AU/Fallout 3
Hanna Is Not A Vault Name
Not many had escaped the vaults; Vault 101 had been the first place of break out with that chick that wanted to find her dad. And, only a few years later, another vault had its own escapee. Hanna Cross, Age 24, G.O.A.T. results: Waste Management Specialist. Current position: Running the FUCK away from giant naked mole rats. Armed with a hammer, pip-boy, and a damn baseball bat, he was off to a bad start as he had nothing he was confident with to fight them back. Clambering up the hillside, he could almost feel the ugly gnarled teeth of the very naked creatures at his heels. Once at the top he paused enough time to take a breath and to squint ahead past the bright sun, he saw what might be his saving grace ahead. He slid down the face of a hill, and quickly continued to move toward some houses up ahead.
It looked like a small abandoned town. Not even a town, with as few houses as there was, it might've been a village or park, as they called small groups of moveable homes. The short redhead ran to the first house, it was open, but half the house was missing which made it a bad hiding space. He moved quickly down the street, as the mole rats closed in. Then, there it was, a small trailer that was both unlocked and was enclosed completely. Hanna was able to scramble inside, slipping once, and close the door, locking it before the rats got there. Strangled awful cries came clawing at the door; he swallowed thickly and gave a groan as he slide down to the floor.
"Gaawwwddddd, what was I thinking!" He grumbled as he rubbed his hands over his face. His blue jumpsuit looked baggy on his lanky frame. He had the pants tucked into his boots, and the first few buttons of the top undone to try and cool down. His red hair was in messy waves and curls on the side, some of it had been pushing into a fohawk, but it looked sad and wilted from the sun and amount of running. "Go on Hanna. You could probably blow the door off the Vault, Hanna." His hands moved with his voice as he poorly imitated his former friends' voices. He closed his eyes a moment and waited and waited for the animals to leave. Slowly, he seemed to fall asleep on the floor for a few hours.
He awoke with a grunt and he pushed himself up off the floor. It sounded like the monsters had left, but he wasn't about to leave quite yet. He adjusted his goggles, which he used now for traveling, finding it quickly easier to fix than having to constantly push up his glasses. Then he began to look around the place for something, anything that could help him. Beans, Nuka~cola, some bullets for the rifle on…the…dead body in the next room. Hanna blinked his azure eyes at the corpse, he had a seen a few dead bodies in the Vault, mainly of the old or sick, but this one was really super dead. He butted his boot against the body, once…twice…once more for good measure. Seemed dead enough, and looked like a raider. He awkwardly looked around before crouching down and removing the man's clothes then his own. Now his stupid blue jumpsuit had been traded for slightly used and bloodied tank-top, baggy pants, a pack and belted accessories. Now, at least, he wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb but instead looked like a kid in his fathers clothing.
Hanna shoved what he needed in the bag and tossed the baseball bat to the side as he found a way to holster the rifle and pocket his bullets. As he walked to the back door he stopped and took a few steps back, making a rather awkwardly happy "GNEE~!" sound as he walked over to find a bobble head T-rex. He looked around quickly and found some tape stuck to a table and he pulled it off and used it to attach it to his belt quite securely, giving the head a tap. "Alright Rex!" He cheered and attempted to kick open the door only for it to open before he touched it. His foot collided squarely into the hip of the person behind it and luckily for Hanna and the intruder, it only caused the man to stumble slightly. He pulled out his hammer and held it at the ready, seeming to forget his newly acquired weapon. Slowly the figure stood straight, since her had bent some in reaction to the kick. Bright blue eyes met cool amber eyes flecked with darker golds.
"That…was unexpected." Hanna's eyes widened as the man spoke. He wasn't just any man; it was a walking dead man, the first one he's ever seen. Stories made them sound like the monstrous, overly built, flesh eaten beings with no social interactions; things of Vault Horrors that the janitor would tell to kids who would listen. But this one was lean and tall; he wore a dusty orange shirt, a long duster jacket that seems riddled with holes and black pants falling over a worn pair of boots. His skin, though slightly in rot, seemed to still be more intact than others, scarred and pieced together in some places. His hair black as soot with ambling white streaks running through it, but most striking were his eyes.
"Uh….wow…" Hanna laughed awkwardly and looked down as he replaced his hammer. Seeing a hat, it must've fallen off in the collision; he leaned down and picked it up, patting off imaginary dust from it and holding it out to him. "You're the first….thing…that talks I've seen outside." He exclaimed as if it was normal. The ghoul took the hat back and settled it back on his head. "What's your name? What are you? Did you die and come back…or..." Hanna's question trailed as if the man could read minds.
"I'm a ghoul…and I don't know my name…" He said as he took a step in past Hanna and looked around the trailer and walked over to the fridge. It seemed that would be all he'd say on the subject too.
"You don't know your name! But…but everyone has a name." He said scratching at the back of his head before raking his fingers back through his flame colored hair. The ghoul gave him an odd look, slightly surprised the boy hadn't run off slandering his kind or freaking out.
"Guess it's more…I don't remember. People just call me things." He said as he pulled some colas and bottle caps from the fridge and placed them in his bag. "You're not running?"
Hanna seemed lost in though for a moment and looked back at him. "Huh?...Oh! No, why? You're about the neatest thing I've seen outside the vault! Man, that would show them, knowing I had a ghoul as a friend. Geez…" Hanna's thoughts trailed for a moment and he adjusted his goggles a moment. "How about Ishmael? That's a cool name."
Ishmael blanked a moment as he closed the fridge and laughed; his voice was a little scratchy but it sounded genuinely amused. "Friend? Ishmael? You're quite a person..."
"My name's Hanna." He held out a hand rather eagerly, the movement causes the T-rex to nod vigorously on his belt. "I escaped a Vault!" Ishmael took his hand and gave it a shake.
"Hanna…" Ishmael mused as he looked over the boy. He looked young, acted young, and couldn't be more than 16 just by looks. He sighed; he'd at least help him to the nearest human town. "There's a small town, with people, few miles from here. I'm heading that way. Do you want to come?" Hanna just nodded a few times and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Lead the way, Bailey!" Hanna exclaimed happily as he tested a new name for his new friend. Bailey knew then, it would be a long few miles.