Katie picked up a typewriter, wiping off the dirt and prying open the loose metal shell.
Empty.
She dropped it, a small gear rolling out as it fell, and moved on to examine the ground for any other salvage.
Scanning the patch of scorched earth, she found a broken terminal that was half buried in the ground, two small lamps, a broken gold-plated watch, and a microscope.
She took the watch and left the rest, having learned a long time ago that the small items normally fetched the most caps at Bunker Hill. She didn't know what the people she sold to wanted the junk for, or why they would pay so much for useless bits of metal and glass, but she didn't need to know.
That's what Mom always said.
The thought ran through her mind and she sniffed, blinking back her pain and pretending to herself that the dusty air of the Commonwealth was to blame for her tears.
She could see the faces of her parents as they shouted for her to run. She could hear the noise of the guns and the people screaming as she ran past them. She remembered hiding in the trunk, peeking out to see the creatures swarm the small settlement.
Big monsters with teeth and claws and horns.
She remembered the hollow feeling in her stomach as she watched the pack descend on her home, taking away everything she had ever known.
Her fists clenched as she continued, angrily wiping away the tears that were now running down her face.
Picking through a pile of pre-war relics, she came upon an alien toy, dirty but still intact. She took the time to examine the toy.
It was small and oval-shaped, modelled in the shape of a face, with four knobbly protrusions sticking out like antennae from its chin and head. In the centre of the oval, above the etched line of the mouth, was a single eye, covering the majority of the toy and giving the face a jovial quality.
Recognising it as almost worthless, Katie was about to drop it, when she hesitated.
Something about the toy calmed her fevered mind and she found its gaze soothing. She held it firmly in one hand and decided to carry it with her as she continued on.
Going up the hill, she came across a ruined fence with a large wooden sign on one of the remaining posts. The letters were faded and the wood had begun to splinter, but the main feature on the sign was a large symbol drawn on in white paint.
It was an 'X' surrounded by six lines radiating outwards like sunrays. She stared at it blankly before shaking her head and entering through the broken fence.
Why do people write on things that already have writing on them?
She emerged into a large camp with houses set around a large barn in the middle of the area. She headed for the building, noting the fact that the doors were slightly ajar.
As she peered in, a thin beam of light from the broken roof illuminated a small section of the ground. With the light, she could discern strange forms in the shadowed recesses of the large barn.
She froze in fear as she recognised the lifeless forms of people strewn about the dilapidated building.
She began to back away slowly but a faint gargle made her stop dead.
Ghouls.
Easing herself into a crouch, she watched the bodies for any signs of movement. Despite their stillness, she decided to give the barn a wide berth, eventually backing away and opting to scout the large building to the right first.
Staying low, she made her way to the building, peering through the broken panes before opening the rusted door.
The darkness overwhelmed her and her knuckles grew white as she gripped the toy alien in her fist tightly.
Her eyes soon adjusted to the gloom however, and she was able to make out vague shapes. As she got closer, she recognised the familiar outline of a bed. Looking around, she saw two neat rows of beds, all of which were bolted to the floor. Two tables were set in the centre of the room, stacked high with tools and other pre-war salvage.
As she made for the tables, something caught her eye and she looked to see a dark red stain, almost black, which had dried into one of the beds. She saw similar stains on the other beds and recognised them instantly, the image of familiar stained beds, glistening in wet crimson, flashing into her mind once again.
She sniffed.
Suddenly, a loud clang rang out from the table behind her and she spun around, already shielding her face and crouching low. Tools clattered onto the ground and she stayed still, frozen with fear. Peeking through her fingers, she made out a small shape moving sluggishly beside her and felt thick, matted fur against her bare leg.
Slowly, she moved her hands away from her face, and saw a grey cat with piercing green eyes walking languorously around her, pawing at her dress as it passed.
She reached out a hand to stroke the animal but it tensed up at her movement, its hackles rising as it bared its teeth at her. She stayed crouched as it walked away, leaving the building through the open door, sparing her an occasional glance to make sure she wasn't going to move towards it again.
Her nerves shot, she took a moment to breathe as she stood.
Amidst the pile of tools and junk, she found nothing of value that was small enough for her to carry. Frowning at the lack of items, she made her way to the door, exiting the same way she had entered.
With the barn out of the question, she decided to circle the camp, heading right up the hill to the farthest house and continuing round until she had searched them all, allowing her to bypass the barn in the centre completely.
She started up the hill, keeping an eye on the sun as it started to dip low, almost at the horizon already.
As she walked, she heard the trees to her right creaking as they swayed in the breeze and heard branches snapping. She shook her head, smiling, unwilling fall victim to her paranoia again.
It's probably that cat.
A soft 'meow' from behind her sent a shiver down her spine. She turned to see the grey cat following her, a few paces behind as it padded along.
She heard the sound from the trees again and scanned the dense foliage for any signs of life. Staring out, she saw nothing, and continued onwards towards the house atop the hill, sparing the odd glance towards the thick shadows between the trees.
She felt eyes on her back as she walked and turned to see that the cat had vanished. Clutching the toy alien once more, she reached the house, looking over her shoulder one last time before entering.
Searching the house with the sense of unease still present, she came across an old comic book. She blew the dust from the cover.
'The Unstoppables. Meet the heroes you know and love,' she began, trying to alleviate her nerves by reading aloud. 'See them team up to fight crime and rid the streets of-'
Another noise from outside, louder than before.
From inside the house, it was difficult to determine the direction it came from.
She rushed through the other room, stuffing the comic into her jacket as she went. Inside a trunk in the other room, she came upon a small box of ammunition.
Emptying the bullets into her pocket, she discarded the now empty box, barely noticing the '.308' label on its side.
She left the house quickly, not staying any longer than necessary. Thinking back to her original plan of circling the barn to scavenge in each of the houses, she decided to abandon that idea, opting instead to leave the way she came and find shelter for the night away from the camp, coming back the next day.
As she made her way down the hill, she heard a low moaning coming from the trees, the sound carrying on the wind.
Looking towards the noise, she could see the outline of a shadow in the thick forest. As it moved slowly between the trees, a branch snapped behind her and she spun around, sweat beginning to bead her forehead.
What are they? How many are there?
Suddenly aware of how open she was on the hill, she hurried herself, eventually reaching the first building she had entered.
She cast a glance to the top of the hill and saw nothing, the eerie silence growing once again as the sun began to dip past the horizon.
Taking the momentary reprieve as it came, she headed for the edge of the camp, exhaling deeply.
She began to examine the toy alien in greater detail as she walked.
The moaning was right behind her. Heavy footsteps getting closer.
Without thinking, she broke out into a sprint.
She ran through the abandoned camp, her every step seeming unnaturally loud in the near silence. Once again, she heard the low moaning coming from behind her, but didn't risk turning around.
As she ran, she held the toy alien tightly, tears threatening to fall.
As she passed the broken fence, her head swivelled left and right, desperately trying to find a safe refuge from whatever was now chasing her.
Spying a small house to her left, secluded within a copse of trees, she made a beeline for the entrance. The windows had been boarded up and the door was off its hinges and on the floor, but with the moaning getting closer, she couldn't afford to pass up the shelter.
Running inside, the smell of mould and rotten wood hit her, making her gag, but she continued on, reaching the living room. She desperately looked around for cover, acutely aware of the sound of scratching coming from the fence at the front of the house.
The furniture was splintered and crumbling, offering no protection. She ran through the room and headed for the stairwell, hoping that there was a bed upstairs that she could hide under. Climbing the stairs, lightning flashed and a deafening crack of thunder made her jump.
She reached the landing and ran into the first room, ignoring the others as the scratching became louder.
To her dismay, the bed was nothing more than a broken frame, but a wardrobe still stood in the corner of the room, strong and intact.
Not wanting to trap herself, she decided to check the other room, but not before chancing a peek out of the window. Poking her head out as far as she dared, she was just in time to see a dark shadow make its way into the front door, the scratching now coming from the floor below.
She panicked as the sound increased, inching ever closer to the stairs. She heard the stairs creak as the first footfall landed, and her eyes darted towards the wardrobe.
She opened the heavy door and nestled herself within, hiding amongst the moth-eaten clothes.
Closing the door as quietly as she could manage, she cowered as the footsteps grew louder – heavy yet oddly timed.
She peeked out of the small gap between the doors and saw a shadow shuffle across the doorway, heading for the other rooms.
Before it passed, she heard it sniff the air, growling softly.
She pushed herself back into the deep wardrobe and clasped her hands over mouth, tears beginning to stream down her face as she felt a warm trickle run beneath her skirt.
The noise of furniture being moved and more growling, louder this time, reached her from another room. Her breath hitched as she desperately tried to muffle the sound of her sobs, and the growling stopped instantly.
An eerie silence descended on the house, and not even the whistle of the wind outside broke it.
Moving with a slowness only fear can produce, Katie risked another peek.
Through the narrow slit, she could make out the doorway leading to the hall and saw the shadow of the figure grow longer as it moved closer, its footsteps now silent.
She slowly pulled some of the clothes from the wardrobe and covered herself, trying to hide amongst the pile, when a scratching sent a shiver down her spine.
It was coming from the wardrobe door.
She sat still, frozen amidst the soiled clothes, as the sound continued.
The scratching was slow, allowing her to hear the wood being scraped away with each stroke. Alongside the scratching, she heard laboured breathing and could smell rotten flesh.
As the scratching continued, one of the doors began to move and eventually opened with a small pop.
The scratching stopped.
The door began to open slowly, creaking for what felt like minutes.
Silence.
Again, the silence settled and Katie's eyes grew wide as she watched the open door intensely. She clutched her toy alien tightly, hoping that the silence meant the creature had gone.
She began to move slowly, shifting her body inch by inch to look out into the room.
Suddenly, the other door opened and she fell out onto the floor with a yelp. Screaming, she kicked out, her legs flailing as she covered her face with her arms.
Her kicks finding nothing but air, she slowly stopped, peeking out.
Three feet away from her sat a large black dog, staring at her with large, inquisitive eyes, its tongue hanging out as it panted for breath.
She lay on the floor, confused for the longest time, before a laugh escaped her. Relieved, she began to laugh uncontrollably, tears of joy streaming down her face now as the dog merely looked on.
The laughter soon subsided and she examined the animal in further detail.
It was a large dog with thick black fur, matted with dirt and blood. It had a pained expression and its breathing was laboured. As Katie got up, she noticed its back leg was injured, the flesh torn and infected.
'So you're the guy that's been chasing me?' she asked, realising that the infected leg explained a lot.
The rotten smell, the heavy breathing; even the heavy footsteps. It all makes sense!
She knelt down to pet the dog and was greeted with a playful lick, despite the animal's pain. She rooted around in her pocket and took out a stimpak, opening the cap and holding the dog gently.
'This might hurt a little, boy,' she explained to the oblivious animal. 'But don't worry, your leg should get better.'
She applied the stimpak and watched as the dog tentatively stretched its leg, giving a happy bark as the cool liquid numbed the injury.
She led the dog down the stairs and was greeted by the sun shining through the windows. Realising she had been in the house for hours, she laughed again.
Together, they left the house, Katie leading the limping dog down the path she had ran down.
Giddy with relief that her ordeal was over, she walked past a giant, clawed footprint in the mud, ignoring it completely.
From the copse behind the house, glowing red eyes watched hungrily as the girl and the dog, its next meal, slowly walked away.
It followed.
A/N - Happy Halloween! I wanted to upload this fic this morning but the title gave me some serious trouble (and I'm still not sure about it)! I hope everyone had a spooky and safe Halloween, and enjoyed this little horror one-shot :)