Old World Eyes
Cassandra said nothing more about the Pip-Boy, not immediately. Which somehow worried Adrian more. The fire crackled softly between them while celebration continued throughout Shady Sands around the warm desert night. People laughed, music drifted through the settlement and children ran between lanterns while exhausted guards finally relaxed along the walls.
But the mood around Cassandra had shifted completely, subtle. Most people wouldn’t notice, Adrian did. Because over the last several days, he’d started learning her tells the way her eyes sharpened when thinking, the slight tightening in her jaw when hiding concern and how still she became when truly focused. Right now she was very still, too still.
Adrian took another sip from the metal cup mostly to buy himself time. The alcohol tasted like someone filtered gasoline through old fruit, wasteland liquor remained deeply upsetting.
“So,” he said carefully, “fun party.”
Cassandra’s eyes remained on the Pip-Boy. “That message.”
Ah, there it is. Adrian forced himself to shrug casually. “What message?”
“I know what I saw.” Not accusing, worse. Complete certainty.
Adrian’s pulse ticked upward slightly. Around them the settlement celebration continued normally while the two of them sat in growing tension beneath the firelight.
Interesting how quickly comfort disappeared out here.
☢ ☢ ☢
“It glitches sometimes,” Adrian said finally.
Cassandra looked toward him fully now. “No.” Single word… flat and certain. “That wasn’t a malfunction.”
Adrian’s brain immediately started sprinting through possible explanations. None good because the truth sounded insane. Hell, he barely understood it himself. The Pip-Boy had been weird since Vault 13, subtle at first. Small flickers and odd screen behavior.
But lately? It was escalating and Adrian had absolutely no idea why.
Cassandra leaned back slightly against the crate behind her while still watching him carefully. “That interface isn’t standard.”
“You know a lot about Pip-Boys apparently.”
Another small pause, tiny and controlled. Then, “more than most.” There it is again, little hints. Tiny fractures in the mask.
Adrian studied her quietly. The firelight danced across her face while distant laughter echoed through the settlement beyond them. This moment suddenly mattered… a lot. Because for the first time since meeting Cassandra Hale… he thought she might actually tell him something real.
Instead, she asked, “where did you get it?”
Adrian blinked. “The Pip-Boy?”
“Yes.”
“Vault 13?”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Cassandra frowned slightly, Adrian realized suddenly she wasn’t suspicious in the normal sense. Not, “vault dweller hiding something.” Something else, professional concern or recognition maybe. Like she’d seen pieces of this before or heard rumors.
Adrian lowered his voice carefully. “What exactly do you think it is?”
Cassandra didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she looked out across the settlement where lantern light flickered softly against the mud-brick homes. Then finally, “there were government projects before the war.”
Adrian’s heartbeat slowed slightly. Okay, interesting direction. “Military projects?”
“Yes.” The answer came instantly, no hesitation. That confirmed it, she absolutely knew more than a normal wastelander should. “Experimental systems,” Cassandra continued quietly. “Continuity planning. Executive survival protocols.”
Adrian nearly dropped his drink. Not because of the words but because of how close she accidentally got. He forced himself not to react visibly. “You say that very specifically.”
Cassandra noticed the reaction anyway, of course she did. Her eyes narrowed slightly. “You know something.”
Dangerous sentence, very dangerous. Adrian leaned back carefully while his thoughts raced. He still didn’t fully trust her, but he trusted her more than anyone else out here. Which honestly said terrifying things about his current life choices. “I know the Pip-Boy’s weird,” he admitted quietly. “That’s about it.”
Not fully a lie, just aggressively incomplete. The wind swept softly through the settlement carrying smoke and distant conversation across the night air.
Then Cassandra asked the question Adrian had been dreading. “What were you before Vault 13 sent you out?”
Oh boy, there it is. Adrian had avoided discussing his past almost entirely so far. Mostly because, “I was a Fallout fan from another universe” felt socially difficult to explain.
“I worked retail,” Adrian answered finally.
Cassandra stared at him, “…what?”
“Yeah… honestly I miss it less than you’d think.”
“That explains nothing.”
“Correct.”
For several seconds Cassandra simply looked at him like she genuinely couldn’t decide whether he was insane, reasonable honestly. Adrian had been constantly considering he was… then unexpectedly she laughed quietly. Not the restrained almost-smiles from before, a real laugh. Short, soft and warm. Adrian blinked, well that was another dangerously attractive thing about her.
“You’re impossible to read,” she muttered.
“And you literally carry around mystery like a personality trait.”
“Safer that way.” There was genuine truth behind that sentence, Adrian noticed immediately. Not someone being playful. Real experience. Whatever Cassandra Hale truly was… caution had kept her alive.
☢ ☢ ☢
Before he could respond, footsteps approached across the settlement square. Tandi dropped onto a nearby crate holding two more metal cups of questionable alcohol. “You two look suspiciously serious.”
Adrian accepted one gratefully. “We were discussing how I heroically saved everyone today.”
“You screamed while running from the big one.”
“Tactical screaming.”
Tandi handed the second cup toward Cassandra, Cassandra hesitated briefly, then accepted. Interesting, that alone showed how relaxed she’d become here.
Tandi leaned back casually while looking between them. “So when are you two finally admitting you like each other?”
Adrian choked immediately on the drink, Cassandra went completely still and Tandi grinned maliciously. “Oh wow. That oblivious huh?”
“There is literally nothing happening,” Cassandra answered flatly.
“Sure.”
Adrian wisely remained silent, because watching Cassandra Hale become visibly uncomfortable might be the rarest thing he’d ever witnessed.
The fire crackled softly nearby while music drifted across the settlement. For a moment the wasteland almost felt normal, almost.
Then Adrian’s Pip-Boy started vibrated softly against his arm. Not a glitch, a real vibration. All three of them froze, Adrian slowly looked down. The screen glowed red against the darkness. New text scrolled slowly across the display.
EXTERNAL ACCESS REQUEST DETECTED
Then another line appeared.
PRIORITY: EXECUTIVE
Adrian’s blood went cold, because this time the message didn’t disappear.