CHAPTER 4
Kelly
My heart was beating loud in my chest: I wondered if anybody could hear? This thought made me laugh because, of course, no one was around.
'It's just me in this hellhole!' My voice echoed around the walls. Well, walls is actually an overstatement. They used to be walls, surrounding a room that must have been someone's living room. I wondered again how people could have ever felt safe, surrounded by nothing more than these concrete walls. Maybe they never did.
'Never assume anything.' Echoes again. 'At least I won't get lonely as long as I can talk to myself.' I laughed again and turned on the little radio I always carried around.
My left foot was anxiously tapping the floor and I felt myself getting restless, panicky. Soon, the Jet would wear off and I'd be stuck in reality again.
I reached for my cigarettes and lit one up. The long drags, keeping the cigarette between my thin, cracked lips, calmed me down.
'What am I going to do?' I wondered aloud. I was down to my last bottle caps and I only had one more dose of Jet left. Everything within walking distance had already been looted, so I would have to find another way to make caps.
The sun was starting to set, but I was too restless to stay here.
Without really thinking about it, I grabbed the few possessions I had, turned the radio off and head out east. Missing the comforting sounds of my radio, the chill of the evening gave me goose bumps and every few seconds I automatically turned my head to check if I was still alone.
Paranoia is a common thing when you live in the Capital Wastelands, heck, it's the key to survival, no matter what that damned Wasteland Survival Guide said. I shook my head, no need to reminisce.
As I was walking, I noticed the main road up ahead. That meant I was getting close to the MDPL-13 Power Station, a complex with three huge chimneys that haven't blown smoke for centuries. I contemplated going in to see if anything valuable had survived all these years, but in a previous attempt, I encountered some ghouls.
Ghouls are the scum of the Wasteland: they used to be human, but got exposed to radiation. Lots of it. Some ghouls still have a piece of humanity and intelligence in them and are actually able to converse. But I always thought they were creepy and disgusting. They basically looked like zombies and most of them were. Just like the ones in the power station. Not that I couldn't handle them, but I decided not to enter anyway. Surely there had to be a better option.
My heartbeat slowed and I could feel my pulse lowering. Suddenly, I felt exhausted and shivered. Maybe it would've been a better idea if I had stayed inside that hovel. 'Well, too late now,' I whispered. I'd been walking for hours and it was probably past midnight.
Looking around, I noticed some light in the distance. Maybe a merchant decided to set up camp. A merchant would mean one of two things: I would either be able to buy some Jet, or get some caps. With this prospect, I found renewed hope and marched straight ahead, forgetting the number one rule in survival: always look around.
I felt the bite before I saw the creature, but luckily it didn't hurt too bad. The darkness made it hard to actually see it, but I could smell it was a mole rat. The adrenalin in my body reduced a little, mole rats hardly posed a threat. I quickly grabbed my combat knife and stabbed it in its head as hard as I could and repeated this over and over, until I was sure it wasn't moving anymore and I could feel the blood spatters on my armor.
'Damn rodents,' I muttered as I wrapped a piece of mol rat meat in a cloth. 'Oh well, at least now I have something to eat.' My stomach turned as I glanced at the piece of meat. 'Or sell.'
Another wave of exhaustion came over me, and I realized I hadn't eaten or slept in hours.
With no real shelter nearby, I walked over to a couple of massive rocks. The ground wasn't too comfy, but I had dealt with worse, so I snuggled up against the cold boulders and used my backpack as a pillow.
After making sure no beasts were near, and my hands were firmly holding my gun, I let my head rest and fell asleep almost instantly.