OCC: I wanted to move ahead a few years after this chapter because the story is supposed to be mainly involved with after The Lone Wanderer, so I had to cram a lot into this chapter. If you don't like the chapters being that long, I can always try to shorten the length from now on. Just want to make the read as comfortable as possible.

Ch.6: Our Thirst, Our Hunger, Our Rage

That night, sleeping was difficult. There weren't enough beds in the Common House to go around for all the extra people. Sted and Dennis actually had to resort to paying people to give up their beds so that all three of them could sleep well. Unfortunately, Lucas was right when he said that most of the newcomers were crooks and troublemakers. The three of them were almost pick-pocketed in their sleep four times. It probably would have kept going all night long if Dennis didn't break the hand of one pickpocket who had the audacity to try to steal from Milton.

Come morning, the three of them were thoroughly exhausted from that horrible night. They had no choice but to Moriarty's for food and drink. It wasn't like there was any other place to go. Just outside of Moriarty's, Dennis split up with them saying he was going to make up some of the caps they spent yesterday.

After a quick crappy and overpriced breakfast, Sted brought Milton to the bomb. They sat on the bench and just spent a little time talking to each other. Mostly Sted answering Milton's questions about Megaton. Naturally the conversation shifted towards the bomb. But before they could go into much detail, Dennis came back with a serious look on his face.

"Milton, I have something very special for you."

"What is it daddy?"

"I got you some water."

Milton made a very disappointed face. Water meant a horrible taste in your mouth. Water meant pukeing your guts out. Water meant having your stomach feel like its on fire. Water pretty much equated to an experience slightly preferable to a Super Mutant attack, and it was written all over Milton's face.

"I know what you're thinking Milton, but its not like that. This is what water is supposed to be like. I promise it wont make you sick."

Milton looked at the almost alien substance in the bottle with the upmost intrigue. It didn't look like water. There was no brown or green color to it, no dirt, you could even see through it!

"Now where the hell did you get this Dennis!?", said Sted in a happily surprised tone. "You got what, three, four bottles of purified water?"

"I got enough to last Milton a week, and to let the two of us have one today."

"We didn't bring anything worth a trade like that."

"Walter owed me a favor", was the only thing Dennis would say as he handed a bottle to each of them. Sted immediately knew what he meant by that. Dennis had been collecting "favors" from people since the day they met. Sted didn't really approve of it, but he's learned Dennis has plenty of good qualities too. At least nowadays Dennis wasn't collecting "favors" just for himself anymore.

"Just remember Milton. Drink every bottle real slow, and savor it. This could be the only time you can drink clean water for a very long time. Take really small sips.", advised Dennis.

With what they said in mind, Milton sat back down on the bench and took the time to just stare at the water inside the plastic bottle. Sted and Dennis were already done with half of their bottles by the time Milton unscrewed the top of his. He gently wet his dry, cracked, lips with the first few drops, and smiled when it didn't sting. When Milton took his first real sip, his eyes went wide open. It was one of the most amazing experiences in his life.

For the first time, there was no foul taste in his mouth. For the first time, his throat didn't burn. For the first time, his thirst felt quenched. Before he could even finish the bottle, tears began running down his cheeks.

"Thank you daddy...I love you...so much."

"I love you too son. We both do."

The three of them shared a nice family hug before continuing the day. Megaton had disappointingly little food for sale, and they needed pre-war food that wouldn't spoil when they got back into the ruins. They would need to go to Springvale. Luckily for them, Sted knew a few hidden treasures of Springvale. Sted had read an article from the Washington Post a few years ago that suggested Americans who couldn't afford spots in a vault to make shelters in their own homes. Meaning if a scavenger took the time to clear some debris, they could find a basemant or hole filled with food.

It was while emptying one of these shelters that they spotted a group of nervous looking men walking down the main road of Springvale. They were wearing blue and yellow clothes, and most of them had what Sted described as riot gear on. Despite this protection, practically everything around them seemed to evoke fear. They were the group from the vault heading to Megaton to recruit a doctor. Sted didn't want them to miss this.

Inside Megaton, a huge crowd of people had already formed around the group from the vault. The vault dwellers in security armor were pushing back people as the only one in their group without riot gear tried speaking over the crowd. One by one, people in the crowd started listening to what the man had to say. And miraculously, no one was shooting yet.

"We are here for a new doctor. If you think you have the skill to be our doctor and live among us in peace, take one of these papers. They are the first part of your test. Fill out the answers, and return them to us in twenty minutes."

A single-file line quickly formed in front of the vault people. The huge stack of test papers dwindled to a few sheets in no time. And what seemed like two-thirds of the town, was writing on whatever surface they could find. Even Sted picked up a test sheet.

"Now what the hell are you doing? It's depressing as hell when we're in the metro for week, why would you want to spend your whole life underground?"

"Geez! Calm down. I just want to get some free reading material. This could be the only time I get literature without running from super mutants."

It took only a quick skim of the paper for Sted to see how hard it was. Half the people taking the test were illiterate, so they were sunk. And those who could actually read the test, would be met with medical questions that would make the average Wasteland Doctor want to pack up their bone saw for good. Sted was amazed these vault dwellers expected anyone to pass the test. Sure enough, some people were already throwing their tests away.

When it came time to tally up the scores, only three people scored high enough to qualify for the last stage of testing. A ghoul doctor named Barrows, a man by the name of Church, and another man by the name of James. The ghoul doctor was dismissed immediately, and Doc Church's bad attitude got him kicked out of the running soon afterwards. Leaving James as the only candidate left.

"Congratulations sir, you may call yourself a citizen of Vault 101. Remember this: we need a doctor not a dead beat-fail to reach my expectations and there will be consequences."

"I understand Overseer.", responded James. "My only condition is for you to let me bring my son with me. He is still an infant, and I promise to never reveal his true origins to him."

The Overseer took a moment to think about this decision before giving a begrudeing answer. "Errr...Very well! Security Chief Powers!"

"Yes Overseer?"

"We are leaving."

A massive uproar came from the crowd as they heard what the Overseer said. They all knew what was going to happen from the start, but it didn't help ease the reality of the situation. Only taking in one wastelander was just too cruel. So many were starving, so many were sick, so many were thirsty. The vault provided salvation, and who had the power to deny or grant this salvation? People who had no idea of the horrors of the wastes. People who had the audacity to think they were superior to them. People who were standing right in front of them.

"Officer Powers, you and your men deal with these savages and get back to the vault. Officer Gomez, escort me and the good doctor to the vault. Now!"

For vault security officers immediately formed a wall between the crowd and the fleeing party. Before Lucas or anyone else could do something to stop this, a knife wielding settler charged the security officers, one of the officers fired the pistol. First blood was drawn, and both sides fired on each other. Sted had picked up Milton and hid under some railing, while Dennis sprinted right into the fight. Bullets were bouncing off everywhere, men were wrestling each other down, and bones were breaking. The crowd quickly plowed through the security officers to try and reach the vault before it closed. Leaving the bodies and wounded behind.

A security officer bleeding from his arm trudged towards the bomb wheezing in pain. As he leaned on the bomb, he saw Sted huddled over Milton. Out of perhaps fear, confusion, or even sadistic rage, he pointed his gun to shoot the two. But as he pulled the trigger, it clicked empty. Before he could reload, a bullet hit him in the waste, causing him to cough up blood and get on his knees. Dennis walked towards the dying security officer and ejected the shell from his hunting rifle.

"[censored]...Savage.", cursed the officer.

"Only savage I see here is you." Dennis then struck the man on the head with the butt of his rifle. He fell into the pool of filth while bloody security helmet rolled away from the force of the blow. Dennis picked up the helmet and sat next to his family. "You know that bastard pistol whipped me."

Sted chuckled softly at Dennis's remark. "You say the weirdest [censored] sometimes, heh heh." As he patted Milton's head to calm him down, Sted sighed. "You were right you know. Coming to Megaton was a mistake.", he said with his voice filled with guilt.

"Now that not true Sted. We found old friends, got some clean water, a fistful of caps, and a souvenir.", he said waving the security helmet.

Great chapter wasteland cant wait for more! =)

great indeed, oh and I don't mind the PMs they're quite helpful. Keep on going!

Great as usual, you deserve the title "Scholar".

Why thank you. No one has ever said that before.


I'm always open to ideas on how to improve the story. Just PM me, and I'll give every suggestion serious thought. After all, the whole point of this is for you the readers to enjoy it.

Haha.


This is superb writing. I'm still reeling from the last chapter.


For pure speculation of how James was inducted into the Vault, that was incredibly accurate and logical.



Seem's you put up a very good read. I'll be watching.


Keep up the good work. 5/5 .

I'm starting to get addicted to this fanfic, looking forward for the next chapter!

I second this, good job and keep it up!

Thanks. Next chapter will be up in a couple of days. I'm almost done getting it on paper.

I've been searching high and low for good pics for my story, but still nothing good for the immediate chapters. I'll post whatever looks good.

Criticism welcome too by the way.

that was sweet. This story is really good, reminds me of the one writen by sergent Gutsy awhile ago.

Ahhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You wont freaking believe this! I finished typing the very last word of my new long-ass chapter, and with one wrong stroke I deleted 60% of the chapter. I'm really pissed off right now. :flame:

This has delayed me for at least another day. Thursday is a free day for me so I see no reason why I cant retype it then.

Ch.7: Growing Up Fast and Getting Old Quick

D.C Ruins, Georgetown, 2274:

"Oh hell, bleh." Milton started pukeing in the corner while Dennis watched with a lit cigarette in his mouth. It was his turn to make sure Milton didn't keel over and die. This was looking like a particulary bad puke session.

"Did you get it all out of your system?"

"Yeah, I think so. It must have been that damn dog meat the ghoul sold us."

"Well we should've known better. Anything they would eat, would damn near kill you. But beggars cant be choosers. Ghouls are usually the only ones that can get this deep into the ruins. Well...We better get back up there. There should be some radaway in the medical bag for you."

Up in the fourth floor of the office building, the three of them set up their small camp. Waiting and watching for the chance to get back to their home. It has been four months since they were in the Tepid Sewers, and they had used up all the food in all of their safe houses in Georgetown. Ever since the Brotherhood pulled out, this was the usual story for the group. Georgetown was 100% Super Mutant territory.

"Any changes Sted?", asked Dennis.

"Well...The mutants are being careful now. No more dead after the two this morning. What's worse, it looks like they're making a camp down there."

"They can set up a camp with all the mines down there!", exclaimed Milton.

"Quiet down! They've already set off most of our minds and tripwires down there. They could do damn near anything they want now."

All the men grew silent. Their patience is running low, and they were beginning to contemplate abandoning their home. It was a hard decision to make. So much salvage had been collected there, and it had been their longest lasting home since their metrol bunker.

Preferring to leave the big decision to his fathers. Milton got out the IV of radaway and stuck the needle into his arm. Already he was feeling better. You must have come down with mild radiation poisoning earlier. Problem was, with the nausia clearing up, the hunger started coming back.

The three of them sat on the floor without a word for quite some time. The only noises coming from the mutants down below. They were taking potshots at molerats and making disgusting sounds as they tore apart their kills. The three scavengers looked in envy as those monsters ate, explored, and slept freely.

"If I didn't know better. I'd say the super mutants were making fun of us.", said Sted as he peered through his old binoculars.

"How do you figure that ?", asked Dennis.

"They've caught another scavenger."

"Holy [censored]!"

Now Dennis and even Milton, holding the IV in his hand, were looking out the window. Amazed that there actually any humans beside them in Georgetown. Down below the scene unfolded.

Two super mutants approached the camp. One had a struggling woman on its shoulder, while the other was dragging the woman's pack brahmin by the heads it strangled. The three super mutants already at the camp gathered around the woman as she was dropped onto the ground.

"Ha Ha Ha! Long time since we found human here. Is she one who set traps that kill our brothers?"

"Don't know. Found her all alone with Moo Moo. I not kill her to make sure."

"I don't know what you're talking about!", screamed the frightened woman. "I like super mutants! Yeah! Eat my Brahmin! Its tasty and yours! Just let me go! I'll even help you find the one setting the traps! I swear!"

All the super mutants started laughing and began taking everything useful from the pack brahmin One super mutant even started ripping off the woman's clothes. Shaking out any spare bullets until the woman was in nothing but her undergarments.

Milton looked on in disgust as f witnessing a [censored]. He suddenly pulled the needle out of his arm and started running out of the room. Before he was able to get even one foot out the door, Dennis tackled him to the ground and covered his mouth.

"I can't believe you were thinking of doing the most retarded thing possible just now."

Milton pulled Dennis's hand away and started arguing with him. "Why not try to fight them!? We've been here waiting for two weeks, waiting for a handful of super mutants to go away. If we save and kill the mutants that's two problems solved."

"We can't fight mutants son!"

"You saved ME from super mutants the day you found me!"

"Yes, but you weren't captured by them. And in case you didn't notice, our hair wasn't this grey when we did that! I'm fifty, and Sted is forty-nine. You might be the right age for that kind of [censored], but I won't let my only kid die for three minutes of glory. Too many people have missed their chances at doing real good that way, and I'll die before I let you go that way!"

Dennis got off of Milton, who went into the next room to vent and get away from the view of what the mutants were doing. This was happening a lot lately. Milton knew it was important to be calm about his decisions, but he was finding it harder and harder to just be the bystander with each passing day. The Brotherhood was in decline, and the heroes in Power Armor suddenly dissappeared from the lives of the common people. Raiders stopped being scared, Slavers were working overtime, and the super mutants owned D.C.

After a while, Sted walked into the room where Milton was. He found him sitting in the corner of the room, surrounded by cans and pots he threw around in his tantrum. Sted brushed away the junk and sat next to Milton. They didn't say anything to eachother. Nothing really had to be said. They've had that same conversation many times before. "Dennis only has your best intrests at heart", "We dont like it anymore than you do", blah blah blah. Eventually, Sted asked him the only question worth asking.

"Hey...You hungry?"

"...A little...Yeah."

Sted and Milton walked back into the room where Dennis was keeping watch. Dennis didn't take his concentration away from the mutants who were putting up the last touches to their camp.

"How's the woman?", asked Milton.

"They gave her a beating for a while, but now they just have her in one of these shopping cart cages. They'll probably take her away, which might give us an opening."

Milton sat on the moldy mattress that was his bed, and began preparing his things. It wasn't until he was loading his hunting rifle that Dennis took notice.

"Going somewhere?"

"I'm hungry. Going out for food. Its almost night so it should be safe enough."

"There's no food out here. Just the rotten dog meat we have now."

"I noticed a metro gate we haven't explored yet. Those eat'o'tronic things are usually near the entrances. I could go in, clean house, and get out."

"No we just need to stay put until..."

"Let him go Dennis...", interupted Sted.

After a moment, Dennis walked up to Milton and grabbed his hunting rifle. He then handed him Sted's revolver. "Thats the only weapon you get Milton. No frags. No rifles. Just one revolver and two clips of ammo. Just in case you get any dumb ideas of heroism. Even YOU know you cant fight mutants with just that much." Dennis sighed before looking Milton straight in the eye."Look...Just be safe, and keep your head down. Ok."

"Hey, its what we do everyday isn't it?", Milton replied coldly.

Hey this is great! I'm adding you to my friends list for being my favorite author. It looks like the story is ramping up now!

Why I'm happy to be your friend

And yeah, it did take a while. I originally planned on only spending two or three chapters before reaching this part of the story, but one thing led to the other and here we are at Ch. 7. The next two chapters will be very important, and filled with much more action than the rest. Plus as a bonus, I found plenty of pics that will fit in nicely with them, so that will something to look forward to.

I'm reluctant to give a definite date for my next installment considering my track record, but I will say it should be up sometime next week.

Enjoy the read!

I was wondfering when it would make the few-year transition between childhood and teenager. Now its going to be getting a bit more violent, isnt it?I prefer FanFics that are equal parts action and story.

PS:Thank you for not saying that supermutants [censored] her. Im allways having to tell people that super mutants have no sixual organs or desires.

You could totally tell he was thinking about doing it. I thought it was interesting that he was a Raider kid. I wonder if that accounts for the gastrointestinal issues.

~

Warning: The rest of this post is not for the squeamish!



Organs, unclear (guys still gotta pee); desires, most certainly. I've read a story where they did go that far and yet didn't address the one glaringly obvious issue that would result from such a thing.

Permit me to be absolutely disgusting for a moment.

If that were to happen, the victim would be at higher risk of bleeding out than simply be beaten up. That'd take a few stimpaks at the very least to fix up. Plus, you wouldn't be capable of walking away from that (both figuratively and literaly). Think about the size difference for a second and you'll understand what I mean.

EDIT: Oh hell, way to start a new page.

Nice one, Kikai.

Anyways, lore wise, Super Mutants have absolutely no sixual indicators and are completely sterile.

I didn't know it was going to newpage me

You are, of course, correct. This really isn't the place to have a discussion about it; I just wanted to point that out as both a damn good reason why that wouldn't work other than the fact that they're asixual.

I'm using the green, puke-face posticon on purpose.

Alright, Alright. To bury this issue, I had no intention for the super mutants to [censored] the woman. The official game guides profile on the east coast super mutants states they do have the urge to propagate their species, but their messed up brains equates propagation to kidnapping people and dipping them in "green stuff".

When Dennis said they beat her up, they just punched and kicked her. Super Mutants are very sadistic and violent and take the time to make everything suffer.

I was afraid some people would think they were [censored] her, but I didn't worry about it that much. I assumed Vault 87 super mutants lacked genitils.

And Kikai, the reson Milton has such problems is because of some personal experiences I had. When I was younger, I had horrible digestive problems that were related to severe stress. Almost every meal was followed by nausia. I also thought Milton's condition was more realistic. I cant imagine a more stressful enviornment than the Capital Wasteland, and food is barely edible. If anyone was in that kind of enviornment, they would be barely alive. Slowly dieing with every passing day of poisoning and malnutrition.

Pretty much.



Well, that certainly makes sense. I can also see why Mirelurk is the best for him since I recall seeing somewhere that it's the best meat you can get.

Good News!!!

I finished writing the chapter earlier than expected. I'll probably post the chapter sometime tomorrow.

P.S. I found plenty of pictures that go with this chapter.

I just want to let you guys know that I'm not too proud about this chapter. I don't know...but something just feels wrong about it the more I read it. I was on a real roll when I was writing it, hell I made two versions after the first one didn't work! Well...I guess I'll let you guys be the final judges.

Ch.8: The Hand of Death

One hour after the events of Chapter 7:

Milton looked over the corner and saw that the coast was clear. Quietly, he moved from car to car, doing his best to stick to cover. The tunnel was in view, so Milton took one last look before bolting to the entrance. The entrance was partially collapsed, and would seem inaccessible if you didn't actually walk up to it. Only a small gap in the rubble, just barely big enough for Milton to crawl through, gave him a way inside.

As he crawled through to the other side, he couldn't see a damn thing. The tunnel was pitch-black inside, and the first thing his hands touched was what felt like water. Milton pulled out a lead pipe and wrapped some dirty rags at the tip. After squirting a little turpentine on it, he had a torch ready to go. The light revealed a flooded chamber that wasn't part of the metro system at all. It was a maintenance tunnel, which was going to make finding food a lot trickier.

It took only a little exploring for Milton to find another light. It came from a hallway with battery powered lamps on the floor. There was no flooding in this section, and there was plenty of evidence of several people living here. One room looked like it was used for storage, the next was a bedroom, and at the end of the hallway, there was a makeshift kitchen. With pre-war food sitting on a set table!

"Holy crap! We definitely need to trade with these people.", said Milton.

He tried to move on and finish checking the place out, but Milton couldn't get himself out of the kitchen. Since he threw up the dog meat from before, his stomach thought he hadn't eaten in almost three days. He knew eating someone else's food was probably the worst crime you could do out here (murder being the same old same old), but at that moment, Milton didn't give a damn.

Using his combat knife, Milton cut open one can after another. Dropping a block of cram over a pile of beans, before covering it with even more beans. Continuing this piling of food until a mound of cram and pork N' beans was on the plate in front of him.


...Minutes Later...

Sted and Dennis were keeping a close eye on the mutant camp, when they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Milton was actually back on time for once. Meaning he probably didn't find anything.

"Don't get up. I'll help him.", said Sted as he walked towards the door.

The moment Sted walked out the door, some toxic spit flew onto his face. Dennis turned around hearing Sted screaming in agony, and saw a centaur rushing into the room. It wrapped its disgusting tongues around Dennis's arms and quickly overpowered him.

...Meanwhile...

Milton scraqed the last of the beans from the plate. The food may have lost most of its flavor over the years, but anything that didn't taste disgusting was a welcome break. Milton took a quick look at everything around him and started thinking how much like their old metro home this was.

At the corner of the room, there were two doors that Milton hadn't checked yet. One of them had the word "garbage" spray painted on it. With cut up in hand, Milton opened the door to dump his trash.

http://planetmedia.gamespy.com/images/00/22/2241_FO3_The_Refuge_Mod.jpg made him drop everything on the ground and get his revolver out. Whoever lived here were a bunch of psychos. Psychos who needed a bullet in their heads.

Carefully, Milton opened the other door. On the other side, a raider was hunched on a chair facing the door across from him. The man was dead, with a puddle of blood at his feet. Hinting that he bled to death. He had an assault rifle in his dead man's grip, with spent shells at his feet.

Milton casually took some frags from the body and took a look at the man. He had bite marks all over his arms and legs. The door in front of him had a trail of blood leading to the chair. Suggesting whatever happened to him, happened there. When he got back here, he must have guarded the entrance until he died. The question was, what was he guarding from?

Milton flicked the switch, and let the hydraulic door open with his gun at the ready. It opened into a pitch-black section of the tunnel. In the darkness, a smacking sound was heard. When Milton relit his torch, he saw a huge pack of ghouls gnawing the flesh off the mutilated bones of the other raiders.

Milton's face turned ghostly pale. Ghouls inhabited his darkest nightmares. Worse than super mutants, mirelurks, and even deathclaws. And a pack of them were gazing at him through their dead eyes right now!

He immedietly pressed the switch to close the door, but he was too late. Mid-way through the closing process, a ghoul got its hand jammed in the door's gear. The other ghouls quickly started forcing open the door. Milton emptied his revolver into the ghouls, killing two before they got through.

Milton ran faster than he ever thought possible. Passing all the rooms in a blur. Instinctively, he dropped a grenade on the ground before reaching the flooded section of the tunnel. Giving him a few precious extra feet between him and the ghouls. Suddenly, a heavy weight felt lifted from his waist. With a splash, Sted's revolver fell into the water.

Milton couldn't leave his father's gun here. It was too precious to both of them. Forcing him to turn around while the ghouls got closer. They were right upon him when his fingers felt the gun in the water. Frantically, Milton waved his torch at the ghouls, only to be bitten all over the arm. They were relentless. One after another, tackling him. Taking another bite each, until Milton forced them off.

With the exit right there, Milton bolted into the hole, crawling for his life. All the while, feeling the ghouls bite and grab his legs. Pulling him back into the tunnel. Back into their dark world.

Screaming, his head appeared on the other side. Then his arm, then his torso, and finally his legs. With his body out, Milton hit the ground running. Leaving two frag grenades at the front of the hole, sealing it for good.

"You like that!? Do you like that, huh!?", Milton screamed hysterically. "You [censored] ZOMBIES!!! I beat you! I [censored] BEAT YOU!!! Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!"

Milton collapsed right there on the ground, thoroughly exhausted from his ordeal. His chest was pounding, he could barely feel his arms and legs, and he had never felt so happy to be alive. Gently, he closed his eyes, and let everything feel at peace. He laid there for quite some time, in fact, he almost fell asleep with all the silence around him.

Then, Milton heard a thumping sound too loud to be his heart. He opened his eyes to see a super mutant looking down on him with the most sinister smile. Milton couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him. He had barely survived one of the most dangerous situations of his life. And not ten minutes later, he was about to die from an enemy he had spent his whole life mastering to avoid. It was all rather embarrassing. Yet despite his disbelief, it did not change one simple fact. The hand of death was upon him, and it was a yellow hand.

Cliff hangar alert! Good chapter,I eagerly await the next chapter to learn of his fate.

Aw hell..

Great chapter, I don't see anything that would make you uncomfortable about it.