Fallout: A Relic of the Old World
Chapter Three
The Town of Concord
When morning came Alec was in a dour mood, he wasn't at all well rested despite his acquisition of the bed. He all but had to drag himself out of the house and force himself to walk the path up the hill to Vault 111. It was not a trip he wanted to make after his restless night but armed with five large containers he entered the vault and collected the necessary clean water. Leaving the vault had been harder than finding the motivation to enter it, but he resisted his need to visit his wife and hauled the water home.
The rest of the day he spent holed up in Sanctuary Hills hard at working repairing and fortifying his house. It was no easy task since the level of deterioration made the work difficult but together he and Codsworth had persevered and for the first time in several decades if not a century the Carter Residence was once more secured and in comparatively good repair.
Utilising salvaged materials from the collapsed houses around the neighbourhood, Alec had managed to fashion six metal ramshackle shutters and attached them to the window frames to prevent element exposure and intrusions. These shutters when closed turned the house into a sealed metal strongbox. Codsworth had also been busy replacing the panelling in both the internal and external walls patching the gaping holes and further securing their home. Lastly the two of them had worked together to repair the roof with a patchwork of salvaged tiles and replaced much of the interior ceiling panels.
Since the house was made of metal the repair work was made simpler since they could just weld almost all of the replacement materials onto the original structure, and it felt like a great accomplishment to find that the house no longer whistled in the wind.
Most of the furniture in the house had been salvaged so the living area was mostly identical to what it had once been prior to the bombs falling, if slightly shabbier and dulled by time. The holotape player was a loss, and sure they didn't have curtains or carpets but those were small details that Alec was not bothered by. Alec had decided to dismantle Shaun's room, the crib was now stored up in the roof cavity and all of his remaining toys had been boxed away in a metal crate for safekeeping. Codsworth had then helped him salvage three large metal shelving units, filing cabinets, two old desks and chairs and turned the room into a functional office, work area and storage room.
Alec's recovery from his tenure in Vault 111 was almost complete. His sense of smell and taste had almost returned fully, although he had not decided if that was a good thing yet. As he had worked through the day Alec had drunk greedily from the water he had collected since he no longer needed to ration it. Halfway through the day he had begun to notice the blue colour in his urine was starting to dissipate which he took to be a good sign and gave him a sense of relief.
Throughout the day Alec noticed that Codsworth was much happier and enjoyed having company and would chat aimlessly all day even if Alec didn't always respond. After years of isolation and so many years of talking only to himself or the dead plants the robot was clearly enjoying having someone to care for once more and it made Alec feel guilty that he planned to leave the next day and it would leave Codsworth alone once more.
Not that this fact seemed to depress Codsworth. Knowing that his master was leaving the robot had decided to throw him a leaving feast and cooked up a special dinner. This in truth consisted of the last of the Salisbury Steak, a Fancy Lad Snack Cake, and a bottle of Nuka-Cola. It wasn't much but Alec had fully appreciated the effort the Mister Handy had gone to and to show it he agreed to several games of checkers much to Codsworths delight.
Eventually Alec decided it was time to retire for the evening just as the sun began to set, he wanted to try and get a good night sleep for he had no idea what the following day might bring. He closed and secured the new window shutters while Codsworth locked the doors. As an added precaution Alec had also installed barricade bars across both doors to provide additional security and defences in case of nocturnal visitors. When the house was shut up it blocked out almost all of the natural light and when it got dark the only light came from lanterns, candles or even the fireplace. Tonight the fire remained unlit in the hearth since it wasn't cold, and Alec hadn't wanted to waste fuel and the house was lit instead by a solitary lantern.
Clambering exhausted into bed Alec began to go through the mental list of everything he would need to ensure he packed the following morning before he could set off on his first expedition into this new world beyond the borders and safety of Sanctuary Hills. It was a daunting thought to know that in the morning he would be venturing out into the unknown, but he reminded himself it was one step closer to Shaun. Closing his eyes he continued to go through the list and wasn't even halfway before he fell soundly asleep.
When the alarm on his Pip-Boy sounded Alec awoke with a start, his hands went instantly to the gun and knife under his pillow, and he looked around blindly for danger. The bedroom was dark, Codsworth must have extinguished the lantern during the night, and it was dark outside the house since there was no sign of light through the metalwork around the windows.
For a long moment Alec just listened to the sounds of the morning and let himself relax, he activated the torch on the Pip-Boy illuminating the bedroom and banishing the darkness, just as he did this the door to the bedroom slid open suddenly.
"Good morning Sir!" Codsworth called heartily holding a lantern in his claw, "I thought you might like a light this morning."
"Codsworth!" Alec growled his heart jumping and his finger twitching on the trigger of the gun in his hand. "Do not startle me like that! You're lucky you don't have a bullet in your dome."
"My sincere apologies Mr Carter." Codsworth said regretfully, "I forget you don't have proximity sensors. Rest assured it is only you and I here."
"Thanks Codsworth," Alec replied sitting back down on the bed and rubbing his eyes and yawning widely. "I am a bit jumpy this morning."
"Should we have had coffee I would have suggested that perhaps sir should have a cup of tea instead." Codsworth told him as he placed the lit lantern in the room, "since we have neither you will have to make do with water. Perhaps sir should also consider if it is wise to sleep with weapons under his pillows."
There was no chance of that Alec thought to himself, he didn't know this world and he doubted very much it was as safe as the world he once knew.
"I could certainly use a cup of your famous coffee this morning." He said standing up and stretching and could still feel the previous day's work in his muscles. "You sure we didn't find any?"
Codsworth sighed "I checked and double-checked sir. Sadly no coffee is amongst the provisions you have acquired, nor have I found any during my salvage operations. Perhaps you will find some in Concord, if you do I will happily brew your favourite drink."
Nodding in acknowledgment, he resigned himself to the thought that coffee was just another thing lost to his former life, Alec went into the bathroom to refresh himself and wash. Not only was there no coffee but he had to make do with a cold bucket of water to wash in and it did nothing to improve his soured mood.
He dressed once more in a vault-suit, it offered better protection than the other clothing he had found and strapped on his belt and holsters. The colour of the vault-suit irritated him as it stuck out something shocking and was hardly good for urban camouflage, but it was the best he had. Perhaps he thought to himself, he would hopefully find something like a coat or a different outfit in Concord.
"Sir I have laid out all of your supplies for your inspection." Codsworth called from the living area, "I think I have everything you need but I know sir would like to check."
Making his way into the living area Alec saw that the kitchen table and counter were covered with all of his tools, equipment, and items he had been stockpiling since he had returned, and his rucksack was held by the waiting Codsworth. Alec began to pack away everything himself, mentally checking things off as he went and placed it in its right compartment, pocket, or pouch so that he knew where it was. Codsworth watched the whole process attentively and without comment, no doubt learning the task for himself.
They had managed to procure most of the necessary replacements for the items that Alec hadn't brought home from the war, although some of the basics were still missing but that was to be expected. Alec knew he was starting out far better than he had dared hope, he no longer had the U.S Army to provide everything he needed now and would need to get used to sourcing and supplying himself.
"Did I miss anything sir?" Codsworth asked worriedly as Alec zipped up the pack and buckled the straps.
"You got everything I could possibly need and more," Alec laughed and indicated to the large pile of additional items and supplies that he hadn't packed. "The rest of this can go back into storage here, I can only carry so much weight on my own back you know."
"Yes of course!" Codsworth agreed and the robot began to return what remained into storage in cupboards, boxes and on shelves in the house. He made two trips to the new storeroom when Codsworth paused and asked, "How long will you be gone Mr Carter?"
Alec frowned as he poured himself a mug of water and considered the question, he noticed light was beginning to glow around the window frames indicating that the sun was beginning to rise.
"Not long." Alec said finally as he sipped the cool water, "For now I will only go to Concord. I need to get a lay of the land and learn what I can. It depends on what I find there, but I will return before I head out further. You said that the people of Concord shot at you before but that it's been quiet for a while. That could mean many things or nothing. If I had a scope or even binoculars I would scout the town from afar before venturing in, but I don't which means I must tread carefully and watch my back."
"You will be careful wont you sir?" Codsworth asked quietly looking at him and if he had a face Alec thought it would have been expressing concern.
"Don't worry about me Codsworth." Alec said trying to reassure him but couldn't quite manage a smile, "I'm tougher than I look, I always come back. Even if it did take me two hundred years."
It had taken Alec finding the date recorded in his Pip-Boy to finally accept that Codsworth hadn't been malfunctioning and that it truly had been two hundred years since he had entered Vault 111. However that acceptance had come with an awful realisation. Alec had been twenty-three when he entered the vault, and in four days it would be October 30, 2087, which meant it was Alec's 233rd birthday.
"At most I will be gone for twenty-four hours Codsworth," Alec added thoughtfully thinking about all those years the robot spent alone. "If I don't return you are free of any standing orders and instructions and are to follow your own directives."
Codsworth accepted his order and seemed oddly happy, as though he had feared Alec wouldn't return and would once more be sentenced to a continued purgatory of existence shackled to the house. Alec shook his head and thought he was being ridiculous, Codsworth was a robot and wasn't capable of such emotional responses or thoughts.
No more than an hour later, Alec hauled the rucksack onto his back and secured the straps to hold it securely in place and unlocked the front door, stepping outside into the morning light. Codsworth got a little emotional which did nothing to help Alec dismiss his earlier thoughts and the robot waved him off until Alec reached the end of the road.
When Alec reached the bridge that spanned the lake he found himself suddenly reluctant to leave the safety and familiarity of Sanctuary Hills. It had truly lived up to its name in the last few days. What didn't help was that the bridge itself was in a terrible state and didn't look at all safe, two centuries before it had been a historical monument, now Alec thought it an ancient monument.
Mentally preparing and steeling himself for the likely possibility of hitting the water below, Alec stepped onto the wooden beams and was surprised by how steady it actually was and began to walk more confidently.
On the other side of the bridge was an elevated plateau covered in brambles and overgrown wire-like shrubs which partially concealed the old monument statue to the American Revolution Minutemen. The statue had been threatened by the development of Sanctuary Hills, but it had simply been moved to its current location and Alec was glad to see that it had survived the intervening two hundred years.
Just down the road from the statue was a Red Rocket gas station, easily seen from afar due to the large red rocket that still stood tall on its roof.
The road that led to the gas station was dotted with the rusted remains of old vehicles, crash barriers, signs and fallen trees. When Alec had been combing Sanctuary Hills for supplies he had wondered what methods of transportation would still be viable. Almost all the vehicles on the island had been rusted heaps of steel but some were in relatively good condition. One vehicle, a truck that unsurprisingly had belonged to Old Man Baker was in better condition than most, and Alec had considered the possibility of getting it running again.
Now as he walked he considered the asphalt underfoot. It was cracked and uneven, and there were several large potholes and it made Alec rethink his idea of fixing the truck as he doubted it would be worth the effort.
Since the garage was on the way to Concord anyway, Alec decided to take a look inside to see if there was anything useful within that he might salvage. Any fuel or coolant would almost certainly have been pilfered long ago or have spoiled some two centuries before, but the garage could still contain tools, machine parts or who knew what else that he could make use of.
As he stepped down the embankment and onto the lot, something moved and caught his attention and caused him to blink in surprise.
Sniffing around the old forecourt was a dog. Not some mongrel or irradiated mutant dog, but what looked to be a pure-blooded German Shepherd. The canine heard his steps and looked up at him curiously, its ears upright and head cocked speculatively. It was oddly not afraid or wary of him if anything it looked merely curious.
"Hey there." Alec said in a low voice not wanting to startle the dog, he didn't think it was aggressive but wasn't going to lose an arm through being hasty. "Come here, I'm not going to hurt you."
The dog stalked forwards slowly, keeping low to the ground and looked very unsure of itself and it reached Alec and began to sniff at him. Alec slowly removed one of his gloves and held out his fist for the dog while the other hand moved to grip the pistol on his left leg.
Hesitantly the dog got close enough for it to nose his fist, its nose was cool and wet, and it sat down easily and looked up at Alec expectantly.
"There now. What are you doing out here all by yourself hey?" He asked as he scratched the dogs head and released the hand on his gun and began to look the dog over with interest.
It was male, and in remarkably good condition, with a lean and muscled body and had no visible wounds or scars. Although its thick coat would have obscured most evidence of old injuries. Alec was also very happy to find no sign of fleas on the canine but thought he could certainly use a bath.
"Well there is no point us both being alone is there boy? So why don't you come with me, you probably know more about the world than I do." Alec said quietly, "I will also get you some grub, you look like you can use it and I could certainly use the company."
The dog barked and wagged its tail and didn't run away so Alec thought that to be encouraging.
Alec walked towards the entrance of the Red Rocket station and before he reached the door he heard the dog give a low growl just before the earth below Alec's feet exploded upwards. A pinky-red mammal jumped up at him, with large prominent teeth and vicious hungry eyes staring at him and Alec did the only thing he could from his position.
A boot collided with the creature mid-air, sending it flying aside like a football. With his next movement Alec's right hand moved instinctively to the pistol in his right-hand holster and he drew out the weapon, aimed and fired. The 10mm round hit its mark and the creature squealed and didn't move again. While Alec had dealt with the rodent he hadn't noticed that even more had burrowed out of the earth and surrounded him across the forecourt and they charged towards him hungrily.
These rat-beasts were faster than their lone brother, and far more evasive and scuttled and jumped causing several of his bullets to miss their targets. Alec was forced to change tactics or waste his valuable ammo. Watching and waiting, Alec darted to and fro to avoid the vile rodents rampaging attacks and fired his weapon sparingly. It wasn't easy but he whittled them down to the last creature, it ran towards him and jumped but was met head-on with a double-tap and fell in a heap on the floor.
He had emptied an entire clip of bullets at the creatures, Alec hastily holstered his spent weapon and swapped to the loaded alternate pistol, warily looking about the Red Rocket forecourt for further signs of these grotesque rats.
Behind him he heard the earth break apart, the squeal of a rat and the bark of a dog. Spinning quickly he managed to turn just in time to see a rat jumping directly at him, its teeth bared. The creature was too close and fast for Alec to stop or even shoot, before he could even begin to move out of its path to safety, a large black and tan shape tackled the rat.
The dog had jumped into the fray and grabbed hold of the rat, its powerful jaws locked tightly around its neck, and it shook the creature vigorously and the rat fell limp in its mouth. Its neck broken.
Alec let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd held and watched the dog speculatively. It had warned him initially of the rats under the forecourt before they appeared, and the dog had just saved him from what he thought would likely have been a nasty infectious bite. The dog had dropped its prey and was now sniffing around the rats with enthusiasm but didn't at all seem phased by the sudden violence.
As a breed, German Shepherds were known to be smart and useful. The military and police often used them, and Alec thought that if the dog didn't run off it would make for a useful and loyal companion in his search for Shaun. It also reminded him a great deal of Buck, his grandfather's old German Shepherd, although the colouring was very different.
"Well you certainly showed that rat didn't you boy." Alec snorted at the dog before brushing himself off and looking at the creatures with disgust. What they were exactly Alec couldn't be sure, but on closer examination he settled on some type of burrowing rat or rodent. They were large, almost as large as the dog, covered in pink-red skin and completely bald. Its most defining characteristic were the huge front teeth that could easily rip open the throat of a human.
With no further immediate threats Alec thought to continue his investigation of the gas station but before he ventured further he swung off his pack to get the ammunition to reload his pistols. Silently he cursed the Chinese for breaking his faithful combat pistols for which he had additional magazines that lay broken at home. He needed to find spare compatible magazines for these pistols as soon as possible so that he could store them within his belt and holster pouches which would enable him to reload as needed and especially while under fire or in combat.
Red Rocket didn't have much of note and it likely had been looted at some point in its history or perhaps many times since the bombs had fallen. The equipment within the garage was not all that dissimilar to what he had access to back in Sanctuary Hills although there was certainly more room here. If ever Alec decided to try and get an old car or bike working then this place would likely be the best place to do it.
Of the two of them it had been the dog that had first got bored with the contents of Red Rocket. The dog had left the garage silently and when Alec realised he stepped outside to find the animal sitting in the middle of the road seemingly waiting for him. With no reason to tarry longer Alec set off back down the road with the dog following closely by his side.
It was no great distance to the town and already from the road it was possible to see the tops of the larger buildings and steeple of the church easily.
They passed by the houses that sat on the outskirts of town which were to Alec's surprise mostly intact, their wooden exteriors weathered and beaten but otherwise had successfully endured two centuries of neglect. Of those that hadn't survived, two looked to have burnt down and on one house the roof had collapsed. All of the surviving properties had noticeable similarities even from the road; their windows and doors were all largely broken, and they were empty and abandoned.
Was this what passed for normal in this new era he found himself in? Alec wondered briefly remembering the price that such properties would have fetched. Much of the surrounding area had endured the passage of time well, yet it was seemingly abandoned and the question he couldn't help but wonder was why. Could there be a danger to this area that Alec unaware? Of course he knew that there could well be, already he had encountered three new creatures so who knew what else lay round the next corner.
With humans gone from the area nature would have certainly reclaimed the entire town had it not been for the nuclear radiation. Its invisible presence had stunted growth for a long period but from Alec could see nature had patiently waited and had begun to reassert itself in a ghostly fashion. The new growth was like a reanimated corpse, a grotesque skeleton of the green thriving organism it once was. Birds cawed unseen amongst the decrepit trees and out of sight, insects buzzed somewhere, and the occasional rustle of leaves and breaking twigs suggested other animals walked through the area.
Entering the town of Concord, Alec walked warily his hands on his weapons and his eyed darting across every building, eyeing every street, alley and road for habitation be it friend or foe.
Concord had been built of wood, stone, and brick all of which had weathered well over the centuries but were showing severe signs of neglect akin to Sanctuary Hills. Its streets were covered in rubbish, rusted remains of vehicles, broken lampposts, and debris. Almost all of its various structures looked intact externally, but much like with the outskirts there was no sign of settlement or life within the remains of the historic town.
As they neared the centre of town there came a loud crack that echoed off the buildings and up the road towards them. It was the unmistakeable sound of a gunshot. Alec was not as alone as he had first thought, but that realisation only led him to further unanswered questions.
The dog having heard the sound gave a low gruff bark of unease before darting off up the street towards the gunfire much to Alec's dismay. He had not had any intention of running headfirst into a potentially dangerous area, better to stay far enough away to survey the area, tactically assess the situation before deciding on a course of action.
Frowning deeply he darted after the hound keeping close to the walls of the buildings, his weapon drawn now ready for any sign of where the gunshot had come from but also for the infernal dog who would likely get them both killed.
Eventually Alec caught up with his new canine companion as he crossed onto the main thoroughfare through the town that led to Monument Square, the central point of the town which was encircled by old public brick buildings. Gunshots had begun to echo louder and in greater numbers but under their noise he heard the sizzing sound of what was unmistakably an energy-based weapons discharge.
Moving forwards Alec moved as close to the scene of the firefight as he dared without drawing attention to himself and ducked behind the wreckage of a car only to discover the dog laying on the ground watching firefight evolving in front of the old museum.
The Concord Museum of Freedom was one of the older structures in the town, built in colonial style with brick and imposing features. Much of the grandeur of the building was gone, the brickwork aged and had begun to crumble in places but was almost entirely intact. The only visible external damage was to a section of the roof where a vertibird had crashed landed.
Whatever was happened was centred around the street outside the museum and even from a distance it was clear to see the scene before him was escalating.
A solitary figure crouched above the street on the museums upper balcony and was wielding the energy weapon. Below the figure at street level was a far larger group of people. Perhaps ten of twelve spread out across the street all firing ballistic based weapons at this lone individual.
Having no idea who any of these people were or why they would be fighting each other, Alec had no intention of becoming involved in some local dispute. He knew he should leave before either side noticed his presence. This wasn't his fight, he had his own mission. He might return once the dust had settled and could speak and do business with the victors.
Alec had no idea who any of these people were or why they were fighting. He had no intention of getting involved in some local dispute and he should leave before either side noticed his presence. This wasn't his fight; he had his own mission, and it would be better if he waited for the dust settled and then could speak and do business with the victors.
Despite his numerous misgivings about the scene before him, Alec did not move from his hiding place. There was something about this large group of people seemingly attacking a lone person that did not sit right with him. It wasn't his problem he reminded himself, he had to put Shaun first and he couldn't be distracted.
From an alleyway not far from his position a group of five people stepped out onto the street, next to him the dog growled menacingly watching the group his hackles raised. Alec placed a silencing hand on the dog's neck and thought it fortunate that the group hadn't heard the dog or that the group hadn't seen him.
Hunkering down once more Alec studied the closer group; they were all armed with some form of crude weaponry, protected with leather armour which was hardly comparable to military armour. Tactically even with his pistols he was better armed, and he saw the weak spots in their armour that he could use to his advantage if necessary, but he was vastly outnumbered.
"We need to get those wastelanders out of the museum, but remember Jared wants the old bat alive." One of the people said to the group and then pointed at the balcony as another energy discharge shot out towards the street. "That one is mine. He killed Sofia with that laser-musket, I will avenge my girl and you can do what you will with the rest."
"Jared is losing his touch, why is an old broad so important?" Another questioned, "He is obsessed with her. We do this for him, and we should claim Concord as our new territory. The area is ripe for the taking! Gristle should stake his claim and form a new Concord Raider Territory! But first I will have my fun with these Quincy rats, and if I'm lucky I'll find a new bed-slave."
The leader of the group turned and punched the man in the face with a ferocious blow.
"Watch your tongue Clay or I will take it from you." The man said darkly, "take your fun and find your pleasure, but you should remember who is in charge. Come on, we don't want the rest to pick them clean."
The group ran off down the road unaware that they were being watched or that they had been heard.
Alec watched them run off towards the museum and knew he should turn around and leave Concord, but he couldn't. He didn't know for sure who these people were, or if he was right to judge them based on his own moral scales. Raiding, bed-slaves, kidnap, fun and pleasure were not the activities he expected of civilised people.
Beside him the dog growled, and it tracked the group as they hurried along the street and looked like he was about to give chase. He looked up at Alec expectantly, as though the dog knew that Alec had already picked a side and wanted permission to hunt.
"I think you're a bad influence." Alec said to the dog without malice and regarding the street before him as a battlefield. It was no short distance between him and the museum, and without armour or larger weaponry his options were severely lacking especially against some twenty assailants. "Well if we are going to do this we go in low, slow and quietly. We have to thin their numbers before they realise I'm hunting them."
This was the sort of mission his unit had carried out during the Sino-American War and with or without power armour he was fully capable and trained for such incursions. Only this time he was doing it alone without a team to back him up.
Instinctively his hand went for the pouch on his left-side holster to pull out a silencer only to find the pouch was empty and be reminded once more of the equipment he had lost. Cursing he holstered his pistol and instead pulled out the combat knife. He wished he had brought the hunting rifle with him; it would have given him a long-distance weapon at least but he was no combat sniper and it like the pistol would only draw too much attention.
"You'd better stay low and quiet dog." Alec warned sternly not even caring that it was somewhat ridiculous to talk to the dog who couldn't understand him. "We need the element of surprise and if you get me killed before I find my son I will turn you into a rug for my hearth."
Sneaking forwards Alec stalked towards the closest one of these so-named raiders without being noticed and once he was within range he darted forwards and grabbed them from behind. One hand clamped around their mouth as he used the knife to open a large red smile across their neck. The thug made no noise through the gurgle of blood under Alec's hand, and he deposited him on the ground behind the car out of sight.
Finding opportunities to take out the assailants grew harder the closer Alec got to the museum, the raiders were no longer solitary and congregated in larger groups behind cover as they shot up at the lone figure on the balcony.
Two more raiders died at the end of Alec's blade, but his next target managed to fire his weapon and gave a loud garbled scream as his throat was sliced which drew the attention of the closest group of his comrades and exposed Alec's presence and he was forced to take cover.
"Fuck." Alec cursed as he tucked the knife back away and drew one of the pistols as bullets exploded around him as his position was fired on. Stealth was now thoroughly out of the window, and he had not thinned the group as much as he would have liked. He ducked out of cover and fired back, pleased to see his two raiders dop dead before he moved back to cover to avoid a similar fate.
During his assault the dog had mysteriously vanished, one moment he had been following Alec and the next the hound was gone. He'd noticed its absence but given what he was doing he wasn't in a position to do much else. As he ducked out of cover again to fire back at the raiders, Alec noticed that the dog was back, and it was silently stalking a lone woman who was shooting at him from behind cover. The dog lunged and struck with enough force to push the woman out from behind her cover giving Alec the clear shot he needed to end her.
Between Alec, the dog, and the man on the balcony the group of thugs on the street thinned and having realised their advantage was gone they tried to scatter and regroup only to be met by weapon fire or tooth.
"GET INSIDE! INSIDE!" One screamed running for the front door but was cut off as they were hit by red energy and turned to ash from above.
It took less than ten minutes but eventually the group were all dead and the museum assailants were nothing more than puddles of blood and gore or smoking ash piles littering the asphalt around the street.
Once sure that the street was clear of threats Alec left his position and advanced slowly towards the museum alert for any further surprises.
"So, what's the story here?" Alec shouted up at the balcony, "why do these people want you dead?"
A Black man wearing a brown leather hat leant over the balcony and looked down at him holding a weapon that Alec didn't recognise, but he had certainly seen its effects during the fight.
"It's a long story! They have been pursuing us for weeks. I have a group of settlers inside and more raiders are trying to get through the door here." The man replied and he threw something down at him, "Please help us! Take the laser-musket! The door won't last much longer."
"Wait!" Alec called back as he took off his pack again and pulled out his spare ammunition and added it to the combat bag from the vault, he needed it easily accessible now. "How many are there? I need to know what I'll be facing inside if I'm to help you."
The man frowned but quickly gave Alec what he knew. It wasn't much, he thought that there was an equal number of raiders inside the museum as what they had just faced. The museum was large, and the man couldn't be sure since he was barricaded in a room and unable to see much else.
Alec processed the information as he reloaded both his weapons and shouldered both bags, "Go back inside, make sure your people are safe. I'm coming in."
The stranger frowned in surprise but nodded grimly and went back into the museum as Alec bent down and picked up the weapon he had been thrown. It was a cumbersome design; it was like an old-fashioned musket, so it was aptly named but it was not a gun he could see himself using. Why would you want a weapon you needed to crank?
Fortunately the raiders within the Museum of Freedom were unaware of Alec's presence or that their comrades outside had all perished. This enabled Alec to once more resort to covert tactics to infiltrate and dispatch those inside. His stealthy approach was however hindered by the museums automated exhibits activating and telling the history of the Revolutionary War through speakers accompanied by the sudden activation of music and lights.
So far he had been able to dispatch all of his targets without needing to resort to weapons fire even with the museum working against him. Both his pistols remained within their holsters and both his knife and security baton were covered in blood and other matter.
The answer to the museum's surprising working power was in the basement. Halfway through his infiltration Alec had ducked into the basement to hide in order to catch two raiders off guard and found much to his surprise a working fusion generator secured behind a sealed door.
A terminal controlling the doors magnetic locks was affixed to the wall and it was simple enough to break through its security. In fact Alec couldn't help but laugh at how pitiful the protection was given the immense value of fusion cores and the generator which together could produce near unlimited energy, it had already run for two centuries after all.
Removing the core from the generator immediately halted its electricity production and the museum was plunged into darkness and the music from the exhibits above turned off and Alec could only hear the movement and gun fire of the raiders.
With the museum dark it was easier to move around the warren of passages, rooms and corridors and dispatch the panicking raiders from the shadows. Alec had not gone without injury, he had cut his arm on a sharp splinter of wood during one of his fights, and in another had been headbutted none too lightly in the nose. He was sure his eyes would be black even if the nose wasn't broken but it would at least heal which was more than could be said for the raiders he had killed.
Eventually he made his way to the top floor of the museum where the last of the raiders were trying to break through a door, the musket wielding man was attempting to fire at them from a small window, but his vantage point was limited, and they were behind cover. However the musket fire was the perfect distraction that Alec needed.
In a brutal display Alec advanced on the raiders with his knife and baton in hand. The knife in his left hand was jammed into one mans neck as he then struck with the baton in his right in a slash downward slamming into a woman's arm causing her to drop the weapon aimed at the man at the window, and in a second motion Alec swung the baton backhanded across her face knocking her unconscious to the floor.
As he had dealt with the first two the dog and run into the fray and was grappling one of the raiders as another ran at Alec brandishing a pool cue. Dropping the baton, Alec switched the knife to his right hand and threw it. The blade struck true and imbedded itself into the raiders throat much to the man's shock.
"Down!" Alec shouted at the dog and saw with satisfaction that the dog obeyed and let go of the raiders arm just as Alec barrelled into the man and sent him tumbling over a balustrade and down into a heap below.
It had hardly been a fight. These people were ill equipped for combat, poorly armed and barely armoured. They were not trained to fight like Alec had been. These people were nothing but thugs who relied on numbers and intimidation to win. Even though Alec was not equipped properly, he was more than a match for them. Although he admitted to himself that he was breathing heavily after the foray and perhaps was not as fit as he once had been or hadn't fully recovered from Vault 111 as he had originally thought.
Retrieving the knife from the body he had left it in the dog came over to Alec with its tongue hanging out which gave it a feral wolfish smile.
"Good boy." Alec said rubbing the top of his head, "Your no coward and you're good in a scrap aren't you. Well if you're going to stick around I suppose I should teach you a few things, let's hope you can teach an old dog new tricks."
There was the sound of moving furniture behind the door ahead and then it slowly opened to reveal the Black man from the balcony beckoning him inside urgently. The man then looked over the scene along the walkway and then back to Alec in both surprise and wonder. Unlike Alec, the dog didn't wait and padded quickly inside without so much as a backwards glance.
Stepping through the door Alec got his first good look at the stranger who had asked for his help. Previously he had only been able to tell that the man was Black and wore a large hat, now he saw that he wore what could only be an antique military styled coat, embroidered waistcoat, and a scarf. His entire attire looked to have been taken from one of the exhibits in the museum below, but it was obviously well worn and had seen a lot of travel if the dirt and dust were anything to go by. He held his strange musket weapon in his hands, and Alec thought it looked to be modified since it looked different to the one he had been given.
There were in what must have once been an office and Alec saw there were four other people, one was a man who looked to be wearing a tool belt fiddling with a terminal, an old woman lounging comfortably on a couch, a man sat on the floor rocking and mumbling to himself and a woman who didn't look at him and was pacing uncontrollably.
"Wow, I don't know who you are, but I have to say your timing is impeccable." The man said holding out a hand in greeting, "names Preston Garvey of the Commonwealth Minutemen."
"The Minutemen?" Alec frowned shaking the man's hand and looking to the man's coat and musket and couldn't help wondering if he had somehow gone back in time when he stepped through that door.
"Protecting the people at a minute's notice." Preston said mournfully, "or at least that was the idea back in the day. The Minutemen fell apart almost a year ago, I might just be the last one left."
"I see." Alec lied not at all understanding the relevance and he looked over the people in the room again and wondered if they were an insight to what civilisation had come to. If it was then it didn't give him a lot of hope.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but why did you help us?" Preston asked studying him, "You could have saved yourself a lot of trouble if you stayed away."
It was a good question; he hadn't done this lightly without really understanding the world around him. Some would cool it foolish, hell Alec did himself but as he looked around the room and saw the people he had just saved he at least felt he had sided with the right group.
"It felt like it was the right thing to do at the time." Alec shrugged, "everything is both familiar and different. I know a gang of thugs when I see one and from what I overheard… well I did what I did and now it's done."
"This is not over. Not yet. We could still use your help and maybe in return we can help you too." Preston said compassionately but added, "what brought you out to these parts? This town is remote and hasn't been populated for decades, its why we are here. We thought it would be safe."
Alec considered whether he should tell these strangers why he was there or if he could even trust them since they had only just met. Yet the whole purpose of his coming to Concord was to find people and learn more about this new world. He had to start somewhere after all.
"My son Shaun, he was taken. He isn't even a year old." He said finally, hoping that while desperate these people might possibly be able to help or at least point him towards somewhere that could. If Preston knew Concord had been abandoned for decades then he possessed more current knowledge than Alec had access to about Massachusetts.
"That is messed up. I'm truly sorry. All of us here know first-hand how hard this world can be." He said consolingly and his voice was full of regret. "A month ago, there were twenty of us. Yesterday there was eight, but today we number just five! We have faced hardships since we left Quincy, we have travelled through Cambridge, Boston and Jamaica Plain, we thought the ghouls were the worst we faced since Quincy, but these Raiders have been following and picking us off one by one since Lexington."
Quincy was on the other side of Boston and if he remembered correctly it was perhaps thirty miles away. These people had certainly been on the road a long time, although there was no telling how far they could travel a day, the old woman didn't look like she had many miles left in her from what he could tell.
"Ghouls?" Alec questioned having never heard the word before, "What's that?"
Preston blinked in surprise at his question.
"You're not from around here then! Can't imagine not knowing what a ghoul is. It is said that they were all once human like us but due to radiation exposure have mutated, their skin is all burned away, and they don't have noses or ears. It can be startling to see your first ghoul up close. Some ghouls claim to remember the days before the bombs fell if you could imagine such a thing. Ghouls can be civilised, but some are so far mutated that they become feral ghouls, nothing more than animalistic beast that only care to kill, eat, and sleep.
"I will be sure to keep an eye out for them." Alec said wondering if the man was serious or just making up stories or exaggerating the truth. The extent the radiation had affected the world was staggering, changing cockroaches into radroaches was one thing to behold but he hadn't even considered the prospect of irradiated mutated humans.
"Well you shouldn't worry about them out here." Preston assured him, "We had thought Concord would be a safe place for us, but these Raiders have proved us wrong. They won't stop unless we stop them…. Well we do have an idea… perhaps you would help us?"
"Let's hear it."
"This here is Sturges, he's been with us since Quincy. He was the resident mechanic and engineer, it's his idea." Preston said nodding to the man who was tinkering with the terminal wearing overalls and welding goggles. "Sturges, tell him."
"Preston said you came down the main road into town to get here," the man said calmly. "Did you happen to notice there is a crashed pre-war flying machine up on the roof?"
"A vertibird," Alec nodded, "I am familiar with them. How does a crashed aircraft help us, I doubt it could even fly?"
"Oh you know your tech!" Sturges said in surprise, "that will make this easier then. No the prize isn't the vertibird itself, but what one of its former passengers left behind. A truly sweet toy if I do say so myself. We're talking a full suit of T-45 Power Armour."
That was indeed a great find Alec thought to himself, so long as the armour was in working condition. He hadn't expected to find power armour of all things within Concord. His conscription into the U.S Army was due to the introduction of power armour, the army needed engineers and he had utilised the three main armours during the war; T-45, T-51, and the T-60.
If what Sturges said was true and there was a working set of armour up on the roof then there was a very good chance of getting out of most fights unscathed. Power armour was the ultimate protection, even if it was just the T-45 variant. That armour was a treasure that Alec had to have, and it could help him in the future.
"That is some top-notch protection." Alec nodded with a smile.
"Oh, it gets much better than just protection!" Sturges laughed, "If we get that suit working you can rip the vertibird's mini-gun right off its mount and those Raiders won't stand a chance. Defence and Offence in one move, you can't get much better than that!"
"A minigun or any heavy armament was standard issue for the Power Armoured Infantry back in the war." Alec said almost to himself, although he had utilised a plasma rifle himself. "Now that does indeed sound like a plan, so what's stopped you using it?
Sturges' excitement seemingly evaporated, "Well that's the problem. The suit is out of juice, its why it was left abandoned up on the roof. If we had a way to power it up…"
"You need one of these then." Alec smirked and pulled the fusion core he had taken from the generator in the basement from the combat bag containing his ammunition. "Took this from the generator in the basement, it's how this old place still had power. It should be sufficient enough to power some T-45 armour."
"Now would you look at that Preston!" Sturges exclaimed looking at the core as if it were pure gold. "That there is a pre-war F.C! A standardised fusion core, a god-damn high grade long-term nuclear battery! Not seen one of those babies in a long time! Your right it should power the armour up if it's still operational."
"I have the core; you have the armour." Alec said thinking about it, "tell you what I will help you in exchange for the armour. I will ensure you get out of this museum and on your way, but I keep the armour, core and gun after all is said and done."
"Deal." Preston said quickly, "looks like our luck might finally be changing. They will no doubt be regrouping outside, and god help us if they think to set fire to the building, get that thing jacked into the armour and let's take the fight to them, they should be the ones to run this time."
Nodding Alec went to walk towards the door at the other end of the room but was stopped by the old woman on the couch who was stroking the dog.
"So you found us the help we needed then Dogmeat." She said looking up at Alec with a glazed expression, "I knew you would, but to see him here with my own two eyes. It gives comfort to these old bones."
"Dogmeat?" Alec laughed awkwardly trying to supress the feeling of disappointment, if the dog had an owner he wouldn't be the companion Alec wanted and secretly needed. "So, he's yours then?"
"No he's not mine kid." The old lady said smiling as though she knew exactly what he feared, "Dogmeat… he is what you might call his own man. You can't own a free spirit; he chooses his friends but seeks his master. He'll stay with you now, he found what he needed just as you have. I saw it."
"You saw it?" He asked wondering what she meant, he wasn't entirely sure how much she could see there was something a bit hippy-like about the lady, as if she had been smoking too much.
"Old Mama Murphy has the Sight. Been that way for as long as I can remember. I see what was, what will be, and often what currently is. Right now, I see, something stirring. Drawn by the noise, the blood, the chaos. Its… angry."
This old woman was obviously senile he thought to himself and decided to feign concern just to humour her.
"What is it?"
"I see…" She spoke slowly her eyes turning to a point on the far wall and seemingly beyond it, "I… see… oh! Its horrible kid! Claws! Teeth! Horns! It wears the face of death itself!" She cried out and then she returned to herself, and she swayed looking exhausted. "That's all I can manage, that's all… Now I must rest kid, and you… You have a job to do…"
She slumped slightly and seemingly fell asleep, or perhaps she died. Alec wasn't sure he just looked at her completely perplexed.
"Don't listen to the old hag." Came the sharp voice of the Asian woman who had been pacing the room, "She is a raving loon and a chem addict."
"Marcy!" Preston scolded, "she's old. Show her some respect!"
"Respect!" The woman named Marcy exclaimed indignantly, "the two of you got us into this mess! All because of the 'sight' and your belief that Concord was safe."
"Guys we don't have time for this." Sturges called peering out of the window next to the door looking down at the street. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news but they're back. I can see movement from the end of the road. It's the Raiders for sure."
Bypassing the angry woman, Alec went through the door and was confronted with the wreckage of a vertibird wedged inside what once had been a room of the museum. It wasn't a comforting sight, seeing the hulk of steel and iron sitting perilously close to the edge and that what remained of the walls and floors were cracked and broken from the stress of baring its weight.
The armour stood in the centre of the room, and it was exactly what Sturges had claimed, a full set of military grade T-45 armour. Although it was hardly pristine, every plate on the armour covered in rust and it had likely compromised the integrity of the armour.
Depositing his bags on the floor as there was no point hauling them into a fight as they wouldn't be of much use anyway, Alec withdrew the salvaged fusion core and inserted it into the empty socket in the back of the rig. Oddly the original core was gone, perhaps the former operator had taken it with them. With a wrench the wheel on the back of the rig turned slowly and Alec managed to open the suit.
Stepping carefully into the open suit cradle, Alec initiated the internal control switch and the cradle closed around him encasing him in steel and iron. It took several moments for the HUD within the helmet to initialise and flicker into existence and begin to report the suits sensor readings.
The salvaged fusion core was reading as having twenty-five percent of its power remaining, but Alec wasn't sure how reliable the reading was given the suits level of degradation. Next was the ammunition capacity metre which was broken but that wasn't so much of a problem as his own weapons were not compatible with the suit's sensors. The biometric sensors were working but fluctuating, and the assisted targeting system was completely offline. The most worrying reading was the suits armour integrity. As Alec had thought the integrity of the armour had been compromised, the sensors were showing thirty-percent integrity and the display flashed orange warnings at him from each armour section.
Moving hesitantly Alec went through the initial start-up checks to ensure the armour was fully operational, it wasn't as smooth as it should be, but it was at least workable.
The distinctive discharge of a laser-musket pierced the air from the balcony and Alec moved hesitantly up the embankment of rubble and looked through the vertibird wreckage to the street below and saw a smoking pile of ash. Preston had scored a direct shot on one of the raiders.
"You in that hat! Bring your fancy gun down here and see if you can take us head on!" Taunted one of the raiders, "You did well to get through so many of my guys, I only want the old woman, give her to me and you and the rest of your merry little band can leave."
"Not a chance in hell." Preston called back, "I would rather die than hand any of my people over to you."
"So foolish." The man laughed, "Your kind always were, look where that's got you. Your all alone now Minuteman, if you weren't you wouldn't be the sole defender of those you protect. I don't know why Jared wants that woman, but it will be Gristle who will be remembered as the one who ended the Minutemen once and for all!"
What was so special about a cooky old woman Alec wondered, for they had to be speaking about Mama Murphy.
Stalking further into the wreckage he entered the vertibird fuselage gingerly and managed to get to the minigun without it falling over the edge as he ripped it from the gun mount. From his vantage point he could see most of the street and these people had no idea what they were about to face. It was time they learnt what a trained power armoured soldier with a minigun could do.
Without further thought and before the raiders could even act, he launched himself out of the wreckage and let loose a massive hailstorm of bullets before he landed with an almighty crash in the middle of the road. The armour had been designed to withstand greater jumps, but the armours shock absorbers were shot, and he felt the impact jar him through the cradle.
"WHERE DID THAT COME FROM!" Gristle cried pushing his crew out of his way in his haste to put distance between him and Alec.
"RUN! TAKE COVER!"
The armour might be old and rusty, but it could at least still move, bullets glanced off its old plating as Alec ran down the street cutting through the raider ranks with both bullets and brute strength. Gristle had managed to escape, but Alec launched the last of his remaining thugs through the air and sent them crashing through an old shop window. Looking back down the street, Alec saw the destruction he had wrought. Never had he thought he would do such a thing on American soil.
Just as he was about to head back to the museum the most ferocious growl he had ever heard sounded from somewhere further up the street. Turning slowly looking for the source he was startled to see a large metal grate fly up into the air and something incredibly large climb up out of the hole in the road.
"RUN!" Preston roared from the balcony, "RUN NOW!"
Whatever this creature was, it was truly monstrous. It must have been eight or nine feet tall and dwarfed Alec in his power armour. It looked reptilian with its scales, long rear legs, and tail but that's where the similarities ended. The creature had twin horns, a bulky head, large pointed teeth, spines running down the length of its back and immense glowing yellow eyes.
It gave another roar of fury and rushed towards a car and swatted it aside revealing a raider that Alec had not been aware of hidden from sight. The raider was Gristle who looked at the beast in terror. Gristle screamed as he was picked up by the beast and all but ripped apart before what remained was thrown across the street covering a building in blood and entrails.
From the north-east of Concord a small host of raiders stood frozen having seen the butchering of their gang leader.
"Deathclaw!" One of them yelled and the host of raiders turned heel and attempted to flee their fight and former boss forgotten in their fear of this alarming creature.
This beast or deathclaw had other ideas. It hunkered down on all fours and chased after the raiders at a speed that Alec had not thought it could possibly possess for a creature its size. Once it caught them it eviscerated them with ease. The raiders had tried to resist but their bullets didn't seem to have any effect, it was as if the creatures hide was bulletproof.
Finally out of prey, the creature turned its hate and rage filled bulbous eyes onto Alec and roared a defiant challenge. Alec stood his ground; he hadn't fled for if he did he would only lead the creature to the people in the museum.
As it began to rush towards him, Alec braced himself in a low stance and unleased an onslaught of minigun fire. The beast took the challenge head-on and continued to dash forwards, the bullets were cutting into its hide, but it took the creature until it was halfway down the street to notice, and it howled and darted down an alleyway.
Alec kept the gun poised to fire; no doubt the creature would return angrier than ever. After a minute the creature ran at him from a closer side street, ignoring the fire from Preston's musket and tried to flank Alec.
Bullets met scales but in close quarters the beast had the advantage and it managed to swipe its vicious claws across the armour and with a second blow with its immense strength it almost knocked Alec over but had succeeded in damaging the front armour plating.
As the beast ran off again Alec realised that he was being hunted, the creature had a cleverness about it that unsettled him, and he needed a new strategy. Using the armours augmented strength he leaped up and clung to the side of the closest building just managing to hold onto an old sign and kicked his foot into a ledge for support.
A deep roar announced the creatures return and it came tearing out of one of the side streets looking around wildly for Alec and it did not see him hanging above it. Nor did it notice Preston and Sturges above on the other side of the street until they launched flaming bottles at the creature which exploded on impact engulfing its body in fire.
Enraged and blinded by pain it lashed out, its tail hit the building Alec clung to with enough force to cause the sign he was holding onto to break, and he fell to street below with a grunt and back in the creature's path.
Blackened, burnt and trailing blood the monster saw the movement and lurched towards its prey which looked helpless. It didn't notice the minigun in Alec's hand was spinning and it ran headfirst into a terrible torrent of bullets.
Its clawed hand smashed into the armour again and the HUD flashed red as the sensors detected critical damage. Alec didn't need the sensors, the blow had struck with enough force for it to wind him even through the armour and rig. Raising the gun to defend himself, he heard the drum spin, but no bullets fired. His stomach sank. He was out of ammunition and now completely defenceless as the creature reached out once more and what would most certainly be a killing blow.
Dropping the useless gun Alec drew on his power armour combat training and as the creatures' claws were less than a meter away he launched himself forwards and punched the limb with the suits enhanced strength. A sickening crunch could be heard as the blow hit but that was nothing compared to the roar of pain as the deathclaw reared backwards in shock.
Without pausing or even thinking about what he was about to do, Alec leapt forwards crossing the distance faster than the creature could react to and took a firm hold of the beast's head. It attempted to move away but Alec expected that and held fast. Taking care to avoid its teeth and flailing claws Alec planted both of his feet on either side of its shoulders and with the armours brute strength gave the head a decisive twist and yank.
Much as Dogmeat had dispatched the rat at Red Rocket, Alec had snapped the beast's neck. It died instantly and collapsed bringing Alec down with it and trapping him under the weight of its corpse.
With little room to move and the armour in such a state it took Alec several minutes to extract himself from the carcass of the beast and panting from the exertion he managed to stand up and look around Concord.
Above him still on the balcony were Preston and Sturges, both standing open mouthed at what they had just witnessed. Alec looked back down at the deathclaw and wondered what his trainer would have said about that takedown, they certainly hadn't envisioned such a move being used against such a brute. Deathclaws were perhaps the worst irradiated mutants he had so far seen, and he hoped he never encountered another.
Limping both because of his own injuries and because of the suits damage Alec made his way slowly back to the museum where he was greeted by the stunned looks of the refugees from the office and Dogmeat. There was an awkward silence which was broken only by Sturges who clapped.
"Holy shit!" He cried, "that was incredible."
"I think we are done here." Alec said and pulled off the helmet so he could look at them properly.
Preston had been fussing over Mama Murphy and insisted on getting her to sit down on a bench but she dismissed him and slapped away his helping hands and so he turned his attention to Alec.
"That was…" He began and obviously struggled to find the right words. "Well it was a pretty amazing display. You saved our lives. I'm just glad you're on our side."
"Is everyone okay now?" Alec asked taking his bags from Sturges who had brought them down from above.
"We are now, thanks to you. We just need to move to someplace safer." Preston said and he gave Alec a look as though he was trying to size him up. "You handled that better than I could have hoped. You helped us before we made our deal, you have certainly earned the armour, but we owe you our lives. We don't have much, not anymore but if you need anything you only have to ask."
Behind him the woman Marcy shot him a dark look, she didn't seem to agree with that sentiment.
"Where will you go now?" Alec asked with interest, "Do you know the area well?"
"Not well." Preston admitted, "I'm from the other side of the city, these folk came from Quincy, but I was born and raised in Duxbury. What I know comes from old intel and reports from back in the day, mostly old stories and rumours acquired from traders and drifters. It was Mama Murphy who led us this way, said we would find sanctuary near Concord, it would be there that we would find our new home."
Marcy huffed and glared at the old woman, "You mean she saw it in one of her visions! It's a chem dream! She was stoned out of her gourd. Its complete nonsense!"
Not complete nonsense Alec thought as he regarded the old woman who was oblivious to the looks Marcy was throwing at her. There was truth to her words if you understood the meaning. What had she said to him before he left; 'Claws! Teeth! Horns! It wears the face of death itself', well if that didn't describe a deathclaw he didn't know what did.
Alec stayed silent as Marcy and Preston argued and silently debated whether he should tell them the truth about what they were searching for. The group was obviously desperate and borderline destitute and needed help. He had come to Concord for answers, supplies and aid of his own, sure he hadn't found what he sought but there was no reason he hadn't found what he needed. If he helped these people then they could help him acclimatise and who knew what else in return.
"I don't know much about these visions." Alec said slowly interrupting Marcy's tirade, "But you know there is actually an old neighbourhood not far from here, it was built on an island. The name of the place is Sanctuary Hills, I think that is where Mama Murphy has led you. You might say her dreams and visions are nonsense, but she isn't actually wrong about the place existing."
Marcy turned her cool gaze on him momentarily stupefied by the revelation but recovered quickly.
"How do you know so much about it?" She challenged, "who the hell are you anyway?"
"That's a fair question, I haven't actually introduced myself. My name is Alexander Carter but my friends call me Alec." He replied and he gave her a pointed look as she had not actually introduced herself either.
"Marcy Long." She said stiffly and she indicated to the man on the floor who sat staring despondently. "This is my husband Jun."
"To answer your question I know so much as I am from this area. If you are so worried about your journey I will personally escort you myself." Alec shrugged simply with a small smile, it was his home after all and hardly out of his way.
"Thank you Alec." Preston said with a small appreciative nod and cutting through the tense atmosphere Marcy had created. "Its always good to have a new friend in the Commonwealth. You're a rare breed of wastelander, there aren't a lot of folks who would do what you have done for us. We of course would appreciate your help, but we don't have anything to give you in return."
"We will find some way for you to repay my services." Alec said easily, "do you have anything to bring with you?"
Preston nodded and turned to look around the museum, light was streaming down from the skylight above. "No we lost everything during our travels, we have only the clothes on our backs."
"If we are to follow this mad scheme of yours Preston." Marcy said darkly, "we should pick over the corpses for whatever supplies that they have, and whatever else we can scrounge up from this place."
It wasn't a bad idea it was just distasteful. Although as the group went about collecting whatever useable or useful materials, supplies or clothing from the dead Alec thought how in the past such an action would have been shameful, now he thought to not take corpses possessions would be seen instead as wasteful.
Alec exited the power armour as they combed through the ruins and destruction and inspected the armour itself. The deathclaw had done some serious damage but he thought it likely salvageable and could with a great deal of effort and time make the necessary repairs.
A tap on his shoulder startled him and he turned suddenly his hand going for weapons, only to see old Mama Murphy standing behind him. How she had managed to get close to him without him hearing he did not know; slippers were hardly soundproof attire after all.
"It was good of you to help us." She said quietly, "You have begun to walk the path, but there is more to your destiny isn't there. I've seen it. I know your pain."
"My destiny?" Alec asked placing the armour between them, she unnerved him. He didn't know what this apparent sight was that she claimed to have, was it possible for her to have foreseen the attack from some type of mysticism or had she known about it through some prior knowledge. The latter seemed far more likely. "What do you mean?"
"I know you believe in my sight now kid." Mama Murphy laughed, "You saw the truth yourself. The deathclaw, I warned you it would come. In my youth I killed a deathclaw myself, didn't need no fancy power armour or minigun, just a single shot and it was dead."
"I admit," he stated carefully not wanting to encourage her potential delusion, "that there is something to what you said. Whether its real or not… Well that's not for me to say."
He next words made him go cold. Suddenly despite his extreme scepticism in anything other he couldn't help but become a believer.
"You're a man out of time. Out of hope." She said gazing at him as though she could see into his very soul. "Your wife… her injuries… I am sorry for the loss you feel. You paid a heavy toll to reach this time, and you must pay that price at least twice more. You have lost your world, your friends, your family… You are of this world now; you will find new friends and find your family. I sense your resolve for answers, for revenge. I know it. I feel your pain. You are a strong warrior, but you will become much more in time to find your son. Do not lose hope. They live. I can feel the energies connecting you to him. He is alive and safe, safer than any within the Commonwealth."
His legs gave way and Alec fell to his knees before the old woman. There was no way for her to know what she did, no way for her to know where he came from. If she could know such a thing then surely it was possible for her to know of Shaun and where he was. It was madness, but despite himself he couldn't help but hope.
"Where is he?" He pleaded in a broken voice, the pain of it all overcoming him. "Where is my son? Where is Shaun? Tell me! Please!"
The old woman regarded him sadly and cupped his cheek.
"Oh," she said in a sorrowful voice, "I wish I knew that answer kid, I truly do. I can't see him, I merely… feel his life force, his energy. He is out there, take comfort in that. I think you will find answers… Yes I don't need the sight to tell you this. Go to the great green jewel of the Commonwealth. Diamond City! It will set you on the path to find your family."
"Diamond City?" Alec demanded not at all understanding what she was talking about, he had no idea where this city was but wanted every facet of detail that she could give him. "What's in this Diamond City? Shaun? Is he there?"
"Yes. No. I cannot say." Mama Murphy said quietly as she patted his head again before trotting back to the bench and settling herself down unsteadily. "But that is where you must start, the first step on your path as it were. I'm tired now, I cannot see more than that. If you bring me chems later, perhaps the sight will paint a clearer picture."
"Absolutely not!" Came the strong and firm voice of Preston and he strode over holding a large bag full of salvage. "Mama Murphy, we talked about this. That junk… its going to kill you."
"Oh, shush Preston." Mama Murphy replied curtly, "We're all gonna die eventually. We barely escaped death today, we're going to need the sight in the future. Our new friend here, he too needs it. I'll not hear anything more about it."
Alec didn't say another word but got to his feet and returned to examining the armour cataloguing the damage and necessary repairs. This allowed him time to hide the tears that fell from his eyes but also a way to channel the newly reawaken grief he felt.
After a further twenty minutes the group eventually reconvened by the entrance and made their way outside the museum with what they had been able to salvage from the building and dead. Once they were outside they were confronted by the carnage and gore of the firefight and deathclaw battle.
"We should search them too." Sturges said looking out at the bodies littering the street.
"Do it." Preston said in a low sad voice, but he wasn't looking out at the street, his attention was fixed to the body of a man at the foot of the museum steps.
"Did you know him?" Alec asked, the man was wearing a blue coat with a yellow arm band and a duster hat like Preston. "Was he one of your people?"
"Yeah, his name was Declan Marsh," Preston said mournfully. "He came from the south same as I. He used to say he was born of the sea; that he came ashore at Buzzards Bay, found his land legs, and never returned. Everywhere we went he would entertain people with his wild stories of merfolk, sea monsters and creatures of the deep, the children all loved it."
"To fall here after coming so far," Sturges added sadly. "He will be missed."
"I must bury him," Preston told them. "I won't let him rot out here or become food for wolves or other creatures. He deserves better."
The group didn't argue with Preston. Even Marcy who looked like she wanted nothing more than to berate him for his sentimentality, but she was busy supporting her husband who Alec was beginning to suspect was suffering from PTSD.
Exiting the power armour once more, Alec removed the fusion core so as not to allow the armour to further deplete its charge and began to help Sturges search the corpses lining the street. It was not something that Alec had relished in, but together they went from corpse to corpse checking their pockets for anything that might be useful.
Mostly he found rubbish, but also pulled out various drugs and medicines and was spared a needle prick only due to his gloves. After that incident he rifled more carefully through the pockets. They also found weapons, most were crude handmade contraptions, but also three hunting rifles and four double-barrelled shotguns with a handful of ammunition. On what remained of Gristle he found very little but found a set of keys on a Corvega keychain, he pocketed them for who knew when they would come in handy.
Eventually the job was done, and they waited huddled on the steps of the museum for Preston to return from burying his friend. Once he had returned Alec led the group up Monument Square away from the carnage towards the road to Sanctuary Hills. Dogmeat followed the group closely, although he roamed the town freely. The dog would disappear for a minute or so but would eventually return his tail wagging happily.
As they walked Alec couldn't help but consider these people he had found. There was a story behind them, one they had yet to tell but he knew that they had been through a great deal of hardships and pain. Not unlike himself he thought, and he wondered what exactly had befallen these people that made them journey north from Quincy to seek a new home on the vision of an old woman.
He had come to Concord to learn what he could about this new world, to potentially find a way to supply and outfit himself properly and find a lead to Shaun. Instead he found a group of homeless refugees, a set of ruined power armour and a potentially misleading or false lead towards his son.
The only useful find had been Dogmeat. It was an awful name for a dog, but the name was stuck, and the silly animal responded to it. Whoever named him had to have had a strange sense of humour.
So far as first expeditions went, Alec was not at all sure this would be classed as successful. These people sought a home but had no supplies or provisions and could become dependent on his generosity.
He couldn't help but wonder if he had made a mistake by intervening to help them, and could only hope his decision wouldn't come back to haunt him.
O-FALLOUT-O
Authors Note:
This was perhaps one of the longest chapters I have yet wrote for my Fallout Saga. I hope it wasn't boring!
The Quincy Survivors were saved and Alec has now begun to take his first steps out into the Commonwealth and tread his path towards his future.
Through the upcoming chapter you will see us return to Sanctuary Hills and see the origins of the Settlement of Sanctuary, but also the start of the friendship between Alec, Preston and Sturges and likely expand on the lore and histories of the Survivors.
Edited: 14/08/2022
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