A/N: Although I have done creative writing before, I've never posted it for people to read. Hopefully you enjoy! Reviews appreciated :)

.::..::..::.

"trail-blaz-er"

{noun}

a person who makes a new track through wild country.

Like a photograph, the first ten years of my childhood went by in bullet time. The images of my youth, preserved only in single shots of black and white movement, then placed on the carousel of my memory to be played over and over and over again. I remember nothing as it was in the moment, nothing like real life. The reawakening of nostalgia and the heavy feel of the past would leave an imprint on me, but I could never remember the truth. I could never remember the whole story.

Here I stand, nearly two decades after the difficult loss of my mother and blessing of my birth. I am not unique; I am but another faithful Vault Dweller and a servant to God. There is still a vacant place in the back of my mind, one that echoes a repeated phrase and has that same feeling of nostalgia:

What is out in the wasteland?

I never thought I would have to answer this question and put to ease my curiousness. For nineteen years, I have lived, breathed, and was grateful for the life and safety that the Overseer gave me.

It's interesting how your entire world can change in the blink of an eye.

.::..::..::.

I'm shaken from a peaceful sleep. The color drains out of my dreams and back into reality. My eyes reluctantly open and I am greeted by a terrified Amata. She looks as white as a ghost and beads of sweat dot her forehead.

"Chelsea, did you hear me?" She nearly screams.

"What is it?" I ask.

"You have to get up. Right now!" Amata is surprisingly strong as she pulls me out from under the sheets and I roll onto the floor. My leg gets twisted as I try to stand up. I feel a sharp pain running from my ankle to my knee.

"What is going on? Why are you here?"

"Didn't you hear? Your dad left the Vault!" Her eyes get big.

I laugh.

"I'm not kidding you, Chelsea. Your dad… he's gone. He left. And I don't know why." Amata says in quieter tone than before. Her voice is still serious. "And Jonas is dead."

"What?" I ask. "No, that can't be right. I talked to Jonas yesterday, i-in the lab, and Dad, he's-"

"Chelsea, you have to believe me. This is serious. My father's men are looking for you, they-they think you know something about this."

"What? I don't know anything." It's not a lie- my father has never told me anything about leaving. My heart is beating faster and faster by the second. Now fully awake, I hear the alarm sounds going off and the blinking of red lights in the hallway.

"I know, I know. But they're going to try and force a truth out of you." Amata says. "That's why we're leaving."

I stop breathing.

"We're leaving? Like the Vault?"

"Chelsea, it's the only way to make sure we're both safe."

"Amata…" I put my hand on my forehead. "Are you sure he's gone?"

"Yes, I know it."

"Who killed Jonas?"

Amata pauses.

"Officer Mack."

I nod.

"How are we getting out of here?"

"There's a terminal in my father's office that can be hacked to open the Vault. I'll meet you at the exit." Amata pulls out a pistol. "Here. I stole this from my father. You might need it."

"Thank you, Amata. Stay safe. I'll see you soon." Amata rushes out of the room and I put the gun in my pocket. I quickly slip into my Vault suit and tie my blonde hair in a ponytail. I'm sweating just as much as Amata was when she woke me up.

Thoughts rush through my head as I rush out the door. I stop halfway down the hallway and go back. I open the dresser and grab my Grognak the Barbarian. No way I'm forgetting that.

.::..::..::.

My tenth birthday.

I wasn't a very popular girl back then, although there weren't ever many kids who lived in the Vault, but I doubt if there were more that they would have grown close to me. It was a small gathering- much less a party.

My father made it a surprise, but the biggest surprise was the fact Butch and his friends were there. I didn't like Butch, and he didn't like me. Our relationship was not perfect, but was in perfect harmony.

Amata gave me the Grognak comic as a gift. I was ecstatic to receive it- finding something fun to do in the Vault was hard and the Grognak comics was my main source of entertainment. The comic had sentimental meaning for me, as well. I'll never forget what she said to me after giving me the comic.

"Chelsea, I hope we're friends forever."

Oh, god, Amata. How I wish we could go back to that moment.

.::..::..::.

Panting, I run down the hallway, gun close at hand. The same three words run through my mind: dad, terminal, escape. I repeat them in a whisper to try and keep my nerves at bay.

I am nearly out into the main hallway when Officer Kendall stops me. The pain in my leg from when Amata pulled me out of bed has gotten worse; my leg is throbbing. I stop trying to run.

"Hey, you!" Kendall pulls out his baton."Just keep your hands where I can see them."

A mess of radroaches almost sprint towards us and start attacking Kendall. Just my luck.

I race off and can hear Kendall yelling at me in the distance. There's no turning back now.

I make it far enough to stop and catch my breath. Butch comes running towards me.

"What do you want, Butch?" I hiss. He looks worried.

"You gotta help me. My mom's stuck in there with the radroaches."

"So? Can't you just take care of them yourself?" I say. Butch shakes his head.

"I can't… I-I hate radroaches, they freak me out." Butch whimpers. "Chelsea, come on, you gotta help me."

"You're… scared. Of radroaches." Despite the current circumstances, I start laughing and can't stop. Butch turns a bright shade of red.

"Chelsea, it's not funny." He begs. "Please, please help me."

For a second, I feel sorry for him. But then I remember who he is.

"Butch, you can figure it out for yourself. I'm a little busy, in case you didn't realize it." Butch frowns.

"Whatever, bitch. If my mom dies, this is on you." Butch runs away. I continue on my escape.

I go through the atrium where two dead bodies are lying out on ground. Their faces are so covered in blood I can't even tell who they are. I wipe the blood off their face and gasp in horror. Tom... and Mary.

The sound of footsteps echo through the atrium and I know I don't have time to mourn my peers. I pass by a window and I hear thumping against the glass. Allen Mack stands there thumping his fist against the glass.

"You!" The sound is muffled. "This is all your fault! If your dad didn't leave, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

Dad. Terminal. Escape.

Anger comes over me. I leave before he can continue to blame me.

I find Jonas dead on the floor of the lab. The area around his head is dyed dark with blood and a single hole goes through his forehead. His eyes are open and wide with fear. I start crying. The tears from my eyes drip onto the floor and echo through the room.

"I'm so sorry, Jonas... I'm sorry..." I sob. I put my hand on his chest and feel a hard surface. I reach into his coat and pull out a holotape labeled "Note from Dad." I slip it into my Pip-Boy to listen to later. I gently close Jonas' eyes and remove his glasses. "I promise you, Jonas, I will avenge you. Your death will not be in vain."

If Jonas' death wasn't enough, the next scene is worse. Amata has been trapped by her father and Officer Mack. I hide from their sight and listen to the scene unfold through the wall.

"I told you, I don't know anything. Why are you doing this to me?"

"It's only necessary." The Overseer says.

I rush into the room and shoot Officer Mack first. He falls to the ground and Amata runs out of that room so fast I don't even have time to talk to her. I turn to the Overseer.

"You won't get away with this. I make sure people get punished for their crimes." He hits me, hard. My vision gets blurry and I trip. My leg is still in pain from earlier. I wince. "Your family is trouble, Chelsea."

"You're wrong. You're the troubled one here." With what little energy I have left, I pull out the gun and fire at the Overseer. The bullets go through his abdomen. He groans and falls to the floor.

"You will regret this." He says in his last moments. "Choices must always come with a consequence."

I leave him there to suffer.

I find the key to his office and open the door. I type the passcode wrong the first three tries, and get it right on the fourth. The entrance to the Vault exit slowly rises out of the floor. I step down into it. Amata is there to greet me.

"You... You killed him." Her voice is filled with anger, sadness, and grief.

"Amata, I'm so sorry, but it had to be done." I go to touch her arm. She moves away.

"Don't touch me. Now, go, before I change my mind."

"You're not coming?"

"I can't. Not now." She says. "Good luck finding your dad."

"Goodbye, Amata. I love you."

"Goodbye, Chelsea." She says coldly. The Vault door opens and Amata goes back inside the Vault. I leave the Vault, never to return.

Goodbye, home.