Screeching alarms pulsed through my ears, followed shortly by Amata's yelling. My eyes shot open as I jumped up out of my bed, gently grabbing her wrists while she panicked. With a somewhat sleepy tone, I quietly asked her "What's wrong, Amata? What happened?" It was an attempt to be soothing, and my quest for that was doomed from the start.
"Oh God, it's terrible! Your father, he-" she choked out, stopping midway to breathe. "He's gone! Your dad left the Vault!" As cliché as it sounds, my blood ran cold at her words.
My eyes narrowed, a nasty glare appearing on my face. Everything once sweet and tranquil disappeared. "You're lying." I muttered, clenching my teeth. She shook her head in apology, tears brimming in her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, I thought he would have told you."
I looked away from her, covering my face to keep me from crying. I was about to shout at her, or shout at the wall, or something, but steel-toed boots pounded on the wall and cut my attempt at anger short. The guards! Amata yelped in worry, and quickly fumbled a gun out of her pocket. "Here, take this, shoot anyone in your way. Hopefully, I'll be able to say goodbye to you at the Vault door." With those last words, she ran off, and I looked at the gun. It was curious, to say the least, holding a dangerous killing device in your hands. Nothing like my BB gun, and definitely not similar to the Tunnel Snakes' spitballs. From what I heard, the guard coming after me stopped when a Radroach attacked him, and for once I was thankful for its existence.
I used the spare time to grab my few valuables; my baseball bat, my BB gun, and my issue of Grognak the Barbarian. I wanted to grab some of the food ration tickets and a spare jumpsuit or two, but the guard had already crushed the roach, causing a sickening squelch. He shouted out an alert to the others when I poked my head out of my quarters. As the guard tried getting the gore off his shoe, I sprinted into the bathroom, which provided a small shortcut to where I needed to go. Butch stopped me about halfway into the women's bathroom and startled me as he started shouting.
"Oh man!" he cried. "You've gotta help me! My mom's stuck with the Radroaches and I can't get to her! Please man, you gotta help. She's gonna die soon!" My throat clenched at his words, as well as my fists. Butch always irritated me, bullying me and calling me names. I understand that he never meant it, but then he started getting Wally to do it, and that kid knew how to throw a verbal punch. Paul tried too, but it was never as effective. All three of them made some harsh blows on my self-esteem. Despite all of that, I felt bad for him. Poor kid didn't know his father, and his mother was a "recovering" alcoholic. I almost felt like we should've been best friends, given our somewhat similar situations. Missing half of our nuclear families and all.
"Yeah, fine. I'll help." I mumbled, rubbing my shoulder. "You didn't have to nearly break my bones, though." He thanked me profusely after my agreement, but I ignored it. What I wanted to know was why a near-adult didn't fight off the roaches himself? He had his "toothpick" -or whatever he called it- so couldn't he just wipe them out? I opened my mouth slightly to ask as he led me to his quarters, but I decided it would be best to leave it.
Using my new toy -well, I shouldn't call it that- I shot down all three of the bugs while not harming a cell of Ellen DeLoria. "She's saved! Christ, I dunno how to thank you!" he shouted, loudly I might add. "Take my jacket, please! It's the only thing close to good I have, sorry." I didn't want it, being that the jacket was extremely important to him and it wasn't like I would wear it, but I took it out of his hands with a smile on my face. Not wanting to be rude, I put it on and tugged at the edges, making sure it fit decently. Surprisingly enough, it smelled delightful, of leather and some cologne I've never smelled, with faint touches of whiskey. Masculine could be one word to describe it. It was big, not something I'd grow into, but it wasn't overly so. I liked it.
"I, uh, thank you, Butch." I muttered. My cheeks began to flush a bright red, and I left his quarters as soon as I could. As much as I hated to admit it, or even think about it, I had a crush on Butch. I don't know why; we weren't close, he hung out with his friends and I hung out with mine, and I'm pretty sure he didn't like me. Many a nights went by where I belittled myself for thinking about him for so long. He often dated other girls, having an especially long on-and-off relationship with Christine Kendall. Nice enough, but something about her queenly air ruffled my metaphorical feathers.
"Goddammit, don't lose focus now," I thought to myself, attempting to push all thoughts of romance out of my head. Now was survival time. Stupid fantasies could come later. There were more gunshots, and some bullets hit the ground in front of me. Two voices shouted at me to stop, but I kept running. I had to. My lungs were aching and my head was pounding, and I managed to get myself into a corner. The footsteps stopped for a moment.
"Where the fuck?..." one said in hushed tones. Footsteps continued as I prayed silently. They couldn't find me, they couldn't. My breathing grew shallow and I leaned against the metal machines. It must have made a "thunk" noise, or something that alarmed the guards, because their guns soon pointed at me and the duo owned threatening looks underneath their protective face shields.
"C'mon kiddo. We're just gonna take you to the Overseer, and everything will be fine," one crooned, coming closer to me. I whipped out my gun, my eyes wide with fear. They both flinched, one muttering something to the other.
The shots were so close together, I couldn't tell who fired first. It didn't matter though, seeing as I managed to get both of them in the chest with only one hit to my leg. Of course, this meant I could barely walk, let alone run, but I was lucky to survive. Blood seeped out and its scent filled the air, nearly making me vomit. The ground beneath me was spinning and I had to clutch the wall beside me to regain focus. When I had regained my physical senses, I lost my emotional ones. "I killed two men! Two men who had families, and who wouldn't have killed me at all if I just went with them!" my brain shrieked, my head beginning to throb as well as my leg. "Now, though, now they were gone and dead and-"
I let out a choked sob, before hobbling away. The pain was just under unbearable, and a thin layer of sweat shone on my face. I would cry and scream and regret life later; now, I just had to get to the door. No more men followed me, and I would have sighed with relief if I could. Instead, my lungs were aching and my heart was pounding along with my head.
Stanley and Andy fought off Radroaches when I met them, and they didn't have much time for talk. Stanley did grunt at me to hurry up and go, so I suppose he did notice me.
However, Jonas did not, considering he was dead.
"No! Jonas!" I screeched, falling to the ground and lifting him up. My hands shook as he levitated only a few inches off the ground. His eyes and mouth were closed, and he was dead and cold. Some of my tears fell on his face, dripping off on the ground. A holotape and some stimpaks laid in his pockets, and I took them with a heavy heart. Was it stealing if the man was dead? I didn't want to ponder the thought.
Most of my escape was a blur after that. I lockpicked and raided the Overseer's office, and shot at a few more people without killing them. Fatally wounding them, perhaps, but I didn't see them laying dead by my hand. It was good enough for me, at least.
My headache lowered to a dull throb that sharpened with every pulse. An ominous feeling of death overtook me, making me shiver and keep Butch's jacket on longer than I would have. I gathered my loose hairs out of my face and put it up into an extremely messy bun that I'd fix later.
Dad had suggested a haircut for a while, and it was a bit too late now to take him up on that offer.
Eventually, I found my way to the Vault door, Amata sprinting behind me. As we reached it, footsteps pounded yet again on the ground. At that point, I decided I hated footsteps with a passion. "Oh God, they're coming! You have to leave, or they'll kill you!" Amata shrieked. It was loud and echoed off the walls, but there was no use being quiet when you were close to death anyways. I shook my head in remorse.
"I-I know. Please, can you-?" I stuttered out before fists pounded on the door of the main hallway.
"Open up!" the guards shouted before bursting in. The Vault door was almost opened and I limped as fast as I could. Amata punched one of the guards, causing them to start a fistfight. The other two were chasing after me, up until I reached the outer part of the door. They quickly ran to close it, and I froze. The door slid shut.
I was no longer a part of Vault 101.
I had no one.
I sat by the door, listening to the guards and the Overseer and Amata. They were fighting, about what I couldn't tell. After a while, one slammed the door with his fist and sent me scurrying off.
The Capital Wasteland's sunlight was bright and burned my eyes. I couldn't help but flinch, and I started down the hill, shielding my eyes. Two radio stations registered on my Pip-Boy in a matter of moments; Galaxy News Radio and Enclave Radio. No clue what they were, but I preferred GNR's home-y tunes with awful quality compared to Enclave's monotonous rants and patriotic music. Three Dog shouted about raiders and Yao Guais and Ghouls, and I learned a lot while I combed through the small town of Springville. I didn't get much out of it; only some soda, a little bag to hold my goods in, and some food.
I came upon a house that wasn't destroyed or blocked up. It surprised me, most houses were completely obliterated. With a knock on the door, I walked inside. "Excuse me?"
"Hold up! You work for Moriarty? Am I gonna have to blast your head off?" another older woman shouted, a gun in her hands. I held up my own hands, as to show I was harmless. "No, no you can't be. You got one of those damned jumpsuits on," she muttered, before turning away.
"Miss, I'm sorry for startling you. Who is Moriarty, if you don't mind me asking?" I mumbled, not wanting to face the gun again.
"Hah, even acts like a Vault princess. Such good manners," she mused before continuing. "Moriarty was some asshole I worked for, said I owed him some caps even after I worked out a deal with him. Now he's probably sending a bunch of fuckheads after me."
I nodded. "Well, I could talk to him about it. Maybe I could give him the caps you owe?"
She looked at me, then at a box. Her eyes were misty and her lips turned downwards in disapproval. "I-I guess. I only stole a couple hundred, I just want him to leave me alone." She proceeded to get up and look through her box, a jangling noise coming from it. Her hands lifted out a bag, which she tossed to me. It hit my chest with a thump, and I looked through it to see tons of little bottlecaps with the metal rusting or paint rubbed off. I honestly wasn't expecting actual caps; I thought that was a slang term for money. Not wanting to show confusion, I nodded and headed towards the door. My hand was inches away from the doorknob before I turned back to her. "I never caught your name, miss."
Her eyes held a look of confusion, and she paused. "It's Silver." She paused again. "Y'know, not a lot of people bother asking names anymore, kid. Too wrapped up in their own lives. Be careful out there." I nodded and left, the bag tied around one of my belt loops.
Signs with the word "MEGATON" painted in yellow appeared outside Springville's border. Silver vaguely mentioned it, that being the last place she lived before Moriarty decided to hunt her down. A robot and two men with a two-headed cow were outside the scrap metal gates. "Welcome to Megaton," the Protectron buzzed, before the two slabs keeping the outside out moved away and allowed me entrance.
Megaton was big, cramped, and slightly putrid in scent. Almost like Grandma Taylor when the water chip malfunctioned. Lucas Simms was the sheriff and mayor, and expected me to behave. Of course I would behave, I wasn't some animal like some of the buffoons out here.
Most likely, he didn't have the best opinion of me; I was just some girl with blood on her jumpsuit, frizzed out hair and a dead look in her eyes. Nothing to brighten up the town, that's for sure. But he accepted me because I looked like "an honest kid" who "wouldn't cause trouble". We had a short exchange, mostly me asking if he saw Dad and where I could get some cheap supplies and food. Lucas also threw in a tidbit about the active bomb sitting out in town, with heavy hints that he wanted it deactivated. After mentioning my thanks, I went to the supply shop owner, wanting to spend some of my poorly earned caps before I gave them back to Moriarty.
"Hello!" a female voice said, elongating the "o" and giving it a melodic tone. "What d'you need, stranger?" She looked away from her terminal at me, her brown eyes giving me a once-over. "Oh, that's an interesting jumpsuit you've got there. Haven't seen anyone dressed like you in quite a few years!"
"What? I'm pretty sure I'm the first person to go; no one ever enters, no one ever leaves."
"Nah, nah. They just feed you that so you stay obedient!" she chirped. Her happy tone was both soothing and worrying. "In fact, another girl told me to armor her jumpsuit for her while she went out to do something a while ago, and she never came back! Shame, huh?" Her remarks took me aback. How did others leave the Vault without anyone noticing? An image of an inaccessible door appeared in my mind. Dad always told me to stay away from them, I didn't need to interact with anyone behind them. What if there was a whole section to the Vault dedicated to explorers of the Wasteland?
That was a stupid idea, and I got rid of it quickly. I looked behind the counter, and sure enough, there was an armored jumpsuit just hanging there. Good condition, slightly faded from the sun, and I decided in that moment that I wanted it.
"How much? For the jumpsuit, I mean."
"Oh, well, I dunno. People tend to think it's just a collector's item of mine." A thinking look appeared on her face, before it lit up and she clasped her hands together with an "Aha!" I'll admit, I was nervous that she was going to name some exorbitant price that I wouldn't be able to afford in a million years. "I can give it to you for free, but I'll have to ask you a favor."
"Free? I- Sure, what have you got?" I mumbled, not expecting an answer like that.
"Well, I'm writing this book, you see. 'Wasteland Survival Guide'. If you help me with the research, you can have the jumpsuit and some goodies! Isn't that nice?" I nodded in agreement; researching things was a strong point of mine.
"Alright, sure. What kind of books do you want me to read up on? Is there a library around these parts?"
She giggled a bit, like I said something stupid. "What?" I said, mildly annoyed. If she wanted my help, she didn't have to be so rude.
"Silly goose, you're going to have to actually do the research! It's easy stuff, like getting injured, suffering from radiation poisoning, finding out where to find resources, that kind of stuff." I stepped back, a scared look on my face.
"Miss, you've got the wrong person. I can't just go out there and risk my life! I have to find my dad!" I yelled, each word becoming more angry. I didn't mean to raise my voice, but this girl was asking a lot of me. Her smile disappeared, replaced by a sadder expression. "Shit, I'm sorry, I just..." I sighed and slumped before I said my next words. "I'll do it for you, I just don't feel like dying anytime soon."
She cheered up again. "Really? You mean it? Oh, goodie! Take this jumpsuit, and the first chapter consists of finding out where to find food, the effects of radiation poisoning, and how to disarm a mine! What d'you wanna do first?"
Mines sounded dangerous, but radiation poisoning sounded deadly. "I'll go find food." She cheered again and gave me directions to a run-down supermarket. We bartered for a bit, I needed supplies before I went and gathered them. I eventually left with a new bag to replace the tattered one I found, some Stimpaks, and a few bottles of water.
As I exited her shop though, she called out to me in her still-tuneful voice. "Sweetie, don't worry about getting hurt, alright? I have a lot of hope for you. Besides, I'll fix you up if anything goes wrong!"
The sun sunk below the high walls of Megaton as I walked around the town. Moriarty's Saloon beckoned me, but The Brass Lantern was much closer. The woman at the counter was cheery, but she wouldn't be cheated out of money. After a drunkard confessed he didn't have enough caps to pay for the booze, she dragged him inside and demanded he cleaned the dishes to work it off. A few moments later, she returned. "Sorry about that, sweetie. What do you need?" she asked, the cheery demeanor returning.
"Just a bowl of soup, thank you." She came back only ten minutes later with a bowl of yellow liquid and brown, stringy chunks of meat. "Squirrel stew", she called it. It looked awful, but it smelled pleasant, almost like the salisbury steak meals I used to eat. I tentatively took a small spoonful and nearly spit it out.
"Is something the matter?" she asked, looking up from a small green cup she was drying off.
I shook my head; my tongue burned too much to speak. I whispered a sorry and she turned back to her work. A pinprick of shame rose inside me. "Hope I didn't offend her," I thought, slowly taking another spoonful of the stew. It was surprisingly delicious, once it cooled off.
Jenny, the name of the woman working at the counter, let me stay as long as I wished, and we talked about what was going on in town and how there was just a recent raider attack. Stockholm, the sniper, took all of them out with ease, and they held a surprising amount of food and chems for their kind. I ate the last bite, paid her nine caps, and went to wander around some more. The people around town were courteous, if not self-absorbed. Not in the bad way, of course, but they didn't care much that a girl's leg was covered with blood and said girl had the oddest jumpsuit on her. Nor did they care when she looked at the bomb in the center of town and promptly deactivated it when the old preacher wasn't looking.
"Simms, sir? I've deactivated the bomb for you," I said, tapping on his shoulder. He turned around with a faint smile on his face, but it disappeared.
"Not so loud! Those kooks at the church would kill me if they realized it was deactivated. Here's a couple hundred caps. And I forgot to mention, but there was another reward."
Mild uneasiness appeared on my face; what exactly did this "reward" consist of? Would I be a protector, just trapped here forever? Free beer at Moriarty's? That one wasn't so bad, but I didn't drink. My frown ceased when he placed a key in my palm and pointed to a house just above the Brass Lantern. "It's all yours; we've had that spot available for the past few months, might as well make it a gift to whoever bothered to help out."
"Alright, thank you, sir." I didn't want to show much, but I felt exhilarated. I could do a jig! Finally, a place to sleep and put my weapons down! A sweet release from the aching pain I've felt quite literally all day!
I sprinted up the steps to my new abode, childlike delight all over my face. Barely fumbling with the lock, I opened the door, and was promptly greeted by a Mister Handy. "Good evening, madam! My name is Wadsworth, and I presume you are the new owner of this household?"
"Uh, yeah. Thank you. Do you have any water, maybe?" Back at the Vault, Mister Handies had moisture collectors that could provide about five bottles worth in a week. It was glorious. With a chipper "of course!" he handed me the five I was just thinking of. "Sweet," I said, elongating the "e".
The house was nice, if not a little small. A bedroom, a makeshift kitchen, a spare room, and a living space made up the place. I peered out one of the windows of my bedroom, and gasped. It was dark out already! Stars were twinkling and the fairy lights that weaved across the town were as bright as they were getting. I glanced down at my Pip-Boy; eleven o'clock.
"It was only eight in the morning when I left the Vault. There's no way all of this took that long." But sure enough, it was late and nearly curfew back...Home? Could I still call it that? "Not anymore."
My heart ached, and my face turned into a frown. This was home now. I let out a shaky sigh and sat on the bed, slinging my new bag next to one of the cabinets. Wadsworth moved up the stairs into my room. "Are you going to sleep, madam?" he asked, and I replied with a nod. "Very well then. Goodnight, madam." His words comforted me a little. I fell asleep with a small smile.