Chapter one
Eddie Morris straightened his power armor's shoulder. It was critical that all pieces of the armor be on perfectly, otherwise a stray bullet could find its way through a crack and into his flesh. He checked his rifle, an AER9 laser rifle restored by The Enclave. He pulled back on the energy cell release, and pushed the micro fusion cell inside the rifle. He then closed the release and charged the rifle. He put his helmet on and connected the air hose from his armor to his helmet. The vertibird's intercom suddenly went off.
"60 seconds to touchdown, over." the alert said. Eddie flicked off his rifle's safety and stood up with the other eight identical soldiers. The two ahead of him carried laser pistols and ballistic shields, while those behind him wielded laser or plasma rifles and a Colt N99 10mm sidearm. The vertibird suddenly shook and the left doors burst open. Eddie and the others burst out of the vehicle and approached the walled city in a line. Eddie aimed down his rifle's sights and fired at the snipers posted on the walls edges in quick, single shots. The few who were able to meet the might of the Enclave remnants power were quickly taken down. Eddie watched as his commanding officer beat down a warrior in makeshift leather armor with an extending baton. He then watched as another soldier fired a Fat Man at the gate to this town. The gate exploded in a mushroom cloud, spitting off small doses of ionizing radiation.
"Administering Rad-X." Eddie alerted his comrades. He pressed a button on the side of his armor and he felt a slight sting as the Iodine solution entered his body and prevented his thyroid from absorbing radiation. He entered the small town and sweeped the area. His orders were simple, kill anyone armed and take the rest to the center of the town. He started with a small metal shack, kicking down the door sending it flying into the home. Eddie turned on his helmet's light and small dot alerted him that it was active and taking up some of the Fusion Core power. Eddie ignored the warning and scanned the home, methodically moving through room by room. He eventually found mother gripping a .38 caliber revolver aiming it at him while holding a child. The mother fired several times, the bullets barely made a dent to his armor. Eddie slung his laser rifle and drew his sidearm. He aimed it at the mother, then paused.
"Mommy, what's going on?" the child pleaded. Eddie slightly lowered the gun and pulled the trigger. He then raised it slightly and fired again. He picked up the mother's revolver and set it back down after finding it only had three bullets. He stepped out to find a horrible scene. His comrades were torching the shacks as the settlers watched. In the center of the town, settlers were lined up with their hands behind their heads. His CO suddenly approached him.
"Lance Corporal Morris." he demanded. "Head to the town center, step in front of a mutie and draw your sidearm."
"Yes sir." Eddie shakily responded. Eddie walked over to a scared looking teen and drew his N99.
"Aim." the officer yelled. Eddie aimed his sidearm at the teen.
"Fire." the officer yelled. Eddie shut his eyes and pulled the trigger. A hard crack rang out and a soft thud soon followed. The air fell silent as Eddie stared at the dead people.
"You hesitated?" the psychologist asked, his tone more inquisitive than concerned.
"Yeah." was Eddie's answer. He had scheduled this to try and get over what happened at the settlement, but it felt more like he was being interrogated than helped.
"Why?" the psychologist asked, opening a file.
"I guess I didn't want the child to go through what I did?" Eddie answered in a vaguely questioning way. The psychologist must have known what happened to Eddie's father, how he died in his arms.
"That's no excuse, you should have shot the moment you saw gun metal." the psychologist said.
"You know nothing of what that was like." Eddie suddenly yelled. "You weren't there! You didn't see death! You didn't see those children watch their parents die!" Eddie stormed out of the medical office and rushed down the bunker halls to his bunk room.
"Hey Eddie!" his bunk mate called. "You okay?"
"You want out?" Eddie asked. His bunk mate fell silent.
"Eddie, I know you think that what we're doing is terrible. I know you disagree with all this but-" he was suddenly cut off by the sound of a knife entering his throat. Eddie pulled his footlocker from under his bed and grabbed an old backpack and a disassembled Remington 700 hunting rifle inherited. He assembled the rifle and slid some bullets into the internal magazine. Eddie slung the bag over his shoulders and rushed to the vertibird bays where a pilot sat cleaning his bird, unaware of Eddie's approach. He smacked the pilot in the back of the head with the rifle and climbed into the cockpit. He vaguely knew how to fly the bird and hoped he could make it out of Arizona before anyone would know he left. He flew the bird up and the doors over him slowly opened. He sighed in relief when the doors closed after he made it out. He could vaugely hear alarms as the bird flew west.
A/N: I'm sorry that this chapter is so terrible and short. I honestly rushed this one and I'm going to put more effort into the next chapters. Please keep reading and give feedback. Have a great day! (also did some ranking edits)