By: Mike Giambalvo


My last story got long, so I split it.  Here's the second half-

July 3, 2069:

   Today would be my birthday, yet I find no need to celebrate.


August 27, 2069:

   Something weird is happening.  I am encountering less and less
bugs, and more vicious monsters.  The creatures I encounter are
also more experienced and able than before the further south-west
I go.  Yet, I shall continue.

September 1, 2069:

   This is definetly bizarre.  I have encountered I giant sloping
cliff.  I do not really wish to go there, but I cannot resist.
It is as if deep inside me, in all that remains human, I must go
up there.
   I am now at the top.  I can see for many miles. There are more
giant rocks, and they seem to form a square.  I am not sure, but
I think that in the distance I see a big building.  It is a long
way down, but I feel very compelled to jump.  Yet, I cannot
resist, and the urge gets stronger...

September 23, 2069:

   I have been in the "arena" as I call it for almost a month
now.  As I continue southward, the monsters become not only more
and more experienced, but have weapons.  A few are even humanoid.
I now believe that I am not the last.

September 26, 2069:

   I have reached the building that I thought I saw earlier.
When I got to the front gate, I fell to my knees in joy.  It is
indeed inhabited by humans.  I am not the last.
   At the door, a man checked me over with a geiger counter, and
said I had too much radiation.  Then I realized that after years
in the wastelands, I would be very contaminated.
   "How do I bring it down?" I asked.
   He told me to use many medpacks.  I figured that these were
the first-aid kits that I had seen before, so I went around
collecting them.  Eventually, I brought my rads down to 49%.
   "Under 50%. Access granted" he said.
   Once inside, a man said that all new recruits need to sign up.
I figured "alright", and answered the questions.
   "Name?" he asked.  I thought a while about this.  For the past
nine years, I had not used a name.  What should I use?  I had
come so long, on such a long voyage...
   "Voyager," I said firmly.
   "Are you Male or Female?" he asked.  Now that was a silly
question. But then I thought you may not be able to tell in some
of the unluckier people.
   Then he gave me a physical test, and rated my dexterity,
strength, and stamina in numbers.  He asked me what type of
training I would like, and I chose Savian, because I was ready to
fight.
   He then decontaminated me, and assigned me a bunk.  For the
first time in a nine years, I sleep sound.

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