10:00AM October 23rd, 2077:

War never changes. It can destroy so much, but also reap a new beginning. A new start at society. A second chance. The only problem is that it takes so much away. It takes away our homes, the things we love, the things we strived to be, the things we wished we could save. This is the exact reason why war never changes; the destruction can never be bypassed.

All of us were so unprepared. The day the Vault-Tec representative came to our door, we had no idea that our lives would be changed so drastically, or furthermore, other lives would be lost. When I woke up that day, all I thought about was my wonderful family and the life we had made with each other. My husband Nate and my infant son, Shaun. I loved them both so much. So you can imagine how I felt when Codsworth called me in the living room to look at the devastating news or when the bomb alarms went off. I needed to save them. I needed to save the only thing that mattered anymore. My family. I swung open our orange front door and ran with Nate and Shaun to the Vault. Vault 111. Our new home. Or lack of home. I had no idea how much would change. Not just the world, but our family, our society.

¨CITIZENS OF SANCTUARY HILLS, FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO ARE RESERVED A SPOT IN VAULT 111 COME TO THE GATE IMMEDIATELY!¨ Voices shouted through the loudspeakers.

As we sprinted, I found it shocking that everything looked normal. It was a beautiful, sunny day outside and the light glinted through the red leaves of the forest. Fluttering Halloween decorations flashed bright orange and black, and the houses stood stoic and strong, as if nothing could knock them down. Residents hurried past and struggled to carry hastily packed suitcases. Friends hugged each other in the streets and said prayers. Couples quarreled over what luggage to take.

Now we were running even faster; approaching a chain link gate with power armored soldiers and another vault representative that held a clipboard.

¨We're on the list!¨ I shouted, my voice going shrill with worry.

People were in a panic. Women screamed and children cried while reaching out for their parents' hands.

¨Adult male...Infant...Adult female...Alright let 'em through they're on the list! Now, hurry!¨ And with that, the guard shoved us through the gate.

Both Nate and I could hear all the citizens begging for mercy. They cried out for the guard to let them in. What was going to happen to them? The people who weren't accepted into the vault. Were they going to die? We hurried up the hill; along the path towards another man in security armor. The man shouted.

¨Cmon let's move it! Hurry, and get on the platform!¨

A number of people stood on a giant, gear-shaped platform with the number 111 painted on it. Nate, Shaun, and I reached it just in time. Just in time for the explosion.

BANG.

The entire world seemed to go silent, until you could hear a steadily growing rushing noise. The ground shook and the sky went a starburst of colors. Red, orange, yellow, white, and black. A giant, billowing mushroom cloud arose in the east and it spread across the earth with an alarming speed.

¨LOWER THEM! NOW!¨

Nate took my hand. ¨It's gonna be okay! I love you guys.¨ He said.

Right when the black cloud was just about to reach us, the platform lurched and the blast went right over our heads. Nate shielded Shaun with his body and the metal beneath us lurched again and again. Downwards. Just in time before the blast shook through Sanctuary Hills. My home. Our home. And all those people who weren't on the list? They were surely dead. The platform sunk even lower and I witnessed many frightened faces among us.

¨What's going on?¨ A woman cried. ¨What happened?¨ Another asked.

Some people looked as if they were in shock, while others openly sobbed; crouched on the floor. I don't blame them, and I don't think anyone should. They were so innocent.

We arrived into the Vault; a long cavern with, again, a large gear shaped door with the number 111 on it. A man in a long white coat and a clipboard came to greet our cowering selves.

¨Welcome to Vault 111. I know you all must be very frightened but I promise you everything will be alright.¨ He gave an affirming nod. ¨Now, before we go deeper inside the vault, you need to be decontaminated. Please relax, and follow me.¨

All of us walked cautiously behind the man; down a hallway and into a room with several, odd looking human sized chambers mounted on the walls. An assistant stepped in front of me and held up a blue jumpsuit with the 111 logo on it written in yellow.
¨Please ma'am, put this on a sit inside one of our decontamination pods.¨

I looked at my husband. Nate gave a reassuring look and said: ¨Everything will be ok.¨ He squeezed my hand. These were the last words he ever said to me.

I slipped on the tight-fitting Vault 111 jumpsuit and took a seat in the pod. A countdown began inside and I looked at Nate and Shaun in the adjacent chamber.

¨FIVE.¨

I pressed my hand up to the fogging glass of the pod.

¨FOUR.¨

Nate looked at me with reassurement and smiled. My breath came in nervous puffs of white.
¨THREE.¨

The air was turning frigid, and I shivered inside my thin jumpsuit.

¨TWO.¨

The glass turned completely opaque with ice forming on the sides.

¨ONE. OCCUPANT ENGAGED. ENTERING CRYOGENIC SLEEP.¨

I felt my mind drifting off into whiteness.

¨MANUAL OVERRIDE INITIATED. CRYOGENIC STASIS SUSPENDED.¨

Footsteps. Mumbled discussion. And it was cold. So, so cold. The glass on the pod was slowly defrosting so I could see a blurry view through to my husband...and two figures. One in a white hazmat suit and a bald man with a scar stretching across his left eye.

¨This is the one. Here.¨ A woman's voice spoke from inside the hazmat suit. She pointed to my husband's pod.

¨Open it.¨ This time the man spoke.

The woman in the suit hit a couple of buttons on the panel next to Nate's pod, and a hissing noise came from inside. The door of the chamber slowly opened and Nate, with his arms clutching Shaun, was heaving and shivering with cold. What was going on? Is everything over?

¨What's going on? Is it over? Are we okay?¨ Nate coughed and Shaun started crying. I pounded on the glass with my fist. No one seemed to notice.

The man spoke again. ¨Almost. Everything's going to be fine.¨

¨Shhh, shhh, come here...¨ The woman reached for Shaun.

Nate resisted her and held onto him. ¨No, wait. I've got him!¨

The woman tugged harder on Shaun, but Nate still wouldn't let go. I pounded my fist against the glass, even harder this time, looking fearfully at the situation.

¨Let the boy go. I'm only gonna tell you once!¨ The man with the scar pulled out a gun and aimed it at Nate's head.

No. God no, no, no. This could not be happening.

I pounded my fists furiously on the glass and cried out.

¨I'm not giving you Shaun!¨ Nate yelled. His final words.

BANG.

The shot rang out inside my head. Nate's body slumped inside the pod and the woman pulled the screaming Shaun free.

¨Goddammit! Get the kid outta here, and let's go...¨

The decontamination pod's door closed shut on Nate. My breathing was panicky by now and I watched in shock as the man approached my pod.

¨At least we still have the backup...¨ He said.

I released my fists in a fury against the glass once more. I needed to get out. I needed Nate. I needed Shaun.

¨CRYOGENIC SEQUENCE REINITIALIZED.¨

Once again, fog covered my vision and I drifted into the white coldness.