Chapter One: Drifter's Rest (TH)

Drifter's Rest. Once the site of a bustling freeway is now reduced to rubble and a few hastily-built buildings. A child rides into town, a sack of caps slung over his shoulder and a revolver on his hip. He stops outside of a saloon, sack in hand, and enters the dirty building. Everybody stares at him, some looking in disgust. He tips his hat to one of the patrons and walks towards the bartender, a mutant named Smithy. "What can I get ya'?"

"Get me some purified water." The young man said quietly. He rested his back on the chair and closed his eyes. The poor kid hadn't slept in days and his clothes were in tatters. The bartender slides the glass towards the boy and he grabs it, eyes closed. He drinks the water slowly, as not to let any go to waste. Smithy looks at him, confused. Who was this boy? He'd never seen him around here. "What's your name, son?" The mutant asked.

"Dan. Dan Wolfe." He sat up in his seat, glass in hand. He drops fourteen caps on the table and prepares to leave, nodding to Smithy as he grabs the door's handle. He is stopped by a much larger and well-dressed man. A large patch rests on his left arm, reading "VV". He walks towards Smithy, pistol in hand and briefcase in the other. He whispers something to Smithy and he shudders. The man leaves the building, shoving Dan as he does so. Smithy stands up and opens a door, leading several people outside of the building.

The well-dressed man kills them, one-by-one. Some of these people try to crawl away, only to be killed more violently than those who had not resisted. When all of them stopped moving, the man shouted something in a different language. He walked away from the town with a smile on his face. Smithy sighs as he notions to two other mutants to stand up. They pick up the corpses outside and bury them in front of the saloon, placing crosses where they lay.

"That's the seventh one this week, Aber." Smithy groaned. "Fucking Vincenzo..." He sits down and throws a glass full of water on the ground in anger. The smallest of the three mutants leans in close to Dan, his breath smelling horribly. "I think it's time for you to go, boy." He picks up the much smaller human and pats him on the back as he carries him out. He shuts the door and locks it, making it impossible for Dan to head back inside.

"Dan...? Dan...?" An older man's voice rang out from behind him. He was wearing a badly worn tee-shirt and slacks. His face was badly burnt and pieces of flesh were missing from his face. "Dan....help me. Please! Help me!" Dan rubbed his eyes. It was a hallucination, just like the ones he had seen at Neumann and the Hanging Garden. He tried to pretend to not know who that was, but he did. It was his father, who had burned to death inside of their home.

"Are you okay?" Another voice asked Dan, who was in fetal position next to a wall. "Hey...are you okay?" Dan looked up to see a boy not too much older than himself. He helped Dan up and gave him a Stimpak, who injected it into his arm. "I didn't need that, but thanks." The two entered a nearby house and sat down on a couch. "Hey! Ma! We got someone!" Thinking he was being kidnapped, Dan tried to rush towards the door but was stopped. A tranquilizer dart had pierced his leg, and within moments he was unconscious.

Dan woke up inside of a basement. He was tied to a chair and a woman was sitting just across from him. She was holding a crate full of stimpaks, Jet, RadAway, and bandages. "Are you okay?" The woman whispered. Dan noticed that a strange tattoo covered her right arm, the same one that slaves from Neumann had. "You're from Neumann?" Dan asked as she wrapped his wrist in bandages. The woman recoiled and looked uncomfortable. "We...we don't talk about Neumann."

All of a sudden, the same boy from earlier entered the basement. He was wearing much cleaner clothes than earlier and was holding bread. "Ma, is he going to be okay?" The boy showed visible concern for Dan. Dan smiled and replied, "I'll be alright." When the woman was done covering him in bandages, Dan was allowed to get up and walk around. "Thanks. I...uh, I didn't catch your names."

"Sara White," the woman responded. "And this is Piotr Blakovic." The boy waved enthusiastically. "So...you're not actually related then?" Dan asked, surprised. He had thought that Piotr had been her actual son. "Nope. Piotr's adopted." Dan smiled and nodded, preparing to go back into the Outlands, alone. He was stopped once again by Piotr, who was holding his hand. "Woah!"

"Sorry about that, Piotr isn't exactly all the way there." Sara apologized. Dan chuckled and patted Piotr on the head. "That's alright, Sara. That's quite alright." He handed Piotr a necklace his mother had made him, a large tiger carved into it. He left the house, looking at it as he mounted his Brahmin, which surprisingly hadn't moved when the people were executed. He prepared to head out before being stopped once again by Sara, who was holding Piotr's hand.

"Wait! Before you leave, take Piotr. He's always wanted to see Alar's Ranch." Sarah pleaded with Dan for a few minutes. He eventually agreed, letting the older boy onto his Brahmin. "If he dies it isn't my fault, Sara. It'd be yours!" Dan shouted and Sarah nodded. The two rode out of town and continued towards Alar's Ranch, which was coincidentally Dan's next destination. "Hey, Piotr. How about a song?" Piotr shrugged and hummed something akin to a stereotypical jazz tune.