Chapter 37 - Riot

Play the long game.

I couldn't stop thinking about the girl.

Eleanor.

I needed to know more. I needed to know... her. I woke up each morning with the name on my lips. Her beautiful, innocent face drifted through my dreams and invaded my waking mind as I worked in the junkyard. All day long I asked myself questions.

What was she like? Did she have a favorite drink, or favorite food? Did she play any games, or read? What was her favorite music? What did her laugh sound like? Every second of the day I thought about Eleanor, and her Daddy, Callahan.

After a week of obsessing, I caught up on all my jobs and took a day off.

"Where are you going?" Cherry asked me as I hopped onto my bike.

"Exploring. I'll be back around sunset." I shifted my backpack on my shoulders. "I have food and water."

She frowned. "You're hiding something."

"I am. It's none of your business."

"Fair enough. Be safe." She waved, knowing there was nothing else she could do.

I nodded and pulled the throttle, zooming off into the wasteland dust toward Bunker 237. I hid my bike inside a barn I'd yet to see the Young Ladies explore, and climbed up to the loft to watch the doors. There was only half a roof left and it was too close to the bunker door for them to explore. If I really wanted to, I could easily shoot them dead from here. As I sat, I wondered why they left the barn here if it made for easy targeting. I was beginning to grow uneasy and paranoid when the door opened with a loud squeal.

I sat up and crawled to the edge to look down.

Was it her?No.This Young Lady was black.And the Young Lady the next day had red hair.And the third Young Lady was of Asian descent.

Each day I left disappointed, but I kept returning, hoping to see Eleanor, and on the fourth day, she finally appeared. I watched with utter fascination as she 'explored' with Callahan. I found it interesting that while all the other Young Ladies were excited and put so much effort into their mission, as clearly they took it very seriously, Eleanor looked utterly bored.

And yet, she came back with bags full of items, while the others had collected maybe half of what she had. Even though the set up was almost identical.

What made her different from the others?

I began a routine. Every morning I rode out to the barn, saw which Young Lady came out, and if it wasn't Eleanor, I returned to Heathen Heights and worked until sundown, making sure that I kept up with work so that on days she did come out, I could stay and watch her.

It took three full days of observing her and Callahan before I grew brave enough to climb down from the barn loft and approach them. However, just as I was stepping out, Eleanor darted toward an old medical shack, leaving Callahan behind. I almost slunk back into the shadows, but he saw me.

"Who goes there?" he belted. I heard him cock his gun and I froze. My fingers twitched, wanting to grab the gun at my hip, but I put my hands up instead and moved further from my hiding spot.

"I'm a wastelander. Don't shoot."

"A what?" I was only able to see his eyes through his mask. He glared at me, pointing the gun at my chest.

"I live a few miles away, above the ground. Have my whole life. I'm not here to hurt you."

"Then why are you here?" He didn't move his gun.

"I--" My mind went blank. Why was I here? "I am interested in Eleanor."

A low growl came from the mask.

"Why?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "I-- I think I met her mom once."

"Eleanor is an orphan. She didn't know her mother."

I nodded quickly. "I know. Myrtle told me that. She said they took Eleanor right when she was born. I just... I wasn't sure it was the same girl. They look alike, but the timeline doesn't make sense."

"What do you mean?" Slowly, his gun began to lower, and in turn I relaxed my hands to my sides.

"I met Myrtle a year ago and she looked about my age. She asked me to find her daughter, Eleanor. I thought she was talking about a child. But then I saw you two at that park and--"

"What park?" Callahan's eyes drifted from mine to look behind me. "I've got to go. She's coming back."

"When is your next mission?" I asked quickly. He hesitated.

"In five days. We can talk more then."

I nodded and disappeared moments before Eleanor returned and they bound into the bunker. I came back five days later, and when Eleanor took off, I approached him again.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"They call me Riot Ritalin."

"Is that your real name?"

I shook my head.

"It's Martin, but in the wastelands, you choose your name when you're old enough."

He asked tons of questions about me, the wastelands, and the other people that populated it. In exchange, every ten questions or so, I'd ask him one about Eleanor, and he'd answer. I found if I asked too much, he'd freeze up.

"What does she enjoy doing?" I asked one day.

"She draws."

"What's her favorite color?"

"Pink."

Talking about Eleanor made him uncomfortable. He much rather preferred to focus on interrogating me.

"What do you know about the bunkers?" he asked.

"Not much. Just that they were created by some rich group and each bunker is different. Myrtle told me about yours some, and then Milton explained the Young Lady Program."

"You knew Milton?" His gun went back up, as did my hands.

"They were looking for him and put some money on his head. We went looking and found him, mid-way through his creepie transition."

"We?"

I told him about the gang.

"You are how he survived that long." The tone in his voice was that of someone betrayed. I shook my head.

"I only had him at Heathen Heights a week, at most. He'd been on his own up until then. I bargained information from him for shelter and food."

"What information could you need from that bastard?"

"Information about her," I said softly. We both looked in the direction Eleanor had run off too. "I made a promise and I have every intention of keeping it."

"And what if my Eleanor isn't the one you're looking for?"

I sat quietly for a long moment. I didn't want to think that. His Eleanor was beautiful, and alluring. I wanted it so badly to be her. But realistically, the one thing that didn't make sense, was the timing. Myrtle couldn't have been more than twenty. There's no possible way she could have an 18 year old daughter.

"Then I take all the information I've gotten from you, and use it to get closer to my goal. Myrtle was my friend. I made her a promise, and I don't do shit like that unless I'm serious."

"What are your plans once you find her?"

That was a good question. When I'd thought she was a child, I had plans to raise the little tyke. I wasn't exactly father material, but I'd figure it out. Cherry, Soda, and the others would be there to collectively raise her, so I hadn't been worried. But now, with the idea that Eleanor was a grown woman, an... attractive woman...

"If your Young Lady is the girl I'm looking for, she's welcome at Heathen Heights. You both are, in fact. Myrtle didn't give me any direction past get her out of the bunker. Once she's out and safe, the wastelands are her oyster."

We didn't speak much on it for a few missions, but then one day, he brought it up on his own. I looked up from the cigarette I'd been smoking. The look on his face was different than what I'd seen before. His eyes, the only thing I was able to see behind his mask, were panicked. I shook my head, unsure I'd heard him right, and he repeated his question.

"Where exactly is Heathen Heights?"