Fallout 4: AR

21. Lessons in Compassion

The deathclaw roared, standing impossibly tall. Its murderous beady red eyes locked on me, and I desperately tried to escape. My power armor moved sluggishly, the core running out of energy as I backed away. With the last dregs of juice, I lifted the minigun to strafe the monster's belly.

Click!

Oh no, I'm out of ammo! I tried to scream as the wicked claws swiped the weapon out of my frozen hands. The creature leaped, landing on top of my useless power armor, jaws opening wide in another bone-shattering bellow. Razor-sharp talons shredded the protective plates, metal falling away in strips of silvery ribbons, blowing away in a frigid breeze. One enormous back foot stepped down on my suddenly unarmored body, squeezing the breath from my lungs in frantic gasps.

I writhed helplessly, unable to free myself, unable to breathe, freezing in the cold mud beneath me as the deathclaw slowly lowered its head. Its jaws gaped impossibly wide, dagger-like teeth sinking towards my neck. With my last breath, I struggled to sit up, screaming-

"Hey, hey, it's all right. I've got ya, Boss." MacCready's voice murmured in my ear, dragging me away from the terror of death. "It's just a nightmare. C'mon, snap out of it." I felt arms around me, holding me upright as I gasped and shivered. The room was pitch black and freezing cold. My body shuddered in reaction, spasming in delayed shock at my close call that morning. I tried to form words, but all that left my lips was a gasping sob. I leaned into the warmth against my side, feeling tears slide down my cheek.

The arms tightened into a comforting embrace, and I heard the rumble of MacCready's voice, calm and lightly encouraging. "I wondered when it was going to hit you," he mused, pulling me closer, tucking the top of my head under his bearded chin. "Next lesson: Nothing turns your shorts brown faster than a deathclaw charging at you," he added in amusement with a grin I could feel, but not appreciate.

"I..." was all I got out before I starting shaking again. I could feel the vapor from my breath in the air, even if I couldn't see it. The body holding me was reassuringly warm, and I instinctively turned to press closer, the feel of a scarred leather duster under my grasping fingers..

"Geez, your hands are freezing." He took one of my hands in his, the heat of his skin a blessing.

"I... can't stop shivering." Every time I closed my eyes, the deathclaw's jaws descended, trying to tear out my throat. I curled up tight, leaning hard against MacCready in an effort to stave off the vision. "I keep seeing it, seeing its teeth..."

"Hold on." His warmth left my side and I curled up tighter in my own jacket, shivering harder to try and hold on to the fading heat. I heard a slight rustling of cloth and the feel of his body shifting. Next thing I knew, I heard his voice behind me on the bed. "C'mere." I froze.

He sighed and repeated himself. "Come here, Boss. I'm not going to do anything." When I still couldn't make myself move, he gently reached out and guided my cold, shaking body into a full-length embrace. I could feel the heat of his chest through our clothing, and his arms folding over mine. As soon as I had relaxed a trifle, he threw the tattered blanket over both of us. "There ya go," he said as I calmed further, the shared warmth driving away the worst of the frigid air. "Just breathe and relax. I'm right here if it hits you again, okay?"

I nodded. With the chills gone, I drifted back to sleep, the presence of my companion keeping the nightmare deathclaw from returning. "Thank you," I whispered as I dozed off.

His reply was a slumbering mutter, "...welcome."

-0-

It took three days after the radio beacon was activated before the first of the new settlers showed up. During that time, we stayed busy helping fix up several more houses, building more beds and chairs, and other furniture needed for the eventual population. Sturges was a mechanical genius, cobbling together a generator, a water pump/purifier for the river surrounding the development, and even the radio beacon designed to let people know how to find us. I discovered the RADIO screen on my Pip-Boy could pick up the station in Diamond City, and we frequently worked to the sounds of classic rock punctuated by the Wasteland's most hilariously incompetent DJ blasting out the the device's speakers.