October 12th, 2287,
Dear Journal,
My name is Matthew, and I am starting this Journal at the direction of a new acquaintance of mine Piper. She says that it will help me to better process everything that has happened to me in the past four days. Also said that it would pass the time faster if I wrote this stuff down while we are forced to wait for the detective to come back from his current assignment. And while I'm itching to get out there and find those damn monsters who kidnapped my son and killed my wife, I am forced to admit without any allies or any place to look I'm stuck playing this awful waiting game. But I guess I should start at the beginning of what has happened to me since that fateful day, everything changed.
October 23, 2077,
This day, This awful day that changed my life and the world forever. But it didn't start out that way. I had just woken up that morning to get ready and hopefully make it through my speech that I was going to give at the veterans hall memorized. It's funny, I was always able to go into enemy lines during the war and fight. But the idea of public speaking always got to me, even though I was always told by everyone that I am a charismatic person.
That's when my wife, a beautiful woman with her dark brown curly hair, wore the most gorgeous outfit (Although she always looks gorgeous in whatever she wears.) a teal shirt with three top buttons. She came in chuckling at me practicing my speech into the mirror. "Honey, you're going to knock them dead at the veteran hall."
I couldn't help but chuckle at her. I knew she was right, she has never been wrong about something before. I turned around, looked at her in her gorgeous hazel eyes and thanked her. "Thanks, Honey, well I guess I'll leave you with the mirror." She had the most gorgeous chuckle. Giving me a wink as I walk out of the bathroom.
Walking into the kitchen I was greeted by our new robotic butler a Mr. Handy bot called Codsworth. "Ah sir, good morning I have your Coffee ready for you on the counter." Smiling as I remembered how Nora wanted to program the robot with a British personality set cause they were always prim and proper people. "Thank you Codsworth," I replied back Grabbing my coffee off of the counter next to my favorite comic Grognak The Barbarians.
That's when our child Shaun started crying from his crib, and Codsworth eagerly went off to take care of him. I couldn't help but smile, as my wife commented how she was glad that we chose to purchase it and I am too even against my nervousness to buy a robot to help take care of Shaun, he has proven to be an excellent addition to the family.
Sitting down on the couch, putting my coffee on the end table I turned on the television set to the news. But as you would expect, wait as you get comfortable, yep someone comes and knocks on my door. "Ah that must be that Vault-Tec, rep that keeps coming by to talk to you dear," my wife spoke up as I started walking to the door.
Opening it up there was a man wearing a tan suit, with a tan hat, standing outside the door. He looked like he was nervous about something, acting strange as if he knew something that we didn't. Looking back at it he may have known that the nukes were coming. "Ah good morning sir, it's an honor to finally get to talk to you" his voice was a little shaken.
After the conversation and feeling out the paperwork to be signed up for Vault 111, the guy took his leave. Shutting the door, Codsworth came down the hall, "Awh sir, young Shaun has been changed and refuses to stop crying, I think he might need some of your paternal affection that you seem to be so good at.
Walking into the room with my child, I started playing with my child. With my wife standing at the door Smiling at the scene in front of her. I never thought that this would be the last normal moment of my life. We were talking about going to the park, While the weather outside was still warm enough to enjoy the outdoors.
That's when it happened, Codsworth called from the living room, "Sir, Mum, you need to come and see this," walking out of the room with the wife grabbing Shaun we walked into the living room with the news anchor giving breaking news. News that I never thought would come. I knew the world was messed up and that China and the United States would want to destroy each other, but I didn't think it's in either of their political interests to destroy each other. But as I listened to the news anchor I couldn't help but stand their shock, unable to move my body.
"Yes, we are receiving confirmed reports of Nuclear detonation in D.C.. Oh, god this can't be happening" The news anchor's voice kept getting more shaky as he was speaking. That's when my wife's voice broke me out of my shock. Her yelling "We need to get to the Vault now. She opened the door and ran out with Shaun me following right behind her. Running down the street, with the nuclear sirens going off, I see some of our neighbors putting suitcases into their cars, somewhere on the side of the street crying at the roadside. Others ran towards the vault. Being guided by the soldiers they guided us up a dirt path that led to the vault.
Getting to the fence there was a group of people trying to get in, but there were two soldiers watching the fence, one wearing a t60 power armor with a minigun pointing at the citizens trying to get in. One holds a clipboard yelling out "If you are not on the list you are not getting in." At the gate was the Vault-Tec Rep trying to get in. That's when a child standing to the side who couldn't be any older than seven came asking whoever he could "What's going on?" Confusion clearly shown on his face by the panic going on. I didn't get time to answer him, and even if I could I don't know how I would have answered the kids question.
Once the Vault-Tec Rep ran off, my wife and I ran up. I yelled out to the guard, "We have to get in, we are on the list," after confirming that we were indeed on the list he let us in. As we were running up to where the vault entrance was I couldn't help but think what was going to happen to everyone out there and that innocent kid. As I stepped onto the platform that would lower us down, I put that thought off to the back burner of my mind.
As I looked over to my wife about to say something, to try and help calm her down, that's when it happened, in the Distance quickly rising up a bright mushroom cloud rose above the city. The Guards were yelling to lower us down now. All I could think of was that they needed to hurry or we would all die. Thankfully we were lowered down just in time to avoid the blast. As we continued our descent down, all any of us could do was stare blankly at the wall. It was so quiet, the only sound being that of the elevator.
Getting to the bottom we were greeted with the Overseer of the Vault greeting us. Guiding us up some stairs to where we would collect our new suit that we would be required to wear in the vault. Walking up the stairs down a short catwalk we grabbed our suits. The Doctor that guided us to these pods told us that we were going to be disinfected for our safety and that we needed to get into these big pods. In hindsight looking back at the incident we should have known something wasn't right. But we were all too much in shock on what had just happened to question anything. Changing into our new uniforms I turned over to Nora, and Shaun, who started crying, I whispered to my boy, "everything will be okay, Papa is going to be just right over there" Pointing to my pod.
Looking up at Nora one last time giving her a small smile I was hoping looked comforting, but probably came up showing off how nervous I truly was all I could say "It's time to start our new life down here in the Vault," her nodding back at me with that adorable nervous smile of hers. Everyone in the vault was told to enter our pods. Turning around, I entered mine looking back at Nora as the doors closed I couldn't help but smile at her and Shaun.
If only I knew what was about to happen, if only I didn't let my shock cloud my mind, but as the doors closed the last thing I heard was a countdown then I had woken up I saw my wife across from me holding Shaun, when a figure wearing a white hazardous suit Point to my wife's pod. "This is the one," she says in a monotone voice lacking any emotions. As a bold man wearing a lot of armor walked by. They opened up her pod, my wife was coughing, I started banging on the window to try and get out, to be there with them, but I couldn't get out.
The women in the white hazardous suit grabbed the child in my wifes hand, I couldn't hear what they were saying through my metal tomb, but as I saw her struggle to keep Shaun in her hands I was banging harder on the window. That's when the man pulled out a gun pointing at her. Then the first noise I heard from the outside was the loud Banging sound of the gun being fired and my wife fell limp. The person took my child and vanished from my view. The Bald man with a scar came up to my pod, and I could barely make out in his deep voice, "At least we still have the back up." As he walked away from me, I couldn't help but continue to bang on the door. Then the same voice as before came back counting down, then nothing again.
October 10th, 2287, Inside the Vault.
When I awoke again, my pod was opening up. As I stepped out, I fell to the ground coughing. Once I got a hold of myself, I got back up and that's when It hit my mind on what happened. I ran over to my wifes' pod that was still closed. I frantically pulled the lever next to the pod opening it up hoping it was just a huge nightmare. But looking into the glass I knew it wasn't I just didn't want to admit to myself. But as the door opened up I had to admit to myself it was all true. My wife was just their body laying limp and the bullet hole going through her heart that had killed her. At that moment, my wife, I will find who did this to her, and I will find Shaun.
As I was walking down the hall of pods, I finally noticed an alarm going off, with a woman's voice saying to evacuate the Vault. Walking down the hall of pods, I checked every pod along the way. All of the pods the occupants inside were dead. I couldn't help but speak aloud to myself. "Why would Vault-Tec do this!?"
After confirming that everyone in the pods were indeed all dead I went to the door that I had come into to try and get out, but it wouldn't open. So I was forced to go through another door that I assumed was for the staff to live in, hoping there would be another way out that way.
Walking through the door, walking down a small passageway I saw a glass and on it there was a giant roach on a glass. "What the hell is going on" I said, freaked out. Seeing a baton under the window, I picked it up and decided to go through the door where the roach was leaving a canteen behind.
The Roach on the glass started running towards me jumping at me, quickly swinging the baton that I had picked up and killing it instantly. "Why the hell are there Giant Roaches?!" I questioned myself, getting a little more panicked as I continued on through the vault.
Continuing on from the room I was now in that looked like the room that was used to power the Vault, I left through the second door on the other side, Going through another small passage. I entered into what appeared to be some type of waiting room. There was a desk with a terminal sitting on it. Beside the terminal there was a gun, a ten millimeter pistol, and some ammo for it. Picking them up I noticed next to them were some stimpacks. I couldn't help but think that these would become a necessary tool for me to use if I wish to survive. I saw a cage that was opened up that looked like it had some more weapon supplies, and inside for the first time I noticed a Skeleton at the door. "What the hell, why is there just a Skeleton there!" I couldn't help but shout out loud.
It's at that moment it clicked to me that this wasn't the first skeleton I saw, there were several more in the previous room that I had ignored in favor of trying to find a way out of the Vault. I didn't know what had happened here, but I could only think why Vault-Tec would do this to us.
I walked over to the cage and saw more 10mm rounds and picked them up. Walking over to the door, to try and open it, but it was locked shut. I thought I was going to be screwed with no way out. That this might be where I died. I walked back to the desk hoping to find some way to unlock the door. That's when I checked the terminal to find it was unlocked. In it I found the code to open the door. I was so relieved when it opened, I continued on down the path.
As I was walking down the hall, more of these giant roaches started to attack me. Firing my new pistol at them I was able to make quick and easy work of them all. Finally I walked into the room that I've been looking for. The one that would let me escape this place. I'll finally be able to get back to the surface.
Walking up to the control panel for the Vault door, I saw a skeleton of a scientist laying on the ground with a Pip-boy. Praying that it would still work I picked it up, clearing off some of the dust from it. And powering it on, praying that it would work. Once it finally booted up, I sighed with relief. Plugging it into the control panel gave me access to the vault door. As I heard the sirens blare loud and the machinery started to open the vault, I was relieved. While I didn't want to admit it, I was afraid that I might just end up stuck down there.
Walking down the path getting to the elevator that brought us down to the Vault to ride it back. I couldn't help but hesitate. What I might find above on the surface. The last thing I remembered seeing was the nuclear blast going off. It had to have been different from now, unrecognizable to me. Taking a deep breath I steadied myself, remembering my wife and his killer, and having to find my child I took my step on the elevator.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see above ground. Never in my wildest nightmares could I have come to vision what reality would become, or how far humanity has truly fallen. But as the elevator reached the surface The pure brightness of the outside world had blinded me. Once my vision finally came back to me, all I could see was brown.
The once green trees are nothing but dead trunks missing all of their leaves. The was browned and the trailers were just destroyed. No matter where I looked, everything was just dead. Turning around and looking down the hill at Sanctuary, what was once my home, the destruction left me at a pause. Taking my walk to the path that leads back to Sanctuary, I noticed the skeletons laying on the ground. I thought it was weird that the amount of skeletons seemed less then you would expect from how many people were standing at the gate once before.
Putting that thought to the side for now I headed down the path crossing the bridge and entered Sanctuary Hills once more, The destruction hurt me. Remember watching the children play outside. The laughter in the air from all the neighborhood cookouts. The colors that once made Sanctuary so gorgeous were gone. Dulled down, rotting away and destroyed.
I didn't know where to begin to start looking. There was just nothing around. No where to start. I started heading back to where my house once stood, when I heard a voice that I could never forget. Shocked, I ran up to where the voice came from to see Codsworth come out of my old house.
As I approached Codsworth slowly in shock that there was still something left behind, from all of the chaos that was now surrounding me. I could feel the hope inside of me bubble up. If Codsworth was still here then he might have seen those monsters, I might have a clue to go on afterall. God the amount of shock I was in when he told me I was asleep for over two hundred years. No matter, I had to set that detail to the side; it wasn't important at the time. All that mattered was finding Shaun.
It took a lot of me not to break down when he asked about Nora, and Shaun. As I was telling him what happened it felt like he was in so much denial about what happened. But Robots can't have feelings can they? Yet, I couldn't help but feel like he had emotions in feelings. Maybe it was because of everything that has happened?
No matter what was the cause for me thinking this, Codsworth and I had explored the neighborhood, Codsworth looking for them, while I was looking for any clue that might lead me to them. But, unfortunately it looked like a dead end and I haven't another clue to go off of. That's when Codsworth Mentioned that he saw people over in Concord, though they weren't all that friendly to him. I was about to thank him, and take off towards Concord when he stopped me and handed me a holotape.
It was a holotape of Nora and Shaun, a gift that they would have given to me before everything happened. As I popped it into my Pip-boy to listen to what was on it. I couldn't help but cry as I listened to it. Hearing her voice again, I never thought I would hear her voice again, and Shaun's little noises in the background. As much as I wanted to hold on to it, I didn't want to risk damaging it or losing it. So I had asked Codsworth to hold onto the tape for me, he gladly accepted it.
So I took off towards Concord hoping whoever was there would be able to help me. Or at the very least friendly towards me where they weren't to poor Codsworth. I would be lying if I didn't say I wasn't scared. I didn't know what to expect out there. As I crossed the old north bridge I kept having visions of the old world. Then it goes back to this world, sighing I still can't believe how dead everything was.
Coming up to the Red Rocket that was next to my neighborhood, I started hearing a dog barking. Looking over I saw this gorgeous looking German Shepherd running towards me. I can't believe after all these times that dogs would still continue to be around, never mind specific dog breeds such as this German Sheperd here.
It came running up to me barking, then turning its head around as if he's looking towards something. As I walked up to him, he started running back from me. It felt like he was leading me somewhere, and he was heading towards where I was going anyway, so I decided to follow him.
As we entered Concord I started hearing gunshots coming from the distances. Crouching down, and slowly following the buildings from clearing to clearing. I didn't have time to think about how badly ruined Concord was. All that I could think of was finding out who was firing the guns and if they were friendly or not.
Slowly peeking around one of the houses I noticed a group of people firing at a man standing on the balcony of an old revolutionary war museum. My gun was out and ready. Thanks to the dog going in for the attack I was forced into helping the guy on the balcony. I was hoping that I was making the right choice in who I was defending.
With the dog biting hard onto one of the people's legs, I was able to take the opportunity and was able to shoot them in the head, before he knew what was happening. As the other two that were on the street got distracted by me, the guy on the balcony was able to take one of them out. Firing my gun quickly while the last person tried to figure out what was going on, I shot and took them out.
Walking slowly to the building to make sure that the guy doesn't start to shoot at me, that's when I heard him yelling out to me. "Hey, we have settlers up here that need help!" His voice felt urgent but was kept calm and collective considering the situation that we currently were in. "The Raiders are about to break into the room!" I nodded to him as I started to approach the building.
Slowly opening up the door making sure that the path was clear, thankful for my time in the military training me in combat now. I quickly took cover behind a display case that seemed to be empty, two people were standing looking away from me thankfully. Aiming my pistol at them taking two quick shots to finish both of them off. I quickly ran to the gate to find that it was locked.
Looking around I found a path to the right quickly going down it. I was able to follow it around to behind the gates. Climbing up to the second floor. Slowly walking into the first room, crouched down behind a wall, I could hear two people talking. Slowly looking around the corner I could see them standing there. Aiming my pistol, out at them I was able to take them both out with one bullet.
Continuing on past the now deceased corpses, there was a giant hole in the wall. Going through it and following it down I was able to find the staircase up to the third floor. Slowly walking I could hear two raiders yelling out and trying to kick down a door.
Opening up the door slowly hoping they wouldn't have noticed me. Thankfully it appears that they haven't or are too cocky to think anyone would be able to make it past everyone else below them. Taking this opportunity I was able to kill one of them pretty quickly with two bullets going through the chest and arm.
Quickly running back, I took cover behind an old Nuka-cola machine and quietly waited for the second one to walk through the door. And Like I predicted he would, he came through the door slamming it opening breaking it in the process. Being dumb enough to make all the noise in the world to give away to me where he was. All I had to do was wait for him to get into the prime position and take the shot. Putting him down once and for all.
With all of the raiders cleared out of the Museum I walked up to the door, Knocking on it gently yelling that it was all good now. That's when the guy who was calling out to me for help opened the door. There stood a man wearing an outfit that looked like he was part of some militia.
Though I guess according to him, he was one of the last Minutemen, as if this chaotic mess of a future didn't make enough sense already now I'm going back in time. Apparently he was helping a group of people that were attacked and they thought it would be safe to settle in Concord, guess the raiders proved otherwise. It made me wonder if there really could be a safe place to live without being attacked.
Otherwise according to Preston and Sturges, a guy wearing a tan shirt with blue overalls, there was a fusion core in the basement of the museum and a crashed vertibird, with a minigun and a nice set of power armor on the roof. Agreeing to do it, I went down stairs where I was thankfully able to hack into the computer system to unlock the door.
Getting the fusion core I headed back upstairs having to go through the room with everyone in it to get to the door, when this old lady who looked as if she wasn't in the best of health. She stopped me as I was about to head out the other door, I still remember what she said, "Be careful kid there is something coming… and it's angry," I didn't think of anything about it at the time I mean how could she have known what was coming? Did she really know?
As I walked out onto the roof sure enough there was the power armor that they said was left behind. It was a nice piece of T-45 power armor. Putting the fusion core into the machine, I breathed heavily. I haven't had to use one of these senses in the battle to retake Anchorage, I was a little excited to be able to hope in one again.
Grabbing the minigun off of the vertibird I started walking forward where some raider on the roof started shooting at me. Laughing at how truly useless their bullets were against me now. I was able to round up the mini gun and lay waste to the guy standing across from me on the other building.
Jumping off of the roof, landing next to one of the raiders, the splash damage from the forceful landing killed them instantly. Preston was back on the balcony firing his laser rifle at the raider down below. Continuing to fire my new minigun at the raiders making quick and easy work of them.
That's when it happened, I heard banging on a metal plate on the road. I didn't know what to expect from it, I started backing up slowly from the banging while keeping my eye on whatever was about to pop out of there.
God, that older lady was right, there was something coming and it was angry. I saw it use its sharp claws to just tear straight through one of the raiders. I turned around quickly running back to the building, praying that I would get away from it as fast as I could. Turning my head around I saw it was chasing me.
That's when I took refuge in a destroyed store that was across from the museum.
My breathing was tight. I didn't know what the hell that thing was, and I was scared that it might be able to get me. But as I was standing in the corner I noticed that it wasn't able to get in through the door. I breathed easily, I got the Minigun ready to fire, and when it came back insite I unloaded the rest of my payload into it.
After about three hundred bullets it felt like it finally died. I took a step out of the building looking at the beast. I have never seen anything more terrifying than that in my sure that the rest of the raiders have been dealt with I went back into the museum where I found the group standing in the lobby of the museum arguing with each other.
Preston, when he noticed I walked in, came up to me thanking me for my assistance in aiding them. I must have looked like a fool when he handed me bottle caps and I was confused on why. As he explained it to me, they use bottle caps as a form of currency. I don't understand why, but I thanked him for the caps figuring that if anything it will come in handy later. (And my wife thought my bottle cap collection was worthless.)
While Preston and the rest of the group were deciding on where to go next, the older lady called me over to her. She had introduced herself as Mama Murphy. She claims that she is able to see the future and one's destiny with this thing called the sight. She told me my son was still alive and was out there somewhere. "I can feel his energy," she told me.
I don't know why maybe it's out of desperation of wanting to believe my boy is out there somewhere, or that she was right about the angry monster, I chose to believe her. Just to hold on to any hope that I can that he's out there somewhere and I'll be able to find him. She told me that I should start my search for him there.
That there might be a chance in this Diamond city, a place that was once where I would've gone to watch the ball games. Having nothing left to lose I was going to set out towards there straight away, but something just kept me from going right away. I think I was exhausted from the day.
Maybe that's why when Preston said that they were going to take up Mama Murphy's idea and head to Sanctuary Hills that I decided to join them there. Tomorrow I will start my journey to Diamond city. So when Prestion asked me to come along with them, I said yes.
Once we arrived back at Sanctuary Hills I noticed on my UI for the power armor that it was low. Taking it off outside of my home and taking out the fusion core to hide it making sure no one else might be able to steal it. That's when Preston came up to me.
He thanked me for my help once again, and asked me what I was doing in Concord. So I decided to tell him the truth, figuring he might be able to help me. That I was frozen inside of a vault and when I woke up that someone had killed my wife and killed my baby boy. That they may have frozen me, and that I have only just now woken up again. Preston had said that he would do anything he can to help me find my wife's killer, and the kidnapper of my son.
And it was there that Preston told me what had happened to the Minutemen, how their general had died and no one was able to agree on a new general and how they were betrayed in Quincy by one of their own. After what is now known as the Quincy massacre and the long and awful hike that started as twenty people ending with five, leaving Preston Garvey as the lone Minutemen left.
He also explained that he was attacked by these creatures called ghouls. They sound awful, but not as bad as the monster that I have now learned was called a death claw, I had to fight. There are also two types of ghouls that I need to keep an eye out for. There are some ghouls that are according to Preston, perfectly normal people that have just been deformed by the radiation. While others are feral and will try to kill and eat you if they are given a chance.
God, the world is so different now, I don't know if I'll ever get used to this nightmare that I am in. I still feel as if I would wake up any minute next to my wife. I know I won't and if I wish to find my son, I have no choice but to quickly get used to this new world. I'll do anything to find him, and get justice for my wife.
After my conversation with Preston he mentioned that if I wanted to help out some more, I could talk to Sturges while he continues on his patrol. So, I decided to talk to Sturges and give them a little help before the sun started to set in an hour or so. He had asked me if I could build anything to help them survive and sustain themselves out here.
While I might not be the best craftsmen in the world, I was able to help them build some beds with Sturges help out of scrap that was lying around my old neighborhood. We were also able to build a water pump that is able to collect some clean drinking water. Now that just leaves the food situation to figure out. But for now we should be fine as they have enough food rations to last for about a week.
Finally after what felt like a day that would never end, the sun had finally set. All of the exhaustion that was coursing through my body had hit full force. I went to the bed that was made for me and placed it in my old house, in Shaun's room. As tired as I was, I had a hard time falling asleep. I could only lay there and stare at his crib.
Thoughts going through my head of what our life could have been like if the bombs never dropped, if my wife wasn't killed. All these thoughts going in and out of my head. All I could do is try to hold myself together. I know if I let myself break then I won't be able to find him. That I will have failed my wife. I can't let that happen. Those were my last thoughts as I was finally able to fall asleep for the night.