Fallout: A Relic of the Old World
Chapter Two
A New World in Time
The large elevator platform rose from the depths of the subterranean shaft from Vault 111, Alec was forced to shield his eyes from sudden intense rays of sunlight. The light was so bright compared to what he had become accustomed to within the vault, Alec thought it would surely burn his eyes and he was further thankful for the aspirin he had taken as his headache pulsed dangerously.
Once his eyes adjusted to the influx of light he was finally able to focus, and his jaw dropped. It was truly shocking. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts was dead. The landscape was devastated, burned, and shrivelled and entirely unrecognisable.
The last time he had stood in this spot he remembered the brilliance of colours in the trees, flowers, and grass, now everything was black, yellow, or brown. It was stark in contrast and it was like the land had become a desert. Now the only brilliance was the untouched pale blue sky and white nimbus clouds overhead.
For years Alec had seen media images of what a post-apocalyptic world could look like, he had thought his military service had given him further insight as he had seen the impact war had on the landscape. None of that came close to what he now saw, the awful cost of the Nuclear Era laid bare.
From atop the hill it was possible to see Sanctuary Hills. It was a derelict ruin, a shadow or even a corpse of its former self. Some of the houses had collapsed, but most still stood but showed severe signs of decay. The bright pastel-coloured exteriors had lost their brilliance having been dulled and tarnished by rust, neglect, and the passage of time. No obvious signs of life could be seen within the old suburb, no movement, no smoke, nor even a hint of green plant life. The lake still surrounded the island and seemed to be deeper than what Alec remembered, although the woods that once encircled it was gone. Now the island was surrounded by wooden spikes like a crown of thorns.
Over the last three weeks Alec had been running through the paths around the island, completely oblivious of the beauty and magnificence of nature. It was only now that it was gone that he realised that he had taken it for granted.
Alec frowned deeply as once more he struggled with his perception of time. It felt like it had been only hours since he last stood atop this very platform and witnessed the detonation that destroyed everything he knew. Only twenty-four hours ago that he had sat listening to the radio with Shaun, cheering at the baseball game. But that wasn't true, despite how he felt it had been much longer.
The scene before him was shocking evidence to that fact and Alec was struggling. It didn't help that it was both as dreary and depressing to behold as Alec felt inside himself. He felt like his perception of this landscape reflected his own grief and sorrow.
Looking out to the south-east Alec saw the highways and towering electricity pylons that fed the city, but from here it was impossible to make out even the smallest hint of the Boston skyline. Their survival was a good sign, for it indicated that the city itself might not have been destroyed outright, but the question of its survival during the birth of this new world remained to be seen.
That did strike Alec as strange. The warhead he had witnessed hadn't targeted Boston. Alec couldn't say with certainty where the bomb had fallen but he was certain that the mushroom cloud had bloomed to the south. Was it possible the weapon had a different target, or had it only been mere luck that spared Boston a direct hit? Even if the city hadn't been struck directly, Alec knew that it would have been the worse place to be immediately following the detonation.
It was all too much, Alec fell to his hands and knees and began to vomit, only his stomach was empty and instead he had to endure several long and agonising minutes of dry retching. Everything he had thought about the surface, every theory, every guess hadn't come close to the truth. It was truly shocking to behold and humbling.
As he slowly calmed himself, Alec wondered how many people could've survived the initial devastation, and worse how many might still live out in this wasteland today. Humanity would have endured for if it hadn't then where had those murdering, child stealing intruders come from.
There had to be civilisation, or some semblance of official governance, or even a central authority. If they were to be found anywhere, Alec thought it most likely in or around Boston. The city would have had the necessary infrastructure and resources needed to survive. Although he was sure that by now many individuals and groups would have likely carved out what they could for themselves and in all likelihood fought over resources and territory.
It was at least twenty miles to Boston, but in between were other towns such as Concord, Lincoln, and Lexington where it might be possible to reorient himself with this new land. By car that journey wouldn't take long but Alec had an awful feeling that the only means of transportation likely workable was by foot and that would take him many hours.
Just thinking of that perspective journey made Alec immediately aware of his severe tiredness and how much his body ached. No way would he be making that journey today, he needed to rest for a day or two at the very least. Only once he was sufficiently recovered from the lingering aftereffects of the cryo-pod and properly provisioned could he even think of trying it.
If Sanctuary Hills was abandoned, he hoped he might find shelter and recuperate at home. The call of something familiar right now was overwhelming, not to mention what he hoped to find there.
Turning away from the vantage point, Alec looked around the platform area and saw evidence of what had happened when he had gone below. People must have rushed through the checkpoints seeking refuge within the vault only to die from the nuclear fire, the shockwave or fighting. Once the platform had dropped he doubted the soldiers guarding the area would have stayed, the world had ended, and they would want to get home if possible or regroup elsewhere.
Not that the vault would have provided a refuge. Vault-Tec had issued clear instructions that anyone not cleared for their experiment were to be executed. They would have been lambs to the slaughter, much as the residents themselves had been.
Ducking inside the security hut that overlooked the elevator, he found that it was still connected to the vault and fully operational after all these years. For all their faults, Alec had to admit that Vault-Tec knew how to make things last and endure the Nuclear Annihilation. To activate the elevator controls, not unlike those inside the vault, required a Pip-Boy to interface to grant access. It was a small comfort, but it meant that Vault 111 would remain a secure tomb for those that Alec had left below and should it ever be needed, supplied a secure place for him to fall back to.
Walking back down the path he had run up what felt like only hours before, he passed through the perimeter checkpoint fence which was now almost entirely rusted through. There were further human remains outside the fence, evidence of other poor souls who had tried to enter the vault.
There was nothing distinguishable about the remains, nothing to say who they were or where they had come from. But Alec didn't need tangible evidence, only hours before he had seen these people alive arguing with soldiers as he passed through this very checkpoint. They had been his neighbours from Sanctuary Hills or locals from Concord. It was hard to comprehend the memories of then and now. They had been alive and breathing hours before, but now they were dead and in a sorry state of decay. It was disorientating to the extreme.
He wasn't sure what made him look so closely at the remains, but he quickly wished he hadn't. The bombs hadn't killed his neighbours, their bones showed signs of bullet damage. Severe bullet damage, the level of damage you would see inflicted by a minigun.
It had been the soldiers who had let him through the checkpoint that had killed these people, likely done in order to maintain the perimeter and ensure that the vault elevator was not overrun by civilians during the evacuation. A part of him was repulsed that the soldiers had turned their weapons on those they were sworn to protect, however the soldier in Alec knew that those people had done their job. If he had been in their place that day he would have done the same to ensure the success of the evacuation.
Moving on he continued along the path and was surprised to see that despite looking dead, there was some plant life still growing. He wouldn't say it was thriving or could compare to what he was used to, but it pleased him to see that nature would find a way to endure.
Passing over the rickety wooden bridge and onto the island, Alec walked up the last stretch of dirt path between two of the old houses that had once belonged to the Whitfield's and Able's. Not that they had any claim to the houses now, but Alec tried not to focus on that fact and instead looked around what remained of his home.
Sanctuary Hills was in almost total disarray with trees uprooted, weeds growing everywhere, the pavement and road was cracked and uneven and the severe damage and wear to the houses was unbelievable. All manner of debris was scattered all around and the vehicles were now just rusted and broken heaps of scrap metal. It was hard to imagine what this place had once looked like, even Alec who had lived here hours before could barely recognise it as the once picturesque suburb.
It was almost silent except for the occasional creak or whisper of leaves blowing in the breeze, it seemed that the entire island was deserted. From his bag Alec pulled out the spare pistol and hoped it would be good for at least one shot in case he needed it as he walked up the street towards his own house alert for any potential threats.
The Carter House was damaged just like the others, the metal external panelling was rusted, the front door gone, and all of the windows broken. The roof and walls were both missing tiles and panels but oddly despite the obvious deterioration, it was surprisingly in the best condition of all the houses in the street.
As he approached the front door Alec noticed something rather odd. The lawn or what remained of it was cut low with none of the wild tuffs of grass and weeds poking out like the other houses had. The hedges around the property were likewise equally well trimmed, maintained and perfectly level.
From within the house Alec could hear a rhythmic hum of a tune along with a mechanical clanking, but as if answering his unasked question came the dull silver dome propelled on a single thruster, three arms and eyes and a remarkably familiar voice.
"As I live and breathe!" Cried out the Mister Handy as its eyes wobbled atop its head looking at him, "Oh…its…it's really you!"
"Codsworth?" Alec spluttered in shock and lowered the gun he had raised automatically, unable to believe what he was seeing. Seeing Codsworth still here at home made him feel relieved and nostalgic, if the bucket of bolts and etiquette could survive then there was hope for others. "What the hell are you still doing here?"
"Well of course I'm still here!" Codsworth said proudly, "Do you really think a little radiation is going to deter the pride of General Atomics International from fulfilling its duty? No, no sir! Pardon me for saying it though sir, you do seem the worse for wear. You should get cleaned up before Mrs Carter sees you. Where is mum by the way, isn't she with you?"
Alec's heart sank at the mention of Kate, and he felt the pain of the loss once again and forced himself to swallow it.
"She.." He said heavily the words catching in his throat, "she is gone Codsworth."
Codsworth began to waffle on completely undeterred by this announcement and Alec wondered if the robot had even comprehended what he'd said. It was most unlike him, especially when Codsworth tried to start a game of charades.
"It is Master Shaun's favourite game sir." The robot said happily and turned to look around the street, "is the lad not with you?"
Alec found his composure and focus beginning to slip, there was only so much strength he could use when he felt so exhausted, and his military training could only do so much. He had now faced the destruction of the world, his wife's death, and his son's kidnapping and to top it all off his robot had gone mad.
"Shaun's…he has been kidnapped." Alec said in a quiet voice before adding with more certainty if only to reassure himself. "I will find him; I will get my son back and you can play your game with him."
"Oh dear me, it is worse than I thought!" Codsworth said dramatically not at all sounding like himself, "Sir you seem to be suffering from hunger-induced paranoia! Not eating for two hundred years will do that I'm afraid."
Alec gaped at Codsworth assuming either he had misheard him, or the robot was clearly malfunctioning. "Two hundred years?" He spluttered, "No! It can't have been that long. Codsworth you must be wrong."
"Well truth be told its 212 years. Give or take for the Earth's rotation and some minor dings to the old chronometer. It means that you are two centuries late for dinner!" Codsworth corrected and laughed at his own joke, "would you like me to whip you up a snack sir? You must surely be famished."
At the mere mention of food Alec's stomach rumbled, food did sound good right now.
"Sure Codsworth." He agreed, "I could also use a minute or two to get my bearings."
"Right oh Sir!" Codsworth said and he headed back inside the house with Alec following him slowly.
The interior of the house was a mess. The floors were covered in leaves, ceramic and metal tiles from the ceiling and roof. All of the furniture was in a dire condition having been exposed to the rain, but it was mostly intact if only filthy. All of the living and kitchen furniture was thrown all over which made Alec wonder if the house had been ransacked at some point.
Both the bathroom and utility room were in complete disarray and badly mottled with rust and corrosion. Alec doubted he could ever fix the washing machine and tumble dryer, although he was surprised to find the plumbing still worked but the water was brown.
His bedroom where he had shared so many memories with Kate was in no better condition. The window glass had long since shattered and dispelled, the bed had fallen apart, and its mattress dissolved into nothing. Both of the chest of drawers were opened like someone had rifled through them but at least were still functional if rickety.
The last room in the house was the one that Alec could barely enter, and he stood at the door looking into what had once been a bright and happy room. That room was gone and in its place was a ruined destitute room not a fitting place for a small infant son.
Thinking back to the last time he had been in this room, back when the world still made sense he had been playing with his son who had been in a laughably bad mood.
"I will find you buddy." He vowed
Moving away from the painful memories Alec considered the state of the house and wondered at it. Codsworth seemed to have maintained the grass and hedges and was likely responsible for the house looking less deteriorated than the others on the street. But why had he not been doing the rest; he was by design meticulous although after they had been gone for so long Alec wasn't sure he could blame him for letting his standards slip.
"Here you are sir." Codsworth said offering him a box of Sugar Bombs cereal in a clawed hand, "I'm afraid we are out of milk. I had to chuck it out centuries ago as it went sour. I would suggest going grocery shopping in Concord sir, but the stores all shut around the same time as those pesky bombs dropped."
Alec didn't care about having no milk and opened the box and ate the cereal dry. As he took his first mouthful he became suddenly aware that he couldn't taste the sugary cereal at all. It was likely another after effect of the cryo-pod but given that he was eating something two centuries old he wasn't going to complain, he needed food.
"Thanks a lot Codsworth." He said through his mouthful.
"You are most welcome sir." The butler replied and spun his metal arms at the compliment, "I was thinking as I prepared your meal, the family could simply be hiding. They might have thought I was one of the Reds and decided to hide nearby until Sir returned."
"Reds?" Alec asked wondering what on earth the robot was on about as he was concentrating on devouring the box of cereal.
"Why the communists sir!" Codsworth said indignantly, "The Chinese and Russians! You can't have forgotten them! They are a menace on the American way of life!"
Alec placed the cereal box on the kitchen counter having eaten what he could, his stomach now hurt, and he had to swallow down a wave of nausea that threatened to bring up his meagre meal.
"Codsworth" Alec said bracingly and managed a slight snort of amusement. If the United States had been bombed then so too would the other nations, no nation would have been untouched there was a reason it was called mutually assured destruction. "At this point I don't think the Reds are going to be a problem."
Codsworth was not deterred and suggested they still look around the neighbourhood for any sign of Kate or Shaun and Alec happily agreed despite being dead on his feet. Yet despite having wanted to return home to what was familiar, he was now being assaulted by feelings and memories of happier times.
Once outside Alec felt like he could breathe and think clearly without being haunted by the past and to keeps his mind occupied he instead regarded the loyal domestic robot thoughtfully. It struck him that while he was struggling to comprehend time properly, so too was Codsworth. The robot was acting like not a day had passed since they had seen each other but would also intermittently make some witty remake about the length of time. Oddly he was still ignoring the truth about Kate and Shaun and was insistent on search for them around the neighbourhood.
"Codsworth…" Alec asked firmly, "Are you sure you are okay?"
Codsworth didn't reply at once, it seemed like he was overcome by vast thoughts that his programming had not been coded for. Alec wondered if General Atomics had ever considered that their design could last so long or that a robot might have what could only be compared to a human mental breakdown. Even if they had, he doubted that they would have included some form of psychiatry debugging and diagnostic protocols into their units.
Eventually the robot managed to form his response and its voice emulated the emotions of being close to tears.
"Oh Sir! It's been horrible. Two centuries with no one to talk to, no one to serve! I spent the first ten years trying to keep the floors waxed, but nothing gets out nuclear fallout from vinyl wood. Nothing! Don't even get me started on the futility of dusting a broken house. Oh and the car! The car! How do you polish rust?"
Codsworth continued his tirade for almost twenty minutes, unburdening himself and telling Alec everything he had gone through for the last two hundred years.
Unknowingly, Kate had shackled the robot to the house and neighbourhood when she had told him to stay with the house. Programming forced Codsworth to continue like nothing had changed and he followed the subroutines that dictated what a Mister Handy should do while the family was away.
Alec had never considered that a robot might need social interaction before but thinking on it he realised that such domestic models were meant to integrate themselves into a family and they clearly required such interactions in order to remain stable.
After decades of staying in the house and maintaining the property, Codsworth had broken free of his prison for the first time by using the grocery list that Kate had made. The list enabled him to venture out beyond the island within the confines of his programming. Of course the stores of Concord were long abandoned and empty and Codsworth had returned empty handed, however on his returned the robot had discovered that while he was gone Sanctuary Hills had been ransacked by scavengers and the house had been trashed.
The one time that Codsworth had made a decision of his own during his long isolation had resulted in failure and led to the desecration of the house he'd meticulously maintained.
A robot Codsworth might be, but unlike his owner, he had taken the slow path and ensured two hundred years of horror and isolation. It was no wonder the robot was acting oddly under the circumstances. Alec knew that he would need to get Codsworth to calm down before he short circuited and hoped he might be able to give him a purpose once more.
"Codsworth." He said in what he hoped was a firm but calming voice, "stay with me pal, focus. What do you know that happened?"
"I don't know much sir." He replied in an almost childlike emotional voice, "The bombs came, almost everyone left in such a hurry. I thought you and the family must surely be dead, but I stayed at home as Miss Katherine said. Some of the neighbours did remain behind, but they got so ill sir! I tried to tell Mr Sumner to take them all to hospital, but he never listened. They all left one winter, I didn't see them leave, but I haven't seen them since."
So some of the neighbours had survived, those that Vault-Tec had not selected for entry into Vault 111, not that they escaped the same fate. The so-called illness as Codsworth had described was in all likelihood acute radiation poisoning. Once the bombs had fallen the surface world would have been nigh uninhabitable, fallout would have decimated the population and would account for the lack of wildlife and plants.
"I have a present for you sir." Codsworth said suddenly, "I found this holotape when I was cleaning. Miss Katherine was going to give it to you if you were recalled, but then the bombs…everything changed. I think she would want you to have it now."
A clawed appendage went into the underside storage compartment within the robot's chassis, and he handed over a familiar yellow holotape.
"Thank you Codsworth." Alec said shakily holding it like it was made of gold, this could very well be the last way he would ever hear Kate's voice again.
"You're welcome." He replied watching Alec expectantly.
"Can you give me a moment? Go and do something else for a moment please?"
"Yes sir!" Codsworth said in affirmative, "I've felt sorry for myself long enough, I need to carry on. You have been through a traumatic event and should be given time to grieve and process."
Alec nodded barely listening to Codsworth now, his attention held entirely by the holotape in his hand. The Pip-Boy on his arm had a docking slot for holotapes and it took him but a moment to jam it into the deck and with a shaking hand pressed play.
The moment he did Alec fell to his knees. Kate was talking to him about their life, and he cried out as he heard Shaun in the background. The pain of their loss was so raw, he felt like he had glass running through his blood, and the emotional control he had been exercising since sealing Kate's pod snapped and he broke down.
How long it took to pull himself together he did not know, but eventually he sat back up and wiped tears from his face and got purposefully to his feet and mentally closed the door on the past and once more focused on the here and now.
As he entered the kitchen he found Codsworth waiting behind the counter, a cup sat steaming on the surface before the now upright chair.
"Everything alright sir?" The robot asked, "I made tea."
"No." Alec admitted seeing no point to hide it from the robot.
The offered tea was nothing more than heated dirty water, but he appreciated the gesture more than he could express.
"We should search the neighbourhood for young Shaun." Codsworth told him, "This is the closest place to that vault you were in after all, they might be here. My sensors do indicate there is movement in Sanctuary Hills."
Alec was not at all hopeful. Truthfully, he wondered how much of a head start those people had on him, especially if two centuries could pass in the blink of an eye. They had likely not lingered, but despite his exhaustion Alec wanted to placate the robot and do something for him for a change, he had suffered alone for so long. "I doubt it, but let's do it just to be sure."
"That's the ticket sir" Codsworth said happily.
"You lead the way; you know the area better than I." Alec replied.
He followed behind the oddly excited robot to the house next door, it had once belonged to the Smith family. Alice Smith had been a good friend to Kate since they moved in he recalled. As the two of them got closer to the house he suddenly saw a large grotesque fly come soaring through the broken window directly at him.
After only a moment's hesitation Alec pulled out the spare pistol and fired a round. It missed by inches. A second shot reverberated across the street only to miss the mark once more and Alec suddenly had to dive out of the way as the creature shot some type of projectile from its rear. Before he could even consider using his gun again Codsworth zoomed forwards and used his saw to cut it in half and then spewed flames at another of the creatures.
"What the hell was that!" Alec demanded, "There are monstrous flies now?"
"You need to be more careful Mr Carter." Codsworth scolded bobbing up as though to tower over him, "bloatflies may not be the most dangerous of creatures these days, but they are fast and nimble. They spit their larvae at their targets to feed and to gestate, and they have been known to paralyse their host."
"Bloatflies?" Alec questioned testing the name himself, it was apt if slightly crude.
"That's what I have heard locals call them." Codsworth explained simply.
"What about enormous cockroaches?" Alec asked remembering the vile things from Vault 111, "any idea on what they are called?"
"Why of course! Those dastardly mutated things are called radroaches sir."
It was a strange thing to enter the house that both he and Kate had often visited, and he was once again overcome with nostalgia. The decorations that Alice and Morgan had put up were still visible, they had invited the Carters over to celebrate their favourite holiday and what would have been Shaun's first Halloween.
The house was in total disarray and if Alice had still been alive she would have been mortified and frantic about the mess. In many ways she had been a bigger neat freak than Codsworth, they had all teased her about it and now he felt like he needed to tidy up in memory of her.
As he moved through the house he couldn't help but notice odds and ends that could be helpful, but he didn't move to touch or take them out of the house. It seemed disrespectful, even though the logical part of his mind told him they were dead and couldn't object.
"You know, humans of today are odd themselves." Codsworth added as they moved through the house, "My sensors are not detecting anyone else within the house, but I am picking up something else in the Baker Residence. Follow me!"
Following dutifully behind the domestic robot they went to the next house along where again they were assaulted by more bloatflies. This time Alec didn't bother using the pistol, either his skills were rusty, or the sight was off, and he wasn't about to waste the rounds. Instead he flicked out the security baton and dealt with the creature's baseball style while Codsworth used buzzsaw and flame.
After dealing with the creatures in old man Baker's home they had moved across the street to the Jones House. Owned by a elderly lady who had moved in and barely lived in Sanctuary Hills a week before the evacuation alarm had sounded.
Predictably there was no sign of Shaun or his strange kidnappers. Although Alec had not expected to find them, an exceedingly small part of him had held out hope.
"Your family isn't here either." Codsworth said sadly, "There…There really gone, aren't they?"
"Kate is gone, but Shaun is out there somewhere." Alec assured the robot finding it reassuring that Codsworth cared about them as much as he did. "Thanks for trying Codsworth."
Alec sighed tiredly, resigned to the fact that finding Shaun was never going to be this easy and would in all likelihood take him a long time.
"Well you can't give up sir!" Codsworth said reassuringly, "We must check the city! Or perhaps Concord, it is just down the road after all! The people there have only shot at me a few times over the years."
Alec wondered just how many times Codsworth had fruitlessly journeyed to Concord for groceries over the years even after the outcome of his first trip. Every time would have potentially risked his ongoing functionality. Could that have been the reason, could a robot even conceive such an end for themselves?
"Concord?" Alec said stifling a large yawn as they walked back through the house and out onto the street. "Are people still living in the town?" If there was a surviving community there then perhaps they could help him, better yet it wasn't far on foot.
"Yes, although they were a bit… uncivil." Codsworth explained, "It has been about twelve years since I last went into town, but it was quiet last time, and they still hadn't reopened their stores."
Twelve years was no short space of time so any information the robot had was outdated, although given that Alec's own knowledge was apparently two centuries old he couldn't judge.
Shaun needed him and he couldn't allow himself to be killed due to being ignorant of what this wasteland of a commonwealth contained. Bloatflies and radroaches couldn't be the only mutated creatures, there were likely many more animals that had been affected by the radiation and other unimaginable perils he couldn't conceivably foresee.
Alec wasn't a naïve civilian. He was a veteran soldier of the Sino-American War. A skilled infiltrator, a trained hunter, tactical thinker, and technical expert. Those were the skills he would need once more. The doting father and loving husband had no place in this world.
"Will you be leaving for Concord today then sir?" Codsworth asked in a sad voice.
"No." Alec replied firmly his decision made.
"No sir?" Codsworth asked looking at him sounding shocked, "what about Master Shaun?"
"I will find him Codsworth you can be assured of that." Alec stated firmly before adding, "I need to rest and recover properly from my time in Vault 111. I must also prepare and equip myself before I set off in search. If I leave now half-cocked I would likely be dead within two miles and then Shaun will be forever lost to us both."
Codsworth wobbled in the air for a moment before he asked in a hopeful voice, "so what will you do now then sir?"
"We go home." Alec said simply, a plan already forming in his head, and he smiled at the robot, "I will need your help Codsworth, so will you help me?"
"Well of course Mr Carter!" Codsworth replied dutifully and he sounded very happy no doubt elated he would no longer be alone. "Where must we begin?"
That was a good question and Alec considered it briefly before he spoke.
"You know Sanctuary Hills better than anyone Codsworth. Have you seen anyone in the vicinity while I was within the vault?"
The island didn't seem to be a place that was often frequented from what he had seen so far and by way of what Codsworth had said already but he wanted that confirmed.
"No." Codsworth replied diligently, "other than the odd critter Sanctuary Hills has been left almost untouched by humans since the neighbours left. Only the one group of burglars has come here to my knowledge, and I keep a sharp eye on such things I can assure you!"
This was good news. Sanctuary Hills was somewhat remote and built on an island which was protected on all sides by a lake. The only way across was via the main bridge that led to Concord or the crossing point path for Vault 111. An island was defensible. True a person might swim across the lake or traverse the northern hills to enter via the vault path, but it was still better than setting himself up in the middle of someplace like Concord which had no natural defences.
Returning to the Carter House, Alec had wanted nothing more than to lay down and sleep for several days, but the house wasn't secure enough to allow him to. To that end he propped the front door back up into its frame and used the couch to keep it in place. The side door in the kitchen was fortunately still hung on its hinges and the old lock still worked even if it was a bit stiff.
There wasn't much that could be done about the windows themselves, not right now at any rate. Alec instead tacked the old rotten rugs over them to make the living area feel more enclosed and to break the line of sight from the outside.
Codsworth helped silently, setting up the couch cushions on the floor and from one of the cupboards pulled out a raggedy blanket and dirty pillow for him to use.
"Sir may I ask, are we expecting trouble?" The robot asked after Alec was done hammering the last nail into the window frame to hold up the rug.
"You should always be prepared Codsworth." Alec said yawning wildly and he fell heavily down onto the cushions and pulled off his vault issued boots. He wanted nothing more than to peel off the vault-suit but that could wait until after he slept. "I don't know this world Codsworth, it makes me uneasy. I desperately need to sleep, but unless I feel secure I won't be able to."
Laying himself down he put his head on the pillow and pulled the blanket over him and sighed and finally closed his eyes. He thought it likely a good thing he hadn't yet regained his sense of smell since he was certain the cushions, pillow and blankets would have smelt disgusting.
"Would you like me to prepare a meal sir?"
"No Codsworth." Alec said tiredly not even trying to open his eyes as the exhaustion began to overcome him. "Not now. Please just stand guard around the house, keep an eye out for any movement and wake me if anything happens."
"Goodnight Mr Carter." Codsworth said quietly unaware his master couldn't hear him as he was already fast asleep. "It is good to have you home."
o-Fallout-o
The following day Alec had awoken incredibly disorientated, laying on the cushions on the floor of his living room. Past and present had collided, and he had cried out in shock. It took him a moment to remember where and when he was and regained his composure and looked around.
Within the kitchen Codsworth floated almost entirely hidden behind the counter, the only part of him visible were his eyes peering over the top regarding him in complete silence. The strangled cry of shock and confusion had scared the butler, but then it must be strange and alarming to have Alec home after so long. Codsworths programming meant that he had to serve, but after two centuries pottering around an empty house he had spent longer alone than he had ever spent with his assigned family.
Neither of them felt the need to speak about it, Codsworth began to make Alec a breakfast of Yum-Yum Deviled Eggs.
Time had once more escaped Alec, although this time it was because he had properly slept rather than being kept in frozen stasis. He had slept for twelve uninterrupted hours, although it had done nothing to help his time delirium. After such a long sleep Alec still didn't feel well rested as his muscles and body still ached, but he blamed that on the hard cushions he had slept on, and he wished his bed hadn't rotted away.
As Codsworth cooked the breakfast on the hotplate Alec had taken from Vault 111 he discovered that his sense of smell had begun to return. Although that realisation also brought with it the smells of decay from the house, furniture and worse himself.
Breakfast was incredibly bland. Alec knew he was chewing on eggs, but the food barely tasted of anything, even after he added plenty of salt he could barely notice a difference. Despite his lack of interest or enjoyment in the food he made a point to thank Codsworth and complimented his cooking. It might have been a lie but there was no need to hurt the robots' feelings after all and Codsworth certainly enjoyed it nonetheless.
A marginal return of his sense of taste seemed to be a good sign as it was an improvement on the previous day and he hoped in time it would return in full. Other bodily functions had returned far quicker and made themselves known after breakfast. Alec had gone to use the toilet in the bathroom but Codsworth shouted that it was broken and had been forced to run outside and use a bucket in the garden.
That was when Alec made the unwelcome and startling discovery that his urine was blue. It was a worrying revelation since he had no idea where he could find the closest doctor let alone if they were even medically trained and not some type of quack. The last thing he wanted was to meet a witchdoctor or charlatan who would make things worse and make him pay for the privilege.
"Right then Codsworth, let's get this old place put right shall we." Alec said determinedly when he returned to the house and took a gulp of water from his bottle praying his issues might be flushed from his body. "Let's clear up the mess and see what we have left."
In two hours the two of them were able to clear out all of the rubbish, leaves and accumulated debris from the house. They burned the rubbish in a fire pit in the garden over which sat three large metal pots of boiling lake water. Every wall, floor and surface had been thoroughly swept, scrubbed, and mopped with a potent concentration of bleach, Abraxo and boiled water. All of the furniture had been placed within Shaun's room awaiting to be sorted along with boxes of the Carter's salvaged possessions.
Alec dusted off his hands after finishing clearing away the remains of his old bed, some of the wood now sat in a crate next to the fireplace, but the rest was in the garden waiting to be burnt to boil even more water which if he was fortunate would allow him to wash.
Returning to his barren bedroom he moved to the closet in the corner with its missing doors and empty shelves and knelt to remove its false floor, revealing a large metal safe embedded into the house foundation. The safe had been installed at Kates insistence when they had bought the house, it held only a few valuables like jewellery and important documents, but its true purpose had been to safely secure Alec's guns and military equipment.
Kate had refused to allow his weapons in the house unless they were locked away out of sight and completely inaccessible to Shaun. The fact that at the time Shaun hadn't actually been born had been completely irrelevant to his wife, so Alec had done as he was told and had the safe installed.
It was in good condition with little evidence of corrosion on its exposed metalwork, the false flooring having protected it not just from the elements and dirt but also the thieves who had ransacked the house years before. Alec was relieved to find the safe still securely locked for he desperately needed its contents.
"Hey Codsworth," Alec called stepping into the living area where the Mister Handy was diligently cleaning the kitchen and conducting numerous minor repairs. "I don't suppose you know where my keys are do you. I haven't seen them."
Codsworth laughed loudly, "well of course sir, you left them on the side as always. I've kept them safe for two centuries." The robot reached into his storage compartment and pulled out a set of keys held on a brilliant blue Nuka-Quantum keychain. "Does sir require any assistance?"
"No thank you Codsworth." Alec smiled taking the offered keys.
He pulled off the key to the rusted heap that had once been his car and chucked it into the rubbish bucket, no need to keep a useless key after all. Returning to the safe in the bedroom he inserted its key and turned it, hearing the satisfying sound of the lock disengaging.
At the top of the safe sat a small tray of documents, valuables, and cash but Alec pulled this out of the way without fanfare and instead turned his attention to what lay under it. There was a cavity in which sat a large black rucksack which he hoisted out of the safe and took into the living area and deposited on the table.
This rucksack had been with him for years, it was his tactical assault pack and it had seen him through some of the most dangerous missions during his military service, and much like its owner it had its scars but was still fully functional.
Somehow the pack had made the journey with him from Anchorage, what remained of his military gear had been stowed inside by his unit or hospital orderlies and on his return he had stashed the pack out of sight. It was time to finally unpack whatever had survived the blast and take stock so he might know what he needed to source for himself in the future.
First he pulled out a thick black combat belt from the depths of the pack, with its metal buckle and attached to it were his military issue combat tactical knife, multitool, flashlight, whistle, wire saw, medical pouch, dump pouch and two empty magazine pouches.
Next came a pair of strong, hardwearing tall black military boots which Alec was glad he still possessed since he had serious doubts about the durability of the vault-issued boots he was currently wearing. The military boots were clean but needed new laces, although that was simple enough to remedy.
A pair of tactical gloves with reinforced knuckles and fingers for additional protection, these showed definite signs of wear and tear. Two drop leg thigh holsters, set up and adjustable for pistols with additional pouches for magazines and weapon attachments. Both the gloves and holsters were black like the rest of his gear.
He pulled out a sealed case emblazoned with his unit crest and his military service number, inside sat two combat pistols. They were smaller and more compact than those he had found in Vault 111 and had been modified for him by his units' gun specialist. It was highly unorthodox to carry twin pistols, but Alec was ambidextrous and could equally shoot and aim in either hand. During his time in the army he had never made a habit of dual wielding the pistols and instead found the advantage in having access to a pistol within reach of either hand if ever the need arose.
Neither weapon was in working condition, both had been broken in the blast that had almost killed him. Their optics were broken, and their mechanisms jammed. They had been painted black to match the rest of his gear, but were severely scarred, scratched and marked. The case also contained the spare magazines for his pouches, a bent silencer, spare gun components and boxes of ammunition. Unlike everything else within the case, the ammunition was the only thing that was compatible with his newly acquired vault pistols.
There wasn't much left within the pack since all his clothing had been cut off him by medics, his combat armour if it had even been salvageable would have been returned to the army. That left him with a bedroll, cordage, cutlery, hygiene kit, assault gasmask, medical kit, mess tins, sewing kit, two empty duffels, a sheet of tarp, travel mug, and a weapon cleaning kit.
The pack had also contained a pair of sunglasses, goggles, and a large canteen but all of them were broken or cracked and so they had been thrown into the rubbish bucket and added to the list of equipment that he would need to source.
"Sir found his equipment! Well isn't that splendid." Codsworth said cheerfully as he came over to investigate the new mess on the clean table. "Did you find everything you needed?"
"Not by far." Alec said regretfully looking at the assorted equipment and running through his mental list of what was missing and what he would likely need going forward. "Its more than I had, but there are several things I want before I set out for Concord."
"Perhaps we should look around the neighbourhood?" Codsworth suggested, "I'm sure the neighbours wont mind so long as we leave them some money in compensation. We wouldn't want the family to be branded thieves now would we!"
"I don't like the thought of taking from the houses." Alec admitted, "but their owners are dead Codsworth, and the dead have no need of what they left behind or money. Its not stealing if it doesn't have an owner is it?"
Codsworth was not frilled with the idea but decided not to argue and followed his master's directive, Alec found it amusing and assumed it was something in his programming since technically you could argue that the island had been in the robot's possession for two centuries and he had the best claim to its resources.
"Well I now have the kitchen mostly ship-shape sir, but it's not exactly Bristol fashion. The stove will require replacement components, and without power I cannot say whether the refrigerator works." Codsworth reported, "If sir is agreeable I will set up the bathroom for you, you did say you wanted to freshen up. I hope you don't mind me saying so Mr Carter, but you are perhaps the dirtiest thing in the house now."
Alec snorted recognising a Codsworth telling off when he heard one, although he thought Codsworth wasn't exactly pristine himself these days but decided not to point that out just yet.
"I'll have a wash after lunch Codsworth." Alec promised, "I still have work I want to do which means I will only get dirty again. For now why don't you make a start on sorting through the old furniture before you make lunch. What do we have anyway?"
"Pork-N-Beans." Codsworth replied, "Sir may I remind you that…"
"I know Codsworth." Alec said rolling his eyes, "our cupboards are bare, and we desperately need to get some food since I didn't go grocery shopping two centuries ago. You really do have to let that go one day you know. For now do what you can with what we have left."
The domestic robot left Alec and he made his way to the front door to inspect the damage and to decide how to fix it.
It wasn't a small job repairing the door as much of the metalwork and fixings needed to be repaired, straightened, or completely reposition into sturdier parts of the existing structure due to rust or corrosion. He wouldn't say the repair was pretty, but it was at the very least functional and the door hung independently and could be closed and locked as needed.
While Alec ate lunch he distracted himself from what it was he was eating by walking through the house thoughtfully cataloguing the work that it needed to make it a secure and workable place for him to operate from. Sure it was clean and tidy right now, but the roof was broken, the windows had no glass and sections of the walls were missing panels. It wasn't watertight and it was far from secure.
Once he had eaten his fill and drank a good portion of his limited water he made his way into the bathroom to clean up. The plumbing of the house was marginally operational, how that was possible Alec wasn't yet sure, but the water was disgusting not at all fit for consumption or even cleaning. Instead of using the shower, Codsworth had set up a table and several large bowls of warm water, a towel, an old cloth, and a bar of hard soap.
The water from Sanctuary Lake was somewhat clean but when they extracted their first barrel of water Alec's Pip-Boy had crackled as its Geiger counter detected the low level of radiation it contained. To try and limit the radiation they had been dissolving the anti-radiation RadAway soap from the vault in their cleaning water. If Alec was to survive he needed a water purifier, which he would need to construct and that required a lot of time and effort which he did not have. His initial clean drinking water was limited to what he had brought down from Vault 111, one glass bottle was hardly sufficient, especially given his blue issues. Currently the vault was the only viable source of water, and he would need to make a supply run tomorrow at the latest.
It was with great relief that Alec peeled off the disgusting soiled vault-suit and began to wash away the accumulated dirt, grime and sweat from his body not at all caring for his modesty since the only person who might see him was a robot. Once he felt thoroughly clean Alec dressed in the clean underwear and vault-suit he had obtained from Vault 111 since he had no clean clothing of his own in the house.
"Did sir enjoy his wash?" Codsworth asked as he stepped out into the hall and found him waiting expectantly and the robot plucked the old vault-suit and underwear from him. "I will take that sir; the laundry pot is already set up over the fire and boiling."
The laundry pot sounded far more impressive than it actually was. Codsworth was just soaking whatever could fit into the largest metal container in a bath of old detergent, anything that didn't fit would be scrubbed by hand, and then all of the washing would be hung out to dry on a line.
"Thank you for setting that up Codsworth." Alec said sincerely and he followed the robot back into the living area with a glance towards the useless washer and dryer. "Don't expect perfection with the laundry, there is a reason man invented the washing machine you know."
Returning to the dining room table Alec pulled out the two 10mm pistols from the blue and yellow combat bag and cleared himself some room to work. His old service weapons were a non-starter, but he hoped that with a bit of effort, cleaning and repairs these two pistols might be made functional. He took out his multitool and gun cleaning kit and got to work on the guns.
It had never been said that Alec was a gunsmith. Sure he could easily strip, clean, and rebuild a weapon and if pushed could make some minor modifications. As he sat working he couldn't help but be reminded of one of his former brother-in-arms and friends. Marcus Colt had been the 108th's weapons specialist, he had personally equipped, modified, and maintained almost every weapon within the unit. The man was a genius, what he could do with weapons and even power armour had saved them more times than the unit could count. It was those skills that had caught the attention of the military and got him conscripted into the army. Tragically they had lost Marcus at Anchorage, killed by Chinese insurgents, it had been a massive loss for the entire 108th Infantry.
The two combat pistols were the last weapons that Alec possessed that his friend had given him, they might be useless, but he couldn't dispose of them. Alec's plasma rifle and power armour had both been destroyed in the blast that had injured him, and who knew if any other examples of Marcus's brilliance might have survived. It was sentimental he knew, but he wanted to remember his friend.
Once the 10mm's were stripped, cleaned, and repaired, Alec put them back together and tested them out in the garden on a few old bottles of Nuka-Cola. Happily, his shots found their targets and shattered the bottles. Codsworth had cheered him on happily before asking pointedly who would be clearing up the mess.
With two working guns he returned inside and placed both pistols into his leg holsters, attached them to the belt and strapped the lot around his waist and legs. It was reassuring to have the familiar presence of both the belt and guns strapped to him, although he could feel the difference in weight. The security baton he also inserted snugly into one of the holster pouches on his left leg for easy accessibility.
"Hey Codsworth!" Alec called through the empty window, "leave that laundry to soak and dry and meet me outside please."
"I'll be with you in just a moment!"
Picking up the case holding the combat pistols, Alec returned them to the safe and covered them over with the tray. From his fingers he pulled off two gold rings and placed them with the other valuables and locked them away and covered the safe once more with the false floor.
Stepping outside onto the front step Alec regarded Sanctuary Hills in the mild late afternoon light and shivered. It was kind of disquieting living in a ghost town, he felt like someone was watching him but saw nothing but a raven sitting atop a streetlamp. An ill omen if ever he saw one, but it was a relief to see some form of normal animal life still survived.
"So what is the plan Mr Carter?" Codsworth asked as he came around the side of the house to meet him five minutes later.
"We have made a start on getting the house clean today Codsworth, but I think we can both agree it still needs a lot of repairs, we need additional supplies and even some basic furniture. I would like you to go through the neighbourhood and salvage whatever you can to put our house right." Alec explained looking around the street wondering where to start. "High on our list of priorities will be replacing the missing wall panels and repairing the roof."
"I can do that sir." Codsworth affirmed, "Some of the houses have collapsed, we should be able to find much of what we need from the wreckages. May I ask, what will you be doing?"
"The same as you, your focus is the house whereas mine is provisioning myself for what I need to begin my search for Shaun." Alec replied, "I'll need weapons, food, medicine, clothes, armour and a lot of other things in between. If you see anything you think might be useful bring it back to the house. Bring any materials you salvage to the carport; we want it to be easily accessible when we begin work on the house tomorrow I think."
"I should probably move the car." Codsworth said thoughtfully. "I would hate to scratch it."
"Don't worry about the car Codsworth." Alec said sternly, the thing was almost entirely useless now although he did wonder if its engine might be salvageable for something else. "Do what you need to do."
Codsworth gave him an affirmative and set off for the closest collapsed house.
Alec made his way down the sidewalk towards the Smith's old house not at all at ease at the prospect of looting it of anything valuable or useful. His weapons were within easy reach on his belt, Codsworth might have said there was no movement in the area, but Alec was not about to be caught unaware or unarmed by pest, beast, or man.
There wasn't much but he did at least find some tinned food, a large box of candles but was surprised to find a safe in the bedroom. He of course had no idea what the combination was, but it did have a keyhole. He took the food and candles back home and found a box of Kate's bobby pins and a screwdriver and returned to the safe and began to manipulate the tumblers.
In the army he had been sent on several missions behind enemy lines and operated covertly, lockpicking was a skill he had learnt as it often came in handy. Using the pin he worked the lock and was happy when it clicked finally, and he spun the wheel and opened the door. Inside he found an assortment of ammunition, wads of cash, documents, jewellery, and a remarkable set of silver cutlery that must have been a family heirloom.
It was disappointing to say the least, but he knew he would need to lower his expectations. The scavengers who had ransacked Sanctuary Hills would have taken almost everything of immediate value, unfortunately for Alec he was two centuries behind the curve. What remained was pieces of furniture, containers and boxes of various bric-a-brac, utility products like detergents, plungers, irons, and other household tools. There was also dirty and half rotten textiles like curtains, bedding, towels, and clothing.
Leaving the Smiths house Alec made for the next one which Old Man Baker had lived in. The man had been in his late forties, an ex-soldier, and an avid hunter. Since they moved in Alec had always made a point of speaking to the man as he was something of a loaner and he felt that a large part of Baker had never returned from war. Baker had been a paranoid old coot, convinced that the world would end, and would tell stories of government conspiracies and even one drunken night spoke about aliens as if they were real. Given his personality and beliefs Alec had hoped that Baker was some type of prepper and would have stocked his house for the inevitable end, but as he stepped inside he found that the house was oddly barren.
There was a scant amount of furniture in each of the rooms and what contents was still within the house was not unlike what he had found in his own and the Smiths. The house had been thoroughly searched, the cupboards, drawers and containers ransacked for anything of value and were strewn across the rooms. It just felt wrong to Alec, the content of the house did not at all match the man he knew to have owned it, he had actually been hesitant to enter it thinking Baker the type who might set traps or defences.
Slightly crestfallen he began to walk back towards the front door to the street when a metal tile fell from the ceiling and almost brained him, and he glared up at the offending roof seeing the sky through its many holes but then saw something else. There was an old army duffle resting in the roof cavity.
He climbed one of the trees outside and stepped unsteadily onto the roof and slowly made his way across it and managed to grab the duffle. As he did the roof gave way under his foot and he slipped, and he fell rolling down the slope and landed in a heap in the back garden. Cursing Alec got to his feet and brushed himself off, he might not have broken anything, but he would certainly have several bruises.
Checking the bag to see what it contained and if his fall had broken anything he opened it and felt his heart stop. The bag contained a large assortment of ammunition, a hunting rifle that had seen better days, old rations and MRE's, what he believed to be some type of military targeting chip, and four grenades. Fortunately, the grenades were still safe, their pins still within their holes and he breathed out a sigh of relief.
Thinking he had found everything Alec turned to leave but stopped when he noticed that Baker had two metal doors behind his house leading down into the ground. That was odd, just like the house had been. As far as Alec knew none of the properties in Sanctuary Hills had been built with basements or storm cellars so had Baker built one himself?
He had expected the metal doors to be locked from the inside but to his surprise they weren't, and their hinges screeched as he opened them revealing a dark space below. Pausing only to draw out a flashlight and a pistol, Alec slowly stepped down the steps into the dim.
The steps led down to what could only be described as a homemade bunker, it was crude, nothing more than compacted dry earth, concrete, and breezeblocks but its very existence was much more inline with Baker's character than the empty house above. Several lines of racks were stacked along one side of the bunker, their shelves filled with crates, boxes and containers filled with purified water, rations, tins of food, medication, valuable commodities like silver and gold. There was various camping equipment too, tents, sleeping bags, stoves, cooking utensils, tarps, electronics, numerous books, journals, and a ham radio.
There was only one problem with the bunker, and it perhaps explained why it was unlocked and there was no sign of its owner. It had no shielding to protect it from radiation, which meant it could seep into the bunker and cook its occupant alive. For all of his preparedness, Baker had not thought to protect himself from the invisible enemy of nuclear war.
Opening the duffle bag he had found and pulling out a second from the bunker he filled them with as much of the water, food, and medical supplies as they could carry. He also grabbed one of the sleeping bags, a tent, the ham radio and two thick blank journals, the rest he would leave for now and he went back up the stairs.
As he closed the hatch, Alec couldn't help but be thankful for Baker for he had just ensured that he was provisioned and provided him with a handy place to store things away from the house. It would need some work as the bunker wasn't much more than a hole in the ground, it could use some additional reinforcement at the very least. It would also be fairly easy to conceal since it only had to be buried should the need ever arise.
Returning home with the bulging bags of newfound bounty Alec felt content and smiled when he saw the not so small stack of metal salvaged by Codsworth on the carport floor and knew he had set the robot the right task. The following day would be a day of hard labour, he would get the house put right and then finally he could set out.
It was getting late now and without the streetlights Alec didn't much fancy combing through the ruins of Sanctuary Hills alone but decided on searching one final house before retiring for the evening, hoping it would still contain what he needed.
Across the street was the house that had belonged to Rosa Young and her son Louis. They had been among the first residents of Sanctuary Hills, but tragedy struck when Rosa's husband had been killed in a mob shooting in Boston. In an effort to strengthen their relationship after the loss, mother and son had begun renovating an old Corvega.
Predictably there wasn't much of note within the house in terms of supplies but that wasn't so much of a problem now but what he did find was a double bed in surprisingly good condition that he had every intention of ferrying across the street for himself. However the reason he searched the Young House was to find the keys to the garage which he eventually found in a cup on a beat-up desk. The thieves of Sanctuary had not cared for the contents of the garage or had not thought to search for the key, but to Alec it was as valuable as the bunker's contents.
It was filled with all manner of tools, equipment, and machinery which Rosa and her son had used to restore their Corvega and before that her husband had used for a workshop as part of his handyman company. The only concern was power. Almost all of the tools and machines required power and the mains power had likely not worked in two centuries. There was an old generator for fuel or oil which of course he didn't have so that was useless.
With yet another found problem Alec sighed and shut the door to the garage once more and wondered where the Corvega was since it wasn't inside and wondered if the Youngs had driven off to find safety.
It had taken no small amount of effort to heave the mattress out of the Young house and across the street, but it had been simple enough for Alec to dismantle the bedframe and rebuilt it in his own bedroom. Codsworth had insisted on scrubbing and cleansing both before adding their laundered sheets onto the bed.
The food supplies weren't that varied or extravagant, but they were numerous and Codsworth couldn't stop congratulating Alec for finally getting their needed groceries. The robot merrily whistled as he cooked the meal on a hotplate as Alec cleared his gear from the table and sat down to eat and they chatted about the day and their plans for the following day.
It felt so normal. The house lit by lantern and candlelight; the outside mostly hidden through the covered windows. A warm cooked meal at the dinner table. For a small moment it was easy for Alec to forget where he was and enjoy the semblance of what he had lost
Retiring early since there was little to do and not wanting to waste candles or lamp oil, Alec lay himself down on his new bed and relished the simple comfort it offered. He tried not to think he was sleeping in a dead woman's bed and focused on the smell of the fragrant detergent waft out of the sheets and thought Codsworth had done an excellent job with the laundry.
He lay looking up at the ceiling and could make out stars through the holes in the roof. Laying there in this room he suddenly felt alone and cold which had nothing to do with the light breeze that whistled through gaps in the metal.
To distract himself he began looking through the Pip-Boys functions; vital monitor, Geiger counter, holotape player, maps, flashlight, task lists and even a radio to name but a few of them and he thought it would become immensely helpful.
It took all of his willpower not to play the holotape in its deck, to listen to Kate and Shaun again to try and alleviate how alone he felt. Instead he flicked to the radio function which began an automatic scan of various frequencies and Alec selected the first one it found.
Classical Radio, it was exactly what the name suggested. He thought it likely some old, automated broadcast somewhere out in the wilds of Massachusetts. The tunes were all familiar and he lay there listening to them in the dark wishing that he wasn't alone.
O-FALLOUT-O
Authors Note:
I hope you have enjoyed the chapter, I know its pretty long and likely dull since I incorporated a lot of world building for Sanctuary Hills, but also for Alec and Codsworth.
In the game you obviously explore leisurely finding what you need before moving on to Concord or whatever path you set yourself. Here Alec needs to recover from Vault 111, both the loss, the time jump but also the effect of the pods. He is trying to prepare himself physically and mentally, but also ensuring that he has a place to work from.
Edited: 14/08/2022
PLEASE REVIEW!
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