The Wanderer stood at the edge of Canterbury Commons, along with the assorted townees and Wasters, gawking at the sight before them. A perfectly straight line- on one side, irradiated and blasted soil. On the other, rocky terrain, permeated by actual trees- no, not those shriveled black things, but actual trees.

They had been shown pictures in the Vault.This particular kind was said to grown only in far northern areas- place like the Soviet Union, where Reds ran wild, or Canada, land of Socialists and Schemers. But not in Washington, DC- though Wanderer quickly learned during his talks with Moira (she may be annoying, but she is a smart lady) that something called 'Nuclear Winter' had made large swaths of the world warmer or colder- and Washington was now eternally a bit chilly.

But something in the soil, something special in the Nukes, had irradiated the soil so thoroughly that nothing could grow at all. Thank God so few animals had survived the Nuclear Apocalypse in DC- left over food made up the entire ecosystem. If everything relied on it, then it all would have been scavenged years ago No one had ever talked about trees, aside from some legends up north. Were these those legends? No, it couldn't be. The line was perfectly straight, and the Canterburyans were equally mystified.

Wastelanders were slowly wandering across the line. New territory, places where there might be food. Other folk were too terrified- who wouldn't be? Lucky Harith, probably the craziest of all the Caravan Merchants, had decided to venture into the unknown. A new market to pedal his wares. The AntAgonizer and the Mechanist, the people who the Wanderer had come here to deal with, had apparently also set off into the unknown.

The Wanderer considered going with them- but she had a job to do here. She had a dad to find, and she had a whole lot of obligations- he was supposed to head to Arefu, to help Moira with that book of hers, to go to the Mall and 'Fight the Good Fight' as Three Dog put it.

She walked over to a diner nearby, and sat on a plush little stool.

"What'll it be?" asked the man behind the counter.

"Gimme a Nuka."

"That all? Nothing stronger?"

"I don't drink. That shit will kill you."

The guy shrugged, and brought her her Nuka Cola. As she was finishing up, she heard a commotion outside."What in the..." she looked outside, and saw something strange. Something that looked like a Brahmin . but skinnier, gigantic, no visible growths, and only one head! On it's back was a frightened looking man wearing black, waving a spear around.

"Ah, shit..." the Wanderer muttered. She drew her 10 mm and shot up a psycho...