Chapter 40 - 40

Words : 1698 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

When Adam got back into the bar after his shift in the wall he walked over to the two men who were always in the bar playing cards and sat down with them. "Mind if i joined you boys?" They turned to look at him confused for a moment before one of them smiled. "Gladly! We'd be happy to have you sit in for a round or two! Do you know how to play Caravan?" The man grinned widely. The next few hours were spent in learning as Adam tried to grasp at how Caravan was played. It was unlike any card game he had ever played and didn't use a full deck like one would expect of a card game. Instead players were expected to collect and find their own playing cards to build a deck to use. It was certainly a unique style of play, well suited to a world that doesn't mass produce cards anymore. One of the men was kind enough to lend Adam his deck for the duration of his stay with them, as he didn't have a single card to his name. It proved to be a fun experience, even if Adam ended up a poor player. He lost only 10 caps in the exchange though since they were not placing high wagers, after all Adam was still a very new player and as a hero of the town they weren't looking to fleece him. By the end of the night Adam had a firmer grasp on how the game of Caravan was played and a healthy appreciation for the game. He would keep an eye open for playing cards from now on so he might be able to build his own deck for play in the future, even if he wasn't that good at it. Adam paid 13 caps for dinner that night as well as a total of 50 caps for the room from the night previous and that night, planning to square his debts before he set out to scavenge the next day. It was the least he could do if he was planning to go off and do something dangerous, as usual. Not that he had an intention of dying. The next morning it was an additional 12 caps for a meal and an additional 15 caps for a bottle of purified water, Eric cutting him a deal on the water as Adam had made quite a few friends with his actions since he had arrived. He wanted to bring the water with him because, despite knowing his next destination, and knowing it wasn't nearly as far as the factory he went to last time, he didn't want to have to go as long without drinking as he did before. He could have gotten a bottle of river water instead but he wanted the luxury of clean water while he was out today. He was putting his life on the line, he could afford to be a little loose with his caps when he leaves to go scavenging. Once his affairs were squared away he set back out from the town to go hit up an idea he had thought of when he was at the bowling alley fighting raiders. A small strip mall he remembered from his pre-war days. He was not 100% sure on the direction it laid from where he was, but he was reasonably confident that he knew the general area and could find his way there once he successfully found a few notable landmarks. He had already marked the location on his pip-boy map with a temporary marker just so he could have an idea on his general heading and then set out. The journey took him further south than he had gone previously walking past an old statue commemorating the heroes who died in the battle of Anchorage from this city. He stopped in front of the large marble statue that was erected only a few short years before the world ended. The statue was, in its prime, 4 marble soldiers in military garb and helmets all saluting to the west, where there would have been a large flag on a flag pole with all 13 stars proudly displayed. Behind the soldiers was a standing map of Alaska with a big indentation where anchorage was. Underneath the soldiers, on the thick stone base, was a bronze plaque and a list of names of every single soldier including their military rank who died in the battle against the Chinese and who was from the greater Chicago area. Most of them, even for Adam, were just names, and nothing more. But he knew one of these men. A boy who was his senior in school by 5 years. He didn't know him well, but he was a popular football player and had he not signed up for the military after school he might have gone far. But now all that was left of him was a name on a plaque. Nothing more. As Adam approached the statue he saw that it was chipped and broken in many places. An arm of one of the saluting soldiers was completely gone, another was missing his head and gun, a third was missing his entire upper body, and the fourth soldier was gone altogether. The base of the statue too was broken, a large chunk of the front right side had fallen off at some point. It was a bit… disheartening to see the state of the statue. It's not like he needed accolades for his efforts, and the statue was never for him, but these were men who died defending the country, people who put their lives on the line for those they cared about back home. What remained was a shattered remnant of what once was. No one even knew who these people were or what they died for. But Adam knew. Perhaps that was enough. Adam walked over to the plaque, weathered severely by time. The names were now unreadable but the impressions in the metal meant as he gently slid his fingers across it he could feel the impression of the letters left behind. He would remember. In this world that had fallen to nuclear apocalypse perhaps it didn't matter that these men died 200 years ago, no one needed to remember their story, their bravery. But he would. That is as much as he could do for them. He sighed deeply and then continued walking, leaving the statue to shrink in the distance as he pulled himself out of his melancholy. The rest of the walk to the strip mall was mostly uneventful. He avoided what was probably some feral ghouls after hearing their distinctive noises from a building over, quickly making a detour to avoid that area altogether. And, when he arrived at his destination, he realized he had overshot it by a few blocks and was forced to double back the way he came. But eventually he arrived at his destination. The Strip mall. Officially it was called "Middle Court Shopping Center" But it was a total of 5 buildings surrounding a medium sized parking lot, it didn't really deserve any title or name. Besides, the sign that once proudly proclaimed the name of this tiny few buildings in the middle of town was now completely destroyed and missing, no one would ever know what this place was called and Adam could not care less. At first glance as he walked into the center of the parking lot the buildings seemed largely intact. Aside from some broken glass and windows, the buildings themselves looked very structurally sound, so he was hopeful to be able to find good loot here. The reason he had come here, of all places, was not just that he remembered it existed, though that did help. It was because of what businesses actually were present here. From left to right there was a flower shop, now likely absolutely devoid of anything he could find of use, if he had extra time he would stop there but there was no real reason to spend time thinking about it. Next was a corner liquor shop. One of two reasons he came here. He had learned that good drinks were as valuable as anything else in this new time he found himself in. A bottle of good whiskey was worth its weight in gold… figuratively, gold was still more valuable. He doubted it would be stocked to the brim but there was a good chance it would have a few goodies laying around to make his trip worthwhile. Third was a small smoke shop, cigarettes too were quite valuable so if he could find some it would be a very good boon for his trip, but somehow he doubted it. The shop itself always read to him as bourgie. Though he had never gone inside, he expected to find artisanal cigars and pipes and not cigarettes, but anything he found there would be worth something so it was worth a look. Fourth was a record shop. Much like the flower shop he wasn't too interested in checking this one out. You needed a record player to play records and there were a lot less of those nowadays. They might be worth something but truthfully he didn't know and it wasn't worth wasting space in his bag. Especially if he could find other, more valuable things. The last, and final location, and the second reason he came here was a gunshop. He had actually been to this gun store before, it's where he bought his gun and ammo he stashed in his small personal bunker back home in case he needed it. He knew the owner moderately well. Likely the place would be ransacked, but knowing the owner there was a halfway decent chance it could still have some guns worth taking stashed away in a backroom or something. He wouldn't know until he checked. So, with his options scoped out, he headed into the first shop of interest, the liquor store.

Chapter 40 - 40

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