The helicopter landed on a helipad lot in the trading area. The pilot and co-pilot grabbed Mercy, while Varryance and his savior grabbed SAM, carrying both of them outside the helipad lot.

  "Alright, see you in a bit," said the pilot as he waved at Varryance and his savior. He looked at Mercy with concern before his savior spoke.

  "Let's go this way; by the way, call me Jax."

  Varryance replied saying his name, still bluntly.

  "Varryance."

  The two carried SAM through the trading post, which caught everyone's attention as he overheard gossip. He also saw multiple snipers on rooftops of different buildings, watching them as a stomachache hit him the moment he noticed them. The trading post Jax lead Varryance was on the furthest part of the barge, with buildings made of wood and scrap metal. The main highway ran through the entire barge vertically, with shops lining both sides. At the very end of the barge were Vanesa's mechanics, where Varryance could already hear a chorus of saws and heavy machinery from outside.

  They entered, and the main lobby was nicely decorated with several paintings, lava lamps, and Nazars everywhere. The pair entered behind the counter into the main workshop, and there they saw her. A 5'8" slim hourglass-built woman with blonde hair, wearing high protective work pants and a slim-fit shirt. The workshop was filled with cars, robots, weapons, and armor suits, with several workbenches scattered along the walls. In the middle of the workshop was a car on a lift without an engine, and on the sides, robots hung from the ceiling with chains.

  Vanesa saw the pair and immediately stared down at Varryance with a shocked expression.

  "Wait... it... it can't be..." said Vanesa, her voice heavily accented, looking at Varryance as she took off her protective eyeglasses.

  "Vanesa, she's kind of heavy. Where do we put her?" Jax said, as Vanesa replied.

  "Here, r-right here!"

  Vanesa cleared the table, throwing everything she had been working on to make space for SAM. Her eyes never left Varryance during the entire process.

  "It's... you... Varryance?" Vanesa said, looking at him incredulously.

  "Do you know each other?" Jax asked, as Vanesa replied rapidly.

  "He is THE VARRYANCE PREEZ; oh my god, you're still alive! Everyone thought you died!"

  Varryance looked confused, questioning.

  "How do you know me? Sorry, I had a rough night..."

  "You forgot? Everyone from our time remembers you! You're the war hero from World War 3! IARO even made a statue in your honor before you were considered dead to the public!"

  "Oh... right... wait, you're also from my time?" Varryance said, as Jax leaned against the worktable, watching the two talk as if they were old friends.

  "Yeah, guess they did the same with you. Cryo-like container?"

  "Yeah, guess I wasn't the only one." Varryance said, as Vanesa asked, arms crossed.

  "How did you even escape?"

  "A mercenary. Leather jacket, gas mask. Took down the entire facility and broke me out before he left alone."

  "Which facility?"

  "The 203rd IARO complex near the Barrens, think you know it"

  "Oh, there? Impossible if he did it all alone..." Vanesa said, as Jax interrupted, pointing at SAM.

  "So are we going to talk about this beauty, or...?"

  Vanesa and Varryance turned to look at the robotic corpse behind Jax as he stepped aside, joining them in looking at SAM.

  Vanesa took a closer look, immediately identifying it.

  "Prototype... IARO tech... hard, really hard," said Vanesa, as Varryance added.

  "Hard, I can imagine, but is it impossible?"

  "No, but what will be hard is getting the things I need to repair her. I can already tell you'll have to go to Fort Marrow."

  "Fort Marrow... great." Jax muttered as Varryance questioned.

  "Why does Fort Marrow sound like a bad thing?"

  "It's filled with the same raiders you encountered before, Stormers."

  "Is there a hotel I can go to, or anything? Honestly, I'm too tired to even think." Varryance said with a chuckle, as Vanesa replied immediately. Considering it was still night.

  "You can sleep at my place. I have an extra room. Jax, we'll see you here tomorrow morning. Is that alright?" Vanesa said, as it was clear from Jax's expression that he was quite jealous.

  "Yeah, sure."

  "Come on, she'll be safe here." Vanesa lead the three outside before closing the workshop down.

  The three walked side by side, moving slowly as they looked around the trading shops, which were beginning to close. The trio was almost the only ones left walking on the Barge.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  "How have I never heard of a war hero before?" Jax asked, as Vanesa explained to him. Varryance stayed quiet and looked around, clearly liking the place already. The road was lit with a warm yellow glow throughout the entire main road, with each shop's neon lights slowly turning off. The moon aligned perfectly with the road, hanging in the sky above them.

  "Well, he was always deployed around Europe, mostly with Germany. He sacrificed himself countless times, fighting alone instead of with a squad or platoon. The only ally he needed was a German AR. The same one you brought in." Vanesa explained, as Jax listened.

  "However, by the end of the war, he was considered KIA, at least that's what the public was told."

  "Why can't you tell us the rest? Probably what they released to the public wasn't entirely true." Jax said, glancing at Varryance, who simply added.

  "If I'm honest, I can't remember anything about going KIA. My memory's all blank."

  Both Vanesa and Jax were confused by his response, with Vanesa adding.

  "Wait, you can't remember? It's trauma. It's impossible for you to just forget about it!"

  "Look, not like I'm hiding anything. I don't even remember the days that went by back in my... patient days."

  "Hmph, weird," Jax said skeptically, as they arrived at the helipads where the helicopters were.

  It was a rather small helicopter, capable of holding up to four passengers, including the pilots.

  "You own a helicopter?" Varryance said, impressed, as Vanesa replied.

  "Well, better than paddling to the island on a canoe."

  Jax sat in the co-pilot seat, while Vanesa sat in the pilot seat. Varryance sat in the back, holding a handlebar while facing outside.

  Vanesa handed Varryance a headset as she started up the engine. The rotors quickly began rotating, ready for takeoff.

  "Ready for takeoff." Vanesa said, as they took off rapidly, flying away from the Barge into the big walled city that lit up the night sky with lights from high apartments and buildings.

  The island near the Barge seemed to be where everyone lived, as there were high walls surrounding it, with sharpshooters and Surface - to - Air turrets. Vanesa got intercepted by the local radar, and the message played through every headset.

  "Vanesa, if I'm correct?" said the man on the radar.

  "That's me. All good." Vanesa responded as she kept flying toward the walled city.

  Underneath them, beyond the walls, were streets just like back in the old days, with street signs, walls, and even road signs telling what lane was where. It caught Varryance's eye quickly, bringing back memories.

  "You guys have laws and order like back then?" Varryance asked, as Vanesa replied, while Jax remained silent.

  "Yup, just like the good old days since most of the Barge are veterans and survivors before the flash."

  "But Jax here didn't really get as excited about my presence as you did."

  "Well, that's why I said most. Some got the parasite after the flash. But most of us will acknowledge you, that is for sure. And that made me raise a question, Varryance."

  "What's the question?"

  "You want them to know or not? I can imagine the attention won't be great."

  Varryance added, as it was a hard question.

  "I' wouldn't mind, but preferably not really."

  "I might have something around at my place, I'll give it to you tomorrow morning as I normally swing by at Vanesa's place," said Jax, looking back at him. Varryance nodded at him, being thankful.

  "Here we... are..." said Vanesa as she focused on landing the helicopter on top of her house. Her house seemed different as it was made out of fine wood, like an old-time cabin. Varryance liked the look a lot.

  "Wooden cabin... I feel more and more like home here, seeing all of this pre-flash stuff." said Varryance as Vanesa replied.

  "Well, never forget where you come from, am I right?"

  "Alright, well, I'll walk from here. Do you want me to meet you guys at the workshop or here?" said Jax as Vanesa responded with a hasty tone.

  "At the workshop is fine! I want to show Varryance around the city a bit earlier as well."

  "Alright, goodnight, you two," said Jax before he walked off the helicopter, taking off the headset. Vanesa looked back at Varryance with a smile and excitement.

  "Not often you get a war hero in your home, come on!"

  Varryance followed her with excitement, stepping off the helicopter and leaving the headset in the pilot seat. They walked down a fire-escape like staircase that led toward the main entrance from the roof. As for the view, Vanesa had an amazing view of the ocean surrounding her as she was on the very edge of the city and high enough to see beyond the walls.

  "Welcome to my home!" said Vanesa as she opened the door. Varryance gave a focused gaze around the house. It was extremely spacious, and the main hallway was open with the living room and kitchen. The living room had a big grey leather couch and a big-screen TV mounted on the wall, with a coffee table underneath and shelves around holding books and other paintings and portraits. The kitchen was just like the old days, with shelves, cupboards, a stove, a fridge, a microwave and a white table that matched the colors of the rest of the kitchen, which was all white. The walls were drywalled whitenand a chandelier in the middle of the dinning table that gave a soothing warm white.

  "Just like the old days..." said Varryance as a tear dripped down his eye. Vanesa noticed.

  "Well, I try to make it as homey as possible; most of the Barge here are the same, having it modernized. We tried our best to restore the little that's left."

  "It's awesome... I never thought I'd see something like this again," said Varryance with several tears in his eyes. He was touched by the memories.

  "Well, take off your shoes and follow me." said Vanesa, as even her saying to take his shoes off made him happy. The flooring was made out of wood, heated from underneath, and he felt the warmth on his feet. He followed Vanesa toward a door that was near the livingroom TV.

  The second hallway had stairs, as it made sense since they walked down two stories from the rooftop. The upper floor was only bedrooms and right before the staircase was another room, supposedly being a bathroom. The walls again were filled with paintings, and shelves had more decor. He followed her to the upper floor.

  It was a big open hobbyroom with a couch, ping-pong tables, pool tables, and regular tables holding different plants that were, indeed, surprisingly not plastic. Varryance took notice of this, being questionable.

  "How the hell have you guys managed to do all this in only 100 years?" said Varryance, as Vanesa replied.

  "Seems like humanity's strive for survival hit hard once they realized the situation they were in. We, especially the Barge, had the same goals and interests, being nostalgic about things. And since we are technically superior, we worked faster too."

  "Like... real plants... pool tables, TVs... how'd you find them?" said Varryance, as again Vanesa replied, as they walked toward a door that was in the corner left from the hobbyroom.

  "Well, most of the things we made on our own, but we have scattered vastly, and some things were untouched, mostly basements that were fallout shelters; they had many pieces of furniture that were untouched by the outside."

  "Here is your room, kind of small, but it is a guest room," said Vanesa as Varryance stepped inside. The room was indeed small, but it was cozy, so he thought.

  "Thank you, Vanesa, it truly means a lot about all of this... I... miss the old days... this world now is a nightmare; it feels like I'm back at war," said Varryance with sorrow in his tone. Vanesa noticed.

  "Hey, it's fine, that's why the Barge are here. We welcome anyone like family because we were raised in a better world."

  Varryance gave a smile and quickly hugged the woman. She didn't expect it, but hugged him back tightly, noticing he had been through a lot before and after the flash. Both let go as she left the room, saying goodnight to Varryance, as he replied with the same kind gesture. He undressed, feeling at home, getting into the comfy single bed that had a memory mattress and pillows with memory foam. He looked at the ceiling as he again shed a warm tear, hugging the blanket tightly.