Kent McKnight sighed, staring at Vault 101's entrance. He stopped, turning to the sides to soak in his last few minutes inside the vault. He had the time, after all. He might as well say his goodbyes to the vault itself before returning to the wasteland. He took a step forward before he sighed again, still facing the exit. "Are you finished following me around, Amata?"
Amata stepped into the light. "You knew all this time and never said anything until now?"
"Yes." Kent turned around to face her. "You were rather obvious. It is something you learn in the wasteland." He glared at her. "I did not say anything because we were not actually alone, were we?" Amata gasped weakly, grabbing her arm with her hand. She looked away. "Wanted to personally oversee my permanent departure, Overseer?" Kent said.
Amata winced at the bitterness in his voice. "I... That's..." She blurted, pausing to collect her words. She kept her gaze away from Kent. "No! Well, that wasn't just it! Look, I know you're upset..."
"Upset?" Kent said, interrupting her. She found it eerie how calm his voice sounded, despite his anger. "That is putting it mildly. How should I put it, Amata? Fury? Sorrow? What, Amata? What should it be?"
Amata stomped her foot. "Hey, I didn't ban you because I wanted to! Do you think I wanted to ban one of my best friends from the vault?!"
Kent did not flinch. "Do you think I wanted any of this to happen?! My dad leaving? Jonas dying? Your father wanting to kill me for being the only loose end in his dirty little secret? No! I did not want any of that." He blinked rapidly, curling his hand into a fist. "I made my way to Megaton to rest. I picked up your signal there and left to come here after resting. Had I known what would have happened next, I probably wouldn't have come."
"But I'm glad that you came to help us!" Amata said. "And I'm sorry that all this happened, I really am! But you saw it yourself! A lot of people blame you for that night."
"And where the fuck do they get off?" He figured he caught Amata off-guard with his words. "I'm no more responsible than you are. I just had a better chance of dying. Your life was saved for being the Overseer's daughter, which I know you hate, but it still kept you alive. I had to go because I was going to die otherwise. If they want to put blame on someone, put on our fathers, not me." Kent turned to the side, using his obscured hand to rub his eye. "And now my dad is dead and I can't even visit my childhood home again. So fuck them."
What anger Amata had, died. Her eyes widened. "...Kent, he's dead? I..." She took a few steps toward him.
Kent turned his back to her. She could not see him crying. He could not tell what felt worse – his dying fury or his growing sorrow. Fury he could handle. If he had someone to blame, he could keep pushing himself onward. But sorrow? Sorrow would simply swallow him up, and he knew it had started to consume him. He coughed, hoping to steady his voice. "Don't. I know what you are going to say, but don't. Nothing anyone can say will bring him back, and I don't have time to grieve just yet."
"How did he... die?" Amata stepped forward, holding her right hand close to her face. She took another step. Kent kept his back to her.
"It does not matter now." Kent said. Amata felt a pang in her chest. They told each other everything. There were no secrets between them. But now... "All I know is I doubt I'll even get a body to bury at this point." Kent needed to stay angry. He needed to keep away the sorrow. But nothing helped.
He heard Amata slowly moving closer to him, but he could not get himself to move. He heard her sniffling, or had that been himself? He did not know. He rubbed his eyes when he felt uneasy hands wrap around him. He jumped, almost moving to flip Amata to the ground. Her face pressed into his back and he heard her sobbing, which only made him want to cry more.
"I'm sorry..." Amata gasped, tears still running down her cheeks. "I'm... really sorry..." She paused, choking slightly on her sob. "I couldn't have dreamed... I... And here… I…"
She fell silent. Kent began to cry, unable to hold back his tears any longer. Slowly, he turned around, adjusting Amata's arms around his waist. He looked down at her, her face burying into his chest. He sobbed, lowering his head to her shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, sniffling into her shoulder. They remained silent for several minutes.
Finally, he raised his head to her ear. "I… I'm sorry, too."
Amata wiped her eyes with her sleeves, sniffing heavily. She took a minute to collect herself. "For what?"
"For getting so angry at you. I don't even think I made clear why I was angry in the first place." Kent said, releasing her. "I was not angry because I could not stay. I knew I could not stay, nor did I want to." He said, turning them to face the exit. "My home is out there now. I was angry because I cannot come back and visit."
"I'm sorry. I don't think it would have changed anything." Amata said, looking up at Kent's face. "But I promise, when things calm down here, I'll come and visit you."
"I know." Kent said, turning around. He sighed. "I better get going. I have stayed here longer than I planned."
Amata reached for her left elbow. "And I've got my work cut out for me, here." She said. She walked him take a few steps. "Kent, wait."
Kent stopped. "Yeah?"
"Thanks. For not killing my father and helping us out, I mean."
"Heh. You're welcome." Kent continued toward the exit, but stopped again. He turned around. "Oh, I almost forgot. Two things. When you eventually enter the wasteland, be wary of everyone. They are a lot of bad people out there, just as much as there are good people."
"Got it." Amata nodded her head. "And the other thing?"
Kent pointed to the shaft door. "Out of that door, in the distance, is a dome-like metal object. That is a city called Megaton. I… I have a house there. I may be out if you stop by, but… I thought I would let you know about it." He waved. "Goodbye, Amata. I'll… see you soon."
Amata waved back, holding back a light sob. "See you out in the wasteland, Kent." She walked over to the controls, a shaky hand grabbing the lever. When Kent moved out of the way of the gear, she slowly pulled the lever, a tear running down her face.
Kent watched as the gear closed the vault once more. He took a deep breath. He turned around to view the shaft door. For the first time in a while, he smiled. He could not describe how he felt. He simply noticed that his first step felt a little lighter.