The Survivor’s Guide to the Wasteland

On the way to the junkyard, we encountered a pack of Mongrels and a few Bloodbugs. Killing the insects and feral ghoulified canines leveled me up one more time. This allowed me to raise my intelligence to 8, only one point away from unlocking the Nuclear Physicist perk. 

On the way, we mainly talked about Isabel's life. About how she grew up in a medium-sized settlement somewhere near the Pittsburg area, known in the fallout universe as "The Pitt". I explained to her how "The Pitt" was a pre-war city called Pittsburgh and how it was known for its industrial capabilities and steel refineries.

She would tell me stories about her life before this point, and I would interject with little tidbits of pre-apocalypse information that Isabel found greatly interesting. Eventually, we saw the fence and decrepit concrete building that enclosed the Robotics Disposal Ground.

Isabel quickly rushed ahead in excitement while I hurried after her. Spending more time in the power armor allowed me to familiarize myself with the suit, and now I can jog slowly without having too much fear of tripping. 

As we got closer, it became easier to make of what was inside the junkyard. Strewn across the lot were primarily old abandoned cars. The expected sedans, vans, and even a few busses with rusted-out body panels with few remaining flakes of paint remaining could be seen. 

What stood out and differentiated this junkyard was some old robots amongst the vehicles. What looked like Securitrons, Eyebots, and even some Robo-brain chassis were scattered around. Isabel must have spotted them, too, and was impatiently waiting for me near the entrance to the yard. Bouncing from one foot to the other, she exaggeratedly waved at me to hurry over.

"Come on, you big hunk of steel! Let's GOOOOOO!"

Chuckling to myself, I picked up my pace as fast as possible without tripping again in the heavy metal suit.

"Alright, alright! Hold your horses."

Once I caught up with her, we started making a game plan on what to do. The sun was now setting, and nightfall would soon arrive. Deciding that searching a junkyard in the dark wasn't the smartest thing, we used the remaining daylight to prepare a camp. The small building that used to be a workspace was our best bet for shelter, and we had the last two surviving Junkots drop our packs inside.

Inside the building was the terminal that I knew had the Sentry Bot holotape and a basic account of what happened pre-war. Near the table the terminal sat upon was a skeleton, presumably one of the employees who used to work there.

Seeing corpses still threw me off. Even if it was just a skeleton, it still represented a life no longer here. Without even a moment of hesitation, Isabel walked up to the corpse, grabbed it by its arms, and dragged it outside. 

I watched in silence and got reminded of the cruelty of this world. A young lady like Isabel shouldn't be so used to moving corpses that she treats it like an everyday chore, not worth mentioning. People shouldn't have to live like this. Another reason to try to create a better wasteland. Once we finished doing some basic tidying, we stepped back outside.

One of the benefits of traveling with robots was that they could serve as lookouts throughout the night, and the humans didn't need to sleep in shifts to keep an eye on the surroundings. Isabel brought over some dry sticks and logs and used them to build a simple base for a fire. 

Using the power armor, I pushed three smaller cars into a semi-circle near the entrance to the building. A physical barrier would protect us if we were ambushed, and it stopped the wind from blowing in to mess with the fire.

Something that I never thought about while playing the game was how to get out of power armor. Since I couldn't just hold a button on the keyboard, I had to get Isabel to turn the handle at the back to release me. I got my pack and reached in as if I was going to grab something. This was all a ruse, as I didn't want anyone to know I had an inventory system.

I pulled out one of the gold-plated lighters to start a fire. The fuel had long evaporated, but the flint wheel and flint were still in good enough condition for sparks to be created. Using paper and tinder, we started a sizeable fire that lit up our little makeshift camp. Isabel brought over a few cinderblocks and placed them around the fire to use as seats.

After making herself comfortable, she sat on one of the makeshift chairs and took out Fancy Lads Snack Cakes. She opened the box and started munching on the snacks, staring into the fire, lost in thought.

Deciding against intruding on her alone time, I brought out two cans of Cram and a couple of water bottles for dinner. Looking at the Cram, I found the expiration date that only says "Never!". I don't know what they put into this stuff, but even my world's Spam didn't have an infinite expiry date. 

I used a knife to pry open the lid and stared at the slimy pinkish-grey slab that would be my dinner tonight. I reached into my pack and pretended to pull out an old pan to heat the Cram. Using a stick, I justled out a small pile of coals and placed the pan on top. I stuck my knife into the meat cubes and dropped them onto the iron cooking surface.

The gelatine preservative melted away from the heat, and soon the sizzling sound of cooked meat could be heard. A few minutes in, I sliced the two Cram chunks into multiple slices and occasionally flipped them so they could have a nice golden brown on the surface.

Soon the air smelled of salted meat, and I took the pan off the coals and placed it on the ground. Isabel was still staring into the fire as if it held all the universe's secrets. I scooted closer to her and brought the pan closer to her face. The smell of cooked meat wafted into her nose, and she broke out of her stupor. 

Looking down, she saw the cooked slabs of protein and unconsciously licked her lips.

God, she's just so damn cute.

I always liked Isabel's character in the game, and seeing and interacting with her in real life has only reinforced my favor for her.

"Dinner is served. Dig in."

"Huh? Oh, you don't have to. I still have my rations. After everything you've done for me, I can't bother you for food either."

"Don't worry about it. I need to keep you fed if I want that pretty little noggin of yours working at optimal capacity. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow, and building robots isn't exactly something you can do on an empty stomach."

She was still hesitant, but after seeing that I was OK with sharing, she got a pocket knife out and used it to lift a piece of Cram out of the pan and into her mouth. Seeing that she was eating, I lowered the pan on the ground between us two and placed one of the bottled waters next to her feet.

I knew this was Fallout's equivalent of Spam, but I was still uncertain about what to expect. It is several hundred years old, but Isabel bit into it without hesitation, so it can't be that bad. I picked up a slice of the Cram and gingerly bit into one corner. The prominent "flavor" was still just salt, but it was considerably chewier than what I'm used to. The texture wasn't quite rubbery, but it was close.

Deciding it was stomachable, I swallowed my piece and took a swig from my water bottle. We didn't talk while eating, and our meal continued comfortably.