FO4 | Book 0: The Diaries of Anarchy ✔️

June 9, 2282

I ran my fingers through my messy, tangled hair and dropped my cigarette butt to the ground. I went back to my usual alleyway and met up with a chem dealer that usually opened up shop there.

It was a quiet night. I supposed that Vic's boys were takin' the night off. Drinkin' booze, smokin' cigars, playin' cards, and complainin' about the "idiots" in town summed up a night off in the Old State House.

"Where the hell you been?" I asked the dealer.

Her name was Cricket. She sold everything from chems to guns to junk food. She was a jittery, fidgety sort. There was a shake in her voice when she spoke like she was constantly on the brink of excitement. Her face was dirty, her eyes were sunken, she was white as a ghost, and usually wore a dirty, ripped pair of pants and a coat. I didn't judge — hell, people like her were the ones I got along with best.

"Hey, ain't my fault the mayor has been down the caravans' throats about taxes. Ain't my fault, I tell ya!"

"What's the specials today?"

She grinned sickeningly. "Oh, boy, have I got some surprises for you this time."

"Lay it on me."

"I've got some Daddy-O, Psychotats, Day Tripper —"

"C'mon, Cricket. I need somethin' that's gonna knock me out for two days, ya feel me?"

She giggled her high-pitched, maniacal giggle. "I do have one thing. But it'll do more than knock you out for a few days. It could kill you."

"Seriously? Color me curious."

She searched through her backpack at her feet and pulled out a little green, glowing syringe.

"What the fuck is that?"

"This, my friend... is a one-of-a-kind, one-hit-only, experimental radiation drug."

I looked around the alley for any other passersby. I poked my head out of the alley and checked to see if anyone was comin'.

"You do realize that you brought a lethal chem to Goodneighbor, the shittiest town in the Commonwealth, right?"

She shrugged. "No one knew I had it. This is the first time I've shown it to anybody. Besides, I like to live life dangerously."

I had to admit, my curiosity was growin' by the minute. A mixture of depression and a need for more exotic chems almost made me want to buy it.

"How much is that?" I pointed at the glowin' syringe.

"More than you've got," she stated.

I gritted my teeth. I knew I had a few extra things I could trade her in order to get this drug, but it'd take everything I had.

I put my hand in my other pocket — the one I kept all my junk in — and showed her some gold and silver pocket watches, lockets, copper wire, and a few other things I had salvaged.

Her eyes lit up. "Ooh, shinies."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is this gonna be enough?"

"Hell, no," she laughed.

"Wait here a second." I rushed out of the gate and to a broken-down car that sat to the right of it. I climbed my way inside and lifted the seat to reveal my guitar — the last possession I had from back then. When I returned to her, I presented her the guitar.

"Whoa, where'd you get this beauty? It's in great condition."

"I got it from a friend. He ain't around anymore."