Tales from the Wastleland, Vol. 1-4

The door creaked open, and Celeste slipped inside, holding the door to gently close it behind her. The air was stale, and only a few flickering lights illuminated the massive building. She was in a small lobby where shopping carts were dropped off, back in the day. Once the door shut, Celeste sprinted quietly to the door frame that opened up to the main area of the super market. She leaned her head over, her heartbeat pounding in her ears and making it hard to concentrate. The shelves and aisles were all completely askew, empty cans and boxes scattered on the ground. Some shelves were completely knocked over, and several looked like they were connected by wooden planks for pathways. Celeste's brown eyes scanned up the top of the shelves, and saw what the makeshift bridges were for.

Raiders.

Celeste kept still as she saw a human figure walking casually atop one of the aisles, and what looked like a shotgun in his right hand. Raiders, the scum of the Wastelands. Well, one of them. Raiders were only interested in killing and looting. Raiders banded together in small groups, taking over certain areas as their own. They shot first and asked questions later. Celeste honestly thought they just shot rather than ask anything at all. She counted herself as lucky as being far enough away from raiders to avoid any actual contact with them.

Celeste watched as the raider walked to the end of the aisle and stopped. He looked left to right, though he did so almost nonchalantly. Celeste figured he was a lookout, and that he wasn't really looking out for a whole lot. This also meant that she managed to get this far without being noticed. So far, so good.

The raider turned around, "For fuck's sake, there's nothing in here. I think I'd hear if someone even tried to get in... We're fine!"

Celeste kept her breaths shallow, and quietly shifted her rifle back over her shoulder. This was not the time for gunfire. She'd gotten this far, now their guard was down. Celeste make a sudden decision and ran forward, ducking at the base of the aisle the raider was on top of. She wasn't sure how many there were, but there had to be at least several of these guys around. Celeste's eyes caught the "Pharmacy" sign with an arrow pointing to the back of the store. Celeste's eyes followed the direction of the arrow to the back corner of the store that she was already on. She felt a slight feeling of relief run through her, knowing she was already on the right side of the store.

Get the to pharmacy, get what's there, and get out... They never have to know...

Celeste ran towards the aisle closely, passing the cash registers and keeping quiet as she moved along the base of the shelves. She could hear, feel the footsteps from the raider up top. Celeste made her way to the end of the of the aisle, sticking close to the sound of the raider's footsteps up top. There was a counter between her and the back of the store where the pharmacy was located. Celeste noticed more corpses strung high up from the rafters like sick trophies, making her stomach churn. Now wasn't the time to be squeamish, though. She was on a mission, and so far she was able to keep hidden. From what she could see there was no one visible to the right of the counter, so she quickly moved to it and ducked down. So far, so good.

"Are we almost done here?!" The raider from the aisle she just escaped from seemed impatient. Celeste used this as a moment to get a better idea of who she was dealing with.

A female answered from the other side of the store, "Keep your damn panties on!"

Celeste smirked. Good to know that anyone that felt empowered had no problem showing it. But that empowerment could be scary... Celeste counted seven more bodies strung from the rafters. These were no doubt raider monuments, warnings even. Celeste took a shallow breath and dashed over to the next set of counters, only about eight feet of space now separating her and the next counter. The only thing that stopped her from going any farther was the shadowy figure of someone crouched over in the pharmacy. If the raiders got their hands on the supplies first, there'd surely be nothing left. Raiders were known users, and any pharmaceuticals would be a gold mine for them. It was a gold mine she wanted to fairly take to Megaton, to people who deserved it. Everyone deserved a chance to live, especially in the world of the Wastes, but raiders were a less than desirable bunch...

Celeste jumped the pharmacy counter, landing silently behind the raider that was checking through a metallic box. Celeste ran beyond the raider and stopped at a nearby doorway. Celeste looked down the hallway, and saw nothing. A small sprint later, she was at another intersection. One direction led back to the main opening of the super market, and ahead was another doorway. Celeste took the doorway, knowing it would lead her that much closer to the pharmacy.

Celeste felt a sudden, sharp pain on the back of her head. She saw the ground suddenly come very close to her, and blackness almost immediately after.