A Wasteland Encounter [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 1

Combat boots trudged through the crisp leaves littering the ground of the Commonwealth.  The colours of fall shone through the gaps in trees and left the young wanderer feeling an odd sense of peace.

The Commonwealth was a dangerous place, full of atrocities, mutated beings, and irradiated land.  Most people thought anyone who traversed the vast landscape would end up on the ground, reclaimed by the nature that created monstrosities from radiation.

For some, that belief came true.  For others, it was a dream to be finally relieved from scourging the hazardous wasteland.

Black eyes scanned the horizon, the dim glow of the sun fading away beneath the hills of the once flourishing landscape.  The ground was cracked, evidence of water being blasted away by  radiation in a single instant.  The wanderer wanted to see what the Commonwealth looked like before the Great War, but she only heard stories.

The great illustrious buildings created by man over hundreds of years, the green trees and grass swaying in a gentle breeze, the sun shining its gentle rays on the skin of playing children.  Family members laughing as baseballs were thrown, people naive to the problems created by corrupt governments and greedy civilizations.

Oh how she wanted to experience it.

Stepping over a small hill, the wanderer scanned the landscape left to right.  Everything seemed normal, no Ghouls, Deathclaws, or Mole Rats.  It was a relief for once.  The young woman had constantly been bombarded by enemies ever since she travelled away from the town of Malden.  She had lived in a makeshift home, foraging for supplies in and around town without the notice of many enemies.  The wanderer didn't know how to fight in the beginning.  She relied on her Pip-Boy to help, pulling up V.A.T.S to assist in headshots.

Speaking of which...

[STAT  [INV]  DATA  MAP  RADIO]

The wanderer turned to her inventory and pulled out a purified water.  She sipped it quietly, watching the sun sink into the horizon.  She felt at peace for a moment and admired the view, the sky turning from a cotton candy pink to a darker blue.  White stars dotted the sky and larger, brighter stars glimmered with energy.

The peace didn't last long.

The gurgling groan of a Ghoul sounded oddly close to the wanderer.  Turning around, the young woman noticed a younger looking Ghoul slowly shuffling its way up to her, bare feet dragging in the ground.  The creatures arms were held out, fingers crooked in the wastelander's direction.

Sighing, the woman pulled out her trusty double-barreled shotgun, aimed for the Ghoul's head, and with a single shot, decapitated the poor irradiated human.

Trekking over to the fallen creature, the young survivor pulled 5 bottlecaps and 2 stimpacks.  

"Not too shabby," she murmured to herself, eyes darting around in either direction to look for any oncoming enemies.

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'KEEP RUNNING!  NO SLACKING!'

A deep voice bellowed from behind the 5 children out of breath, each running on a treadmill.  'I want to see you pass out!  I want to see you keep pushing yourself!  You need to be strong!'

Some children heeded the voice's warning.  They kept running, their heart rates reaching absurd speeds.  Others couldn't keep up with the strain as their tired eyes slowly closed and their limp bodies fell off the treadmills.

'A shame, these kids could've been great.  Tally up the rest of the kids' heart rates and we'll see who had the highest.'

A scientist in the back nodded, counting numbers and adding values.