Part 1.
Author's note: I switched the narrator to first person, in part 1. as opposed to the 3. person narrator in the prologue. I did this to reflect the difference between the idea of the stories, as to say that she didn't have control of her life before now. It was just some narrator telling it for her. I hope this causes a minimal amount of confusion.
1. A Solitary Note Flows in the Silence
My eyes opened slowly as if it was the first time; an unfamiliar light shone down on me. I was hopelessly trying to focus at a series of unidentifiable alphanumeric characters cascaded in front of my eyes. I closed my eyes again; I may have slept for a bit, I'm not sure. A slight ring woke me up; in front of my eyes stood the now static text.
Jade: Enter
The letters shone brightly down on me from some sort of terminal screen. I moved my tongue around a bit; my mouth was dry. There was some sort of plastic tube resting on my teeth and running down my throat. I gasped suddenly at the realization and tried to move my head, only to reach the conclusion that my head was tied to the chair I was in. Coughing and wheezing, I tried lifting my hands in desperation but they only trembled slightly. I could feel tears flow down my cheeks; the complete helplessness was entirely alien to me. Taking the deepest breath possible, with a tube in my mouth, I tried to move my fingers and toes. After what felt like eternities of this exercise I was able to move, but only slightly. Moving my feet around in the claustrophobic space in my enclosed capsule; I collided with some sort of object, which I decided was a book. I closed my eyes again. I guess a short nap won't hurt, it looks like I'm going to be here a while anyway.
I was awakened by a whirring of gears then a loud 'fwoop'.
A hoarse voice greeted me.
"Excuse me while I impale you with this majestic pin."
I saw only a blurry silhouette.
"Because, you see, I'll have to drug you with this extremely addictive substance of unknown origin. No big deal."
I felt a slight prick in my arm.
"This injection will make you become Captain America or whatever, so don't worry."
The cold liquid flowed through my veins like a frigid river. I almost immediately felt an invigorating shock through my body. I was able to move again, but I still couldn't see right without my glasses. The first thing I could get myself to do was to forcefully tug the tube out of my esophagus.
I gasped then spoke.
"Dave? I need my glasses! I can't see anything."
"What gave me away?" He answered and then quickly added "Oh yeah. Let's find you some glasses. "
I heard his nimble footsteps moving away from me. I removed the strap on my front, and then shuffled around a bit. I grabbed the book next to my toes; it was green. I pulled it up in front of my eyes, trying to make out the words on the cover.
A study in Wasteland Survival
That's what it looked like at least, I opened it up. The words inside were too small so I just shut it, sighing slightly. I felt weirdly vigorous, restless even; looking down at my hands I saw they were trembling, so were my legs. I stepped carefully off the ledge of the capsule. The room, it seemed, was circular. A light flickered from the middle. It had an almost bluish glow at times; now and then it would seem electric yellow, but always with a cold radiance. I must have stood in awe for a few minutes at least, lost in my thoughts.
The air was heavy and cold, so I decided to get back into the capsule and wait. I might have run around the capsule a few times first, but that is none of your concern.
After a while I heard a series of fast paced footsteps, which ended in the familiar silhouette that was my comrade.
"Hey. I have searched far and wide and prepare your lid 'cause flipping of said lid entails. I've found 2 pairs of pristine goddamn condition eyeglasses in the office. Who would even keep 2 pairs?"
I've only noticed now that he has a vague hint of a southern accent, but looking back it was quite obvious.
"Oh my," I laughed, maybe a tad too loud. "Thank you very much Mr. Cool Cat. It is a pleasure, being able see again."
He was wearing the exact same attire as in Tranquility Lane, his red plaid tweed, the white and red striped shirt with the black tie, and the shades of course. Heck, even the embroidered record on his tweed pocket.
"What now?" I asked.
"I suggest we get to the nearest town or something, unless you want to stay here. I don't really care."
The new glasses were round and oversized, they fit quite well to my sight, I reckoned.
"We can leave in just a minute, just got to fix some things first."
I crawled back into the capsule to fetch the book again,
On the first page was written a dedication.
Dear Jade,
I am sorry it had to be this way; I only wanted what was best for you.
When you were just a tiny child two big group of meanies were controlling the Capital 's just say I was not best friends with either of these groups, and at one point I had a very difficult choice to make, when I was supplied with a power one could hardly imagine. I had to decide which one of the meanies I should wipe off this earth. Being the just and heroic adventurer I was, I decided to let them both be, at the cost of my own life. However, I left a single daughter in this world, that's you. Since I was not able to take care of you I devised a way to keep you safe.
I used some old technology, I had stumbled upon during one of my adventures, to create the perfect world for you. I also made sure that the world could only be shut down from the inside, securing you from raiders etc.
I just want to say, I am so, so, so proud of you and I love you very much.
Sincerely,
Jacob English, Your father.
"We can go now, Dave, let's go to a place where I can buy some stuff." I felt my voice cracking as I yawped from inside the capsule. I trembled slightly while I stuffed the book into one of the bigger pockets in my shrunken suit. I definitely needed some more comfortable clothes; maybe even a rifle, if I was lucky.
"Well, yeah. But I came down here for a reason, there ought to be a crate of functional pipboys down here, we have to get those first. That way we can actually pay for your shopping sprees." He spoke monotonously, looking at his fingernails. Biting a bit off of one of them, he continued. "So, what are we waiting for?"
The crate with the pipboys was in a storage room parallel to the main room where 8 capsules like my own stood in a circle around a pillar. I found the crate and we opened it together, inside were at least 25 of these vambrace-like instruments. I carefully removed one; it was surprisingly light, seeing it was made of metal. It had a sleek, welcoming surface with 3 big reassuring buttons under a rectangular display. I looked at Dave and asked "Do you mind if I keep one of these, they seem quite useful."
He lifted an eyebrow and scratched his chin. "Well, in that case I'll keep one as well. I reckon 23 pipboys can still rake in some sick loot."
I smiled carelessly while I fastened the pipboy to my wrist; I clicked a random button and the display lit up with an amber glow. I quickly got the hang of it and found the chat client "pesterBoy". I need a pipHandle. I guess that's some kind of pseudonym. Hmm, I got it, I'll call me gardenGnostic.
We managed to drag the crate out of the intricate maze of a tunnels without much trouble. At the end of a long tunnel we stood in front of a worn door. Bright, white light shone through cracks, causing our shadows to stretch out far behind us.
I'd have never thought it was daytime.