When freedom comes, open the gates to victory.


Chapter 2: When Freedom Calls

Taylor was back where it all started; she could still remember the fake smiles and lies like it was yesterday.

How she hated that.

And now, she was back where it all started.

The roaches had been dealt with a while back with the pistol she had found in a desk—she had missed her shots most of the time and the recoil had hurt her arm and she would sadly wonder if this is how Nate felt when he shot a firearm—and now she was here.

(She remembered the bastard with his smile and his nice white coat telling them that everything would be alright.)

Taylor was in front of a large vault-like door; she didn't recall seeing this before.

Probably because it was opened before, she thought as she walked towards the small platform with the control panel, carefully avoiding the remains of the Vaul-Tec personnel. She examined the control panel for a while and frowned.

"Okay…how do I…hmm…" Taylor slammed a finger on a nearby socket. "…Seems like it needs a key of some sorts…but I don't see any—ack!" The young woman almost tripped over the skeleton as she was moved backwards but managed to grab hold of the control panel before it could end in tragedy. She glared down at the pack of bones as if it was its fault for her clumsiness. But then she noticed it.

There was something on that skeleton's loose hand…could it be?

Taylor leaned over and grabbed the small machine as quickly as possible involuntarily flinching as the hand fell down from its perch.

"Is this thing working?" she asked no one as she pressed the small 'ON' button and cleaned the screen with her hand. A small clicking sound resonated from within the small machine as the screen turned on and a small cartoon boy gave Taylor the 'thumbs up' pose before a whole set of menus appeared in the screen. She noticed the small Geiger counter near the screen and then nodded. "…so this is a Pip-Boy, huh?"

She had heard about these things.

Back before the war, they were considered the best in portable computers. Her old classmate, Lulu, would always brag about the small little thing she carried with her at all times. The young woman could still remember what Lulu would say about her little pocket machine, "It has a map! A journal! And oh! A radio! Can you believe it!? It's the best study buddy you can have!"

This one however didn't look like the ones Taylor was used to seeing back in school. Those were a small handheld tablet compared to these and in contrast to the one Lulu would use for studying, this Pip-Boy seem a little bit more advanced. For one thing, she didn't recall seeing a Geiger counter or a heart monitor—currently informing Taylor that someone was very dead.

She glanced at the Pip-Boy and examined it up and down. She noticed a small adapter plug on the underside of the screen and smiled.

Taylor attached the Pip-Boy to her wrist and then, just as quickly, pulled out the small plug from behind the small machine and put the adapter into the socket. She turned to look at the Pip-Boy as the words, 'Access Granted', appeared on the screen. She heard another click and pushed the red button with all her might and then she heard it.

The elevator was coming down.

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She didn't know what to expect once she was outside.

Taylor expected complete and total isolation like in those movies she and Nate used to watch all the time. Perhaps she expected a big hole on the ground somewhere and unending sandstorms coupled with black rain.

She didn't get any of that when the elevator took her outside.

The world was…mildly intact.

The trees were still there, otherwise quite dead, but still there all the same. She could see buildings in the distance, all intact as if nothing had happened. She could faintly hear water nearby and a few odd bird calls here and there.

No, this wasn't the world those movies had depicted so long ago.

This world was still pretty much alive, if rather isolated and full of the dead.

Taylor tried to avoid looking at the bodies as she made her way outside the small fenced area—or what was left of it anyway.

She saw them all. The bodies of the soldiers and Vault-Tec security and that big man in Power Armor was laying there on the ground, his polished armor now but a rusty shell of its former self.

As she walked away from the fences and military dead, she saw them. A line of skeletons, all waiting to get in to a vault, now scattered on the ground like useless marionettes.

(A part of her envied the dead, for at least, they were dead and gone but not her, who was still living and miserable.)

When she finally arrived at Sanctuary, she gasped.

Sanctuary Hills was still here…but the grass was gone, trees had fallen over, cars had rusted, houses had been torn and buried in debris and…

Everything was gone.

Everything was just gone, broken, destroyed.

This had been her future and like her husband it was already dead and gone.

Taylor had a hand on her face as she walked towards the ruins.

She just wanted to get back home.

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"It's…it's really you!"

Perhaps she should have expected to see the Mr. Handy again, but then again even she was just as surprised as the robot before her.

Codsworth was alive and well…well, as far as she could see, despite the lack of color in his metal shell and the…bullet holes…he seemed just fine. Well, as fine as a robot could be anyway.

"Codsworth…ah…how, what…?"

"Ah madam! It is good to see you again! It has been absolutely dreadful! Absolutely dreadful!" the robot cried out. "I'm so happy to see you, again! My, my…it's been quite a while!"

"I…umm…yes…yes it has been…but…um…" How could she say this…? "What…what happened…to the world?"

"The world, madam?" Codsworth repeated, sounding momentarily confused before letting out a small laugh. "Well…besides our geraniums still being the envy of Sanctuary Hills, I'm afraid things have been dreadfully dull around here."

"…what do you—"

"But things will be so much more exciting now that you and sir are back, eh!"

Taylor smiled sadly.

She never thought a robot could be so happy to see her and now she didn't know whether to cry or laugh at the silliness of it all (and the constant reminder that Nate was dead and Shaun was gone).

"Where is your better half, by the by, mum?" Codsworth asked, sounding confused.

Taylor blinked at the question, before she just collapsed to her knees and sighed. She was tired.

"Mum!?"

"…he's gone…they…they killed him…"

"What…?" Codsworth was confused for a second before he said, "Ah Mum…these…these things you're saying…these terrible things…I…I believe you need a distraction. Yes! A distraction, to calm this dire mood..."

"Codsworth, listen I…"

"It's been ages since we had a proper family activity!" the Mr. Handy cried out. "How about Checkers…or perhaps Charades, hmm? Shaun does love that game. Is…is the lad with you?"

Taylor just shook her head. "He's gone…they took him…"

Both human and robot were silent for a while before Codsworth shook his metallic body and let out a sigh.

"It's worse than I thought! Oh dear…Hmm-hmm…Aha! You're suffering…let's see…from hunger-induced paranoia…how else would you be saying all these terrible things…?"

"Codsworth…look, I…"

"No…no…no! That is just terrible! I cannot believe it…but…it is to be expected. Not eating properly for 200 years would do that, I'm afraid…"

Taylor blinked and then stared up at the robot, eyes widened.

Did he just…did he just say…?

No.

That couldn't be right…

No…no…that…that couldn't be right…!

"Codsworth…are…are you sure…?" Perhaps his internal clock was wrong. Perhaps he meant to say 20 years, instead…but no…even then it wouldn't be…but…why would Codsworth lie…why would he—

"Perhaps a little bit over 210 actually, mum…" Codsworth told her, matter-of-factly. "Give or take a little for the Earth's rotation and some minor dings to the ole' chronometer…that means you're two centuries late for dinner! Hahaha! Perhaps I can whip you up a snack? You must be—"

"Codsworth!"

"Mum!"

"That's not the truth is it!?" Taylor was up again, a bit hysterical and a little bit mad. She had grabbed the Mr. Handy's body and was shaking it a bit as if trying to fix a problem that wasn't there. "That can't be right! It can't be 200 years!"

"Madam! Please! Please! Control yourself!" the robot cried out, using a small metallic hand to hold her wrist. "Please! Please! It's the truth! Now…please let's just…let's just lie down, shall we…? Perhaps a breath of fresh air would make you feel better, yes?"

But Taylor was on her knees again, with tears on her eyes.

200 years.

She couldn't believe it.

The bastards at Vault-Tec had finally done it.

They had taken her future and crumbled it into tiny little pieces and destroyed her family.

Their little experiment had been a success…for the most part.

She had lived…no…she and those others had lived for over 200 years only to be killed by a minor malfunction. Nate was dead and she was not and their son was gone. And now, she was being comforted by her old Mr. Handy robot that she had left behind.

"Ah…mum…perhaps…umm…some tea would make you feel better? Oh no! What am I saying…? Coffee…coffee is the best pick-me upper! That should do it, right?" Taylor looked up, and stared at the robot as it went back into the house before he cried out again. "Oh! What am I thinking!? There's no coffee or tea here!" Codsworth was back outside with Taylor and he was shaking a small hand at her. "Don't you worry, mum! I will be right back! I just need to go to the local mart and get you some coffee!"

"Codsworth…wait…I…"

But the robot was already out of the wrecked patio and floating on what remained of the sidewalk before he cried out again.

"Oh! What am I thinking!? That old mart was closed years ago! Oh dear…no…what do…I…"

"Codsworth!"

The Mr. Handy stopped floating and turned to stare at her; Taylor was up again, brushing her tears away as she walked towards him.

"Codsworth," she said again. "…what's going on…? Are…are you alright…?"

Codsworth was silent for a while before he began to cry, much to the young woman's shock.

"Codsworth!"

"I…I…Oh mum…it's been absolutely horrible! Two centuries! Two! With no one to talk to, no one to serve!" He floated towards the house and extended a metallic hand at it. "I spent the first ten years trying to keep the floor waxed, but nothing gets out nuclear fallout from vinyl wood. NOTHING!" Taylor blinked and but said nothing as the robot went on with his tirade. "And the house! Oh! This poor house! How do you dust a collapsed house!? And the car! The car! How do you polish rust!?"

The young woman just stared at Mr. Handy as he cried out again.

Poor guy.

She really didn't know how to comfort a robot…but at least she wasn't the only one having a mental breakdown.

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Eventually, after calming the Mr. Handy robot down, Taylor decided to see what was left of her old house.

She tried not to cry when she saw the destruction.

Everything was in shambles (except a few parts here and there that had been kept cleaned by Codsworth over the years) with burned marks here and there. Surprisingly, the couch was almost intact as was most of the kitchen. She had expected the house to collapse at any moment but Codsworth assured her that there was a twenty-five percent chance of that ever happening.

(Twenty-five…that was a good percentage if you wanted to get crushed by your house—Taylor decided to instead sleep outside, better for everyone and her health.)

Her bedroom was a mess. The pillows and mattress were gone—Codsworth mentioned a pair of thieves running amok a hundred years back but since then no one else had returned—their clothes, too, were gone well, most of them anyway. She had found one of Nate's old military jackets and had decided to wear it for a while (she could also pretend Nate was still here and was giving her the hug she so desperately wanted).

When she came to Shaun's room, she let out a few tears as she went around the place.

The crib was still there as was the mobile; Nate had fixed it up a few days (centuries) back. His rattle and his 'SPECIAL' book were on the floor, dirty and forgotten. The room, the room she and Nate had worked on for months…it was…

Her baby was gone. This room wasn't worth it anymore.

Taylor didn't even know how to feel as she tried to get the crib mobile to move; she needed to find her son, she had promised herself that she would find her little boy. But, how?

She didn't know where to start.

She didn't know where to go and look for help.

She was 200 years into the future and she didn't know how much the world had changed while she had been sleeping.

If the giant roaches back at the vault were any indication, the world had changed a lot and not for the better. Still, Taylor couldn't just sit down and lose hope and wait till a miracle happened. She wouldn't find Shaun while feeling sorry for herself but what else could she do.

A law degree wouldn't be able to help her in this new world and she knew it.


The days came and went and Taylor had managed herself quite well with a little help from Codsworth.

She and the robot had gone about the ruins of Sanctuary and found a few things to salvage here and there; for one thing, Taylor had found a proper mattress and a few blankets. She was still sleeping outside, though, much to Codsworth's chagrin but the young woman would rather not take any chances.

As for food, well, she had learned that even after 200 years, the food from back then was rather good, despite, you know, the years. She had even been forced to cook a dead dog she and Codsworth had found while they were exploring the ruins—she had tried not to throw up after she had a taste. Still, she had to learn to live in this new world and not be picky with her meals but it was a difficult process.

Most of the time, she spent it reading a few books that had survived and looking at her Pip-Boy's map.

She didn't have much of a plan to go on.

She lacked any experience to survive and the only reason she was even managing was because of Codsworth. Taylor had tried to practice shooting her new gun but after missing her intended target, an empty Nuka cola bottle, she had given up and decided to not waste ammo anymore. She only hoped she could scare anyone that would dare to come around because she doubted she'll last much in a firefight unless she had a plan.

As for finding other people, she didn't have much information to go on.

Codsworth had been kind enough to tell her that the people that he had met up were none too happy to see him, hence the small bullet holes in his metal casing. Most of them came from Concord, apparently.

She remembered the place.

It was a small town a few miles away and it was relatively safe (at least back in the day). The town was mostly full of tourists every time she and Nate would visit. They always ended their visits with a meal and a visit to the old Museum of Freedom…it never got old.

She wondered if the town was worse off than Sanctuary but at least she knew humans were still around. Whether they were friendly or not, well, Taylor would have to go and find out.

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Concord was a long way off by foot but it wasn't like Taylor to complain.

Codsworth had stayed behind to 'man the fort', as he so eloquently put it. He had wished the young woman good luck and that he'll have supper ready by eight.

That had been an hour ago, and she was now walking down the street, glancing here and there and watching the cars as she passed by. Most of the cars were rusted beyond recognition with a few starting to lose their pristine look. Her old Corvega back home was similar but then again most of the cars she saw had not been destroyed by a garage cave-in so they pretty much had no excuse.

Too bad she wasn't a mechanic; she bet that if she actually tried, she could get a car running but Taylor would rather not take her chances.

These cars were still nuclear powered and the last thing she wanted was to blow one of these old men up to smithereens. The last thing this street needed was another nuclear explosion.

"Almost there…" Taylor muttered as she glanced at her Pip-Boy again. She was at least a few minutes off from Concord, which was good, still she was rather tired. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the exercise, she just wasn't built for the outdoors like some people. She'll get used to it eventua—

"Woof! Woof!"

Taylor stopped in her tracks and stared.

It was a dog. A German Shepard.

The dog was barking at the ground in the outskirts of the old abandoned Red Rocket station. It growled and growled and Taylor wondered if she should approach the animal.

She didn't know whether the pup was friendly or not and she wasn't willing to take chances, so she walked slowly—too late. The dog had noticed her almost immediately and sent her a suspicious—and adorable—look. It tilted its head at her and then returned to growling at the ground.

Is he…is he looking for something…? Taylor thought as she inched closer towards the animal. No…that can't be right…dogs just don't growl at the ground without a reason…and if it was something, the little guy would have dug it up a while back so what is—

Loud screeching noises stopped Taylor cold in her tracks, before she felt a pain in her leg. She looked down and noticed the most horrifying creature she had ever laid eyes on; it was a mole rat. A giant and horrifying mole rat.

Taylor let out a frightened yell as she shook the mole rat away from her leg, but it was dead set on ripping her leg of, so the young woman slammed the butt of her gun straight to its head. The creature let out a loud yelp before Taylor kicked it away from her.

Then she heard the ground below her being torn apart as a pair of mole rats appeared; they hissed and jumped towards her, but Taylor was faster. She took aimed and fired once, twice. The two mole rats were down, both shot in the head. Still, more mole rats came from the ground and Taylor shot again. She missed, once then twice and she was forced to kick one of the mole rats as she backed away as fast as she could despite her injured leg. Behind her, the dog was barking and biting at the trio of mole rats that had suddenly appeared as well and it seemed to be having better luck than Taylor was having with dealing with the mole rats.

The dog bit unto a mole rat's neck and then threw the body towards its companions, who hissed and jumped at the dog, but the dog was faster. It moved out of the way and they slammed into the metal floor before the dog bit them again and shook them about.

Meanwhile, Taylor continued to shot at the mole rats and managed to kill one of them before the other managed to jump straight at her; she cried out and raised her arm to defend herself. As luck would have it, the mole rat bit hard unto the Pip-Boy, just barely protecting Taylor's hand from a possible bite.

She raised her arm and slammed the biting mole rat hard on the door of a car; it cried out and let go as Taylor finished it with a kick. Then, she began looking around, pointing her gun as if waiting for more of those nasty things to come out.

But then she heard a playful bark from nearby and she knew that those little monsters were truly gone.

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The dog turned out to be rather friendlier than what Taylor was expecting.

Soon after their encounter with those mutant mole rats, it had ran towards Taylor and tried to lick her injured leg. The young woman had been touched but still, she didn't let the pup lick the blood off. For all she knew, the dog could accidently get her leg infected and that's the last thing she wanted.

A quick shot of a Stimpack and a pair of bandages had done the job and while she didn't feel great, at least Taylor could continue walking towards Concord no problem.

The dog had decided to follow her and after a while of walking, Taylor had just patted its head and said, "Well…I guess we're sticking together, boy."

"Woof!"

After what seemed like hours, Taylor and the dog finally arrived to the outskirts of Concord.

The town was frankly better off than Sanctuary Hills, but it was much less noticeable. Buildings were still standing but doors and windows were missing and the trees and grass that once decorated the beautiful streets were gone.

She was slightly more disturbed of the silence however after all, Codsworth had mentioned that people were nearby so that couldn't…wait…

The dog had begun growling and was staring at the street, poised and alert. Taylor took out her gun and walked slowly towards away from the street and towards the alleys to hide behind the buildings.

She could hear them all now…the gunshots and the screaming.

Taylor had thought those mole rats were bad and now it was about to get much worse.


Preston Garvey was a survivor.

He had survived the extermination of his fellow Minutemen and the Massacre of Quincy. He had also survived back in Lexington and now, he wondered if he was going to be gunned down by raiders for making a stupid choice.

Still, they had not much to go on.

By the time he and the remaining survivors noticed they were in trouble, it was already too late for them. The raiders had surrounded them almost immediately after they got to Concord. Out of the eight that had survived the massacre in Lexington, only five remained.

He had failed them and now, they were surrounded from all sides as the bastards shot them here and there and some idiot's dog was barking in the distance and—

"Preston! Some chick just got inside the place, eh!" Sturges cried out, as he took aim at another raider and shot. "She's been giving trouble to those raiders…shooting here and there and that dog of hers is a real beast!"

Preston looked up from his hiding place and noticed the young woman taking aim—and missing—one of the raiders nearby. She hid under a column again as the raider returned fire.

She was young, probably in her twenties, with long black hair that she kept tied with a loose ponytail. She also wore an old military jacket with blue pants; a rather odd combination if Preston said so himself.

The poor gal looked positively frightened, as if debating her next course of action every time she took a shot.

"She's a terrible shot," Sturges commented, shaking his head as the stranger missed a second and third time. The fourth one got the raider in the arm, distracting him, before Preston quickly took aim and shot. Poor bastard was gone before he could retaliate.

The girl stared right at Preston as he cried, "Come here! Now!"

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Taylor counted at least five people. Two of them, probably a couple, were off to side being miserable, with the woman glaring at her from time to time. An older woman, probably in her late fifties, sat in a chair, and stared at her curiously, meanwhile the two men, Sturges and Preston, explained to her what was going on.

They were a group of survivors from the town of Quincy and after making their way to Lexington ran into a large number of ghouls—whatever they were supposed to be although she doubted they were evil spirits of some kind—until they finally reached Concord.

The man, Preston Garvey, explained how they had become trapped in this museum and thanked her for coming to help…not that Taylor had much of a choice. The minute the people outside, or raiders as they were called, noticed her, they started shooting at her and the poor dog.

She managed to outrun them by trying to scare them off with her shooting—she did hit a couple of them in the arm and chest but otherwise she didn't do a good job keeping them off their backs.

She just couldn't outright kill someone…at least…that's what she kept telling herself as she went on shooting and ran inside the museum for cover.

Now she was here, with the last member of the so-called Minutemen and the only plan they had was the old vertibird that had crashed on the roof.

"…one of the old girl's passengers left behind a seriously sweet goody," Sturges said, smiling. "An old T-45 Power Armor. Military Issued. Talk about some good luck!"

Ah! Power Armor…finally something she was familiar with…somewhat.

They had been commissioned by the army during the war. Heavy and hard to go down, the Power Armor was a favorite amongst the army brass and was used to as advertisement in those old army recruitment posters pasted all over Boston: "Courage today, Victory tomorrow!"

(For some reason or another, Taylor had the slight suspicion that the Power Armor wasn't used to keep the Chinese at bay these days.)

"…a Power Armor…?"

"Yep!"

"…and it's been there for a while now…?"

"The raiders were probably just setting up shop when we showed up," Preston explained, noticing the odd look Taylor gave them. "So the armor is safe…for now."

"…and before you ask, yes, we did try going after it but it's a little hard to avoid the bullets." Sturges told her with a grin.

"So…how do you plan on going up on this…?"

Preston and Sturges gave her a look; Taylor already regretted coming here.

"Well…" Sturges began.

"Look…I know it's a lot to ask…but…could you…could you go and get that old Power Armor…the old thing could be useful to fight off those raiders."

"Wait…wait…I don't even know how to us that thing!" Taylor cried out. The dog at her feet whined as if agreeing with her. "Why in the world would you think—"

"Because you're a poor shot and me and Preston, here, can keep you from getting killed while you fetch the armor," Sturges told her, matter-of-factly. "We distract the bastards while you get the armor…I mean, it can't be that hard to use. I've seen raiders use pieces of it, and some of them are as dumb as rocks!"

But I don't have military training! Taylor wanted to say and then stopped herself.

Preston and Sturges were right, to some extent. She was a terrible shot.

She had missed most of her shots when she came to Concord and was now low on bullets.

She had come to Concord to ask if anyone had seen a baby and now this. She had to own up to it, even if she didn't want to. She needed to survive in order to see her little boy again (and kill that bastard that killed Nate).

"Fine…just…just tell me what needs to be done…"

Taylor only hoped she wouldn't regret it.