Tale of the Reader Pt. 1
Okay, this is my first story, so everyone please be gentle, and please comment.
"Ah, shit!! Everyone duck!!" A split second later, a shockwave rolled over us, quickly followed by an intense wave of heat...
"Is everyone all right?" I yelled out while checking to see that all my limbs were intact. I heard three voices say something, so I guess they were alive at least. I took a quick glance over the corroded highway divider, just in time to see the mutie raise the grenade launcher again. I took a deep breath, then concentrated on the barrel. The mutie pulled the trigger, and I saw a look of surprise on its mangled face just before the grenade went off, blowing the launcher and the unfortunate soul holding it to little steaming bits. I ducked back behind the divider just in time as a few of those steaming bits flew over towards me and my squad. I shook my head, then tossed a grin at the white-furred, camo-clothed rabbit sitting next to me...
Ok, first off, I guess a little history lesson is in order. The year is probably 2234. I say probably, because no one is really sure anymore. The reason for this confusion is the War. So, sometime between 2022 and 2026, there was a world war. Records from that time are fragmentary at best, but I do know this for certain. No one knows for sure who attacked first, but the various countries of that time attacked each other with every weapon at their disposal. Nukes, chemical and conventional weapons, along with various bio-weapons were all unleashed. Since most of the countries were relatively advanced technologically, the majority of the attacks didn't hit the cities or bases they were aimed at. In short, no one really won. So some governments unleashed a new kind of weapon. These "Super Soldiers", as they were dubbed, were unlike anything the world had ever seen. They were made in labs, creatures with DNA from different species spliced with human DNA. The strength of a bear, the swiftness of a rabbit or cheetah, the hunting and pack instincts of a wolf, the literal cunning of a fox, the sleek stealth of a cat, all these and more were created and unleashed. From what I've been able to figure out, there was utter chaos as these soldiers swept aside any resistance, fought each other to a standstill, and generally created a literal "Hell on Earth".
Roughly 5 years after the beginning of the War, more than 70% of the world's population was dead, and the Earth was reduced to a withered, irradiated husk of its former glory. Records from the aftermath are almost nonexistent, except for the occasional journal or verbal story passed down from generation to generation, but one thing is clear. There was some kind of error or mutation in the super soldiers that allowed them to breed (they were originally designed to be sterile), not just with their own kind, but also with the few remaining humans. So over the years, the so-called pure blooded humans began to disappear, until they were almost extinct. So now, it is extremely rare to see a pure-blooded human, which is why I am such an oddity. You see, I am one.
I guess I'm about normal as far as humans go, though I have no real standard to compare myself to aside from various pictures I have found in the ruins of cities. I'm about 6'2", have blond hair, and could stand to gain a little weight, although in these times almost everyone could. One other thing makes me unique. You see, I'm a psychic. I guess a little history lesson is needed for that, too. About 50 years after the war, children began to be born with strange powers. Whether it was the residual radiation, the mutated DNA of the super soldiers, or some kind of aftereffect of all the chemical and biological weapons has been a matter of debate for many years. Don't get me wrong, not every child born had some kind of power, but roughly one out of fifty did. Some could manipulate fire, some metal, and others water. I've even met someone who could manipulate energy itself. The point is, the powers were as varied as the people born with them. But by far the rarest kind of child born was, and is, the psychic. Less than one out of a million in fact. They are revered by some, hated by others, but mostly they're just not liked. Some kind of privacy thing, I guess. I've never really tested the limits of my powers, but I can easily catch the surface thoughts of most individuals without trying, and I once lifted an entire two story house off the ground with nothing but my thoughts ( although I had a major headache for about a week after that little incident). I also have a sort of pre-cognition, which has saved my life more times than I like to think about. I'm not some sort of invincible superhero, though. I still have normal reflexes, and if someone is crafty enough, I can be caught by surprise. I have scars to prove it.
Anyway, the world of today is a mixture of new and old. Some cities are gleaming metropolises filled with the newest technology and are crisp and clean. Some are barely more than a collection of primitive huts that are lucky to have indoor plumbing. Most of these cities are surrounded by dry, often irradiated tracts of land that as a whole are simply referred to as the Wasteland.
The world is now divided into three "countries". The PEAF, the LAA, and the ANC. The PEAF is the Pan European-Asian Federation, and the LAA is the Latin-African Alliance. The PEAF is composed of what used to be Europe, Asia, and what is left of Australia (For some reason Australia was almost obliterated by nukes. Half the continent is under water, and most of the remaining landmass is heavily irradiated). While they may claim the largest territory, they are relatively few in number. They only have about a tenth of the world's current population. The only reason they are the dominant force in the world is their technology. They are the most advanced nation on the planet, and their agricultural technology alone is enough to maintain control of the rest of the world, to say nothing about their weapons. While most of the world reverted to chemically propelled projectile weapons, the PEAF went an entirely different direction, developing weapons once considered only in science-fiction. Plasma-based weapons that could tear through the toughest materials available to the other countries were their primary armaments, along with smart bombs and missiles capable of literally vaporizing their targets. The only reason they have not launched a war of conquest is that they could, and would, be brought down by the sheer number of people that would fight against them. They simply do not have the numbers. So they are content, for now, to control the world through their main export. Food.
The LAA, on the other hand, is constantly attempting to invade or control the other countries. It used to be two separate countries, but the ULC (United Latin Cities) and the UAS (Unified African States) merged into one country about 10 years ago. These areas were never considered to be the most peaceful in the world, and they have only gotten worse since the War. Slavery is a fact of life in LAA, and I have even heard rumors of cannibalism in the rougher parts. The citizens of the LAA mostly live in squalor; they live in small, primitive villages for the most part. They're population makes up about 50% of the world, and the only reason they have not succeeded in their attempts to take control of the world is two things. One, they're technology level is almost the same as it was before the War, and two, they are almost constantly fighting amongst themselves.
The remaining 40% of the world's population is located on the landmass once known as North America. The ANC is the Alliance of the Northern Cities. It is composed of what used to be the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Its technological level is roughly halfway between the PEAF and the LAA. Unlike the corporation controlled PEAF, and the constantly shifting dictatorship of the LAA, the ANC is a sort-of democracy. Sort-of, as in a new president only gets elected when the old one steps down, or dies. This may sound a little weird, but the system has worked rather well since it was established, mainly because of the belief that without it, the ANC would dissolve into the warring city-states it was before. No one wants to see that happen, so everyone mostly gets along.
I am a WSR for the ANC. A Wasteland Surveyor and Reclaimer, to be specific. My squad and I basically scout the stretches of uninhabited land for anything useful. You know, food, technology, ect.. We also serve as a kind of militia and peacekeeping force, when the need calls for it. Kind of a jack-of-all-trades force. My squad has four members, including me. The leader of our merry band of misfits is Simon, a descendent of the wolf-class of super soldier. He is, oddly enough, the unit's sniper. He has the ability to control metal, and he uses it to terrifying effect when sniping. I have never seen him miss a target, except for once when a grenade launched by Nadia blew the raider he was aiming at to bits. Who is Nadia, you may ask? She is a short, deceptively sweet looking descendent from the rabbit-class of super soldier. She's the squad's demolition expert. She can rig a charge of C-16 to blow open a door with less noise than it would take to turn the knob, or she can rig a thousand gallons of kerosene to create a blazing inferno straight from Hell. She has some kind of chemical sensing ability, something that lets her play with anything from a hand grenade, to the unstable explosives package from a SlipArrow missile, without any fear at all of setting it off. Jarvis, a descendent from the bear-class of super soldier, is a mountain of muscle that serves as the unit's heavy weapons expert. His ability has something to do with light. He can amplify or disperse any light source he encounters. A strange ability, to be sure, but one that has personally saved my life at least twice. Which brings us to the final member of the squad, me. As I mentioned before, I am a psychic, and I serve as the jack-of-all-trades unit's jack-of-all-trades. I basically do a little of everything, from sniping when the need arises, to sensing danger when it threatens (a little corny, I know, but it's the truth). I go by the name Reader. Not only because I can read people's minds when I want to, but because I constantly have my nose buried in a book (when I can find one). I myself don't know my real name. My first memory is wandering into New D.C. as a child, bloody and terror stricken. I have no memory of my parents, or of my life before that time.
Well, enough with the history lesson. My squad and I are currently on our way to the capitol of the ANC, New DC. It's located about 50 miles west of the old Washington DC, and is a relatively clean, orderly place. Not bad at all, especially since my squad and I have spent the last 3 weeks exploring the stretch of Wasteland due west of it. A whole lot of fighting, injuries, and hostile encounters has left us in some real need for R&R. We--
"Hello?!?"
I jumped, then glanced over at Nadia.
"Where the hell did you just go, you idiot!? In case you haven't noticed, we got some real trouble heading our way."
I took another quick peek over the divider, and I said two words that have pretty much defined my life so far.
"Ah, shit."