Crawled Out Through The Fallout

Chapter 5

We entered the building that contained the memory den. The entry area was lavishly decorated, and a blonde woman was laying across a couch in a graceful way. She looked over at us, her eyes searching us. Then, she spoke to us in a purring voice.

"Are you here for Doctor Amari? She's in the room behind me."

I thanked the woman and walked back to the room she gestured towards. Nick followed me in.

There were two large pods, with chairs inside. A man with sunglasses got out of one of the pods, and thanked Doctor Amari before walking out. As he walked past, he turned his head slightly towards me, but I couldn't see if he was looking at me because of his dark sunglasses.

I walked up to Doctor Amari, and asked about the memory procedure.

"This isn't much brain to work with, so the memories may have holes. The procedure will feel strange, as you will be experiencing the memories as though they are your own."

I nodded in understanding, a bit worried about seeing things through the eyes of someone so ruthless and cruel. Nick helped me into the pod.

"Good luck. I hope it helps you find Shaun."

I nodded and took a deep breath, preparing myself for the memories. Doctor Amari leaned over me and attached a headband to my forehead, and told me to relax and close my eyes. I did as I was told, and the dark changed to a scene from Kellogg's memory. I played through each memory segment, keeping an eye out for clues the whole time. The rare cigars made an appearance, as well as old synths, and Shaun. Kellogg had taken care of Shaun for years.

I shook awake after the last of the memories.

"Virgil. I have to find him."

Doctor Amari opened the pod, and helped me out.

"I trust you got the information you needed?"

I nodded.

"I have to find a scientist named Virgil, Nick."

Nick looked a bit worried.

"The problem is, he's been missing for a while. No idea where he went."

I frowned.

"Then I suppose I'll be searching the entire Commonwealth. I'll find him."

Nick nodded.

"And I'll be glad to help you, as long as you need me."

I smiled at him, happy for his help.

"Let's get going, then. We should find a place to start this search."

He walked out the door, and I followed. We walked towards the exit when a caravan trader stopped us. He pulled me behind a building, and adjusted his sunglasses.

"I hear you're looking for someone. I know some people that can help."

I tilted my head, interested.

"I'll bite. How can I contact them?"

He whispered,

"They'll let you know if they want you to know about them."

I nodded, sighing. These people won't help. He leaned back, and his voice was back to the usual volume.

"Anyways, I hear the Freedom Trail is a place where you can learn about the past. You should check it out."

I smiled a bit at him, and thanked him. He leaned against the wall and took out a cigarette. He lit it and brought it to his mouth in one smooth motion. I walked back to where Nick waited for me.

"He told me to go to the Freedom Trail. Worth a try."

He nodded and followed me out into the Commonwealth. I saw a plaque that read,'The Freedom Trail.'

"Where do we go?"

I looked around confused for a good ten minutes. Then, I noticed a thick red line on the ground. I began to follow it. Every so often there was a plaque on the ground marking a landmark, each with a letter and a number. I wrote each one down. I lost the trail several times due to large piles of debris, and had to start over. Finally, I arrived in front of an old church. I crouched and pulled out my gun.

"We don't know what could be in here. Best to be prepared."

Nick nodded in agreement, and I kicked the door open with my foot. A swarm of feral ghouls were inside. The next several minutes were a blur of shots and ghouls smacking at me. When I finished shooting down all the ghouls, I had to use a bag of RadAway to heal my radiation burns. I searched through the rubble in the church, but there was only some beer bottles. I looked around for Nick, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Nick? Where'd you go?"

"Down here. There's a tunnel. Come look."