Fallout: Blood & Steel

Chapter 2

The scent of cooked meat assailed Belle's nostril and she woke up feeling hungry. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Belle looked around to see that it was nearing nighttime. Getting to her feet, Belle walked out of the house to see Dragonborn roasting some meat over a fire and Preston and the others were all partaking in the roasted meat, blood and grease smearing their lips and chins.

"You're awake!" Sturges called out to her as he chewed on a collop of meat. "Come over here and fill yer belly! Dragonborn cooked this up real nice!" he laughed as he took another bite of the meat in his hands.

The scent of the roasted meat was making Belle's stomach grumble a needy sound and she walked over to Dragonborn who handed her some of the cooked meat. With barely a word of thanks, Belle dug into the meat and couldn't stop the moan of delight as succulent protein and grease filled her mouth. Chewing on the meat, Belle demolished it within seconds before asking, "Where did you get this?" she asked Dragonborn.

"The Deathclaw I killed," Dragonborn replied casually.

Belle almost blanched and she looked at Dragonborn in near horror before she looked at everyone else, silently asking if they were alright with eating something that had tried to eat them first. Seeing the look on Belle's expression, Preston said to her, "Hey, Deathclaw meat is pretty good. High in protein, low fat and tastes pretty good," he said. "Most settlements would pay good money for Deathclaw meat and even Deathclaw eggs," he added as he took another bite of the meat.

Belle thought for a moment of saying something, but Dragonborn cut her off. "Would you rather those bandits who tried to kill us?" he said to her. Belle's face went white at the thought of cannibalism and she realized that today, cannibalism might very well be a common occurrence and the thought of eating Deathclaw meat didn't sound so bad after all. Taking another piece of Deathclaw meat, Belle ate it, albeit with slightly less enthusiasm.

"I also took the time to skin the Deathclaw for its hide," Dragonborn said as he indicated with a jerk of his head to the wall where Belle saw the entire skin of the Deathclaw spread out.

"What are you gonna do with it? Make a rug?" Belle said attempting to make a joke out of the situation.

"No. Make armour out of it," Dragonborn said bluntly.

"Armour? What's wrong with your armour?" Belle asked.

"Nothing," Dragonborn said. "I'm making armour for you," he added.

"I don't…" Belle tried to say before she realized that perhaps it would be best to have some protection. Other than the vault suit she currently wore, she had no other forms of bodily protection.

"What kind of armour could you make from that skin?" Belle then asked Dragonborn who had taken off his helmet and served himself some Deathclaw meat.

"Something basic for now," Dragonborn said in answer. "Some bracers and shin pieces. Maybe a chest piece?" he added.

"I think that'll do for me at the moment," Belle said agreeing. "But, I believe you owe us an explanation as to who you are," she then stated seriously.

"I do, don't I?" Dragonborn replied as he chewed some meat and swallow it. Dragonborn then began a brief overview of his world and where he came from. Everyone sat around the campfire enthralled by the story Dragonborn told them. A land filled with magic and fantastical creatures and races from the Khajit, the cat-people of Elswyr, the Argonians, the lizard-people of Black Marsh, the human races of Nord, Breton, Imperial and Redguard to the Elven races of High Elves, Dark Elves, Wood Elves and Orcs.

Dragonborn also told of the lands of his world, the major continent of Tamriel and its provinces such as Cyrodiil, the deserts of Hammerfell, the swamplands of Black Marsh, the jungles and badlands of Elswyr to the frozen north of Skyrim.

And it was in Skyrim that Dragonborn told of his adventures; from nearly being executed simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time until a dragon attack halted everything, the quick exit to safety and from then on. To learning that dragons who had been extinct for millennia had returned or more accurately coming back to life to Dragonborn himself slaying his first dragon and learning of the power within him.

"And what is this power within you?" Belle had asked.

"The power of the Thu'um, or the Voice," Dragon replied. He gave a brief explanation of what the Voice was; it was Words of Power and the language of dragons and there was a myriad of uses the Voice had. From controlling the weather to breathing fire or ice, the Voice was a tool of great power and destruction Dragonborn said and it was easy to misuse it.

Dragonborn then went on to detail some of his adventures in Skyrim; from joining the Companions where he learnt to use a sword, taking on mercenary and bounty hunting jobs, taking instruction in the magical arts, even learning some useful skills from the Thieves Guild.

Preston had asked just how good Dragonborn was with a sword; Dragonborn was modest about his skill with a sword saying that there were others who were much better than he was or could be and some of those people had been his teachers. Preston also asked if Dragonborn had experience in leading others.

That led to Dragonborn telling them of his time with the Imperial Legion, the official army of Tamriel under the leadership of the Emperor of Tamriel. He explained that there had been a civil war in Skyrim which started from the Thalmor, the ruling power of the High Elves from Summerset Isles winning a vicious thirty year against the Empire and the signing of the White-Gold Concordant which outlawed the worship of Talos, a god and one of the Nine Divines of Tamriel. For many Nords of Skyrim, Talos, or Ysmir, was sacred and to not be allowed to worship him openly was a crime. The civil war started when the Jarl of Windhelm, Ulfric Stormcloak riled many Nords up in rebellion against the Empire and had even killed the High King of Skyrim using the Thu'um.

Dragonborn also mentioned that when he had nearly been executed, Ulfric was with him set to be executed as well, but the subsequent dragon attack had allowed Ulfric to flee with his followers. And when Dragonborn's exploits became known around Skyrim, delegates from the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks had shown up on his doorstep many times with messages and offers to join them.

"So, which side did you choose in the end?" Belle asked.

"I learnt that the Thalmor had been manipulating everything from the shadows to divide the Empire and weaken it even further," Dragonborn said. "So I chose the Imperial Legion to put a stop to the Thalmor's manipulations, and also because the Stormcloaks were racist bigots set on ostracizing or killing every non-Nord in Skyrim. They'd already started in Windhelm," he added.

"What kind of things did you with the Legion?" Preston asked.

"Many things; from ambushing Stormcloak caravans, taking back fortresses to leading the final attack on Windhelm and personally cutting Ulfric's head from his shoulders at the conclusion of it," replied Dragonborn.

Preston's mind was whirling with the possibilities of having someone like Dragonborn in the Minutemen. If Dragonborn was as capable a warrior and leader like he claimed to be, the Minutemen could rise again stronger than before.

"Any other stories you want to tell us?" Belle asked Dragonborn who smiled slightly and said, "Would you believe me if I told you about vampires?" he asked.

"Vampires… as in drink blood and can't go out in sunlight?" Belle asked and Dragonborn nodded.

"I thought Vampires were just myth," Sturges said but he was now glancing about fearfully as though a vampire might just pop out of the encroaching shadows.

"Well they exist on my world," replied Dragonborn. "And I joined an order dedicated to hunting them," he said and he told the story of the Dawnguard and the battles against the vampire clan of Volkihar castle. There was a slightly fond look on Dragonborn's face when he told of how he met Serana, a vampire with a conscience who helped him stop her arguably insane father from blotting out the sun. It was clear to Belle that Dragonborn had a deep and close friendship with this Serana woman and for a moment, Belle felt a brief tingle of jealously before wondering where such a thought came from.

"So, how is it you came to our world?" Belle then asked.

"That is another story altogether," Dragonborn said. "It's getting late anyhow," he added giving the night sky a glance. Belle tried to stifle a yawn; the nap she had earlier hadn't been enough and her full stomach was lulling her to sleep.

"It is getting kinda late," Sturges put in as he rubbed tired eyes and Preston looked about ready to keel over.

"I'll take first watch," Dragonborn then said as he stood from his spot and adjusted his sword to be within easy reach.

"I can take first watch!" Preston protested.

"You look about ready to keel over with exhaustion," Dragonborn rebutted. "I'm used to sleepless nights. Go get some rest, you need it," he said to Preston who tried to argue but Sturges and Mama Murphy were already directing the last Minuteman over to one of the houses to get some rest.

Belle looked at Dragonborn and said to him, "Are you sure you're gonna be okay taking first watch? You must be exhausted from today," she observed.

Dragonborn gave a slight grin and replied, "Don't worry about me, milady. You just get some rest," he said to her. After a moment, Belle then headed to her old house where she found Codsworth hovering about humming a cheerful tune to himself.

"Ah, there you are, Miss Belle!" the Mr Handy exclaimed. "I was just puttering about when I found Master Nate's case," he said as he lifted an old case up onto on the island kitchen bench with a servo arm. "I believe it maybe his guns from the War," the robot added.

"You only just found these?" Belle asked looking at the robot.

"Y-yes! I'd completely forgotten it! By the time I found it, you'd already left for Concord," Codsworth said. "I deeply apologise, mum!" he added regretfully his chassis shaking slightly with nervousness.

"It's alright, Codsworth," Belle said to him reassuringly. "I didn't think of it either," she added. "But, could you do me a favour?" she asked.

"Anything, mum!"

"Could you help Mr. Dragonborn with the watch tonight?" Belle asked him. "I think two sets of eyes will be more useful than one," she said.

"Not to worry, Miss Belle! No ne'er-do-wells or rapscallions are going to get past me!" Codsworth said proudly and he floated out of the house. Belle smiled after the robot before looking at the case that contained Nate's weapons from his days in the army. While Nate hadn't been able to keep his combat armour, he was allowed to keep some of his guns, even though he was now retired from active duty to help raise Shaun. The memory of Shaun and his kidnapping brought a wave of emotion in Belle. The thundering boom of Nate's killer resounded in the corridors of Belle's mind and the face of the killer was burned in her mind.

Walking down to Shaun's nursery, Belle looked at the crib and whispered, "Don't worry, Shaun… I'll find you… I promise!" she said to herself before heading into the bedroom she once shared with Nate before falling onto the ancient mattress and let sleep overtake her.

The next morning.

Belle woke up and for a brief moment she thought she was back in bed with Nate before the War and it had been a normal day. But, the sight of the near ruined buildings and empty spot beside her reminded her that the world had ended in atomic fire, Nate was dead/murdered and Shaun had been kidnapped by whomever it was that wanted a baby boy. Stifling down the urge to cry, Belle got out of the near ruined bed to face the day.

Leaving the house, Belle was greeted with the sight of Preston and the others awake being served some breakfast by Dragonborn who roasting some meat over a low fire.

"You're finally awake!" Preston exclaimed with a smile at Belle who rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "Are you hungry? Dragonborn went out and caught some fresh radstag," he said.

"Radstag? Is that some kind of deer?" Belle asked faintly.

"From what I saw of them, they must've been once," Dragonborn said as he handed her some roasted. "Eat. You need your strength," he advised.

"Aren't you tired from last night?" Belle asked him.

Dragonborn shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm used to it." Before going back to cooking the food.

After everyone had finished eating, Preston spoke to Belle. "Listen, I know you got your own set of problems and all, but I was hoping you could help us out," he said earnestly.

"What kind of help did you need?" Belle asked cautiously.

"Well, for starters we could clean this place, set up some defences and maybe organise something along the lines of crops to grow," replied Preston. "I know this might be too much to ask of you, but would you help us?" he asked his eyes almost pleading for Belle to help.

Belle sighed and replied, "Alright, I'll help out," she conceded.

Preston heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me!" he exclaimed.

"So, what do we need to do first?" Belle asked.

"Talk to Sturges, he should give you an idea of what's needed," replied Preston before he walked up to Dragonborn and spoke to him.

Belle then went to find Sturges and soon found the mechanic taking apart a rusted out car, obviously salvaging for materials to use.

"Oh hey!" Sturges greeted her brightly. "Preston said you might be wanting to talk to me about what to do around here," he said airily.

"Yes, he did," replied Belle. "So, what can I do to help out around here?" she asked.

"Well, for starters, we'll need to clear out of some these houses and find whatever we can scrap or salvage from them," replied Sturges. "Then we'll need to start on a reliable source of clean fresh water," he said.

"What about the river? What's wrong with that?" Belle asked.

"Well, unless you wanna get sick with radiation poisoning or whatever else we can sick from, we'll have to build a water purifier," Sturges said. "Luckily for us, I have the schematics for a water purifier," he added holding up a diagram in one gloved hand.

"So, that's why we're clearing out these houses? To find what components we need to make this water purifier?" Belle said.

Sturges nodded and said, "Yep. These old cars should have some of the components we need. Anything else you can find, bring it to me and I'll see if we can use them or not."

Belle immediately set to work on clearing the ruined houses. Codsworth came by to help as Jun Long who claimed he needed something to distract him. Between the three of them, they had cleared out much of the old houses and brought anything worth salvaging out to Sturges for him to assess. Sturges had looked over the materials with a careful eye, sorting out what was needed right now and what was not needed at the moment.

It was lucky that they found the materials necessary to build the water purifier and the generator needed to power it. But as they worked on building the purifier and generator, Belle looked around to see where Dragonborn had gone off to and could not see him anywhere nearby. Taking a quick break, Belle walked up to Preston and spoke to him.

"Hey, Preston. Where's Dragonborn gone to?" Belle asked the Minuteman.

"Oh, I asked him if he could do some scouting around the are for any friendly settlements nearby and see if he could some trading with them for crops," replied Preston. "I saw him take off in that direction, across the river near the bridge" he said pointing in the direction Dragonborn went in.

"He's out there alone?" Belle asked.

"Well, you saw how he handled himself against those raiders and a Deathclaw yesterday," Preston said. "I think it's safe to say that Dragonborn can handle whatever comes his way," he added.

"Aren't you worried for him a little?" Belle said.

"I am," Preston admitted. "But, I am confident that Dragonborn will come back safe and sound," he said with a smile, although the smile was tinged with slight worry. Belle stared at Preston before going back to work.

…

With Dragonborn.

Dragonborn traipsed across the brown grass, his boots soaked with water when he waded across it. He had spied a column of smoke and knew that it could indicate a friendly settlement or encampment nearby and headed in the direction of it.

Sure enough, Dragonborn found a sizable building not all that far away from Sanctuary and from what he could see, it looked like a farming settlement. Walking over to the settlement to where he could see a middle-aged man and woman and a younger looking woman tending to a crop of melons, Dragonborn called out to them.

"Hello there! Is this your farm?" Dragonborn shouted out. The middle-aged man pulled from his waist a weapon similar to what those raiders wielded and the middle-aged woman swept the younger woman behind her.

"That's close enough, friend!" the middle-aged man growled threateningly aiming his weapon at Dragonborn who didn't seem too perturbed. "If you're here to cause trouble, I'll warn you! We're armed!" he declared.

"I'm not here looking for trouble," replied Dragonborn calmly. "I was looking to do a little trading if possible," he said.

"Oh yeah? How do I know you ain't a raider?" the farmer said challengingly.

"If I was, we wouldn't be having this conversation," Dragonborn replied. The farmer lowered his weapon but still held it in a tight grip.

"Ah, sorry about that, friend," the farmer said apologetically. "Can't be too careful out here," he added.

"I understand," Dragonborn said nodding his head. "Might I know your name?" he asked.

"Blake Abernathy. This is my wife Connie and my daughter Lucy," replied the farmer. "Who are you? And where do you come from?" he asked.

"Call me Dragonborn," Dragonborn said. "And you could say I'm not from around here," he added shrugging his broad shoulders.

"I can tell that by looking at you," Blake stated looking over Dragonborn's armour. "So, you said you wanted to do a little trading?" he asked.

"Aye, I do," Dragonborn said. "Do you happen to seel your crops by any chance?" he enquired.

"Yeah, we do," Blake's wife Connie said. "We also sell some other stuff you might need," he added.

"What kind of crops do you grow mainly?" Dragonborn asked.

"Tatoes mostly, but we're starting on melons," Blake said. "What do you need crops for?" he asked cautiously.

"I'm helping a group of settlers in Sanctuary nearby and I was asked to find any nearby settlements that sell crops and foodstuffs," Dragonborn explained. "But, I'm not sure I have enough money to buy what is needed," he said apologetically.

"How much do you have?"

Dragonborn pulled out the pouch of bottlecaps Preston had rewarded him yesterday. "How much will I get for this?" Dragonborn asked.

"We could give ya a couple of bags of tatoes and a melon or two," Blake admitted. "If you want more than that, then you'll need more caps to spend," he advised.

Dragonborn hummed for a moment before speaking, "Perhaps we can make a deal?" he suggested and Blake looked at cautiously. "You mentioned raiders… are you having problems with raiders?" Dragonborn asked.

"Yeah, we are as a matter of fact," Blake replied. "Some raiders came by a couple of weeks ago led by this lunatic called Ack-Ack," he said. "They demanded we pay them tribute and so long as we kept paying them tribute, they'd leave us alone," he explained.

"But you said fuck off to them," Dragonborn said rather than asked.

"I didn't, but my daughter, Mary, did," replied Blake sadly. "They shot her dead in cold blood!" he said tears forming in his eyes. "She's buried out the back, and that bitch Ack-Ack told us that we'd end up the same if we didn't do as they said," he added almost breaking down into wracking sobs.

Dragonborn nodded in understanding. "If I get rid of this Ack-Ack and her gang, will you give me what crops you can spare?" he asked.

Blake nodded rapidly and said, "Yes! If you can kills all those bastards, we'll give you whatever you want!" he exclaimed.

"Where can I find them?" Dragonborn then asked.

"They're holed up at the old USAF station up in the hills," Connie said pointing towards the high hills. "It's a big building with a satellite dish on top of it. You can't miss it!" she added.

Dragonborn and prepared to leave when Connie stopped him. "Before you leave, when you kills those raiders, can you bring back Mary's locket?" she asked.

"A locket?" Dragonborn repeated and Connie nodded in reply.

"Yeah, it's been my family for generations and I gave it to Mary when she was old enough," she said. "That bitch Ack-Ack took it from Mary's corpses when she killed her," she added angrily.

"I'll find it and bring it back to you," Dragonborn said solemnly before leaving the farm. Going into a light run, Dragonborn headed in the direction that Connie pointed him in. Holding up his hand, Dragonborn used the spell, Clairvoyance, to help point him in the direction. It was a useful spell for when trying to find someone or a place he'd never been to before and it was proving its usefulness now.

Following the misty blue smoke trail, Dragonborn walked down the broken roads past Concord and into the almost mountainous hills and forests. Soon enough, Dragonborn spied a large building with some kind of large metallic dish on the roof pointing at the sky; the clairvoyance trail ended signalling that this was USAF building.

LAAS YA NIIR!

The whispered Thu'um was uttered and to Dragonborn's eyes, all nearby lifeforms bloomed a bright glowing red. Some strange ugly looking creatures were situated in a shallow crater feasting on whatever it was that had been given to them. Up ahead at the USAF building, Dragonborn could see the signatures of humanoid beings, one was inside a ramshackle wooden shack and the other was high in a metal tower keeping watch.

Crouching low to avoid detection, Dragonborn pulled out a dragon-bone knife and went around the ugly rat-like creatures and slipped under the metal wire fencing surrounding the building. Hiding behind the wall of the shack, Dragonborn could see the occupant drinking from a brown bottle and almost sneered in disgust; the idiot shouldn't be drinking on the job. Time to make the man regret that decision. Grabbing a small rock, Dragonborn tossed the stone out the entrance of the shack and waited for the raider to investigate; the raider was quick to respond, putting down his beer and holding his gun tight, the raider went to investigate the disturbance. Dragonborn softly crept up behind the man and reached out with an empty hand.

Quickly covering the raider's mouth in a tight grip, Dragonborn ran the blade of his dagger across the man's throat, causing a small spray of blood to come out. The raider gave a muffled gurgle before falling still and Dragonborn then place the corpse onto a nearby bedding to make it look like the man had fallen asleep. Next was the guard in the tower; silently creeping up the runway, Dragonborn found the raider looking at the horizon with a rifle in his hands, but the man's stance showed that he was bored and not all that interested in the job. Dragonborn sheathed his knife and silent as a cat, walked up behind the man, grabbing his head and with a brutal twist, he snapped the man's neck killing him instantly.

Checking the raider's pockets, Dragonborn found some bottle caps and pocketed them before heading down the runway and proceeded to head into the USAF building. Entering the building, Dragonborn's pathway was lit by flickering lights. Heading further into the bowls of the building, Dragonborn down the stone stairway and entered through a doorway. As soon as he stepped through the doorway, a blaring sound rang out repeatedly and a loud angry woman's voice shouted.

"Wake up, idiot! Someone's in the base! Find him and kill him!"

"Hmm, must've set off an alarm," Dragonborn scolded himself. "Ah well, nothing for it now," he said as he drew his sword and strode into the room. Almost immediately, two raiders entered the room and began firing their weapons at Dragonborn who spun away from the hail of lead and dashed towards the two raiders and swung his sword in a horizontal arc. The impossibly sharp Valyrian steel blade of Dragonborn's sword sliced through the crude stitched leathers of the raiders and bisected them both at the waist, leaving both halves of their bodies in pools of crimson life-fluids.

Leaving the raiders' bodies, Dragonborn headed down the staircase and was beset upon by a raider armed with a club. The raider swung his weapon clumsily, showing no real skill besides brute force. Sidestepping the attack, Dragonborn backhanded the man knocking him into the concrete wall. The raider hit and slid down the wall with a groan but found his sternum and ribcage was crushed by Dragonborn's heavy boot; the raider gave out a choked gasp as his lungs were punctured by splintered bones and his vital organs were crushed, leaving him to die slowly on the floor.

Entering the main area, Dragonborn found some raiders barring his way; two were armed with guns and the third was armed with a machete. The machete wielding raider swung her weapon at Dragonborn furiously; Dragonborn simply parried the attacks, feeling a little annoyed at the lack of skill the raider had. He then grabbed the raider by the arm holding the machete and twisted her around just as her comrades opened fire. Using the raider as a makeshift shield, Dragonborn walked towards the two raiders, the bullets from their guns colliding with the human shield Dragonborn had in front of him. Once he was close enough, Dragonborn dropped the now assuredly dead raider and lopped off the heads of the raiders shooting at him.

Then the doubles doors at the end of the room burst open and a group of raiders armed with guns, led by a woman wearing slightly better quality armour than the other raiders and holding in two hands was a large minigun.

"I don't know who you are, asshole, but the buck stops here!" the woman snarled and the raiders opened fire. Dragonborn shouted.

FEIM ZII GRON!

Dragonborn's body turned phantasmal and ghostly. One of the raiders shouted, "Jesus Christ! It's a ghost!" he screamed before dropping his gun and fleeing the room.

"Hey! Get back here! Fucking coward!" the lead raider shouted as she fired her minigun at Dragonborn who stood implacably letting the storm of bullets pass through his immaterial body. Once all the raiders' guns had run empty, Dragonborn's body became material again.

"My turn."

In a blur of motion, Dragonborn crossed the distance and slaughtered the raiders. The raider leader had backed away fumbling with the minigun trying to reload while her comrades were being slaughtered by this demon.

Once the last raider had been skewered in the heart, Dragonborn then looked at the raider leader who managed to reload her minigun. With a victorious grin, the woman fired her gun again, causing a spray of hot lead to come barrelling out.

TIID KLO UUL!

Time slowed to a crawl for Dragonborn and he began moving within the near frozen time towards the raider, avoiding the lead bullets that sprayed out in a large volume. As soon as he was within distance, Dragonborn slashed the raider woman's chest open and time resumed normal pace again. The woman gave a gasping sound as her chest was slashed open and she fell to the ground, dropping her minigun and to her knees, clutching the wide gash in her chest trying to stem the torrent of blood that was gushing out in a river. Dragonborn looked at the woman for a moment before spying a locket hanging around her neck.

Reaching out, Dragonborn removed the locket from the dying raider. The raider tried to say something but slumped to the ground dead, a pool of blood surrounding her now cooling body. Remembering the one raider who had fled, Dragonborn quickly found the raider cowering in a corner.

"Please! Don't kill me!" the man pleaded pathetically. Dragonborn tilted his helmeted head to the side before speaking.

"I won't," he said. The raider looked up hopefully at this. "At least not today," Dragonborn then added making a panicked look cross the raider's face.

"How many other raiders gangs like yours are out there?" Dragonborn asked calmly.

"There's a few," the raider replied with a whimper.

"Where is the nearest one to this place?" Dragonborn then asked.

"Lexington, in the old Corvega factory! Jared runs it!" the raider babbled.

"Go to this Jared and tell him that I'm coming for him and every other raider gang in this land," Dragonborn then told the raider. "Tell him to expect me real soon," he said coldly, his purple eyes flashing beneath his helmet.

"Yes sir! Right away!" the raider wailed out scrambling to his feet. Dragonborn allowed the man to flee out of the building. Looking at the locket he had taken from the raider leader, Dragonborn surmised that this must be the locket Connie told him about. Checking the pockets of the dead raiders, he found a sizable amount of caps and a key on the leader. If the leader had a key, then the stash had to be nearby; simple logic dictated that.

Searching for a locked room, Dragonborn soon found it upstairs. The key fitted perfectly and the door swung open; inside was quite a bit of salvage, caps, food, armour, weapons and ammunition. Taking the caps and pocketing them, Dragonborn then told himself to tell Preston about this place; no doubt they could come back for the rest of the stash later.

Quickly exiting the building, Dragonborn saw that the sky was just past its zenith; it would almost be early afternoon. Quickly leaving the USAF, Dragonborn then headed down the road towards the Abernathy farm where they would be waiting for his arrival.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: there, the second chapter of this done and I hope it was a good one. Not much other to say, so I'll just leave this here.

Be kind to one another,

Angry lil' elf.