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John woke up to the sound of static, its electricity scream filling the dark room he had decided to stay in the night before. That sound was horrible, and he was sure if he didn't turn it off soon, an unexpecting animal was sure to come and check it out. The brunette regrettably pulled himself out of his makeshift bed of old torn blankets and a cushion he found digging around in the room, and reached over for his glasses. Blinking to adjust to the lenses and the dim light, he got a better view of the room, looking towards the sound of the static before crawling over and scooping up his beat up walkie-talkie.
It sounded like someone was trying to talk on the other end, but it was near to impossible trying to figure out what they were saying. When it sounded like the talking was dimming down a bit to give him a chance to speak, he pressed the button on the side of the handset.
"Hey, whatever you're trying to say, nobody else can hear. Do you mind changing your frequency?"
John listened to the static for a couple moments before it suddenly went away, letting out a soft sigh before crawling back over to his bed. The sun hadn't even come up yet and someone thought it would be a good idea to try to contact somebody. Some people just weren't fit for this wasteland. Even if it were an emergency and they were trying to get help, how would anyone know where they are? And who would help them in the first place? He contemplated this as he lay there, watching the sun rise through a couple cracks in a boarded up window on the other side of the room. Would he put his own life on the line to save someone else?
The Egbert knew he would for his friends. Even though they had never actually met him in person, they all talked and cared about each other. He recalled the first day he had come into contact with them, when he had discovered the crappy walkie-talkie from digging around in some old building and fixed it up. The static that used to scare him now brought him joy to know that someone was trying to get into contact with him. Speaking of which, he should have been getting contacted pretty soon.
John and his friends had this sort of process. When the sun went up, they would all take turns contacting one another, thus reassuring that whoever was contacting them wasn't someone who had stolen or possibly even killed the person who had originally had the walkie-talkie. It was depressing to think about, someone hurting his friend and not even being able to help them, but it was just the way things were here in the wasteland. It had taken awhile to work out the process with the other three, but it was time well spent.
After working on prying a can of… well, a can… open to get whatever edible substance was still inside, the walkie-talkie went off again. This time he could actually understand the voice, and set down the can with a wide grin on his face before picking up the device.
"Good morning, John. I hope you had a goodnight's rest."
"Morning. I wouldn't say it was the best night's sleep, but I slept nonetheless."
He heard a small hum of amusement from the other end. "Well, contact the others and find something to eat. We have another big day of travel ahead of us."
"Okay. Thanks Rose."
It was short and sweet and to the point, but he knew it was probably because Rose thought the more time spent traveling, the quicker they would get a chance to see each other. The messy haired boy switched the frequency on the walkie-talkie before pressing the corroded button on the side.
"Hey Jade, you there?"
It took a couple moments for her to respond. "Hey John! How've you been?"
"I'm doing alright. Rose seems to be in a hurry though, so we better head out soon."
"Aw, okay. Let me go get Bec and call Dave, then I'll head out."
"Okay. Be safe!"
He let out another sigh and set the device aside before he reached over for the can of food once more. It was hard going down -but what wasn't these days? - and John was sure this thing had to have at least a couple joules of radiation, but it was food. Whatever, he have a lead belly anyways.
It only took a couple moments to pack everything up, slinging his bag over his shoulders and strapping a hammer to his belt. Sure, it wasn't the best means of defense, but he was pretty confident nobody would be getting close to him as long as he had C.A.S.E.Y. He had no idea what it stood for, only that this bot was coded to protect him for some reason. Being born after the wars, it was a rarity to find something like C.A.S.E.Y., but that was the perk of staying around places long enough to explore.
As the rugged clothed boy stepped into the harsh light of the radiation filled desert, he looked over to find the battle worn robot charging itself in the sun. It was solar powered, and all he had to do when he found it was drag it out of an old shack, which wasn't easy considering how heavy the thing was. He was lucky to find some ammunition to go along with it, and every so often would pass through a developing town to buy some more when the bot was getting low.
C.A.S.E.Y. started up as it usually did when he walk past, taking a couple moments to hover a few feet above the ground before following after him. John pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as the sphere shaped bot picked up speed until it was floating in front of him, keeping a steady pace and always staying a few feet away. Jade constantly told him about her dog, Bec, but he was pretty sure C.A.S.E.Y. was a million times better. Even if the boy didn't receive unconditional love from this antennae strewn bot, it was always there to protect him. And it was just plain freaking awesome!
John looked back at the small shelter he had left behind as he climbed a small rocky incline, turning away from it and staring at the ground in front of him as he scrambled up the hill. Once he was at the top, he had a good view of what was ahead. To the left there was a small mountain range, but from stories he had heard passing through small towns, nobody wanted to go up there unless they were looking for a way to die. In front of him there was an expanse of lifeless desert, but it would be stupid to say lifeless. There were plenty of mutated animals and people waiting to jump him in that sun baked stretch of dehydrated sand, and he knew it because it looked exactly the same as the place he had just come from. Sand blew into John's face when he turned to study the land to the right of him, and he reached up the rub dust away from his glasses. Off into the distance, he saw a small developing town, almost as big as the one he had been to a few days ago. It would probably be best to go in that direction and get some supplies, because either way he went he would still be heading towards his overall destination.
Out there in the wastelands of the Mojave Desert, there was a place that every waste-lander talked about. It was still as crime ridden as before the war, but the flashing of lights on the horizon when the sun went down brought something like hope into the minds of curious settlers and wasteland Mercs. They called it New Vegas. It used to be a huge city run by gambling and money, but now the tall buildings that still stood were a beacon of life. That's where he and his friends had decided to meet up, because not only would they have a place to start over new, but they would also have friends by their side too.
Just thinking about it made John giddy with excitement, and he started down the hill towards the small town he had spotted in the distance. The boy kept his gaze locked on the speck of life on the horizon, watching it get closer as the time passed. He was about a mile away, the sun high in the sky and causing beads of sweat to run down his forehead, when the sound of C.A.S.E.Y.'s lasers had him spinning his head in the bot's direction.
Cazadors. Giant, mutated tarantula hawk wasps that somehow managed to survive in the desert along with all the other odd animals that lived in the Mojave. Thing was, these bugs weren't something any waste-lander was prepared to mess with. Adrenaline started pumping through his body along with fear, making him speed up his pace until he was sprinting towards the small town in front out him. The sound of C.A.S.E.Y.'s lasers, the red flashing against the hot sand, only got closer as he picked up speed. He looked quickly over his shoulder and watched in horror as the giant insects buzzed right past the bot, the sound of their huge wings propelling them towards him. They had lost all interest in C.A.S.E.Y., and the bot was working hard to bring down a couple, but they both were horrendously outnumbered.
John tried to push forwards even faster as the sound of their buzzing got louder, looking over his shoulder once more just in time to dunk away from one of their giant stingers. He lost his balance as it flew over him, the metallic amber-orange reflectiveness of its wings a beautiful contrast to its hideously pitch black, hairy body. He was reaching for the hammer strapped to his belt as the others caught up, their buzzing filling his ears as he studied their quick and erratic flight pattern that made them almost impossible to hit. C.A.S.E.Y. was still trying hard to shoot a couple of the giant insects, lasers flying past John in the process. The spikes on the back of a Cazador's spine rose before it charged towards him, stinger first. He barely had time to react before he heard the piercing noise of a rifle and the giant insect's head was blown off. Thick, mucus-like blood splatters over the boy's body before the carcass crashes into him, landing on top of him as he fell to the ground.
He wasn't quite sure what happened after that, the noise of bullets flying over his head mixing in with the sound of Cazador buzzing, shouting muffled by the warm, oozing body above him. What was worse was the pain shooting through his leg, his mouth open in a silent scream and breath coming in short and fast as the venom from the Cazador's stinger slowly crept its way up his thigh. The edges of John's vision started to blur as the noise slowly died down, his leg going numb before he fell into unconsciousness.
