Into the Wasteland

Chapter Two

It was nearly a day's worth of travelling through the wasteland before Izetta started to wonder if she had taken the wrong route or if she maybe had read the childishly drawn map wrong as there was no sign of a town, anywhere. Izetta had been carrying Gen on her shoulders all night long as she sought refuge, Gen's breathing was strained, and she was looking disturbingly pale. Izetta did not feel so great herself, her own wounds had been tormenting her throughout the journey which would have been bad enough if she were not carrying a person on her back, complete with rifle and heavy outfit.

"You'd better be damned grateful for this one." Izetta muttered to her unconscious companion. The wasteland around the two had been somewhat consistent for the most part of their journey. There were ruined homes from before the war and clear sections of paved road with the occasional abandoned, rusted vehicle. Nature was working its way back to the area with most ruins home to weeds and other small foliage. There was the occasional skeleton on the ground that Izetta did her best to avoid treading on, a lot of them dressed in raged military fatigues but the ones that depressed Izetta the most where the smaller skeletons she would see occasionally. She did not like to think about the last days before the war and what they must have been like to the people of the time. She could only imagine what it must have been like to be a child when it all went to hell. She tried to silence the thought as she took notice of the daytime sky above. Apparently, it had once been blue. That must have been nice, nicer than the weird pale yellow it appeared as now. She also considered the fact that she had not since run into any mutants or raiders which she had to chalk up to dumb luck because it was a more relieving thought than the idea of anything awaiting in an ambush position ahead. She did not fare as well as she should have yesterday when she had fought off the gangsters and today she was only feeling worse. The one break she took to rest and eat was hardly rejuvenating as she could not seem to keep her meal down and her injuries where more noticeable if she was not actively distracting herself. That was the main reason she pressed on, if she stopped properly the pain would overtake her and they would never make it any further.

It must have been another hour before she saw something. One of the old houses was largely intact and on the wall was the word "Shambles" painted above a directional arrow pointing to the road that was beside the house, the road it seemed lead to some sort of structure in the distance. Izetta breathed a sigh of relief and moved forward with somewhat more haste. The idea of a haven being so close was as joyous as it was horrifying as in her mind the chances of being robbed and killed now when they where so close where getting higher and higher, if only because fate wanted to stick it to her as it often liked too.
"We're getting close, Shambles is near." Said Izetta to Gen. Gen made a grunting noise and with much effort opened and eye.
"We're going to shambles? That's crazy... why there?" She rasped. Izetta froze and looked Gen in the eye. Gen then forced a smile and coughed whilst attempting a chuckle.
"Gocha!" she wheezed before drooping her head again.
"God, I wish you had been swallowed..." Izetta groaned, internally chuckling at her own words. She heaved Gen's form onwards. Shambles was within reach, no time to stop and insult her half dead companion.

Shambles was a little further than it looked but as Izetta approached the town she could make out more and more detail. There was a sheet metal and wooden wall surrounded a collection of tall shacks, each with aerials sticking out of their roofs. As she got closer, she could see that above what had to be the entry gate was a sign that indeed read "Shambles" and above that was what was clearly a sniper's nest with someone manning the post. Closer still, the outer walls could be seen to clearly have large metal prongs sticking out from them with the tops lined with razor wire. The buildings seemed a little less sturdy up close with some at a noticeable angle but the thing that really caught her eye as she was briefly at the right angle to see it was a lit-up sign that read "Doctor" on one of the buildings. Hopefully, it was not a lie or a wastelander with a fondness for light up signs, thought Izetta. She had never seen a larger wasteland settlement up close before, she had seen small farmsteads and little collections of shacks, but Shambles was on another level. It must have taken years to build and that wall whilst not quite the reinforced concrete bunker she was used to, looked study enough to keep the nasties out. The obvious guards stationed on the wall made it even better. She finally made it to the gate, it was completely metal and clearly reinforced. It was made of several hunks of solid material all welded and bolted together, and there where a pair of short construction cranes that had their cables connected to the upper corners of the gate. Izetta was about to knock.
"Stop." A loud voice called down from the sniper nest above, and Izetta noticed a red dot shining on her chest.
"We don't accept military types here. Turn around." The voiced demanded. Izetta carefully put Gen down and then in a gesture of peace raised her hands above her head.
"I am not here to start trouble." She called back as best she could. "Me and my companion need urgent medical care, we're willing to pay. Please, let us in!" She pleaded with the man. There was a moment of silence but Izetta saw a man join the sniper in the nest and after what looked to be a discussion the other man left.
"I am opening the gate. Keep your weapons holstered. The sheriff will come and meet you." The man called. Seconds later the large gate began to rise and when it was high enough a group of people stepped out and formed a semi-circle around the women. They were all dressed in long, dark grey dusters of varying condition and cleanliness, each wore a helmet with a face visor that read "Security" on the front, as with the coats some were more together than others. All of them carried rifles, some double-barrelled shot guns here, some assault rifles there. All save for one man. His duster had a dark grey and black camouflage pattern. He wore a Stetson hat that was a dirty white and did not at all go with the duster or the raggedy blue and red suit the man wore below the coat, and his leather boots did not complete the outfit in any sense of the word. He was an older man; his dark and wrinkled face was home to an impressive grey beard that he had braided. His eyes where a deep hazel. He carried in hand a revolver that he had raised causally towards the two as he limped towards them. On his jacket Izetta could see a badge that seemed to be a bottle cap with a star painted on the face.