Writer's Note: Another entry in my goal to pair up numerous people from the Fallout universe. As always I am happy to receive feedback, comments, and suggestions. I hope you enjoy!
(Boston Common, November, 2287)
Standing before the large, metal, fountain, Erica pops in the "Join The Railroad" holotape into her Pip-boy to listen to the voice of the person she seeks one more time. The female voice claims that once someone is ready, the Railroad will find them, but she feels she has waited long enough. Having heard rumors about "The Freedom Trail" has led her to this point. Before her a dilapidated sheet of wood with bright blue letters reads "At Journey's End Follow Freedom's Lantern." She looks down to the sidewalk and finds a cylinder disk that reads "Boston. The Freedom Trail" with the number seven painted in red and an arrow pointing at the letter A in trail.
"So the trail is suppose to be some kind of code?" She asks out loud to herself.
She types the letter and corresponding number into her Pip-boy. Looking back down at the sidewalk and sees a thin, red, brick path that leads to another cylinder disk. She huffs at the idea that it will take solving a puzzle to reach her destination.
"So not unlike Dorthy, I must follow the red, brick, road. I only hope that what waits at the end is not just smoke and mirrors."
She walks the beaten path. Approaching the Massachusetts State House she finds another disk coded '4 L." As she continues, she notices many sets of footprints that have kicked up the dirt along the sidewalk. Though you probably wouldn't notice them if you were not paying attention, it is obvious to her that she is not the only one who has the walked the trail in recent days. 'Other recruits?' She wonders. 'Hopefully not ambushers.'
The third disk rests in front of an old graveyard. It reads "2 A." She scans the area with her eyes and finds that someone has made quick work of some ghouls that must have been hiding among the trees and dead brush. Their bodies are scattered about the ground and their blood stains the walls of the buildings, but there is no trace of it among the soil. No doubt washed away by the rain. A rusting catches her ear and she raises her handgun towards the building to her right. She can see a large gap in the building's upper floor wall, where she can swear eyes are peering down at her. The hairs stand up on the back of her neck as her instincts take over.
"Who's there?" She hollers to the stalker. Her eyes scan the building but she finds nothing. Still she can feel a gaze locked on her. 'Are they using a stealth boy?' She looks for any kind of shimmer in the moonlight but there are only shadows. She keeps her focus on the building. "I know you're there! If you don't show yourself right now, I'll be forced to shoot!" Still nothing. Her hands become tight. She moves all her energy to her legs, preparing to jump out of the way of pending bullet fire. "Okay! I warned you! You better hope I never find out where you are!"
She keeps her aim as she quickly glances down at the trail to continue forward. As she turns around the next block she finds the forth disk that reads "6 O." Now just wanting to find the rest of the code as quickly as possible, she keeps her guard up while jogging along the path. She finds the disks reading "3 I" then "5 R" and "8 D."
She stops a moment in front of the Old North Church to catch her breath. She rests her back up against the statue of a man dressed in an eighteenth century, military, uniform with her gun against her chest. She still finds no one following her but she can't shake the feeling that she is not alone.
"Holy fuck! How many more numbers can there be?"
She takes in a few deep breaths then looks back down at the trail. She sees the red bricks traveling towards the church and to her surprise it ends at one final disk that rests at the foot of the entryway. She hurries over to it and it reads "1 R." She enters it in. Right away she can tell just by looking at the list what it spells.
"Railroad? Really? That is their secret code?" She sighs annoyed. "Well, I guess the only thing to do now is figure out what the code goes to." She looks up at the church and notices the symbol of a lantern just above the doorway. She remembers what the sign read. "At Journey's End Follow Freedom's Lantern." She steps up to the door and tries turning the knob. It is locked. "Of course. What did I expect?"
She pulls out a bobby pin from her match box she keeps in her hip pouch and uses it to make quick work of the lock. She steps inside and locks the door behind her. Finally she is able to feel a bit calmer knowing that whatever was watching her from outside can no longer see her. At least not without heat vision. The comforting feeling fades quickly however as the smell of rotted flesh tickles at her nose. She covers her face with her hand.
"Oh geez," she gags. "Can I step into a single building up here without being reminded that everything has become a tomb?"
Stepping into the nave of the church, she ponders why there are rows of benches facing a large cross on the far wall. 'So this is what a church looks like on the inside? Strange. I would think the chairs would be set up in a circle rather than in one direction. How is anyone suppose to share their opinions properly to the people behind them? Surely the group was not meant to just sit and listen. What a boring way to learn that would be.' Along the floor she notices more dead ghouls. 'Wow. Who ever came through here the first time was no joke. I wouldn't want to get on their bad side.'
Glancing around the room she quickly spots another symbol of a lantern above the east doorway. She follows the path to the next room which has a stairway leading down. A howl of wind surprises her and she readies her gun once again. 'It's just an old, creaky, building, Erica. You've got this.' Step by step she descends the staircase. The retched smell becomes even more potent. 'Oh jeez. Could they at least try to keep this place to a point, so people don't end up puking their guts out? Or is that also a test to prove who is worthy?' Unable to take the smell any longer, she does her best to take in as little air as possible and hold her breath for as long as she can.
The long hallway comes to a dead end. She drops her shoulders thinking this whole thing has been a waste of time. She then notices another disk propped up on the right wall. There is another red arrow pointing to the letters on the disk. She places her fingers onto it and notices how the disk presses inward like a giant button.
"Is this where I put in the code?"
One by one she enters the letters into the mechanizem and as she press the final letter, D, into it, the sound of a lock can be heard unlatching then a secrete door reveals itself to her left. She jumps back from it expecting there to be more traps within. Once the door fully opens she inches her way up to it and peers into the darkness. There is nothing to be seen but she can hear the sound of breathing from somewhere deeper inside. She raises her handgun to her chest.
"Hello?" She calls into the darkness. "Who's there?"
A light suddenly flips on and she is temporarily blinded. She hides herself back against the entryway. Once she has a moment to adjust she peers into the room again. She finds two people just standing at the other end of the room as if they are waiting for her.
"Are you friend or foe?" She calls to them.
"We have been expecting you Ms. 75. Please come in," greets the red headed woman in a curious tone.
Erica steps into the hall still with her gun at the ready. She scans the room for any turrets or traps. "Who are you people?"
"Don't worry. No harm will come to you here, so long as you mean no harm to us. My name is Desdemona." She turns to the man on her left. "This is my right-hand man, Deacon. We are the leaders of the Railroad. It is nice to finally meet you."
Erica sets her gun to her side but still keeps it at the ready. "How did you know I was coming?"
"You could say it's what I'm good at," Deacon answers with a smile.
Erica gets an uneasy feeling from him since she can't see his eyes through his dark sunglasses.
"The Railroad has eyes all over the Commonwealth. I am sure you have heard the rumors that have been popping up, about a man named Nate who has been helping the Railroad grow?"
"I have. I've also heard about how you guys are accepting of anyone as long as they are willing to help in the fight to save synths," says Erica.
Desdemona looks to her impressed. "So does that mean you are in favor of synths having the same rights and freedoms as humans?"
Erica takes a moment to think of a proper response. "Well... I'm not against it."
"I suppose that's a start," Desdemona is a bit disappointed by her response.
"So is that really what you guys are trying to do here? Making the world a place where synths and humans can live free side by side?"
Deacon speaks up, "We're not about saving the world, too big a job for too few. But we're trying to make it a better one. One synth at a time. And care about the little guys. Maybe lend a hand on the side. Not as much as some would like. But hey, it's something. People think our missions are all about synths. But there's more going on. We're building a better, brighter Commonwealth."
"I guess that makes sense."
"So are you still interested in joining up?" Asks Desdemona.
"Sure. Sign me up." Erica finally sets her gun back in its holster.
Desdemona's eyes lighten. "Fantastic. So what shall we call you?"
"Um... my name is Erica. You can just call me that."
Desdemona asks, "So it's just Erica? You don't have a last name?"
She ponders at her question. "A last name? You mean like... if I were married?"
Desdemona is taken back by her response. "Well I guess. Sort of..." She shakes her head. Never mind. Just Erica is fine. So I take it from your jumpsuit and Pip-boy that you were once a vault dweller. Vault 75 according to the number. I haven't heard of that one."
"It was only recently that the door to the vault was opened. Due to... complications our two hundred and ten year confinement came to an end."
"I see. Were there any other survivors?"
"Only a handful. I myself was badly injured when I escaped so I'm not sure how well the others got away."
"You were injured? What happened while the doors were opening?"
Erica lowers her eyes. "I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind."
"Oh uh... I'm sorry. I guess I'll just let Deacon take things from here. But if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask."
"Okay, thank you."
Desdemona exits the room through a door at her back leaving the two of them in an awkward situation.
"So it was Eric, right?" Deacon asks sarcastically.
"It's Eric-a," she corrects.
"I know, but I'm gonna call you Eric."
Right away she finds herself becoming annoyed by him. "Why?" She asks demanding an answer.
"Because I like to give everyone a pet name. You do know what a pet name is, right?"
She grumbles annoyed, "A name that is used instead of someone's usual first name to express fondness or familiarity. Yes. I know what a pet name is."
"Well, I just wanted to be sure since you didn't seem to know what a last name is."
Erica becomes angry feeling he has insulted her. "Look buddy. Just because I didn't understand the context of the question does not mean I'm simple. I'll have you know my IQ is exactly 140 and my G.P.A. is a 4.0."
"Really? Cause you don't act like-"
"Like what? Like those traitorous, asshole, scientists back in the vault?"
Deacon realizes he has struck a nerve with her. "Okay, let's put a pin in that. Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. Let's just start over. My name is Deacon. Just Deacon so I can relate."
"Ha ha, real funny."
"I'm serious. I haven't had a last name since I changed it a few years back. I like to keep people guessing. I even put myself under the knife every year or two. New face, new body - you know, the full makeover. I've even changed myself to look like a woman, and once a ghoul." He chuckles. "Gunner's have had bounties on me. Well, me under different names and faces. I wanted to see how many slots I could fill on their most wanted list."
"It sounds to me like you're hiding from something. What is it?"
"Hiding? What could I possibly be hiding from? I am the very definition of innocence. We're just going to spend all day playing canasta. Promise."
"Yeah, right. So I take it the reason we are even talking is because you're going to be my new partner?"
"That's right!"
"Great," Erica grumbles while rolling her eyes.
Deacon can feel her disdain for him filling the air around them. "Look, I don't want you to think that this is happening because you're not good enough to fight your own battles. You are, and we know you are, but around here we like to make sure everyone has an extra pair of eyes. You already have a jump start on most recruits just on your instincts alone. Instinct is a powerful tool in our business. Rely on it, train it up. It'll save your life."
"So then what is our first mission?"
"The first thing we need to do is get you aquanted with everyone. Right now the majority of our higher ups are right here under our feet. We ask that you never tell anyone where this hide out is. If people want to join our cause, we always tell them to follow the freedom trail. That's it." Deacon looks to the entryway. "Speaking of..." He walks over and flips the switch to close the door. He then returns to her side. "After that, we'll be going for a walk. I have some people to meet up with topside."
"But, I just got here. Can't we at least take a break?"
Deacon shakes his head. "I'm afraid there will be no time for that. Things are moving fast right now, what with Nate being out there every day fighting to strengthen our cause. Now more than ever the people need us and it is our job to answer their calls."
He leads her inside where she meets the whole gag. Carrington, P.A.M, Drummer Boy, Tom, and a few other new recruits. After getting a debriefing, having a bite to eat, then prepping for their mission, they head out the church's sewer exit to keep the traffic from the entrance to as minimal as possible.