4. Woodwinds warble along.

I cast a sidelong glance at the boy beside me, I could hear him breathe. Only a slight buzzing from our pipboys and our syncopated breathing was audible in the sharply lit tunnel.

I stepped hesitantly forward and pushed the door open. The sun shone aggressively down on the wastes. I walked carefully through the opening, looking around. Yellow grass stood withered in scarce amassments. The wasteland stretched wide across the horizon. A few ruins were visible in the distance; otherwise the panorama was completely identical anywhere I looked.

"What happened?" I whispered slightly. "Where is everybody?"

"What did you expect, a huge hub of civilization flying among the silvery skyscrapers. Or some shit like that?" Dave answered, slightly annoyed.

He cleared his throat. "Whatever. Let's just get to closest resemblance to a town." He began leading the way, carrying the box on his own. I followed meekly, looking around, analyzing the plants that were still barely alive. We walked for a long time, swapping the box between us a couple of times. Before we knew it the sun had begun to sink down; it had almost hit the horizon when Dave stopped so abruptly I nearly crashed into him. He carefully planted the box on the ground, stepped back, and pointed at something, then whispered "Radroaches."

A group of enormous, brown, slimy cockroaches skittered around the path buzzing loudly.

I shivered and backed up quickly, while Dave pulled a handgun out of his blazer. The cockroaches continued buzzing, I shut my eyes closed, and crouched. Three loud gunshots ripped through the air like thunder, then echoed softly afterwards. The cockroaches began buzzing and screeching and clicking even louder than before. I could feel them come closer.

Three more shots sounded, then a click.

"Run!" Dave growled, sprinting away from the box of pipboys. I followed immediately afterwards with long unaccustomed steps. Looking back I was met with a frightening sight. There were at least 30 of these gargantuan cockroaches. My heart was pumping rhythmically, quicker, 160 bpm, 180, 200. My head felt lighter and lighter while my legs became progressively heavier. The oxygen flowing quickly through my lungs felt like knives against my throat, sharply cutting small, precise scratches in my body.

My pace descended according to my ascending heartbeat and I fell down. The rush of the injection must have run out.

The ground was so dry that it had an intricate pattern of cracks, the sand looked navy colored in the darkness of the waste. I looked down one of the cracks; the sand seemed damp underneath. I felt pain, but it was distant; I felt fear, but it was distant; I felt tired, but it was all so far away.

I heard only a loud, continuous beep. I saw only cracks stretching into infinity. Then there was nothing.

When I woke up, it was dark. Dave was lying unconscious a few feet away from me; his clothes were torn, his skin was mangled and wounded. "Dave? Are you all right?" I asked, probing the ground around me for my glasses; they turned out to be right beside me. He wasn't answering. "Dave?" I asked again, moving closer to his silhouette. His eyes were not shielded by his shades.

I turned around towards a creaking noise. A carriage was slowly driving down the path. It was pulled by multiple abominable cow creatures. I was not fazed by it; maybe I was too tired, perhaps I had seen too much already.

A young man jumped down from the carriage "Wow. You guys are alive!?" He smiled widely, lit up by his own flashlight. "Gosh, that's a relief; wouldn't want to clear the road after you guys." He snorted, jumping down the carriage. "Lighten up! I was kidding." The stranger awkwardly added, moving in closer and crouched next to the two us.

"I saw the whole thing from afar. He managed to get the roaches to attack him instead of you." He explained.

"I don't want him to protect me." I grunted.

"Well, that's understandable; he's not very good at it." The stranger glanced towards me with the slightest smirk.

"Will you shut up!?" It burst out of me, louder than I had anticipated, "Can't you see he's hurt? He needs help!"

John tipped down into a sitting position and gasped slightly. "Oh yes! Right, of course." He looked mildly agitated "By the way, my name is John. John Egbert. Nice to meet you!" Nimbly getting back on his feet, he reached out his hand for a handshake his hand barely squeezed mine, before he darted into the back of his carriage.

I was still sitting down, when I answered quietly to myself. "I'm Jade."

The Capital Wasteland seemed almost peaceful in the night lit only by the stars; the ground was as dark as the sky was illuminated. There I sat alone with the helpless blonde boy. I could only barely see him even though he was right beside me. He looked so restful, yet defenseless breathing slowly without his shades on. I sighed deeply along with him, moving a lock of hair away from his face.

"Hey guys?" It sounded from the carriage. "Do you want to go with me? I'm going towards New Capitol. You just gotta watch out for my buddy in the back. He can be a bit… grumpy."

I was surprised by this person's straightforwardness, even though I didn't know where or what "New Capitol" was, He seemed like he just had good intentions. I looked down at Dave and then quickly accepted the help. John helped me carrying Dave most of the way to the carriage. The inside of the carriage was surprisingly big and cozy. A gaslight was secured to the loft and the seating space was completely filled with blankets and pillows. Just my kind of place: cozy and messy. I stepped outside to admire the carriage in its entirety. It was not just a carriage, it was a caravan. It had two wagons, one for people and one for cargo. No wonder it had 3 rows of cow creatures pulling it!

"Do you like it? It's called a diligence. I found it down south. It may not be the fastest or the most secure kind of travel but with it I can carry loads of cargo and such. I really like it for some reason." John said, noticing I was admiring the carriage.

"Yeah, I get you. It's really impressive." I answered, quietly.

"Uhm," John said after a long pause. "Your friend might need this."

He handed me a syringe with 'Stimpak' written on it. What is it with these people and syringes?

"Well, thank you." I smiled as genuinely as I could, while I climbed into the carriage. I quickly covered myself and Dave as deep as I could, in the amassment of blankets. I figured Dave only needed some rest and he'd be fine tomorrow.

I slowly began to doze away.

I was woken up by a strong light and a two voices loudly discussing. My eyes unsealed slowly revealing a now awake Dave Strider.

I slowly lifted my head to see whom he was speaking to. I was appalled. The person's skin was half-decayed; his nose was missing and his hair was thin and black. I let out a surprised screech, causing them to shut up.

"I told you, you'd wake her!" Dave announce, sighing.

"I woke her up? You were the one who fucking shouted, you numbskull!" He responded.

"Right, you're the pinnacle of self-restraint and serenity. Seriously, I mean, look at you; you're motherfucking Buddha." Dave said. He was wearing his sunglasses again. They had some minor cracks and scratches here and there but it didn't seem to matter.

"Who do you fucking thing you are you self-righteous douchebag. You are in my carriage, you follow my rules." The zombie guy replied.

I didn't catch much more of the conversation as my eyelids became heavy again. I crawled deeper under the blankets and fell asleep shortly after.