Artemis Files (0.5)

Chapter 10

Late 2272 - Outskirts of Chicago

S9 held her body tightly thanks to the cold. The Commonwealth got chilly in the winter, but it was never anything like this. Her breaths coming out in foggy puffs in front of her and her nostrils threated to stick together every time she inhaled. The Courser jacket she kept on was all she had to keep her warm and clearly it wasn't enough in this cold. Looking up at the sky the stars were crystal clear. The sun having set at least an hour ago, but even then she couldn't afford to stop. Not after what happened in Megaton what with X6 having come late in the night causing the deputy to come in and wake her so she could escape. No doubt he wasn't far behind. Tracking her. She'd made sure to cover her tracks as much as possible, though the frost that was collecting on the grass was making that difficult as it showed her footprints clearly. She'd zig zagged, spending weeks getting this far though she knows she could have easily gotten here sooner.

Up ahead was a small homestead. The land around it clearly being used for livestock and crops in warmer weather but the land was now barren and whatever animals they may have are probably inside some kind of barn or shelter to keep away from this cold. The house itself is a bit nicer then the shacks she's seen on the way here. A warm glow coming from the windows. It's likely a mixture of exhaustion and cold when she begins to daydream about what that warmth feels like. Both the actual temperature and the emotional warmth she found herself craving. J6. She wondered how her friend was doing. Then the familiar guilt gnaws at her heart and a tear falls from her face. J6 had been her only real friend and she left her in the Institute. As she's been wandering westward in the wasteland, experiencing things and meeting new people, she'd begun to see how wrong she'd been in assisting the Institute capturing escaped synths. She wanted to free all the slaves she'd come across, wanting to right her wrongs in some kind of way, and she had freed a few but she couldn't afford to leave such a trail in her wake.

And then she thought of her spending some time in the Memory Den and wondered why she was there. There was a... fog... of sorts in her memory. Something... or someone she'd forgotten but for the life of her she couldn't reach what was blocked in her mind. She'd heard what the Memory Den did. They wiped memories of escaped synths but what was it she'd forgotten? It was bothering her.

Without a second thought, she moved toward the house and knocked on the door. A minute later a woman with dark skin and large, brown, eyes like a doe answered. Behind her, an equally dark man appeared who must be her brother... no that wasn't right. They looked nothing alike. A husband perhaps. "Please ma'am. I'm so cold and hungry." S9's voice was week and tired when she spoke. Having not spoken for a couple of days had left her throat a bit froggy sounding. The body wanting to move forward into the warmth.

"Oh baby," the woman said in that southern mom kind of way she'd only heard about. S9 was kindly escorted in as the woman spoke, and the way she spoke told S9 this wasn't the first time something like this happened either. "Come in. I just made dinner. Joshua," she called and a small boy poked his head around a corner. "Set up the guest bed with your father for this young woman. And you come with me. You must be starving."

Soon enough S9 was guided to a chair near a table where some kind of casserole topped with mashed tatos was sitting. The woman smiled at her seeming to guess she'd never seen anything like it before. "It's called Sheppard's Pie it's an old recipe from long before the Great War. And my husband's favorite."

"It smells good," S9 says and before she realizes it she's scarfed down a couple of bowls full. Once she's had her fill, the family asks her several questions on where she comes from. S9 is hesitant, knowing they could rat her out to X6 should he find himself this way. And knowing her luck, he will. Still there's something about this family. She's not sure what it is but she finds she quite likes this family. So she tells them everything. Her being a synth, not a human. About the Institute and their treatment of her kind and of those that live on the surface. As she speaks the eyes of the couple and their child become sad as she tells her story. Once she's done they sit in silence for a while.

"It's so sad slavery is a thing again," the husband, a man named Phil, sighed. "Humans are a stubborn species that likes to repeat itself. You stay here as long as you need to though if I can make a suggestion, the Brotherhood's territory isn't that far away. They likely have what it takes to keep you safe."

The Brotherhood. She'd heard about them when she passed through the Capital Wasteland on her way here. She doubted she'd be accepted if they knew what she actually was. It was as if they could see this tugging at her mind though and that's when the wife answered. "This group... or I guess chapter is different. They allow non humans to join. It's up to you but I'd think about it if I were you."

S9 nodded and thanked them but she was exhausted and it was evident on her face. Their child having already gone to bed. The couple guided her to their guest room where the wife allowed her to borrow some sleep clothes and a change of clothes for a couple of days. S9 changed and instantly fell asleep as soon as she hit the mattress.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Present Day 2287 - The Prydwen

It wasn't long after Artemis began speaking that a man stood and made his way up to the front to sit next to the woman he helped all those years ago. "I know my dear Sophia would have loved to come for a visit but it's harvest time and she's no doubt taking any extra with Joshua to town to sell." The man smiled before continuing on. "It's Savanah's first time helping with the harvest. You know how excited she'd been to help her parents and big brother."

Artemis nodded and her smile was wide as she listened to Phil speak about his young daughter. She definitely knew. The age gap between the siblings never seemed to bother them that much and to be honest it was pretty cute watching them interact with each other. "I'll forever be grateful to you and your wife and son for helping me all those years ago." Her eyes became sad after pausing to think for a while and then spoke again. "It's too bad it only lasted a couple of days. Longer then any other place I've tried to rest but still."

Phil gave her a playful shove and scoffed at her. "You know me and my wife help escaped slaves all the time. And that fellow that was following you didn't do anything but look around our home and he never came back after you left. We'll continue to do our work to help those that need it even if it kills us."

Though the man was joking, there was some truth to what he was saying. The Midwestern region of the Wasteland was a wild place. Second in it's ways of slavery only to the Capital Wasteland. Phil seemed to sense where her mind was going with this and his face grew in seriousness and nodded towards her and spoke. "I think I better tell this next part. Just like your friend did a few days ago with a few areas in your Institute experiences."

Artemis sighed, happy. It was something she didn't like thinking about. How she'd gotten so close to being captured while she was staying with them. The risks they took in breaking the local law of the land when it came to slaves and former slaves like herself. She nodded towards the man in agreement to this offer. "If you could. Thank you Phil." The man smiled at her and he began to tell this next part of the story.