Fallout:The Valley

Chapter One

Deep within the state of Oregon lays a valley fairly untouched by the nuclear apocalypse of 2077. The valley may be untouched by the bombs but the horrors of the wastes have spread all across the valley. Slavers have taken over Portland turning into a smuggler’s wet dream. It is one of the largest market areas for slaves for markets in the East. The capital of the state however has fallen under the control of a group of Brotherhood of Steel trying to further their understanding of pre-war technology. Slowly actual settlements started to show up refugees from California and other areas. The state became what little of a haven as the state could become. The ground was fertile; people grew plants to keep themselves fed besides meat from bighorners. Towns from the old world have been sleeping only to be revived with the influx of settlers. The Valley seems like a paradise but death lies around every corner people die or are captured to be sold. Welcome to the Valley…

They always told him when you move into a new town its best to make friends…Well friends were something he wasn’t good at. The house he had bought from the town lied on the outskirts down a dirt path.

A few weeks after he moved in he scratched into his door a symbol long forgotten to all of the settlers in town. Many asked him what it was when they saw him at the bar in town. He would never answer just look at them and grunt. His hair was a salt and pepper share of colors. His face clean shaven, he told one of the townsfolk that beards got in the way of his drinks. The man had little of a life it seemed, but few actually knew what he did in his home. He was left alone to live as they do…in peace.

It was that time of year again…He thought to himself as he walked into the home of the town’s doctor. “Hey Gregory you home?” He shut the door behind him and heard Gregory get up from somewhere and walk into his entryway. “Oh. Hey Wilson you here for your check up?”

“Of course.”

“Come right in, just sit on the bed over there and we’ll get started.” Wilson walked into the room to his right and sat on the bed that was in the corner of the room near a desk and a vit-o-matic vigor tester. After about five minutes of the physical checkup he sits in his chair and reaches into his desk pulling out large white papers. “Come on Doc…I really have to have the psyche exam?”

“Yes its part of the check up.” He pulls the first one into my view. The ink blot makes little sense to Wilson’s mind but I come up with an answer, “An island.” He shows the next one.

“Fire.” The next and Wilson instantly blurt out.

“Unicorn.” He gives me an odd look and takes a look at the ink blot then sets it back down.

“Alright well I’ll have the results of all this tomorrow so come back then ok.” Wilson nods as he led Wilson out of his home. Wilson could feel an odd tension between him and Gregory but he put it aside till tomorrow. Once outside he started the walk to his house and passed through the town. It sat on two intersecting streets. He looked to the local bar and decided to stop in for a drink. When he opened the door the sound of music filled his ears. It was happy hour so Russell was playing a few old records he had. He stepped inside and let the door shut behind him as he entered the main room. A few of the patrons looked his way and quickly looked back to what they were doing or who they were talking to. He walked over to the bar and sat, “Hey Russell, get me a beer?” He turned and grabbed a bottle from the counter and placed it before Wilson opening his hand for the payment. Wilson fished into his pockets and pulled out eleven bottle caps and placed them in Russell’s hand. Wilson went to drinking his beer taking in the music. He watched as many of the patrons talked amongst each other while he sat alone. He heard a grunt and a door open he quickly looked over and saw Russell carrying a bag of feed down into his basement. He disregarded it and went back to nursing his drink, however when Russell came back in he looked back to see Russell holding the bag of feed it was open, he had pain on his face. It made Wilson wonder what the hell Russell was doing down there. He decided he would check it out after getting his results from Gregory.

He finished the beer leaving the bottle and walking out of the bar restarting the walk to his home on the edge of town. When he arrived at the door he quickly turned the knob and opened the door, the inside was mess scrap metal and random parts cover the floor. He slowly made his way across the room and sat at a small desk pulling out a few drawers from the lower part of the desk. In one was a device that looked like a pistol. He reached into the other pulling out a folded blueprint. He quickly unfolded it and laid it next to the pistol setting to work. He quickly grabbed some scrap metal and wire, soldering the pieces together into a small harness that had working iron sights. He attached the harness to the pistol and soldering the last few joints to the gun itself. He set the gun back into its drawer and replaced the blueprint. He grabbed a few extra bits of scrap and started to play around with it welding and tinkering, building sculptures and other random things for a few hours. He looked at the clock it was about nine thirty two, “Time for bed…” He muttered to himself as he stood from the chair and walked to the couch. He laid down got comfy and closed his eyes.

The next morning he woke up around nine twenty and made himself some breakfast. He quickly ate and headed to Gregory’s for his results. Like he actually gave a shit he thought to himself the whole way. When he finally arrived he opened the door knocking as he did so, “Hey Gregory!? I’m here for my results!” He called into the home. “Ah! I’ll be right there! Just find a seat in the front room would you.” Wilson walked into the room farther down the hall, two chairs sat off to the side of a table with a couch in the front facing a fireplace. He sat on the couch and waited for Gregory who came in holding a manila folder. He opened the folder to a bookmark, “Here are yesterday’s results.” He set the folder before Wilson who read the few pages quietly, suddenly a paragraph about his emotional health made him glare at Gregory, “You find me anti-social?”

“Of course…You don’t have any friends you sit around in your house all day except when you’re drinking at the bar and even then you keep to yourself. No one should ever be alone it’s not good for the state of mind.”

“Now you’ve intrigued me. How does it affect my state of mind?”

“You become too objective you don’t have sympathy nor empathy. You just think for yourself and yourself alone.” Wilson grunted and stood.

“Well I think that’s enough for the day I need to get back to my work.” Wilson left the home shutting the door quietly. Gregory sat down on the couch and retrieved a tape recorder from his pocket hitting the record button, “Continuing of the dictation of Wilson’s medical file…Wilson’s scores on the Vit-O-Matic vigor tester were nothing beyond average except in one field. His scores were: Strength a score of five. Average, Perception was a score of eight. Above average this is the abnormal score I referred to earlier, Endurance a score of six. Fairly average, Charisma a score of four. Why did that not surprise me? Either way may be a factor in his asocial tendencies. Intelligence had a score of seven. Above norm not a genius but he knows what the hell he’s doing. Agility was a score of five. Average all in all. Finally Luck was at a score of five. Toss of a coin anyone?”

Meanwhile Wilson was sitting outside of Russell’s bar at the outside cellar door picking the lock. Nobody walked down the alley way so he didn’t have too much fear of getting caught and he could easily roll it off as he dropped something and it rolled over near the door. He was twisting a bobby pin when he heard a faint snap. Damn he pulled the broken bobby pin out and inserted a new one. He twisted the screwdriver when he believed he had the right spot. Click…He was in. He stepped inside and shut the door as quietly as possible. He was in a stairwell; he crept along the right wall making sure his steps didn’t cause the wood to creak. When he made it to the last step he set his foot onto the concrete but stopped, he brought his hand up and it hit a wire. It was strung at about thigh level if he was standing. He looked for what it was strung to and wondered why the hell he would need something like this? A few pans were hanging from the ceiling by the wire. He slipped underneath and stood once through. He looked around looking for anything suspicious the beams of light coming from the windows offered no help. He ran into a shelf causing a slight sound. He froze waiting for the door from the inside of the bar to open. It didn’t, thank god. He heard a small amount of shuffling behind and he spun on his heels. A few feet away was a cyan pony. “What the hell?” The pony quickly backed away Wilson stepped forward and clicked his tongue, “It’s ok I’m not going to hurt you…” The coloration of the pony didn’t really stir him any animal not having a mutation was more legend than fact.

It backed into a side room and Wilson entered his eyes went wide when he saw the rooms contents. Slaver cages and tools were all over the walls a desk sat in the back. “Oh fuck…” Suddenly he was hit from behind. He impacted with the ground his vision blurry and going dark. Russell entered what was left of his view, “I knew it was a matter of time till one of you townsfolk came in here…But you? I never expected that.” He turned to the pony smacking it with his palm. Wilson heard the pony whimper and his vision finally went black.

Wilson’s face twitched, he tasted blood. He felt his head and it was slick. He quickly started to cough as he inhaled smoke. His eyes burst open when he figured out the smoke. The basement was on fire, the pony was laying unconscious a few feet from him. He quickly stumbled over his vision blurry from the tears of his stinging eyes; he picks up the pony and turns towards the door slowly making his way over. He exits the back room and the floor above him collapses. He jumps back dodging the burning beams. He takes a few steps back and runs forward, jumping over the burning beams but his leg catches one. He falls forward the pony keeps going forward and falling to the floor, but Wilson crashes into the burning wood. He catches himself on a beam his hands burn, grunting through the pain he scoops up the pony and runs up the stairs. Pushing through the cellar doors he is greeted by the sun and a small crowd of people staring at the burning bar. He moves towards them but his body gives way and he hits the dirt falling unconscious once again.

Wilson’s face twitched and his eyes cracked open. He slowly sat up and looked around; he was in Gregory’s home. “Gregory?” His voice was rasp and he coughed as he called for Gregory. Gregory leaned his head into the room, “Ah your awake…You may want to get up and look at this.” Wilson tossed the blankets covering him to the foot end of the bed. “What is it that I need to see?”

“Just get up and come see this.” Wilson slid his legs off the bed and stood.

“Alright…I’m coming.” He felt his hands they were covered in bandages. He looked at them with slight confusion then remembered what happened. He followed Gregory into the front room where the pony was laying on the couch asleep.

“Come here and look at this.” Wilson stepped next to Gregory and saw what he was referring to. “Are those…wings?”

“Yes. This is a pegasus.”

“Bullshit…Pegasi are just fairytales!”

“Then how is one in front of you right now!?” The elevated volume must have woken the pony because Wilson heard a gasp from below him. He looked down, into a pair of magenta eyes. The pony shook its head as if it couldn’t believe what it was seeing. Soot and dust was kicked up from this motion revealing a very odd hair color. “Its hair color is a rainbow?”

“I find it kind of heartwarming.” Wilson shot a look to Gregory.

“Really? It’s a pony with wings and a rainbow colored mane. It’s just a mutant from the radiation nothing more nothing less.”

A small voice that seemed fearful but brave all in the same context shook Wilson. “I’m not a mutant…” He looked back to the pony, “Um…What?” The voice was feminine but was definitely a tom boyish voice.

“I said I’m not a mutant.” The pony repeated.

“Did that pony just talk or did I hit my head in that basement as well?” He looked to Gregory whose face was stuck between awe and curiosity and throw a bit of fear in there as well. Wilson looked back to the pony and sighed, “Fucking Wasteland first you give us mutant cross breeds now talking ponies! What’s next fucking dragons!?”

“Umm…What’s the Wasteland?” The pony’s question shocked Wilson.

“You don’t know what the Wasteland is even though you’ve lived here since you were born?”

“Well I don’t live here I woke up and I was pony napped by that man that knocked you out.”

“Wait so you’re saying…Wait did you just say ‘pony napped’?”

“Yes why?”

“It’s just…Uh nevermind so you’re saying you’re an alien?”

“I guess I really don’t know what—.”

“That’s fucking insane! What the hell is wrong with the Wasteland!?”

“Wilson calm down. The fact that this pony is an alien is nothing we need to worry about.”

“Yes it is! She’s an alien Gregory! Do you know what a lot of people would do not to mention the fucking Brotherhood!?”

“No I don’t nor do I want to know but maybe we should show some courtesy—”

“Why this pony is a fucking alien! Not a human just some sentient pony. I don’t need to care for it!” The pony cut in at this point.

“The two of you shut up!” The two humans stopped bickering and looked to the pony. “For one my name is Rainbow Dash and I would like to be called as such. For two you,” she pointed to Wilson, “you need to not be such an asshole! I may be a pony but I can kick your ass right—” She brought her wings out and immediately screamed. Gregory quickly kneeled down next to her and felt the wings. “They’re broken you won’t be flying anytime soon.” She was still whimpering from the pain,

“Hang on I’ll get some Med-X I’ll be right back.”

“Gregory I don’t think it’s best to give her Med-X either way she should just buck up.” She laughed sarcastically, “This hurts like hell. I don’t see a scratch on you.” Wilson held his hands up, “I did get burned trying to save you.”

“Oooh you got burned on your hooves!” She said in a mock voice.

“Err…Its hands not hooves.” He wiggled his fingers stifling a small bit of laughter.

“Shut up! You’re an egghead!”

“Pfft…That’s totally insulting…I’m done with you I have to get back to my house.” At this point Gregory walked in.

“Yeah you aren’t going back to your house.”

“Why?”

“Russell burnt it to the ground…” Wilson’s hand twitched slightly and he punched the wall. “God dammit!” Wilson stormed out of the house. He headed to the burnt shell of his home, black beams of wood were still standing but everything was gone. He looked around for a few moments and found what he was looking for. A rock with a small in graving on the side was sitting in the exact spot he left it when he first moved into the home some months ago. He moved it to the side and started to dig into the dirt with his hands. When his hands came in contact with a wooden box he grabbed hold pulling it out and opening it. Inside was a small bag of caps that jingled as he retrieved the bag. The next item was a gun, a forty-five caliber semi-auto pistol; it sat in a holster which he wrapped around his waist. At the bottom of the box was a bound clothing piece a large trench coat to be exact. He undid the twine and slipped his arms quickly into the sleeves. The coat still smelt of burnt air…I thought the past would have been buried once I moved here…He turned and walked back into town to but supplies with the stash of caps, a crimson valkyrie emblazoned on his back. After buying a pack, some food, and some water he headed back to Gregory’s to say goodbye. He opened the door knocking on it as he did so. “Hey Gregory?” Wilson walked into the front room where he stormed out. Rainbow Dash was still on the couch. She turned to look at him as he entered, “Oh…It’s you.”

“Yeah it’s me where’s Gregory?”

“He’s busy…”

“That’s not a good answer I just need to say goodbye.”

“Why? You leaving?” Rainbow Dash grunted.

“Yes I’m going after Russell…” She froze.

“You’re going after him?”

“Yes. He burnt my house down and he imprisoned you in his basement. Also that sick fuck might be the reason why people have been going missing lately.”

“What?” Wilson sighed. He never liked explaining things especially things like this.

“Russell is a slaver. Slavers take people and turn them to slaves hence the name. People have been disappearing for the past month. I took notice but I never thought it would be him.” Gregory walked into the room, “Oh. Hello Wilson.”

“Hey Gregory. I’m just here real quick to say goodbye.”

“What for?”

“I’m heading to Portland to capture Russell and take him to Salem.” Gregory nodded.

“Can I go with you?” Wilson turned to Rainbow Dash who was standing directly behind him.

“You want to go?”

“Yes…I don’t want to sit around all day!” Wilson nodded and she smiled. Wilson looked to Gregory and frowned, “This is going to be hard I’ll just drop her off at Salem. I can’t take her to Portland.” Gregory nodded.

Wilson walked out of the room and into the entryway. Gregory smiled and looked to Rainbow Dash, “I know he doesn’t seem much but just give him time. You’ve already talked to him more than most people.”

“What do you mean?” She cocked her head quizzically.

“Wilson,” he jerks his head in the direction of the man, “He’s not a person for friends.”

She grunts and starts to laugh as she leaves the room. She left Gregory wondering what the hell she was laughing at. She looked to Wilson who was waiting at the door. “You ready to go?” She asked him. He smiled and opened the door.