The geiger counter at my waist buzzed gently as I walked along a ruined chunk of I-10. The rads were high on the route, but that wasnt a problem for . The only issue I had with them is that they made the already hot night feel just that much hotter. It would help if I didnt have to cover my face, but that wasnt really an option. Too many people would shoot a deadman on sight, even one thats a courier.
I took a canteen off my waist, and pulled my bandana down from my face taking a long sip of water, clearing so of the dust from my throat. This was the most boring, but also most important, part of my job, walking. Sure I got to take a direct route through deadzones that would kill a normal person, and that saved a lot of ti, but even a straight shot between most settlents is days of travel. Days of putting one foot in front of the other.
Id known a few other couriers whod used vehicles, cycles, cars, even one who used a series of motorboats on what parts of the Mississippi were still navigable. Theyd all died. The noise the vehicles made had attracted raiders, or worse. Though one had simply disappeared into one of the stranger dead zones and never co out. Even if I was willing to risk it, my route was mainly along Iron Horde territory and they didnt like to see anyone who wasnt their own out on a guzzler anyway.
I looked back at my cart. It followed a couple yards behind, the 300 pounds of cargo it carried well secured in lead boxes to keep the rads from seeping in. Id tried to drive it when Id first gotten it, but apparently it could only follow. My weight probably wouldve cut into how much I could lug between settlents anyway.
I looked around for landmarks. My job gave a kind of homing feature that pointed where I needed to go, but I preferred to be certain. The ruined shell of an old gas station told I wasnt too far from Kind, the last stop for most of my load. I scanned the horizon, and noticed movent ahead. I gave no indication of noticing and just kept walking. I unholstered my pistol slowly, hoping my bulky clothes would hide the motion, and started making a headcount. There were two that I could see and a third I could only sll. The fact that I hadnt been shot yet led to believe they didnt have anything long ranged, but that didnt an they didnt have sothing with real punch for up close.
I walked until they were just within my range and waited for one of them to make a mistake. I didnt have to wait long. One of them peeked his head out from behind a rusted out car. I swung my pistol up and took three quick shots, one of which hit true. His head jolted back from the force of the bullet before his body collapsed.
After that I dove behind my cart, making it behind the lead containers just before several low caliber rounds hit where Id been standing. All of the shots were coming from the sa direction, which told that the one I could sll closing in behind didnt have a gun.
I popped out of cover and took a quick shot in the direction of the shooter, but hit nothing but air. I was forced to duck as he returned fire, one bullet tearing through so of the shoulder fabric of my jacket.
It was then that the third one revealed himself, lunging from cover toward with an old fire axe above his head. He was a giant of man, wearing scraps of old tires on his chest and a worn out pair of jeans. His eyes were so bloodshot they looked red. I shot him two tis before he could reach , but he didnt slow. I rolled toward him hoping to throw him off and stay close enough that the one with the gun wouldnt be able to take a shot without potentially hitting his ally.
I sat up and put two more rounds into the large mans back, but he just roared and turned around. I realized then that he was on blitz. I drew my machete and placed myself so that hed be between and the shooter.
He charged , swinging wildly with his axe, the veins on his neck so engorged they looked like they might pop. I decided to try and make them.
Before he could bring down another swing I slashed at his neck with my machete causing it to shoot out a wave of crimson. He took a few more steps closer to , his eyes full of rage, before his brain realized he was already dead, and the life faded from them. I caught his body as it was falling and brought my gun up in my left hand, popping off a round in the direction of my shooter. I started running straight for where I knew hed taken cover, using the giant mans body as cover.
The shooter began panicking, unloading whatever ammo he had left in order to stop , but his fear worsened his aim and he only managed to fill his ally with more holes. I heard a click as he ran out of ammo and I dropped his friend so I could close in.
He chose that mont to cut and run, exposing himself. I took a breath, lined up a shot, and exhaled, dropping him. I walked over to his body and wiped the blood off my machete and onto his ragged clothes.
I wasted no ti after that searching the bodies for anything useful. It was a disappointing haul. The shooter had used most of his ammo, and his gun had already been falling apart before the fight had started. The one with the axe had half a vial of blitz left, but the stuff didnt affect the sa way it did humans and no one at a settlent would buy a half used vial. Too many risks taking sothing after a seal is broken. The one Id managed to kill first had a handful of 9mm rounds on him and nothing else, which wasnt even enough to make up for all Id unloaded into his friend.
I sighed, noticing the telltale blinking of a notification in the corner of my eye. It looked like Id at least gotten sothing out of the scuffle, aside from my life of course. I began walking, wanting to put so distance between myself and the bodies before sothing hungry slled them. As I did so I pulled up the first notification.
Excellent work postman! Youve successfully perford a secondary goal of your job Protecting the Cargo! Youve earned 50 Patriot Points!
That seed low, but that was the issue with secondary goals. The delivery part of my job was only mildly deadly and yielded much more PP than the portion that recognized the many firefights I found myself in. I checked my second notification.
Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in Pistol! Good job exercising your 2nd andnt rights
That was good news. That brought to rank 7. I was still low enough in it that I could actually feel the increase in ability as I reloaded my pistol just a bit more quickly than Id been able to before. Id been quite happy to learn that the Postman job included a combat skill. There were a lot of jobs that didnt. That wasnt to say a person without the pistol skill couldnt shoot, anyone could, it was just that they didnt gain the benefit of having it as a skill. I holstered my pistol and got back to working on my now much inflated Postman skill, walking, which was sitting pretty at 33.
Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in walking! A great way to see the beautiful vistas of this great nation
Wonderful, what a great and useful skill to have as my highest. I thought as I neared my destination. Kind was a small settlent. Maybe a little over a hundred people. Like everyone in the area they tithed to the Iron Horde.
I made sure that my face was covered by my goggles and bandana. It was difficult to keep them up without ears or a nose, but I managed. It was alright if my nose was exposed, most people could stomach that, but my teeth theyd led to more than a few screams in the past. That was bad for business. I made sure my gun was holstered and kept my cart in full view, approaching the main gate slowly. Usually a desire to receive goods and send so out was reason enough to keep from shooting at . Usually.
Once I was a hundred feet from the gate a warning shot rang out. I call that a southern hello.
Stay where you are! Hands up!
I complied, raising my gloved hands into the air.
State your business!
Courier! I yelled, hearing my own voice for the first ti in days. There was a brief pause while the gate guard formulated a response.
Co closer!
I did, slowly, earning a full seventy five feet more towards reaching walking rank 35. I made out more of the walls as I got close. Walls turned out to be generous, it was more of a half circle of rusted out trucks and school buses with scrap tal piled around them. There were two n standing behind so sandbags stacked on the top of a school bus, rifles aid. One was taller, covered in sunburn and bald, the other was shorter with a blue tarp draped over himself, likely to avoid the sa fate. I watched as their eyes flicked to my cart and back to .
Wheres Slim? the shorter of the two n asked.
Dead. Sward by skippers in the deadzone near red lake. I took over this part of his route.
Damn, he owed twelve cigs, muttered the taller of the n.
The short one elbowed him. Whats with the getup?
Here ca the hard part. Im a deadman. Didnt want to scare anyone.
The bald mans mouth twisted up into a scowl, but the shorter man managed to adopt a more politic expression.
Wait here. Ill need to talk to Boss. The shorter man hopped down and went off toward the run down structures in the distance.
The bald man watched him run, and once he was at a fair distance he lifted his rifle and pointed it at , a scowl still on his face.
My gun was pointed at his head before hed even turned around.
His eyes widened, but he kept his rifle pointed.
Dont be stupid, I said.
Cant trust deadn. You eat people.
Ive never eaten anyone, I lied, steadying my hand, slightly adjusting where my gun was pointed. If you miss , I wont miss you.
I could see a bead of sweat drip down the mans sunburnt face, before he pointed the gun down and looked away.
Bad enough we already got one of you living here, he muttered.
The other man returned then and opened the gate to let in.
Boss says he can co in. Deadman or not, if hes got deliveries we want em.
Thanks, I grunted, taking a mont to stop in front of the bald man. He was tall, but I had a few inches on him. I simply stood and stared down at him for a few monts until he looked away. Then I followed the other one into town.
It was unusual that I would actually be invited into a town, especially on the first delivery. There were a few that had grown used to enough to tolerate in their streets, but Kind seed to be unusually, well, kind so far. Even the tense mont with the bald man was probably not even in my top ten worst first encounters with soone.
Once I reached the nearest of the structures I received several notifications.
Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in custor service! Here in the US of A we know the custor is always right!
That one almost made laugh aloud. I wondered if Id received the rank for talking my way in, talking the other man down, or a combination of both.
Excellent work postman! Youve successfully perford the primary goal of your job 'Delivery! Youve earned 151 Patriot Points!
Congratulations Citizen! Youve earned a level in Courier, carrying on the legacy of the Pony Express. You have received 1 Speed, 1 Endurance, and 1 Perception.
5th level also unlocks
Special Delivery: You can mark a delivery special which will allow you to track it if its lost.
Hmm, that one was interesting. The Postman jobwas a mixed bag in terms of utility, but overall I was lucky to have it. Sure jobs like Marine or Cop had an edge in combat ability, but they werent an option for everyone, and they rarely opened up on the R.A.S. Postman opened up constantly because of the high mortality rate, so I snagged it up quickly. It was one of the more common jobs for deadn to take, we were uniquely suited for the work.
I pulled up the rest of my sheet.
Citizen: Donovan
5th Level Postman
Patriot Points: 27
SPINES: Be the backbone of Arica!
Strength- 20
Perception- 15
Intelligence- 10
Nationalism- 3
Endurance- 23
Speed- 17
Job Abilities:
Neither Rain, Sleet, or Snow: You are unhampered by adverse weather
Express: You gain a 5% bonus to movent speed
Special Delivery: You can mark a delivery special which will allow you to track it.
Skills:
Walking- 34
Pistol- 7
Loading/unloading- 21
Custor Service- 12
Driving- 3
Below the standard sheet there was so visual distortion followed by sothing that as far as I knew, was exclusive to .
Virus:
Deadman- Bonus to all physical stats 5, negative to social based skills
Natural weapon- Teeth
Night Vision
Reviews
All reviews (0)