Chapter One: Blood Oath
Liam Kincaid was a man that rebelled against society most mightily, thoroughly disgusted by the opulent and materialistic world he was forced to live in. He preferred building things with his own hands, hunting and foraging for his own food, and had a deep love and respect for the sea. Sadly, he was still a documented citizen of this wretched world and thus was forced into mandatory military service to combat the Red Menace aka the dastardly Chinese communists that decided to invade American soil.The Battle of Anchorage had been a shit show from start to finish. The battle began in 2066 and he was drafted into the military in the year 2068. He was barely twenty years old and forced to serve a country that he wanted no part of. He then spent the next four years in intensive training, having the entirety of his being completely overhauled. He honestly felt like a broken man before ever reaching the snow blanketed battlefield. They tried to brainwash him, nearly succeeding several times during his espionage training.The things they did to him were truly horrific. Due to his attractive appearance, they forced him into espionage training which taught him how to charm others, including both the art of seduction and practical training of sexual intercourse. He felt so dirty after this training, more whore than man, but fortunately for him, things began to escalate at Anchorage and they were forced to abandon that aspect of his training after a year.He was shoved into a different training course that involved an experimental exosuit called power armor. He learned quite a lot in regards to mechanical engineering, so much so that he felt burnt out on a daily basis. His mind was not built for the more technical aspects of life. He preferred his boat, a small thing that he built himself after studying the old sailing ships of the pre-industrial era before they had steam engines, gears, and a ton of moving parts that he had no business messing with.Still, he wasn't a complete Martian in regards to technology. He excelled with building, maintaining, and firing weapons. He could put together a fully modified pipe weapon using nothing but scrap materials. It was how he survived when he was a kid. He spent very little time at home. His parents had a tendency to ignore him in lieu of his elder brother, Nathaniel. It wasn't Nate's fault. In fact, his brother was his closest friend and steadfast supporter. He loved his brother very much and suggested that Liam find his own way, one completely unique to him.His elder brother helped him build his boat, would go hunting with him, and help him carry loot back from the dumping grounds. It was Nate that made sure he at least graduated high school, that he didn't die from eating the wrong kinds of berries, and even researched the sea in order to teach him everything he needed to know about being a proficient sailor. His brother was the only reason why he hadn't simply sailed away to live on some undiscovered island. He couldn't abandon the one family member that was always on his side.It was his thoughts of his brother that kept him going. He had to get back to see him again. He managed to complete his training which led him to the blood soaked, snow covered fields of Alaska. It was brutal and terrible and solidified his hatred for the world. There was so much meaningless death, the cries of the dying haunting his dreams. It was at Anchorage that he lost all hope in humanity. He almost gave up on life had it not been for the mother of all serendipitous meetings.The fusion core powering his armor depleted and his extras had been blown up by an unlucky grenade throw from a young private that had no business being on a battlefield. He was forced to abandon his power armor in order to save his life. Unfortunately, leaving behind a still functional suit of power armor behind was a capital offense that resulted in the death of the offender, so color him surprised when a group of joined grenades was thrown at his power armor, damaging it beyond functionality.The person that threw it was the very private that had accidentally destroyed his fusion cores. A spark of hope was reignited in his heart, maybe humanity wasn't completely lost after all. Without his power armor, he was reassigned to guarding the medical tents. He spent the rest of his military career switching between guard duty at the medical tents and sadly, being treated as a whore by his superiors. Disobeying orders to whore himself out resulted in being chained up in isolation and taken advantage of anyways, so instead he chose to obey and turn the tables, leeching off of them to get what he wanted.One of the perks he gained was finally receiving the backlog of correspondence from family and friends. He didn't know the precise cause for such an action, but his best guess was to prevent the soldiers from being distracted by negative news like the death of a loved one or even a spouse wanting a divorce. Getting such ill tidings whilst in the midst of battle could lead to people losing their lives due to an emotional upset clouding their judgment.His mail was mainly from his elder brother with a letter or two sprinkled in from their parents for a while. The letters from his parents stopped after about two years into his training and in one of the letters from his brother, he found out why. Their parents had contracted pneumonia during the winter with their mother passing away from the illness. Their father had almost recovered but after losing their mother, he stopped eating, stopped taking his medication, and just let himself die. As much as he wanted to shed a tear for his parents, he couldn't afford to. He was surrounded on all sides by enemies and parasitic allies, all of them waiting for a moment of weakness to strike.It wasn't all bad news though. His elder brother had finally gotten around to marrying his childhood crush and the only girl that Liam could actually tolerate in their youth, Nora. The woman was a tomboy through and through but when she entered college, she apparently became what he coined a regulation hottie. She knocked his brother so far into orbit that he was starstruck. He was glad that his brother fell for her, a kind and strong woman that his brother could always depend on. He had nothing to worry about because she would take care of the one he loved the most in this God forsaken world.He became a bit concerned when the letters from his elder brother stopped, but the letters from his sister-in-law took their place. She mentioned that Nate was so exhausted lately, though she attributed such a state to the fact that he was trying desperately to impregnate his wife. A few months before the official end of the war, his brother had succeeded and Liam couldn't wait to get home to celebrate with them.What met him when he returned was his elder brother in the hospital, having protected his wife from a group of protesters that wanted to annihilate the Chinese. The damage to his internal organs was too severe and he wasn't going to make it. He was going to die before his child was even born. Liam was a bundle of raging emotions. He fought in a war for a country that couldn't control its own damn citizens and he was about to lose the best thing he had in his life, the elder brother that had never stopped loving him.Before the end his brother asked him to take care of his wife and child, protect them from the darkness of the world they lived in. It was a promise that Liam would uphold for the rest of his life and a few days later, his elder brother passed away. The last few months of his sister-in-law's pregnancy were filled with a quiet sorrow and instead of his brother, Liam was by her side and he supported her through it all. She named the boy, Shaun, which had taken him off guard because he had recommended the name to her while he was still in Anchorage.He took a few days to make the final adjustments to the nursery that his brother had initially started but never had the chance to complete it himself. He even fixed the mobile on the crib that played a simple melody when activated. He hadn't had the chance to tell Nora about it.He was, however, grateful for the Mister Handy robot known as Codsworth. Taking care of an infant was incredibly tiring work, both physically and mentally. The robotic butler certainly alleviated a fair share of the strain. He could also brew a damn good cup of coffee. There were many days that Liam couldn't get out of bed without that glorious cup of liquid ambrosia.His nephew, Shaun, barely slept more than four hours before he would start wailing for any number of reasons, mainly food, a diaper change, or simply for companionship. The boy didn't like being left alone for too long which resulted in many sleepless nights and exhausted days. Still, he'd rather be here and not sleeping than be back at Anchorage and at the whims of his commanding officers.The problem nowadays was this nagging feeling in his gut. His instincts were warning him about something and they were never wrong, but he didn't have the foggiest idea of what they were trying to warn him about. The feeling itself seemed to be all around him. When he looked around his neighborhood of Sanctuary Hills, he felt this knee jerk reaction like the place somehow seemed wrong to him, almost like it was too crowded. He knew that such a sensation was crazy because there were many houses in the neighborhood that were not yet occupied, so he didn't understand why he felt that way.Then there was his brother's widow, Nora, and the look she would have in her eyes sometimes. There was this aching sadness in her eyes when she looked at their neighbors as if she was grieving. When she looked at her infant son, there was longing and guilt, almost like she was apologizing for something. Then there were the glances at him when she believed he wasn't looking; apologetic, sorrow, guilt, grief and many others to which he had no name for but were incredibly intense and it made his heart hurt.It was October twenty third of the year twenty seventy seven. It started out like any other day with his nephew screaming at around three in the morning and him trudging out of bed so his sister-in-law could continue to sleep in peace. Their robotic butler tended to the house, cleaning up the kitchen and making the sweet ambrosia that was coffee. After toting the little tyke into the living room, Codsworth handed him his first cup of the day and he downed it greedily, scalding his tongue slightly because he didn't let the liquid cool down a bit before drinking it.He would walk around the house with the baby, soothing him as best he could. The boy eventually settled down about three hours later. He only knew that it had been three hours because the Mister Handy robot had gone outside and retrieved the newspaper which was delivered every day at around six in the morning. By that point, he was already drinking his fourth cup of coffee.His beloved sister-in-law finally greeted the morning about two and half hours later, already dressed, and laughed when she saw him practically asleep on the couch with a baby smacking his cheek playfully. He gave her a playful glare before standing up and plopping the giggling baby into his mother's waiting arms before zooming right towards another fresh cup of ambrosia being offered by the ever helpful Codsworth.After polishing off the cup, he decided to take a shower and get properly dressed. Unfortunately for him, he had to go to the Veterans Hall this afternoon and deliver yet another speech. The first time he was asked to do this, he discussed the concept of war. The second time was a speech honoring the fallen of Anchorage. The next six times were speeches about the declining political climate and today's speech was about assuaging the worried masses that there wouldn't be a nuclear war nor would there be an actual war within the borders of the continental United States.To be perfectly honest, he was nothing more than a mouthpiece for the government to use. His pretty face helps calm people down, they said, but he also knew what would happen if he refused to comply with their requests. He would be stripped of his benefits as a veteran which was the only thing keeping them afloat in the financial department.All of his brother's savings was used for the insane amount of medical expenses from when his brother was hospitalized and subsequent funeral. His death was sudden so neither Nate or Nora had anything prepared and burial services were not cheap. Just getting a headstone for his grave cost almost four thousand dollars which did not include any of the other services required for handling the preparation of the body, the casket, the plot where the grave would be, and the actual burial.His brother's savings went to the hospital and his sister-in-law's savings went to the funeral, meaning that without his benefits as a veteran they wouldn't have any food to eat, no water or electricity, no garbage disposal, no money for property taxes, and no money for the countless items needed to properly care for a newborn infant. He kept his head down and did as he was told, to protect his family and keep his promise to his late elder brother.The sound of the doorbell broke him out of his downward spiral. He checked his clothes and hair to make sure everything was in place, so he went to greet their unexpected guest. He glanced at the clock on the shelf near the door. It read seven minutes to nine and he wondered who could possibly be showing up this early in the morning. Upon opening the door, he was greeted by a man wearing a lot of yellow, both his hat and coat were yellow and not just any yellow but like the color of mustard kind of yellow."Good morning! Vault-Tec calling!" The mustard man greeted cheerfully.Liam was not in the moor to deal with these idiots. They had built a vault just up the hill, Vault 111, and they had been visiting every veteran in the area and convincing them to reserve a place in their blasted vaults."Go…away." He said coldly, pronouncing his words quite clearly."Won't take but a moment. We do need to verify some information. To make sure you're cleared for entrance, in the unforeseen event of…total atomic annihilation." The mustard man continued, clearing his throat near the end.He really did not like this guy. He told him to go away and here he was still trying to get him to sign up for this damn vault."I know what you're peddling, mate, and I'm not buying." He snapped lightly, his blue eyes bleeding into mirrored obsidian.His eyes would commonly change colors between liquid ocean blue and a mirrored obsidian that seemed to pierce a person's core. It was his one and only tell. The problem was figuring out what triggered the shift. It ranged from joy to rage, triggering when he was upset or when he was trying to protect. His commanding officers at Anchorage always took it as a sign that he was enjoying being their sex doll. When in actuality, he was enraged and hated every single moment that his body was being used to pleasure another against his will."Oh no worries, sir. No worries at all! I'm not selling anything, not today." The mustard man responded, completely unfazed by his sharp tongue.He may not be peddling anything right now but it did mean that he was peddling at some point. He was a representative of Vault-Tec and they were always pushing for their own agenda. He knew not to trust a company like Vault-Tec. They only served their own self interests."Now I know you're a busy fellow, so I won't take up much of your time. Time being a…uh…precious commodity." The mustard man continued, sounding a little nervous.Liam narrowed his eyes, sensing that something was amiss. He was getting that feeling again, that something was wrong and there was a growing danger. There was this great sense of foreboding in the air and it felt like dread was bleeding from every molecule of oxygen."I'm here today to tell you that because of your service to our country, you and your family have been pre-selected for entrance into the local vault, Vault One Eleven." The mustard man kept going.He was going to punch this man if he didn't get off his doorstep, but then Nora piped up, bringing up little Shaun and he paused to think. As much as he hated Vault-Tec, he had a family to protect and care for and he couldn't break his promise to his brother. He glanced again at the clock, noting that only a few minutes had passed, but why did the time make him so uneasy?"Very well." He replied, sighing in defeat.It took less than two minutes to fill out the paperwork and the mustard wearing Vault-Tec representative finally went away. He sat down on the couch only to have to get up less than thirty seconds later because his nephew was being fussy again. He and his sister-in-law chatted briefly, him telling her that he fixed the mobile and her inviting him to take her and little Shaun for an impromptu picnic before he had to leave to give his speech at the Veterans Hall.His eyes widened as his sixth sense for danger kicked into high gear, causing his mind to become fully alert. The robotic butler called to them from the living room, sounding incredibly worried. Nora picked up Shaun from the crib and they both walked swiftly to the living room to find out what was distressing the normally unflappable robot."Followed by…yes, followed by flashes. Blinding flashes, sounds of explosions. We're…we're trying to get confirmation…but we seem to have lost contact with our affiliate stations. We do have…we do have…we do have coming in…that's um…confirmed reports. I repeat, confirmed reports of nuclear detonations in New York and Pennsylvania. My God…" The newscaster reported, making Liams's blood run cold.They quickly said their goodbyes to their ever faithful robot butler and quickly headed towards the vault. He made sure that Nora didn't trip so she wouldn't drop Shaun. They made it to the chain link fence and he had to push his way through the crowd and make a path for his sister-in-law.The mustard wearing representative from Vault-Tec was chased away by the soldiers wearing power armor and preventing anyone not on the list from entering. His heart was racing but his mind was clear, calculating and analyzing everything that was happening. He did not truly have the time to feel anything and could only focus on the mission to get him and his family inside the vault no matter the cost.Fortunately, the mustard man had delivered their paperwork in time and they were on the list. They were swiftly ushered in and guided to the elevator that would lower into the vault. He looked at Nora and Shaun, making certain they were with him."I love you, Liam." His sister-in-law told him softly, fear very present in her eyes."And I love you." He responded in kind.They were taken off guard when a nuclear bomb detonated not too far off. They watched as the mushroom cloud began to plume and Liam grabbed Nora, covering her and Shaun with his body as the initial blast reached them. Fortunately, the elevator began to lower at about the same time and they were spared any further harm from the nuclear detonation.Once the elevator came to a halt, Liam helped Nora who was still trembling from fear and the acute exhaustion caused by the adrenaline leaving her system. He offered to take his nephew until she wasn't so shaky but she gave him a glare of such intensity that he immediately backed off.In fact, she was glaring at everything. There was so much rage in her eyes as they were given their vault suits emblazoned with the number one eleven. She became even more pissed off when the vault scientist mentioned something about orientation, looking like she didn't believe him in the slightest.Liam soon realized that she was acting like a soldier that was in the middle of hostile territory and right smack dab in the middle of the enemy camp, surrounded on all sides. He did take Shaun briefly so she could change into her vault suit, but she immediately took him back once done. His nephew started fussing again and he did his best to calm the boy by saying he wasn't going far.He wanted to cuddle the child and reassure the little tyke, but it was going to have to wait until after they were out of the decontamination pods and in the vault properly. He doubted that his sister-in-law would let go of her son anytime soon so he let it be. He changed into his own vault suit and turned when he heard Nora say an apology softly, wondering what exactly she was apologizing for.They both entered the decontamination pods and the lids closed. Pumps started hissing as machinery began to click and whir to life. Liam was hit with a feeling so powerful that he went completely still, his obsidian eyes wide with horror. He could feel the cold entering the capsule and realized too late what was really happening.These weren't decontamination pods at all…they were cryostasis pods! His mind began to slow down as the cold seeped into his very bones. He was cold and so very tired, the constant exhaustion from taking care of a newborn crashed into him all at once. His last thought was did she know?
The retired captain opened his heavy eyes, coughing and sputtering as the cryostasis pod was deactivated. He was starting to thaw out when he heard voices outside his pod. His fogged over mind was trying to comprehend just who exactly they were, what they were doing and trying to ascertain if they were a threat to him and his family.His eyes cleared up a bit as people approached his sister-in-law's cryostasis pod. He started pounding on the pod door, trying to open it. He didn't know what was going on or what they were trying to accomplish, but he couldn't let them have their way with Nora and his nephew.They opened his sister-in-law's pod and she coughed as she was recovering from being made into a meat popsicle. He tried to call out to her but his vocal chords were still numbed by the intense cold. He watched helplessly as they tried to take Shaun from his mother's arms. He began crying, no doubt sensing that something was terribly wrong.The man with a bald head and a deep scar on his face pointed a gun at his sister-in-law as she struggled to keep her baby from being taken away. The shot rang out as the bald man murdered his brother's wife and he did nothing, trapped in this icebox and powerless to save her or his brother's son.The man with the scar came up to the window of his pod and seemed to be contemplating something before ultimately deciding to leave with one final statement spoken. Liam pounded and kicked at the pod door. He needed to stop them! He needed to save Shaun! His movements became sluggish and stiff as the cold began to creep back in.
No! They were refreezing him so that he couldn't escape and follow them. He tried to stay awake, he tried to get out, he tried so hard just to move, but he was once again rendered unconscious by the cryostasis pod, his arms falling to his sides and his head lulling to the side.
