Student Six Watch Fallout Lore: The Storyteller Series

by Rated Ponystar


Ghouls

Chapter 10: Ghouls

Ocellus shivered upon learning they were going to be learning about ghouls next. While she felt sorry for their circumstances, the changeling was still creeped out by how undead they looked. She used to hear horrible stories about necromancers raising zombies from the dead and causing destruction upon innocent villages and hives when she was younger. Seeing the ghouls reminded her a lot about those stories, especially the feral ones.

At least being killed by the nuclear bomb, according to the narrator, was instant death. Your entire skin and bones turned to ash, and nothing remained once you were caught in the blast. It might have been a painful way to go, but at least it was quick. Better than suffering the side effects of surviving such a destructive force. The sight of dead human bodies, killed by radiation, or smoking from the explosion itself was enough to nearly make the six sick.

“I still can’t believe they used these at all,” Silverstream said, shaking her head.

“You and me both,” Sandbar commented.

A ghoul in rags appeared on the screen, just relaxing in some abandoned marketplace. The narrator explained the sad and horrible fact that most humans killed ghouls on sight. Mostly out of fear due to their looks. But they weren’t zombies or monsters, but plain humans like them transformed into something hideous. Even these days, it was still common to find people fearful of ghouls even after widespread knowledge. However, that didn’t mean that there wasn't a dangerous kind of ghoul out there, as shown by one of the more hideous ones clawing around like an animal. They called them feral ghouls, and it was the eventual fate of all ghouls to turn into these rabid beasts that would attack anything around them.

Because of this unknown ticking time bomb, most folks were just fine with shooting first and asking questions later. It was better in their minds to be alive and called a bigot than to be eaten apart for dinner.

“If there really is no avoiding that fate? I’d rather end my own life, thank you,” Smolder said, crossing her arms.

“But they still don’t know why they turn into them?” Sandbar asked, upon hearing the narrator. “Hmm, what do you think causes it?”

“Don’t ask me, I’m not a scientist,” Gallus snorted before turning to Ocellus.

“Hey, I can’t make any theories either,” Ocellus said, shrugging. “I don’t even know half of what this radiation stuff is like. Plus, I would need to know the full physiology of a human being.”

It would seem that not even the most advanced scientists of the Wasteland knew the answer either. Despite years of trying to figure it out, all they had were theories. One common idea was that since areas holding the FEV virus were hit during the Great War and released into the atmosphere, the small scattered amounts of it might have caused certain people to turn into ghouls. After all, it was full exposure that turned humans into Super Mutants. So why not a limited dose turning them into ghouls?

Then there was the gene theory, as evidenced by some Enclave scientists taking samples from a ghoul prisoner. Add just the right amount of radiation to a human with a particular gene, and they could maybe turn them into a ghoul.

“Or maybe they just got plain bad luck,” Gallus said, shrugging. “Not really sure why it matters. You’d think the most important thing would be to cure it.”

“Finding out the cause of a problem is one of the main necessities to solve a problem, Gallus,” Ocellus said, rolling her eyes. “Like the reason you get hit a lot is because you don’t know when to shut your mouth sometimes.”

Gallus opened his mouth, but the then paused and shrugged. "Eh, fine. I'll give you that one."

“Oh, look! Another vault!” Yona said, getting their attention. “This good vault or bad vault?”

“My money is bad,” Smolder said. She turned out to be right when the narrator said that Vault 12 was specifically designed to have its front door malfunction and expose the residents to radiation. “Told ya.”

Due to the vault not fully closing all the way, the residents were unable to fully protect themselves from the radiation when the bombs fell. Just enough of it was able to get through and turn the entire residence into an underground bunker full of ghouls who were horrified by their new looks. Considering VaultTech’s history of manipulating and sabotaging the vaults for their experiments, it wouldn’t be far-fetched that the door was disabled on purpose. Another experiment to see how humans reacted when exposed to certain levels of radiation.

“Just when you think VaultTech can’t get any lower,” Sandbar grumbled, shaking his head.

“Yeah, if the end of the world ever comes to our planet? And some group is advocating safe houses like these? I’m going to take my chance outside,” Smolder said.

“I wonder if this means that VaultTech knew about ghoulification before the war?” Silverstream asked, tilting her head. “I mean, what are the odds that shutting the door just enough to expose around a thousand people to radiation manages to turn them all into ghouls instead of having them...well...die?”

The others began to wonder that as well. It did seem kind of odd when Silverstream put it that way.

Regardless of what happened, the ghouls of Vault 12 were able to use their technology to build a suitable home for themselves. They didn’t have to worry about radiation thanks to their new state, and the tech from the vault allowed them to prosper without fear of going hungry or thirsty. Plus, their new looks managed to keep most of the scary outsiders away who were too frightened to deal with the zombified humans.

The six did get a chuckle upon hearing they named the city “Necropolis.”

For around a hundred years, things were good for them. Plus, a ghoul stopped aging upon being turned. There were still plenty of ghouls who were around before the Great War and still kicking today. The only downside was they couldn't have children, just like the Super Mutants.

“Huh,” Yona said, eyes widened. “If true, humans should have Ghoul Humans act as sages and teachers. Use the knowledge of the past to lead them to avoid the same mistakes.”

Unfortunately, the peace ended as the ghouls started to get killed off when The Master unleashed his Super Mutant army on them. The screen showed a fight between the giant green monsters and the ghouls who did everything they could to defend their home, but they were no match for their superior strength and tactics. They had come to find a vault filled with unmutated humans with good genes to use to strengthen their army. Instead, they found an entire city of ghouls.

“Bad luck for both sides,” Gallus said. “Super Mutants don’t get pure human DNA, and the ghouls get taken over by the big green booger beasts. Sucks for both sides.”

"I feel more sorry for the ghouls," Silverstream voiced.

Despite having a small truce for a few years, the Super Mutants betrayed them in the end and killed most of the population. The few survivors left for other settlements that didn’t treat them too kindly or outright refused to let them in. They were forced to wander the Wastelands for a new home. There were some safe havens like Broken Hills, which allowed humans, ghouls, and (later on) Super Mutants to live together in peace. Others looked for heavily radiated areas to set up new homes to avoid humans altogether. They were immune to it now, and it even strengthened them. Turning some into glowing versions of themselves, which reminded the six of Hearth's Warming Eve lights.

The screen then showed a bunch of ghouls in lab coats working on a broken nuclear reactor. Dangerous for most to enter, save for them. They were able to get it mostly working and provided power to the nearby settlements in exchange for supplies, including the advanced medicine of Vault City. It was their hope their advanced medicine and technology could be used to try and find a cure for their condition.

“Think they can be cured?” Gallus asked.

“It’s never too late to try,” Sandbar said, optimistically.

Sadly, there was still no cure for ghouls despite some trying their hardest to find one. This leads some shady people to take advantage of the desperate ones with fake miracles. Or give them something else to save their souls instead, such as religion. A ghoul preacher gave a sermon to his robed followers about how he would take them to a utopia space paradise...if they could get their spaceships prepared.

“Ignoring the obvious crazy cult thing, I’d like to go to space,” Ocellus said with a smile.

“Ohh! Yona would like to taste moon cheese!” Yona said, licking her lips.

“Uh, Yona? The moon isn’t made out of cheese,” Sandbar pointed out, before rubbing his chin. “Although, that would explain how Princess Luna managed to not starve to death up there for a thousand years.”

Yona gasped in horror. “Moon not made out of cheese?! Noooo! Clan Storytellers lied to Yona!” She stared, bonking her head on the floor while sobbing.

“Oh, Yona,” Silverstream said, patting her friend on the back. “It’s okay. We can always use the spaceship to fly towards other areas! Like we can see Pluto! I’ve always loved that planet!”

“Um, Silverstream,” Ocellus chuckled, nervously. “Pluto is no longer considered a planet.”

“What?!” Silverstream shouted with her eyes widened. “Since when?!”

“A few years now, I think,” Ocellus said. “So officially, there are only eight planets in our system now.”

“Nooo! Pluto was so cute! He was my favorite! Damn you, science!” Silverstream cried as he began to sob with Yona. The two holding each other as their dreams were crushed.

The other four just raised an eyebrow before deciding to ignore the two and refocus on the screen. They did so just as the narrator told them how a group of ghouls was tricked by a so-called genius who could cure their condition if he was given cheese flavor snacks. “Geez, now I’m hungry for cheese,” Gallus muttered, which only caused Yona to cry harder.

Most ghoul settlements were rare these days due to many factions not liking them, such as the Enclave or the Brotherhood of Steel. Another negative that the group sadly had to put under the latter. Anything non-human in their eyes was something to be exterminated or treated like an animal. Still, there were safe havens such as “The Underground” in Washington DC, where a ghoul lady, born before the war, did her best to protect her people while helping new ghouls along the way. It didn’t happen often, but it was still possible to turn into a ghoul even in this day and age if you spent too much time in a radioactive area.

Still, there were other ways to turn into ghouls. The FEV had managed to turn humans into ghouls at times. Others ended up having psychic power or other alterations to their bodies or minds. The truth was that it was unknown what your genetic mutation would be when you were exposed to these dangerous environments. Some turned out to be ghouls but with a few differences, and some made themselves essential in many ways. One joined the Followers of the Apocalypse as a founding member early on and could still be living with them today.

Another one claimed to be one of the first to wander the Wasteland not long after the war ended. This ghoul, Harold, claimed that he had seen every critical event from knowing the Master when he was human to meeting and even aiding heroes like the Vault Dweller and Chosen One. While nobody could confirm or deny his proclamations, some people remembered him during those events. These days he is now a tree in Washington DC that was worshiped as a tree god by some cultists. It was all due to a twig growing in his head that grew and began to take over most of his body.

“He looks more tree than ghoul,” Ocellus said, leaning back upon seeing Harold’s new look.

Sadly, Harold's condition ended his wandering, but strange things began happening when he rooted down, so to speak. The forests began to look healthier and fresh fruit was growing both from him and the surrounding plants. He slowly began to gather a group of cultists who saw him as a forest god, slowly bringing the earth back to its natural healthy way.

"I don't know," Sandbar said, shifting around. "Much as I like the idea I was helping cure the earth, being a tree and worshiped as a god would be pretty weird."

"I think Professor Fluttershy said she wanted to be a tree once," Silverstream said.

"Yeah, being a tree is nice and all until someone cuts you down, puts you into a wood chipper, and suddenly your remains are used as toilet paper," Gallus snorted.

Still, despite his condition, Harold was glad for the company. Plus, it was suspected that Harold’s seeds were coughing the vegetation to be pure and healthy to eat. Maybe he wasn’t a tree god like some believed, but he was doing a miracle for the earth.

However, while Harold traveled and saw a lot in the Wasteland, one place he avoided was the Mojave. Some areas there were said to be the worst locations imaginable with monsters and weather conditions that only the bravest or foolish would enter. The screen showed a human in a duster with a flag on the back, looking at a giant missile silo in some underground bunker. The narrator said that there was a man, a courier, who traveled all over the Mojave. He learned its secrets and planted messages for certain people, or maybe a particular person, to read across the desert. From the highest of its mountains to the deepest of its divides, he had been there. Who was this person?

Well, that was a story for another day.