CHAPTER 4: TRAIL
EXT. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA WASTELAND – LATER THAT DAY
Juno walks through the wreckage of what used to be suburbia.
Nature and war have devoured it. Burned-out houses lean against each other like drunks. A rusted playground squeaks in the wind.
His Pip-Boy scans for signals—only static.
He passes a torn billboard:
"Vault-Tec: Secure. Safe. Superior."
A bullet hole punches through the word Safe.
JUNO
(under breath)
"Sure. As safe as a coffin, I suppose."
He heads downhill, toward a cul-de-sac. Collapsed mailboxes. Lawns choked with ash.
An old bike rusts beneath a tree, twisted like a question mark.
Then—movement.
He draws his pistol. Pauses.
A feral dog, scrawny and limping, growls from behind a rusted-out car. Its eyes wild, half-starved.
JUNO
"Easy…"
It lunges.
BANG! Miss.
BANG! Grazed it.
The dog yelps and bolts into the trees.
Juno lowers his weapon, breath catching.
JUNO
(softly)
"…Not everything's a monster, huh."
He watches the dog disappear, then turns—and spots something:
A Nuka-Cola machine, scorched but upright.
JUNO
"This world's version of Coke… wonder if there's any inside."
He stares at it. Tries to remember the taste. Nothing comes.
He opens it. One bottle, untouched.
JUNO
"Sweet."
(beat, reads price)
"Thirty-nine bucks? Goddamn. Thirty-nine dollars."
He tucks it into his bag.
JUNO
"I gotta save this for a special occasion."
INT. ABANDONED DINER – SUNSET
Juno scavenges a collapsed diner. Neon signs lie shattered.
"Have a Nice Day!"
NEW LOCATION DISCOVERED: ABANDONED DINER
+10 XP
A dusty jukebox sits in the corner.
He presses a button.
It clicks. Nothing.
He turns—
A low hum.
The jukebox sputters to life. Static. Then—crackling pre-war jazz.
JUNO
(laughs softly)
"sweet, I can't believe it still works ."
He sits, pulling out a tin of purified water.
Only a sip. He savors it.
He watches the sun bleed through broken glass.
JUNO (V.O.)
"It's all destroyed… but it's still beautiful."
He leans back. For a second—just a second—it feels peaceful.
The music. The light.
Then—the jukebox sputters and dies.
JUNO
"dang I wonder what this world was like before all the fallout happened."
He stands. Packs up. Tightens his bag.
Twilight deepens.
JUNO
(softly)
"All right. Let's keep it moving."