Disclaimer: I do not own or possess any rights to the Fallout 3 video game. At this time all rights to the Fallout series belong to Bethesda Softworks LLC, a ZeniMax Media Company. This story is my own creative work, and is not in any way a part of the official Fallout series story line. I have included characters from the Fallout 3 story line in this work, however, the characters Valori and Joesph Winchester are my own.

This story is rated "M" for Mature. Content includes intense violence, blood, gore and strong language. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

ENJOY!

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Prologue:

Life in the Vault was very... dull. I mean, it was the same schedule every day. Wake up and do some 'task' shit that The Overseer didn't want to do. I'd have a fight with the Tunnel Snakes because they were being a bitch to a little kid, practiced some baseball skills, said goodnight to my brother and father, and went to sleep. Day after day it was the same, and it was boring. Why did my life have to be like this? There's no excitement. Hell, I wasn't even allowed to pick my own job! Sure, I didn't mind being an officer, but I was forced to do that job.

I can vividly remember laying in my bed at night and staring up at my ceiling. I would pretend that all the nooks and crannies were stars. The way the hallway light hit them, they did look like stars, or what I thought stars looked like. I also remember wishing upon every 'star' that something exciting would finally happen. But this... this is not what I wished for.

On the night I left the Vault…

I felt someone shaking me hard enough to turn my brain to mush. Yet, I refused to wake up and open my eyes. I didn't want to get up. I didn't want to have to do my rounds again. Not yet; it was too soon.

I groaned with annoyance. "Damn it, Joesph, please stop. Just thirty more minutes," I begged sleepily.

"No! You have to get up now!" Amata's voice held nothing but worry.

It took all of my strength to sit up - which I did very slowly. I tore my blanket off of me, allowing the cool vault air to hit my bare skin. I rubbed my eyes as I stood in front of Amata. When I was finally able to see her clearly, there was no doubt that she was totally shaken up, probably in shock. Why is she like this so early in the morning? I crossed my arms and kept my legs close together, trying to keep my body warm. "Amata, what's wrong? It's..." I yawned sleepily and looked at the top of my Pipboy. It read 0530. 0530?! "0530! Why in the name of Satan did you wake me up two hours before my shift?"

She seemed scattered like she didn't know where to start. "I... my dad... his men... your dad left the Vault!"

I paused for a moment, completely taken off guard. He left the Vault? You can't leave the Vault! "W-what? My dad left? No, no, no, that's bullshit! You can't leave this Vault! You're born in the Vault, you die in the Vault!" I screamed.

She took a hold of my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "I am not bullshitin' you Val! Your dad just left! And my father's-," she cut herself short due to a stir in the opposite corner.

"Val?" My brother called out sluggishly. "What the hell? It's five thirty . . .two? Why are you yell-" He flipped over onto his side so he was looking at me and Amata. Shit. "What's she doing here?" he asked coldly as he threw off his blankets and began to shuffle his way over to stand next to me.

What do I say to him? He won't believe me, he knows just as well as I do that we can't leave the Vault. It's impossible. "Our... Joesph, our-"

"Your father left the Vault!" Amata cut me off.

His eyes went wide as his breath got stuck in his throat. It took him a second to register what she said then respond. "No... no, that's not possible. You... you can't leave-"

"Look, I don't know why your father left, but my father's men are after you! The both of you." Amata said before Joesph could continue his confused thoughts.

"Why is he after us?" I asked.

"I don't know! Alright? Maybe it's to keep all the bad things from getting inside. Or maybe it's because it's dangerous in the Wasteland and he doesn't need two more people ending up dead on his hands." She stood there for a moment expecting to get a response from us, but we kept quiet waiting for her to keep explaining. "Ugh! I don't know! God! Maybe he has a grudge against your father and is planning to take it out on you two. But that doesn't matter, you two need to get out of here. My father's men have gone insane! They killed Jonas!"

I felt like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room, as if Grognak the Barbarian was crushing me slowly beneath his foot. I felt my heart caving in on itself as I thought about Jonas, basically my uncle, being killed in cold blood. It's not his fault... It's not his fault. Why? "Jo-Jonas is dead?"

"Yes," She stated as tears began to form in her eyes. "I'm sorry you had to find out like this. I'm sure he was the one who was suppose to explain it all to you, but you have to go. You need to leave the Vault." She was now looking at my brother. "I can't bear the thought of what would happen to you if my father's men got their hands on you."

"Since when do you care?" My brother asked coldly.

I knew that this was uncharted territory for me. My brother is down right scary when he's upset. He may not be strong enough to do anything physically but he can fuck with you mentally. I cleared my throat. "Alright, I'm going to pack and then scout ahead. I'll meet you at the staircase by Butch's room." I said as I walked over to my dresser and took out my 'Vault 101' jumpsuit, slipping it on with ease. I grabbed my bag that was sitting next to my dresser and began to stuff memory keepsakes into it - photos of Mom and Dad, the BB gun that Jonas and Dad gave me on my tenth birthday, and my mother's favorite verse. I grabbed my baseball bat for protection and would have to go to a certain room to pick up my gun.

All the while the room was silent and my brother's cold stare could burn a hole though Amata's head. I walked over to the door and stopped for a second. If the Overseer is after us, Joesph doesn't have a lot of time to do whatever the hell he's going to do. I turned around to face them. "Don't be too long. I wouldn't want to be here when his men arrive." I turned around and hit our door button, then left our room behind.

That happened a month or so after our birthday. Our Dad left the Vault. Just gone. Just like that. He didn't even bother to tell my brother and I. But why? Why didn't he tell us? Why did he leave the Vault? But the biggest question is... why did he leave us behind?

That was the day that our life turned to shit. My brother and I were forced out of our home to live in the Wasteland. It hasn't been easy. Not at all.

But my brother and I we're surviving. With our very different characteristics, no one would even know that we're siblings, little alone twins. Yet somehow someway, my brother and I make a pretty damn well good team. I don't know, and I really don't care. All that matters is that we're still alive. On a quest to find our run away Dad.

And now... now we're here.

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Chapter One: It's Been A Long Day

The day had ended what seemed like forever ago. The sky was now as black as Dogmeats' fur, and the only bit of light was from the waxing crescent moon. I would use my Pip Boy light, but it might have drawn attention to us. My brother, our dog, and I, that is. We found out that our father, James, went to this old, rusting boat called Rivet City. Once we heard where he was, we packed our bags and set out to find the city.

We left at dawn this morning hoping to get there by mid-day, or sometime in the early evening. Well things didn't work out as we planned. Once we set foot inside the D.C. area, there were groups upon groups of Super Mutants, and some scary ass creature that looked like a centipede but it had human body with arms as legs, and octopus's tentacles coming out of its mouth. It seriously looked like it came out of a horror film. I came around to calling them the 'Centipede Thingy-Ma-Jiggy'. A Wastelander heard me call it that and said that the correct term for it was 'Centaur'. I didn't really care of what the correct term for them was. I liked my name better.

Fighting those damn monsters really takes a lot out of my brother and I, but it's not safe to sleep out in the Wasteland, let alone in the D.C. area. So we had to keep going, walking aimlessly in the dark, tired and worn out. Its been a long day, I kept thinking to myself.

My brother was several paces behind me, breathing heavily. He isn't the most physical person in the world. Like at all. He's pretty good with pistols, but it doesn't do much against our enemies closer to the ruins in D.C., but he has other skills that come in handy. Hacking into computers, fixing weapons and armor. Sometimes he's even able to heal wounds. He's completely a total book-worm-nerd. Like our Dad.

It's kinda ironic I guess. I look like our Dad while he looks like our Mom. I have Mom's personality while he has Dad's. I don't understand how that works. I chuckled at my thoughts.

I heard a moan coming from my brother and I rolled my eyes.

"God damn it Val, can we rest for a moment?" My brother weakly asked.

I looked over my shoulder as I spoke. "Joesph, we can't it's too dangerous out here at night. We'll get slaughtered. You should know this... nerd." I ended with a smirk.

He let out an annoyed breath. "How many times do I have to tell you that I like to be called a scientist? Or a hacker?"

"Until the end of time, little brother."

"C'mon Valori, quit pulling the eldest card on me. You're only older than me by one minute and forty-eight seconds." He said it like it was no big deal.

"But I'm still older than you." I replied and he mumbled something that sounded like 'yeah, yeah'.

It was silent again. Not a sound was heard, except for our feet hitting loose debris and rocks. My mind returned to doing the most dangerous thing it could possibly do. Think. Going into that dark world that is always on my mind. Why did Dad leave? I needed him. I still do. I was going to die alone in the Vault. All the guys my age were either assholes, totally weird, or I was related to them. The only person I would have would be my Dad. I mean, hell, my brother had a girl and his first kiss before me. I was a loner. I let go of a long sigh. Did I do something wrong? Am I the reason why he left? Did he not want to be there with me for me, as I was on the path of having only him in my life? I would have nothing but him, and maybe that scared him off. I felt my heart as if it was getting crushed, I slouched over as we walked, trying to fill that emptiness in my chest.

"Val, do you think that Dad is there? Like really there in Rivet City?" He cut me out of my thoughts.

I thought about it for a moment and I didn't know how to answer. I want him to be there... no, I need him to be there. But what if he skipped out on this town as well? I sighed. "I don't know. I hope he is. We'll finally have answers, and maybe we could go back to the Vault and get on with our lives." I cleared my throat. "Lets just get to Rivet City and see, alright? We can rest up there for a few days, and if he isn't there, we'll go check some other cities."

"Well can we at least slow down? I mean it's not like the boat's gonna disappear." He hesitantly said.

I thought for a moment. I didn't want to slow down. I was tired and had scrapes and bruises that would no doubt look ten times as worse tomorrow. I wanted to get there, I wanted to see Dad again, and ,God, I just wanted to wipe off all the grease and dirt and this God awful smell off my body. I sighed before I answered. "You can slow down, I'll scout ahead."

"No!" He responded with nothing but fear in his voice. He cleared his throat before he continued strongly. "No Val, we should stick together if it's really that dangerous." I sighed heavily but stopped at the bottom of some old crummy stairs by the river and waited for him. How has my brother survived eight months in this Wasteland?

"Thank you," he said, relieved to catch up to Dogmeat - our dog - and I. "I'm sorry sis, I'm just-"

"Not as strong, endured or incredibly sexy as I am?" I cut him off with a smirk as we began to walk again.

He chuckled. "I find myself pretty attractive. Thank you very much."

"Yeah, says a guy who wears a fedora all the time." I replied, flicking his hat.

"This is a good luck charm, Val." He answered as he fixed his hat. "I've worn it everywhere we've been and we haven't gotten killed yet."

I shrugged in agreement. "True, true. But What about the time that my head was almost sliced off by a rocket? Or my arm almost getting blown off by a shotgun?"

He looked my way and I returned the gaze. "Are you still breathing?"

". . . Yes . . ." I said slowly, What kinda fucking question is that? Aren't you suppose to be the smart one?

"Is your head still attached to your shoulders?"

". . . Yes."

"Can you see your hands if you hold them straight out in front of you?" He said as he demonstrated what he said by holding his arms out.

"Yes."

"Then I think that still qualifies as you being alive." He ended with a smirk.

I scoffed. "Fucking smart ass."

"Well you know me, I'm 'the nerd'."

I chuckled at his words. "Damn straight you are. You've got the brains, but you ain't got the strength." I flexed my arm to show him my muscle through my skin tight combat armor.

He looked at his arm curiously. "I don't know, I think I got a little bit." He said as he lifted his arm to mimic mine, only problem was he wasn't flexing, I'm pretty sure he wasn't even sure what that was. I chuckled loudly at my brothers attempt of flexing.

Joesph looked confused and stared at his arm again. "What?"

"You're not flexing."

"Yes I am."

"No your not." I chuckled.

"But... I am."

I shook my head and laughed. "No your not. Your hand needs to be clenched." I said as I turned his lazy hand to a fist. "Then clench your hand as tight as you can... and ,BAM, you're flexing!" His bicep was seen very lightly through his armor.

"See told ya I had a little bit of muscle." He said as we walked down the busted up sidewalk.

"Yes you did... now back to your fedora."

"Not again."

"No, no, no, I'm not going to make fun of it-"

"Like you do daily."

"I was going to ask you if you think that if I wore your fedora, it would still be a good luck charm." I snatched his fedora off his head, placing it on mine, exposing my brother's sleek black hair.

"Valori." He said disgruntled. "You just put your unluckiness all over my fedora." He snatched the hat off my head and began to wipe it, like you could actually see the unluckiness.

I scoffed. "My unluckiness?"

"Yes, your unluckiness. How do you think we've gotten into those horrible situations?"

Me... "Sheer bad luck?"

He chuckled. "You wish."

"Yeah, yeah." I mumbled. "But I'm still stronger than you." I said changing the subject. "Weakling."

He paused for a moment. "Hey, I'm not that weak... am I?"

I chuckled sarcastically. "You can start a fight, but it doesn't end well for you. All you can do is do your nerdy, sciencey, bookworm stuff."

"And you can't deny that my 'nerdy skills' have been a help to us numerous times." He glanced my way and saw the slight smile that I was trying so desperately to hide. "You damn well know it, too."

I just rolled my eyes. "Excuses, excuses."

He breathed out heavily and licked his lips. "Val, you know you're like Mom and I take after Dad. You have-"

"The brawn's to your brain's and you're the brain's to my brawn's. Two peas in a pod, a packaged deal. Blah, blah, blah. Genetic science bullshit.'" I cut him off again with my 'mimicking brother' voice.

He looked at me like I was a psycho hyped up on drug. "Will you quit doing that?" He pleaded. "You make it sound like we're married or somethin'."

"Eww!" I chuckled "There's no way on God's brown Earth I would ever marry you." I ended with a laugh.

"Hmph, not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult."

"It's a straight up insult!" I said jokingly. "Who on Earth would want to marry you?" The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. It was suppose to be a joke. Shit! Valori, what did you do? I looked over at my brother, his face instantly dropped to a deep frown. His right hand clutching a necklace that held a wedding ring. I cleared my throat. "Joesph, I'm so-"

"No. Don't apologize... that's all in the past... let's keep it that way." He said with power that could have fooled anyone. Anyone but me. There was so much hurt and pain hidden in those words. It broke my heart to hear it.

It all happened a week or two after our birthday. It was the worst thing that had ever happened to my brother:

He walked up to the prettiest girl in the Vault. Amata. With all the confidence he could muster. They'd been secretly dating for three years - since the G.O.A.T. They were only dating secretly because of her father. He wanted her to marry Freddie Gomez because his father was head of the Vault's security.

"Amata, can I talk to you .. . privately?" He asked, glancing at me for but a fraction of a second.

I took the hint. He was finally going to ask Amata to marry him. Make their feelings for each other be known to everyone. I got all bubbly inside, and I had to hide a squeal of excitement.

"Hey, Amata, I gotta bounce. Some new tasks showed up on my Pip Boy. I'll catch ya later."

"Alright, catch ya later." She replied as I walked away from them, rounding a corner a few feet away. I was going to record it and send it to my brother's Pip Boy for memory keepsake.

I pushed record as he took a deep breath in. "Amata... we've been dating for quite some time now." He swallowed. "And my feelings for you, my... love for you has grown stronger since the first time I saw you."

Aw, how sweet.

"There is not a day that goes by that I can't wait to see you again."

"Joesph?"

"Now hold on. I know your father does not like me, but we're old enough to make our own decisions... and I hope you'll choose me." Amata looked utterly confused while Joesph took a deep breath and fished into his back pocket before he went down on one knee. "Amata... will you marry me?"

Amata threw her hands to her mouth. The Ring was beautiful. No, it didn't have the huge diamond on it, but my brother can build things, and he made this one special for Amata. It was silver with beautiful swirls on the outside, and a saying 'Always and Forever' on the inside. My heart was bursting with excitement and I wasn't even the one being asked to get married. But it was silent. Not a happy squeal, not a sob of happiness... nothing. Why is it so quiet?

"Joesph... I'm sorry... It's all so sudden."

My brother's face fell, but he quickly recovered and smiled. "It's okay, I know, believe me, I know it is. But, we're happy together, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Amata closed her eyes and clutched her hand to her chest. "Joesph... I... I can't."

What?! Joesph stood up. "I-I don't understand. I love you. You are one of the most important people in my life." He grabbed her hand in a gentle way and she pulled herself away.

"Well... You're not important to me, and I don't love you." She stated coldly. She walked away at a fast pace and all I could think was, What the fuck just happened?

My brother stood there with hurt all over him. His face, his posture. Everything. He was in shock. I couldn't blame him. I would have been blown away if that had happened to me.

I stood up off the wall and stopped the recording. Definitely deleting that later. I walked from around the corner and he didn't change. He didn't look at me. He didn't blink. Hell, he didn't even look like he was breathing. "Hey." I said timidly. By the time I finished my greeting, I had no clue what to say to him. What do you say to someone who's heart just got ripped out of their chest and crushed like a grape right in front of them?

By the end of my thoughts I was in front of him, right where Amata was. But the thing that made my heart break even more was seeing my brother cry. His face was twisted with pain, hurt, and betrayal. Hot fast tears were streaming down his face. The first time he cried in years. I held his chin so he would look at me even though he was taller than me by a few inches. "Hey, Hey... Its okay." I tried to calm him and wipe his fast rolling tears away.

"No it's not." His voice cracked. "She left me, Val... she left me." He sobbed, not hiding any emotion. He let go of the tears, all of the pain he was trying to hold in. My heart broke even more. So I did the only thing I could do. I let go of his face and wrapped my arms around his middle, hugging him as tight as I could. Trying to comfort him. Trying to help him cope with everything that just happened. His arms went around my shoulders and he crushed me in his embrace. I could hardly breath, but I let it slide. It was the hardest he'd ever hugged me. God, why did this happen to my brother? To my baby brother? Why not Butch or one of his Tunnel Snake asshole friends? Why did it have to happen to the kindest, most honest man in this hell hole?

We stood like that for a while. His face was where my shoulder and neck met. His sobs of sadness were so loud I was sure the whole Vault could hear him, but I didn't care. I had to be strong for my brother, but his weeping was breaking me down. Yet I kept on a brave face, making sure that I did not shead a tear. I hated seeing him so sad. It made me feel like shit, because I didn't protect him. And the thing that scared me most was that I didn't know how to help him with this. I'd never had to deal with a broken heart before.

He was falling apart, piece by piece. I understood completely why. She was all he ever talked about at night before we went to sleep. What they did. What they were going to do the next day. But most of all, how much he loved and adored her.

"She... she l-left m-me, Val. W-why did s-she doo t-that? W-why?" He barely choked out through gasps for air. His grasp tightening around me, and his sobs forcing him to shake uncontrollably.

I swallowed hard, trying to hide my feelings of what happened. You have to be strong for him right now. You can't cry, Val, don't cry.

"I don't know, I honestly don't," I said. " You are the kindest and most amazing man down here... but you know what, if she dumped you, she ain't worth it."

He sniffled. "I-Is that su-suppose to make m-me f-feel any better? 'Cause it didn't do shit."

I chuckled slightly hoping to lighten the mood and shook my head. "No, not really... but you got a father who will love you till the end of time, and you got me."

"Now t-that did n-not make me f-feel better at all."

I pulled back from him, shocked at what he said to me. That was until I saw a crooked smile that was brightening up his face a little bit. He was messing with me, so I played along. I slapped his chest lightly. "Hey! That's not nice. You should love your sister. Especially if she were to offer you something . . ."

"Oh y-yeah? And what might that be?" He asked wiping away the remaining tears, still gasping for air.

"To get your mind off of things, I will be your assistant in repairing or building something." I smiled. "It'll be like old times."

He chuckled. "You? Build something? Alright, who are you, and what have you done to my sister? 'Cause the one I have has no skills to do that whatsoever."

I smacked his chest a little harder. "Rude! I was trying to be nice." His smile grew a little bit wider, but was looking at me like I was crazy. "Fine alright, to get your mind off of things, let's go do some P.T."

His eyes went big for a moment. "Actually, having you build something with me would be quite nice."

I laughed. "That's what I thought." I smiled. "C'mon let's go do nerdy stuff." I put my arm around his waist and his arm went around my shoulder on instinct. He began to talk about what else he was working on while my eye caught someone standing behind a corner. It was Amata. She was covering her mouth tears streaming down her face like a waterfall. Instantly I was confused. If she didn't love him, why is she crying?... What if her father found out and forced her to break it off? But shes an adult now. She doesn't need to follow orders from her father.

"Valori! Did you understand a word I said?"

My eyes peeled away from Amata. "Joe, really? Do you know me? You have to speak English for me to understand."

He rolled his eyes. "Alright I'm sorry, and for the millionth time in our nineteen years of being brother and sister... I hate being called Joe."

"Alright, you're right. Sorry Joey." I replied trying to hide a burst of laughter.

"Okay, that's even worse." We both started to laugh until he tickled my stomach and I squealed.

"Joesph, no. You know how ticklish I am."

"Oh, I'm sorry. It totally slipped my mind." He said, tickling me again. "Dang it! I did it again."

I laughed hard and shoved him away, and started running for his work area. Laughing the whole way like we were ten years old again.

I nodded and looked back to where we were heading with guilt withering inside of me. Good job, Valori. You messed up. Why do you always bring this up at the wrong timing? Why the fuck do you do this to him? Huh? He's been through enough! And you have to go and break him down even more?! What the hell is wrong with you?!

"Stop." My brother snapped, pulling me out of my torturing thoughts.

I swallowed the lump that began to form in my throat. "Stop what?" I asked, even though I knew exactly what he was talking about.

He shook his head with annoyance. "Stop torturing yourself. Alright? It's not your fault that Amata and I broke up, its not your fault that Dad left, and its not your fault that you don't know how to cope with everything yet. Okay? So just stop."

Tears welded their way into my eyes. "Yeah... okay." But no promises.

There was a short moment of silence before my brother spoke again. "Are we getting any closer to Rivet City?"

I lifted my left arm and looked down at my Pip Boy. "Ya know, I'm surprised these things still work."

"Yeah, it's weird that they haven't acted up yet. But if they did break, I would just fix them."

"Yeah, I know." I said as I swiped my screen over until it showed the map. We were near a building that was called 'The Jefferson Memorial'. And the boat, Rivet City, was right down the block.

I sighed in relief, We're almost there, I let out a happy chuckle. We're almost there! I picked up my pace with a skip in my step, a grin on my face and not a care in the world. We're almost there, Daddy, we're coming. We're almost there. I said almost beginning to cry. We've been through so much. Gigantic Scorpions, raiders, mine fields, Yao Guai and Super Mutants . .. Please Daddy, please be here... I miss you so much.

"Val, wait! What? Are we almost there?"

I didn't know how to form any words. It was like the English language was too advanced for me. So, I showed him my Pip Boy.

"Holy shit we're almost there... we're almost there!" He said happily, but then his face fell. "Wait," he said, stopping dead in his tracks and grabbing my arm. I turned around to face him. "What if dad isn't there? Like he wasn't in Megaton? I mean... how do we even know he's alive?"

"No. No. Don't start that shit man. He. Isn't. Dead. And he is going to be here. I know it, and if not-"

"Then what?! What are we gonna do, huh? Travel all around the God damned ruins of the U.S.A? Val! That's suicide!"

"Good then!" I screamed, Dogmeat began to growl, but I ignored it. I was too pissed off to care about whatever the dog was growling at. "Its better than fucking dying alone!"

"You wouldn't be alone! You would have me! We'd have each other!"

"And how long are you gonna survive, huh? Because a nerd like you should already be dead by now and you fucking know it!" I couldn't stop it. The confessions, the cruelty, the anger, the sadness, everything that I held inside of me for the longest time, it was finally leaving me like a massive explosion. "You had a fucking life in the Vault! You had a girl! You had a job that you liked! It was so fucking easy for you! But me?! No. I was not happy in there. I was going to die alone! And now I'm gonna die out here protecting your ass! How long until you're dead, and I'm gonna die alone anyways?! Or even worse, how long until I'm dead and you're left fucking defenseless?!"

He shook his head with rage. "I help more than what you understand! I am not that useless, damn it!"

"You are to me." I said coldly.

His eyes went wide with surprise for a short few moments, then they narrowed. "Fuck. You." He said through gritted teeth.

He maneuvered around me and began to walk toward Rivet City. I stood there facing the opposite direction, trying to come up with a better comeback. Or maybe I should just apologize. Has rage really drove me this insane? Or was it pain? Damn it, I'm sorry Joesph. When I turned around, I didn't have time to say one word from my thoughts.

There was an explosion that happened a few feet in front of me. I felt pain erupt from my left leg as I was flung backwards, unable to react. I tried to catch myself by putting my arms behind me, preparing myself to catch my body's weight. There was an excruciating pain in my right wrist as I caught myself, but what I did wasn't enough. I was unable to stop my body from falling, and my head hit something hard. Within seconds, my world went dark.

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I recovered quickly after hitting a big block of debris. My first and only thoughts were, Oh My God, Val! Where's Val? "Val!... Valor-" I was cut off by another explosion. "Shit!" I hid behind fallen concrete from a building and peeked around it. Super Mutant. Damn it! I took out the only weapon I had. A 9 mm pistol. This isn't gonna do fucking anything!

I began looking around frantically. "Valori!" Please Lord! Please help me! An explosion came again, causing debris to fly on the other side of the boulder. I have never been so afraid in my entire life. I screamed a horrified scream, fear paralyzing me, and I didn't know what to do. No, no! I don't want to die please! "Help me!" I sobbed. "Please somebody help me!"

Joesph, Joesph, it's okay. Calm down and think. Valori's voice rang in my head. You are the brain's of this group, remember? So calm down. How can you defeat this monster?

I thought for a moment, still paralyzed with fear. I don't know, Val. An explosion came again. I screamed and protected the back of my neck. Oh my God Val, I don't want to die!

Just breath Joesph, like in Vault 101, when you saw Amata's father when you two were secretly dating. Breath in and out, slowly. I took in a long breath and exhaled slowly. It slowed my breathing, and I was able to think. Okay, he has a grenade or a missile launcher. There's no way I can get close enough without getting hurt. What can I do?... Maybe I don't have to do anything. A distraction, I need a distraction. I looked around the area, finding nothing to help me. Shit, shit, shit! What can I do? What can I use? My eyes roamed over everything trying to find something I could use. My eyes roamed until I was looking at Dogmeat, who was growling at the creature on the other side of the debris. That's it!

"Dogmeat... go get that fucking bastard." I said with a hint of fear lingering in my voice.

Dogmeat took no time at all. He bolted away from me and right at the Super Mutant. Once I heard Dogmeat fighting the Super Mutant, I stood up and began to shoot at the ugly ass monster. I went through a whole magazine and only one round hit the mutant. Shit. I need to get closer. I thought, putting another magazine into the gun.

I was only a few yards away from it now, and I began to shoot again. My first shot got it right in the neck. Ha-ha! Suck on that asshole! But it was a big mistake for me not to continue to shoot the thing. The mutant turned away from Dogmeat and faced me. Oh fuck. The mutant began to run towards me and I continued to shoot uncontrollably.

Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang!

The mutant was so close to me that I was paralyzed with fear once more. Shit! I was about to give up, to surrender to this dark cruel world. I've been through so much... lost so much. I didn't know if Father was even still alive. This is pointless. I thought. But then I my mind returned to my sister. Her negativity, her positivity, how she tried to be strong for me. Everything we'd been through together. How we had survived. No. I can't leave her. I need to find my sister. I thought with determination.

The mutant was right on top of me now, and I had a clear shot at his head. So, I took it, killing the mutant instantly. The mutant fell, his face was so close to my feet, and I couldn't believe what happened. "Holy Shit. Holy Shit! Woo! Val did you see what I just-" I cut myself short. Val. I whipped around quickly and felt the most excruciating pain in my entire life. It started in my right shoulder and then spread throughout my upper body. "Aaaahhhhhhh!" I looked at my shoulder, there was hole in my armor and blood was oozing out of it.

"Oh my God, what the-" I was cut off by the sound of a rifle. "Ah!" Fear captured my soul again. With shaking hands, I turned to look where the sound came from. One hand held the hole in my body and the other clutching my weapon. It was another Super Mutant. The mutant shot his rifle again, it missed any part of me by a long shot.

What do I do?... Valori. Get to Valori. She has all the weapons.

I turned around once again and began to search for Valori. Bang. The rifle shot again, hitting the ground next to my foot. So I began to run a little faster. It's going to be hard as hell to find her. She has jet black hair, and her armor is black as well. I'll never find her in time.

Bang. The rifle shot again, and this time I felt a sting on the side of my left shoulder. "Fuck!" No, no! Not like this, please not like this!

Just as I thought that, Dogmeat ran past me and began circling a spot on the ground up ahead. What is he doing? The dog sniffed it, then whimpered. What? I thought for a moment. Wait, that's Valori!

Bang. The rifle was heard again. When I got to Dogmeat and Valori, I knelt down quickly, looking for anything to help me. But I was actually looking for something specific. I felt the side of her backpack and found exactly what I needed. A Frag Grenade. Yes! Yes, this is perfect! "Good boy, Dogmeat, good boy!" I praised before I stood up and heard the gunfire again. I felt a sting on the left side of my torso. "Gaahh!"

I held my side for a moment. Damn it! I took my hand away from my torso and looked at my hand, dark red liquid was all over my open finger glove. With shaky hands I pulled the pin and prayed to God that I threw it hard enough. The mutant lifted the rifle again and I glared at it with all the hatred in the world. "Burn in Hell, you piece of shit," I murmured as one single tear fell from my eye, from the pain of the bullets, from the fear of being mere inches from death. The grenade went off right next the mutant, and its body was painted all over the place in an instant. The debris, the building, the sidewalk, hell, even some of him landed in the river. There would be no way anyone could find all of him.

It was over. It was finally over. I was so overwhelmed by the excitement that I fell on all fours, breathing rapidly. Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. "Val." I whispered, hoping it would snap me out of my shock. I swallowed hard to calm my nerves. It's okay, Joesph. Its over.

I turned towards Valori awkwardly and my breath quickened again. I scrambled over to her with one hand on either side of her head. "Valori?" I said timidly as my right hand shook her right shoulder. She didn't get up. "Valori." I said louder, shaking her a little harder. Still, she did not wake.

My hands went into her hair, about to put her head onto my lap. That was until I felt something warm and wet oozing onto my hand. My breath caught in my throat, my heart began to beat a little faster. I untangled my hand from Valori's hair and looked at my hand. Blood was covering every inch of of it. I was horrified. "No... No." I choked out as I put her head back down gently. I turned my body around. "Valori, get up... get up!" I sobbed.

Tears were pouring out of my eyes. I was so scared, so afraid of being alone. Losing my only family right in front of me. I would be so lost, so devastated to know that I would never see my family again. "No, no. Valori, you can't leave me! Don't leave me! Please... please... You're suppose to protect me! You're suppose to be there when I don't know what to do! You can't die on me! I've lost Amata, and Father ran away! I can't lose you too!... I can't lose you..." I sobbed into her chest. Get her help, damn it! But Megaton is so far away! She'll never survive. She'll bleed out way before we even cross the river. Damn it! I sobbed harder into her chest, until a thought hit me. Wait... water... river... boat... Rivet City. It's just around the corner. But what if they won't help her? What if the cast us out and I have to watch my sister die? No. I have to try.

I lifted my head off of Valori and put my right arm behind her neck while my left arm went under her legs. "You aren't gonna die. I won't let you." I cried as I lifted Valori up with all of my strength. "You can't die. We're almost there, and there's beds and food, and we'll be able to rest and not be in this godforsaken war zone." I breathed heavily as I began to walk as fast as I could - which was about as fast as a grandma with a walker. I whistled tiredly at Dogmeat to follow us, which he quickly obliged to. I began to speak again. "You can't leave me... not yet. I have... to tell you... how I saved your ass." I chuckled breathlessly. "Just... stay with me... okay?" I begged.

It took me over half an hour to reach the bottom of the ramp to enter Rivet City. "A ramp... we can handle this... right Val?" I asked breathlessly. Once I got up the ramp I turned around the corner and stood at the bottom of another ramp. I muttered a curse as I stood there for a few seconds gathering up my strength before I began to climb.

As I reached the top, I felt light headed, but I kept going until I reached an intercom. I set Valori down gently before I pushed the green button and spoke. "Please, help me... me and my sister... are wounded... badly. We need medical attention... right now." I let go of the green button.

"What's your business here?"

"We need... medical attention... please let us in."

"Why are you here? Why are you close to the D.C. area so late at night?"

"Me and my sister... we're looking for our father... His name is James... James Winchester... or uh... this," Shit, what the hell is her name?... Oh! "... Doctor Lee."

"Oh, you two are James' kids. We're sending the bridge out. Just wait a moment."

I didn't bother to reply. I just picked Valori up again and waited at the edge of the walkway for the bridge. "We made it... sis. You're gonna be... okay."

The bridge was set so that I could start walking. I took slow, quivering steps as I began to walk. "Its okay... I got us here... you're gonna be-" I was three fourths across and I started to feel nauseous and lightheaded. "Whoa." I said as I swayed side to side. I couldn't keep my balance and fell over. I saw feet heading towards us. As they reached us, I spoke as loud as I could. "Help her... help her first... her... head... bleeding." My eyes slowly began to close. "Help-" Was the last thing I said before I only saw darkness.

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What did you all think?
Please tell me what you liked and disliked. Be as critical as you wish! If you tell me what you liked then I'll know what to keep doing, if you tell me what you hated, then I can keep on improving! ^·^

Also, for those who are reading my The Fable with a Wolf Tattoo I am dreadfully sorry for not uploading any new chapters. I sort of hit a writer's block that I'm trying to fix. Please be patient with me and I will try to upload the next chapter as soon as I possibly can!

This will probably be a story that I will update every week or every two weeks, depending on my editor and my writer's block.

Thank you all so much for reading my fanfics, you guys are fantastic!

I'll see you all in the next chapter! ^·^