She awoke her body aching; she didn't sit up at first. Just stared at the congregated steel roof, rain tapping on it. There was a quiet whirring noise, that of a machine would usually make but the origin of the sound was unknown. There was a hole in the roof, the rain dripping into a bucket in the corner of the room furthest from her. The door to the room was next to it. The room contained a cupboard and a damaged dresser. A small side table lay next to the bed, a lamp, locket and a revolver in its holster lay on top. The latter two the only things she recognised. She sat up and went to rub her head but when she saw her right arm she jumped back in surprise.
Her arm was robotic. It was the origin of the whirring she could hear. Looking at it closer, she could see it was made of a matt silver material. Her upper arm was basically from an assaultron, her elbow was covered in a tough fabric, covering the joint. Wires like tendons came from a section a bit further from her elbow and went to her fingers. Where her thumb and hand joined was covered with the same fabric from before. Her arm was built quite well, unusual for the wasteland. It was strangely familiar as well.
She grabbed the locket and holster and put them on, it was slow at first. It was hard to get used to her new arm. She crept towards the door her human hand on the grip of the revolver, not wanting to trust her reactions with her right arm yet. She opened the door ever so slightly. There was a surgery table in the middle of the room, various doctors' instruments lay on it. A bucket half filled with clear water sat under the table. At the back of the room to her left was another cupboard, its door however, was glass and she could clearly see a lot of medication. Stimpacks, radaway, usual doctors' drugs. Next to the cupboard was a small rounded refrigerator, that hummed slightly. To the right sat a man in a white, clean doctors coat. He was writing something down at a desk, his pen squeaking as he did. His back was turned away from her. She opened the door slowly and slipped through, she unholstered her gun and aimed it at the back of his head.
"Where am I? And what happened to my arm?" She ordered, almost shouted.
His posture stiffened slightly but he calmly responded, "You're in Makeshift." He paused for a second to turn around and face her. "I do not know what happened to your arm, all I know is that you were brought to me, your arm in ruins and your robotic arm in a rucksack."
She lowered the gun to her waist and looked the man over. He was clean shaven and had a tidy hairstyle. He was getting on in years, wrinkles showed around his face they seemed to be from smiling too much. He was a bit thin, as if he hadn't eaten in a while. His eyes however were calm and full of compassion.
"Look, it seems your memory is a bit spotty but what I'm saying is true." He continued, "you haven't been here long for this type of surgery."
"How long is 'not that long'?" Irritation returning.
"About eight days. You have however been in and out of consciousness." His calmness didn't falter.
She shook her head. "Why don't I remember anything recent?" She started to shake, "all I remember is where I grew up! And other childhood ... things."
"Well." He started sheepishly, "when I had to try and connect your arm to certain neurons, I had to use a certain drug to complete the connection. And it seems it has a chance to cause a certain type of amnesia."
"And I was unlucky enough for that to happen to me."
"I'm afraid so. Though the type of retrograde amnesia it causes can be reversed."
"How?" She asked, holstering the gun. He sighed and relaxed, slouched in his chair. "You will have to experience similar events."
There was a moment of pause. "Do you know me then? Does anyone here?"
"Well I do remember someone saying a few months ago that someone matching your description, you know, Asian descent, mid 20's, slim face, brown eyes and black hair usually tied up in a bun, was going to arrive in town and ask for my help."
"Do you know what I was supposed to ask for?"
Sighing the doctor rubbed his head, "I'm not sure. I would have hoped you would have known. Well my name is Dr Percy Byrant, I'm the resident doctor here in Makeshift. I will need you to stay in Makeshift for a day or two so I can keep an eye on your arm and if anything happens I'll be close by."
She smiled, "I'm Alice. And it would be bad judgement on my part if I didn't listen to my doctor."
"Your bag and ..."
"Shit! My bag." Interrupting the doctor, quickly turning around she rushed into the other room. Quickly looking around inside she didn't see it straight away so hurried over to the cupboard. Throwing open the cupboard she grabbed her bag as soon as she saw it lying inside and opened it without hesitation. Strangely she got flashes of memories and with that emotions, she only knew that it was important. The bag contained scraps of paper, tools, survival gear and other items; she rummaged through the scraps of paper. They were notes with designs for an arm, that seemed all too familiar, and notes marked with Vault 10 that contained procedures for replacement robotic limbs. Notes on a drug called NR-11 that would be required for the procedure and so on.
"I was going to say that you should probably keep that arm of yours a secret for now and wear something baggy." Percy continued from the doorway, trying to be professional but a tinge of sympathy shone through. He sighed, "My assistant is due to arrive soon so I would advise covering up soon." With that he returned to his desk and continued writing.
Alice looked down at herself. Her once white shirt was a mess. Its right sleeve had been ripped off and almost the entire right side was covered in blood the deep crimson almost brown staining it. Part of her trousers had been stained as well. She looked over at the door, it was shut. Rotating her right hand she admired it. The craftsmanship was familiar, it was her craftsmanship. This realisation however didn't help her remember why she had made it. Though it looked heavy, the shoulder especially, it wasn't. It had been made of lightweight materials and hollow in certain parts. She looked over some of the clothes in the cupboard. Basic post-war clothing. Brahmin hides shoddily crafted into jackets and old clothing made into new. It would do its job for now, keeping her arm secret. She changed into unstained clothes and placed gloves onto her hands. The right glove was a bit loose. The clothes, though smelling as if it hadn't been cured, had the bonus effect of causing the whirring of her arm to be virtually unperceivable.
She grabbed her bag and headed towards the door. Before she re-entered she overheard a light-hearted conversation occurring on the other side. Slowly and gently she opened the door ever so slightly and peeked into the room. A woman a bit younger than her was talking to the doctor. She held a clipboard in her hands as she nervously spoke to him. Her short dirty blond hair stopped around her shoulders; her blue eyes were slightly obscured behind old glasses that seemed a size too big. She was wearing a hooded jacket that seemed to have kept most of the rain off her. Underneath she wore a neat but very old top and skirt that reached past her knees. Both of lighter shades.
Seeing her properly it was probably safe to say she was the aforementioned assistant. Alice stepped into the room and greeted her, "Hi, the names Alice."
Her sudden appearance startled the woman, almost dropping the clipboard she stuttered a response, "Ahh, w-w-well it's nice to see you up finally and not in a daze. Oh, um, and I'm Amy. Amy Bell." She had an obvious stutter, though it wasn't as bad as other stutters Alice had heard.
"I'm glad to be moving around yes, but I'm rather thirsty and hungry." Alice admitted shrugging slightly.
"You probably should put this sling on, we wouldn't want the stitches to come undone at any movement, would we?" Percy interjected whilst holding out a sling and moving to attempt to put it on Alice. She nodded in response and allowed him to help put the sling around her right arm. He leaned close to her ear, "Please be careful."
He pushed himself away and went back to writing. "Um well the doctor has just asked me to get some supplies for the surgery, I could accompany you. Show you around the town." Amy continued nervously. Alice just nodded once again and lead the way out of the surgery.
The rain had stopped, the clouds dissipating. The sun was just rising and peeking over the only pre-war building in Makeshift. A large two-story wooden house, with faded white and blue paint. On its covered porch stood two of Makeshifts guards, dressed in leathers both holding hunting rifles. The pre-war building belonged to the mayor and looked over, or down at the other more hastily made buildings. Most houses were made of sheets of metal and other rubble, huddled together as if seeking warmth from one another, it was a shanty town at best. There was a well beaten path going from the mayor's house to the front gate of the town. Most of the shops lined this path. The first one was the general store, a squat building, its door just hanging on.
"Um, because of your operation the surgery is going to need some supplies from here is that alright?" Amy asked, glancing quickly between Alice and the store, she had left the clipboard she seemed to hug as a safety blanket in the surgery.
"You don't need to ask me. You're your own person." Alice replied bemused at the question.
"Oh. R-Right. Well follow me in if you want." Amy continued whilst entering the store. Alice just rolled her eyes and followed her in.
The outside of the shop looked small, but the inside felt extremely small, as cluttered shelves and loose items made it a hoarders dream and cramped. Which wasn't ideal as the stuffy and dusty smell of the place was almost tangible, and you couldn't move an inch without bumping into something and adding to the horrid odor. "M-Maria?" Amy called, "y-you t-t-there? I'd like to buy, um, some things." A grey haired head popped up from behind a desk at the end of the room and squinted at them, her expression almost looked like a frown.
"I've got things! What do you want?" An elderly, raspy voice asked. She stood up now, her hunched wrinkled form leaning over the table.
"Um. Uhhhh. D-D-Did you get any m-medical supplies in your last re-stock or - or any antiseptics?" Amy stuttered.
Maria looked straight at Amy as if she was talking gibberish. "I don't know! You are going to have to look for yourself!" She almost shouted.
It was obvious there was no use asking her where anything was because she didn't even know herself. There were bottles of questionable liquids and some that contained solids, boxes with pieces of old paper within. Though most of it was bunches of useless junk, but like all piles of junk there was always the glint of something useful. If you were an engineer, for example, this place would be a gold mine, old circuit boards, tons of screws and adhesive. Lots of things needed to fix up an old robot, or an arm. Taking her mind off that Alice helped Amy search. Which she successfully did when she managed to find a small box that seemed to be refrigerated. Opening it there certainly were medical supplies within, but she had no idea if they were useful or even helpful. She put it in Amy's hands and shrugged. Amy smiled, thanked Alice, and went over to buy it. Alice didn't pay attention to the transaction, she just continued to see if there was anything else she could find. Which didn't happen.
They both were stood outside, one quite lighter in the pocket but happy with her purchase. The other wondering what to do next.
"You can go back to the doctor. You obviously don't like talking but just say to him I'm going to see if anyone recognises me." Alice stated already moving further into the town, not letting Amy respond.
There were a few dirtied faces walking down the path, some carrying food stuffs others already drinking. Some looked over at the apparently injured woman walking alone, though they quickly averted their gaze when she stared back; through their souls. Even when she was like this she always managed to scare anyone off with a look, it was a useful skill. If people were drinking there was a pub or inn, always a good place for gossip and to find information.
The inn was a single story building like most of Makeshifts buildings it was however, the only building with a wind turbine around the back which powered it and the multiple neon signs that were jumbled together to spell 'Gustav's!' It had a few small hazy windows that seemed to only let in a few beams of light. It was a wide building for Makeshift, at least 40 feet.
The inside of the inn was relatively busy, most of the people inside were eating breakfast, only a small minority were drinking at this time at the counter. The counter almost ran along the entirety of the back of the room, a door behind it on the left side leading further into the building. A door to the right of the counter had a sign saying 'to the rooms' on it. There were shelves full of food and bottles of drink and a large rusted fridge. There were large tables, some smaller more private tables, but all of them did not match with one another. All of them must have come from different places. There seemed to be two men manning the counter while a woman served the drinks and food, the three seemed to be a family.
"Velkomon to my establishment!" The older man at the counter called to Alice, his accent was one she had never heard before. "The name is Mikaiel Gustav! Vat can I get for you?" He had blond hair that was cut short and friendly sky blue eyes. His wide smile was ruined slightly by the missing teeth. But his whole demeanor was incredibly cheery. She walked up to the counter and sat down.
"Um, can I just get some water and the breakfast you're serving." Alice responded still trying to figure out his accent.
"Vell of course. One moment please." He said moving down the counter picking things up as he went as well as gossiping with his patrons. She turned to the rest of the room eyeing everyone up, no one seemed to let their eyes linger on her. Everyone seemed more concerned with eating or talking to the people around them. The waitress was also getting a lot of attention, unwanted attention. She had long wavy blond hair, sky blue eyes like her fathers and soft beautiful features. It seemed every other person looked at her as she passed by. One of the men who were staring, Alice decided to scare. The waitress passed between them and the mans eyes lingered on Alice a little bit after she passed. Alice gave him a deep stare, one steeped in hatred. It caused him to go pale and pay a lot more attention to his food. She chuckled slightly but sighed at the defeat of no one knowing her and slowly turned back around. If she stayed in town for a day or two like the doctor said she might bump into someone. Her ears perked up at a conversation between two men about 6 seats down the counter.
"Shiiiit, oh Elis did you hear about the lady who survived a deathclaw attack?" The first man said excitedly, as if he was telling a story.
The other man, Elis, chuckled, "No one survives a deathclaw attack."
"Well this gal did! She came stumbling into town her right arm almost hanging off!" He exclaimed gesturing at his own arm.
He rolled his eyes, "Yeah or you had a few too many."
"Well I know I wern't hallucinating because she just entered the inn."
Alice sighed and waited. "Where is she then." He said whilst looking around.
"The one with the sling on to our left." Both of them were looking at her now, she didn't move. She wanted to know what they were going to do and what they knew, it might be useful. Doubtful but there was a possibility. They both got up and sauntered up to her, as they did she turned to them with a smile, "Is there something I can help you with?" She asked in the most polite way she could.
"My friend, Jacob, here thinks you survived a deathclaw attack." He paused for a second and stared at her face, "That true?" As she got a better look at them both of them seemed to work on a farm, dirt was underneath their nails and dusted their knees, elbows and shoes. Both had a few missing teeth, but Jacob looked younger than Elis, by a lot.
"Yeah I saw you walk into town a few days ago, with Joseph's kids helping you." Jacob interjected excitedly.
"Wait a moment man, let her answer my question." Elis said patting Jacob on the shoulder.
There was a pause as Alice looked down the counter. "To be honest I don't remember what happened." She finally responded, "I'm trying to figure that out. But you said two people helped me into town, who are they, where can I find them?"
Jacob nodded, "They live just outside the gates, they work on the farm with their father. You'd find them there." Elis shot him a glance and shook his head slightly.
"Thank you." Alice nodded to them with a smile and turned back round to the counter. "Can I see the scars? I'm surprised you still even have an arm." Jacob insisted, not getting the hint.
"I'd rather not let you 'see the scars'." Alice asserted, her left hand tapping on the counter out of anger. He looked up at his friend almost in a pleading way.
"Oh come on. Showing the boy your scars. Can't hurt. He is just, um, curious." Elis coerced, putting a rough hand on Alice's left shoulder.
Alice was about to punch him in the face but Mikaiel cut in, "Your order miss." Putting a glass of water and a steaming plate of food in-front of her. "You two leafe her be."He said in a less cheery way. They both backed off and took their original seats.
"I could've handled that." Alice said before drinking from the glass.
"No you vouldn't hafe. You Vould'fe punched him." Mikaiel said with a smile on his face. "I'd prefer not to hafe a fight in my inn."
"Thank you for the food." Alice said putting the required caps on the counter.
"You're zee miss who stumbled into town aren't you." He lent on the counter opposite her now.
"Why? You want to see the scars as well." Alice mumbled whilst eating.
"No. But it's just surprisink seeink you up und about after zat sort of vound."
"Well I've been told not to use my arm yet so not completely up and about." She stopped eating for a bit and looked up at him, "Where is that accent from?"
"Deutschland, across zee pond as it vere. Ofer in Europe, but I'm not from zere. My distant ancestors vere."
"Right."
"Vell if you need anythink else just call." He smiled once again and walked over to someone gesturing to him.
Finishing her food and standing up she glanced around the room once more. Jacob was looking at her in the corner of his eye but no one else took notice of her. She shrugged and walked out the door. Now to go to the farm.
The wall that surrounded Makeshift was made from long destroyed vehicles, the gate was nothing less than a hole it that wall with a small guard post protecting it. Two guards were sitting at a table at the gate their rifles leaning against the wall and were playing a card game. A cigarette smoldered in a dirty ashtray between them, both of them taking turns diminishing it. They payed Alice no mind as she exited the town and as she stared at them wondering why they weren't more alert, anything could happen in the wasteland. The wasteland itself stretched on in all directions, dead trees and hedges indicating where the road is.
The farm wasn't far from the entrance, it was big enough to support the town, food wise and export wise. There was a crop field growing maize as well as a Brahmin pen, which was closer to the wall. The small hut next to the crop field still had the flicker of candle light inside. A man was tending to the Brahmin while a woman was walking through the field, stopping every few moments and checked a plant or two. As she walked closer the one tending to the Brahmin noticed her and started jogging over.
"Heya can I" He stopped and regarded her, "wait are you the one we helped get to the doctor?"
"I think so." She started, "That's what I've been told anyway."
When he got to her he looked at her for a bit, "You still look a bit pale but much better."
"I wouldn't be able to tell. Could you tell me which direction I came from?"
He though for a while looking out over the flat wasteland. "It must have been north. You must have come from the north." He nodded, turned to her and smiled.
"What is in that direction?" She looked now in the direction he had.
"Um, well all I know is that Benn is in that direction. It's a major trading town, that's where we get most of our supplies but we get most of our water from the west. From a town called Laketown, you can guess why it's called that." He chuckled to himself, trying to get a reaction from Alice but she didn't look back at him. "I wouldn't advise going there anyway. Apparently a group called Kaisars Leigion, or whatever its called, has taken it over or is about to."
"Caesar's Legion." Alice mumbled to herself, a flash off a memory in her head. "Thank you for the help but I better get back into town."
"You can stay for a bit, have something to eat." He requested, taking a step closer.
"I'll be OK. My names Alice. Thank you for helping me." She turned and walked back to town. "David! My name is David!" He called to her.