Satellite

Chapter 21 - Pendant

      The radio station was deemed clear after some further inspecting of the area. 

      The building was rugged both inside and out but didn't have any sign of being touched by fiends or anything really. According to the nurse and the two occupants, the place has always looked like this.

"This beauty is my pride and joy! My bread of butter, if you will!" Rockman chuckled as he stood outside with Rose and gestured all around the junky yard. It didn't take him much to be friendly with the captain.

      (Y/N) sat on the concrete porch in front of the station and smiled as she listened.

"I helped build this place with my buddy ever since it was just a small shack. Then we started doing radio together and giving these mountain folk something to listen to other than each other." Rockman spoke proudly of his time being a radio host alongside his friend. But the topic of the cohost was a pretty sensitive one. Especially for (Y/N).

       Rose listened along as he looked out to the tower off in the distance that was connected to the station by wires. "If you don't mind me asking, where is your buddy? It's just you and your boy here?"

"Yep, just me and my grandson. We came here to clean up the junkyard in the back when things went crazy fast. Those junkies don't come up here though. Not enough meat to gnaw on." Rockman spoke, referring to the fiends.

      It was pretty quiet up here away from the town which didn't grab the fiends' attention who were in town. Only the occasional fiend stumbles by every couple of hours or so.

      As for the topic of his buddy, Rockman sighed and glanced at (Y/N) who looked down. "But old Oscar, he passed away about four years ago. That ol' heart of his finally got to him..."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Rose offered his condolences. He also glanced at (Y/N), seeing her hands gripping the porch.

      Rockman shook his head and kept his voice down as he spoke to Rose. "Oscar was her grandfather. I try not to talk about him too much around her."

     The captain's earlier questions were finally answered. But the answer wasn't a good one, unfortunately... He nodded along and took note of this. 

     (Y/N) still had the key in her hands and didn't once let it go. She took a deep breath and held back her tears, not wanting to show her grief around others. It was a touchy topic for Rockman as well so he proceeded to change the topic back to why these Satellite people were here in the first place. "So what's this about using my equipment?"

      The nurse decided to leave them to it and stood to her feet. There was still something she needed to find. She wiped a tear from her eye and went to head inside, her eyes landing on Drake who had been leaning against the front door and listening to the two older men talk. When she began to leave, he of course followed. They still had their rules after alls.

       She was quiet as they walked back around the building, the cold autumn air pushed the leaves on the ground and made the wooden shutters on the windows shake on the building.

       They went inside through the back door again and (Y/N) started walking down a different hall. Drake followed and observed the different framed pictures on the walls. Some were old news clippings from decades ago, others were letters written by who he guessed were fans of the radio show. But as they got to the end of the hall and (Y/N) went inside a large room which was the control room, Drake's eyes landed on a framed photo of two older men and two kids on a fishing trip.