Fallout 3 - Blood Ties (part two)

As promised, Vance was on the mezzanine overlooking the common area. The common area itself was a fascinating look into the Family. Filled with pews all facing the mezzanine, the whole area looked like the home of some kind of cult. This impression was strengthened when I saw Vance standing at the top of the mezzanine looking like some kind of warped preacher with his long black overcoat. I wasn't sure who the Family was but I was pretty sure that they were bad news. In any event, Vance was the key to locating Ian West so I headed up the broken escalator to where Vance stood.

"Welcome to our home," he said as I approached, "My people call me Vance. I lead this group of weary travelers and outcasts who need a home. We do not get many visitors here."

"Really, I wonder why? Could it be due to the number of landmines that you laid in the tunnels outside?"

I have to give him credit. He didn't even bat an eyelid. Unfortunately, nor did he answer my question. Instead, he just looked at me and asked "And to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"I'm looking for Ian West. I have a letter for him from his sister. I understand he is here?"

He turned and looked out over the common area before replying, "What you see before you is the last bastion of hope for the downtrodden and misunderstood. We are the remnants of society, cast aside like the clean-picked bones of a hunters feast. Men of science would call us cannibals, eaters of human flesh. Society labels us as monsters, demons and the unclean."

I couldn't help but blink at that. Did he just say cannibals? Visions of the West family, with their throats clearly having been gnawed upon, swam before my eyes. I definitely don't want to hang around here. Better find of Ian West and get out post-haste.

"Um, that's great," I said, "but I'm looking for Ian West. I understand he is here?"

"Ah! Your words illustrate why the hardships persist for my people. I think of my teachings as an improvement, a way to transcend our cannibalistic nature."

"What? Look, I just want to find Ian West. I really don't care if you are cann... um... Actually, if I accept that you're no longer cannibals, what do I call you?"

"Each member of the Family must speak one of the Laws. From these Laws, you can discover what we are. Return to me when you are ready."

With that, Vance turned and walked away. "Can't you just answer the frakking question?!" I yelled after him but he ignored me and continued on his way. Bastard.

***********************************************************************

Several hours, and numerous confusing conversations with his "congregation", later, I had a fair idea of what I was dealing with. The Family were not cannibals - they were vampires. Not the actual mythical beings obviously but rather a group of people who follow the ways and rites of the vampires. What was fascinating though was their belief that they could sustain themselves purely on blood. The man in me screamed out against this abomination, telling me to turn and flee, but the scientist in me couldn't resist prying further.

I went back to Vance. If anyone was going to be able to satisfy my curiosity, he would be the one.

"Tell me what you've learned," he said as I approached, "What do you think we are?"

"You're vampires. Or at least you follow their fictional traditions. But what I don't understand is how you manage to get enough nutrients to sustain yourself from blood alone."

"Do you think I believe I can turn into a bat and fly away?"

"Well, of course ..."

"Of course not." Vance continued speaking as if I hadn't interrupted him, "Do I cast my image in a mirror? Absolutely."

"Yes, I know but ..."

"I have shown these people the way of the vampire. I've provided them shelter, organisation and a sense of belonging."

"Yes, I know but how ..."

"Ian is at a critical moment in his life right now. After all that occurred in Arefu, he is scared and confused."

Despite my annoyance, that last sentence caught my attention. "What? What do you mean? What happened to Ian in Arefu?"

"Ian's hunger for flesh overwhelmed him ... it drove him to kill his parents. Because of my intervention that night, he stopped just short of being lost forever to his cravings for flesh. Now, he has become one of us ... a member of the Family. The hunger that drives us must be kept in check. It is one of the most difficult things to teach."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing - Vance had actually listened and was answering one of my questions! In my shock, I missed the chance to get in another question and Vance continued speaking.

"I will allow you to speak to Ian. Perhaps you can help him come to grips with his greatest enemy. Himself."

And with that, Vance once again turned and walked off.

***********************************************************************

I found Ian in a little room at the back of the Family base. He was sitting at the solitary chair in the middle of the room and staring blankly at the wall. Seeing the past perhaps? I'm not sure why but he looked oddly out of place. As if he was uncomfortable with where he was (or what he was?). One thing was certain though - his eyes held the look of a haunted man.

He looked up at me as I entered the room. Something in my eyes must have given me away for he turned back to the wall and said, "You must think I'm some kind of monster."

He sounded so sad. So alone. What can you say to a man who has not only seen his parents brutally murdered but who was the one who caused such tragedy in the first place.

"Ian, I'm sorry but I can't help you. I'm just here to give you this letter. Your sister, Lucy, asked that I deliver it to you."

For a brief moment, at the mention of his sister, there was a spark of life behind his eyes. With a whispered thank you, he took the letter and started to read. For a while, he was silent as he read the letter. Eventually, he looked up and I could see that the letter had clearly had an impact. His eyes watered and his voice choked as he struggled to find words.

After what seemed like an eternity of uncomfortable silence, he said, with a touch of regret in his voice, "Thank you. I think I had it all wrong. I shouldn't have come here. Please, tell Vance I've made my decision. I'm going home to Arefu."

After this, it wasn't long before Ian was ready to depart. When I informed Vance of Ian's decision to leave, Vance merely smiled and enigmatically babbled something about sheep and roads. In fact, Vance seemed happy with Ian's response and held no ill will at all. He even offered to send some of his own men to protect the town of Arefu in exchange for some blood packs. Truth be told, the whole incident ended rather abruptly and surprisingly without incident.

***********************************************************************

I left Arefu shortly after dropping Ian off. Evan King and the other residents were happy enough to see us return and after hearing how Vance had saved Ian West, they were more than happy to agree to Vance's proposal and accepted the Family into the settlement. They even invited me to stay with them. To be honest though, I couldn't wait to leave and was happy to see the back of Arefu and the creepy Family. And that was the situation when I left Arefu - Vance and the Family were safely inside Arefu and had agreed to protect it against raiders. A win-win situation all round.

In my travels across the Wasteland, I did occasionally think of Vance and of Ian West and ultimately came to a realisation. I never went back though. Considering that I have heard no news from Arefu since I left, I sometimes wonder how that little settlement is doing and whether I should go back to check on them. But considering my role in this whole affair, perhaps its better if I didn't.

I have to give it to Vance though. He really knew what he was doing. All the time that I spoke with him, he rarely addressed me directly and never answered my questions. Except once. The one time he answered my questions was when he needed to distract me from the deeper implications of what he was saying.

Vance told me that Ian had succumbed to his desire for flesh and killed his own parents. Vance told me that he had arrived in Arefu just in time to stop Ian from eating the flesh of his own parents. Vance told me that he had saved Ian's soul as a result of this.

But how did Vance know that Ian had attacked and killed his parents on that fateful night? How had he known exactly which night that Ian would lose control of his cannibalistic instincts? And was it coincidence that he had been able to get into Arefu just in time to stop Ian from eating the flesh of his parents?

Too many coincidences - the whole situation stank to high heaven. The only reasonable explanation for Vance being there that night was if he knew what was going to happen. And the only way he could have known that Ian's parents would die that night is if Ian had told him.

When I first arrived in Arefu, Evan King told me that he had been defending Arefu from the Family. That he was singlehandedly protecting the settlement from the wolves that sought to gain entry. And thanks to my efforts, the wolf was invited into the hen house.