"So, are there vaults here in Tennessee?" Rose asks Billy Lincoln of the Curious Shop as she stopped by it with Harold since they're waiting for an opportunity to leave the settlement.
Stacking boxes on top of one another, Billy answers, "I would imagine so, little girl, there's probably hundreds of the damn things."
If he had to guess, there's at least three vaults in the three sections of the state in accordance with the flag.
One in West Tennessee.
One in Middle Tennessee.
And one in East Tennessee.
"They would probably be close to the larger cities," Rose speculates.
Moving on to another stack of boxes, Billy recalls, "I'm sure they are, makes sense to strategically place them in the more populated areas."
Then again, with the rumors and stories he heard over the years, Billy wouldn't be surprised if there were vaults in the rural parts of the state.
And what they entail, he doesn't or wants to know.
"Hell, you're wearing one of those fancy Pip-Boys, that alone should tell you what you need to know about the vaults!" Billy waves his free hand as he carries a box to a spot in the store.
Even if vault dwellers come out squeaky clean, they're still green to the wasteland, and they won't last long.
Harold stealthy stopped Rose from exposing herself as a vault dweller as Billy continued his rant.
"We've had raiders disguise themselves as vault dwellers once, thought they were slick, too, until one of them blabbed how fortunate it was, they "killed those sappy eyed vault dwellers came to their camp" and killed them!"
Sighing, Billy stopped ranting as he laments, "Well, it's a damn shame what the world came to, that it makes me wonder, y'know?"
Finishing restocking his shelves, Billy moved on to tending to his store with Rose walking around with her arms behind her back as she looked upon the different shelves of trinkets that Billy sold.
She stops when she notices a teddy bear with glasses on it.
Picking it up, Rose shows it to Harold as he found some medical books Billy found.
"Look, Mr. Harold!" Rose smiles.
Seeing the teddy bear with glasses like his, Harold gave a light chuckle.
Sitting it back down, Rose moves on to the next thing that catches her eyes.
Easily recognizable despite it being slightly burnt, Rose picks up a Vault-Boy bobblehead that still moves as she flicks her finger against the head.
"Oh, that thing, yeah, you can find them hereabouts, guess they come from those vaults, who knows," Billy mentions as he went on to sit behind his counter.
Seeing something familiar, it gave Rose delight, even though the Vault-Boy bobblehead had seen better days.
Deciding that it would serve as a totem of the reminder she promised her father, Rose brought it to the counter for Billy to price it.
"For you, little girl, 50 caps," Billy decrees the price.
Nodding, Rose hands it over with no hesitation as she holds her totem.
Dropping the caps into the cash register, Billy thanked her for her purchase.
With the Vault-Boy in hand, Rose asks Harold if he wanted anything from the store, and he rests the textbooks on the counter for Billy to price.
"Academic, huh?" Billy sees the books.
Nodding, Harold masks his history by saying, "What else are you going to do in the wasteland?"
Billy retorts, "Ah, better than what some idiots are doing with their free time. Okay, these are about 20 caps."
Handing over the amount, Harold retrieves them, and he leaves with Rose with their haul.
"What are you going to do with those?" Rose inquires.
Sighing, Harold admits, "I lost all mine when our caravan was attacked."
While they weren't in good condition, they were still legible, and that's good enough for Harold.
Giving an understanding nod, Rose assures him she understands, before they head back to the inn for the night.
Returning to her room, Rose sat down with her Vault-Boy on the nightstand.
"We're almost at Memphis, dad, we're going to get the parcel to him, don't you worry," Rose said to it.
Crazy, Rose knows, however it was some comfort she had since she came out of her vault on her journey.
Still wedged in her mind, Rose wonders about the parcel her father made her promise would get to the recipient in Memphis.
What was inside it?
Why would her father want it delivered to someone in Memphis?
How would he know a city like it exists out the vault?
So many questions swirled in Rose's head that she wondered quietly to herself while sitting on the uncomfortable bed.
"Dad, what did you get yourself mixed up in?" Rose whispers to herself as she forces herself to get some sleep as tomorrow, they're leaving for the alternative path to Memphis.
It was hard, but Rose finally went to sleep, and when she got up, she collected her belongings and left her room to meet with Harold.
With their belongings collected and equally refreshed, the two depart from the inn, on the alternative route to Memphis that should be cleared of flash flood risks.
Checking her Pip-Boy, Rose locates a radio module that she set to 69.3 allowing her and Harold to continue listening to the radio during their journey.
Mostly it was music, but with the volume rocker and the ability to mute it quickly when needed, it kept things from getting too quiet for their comfort.
Mostly Harold, but it was understandable.
"Now, it says there's no settlement out here, I guess we're going to need to find a place to hunker down tonight," Rose checked the map.
Sighing, Harold responds with, "It was nice while it lasted, but suppose we'll find an abandoned house to stay in."
Acknowledging this with a nod, Rose comments that once they're back on the proper path, there should be a stopgap before Memphis they can stop through.
"Any settlements striking your fancy, Mr. Harold?" Rose asks about his opinions on the places they visited thus far.
Gesturing, Harold answers, "I much prefer a quieter settlement."
He'll find one eventually, it'll take some time, like anything else.
"You know, Mr. Harold, you could always come back to the vault with me, I'm sure my dad would love to have another doctor," Rose offered him.
While she's aware of the truth behind the vaults and the various experiments they underwent, vehemently she said her vault was safer than the topside, and Harold gave it some thought before expressing that he gotten used to the fresh air.
Humid and dangerous as it is, Harold was able to see the skies, the vast lands that he never knew existed until he left his vault.
"However, I thank you for your offer," Harold expressed while he declined the offer, he still appreciates it, nonetheless.
Gesturing, Rose says, "Well, whenever you change your mind, it's still good."
Continuing their journey, they stopped when they heard chittering noises.
Quickly alert, Harold drew his pistol while Rose held the shotgun.
"Are you sure you can handle it, Rose, the kickback might be too strong for you," Harold worries about her.
Exhaling sharply, Rose goes, "Gotta learn, right, Mr. Harold?"
Slowly nodding, Harold moves with her, and as he does, he sees something moving adjacent to them.
Raising its head, the large copper headed snake moves its head towards them, the black forked tongue flickering as its yellow slit eyes narrow on theirs.
Exhaling sharply, Rose coughs, "Okay-Dokey!"
Squeezing the trigger of the shotgun, the kickback was unlike anything she ever felt before, and she nearly dropped her gun.
Despite her being unused to firing a gun before, the shots land on the copperhead snake that had mutated to be larger than it was originally and its venom growing more potent.
Letting out a hiss, the copperhead recoils before attempting to strike, however Harold shoots it with his pistol.
Fortunately, Harold had some minor training with guns during his time in the settlement he stayed in, though he wasn't as hyper trained like some of the settlers, he managed to be proficient with small handguns.
It didn't matter when the raiders attacked the caravan, however, since using a firearm would just end up with him being killed.
Keeping his concentration and giving Rose similar instructions, Harold kept firing at the copperhead as it lurches towards them, blood oozing from its wounds.
"Try to get it in the head!" Harold urges Rose.
Following his instructions to the best of her advantage, Rose struggles to line her shots, and shoots again.
The kickback wasn't as bad as before, still made Rose sore, yet she lined her shots well-enough that it hit the copperhead in the eyes and head.
Dropping like a heavy sack on the ground, the dead copperhead tightly curled itself as it dies as a reflex.
"Are you okay?" Harold asks her.
Gingerly touching her side, Rose comments, "I didn't learn this in the vault, Mr. Harold!"