Chapter 1: Time and Place for Everything
Natalie sat at the end of the bed, her stomach turning in nervousness as Jeff slowly kissed her. She tried to focus on him, on his lips pressing lightly on hers, but all she could think of was how much trouble she would be in when her father saw the man with her. Natalie and Jeff had been dating for about two years now. He had asked her hand in marriage one romantic night at dinner, much to her excitement and slight dismay. Her family was very strict about their lifestyle. Her dad a general, he wanted simply the best for his daughter. She feared that the brown haired, blue-eyed beauty sitting next to her wasn't going to make the cut. Natalie loved her family and feared that she would disappoint them. She heard a door shut downstairs. She stopped kissing Jeff, slightly pushing him away.
"What is it, sweetheart?" He looked at Natalie, concerned, clearly not hearing the shuffling feet below them. He tilted his head slightly. When he did this he reminded her of one of the greaser boys from an old romance movie. He even dressed like him.
"I think it's my dad," She sighed and placed her hand gently over his. "I know you want to properly introduce yourself, but maybe we should wait a while?"
Jeff huffed a little, his blue eyes looking sad. "Nat, I know you're worried what your dad might think of me, but you're a grown woman. And while his approval would be a great way to start our life together, you can't live your life based solely off his opinions." He stood up, physically preparing himself for the meeting. "You said you would introduce us and now the opportunity is here. So are you ready?"
Natalie groaned a little. "Come on, you can just sneak out the window… like when we first met. Remember? My eighteenth birthday when you brought me that giant teddy bear." She let out a small laugh, "You had only known me a month and you were already sneaking into my room."
"Hey, I didn't want to waste my time. It'd be easy to lose a catch like you." He gave a flashy smile. She felt her heart beat a little faster. She always had a hard time deciding whether it was his eyes or his smile that first won her heart over.
"NATALIE!?" Her father bellowed in his military voice. She had no idea what he could have been so upset about, unless he had seen Jeff's motorcycle. "DOWNSTAIRS, NOW!" He shouted, barely muffled by the closed door and distance.
Natalie tucked her hair behind her ear, a nervous habit she had developed at a young age. "I'm coming, dad." She tried to say it loudly but wondered if he could even hear her. She looked in the stand-up mirror as she walked towards the door. She took a long look at herself, wondering if she would ever look, or even feel, like a grown woman. "Nineteen years old and I've still got the face of a fifteen year old high schooler." She sighed solemnly as she looked over her features. Dark brown hair down past her shoulders. Large hazel eyes that verged on the color green. She was still as short as her fifteen year old self. Jeff stood about a foot taller than her.
"Well, babe. At least you won't have to worry about your looks as you get older." Jeff said jokingly, his hand gently touching the side of her waist. Her dress felt soft under his hand. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, his skin felt smooth. A fresh shave. "Let's go."
As she walked down the stairs, her knees felt wobbly from her nerves. She felt her hands shaking while she heard him beginning to yell again "Natalie! Come down stairs now!"
"Dad, I need to talk to you," She quickly began. "This-"
"Not now, Natalie. You need to pack your bags. We're heading out." He already had a suitcase on the table, packing up clothes.
"What's going on?" Natalie looked with wide eyes. Her father didn't even notice the boy standing behind her. "Is it about the war?"
He looked at her quickly, doing a double take as he finally noticed Jeff. "Who is this?" He looked slightly angered, but still nervous about whatever had him packing his bags in the first place.
"Sir, my name is Jeffrey Lamb," He swiftly reached out his hand. Natalie's father slowly reached out and shook it. "I know these are very strange circumstances."
"Natalie Graham you have two minutes to explain," He shot her a stern look. His jaw was clenched, his stance stiffened.
"Dad, I've been dating Jeff for a while now," Her father's eyebrows perched up in shock, "and he's asked me to marry him. I said yes, dad. Jeff's a good guy so-"
"Listen Natalie, under normal circumstances I would be giving you a lecture." He turned back to his suitcase, zipping up the last of his personal items. "Hell, how did you even- Well, that's not important right now. Listen, kid. Jeffrey…" He held his breath for a second. "Just go home to your family."
Jeff looked slightly confused, but spoke out "Sir, I know this may be shocking. I understand if you're even upset but I love your daughter. I'm not going to leave her-"
"No, you will leave my daughter. You will go and get your family and you better hope to God you have a spot saved in one of those vaults."'
Jeff opened his mouth, letting out a sound of anxiety. "Wh-What? Sir are you telling me that the bombs-"
"All the buttons have been pressed. Worldwide, bombs are dropping. They estimate about forty-five minutes until everything goes to shit." He looked completely serious, his jaw still clenching.
"No, no that can't be… That…" Natalie tried to find her words.
"Get your bags now, Natalie." He began to walk outside to the car.
Natalie rushed upstairs, Jeff following her closely. "This has to be a dream- a nightmare!" She slammed her door behind her.
"Nat, get your bags. You heard your father." Jeff looked at her, tears at the edge of his eyes. "You're gonna get out of here. You're gonna be safe."
Natalie felt something tug at her heart. She noticed her own tears that were now beginning to pour down her cheeks. "Jeff do you have somewhere-"
"Don't worry about me. My dad knows a place we can get to-"
"Then you need to go now, so you have enough time to get there." Natalie grabbed at his forearms, his leather jacket felt cool under her palms.
He turned his head slightly to the side, as if looking over his shoulder. She saw his throat move as he swallowed roughly. "I don't have anywhere to go, but I'm not gonna let you sit here with me and die." He turned to her closet, grabbing a couple of her dresses out and folding them into her bag.
"N-No I don't want to…" She felt herself gasping now as she wept. "Please don't leave me. Come with me. M-Maybe we can convince them to let you in. We… We can-"
"Nat, no. We both know they won't let me in. If you have the chance to live I'm not going to let you throw it away on me." He grabbed her shoulders, holding her while she sobbed. "I love you more than anything in this world. If I let you die here, even if it were with me. I would die miserable. I want you to live. Be happy when all this stuff is over…" He lifted her chin, wiping her eyes gently. "I love you Natalie Graham." He gave a long kiss, a goodbye kiss. She felt her heart ache. She thought about the short time they spent together. She thought about all the time they would never get to spend together. The family they'd never have. The house they'd never move in to. The world that would never exist anymore.
He helped her finish packing her bags and even carried them downstairs. Her father, who was now finishing up her mother's bags, gave a questioning look but didn't say anything. She looked at her father and shook her head. He nodded slightly, seeming to understand why he hadn't left. She followed Jeff out to the car.
He turned to her after he set her luggage in the trunk of the car. "Listen, I… I'm going to my dad's shop. I'm going to tell him what's going on and maybe we can find a place to hole up in. Just know I might not make it out of this."
Natalie felt the tears welling up again, but tried her best to hold them back. "Jeffrey, please. Try to find somewhere. I'll come find you when this is over."
He pulled her in to a tight embrace. They held each other for what felt like an eternity. Her father interrupted the scene, clearly anxious to get moving. "It's time to go. It was nice to meet you Jeffrey, I hope the best to you and your family."
Natalie gave Jeff one last look as he got on his motorcycle and sped off. Her father began to drive in the same direction, but he was already gone. After about ten minutes of awkward silence he cleared his throat. "How long?"
She looked at her father, her mouth felt dry. Her eyes puffy from crying. "It was going to be a year and nine months November fifteenth." She rubbed the back of her hand against her forehead. A headache was beginning to set in.
"Where did you two meet?" He asked softly.
"Dad, please. I don't want to talk about my doomed fiancé." She felt her voice catch in her throat.
"I was just wondering… You kept it a secret for so long." He began to pull into a small town called Sanctuary Hills. "If you said yes to him, he must have been an outstanding young man."
Natalie wiped the fresh tears that began sliding down her cheeks. She wondered if he would have thought the same had she introduced him sooner. "He was… Is a great man. You know he helps his dad down at that Red Rocket station we passed?" She let out a small laugh. "He's actually the co-owner. He could fix any car within a day or two as long as he had the parts." She found herself rambling and quickly stopped. "How did you get this vault, dad?"
"Your mother made me fill out all the paper work about a week ago. Good thing, too." He gave a tight smile. "She's already checked in for the vault. Vault 111." He parked the car on the side of the road. "Let's get going, sweetie."
They walked quickly up the pathway leading to the Vault-Tec billboard. As they reached the gate they began to hear sirens and multiple helicopters. They looked back down the hill and saw people rushing out of their houses. Some getting in their cars to drive off, some running to neighbor's houses. Most of them were running towards the hill with their own luggage and suitcases. Natalie turned back to see her father walking even quicker up the hill. They made it to the gate and had their names checked off the list.
They reached a platform where her mother stood, she stretched out her arms and pulled them both in for a close hug. "I was so worried. It felt like an eternity for you two get here." Her mother gave her father a quick kiss and then gave Natalie a small kiss on the cheek.
A couple more families joined them on the platform, all of them looking nervous and fidgeting. Natalie looked around and saw a family running up, a baby in the arms of a woman. Natalie looked back at her family her eyes beginning to fill with more tears. Then she saw it, saw something falling from the sky. Suddenly, a bright flash and the delayed sound of destruction.
"JUST HOLD ON!" She heard someone yell.
"Now! Send them down now!" A faint voice screamed as the platform began to shift lower in to the ground.
Everything began to shake. Natalie reached out and grabbed on to her father. "Hold on to me, sweetie. It's ok. Everything is ok!" He reassured them. Natalie looked up, watching harsh winds carrying debris above them as another platform closed above their heads.
Just as quickly as everything happened, it was all over. Silence. Only the screeching of the metal platform as it reached the bottom of the tunnel. Behind the fence stood people dressed in Vault-Tec apparel. Natalie felt her senses go numb. She imagined Jeff watching the same bomb fall from the sky. Helplessly standing out in the open, no protection from the radiation wave that began to wipe out buildings. Crushing everything in it's path. Destroying innocent people with it's heat. Before she knew it she was standing in a hallway.
"Ma'am, if you could please put on your vault suit and step in the decontamination chamber." The Vault-Tec worker handed her the blue jumpsuit that had slipped from her fingers and onto the floor.
"Yes, of course." She said hoarsely and grabbed the suit. She quickly changed, trying to ignore all the other bodies present in the room.
"Natalie, everything is going to be ok." Her mother gave her a worried look. "We're all together, safe and sound." She placed a comforting arm around Natalie. She didn't even tell her about Jeff. She wondered how her mother would have felt about him. Would she think that she picked a good man to say yes to?
"I know, mom." She gave her mother a soft, sad smile.
She stepped into the pod, the metal and plastic felt extremely cold against the thin layer of the jumpsuit. She breathed heavily, feeling cramped and nervous. She heard a couple of the representatives talking. "Six years, right?" One of them nodded. "Life support should hold them. Shit, these things can keep them frozen for centuries." Natalie was confused for a moment. What the hell are they talking about? Then her eyes widened in fear. She felt the cold, almost painful air filling the pod. She gasped, squeezing her eyes shut as everything began to fade from her vision. Everything felt still. Frozen.
