A/N I am back with another instalment of Wasteland. Thank you all for the reviews, and after this story finishes I've decided I will write a story about what happened after the bomb hit and everyone trying to survive. Sort of an in-between the prologue and this story kind of thing. I am aware that I probably need to proof read more. I often do but Im terrible at editing and writing in general haha. I'm having so much fun writing this and I have decided to make my schedule that ( after this week) every second week a new chapter will be uploaded (because I have that other story as well). I hope you all enjoy this and please R/R and if you have any suggestions then yeah, suggest lmao :)
6 Years after that fateful incident the children, now teenagers, were living on their own inside the giant walls of the factory. It was safest in the inventing room, and after exploring the factory, they determined which parts were safe and which weren't.
Unfortunately not everyone had made it. Grandpa Joe unfortunately passed away a year later, leaving Charlie as the only person in his family to survive. Mr Salt, Mrs Beauregarde, and Mr Teevee all left the factory a couple of years later after supplies has run short. They never returned. Wonka then had the liberty of taking care of the children, to his horror. Wonka liked Charlie, who always tried to stay positive, but the others caused him grief. Mike wanted to rebel and go outside into the unknown, Veruca always complained, and Violet always wanted to take leadership. One night Wonka couldn't take it, and he mysteriously disappeared, leaving the children to fend for themselves. They had to grow up fast from the horror that awaited them outside.
It was the end of the month and the group began running out of supplies again, with Mike suggesting they go on another supply run. They often never found much, but it was enough to survive. Veruca complained, it would be a much further venture now that most of the shops around the factory were empty, and it would be much too dangerous.
"If you want too eat then you are coming. It wont be fair for us, the people who are risking their lives, to give you supplies that you didn't work for." Mike said sternly.
Mike had become much more efficient once his father disappeared. He knew that if he were to survive he had to pull his weight. He often came up with solutions and strategic plans to help enable the group to survive. Violet was their strongest ally. She knew how to fight, and being a girls scout, she already knew survival methods and was very resourceful. Charlie showed great leadership skills, and was hopeful. He always remained calm and positive. Veruca on the other hand, was surprisingly gifted in directing the group. She was always quite bossy, and when they went out for supplies she always used her gut feeling, which lead them away from danger.
"Fine!" she groaned. She always hated doing supply runs. She hated the walking, and the feeling of danger being present around every corner. They all grabbed their backpacks and ventured off into the unknown. They all armed themselves with weapons that they found in a local sporting goods store to protect themselves with. Mike lead the group, followed by Charlie, who would often talk to Veruca and tried to calm her from any arguments that would be caused by Violet who followed behind her.
Every supply run would lead them further into the unknown, and every time Charlie would pass his old house, Veruca would pull him from his gaze and try to make him maintain his focus. She knew that he was in pain, and would try to distract him. She would occasionally ask him to talk about it if he couldn't be distracted from his thoughts. In a way, they helped each other.
They had just passed his house when Veruca noticed an abandoned mall. It was in a direction they never usually went. They often ventured straight so they wouldn't get lost, but they decided that it could be worth it and followed her to the mall. As they got inside the mall they heard whispers . Voices filled with anger and hatred. Mike noticed the wall painted in what appeared to be blood.
"Hey check this out" Mike whispered. They followed discreetly, Veruca felt uneasy.
"Do you think its blood?" Charlie asked in concern.
He nodded and they peered around the corner to see the water fountain in the middle of the mall was no longer crystal clear, but dyed a musky red in colour. Veruca gagged and Violet stood frozen in shock. What they saw next was even more horrifying, body parts littered everywhere, and a much more gruesome sight before them. They had stumbled into the middle of an execution. Veruca insisted they leave but Mike and Violet wanted to check it out more, and to sneak around to gain supplies. This was a crazy gang's territory and the voices grew louder and angrier. They heard a gunshot, and the poor guy who had been interrogated lay lifeless on the floor. Veruca buried her head in Charlie's chest, not wanting to see what laid in front of her. Charlie whispered that they needed to go, not before Violet tripped on Charlie's gun that laid on the floor as he comforted Veruca. This alerted the gang and the group picked up their things and ran for their lives.
They ran with gunshots being heard behind them. The group ran past corridors and got to a stairway. The gunshots continued and they opened the door to the second floor. They ran past more stores until they noticed a door leading to an exit. The exit sign blinking rapidly. They tried pushing and pulling on the door, shaking it violently. The four teens had ran into a dead end, the door was chained from the outside and they couldn't get past .
"Dammit we're trapped!" Veruca said, panicking.
"We can always go hide?" Charlie suggested.
"Don't be stupid, they will find us in minutes!" Violet growled.
"There has to be another exist!" Mike told them, he heard footsteps growing louder.
"He's right. We're on the second level, if we could climb down these bannisters there HAS to be a fire exist." Veruca quickly responded.
They all agreed to follow her, considering she had the most experience with shopping malls. It was a struggle, but they quickly climbed down. They continued running, believing the coast to be clear. They were about to turn a corner when Veruca noticed the gang waiting. In a split second she managed to ward the others off, not before getting shot in the process.
She screamed in pain, blood poured out of her thigh. With quick thinking, Charlie ripped off the sleeve of his shirt and tightly wrapped it around her leg to help stop the bleeding. She couldn't walk and Charlie offered to carry her, with Violet now leading the group and Mike following behind them, shooting at anything that followed. It seemed as if playing all those video games really paid off. Violet finally found an exit, they ran outside to see the rest of the gang waiting for them. They were surrounded. They knew there was no escape and Veruca was tuning in and out of consciousness, becoming pale from the blood loss. They were trapped.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" The leader of the gang spoke. He had shaggy, greasy brown hair that covered his grey eyes. What lay beneath was an eyepatch. His face littered with scars. He wore a red bandana over his sleeveless, ripped denim jacket. It was tied on his shoulder. His gravely voice cut through the terrified teens.
"Looks like we've got a bunch of misfits. And let me guess? You them factory dwellers aint ya? Of course! You're the ones cooped up in that big ass place whilst the rest of us have to survive and fend off for ourselves out here in this so called 'wasteland'." He continued. The gang raised there guns up at the group. "Well your not so lucky any moreā¦. especially your little girlfriend over there, looks like she needs some help." He motioned to Charlie carrying her. "Oh well, looks like we'll get to keep the factory now. Boys, shoot these sons of bitches and put them out of their misery." he continued.
Charlie closed his eyes, and shielded himself in front of Veruca. He was waiting for the bullets to pierce him but heard a clunk. He quickly opened his eyes, and he dove for cover. What appeared to be a grenade blew up after both parties ducked for cover. Whoever threw it motioned them to run, in which they did.
The mysterious stranger wore a gas mask, covering his entire face. His torn, rolled up sleeves on his black trench coat revealed burns. Underneath he wore a red varsity jacket that was button up. He carried an assortment of weaponry. Charlie turned to thank him but saw that he was gone. They ran back to the factory, and shut it down. Charlie rushed Veruca to where the medical bay was. The Puppet Burns centre was luckily not a dangerous part of the factory, and they often used it for when they got injured. He couldn't help but wonder who that mysterious helper was, and why they hadn't seen him before. If it was one thing he knew, it was that they were going to need his help for when that gang comes back.
