"Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls, and ask the ghosts if honor matters. The silence is your answer." Javik – Mass Effect

~oOo~

The world past Concord was nothing but long stretches of rock and ruin. Skelton buildings of their pervious life linger on their fragile bones; trying so hard to remain standing to the destruction that caused them such a state. Streets were torn apart; rocky and even some had completely disappeared. The animals…were completely mutated and changed as well into something…unnatural. Feral dogs roamed in packs and the deer were split in two, their minds still hold some docile aspects but were no less dangerous.

The world was upside-down and backwards.

It was like I was Alice in Wonderland…only wonderland was hell.

And hell came in the form of an apocalypse that formed after the bombs were dropped.

Adam looked a little bit better as we made our way east to the settlement. I guess getting away from his house was doing him good and he could take his mind off things out here as well. On our way we killed some mutated crabs for some guy in an old quarry for a hundred caps. Adam wasn't happy I asked for so much but I said that caps were the new currency. This is how we buy things such as armor and weapons let alone food.

Which meant that all this pre-war money I've found that somehow managed to survive a bomb are worth nothing. Too bad; I would've been rich. However, in this world no one knows who I am and I can be anything I wanted. It wasn't actually freedom just yet but I could taste something in the air that felt like it. It made me giddy inside as we approached the settlement. But of course it turned out to be nothing more than a wild goose chase because they just sent us somewhere else. Adam gave me a look that was almost I-told-you-so but I told him to hush it.

We headed south until we hit Lexington where we stayed the night at Mystic Pines. The settlers told us that a group of raiders at the Corvega Assembly Plant were threatening them that if they didn't pay up then they would be back to kill them. That seemed to light the soldier under Adam's ass and we set up a place to us in one of the rooms. Since we still had some hours of daylight left we headed towards the Super duper mart to see what we could find there.

What we didn't expect was monsters in this wonderland…

"What the fuck are they?!" Adam screamed as he placed a bullet in between the eyes of the one that was charging at him. I heard something growl behind me and I kicked backed into something that made a crunch sound. I turned, gripping the bat I found (just sitting outside actually) then swinging wide so that the next one fell to the floor after the last one. I gave both a good whack to the head for good measure.

"They look human." I stood over one and poked at it before the bro stopped me. We continued to look around, grabbing what food we could stuff in our bags along with finding medical supplies. Of course as we dig deeper into the store I found that some minute men were here before us but it seems that whatever Adam and I fought got the better of them. Adam of course had qualms about me taking the boots the woman had one and even taking some of her armor but of course I told him that I'd rather be alive than dead. "Do you keep forgetting that there are people out there who will most likely kill you for the things you have than anything else?" I asked him as I attached everything together.

You just had to not think about it.

Think about survival…of living to see the next day.

Preston warned us about that lay outside of sanctuary. He said that the world would eat us, chew us up, and wear our skin. There were no rules out here, no protocol, and there were no police to turn to. There was nothing. Adam keep forgetting that and I was getting worried that if he came across a raider…. he wouldn't be able to fight back.

"Eve… just… I can't explain it but it feels wrong to me somehow and this is just a lot to take in." Adam said as he petted Dogmeat's head. The pup followed us to Lexington and stayed in between us as we walked. Dogmeat was also actually helpful but finding things and dropping them in front of Adam or myself. I found an old teddy bear for him and he seemed to enjoy it as I threw it around for him. Once we grabbed what we could we returned to Mystic Pines. Adam took a look around while I made a small fire to cook our food. Of course the food is nothing like the food we had a few days ago and everything tasted funny. They only thing that actually tasted decent was the sugar bomb cereal that I loved to eat in the morning.

"I miss milk." I said as I dug into the box. Adam was eating the Salisbury steak and the crab meat I took with us from the quarry. It actually wasn't that bad; a bit slimy but it still tasted like crab.

"I miss actual food." Adam said and we chuckled. We fed what remained of our half eaten meal to Dogmeat who wagged his tail happily. "We leave tomorrow around four alright? If I know people, there won't be many awake by that time."

"That's if people are still people. I've seen raiders and there nothing like the soldiers we've faced in war. Their blood thirsty and are like animals. Don't let one get the better of you." I told Adam and explained to him what happened at Concord. I left out the monster I faced; not wanting Adam to… I don't know how to explain to Adam what I saw.

"I still know how to fight Eve." Adam looked me in the eyes with a expressionless face. "I know how to kill a man."

"It's not just men Adam; woman are fighting too. Let's get some sleep. We're gonna need it." I told him and we put out the fire. We placed a dresser in front of the door and slept with pistols in our hands. I just hope nothing surprises us while we sleep. Dogmeat slept by me and it was nice to have something warm next to me. At least I can have something that reminded me of the world before.

~oOo~

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" One of the raiders sang as I hid behind a wall. I took calming breaths as I reloaded my gun. Adam was across from me, trying to relax his breathing as well. The start of this mission as I called it seemed to go well enough. We killed more of the monsters like the ones in the market and even killed a few sleeping raiders on our way to the plant. Adam's plan to leave early in the morning proved true enough as we came to the front doors. Only one person was on guard and he was easy to dispatch. I snuck up behind him, minding the spotlight and snapped his neck. Over the years I've gotten used to killing people easily and there was no remorse feeling in my gut as I did so. I've lost count of the people I've killed. How many people I was sent to silence, how many people that I felt their heartbeat under my own hands no longer beat, and how many people I couldn't even remember killing.

I've gotten used to killing people…

One of the raiders walked past me and I jumped on him, wrapping a cord around his neck and pulled tightly. He struggled and tried to get me off him but I forced him to his knees before I grabbed his face and shoving it to the ground with a sickening crunch. I took put and shoved my boot on his neck, breaking the spine. We moved forward into the plant until we reached the large room.

I noticed that there were five raiders in the room and I got an idea in my head. I signaled my brother to stand down and stay hidden. He gave me a look and nodded, crouching down as I turned towards the room. I reached my hand out and closed my eyes, concentrating. The half made car in the middle of the room began to shake loudly, getting the attention of the raiders on the catwalk above.

"What the?" I opened my eyes and swiped my hand and the car flew to the left, knocking into two of the raiders. They screamed in pain and surprise as the car knocked into them. Adam came out of hiding to open fire on them.

"Suck on this bitch!" I turned around to see a raider about to bring a bat down on my head when it suddenly stopped in midair. "What the hell?" I glared at the man who wore garbage for armor then threw the raider back against the wall before shooting it in the head. I was breathing heavy as I could feel the anger build inside of me but I forced it down.

"Eve, stop!" Adam yelled at me before shooting the remaining raider with his shotgun. With the last echo of the shot everything went quiet. I'm thankful that we left Dogmeat at the building we stayed in or else he might have gotten hurt. But… something was wrong. Of course I've used my gift before but it never made my head this funny. I rested against the wall and slid to the ground, trying to ignore the dizzy nauseous feeling as my brother came close to me.

"I told you to take it easy with this stuff. Wait…" He grabbed my bag and pulled out one of the vials that I have put in here before we left Sanctuary. He uncorked it and handed it to me. "Take it."

"No…no I can't." I said and tried to push his hand away but he grabbed my chin in my weak state to put the liquid to my lips.

"You need to take this." He said and the liquid slid down my throat. He held me close as my body began to shake and the horrible swill went down hard unlike it normally does. The anger inside me vanished and I felt more sick to my stomach than I did. Once I calmed down some Adam left me on the ground as we left to loot what was left of their hide-away. Once he came back he slung my arm over his shoulder before we left out the back door.

Of course escaping was another story as we fought our way up towards the top of the plant to kill the remaining maniacs. I was mostly out of it, trying not to get hit by the stray bullets as Adam did most of the fighting. As I lay on the concrete ceiling as Adam looked around one last time I stared up at the stars above my head. I seem to keep forgetting what the stars look like after all the time I've spent inside a lab or on the move when I was on a mission. Whenever I got the chance I would look up at the stars and imagine what would it be like to have a normal life. Adam deserved a normal life after everything that's happened. Sure it was his choice and I've made mine as well but still…what would it be like?

To not take the medication…

To not have this power…

To not have a collar around my neck...

No more dreams or nightmares…

No more worrying about the monster…

I wish life was easy some times.

If it were that easy.

"Eve…how are you feeling?" Adam asked me once he came back.

"I feel like floating if that makes sense." I said to him and he helped me up. The sun just began to rise as we made our way back to Mystic Pines. There were no birds but the blue sky peeking out was a welcome site. Dogmeat barked happily as we staggered towards the building. I knelt down and petted his soft head before we moved inside. Adam dragged one of the mattresses from one of the other rooms to the one we stayed in, making me lay down but I didn't really feel like it. I fixed the mattress so I could comfortably sit against the wall. Adam took Dogmeat out so I had more time to think about my actions at the plant. I picked up a few piece of rubble from the room and placed them in my hand. The serum might dull the monster but it didn't dull the feeling in my head whenever I moved things.

I moved the door to the vault (well I helped it move), moved the car in the plant and shoved a man into the wall. I've never had this type of practice but…. I can't say I'm not enjoying the feeling of being able to move stuff.

The rubble piece started to float in my hand and move about. First it was erratic but then they floated into a perfect rhythm. It was fascinating to watch it move about and I felt almost more powerful because I was in control. No one had a leash with me on this and it felt invigorating.

"What are you doing?" Adam asked me but not in a harsh tone. I didn't turn my head as he sat down next to me, both of us watching the rubble move about. "I thought I told you to take it easy with that."

"It helped at the plant Adam. The world has gone to hell and there is no one to report to in case someone sees me. I'm enjoying this Adam." I looked at him. "Please let me have this one thing." Adam sighed. "There's something else I need to tell you."

"What?"

"My medicine…when we woke up I only have months' worth of the vails. I took half when we woke up and the rest the following day but…."

"You tried to stop me at the plant. You tried to tell me…shit." Adam said and I nodded my head. "There is no hospitals, no military medical tents floating around, and I highly doubt I can get back to Big Mountain without getting killed. What are we gonna go?" I asked him. Adam wrapped his arm around me and rested his cheek against my head. Dogmeat rested his head in my lap, huffing softly until I started to pet him in between the ears.

"I don't know. But we'll get through his just like we always do. We'll find a hospital with equipment and make some more. Preston said that Diamond City is the best place to get help. If there are people, there has to be a hospital. We'll make more and you'll be in control. I promise you that you'll be okay." Adam said hugging me closer.

"Big brother syndrome?"

"Of course." He was quiet for a while before he tapped me on the forehead. "You know what? On our way back to the settlement I want you to practice. You're right and I'm sorry." Adam's voice cracked at the end so I looked up to see silent tears in his eyes.

"We'll find Shawn. We'll get the bastards that took him and make them pay. That I promise you." I said and held him as he began to cry once more.

We stayed in that room for a couple more hours until both of us were ready to leave. We also agreed that once we got back to Preston we would make our way to Diamond City to find this Nick Valentine who could help us. I would also look for a doctor to start making more serum but until then I would only take half doses or maybe even a couple of sips to try and to stretch it out for as long as possible. I know we'll find him.

That bastard is going to pay.

And I'm going to make it hurt…

~oOo~