"Run, honey! Get out of here!" my father yelled out from behind the door of the water plant. I tried to find some way to open it, to save my father but it was sealed radiation passed lethal levels. The other two Enclave guards that joined General Autumn were dead from radiation poisoning like their master. My father and I locked gazes.
"Run..." he said weakly and fell to the ground. I stepped back from the door, turned around and saw Doctor Li.
"We... have to get out of here. The Enclave will be all over the place in a few minutes," I said. "Doctor Li, we need to go," I said firmer, shaking her slightly. She looked at me with a devastated expression on her face.
"Al-alright. I know where to go," she said.
"OK. Lead the way, Doc." We picked up the other Rivet City workers that came with us as we fled from the Jefferson Memorial. Doctor Li stopped before the Taft tunnels and we all climbed in. The tunnels dropped us off into a level below the memorial and in the middle of a small Enclave invasion. They were everywhere.
"Get behind me!" I yelled as I took aim with a confiscated plasma rifle. I hit one of the soldiers square in the chest. He stumbled back just as I sent another bullet into his head which popped like a melon. I switched targets, immediately sighting a nearby trooper. I fired as fast as the gun would allow me before ducking away from the door to reload. I slammed the magazine home and pulled away from cover. I chucked a grenade in when three more appeared.
"Alright, coast is clear. Let's move," I said to the others. We double timed it up the stairs and into another tunnel. I gave a six-shooter to one of the workers who knew how to fire a gun. He was able to help me out in really tight situations. My brain ran on autopilot. I couldn't think about my father. I just couldn't. Focus. Just focus. Focus on getting these people out alive. An Enclave soldier popped out of cover and fired. One of the guys, Garza, took a shot to the head and went down like a sack of potatoes.
"Dammit," I muttered as I returned fire and killed the trooper responsible for his death. Up ahead I could hear a turret going off along with several accompanying howls of ghouls. I edged my way carefully around the bend breathed a sigh of relief: it was one of the Brotherhood of Steel soldiers.
"What're you doing down here," the trooper asked, "These tunnels are not open to civilians."
"We just escaped the Enclave who are trying to, and succeeding, take over the memorial and the water plant," I replied.
"Shit," the man said, "Get going then. I'll buy you some time."
"OK. Thank you," I said and motioned to the other door that led to the gift shop. From there, we could reach the exit and escape.
"Wait a minute!" I yelped suddenly. I had totally forgotten that I tied up Dog Meat in one of the rooms. Doctor Li had already read my mind.
"We can't go back for him, Bri," she said. I glared at her. She flinched slightly at my hostile glance when we heard barking coming down one of the hallways. I started walking in the direction of the noise when Alex Dargon called out, "It could be one of the raiders' dogs." That halted my steps. A ghoul randomly wandered into the vicinity, spotted me, and hissed. I raised my gun, about to fire on it when it stumbled forward with a brown and black German Shepherd on its back. The dog broke its neck and the ghoul stopped squirming. He trotted over to me, wagging his tail.
"Dog Meat! You're okay!" I exclaimed hugging him. A length of rope trailed behind him; he must've bitten through when he heard the gunshots. We had to tie him up since he was getting under everybody's feet. He loves people, especially my dad who made a slight face when I told what I called Dog Meat. My heart lurched and tears threatened to spill over. I took in a shaky breath and got back on my feet. We reached the exit and booked it as far as we could away from the memorial. All around us, Enclave vertibirds flew in and landed on or around the building. No one shot at us. My guess was that they didn't consider us a threat, thinking that something out in the Wastes would kill us. Not while I was still breathing.
"So where're we off to, Doc?" I asked Li.
"Huh?" she said, "Oh sorry. I zoned out..." She cleared her throat. "The Citadel. We'll seek refuge there. Elder Lyons will help us," she explained.
Doctor Li gave me the coordinates for the Citadel and I tried to find the best route that could lead us straight there but we still ran into a few problems. Raiders mostly, but there were a couple of radscorpions, a couple flies, and even a yao guai. We had to be extremely careful around that last one since none of us carried rocket launchers or other heavy weapons. I fired a rocket at one once; took a direct hit to the face and was still coming at me. I had enough sense to activate one of the Stealth Boys I had found and hid. Luckily, the wind was blowing the bear's scent towards us and our scent away from it as we crept by.
I checked my Pip Boy map again. We were about a few hours walk from the Citadel but already Doctor Li, Dargon, and the others were tired. They weren't used to the long treks through the Wastes like I was. Plus, we didn't have time to gather supplies before we left. We were already low on my own water supply. We had to get to the Citadel fast.
"Just a little while longer guys," I said, "Should be there-" I consulted my Pip Boy; it was already eight p.m.- "around midnight."
"Four more hours of walking around in this... this wasteland? Fuck that," Dargon said and sat down.
"We can't keep walking like this, Bridget. We're not used to this like you are. We also didn't come prepared for this," Doctor Li added as she seated herself on a nearby boulder, took off her shoes and rubbed her aching feet. I passed around my canteen of water and checked the levels on the other one I had in my pack. It was full.
We'll make it there, I thought.
"OK. We'll rest here for thirty or forty minutes, but then we have to get going. So rest while you can," I said, "And keep an ear for anything. I'm... going to take a look around." I called Dog Meat over to me and he followed me as I walked a ways from the small group of people I managed to save. There was a large boulder that acted as natural shelter against the elements. I walked over to it, sat down, and began to cry. I cried for my father. For Garza. For these people who I had just dragged out into the middle of the Wastes totally unprepared. I cried for my father running out of the Vault without telling me why. I cried for Jonas who didn't deserve to die. I cried for everything that had happened since I left the Vault looking for my father. Dog Meat curled up next to me and rested his head on my knees. I wrapped my arms around his furry neck and used him to muffle my sobs. I just couldn't stop. A small avalanche of rocks had me instantly on alert. I drew my rifle out, wiped my face, and got into a low crouch. A semi-white lab coat pierced the darkness as Doctor Li walked over to me. Her eyes rested on the gun I had aimed at her. I lowered it.
"Sorry, Doc. Pre...cautions," I winced as my voice cracked.
"It's alright Bridget," she said with a small smile. Then, without saying anything, she sat down next to me, and pulled me into a hug. I froze for a moment. Had it really been that long since I had real human contact that I'd balk at a hug? I set the rifle down on the ground and stiffly wrapped my arms around hers and started crying again. I felt her body shake and realized she was crying as well. I hugged her tighter, whether to console myself or her I didn't know. Dog Meat got up and licked the Doc's face to where she began to laugh a little. After about five or ten minutes, we got up and walked back over where the others were sitting and talking. Our faces were red and splotchy but they ask us. They got up without that much complaining and we continued our trek to the Citadel.