Danse and Nate went off on a mission without Avery this time. Danse was still upset with her for the deathclaw issue a few days ago.
His anger wasn't fully towards her bring back a deathclaw, even though the idea did disturb him. But his anger was for trailing off the way she did. Yeah, she had the Ameli with her the whole time and knew how to use it well. But the idea of what if lingered in his head the whole time. He wasn't going to back down from his anger until she truly understood his reasoning behind it.
Nate and Danse's mission was to track down an unusual reading from an abandoned grocery store within the city. It wasn't like the ones Danse and his team picked up on with the possibility of the Institute being behind it; those reading were a bigger hell to pick up on if you tried. And when you did, they be gone in a flash.
When Maxson was examining the reports, his opinions was the possibly of a distress signal that was created through a different form. The ones Brotherhood used were strong, but they could only reach so far. Members that were coming in as extra aid to the division after passing training had reported picking up the signal about 5-10 miles before entering the Commonwealth. Of course, there was only one way to find out.
When Danse and Nate arrived to the corner store, everything seemed eery. It was too quiet for such an area; knowing about half a mile down was a set up with Super Mutants. A graveyard a mile back was a good stop for feral ghouls to hang about, but even around here there was nothing. They made sure to take extreme precautions when they entered.
The door eked loudly as Danse pushed it open with the barrel of his gun. Nate kept close behind as they entered. It was still completely quiet. And, like most buildings in the Commonwealth, it had been abandoned since the great war.
A few skeletons were strung about. Debris from electronics and furniture were torn to pieces and scattered upon the floor.
Nate activated his pip-boy to begin tracing the signal once more, moving his arm slowly from one direction to the other and up and down.
"Looks like it's coming from upstairs." Nate said, looking up at the ceiling. "Seems like it's right above us."
Danse nodded and began to take lead again. He was successful in finding a flight of stairs to the next floor but was also greeted by a glowing ghoul.
"Fucking hell!" Danse yelled. He and Nate drew their guns and began firing away. It took them longer than normal, but they did eventually defeat the ghoul. They then waited for a moment at the bottom of the steps, be sure no others were coming to charge them before ascending.
Nate kept the tracker on his pip boy active. They wandered off track a couple times to make sure an area was cleared so that there weren't any surprise jump scares.
After sometime, Nate and Danse finally made their way to the signal's source. They began to open the door, but was surprised to find it locked. Danse was about to kick down the door. But, Nate halted him and began picking at the lock.
"I keep forgetting you know how to do that." Danse said, in a low whisper. "Probably better too in case breaking a door attracted shit we overlooked."
A couple minutes and Nate was successfully. He then traded places with Nate. He stood in front and Nate stood beside the door with his hand on the nob.
He glanced at Danse, who gave him a nod, and quickly pushed the door open. Both of them were a bit surprised to be greeted by darkness.
Danse turned the light on on his helmet and Nate Increased the brightness of his pip-boy. Danse took lead once more and entered the room, Nate followed behind.
The room was surprisingly bigger. It seemed as if it had expanded into the building attached to this one.
Desks and file cabinets and papers left strewn across the room. Some were even stacked upon one another. But, when Nate and Danse began scanning the room, there was one stack set up oddly. Almost as if trying to hide something in the center.
Danse and Nate kept their guns up and ready as they slowly approached, unknowing what they were about to find.
They circled around the fixture cautiously. There was even a moment Nate thought he heard a voice.
"Danse, I think someone's in here…" he whispered to him and leaned one side of his head to the fixture, listening carefully.
The room was silent for a moment for Nate, trying to listen carefully. And then he heard it
"H-h-help… h-help p-p-please…" he heard in a deeply weak voice.
Danse was able to hear it too, and didn't hesitate to start pulling away at the furniture before them.
With no care for the noise now, Danse and Nate were topping over every item they pulled away in order to help the trapped survivor.
A few pieces later and they were both staring at a man. Danse thought the stranger looked awfully familiar but couldn't put a finger on it. Pushing it aside, he bent down to the person and examined him carefully.
"He's barely hanging on." Danse said, turning his attention to Nate. "Please tell me you got a stimpak on ya somewhere."
Nate nodded his head and quickly tore off his backpack and began digging away. After a minute, Nate was finally successful at finding it and handed it over to Danse.
"Help me move him a little." Danse said, gently grabbing the man at one side. Nate came to his aid, and they gently shifted him into a position that Danse could easily insert the stimpak in.
They gave the man sometime. The stimpak seemed to take longer to help than it normally would. But the man's condition, they'd fear that one wrong move could make it all worse.
Eventually the stranger was more alert. He glanced around the room for a moment and then to Nate and Danse.
"T-... Thank you." He said, still struggling to catch a breath. "Nice to see… an actual human face… for once."
"I'm guessing they swarmed ya huh?" Nate said, reaching into his bag for a can of purified water.
"Fuck… not sure where they all went though…" he mutters out. "One minute, I'm climbing into the heap to get away from them… one of them snagging me in the process… probably why I got so damn weak…"
"How long have you been here?" Danse asked.
"Not too long… thankfully." The stranger says. "Been only 3 or 4 days probably."
Nate found the can and popped the tab. "You able or need help with this."
The stranger slightly smirked. He slowly reached for the can and grasped hold of it as tight as he could. Slowly but surely he was able to bring the drink to his lips and get a fee gulps down.
"So what were you doing before you got trapped?" Nate asked.
"Been… been looking…" he muttered more. "Looking for my sister and a friend… my dad sent me and the friend to find her… haven't had luck finding them…"
Danse and Nate looked at one another. They knew the situation all too familiar, and asked him more.
"What… what does your sister and your friend look like?" He slowly asked.
The stranger took another swig before continuing. "Avery… avery's my sister… long reddish-brown hair. Dark brown eyes… tattoo on her wrist… of a purple raindrop." She stopped for a moment, catching his breath some more. Danse and Nate looked at each other once more in surprise.
"And the friend?" Nate asked.
"Oc… Octavia… black hair. Blue eyes… both of them are slim built… just hope their strength has been keeping them up around here."
Danse looked at the man, to Nate and then back at the man. There was no doubt the similarity in looks now; it was one of the 12 brothers.
Danse nodded to Nate, and carefully the two of them began to help the stranger up. Danse then took the stranger completely into his arms to carry him out and ordered Nate to go out and throw a vertibird signal.
"You're still too weak to move on your own, but we gotta get you more help." Danse said as they all began to head out.
"W… where are we going?" The stranger asked.
Danse walked in silence at first, but answered the man once they got outside.
"We're taking you back to the Prydwen." He answered, waiting outside with Nate. "Then, I need to go pick up Avery from Sanctuary. Octavia will be able to come see you sooner though…"