Chapter 1...
It was another peaceful day in Vault 13 and its residents carried on with their worry-free lives, among the vault's population is a big family of 13 known as the Loud family, the patriarch Lynn Loud Sr. is the overseer of Vault 13, his wife Rita is a chef at the vault cafeteria, her husband used to work with her until he was elected Overseer, and they are the proud parents of 11 gifted children, ten daughters and one son, each who found their own talents as they were growing up. The oldest daughter, Lori is a teacher and a disciplinary officer, Leni is a tailor who creates stylish vault suits and repairs them, Luna is a talented musician and Luan is a comedian, both of them performs on the stage at the vault recreational center, Lynn Loud Jr. is the chief of security, Lucy is the vault librarian who writes poems and books in her spare time, Lola is an actress who also performs at the vault recreational center, while her twin Lana is a mechanic and engineer, Lisa is the head scientist who is always busy at the vault laboratory or at the library doing some research and the youngest Lily who is a caretaker at the daycare center. The only boy in the family is Lincoln, born with white hair, sharp wits and a mind full of creativity, he serves as the resident comic book artist and is currently at work in his studio (aka his room), designing the latest issue of one of his series: "Suave Star, Galactic Detective", that is until he was interrupted by his sister Lynn Loud Jr. who barged in and said...
"Hey Stinkin, come with me, dad needs to talk to you."
Lincoln turned to his sister and asked...
"What for?"
"I dunno, he said it's urgent, and he sounded serious though." Lynn Jr. replied.
Lincoln sighs and said as he stood up...
"Fine, this better not take too long, i got to get this issue finished."
Meanwhile, at the command center, the overseer Lynn Loud Sr. was talking with his wife, Lisa was also with them...
"Rita, you have to trust me on this, this is just what Lincoln needs."
"This is ridiculous, Lynn! It's too dangerous letting our son go out there by himself and you know it!" Rita argued. "Why can't Lisa make another one instead?!"
"I already attempted on the construction, mother, but the results were disastrous." Lisa replied at her mother's question. "I'm afraid we have no alternatives left."
"Alternatives on what?" Lincoln's voice was heard causing both parents to jump.
"Oh, hello son, thank you for coming." Lynn Loud Sr. greeted as Rita glared at Lynn before stomping off with a "Hmph!". The overseer sighed and said to his only son... "Listen, we got a problem, a big one."
"What's wrong?" asked Lincoln.
"The controller chip for our water purification system has broken down a couple of hours ago." Lisa explained the situation. "Any attempt to construct a replacement is impossible due to compilations beyond our abilities."
"In layman's terms, we're running out of drinking water." Lynn Loud Sr. said frankly. "Water is vital to our survival, without it, our vault will collapse."
"That's terrible!" Lincoln exclaimed. "What will we do?"
"I don't like this as much as your mother does, but we need your help." Lynn Loud Sr. reluctantly told his son.
"Me?" asked Lincoln, his father and sister nodded. "What should i do?"
"We want you to go outside and find us another controller chip." Lynn Loud Sr. requested his son.
Lincoln's eyes widened and said...
"Outside?! You mean out of the vault?"
"Yes. I would ask one of your sisters, but they need to keep things in order here." Lynn Loud Sr. replied. "Besides, this would be a good opportunity for you to go on an adventure like in those comic books you make every day that helped keep the boredom at bay."
Realizing that his father has a point, Lincoln asked...
"How much time do we have?"
"By my calculations, we have about four to five months before our water supplies are depleted entirely, i suggest you search for that water chip as quickly as you can." Lisa answered.
"We marked your map with the location of another vault out in the east, not a bad place to start, i think." Lynn Loud Sr. added, he sighs and spoke. "Look, just be safe, okay? Your mother would never forgive me if anything happened to you."
A few hours later, after packing supplies and saying goodbye to his family and friends, Lincoln stands near the exit door as it slowly opens up, once the door is open, the young white hair man step into the hall leading to the vault door and waits for it to open, after a couple of seconds, the alarm goes off as the vault door begins to open, as soon as the giant metal door is open, Lincoln steps outside into what appears to be a cave, the first thing he saw was a skeleton lying on the floor nearby, he saw a knife and some bullets lying next to the bones, so he picked them up before moving forward, but it wasn't long before he saw a rat heading towards him, he quickly takes out his pistol and shot at it, it took one shot to kill it, afterward he decided to warm up on his shooting and hand to hand combat by exploring the cave and killing every rat he finds, once that's done, he eventually spot light on the south west path and walked toward it, and there it was the exit in his cave, Lincoln stepped outside the cave and saw what's left of the world, a wasteland. Nonetheless, Lincoln begins his travel east, the journey took a couple of days but en route to Vault 15 he spots a settlement surrounded by a wall he decides to make a pit stop there, upon arriving, he was greeted by a guard near the gate...
"Hello, Welcome to Shady Sands, stranger."
Lincoln approached the man and said...
"Thanks, i'm Lincoln, what's yours?"
"My name is Seth, i'm the the leader of the guard here in Shady Sands." the man known as Seth answered.
"Interesting, can you tell me more about this place?" Lincoln asked feeling intrigued.
"Shady Sands is a peaceful community. We have our own irrigation system, so we can grow our own food." Seth obliged. "If we were not plagued with raiders and Radscorpions, we would have no problems."
"Tell me about the Radscorpions." Lincoln asked about these creatures.
"Those damn Radscorpions have been after our Brahmin since we moved here." Seth explained the situation. "Not a week goes by that someone doesn't get poisoned trying to keep them out of the pens. Last week they took my brother Jarvis. Razlo, our doctor, is looking for an antidote as quickly as he can. Hey, if you have the means to help us, why don't you talk to our leader, Aradesh."
"Yes, it would be a good idea, thank you." said Lincoln, then he turned to the woman next to him and asked...
"Excuse me, can you help me, Miss..."
"Katrina, i'm the local greeter, how can i help you?" the woman Katrina responded.
"I was wondering if you know where i can find a water chip?" Lincoln asked.
"As a matter of fact, yes. My old home, Vault-15, had one." Katrina answered. "I haven't been there since I was hurt, but you might find what you are looking for there. Someone said that they tried to go to the Vault to have a look around, but it was dark, and the elevator was broken. I hope you're better prepared."
"Wait, you're from a vault?" Lincoln asked with curiosity.
"Yes, though my life there was boring." Katrina complied. "I lived there for many years. Unfortunately, we were crowded, and life was very bad. There was a schism, and many people left, taking with them the best equipment. Still, some of us tried to stay in the Vault. But then we were attacked. I was hurt, and I ended up here. Now I try to help people."
"Oh, that's a coincidence, that's where i'm heading." said Lincoln. "By the way, how does one acquire a rope?"
"You will have to do like we do. Scavenge it, or trade for it." Katrina answered Lincoln's question. "And if you are attacked, your foes might provide equipment, if you live long enough to loot them. We are a peaceful community, so we mostly barter or trade for the items we cannot produce."
"Uh, Bartering, ma'am?" Lincoln asked the greeter.
"Bartering is the exchange of goods. You give me some items, and I give you items in trade." Katrina taught Lincoln a lesson on bartering. "Since you initiated the barter, I will let you pick and choose what you want. But the deal must be one that I think I will like, so you will probably want to give me more valuable goods that you don't need in exchange for less expensive things that you want. And if you don't have enough items to trade, there are always caps. Bottle caps are the only common money found out here. The caps are backed by the merchants of the Hub, so you can trade them anywhere."
"Thanks for the information, it will really help me on my travels." Lincoln thanked Katrina and traded with her, two stimpaks in exchange for a first aid kit, then he goes to Seth to exchange a knife and a flare for a length of rope, once the bartering is done, he explores Shady Sands and sees a farm and a cattle pen full of two headed cattle to the east, he spots a man tending the field and goes to talk to him...
"Hello there, busy day today?"
The farmer known as Curtis stopped and turned to Lincoln saying...
"Yes sir, we irrigated the desert many years ago. Although the wasteland is harsh, it is possible to grow things with patience and time."
"You have all of your fields planted right now?" asked Lincoln as he made a suggestion... "You could probably do better with crop rotation."
"Crop Rotation? What's that?" Curtis questioned.
"You only plant some of your fields, allowing the others to get back some of the nutrients that the plants used up. You let the other fields become fertile again by just tilling up whatever grows there." Lincoln told the farmer about crop rotation.
"Huh. Never thought of that." said Curtis. "Makes sense, though. Good idea."
"Thank my sister Lisa for that, she's the brains of our family." said Lincoln as he goes into a shed when no one was watching and plucked a length of rope inside and quickly head back towards the town.
Lincoln's next stop is the guard house, among the guards inside is an orange haired buck-toothed man wearing a leather jacket, blue jeans and brown boots, Lincoln approached the man as who said...
"Hello stranger, you look like you're new here. What's your name?"
"I'm Lincoln, Lincoln Loud." Lincoln introduced himself.
"Good to meet you, I'm Rusty Spokes." Rusty introduced himself.
"Are you a guard here?" Lincoln asked a question.
"Of course. Though i used to be a guard for the merchants at the Hub." Rusty answered with a story about himself. "However, I was shot during a raid by bandits. I've been staying here, since the people have helped me recover. Still, my knowledge of the outside world and my experience make me useful here. Shady Sands is my home now. Occasionally, I even get to visit Junktown or the Hub to do some trading, since I'm the only person here who has ever really left town."
"Do you know where i can find those towns?" Lincoln asked.
"The Hub is a big trading center far south of Shady Sands." Rusty gave Lincoln directions. "It's run by several different caravan groups of merchants: the Water Merchants, the Crimson Caravan, and the Far Go Traders. Junktown is a little south and a ways west. It's smaller, but still a good place to drop in for a drink. It's overseen by a fellow by the name of Killian Darkwater, the local shopkeeper, sheriff, and mayor."
"That's interesting, thanks." Lincoln thanked Rusty, then said... "Seth mentioned Radscorpions, can you tell me about them?"
"Radscorpions are very dangerous." Rusty explained. "They have a poisonous stinger in the tail, and they are very quick. Aradesh has been trying to find a way to get rid of them. If you feel brave, you could talk to Aradesh about them."
"We might have a better chance against them if we work together, you up for it?" Lincoln offered.
"Hmm. Tempting offer, since this place gets boring." Rusty said intriguingly. Tell ya what, Standard rates, 100 caps, and you've got a deal."
"How about a piece of the action instead?" Lincoln attempted to persuade Rusty.
"Only if i get a share of the loot in our travels." was Rusty's offer.
"That sounds fair." Lincoln agreed.
"Great, let's go, it'll be good to get back into the action." said Rusty. "But first we should talk to Aradesh and let him know."
Lincoln takes out his spare knife and offers it to Rusty...
"Here, this might help you in case you run out of ammo."
Rusty takes the knife saying "Thanks." before leaving the guard house with Lincoln in tow, the gentlemen walked to the Shady Sands town hall to meet with the community leader Aradesh, an indian brown haired gentleman wearing a tan robe, Rusty clears his throat and said...
"Excuse me, Aradesh. I brought the traveler who arrived here moments ago."
"Greetings, traveler, your business in Shady Sands would be...?" Aradesh asked Lincoln for his statement.
"My name is Lincoln, i come from a vault to the west." Lincoln replied honestly. "I'm on a mission to find a replacement water controller chip after our previous one broke down."
"Wanderer, i shall believe you... for now." Aradesh responded. "You may enter Shady Sands, but be warned, your every move will be watched."
"Understood." said Lincoln. "If i may say so, you sound troubled, is something wrong?"
"Oh my, yes. Great packs of Radscorpions are killing our herds." Aradesh explained the situation. "We don't know where they're from, and no matter how many we kill, there's always more!"
"Yes, that is terrible." Lincoln agreed noticing how dire the town's predicament is.
"And now the monsters are attacking my people!" Aradesh continued. "Razlo is trying to find a cure for their poison, but I'm not sure how it goes."
"Well, our friend here has offered to help us take them out, and i'm going with him." said Rusty as Lincoln nodded.
Aradesh smiles and said...
"Ummm, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Please talk to Razlo. He possesses far more information on these creatures than I."
Rusty turned to Lincoln and said...
"Follow me, i'll show you where our doctor is."
Lincoln follows Rusty outside but both men stopped when they heard a girl's voice...
"Hey, Rusty. I heard there's a traveler in town, is this him?"
The duo turned and saw a young indian girl with messy brown hair and wearing wastelander clothes.
"Oh hello, Tandi." Rusty greeted the girl then turned to Lincoln and introduced him to her. "This is Lincoln. Lincoln, this is Tandi, she's Aradesh's daughter."
"Nice to meet you, Lincoln." Tandi greeted Lincoln. "Well, how do you like our town? Bored yet?"
"Are you kidding? I been out of the vault for a few days and i'm already bored." Lincoln said sarcastically.
Tandi gleefully smiles and said excitedly...
"Finally! Someone else who sees! Of course, you've probably been everywhere, so this must be hell for you."
"Yeah, kinda makes you wish you want to leave, doesn't it?" said Lincoln.
"Me, leave?" asked Tandi, Lincoln nodded. "I wish. I don't know enough to leave alone and no one else wants to go, and worst of all, my father says he would have a heart attack if something happened to me!"
"Anything going on here beside the big scorpions?" Lincoln asked Tandi.
"Nope, same as always, boring." Tandi answered.
"Yeah, speaking of scorpions, Lincoln volunteered to help us clear them out, so we better get to it." Rusty told Tandi.
Tandi scoffed and said...
"Yeah, good luck with that. Still, it's nice to meet you though, Lincoln, see you later."
Lincoln followed Rusty to the clinic west of the town hall where they met the local doctor, Razlo who he greeted..."
"Hello, Rusty. Is this the traveler who arrived in town?"
"Yeah, this here is Lincoln." Rusty replied.
"Nice to meet you." Lincoln greeted and asked a question afterward... "Can you tell me about these Radscorpions everyone's talking about?"
"I don't know too much, but they seem to be extremely large versions of the north American Emperor scorpion." Lazlo answered. "Contrary to my medical knowledge, their poison has grown more potent, not diluted, as I would expect. Seth has been hunting them, which helps some of my tests. And how such a large creature can even be possible by natural evolution, or even radiation induced mutation is beyond me."
"Anything else about them? Like a weakness or something?" Lincoln questioned.
"They seem to be sensitive to light. Nocturnal." Razlo replied. "If I could get a sample of their poison, especially the venom production sac located in their tail, I could create an anti-venom."
"Okay, thanks." Lincoln thanked Razlo. He and Rusty asked Seth for directions to the Radscorpion Cave and a few minutes later, they entered the cave to take on the mutated scorpions.
To Be Continued...
Author's Note: And so, Lincoln Loud leaves the vault and ventured forth into the wasteland on a mission to find a replacement water chip, discovered Shady Sands, got acquainted with the townspeople and gained a new ally. Next time on Fall-Loud: Lincoln and Rusty battle the Radscorpions and explores Vault 15.