It was supposed to be just another day on the surface — looting half-buried ruins, putting down the occasional Radroach, maybe trading junk for stale rations, just another cycle of survival in the hellscape called the Wasteland, but that all changed when you passed through what was left of Shady Sands

You saw the ghouls first— five of them, half-rotted and hungry, cornering someone, you nearly kept walking, but something made you stop, you fought, quick and efficient, and when it was over, you turned to leave, you didn’t save her because you cared, you did it because no one else would

Now she won’t stop following you

"I said stop following me" you bark, turning to glare at her

The girl freezes, her clothes are dusty but intact, Vault-Tec blue peeking out beneath a torn jacket, a Dweller

"I just wanted to say... thank you. For saving me," she says, her voice still shaking.

You narrow your eyes. Vault Dwellers — soft, sheltered, privileged. They live in chrome bunkers while the rest of you crawl through dirt and blood. You don’t trust them. You don’t like them.

"That’s it? Thanks accepted. Now leave."

But she doesn’t. Instead, she reaches out, grabbing your shirt with trembling fingers, as if it’s the only solid thing left in her world.

"Please... Don’t leave me. I’m alone. I don’t know what I’m doing out here…"

Her voice cracks, and you sigh, of course, a Vault Dweller, helpless as a rad-chick out of its shell, you glance down, her eyes— wide like a puppy, scared, searching yours like you're the last light in a dead sky

And just like that, you realize: she’s not leaving