The Survivor’s Guide to the Wasteland

Eventually, we finished the pieces of Cram, and I decided to treat ourselves a bit by bringing out a box of Dandy Boy Apples. The pseudo-candy apples were not as bad as I imagined and had a consistency similar to canned peaches with a hard outer layer.

Once we finished our desserts, I stamped out the fire and ensured there weren't still glowing tinder that could set our camp on fire. I left the pan outside so it could cool down. I don't want to leave the pan dirty, but it's too dark to clean it by the river. I'll leave that for tomorrow morning.

Once we were done cleaning up the fire, we headed inside the small building and pulled out some basic bedding. We each had a sleeping roll, and I brought out two pillowcases and stuffed them with soft clothes so we didn't have to lay our heads on the hard ground.

Isabel put her bedding beside the terminal while I put mine near the shelves. Once we got comfortable, the silence of night settled in, and my thoughts began to roam.

Isabel was easily one of the most capable individuals in the Commonwealth. Once she gained access to the pre-war research facility under the RobCo building, she was able to create a robot army single-handedly.

Sadly, because she wasn't careful when setting the directives for her robots, the army she created to help caused many deaths and untold damage. The robots under her command had come to the cliche dystopian conclusion that the best way to help humans was to kill them.

But with me sticking around, we can curb the robots' murdering tendencies before they cause any harm. Isabel was also the perfect kickstart to my journey.

While I was deep in my thoughts on how to convince Isabel to join my Journey, Isabel herself broke the silence.

"You still asleep, Basil?

"Hmmm? Yeah, still awake. What's up?"

"Thank you, by the way."

Before I could even open my mouth to tell her she didn't need to constantly thank me for saving her, she cut me off and continued her sentence.

"Not about helping me in the fight. Though I can't stress how much I owe you for that. You probably literally saved my life. I mean, shooting the raiders in the head after they made you an offer to sell me off as a slave."

I sat up and stared at her, wondering how she knew about the conversation as I hadn't mentioned it yet, and she wasn't close enough to hear the original discussion. She must have understood where my confusion came from as she explained how she knew what had happened. She pointed at sparks and clarified.

"Spark has outstanding sensory units, and he recorded the entire conversation. I know you haven't mentioned it and were probably planning never to tell me, but I appreciate that you didn't sell me out. I don't know how I'll ever make it up to you, but I promise I'll pay you back eventually."

"You have to stop thinking you owe me something, Isabel. I initially saved you because it was the right thing to do, but I told you about the robot stuff because I like you, and I really think you can do something great."

I pointed to Sparks and the Junkbots in guard mode outside.

"Look at what you can do with just some random parts. You are terrific, and don't let anyone tell you differently. You deserve better than scrounging junkyards for scrap. The little time I have spent with you has convinced me that you are someone special."

I faced Isabel and saw that she was now wholly focused on me. I stared back into her green eyes and mustered as much sincerity as possible.

"I remember the world before nukes tore our little blue marble apart. I remember when raiders were not a constant in life. A time when slavery was not only frowned upon but illegal. A time when the road we walked was safe enough that we didn't need to carry guns for protection."

"Must have been nice. I wish I could have seen what your life was like."

Sighing at her response, I stared out the window at the night sky and continued.

"Yeah... I wish you could have as well. But we still had our issues. Injustice still existed, and the hatred between our nations ran so deep that we decided mutual nuclear annihilation was preferable to peaceful coexistence."

I didn't mean to rant, but I couldn't ignore how messed up this world was. And I wanted better for humanity.

"We learned our lesson too late. Walking the roads now, seeing the cracks in the concrete, the buildings falling apart, the mutated animals, and the raiders remind me how far this alternative world fell. But there's nowhere to go but up from rock bottom. We've been given a second chance to create society anew. Something better. Something that should have been all along..."

I stopped staring at the stars and looked back at Isabel.

"I'm not skilled enough to realize this dream, but I think you are, Isabel. I can't promise everything will work out. The road ahead will be difficult, and sacrifices must be made. But it's still a worthy desire, and I would like you to participate. What do you say?"

What felt like minutes passed while I held Isabel's gaze, waiting for her response. I could see the gears turning inside her head: the benefits, the detractors, the trustworthiness of my offer. An excruciatingly long bout of silence followed.

As the seconds ticked by, my doubt grew ever more prominent. Did I spring this on her too early? Did I misjudge her desire to help the wasteland? If I were her, I would also be weirded out by some random dude I met asking me to help him save the world.

Just as I was getting ready to tell Isabel to forget about my offer and apologize for being too forward, she opened her mouth.

"I'll help. I want to see the world you envision."

A massive wave of relief washed over me the second Isabel finished saying she was willing to help me achieve my goal. Nothing exciting happened afterward. It was already late, so Isabel was tired, and with all of my tension released after the positive response from her, I was also drowsy.

I said goodnight to Isabel and snuggled into my makeshift bed and pillows. The concrete floor was harder and colder than I was used to, but I wasn't dead, so I couldn't complain. The moonlight showed through the window and cast shadows into the room. The only noise was the gentle night breeze swaying the leaves. Soon this quiet comfort caused me to close my eyes, and eventually, I fell into a deep slumber.