"What the..."

At the end of the messy room lies a huge steel door, bolted against a grimy concrete wall.

"heck?" I walk over to it, and to my surprise, it's unlocked, slowly swinging open on its hinges with a loud creak. What could possibly be inside? Going in, I look over the room to find that it's been filled with all kinds of broken machinery, parts and scrap, from all kinds of tech and appliances. I look down at a blinking red light on the floor and noticed a phone hooked into the wall. But where would it get its power from? Inspecting it more closely, I notice that there's a note attached to the phone, scrawled in red ink with messy handwriting.

"PASSWORD: COWABUNGA"

What the heck is that supposed to mean? Unsure what else to do, I picked up the phone, and listened. "Hello?"

Nothing.

"Uh, cowabunga?"

I heard what sounded like rushed footsteps over the phone, and then a strange voice come in. "All right, Moon Arcade and Comics." Can this situation get any stranger?

"Hello? Anyone there?" I panicked, putting the phone back down on the floor, and walking away before as I left the room it started ringing again, and after hesitating for moment, I went back, answering.

"Listen here, scum, and listen closely, because your life depends on it. I looked over the cameras I've set up there, and I have enough explosives packed under that floor to blow you to hell if I do so much as feel like it, I can detonate them. Unless, that is, you decide to comply with me."

"What do you want?"

"I need you to finish the job left behind the last person to work for me. I need you to retrieve a bomb for me, a bomb stolen from me by a pesky group of particular raiders known as the Patriots." One of the TV screens in the room lit up, showing a map of the FSS, a red dot showing outside of the city ruins.

"They are most commonly spotted around this area, so it's my best guess that they either live in the rubble of the buildings or in the sewers underneath. That bomb is an essential part of my plan."

I shook my head. "How is one person supposed to kill a whole gang of raiders?! This is a load of bullcrap!"

"I just need you to come down to the old Moon Arcade. I'll explain there. Try anything, and I will kill you."

Click.

I eventually found a mattress under the collapsed parts of the house, and dragged it down the basement stairs, sleeping there. The next morning, I ate the can of baked beans and moved on, heading down the highway in the direction of the smoking remains of the city, where both the raiders and the mysterious caller waited.

***

Walking up the city gate, I looked around at the wreckage of the Unnamed City, looking up at its once towering buildings which are now crawling with all sorts of killers and insects. A cluster of irradiated spiders crawl out of the woodwork and into a building nearby. I hear deafening shrieks of pain from within. Moving on down the street, I avoid the rusty remains of half a car, checking inside for any loot before taking a turn around a corner and into the downtown district.

As I go past the remains of a cinema, I notice two people coming out through the gaping hole in the glass door. Maybe they'll be willing to trade. The first thing I notice is the hulking size of the first one, and the scuffed up hockey mask on his face reminds me of Jason Vorhees. In his hands lies a massive cricket bat wrapped in barbed wire, and from behind him comes a smaller man in what could almost be described as an Uncle Sam costume.

"You better keep walking."

I walk away, nervous.

"And you didn't see nothin'! Ya hear?!"

I turn another corner, and walk a bit longer before finally arriving at Moon Arcade and Comics. Now I'll get to finally see just what exactly is going on.