The last.

A gentle Sunrise slowly began to lighten the surroundings. A small caravan could be seen making its way over the landscape…. Four crimson carts, each filled to the brim with boxes and baskets, No doubt holding precious supplies. One basket was halfway filled with a thin charcoal, another had nails piled together. Probably taken from the surrounding debris. 

The carts lagging in the back of the line were being pulled from the front and pushed from behind by multiple individuals. Everyone participated, trying to make the journey smoother and faster. There were about twenty ghouls traveling on the destroyed highway. It was not a large number, Even so, It might have very well been the biggest migration since the bombs fell…. At least on this side of america.

*Snap!*

Old decayed wood split under my foot.. It was rotten and weak. I just ignored it and continued forward. I kicked the wood out of the way and pulled the cart forward.

With my size, it was a bit comical, I was pulling the first red cart with a handle….. Although I seemed to be breathing heavily, I was not actually tired. The cart was very large yet my small body was extremely powerful. Pulling something so heavy would usually not be a difficult task for me, However, If I was not careful with my strength something might end up breaking again… I had to watch my strength to stop that from happening…

My breath was loud and deep. Making it sound like I was exhausted. The truth is I was just trying to pace myself. It was concentration. I was easily strong enough to pull the large red cart filled to the brim a dozen miles without rest. But if I did not pay attention and pulled too hard or ran something over roughly the cart would break. This is because I was too strong. So I watched myself, while carefully making my way forward.

Following not too far behind me were three more carts…. One was being moved forward by a bear and the others were being pushed and pulled by the combined efforts of twenty ghouls. 

Off to the side of the group, Mother was constantly prowling around, sniffing the air here, moving a large object out of the way over there. That kind of thing… Because of her we didn't need to worry about being ambushed.

Everyone else was doing their own part as well.

Nobody was riding the carts… There just wasn't enough manpower for that luxury. The only time they did, was when they needed to sleep… Everyone took shifts when that time came. They didn't need much so it wasn't a hassle.

2 months had passed since I had recruited Walter and his group. Over the course of that time they stumbled around the wasteland… A farm here, some decrepit buildings there, They found some ammo and even a few ghouls hiding away in some houses.. But unlike the first two groups I ran into… The ones we encountered later were all feral. Most of those we found would be put down, then their bodies would be looted….. Increasing overall load bit by bit… Originally, most were hesitant to do this… But it was not up for debate and I put my foot down… I would not allow my group to have such a crippling mind set. There was no reasonable way to save these Feral Ghouls, so why would we just leave the loot behind? At the start, people were upset with this, but, as they clashed with them more and more, they eventually grew numb to it… Now though, some of their eyes would even start to light up when we discovered Feral Ghouls. Or when we found the ruins of some old settlement… As they went on, such encounters became more and more desirable… As it did, It became easier to convince the others to follow…. Of course, there were still a couple of others who found what we were doing Immoral… Quite a few of them still couldn't trust the demonic appearance of their leader. But that's none of my concern… I didn't care. As long as they didn't step out of line, then they could think whatever they wanted to think. But…. 

'The moment that any of them show signs of betraying mother and I…'

The bamboo handle I was clutching onto began cracking… A hair away from splintering under the pressure. But just before it did, I scolded myself and lightened the hold I had on it. If it broke, The groups progress would slow… We'd have to stop and craft a new one…. I already broke it once by accident. 

'If anyone betrays me I'll deal with it when it happens.'

Not too far in front of me I see Snow moving a large car off the crumbling highway. Since they were dangerous and could explode I warned her that she needed to be gentle with them….

Currently we were traveling through some kind of dead forest. The trees scattered around the place had no leaves and looked decrepit… Nothing like the trees you could find near our original cave. We took this road because there were less obstacles to go around… There were still some here and there but mother who already scouted ahead a couple hundred meters moved everything out of the way before we reached them. It seemed to have been some kind of backcountry campground. 

My suspicions were confirmed when we passed by a large sign with the words California, Clear Lake Reservoir. Was it some kind of fishing hole before the fallout?

Turning back I activated Mind Link and made a connection with one of the ghouls in the back. He was one of the newer ghouls that joined us at the scrap settlement. I hadn't spoken with him much but I did learn that he traveled quite a bit around california. 

"S-Setherrog!? Is everything alright? Or is there a problem?"

The mutant spoke with a surprised voice… He sounded jumpy. The other ghouls pushing the cart heard him and looked toward the front cart I was pulling. 

'Clear Lake Reservoir… Do you know it?'

The question was sudden so I didn't blame the ghoul for going silent. I gave him a moment to think… Not too long after I got a response.

"I'm not sure… I might have heard of it… The name does seem familiar… It may be near Cache creek… Which is further into california… I think it was a Nature reserve… or maybe some kind of vacation spot."

It wasn't a definite answer. One thing is clear though. We've entered california. Thinking this I opened my mouth and spoke.

"We will take a rest once we've reached the lake. I will decide how things go from there."

With that I pushed my wagon forward. It shouldn't be too long before we reach our destination.

....

....

....

....

"A lake huh?"

The others and I pulled up to a large old wooden cabin. The lake that was originally here, had all but disappeared. It was known as a playa or 'Dry lake' It was unfortunate… 

Mother laid beside me and rested in the warm sun.

Closing my eyes, I lifted my head up and looked towards the sky.

'It's not very hot, and the area does not seem to be particularly dry…. Could the Nuclear bombs have evaporated all of the water?.... Or maybe the river that had originally led to this lake was destroyed or possibly diverted by the explosions.'

I looked at the Playa, in the distance, I could see some boats toppled over. 

Shaking my head, I decided to enter the cabin to see if there was anything useful inside. But, just as I turned around… 

"..ow"

I felt a tingle go down my spine… Whirling my head back, I again looked to the dry lake…. 

For a moment, I swore that I heard something.

It….. Felt off….

I created a Mind Link.

'Mother?'

Hearing my voice, mother looked to me….

'Did you hear something?'

A moment passed before I got her answer.

'Snow hear Bal.'

That's… Not what I meant….

'Did you hear anything else?'

'…..Snow only heard Bal.'

'Alright mother. Thank you.'

I cut the Mind Link…

'Weird…. Could I have just been imagining it?'

I looked to the lake once again…. There was nothing out there. 

'Should I take a look?'

It wouldn't hurt… I was already planning on looting anything valuable on the boats anyway….

"Marcus."

The ghoul in question was sitting near his Power Armor in one of the red wagons. He may have been keeping watch. After hearing his name being called, He looked at me.

"Is something the matter?"

"Not really….Or rather, I don't think so… I just thought I may have heard something coming from the lake…. I'm going to investigate. You and the others should be prepared… It might be troublesome.'

At that…. Marcus got serious. 

"Should I wear my power armor?"

I paused…. The fusion cores lasted much longer than in the game… A single suit of power armor could last an entire week on one fusion core. But still, we only had six… Using them unnecessarily might come back to bite us in the future.

"Don't put it on yet… But be ready to incase something happens. The others should also be wary. I will be going to the boats in the distance, I want you and the other combat capable Ghouls to stand guard outside and keep watch…. Everyone else can continue searching this place. Have them look inside these wooden cabins… Since this place seems like some kind of tourist area, then they might have some useful things scattered around. See if they can find anything. Tell them that if they find a container locked, don't open it and wait for me to get back."

Marcus was about to go and pass my words onto the others when he stopped and asked another question. 

"Are you going by yourself?" 

"..... Do you want to come with me mother?"

"Mmm?"

Lifting her head up, Mother looked at me before letting out a deep voice.

"Snow goes with Bal?…"

"Of course. Then, that settles that. Let's head out."

Marcus nodded and left to inform the others.

End of chapter…

This was the last chapter I typed before I stopped posting for this fanfiction, I never ended up uploading it. Anyone who wished to adopt this fanfiction is free to do so, please just respect the characters and story I built. I wish everybody an early merry Christmas and hope all of you can grow and improve yourselves this coming new year.