As Nate walks on the cracked and mostly sand buried road Lola follows with her head down. "Hey...Nate?..." Lola says, Nate turns around and looks at her. Lola seems nervous, "Did you...do that for me back there?" Lola asks Nate. "Yes, think of it as an apology, I shouldn't have said those things, but you don't know how to protect yourself yet, so until then. I am going to protect you until we find your brother." Nate has only walked with her for a bit and the sun was just starting to rise, but Nate was kinda getting used to company, other than being alone. Lola too was starting to appreciate Nate more. As they walked to Boulder Cove they began talking more and even telling jokes! Boulder cove is a pre-war town full of Mutants, Raiders, and Mercenaries. But no one inhabits. There is only so much activity because people search the town for supplies and Mutants wander mindlessly. They arrive at the broken, weathered sign that said "BOULDER COVE!! HOME OF THE FAMOUS D-" and the sign cuts of there, they walk the empty streets and they find many Atom Kick vending machines, and ads posted on a wall. "Atom kick! Man, I loved that stuff as a kid!" Lola exclaimed Nate looks over at her "Yeah, I liked that stuff too, I can't believe there is still Atom kick around, I mean it's a pre-war drink!" Nate says to her. They hear the sand move a bit, Nate pulls out his assault rifle and aims the gun at the sound. A Crusher steps out from behind a nearby building. Crushers are the most common kind of Mutant, They are tall, buff, fast, and they also have green skin.
The Crusher looks at them. It lets out a grunt and starts walking toward Nate. Nate puts his arm over Lola's shoulders and backs her up. "Howdy buddy, what's your name?" Nate said while he continues to aim the gun at the massive creature, The mutant grunts again and starts picking up his pace, Nate opens fire on the Crusher, sending bullets through its shoulders, chest, and head. The Crusher fell to the floor with blood leaking from its pores, the bloody jagged bullet wounds covering it bleed ceaselessly. Lola stands there in shock, "Woah" She says, "Why did you ask for his name, he is a mutant?" She asks confused
Nate looks at her "There are some mutants that have a mind like us, they think, feel, dream, they are humans but they appear deformed. People open fire as soon as they see them, I always ask for a name so if they are like us, they will respond." Nate explains and Lola. Lola seems confused "I've always been taught to kill mutants even if they talk! We should put them out of their misery." Lola said staring at Nate with a confused look. "Well, some mutants have lives too," Nate said as he continues walking. Lola follows, they continue to talk and the sky begins to turn grey. The distant rumble of thunder can be heard in the distance. "It's gonna rain soon. We gotta find shelter." Nate said as he starts walking toward almost collapsed buildings. Lola followed him as he went inside and Nate turns on his flashlight. It was dark in there. Nate heard a noise to left of him and he pulls out his handgun and aims in that direction. "WHO'S THERE!?!" Nate shouts in that direction. A man steps from the shadows with his hands up. "Woah...Relax there, buddy….." the man says, the man wore blue headphones and a blue long coat, along with goggles and cargo pants. He stares a Nate. "Why the HELL are you dressed like that?" Nate asked the man. The man looked at him "First of all, rude, second of all I'm dressed like this because I CAN dress like this!" The man said. "So, your name?" Nate asked him. "My name is Hunter the Trasher," Hunter responded. "What does 'Trasher' mean?" Lola asked. "Well, Trasher is a term for someone who lives in poverty," Hunter said to her. Lola was still confused, She didn't know what poverty meant. Nate puts down his gun. "Alright, Lola...he's okay," Nate muttered as he sat down. Lighting litters the sky overhead as the wind blows and thunder rumbles above them. Rain begins to fall. Hunter starts a fire in the middle of the room and a dull light fills the room, Nate sits on the sleeping bag on the floor next to the fire. Hunter looks out the window and Lola sits next to Nate. "So," Lola says "Where are you from Nate?" Lola tries to strike up a conversation. "I was born in California, and I was raised there too, But we moved to Arizona." Nate goes along with it and talks to Lola. "We?" Lola asks, slightly confused. "...Me...only me…." Nate mutters. Lola realized she made a mistake. "Why did you move to Arizona? Things were already shitty here." Lola asks while she looks at Nate who is now silent with cold energy around him. "Things were worse in California, I couldn't take two steps without having to shoot a low-life fuck who wants to get his hands on ammo," Nate answers as he continues to look down. Lola is shocked at Nate's sudden intensity. "There was…. what we called 'The Onslaught' which is when all the mutants and whoever else attacks everyone. I just hope The Onslaught doesn't reach Arizona." Nate mutters. Hunter stands up and grips a rusty cleaver. "Hunter, what's wrong?" Nate asked in a whispery voice. "Raiders!" Hunter whispers and Nate draws his handgun. Nate stands up and sprints to the door. "NATE!!" Lola shouts as Nate as he kicks down the door. Nate seemed ...Different… Nate began to open fire on the raiders and they each fall to the floor covered in blood. Nate sprints up to the final raider who is laying in the sand, suffering from his wounds. Nate wraps his hands around the raider's throat and begins to squeeze, Lola stumbles back and Hunter holds onto his cleaver. The raider begins to kick his legs and struggles as Nate continues to strangle the poor man a mellow CRACK is heard, the raiders head begins to twitch. Nate tightens his grip and the crack is followed by several more low-pitched cracks from the raider's neck. Finally, the raider's legs stop kicking but his head continues to twitch violently. Nate stands up and looks in Lola's direction and Lola cups her hands over her mouth, Lola jogs outside in the rain and began to vomit beside the building. She hears a sound behind her, She thought it was just the rain but she turned around anyway. She saw green, glowing eyes peering at her from the rain, Her skin crawled and she began to walk away. She went back inside to find Nate sitting back where he was, on the sleeping bag. Nate looked at his watch and took out a portable Radio that he kept hooked to his belt. "N-Nate...What...A-are you doing?..." Lola asks. "You'll see" Nate responds and a little song played on the radio. "Hello, This is Jeff Baidman and welcome to Craterview Morning News!" A voice from the radio spoke, "In case you haven't noticed, it is Raining outside, it should be clearing up in a bit, Also, It will be cold so be sure to wear a jacket." The voice over the radio seemed to soothe both Nate and Lola. Hunter seemed to enjoy it too. "Also, there have been numerous sightings of Rad 5 Mutants! So be careful, I need to remind you all that NO Mutants are allowed in Craterview. That's all the news I have today, I'll see you all next time." The voice stopped and Nate turned off the radio. "So, Hunter, I see stairs leading up, what's up there?" Nate asks Hunter. "Well, there is a bed and a fridge up there. But there is also a wounded Leacher up there." Hunter responded has he continues to hold his rifle. Nate stands up and begins to walk upstairs, "WOAH! NATE CHILL OUT MAN!! DON'T GO UP THERE!" Hunter shouts. Nate flips Hunter off and continues to go upstairs. Nate approaches a locked door and Kneels down, Lola stays downstairs. Nate starts to pick the lock and before he opens the door, Nate presses his ear against the door. He hears screeching inside. Nate kicks the door open and a Leacher looks at him from inside. It was on all fours, with razor-sharp teeth and no nose. Its eyes were completely white except for one black dot that is in the center of his eyeballs. It lunges at Nate, as Nate places his hands on the Leacher's stomach and slams it on the ground. Nate pulls out his handgun while he holds the squirming Mutant down with one hand. Nate pulls the trigger 3 times and with each time the sounds of the gunshots flood the room and the bullets enter the mutants skull. Blood shoots out and splatters all over the floor. The noise from upstairs makes Lola jump. Hunter stands up and starts going upstairs, he opens the door to find Nate sitting on a wooden box, holding a gun, with his foot propped up on the Leacher's corpse, humming softly.