Crossfire - Fallout 4 - [R J MacCready x Sole Survivor]

Chapter 10

Blood splatters were everywhere. The closer they walked to Boston Common, the more dried blood they came across. It was quiet – almost too quiet – when they arrived at the clearing. Casings of spent bullets were scattered amongst the blood and rubble; but even stranger was the lack of bodies.

"The Freedom Trail starts here," Dawn proudly announced as she neared the edge of the park. She perched herself on the rim of the broken fountain, studying the map on her Pip-Boy as she planned her path. MacCready stayed vigilant, hands gripped on his rifle as he scanned their surroundings. He eyed a plank of wood lying on the road, white paint spelling haphazard words on the weathered surface. Dawn spotted it too and walked cautiously over to the plank, craning her neck as she tried to discern what it said. "Swan. Keep...out." She scoffed. "I wonder what they're referring to."

MacCready knew exactly what the warnings were referring to.

"Keep your voice down," he hushed as he focused his attention to the pond at the far end of the park. Amongst the debris and garbage was a lump, grey and cracked with age, as it floated lazily in the sludge. Perhaps before the war it was a boat of sorts, shaped like a giant fiberglass swan, but now its frayed remnants were scattered in the fetid waters.

There. A slight movement. He was perceptive enough to spot it.

"Boss," he whispered. "We need to get out of here."

He almost jumped when he felt Dawn step next him, her focus also on the pond in the distance. "I saw it too," she said as she armed herself with her pistol. "What do you think it is? Mirelurks?"

He shook his head. "No, but it's big."

His response was enough to disturb her. They took their caution as a sign to quietly move away from the area-

A loud hiss resounded behind them, followed by the loud clanking of a Protectron powering up. It whirred as it's processors began to boot, causing Dawn and MacCready to panic from the all of the noise it was generating. He turned to his partner, who was horrified at the loud robot, and then watched it as it emerged from its charging pod with three metallic stomps.

"WELCOME. PATRIOTS. TO THE. FREEDOM TRAIL-"

"Shit." He allowed the expletive this time as he eyed the pond. The water bubbled, then stilled. But he didn't know how long until the Protectron rouses whatever was in that lake. "We gotta shut this thing up!"

"FEAST YOUR. EARS. AND LEARN MORE-"

Dawn immediately sprang into action. She unclipped a plug from her Pip-Boy as she haphazardly shoved it into the charge port of the robot, her hands shaking as she fiddled with the plug and with her Pip-Boy. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon..." She chanted her nervous mantra as she clicked and scrolled through screens of code. The Protectron carried on with its tour, its tinny voice echoing around the clearing as it pointed at the trail with a metal claw.

A deep growl could be heard, followed by more bubbling as the pond stirred. The fiberglass swan bobbed momentarily before it sank halfway into the water. Although there was no more movement, it did not ease MacCready's deepening anxiety. Dawn was practically scowling in concentration as she scanned her screen. Her eyes lit up when she found what she was looking for.

"Bingo!" She breathed a sigh of relief when she unplugged the lead. The robot immediately paused in its scripted speech as it reverted back to a default pose. The common was quiet once more.

"Uh...what did you do?" The sniper eyed the machine with mistrust.

"I hacked into it." Dawn was equally as wary. "I...think? I'm still getting the hang of it."