Please Stand By

Chapter 3: Concord Part II

Once outside on the roof it wasn't hard to find the suit, since the stuff was all right there in front of her. Charlotte slammed the fusion core into the power armor and climbed inside. The armor closed in around her and the helmet came alive as she let go of the breath she didn't know she was holding. Images appeared in front of her - a gauge of radiation intake, her fusion core power, and a few other things she didn't recognize.

Charlotte took a few giant steps, testing out the mechanics of the power armor. It was strangely comfortable and rather easy to maneuver. She remembered Nate once telling her that the suits allowed you to fall from crazy high heights without taking any damage once you hit the ground, but that seemed impossible. The sun shone across the roof as it was setting in the sky and the glint from the mini-gun caught her eye, bringing her attention back to the matter at hand: Raiders.

Charlotte lumbered forward, grabbing the mini-gun. It felt light in her hands but she knew that without the power armor she'd have a much harder time carrying the gun. She made her way to the edge of the rooftop, glancing around. Concord was small from this height, the Raiders below much less intimidating. The sun continued to set, casting shadows throughout the Commonwealth.

"Up here Boss! We got somebody up here!" a gravely voice shouted, much closer than she'd prefer. Charlotte saw a Raider on the roof across the street, aiming their gun at the museum.

"Opening fire." Preston announced calmly, firing at the Raiders below.

Charlotte raised the mini-gun to the Raider across the way. 'Spray and pray' Sturges had said. As she held the trigger, the mini-gun whirled to life and jostled her hands as she fired at the Raider. Within seconds he was dead.

"I think I got something over here!" Preston shouted as more bullets hit the museum. Charlotte looked back down to see three - no four - Raiders seemingly crawling out from the rubble. She aimed the mini-gun and fired, but all the targets remained.

"I can't get them from here!" She yelled. An idea hit her. "I'm gonna jump down!"

"Are you crazy?!" Preston yelled back, "You can't jump-"

Before he could finish his sentence Charlotte took two steps in the power armor then fell. She braced her knees for impact, practically expecting every bone in her body to shatter but it didn't happen. The power armor absorbed the shock, gave off an earth rattling KA-BOOM, and then was still. She tested each limb then turned to Preston above and gave a thumbs up.

Bullets ricocheted off the power armor. Out of the corner of her vision she saw the individual health meters of the power armor pieces which were decreasing as it took her damage. Charlotte began to walk towards the Raiders, mini-gun unloading on them. One Raider fell. Then another. Preston disintegrated the third.

Three more Raiders appeared at the far end of the road, just as the fourth Raider disappeared from sight. Before she could get within a good firing range of the new Raiders, something very large growled and the ground underneath her feet shook. At the end of the road, a large metal sheet fleet through the air, crashing into the nearest building and from the huge hole in the ground a monstrous sized lizard with dark scaly skin and bright yellow eyes emerged. Its claws were the size of her, its tail at least four feet long. And it was angry.

'Be careful kid, something's out there and it's angry,' Mama Murphy's words rang through her head as her heart began to race. The beast roared, shaking everything around it, including Charlotte.

Preston was yelling something behind her but the ringing in her ears made it impossible to understand. The creature turned to the nearest Raider, lifted a clawed hand to him and launched the Raider through the air.