Chapter One.
Open for Business

Business has been bad, thought Leonard, as he went over the week's figures. An 80 cap profit.

"You know you shouldn't be too worried, sales are bound to pick back up, they always do," chirped Savanna, Leonard's assistant.

"We're bleeding caps, every week the intake gets shorter. No, we falling fast into the money pit!" said Leonard. He then reached for a clipboard, but his hands found a pack of cigarettes instead.

"Leonard Taylor, you will not smoke as long as I am here!" she said, grabbing the cigarettes from his hands.

He stood up and hurriedly grabbed a brown overcoat and a small over-stuffed bag, and headed toward the door out of the house.

"Where do you think you're going?" She demanded as he opened the door.

"Out, Brian told me earlier to bring him whatever we had left in stock and I figure we need all the caps we can get."

Leonard slammed the door and emerged into the dusky lit wasteland. Snow had begun to powder the ground, Gotta get there quickly or I'll be caught in a Blackstorm he thought.

People caught in Blackstorms usually ended up as ghouls or worse, no way I'm becoming like them.

Leonard's feet crunched with every step in the snowy wasteland, across the many hills and open fields that was the Mid-west. Brian's ram shamble shack became visible, a hunk of rotting wood and rusted metal illuminated by a fire ongoing inside.

Leonard hefted his sack of goods, and planted his feet firmly in front of the door and rapped on the door "Brian, you there?"

The response was immediate.

The door flew open and a double barrel shotgun was pointed at his head. Then after a few seconds, he realized who he was aiming at.

"Oh, Lenny I'm sorry, them damned Tribals have been causing some mayhem lately. If they so much as damage one of my generators, I'll hunt the sons a [censored]es down."

Leonard shook the sack.

"Oh, yeah almost forgot about that, when's the next time you'll visit for the pleasure of my company?" he joked.

"The next time I don't have a [censored] Blackstorm up my ass."

"Well don't just stand there! Come in, come in, we'll drink until the sunlight reaches our faces!"

Leonard stepped cautiously into the room, and set his sack of goods on the floor. "Now let's talk caps?"

Brian inspected the contents of the bag. "Hmm, will One hundred fifty be enough?"

"One seventy, no lower."

"That's a bit high, where's my friendly discount?" Brian said as he dug through his wall safe for caps.

"I can't afford it; I'm barely scraping by as it is."

"Shame, you're the only thing keeping us in the hills goin. Nobody really likes that new William character, he has too many caps and weapons for his own good. Can't trust those fellas from the east coast, hell the rumor is that they have some weird creatures called Super-Mutants." Brian retrieved a whiskey bottle and a sack of caps from the safe, he passed both to Leonard.

"I know how that Savanna isn't letting you drink, so you keep that bottle."

Leonard nodded his thanks and drank the satisfying liqueur.

The shack suddenly darkened, the fire died, and the wind howled as if in pain. A Blackstorm starting

"Looks like I'll be here awhile after all" Leonard murmured.



The shack vibrated and shook like a thing possessed, and the temperature dropped to freezing levels. "You know what your problem is?" asked Brian. "You need to start fighting for your supplies, take on some Tribals or some of the Remnant if you're feeling lucky, scavenging won't last you your whole life, sometimes you need to take what you want, not just hope to come across it."

Leonard saw some truth in the Hillman's words; he couldn't hope to continue scavenging his whole caravan career. An idea stuck him, "Hey if I were to go through with your idea, I don't think Savanna would approve and I couldn't manage to attack by myself?.."

"Are you trying to convince me to join up with you?"

"Perhaps."

"Hmmm" he stroked his salt-and-pepper beard. "If you think you're up to it, I'm in."

Leonard drank heavily from the whiskey, and he passed it to Brian, who also drank from it.

"Man I'm telling you, you won't regret this, we'll start tomorrow."

Leonard nodded, as a particularly nasty gust rocked the shack. "Well then we should probably try to get some rest, we'll need it if we're to do any fighting tomorrow."

Brian nodded and tossed a nearby pillow, "Bed is right over there, by the fireplace, I'm by the kitchen"

Leonard went to his designated bed and laid his head on the dirty pillow given to him.

"Think we'll make it?" Leonard whispered.

"Too early to tell," replied Brian.

The storm continued to traumatized the poor little structure, rattling it until the bolts and rivets groaned threatening to fold.

"You ever kill a man Lenny?" asked Brian.

"No"

"Well I sure hope you can, after all, it's going to be them or us."

"Have you, you know killed anyone?"

"Been awhile," he admitted, "I'll dig up some weapons tomorrow."



The storm subsided some, leaving the shack and two hopeful souls inside alone.
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Could I get some feedback?

Nice idea and I like the way neither of them are experienced fighters. In my opinion, I think you should focus on that fact.

I like it a lot, looking forward to the next part. I agree with Ribbotson also.

its a good story, and im going to have to agree with the others comments. You really should focus on how neither of them have any experience with this. Looking forward to the next part.

:tops: pretty damn good keep it up and ill keep reading

Chapter 2
A Sour Taste
Leonard groaned and rustled in his mattress as the first rays of the sun struck his face.

"Get up now, we got things to do." Brian said, roughly shaking Leonard awake.

"Ugh," Leonard groaned, struggling to sit up.

Brian thrust a mug and a plate of food into Leonard's hands. He hurriedly sipped from the mug and upon tasting it, immediately spat it out. "What the hell is this?"

"Moonshine,"

"Why did you give me Moonshine?"

"Wake you up. Ran outta coffee last week."

Leonard set the mug and plate aside, "So what weapons-"

"Shh, I'd like a moment of peace before we talk killing talk."

Leonard nodded, and picked at the food on his plate. What is this? It doesn't matter, it tastes like ashes anyway. Finishing all he could, he set aside the plate and was all business. "So what weapons will we be using?"

"Way ahead of you," Brian said excitedly. He rushed up a mediocre ladder to his attic and he excitedly brought down two rusty weapons with boxes of ammo to match.

He tossed one to Leonard, "That's a lever-action rifle, I got my Bessie here," he shook his double barreled shotgun.

He tossed a box of ammo at Leonard, "That's .44 ammo there, pretty damn hard to find that anymore."

Leonard opened the box expecting to see shiny brass rounds, "Ahh!" he yelled with surprise. A second later a similar yell came from Brian.

Instead he saw dirty, mold covered rounds.

"Will these work?" Questioned Leonard.

"Only one way to find out," he said loading in a couple of shells. He started inspecting around a greasy spot near the trigger.

A loud bang sounded and ricochets were audible as the pellets bounced around the tiny shack.



"Damn it! You could of hit me you bastard!" Leonard scolded, Brian slinked back a little

"Hey, it worked didn't it?" he grinned.

Shaking his head, Leonard went to the fridge.

"What are you doing?" asked Brian.

"Well if we're really something this bat-[censored] crazy, I might as well as be drunk." Leonard replied, retrieving a bottle of beer.





"There's no way this is going to work," said Leonard blatantly as they overlooked their ambush point. "Run me through your plan again, and speak clearly, that shot of Med-X must have numbed your mouth if not your brain."



Brian coughed and cleared his throat. "Ahem, first we wait for the Tribals' caravan to cross the Sour river."

Ah the Sour river, an ugly stream full of sludge and radiation. A river of moving mud.

"Next we wait for them to hopefully walk on the couple bear traps I set down on the shore."

If they are foolish enough to step on conspicuous piles of refuse where they are located.

"Then we go down there and mop up." He finished, snapping his shotgun up. "Speak of the devil, Lenny look at the river!"

The last thing Leonard wanted to do was look at the queasy river that seemed to more crawl than flow. Forcing himself to look, he saw a Brahmin surrounded by three escorts, wading waist deep in the revolting substance.

"Alright, get ready." Brian whispered.

They crouched behind the large remnants of a snow covered shrubbery a few feet from the trail and readied their weapons.

"You ready?" asked Brian

"I don't know, maybe."

"Well you better figure that [censored] out man, you good to go or what?"

"Yeah," Leonard muttered, anxiously gripping his rifle.

A scream sounded, "My leg, brothers look out. Traps have been planted!"

Brian nodded at Leonard, "On three," he murmured

"One" Leonard shifted uneasily crunching the snow beneath his feet.

"Two" Brian checked his shotgun to see if it was still loaded.

"Three!" They rushed out from behind the rock, Leonard going left, behind the caravan. Brian going right, ahead of the caravan.



Leonard held the rifle up to his eyes and peered down the barrel. He swept the trail looking for a tribal when he spotted one by the rock he had come behind. The tribal was looking intently at the rock, probably wondering if it had shouted "Three!" The tribal was at the other end of the barrel, and Leonard let loose a round.

The rifle kicked back and slammed into his head, throwing him backward. The tribal suffered worse as the round tore through his chest, wounding him severely.



Brian had his back against the rock; a tribal was close, too close for him to get a shot off before the tribal would. Hearing the Brahmin and Co near his position he decided to take a shot at him anyway. He came out from cover and held his shotgun at the hip and prepared to fire. But as he tensed on the trigger, the tribal collapsed and a round hit him in the shoulder, spun him around, and he fell to the sodden, muddy ground .



With both Brian and Leonard incapacitated, the remaining tribals closed in on them, eager to avenge their fallen brethren.

But they didn't get 10 feet from them when, someone else opened fire on them. Fully automatic fire.

The tribals were torn apart as waves of rounds collided with them.

Leonard groggily tried to get up, but it was no use, he had no strength. He resolved to stay on the ground and he aimed his rifle at the figures down the road. One neared him, carrying a mysterious looking box and what looked like a pistol.

Leonard pulled the trigger, once again with the rifle up to his eyes. But nothing happened but a distinct "Click" sound and the figure came closer and closer......



Brian laid on the ground, on his side, blood flowing freely from his gunshot wound. A white clad figure approached him aiming a rifle at him. Brian feebly aimed his shotgun one-handed, and tensed on the trigger, prepared to fire???

This should be made into a movie! :thumbsup:

Going good, but I have to say that I'm a bit worried that this new person with the rifle might be some skilled soldier or something that would totally ruin the whole 'survival' feel I think, if you know what I mean.

Three Words: Chapter Three Now!

Don't worry, survival feel will be intact.


Thanks for the compliment, as long as Uwe Boll stays away


Gar! It is coming, expect it Monday Aug 10, I have numerous other projects attracting my attention, but believe me this is on top of my "To Do" list.


Huh?

Chapter 3
Remnants of the Past
Brian prepared to fire as the white figure appeared to do the same. It was a duel of who would fire first, and doom themselves if they missed.

The figure fired a short burst, rounds missing Brian by a head, but he heard them connect with somebody, probably Leonard. Furious, Brian pulled the trigger, and thunder boomed from the barrel, blowing the figure off its feet, accompanied by a wail of pain.



The figure neared Leonard as he continued to pull the trigger, yielding no results. The figure was blurry but he made out a few things. It was a man, wearing white combat armor, with a helmet to match.

Holstering his pistol and stowing the box on his back, he forcefully took Leonard's rifle and pumped the lever, loading in a round into the chamber. "So the rumors are true, you locals are green." He said putting the rifle over his shoulder.

"Who are you?" mumbled Leonard, too tired to manage anything louder.

"I am Sergeant Haroldson, of the Remnant" he said, in a deep voice.

Remnant! [censored], these guys are a bloodthirsty group that have control over the Midwest. They let most locals live, but they actively resisted Brotherhood of Steel's incursions into this area.

In some ways, Leonard was thankful of their protective over watch, but he had heard stories of brutality from locals who had interfered with their operations.

The soldier offered him a hand up, a curious look about his face.



Brian coughed hard, blood spurt up, and his breath became ragged. The figure he shot was on the ground swearing. Brian struggled to reach his feet, and he stood shakily. He doubled over as a particularly bad coughing fit stuck him. On his knees, he coughed roughly and more blood poured from his mouth.

Brian's adversary struggled to stand, no easy feat after absorbing a shotgun blast. Brian got a good look on the figure, a man wearing an all white combat armor outfit, completed with a ski mask and black tinted goggles. His chest plate had been dented and torn to hell, blood leaked from the cracks in the armor.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed furiously, grabbing Brian by the collar and raising him to his feet. "I saved your ass and you shoot me!"

"Saved me?" Brian wheezed.

The wounded soldier pointed behind Brian, at the corpse of a tribal, a knife lying nearby. "You left him for dead I assume? He was about to stab you when you were aiming at me."

Brian doubled over again, coughing violently. "You need medical attention immediately," said the soldier. He reached into a pouch and retrieved a syringe, which he stuck into Brian's arm.



Leonard took the hand up, and looked at the corpses of the Tribals the soldier had dispatched, approving of the carnage. He looked behind the soldier and sudden realization struck him, "Brian!" he exclaimed, running toward his friend's fallen figure.



He ran, reaching his friend in seconds, kneeling next to the corpse he shook Brian, "Wake up! I need you wake up!" he shouted.

A hand gripped his shoulder; Leonard stood up and turned around only to see two soldiers. Both had weapons at the ready, and one had a heavily damaged chest plate.

"Now we have to do something about you." The Sergeant said darkly.

Nice story,I'll have to watch this one.Good plot so far,nice writing style,and only minor grammatical errors.
When will the next chapter be out,by the way?

Good stuff mate :goodjob:

Chapter 4
Twisting a Profit
The soldiers stared coldly at Leonard, Brian's corpse lay at his feet.

Leonard stared back, a cold chill crawling up his spine. "So you're just going to gun me down in cold blood then, eh?"

"That's the plan," replied the Sergeant, racking the slide of his assault rifle, making a satisfying series of clicks. He and his cohort raised their rifles, and aimed at Leonard. Leonard had never been particularly religious but now he prayed?.to someone.

Leonard braced himself. No it can't end, not like this, he thought.

"Three!" Called out the Sergeant.

Leonard thought of all of his customers, his friends that depended on him for food and water. They'll all die once the Blackstorms get started up, going for days on end.

"Two!"

Leonard thought of Savanna, his partner and how he had never gotten the chance to get tell her how he felt.

"One!"

Leonard thought of Brian's empty, lifeless eyes.

All of it was unacceptable.

"Fire!"

Leonard hit the ground as they fired, their rounds missed him completely. Cursing, the soldiers desperately adjusted their aim downward.

But they were too late; Leonard had managed to run away, half crouching, and half standing.He broke into an all-out sprint, breathing raggedly, leather boots sinking into the soft ground. The Remnant soldiers ran after him, weapons in hand.

Leonard ran until his lungs ached and heart palpitated. He risked a glance behind him.

The soldiers ran stiffly in their combat armor, their movement hampered by the hardened plating. Leonard was losing them, step for step they started to fall behind. He then entered a heavily forested area; snow frosted the ground, crunching beneath his footsteps.

He dashed behind a tree, eager to catch his breath. It was starting to darken, especially since the trees blocked most of the remaining sunlight.

The soldiers refused to be dissuaded so easily, and flashlights snapped on, and they continued moving forward, searching..........


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Sorry for this chapter's delay and briefness, I've had to adjust to school schedules and all that jazz.
They should start appearing weekly now (hopefully).

Very good :clap:

Chapter 5
A Safe in the Wild
I wonder why they are still searching for me, wondered Leonard as he hid in the shadows of a large oak tree. They must want something from me; why else would they bother hunting down a local? He had been playing shadow games with the soldiers, and had managed to confuse them momentarily. They must have been great trackers, as they picked up his trail no matter what trick he pulled.

A flashlight illuminated the oak Leonard was taking refuge behind, and he froze instantly, not daring to draw breath. The light moved away, and he overheard the soldiers talking.

"We're not gonna find'em Sarge,"

"Stow the bellyaching soldier, this ain't no ice-cream social, that damn local could pop out and attack at any moment."

"With what? Sticks? We have-"

Leonard heard a soldier retch and vomit.

"You green soldier?"

"Yes??..sir, just that other bastard blew my innards to hell."

"Stay sharp Marine, you'll pull through."

Leonard snuck away into the night, walking hunched over and stepping softly on the snow. He almost made it out of earshot when mid-step, he stumbled upon a half-rotted corpse, and both the stench and appearance surprised him. As a result, he gasped loudly and his foot came down hard on the snow, making a very noticeable crunch noise.

"What was that?"

"It came from over there!"

Leonard took cover behind a large mound of snow, probably a snow covered rock.

Crunch crunch crunch crunch. Their footsteps approached him. They then took slower steps, and Leonard had a bright idea.

He saw a soldier raise his leg, Leonard did the same.

The soldier brought it down with a crunch noise.

So did Leonard.

This tactic enabled him to move away from the soldiers, although it was a slow and delicate process.

Leonard was almost to the safety of a tree, making the last step he needed. The soldier brought his foot up, followed closely by Leonard.

Crunch

Snap!

Damn, Leonard swore, must've been a stick beneath the snow.

"Sarge, over here!" the soldier cried out triumphantly.

Leonard dashed through the snow, running before they could get organized. His path would be easy pickings as the trees forced him to follow their lead; he only had his speed and agility to rely upon.

The path led downward, into a pitch black abyss. Leonard continued into it, having no other option.

He ran blindly, adrenaline pumped freely. He had almost escaped the soldiers, he could feel it.

Then, just as this confidence rushed through him, he ran head on into a cold, hard metal wall. Leonard grasped around, hoping to find some sort of clue as to where he was.

He felt a lever, which he pulled.

Alarms blared and lights flashed. A small light appeared above where Leonard had banged his head, illuminating something written beneath it.

Vault 34.

With a large metal on metal screech, a large cog-like door was pulled inside and moved aside.

Leonard hesitated to enter, and he looked over his shoulder.

Flashlights waved around as the soldiers ran after him.

Leonard entered the Vault.

Sorry to dissapoint anyone, but with the dawn of ODST and the upcoming Bioshock 2 and other great games (not to mention school work!) I'm probably going to only get on gamesas forums maybe once every few weeks.

So i'm going to have to leave this open for anybody who would like to finish or continue the story.

See ya'll around :wave:

See you around Duke...err... I mean Duck