Fallout: Ashes to Ashes

[Fiery Firefly]

It was 6:50 in the morning

Taylor Gonzalo sighed as she looked at the time on her Pip-boy. 10 minutes till wake-up.

She held her pistol up and fired at the target yet again. She missed the dead center of the target by two inches.

Oh well… in the real world, outside the vault, things weren’t as black and white as the targets.

Shooting wasn’t exactly something most did at 6:50 in the morning. But Taylor had many reasons for doing it. For one, she was testing the ammo she had created for their little trip. The ammo was working so far, but her nerves wouldn’t be calmed until it proved its worth in the wasteland. Anything could shred paper in a practice range.

Second she kind of liked the range early in the morning. She was the only one in here. With Vault 32’s population problem, her entire life she felt cramped like a sardine. Even few hours of solitude were a blessing to her.

And finally she was just scared shitless, and needed to shoot to get that stress off her. Today was the big day. It probably would of helped if she actually got sleep, but it had been no use. She was the leader of this whole expedition, the Overseer had trusted her fellow vault-dwellers lives in her hands. It was a lot to thrust on the shoulders of a 19 year old.

A few minutes later, she packed her gear up and made her way back to the Gonzalo Living Quarters. She put her bag down gently and tried her best to not wake anyone up as she sat on her bed.

It didn’t matter though when the intercom came to life,

“Good morning citizens of Vault 32.” The kind but stern voice of the Overseeer, Shannon McKay, blared through the intercom, “This is a reminder that all members of the expedition must meet in my office in 30 minutes time. Sorry for inconveniencing anyone and have a good morning.”

Taylor heard her father groan and he threw something heavy (she couldn’t tell exactly what in the darkness) in the general direction of the intercom. He had been working late last night, but even if he hadn’t he still probably would have had the same reaction.

Taylor got up and tip-toed to her brother. Gabe could sleep through anything, something potentially dangerous when they went to the outside world.

“Gabe…” she gently shook him, “Get up…”

Her twin brother’s eyes fluttered open, “Mmm? “ He sat up and yawned, “…Its time isn’t it?”

“Yeah its time. Come on…”

[JW%]

Jay had spent too much time the previous night making last minute preparations. So he was nestled in his bunk when the announcement was made. Fortunately, he was quick to awaken, and as quietly as possible, given how many others he shared the sleeping area with who moaned at their unwanted awakening, he gathered up his gear and taking time to clean and properly awaken himself. By the time he was standing outside the office he looked far too bright eyed to be awake this early, and he knew it. He really really did like sleeping in, whenever possible, he just wasn't the kind of person who was slow or lethargic on first awakening.

[lovely corte]

Benjamin wasted the better part of his night on numerous activities, ranging from holding back inward tears, and re-arranging and repairing the pistol that he'd most likely have to become accustomed to for his time in the Wasteland.

He was in one of possibly the least cramped cabins in the Vault, a bonus of such an elevated position in the social hierachry, or atleast, his mother's status, and his father's.

The intercom went off, just as Benjamin was getting into the lulls of sleep, but he awoke instantly, excited and afraid. He wasted no time in slipping out of his gear, and into his Wasteland set. He strapped the holsters on, and placed the pistol on his thigh, and waited for a moment.

His mother and father awoke, and they exchanged sympathies and hopes, and hugged, kissed and left. They weren't going to see their son in a while.

He left, sagging shoulders, but still excited, to the office, watching his mother and father's sad expressions, until he rounded the corner directly to the door into the office.

[Adlai Stevenson]

Grandpa Jack didn't see the mushroom cloud. He'd made for a nearby deli's cellar the second he'd heard the sirens. He had pushed people out of his way to get there. His heart got to him before it hit.

Dad didn't see the mushroom cloud. He'd been down in the shelter since the siren started up - Mom had frozen up, stupid goddamn bitch. He didn't forget to drag her into the shelter, but he did forget to lock it.

Uncle Jake and Aunt Sheila didn't see the mushroom cloud. They saw the flash, though. They never saw anything ever again.

Private Goldwater was running home to his family - fuck this cowboys and indians bullshit, he thought - at least he would have, if he could hear himself think over a deafening chorus of a million sirens.

Bang.

The first to go was his fair, blonde hair - it caught fire. His scalp melted and his teeth burst. His clothes became his skin and his skin became his clothes, and both slid off his bones.

A screaming skeleton caught burning in mid-air, Private Goldwater's last words were unintelligible. His tongue had burned to ash. Although all this had occurred within a fraction of an instant, relief still registers in the young man's brain as the coup de gras comes - the blastwave bursting his smouldering scarecrow like a freight train through a fucking snowman. No one, at least not in this life, will ever think about Private Goldwater ever again . . .

---

There is nothing to do in the overcrowded rain gutter known as Vault 32 other than think or sleep. For Taza Goldwater, the decision is no contest.

Contrary to the popular belief of his fellow classmates, he does not dream in binary, as was often joked about him. He's not all that far off, though. In sleep, just as he is awake, he is full of maps and charts, at first. Brown bursts and dead zones and lethal doses and sweet thoughts of it falling right on top of him and just bringing all the earth and the heavens down and burying him and burying everything and then burying itself and then nothing.

But his mind lets him get more romantic than that. He'd go crazy if it didn't. Flat topographic sketches become a canvas of green valleys and red deserts and blue skies. He dreams of windswept prairies and sightseeing in a place called America - the Statue of Liberty, the Golden Gate Bridge, the White House, just like the torn and grainy posters on the wall of his bunk.

Sometimes, the dreams end in other ways - he is standing alone in the cold dust, in the middle of the night, deafened by a howling wind. His shivering legs carry him through towards the milky light on the murky horizon. Now and again, looming and growing in front of him, comes cartoonish masonry at sick and impossible angles. They grow and grow and grow, until he's practically nothing beside them, and they are everything.

Each time, the same nausea brings him back to reality. With every dream, his wish comes true.

He is sightseeing in America.

Through the nausea and the sweat, however, technicolor dreams are just that, and he wakes and showers and gives Mom a big hug and shakes his father's hand and grabs his things and makes his way toward the Overseer's office.

[Frahnkenshteen]

Al bolted up in his bed, grinning madly as he heard the announcement on the intercom. He hadn't slept a wink the night before. There

"Today's the day!" he screamed to no one in particular.

Finally, I can get out of this place. With its grey metal walls, and its dusty air. To a place. Where men are men, the sky is blue, and I don't need to worry about the ricochet ripping my face off when shooting in anywhere other than the range. In fact the world is my range! And the head of every BDSM clad weirdo my bullseye.

The coat's color had long faded, a dry, desert white as opposed to the deep earth brown that it once was. The coat seemed to have been around since before the Great War, but Al didn't care, cause daaaaamn he looked good in it. Nevermind that it was quite uncomfortable, and clashed horribly with the trademark Vault blue. He looked like the type of man who would be shooting a .44 in one hand, and chugging a bottle of bathtub brewed whiskey in the other. The torn up old cowboy hat only helped this.

Al slung his duffle bag on his back, filled with ammo, whatever spare snacks he could gather, and faded dirty magazines of various print years. He grabbed hold of his immaculately well kept New England Pardner, in better condition than most of the maintenance robots in the Vault. He put his cowboy hat on his slightly balding head, tilting the brim to cover his eyes. He stuck a toothpick in his mouth because why the hell not. As Al stepped out the door of his room and into the Vault's hallway, he thought
Today. Is the first page of the Chronicles of Albert C. Breach.

[lovely corte]

((I'm proud to say I've been in an AlChestBreach RP. ;D))

[Frahnkenshteen]

Dec 21, 2012 22:06:28 GMT -8 lovely corte said:

((I'm proud to say I've been in an AlChestBreach RP. ;D))

((Are you saying you now can say that, or you've been in an RP with him?))

[lovely corte]

((Now I can say that. And good sir, I demand plenty of references. >_>.))

[Penny Royals]

Mercia Lewis stood outside the office, rubbing a kink out of the back of her neck. Her eyes reeked of sleeplessness, her hair fell flat against her cheeks, even her warm clothes looked lethargic, clinging listlessly against her form, only to gather in damp folds where her body leaned out.

She'd been up for hours. She hadn't been able to sleep, in fact. She'd only been able to sit on her couch, with a cup of her mother's hot cocoa and a pillow, thinking about what the journey would hold for her.

Glory. That was why. With this team, she'd be able to prove that she wasn't just another nobody, left behind by a person who didn't want her- her only call to fame so far. With this team, she'd be a hero, finding a new home for everyone else in the vault. With this team, she'd finally amount to something, and that was what mattered.

Her parents said that that didn't matter, that God was the judge of her fate, and that she'd amount to something no matter what. Even so, they didn't stop her when she told them she would join the expedition team to find Vault 32 a new home. She hated to think about it, as they were so deeply religious as to call it a sin- but she thought, just perhaps, they were proud of her. They'd raised a child good enough to be called to the surface as a warrior. They'd raised a future mother, a future hero.

But none of this helped her now, her exhaustion that is. She really should have slept, she just... couldn't. So here she was, with supplies and everything else ready, waiting for the others to finally get there.

[lovely corte]

Benjamin fumbled with his backpack, using bits of tape to keep all the loose bits down, nice and tight, making sure that they wouldn't alert anyone on the Wasteland to their presence.

He sighed, coming up to the front of the office. One other person was here, that was good. He didn't come to the wrong office or something, even though he knew this Vault's corridors like the back of his hand, but it was just paranoia getting to him.

He walked up to the girl. He wasn't too good at talking to girls, nor was he too good at talking to anyone. But he was going to have to live with this girl (and many others, which was the part making Benjamin the most confused on his excitement) and he should make a good impression.

Fumbling with his backpack, he held his hand out. "H-Hi, I'm B-... Benjamin. Are you on the team?"

[Penny Royals]

Mercia looked to the left, her brow furrowing as the boy offered his hand and spoke up. Not wanting to be rude, she gave a small smile and took his hand.

"Yes. I'm Mercia. Nice to meet you, Benjamin."

She never had really learned people's names down here in the Vault. She'd seen all of them, but had never actually spoken to them- she was frightened to, in a way. So due to her own fear she sort of... alienized herself, not the other way around. But it seemed she'd have to get over it now. After all, it was very possible she'd have to... 'marry' one of these people.

So now seemed to be a good enough time.

[lovely corte]

Benjamin smiled back, a set of pearly white teeth that could only belong to a Vault Dweller. He shook her hand firmly, and then let go.

"So, uhm... eer, what did they sign you on for?" Benjamin asked, neatly fitting out his labcoat, as they waited for the others to show up and arrive. He kept holding his back-pack by the straps with two hands, rocking idly on his two feet nervously, both for the excitement to come, and from the social anxiety of talking to a girl.

[Fiery Firefly]

Suddenly the noise of loud footsteps clattering up the metal stairs, interrupted their conversation.

A tall Hispanic boy who had way too much energy for this time of morning ran up to the Overseer's office and tried to open it. Locked

"Gabe," Taylor appeared after him, "Do you really think they'd be waiting outside if the door was open?"

Gabe shrugged and blew his bangs out of his eyes, " Maybe they didn't open it right. Remember that time you thought we were locked out of our quarters, and it turned out it was actually unlocked. And we were waiting outside for an hour, bored out of our minds?"

He turned and looked at the people congregated, "Hey Mercia... you ready? I mean I guess we could never really be ready for whatever's out there, but you know... I'm pretty psyched. Whole new world out there and all."

And so many ways we can die Taylor thought. What the fuck was wrong with her brother? Everything was such a game to Gabe... it terrified her to think her little brother (only by 15 minutes but still...) could be dead.

But he was needed, mostly for his social skills. The boy could talk his way into anything and was a social butterfly.

"And you're... someone. Um I'm sorry, I've seen you around, but have never really talked to you... What
's your name? I'm Gabe Gonzalo." he said to Ben

[lovely corte]

Benjamin turned around, meeting the other people. He'd never seen these people before, maybe only in passing glances, but not by first name. As sociable as the Vault was, Benjamin was a recluse.

Benjamin, smiling, held his hand out. "I-I'm.. uh, Benjamin. I'm the team medic. I-It's... It's nice to meet you both. Is that your sister or erm... girlfriend?"

[Fiery Firefly]

"Hey Ben! Um... can I call you Ben? Not very often people go by there full names like that. Mine's really Gabriel, but the only people who call me that is Mom when I really fuck up... And ew no! She's my sister."

"I'm Taylor," Taylor said rolling her eyes, " I'm the leader of this whole opperation. And Gabe... well he's a people person, and he's pretty good when it comes to brute strength. Not the best with a gun, but I compensate for that."

She turned to Mercia, "You and I have a lot to handle with all these boys." she laughed.

[lovely corte]

Benjamin nodded, biting his lower lip, still clutching the strap of his backpack with frantic anxiety. He rocked on his feet, still.

"O-Oh, yeah. Ben or Benjamin is fine, anything goes, really. You can call me whatever you like." Benjamin said, scratching his head. He was fresh and clean, and recently showered. He'd most likely stay that way for five minutes in the outside world, and not return to it for the next two years.

"I-I'm sorry." Benjamin said, stuttering and stammering as he averted his eyes from Taylor slightly. "Oh, well... I'll be fixing bulletholes, mainly."

[Penny Royals]

Mercia was confused at the question of what she was signed on for, and looked on quietly as the others came. She DID specialize in weapons, after all, so maybe that was what she was. Then the boy- Gabe, she knew- spoke directly to her. Well, no more hiding behind dark bangs.

"I hope it'll be like I've heard." Mercia wasn't imaginative. She hadn't thought much on the outside, hadn't thought that perhaps it could be entirely different than what she'd been taught. It was an interesting prospect, definitely. "I suppose so..." She replied with a small, vague smile. "And I'm... I guess I'm a weapons specialist. I... do very well blowing things up. On purpose."

[Fiery Firefly]

"Its okay... not many of us have siblings cause of the population problem." Taylor said to Benjamin, "We're twins. Not much anyone could do about it. How did you get medical training? You seem kind of young to be a doctor," Taylor wanted to get to know her companions better, know their strengths and weaknesses.

" Blowing things up... this is why I hang out with you..." Gabe said, grinning ear to ear. "I'm sure everything will be okay. We have God and guns our side."

[lovely corte]

"Well, Napoleon... once uhm... once said that God fights on the side with the better artillery." Benjamin said, meekly at that, his voice barely registering to an audible level. He smiled slightly, before looking up at the girl.

"I uuhm... I'm not really," Benjamin stammered, before sighing, "I've just been taught how to uhm... be a doctor, since I was a kid."

He looked to the girl, shrugging. He idly scratched at his head, slumping a bit, "They didn't want to get rid of my mother - the head doctor, so they sent the next medical professional."

[JW%]

"Better artillery is where I come in." Jay said, leaning against the door frame. "She's the gunslinger. I'm the gunsmith. You think technology hasn't advanced since we were hurling balls of lead by touching a match to a wet mix of sulfur, charcoal, and saltpetre?" He curled his hand into a fist and triggered a glow of activations LEDs, letting the gear perform a maintenance cycle. It came up smoothly as it had the last dozen times and he shut it down again. "If we can't find more bullets out there, we should at least have sunlight, right? Solar charged fuel cells, last almost forever if you treat them right."

[lovely corte]

"I-I don't think we should go... go looking for a fight, and that'd be really against our very survival." Benjamin said, wringing his fingers gently.

[Fiery Firefly]

" Don't worry we're not" Taylor assured, "I have a feeling the fights will find us. I only want shooting for food and self-defense, understand? I'm the one whose supposed to watch out for you guys, and I won't have the blood of innocents on my hands,"

She started counting them all, the only one missing at this point was Taza and Al.

[lovely corte]

Benjamin nodded, sighing. He was grateful that the girl was sane of mind - she wasn't trigger happy, and she appreciated it. For all of their practice, for all of their training, the average Raider porbably had the home-ground advantage of knowing the area, the people and how to fight.

He scratched his head, looking at the door and the others. He wondered who they were waiting for, and took off his back-pack setting it down to ease the load.

"D-Does anyone know when the others will be here?" Benjamin asked, sighing. He didn't want to sound like a dick, but he didn't like the waiting. "I don't want to sound rude... but... this is some serious shit."

[Frahnkenshteen]

"You were saying?" Al called out for the end of the hallway as he walked towards the group clustered around the Overseer's office.

"You worrying too much there, bud," he assured, slapping Ben on the shoulder.

"Just think of it as.... putting on a new hat you just bought. It's a brand new experience, full of possibilities! True, the hat is dry and likely irradiated, but still!"

[lovely corte]

Ben yelped slightly as he was slapped, visibly shrinking back. He groaned, and looked at the man, before relaxing slightly.

"H-Hi." Ben said, holding out his hand, "It's great to see you here. I'm not sure, but I think we might just be waiting on one more person before we can enter the office together as a team."

[Fiery Firefly]

"We're waiting on Taza." Taylor said, "And Al, I don't usually have to worry about hats killing me or my brother. Ben has some legitimate concerns here, we have no idea what the hell we're going to find out there."

[Frahnkenshteen]

"But that's what makes it fun! We have no clue what could be out there! It could be Lord Humungus or... or Buddy Holly or... or mimes! It's all so exciting!" Al said breathlessly.

[lovely corte]

"S-So what you're saying is that," Ben started, scratching his head, "That the nukes destroyed civilization, so that the mimes could rise up?"

"I-I think we should just be careful. I-I know It's exciting, but... but we got to keep our heads together." Ben said, "People survive out there by murdering, raping and pillaging, especially people like us." He looked to all the others.

[JW%]

Ben's comment raised an eyebrow on Jay's face. "I'm thinking we should be able to find other ways to survive out there than taking up murdering, raping, and pillaging." He said drily.

[Fiery Firefly]

"We might have to murder for self-defense and pillage to survive. I don't expect us to stay goody-two-shoes Vault kids the whole time," Taylor said, "Though if I find out that any of you raped a woman, I'll shoot your balls off,"

Most people say things such as that with humor, but Taylor's voice had no humor in it. It was grave and serious.