If the outsides were any indication, Feral Ghouls infested the insides of Med-Tek Research. On arriving at the medical building, the radiated zombies swarmed Aurora and MacCready. They weren't hard to kill—just quick and scary—but MacCready killed them with an intensity she hadn't seen before—Duncan's cure possibly lay within, and he would get it.
They entered Med-Tek Research cautiously and on silent feet; the lobby was in shambles with fallen pieces of the ceiling, statues lay broken, shredded sofas and chairs, and debris and yellowed papers everywhere. The receptionist's desk sat intact, with a still-working terminal. Their scan of the room revealed no sleeping Feral Ghouls.
"Alright, let's find that executive terminal; Sinclair said that was the only way to override the facility's lockdown," MacCready whispered.
They went over to the computer and found it the wrong one, since it didn't require a password to open. Their silent approach proved crucial since Ferals slept nearly around every corner and room. Once they cleared a room and spotted a functional terminal, they would head over to find that a password wasn't needed.
The pattern continued the further up they went: kill Feral Ghouls, find a terminal, be disappointed, then head to another room. One of the last offices they entered looked more neatly arranged than the others, like it had more importance. After wiping out the sleeping creatures, Aurora headed over to the large desk with a live computer. She hit a key to wake it up; it asked for a password.
She grew excited. "This is it; it's asking for a password."
MacCready reached into his coat's internal pocket as he walked over; he pulled out a slip of paper. "Sinclair's password better work or we're screwed," he said as he handed it to her, then turned to stay on guard.
Aurora typed in the password and waited for the terminal to accept it; she sighed in relief when it took her to the main screen.
"It did." She looked at the options of folders she could open; she chose the one that said 'override security lockdown'. After unlocking the basement, she went back to the folders and clicked on each 'research test'. MacCready had been right: Med-Tek had infected certain zones to raise sales. The one she read where the infected exhibited blue boils had a cure called Prevent, and one bottle still sat in storage; she told MacCready.
He looked infuriated that Med-Tek had done that to his son. "Those bastards are all dead now so I can't get revenge but finding that cure will be like giving the finger to their legacy. Come on."
Going down to the Sub-Level became even harder than that above: they not only had to fight even more and stronger Ferals, but they had to deal with laser turrets and old generators that emitted dangerous levels of radiation. They tried to avoid the generators but when they had to pass them to continue, they would run past them with their breaths held and collapse in the safe, adjoining room, feeling sick and drained; once they recovered, they'd go on.
It was eerily still when they descended a flight of stairs and met a wall of another room built in the room they were in. On their slow trek around the room, cloudy windows came into view—a strange green glow radiated inside but MacCready couldn't see anything when he looked in. He described what he saw to Aurora, and she felt positive they had found the research lab holding the Prevent.
Rounding the second corner brought the entrance to the lab in view; sounds of Ferals waking up echoed out of the room. With a growl, MacCready rose out of his sneak and ran into the room; Aurora ran after him.
Five Ferals woken up charged at the intruders; Aurora and MacCready fended off the attack. Strangely, it seemed like the green glow grew closer. Aurora looked to her right to see a sight she had never seen before: a Feral Ghoul completely glowing, emitting the green glow of radiation through its skin—the poison had literally become its blood.
Aurora turned her gun on it, but a blast of radiation blew her back. MacCready yelled her name as he turned his fire on the Glowing One, pulling its attention off her.
She had been thrown into another Feral and it fell under her weight. Once it realized what was on it, it started hollering and thrashing wildly under her, flailing arms and legs to dislodge her. She fought against it, but the Feral flipped her over and now with it on top of her, its hands clawed at her in a mad attempt to tear her apart.
Aurora shot it in its stomach before the gun was knocked out of her hand—it barely registered the wound. The Feral continued to tear at her until its head suddenly exploded; blood and pieces of flesh rained down on her as its decapitated body fell off. She frantically wiped at her face, trying to clean off the sticky gore before she could start thinking about it and get sick.
She was quickly yanked up and met MacCready's panicked face—his blue eyes were wide and trembling. "Are you okay? Did it hurt you?"
"Just scratches."
He pulled her into his chest and held her tight against him. "Thank God; I couldn't lose you too."
Too? Aurora held back her curiosity as she savored the fact that he was hugging her. His rapid heartbeat gradually resumed its steady beat as he held her.
MacCready pulled her away from him and checked her himself. "Are you sure it didn't hurt you more?"
She nodded. "I'm sure."
He helped her stand; all the Ferals lay dead around them, some missing limbs and the Glowing One lying in a pool of green radiation. MacCready asked her on what he should look for and after giving him her guess, they set to searching for the cure.
On spying bottles of medicine in a glass case, she opened it and checked them for the name Prevent. On a red cylinder, she found the name printed in small letters. "I found it!"
MacCready jogged over to her, eyes frozen on the cylinder in her hand. She handed it to him; he just stared at it like he couldn't believe he held it.
"We did it..." he said in disbelief. "Holy crap, we actually did it. We just gave Duncan a fighting chance to live." He looked up at her. "I don't know how I'll be able to pay you back for this. I owe you big time."
"You're still worried about balancing the books?"
"Always. I'm so used to taking rather than giving, but you're showing me how I can; maybe I'll straighten my priorities one day."
His eyes quivered with emotion. "You helped me save Duncan; you believed I could do it. You don't know how much this means to me."
Her breath hitched at the way he looked at her: with adoration. She decided to joke with him to smooth over the tender moment. "Whoa, don't start getting emotional on me now."
The stern MacCready blinked back to the surface. "Right; sorry. There's one more thing we need to do: we have to get this into Daisy's hands at Goodneighbor; she has connections that can get this to Duncan."
"Lead the way."
***
Daisy dealt with a customer when Aurora and MacCready walked into her shop. Daisy was a Ghoul like Hancock but unlike him, was soft-spoken and genuinely sweet; Hancock favored the eccentric and carefree side, especially since he walked around in a Revolutionary-era getup. She finished trading with her customer and when he walked out, caught sight of them.
"Good to see you again, Aurora. And MacCready! I haven't seen you in a while; haven't been avoiding me, have you?"
"Now how could I stay away from someone as cute as you, Daisy?" MacCready said as he stepped forward. If her wrinkled and stretched skin could've shown it, Aurora would've bet she blushed.
"You're a lousy liar, but I'll just play stupid and pretend I don't know that. Now, what brings you two kiddos to my doorstep?"
He reached into the inner pocket of his duster for the Prevent. "I finally did it, Daisy; I found the cure for Duncan. Aurora helped me get it."
Her eyes rounded at the sight of the medicine. She looked up at Aurora. "You are an Angel of Mercy."
Aurora smiled, but shook her head. "No, I'm usually an Angel of Death."
"Not right now," MacCready said; his eyes were on her tenderly again.
He really needed to stop doing that; she was already conflicted about their relationship. Even though he pretended to just be a criminal, he was noble, humble, and loyal. MacCready had become her friend, someone she could trust and rely on—she had never had someone reliable before. Aurora immensely enjoyed being around him; he made her comfortable. She didn't want to jeopardize their friendship with thoughts of becoming something more. He could shove her away if he didn't feel the same, and she didn't want to lose him.
Aurora looked down to break eye contact.
"You have great timing, MacCready," Daisy began. "The caravan leader leaves tonight for Little Lamplight; he owes me a favor, so I'll be cashing in." She took the red cylinder from him. "I'll get this to him, and he will get it to Duncan. He'll be back in five weeks."
"He couldn't make the trip in less time, could he?" MacCready joked.
Daisy smiled. "I wish." She looked over at Aurora. "Take care of this one, will you? He's one of the good ones."
I know, Aurora thought. She chuckled to hide the coloring of her cheeks. "I beg to differ."
MacCready turned to her with a cheeky grin. "What's so wrong with me?"
"Want me to make a list?"