The End of Mrs. Dixon
Mrs. Dixon had been in her kitchen for nearly an hour, washing the dishes from breakfast. She looked out the kitchen window and took note that the small suburban town of Springvale was quieter than usual. She looked across the street at Springvale Elementary and hoped her kids were learning all about Evolution and what-have-you. She finished the last dish, cleaned her hands, and walked over to the refrigerator. Opening it, she sighed as she noticed that the last Nuka Cola was gone. "Billy..."
Billy was her son, and he was a third grader. He was very smart, but he often relied on Nuka Cola a little too much to give him that boost he needed to think. The Caffeine rushes often caused him to get headaches, and Mrs. Dixon was forced to give him a Mentat when this happened.
Suddenly, her thoughts turned to the raging war in Anchorage with China. Things had gotten out of hand, and people were fearing a coming nuclear holocaust. She laughed at the thought, because her husband was a military officer serving in Anchorage, and he had told that the war was going smoothly. He got to fight using the newly developed T-51b Power Armor and his team was the most elite of all that were stationed at Anchorage.
Nonetheless, there had been war protesters and Republican anti-Communism rallies everyday in the streets of DC. These people had even gone so far as to start calling CNN the "Commie News Network" because they wanted America to end the war before either country resorted to nuclear warfare. Even Galaxy News Radio had taken heat for their outspoken opposition to the war.
She then began to think about how much warfare technology had changed, but she found herself randomly saying aloud, "But war... War never changes..." She sighed and walked into the living room with a glass of water she had recently poured. She sat down and turned the TV to CNN to watch their coverage on things. The images flashed to T-51b infantry moving in on Chinese positions, and wondered if her husband were in that team somewhere.
The news anchor kept mentioning something about exclusive coverage of some new project that was being developed at the Pentagon, with only its name being known at the moment: "Liberty Prime". She was curious, and wondered if they were ever going to get around to it. It had been an hour before the news anchor finally told his audience what time it was, and she remembered that it was nearly time for her kids to get home.
She continued watching the TV a little more before she saw a bright flash outside the window. "What the hell?" Suddenly, the house began to shake violently and everything began ripping apart. "SHIT!" she yelled, ducked onto the floor, and covered her head with her arms. She couldn't see it, but she could hear the beams of the house, the wallpaper, the TV, dishes, everything being thrown around and broken. She then recalled where she was, ducked down near a dresser that could topple over and crush her. But she couldn't move out of the way.
Luckily, she escaped any harm from the house, but when she arose, she was greeted with nothing but rubble, and she could feel a strange, burning sensation all throughout her body. Without warning, she began to throw up violently. She clutched her stomach as the last of its contents splattered against the rubble and she began to painfully dry heave. She felt an itch on her arm that then started to burn, and she tried to scratch it, but noticed her skin tore away as she did. "Wha-What the hell is happening to--" she was interrupted by more dry heaving.
With nothing more to do, she curled up on the rubble and fell asleep, violently shaking and dry heaving.
The next time she awoke, it was to the sound of voices. She shot up and noticed several strange men bickering. One was holding a gun and some ammo.
"I found them first."
"I don't give a fuck. Give me the damn gun, asshole, or I'll cut you down right here." The second man had pulled out a knife, Mrs. Dixon had been sure of. The dust was making it hard to make anything out, but she could hear their raspy voices.
She decided to make a stand, and when she tried to talk, her voice was raspy just the same as theirs. "This is my home, this is my stuff." Every word burned in her throat, and she longed for water.
"What the fuck is this bitch talking about?" That was the second man.
"I don't know. Stab her." The first one, and at that, she felt a sharp object tear through her skin, and with a painful yelp, she fell to the floor. The pain caused her to once again fall asleep.
The next time she woke up, it was of her own accord, and her only thought was the word "water" being screamed in her head in the sound of her own voice. She stumbled to her feet, ignoring the bleeding wound in her stomach, and walked out into the dust. She constantly stumbled but she eventually made her way to a river that hadn't been too far from where she lived. On her way, she had noticed a large crater and checked it out. There was an undetonated atmoic bomb in it, but she really didn't think it was going to blow.
At the river, she scooped some water into her hands and dumped it down into her throat. It tasted like shit, but it was soothing.
Strangely, it didn't make her feel sick, so she continued drinking it.
Still, she longed for something more, so she used the shallow parts of the river to walk across it and she was somehow able to make it to what had once been the Super Duper Mart. The building was still standing, but there were men without assault rifles moving stuff out of it and into a carriage that was being pulled by some sickly mutated Horse. She assumed the EMP from the bomb... Or bombs... Had made any and all motor vehicles useless.
She then saw something she hadn't before, in the distance. She giggled when she saw that it was still standing... The Washington Monument. How had it survivied? She had no idea, but it was still there.
After a few minutes, the men had left, and she entered the store. Nuke Cola, she knew she wanted Nuka Cola, and with some luck, she found some. Or at least, it was close. It said Nuka Cola, but it also said Quantum on the bottle and it had a strange, blue glow to it. She downed it and it soothed her throat, but she was still tired. She knew it wasn't safe in the main part of the store, so she tried to work her way to the back offices, but the door was locked.
She couldn't access the computer, either, and she was frantic. She had heard the main door being forced open and the rowdy shouts of looters entering the store. She slid down against the locked door and knew she was dead.