NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10
Hands on my hip, I looked up and read the battered old sign.
"Red Rocket"
The ramshackle sign no longer has backing on the D, C, or T letters. Light blue paint has faded, and rust can be seen on the metal that no longer has its protective coat. Vines grew from the roof above the coolant stations, draping like nature's drapes. The red rocket, the chain's namesake, was now slightly slanted one way as the concrete underneath it collapsed from time.
Despite its poor condition, I am still happy to see it as it brought back some great memories. This is where the Sole Survivor would have met Dogmeat, the loyal German shepherd that would serve as their new lifelong friend. No friendly canine greeted me while I walked to the truck stop, so he must not have made it here or been born.
A little sad that I didn't get to have a cute pupper as my companion, I started looking through the old building to see if I could find any loot. Twenty uneventful minutes later, I walked out under the roof near the pumps. There wasn't much left, but I found a few caps, a gold-plated lighter, some expired food, and a few bullets for my 10mm pistol. The loot was a bit underwhelming, but I know somewhere close by that has much better spoils.
Pre-war, this truck station achieved a company award for cutting its waste by more than half. This was such an impressive feat that the company's vice president wrote a congratulatory letter for this truck stop's employees. Little did he know, the management halved waste by using a natural cave underneath the stop as a secret dumping spot. While most of the stuff there was worthless junk or toxic waste, it also stored something much more valuable.
Shuffling down the small hill at the back of the truck stop, I saw a large hole that led into the earth. I entered the tunnel, but after twenty feet it became too dark to see in, so I turned on my Pip-Boy light and walked in. The dim green glow of the Pip-Boy made the tunnel visible but creepier. The brain-like fungus hanging around the tunnel walls also didn't help. Clearing my thoughts, I brought my rifle up and slowly advanced.
Another 50 or so feet in, I saw the tunnel widen and turn into a cave. Crouching down, I gently stalked up and looked into the location known as the Mole Rat Den. The cave comprises 4 chambers, the largest one in the center that directly connects to the tunnel entrance and three smaller ones. Standing at the end of the tunnel, I saw a small pond and a group of three mole rats drinking water from a dirty pond in the middle.
I raised my rifle and gently wedged the handguard between the tunnel wall and my hand. Taking a deep breath, I put my sights just slightly left of the head of the center mole rat. I learned from experience this rifle wasn't zeroed, something I will have to fix later. While thinking this, the mole rat I aimed at must have noticed my presence since it gave a violent screech and whipped around to face me. Knowing the gig was up, I quickly pumped two rounds into its skull.
The first-mole rat dropped dead, and its brood mates quickly turned toward the sound of gunfire and noticed me. Two more quick shots ended the life of the hairless rodent to the right while the left one started running at me. Maintaining my cool, I drifted my gun to the left and focused on the remaining mole rat. I pulled the trigger and put another two rounds down range, one into its right leg and the other into one of its eye sockets.
The shot into its legs caused it to buckle and turn head over heels. The momentum carried its butt upwards, and the mole rat's corpse flung towards me. While in mid-air, the body suddenly exploded, and gory bits blew everywhere, including right onto my boots and legs. Shocked at what had just happened, I stood in disbelief for a few seconds, trying to analyze the situation. It took me a bit, but I remembered that the cadaver combustion must have been because of Bloody Mess
.Kicking a piece of the mole rat's guts that got stuck on my feet, I brought the rifle back up and prepared for more combat. A sound of dirt being shoveled sounded to my left. Turning towards the noise, I saw a little mound of dirt appear and grow larger. Eventually, a hole appeared in the center, and a disgusting pink nose with a few long whiskers popped out. Before the mole rat could unearth itself, I started walking towards it and preparing for a game of whack a mole. Unaware of the situation above ground, the mole rat wasn't prepared for fire from above and didn't stand a chance once I started firing.
After annihilating the overgrown rat, I heard a similar sound further ahead and saw the same mound appear. Carefully walking up, I stood next to it and waited for the ugly son of a bitch to show its lesion-covered face. The second I saw its claws break the dirt, I started spamming rounds into the hole and surrounding terrain. A shrill shriek muffled by the ground came from underneath me, and I didn't stop until I no longer heard another peep from the creature.
Swiveling like a turret, I waited for the next mole rat to attack me. When nothing came, I relaxed and let my gun drop into a low ready. Exactly that moment was when I heard something mixed between a roar and a screech coming from deeper down the smaller chamber in the middle. The darkness was replaced by a gentle green glow, which quickly got brighter and brighter until an enormous and ugly mole rat turned the corner and made eye contact with me.
