08.17.77

So, today I lost my dad and left the Vault. Yeah, I know, total change up right. What happened? Amata's dad went nuts is what happened.. Well ok, there's more to it then that I guess. Dad left the Vault. Just took off in the middle of the night without a word. Then, next thing you know, half the Vaults gone crazy and the damned Overseer sent everyone on the security force after me! Amata woke me up and told me what happened with my dad? and that they killed Jonas. I still can't think about it without my throat drying up. I'll get to that though.

So Amata wakes me up, tells me all hells broken loose, but says she can help me get out of the Vault to find my dad. I don't think I really thought about it at the time. Exactly what that meant I guess, getting out of the Vault. But the sirens were blasting and my longtime friend is pushing a gun into my hands. I could see her eyes were swollen and red, like she'd been holding back tears, and of course that made me feel like [censored] too. I was almost relieved when she told me she would meet up later, with me with a key to her dad's office. Apparently there is a secret way out through there.

I gathered up a few things, cloths, childhood artifacts and the like. Didn't even think about anything like food or water? stupid. As I walked out of our unit though I saw Mr. Kendall. He was dressed in full security gear, and it was obvious he was there for me. As soon as he saw me, he ran my way, baton raised high and ready to strike. I held Amata's gun in my hand, unable to move, thinking, "He's about to hit me with that thing, and its gonna hurt like hell.." when suddenly some rad roaches attacked him. It was all so surreal. I saw him turn to fight back, and almost without thinking, I raised my gun with both hands. Everything felt like it was happening real slowly. I didn't even notice pulling the trigger. Next thing I know, the wall is covered in blood, behind the falling, limp figure of officer Kendall.

I'd killed him.

It was so easy. One moment he was there, a man I'd known since I was a child. The next he was gone, and by my hands. I didn't have time to deal with it then though, as a couple of the rad roaches were still alive, and I had to take care of them..

Anyway, I slowly made my way through the Vault, probably for the last time, trying to get to the Overseer's office and the promised way out. And Kendall wasn't the only one I killed along the way.. Security Chief Hannon, Mr. Park, Mr. Wolfe, Mr. Mack? all died by my hands. Mr. Lewis and grandma Taylor were both killed by rad roaches.. It was all just crazy. I confronted Amata's dad after I found him and Freddy Mack's father threatening her if she didn't turn me in. I don't know how bad that would have gone if I hadn't killed Mr. Mack, but well, he killed Jonas.. that [censored]. I don't know why I let the Overseer live when I killed so many others.. Maybe out of respect for Amata? not that I'll ever see her again.

It was after leaving the Overseer behind that I found Jonas's body. I think this was the first time it all really hit me. I had to sit down for a minute. It was all too much. I felt sick.. Again I held back tears. This man raised me. He was like a second father, always there, joking with me, playing games, teaching me about computers and medicine, and how to shoot my BB gun.. and those bastards killed him. As I was looking at his dead, bloody body, I saw something in his hand. It was a note from my dad.. He said he was leaving, that he couldn't tell me why, and that.. well, I was on my own now. I don't know what to make of it all yet.. Eventually, I found the strength to get out. I don't remember too much of it. It was kind of hazy after finding Jonas..

Like I said, I left the Vault today. When the giant, thirteen ton gate opened, there was a rush of air? I don't know, but it felt different. It felt like something completely new. Not at all like the air in the Vault.. I could see a long tunnel in front of me.. a cave I guess, and at the end was an old wooden door. I could see light seeping through the cracks and seam. Like a dream, I moved towards it, and before I knew what was happening, I was pushing it open, and stepping out?

The light was blinding. It was, I don't know, this is all kind of crazy, but it was like I was born again. One minute, I was in the dark tunnel leading out from the Vault, covered in so many people's blood, gun clenched in one hand so tight that it hurt, and then the next minute, I walked through pure, white light, and I was outside.

It was like nothing I'd ever seen before? Like a giant, open space! I don't know how else to describe it. It's all so big! And there are rocks, and dirt and, old buildings, and all those things I grew up reading about and watching movies about.. but I never even imagined I'd see it. There were trees and bushes around! They were dead and dry, but, I could touch them? I don't know, like I said, it's all crazy. In the distance, I could see a tall, dark building. It stood above all else on the horizon. I don't know what it is, but it really stuck out in my mind. Maybe I can check it out sometime. Oh but there are so many places to check out. Hell, even now, I'm writing this in a town near our Vault called Megaton!

Oh man, this place is awesome! Its like, where the Vault was clean, and cold and sanitary in every way, this place is dirty, hot and? I don't know, kind of savage. I mean, the people who live here seems normal in many ways, like the people living in the Vault, but everyone dresses differently, and they all carry guns, and everything is covered in dirt.. I don't know, but it feels kind of liberating. I noticed that my blue Vault 101 jumpsuit was causing people to react kind of funny to me, so I traded it, and a few other things I had thanks to my flight from the Vault, to a trader in town named Moira. I think everyone already knows I don't exactly belong here, word travels fast and all, and at least I don't stick out in these new cloths as much.

Oh but Megaton! The whole place is built with rusted old scavenged parts from all over the area.. the Capital Wasteland as its called according to the local sheriff. I've been here for only a few hours, and already I've made friends with sheriff Lucas Simms. See, Megaton is built around a giant unexploded atomic bomb. I'm not [censored] kidding, a real live atomic bomb! Well, it was a live atomic bomb until yours truly took care of it. When Simms told me about it, I offered to take a look at it, see if I couldn't disarm it. I figured my knowledge about science and technology from my schooling in the Vault might give me some chance of figuring it all out, and I was right. It took a little while, but they had a sort of fail safe built into the thing, and once I found that, it was pretty easy to de-activate.

I wanted to tell Simms about it, but he was nowhere in sight, so I thought I'd check out the Saloon in town. Moriarty's. It had a giant sign that you just couldn't ignore, and well, I wasn't really allowed to drink alcohol in the Vault, so I figured I'd try my luck here while I waited for the sheriff.

As soon as I walk into the place though, I saw a freakish sight! A man with.. I don't know how else to put this.. but a man with his skin melted off was banging on an old radio, yelling about it not working right. Without thinking I reached for my gun, but then I noticed that no one else seemed to be startled by all this. It was like he was totally normal here. I guess with all the radiation that must have covered the area after the nuclear war, some people could have mutated. Jonas and my dad taught me about that sort of thing. I just couldn't believe I would see something like it before now.

Well, as I was staring at this guy, (His names Gob by the way, and there are more like him. They're called ghouls!) a man sitting in the far corner of the bar motioned me over. He introduced himself as Mr. Burke, and immediately I didn't like him. He had a creepy vibe you could pick up a mile away. Just rubbed me wrong right off the bat, you know. And as though to confirm my feeling, he offered to pay me to blow up the [censored] nuke! I couldn't believe what I was hearing! I mean, I'd only been out in the Wasteland for a few hours, and I was totally unaccustomed to the ways of this world, but even I knew that it wasn't normal or right to do such a thing. He even insisted that I not warn anybody!

As he was telling me about this "job," I felt this inner strength I'd never felt before well up inside me. I didn't even think about it, just agreed to take the job, took the strange device he offered to rig the bomb to blow, and with a simple "See ya," left the bar. I immediately went looking for Simms. I'd forgotten all about disarming the bomb and quickly told him about Burke. Well, Simms wasn't too happy about it all, and he invited me to go with him and see how they, as he put it, "Administer justice in the Wasteland." (Ok, it sounded real cool when he said it!)

Simms confronted Burke and put him under arrest. I watched the whole thing from a few feet away, and felt sort of tense and almost overly aware of everything as it happened. I think everyone in the place knew some bad [censored] was about to go down, but no one dared move lest they drew attention to themselves.

Just when I thought things were going to get crazy, Burke seemed to agree to come along with Lucas. I don't know why, but Lucas lowered his guard a bit then, and turned around to lead Burke out of the Saloon. All of a sudden, there was a gun in Burke's hand, and he was pointing it at the back of Simms' head. I reacted so quickly right then? I didn't even know I had it in me? but I had drawn my gun and was shooting before I even knew it. I could feel people moving away all around me, hear the screams somewhere in the background of my thoughts as they tripped over each other to get away from the shooting, but my attention and focus was on the gun, and on the bullets flying through Burkes body.

He fell to the floor, and there was a moment more of calm in my mind, the sense of seeing everything in slow motion, before it all came back into focus, and the screams became louder in my ears, and I saw the chaos we had caused. Fortunately Simms got everything under control real quickly. The inside of the bar felt hot and stuffy, and I excused myself and went out on the balcony in front of the saloon. Simms followed me out, and I was sure I was going to be in trouble for the shooting. But instead, he thanked me for saving his life. And when I told him I had disabled the bomb as well? well, he gave me a house!

I mean it's not so much a house as a it is a rusted up old shanty built with scavenged debris, but its a lot more then most people in town seem to have, and it's surprisingly sturdy.

As he was showing me the place, I realized just how exhausted I was from my day. It seemed like Simms saw it too, and he excused himself so that I could enjoy my new living environment for myself. I went straight to bed. As I lay on the old mattress, I thought about all that had happened. I'd killed people today. That stuck out. But, I had also saved a man's life. A good man who helps keep a lot of other people safe. And I helped those same people too, by disarming the nuke, I may have potentially saved all their lives. Does that justify the killings? Burke deserved to die, and maybe even Mr. Mack. But I still don't know about the others. I could say it was all in self-defense, and it was, but maybe there was another way. Maybe if I just hadn't shot Kendall, helped him maybe when he was attacked by those roaches, maybe this would have all gone differently.

It was with these thoughts I fell asleep.

Until next time,
Roll :wub:

ha pretty well written.... but try to get a little more creative and stray from the main story more. i did kinda similiar thing to you and thats what people told me haha

Well now, what do we have here... Another story from the first-person perspective. There seem to be a lot of these coming through the forums these days. Normally, this would be where I go into a long tirade about why I hate the first-person perspective, but I don't think I'll have to do that here, as you write it very well. Lots of detail, good length, few mistakes, and overall well written. It feels very much like a diary to me though. I don't know if that's what you were going for, but that's how it feels to me.

And as the person above me stated, try to be creative with your future chapters. Following the MQ is all well and good, but it's done a lot. While it's not as quite run into the ground here as it is in the TES forum, these people also seem to have much less patience. No offense to anyone reading this. So make sure you put something in that makes it unique, or puts a special spin on things. Don't follow the MQ unless you're ready for people to tell you how boring they think it is every step of the way.

First of thanks for the feedback! I gotta admit, it wasn't easy posting this because, a. I haven't written anything since I was a teen, and b. I know how brutal some people get on these forums. That said, I plan on taking it farther away from the MQ very soon, but kind of want to work my way to that. A lot of it will be actual in game content as I play it through, but I want to add a human element to the whole thing, make it more real and all that. Try to explore the emotions this girl would be experiencing if this was real. It is meant to be a journal, and as such, information may come in a way where the author (writing for herself) doesn't explain everything, but for anyone who's played the game, or has the patience to wait for the next installment, it will all eventually make sense.

Again, thanks for the feedback, and more will be coming soon!

8.18.77

Ok, life in the Wasteland? continued! Sorry, I wanted a cool intro? don't know if it worked.

Well, I slept like a dead girl well through yesterday until about noon. I woke up hot, sweaty, and confused. Once I realized where I was, a rush of emotion came over me. My dad, who abandoned me, Jonas dead, the Vault - a thing of the past, the killings, the chaos, the Wasteland, and now me, in my new home, in Megaton.

I lay in bed for a while, idly messing with my pip boy, looking over my last journal entry when I decided to do something kind of weird. I deleted all my old journals. I don't know why I did it, maybe as a way of completing this transition into a new life. I'm not the girl who lived in Vault 101 anymore. She is no more. I'm now a woman living in the Capital Wasteland. I've killed people, deactivated a nuke, and am almost like a deputy (or so Simms seemed to imply when he gave me this house) in a town that feels like an old western film... Well, like I said, it's a new life and I'm a new person. Deleting those journals gave me the strength to get out of bed that morning, I think? Must be strong.

There is so much to do and see now. Such a large world to explore. We used to play all kinds of games as kids, pretending to be outside in the real world, doing the things we saw the hero's in the action movies doing. I never thought I'd actually get to do any of that. I figured it was assumed I would take on my dad's responsibilities when I got older. Him and Jonas thought me some things about medicine and science, and it was all laid out? Now? now I don't know what I'll be doing.

Enough with all this revealing my soul [censored] though, they have radio up here! There's a station called Galaxy News that plays the coolest music. It's not just the happy big band stuff the Vault PA would play over and over again! It's new music I've never heard. Well, new to me anyway, I guess it's all really from before the war though. The signal isn't all that great, but still, its great to hear it!

Also, I spent the day helping an old man named Walter fix the water system for Megaton. He'd heard about the things I did yesterday, and figured if I could disarm a nuke, I could handle some plumbing, and he was right. It paid well by Wasteland standards, and it helped the people of Megaton (including me) have safer drinking water!

Frankly, I'm already pretty popular around town I think. Everyone heard about the nuke and the shootout in the saloon, and three different guys bought me drinks tonight! I suppose it helps that I'm a new young woman in town, but I know it's more then just that! I gotta say, my heads spinning a bit though?

I think tomorrow I'll go out and explore some of the Wasteland. There is so much to see, and after all I've been through, I feel like I can handle anything!

Until next time,
Roll :wub:

Please don't judge this forum if you're basing that on the Fallout section. It hasn't always been part of the forum you know. Before BGSF, it was just TES forums, where everyone was nice and helpful and mindful of the rules. Until Oblivion came out... But I digress. The people in the Fallout section, (And I'm not counting most of the people in the Fanfiction section.) are just a bunch of whiners that want instant gratification. They have yet to understand the rules of the interwebz. That's why I stay away from everything except the Fanfiction and Community Discussion sections.

8.19.77

As I write this, I'm hiding in a pile of rubble somewhere north of Megaton, and my legs below my knees are a bloody mess. Until now, I've been lucky, in my escape from the Vault, the shoot-out in Moriarty's, I got away with nothing more then some bruises and scratches. I got cocky, I can admit that. I was feeling like a [censored] movie star, and looking back on my last two entries, it seems I was thinking I was one. Well, as I'm huddled now in the middle of all this [censored], the pain stifled only with the help of two stimpaks, I don't feel at all invincible?

I left Megaton this morning with thoughts of fame and adventure in my head. I randomly picked North and started walking. It's so beautiful up here. I mean, it's not like in the old movies exactly, since everything is destroyed. If it can be related to any of them, it would be the westerns I guess, since it feels like I'm out in a desert wasteland? which I guess I am. But there are ruins of old towns dotting the landscape. Rotted wooden beams and rusted metal sticking out of the earth, a haunting reflection of the pre-nuclear world. And the plants. I mean, they're all dead, but they've hardened somehow, and still stand, though dark and nothing like the pictures in the old books. The only green here was the occasional pool of irradiated water I would walk past.

I came out here with very few meds to deal with radiation. I have a few Rad-Xs and a couple RadAways, but I don't think it was enough now. The Wasteland practically glows with radiation! It's a wonder humanity has survived at all?

Well, as I said. I was exploring, and I saw a man in the distance. I didn't know what to expect, and I started to cautiously walk towards him. I could see he was dressed differently then most of the people I had come across in Megaton. He had leather straps running all across his body, with plates of metal and other hard materials sown into them. It was as though he had pieced the thing together from the waste, reveling in its harshness. The straps seemed to dig into the man's skin, and I couldn't imagine what he was wearing could be at all comfortable under the hot sun.

Well, the guy was obviously not too normal, 'cause the moment he noticed me, he pulled out some sort of metal stick, and came running right at me. I leveled my pistol towards him and shot twice. He fell, and as I backed off, I could see he was still breathing. He wouldn't live long, but he would live for a little while still, under the hot sun with two bullet holes and at least one punctured lung.

I walked away and left him there, and now, as I write this with my bloody and torn legs, I regret not having put one last bullet through his head, and ending his suffering. By the time I was able to use my Stimpaks, my legs had been torn up for at least five minutes. And in those five minutes I felt pain like I'd never felt before. But I'm sure a punctured lung hurts far more then that?

It was these freakish creatures, small and pink. They looked almost like the pre-war pigs I learned about, only their flesh looked like it had burned under the desert sun, and was now broken and covered in? I don't know, just horrifying skin. And they had these, grotesquely large upper teeth.

Like I said, I'm not invincible, and I don't really know what I'm doing out here. I was dikeing around with my Pip-Boy, and not paying attention to my surroundings, when I noticed a new radio signal. It was a repeating message from a man named Wernher. He was saying something about having valuable information for someone who would help his people or something? I don't know, I should listen to it again? See, it all happened as I was first trying to hear it.

Three of them came out of nowhere, running straight at me. Those horrifying, little, pink monsters. I started shooting, but was only able to kill one before the other two were on top of me. I fell against some debris, and without thinking, put my legs up so as to protect myself with my shins (stupid idea, huh?). Oh my god, how it hurt when they first bit into my skin. Like searing hot fire tearing through the flesh. I lost control for a sec? It was all kind of crazy and messy? I remember shooting blindly, wasting ammo that I didn't have much of. Went through a whole clip before I gained any control. I hadn't shot either one, and they were still relentless, tearing away at me.

Somehow? somehow I got another clip into the gun, and put bullets in both their ugly little heads. Afterwards, I lay there and cried, without even the strength to push the limp, dead bodies of these beasts of my bloody legs. It took a few minutes to gain control of myself again, and, unable to stand, crawled to where I am now, hiding in a pile of old, rusty, [censored]!

I administered antibiotics and some first aid to my shins. I pumped them full of painkillers, and then did one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life. I stitched my legs back up. It didn't hurt. Not really, with all the pain killers, but it felt horrible. Oh god?

I've been writing since then to try to help deal with it all. I think I'm well hidden away here, and it's starting to get late. I'll sleep in this rubble tonight, and then see if I can walk in the morning. Let's hope this is isn't my last entry, huh.

Roll?

NIce detail! Glad you steered it away from the main storyline cause it kinda upsetsme when people do that. Very Good.

8.19.77

I woke up in the middle of the night, and my legs were hurting. I had to use two more stimpaks for the pain. A part of me lamented the waste of the few that I have, while the other realized that I may not be alive in the morning to worry about it. At least I could die without pain?

But I didn't die. Which is how I'm writing this. In the morning, the pain was bearable. I took a minute to listen to Wernher's message again, and recorded it to my Pip-Boy, in case I fell out of range on my way back to town. This man seemed like he was desperate for help. As I listened to his plea, my heart reached out to him across the vast expanse of the Wasteland. What was his people's plight? And what was this "valuable information" he mentioned as possible payment for the help. I really wanted to see what this guy was about, but I was still in pretty bad shape, so I carefully crawled out of the pile of rubble that had been my sad little bed last night, and took a few unsteady steps forward.

It hurt like hell, but I was able to slowly head back south, towards Megaton. I'm so glad my Pip-Boy has a working navigation system, otherwise, I don't think I would have had any idea on how to get back.

The going was slow, and I had to keep to the shadows and rocks so as not to attract attention to myself. The last thing I needed was to try to run from more of those little pink monsters. Well, I was fortunate to avoid them the whole way back, but I ended up running into something much more dangerous.

I'd been moving though a rocky area, using the boulders as cover so as to not draw any unnecessary attention to myself, when I heard voices. They sounded human, and I slowly snuck closer. I was hoping to find some friendly faces, maybe someone who could help me out, but after meeting that deranged, leather clad man yesterday, I wasn't about to take any chances.

As I drew near, I leaned around the large rock I was hiding behind, and? I don't know how I didn't scream, or make any noise then. I'd seen those strange pink monsters, and I'd met Gob, the ghoul, and as strange as they both were, these creatures made them pale in comparison. There was two of them, standing maybe seven feet tall, with green, and ridiculously muscular bodies. They were nothing short of a mockery of the human form, similar, but in every way deranged. They wore cloths, like people, and they spoke our language, though in rough, guttural voices.

I stood against the boulder, watching in horror as they spoke to each other. I could understand the words, though through my fear filtered ears, it sounded like. All I knew was that I wanted to run, but I couldn't even move from my spot, let alone move very fast with my crippled legs. It felt like hours passed, though it couldn't have been more than a moment, when I felt enough strength return to my legs for me to move back behind the rocks.

I had to do something. I didn't want to try to just run away, because I knew if they saw me, I wouldn't stand a chance. On the other hand, I had the element of surprise right now if I attacked them. I dug through my sack, and found a frag grenade I'd picked up in the Vault on my way out. It had fallen to the bottom of the bag, and somehow I'd missed it until now.

Wonderful how these things work out sometimes.

Holding the explosive tightly with one hand, I stood out from behind the rocks. The giant green monsters, noticed me immediately, but I didn't give them time to react. Before they could pull their weapons out, the grenade was flying through the air, headed right for them. The explosion sent plums of dirt up into the air, and I saw one of the creatures flying off its feet, while the other was knocked against some rocks.

I quickly pulled out my pistol and started shooting for the closer one, as it shakily stood back up on its feet. It was like my bullets were hardly even grazing it. That skin was much harder than human skin, I could see that now, and to my horror, it pulled out a large stick it had strapped to its back. I could see the heavy end of the stick had a bunch of nails hammered into it. There was only one use for such a device, and that was to bash people's heads in. I wasn't about to let it take a swing at me though, so I aimed for his arm, and shot three times. It was hard, as he was running towards me, but I managed to shoot his weapon from his hand.

The creature stopped for a minute, as though surprised by what had happened, and I raised my gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

Click.

Yup, no ammo. I reached for another clip, and noticed I had none. It was at this moment when both the frightful monster and I realized the only real weapon between us was the large stick. I reached for it, and somehow (maybe because of the grenade, or maybe because it was still kind of surprised by my attack), I grabbed it before the monster could. Before I could get a good hold on it however, the creature was swinging its huge meaty fist at me. I rolled out of the way, and he hit the ground next to where my head had been a moment ago.

I jumped to my feet and swung the weapon. The heavy, nail ridden end made contact with the creature's head, and I felt the shock of it run through my arms. I don't know why I was surprised that its head felt like a solid wall, but despite my momentary shock, I pulled back and swung one more time. The club smashed in the side of his skull, and blood started spraying from the large wound. The creature screamed and fell to the floor.

I didn't have a chance to relax though, as the other one was now recovering from the grenade blast, and a few feet from its reach was a rifle it had been carrying. I ran towards it without thinking, and swung for its head. I knew what to expect by now, and was able to control my swing to do maximum damage without the shock to my arms.

The second creature fell to the floor, and I collapsed to my knees next to it. What the hell was wrong with the world. Nothing I'd read or learned about in the Vault could have ever prepared me for this. These alien, and mutant beings that inhabited an earth once under the firm control of man. And yet, this was all our doing, and I knew it. Man's short sighted ways led to the war that created this harsh reality, and it was a wonder we were given another chance. Another try at this sick game of life.

Eventually, I stood up, gathered a few things from the creatures dead bodies, ammo for the rifle, and the gun itself, and continued to Megaton. Thankfully, the rest of my trip was uneventful, and I made it into town by dusk.

Simms took me to see the town doctor, a guy they all called Doc Church. He patched me up far better than my novice skills had allowed, made a few less then friendly comments about being disturbed, and then sent me home with instructions to take it easy.

Which is where I'm writing this all from. I made Simms promise to tell me what the hell all those things out in the Wastes are tomorrow, so I'm better prepared next time.

What, you think I'm gonna be scared away from this one bad experience? You know how it goes, what doesn't kill you? I know if I'm better prepared, I can do better next time. I fell asleep listening to Wernher's message on my Pip-Boy. I do need to be better prepared next time. How else am I gonna help him and his people out?

Until next time,
Roll :wub:

Wow, you sure do update quickly, don't you? Not that I'm complaining, but most people on here aren't on all the time. Generally, people just update once a day. Again, I'm not complaining, because sadly, I do have the time, it's just that most of the people reading this won't.

Yeah, I've had some free time today to play and write. Doubt this will be consistent, but I'm also trying to help keep the tread near the top, to attract some more readers. Ha! My dirty little secret revealed!

Man I totally goofed on the title and heading for this post. What's the proper etiquette for starting a new post with the same content and continuing from there?

8.20.77

Man, I had a long talk with Simms today. He came by with his kid, Harden (who is adorable, if a little quiet), and told me about some of the stranger things in the Wasteland. Some quick notes:

1. The ugly little pink things are called molerats. No one likes them much, and though they're eatable, Simms said they "Taste like ass."

2. The big ugly green guys, they're super mutants. Not the most clever of names, but fitting I guess. Simms said most people think they come from mutated humans, but I guess aside from some crazy theories, no one really knows where they come from.

3. The leather-clad man was possibly a "raider." This is a collective name given to packs of violent gangs that live out in the Wasteland who do nothing but cause trouble for most normal folks. When Simms mentioned it, I realized the DJ from Galaxy News radio said something about how dangerous they are as well. Seems the common way to deal with them is to shoot first.

Simms also told me about a few other things to look out for, namely giant flying bugs that shoot deadly sludge at you (no kidding) and packs of wild dogs that roam the wasteland. Oh, also rogue robots from before the war can be dangerous. After hearing all this, I couldn't believe I made it out in the Wasteland at all on my little excursion. I need to get more supplies if I want to carry out my plan to look for Wernher tomorrow.

Oh yeah, did I mention I'm going out to find him? I don't know what it is, but every time I listen to his recording (and I've listened to it a lot now?) I just want to go and help him out. He sounds like? I don't know, I just want to meet him. Wonder what he looks like?

Also, Lucas made Doc Church come by my place and look at how my legs were doing today. He said they were healing real well, and that I had done a pretty good job with the first aid. This got Church and I talking about medicine a bit, and the doctor seemed to warm up towards me a bit. Guess all those lessons in treating burns and cuts and broken bones had other unforeseen advantages!

But now to the bigger news from today. I finally met the infamous Colin Moriarty, the proprietor of the Saloon, and a complete [censored] head. I guess he'd been out of town the past few days (which I heard was very uncommon for him). Anyway, when it started getting later in the day, I went over to the Saloon with the intention of talking to Gob, the ghoul bartender. The other night when I'd been hanging out up there, (did I mention the Saloon is built about 3 stories above the ground and on top of a bunch of other houses and stores?) I completely avoided the bar tender and let others buy my drinks. I was acting all tough and everything, but really, I was scared [censored]less of the ghoul. Not tonight though, considering no one else seems even slightly afraid of the guy. If anything, he seems to be somewhat lower on the social totem pole in Megaton then most people.

Well, I walked into the saloon, went straight to the bar, sat in front of Gob, and asked for a beer. I don't know what I said, but he was somewhat taken aback by my politeness. I mean, that's just how I was raised in the Vault, but people out here react strangely to how I talk. Anyway, once I really got to talking with Gob, I realized he's just a human with messed up skin. Like a burn victim or something. Except he also gets a greatly extended life span. He was telling me about a ghoul town called Underworld where some of the resident ghouls have been alive since before the war. Imagine talking to those people! I would have never even imagined it possible to get first-hand accounts of what the end must have been like. The feelings and thoughts they must have had when they thought they and everyone they knew were gonna die. And then, somehow not only surviving, but being given this duality of both the gift of an incredibly long life, and the curse of looking, well, like a burn victim. I wonder if I will have a chance to visit Underworld someday and talk to some of these people?

Gob had just started telling me something about feral ghouls, when the [censored] himself, Colin Moriarty, came into the bar. He walked up right next to me and dropped his bags on the counter with a loud crash. Everyone sort of shut up right then, and before a word could be said, he started yelling at Gob. Things like "I don't pay you to sit on your deformed ass and chat up the customers!" and just a string of insults and obscenities. Even in the Vault, if someone said some of the things he said, it would have resulted in a fist fight! But Gob just sat there and took it, even offering up apologies and whimpering like some sad bastard!

Now Moriarty was yelling all this less than a foot from my head, since he was standing next to me and all, and after a minute of this abuse, I just couldn't take it anymore. I pushed my stool back, stood up on his side of the seat so that I was inches from him, and all [censored] like said "I don't appreciate the tone in which you're talking to my new friend here." Ok, so I watched a lot of westerns in the Vault, and this scene was just begging for a heroic and cool line like that.

Well, if everyone had been quiet before, they really shut up now. So did Moriarty in fact, creating a moment of almost absolute silence in what was only minutes ago a loud and raucous room. He slowly turned his head to face me and I got my first good look at him. He didn't look like a friendly guy. His steely, unwavering gaze made me lose my nerve for a sec. Somewhere in the background I could hear Gob apologizing on my behalf, and saying something about my not knowing better, but I don't think anyone was paying attention to him.

"And who the [censored] are you?" I swallowed hard, trying to come up with an answer but really, it was taking everything I had to not lower my gaze and mutter an apology myself. I mean, the guy was intimidating. I think he noticed I wasn't as tough as I'd been trying to sound a moment ago, and he pressed on. "What, you had no problem mouthing off before, you chicken [censored] little [censored]."

Somehow, that seemed to help me though. Him calling me names got me just pissed off enough to answer back, "I could ask you the same thing. So tell me now, who the [censored] are YOU?" Oh man, it looked like his head was gonna blow he was so pissed. I don't know what he would have done, if the woman at the other end of the bar didn't rush up and grab his arm, pulling him closer. She said something like "Oh, Moriarty, she's just some dumb Wastelander, not even worth the hassle, come on, you've been away for days, and I missed sleeping with a real man. Why don't you forget about this trash here and show me how an Irishman screws?" My first thought was, "Who's she think she is calling me trash!" but then I realized she was trying to save my ass. I also realized for the first time that the man I had just pissed off was the owner of the place. Way to pick my fights, huh.

Anyway, Moriarty kept staring at me for what felt like an eternity, before finally succumbing to the woman's pleas. He started to let her pull him away, but then suddenly stopped. "You aren't a Wastelander, are you?" he said, looking right at me.

"No? No, I'm not" I replied, and for the first time diverted my eyes from his. He smiled, and it made him look meaner and scarier then when he was angry.

"I know who you are," he said with that evil smile. "Your James' kid aren't you." I couldn't [censored] believe it. This guy knew my dad! "What the [censored]?" you may ask. Well, with the entire bar listening, he told me that he had met my dad almost twenty years ago. He'd met my dad, my dad's "Brotherhood of Steel friend" as he put it, and he'd met me as a baby.

It didn't make any sense. I mean, as far as I knew, my dad and I had never left the Vault. No one had! This [censored] eating little snake was lying to me. And I told him so. I was pretty pissed by this point, maybe 'cause of how he'd turned the whole thing around. But when I called him a liar, he only laughed. Said I was brainwashed in the Vault and that I didn't know [censored].

He told me not only did he know my dad from back before we'd entered the Vault, but that he'd recently seen him again when my dad visited him here in Megaton. I couldn't believe what this creep was saying to me. I wanted to ask him more about the encounter, but the scene was ugly, and I didn't think I would be able to get anything out of him. Maybe it would even encourage him to keep quiet about what he knew out of spite for my confronting him as I did. He smiled again then, and started walking away with the woman holding onto his arm. "You want to know more about all this don't you, about what your dad was up too?" he told me. "I can see it in your idiot stare." He paused for a sec, and somehow his grin became wider, showing more teeth. "I'm gonna forgive this little incident today 'cause I like you daddy, but if you want any info from me? well its gonna cost you. And I know I have what you want."

With that, he went upstairs with the lady.

I sat back down, kind of dumb founded by the whole incident. Gob put his hand on my shoulder, though slowly, as if he knew I was a bit weirded out by him. He thanked me for standing up for him but told me it was best to keep quiet about those sorts of things. And then he told me something really strange. He didn't say it outright, but he kind of suggested that perhaps he didn't just work for Moriarty, but in fact belonged to him. Like a slave. Yeah, I know. They would teach us all this stuff in school about how slavery existed in this country before the war, and how after all sorts of unrest and fighting, people had abolished it. I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise that it exists again now, the way things are? but I don't know, it was very disturbing to think I was sitting here talking to a slave. In fact, Gob's bondage to Moriarty suddenly made him seem stranger to me then his being a ghoul.

He also told me the woman who pulled Moriarty away was Nova, a prosttute who was also "indebted" to that [censored] bar owner, and was working it off with him by working there. I don't know, just another thing about the Wasteland I need to get used to I guess. Such a different place then the Vault.

Well, I'm getting kind of tired. Time to call it a night. Tomorrow I'm going out to look for Wernher. I wonder what he's like?

Until next time,
Roll :wub:

I'm moving this to a new post where I have things figured out a little more. Feel free to go http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=978190&st=0&gopid=14134310&#entry14134310 to see the rest. Hope you're enjoying it so far!

Use the new thread now please.