Survivor: Chapter Four
Disclaimer: Bethesda and Obsidian have made something awesome. I just like to play in it.
Notes: Sometimes I make changes for better storytelling effect, and sometimes it's because I believe the in-game source may be considered unreliable and the "truth" may be somewhat different. Please enjoy, and leave feedback.
Downtown Boston is a labyrinth of wreckage and hidden hazards. Crossing the bridge to get into the city proper had been nerve-wracking enough - she felt so exposed as she and Dogmeat slunk around destroyed cars and tip-toed past the gaping holes where parts of the bridge had collapsed. No one had bothered them, but now, in the city itself, she can hear gunfire and shouting. There's no easy way to tell which direction the sounds are coming from, and it feels like her skin is constantly prickling.
Alice darts between buildings, eyes on the second and third stories, looking for tell-tale shadows or movement. Nothing jumps out at her, but she has no idea how much farther she has to go, and there's no way she's going to be able to make it the whole way without running into anyone. It just doesn't seem plausible.
She steps into a courtyard and that's when it finally happens: there's a grunt from her right, in the shadow of a building. She turns her head and - completely without consulting the rest of her - her mouth drops open.
It's the biggest man she's ever seen: green, with muscles on top of muscles, wearing nothing but tattered pants and an air of unrestrained malice. The thing in front of her holds a massive submachine gun that looks like a child's toy in his hands. His face wears the most vicious grin she's ever seen, a smile in name only.
Preston had told her about super mutants, but this is...not what she expected. This is so, so much worse.
Her fingers are numb where they wrap around her pistol. She's forgotten she even has it until bullets begin flying, creating pockmarks in the stucco wall behind her.
It's easy enough to dive into a roll, and she ends up behind a large ceramic planter. Hands shaking, she checks her clip and sees that she's fully loaded.
Breathe. Breathe. This won't be any worse than the deathclaw.
The image of Shaun floats behind her eyes, his chubby fingers rubbing Nate's stubbly chin and the sound of his laughter.
Her hands stop shaking and she whips out from behind the planter. Sinks the super mutant with five well-placed bullets.
Piper is starting to get irritated. Danny's locked her out before, but this time McDonough must be royally pissed because they are just not letting her in. The sun has long since gone down, killing any visibility, and while she's not exactly scared to be outside the big green walls, she knows she wouldn't be the first person to get murdered within earshot of Diamond City. The Fens are not what you might call a safe place.
The world is not what you might call a safe place.
She bangs on the wall again. "Stop playing around, Danny! I'm standing out in the open here, for crying out loud!" She knows she's been a thorn in McDonough's side for a long time, but they can't really mean to leave her out here forever...can they?
The gate doesn't budge; it sits there, green paint slopped over two hundred years of rust, immobile.
Danny's voice, when it comes, is apologetic and maybe even a little scared. What it says, though, is that he's got orders not to let her in.
This again.
Piper loses it a bit there; he can't be serious. McDonough can't really mean to strand her out here forever. She's a citizen of Diamond City, for crying out loud. Later she won't remember what she says in response, but it's brutal. She and Danny go back and forth for a couple minutes, bickering. She's known him since before he started shaving; she can't believe he'd do this to her.
Then she feels it - something cold pressed against the back of her leg. A gun?
No, that's stupid; no one would stick a gun against her leg. It's cold and...wet. She turns and there's a large brown dog, grinning up at her as if he's never seen anyone that makes him so happy. Stunned, Piper takes a step back and stumbles in the wall. A fleck of green paint gets caught in her sleeve.
A radstorm is brewing; she can hear the distinctive sound of thunder that precedes them. All the more reason to get inside.
Looking up, she may have found her ticket in - a woman approaches through the gloom. The dog thumps its tail two times against the pavement and runs back to the newcomer, circling her happily.
The new woman wears mismatched leather armor under a tan coat and holds a pistol in one hand. She has wild blonde curls and one eyebrow that arches more dramatically than the other. It's the Pip-Boy that most interests Piper, though. With the wide-eyed look the woman gives the wall, it's clear she hasn't been above ground before.
Bingo.
"You," she waves the woman over, her voice low and conspiratorial. "You want into Diamond City, right?
The new woman nods, almost anxiously. Overhead, there's a loud boom. They're both gonna sprout extra arms if they don't get inside quick.
"Play along," Piper whispers before raising her voice and turning back to the intercom. "What's that? You said you're a trader up from Quincy? You have enough supplies to keep the general store stocked for a whole month?
And Danny buys it. Or, if he doesn't buy it - and he's not stupid, so probably not - he at least bends. With a shudder, the gate slowly begins to slide upwards. There's a groan from the machinery and the smell of burning rust, and then they're able to slip under the gate and inside the reception area. Danny's quick on the draw - they're barely in before it begins to slide back down.
Piper takes a long, deep breath of the clean air inside the stadium wall. Then another, then a third.
It's in the middle of this third breath that McDonough taps her on the shoulder.
Boy, is he ever mad. She's never seen his face quite this shade of purple before.
"Piper! Who let back inside? I told Sullivan to keep that gate shut!?"
For a moment - a slim, barely registered moment - Piper feels bad about roping Danny into this. Then again, it's not her fault he was on duty when she got back and anyway, she owns a house here. McDonough can't keep her away from home...or Nat.
Now McDonough is on a real tear; she's devious, a rabble-rousing slanderer. Now that she's back inside the walls, this is actually kind of funny. It's the threat of shutting down the press that gets her ire back up and she tells him so. She's dimly aware that there are people staring - a gate guard she's never seen before stands smoking in the corner, the tip of his cigarette reflected in his sunglasses. The woman who slipped in with her has holstered her pistol and looks amused.
"Oooh, that a statement, McDonough? 'Tyrant mayor shuts down the press'."
There's more shouting, more name-calling - McDonough, true to form, even tries to get the new woman involved - before she's eventually allowed back into the city. McDonough tries to kiss the new woman's ass, but she looks tired and doesn't seem to want any part of it. Before long, they're standing at her door after a mad dash down the stairs, frantic to get inside. Even the dog looks anxious and sick.
Inside is the same as always. Nat sleeps on her little mattress behind her curtain, soft snores leaking into the room. Piper pulls off her hat and scratches her scalp. What a long day it's been.
The blonde woman stands at the door, clearly ill-at-ease. Piper had waved her in, but this woman is acting like she's never visited anyone before.
"Come on in, sit down." The woman walks over to the couch and perches there, on the edge of it. Piper has to fight to avoid rolling her eyes.
"I'm Piper."
"Alice," she extends her hand and they shake. It's formal and old-fashioned, but Piper finds she likes it. The woman's voice is low-pitched and almost musical.
"Thanks for your help back there. If you need a place to crash for a night, you're welcome to the couch." The woman looks back at the furniture as if she hadn't noticed it before. "It doesn't look like much, but it's better than paying to get fleas at the Dugout Inn." At this, Alice blinks a couple times.
"So...I have an idea for an article you'd be perfect for," Piper starts. The dog - Alice had called him Dogmeat, she remembers - pads over and climbs up next to her, then settles in with his head in her lap. She scratches his ears and for the first time, a smile plays across her face.
"What's the idea?"
"You're a vault dweller, right?" Alice looks stunned.
"How did you know that?"
"I know you're not wearing the blue jumpsuit right now, but the Pip-Boy and that 'fish out of water look'? Dead giveaways."
Alice smiles a little. "Go on."
"So here's the deal. I want an interview. Your life story, in print." Piper's talking faster now; she can tell this is a great idea, maybe one of her best. How lucky she was to be locked outside and have stumbled across this lead. "I think it's time Diamond City had a little outside perspective on the Commonwealth."
Alice, however, doesn't look so convinced. The small smile she wore just a moment ago is gone, replaced with the type of look Piper usually sees on the faces of family members of newly discovered synth-replaced people. Shell-shock.
"You do that and I tell you what...I'll come with you. Watch your back while you get used to the world above ground."
There's a long silent moment. Alice takes a flask from her back, swishes it, and knocks back a swig of something pungently alcoholic. She grimaces. There are tears in her eyes. Were those there before?
"All right, Piper. I'm in."
The interview was painful enough - dredging up all her feelings over the last couple weeks wasn't easy. She and Piper had talked for a few hours and by the time it was over, Alice could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks. Piper had made the right noises about her missing son, had shown righteous indignation at how they were frozen and had supplied more booze when Alice's flask ran dry. Then she said to try to get some sleep and disappeared up a ladder, probably to begin writing.
Alice had lain there for hours; she wasn't sure she ever really slept. She tossed and turned and tried to get warm - would she ever get warm again? - but eventually, she realized it was morning. There wasn't any point in lying there any longer, and so she and Dogmeat got up and began pacing around the small shack.
That's when Piper had come down and handed her the article to read.
Now, finished reading it, Alice's cheeks are newly wet again. The Woman Out of Time. Is that ever true.
"Don't be blue," Piper jostles her arm. "Let's go get some noodles."
The noodle stand is in the center of the market. The noodles themselves are surprisingly good; she has no idea how they've recreated one of her favorite meals from before the vault, but they're hot, filling, and tasty. It's almost enough to make her start crying again. Piper would probably draw some conclusions about how she's using the noodles as a proxy for missing her family and her home, but some part of her is just so relieved to eat something that isn't congealed or out of a can and well past its expiration date.
If she could get a hot shower, Alice thinks, she might almost feel human again.
She's about to ask Piper where one might find a place to shower when the other woman begins. "So I think I know who can help you with your problem." Piper slurps a noodle from her bowl.
"Who?" Alice's bowl is nearly empty. She debates getting another portion and feels for the bag of caps Danse gave her. Not enough to do it, not when she's not really hungry.
"His name's Nick Valentine, detective extraordinaire. Got an office here in Diamond City."
Of course Nick was gone, Piper reflects as she dodges a rain of bullets. Nothing in life is easy, after all. His assistant had been nearly frantic as she explained that he'd been gone for days on end and that she was really worried.
Getting to Park Street Station had been bad enough. The way was treacherous, infested with super mutant and raiders. She'd been stunned to see Alice charge in against one of the mutants, a nasty-looking brute with a dog twice as big as any dog should be. But the vault dweller had pulled the baseball bat from where she'd slung it over her shoulder and begun wailing on the mutant, screaming so loud Piper was convinced half of Boston was going to rain down on them.
She's beginning to wonder if that vault didn't fry her new friend's brain when they froze her.
So now here they are, trading bullets with a bunch of Triggermen, the gang from Goodneighbor. There's a yelp from her left, across the tracks - Dogmeat has gotten ahold of one of them and it gnawing on the man's leg. He raises his gun but isn't fast enough; Piper fires hers and he drops, blood leaking from just below his ear. Dogmeat releases him and takes off to find a new enemy.
They make their way slowly through the subway station, sticking to the shadows and stepping as quietly as they can. There's a tense moment when they surprise one of the gangsters as he finished taking a leak on the disconnected third rail, but Alice's bat catches him in the chin and when he drops, it's with a face shredded by barbed wire. He whimpers and takes off into the dark, down a tunnel.
It's the vault door that gives them pause. The three of the stand before it. Dogmeat leans against Alice's leg and whimpers a little.
Finally, Piper speaks. "If we're really looking for Nick, we're gonna have to head in there."
Alice swallows visibly. "I know."
"You're probably going to want his help to find your son."
More tensely, this time: "I know."
Apologetically, "I'm sure this is a little scary for you. I'm just trying to help."
Alice turns, a small smile sneaking across her face. "I know."
