Springvale

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The door that Ellen used to get to Milliways wasn't in Megaton this time. Bringing Annabelle and Demyx had caused enough questions from the people in town. Bringing Mr. Mills through would just have let the flood loose. She opted instead to buy another set of combat armor from Moira, one more appropriately sized for a larger person, and traded her last few caps for extra ammo and supplies. Then she made for the Springvale ruins, found a house with a door still hanging from the frame, and opened it.

The scene that'll greet Bryan Mills is one of old, old ruin. There were houses here once; all that remain are splintery blackened pieces of wall and heaps of rubble. There are cars, rusted-out hulks lurched across the grey, broken remains of the places where roads had been. And there's Ellen, waiting on the other side with that bundle of armor and supplies. "Welcome to Springvale," she says a little nervously. "Thank you."

Comments

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The landscape that unrolls itself as Ellen sets off at a jog (probably slower than Mills would like- she's simply not used to running very long distances, and is trying to pace herself) is sere and blasted, scrub and sand and rock in most directions. Here the ground rises in a hill, there it dips; up ahead there's a patch of foul-looking, almost smoking brownish sand. One might almost take it for the deserts of the Southwest, in its emptiness.

But then the views in the distance make themselves clear. The shattered, broken remains of elevated highways, far off to the north. To the south, a cluster of what must surely have been buildings once, as there's no mountain or hill so nearly square. And far ahead- to the southeast, for the most part- if one blinks carefully one can make out a battered, chewed-on structure reaching up towards the sky.

[particularskill.livejournal.com]

Mills takes it easy, not pushing her too hard, keeping a close eye on her as well.

His eyes follow the shadow on the horizon as it rises up. He knew they were headed for DC, he just didn't expect it to be the same DC as his own universe.

"Jesus," he exhales under his breath.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen glances over her shoulder at Mills. "Sheriff Simms says it's nothing but a war zone in there now," she says soberly. "We don't have to get very far in to reach the Memorial, though. So it shouldn't be too bad."

[particularskill.livejournal.com]

Mills unslings his AR-15 and runs with it in his hands. "How far?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Um..." She glances down at her Pip-Boy, and then up at the landscape. "That dark smudge there, that's the Potomac. The Memorial's just on the other side of it."

[particularskill.livejournal.com]

"Right." For some reason, Mills' personal defcon just clicked up a couple of notches. His eyes are scanning every feature of the terrain, the crunch of their boots loud in his ears.

"Hold up," he mutters to Ellen, holding his fist in the air.

This would be a good place for someone to try something, he thinks. He checks the mag on the AR reflexively.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen freezes, except for one hand- the one reaching to draw her pistol. Not a moment too soon, either. There's a cluster of dark figures making their way across the landscape towards them at alarming speed. She squints-

"Raiders," she mutters, "not Talon Company. Less armor, fewer scruples. We won't be able to talk our way out of it."

Not that talking had worked with the Talons, but still.

[particularskill.livejournal.com]

Mills face goes still as he assesses the threat. He has time to shoulder the rifle and get off two short bursts before their enemy is on top of them. One of the men goes down as Mills slings the AR and draws his .45 to squeeze off a shot.

Another goes down as his throat explodes, and then the raiders are on top of them.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen's discovered a few things about the laser pistol. It's a good little gun, with next to no recoil whatsoever, but it doesn't have nearly as much stopping power as she'd like. On the other hand, it recharges fast- she can get off six laser shots in the time it would take her to fire a 10mm pistol four times. And the grouping is amazingly tight, too.

So when the fellow with the spiked leather shoulder pads comes at her waving his knife and cheerfully shouting "Time to die!", well... what's someone defending herself supposed to do but put as many of those laser shots through his head as fast as her trigger finger will let her?

[particularskill.livejournal.com]

Mills will be very proud of her skill and accuracy, just as soon as he's done with the pock-faced maggot with the lead pipe. The arm breaks in three places and the man's scream is cut off abruptly as his airway collapses.

He turns to assist Ellen and sees her standing over the fellow with the smoking crater where his skull was a few moments ago. He nods, his grin sharp and pointed.

"Good work."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Thank you," says Ellen, who's still feeling a little shaky but who is not going to let it show in front of anyone thank you very much. "These guys can get pretty nasty."

She holsters her pistol and crouches down to check the corpse for possible useful supplies. It hadn't occurred to her until the Talons attacked, but sometimes even people like this carry something useful.

[particularskill.livejournal.com]

He approves and does the same with the other corpses. "Looks like you may not need my help after all."

Adrenaline still surges in his system, though you'd think he was at a business meeting for all it shows.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen shakes her head. "Raiders aren't very bright," she says absently; it helps not to think too much when she's going through dead men's pockets. "They just come at you in numbers. Talons have real armor, and real weapons, and they don't mind using cover. I had to deal with ten raiders by myself and I got out of that all right, but three Talons were tougher."

[particularskill.livejournal.com]

"Team tactics. We can work on that."

He's already making a lesson plan in his head.

"Ellen, look over there."

When she does, there is a horrible crunching noise and the man with the crushed windpipe exhales for the last time.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"What am I- oh..."

She'll count to two before turning back, just to be on the safe side. Just because it has to be done doesn't mean it's necessarily something to want to look at.

"All right."

[particularskill.livejournal.com]

"Sorry," he mutters. "Let's get moving again. Too long in the open."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"It's all right. If you'd seen what these people do..." She shakes her head. "Okay. Moving is good."

They've got to locate a bridge anyway.

[particularskill.livejournal.com]

He falls in behind her, unslinging the AR again. "Looks like three miles to the target. I'm thinking, half an hour? If we can hold this pace."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen blanches inwardly, but nods. "Only one way to find out," she says, and essays a smile.

It takes somewhat longer than that, if only because Ellen has to pause at a point or two and just breathe for a bit. It's not an endurance question - at least, it's not entirely one. It's just that, well, every so often she does remember that she's outside and that outside is big and the sky goes on forever and there is no ceiling. Fortunately, the momentary need to overcome agoraphobia attacks gives the body a fractional respite, and she's up for moving again shortly thereafter.

Up ahead, as they move down towards the remains of the Potomac, there are the beginnings of the remains of office buildings. Broken in places, melted in others, scorched and washed only by storms, they begin to rear up more and more noticeably as the two figures draw closer.

[particularskill.livejournal.com]

Mills gives her an encouraging smile, keeping watch while she catches her breath. He understands. Watching Kim get into a strange vehicle and drive away evokes almost the same response in him. He shares a bit of personal history to distract her as they run.

The increasing threat of the attack from above sets Mills' teeth on edge and he grows quiet again.

"What are we looking for?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"A statue," Ellen says, scanning along the river. "A statue of three soldiers- it's huge, it's tough to miss... ah. There it is."

It's on a small man-made rise overlooking the river's eastern shore. The three soldiers' forms, larger than life, are atop a pedestal at least as tall as a human being. It's a brilliant scene, especially in this light.

It'd probably be nicer to see if there weren't several large, grey, clawed things wandering about on the riverbanks. They don't seem to pay much attention to one another, though.

"... good Lord," says Ellen hoarsely. "Moira said 'mutant crabs the size of people' but I thought she was just exaggerating!"

[particularskill.livejournal.com]

Mills sucks into the cover of one of the buildings, and fishes out a small pair of binoculars to take a closer look. He'd been somewhat prepared for what Ellen's world contained with her gift of the ant head, but this? This took a second and possibly a third look.

He drops the binos and his eyes focus on the middle distance. "Right." He gives Ellen a predatory grin. "You didn't tell me I needed to bring lemon and butter."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"What's lemon?" Ellen asks.

The creatures look fairly hefty, given the way the water splashes when one of them moves, and their carapaces look pretty thick. Their shells part a little at the top to reveal small, complicated faces with glittering black eyes.

"Moira wants the observer planted in one of their egg pods inside the Memorial," Ellen notes, "but she also asked that we not attack any of the mirelurks once we're in there, so that we don't change their behavior. I think the ones out here might be fair game, though."

[particularskill.livejournal.com]

His brow furrows but he nods. He takes up the binos again and has another long look. After a moment, he hands them to Ellen. "Is that the bridge? And do I see mines?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

It takes Ellen a little bit to get the hang of the binoculars. They're not really like her father's ophthalmoscope at all. Once she does, though, she grimaces. "Yep," she says. "Scads of 'em. I can defuse them one at a time if we're very careful... I'm guessing somebody must live around here, and wanted to keep the mirelurks off the road."