I'm woken up by someone softly shaking my arm. "Mmmm... five more minutes Sarah."

Hannah looks at me confused. "Who's Sarah?"

I sit up. "Huh?" I look at Hannah. "Oh...No one..."

She looks even more confused. "Ok, once I woke up they gave me a stimpack. So I'm good to go."

I nod. "Ok then, where to?"

She sits up in her bed. "Well, first we go to my superiors about the raider that attacked us."

I stand up and go in front of her. "Hey, if what that raider said was true, going to them may not be the best idea."

She looks at me. "You think the spy is that high up?"

I nod, "it'd be foolish to assume otherwise. I'd hate to say it, but if the brotherhood is compromised, we wont be able to get the help we need from them. We're on our own."

She nods, "The only problem is, my acting orders are to report for reassignment. What are we going to do about that?"

I look down, "let's talk options when we get back to your place, Come on."

She nods and we walk out of the makeshift hospital. We both stay silent walking down the central road. I look around and see all the makeshift scaffolding and bridges between roofs. I nudge Hannah. "So, what's the deal with this town anyway?"

She shoots me a sideways glance. "People around here say that it used to be inhabited completely by supermutants."

I nod. "Yeah, I've delt with them on the road before. That was bad enough. I cant imagine having to clear out a whole camp of them"

She nods. "I was just a scribe when the brotherhood moved here and sent all of them to hell. Not too long after, I was assigned to this place. It's become a home of sorts for me. Here is where I've climbed the ranks of the brotherhood. I almost can't believe I have to leave."

We get into Hannah's house. She shuts the door behind us. I sit down and ask, "How much time do you think you'll have before having to report for reassignment?"

She sits down next to me. "Standard minimum is three weeks for taking care of unfinished buisness and packing."

I nod, "then it's settled. For the next three weeks, we will work this raider case until we find answers and enough evidence to launch a campaign against them. Or it will lead to nothing and we'll just fight raiders like we always do. Deal?"

She looks confused at me. "Wait...you could just go back to wandering. It's pretty much over anyway, and without the brotherhood's help, we dont even know where to start."

I look back at her. "I think I know where to start. That raider camp that we rescued that woman from. We go back there, grab the leader for a quick interrogation, then we get the information on who is behind all this."

She smiles. "You're smarter than you let on."

I roll my eyes. "Gee thanks. I may not be book smart, and let's face it, who is. But I do have some street smarts. Otherwise known as wasteland smarts."

She chuckles, "whatever you say Brian..." She looks at me again with a straight face. "So...what about you?"

I look confused. "What about me?"

She shrugs her shoulders, "you know...I told you my story, isnt it only fair you tell me yours?" I chuckle then nod slightly. She brightens up a bit. "So...who were you before the bombs?"

I sit back on the couch. "I was a construction worker. Like many other Americans in those days, I was traveling around looking for a job. Then I find one here in West Virginia. A Vault Tech representative came up to me and offered me a job to work on vault 76."

She nods, "I've heard about that vault in our records. It is on the list for technology survey and recovery."

I nod, "Yeah. All of the construction crew and their families were allowed a place in the vault. It was about 500 residents."

She asks, "So, do you have a family?"

I nod, "I met my wife at a town assembly in the town of flatwoods. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on. I asked her to date me and to my surprise, she said yes. We went strong for a good 4 years before I had worked up the courage to ask her to marry me. Not long after the marriage, we brought our son Joseph into the world. In 2076 the vault was completed. Then... a little over one year later, the bombs started to fall. I rushed to the vault because it was my duty to see that everyone was ushered in after their ID was checked at the gate. My family was there. I saw them. I yelled for them to move faster. Then...a blinding flash of light was shown in the far distance. The door to the vault started to close. I watched my family get shut out of the vault, to become corpses on the other side. And the worst part is, I cant even lay them to rest. Because if I try to move their remains, they will break apart."

By this point I havent noticed that tears are falling down my cheeks. Hannah comes over to me and wipes the tears carefully. And puts her arm around me. I snap back to reality and instinctively move away from her. "Look...I'm sorry, but I honestly dont need comfort or pity. I've had plenty of time to cope. That's just the first time I've told the story out loud to someone."

She nods. "So, what happened to the rest of the vault residents?"

I roll my eyes, "A majority of them went off to find where our overseer went. Personally, I dont think it matters. A few other residents felt the same way that I do and we all went our separate ways. It had only been a few days since the door opened when we met."

She nods and yawns.

I look at her, "let's go ahead and get some sleep. If we're going to solve this raider case, we'll need to leave first thing in the morning."

She nods. "I'll go get you a blanket."

I nod. "Thanks."

She comes back from her room upstairs with a thick sheet and a burlap pillow. "Here you go. I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight."

I nod back at her. "Goodnight Hannah."