Tales of the Wastelander Ch. 44 - Teaser (Patreon)

“So,” Ylva said, mouth half-full of hashbrowns, “what’s the plan today, Regulator Lopez?”

Ben leaned back in his chair, sipping his tea. “We head to Dark Valley.”

“Today?” Byanka asked as she looked up.

He nodded. “Byrgyt’s waited long enough. She deserves to get home. But this isn’t just about her—it’s time Ylva went home too.”

Ylva smiled softly, looking off toward the far wall. “Been a long while. I’ve missed it… even the noisy crows and cold mornings.”

Byanka gave a quiet nod. “We’ll need to resupply a bit before we go. We’re stocked, but extra food and salves never hurt.”

“Exactly,” Ben agreed. “I want to trade for tools, maybe some binding cloth and gear for the wolves. It’s a long trip, and the road isn’t always friendly.”

“And after that?” Ylva wondered with a raised eyebrow.

Ben set his mug down. “After that… I want to go back to the vault.”

“You sure?” Byanka asked gently after a long pause.

“Yeah,” Ben said with a nod. “That vault’s old… older than anything most people today can understand. But it holds things that might help. Gear, yes, but also knowledge. I left some personal things behind too—my car, some kits, tools. Things the others who woke before me didn’t or couldn’t take. But the real value is in the computer servers.”

Ylva tilted her head. “Those were what again?”

“Massive machines,” Ben said, “that were used to store information. Like entire libraries—books, maps, schematics, instructions, even the history of how the world worked before Nuke Day. The servers down there have everything: engineering, medicine, chemistry, logistics. Knowledge the world forgot.”

Byanka’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “And you think we can still use it?”

Ben met her gaze. “I know we can. If it’s intact, and I can figure out how to get power back to the core systems, it could help us rebuild… but better. This world doesn’t need to go back to what it was. It needs to move forward… smarter, fairer… better.”

“And the Clackers?” Ylva asked, her tone turning grim.

“They’re still out there,” he said, his voice tightening. “Bastards chased me out when I first surfaced—small but hive-minded things. They look like nightmares. Mutated, but with a human edge that makes them worse. I don’t want to run into them again until we’re ready.”

“How do we get ready for something like that?” Byanka asked quietly?

Ben looked between them. “We study them… learn their movement patterns and figure out if they have weaknesses. We gather more than weapons—we gather understanding. That’s what’s going to make the difference this time.”

“Then we start in Dark Valley.” Ylva replied as she raised her mug.