FO4 | Book 0: The Diaries of Anarchy ✔️

February 22, 2265

They say everyone has a dark side — a side you don't want to expose to the light of day or the prying eyes of the judgmental. Because once that side of you sees even an inch of freedom, it will run with it. The monster will grow and grow until it completely consumes you. And usually, this dark side is brought on by a side of you that isn't being sated — a deprived version of yourself that only comes out long enough to remind you that it's there and that it's hungry.

And Maggie had found my dark side. 

We had been seein' each other for nearly a month, and I was feelin' her vibe. She was the right kind of excitement that my life needed. She was ambitious, driven, and sometimes downright intimidatin'. But everything about her was intoxicating. The way she moved was like watchin' an artist create the world's best masterpiece. The way she fought was like a cornered animal. Kissin' her was like touchin' velvet for the first time.

On this particular day, we had been travelin' together for almost two days across the Commonwealth and were in dire need of more ammo. I had maybe two shells left, and she had four bullets in the chamber of her handgun. We hadn't seen a trader and probably wouldn't this far south of the main roads.

"I guess we gotta retrace our steps and hope for the best," I said. "We're nearly completely outta ammo."

"There's ammo everywhere. You just have to know how to get it."

"What do you suggest?"

"We should bust up a raider gang and take what they have. It's almost dark; it'll be the perfect cover."

"I like that idea, but we're not exactly heavily armed, so breakin' up a whole gang is gonna be work."

She took her knife out of the sheath strapped to her thigh. "That's why we have these. Honestly, John, it's like you don't think sometimes. These are all we'll need to infiltrate a raider base and take their supplies."

"If you think that's all we'll need, I'm game."

"I know it is. You'll soon find that traveling with me is very... minimalistic."

____________________

When nightfall came, we sneaked through the darkness through the southern city ruins. We stayed low to the edges of the buildings, careful not to step on any rubble that would crunch or break or rattle.

"Follow my lead," she instructed.

When she unsheathed her knife, I followed suit.

We pressed our backs carefully against a makeshift wall built between two buildings. A light shone from the other side with smoke dancing through it — probably barrels full of burning garbage. I could hear the crunchin' of footsteps on the other side. I gripped the knife tightly in my hand, worried this could all go sideways in an instant.

Maggie leaned her head toward the entrance and peeked inside. She gave me a small wave to follow her inside. She was silent as the grave when she tiptoed her way toward her first victim — a stout woman carrying a rifle with her back turned and lookin' at the fire in the barrel.

Maggie took her knife in one hand and pressed it against the woman's throat. With her other hand, she muffled the woman's surprised cry. One quick movement and the woman was down. Maggie dragged the weight of the woman toward the shadows before the man on the shoddy lookout post on the other side of the wall noticed. I helped her drag the body to the shadows.

She nodded at the man on the lookout, so I crept toward him and did exactly as Maggie had shown me: quick and quiet.

She took out the last person underneath a junk shed who was sleepin' on a bedroll.

"That's the last of them," she said. "Good work. We'll stay here for the night and take their supplies in the morning."

I wiped my knife off on my pants leg while she cleaned hers on the shirt of her last victim. We hauled him off the bed and onto the ground outside to make ourselves at home on the bedroll.

"God, I could go for some Mentats," she muttered. "Need some?" She took a tin out of her pocket and rattled it.

"Please." I held out a hand.

She took a few and handed me the case. After I had a small handful, I joined her on the bedroll in the shed. I laid down, arms behind my head, and she laid down on top of me, her head and shaggy blonde hair layin' on my chest. I breathed in deep, smellin' the natural scent of her hair.

"You know, your knife skills could use some improving," she mentioned.

"You could teach me," I said with a smirk. "Give me another reason to spend time with you."

"The two of us together, we could be an incredibly powerful force." She chuckled. I watched her shoulders rise and fall slightly. "And maybe rich one day."