Ghoul

The story of a Ghoul from Fallout

I remember when the bombs dropped. It was October 23rd, 2077 in Newburg Missouri. The date sticks to the inside of my head like superglue. it was the day everything changed, ended, whatever. In my normal every day, shitty life, I was a mercenary for some government prick or another. "Kill this target and I'll pay you this much." Let me tell you, it was all bullshit. One day I got home from a job, walked in to greet my cat, Joey, like always, and walked to the refrigerator. I grabbed a shitty beer, ice cold in my hand, sat down on my $30 shitty couch, and turned on the news. *DING DONG* I sighed as the doorbell rang. "I'm not interested!" I yelled without looking away from the television. It rang again. "Okay, I'm coming!" I shouted, annoyed by the fact that I had to move at all. I opened the door to see some scrawny fella in a coat and bowlers cap. "Hello there!" He was loud. "I'm a representative of "Vault Tec," and thanks to your "service" you've been chosen for a position in vault 452. "Yeah, no thanks." I said as I started to close the door." The man pushed it back open. "Sir, when the bombs drop, which is frankly closer than ever, trust me, you're going to want to be in that vault." "Nah." I closed the door and walked back to the couch. I turned my attention back to the news. "We are receiving reports of blinding flashes of light in Connecticut and Washington. O-Oh my god, we've lost contact with our stations." "If you can, take shelter immediately." "May God have mercy on our souls." "Shit!" I yelled in panic and ran out the door. There were sirens blaring loudly from every direction. People running in fear everywhere you looked. I heard screaming coming from a clearing right past the edge of the woods, and I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I broke through the tree line, seeing a big, round, metal door. The numbers 452 were plastered across the front in a big yellow font. There was a woman banging on the door. "PLEASE LET ME IN!" She wailed. "PLEASE! I CAN'T DIE OUT HERE!" I approached and she turned around with a sour look on her face. I didn't recognize her. "We're dead." She said. She wiped the tears off her face and slowly sat down against the metal. I followed, and sat next to her, figured I could at least provide company. "BOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!" there was a blinding flash and a giant cloud in the sky. My stomach sank, I knew it was the end of the line for me.
I woke up on some kind of table. At first, I was disoriented, couldn't see or smell. I shot up, pain filling my every movement, but only at first. I looked at my hands, they were pink and meaty, almost as if my skin had been stripped off. I screamed, not recognizing my own limbs. I stood up, and looked at my surroundings. I was in some kind of lab. I could see a mirror on the wall to my right, but did I really want to know? I took a breathe, gathered my courage, and walked in front of the mirror. I didn't recognize my reflection. Who was this monster staring back at me? The creatures skin looked like my hands, pink and fleshy, as if he didn't have skin. He had piercing green eyes, and no nose. Almost instantly, I realized this thing was me. I looked at my hands and screamed in terror.