The Wasteland-Prologue+Chapters 1-5

                                                    Prologue



                          The year 2040, the Earth has become a nuclear wasteland.  Forty years ago, the US, Russia and China declared war one each other this caused the third world war. No one really knew exactly why the three countries decided to declare war, the only information that was released to the public was about trade disagreements. Three years after the war had started the war was at a stalemate.



                      On a cool spring morning the first bomb dropped in downtown Manhattan. No one saw it coming. Once the final bombs had dropped, those who survived had to continue to live underground because of the radiation.  Once the radiation levels became habitable, three communities were built. One in New York City, Washington D.C. and the last in Los Angeles. Each community has their own rules, written by the leader of their community. The communities support each other by sending supplies on established trade routes about one a month.



                    Outside the communities is a world filled with danger. Those who have been outside the communities have been attacked by bandits, others have returned talking about seeing creatures who move faster than a car at top speeds and can kill just as fast. The established trade routes help those who are delivering the supplies lower the risk of getting attacked by bandits. The trade routes have been changed a few times due to the bandits learning the routes and setting ambushes.



                  How long will society stay like this? No one really knows. Many have lost any hope of things returning to how it used to be. There has been no government aid since the day the first bomb had dropped. Most believe that the government has completely abounded them and are living a life of comfort somewhere. Other refuse to believe that their government would abounded them. No matter what the truth is, the only thing that truly matter is survival.

                   





































                                                December



















                                       Chapter 1



              On a long abandoned highway, twenty miles outside the New York community a lone survivor, Terry Smith is walking looking for supplies. Heavy snow is falling from the sky covering the highway and the cars that have been abounded in a thick white blanket of snow. Terry is wearing a light black jacket, blue jeans, and brown hiking boat. He is wielding a razor sharp Katana and a .44 Magnum Revolver.



            Ten days ago Terry was living in the New York community. Living there he was the bodyguard of the community’s Mayor. His life in the community came to an end when he was accused of murdering his own father. After a short one day trail Terry was found guilty. Each community has their own ways of dealing with murder. In Terrys’ community there are two sentences, the first is death by a firing squad or having to survive outside the community for an entire year. If the accused can survive the year they will be allowed to rejoin the community. The accused gets to choose their punishment. Only a few have actually chosen to try and survive in the Wasteland. Terry knows who killed his father and plans to kill the one once he survives the year.





                Terry approaches a black car, he opens driver side door and leans in the car. He finds a set of key in the ignition. “Damn,” Terry says as he turns the key, the car’s battery is dead. He tires a few more, with no luck. Terry looks around the inside of the car. On the passenger seat he finds a medium sized black backpack.  He picks up the backpack and opens it. Inside he finds baby diapers, and bottles. He throws the diapers and bottles on the seat.  He then opens a pocket on the front and finds a small box of crackers and a small bottle of water. He places them back in the pocket and takes the backpack with him.



                  Later that night Terry is sitting on a dusty couch in the living room of an abounded house. Fire from the fireplace fills the room with a small amount of light. Terry gets up from the couch and walks to the fireplace. He picks up a log and throws in into the fire. The fire becomes bigger and brighter. Terry sits on the couch again and opens up the box of crackers and eats one of the crackers. Terry closes the box and places it back in the backpack.

The fire pops as Terry pulls his Revolver from his holster and opens the chamber. Terry counts six bullets. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out two more bullets. “Need to look for more ammo tomorrow,” He says to himself. Terry puts the gun back into his hostler and places it on top of his backpack on the floor. Terry lays on the couch and tries to fall asleep.

                                           

                                                          Chapter 2



                    Terry is walking on a set of railroad tracks. Light snow falls on the ground. Below the tracks Terry hears the scream of a women. Terry looks below and sees a women being chased by a man. Terry pulls his gun out and aims at the man. “Put your gun away, and walk away!” Terry puts his gun back in the hostler and starts to walk away. Terry easily could have made the shot but one thing he has learned while being out in the Wasteland is to look out for himself. There could have been more than one man down there and if he would have fire his gun he would have gotten into an unnecessary gunfight. Terry walks into a tunnel and hears a gunshot.



                    Terry walks into a small town filled with small buildings. Most of the buildings have broken windows, other have trees growing from the inside. He approaches a small store and opens the door to the store. He walks inside the store and starts to look for any supplies he can find. The store has been pretty much looted. The food he is able to find is a can of corn, he places the corn in his backpack.



                      Terry starts  to leave the store when a white truck pulls in front of the store. The car’s engine turns off and three men exit the car. The three men are carrying baseball bats. Each of them are wearing are hockey mask, each has a different color. The first has a red mask, the second a white mask and the last one has a black mask. “Hey Jim, how did that bitch sound again before we shot her and her son in the head?” The man is the red mask ask.



                    “Please don’t kill us! We’ll give you everything we have!” Jim mock the last victims they killed. All three men laugh as they enter the store. They notice Terry as they enter.



                    “We looks at what we have here boys! There’s an intruder in our store!” Jim says placing his baseball bat on his shoulder. “Didn’t realize that you owned this store.”



                      “We own everything in this store boy!” Jim yells, “Now you have two options. Option A, you give us all you stuff and you get to leave this place alive; or option B, we kill you. Now me personally I like option B but you get to decide. So, what will it be?”



                        Terry places his hand on his gun. “How about option C, I kill all three of you before you can even lay a hit on me and then I take all of you stuff? “Option B it is then!” Jim laughs.



                        Jim starts to walk towards Terry. Quickly Terry pulls his gun from his holster and fires two shots into his head. Jim’s body hits the floor, a pool of blood starts to form. Terry picks up the baseball bat up. The other two men runs towards Terry. He uses the baseball bat to block the attack from the men in the red mask. Terry fires two more bullets into his stomach. The man falls to ground on his knees, Terry hits him in the head with the bat.



                        Terry dodges the last man’s blow and hits the man in the leg with the bat. The man falls to the ground. “Please don’t kill me!” The man begs. Terry fires his last two bullets into the man’s head. Terry drops the bat and pulls the two bullets from his pocket, opens the chamber and loads the gun. He puts the gun in his holster.  A door from the truck opens. “What now!?”



                        A man wearing a bloody apron, with a chainsaw enters the store. Terry unsheathes his Katana. The chainsaw turns on and the man starts to walk towards Terry. As he get closer he raises the chainsaw in the air then with one quick slash, Terry cuts the man head clean off. Terry picks the chainsaw up and turns it off and throws it on the ground. He searches their bodies. After searching the bodies he finds a 9mm pistol, two fully loaded magazines, and a pack of cigarettes. Terry places everything in his backpack and heads to the truck. Terry enters the truck and starts the engine. The snow starts to fall faster as he drives out of the town. 

                             Chapter 3



                  The white truck pulls up to an abounded house. The house is tan with a few broken windows. The house appears to be empty. Something else that Terry has learned is not to stay in the same location more than once. Terry opens his backpack, and takes out the 9mm and one of the magazines, he loads the gun.



                  Terry gets out of the truck and walks towards the front door. One he is front of the door he points the gun at the door and slowly opens the door. A terrible smell hits Terry as he opens the door, Terry can hear flies. He checks his around the corner as he enters the house. Terry notices a trial of blood leading to the living room, he follows it. The smell gets stronger the closer he get to the living room. Once he enters the room he puts his gun away.



                    In the middle of the room are two kids and their mom blind folded and tied to a chair, each of them has their throat slit. The father is also blinded folded but he has been hung from the ceiling fan. This is just one of the many terrible things Terry has seen while living out in the Wasteland. On the second day he entered a home and found the bodies of a single mom and her daughter. They were shot and stabbed multiple times.



                    If it wasn’t so late in the day Terry would try and find a different place to stay but with night time approaching and the blizzard; Terry has to stay the night here. He’ll just have to be alert while sleeping. 

Terry unties the bodies and carries each one outside and place them next to a tree. Terry walks back to his truck and grabs his backpack. He opens it and pulls out the pack of cigarettes, he takes on them out and lights it. Terry normally isn’t a smoker but the Wasteland has made him do plenty of things he normally doesn’t do.

                                       Chapter 3



                    Terry is sleeping on the house in the living room. The blizzard is starting to get worse, the wind is howling and tree branches are moving widely. The fire Terry lit is starting to die. The wood in the fire pops.  Suddenly the front door opens and then a few seconds later it closes. Soft footsteps are heard. The footsteps are coming towards the living room. The wood pops once again.



                  The light from the fire casts a shadow on the wall behind Terry. The shadow approaches Terry, it bends down and reaches for Terry’s bag. Terry then grabs the 9mm pistol and points the gun at the intruder. “Slowly stand up or I will fucking kill you!” The intruder stands up and smiles at Terry. The intruder is a young girl. Terry lowers his gun.



                  “Sorry I didn’t think anyone was in here.” The girls says. “Yet even when you say there was someone in here, you still try and steal their stuff?” “I didn’t think you would need it. I was just going to take a little bit of food and then I was going to leave.”



                  “What’s your name?” Terry asks placing the gun on the arm of the couch. “My name is Alice.”



                  “Age?” “Fifth teen. Now can you give me some food or are you just going to keep asking me questions?” Alice asks



                  “A fifth teen year old girl out in the wasteland. Where are your parents?” Terry picks his backpack up from the floor.



                      “Well my dad is living in the D.C. community. As for my mom, I am not sure where she is.” Alice say taking a few crackers from Terry.



                        “Why are you not with your father?” “I decided to run way” She says biting into one of the crackers. “Why?” “I don’t know I just decided to.”



                      “No one just decides one day to run away from one of their parents without a reason.” Terry lights another cigarette.



                      “Fuck are you going to keep asking me questions all night?!” Alice said getting frustrated.



                        Terry laughs,” I have every right to ask questions.” “Your right you do have right to ask me questions.” Alice agreed. “The reason I decided to leave is because I want to live in the LA community.”



                        Terry throws his cigarette into the fire. “Why the fuck would you want to do that? The D.C. community is a lot better than the LA community. Has better shelters, more food and a lot more protection.”



                        “I know but I just really want to live in LA. I am hoping to find more movies there”



                          Terry stands up and places a log on the fire. The room become brighter. “You are crazy.” Terry laughs. “How? Alice asks. “You’re risking your life just to find movie. Don’t you have movies in your community?”



                          “I do but I’ve watched them almost a million times. I need something new to watch.” “Do you know who to get to LA?”



                            Terry asks. “No, but it will be fun trying to get there.”



                          “Traveling in the Wasteland without any direction is not fun.” Terry says.  “I have an idea then. Why don’t you take me to LA?” Alice suggests.



                          Terry shakes his head, “No, that’s not even an option.” “Why not?” She asks.



                            “For one thing we barley know each other.” Terry says.  “We know each other’s names, that’s good enough for me.”  “I am sorry but I have things I need to do around here.”



                          “Look I think you should go back to D.C. this world is too dangerous for someone as young as you. I’ll help you find some supplies tomorrow and after that we go our separate ways.”



                          “I am not fucking going back to that place! I am to LA with or without your help! Alice yells.



                          “You’re going to get yourself killed. Look I need to get some sleep. I suggest you do the same.  There is a sleeping bag in my backpack you can use.” Terry lays on the couch and falls asleep.



                                       Chapter 4



                            Terry and Alice are walking the woods. Snow covers the ground and trees. This is the second time Terry has been out in the Wasteland. During the first year as the majors bodyguard Terry was asked to lead an extremely important trade to D.C. the trade was two hundred dollars worth of food for a large cache of weapons and ammo. About halfway there they were attacked by a group of bandits. Terry killed most of the bandits and was successful in delivering the trade. After hearing about his success the major had wanted him to lead even more supply runs but Terry had asked him to not accept any more runs since of how dangerous the Wasteland is.



                            “I have a question.” Alice says brushing snow off the side of tree as they pass it. “What’s your question?” Terry asks.



                            “Why the hell are we walking?! You have a truck!” “The store we are going to is within walking distance and I need to conserve gas.” Terry said.



                          “It’s fucking freezing though!” Alice cries.



                          Suddenly the starts to move. Terry stops. A rope then emerges from the snow and pulls them by their legs. They are hanging about ten feet from the ground. Terry tries to grab his Katana but it falls to the ground. “Shit, what are we going to do Terry?”



                          “I’ll think of something. Just stay calm!” Terry says trying to untie his leg. A man laughing starts to walk towards them.



                            The man is bald and has a large scar on his face. He walks over to the Katana and picks it up. He looks at them still laughing.



                            “This is a nice sword” The man says examining it. He then uses the end of the sword to him in the head, they both pass out.



                              Terry and Alice are chained to a ceiling by their arms. They are in a dark room lit by candles. Terry comes to and looks around the room. There are bodies on tables with their stomachs cut open, there are other bodies chained to the wall. Blood covers the floor.



                              “Terry where the fuck are we?” Alice starts to panic.



                              A door then opens. A man appears in the doorway and starts to walk towards them. The man is pale, bald and has red tattoos covering his face and head. “I’ve been wondering when you would wake. I’ve just been dying to talk to you.” The man says lighting a candle.



                            “Who the fuck are you?” Terry asks.



                              “Is there really need for that type of language? I am Father Isaac.”



                              “Odd place for a priest” Terry says still looking around the room.



                              “Well I am not really a priest at least in this new life. However I do offer a much different type of religion.” Father Isaac says laughing. “And what religion would that be?”



                              “I offer sacrifices to our Lord Satan and he rewards me. My followers are just here to simply collect the sacrifices, some even willingly offer themselves to me.” He says picking up a knife from the table.



                                “So, you plan on sacrificing us?” Terry is nervous about his answer.



                                “You yes. As for the girl we have…other plans for here.” He says laughing evilly. He turns around to leave.

“Wait! Before you kill him don’t you think you should give him a last meal?” Alice is trying to plea with him. “I am sure Satan would be more pleased if his sacrifices were well fed before killed.”



                              Father Isaac looks at here smiling,” An excellent idea! I shall get everything ready.” Father Isaac sets the knife down and leaves.



                              “Do you have a plan to get us out of here?” Alice asks.



                            “I’ll think of something. Let’s just see how this dinner goes.” Says Terry.



                              Terry and Alice are sitting at a long able filled with different types of meats. There are human skulls being used to hold candles around the room. Father Isaac enter the room and pour a red liquid into their cups and then sits at the end of the table.



                            “You know I didn’t think this job was going to be this easy.” He says taking a drink.



                              “What do mean by job?” Alice asks.



                            “I was hired by someone very close to Terry to hunt him down and kill him.” He says cutting into a bloody piece of steak.



                            “Who hired you?” Terry asks.



                            “Sorry but I never revel the identity’s of my employers.” Father Isaac says.



                            “Well if you’re not going to tell me who hired you, at least tell me what made you decided to sacrifice people.”



                              “When the earth become this Wasteland I was weak and almost dead. I was wondering in the woods just waiting for death to take me when I had a vision. It was a dark and terrifying vision. Satan came to me and told me that if I could please him he would grant me the power of immortality. At first I started by killing animals and sacrificing them but their power didn’t last long. I eventually found out that humans were the ideal sacrifice.” Father Isaac takes a bite of his steak.



                            “That is a very fascinating. Now are you sure you won’t tell me who hired you? After all I am about to die.” Terry asks him again. Terry drinks the red liquid which turns out to be wine, Terry places a knife on his lap.



                            “I guess I could tell you since I am going to kill you. The man who hired me is Mayor Jordan.” There is then silence. Father Isaac laughs, “I understand you know each other quite well. Your relationship with each other was interesting to hear.”



                        “I should have known that bastard was the one to hire you.” Terry finishes the wine. Drinking was something that Terry had given up once entering the wasteland but with the possibility of dying, he decided that having a drink or two won’t hurt. “Could I have some more wine?”



                          Father Isaac get up with the bottle, walks over to Terry and pours wine into his glass.



                          “Let’s see how well your immortality works.” Before Father Isaac can react, Terry takes the knife from his lap and stabs him in the throat. Terry pulls the knife out from his skin and stabs him once again. Terry can feel warm blood covering his hand. Father



                          Isaac places his hand on the knife, pulls it out and falls to the ground.



                            “Come on!” They run out of the room. As they leave an alarm goes off, they are running down a blood soaked hallway. A door opens and a man with a meat clever appears. Terry grabs the man’s hand before he can stab them. He grabs the clever and drives it into the man skull.



                            “What are we going to do?!” Alice cries.



                            “Just keep running! There has to be a way out of here!” Terry yells.



                          At the end of the way they see an exit sign, they follow the arrow. A door blocks their path, Terry kicks the door open. The door leads to a large room, there are more bodies hung on the walks with their stomachs cut open. There is a large pile of clothes and other items. Terry notices his stuff and quickly grabs it. Terry puts his holster on and pulls out the 9mm pistol. As they are about to leave, a bullet flies by Terry’s head hitting the door. Terry looks behind them and sees a man with a rifle standing at the top of a staircase. Terry aims his gun and fires. The bullet hits the man in the head, blood splatters on the wall. They leave the building.



                          The building they were in was some type of large church, in the middle of the woods. The run deeper in the woods. There are then gun shots.  “Get out there and find those fuckers! Don’t kill Terry though, Father Isaac wants to kill him himself, you can kill the girl if you need to!”



                          There is then another gun shot. “I found them!” One of Father Isaac’s followers yells!



                          “Take cover behind that tree!” Terry orders Alice, she does what she is told. Terry uses another tree as cover. He pops out of cover and shoots the follower. The bullet hits him in the arm, Terry fires again this time dealing a killing blow. Blood falls onto the snow.



                            One of the followers manages to flank Terry. He jumps on Terry, forcing him to fall on the ground; he starts to punch Terry. Terry grabs his Katana and stabs the follower in the stomach. Terry pushes the lifeless body off of him. Terry stands up and looks around, he doesn’t see any more of Isaac’s followers. “You can come out now.” Terry tells Alice.



                              Alice walks toward him. “Are you sure that’s the last of them?” She asks. “I think so but I don’t want stick around any longer to find out.” Terry says.



                            Terry covers their tracks as they walk deeper into the woods.

                                       Chapter 5



                            They approach an abounded warehouse, the outside of the building is in very bad shape.  Most of the windows are broken, and part of the ceiling in start to cave in. “We’ll stay here tonight.” Terry says as he opens the door to the warehouse. They enter the building. They are able to find a spot that has no snow. Terry sets his backpack and katana on the floor.



                            “We should be safe here. I’ll go out in a little bit to find some wood for a fire and to cover out tracks. Don’t want them following our tracks in the snow. Terry sits on the floor and starts to take apart the 9mm to clean the parts.



                              “Terry, who is Mayor Jordan?” Alice asks.



                              “Mayor Jordan is the reason to why I am out here. Thirteen days ago I was living in the New York City community, I had lived there all my life. The community has a ruthless leader, he corrupt and enjoys killing people. Before the war my dad and Mayor Jordan were close friends, they were two of the first people to live in the community. When the communities were fully formed they decided that each one needed a leader. My father and Jordan were the two in New York that ran for Major. My dad however lost but they still remained friends.” Terry lights a cigarette.



                              “I grew up with his son Jordan Jr. When he grew up he became just has ruthless as his father. Mayor Jordan started to feel that his life was in danger so he asked my father if I would be his personal bodyguard, my father agreed. Jordan had two of his best guards train. One night when I was patrolling the outside of his hose and I heard a scream coming from inside. I entered the house and then heard two gunshots. I found the room where the gunshots came from and found my father laying on the floor dead, Mayor Jordan and his son were holding the guns. The fucker then had me arrested saying that I was the one who killed my father.”



                                  “Why didn’t you just tell everyone the truth? Surly people would have believe you if Jordon is has bad as you say he is.” Alice asks.



                                  “I did and people did believe me but with the power Jordan has no one wanted to defend me. I was then exiled from the community and forced for survive out here in the Wasteland for an entire year. Once my year is up I am going back there and I am going to kill both of those fuckers!” 



                                    “Why did they kill your father? Asks Alice.



                                    “I am not sure. I think Mayor Jordan may have though my father was trying to take over. They had fought in the past about how Jordon ran things.”



                                  “Terry, I am sorry about your father and I now understand why you want to stay in New York. Look though you have a full year to survive and Father Isaac’s followers are going to keep looking for you. So would you reconsider helping me get to LA? If you help me and I find what I am looking for, I’ll come back with you and help you kill them.”

Terry laughs, “Well in that case I am going to need to teach you how to use a gun.”



                                    “So you’ll help me?” She asks.



                                  “Yeah but on one condition. You need to tell me the real reason to why you want to go to LA.” Terry says.



                                    “I’ve already told you,” She says laughing. “Still going with that story?” Terry asks.



                                    “It’s the truth.” Alice says.



                                  “Let’s try and get some sleep. We have a long road to LA.”