Max had trouble settling in. The beginning was tough. Trading a life on the road for a life in one place was not easy for him. He sometimes thought back to his home, before the collapse and how everything was so… Perfect. He hoped, that in due time, this place could reach almost the same level of peace. He had parked his black on black in what used to be a garage. He had started a small farm behind the house. Not to mention he had done a lot to make the house feel more… homey.
The day had started like all others. He awoke in the early morning and stretched out. He would go out to the back of the house, scan the distance for any threats (An old habit of his) and slowly spend the morning tending to the fruits planted in the soil. He didn't care that his fingers were dirty with the earth; it was a nice change from the sand of the wasteland and the oil. He would sometimes even smile when he looked over his garden. Proud of his own achievement.
Once the sun was at its highest, he grabbed his crossbow and went hunting. He checked his traps, most of them were not too far from the house. Nothing was in them, a shame. He realized he needed to find something for dinner, so killing an animal was needed. That was one of the skills he had learned while he stayed here. Before, he would kill lizards with the heel of his boot and eat them raw. Now, he had learned the art of tracking and skinning the animal.
It was rare he saw another human being, but it did happen every now and then. Either some poor bastard was fighting some creatures, or someone was tracking his prey. He even killed a few who tried to steal his meat. A harsh reality, but no different from his time in the Australian wasteland. Sometimes, when he didn't catch anything, he wondered if he should feast on the dead bodies of the people he killed, but he decided against it. That wouldn't help smooth over the voices in his head.
Max had been tracked a Radstag for some time. He had found some tracks in the dirt, fresh ones too. With no catch in the traps, he figured it was worth trying to locate the animal. Get some food for tonight. It had taken him on quite a hike through the forest. He tried his best to follow the right tracks, but he wasn't a hunter by trade.
It was close to the end of the afternoon when he finally found it. It was sipping some water from a small pond. Max smiled to himself as he watched it slowly dip its two heads down to the water. He began to line up his shot with the crossbow. He calculated his breath to make it even. He aimed for the neck. It should be enough to bring down the beast.
A voice dragged him from his shot. "That's my catch! Back off!" A man in raggedy clothes said. He stood with a hunting rifle in his hands, aiming it at Max.
Max slowly lowered his crossbow. He could feel his rage slowly boiling under his skin. If this man was the cause of him losing dinner tonight, there was no telling what he would do.
"Easy there. We can…. Split it." Max replied.
"Yeah, nice try freak. In this world, it's eat or be eaten. And people like me eat. Understand?" The man asked as he stepped a couple of feet closer to Max.
Max could feel that this man was above turning over. That's why Max utilized the tricks he had learned over his time in the wasteland. As Max slowly placed the crossbow on the ground in an attempt to show submission, he grabbed some loose soil with his hand. Before the man realized what Max was doing, he threw it in the face of the hunter. Being stunned for a moment, Max launched at him and tackled him to the ground. He knocked the rifle out of his hand, before it could fire off a shot and scare away the deer.
Max couldn't get to the knife hidden in his MFP boots, and so he grabbed what was in reach. It was a wrench on his belt. The hunter struggled under him to escape, but Max only tightened his grip with his free hand. Max then began swinging the wrench and hitting the hunter in the head. The first swing only stunned the hunter for a few seconds.
The second drew blood from the hunter's mouth. As Max was about to swing a third time, the hunter spat in Max's face. Max swung again, and heard something crack under the impact of the wrench. With a final blow, the man under him went limp. Max made sure he was dead before crawling off him.
When Max went over to his crossbow, he had to breathe heavily in order to steady his breath. He counted himself as lucky when he saw the Radstag still sipping water from the pond. He once again lined up his shot once he could aim properly again. His finger slowly squeezed the trigger of the crossbow until it fired the arrow away. Silent and deadly, the Radstag never knew what hit it, it stumbled around confused, and tried to take off, but left behind a blood trail.
Max followed the trail after looting the hunter and throwing his rifle over his shoulder. The trail went further into the woods, and Max hoped he wouldn't encounter any wild life that would make bringing his meat back hard. Seems like that was a request heard by the higher being in power as he found the Radstag on the ground, whimpering as its energy slowly drained. Its two heads slowly looking up at him as he took out his knife.
He put the creature out of its misery. It became quiet in the woods, the only noise being the wind echoing in the trees, correction, the dead trees. Still, actually seeing trees, dead or not, was quite a welcoming change. He began preparing what he could to be taken back to the house. He couldn't skin it out here. He needed to do it in a safe place. This was too open, and the hunter from before only confirmed that theory.
It took him some time to bring the dead animal back home. He dragged it on a rug to get it back, through the dense forest and back towards his house. He felt his energy being drained with each step, and was really looking forward to getting back. That's why he was less than pleased when he saw the robot hanging around his front door.
"Good afternoon mister! Did your hunt go well?" Codsworth asked in his usual exited voice.
"What do you think?" Max asked sarcastically while dragging his prey along. Though it was hard to tell from his gruff voice.
"I see you caught yourself a big one! I do believe it is season as well!" Codsworth remarked. "Can I interest you in some tea?" Codsworth asked further, being way too close in Max' personal space.
"Bugger off." Max said as he went inside and slammed the door shut. Leaving Codsworth out in the open.
"I know that feeling when you just need a little privacy. I hope to see you for tea one day! Have a good day!" Codsworth said as a final note before leaving Max alone.
Dumb robot. Was all Max could think as he began the process of draining the animal of its blood.
The day was turning out horrible, no, that wasn't the right word for it. In fact, there were no words to describe what had just happened. Jessica had gone into the vault prepared for the future, or at least as prepared as you can be with a 5 minutes notice. Nate and Shaun had followed her there, and she thought everything was going to be alright.
But it didn't, and she had a hard time grasping what was going on at the moment. It didn't help that Codsworth seemed to be in denial at the state of the world. Shaun was gone, and Nate was dead. Still frozen in the fridge they left him in. She wanted to cry, to let out all the emotion that had been built up.
She managed to shake some sense into Codsworth, and while he hadn't seen Shaun, or anyone else for that matter, it was still an improvement. They searched some of the houses, but it was fruitless. Whoever took Shaun is long gone now, and Jessica didn't know what to do. That's why she sat down on the pavement and just took a moment to... Deal with it all.
What the fuck was she supposed to deal with it? It all happened so quick, right in front of her eyes. While she was powerless to do anything about it. She wanted to cry for hours on end, but she also felt some wrath flow through her. She wanted to take her gun and just go out there. Kill everyone that would get in her way.
But alas, she took a moment to breathe, keep the tears at bay and try her best to come up with some sort of plan. Everything she had, had been ripped from her in such a short time: Nate, Shaun, their lives, her career. Nothing was left, but this sorry excuse for a world.
"Excuse me, Miss Jessica. But you can try asking the mister living down in the Anderson's household. I haven't gotten his name yet, but he might have seen something." Codsworth broke in and said. Jessica looked up at Codsworth. Her tears were still close to spilling over.
Still, currently it was her best shot. The man might have seen something, and it was the only lead at the moment. She just hoped he would be friendly and helpful. With her weak legs, she carried herself over to the Anderson household. She and Nate had never really spoken much with them before the war, but most people in sanctuary knew each other by name.
Most of the houses were close to collapsing, and rust seemed to be the new dominant color nowadays. It was sad to see this place in such despair. It used to be beautiful, and a piece of the American dream. Funny how things have a habit of turning in a matter of seconds. The Anderson household looked a bit better than the rest of the houses.
Jessica took notice of the car in the garage. It had a huge engine, standing all the way out of the hood. It looked like a muscle car, and was a lot different from all the rusty shells that used to be cars around here. There were signs around the house; most of them read "STAY OUT" or something similar.
Jessica heard someone inside the house, and noticed that the door was open. It was probably late afternoon, or early evening at this point. But inside the house, darkness dominated, mostly from the boarded up windows. A couple of candles lit up the room, where she noticed the man in question. He was butchering an animal.
He wore leather pants, his boots seemed to reach the mid-section of his calves. His jacket hung by the door, also made of leather. There were blood drops on his cotton shirt, though he didn't seem to mind. Jessica didn't know what to think of this new world, but she realized people were probably less than friendly, so she kept her gun ready. It had been quite a while since she last used a gun. The last time was probably with Nate at the gun range. She noticed his gun, which seemed to be a sawn-off hunting shotgun, sitting neatly in a leather holster on his right thigh.
God, she couldn't handle thinking about Nate right now. How easily he had been ripped from her world. A single gunshot. The man seemed to notice her presence, and turned around to address whatever was in his doorway.
"What do you want?" he asked. His voice was raspy and gruff. He didn't seem like the type that spoke a lot.
"Have you-" Jessica was close to letting out her emotions at this point. To sink down to the ground and cry out against the universe for doing all this to her. But she held it back. "...-Seen my son?" She finally asked, her voice was quiet.
He looked at her like she just asked a really dumb question, and certainly to the wrong person. His eyes were blue, and his hair and beard were unruly. "Mind your own troubles! I haven't seen your boy. Get out!" He said, once again, the tone was gruff and rough.
"Please, I need-" She tried to make a plead for help, but he drew his sawn off and pointed it at Jessica.
"I can't help you. Get OUT!" He yelled, and she knew it probably wouldn't turn out in her favor if she stayed. She went out, and heard the door slam right as she exited.
"Don't worry Miss Jessica. You can try Concord. I heard that there were still some people there. Although they might not be so friendly." Codsworth remarked. He was still hoovering by the sidewalk.
"There are people in Concord?" She asked, almost hopeful.
"Yes, there are several. They might be able to help you." Codsworth replied. Jessica felt herself being struck by newfound energy and quickly thanked Codsworth for the information. She looted some of the houses to try and find more ammo for her pistol. She had a feeling that she would need it later on.
She didn't know it, but Max kept an eye on her through his window. He was weary of this new threat. It had been peaceful here, and now she ruined the quiet alongside that robot of hers. She was looking for her son, and somewhere deep down in his twisted heart, he hoped she would find him. But Max knew the dangers out there, and there was a high chance she would never see the boy again.
What he really hoped for was that she would leave him alone. If they had to split up the city in two, so be it. But he wanted to be left alone, and certainly not be surprised like he was when she showed up in his doorway.
Jessica found some more ammo, and medicine that could prove useful in what was to come. She bid farewell to Codsworth and began to walk over the bridge that would lead her to Concord. Max thought she was foolish, taking a stroll like she did, but it was her funeral. Certainly not a burden for him, unless you ask the voices.