Drew stood there by the door to the cafeteria and watched while Amy told the others a story about Angela, an old girlfriend of hers. He could hear the joy, yet also the pain. It was a tale he had heard before many times. It was of how they had met and of how they had almost immediately fallen in love.

It was a nice story, but he knew that wasn’t how things had gone, not really. The truth wasn’t quite so fairy-tale, especially considering how it had ended.

Sarah seemed enamored by it and Drew couldn’t blame her. It was a nice story, one that a lot of people would be jealous of and Amy told it well. In a different life at a different time, she might have been a novelist. It was a shame that most books were reduced to little more than charred-out husks that were left to rot.

Colville, thankfully, still had its library and the books had been kept in relatively good condition. It was a pity that Drew didn’t have time to read. The last time he’d done any serious reading was with Gemma. He missed those nights when they did little more than read to each other. They used to get so lost in those fictional stories of a world long gone. He missed her. He missed her more than anything, and he knew Amy felt the same way about Angela as did Jack about Grace.

He turned away and headed out into the corridor. It had been three days since he had formally met Ayma and Kiki and he hadn’t been able to get them out of his head. Last night he’d even had a strangely arousing dream where he’d been snuggled between Kiki’s colossal breasts. In the dream, she had been much larger than reality, and yet instead of feeling fear, he had felt safe.

With a sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose. He had felt appalled when he’d woken up, but at the time, in the dream, it had felt like bliss.

“What is wrong with me?” he muttered out loud to himself.

Before they had said goodbye, Ayma had told him that they would be back in three days, but that had been a maybe. That day was today and he was arguing with himself about whether he should go. He was playing a dangerous game, especially since he was keeping it from Amy and Jack, the closest to family he had left.

“I have to see her again,” he muttered as he made his way upstairs to the office. “I have to find out if my suspicions about Ayma are true.”

After grabbing his coat and his laser rifle, he headed out the door and walked quickly across the parking lot onto the highway. He still ached a little from his fall, but he pushed through it, maintaining his pace.

If there was one thing that made him second guess himself, it was the prospect of facing Kiki. He wasn’t sure he was ready to see her again, though, after last night’s strangely sexual dream about her, he had to wonder if there wasn’t something his subconscious was trying to tell him. Either way, five minutes into the walk and he was already starting to feel very nervous.

Thanks to his fast pace and the occasional periods where he’d actually broken into a jog, he managed to cut down the three-hour walk down to two hours and nineteen minutes. Though it did come at a cost and that was exhaustion.

Seeing no sign of either Ayma, Kiki, or any other Greenclaw, Drew perched himself on the hood of an old car and waited.

The first hour went by, then the second. Roughly a quarter of the way through the third, however, he started to feel the rhythmic thumps of heavy footsteps which grew louder and heavier the closer they got.

It took some effort, but he managed to keep his breathing even, despite his rising fear. That fear spiked as he saw Kiki’s gargantuan form move into view from behind the Mega Stop with Ayma following down by her feet.

He jumped off the hood of the car, drawing their attention. He raised his hand and waved, which received no response from Ayma. Kiki, on the other hand, waved back.

“Oh, hello,” the colossal Greenclaw said, sounding a little disappointed. Wasn’t she happy he was there?

Ayma walked towards him while Kiki stayed back. Drew could tell just from her expression that something was wrong.

“We have a problem,” she said confirming his suspicions a moment later.

“A problem?” he asked. “Did someone find out where you’re holed-up?”

Ayma shook her head. “Kiki let slip your existence.”

“I only told Varan and Neka,” Kiki said, turning her gaze down towards the ground.

“And word spread to the others. Our matriarch found out and she was not happy.”

Drew didn’t like where the conversation was going. “And what does that mean for me?”

“Matriarch Lotte knows you have a Pipboy from questioning us. She wants to speak with you.”

Drew swallowed hard. “In person?”

“Yes, in person,” Ayma confirmed. “The journey will take most of the day.”

“That’s a long way.

“Yes, but if you let me carry you it will only be a few hours.”

Drew regretted coming. The thought of meeting a colony of Greenclaws was far from appealing and meeting their matriarch was even less so.

“I take it your matriarch is big?”

Ayma’s response wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “A third bigger than Kiki.”

He swallowed hard. “And how many of you are there?”

“Twelve,” Ayma said. “More than twelve, actually, but half the group left and went their own way.”

“And how many guys?” he asked. “I’ve only seen females up until now.”

“No males.”

That surprised him. “None?”

“No. Not with us, at least. Too aggressive. Now no more questions. We need to get going. If you have any more, then you will have the opportunity to ask them to our matriarch.”

Drew rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Uh… right.”

Kiki moved in a little closer. “He doesn’t have to come if he doesn’t want to. Nothing is forcing him to.”

Ayma looked up at her. “Our matriarch said…”

Kiki interrupted. “I know Lotte was adamant we bring him, but we should not force him if he doesn’t want to.”

He felt a little relieved at that.

“We need his help, though,” Ayma said. “You heard what she said.”

“I know, but he should be the one that decides if he helps us or not.”

Drew didn’t know what they needed help with, but it sounded serious, serious enough that their leader was willing to risk revealing their home to an outsider.

Ayma looked at him. “Kiki’s right, it is up to you.”

“What exactly do you need from me?” he asked.

“Holotapes,” Ayma told him. “We need someone that can look at the data that is stored on them.”

Kiki explained. “Before you ask why we haven’t tried to access them ourselves, there is a problem.”

“What kind of problem?” he asked.

“We smashed most of the terminals and the few terminals we have left cannot load holotapes.”

“You smashed them? Why?”

“You have to understand that when we first awoke after coming out of the tanks all we felt was rage. It consumed us and we acted on it. We had lost ourselves.”

“But you got better?”

“Yes,” Kiki said. “In a manner of speaking.”

Ayma raised her massive clawed hand. “That’s not to mention our other problem. The keyboards are too small for us to use and they’re password protected. You might be able to bypass it. We hope you can anyway.”

“So you need me,” he said.

“Yes. Your Pipboy can take the tapes. They may tell us about our origin.”

It was a big decision, yet he knew there was only one choice. The whole point of fixing up the Robco plant was to help people by offering them security. Who was he if he denied the Greenclaws? Besides, if what he believed was true, then he would be helping friends and loved ones from Paulson.

He rubbed his face with his palms. “I’ll do it,” he muttered with a slow nod. “I’ll help you.”

Ayma grinned toothily, which quite honestly, was a frightening sight.

“He has agreed!” she shouted up at Kiki.

“Great!” Kiki said, sounding just as thrilled.

Ayma turned her back to him and squatted down. “Climb on, it will be faster with you on my shoulders.”

Drew stared, unsure how to proceed.

“Come-on, get on,” Ayma urged. “If we let you walk we will not get there until tomorrow.”

“I could carry him,” Kiki offered, taking a heavy step forward.

That was all that was needed for Drew to make up his mind. Quickly and nervously, he approached Ayma from behind.

He still wasn’t sure how to get ‘onboard’ her, though. He didn’t want to hurt her or do anything inappropriate. What he needed was instruction.

“So, how do you want me to do this?” he asked.

“Just climb up me and hold onto my horns. Don’t worry, you won’t hurt me.”

Awkwardly, he walked up alongside her tail before he gently and cautiously placed his foot down at the base of the limb. Resting his hands on her back for balance, he stepped up fully onto her tail before he slowly and carefully climbed his way up her back.

“Now put your legs over my shoulders,” Ayma instructed.

He did just that, sitting with his legs dangling, his crotch pressed up against the back of her neck. The last time he’d done anything like it, it was when he had been on his dad’s shoulders as a little kid.

“Hold onto my horns.”

Drew reached out and took them in his grip and let out a small yelp as Ayma suddenly stood back up.

“Ready?” she asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” he said feeling nervous.

“Kiki, let’s go!”

Drew’s grip on her horns tightened as she began to move. It started off slow at first, but she soon picked up the pace, running faster than he could ever hope to run. Kiki walked quickly next to them, easily managing to keep up.

As they left the parking lot, Drew glanced behind, his gaze falling on Kiki. First, he looked at her massive, powerful legs as the muscles flexed with every step. His gaze then moved upwards, past her stomach, and stopped on her massive breasts.

His thoughts fell back onto the dream he’d had just last night. He could still recall the feeling he’d had laying between them as he had stared up at the night sky. He had felt comfortable and content.

Realizing what he was doing, Drew looked away feeling disgusted with himself. It was far from the time to ogle and creep on women but that’s what he was doing. What made it worse was that it wasn’t really a woman. At least not anymore. Or at least he kept telling himself that.

Drew wasn’t sure why he kept trying to unperson Ayma and Kiki. Maybe it was that he feared that his infatuation with them was more than simple curiosity. His dream last night suggested it was definitely more than that.

How had things gotten so complicated?

The trip took a good several hours. Little was said for the most part, though they did stop for a lunch break, which involved Kiki tearing a freshly caught mutated bear limb from limb and eating it whole, something that almost made Drew want to vomit.

Seeing and hearing them tear through the flesh with their claws and teeth was enough to almost make him forget that they were sentient.

Drew ate nothing, even though they had offered several times. Instead, he kept a lookout while they ate.

Thankfully, they were soon back on the trail and before long they had arrived.

“We’re here,” Ayma said as they passed an old fence and several ‘KEEP OUT’ signs. Up ahead, partially sunk into the earth was a facility. Most of it was hidden, but there was a massive steel door that looked like it was made for vehicles.

“Pretty well hidden,” Drew commented as Ayma squatted down so that he could climb off her back.

With his feet firmly back on the ground, he followed Ayma as she approached the sealed door, which opened with a heavy grind and a squeal.

“Follow me,” Ayma said as she stomped inside.

Drew followed her through the massive doors, his heart racing in his chest. He stopped briefly to watch Kiki as she got down onto her hands and knees and squeezed herself inside. Thankfully, the long corridor was wide and tall, but even so, Kiki had to move on her hands and knees, which looked uncomfortable.

“This way,” Ayma said as she turned left.

Drew continued to follow her and felt his fear spike as a door opened. A relatively small Greenclaw who stood at about seven feet tall stepped out and peered at him almost like a predator eyeing its prey. Unlike Ayma or Kiki, Drew had the feeling that this particular one had no qualms about disemboweling someone.

“Is this the human?” she asked, glowering at him.

“Yes, Bek, this is Drew.”

“I’ll tell the others he’s here.”

“Good. I will show him to the matriarch.”

They continued down the corridor which opened up into a large chamber. All along the sides were giant vats, though that was far from the focal point of the room. That honor went to the absolutely colossal Greenclaw that made Kiki look small.

It had to be the matriarch and she was absolutely vast. She had mint-green skin, thick tree-trunk-like horns that were bigger than he was, and like the other Greenclaws he’d seen, a healthy amount of breast. She also had to be upwards of thirty feet in height. She filled up the end of the room and looked nothing short of a queen on her throne, except the throne was the floor.

His legs started to shake as he stopped dead in his tracks.

The behemoth stared down at him. “So this is the human.” Her voice rumbled loudly, shaking the floor and the walls.

Kiki answered from behind. “Yes, this is Drew the human.”

Ayma looked back at him and gestured for him to walk forward, further into the room. He did, but his legs were shaking so much that he feared he might fall down.

The matriarch seemed to rise herself higher, sticking out her gigantic chest. “Gather the others,” she commanded loudly.

Drew tried to avoid staring at the massive orbs that hung high above him. In fact, he tried to avoid looking at her at all, but he couldn’t help but wonder just how big they really were. Her breasts had to be heavy and he was under no illusion that she could easily crush him with them. Then again, she could probably crush cars with them, and could certainly cave a roof in.

“Bek said she was gathering the others,” Ayma said.

The matriarch nodded. “Then we wait for everyone to convene.”

Drew felt like he was going to pass out as the other Greenclaws started to filter in. As they walked past, they stared at him before they lined up against the tall vats that surrounded the room on either side. All of them were of different sizes and shades of green, though all of them were much taller than he was. Thankfully, none of them were near as tall as Kiki or the matriarch and only two others stood taller than the ten-foot Ayma.

Matriarch Lotte spoke, her voice was deep and loud, yet like the others still oddly feminine. “Kiki and Ayma have brought this human here to help us. Neka believes that the holotapes left by the human scientist may help us understand what has happened to us.”

All eyes were on him and he knew that he was completely and utterly at their mercy. He was like a tiny mouse surrounded by cats.

Drew cleared his throat and took a few steadying breaths before he answered. “I’ll do my best,” he said as loudly as he could.

Despite his best efforts, his voice trembled and he swore he heard a snicker at his expense from one of the smaller Greenclaws. He couldn’t blame them. He must seem so small and weak next to them. All it would take was a single swipe from one of their claws and his guts would be spilling out onto the floor.

He focused back on the matriarch as she spoke, her voice rumbling through his bones. “Ayma, Neka, escort him to where the tapes are and have him study them.”

“Understood, Matriarch,” Ayma said with a bow of her head.

Another Greenclaw stepped forward and Drew believed it was the same one that had been with Ayma during his first encounter at the Mega Stop.

“Follow me, human,” she uttered.

He followed, glad that Ayma was right behind him. She had quickly become an anchor for him, someone who he felt safe with. On the other hand, he didn’t feel safe with Neka. The last time he had seen her she had wanted to disembowel him.

The three of them walked down the large corridor before Neka stepped into a side room. Drew followed, finding the place stained with blood.

He swallowed hard.

The one called Neka picked up a box of holotapes and placed them on the table.

“Here,” she barked.

“Thanks,” he said as he opened up the box and peered inside.

They all appeared to be labeled and taking them all out he noted that they were numbered from one to twelve.

He put the one labeled ‘tape 1’ into his Pipboy first.

As they had said, it was password protected, but it took no time at all to bypass it. It appeared the encryption was just tough enough to stop the super mutants from accessing the data rather than anyone with a brain.

On the tape, there was only a single file in an audio format.

“This is an audio tape,” he told them. “Do you want me to listen?”

“No,” Neka said. “Check the rest, then we decide what to do.”

As he had been instructed, Drew took it out and put in the second. Like the first, it was nothing but audio, the same with the rest. Every single tape, from the first to the last was nothing more than an audio recording, though what those recordings held, he’d have to listen to them to find out.

“They’re all audio tapes,” Drew said.

“So there’s no data,” Neka said in disbelief. “We hoped that there would be data.”

Ayma stared at him. “This was his workshop. The place he was when we killed him. In our rage, we destroyed his terminal, smashed his machines that held data.” She covered her face with her claws. “Only later did we realize what we’d done. We hoped these tapes held that data. We had hoped that they would help us understand what we are. Maybe how to reverse it.”

“They don’t,” Drew told them. “Unless he can convey it audibly.”

Neka shook her head. “Are you sure there’s no hidden data?”

“None,” Drew said. “There are no hidden files that I can see, nothing. Just audio.”

Neka took in a deep breath. “We must go back to the matriarch, then. Let everyone hear what is recorded on the tapes.”

Drew put the holotapes back into the box and picked it up, following Neka and Ayma as they led him back to the large room where the others were gathered. The moment they stepped inside, the matriarch spoke.

“What did you find?”

“Audio tapes,” Ayma said. “Nothing but audio tapes.”

The matriarch didn’t look pleased. A deep growl emanated from her throat and it appeared to be directed right at him. For a moment, Drew thought she might actually kill him.

Instead, she pointed a huge clawed finger down at him. “You shall play those tapes for all of us to hear.”

Neka gestured at a terminal. “If you can plug your Pipboy into that, we should be able to ear it over the speakers.”

“Good idea,” Drew said as he stepped over to it. He plugged in his Pipboy and accessed the intercom system. He then took the first tape, opened up his Pipboy, and put it in.

After a moment of hesitation, he pressed play.