Crawl Out Through The Fallout (Fo4 Fanfic)

The Glowing Sea II

     This was all too familiar. Trapped in a cage of power armor low on juice, standing off against a huge irradiated lizard. Though the stakes of course we're miles higher than the last. Every shot just seemed to piss it off more and more. The Deathclaw tore apart the armor like a can opener. Jagged edges of steel stuck Fiona from every side, she was suffocating. Why do such awful creatures exist, how do they exist?. She had to get out of the suit before this angry dinosaur crushed her completely. She'd never been good at hand to hand. She was out of ammo. The deathclaw had Fiona pined with her back to the ground. Just as the beast unhinged it's jaw to bite she sandwiched it's head between her armor clad hands. With the last of the fule she used the mechanical assist to jack hammer it's skull in from both sides. It popped with a sickening crunch, blood drenched the front of the power armor.
      Fiona clawed her way out of the collapsed suit. Immediately she began gasping and screaming clutching her abdomen. She felt like she was melting from the inside out. Her body burned from the deep wounds in her sides and sheer amount of radiation. "Erin!? Erin?!" She screamed for him breathlessly. No response.
      Out of the corner of her eye she spotted the orange hazmat. "Eri-AUH" her body violently lurched forward as she threw up some putrid mix of blood and acid. Fumbling to her feet she tripped over herself, sloppily falling next to Erins motionless body. She dropped her head to his chest. No pulse. She choked back a cry, quickly moving to her knees and lacing her fingers together over his chest. Blood gushed down her arms but she continued to administer cpr. That is until she pressed too hard. His body convulsed with the crack. Desperately she felt up his neck, sobbing mindless jumbled words. Her breath caught, the slightest pulse was present.

  "Fuck Fuck Fuck! Erin! Stay with me! Get up!" Fiona cried, shaking and slapping the unconscious man in her lap. She continuously stabbed stimpacks into his sides. "Wake up!" She screamed. Jolting to the side she vomited up blood and whatever was left in her stomach. Fiona's eyes burned, blood dripped from her nose onto his cheeks.  She prayed her mistake didn't puncture his lung. "Im so sorry, Erin. I'm sorry." She sobbed pressing her forehead to his. Her vision was blurry from tears, blood, and a pounding migraine. In a last ditch effort she threw her head back. "Help! Please anyone!" She screamed with her chest. Clicking of her geiger counter never let up. A crack of green lightning illuminated the yellow atmosphere. Who was she kidding. No one survives the glowing sea. She was getting microwaved, barely alive. In a haze she collapsed, not even feeling the shards of glass that stuck into her cheeks.

   *Rake* *rake* *rake* *crack*
No...no. I don't want to wake up. I was having such a good dream. A green crack if lightning shot through the sky.  Go back to sleep. I don't want to leave.
        I didn't have the strength to open my eyes more than half way. There was something over my face, it was so hard to breathe. My body was tightly wrapped in some kind of ratty blanket cocoon. Where am I? I felt so cold. Am I moving? I was on some kind of wooden sled, someone that I couldn't see pulling it. Why am I still alive? My head lolled to the side. Another body beside mine. Their face was covered in bandages under a thick gas mask. They were also wrapped up in a blanket. My eyes were heavy, sleep was calling me.

  Flickering fluorescent light and strong smell of lead abruptly woke Fiona. She groaned, sitting up on her forearms. She noticed she was tethered to a radaway iv. Anxiety fluttered through her stomach as she became more aware of her surroundings. Where the hell am I? She asked herself. She was laid out in a hospital bed, ratty blankets covered her, radaway iv stuck in her arm. It was cold. She saw her coat hung up along with Erins back pack and rifle, across the room. The walls seemed to be made of concrete. She patted around the bed, noticing her torso was binded up in bandages. What happened...? How did I get here?
    She turned her head to the right. On the opposite side of the room was another bed. Looking at the man laying in it brought it all back. Being wrapped tightly in the blanket, the mask, getting dragged through the sea. The man next to her with his face wrapped in bandages. Is it... Is that Erin? Her head throbbed trying to remember more.
    Images of glass shattering, screaming, pools of blood, flashed through her mind. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. That is Erin. Hes alive. She's alive.
      She fumbled around in the blankets, pulling herself off the bed. She shivered standing in the room, the concrete floor felt like ice on her sock covered feet. Where are my cloths? She glanced to the back of the room, there was a desk, her vault suit was folded nicely a top of. Next to it were several pairs of gas masks, extra sets of cloths, prewar canned food, and her gun. She cringed hoping whoever their mysterious savior was wasn't a man. She only had a sports bra and the spandex shorts she wore under the vault suit, though her stomach was mostly covered in bandages. Fiona pulled the iv out of her arm and made her way over to Erin. She leaned over him, he was asleep, she could see the soft rise and fall of his chest under the blanket. She sighed in relief, he was very alive. Running her hand over his forehead was enough to wake him up. She could only really see his eyes, chin, and the tip of his nose. His eyes shot open and grew wide. "Er-" she was interuped by his hands gripping the sides of her face urgently. He was fully sat up now, the blanket fell into his lap.
      Erin said something unintelligible, he was muffled due to the bandages. "Erin I'm sorry-" he cut her off yet again, this time by pulling her into a tight, almost desperate hug. It was then that she realized he also wasn't wearing a shirt, the skin on skin contact felt far more intimate than intended. She gripped his shoulders like her life depended on it. He nuzzled his face into her neck. If the situation were different it would've been adorable. He hadn't budged for a moment, she opened her eyes to a sight she wasn't expecting. Glancing down she saw crude tattoos and deep scars littering his back and shoulders. She knew for a fact shed seen one of the symbols when they encountered raiders. She had to know what this was about. But she didn't want to make the situation more complicated so it would have to wait.
      "No abrupt movements, child. You have a concussion." A woman's voice echoed through the room. She came in through the front door, she shut it behind her. Fiona immediately detached herself from Erin, bracing for danger. "Who are you? Where are we? What do you want?" She asked suspiciously. Her skin was sickly yellow, she looked like a zombie. "Relax dear. I want nothing of you. I'm Isolde. You are in a bunker dug into the side of the Crater of Atom. You two are very lucky." She spoke slowly. Fiona however didn't relax. "Ah, I'm sure you two are very confused. I will try to answer whatever questions you have.
      Isolde motioned for Fiona to sit in the foldout chair opposite her. Reluctantly she took it, Erin sat at the end of the bed behind her. "Why did you bring us here, you saved us?" Fiona asked. "No, not me. I'm not sure why Sarge saved you. He neglected to tell me his reasoning. However I could not oppose his decision to bring you here." "Sarge? Who's that?" "Sergeant is the only name he'd given. A kind man, blessed by Atom, who defends the holy grounds. Sergeant has defended the children in the Crater for years from the deathclaws and radscorpion." Erin mumbled something that no one could make out. "Can I speak to Sarge?" Fiona asked. She wanted to thank him. "No. He doesn't wish to complicate your situation any further. He left spare cloths on the desk along with refreshed supplies. You may leave at your leisure, or stay as long as you'd like. Now, do you have anymore questions before I unbandage your friend's face?" Isolde seemed very set in her answer. Fiona knew she wouldn't get anything more from her. "Brian Virgil. I'm looking for him." Fiona prayed Isolde knew anything about him. "Virgil? Yes... We know this Virgil." She answered. Fiona was relieved, relaxing in her seat.
        "What do you want with him?" She continued. "I just need some information from him." "I see... In truth, this Virgil has caused some concern. Some believe his presence is an affront to Atom. Though he came to trade with us on a few occasions, we have had little other contact with him. It was quite clear they want to be left alone. You can find him south west of the Crater, living in a cave. I would approach cautiously, where I you. I feel he does not want visitors." The woman answered, stepping infront of Erin.
        "I don't believe stimpacks will aid your concussion. Otherwise you two have sustained nothing too serious. Sarge has also provided equipment to shield you from atoms glow. Though I do not agree with it, I understand you may not be religious." Isolde spoke as she unwrapped Erins head. Fiona wasn't sure what to expect. "Leave the patches over the deeper cuts. Try not to reopen anything." She warned balling up the wrapping in her hands. "It's a miracle you survived boy. Not many can take that kind of beating. You as well young lady. Sergeant informed me you popped the deathclaws head like a balloon. In a half dead state you managed to resuscitate this man. Incredible. Oh and Sergeant had to fish a piece of glass from your throat. It'll hurt to speak so be wary." She trailed off, looking over the two.
    Isolde eventually left. Fiona stood beside Erin, deep in thought. "Hey." Erins hoarse voice caught her attention. She looked over at him, he stared straight forward. "Sorry for leaving you alone out there. Thing took me by surprise. I won't let it happen again." She scanned his face, poor guy looked pitiful. The stims did a good job, just a few wounds remained, hardly any scars. "What matters is that we're alive. And we're close to Virgil. C'mon let's get going." She sites through the supplies left out on the table. Silently thanking whoever this Sergeant was.
         Fiona pulled the shirt over her head, fluffing her hair out. The humidity was making it friz and tangle. The cloths fit surprisingly well, a black and green long sleeve shirt and black jeans. She stuffed the vault suit into the backpack and threw on her coat. "somethings off about all this..." Erin croaked. "I wouldn't dwell on it. Just see it as a... Grand act of kindness." She shrugged. Fiona side eyed him as he put his shirt on. "Hey, what if.. what if after all this, we took a really long break. Settled down." She spoke softly just above a whisper. The energy shifted the air felt heavy around them. "Where did that come from?" Erin mimicked her tone. "Nothing, nevermind... Just had a really nice dream is all."