"Wake up man, it's 9:13! The 'almighty' Overseer will have your ass!" The sarcastic voice jolted Tom awake along with the electronic click of the lights turning on.
"Shit, my Pip-Boy didn't go off…" Tom groaned, tearing the thin course sheets off the cold steel-framed bed. "What's this meeting for anyway? We shouldn't be risking our lives like this!"
"Oh come on, this is exciting. You've always wanted to leave the vault. And don't worry, if you're really scared I'll protect you, little brother. We've got to be up there now. Come on."
"Wait up Kev, I've got to get my stuff on." Tom rolled out of bed, walking across the steel floor towards the drawers. Quickly pulling out his blue leather jumpsuit. He turned it over, glancing at the bold '16' embroidered in yellow leather on the back, and put in on quickly. The two jogged down the metal hallway under the unconvincing Simu-Sun lighting fixtures. Opening the living-quarter's hydraulic steel door, they raced up the stairs passing countless sealed rooms and entered densely packed main hall. Quietly slipping to the back of the crowd, Tom and Kevin rested coolly against the bare-metal wall. The meeting had already begun, and the entire vault of 376 people seemed to be there. The Overseer's authoritative voice spoke above the crowd from the platform over the rail.
"For nearly 217 years now, we have lived in this great vault and as you know for the past 19 years our best scientists have harnessed the power of the G.E.C.K. to transform the irradiated and barren wasteland above into a fruitful utopia. Well, I'm happy to announce the project has been more successful than we had possibly imagined. Dr. Mendac has deemed the surface above the vault completely habitable, and we are ready to move on the final step –rebuilding society!" There was an audible gasp throughout the crowd, and everyone began a slightly nervous but nonetheless excited clapping. Kev glanced to Tom, who appeared a bit shocked.
"I can't believe this is actually happening…" Tom whispered.
"You're not nervous are you?" Kevin grinned.
"Yes, yes, it is all very exciting, but now we must focus on the difficult steps in front of us," the Overseer continued. "We've all lived in The Vault for generations now, and it's understandable that you would all be nervous. But our great great great grandparents entered this vault with the hopes that one day, society would be rebuilt from the ashes of the Great War," he read confidently off his Pip-Boy. "And that is exactly what we are going to do," he paused. "In fact, the first group will be traveling right now!" The crowd began to mummer with concerned disbelief. "Quiet down everyone! Today we will only briefly visit the surface, so you can admire our scientist's fine work. The official colonization process will not start until later next month. I can assure you the surface is perfectly safe. Please note the list posted in the living-quarters. This is the right move for us, and the right move for humanity!" he smiled. "Dismissed."
"Well what are you waiting for, let's check the list. I've got to see the surface already!" Kev insisted.
The two raced back down the rigid stairs to the living-quarters.
"I better not be on that list…" Tom thought to himself. He didn't dare look like a coward in front of his brother, so he kept quiet. But the closer they drew, the more anxious he appeared. Finally they reached the list posted at the end of the main hallway.
"What's the matter? We're both on there, don't worry. Let's get up to the entrance now, they'll be waiting," Kevin said. Tom reluctantly followed along.
It wasn't long until they reached the massive gear-like blast door separating their world from the great unknown. Unlike his brother, Kevin could not stop smiling. From time to time, he would utter things like "Almost there…" and "Not much longer now!" to himself. Soon the group of about 25 had gathered at the door. No one was quite sure what to think about their upcoming new lives. Dr. Mendac and two other scientists accompanied the group, and constantly assured the others there was nothing to fear. At exactly 11:00 am, Dr. Mendac gave the signal to a guard who radioed something to the Overseer. Suddenly, bright lights filled the entrance room, painting the nervous group in yellow, as well the thick steel walls and blast door. A massive hydraulic arm extended from ceiling, pulling the nearly four-foot-thick door screeching from the frame. The arm hissed back into position, and the screeching gear-shaped door rolled gently to the right.
The crowd was paralyzed, but Mendac confidently stepped into the cave outside of the door, urging them to follow along. Tom thought he could take the anxiety no more, and decided to get it over with. He and Kevin lead the group behind the scientists. Reaching the end of the cave, only a flimsy wooden barrier stood in their way. A scientist now standing at the door turned back to us, smiling. He said nothing. Suddenly he burst open the door, and the light was blinding. Someone behind Kevin screamed in surprise at the impossible brightness of the sun. Kevin rushed forward out the door, pulling Tom with him. They could not see anything with the sun shining in their not-yet adapted eyes. But the two could feel the breeze and for the first time were aware they were no longer in the vault.
Tom obscured his eyes from the light, until he heard his brother whisper "Holy…" trailing off. He said simply "Open your eyes, Tom. You're not going to believe this."
Tom jerked his hand away from his eyes, and his fear instantly dissolved. In front of him lay countless miles of thick forest and luscious green flora. The light arced though the limbs above, painting a surreal paradise in front of his eyes. Through the branches he could see the ruins of a pre-war city, now covered in green vegetation. He remembered from class that the city had once been known as 'Cleveland'. He was absolutely speechless. The group behind him was equally dumbstruck.
"Welcome to your new world," Dr. Mendac proudly announced. Once the crowd had returned to reality, not a moment was wasted eagerly discussing their wonderful new destiny as society's redeemers. "What was once a barren, desolate, desert of radiation is now the lush utopia in front of you. The air is now completely safe to breathe and –" She was cut off by the shock of the crowd as a young woman seemingly fainted, falling limply to the ground. Mendac attempted to calm the crowd. "Don't worry everyone, she was simply shocked by the incredible world in front of you." She walked over to check the young woman's pulse, but found none. In a shocked and uneven voice she ordered two scientists to take her inside at once. "Please don't worry everyone, she will… will be fine I'm sure," her voiced chocked. Suddenly another dropped limply to the grass below. And immediately another.
"What's going on here doctor?", "I thought you said this was safe!", and "Get us back inside!" were all franticly screamed at the doctor from the panicking crowd. But as they desperately cried, more and more fell, including the doctor herself, all within mere seconds.
"We've got to get back inside!" Kevin screamed to Tom.
"What's going on?! We can't just leave them!" cried Tom.
"There's no time! Come on!" Kevin insisted, pulling Tom by the arm.
As they sprinted back to the cave Tom glanced behind him when abruptly his vision seemed to shatter like glass breaking, and he heard the piercing crack of a bullet shattering glass. He no longer felt his brother's strong hand. His vision cracked and splintered like a broken Radiation King Television screen, until his very world flickered away in front of him with an electrical jolt. He no longer was standing outside of the vault, but lying in some sort of a pod, with cracked glass surrounding him. Unable to process what was happening him and incapable of seeing past the splintered glass around him, he lay there in terror.
"Fuck, I think I missed him," came a gruff voice from outside the pod.
"Well get in there and finish it! You heard what the boss said, none of these poor fuckers stays alive," came another rough voice only a short distance away. Tom heard the sounds of gunfire and shattering glass to his right. Immediately a hammer smashed through the glass in front of him, and large shards shattered onto his torso. Tom's heart beat out of his chest.
A dirty, rough man covered in tattoos peaked his head though the wide gap in the shattered pod glass. Immediately and without thinking Tom wrapped his bloody hands around a large piece of glass and pierced the man's neck, causing him to drop his pistol onto Tom's stomach. Although never having held a gun, Tom instinctively grabbed the weapon and fired into the maniac's skull, sending his head splattering across the room.
Peeking out of pod, he saw two very surprised men holding intimidating rifles. And again he instinctively loosed a round into each's chest, through their strange and makeshift armor.
Silence. Tom, looking at his hand, quickly came to the realization that he had just killed three people. He dropped the pistol, and his vision began to blur. What was happening to him? His mind raced forward with an impossible number of questions and no answers. Slowly however, he calmed himself. Silently, he took in his surroundings. Deciding it safe, he carefully crawled through the broken glass of the pod and lowered himself the floor below.
The dimly lit steel room was covered in a thick layer of dust. Looking around, he found himself surrounded by hundreds of shattered pods and endless rows of clicking tape computers. Neatly all were filled with bullet holes and splattered with blood on the inside of the glass. Afraid to open any pod, he stood still, mortified. Suddenly he noticed he was still wearing a Vault 16 jumpsuit, although this was certainly not his.
Tom remained standing in the thick dust until he heard a painful grunt in a nearby shattered pod. He instantly knew who it was. He walked slowly and carefully towards the pod, and forced it open with a metallic creak.