Traveling East Toward's Nipton

The journey was hot and at times miserable. But even when Madeline sweat she would be reminded of how lucky she was to feel the breeze on her skin. Not some vault tech air pump of recycled air but actual wind. The sun was more glorious than she could have imagined. While the nights could be a bit frightful, full of the unknown, she marveled at the moon and the animal noises. She had never even heard animal noises--except perhaps the scurrying of radroaches in the vaults less welcoming confines--which revolted her. But here she heard and smelled the world. Madeline loved every bit of it.

One day she even sat in an old car and pretended she was driving it when the others weren't looking. She never knew what it would REALLY feel like. The simulators weren't the real thing. Only in old holomovies had she seen cars. She took in the sight of the Mojave before facing the realities of her mission.