Queen's note: So, I think I edited this chapter about five time, loosening all progress each time x.X for give me for anything I missed... I'm tired. its been a long hard, and emotional day
Welcome to the Wasteland
Chapter Eleven:
Storm Warning
"It's like a Mr. Handy toddler in a way." Lana realized, looking bemused at the other robot hat was bobbing around the planted crops of the Co-Op, muttering soft words of awe at the world around him much like a toddler. He was colored mostly in a dull, military green and mat silver in the joints.
The other, black and gold Mr. Handy drifted closer to Lana, his arms politely tucked, "Is...he alright, miss Lana?"
"I'm not sure Fredrick," Lana admitted as she rubbed the back of her head. "He's been in stasis for the whole time Deegan and I were setting up here, who knows how long before that. Or what knocked him into it for that matter. But if he stays non-violent we can find work for him."
"Hmm…" Fredrick tilted his eye stocks, one optic was keeping track of what was around them at all times, one focusing on the green robot and the last optic watched Lana intently. "Perhaps he can help care for the plants in the museum until you can move them all out?"
"That might be a good idea." Lana smiled, so far 'Dude' had managed to learn how to water the plants here and not damage them while under Edward's supervision during the time Lana and Lucy had been at the museum. "We can see if he can handle it on his own next time we go over… though I want you here to help, and help Megan."
"My systems are imprinting on you though miss Lana." Fredrick worried, he liked the idea of just one human, maybe two, right now to take care of... though he had a mostly hidden fret, given that he had seen just no one outside the two groups.
"I don't mind if you do," Lana glanced around and nodded to where Megan was sitting on a porch, across the Co-Op, her whole focus on the small blue-grey fuzzy rabbit that was in her lap. She made sure her voice was low and would not carry, "But, well, I can survive without much help… I'm worried she might not be able to with the change."
It sounded worse than she meant, Lana was worried about the older woman's mental health being out away from her safe place. As Megan had admitted it was the first time in nearly a year she left the museum.
Fredrick hummed thoughtfully, able to put together that, or assume himself what his new human meant.
None of the things that the Mr. Handy had seen so far were what he was expecting to be around when waking up. Not a warm home, a professional showroom, or even the factory he was made in. But it was a broken down store, with cracked and some missing windows, faded wood as Lana activated him. Though seeing the elated expression on the young woman had upon seeing him activate for the first time, pretty much made up for the confusing setting.
Admittedly, Miss Megan was there after he was fully aware again, startled at the time that his internal clock said had passed since being shipped. Perhaps it was the fact that there were only so many people, so few people, around that was what really bothered Fredrick. How quiet it was without the ebb and flow of the general public outside, even the semi distant sounds of traffic he had known in the factory and the training grounds area.
It would be rather easy to bond to all the humans present, even the poor scarred chaps. Fredrick still felt a bit embarrassed, as he had reflexively offered some bandages at meeting Jake the first time. But the man had been in good humor about it, even helping Fredrick understand the current state of the world.
"Realistically," Lana added, looking around, bringing the robot butler back to focus, "What you would be doing to help me would be helping the others in turn. And when looking for samples and new plants, or supplies, I want someone here that I can fully trust that can look after things."
"I can do this," Fredrick promised as he bobbed gently in the air. Eyeing some of the bushes that had been transplanted already to the sides of the cabins. Preprogrammed and some practical in-mech teaching on how to groom shrubs coming back to his processor.
"The animals I brought are very valuable." Lana admitted to him, "I don't think I can replace them at all. I thought there might be local rabbits and quail here too, to help with the breeding stock."
"I'll keep an eye out," Frederick promised, "It's surprising how much has survived, and the animals though different are still around. I saw quite a lot of squirrels and rather large lizards."
"Yeah," Lana smiled as she watched one of the big iguanas climbing up a cabin to nibble on the radexes moss on the roof. Thankfully not making much of a dent in it. Surprised that the other iguanas were not up and on the roofs as well. Normally there was at least one male a few females hanging around up there.
Per roof at that.
"I do want to get a large cage setup for the iguanas sometime soon, make sure a lot of babies can be protected so I can have a diverse breed stock to take home."
"It looks like there's still much to do here, and some clean-up before finding the propped fencing." The robot butler peered up and then around, wondering when the chubby squirrels were going to be out and about in the morning.
"There's always going to be something to do for a while," Lana sighed before she smiled up at Fredrick's closer optic, "But hopefully we can have a day or two out of the week to rest now that there's more of us. And by the time I should be ready for more eggs... I will have the radexes moss…..but the iguanas are laying eggs soon."
A bemused humming drew their attention back to where Valory was lying curled up loosely in the sun. It helped the new people get used to her, though oddly it was Megan who dared to come touch the warm hide the day before. As she had only ever seen a Deathclaw from a far distance, not quite having the same, fully ingrained fear of them like others did.
Getting to see Valory in her afternoon nap time also helped the newcomers get used to her talking. By way of the sleepy murmured words of sleep talking or half responding to the conversation around her.
Lana stretched her arms over her head, "At least we have one fridge now that's working now, even if there's no oven yet, we can store fresh meat for so much longer."
"It's a good thing for sure." Fredrick agreed, following Lana as she continued to do her morning routine for the day. Checking on animals and plants, "Have you considered making a wood fire oven Miss Lana? Or smoker to help preserve the proteins in the form of sausages as well as the jerky?"
"I'm not sure how to make either of those." Lana admitted, stepping inside the pen with the new mother Brahmin, munching away at cut grass that had been gathered in the early morning. "I know there was a thing like that back home with the electric ovens, but… I don't know how they were made. I can make a pot belly stove out of empty propane tanks for heat and cooking crock pots on top. I wonder how they're made."
"I was taught how to clean and care for one, I believe it was for pizza and bread. But perhaps the same form could be used for roasts and casseroles?" Fredrick hazard to guess, bring both the old and fresh memories of his training. Bringing the image of that wood stove to the forefront of his mind and how it seemed to be made. "I think...I remember it fully from my training, should I write or draw it out when there is paper?"
"That would be a great thing if you remember," Lana nodded, coming out of the pen as the brahmin lifted her heads to listen, and moving to check the far western and up hill cabin, where they had stored the non vital things. "I'll try and find some good paper, but at this point if you need to draw it out in a larger scale we can find a sheet of wood or metal sheet that way you can get more details and we can have a blueprint… oh! We have your shipping box still, would that work?"
Frederick wiggled his arms excitedly in response, though he examined the porch that creaked worryingly under Lana, and then looked around at neatly stored tables and other things inside. This cabin like the others had a thick mat of dark green moss growing on the roof, not so slowly spreading as it fed off the rads in the air and morning dew. "That would work wonderfully! I'm pleased my old shipping box could be useful, and it would be easier to preserve. Or I would assume."
"Also easier to share." Lana nodded and smiled as she picked up a couple of buckets to take back. "The Abernathys would probably like one too. We have some cinder blocks both here and there, and more that are in the museum. I wonder what's under that 'cobblestone' section. A lot of the stones were loose. Maybe we could use them too."
"There were plenty of broken free bricks in Concord," Fredrick pointed out, lifting his grasping claw. "Even if they were on the street, I'm sure a good fire will help sterilize them in a simpler way."
"Good point Frederick! I wonder how the bread is going to be like made with the razorgrain flower, or if there's any yeast here." Lana paused in the walk to where the bull Brahmin was tied to a long line for his turn at grazing on the hill. The bull was walking southward as if trying to reach a new spot. "I didn't take any with me, I just have some cornbread mix for comfort food for a few holidays. Maybe one of the bigger settlements has some yeast or mother starter? I should ask Connie, not sure if Deegan would know….then again he seems to know a bit of everything."
The two paused at a not so muffled thunder clap rolled by, starting soft and then a second roll of thunder was a louder crack. Lana looked up and scanned around the north and western horizons first. She saw the others were coming to alert, even Lucy as they seemed to be searching for the source.
Deegan was getting up, for once without his armor as he had been cleaning it that morning. The scarred man was the first to trot to the easter downslope of the hill the Co-Op was on, getting a better look to the south.
"Lana!" Lucy called, waving for attention as she followed after, the rest of their group coming as well at another semi distant roll of thunder.
Alerted that something was off, Lana picked up her feet and trotted over to Deegan. Having to hop over some of the newly re-tilled rows ready for plant, and few had tatos from Connie and some of the transplanted razorgrain that came from the rooftop garden on Megan's museum.
"What's wrong?" Lana asked as she slowed, reaching for the arm Edward held out for her to catch herself. The arm might as well have been a steel bar as the ghoul flexed to keep it steady. He pointed to the south where the skyline was almost completely darkening. There was a flicker of greenish light in the clouds, and just as Lana was realizing it was a form of lightning, a second larger bolt cracked the horizon.
One, two, three…
Lana automatically started to count, aware some of the others were doing so as well under their breath.
Six, seven, eight…
Each second for a mile, fairly universal knowledge that had been passed down through ages.
Eleven, twe-
Thunder rolled past, almost a double beat.
"Twelve miles out to the edge of the storm." Jacky spoke up first, the scarred man lifting a hand to shield his eyes in the morning sun, "That's one hell of a winter send off storm."
Valory stepped quietly up as she lifted onto her hide legs as far as she could for a better look, standing nearly two stories tall like that, "The small animals are all gone."
A few started at her appearance and words. Lana turned and scanned the ground, frowning as she noticed that there was no constant movement there like normal, the one iguana was the only thing left and the fat thing seemed stuck on the roof. The Brahmin too, even the moose with their deer fawn seemed to be at alert and looking towards the south as well.
"Lucy," Deegan turned suddenly to the other young woman, his voice taking an authoritative note automatically, "Does your family have enough rad-x and rad-away for all of you... for about four to five days at least?"
Lucy paled a bit at that estimated time, shaking her head, "Maybe rad-x for a few days… but not that long."
"Then they need to get here, and into the bunker with you and Lana."
"I'm guessing that's a local rad storm?" Lana guessed looking at the distant , "Are they that bad?"
"Not all," Jack shook his head but pointed, "But that's coming from the Glowing Sea, or another storm merging with it. That will be stronger than normal."
"That's the kind of storm that will turn you into a ghoul girls," Noel worried, holding Megan's hand as she paled under her scarring. They liked these girls, who were kind enough to take them in after a day. No tax or demanding a collateral for 'just in case,' only just making sure they were truthful about their skills. "We need to get you somewhere safe. What bunker is this Edward?"
Deegan shifted, his left arm wrapping a moment around Lana as she reached over her shoulder and then grasped the back of her neck at what she heard, "It's in the church there… the roof looked to be in decent shape if we could cover the sides with that canvas and the signs you bought over yesterday…. We can put the moose cows and fawn in there with the new borns. The other brahmin can go in the trailer with anything sensitive in the back. And Buck into the main hall building again. We can get them all rad-away later, or dump it into their water, but as long as the rain water doesn't get on them they should be safe from burns."
Deegan gave Lana a squeeze and then let her go with a push and an order. "Lana, you and Lucy get all the plant starts and seeds that you don't want exposed to a lot of radiation into the bunker now. And your little critters. Use the Mr Handymen to help. Valory?"
The big Deathclaw shifted, finally looking away from the massive storm front and peered down, "What do you need EdWard?"
She was willing to help as he was helping her pack sister.
"I need your speed, can you get to the Abernathys? Tell them to shut down their generator, pack up and get here with whatever food supplies they have. If you can easily grab any substantial hunt on the way back, they and the girls here could use it below. We can see how much time we have left."
"I'll shut down the generator here," Noel realized the treat of emps with that kind of storm with the reminder.
"Not right this second," Jack moved with his brother to get some of the canvas sheets and old signage that had been brought over already, "Let the water purifier work as long as we can to give them as much water as possible during the storm. Why don't you get the sealed water barrels to the chapel?"
"I can do that." Noel nodded.
Valory gave a chirp of acknowledgement at the same time, turning and in one smooth motion she was suddenly gone. Moving with that unnerving speed her kind had. Like the dinosaurs of ages past, or dragons of myth, being able to move much faster than a human would think they could.
"Megan, I know you're stronger than you look, can you get those bags of razorgrain seeds down to the church on your own?" Deegan asked, the flicker of red in his eyes, for a moment his gaze seemed more solid rather than mixed as he became active himself, going up hill. "I'm going to help the brothers with tarping the sides of the building. We all can survive and thrive on this kind of radiation, but they can't."
"The animals could use the food too." Megan looked at the rabbit that she still held in her arms, feeling it shiver but not trashing. "I think….I can do this…. Mr. Deegan?"
"Yes?"
"Would .. would the Abernathys need someone to watch their place? Cover their plants?"
"Possibly," Edward nodded, finding the box of nails that had been found in Concord. "The lives of our friends first Megan. We need to get them down there, then maybe if it's not raining we can make sure their plants are covered and yours are on the museum roof are down."
"What was on the roof was moved down to the main floor yesterday afternoon." Megan admitted, watching Lana and Lucy swiftly move animals from pens into their orginal carrier cages. She hugged her fuzzy friend and moved to put the little doe away as well.
Deegan watched after for only a few moments, smiled and moved to pick up one of the ladders and hike it down to the chapel. It was a steady rush of things to do with thunder as a constant reminder. Edward guessed the storm front would fully hit them by late evening, though the normal humans would have to be underground by afternoon, 2pm at the very latest. It was only just…
Deegan checked his watch.
Only just 8:30am, they all had an early start to the morning with being able to sleep most of the night thanks to Valory standing guard.
They could do this with some order.
Lana was a steadier calm that Lucy could and did use to help herself. The big mega storms like this happened only once or twice a year, but she hated it so much. There was almost always a total loss of all their crops, and times like this meant being sick on chems that helped with the rads.
Yet she was able to stay calm as Lana beside her was. And… They were making good time. Lana had the Mr.. Handymen robots running the animal cages down then packing the starter pots, cups, mugs, all things that plants count start, in before moving those in the hand held baskets brought from the museum.
Everyone had laughed at how many Lana had slung on Buck while he was loaded with bags of razorgrain already. Those baskets Megan had made over the years were an amazing help right then.
Now Lucy was as glad as
Animals, plants, water and razorgrain bags were brought down to the church, then down into the bunker itself. Both young women were exceedingly grateful for the ghouls members of the group. Noel was hardly the strongest but he could heft water barrels, full, up and over a shoulder in one smooth motion where it took both Lana and Lucy struggling to pass the same barrel down the hatch to him below.
Lana paused in a trip back into the 'main hall' building, where she led Buck into half an hour earlier, staring at the fridge for a moment. She moved over and behind the appliance to take out the power core that was used to run in the fridge, intending on using it to set up and power the fridge in the bunker if Valory found a deer or something. She also got her traveling hotplate and its power source to take down, with her favorite cooking pan and canteens.
As the Abernathys were starting to show up, Lana was climbing up one of the old porches where that big iguanas still was, possibly frozen in fear or giving up. Reaching up she grabbed it and pulled an extra canvas cloth bag over it's head, front and body. She almost fell, but managed to get the lizard down and into the bag. Tying the top off to come down in the bunker with them, no other creatures were around that Lana could see, it was just the fat iguana female.
Now it was just getting the supplies that Clarabelle was carrying down into the selter, and then getting the rest of the bigger animals into shelter. Getting water from the dam and pouring the animal rad-away into it for them during the storm. The adults could survive going the time without food, but the nursing cow needed extra water as they used up fat reserves.
Lana thanked whatever gods were left that Luna and Grace had not dropped their own calves just yet.
If there was going to be as much radiation with the rain, then there would also be an explosion of radexes moss growth. That could be eaten for the cows once the excess was gathered. While the last of the supplies were brought down into the bunker- Blake and Connie had a full harvest and all the small plant starts of tatos they were growing for the Co-Op and their own expansion. The last of the large canvas signs were being nailed up over the lack of windows...Lana lingered topside herself.
Making a point to nail a few bags up in the trees filled with a mix of dirt, fertilizer and the plugs for the mushrooms that helped make rad-x from her home. The storm would help them grow like the moss. She had to calm Buck down, before showing the others where her stash of animal rad-away was. To be used for Clarabelle, who would be the most sensitive after the pregnant moose and the new borns.
Lana lingered still in the church as it approached 1:30p, the last of the unaltered humans topside. It was noticeably darker now, not just from the blocked windows, but the sky was darkening like it was becoming night. Lana stepped out the main door, peering through an overlapping fold in the thick fabric, as much fascinated as worried as she watched the flashes of green lightning, the clearer thunder claps that almost had a metallic edge to it.
A huffing had her look back to the open space of the church. The old pews moved to the sides of the open space, arranged to make it hard for the young calves and fawns to try and climb out a window. She wanted to stay up, seeing signs of Luna getting ready for giving birth as the tall cow nosed around.
There was a footstep and she felt arms wrap around her.
"Go down Lana," Deegan rumbled in a low voice, giving a tight hug. "You showed me how to use the big needles, if there's a complication I'll send someone down for you."
"Luna might give birth during the storm." Lana worried, looking up at Edward. The man hummed as he stepped forward, pulling the young woman with him as he closed the main door.
"She hasn't started labor as far as I can tell." Deegan estimated, "You said the moose were like brahmin? She might be able to hold the process for the few days of the storm."
"If she can't?" Lanna fussed, stepping over to offer her hands to the darker colored cow, rubbing the long face that was dipped down for comfort. Giving or wanting it was hard to tell, maybe both. "I...don't want to lose her calves Uncle, I could manage with losing one but she's been bred to a buck that was retiring soon. The calves are how I'm supposed to bring things home. What if Grace loses her calves too?"
Seeing the moment of worry, fear, just a moment of a scared youth that had Deegan reaction. Granted Lana was no child but he had raised enough kids since the bombs had dropped to react. Stooping down, Edward pulled Lana into a proper hug, reassuringly tight, and not uncomfortable with the lack of chest plate in the way.
"They won't, we'll help as much as we can, they have rad away in their water and I'll check them for you every day for signs of radiation poisoning." The scarred man turned Lana around, walking with her to the hatch "We have a plan to give them some rad-away by IV every couple days. But as long as you stay calm, they do as well. They have the best chances in here after all."
Lana took a deep breath, "Promise you'll get me if anything happens to the moose?"
"I swear Lana." Deegan promised as he ran a hand over the short strawberry blond hair, smoothing a calloused thumb on the girl's cheek. "If anything is remotely wrong I'll come get you, but we'll make sure they're as good as possible. Take care of yourself young lady, and your small critters. You need to get out of the rads. If you want something to do, check the main entrance for any stray people that might be caught out."
That seemed to make Lana think of something other than her worries, not forget but had her thinking.
Edward nudged Lana and helped her down the hatch before closing and sealing it behind here.
They still had a few hours before the rain… maybe they could get some of the mature tato plants under cover after all.
The group were not the only ones bunkering down, as across the Commonwealth in homesteads, small settlements, and the bigger city like areas, were doing much the same. Covering everything they could to save crops, animals and most people trying to get either underground or deep inside the solid buildings.
In the Slog those that lived there were dumping barrels of a potent, fermented 'chem wine' into the pool that had their Tarberry farm. Saving the plants and their valuable berries, not that the rads would affect the ghouls living there. But the plants were their main source of income to unaltered humans.
Wild brahmin found hiding places to settle in the ruins of the old cities. While other animals burrowed or hid inside hollowed trees as well as the buildings.
In Boston, on one of the still standing buildings a figure stood on a roof top. Walking from the stairs to get a better look at the storm as below, on street level, his people were getting organized for any last minute things.
Cigarette smoke trailed after him in the growing dark of the storm as the scarred man stopped a few feet short of the rooftop edge. He could feel the first wave of warmth that came rolling past with the thunder. The kind of warmth that heated you up from the inside out.
Only the scarred ghouls were outside now, finishing up the storm prep work. Those Watch men that could not be out in the storm were helping to keep the drifters and homeless calm and on best behavior inside.
He sighed, the smoke escaping through his lips mostly and trailing up around the dark tri-corn hat before the breeze started. His jacket was different than normal, as his normal red was being washed and patched that day, this long jacket was well oiled against the rain that would come.
Fingers twitched as he mentally listed what has been done so far. What he was prioritized in the building under him, though still taking care of the adult strays in the old State House.
It was strange, having a new kind of responsibility like this. Though it did benefit his town on a whole, the expansion that happened last year and the next one he was planning now…
There were light footsteps coming up behind the darkly dressed man. "Boss?"
"You shouldn't be up here MacCready," The man said, watching his cigarette go down and debated pulling another one to light. "Not unless you want to look like my handsome mug."
The younger man grinned, cheeky and winced at another roll of thunder. "I'm more resistant than other focks. The kids are safe, but Grandma and Auntie are getting restless. I think you might need to check in on them."
He sighed and moved to turn, dark eyes squinting at the sky for a moment as he debated on the feeling he was sensing. Shooing the human inside ahead of him. It was something that was off, not from the storm but… something.
Though the storm did affect more than a few things. One such thing was forcing a group of Minutemen to divert their path, hiding in a building and missing a roaming pack of feral ghouls that would have done much to hurt and kill off the group. Another thing that was that the storm disrupted a remote signal that would have woken up someone from their slumbering prison.
But the signal was not all there, enough so that the Vault computer systems over rode what was sent in. Clearly the message was broken up, and surely if there was a signal to start thawing out the pods it would be clearer. It was like before, surly, the computer systems would go by its hard line codes in the vault. The pods and who were inside were all staying safe as they had been over the centuries.
.