Just a story of a Kleptomaniac who's use of everyday items for kills turns his life around, completely.
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Wake up in Moriarty's, walk downstairs, drink 'til I pass out, repeat. That's been my life for the last 5 years of my life. I'm 26 and all I've ever done was sit and drink. The daily routine was really getting old. I've always wondered what it would be like to do something with my life. To, wander the wastes we call home and maybe accomplish something. Too bad I was in dept because of I constant drinking. Otherwise ol' Stockholm might let me leave. Unfortunately Moriarty's got this place under his control.

One day, while sitting at the bar and thinking about life, a stranger walked in. He was, well... Clean. Aint seen anyone clean since that crazy old man came down from the Commonwealth yappin' about some old robot he lost. Anyway, this stranger wearing a blue jumpsuit, with a bullet-proof vest, and a riot helmet walked up and talked to Gob, the bartender.

I was sitting over in the corner, so I had no idea what they said. All I know was that Gob smiled for the first time in a few years. The kid bought a drink and sat down on one of the stools. My curiousity got the best of me, and I just had to sit next to him and ask where he was from.

"Howdy, kid. What's your name?" I said, with some courtesy. He didn't reply. "Aw, man of few words, I see. Where you from, boy?"

"Vault 101" he replied.

"A vault!?" I said with confusion, "Damn, kid. Who made this happen? Why would you even wanna leave that last safe place in the World?"

"It's my dad," he said "he left the vault, opened the door, the whole place was locked down. The leader of the Vault wanted me dead. I had no other choice but to leave. I got lucky"

"Tough break, kid." I said, feeling no sympathy, as I moved back to the comfy chair, unfortunately it was preoccupied by a man in a nice suit wearing a fedora. The man sitting down waved the vault boy over. But Vault Kid just looked at him, and looked away.

After about and hour is sitting here, watching this kid, old man Moriarty came out from the back. Suprisingly. Normally he's on that damn terminal of his doing God knows what. Their conversation didn't last very long until it turned into an arguement. This kid wanted to know something, and he wanted to know it bad. Moriarty told him to go screw himself. Vault Kid pulled a gun on him.

"Tell me where my father went!" Vaut Kid yelled out, "I'll kill you if I have to!"

"Kill me, and you don't have any leads," Moriarty said in his Irish accent.

Realizing this, the Vault Kid looked down and just walked out the door. As simple as that. I thought about it, and I suddenly remembered seeing an old man walk into the bar with a labcoat on. If I wasn't so wasted at the time, I would have remember sooner. But this is my chance. I've always wanted to do something with my life. I can help this kid out, and he can help me get out of this town. Without paying Moriarty.

"Hey, kid! Wait up!" I yelled out.

"What do you want, uh, I never caught your name." Vault Kid said.

"Names Ted. Technically Theodore, but I prefer Ted. Anyway, I know about your old man. I know I didn't bring it up earlier, but the thought recently popped into my head. Listen, if you help me out of this place, and I can help you find your father."

"Why should I trust you? You're just another wastelander."

"Yeah? Well I'm the closest thing you've got to finding James."

"How'd you know my dad's name?"

"I told you kid. I saw him last night at the bar."

"Alright, I'll do whatever it takes. Whatever it take to find my dad. What do I do?"

"It's simple, really. You need to get you hand on some explosives. Mines, grenades, you got any? No? I didn't think so. Alright, well I heard some people talking about a mail drop off box down in Springvale, y'know, the town that Vault overlooks. I need you to fetch those grenades, if you can. Sometime at night, walk around to the back, pull the pin, drop it by the wall, and run like Hell. If you do this for me, you'll find your dad in no time."

"Why can't you just leave through the main gate?" the kid said.

"Well, it's not that simple. I've spent the last 5 years wasting my life at Moriarty's. I owe him alot of money for all the booze I've been drinking. He ordered Stockholm not to let me leave, and if I try to make a run for it, to have me killed."

"Alright. Well, if I get a hold of those grenades tonight, you got get ready to run for the hole in the wall, got it?"

"Got it." I said, with a smile on my face.

Looks good, :goodjob:!

Thank you, kind sir. :celebration:

Oh, c'mon now. I was hoping for some more opinions! Oh well, though. I've got the first 2 chapter done, so if I can get atleast a few more readers I'll post them.

Not bad for you're first time! (see what I did thar?). 9/10!

It was really good. Continue pleez!

Well here's the first chapter. The story is still starting. So don't pay any attention to how slow it's going. Haha.
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Chapter 1
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I haven't been home for some time now. Normally I spend my time at the bar. Like every other building here in Megaton, it was a small rusty shack. For some reason Simms hasn't given the deed to that big house by the gate to anyone. Maybe he's saving it for someone special, I don't know.

My place was a dump. Junk was everywhere. It'd be like that one merchant's dream house. What's his name? Oh, right, Wolfgang. I've heard things about him. Never met him though. Maybe that's what I'll do after this kid busts me out. Traveling merchant. Sounds nice, as long as I have a guard, anyways.

I don't know what compelled me to keep all this crap. Most of it was stolen, too. Normally a thief would just sell his loot right after he took it. But I don't know, I feel like it's a part of me. Everything can have it's use, afterall.

After a nice change of clothes for the first time in, well, a very long time, I decided to take a bath. Again, first in a long time. I was careful, though. Out of all the things I've hoarded in my lifetime I've come across a few Rad-A-Ways. I'll always remember to be careful around irradiated things, thanks to Gob. He's gonna be the only one I'll miss at this place.

I tried my hardest to get clean, but this water wasn't the best. Still, I got a little dirt and grime off myself. I walked over and sat on a chair I have near the door, waiting for that kid from the Vault to blast a hole in the wall. I looked at my working Nuka-Cola clock. 3:46am. I was tired, but confident.

As I was sitting there, thinking about all this, I heard a loud bang 'round my house. Not big anough to be a Mini-Nuke, and too small to me a Missile. It had to be the grenades.

Without hesitation I grabbed a sack filled with booze and Pre-War TV Dinners and ran for the door. Outside was a typical sight. Lights were turning on in houses, people were coming out of their houses to see what had happened that was so close to the town.

I ran behind my house, and sure enough there was a gaping hole in the wall. I spotted a bright blue jumpsuit cowering behind some rocks. I yelled for the kid and when he looked up I waved him to follow me. I was gonna run for Springvale to rest. I'd be off in the morning.

"Hey!" I heard a familiar, irish voice, "You can't leave here! Ted! TED!" Moriarty yelled out.

"Calm down," Simms said to him, "You can stand here and yell at nothing, or you can go out there and chase him yourself, now I told you not to let people open tabs."

I always knew Colin would be too much of a coward to wander the wastes. Everyone thought he was such a [censored], too. But I was finally free from him. I couldn't return to Megaton without some hefty fines, but it's not like I wanted back there anyway. I had to rest though. Normally I'm in a drunk coma by now.

That kid from the Vault was still right behind me, he was a quick runner. Suprisingly enough. He kept asking questions, demanding I told him where his father was. I convinced him to wait until the morning. We rested at a fallen apart house that night.

"Hey, Ted? Wake up!" that Vault Kid said, interuping my dreams, "I'm leaving soon, and you still have your half of the deal."

"Don't worry, kid, I'm a man of my word," I replied to him, waking up with a sore throat and my deep morning voice, "When I was at the bar the other night, this middle-aged man walked in, wearing a labcoat and some blue pants. He started talking to Colin, they seemed to be old friends, or something. Anyways, that James fella heard Three-Dog on GNR and decided to swing by, talk about some cause he has, or something."

"Old friends? That's impossible, no one has ever left the Vault," the kid said under his breath, "Where's this GNR place at?"

"Somewhere in the DC Ruins. I can't tell you exactly. But from what I hear he gets his signal out using a satellite attached to the Washington Monument, you might wanna check there. He's gotta have guards or something to keep it safe."

"Washington Monument?" the kid said, confused.

"Yeah, the big pointy thing you see from all over the Wastes. Find your way to that, and you should find Three-Dog in no time. He can tell you where James is. But, kid, to be honest, I wouldn't be too confident in your dad. Chances are he's dead by now."

"Well that's a chance I have to take. Thank you for telling me all this."

"No, thank you for getting me out of that town." I replied.

The kid stood, and slowly started to walk toward the monument. I didn't know what would happen to. He seems nice, but willing to do anything to find his father. I hope he finds him. But I really hope he find him alive.

"Oh! And kid?" I yelled, he turned back, "Good luck out there. You're definately gonna need it!"

And just like that we were already parted. I was stuck with no plans. No where to go. It's been pretty boring so far. I hope things liven up.

As ridiculous as it sounds, I forgot how to walk on this rocky terrain. I constantly lost my balance, stumbled, but I never tripped and hit the ground. That is until I thought about it. While climbing down a rock, the broke apart and I slipped down it, landing on my back. My head slammed against a rock, that just happened to be perfectly placed there.

"One day in, and I already screwed myself," I said to myself, "I'll never ma-"

Then, black.

I was partially awake when I heard the people talking. Mostly still knocked out. It was like a 70/30 split.

"Fool musta fallen from that rock. Landed right on his head. Splat." I heard a man say, with a very southern accent.

"Oh, come now. Look at that blood, you have to feel some sympathy for 'im." A female said.

"Well, schucks, I just can't feel anything for someone so stupid."

"Look who's talking," I managed to utter out, opening my eyes.

"Why you little piece of-"

"Hush!" The lady said, acting like his mother, "Come on, you want some help, mister?"

"No thanks, I don't need any." I said, getting up then falling back over. I couldn't move. I hit that rock too hard.

"Now just relax, we'll get you some help." she said, "We'll get you to a nice place. The Greatest Place On Earth."
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Well, there it is. Short? Long? Just fine? tell me if you liked it or not.
If I get some opinions I'll post the next Chapter soon. I plan on atleast once a day.

Had a couple a few grammar errors, but it was awesome! Generally people don't like the same old wasteland routine, but this one kept me interested.

Yeah, I've never had Word for some reason, so I've been using notepad, so there's no grammar checks or anything. Thank you, though.
As for right now the story hasn't really started, but assuming you get the end of the 1st Chapter you'll know that he's going somewhere horrible!

Looking forward to it. I don't have word either, but you should check out Open Office, I think it's better and it's free!

I'll try that out, thank you. But here's Chapter 2. I'll be adding on to the story as long as I have atleast one person reading it. And since I never really have anything to do, almost everyday will have a new chapter until it ends. Anyway, I hope more people check this out, gimme your feedback, who ever is reading this!
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Chapter 2
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I ran as fast as I could. No matter what happened, though, I couldn't lose the freaks. They chased me, their dogs catching up fast. Bullets flew past me, I was lucky their old weapons coulnd't shoot straight. Ahead of me was just a desert. No trees, cacti, there wasn't even rock. Just sand. It was hopeless, I couldn't do anything. I suddenly lost my footing, falling flat on my face.

With some difficulty, I opened my eyes. I was being dragged, attached to some cloth and wood, sort of like a bed. I looked back and saw a young looking couple pulling a rope attached to it. I was just having a bad dream.

I saw a small settlement over a hill. The sun right behind, creating shadows in the shape of houses. Only two looked like they were intact, the others completely destroyed. A small shack was hiding behind one of the houses. To the left of the shack was a rocket shaped structure. A gas station. The couple pulling me moved on to a road. I saw a sign reading "---andale". The first three letters of the town name were scratched off by the years.

"Uh," I started, "excuse me?"

"Oh my!" The female looked back, "You're awake. And just in time for arrival to your new home!"

"My new home? What the Hell are you talking about?" I asked.

"Well we don't expect you to be leaving anytime soon, boy." The man said, in an evil fashion. He flashed his gun, a Scoped .44 Magnum.

"What's going on!" I demanded.

"Livin's hard, boy," The male started, "'Specially when you got a family to feed."

"To feed?" I started to ask, but I knew exactly what was happening. These people were cannibals.

"You figure us out already, boy?" the male said, "What a shame, it's real fun when people think they're safe up until we cut 'em open with our nice little rippers."

"Cannibals." I said. My voice cracked.

"Well you're gonna like it alot with all yer new friends." He said.

"New friends?"

"It aint like we eat e'ryone as soon as we nap 'em," he started, "You'll like it in yer little prison."

We entered the city. It was unbelieveable. Two kids were running around, acting completely oblivious to what was happening. They had to know what was going on. That they're been eating people all their lives.

The couple dragged me around the back of one of the intact homes. There was a little shed in their backyard. The woman walked to the house, but the man opened the shed door. There was a little hatch in the ground. Just a plank of wood with henges, locked down. A small hole was in it, someones finger was poking through the hole. As if they're were signaling they were down there.

"Ah," the man dragging me started, "I see ya down there."

A raspy voice spoke, I couldn't understand what they said. The man walked over and pulled a knife out of a small pack attached to his lower leg. He grabbed the person's finger, and used a knife to quickly slice it off. Blood squirted from the stub. I could make out a scream, well, the best scream the victim could use. The man held the finger in his hand, looked at it closely, bit half it off, and chewed.

He looked at me and smiled, teeth coated in human blood. Mouth full of bone and skin. He winked at me, and walked closer. He put his knife away, and said something. But he was still chewing his little snack, I couldn't understand him. He smiled, one more time, and punched my right in the face with a forceful blow. Once again, I was knocked unconsious. It was getting old, and it's only happened twice.

I jumped up, but slammed my head on the low ceiling. I grabbed my head and yelled at my painful stupidity. It was pitch black, though. I couldn't see a thing. I felt the dirt floor, and felt around for something, but I only touched the darkness around me. I got up, hunched over. The ceiling was about 5 feet high.

"Hello," I asked out, "Is anyone there!"

I heard a voice come from the shadows. A few voices, actually. People whispering, others weeping. No one spoke back. They just ignored my calls.

I searched through my pockets a bit until I felt something great. A lighter my parents gave me before they died. I've always had it with me, all though I never smoked. It's finally useful for something more than sad memories.

Flipping it open, and flicking at it, sparks flying, the people around got quiet. When I finally got the lighter to produce a flame, the people all gasped. It seemed like they haven't seen light for a while now. I looked at every corner of the room. There were 3 children, all looking similar. A woman, with the same features as the children held tightly on to them. An older man was sitting in another corner, with a blanket around him. His beard was long, and he had no hair on his head. Another, younger looking man was next to him. Black hair, and a rough looking beard.

I turned around, seeing if there was anything else. But no one else was there. However, something caught my eye. Something horrible. I walked over to the colorful looking cloth by the wall of the pit. I picked it up, a yellow striped was going down the front of the shirt, and it split going around the neck. I turned it over, a yellow "101" was stiched in the back. The Vault Kid.

Grabbing the shirt, I looked around at all the people, demanding to know who had it, and why it was down in the hole. No one answered, they were all useless.

Something hit my eye, and it stung. I went to wipe it off, but I realized it was blood from my head wound. There were three times I was hit, so I really couldn't tell when I got it. I took off my shirt and ripped it, wrapping the cloth around my wound. I grabbed the blue shirt, and put it on. Afterall, it was cold. I assumed it was night time.

Eventually, I lost track of time. I didn't know how long I was done in the hole. Every other day or so, a new captive was thrown in the whole, but at the same rate people were being taken. The mother and kids were all still alive, but the older man and the other man with the beard were taken. Most other captives were chosen instead of me. I don't know why, maybe I was just lucky.

It was horrible down in the hole, we rarely got fed, but the children and mother got most of the food. Whenever they didn't, I was forced to give them my own. I just couldn't stand to see them hungry. Well, I couldn't stand nor could I see, but I just didn't like it. One day finally came, where the same man who took me jumped down in the hole and tried taking one of the kids. The mom screamed and tried to take her child back, but the man pulled his .44 on her, and she was foreced to step back. I had to take the kid's place.

"Wait!" I said, "Please, take me. Let the kids live atleast another day."

The man looked at me, examing me. "A'right. You gonna make this easy, or you gonna try and go out with a bang?"

"I'll go easy," I said, "I'll go easy..."

I follwed the man to the house that the shed was behind, and down to the basemant. There was a table in the center with a corpse of another wastelander. There were knives and rippers everywhere. But there was more blood and gore.

He grabbed me and forced me into some old bathtub. There were handcuffs on the ceiling, and I was locked into them. He walked over and grabbed a ripper. He look at me and smiled.

"Family comes first, and anyone who doesn't think so should be hit. With a stick." He said, "By the way, name's Bill. Bill Wilson."

"Nice to meet you, Bill." I said. Fighting past the tears coming to my eyes.

I examined my surroundings. The ceiling appeared to be weak, there was a rusted can in the bathtub, it could easily be shattered.

The man turned his back again, he forgot something. "Don't wanna ruin my new shoes!" He said to himself.

I looked down and stepped on the rusted can, shattering it becaused of the age of it. What was left was just sharp little bits of metal. I lifted myself up, and noticed the ceiling starting to crack. Dust fell over me.

The man turned around, smiled, and winked. It seemed to be his thing.

"Sorry, kid. But family first." He said, walking to me, stepping over and into the bathtub. He started the ripper with a load roar. He took one step forward, and right onto the shards of rusty metal.

"Ah! The Hell?" He exclaimed, looking at his feet. Blood was dripping down, and sharp bits of metal were in his foot.

This was my chance. I jumped up, and when I hit the ground the the cuffs well with me, with small chunks of sheet rock at the end. I grabbed the center of the chain and swung it at Bill. He grabbed his side in pain, then I tackled him.

We fell out of the bathtub, and rolled around in what was left of previous victims, trying to get control of the other. Bill still had the ripper in his hand, and pulled the trigger that started the ripper. He pushed it into my leg, cutting deeply into it. I closed my eyes and yelled out, while doing this he pushed me off him, then jumped back on me. He was in control now.

"I'm gonna cut you up real good, kid." He said.

I didn't say anything back, and tried my hardest to fight him off. But he just pushed the ripper to my face, and as soon as it cut above my eye, I kneed him in the groin. He fell backwards, but still on his knees. I grabbed the end of the chain on my right hand with my left, and put it around his neck, and pulled.

I could hear him choke, he dropped his weapon and we fell on your backs. I was pulling up, and his head rested on my stomach. His body twitched and he tried to fight. The chain started to cut his neck, and blood covered my hands. Finally, he stopped moving.

I kept the hold just a little longer, until I was sure he was dead. I was still laying there, wearing my blood covered vault shirt, with a bloody bandana covering my head wound. I started to cry. I've never killed a man before. And I was hoping I never would have to.

I heard the door slam at the end of the stairs. I looked up and saw a woman standing about half way down the stairs. She covered her mouth, he eyes got red.

"B...Bill?" she said. And tried to run. I was already right behind her. I used the chain to trip her, and she fell and hit the stairs hard. Her head started to bleed.

"Whatever it takes." I said, looking at my blood soaked shirt. "I'll do whatever it takes."

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Well, I hope you liked it.

Daaaamn. Good chapter. It made me scared when he went down into the basemant. 10/10, you know how to scare a guy with words.

Awesome. There was a couple of grammar mistakes though and if the opening is a dream, I would put it in italics, to make it easier to distinguish. I got a little confused, because of that looking forward to the next chapter

Thank you both :cheat:

Hey, to you few readers, I just wanted to apologize for not updating this like I said I would. My computer crashed, and I finally got it fixed after these few days. I've also decided to take a different turn which will change the story pretty dramatically, just wanted to let you know if you've read the original idea I had in the OP. So I'll update this in a bit, and change the storyline in a chapter or two. Cheers! :foodndrink:

Waiting for more eagerly :wub:
Don't know but I like the way you write - not too little details, but not too many either (personally I hate when the writer gets carried away with one description...)

Can't check on here until tomorrow evening but, good luck with the progress!

Not bad, not bad. I'm interested in seeing where this story goes.