The War for the Wasteland

Chapter 1

|Deborah|

The grey coat weighed heavy on her shoulders. The light fabric worn by Deborah Fisher every day of her time in the presidential suite of Apocalyptia seemed three times as heavy as it ever had. The lives of thousands lost in recent attacks weighed her role down, adding a new depth of danger to her position. For eighteen years Deborah maintained a fragile piece over the Wasteland, but it was beginning to crumble at the seams. Between the scavengers terrorising settlements and smaller cities, the rebels running rampant through the former United States, and the aftermath of The Apex's attacks on Colorado City and Outpost Crevasse, Deborah struggled to hold her senators together.

Katrina Lloyd, a fit woman in her early fifties, waited for Deborah outside her personal quarters. She wore a black blazer and matching pencil skirt over a white button-up blouse, a pair of dark stockings and some heels too sharp for Deborah to even imagine walking in. "President Fisher. The board is waiting, and we have a slight complication..." Katrina began, her eyes distracted.

"Callus...?" Deborah asked, already dreading the answer. Katrina's nod all but confirmed Deborah's worry. "No matter, we can send him off easily enough."

Katrina was around twenty years younger than Deborah, yet she maintained a fit frame and balanced diet. Deborah (in her seventies) didn't see the point in keeping up her physical fitness, she wasn't required to look good nor did she need to defend herself. The lines of Onyx Guards that followed her around, ensuring her certain safety at all times. The men said no words, made no noises, and did nothing without the authority of Deborah herself. They carried military grade assault rifles, tactical combat knives and gear that kept their identity hidden to all except Deborah, Katrina and a couple of her closest compatriots.

"I've read over the last report from San Francisco... It would appear that Callus is ahead of schedule." Katrina informed Deborah as they moved through the House of Leaders.

Deborah nodded. "That's most likely what he's doing here then. Do you still suspect he's involved in the disputes between the senators?"

"Certainly. It reeks of his involvement."

"Then we'll need to reconsider his presence in the Capital."

"We can't just send him away if we suspect he's involved with the disputing senators...?" Katrina retorted.

Deborah sighed. "You're right." Deborah halted suddenly and waited for Katrina to face her again. "That's why when I send Callus to the Nevada facility, you're going to accompany him." Deborah brushed some of her grey hair out of her eyesight and back into her tight, orderly bun.

"No! You can't expect me to trap myself with Callus!" She argued.

"I'd like to know why you don't want to spy on Callus, aside from the fact he's a known terrorist?" Deborah joked.

Callus Mariartus was a troubling man, the very mention of his name made Deborah wroth. He was cunning, dangerous, manipulative, and astoundingly intelligent. The amount Deborah knew about Callus was odd for a man in her service of such high rank, yet Deborah preferred to ignore Callus' past. Callus was the lead scientist who created The Apex, a beast as tall as the Empire State Building (before it was destroyed by nuclear bombs) and failed to stop The Apex from escaping Outpost Crevasse, and rampaging through Colorado City. It was Andrew and Felicia Pratt who had stopped and killed The Apex.