Warning: This work has been rated 18+ for language.
Jacob was blinded as a stream of light hit his grizzled face. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, blinking several times in the harsh, bright rays of the midday sun beating down on him like water on the seashore. He looked away to the east, towards Cambridge. As best as Jacob could tell, one of the bombs had landed there just a few hours ago.
But there was no way it could have been just hours ago. None. All of those skeletons, the rust, the way everything looked. The lack of radiation was a clue, too. He could see the edges of Boston several miles away. Closer to him were Lexington and Concord, the old Red Rocket Station, and-- home.
Jacob passed old machinery and a couple of trailers, heading down the path that he had followed just earlier to enter the Vault. Apart from his nervous footsteps, he heard nothing-- no birds, no weird bugs, not a living thing. He winced as he turned on his leg wrong and nearly fell, catching himself on a tree just before he hit the ground. "I'll have to find something to put on that," he said quietly.
He crossed over a small, dusty footbridge into his hometown, Sanctuary Hills, looking around the deserted, almost entirely destroyed hamlet. He turned left down the road, heading to his home, just wanting to know what was left of it. Standing on the doorstep as the pale blue house with a partially ruined roof was-- Codsworth.
"As I live and breath!" the Mr. Handy gasped, his rusty eyes swiveling to greet Jacob. "It's really you!"
"Codsworth," Jacob began, holding himself back from just giving the robot a hug, "you're still here! What happened?"
"Well, sah, besides our ger-ah-niums still being the envy of Sanctuary Hills, I'm afraid thing shave been dreadfully dull around here." The Mr. Handy seemed to pout, loosely letting its arms fall. "But I daresay things will be much more exciting with you and the misses back! Where is your better half, by the way?"
"She's..." He clenched his eyes shut, trying to push away the pain. "She's in a better place."
"Sah, these things you're saying, these terrible things, I believe you need a distraction! Yes! A distraction, if only but to calm this dire mood! It's been absolute ages since we had a proper family activity. Checkers, or perhaps charades? Oh, little James do so love that game!" the robot laughed. "Is the lad with you, sah?"
"James..." Jacob opened his eyes. "James has been kidnapped. But I'm going to find him. I'm going to get my little boy back." He held back the tears, heart throbbing for some kind of release.
"It's worse than I thought, sah!" the robot gasped. "You're suffering from hunger-induced paranoia. Not eating properly for 200 years will do that, I'm afraid!" His arms raised once more, he sprang into action, clipping at the almost-dead bushes by the door.
"200... years?"
"A little over 210, actually," Codsworth corrected. "Give or take a little for the earth's rotations and some minor dings to the old chronometer!" The robot laughed again and said, "That means, sah, that you're two centuries late for dinner! Perhaps I can whip you up a snack? You must be famished!"
"Codsworth," Jacob started, "are you okay?"
"I... I..." The robot started to stammer as he cried, "Oh s-sah, it's been just horrible! Two centuries with no one to talk to, no one to serve! I spent the first ten years just trying to keep the floors waxed, but nothing takes nuclear fallout out of vinyl wood! Nothing! Don't get me started on the futility of trying to dust a partially collapsed house! And the car! Oh, the car! How do you polish rust?"
Jacob nodded slowly. "It's okay, Codsworth, I'm here. Just tell me what you know."
"I'm afraid I don't know anything, sah," he whined. "The bombs came, and all of you left in such a rush, such a hurry... I thought for certain that you and your family were... dead, sah."
"Well, it's something, at least, what all you've told me..." Jacob sighed, trying to think. "Are there any people left? Any at all?"
"Well, Concord is nearby, but the people there aren't nearly as put together as I am," he huffed pridefully.
Jacob nodded. "Okay... Okay, that's good. I'll go into Concord, then... I'll try to be back tomorrow, okay?"
"Yes, sah!" Codsworth hollered excitedly. "I shall stay and secure the home-front, sir! Shall I start scrapping items for your use?"
Jacob nodded. "Please do. Not the readable books or any personal effects. I want those. And leave the stable structures up, we can use those..." He started to turn away before finally giving in and hugging Codsworth, receiving a metallic hug in return. "Stay safe, Codsworth."
"Stay safe, sah."
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Canary word: Present
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140,186 Literary Works • 673,037 Reviews
Hope you're doing all right <333
Ooh, I like this opening sentence, and "grizzled face" is such a fun and interesting phrase! c:
Can we see what he sees as well so we know what the aftermath of a bomb there looks like? ^_^
You later say "the way everything looked" -> I would love to see more of this!
You also said "all of the skeletons" and omg that was so eerie to read 0.0 I like that little detail
Yeah, I don't know if it's much of a home anymore :/
OKAY SO SOMEONE IS ACTUALLY ALIVE AHHH this is good
oh wait, is that just the robot? xD oh well, at least it's something/someone c:
Um what 0.0 (and yes, I agree with Shadow, that was a nice and subtle way to introduce the time change WAHT)
Yesss, I love this little bit, because while it's shocking to us, it's pretty normal for Codsworth, enough for him to joke about it too
Oh my I feel so bad for Codsworth >.< I can't believe he's just been by himself for two whole centuries, how did he keep himself busy 0.0
YES, YOU GO CODSWORTH :D (also , here again you're sneaking some information through the dialogue, and I love it <3)
So because it took him a bit to give Codsworth a hug, I don't think he's done it before. This just shows how alone Jacob must be feeling to give a robot a hug. He pretty much has no one, and he's trying to find his son who is over 200 years old 0.0 I can't imagine how he's feeling
I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS AHHH. How is it already 200 years later? Did those people really put Jacob out for that long? Does he look any older? and where is James, and does he look any older or is he still or a baby, or is he even alive??? AHHHH SO MANY QUESTIONS, I am pretty intrigued and invested, but I really hope that Jacob doesn't spend an astronomical amount of time searching for James just to find out that he's not alive anymore. That would be super heartbreaking </3
much love for you <333
<333
Hey again! I saw this is still in the Green Room, so I thought I'd get it out of here.
The word should be "breathe", but that's not actually what stands out here. As we know from before, Codsworth is a robot! He can't actually live and breathe. I wonder if it's a form of speech he picked up from humans, or has he just not realized the phrase doesn't apply to him? It's interesting!
Codsworth doesn't really have much empathy here, and instead tries to serve his owner, which is interesting. I assume it's part of his programming.
That's a pretty good way to let us know about the huge, shocking timeskip!
...Well, that's a rather epic meltdown/breakdown there from the robot that didn't seem to emphasize much.
That's what I've got. Have a nice day!
- Shadow
Hello Comrade!
Another part in the fallout fanfic I see. The iconic exit from 111. I wonder how you'll write making an entire collapsed house revert ,into what 40 steel and 50 wood, in the blink of an eye.
what about all the supposed institute birds in the tree right outside the vault? well whatever. I like how your adding minor injuries, like james twisting his leg the wrong way makes him feel more human. Also you should mention these minor injuies again later in the chapter to keep things consistent. for example jacob complaing about his twisted leg to codsworth or something like that.
ka-ching, speech test passed. i wonder what else Jacob will talk his way out of.
I can see where you've diverged from the in game dailogue. With fanfic it's pretty cool shaping an already made thing as you wish.
I wish codsworth scrapped things for you in game, that would save so much time. I spend ages scrapping literally everything i can in sanctuary before i leave, it takes forever. Also i like the metallic hug. you better pat dogmeat.
Overall, a short swift and spectecular chapter. There were some grammar things I saw here and there but thats not my problem. I'm looking forward to reading more too. I want to see where you'll take Jacob in the vast and dangerous wastes of the commonwealth. Also thanks for tagging me for chapter release, can you do that for all future chapters so i can stay up to date. thanks!
Keep Writing!
-brotherGeo
Yeah, I felt there were bits of game dialogue that were just-- "eww, that sounds weird" and decided to mess with it a little
Of course I'll do that, lemme go ahead and get on it! <3
Thanks for the review!