Queen's note: Heyo, I'm staggering back. We have a baby goat! hopefully some more coming soon!

Welcome to the Wasteland

Chapter Twelve:

Storm Survivors

The semi distant sound of the rain was a compliment to the music coming through the speakers in a low volume. Lana was sitting at a desk by the front entrance, with assorted papers spread out on the top, lists from before, a general schedule for planting. Drawing out plans for coops, the quail and rabbits, as well as a revived breeding chart for both types of animals. There was also a paper with a basic design for a possible iguana cage, some notes about the eggs and babies that she had gotten from Connie and the girls.

There was a shift in Lana's lap, and she smiled down at the large rabbit that had been dosing there. She started to pet again, smiling at the blue fur, it was the type she loved the most. That pretty slate grey color, but had some white speckled along her fur. It was also Lana's favorite type of all the rabbits, enough so that she had two sister does in the color. Taking the chance of the weight with the one extra rabbit of the same blood line. They came from a line that held the color, even with wild rabbits added into the mix.

She had a pretty large colony of meat rabbits back home in that color. Her younger siblings were currently taking care of them, from care to the few aged our breeders from the originals when Lana was younger and just didn't have the heart to cull them, instead trusting her siblings to care for them in old age and save the fur pelts. As well as save any other pelt in that color for her when she gets home.

There was some movement, excitedly running as the other rabbit of the same color, the sister, was running around the open space and then around the desk. Stopping only beside her legs. Lana grinned as the rabbit in her lap turned to peer while the young women shifted carefully to reach down and rubbed the offered head that ducked in a bow.

"Are you enjoying that we cleaned the floor?" Lana asked, glancing at the sealed main door from where she was in this little room. Boxes keeping the rabbits from going down the stairs. The desk dragged in from the outer room and tucked to the side.

Lana yawned and shifted, carefully holding the doe in her lap and slid off her chair to lay down and stretched out. The two rabbits excitedly bounced about before snuggling and trying to groom the young woman's hair while Lana gave them small head pets back.

She was tired and it showed, the last three days had been filled with some semi intense cleaning…

No, it was pretty intense, the five humans stress cleaning to take their minds off the big storm and what might be happening outside to their homes. Blake and Connie worked together that first afternoon to carefully sweep for, and disarm any traps that had been missed. Lana, Lucy and Mary had been focusing on the main store rooms, where the ration bunker was proper. Not the old brick foundation/cellar/tunnels were.

After it was triple checked to be safe, the humans set themselves to really just cleaning up the debris, it was not as much as one might think to clean up. Most of it could be scooped up and put into a pile in the old tunnel way. All the while getting into the heavy crates and really seeing what was there.

Connie made her own list of the things she wanted, what she would suggest to be done for the bunker, (mason work, there were still pre-war ghouls and clans that knew how to repair and sure up the tunnels), and helping to make a new inventory. As they cleaned and sorted from the back to the front of the bunker, Connie showed her husband and the girls how to inventory. Though finding some paint helped, using it to write on the sides to number, and in paper next to the same number writing what was in the crates and how much.

It took the first full day to fully clean the floors, sweeping and turning empty crates into better animal coops for the quail and rabbits for the week underground. In the main lock up once trouble spots were cleaned up, some empty crates were lined up in the two doorways with the open sides aiming into the room, Lana let the young rabbits run around in the now open space. With the quail in their crates and in a pulled out filing cabinet drawers to put the fertile eggs, the eggs about to hatch at any time separated with two broody hens.

It was… oddly homey now.

A desk had been turned into a cooking station. With Lana's hotplate, Connie's mortar and pestle, a pan and pot from both. The saved plants from both the farm and Co-Op were all stored up high away from the rabbits on the racks in the lighted halls.

Now in the evening of the third full day, the fourth evening really, everything was now just resting time. Lana was up by the sealed front door and right then cuddling her favorite rabbits. A geiger counter rested by the door to measure for any rads that might get through the seal.

Lana started to dose, head tilted to the side to share a little head boop with first one, then both rabbits. She napped like that for a little bit, until the young woman heard someone that was coming up to the stairs. Or rather the rabbits heard first and woke Lana up with some warry thumps of a foot in the ground.

"Lana? Are you still up here?" Connie's voice called as she headed up the rest of the steps, pausing at the crates and moving them to get past. "Oh you two be good, It's just me."

"I'm okay," Lana yawned as she stretched, still on the ground and just seemed like she was going to stay there for a bit.

Connie stooped to refill the water bowl on the wall near the stairs for the rabbits, and then stepped over to set the gourd canteen beside Lana. "Taking a mental break from us? I have some food for you."

"Yes and no, I was working on some ideas and how to redo them for fitting in the Co-Op." Lana rolled over to get the canteen, it was not the one she put peppermint leaves in but clean water was good. "Would you mind having one of the breeding pair of rabbits? I think Lucy has been plotting to nab one, might as well as make it two...and then ten."

Connie chuckled at the cheeky grin as she peered at the desk, turning a paper around to look at a rabbit hutch design that could attach to the side of one of the cabins, using the underside of the cabins' supports. It looked like Lana had not fully planned on just that design as there were other ideas doodled on the page.

"I had been wondering about that, Lucy really has fallen in love with some of the critters. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to want some of those quail, if you don't mind trading for. Mentioning them, did you lose some in the trip out here? There's a lot more hens than the toms."

"Roo, or roosters, like the old chickens… I hope there's chickens somewhere." Lana said as she sat up, "My uncle had mentioned he saw some when he was around. But no, I tried to bring more hens than roos."

"Maybe you might find some chickens off in Far Harbor? Or down south. I know locally there's turkeys in the area, like Megan said… if she can find nests it would be worthwhile in the long term to find the eggs and hatch them. If possible keep the adults but they can fly for a short while." Connie tapped her arm as she thought, and then brightened up as she stared at the still massive 'small' metallic crate that took up a quarter of the space in this room, "We can make use of those smaller metal shipping crates! Make coops for not just the turkeys but, it would work for the squirrels too, they can't chew through metal."

"Huh… there's an odd number of crates in the bunker." Lana realized and wondered, remember seeing the things in the different generator rooms.

"If they aren't rusted, or seized too badly, you can actually take them apart." Connie carefully stepped over to the one taking up space in the corner of the room. "You can see these bolts here. If you have a powered tool it's much easier to put it together again, at least making it water tight, except for the front."

Lana got up, setting her canteen on the desk, and came over to see. "That...makes sense that there's some of these crates so far in the bunker…did the old us military really carry it all in panels and set them up?"

Connie snorted, "I wouldn't doubt it, most leader's if the old military seem questionable."

Lana paused before speaking as the rabbits gave a warning thumping. Only a few moments before there was a rasping like sound in the main door. It had Lana jumping to the side into Connie, feeling the older woman reflexively gripping her shoulders.

The sound came again, low to the ground and…animal scraping? Hoof like?

"When was the last time we checked the front?" Connie asked, mentally debating on what to do.

"This morning, Blake and I checked the front and I checked up top as I have better rad resistance." Lana took a deep breath, standing up to move over to the speaker, turning down the music so they could listen. "We put a note in the upper area and the outside to knock on the door."

There was a muffled bark sound from the other side of the door and Connie moved over to listen, the older woman frowning, "That sounded like a royal mole rat."

"A what?" Lana blinked at the turm.

"A lucky Cap-bear?" Connie tried and after getting a shake of the head, Lana still had not heard of it, "Hmm...they might just be in the commonwealth then. Normally in the central-western."

Lana scooped the rabbits, despite their protests, she put them in a crate and set the lid on top. "Are they dangerous?"

"No more than most animals, but from what I saw they're like the brahmin, one of the most peaceful things in the wasteland." The woman checked but she didn't have her side arm, but Lana did. Grabbing it from the desk and checking it as the two women moved to the door with another smacking and muffled bark.

Lana checked over her pistol one last time, that the safety was off. Standing to the right hand side of the big door with Connie, out of the way of the door as it opened inward.

The creature that huffed and snorted on the other side was… not really like anything Lana was expecting.

Thick fur that was still damp from the rad-storm, in shades of dark brown on the legs and belly, and tan on its back. There was a thinning patch on its back where it had gotten wet the most. Lana could see a radiation burn forming over its back and shoulders.

The big head lifted and peered up at the two before backing up, stepping carefully over a limp, small form before a squared off mussel dipping to nudge them.

"Shite," Lana hissed, stepping to the side and sweeping her side arm over the outside room. But she ended up holstering it as she stepped out after Connie.

This Cap-Bear backed up, letting the older woman check over the child, while bouncing over to the broken front door, barking for attention and kicking at the door.

"Lana you have better resistance to rads," Connie pointed to the door before starting to pick the child up, "Find out who else might be out there, I got this girl. Cap-bears get super attached to their people, there's likely others."

Lana nodded and moved over to the big creature, who was shuffling on its feet. The back sides were overly rounded in a way that the young woman would bet meant the Cap-bear was either pregnant or colicing. Though from the way it still bounded outside and rushed to the left, up and around to above the bunker, it was likely pregnant.

Taking a deep breath as an odd echoing crack of thunder, and there was a mix of vibration of sound so close and a pulse of sudden internal warmth. Lana darted out into the storm as she closed her jacket and the geiger counter clicking was almost a steady sound rising and falling with the lightning. With each raindrop there was a hot tingle, but it did not burn yet for Lana, while behind her she could hear Connie projecting her voice to carry down to her husband for help.

Lana's foot slipped a bit as she started uphill after the Cap-bear, glancing under the silts of the cabin that had been built either by the raiders before... or whoever was here before the raiders had taken from to start with.

There was something under the cabin and Lana frowned before a bark had her looking up. Finding where the Cap-bare was on the roof of the building below them, and spotted the second small form huddled in the one dry spot under the shade triangles.

"Hey there," Lana dropped to her knees, touching the kid's shoulder… teen? A small pre-teen form that jerked at being touched, "Hey-hey, take it easy I'm here to help."

"Mom?" A weak voice asked as Lana checked them over, finding skin red and welts starting on his forearms and back of the neck. His clothes were wet, not quiet soaked but at one point they had been.

"I'm not your mom, is she nearby?" Lana scanned around even as she moved to pick up the boy, wincing at feeling hip bones and ribs. He was much too light under the layers of cloths.

"Dad… they're… they..." The boy winced and cried out as he lifted up, body shuttering as he tried to throw up at the vertigo, but only dry heaved on Lana's shoulder. "Sun..shine… she was caring us..."

"Is that the Cap-bear?" Lana asked as she adjusted the younger boy and headed down to the bunker entrance, while the creature in question followed after them. Huffing gently and worried, staying close at first but stopped undercover on the slope, waiting pointedly as Lana got the boy into the bunker, passing him to Blake as the older man poked his head out. Then ran back into the storm.

The Cap-bear barked and hurried to run back up to the cement building. She stopped just short and pawed at the ground nervously.

Lana took a deep breath as she walked over, wincing at the rain on her face. Peering through the dirty glass, "Hello? Anyone in there?"

Wiping at the glass, listening past a metallic like thunderclap as a bigger wave radiation washed past. It seemed to crackle against her bones and the scarring on her back.

Yet it sounded like something, someone was crying inside. The young woman moved to the door, knocking against it harder then she meant, "Hello? We can help you below! But you have to get out of the storm now!"

There was a whaling, a sob and a yell, it was garbled and rushed all together.

The door was unlocked, but it hit something, nothing that could not be with a careful hit of the shoulder, then a kick to help shove it open.

A body, pale, radiation burns across the part of the face Lana could glimpse before the rest of the scene. The standing figure swung around from having a fit at the empty trunk she and Deegan had forgotten to bring with them down below.

A Lost One

Someone with glazed eyes and raging expression as the once woman focused on Lana framed in the now mostly open doorway. Welts and swelling skin that was already pocketing and opening wounds from the radiation poisoning. Not exactly a face melting level but Lana could see rosy blond hair that had been either falling out or ripped out in madness as the woman lost her mind.

This is a storm that turns people into ghouls.

Those words were echoing in her head, haunting even as lightning cracked not far away. It was a mix of everything slowing down, seeing the newly turned Lost One lunging to go after the young woman. The rain was starting to soak her own short hair, as the Cap-Bear gave an alarmed cry and Lana scrambled backwards and to the side. The Lost One hit the door, staggered and wavered long enough for Lana to jump back.

Feet planted, the Cap-bear Sunshine huddling behind her with sorrowful cry, as if understanding and mourning the loss of a human she knew. Lana felt a flash of that sorrow as the empty- the hungry eyes that focused back onto her.

Thankfully her reflexes were still good, enough that Lana was not sure how her pistol cleared the holster. She felt the buck of firing, though her aim stayed true this short range. Dodging to the right and following the figure down, and fired two more times before swinging around to the cement building, remembering the body on the ground.

Lana shivered as she stood there, half in cover and making sure no one was getting up again. The Lost One gave a final gargling sigh, and then stilled as darkness started spreading out on the cement. Taking a gasping breath, Lana hesitated before moving inside the building.

She kept her pistol in hand, but tapped the body, shifting to roll it over. A man that just… looked gone. Not budging but like he had slid down the wall and passed, some blood coming out of his mouth.

Died of internal bleeding?

Lana looked at the large steamer truck as there was a sound that was trying to be muffled like crying.

Taking as deep of a breath as she could, fighting a shiver and not wanting to find a turning child, but unable to just leave, Lana stepped closer. She opened the lid to a yell from inside, meeting wide frightened dark eyes of a young, thin teen. The younger girl was probably...fourteen? Fifteen? At most, and had folded herself into the only safety from the changing woman in this open small room. She held a bag of rad-away, arm scratch from where she was trying to put the needle in but not able to in the cramped space.

"Its okay," Lana said, making her voice soft for the girl that was not overly younger than her, while Sunshine was nosing her way inside, hesitating for a moment to nuzzle at the man. "It's almost over, I promise, can you get up?"

"She was...she… Where?" the teen tried to talk, shivering as she peeked up, but could not see well in the darkness.

"Gone," Lana said honestly, helping the teen to sit up in the trunk.

"Mom..."

"Isn't going to suffer any more," Lana put her pistol away, feeling ribs under the damp shirt. "Come on sweetie, you need to stand up, I'll get you safe for now, and we can get that radaway in you properly."

"She isn't bad," the teen said, wavering but was able to stand up, make a few steps to the desk before needing to lean on it. "She isn't…just hurt. Not a monster."

"I know," Lana nodded as lightning flashed, lighting the room a little more for a moment with green tinted light, drawing the girl's attention to the window as the Cap-Bear nosed at her. Lana unzipped her jacket, shrugging it off to wrap around the teen, zipping it back up and pulling the hood up and over her head. Cupping the scared face inside now for a moment. "She wasn't a monster, just Lost. Lost her way. Couldn't find her right spirit. She's gone only in body now, not gone from your heart sweety, keep it that way. Now follow me."

Lana led the shuffling teen out, keeping the hood over her face as the woman had to step over the body to keep the teen from stepping on possibly her father. Outside into the storm and letting her lean on Lana as she was led over the outer bunker roof.

"Lana! Where are you?" Blake's voice called, worried as faintly the geiger counter clicked away at the door of the bunker as if angry.

"To the left of the door and up!" Lana called back, making sure the girl would not see her Lost mother on the ground.

She was just debating if the teen had the strength to make it down the slope when Blake came running up. Hissing softly as he stopped in front of them.

The man carefully wrapped an arm around the teen feeling not just the radiation effects but just how thin this girl was as well. "Oh sweetie, you're almost to shelter. I'm going to help you the rest of the way, okay?"

"...okay…" the teen gave a small nod.

Lana glanced back at the dark lump on the ground as Blake picked the teen up, they met eyes as she stepped back making a motion around her neck, meaning a necklace. "Right behind you."

"Be quick." Blake said starting down the hill, making sure the hood and jacket covered the teen while the Cap-bear followed, though glanced back several times.

Lana backtracked, taking the necklace she thought she had glimpsed. Checking pockets and pulling the wet jacket off the limp form. Stepping into the top building to check the other body for anything and pick up the bags, hesitated and shoved everything into the trunk to carry down.

The young woman stopped and climbed under the cabin she had noticed sound under earlier. Pulling out the suddenly crying fawn as they were unceremoniously put in the trunk as well to get out of the rain and take with her underground. There was a stirring in the cabin of the possible parent deer.

Lana hesitated but moved, speaking up as if the doe would hear and understand her, "Come on momma, follow us. I'll try and save your babies. Come get some moss and shelter."

Reviews!

Justsomerandombastard:
Thank you! I think there would be a range of different ways to prepare of the rad storms. Some might not be that strong, and some might just be those nasty winter rain and/wind storms. This one I'm basing on a last big heave winter storm like we had where I am.

I considered something with New Vegas, though I have done some rps with it on my rp tumblr blog like a nerd I am. Fallout 3 will have some trickling influences coming in this story [aka a Mr. MASSIVE Someone]. As for in DC, if I did It would not be a happy time for Lana and Valory, [Valory would be an even more massive target, with the Brotherhood of Steel, and both don't like bigger cities] but I have some plans for Nuka World at least, and passably popping onto Far Harbor.

as for lake? There is the dame made lake by the Co-Op, I had some plans for some fish there, and two characters that will eventually help to poke some fun with sea life. I like poking at biology for things as you've seen so far, so there is some aquatic life showing up! n.n There will be a lot with animas and plants after the storm.