Chapter One: The light.
The wood fell away at my gentle nudge, revealing a new world. The first thing I noticed, was the light. The cold, dim lights of the Vault were nothing compared to this, and even looking down, the pain was intense.
Quickly, I ducked back into the cave, looking up slowly, allowing my eyes to adjust.
What I saw was awe inspiring.
A wasteland, with huge towering skeletons of what were once buildings, dead trees, and pits, glowing faintly with radiation. In the distance, dogs were howling, and the faint wind carried the smell of sand, and ashes.
On the horizon, something resembling a heap of scrap metal could be seen, shining with the light of the sun.
I took a tentative step forward, feeling the dirt crunch beneath my feet, looking around to my sides.
There were rocks on either side, and the ground seemed to drop out in front of me, which meant I was on a cliff somewhere.
I stepped forward again, standing on the edge, looking down. It was a heavy slope, dirt and rocks that I had kicked sliding down.
"Well, damn. I expected more death, and less dirt...", I muttered, talking to myself. I stepped back, and looked around again, this time spotting a narrow ledge leading down.
I pressed my back to the cliff, and edged my way down, slowly. As I neared the half-way point, a piece of the ledge gave way, and I began to fall.
I gasped, turning around and grasping for a hold on the face of the cliff, tugging on the sand and loose rocks. Suddenly, my legs impacted, and I fell backwards, slamming my head into the ground.
Everything blurred, the sky and cliff meshing together into a muddy haze, little light specks appearing and disappearing in my vision. Pain was shooting from my legs and head.
Instinctively, my hands tried to touch the source of the pain, feeling through my shoulder-length hair. I held it in front of my eyes, and focused.
'No red. Good, very good.' My arm flopped to the side, and I slowly extended and retracted each leg. The pain slowly became manageable, with nothing broken, and I rolled onto my side, spotting my pistol about five feet in front of me, under the claw of a mole rat.
I froze. I had no idea how well the rat could see, and I was covered in dirt and rocks from my fall.
It sniffed the air, somehow turning it into a menacing gesture. I slowly reached a hand into the pocket of my jumpsuit, hoping my pocket knife hadn't been lost in the fall.
My hand touched the leather handle, and the rat growled. I got a grip on the knife, and ripped the knife through the air as it pounced.
I felt warm liquid splatter across my face, and saw the rat crash to the ground in front of me, a large gash across it's neck.
I sighed in relief, getting to my feet, and picking up my pistol.
I would never be that lucky again.
I walked off in the direction of the metal... thing on the horizon, hoping to find shelter or food before I was attacked again.
