Crawled Out Through The Fallout

Chapter 18

I wasn't sure where to get a hazmat suit, but I figured I could probably buy one from Diamond City.

...

Deacon and I walked through Diamond City, and I traded some of my extra supplies to Arturo for some ammo. He gave me better prices when I wore my dress, but I was in a hurry. After stocking up on ammo, I tossed a box to Deacon, who caught it easily. I glanced around the market, and spotted Fallon's. I thought since they were a clothing store, it would be a good shot for finding the suits.

As we made our way to the stairway down to the basement, one of the Diamond City security guys pulled me aside, and spoke to me in a quiet tone.

"You better watch out for him, he looks suspicious."

I laughed off his warning, assuming he just was worried that he couldn't see Deacon's eyes because of the sunglasses he always wore.

"I'll be fine. I trust him."

I caught up to Deacon, and walked in the store. The storekeeper greeted us rudely, telling us to either buy something or leave. I frowned at her.

"No need to be rude. We're here to buy two hazmat suits. Do you have any?"

"Look in the dresser in the back. And don't try anything funny."

I nodded, and opened the dresser drawers, searching for the suits. I found two neatly folded in the bottom drawer. I pulled them out and put them on the counter.

"I'll take these two."

"One hundred and eighty caps."

I put a bag of caps on the counter and took the two suits, holding them under my arm. We left the store with the new apparel. 

"We should get out of here quickly, before she realizes I shorted her thirty caps."

Deacon looked surprised and impressed at the same time.

"Really? Yeah, we should go."

I grinned at him as I set the destination on my Pip-Boy to Hopesmarch Pentecostal Church, since it was the closest location I found to where we needed to go.

...

When we got to the church, I thought it was a good time to put on the suits. I took off all my armor and put it in my bag, then pulled the hazmat suit on over my Vault suit. Deacon put his on too, but we both needed help zipping up the backs. Deacon walked behind me and carefully zipped up my suit, and made sure there were no gaps. I did the same for him, and we were ready to continue our journey south.

It was a long walk, taking hours. I could tell we were getting close when the wasteland turned green and glowy. Not to mention the fact that there were no plants, and the water had an eerie orange look to it. I heard a noise from behind a large hill that we were walking straight towards. My immediate reaction was to pull my gun out and crouch, not wanting to risk being ambushed. When Deacon saw me react, he got his gun out too. I skirted around the hill, trying to get an eye on whatever it was. Then there was a small shaking at my feet as mole rats popped out of the ground like daisies. Wrinkly, pink, really gross daisies. That try to kill you. Deacon screamed in surprise, and jumped on the hill.

"Relax, Decon. They're just mole rats."

I calmy shot the rats nearby, killing them easily. Deacon kicked one in the face then shot it.When they all lay dead, we continued our walk.

About an hour later, Deacon decided to strike up a conversation.

"Did you read the recall code?"

I shook my head.

"Not yet. Should I?"

He frowned, thinking.

"No, I just thought that if you do decide to read it, don't tell me, okay?"

"Alright."

"How much farther?"

I glanced at the small screen on the Pip-Boy.

"We are close to a settlement. We can ask them if they know anything."

"Sounds good, boss."

We kept walking, and before long, we got to a giant crater that was filled with people and messy shacks. I carefully slid down the rocks to the pathway, and walked through the hallway. One of the people we passed looked like they were two thirds of the way to becoming a ghoul. Most of them just had thin patches of hair and sunken eyes. They creeped me out, but I approached one of them to ask for help.

"Uh, hi. I was hoping you could tell me where I can find Virgil?"

"Atom welcomes you. See Mother Isolde."

He pointed to a small alcove in the cliff where a woman stood. I nodded my thanks and walked up to talk to her.

"Mother Isolde?"

She turned to face me.

"Yes, child? What do you need?"

I tried to not look thoroughly creeped out, which I was.

"I'm looking for Virgil. I was told he is hiding here?"

Her expression instantly changed from welcoming to suspicious.

"He is not here. What do you need from him?"

I decided to tell her everything, hoping she would sympathize.

"My son was kidnapped by the Institute, and I need Virgil to help me find a way in."

Her face softened slightly, and she spoke in a kinder voice.

"He resides in a cave southwest of here."

I nodded, and smiled to her. 

"Thank you."

"I hope you find him."

I walked back to where Deacon was waiting.

"So which house is his?"

"He isn't here. We have to keep walking. It shouldn't be too far from here."

Deacon pouted.

"That's what you said three hours ago."

I started waking in the direction I was given.

"Deacon, this is important. He could be our ticket into the Institute."

He followed after me.