Chapter 9: The Girdershade INncident
Fort Bannister; the next day:
A group of radroaches scurries away as a flamer wielding Coby and Fawkes clear the bunker. In the Commanding Officer's Quarters, Arthur and Elysee search through piles of junk, hoping to find something useful. The rest of the squad, along with 2 other super mutants, is in the living quarters, cleaning the beds and checking the storage lockers for any useful equipment.
An hour later:
The squad, except for Elysse and Marina, and the super mutants gather at the Commanding Officer's quarters to decide their next move.
"So" Vyse said "What's our next move?"
"I had Elysse and Marina do some scouting" Arthur answered "They should be back soon…"
"Can we really take that supply base?" Vyse asked "My guts tell me that the NCR's gonna tighten security in that base…"
"Which is why I sent those two on recon" Arthur replied "I just hope that my fears won't be realized…"
"Fears?" Ellie wondered
"We're back" Elysse said as she and Marina climbs down the stairs
"Great" Arthur said "What's the update on Evergreen Mills?"
"We got a problem" Marina answered with a worried face "The base has really tight security… We're talking about NCR Rangers armed with Anti-Material Rifles, double the number of guards…"
"That doesn't sound good…" Kodiak muttered "You think we can take em on?"
"Fawkes…" Arthur said as he turns to the super mutant "you think you can lend us a hand in taking this supply base?"
"I'm sorry, my friend…" Fawkes answered "But asking even a few of my kind to rescue you is hard enough… I cannot say for sure if we can help you but I will try…"
"Damn…" Arthur muttered
"What do we do?" Coby asked
"I was hoping we don't involve them but…" Arthur responded with a worried tone
"But what?"
"We can get help from Girdershade… That settlement's a hotbed of anti-NCR sentiment but they can't openly rebel because the NCR has a tight grip on them…"
"So we lighten the grip?" Vyse suggested
Arthur was silent for a while, pondering on the best way to deal with the current situation…
"Alright" he said, breaking the silence in the room "Vyse, Marina and Ellie, you guys go to Girdershade and find a way to enlist the locals"
"Got any leads for us to follow?" Ellie asked
"I have a contact in the town" Arthur replied "He's called Ol' man Lauren"
"An old guy?" Vyse wondered
"Yep… he's old" the commander replied "But he's an old friend of another friend of mine…"
"An old friend of another friend?" Ellie wondered
"Basically, I know him through another friend of mine"
"Ok…" the mercenary replied while still hardly understanding what the commander meant
"When you find him, give him this Nuka Cola Quantum" the commander said as he hands the troopers the bottle.
"A Nuka Cola Bottle?" Vyse wondered
"He'll know the message right away" the commander assured them
"Alright…" Vyse replied
"Right then, get moving!" the commander enthusiastically said "And don't attract too much attention, we don't want anymore unnecessary attention"
"Right!" the three troopers responded
As the three troopers leave the base, Elysse approaches Arthur
"Sure it's a good idea to leave them on a mission like that?" she asked with a worried face
"Have faith in them" the commander responded "Besides, I'm confident they can help solve the town's problem?"
"You mean the NCR occupation?" his second-in-command responded
"If only that was the main problem…" Arthur muttered "…But I have faith those three can pull it off…"
Girdershade, 10:35am:
In the years that followed after the subsequent destruction of the Enclave's mobile crawler, Girdershade grew to become one of the first farming communities in the Capital Wasteland. What started as a tiny settlement composed of two people has grown to become a small farming town occupied by more than 100 people.
Despite most of the inhabitants being anti-NCR, the republic maintained a firm grip upon the settlement.
The three troopers arrive, donning regular wastelander clothing to avoid suspicion. Despite the presence of the townsfolk, the settlement was quiet, almost lifeless…
"Damn…" Vyse muttered "You can just sense the despair in this place…"
"You think it's because of the NCR?" Ellie wondered
"Doubt it" Marina answered "I doubt the NCR can cause the townsfolk to behave like this…"
"Hey guys!" A tall man, wearing Brahmin skin outfit, shouted to a dejected crowd "Why are we sulking here and letting those NCR bastards take over the town? If we let these bastards control us like this, we'll never be free from their tyranny!"
The man continues his speech as the troopers make their way into town.
They soon arrive at a house, sitting under a bridge.
"Looks like this is it" Marina said as she checks on the address Arthur gave her "This must be where Ol' man Laren lives"
Wasting no time, the young soldier knocks on the door as an elderly man answers the door.
"What do you want?" the old man said in a grouchy tone
"Are you Ol' Man Laren?" the young sniper asked
With a squint, the old man begrudgingly responds "Who wants to know?"
The sniper didn't utter a word and simply handed over a Nuka Cola Quantum to the old man.
The old man stared at the bottle for a few minutes as he pulls out a letter that was inside.
Upon reading the letter, he said "Get in here"
Laren's House, Girdershade:
"Yeah, I'm Ronald Laren" the old man said "What do you want?"
"We want the townspeople to help us in a rebellion" Vyse answered
"That's a pretty big request you're asking kid" the old man replied
"Why?" the trooper wondered "Isn't Girdershade anti-NCR?"
"Don't get me wrong, a lot of us hate the NCR to the core!" the old man explained "But there are also a couple of snitches in here who would even report a guy who's badmouthing the republic"
"So you're afraid of a few saboteurs?" Marina said
"If that was the only problem" the old man responded "We would have hogtied every single one of those assholes and burned them on a stake"
"So there's a bigger problem?" Marina asked
"No shit…" the old man replied "Lately, people have been suddenly turning up missing"
"Turning up missing…?" Vyse wondered
"Alive in the morning and the next, poof, they're gone" the old man explained "Someone or something is kidnapping the townsfolk and the fucking NCR isn't doing shit… To top it all off, a body was discovered just a few days ago, poor bastard was crucified right in the middle of town…"
"Crucified!?" Marina nervously muttered "So some of the missing people turn up dead?"
"Yep" the old man replied "Sometimes, we see a body suddenly crucified somewhere in town. Cause of death varies from gunshot wounds, to a shit load of stab wounds, others were beaten to death and the most gruesome, someone had their eyes gouged out… But when the townsfolk discover the bodies, we always find it crucified, that is if the missing person ever turns up"
"Damn…" Vyse muttered "When do these kidnappings/killings start?"
"My guess is nighttime" the old man answered "Since most of the victims were still alive and kickin the day before"
"So they get kidnapped sometime between 6pm and early morning?" Vyse suggested
"And sometimes, they get killed and have their bodies crucified somewhere in town…" Ellie added
"Could be" the old man replied "Since we're forced to follow the NCR's stupid curfew"
"Damn…" Vyse muttered in frustration "But how does the NCR not notice anything?"
"Hell if I know" the old man replied "If you ask me, I'd say that those bastards have a hand in all this shit"
"We'll solve these murders" Marina said with a determined voice
"Well this is new" the knight sergeant said, noticing Marina's conviction "I never thought I'd see the day that you'd be so determined"
Marina didn't utter a word, she merely sneers at the knight sergeant, who abruptly looks away and shuts his mouth
"Good luck then" the old man said
Later that night:
The troopers patrol the town, in search of anything suspicious, while avoiding NCR soldiers.
"Keep an eye out for our perpetrator" Marina commanded
Taken aback by the sniper's sudden change in behavior, Ellie asks Vyse what was going on.
"I don't know" Vyse whispered "She's never acted like this before…"
"Isn't it kinda fucked up that the victims are crucified" Ellie whispered "I mean who does that kind of shit?"
Vyse was quiet for a few seconds before responding "When I was still in the Mojave Wasteland, I heard stories of a slaver group known as Caesar's Legion. From what I was told, those guys would always crucify their enemies and watch as they slowly died… And that was the easiest punishment you can get from them… They were feared throughout the wasteland and even tried to conquer it."
"What happened?" the mercenary asked
"Well for starters, the NCR resisted their advance" Vyse continued "But there was one person who managed to kick both the NCR and the legion out of the Mojave area…"
"Whoah" Ellie muttered in amazement "How could a single person bring down two armies?"
"I don't really know the details" Vyse answered "But apparently, she had some sort of robot army that helped her kick both factions out"
"A robot army huh…" Ellie muttered "Maybe I can learn something from her. On how to defeat the NCR"
"Well good luck with that…" the knight sergeant replied "She lives in the Lucky 38 casino and no living soul, except her and a select few people, has ever been able to enter that building. And even if she steps out of that building, people would hardly notice her for some reason…"
"She must be legendary…" Ellie said
"Yep" Vyse replied "As big of a legend as the Lone Wanderer… Damn…"
"So the Mojave Wasteland is independent now?" the mercenary said
"Yeah…" the knight sergeant replied "…Although some parts are still lawless and chaotic, the Mojave Wasteland is a nice place to live to say the least"
"Cut the chitchat" Marina said interrupting their conversation "We're supposed to be hunting for the killer!"
Her words were razor sharp and one could sense her determination in catching this killer. Vyse was caught off guard by her sudden change in behavior. He even thought "Do I still have a higher rank than her?"
They soon come across a house, whose door is oddly open.
"Should we look inside?" Vyse asked
Without uttering a word, the sniper opens the door with the other two troopers following inside.
The house was a wreck. Furniture and items were strewn everywhere.
There had been a struggle here and judging from the surroundings, it wasn't long when this happened.
As the troopers search the house, Ellie notices a word, hastily written in blood, 'Dunwich'…
"Shit..." Vyse muttered "Quite the struggle... But why didn't anyone hear anything?"
"We'll deal with that later" Marina answered "There's a blood trail leading outside. Let's follow it"
"Right!" both troopers responded as they follow the trail of blood
The troopers followed the blood trail until they reached the gates of the town, which was crawling with NCR Troopers.
"Shit" Marina said in frustration
"Looks like wherever the guy was taken" Vyse said "It's somewhere outside of town"
The sniper was clearly annoyed as she said "Why didn't any of these asswipes see anything!?"
"No use getting frustrated, Marina" Ellie said "Let's head back and gather whatever clues we can get"
"…Fine" the sniper replied
Girdershade Inn, an hour later:
The troopers gather at their room to talk about the clues they found.
"We couldn't find much clues…" Vyse said with a disappointed tone "Except for the word 'Dunwich' written in blood…"
"Dunwich…" Marina muttered "Could it be a place or a person?"
"There is a place called Dunwich Building not far from here" Vyse said "You think that's where that poor sap was taken?"
"Could be…" Marina replied "Should he head there now?"
"Not a good idea" Ellie said "Let's ask Lauren about Dunwich first. Maybe he has an idea…"
"What are we waiting for?" Marina said "Let's go!"
"Marina" Vyse said as he grabs her arm "Its 11pm. He's asleep"
"So?" the sniper answered "Lives are at stake here! We swore to protect the lives of the people!"
"I know the oath!" Vyse strongly responded "Remember what the commander said, 'Don't attract attention'!"
Annoyed, Marina steps out of the door.
Ellie tries to catch up to the sniper but was stopped by the knight sergeant
"Let her cool down" he said "Meanwhile, let's contact the guys"
Perplexed, the mercenary simply responded with a "How?"
Smiling, the trooper brings out a pre-War portable radio.
"Where'd you get that?" the mercenary asked
"The commander and Elysse found several of these at Fort Bannister" he answered "These function like the radios we all know and use; only difference is that this is much more portable. To make it better, the NCR has yet to discover this pre-War tech"
Ellie smiles as Vyse turns the device on and begins to contact the rebels inside Fort Bannister.
"Ah good to hear from you guys!" Arthur enthusiastically said "What's the current status of the town?"
"Well" Vyse said "We got ourselves a little mystery here. People go missing at night only to be found the dead and crucified the next morning."
"Dead and crucified?" Arthur muttered
"Yeah" Vyse continued "We're following on a trail of clues. But more importantly, Marina seems to be acting weird ever since this whole shit started"
"Weird how?" Arthur asked
"She's hell-bent on solving this mystery" the knight sergeant explained "To the point that she disregards protocol"
"I knew this would happen…" the commander said
"What do you mean?" the knight sergeant asked
"You familiar with Caesar's Legion?" The commander responded
"Yeah" he replied "but weren't they destroyed in 2284? Marina wasn't even born yet"
"Marina isn't actually 22 years old" the commander continued "She's actually 48"
"48!?" Vyse exclaimed "You gotta be shitting me! She doesn't even look 30!"
"Weird right?" the commander answered nonchalantly "Maybe it's in her genes or some sort of mutation. I don't know for sure. But what we do know is that her body hardly appears to have aged"
"So why did you guys hide it?" he asked
"She requested it" the commander answered
The knight sergeant was confused. Why would one of his fellow teammates lie about her age?
"Can you tell me her story?" he asked
"Sorry" the commander answered "That's not my territory to reveal. You have to convince Marina to trust you guys. Good luck!"
Vyse puts the radio down as both troopers are confused as to what they should do.
"Should we try to ask her about her past?" Ellie wondered
"I don't know…" Vyse answered "We can't force her to tell us. That'll only form a rift. All we can do is earn her trust and hope she tells us eventually. For now, let's focus in solving this mystery!"
"Right" Ellie answered
Laren's House
The next day:
The troopers arrive at the Old man's house to inquire about Dunwich.
"Dunwich…" the old man muttered "I only know of 1 place but that place is bad news!"
"Why?" Marina wondered
"Known that place for year" the old man explained "I just know its bad news!"
Leaving the old man's house, the troopers are left to wonder on their next move.
"I found a place called Dunwich Building" Ellie said as she tinkers with her Pip-Boy
"Let's go!" Marina said "No time to waste!"
Vicinity of Dunwich Building, 30 minutes later:
Nearing their destination, the troopers notice that the area was strangely quiet. Not a soul or sound anywhere…
"Huh…" Vyse said "Not even a single sign of life anywhere…"
Ellie stares at the door to the building and couldn't help but feel a sense of evil coming from the building
"Let's go" Marina said as the troopers enter the building
Dunwich Building Lobby:
The building had a much creepier layout that any of the other derelict buildings the mercenary had visited. Unable to ease her tension, Ellie checks her Pip-Boy.
"Guys" she said "My Geiger Counter is detecting small pockets of radiation here… I have a bad feeling…"
"Rads huh…" Vyse said "We should move fast then"
"Agreed" Marina answered as the troopers travel deep into the dark derelict building.
Forsaken Dunwich Ruins:
Going deeper into the building, the troopers enter a dark room, with not even a speck of light to illuminate the area.
"Gets darker the deeper you go, huh" Ellie muttered as she activates her Pip-Boy light.
"Careful guys" Vyse said as he raises his rifle "I think we're not alone here…"
The troopers slowly descend into the dark corridors of the room.
Ellie checks her Geiger counter and sees that the area is irradiated, with her counter marking 5 rads/sec.
"So much rads…" she muttered as a snarl echoes across the room.
Reacting to the sound, the troopers each raise their weapons, although Marina raises her 10mm pistol instead of her rifle.
"Something's here with us…" Marina said as she senses danger approaching
Seeing a small light source, the troopers head towards it and discover a terminal.
"Herman Granger entries…" Ellie said as she and the other troopers read the terminal entries…
"My God…" Vyse said as they finish reading the entries
"The hell is going on with this place!?" Marina uttered nervously as the group hears a distinctive growl and the sound of footsteps.
Using her Pip-Boy light, Ellie searches for the source of the sound.
Approaching a door, Ellie prepares her 9mm pistol.
The moment, she rushes out into the corridor, she is pounced by a glowing one.
"ELLIE!" Vyse shouted as he tries to help but can't because of a horde of feral ghouls pouring in.
The mercenary struggles to get the ghoul off of her and with the radiation coming from the ghoul; she knew she had to act fast. The ghoul attempts to bite her face off as she struggles to keep a safe distance between the ghoul's mouth and her face. Desperate, she attempts to use her hidden blade to stab the ghoul in the neck but the creature merely flinched and resumed its assault.
Meanwhile, Vyse and Marina were busy shooting down one feral ghoul after another.
"There's no end to them!" Vyse shouted "Hold on, Ellie!"
With her right hidden blade still stuck in the ghoul's neck, the ghoul screamed and her Geiger counter began to ring, which is a sign that the radiation levels are dangerously increasing. She could feel her skin burning as the seconds go by.
"DAMN IT!" she shouted "GET OFF!"
As the creature was about to land its first bite on the mercenary's face, someone grabbed the ghoul by the neck and pulled it up, freeing the mercenary from its grip.
Quickly recovering, Ellie notices that it was Marina who did it!
"Marina NO!" she shouted "The rads!"
"Yeah I got that" Marina said as she points her pistol on the ghoul's head and opens fire, destroying the ghoul's head.
A few minutes later, the feral ghouls were all dispatched as Marina collapses into the wall. She was in pain and covering her left arm.
"Marina?" Vyse said as he checks on her
Ellie looks at her Geiger counter and sees that Marina has a total rad count of 450…
"You're dangerously irradiated…" Ellie said "Impossible that glowing one gave you that much rads in a few seconds…"
"Sorry…" Marina replied in a pained tone "But I guess some of those ghouls may have scratched me more than a few times…"
"Scratched?" Vyse nervously said "Try bites! Look at your arm! And with this place being irradiated, an injury like that is gonna absorb a shit load of radiation! We gotta bring ya to a doctor!"
"NO!" Marina strongly replied
"Don't be stupid!" Vyse said "The commander wants us to return alive so you better fulfill that mission objective!"
"I'm not leaving until we can properly investigate this building!" Marina said defiantly
Silence enveloped the room for a while
"…Fine" Vyse said "Ellie, you got any bandages or stimpaks?"
"Y-Yeah! I think I also have some Rad-X" Ellie replied as she brings out some stimpaks and Rad-X
After a few minutes, Marina stands up
"You feeling alright?" Ellie asked
"I'm fine" she replied "Let's explore this building pronto!"
"Right" the mercenary replied as the troopers continued to explore the building
Virulent Underchambers:
Probably the darkest part of the building, the troopers couldn't even see their own hands unless Ellie's Pip-Boy light reveals it.
"What's that smell!?" Vyse said as a putrid odor fills the room
"I have a guess…" Ellie said "But I hope I'm wrong…"
As they travelled deeper into the tunnels, they notice that the place is littered with bodies of several people.
"Well" Vyse said "At least we know what happened to the missing people…"
Soon, they spot a tall obelisk sitting in the middle of a pile of bodies of humans, ghouls, animals and even insects.
"The fuck is this!?" Ellie said "Ah sick!"
It was a sickening sight… Almost straight out of a horror movie. As Marina tries to walk closer, she is stopped by Ellie, whose Geiger counter reads that the obelisk is highly irradiated.
Searching the rest of the bodies for clues, Ellie finds a holotape next to the body of a familiar person
"Where have I seen him before?" Ellie wondered "Wait, the guy who was preaching the other day!"
Yes it was him. The man who was preaching anti-NCR speeches the other day, is now here, lying dead among the bodies of other victims
Wasting no time, she plays it as the other two troopers listen in on the recording
I hope this recording reaches safe hands…We were brought here against our will! Those monsters! How could those ghouls just enter the town and take us without the NCR even batting an eye!? How? Now I'm trapped here in this chamber with no food, water or even a companion. Unless you count all these bodies as my companions. No… I don't want to die… Why me? Why should I suffer like this? I didn't do anything wrong… The NCR… The NCR has something to do with this I just know it! I-
The holotape then cuts off.
"Son of a bitch" Marina muttered "I knew the NCR had something to do with this…"
"Yeah" Vyse replied "But this recording isn't enough to incriminate them"
"Damn it…" Ellie said "Let's go back to town… Maybe we can find some more clues there…"
Girdershade, 2:30pm:
As the troopers neared the old man's home, they notice that a group of NCR troopers have surrounded the house. Laren then emerges from the house, in handcuffs and is promptly escorted by the NCR troopers outside of town.
"What the hell!?" Vyse muttered
Ellie then approaches a local and asks "Excuse me, but why's he being arrested?"
"Didn't you know?" the local replied "The NCR said he and a couple of other people are behind the brutal kidnappings and murders that have been happening in the past few weeks"
"What!?" Ellie shouted
"I know right?" the local replied "I didn't think any of those fellows could pull it off. My take in all this, this is just a hoax the NCR created just to make an example out of anyone who's openly against them, to keep us in line. But that's just a theory"
Hearing the conversation, the three troopers could only stare at each other.
Girdershade Clinic, 30 minutes later:
"So how are you feeling?" Vyse asked as Marina emerges from the clinic
"I'm fine now" she replied "Doctor patched me up and that shot got rid of all my rads"
"Good" Vyse said "Now then, what's our next move?"
"For now" Ellie said "Let's head back to the inn and report it to the commander, he'd like to hear about this"
"Right!" Vyse said as the troopers return to their room.