Bleeding Steel

Chapter One: Debriefing

Nate was stood, staring out across Sanctuary Hills, cradling Shaun in his arms. The sky above was azure and perfect, the wind cool as it stirred, whispering in the trees. Nora felt her throat catch, felt as though her heart might burst. Her eyes began to fill with tears as she raised her hands to reach out and touch them...

But she couldn't. She could not see the glass, but she could feel it, so cold it ached to touch it. "No... No Nate! Nate!" She was out in the open, but her voice was muffled like she was in a container. It was growing colder. Shaun began to cry.

"Nate! Shaun! Go! Just run! RUN!" Nora's voice rose to a scream. She beat against the barrier as hard as she could, the cold beginning to numb her body into paralysis.

The sky flashed and a roaring gale lashed against Nate and Shaun, stripping the trees bare, but she couldn't feel it. "RUN!" Nora shrieked, staring as a wall of fire consumed the horizon, drawing closer, yet Nate didn't move, just stood there, watching, waiting...

* * * * *

Nora sat bolt upright with a gasp, her eyes wide and blinded by tears. Around her, knights and squires snored or muttered in their sleep. Gradually, reality began to sink in again. She was not at Sanctuary Hills, but aboard the Prydwen. Shaun was still missing, and Nate... Slowly, she slipped her hand beneath her tank top and withdrew a silver chain upon which hung Nate's ring.

For a few moments she gazed at it in the gloom, the soft orange glow of the night lights reflecting on the gold. "...I miss you..." She whispered, closing her fingers around it before sitting upright and swinging her legs out from under the sheets. She retrieved a set of fatigues from her metal locker at the foot of the bed and changed quickly.

"Nora, what're you doing? It's 4 a.m." She glanced up to see Knight Lucia peering groggily from the top bunk.

"I can't sleep." Nora whispered back, moving to the dresser they shared with two other knights. She withdrew a hairbrush she'd purchased from Teagan and set about taming her bed hair.

Lucia yawned again, waving her hand in sleepy dismissal before burying her face back into her pillow. Nora smiled, sweeping up a hairband and some bobby pins before setting off to find a mirror in the shower rooms.

* * * * *

When Nora descended to the recreational area, she had a glowing bottle of nuka-cola quantum in one hand and a couple of 'new' magazines in the other. It was going to be a few hours at least until someone she knew woke up, so she decided to make the most of the quiet.

She was halfway through a story in Live & Love when she heard heavy footsteps descending the steps. She glanced up curiously, her lips pulling into a smile as she recognised the tall, broad figure approaching. "Paladin Danse! You're up bright and early!" She greeted, raising her bottle.

"Nora. What are you doing up?" Danse asked, raising his eyebrows as he grabbed a chair and placed it next to hers.

"Couldn't sleep. You?"

"I never sleep." Danse sighed, running a hand through his hair as he sat down.

"Now that you mention it, you were always up at the Cambridge Compound. I thought you were just scared of ferals or something!"

"Hmph. Disgusted, certainly. Scared? Hardly. Anyway, what're you reading?"

Nora held up her magazine with a smile, hoping her cheeks weren't turning red. Danse gave it a cursory glance and raised his eyebrows. "I hadn't taken you for a romantic, Nora."