The vault had spiraled downward ever since Doc and his daughter escaped the vault. We couldn't stay locked up in there any longer. If we did, we'd die. We needed supplies, and soon enough, we'd need new people, or the future generations would end up inbred. I didn't like to think about the future; it made me nervous, and my hands were already shaking at an unbelievable pace.

The vault had basically been divided into two groups: the rebels, and the rest of the vault. We, the rebels, were led by Amata, which was a smart choice. However, the rest were led by the Overseer, and consisted of most of the security force. Without directly stating the obvious you could make an educated guess at who'd win that battle, couldn't you?

The Overseer and his lapdogs were nothing short of insane. While I doubted their intentions were directly evil, it still did nothing to help our cause. They had held weapons to us; their fucking kids. To be fair, we'd also held weapons to them, but it was the only way to deal with them anymore; they were psychopaths.

We were going to gain access to the outside world, even if it was the last thing we ever did. Some may not have been ready to die for this cause, but some of us were. Even if it couldn't help us, it'd help the future generations of the vault. That was what all this was about, wasn't it?

We tried with every fiber of our beings to talk it out with them, but they wouldn't listen to reason. Violence seemed to be the only way to deal with it, but that had a fatal flaw. If we acted with violence, they would as well, and eventually, someone would be hurt or killed.

My father was guarding the door that day, and that worked to our advantage. I was going to try and get to that door. I couldn't get it open, but if I could at least get to it, I could inform the others. However, there could have been someone guarding the Atrium. Some days there was someone there, and others, there wasn't.

As I opened the door that led to the Atrium from the lower levels, I realized there was someone guarding the Atrium. On closer inspection, I noticed it was Officer Taylor. He'd been a wreck since Agnes was killed during the raid. He hated us for wanting to leave, knowing good and well what happened when Doc and his kid left. He was old, really old, which led me to believe I could get past him.

As I got a little closer, we immediately engaged in an argument, causing him to reach for the pistol at his waist. He wouldn't use it. He was insane, and aligned with the rest of the insane faction of the vault, but he wasn't a killer. His pistol shone under the dull vault lights as he cocked the hammer back and aimed it toward me ever so slowly.

As the yelling grew louder, it was almost impossible to tell what was being said. I took this time to examine Officer Taylor's fading existence. He looked well over 90, his wrinkles sagging more with each passing day, and I knew the stress didn't help

As if he sensed I was in trouble, my dad appeared behind Officer Taylor. I spat back yet another insult at Officer Taylor, before realizing my dad wasn't alone. The person beside him clearly wasn't a vault citizen. The most obvious give-a-way was the fact that she wasn't wearing the jumpsuit. She was covered in dust, making her impossible to recognize, probably even to anyone who knew her. She was also toting a shotgun and standing next to what I recognized to be a dog. I'd only ever seen them in textbooks, but I was sure that's what the creature was. Who was that and what is my dad doing with her?

A shot rang from Officer Taylor's pistol, sending me flying in the other direction, tripping over my own feet. I stopped when I heard a female's voice rise. She sounded so familiar. Did I know her? How could I know her if she isn't a vault citizen?

"Hey, you old fuck, you almost shot Freddie!" She yelled as she snatched the pistol from his hands and clocked him over the head with it. It only dazed him as she threw the gun across the room. He immediately ran after it in a curved line, struggling not to fall over as he ran. It was clear I knew this girl, she had used my name after all, but who was she?

"Hey, Freddie, wait up!" She called as she started toward me. I guess I was about to figure out who the dusty shotgun-toting badass was.