As the music from my Pip-Boy started to die down, slowing as the finish came upon it, I grinned a little hearing the familiar voice of the Lone Star State's resident DJ start to speak in that typical, calming tone that he always holds no matter what situation he talks about.

"And that was Civilization by the late Danny Kaye and The Andrews Sisters. Man, civilization seems like a thing of the past, don't it? Two hundred and forty years in the past to be approximate. But hey, we're still here and we're still kickin'. Just shows what those fools at Vault-Tec knew about the apocalypse. Thinking the only ways to be safe was hiding in holes underground, never seein' the light of day. Well, let me tell you something friends. Human civilization ain't about to fall from some fallout. We're just too goddamn stubborn. War may have gotten us here, but our war with stayin' alive is a thousand times stronger than those bombs that caused this hell.

"And war? My friends, war never changes. It's strong and hits like a motherfucker." He lets out a light chuckle as he turns to another song and starts to play. "But onto a lighter note, pun intended, let's hear what happened when someone doesn't want the world to burn from war. This was DJ Lucas Dahl, and I'll get right back at ya."

His speaking stops as the song I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire begins to play, making my walk down this old, destroyed highway filled with some form of music. I never understood how this little device could pick up radio signals as good as it does, especially with so little tuning, but I don't question it. I raided a dead Vault, found it on a skeleton and kept it after selling the rest I found. A good stack of caps, plus a little extra loot. Extra loot is always good. The only problem is my base is so far out of the nearest town the loot weighs me down a bit.

I look at the Pip-Boy to check the time, making sure I could get home before it gets too dark. In these Texas wastes you don't want to get caught outside at night. Basilisks will slither up and tear you apart before you even knew what hit you. God those things are terrifying. Twenty foot serpents that can shoot a concentrated form of radiation up to ten meters, very territorial, and angrier than a Deathclaw with glaucoma. Glad I don't have any around my base.

I take a look around as I come to the usual split in the road, one way leading home and the other into the radiated remains of what used to be Fort Worth. I have a pretty safe spot, in between the three ruined cities that makes this portion of Texas famous. Fort Worth, sadly destroyed, Dallas, also horribly destroyed, and New Arlington, an area that is the biggest settlement around with nearly five hundred people within it. Also the best place to sell old Vault Tec equipment to some Ghouls that actually used to work in a Vault Tec facility! They're cool, for Ghouls and for Vault Tec workers.

Never seen a functioning one. Vault, that is. Only the scraps of failed Vaults previously raided and half destroyed. Sometimes I'll get lucky, like today, and find a whole closed off section with all the Pip-Boys still intact and multiple loads of meds and chems, some I kept for myself. Then, there are my unlucky days, when I chase after the rumors of a never before touched Vault. Seems harmless, aside the fact it was a nest for the Texas Wastes' worse monster ever. The Deathhorn. Deathclaws that evolved from the pre-war Texas Horned-Toad. Covered in spikes it can pull off it's own body and throw at you, only to regrow them insanely quickly.

I stopped going to that Vault.

Instead, I stay closer to home, with people I know and threats I can protect myself from. Then again, my only neighbors is my Ghoul friend Alex, a farmer in a mostly intact mansion he 'purloined' from some of his feral cousins. Cool guy, although he does get a little too protective of his farm, even to me, his best friend Mike. Well, who can blame him? Out here, you have to be protective of everything and suspicious of everyone. Can't blame him though, I don't have the friendliest of faces I will admit. Constantly wearing heavy aviators, an American Flag patterned bandanna over my mouth and the spiked collar I wear for not pleasurable reasons tends to make me look like a raider at times. Which I suppose I am but in the most lenient sense possible. I'll raid abandoned Vaults and buildings, but never do what actual raiders do.

I keep walking down the road as more and more buildings start to thin out and it turn to empty, irradiated countryside, showing the Brahmin grazing in the fields freely. It gives a nice, calming feeling of peace and nature in this world. The peace is soon temporarily interrupted as the music starts to die down again, meeting with our DJ speaking once again.

"Well now, wasn't that a lovely change of pace for the day? We all need a small slow down moment with good music. But, sadly, those moments must be interrupted by the news of wasteland in order to keep you alive and enjoying us more and more.

"Starting us off is a good little sports story. The Nuka Cola Stadium has just opened up for this years baseball season, showing once again that, no matter what, baseball is, and forever will be, America's pastime. The New Arlington Ferals beat The New Vegas Fire Ants seven to three in season's first game, sending the Nevada team back home in shame but with a hint of pride of their excellent teamwork." The New Arlington Ferals. My home team. Glad to hear they still do pretty well on the field.

"Next up, some news for anyone interested in salvaging old Vault Tec material to sell to the remaining Vault Tec employees in New Arlington. I just recently received word of a local, who wishes their name stay hidden, that had raided a recently unknown part of the abandoned Vault 289. Apparently filled with pre-war tech and chems, all that was reportedly salvaged was the Pip-Boys and Jet." What can I say? A man needs his vices, and mine just so happens to be an inhaler of drugs. Don't judge me.

"Lastly, some darker news on a little attack at Ghoul Town. Turns out, King Hertic attempted a large scale assault on the amusement park turned settlement, damaging and ruining a little under half of the housing and attractions of the park. The reasons for this attack are unknown, but it is known that the King's pet Deathhorn, Ezekiel, was used in the battle, so it is possibly extremely personal." Oh wow, he brought out Ezekiel for the attack. That's never a good sign.

"That should be all the news for right now ladies and gentlemen. This is DJ Lucas Dahl from the Live I-75 News Station, signing out for the night. But don't y'all worry, I still got all the good hits playing throughout the night for you. Starting with what possibly could have started this whole fallout in the first place, Uranium Fever."

I never really cared for this one, so I turn off the radio for a few minutes. Wait a second, did he say 'for the night'? I look up to realizing I have been lost in my thoughts and radio for longer than I thought! But, if I haven't been paying attention and walked with muscle memory, I should be…

Aha! I look up in time to see my decently intact house with a single light on upstairs, just like I left it! I really have to start remembering to turn that lamp off. I open my little white picket fence gate and step into my yard, walking up to the door before getting stopped by the my friendly Ghoul neighbor, Alex.

"Well hey there, Mikey," he greeted, not having as rough and gravely a voice as most Ghouls, "nice walk home?"

I shrug a little and hold up my arm to show off the Vault Tec Pip-Boy. "Pretty good, now that I got this little baby with me. Listing to I-75 on the way home made me lose track of time. I'm just glad to be home and get some well deserved shut eye."

"I can get behind that, pal. Well, I'll let ya get to it, just wanted to say hi. Hey, Mike," he asks, "We still on for beers at Styla's Bar tomorrow?"

"You bet your withered ass we are! Ain't nothing's gonna get in the way of me and one of Styla's personal brews! Nothing!"