Edit 5/15: minor changes
Edit 5/20: changes to A/N
Edit 5/25: updated cover pic (yes, I made a mini of Sam because I'm a huge dork)
Edit 8/11: A/N at bottom of page
Obligatory Disclaimer: This story is a work of fanfiction. I do not own Fallout or any canon material that may be described within. I do claim ownership of my OCs and any original content not found in the game.
This story is rated M for Mature and may contain depictions of violence, sexual situations, drug use and other sensitive subjects not suitable for minors.
Thank you for reading my story!
I have been writing fanfiction for a while (almost two decades o.O) but this is the first story I have posted on this or any site. It is not finished, but I have the first couple of chapters done and the rest planned out and waiting to be written. I won't make any promises to have a chapter done by a certain time so I apologize in advance if it takes me a while to finish it. Side note: I highly, highly recommend the book Story Genius by Lisa Cron (not a sponsor). I had some serious writer's block when I first started this story (like a two-year streak) and it really helped me figure out the direction I wanted to go. Seriously, check it out. I think I paid like $12 for the Kindle version on Amazon. Totally worth it.
Fallout 4: Sam (I know, lame title) is a "coming of age" story about my OC Sam, a teenager born and raised in the Commonwealth, and the challenges she faces in finding her place in the post-apocalyptic world that is Fallout. The story will be mainly focused on Sam with some third POV scenes featuring other characters. I originally planned for her to be paired with Hancock, but now I'm not sure with the way the story is going. There are a couple of contenders that she could end up with but it won't be until later. The sole survivor (male) will make an appearance and become a repeating character and the game's main questline will be mentioned, but it will mostly be in the background. I want this to be an original story and not just a retelling of the game.
Update: yes, I've decided Sam will be paired with Hancock (ugh, who am I kidding, it was always going to be Hancock :P), but it's going to be a bumpy road and I'm starting to think this might be broken up into two parts, not sure yet.
If you have any questions, concerns, critiques, funny jokes… please send me a message or leave a review.
Thanks again, and happy readings!
Prologue
Fire. Everything burned with red and orange flames as I ran through the settlement. One of the generators exploding shook the ground and rained bits of flaming wood from a nearby cabin. Screams and gunfire littered the air, filled with smoke so thick it stung my eyes and seared my throat. I covered my mouth with the dirty sleeve of my jacket and forced my way through the chaos.
I passed a shack engulfed in fire, old man Garret's place. I could see him through the burned-away door, moving as fast as his tired legs could carry him. He was the oldest person in the settlement, the oldest I had ever met. Garret had a kind smile, framed by deep weathered lines and would sometimes give me Gum Drops candy. Suddenly, the roof collapsed from the heat and he disappeared under the wreckage. He never made it out the door.
Choking back a sob I continued running. I had to find her. I had to find my mother.
Hannah, my mother, was a doctor, the best in the whole Commonwealth. When I was sick with the fever, all the other settlers thought I wasn't going to get better—I was too small, too weak, too sick. But not my mother. She held me all night, feeding me medicine and soup until the fever went away. There was nothing she couldn't fix. If I could just get to her, everything would be alright.
Rounding a corner, I collided with another settler, knocking my smaller body down, the rough dirt and charred debris digging into my hands. It was Barry, a farmhand. I hadn't known him long, he was new to Lynn Woods, but he seemed nice. Just yesterday I was playing in the corn field, peeking between stalks like a ranger scouting the wilds. Barry would see me and make funny faces, puffing his cheeks and crossing his eyes until I laughed.
The man's eyes were now wide with terror as he spared me a glance.
"Raiders!" he yelled, turning to run. He made it three steps before his head jerked to the side, struck by a stray bullet. His body crumpled to the ground.
A horrible sound crawled its way up my throat as I scrambled away. I fell a few times but managed to regain my feet. It was there, just ahead; the shack my mother and I called home. I had to get to her. She would know what to do, she would make it right.
The roof was smoldering, just starting to catch on fire from the neighboring hut. The door burst opened and my mother stumbled out, coughing from the smoke. Her dirty-blonde hair twisted back into a messy bun, her stained white coat that had endured one too many washings. Those black-rimmed glasses that sat slightly crooked on her nose, the small scar on her jaw she would rub when she was thinking too hard.
Relief flashed through me and I ran faster. Everything would be fine now. I would be safe.
Two strange men appeared from the right. Their clothes were ragged and patched together, black and red marking their faces. One moved right up to my mother, his fist swinging wide.
My blood ran cold, freezing my steps in place.
No. This can't be right. My mother was strong. There was nothing she couldn't do, no problem she couldn't solve. She was supposed to save old man Garret and farmhand Barry. She was supposed to fix it.
"Mommy!" I screamed, starting to run towards them. I needed to save her. I needed to save her so she could make things right. She was the only one that could.
I jerked to a stop as an arm held me around my middle.
"No, Sammy!" the man said, easily lifting my small body. It was Jackson, a ghoul that lived in our settlement.
He was tall, taller than anyone I knew, and his skin was dark and deformed like the feral creatures of the Wastes. I used to be afraid of him until my mother explained it to me: he wasn't a monster, he was a man that suffered something terrible. Something so terrible it left scars all over his body and I shouldn't be afraid. The fear hurts him and he's been hurt enough, she'd said.
I screamed and kicked, the need to go to my mother more urgent than before. The ghoul's hold was strong, though, too strong for me to budge.
Jackson held me tightly in one arm, his .44 gripped in the other. A raider ran up on us from the side, a machete raised with a mad look to his eyes. My throat burned as a fearful cry escaped. This wasn't supposed to happen. I wanted it to stop, I wanted to be safe, but it wouldn't stop and I wouldn't be safe. My mother was…
In one skilled movement, Jackson aimed his gun and took him out with one bullet, the raider dropping dead on the spot. Another came around the corner of a scorched shack, this one with a rifle. Before the raider could even take aim, Jackson twisted to the side, shielding me with his large body, and fired. The raider's head jerked, the rifle falling from his hands. Dead.
I hid my face against his shoulder, my small hands clutching the only lifeline I had left. The only one strong enough to carry me now.
More were coming, sweeping through the small town.
"I'm sorry Sam, but we have to go." He turned and ran with me in his arms.
Tears streaked down my face. I couldn't see her anymore, the smoke and Jackson's body shielding me. I couldn't see her, but I knew she was gone.
Everything was gone. Burned up in the flames.
A/N: If the prologue reads a bit choppy, that's because I tried to write it from the perspective of a 5-6 year old who is running through a literal battlefield... that's on fire. The rest of the chapters will be smoother :P