THE DELTA WASTE-THE ARK (FORMERLY ARKANSAS PART OF THE PREWAR TEXAS COMMONWEALTH)
Sid had barely been beyond the border of Greater Turbine before and was beginning to think that it was a mistake to leave its safety; sure he'd been on gecko hunts but then he'd been with a dozen older more experienced hunters who were more than capable of defending him and never let him too close to the geckos, under strict orders from Ol' Gran. Remembering her words he was not going to be swallowed by the wasteland, he was going to make it and find his parents.
"Kraaaaa" the howl echoed through the cool night air, he'd been walking for hours now with no sense of direction into the unforgiving Delta Waste, he had been caught in the moment and on a crazy whim had decided to leave and find his parents, and he had not considered the repercussions. He wasn't trained in any way for the real world; he could barely hunt or fish or fend for himself and now the great expanse before him was nothing but death and danger.
"Kraaaaaaaa" the howl was louder now, closer to him, all around he felt eyes watching him, stalking him, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. There was a low growl behind him and he turned just in time to see the creature, its thin grey skin clinging to its skeleton with shard jagged lumps of bone bursting out of the flesh where it had overgrown. It leapt.
Man and beast scrambled in a flash of blood and claw, each fighting for the upper hand. Sid was more scared than he'd ever been. All he remembered was pulling out his combat knife and then sitting in a pool of blood, that wasn't his own. The beast let out its last muffled cry as it succumbed to its wounds.
Sid had never killed before and now there he was drenched in blood next to the body of a bone cat, a knife protruding from its lifeless body. Somehow it felt right, he skinned it for a cloak to protect from the harsh cold of the Delta Waste night, and he took its skull as a trophy. He activated his RobCo Life Supporter.
THE ROBCO LIFE SUPPORTER IS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY!
IT FEATURES:
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WITH THANKS,
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Sipping down the nutrient fluid he realised he was very tired, he hadn't stopped since leaving Greater Turbine that meant he'd been walking for almost 7 hours, up ahead he saw the seemingly abandoned wreckage of a pre-war building, the great sign on the front reading "TOMMY'S WATERING HOLE". He approached cautiously fearing the potential dangers that lay within, he knew that whatever was inside was no worse than what was outside.
The door creaked open on rusty iron hinges, the noise would be heard by who or whatever was within.
"Stop right there. Hands where I can see em! Who the fuck are you? What are you doing in my house?"
"I was looking for a place to hole up for the night, its cold in the wastes"
"I know better than you'll ever know son, ever heard of the Devil's Den slavers," he said, Sid nodded, "Your looking at the only man ever to escape them alive, they never left me though, they haven't left my thoughts or my body" he stopped, rolled up his sleeves and there they were, his shackles burnt to the flesh the crisp bubbled skin grown over the shackles, the shackles must have been burnt to each slaves wrist to remind them of their permanent place as a Devil's Den slave.
"They call me shackles, what'd they call you?"
"Sid" he said still taken back by the scars of his slavery, he glanced at the man's face, his was a face that had seen many sorrows and was likely to meet many more. His dull green eyes had many stories hidden behind them.
"Stupid name, but I suppose you can't help it now can you. Where you from, out east in the Scorched Desert, you look like you're from further north though, maybe from Ambient Lake?"
"No I'm from Greater Turbine, my Grandma told me you gave them a heap of weapons for free and that they still owe you a favour"
"Greater Turbine, oh yeah how could I forget, say what was your grandma's name?"
"Susan" Sid replied, with that Shackles face lit up, "Do you know her?"
"Do I know her, let's just say that after meeting her there was no favour" he said his grin widening, disgusted by the notion Sid turned away, "Anyone who knows Susan is a friend of mine, come on I've a shipment of New Reno's finest whisky, grab yourself a glass and a seat"
Sid grabbed a stool and sat with his glass, although embarrassed to admit it he'd never drank alcohol before and had been warned of the consequences by his Gran many times before, but now he wasn't in Greater Turbine and would do as he pleased. Shackles poured himself and Sid a hefty amount.
"I'll need this for the tale I'm about to tell, trust me you'll need it too," with that he downed the glass, Sid took a sip, his throat burned but he didn't show it and Shackles began his tale…
"I was a rising businessman, early twenties and I was making big caps, I was a big shot down in New Silo, but I had healthy competition none of whom weren't capable of underhand tactics. Let's just say a good way to get rid of a rival is to sell them to slavers. I woke one morning to a lead pipe breakfast and a snooze in a bag on a wagon heading towards Devil's Den. When I woke they took me to the new arrivals shack and burnt these babies to my wrists. Never have I experienced so much pain and hope I never will again.
Then came the first week, or as the slavers called it "The Selection", this is where they would thin down numbers find the toughest and strongest to sell to people for use as protection or fighters, you're probably thinking they had an explosive collar or something as insurance so the slaves wouldn't escape, nothing that messy who could be bothered cleaning us up, instead a vial is inserted beneath the shackles that releases a toxin whenever they leave the proximity of their safe zone."
"But how did you survive then?" Sid remarked having another drink.
"The toxin is a blend of Queen Radscorpion poison and Creek Spider venom. I should have died instantly but who knows how but I didn't. I collapsed and when I woke I wasn't feeling well, I sat in a fevered stupor for almost a fortnight. When I finally came round properly I was in a cabin deep in the Rad Forest, you won't have heard of it but in there the Radroaches grow bigger than Brahmin and eat them whole, Kingroaches, it was a nice place, plenty of alcohol and my saviour was from a group of wasteland goodie two-shoes called "The Followers of the Apocalypse" but I owed him my life, he was called Dr Ralesh and was of ghoul descent, I know right fucked up, a ghoul child.
He didn't look like your average ghoul; his skin was like yours or mine a little flaky here and there and his hair grew fine, but he wasn't affected by radiation hence living in the rad forest, he would be unaffected by the spikes of radiation and not too many travellers liked fighting the Kingroaches so he could work on a cure for ghoulification in peace. He was so close as well but that was when the Kingroaches attacked his cabin, it turns out they had been burrowing into his research lab in the basement of the cabin for some time and when they broke through they ate those experimental chemicals like a kid with a Fancy Lad Snack Cake. They messed up, badly, their skin peeled off and they started decomposing until they were just living husks, they smashed down the cabin, I managed to get a laser pistol and fight one off but Dr Ralesh was torn apart before he could react. I ran and never stopped till I was well out of sight of the rad forest and I found this place.
This must have been a stock house for some wastelanders who met their fate out there, because it was full to the brim with food and drink, armour, weapons and water. I had no money and nowhere to go so I became a trader I had all the stock right here, you're probably like what's the point why didn't I just settle down and live my days out here? Revenge that's why, those suckers back in New Silo ain't just gonna see a ghost but a ghost with an army of mercs and a whole array of expensive weaponry ready to smear the floor with them…"
BOOOOOOOM!
"What"
"Is"
"Going On…."