NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 8
I looked at the elevator leading to my future. Turning around, I looked at what was most likely the final moment of peace I would ever know. I knew nothing would get into this place for the next 6 years and that it had already survived a direct strike from an atomic bomb. The idea of guaranteed safety definitely had its draws, but the call for adventure and new experiences was stronger.
Maybe I could become the mayor of Diamond City and stop the ghoul discrimination after that scumbag McDonough came into power. The Institute and the Brotherhood of Steel are both hugely capable forces massively wasting their potential because of incompetent and psychopathic leadership. Perhaps I could use their resources to rebuild Boston into a shining example of redemption post-war. I turned around and looked at the elevator.
Or maybe I would go in the opposite direction. Section off a little corner of Boston and make my own personal wish-fulfillment wonderland. The thought of a collection of wasteland beauties worshipping me like a god a tent started pitching in my pants. I mean, It couldn't be that hard. If the Children of Atom could convince people to repeatedly drink radiated water, I shouldn't have too hard a time creating my own little harem.
Despite my fantasies, I didn't forget where I was. Making it big was going to be difficult, really fucking difficult. But if I play my cards right, I could make this work. Get to Diamond City, make a bunch of caps, build a formidable force, and rule the world. How hard could it be? With a goal in mind, I walked onto the platform that would take me up on my journey. The same female voice announcing the vault door opening returned and said a short farewell.
"Enjoy your return to the surface. And thank you for choosing Vault-Tec."
As the elevator rose, I could feel my tension increase and a bit of trepidation creep in. Those feelings were quickly replaced by excitement for the journey I would soon be on. The light shining down on me indicated it was daytime, probably around noon. Closing my eyes, I simply basked in the sunshine and enjoyed the natural light on my skin. Eventually, the elevator stopped, and I took a deep breath of fresh air.
Looking around, I saw a desolate land. Dry and cracked earth surrounded the concrete. Turning slowly to see my surroundings showed several abandoned vehicles, a guard post with blown-out windows, rusted containers, and downed a vertibird. Downed vertibird? Rubbing my eyes, confused at what I saw, I squinted and confirmed the tiltrotor aircraft was in fact present.
The cockpit was facing away from me towards the hills. The rotor closest to me had dug into the ground and was missing its rotor blades. Walking around the stalk that held one of its motors, I climbed into the crew compartment to see if I could find any military gear left behind. A gun mount with a minigun bolted onto it was on the opposite side of my entrance. Excited at the potential to pick up a minigun, I walked over and inspected the hunk of impressive machinery.
Sadly after only a few seconds of looking it over, I deemed it well beyond recovery. The bore was rusted out, and I quickly figured out that the barrels had seized after trying to manually rotate them. A quick look over showed nothing else could be looted, so I exited the vehicle and went downhill to a gate guarded by a pair of skeletons.
It sucked that I couldn't find anything in the vertibird, but it did turn into a learning experience. I know for a fact there wasn't supposed to be a vertibird there, yet there it was. This proved that the differences weren't only limited to within the vault. As I walked nearer to the chicken wire fence, I inspected the pair of skeletons. One was wearing a simple dress, and the other wore military fatigues.
Time and weather have caused the colors to fade, and the once vibrant dress was now a dull light blue with blotches of pink that must have been flowers. The military fatigues were in a similar state of disrepair, but the helmet seemed to be still in good condition. Crouching down, I unbuckled the strap under the skull and inspected the protective headgear. The inside padding had become stiff, but the helmet was rust-free, and the kevlar seemed intact.
Putting it on, I sinched the strap under my jaw, took one last like at the military skeleton, and walked away. Will I turn up just like him? A neglected corpse in the middle of nowhere, waiting for a wanderer to come by and pick my body of any loot before being left behind again? This was a reminder that I wasn't in Kansas anymore. I had to be cautious, a wasteland is a fickle place, and anybody could die at any time if not careful. With renewed caution, I made my way toward Sanctuary Hills. There are some things I need to test out.