Legend of the Lone Wanderer

Chapter 1: Escape from Vault 101

War... War Never Changes…

Elias Hawke's short-lived rebellion and escape of the only home he'd known all his nineteen years began with a stolen switchblade. It ended in blood.

The hissing of his door opening and the footsteps that followed were the first things he heard that morning…

Elias let his eyes remain shut, not screwed but shut, as if he were sound asleep and waited for the intruder to get close. His fist tightening around the object in his grasp beneath his pillow.

The most logical explanation for such an obtrusion was Butch. Here for payback from the last time Elias ended up publicly humiliating the gangster-wannabe. But Eli was one step ahead and had been preparing for this.

When he sensed the presence at his bedside, he struck; ripping off his sheets in a feverish manner that no doubt caught the interloper off guard with one hand and revealing his glinting switchblade in the other, jabbing it menacingly a mere inch from the face of whomever had decided sneaking into his room at 7 am was a good idea. Still folded in and harmless.

Only then did he realise who it was.

"Amata?" he asked rhetorically. Sure enough, there before him stood frozen in shock was his best friend. Both inseparable since early childhood. He immediately pulled his blade away and tucked it back in its place in his belt, moving past her to shut the door. Internally admonishing himself for freaking the hell out of her.

"I'm so sorry, that was meant for Butch not you." He spun around to face her, realising he didn't know why she was here. "What in the world are you doing in here?" he asked. "You know your father would throttle me if he caught on about this," Elias jeered in a half-joke, gesturing a choking hold with his hands out in front of him.

He expected her to crack out in jests like she usually would but this time she didn't. "Uh I… I know, sorry." Amata shook herself out of her dumbstruck daze. "But this is important and I need you to listen."

It must be

"You have my attention," he said, folding his arms across his chest, curious as to what this was about. It wasn't his birthday or anything… or maybe she was in on some prank with Butch and the rest of the Tunnel Snakes. No… the worry, panic and… fear in her eyes pointed to something completely different. "What's going on? Are you alright?" He put a hand to her cheek and she closed her eyes, blinking away tears brewing there.

"I'm fine, it's just that…. Oh god, E, they killed Jonas…"

It was his turn to hold the confounded expression. "What? Who?"

"Security. They think he helped your dad leave the vault and they beat him to -"

"He helped my dad what?!" Elias asked, cutting her off. A disbelieving look in his eye, hoping he heard that wrong.

Amata took a deep breath. "I was shocked too when I found out, I don't know how but he's gone." She looked away. "My father was enraged, I've never seen him so furious before and…" Her eyes widened as something triggered her memory and she realised something. "Eli, you need to get out of here, I overheard him ordering security after you, he thinks you have something to do with it…" She hesitated and looked at him cautiously. "… I mean, you don't... do you?"

Forehead creasing into a frown directed at her, Elias not believing she could think something like that. "Of course, not," he replied honestly, an edge to his voice that he instantly regretted. "I'm guessing you have a plan to get me out, right?" he said, changing the subject.

Amata nodded. "The main entrance is guarded but I know of another way. My father's office has a secret escape tunnel that leads straight to the vault door chamber. That's your ticket out of here."

A thankful smile on his face, he pulled her into a hug. "Thank you, Amata. I owe you."

"Big time," she said with a smile as they parted. "Oh, and one other thing, I stole this from my father." Amata reached behind and presented a 10 mm Automatic Service Pistol. "Please… only use it as a last resort," she implored before handing it over.

Accepting the handgun and tucking it away, he offered a solemn nod of his head. "I promise. I don't think it would be a good idea for either of us to tread the halls alone. We should go together and part ways at your dad's office."

Amata nodded in response.

Elias, already dressed in his most comfortable vault suit moved past his friend and immediately collected his baseball, bat, glove, BB gun and pallets for it and first aid kit, loading them into his backpack. Basically every item he owned.

"Are you ready?" Amata asked.

He looked back at his terminal. His notes, drafts and plans were all saved on it and he didn't want anyone going through his personal stuff. He quickly deleted all the files, knowing he had backup copies stored on his Pip-boy.

Once he was done he looked up at her. "Now I'm ready."

With two deep breaths between them, they exited his quarters and stepped out into the hall.

The warning alarms for a radroach infestation were wailing and the Overseer of the vault, also Amata's dad's, voice could be heard through the PA system set on repeat:

The radroach infestation in under control and being dealt with. Do not interfere with security operations. Anyone found outside their assigned quarters will be shot on sight.

His sense of dread deepened.

He heard the ominous scuttling sound of radroaches and sure enough, as soon as the duo looked over at the end of the hall, an intrusion of the little bastards rounded the corner to meet them. He'd been using the mutated Periplaneta Americana as target practise with his BB gun since the age of ten, they were hardly a threat to him anymore.

"Under control my ass," Elias muttered to himself.

Crushing one with a stomp of his boot, Elias withdrew his baseball bat and swung at another that decided to jump for his head, swatting the pest away mid-swing before slamming the bat back down on the remaining two and killing them instantly.

He sent a wink and a half-smirk behind him to Amata. "That's why I was the MVP four years running."

They didn't make it another two steps before they were spotted by a security officer. Officer Kendall pointed at them from the opposite end of the hall. "You two!" he called. "Hold it right there."

Knowing they couldn't wait around for him to march up to them, Elias drew the pistol at his hip and took aim, hitting Kendall in the leg as intended. He only needed to slow him down.

The officer cried out and collapsed to the ground.

"I'm sorry but I can't have you following us," Elias said before taking hold of a shocked Amata's hand. "Into the bathrooms!" he said, pulling her along with him as he hit the controls and ducked beneath the rising door.

Amata barely had time to react as she was dragged through, almost hitting her head.

Once they past every stall in the men's, they zipped through the women's. Briefly tuning in to the shouts of Kendal in between.

"He going to die…" Amata whispered.

Eli closed his eyes and swallowed hard. "I know." Not his last kill, by any means, but the first.

He skid to a sudden halt once they made it through the bathrooms, hands still interlocked, Amata, who hadn't seen it coming, slammed into him sending them both stumbling into the reason he had stopped in the first place.

Butch spun around, terror-struck, eyes wide and afraid. It was then that he realised who it was and his face twisted into a scowl, though his eyes couldn't mask his fright. "Watch it!" he barked. His gaze landed on where the duo were keeping their hands, he looked up at the two with disgust. "I knew you two were dating!"

Elias and Amata exchanged a glance and their cheeks flushed simultaneously at the embarrassment. They both let go. Elias immediately scratched the back of his neck as Amata rubbed her arm nervously.

With a cough to clear his throat. "As much as we would love to stay and chat, we've got to run," Elias told the Tunnel Snake, turning on his heel to dash off down the hall. Not daring to grab for his friend's hand a second time.

"Wait! You've gotta help my mother! She's trapped in there with the radroaches!" the gang leader cried, grabbing Eli's shoulder to stop him and prodding a finger at the window into his mother's bedroom. True to his word, Ms DeLoria could be seen through the glass standing on her bed, pillow in hand, fending off the intrusion of radroaches that must've snuck in via the open-air ventilation duct.

"Alright Butch, let's go save your mother."

"Let go of me!" Elias commanded Officer Richards, whom had trapped his arm behind his back. They had ambushed the duo up the stairs to the upper level of the vault.

None of them dared lay a hand on Amata though.

Officer Wilkins, who seemed to make sure the Overseer's daughter didn't try anything, chuckled. "I don't think so, you two are coming with us."

Richards confiscated Elias' pistol. "I'll take that, thanks," he said, slipping it into his belt.

Amata snarled. "Do you have any idea who you're dealing with? I demand that you let us go at once!"

Security Chief Paul Hannon, who was standing in front of them, smiled. "We know exactly who you are Amata. The both of you," he said looking to Elias. "Your father ordered your safe return and his arrest," he stated before he turned his back to them and signalled for the two guards with Amata and Elias to follow.

The two friends exchanged a fearful glance.

When the five of them arrived at the security office, Overseer Alphonse and one of the other officers where inside engaged in conversation, from what Elias picked up; heated conversation.

"Sir, I mean no disrespect but our first priority should be the safety of the vault residents. We should be dealing with the radroach infestation not hunting the doctor's kid." It was Officer Gomez, the only agreeable person on the entire security force.

The Overseer was not pleased. "The doctor and his imprudent brat are the reason they were put in danger in the first place. You deal with them first."

The officer still wished to protest, "But sir-"

Amata cut him off, "Father! Elias had nothing to do with his father's escape. He had no idea!"

He ignored her claims and turned to the Chief. "Ah, it's about time you showed up with these two."

It was then that Elias tugged, not quite relinquishing Richard's grip but dragging him forward a few paces. "Let us go, Alphonse. I'm just trying to leave this vault, I thought that was what you wanted."

The Overseer narrowed his eyes. "I didn't want to be left without a doctor."

"Then you should've thought about that before you had Jonas killed," he answered coldly. "Let us go, I'm not going to ask again."

"Oh, and what are you going to do?"

Elias snatched his arms away from the officer holding him back and swept his switchblade into his grasp, flicked the knife up in one swift motion and spun around to stab Richards in the torso. An inch beneath his vest.

He heard Amata gasp in shock, saw her cover her mouth with both hands as she stepped back in his peripheral but didn't let it distract him.

In a deft motion, he snagged his pistol back from Richards's belt, shoving the keeled-over man to the ground with a boot to the chest and shot right beside Hannon's head before he could carry out the attack that Elias had anticipated, making the Chief hesitate since all he had was his baton. Elias then pointed the gun directly at Alphonse. Sending a warning look to Wilkins and Hannon immediately after who both backed off and retreated to the back of the room with Gomez.

Taking in a deep breath, Elias inwardly hoped Richards would be okay.

Overseer Alphonse didn't seem bothered by the gesture, there was only the slightest raise of his brow and narrow of his eyes in response, not feeling the least bit threatened. But he wasn't a complete fool; he knew Elias wouldn't attack him because of Amata. It was a risk, but he assumed correctly. Elias couldn't do that to his best friend.

"We're getting out of here, don't try to stop us," he said finally and lowered the pistol, he and Amata turned, headed for the door.

"Amata, do you really think you are leaving with that traitor?" He spat the last word out. "What about your only family?" Alphonse called, almost desperate.

Amata stopped mid-stride, closed her eyes and sighed before turning back to face her Father but before she could say anything, Elias did so first. "With all due respect, which is none, you're a horrible father and go to hell."

The Overseer sent a brief glare his way before looking again to Amata, awaiting a response from her.

"Father," she began icily as if she hated saying that word. Elias noted that she never called or referred to him as 'dad', it was only ever 'father'. Further pointing to their distant relationship. "Elias and his father have been more of a family to me than you ever were."

That seemed to hit a nail on the head as the Overseer looked furious. "You are treading on very thin ice there, Amata. Don't push it."

"You really are a horrible father…" she then said, even surprising Elias.

"Why you ungrateful, insolent child! After everything I've done for you!" he raged, snatching a security baton from the officers behind him with a curt "Give me that!" and stomped up to his daughter.

Elias stepped in his way. "Alphonse, I could have killed two or maybe even four of your officers here today. Remember that because if any harm comes to her and I won't hesitate to put a bullet in your mouth, got that? And you can stop blaming me and my father for this disarray because it was all your doing and you know it. Don't worry, you won't see or hear from me again otherwise."

His voice had quietened but it was loud and clear enough for everyone in the room to hear.

"Good riddance," the Overseer muttered snidely as Elias walked out the door and locked him inside with the three officers, spitting on the ground beside his feet.

"Are you really going to come with me? Even though I don't exactly like the guy, I don't want to get between you two," Elias said once they were down the hall and away from the security office.

"Um, well… though it is tempting… no. My place is here, in the vault. I'm the only one my father will listen to, the only one that can talk some sense into him. I've got to do this." There was that determined glow in her eyes she always had when she was certain of something.

Elias said nothing. They had made it to the offices and his eyes widened and he found himself unable to draw breath when he saw what lay on the floor… or rather… who.

Jonas's body lay in a large pool of his own blood in the middle of the room. Beaten to death then left to rot.

Eli ran to Jonas' side, careful not to step in the blood. Elias squeezed his eyes shut, trying to prevent any tears. "God… how could they do this?" He ran his hand over Jonas' face, closing the man's dead eyes. As he did, he noticed that Jonas was still clutching something in his hand. He seized it gently, knowing it was a holotape.

He shoved it in his pip-boy and closed the top, eagerly waiting to listen.

"Hold on Jonas, I need to record this first. I... I don't really know how to tell you this. I hope you'll understand, but I know you might be angry. I thought about it for a long time, but in the end I decided it was best for you not to know. So many things could have gone wrong and there's really no telling how the Overseer will react when he finds out. It's best if he can just blame everything on me. Obviously, you already know that I'm gone. It was something I needed to do. You're an adult now. You're ready to be on your own. Maybe someday things will change and we can see each other again. I can't tell you why I left or where I'm going. I don't want you to follow me. God knows life in the vault isn't perfect, but at least you'll be safe. Just knowing that will be enough to keep me going."

"Don't mean to rush you, Doc, but I'd feel better if we got this over with," Jonas's voice interrupted in the background.

"Okay. Go ahead. Goodbye. I love you, son."

Elias stayed silent, his eyes welled and single a tear ran down his cheek. Something he needed to do? What could be so important out there…? He sighed: more questions.

"I'm so sorry, I know Jonas was your friend," Amata said earnestly behind him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

He lowered his head.

Amata continued, walking a slow circle around him. "I took this from my father's bedroom earlier this morning." She tossed him a key card like Frisbee. "I thought I would get here before you and open it but… yeah…" she trailed. Elias already knew what happened.

Elias caught the card and without a word stood up and swiped it to open her father's office.

The room before them wasn't particularly large but it wasn't exactly small either. It was fitted with a round semi-circular desk in the centre, a row of lockers to the left side and a circular window that encompassed a view of the entire atrium. Behind the desk was a terminal that Elias ran over to.

"Do you know the password?" Amata asked.

Dammit! He completely forgot about that. Elias looked up from the screen and contemplated for a moment. If I were the Overseer – he shuddered at the thought – what would my password be? What is important to me?

He looked over at his friend who was rifling through the lockers. "I'm going to try your name."

She snorted. "Good luck with that."

"And… I'm in," he said, a slight smile forming.

She turned around, surprised. "What? Really?"

Nodding behind the screen, Elias opened some of the files before the secret vault exit. He skimmed through the files to see if anything could be of use to him. When he came across one in particular that caught his immediate attention.

"What? That can't be right…" he trailed as he read through the contents.

"Huh?" Amata asked inquisitively, walking up behind him to look over his shoulder.

Elias' eyes widened. "It says here that the vault has been opened before! Look they even have pictures!" Elias zoomed in on a giant ant creature in the files. His mouth hung agape.

The adults all kept this a secret from them? Why?

Amata was left baffled. "But- Oh great, another lie to add to the list!" She raised her fists in the air in frustration. "It's going to be longer than a full roll of toilet paper by next week, I swear…"

Elias flicked through a number of pictures and files, the giant ant, some type of large bloat-fly and something else that caught his interest - a large metal structure that was under the heading: 'Megaton'. He wasn't sure he wanted to know why it was named after that…

After he was finished downloading all the files, he activated the vault escape tunnel option. The desk in the centre of the office began to rise, supported by metal pistons. It was considerably high in the air by the time it stopped, revealing a hidden tunnel beneath.

Once they made it to the Vault's entrance, they stopped. Elias had only been here a few times before when searching for a quiet place to get away but it soon became clear that it was the escape for many secret love trysts that were awkward to see.

Amata grabbed a metal table with a powered off terminal on top and dragged it in front of the door to the room. Preventing security from reaching them for a time.

The Vault Blast Door itself was a large steel cog. A mechanical arm mounted to the Vault Entrance's ceiling was used to pull it out and open the vault. A yellow control panel was placed just past the entry Amata had blocked, they both stepped up to it.

Elias began to flip switches and press buttons on the control panel, not exactly sure what he was doing. Lastly, he pulled down a lever.

A siren on the wall near the blast door wailed and the light beside it flashed its orange hue, making Elias think he did something wrong but that's when the arm swung forward and reached for the giant cog, pulling it inward and onto the gear rack thus allowing it to roll aside, revealing a rocky cavern ahead.

Amata stared ahead in bewilderment, equally as disbelieving as her friend. "…You… you actually did it. You opened the door!" she exclaimed, her shock now replaced with excitement. "I almost didn't think it was possible!" She looked back at him with a wide smile that he couldn't help but return.

Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, "I couldn't have done it without your help," he said.

Blushing slightly, she shook her head. "No… you didn't need me, you would've done fine on your own… just like I know you will out there. If anyone could survive in the wasteland from this vault, it would be you."

They embraced in a tight squeeze, Elias didn't want to let go, before they broke apart.

"Forget what I said before, come with me."

His childhood friend looked away. "You know I can't do that… I'm sorry."

"Goodbye… Amata," he said finally and turned to the passage before them.

"Wait," she said as soon as he had taken his first step.

Struck with curiosity and a small kindle of hope that maybe she'd join him, he looked back at her and to his surprise, Amata grabbed him by his vault suit collar and kissed him passionately on the lips. His hands moves to rest on her waist. Their eyelids fluttered downwards and closed unconsciously.

When they parted, their cheeks clouded. "I'm sorry… I've just always wanted to do that." She smiled at him coyly, her eyes glowing somewhat.

Elias blinked away his daze, trying to make sure his vision wasn't hazy and that was indeed Amata who had been the one to share his first kiss with. His face lit up with an endearing grin. "Don't be," he whispered before they kissed again, more intense but softer. They were interrupted by the shouts of security on the other side of the door that Amata had previously barricaded.

Amata pushed him back by his chest with both hands. "Go! Before security get here!"

Elias jumped down the steps. "Will I ever see you again?" he asked. Security began banging violently on the door, using something as a battering ram, rumbling the table shoved up to it.

A pained expression flickered on her face as she shook her head. "I… don't know… just go. Now!" As she said her last word, the officers burst through the door. The table skidding out of the way with its terminal falling off before smashing on the concrete.

Amata ran back up the escape tunnel before any of the officers could grab her. Elias ran out into the dark cave… Never to set foot in the vault ever again.

Nearly tripping on something as he stumbled out the exit, when Elias shone his pip-boy light over it he almost tumbled back. About six skeletons lay in a heap at the entrance. Some still had protest signs clutched in their bony hands reading: "Let us in!" and "We're dying assholes!"

His breathing accelerated, he ran off, away from the vault.

When he noticed a wooden door at the end, light streaming through the cracks, at the exit of the cave he began to sprint.

A strange feeling welled inside him; not only would he miss some of these people he was leaving behind but he'd miss the person he was here because he'd never be that way ever again...

The last thing he heard that morning was the shriek of the giant steel door of Vault 101 screeching closed behind him.

He didn't look back…

Disclaimer: I don't own the fallout series or any of its characters.

A/N: Hoped you enjoyed this first chapter of Legend of the Lone Wanderer. I apologise if this was cringy. I'm a fairly neophyte writer and this is my first go at the whole novel length story business. I like to think it gets better as you go through and I promise my chapters aren't all so obviously novice.

This will be my take on the story of Fallout 3 but I'm open to suggestions. If you have any, PM me or leave them in the reviews. Feedback in any for form including constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged.

Have a good one! :)