Though she'd gotten as far as Sloan, Alexei always came back to the old schoolhouse in Goodsprings. Something in her head made the small settlement feel safe to her- an oasis in the desert (how very apt).
Every few days, she and ED-E walk through the door into the empty building. Some of the desks have been taken out already; Alexei informed the folk there of the metal to be taken apart and recycled. Lockers are absolutely stuffed with books she'd found, ranging from comics to manuals on hydroponics. The book on sign language has been filled with bookmarks and notes, with more than enough to make a book of its own. Hell, it had its own locker.
A small spot in the back was refitted with a mattress and amenities for small breaks in exploration. To the left, a stockpile of unopened Pre-War food for quick snacking. To the right, a large shard of broken glass cushioned in a ripped-open pillow propped up-right, with a small tealight under it.
On the opposite side lay a large metal basin with several rags. Bottles of water were packed in crates, both purified and irradiated. Any trips that yielded these bottles made for very happy occasions; water meant hydration, food, cleanliness. Sure, Alexei had gotten hooked on Sunset Sarsaparilla, but water was her beverage of choice, although she could never figure out why.
No child should ever have to watch their parent die in front of them. Her weapons couldn't even shatter the glass as the man she wandered the DC Wasteland looking for fell to the floor in a coughing fit.
Clean up, make lunch, start the daily lessons while waiting for the food to finish cooking out on the campfire. The schedule gave Alexei some peace in the chaotic landscape of the Mojave. If she had the time, maybe Sunny could help her look for seeds to harvest; the land around the schoolhouse could work for tilling and planting. Just gotta find the water to nurture the sprouts.
Alexei abandoned her rifle in favor of slamming her fists into the window as hard as she could. Each hit let out a sickening crack, and the Lone Wanderer couldn't tell if the noise came from the pane or her own hands. If they weren't broken, then her heart certainly was. Death became her constant companion in this lawless land, and she could recognize the way the life was leaving her father's eyes. There is no going back from this. James was abandoning her again, and this time for good.
ED-E's alarm goes off quick, snapping Alexei out of her daydream. The food is about to boil over at this point, and it's only her quick hands that save the beans from becoming a soiled mush to clean up.
[OCULAR OUTPUT HAS BEEN COMPROMISED AGAIN, USER-SIX]
"*Ocular? My eyes?*"
[AFFIRMATIVE]
Poor [USER-SIX]. These system errors have started to become more common as they traveled. Their master's ocular array would veer off in separate directions on occasion- how she remained balanced is a mystery. A shame [USER-SIX] doesn't hover like ED-E!
That was the first error. Then came the buffering.
On quiet occasions, [USER-SIX] will stand still for minutes at a time, never moving or responding. ED-E has those moments as well, but never as long as these. Just what information is being processed?
He watches [USER-SIX] take a bottle of water and open it. Her phalangeal actuators give off small tremors- another recent addition to the errors that have been happening. Only for water. There must be a reason for just this certain liquid.
[RECOMMENDATION: HARDWARE SCAN FOR MALWARE]
"*System tests negative for malware*"
[RECOMMENDATION: HARDWARE SCAN FOR MALWARE. ORGANIC MAINTENANCE CHECK WITHIN PARAMETERS OF GPS]
"*If I get help, will you stop insisting on hardware scans?*"
[AFFIRMATIVE, USER-SIX]
"*Fine, we'll set out tomorrow*
In her absent-mindedness, she reaches for a Sarsaparilla instead of the water to go with her meal. ED-E sees her hand stop shaking. The water is all but forgotten.