Ashes of war:The Mojave wasteland

Novac

"Stop blabbering smoothskin, I have other work to do" complained Chris Haversam. "Oh for the love of God, YOU ARE NOT A GHOUL, YOU CAN EAT NORMAL FOOD" shouted Cliff Briscoe, clearly frustrated by Chris' strong belief that he was a ghoul. "You smoothskins are the dumbest bastards to live on this planet. Can't believe I was one of you." retorted Chris. "Ya know what? Fine, I am NOT having this argument again, for the last time, I do not have anything the ghouls can eat, if you don't want to eat what I have, then go scavenge for whatever you wanna eat, and do not pester me again" declared Briscoe. Atlast, Chris got out of the shop, slamming the door on his way out.

For the town of Novac, this had become the day to day life. Ever since the legion had attacked the town and killed some of the residents, the number of ghouls coming to the town had increased. Some months ago, the courier had helped the ghouls in the repconn test site to "relocate". The ghouls there believed that there was an ethereal plane which existed outside the planet, and they wanted to reach there with the use of a rocket. And the repconn test site was the perfect place for it, with an intact rocket. The courier had helped the ghouls reach their "ethereal plane", and the facility was rid of ghouls. Though after some months, it was discovered that there were indeed some ghouls still left, now wandering the Mojave without a goal.

After months of wandering, they had reached Novac, which had fresh wounds of the legion attack. Both the communities had come together to sustain the town. This agreement was working pretty good, the ghouls were great scientists due to their time in the repconn facility. They had decades of knowledge preserved in their mind. After some weeks, the town started recovering. Chris was one of the ghouls, or rather, he believed that he was. His time with the ghouls had convinced him that he was a ghoul himself. Many people ridiculed him about that, but his belief didn't waver.

After the heated argument with cliff Briscoe, Chris went to the only person who seemed to understand him, or atleast, pretend to understand him. "You look glum" said Manny Vargas, as Chris barged into his room in the dee-lite motel. "That shopkeeper has no respect for us ghouls, I politely went there to ask for something that we could eat, but he started blabbering on about how I wasn't a ghoul and he doesn't have the food for us" answered Chris. Manny just listened to him, then sighed and started cleaning his hunting rifle. "What?" asked Chris. "What?" asked Manny aswell. "You have something you wanna say, but aren't saying it. I know that look" said Chris. "Then you also know that having these arguments is no use. You and I both know that you are NOT a ghoul. You're just clinging on to that thought because you can't talk with people, you are afraid." said Manny finally. Chris looked down at the floor, then suddenly, picked up a glass and shattered it on the floor. "I AM A GHOUL, HAVE BEEN FOR YEARS, MY BRETHREN AGREE, JASON AGREED, EVEN THE COURIER AGREED". He sat on the bed, hands on his face. "I though you of all people would know". Manny got up and sat beside Chris. "Have you ever thought that they all agreed because they wanted work done? That they were doing this for their use? The ghouls used you because of your intellect, they wouldn't have been able to complete their "great journey" if it weren't for your skills on the rocket. The courier also agreed because he was getting paid to get rid of the ghouls from the facility. You are a human Chris". After some silence, Chris got up and barged out of the room.

Even though he had the thought of him being a ghoul ingrained in his mind for years, Chris still had a semblance of doubt in his heart, that maybe, he was a human. He was devastated when Jason, the leader of the aforementioned ghouls, had completed the great journey without him. All those years spent to repair the rocket had been for that one moment, and Jason had betrayed him.  But even still, he convinced himself that it was all a mistake, that Jason deeply regretted the decision. But it was just a thought which he used to console himself, nothing more. Chris had a hatred for humans, he spent his young life in a vault, where he wasn't treated kindly, and had to leave the vault. When he found the ghouls, he had a sense of fraternity, a feeling that he was wanted. But after all this, he trusted no one.

He walked through the town, looking at the new defenses the ghouls and the human residents had made after the legion attacks. A great wall of metal had been erected surrounding the town, with barbed wire and trip mines surrounding them. A metal gate  was erected between the walls, with a mechanism only the residents could use. It was a great setup for keeping unwanted people away. Chris looked at the row of houses, where the humans resided. There weren't many of them left, but those who did lived rather comfortably than the rest of the wasteland. The ghouls lived in shacks, they surrounded no-bark noonan's shack. They lived in rough conditions, but it was the part of the agreement. After all, the humans weren't as comfortable to live with them as it seemed.

Dark clouds had formed in the sky. Rain had started pouring down. Puddles were formed on the ground. As Chris walked, he glanced down at his own reflection, seeing a normal face, just like a human. He always believed that he was one of the lucky ones to still have his looks intact after the ghoulification process. He looked at his reflection for a while, trying to find some evidence that he was a ghoul. But there was none. Atlast, he headed towards the ghoul shacks. He called a meeting between them, though many thought it was unnecessary, they were persuaded to come either way.

"Why?". It was a straightforward question by Chris, but none of the ghouls seemed to get what it meant. "Why did you lie?" asked again. The ghouls shared confused glances with each other. "Lie? About what?" asked one of the ghouls. "Oh you know what I mean....Why was I tricked for so many years into thinking that...that I was a ghoul?"asked Chris again. "Wait...wait wait wait, you still think that you are a ghoul don't you?" asked one of he ghouls. He asked this in a half questioning and half mocking tone. "Jason really did drill that into your head didn't he? I am so sor-" "NO YOU AREN'T" interrupted Chris. "So, it really was true. I am not a ghoul, you tricked me...". "No...Jason tricked you, we had no involvement, we just followed his orders, we didn't care about why you were helping us, we just knew that you would do anything for Jason." said the ghoul. At this point, Chris was at the edge of breaking, his hands shaking with rage. "I...I trusted you, all of you" sobbed Chris. He pulled out a pistol from his coat, all the ghouls stood up in alarm. He pointed the gun at each and every one of them. The ghouls were unarmed, they knew what was going to happen. Even if they had numbers, Chris had a gun. He would atleast kill 4 of them before they could get to him.

But he did something they did not expect, he pointed the gun towards his head, and bang. His body laid on the floor, his brains littered on the floor. Other town residents quickly rushed towards the noise, and they saw Chris' body. The presence of the ghouls made a bad impression. It sowed a seed of distrust in the residents of Novac. After the incident, the hostilities increased between the two factions, and finally, resulted in the exile of the ghouls from the town.

Novac didn't exactly prosper, but it had a strong defense now. It was well protected from the harsh wasteland. The town continued to live on, even with the few residents it had.