Fallout Origins: Chapter 2

Fallout Origins: Chapter 2, Alone, Abandoned and Afraid
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Town of Brenwood, United States, April 18 2083

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Nick sat on the hard dirt ground and stared down at the dry soil as he thought about what he was going to do, his father and mother were gone, the town he grew up in was almost completely destroyed and abandoned, and the nearest town was over a hundred miles away. Nick looked back at the place he once called home, the houses and buildings were falling apart, crumbled bricks, broken splintered wood and shattered shards of glass were scattered all over the place, the small town he grew up in was now completely unrecognizable.


He looked over his left shoulder and out into the distance, there were no trees, hills or mountains in sight, just bear empty open land that went for miles and miles, he didn’t know where to go or what to do, he had never been anywhere outside of Brenwood unless it was with his parents, his only option was to stay in town until someone found him, but the question is…how long would it take for someone to find him.


Sitting at that rusty sign all day wasn’t going to help matters, it would only be a waste of time, especially since as of now time was very limited, he thought hard about the one place he always went to when he was lost, the one place that felt like a second home to him… “the Diner” he smiled weakly and stood up then wiped the dirt off his pants, once he had felt more relaxed and at ease he started walking back towards town and straight to the diner, he had walked to the diner over a dozen times as a kid, it was a long jaunt, but it was always worth it.


On his way there he walked down the middle of a cracked pothole covered street, he looked at the stores that surrounded him, on the left side of the rode was Barleys Bagels, Clothing of the Century, Earls Hardware Store, and Mary May’s Cosmetics, to the right was Brenwood Bakery, Daisy’s Salon and Harrington Dentistry, he recognized all of these places, even if the places were damaged beyond recognition, the one store that caught his eye was the bakery, his father used to take him there anytime his mom visited the salon, they would get Coffee Cake, Dynamic Delights and Nanaimo Bars.


At the end of the block on the corner was the dentist, most kids hated the dentist, but for some unknown reason Nick actually liked it there, it was the cheapest dentist in town but had a fancy look to it, there was toys in the waiting room kids could play with, when Nick was five years old he was skipping down a sidewalk, him and his family just got some ice cream, he tripped over a slanted sidewalk and fell face first into the concrete, he wasn’t hurt at all but the impact pushed one of his teeth deep into his gums, the next day while his mother was at work his father took him to get it removed, the dentist used anesthetics to get him to sleep during the operation, this was the scariest part for him, not because he was getting his favourite tooth removed, but because he was scared he might never wake up.


He smiled as the memories of his childhood raced through his mind, but after a while he fround, because deep inside he knew, that he would never have memories like those ever again.


After walking for about ten minutes he finally made it to his destination, right in front of him was the diner, he stood there and stared at the building, the entire front of it was completely destroyed, he gulped nervously and slowly made his way towards it, once he was where the door once was he looked around, the place was completely unfamiliar to how he remembered it, slightly melted tables were scattered all around and broken glass, dishes and chairs covered the floor, he stepped inside the diner, broken glass crunched beneath his feet, he winced at the sound, even though his mother used to break dishes on a weekly bases the sound always irritated him.


He covered his ears the best he could and carefully made his way to the counter, even though he was used to the sound of glass breaking the noise still made him cringe, once he finally made it to the slightly melted counter he lifted the flip top door and walked behind it, he looked to his left and saw something on the ground that confused him, on the floor, behind the counter, were ashes, they didn’t look like the ordinary ashes that one would find in a fire pit, they looked different, like a charcoal coloured ashy sand, he didn't think anything of it and continued looking around to see any evidence of any recent visitors, he found none.


After a while of searching Nick remembered something his mom had said, she told him that if he was ever lost or needed somewhere to go she would always meet him at the diner. Nick closed his eyes, took a deep breath and weakly yelled “M-Mom?” There was no response, the diner was completely empty, he decided to call out again. “Mom…” still nothing, there was only deafening silence.


His stomach growled loudly, he hadn’t eaten in a while and the last thing he digested was a can of beans in molasses, which wasn’t very filling but had helped keep his hunger under control for about six hours.


In the back right corner of the kitchen he saw something that shocked him, still intact was an extremely rusty cyan coloured Deluxe General Electric fridge that was somehow still intact, it somehow survived the explosion, one of the best parts of the diner was the fact that the fridge was always stocked full of foods, well except when people had birthday parties, he quickly made his way to the fridge, grabbed the silver handle and opened it, he sighed when he looked inside, it was completely full, but there was a big problem, the food was extremely moldy, the cheese had turned blue and the others foods…well…they turned a colour Nick had never seen before, he also noticed that the fridge light didn’t turn on, meaning there was no power coming through, he shut the door and looked to his left, beside the fridge was a Manual Defrost Chest Freezer, he was about to open the freezer door but instead decided to place his hand on top of it, the lid felt warm, it too didn’t have any power.


There was absolutely no food anywhere, well not edible food anyway, which meant he would have to look somewhere else, he checked the bakery, Fantasic Foods and Denise’s Delights, but all of the food was years past the expiry date, he wanted to keep looking, to go to every every store and restaurant in Brenwood, but deep down inside he knew it was pointless, instead he decided to go home, maybe with a bit of rest he would feel better.


Nick placed his hands in his pockets and lowered his head, he stared at the sidewalk and kicked an empty Royal Root Beer can as he walked towards home, he wasn’t used to this much silence, usually the town was filled with people riding their bikes, going for walks or driving to work, but today the only one enjoying the warm spring morning was himself.


After a few blocks he decided to finally look up and look around, and what he saw made him freeze instantly, all around him were piles of ash, the piles looked exactly like the one he saw at the diner, there was dozens of them in different sizes, he approached one, in the ash he could see a dusty old chrome pocket watch, he looked to his right and saw another ash pile seven feet away, inside that pile was a toy car, each pile had different objects in them, necklaces, jewelry, childrens shoes and childrens toys, Nick stood there and thought to himself, ''What are these piles? And why do they have items and toys in them?''.


His thoughts were interrupted by another loud growl from his stomach, he looked at his tummy and growled “would you shut up already!” he quickly looked around to make sure no one was looking at him, he was somewhat happy that no one was, but at the same time he wished someone had noticed, he put his hands side by side and covered his face “Great I’m talking to my stomach now, luckily there’s no one around to call me crazy” he chuckled nervously, somewhat hoping someone would call him crazy, when nobody did he sighed and continued to head home.


Once he got there he smiled, even though the house was completely destroyed he still felt happy being there, he made his way down the walkway, past the mailbox that had the word Johnson and hand prints painted on the side of it, unlike the diner his house actually had its door somewhat still intact, he twisted the door handle and the door swung open, the inside of the house (like every other place in Brenwood) was completely destroyed, the table was slightly melted, the fridge had burn marks on it and the once clean tile floor was turning a burnt brown, the entire kitchen and eating area was completely destroyed.


Nick looked down the hallway and gulped, he prayed that his room was still in somewhat good condition, he slowly made his way towards his bedroom, on his way there he noticed that his bedroom door was missing, he started feeling more nervous and nervous the closer he got, he took a deep breath “Please be in good condition”


He looked in his room and the sight made him feel sick to his stomach, his Nuka Cola blanket and pillows had burns all over them, everything else in the room was also completely destroyed, his toys were all melted and his comics looked like they had been set on fire, everything in the house was completely destroyed, there was no salvaging any of it.


He couldn’t stand being in the house any longer, he quickly made his way outside, his Nuka Cola train, the last thing his parents ever gave him, was gone, his most prized possessions, his Silver Shroud comics, Clementine teddy bear and Nuka Cola bed were completely obliterated by the explosion, all he had left weren’t even his, everything in the bunker belonged to his mother and father.


His breathing began to quicken, he felt like passing out, all the resources needed to survive were completely gone, he leaned against the house and slowly lowered himself to the ground, he felt alone, abandoned and afraid, he had no one, he had nothing, it was if he didn’t even exist, he placed his head against his knees,


“Are you alright Mr. Johnson”


Nick looked up at the figure in front of him, he couldn’t quite make out who the person was, the tears in his eyes blurred his vision, he quickly rubbed his eyes and was shocked to see who it was, the voice belonged to his closest friend.


“Bentley?…”