FO4 | Book 0: The Diaries of Anarchy ✔️

May 29, 2255

We stood on the lower half of a ramp by the upper stands. I thought Guy was about to come with me to the Dugout, but he stopped me halfway there and handed me a tightly wrapped gift.

"Open it, already!" Guy said with a laugh. 

"I'm tryin', I'm tryin'! If you wanted me to open it so damn bad, you shouldn't have used all this duct tape."

Whatever was in the box was wrapped up in an old plastic bag and sealed with duct tape all over. When I finally ripped the bag apart, I was able to open the box. It was just a little box, but it was heavy.

I slowly opened and looked inside.

"It's... bullets?"

I took the cylindrical red and gold bullet out of the box and held it up to get a good look at it. The flat part of the gold end read, "12 Gauge" and the red part felt like plastic.

"Yep. Guess what it's to."

I shrugged. I'd never seen bullets like them before.

He bent down and picked up somethin' long and covered in more plastic from beneath the ramp. "I hid this here so you wouldn't find it. It's yours."

"What the...?" I took the item from him and unwrapped it. It was a long, thick gun with two barrels.

"It's a shotgun. I had trouble picking a gun that seemed more your style. I hope you like this one."

"Holy shit. Is this really... for me? You saved up the money for this?"

"Yeah. I know you'll be delivering outside of Diamond City soon, so I wanted to get you something you could protect yourself with."

"Hey, don't forget about my gift!" called Emily as she came runnin' toward the ramp. In her hands was somethin' small and black.

I smiled. "You didn't have to get me anything, Emily."

"Well, I couldn't let my future brother-in-law go without a gift from me." She handed me a little black bag.

I took it and opened it up. There were caps inside. "E-Emily, this is a lot of money —"

"Shove it. It's my decision to give it to you. Happy birthday, John."

"Heh heh. Thanks. I appreciate it. Both of you."

Guy wrapped his arm around Emily's waist and kissed her cheek. "Always so thoughtful."

"Well, one of us has to be. I'm surprised you didn't get him a whoopee cushion and some tissues."

"I'm more surprised he didn't shove a rotten tato down my shirt," I added.

"Hey, listen, I'm trying my best here. You're both ruining the moment. Besides, the day's not over yet. You could possibly still wind up with a rotten tato in your shirt."

I gave him a punch on the arm. "We gettin' lunch?"

"Nah, not today. I told the boss I'd help him later if he'd pay me overtime. Nick's coming in for a scheduled checkup and I've never worked on him before, so I get a little unusual training today."

"I feel like you're always working. Tell him you want the day off."

"Sorry, little brother. No can do. If you want a place of our own, I gotta make money."

"Fine. Work yourself into the grave, but I'm gonna enjoy my birthday."

"You do that." He kissed Emily on the cheek. "I'll see you tonight. Bye, you two."

We watched Guy leave. I looked down at the shotgun in my hands and smiled.

"You know how to use one of those things?" asked Emily.