The Wastes

The drifter knew what she was doing was wrong. The dry earth cracked noisily under her feet as she wandered closer to the abandoned vehicle. She spotted it from the safety of the wood just yesterday and decided to scope it out. So far there were no Depraved to be seen. They never ventured this close to the Styx, just like a Drifter never ventured this foolishly close to the Wastes.

She picked up the pace. Being out in the open made her nervous, and for good reason. How the Depraved could stand the plains, the openness of it all, was beyond her. If the Afflicted attacked, there would be nowhere to hide. No cover in sight to lose the insects. No trees to run the bears into...

Her feet crunched faster over the long dead grass. Twenty more feet and she could look at the car. Maybe it still had a working battery, and the tires didn't look too beat up... Faster she moved. The open air was suffocating her, drawing sweat to her brow. She shouldn't be out this far... She knew it was wrong, but if she could get a working battery...

"Well what have we here?" It was a man's voice that pinned her feet to the ground and sent her heart to hammering in her chest. She had to leave, she had to get back to the forest! She had to- "Woah there Drifter. Off so soon?" More men, some with bats, some with guns. They were trying to surround her, she couldn't let that happen.

She took off, kicking up dust and weeds as she ran. One man dove at her, and, without breaking stride, she rammed her elbow into his face. He fell with a groan, but she didn't stop to see if he stayed down. She could hear the others chasing, gaining. A shot fired from one man's gun and thankfully flew wide, then another, closer this time.

She was close now! If she could break the tree line, she could escape! Funny thing about ifs. The tip of her boot got caught in a crevasse of the Waste's cracked earth, and down she went. Down came the butt of a gun. The last thing she saw was the forrest moving further away from her.

Geography

The mostly barren land where the established settlements of the Depraved are located. The Wastes are all that stand between them and the horrors of The Styx. The soil is dry and cracked, the trees are burned sticks jutting from the ground, the grass is tall and yellowed. There is nothing but the corpses of homes and vehicles, of infested buildings, gutted shopping centers.
The Wastes are dangerous, and only the suicidal would travel at night. You are as likely to find some invaluable scrap as you are to be ambushed. Either by what's left of the Afflicted, traveling Depraved, or the Drifters if you are fool enough to venture too close to The Styx.
You are raised within the Wastes, or you learn to avoid them. Only fools venture out of place, Depraved and Drifter alike.

Fauna & Flora

Not much lives in here as all flora was meticulously culled by the Depraved to keep the encroaching forest from swallowing them whole. It is not uncommon to travel miles without seeing a bush or tree, though the shrub grows more dense the closer you get to a body of water. The larger it is, the more likely you are to see greenery.

Type

Wasteland