Hiding In The Green: A Fallout 4 Story

The Importance of Shoes In Post-Apocalyptic Life

Morning, the Cambridge Police Station:

It had never occurred to Raina that one of the more frustrating aspects of postapocalyptic life would be finding well-fitting, durable shoes. She considered the footgear she was about to put on: a crude but useful moccasin she'd made out of radstag leather with a outsole cut from a radial tire. The tire was wearing out faster than the leather, but then the tire was over two hundred years old.

Theodosia's memories conjured up visions of shoe stores where they had dozens of pairs in her exact size, in a dazzling array of colors, sizes and styles fit for everything from dancing at a wedding to mucking out a cow barn. Like clean, safe water flowing from a faucet whenever you turned it on, wherever you went, shoes were something people used to take for granted.

Now, two hundred and ten years after the end of the world, or the end of the old world, anyway, you made do with whatever you could. Nobody made shoes for sale anymore, and going barefoot was decidedly not an option. That would be a good way to lose a toe, if not the whole foot. It was a great deal of trouble to tan more leather, especially since with planting time at hand, she would have even less time for such chores. Could she unpick the stitches and simply replace the sole?

"Cap for your thoughts," Nick said, flipping her a Nuka-Cola cap.

She caught it in midair. "Planting time, and how I'll be nailed down to one spot for some time. It's not that I mind the work, planting time is one of my favorite times of year, but....I like what we've been doing, too. I tell you, if I found out I was actually a synth, my reaction would be, 'Good. Now make a twin or three of me, that way I might actually be able to get done everything I have to get done.'"

He chuckled. "Don't let Danse catch you saying that. It's too bad you're not a synth. Then we could keep this up until Judgment Day—except I guess we missed that."

"I don't know that we missed it. I think we preempted it. The heavens will open, Gabriel will blow his horn, the host of angels will pour down—and read, written in destruction across the face of the Earth, 'We were here. Where were you?' They missed the party. God had nothing to do with what we did, any more than I would tear down my garden and put it to the torch." Raina looked at him and quipped, "Gardening, not prostitution, is actually the world's oldest profession. If you believe the Bible, anyway."

He smiled again, but then his face went serious. "Back to what you were saying before. If you're planning on staying put for a while soon, first let's hash out what all you want to get done before that. There's recruiting the robots at the Galleria today, then we're going to swing by Goodneighbor—."

"And check in with Ellie at the Agency in case any cases have come in," Raina interjected. "Don't forget there's one last Eddie Winter tape to collect, too. The one in Quincy."

"Right, and once we have those, there'll be Eddie himself to deal with—provided you're still in."

"To the end and after, Nick," Raina told him. "After that, it'll be the Glowing Sea. Provided we survive that, and provided Mayor Hancock agrees to the proposal I make, it's back to Goodneighbor. Then it'll be time to stop traveling so much."

"Provided nothing else pops up on the horizon. My point is, you gotta full dance card already, kid. You need more help. Now, those robots we're recruiting today, where do you think they're going to go after the planting in the Glowing Sea is done? We're going to be doing a number on their protocols to free them up from their routines. The Galleria's in ruins. I think if you offered them a place at your homestead, they'd take it. By then they'll have some experience at planting, anyway. Jonny-Say-Quoi can supervise them like White, Brown and Greene at Greygarden," Nick explained. "Then you don't have to worry, and neither do I."

"You've put some thought into this," Raina realized.

"Sure have. Look, the Institute knows roughly where you live, but they don't know who you are. They're sending people out to look for you, and it was only because of Deacon and Mama Murphy that things didn't go worse. I'm thinking that moving around is the safest thing you can do."

"Really? But...there's the people who are coming to study beekeeping," Raina said.

"Teach Curie, and she can teach them. I know this isn't how you want to do things, but the truth is, everything you've planned, the replanting project, the seed company, the proposal you wanna make to Hancock, your ideas for cottage industries- - If you're incapacitated, killed or kidnapped, at this point, all of it will fail and die. Which means you have to stay alive and out of the hands of the Institute." Nick took out his cigarettes, selected one, and tamped the end before he lit it.

"And yet practically every day we walk into danger and narrowly avoid death," Raina pointed out.

"That's just par for the course danger, part of living in the Commonwealth," he said. "Would it be safer if you settled down in Diamond City? Maybe. Provided the Institute hasn't replaced Mayor McDonough like Piper thinks. But you wouldn't be able to do what you have planned there, either. Staying on the move isn't a perfect answer, but it's the best I've got."

A creaking, bounding sound made them both turn their heads toward the door. Someone in power armor was approaching, and as Nick had observed at the ArcJet plant, armor like that was not designed to be stealthy. "Time to move out, soldi-er. Excuse me, Ms. Queen. We'll muster in the courtyard in ten minutes," Danse called through the door.

"Muster?" Nick asked after the Paladin had retreated. "There's only three of us. That guy just lives and breathes the Brotherhood. No room left for anything else."

"Which, if what we suspect is true, will devastate him, if it's ever found out," Raina speculated. "Part of why he has me so confused is that he, like so many of my friends, has this core of something incorruptible, something that makes them who they are. I mean, yours is Justice, Curie's is Curiosity. Piper's is Truth, Preston's, Helpfulness and Danse's is Loyalty. I still don't know if I find him attractive or not, but I admit I'm drawn to that quality, his loyalty."

"I hadn't thought of it quite that way, but I see what you're trying to get at. Interesting. Anyway, we better get moving before the tin can blows a gasket. By the way, what's your core?" Nick cocked his head, giving her an assessing look.

"Me? Darned if I know."

"Maybe it's hard to see it in yourself, but I can name it. Generosity. Yours is a generous spirit. You'd tear out your own bones if someone you cared about needed them, provided no one was there to stop you," Nick concluded.

"I wouldn't go that far," she riposted. "If they needed some bone marrow or a graft, I wouldn't go ripping out my own bones. I'd have a medical professional perform the procedure."

"I'll give you credit for that, but I notice you're not denying it. C'mon, let's get moving."

A/N: A thoughtful moment before they head out.