Written by Rick "ShadoWhiteStrike" NicholaiJr
War. War never changes. The United States of America is no more. It was destroyed when the world’s nuclear warheads were launched or maybe it was the super virus, no one is sure what really caused the end. The ensuing apocalypse brought an end to both the Great War and the civilized world. In its place exists the Wasteland, an irradiated, barren, desert landscape pockmarked by ruined cities and decaying civilizations. It is inhabited by a variety of mutated creatures, horrific beasts, and undying ghouls. The radiation from the detonations spread quickly. Everything that wasn’t killed immediately was infected and most of the country’s diverse plant and animal life was wiped out. Survivors work to reclaim what little they can and salvage what they cannot rebuild. Civilization is starting to take root again and certain areas of the country have reached a level of stability that might even be called comfortable, at least for the rich and powerful. The coasts have been the easiest to reclaim and many of the cities on the eastern seaboard have been re-inhabited. Among these are the Capital Wasteland and the Commonwealth, which exist in the ruins of Washington D.C. and Boston, respectively. Life in the Wasteland is harsh. The sun beats down hard and the radiation is intense. Clean water and food are a rarity. Most survivors have been forced to adapt to dirty water and irradiated food. Surviving alone in the Wasteland is difficult at best, but living in a community comes with its own struggles.
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~somewhere in what used to be northern Indiana~
The room was dark and warm, three individuals were walking through what used to be a store of some kind, the first was a man about thirty-five with long black hair and blue eyes, his dirty black pants were covered mostly by a long sandy color duster coat with a darkened red hoodie under it, across his chest was an ammo belt which contained twenty-two caliber rounds on his belt was a tactical holster containing a pistol and spare magazine in his hands was a twenty-two tactical long rifle, he kept a sharp eye out for attackers as the trio moved through the store his face covered by an olive camo bandana and his rectangular glasses.
The next was a woman who was wearing black cargo pants and a black hoodie in her hand was a small nine-millimeter pistol her face covered by a black bandana and sunglasses, at her side was a spare magazine and several throwing knives tucked under her belt, the third male dressed similar to the woman was also in all black with his face only covered by his hood, in his hands was a bow ready with an arrow, out of the three of them he seemed the calmest about the situation.
All three of them to some degree carried combat knives and throwing knives the first male with the dark red hoodie, however, seemed to always have plenty of knives to spare, the trio continued to look for useful items as they made their way deeper into the store splitting up the first male headed straight back his eyes quickly adapting to the darker area he turned out his flashlight and slung his rifle over his shoulder looking at a display case that had contained game systems " well at least this wasn't a total bust." he says with a chuckle quickly grabbing a knife from its holster and turning around having heard footsteps behind him he grabs the woman from their team and slams her against the display case "geese Shado, remind me to put a bell around your neck, even with all that bright clothing I still lost you." Shado looked at her for a moment " sorry Kam, just a bit edgy at the moment" he said letting her go " believe me I know the feeling" she replies, the smile behind her face covering was hidden but Shado could perceive it in her words. both would go running at the sound of a pistol firing. ....