The Divided States of America

Chapter 3

 Erin slows down to a stop as she approaches the N.C.R. territory wall. The walls are old, older than the infection, and from back when the states first separated from one another, but they suited everyone just fine once the outbreak happened. There are still incidents where people find their way to the other side of the walls, but life isn't any easier for someone who has. In the majority of states, people are constantly tested to make sure they aren't infected. To get a job, buy anything including food and shelter, or to even be scanned into homeless shelters, you must present your chip which is inserted at birth and which most No Man's Land residents don't have unless they're an employee of one of the states.

Erin holds her arm out to allow them to scan the implanted chip. "Here for work." She answers before the question is asked, having been through this plenty of times. The chip certified that she works under the N.C.R. as a mercenary, as well as many other things, including her infected status. They verify the information before opening the gate and letting her in. Erin pulls the visor of her helmet back down before speeding up, riding down the nicely kept highway toward the city.

As she drives farther past the walls, she arrives on the outskirts of a different town. She catches a traffic light and slows to a stop, watching as a school bus is loaded up. She can't help but be amazed at how different these peoples' lives are in the safe states, the same as she always has been since the first time she visited another state. The kids play around on the bus, throwing things, talking, and laughing. Before she can observe any longer, the light changes, and Erin drives off, wishing she could give her family a better life than the one they have.

Erin rides for a few more hours until the sun begins going down, and her stomach grumbles, signaling to her, it is time to stop for the night. She pulls off in a small town and finds a diner, paying for the dinner upfront. She notes that she doesn't have much money left. Enough for a few meals and a couple nights' place to stay, at most.

Each state has its own currency, except for No Man's Land, after the Fall. In N.M.L., most places and people trade items instead.

After Erin's meal, she heads to a nearby motel, the cheapest she can find in the area, and settles in. She tosses her helmet onto the chair and removes her boots before crashing on the bed, turning the TV on to the news. She watches for a while until the weather is shown before getting up to take a shower.

Her mind drifts to Skye as she showers, thinking about how she doesn't take care of her kids right. How she puts so much of the responsibility on Scout, a twelve-year-old who should be enjoying what little of the childhood she has left, not mothering Skye's kids. She loves Skye, and she'd do whatever for her, but she doesn't know what to do. She can't be everywhere, and Skye never seems to want to step up and take care of them properly. Erin tries to wash the stress away in the hot water and to turn her mind to sleep instead.

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The sun has already risen, and half the sunlight is gone for the day before Erin wakes up and gets back on the road. She finally makes it to the base and heads in to where the mercenaries can pick up jobs that the N.C.R. doesn't have time for or can't do immediately. She speaks with a few people and ends up with a tip about a storekeeper who was there in the morning, saying it was urgent but didn't give his info. One guy knows where his shop is and points her in the man's direction.

She makes her way down to the shop, greeting the man. He then explains the situation to her, saying he had some merchandise stolen and will pay her to get it back, but it's off the record. Erin decides it is best not to ask questions and accepts the job, needing the cash anyways and reasoning the job is in the same city. He tells her that he even knows the guys and even saw which warehouse he went into. He explains that the 'bastard' is trying to drive him out of the city as they are business rivals, but he's not going to just let him win.