Chapter 2 - Recovery

"...bitch!" The Lone Courier finished as he was violently thrust from the portal and onto a surprisingly soft and very green surface.
Once the blinding light from the portal had subsided, the Courier could see where he had landed. The surface he had landed on was lush, living grass. As he took the time to examine his surroundings, he soon realized that he was in a forest. Not a series of burned husks or diseased pines, but an honest to God living healthy, forest. The first question in his mind, was quite naturally, where this all had come from.
This place was healthier than Oasis or Vault 22 and seemed entirely peaceful. The revelation of his new location caused mixed feelings. While he was in the wonder at the sheer amount of life surrounding him, he was also worried as he now had no idea where he was. What was worse, was that upon checking his Pip-boy, he found that it could not establish a connection to a satellite. This was worrying, as Robco satellites were supposed to have global coverage.

To him, this meant that either the area he was in was being jammed, or something had happened to one of the satellites. The second option was the more likely, as it had been two hundred years, leaving plenty of time for something to have happened. This meant that until he either entered the range of another of the satellites or found a paper map, he would be wandering aimlessly.
The density and health of the foliage suggested extensive use of a, or multiple, GECK(s). To the Lone Wanderer, it was unthinkable that this much life was natural. As much as he hated to admit it, Vault-tec seemed to have done some good.
Since he had not heard of any area such as this while travelling through the Capital wasteland or in the Mojave, he deduced that he was likely no longer in North America. Rumors of this place would have certainly reached him if this place had been in continental America. He deduced that it was more likely he was in what was once Europe as the species of trees were not consistent with those native to Asia, Africa, or Australia.
Therefore, he felt his ultimate goal would be to find a way back. Despite how lush the land was, he felt a responsibility towards the people of the wastes and his companions not to abandon them. Thinking about this, he turned his gaze towards the transportalponder MK. II. that was still smoking in his hands. The plastic casing had melted in some places and the circuit boards were sparking. To attempt to use it while it was in this condition would likely do nothing save damage it further. Digitizing the heavily damaged device, he drew his silenced M14.
His first order of business in finding his way home would be to find and make contact with any civilization that is in the area. While it was entirely possible that the residents of this place did not speak English, the Courier had taken the time to learn several of the European languages (Intelligence 10) including German, French, Russian, Latin, Spanish, and a little Greek as well as Asian languages such as Chinese. Therefore he was relatively confident in his ability to communicate with the locals should they speak a pre-war language. He said "relatively" confident, because while he could read the languages fluently (and write them to a similar degree) speaking them required a different set of skills. It would more than suffice for simple communication however.
Not sure exactly where he should go the Lone Wanderer set off in a southerly direction from his point of entrance. The local map function of his Pip-Boy was still functional and recorded his path.
The trees had were spaced so that the Lone Wanderer had adequate line of sight to use his scoped M14. Eventually, he found a river of decent width and depth. It was strange for him to see so much pure water naturally. Even the water in the Mojave wasn't entirely radiation free.
Remembering that many cities and settlements were built along rivers in order to have a source of fresh water, the Lone Wanderer felt that his best bet would be to follow the river. The only question was whether to go upstream or downstream. The Courier knew that by no means was the idea that a settlement was built on this river reliable to any degree. Therefore, he made it his top priority to head to a higher elevation. There, hopefully he could get out of this damnable forest, or at least the trees would thin out. He determined that getting his bearings, now that he did not have a map, was a necessity. Wandering aimlessly was not an attractive option.

The terrain began to decrease in fertility along the banks of the river, almost as if the forest were parting around it. The ground slowly changed from soft grass to craggy rock that was reminiscent of Zion. He had been right to follow this direction in terms of elevation, as he could tell that it was increasing with every step he took. Visibility in the direction he was headed was limited as not far ahead, cliffs of a non-insignificant height rose to form a canyon.

Then, the Courier had a remarkable stroke of luck. In fact, other than a literal sign, map, or tour guide, this was one of the best things he could have seen. He saw a body in remarkably good condition floating towards him.

A corpse could provide him with much information about his location. Personal effects and the like might allow him to get a highly specific picture of his location. The very presence of the body was indication of some degree of civilization in the immediate vicinity. The worst case scenario would be that there was absolutely nothing around him for hundreds of miles.

The distance between him and the body closed rapidly. Initially, he had only been able to make out a human shape and fleshy colors. As he neared the body, it appeared to be stuck on one of the rocks midstream. The water was totally clear around it; no signs of blood. It quickly became apparent that the body in question was that of an adult female with blond hair and little clothing. There were no visible injuries.

When the Courier reached the point on the bank at which he was parallel with the body, he examined his options. There weren't many. He sighed as he realized that he would have to wade in to pull out the body. The little clothing that was on the body gave him poor prospects of finding any information. It was quite likely that his efforts would be pointless. Resigning himself to his fate, he dematerialized his M14 and drew A Light Shining in Darkness. The Lone Wanderer had not survived as long as he had by taking chances.

With another sigh, he walked into the seemingly icy water. He kept his weapon aimed one-handed loosely at his objective. Fortunately, the water was not deep and did not reach much higher than his knees.

It quickly became apparent, that the "body" was in fact breathing. It seemed his luck had changed. Now, he had a proper source of information about this strange place he had ended up in. However, based on her attire, he set his expectations realistically. She wore "armor" that looked like some kind of fetish wear rather than something intended for protection. She did not seem to be a type that the Courier was unfamiliar with dealing with. However he knew from experience that their mental faculties were typically in a pitiful state. Various Chem addictions had typically taken their toll by now.

Stopping in front of her, he crouched and prodded her, keeping his pistol trained on her. She did not stir. Her skin was cold and clammy. It was evident she had been in here for a while. He flipped her onto her front, checking for any other injuries. There were no open wounds, only a few superficial cuts that had scabbed over a long time ago, as he had suspected due to the lack of blood in the surrounding water. All her limbs were at acceptable angles. Nothing to indicate internal damage. Whether or not she was injured internally, at this rate, she would die of hypothermia long before that would matter.

With little effort, the Courier lifted her with one hand and put her over his left shoulder in a fireman's carry. Despite the "armor" she was wearing, she was very light. He exited the stream further up than where he had entered it. The trees were closer to the banks there.

After gently putting down the woman, he set out to ensure she would not die, at least before he got some information out of her. The first stage of this was starting a fire. The shivers and short, shallow breaths he had observed were not healthy signs, to say the least.

The process took barely a couple minutes. There was plenty of dead wood on the ground that was very dry. Benny's lighter set them ablaze. Be carefully moved the woman closer to the fire. The Courier was keenly aware that most humans had a substantially weaker constitution than he did.

The fire was a initially a small, quick burning, rather pathetic affair. However once the Courier added some greener wood that he had cut with the saw blade edge of his trench knife, it became more stable. Not having anything better to be doing, he created a fire wall to reflect the heat more efficiently onto the woman. In doing so, the Lone Wanderer looked at her more closely.

He had known from cursory examination that she was young and pretty, but now he gained a more accurate picture. She was depressingly young, perhaps his age or slightly older. He leaned towards the latter based on her..development. Her beauty was stunning even by pre-war standards. Her face and body showed none of the marks of an addict. Though the latter did show a distinct lack of modesty. How she ended up floating down a river became something of a mystery. This was only compounded when he saw a glint out of the corner of his eye. Instantly, he dropped, fearing it to be that of a scope. However he returned to his feet once he saw the source originated from the ground on his side of the stream. Closer inspection revealed a sword of fine craftsmanship and metallurgy have covered in sand. Rinsing it in the current, he realized that it fit stylistically with the "armor" the woman was wearing.

With little else to do, the Courier sat down on a fallen log opposite her and put the sword point first in the earth to wait for the woman to wake up.