Well, it definitely feels like it's been a long time since my last FF, but I don't think that's true? After going through many ideas, I ruled this one out to be the best. Let's hope I can dish out a successful story!

If you've never played F:BoS, then I'd like to say: Never, ever play it. And, you might have to read up on; http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Los, and http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Church_of_the_Lost.

This is my best attempt at a first person story, so you might see some strange ways of writing. And, the asterisks (*) will represent a small time-skip, kind of like movie scenes. Also, the history of everything will unfold throughout the story, so I'm sorry if there's a lack of detail in this first post. But since I have a habit of writing a Hell of a lot before starting the story, here it is:

Church of the Lost


No Heresy Here.


A single tree in the middle of the desert valley; dead, blackened and charred by nuclear fire from all those years ago. It gave off a somewhat satisfying amount of shade, and was also home to a Raven and it's fledgling babies. Aside from the annoying chirps, it was a wonderful place to rest in the valley.

Despite the shade from the tree, the blistering hot Sun baked my sunburned skin. The outline of a someone stood in front of the hot Sun. The blurry black figure rose his hand, and put it back down.

I covered part of my eyes, to get a better look at the person. I already knew who it was, but that didn't stop me.

"Yes, Bridney?" I asked.

"It's time to go, Liam. We've rested long enough; and we're almost to Mom and Dad's" She replied.

I sighed, knowing she was right. Standing up, I took off my beret in the same motion. My brown, curly hair was almost black and straight because of my lack of bathing over the past few days. My red, dead skin was peeling off, and the blisters on my hands made everything worse. To be fair; I was a mess.

My sister, Bridney, was so used to walking along the desert for long periods of time; that she managed to look great. No sunburned skin, or blistered limbs. I don't know how she pulled it off, but I couldn't help to respect her for it.

After picking up my things, I joined my sister; who was standing a ways away, facing the direction of Los, a city of Ghouls.

"Ready to go?" I asked, "Los is just over those hills! We can finally see Mom and Dad."

Bridney smiled, "It's been too long."

***

The bridge leading into the city was heavily damaged. It was a miracle the thing could even stand on it's own. Giant holes littered the road, and the supporting beams underneath were broken apart and lost in the area below. A small booth was at the beginning of the bridge, and a Ghoul stood inside.

The man inside looked very bored, and he was spaced out completely. I had to wave my hand back in forth in front of his face just to get his attention.

"Liam! Bridney! It's been years!" He exclaimed.

Bridney smiled, but stood back. I reached through the window on the booth, and shook hands with the old friend; Josef. I never did learn his last name.

"It's been too long, Josef. What, three years? But we're here to see our parents! It's been so long, too long. Maybe after wards we can meet up, have a beer or something?" I said.

"Of course Liam! We have a lot of catching up to do. As for you parents, you know the rules! I'll call 'em over the radio, and they'll meet you half way over the bridge. Eventually we'll pass the law to let you smooth-skins in, then I wont have to sit here and sleep all day!" Josef laughed.

"Thank you so much!" Bridney said happily.

The bridge of Los wasn't that large, but a few homes were still set up on the road. A small, tin, one roomed shack was abandoned, and right near the center of the bridge. Bridney and Liam normally slept there on their visits, because no Ghouls were allowed on the other side of the bridge. We can thank the Church of the Lost for that.

***

Despite their ghoulish appearances, we recognized Mom and Dad instantly. It's just something in you that will always make you recognize family, no matter what. Without hesitation, me and Bridney quickly ran for the center of the bridge to greet them.

"Oh Liam! Why haven't you come to visit me?" Mom joked while Bridney was greeting Dad.

I put my arms around her, and squeezed. It's been so long since I last hugged her, it almost felt awkward doing it.

"We've both missed you guys." I said.

We all moved to the abandoned shack, and popped open a bottle of scotch for celebration. It wasn't much, but it was something. I sat with my dad on one bed, while my mom and Bridney sat on the other. The two beds were the only things in the shack.

Dad was unusually quiet, and Mom was unnaturally talkative. It was a weird day for everyone, it seemed.

An hour later, darkness started to fall over the area. We all said our goodbyes, and Mom and Dad left for the night.

***

I rolled around on my bed, I couldn't manage to get comfortable. After a few grunts, unnecessary cursing, and more rolling over, Bridney started to talk. I didn't even realize she was awake; otherwise I would have never cussed in front of her.

"Liam? I'm worried." She said.

"About what? The Church?" I replied.

"Well, yes and no. It's about Mom and Dad joining them. Why would they do that when they have us? Two smooth-skins for children. It just doesn't make sense."

"I don't know, they probably just wanted to fit in, I guess. It's really hard to say. It will be fine though, no one will ever see them with us, and even if they do the Church can't do anything too harsh to them."

I heard muffled voices coming from outside, one was male and the other was female. I shushed my sister, and got under my covers pretending to sleep.

The door opened, and two people stepped in. I recognized their voices as Mom and Dad. What were they doing?

"We can't do this Jeff!" My mom said.

"We have to. They didn't visit us for years, Jane, years! They're becoming just like the others. We joined the Church for a reason, and we have to listen to their laws. You don't want to be executed for heresy, do you?"

Mom's voice had a sobbing sound to it, "No..."

There was a long pause, and no sound for the next few minutes. It felt like an eternity, I don't know why, but it was painful.

A gunshot pierced the silence. The gunshot came from just a foot away, it came from my dad. I quickly bolted up and looked over. My dad was lowering his arm from pointing at my sister's bed. My sister was motionless, and I knew he shot her.

Dad looked over to me, and closed his glowing eyes. He lifted the gun.

"Son, I'm so sorry..." He said, with no sadness in his voice.

I'm sorry I didn't read it, but it looks like it has a lot of dialouge and not much description and I mysef (and many other people) would prefer it the other way round, for the start anyway

EDIT because I need to give this post purpose

Man your Fan Fics are the best!

I agree quite completely with this, I forced my self to read it and it was well written, really good, especially for this community. But it just wasn't catching, I had to froce myself to read it, simply cause of dialogue. Most books don't start out with dialogue because of a good reason, it's boring, at first. No one wants to jump in and read a conversation between people they have no clue about. A little would be fine, but that much made my mind wander. Good, but boring(so far, and in my opinion.)

Something I just have to point out to you two...



But anyway, I respect your decision not to read it. And thank you for putting time into reading it, and sharing your opinion, Yttrium. The story will change, and there will be more background on Liam and Bridney (despite her death), the parents, and the Church.

I know and ignored it, to me there is no reason not to put detail(I could care less about the history right now.)No matter what your writing(few exceptions) there is no excuse not to put detail, I mean you want people to enjoy and understand this, right? Your trying to paint a picture with your words, and right now your using pretty crappy colors, your drawing may be horrible, but there is no excuse to not use those bright colors.(Sorry for the lame anology, I'm pretty bad with those.)

Edit: Didn't see your edit, but I'm just going to leave this up here.

Wow, I love it already

Thanks, Grand. And Yttrium; I don't want to argue, if we could even call this that. We all have our ways of writing, reading, and enjoying stories and writings alike. I know you wont be the only one to say it's boring, unfortunately, but I also know some others will like it. Let's just leave it at that, eh?

Wow, I didn't know this would come to conflict, I'll gladly remove my posts if this makes you feel better. I didn't mean to offend you in anyway.

I didn't mean it like that, I was just afraid we'd go on and on about something, and fill this thread up with stuff like that. I'm not offended in anyway, and I definitely enjoy any type of criticism. I'm just the type of person that doesn't let the little things go, it's my fault, really. But don't take down your posts!

Yeah, definitely more detail. Just having dialogue doesn't accomplish much anyway, and with detail to whats going on around them etc. does accomplish something. So maybe add more detail to your writing? And you've already stumbled upon a scenario I had planned for my Ghoul Rp. So good for you.

I revised the crap outta the OP, so maybe one of you could give it a read and tell me how it turned out? I know it's super early for a second one already, but it was in hopes of fixing this little mess of an OP. After tomorrow, there's going to be a strict one-post-a-day Policy.. Eh, one-post-every-twenty-or-so-hours policy, anyways...

Part One, Family Ties; Chapter One: Miracles.

---
Mom and Dad; Jane and Jeffrey. Neither of them thought they'd be Ghouls in their older years, unfortunately they were wrong. I say unfortunately because of the loss of respect. Even old family friends felt hate towards them; towards us. It never mattered, though, because we had each other.
---

Time slowed, when Dad pointed the gun at me. Me, his own son! He was brainwashed by the Church of the Lost; he was no different than the other Ghoul fanatics and martyrs.

The body of my sister, Bridney, laid in the bed next to mine; just feet away. The darker spots on the black blankets signified she was bleeding terribly, and an instant give away about her death. I stared at the body, time still feeling completely frozen.

---
My sister slept, while I was still wide awake listening to my parents fight. They had just got some minutes earlier, and didn't even bother to wish us a goodnight sleep! I was angry, but it was no big deal, they were still my parents.

Just a few minutes later, Mom and Dad opened the door to my room; and saw me sitting in my bed, wide awake. I couldn't remember what they said, but they tried to comfort me. Their faces were covered by something, it was too vague of a memory to remember.
---

Dad froze, he stalled, but I knew he was still going to go through with it. It was the look on his face; it showed pain, regret, sadness... He already took the life of his daughter, and nothing stopped him from killing his son.

---
I woke up, and looked to my sister's bed. She was already gone, I naturally assumed I woke up later than normal. Making my way outside of our bedroom, I saw my mom in a dress, her head was down, and her hair covered her face completely. Her gloves and sleeves made no skin visible at the time. Bridney's face was buried into her lap.

Mom looked up, she had a disfigured face. It looked burnt, and the skin looked like it had fallen apart. That was the first time I've ever seen a Ghoul in my life; and it was my mother.

I was absolutely speechless, and I didn't know how to handle such a thing... I looked to the other room of the house. My dad stood in a mirror, shirtless, looking at his rotting skin. He lifted his arm, and tried to look at his back. He even pulled out hand fulls of hair. He turned and looked at me, tears coming from his eyes. That was the first time I've seen my dad cry.
---

I looked for my mom, but couldn't see her in the room. I peered through the door, and saw a robed figure running across the bridge, and to the docks. My mom was running away to let my dad kill me? They both lost their minds to the Church.

Something tackled Dad, well, someone tackle him. I watched, as the two men rolled around on the ground in the small shack, just two beds and almost no space to fight, trying to get the gun from the other.

“Are you [censored] insane?” I heard a familiar voice, it was Josef.

“It's for the Church!” My dad yelled crazily.

Dad got on top of Josef, and tried to bring the gun down on him. Josef quickly turned his neck, and; using his feet and arms, he lifted up Dad and threw him against the wall. His head slammed against Bridney's bed, and his eyes started to look all around the place. He wouldn't be conscious too much longer.

Josef grabbed the gun from his hands, and stood up. Looking down on my dad, he cocked the gun and aimed. He shook his head, and frowned. My dad made eye contact with me.

---
Shunned. Forced out of society. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair! My parents were Ghouls, and our old society didn't like that. The same day I found out, we were kicked out of our town. But my parents made a deal, just they leave.

Me and Bridney stayed, and watched them leave our town. We didn't follow until we were twenty-one. Ten years later... We'd visit once a month, we planned. But one day me and Bridney broke apart, and didn't see Mom and Dad for three years.

To this day, I don't know how they were turned into Ghouls.
---

Ghouls don't tend to cry, I don't think they can cry. But my dad could figure it out. He cried the first day he became a Ghoul, and he cried the last day he was one. I watched my dad cry; for the last time.

Excelent New Chapter and awesome edit on the original post.

Much, much better, in my opinion. I've read this and it's great amazing(especially from the stuff I've been reading.) I'm absolutely go to stay with this, it's know may favorite on here. I probably should have something to criticize right know, but I don't. Awesome Job. :goodjob:

A chill crept up my spine when I read this sentence:

Thank, Yttrium. And is that a good or bad thing, Scatmang? Lastly, sorry for these mopey, depressing installments. Just showing how Liam feels about it all.

Family Ties; Chapter Two: My Faith

I let out a scream of terror, as the gunshot shattered my ear drums. I pressed my back against the wall, and lifted the blanket up to cover my mouth, I started to shake violently. I was probably one of the most cowardice twenty year olds out in the Wastes.

Bridney was the strong one; the brave one. I was always so jealous of it, but that fact was probably what made us such great friends. Most sibling constantly bickered when they were younger, but we didn't. She was my best friend, and I was hers. When I was scared, she'd comfort me. When I was hurt, she'd help me. I was a terrible older brother, but I didn't want it any other way.

Josef turned around, and dropped the gun. It hit the ground with a quiet thunk. Josef's face was covered in specks of blood. The terrifying thought was how far the blood flew from Dad's body...

“I'm... I'm so sorry Liam.” Josef finally said.

I swallowed air, and fought back any sign of sadness. Granted, it wasn't the best time to hold back my emotions, but my family needed a hero. I'm not blaming my dad for what had happened, and I'll never blame him. I could only blame the Church at the time. Brainwashed; that was my theory.

“Liam? I know what you are thinking, and lemme tell you something about that; this isn't a movie, okay? You can't just go to the Church, kill everyone, save your mom, and leave. Do you understand me? You're not an action hero, and this isn't a big budget flick.” Josef said.

The worst part about listening to Josef, was knowing he was right.

“I don't know what to do.” I confessed.

“You have to leave, get out of here. Please, Liam. If Jane is anything like those fanatics at the church, she's going to tell them what happened. They're going to come for you... They're going to come for us. Please, let it go. It may seem impossible, but time heals all wounds.”

I sat there, thinking about the possibilities. I wasn't bothering to listen to Josef, until her started to get louder.

“Leave, Liam. Leave!”

I jumped from my bed, and wiped my face. Using my sleeve, I pushed back my hair and wiped the sweat from my greasy forehead. I bent over, and grabbed my bag from the floor. I never unpacked, so everything was there. That was kind of lucky.

Before I left, there was still one thing I had to do. I walked to my sister's bed, and shut my eyes tight. I looked the other way, and reached for her neck. Grabbing her necklace, I tugged on it and it broke apart off her neck. Quickly, I shoved it in my bag and ran through the door.

Running out of Los, and to the desert, to nowhere, I couldn't help but to relive some happy moments with Bridney.

--
I was at the state of tearing up. Holding my bloody leg, I couldn't help but to cry. My ten year old tears dripped down my face, and fell from my chin. I just fell; it was just a little scratch. But I never was a fighter.

My sister came up from behind me, and patted me on the head. Turning to face her, I could see her giant smile, and glowing eyes. She pulled band-aid from her pocket, knowing I'd manage to hurt myself; she was prepared. She put the band-aid on, and hugged me.
--

I shook my head, trying to get the memories out of my head. I didn't want to think of her, because of what had just happened. Everything reminded me over her, every rock turned into another scene of my life with her. Every hole turned into me getting hurt, and her being there for me.

Josef was crazy. Let this go? No, no. That's impossible. I could never let such a thing go, until I could do something about it. But it was just me against a hundred plus Ghouls. What could I do? Nothing, like always.

Why, tis the greatest thing an author can do to his readers.

I don't have time to read the next chapter now, but I'll be back in an hour or so keep it up

Short chapter, and the last chapter of Part One; "Family Ties". Up next will be Part Two; "Ruins of Fe". Each "Part" will take place in a different area, and have it's own story of sorts. "Family Ties" is more of a prologue, so you wont hear about Los for a while By the way, if you read a chapter; please comment on it. Tell me what's wrong/good, how to fix/improve.


Family Ties; Chapter Three: All Aboard!

I ran for hours, maybe even a full day. As I went to take in a fresh breath of air, I could barely get any in without tasting blood, and feeling the pain in my throat. I was covered in dirt, I even had specks of blood still on my shirt and pants. My ankle was sprained, so my quick pace had a limp to it, but I still managed to run faster than ever.

Wondering aimlessly, I thought about my options. I had almost none, because I had no other family, friends, or even shelter. I needed food, water, and rest. My dry throat made it hard to breath, and my cough was making everything worse.

I coughed, then that turned into a vicious sounding hack. Blood came from my split open throat, and dropped onto the desert ground. If I lived through this all, the first thing I wanted to do was leave Texas. There had to be some places that still had trees, shade, and at least some cool weather.

An attack of coughing and hacking came from my mouth; more blood followed. I gently put myself against the ground, and looked up to the sky. Taking in a breath, I contemplated life. More memories came through my head; but there were far too many to account for. I started to get tired, and I shut my eyes; some sleep would be good. A coma would have been much nicer.

***

Freezing cold water splashed onto my face, and I woke up with a quick jump. Rubbing my eyes, to get rid of the slight burning sensation of the radiation, I looked around for whatever caused it. A young family of obvious rednecks stood in front of my, a bucket in the male's hands. I was on a makeshift sled, and I was far from where I fell asleep. A calm river filled with murky, green water was right next to us.

The man wore a red baseball cap, and overalls. His brown cowboy boots were stained with various colors, ranging from red to even green. It was obvious he hasn't shaved for a good amount of time.

The woman, who I assumed was the wife of the small southern family, had pushed back, blonde hair. Her pink sundress was tattered and ripped. The sunglasses over her eyes reflected light directly into mine.

As for the boy with them, it was hard to tell. He was most likely very shy, since he was hiding behind the mom's sundress.

I heard the [censored] of a gun, and I looked up to the man. He was holding it up to my head.

"I'm sorry, mister. We're nice folks, and we found you out there in the desert, so we dragged you here to the Rio. Just because we gave you a chance, don't mean we won't kill you if you're some kinda sicko." He said, in his very southern accent.

"Jesus! Please, take that thing away from me. I've had one too many guns pointed at me today. There's nothing wrong with me, you don't have to worry. Just.. Just get that gun off me!" I replied, angry and sad.

The man smiled, "Maybe we can be friends. I'm Eli, my wife Renee, and my boy; Billy." He holstered his weapon, I smiled and stood up.

"I'm Liam. Liam Dodge." I reached out, and shook hands with Eli. "You dragged me all the way to the Rio?" I asked.

"Yes sir, we did. We were on our way here from a small community up north. Found you, and out of the kindness in our hearts we dragged you with us."

"Why the Rio?" I asked.

"There's an old boat we got hidden up here, believe it or not. Fixed up an ol' prewar boat, but the engine don't work. We need one good man to help us row, care to take the trip with us?"

"Where are you all headed? Taking a boat must mean it's pretty far away."

"Well we'd much rather ride the river, and walk the desert. We're going to the Fe Ruins, we're not welcome in this place anymore."

"Fe? All the way in New Mexico? That seems like a pretty long journey just for the four of us." I replied.

"The four of us? I guess that means you're going?" The man smiled, I returned the smile.

I needed to leave Texas, get away from Los. If the ruins of Santa Fe were the first place I could go on a safe journey, then that's where I was headed. Even if it was with three complete strangers. At least they all looked nice, I doubt there's anything wrong with them.

Wow. This Fan Fiction is awesome so far and how you are going to all these new places is awesome!!!

C'mon, more people have to be reading this! Some comments would be nice, more than one, anyways

Part Two: Ruins of Fe; Chapter One: The Never Ending River

The boat was fairly large; enough seats for at least twenty-five people. Tires aligned the sides, and a greenish-blue tarp covered the top, held up by sticks. A small engine was behind it, along with a pair of rudders to control the direction of the boat. It was inside a small cave, with a path curving around the entrance to the shore. The only way someone could find it would be from the river, or from the other side of it. And because of the high amount of radiation in the Rio, it was no surprise no one took their chances.

As I walked over the narrow, wooden platform, I looked down to the river water. Steams were emitted from the surface of the thick liquid, showing signs of radiation; if the green tint wasn't a big enough giveaway. I gulped at the thought of falling in, then slowly burning away. Almost like melting in hot magma, of course I only knew about that from library books.

Slowly, the four of us made it to the boat; all unharmed. Without a word, Eli and his wife walked to the back of the medium-sized boat, and started to mess with the engine. Their small son, Billy, looked at me awkwardly.

With a smile, I said;

"Y'know, Billy? My name's Liam, which is short for William. Like your name. Funny, eh?"

He still stared, and didn't say a word. Is round face cocked to the side, and he shut his eyes. He leaned back, to lay down, and placed his hand over his stomach. It was one strange way to lay down, especially in front of a stranger. But kids will be kids.

The sound of the starting engine made me jump, thinking it was a gunshot. Of course, the obvious enough memories flashed through my head in an instant. Josef and dad wrestling on the ground, my sister's body...

Eli walked over to me, and sat down in the same seat. He looked at me, winked, smiled, and started to talk.

"She's a beaut? I'n't she?"

"Well, I've definitely never seen one in such good condition." I paused, "Wait, I thought the engine didn't work?"

Eli laughed, "When did I say that? I've put so much work into his boat, I'd refuse to finish it if the engine didn't work!"

I frowned, "You're right, I must have misunderstood."

***

A slow boat ride in a desert river, the perfect definition of the word "boring". It's been a day, as far as I know. Fell asleep at night, woke up at day, so it makes sense. There was no change in scenery; brown, gray, golden, orange, generally dull...

I didn't think I could ever fall asleep being so bored, but it happened. Just thirty minutes after full night of sleep, more than enough, I found myself dozing off one more time. My dreams were anything but sweet, but no nightmares were related to the matter at hand. Nothing relating to Los, the ship, the family... It was just strange visions and creepy pictures.

***

A loud crack, followed by a bang woke me up instantly. I sat up in my chair, and rubbed my eyes. I heard some cursing, yelling, and the repeated line: "Robert did it!".

I felt something sting my foot, and I looked down to see water slowly coming onto the ferry. I jumped up to the seat, to avoid the burning liquid. The boat was crashed into the side of the river bank, and the engine was on fire. Eli, Renee, and Billy were no where in sight. The only thing related to them was their voices, seeming to come from above me.

"Eli!" I yelled.

"Liam, quick; climb up the bank!" I heard Eli reply.

I looked at the ground, and saw the boat submerging faster and faster. I cursed to myself, and jumped out to the river bank, just as the water had reached the seat. The muddy walls made it almost impossible to climb, and I slid down just inches from the water.

Luckily, the bank wasn't even that high. Eli was leaning over as much as he could without falling in himself, his wife and son both holding his feet. Eli's hand was stretched out. I grabbed it hastily, so I wouldn't fall into the water.

He grunted, as he tried his best to lift me with his one arm. He was using his other to keep a good grip on the ground above. Renee and Billy were both pulling me up.

Finally, I started to get farther from the water, and closer to safety. I dropped down to my knees when I hit the ground, my muddy front shared the mud with the ground. I let out a gasp, and sighed with relief.

"What... What happened? What happened?" I mumbled, scared beyond belief.

"Billy happened." Eli said, snatching something away from his son.

It was a creepy doll, dressed in a stained white outfit. A small cap was on it's head. Eli lifted it up, and threw it into the water. Billy yelled after it, and Eli grabbed him so he wouldn't dive in to save it.

"What do we do now? How far are we from Fe?" I asked.

Eli laughed, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Fe is just about a mile north from here, this is where the river ends. We didn't want to wake you, so we waited at the docking place. But Billy did something ? I don't know what it was."

"Why did you leave me there!" I demanded.

"I'm sorry Liam, I had to get my family up there first. I've always thought 'family first'. I'm so sorry, Liam..."

I stood up, and looked at the family.

"Family first? Wish I could say the same... This is where we split, thank you so very much for the boat ride."

With that, I started to walk North; where Eli said Fe was at. A mile wasn't that long of the walk, I figured. The walk from Carbon to Los was much more than a mile, and that wasn't too much of a problem. I could handle the blisters and burns.

As I walked, with Eli and the rest staying back to rest, I couldn't help to think why I was so nice about Eli leaving me to die. "Family First" was what he said, and I had to think about my family. I would have done the same if I was in his position. A weak little boy couldn't have climbed that muddy bank by himself. But the woman looked strong enough to do it, maybe helping her was simply out of love.

A weak little boy, and a strong young woman... Good thing Eli was family first...

There is absolutley nothing wrong with this chapter! Your Fan Fictions are the best I must say!