December 2nd
It's snowing again.
The highest temperature in the last week was yesterday, which was minus twenty.
We're all cold, hungry, and tired. Hawke is nearly out of medicine, and three of our civilians have died within the last few weeks.
At least it wasn't any of the children.
It's been over a month, and things are only getting worse. No contact with the outside world. If we plan on staying here much longer, we'll need to reach out further. The way I see it, we have three options for finding more of our people.
One - Fort Constantine. It's familiar. And as far as we know, it wasn't hit by any warheads. Though, we have to cross the river to reach it.
Two - The Pentagon. Far away, and likely bombed to high Hell. But if Maitland, and any other higher ups are still alive, they're there.
Three - Fort Independence. It's the closest, but unfamiliar. Mostly Guardies. Gomez was stationed there before his Alaska tour started.
I'm starting to miss him.
All of these options will be nearly impossible without vehicles. O'Malley is our resident Grease Monkey, and he thinks he can get the trucks up and running again, but not in the current weather.
Enter Simmons, our stalwart hero. Once upon a time, he was a carpenter. He suggested building a garage for our vehicles, and raiding a nearby construction site for material and tools.
Both of those are on the back burner for now. Far more pressing is medicine and food. The neighborhood of Springvale has been picked clean. Hawke gave away his last doses of Rad-X to our party. Emily also needs baby supplies.
I've declared myself leader of our next scavenger party. After Gabby offered to stay as a second radio operator, Simmons, Ricci Sullivan and Martinez are coming with me. We'll head for the Super Duper Mart first, then search Grayditch Proper. We'll also have the chance for a full test of the radio equipment.
Time to get moving.
SHOPPING LIST:
Water
Foodstuffs
Size 3 diapers
Infant formula
Blankets
Paper and wood - - - NOT TREATED! (for burning)
Milk, eggs, bread, coffee - VERY FUNNY, SIMMONS
Snack cakes! - Martinez
Cigarettes - - - Not just a vice anymore
Med-X
RadAway
Rad-X
Bandages
Buffout
Toting thick field jackets, multiple layers of socks and pants, and full MOPP Gear, Lewis found herself behind Ricci at the front entrance to the school. The upper floors had been largely secured and sealed off, with raincoats, sheets of plastic, and scraps of wood covering any broken windows. Veronica's geiger counter wasn't ticking yet, but she was sure it would once they were outside.
Empty seabags on their shoulders, the team was hoping to find at least some of the items on their list.
Private Sullivan tugged open the door and quickly glanced around.
"Clear." He said, his voice muffled.
Zakovsky took his place at the door. "Good luck guys." The pair bumped fists.
Ricci took the lead, scanning every which way with his 10mm SMG. Lewis followed, looking down as her boot crunched into the snow. She was immediately confronted by a gust of icy wind barreling down the street, and the counter on her wrist began quietly ticking. Not enough to warrant an urgent response, especially given the Rad-X tablet she had taken earlier, but the sound still triggered a reaction of worry. Snow and ice crystals clicked against her visor, which reminded her of driving through a blizzard.
"Get back soon, Ronnie."
"We will." Lewis nodded. "Baker is in charge while I'm gone."
"Roger that." Zack pushed the door closed. The squad was alone.
(METRO EXODUS Atmosphere - Novosibirsk)
Lewis glanced around at the frozen neighborhood. With nowhere else to go but forward, the Lieutenant looked around at her troops and nodded.
"Time check?"
"Thirteen oh two." Ash was the first to answer.
"To Super Duper Mart, then. We have about two hours of filter time total. Ricci, you got point."
"Got it." He grunted in response, trudging forward.
"Danny, take the rear."
"Sir."
"To the market, Jeeves." Tommy said with a grin, earning a slap on the helmet from Ash.
Ignoring the banter as the group marched forward, Veronica looked around at their surroundings. Snow blanketed most of the ground and covered the buildings, yet some patches of yellowed and dead grass were still poking through. The landscape was trapped in the clutches of a frigid winter storm that had been ravaging the area for weeks.
The American flag put up next to the school flapped wildly in the wind, the fabric faded and weathered. Cars and houses were completely buried in some cases, and it was difficult to make out the road. In the distance, the shattered DC skyline could barely be made out. Lewis could see the outlines of the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building, behind the labyrinth of highway overpasses that teetered and cracked with every gust of wind.
Shaking her head, Veronica took a breath, feeling a combination of reassurance and annoyance when her mask suctioned closer to her face.
"I hope our world leaders are happy with themselves. Happy with what they've created."
Her thoughts were interrupted when Joe suddenly held up a fist, ordering the team to stop. Before she could ask why, Veronica heard it.
Gunfire.
"So there are other survivors…"
As they were nearing the crest of a hill, Ricci got down on all fours, then began to crawl forward in an attempt to remain unseen. The fireteam copied him, and Lewis shuffled up to his side.
"What do you see?"
"Some people directly ahead." Ricci explained, wiping snow and moisture off of his mask lenses. "In the parking lot." He retrieved a pair of binoculars from their case on his hip and peered through them. "They're shooting at someone inside the store." The Corporal handed over the binocs, and Veronica copied his movements, while he switched to his DKS Sniper Rifle and squinted through the scope.
In the Super Duper Mart parking lot, she was able to see a group of several people, maybe ten or more, hiding behind cars and firing guns at the store itself. She couldn't make out any distinguishing clothing, finding them to be wearing thick coats and toting civilian-model firearms. Pistols and hunting rifles. Flashes from the windows revealed someone shooting back. The slower shots told her that these folks were either fewer in number, or were professionals of some kind.
"Hmm… Tommy, you're with me." Veronica slinked backwards and began to stand up. "Let's move up for a better view."
"Rog."
Simmons moved to stand, stopping only when Martinez grabbed his arm.
"Be careful."
"Relax. I'm with Ronnie. Back in a flash." The man winked playfully at her before following the Lieutenant down the snowy hill. The pair advanced until they reached a half buried police car on the edge of the parking lot. While Simmons watched the ongoing firefight, Lewis peered through her binoculars again.
Being closer to the store, she was finally able to make out the occupants, and determine why they sounded like professionals.
"Cops." She said. Tommy looked at her.
"What?"
"The guys inside. They're Arlington PD." Behind his mask, the Corporal's face lit up. "You remember the frequency they were on last time?"
"Yeah."
"Try to hail them."
Tommy eagerly slung his AN/PRC around and began spinning the dials, freezing when he found a channel that was flooded with chatter.
"-ultiple raiders on our doorstep! Ten plus! Code Three!"
"Ten Four, Six Alpha. Stand by."
"Watch the right! Watch the right!"
"The guys down there must be Six Alpha…" The Radioman murmured to himself. Tommy squeezed the button on the handset and spoke.
"Six Alpha, how do you read, over?"
"Five by five! Unit calling, identify!"
"This is Bravo One Three, on behalf of Bravo Proxy. We're on the north edge of the SD parking lot, looking south. Looks like you guys are in a bit of a pickle. How can we help, over?"
"Well, if that's you behind that fleet, you can help by clearing the raiders from the parking lot! Code Three response! Ten Fifty, shots fired!"
"Copy all. Out." Tommy hung up the receiver. "Guys in the parking lot are hostile. Clear to engage."
Veronica nodded. "Back in the fight. Not that we want a fight…" She turned to face Ricci's position and, with hand gestures, ordered him to attack the people in the parking lot.
The Sniper responded with a bullet, which cracked over the Lieutenant's head and struck a man near the back of the group. At the same time, Simmons picked up his rifle and opened fire alongside his friend, gunning down another attacker. Lewis took a breath and shouldered her own gun. Her sights landed on a man close to the entrance of the store. With a moment's hesitation, her eyes darted to the PiP Boy on her wrist.
"Let's take this VATs thing for a whirl…"
With the tap of a button, time seemed to slow. Veronica squinted down her sights again, aiming for center mass. She was able to move at normal speed, but the world around her had ground to a crawl. It reminded her of her first dip into Psycho. Three rounds quickly snapped from her rifle, and all struck home, making her target crumple. As he hit the snow, her tunnel vision vanished, and everything came rushing back.
"...woah…"
Within a minute, the number of 'raiders' had dropped from twelve to four. The survivors, unable to tell where the sniper shots were coming from, turned and fled. After the gunfire stopped, the pair of soldiers waited a few seconds, before Lewis poked her head up first.
"Clear." She turned and faced Ricci's position, twirling her hand in the air to signal 'Rally Up'. Joe, Danny and Ash eventually joined her behind the car, with the latter sliding and nearly faceplanting into the snow.
"Graceful." Simmons jeered at his stumbling teammate.
"Sóplatelo por el culo." She growled, taking the lead towards the besieged store. The team moved tactically, with Simmons watching the bank of the nearby river, and Ricci covering the road towards Grayditch. Stepping over a body, Martinez took cover behind a vending machine. Veronica reached the far door, which wasn't barricaded, and rapped her fist on the glass.
Seconds later, one of the doors slid partially open, and a .32 revolver was leveled with Lewis' eyes. Realizing who she was, the police officer behind the gun lowered the action and ushered the soldiers inside.
"C'mon! C'mon!"
Simmons came in last, shaking the snow off of his jacket and helmet. Ash kicked clumps of white powder out of the grooves in her boots.
"Thanks for the assist, fellas." The cop began. Though mumbling through a scarf, he had a voice that sounded oddly familiar. "I thought they would get through for sure. Ahem. Lieutenant Glover. Arlington Pee Dee."
A lightbulb went off.
"Glover?" Veronica pulled off her helmet and slid her mask up. "Lieutenant Lewis. From the Twenty Ninth?"
"Lewis. I'll be Goddamned." Glover stuck out a hand, which she took. "Glad to see y'all are still kickin'."
"Most of us." Behind the man, Lewis saw one of the officers speaking into his radio.
"Six Alpha is Code Four. Shooters down. Cancel backup request." The other men began closing the windows they had been using to defend the store.
"You still at the school in Springvale?"
"That's right." She nodded. "We've got forty odd civvies, too."
"Good. Good. We're holdin' up at the Metro Station, just down the road from Falls Church. Between us and the Tunnels in the area, there's about a hundred." Tommy and Ash glanced at each other. This was certainly news. Some at the school believed they may be the last people alive on the entire planet. "We've been defending the shops and warehouses around here, in order to keep stock and distribute food and such as it's needed. Them Raiders are like Pit Vipers, always ready to strike. They already took over one of 'em. Mama Dolce's. An' they locked down the Metro Station nearby."
"You're close to the Pentagon." Lewis changed the subject. "Heard or seen anything there?"
"No. We're planning a search party to send that way, but Arlington and Downtown are a mess. Ground Zero for the bombings. Why?"
"Our CO, Maitland is there." Veronica glanced around. "Or, he was. Or… he was headed there when we had to… bunker down."
"Oh. I see." Taylor eyed the five soldiers. "My condolences, if he's gone. Thank heavens, if he's alive. And bless you all, either way."
"Thank you, Sir."
"Now…" The cop rolled his shoulders. "I'm sure y'all didn't come all this way jus' to save our sorry asses. Yer here for supplies, aren't ya?"
"Yes, we are." Before now, Veronica hadn't noticed the Lieutenant's prominent Virginian accent. "We have a Christmas list of sorts. Some are comforts, some are vital." She dug into her pocket and retrieved a folded sheet of paper. Glover took it and gave it a skim.
"Hmm…" As he read, Lewis glanced around at the other cops, surprised to see none of them wearing masks.
"Is the air clean in here?"
"Cleaner than outside." One of them muttered. Veronica eyed her squadmates, seeing Tommy shrug and pull his mask off. Joe and Ash followed his example, though with more caution. Sullivan kept his on, merely watching his companions.
"Some of this stuff we have… some we don't." Glover eyed the shorter woman in front of him. "Clothing and blankets were the first thing we ran out of. Not to sound morbid, but you can take whatever you want from the bandits outside. Not like they need clothes anymore." Veronica shuddered at the thought. "Food is very limited, but we can spare a few items, 'specially since it looks like y'all have one or two rugrats with ya."
Veronica nodded. "We've got twelve kids. The youngest is an infant. Seven months old now." Glover looked at her thoughtfully.
"Kiddo wouldn't happen t' be named Sean, would he? Mother named Emily?"
"How'd you know?"
"Friend of the family." A dash of hopefulness entered the officer's tone. "You don't have a fella by the name of Andrew with you, do ya?"
Veronica shook her head glumly. "No. Emily talks about him all the time, though."
"Damn… Andrew was one of my boys." Taylor looked around for a time, adjusting his hat. "Baby supplies are in Aisle Six. Take whatever you need."
Lewis nodded at Martinez, who headed off in that direction.
"Size three swaddlers!" She called after her.
"Ya voy."
"The foodstuffs you're after are right behind me in Two and Three."
"I got it." Ricci passed by the pair, following one of the cops.
Glover gestured over his shoulder, towards the store's pharmacy. "Meds is the one thing we have any kind of surplus of. Whatever you need, we got. Med-X, Buffout, Mentats, RadAway… Hell, I think there might even be some Psycho layin' around." Having never been much of a Chem user, Veronica's interest wasn't peaked much at this revelation, other than the fact that some in the Company may wish to dip back into their former vices.
Simmons wordlessly followed Lewis towards the back of the store, allowing her to open the doors to the pharmacy and back office. Sullivan opted to stay at the entrance, to act as a guard. While the Corporal was poking around at the shelves of meds, he spoke up when he found something.
"Hey, Ronnie! Check it out!" He held up a bright blue glass bottle for her to see.
"The Hell is that?"
"It's that new soda Nuka-Cola came up with. That Quantum stuff." Tommy looked at the bottle. "There's supposedly more caffeine in this than a shot of espresso."
This caught Veronica's attention. The school had run out of coffee some time last month, and caffeine tablets just weren't cutting it for her, the 'Caffeine Fiend' as her OCS friends used to call her.
"Sounds nice, but… why's it blue?" Simmons' response was surprisingly casual.
"Strontium-90." He began fishing around in his pockets for a bottle opener. "Somehow it got passed by the FDA. The isotope supposedly gives the flavor more… kick." Veronica remained bemused by Tommy's unfazed tone as he popped the cap off and quickly pocketed it. "Too bad the public never got to find out."
As he raised the bottle up, Lewis tilted her head slightly.
"Why?"
"It got released on the 23rd." Simmons took a sip, and the Lieutenant was tempted to step back, as if the radioactive soda might make her friend explode. "Oooh." He smacked his lips a few times. "Ya'know, that's not half bad." Tommy offered the bottle to Veronica, who took a moment to read the label.
"QuanTum." She read aloud. "Twice the caffeine, twice the calories, twice the carbs…" Lewis made a show of looking down at herself, despite her entire body being encased in very unflattering layers of fabric and rubber. "...twice the flavor." She spun the bottle around. "Warning: Excessive consumption of this beverage may result in side effects including mouth sores, bleeding, accelerated tooth decay, loss of taste, sudden change of hair color, translucent urine, and minor addiction." She glanced up at Tommy, who was still watching her expectantly. Lewis eventually gave in with a shrug. "Eh… if I'm gonna get more of a dosage of rads, might as well get my body prepared." She raised the bottle to her lips, downing a shot-sized sip.
"Wow." Veronica pulled back, her tastebuds being assaulted by a combination of turpentine and Royal, a 'knock-off' version of the original Nuka-Cola. At the very least, it was refreshingly cold, thanks to the icebox of a building they were in. "That's… strong."
"Think there's more around here?"
"You're more than welcome to go QuanTum hunting, bud." Lewis handed the bottle back, catching a glance at the geiger counter on her PiP Boy. To her surprise, the needle had jumped up a few notches. While the Radioman took another sip and wandered off, likely to find Martinez, she continued into the storage area. Taken aback, she found a massive stockpile of not only meds, but food and water. She spotted two small cases of snack cakes, which Ash had requested, and stuffed them into her seabag before any of the cops wandered in, then topped off her insulated canteen with fresh water. Satisfied, she made a mental note to tell the squad to do the same. Quickly stepping out and back into the pharmacy, Veronica was intercepted by Glover.
"Lewis. I was jus' about to come find ya." He handed her a box filled with the Meds she needed.
"Sir?"
"I was havin' a chat with yer Sergeant out there. Martinez? An' I put out the idea of a partnership with yer school outpost. Kinda like an alliance. Help each other out with defense, trade an' the like. Whaddya think?"
"Well…" Lewis was caught a bit off guard. "We don't have… much of anything to trade with. Hence why we're here."
"Not necessarily. Y'all have guns. An' trainin'. Both better 'n me an' my boys." A hopeful light came into Taylor's eyes. "If ya came with us, you'd prob'ly be better off than that school basement, to boot." Veronica glanced around.
"A nice idea, and one I'd take you up on… if not for our civvies. A bunch of them are kids, and some are really old. Making them walk in this weather would be a death sentence."
"What about fixing the trucks?" Simmons added himself to the conversation, holding the rest of the pack of QuanTum soda. He eyed the cop. "We have a couple'a trucks at the school, but they need fixing up. To do that, we wanna build a garage around them. And to do that we need material and tools from that construction site in Grayditch."
"That place?" Glover asked. "We got a group of survivors holed up in the Metro Station there. Or… we did."
"Something happen to them?"
"Dunno. They never reported being attacked. Jus'... stopped answerin' the radio one day. That was… two weeks ago now. Haven't had the chance to check in on them. Contact always was a bit patchy."
"Hmm… Well, since we're going to the construction site, we could scope it out." Veronica offered. The conversational group began moving towards the front of the store.
"Could'ja? That'd be real neighborly of ya. We'd do it ourselves, but we had a tunnel collapse. Nearly buried the trading group. Let us know what ya find."
Canteens and bags full, Lewis glanced around at her squad, who began preparing their gas masks. "Joe, Ash, Donnie. You head back to the school with what we've found. Tommy and I will head to Grayditch and scope out the site… and check the Metro Station. Everybody, pop some Rad-X before heading out."
Simmons reached into his bag and took out one of the anti-radiation medicine bottles he had collected. He opened it and took a tablet for himself, before passing it to Ash. As the pills made their rounds, he produced a carton of Grey Tortoise and removed a pack for himself, then offered the case to Danny. The kid initially declined, but Tommy pressed the box into his hands.
"Natural appetite suppressant." The Corporal muttered. "The haul we got, we're gonna need 'em."
Once everyone was properly medicated, Lewis pocketed the half empty bottle and ordered everyone out.
"Good luck, fellas." Taylor tipped his hat to Veronica, who did the same with the brim of her helmet. Soon, they were back out into the cold, which made the frigid store feel like a sauna by comparison. After the return party took clothing articles from the dead Raiders in the parking lot, Simmons exchanged farewells with his squadmates, who then trudged up the snowy hill and over the horizon. He followed Lewis out of the parking lot and down the street towards Grayditch.
The gale winds had died down to scattered gusts, and the snowfall had largely stopped, but the counter on Lewis' wrist maintained its quiet crackle. The sky remained overcast, with steel gray clouds blanketing the wasteland. A glance at her PiP Boy's watch revealed thirteen thirty eight. Between herself and Simmons, they would have plenty of time if they kept up the pace and shared filters.
Thinking of the Corporal, Veronica looked over at him.
Tommy was the tallest in the Company, with his best friend Ricci being just behind him. Lewis had to shift her gaze up quite a bit to make eye contact with them both, being nearly a foot shorter. Upon being posted with Bravo, he had been given the nickname 'Too Tall', after he had revealed being turned away from the Air Force for the same reason. At one point, during the Battle of Fairbanks alongside the 108th, one man kept referring to Simmons as 'Lefty', as he was the only left handed shooter in the Company.
He was also the oldest in the group, being twenty nine, making him the 'Old Man'. Simmons himself didn't mind, as he personally loved nicknames. He'd taken to calling Gabby 'Sparky' upon first meeting her. O'Malley was sometimes 'Grease', Liebherr went by 'Professor', as well as a smattering of others for the rest of the Company.
A gust of frigid air sent a shiver through the Lieutenant, which shook her from her thoughts, just in time for them to arrive in Grayditch.
(Lena Raine - So Below)
The town was eerie, more so than Springvale. Passing a weathered Dot's Diner and stepping over piles of snow, the pair reached the town proper on a road labeled Water Street on a nearby signpost. Multi-story Brownstones lined the streets, some already succumbing to the driving winds and heavy snow. The two soldiers kept their heads on swivels. If anyone hostile enough to scare Raiders away and wipe out a group of survivors was around, Tommy and Veronica were easy pickings.
"Spooky, ain't it?"
"Yeah… Let's just get this done, and get home."
"Amen to that, Ronnie."
The end of Water Street was cut off by a fallen billboard, which would force the pair to detour to find the Metro Station.
"Figures." Tommy grumbled. "At least we found the site." He gestured to a half finished building next to the debris, where much of the construction materials were surprisingly still present. Simmons took the lead, dusting some snow off of a stack of lumber, as if looking for a packing label.
"Why wouldn't the survivors take this stuff inside? Looks like only a few things are missing."
"Not much use for it, other than building fortifications or making repairs. The wood is chemically treated. It'd be toxic if you burned it. If you could even set it on fire." The Radioman turned around. "Nah. They probably raided the houses for stuff to burn. Books, furniture… just like we are. Now we just need a way to get it back to the school…"
"I might have an idea for that."
Before Simmons could ask, his backpack radio crackled to life.
"Coneja to Vulture."
"Vulture here. Send traffic."
"Vulture?" Lewis tilted her head. "Coneja?"
"We've made it back to The Crypt, and are offloading. Do you have any orders for us?"
"Stand by." He looked at Veronica. "Ash is asking for orders."
Briefly bewildered by the new radio callsigns, she shook her head. "Never mind… Tell her my idea. You know all those tricycles and wagons that are lying around downstairs and in the neighborhood?" At Tommy's nod, she continued. "We could probably build buggies out of them. Bring them here, load up, haul back."
Simmons nodded again. "Maybe even make them rideable. Good idea, Sir." He keyed his radio. "That we do, Ash. Have someone gather up the wagons and bikes laying around in the gym storage, and the ones up on the surface. We need a way to transport this construction material back to base. We can build something out of them."
There was a hesitation before Martinez responded. "Uhh… copy that, Vulture. Interrogative - Doc is asking for a status on your return. He says he really needs all the meds we got, which includes what you have."
"We're about to check out the metro. We'll be back in about an hour. Just tell Hawke to be patient. Vulture out."
"Let's find that Metro Station."
After some wandering around the town, and carefully peeking into some abandoned buildings, the pair finally found the entrance to Marigold Station. Dusting some snow off of the Metro map sign, Lewis found that they were on the Blue Line, which ran under the river to L'Enfant Plaza. 'If we need a quick and sneaky way into the city, this could be it.' It took some ice chipping and snow sifting with a borrowed entrenching tool, but Simmons eventually dug out the gated entrance. He pulled open the steel gate and stepped inside, offering an "Age before beauty" quip to Veronica, who sighed at him through her mask.
"If the station entrance was that buried, how did the survivors get outside to scavenge?"
"Maybe there's another way in? Utility tunnels, sewers… The tunnel collapse might have opened up a new entrance, too."
The air was just as cold as outside, if not colder. Unsurprisingly, it was completely still. Though, there were signs of the station being lived in, such as a makeshift guard post at the curve in the hall, which was unmanned. A steel drum sat next to a chair and a desk, with remnants of a fire smoldering inside.
"I smell smoke." Tommy said, beginning to remove his helmet. "Somebody must still be here." Lewis glanced at her PiP Boy, and her eyes widened when she saw the counter.
"Don't take off your mask!" She hissed, her wrist crackling.
"Why? How's the air?"
"Hotter than outside. Rad intake just doubled."
Simmons looked down at her, then down the hall. "I wonder why?"
"I'm sure we'll find out, but we're not leaving until we find those civvies. Or what's left of them. Until then, let's keep it quiet."
With a nod, the Corporal took the lead. As the ceiling lights were either out, or far too dim, he deferred to Lewis to use the light on her PiP Boy to illuminate the hall. Their boots hitting the tile floor broke the eerie silence and still blackness. Rounding the bend, just past the ticket turntables, Simmons opened a door leading to a mechanical area. Here, there wasn't much of note, other than the silent machinery. Interestingly, despite the cold and general lack of power, Veronica could still hear water flowing through the pipes along the walls.
The room also seemed to be used for supply storage, as stacks of boxes were lining one shelf. Some were empty, but several were unopened. Lewis poked inside one and found it to be full of clothing, likely looted from the houses outside.
"Why are these untouched?" Tommy mused out loud, stepping away from a crate of shoes. "If it's this cold down here, shouldn't everyone be layered up?"
"Maybe they have fires going further in?"
The next door led to a hallway and a set of stairs that went down. With every step, the needle on Lewis' Geiger counter crept upwards, but they continued on. The next room showed a major sign of the station being inhabited, as there was a HAM radio placed prominently on a large desk. Veronica approached it, illuminating the area with her PiP Boy light. On the wall was a map of the greater Arlington area, with Marigold, Falls Church and Arlington Stations highlighted in blue. A large radiation symbol was hand drawn over the majority of Downtown, and there were some areas in red, like Arlington Cemetery South and Farragut, while Dupont Circle, The Pentagon, the Navy Yard, and all the military installations were labeled with question marks.
"Hey, that water is getting louder." Veronica looked away from the map and at Tommy, who was at the passage leading out of the room. "I think this goes to the tracks, but it sounds like there's an indoor pool down there, or something." After a few steps, he stopped, and she caught up with him. "Yeah. The tracks are flooded. Looks like a burst water pipe." He nodded at a metal pipe along one wall of the tunnel, which was pouring out onto the tracks. "Sump pumps must be broke."
Veronica glanced at her PiP Boy. "This is where the radiation is coming from. The water is contaminated."
"I can see the station." Simmons pointed to the right. "It's… dark." Veronica came in next to him and followed his pointed finger. "Other than the overhead lighting, there's nothing else. I… think I can see someone walkin' around, too."
"They must have some quality meds, then. It's too hot to wade through here. Let's go around."
The pair retreated to where they came from, eventually reaching the entrance hall. As they approached the station, Tommy took a thorough look around at their surroundings.
"Jeez. Found the missing lumber. This place looks like it's on the verge of a cave-in." The ceiling was cracked, with pieces of tile and concrete littering the floor. A handful of timber lengths and wood planks were keeping the ceiling from completely collapsing.
"If the people here are fit to leave, we'll take them with us." Declared Lewis. "Or, at least, help them get to Falls Church."
"Bravo Company. Offering Chauffeur Services since 2074."
"Seventy four?"
"Yeah. Remember, those T-45 guys from the Ninetieth?"
"Right. My first mission as Company XO. Time flies, huh?"
The pair of Soldiers pressed on, becoming more and more suspicious of the lack of response to their presence. Veronica resisted the urge to call out to the station's occupants, lest whatever happened to them take her and Simmons as well. The seconds ticked by like hours, but they eventually made it to the station's mezzanine.
(Fallout 3 - Underground Metro Ambiance)
Beneath them, the platforms were underwater from the flooding. The tunnels to Franklin and L'Enfant Plaza appeared to be open, but stuck subway cars were blocking them. All around were signs of inhabitation, with fire barrels still smoking, bedding and tents, even hung up laundry. Tommy ventured towards one of the barrels, next to an information booth. Veronica's geiger counter began crackling again, and she looked down at it.
"These fires haven't been out for long." Tommy mused, holding his hand over a pile of smoking coals. He turned to look at Lewis. "Where is everybody? Did someone sack the place, then just leave?"
Veronica looked up from her PiP Boy, and its light illuminated a figure standing right behind him.
"Tommy!"
The man whipped around, finding a woman with a twisted snarling face nose to nose with him.
"Woah!" He attempted to raise his rifle, but the crazed woman grabbed his shoulders and attempted to tackle him. "Stop! Get off of me!" The pair wrestled for a moment, until Tommy reached the edge of the mezzanine, and was subsequently pushed over it.
"NO!"
Veronica heard Simmons cry out as he fell, before the splash of him hitting the water. His attacker turned her sights on the remaining Soldier, who raised her own weapon. The woman was ghoulish looking, with sunken eyes and cheeks, mangy hair, and skeletal arms. She shrieked at Lewis, who fired her gun. Bullets pierced flesh, but did little to slow her, until half of the 5mm magazine was gone, and she stumbled to the floor. Veronica ran to the railing, and spotted Tommy in the murky water, trying to pull himself off of the submerged tracks.
"Hang on, Tommy! I'm coming!"
Veronica ran down the jammed escalator steps, jumping over the last few and landing in the knee-deep water. Her counter began crackling like mad, and the cold pierced through her boots. but she ignored it, wading towards her downed friend.
Another splash drew her attention, and she looked back to see another person had chased her down the steps. Lewis fired her rifle, this time aiming higher and taking the top of the assailant's head off. He staggered forward for a few more steps, hands outstretched, before collapsing into the frigid water.
"Gah! Ha!" Simmons gasped out through his waterlogged mask. "Jesus fuck this water is cold!"
"Come on!" Veronica reached out and Tommy took her hand, quickly collecting his rifle. "We have to get out of here!"
The Lieutenant pushed her limping companion forward and up the stairs. As they ran, more feral survivors appeared from the shadows and began chasing after them. The pair ran to the exit, with Lewis slowing down just before the curve in the tunnel.
"Ronnie, what are you doing?!"
"I'm right behind you! Just go!"
Hesitantly, Tommy turned and ran to the surface exit. His friend looked back at the advancing mob. Looking up at the ceiling, she found herself just past the weak section, and an idea popped up. She pulled a grenade from her webbing belt and yanked out the pin, gently tossing it forward, where it landed between the supports. Lewis turned and ran before the device detonated, but gauging by the sound, a large portion of the ceiling had caved in, halting her pursuers.
Finally, she caught up to Simmons, who quickly pushed the security gate closed.
Back outside in the frozen ghost town, the two stumbled up the half buried steps leading to the street. Tommy stopped at the top, leaning against the Metro Map sign and trying to catch his breath. Hands fumbling, he reached into his mask bag and collected a new filter, clumsily swapping out the water-logged one. When he was done, Lewis approached him.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. Great." Tommy tried to shake loose water drops off of his uniform, but they had already frozen. "Feels like my foot did a three-sixty, then I fell into a tub of liquid nitrogen. What the fuck was that?"
"I dunno." Veronica shook her head.
"Christ. They looked like the monsters out of a bad B-list horror movie. Ya think the radiation did that?"
"It must have. I didn't see any kind of struggle. Like if those… things… came from somewhere else and killed the residents." Lewis eyed the gate. "From now on… we're staying clear of this station. And any other places that are like it."
"Steer clear of the locals." Summarized the Corporal with a nod. "Got it. I'll call Glover and tell him what we found." As he slung his radio pack around, Veronica watched him.
"Think your radio is okay?"
"Sure. These 2049's are tougher than they look." He flipped a few switches and tapped a button, powering the radio on. "Six Alpha, this is Bravo One Three, do you read?"
It took a moment for the officers to reply.
"Yeah this is Six Alpha. Go ahead."
"We cleared Marigold Station. The ah… occupants there are… gone." Tommy looked up at Veronica. "They… don't seem to be Human anymore…"
"Uh… care to elaborate, Bravo?"
"The people looked like zombies. They attacked us like feral, wild animals. We think the radiation did it. The whole station is hot, and the platforms are flooded with irradiated water. Advise you avoid the area, over."
"Damn… copy that. Thanks for the leg work, either way. We got somethin' else for ya." Simmons perked up. "The rest of yer group was callin' out to ya on the radio. We picked up the call. A lady by the name of 'Tsu' asked y'all to come back immediately. Somethin' important is goin' on. If ya can, I would call an' ask, over."
"Will do. Thanks, Alpha. Bravo out." Before switching channels, Tommy looked at Lewis again. "He said Crypt has been trying to call us. Something important." He tuned the radio in and spoke. "Crypt, this is Vulture. Come back?"
"Vulture!" Gabby's voice was unmistakable. "Good to finally hear from you. What's your status?"
"On our way back. Pee Dee says you were trying to call us?"
"Yeah. We picked up a signal on the radio. From Downtown! You'd best hurry back and check it out!"
"Copy. Vulture out."
"What happened?"
"Gabby said they picked up a signal from the city."
Veronica looked across the river, at the endless rows of weathered, burned out, half buried buildings. "That city?"
"Apparently." Simmons picked up his radio, still favoring one leg. "Can we go home now, Ronnie?"
The Lieutenant nodded, approaching her friend and looping her arm under his.
"Yeah. Let's go home."