1 A Bundle Of Heart Problems
[New!]
[Main Quest I: A Bundle Of Heart Problems!]
-= Wishing For A Nuclear Winter=-
"Hmm~ Hm-Hm~"
A lithe and limber young man was relaxing limply in a plastic chair, on his break.
His name was Issac Hughes, an average, everyday customer-service employee with a sadistic streak. His Co-workers were happily chatting away, as they stood by the vending machine.
They had thirty minutes until their break was over, and they had to get back to work.
His name was Issac Hughes, a College Graduate fresh out of luck. He started working the second he could, as there were no openings for a freshly graduated engineer. But, why would he care? Should he care?
It's not a lack of motivation, it's an overabundance of boredom.
The world is boring.
Monotony is the main driving force behind everything in life.
Wake up, go to work, go back home, go to sleep, repeat.
It was nothing but a pure habit.
A shitty schedule.
A pat on his shoulder drew him from his thoughts (Read: Edgy Brooding), "Hey, Issac? Me and some of the guys want to know if you want to check out that new fallout game!" James, one of his close friends- and the reason he got the job in the first place -asked.
He was confused. With a tilt of his head, "...What's Fallout?"
This caught James short, "Hu-Huh?! You don't know what Fallout is? The series is 25 years old now! You would've heard of it at least, right?"
Issac shook his head, "Sorry man, but I'm not much of a gamer. Hell, my old PS1 console has been collecting dust since I first got it... I was going to pawn it off soon." He flatly replied with a shrug.
James sighed. "Well, then I guess I'm going to use my favor." Issac raised a brow, but didn't respond, waiting for James to ask his favor. "I want you to buy the Fallout bundle and play the games. You're gonna play Fo76 when it comes out next week!"
...Well, there goes his paycheck for the week.
"Well... Fine. But you're buying my groceries for the week man." Issac huffed, as he perused on his phone. "I'll get it when I get home. By the way, Breaks over."
James and his pals groaned as they walked through the Break Room door.
A few unruly customers and a senile old man later, he finally reached home, a quaint apartment near the highway. He kicked off his shoes, nearly tearing his work clothes off of him as he chucks them into his laundry bin.
He yawned as he browsed Steam, as he finally found the bundle James was talking about. "...$20 bucks? I guess that's fair for three games and DLC."
Fallout 3, Fallout NV, and Fallout 4, all with their respective DLC's seemed to be a steal for $20 bucks, so with little hesitation, he bought it. If he ended up hating them, no big deal.
After an hour of waiting, all three games were downloaded, ready for play. "Alright then, let's see what's so good about these games..."
.
.
.
"...That was fun." Issac sighed contentedly. He'd finished Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Fallout New Vegas. It'd been a month since James recommended these games, and he enjoyed it so god damn much!
In every game, he'd make the same build, a stealthy Engineer/Gunslinger. Sure, it wasn't the best build, but it was fun! Honestly, he enjoyed The Old World Blues and Automatron the most. Even if it was fiction, it made the engineer in him boil in excitement, marveling at the post-apocalyptic tech.
...And the fact he'd always have an Assaultron as a companion when he could was not relevant to this conversation!
He'd have to take constant breaks when playing, as his Job was the only lifeline for him currently. But he did it!
"Can't wait to brag to James about this!" He chuckled, sipping on a freshly brewed cup of coffee. He was ready to start his day!
...at least, he was.
"Guh!" Issac grasped at his chest. "F-Fuck! Did I forget to take my Heart meds?" He sputtered, as he placed his coffee on his desk, sifting through the drawers like a maniac
"Where are they where are they where are they!?" He shouted, fear gripping his sickly heart. He collapsed, both hands grasping at his chest.
'Well... guess I won't be joining James today... I hope he'll be fine when I'm gone...' He thought, as the darkness finally set in, drenching him in nothingness.
Dark, Beautiful, Nothingness...
.
.
.
-------------------------
Darkness.
Numbing Darkness.
As far as the eyes(?) could see.
It was... beautiful.
Sprites of kaleidoscopic essence, grazing in the deep void, without a care in the world.
It was...
Perfect.
But, One was not.
One was confused.
One was stressed.
One was scared.
One was...
[Real].
[Real] in a way that the others could not match.
But they could not stay here, for the maddening screams would consume them.
Using the last of its power, the frayed brilliance it once had, it bestowed upon them a blessing.
A blessing of Safe Passage.
A blessing of Protection.
A blessing of Knowledge.
A blessing of Will.
-="Go, young sprite."=- It spoke, in a hoarse tone. -="Begone, back to the realm of the [Real]. Younglings like yourself shouldn't venture where they shouldn't, hmm?"=-
With a wave of its hand(?), the sprite was pulled, back through the veil of reality, to the realm of the [Real].
They were going home, it thought.
But, they would never reach their intended destination, as their short stay here has changed them more than it thought.
The Young Sprite(?) would reach its home, but not the correct one, stranded upon a broken world of deserts, men, and monsters, multiverses away from their own home.
Built upon the corpses of their forefathers, as they basked under their predators' sickly green glow.
-------------------------
Cold, Bright, Damp.
Three things I felt before even opening my eyes.
It took a few moments for my brain to catch up with the rest of my body, and boy did that send me reeling. If it weren't for the shock of dying from CHD. If not for that, I would've been a bubbling mess curled up into fetal position.
But what was odd was the fact I didn't feel... scared. Only worried and stressed, like my earlier fear was nothing but an illusion. Opening my eyes, I could feel the bright glare from what seemed to be a discarded, yet still active electric lamp.
It was shaped... oddly, like something out of an old poster for Retro-futurism. Sleek, spherical, and probably impractical.
Wait, stop getting distracted. Focus on the task at hand, and then hyper-fixate on that weird lamp.
Sitting up, I could see the lamp resting on a rusted metal table, with a... skeleton in rags tied to a steel chair that was just as rusty as the table.
I was in a cave.
A cave that was full of dead bodies.
I freaked out, before a sense of calm washed over me, forcing my nerves to relax, and think things through.
Might as well do the classic 'hello?'
"...Hello?" I spoke, echoing out into the seemingly empty cave.
There was no answer.
Good. If there was, I wouldn't be so laid-back about this right now.
Discarding the notion of the decaying bodies huddled by the wall, I gazed at my surroundings, taking in every curve, notch, and natural formation in sight.
It was a large cave, with a small lake settling at the bottom, that was tinged a sickly green. It was either algae or something worse. I very much hope it's the former.
I stood to my feet, with a gracefulness I knew I never had. It was weird. I felt oddly... empowered. Like my former disease was nothing but a lie. Taking a look at my body, I could see why.
I had muscles.
Hell, my muscles had muscles!
A Muscled Ectomorphic Body-Type. I was wearing a simple set of clothes, a slightly frayed and greying blue shirt, with some basic combat pants, along with a pair of black steeled-toe boots.
I was wearing a beige hoodless cloak, its collar reaching to my neck. I reached my left hand up to finagle with the collar, but as I did so, I spotted a strange clunky device strapped to my arm. "...the hell? A Pip-Boy?"
Then the existential dread set in.
"Oh my god, I'm in Fallout."
"Fuck." I spat, slumping to the ground on my ass.
I was in Fallout. A hellhole of Post-Apocalyptic deserts and cities, filled to the brim with Irratiated creatures, megalomaniacs, and other dipshits that took a little too much radiation to the brain.
Sure it was fun, but it was fun on-screen, and depending on where the fuck I am, it could get down and dirty way too fucking quick.
"Ooooh god..." I groaned into my hands, "This is going to suck so fucking much..." I cursed.
What I know is this, I'm in a cave, I'm in a body that is either mine and upgraded, or I body-snatched some poor dead dumbass, and that I have a pip-boy. Might as fiddle with that as I try to get my shit together.
I lifted my arm, fiddling with every button until I hit the on-switch.
[Be-Doo~] It chimed, as it glowed a warm Amber.
Amber. That's good. That means I'm either in the Mojave or somewhere close. But the most important thing, is when am I?
Is the courier already on their journey? I hope not, because I'd rather like the Big Empty for myself, thank you very much.
It was a simple setup, as I switched to my stats. It was pure instinct that led me to its own menu. And there they were, my S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats. The name of the owner on the pip-boy was etched over, and the digital name seemed to be corrupted, so it was probably a thorough job.
I choked on air.
Ten?!
All my stats were at fucking Ten!?
I'm not quite sure how this came to be, but there was an... extra stat. A W. for Will. Will was a part of a mod that James had coded himself, as, in his own words, 'Want you to enjoy the fuck out of it. So take this mod and stop complaining'
Will was a stat for some events like stand-offs and the like, or trying to brute force your way through sickness and poisons.
That stat had saved my ass more times than I can count.
"Okayyy... Possibly dealing with a modified existence and some other weird things... Inventory?"
Yup, got that too. Not quite sure how I can fit that many... things... holy shit how much is in here?! There's about 600 pounds worth of things in here!
...Is that a minigun?
I tapped the icon, as a sleek, matte-black minigun manifests in front of me and landed on the floor with a loud bang.
...That's a minigun.
I spent a full thirty minutes just marveling at the thing, before a thought entered my mind, forcing me to focus on the task at hand.
'What- what the fuck was I doing? Get a hold of yourself, Issac! You can drool over it later, stop stalling and leave the cave!'
Sighing to myself, I stood up and started to traverse the dark cave. My boots let out occasional clinks as they hit stray pebbles every now and again.
A full minute of walking later, the first rays of light were shining through a small break through the rocks. If it was me from before, I would've collapsed from exhaustion trying to move the damn boulder in the way, but now...
The only thing I felt afterward was a small thirst.
Taking a step outside, I realized that it was nighttime, the cool Nevada air blowing against my face.
And there it was, the shining jewel of the Mojave, New Vegas, shining like a beacon through the dark skyline.
"...Woah."
-= Wishing For A Nuclear Winter=-
