That was useless."

As the group left the Vault, they said goodbye to the useless building that it was, as Big Red seemed particularly interested in leaving, as he carried Evelyn forth from it, as they began sprinting from the site.

After many hours of walking highway 57, the trio reached 94, before heading to Lake Calumet, finding a harbor of empty ships rocking about.

As Desmond Scorch was surveying the lake for any possible acquisitions in his future, he set his eyes on one ship of interest.

Desmond then instructed Big Red to guard Evelynn till he returned, as he dove into the irradiated waters, as he began swimming through the somewhat calm currents, reaching a particularly untouched ship, which had been anchored long ago, many years prior, evident by the wear of the chain, as Desmond began traversing the links upwards, as he reached the hawsepipe, crawling through it, and landing clumsily on his back.

Desmond then made his way through the ship’s interior, as he cleared the few Ghouls inside, throwing them over the ship’s side, as he made his way to the bridge, cranking the near ancient powerhouse of a ship over, as he began traversing around the many abandoned vessels, as he parked beside where he left the others, before rushing to tie up, and finally, boarding Big Red and Evelynn onto it.

Then, Desmond returned to the bridge with the group, as he disembarked from the lake, following the stream of the Calumet River for a few miles, before being pushed into the expansive Lake Michigan, as they began sailing into the wide open waters before them.

As Big Red curled upon the floor, Evelynn was feeling her way around, to find Desmond, as she grabbed his arm, and began speaking, “ Desmond, where are we heading?” She asked politely.

“Well, I’m not too sure. I might take us up to Lake Superior, or Huron, see if anywhere is particularly unscathed… But that’s quite unlikely. We might just stay on the water for a while, though.”

“Ok… As long as I’m with you…” Evelynn tightened her grip on his arm, as she laid her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes, as she rested herself on him.

“We’ll be going for a while… You might wanna sleep up.” Desmond spoke caringly, though he was somewhat perturbed. What had gotten into her? Why was she acting so strange? This had all grown a bit odd for Desmond, as his concern for her had grown significantly, in a manner he was grossly unprepared for.

His entire life, Desmond had been alone. All throughout, he’d never had a significant other. And every exchange he’d ever seen had gotten in the way of every opportunity he’d ever had, and any war he faced, his growth had always been through conflict.

No peace was known in Desmond’s life, none, in the troubled life he’d gone through, and it had always shown through thoroughly.

Evelynn then responded, her near emotionless tone fading into one of angst, “No… I’ll be fine. I… I don’t sleep much.”

…

As she finished speaking, her eyes opened once again, and a very familiar, very heart-aching event happened, and, obviously, she couldn’t see anything.

Evelynn had often spoken like she was grateful that SHE was the one to survive, but… That wasn’t true. She would’ve preferred to stay with her mother, and her father, and… Well, everyone else.

But now? For once in her recent, basically torturous life, she wasn’t depressed, she wasn’t despairing over her single greatest weakness…

She didn’t FEEL like a burden, even though she knew she was one.

And why was this? Who made it so?

It was Desmond…

It’s all him… Desmond brought all this joy to her life. No one else, no other being was willing to show any morsel of kindness to her throughout her time in the wasteland, so… What should she do?

Well, she had no idea, being inexperienced in life in general, as she was, but what she wanted? Of that she was sure, as she draped her arms over Desmond’s neck, as she hugged him deeply.