Wasteland

Prologue

This is my story, my memoir. Hopefully if you're reading this, the Great War and her aftermath are a thing of the past…But to be fully honest, I doubt it. I doubt the scars we left on our sweet Earth will ever be healed. I don't know why, but I booted up this terminal and just started typing. Hell, I'm not even a writer. I gamble, smooth-talk, and do what I can to survive in this dead hole that we survivors call the Wasteland. There's still some shred of an optimist in me, so I'll give you a little backstory, just in case you happen to be reading this from a cushy apartment in a rebuilt world.
Formerly known as the United States of America, the Wasteland is now a vast expanse of death and radiation. The furry creatures we knew and loved have mutated into vicious monsters, the green pastures have turned into desolate landscapes.
It's a nightmare, and the only reason I know about what Earth used to be is because my long-gone great-great, you-know-the-drill, grandparents thought it a good idea to pack themselves into what we call a Vault. Vaults were government-sanctioned experiments done by a large company called Vault-Tec. For some reason, they thought it a good experiment to pack a vault full of all the bells and whistles, and then give us all of the world's media, history, scientific data, everything. That means I might make a reference or joke that will fly right past your head. If not, congratulations, you're one of the few still connected to the old world!
Let it be known that this is the story of how Chance March survived day after day, starting on August 17th of the year 2277.

Chapter 1

I'd like to say that when that big vault door creaked open and we meandered out into the first natural sunlight of our young lives…we saw a big, lush, forest-green chunk of paradise where other dwellers had already settled and were making great strides in rebuilding what used to be. Oh, how much I'd like to say that…but this is non-fiction. Our party was made up of the young generation who didn't want to stay cramped in, we wanted to go out and make something of the world we inherited. That includes the following people organized into a bulleted list for your viewing pleasure, with my own little side notes for a personal touch:

▪ Kaitlyn. She's a proverbial sister to me. An interesting character to say the least. Paint a picture in your head of a thin, short girl with black hair, black makeup. Doing her best to stay out of any and all light. To compliment this gothic look is a personality made entirely of sarcasm and morbid curiosity. Oh! And a big chunk of intellectual, too, but she keeps that hidden until it comes time for science, chemical, and gun talk. Gothic redneck nerd. I reiterate: Interesting character to say the least.