Chapter Three
Pressure
"Are either of you injured?" They had come to a halt in front of the ruined house they had rested in earlier, before the mirelurk attack. The Squire shook his head, whilst Nora slowly raised and flexed her right arm, wincing. Her power armour was heavily scratched and dented, having endured the onslaught of two mirelurks at close range.
"I'll be fine, nothing a little rest won't fix." She smiled, but her face was pale and taut.
"Apply a stimpak soldier, nobody likes a martyr." Danse frowned, before casting his eyes skyward to seek out the large hulk of the Prydwen, hanging suspended over the airport.
"I suggest that we head back to the Prydwen immediately. We can reach it before nightfall, if we hurry."
"We're going back?!" Nora and Danse turned to find the Squire standing with his mouth wide open looking aghast. He had been pale and silent after the battle with the mirelurks, apparently unable to meet Nora's eyes. But now he stared at both of them in horror.
"Your actions have already endangered this mission, Squire." Danse frowned. "You have proven yourself not only insubordinate, but a thief. Without a thought, you stole from your superior and placed both myself and Knight Hart in danger. I don't know what the hell you were thinking, but it ends now. There is little doubt in my mind that you don't have what it takes to be a part of the Brotherhood."
Burke's eyes began to fill with tears and his lips trembled, but he balled his hands into fists and said nothing.
Nora contemplated the two of them silently for a moment before heaving her shoulders in a sigh. "Squire, my fusion core." She held out her hand, watching as the boy wordlessly groped around in his coat pocket before placing it in her waiting palm. "You have been behaving poorly so far, Squire, and I won't tolerate any further stupidity. But I don't see how escorting you straight back to the Prydwen aids our mission, or yourself. Consider this your first and final warning. Steal from myself, or Paladin Danse, and I will march you straight to Elder Maxson. If you get yourself into trouble again, I will march you to Elder Maxson after I've taken you to Cade. You're just lucky those weren't the types of mirelurk that spit venom."
She could tell from the set of Danse's jaw that he disapproved, but he didn't voice his thoughts. Burke on the other hand sagged with relief, wiping at his eyes with his sleeve. "I won't let you down, ma'am!" He spluttered. "I swear!"
"We'll see." Nora said coolly, already wondering if she was making the right decision.
It was nearing sunset when they finally decided to stop and make camp. They had travelled for hours without rest, and the Squire was visibly footsore and weary, though he did his best to stifle his sniffles and groans. Nora herself was feeling the strain of the pace she had set, her bruises aching beneath her power armour. They had been travelling through East Boston, but had come to a halt at the last line of buildings.
"Do you think we could make it to County Crossing before nightfall?" She asked, turning to face the Paladin.
"Negative," he replied. "We still have the bridge to traverse, and a good hike across open terrain before we reach it. It'd be better to take shelter for the night here, where we have cover."
"But… aren't there raiders around here?" Burke asked nervously, glancing around at the broken and boarded buildings that loomed up around them.
"Yes, but don't worry. You can leave them to me and the Paladin," Nora at him smiled wearily.
"Why don't you wait here with the boy? I'll scout ahead, see if I can find someplace for us to bed down." Danse offered, readying his rifle.
"No. We'll go together as a group," Nora said, beckoning to the Squire. "He may as well learn how to find safe shelter for the night."
They eventually settled in the ruins of an old shop, where they were able to set up their bedrolls on the second floor. Through the broken windows they could watch the street below and they were able to barricade the stairwell easily enough using old weather stained desks and rusting filing cabinets. They debated for a time whether or not a fire and hot dinner were worth the risk of discovery, before settling upon a 'dinner' of fancy lads snack cakes, mutfruit and water, promising themselves a hot breakfast at County Crossing the next day.
Burke excused himself shortly after eating, disappearing into the storage closet where they had set up bedrolls. Nora and Danse had exited their power armour, standing them just outside of the storage room to allow for speedy access, should it be required. The pair of them were sat opposite each other on damp mouldering couches, watching the darkening street below in silence.
It was cold, a chill breeze blowing through the broken windows. Despite her best efforts to ignore it, Nora found herself shivering a little.
"The cold bothering you?" She glanced up to find Danse watching her in the gloom.
"Isn't it bothering you?" She asked, raising her eyebrows slightly.
"The hood keeps me warmer than you'd think," Danse commented dryly, smiling.
"True, but I think you look better without it."
"I'd rather be warm than look good."
Nora chuckled, her breath beginning to form small clouds as the air grew colder. "I said you look better without it. You're still handsome, even with flecks of mirelurk scat in your beard!" As she spoke, she made to rest her chin on her right hand and winced.
"Did you ignore me when I told you to stimpak that?" Danse frowned, sitting up straighter.
"I never liked needles as a kid, I still don't like needles now." Nora huffed, letting her arm fall back across the arm of the chair. "It's nothing serious anyway. Just bruises. It'd be a waste of a stimpak."
"Not if that bruising affects your ability to fire." Danse replied, rising to stand next to her. "Let me see your arm."
Nora exhaled through her nose loudly, pouting, but she obediently removed the glove on her right hand and proceeded to carefully roll up the sleeve. Her pale skin was dark with bruises, her wrist slightly swollen. "It's not that- ow!" She winced as he poked at her wrist. "I'll sleep it off!" She grumbled, making to pull her arm to her chest, when he gently took her by the hand.
"Hand me one of your stimpaks and let's get this over with." Nora blinked, gazing for a moment at where he was holding her hand. She couldn't remember the last time anyone had held her hand, or laid a hand on her at all like this. Not since before she had awoken in the Vault. Hesitantly, she reached into a pocket on her left leg and produced a stimpak.
As Danse took it, she glanced away across the room. It was almost too dark to see by now, only the soft red glow of the fusion cores in the power armour cast any illumination. She felt the sharp, cold prick of the needle and groaned, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Take it easy, soldier." Danse soothed, "it'll be worth it."
Warmth spread quickly along her arm from the needle, easing her muscles and the pain. As she felt him pull the needle away she released the breath she had been holding and turned, finding his face mere inches from hers. Although his countenance was cast in shadow, she could still feel the intensity of his stare and felt her cheeks flushing with colour.
Then he rose, breaking their eye contact and discarding the used stimpak into a rusted wire bin. "It was a close call today," he said slowly, seating himself beside her. "That Squire… he's nothing but trouble."
"He's just a boy, Danse. A boy who recently lost his mother and doesn't have a father."
"Grieving is no excuse for endangering your brothers and sisters." Danse replied curtly.
"They were only mirelurks," Nora shrugged. "I think he's learned his lesson. Besides, he even managed to save me some damage with that last shot…"
"You wouldn't have taken any damage at all if he hadn't run off in the first place. Even if those mirelurks hadn't been there, he would have made off with your fusion core."
"…That's true, but I want to give him a chance. Being stuck on the Prydwen all the time's got to be tough. Brandis rants about it all the time."
"Brandis complains about everything." Danse snorted.
"Well, not going to argue with that," Nora smirked, rolling her sleeve down. "Anyway, we should take it in turns to watch tonight. Why don't you go hit the hay and I'll take first watch?"
"No, I'm still awake, besides you need to go rest that arm." Danse rose to his feet before moving towards the windows.
"Well, if you're sure… Just wake me up when it's my turn to watch, okay? I know you like to pretend you're a machine, but you need to sleep too, Paladin!"
"Now you're starting to sound like Cade," Danse snorted. "Anyway, sleep well."
Nora rose slowly from the couch, gingerly stretching before setting off for the storage closet. Using her Pip-Boy, she illuminated the space with her torch. Burke stirred in his bedroll from where he was facing the wall. As soon as Nora identified her sleeping bag, she turned off the light and settled down into a deep and dreamless slumber.
When Burke awoke, it was still dark. He sat up slowly, wiping away the tear tracks on his cheeks before taking in his surroundings. The room was almost pitch black, save for a rectangle of darkness that was somewhat lighter than the rest. He could hear someone breathing softly in the darkness near him and wondered vaguely whether it was the Paladin or the Knight. The air was cold against his skin, and so he sank further beneath the cover of his bedroll, his arms closing once more around the plush teddy he had hidden in his supplies.
He closed his eyes and for a few moments tried to fall back to sleep, when he heard voices. Slowly, he sat up again, clutching the bear to his chest, head cocked to one side as he listened. The voices came again, along with a roar of abrasive, guttural laughter. His eyes widening, he eased himself up and out of the bedroll, creeping towards the doorway.
Both sets of power armour remained standing in place on either side of the doorway, two huge hulking sentries of shadow. He crept past them slowly, feeling his way forward with his toes, making his way towards the windows.
"…put up much of a fight! We make them SCREAM!"
BANG!
Burke jumped at the sound of a metallic clang, which was followed by more laughter.
He licked his lips slowly and crept forwards again, his heart beginning to pound in his chest.
"I wanna rip off their hands first, then their arms, then their feet, then their legs…" This voice was even deeper, little more than a growl resembling speech. "I want them to watch as I feed them to Cruncher."
The voices were loud now, so loud they surely had to be just outside the windows. He had to see…
"If they have any little ones, give THOSE to Cruncher!" Another deep voice grunted. "Give big ones to Smash! Smash want eat HUMAN!"
Burke was almost at the window, when he something bumped against his leg. With a small gasp he jumped backwards, kicking out- and sending a small table clattering to the floor. There was a sudden rush of movement in the darkness by the windows and he felt a hand clamp over his mouth as he was practically hauled off his feet and carried backwards.
"WHO'S THERE?" One of the voices shouted.
Burke could feel himself breaking into a cold sweat. He was placed down by the storeroom doorway and pushed inside. "Nora, wake up!" Danse whispered urgently. "Muties!"
Burke heard the Knight sit up sharply in her bedroll. He watched as her shadowy shape extricated itself from the bedding, easing into a crouch.
Somewhere outside, the voices were challenging and baiting any interlopers. He felt hands gently squeeze his shoulders and heard the Knight whisper gently in his ear for him to stay put, before she crept past him towards the Paladin's tall shadow.
He felt sick. Muties. Super Mutants.
His head swam with sudden, vivid memories of a nameless star paladin, face pale and haunted, handing over his mother's bloody holotags. His mother kissing him lightly upon the head. "Don't you worry, kiddo. I'll be back soon, might even find a new comic for ya!" Elder Maxson grasping his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Squire. Your mother died in the line of duty, but she fought with honour and I only hope you can be as proud of her as we are…"
BANG.
BANG.
BANG.
"Come on out little bleeders! Come out if you brave, not cowards!"
He was shaking. He could taste vomit on the back of his tongue, could feel the chill of his mother's holotags against his chest. He clapped his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut, slowly crouching down…
Nora and Danse were crouched in the shadows, hidden by the walls in between the windows, watching the beasts below. There were four of them in total. Three hulking muties and one mutant hound. One of the mutants had a super sledge that it would slam into the road or walls as it taunted, trying to get a reaction. Another carried a large, rusted machete with a serrated blade. The third carried a shotgun.
The real danger was the hound. Nora watched as it sniffed along the ground with purpose, prowling up and down the road. Three times it seemed to almost find their trail, lingering before the shop front, but at the last moment it would turn and follow another scent.
Eventually the mutants grew bored, one of them locking a meaty fist around the chain collar that circled the hound's neck. "No fight here." It growled yanking the collar so hard Nora winced. The hound snapped at the mutant's leg, before shaking itself and following them as they began to move away down the road. They watched until the figures disappeared from sight.
Nora glanced up at Danse. The Paladin was grasping his rifle tightly, his face full of burning hatred as he glared after the mutants. "We had to let them go, Danse." Nora whispered, wary of raising her voice. "We couldn't risk the Squire's safety, not when we could avoid the fight."
Danse turned the intensity of his glare upon her. "Those things will go on to tear people to pieces and we could have stopped them."
Nora sighed and looked away. He was right, of course. Those mutants had been easy pickings, carrying only short range weapons. Hindsight's a bitch, she thought to herself, moving to check on the Squire.
She froze in the doorway. "Burke?"