Chapter 45 - 45

Words : 1264 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

There were no more pleasantries exchanged after that, Adam grabbed a pre-cooked meal of some sort of skewered meat from Mandy for 5 caps and then walked right to his room. Moments later he was stripping off all his gear desperate to get a nap or sleep in. He paused as he reached his new gloves. He had found, among the tons of stuff taken from the gun store, also a handful of very nice leather gloves designed for better grip when holding firearms as well as preventing calluses from forming on the hands. They also were cut resistant. All in all, very good gloves. But of course, Adam was at a premium for space, so he left most behind, except for one he had taken with him, a tan pair. It stood out against his blue vault jumpsuit but it was a nice addition to his kit. He had forgotten he was even wearing them until the moment he got back to his room. Finally unburdened once more, he sat on the side of his bed, ate his skewer quickly, and then went to sleep without much further delay. The next day, after waking up later than normal and after a nice wash he had to spend some time thinking about what his next steps were. He had officially hired Salvatore, with his help the amount he could scavenge as well as the danger of the areas he entered had expanded dramatically. He would need to keep Salvatore's expenses in mind, but if he can do even slightly lucrative runs he could easily pay for Salvatore as well as himself without worry. The only issue that might arise is the fact that Salvatore might not want to join him on runs into old world ruins. However this was unlikely, or rather, unlikely to be a problem. When Salvatore told Adam his price he knew exactly the kind of work Adam was in, Scavenging might not be his favorite job but it certainly not something he is going to say no to, which is why he probably let Adam buy him out. Of course he will need to have a nice long conversation with Salvatore before they start their operations together, but it was nice to know he had, at the bare minimum, an extra set of hands to help carry things, if nothing else. Salvatore was also a seasoned fighter and honestly put Adam to shame, there was nothing to complain about. This was all future thoughts though, the logistics of how he would best utilize Salvatore could come later right now he needed a plan for next steps. Lost in his thoughts he wandered out of the room heading into the bar and restaurant part of the Inn, taking his seat at the bar where he normally sat. "Hey Eric." Adam said absentmindedly as he stared off into space, his mind going over everything he might do going forwards. All the places he needed and wanted to go, all the things he would need, and how his mind slowly began to peter off into absurdly long term plans such as how he would ever be able to retire if he was a scavenger. Eric, noticing the look in Adam's eyes, spoke up. "Hey… you okay?" "Hm?" Adam hummed as he broke out of his daze and looked over at Eric. "Me? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just… lost in thought at the moment." Eric nodded and then went back to cooking for a bit, grilling something that could be affectionately called eggs before sighing and then turning back around to look at Adam. "What's on your mind?" He asked a tiny bit annoyed at himself for asking but a look of genuine, if modest, interest on his face. Adam looked up at him, surprised to see him interested in Adam's life. Eric had never, in all the time he'd known him, expressed any interest in… anything. Everyday he'd come out here for breakfast and they'd say not more than a few words to each other. Not for lack of trying, Adam often started up a conversation but Eric had recently taken to passively ignoring him. He seemed to have a lot on his own mind as well. Ever since the day Adam had spoken about how he could try to find a job he wanted to do instead of the job he had to do. Perhaps he was thinking it over. Regardless the question caught Adam off guard enough for him to completely break from his train of thought. Adam looked at Eric for a moment before he sighed. "Honestly, just thinking about what to do next…" He paused. "Truthfully I know what I need to do, I need to go…" He paused again. "I have a ton of questions that need answering and I know the one place that has those answers is too far for me to go without heading to Midway. I'm excited to go, of course, but I'm also nervous…" He paused again and then sighed as he looked Eric in the eyes. "There's so much mystery I have to uncover, and truthfully… I'm worried about what I might find. And this place, you people have been great. I like it here, but I can't sit still." He sighed again. Eric sat there staring at Adam for a moment, he hadn't expected Adam to have something deep on his mind, he did care, that's why he asked, but truthfully he hadn't really thought it would be a big deal. "I uh…" Eric floundered for a moment before he stopped, pulled out a glass from below the bar and filled it with water and then placed it in front of Adam. "It's uh… on the house…" He said a bit uncertain what to say as he slid the glass to Adam and then turned back around to resume cooking. Adam just chuckled softly as he started sipping at the water. A few moments later Eric spoke up again but without turning around. "I don't know what to tell you, I've never left here but… don't make choices you will regret. If staying is going to make you anxious then… go." Eric said, his ears burning with embarrassment. Adam smiled softly. "Thanks Eric." The rest of the morning was quiet. Adam ordered breakfast to go with the drink paying 8 caps for it and spent the start of the day reading his fiction novel. He hadn't really given it much thought but his body was not nearly as worn out as he thought it would be. He was a bit sore, but a bit was all it was, considering how much he pushed himself yesterday he figured he'd be in pain all day today. Seemed his body was more durable than he gave it credit for. Still this was truly an afterthought. Eventually, after Adam had long since finished eating his food and now was simply chilling in the Inn reading his book so as to be around people, the Doctor walked in. "Adam." Doctor Abbas said as he walked right over to Adam. "Do you have some time?" He asked patiently. Adam looked up at him and then nodded, put his bookmark in the page and then closed the book. "Sure, what is it?" He asked curiously. "The patient you brought back, the woman taken by the raiders? She is awake and has asked to see you."

Chapter 45 - 45

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