resort_link | 01 - Public / Video

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01 - Public / Video

[for a moment, a woman's face is simply staring out at the broadcast, consideringly, as though not sure it's started yet. she's in her early twenties, Hispanic, her dark hair braided, and dressed in the uniform of resort security]

[realizing from the display on the screen that the broadcast must have started, she says:] Hello. [the word is a bit uncertain. she swallows, trying to mask her nerves, and continues more calmly:] I'm Linda Esquivel. I'm from Chester's Mill, Maine. [there's a beat of hesitation, as she wonders if she should give more information than that, but she ultimately decides to leave the description as it is] I just got here a couple days ago, and I've joined the security patrol. I was a sheriff's deputy back home. [and sheriff, but she doesn't think two days of that job due to the disaster that happened really counts, so she leaves her credentials at that]

I thought you should know who I am in case you see me around. And, uh, I'd like to start meeting people, too--and learn a little more about this place. I've never seen anything like it before. [another pause as she debates how to end an open message like this. finally, she goes with:] I'm here if you'd like to talk.

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That's... [but she shakes her head, realizing she really doesn't have any words for what a nuclear war would be like] I can't imagine that.

[she picks up on that oddity right away, though] Before...the war 200 years ago?

Yeah. He's a ghoul. Ghouls are people who got exposed to too much radiation but didn't die. Hair falls out, skin and noses rot off, but they end up living a lot longer than normal people and radiation heals them instead. Some ghouls go feral, forget who they are and attack anything. Means the ghouls who are still sane don't always get treated all that well.

[she shudders at that description] That's...too bad. [after a pause, she adds:] Is he nice?

[the question is really a sign of her brain struggling to comprehend a human being ending up on such a fine line with being a creature. it's a bit much for her]

Sarcastic a lot of the time, but yeah. He's a good guy. He's a mechanic, helps us fix things up if we need to. Good to have around if you need backup, too.

[He looks over at her, noting how the description affected her. It's strange to think of a world where ghouls don't exist.]

Had a ghoul here before. Name was Charon. Worked patrol, like us. He left, though.

[she nods, a little relieved to hear that, though she's not sure she could explain why] He sounds like a good guy.

He went home, you mean? [she wonders what it would have been like to meet someone like that. admittedly, she knows it would have at least taken some getting used to]

Yeah. Not sure why he left. He didn't talk much. Guess after two hundred years, you run outta things to say.

[He gets the feeling Charon was always a quiet guy, though. Some people just are. Boone knows he's one of them.]

Guess so. [considering she never met him nor has ever met anyone like him, she's not sure what to say. in any case, they're nearing a building that definitely looks like a restaurant, and Linda gestures in that direction] Is that where we're headed?

Yeah. Pretty quiet place, but the food is good. Not too expensive either.

[He likes it mostly because there's never usually many people inside. He's never seen the place full. He heads inside and picks out a table, not bothering to pick up his own menu since he usually gets the same thing.]

So. Think you'll be sticking around here for a while?

[she follows him to the table, but she grabs a menu on the way, looking it over curiously. she's not sure what a lot of the food is, so mainly she's scanning for familiar dishes, and thankfully she isn't disappointed]

[she glances up at the question, though] Ah--yeah. [for a second, deep sadness flits across her features, but she quickly looks down at her menu again] Looks like I will be.

[trying to shift the conversation off of her, she adds:] Have you been here long?

[Boone sees the look on her face when she answers his question, but he isn't the type to pry. It's none of his business, and if Linda wanted to talk about it she would.]

About... seven months now. Never planned on staying so long. Guess this place turned out to be better than I thought.

[He still misses home, though.]

[maybe someday, when the disaster isn't so raw and she feels close enough to someone here, she'll talk about it. but right now, it's still much too soon, so she lets the conversation shift, grateful that Boone isn't pressing her]

Yeah? That's a good sign. [not sure whether the question might be too personal, she asks a little tentatively:] What made you come here?

Guess I was curious.

[And as much as he doesn't want to leave Vegas behind for good, there are as many bad memories in the Mojave as there are good. He frowns to himself, just a little.]

Fresh start wasn't a bad idea.

[she nods. she didn't want a fresh start, but she was forced into one, and she has a feeling a lot of people are here for that reason] You said it's better than you thought, but is it what you were hoping for so far?

Not really sure what I was hoping for, to be honest. Didn't know what to expect before I got here. It's pretty different to what I'm used to.

[He tilts his head a little, watching Linda through his shades. He's no good at smalltalk, but he's trying.]

Know you only just got here, but what's your first impression of this place?

[she nods in understanding] I think I know what you mean...

[at that question, Linda sits back a little, thinking about what to say] I don't know. It's...big. For me, anyway. And...different. I mean, like you said, but... [she struggles for how to explain] Okay, I've lived in Chester's Mill my whole life. One small town. So I've always been around the same places, same people. Same job since I left school. And... [she frowns, that sadness flitting across her expression again] Now all of that is different. So it's a lot to take in.

[but trying not to sound melancholy, she adds:] But the other imports seem nice. Not sure about the natives, but... Either way, I think I'm gonna like the job, too.

[Boone nods. When Linda talks about a small town, he thinks of Novac. Everyone knew each other, and for the people who didn't leave much the Mojave must have seemed huge. The sadness on her face makes him think that she didn't want to leave, though.]

What made you leave that behind?

[If she doesn't want to answer, he won't ask again. It does seem like the kind of question to ask here, though.]

[Boone is absolutely right that she didn't want to leave. and Linda knew that question would come sooner or later. if anything, it's more of a surprise that he's the first person to ask. and there's a simple answer--she didn't want to die. but somehow that's too hard to say. she's silent for a moment, but after everything Boone has told her about his home, she wants to be honest with him. and so, finally, she settles on a statement of fact that, despite her best efforts, still comes out full of pain]

Chester's Mill is...was. About to get hit by a missile. It wasn't going to... [she stops, unable to finish that sentence, and just shakes her head, biting her lip as she tries to keep her emotions at bay] So...I'm here.

Oh.

[He frowns, not sure what to say. At least that explains why Linda was so curious about how people survived the bombs back home. It's at that point he notices the ring on her finger, and his eyes linger on it for a moment before flicking back up to her face.]

I'm sorry.

[He sounds like he means it, too.]

Any idea why the missile was launched?

[Not that it matters why, not really. What matters is that people are going to die because of it.]

[she nods, grateful for that. and grateful that he isn't questioning her for being here when no one else is. she's still bitter at the representative from this place, turning up at the radio tower at the last minute and finding only her when almost the entire town was hiding in the old cement factory, hoping to survive the missile when there really was no chance. she'd brought so many of them there herself, only to end up alive here alone. but that ring is the one hope she does still have. Rusty wasn't in town. he's still out there somewhere, if she could one day find a way back without dying with Chester's Mill...]

[but what she says is:] Yeah. [she isn't ready to elaborate, and she thinks Boone will understand that] It's...a long story.

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