Sore from the kickback, Rose trudges onward with Harold beside her, he warned her that she will expect bruises and not to panic when she saw them when she inevitably takes another bath.
It was normal for inexperienced gun users to have bruising, but in time, Rose will become accustomed to the pain, and as she gains knowledge using the shotgun, she won't worry about bruising terribly for much longer, it'll just be a minor inconvenience.
"Not sure about the ringing in my ears, though," Rose admits how she didn't care for it.
Giving an understanding nod, Harold warns of possible hearing damage, but being they are in a peculiar time, that can be remedied, so Rose shouldn't panic.
"Although, if you are not a fan of tangerine, I got bad news for you," Harold then warned how the remedy has a tinge taste of the citrus.
Rose admits, "I… never had a tangerine before."
Harold then says, "Well… either you like it, or you don't, but in this regard, it will be worth overlooking the taste if it's not your fancy."
Unfortunately, none of the vendors they met had the remedy, but he hoped someone in Memphis would sell it.
At most, he can make it himself, but he would need specific ingredients of pure quality and equipment to synthesize it, which in the wasteland is a tall order unto itself.
"I'm sure I'll be fine, Mr. Harold," Rose put on a brave face as she gingerly touched her side.
Asking if she'd prefer the handgun instead, Rose points out that she needed to learn how to use the shotgun, and how Mal and Harold helped drill into her head she needed to learn how to survive out in the wasteland.
It would be detrimental if she swapped guns for no reason.
"Only if you're sure," Harold frowns as he watches Rose trudge along the uneven path.
Going along the path, the two made strides, and they saw a massive, abandoned rock quarry pit where the floodwater went over the sides like a waterfall.
Harold notes that settlers learnt to use the abandoned quarries in their areas to control flooding by creating motes with whatever they found to draw the floodwater towards the quarries.
Often, they would need to stack more wood and what else since the sediments will often bury the motes.
He saw some tall, around twenty feet tall with makeshift ladders helping settlers climb to the top.
When he lived in the settlement, there were talks of creating makeshift pits to further help control the floodwater, but the plans never came to light since the settlement opted to abandon the area outright to the raiders.
Considering it all, Harold wondered if they should've stayed in the area rather than go about the caravan idea.
"Mr. Harold, it was damned if you do, damned if you don't. I might've not found you if your settlement stayed in place," Rose brings up the possibility.
Weighing it in his mind, Harold admits she was right with a heavy sigh.
With the increased raider attack on the settlement, it was a doomed situation, either they were attacked in the caravan or their settlement.
His chances of dying would have gone up considerably since the raiders in that area would ensure everyone in the settlement was dead before they pillaged it into the ground if they didn't burn it down first.
"Well, you're safe now," Rose shows her optimism.
Seeing what she was trying to do, Harold appreciated her for the attempt.
Checking her Pip-Boy, Rose alerts Harold to somewhere they can stop for the time being as they spot more gray clouds moving in from the west with rumbles of thunder in the distance.
Mindful of their steps as they went over the mud-covered road, Rose points to an abandoned gas station off the side.
It wasn't what she wanted for a place to sleep at night, but much of the glass was intact and it looked untouched for a while.
Following her towards it, Harold watches as she goes up the front door and presses her face against the glass.
"I don't see anyone!" Rose says as she proceeds to open the door.
Following her inside, Harold smelled the telling age of the gas station left to rot for ages.
The shelves were picked clean decades ago and not much of the signage was left.
"Oh, look!" Rose grabs a forgotten bottle of a glowing blue Nuka Cola left untouched in the back of the industrial fridge.
Holding it in her hand, Rose raises her brow as she reads the label.
Nuka Cola Quantum
"Um, should this be glowing?" Rose looked towards Harold as he came close to seeing the bottle.
Scratching the side of his head, Harold responds, "I… don't know… honestly…"
Rather than drinking it, Rose got the idea of using its glowing characteristic as a night light of sorts.
Checking the rest of the gas station, the two found remnants of a kitchen that somewhat still worked despite lack of maintenance.
The burner had enough fuel for boiling water as Harold wanted something other than the Sweetie Teas and the Nuka Colas they bought from the shops.
Despite the bombs, the settlers still retained some degree of architectural knowledge that allowed for tea leaves to still thrive.
Proudly stating on the boxes to been planted and harvested in Brentwood, Tennessee after rediscovering the techniques needed to grow and harvest the plants needed for the tea, the Brenton Tea bags are a common staple among the settlers in the south with their size and easy stowage compared to bottled tea.
Typically, black tea variants, the boxes mentioned having green tea and other varieties of flavors.
Using a mug, he found that he quickly washed out, Harold sat on one of the benches towards the back as he steeped his tea bag in the boiling water.
Rose requests to try some and Harold found a mug for her to use as she sat beside him mimicking him as she sees him periodically lift the tea bag up from the water before allowing it to sink once more.
Once the tea was steeped enough, Harold sips on his mug.
Normally, he'd add some sugar cubes, but of course, there were none in the gas station, and the shops didn't have any, either only the loose bagged sugars.
Something he didn't want to carry along with them, for obvious reasons.
"This is certainly an interesting experience," Rose smiles as she sipped her tea, mindful of the hot water.
Never had tea quite like this before, but Rose and the other vault dwellers had freeze-dried coffee most of the time, which she supposes isn't the same, and Harold confirms that tea and coffee are two separate things.
Finishing tea, the two went around covering the windows of the gas station with the automatic window covers as it started getting dark outside from the skies above thickening and blackening as another round of storms arrived in the area.
Assured the makeshift motes will guide excess floodwater to the quarry pits and then some, Rose went to work with Harold preparing their makeshift camp for the night.
"Oh, darn it!" Rose notices her Pip-Boy's map functionality and radio signal were lost once more.
Jumping at the sound of the booming thunder above them, Harold sucks air through his teeth as he tries to calmly say, "It'll be back once the storms move on, Rose."
In the darkness with the glowing Nuka Cola Quantum bottle, the two worked to build a small fire as the rain started falling from the skies above in thick blobs.
Hitting the metal shield outside, it sounded like bullets the way the large droplets of rain fell.
Another low rumbling thunder echoed throughout the area as its downfalls outside.
"Think we'll be, okay?" Rose asks Harold.
Assuring her they'll be fine; Harold relaxes as he rubs his eyes as he tries to find a comfortable spot on the laminated floors.
It took a bit, the closeness of the lighting strikes keeping them on edge, but they eventually settled and went to sleep.
The pouring rain lulled them, and the thunder no longer bothers them terribly.
It took a bit before one of them woke up to a sound outside the gas station entrance.
At first, they thought it might've been hail or the wind sending the rain against the metal shield until there were meaningful audible hits.
"Rose!" Harold reached over to shake her awake.
It was a few tries before she woke up confused before becoming alert as he reached for his pistol.
Grabbing her shotgun, Rose stamps out the fire, and thought to use the glowing Nuka Cola Quantum to give them an edge against the unknown person pounding against the metal shielding.
"What about the back?" Rose worries.
Pushing whatever they can against the back door to keep it from opening even with the broken lock, Harold whispers how he was certain they were fine.
Until it dawned on him how it meant they were trapped in the gas station.
"We can just push the carts out of the way," Rose whispers as she reaches out to touch him.
Worried that the person trying to get into the gas station wasn't alone, Harold chews on his inner lip as he tries to come up with a plan.
He didn't get a chance to speak when something bored through the metal shielding and shot something through the hole.
White smoke started filling the area and as the two started coughing, Harold started having tunnel vision as he felt his muscles becoming heavy, and he couldn't walk properly.
All he remembered before he fell to the ground was someone forcibly opened the shielding.