First follower(s)

An entire week has passed since I grew the red bamboo. Following the event, the dynamics between the ghouls and I experienced a slight change... The way the group viewed me seems to have gone through a shift… Although the fear they felt, while not as great as before, was still present.. Their constant cowering around me actually decreased. quite a bit in fact. I can even spot them out and about doing whatever it is they do here around here.…. 

Still, every time our eyes met, they seemed to grow just a bit smaller, and would hurriedly look away. I don't even think it's intentional. Which was strange… Maybe if it was a human they were dealing with, then acting so meek may be understandable…. But that's not the case… When one saw a predator, their instinct wouldn't let them lose sight of it… Unless a chase occurred, one wouldn't turn their back to a lion, would they? At least, that's what I assumed would be the case.… The only ghouls who could look me in the eye were Marcus and Bert. Although they were weary, neither of them seemed very afraid.

From time to time, I would notice Marcus taking glances at me… He seemed to grow suspicious of me ever since I made the Bamboo grow…. His, as well as the others distrust of me was strong… My earlier trickery undoubtedly played a part. But, I was ignorant then… If I had known the time line then I would have made my approach differently. In the end though, what's done is done.... 

'Then there's Bert….'

"Sigh"

I breathed out with a bit of exasperation. 

Peering over my shoulder I made eye contact with the ghoul in question.

"Have the others decided yet?"

I didn't form a Mind Link, Forgoing it in place of vocal speech.

Recently I've noticed that in most of my interactions with these ghouls, I've been excessively using the trait[Mind Link]… Very few times did I actually use my mouth to talk….. So I decided to start speaking more often…

Approaching, the ghoul seemed a bit nervous. The way he looked at me felt strange...… For an irradiated zombie, He seemed… to have a very, comfortable personality… Which wasn't bad by any means… He just seemed a bit too… kind?… No, not kind… Rather, chummy…

Out of every ghoul on this farm… He's the one who interacted with me the most…. Which was weird because I got the feeling he was the most afraid of me…. But still, he proactively approached me… Asking me various important and unimportant questions… I answered most of them cautiously… He didn't seem all that bad. But after communicating with the guy for a while I came to an understanding…

The guy seemed a bit off his rocker.….. Asking almost offensive questions, like if I was a demon or some kind of mutated lizard… Or maybe a government experiment gone wrong… The random questions that popped up were sometimes scarily accurate. Perhaps he had some level of know-how… He did say he was a sub contractor working with Vault-Tec before the bombs fell. But, Vault-Tec was fairly independent from the military. Or did I remember incorrectly?

Well I didn't really hate his curiosity… Curiosity leads to innovation and advancement… So long as it isn't arrogant curiosity.… That would lead to death.

I was broken from my thoughts as he responded to my earlier question.

"Well, the thing is…. The others still aren't all on board yet. I've been trying to talk with them but they're still hesitant on the idea of leaving…. This place has been their home just as much as it's been mine….. Not to mention it's the only safe place in the area. Leaving it and venturing out into the wastes doesn't sound appealing to anyone….. However, I think the rest of them are starting to come around…. Just give me a bit more time and I'll see what I can do….."

The negative status on my info page had long since disappeared... Bert was the reason I hadn't left yet….

"It's alright, I can stay here for a while…. But more than a month wouldn't be possible. I have things that I need to do."

That's how it is…. It all happened when I made that Bamboo grow a week ago.

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"Please.... Take me with you…..….. The others as well."

In Front of him, Bert was on his knees looking up into my eyes filled with hope. Everyone around became shocked after hearing his request.

"W-What are you talking about Bert!? This is your parent's farm right!? You would just leave!? Abandon it just like that!?"

Yelling out in a Fury, Jill tried grabbing hold of the ghouls old shirt.…. She sounded outraged. Of everyone here. Bert was the only person she knew before the bombs fell. And now, The farm, after so many years, finally grew something….. And he just wanted to pack up and leave like that!? What happened to that determination from before!?

The others were equally speechless…. How could they have ever expected this outcome? It just came out of nowhere. Carly looked like she was about to start crying and even Marcus was flabbergasted. Soon enough though, he reeled his shock in and began running thoughts through his mind.

'Wasn't this the creature that fooled them earlier? Was joining hands with it really the best idea?'

He tightened his fist as he began debating with himself… This option never even crossed his mind before….

He looked towards the destroyed gate then glanced at Berts back. 

It might not actually be a bad decision.

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Bert ignored everyone's protest, looking to the small Deathclaw for an answer. He didn't respond to the outcrys but he did flinch when he heard the emotions in their voices.

"Answer me, you bastard! Or, Or I'll-"

Before Jill could finish a hand landed on her shoulder. It was Marcus…. He shook his head and responded.

"Look at his face, Jill…. He isn't changing his mind."

Turning to look at what Marcus was talking about, She peered at Berts expression. The sight immediately made her gnash her teeth in anger….. Her reasoning with him wouldn't do anything…. she already knew it was impossible to talk him out of it.….

That was because... Bert…. was…. Stubborn…. That look was on his face. The one he had whenever he was farming….. No matter how hard anyone tried they would never be able to convince him not to leave.

Still, some tried to argue against Bert's decision…..

"But Bert…. You've rarely ever gone outside. You don't even know how to use a gun properly."

Carly attempted to reason with him but he ignored everything, still waiting for a response…. Even Tommy tried persuading Bert to rethink his decisions.

"It's super safe here Bert….. Just stay. I-I'll even help you out with your farming."

But to no avail….

"Enough….."

Tommy and Carly turned to Jacob with a wronged look in their eyes.

"Sigh"

"You know how he is..... And it's his own decision…. If he wants to leave, Then who are we to stop him...."

The other two put their heads down in defeat…. Bruce looked like he wanted to say something but after hearing that, he mumbled something before swallowing the rest of his words.…. His fist clenched tightly to his side, but he held himself back… Instead Tsking in annoyance.

....Nobody paid it any attention and everyone put their focus back onto Setherrog…. Waiting for his answer…

He looked at Bert for some time and his expression gave nothing away… Until finally his first words came….

"Why?..."

That was it…. It was only one word but that one word piqued everyone's curiosity.….

Why? Why would Bert want to leave….. Now of all times?… Now that something has finally grown?…..

"I."

"I'm not sure…."

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"....Then no."

The answer made Bert tremble…. In a panic, he asked another question.

"What!? Why!?"

Setherrog's reddish-orange eyes stared into his own.

"Because the answer was unsatisfying… look at you….. You're kneeling on the ground in front of me….. Ready to throw everything that you have here away…. And you don't even know the reason why? I don't believe it…. It's a lie…"

Turning away Setherog started walking back towards Snow, The larger Deathclaw.

"Wait!?"

Bal paused. But he did not turn back around.

"Over the last two decades. I told myself that I needed to be strong…. That everything was alright… That the past was the past and tomorrow would be sunny… Doing so, I tricked myself into believing I was fine… And like that, Time passed, but I never felt happy… One day though, I… I just picked up my dad's garden shovel and began farming… For some reason It made me feel content…"

Half way through, Berts voice seemed to turn into a raspy whisper…

"It wasn't until today…That I realized… I was actually fooling myself… I wasn't content…. I wasn't happy…. The truth? I was wallowing in my own self guilt and worthlessness.... Even if I was not aware of it… My body subconsciously understood… It understood that farming helped me to cope with those feelings… To dull them… But those horrible emotions…. They never really disappeared… They were always in the back of my mind.. Gnawing on my sanity."

A moment of silence passed… As everyone absorbed the news in shock…

Sitting up, arms to his side, he stared at the sun…

"But, today...."

Setherrog glanced at him through the side of his vision…

"When that Bamboo grew…. Not only did I realize I was hiding in a shell this entire time… But… I felt those terrible emotions leave me… Pushed out by something else…"

He breathed heavily as he stood up… Cautiously walking towards Bal.

"For the first time in 20 years… 20 whole years… I've felt hope….. I don't need to look at the ground anymore… I can finally look back up towards the sky again… That's why….. I want to go with you… I don't want to feel chained down by my past anymore…"

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"You know….. If you really want to follow me so badly… Then I'll consider it..… But the truth is, I'm not a saint by any means. I only help others when I know them, owe them or when I feel I can gain something in return… I only grew that Bamboo because you people saved my life…. I owed you that much at least. If the situation was different…. Then I might not have helped you at all… Do you still feel the same way knowing that?"

Bert shook his head in refusal.

"… I don't agree with that kind of outlook…. But, My mind won't be changed that easily..."

"We may have even been enemies if the circumstances were different. Do you really want to come with me?"

"I do."

Quick and precise…

"And what about your friends? If they don't come? Will you just leave them behind?"

"I will convince them to come."

"Right now, I have nothing…. I know almost nothing….."

"I had a lot of experience before the war destroyed the world…. I'm not sure how useful it will be. But, I'm sure it can help you in some way."

"....."

After thinking for a few moments. Setherrog walked over to Bert and looked him in the eyes.

"….Then, I see no problem with you following me. Although, right now, we may not have anything….. In the future…."

Leaning closer, his tone intensified.

"We will have everything…" 

He turned around walking back to Snow….. But he continued speaking.

"Also, I'll show you. That although the new world is lifeless, cruel and filled to the brim with death... There are actually many interesting things hidden in the crevices here and there.…. I will point them out to you… Your friends as well…"

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That was a week ago…. Without even realizing it. I got a bit dramatic.

A couple of things happened during that time.

I convinced Mother to leave our cave and journey south, towards California. It didn't take much... I just asked and she agreed... Her values were very different from humans so I wasn't too surprised. She didn't really have any problems bringing Bert or others along with us…. The only problem I had was that it was definitely going to slow us down….. But that shouldn't be too much of an issue…

Some of the other ghouls have decided to follow Bert's example and agreed to travel with us. I could tell however, even after making the decision, they were still apprehensive of the idea… Those that decided to come with us were the ghoul's named Jill and Tommy. Carly seemed a bit interested in leaving, but also afraid of the idea at the same time. If she did though, I'm sure Jacob, Bruce, and Marcus would soon follow….. I mean… That's half their group and they all seemed to be pretty close with each other… Yet, if even one of them decided to stay. Marcus would stay with them….

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When the debate of whether or not to leave came up Marcus looked at everyone before speaking.

"I'm not against the Idea of leaving….. This place isn't defended well enough and with the giant hole in the wall, it's only a matter of time before we're attacked and destroyed… And even if the breach wasn't created, after seeing some of those beasts during the stampede the other day I understood it was only a matter of time before one of them stumbled upon us.... I think leaving right now when we have such a good opportunity is for the best…. It will still be dangerous but not as dangerous as staying here… So I'm willing to look past being fooled earlier."

"But… know this, If even one of you chooses to stay, I will stay with you. I won't abandon anybody."

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It went something like that….

Well, whether or not he comes doesn't really matter to me much…. Just Bert is already very useful…. He would set the difficulty bar for making a new settlement in the future much lower. Ghouls in general are very useful… Not only do they have pre-war knowledge, but they also have very long life spans… Having Bert and the others join me will make future recruitment easier… After all, trying to convince more ghouls to join would be a lot easier for them rather than me… My appearance will only bring fear and mistrust. Probably even hostility….

'Actually, that's a problem I'll need to find a solution around… I may be fine in the short term… But when radiation levels drop and humans start appearing again… I'm going to have trouble moving around….. I need to find a way to disguise myself in the future…. Traveling around with the way I look will make things very annoying later.

I spoke with Bert a bit more before sending him on his way. We spoke about a couple of things over the last week, but the most notable thing was actually about the bamboo…

As it turns out, Bamboo is very, very useful. It's very strong and can be made into many things. It could be used in the construction of houses and furniture, Can be made into paper, clothing, and even cooking ware.

What's more, it can be eaten and grows fast…. And this is just for normal Bamboo… My bamboo on the other hand, grows incredibly fast,and it's much stronger than average…. But there is a downside….. While the seeds from the plant also seemed to mutate and even grow when planted by others, the rate of growth was much slower and only a bit stronger than normal Bamboo….…. Only the ones planted by me grew so strangely..... It hasn't been harvested yet So I'm not sure about the taste…. Or even if it's edible.

I tried planting other things but none of them were as useful as bamboo… The other things took almost the full week to reach full maturity and they didn't really taste that good either…. But I believe that with the growth of my farming skill, not only will the things I grow become bigger and tastier, the Bamboo will become even stronger than it already is…..

Another important thing Bert and I spoke about was transport…. Well, I proposed they make a cart and we could have mother go out and find a mutated bear to pull it for us…

I refuse to have my mother pulling people around like some kind of horse or cow.…. The mere idea didn't sit well with me…. However, there was no need for that, with our [Mind Link] skill we could easily tell a Yao Guai what we want. Simply let it feel our intent to pull the cart and not attack anyone.…. If it values its life it will submit and become our luxury carriage puller. And If it resists, Mother can just kill it and we can get another one….. Actually, with these ghouls around I can probably have my food cooked…. Mmmm bear stew doesn't sound bad at all. Oops, getting off track.

The carriage could be easily made… You just have to nail some bamboo together and attach it to the wheels. Of course, we could also find an old car…. Scrap most of the parts and turn it into a carriage. But the nuclear-powered engine is just too dangerous. It'd be too heavy to move as well…. Even for a strong mutated beast like a Yao Guai. In the end, the cart is the best option… The bamboo is light, strong and there would be more space to store items using an old fashioned square cart design... Bert was a subcontractor as well… This wasn't really his field of expertise but his input would still be useful…..

"Setherrog."

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard someone calling out to me.

As I opened my eyes, Marcus entered my vision…. He was one of the ghouls I spoke to the most…. They said that they didn't have a leader, but he came off as the head honcho. He also seemed to be one of the more capable members…."

"What is it?"

"We've decided that we'll go with you…."

Well….. That was…. Faster than I expected….

I narrowed my eyes a bit in suspicion…. Just yesterday they were still in the middle of debating whether to join the others or not…. But that indecision from yesterday simply just vanished?

"But….. We need your help getting something first…."

End of chapter.