Note to self, next time a super mutant, even if it seems smart than the rest of his kin, asks you to jump from a platform, that is built more than three kilometers above the ground down on top with a makeshift parachute, don't you dare do it.
Unlike what I would have liked to see when I woke up, the thing that was in front of me was nothing other than a deathclaw glancing at me as if I was some sort of world wonder. My first instinct was to scream out in fear, but thanks to those scientists and their crazy experiments, I managed to hold that scream inside, thus starting a staring contest between a boy and a wild killing machine.
"Come on! Now's our chance, Dante! We have escape…"
Vito yelled at me as soon as he woke up only to notice the three meters tall creature that was standing beside me looking at him as if he were dumber than a feral ghoul was. The deathclaw turned and looked at me as if he was asking me if Vito and I were friends.
"I'm sorry for disturbing your burrow. It wasn't intentional, we just happened to drop down here."
Despite what most people think, the deathclaws were not feral by any means. Why do I say that? Well one, Dr. Samuel had his grunts capture a life deathclaw and brought it to the facility where he and his assistants tried to turn that adolescent deathclaw into their killing machine. Sadly for them, the young deathclaw not only did ignore them, but he even showed them his middle finger before roaring a laugh if you call it like that. Not long afterward, Dr. Samuel simply put the poor deathclaw to fight non-stop against Assaultrons, super mutants, or even ghouls until it finally collapsed and died.
Vito turned and looked at the creature in shock not expecting to meet the most dangerous creature in the whole wasteland as soon as we escaped from that facility. As soon as he heard my words, I could see the horror on his face growing into despair, expecting a painful death coming towards him.
However, unlike what my new green friend thought we would die, the deathclaws simply rolled his eyes at us before growling at us as he pointed towards one direction.
To be honest, this was shocking in more than one way. While I was pretty sure the deathclaws were smart, I wouldn't have thought that one could simply talk things out with one of the most dangerous and possibly powerful the world had seen. Yet here we were, standing in front of an adult deathclaw nevertheless, explaining to the creature why we landed in his burrow. Luckily for us, the deathclaw was either full or simply didn't care enough about us to even bother killing us. Instead, he even helped us by pointing towards the nearest settlement where hopefully we could find some humans.
After leaving the burrow, Vito walked beside me and with a strange grin on his face, he decided to speak his mind.
"You know kiddo, you might have just become the first human to ever talk with a deathclaw and even live to tell the tale."
"That might be true, my green friend, but you have to remember that the deathclaw was quite old, and maybe he lived more than both of us combined. He knows what's worth and what's not, otherwise, how would he understand our words if he wasn't old enough to learn the language by himself?"
"C'mon kiddo, this is such a great discovery. I'm old, heck, I think I have lived for more than two hundred years since I've become a greeny plus another sixty from before the great war, so yeah, I'm a fossil of a dead age. This is the first time, I've heard about deathclaws acting like some intelligent beings rather than some beats, and believe me, I served in the Master's army where all sorts of fucked up things happened."
"Well, I don't know when you were brought into that facility, but a few years ago, the doctor you killed got his hands on an adolescent deathclaw that seemed way more intelligent than even the guards. That creature even flipped off all of the people watching him before laughing in his kind of way."
"Radiation is the mother of all mutations or at least that's what they were saying before the world ended."
"That could be the truth, but then again maybe the deathclaws are evolving just like we did."
"Fair point, not that it matters that much to us. I mean we are just two broke guys trying to find their place in the wasteland now. By the way, what are you going to do with that collar?"
"This beauty? Well, it's kind of keeping whatever they did to me in check for now, though the battery would drain sooner or later. Then I would have to get used to having any machinery around me connect to my brain."
"Tough luck kiddo. Say if I were to know someone in the Mojave Desert would you be willing to follow me there? I mean you don't exactly know anything about your family so you would not miss anything if you follow me."
"Tell me the truth, Vito. You are asking me to follow you because you care about my well-being or because you are lonely?"
"A little bit of both. You don't know how hard is to talk with the other super mutants. They are worse than toddlers."
"Yeah, jacked toddlers that kill you by simply hugging you."
"Hey, you are speaking with one of those toddlers, kiddo. So show a little bit of respect."
"My bad, my bad. So who's this friend of yours? No offense, Vito, but you are a super mutant, people don't exactly befriend your kind from what I have heard."
"That's true, kid. However, there are still a few people left in this shit world that aren't judging everyone by how they look. As for my friend, well… she's kind of a special case since I kind of saved her when her group was destroyed by the NCR. She and a few of her friends were surrounded by NCR troopers and even rangers when I led a few of the super mutants that start following me to help them. We managed to annihilate the NCR before escorting the survivors out of that place. In the end, she came to the Mojave and settle down in a town named Novac if I remember clearly. While she didn't exactly say that I could visit her, I don't think she has the heart to leave a young boy like you to die in the desert."
Out of nowhere, we heard a dog barking at us. When Vito and I looked over to where the bark came from we saw a girl, no older than twelve holding a small puppy in her hands shaking as she realized that she has been found.
The girl turned and ran right towards the settlement the deathclaw pointed us towards. Unsure of what we should do, we decided to approach the town at our pace, choosing not to run after the girl, just in case her family might misunderstand us and start shooting at us.
Now that I think about it, we don't have any weapons on us…Damn, I feel dumb for not stealing a shock baton or a 9mm pistol from that facility.
By the time, we reached the proximity of the town more than a dozen men and women armed to the teeth with all kinds of guns were already waiting for us. Most likely the girl thought that we were some kind of raiders, considering the super mutant that was with me, then again who could blame her? Greenies weren't exactly the friendliest creatures in the wasteland from what Vito told me.
"Halt! I suggest you two turn around strangers. We don't want any trouble, especially from a super mutant, so please just turn around and no one would be hurt."
The man that spoke to us was wearing western shirts with pearl snap fasteners and vaquero design accents, blue jeans, a cowboy hat, a leather belt, and cowboy boots, a typical cowboy if you want to call him like that. Despite his words, I as the human of our group, decided that it would be for the best to be the one doing the talking since, we all know how it would have ended if Vito was the one to speak. Before I start to speak thought, I decide to raise my hands in the air, showing them that I was unarmed.
"I'm sorry sir for scaring you and your people! My name is Dante Castillo and this is my friend Vito."
"I would lie if I were to say that it's a pleasure meeting you Dante! So what do I owe this displeasure?"
"My friend and I were trying to make our way toward a town named Novac. We mean no harm, I swear sir!"
"That might be the truth, Dante, but how could I trust you two? From my place, all I can see is a super mutant and kid dressed in rags walking toward my town! Forgive me, but no matter how you look at it, you don't exactly look harmless!"
"Sir, I beg you, please give us a chance. We are willing to be searched for weapons and even detained if that's what it takes to prove that we aren't raiders!"
The cowboy turned towards one of his people before seemly talking with the other man about something. Not long afterward, five men walked from behind us, weapons at the ready, wearing similar clothes to the people from the town.
Whoever that man is, I have to admit that he is quite smart for sending a small group to scout the area before making a decision. As soon as the men signaled that everything was all right, the cowboy told us to advance slowly toward the town.
When we were, just a few meters from the entrance of the walked settlement, the cowboy alongside a woman wearing what I believe to be a doctor's outfit walked in front of us.
"You didn't lie when you told me that you were alone with your friend. That's good because that shows me you aren't a liar, at least not when you told us that you are alone. You two are either dumb or extremely lucky, but then again you told the truth when you said that you aren't armed, which once again is good for you. So what can I do for you two?"
Before I could talk, Vito opened his mouth scaring the woman and making the cowboy and the men that were behind us tense.
"You are the sheriff, right? You don't have to act tough when talking with the kid, you know Amico. I get it, you are scared that I might go berserk and kill everyone, but you are wrong. I am nothing more than a man that wants to visit an old friend of his. So would you be willing to let us rest for the night? "
No one could comprehend how a super mutant could talk so fluently and above all for so long unlike what they had heard before. Nevertheless, the doctor's eyes start sparkling when she recovered as if she had just found something incredible.
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