A Rose Among Thorns

8 | Shattered

Her vision slowly focused and Briar Rose had to blink rapidly to make sure she was seeing what she was seeing: all around her was black except for blue nerve receptors lighting up in purple and fading to red as they fired up and sent some message to another nerve. She stood on smaller blue nerve receptors linked together; green boxes floated far before her. There wasn't a single sound.

"Ah, you're in safely; good." Dr. Amari's voice echoed around her. "The simulation appears to be working, although the memories are quite fragmentary. Let me work to create a path to the first memory."

Whatever she did made more blue nerve receptors appear and link together, creating a path for her. Briar Rose followed it, twisting and turning up to a green box. As soon as she stepped in, a young boy sitting on a bed and looking down at an opened magazine, and a woman sitting in a chair and reading a book appeared. It looked like they were in a children's bedroom. They didn't move, just remained frozen.

"Now remember, you're experiencing these memories as Kellogg," Dr. Amari warned. "This may prove disorienting at first."

Briar Rose jumped when Kellogg's deep, scratchy voice boomed around her. "Mom knew how it was. She wasn't soft, but she loved me in her way."

She now understood that the kid was a young Kellogg, and that was his mother. It was uncomfortable seeing him as an innocent-looking kid and knowing the monster he would become later. She wondered if his mother could tell what he would become.

"I never knew what happened to her after I left; I didn't want to know. Not then. Dad was either drunk or not around. I guess he must have run with one of the Raider gangs, but I never really knew what he did. I don't know why Mom was with him. Maybe at some point in his life, he wasn't a complete asshole."

The picture unfroze and the green light faded: normal colors appeared, the young Kellogg breathed, and his mother flipped a page in the book. The radio on the end table was on.

"And that makes it official, folks! The final vote count from the Hub is in: 55% in favor of joining the New California Republic. All five states have now signed on, which means that, as of this moment, we are all citizens of the NCR. I'm sure that's going to take some getting used to for a lot of people."

"Turn down that goddamn radio! I'm trying to sleep!" a male voice shouted behind the closed door.

Kellogg's mother scoffed. "Hmm, what a joke."

"What's it mean, Mom?" the young Kellogg asked. It was odd hearing him with a soft child's voice.

"Nothing, Connie. People like to talk and hope someone else is going to keep them safe."

The scene froze and Kellogg's normal voice spoke again. "I was such a dummy then. What did I know about how the world worked? I think now she wanted me to kill him. I should have; instead, I ended up running away. I told myself I wanted to find somewhere out from under the thumb of the NCR and all their rules. But really, I was running away from the guilt of not protecting her from Dad. Doesn't matter now, though."

The memory came back alive. "Teacher at school said the NCR would bring back the good ole days; like before the Great War."

Kellogg's mother shot her eyes at him. "Don't you listen to that twaddle. I'm going to stop sending you, if that's what they're teaching you."

"I'm going out!" the male shouted again—Briar Rose assumed that was the father. "Where the fuck did you put my boots?"

Kellogg's mother scowled at the door, lowered the book, and reached behind her to pull out a pistol—specifically the one Briar Rose remembered the older Kellogg had—and handed it to her son.