Fallout 3: Diary of the Dead

[Maharg67]

You are an amazing writer!!!

[species5478]

Thanks Herc, it's always good to hear your opinion. Hope you enjoyed my latest chapter.

 

Thanks Gormonk. I almost changed my storyline when you and Herc posted the idea of Marie's father killing Sindis, but I had to stay with my original plot...

 

Thanks Maharg. It's nice to hear from the mind behind such great work.

[dezdimona]

you have great talent,I hope to see this in print one day.

[gormonk]

its ur story(and a dam good one at that) u shouldent have to change it for any one

[Herculine]

Oh... always follow your instinct yes! Sometimes a writer can cater to her fans, but sometimes you have to go your own direction. No matter what you do you will always have my support!

[species5478]

Thanks Dimona. I appreciate your continued support.

:sweat:

 

Sup Gormonk? I'm glad you take the time to comment with such encouraging words. It's true that this is my story, but without individuals like you to read it, these characters would be trapped in the solitude of my own mind...so just by hearing what you think may happen, my convictions are often strengthened, or inspired with a greater idea. Thanks.

 

Hey Herc; your words are encouraging. I take your thumbs up as a personal affirmation that I'm the right track. I think most writers would agree that we have to keep ourselves engaged just to write sometimes. It seems that the spirit of good penmanship not only arises from our personal drive of expression, but from the willingness of others to share in the experience.

 

The next entry should be out within a few days.

[Maharg67]

You have the courage to make your main characters vulnerable, to put your feelings into your stories. That, Species5478, makes you a stronger writer than myself in some ways. I have gained insight from reading your writing. I have gained from reading also the writing of Herculine and Dezdimona along with others in Druid's Garden.

 

:yes: :thumbsup: :thanks: :banana:

[shadowmadnezz]

"Knock knock!"

 

"Who's there?" Billy asked.

 

"Norma Lee!" Knock Knock answered, loading her pistol.

 

"Norma Lee, who?"

 

"Norma Lee, I wouldn't pee on myself, but I'm scared!"

 

Princess finally woke up and threw a bucket towards Knock Knock. "Shut up!"

 

lol that was 2 funny :biggrin: what an exciting chapter. I really hope bumble makes it :(

[species5478]

Thanks Maharg. I draw inspiration not only from your wonderful tales, but from your comments too.

 

So shadowmadnezz...you enjoyed that last one huh? Glad to hear it. Even though this is a dark tale, I don't want to be dramatically morbid with all of Marie's entries.

[species5478]

(continued) June 4^th 9:15 pm

 

 

It was massive. A gigantic green man, bulging with muscles and spewing breath so foul, the hairs in my nose burned with each inhalation. I'd seen them a few times before, lurking within Murder Pass. Every once and a while, one of these ugly Super Mungos would try to break through our barrier but Princess or one of the other guards always managed to keep them at bay.

 

"Puny human!"

 

I ducked beneath the Super Mungo's massive sledgehammer as it swung for my head, and slid through its legs while Lucy fled back into the Great Chamber. I put a shot into the Super Mungo's knee when it turned, and ducked as its kneecap exploded.

 

"Awwww! Wounded by puny human!"

 

The Super Mungo didn't hesitate to give chase, and began limping after me with its massive sledgehammer raised high. I needed to put three shots into the Mungo's skull before it would stop moving and I realized only then, that Murder Pass had been breached, or purposely opened. All of the remaining Lamplighters were assembled on the souvenir shop's balcony and screamed at me when I emerged into view.

 

"Get out of there! You're surrounded!"

 

Too late. Lucy sealed the Great Chamber's door before I could go back through so I made a run for it. Mungos and Super Mungos filled the cave with a barrage of bullets and laser fire making nowhere safe. I tried running for the shop, but a Super Mungo grabbed me before I could reach the stairs.

 

"Marie!"

 

"Squirrel! Help me!"

 

He tried to leap off the balcony, but MacCready tackled him. There was nothing he could have done, anyway. The Super Mungo trudged off as its brethren marched after the regular Mungos, stroking my hair as if I were some kind of lost pet.

 

I puked from disgust and was sickened by the radioactive decay emanating from the Super Mungo's greenish body, and tried to wiggle free when it raised me to its grinning face. Tears watered my eyes just as a hail of bullets filled the Super Mungo's back. It barely flinched and proceeded to enter Murder Pass, smiling.

 

"I'm going to eat your bones!"

 

I released a shivering gasp before focusing on the weapon in my right hand. Even though my arms were pinned, I managed to hold onto dad's Magnum. Almost forgot I had it. I aimed for one of the Super Mungo's legs and fired after timing its lumbering strut.

 

"Ha ha, that tickles!" It grinned, raising me to its face. "No more games! Time to die!"

 

Before the Super Mungo could stuff my head into its mouth the bullet detonated, and it dropped me when a chunk of its calf muscle blew across the ground. I quickly aimed for its face and pulled the trigger only to realize that I was out of ammo. I didn't even have the bullets to reload. The injured Super Mungo began shuffling after me as a second Super Mungo entered Murdered Pass with a Mercenary tucked beneath one of its arms. The battle in the cavern was beginning to spill over. With my path into Little Lamplight blocked, I had no choice but to dash into the unknown. I ran through the rear gate we'd used to bar the mutants and realized the barrier had been opened from the inside.

 

Somebody let the Super Mungos in…but who?

 

I ran down the declining bend and through an open door leading into a secondary cavern system. There were branching paths immediately ahead and I could see a Super Mungo patrolling one of them. I stopped by a set of sandbags, turned left, and eyed the awaiting bridge at the far end of the tunnel. Another Super Mungo patrolled along this path and as I tried to think of what to do, it called out to me.

 

"Puny human! I can smell your fear!" The injured Super Mungo's heavy, dragging footsteps pounded after me.

 

SHHH…THUMP!

 

SHHH…THUMP!

 

I ran towards the bridge and crawled into one of the empty barrels that I found turned on its side. My shivering body caused the barrel to tap against the nearby wall. The slight ticking sound was loud enough to give my position away and as I tried to calm down, all three Super Mungos converged on my position.

 

"You, hurt?" One of them said.

 

"Puny human, where is she?"

 

"Ha! You stupid. No Puny human here."

 

"ARGHH!" The injured Mutant growled as he struck the wall above me. Pieces of rock and dust fell on top of my barrel, seeped inside, and right into my mouth as I peeked up through one of its many holes. The gritty bits irritated my throat, and my body convulsed as I tried to suppress the urge to cough.

 

"You stupid! Puny human ran this way! I followed!"

 

"Yeah? Where is she?"

 

The injured Super Mungo looked left and right, before slowly lowering its head to examine the barrel just beneath its feet. My entire body trembled as I tried not to cough but as the Super Mungo bent forward, the cough escaped from my lips.

 

"HA!" It yelled raising its enormous sledgehammer "FOUND YOU!"

 

I scrambled out of the barrel as the sledgehammer came whirling down, smashing it into a flattened sheet. I ducked through a second Super Mungo's legs and made a run from the bridge as all three turned in my direction.

 

"You can't escape puny human!"

 

Frightened by the whirl of a Minigun; I slid down a narrow incline to my right instead of running across the bridge, and barely avoiding the simmering wave of bullets that shredded the air behind me. A single bonfire gave sparse illumination to the bleak cavern interior where I now found myself trapped. I couldn't afford to pause so I ran for the shoddily made guard's shack defended by two mutants. As I ran underneath it, the Super Mungo with the Minigun stopped along the bridge and opened fire.

 

"Die puny human!"

 

The 10mm rounds ripped through the wooden beams and destabilized the entire shack. I managed to reach some ramps on the far end as the entire thing came crumbling down, Super Mungos and all. I climbed the ramps while the cavern filled with a billowing cloud of dust, which obscured my escape as I ran into the next tunnel.

 

"Marie!"

 

"Squirrel, is that you? Squirrel where are you!"

 

I kept running until I reached the main tunnel and ran into Squirrel as he turned the corner. "It's you! It's really you! How did you find me?" I asked, hugging him with trembling arms.

 

"Stealth Boy got me most of the way here…"

 

"There they are!"

 

We turned as the injured Super Mungo entered the main tunnel from the opposite end. Squirrel grabbed my hand and pulled me towards a winding burrow. A Vault Tech sign flanked the entrance. It read: Keep Out Not Part Of Tour

 

I could feel a glimmer of hope emerging inside me. I grew up in a Vault Tech bunker. If there was such a thing as safety, it had to be here. But as we passed a pile of sandbags a stalk of moving flesh turned in our direction, and began wobbling towards us.

 

"Floater!" Squirrel leaped in front of me and whipped out his sawed-off shotgun. He fired right at the Floater's tree-like stump and severed the mutated entity in half. The flowery head with its gaping mouth and bad breath tumbled forward, nearly engulfing Squirrel. His second shotgun blast put an absolute end to the Floater and as it squirmed in its death throes, we hid inside a shadowy recess as a patrolling Super Mungo came to investigate. We slipped pass when its back was turned, and ran forward until the tunnel branched. After following a trail of Mungo footsteps to the right, we dashed through a broken fence where a hidden maintenance room awaited. I used my Pip-Boy's homemade hacking device to seal the functioning door from the pursuing Super Mungos.

 

"Good job Marie. That should hold them off for a while."

 

Squirrel and I searched the room for anything useful. He looked inside a couple of desks while I searched the ammo boxes and med kit that sat atop a nearby shelf.

 

"Thanks for coming, Squirrel."

 

"Yeah well, I wasn't the only one. When MacCready saw me running after you, he and Princess decided to back me up. I don't think they survived."

 

I didn't know what to say. Little Lamplight had become a haven for me. The years spent there were some of the happiest in my life. Even though MacCready and Princess were jerks, they also made me feel safe, and welcome. And Bumble…dear God Bumble…I loved her so much that, she became a sister to me. She followed me everywhere. We fixed each others hair. Played, and ate together. She looked up to me, and now…everywhere I went, death seemed to follow and I just couldn't take it anymore. Tears burst from my eyes and when Squirrel noticed, he gave me a big hug.

 

"It's ok, Marie. Everything is going to be ok. Don't worry, I'll protect you. There's always light at the end of the tunnel."

 

I shivered uncontrollably. That promise had been made by my mother and father. Meant as blessing of safety, the notion only became a prelude to death, which cursed my life with untold horrors. If my parents couldn't protect me how could Squirrel hope to succeed? Maybe he didn't realize death was unstoppable. It knew nothing of promises, temperance, or love. Death's appetite was insatiable and as I stared into the next passageway, I could feel it waiting for us, as if contemplating who to take next.