Survivor: A Fallout 4 SI

[MEHFOOD]

I hauled myself to my feet, brushing the dust from my form as checked out my surroundings. I was in the middle of a wasteland, surrounded by rusted cars, shattered buildings and dead trees. The ground was dusty and orange, sparsely covered in grass as dead looking as everything else. I waited for the spike of panic, for the fear that would surely come at the sight of this alien location, but i felt as empty as before. I had a tendency to be a fairly apathetic person. After years of soul crushing depression I just didn't have it in me to feel strong emotions anymore. Everything I felt was normally so dull, and for once it worked out in my favor. I was no survivalist, but even a child could tell that panic wouldn't help.

Looking down, I took stock of what I had on me. I was wearing my nice jacket, tan canvas with brown leather on the cuffs and collar. It also had lots of pockets, including a few hidden ones that I had added myself. Underneath, oddly enough, I was wearing my hoodie. A fairly simple thing, made of some kind of warm black cloth that I had never bothered to learn the name of. It also had a nice fluffy fleece lining, and a pair of small hidden pockets on the inner back. I unzipped the hoodie, finding nothing more than a simple white cotton t-shirt underneath. I shrugged, and zipped my hoodie back up.

I quickly checked the pockets of my heavy grey jeans. My wallet was sitting in my back right pocket as usual, but it wouldn't be particularly useful; I was flat broke at the moment, so it's not like I had any money. The heavy nylon sheath clipped to the back of my belt was empty; I hadn't bothered to bring my fixed blade along, it seems. Thankfully, I had both of my usual pocket knives sitting in my front right pocket. I also had my Zippo, and a quick flick and sniff confirmed it was fueled. I paused my exploration of my jeans, pulling a pack of cigarettes from my hoodie. I quickly lit one, taking a few long drags before rifling through my pockets again.

My left pocket, normally containing my phone was empty. Curiously, there was an empty holster attached to my belt and right leg. I mentally shrugged, and stomped the ground a few times, getting a feel for my shoes. I had on a nice sturdy pair of leather boots, in the traditional working style. A quick kick against a nearby car revealed steel inserts in the toes.

I turned away from the car, planning on walking into the small town in an attempt to find people, when I noticed a black backpack propped against a nearby building. Leaning against the pack was a bolt action rifle, with nice wooden furniture, a small, detachable box magazine, and some kind of scope attached. I trudged over, hefting it up experimentally; it was heavier than I expected, but not by much. I quickly checked the safety, making sure it was safe before working the bolt. A gleaming brass round popped out of the action, falling into the dust. I closed the bolt and leaned the rifle against the wall, before squatting next to the backpack.

Curious, I unzipped one of the pockets, digging inside. Right on the top were a few boxes of ammo; most were labeled .308, and given the long necks and pointed bullet, were probably for the rifle. However, there were also two boxes of short stocky rounds, labeled .45. Reaching my hand further into the pack revealed a shiny pistol, instantly recognizable to my eyes; a Colt M1911. Although I had always cultivated a minor interest in guns, I was far from an expert, but it didn't really matter;, the Colt .45 was a pretty famous gun.

I slid it into the holster on my leg, strapping it in so it wouldn't fall out. Another quick search of the pocket netted me a few loaded clips for both the rifle and pistol. I slid the .45 clips into my hoodie, and the rifle clips into my outer jacket. I stored the boxed rounds back in the pocket, before zipping it up again. I quickly opened the main pocket of the pack, revealing a few battered canteens and some plastic wrapped packages I assumed was food. In addition, to my unending relief, there was an unopened carton of cigarettes squeezed to one side. Since I wasn't feeling particularly hungry or thirsty, I zipped up the pocket again. A quick search of the side pouches revealed a flask, filled with what my nose told me was strong liqueur of some sort. Patting down another pouch rewarded me with the faint sound of metal hitting metal. I withdrew a plastic bag, filled to the brim with bottle caps. I stared at it in confusion for a second, before the realization set in.

With shaking hands, I withdrew another smoke, before lighting up and taking a long, deep pull. Fallout. I was in Fallout. I leaned against the wall and slowly slid into a sitting position as I realized how screwed I was. I had no particular survival skills, and now I had been dumped into a radioactive fucking wasteland. Sure, there were worse settings to be dropped into, but it was like the difference between standing next to a grenade and sitting on it; you were dead either way. Worse, I had no idea where in Fallout I was. Given the fact that it was middle of the day and I was only slightly uncomfortable wearing two jackets, I figured I wasn't in the Mojave. Given my surroundings another look, I decided I probably wasn't in the Capital Wasteland; There was actually a fair amount of plant life around, even if most of it looked dead or dying. I fervently hoped I was in the Commonwealth; Fallout 4 was the only game I had actually played.

I don't know how long I sat there for; by the time I stood back up though, the sun and shadows had moved quite a bit. Pulling myself to my feet, I swung my new backpack onto my shoulders, before slinging the rifle onto my back as well. I took a deep breath, and prepared to start walking, when I noticed a slip of white paper on the ground. Leaning down, I unfolded the note and read the two words printed within.

Good Luck.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Inspired by the Fallout 4 free play weekend.

 

[MEHFOOD]

I walked down the shattered street, heading towards the center of town. Thankfully, it appeared as though my earlier assumption that I was in the Commonwealth was correct; Even better, I was in Concord, judging by the myriad of poster advertising for the Museum of Freedom. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure when I was; The lack of gunfire meant that Preston and the other Sanctuary settlers had either already passed through, or hadn't gotten here yet. Either way, I was being careful; In the game, Concord tended to host a group of raiders. While I didn't think I would have much problem with killing a human, I couldn't say for sure whether or not that was just bravado or not. Either way, I didn't fancy my chances against five or six different gun wielding raiders, so I was doing my best to be sneaky.

Naturally, Concord was much bigger than in the game, and I was circling around the center so as to avoid any raiders, So it had been nearly an hour since I had awoken. Right now, my plan was to find Sanctuary Hills and either join the settlement or wait for the Sole Survivor, depending on where in the timeline I was. I hadn't really put much thought into what I would do beyond that. Given that I had never finished the main quest in Fallout, I decided that I'd just point the Survivor towards Diamond City and Nick Valentine, assuming of course that they hadn't already been there. No matter what happened, I wanted to join up with the Survivor; I had no desire to sit around a settlement everyday, even though traveling the Commonwealth would be dangerous. Honestly, once I had gotten past my initial freak out, I was much more okay with my situation. Most of time back home was spent either trying to write, playing games, or some other method of trying to escape my dull average life. In the end, I couldn't really complain; I had basically wished for this after all.

The sounds of angry buzzing and animal squeals of pain brought me out of my fuege; I had reached city limits, and in front of my, a giant mosquito was impaling a red, two headed cow. Brahmins were far more grotesque in real life; their shiny red skin utterly hairless, and their udders were distended and looked uncomfortably full. But worse was the Bloodbug; It was a disgusting thing, far bigger than it had any right to be and something about it was inherently wrong. Of course, that might have been my general dislike of insects speaking, but in the end, the damn thing disgusted me.

Reaching down to my leg, I drew my .45 and flicked the safety off. Grabbing the grip with both hands, I planted my feet wide and and put the oversized insect in the sights. I waited for my exhale, and in one smooth motion I pulled the trigger. Lowering the gun slightly, I waited for the bug to burst into goo, only to freeze as it angrily turned and began to rush at me. Panicking, I raised the gun again and fired off three more rounds. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding when it's lower body popped. The bloodbug fell to the ground with an unceremonious squelch, bouncing off the asphalt a bit.

By this time, the brahmin had run off, leaving me alone in the intersection. I holstered my gun again, and took stock of my surroundings; I was at a three way intersection, with one road curving up a small hill out of sight, and the other two framing one end of Concord. If my memory served me correctly, then up that hill would be the Red Rocket Truck Stop, and my first encounter with mole rats. Better yet, beyond that would be Sanctuary Hills, my current goal.

I swung my back off my shoulder, quickly digging into the front pocket and pulling out a box of .45 rounds. I carefully slid a handful out of the plastic tray, and stashed them in my jacket pocket. After placing the ammo box back into its pocket and rezipping the bag, I slung it onto my back again. I drew my handgun, and slid the magazine out of the magwell. Reaching into my pocket, I withdrew four of the loose rounds and pressed them into the magazine, before sliding it home with a satisfying click. For a moment, I debated replacing the pistol, but decided against it; The mole rats in the game were nasty little ambush predators, and I didn't want to be unarmed and surprised when they popped out of the ground.

Carefully, I stalked up the hill, pistol held in front of me. My eyes were darting around, carefully examining everything I could see for any hint of the subterranean bastards. Thankfully, the Rocket station was further up the road, and no hideously hairless horrors sprang out of the concrete to bite into my shin. Still, I was careful as I walked up the road, jumping at every little sound. Slowly, I drew closer to the station, and then I was just outside of the overhang. I didn't bother to stop, since I didn't remember any worthwhile loot inside. Soon enough, I was past the station, and I let a frown slip onto my face. I hadn't been ambushed, which was nice, but that might mean that the Sole Survivor had already taken out the rats. While I didn't have a problem with that, It would mean that they had already passed through the area and might not be back soon.

I was drawn out of my ponderings by the creak of old wood underfoot. I had reached the bridge to Sanctuary, and if anything, it was in even worse shape than in the game. There was still the massive hole on one side, but the wood also looked half rotten. I was actually kind of happy at its state of disrepair; I figured the Survivor would probably have tried to fix it up if they had been through.

There was a skip in my step as I crossed over the bridge into Sanctuary proper. If the Survivor was still frozen, then I could wait in the ruins of the houses for them to wake, and if that took too long I could try to wake them up myself. I could hear the echo of my boots against the concrete as I walked up the street. I didn't hear any voices, there were no sounds of work, no sign of small generators puttering away in the ruins of the village. The collapsed and ruined houses were still sitting there, and up ahead I could see a silvery gleam that was probably Codsworth. I slid a bright smile onto my face as I walked up to the hovering robot, who turned to face me as I approached.

"Hello there, sir! Could I help you?" His voice was just like in the game, his British accent unmistakable, as was the undercurrent of caution in his voice. I flashed him my smile before responding. This was my chance to gain my first ally in the Commonwealth, and I let my excitement show on my face.

"Maybe, but more importantly, I can help you." I began. "What if I told you, baby Shaun was still alive, and one of his parents still lived in that vault up there?" Although he didn't have a face to make expressions with, I could feel his shock at my words, and felt my smile morph into a grin as the robot sputtered. With him caught off guard, I delivered the final nail in the coffin. "And, I know how to wake them up"

 

[MEHFOOD]

Thankfully, the elevator down to Vault 111 didn't require a Pip-Boy to use. It was actually rather odd that it was the only Commonwealth Vault not to require a Pip-Boy to enter. In addition, the game doesn't really show how deep the elevator goes. I stood on that platform for nearly 5 minutes, listening to the protest of the ancient machinery as we descended into the earth. Codsworth spent the entire time humming some tune I wasn't familiar with, looking as cheerful as a robot could. Soon, the elevator ground to a halt, and the chain gate slowly rattled open. The massive Vault door was already open, oddly enough, and the bridge extended. Ahead, I could hear the chattering of radroaches, buzzing their wings as a show aggression. Codsworth charged out of the elevator, muttering something about calling the exterminators as he fried one of the overlarge insects. Another one leapt into the air, but pinged uselessly off his metal shell. Codsworth reached backwards with his buzz-saw arm, ripping through the radroaches shell and splattering green goo everywhere. I walked up the metal staircase, reaching the skeletons of the scientist. Bending down, I plucked the Pip-Boy off his wrist, and cleared the dust off the screen. For a moment, I considered putting it on my own wrist, but ultimately I clipped it to my belt. As much as I wanted to take it for myself, this one wasn't mine. I was going to search all of the bloody crates in this damn vault for a second, though; there was no way that there was only one Pip-Boy in this entire Vault. I walked over to one of the doors, and listened closely. It was faint, but I could hear agitated skittering behind the door; more radroaches. I drew my pistol, and waved Codsworth over.

"More of those bugs behind this door. Do you mind taking point? I'm a lot squishier than you are, and I'd rather not get rad sickness if I can help it." I explained. I could see Codsworth's eye-shutters move as he considered my words, before he dipped a little in the air.

"Very Well, I shall once more play the exterminator!"

I nodded, and flipped open the steel cover over the door controls. Pointing my pistol at the doorway, i slammed my hand down on the open button and sprang backwards. The door opened with only a single ear piercing squeal, and a massive radroach immediately leapt out of the hallway, colliding with Codsworth mid-air. I ignored their scuffle even as the sounds of a buzzsaw filled the air, instead shooting at the two smaller forms scurrying out after the Giant Radroach. My first shot slammed home, popping the relatively small roach, but my next two shots went wide. I hopped to one side as the second roach leapt at me, drawing a length of piping I had torn from one of the ruined houses. The roach reoriented on me, and leapt again, but this time I smacked it out of the air with a wet crunch. The bug hit the floor, leaking green fluid, and I finished it with a .45 round. Turning back to Codsworth, I noticed the various sections of insects surrounding him, hys saw arm dripping the green slime that filled the roaches.

Silent but for his jaunty tune, Codsworth led me deeper into the vault, down hallways empty but for ancient skeletons. Soon, we were in a large office, a still functional computer sitting atop a desk. Codsworth just floated through the room, heading deeper into the vault. Instead of following, I walked over to the crates stacked in the Overseer's office, my length of pipe in hand. In the game, the Vault 111 staff rebelled against the Overseer, as he refused to open the vault. Given the open door, I presume they succeed, but I was willing to bet that the crates still held some confiscated equipment. I smacked the tops of each crate with the pipe; most of them showed no reaction, but two of them started to buzz furiously. I was willing to bet those crates held some radroaches that had managed to crawl inside. I set those two off to the side, and turned to the rest of the crates. Using my pipe as a pry bar, I managed to crack open three of them, before my pipe broke on the fourth box. Tossing the pieces off to the side, I slid the lids off the three crates I had managed to open. One only held Vault suits, largely useless to me, but I still slid a few into my back. The second crate held a pile of security batons; I took two out, one for myself and one for the Survivor.

However, the third crate held the holy grail; A shiny new Pip-Boy. Thanking whatever higher powers there were, I slid the thing onto my wrist, before closing the latch. The Pip-Boy was surprisingly light, for being such a massive hunk of metal; I assumed it was titanium instead of steel. As soon as the latch closed, the screen sprang to life, running it's boot sequence. Soon enough, the device beeped at me, and I turned my attention to the screen. Extended from one side was some odd device, and the screen instructed me to but it in whatever my main method of carrying things was. Shrugging, I dropped the little device in my backpack, before looking back to the screen. The display had changed, showing an empty loading bar with a series of concentric circles radiating outwards. I poked at the screen experimentally, but my examinations were interrupted when Codsworth puttered back into the room.

"I've cleared the infestation from the Vault, Sir. Come, Let us release the Missus and Sir from their confinement!" He exclaimed, before floating out of the room once more.I glanced back down at my Pip-Boy, and though the loading bar had filled slightly, there were no other changes. Shrugging, I followed Codsworth into the bowels of the Vault; It was time to meet the Survivor.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The biggest problem with dyslexia in writing is constantly misspelling insect as incest...

 

[MEHFOOD]

Though the vault was bigger than it's in-game depiction, it was still rather small. Given that it's main purpose was to keep people frozen however, I guess it didn't need to be too large. Still, it took me a few tries to find the right cryo bay, and walking through the rows of frozen mummies, most still clawing at their windows was unnerving. Finally though, we came to the right bay.I flipped the switch next to the pod, and listened as the computer ran the un-thawing program. Soon, the door opened with a hiss of white fog, and a woman fell from the open cryo pod, shivering on the metal floor. I quickly shed my outer jacket, slipping the rifle clips from the pocket as I did so. With a twirl, I set the jacket around the woman's shoulders, and carefully helped her sit up. She was still shivering, and her teeth were chattering so much she couldn't speak, but the fear in her eyes as she looked at me was speech enough. Slowly, I removed the rifle from my back, setting it on the floor next to me, before pushing it out of easy reach.

She didn't move, except to draw the jacket a bit closer, simply sitting there and studying me, as I did the same. She looked just like the default character, and I knew from Codsworth that she was indeed named Nora. Interestingly enough, her hair wasn't brown, instead being a deep, rich red. She also looked young; it's hard to properly convey age in games, but she looked like she was maybe in her late twenties. Eventually, she tore her eyes from me, staring instead at the pod directly across from hers. Slowly, she stood, and flipped the little release lever on the panel. The pod hissed open with a crack, and I noticed a chunk of red ice near the bottom of the pod. When Nora looked at her husband's corpse, she seemed to sag. Slowly, she reached into the pod and removed the ring from his finger, turning it over in her hand. Wordlessly, I held out a small length of chain, salvaged from some random dog tags found in Sanctuary.

With an almost imperceptible sniffle, Nora slid the ring onto the chain, before fastening it around her neck. Behind me, Codsworth floated forward quietly, all three of his cameras focused on Nora.

"Mum, where is Young Shaun? Is He not with you?" Inquires Codsworth, voice full of concern. Nora looks at him in shock, noticing him for the first time.

"Codsworth! You're intact! How did you survive, I saw the bomb go off, the neighborhood…" Her voice grows softer as she speaks, and her eyes cloud over. I reach forward and shake her shoulder.
"Come on, let's get out of here.This is no place to talk in; I've set up a few beds down in what's left of Sanctuary Hills." I stated. I climb to my feet, and sling the rifle back into its resting position. Reaching to a table off to the side, I grab a 10mm pistol and some spare ammo, handing it to Nora. "World outside isn't exactly safe anymore, you'll probably want this. A 10 mil and some spare clips. And here," I hand over the Pip-Boy, "This should be useful."

Nora takes the pistol, pointing it away from Codsworth and I as she checks the safety and racks the slide. "They're magazines, not clips," she mumbles absently, "Clips are used to hold individual rounds together, to allow for quick reloading of guns with fixed magazines."

I give her a side glance as we walk, surprised. "That's pretty interesting. Where'd you learn that?" I ask.

"Ex Army Corps of Engineers. My sergeant was really specific about terminology." She replied. I nodded, and turned away, but inwardly I was confused; In the game, Nora was said to be a lawyer, not military. Still, it was a minor enough change, and certainly wouldn't hurt her chances. Soon enough, we were back in the elevator room. Nora looked disgusted at the scattered bits of giant roach, and honestly I couldn't blame her; The smell was bad enough to make me wanna hurl. Silently, I gestured towards the elevator, and the three of us stepped onto the metal plate. Nora hit the small red button, and we started out slow ascension.

Nora started fiddling with her Pip-Boy, and I looked down at my own; It was showing the stats screen from the game. I tabbed through the interface, and soon realized that somehow, the wrist computer had catalogued the contents of my pack. That must be what the little sensor was, I realized; the real worlds solution to the game's inventory. The food was marked as preserved food, but didn't actually say what it was; However, there was a little button marked edit, so I supposed I could add entries to the database. The Stat Screen also held things like my vital signs and a bunch of medical information I couldn't understand. The map only had a few locations marked; Concord, Lexington, Boston, Cambridge and the other Vaults in the area. Interestingly enough, there was a clear crater marked on the southwest part of the map; the Pip-Boy must have had it's map updated automatically at some point.

Soon enough, the warm rays of the sun filtered into the elevator, and Nora brought a hand up to shield her eyes from the sudden brightness. I looked out over the Commonwealth for the first time, soaking in the view now that I was no longer focused on a singular goal. For all the devastation, for all the destruction, it was still beautiful.

Behind me, I heard a gasp, followed by a quiet thunk. Nora was kneeling on the edge of the elevator, looking over the shattered remains of her home with a look of quiet despair. To her, it had been less than an hour since she had entered the vault, since she had left everything she had ever known behind to be bathed in nuclear fire. I couldn't really imagine what it must feel like; even though I had lost my home, It was surely still there.

I stood silently for a few minutes, letting Nora simply gaze out over the devastated remains of her home, before stepping back and pulling her to her feet. Silently, I led the way back into the ruins of Sanctuary, to the house I had set up camp in.Nora simply followed silently, not talking or reacting to anything; I presumed she was in shock, but I wasn't really equipped to help. Instead, I just silently eased her into a hammock, and shifted my jacket so it covered her like a blanket. I set down my backpack by the second hammock, and kicked out the small fire in the cooking pit. As the room grew darker, and the sun set, I stared up at the stars through the broken ceiling and dreamt of the future.

 

[MEHFOOD]

I was woken in the morning by scuffling noises. Startled by the unfamiliar sounds, I rolled out of the hammock, drawing my pistol as I went. Blinking to clear the grogginess from my head, I noticed that I was pointing my gun at Codsworth, who was stirring something in the pot hanging over the fire.



I let go of the breath I was holding as I reholstered my pistol. I was really jumpy, even these first few days in the wasteland were taking a toll on me; Even back home I had been jumpy and paranoid, but now that everything really was out to get me, I had only gotten worse. I swung my backpack into its proper place, before grabbing my rifle. I looked over at the other hammock, but it seemed Nora was still asleep.



The early morning air was cold as I stepped outside, but I didn't mind. I had always liked the cold, and this morning was no different. I walked over to one of the collapsed houses, and started poking around in the rubble. With a mighty heave, I dragged out a mostle intact wooden shelf. My arms strained with the effort as I hauled the cabinet over to the house currently serving as our shelter. I carefully propped it against one of the outside walls, before clambering up the precariously balanced piece of furniture onto the roof. I cautiously made my way to the middle of the roof, balancing on the large beam on the center of the roof. A quick scan of the surrounding area showed no threats, but I shouldered the rifle anyway. I'd love to try and practice with the old hunting rifle, but I didn't want to waste any of the rounds; who knew how rare they would be.



Another, more careful sweep of the area through the scope failed to reveal any dangers, so I set the rifle down next to me and lit up a cigarette. Below, I heard Codsworth start to hum, and I leaned against the chimney behind me and listened to the quiet clattering and clanging of the robot butler. The cigarette helped temper my nerves, but I still kept my guard up.



I reached over and dragged the rifle over to my lap and started fiddling with the scope. I didn't really have any experience playing the sniper. I knew plenty about handling automatics, thanks to six years of Mil-Sim airsoft. Normally, I'd say that a sport is no replacement for proper training, but the captain of our little group was a vet of the War on Terror, and was all too happy to drill us on proper handling of out guns. He was the reason I knew anything about handling a gun, and while I had never thought I'd put it to use, it was sure coming in handy now.



"Good to see you up, Mum! I'm afraid I don't quite have breakfast ready yet; do forgive me!" Codsworth's voice drew my attention away from watching the bridge. Flicking the spent cigarette off the roof, I stood up and clambered down. Nora was looking much better; I hoped that meant the shock had passed. She just looked at me as I walked in, studying me. I turned to her, keeping a friendly smile on my face. Finally, she spoke.



"...How'd you know I was in the Vault? Why did you let me out?" She asked.



"I let you out because you didn't deserve to be frozen forever. As for how I knew you were there? You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She looked like she wanted to protest, to push the issue, but ultimately remained silent. "Anyway, I want to help you find Shaun." Her eyes snapped to mine as I said that, her gaze boring into me with an uncomfortable intensity, but I soldiered on. "I don't know who took him, but I do know someone who can help. There's a big settlement in the ruins of Boston called Diamond City. Living within is a man called Nick Valentine. He works as a detective, and if anyone can help it's him."



Nora opened her mouth, but was interrupted by the sounds of vicious fighting echoing up the street. Frowning, I grabbed the rifle I had left by the door and rushed outside. What ever was fighting, I couldn't see it from the doorway, so I rushed down the street. As I came around the bend, I saw a pair of hairless red mongrels attacking another dog, one that looked much healthier. For some reason, the healthy dog wasn't attacking back, instead stan ding its ground. I furrowed my brows; It looked like it was protecting something, but I couldn't see what.



Raising the hunting rifle to my shoulder, I flicked off the safety and fired a shot at the two mongrels. The bullet skimmed its back, drawing a pained yelp and a line of blood. With a snarl, the mutated canine turned to face me. It rushed up the street at me, and I carefully worked the bolt. Again, I shouldered the rifle and fired. The bullet slammed home, tearing a chunk out of it's shoulder and sending it to the ground. Seeing as it wasn't getting up soon, I turned my attention to the two fighting dogs, just in time to see the larger red beast tear into the throat of the healthier canine. I cursed, and centered the crosshairs of the rifle on the mongrels sides, before a smooth trigger pull sent a bullet through it's side. I lowered the rifle, but not my guard; I wasn't sure if there were more enemies around or not. A sharp crack behind me startled me, and I turned to see Nora standing with her pistol pointed at the downed mongrel, now missing it's head.



I gave her a curt nod, before jogging down to the other dogs. The mutated one was dead, a massive hole torn in one side leaking blood. The other one was still alive, if only just, but my heart stopped as I saw it; It looked like Dogmeat, If a bit smaller. Still, it would make sense for him to be here; Nora had just defrosted. I tried to get closer, to try and save him, but he weakly snapped his jaws at me. I frowned; why was he so aggressive? My answer game in the form of a soft whine, coming from underneath a rusted car. I could see a small form; A puppy. It clicked then, the reason for the defensiveness of the canine. This wasn't Dogmeat; Instead, it was a mother, protecting her pup. I backed off, walking back to Nora. There was no saving the mother, and I felt no need to make her die in distress. Nora seemed stricken at the sight, and her face only fell further as the puppy licked at its mother's face.



The mother gave it's child one last weak lick, and then seemed to sag. The puppy nudged the unmoving form a bit, before sitting back and letting loose a chilling howl. Quietly, Nora walked up to the mourning puppy, and gently picked it up. She carried the puppy back up to the house we were squatting in, cooing softly at it as she went. I followed solemnly, and shrugged off my pack. I leaned the rifle next to Nora, who gave me a brief questioning look, before I walked back out of the house. Walking into the backyard of one of the surrounding houses, I grabbed a shovel and walked down to the broken bridge. I dragged the Mongrels bodies to the middle of the road; Later, I'd ask Codsworth to use his flamer and burn them. The mother however, I carried to the Sanctuary sign. I plunged the blade of the shovel into the dry earth and began digging a grave.



It was almost an hour later when I finished, and the sun was climbing higher into the sky. Not long after I had started, I had tuned my Pip-Boy into the Diamond City Radio frequency, but I didn't recognize the DJ's voice. That worried me a little, since as far as I knew there was only the one DJ, named Travis. Still, I brushed the worry aside; he was probably sick or something, and someone else was covering. I dropped the last shovelful of dirt into the grave and packed it down, before wiping sweat from my brow. I walked back up to the house, and leaned the shovel on the workbench before entering.



Nora was still sitting with the pup in her lap, idly scratching it behind the ears. The dog itself, a German Shepard like its mother, was asleep. She looked up as I walked in, and I answered her unasked question.



"I buried the mother. She deserved at least that much. Have you named it yet?" I asked.



She looked down at the slumbering puppy. "Him, not it. It's a boy. And no, I haven't."



"How about Dogmeat?" I said. She looked at me like I was crazy, and to be fair, I probably was; There was no way this was actually Dogmeat, right? The timeline still matched up. Still, something about naming him Dogmeat felt right. "Oi, don't look at me like that! It's a very popular dog name in the Wasteland, and it has some history attached!" I defended. Nora still looked skeptical, but nodded all the same.



"Dogmeat then. Nice to meat you, boy" I groaned at her pun, but my heart wasn't in it.



Codsworth handed me a bowl, filled with some kind of stew. I gave it a suspicious look, given the lack of normal food animals in the Commonwealth, but ultimately decided against asking what it was made with. I thanked the floating robot, and dug in. Whatever it was, it was a bit chewy, really fatty, and definitely didn't taste like chicken. Still, I was hungry enough I didn't much care. I finished the last of the bowl, before jabbing my spoon at Nora.



"We should probably talk." I began. "The world has changed. I'm no expert on the Commonwealth, but I can tell you a few things."



The conversation ended up being much shorter than I thought it would be; I spent about ten minutes talking, giving rough descriptions of what locations of interest I knew about, where the various factions with significant power were based out of, and what little I knew about Diamond City and the greater Boston area. I also laid out my tentative plans for helping her; Namely, make our way to Diamond City and recruit Nick Valentine, with a quick pitstop to the nearby Vault 81, to recruit a Ms. Nanny named Curie, who had spent the last 200 plus years studying medicine.. I also shared what general knowledge I had of the Commonwealth; Nora seemed a bit bemused at the idea of bottle caps being used as currency, but mentioned one her neighbors had always boasted about his collection of bottle caps.



She agreed to go scrounge around for the stash of caps, and I decided to head back into Vault 111 after snagging a sledgehammer from the workbench. In the game, the Overseer's office held a unique weapon known as the Cryolator; While I had never bothered to get it during my playthrough, I figured such a unique weapon would probably make for a valuable trade item. The trip downwards was uneventful, and the elevator was just as slow as before. Worse,it seemed even noisier this time around, the tortured squeals of metal forming a discordant chorus.. I almost threw up as the elevator reached the bottom; the radroach corpses had already started to rot, and the stench was practically a biological weapon. I hurried through the vault, quickly reaching the Overseer's office. The Cryolator sat behind a mesh security gate, and I squatted in front of the bulky computer. A few quick button presses had the gate swinging open, and I strolled into the small enclosed area. A single swing of the hammer was enough to knock the front of the case off, old rusted hinges giving way with ease.



Interestingly enough, the glass of the case wasn't even scratched from the rough treatment, even though the steel frame was slightly dented. I guess that was why you couldn't shoot through the glass in the games; the stuff was apparently invincible. With a grunt of effort, I pulled the heavy piece of technology from the case, hefting it in my arms. It was damn heavy; I'd probably have to give Nora the rifle if I was gonna carry this thing around. I carefully set it on the floor, before reaching into the back of the cage and grabbing a metal box. The metal was freezing cold to the touch, so I figured it held the spare cryo cells. To the best of my knowledge, the gun was one of a kind; hopefully, Arturo would be willing to take it in exchange for a more useful gun.



I made my way back into Sanctuary, and found Nora sitting on a stool outside the house. On the ground in front of her was a huge number of caps, with a much smaller pile sitting to her side. She looked up as I approached, sparing a curious look at the monstrous weapon held securely in my hands.


"Overseer's pet project." I explained, "I figured it would make for good trading."



I left Nora to continue counting the caps, moving towards one of the collapsed houses.I pulled on a pair of thick leather gloves I had found in the workbench and started pulling out the various pieces of the house, sorting them as I did so. One pile, consisting of large flat metal sheets, grew quickly, while the piles containing bits of copper wiring, screws, and various wooden bits grew much slower. Not long after I started, Nora joined me, separating the various piles I had made into smaller piles. Considering her experience with building things was leagues ahead of my own, I appreciated the help. Soon, we had stripped the first collapsed building down to its concrete foundation.



Once we had finished pulling the house apart, I gestured to the pile of sheet metal.



"Is any of this suitable for patching and reinforcing the roof and walls?" I asked Nora. "We're going to want better coverage if a Rad Storm blows in."



"A rad storm?" She asked. "What's that?"



"When the great war started, that nuclear detonation you saw? High yield thermonuclear bomb going off to the southwest of Boston. The entire area remains a rad-scorched wasteland to this day, called The Glowing Sea. Sometimes, storms will form over the area, bringing radioactive dust and rain with them. In addition, there's weird green lightning, gives off massive amounts of rads. Thankfully, the lightning seems to stay in the clouds, so we only get a slight does, but it tends to go through thin walls like a pressure washer through paper."

She grimaced at the mention of the Great War, before shooting me a puzzled look as she realized what I said.



"How did you know I saw the bomb go off? Who are you?"



I remained impassive, but inwardly cursed the slip of my tongue. I turned my head slightly, looking her dead in the eyes. "Would you believe me if I said I saw the past and future?"



She shot me a glare. "Take this seriously!"



"I am. There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Nora. Look at the world around you. Does this look like a sane world? Does this look like the world you left behind?"



"No." She deflated, her voice dropping to a defeated whisper. "This isn't the world I know. Knew. It's so different. Nate is gone. Shaun is gone. The Able's are gone. Rosa and her son are gone. Everything I knew, everyone I knew are gone. It's just me, now."



I let out a heavy sigh. I was not equipped to deal with emotional trauma. I was a follower of the tried and true masculine method of dealing with feelings; compress and bury and ignore them. Still, Nora was the key to survival in the Commonwealth; She was the catalyst for so much change and upheaval that there was no way I could be anywhere else. No, I'd have to try and help her through this.



"You're not alone. You still have Codsworth, and Shaun is out there somewhere. The past isn't dead; It lives in you and them. And what about Dogmeat? You think he's going anywhere? You have the past, standing next to you, and the future is still ahead." I was picking up momentum now, my voice getting louder as I continued. "If you give up now, what happens to all of that? I've seen what you can do; You unite the people of the commonwealth, protect them from harm, inside and out. I've seen you do the impossible, fight the unkillable, not for yourself but for those behind you. If you stop here, then who does that fall to? Me? I'm not the hero they need." I paused, mulling over my next words. "But you are. You can help these people, and they can help you."



She looked at me, eyes dull and tired. "And what if I stay here and damn the world?"



I gave her a flat look. "And leave Shaun out there? I didn't think you were that callous." I sighed, and ran a hand through my hair. "Look, why don't we patch up the house first. Then we can talk more, alright?"



She gave a slow nod, so I hefted a particularly large sheet of steel. "Alright, let's fix the roof first, then the walls. If we have anything steel leftover, we can see about throwing together some basic walls for defense. Help me haul these to the house, Then I'll climb up there and you and Codsworth can hand them up to me. Should we try welding them in place, or use some kind of nail or screw?" I asked. The questions seemed to snap her out of her funk, and she stood up and dusted off her jumpsuit.



It was dusk by the time we had finished, but we had managed to completely fix the walls and roof of the Workshop. Tomorrow, Nora would try to throw some walls together, using what few scraps we had left and what she could pull from the other houses. While she was busy, I planned to search the rest of the houses for supplies.



As I rolled into my hammock for the night, I decided that it had been a good day. Sanctuary was well on its way to being the fortress I inevitably built in the game, which would do wonders for my general paranoia. As my eyes slid shut, exhaustion taking its toll, a faint smile slid onto my face.

__________________________________________________________________________


Anyone want a double length chapter?

 

[MEHFOOD]

I peered through the sparse foliage, tracking my target as it walked through the dessicated forest. The Radstag doe had separated from the rest of its herd only a few minutes ago, and my sitting position against the minuteman statue gave me an excellent angle. Raising the hunting rifle to my shoulder, I centered the cross-hair on the chest of the doe. I slowed my breathing, waiting for the void between breaths. Slowly, my finger pulled the trigger, my shot perfect- and then I froze, movement in my peripheral catching my attention. Slowly, I lowered the rifle and turned my head, looking towards the Sanctuary bridge. I frowned as I studied the rickety wooden construction; Whatever had caught my eye was gone now. I sighed, and turned my attention back to the forest, only to curse. The radstag had moved on, out of sight, and I wasn't about to stray from Sanctuary to track it.



I set the rifle against the stone plinth as I rose. I yawned, and stretched my arms behind my back, feeling the joints pop as I did so. I reached into my packets, drawing out a cigarette and caught it between my teeth. I pulled out my lighter, bringing it up to my cigarette to light up, when more movement caught my eye. I snatched up the rifle as I turned, hoping that another doe had wandered into my sights, only to freeze as I saw the massive form stalking along the creekbed. It was almost ten feet long, taller than a man in full power armor, with an impressive set of deadly looking horns; A Deathclaw.



Somehow, It hadn't seen me, and instead continued down the riverbed, snuffling the ground as it went. Soon, it passed by me, completely ignorant to my presence. It's head snapped up, the suddenness startling me, and it loosed a ferocious roar. Further down the riverbank, I could see a group of red shapes sprinting off; The radstag herd. The deathclaw lowered itself to all fours, and sprang off after its prey. I waited until it had passed completely out of sight, before running across the bridge. Running up the ruined street, I slipped through the newly constructed gate guarding the main approach, steel walls on either side protecting our little Sanctuary. Nora looked up from the workbench, frowning at me as I burst in, panting form a mixture of panic and exertion.



"What's wrong?" She asked.



"You remember the other day, I was telling you about the horrible creatures inhabiting the Commonwealth, and how likely they were to murder us horribly?"



"Yes, you said If I ever saw a massive scorpion, giant lizard thing, or anything with green skin and too many muscles to run and hide. Why?"



"Deathclaw. In the riverbed." She paled. "Damn thing is worse in person than I could ever describe. It didn't seem to know I was there, but we should probably keep it down, and be careful with the food for the next few days. We don't need that thing coming up here."



She nodded, setting the circuit board she was working on down. I walked her, collapsing into my hammock, heart still racing.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I'll be doing a series of small Intermissions as I work on the next arc. Deathclaws are Serious Business.

 

[MEHFOOD]

It was about noon when I called Nora over to the workbench.



"What do you need?" She asked.



"We'll, I had some plans for Sanctuary. You know, fortifying this place, making it safe. Since you have some experience with making fortifications, I wanted your opinion."



She nodded. "All right, let's hear it."



"Well, first I was thinking of the static defenses. I was thinking, we find the thickest steel, use them to make three sets of walls. One surrounding the Workbench and the House of Tomorrow, one going past the ruined house next to the Workbench and the Vault, and Finally a much larger set of walls around the outer borders of Sanctuary Hills. But, normal walls aren't enough; bullets could pierce through most of the steel we have pretty easily, right? So, we leave a six inch gap between two pieces of steel. Fill that with whatever scrap we have lying around, then pour in concrete to fill the spaces. That way, the walls can stop bullets real easy, and there'd be no way they could get knocked down if we anchor them right. In addition, we build a series of gates for each set of walls; Inner ring gets two gates, one giving us access to the Roundabout, one giving access to the second ring. Second Ring also has two; One for the Vault, and one for the Outer Ring. Finally, the outer ring has only the one gate, to close the bridge."



"Well, it sounds like it may take a while, but should work pretty well. Is that it?"



"Oh no. Next, we rebuild the bridge. There's plenty of wood scrap around to use, and some of these fallen trees should do as supports. But, if we can get some remote detonated incendiaries under the bridge, we can burn it away if there's ever a big attack, cutting off the easiest way in. If we also set up a series of landmines, also remote activation, on the far side of the bridge, then when all the attackers are running off the bridge, they get shredded by high explosives and shrapnel. Now, we need more active defenses as well, I know. Were you taught how to make machine gun turrets?"



"Err… Yes?" She looked a little uncertain.



My grin turned feral. "Excellent. We set up six or so high caliber guns above the inside walls, that should give them good overwatch on the bridge. It's fairly narrow, so they won't have any real room to move or dodge. It should turn the whole bridge into one big kill box. Set up a few turrets along the rest of the outer wall to discourage any attempts to sneak through the riverbed or woods, and we should be set for perimeter defense. We can use the empty foundations in the Roundabout to set up artillery; There's a group of people calling themselves Minuteman who have the designs for an absolutely massive mortar; we should be able to build five or six of those in the back for heavy for support. Combine that with some smaller, man portable mortars pre sighted on the road to Sanctuary and any other choke points, and we should be able to hold off even the largest raider attacks. Now, I think I remember seeing a military stockpile in Boston somewhere; If we can salvage some miniguns or 20mm autocannons, we can set up some automated AA; There aren't really any flying creatures in the Commonwealth to worry about, but eventually a group known as the Brotherhood of Steel with roll in and try to take any form of Pre-War tech, so we should be ready for them. They operate Vertibirds to shuttle their troops around, so anti-air is a must. Hmm, they're Paladins use power armor a lot, how can I counter that…" I trailed off, deep in thought. My head popped back as I had an Idea, and I turned back to Nora to ask her opinion of domesticating Deathclaws, but she seemed to have left. I frowned. "Oh well, I'll just ask later…"

___________________________________________________________________________
I still think I should have added Radiation Emitters and Tesla Emitters to the outer walls...

NORA!

 

[MEHFOOD]

It was early in the morning when I tuned into DCR. The DJ, who I still hadn't learned the name of, was urgently speaking.

"-nd the scouts report they seem to be staying in the area of Vault 81, which has remained unopened since its rediscovery in 2198. None of the scouts were able to enter the cave housing the Vault door, so the fate of those within remains unknown. No one knows where these strange new ghouls come from, or how they are able to turn others into ghouls, but Mayor Killian has pledged to monitor the situation closely. In better news, the Minutemen have issued a statement, reporting their victory over the Raider group known as 'The Handymen'. As many of yo-" The broadcast went silent as I turned the radio off, troubled by the announcers statements. I could no longer ignore the reality before my eyes; I had arrived long before the start of the game, as Vault 81 opened its door for the first time in 2277. If the door was still closed, then I was at some point before that, obviously. Unfortunately, that still left me with a period of 50 years that we could be in.

I lit up a cigarette as I walked to the gate, swinging my backpack on as I passed it. Slung across my back was the Cryolator, and another prize I had found; an AR-15 style receiver chambered in 7.62. I had found it while exploring the neighborhood, in an underground cellar behind a house up the street. According to Nora, the AR-15 was a popular civilian rifle, but it had never made it in military service. Unfortunately, the barrel had been crushed beyond repair, and the wooden stock had rotted to uselessness. Still, I was hoping to get parts for it at Diamond City, since I had a fair bit of experience with the AR-15 platform.

As I walked past the defenses, I gave them a once over. We had set up some basic walls, as well as a sturdy gate, made from rusted cars and what few steel doors we could find. Despite its mismatched construction, it was quite strong. The walls weren't quite as strong as I would have preferred, but we were working on limited time and resources. Hopefully, we would be able to recruit some settlers to help us build up Sanctuary later.

Nora was standing out in the street, a scavenged duffle bag slung across her back. She was dressed in a air of scavenged khaki pants and a plain white shirt, with my jacket for warmth. In her hands, she held the hunting rifle, the scope having been removed to allow her to better use it at close range. I couldn't see it, but her 10mm pistol was held inside the jacket, in one of the myriad of concealed pockets. We were leaving today, ready to take on the 18 miles between Sanctuary and the capital of the New England Commonwealth. Of course, that time didn't factor in any random encounters. We were planning on swinging by the Drumlin Diner, since I remembered it being a trading post in the games. Of course, given that this wasn't the game, I could only hope it was occupied now. Between the two of us, we had enough supplies for three or four days, in clean water and radstag jerky, plus a few dried herbs that Codsworth had managed to keep alive since the bombs fell. I had discovered a pair of collapsed pots and pans hidden in a pocket within my backpack, something I thanked whatever higher power that had sent me here for.

Nora waved to Codsworth as we walked off; she was worried, leaving behind the last survivor of her old life, but I had managed to convince her to let him stay. After all, he had survived almost a hundred and fifty years alone, so a few months wouldn't hurt any. As we headed past the Red Rocket station, I kept a hand on my .45. Whilst the events of the game may not happen, there's no reason to believe that creature spawns would be affected Thankfully, the short trip to Concord was as uneventful as could be. As we approached Concord, I motioned for Nora to slowly down and walked up next to her.

"From what I've heard, there's a bunch of Raiders holed up in Concord. Now, they might have moved on and left the place empty, but it's up to you if you wanna risk it." I stated.

Her brows furrowed as she thought about it, before she looked up at the sky. "We go through. It's already getting late in the day, and I'd prefer to sleep in a proper bed tonight. Skirting the edge would add at least another hour to our trip, and we can't continue in the dark."

I nodded, and started walking into town. I kept my footfalls light, careful to watch my step. We were careful and quiet as we walked through the city, and our caution was rewarded as we came to an intersection. Voices floated down the street, quiet and indistinct. I motioned back down the street to Nora, and she followed me down the road.

"Well, there's definitely someone there, but no way to know if it's raiders or not. If you want to snap the scope back onto the rifle and take up overwatch, I can see if they're friendly." I offered.

"Sure. Just watch your back. You know more about this wasteland than I do, I need you alive." She said, before turning away and ducking into a building. The sounds of her climbing quickly faded, and a few minutes later, she stuck her head off the side of the building and nodded down the street. I took off the Cryolater and my backpack, and headed up the street, hands visible.

"Friendly on center street!" I exclaimed, voice clear and loud. Immediately, the soft chatting ceased, and the sounds of people clamoring to their feet reached my ears. A man emerged from one of the broken buildings flanking the street, and my heart skipped as I saw his makeshift armor, mohawk hairstyle, and face paint. His face stretched into a savage grin as he saw me, and he raised the pipe rifle in his hands. "Fresh meat, boys!" He called, right before a crack resounded through the street and his head exploded. A series of shouts, curses, and threats spilled from the building, followed by nearly ten raiders. I dove for an alleyway, ducking and rolling into the meager cover. The brick and concrete around me cracked and chipped as bullets of all kinds fell around me. I drew my pistol, and carefully peeked around the corner. Most of the raiders had taken cover, but for two who stood in the middle of the road, scanning the rooftops. I took a deep breath, then stepped out of the alleyway and snapped off two shots. Both of the raiders heads snapped backwards, missing significant portions of mass.

The rest of the raiders started firing at me, but I noticed most of their shots going wide; I guessed their Pipe weapons weren't too accurate. Still, I ducked back into cover, feeling no need to tempt Murphy. Another loud crack rang out over the street, and another raider dropped, blood spewing from the hole in his chest. I waited for the fire to redirect to the rooftops, before springing back out of cover, handgun raised. I had a second to let my eyes widen, and then the raider that had moved into the doorway in front of my fired, his face a s surprised as mine. I spun as the side of my hoodie was torn up, and I felt a line of pain in my side. I slumped against the wall, before raising my pistol and sending two bullets into the chest of the raider. "Sneaky bastard." I muttered.

I flopped to the ground, staying out of sight as I crawled into the house, doing my best impression of a dying man. Once I was safely in the entryway, I grabbed the raiders gun; an old pump action shotgun. A quick check of his body netted me a belt full of shells, which I slipped over my top. I sidled up to a window, wincing at the pain in my side as
i did. I raised the shotgun, racked the slide, and leaned out the opening. Across the street, there were two raiders behind a sandbag wall, so I pulled the trigger, sending the shot across the street. The upper chest of one of the raiders explodes, covering her partner in a shower of blood and bone. He swore, and then I pumped the slide and shot him too. Leaning back into cover, I grabbed three shells from my new belt, sliding two of them into the gun. Checking the side of the second, I saw it was hastily marked as a slug; I guess that explained my abdomen hadn't painted the wall red. Sliding the third shell home, I worked the slide again. I drew my pistol again, and emptied the rest of the magazine blindly out the window. I slid it into its holster, before stepping out a side door into another small alleyway.

This one connected to the other street, so I slinked towards the end. Poking my head out, I saw the street was empty, so I stepped out onto the sidewalk. I stalked up the road, until I saw another alleyway going through. I ducked into the small street, hurrying down it's length to the other opening. I poked my head out once more, just in time to watch Nora put a round into the arm of a raider, huddled behind a wooden barrier in front of me. I felt a vicious grin on my lips as I took in the sight of all four of the remaining raiders. I quickly reloaded my pistol, before pumping the two closest bandits full of lead. The remaining uninjured raider spun around, cursing at the sight of me. He raised his rifle and rose, and I snickered as he immediately lost his head. I raised my shotgun, and put a slug through the last raider. Turning to the building that I knew Nora to be perched over, I waved and motioned for her to climb down, before walking towards the building the raiders had exited from.

There was a table set up in the middle of the room, covered my cards, caps and chems. I walked over, poking through the loot, trying to identify the various drugs spread across the surface. Behind me, I heard nor enter the building, grunting as she dropped something.

"Grabbed your pack." She said. I turned back to face her ad nodded.

"Thanks. Do you want to sit down for a bit?" I asked, motioning towards the chairs. "I wanna poke a round real quick, see if I can find anymore ammo."

"No. I'll help you look, then we move on."

"Sure, sure." I agreed, before heading up the staircase near the back. The upper level had sleeping bags and dirty mattresses strewn about, and near the back, I saw a pile of olive green boxes. I rubbed my hands in glee, walking right up to them and cracking the lids. The closest box held a few pouches of varying sizes and colors. A quick shake revealed them full of caps, so I pocketed them. The next box held a dozen chems, as well as four injectors I recognized as Stimpacks. I left the chems in the box, resolving to ask Nora if she wanted to bring them or not, but I grabbed the Stimpacks. The last crate was filled with loose rounds, most of which were fairly small; .38, I assumed. I dug through the box, fingers searching for smooth plastic as opposed to cool metal, and I soon had accrued a decent pile of 12 gage shells; around 20 total. Most of them seemed to be buckshot, except for two more slugs. Thankfully, the buckshot were sheathed in black plastic, as opposed to the red of the slugs. I dropped the shotgun shells back into the box, then closed the lid and hefted it onto my shoulder. I stomped down stairs, before plopping the heavy box on top of the ards table. Nora wandered in from another room, looking irritated..

"What'd you find?" I asked.

"There's a safe in there, but I can't find the key."

I opened the lid of the box, plucking out my shotgun shells, before waving her over. "Why don't you see if you can find any useful ammo, and I'll go pick the lock." I said. As it turned out, a lot of the locks were identical to the game locks, and you could pick them in the same way as depicted in the game. While I assumed we would run into some more complex locks later, these ones were a breeze to pick. I had always been really good at lockpicking in game, and while it was a little more difficult in real life, I still had a knack for finding the sweet spot. Soon enough, the safe clicked open, and I eagerly opened the door, only to groan as I saw the contents.

"What's wrong?" Nora asked, her voice drifting in through the doorway.

"It's full of Pre-War money!" I shouted back, before muttering, "Bloody waste of time."

I stood, dusting off my jeans as I walked into the main room. I walked over to my pack, opening the front pocket carrying my spare .45 ammo. I took out half the slug rounds from my ammo belt, dropping them into the bag, before slotting buckshot into the empty loops. I finished quickly, and slid my backpack on, before sliding the Cryolator on as well. Nora soon joined my by the door, her 10mm held in a new holster by her side. We walked out of the building, continuing down the Concord streets, one step closer to Diamond City.

 

[MEHFOOD]

After the firefight in Concord, the walk to Cambridge seemed almost boring. Of course, in a universe where giant scorpions could spring out of the ground with no notice, boring was good. Still, the universe seemed determined to punish me for my thoughts. We were just inside Cambridge, when we heard the low growls and moans, followed soon after by screams. Nora immediately turned towards the screams, but the maze of buildings played havoc on our ability to track them. To add insult to injury, I was beginning to feel feverish. Still, I ignored the feelings of weakness and joined Nora in her search for the screaming. Unfortunately, the screams petered out as we got closer, replaced by the grisly sound of tearing flesh and bones being shattered. We rounded a corner, only to come face to face with the source; A pack of ghouls munching on a pair of corpses, eyes still open and glassy, faces frozen in a rictus of pain. Nora looked sick, and I really couldn't blame her; it was a truly horrific sight.

I swung my shotgun off my shoulder, flicking off the safety as I shouldered it. Something was bothering me about those ghouls, however; something was off with their appearance. Their skin wasn't wrinkled and creased, like a normal ghouls. Instead, it was patches of different color, with hives and boils, rashes and necrotic flesh covering it. They looked… diseased. One of them stood up, looking around despite it's milky eyes, and I caught a glimpse of yellow and blue fabric, and a large '8' stitched across the back of the tattered suit it was wearing. These must be the ghouls reported from Vault 81, I realized. Still, there was something about their appearance that set off warning bells in my mind. One of the dead bodies started twitching and moaning, struggling to get to its feet. My eyes widened, panic spiking through my brain right as Nora stepped forward, rifle raised.

"Hey, ugly! Come and get some!" She shouted. I turned to her, a thunderous expression on my face.

"Nora, what the fuck are you doing!" I demanded, grabbing her arm and yanking her back. I could see the ghouls- no, the zombies stand and start trotting towards us.

Nora pulled herself from my grasp, turning to face me. "One of those people moved! They're still alive, we have to help them!"

"Dammit Nora, think! He can't be alive; Half his damn ribcage is gone! Don't tell me zombies didn't exist Pre-War!"

"Of course they did, in movies. Zombies aren't real. It's impossible!"

"Like being frozen for a hundred years is impossible? Like giant, mutated bugs are impossible? When those bombs fell, anything became possible!" I could see the gears working in her head, and the moment she realized the truth of my words. She didn't look completely convinced, but she was also starting to take cautious steps backwards. Still, we didn't have time to keep arguing; while we had been walking backwards whilst arguing, the horde was still too close, and my shotgun was still full of slug rounds. I shouldered the gun, ignoring the brief flash of fatigue, and fired. One of the leading zombies exploded, showering it's comrades in blood and bone, and I racked the slide. Again and again my shotgun boomed, popping zombies like overripe tomatoes, but there were too many of them. I rolled my eyes even as I thought that; it was a cliched line but cliches are such for a reason. Next to me, I could hear the pop of Nora's 10mm, firing frantically into the horde. Despite her panic, her aim was still steady, and most of her shots were kill-shots.

The zombies were close now, too close. For a moment, I simply stood still, panicked mind unable to react. Then, my brain rebooted, and I fumbled the Cryolator off my back. I swung the heavy weapon around towards the rushing mass of zombies, and unleashed a stream of frozen chemicals. The icy mix splashed over the horde, freezing limbs and sending the front of the horde falling to the street. The zombies behind tripped over the fallen bodies of their fellow, forming an impromptu wall of cold bodies. I reslung the Icy weapon, licking up my shotgun from where I had dropped it. Nora replaced the magazine in her pistol, and we ran into cambridge proper.

We found an intact house to hole up in, breaking down the boards covering one of the windows. We dragged a heavy table over to block the now open portal, before moving upstairs. Once we were finally safe, I dropped heavily to the ground, breaths short and ragged. My side was burning, and i was starting to see two off everything. I hurriedly unzipped my hoodie, ripping away the tee-shirts underneath, revealing the gash on my side where the shotgun slug had hit me. It was bright red and oozing pus. Nora was grimacing, she knew what it meant as well as I did; Infection. I caught Nora's eye, waving her over.

"Go to Vault 81. There's a second hidden vault inside; look in the reactor room, for hidden door seems. Alternatively, there's an elevator to where you need to go right by the vault entrance, if you can get inside. Residing in the Vault is a Miss Nanny named Curie, waiting for a Vault-Tec rep. Give her permission to leave, ask her to bring the Panacea with her. It should be able to help." I said, my voice low and rushed. "I'll hole up here. If the worst happens, and I die, find Nick Valentine. He can help you." I let my head fall backwards as I finished. I was already feeling worse; Running into those Plague Ghouls must have sped up the infection. Nora nodded, and I heard her start down the stairs. I let my head rest for a few moments, before I hauled myself upright. Slowly, painfully, I started to blockade the door, in case those ghouls found me again.

The makeshift barrier wouldn't stop them, But I hoped the noise of them breaking through would be enough to rouse me. Once I had finished, I limped over to my back. I dragged my shotgun across the floor, and pulled a handful of buckshot from my ammo pocket. I pumped the gun one last time, letting the spent hull fall from the bottom of the gun, before I began to slot the new shells inside. Once it was fully loaded, I racked the slide and chambered a new shell, before sliding one last round into the gun. Now fully armed, I grabbed a bottle of water and some Radstag jerky, eating and drinking slowly. It wasn't long afterwards that I felt my eyes slide shut, the pain in my side now a roaring wildfire. Everything went black, and all I could think was how grateful I was to no longer be in pain.

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For those of you curious, Aodhan's shotgun is an Ithaca 37 DSPS