Dakota Michelson
A Fallout 4 Fan Fiction
Chapter 1
I woke up in a panic and fell to the ground. I began shivering violently. As my thoughts gathered, I realized I was frozen and thawing out. The cold ground felt warm to me and I clung to that warmth as much as I could. Feeling began to return soon and a scream of pain escaped my mouth. The pain spread from my chest out to my limbs and became worse and worse with time. I realized that the scream would probably prompt someone to come in here, so I crawled to behind the pod in the corner of the room. I sat there for a while and realized I probably should stand up and move away from this cold floor. But then I think of the possibility of getting caught and frozen again. So I resolve that it's a good hiding spot and it doesn't feel that cold to me after all, even though I know it has to be cold because I see thin sheets of ice on certain areas of the ground.
I sit, wondering how I am even alive. I see several bodies in the cells…or pods, I guess that would be a more accurate word. They are all frozen, but I can tell that they are all dead because there are bullet holes in their heads. I want to know why Vault-Tec would do this. Why would they trick us into being frozen? Why would they kill us afterwards? I doubt I was alive due to a simple oversight, so maybe I'm next. I noticed that one of the pods had no one in it. The other pod had a woman, whom I distinctly remember her carrying a baby. Her husband (I presume) and the baby were both gone, and I could only imagine what Vault-Tec would do with them if they were willing to go this far.
As I sit behind the pod, waiting for my legs and arms to thaw, I direct my mind away from the pain. I reflect back on the terrible turn of events that led me here, all beginning with my mother's death. I was 18 and preparing for my first class at CIT. She was the only family I had left. I had no siblings and my father abandoned us when I was very young, so young I don't remember him leaving. The weight of her death took its toll on me and I decided it was best for me to leave my hometown of Boston, leave CIT, and start over somewhere else.
That somewhere turned out to be Washington, D.C. thanks to a job offering at RobCo Industries. I was stoked for the opportunity to make a difference in the technological field. I liked it there and it was a great opportunity for me to focus on something other than the recent tragedy that lingered in my head. Little did I know there was no future for me at RobCo, at least not with my current qualifications. Five years had gone by and I was still an Engineering Assistant. The work was nothing I had hoped for. Paperwork, organizing files and notes from the engineers, all mundane and unsatisfying. I wanted to feel like I could make a real difference in the technological world, but I was practically glued to my desk, unable to pursue my passion.
I decided I needed to return to school. I spoke to a counselor at CIT and to my surprise, they accepted me back. So there I was—on my way back to Boston. I steered away from my old neighborhood. I had spent the past five years avoiding Boston and over the years, that feeling subsided, but only marginally. I don't want to visit my old home and regret my decision. When classes started, I developed a routine that kept me busy. Very busy actually. So much information was being crammed in my mind. Then one day, a random guy knocks on my door.
The man says he is from Vault-Tec and that because of my enrollment at CIT, I was randomly selected for placement in the local vault: Vault 111. I thought it was strange, but he seemed pretty official and he didn't ask any questions that were too invasive, so I went with it. Better to be safe than sorry. Vaults were popping up left and right. It was all everyone talked about. They wished they could afford to get into a vault. For me, the thought never even crossed my mind. The scare of a nuclear war had been ongoing for such a long time, it seemed unlikely that a war would happen anytime soon.
A few weeks later, I woke up. Just a regular Saturday and for once, I had nothing planned and no work to do. I decided to sit down, watch the news for a bit, and maybe head out for some brunch. My heart dropped. I didn't really believe it at first, but I knew I had to act fast when I heard the news anchor report confirmed nuclear detonations in New York and Pennsylvania. "The Vault!" I thought to myself. I ran outside faster than I ever had ran before. I jumped onto my bicycle and made my way to Vault 111. When I got there, I must have been trying to get off the bike but keep pedaling at the same time, because I landed on the ground in front of the soldier blocking entrance to the vault.
At a loss for words, the only thing I could make out was "Dakota Michelson". He looked at this list and let me proceed. I ran onto the platform, stood there for a little while and thought "why aren't they letting us in yet?" I realized they were waiting for more people still. Some were elderly and some were young. I saw a couple with a baby running towards us—the missing man and baby.
Then there was a noise. The noise was so loud it took me a second to comprehend what it was. I turned around and saw the cloud. It almost seemed like everything was moving in slow-motion, except it wasn't, because everything was happening so fast that I couldn't make sense of the thousand thoughts moving around in my head. Within a few seconds, the cloud was outside of my vision and we were inside the vault.
I made it.
Then I collapsed onto the floor. I was awake, but felt unable to move, at least for a few seconds or so. Then everything went black.
It probably has been over two hours since I woke up and escaped from the pod and no one has come. I was able to move my legs finally, so I stand up, using the side of the pod for support. The pain is dull, but it is nothing compared to before. I decide it is time for me to find out what happened here and find the exit. I pick up a pipe I see lying on the ground. The pipe is too cold for me to hold, so I pull the sleeves of my Vault 111 Jumpsuit over my hands as a sort of mitt. The door opened when I walked in front of it and I peeked my head out into the hall. No signs of anyone. I start to retrace my footsteps and remembered that it was straight down the hall. Still no one. I opened the other doors to find more pods with dead people in each one. One of the doors opens up to another hallway and I walked down it.
I then see a corpse. Well, skeleton would be more accurate. There wasn't a trace of skin or muscle left, which leads me to think it's been sitting here for a long time. I'm not sure what I am more frightened of: being in a vault full of frozen corpses and skeletons or the realization that I have been frozen for a very long time. I find the vault door and am surprised to see that the door is open already. I walk to the elevator, press the call button and step on to the platform. My heart was pounding so hard. I know that whatever I see outside won't be good. When I got to the top, I could not believe it. Nothing could have prepared me for what I see now.