And She Continued Pt 1

A Wonderful Day in the Neighborhood

The morning greeted me cold. Anxiously I pulled back the bandage I had wrapped around my leg. A thin pink line was all I had to show for the wound I had received from that hell hound the morning before. I groaned as I stood; my muscles ached and my stomach growled. My head was pounding.

I poked through the leftover food grimacing at the congealed fat. I shook my head, drinking more of my dirty water from last night. I would have to reheat and eat that... animal? (hopefully)... before it went bad. I pulled at my PipBoy; the skin underneath was marked and tender. I had been too afraid of needing to make a quick getaway to take it off.

I grabbed at the sliver of mirror I had taken into the living room with me and assessed the damage. My eyes looks as though someone had punched me. Twice. My hair was a disaster, my skin sallow. My teeth felt fuzzy and my breath was absolutely atrocious. Every now and again my movement brought up a waft of my own body odor through the neck of my vault suit. Every muscle screamed and not in the good 'I just worked out' way.

I was a hot mess. Not the cute kind.

What am I doing?! I'm a pampered housewife not some... some... survivor. I finished meekly, grabbing a rag from my pack and dunking it in my bloody bowl, scrubbing my teeth and tongue till my gums felt raw.

The house I had stayed in was silent. It bothered me that there were no chirping birds, no scrambling puppies or cats. Curiously I made my way into each individual room hoping that maybe I had overlooked something in my daze yesterday.

"Good morning ma'am!" Codsworth whirred up behind me from nowhere.

"Jesus fucking Christ Codsworth!" I nearly screamed, my hand flew over my heart, the rapid pace was staccato against my rib cage. "Warn a girl. It's been 210 years since I've seen you man!"

"Pardon me, ma'am. I have some water for you." He set the container down and motored off again, obviously unimpressed and uninterested in me.

I frowned. I wasn't sure this newly self-aware version of Codsworth was really my favorite. He seemed to dislike when I mentioned the time gap. Maybe all that time alone had... damaged him somehow.

Of course it did. I rolled my eyes. He's autonomous now. That's not normal.

"Oh thank God." I whispered, worries forgotten, greedily grabbing the water.

A tube of purified stuff. I closed my eyes savoring the flavor of fresh water. No gritty bits, no iron after taste. Just pure, clean water. Nearly immediately I felt my body restored by the liquid. Funny what good, quality sustenance could do for a person. My headache eased.

Cautiously I stepped into the weak sun, shivering a little. The vault suit was insulated but not enough to really keep a person warm. I looked down at my outfit; one leg shredded, the other missing a chunk at the thigh, blood and gore sticking and staining my left side. I needed clothes. Speculative I thought about the weirdly clean dress I had found and shoved into the bottom of my backpack.

I shook my head, moving towards the bridge then hesitating.

A dress wouldn't do me any good in a fight. Plus I shredded it to bind my wound. I need something that'll keep my bits covered, maybe something with a bit of protection from... everything. I bit my lip anxiously before turning back around, Codsworth's directions to Concord whispering in the back of my mind. My eyes settled on the large mass across the bridge, dark and unmoving.

Maybe... No. I shook my head, backing up a few steps. No, I'm not ready for that. Start with the familiar, then move on to the new.

I spun on my heel, observing the once glimmering jewel of domestication. First thing was first, I needed food and supplies, thicker clothing if I could find anything. With that settled I moved towards the first house, making my way around the bank and into the foliage behind. A low growl had my heart racing and my hand on my weapon.