To Save a Soul

Chapter 2 Wasteland

          Katherine raised her trembling hands in shock. Never before had she felt so vulnerable. Gazing out around her she saw complete destruction. All of the once beautiful trees were now charred and dead. Even the ground appeared dead except for the weeds and strange plants growing here and there. From atop the hill she could see all of the collapsed and rotting houses of what was once Sanctuary. Skeletons littered the path from the vault down to the neighborhood. Sanctuary was an even sadder sight. All of the skeletons, the people, that had had nowhere to go. They had all died in their homes or in their lawns in a panic. Her heart ached and grieved for the world that she had lived in that was now just as dead as it's people.
She passed her neighbor's houses and became even more distraught to see a skeleton in a faded pink dress in the doorway, surely Mrs.Rivers. Katherine stopped dead in her tracks, staring at what was once her home. The car Nate had been so proud of sat rotting under the car port beside the house, consumed by rust. The flowerbeds she and Codsworth had slaved over were dead and gone. 

          Something metallic caught her eye in the window just beyond the garden. Could it be?
"Mum?" a familiar British voice called out to her. Codsworth came zooming up.
"Everything's gone." Katherine said, in a bit of shock.
"Yes, Mrs.Katherine, it's been two hundred years but I'm still here! Say where is Sir and the baby?" the robot asked.
"Shawn has been kidnapped and my husband...he's in a better place now. Two hundred years? What are you talking about?" Katherine asked, confusion etched across her face.
"You all took off in such a hurry, It's been two centuries, I surely thought you hadn't made it!" Codsworth chimed. Katherine glanced around the destroyed town warily.
"Am I the only person left alive?" she asked.
"Oh no Mum, there's people in Concord, they've only shot at me a few times." Codsworth told her. Only a few times, that was wonderful she thought.
"Do you want to go to Concord with me?" Katherine asked the robot.
"Oh no, I'll stay here and keep watch over the neighborhood." Codsworth responded. Katherine nodded and gave the robot a pat.
          She crept into her old home cautiously. The first thing she did was remove the the photo of her, Nate, and Shawn from it's frame and folded it neatly before shoving it into her backpack. The next thing she collected was a box of bobby pins from the bathroom and a few things from Nate's tool box. The house had clearly been looted. Katherine remembered how to get to Concord. Across the little bridge and just past the Red Rocket Fuel Station, but she was relieved to find that her pip boy had a detailed map. There was no knowing what the roads would look like. Katherine made her way through the desolate town and over the bridge. There she came across the body of a man and some kind of mutated dog with a tire iron protruding from it's rib cage. She assumed that the man had killed the dog then succumbed to his own injuries. The man had a leather trench coat on, that honestly looked much too small for him. People took what they could get in this apocalyptic world she figured as she tugged it off of him in disgust. Katherine slipped into the coat then shrugged her backpack back on. The buttons were missing and she was sure that she was an odd sight.
          As soon as she approached the Red Rocket station a German Shepherd came dashing at her, nearly giving her a heart attack. At first she recoiled, not wanting to have to shoot a dog. Long ago in a different world she had wanted a dog like this but Nate had insisted that their home was too small.
"You're a nice boy aren't you?" Katherine cooed as the dog bounced about her legs. For the first time since she left the vault she could feel the faintest hint of a smile tugging at her lips.
"You can stay with me sweet boy." she told the dog. Upon closer inspection she found a rough leather collar with the name Dogmeat written sloppily in Sharpie. What an odd name she thought. Inside the station they were greeted by rabid mutant mole rats, at least that's what she thought they were. Katherine shot the first easily, her heart thumping madly in her chest, but she watched helplessly as Dogmeat slaughtered the last, too afraid to take a shot. Her aim was admittedly not the best.
          Katherine pocketed a carton of sterile sealed gauze pads and a bottle of antibiotics. The sun was setting and Concord wasn't far off, but Katherine chose to stay at the station for the night. She had seen horrific things during the day and God only knew what lurked in the darkness. Gathering a few rugs and car floor mats she stacked them to create a makeshift bed, using her backpack as a pillow. She lay there in silence, pulling her coat tightly around her. Dogmeat lie next to her, fully alert and watching. She was grateful that she had come across her furry companion. She had thought that sleep would come easily to her but instead a lump was growing in her throat as she fought the urge to cry. This new world was terrifying and Katherine was utterly unprepared. Every time Dogmeat so much as moved an inch she was paralyzed with fear.
          The night came and went without incident. When the sun rose Katherine gathered up her few belongings and cautiously stepped outside, 10mm in hand. She walked in silence for the better part of an hour when Concord came into view. It was a sorrowful sight to behold. The tall brick buildings were mostly toppled and the wood on the town houses was rotting and charred. Katherine couldn't begin to guess what kind of mutant creatures were calling these abandoned structures home, she didn't care to find out, not until she was forced to at least. The farther into town she ventured the more she became aware of gunshots in the distance. The shots grew louder and louder as she approached what had once been the Museum of Freedom. Katherine found herself surprised at her own lack of hesitation to kill when a raider stumbled around a corner and opened fire. It was a miracle that she dodged every shot fired at her and still managed to terminate her enemy. In a panic she dashed into the museum with Dogmeat close behind. 
          The museum smelled of musky wood. Somewhere in the distance music was playing, an eery sound. The museum had probably been elegant once, but now a massive hole claimed the center of the great entrance. Katherine crept as quietly as she could through a side hall and up a set of rickety wooden stairs, gun poised and ready. She realized that Dogmeat and herself were not alone as the sounds of deep voices drifted down the hall, freezing her to the spot where she stood. Dogmeat dashed up the remaining steps and out of sight causing Katherine to lurch forward with intent to follow him, but fear took hold and she simply couldn't force herself to move. Snarls and the sounds of cloth tearing filled the air. All she could do was clutch her gun tightly and pray for her canine companion. Katherine was not made for this world, she found herself missing Nate more than ever. He had been a great soldier and would have been able to protect her, even in such a foreign world. Her heart nearly stopped as Dogmeat came bounding back down the steps, panting but physically unharmed. Relief flooded through her as the dog sat before her.
"Did you get them?" she whispered as she gently rubbed the space between his ears before checking him for injuries. Her companion had disposed of the two raiders that had taken up residence in the museum. Katherine and Dogmeat took refuge in the old building for a few miserable days. Only once did she have a scare, the minutemen, who she had sent to her home of Sanctuary all the while praying that they were truly good people.
—————————————————————————————————-------------------------------------------