Aiden lunged through the door, switchblade out. Landing on the thing that cast the shadow, he began to stab it in a frenzy, not stopping 'til his breath came out in ragged bursts. Standing up, he looked down at what he had attacked. His heart gave a leap when he saw it was only a mole rat, or at least that's what it looked like. Several large chunks had been torn from it, and the whole body was covered in lacerations.

"Well… At least I didn't panic," he muttered to himself, "and that's all that matters." He walked back out to the entryway and called out to Gob.

"It's safe, come on down," He shouted out. Aiden was shoved to the ground and he felt a clawing sensation deep in his back. Aiden's switchblade flew out of his hand and skittered across the floor. He rolled over and a second mole rat jumped on his chest, attempting to bite his face. Covering his face with his right arm, he reached his left up to the mole rats head and attempted to push it back.

"Gob! Hurry up!" He shouted. The mole rat was strong and he didn't know how much longer his arm could hold out. A door swung open somewhere further down the tunnel, and he heard more raspy voices. There was the sound of guns cocking, and he was soon covered in mole rat brains.

"Alright smooth skin, don't move," one of the voices said, pointing a 10mm pistol at him. "What are you doing down here?"

"I'm looking for the Family," he said, "they killed my friends parents." The ghoul turned to look at his friend and they shared skeptical looks.

"So you know nothing about our secrets?" The lead ghoul asked, looking back at Aiden.

"Secrets? What? No. I'm looking for the Family. What secrets?" He asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Well, if you must know we're developing Ultra-Jet," The lead ghoul said. "We thought you might be stealing our formula."

"No, I'm much more of a Med-X kind of guy," Aiden said, pushing himself to a sitting position. He began to wipe the blood off his face.

"Heh, your pretty funny smoothy," the lead ghoul chuckled. "I'm Murphy and this charming individual behind me is Barrett." Barrett nodded his head.

"I'm Aiden," He said standing himself up completely now. Where the hell is Gob? He should be here by now.

"Are you looking for someone?" Murphy asked, noticing Aiden looking over his shoulder to the entrance.

"Ya, my friend Gob should have come down by now," Aiden said, as he began to walk towards the entrance, picking up his switchblade on the way by. He pulled out his shotgun and cautiously peered out the gate into the warm evening air.

"Gob?" He called out cautiously. He could only hear the sound of garbage blowing in the wind. He stepped out a little further and saw a completely deserted square, no Gob, no blood, and no sign of a struggle. His heart now beating furiously, he hurriedly entered the station again and pulled the gate shut. Something wasn't right out there. He quickly ran to the room where Murphy and Barrett had come from, and shut that door behind him as well.

"Smooth skin? Something wrong?" Murphy asked looking up at him.

"Gob… Gone… No… Sign of… Him…." He said, breathing heavily. He slid down the door into a sitting position on the floor. Now that he was gone, Aiden realized he was faced with an impossible prospect; single-handedly battle a group of murderous vampires. What have I gotten myself into? I should have just stayed in Megaton; I have no business being out here.

"What do you think happened?" Murphy asked, though he sounded like he didn't really care.

"I don't know. Maybe something got him, but I think he might have run to the station if he were under attack. There was no blood, so that rules out that he was killed," Aiden said, his brain working furiously.

"Well, I can't help you with that, but I can help you with the Family. There is a hatch in the next room that leads to the Meresti Service Tunnel, that is where the Family hangs their hats," Murphy said, still not looking up from whatever he was doing.

"Thanks," Aiden said, and he opened the door to the next room.

"Oh, and smooth skin? Shoot the mirelurks in the face," the second ghoul, Barrett, called out. Aiden nodded his head and went to the hatch. He took a deep breath, opened it, and began the descent into the blackness below. When he reached the bottom, he pulled out his shotgun, and checked to see that it was loaded. It was.

"Okay, let's do this," He said to himself, "It can't be that hard." Yes, it can, don't flatter yourself. You're just a kid; you had trouble killing one raider. How do you think your going to take on a group of blood-sucking vampires? You should just go crawling back to Megaton.

"No, I wont," he said very quietly to himself, "This is Lucy's last living relative. I won't give up." Sure, then you die. Lucy is then left with no word from you, her family, or Gob. She'll be more alone than you could ever imagine and it will be entirely your fault.

"Shut up," he said to his brain. He reached into his pack and pulled out a needle. Sticking it into his arm, he forced the plunger down. His thoughts, along with all feelings of pain or doubt, faded away.

"That's better," he breathed a sigh of relief. He slowly began to move through the darkness, ears peaked, listening for any signs of movements. Something somewhere was making a small clicking noise, and it was really playing hell on Aiden's nerves. Up ahead, up an incline, there was light shining down. That's a good a place to start as any. The clicking noise was getting closer, and Aiden could now feel his forehead beginning to perspire. Slowly, he treaded very carefully through the rocky cavern. Strange. You would figure a train station would be concrete and metal.

The clicking was now almost right behind him, and Aiden began to panic. He could barely see, and there were bones everywhere. He placed his left hand on the wall to help him navigate through the cave, at least this way he wouldn't get lost. As he drew ever closer to the light, he found it easier and easier to see. Within seconds, he was standing at the base of the incline, and that's when the clicking stopped. He shut his eyes, held his breath, and slowly turned around, praying against prayers that there was nothing there. He opened his eyes and his heart stopped. There was nothing there.

"Thank god," he let out the breath he had been holding in. Turning around, he took a step forward and felt a tension beneath his foot, but it quickly snapped. Looking down, he saw a string, which had broken, and he saw three grenades roll past his foot. He frantically began scrabbling up the incline, feeling that every heartbeat would now be his last. There was a deafening explosion, the sound of rock cracking, and a rush of heat; he felt himself thrown to the ground, though as far as he could tell he was not injured.

"What the hell was that?!" Aiden muttered, getting up and dusting himself off. Suddenly, the clicking sound started again, though frenzied this time. He looked down the incline and saw a giant crab like thing standing on two legs running up at him. One claw was gone, presumably from the explosion, and blood was dripping down onto the ground below it. Through his medicated state, he could feel fear gripping his chest. He turned around again, and began to sprint down the ruined subway tunnel. The clicking sound was rapidly approaching, and he knew he had no chance to outrun the creature.

He heard, and felt, a rush of air behind him, and he knew the mirelurk must have attacked. He jumped forward, quite ridiculously in a superman type pose, and he landed on his stomach, hard. There was a rusty metallic clanging sound, and the creature roared out in pain. Using the adrenaline to his advantage, he sprang to his feet and pointed the shotgun behind him. He saw the mirelurk lying on the ground still screeching in pain. It's leg had been caught in a bear trap, which, if Aiden had taken three more steps, he was sure it would be around his leg, and not the mirelurk's. He pointed the gun at the mirelurk's unarmored face and pulled the trigger. It's face splattered out of its shell, staining the ground in a cone shape.

"As if that just happened," he said, shaking his head. He walked onwards, and soon found himself looking down another incline, though this one was actually part of the station. A man sat behind sandbags laced with barbwire, SMG pointed right at Aiden's chest.

"What business do you have down here?" he shouted.

"I'm here for Ian West," Aiden called down, "I'm not leaving without him."

"Ian's with us now," the man said, "We're his Family now, we're all he has left."

"Not true," Aiden called down, taking a step towards him, "His sister is alive you bastards didn't get her."

"I think you should talk to Vance," the man said, lowering his gun, "then you will understand."

"I'm keeping my weapons," Aiden said, defiantly.

"Be my guest," the man said irritably, "just don't go waving them around in there." Aiden watched the man very carefully, watching him for any sign of movement, as he walked by and opened the gate. When he was through, he broke in a jog, hoping to get as far away from him as possible.

Aiden entered a door further down the tunnel, which led, surprisingly, to another tunnel. He looked left, saw a bunch of rubble, looked right, and saw what looked like a community. Here we go. He placed his hand into his pocket, his hand clenched tightly around his switchblade.

"Welcome, you must be new to the Family," one of the vampires said to him when he got there, "I'm new here myself."

"Amazing, where's Vance?" Aiden said, watching the other man's hands carefully.

"He's up there," the man pointed, "looking out over us." Aiden looked up, and saw a man in a duster staring out over all of them. His eyes, at the moment, seemed to be fixated on Aiden. He knows I'm not one of them. He knows. Clenching his switchblade, if even possible, even more tightly, he ascended the stairs and found himself face to face with Vance.

"Greetings," Vance said, in a calm, charismatic voice. "What brings you down here, human."

"I'm here for Ian West," he said, looking into Vance's eyes.

"I'm afraid that's not an option. Ian is very troubled at the moment," Vance said, "When he comes to a decision though, I will inform you immediately."

"You think I'm going to stay here? I'm leaving, and I'm taking Ian with me," Aiden said, watching Vance carefully, incase he decided to attack.

"That is out of the question," Vance said, in his same smooth voice, "No one is to talk to or see Ian right now."

"I will do anything to get him out of here," He said in a threatening tone, "I don't care who get hurts as long as I get him out."

"Really? You think you can take on all of us," Vance said, bemused. "If it comes down to it, you may fight me, but you will not hurt my Flock." A woman came walking out of the shadows in the corners of the room.

"Ah, Holly you're up," Vance said, smiling.

"You're still dealing with me here," Aiden said, annoyed.

"We? We're running circles in a race that's already finished," Vance said, looking back at him. "You may talk to Ian when he has come up with his decision."

"What decision?" Aiden asked, his hands gripped so tightly his nails were digging in his palms. Vance was really starting to get on his nerves.

"If he will stay here with us," Vance replied, watching Aiden closely. "For whom are you here for? Surely not those fools from Arefu?"

"Yes… Well no… Not really," Aiden said, taken aback. "It doesn't matter who sent me here, does it?"

"Oh, but it does. Your eyes, I see love in them. While your whole body is surging with anger, your eyes instead burn with passion," Vance said, in a very charming way, lowering Aiden's guard. "Ah yes, who is she? A cousin of Ian's, a friend, or does he indeed still have a close living relative? A sister, perhaps?"

"How do you do that…?" Aiden asked, clearly caught off guard.

"Ah yes, a sister. Your eyes tell it all. There is much love in there," Vance said, smiling at Aiden. "What does she want? Does she want him back, even now being what he has?"

"She doesn't know he's here. I came to Arefu to see why they weren't answering her letters," Aiden said. Vance's eyes flickered with pain.

"That is my fault, my Flock sometimes can't control themselves… The letters probably never made it. I'm sorry, I truly am," Vance said with his eyes shut. Aiden had no doubt that he actually was truly sorry. It was something about his voice, it was filled with sorrow and pain.

"I have to get Ian out of here, he's all she has left," Aiden said, looking down.

"What of you? Does she not have you? You who would traverse the very wastes for her, risking life and limb just to see the end of her unhappiness?" Vance asked, taking a step towards Aiden. She doesn't have you. You're a coward, you ran from her. Any old excuse to get out of Megaton and solve your own problems. You have no regard for her feelings. Hell, you left without telling her.

"Shut up…" Aiden whispered very quietly.

"What was that?" Vance asked, leaning forward to hear him better. She lies alone in Megaton, while your miles away fulfilling your own needs. You didn't need answers from Rivet City, you're just weak. You saw the way she looked at you, the love, the desire. You saw her cry and you still did nothing. His heart was beating furiously now, screaming out to his head.

"I am doing this for her, this is the only family she has left," Aiden said even more quietly. His heart calmed down slightly.

"You are conflicted," Vance said now right beside him, whispering into his ear. Aiden could feel the tears welling up inside his eyes, but he remained silent.

"You are filled with love for her, don't ever believe otherwise. I can see it; your eyes practically scream it. You love her, and you are here for her," Vance continued on, now standing so close to Aiden that he could feel Vance's body heat. "You're still a boy, I'm surprised you made it this far, but that's the power of love, I guess. I wish with every fiber of my being that I could let you talk to Ian right now, but in his current state it would only do damage."

"I need to talk to her…" Aiden said, very slowly.

"Indeed, well come over here, we shall record a holotape for her. I will have one of my Flock deliver it for you, and he will ensure you get one in return," Vance said very softly. He led Aiden to a secluded corner and sat him down at a table, leaving him with his thoughts and a holotape. He hit record.

"Lucy," his voice cracked, he choked back his tears. "I'm sorry, you're family is dead. It was… an animal attack. You're brother is safe though, he's with… friends. I'm here with them, too. Ian is… asleep right now, but I will talk to him soon. Lucy, hold on, I'll be home soon. I miss you…" He stopped talking, as tears flowed freely down his face.

"I love you," He added, very softly, at the very end, and his heart leapt. He stopped recording, and he soon found Vance standing right behind him.

"She'll be touched, I'm sure," Vance said.

"You were listening?" Aiden said, clearly affronted.

"I'm sorry, I had no choice. I couldn't let you send out a tape that would worry or scare her. You did admirably though, I doubt I could have said it any better," Vance smiled at him. "I thank you, too, for you showed much love for my Flock. You didn't slander them at all. Most people would easily hate who we are."

"I did," Aiden said looking up at Vance, "I thought you were all animals, but after talking to you, it's clear you are far from it. Why did you kill her family?"

"That," Vance sighed, "is something I can not tell you. You shall learn everything when you talk to Ian. Now come, you look exhausted." Vance led Aiden to a bed and held out a hand to it.

"Sleep, and when you awake, we shall eat," Vance smiled. "Real food. Potatoes and the such. Not you." Vance added hastily, seeing the look on Aiden's face. Aiden lie down on the bed, and Vance brought the blankets over him, almost in a fatherly fashion.

"Sleep well, child," Vance whispered and walked away.

"They're not too bad, this Family," Aiden whispered as his eyes shut and he found the world drift away again.