*Haven't written in awhile, like years, so might not be the best but here it goes! Please read and review! I do not own Fallout or any of its characters! This entire story is told from Jack "Junior" Smith's, of Andale, point of view.*

Chapter One

Andale, what a great place. You couldn't find a better place to live in all of Capital Wasteland. I would know. I've lived here as long as I can remember. Everyone is so nice, and by everyone I mean eight people. There is myself, Jack Smith although my parents call me Junior, my good ol' Dad Jack, my momma Linda, my grandpa Harris, and then there are the Smiths. Not a big community I know, but good enough. We do get visitors sometimes, but I don't see them much. Momma says the leave late into the night so when I wake up they're gone. Most of the visitors we get are nice people, unlike the raiders that pass by. But Pops usually goes and "talks" with them.

Sometimes when I sit up in my room I look out the window and think to myself " Geeze, what a big world out there. I wonder if there are any other kids out there like me….I wish I could go find 'em." It gets lonely out here in Andale, what with only one more kid my age to play with, Jenny Wilson. She's okay but a bit stubborn. My parents don't work. My father spends most of his time in the basement or in his shed in the back. Momma says I'm not allowed to go in there. Not until I'm older. I think I'm pretty gosh darn old! But the doors are locked and I can't find the key. Jenny and me try to find them but we always get caught. Momma scolds me and sends me to bed without dinner, which is okay with me sometimes. The meat around here is strange. It has a funny taste but Momma is always telling me we are better off than most people in the Wasteland…

Fifteen Years Later….

I sat there and held the old diary entry in my hand. I couldn't believe it had been fifteen years since I ran away from home. I had too. But somehow by finding this old entry made me want to go back, to see how things were with the family. A cup of whiskey was placed next to me and I looked up. Gob, the ghoul bartender. He gave me a smile, or what I thought to be a smile. I smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Gob." He smiled before Moriarty came up behind him and gave him a swift slap on the back of the head. " Now I'm not payin' ya to stand around and gross out me customers!" Gob whined and nodded. " Yes sir." I sipped the whiskey and looked at Gob. He sighed and went into the backroom. I went back to looking at the old entry. The more I looked at it the more I wanted to go back. It wasn't a want, exactly, but an urge. The door to Moriarty's Saloon creaked open behind me. I looked back to see an unfamiliar face. Now I hadn't been in Megaton for awhile but its easy to get to know everyone just after a week. The woman looked young and didn't look as though she was around here. She glanced over the contents of the bar and looked over into the side room. I could hear her talking with someone. A man by the tone of his voice. I shrugged and went back to drinking the whiskey. The piece of paper in my hand felt hot and I knew that as soon as I was done in the bar I had to go back home. The woman came out of the side room. On the back of her outfit were the numbers "101". "Strange…" I thought to myself. A few minuets later the woman was followed by the man she must have been talking to. He looked at me through his dark tinted glasses and tilted his hat to me. I forced a smile on my face and went back to drinking the rest of my whiskey. I put a couple of bottle caps on the bar counter and put the glass top down over them. Gob came out and I nodded down at them. He smiled gratefully, showing a couple of the teeth that were left in his mouth. I turned and left the saloon.

The man and the woman were nowhere to be found. It struck me as odd that they could disappear so fast. I gave it no thought as I made my way out of Megaton. I was going to miss my place, but it would only be for a few days. As I headed towards the entrance I passed the big undetonated bomb. The local worshippers were there basking in the puddle it had created. I shook my head as the preacher spoke of religion and the bomb. "Nonsense, I think they've had too much radiation poisoning." I walked out of Megaton and sighed. This was going to be a long journey but it would be worth it in the end. I gave one final look at the entry. "I never did find out what was in the basement…or the shed. Well I'm older now and bound to find out!" I chuckled to myself as I made it for Andale.

Night had fallen over Capital Wasteland and this meant trouble. Raiders were out scouring the land for helpless victims to rob and kill. I continued down the road slowly making sure I wasn't being followed. The ground under me began to shake. I turned around and saw a huge mushroom cloud on the horizon. My eyes were wide with shock. The bushes around me trembled in the shock wave. "Megaton! NO!" I watched the only place that I could actually call home blow up. Gob and everyone…gone. There was nothing I could except continue on to my other home. Hopefully this one wouldn't blow up.

It had taken me all night to reach Andale. The sun was just coming up and no one seemed to be awake yet. I thought I would drop in and see my good ol' grandpa once again. I walked past my old house on the way to Grandpa Harris's house. The old shed was still in the back. "Must still be in use…" I said under my breath. I read Harris's door and gave a few knocks. Slowly, the door opened and he looked at me confused. "Grandpa?" I said, confused myself. He adjusted his glasses somewhat then smiled. "Junior, my boy, how have ya been?" He invited me inside and gave me a pat on the back. "I've been good grandpa. And yourself?" He pointed to a chair and smiled. "Have a seat, my boy. Water? Beer? Anything?" It had been awhile since I had a drink. "Water please, hold the radiation." Grandpa laughed and went to the kitchen. "I've been good. Just tryin' to keep my old self busy. Where ya been all these years?" He filled up two glasses of water and entered the living room. He sat down in the chair next to mine and set his glass on a wooden coffee table. I took a long drink from the cup and set it down on the table. "Well I wandered around Capital Wasteland for while then settled down in a place called Megaton…" My throat felt heavy when I spoke about Megaton. "Sorry grandpa, about running away." He shook his hand at me and smiled. "Don't worry about it my boy. I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. Curiosity gets the best of people. Especially young boys! I'm just glad to see you again. You're parents…."

His voice trailed off and his eyes widened. " Junior listen to me, you have to get out of here. Now!" His sudden fear scared me. "What?" I watched him get out of his chair and grab me. He pulled me out of my and pushed me towards the back door. "Get out of this town! They'll turn on you too!" I'd hate to say it but he was really starting to piss me off. "Grandpa, calm down. Have you gone mad?" We got to the back door and he opened it. He was starting to say something about murder when my mother's face greeted the both of us. Grandpa was shocked when he saw her. "Well there you are! I've been looking all over for you! For fifteen years, Mister!" She pulled me into a tight embrace. "I've missed you so much dear! Please come home and talk with me and your father. We have so much catching up to do!" It was nice to see Mom again. She smiled all the way to our house, where my father greeted me at the door. "Son! It's been so long!" My father hugged me and patted my back. "Have they been feedin' ya out there? Doesn't look like it!" He laughed and walked into the kitchen. My mother stepped in behind me and closed the door. The place looked the same as it did fifteen years ago. But still, it was home. "So sport, you want anything?" I stepped into the kitchen and sat down at the table. "No thanks, Dad. I was just visiting with Grandpa. Speaking of Grandpa, is he okay?" My father sat down across from me and opened a beer. "He's been acting a little strange lately. Speaking of death and killing. Maybe the Wasteland is finally getting to him after all these years." As my father spoke I looked at the basement door behind him. I thought I could hear a scream down there, but my mother's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Well I will be making dinner soon. I hope you have an appetite!"