Fallout: Rise of the Lone Wanderer: Book One

by M. P. Pubs

  Gomez raised his eyebrows. "Ah, Amata. It doesn't surprise me that she sent you a message, but I would keep that under your hat for her sake. A lot of people would be upset is she found out she contacted you."

  "So what happens now?"

  Gomez pondered that for a moment. "Well, I suppose I should arrest you and take you to the Overseer, but I know better then to try that. Besides, I owe you for saving me the day you escaped."

  Marcus lowered his pistol, and Gomez did the same. "What the hell happened down here?"

  "The night you and your dad left, everything went crazy. Between the bugs and confusion, we lost a lot of people. But the worst is what happened afterwards. When you're dad opened that gate a lot of people, mostly the young ones, began to think he had the right idea. He usually did. They figured if it was safe out there, why stay down here forever. That really sent the Overseer over the edge, and he began cracking down on anyone who even thought about leaving. A riot broke out and now the Vault is pretty much evenly divided, between those who want to open the Vault, and those who support the Overseer."

  Marcus listened to Gomez explain what had happened to his home and his heart sank. Both he and his father had touched off a civil war within the Vault, and people had already died as a result of that. "I need to speak to Amata. Could you take me to her?"

  Gomez nodded. "It's the least I can do. Her and those rebels would like to talk to you, more then ever. Besides, maybe you can help end this."

  Marcus followed Gomez into the Upper Atrium of the Vault. Just inside the door he spotted Officer Taylor, the oldest of the security force, standing behind a make shift barricade with a 10mm pistol in his hand. Standing at the other end of the Atrium was one of Marcus' childhood friends Freddie Gomez, who was holding a switch blade and wearing a Tunnel Snakes jacket.

  "That's it old man!" Freddie yelled. "We're opening that door, and to hell with the Overseer's rules!"

  Officer Taylor's gun hand began to shake. "You know I can't do that Freddie. Now get back down below, before I have to do something we'll both regret."

  "You can't cage a Tunnel Snake, man. We rule!"

  Marcus rolled his eyes. He can't believe that Freddie had fallen in with those idiots.

  Freddie took a few steps forward, and Officer Taylor panicked. "Stay back!" He fired a single shot that whizzed passed Freddie's arm by inches, and the Tunnel Snake ran out of the Atrium.

  "What the hell are you doing, Taylor!" Officer Gomez yelled. "You almost shot my son!"

  "I didn't mean to fire, I really didn't. I just wanted to scare him off, but he had a knife! I can't be too careful with those rebels." Taylor looked past Gomez and spotted Marcus. "Don't you know enough to stay away!"

  Marcus carefully approached the shaken officer. "What happened down here, Taylor?"

  "I lost my poor Agnes, is what happened. In all the chaos and fighting, her ticker just couldn't take it anymore." Taylor suddenly stared daggers at Marcus. "And it's all you and your dad's fault!"

  Marcus saw the hurt and anger in Officer Taylor's eyes. He couldn't blame the man. Agnes was a good woman who was always nice to him, and she didn't deserve what had happened to her. He continued to follow Gomez through the Vault, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Whole doorways had been blocked off by make-shift barricades made up of furniture, spare parts and scrape metal. The Overseer's signs explaining the rules of the Vault had things like "fuck you", and "fuck the Overseer" spray painted over them. The scene reminded him of what Vault 106 looked like after the Vault residents went mad. 'That is not going to happen here.' Marcus thought. Officer Gomez stopped at the foot of the staircase leading up to the Vault's medical wing. "Amata and the others are held up in medical. You'd better go alone, they won't be too happy to see me."

  Marcus understood. "Thank you, Officer Gomez."

  Gomez looked him straight in the eye. "You want to thank me, kid? Put an end to this madness, before it kills us all." The Officer turned and left, and Marcus slowly ascended the stairs. When he reached the top, he was met by his old nemesis and leader of the Tunnel Snakes, Butch DeLoria. "Well look who decided to waltz back in here. You got balls coming back after you and your dad screwed everything up!"

  Marcus tightened the grip on his pistol and walked towards him. "I'm here to see Amata, Butch. I don't have time for any of your bullshit!"

  Butch grinned. "Oh, so that's why you're back. I understand, Amata is a fine piece of ass..."

  Marcus grabbed Butch by his shirt collar and shoved him up against the wall and pointed the desert eagle in his face. The Tunnel Snake leader was clearly taken off guard by Marcus' strength and tenacity, and put both hands up. "Whoa, you got a little fire in yeah since you left, hu."

  Marcus was not in a joking mood. "Where is she?" he growled.

  "What's going on?"

  Marcus turned in the direction of where the voice, the most beautiful he'd heard in weeks, came from. A moment later he saw her standing in the passageway, and he released his hold on Butch. He stood there and took in the sight of her beautiful face, her eyes, her hair, her body - everything. Amata looked like the rest of the Vault residents: haggard and exhausted, as if they had been through a living nightmare. But none of that mattered to Marcus. To him, she was just as beautiful as the day he had left.

  Amata heard the commotion in the passageway and rushed over to see what was happening. The last thing she expected to see was Marcus pinning Butch up against the bulkhead with the largest pistol she had ever seen. She stood there in a daze as she stared at the man she loved. He was grime and dirty, his hair was longer then the last time she'd seen him, and he hadn't shaved in a couple of days, which gave him a gruff appearance. The strange Vault 101 suit was tight on him, and Amata noticed that he was leaner and had gained more muscle tone since he'd left. His shoulders were also broader then she's remembered and...did he get taller? Amata found herself getting flushed as the blood rushed to her cheeks, and when she finally regained her voice she practically shrieked. "Oh my God you're back! You heard my message and actually came back!"

  The two lovers rushed into each other's arms and kissed each other passionately.

  "Oh, get a room, you two." Butch whined.

  The two lovers didn't care. They continued to embrace, and a crowd of almost two dozen rebels began to gather. Being conscious that they were being watched, Marcus and Amata reluctantly separated.

  "I came as soon as I heard you were in trouble."

  Amata smiled at him. "Oh thank you! Everything's gone crazy since you left, and now that you're back, you can help set things straight."

  Marcus looked around. "Tell me, what exactly has happened down here?"

  Amata sighed and stared at the ground. "My father has gone mad with power, that's what. After you'd left, I dug deeper into my father's records, and I discovered that those scouting parties he'd sent out were not the only times the Vault had been opened. Apparently the Vault had been opened when we were babies, and they decided to seal it and keep the truth from us forever. Don't you see, everything that happened that night: Jonas being killed, you being hunted down...it was all to protect a lie! Even now my father will not accept that many of us want to open the Vault, and he's declared martial law. A few days ago he even arrested Brotch for subversion."

  "Brotch! He doesn't have a subversive bone in his body."

  A bitter chuckle escaped from Amata. "Yeah well, try telling my father that."

  Marcus took a look at the rag-tag group of rebels - and decided they needed some privacy. "We need to come up with a plan on how to stop your father. We should talk more in private."

  A small glimmer appeared in Amata's eye. "Okay. My quarters are down this way."

  She led Marcus down the hall away from prying eyes. Butch turned to Freddie and smirked. "Oh yeah, they're going to come up with a plan alright."

  The two Tunnel Snakes began to laugh. Susie Mack, Amata's friend, smacked Freddie in the arm. "Knock it off, you two!"


  * * *

  Marcus and Amata entered the small make-shift bedroom, and before the door had even closed, they embraced and began to kiss. All of their longing, hunger and anticipation for each other were released in a frenzy of kissing and grabbing, and Amata pulled Marcus' suit over his shoulders, and he practically ripped his arms free of it.

  "Is the door locked?" Amata managed to asked.

  Marcus fumbled for the zipper to her jumpsuit. "I don't care!" He managed to pull the zipper down and placed his hand down inside her suit. Amata moaned. "Me neither!"

  After more fumbling, the two lovers fell down onto the bed.

  * * *

  A naked Amata laid down on the bed next to Marcus, covered in sweat and panting. "Wow...that was...you were...where did..."

  Marcus stared up at the ceiling and grinned. 'Thank you, Clover.' he thought to himself.

  Amata took a few moments to catch her breath. Making love to Marcus was always wonderful, but this session made her see fireworks. "Who taught you to do tha..."

  Before she could finish, Marcus gently placed his finger on her lips. "Shhhh. I'm here with you now, that's all that matters."

  Amata stared into his brown eyes; eyes filled with love and regret. All of those weeks that he'd been gone, Amata had wondered if he had been with someone else, and his performance and look in his eyes confirmed her fears. While it hurt her, she couldn't make herself be angry with him. They both knew the odds were against them seeing each other ever again after he'd left, and it would only be natural for him to find someone who could make him happy; especially out there in the hell that was the wasteland. But he was here now, in her arms, and that's all that mattered. "I love you, Marcus." she whispered.

  Marcus felt the relief wash over him. "I love you, too." They shared a kiss and stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Amata was caressing his stomach when she felt the scare tissue from the laser burn he'd received a few days ago. She began to look at his body more closely and discovered more scares: the gun shot wounds he'd received to his left arm, and the three gashes that ran from his face and down to his chest. Marcus could see the look of horror in her eyes and he quickly sat up on the edge of the bed. He reached down on the floor to pick up his jumpsuit, and he heard a gasp escape from Amata. She was staring at his back, which was covered with the whip marks left by Eulogy Jone's men. Marcus sat on the bed frozen as Amata's trembling hand gently touched the scares.

  "My God!" Her voice cracked. "What happened to you?"

  Marcus closed his eyes as he tried to forget the terrible memory. The last thing he wanted to do was relive what happened in Paradise Falls, and he certainly did not want Amata to know that such a place actually existed. More importantly, he didn't want her to know what he had done to escape. Without turning to face her, Marcus took a deep breath. "I was captured by slavers a few days after I left. They wanted information on the Vault and I wouldn't give it to them...so they tortured me."

  Tears began to form in Amata's eyes. "Was that in Paradise Falls?"

  Shocked, Marcus spun around. "How do you know about that place?"

  "One of our first acts of resistance was to listen to quote "illegal" radio transmissions from the outside."

  Marcus cursed under his breath. 'Damn Three Dog!' he thought. "So you've heard all the stories on GNR radio?"

  Amata's face beamed with pride. "Most of us, even me, didn't believe that it was you Three Dog was talking about." She stood up and walked over to him, pressing her naked breast against his chest. "But after seeing you," she gently placed her hand on the scares on his cheek, "I know the truth: you are the Lone Wanderer who's been fighting evil and saving people all over the Wasteland."

  Marcus shook his head. Even in the Vault he couldn't escape from the 'legend' that Three Dog had created around him. "Those broadcast on GNR do not tell you the full story, Amata. They do not tell you the dark side of what I have seen...or what I have done. There are horrors out there that you can't imagine." Marcus took a deep breath and braced himself for the reaction to what he was about to say next. "And that is why I think your father is right. You shouldn't leave the Vault."

  Amata's jaw dropped. "What? What are talking about?"

  "You are not ready for the dangers out there, none of you are. I know things are not perfect down here, but at least you're safe."

  "Safe! Look around, Marcus. Do you call this safe? We are practically living under a military dictatorship! Of all people I thought you would understand! Don't you see, we don't want to leave the Vault, we want to open it. We want to trade and interact with the outside world."

  Marcus placed his hands on her arms. "Even that is dangerous, Amata. That door is the only thing between you and the horrors on the other side of it! Your security force can't even stop a handful of teenagers from taking over half the Vault. They wouldn't stand a chance against raiders or super mutants."

  Amata pushed his hands away. "And do you think things will ever go back to the way they were before? There is no going back, my father saw to that when his goons began arresting and killing people. But my father isn't the worst danger facing this Vault. Me and Brotch crunched some numbers last week, which is why he was arrested shortly after. If we spend a few more generations locked up down here our gene pool will break down and collapse. Don't you see? In a few decades we'll be nothing but a bunch of in-breds eking out an existence. The bottom line is, if we don't open that door and interact with the outside world, the Vault will slowly die."

  Marcus stood there and looked into Amata's beautiful eyes which were filled with fire and passion. If there was one thing he knew about his girlfriend, is that once she'd made up her mind it was almost impossible for anyone to change it. While this was one of the many qualities he loved about her, in that moment he was cursing it. What she was saying made sense, but she still had no idea what was waiting for them out there. It was time for him to tell them. "Alright, but this decision has to be made by all of you Amata. It's too important." He began to step into his armored 101 suit. "I think it's time I addressed your troops."

  Amata wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Can't we just lock ourselves in here forever instead?"

  Marcus stared at her naked body and took her in his arms. "Maybe for just a little while longer."

  Amata smiled, and the two lovers embraced again.

  * * *

  Freddie Gomez, Susie Mack and her brother Wally Mack, were sitting in the Vault's classroom talking about Marcus' return.

  "I can't believe he had the guts to come back here!" Wally Mack lamented as he paced back and forth. "After all the shit he and his father caused he has the balls to..."

  "Oh stop it, Wally!" His sister Susie yelled. "You know the Overseer is the one who caused all of this."

  Wally was incredulous. "I can't believe you're still defending him after he killed our father!"

  "Rad roaches killed Dad, Wally, you know that!"

  "It's true," Freddie spoke up, "my father was there and he saw what happened."

  "If he hadn't caused all of that confusion my father would've killed those damn..."

  The sound of someone clearing their throat caused Wally to stop, and when he turned he was face-to-face with Marcus. Wally, who had every intention of confronting Marcus just a few seconds ago, backed down at the sight of the heavily armed Wanderer. The rest of the rebels gathered around, and Marcus addressed them. "Amata tells me you want to open the Vault and interact with the outside world. Before you make a decision like that, I feel I have to tell you exactly what is waiting for you out there."

  "Oh are you?" Butch was leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed. "What do you plan on doin', scaring us into keeping the Vault closed? We've heard it all before pal: super mutants, cannibals, radiation. Well I'd rather face all of that then be stuck down in this Vault one more minute!"

  The rest of the rebels loudly voiced their agreement. Marcus slowly approached Butch until the two were face-to-face. "You
really think you're ready for what's out there, Butch?"

  Butch spread his arms out. "Man, I can handle anything this Wasteland throws at me! Hell if a goody-two-shoes like you could make it out there how hard can it be?"

  Marcus grinned and shook his head. He took a step back and unzipped the front of his jumpsuit, then pulled it down to his waist. Everyone gasped when they saw his scares.

  Butch's mouth dropped open. "Holy shit!"

  Even though she had already seen them, Amata couldn't bare to look at the pain Marcus had been through and she looked away. Marcus pulled his jumpsuit back over his torso and zipped it up. "Now, let me tell you how I got those scares."

  * * *

  For over an hour Marcus told them exactly what had happened to him since the day he'd left to Vault. He didn't sugar coat anything, or leave out any details (except for his relationship with Clover, for Amata's sake). He told them about all the horrible people and creatures he had encountered, but also of the amazing friends he had made, like Charon, the Brotherhood of Steel and the Rangers. He told them about Project Purity, the reason behind his father leaving the Vault. When he was finished, the room was so quiet you could've heard a pin drop.

  "Wow." It was Christine Kendell, a rebel who lost both her mother and sister in a fire that started the night of Marcus' escape. That one word described the sentiment of everyone in the room, and Amata slowly approached Marcus and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, Marcus." She looked at her people. "I think we have a lot to discuss."

  Marcus stood up from the chair he'd been sitting in and kissed Amata. "Whatever you decide, I will support you."

  Amata beamed at him. "Thank you."

  Their bliss was interrupted by one of the rebels running into the classroom. "Heads up! The Overseer's coming with his goons!"

  The rebels quickly began arming themselves with baseball bats, pipes, wrenches, switch blades - Marcus even spotted someone with a home made dart gun. Marcus' instincts kicked in, and he put his hand on his pistol, but Amata grabbed his wrist. "Marcus, no please! Despite everything that's happened he's still my father. Let me talk to him."