FO4 | Book 0: The Diaries of Anarchy ✔️

July 12, 2250

The fever was really startin' to get to me. I could feel my body sweating underneath the ragged blanket on my bed. Every time I tried to pull it off, my mother would insist that I keep it on. I took slow, deep breaths from my mouth. It was like I was unable to get enough air.

Guy came up the stairs and into the bedroom with a cup of water.

"Here," he said. "You've gotta stay hydrated."

He helped me sit up and held the cup to my lips. I drank it all down in a few gulps. It provided a little comfort. Though it wasn't as cold as I'd have liked, my body was so hot that it didn't matter.

"Look at you," Guy said with a piteous smirk. "How are you ever gonna keep up with me if you keep getting sick like this?"

"Shut up," I retaliated. "It's bad enough that I'm this sick right before my tenth birthday."

"Sounds like a bad omen to me."

I raised an eyebrow at him. I was used to him trying to spook me. Of course, I didn't believe him. But, truth was, he wasn't far off. It seemed like a terrible string of bad luck. I had been sick for almost a month.

The first time I had gotten sick, I got my hands on a rotten tato from the garden. Mom said it was probably from the molerats that had been gnawing on the crops before my father went out and shot 'em all. She didn't take any chances and had to throw out half our tatoes and carrots after I got sick.

The second time I got sick was from a cold. So after I got over my food poisoning, I was sneezin' and coughin' with body aches and fatigue.

The third time I got sick, which was what confined me to my bed with a fever of over a hundred degrees, was me bein' a stupid kid and not watching what I was doing. I cut myself on a rusty car part, givin' myself a sickness they call "tetanus."

According to my mother, tetanus had been around since before the Bombs. Though all the ways of treatin' it was lost ages ago, other than the "miracle cure" Stimpak.

"Is Dad still mad?" I asked quietly.

Guy nodded. "He's downstairs getting ready to leave for Diamond City. Keeps complaining about how Stimpaks aren't cheap, and how stupid you were for getting hurt."

I frowned at his deliberate honesty. It felt like all I ever did was disappoint. All I ever did was need people to take care of me.

____________________

My father had been gone for hours. I knew that the trip to and from Diamond City was a long one, but somewhere in the back of my mind was the hope that he'd meet a trader on the road who could offer him a Stimpak. I guess that didn't happen because the sun had already set.

As the hours went by, my symptoms worsened. I was sweatin' through my blankets; Mom had no choice but to take 'em off me. My throat was slowly closing up to the point I could barely drink water. I was irritable and uncomfortable. By the time midnight rolled around, I was having muscle spasms.

Mom stayed by my side the whole time and told my brother to stay downstairs unless she called for him. She didn't want him to see me in that state. Guy wound up sleepin' on the couch and listenin' for my dad's return.

"Guy said that Dad was mad at me," I whispered to her. My throat felt so tight. "What can I do to make it up to him?"

"Make what up to him, sweetie?"

"Well, he had to use his beer money on my medicine. I know he's real irritated about it."

"You don't have to make it up to him. You didn't do anything wrong. Accidents happen." She rubbed my cheek.

"Yeah, but..."

"Don't worry about it. Your dad is going to take care of it as a dad should. It's his job to take care of both you and your brother, even if he gets a little... annoyed sometimes."

"I hope he gets here soon. My whole body hurts."

____________________

I woke up half past three in the morning. Mom had fallen asleep sitting on her knees by my bed with her arms and head propped up beside me.

I almost started cryin'. I felt bad for her. I knew she was always worryin' about me.

Just then, a weird feeling came over me. Before I knew it, my whole body was spasming. My sudden jerking woke my mother up. I could barely remember what happened after that. Everything went blurry. I just remember her stuffing something into my mouth.

I suppose I lost consciousness because when I opened my eyes, my dad was sittin' in the room. He and Guy had a seat on my brother's bed across from me, and my mom was sittin' at the foot of my bed talking to them. When my brother noticed I was awake, he pointed and alerted our parents. The look on my mom's face when she realized I had come to...

She hugged me tightly. When I asked her what happened to me, she explained that I had a seizure and blacked out.

"I put the washcloth in your mouth so you wouldn't bite your tongue off," she said. "But your dad came through with the medicine." She shot my dad a smile.

"Well, I'm glad you're feelin' better son. Sorry, I had to use your birthday money to get your medicine." He got up and stood next to my bed, adjusting his belt beneath his gut.

"Y-you did?" I asked sadly.

"What? Not happy about it?" He made a face. "So you'd rather get presents than be alive?"

I shook my head.

"A little gratitude would be appreciated, you know," he growled.

"Th-thanks, Dad."

"That's what I thought." He turned to walk out of the room and down the stairs, grumbling the whole way.