Ever since the day that the bombs fell, it was as if anything but misery and sorrow was gone, buried just a bit too deep in my mind to even remember. I still had one memory, though, and it was sticking up at the forefront of everything else. No matter what happens, I'll still remember the day that Vaultec made their promise to us; everyone's lives should have been back to normal in just five years. After living twelve years and counting in this wasteland, though—it was clear that nothing was going to be back to normal any time soon.
The worst part of my new life wasn't even the total isolation, either; it was the raider gangs, running rampant, making just about everything worse for everyone else. There was only two choices to be made out here—gamble your life away in a gang, or gamble your life away on the run. Unfortunately for me, I chose the latter, and now my supplies were running low—fast.
Scavenging just hadn't been proving all too fruitful over the last couple of months; everything was picked clean long before I managed to get there, with nothing but scraps left to the stragglers. Forget about weapons, even something as vital as clean water had become a luxury that I just couldn't afford. My time was running short, and I was growing desperate.
Rumours spread quickly around the wasteland, though, and I had no choice but to go along with them. The latest round of news talked about an abandoned medicinal facility deep in the badlands; if it was already already floating this far out, I likely didn't have all the time in the world to check it out, myself. If I could find a few supplies, I could survive another couple of weeks at the very least.
It didn't take me long to find the place; it stood out like a beacon against the brown, irridated dirt that covered everything else. It was pristine, looking almost untouched by the war; it was as if the only building popped up overnight. In fact, with how much of a juxtaposition it was from the rest of the world around it, it didn't feel real.
I couldn't shake the suspicion, though, that this whole thing was nothing more than an elaborate set-up of sorts, too. Even when I was a kid, I was told that if something is too good to be true, it probably is; with the inside looking just as untouched as the outside though, so many red flags were being raised.
The rumours were proving to be correct, though; the place was stocked to the brim with just about every sort of medical treatment that could be imagined. If it weren't for the eerie stillness, I'd have feet like a kid in a candy shop, here. It was perfect—too perfect.
With the feeling of unease hanging over me, I decided to hurriedly packed my bag with as much stuff that I could spare while I still had the chance. My haul was going to last me a few weeks—if not months—and that was good enough. Why should I risk anything more?
Just when I finished packing up, though, something that sounded out of place in the far distance rang out. "Bonjour, monsieur, what are you doing out 'ere?" The voice was muffled and a bit distorted, but it was still distinctly feminine in nature. I couldn't quite place it, but I did know for sure that it wasn't a raider. "We are in ze middle of a lockdown, and you do not have clearance to be out 'ere at ze moment!"
As I whipped around, I saw who—or rather what—was making all of the noise. It was one of those Miss Handy bots—one of the medical type ones—hovering just a couple of feet away from me.
Even though it must have been years since anyone stopped by this place, she was still patrolling and working her duties as if nothing had gone wrong outside. In fact, with her sleek plastic shell lit up by the thrusters keeping her afloat, she looked almost as if she had been manufactured just yesterday. Something wasn't right with this place, and I didn't like it one bit.
"I'm only here to scavenge, and then I'll be on my way," I tried to explain to the robot; I couldn't really tell if I was trying to calm myself, or trying to calm her. These things weren't designed for battle, but they could fight if they needed to, and I sure didn't want to escalate things any further than this. "There's nothing to worry about, here."
My words didn't even seem to register with her, though; instead, she simply ignored me, floating even closer, brandishing a pair of metal claws that seemed to be designed for more than just holding medical equipment. "During lockdown, ze rules state zat no patient may leave zere rooms, so please follow me," she instructed. "You may leave ze 'ospital once ze lockdown is over."
Locking her claws around my arm, she then started to lead me down the hospital halls, as if I was nothing more than a child that managed to wander off during playtime. "I think you've got something mistaken here," I stated, trying to pry myself free from her steel grip. "I told you that I'm not a patient, so you can let me go now..."
It was clear that something inside of her was off, though; years of neglect had definitely taken its toll on her programming and internal logic. Nevertheless, she had her own plans and goal, and even if they were conflicting with my own, there wasn't much of a choice for either of us besides doing whatever it was that she wanted to do.
"Monsieur, please keep calm, zis will all be over shortly!" she urged me as she forced me to follow along with her into an empty operating room of sorts. "Zis way! You can stay in 'ere with me while we wait!" As I was then dropped off on top of an operating table, I could hear the door behind us close with a loud, mechanical sounding click.
The table wasn't comfortable by any means, but at the same time, it was still nicer than anything I had slept in for years. If it weren't for the strange robot floating in front of me with a curious look in her eyes, I may have even been able to enjoy my brief stay here. The elephant in the room was undeniable; how was I supposed to fall asleep with that thing watching over me?
Nevertheless, a couple of moments of awkward silence lingered between the two of us before she finally spoke up. "While we wait, zis is a good time to introduce myself, oui?" she explained to me in the same robotic tone that I had unfortunately grown used to. "I am Curie, and I will be your nurse for ze duration of your stay."
I had no need for a nurse, and I sure wasn't in the mood