Fallout: Terra Nullius

[3WINTERS]

This is a new story I've started tonight, whilst based of the Fallout series, this story is neither canonical to any of the games or any other Fallout medium nor is it strictly accurate to established lore. I have no idea how long this story will go, I often just write off the fly with no absolute endgame. This story is set in Australia and the suffix of the title is taken from the title given to Australia upon colonization by the Europeans. For those who don't know "Terra Nullius" means 'land belonging to no one" according to roman law. I will explain any unique factions or acronyms etc on this first page as they appear.

ARP: Australian Republic Police

 

And so it begins....

 

 

Hugging himself tightly David walked briskly over rocky terrain, slipping and nearly losing his footing frequently as he tried to keep himself warm in the freezing cold of the desert twilight . Every breath felt like a thousand needles piercing the lungs and with each exhale thick vapour poured from his mouth and sailed majestically in the gentle breeze. How he longed to be tucked away within his sleeping bag by a fierce fire but there was no choice but to push on to the safety of an ARP encampment, resting alone in this sector of the wasteland was just too dangerous. David allowed the vision of the inviting camp fire to linger a little longer within his mind and this warmed him ever so slightly, until he became acutely aware just how alone he was. Had he really been walking so fast as to leave everyone trailing far behind? David turned around scanning for his companions and sure enough there they were about one hundred metres, three sorry looking travellers warily trudging after him.

There was three of them accompanying David on his his journey, Eddie a a sixty-something year old indigenous man with an athletic build and not looking his age a single bit. He was leaning quite heavily for support upon a smooth thin log he'd slowly been hollowing out to make a Didgeridoo. Then there was Aiden twenty five years old just like David and a life long friend for as long as either of them were aware. He was a thin man with with sunken eyes and an untamed mat of hair to complement his week old old beard and his eyes were deeply sunken, he looked right at home among the beggars despite living in a thriving vault community. Aiden was the one you'd often expect to be running ahead of the pack even in the worst of conditions, such was the result of frequent Jet use but it seems he was either out of it or no amount of stimulants could save him from the brink of utter exhaustion. Finally there was twenty two year old Amia Riley a gorgeous petite, fair skinned brunette whom secretly David had a raging crush for.

 

Despite the dwindling light David could clearly see the pain on Amia's face and without hesitation he bounded back the direction he'd come from. They were supposed to have arrived at the ARP camp hours ago but they'd been slowed down by a gang of marauders earlier in the day, they had disposed of their assailants successfully but apparently Amia had been hit and up till now had done well at disguising that fact. David reached her rather quickly and a little breathlessly asked “ where are you hurting?” with a look of concern. Amia reached over to her left shoulder and grunted a little from the slightest touch of her hand. Walking behind her, David assessed the damage. Sure enough there was a deep gash by her scapula that was still bleeding slowly and soaking the surrounding clothing. Turning on a flash-light David closely examined the wound, thankfully it wasn't a bullet wound, more likely a strike from a machete he surmised. “There seems to be no skeletal damage luckily , I can do a patch up job right here but you will need further treatment as soon as we reach camp” David announced positively. Without invitation Aiden handed him a satchel bag containing a field medi-kit. With flash-light held firmly between his teeth David rummaged through the bag and produced the items he would need. For a moment he scrutinised a bottle of antibacterial ointment, he knew this was going to hurt a lot and so gave warning before slowly tipping the bottle letting the fluid trickle over the wound. Hurt was an understatement Amia thought to herself as she did her best to remain stoic in spite of the seething pain. David leaned in closer to get a goo look at the wound and Amia could feel his breath upon her neck.

Soaking a pad of gauze with a saline solution David gingerly cleaned the blood around the wound, surprisingly it had ceased to bleed at a significant rate even though the cut ran deep. With the slightest touch he ran the gauze on her skin, being so close to her David was intoxicated with her scent and imagined himself spinning her around before burying her lips with his and drawing in her very soul to himself. David shook the vision from his mind and silently ordered himself to focus.

With such tempting thoughts hovering at the edge of his mind threatening to take over once more, David set about finishing with his current task, taking a small can he proceeded to spray a mist over the wound, this would provide pain relief and aid in the coagulation of severed blood vessels, provided there weren't any major ones involved. Finally he took a waterproof dressing and soaked the padding with more of the antibacterial ointment before covering Amia's wound. Taking off his coat David draped it over her shoulders then handed the satchel bag back to Aiden.

Edited June 17, 2011 by 3WINTERS

[3WINTERS]

“ I just didn't want to slow us down” Amia explained as the group proceeded to press on with their journey. Walking by her side just in case she needed a shoulder to lean on David waved off the comment “lets not worry about when we get there, lets make sure we don't get there dead” he joked. “that's an oxymoron if ever I heard one” Amia chided before David extended an arm across her chest signalling her to stop. Despite the darkness she could clearly the colour drained from David's face and she followed his deadpan glare to cluster of bushes to their right side. Behind the skeletal bushes were eight large green eyes, glowing orbs embedded in a wall of black. David darted behind Amia, grabbing hold nervously to both of her shoulders causing her to groan openly of the pain to her left. Releasing his hold on Amia immediately David apologised as he proceed to wring his hand mercilessly. Eddie had a good chuckle at David's expense as he slowly approached the monstrous arachnid. “If ever someone should be sorry enough to write a story about us, there's much to be said about our 'fearless' leader” he joked “it's just a spider mate”. David pointed an accusatory finger toward the still motionless creature “ THAT! is not a spider, spiders should fit comfortably under my boot. Why does everything in this desert have to be so damn big!” he exclaimed more than questioned.

Eddie continued to approach the spider slowly with arms raised in a calming stance of peace, the spider in turn fixed it's eyes upon him but showed no sign of aggression. Amia and David watched in stunned amazement at Eddie's almost supernatural ability to keep the peace between a himself and a creature that by all rights should have been having him for dinner right now. Stand mere feet away now he was quite prepared to give the calm spider a reassuring pat when over his shoulder shot a red bolt of energy from a laser rifle and disappearing in the centre of the spider's head, instantly causing the mesmerising glow of it's eyes to darken lifelessly. Aiden let out a wild caterwaul, waving his smoking rifle victoriously above his head. Eddie wanted to kill him right there “I had it under control you drug up-” Eddie's reproach was cut off by a bone chilling shriek not too far away in the darkness, soon followed by the dull rumbles of ground breaking and displaced rocks. David's body became devoid of any breath as within the darkness dozens of the familiar green orbs of light glared at their direction. Her voice betraying a hint of dread, Amia shouted “time to run!”

 

David didn't need an invitation to get going, The word's barely passed Amia's lips when he was already breaking out into a sprint with an 'every man for themselves' manner. A heart beat later Amia and Eddie were in toe with Aiden left to bring up the rear, the crazy man seemingly the only one to actually be excited at being chased by at least six of the giant beasts, each measuring to at least the size of an average human by the head and body. Side skipping rather than running Aiden gleefully fired wildly at their pursuers with only a couple of the bolts scoring non critical hits on the leading two whilst the rest of the bolts hit harmlessly on the ground, flash welding the sand to glowing globules of glass. David turned on his heel and swore at at Aiden, urging him to stop infuriating the hungry beasts and just keep running. Aiden fired another round and this time taking out two of the spiders before deciding to comply with the order as the remaining spiders drew nearer, seemingly even more blood thirsty than before.

With the group together once more, ahead David spied a dip in the terrain, he hoped it would be suitable to be used as a defensive trench as he felt his legs cramp painfully, there was no way they could outrun the spiders who showed no sign of slowing. Reaching the edge of the drop, David jumped without thinking to check how severe the height was. Thankfully it wasn't very high at all and indeed it was a trench or rather a long ago dried up river that carved a snaking path through the desert with a depth just a few feet above David's head. David paused for a second to catch his breath, only to have it sucked out again as his companions dropped down beside him, almost stopping his heart dead. Before he had the to gather his wits about him, one of the spiders peered down at David and shrieked deafeningly. This time using his fear as energy, David ripped free a revolver from his thigh holster and with a scream of built-up frustration he empty the gun of its ammunition right into the spider's head with explosive results that left David covered in its foul smelling and ink like blood. Amia wanted to ask where were the rest of the spiders were when she just as soon got her answer. The sky above them lit up with a stream of fire, the source becoming apparent as into view flew the imposing figure of a Flamehawk. David cringed at the dying screeches of their foes and the sound along with the smell of burning flesh. David peered over the top of the river edge and saw their remaining pursuers lifeless in a burning heap, the Firehawk circling high overhead. Amia came by David's side and took in the scene, she assured him that the Firehawk was no threat to humans and made sure Aiden didn't get any ideas of shooting at it too. David slumped back against the wall of the river's trench, spent of all energy from that little adventure “ For once I'm glad to see an overgrown animal” he barely whispered with eyes closed.

[Maharg67]

Very good! Kudos!

 

I suggest you break your writing into smaller, more digestible paragraphs. This is especially true when different characters speak or otherwise focused on or when new actions begin etc.

[3WINTERS]

Thanks for the Kudos and advice, I shall try setting out differently, also I've been made aware of repeated or missing words I need to fix... One of the drawbacks to getting the muse after 1.00AM, I should have an update soon Edited June 21, 2011 by 3WINTERS

[3WINTERS]

At that moment all David wanted to do was to sleep, to drift into the deep dark abyss where nothing mattered, not the mission nor the harshness of world still crying over its wounds.

Soon the endless void transformed, great rolling hills of lush, sweet smelling grass the backdrop to a sky of the deepest blue. The hills parted, separated by a pristine river, it's crystal waters bubbling as it carved its way across the land, the sound rhythmic and hypnotic.

In the distance David can hear the joyous laughter of small children as they soon appear over the horizon tumbling playfully in the grass as they approach the river.

David was frozen with wonderment of the vision, surely the teasing of a fantastic dream.

How was it that he could dream of such beautiful scenes? When for what seemed like a lifetime, the world was nothing but concrete and computers. A life where routine was all that one got up in the morning for, did this fantasy world offer any better?

The world before his eyes was created to fill mankind's heart with peace and ceaseless joy but all David felt was cold and a heavy heart as he tried to reconcile the image before him with heart wrenching vision of the real world.

 

A light tap on David's leg pulled him away violently from the tranquil vistas of his haunting dreams and his eyes snapped open to gaze upon the beautifull visage that was Amia's smiling face.

“Come on sleepy head, lets get to camp and warm up” she offered David a hand.

David clasped Amia's hand arose to his feet, brushing the dust for his pants whilst taking a panoramic view of the darkened landscape.

Maybe there was beauty to the world still, behind all the skull and bones of a past too distant, there was a future greater than mankind had ever seen before. If there was, David wanted to be part of it.

“ have we wandered too far off course?” Amia asked Eddie who was in charge of navigation.

Eddie consulted the electronic map on his readius for a moment before replying “we're not doing too bad, we just have to go directly west from here, another ten kilometres approximately”.

“we'd better get moving then if we want to get there before they lock the gates by midnight” David said stepping forward to take the lead once more.

 

With Amia's injury and the general fatigue of the whole group, it had taken over three hours before they could see glow of floodlights bathing the night sky with a soft glow.

The view of the camp would be visible just over one last hill that may as well have been the highest peak as the weary travellers struggled on determinedly to their goal.

The view atop the hill was a sight to behold, the camp was a sea of light, a beacon in the desert, beckoning travellers from all directions toward its safe enclosure.

David wondered what It all may have looked like had it been the world of old, the land had always been a desert, perhaps only the colours had really changed.

The light of the camp shone upon their guardian, the towering form of the great rock Uluru. This wonder of the natural world still a symbol of the nations heart standing tall and strong.

Scorched black from the fierce fires of nuclear war, Uluru remained defiant of man's efforts to claim dominance over the world and themselves.

[3WINTERS]

Eddie snorted with derision at the sight of Uluru and kicked at the sand in frustration, David regarded him with an inquisitive gaze.

“What? Just because I'm Aboriginal doesn't mean I have to give a damn does it?

“ I didn't say anything!” David protested.

“ You didn't have to, I can see it in your eyes, I'm supposed to be at one with the land, feeling it's very soul and hearing its voice. But tell me, how can I dream of a single connection to this land? I was raised by white folk deep underground with just pictures of a country that no longer breaths, I know nothing of the way of my people.”

David remained silent, willing for Eddie to continue.

“All I know is, people like me have struggled for centuries to stay true to ourselves to hold on to an identity, then these bombs dropped taking with it whatever identity we had left... Just ripped away into nothingness. So how am I supposed to give a damn about all of this? I don't even know what all this is.”

David dwelt on this a moment before speaking softly “ But you do care Eddie, what hurts is that you can't feel the connection you believe you should to this land. It scares you that you may be one of the last remaining of your people and you fear not having anything to pass on.”

Eddie turned to leave before replying with frustration “Why do you always have to see stuff kid?”

 

David left Amia and Aiden behind to follow Eddie, he hated to see his friend suffering and wished to set him at ease. Stumbling in the darkness having left his torch behind he found Eddie sitting on a rocky ledge, his torch lighting his face as he gazed pensively toward the long hallowed rock with tear filled eye.

Crouching beside him, both David and Eddie remained silent, as both their eyes remained transfixed to the same location for several moments before David finally cut through the silence.

“ It's not something you just learn you know? Feeling a connection, a kinship with the Earth or a single grain of sand. Long before these bombs fell, everyone lost touch with their mandate, to take care of the home given to us, to nurture and love it. We stopped feeling its worth, hearing it's cries and its joys. We took and took the gifts offered to us and never returning a single thanks.

In some ways I think the bombs saved the world?”

 

Now it was Eddie's turn to be perplexed and he opened his arms wide, looking around all they could see.

“How is this a saved planet? There's nothing left, it's as dead as it gets!”

David noticed something rising from the ground in the dull outer reaches of the torch's light. Shining the light directly he saw that it was a small flower, it's purple petals slowly emerging from the green stem that had sprouted from the blackened earth. David reached down and touched the newborn flower lightly, feeling a warm wetness between his fingers.

 

“ No Eddie, not dead, nor dying, it is just deeply scared, speaking with a whisper, It cried to us for help but we rebuked its mournfull plea with our selfishness and our hate for our fellow men.

Our bitterness for each other spoke louder than the Earth could, with our desires to attain dominance untill with the bombs we silenced ourselves. Now there is no need for more than a whisper for those willing to hear it.”

 

Eddie looked upon the young flower, a symbol of hope that the world was once more willing to offer a hand to it's inhabitants.

“ I've never seen anything more amazing, not even our efforts at home to run gardens within the concrete walls can compare to what the earth brings forth, real life flows through this tiny plant”.

Eddie admired the flower a little longer before turning to David with a smile and an air of one finding a new lease on life “ You know kid, I'm the one supposed to be the wise old salt here.”

David laughed at this “nah! Don't listen to me, I'm just babbling but if your ready I think we should get going, we're almost home.”

Eddie nodded and got up, taking one final moment to take in the sights, this time regarding it with a smile.

Edited June 21, 2011 by 3WINTERS