Chapter 3

They'd walked for another hour or so and were just about to the Concord city limits when the dog suddenly growled angrily, hunching down into a defensive posture. Aubrey arched an eyebrow, and crouched down herself.  "What is it, boy?  What do you see?"  

She pulled her pistol, and clicked the safety off, mind flashing back to images of sniffer dogs and K9 units.  She crept forward, eyes locking onto a corpse of what looked like a cow lying in the middle of the road.  The dog growled again, and Aubrey squinted, shielding her eyes from the afternoon sun.  "What in the hell?"  She mumbled, wishing for any sort of binoculars.  Even a scope would be nice. At least then she'd be able to actually see what was around the corpse. 

She crept forward slowly, the dog staying close to her side, but edging ahead of her by a half a step every so often.  Gooseflesh popped up on her arms and she could feel the tingling on the back of her neck as the tiny hairs stood up.  She swallowed around a knot in her throat. Something was very wrong here.  The cow had what looked like…sticks, jutting out of its stomach, but they didn’t look like normal sticks to her.  She chewed the inside of her lip and ventured a little closer down the road.  The dog at her side, growled again, this time ending it in a small warning bark.  She glanced over to him, her gaze shifted for only a moment before looking back.  And screamed.  

The sticks she saw weren't sticks.  They were legs.  Legs that were attached to another giant bug. No, two giant bugs.  Giant bugs that looked like mosquitos.  Giant mosquitos that were flying towards her.  Her brain finally caught up with what was happening and she raised her pistol, firing off a few rounds at the oncoming insects.  The dog beside her barked angrily and jumped at the bug, biting at its low hanging legs.  

Aubrey backed up, firing a few more rounds, tearing a hole in one of the bug's wings, but missing the rest.  She swallowed bile, stumbling backwards a few steps and firing at its wings.  

As it flew closer, she girt her teeth, grabbing the oversized mosquito by its own proboscis and swinging it to the pavement.  With a yelp, she jumped on what looked like its head, killing it with a sickening squelch beneath her boots.  She shuddered then turned back to the second bug, only to find that it had fallen prey to the dog's jaws.  The hole in its wing had crippled it, and it seemed the dog had pulled it apart.  She swallowed and nudged it with the tip of her boot.  The dog sat beside it looking up to Aubrey as if to ask "How did I do?"

"Great.  First it was giant roaches, then it was giant flies, now its giant mosquitos?"  She groaned and wiped the sweat from her forehead with a shaky hand. The dog stood and pressed his nose against her thigh, staring up at her with an almost quizzical look.  Aubrey smiled.  "Well, at least you got one.  Someone trained you well.  Good boy." She said, scratching his ears.

He panted happily, tongue lolling out at the praise.

Aubrey took another deep and shaky breath reloading and holstering her pistol.  She inspected her boots, wiping them on a nearby patch of grass and shivering when the white blood left streaks on the grass, then started walking, keeping her weapon at the ready in case anything else decided she looked like a tasty meal.  With the dog once again at her side, she started walking into the destroyed streets of Concord.

Most of the buildings were boarded up, and the few that weren't were collapsed in on themselves.  She shook her head, trying not to think about the piles of charred bones scattered here and there.  People who'd been going about their business without a care before someone decided to kill the entire planet.  The caw of a crow startled her and she watched as it flew over hear head, swooping down to land on a power line that probably hadn't powered anything in centuries.  She sighed and trudged forward, frowning at the half-destroyed decorations hanging limply from the power lines and rooftops, the orange light of the setting sun casting long shadows around her.  She glanced at the time on her Pipboy and frowned.  "Gonna need to find shelter soon."  She muttered, shifting the pistol in her grasp.  The evening breeze whipped through the remnants of once familiar buildings, whistling a somber tune mixed with the distant staccato of gunfire.

Then the sudden not-so-distant sound of gunfire.  And then the distinct zthoom of a laser rifle that was also not-so-distant.  

Aubrey gulped and jogged to the building, hunching down and peering around the corner.  She scanned for any signs of life, then darted to the next building, then the next then the next, until she stood at the main intersection outside the old Museum of Freedom.  The dog at her side once again started growling and she held up her clenched fist.  "Stay…" She whispered, and the dog whined but dropped to his belly.  Aubrey nodded to herself and crept forward, peering around the side of the building she was hiding behind.

Four or five people were shooting at a single man who was on the balcony of the museum.  Aubrey frowned and inched forward again, but stumbled in a pothole and grunted.  The nearest shooter turned around, suddenly, waving his gun around.  Aubrey froze, clicking the safety of her pistol off.  She swallowed and held her breath, blood pounding in her ears as he neared her position.  

He scanned the area, eyes locking with hers for half a second.  "HEY!  OVER HERE!"  He shouted, firing the weapon at her.  Aubrey ducked behind the wall again, using it as a shield.  Several more gun were fired, and she could see the marks on the pavement where the bullets struck.  She breathed deeply and leaned around the corner, sending bullets to her attacker's legs.  She flinched as they screamed in pain, confirming that she'd hit her mark.  

She peeked out for half a moment, before ducking back again as a bullet whizzed past her.  "Great… They're still shooting…"  She sighed and readied her rifle, quickly aiming for her attackers arm, but before she could fire, a blast from the man on the balcony killed him.  She swallowed and creeped forward, disabling another two shooters before darting forward to a pile of sandbags and ducking behind it.  The dog barked at her, shifting around as if to say "Let me go, let me go!"

Aubrey whistled, and the dog bolted for the nearest attacker, biting down on his leg while Aubrey shot his arm.  The attacker went down after another red beam from Balcony Man's laser rifle and the street was silent for a moment.  Aubrey stood, her senses on high alert for any other dangers that might choose to present themselves.  

"HEY, YOU!  UP HERE, ON THE BALCONY!"  The man called, waving at her.  Aubrey arched an eyebrow.  "I've got a group of settlers inside!  The Raiders are almost through the door!  Grab that laser musket and help us, PLEASE!"  He turned and darted back through the balcony door, leaving Aubrey alone in the street, surrounded by the bodies of what she could only assume were some of these "raiders" he'd mentioned.  The dog barked and trotted toward the entrance of the museum, plopping down beside the stairs.  

Aubrey chewed on her bottom lip for a moment as she walked toward the museum, surveying the reddened street around her.   The man on the balcony seemingly had no qualms about taking these Raiders down, but then again, if the name was anything to go by, it could have been in self-defense… 

She looked at the man on the ground by the door, kneeling down and taking his weapon, the laser musket the man must've been talking about. She arched an eyebrow as she inspected it.  It looked more like someone had duct taped parts of a laser rifle to a normal hunting rifle's stock, but she had no idea how to use it.  It had a crank and a trigger, but nothing was really obvious on how it worked.   
The staccato of gunfire sounded from inside the building and she nodded to herself.  She'd stick with the pistol for now, and return the fallen man's weapon to the stranger in the balcony.  After she helped dispatch the raiders.  "Come on, boy.  Let's get this over with.  Maybe they can help me find Shaun."  She took a final deep breath and stepped into the Museum's foyer. 

She could hear the sounds of the Balcony Man's laser musket and see the red beams as he fired at two Raiders who were hunkered down behind some crates.  The main stairwell had long since collapsed into a pile of rubble, so there was no obvious way up… unless the old tour rooms were still intact.  She fired a few pot shots up at the Raiders, and she heard one of them curse in pain as a bullet met its mark, as she darted to the room to the side.  She crept through it, flinching when the pre-recorded audio started up.  The dog bounded ahead of her, knocking down a few mannequins in the process and she readied her weapon again, double-tapping a raider as she whirled around, waving what looked like a homemade gun in Aubrey's face.  The raider fell, and she proceeded up the stairs and around the corner, grabbing a box of Mentats and a bottle of water sitting on a table and into the final memorial room.  She dropped low as she crept around the corner.

"Don't you hear? Somebody's out there shooting the place up, let's just go."

"No, man, we gotta get that woman for the boss. I don't wanna be there if we get back empty handed."

Aubrey didn't want to hear any more.  "Hands where I can see them.  Now."  She ordered, coming around the corner and aiming her pistol at the larger of the two."

The shorter man's hands shot up almost instantly.  "Whoa, whoa, don't shoot!"

The larger man growled angrily and raised a shotgun.  Aubrey didn't give him a chance to fire, placing a round between his eyes.  He fell backward and the shorter Raider squeaked in fear.  Aubrey turned to him.  "Go. Leave, and don't come back." She ordered. 

"Yeah, yeah, no problem lady.  Never see me no more!"  He whimpered, as he shuffled past her and sprinted down the hallway at top speed, screaming as he did. 

Aubrey shook her head and picked up the shotgun shells from the dead raider, tucking them into her pocket.  "Maybe I can sell these? Or trade them?"  She muttered, patting the dog on the head as he nuzzled her thigh again.   
She walked through a large hole in the wall and emerged in what must have been the employees only section of the museum.  She went up the staircase and crouched down again as two raiders screamed obscenities at a closed door.

"Come on man, they're not going anywhere, we got bigger problems to deal with."

"YOU HEAR THAT!  I gotta go take a walk, but when I get back, you're all DEAD!"

The dog growled again and darted out, and Aubrey's eyes widened.  "No!" She hissed, but it was too late, the dog had already jumped on the last raider.  With a sigh she stood and aimed her gun at the other raider.  "Hold it right--, ah!"  She ducked as he started towards her, holding a pool cue as a weapon.  She shot him twice, center mass and he was down.  She jogged over to the dog and was torn between being horrified and being grateful when she saw that he'd bit the throat out of the raider.  She swallowed bile and patted her hip.  "C-come on boy…"  

He barked happily and she stepped out near the door.  "Hello?"  She called, looking around at the now silent upper floor of the museum.

"Quick! In here!" The door opened and Balcony Man waved her over.  She nodded and joined them, stepping to the side as the dog barked and bounded towards the room.

"Man, I don't know who you are, but you're timing's impeccable." Balcony Man said, smiling at her. "Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen."

"Aubrey West...uh, glad I could help, but who are the Minutemen?"

Preston nodded.  "'Protect the people at a minute's notice.'  That was the idea anyway, when I first joined up.  I wanted to make a difference, and I did, but things fell apart.  Now it looks like I'm the last one standing." 

"Damn…I'm sorry."  Aubrey said, finally lowering her pistol and tucking it back in its holster.  "Who are all these people?" She asked, gesturing around the room.

"Just folks looking for a new home; a fresh start."  He sighed and looked away.  "I've been with them since Quincy.  We tried to settle in Lexington but the Ghouls drove us out of there."  He closed his eyes in an anguished expression that Aubrey had seen on Nate's face far too often.  "A month ago, there were twenty of us.  Yesterday there were eight.  Now we're five.  It's just me, the Longs--Marcy and Jun--, that's old Mama Murphy on the couch.  And this here's Sturges."  He nodded his head to a man in overalls beside him. He gave a half-hearted greeting but seemed more focused on the terminal he was fiddling with than the woman who'd just saved all their lives.   

Aubrey shrugged and looked back at Preston.  "I'm sorry.  Sounds like you've been through a lot."

Preston scoffed.  "You can say that again.  We though Concord would be a good place to settle, but…well, you've seen what happened.  But…well, we do have an idea…"

"One second.  You mentioned ghouls.  In Lexington?  What are Ghouls?"

"Wow, you really aren't from around here are you…"  Preston's eyes widened.  Aubrey resisted the urge to roll her eyes. As if the blue Vault suit didn't give it away? Preston cleared his throat.  "Ghouls are…irradiated people. Most are just like you and me, except they look pretty bad and live a real long time, but the ones I'm talking about are different. The radiation's rotted their brains, made them feral.  They'll attack you just as soon as look at you."

Aubrey shuddered. Great.  More things that'll try to kill me.  "So, let's hear about this idea of yours…"

Preston smiled again.  "Sturges? Tell her." 

The man turned from the terminal and leaned against the desk.  "There's a crashed vertibird up on the roof.  Old-school, pre-war. You might have seen it."  He spoke with a thick southern twang and Aubrey felt a pang of nostalgia race through her.  He sounded like her brother.  "Well," he continued, not noticing her change in expression, "One of its passengers left behind a seriously sweet goodie.  We're talking a full suit of cherry T-45 power armor. Military issue."

"That is some…serious protection."  Aubrey offered, shifting her weight nervously.  She had a feeling she knew where this was going.

"It sure is.  But, get this.  Get the suit and you can rip the minigun right off the vertibird. Do that, and we give those raiders an express ticket to hell."

"I see.…um… I guess it could work?"  She bit her lip.  "I, um…"

"There's just one problem." Sturges cut her off.  "The suit's out of juice.  Probably has been for a hundred years.  It can be powered up again, but…we're a bit stuck."

"I.…I don't know… I'm not sure how I feel about using a minigun on people, even if they are raiders."

A woman in the back suddenly stood, stomping forward. "It's us or them!  And I'd rather we be sure it's them who die, not us!" 

"Easy, Marcy." Preston soothed, raising a hand to placate her.  "It's a fair hesitation.  After all, she's a vault dweller."

"Hmph."

Sturges nodded.  "Look, I understand where you're coming from.  Really I do.  But those raiders will likely overpower us if we don't overpower them first, and I ain't got no clue how to move in Power Armor."

"What makes you think I do?"  Aubrey asked.  "I mean, I do know how to use it," In theory, she added silently. "But why assume that I do?"

"Well, a lot of vault dwellers out here know how to. Don't ask me how."

"I.…" She looked around to the group of people and sighed.  "Alright… tell me how to power it back up."

"What you'll need is an old pre-war standardized fusion core.  You're long-term, high-grade nuclear battery used by the military and some companies way back when." Preston explained.  "And we know just where to find one."

"But," Sturges interjected. "We can't get to the damn thing.  It's downstairs…locked behind a security gate." He sighed.  "Look, I fix stuff.  I tinker.  Bypassing security isn't exactly my forte."  He glanced up at her again.  "You could give it a shot."

"I'm not so good with computers… but I think I may be able to get it for you. Give me a few minutes." 

Preston nodded.  "Good luck."

Aubrey nodded and turned on her heel, heading back down to where she'd passed the basement.  She took a brief look at the computer terminal but shook her head.  That was more her brother's area of expertise than it was her.

She looked at the security gate and pulled a bobby pin she'd found on her way up from her hair, allowing the stray lock of hair she'd pinned up with it to fall in front of her face again.  She grabbed a screwdriver lying nearby and set to work.  She kneeled there for only a minute or so before the lock gave way.  "I knew there'd be a use for a misspent youth." She muttered, pushing the door open and taking the fusion core from its charging station.

She returned to Preston and held it up, as if it were a trophy.  "Here we go.  Now, the Power Armor is…where exactly?"

"Just outside the office there.  Took out the roof so…"  Preston shrugged.  "I hope our luck's turning around.  Once you power up the armor, those raiders will know they picked the wrong fight.  Good luck."

Aubrey nodded and went to the door Preston had pointed at, passing the woman, Marcy, and a man, who must've been Jun huddled in a corner.  She stopped at the couch, arching an eyebrow at the old woman dressed as a fortune teller.  "Ma'am." She said, nodding her head politely.  

"Oh, look who Dogmeat brought us!  I knew he'd bring us back some help."

"So he's your dog?" Aubrey said, patting Dogmeat on the head.  "He's a good dog, well trained."

"Aw, he ain't my dog.  Dogmeat's what you'd call his own man.  He'll stick with you now. I saw it."

"You uh.…'saw' it?"

"It's the chems kid, they give old Mama Murphy the Sight.  I can see a bit of what was, and what will be, and what is right now.  And I see…there's something coming…drawn by the noise and the chaos, and it is…angry."

Aubrey arched an eyebrow.  "Uh, okay… can you tell me anymore?"

"I see, I see….oh, God, kid it's horrible… claws and teeth and horns….the very face of death itself… I…That's all I can manage right now kid, and you got a job to do."

"I...yeah…okay… Take it easy, okay?"

Mama Murphy smiled.  "Don't you worry about me.  I'll be fine.  Go on now."

Aubrey shook her head and patted her thigh, and Dogmeat was there almost instantly as she went out the door to the broken office.