Fallout 3: Diary of the Dead

[dezdimona]

This is an awesome story.Well done so far!

[katashy]

Just read the third chapter. And, OMG! Mehrunes Dagon! Thats one helluva crazy crossover.

 

Very, VERY good story so far. Gonna go back and read the rest now.

[species5478]

Just read the third chapter. And, OMG! Mehrunes Dagon! Thats one helluva crazy crossover.

 

Very, VERY good story so far. Gonna go back and read the rest now.

 

Thanks for the support! I've read other stories on the nexus that involve mixing aspects of Oblivion, and Fallout. I didn't originally want to get too deep with the Oblivion influence in this piece; but I think it's fair to assume that elements of the Oblivion world, could be lost relics in the Fallout world. For anyone whose played both Oblivion and Fallout, you might agree that in Fallout's "The Dark Heart of Blackhall" Quest, the swampfolk's ritual chamber DOES look like an ancient Aeylid ruin, complete with altar...

[species5478]

October 23^rd 11:45pm

 

 

 

 

"Obadiah!"

 

"Obadiah!"

 

There was no response.

 

Blackhall manor appeared empty. Although a few lamps burned here and there, pockets of darkness seemed to sprout from every corner of the house. Obadiah wasn't in the foyer, so I patrolled the kitchen searching for something to eat and found nothing edible. I did stumble across a few useful items; a full package of Rad Away, a single Stimpack, and an ancient sword. I didn't hesitate adding these items to my inventory, either. After everything I'd been through, I deserved them.

 

Maybe it was the poison, but the entire house seemed to be moving. Its walls, ceiling, and floor all heaved rhythmically back and forth as if it were somehow…breathing. Groaning vibrations fluttered through the air, raising the temperature to sweltering levels. Marie begged for freedom and although I tried waiting in the foyer, I grew increasingly impatient and decided to look for Obadiah.

 

I didn't bother searching upstairs. Last time I saw him, the old man went into the manor's basement to "prepare", so that's where I headed. The door was open so I slipped inside and descended the decrepit stairway. When I reached the bottom, I found Obadiah kneeling by an altar with his head bowed.

 

"I told you to wait upstairs." He growled standing. "You have no place here troglodyte…"

 

"I've brought the Krivbehknih. Please, free my daughter."

 

When Obadiah turned, I gasped from the sight of his flaming eyes and backed away. "Marcella was right…"

 

Obadiah's mouth curled with hatred. He reached out with his right hand and pointed a crooked finger towards me. "Marcella is dead. Give me the Krivbehknih, or you will suffer as she did."

 

I didn't understand what was happening and contemplated running. "What about Marie? You promised to help me!"

 

"Did I? I never agreed to do any such thing, fool."

 

Only then did I notice the gold chain hanging on Obadiah's neck. The pendant filled with Marie's hair, dangled on the bottom loop. "Then…why did you take Marie's locket?"

 

"Look at me! Mehrunes Dagon has blessed me with power! In exchange for his gift, my Lord requires a pure child; one sacrificed and tainted by her own blood in the hour of a lunar eclipse. Python lead the ceremonial indoctrination of your daughter's soul, yet failed to bring me her remains. But thanks to your vengeful spirit, I now have all the items I need, except for one. The way has been paved for Lord Dagon's rebirth! He's been waiting for someone to reopen the gate to Oblivion since the days of Uriel Septim VII. As the high priest of the Mythic Dawn, I will receive him and be set above all other mortals forever!"

I remembered that night and it was during an eclipse that my daughter lost both her virginity, and life. I had no idea what else he was talking about, and it didn't matter. All I knew was that I had to escape.

 

"Mommy! Don't let him take me! Please Mommy please!"

 

Obadiah walked forward, rattling the house with his impossibly heavy footsteps. "Your daughter will make the perfect conduit into this realm. She is the key to opening the Oblivion gate…"

 

I raised my rifle, and shot Obadiah in chest three times, without effect. "No," I cried out as fire escaped from his wounds. "What have I done?"

 

"Mommy please, free me from this place!"

 

I paused in the stairway, pulled the pin on my final grenade, and tossed it down the steps. "Burn in Hell!" After climbing out of the basement I leaped into first floor hallway as the explosive detonated. A surge of fire licked the doorway before all went quiet. Rising to my knees, I crawled slowly to the basement door and peeked inside.

 

My grenade had no effect.

 

I succeeded only in releasing Obadiah's inner beast. His skin had been replaced with flesh and fire that burned steadily as though slowed by time. "Give me the book," He growled hatefully. Obadiah's deep, demonic voice seemed to emerge from every corner of the house. "Give it to me now, and I will make a place for you in Oblivion, as my Queen…"

 

I spun around and ran towards the front door as fast as humanly possible. Mehrunes Dagon? I wondered after touching the tablet in my jacket. He wants to resurrect Mehrunes Dagon? Marcella was right after all. How in the Hell do I stop him? I don't even know what Mehrunes Dagon is! I don't believe this is happening...how is this even possible?

 

"Mommy please! You've got to free me before it's too late!"

 

"I don't know how!"

 

"Open the Krivbehknih!"

 

I tried, but the book refused to open. There was crest of some binding the pages together, but I didn't have time to study it. Instead, I pulled the front door open only to discover that Point Lookout was no more. It was replaced by an impenetrable darkness that was so absolute, nothing was visible. I was instantly terrified and before I could slam the door closed; a decaying hand grabbed my arm, and tried pulling me into the darkness. Terrified, I used my rifle to bat the bloody limb before kicking the door closed.

 

"Give me Krivbehknih!"

 

I turned as Obadiah floated down the narrow hallway and tried shooting him with my rifle, but I was out of ammo. I tossed the gun aside; pulled the sword I scavenged from its scabbard, and held the glistening blade in front of me.

 

"You cannot kill me," Screamed Obadiah in his demonic voice. "I've been sanctified by the defiled hands of a god!"

 

I took a stance in the middle of the room, and attacked Obadiah when he floated within range. He controlled his flaming body of flesh as though it were a puppet dangling on strings. Its limp arms swung lifelessly as they swayed from left to right like chimes dangling in the wind. "Mehrunes Dagon will feast on your soul!" Obadiah escaped to the opposite end of the room and slowly raised his upturned palms when I tried to approach. The wooden floorboards rattled beneath my feet and before I could move, a large creature seething with the foul odors of decay broke through the floor and latched onto the ceiling with its spidery limbs. Only God knows what that thing was, but it definitely wasn't from this world. Through its cylindrically transparent bowls churned the rotting flesh of its victims. As skeletal remains rattled within the beast's gooey digestive track, the bird-shaped beak protruding from its thin neck opened as if to purposely reveal the many rows of serrated teeth within.

 

I screamed, "Oh my God!" ran out of the room, and raced up the foyer's stairway. I could hear that bloodthirsty thing hissing as it crawled after me and nearly dropped my sword as I scrambled to the second floor. I sprinted across the balcony while the beast climbed the nearby wall and blocked my escape into the adjacent hallway. When it gazed at me with its gigantic eyes I didn't realize I was being marked. The beast then stuck out that slimy tongue of his, revealing the bumps on its tip which grew until they became sword length barbs. Then, as if using a blowpipe, the creature inhaled a massive lungful of air which it used to blow the barbs towards me.

 

I barely dodged the first attack.

 

The barb whistled pass my face and stuck the wall with a heavy "thunk". There was nowhere left to run, so I grabbed one of the many bookshelves lining the room, and pulled it in front of me. The tips of those black barbs broke through the wood as they partially penetrated the bookshelf.

 

Whistle, thunk!

 

Whistle, thunk!

 

Whistle, thunk!

 

Whistle, thunk!

 

The forth barb forced the shelf to topple over and although the balconies' railing prevented it from falling completely on me, my leg was pinned beneath one of the edges. I couldn't avoid the poisonous tip when it stabbed my shoulder either, and knew I was in trouble when my arm began to numb. Unable to move, the creature scuttled up the wall until it was directly above me, and fired its last barb.

 

"No!"

 

I moved my head just enough to avoid the deadly spike. When it stabbed the floor mere inches from my head, I used the sword to leverage the bookshelf off my leg but I still couldn't escape. The beast hissed evilly before descending on the bookshelf and I had no choice but to crawl beneath it.

 

Hissssssss…

 

The clatter of insectoid legs chattered against the bookshelf as they probed for a weak spot. There was no way I'd be able to maneuver the sword for a strike while under it. After taking a deep breath, I rolled into the open, swung for that thin neck, and lopped the beast's head off.

 

Aaarrrrrhhhhhiissssss….Said the rolling head as it tumbled over the balcony. The body still moved, but without a head to guide it, I was able to make a run for the far door.

 

"You'll never escape with your soul!" Obadiah screamed from the foyer. Every window began to rattle as strange creatures began pounding for a way in. I didn't know where to go, or what to do. So I kept running until I found the master bedroom and slammed the door shut. After retreating to the bed, Marie called out to me.

 

"Mommy! Free me!"

 

I reached into my jacket, pulled out the Krivbehknih, and inadvertently dropped that strange tablet with the fang-shaped emblem. When I picked it up, the blood on my fingertips didn't smear the tablet as I'd expected. Instead, the tablet seemed to act like a sponge, and hungrily absorbed the blood from my skin. The tablet even changed shape when I smeared more blood onto it and only then did I notice the fang-shaped symbol emerging on the books' cover.

 

"Yes Mommy! That's it! You can free me now!"

 

After placing the Krivbehknih on the bed, I raised the tablet to the barb wound in my shoulder, and waited as it soaked the blood from my body. I could feel myself getting dizzy and knew I couldn't survive the deadly combination of radiation sickness, that creature's poisonous barb, and blood loss. The bedroom door rattled as something banged on the opposite end, but it didn't matter. When the tablet's shape was completely altered, I pressed it into the Krivbehknih's fang-shaped indentation, and unlocked the book.

 

Once opened, an infinitely pure fountain of light burst from its pages a spilled into the air. I was warmed by the glow and felt an indescribable peace wash over me. The creatures in, and around the house began to howl miserably as the ceiling crumbled upward from a strange reversal in gravity. I looked up, and was mesmerized by the circle of nine stars hovering above.

 

"Come child," They said with an eternally ethereal voice. "You soul is free now."

 

The stars began rotating until they formed a shimmering circle of light which circumvented a portal to a heavenly place. I couldn't see into this new dimension, but the light which fell from this opening caused my eyes to tear with joy.

 

"I knew you would save me," Said Marie as she emerged from the imprisoning darkness of the Krivbehknih. "I'm finally going home." I reached out to her, and Marie's joyous smile hugged my soul with the invisible hands of bliss. "I love you Mommy." I closed my eyes as she ascended, and smiled.

 

"I love you too, Marie."

[Herculine]

Weird stuff but still oh so cool. I'm still loving this story!

[dezdimona]

wow this is a unique and very good story.I'm lovin it!

[species5478]

wow this is a unique and very good story.I'm lovin it!

 

Weird stuff but still oh so cool. I'm still loving this story!

 

Thanks girls! The twist comes in the next chapter...

[species5478]

October 23^rd Midnight

 

 

 

"I'm sorry Jacob, but there's nothing more I can do for her. I found mass amounts of Bruiser puss in Seki's bloodstream. You know how potent that stuff can be. One dose is enough to cripple most men with permanent delirium. She nearly had three doses…"

 

I grit me teeth hard. If I'd been able to save Seki and my daughter from Python's gang, none of this would have happened. I crouched by the bed and took her hand firmly into mine own. "Is there any way of waking her?"

 

Endo shrugged his shoulders. "Not that I know of. The narcotic has thrown her into some kind of a coma. Seki should have overdosed. Still might, actually. I'm not sure if I was able to purge her system with the meds we had."

 

"How could Seki have injected so much into her bloodstream?" I asked.

 

"I don't think she injected the puss. It looks like the narcotic was absorbed through those scratches on her forearm. I'm not sure what she was fighting out there, but it looks like she barely escaped with her life. She's got bruises all over her body, a near lethal radiation count and low blood due to all the swamp leaches. It's a minor miracle she survived this long but I don't think she'll ever awaken from her coma."

 

I stood up, crossed the room with Endo, and closed the door as we entered the manor's hallway. Carlson was standing guard at the opposite end and acknowledged me with a slight nod as I approached. "Jacob."

 

I nodded slowly. "Did you find anybody else?"

 

"Aside from that Tribal fellow Seki decapitated? Yeah we found pieces of another guy in the basement."

 

"Pieces?"

 

"Don't mean to sound harsh but, that Bruiser puss drove Seki insane. She killed some old guy with a grenade and nearly burned the house down in the process. Some of the guys had to piece his head together just to figure out if he was human." Carlson blew a quick whistle before adding, "It's a nasty mess down there. He deserved it though. Omega found a creepy looking body laying on top a sacrificial altar. Old fart was probably a Satanist."

 

Endo lit a cigarette, took a few drags, and then passed it to me. I wasn't sure what to do with Seki. The only doctor I trusted with her private care was in Rivet City. Lugging her around wasn't sitting well with me though. Had enough problems. Didn't need a comatose girl adding to them.

 

Endo scratched his chin as he eyed me suspiciously. "You've got that look in your eyes. What's on your mind Jacob?"

 

"I've read all of her entries. Seki killed Python, and then fled here. That old guy's name was Obadiah. Wanted that book I found in next to the bed. Conned Seki into thinking he could bring back Marie with it."

 

Endo smirked. "So she gave him a grenade instead."

 

"Yeah," I replied, tossing my cigarette out the window. "She was always a feisty one. But that book might be worth something. We're going to take it back to the Gypsy, and see what she says."

 

"What about Seki?"

 

"There's a graveyard not far from here. Give me your pistol".

 

"Why? What are you going to do?"

 

"I'm putting a bullet in Seki's brain."

[species5478]

Seki's Final Hour

 

 

 

Why am I writing in Seki's diary?

 

Does there need to be a reason?

 

I have a question for any who may stumble upon my words…

 

What happened to love?

 

What happened to all things good, and pure? The woman I once loved is now the woman that I despise. How could two separate things be one and the same? She was strong. Capable. Intelligent. Reserved. Beautiful. Now she's nothing more than a vegetable. She's just another decomposed mind incapable of understanding "purpose". I tried reaching out to her, but there was nothing beyond the flesh. The addiction was too powerful. The "narcotic", had already taken its hold; chaining her soul to a bound spirit enslaved by the mind.

 

There's nothing I can do to free her. Of course, I could accept her for what she is…but what would I be accepting? Half of a woman? One quarter? A tenth, maybe? Isn't it only right that I put Seki out of her misery? Surely she wouldn't seek sanctuary in the darkness of her own mind, would she? I know what's there. Haunting memories linger in that dark recess of Seki's consciousness. How could she maintain her sanity when Marie was savagely raped, and then killed right before her eyes? Only a slave would enjoy such torments. No one in their right mind could possibly choose to linger in that turmoil.

 

Seki has to die.

 

She must.

 

I have to kill her.

 

It's only right.

 

Perhaps she's still trapped in that hellish moment, watching Marie begging to be released.

 

Yes, I was wrong for thinking she could be an eternal pillar of inspiration. I admit it. Nothing last forever I KNOW but, I wanted more from her. I thought Marie was just the beginning but now that she's gone, now that she's gone…they're gone.

 

Everybody dies, right? Nobody stays sharp, or crafty, or even sexy forever. Would I have accepted Seki's mental decline had it been gradual? Maybe the suddenness of her demise is what I can't accept. But if she were me, would Seki be content with wiping drool from my lips?

 

I think not.

 

I've learned that Hell is only a name, nothing more. It's just a name. A label for something that can't be realized with the conscious mind. Only those who have suffered the unattainable understand what Hell really means. Do you understand the meaning, versus the definition? If by reading this you were to say yes, then I know you don't; understand my Hell.

 

Because my pain is unique. It's so distinct that only God can affirm the reasons why I must put Seki to rest once and for all. I'm sure I will be forgiven, because I am nothing more than the bearer of bad news. The message I bring, comes from death. My hands only serve to deliver the parcel by which deliverance is made.

 

Dear God…why have they forsaken me? Isn't that what Jesus said? Why now, when I need them most? Everyone shelters themselves from me, because they know what I must do. All of my men have been willing to give their lives for me but now, when I'm at my weakest, they retreat. Scurrying away like rats in the night. Hiding in the musty rooms of this mansion as if I were the Devil for doing what everybody knows needs to be done.

 

Seki must die…

 

And what are they waiting for? All of them, including Endo. What are you waiting for? A climactic ending to Seki's life? Some kind of glorious finale? Death never provides such luxuries. When it comes, death is cruel, ugly, and unforgiving. But like Hell, nobody realizes or even cares about that one true moment until it comes to claim them. And it will come. I know, because I've seen it. I've been a witness to Death's power and I'm not afraid to say that I fear it. I fear it as though it were God himself. Not even a pampered life can hide those from the terrifying reality of Death.

 

This is what Seki's been waiting for. This is why she fought so hard to stay alive because if she couldn't live with me, then she wanted to be killed by me. Who better to end one's life, than the one who loves you most?

 

I pushed the door open, and stepped into the bedroom.

 

Seki remained in the exact position that I'd left her. Only now, the fresh urine staining her sheets reaffirmed Seki's tattered mind. It was time.

 

"Jacob!"

 

I heard my name, but I didn't listen to it. I didn't want to acknowledge that impending curb ball, but had too.

 

"I'm sorry to bother you now, but there's a problem."

 

Endo's voice overshadowed the more distant calling of my name. I barely turned my head to acknowledge him, but it was more than enough to garner a response.

 

"Python's brother is here, outside. Says he wants to see you now, or he'll burn this entire house down."

 

Why would Python's brother come now? Right at this moment? It was so scripted…but I was never one to follow fate, so I stepped closer to Seki's body.

 

"Jacob!"

 

He called me out, loudly. The guy was circling the house just to make sure I could hear him. Now my manhood was at stake. If I could hear him, then all of men could as well. I was above brazen displays of vigor, but they weren't. The Wasteland demanded strong, if not barbaric displays of masculinity. Any sign of weakness was to sign one's tombstone before burial.

 

"Jacob! Get out here you coward!"

 

That's it…I turned and closed the bedroom door. Seki's death couldn't be rushed. It was only a moment in time but for me, it was a moment that would last an eternity. So I strolled down that long hallway as if I were on my way to one of those ancient prison executions, and passed Carlson's averting eyes.

 

"They're Brotherhood of Steel Outcasts," He said as I walked by. "There's no way we can shoot through all of that armor. Might as well give em what they want. Seki's dead anyway…"

 

I wanted to bash Carlson's brains out but to what end? Yeah, it was painful to hear the truth. But I showed no signs of weakness. I couldn't allude to what really lingered inside me. By the time I reached the front door, Omega was ready with a report, but I waved him away.

 

"Wait here." I said opening the door.

 

"They're going to kill us, Jacob. We can't fight off Miniguns and rocket launchers!"

 

I grabbed his collar. "They could have stormed the building and took Seki with force, but they didn't. Python's brother doesn't care about us. He only wants Seki." I finished with a strong enough push to send Omega stumbling a few steps.

 

When I stepped outside, I found the Brotherhood Outcasts standing in an unassuming circle around their commanding officer. The soggy road was filled with their cavernous footsteps and I swore I was going crazy when I noticed a white crow perched on the tallest tree. Those suits covered every inch of their bodies with a protective layer of malleable metals fused with anti-radioactive polymers. Even though there were only nine of them, each man was a squad unto himself.

 

I waited as one of the men stepped forward while removing his oxygen filtration lines. The name Dean Fischer was etched into his armor with red paint and underscored with the title, Mr. Murder. The connecting hoses hissed like snakes as they released their pressure and once all clamps were disconnected the helmet came off. "Where is she?" Said the heavily bearded face now staring at me.

 

"Seki's in a coma."

 

"She killed my only brother."

 

"Your brother raped and killed my seven year old daughter."

 

Some of Dean's men shuffled uneasily. Pedophilia remained an abhorrent act, even in a post-apocalyptic world. Dean didn't seem to care. He continued unhooking pieces of his armor while grilling me with a face of stone. "That's why I didn't storm that manor you're held up in. You and me. Man to man. Winner gets Seki. Or I can let my armored men have their fun. It make no different to me, Jacob."

 

"How do I know I have your word?"

 

"We left the Brotherhood because we have honor. Not because we lack it."

 

He seemed to know I was backed into a corner. If I hand Seki over, then I lose my men's respect, and wind up a dead man. He couldn't just raid the manor either, cause his brother was a pedophile. He'd lose his men's respect. Maybe I should have just killed her, but then all of my cards would have been played...damn. When the last bits of his power armor fell to the ground, Dean took a stance in the middle of the road after hooking a holster to his hip. I could feel my men watching from the windows behind me. Their eyes seemed to burn pinholes into my back. There's was no turning away now.

 

"Do you know the difference between a Cowboy and a dead man, Jacob?"

 

"Enlighten me."

 

"A Cowboy's up before the rooster crows…"

 

We drew at the same time, but Dean was faster. His gun was up before I had a good aim but he was too fast for own good. The .45 slipped from his hands as I pulled the trigger. You could almost see the slug blasting a massive hole through his neck. The albino crow flew off as the sound of my .357 ricocheted across the marsh. Dean tumbled to ground without as so much as a whimper.

 

"Cawc a doodle do, Mr. Murder." I said sliding my gun into its holster. "There's a graveyard down the road. You can bury him there."

 

I turned away half expecting slugs to fill my backside, but nothing happened. I made it to the door alive and almost wished they'd shot me because it would have been a glorious death. Now…that primal urge to murder saturated my soul with its poison. This time, when I entered the manor all eyes were on me. It took only a moment for me to become revered. But their approving of my will to kill or be sacrificed no longer meant anything to me.

 

 

I didn't pause my stride and passed them all because there was something greater ahead. Only now did I realize how beneath me these "soldiers of war" really were. I was a man amongst animals. Animals who were led by leashes of brutality and I was their new Master. Carlson, who'd always doubted me, was the first to step forward.

 

"Jacob. I…"

 

I smacked him with the back of my Magnum, and kept walking. Something in his face broke and the thought almost made me smile. Gun felt lighter now, but my steps seemed heavier. I was high on adrenaline. Saturated with rage.

 

I opened the bedroom door and found Seki where I had left her.

 

Stepped to her side, and wiped the drool from her lips.

 

Crossed her arms.

 

When I leaned forward to kiss her lips though, I noticed cold flesh. Absence of breath. Checked for a pulse and found none. No heartbeat either. I wasn't sure if I should be relieved, or enraged. She was already dead. But I could hear the listening. The deadening cries for barbarism filled Blackhall manor with the sickening stench of adolescence expectations. I knew my men were waiting for me to act, and not Seki's death. They were waiting to see if I had the mindlessness to destroy the one thing that mattered most to me. But it was already gone. I raised my pistol, put it to Seki's chest, and pulled the trigger.

[dezdimona]

awesome!