Rain followed them into the trees.
It never really stopped—just changed how hard it fell.
David pushed through wet branches, boots slipping in the mud. The road was gone now, replaced by dense forest and old world ruins buried under moss.
Behind him, Jason moved steady.
One hand always near his revolver.
"You're thinking too loud," Jason said.
David didn't turn. "Didn't say anything."
"Didn't have to."
David kept walking.
"…Vault-Tec emergency frequency…"
The words sat heavy in his mind.
He glanced at his Pip-Boy.
Nothing new.
"You've heard that before," David said.
Jason didn't answer.
They stepped over a fallen log.
"Yeah," Jason said finally.
"What is it?"
Jason adjusted his coat.
"Trouble."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the one you're getting."
David stopped.
Turned.
Jason stopped a few steps ahead.
Rain tapped against the leaves.
"You knew something was out here," David said. "That's why we came north."
Jason didn't deny it.
"That signal—you recognized it."
Jason's jaw tightened.
"And?"
"And I don't like walking into something blind."
Jason studied him.
Then exhaled.
"You ever hear stories about vaults?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"Most of them end badly."
David frowned.
Jason ignored it.
"Vaults weren't just shelters," he said. "They were experiments."
David paused.
"What kind of experiments?"
"The kind you don't survive."
Silence.
Rain filled the space.
"And this one?" David asked.
Jason shook his head.
"Don't know," he said. "But if it's still broadcasting…"
He didn't finish.
A twig snapped.
Both of them reacted instantly.
David raised his rifle.
Jason's hand dropped to his revolver.
Silence.
Nothing moved.
After a moment, Jason relaxed slightly.
"Forest playing tricks," he muttered.
"…or something's watching us," David said.
Jason didn't argue.
They walked in silence.
Finally—
"We need supplies," Jason said.
David nodded.
"Ammo. Food," Jason added.
David looked at him.
"Then we find a place."
Jason hesitated.
Just slightly.
"There is one," he said.
David caught that.
"Where?"
Jason didn't answer right away.
"…Graveyard."
David frowned.
"That doesn't sound good."
"It isn't."
"Then why go there?"
Jason looked ahead.
"Because it's the only place within miles that has what we need."
David studied him.
"You've been there."
Jason didn't answer.
That was enough.
They found the town just before dusk.
David smelled it first.
Smoke.
Oil.
Food.
Then—
Noise.
Voices.
Dozens.
Jason slowed.
Just slightly.
"Stay close," he said.
David nodded.
The trees thinned.
And the town appeared.
Scrap walls. Metal towers. Guards watching from above.
Inside—
Movement.
Life.
Chaos.
Then—
A roar.
"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"
David stepped through the gate.
"What is this place…"
Jason didn't look at him.
"Somewhere you don't get comfortable," he said.
They moved deeper inside.
The noise grew louder.
David followed it—
To the pit.
A crowd surrounded a massive opening.
He stepped closer.
Looked down.
Two fighters circled each other.
Bleeding.
Waiting.
The crowd roared.
Jason placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't stare."
David glanced back.
"Why not?"
Jason's voice dropped.
"Because attention gets you killed."
David nodded slowly.
But he couldn't look away for long.
Something about the place felt wrong.
Not just dangerous.
Familiar.
Jason turned away from the pit.
"Come on," he said.
"We get what we need. Then we leave."
But David hesitated.
Because for the first time—
He wanted to see what was going on.