Worlds Apart: a Fallout 4 FanFic

A Fallout 4 FanFic romance. Jake Evans and the Sole Survivor saving the Commonwealth.

Why was she so cold?

The sun was shining outside, casting golden rays into the living room that highlighted the rug they had just purchased. Tess Vanderbilt smiled. She remembered shopping with Nate just before they moved in to their new house in the Sanctuary Hills housing development. The news was on, the caster droning on about something she couldn’t quite make out. The sounds of everyday life. Familiar sounds. The fiery jet of their Mr. Handy, Codsworth - RobCo's finest in servant robots - floating about the kitchen. A newspaper being spread out. The smell of coffee.

But she was freezing. Her body trembled so hard her teeth were chattering.

And then the vision of this idyllic landscape started to splinter and crack, like shards of a mirror breaking apart and scattering to the periphery of her mind. She heard the sound of a computerized voice, people talking, the loud report of a firearm. Nate!

Her eyes fluttered open. Her heart sped into a gallop. Where was she? She looked around her enclosure, and then... out of the semi-frosted glass in front of her to a large object across the way. The sight of the other enclosure jolted through her like a soundless bolt of lightning. She banged on the door of what she now remembered as being a decontamination pod and pushed on it. “Let me out! Let me the hell out of here!!” She felt the seals give way and leaned into it with all her might until it finally began opening with a hiss, the pressurized chamber releasing her.

Shivers wracked through her and she gasped for breath. Stepping from the pod, her legs gave out and she fell to the floor. Willing herself to her feet, she stood transfixed, staring at the pod that housed her husband.

This isn’t real. It’s not real. Wake up Tess, wake the hell up!

The mechanical voice echoing throughout the vault continued its loop. Critical failure in cryogenic array. All vault residents must vaca... It trailed off as she stared across the floor. She looked around. It didn’t appear anyone was there in the bay of pods she stood in. There were five on each side, facing each other. She moved a step closer. If she moved very slowly she knew she’d wake up before having to face the nightmare inside the other pod. But... she had just been drinking her coffee, not really listening to the news, admiring the beautiful day outside. That was real. This was not.

But the chill in her body was as real as the grave.

Biting her lip, she took a few more steps until she was finally within a foot of the other pod. Nate was frozen inside. His dark brown hair almost white with ice crystals. He was slumped over to his side, a bullet hole in his chest. That voice. That raspy voice. She flinched at the memory, still not crystallized in her mind. “That man,” she growled. Who was he, why...

Swallowing hard she looked for a way to open Nate’s pod. She was going crazy. That’s what it was. Her dream had become so vivid that she was starting to believe it. Her nerves were raw, her breathing strained, her throat sore.That looping recorded voice wasn’t helping either. She finally found the lever, pushed it up and stood back as the door unsealed and slowly ascended. Her body trembled as she stood transfixed, still not accepting what was before her. But deep down she knew it was real. Flashes started playing in her mind. The news, the Vault Tec man at the door... the bombs! Oh god, where was Shaun? Where did those bastards take her son?

Ducking under the door she looked at her husband’s lifeless body for some time until she felt something hot trailing down her cheeks. She absently brushed the tears away as she reached for Nate’s hand. It was so cold. Even more than she was, and a sweeping dark terror enveloped her. The finality. The abject horror. The mind numbing confusion. Looking down, she caught the glint of his ring. A sad smile curled her lips as her wedding day played like a movie in her memory. They were so happy. Their families were there, friends, co-workers – everyone. It had been the perfect day, and the reception was once in a lifetime. She never knew she could be that happy. Until they had Shaun.

With shaking hands she slid the ring from his finger then gently placed her palm to his face. She began to weep and fell to her knees. She wept until she couldn’t take another breath. Sobbing and choking, her body curled up and slumped over. She lay in a fetal position wishing she were dead, tightly grasping Nate’s ring.

The sound of a baby crying jolted her awake. She looked around frantically, but the sound was gone. “Shaun?” she called feebly. On trembling legs she returned to her husband. “I am going to find whoever did this and they are going to pay dearly. I will burn this world down until I find our son! I promise.” She knew Nate would want her to go on. Would want her to find their son. But how could she do this without him? How could she go... out there?

She slid his ring onto her thumb and started looking for the exit. After a few dead ends, she found herself in a hallway that opened into a room that adjoined to what looked like a kitchen. There wasn’t much around, but she saw a baton on a crate and took it. Just as she flicked her wrist to open the baton, she heard a squeaking, scurrying sound and to her horror, what started to come toward her was a cockroach the size of a dog!

Shock and disbelief froze her in place as she watched it begin scurrying toward her. Just as it jumped forward she swung the baton, cracking its exoskeleton, ooze spraying from its ruined body, and sent it flying across the floor.

“What the fuck was that thing?” She trembled and almost dropped her weapon. How? Why was that thing... How was this possible? The biggest she’d ever seen was a couple of inches long and she nearly demanded Codsworth use his fire stream on it. God, she hated those things! But this one? She could have saddled it! Fear was a cold finger slithering down her spine.

What happened here? Where was everyone? She moved forward slowly and more carefully, the baton raised in readiness. There wasn’t much in the kitchen. Some empty beer bottles, an old coffee pot. The bunk room next to the kitchen was empty. The place was as quiet as a tomb, except for a deep humming sound like something electrical coming from the next room.

Cautiously, she approached the door and it whooshed open. In the center of the room was a large utility unit of some sort. A transformer? It appeared to be malfunctioning as there were bolts of electricity, like a Jacob’s Ladder, hitting the floor in random places. She took a tentative step inside the door and watched as the next series of bolts hit something with a sizzle. It was another damn giant roach.

Good, she thought. Fry the fucker! She shuddered again. Revolting.

Making her way around a safety railing that surrounded the transformer, she saw another door on the far side. But just under the light she spotted yet another one of the abominations. She looked at the roach, then to the door behind it. The only exit. Like some raving banshee she raised the baton and let out a curdling warrior scream, running at the thing for all she was worth. Her blow nearly tore it in half, which made her stomach lurch, threatening to empty its contents. Closing her eyes she took some calming breaths until her pulse no longer felt like a jackhammer in her temples.

Her eyes moved to a skeleton on the floor in a degraded vault suit and white lab coat. She knelt and read the name on the badge still clipped to the breast pocket. It belonged to the doctor who had led her family to the pods. She recoiled in disbelief. Slipping through the next door, she heard the sound again. After more calming breaths she found her resolve.

Fuck this place. And fuck these roaches!

She needed answers and she needed out. But was it safe yet? What day was it? Hell, what year was it? She was not stupid. Bodies did not skeletonize in days. It took a hell of a lot longer. It took years, she thought. This time the roaches were easier as her determination won out over her phobia. In the following room was another of the staff, also tattered and bone. She found a 10mm pistol, some ammo, and some medical supplies. She stuffed them into a pack she found in an adjoining room.

It took a minute to figure out the next door needed to be opened via a terminal on the desk. The next hallway was just fabulous. After dispatching the herd of roaches there, she went through another door and discovered the exit chamber–hallelujah. More skeletons littered the floor, the furthest just ahead under what looked like a terminal.

She spotted a Pip-boy - another RobCo marvel, the portable personal computer - on the grating by the control panel. She had seen Nate’s but never really looked at it in detail. She hoped she could figure it out as she clamped it onto her arm. It was surprisingly light for as hefty as it looked. Glancing to her right, she saw the final barrier between her and the complete unknown. The large steel door to the exit.

Should she open it? Would she die within hours from radiation sickness? How long did it have to be before it was safe? Had enough time passed? She closed her eyes, the questions swirling and coalescing like a tidal wave. Then she saw the frozen body of her spouse, the memory of the terrible man who had shot him and stolen their baby. Her eyes narrowed with anger. What choice did she have?

Reading the instructions on the panel, she found the connector on the Pip-boy and slid it into the receptacle then hit the activation button. Klaxons started turning, shredding the darkened room with rotating orange light An announcement commenced, warning against nearing the door. She didn’t really listen to it. Machinery came to life with clunks and hisses as the multi-ton door began to move inward, then roll to the right.

Her resolve deepened. She would do whatever she had to to find answers - and mete out justice. Death be damned.