CHAPTER 1

I don't remember the day the bombs dropped. I wasn't born yet. I'm really glad that I wasn't around. I could never imagine the horrors that those people had went through. Those who made it in to the Vaults - and those who didn't.

I try to comprehend what it would be like, living peacefully, before D-Day happened. None us have any clue as to what that kind of life would have been like. It's like an entirely different reality, or a fictional story written by a writer with one heck of an immense imagination.

That's all they really are now - stories. Of course no one is alive anymore who could remember life before the bombs – it's been over two hundred years. The only things we have are photos in books; these pictures of a place far, far away, never to be seen by another living person again. Photographs with forests of lush green trees, clear blue lakes and rivers, and wildlife roaming the land, were like ancient artefacts that should be held in a museum for people to look and wonder at.

These photos, special as they are to me, lay on the shelf of my room, holding this mystifying view into another world that only I have the privilege to behold. I feel as if I must treasure them; hold on to them and preserve their memory like we do to lost loved ones.

When I pick them up and look at these photos, they sadden me. A world so beautiful, lost to us forever. I can't help but feel burdened by the acts of my fellow brothers who have lead to this magnificent loss.

I can't stand looking at these photos for very long as they bring with them waves, fleeting as they are, of depression. These very photos that I hold are the cold, hard evidence of everything humanity has destroyed. Everything God has given us, mindlessly thrown away. Discarded like a worthless candy bar wrapper.

I close my eyes and let the photos fall from my hands.

I had been waiting seemingly my entire life to see the outside world. Now it was finally time. Time to step out of this underground cavern and see the light of day, the light of the Sun – the actual Sun! - for the very first time. I was scared, nervous, excited – pretty much every emotion that you could possibly feel all at one time, in one big explosion of anxiety.

In just a few moments time, I, the barely eighteen-year-old Henry, along with my two life-long friends Gary and Abigail, would be the first occupants of Vault 324 to step outside since right before the bombs dropped just over two hundred years ago.

I stood at the front of the crowd with Abigail on my left and Gary to my right. The Overseer, an older grey-haired fellow, stood at the podium to the front and left of us; the crowd's attention currently focused on him. I remained stock still, hands clasped behind my back which was arrow-straight, the posture and stance of a soldier lined up for his officer. A wide smile was painted on my face, one that most likely looked a bit too forced.

Gary was standing in a similar at-ease stance, his chin up high; a proud moment for him. It was a proud moment for me too, of course, but I refused to treat it like some sort of sending off celebration of a group of great heroes, which is the last thing that we were.

We were just kids, the three of us, after all. I had just turned eighteen not two months ago. Abigail, the beautiful young girl that she was, was, well, just that – a girl. Only seventeen years old, she was hardly the type of 'saviour' that people would send off into the Wasteland in hopes of saving numerous people.

I use the term 'saviour' in a sense that that is how Abigail views her chosen task. When all members of the Vault were approached to volunteer to become the ones to venture out into the Wasteland to procure aid and supplies to keep our Vault family from disappearing into the oblivion, Abigail graciously leaped at the opportunity of the offer despite repeated explanations from her Mother and Father about why she should not go, how the Wasteland is too dangerous for a girl, and so on and so forth. Sometimes her parents coddle her a bit too much. Abigail needs them to give her more freedom to grow and become her own person, rather than always trying to keep her safe from harm. They've already done that her whole life by having her grow up in this Vault; what more could a parent ask for?

Abigail's strong will and never floundering faith have always been traits in her I've admired. We've been friends since we were toddlers when we used to play with our building blocks in our playpens. We've always been there for the other all through the pains of adolescence to the current stage of early adulthood. I've watched Abigail grow up to be the woman that she is today and I couldn't be more proud to call her my friend.

She stood at my left, in the same stance as me and Gary, her eyes focused, a look of determination on her face. Her straight blond hair fell down past her shoulders and I slipped a glance over to see the light bounce off it, her hair shining like an angel's halo.

Gary shifted a bit to my right and I noticed that he wasn't looking straight at the crowd, but past them at a point above their heads. It probably helped him with the nervousness that I knew he was feeling. Gary usually wasn't very good with crowds, he always got tongue-tied and fidgety when standing in front of a group of people, let alone speaking in front of them.

He was by far the youngest of us. At merely fifteen years old, it would normally be a shock to most people that this short, fair-haired fifteen year old boy of all people would be chosen to venture out of the Vault as one of Vault 324's seekers of salvation.

Gary was not your regular fifteen year old kid, however. He may look like a little pipsqueak but, in my opinion, there is no one in this whole Vault who is more fit for the task than Gary. The kid was the smartest person that I knew. A certified genius from the age of five, Gary was the brains of not only us younger generation, but of the entire Vault. Gary has been working with the Overseer and the other officers in charge of Vault 324 since he was learning advanced mathematics at the age of ten. He was always assisting them in their Vault operations, watching and learning every aspect of maintaining and leading all operations concerning the Vault 324.

I've always predicted he'll become the next Overseer one day. Since our current Overseer is getting up there in age, I have no doubt in my mind that we'll be seeing Gary becoming the youngest Overseer in America when the day comes that someone is to take over.

Of the collective eighteen current inhabitants of Vault 324, I've always been the pre-determined one to be the chosen soul to venture out into the Wasteland, whether I knew it or not. I feel that, as the only young male between the ages of sixteen and twenty-eight, the Overseer had instantly had me pegged to be a part of this chosen group.

I've never considered myself to be a leader of any kind. I'm more of a 'do-things-my-own-way' kind of guy. I don't give orders, nor do I even follow orders very well either. Everyone always calls me an under-achiever, whatever that's supposed to mean. My job in the Vault is simple, not very ambitious; a member of the Security personnel. Not a computer and math whiz like Gary, nor a doctor like Abigail wants to become (she currently trains under the watch of several of the Vault nurses as well as Dr. Roberts, our Vault physician).

I never had the aspiration to be anything special. I think that, since as long as I can remember, my aspirations have always been to someday leave the Vault. As dangerous and problematic as that may be, it's something I've always dreamed about. Now here I was – about to fulfill that dream. But then what?

"This, my fellow people", the Overseer proclaimed from the podium, "is a proud moment for not only these three standing before us, but for every man, woman, and child in Vault three twenty-four." The Overseer looked back at us over his shoulder with a fatherly smile of pride.

The Overseer had been talking for at least fifteen minutes now and my legs were starting to get sore. I haven't been paying attention to a single word he's been saying. Gary and Abigail were probably listening intently, hanging on every word coming out of his mouth just like everyone else in the room was.

I never did have the longest attention span. Some people might say that's why I've always been getting into trouble since I could walk. I couldn't help it though. I was less than a single hour away from becoming one of the first people to take a breath of air outside of this Vault in over two hundred years. That should at least warrant an understanding for my lack of attention.

"We the people," continued the Overseer in what sounded like the beginning of a historically famous speech, "will hold our three brave leaders in our hearts and in our prayers. They will always be in our thoughts and we will always be praying for their safe journey, as well as their safe return to their home. Let us bow our heads in prayer."

Everyone in the room including Abigail and Gary followed suit and I quickly did the same as the Overseer launched into a heartfelt prayer to our Father for our safety and guidance in our journey and for our ability to bring back the needed aid to the good and faithful people of Vault 324.

Finally the Overseer lifted his head, "Amen", he said. "Amen," said everyone else.

This week had started like most others. It was my shift in the Vault Security Surveillance room where I was stationed in front of several screens that showed me numerous hallways and rooms of Vault 324. Rarely anything interesting ever happened in front of those cameras. Having the Surveillance Room shift always bored the hell out of me.

On this occasion, as usually on every occasion, I had my feet up on the desk, with the chair tilted back, and my eyes closed, dozing off during another lazy afternoon. I had my cap with the vault security team logo on it pulled down over my eyes, completely ignoring all the monitors. Not that anything would ever need my attention anyway.

A buzz from the nearby intercom on the wall beside the door startled me, and I pulled my cap up, snapping out of my light nap. I almost fell out of my chair as I swung my feet off the desk.

"Henry!" came the voice, high and slightly annoying, emitting from the intercom. "Henry, get up! I know you're napping!" Gary. Gary of course would be the one to wake me up from my blessed naptime for some ungodly reason that was probably of no mere importance to anyone but him.

"Dammit, Gary," I mumbled as I stood up and walked over to the intercom. I pressed the button, "What do ya want, Gary?"

"Henry, you've gotta hear this!" He sounded very out of breath and excited about something. What it could possibly be, I have absolutely no clue. Maybe he figured out the chemistry equation to get rid of radiation. Or maybe he discovered the meaning of life.

Whatever it was, I'm sure it could wait until later.

"Thanks for ruining my afternoon nap, you bonehead," I accused.

"Henry, in the cafeteria! Get out here, you HAVE to hear this!" He wouldn't stop pestering me until I came out there, I could tell already. When Gary had something on his mind, he was persistent about it.

"Alright," I gave in, "gimme a second."

I sauntered out of the Surveillance Room and headed down the corridor to the cafeteria.

Inside the cafeteria, most of the Vault residents had gathered around the counter. Some sat at the booths, their attention directed at what was behind the circle of people gathered at the counter. They were all quiet, except for a couple kids who were arguing over something but were quickly hushed by one of the adults.

I walked up to the group of people, trying to peer over top of their heads to see what was going on. Everyone in the Vault was grouped together in the room except for the Overseer, Dr. Roberts, and maybe one or two others.

It was then that I noticed Gary standing on a chair attempting to look over everyone on the far side of the semi-circle of residents. Nudging him to get his attention I whispered "What's going on?" Quickly he shushed me with only one word, "Listen!"

Then I finally heard what everyone was listening for. The volume of radio static rose as someone turned the knob up and, amongst the crackling, the voice of the radio broadcast became audible.

I squeezed myself into the half-circle of vault dwellers beside Gary to see that Abigail was the one perched at the radio. She swivelled the tuning knob, trying to find the clearest frequency to get rid of all the static.

What could be on the radio that was so important? There was, as everyone knew, only one radio station in all of the Capital Wasteland – Galaxy News Radio.

We were only first introduced to GNR a few months ago when Gary (of course it was Gary of all people who would be fiddling with a radio) stumbled upon a broadcast coming from somewhere in the D.C. ruins. Apparently they had put up more towers and were now being broadcast up to three hundred miles from where the station was located. Vault 324, from what we learned back in school, is situated somewhere near the location of what was once Baltimore, Maryland, which would be around two hundred miles from Washington D.C.

Suddenly, the radio found the station and belted out the sound loud and clear. Abigail cranked the volume as loud as the tinny little speakers would go as a strong, commanding voice echoed out of the box.

"- once again, this is a breaking news announcement." There was no mistaking that voice; it was the familiar tone of Galaxy News Radio – the infamous Three-Dog, voice of the people, and fighter of the Good Fight.

Everyone strained to catch what the big message was.

"We announce that all villages, cities, and Vault-Tec Vaults in the Washington D.C. area listening to this frequency - if you are in need of supplies of any and all kinds – that you may send a group of representatives to the Jefferson Memorial in the D.C. ruins to receive and bring back aid to your population. The Brotherhood of Steel has declared the western edge of the D.C. ruins as well as all surrounding area up to one hundred miles safe enough to travel. Be wary, however, that dangers do still exist - the Wasteland ain't no kiddie playground, children."

There was a hushed murmur of excitement throughout the gathered members in the cafeteria as they continued to listen to Three-Dog's announcement. The voice of the people went on to explain that the Brotherhood, along with the Rivet City Security team did not have sufficient numbers to be able to allocate aid to all populations in need, so they have made their best efforts to keep a path to the Jefferson Memorial as safe as possible. This is to be used by anyone travelling to the Memorial to pick up a care shipment of clean water, safe food, and any healing supplies.

Abigail's father, a balding man in his fifties, from somewhere in the ring of people piped up, "Somebody go tell the Overseer to turn on his radio."

Over the course of the week after first hearing the announcement, the Overseer, and a few of the other people with high authority amongst the Vault dwellers, came up with the idea to send out a small group of three people to venture to the Jefferson Memorial and find the means necessary to bring back a supply of the provisions being offered.

This was greeted by everyone else as a spectacular idea. Vault 324 would send three people, armed with as much weaponry and safety gear as they could carry, and they would make the nearly two-hundred mile trek to the Capital Wasteland, secure a wagon from the Brotherhood, and bring back a load of the supplies.

There was only one small issue surrounding this idea. Who would go?

Everyone gathered in the Vault common room to discuss the matter of sending someone for supplies. Some argued that it was an extremely long trip to make – two hundred miles in fact – and the broadcast said that the Brotherhood only confirmed that the designated 'safe' zone of travel is only a one-hundred mile stretch north and south of D.C.

Dr. Roberts announced that the infirmary will indeed eventually run out of supplies, sooner rather than later. Mr. Davis piped up that the water purifier has been deteriorating more and more every month over the last several years and heaven only knows how much longer we will have clean drinking water.

After hearing everyone's side to the decision and then taking a vote on it, the Overseer finally proclaimed, "By a majority victory, it has been decided FOR the dispatch of a small group of Vault citizens to travel to the Jefferson Memorial."

Cheers were raised, fists pumped in the air, and hands clapped at the decision that was reached.

The Overseer quickly raised his hand to silence the small crowd. "And now," he said, "is the important part. Do we have any volunteers?"

Every person present looked around to see who would offer themselves to the hardship and toil that will lie ahead to whomever takes on the challenge.

No one made a move to step forward. Who (is a good question) would take on this trial that may not necessarily be a guaranteed success? Everyone understood the risk that would be taken were they to venture out of the Vault doors into the Wasteland where only-God-knows-what may lie between here and the Jefferson Memorial.

This, I said to myself, was my time to shine.

I stepped forward. "Overseer, sir," I managed to utter, "I will go."

All eyes locked on me instantly. Gasps from a couple of the women were heard. "Henry!" came from Abigail, her and Gary were shocked, their mouths agape at my bold statement as if I had just offered myself to be sacrificed to appease the Gods in some twisted ritual.

I looked over at Abigail and Gary and gave them a small nod as if to say "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing".

Really, I thought, why is everyone so surprised? I mean, I am the only male between the ages of sixteen and twenty-eight. Every other person older than me all have important positions within the Vault, whereas I do not. I'm just a member of the Security team. Any of the other guys I work with could take over my shifts no problem. To be blunt about it, which I am completely okay with, I am the one who is most expendable.

I'm a lone wolf in this Vault. Always have been, always will be. I don't have any family here. My father, as the Overseer tells me, came to Vault 324 on his deathbed, with a small child in his arms. His last dying wish was for his son to grow up healthy and safe. The Overseer opened the Vault doors to let him in, but my father died shortly thereafter. I, only a few weeks old, became an orphan raised in the underground protection of the Vault by the good will of all of the adults.

I don't know what happened to my mother – my father wasn't alive long enough to tell anyone.

I felt that it was, as fate would have it, my destiny to wander out into the world that I was born in. 'Born in the Vault, die in the Vault' or something like that is the old saying. But I, the truth was, wasn't born in the Vault; therefore I will not die in this Vault. I was born out there. In the outside world; the world that none of us have ever known except for me in my first few weeks of life - the world that I will once again be reunited with.

The Overseer seemed to understand all of this as if we had some kind of unspoken rapport, as his expression never changed.

"Wait!" came a shout from amongst the people. Gary stepped forward with all the courage he had in him. "If Henry is going, than so am I," he declared.

More gasps from the women along with one angry voice, "Gary! No, you will most certainly not –"

"Yes, I am, Celeste! And nobody is going to stop me!" he shouted.

Celeste, his older sister, was as surprised as everyone else by Gary's sudden insurgence to become a part of the band of 'heroes' who would be venturing into the unknown.

Thanks, buddy. Gary was always someone you could count on no matter what. Most people would be stunned by this particular display of assertiveness coming from him, but us closest to him, me and Abigail, always knew what he was capable of. He may be more of an introvert when it came to others, but the two of us closest to him know what kind of leader he could be.

Just like me, Gary had no parents. He had been raised by Celeste ever since his mother died of an illness when he was a baby and Celeste was only eight. They never really knew their father either. He was killed in some sort of an accident before Gary was born. No one ever really wanted to talk it about it. It was understandable that Celeste would be upset if Gary left; they were the only family each of them had left.

Gary walked over to where I was and stood beside me. "Sir," he said to the Overseer, "I will go too."

The Overseer didn't seem to know how to respond to this. A kid, only fifteen-years-old, willing to go out into the Wasteland?

Unexpectedly, another voice rose from the gathered group. "If Henry and Gary go, then so do I."

In all my life I had never before heard Abigail sound so determined. She stepped forward to join the two of us, much to the displeasure of her father. "Abigail..." he reacted with disbelief.

I knew she would do it. Somewhere in my heart, I knew that if I were to go, then Abigail would follow. In all our years of childhood there was nothing that could separate us, and this, certainly, would not change any of that. Friends to the end, we would always say to each other as kids.

Abigail looked over at me and I met her gaze with a reassuring smile and from that moment I knew that it would be the three of us, the Three Amigos, the Three Musketeers, or whatever historical name of a group of three people we decided to go by, that would be the ones chosen and accepted to be the first people of Vault 324 to walk out those big steel doors into the land beyond.

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