The Cure For Curie (Complete!)

This Way Honor Comes

Curie could see a shadow of a man a little ways down the long tunnel. Scout Ricks had forged ahead of the group to make sure there wouldn't be any surprises along the way.

The scout put a finger to his lips, urging they stay silent. She had been warned that the shin high waters were infested with ghouls. It would be hard to spot them throughout the piles of garbage and muck. It was better if they made as little noise as possible. The group nodded their understanding. Scout Ricks, illuminated only by a small lantern, waved them forward.

The group slunk through the sewage at a crawling pace, feeling ahead of them with their toes, so as not to trip. Curie knew already that John was close but she was becoming unnerved by the sounds of the larger horde further down the way. She could hear their collective heavy sighing, the splash of their feet, the growls of aggression when they bumped into each other. They were playing a dangerous game, she just hoped it would all be worth it once they had John back.

Scout Ricks raised a fist in the air, signaling them to stop. He pointed to a pile of junk just ahead of him. Curie moved forward to get a better look at what he was showing them. Ricks held his lantern over the garbage before him, Curie had to stop herself from gasping aloud.

There amidst the debris from the city lay the man she loved. Dormant, sleeping before her. She almost didn't recognize him. His skin rotted and peeling, his thick crop of hair gone, his clothes tattered and singed. She tried to reach out to him but Preston grabbed her by the arm, stopping her in her tracks.

Garvey put his arm around her shoulder, trying to comfort her. He waved a hand at one of the Minutemen behind him to finish his orders as best as he would be able. The soldier nodded as he pulled a long stick out that had been strapped to his back.

Curie detested the idea of the stick but in the end, she had listened to reason. It was the only way to pull him out safely. She watched as the man moved forward, releasing the looped cable at the end of the pole.

In a quiet that seemed deafening, the Minuteman slipped the noose around the sleeping General. John hadn't moved an inch, lying as still as the dead in their graves. He pulled the cord tight and John's eyes shot open in an instant.

The cable had successfully prevented the Sole Survivor from emitting any noise above a dull gurgle. He struggled against the bond, splashing water around them. The other soldiers moved into position as the ghouls nearby began to stir from the sounds of struggle.

"Knives, only" The large soldier whispered.

A grunt from behind caused them all to spin around. A ghoul, naked and missing one of its arms, had jumped up on the back of one of the soldiers. Curie watched as the man flailed desperately, trying to grab the monster assaulting him. He stabbed into the head of the creature wildly, blood sprayed into the water, rippling it around them.

The ghoul bit into the man's shoulder, ripping the flesh open. He screamed into the tunnel, echoing off the walls like alarm bells. Garvey grabbed the monster's head and arm, pulling it from the soldier. The man's tendons still in its teeth ripped with a shuddering snapping pull that shook Curie to her very core.

Preston put a boot hard into the ghoul's skull, crushing it beneath the murky water. It waved frantically, grabbing his coat, as he pulled his machete from his belt. He hacked at it's head over and over until it laid still once more. He stood upright, removing his boot, the ghoul's head bobbing along the light current.

A long howl rang out down the tunnel, as if answering the man's call of anguish. The group spun around, pulling their guns, ready for the coming storm.

"Shit." The large man spat.

"Are you okay, soldier? Do you think you'll make it?" Preston asked as he stabbed a stimpack into the man's arm.