Boogie scoffed. "Okay?"
"Do you think if I brought her into town you could show her the ropes? Teach her the craft?" I glanced over at Eleanor. She was trying to hide her excitement, but she was almost shaking in her buckle shoes. Boogie looked from me to her, then back to me.
"My ancestors have been doing this since the bombs. You think I'm going to pass this on to a woman I don't know?"
"Yeah, I think you are." I grinned. Boogie was all bark, no bite. He laughed and patted my shoulder so hard I almost lost a foot in height.
"You act like I owe you one or somethin',"he teased. He'd come to Heathen Heights more than once to get something tinkered with. He owed me more than just one. He looked down at Eleanor. "When you're ready, come around and I'll start teaching you. Can you draw?"
Eleanor nodded silently.
He laughed. "Oh darling, you're gonna have to learn to be loud. The people that come through these doors will eat you alive. It's alright, you'll figure it out. Now, is there anything else? I've got a leg to finish back there."
I glanced around. "You want something?" I asked Eleanor.
Her eyes went straight to one of the top shelves. I walked to the wall and plucked a pink teddy bear off the shelf. It had three eyes and a pink bow around its neck.I grinned.
"We'll take this wasteland monstrosity."
We walked out with Eleanor holding the bear in her arms. I wasn't entirely enthused with the purchase, as it just highlighted her youthful appearance, but the smile on her face made it worthit. We took off in the direction of the PHUCK station but didn't have to go far before spotting Callahan. He'd been surrounded.
Chapter 46 - Eleanor
Not everyone is out to get you.
Who were these group of bandits surrounding Callahan? There was two men and two women. Both pairs looked so different from each other. One couple wore long brown leather dusters and cowboy hats. They looked tough as nails and wore guns on their hips. The second pair were dressed similar to Riot, with ripped jeans, bright jackets that reminded me of space men, and flashy bows and shoes. I was so confused. Were they robbing Callahan?
"Hey, you there!" Riot yanked a gun from his hip, cocked it, and pointed it at the group. "Get away from the bunker boy."
The group turned to look at us and the moment they saw Riot, they relaxed and burst into laughter. Relief flooded over me as well. Riot put his gun away and laughed with them.
"That's my gang. Come on, I'll introduce you." He tugged me along. I noticed he hadn't dropped my hand once since he took it before we visited the tattoo shop and I hadn't tried to pull away either. The others pulled Callahan along and we met in the middle.
"I see you met Cal. This is his... companion, Eleanor," Riot introduced us.
Companion? I looked toward Cal, who was looking at the ground. What had he told him exactly? Did Riot know about us...
"This is my sister, Cherry Pop, and her partner, Soda Pop." He pointed to the pair in bright clothing. "And this is Boone and Bonnie. We go way back. Been friends since we were kids. They're staying over at Heathen Heights while they're in the area." The pair in cowboy hats smiled at me.
"Eleanor, huh?" Boone asked. "That name sounds familiar."
Riot elbowed him and Boone shut his mouth.
Cherry interrupted. "We found Callahan pushing buttons, trying to get the PHUCK station to work. Naturally, we grew curious. We were about to head back to Heathen Heights. Now that we're all acquainted, why don't we ride back together?"
"I bought some good booze," Bonnie added.
"Sounds good to me," Soda agreed. As a group, we went to Scissors bar where, reluctantly, Riot let go of my hand. I felt the absence of his warmth instantly, and a twang of sadness washed over me. I gave him a small smile as I joined Callahan on his 4-wheeler and a moment later we were heading back to Heathen Heights.
We were there in a flash and my space was instantly flooded by Cherry and Bonnie.
"How did you get here?"
"When did you get here?"
"Are you wearing Riot's shirt?"
"How old are you?"
