Prologue


The box glowed black and white, resonating images and sound toward a man lounging on a chair before it. Massive interest could be seen on his face as he watched a live interview going on between a popular scientist by the name of Michael Greeves and reporter David Wilson. The two were surrounded by a large group of people, all of them seeming to be inside a room.

"So Mr.Greeves," David said to the Scientist, "word has it that the Government has been focusing research on Atomic Energy, which, as i'm sure all of us here know, has only recently began having its true potential tapped into. The bombings in World War II seeming to mark the dawn of a new era."

The scientist gave off a chuckle before responding with a smile. "Well, I am not one for War, and I certainly hope that bombings aren't what people will use as a way to mark the beginning of a new age, however.. Yes, the Government has set much focus on Atomic Energy. And why not I say! I mean, think of all the possibilities!"


"Care to elaborate on that for us Mr.Greeves?" asked David to Michael "What possibilities, besides warfare, is the Government looking into?"

"Well!" Micheal said enthusiastically "For starters, Atomic Energy will most likely someday replace Oil, doing good for both the environment and the economy. And who knows what other resources it shall replace? But also, Atomic Energy has peaked interest in other fields of research. Robotics, Laser Technology, ways to preserve our water supply! All of these ideas are spawned from, oh what's the word im looking for... apprentices of Scientist, like myself, studying Atomic Energy. With the advancement of one field, shall come the advancement of many more!"

"Does that include medical?" responded the Interviewer, Michael smiling with a nod before replying.

"As a matter of fact," began Michael "we are testing out a new kind of Stim Pack, capable of sealing up medium cuts in a matter of minutes, and restore cracked bones as well. Now, i'm not saying you can snap your arm or leg and then instantly patch it up, but say you have a small dent or crack in it. We are hoping that these new Stim Packs will be able to fix those up right away. Oh, their is so much I can tell you about our research, especially on the Atomic field."

"Well good sir," said David with a smile, "I would certainly love to here that, as would the public, but im afaid this is all the time we have left on the air. Any final words you would like to say to our viewers before we head on off?"

The scientist gave off a nod, the microphones came close to him, and he spoke the following words.

"Think of it this way.. Research in the fields of Atomic Energy is going to change everything in our lives some day! The way people think, act to one another, the way we live, maybe what we eat, how we go about our Daily Routine. Probably not in our lifetime, but perhaps in a good, say.. One Hundred, Two Hundred years or so? You can expect your great grand children to be living in a completely new world. Thats a promise!"











[[Three Hundred Years Later.....]]


The Sun glared down upon the wasteland below, dirt being blown all about. A road stood alone, not a single soul visible upon its cracked concrete. To the left, a greatly worn out sign could be seen, letters mostly in white, though some seeming to be painted with blood, read.


Now Entering Misery State...

But alas.. nothing was entering Misery. Nothing was leaving.. nothing was their, in the cruel, unjust Wasteland for many miles. Only the dirt that blew about in the blue sky, only the rocks that lay upon the ground, only the road that had been built long ago by ancient civilizations whom had come to the land searching for paradise...

And this is what Paradise had become... Hell.




To be continued


((Tell me what you all think. I do apologize if the prologue is a bit boring, as I came up with it twenty minutes ago while trying to sleep.))

Too early to tell anything about it.

It's not boring, in fact I found the opening quite entertaining. You have a good balance of dialogue and description especially for a prologue, although at times I got the feeling that you were trying a bit too hard with the description and it got a little muddled and confusing. How ever it's an interesting opening and I hope the protagonist and other characters to follow are just as interesting. There are minor spelling mistakes and grammical errors, I suggest that you type your paragraphs up in word or something similar. Also it doesn't hurt to proof read your work a couple of times over as old fashioned as that seems .

Thanks for the replies dudes. Aussie, I have always wondered, what the hell is your Avatar supposed to be! It looks like the cross between a Lama and something from Starship Troopers!))



Chapter I: A Traveller of the Wasteland


A few miles south from the welcoming sign, a figure walked the road before him. He wore a gray cloak around his body, it tattered and torn as the wind blew against it, a hood pulled over his head. A sheath could be seen strapped to his belt, the handle of a sword sticking out. Black boots stepped forward, guiding the man through the merciless wasteland. A gloved hand went to the hood that he wore, pulling it up to let a small amount of dirt covered brown hair fall onto his forehead, his eyes now visible...

The eyes were a strange color for a human. Not blue, brown, or green, but a very dark purple color. As for his body, it was not bulky nor a twig, just a standard shape. The man's purple eyes scanned the hills around him, they not detecting any life... however, something did catch them. On a hill not to far off, a small structure could be seen with what appeared to be half of a large pole rising near it.

The Traveller pulled his hood down before beginning to step in its direction eagerly. This man was no hero, nor the villain.. he was not a raider, nor was he a settler. No faction did he serve, no war did he fight. The man was simply a wanderer going about his way, exploring the world as he saw fit. This was Darius, scavenger of the Wasteland....

***

Darius finally found himself at the top of the hill, the winds blowing dirt heavily in his direction. At this rate, he thought to himself, their will be a sandstorm. Before him the structure he had seen lay, now much more visible. It seemed to have been made to refuel the vehicles that Darius found on the road during his travels, long ago that is. He took a few steps in its direction, examining the structure. Some broken windows, a corne roof destroyed, however he could see a nice little spot for him to rest behind a counter with what he assumed to be a Cash Register knocked on the ground near it.

The traveller went to the door of the structure, raising a gloved hand to grab the handle.... then he stopped. Remembering what happened at the last structure he had seen two weeks ago (the thing blew apart before his very eyes), Darius turned toward the broken window and headed in its direction. He then stopped in front of it, looking the inside of the structure over. Many empty shelves could be seen, along with wrappers and other things on the floor.. however, not a sign of life. He slowly raised a foot and stepped over the window...

And into the structure. No explosions so far. Good. The other foot inside the Gas Station, and Darius found his purple eyes glancing to the door he had nearly opened... surely enough, their was a cable tied from one of the inside door handles and going to the floor, out from under the door. Darius looked behind him toward the ancient gas pumps.. and he could see what he failed to notice before now. The cable was attached to a grenade.

"So.." he said to himself, pulling out a knife from his pocket, "I open the door, place goes kaboom. Neat." He then approached the cable, carefully cutting it before opening the door to the structure and heading toward the pumps to pick up the grenade. Once that was complete, having safely stowed the grenade inside a cloak pocket, Darius returned to the inside of the structure, shutting the doors before going to look through the aisles to see if their was anything he could find to eat.

One aisle. Nothing but wrappers and broken milk bottles. Another. A broom, more broken glass, and some candy wrappers. The third aisle held nothing as well, except for some dust...

With a sigh, Darius went over to the pay-counter, climbing over to the other side and beginning to lie down... then he saw it. Beneath the counter, their were some bottles of water and what appeared to be.. yes! Mole rat meat, and only one week old it seemed. Darius grabbed at the meat, sniffing the rotten smell to make sure he wasn't in a dream before sinking his teeth into it.... ahh, the delicious taste of maggot eggs in your meal. Hopefully the water would drown the little [censored]ers.

After finishing his not-so-royal meal, Darius grabbed at one of the bottles of water.. irradiated, but water none the less. He unscrewed the cap and said out loud to himself.

"Cheers..."

Chapter II: Visitors at Dusk



Darius spent the next four hours lying down behind the counter, his hood still pulled over his head. The desert wind could be heard howling loudly outside of the building, howl's of hunger. At this rate, he would be stuck inside the building less he risk a sandstorm, which was really bad considering the situation that he was in. Darius was lucky enough to find that rotten Molerat meat (which was now beginning to cause much cramping in his stomach) , and was unlucky to have not found anything else inside what he assumed to be a Gas Station.

Now here he was, the only supplies on him being warm water bottles, his cloak, sword, and a grenade of someone that was going in the same direction he was, and probably knew that Darius was behind him. Darius began to regret not leaving some of that meat out. Perhaps a creature of some sort would of come later to eat it.. then again, it had been sitting their for nearly a week judging from its condition.\\

The Wastelander let out a grunt as he pushed himself onto his feet, looking around the station and ignoring the horrible cry of the wind. Outside, night was falling. Normally the time he would get walking north, as it was much cooler and provided good hiding from would-be predators. Of course, everyone in the Wasteland is either a predator, or dead. Survival of the fittest... survival of the emotionless, as Darius called it.

He snapped out of his thoughts and walked out from behind the counter, beginning to walk between the aisles of the store with the hope that he would find something he had missed before. First row, nothing but the glass... second row, random things blown into the store.. third row, more broken glass. Just as Darius was about to give up and go to his small sleeping area however, something caught his eye in one of the fridges, the glass that separated its contents from the customers broken. Something rectangular and gray.

Eagerness filled his body as he approached it, trying to guess what it could be. Ammo maybe? Cigarets? He slid his hand through the glass and pulled out the object, it turning out to be a tape player, with a tape marked "History of New America, Entry #1" in it. Darius had enormous doubt that it would work (chances are the batteries were long depleted), but when he flipped the play switch, he was surprised to hear a voice emit from the speakers, the voice itself coarse and cracked.. like a ghoul.

"War. War never changes... this is said many times, and it is true. All war brings about is destruction, misery, and pain... all war does, is lay down foundations for more sorrow. Don't believe me? Look around... I am making these tapes in hopes that whoever finds them can educate their generation, teach them the mistakes of our predecessors, as none will listen to a.. a thing like me. So... here we go I suppose. This tape will be devoted to the Great War...

What can I say about it? Before, we were living life greatly. Ahh, I remember how the cities looked, gra-"

A sudden buzz emitted from the tape for a few moments, surprising Darius slightly as the words that were meant to be recorded were replaced with buzzing and whirring. And then, the voice began again.

"The Great War was swift, if I remember right... swift, but horrible. All I remember is a great flash, rubble collapsing all over me, major burns, screaming, children crying for their mothers... awful. I woke up to find myself in the wasteland that you were born in. That's really all I can say about the Great War. However, I will use this gas station as a base I think.. keep making reco-"

A gunshot suddenly emitted from the speakers, laughing heard.

"Crap! Raiders!" the voice Darius had been listening to shouted at him. More gunshots, then the recording device clicking off.. Darius stood still for a moment, before looking to the smashed fridge before him. He noticed some blood on the glass now, and looked down at the dark floor he was standing on... more blood. A small trail of it, leading toward the door of the station... whoever intended to record a series, it ended before he even finished the first entry of it.

Darius gave off a small sigh, looking around the Gas Station. He began to approach his sleeping counter, deciding to try and sleep the storm away, but suddenly... he heard voices outside. A male voice.

"This looks like a good place to set up shop until this damn thing blows over, ehh?"

The Wastelander pulled out his blade and leaped in between the shelves of the store. Whoever was approaching, he was certainly not going to be open armed about, especially after listening to that tape.




[[TO BE CONTINUED... because im to lazy to write the rest right now]]

Actually this is pretty interesting, the prologue got my attention and the rest of the chapters maintained. The only spelling error I found was when you put Traveller instead of Traveler, in chapter one, third paragraph, second word. I'm also kinda of interested how your going to do have him battle when he's using a sword, never actually seen it pulled off. Or someone just using their fists for that matter.

Edit: Raiders all the way!