Chapter Text
Lucy Maclean was raised to believe in many things.
She was raised to believe in her underground home– in Vault 33. Raised to believe in its rules, and its values.
The shared, hard work and to strive towards a better world.
In a way, it was an eutopic kingdom, shielding its residents from the dark surface above the ground - until the day it was no longer dark, and would be safe to return to.
Safe to restart civilization.
Safe to rebuild America.
So that’s what Lucy believed in. Of course she did.
She dedicated herself to the vault, to its life factory that kept it breathing and working every new day.
Most of her time was dedicated to teaching American history and ethics. In other parts of her time, she was developing her personal skills and gaining knowledge, in hopes of one day using that knowledge and those skills on the surface.
But all in all, Lucy was considered by many of her peers an active contributor to the well-being of her community, which was something she carried forward with her.
Until Lucy had her own little community to contribute to, too; when she participated in the inter-vaults marriage program, and met her husband, Monty.
It was a beautiful celebration, the night where she fell in love with the man wearing the 31 vault jumpsuit for the first time.
Not too long after the wedding, Lucy became pregnant.
In peaceful afternoons and cold days where her and her husband would cuddle in their bed, he’d lay his hand on her stomach and whisper in her ear,
“Radiation levels on the ground are dropping. We might just be able to raise the baby on the surface.”
Which, unfortunately, turned out to not be true– because when their daughter, Olivia, was born, the surface was still declared dangerous to go up to.
And it hadn’t changed, not even four years later.
But Lucy was still, very much happy.
Until she wasn’t.
It started on a Tuesday morning.
Lucy had returned from a fencing practice to an empty home unit.
Olivia was in school, while Monty was participating in the vault’s council meeting.
She dropped down on the sofa and leaned backwards, which gave her a better look at the framed photo of her family leaning on the counter underneath the small TV.
Soon they will all be back at their home unit, and they’d have lunch together as a family.
A happy, content family.
After about a quarter of her favorite Cooper Howard film, she felt a sudden thirst.
When she approached the water tap– she realized something was wrong.
Usually, when Lucy opened the water tap, it opened seamlessly, streaming out cold and hot water per her wishes.
But this time, when Lucy tried to open it, it crackled.
For a few moments, it was making weird noises– quieted down, and then opened up in a hard stream.
“What the fudge?” Lucy muttered, lowering herself to look under the sink and at the pipes. They crackled too.
Before she knew it, her legs carried her towards the door and out of it.
She followed the pipes system, through corridors and home units and classes.
If there was something wrong with any of the vault’s systems, it was her duty to report so.
By the time she made it to the main pipe room, where their waterchip was connected, the noise quieted down.
But Lucy’s mind didn’t.
She approached the little computer standing there, containing all the information about their water system– she thought maybe it would notify her of any mishaps in the system, which she would have to report to the overseer immediately.
Opening up her pip-boy and connecting it to the computer, she began working through the screens and different menus; she wasn’t in charge of the water system, but she understood the computer system well enough to notice if there were any alarms or changes.
Water being directed to…
Unit 101… Unit 102… Unit 103…
Main kitchen… Garden hoses…
And then, catching Lucy’s attention immediately;
Undetected source, California.
Not only was it a different source– not any part of their vault or any other vault for that matter, but it was joined by coordinates too.
Coordinates that were very much different from their vault’s.
Coordinates that led to the surface.
“Oh, god.” She muttered, staring at the words for what felt like forever.
She knew exactly what it meant -
Civilization still existed on the surface.
“I think you understood it wrong, honey.”
A few days later, Lucy confided in her husband about it.
“It said an undetected source in California, Monty,” Lucy pressed, as they were cleaning up the dishes from dinner.
Their daughter sat in the living room, absentmintally watching the TV, not a single care in the world.
“It didn’t say Vault 33, or any of the other vaults– it said California,” She whispered to him, as he moved away from her to the fridge and opened a bottle of juice. “And it had coordinates– and I was going to run them, but…”
He turned around to her immediately, his eyes flashing with something unfamiliar– anger.
“What?” He kept his voice calm, but the look in his eyes was anything but.
Lucy blinked, confused at his sudden reaction.
“It wasn’t coordinates that led to our vault,” she continued. “It pointed at a different location– you know what this means, right?”
“I don’t.” He said, pouring himself a glass of juice and throwing the can back into the fridge loudly, startling Lucy. “And you’re not going to find out, either, Lucy. This is dangerous.”
“What?” Lucy frowned, “Monty, civilization still exists on the surface. We thought the bombs destroyed everything but it didn’t–”
“Lucy, stop–”
“Why? This is everything we’ve wanted– we used to daydream about raising Olivia on the surface, and now it’s possible–”
“I said no!” His voice boomed through the room, followed by a loud echo as he slammed his glass on the counter.
Lucy felt her heart thump in her ears - out of everything, it wasn’t the reaction she’d expected from her husband.
A sign of civilization from the surface.
It was a good thing. He should’ve been happy.
“Daddy?” Olivia squeaked from the sofa, “Why are you shouting?”
Monty’s glare lingered on Lucy for a few more moments, before he took a deep breath and turned around to look at their daughter.
“It’s nothing, princess.” He told her calmly, “Mommy and I are just having a little disagreement.”
The little girl blinked at him, as if she was trying to understand whether he was being truthful or not.
But then, she was four, so she quickly dropped it and turned back to the TV.
At that, Monty turned back to his wife, stepping closer to her.
“You will not be indulging in this any further." He told her in a low voice, “And that’s final.”
And then he left - leaving Lucy to stand alone in the kitchen, confused and angry at the same time.
Something was off.
The same man who held her every night before their daughter was born and promised her they’ll be able to arrive at the surface sooner than they think, the man that when talking to their little girl about the upper world would promise her that at the first sign of safety they would go up– that very same man just lashed out at Lucy for telling him she found a signal for actual life on the surface.
“Mommy, mommy!” Olivia called, pulling Lucy back to reality. “Come watch the movie with me!!”
And Lucy did, of course she did.
But she didn’t focus on the movie, not even for a second.
And their argument hadn’t left her mind all night.
Over the next few days, Lucy couldn’t stop thinking about the water siphoning.
She carried it with her as she woke her daughter up in the morning and helped her get ready for the day.
She carried it with her as she attended vault announcements, listening to her overseer Betty Pearson talk, wondering if she knew about the water.
She carried it with her when she went to teach American history to the kids, and felt the words twist and drown in her mouth every time she had to mention the idea of rebuilding civilization.
Until one day, she was walking down the corridors to her home unit, and suddenly heard her husband speaking in a hushed voice.
“She’s going to ruin everything–”
That made her immediately take cover behind the corner and listen.
She peeked out, realizing it was indeed her husband, talking to none other than their overseer.
“I think you should calm down, Montgomery,” Betty said slowly, “There is a solution to everything.”
“Oh, yeah?” Monty said, stepping closer. “How are you suggesting we solve this?”
“We’ll move you to another vault.”
Huh?
“We’ll say that a new unit in Vault 32 became available, and that we’re transferring you there.” Betty continued, “Something about the unit being more homey and fit for your little girl would suffice.”
“And how would it stop her from spreading what she found out?” Monty bit back.
“It keeps her away from telling it to our people.” The older woman said, “If she does, she might destroy years and years of work.”
Lucy’s ears rang.
Keeps her away from our people.
Destroy years and years of work.
What the hell was going on?
“I don’t know, Betty. Sounds like there’s still a place for something to go wrong.”
“What do you suggest, then?” Betty grew annoyed. “Getting rid of her entirely?”
Silence.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she gripped the wall until her knuckles were white.
Her husband was only quiet for a few moments, but those moments felt like forever.
“I walked by her class today, when she taught them history,” he then said, “She kept choking up when she talked about the surface and civilization. Soon enough, she’ll start to actually talk, Betty. I don’t think I need to explain what this means for us– she’s still my wife, but if your Vault 32 plan doesn’t work, we might have to take extreme measures. We’ve sworn to protect the cause.”
And with that, he stepped away from Betty, heading towards Lucy’s direction.
Lucy gasped softly and pushed herself away from the wall, hurrying down the corridor before he might realize she heard him.
She didn’t breathe until she reached her unit and leaned against the metal door, breathing heavily.
Whatever the conversation between them meant, it made one thing very clear - Lucy was in immense danger.
We’ve sworn to protect the cause, he said.
Even if it means to get rid of her.
Lucy felt sick.
She held her stomach as she tried to catch her breath, closing her eyes and leaning her head backwards.
She murmured to herself, “Think, Lucy–”
Lucy didn’t have to think too hard to realize she couldn’t stay.
She pushed herself away from the metal door and hurried to her room, grabbing only what she thought would be useful– and important stuff of her daughter’s.
Because there was no way she was running away and leaving Olivia behind.
By the time the unit’s door was opened, Lucy managed to pack a whole bag and shove it deep into her closet.
“Lucy?” She heard Monty call, “Are you here?”
“I’m here!” She called back to him, and before she could step out to him, he entered the room.
“Hi,” he smiled.
“Hi.” She smiled back to him, willing herself to fake it as well as she could. “How was the meeting?”
“It was great.” Monty said, already zipping down his suit. “And you know, we’ve got about like an hour or so to ourselves before Olivia’s done in the classroom…”
Lucy could only smile as he stepped closer to her and took her in his arms.
Moments later, when they were both naked and kissing, and he moved his head down to suck on her neck - she stared up at the ceiling and started counting down the minutes until she could leave.
The entire vault was quiet.
Every unit in their floor was dark and closed, everyone sleeping and resting until a few hours later, when they will all be awakened and sent on a new day towards rebuilding civilization.
Not Lucy though.
Lucy would be long gone.
She turned her head to the side and watched her husband, his chest rising up and down slowly as he laid on his back.
Then, she looked over to the clock.
10:30pm, it said.
Time to go.
With immense silence, Lucy rose up from the bed. She was still wearing her vault suit, so it was easier to grab the bag from the wardrobe and step out of the room.
She then made her way to her daughter’s room quietly.
She lingered by the doorway, taking in the room for just a moment– this was the room they’ve been raising her in for four years.
Where she took her first steps, said her first words.
Lucy remembered standing in that very same doorway a few years earlier, as she held hours-old Olivia in her arms.
“You see this, Livvy?” She whispered to the newborn as she squirmed, “This is your home now.”
It was a shame her time in it had to be cut short.
“Olivia, baby,” Lucy whispered as she lowered herself next to the bed, then moved away a piece of light-brown hair from her daughter’s face gently. “Wake up.”
“No…” The child muttered. “I don’t wanna…”
“Come on, sweetie,” Lucy tried again, “We have to go.”
At that, Olivia opened one eye. “Go? Go where?”
“On an adventure.” Lucy choked out.
It was harder than she imagined it’d be.
Her daughter opened both her eyes and sat up. She rubbed her eyes as she yawned and mumbled, “I love adventures.”
“Great.” Lucy smiled, “Wear your suit, then, we have to go.”
Olivia climbed out of the bed and waddled over to the closet, taking one of her vault suits and slowly changing.
Lucy kept looking nervously to the door, fearing Monty might wake up.
If he found out she planned to run, there’s no telling what he might do.
“Mommy,” Olivia called, snapping Lucy back to reality as she tugged on her own zipper. “Help me.”
Lucy moved closer, zipping up her suit and then taking her daughter’s shoes and slowly sliding her legs one by one into them.
“What about Daddy?” Olivia said quietly, “Isn’t he coming too?”
“No, baby, Daddy has to stay here.”
“We can’t leave him behind.” Olivia pouted as Lucy rose up from the ground and took the backpack.
“It’s just for a little while,” She said to her daughter. “And he’ll be safe here.”
“I don’t love adventures anymore.” The child said, holding back tears. “Not if Daddy can’t join them.”
Lucy gulped as she looked at her daughter tearing up - but she couldn’t say anything about what was truly going on.
She took her daughter into her arms and hugged her tight while caressing her head.
She began weeping into her mother’s shoulder, and it was getting harder for Lucy to breathe.
“We have to go, baby,” she choked out. “Just hug me tight and put your head on my shoulder, okay? And close your eyes, don’t look back.”
Olivia nodded against her shoulder, hugging her tight.
Lucy held onto her as she adjusted the strap on her backpack, and made her way out of the unit and down to the elevator.
Neither of them said anything as the elevator went up.
They continued to stay quiet as Lucy approached the gate panel, opening up her pip-boy and connecting it.
Only then did her daughter raise her head, blinking.
“Where is our adventure, Mommy?”
The vault door crackled and started opening slowly.
“The surface.”
Her daughter blinked against the dark night, and then leaned her head back against her mother’s shoulder, seemingly satisfied with the answer - or too tired to ask questions.
Either way, it made it easier for Lucy to step out of the vault door.
She looked down at her pip-boy as the vault door closed back behind her, reading the coordinates she inserted a few minutes earlier.
Shady Sands, the screen read.
“Off we go.” Lucy muttered, and started walking away.
And never looked back.
_______________________
Maximus was raised to believe in many things.
He was raised to believe in his town - Shady Sands.
Raised to believe in its residents, his neighbors, his community.
He was raised to believe in the society he was growing up in, the New California Republic - its goals and its values.
And most of all - he was raised to believe in bettering their fallen world.
“As long as we leave it a little better than we found it,” his father would tell him, “We did okay.”
Which is why Maximus was contributing to his community as much as he could.
On Sundays, he’d do neighborhood routes and give out water to the elderly and all those who couldn’t get it themselves.
On Tuesdays– sometimes it was different, but mostly on Tuesdays– he’d go out with a group to salvage items from the wasteland and bring them back to their town.
On Wednesdays, he’d teach the kids at the school literature, the way he grew up learning from the books.
And on Thursdays, he’d work at the garden, so his mother could sell their crops on Friday.
All in all - he was happy.
“Hey, Max, check this out!”
It was Tuesday, so he was out with the group to scavenge the area around them.
This time, they reached a location even further than the last one they visited at - they reached an actual neighbourhood.
Despite it being the wasteland, after all, and people looting and destroying at any chance they had, the neighbourhood was in pretty good shape.
So far, they found a few different pieces of metal, an old radio that Maximus was sure his father could fix– they could give it to the kids at the community center to listen to– a few old helmets, and now - a toy plane.
“Isn’t it cool?” His friend, Dane, held the toy at him. “The kids are going to love it.”
“They sure will,” Maximus smiled, already thinking of their reaction to both a new radio and a new toy.
“Hey!”
They both turned around to the source of the voice, which was Captain Rodriguez walking towards them.
“Nice finding, Dane,” The woman smiled at them patiently, “But maybe our top priority should be things we can work with.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Maximus liked Captain Rodriguez. She usually did her work in the army forces, but sometimes she’d join them in scavenging.
She was a no bullshit kind of woman, but was also kind and patient.
She lived in Shady Sands with her wife, Meryl, and their son Harry, who was also an NCR ranger.
Maximus loved that about Shady Sands– how everyone had a role, big or small, and even the people who already had their roles found more ways to contribute.
An hour or two later, they were back in Shady Sands, after Rodriguez concluded their scavenging a success.
A group of men carried the scavenged items to their designated places– metals to the workshops, the rest of the things to the community center.
Maximus bid the captain a goodbye, and walked off to his home.
“Pretty successful day, huh?” Dane smiled at him as they walked.
Max chuckled. “It’s only the middle of the day.”
“Are you planning on doing anything else?” They said, stretching out. “My muscles are fucked, dude.”
“I don’t know, I might do a round at the farm later.”
“You want me to come over and help?”
“I thought your muscles were fucked.” Max raised his eyebrow, “It just so happens that you’re willing to help on Soup Tuesday?”
Dane raised their hands defensively, “Hey, even a small portion of your mother’s soup would fix up everything.”
“Aha.” Max nodded sarcastically, and then elbowed Dane, who laughed.
When they reached the crossroad to the neighborhood, they parted ways.
“See you later.”
“See ya.”
They walked off, Maximus making his way down the road to his house.
It wasn’t a small house, but it wasn't huge, either.
They had three bedrooms– one for his parents, one for Maximus, and one that was the guest room.
They had a small kitchen, a living room with a few bookshelves they considered their library that included a couple of his father’s science books, a few cooking books that were his mother’s, and the rest were Maximus’ literature books.
In addition to that, they had a small garden, and a backyard where his father held his science experiments.
His latest one - purified water.
Not from their water wells, but instead he created a machine that drew their water right from the ground and straight to the bottle.
That was his plan, anyway– he hadn’t finished it yet, but Maximus wholeheartedly believed in his father.
He wasn’t surprised to arrive at his home and find his father in the backyard.
“Hey, Dad.” He called out, and his father turned around, instantly breaking out in a smile.
“Maximus!” Joseph, his father, called out.
“How’s it going with the water?”
“Pretty good,” Joseph said, looking back to his station and smiling. “I might just finish working the machine this week.”
“And then we’ll have purified water?” Max asked, looking at his father and then at his station. He shared his father’s interest in the unknown, in discovering new things and improving them - but sadly, he didn’t share his interest for science.
For all he knew, it was just a stand with a bunch of bottles in their backyard.
“If it works– yes.” His father said, beaming.
Both of his parents were contributors to their community, way longer than Maximus was. They raised Maximus to be the best man he could be, raised him to believe the world can be better and that he should fight for this cause whenever he had the chance.
He loved them both dearly, and could not imagine life without them.
“Where’s mom?”
“At the market. How was scavenging?” His father asked, leaning over to his machine and grabbing a screwdriver.
“It went well. We found a few things– more things for the community center.”
His father smiled at him, “That’s great. Are you going to go there later?”
“Maybe later, but I’m pretty beat. I think I’m gonna nap for an hour.”
“Suit yourself.” Joseph said, and Maximus put his hand on his father’s shoulder and walked away, stepping into the house.
He made his way over to his room, dropping down on the mattress with a long sigh, feeling tired yet satisfied.
_______________________
Lucy started wondering if she might die out there.
It had been two days since she fled Vault 33 with Olivia.
Two days of long walks under the sun, two days of rationing the water and food carefully, two days of sleeping poorly.
And by the time they made their first stop on the third day, Lucy was exhausted like never before, and she was starting to ask herself what the hell was she thinking.
Of course, she wasn’t a quitter. She was usually the first to rally up the people, the first to give words of encouragement if something didn’t go their way - but back home it was different.
This was the wasteland.
And she had Olivia to take care of.
It affected every choice she made in the last few days– how much she walked, how much she ate and drank, how much she slept.
Every choice and every decision meant putting her daughter above everything.
It also meant that Lucy’s lips and throat were incredibly dry - because she only managed to grab two canteens with her, and she had to ration them carefully. She never gave herself as much as she gave Olivia.
“Mommy!”
Her daughter’s voice snapped Lucy back to reality, and she widened her eyes, willing her fluttering eyelids to stay open.
It was two hours after they started walking, Filly long forgotten behind them.
They were leaning against a big rock Lucy directed them to when Olivia started pouting and demanded a break, and they haven’t moved since.
“Yes?” She mumbled at her daughter, sitting up so she wouldn’t fall asleep.
“You’re falling asleep.” Olivia noted, looking up at her as she munched down on her deviled eggs.
“I’m okay,” Lucy rasped, rubbing her eyes. “Are you enjoying your eggs?”
“Mhm.” The child hummed, taking another gleeful bite and knocking her feet against each other back and forth to the rhythm of the low music playing from her pip-boy. “When are we getting to the kingdom?”
The kingdom, right.
That’s what Lucy told her– that their adventure was to a big, peaceful kingdom. A sanctuary on the wasteland, where society thrived.
She didn’t know whether it was actually true. She wanted to believe it was.
“Soon, baby.” Lucy smiled gently, leaning in to her daughter and kissing the top of her head.
“How soon?” Her daughter asked with a mouthful of egg.
“In a few hours.” She told her, and the lie stung on her tongue.
They had at least a whole day of travel ahead of them, if they walked fast– and if they didn’t, maybe half of the following day, too.
But Olivia didn’t have to worry about that.
She didn’t have to worry about anything, not as long as Lucy was in charge.
If Lucy was being honest– she didn’t always carry that motherly instinct with her.
Her mother died of famine when she was a child, and despite the fact that her father and the vault taught her everything and gave her all the values she needed to teach and pass on to a child - Lucy had no idea how to be a mother.
It terrified her, on the few occasions throughout her pregnancy that she allowed herself to think about it.
Would she be a good mother to her child? Would she be able to raise them right, the way she had been raised? How would she know what to do?
But all of those worries faded away the first moment she held her daughter.
She remembered herself sweaty and shaking from adrenaline, cuddling her newborn and playing with her miniature fingers - as she silently swore to herself that she’d never let anything bad happen to her girl.
And she intended on keeping that promise, no matter what.
All she had to do was get Olivia to Shady Sands.
“Done!” The little girl chirped when she finished eating her eggs, then closed the box. “Water, please?”
Lucy nodded and turned back to the backpack, taking out the canteen.
She shook it softly next to her ear, trying to estimate how much water they had left– half a bottle, maybe a bit more than half– should be enough for them for the rest of the day, if Lucy rationed it right.
“Open your mouth,” she said to her daughter as she twisted open the cap on the canteen.
Her daughter responded by tipping her head back, opening her mouth wide, and doing a small and loud “Ahhhh!”.
It made Lucy smile. She tipped the canteen forward with one hand, the other sitting under her chin gently so the water wouldn’t spill.
After a few sips, Olivia moved away from the bottle, satisfied.
“Do you think they have orange juice in the kingdom?” She asked, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. “Or apple juice?”
“I sure hope so.” Lucy said, and then looked into the canteen.
Licking her dry lips, Lucy tipped her head back and allowed herself a few sips from the water as well. Just enough to stay conscious and strong enough to keep walking.
“Do you think they have cookies?” Olivia then went on to ask, “Or jelly cakes?”
Lucy’s stomach growled. “I– I don’t know, baby.”
Please stop talking about food, she wanted to say instead, but she couldn’t. She didn’t want Olivia noticing her struggles– she wanted her to make her journey blissfully, with no care in the world.
And besides, Lucy preferred her talking about food than talking about her father.
On their first day of travelling, she wouldn’t stop asking about him.
Why couldn’t he come, what was he doing in the vault, when are they going to see him again.
None were questions Lucy could answer honestly– not without breaking her little girl’s heart.
She couldn’t tell her her father was a dangerous man, and she couldn’t tell her what she overheard, either.
It was easier to let her believe he was a good man - for the time being, until she was old enough to handle the truth.
If Lucy would make it to tell her, because so far it was not looking good for her.
She didn’t even know Shady Sands– all she knew was that they were able to siphon the vault’s water to their system.
But they could turn out to be raiders, or criminals.
Lucy had come to realize that the surface may have been safe for civilization to exist on, but it didn’t mean it was peaceful or kind.
It became clear to her when they arrived at Filly, and she asked for water from the people around, but none were willing to give it to her if she didn’t give them caps in return– which she came to learn was the form of currency on the surface– not even as she begged.
One guy offered her a bunch of caps in exchange for Olivia, which immediately made her bolt away.
And she realized just how unsafe it was, too, as they made their way away from Filly when all of a sudden a gun fight started.
But she had to believe Shady Sands was different. She had to believe it was a sanctuary.
“I’m ready to go!” Olivia called, jumping up to her feet.
When Lucy remained laying against the stone they were resting on and tried to catch her breath, her daughter grabbed her hand and tugged on it.
“Come on, Mommy!” She said, “We need to get to the kingdom!”
“We do, you’re right,” Lucy mumbled, moving her weak legs and standing up slowly. She groaned as she did.
She looked down at her daughter, who looked up at her with big, curious eyes.
It was worth it, Lucy reminded herself. Her struggles were worth it, because she was keeping Olivia away from danger.
“There we go.” Lucy smiled at her as she settled the backpack on her shoulders, taking Olivia’s small hand in her own.
“Do you want to hear the story of the cowboy again?”
“Yes!” Olivia called, “Yes, yes, yes!”
Lucy managed to laugh despite the dryness in her mouth, and then cleared her throat.
“Okay– many, many years ago…”
_______________________
A day later
“I think I’m gonna do it.”
Is what Dane first said to Maximus as they sat down in front of him at the diner on Wednesday morning.
“Do what?” Maximus asked, cutting down his omelette and taking a small bite.
“I’m gonna ask that ranger out,” Dane replied, with enthusiasm Max knew will be replaced by nerves moments later.
“Mike?”
“No, Joshua,” They said, sipping from their coffee. “Mike turned out to be an asshole– and also, he wasn’t even gay, apparently.”
Max chuckled. “And how do you know Joshua is?”
“Uh, maybe because we made out a week ago?”
“Oh. That makes sense.”
Dane smirked and grabbed a bite Maximus just cut from his omelette. Maximus stared back at them, offended.
Dane didn’t mind. “You’re going to the school later?”
“Yeah,” Maximus said, putting down his fork and lying back in the chair. “We started working on The Old Man And The Sea last week.”
Dane nodded. “That’s a good book. Are you doing anything later? In the evening?”
“Not really. Why?”
“A bunch of us are getting drinks at the tavern.”
Max frowned. “I thought you were going to ask Joshua out.”
“Yeah, I’m gonna ask him out– but we’re not going to go out tonight, I need to get ready first.” Dane said, running their hand through their hair, “Get a cool haircut and stuff.”
“Okay– well, sure, yeah. We’ll meet up tonight.” Max smiled, and Dane smiled back at him.
“Awesome.”
Max grabbed his coffee cup and took a sip, then took the last bite of his omelette and pushed the plate off.
“I’ve got to go. I’ll see you later though?”
“Sure.”
With a squeeze on his friend’s shoulder, Maximus left the diner and stepped out to the street.
A group of kids ran down the street past him, giggling and squealing, and a group of rangers walked in the opposite direction, seemingly returning from a hunt. A few of them carried bags of what Maximus could only assume was a few geckos.
Maximus continued to walk down the street, heading towards the school.
He walked a few minutes through the market and into the main street– and all of a sudden, he heard shoutings from the front gates.
“Do you have any weapons?”
“Put her down!”
He rushed over to the gates, quickly climbing up the ladder to the watch tower, and jumped up from the ladder to the platform.
The two soldiers turned to look at him– both of them knew him well.
“What’s going on?” He asked, and one of them only pointed with his head forward.
Max got closer to the edge, getting a better view on the person standing below.
It was a woman.
The woman stood there, wearing a dark blue suit, and her hair laid unkempt on her shoulders as a big backpack rested on her back.
She looked absolutely exhausted and weak.
And she was carrying a child.
A small child– no older than four or five– rested in her arms, wearing a matching dark blue suit. Her hair was up in a blue hair tie, and she buried her face in the woman’s shoulder.
Max’s head shot to the other watch tower, where another soldier had his gun pointed at her.
“Hey!” Max roared, “Put that gun away, she has a fucking kid!! Put it away!!”
The soldier’s head shot to him, and his eyes widened. He lowered his gun immediately.
Max turned to look at the soldiers standing with him in the watch tower.
“Can you open up the gate for her?” He said.
“We can’t just let her in, Maximus– we asked for identification, and she didn’t say anything–” One of the soldiers said, “And didn’t answer when we asked if she was armed, either. We can’t let her in–”
“She’s sick. And she has a kid– what is she going to do?” Maximus pressed, and then added, “I’ll identify her, okay? Just open up the gate.”
The soldier exchanged a long glance with the other soldier, then turned over to the other watch tower and shouted, “Opening up!”
And then, he pressed the button to open up the front gate, and the gate crackled loudly.
Maximus put his hand on the soldier’s shoulder to say thank you, and hurried off the ladder and back to the ground.
By the time he made it to the ground, the front gate fully opened, and in front of him stood the young woman.
Standing in front of her now allowed him a better look; her skin was pale, probably from days of walking, there were dark undereye bags beneath her big, green eyes, and her lips seemed to be so dry Maximus thought they might fall apart at that very moment.
The child in her arms raised her head a little bit, but she mostly stayed hugged to the woman.
On the back of her suit, he noticed, was a big 33 written in a yellow text.
It took him a moment, but then he finally realized– they were from the underground vaults.
Maximus had heard the stories - the stories about the people who went down to underground bunkers to escape the bombs 200 years ago.
What were they doing here?
The woman took a few steps forward, getting closer to Maximus– her steps slow and forced.
“Hey.” he said softly, approaching her. He allowed himself to put his hand on her arm, to show her she was safe. That he wasn’t going to hurt her.
She looked down at his arm, and then back at him. Her mouth hung open a little, like she was surprised.
“I’m Maximus.” He said, looking into her eyes. “What’s your name?”
Her eyelids started fluttering when she spoke, and her voice was raspy and weak.
“L-Lucy… My name is Lucy–”
And before Max could say anything else - her knees gave out, and she stumbled forward.
Maximus was quick to catch her in his arms, and the child she was holding, too.
He lowered her to the ground, gently setting her down as he released her grip from the child.
The child kicked her feet in the air and squealed.
“Mommy!” She cried, kicking her feet as Maximus held her. “What’s wrong with Mommy?”
Mommy.
That was her daughter.
She traveled all this way with her daughter.
Why did they come to Shady Sands? Why did they leave their vault?
Only Maximus would have to find later– because he currently had a squealing child in his arms, and an unconscious woman beneath him.
“Mommy’s just sleeping–” He told the child, as he motioned for another soldier passing through to approach.
The soldier hurried to come over, and Maximus slowly handed the child over to him, “Hold her, please–”
The child only squealed and cried harder, kicking and hitting the soldier - who was unbothered by her hits, and more bothered by the unconscious woman on the ground.
Max lowered himself to the ground, sliding his hands beneath the woman and picking her up into his arms.
He cradled her head against his chest, checking for a pulse– very weak, but it was there.
“I got you.” He whispered, “You’re safe.”
Together with the soldier, the crying little girl, and the woman cradled in his arms, Maximus walked home.