August 17, 2277
It dawned on me this morning after I woke up that I was lost. I had no idea where I was, where Dad had went or even how to find him. I was fucked. I stepped out of the tunnel and into the blistering sun, and a small village that had been destroyed by nukes. In the village I found a large, crudely painted sign that pointed in the general direction of a place named Megaton. I thought – I knew – Dad would have had to at least pass through the nearest settlement, if not, it was as good a landmark as any to begin my search.
On my way I met a man named Crow, he was a travelling sales person, I offloaded my extra baggage from the Vault in return for some caps, which he assured me were the currency of this place. I also met a man named Mickey who was desperate for some pure water. I was happy to oblige.
Megaton was a patchwork town with no more than a hundred or so people. Their leader and peace keeper – Lucas Simms – was a very nice man who hadn’t heard of my father but suggested I ask around town as there had been talk of a visitor yesterday.
My search brought me to Walter, an elderly man whose job it was to keep the town’s water purifier running, he told me that someone matching Dads description had been seen in Colin Moriarty’s saloon. He also told me that the purifier had sprung a leak. I decided to help patch it back up. After all, it couldn’t hurt to get the town on my side.
The pipes where easily fixed and afterwards Walter and I set up a deal where in I would bring him any scrap metal I found and he’d pay me for it.
I paid a visit to the local store called Crater Side Supply to sell off any scrap I had left over from the Vault, she also managed to talk me into doing research for her book, starting with getting radiated!
I refused her lunacy of course and headed over to Moriarty’s to continue my search, the man himself wasn’t available so I rented a room for the night. I hope my search goes better tomorrow. There was a prostitute there. It was my first time.
August 18, 2277
I was informed by the whore, Nova, that Moriarty was out of town and that she had no idea when he’d be back. Damn.
My lead was dry, so I decided to check out Megaton’s second biggest social hub; The Children of the Atom. A religion devoted to an undetonated nuclear bomb that sat in the very heart of Megaton.
I must admit that it was fascinating listening to their leader and their beliefs. I almost didn’t notice that I was sucking up radiation like a sponge.
I was frightened. I thought I was going to die. Then I remembered Moira. She patched me up and asked me to reconsider helping her with her book. I decided that I’d be around for a while any way, waiting on Moriarty. Besides which, this would be an excellent chance to explore the Wasteland, and perhaps build a map, that would make finding Dad somewhat easier.
I spent the evening with Lucas, discussing the bomb. I suggested that I might be able to deactivate it, he offered me a hundred caps to do so, I convinced him that 500 was much more reasonable.
We both set off for bed, he in his home and I at the bar. Inside I was confronted by a well dressed man named Mr. Burke. He offered me an extraordinary amount money to blow up Megaton. I took him up on his offer, only so I could take the detonator to Lucas. We headed back to the bar and arrested Burke. He drew a gun. So did I. Lucas was shot in the leg. Burke was shot in the head.
I took Lucas to the clinic where the doctor patched him up. Lucas was so pleased with what I had done that he offered me citizenship in Megaton.
The house isn’t very nice. But it will do, the robot butler is just like Andy. I’m sure if I have time I can spruce it up a bit.
Tomorrow I think I’ll help Moira out more with her book by scavenging an old super market.
August 19, 2277
I left Megaton mid afternoon. Before I did so, I stopped by the clinic for supplies, I found a holotape that claimed an android from the north wanted its memory wiped. I took the tape to Moira and she revealed that she too had one and assumed they were just some pulp fiction. I put the tapes to the back of my mind. The Super Duper Mart was less than a day’s walk away from the town so it wasn’t an issue. What was an issue however was that the market was swarming with raiders who had made it into a base. It took a while but I was able to get rid of them.
I’ve barricaded myself in for the rest of the day; I found some mattresses in the back of the store so I’ll be able to wait until morning to get a proper look for any supplies before heading out. I’ll keep this place in mind as it will make a decent rest stop in the future.
August 20, 2277
It looks like it will be a rough sleep for me tonight again; I should have stayed in Megaton for a day before setting out. I told Moira about my experiences in the Super Duper Mart and she hurried away to keep writing. I decided to check out the old school I saw in the village – which I now know is called Springvale.
The school was filled with raiders. I spent most of the day clearing them out and exploring. I’ve holed myself up in the library so I should be safe if any more come during the night. Their leader had been writing a diary that said that they were tunneling under the school to get into Vault 101 and that they disturbed a giant ants nest. I’ll take a look at it tomorrow.
August 21, 2277
I’m done with the school. There was nothing of particular value there. There are too many holes for it to make a good base, raiders could just waltz right in. On the plus side the ants nest is a decent food source. They are easy enough to kill and they do not taste too bitter. In any case I took the rest of the day off, relaxing at home. I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring.
August 22, 2277
I decided to make some headway on finding Dad. I started by going back to Vault 101 and heading in the opposite direction. I found an overpass that was home to a raider camp. I dispatched them and use the vantage of the overpass to get some clue as to where I should go.
I noticed I barn to the south and decided to take a look, there I found a traveling trader. I asked him for any clues of settlements nearby. He suggested an area called Jury Street, he knew that plenty of raiders near there.
I headed west to Jury Street and found that it had a train station. This was perfect. America is huge so having straight tunnels from place to place would be perfect. I decided to scope the rest of the town before I searched them. Who knows, if the tunnels are safe enough I might be able to start a business running caravans through them. Now that I think about it, what WILL I do when this is all over?
I found an old church which I set up camp in. I was ambushed, of course. But it wasn’t really an issue.
August 23, 2277
The tunnels were not as useful as I had hoped. They were crawling with raiders commanded by a man named Ryan Briggs and filled with mole rats and at several places parts of them had been destroyed. This did make for a decent sized base however, another rest stop perhaps.
I’m not giving on the subway though. This may be an isolated incident so they should still make decent paths. And besides, it is virtually impossible to be ambushed in them. I could hear raiders and mole rats coming from a mile away.
After searching the tunnels I headed back to Megaton and called it a night. Tomorrow, I think I shall follow the path of the tunnel but without actually entering. I’m curious to see what is on the other side.
Junior’s Pip-Boy Diary
June 14, 2268
Yesterday was my tenth birthday. I received my Pip-Boy 3000 as a gift and a symbol of my newfound manhood. Amata and my Dad put together a really nice party, I got a comic from Amata – Grognak #14 –, a baseball cap from Stanley and a sweet roll from Mrs. Palmer. Butch tried to steal my sweet roll and after I told him he couldn’t have it, he tried to hit me! But Officer Gomez threw him out. I also got a poem from Beatrice, but best of all, my Dad and Jonas gave me my very own BB gun and told me I could shoot Rad Roaches whenever I wanted, just so long as the Overseer doesn’t see it.
June 13, 2277
Damn Pip-Boy crashed. Lost everything from the day it was turned on. Shit.
August 16, 2277
I was okay by Amata telling me Dad had escaped the Vault and that her father’s men had killed Jonas and were coming after me next! She told me that there was a secret tunnel leading from the Overseers office to the exit, she loaned me her father’s gun and the keys to his office before running off. I was confused and didn’t quite grasp what was going on so I grabbed everything I could find from my room and got out of there. I was attacked by Officer Kendall, and in the rush of the moment...I killed him. Something clicked in brain when I saw his body hit the floor, Survival instincts kicked in and I stole his armour. It would offer better protection.
As I made my escape I ran into Butch screaming for help because his mother had been cornered by Rad Roaches. I know we’ve had our differences but that was no reason to blame his mother, I handed him my BB gun and we both worked together to kill the roaches.
I kept on going and met with Officer Gomez, he sided with me and helped by sending any guards he ran into in the wrong direction. I eventually caught up with Amata, she was being interrogated by Officer Mack and the Overseer. I tried to sneak up on them but Amata got excited and blew my cover, forcing me to kill Mack. Amata ran away and I ended up in a fight with The Overseer. I lost my temper; I beat him to a bloody pulp with a bat. I didn’t kill him though. There was no need.
I found the passage in the Overseers office and met Amata by the door. I begged her to come with me, but she said her place was hear, and besides which, someone needed to close the door behind me. I left Vault 101 for what I hoped would be the last time, and collapsed and fell asleep in the exit tunnel.