Begin Recording
The Walk Home
Recording by Emily Mason
I had a hundred questions for Preston, starting with, "Who were those people? Why did they attack us?"
Marci answered, "Because they're raiders, you vault bimbo."
Preston gave her a patient look. "There are people who'd rather take from others than build for themselves. We call them raiders."
Marci added, "Chemheads and inbred twits." Which Preston nodded agreement with.
"Raiders are a threat everywhere in the Commonwealth. If they'd caught us they would've stripped us of everything we had and probably hauled us back to their camp to work as slaves. Us guys to work, you women for..."
Marci snarled and stopped walking just long enough to pull up her trouser leg to show me the hilt of a knife in her boot. I nodded to her. I was the lone female partner in a law firm; no matter how much Marci didn't like me I could still feel some women's solidarity.
We passed the body of the monster then, and I couldn't help myself—I ducked back to put Marci and Preston between myself and the corpse. I'd emptied the minigun into it so it was now just a pile of flesh and bullets but I couldn't stop thinking it might get up again. "What is that thing?"
"A deathclaw."
"But what...is it?"
Preston shrugged. "People talk about mutated lizards but who knows. With luck that's the only one you'll ever see."
That was not the only one I've ever seen.
At least Marci also made a wide path around the thing, then she had to go back and get her husband.
Preston told me then about their son's death during the flight from Quincy, which made both the Longs make a lot more sense. Then he asked how I knew about Sanctuary. So I told him about the bomb and the vault and my son. "I'm going to look for him, but I'll help you all settle in first. We're going to need a place to live after all."
"Well I am glad you've decided to join us."
From behind us I heard Mama Murphy encouraging Jun Long. Glancing back I saw she'd tucked her arm through his both for support and to keep the poor man moving. Maybe once they got a safe place to live he'd come back from whatever dark pit in his brain he's trapped in. Sturges hurried up to walk with Preston and me.
"Miss Em, what can you tell us about this place we're going? Mama Murphy's long on promises but short on details."
The three of us were already making plans when we reached the bridge.