Halloween was on the horizon, the heat had finally started to break, and it was a pleasant fall evening. I’d been planning this weekend with Janet for a while now. She finally got her boss at the diner to give her the weekend off. Frank was a good boss but leaned too much on Janet for the daily ins and outs of the place, having her do most of the back office work and waitressing while only being paid as a waitress. She loves her regular customers, though, so she doesn’t want to leave any time soon.

The weekend I had planned was simple: borrow my dad’s old tow-behind camper and take Janet down to Lake Las Vegas. I’d packed plenty of food and maybe a little too much booze for us to enjoy ourselves. We’d stay at the scenic overlook camping area, but for sunset on Friday evening, I’d take her on a walk around the lake. I wanted her to see the beautiful fiery orange and red sky reflected off the calm lake, then get down on one knee and finally ask her to marry me. I was so nervous.

The drive to the lake was strange; normally there are people leaving the city for weekend adventures, but it took us almost 30 extra minutes to get to our camping spot than it should’ve taken. It didn’t help that there was a convoy of military trucks with a bunch of barrels in the back heading the same way as us, slowing traffic down. Luckily, we still got to the spot with plenty of time before sunset. Janet was as giddy as a schoolgirl seeing our camping spot, as she should’ve been since I paid nearly $1,000 for the weekend.

I was shaking in my boots with how nervous I was about popping the question, but I did it, and she said yes! Janet was in tears from shock and joy; we kissed and held each other as the sun went down. We made it back to the camper and made love long into the night.

Screeching. Distant booms. Wailing. Honking.

It was very early in the morning; the sun had barely started to peek back over the lake. We were woken up by a car holding down its horn as it screamed past on the road behind our camper. That’s when I realized the sirens weren’t just some annoying sound in my dream; they were real. We had purposely not brought a radio to get away from the awful news. All I had brought was my parents old phonograph and some ancient vinyls to listen to. I needed a radio now more than ever to make sure this was really it. Janet ran to the car to listen to its radio, but the car was dead. I instantly knew why.

Even though I went to college for biology, I studied a bit about nuclear technology before I dropped out. Nothing too in-depth, but enough to cover the basics. I knew that a nuclear explosion could cause a magnetic pulse to fry electronics, and this car was only a year old; no way it died on its own. My fears were confirmed a split second later when there was a flash of light above the city. I grabbed my dad’s binoculars hanging in the camper for a better look. That new fancy casino on the Strip was firing off a laser light show and had definitely just destroyed a nuke intended for Vegas.

Another explosion, this one much closer. Somewhere to the south, maybe Searchlight or Cottonwood? Oh no, Searchlight. Mom was visiting her sewing club there today. What am I thinking? I need to get Janet and me to safety, and fast.

All this happens and runs through my mind all within 10 seconds or so. I snap out of it and grab Janet and tell her, “We’ve got to go, right now!” Neither of us is dressed; we’re both in our nightgowns. I’m wearing slippers, but Janet put my shoes on before trying the car radio. We started running toward the golf course, hoping they would have a fallout shelter. Wait a minute, fallout shelter, that’s right! Dad worked for a concrete company out of Sloan, and he had told me a while back he had been driving a shitload of concrete to the mountain right next to the golf course. He said he wasn’t supposed to know, but he found out from one of the other guys that it was a Vault-Tec operation, so there had to be a Vault there! We’re just close enough that we might have time to get to the Vault!

We didn’t stop running. The tower on the Strip kept shooting down some of the nukes, but some were either too far out of range or too fast and struck somewhere nearby. Seeing the mushrooms flash into existence made my heart drop every time, knowing more and more our chances of making it to the vault in time were getting thin. Janet couldn’t stop bawling. It was impressive how she didn’t run out of breath sooner with her weeping so intensely while we ran for our lives. Finally, we made it to the gravel road that led to the top of this mountain. That’s when I noticed a familiar sight, one of the trucks from yesterday slowing down traffic. I got a better look at it now.

Radioactive waste barrels. The air tasted metallic and tingly as we ran past them. Why would the government be dumping radioactive waste here if this was a Vault-Tec facility? I thought they were partners in this endeavor; this seems like some kind of sabotage. We spotted the entrance to the caves and ran inside. Even if this isn’t the Vault entrance, it’ll give us some shelter from the radiation that’s probably rapidly increasing outside.

How wrong I was.

The cave was filled with more radioactive waste, much of it had clearly been here a while. There was green-looking goo leaking from some of these barrels, and some of the mushrooms growing near there had started glowing, which is not natural for this area. This couldn’t be where the Vault is, right? Why would they put all these barrels here and contaminate the access tunnel and potentially the Vault itself?

We ventured deeper into the cave, my skin starting to feel like I had a sunburn. I was also nauseous, but that could’ve been from the running. Janet was still sobbing, but I could tell she was close to a mental shutdown. I’d been trying to comfort her the whole time, telling her we’re going to make it, we’re going to get somewhere safe, but I don’t think it was doing any good. We turned a corner and went down a small slope, and there it was, that big metal door with a giant 34 on it. I knew the Vault had to be here; Dad was right! The door has just finished sliding into place; we might have time!

“Hey! Hold on, open back up!” I yelled at the large, metal door impeding us from safety. I tried banging on the door with my fist as if this was the same wooden door on your grandmother’s house. It didn’t make much noise, but it did hurt my hand. I grabbed a rock off the ground and tried banging that. No luck. That door was solid steel; it barely made a thud.

“A camera or intercom or something—there’s got to be one,” I thought to myself. No luck. Apparently whoever designed this place did so with the intention of not having visitors. No way to contact the people inside, no way in. We could stay in the cave, but the radiation here would probably kill us before the radiation outside will. Plus, I’m sure other people know about this vault and will try to get inside, and they might be dangerous.

“We need to leave and find somewhere else safe.” I told Janet, who by now was slumped over against the cave wall, no longer crying but silent. She didn’t answer me.

“Honey?” I said again, kneeling down to her and lifting her head to look into her eyes. They were glazed over; she was in shock, mentally blocking everything out.

“Honey, we need to go. We have to get out of this cave before someone else tries to—” I paused as I heard rapid footfalls coming towards us. I grabbed a rock to arm myself. It was a soldier, Army, I think. He was so young; he couldn’t have been a day over 18.

“Did—did they close it?!” He screamed at me as he ran by.

“Motherfucker! Oh shit, oh fuck, what am I going to do?” He collapsed to his knees in front of the vault door, panic in his voice.

“There’s no way to contact them, no camera, no intercom.” I told the boy.

“We need to leave here before someone tries to force their way in. I have to see if I can still make it back to Nellis, if Nellis is even still there.” The boy soldier said as he stood up, wiping the tears from his eyes.

“Here, you guys will need to protect yourselves from looters and groups of raiders. People are already starting to organize into bandit gangs. I have my service weapon; take my sidearm.” He handed me a large pistol and some ammunition and went on his way back out of the cave. I thanked him as he ran off while tucking the pistol in my waistband. I don’t know if he heard me or not.

“Come on, babe, time to go.” I lifted Janet up and started helping her walk back towards the entrance of the cave. We barely got to the top of the first incline from the Vault door when she stopped us, rigid as a board. I felt a tug on my pajama pants, and by the time I realized what it was, I was deafened by a loud bang. Janet went limp; I couldn’t hold her up. The pistol clacked onto the stone floor.

How could she have done this? Why wouldn’t she at least say goodbye or I love you or anything? Just nothing. She was gone.

I held her in my arms for what felt like a day, sobbing and weeping. I didn’t know what to do. The whole reason I brought us here was to keep her safe, to make sure even though the world had gone to shit, she would be okay. Now I didn’t have a purpose. Mom was probably hit by the bomb in Searchlight. Dad was supposed to be hauling a truck down south on 95 from McLean, so maybe he left early enough to get away from the bombs, but I’d never be able to find him. I’m on my own now.

I laid Janet down and said my final goodbyes to her. I left the pistol and ammo with her. I couldn’t stomach the idea of carrying that gun with me, regardless of how dangerous it was outside. I left the cave entrance feeling more sunburned and vomited as soon as I exited the exterior door. Radiation poisoning, but I didn’t know how bad. Needed to find a doctor or some meds to ease the effects.

I noticed something as I left the cave. It was night, whatever day it might be, Saturday still? Maybe Sunday? I don’t know anymore. Everything was quiet. I couldn’t hear the cars on 95, no bustling sounds from the city, no lights from the city. For once I could see the stars this close to Vegas. It was beautiful. I sat and looked at the stars for a while, wondering where up there Heaven might be and if Janet was there looking back at me. I know suicide is frowned upon by God, but maybe under the circumstances He’d forgive her and allow her into His kingdom.

I started tasting metal. Very strong amounts of metal. In my awe of the sky, I hadn’t realized I had been sitting on a barrel of radioactive waste. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I knew I should’ve bought that Pip-Boy I saw at that pawn shop instead of buying that stupid new car. The Geiger counter would’ve warned me about this! I jumped up and ran away from the area as fast as I could anyway. I was feeling weak. I hadn’t eaten since the night before the bombs fell or drunk anything either.

“The resort for the golf course was right down the mountain; I should try there for food at least.” I thought to myself.

Bad idea. As I came down the last little foothill toward the resort, I heard gunshots. I ducked behind a rock until the shooting stopped. They weren’t shooting at me, but I don’t want to be the next target. I still had Dad’s binoculars around my neck, so I peeked over the rock to see what was going on. A dozen or so guys were pulling people out of the resort’s front doors. One was an older lady in a wheelchair, dressed like she just came from a gala event. One of the thugs dumped her from her wheelchair while laughing. His partner shot her as she tried to crawl away. Suddenly there were shots from a different direction, around the left side of the resort. I swung the binoculars over just in time to see the kid soldier firing at the thugs. He hit two of them and ducked down as they returned fire. One of the thugs pistols jammed right as the soldier popped back up and gunned him down. He wasn’t watching his back, though.

As he started to load a fresh magazine into his service rifle, a third thug came from behind and whacked him with a golf club; the kid dropped his rifle as he fell. When he hit the ground, I saw him reach for his hip holster, which was empty. He was looking for the pistol he gave me. The pistol that was lying in the cave next to Janet’s body.

The golf club swung down hard into the kid’s head. He wasn’t wearing his helmet. His body went limp and collapsed backwards; he lay flat on his back.

I felt responsible. If I hadn’t accepted his sidearm, he could’ve fended off that attacker; he might’ve been able to save some of the remaining resort guests. I watched the thugs drag the rest of them out and execute them. They looted the bodies and dumped them in the lake. After a few hours they finally stopped coming outside, and I felt safe enough to try and get back to the camper to grab supplies.

I reached the camper just as the sun was starting to peek over the horizon. Someone had ransacked it already. The food and drinks were gone; even the phonograph was taken. Probably the thugs across the lake. I checked under the mattress in the storage compartment for the first aid kit; luckily, it was still there. Not so lucky, though, was the fact that it didn’t look like Dad had kept the medicine in there like he had said he would, just some gauze and bandages from when he bought the camper back in '51.

The metal taste was worse now; I started coughing up blood. I sat in the doorway of the camper watching the sun rise over the lake. I could see the slight shimmer of a radioactive glow on the horizon as it got brighter out. I started feeling very sleepy; it had been a long day, or couple of days, or however long it’s been. I just need to rest, then I’ll find food when I wake up. I picture Janet’s beautiful smile and the twinkle in her hazel eyes one more time

Just need to rest.

———————————————

A lone courier running errands for the NCR leaves Ranger Station Alpha to relay a message to Camp Golf. This has to be a hand-delivered message since top NCR brass is convinced the Legion is listening to their once-secure radio transmissions. This message needs an old-fashioned delivery system. His trusty Vault 13 canteen gives him its last few drops of water. The Mojave’s heat is unforgiving, even this early in the morning. The courier should’ve brought some extra water for this run.

He approaches Lake Las Vegas as a shortcut to Camp Golf, knowing that the lake has clean water he can refill his canteen with. After filling his canteen on the shoreline, he turns around to properly notice the small camper behind an old Corvega. Being a little light on caps, the courier decides to scavenge around for anything useful: scrap metal, a new belt for his leather armor, or maybe even a forgotten can of Pork n Beans.

The courier steps into the camper only to find an old, weather-torn mattress and an ancient skeleton. Not the first time he’s seen an old mound of bones; it won’t be the last.

The sun begins to rise over the lake, the orange glow of another day brewing. The courier realizes he hasn’t slept in days, having run errands for the NCR at almost every base and station up and down the Colorado. The courier finds himself lying on the mattress, eyes heavy.

Gunshots, lots and lots of gunshots.

It was almost evening; the courier had slept almost all day. He jolted up off the dirty mattress and drew his rifle. The message he was supposed to bring to Camp Golf from the Rangers never got there. The message was supposed to warn them of a group of Legion soldiers building on the other side of Lake Mead that the Rangers had spotted yesterday. The courier was supposed to be the early warning system to prepare the troops. He failed. The Legion was already well inside the fenced compound of the old golf course; some NCR troops were speared in the back as they ran away. The courier took a few Legionaries out with his scoped varmint rifle, but he didn’t have nearly enough ammo to fend off that many Legionaries.

Camp Golf falls to Caesar, dealing a huge blow to the NCR’s hold on the region.

All because of that damn mattress.

———————————————

This little short story was inspired by just playing New Vegas. I had come across that camper playing a new playthrough and wondered what its background could be. There are always these small mini-stories in the Fallout games. As I played more, that idea gnawed at me, and I had seen a few other things I could tie into the story. There’s a skeleton in the camper, as well as a skeleton with 10mm pistol ammo inside the entrance to Vault 34. For the bomb locations, I looked where the bombs that actually hit New Vegas were and went from there.

Fun fact: there’s a crater on 95 at the southern end of the road that has a semi-truck in it. That truck is where the character’s dad was when the bombs fell; none of this family made it.

The story is a bit morbid but totally fits into the Fallout theme of storytelling. Also, I’m not a writer or author or anything like that, so this isn’t a great story; I literally whipped it up on my phone after playing New Vegas for like 30 hours. I also have never really shared anything like this before. And yes I know Camp Golf doesn’t get taken by theegion, it’s just a fun story idea.