The Curse

By Intimidator1323

Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout, but I do own the main OC character.

Prologue: Cursed

War.

War never changes.

Since the dawn of human kind, when our ancestors discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything: from God to justice to simple, psychotic rage.

On October 23, 2077, after millennia of armed conflict, the destructive nature of man could sustain itself no longer. Atomic fire swallowed the earth and mankind descended into an abyss of radiation and death.

When war is waged, all that matters is victory, at any price.

But it was the human race that paid that price.

Despite what some thought, it was not the end of the world. The apocalypse merely marked the beginning of yet another bloody chapter of human history.

Before the bombs fell, thousands of people escaped the atomic holocaust by taking shelter in massive underground bunkers known as Vaults.

When the radiation cleared enough to venture outside, the Vault Dwellers found only the harsh wasteland and the clean-picked bones of civilization to greet them. Yet they ventured out, establishing new settlements, societies, and tribes throughout the scorched wastes that now cover the Earth's surface.

But you already know this.

Here's what you don't know.

My name is Richard, but I prefer Ric. I don't remember, or care to remember, my last name.

I was born long before the Great War.

I lived through and witnessed it all.

Now, I know what you're thinking; no, I'm not a Ghoul or a Mutant.

I'm just a man.

A man with a curse.

I am cursed to witness history and watching civilization's rise and fall all around me.

I am cursed with everlasting life.

A strange thing to complain about, I know, but living forever gets annoying and depressing.

That's something that everyone in the world has in common, no matter how bad life gets, it all ends eventually…except for me, never for me.

You're no doubt wondering, "How is this possible?"

Patience, listeners, patience; all will be revealed in time.

Anyway, when you live as long as I have, one must find a way to pass the time.

So, I wander the wastes, doing what I can for people who deserve to live and ending the lives of those who don't.

"Good" and "Justice" are words you rarely hear nowadays, but I made a vow long ago to help the less fortunate in this world.

I've met a small number of individuals, both before and after the Great War, that also shared my beliefs and my desire to help others.

This is the story of one of those people.

The story of my friend from Vault 101, the Vault that never reopened after the apocalypse.

After spending many years on the West Coast, battling the worst the wasteland had to offer, I decided to return to the East Coast. I'm not sure why I decided to head east, I rarely plan where I'm going. I just follow my instincts.

My instincts led me to Washington D.C. and the area that surrounds it of all places.

I hadn't set foot in D.C. since…for a long time now.

I took a route around D.C. and arrived in the southern most part of what was now known as the Capital Wasteland. It was there that I found a small settlement called Megaton, named for the undetonated atomic bomb in the center of the town.

It was in this settlement that I first met a young man who had lived in Vault 101 most of his life.

He was not born there.

He would not die there.

In Vault 101, no one ever enters…but someone definitely left.

So that's the prologue. I decided not to use the opening of Fallout 3 word for word and create my own. I'm going to play through the main story, the DLC's and most of the side quests, and write them as I go. The next chapter will be released shortly.

One last thing, I don't imagine my OC with Ron Pearlman's voice, but you can if you want to.

So that's it, I hope you all enjoy.