Chapter 25 - 25

Words : 1413 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Adam wasted no time, there was already a route in his head that he was planning on taking. He booked down the office corridor to the path that led to the other office spaces, right to where the hole that blocked his search before was, finding it as expected. Carefully, but swiftly, he lowered himself onto the first floor dropping down without making too much noise. In the distance he could hear the sounds of yelling, laser fire, the protectron blurting out alerts and the sound of large heavy footsteps moving in that direction. Adam needed to move. And so he did. Adam began running through the first floor quickly trying to stay off the factory floor where the fight was happening and stick to the side hallways where he could avoid being spotted. However he came to a sudden halt when he heard the sound of large footsteps rapidly moving closer from in front of him. So he hid, ducking underneath a office desk where he was hidden from all angles except the one he entered from, it was very uncomfortable, but that was better than an engagement right now. He heard the sound of the footsteps slowing down as they got closer to his position. He seemed to stop a moment later, sniffing at the air. He could see, just barely, a giant blue foot next to the desk he was hiding under. He was so close to being caught. There was a tense few seconds that followed. Adam was sweating, he was incredibly nervous. Not helped by the fact that now the Super Mutant seemed to be stepping closer, slowly, as he had yet to find Adam, but he was approaching. Boom. The sound of a car exploding in what was likely a large ball of fire can be heard from the factory floor. Perhaps the protectron's laser set off one of the engines, Adam couldn't be sure, but it did catch the Blue Super Mutan's attention. "Bluey!" One of the others from the factory called out in mild desperation as the sound of the fight continued. The blue super mutant growled annoyed before turning around quickly and then jogging off to head to the factory floor with his compatriots. Adam sat there for a few seconds more, he had yet again came close to dying, he could have killed that one, though perhaps that was bravado speaking, but handling the rest who would shortly follow was a death sentence, not with just a pistol and a rifle. But thankfully luck seemed to still be on his side today. As soon as the blue one was completely clear Adam resumed running down the corridors making it safely to the broken floor where the sewer lay. He hesitated, after all he would be entering a sewer, not exactly the kind of place you want to be trudging through. But he could hear the super mutants still in the distance so he swallowed his doubts and jumped in. The inside of the sewer was dark, expectantly. Thankfully Adam had his pip-boy which emitted light and his helmet which did too, he was very much able to light up his path without issue. However the sewer was both grosser than he had expected and less than he expected. It was grosser because everything that used to sit down here, the grime, the viscera, the excrement, had become caked to the walls floor and ceiling, bodies also were down here, partially buried in the gross muck that caked the surfaces. Mostly skeletons but there was a body that looked fresher than the others, maybe only a decade old. So it was not a fun experience walking around down there. However on the flipside the smell was gone. It still smelled, but instead of smelling like a gross sewer it just smelled like old rusted metal, which was a hazard in itself but it was not something that was making him gag, just reconsider his life choices. Still, now that he was down here he could help but wish he had bought that gasmask yesterday, he would feel much more comfortable with it on. Perhaps that could be his next purchase. At least something for situations like this. But that was for the future, not now. He wandered down in the dark tubes for a few minutes, only having the vaguest sense of where he was due to his Pip-boy telling him. Though even it was not completely accurate as it was calibrated for above ground travel, not subterranean. Still, it was something. However he had yet to find any sort of exit. Considering how many sewer grates there were it was simply just bad luck, but as he wandered he did find a small maintenance area where workers could check the electrical controls and catch a breather. He pulled off to the side once he found it. Truthfully it was nothing more than a small concrete square surrounded by a metal chain link fence, rusted over, a small folding table and folding chair, a metal shelving unit, and a control console, long since dead with no power. Adam took the moment to sit down on the chair. It had been a long day after all, a momentary break was not a bad idea. But the chair did not seem to agree with his assessment as, as soon as he sat down, it buckled under his weight and he found himself sitting on his butt on the ground. "Ow, fuck." Adam said softly to himself as he stood up rubbing his ass for a moment. He could only sigh, nothing that could be done about it. He then turned his attention to the table, an old Nuka Cola bottle, long since browned, sat on the table next to 3 Nuka Cola bottle caps. Clearly someone was enjoying a break down here at some point much like him. The bottles themselves were useless, only noticing the other two now on the ground, but the caps were just free money so Adam gladly pocketed the three caps in his own bag and then looked at the maintenance shelf. It was almost entirely empty save for a metal Toolbox. Despite his bag already being full he decided to open it, after all who knows what it might contain, it might be worth something. To no one's surprise, least of all him, it was tools. Though there was more duct tape and superglue. Two things that Chuck said he would buy a near infinite amount of. Despite his backpack being full he shoved them in as best he could and zipped it up tight. Vowing to himself to not loot anything more. Or, at least, if he did, he would throw whatever he found into one of the external pockets, he was very much running out of space. However despite this vow to himself he immediately reneged on it and looked at the control console, busting open the maintenance hatch at the base of the console with the butt of his rifle. Inside was exactly what he had hoped, a vacuum tube, perfect for replacing the one inside the jukebox. That damn thing was getting a lot of free attention, but he was getting good care at the inn so it balanced out. Finally done looting this tiny square of concrete relief from the pipe he set back out to try to find a way out. After walking for a little while longer he came upon a metal bar gate that would stop large things from flowing any further, there was a door built into the gate which was unlocked, thanks to the chain and broken padlock that was sitting on the ground next to it, so he didn't hesitate to open it and head on through. As soon as he did however, he noticed bodies, lots of them, all slumped against the wall or laying on the ground in front of them. They all looked partially decayed, similar to how Salvatore looked when he first met him, but their clothes were nothing but rags, a few were even naked. Whatever happened down here was not pleasant. But they were just bodies, he had seen enough of that by now to not let it phase him. That is until his light illuminated a bit further ahead, where he saw one of those bodies standing. That is when all the bodies began to move.

Chapter 25 - 25

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