Free, and tangled brunette hair flailed wildly in the disgustingly thick wind of the seemingly barren ruins of Quincy as the young girl hoisted up the dirt-stained baseball into the air. Her hands tightened around the handle of the horribly dented metal bat she'd owned for fourteen years now. She swung, hearing the oddly satisfying 'ding' of metal slamming into a softer material that followed with a sort of mush sound. With a simple twist of her body, she sent the spherical object into a long, seemingly endless arc out into horizon across the ruins. It was quite foggy outside today, so the ball couldn't been seen after a short moment of being sent off by the force of the bat.
"Oooo! Did you see that! Home run, all the way to Diamond City, I bet!" The girl cheered, turning back to look at another teen that was sitting on a cinder block beside the settlement gates.
"You wish." The boy muttered, standing from his spot and looked out across the marsh, just out to the Quincy ruins.
"Hey, cut that out!" Called a stern voice from just behind the gates, making the two teens turn on their heels.
A man with a silenced .50 Caliber sniper rifle hanging off his shoulders approached with a quick stride. He was tall, dressed in dark leathers with a piece of combat armor strapped to his chest, set with a pair of aviators that clung to his head. He was intimidating at first glance, but the teens didn't seem to fear him. His electric blue eyes were squinted, adding grit to his ruggedly handsome exterior. His dark brown hair was short slicked back as always, and his chin and jawline had a dusting of unattended scruff.
"Awh, but Mock!" The girl whined, lowering the bat to graze it over the mud.
"We were just having some fun…" The boy then piped in.
"Get back inside. We don't need to draw attention to ourselves." The man commanded, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder.
With only a few groans of frustration, the children complied and ambled back into their home. The man remained near the gates for a few moments longer, scanning the foggy marsh that laid between them and Quincy. It was doubtful that the girl's baseball made it as far as Quincy, but being this close to the water, it would have attracted 'Lurks or something of the sort. Thankfully however, there was nothing of note that was creeping in the fog, not that he could see at least…
"Let's close the gate." The man ordered one of the patrolman that was perched on top of the gates.
"Damn, Mock… Ruining everyone's fun aren'tcha?"
The man's piercing brown eyes darted over to a woman who was leaning against the scaffolding that was worked into one of the two story housing buildings. She was tall and lanky with long, messy jet black locks framing her angular face. All complimented with baby blue eyes. Beside said woman was yet another woman, more appropriately recognized as the leader of the settlement, and she was sitting in a rusted lawn chair. She had a Pip-Boy 3,000 on her left wrist and a 10mm pistol strapped to her right thigh. She was a bit older looking, her auburn hair was about five inches past her shoulders and her green-hazel eyes were sharp and always looked distant. She was shorter than the other girl but more curvaceous. She had a long scar on her jawline to her cheekbone, on the left side of her face. It looked to be an old, nasty gash that was stapled shut...
"Not trying to ruin anyone's fun, Harlula…" The man began, taking a few steps towards her and the other woman, "I'm simply being cautious."
"What's there to be cautious about when the Gunners are running Quincy?" Harlula asked, shifting her weight over a little and she folded her arms across her chest.
"I think you of all people should know the answer to that, sweetheart." The man replied, lowering his gaze to the sitting woman beside Harlula. "Right, Mckenzi?" He then addressed her, furrowing his brow expectantly.
Mckenzi's hand raised from the chair's arm giving a wave of her hand, "Yep." She chirped in short, and returned the man's stare.
He gave a knowing smile.
It wasn't returned.
"They didn't attract unwanted attention, did they?" Mckenzi then asked, lowering her arm back to the chair.
"No, not that I saw, at least." The man answered.
"Alright, well… Might as well return to work." The woman said, pushing up from the chair and looked to Harlula. "And you, get to the cafeteria and announce dinner."
"Yes, ma'am!" Harlula obeyed cheerfully before skipping off.
The man watched Harlula disappear down an alley that likely lead to the cafeteria before looking over to Mckenzi, his expression flat this time. She had already been looking at him, her hands hooked on each hip.
"No caravans today, I guess?" She then asked, her eyes looking passed Mock, at the gate behind him.
"No… Nothing. Not even activity from the Gunners. It's been a quiet day." Mock sent his fingers through his messy hair, slicking it back some as he spoke an snuck a glance over Mckenzi's figure as she looked away from him, but his eyes quickly snapped back to hers.
"Damn… Well…" Mckenzi sighed, hanging her head down, scanning over the ground, "Keep an eye out, I'll have Sunny and Harlula have a look with the Caps stash if one cruises by."
Mock nodded, "Sure thing, keep your radio on just incase." He gestured towards the Pip-Boy that was locked onto her wrist.
"Always is, hon." She smiled at the man before she turned on her heels to wander farther into the settlement.
Dinner time went by without incident. No one fought over servings and everyone got a belly full of food for the night. Everyone seems happy and it was a welcome thing, considering how often someone got punched for their plate.
It was a unordinarily quiet and uneventful night, it was making Mckenzi and Mockingbird uneasy. It was also the day that a Caravan would pass through, but they never expected a caravan to be punctual, especially with the Gunners in Quincy. Nevertheless, all eyes were on the gate, waiting for the caravan. It was getting close to curfew hour and everyone was antsy, or maybe it was just Mckenzi. She did have a habit of overthinking things and it got the negative thoughts flowing, but in the end she always saw things clearly.
Mckenzi sat in the office that sat on a scaffold and lifted the building off the ground to look over the gate. She had the desk in front of the window and the chair was usually turned, facing said window. She often stared out across the wasteland until boredom struck and she'd emerge from the office to wander the settlement.
They didn't really have a name for the settlement. People just referred to it as 'The settlement outside of Quincy'. Not that Mckenzi wanted a name. The people were her family, some more close to her than others, but she was good to her people no matter how much she knew them. The rules were simple. Treat others the way you want to be treated. That was pretty much the only the. The golden rule. Law and order was carried out by Mockingbird and his patrolman around the wall that surrounded the settlement. Sometimes Mckenzi dealt with it herself. They had a two man cell in a shack beside the main gate into the settlement, it was rarely used, thankfully. People had common sense here.
But, outside the walls, they still had to deal with the Gunners, Raiders, Super mutants, Ferals, and sometimes Mirelurks. More so the Gunners because the settlement paid a little 'insurance' fee, so that they'd leave them alone and offer what 'protection' they could. They demanded a simple 2,000 caps a month… They paid, because they wouldn't stand a chance against the large group of mercenaries camping out in the ruins. And if anything got passed their guard, it would come straight for the settlement. They certainly weren't an army, or trained mercenaries. They housed families and loners alike. They weren't racist towards Ghouls either. There was a family of Ghouls outside the walls, calling themselves the Peabody residence.
The settlement offered food, shelter, work, protection, and trade from the shops they established. From clothing to tools and junk. They had a large cafeteria area where the residence sat and ate three meals a day and socialized while doing so. There was a school house, an outdoor theater, and a park for the children. There was guest housing and permanent resident housing. Apartments, duplexes, houses.
Mckenzi was the one to establish the settlement, but distributed an even balance of control over the settlement with Mockingbird. It was a nice life, considering what was outside the walls.
"Mckenzi."
She looked down at her Pip-Boy.
"Mckenzi, is your thing on?"
It was Mockingbird's voice calling her from their local frequency.
Mckenzi turned the office chair towards the window, looking down to the patrolman's perch that Mockingbird stood on. He was also looking up at her and raised his hand.
"I think there's a caravan approaching. Pack brahmin and looks like four people around it." Mockingbird continued and raised a pair of binoculars to his eyes. "Two of them have guns, one looks like a civie, and the other one… I dunno, he has some armoring on, but nothing much but leathers. Should we open the gate for 'em?"
Mckenzi looked over the gates at the distant figures emerging from the blanket of fog resting on the marsh behind Quincy. She then nodded down to Mockingbird, promptly turning off the radio from her Pip-Boy and began her descent down the scaffolding.
The large and rustic gate to the wall creaked and screeched against one another as they were forced to open and provide entry for the caravan approaching the settlement. Patrolman began to line up above and beside the opening, along the extensive wall that surrounded the area. Their guns were drawn but not aimed, simply ready for anything.
Mckenzi stepped in front of the gate, a hand on the back of her neck as she rolled her head a few times, cracking her bones. She acted nonchalant about the situation, which made Mockingbird nervous…
"Hey, welcome." Mckenzi called out to the merchant leading the two headed cow by a rein. It was a woman with short messy hair and tired eyes. Who could blame her? Traveling night and day is hard work.
"Hey, we got a full stock of various items. Do you have a stable and maybe a couple beds for us to use for the night? I'll give ya'll a discount." The woman greeted, getting straight to the point.
"Of course, the stables are behind the shack there." Mckenzi pointed to the jail shack to the left of the gate, "And that'd be great, the guest house is to the right, here."
"You're a doll…" The merchant sighed, a happy smile gracing her greasy face.
Mckenzi smiled in return, stepping out of the way for the group to move into the settlement. She looked over all of them. The two obvious guards, both wearing matching armors and shotguns. And the other one… He looked out of place, like he didn't have a specific place he wanted to get to. His skin was a little rosy from being in the sun and it seamlessly blended into his light brown, flattened deathhawk. His icy eyes stared off elsewhere, but soon enough, that stare was turned towards Mckenzi and the man's cry, scarred lips curled into a smirk. Mckenzi's eyes narrowed in return.
Her stomach began to flutter and her skin tightened with goosebumps. She immediately turned to look upward at Mockingbird, who was also looking at the stranger traveling with the caravan.
"Get Harlula and Sunny to look through their wares, then make sure the brahmin is locked up for the night." Mckenzi requested of the man.
"Sure thing." Mock replied, glancing down at the woman before dropping down from the perch.
Mckenzi eyed him as he jumped down, noticing his left leg strain in pain, and it reflected on his face. "Careful with that bum knee. Busted caps aren't a joke." She warned and gave him a half smile.
"Yeah, thanks mom." He replied with a blank expression and trailed behind the cow.
Mckenzi following the merchant, reaching out to touch her shoulder and get her attention.
"Hey, who's the stranger with ya'll?" Mckenzi asked after the merchant turned to her.
"Oh, him? Well, he didn't really give me a name. He just said he needed to get to a nearby settlement, so he tagged along." The merchant explained and let Mockingbird take the brahmin's rein for the time being. "But, we took his gun from him just incase he got the urge to do something stupid, y'know?"
Mckenzi nodded.
"He didn't talk much, and didn't seem harmful, but he's a little mysterious, ain't he?"
"Yeah…" Mckenzi sighed, patting the woman on the shoulder. "Hey, a couple people are gunna wanna take a look at your stock, just a heads up."
"Sure, I'll keep her open 'til… Whenever." The merchant then turned, making her way back to the stables.
Mckenzi followed, but kept a distance as she noticed the man was in the group that was crowding the stables to browse wares and what not. Mostly the shop owners, along with Sunny and Harlula.
"Oh my God, we were so scared you weren't going to come along!" Sunny exclaimed. The young man had his arm hooked with Harlula's. But it was evident from simply looking at him that he wasn't straight. It was no secret to the settlement. Everyone loved Sunny and accepted his sexuality. He wore cropped T-shirts with cargo pants a lot of the time and his hair always had a braid in it because of Harlula. The two were thick as thieves ever since Mockingbird showed up with the girl.
He claimed he was with the Railroad… And Harlula was a Synth. Mckenzi took them both in regardless and bonded with both of them. Harlula ended up staying, as did Mockingbird. He had suffered an injury to his knee, so he wasn't in any shape to actually travel anywhere when he arrived, anyway. It seems the place grown on him and after he recovered and returned to the Railroad, he came back, asking to stay. Mckenzi agreed without hesitation and eventually made him head of security in the settlement.
Sunny was the local repairman slash engineer. And by God he was the most useful person in the entire settlement. He could fix anything. He was also friendly and loved everyone. He especially loved Mockingbird. He always gave him a firm pinching on the ass as he passed by. Mockingbird hated it so much, but he loved Sunny like a brother, regardless.
Such a dysfunctional family…
"Yeah, we're in need of a restocking." Harlula sighed, "You have food, an' stuff, right?"
"Of course!" The merchant replied with a smile while unlocking the first trunk of goods on the brahmin's back.
Mckenzi looked back to the stranger amongst the crowd, noticing he was looking directly at Harlula. Her eyes instinctively narrowed with suspicion.
"Mock!" Mckenzi shouted over the group, grabbing Mockingbird's attention instantly. So, he hurried over, navigated through a couple people.
"What's wrong?" He asked right off the bat, seeing the look in her eye.
"Keep him away from Harlula." Mckenzi demanded without question or hesitation. She then pointed at the stranger.
Mockingbird followed her point, staring at the stranger who he also noticed was staring at the Synth woman. "Damn, you think he's Institute or somethin'?" He asked, a hand resting on the .44 cal. revolver on his hip.
"Can't be sure. But, keep him away from her until we find out who he is." Mckenzi replied and lightly pushed Mock's shoulder.
Mock gave Mckenzi a nod before he turned, walking back through the crowd of residence that was waiting to look through the caravan's wares. He pushed by, his eyes on the stranger. His hand remained on his iron and he didn't move near him yet, he didn't want to cause a scene…