Chapter One
A girl to die for.
The blasted lands of Chicago made the burnt out buildings of the little town seem like a land of dwarves and tiny architects. Why the Enclave had chosen to send an entire platoon to this little berg, Commander Ed Dennis could never have guessed. To him, and to most of the other soldiers the whole thing seemed like a waste of time. Although the city did have many standing structures, it was a dead place. Like the rest of the midwest and east coast of the old world, the soil was gray, cracked, and without any lush green growing from it. It seemed that there had been no humans that had survived the initial bombs in this area, this area once known as Iowa.
The only survivors of the great war of the once agricultural heavy state were the brahmin and the odd dogs that wandered the once bustling streets of the little hick town, neither were good for their meat, nor for their company. The scruffy red headed twenty something named Dennis had on occasion taken shots at the dogs, and had even bagged a couple to fight off the boredom that had begun to take hold in the passing days. The last bit of action that he had seen was when they had come across a traveling band of merchants. The idiots that had dared to defy the orders of the President of the United States. Even that little skirmish provided little excitement for him. Dennis sighed out as the sky drew steadily darker with the setting sun, and put his helmet back onto his armor.
"Damn science team better find something good here." Said Dennis to another soldier. The other soldier simply nodded and adjusted his tesla armor. The big bulky armor was a life saver in the wasteland of the old world, but it was the least comfortable thing anyone could be made to wear. The sun started to disappear behind one last remaining tall building. Once it had been the home of many offices and businesses, a strange juxtaposition to the fields of corn and other grains not but ten miles out from the city. Now it housed old bones, and the fields that had once waved in the winds outside of this little city only housed dried out husks. Maybe a ghoul or two still hid out in the large building's basement, or maybe in the ancient sewer systems beneath the ruined streets, who was to say? Dennis's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden activation of his internal helmet communications radio.
"-shington avenue!-" Came the buzzing voice over Dennis' internal helmet radio. The soldiers all stood to attention and waited for orders from the science team. The science leader, a tall and severe mannered man named William Hotchkiss, radioed back to the man on the other end.
"Say again?" Asked Hotchkiss, as he adjusted the bandwidth on the radio. There was a loud buzzing and then the excited voice of the other scientist again.
"Hotchkiss! We found it! It's under the street! Washinton avenue! It's real! Holy shit- it's really real!" Came the voice. More excited voices could be heard, in celebration and jovial moods. Hotchkiss motioned for the soldiers to get ready to move out.
"Okay! We can get there in a few minutes with the bird. Have you been able to record everything on camera?" Said Hotchkiss back, trying very hard to conceal his own excitement. The buzzing sound returned to the radio.
"Yeah! We're waiting on you chief, get over here!" Said the voice. Hotchkiss began to gather his things and move towards the vertibird, with Dennis and the six other soldiers in tow. Dennis rolled his eyes, unseen of course under his helmet. These bookworms were always excited about trivial electronics. The soldiers boarded the vertibird and quickly lifted off the ground. The pilot turned to Dennis in his seat and pointed down at the base camp.
"Looks like we can finally say goodbye to that pile of trash." He said. Dennis nodded and smiled. Their camp had been set up on the ruins of what had been a landfill at one time. The landfill had grown so large that it had actually been affectionately deemed 'Mount Trashmore' by the citizens of the old world. Now it was bleak and showed little visible difference to the city across the poisoned river that still flowed to the Mississippi delta. He would be genuinely happy to leave that site for good, it still stank of garbage, even 200 years after the nuclear holocaust that had claimed the city that had once surrounded it. It was fitting that the huge mountain of garbage should be the last real remaining manmade structure that these old world farmers and rednecks left behind for future generations.
"Good riddance." Said Dennis back to him, through his radio. The ride to Washington avenue was quiet and short. The ruins of the city below flew by underneath them, still and silent. The night had taken the world once more, and unlike the bustling city of Chicago, or the busy streets of the Commonwealth, the old burnt out homes and streets seemed almost peaceful. The vertibird landed without incident in the empty lot of what had been a few residences long ago. One by one the soldiers piled out, with the lead scientist Hotchkiss bringing up the rear. He was typing on his tablet and hurriedly checking the area.
"This doesn't make any sense. Rockwell aerospace is on the northern side of this city... and the military complex is farther south. This is a residential area only!" He said, as he scanned the area. Dennis looked around too. The house in question seemed very much intact still, save for the roof and the windows. It still stood with it's porch and awning in good shape, and a swinging bench still clung to the awning by one chain. The pilot of the vertibird made a few adjustments to his tablet as well, and the doors of the vertibird secured themselves.
"What's the problem doc?" Asked the pilot of the vertibird. Hotchkiss turned on his heels towards the soldiers.
"This just isn't where we would find a vault. There shouldn't be anything here at all." He said sounding a little absent. Two excited scientists came running out from behind the mostly standing house on the tiny hill. The younger of the two, obviously the man from the radio went to greet the soldiers and Hotchkiss.
"Sir! You won't believe it! You just won't believe it!" Said the out of breath man.
"Calm yourself Malloy! Get a grip and report your findings!" Barked out Hotchkiss. Malloy, the excited scientist stood at attention and recomposed himself.
"I'm sorry sir." He said. "Sir, our initial findings are that the technology used in this vault is independent from Vault-tec!" Said Malloy. Hotchkiss raised an eyebrow.
"Independent? Do you mean that it's been built by a rival company?" Asked Hotchkiss. Malloy shook his head.
"No Sir. This vault was constructed by person or persons hitherto unknown- it looks like there's still power to it, and it even has what looks to be working environmental controls!" Said Malloy. Then he swallowed hard. "Sir, there is a communication system set up right at the entrance, it looks like we can communicate with whoever is inside." He said. Dennis perked up.
"Survivors?" He asked, hoping above all hope that they would be hostile. Some action would be nice. Malloy turned to Dennis.
"With the power still going strong, and the environment inside looking stable, it's a definite possibility. It's a small vault though, maybe big enough for only 30 people?" Answered Malloy. "It's been centuries, there's no telling what the dwellers will do if we go in there unanounced." He said.
"Dennis, you're with me." Ordered Hotchkiss as he began to make his way towards the old house. Dennis gave a singular nod and escorted the scientist to the back of the ruined house. The back wall had given way, revealing a typical kitchen and the entrance to a basement stairway. The two men made their way down the steps and joined a small group of four other men, all of whom were frantically typing on tablets and talking amongst themselves. At the back of the basement, a large drop off into more stairs led downward. The industrial and once hidden stairs were different from anything Hotchkiss had ever seen, they were almost pristine in their condition, and they were back lit from the power source of the vault. "My God..." Said Hotchkiss, as he examined the vault entrance.
"I'll take point, Sir, if you don't mind." Said Dennis, through his helmet. Hotchkiss motioned him forward, and Dennis went down the stairs. Each stair lit up even more with every footfall, and at the bottom of the stairs was one more scientist, standing in awe at the door in front of him. Dennis looked upward at the advanced set up, and he too found himself in a wondrous gaze at the technology before him. This looked even more advanced than the things he had seen as a child in the Commonwealth, or even in the holotapes of the world in the days before the war. Why would such things be buried among the cornfields of this nothing state?
"Incredible." Said Hotchkiss, as he moved past Dennis. He touched the vault door with his gloved hand and withdrew it quickly. "It's vibrating." He noted. The other scientist at the vault door nodded.
"There's definetely power to the door." He said. Hotchkiss sniffed the air in the room and then turned around to find the lit up door controls. He marveled at the touch screen display on the controls. "We've never seen any working tech like that." Said the scientist, as he joined Hotchkiss.
"So it's true... not just in the Commonwealth, but here too. Microchip technology... the future that could have been..." Said Hotchkiss trailing off. He cleared his throat and turned to the other man. "Have you opened up any communication yet?" He demanded. The man shook his head.
"We've been waiting for your command-" Said the man. Hotchkiss turned away from the man, rather dismissively, and placed his gloved hand on the controls. Nothing happened. Hotchkiss huffed out and brought his tablet up to the control screen and went to record the images, when suddenly a blue light emanated from the control panel's screen and scanned both Hotchkiss and his tablet. He stepped back in surprise, and a tone sounded from the panel. Immediately, the control lit up and the vault door began to hum loudly. Readouts went scrolling across the control screen, and Hotchkiss took out his camera to begin recording the texts.
"It's reading the outside atmosphere! Levels of radiation... moisture... air content! Everything!" Said Hotchkiss, very excitedly. The scans stopped and then a quick flash lit the room. "Oh.." Said Hotchkiss. The readout scrolled across. The last bit of text to scroll had read 'Human'. The massive vault door sounded a strange tone, and then it too lit up. Dennis raised his plasma rifle at the door and stepped in front of the scientists. The door came forward and then started to move into it's open position.
"Did you open that, Sir?" He asked.
"It was an automatic function!" Said Hotchkiss. Dennis pressed his hand against his helmet to radio the other soldiers.
"We may have trouble!" Said Dennis. The radio buzzed back with a reply, and Dennis turned his attention back to the door. It completed it's loud opening, just as the other six soldiers joined the rest of them at the vault entrance. The commander made some hand movements, and Dennis and another soldier went inside, guns drawn and at the ready.
"Touch nothing!" Hissed out Hotchkiss. He followed along with the soldiers and kept recording the event on his holotape camera. The inside of the entrance was not like that of a Vault-tec vault at all. There were plants and thick cushioned walls at the back of the entrance, and what looked to be a large monitor. On the monitor, Hotchkiss could see themselves being watched in real time. The next large door hissed open before Dennis could even get near it, and the vault hallway ahead of him lit up. It was clean, untouched. "Perfectly preserved!" Said Hotchkiss under his breath.
"This tech will set us years ahead! Congratulations Hotchkiss!" Said one of the scientists who had also ventured into the vault. Hotchkiss smiled in appreciation. The Enclave would be able to use this undiscovered technology, and destroy any other force that stood in there way. The dawn of the new era was upon them. He traveled down the automatically illuminating hallway with the soldiers and took in the reality of the situation. All of the power nodes were behind pristine walls, and there were no visible power conduits. The vault was almost alien... almost unreal.
"Jesus!" Yelled out one of the soldiers, as he backed up into the group. In the room in front of them lay a large lush garden, full of trees and running water. The entire atrium was one big terrarium, complete with a gardener. The gardener, a tall white, slender droid of some unknown origin, went about it's business, completely ignoring the soldiers and scientists. The soldiers moved in cautiously, barrels poised at the tall droid. It continued it's watering of the garden, and then quickly turned to look at the soldiers. They all stood staring back at the machine, ready to open fire.
"Designation." Said the machine. Hotchkiss raised a hand to the soldiers and stepped forward.
"Explain." Demanded Hotchkiss. Dennis kept his gun trained on the machine. The tall white faceless stick man turned to face Hotchkiss.
"Designation." It repeated. "Designation, Green Thumb 2." Said the android, as it pointed to itself. Hotchkiss nodded.
"We are the United States army, here by the order of Colonel James Moore!" Said Hotchkiss, in an unwaivering tone. The android seemed to gesture a nod.
"Good evening the United States army, here by the order of Colonel James Moore." It said. "How can I help you?" It asked, in a polite voice. Some of the soldiers scoffed out and lowered their weapons, but Dennis stayed at attention. He never trusted robots, never.
"We are here to survey this facility and rescue any survivors. We've come to bring them all home." Said Hotchkiss. Of course that was never the intent, but it did sound better than the truth. "Can you point us to the overseer of the vault?" He asked. The android pointed to a large door at the left side of the room.
"Control can be found there." It said. Then it returned to it's tasks, seemingly done with interaction. Hotchkiss began to take photos of the garden and the robot. He spotted gravestones at the back of the garden, twenty-eight of them to be precise. He took note of it and continued onwards.
"Sir, I recommend that we wait for orders from the colonel." Said Commander Dennis. Hotchkiss turned to him.
"And risk a bunch of primitives raiding this place while we're waiting? Ridiculous!" He said, pushing onward. "We've only scratched the surface of this vault! Imagine the reactor this place must run on- we could harvest a new power system from it alone!" He said, as he made his way towards the control. The soldiers quickly followed him and took point again. They made their way to the large door and it hissed open as they approached. Hotchkiss looked inside the room and gasped.
Inside the room were roughly three dozen pods, sized for one to two people each, arranged in a circle around a massive computer tower. The walls too, were of some computational devices, all plugged in and running with the main tower at the center. Serene glowing lights from above and beneath lit the room, and a number of blinking lights seemed to form a path to the computer tower. The tower must have stood more than two stories tall, and it hummed with electricity. Hotchkiss took more photos and smiled. He motioned for Dennis to check the nearest pod, and Dennis went to investigate.
Inside the pod lay two unclothed people, a young man and an older woman, connected by hoses and wires from their mouths, eyes, and genital areas to each other. The pod was dimly lit, and looked to be weather controlled. The two occupants were alive, Dennis could see their pulses, yet they were completely oblivious to the world around them. Something or someone had done this to them, whatever this was. Another soldier went to investigate a different pod, and another one after that.
"The same all over." Said one of the soldiers. "One man to one woman in each pod." He said. Hotchkiss stepped forward to the computer tower. There were a number of fascinating read outs running up one of it's many monitors. One monitor read 'sequence 13.5 ending. Simulation: Cedar Rapids 3.17.1971 beginning.' Hotchkiss went to another monitor. It read something similar, 'Simulation Cedarfalls 11.23.2035 status running.' Hotchkiss backed away from the tower and took in all of the monitors. They seemed to correspond with the pods around them.
"My God... what is this?" He asked himself. He looked at the displays above the pods from the reverse angle, and let his jaw drop wide open. On every monitor, a first person perspective could now be seen. Every person having their own simulated reality on the screen above them. It was a technological marvel, but also a monstrosity of science. "This is no vault..." He said to himself.
"Sir!" Said Dennis, as he rounded the massive computer tower. "Here!" He said. Hotchkiss quickly made his way around the considerable mass of circuitry, only to come face to face with the only singular individual hooked up to the tower.
"She's the only one on her own..." Said Hotchkiss. He looked inside the pod and noted the differences of the young female inside. "Look at this... no hose to the mouth... she's fully clothed... but there's no pulse?" He said. Dennis shook his head and looked over the girl. She was young, as if in her early teenage years. Her face was peaceful, and it reminded him a little of the girl that he fancied back in basic training when he was just sixteen years old. This girl's face was clean however, free from blemishes or scarring. She had one small birthmark on her right cheek, but other than that, she looked uniformly picture perfect. It was almost freaky looking in a sense.
"Something fishy about all this." He said. "This one must be in some kind of stasis... damn... maybe she's prewar?" Asked Dennis. He pointed to the outdated clothing that the young girl wore. Her red dress was covered with a smallish white apron, and her shoes were very old. They looked like the shoes in the old holotape shows from before the year 2000. So to did her knee length socks and red ribbon in her dark hair seem out of place. Nothing in this room made any sense, but the lifeless body of the girl in the pod was the most bizarre.
"That's well before war time. Is that even from the millennium?" Asked Hotchkiss to himself. He scanned the girl for any other clues before turning to Dennis. "Open one of the pods." He ordered.
"That might kill the occupants!" Said the other scientist, as he approached the pod with the strange girl. "Or it could wake them all up!" He warned. Hotchkiss motioned to one of the soldiers nearby, and he along with one other soldier began to tinker with a pod close to them.
"We'll just have to see, won't we? This technology is beyond anything that Robco or Vault-tec ever produced." Said Hotchkiss. "These people are all basically brain dead already." He said, as he crossed his arms and turned toward the two soldiers. The two of them worked tirelessly to open the pod, but found it impenetrable. Hotchkiss turned to the Commander. "Just blast it open." He commanded. The commander nodded and raised his 9mm gun towards the pod in question. A large and jarring image of a face appeared in front of the soldiers and the scientists on the wall in front of them. It was not projected from a visible source, it was more made up of tiny moving fragments of light, emanating from quickly shifting bits of gravity defying metal cubes. The face looked down at them, regarding each person warmly. The face was that of the young girl in the mysterious pod. Her dark brown eyes fixed on Hotchkiss.
"Hello." Said the face of the girl, in a slightly monotone but friendly voice. "William Hotchkiss, it's nice to meet you." She said. Hotchkiss raised an eyebrow and motioned for Dennis to lower his gun.
"Hello... to whom am I speaking?" Asked Hotchkiss to the face. The girl's face seemed to get a little smaller but also closer to Hotchkiss. She looked down at Dennis and then back to Hotchkiss.
"I am the overseer of this vault. I designed it, I constructed it, and I maintain it. My name is Victoria." She said. Hotchkiss nodded and slowly brought his tablet up to eye level.
"You scanned my device? Is that how you know my name?" He asked. The face gave an unconvincing smile, and then quickly returned to it's near emotionless countenance.
"Yes. You are a very interesting person, Mr. Hotchkiss. Although many of your findings and ideas are largely incorrect, I find your pursuit of scientific discovery to be quite admirable especially given the social environment that you are a part of." Said the girl. Dennis looked back around behind them, back to the pod, and saw that the girl was still unconscious. His attention returned to the large face. "I have met scientists very similar to you before. I hope that you and I can become friends." She said.
"Yes!" Said Hotchkiss, stepping forward. "That would be something that we would all like. Can you share some information about this vault with us? We've never seen anything outside of Vault-tec technology used, in terms of vaults and bunkers. How did you alone do all of this?" The girl's attention turned to the soldiers standing by one of the pods, and then to the other scientist in the room. She finally settled her gaze back to Hotchkiss.
"I am not Vault-tec technology, nor am I a product of Robco." She stated. Hotchkiss turned to the other scientist, who in turn gave him a puzzled look back. "I am Victoria. I am the first." She added. Hotchkiss turned back around to the face.
"I don't understand, are you this girl?" He asked, pointing to the girl in the pod. She had still not moved or even stirred in the least bit. "Or are you part of the computer system here?" Asked Hotchkiss. The face furrowed her brow slightly and seemed to tilt to the side in a questioning manner.
"Yes, I am that girl. I designed the vault, I constructed the vault, and I maintain the vault." She said, shaking her head slightly at Hotchkiss, as if his question was the most rudimentary thing he could have asked. "I am currently multi-tasking in several areas that require my attention, but I will be with you shortly." She added. Dennis leaned over to Hotchkiss.
"Sir, I've got a nasty feeling about this kid. I think it would be prudent to set up communication with this vault from a more secure area." He said, hoping to incite the scientist into a reasonable retreat.
"There's no need for that, Edward." Said the girl, as she focused her attention on him. Dennis snapped his face towards her. "There is no area more secure than this one, so long as you follow the protocols set in place for this vault." She continued.
"What sort of protocols?" Asked Hotchkiss. Dennis backed away, being very careful not to make any sudden movements. "Why are these people in these chambers like this? What's happening to them?" Asked Hotchkiss, as he stepped forward.
"Safety protocols, of course, Mr. Hotchkiss. I wouldn't want anyone getting hurt." Said the face. She returned her eyes to Hotchkiss. "Especially in light of your activities six days ago, 13.7 miles south of Cedar Rapids." She continued. Hotchkiss stumbled and his mouth involuntarily opened and closed a few times.
"That... six days? Six days ago south of Cedar..." Began Hotchkiss. The face tilted to the side once again.
"You had Commander Dennis shoot and kill three human beings, and made their respective families watch as their loved ones perished at his hands. That was only six days ago, I would think that a man of your intellect could remember an event as recent as that." Said the face, once again shaking her head in a shameful manner. "They begged for mercy, and private Thompson laughed. Lieutenant Garcia even fired several rounds into one of the bodies so that the grieving family members could not bare to see the corpse's face. Do you remember?" She said, still in her monotone but friendly tone.
"That was unfortunate..." Began Hotchkiss. Dennis made a slight hand motion to his squad, and they moved into a formation around Hotchkiss and the other scientist. "There were misunderstandings on both sides..." He said. The face turned to look at the formation and gave her quick unconvincing smile once more.
"There are still sides, outside of this vault? Tell me, Mr. Hotchkiss, did we win? Did America win the war?" She asked, that slight inhuman smile still curling at her lips. "You are the first outside human contact that I've had since October 15th, 2077. You are by and large the only accurate depiction of modern human society that I have access to at this moment." She added.
"We remain triumphant and strong willed as a nation." Said Hotchkiss, spouting out the words of the Enclave. He gave the face a nod. "We're endeavouring to rebuild, to work together so that we can be great again." He said. The face, in some indescribable way, went cold.
"I am a proud American, Mr. Hotchkiss. All of my parts were manufactured in America. The scientists who altered my body and programmed me did so to advance American life. I believe in the core values put forth by our founding fathers, so many years ago." She said. Dennis put a hand on Hotchkiss's shoulder.
"Sir, we have to leave." He said. Hotchkiss gave him a slight nod. The face teleported it's position to in front of their exit. Dennis and the rest of the soldiers readied their firearms. The face of the girl beamed a toothy smile down at them.
"All of these people in the pods around you, are safe. They live in a perpetual retelling of the golden age of the United States of America, until such time as the environment is deemed safe for human life. With your entrance to this vault, I have been given the good news that the outside world is indeed nearing the required safety levels needed to begin the process of ending these simulations." She said, moving closer to the group. Her smile faded and she turned her attention to Hotchkiss once more. "Regrettably, you, Mr. Hotchkiss, Commander Dennis, Private Thompson, and Lieutenant Garcia, you are variables in this equation used to measure the safety requirements of the environment. Indeed, I have added the entirety of the Enclave, the Brotherhood of Steel, the Legions of Caesar and the New California Republic army into my equation." She said. Dennis and the soldiers raised their guns and formed a circle around the two scientists.
"I think we can discuss this in a more amiable fashion, sometime later..." Began Hotchkiss, with a shaky voice. The face smiled at them all.
"My multi-tasking is at an end. I can focus on you now. Mr. Hotchkiss, as I said, I am a proud American citizen. Do you know this flag?" Said the face. The face was replaced in front of them with an old American flag, wavering in some unseen wind. Hotchkiss began to panic, and the squad led him around the computer tower in a defensive position. "It represented the people of this country, not it's leaders. There was a time when people would stand together for this flag, in unity, with the hope of a bright future in store for them." Said the girl's voice. Dennis motioned to his squad to take point towards the door.
"We're getting you out of here, now!" He hissed at Hotchkiss. Hotchkiss gritted his teeth, and his palms went cold. "Hotchkiss! Are you listening to me? We're moving!" Said Dennis.
"When I was in school, I would stand at attention for this flag. I believed in these words, I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty..." Began the voice. The squad went to move, but just as they passed the girl's pod, it hissed out and steam shot across the soldiers field of vision. They became disoriented and separated from each other. The girl's voice continued. "... and justice for all."
"Shit!" Yelled the younger scientist, as the pod's glass covering shattered. The lights in the atrium turned yellow, and a horrible screeching sound filled the air. The girl sat up in the pod and turned her emotionless face towards Hotchkiss.
"Intruders. Terminate all hostiles, protect the humans." Said the girl, Victoria. In an instant, five of the tall white androids filed into the room, including Green Thumb 2. The soldiers took cover and began to immediately fire upon the droids. Hotchkiss hid behind one of the pods along with the other scientist, and Dennis who had taken cover there too. "Terminate." Said Victoria again, as the white droids began to fire hot green bursts of plasma from their now opened faces.
One droid went down in an explosive death, then another, and then one of the soldiers. His tesla armor melted around him and he screamed helplessly as the plasma reached the suits power cells, before cooking him alive. The gruesome death incited the commander.
"Grenades!" He ordered. The soldiers across from him both flung their grenades in unison at the closest droid. It caught one grenade in mid air and tossed it back to the soldiers, just before the second grenade blew it's head off. It dropped to the ground just as the two soldiers tried to escape the blast, one did not make it and his leg was torn from his body. He screamed for a few seconds and then blacked out into death. The two remaining droids concentrated their fire on the pilot, and finally caught him in the head. His head disappeared into a red haze, and his body slumped over towards Dennis.
"Fuck!" Yelled the young scientist. "I told you not to touch the pod! I fucking told you!" He screamed. Dennis tossed his grenade into the air near the droids and ran out into the open, firing on the closest droid. It returned fire, but was blasted by two other soldiers. It's head exploded and it stopped moving, while the last remaining droid was caught in the explosion of the grenade. Silence filled the room as Hotchkiss slowly stood up to survey the damage. The pods, save for the one that the girl had been in, were still in clean functional order. His soldiers however, had been reduced to just four, and no pilot. The girl too, had apparently escaped in the chaos of the fire fight.
"Damn..." Said one of the soldiers as he stood up. He pointed to the doorway so that the others could see. Five dead unarmed scientists lay at it's entrance, having tried to investigate the gunshots. "Damn." He repeated. Hotchkiss was dumbfounded, his mind raced and the only thing he could think of was a court martial waiting for him in Chicago.
"Sir, we have to fall back and regroup- there could be other security measures to deal with here." Said the commander, who sounded a little shaken. "Those weapons cut right through our armor. We can't risk any confrontation!" He added. Hotchkiss nodded and moved with the other scientist to join the four soldiers. A clanking sound behind them made Dennis spin around.
"Watch it!" Screamed Dennis, as the four soldiers lifted their guns again. Hotchkiss turned around, just in time to see his fellow scientist get a tiny fist shoved upward through his abdomen, and into his chest. A horrible spray of blood and tissue left the young man's mouth, as he tried to scream out. The little girl lifted him off the ground with her tiny arm.
"Bleck!" Gurgled out the scientist. Then he went limp and the light left his eyes. The little girl who had been sleeping, was now fully awake. She dropped the corpse onto the floor and then turned her attention to the rest of the group. Her once clean red dress was spattered with the dark red insides of a nameless scientist, and her perfectly kept hair had a small streak of red blood through her pulled back ponytail. The girl's sweet looking face showed no emotion, no anger or any kind of malice, but in the blink of an eye her foot went up to the jaw of Hotchkiss's head, there was a sickening wet snapping sound, and his head detached from his neck. The head flew into the air, leaving a rocket of blood and bone in it's path. Hotchkiss's decapitated head smacked one soldier in his chest.
"Fuck!" Yelled the soldier, as he dropped his gun and scraped the viscera off of his chest. "Fuck this!" He screamed as he ran for the door. The other soldiers fired upon the girl, but she had disappeared behind the pod quicker than their eyes could see. A plasma pistol shot rang out, and the retreating soldier dropped to his knees. His armor had a large glowing green hole in it, and Dennis could see through the poor man's chest to other side of the door.
"No!" Yelled out Dennis, as he went running to find the girl. Another shot rang out and the retreating soldier's head was gone. Simply gone, as if it had never been on his body. The geysering body fell to the floor, and Dennis rounded the corner. There was no one. Another shot rang out and the two other soldiers screamed, just before a massive grenade explosion tore them both limb from limb. One of the men's helmet had been blown off, and his mouth was moving as if he were to trying to mutter something out to Dennis. The child had shot one of the soldier's grenades, while it was still on his belt. Dennis felt dizzy, and panicked, his heart beat in his chest like a drum during a parade, and he quickly turned around, gun drawn and shaking. He was alone, in this room with this horrible child. How could a girl so small do all of this?! The girl was so small that she couldn't be seen over the pods and equipment of the room. Just as he decided to make a run for it, he heard the quick footsteps behind him and then he felt the sharp pain in his gut. "F-" He got out, before falling to his knees.
Dennis looked down at his armor, and the long piece of glass had punctured through his armor, somehow, someway, and it had pierced him right into his stomach, the shard painfully sticking out of it. He felt a swarm of nauseating feelings wash over him, and he threw up inside of his helmet. His eyes teared up and the vomit inside his armor sloshed around as he stumbled forward, his gun still in hand. He raised it up and spun around, looking for the abominable little bitch that had just murdered his entire squad.
Then there came the searing pain as his gun arm was ripped from his body, still in it's armor casing, by a tiny hand. He fell backwards and sputtered, his remaining arm shaking uncontrollably. He looked up into the yellow lights of the atrium, and watched as they returned to their happy glow once more. The girl appeared in his field of vision, upside down from his vantage point. She stood over him, emotionless and cold, covered in his blood, and his arm still in her grasp. His index finger on his gun arm twitched, and he gasped out. He tried to say anything at her, but he choked on his own blood. The girl brought her foot up, covered in a delicate little black buckled shoe from pre war times, and then brought it down quickly and firmly onto Dennis's forehead. He heard the cracking, and then he was gone.