The Beginning

04 – Falling Back

October 25, 2287 – I can’t help but wonder if I’m going to resent helping these people. I mean, the only thing I’m going on here is really that Mama Murphy seems to believe my son’s alive, and I’m taking a big leap of faith in her when she says after she rests (and I after I get her some Jet), she’ll be able to tell me more. Right now, all she can tell me is that I need to go to Diamond City, which is apparently some big trader’s outpost where Fenway Park used to be. I wonder what Fenway looks like now.

The reason I’m inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt at this point is because I forgot that she had also warned me about the Deathclaw, just after I had found the group in the attic of the Museum. At the time, I had dismissed her talk about my impending appointment “with teeth, claws, horns and a devil’s head” as the ramblings of a batty old woman. It was only in the peace and quiet on the way back to Sanctuary that I remembered what she had told me.

Man, I need to stop calling it Sanctuary too. It’s Sanctuary Hills. My home. If these people think it’s going to be “Sanctuary” for them, I think they’re going to be shocked once they get there. I don’t know what they’re expecting, but it’s going to take a lot of hard work before it’s Sanctuary for anyone. Preston had been in constant retreat since Lexington. I wondered if Sanctuary became overrun by raiders, or just didn’t work out, what was his next plan? Falling back to the Berkshires? Life in the wilderness? Was he just winging it? These people were trusting him, and I wasn’t convinced one man with a rifle could take care of them all.

Heading Back to Sanctuary

Heading Back to Sanctuary

The Minutemen were taking the long route through town, which was just fine with me. I took the quick route back through the playground, and was determined to grab every last bit of food and scrap I could on the way back. I crawled out of Concord, even with the extra strength of the power armor. By the time I got to the hill approaching Red Rocket I was relieved to see Preston’s laser taking care of some giant mosquitoes up ahead of me. The battle slowed his group down enough that I caught up with them by the time we hit the station. Dawn was breaking. I realized I hadn’t eaten in almost 24 hours, and I could barely walk any more, so I told Preston that I was pretty sure Sanctuary was just down the road, and I’d be on presently. I dropped off all my extra stuff, including the power armor, in the garage at the Red Rocket. I took the fusion core just to be safe though. That power armor had been sitting at the top of a landmark building next to a very noticeable Vertiberd for two hundred years before someone found a fusion core to put in it. I was pretty sure no one was going to be able to remove it from here, even if they did find it.

Once everything had been sorted, I headed back over the wooden bridge, and discovered Preston waiting for me. We had a short chat, and I told him that this had been my home. When he asked how that was possible, I told him that I had just woken up from one of the vaults. Not sure he believed me, but he was polite about it.

Cleaning Up: Before and After

Cleaning Up: Before and After

I had some breakfast and then went up to the center of Sanctuary Hills. The group had set up shop in the house across the street from mine. Most everyone seemed like they were getting productive. In fact, within a few hours, they had cleared out a good deal of the debris from the turnaround at the end of the cul-de-sac, and they were starting repairs on their house. For some reason, Jun and Sturges both seemed pretty keen on getting one particular exhaust fan to work. I’m not sure what that was about, but I’m sure Sturges has his reasons.

He asked me if I wouldn’t mind getting some beds set up, so I started in with that, and also tried to salvage some furniture from the other houses. We ended up building a base out of the house across from mine, and one right next to it. Even got a generator going to fight the darkness just a bit. It was a lot of progress for a day, and time went so fast I couldn’t believe it was dark again already. We had water pumps, power, and had even planted a few crops.

I’m kind of surprised by my use of the word “we” there. It’s not just “we” as in I was just helping them get set up so I could go on my merry way once I got the information I needed. If I’m being honest, it’s more of a “we” as in I’m part of these people now. I’m shocked that it happened so fast, and I was actually a bit offended to see Sturges in my house, and then even more so when he asked me if I wanted to stick around. First of all, get out of my house, and second of all, I don’t need your permission to stay in my house, in my neighborhood. But no sense getting riled up about it again. He’s a good guy, and this group really needs him. He didn’t know. So I told him. He was pretty shocked. So now, pretty much the whole group knows my story. I didn’t need to tell Mama Murphy, of course. She said she knew I “came out of the icebox.”

Strange Lights at Red Rocket

Strange Lights at Red Rocket

Just as everyone was tucking in for the night, I happened to look out  a window and was stunned to notice the rocket on top of the Red Rocket lit up. Was someone there? I ran through the river and to the top of the hill overlooking the shop. There were lights inside, and four lights outside were working. I didn’t hear any generators, or any sound at all. Come to think of it, I had been surprised when the power worked for the garage door, but I hadn’t thought anything of it. In my day, power just worked. I guess I hadn’t been shocked enough when the door actually closed. But here it was, the middle of the night, and all the lights were on here, but no generator. Where was the power coming from?

I walked all around the station, but couldn’t find a source. I’m going to have to look into this later. It’s so odd. There has to be an explanation. Maybe Concord was still powered up and the Red Rocket was part of that grid?

My curiosity still unsatisfied, I walked back to Sanctuary Hills to get some rest. I had been up two days straight. If I was headed to Diamond City, I needed to sleep. Preferably for more than a few hours.

 

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