CHAPTER ONE

I stand, gaping at the door of Vault 2. The bombs have finally stopped falling less than a month ago. And they want me to go out… there… and check things out. I haven't been outside of the vault for at least three months.

My name is Jessica Green and I am the chief of security for Vault 2, located in what used to be Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The vault overseer wants me to go out there because I am 'chief of security'. He just doesn't like me and wants me to die of radiation poisoning. Figures. I suppose I shouldn't have worked with those troublemaking teenagers to pull pranks on Overseer Segunda, but it gets so boring being chief of security. There's nothing to do besides lots of paper pushing.

Him and his personal bodyguards 'convinced' me to go outside and investigate the world, so here I stand. And here I have been standing for what feels like hours. I can't go out there. It's not safe. And Segunda definitely knows that. We were supposed to stay in the vault for at least a year after the bombs stopped falling. But no, "it'll be fine," the overseer said to me, with guns pointed.

I take a deep breath, possibly my last, and pull the lever. The door slowly creaks open. I gasp at how bright it is outside. Sure it is 10 a.m. but shouldn't there be waves of green everywhere? A blackened sun and deadly fumes? But there's the sun, shining as bright as ever.

Stepping outside still seems deadly. There is absolutely no vegetation in sight. Any trees that are left are just charred stumps. I take another deep breath and exhale sharply. It's now or never. There's no way I'd be able to return to the vault without news of the outside. I would be dead, literally.

I place my right foot on what used to be grass but is now blackened soil. Then my left. I decide to leave the door to the vault open in case I need to make a quick getaway.

It is dead silent outside. Not a bird can be seen or heard. Although there are no more trees for them to live in. I look at the ground, scanning it. There are no insects. After a few deep breaths, I determine that the air outside is not what it used to be. It seems stifling and I really have to try to get oxygen in my lungs.

"Well, I guess it's okay," I say aloud to no one in particular. Then I realize that no one truly can hear me out here and I start screaming. I haven't been able to scream since I went in the vault. There are always ears listening in there. Besides, if someone heard you talk above a high whisper, you'd better either be on your deathbed or a young child. Anything else and you could be sent to the mental hospital. I know because dragging 'crazy' people to the asylum is one of my scarce duties. Segunda is trigger happy when it comes to sending people to the loony box. It's like he enjoys hearing moans of pain in the dead of night. And I'm fairly certain he conducts sick experiments on the patients.

I'm in the middle of screaming an incoherent sentence about how I hate Segunda when the coughing starts. I tell myself it's because of my weakened vocal chords, I haven't even talked in a while. But this coughing is way more than that. It takes more and more work to inhale after every cough. I start hacking up a dark green mucous and collapse to the ground. My eyes are burning. But I can't make it back to the door. I'm going to have to crawl. In between hacks, I try to rotate myself back towards Vault 2.

Before I can even turn 90 degrees, I start vomiting. It's a mixture of blood and the dark green mucous. I gasp at the sight of it, but that only makes me vomit more. My eyes are squeezed shut from the burning and I'm just trying to get my breathing back to normal. My heart seems to be beating out of place, and my abdomen is throbbing.

After a couple of minutes, I can finally breathe almost normally. It's still shallow and difficult, but I've stopped vomiting. I open my eyes and see a dog in the distance. A dog? Out here? I didn't think it was possible for any creature to survive the nuclear blasts. Maybe I'm hallucinating.

It's coming closer, really low to the ground. It's dark brown and seems like it has six legs. I'm just about to question why a dog would have antennae when I realize it's not a dog.

It's a gigantic cockroach. And it's headed right for me.

I must have made too much noise. It probably hasn't heard any noise since the bombs were done. And I must look like the perfect meal to it. Great.

I try to get to my feet again but it's impossible. The air seems thinner even one foot off the ground. So I'm frantically trying to crawl back to the vault door when I start coughing again.

The door's getting closer, but so is the giant roach. I can hear it's wings flapping and it's feet scurrying. I'm praying that I don't throw up again when I finally get my hand back on the cool metal floor of the interior of the vault. I throw the lever and watch as the door slowly creaks closed again. Please, please close before the roach gets in here.

The door slams shut, trapping just a couple of inches of antennae inside the vault. I can hear it screech and see the antennae twisting. I am in serious danger of puking again.

I can hear footsteps coming towards me. I find my footing again and smooth out my uniform. There is Overseer Segunda, with an expectant look on his face. "Well?" he asks me.

I take a moment to catch my breath and respond, "It is so not safe out there."

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