We Know The Price We Pay

15. October. 2277 - Annette Christine Davis

It's...a boat?

It's a very large boat. A very nice looking boat, at that, and it looks like it's constantly growing but it's still a boat, at least, at the centre. Isn't it?

Rivet City is a very large boat, and a very large boat getting bigger...probably every year?

Things out here are so damn weird!

Maybe dad was onto something, living in the Vault.

"Here you are!" Moira cheerfully says, handing me two of my three bags. "I told you we'd make it just fine, didn't I?"

"You did," I say, fidgeting with the straps of my bags as I swing them over my shoulders, one for each, the other on my back. I jump a little again when some gunshots start going off in the distance again. I should be used to it now, shouldn't I? Why aren't I? "Thanks, Moira. Do you...you got what you need from me?"

She nods. "Of course, honey! And don't you worry, if you ever swing by Megaton again, I'll make sure to give you a free copy of my book!"

"I'll keep it in mind," It's really hard not to smile when she talks. "I...I shouldn't have any trouble getting in, should I?"

"You won't," She says, following me up the steps to the city gates. "But I'll walk you up just to make sure they don't give you a hard time. They know me. Some of them really know me, if you get my drift."

I turn pink. "You mean you..."

She winks. "A few people there like a nice ride with me every so often. Don't worry, honey, no one's going to think you're into that. They'd have to be crazy to look at you and come anywhere near that conclusion."

I nervously nod. "So..." I say when she stops me in front of an intercom. "I take it I buzz in?"

"Yep!" She says, smacking the button with her elbow, and it starts crackling "They'll pick up in a second, just a bit of static and –"

"Hold it right there!" I take a few steps back at the sharp voice coming through the intercom. "State your name and business in Rivet City."

"Annette Davis," I stammer, fingers shaking around the straps of my bags again. "I'm...I'm here to see someone."

"Meet me inside," The voice commands. The sound of static is unsettling enough but the noise, the...I reach up and cover my ears while a bridge slides out and up into place from the boat towards the gate. It's too familiar, too grating, too much like the... "Opening the gates. They'll shut behind you. If you're armed, put your weapons away, and no funny business. You hear me?"

"Good luck," Moira says, suddenly hugging me. I don't want her to let go but she does. "Things'll sort themselves out, honey. They always do."

I wave at her as she skips down the stairs and back out into...the unknown. It's really just the unknown, isn't it? The scraping, grating noise is gone, and the gates are open. I start running through them, half expecting them to close before I'm even through, but they don't. I'm through. I have to stop halfway across the bridge to catch my breath and, sure enough, when I turn around, the gates have been shut behind me. Briefly panicking, I calm down – a little – when I realise, for sure, I didn't accidentally drop any of my bags or my gun as I scrambled to get across. Gunshots. Even though it starts to hurt, I start running again down the bridge and reach the doors into the city. The warning about having my weapon out coming back to mind, I hastily holster my revolver and try to calm myself down as I step towards the doors. To my surprise, they open automatically, and a tall woman waves me towards a small office a few feet off the entrance. Tightening my hands around the straps of my bags, trying to keep calm, I hesitantly step into the office and sit down in one of the empty chairs. It's pretty nice in here, almost like the Vault but less...clinical. And –