"No, well, not above-ground at least," she admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. "My family's still in the Vault. I have people I consider family here, though. If that counts."
(Slim) “What do you think is waiting for you out there?”
[Prompt]
"Something good, I'd hope," she answered with a quiet laugh. She fell silent for a moment, looking out at the expanse of wasteland in front of them, feeling small and unsure.
"Or at least something worthwhile," she added finally, a small smile on her face.
"Something more than just... living day-to-day isolated from the world. In the Vault, we learned about how things were before the war - how the people lived and what they created. I want to do those kinds of things: build a life not just for me, but for the people I care about and even for people I'll never meet. For those who come after me to have a place to call their own. That's what I hope is waiting for me."
"I guess... I just... never really thought I'd have too?" Abby admitted quietly, not daring to even glance at Matthew's face. She knew how it sounded, how she must look: frail and scared.
But taking another person's life -- even if it was to save her own -- had been weighing on her mind far heavier than she had expected. Not that she expected it to be easy to let go of, but she was beginning to feel as though she wasn't as strong as she needed to be to survive in the wastes.
“ REALLY? you people seriously don’t have a sense of humor.”
[Prompt]
"I have a sense of humor, I just don't find scaring someone in the middle of the wastes amusing," she snapped in response, skin still prickled from fear at the sight of the woman and her mask.
"I could have shot you, you know, if you hadn't spoken."
“Yeah, I think he was as drunk as us last night, so consider it collective amnesia.” (Robin, probably talking about Elvis)
[Prompt]
“Ugh, remind me not to drink with you guys anymore,” she said, practically cradling her hot mug of coffee in her hands, face held over the steam to warm her up. The night before had nearly been a blur, but there were a few stand out moments that had her stomach in knots with worry. But maybe no one would remember.
“It feels like I fell off a building and landed on my face.”
It took a moment for the voice to register in Abby’s mind. She had been pouring over a mechanics book for what felt like - and likely was - hours and anything outside of the text seemed distant.
Upon realizing there was someone there, however, she quickly shut the book and stood, making her way to the front of the shop and offering the person there a bright smile.
“Hi! Sorry, I was in the back and didn’t hear the bells jingle when you came in,” she said, hoping they wouldn’t be angry at having waited for someone to greet them.
“Sorry, I got caught up at this one trade stand selling electronic pieces,” she explained, huffing slightly from having jogged to the meeting place. “This kid was talking a mile a minute trying to sell me everything he had.”
“Oh, hey. You’re up. Yeah, I wasn’t sure if you wanted to sleep in or not, so…” (Elvis)
[Prompt]
Abby offered him a sheepish smile and tucked some of her hair out of her eyes, embarrassment clear in her expression.
“Yeah, sorry, I didn’t mean to sleep in so long...” she apologized as she scooted by him to grab a coffee mug from the cabinet. “I guess I was more tired than I thought.”
“Well, I didn’t think walking around in a Vault suit was a smart idea,” she admitted with a small shake of her head, “people don’t particularly take me that seriously anyway, but I figured regular clothing might help a little.”
“Um... maybe. Do you happen to have any gold or yellow thread? Or well, any thread at all?” Abby asked, looking over to the trader with big, hopeful eyes, the curly-haired golden bear sat on her lap, a small tear in one of its seams.
“I can sew Mr. Ted up if I can find a needle, I just don’t have any thread.”
(Slim) “That’s not… That’s not what I meant to say. Um… I’m just gonna…”
[Prompt]
“It’s okay,” she said, offering a reassuring smile as she waved a dismissive hand, clearly showing that she hadn’t taken what he said to heart. Even Abby had moments in which what she said and what she meant came across the wrong way.
“Sometimes my mouth says things before my brain thinks about how it sounds, so I get it.”
“ what people? there’s nobody here. it’s a ghost town.”
[Prompt]
“There could still be people,” she countered, her voice low as they walked, eyes checking every half-boarded window or gap in a wall for signs of life.
“Or... non-people, I suppose. Animals and things.”
Abby thought she had her emotions under control.
For a while there, she did. At least until the adrenaline wore off.
While Abby would prefer to run than fight, she knew it wasn’t always possible and had come to terms with having to kill if she wanted to live outside the Vault.
That didn’t make it any less overwhelming, any less heart-wrenching, when it happened. Before now, it had only been wasteland creatures - as cruel as it seemed to consider a feral ghoul a creature knowing where they came from - but now... now it was a person.
A formerly living, breathing person with thoughts and feelings and a life and maybe even a family. A raider lay at her feet, surrounded by a pool of blood, a pile of vomit close by, spattered on her boots and pants. Her gun clattered to the ground with a thud.
Abby’s hands shook violently, harder than she ever thought they could, and she wiped at her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket, trying to get the blood and sick from her face. She would be embarrassed later, when she was reliving the moment before bed, that Matthew had seen her like that: pale-faced, ill, tears streaming down her face, on the brink of collapse.
No one would blame her, of course, the raider had every intention to kill her. It was by pure reflex - luck, even - that she had managed to fire her gun and hit them in the neck. A second later - even a blink of hesitation - and the machete in the man’s hands would have been buried in her face.
But that didn’t stop the heaviness in her chest, the sickening twist in her gut as the man’s final moments flashed in her mind - the fear in his eyes, the panicked attempt to clasp his wound closed, the sounds he had made, and then nothing.
Matthew was talking to her, but his voice was far away, almost as if she was under water. With the way her breath caught in her chest, it felt as though she were drowning.
But then Matthew’s face filled her vision - blocked her view of the raider on the ground - and his hands were on her shoulders, his expression one of deep concern. He was talking again, but this time she could make out what he was saying.
You’re gonna be okay.
Abby sucked in a deep breath, feeling as though she had been holding her breath for days, and nodded, then blinked, her eyes burning, to let him know she could hear him, she was there.
She opened her mouth to speak, but despite her best efforts, there was only a choked cry that came out, before she crumpled against him and clung to him, sobbing.
“Oh, I don’t want to be a bother,” she said, shaking her head and gathering her things, tucking a journal into her bag. “I know it’s not smart to travel at night, but the garage isn’t too far, and I’ve already taken up so much of your time with my questions.”
“The docks can be dangerous. It’s not the sort of place you want to visit alone at night.”
[Prompt]
“Oh? I was planning on meeting somewhere there tonight,” she said, a frown settling on her face. She didn’t think Tyler would have set her up for danger and the boater had said she could stop by at any time.
“But, um... hm, if you think it’s not a good idea, I can just go in the morning, I suppose.”
“Oh, comfort isn’t an issue, honest,” she insisted, a twinge of guilt in her chest at the thought of being seen as ‘too soft’ to sleep outside instead of inside a building, regardless of the weather.
“I promise I won’t melt in the rain or anything, and I’d feel terrible if I was the only one inside. At least have everyone else move in here as well.”
Abby hadn’t realized how much time had passed since the two had sat down to swap stories - Abby asking Tyler about the Island and Tyler, in turn, asking Abby about life in the Vault - but the sun was past its peak in the sky now, the heat causing shimmers across the water.
“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d love some coffee,” she said with a smile, and pulled out a small container of cheese hunks and dried meat. “I’ve got some jerky and cheese if you’d like a snack.”
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