Clarke shakes her head again. They may have escaped the Vault but she doubts that’s going to mean much after this.
‘I’m not-- We’re not breaking into the Armoury. If we’re caught we’re dead and you can’t deny that. We need these people’s help, Wells, and if we do this we wont get it. Hell, they’ll kill us with what we try to steal.’ With a sigh Clarke grabs the door handle and throws a look over her shoulder at Wells, wondering what happened to her best friend. ‘I’ll be downstairs if you need me.’
She hears Wells sigh too before the door closes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The stars truly are beautiful. The way they shine bright and steadfast over a world that has gone to shit has Clarke’s fingers itching to draw them and maybe do them justice over the shitty videos in the Vault’s archives. The old black and white footage before the bombs could never have prepared her for how the stars look, or even the world for that matter.
‘Ever seen the stars before, Vault girl?’ A voice said from behind Clarke, making her jump a little. Indra stops beside her and hands her a bottle before leaning against the railing and looking up at the stars.
‘Only on old holotapes in the archives. I never thought they would look so beautiful.’
A comfortable silence settled over the pair as they both sipped from their bottles - of NukaCola Clarke discovered - and watched the stars. Clarke’s gaze eventually drifted down to the people still moving around like they do this every day and Clarke thinks that they actually do. People have been living out here for years and no one inside the Vault had any idea. Well, with Jaha in charge it was expected; the man was so paranoid he probably thought opening the Vault door would make everyone mad.
If only he really knew.
‘When you leave, be careful. We may be friendly but most aren’t.’
‘We will, thank you. The supplies from Niylah’s should be enough to get us to wherever we decide to go.’
‘But they can also get you killed. Raiders will not hesitate to kill you to get them nor will most other travellers. Be sure not to draw too much attention to yourselves, or your past, you already know how much Vault dwellers are liked.’
Clarke hums in agreement because if the way Quint reacted was any indication then she doubted most would be any better. Especially if those people had guns and no one to stop them.
‘Get some sleep, Vault girl. You must be alert if you wish to live.’ With a nod Indra turned and entered the saloon, leaving Clarke on her own again.
Gently placing the now empty bottle on the ground, Clarke pulled up the map on her Pip-boy and sigh, looking at the four markers. In the Vault it was just a blank screen because no one needs a map of the outside if they’re never actually going to see it, and probably because the major landmarks would all be different now than what’s in the archives.
For a brief moment Clarke wonders if Wells is actually right about Tenpenny Tower. It’s closer than Rivet City and the route is less complicated, but she just doesn’t think its right. What use is a tower over a city? A city makes more sense for someone like her father.
Clarke sighs and laughs dryly. How the fuck is she meant to convince Wells to go to Rivet City when she can’t even convince herself its where her father is? Saying a daughters intuition probably wouldn’t cut it but its all she’s got. But Indra was right, she needs sleep. Both she and Wells do, especially if they plan on heading out in the morning.
Grabbing the bottle at her feet Clarke’s makes her way back inside, placing it on the counter and offering a quiet goodnight to Indra behind the bar and climbing the steps to their room, thankful Wells is already asleep. She removes her boots quietly and slips in beside him and wonders what the fuck they’re going to do.