Fallout

[15:51]Maggie: *BOOM*

The rusted silverware and metal cabinets of the kitchen rattled at the noise of the explosion. Sitting at the table was a young girl, no older than 10, wearing a blue jumpsuit with the words 187 printed on the back. She jumped in terror at the sound, knocking over the can of soup she was eating from. "WARNING: VAULT DOOR BREACHED. RADIATION EXPOSURE DETECTED." A feminine robotic voice said through the speakers. The girl's expression turned panicked as she hastily rushed out of the kitchen and into the hallway. "This place better have some fuckin' loot, it looks like it hasn't been opened in years..." "Shut the fuck up and look the fuck around." Voices of unknown men echoed down the hallway as the girl gasped and rushed back into the kitchen. Trying to think clearly as the voices became louder and louder, she hastily opened a small empty metal cabinet and fit her petite body inside, quickly closing the door.

In the wasteland, numerous settlers looked out from their communities at the noise of the explosion. Some saw a small pillar of smoke in the distance, some saw bits of metal debris. One woman, however, saw all of this, but saw something else; an opportunity.

[15:59]Amra: Thump, thump, pause, thump, thump, pause. The whirring gears and whining servos of a Protectron are accompanied by twirling red and blue lights. It appears the thing has been activated and sees the raiders as lawbreakers. It rattles off a few penal codes, then opens fire on the raiders it can see. Now that her distraction is in place, Amra creeps through the unlit corridors, bypasses locked doors and starts disarming traps, only to set them up to her advantage later on. A custom harness holds three rifles across her back and a silenced pistol is clutched in her right hand. Swinging down an elevator shaft, she begins her work, from the center of the hive out. First their leader, then the sentries, and finally a noisy run through to draw out remainders.

For the girl it's simply the horrible sounds of death. People stumbling and gurgling as something like a loud chirping noise drops body after body. Ultimately one set of footsteps remains, the humble Protectron now patroling a secured area. From just on the other side of the cabinet, the girl can hear a woman's voice whisper, "Nice," as she picks a toolbox open.

[16:09]Maggie: The girl felt tears stream down her face as she heard what sounded like certain death outside of her cabinet. Unbeknownst to her, the chaos going on outside was against the invaders rather than caused by them. The Protectron unit activated as soon as there was a breach detected, and promptly mowed down most of the raiders within seconds. Many of the traps laid out weren't lethal, almost as if made.... By a child? They were mostly designed to catch radroaches for the girl to eat. The worst thing that would happen if someone tripped it would be a knife to the shins. Within 5 minutes, every raider was dead, leaving only Amra, the girl and the Protectron, all seemingly unaware of each other.

The girl took a sudden breath as she heard an unknown voice, almost certainly giving herself away. Before the woman could investigate, however... "THREAT DETECTED" The robotic voice of the Protectron rang out, firing a few fusion shots at the woman.

[16:14]Amra: "Dammit," the woman hisses, slinking a wide path through shadows with steely resolve. The robot follows her path dutifully, but as it passes through a doorway she levels a shotgun at its glassy dome and sends off two strange, whooshing yet muffled rounds of buck into the sensitive machinery. The clattering of the fallen machine is louder than the shots, and even now that she's been given away, Amra moves with naturally silent steps in soft-soled boots before crouching down. "Would you like to stay there until I leave?" she asks in a soothing voice. "Or would you like to have some food with me?" She must have deduced the person's size and youth from only a gasp and, well, where the girl can fit herself.

[16:19]Maggie: The girl let out a yelp as she heard bullets whizzing past the cabinet before jumping and hitting her head at the sound of the machine falling over. She stayed silent, her heart pounding in her chest as she heard the faintest sound of footsteps approaching her cabinet. Upon hearing the woman's words, she felt her tension loosen slightly before frowning. "H-H-How do I k-know you're n-not gonna kill me?" She asks cautiously, staying firmly put until she gets her answer.
[16:21]Amra: "You don't," Amra says honestly, rising, holstering her heavy weapons on her back and tugging off her helmet. "But I don't know you won't try the same. Those were some good traps out there. The clipboards were a nice touch." The hissing of a stimpak shows the woman must have needed a place to recover as well, but also hints at her vulnerability, to earn trust. "I've got some food out here. Come out, or don't. I'll be done soon." And with that the wet smacking of a hungry person chomping on jerky can be heard, the faint scent of spices likely reaching the hidden girl through the grates.

[16:27]Maggie: The girl, while young, was by no means dull-witted. She weighed the options she had in her head before slowly emerging from the cabinet. Staring up at Amra was a pair of blue eyes and a cute, freckled face. Long, black hair fell past her shoulders, somewhat frizzy from the situation. "W-Who are you?" She asks, her tone shaky and innocent as she eyes the jerky in the woman's hand hungrily.
[16:29]Amra: "Most people just call me Mama," she says easily, leaning against a cabinet with one leg straight out, the other propped to rest her elbow on. She tosses a skewer of iguana to the girl, perhaps testing her reaction speed. 'So what are you going to do when you're too big to fit in cabinets?" she asks, not speaking down to the child, but instead appraising her as a peer. Or at least a good sport to not mention the likely dreadful reasons a little girl is alone in here.

[16:35]Maggie: The girl's arms instinctively rose to block the projectile the woman threw at her, a betrayed look on her face until she realized it was food. Stomach growling, she scrambled towards the skewer and started chowing down, resembling some kind of depraved animal rather than a little girl. She glared up at the woman, taking her comment as an insult rather than an appraisal as she continued to eat, spitting out a couple bones when necessary.

[16:37]Amra: Moving along gracefully, she shows a hint of charm under her stoic exterior as she notes, "You're eating some of the best iguana in the Commonwealth. We breed them ourselves at the fort. Almost zero radiation," and for the first time, she smiles, a big sales pitch grin. "I have a few more if you're that hungry."

[16:41]Maggie: The girl looked up happily at the woman at the mention of more food, but a hint of skepticism crossed her face as she slowly started to frown. "Why?" She asks, looking down at her skewer curiously. "Why all this?"

[16:43]Amra: "Because there's hope." Amra smiles kindly to the child, then asks,"Are there other people here with you? Have...oh you've not...." Her smile fades. "You haven't been outside, have you?" She bites her lip, sighing while running fingers through her slightly graying locks. "I'm sorry, nevermind that. Are there other people here with you?" she asks, trying to put on a brave expression to encourage the girl's honesty.

[16:49]Maggie: The girl looked up at the woman again, her expression hard to decipher as she shook her head at all of the woman's questions. "I.... I just remember waking up one day and..." She trails off, a hint of emotion betraying her face. "...I was the only one." She finishes. The quarters of the vault all looked like they'd been lived in at some point, but the girl seemed to be telling the truth.

[16:51]Amra: "Then...the tables have turned." Amra leans forward into a squat, knees on elbows as she leans in to speak calmly with a soft smirk. "It turns out I need your help. It's not very tough, but it's important. Do you think you'd like to help me? I need to go there and check, to see if anyone else might...have a chance." Her smile briefly falters, then returns. "Can you show me where it is?" Her hand is offered, palm up.

[16:55]Maggie: She looked rather confused by the woman's request, but decided that pretending she knew what was going on would take her the farthest in this situation. "Er... Take you where?" She asks, her blue eyes locking with the woman's gaze.

[17:02]Amra: She lowers her head and asks simply, "Where you woke up, were there any other people? Perhaps in big capsule? Or a covered bed?" She frowns slightly. "Just how long were you down here? Is anyone else in blue suits still down here?" The woman wiggles her fingers for the girl, urging her help. "I just want to help you and anyone else get out of here before more of those angry men come back."

[17:07]Maggie: The young girl looked down, hiding her pained expression from the woman. "You don't understand...." She starts, a small teardrop falling onto the ground. "Waking up in my bed the last thing I remember... There wasn't anybody else here. I didn't even remember my name until I saw it on my bed..." She trails off, looking back up to the woman. A single tear trail from her left eye was the only thing that betrayed her melancholic, but emotionless face. "That was a year ago..."

[17:11]Amra: "I'm sorry. I just don't want any innocent people hurt, that's why I had to ask. Do you want to get out of here? I wouldn't feel good leaving you in here...there's a lot you need to know, and the first thing is Raiders always come back." She drops the offered hand to snatch up her helmet and clip it back into place, flicking on an IR targeting light with a dim red glow. Pistol returned to her grip and a few skewers of food left where she sat, Amra begins heading for the exit. "If you don't like a dry place to sleep, people who take care of each other and fresh food that won't make your hair fall out, then stay here." She casts one look over her shoulder, conflicted but not willing to get nuked while waiting. "But I'd rather you follow. Now."

[17:22]Maggie: The girl just stared at the woman as she talked, shuddering at the notion that the raiders will come back. She didn't need to see them to understand the chaos that transpired throughout the vault. "I-I-I think I'll g-go with you..." She says quietly, standing up. It would be at this point that Amra would realize a couple more things about the girl. She stood at about 4'1, noticeably shorter than the woman. Her skin was pale, but not completely white. The most surprising thing about the girl was that she looked like a miniature version of a super model. Her chest, while flat, showed the pecks of her developing breasts. Her face, situation aside, looked genuinely and naturally beautiful, and her hips were surprisingly wide for someone her age. "L-Let's go."

[17:27]Amra: After seeing so many wastelanders, a healthy person is a rare sight, and it's only by a wealth of Stimpacks that Amra doesn't look as haggard as most civilians above ground. The woman's hand is calloused and her grip firm as she softly takes the girl's wrist to lead her past some of the fallen raiders. "I'm glad you chose that. I'm Amra, by the way. But you can still call me Mama. Everyone back at Sanctuary Hills does." Pausing, she stoops to look outside, a distant green cloudfront hinting that a radiation storm may turn their way. "We need to get to the Cambridge station, it's close to here and I've stockpiled some goods there. We can stay there overnight if storms move in, otherwise we can get to the hills by sundown." A bit of enthusiasm shows as her protective nature is fulfilled in this notion of rescue, especially of a child. "We'll get you some rad-away when you get there so you don't get sick from the trip."

[17:39]Maggie: The girl's eyes briefly flicked to the desecrated bodies of the intruders and let out a gasp, her expression turning frightened. She'd read numerous books about people and death, but she didn't think she'd ever see a corpse so violently taken apart. Some of these bodies were missing entire limbs, while some had their heads completely destroyed. She closed her eyes as she followed the woman, gasping as she breathes in air from the wasteland for the first time. "W-Woah..." She says, taking in the immense landscape of the Commonwealth. The sight of the green storm clouds only added to this sense of awe, but she understood what the woman was saying as she started to go with the woman.

[17:44]Amra: "So I need to know your name before we go on? What did it say above your bed?" she asks with a soft squeeze to the girl's hand. PResumable getting an answer, she proceeds to say "You're going to see lots of difficult things today. THe important thing is that I am here and I want to just get home. We're going to get home, and no matter how strange or confusing it might seem, you need to do exactly what I ask. Okay? Right now, I want your feet to always be touching my shadow. Does that make sense?"

[17:49]Maggie: She looked up at the woman. "Maggie... It said Maggie..." She says, feeling like she can trust this woman enough to tell her her name. "Er... I think we shouldn't start conversations like this if we're trying to escape a storm." She says, pointing to the green storm cloud, which loks noticeably closer to them. In the distance, it seems a grey horde seems to be following the cloud, but it wasn't close enough for either of them to decipher what it is

[17:55]Amra: "Good eye...you're a natural." She leads her charge along carefully, avoiding open roads or crests and soon having them slither through the broad shadow beneath that huge overpass that once connected the whole world to Boston. Amra is dutifully quiet, sometimes silently gesturing to indicate preferred paths or the speed of motion, and whether or not she knows it, Maggie is getting professional training on scouting. Readying a few Rad-X pills just in case, Amra regularly glances at her Pip Boy's readings, but never once does she let the girl out of her reach. Tall buildings surround the Cambridge Police Station, so Amra must decide between exposure to the storm and whatever follows in its wake, or a city path frought with raiders who would do terrible things to them both. "We may get to the station okay, I just hope no scavengers have shown up." The geiger counter begins to faintly tick, distant yellow lightning charging the sky.

[18:05]Maggie: Maggie remained completely silent as they traversed through the wasteland, the horde not far behind the storm clouds but not close enough to worry just yet. While they traveled, she got to take in more and more of the scenery around them, 'Boston', she thought the woman called it. When they arrived at the buildings, ['A city?' Maggie wondered], she immediately could tell that it was far too quiet for there not to be something loud hiding in its depths. She didn't have much time, and both their Pipboys were ticking more and more by the second as she weighed her options. "I-I think we should wait it out..." She says, her throat parched from the walking. She pointed to a small building about 500 feet away from the 'city'. "If there's any bad people in there, then you can get them and they won't have any friends in this cee-tee to help them!"

[18:09]Amra: The amount of things the girl must need to learn visibly surprises Amra, brows raising as she finds herself slowly nodding. "I think you may be right. I have a medicine we can take to keep the storm from hurting us much more than just a runny nose. We need to hurry," she adds, flipping open a few pouches on her combat armor to reveal small packets of gel. "You just tear off the top and drink it. It tastes weird but if you don't take it, the storm can make you so sick you die." Demonstrating, she downs her Rad-X, waits for the girl to follow suit, then they make their dash to the mostly intact building of what was once some small business.

[18:15]*Maggie, After watching the woman drink the strange liquid and listening to her explanation of it's function,  simply nodded and followed suit. She winced slightly at the taste ['It's like someone jammed a stimpak right on my tongue...' She thinks to herself], but otherwise swallows it cleanly. "L-Let's go..." She says, trying not to retch as they start to make way to the shelter. Upon reaching it, it seems to be mostly secure on the outside, with nothing to indicate that there was anything taking refuge inside other than a couple radroaches. "Come on!" She yells, opening the door and taking a quick peek inside. Just some empty store racks and a few radroaches were what she could see from the door as she stepped inside.

[18:19]*Amra takes her trusty pistol out, spending bullets for convenience to drop dead the skittering creatures, a few of them tellingly glowing. "Careful not to step in their, umm, juices," she warms. "And pick up that pipe over there, in case one comes for you. I don't want you to become a bug's dinner, Maggie." Businesslike but working for the girl's safety, Amra steps inside to check for any traps, but if none were found would then move to securing windows and doors so they are minimally exposed. Ozone and sulfur sting their noses as the storm continues its approach, clicks from each woman's wristworn device proving a permanent aspect of the outside world to the young girl. Satisfied enough to at least check on the girl, AMra heads over to set a hand on her shoulder. "Are you feeling okay? That was a lot of walking, I'm proud of you."

[18:28]Maggie: Maggie jumped a bit at the sound of the gunshots, hastily checking behind her to see if there was anything that would've heard them. Nothing seemed to come out of the buildings, but she saw something that made her heart stop. The grey horde from earlier were rushing the city, and now they were close enough for her to see. "G-G-Ghouls..." She cries out, remembering reading about them in her Wasteland Survival Guide from the vault. Some of the horde broke off and were quickly rushing towards the building, so Maggie hastily shut the door and started to help the woman barricade the building. After they were done and the building was secure, she collapsed. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine, just a little sleepy..." She says. Suddenly, a glowing green radroach came out from behind one of the racks. Before Maggie could say anything, it jumped up and sunk its teeth right into Amra's back. Taking the pipe she was given, she rushes over to the woman and kicks the gigantic bug off of her before quickly smashing it with the pipe, panting. "Ghouls... Hear.... Gunshots..." She breaths, looking down to Amra's gun.

[18:33]Amra: The dangers outside held off at least by the fact that they can't draw visual attention in the now fairly secured space, and as long as they remain quiet the monsters should hopefully drift away or at least there would be time to make a plan. The rustling of stormy winds outside and clumsy movement of ghouls around the building made it difficult for Amra to determine the location of that rattling noise until she felt something thump against her back, then slice through her road leathers in a space between the armor and pierce through her skin. She has to stifle a shocked cry with both hands, twisting her body to reveal the massive bug. As quick as she realizes, the girl has crushed the thing's head in, leaving a glowing wound trickling blood and irradiated substances. "Oh, shit, this burns! Dammit, dammit," she growls, her Rad-X ineffective against such a sudden spike in irradiation, so she fumbles for a pack of Rad-Away while squirming in discomfort, too much to thank the girl for not being noisier.

[18:43]Maggie: Maggie looks panicked as she tries to think of something to do. She'd been bitten by radroaches before. Hell, she'd been bitten so much the pain of it is almost normal to her. But a glowing radroach? She didn't need her Wasteland Survival Guide to know that if anything glowing bites you, then you've got one hell of a journey ahead of you. "J-Just stay calm, I-I'll grab a stimpak..." She says, hastily fumbling in the woman's pouch before finding what she was looking for. Taking a deep breath, she injects it directly onto the wound. After a couple seconds, the wound began to close up, but the radiation poisoning could only be cured by time in this case. "I-It's okay, we're safe, right?" She asks, unsure as growls can be heard surrounding the building.

The area of the bite would slowly start to fee warmer and warmer until it felt like she'd been burned. Her entire body had started to heat up, a low fever starting to form. Within hours, the woman would become delusional, but as long as her fever didn't get any worse, she would be fine with a day of rest. The most curious side effect, however, would be a strange bulge that would start to form and grow over the hour. With bloodflow to the area of the bite (Her lower back) increased, it's only natural that some of it managed to go into... Other areas. Thankfully, for the time being, Maggie didn't seem to notice.

[18:52]Amra: The older woman toughs out the pain as quietly as possible, healing the wound not the same as ridding her of the poison that already circulates through her body. Her nose begins to run and her eyes burn, sometimes scratching at herself, but Amra does all of this within low noise tolerances, hardly even speaking. As the pain turns into dullness of the mind, the the woman looks more visibly fatigued, but it makes sense after the storm that she could be weary. Amra drinks several canisters of water, sharing the last with her little charge, but as the storm rumbles and occasional ghoul hisses echo outside, Maggie's protector looks less pleased to be still. "The storm should be over by now," she whispers impatiently, sitting beside the girl on the floor after a bout of nervous pacing.

[19:02]Maggie: As the minutes turned to hours, Maggie started to pace around the shop, her protector still resting as she tries to think of something to pass the time. She settles on skinning the less irradiated radroaches and salvaging what meat she can, grabbing a dirty plastic bag to put it in as she sits down. "Even if the storm should be over, you need rest..." She says quietly, still hearing the growls of ghouls outside. "I've got uncooked radroach meat here, is it worth starting a fire to cook it?" She asks, placing her hand on the woman's forehead.

Currently, about 2 hours have passed since Maggie and Amra have taken refuge inside the store. Scattered gunfire can be heard coming from the city as some of the growling seems to cease. Amra's symptoms seem to be getting worse, the pain now mostly gone but the fatigue and cold symptoms coming with full force. It becomes increasingly clear that the woman is far too weak to even risk setting off outside. Currently, it seems like the woman's cock is at it's full size, bulging whatever clothing she wears as it's only a matter of time before either her or Maggie notice its presence.

[19:05]Amra: It's when the girl checks Amra's temperature that the woman reluctantly sighs and eventually nods. "We can just take some Rad-Away after we eat it," she says, logic a bit impaired as the poison courses through her system. Amra is bunched over, vaguely aware of her cock's state but trying to stay awake more than decent, though the jeans do a decent job of at least strapping down her firmness against one thigh. "I think that bug was poisonous...I feel like it's so hot in here," she says, reaching for a piece of the watery, spongy meat and making a face as she forces down a bite.

[19:11]Maggie: One home-made camp-fire later and the room is illuminated, the sizzling sound of cooking radroach meat echoing throughout the shop. Taking a couple thin, metal rods from one of the carts, she makes 2 skewers of radroach meat, handing one to Amra. "Yeah, I think the bug was poisonous..." She says, too young to understand how to use sarcasm as she helps the woman sponge her forehead. "You should change out of those clothes if it's hot, it'll help I think." She suggests innocently, taking a bite of her food.

[19:14]Amra: Slowly the weakening woman finds no will to disagree or will to avert, just staring at the small scrap fire. Cooked radroach meat isn't better, but at least it's warm. Soon she's down to a ripped up flannel shirt and some shredded black jeans, lying on her side with her rucksack for a pillow, one thigh nervously curled close to her body in efforts to hide her aching erection from sight. "Maybe...we should sleep," she finally manages to say, brain dulled with fever and body weary. Now truly the roles are reversed, Amra needing this child's care and protection, but with a weak smile she adds, "You'll stand guard, right? Keep me safe?"


[19:24]Maggie: Maggie never caught sight of the woman's questionable secret, but she didn't need to in order to figure out that the woman was hiding something. Her mannerisms and actions, while perfectly acceptable in another situation, were being held onto despite seemingly losing all others. After a minute of pondering, she shrugged it off as the woman desiring privacy and nodded her head at the woman's request. "I'll keep watch for a little bit, but I can set up something so I'll know if anyone comes in." She says assuredly, reaching into her pocket and pulling out some twine. About a half hour later, the entire outer perimeter of the interior of the shop was wired, with one attached to Maggie's finger to wake her up if it gets tripped. After about another half hour, she decides that now would be a good time to get some shuteye. A curious look came to the girl's face as she looked down at Amra's sleeping body, almost as if she were wondering what she should do. Another second later, she moved the sick woman's arms and laid in her grasp, assuming the strange thing rubbing against her backside was Amra's leg as she drifts off into sleep.