Chapter Text
Red felt the cracked streets of Concord shake as the beast Preston referred to as ‘deathclaw’ fell to the ground, its pool of blood glistening under the night sky. She panted heavily in her power armor, shaking from the adrenaline of the fight. She looked at her 10mm pistol in her metal hands, still not believing that she killed this thing with a fucking pistol. Preston had told her that she could use the minigun on the vertibird but she was a lawyer before all this. How the hell was she supposed to know how to operate a minigun?
With her pistol, she planted the last bullet in the chamber into the deathclaw’s head for good measure.
She turned back towards the Museum of Freedom, faintly spotting Preston’s face being illuminated by the bright red glow emanating from his laser rifle among the rubble that was created by the crashed vertibird. Preston raised his rifle in the air and waved. Red assumed that it was his way of asking if the deathclaw is dead. She raised an OK sign in front of her headlamp anyway.
A cool breeze seeped through the hinges of her power armor. Even if it helped keep her head attached to her spine from the deathclaw attack, it seems that it can’t protect her from the cold winds of Boston. She felt her knees weaken and wobble as the adrenaline started to die down. She sent another signal in front of her headlamp, waving for Preston to come down to her. Red watched him exit the rooftop then faced the dead deathclaw behind her once again.
She stared down at the unmoving deathclaw, noticed its ebony scales riddled with bullet holes and burn marks thanks to Preston’s sniping from the rooftop. It still looked as terrifying as it was alive.
The feeling of exhaustion has started to become more apparent to Red. Gone was the adrenaline that kept her on her feet for the past hour, starting from the first bullet she dodged from the first human being she saw upon setting foot in Concord.
Red wanted to stay inside the armor until Preston was with her. She was afraid that there might be remaining raiders alive, but she didn’t want to remain inside where cold metal was being pressed against her body either. She quickly regretted fumbling for the eject button as her body went into free-fall from the armor. Her head made contact with the cracked pavement, feeling loose bits of concrete wound her scalp.
That’s going to hurt later... As if my whole body wasn’t enough.
Having no energy to get up, Red remained still with her back flat on the pavement, taking the time to admire the vast blanket of stars above her. She didn’t have a lot of chance to admire them before the bombs dropped; it was hard to see them because of the light pollution in the city. Now that the power was out for most of the Commonwealth – hell, the whole country – she could see them crystal clear. Billions of stars in the sky, and even more beneath the clouds.
The night sky was beautifully lit with countless stars, just like the night she and Nate spent at the park. He had insisted that they visit the park in the afternoon and stay until it was dark. One thing led to another then nine months later, they had Shaun.
Red couldn't help but laugh at the insanity of what has happened over the course of her life. It almost didn't seem real. It almost seemed like a dream that wasn't ending, a dream she couldn't wake up from. Maybe she is slipping into insanity herself? Maybe she is in a coma and this is all in her head? Maybe she's in a hospital bed right now, with Nate and Shaun at her side looking after her until she wakes up. But Red was all too aware of the reality of her situation.
Nate is dead.
Shaun is missing.
She's only alive 200 years later because of the cryogenic freezing. The bombs were no dream, but what happened after was a nightmare.
She didn’t know who or what to blame for everything that has happened to her. Should she blame the kidnappers? Vault-Tec? The war? Or should she blame herself?
She was thinking about it all this time. Had she been the one holding Shaun, maybe Nate would still be alive right now. Maybe he had a better chance at stopping them from taking Shaun from her arms. If those bastards did end up killing her like they did with Nate, maybe he would have found Shaun by now. She was aware that she wasted days of weeping, mourning, and sleeping, only to wake up repeating the cycle. If Nate were her, he would have wasted no time in finding Shaun.
Nate. Oh, Nate. The love of her life. He was the only reason why she chose to help Preston and the others; she knew that he would have done the same thing.
“I miss you,” she whispered to the sky, hoping that Nate could hear her from wherever he was.
She wasn’t aware that she had been crying again until a breeze blew against her face. She felt the trail of her tears grow cold from the wind. She had promised Nate that she would rescue their son and she intended to fulfill that promise as soon as she can.
Her eyes started to feel as heavy as the vow she made to Nate. She was trying her best but succumbed to exhaustion when she hears the museum doors open with the sound of footsteps heading her way.
“Red. Hey, Red!” Preston knelt by her side, gently shaking her shoulders. “Are you okay?”
Preston’s firm grip remained on her shoulders but she definitely felt his eyes scan her body for open wounds.
Such a gentleman.
She intended to smile but didn’t have the energy to do so.
“Yeah, I’m OK. I just need… to rest…” she mumbled.
The last thing she heard before she passed out was the sound of someone getting in the power armor.
Red watched the whole scene unfold in front of her over and over again inside her very own ice coffin. She had grown tired of crying and slamming her fists on the thick glass window after many iterations of the same event. Her grief and sorrow were slowly getting replaced by anger and rage yet she felt ironically empty despite the all the mess she had in her heart.
“At least we still have the backup…” She watched the bald man peer into her pod for the nth time. She had memorized every wrinkle and mark on that man’s face. She slammed her fist at the glass window one last time before she was woken up by a loud bark and the feeling of warm and wet flesh licking her hand.
She woke up to a huge German Shepherd gently gnawing on her hand. She sat up slowly, gingerly cringing at the heavy feeling of her body. With a pat on the head, he barked again.
“Shhh…” Red cooed as he scratched on his chin and watched him wag his tail. He looked at her with hopeful eyes.
“Oh… You’re finally awake.” The voice startled Red. She turned to the other side of her bed to see an old lady sitting on a worn-out chair, smiling at her. Her name was Mama Murphy, or at least Preston and the others referred to her as that. Red remembered seeing her back at Concord and overheard her talking to Preston about some kind of sight or something.
“Dogmeat, go tell Preston she’s awake.” Mama Murphy waved her hands at the dog. Dogmeat, huh? The dog, seemingly understanding what she had said, stood up and ran outside. Red opened her mouth to ask if the dog did understand but Mama Murphy cut her off.
“Don’t worry about Dogmeat. He’ll find Preston.” She chuckled. “Worry about yourself instead, kid. You’ve been asleep for almost a day.” She turned to look at the window above Red.
Red didn’t need to look at the window to see that the sun had already set and the sky had begun to darken. The candles illuminating the room began to flicker as a cold breeze crept into the room with the faint earthy scent of rain. 200 years and a nuclear holocaust have passed but the cold never left Boston. Some things never really change.
The room stayed quiet as both of them waited for Preston and Dogmeat to return. Red cleared her throat as she thought of something to break the silence.
“Where are we?” Red asked. She had already known that she was back in Sanctuary Hills but she doesn’t know which house they were in. Although, she was certain that they weren’t staying in their old home and this calmed her down if not a little. She hasn’t entered their old home yet, even after emerging from the vault. That place always bring her sorrow so hurtful that sometimes the pain felt physical.
“We’re in Sanctuary, directly in front of your house.” Mama Murphy gave Red a sad smile.
“How did you know it was mine?” Red asked as she raised an eyebrow, surprised and slightly suspicious of the old woman. She was sure that she hasn’t told her life story to anyone here, at least not yet.
“The Sight shows me a bit of what was, and what will be. And even what is, right now.” Mama Murphy turned her head towards the ceiling, looking beyond. Now that Red had a good look at the old woman, she noticed that Mama Murphy looked really high as a kite. She didn’t even try to think of a response to something so ridiculous. Instead, she lifted her left arm only to see that her Pip-boy is missing from her wrist.
Mama Murphy grabbed her Pip-boy from the end-table and gently placed it on Red’s lap.
“Thank you,” Red said, slightly ashamed for even thinking bad of the old, kind woman beside her. She was putting on her Pip-Boy on her wrist when Mama Murphy spoke again.
“You’d need to stay strong. Like you’ve been,” She said out of the blue, empathetic. Red heard heavy footsteps coming closer to their room but quickly dismissed it as she grew engrossed in her conversation with Mama Murphy.
“Cause there’s more to your destiny. I’ve seen it. And I know your pain.” The old woman continued.
Red can’t help but scoff when she heard her say ‘destiny’.
“Destiny? You’re trying to play me for a fool,” Red repeated what the old woman said with a mocking, sarcastic tone.
“I just saw you go toe-to-toe with a twenty-foot tall irradiated lizard. With just a damned pistol. Don’t tell me you can’t keep an open mind after that,” Preston said, cutting in. He clearly was defensive of Mama Murphy’s ability. He leaned on the doorless doorway. Dogmeat sat beside him, ears up, head slightly cocked.
“It's all right, Preston. Not everyone understands the Sight.” Mama Murphy raised a hand to stop Preston then she turned her head to Red.
“But I don't need you to believe, I just need you to listen...” She placed her hand on Red’s.
“You're a woman out of time. Out of hope. But all's not lost.” Red could see that Mama Murphy was looking at her but at the same time, it seemed that she was looking way beyond her.
“I can feel... your son's energy. He's alive.”
Red perked up at the news that Shaun is alive somewhere in the Commonwealth.
“Where is my son? Where is Shaun?” Her voice betrayed her as it sounded a bit too desperate.
“I… can’t see him. No, not clearly,” She tightened her grip on Red’s hand. “Look, kid. I know how I sound. The Sight, it’s crazy. It’s sometimes foggy, but it ain’t ever a liar. He’s out there.”
Red looked dejectedly at Mama Murphy and turned to face Preston. He took it as a sign to stop Mama Murphy before Red breaks in front of them. He perfectly knew of the feeling of loss and grief. He also took Red as a prideful person. He assumed that she wouldn’t like breaking down in front of strangers.
He walked in the room and stood beside Mama Murphy. He placed a gentle hand on the old woman’s shoulder, seemingly afraid that he would break her.
“Okay, that’s enough Sight for today, Mama Murphy.” He chuckled lightly. “But I do need to talk to Red in private. Is that fine?” Preston asked Mama Murphy.
“Don’t be silly. Of course, it’s fine” The old woman flashed them a grandmotherly smile and stood up from her chair, releasing Red’s hand from hers. She reminded Red of her parents. She choked back a tear after the realization that they probably didn’t survive the bombs.
“Let me help you with that,” Preston said, carrying Mama Murphy’s chair out of the room.
Mama Murphy followed suit with her hands behind her back but stopped before she turned to the hallway.
“Don’t forget what I told you, kid.” She said and left after seeing Red nod.
Red let out a heavy sigh right after they both leave. A lot happened this week, and that was putting it lightly. She recollected her memories and enumerated the things she had done after getting out the vault. She felt like vomiting after remembering the fact that she had killed 3 people during the rescue in Concord. She was used to working with and against murderers back when she was a lawyer but now that she did the killing herself made her stomach turn.
She remembered it vividly. The way she felt relieved when she saw some people alive after the bombs. Relief turned to terror when those people shot at her. She had no choice but to shoot back. She was thankful that Nate insisted to teach her the basics of using firearms. She was used to shooting paper targets and wooden dummies, never did she thought that she’d actually use this in combat.
Her first shot found its target’s neck. She peeked from the side of her cover to see the man she shot had his hands gripped around his neck, desperately stopping the bleeding. His body twitched violently before he had his last breath.
Before she knew it, she was coughing and dry-heaving on the bed, one hand over her mouth and the other on her stomach. Dogmeat ran up to her, licking her tears. Familiar heavy footsteps ran towards the room. Preston walked up to her and ran a hand on her back, worry on his face.
“Are you okay?” He asked reluctantly, knowing the answer.
It took a while before Red stopped coughing and answered.
“Yeah,” She cleared her throat, coughing a little more. “I just remembered the people I killed yesterday. It was my first time… Killing…” She trailed off, tried to shot Preston a sheepish smile but failed.
“I’m sorry that you had to do that, the killing I mean.” Preston apologized, sincerity in his voice. “But I’m glad that you did. We wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you.”
She wasn’t sure what to feel about that. It felt wrong that it takes a life to save another.
The room stayed silent as the night began to grow. Preston remained unmoving as Dogmeat slept soundly on Red’s lap as she ran her hand on his fur. She found it strange that his fur looks and feels clean.
“So, what was it that you want to talk about?” Red broke the silence.
Preston shifted in his place. His eyes ran around the room, a slight hesitation in them. Red gave him his time to recollect his thoughts. She looked up at him when he started to open up.
“I guess you know already that I’m one of the last of the Minutemen, but I never really told you what happened to us.” Preston placed a hand on the back of his neck.
“Have you heard of the Quincy Massacre?” He asked. Red noticed a crack in his voice.
“I’m afraid I haven’t.”
“I thought everyone in the Commonwealth knew about that by now.” Preston said.
Red thought of telling Preston that she was in cryo-sleep for more than 200 years but she held back, knowing that this wasn’t the time for that.
“I was in Colonel Hollis’ group. A mercenary group called the Gunners was attacking Quincy; the people there called for the Minutemen for help.” He paused and swallowed loudly. Red thought that this Quincy Massacre was a pretty touchy subject for Preston.
“We were the only one that came. The other groups… they just turned their backs. On us, and the folks of Quincy. Only a few of us got out alive. Colonel Hollis died in battle. So, I ended up in charge of the survivors. We never found a safe place to settle.” He looked at Red and Dogmeat. “You saw how it ended – “
“in Concord,” They said in unison. Red nodded in agreement.
“I know how it feels to be the last survivor.” She said. She remembered Nate and her dead neighbors that were still frozen back in Vault 111.
“Yes, you do,” He replied. He took off his hat and placed it gently on the table beside her bed.
“That’s why I’m talking to you. I can’t rebuild the Minutemen… but I think you can.” He blurted out.
Red was taken aback by Preston’s words. She couldn’t accept such a huge responsibility not when her husband’s killers and her son’s kidnappers were still out there. She couldn’t even defend her family from a few people. How would she be able to protect the Commonwealth from everything else?
“Why can’t you lead the Minutemen?” She asked, her voice a bit high-pitched.
“That’s not who I am. I can get my men through a firefight. I can defend a perimeter against all odds. But I can’t lead, no. What I can do won’t be enough to bring the Minutemen back from the brink.” He sat on the side of the bed. Dogmeat momentarily woke up from the movement of the mattress.
“We need someone who can bring the whole Commonwealth together in a common cause. And I think you’ve got it in you to be that leader.”
Now, Red was just confused. She didn’t have a clue why Preston was hell-bent in making her lead a militia group she only knew about yesterday. Not to mention that she couldn’t see what Preston saw in her. A leader? No, she was a lawyer. She was just a normal wife and a mother, with a decorated war hero as a husband. Nate would have been perfect for this role, but not her.
Preston saw her reaction to his proposition. He spoke before Red could even mutter a word.
“You saved us in Concord. There wasn’t anything in it for you. You had your own problems to deal with, I know,” He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But you did it anyway. That kind of selflessness has been in mighty short supply around the Commonwealth for quite a while.” Preston gave her a hopeful glance.
From that look, Red understood that the Minutemen was as important to him as Shaun was to her.
She looked down on her hands, the same hands that killed and rescued people. Nate’s wedding ring glistened in the dark, reflecting the moonlight behind her. She turned it on her finger as her thoughts drifted to Nate’s. He would have agreed to lead the Minutemen from the get-go. That’s how kind he is. She wouldn’t have fallen in love with him if he wasn’t. Plus, he was from the Army; he would know how to work and lead with one.
She doesn’t want to say yes but she couldn’t say no either. Nate would have liked it if she helped them like she did back in Concord.
Red sighed heavily.
“Alright, Nate,” She thought to herself, mentally talking to Nate. “I wasn’t able to save you so I’ll do my best to save others in your place.”
It was selfish of her to think that the Minutemen could be a way for her to immortalize her husband but she figured that if she could lead the Minutemen and rebuild the group, they could also help her find Shaun. She has decided.
“Alright, Garvey. I’m in.” Red said, realizing that she had gone way past the turning point.
“Good. Good!” It took a while for her words to register in Preston’s brain. “Welcome aboard. I feel like this is a whole new start for the Minutemen, and the Commonwealth, too.” He gave her a happy, genuine smile.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be right beside you all the way…” He cleared his throat. “General.”
“That’s quite a promotion you just gave me.” Red said. Every word that came out of Preston’s mouth kept on surprising her.
“You’re going to have to get used to it.” He chuckled. “The one good thing about being the last Minuteman is there’s no one to argue with me when I say you’re the new General. Now it’s your job to make it more than just an empty title.”
Red was sure that Preston didn’t mean to put any pressure on her the way she is right now but she did feel the weight of his words on her shoulders.
Preston stood up from her bed and grabbed his hat from the table.
“Now I’m sure you wanted some alone time after all this but,” He wore his hat again. “Do you want me to get you anything? Food? Water? You must be hungry.”
“No thanks, Preston. I’m good. I just need to rest. I’m still quite tired.” Red said.
Preston tipped his hat. “Alright, General. See you tomorrow.” He said before leaving the room.
She gently woke Dogmeat up so she could lie back down again. She felt the dog lie down beside her thighs. Feeling the exhaustion catching up to her, she closed her eyes. She felt like she didn’t deserve a good night’s sleep after having her family torn to pieces.
But once she wakes up, her road to vengeance starts.