Drew stepped into the nurse’s office where he was greeted by a rather jovial Sarah. She had one of those infectious smiles and her peppy persona and pleasant manner had a way of putting him at ease.

“Good morning,” she said. “How are you doing today?”

“Good,” he answered.

Regarding whether he was going to let her stay or not, he still hadn’t made up his mind. Amy had taken to her rather well, but he and Jack hadn’t really spoken to her much. They had been far too busy fixing up the turrets so that they had full external coverage.

“And how are you feeling?” he asked back.

“Been busy,” she said. “I’ve done a full stock tally to list what we have and what we need. Some of our supplies have gone bad, so I got rid of them.”

If there was one thing Drew could say about Sarah it was that she was a professional and it was working in her favor.

“You have a list?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said as she ejected a holotape from her Pipboy. “It’s on here.”

“You keep it for now,” he said. “I’ll check it later.”

“Sure.”

“Besides, when we next head into town you can come with us and see if we can get those things you need.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Sarah said with a nod.

“I’ll leave you to it,” he said as he left the office and headed down into the basement where Jack and Amy were working on the water system.

Today, he planned on going to check out the Mega Stop to see whether the Greenclaws had set up a nest there. His initial plan had been to take the two Gutsies with him, but he had ultimately decided against it. They were far too noisy for one thing, and also, he wanted them here to look after Amy and Jack.

“There he is,” Amy said as he stepped through the door.

“What’s up?” Jack asked. “Come to see how we’re getting on?”

“I’m heading out for a bit,” Drew told them.

“Where?” Amy asked.

“Just out. Wanted to grab some supplies.”

“Want company?” Jack asked.

Drew shook his head. “I want you and Amy to keep working on the water purifier.”

“Sure,” Jack said.

“You taking the Gutsies with you?” Amy asked.

“Yeah.”

It felt weird to lie, but he knew that if he told them he was going to scope out the Mega Stop for signs of a claw nest, they would either want to go with him or try and stop him. There was no doubt that what he was going to do was stupid, but he had to know whether the claws had decided to call the place home.

“See you later,” Jack said.

“Yeah,” Drew nodded as he headed off to grab his backpack.

After making sure he had everything he needed, including some water, a snack, his binoculars, and most importantly, his leather armor and a laser rifle, he headed out.

As he walked along the highway, he went through his plan in his head. If there was a nest, then he would be building as many Gutsies as he possibly could and he would be arming them with nothing but flamers. He’d burn the place to the ground, incinerate everything. Even deathclaws weren’t immune to fire. He just hoped these Greenclaws were the same.

As the Robco factory vanished from view behind him, he decided to get off the road and made for the treeline. The foliage was dense enough that a large beast such as a deathclaw would have difficulty navigating it. It would also shield him from sight and by the looks of it, the wind was blowing northward towards him, meaning they wouldn’t get his scent either. Perfect conditions for scoping out the old Mega Stop.

It took a good three hours to walk the four or so miles. His progress had been slowed due to him moving carefully and silently through the trees and foliage parallel to the highway.

In position on a ridge, he pulled out his binoculars and stared down at the old Mega Stop. Considering that he’d scoped out the place not too long ago, he knew that the deathclaws hadn’t had all that much time to set up a proper nest. If there was even a nest at all. He couldn’t see any obvious signs, at least not from his current position. From what he could see, the place appeared to be abandoned.

They had certainly been there, though. At least something had. The security Protectrons were destroyed. The robots had been hostile, making the place too dangerous to scavenge from. Even so, Drew had given it a shot on more than one occasion. Sometimes he’d even managed to come away with something worthwhile.

With nothing visible on the exterior, Drew realized that he was going to have to take a look inside. He didn’t want to but knew he had to.

Slowly, he made his way down the ridge, emerging from the treeline. He kept himself low, moving across the parking lot which was occupied by a scarce two rusted-out cars. What wasn’t scarce was the foliage that was growing through the concrete as nature retook what had once been its dominion. The only thing keeping it at bay had been the Protectrons, which had crushed the foliage beneath their metal feet and burned the rest away with their lasers. But they hadn’t been able to keep up, and now that they had been destroyed, nature was now sure to win.

As quickly as he could, he moved behind an old rusted car and peeked over the hood trying to see if he could make out anything through the grimed-up windows. He saw nothing and more importantly heard nothing. No deep thumps from heavy footsteps, no growls, nothing.

It was his opinion that there was nothing here. The deathclaws had been, clearly, the destroyed Protectrons proved that much; the same with the front doors which had been smashed in. It appeared they were long gone, likely having found nothing of interest.

Cautiously, he stood up from behind the old car and made his way to the front doors, stepping inside.

It was dark and gloomy with a dusty, dank and rotten smell permeating the air. The rotting flesh smell was likely from the two corpses he could see, their flesh burned from energy fire, likely from the Protectrons. With the robots gone, this place would be stripped clean by scavengers pretty quickly. Drew figured he might as well take first dibs and grab some himself.

But to his surprise, the first isle was surprisingly empty.

“Looks like someone’s already been cleaning house.”

He walked over to the nearest shelf and turned on his Pipboy light, shining it on the disturbed dust and grime. It appeared as though giant fingers had scooped up the preserved food that had been sat there. Looking closer, he noticed that there were scratches and gouges on the metal surface.

“Did the Greenclaws take the Sugarbombs?” he asked out loud.

It seemed stupid, but the somewhat fresh claw marks and the missing food suggested otherwise.

Drew didn’t like it, not one bit.

With most of the food supplies on the floor seemingly taken, he decided to make his way into the warehouse in the back, hoping to find something still there.

As he stepped towards the large door, something caught his eye. It was a first aid box and it had most certainly been torn open and judging by the gouges it had been done by large and strong claws.

“They weren’t here to nest,” Drew muttered to himself. “They were here to gather supplies.”

His heart rate started to rise. These Greenclaws, whatever they were, weren’t typical deathclaws. They were intelligent and frighteningly so.

“Coincidence,” he said, shaking his head.

They couldn’t have known what they were getting. Maybe they smelled something they might have been able to eat inside so they had smashed it open. But there weren’t any supplies discarded on the floor, the same with the shelf of cereal or any of the other shelves. All that was left was the remnants of food that had long since rotted away.

If they were intelligent then everyone in the region was at great risk. Then again one had chased Sarah all the way to the plant as though it was more interested in scaring her away than actually catching and killing her. There was also the Greenclaw he had seen at the plant. The one that had managed to climb up onto the eave and peer in through the window. If it had wanted to, it could have easily smashed through the glass and gutted him. Instead, it had jumped down and sauntered off before turning invisible.

There was also the one Jarik had seen with a radstag over its shoulder, like a human hunter with a fresh kill. That mixed with the fact they were green and seemed to have breasts told him that they were most definitely not regular deathclaws.

The question was: where had they come from and did they pose a threat? Could they be reasoned with?

Drew pinched the bridge of his nose. “They’re fucking monsters,” he hissed. “They can’t be reasoned with, you moron.”

With a sigh, he stepped over to the terminal by the doors to the warehouse and after hacking his way through the login screen, he unlocked the doors and stepped through.

Inside were sealed boxes and crates stacked on palettes. It was strange to think that it had all been stood there since the bombs fell all those centuries ago. He wondered why those that worked here hadn’t returned? Had the Protectrons turned on them like the Orderlies back at the hospital? Suzy had mentioned small robots with stars on them. What if they had somehow reprogrammed all the robots in this region, and if that was the case, then why was Suzy okay?

It was something he would have to figure out later if he could be bothered. For now, he wanted to fill his backpack with supplies and return home before any unwanted guests arrived.

After finding a crowbar in the corner, he started to pry them open, hoping he found something worthwhile inside them.

The first was full of bar lights. They would definitely come in handy as a few back at the factory needed to be replaced. There was also a healthy supply of robot oil and cleaning fluid, which again, would be very useful.

Finally, he found what he needed. It was food that had enough preservatives packed in them to keep them edible even after all these years. He took a few Salisbury steaks, some sugary candy, and some cereal, stuffing them in his backpack.

Just as he was fastening it up, he felt a deep thump rumble through the floor, followed by another, then another.

In an instant, Drew had his backpack over his shoulders and was sneaking towards the store floor, hoping to make his escape.

That thought was dashed a moment later as he reached the door. Inside the store, he could see a Greenclaw illuminated dimly from light coming in through the grimy windows. It raised its head and sniffed the air.

In fear, Drew held his breath as he gripped tightly onto his laser rifle. It didn’t turn his way, though he knew that could change at any moment.

Slowly, he pulled the door closed as quietly as he could, only for there to be a rather loud click.

He held his breath as he silently cursed his bad luck. There was no audible sign that the thing had heard it, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t

As quickly as he could, he moved behind a stack of crates and hid behind them. Barely a second passed before he both heard and felt the thump of footsteps. They grew louder and the tremors grew more intense before they stopped right outside the door. His grip tightened on his rifle as it rattled. If it entered the warehouse then it was certain it would find him. His only hope was to slip out while it was searching and pray that it didn’t see him.

Drew peeked over the crates, his gaze focused like a laser on the door. He expected sharp claws to burst through it and tear it clean off its hinges. Instead, he felt fear roll up his spine as he watched the handle as it began to twitch before it was pulled downwards.

He ducked back behind the crates as it opened. The door creaked loudly before it thumped against the wall. A moment of uneasy silence followed though it was short-lived as he both heard and felt the heavy footfalls of its large clawed feet on the hard concrete floor.

With his heart thumping in his chest, he peered back over the crates to see the Greenclaw standing there menacingly. Thankfully, it was looking away from him towards some boxes he had opened only a few moments earlier. In the darkness, he was just able to make out its shape with dark scales on its back which seemed to become smoother and lighter in tone around its surprisingly large and round buttocks, though it was difficult to get a good look as its thick scaly tail was blocking his view.

Its head turned slightly and he ducked back down, silently cursing himself for staring at the monster’s ass. What the hell was wrong with him?

With the sound of the Greenclaw moving further into the warehouse, Drew peeked over the crates one more time. To his relief, the beast was busy rummaging through some boxes, its back turned toward him. With it preoccupied, he decided it was probably a good time to make haste and get the hell out of there.

With his breath held and his rifle tucked against his chest, he quickly and quietly made for the door, exiting the warehouse.

Only his actions hadn’t gone unnoticed.

The deep thumps came quickly and they were fast. So fast that there was no chance for him to even think about hiding.

“Shit!” he hissed under his breath as he heard a loud deep growl from behind.

Slowly, he turned around and found himself face to face with the towering monstrosity. It had to be eight or nine feet tall and it looked far from happy.

Shooting it at this range was out of the question. All he’d accomplish was to piss it off and he was sure to receive a quick disembowelment as a reward. The only choice he had available to him was to lower his weapon and take a step back, hoping that the thing didn’t see him as a threat, or worse, its next meal.

Who was he kidding? The thing was a deathclaw. He was probably dead already.

It growled at him a second time and in response he took another step back, his eyes drifting down to the two large bare breasts that adorned its chest. It growled louder, indicating its displeasure at where his eyes were focused.

Quickly, he looked back up at its face, noting that there was something strange about it, particularly its eyes. He hadn’t seen many deathclaws, at least not this close, but her eyes looked disturbingly human and on its face there seemed to be the faintest outline of lips.

Knowing he was out of options, he decided to play the only card he had left.

“So-uh… I guess shooting you will just make you mad, huh? Listen, would you be willing to let me go? I promise, everything in here is yours and I won’t come back. Deal?”

Faster than he could react, it reached forward with its clawed hand and clamped it around his chest, lifting him off his feet, its sharp claws cutting through his leather armor, through his jacket, and painfully into the flesh beneath.

This was it. He was dead. His overconfidence had ended the only way it could.

Instead of finding its claws tearing out his intestines, the creature tossed him away like unwanted trash. He sailed through the air for a moment before he found himself slamming into the concrete floor so hard that the rifle skittered from his grip.

“Fuck,” he groaned in pain.

Before he could even think about trying to get up, it grabbed him by the leg and dragged him outside where it rested one of its large feet on his legs, pinning him in place.

Drew expected his death to come shortly after that, but instead, he heard deep heavy footsteps. He turned his head to see yet another of the Greenclaws approaching and this one was bigger, at least ten or eleven feet in height. It also had larger, rounder breasts and thick legs. It also seemed to be standing more upright, and much like the one that had him at its mercy, its eyes were unnervingly human.

With a pat on the shoulder from the larger one, the smaller claw took its foot off his legs before the larger one reached down and grabbed him by them, hoisting him up so that he was dangling upside down, his heavy backpack hanging awkwardly from his shoulders. It then brought his face frighteningly close to its own and stared, its hot breath blasting against him. It appeared to be studying him and he desperately hoped that it wasn’t because it was wondering how tasty he was.

No, it looked confused, not hungry. Clearly, these creatures had intelligence. Neither of them had murdered him yet, though that didn’t mean they still wouldn’t. There was still a chance no matter how slim that he could talk to them. That was if they even understood English.

“Um, hey,” he said. “Can you understand me?”

The creature glanced at the smaller one. It seemed to shake its head before it approached, claw raised with murder in its eyes.

It appeared that this was it. He was finally going to meet his end.

“I guess I’ll be seeing you again, Gemma.”

The larger claw that had him by the legs growled, pulling him in close. Awkwardly, he found his face slipping between its breasts as it wrapped its huge arms around him in a protective hug, his groin pressing up against its chin.

Then, for a moment he swore he heard a deep yet feminine “no”.

He felt rumbles as the Greenclaw took a few steps back. It released its hug and he found his face slipping free out of its cleavage as he fell towards the hard concrete.

Thankfully, the larger Greenclaw grabbed his legs with one hand before he smashed his face into the ground. Then with the other clawed hand, it reoriented him and placed him down. He staggered for a moment as he got his bearings and found himself staring at the stomach of the larger of the two Greenclaws.

He looked up at it, his vision filled by its huge breasts. He took a few steps back, looking at the other one who seemed to have a deep scowl on its face.

His theory was right. There was now no doubt in his mind that they were intelligent and much to his relief it seemed the larger one wasn’t nearly as bloodthirsty as the smaller.

It pointed back down the highway and grunted, clearly indicating that he should leave.

Though he couldn’t, not without his weapon.

He cleared his throat, trying his luck one last time. “Can I… well… can I have my laser rifle back?”

The huge Greenclaw seemed to frown at him.

“I dropped it inside,” he explained. “If I could have it back that would mean a lot.”

For a moment, he thought he had pushed things too far when the larger growled at him. It then looked to the smaller and seemed to gesture towards the building with her head.

The smaller glowered before it headed inside, returning a few moments later with his rifle in hand. It tossed it down at his feet then growled. It looked irritated.

“Thank you,” he said as he picked it up. “You two aren’t so bad. I hope you don’t cause too much trouble. And, uh… Well, try not to scare too many people, yeah?”

With that, he turned on his heels and retreated back onto the highway as fast as he could. He’d had enough for one day. Hell, he’d had enough for several. Somehow he had come face to face with two Greenclaws and had managed to not only come out alive but also communicate with them. He was amazed, he was astounded, but most of all he was emotionally exhausted and he just wanted to get back to the Robco plant and put his feet up.

He felt like he’d earned at least that much.