"Right now it is 7 am. At approximately 8:30 am the door seal will be broken, and you will all head out to reclaim and begin reconstruction of Appalachia. This is the day we've all been waiting for, some longer than others." There was a short pause before the Overseer continued. "Remember what we've all discussed in the briefings, and let's get ready to get out there and make this land ours once again. Everybody is to meet at the gathering point no later than 8:15 am. I'll see you all there." The system clicked as the Overseer signed off.
Excited chatter filled the cafeteria once again, seemingly amplified as new conversations were prompted from the announcement. It wasn't anything groundbreaking, they all knew the plan. But for the majority of the populace, it seemed like every passing moment contained an eternity. They were all excited to get out there and see the world, after all. Some of them had been born in the vault, and that was all they'd ever known. Others were alive before the war and were eager to see what was left of their homes. But in the corner of the cafeteria, three men sat alone.
One of the men was older, in his late fifties or early sixties but fit and physically able beyond that of peers in his age group. Gruff and hard spoken, he was sat across from two younger men in their thirties. They had no trays, only glasses of water in front of them that sat mostly untouched. Reclamation Day was a little bit different for them, for reasons that only they knew. Maybe their version of "reclamation" didn't quite entail what it did for so many others in the vault.
"Alright, look," the older man said. "That door's opening in ninety minutes. That means you two have about seventy-five to make sure you're squared away. Get some grub, check your gear, activate your codes. I've got a few other things to take care of before we head out, so I'll link up with you two on the outside. You both have maps, you know the rallying point. If something goes bad, head for the secondary. Clear?" He scanned between the two men's eyes as they nodded quietly, then stood up and headed for the exit. Afterwards, the men turned to each other.
"You ready for this, Ash?" The first to speak seemed the younger of the two, if only by a year or so. His name was Caleb Callahan, although he was commonly referred to as 'Cal' due to there being several Calebs in the vault but no other Callahans. He was built well, his vault jumpsuit accenting well toned muscle groups hardened and sculpted for adverse conditions. He wore a light shadow of facial hair about his lower face, with his top hair swept over and fading to skin around his ears.
"I'm ready. Been ready for twenty years," Asher said in reply. He took down the last of his water and stood, followed by Caleb. "The plan's solid. Once we get out there, putting it into action shouldn't be too hard once we get a lay of the land."
"I don't know," Caleb responded as they passed by a group that was taking a picture together. "We don't know what's been going on out there. The plan's probably going to change." They reached the revolving dish collector and set their glasses atop random trays that had yet to be offloaded by the Mister Handy behind the counter. It called out to them in the crisp, standard accent of its kind.
"Ah, Mister Callahan! Mister Renell! I do hope you enjoyed your meals. Who knows what the next one will be like? Ha! Happy Reclamation Day!" It's three eyes turned back to the task at hand as they continued on.
"Well that's the thing, Cal. The plan changing? That's all part of the plan." He quirked a sly smirk and peeled off into his quarters with Caleb doing the same in the opposite direction. As Cal reached his room, he moved to sit in front of his terminal after pulling the blinds closed. Reaching underneath the desk, he found the holotape that had been secured to the underside near the back. He slipped it into the port on the terminal, and a blank screen flashed on the monitor. A moment later, a login cell popped into the middle of the screen. Caleb put in a mixture of letters and numbers that read:
CC V-76.
Enter Activation Code.
A-CC21021025 ...
Operative: Callahan(ACTIVATED)
RDV76 Initiated AUTHORIZATION IN PROGRESS...
INCOMING TRANSMISSION. SOURCE: CONTROL STATION ENCLAVE AUTHORIZATION COMPLETE.
-OPEN MESSAGE -EXIT ...
"Reclamation is go. Proceed with caution, reports expected weekly." MESSAGE WILL AUTOMATICALLY EXPIRE IN 10 SECONDS.
YOU HAVE ( 0 ) NOTIFICATIONS.
The screen went blank once more. No input options, no going back. Callahan pulled the tape, slipped it into his backpack, then went about checking his gear. He wanted to get it done as quickly as possible, then spend the extra time relaxing and putting his mind in the right place. He wasn't sure the next time he'd get to lay in an actual bed, and odds were the next several days were going to be pretty busy. After all, a three man team representing the Enclave's interests in Appalachia is bound to have their hands full.
The muster was borderline chaos. Everywhere you looked in the chamber, there were people moving through the crowd trying to locate their friends or trying to get out of the way of the incoming flow of vault dwellers who hadn't shown up quite as early. Groups had formed, uniting people who sought to head off toward a certain part of Appalachia or those who had developed interest in similar goals. Cliques had been forming over the last few months as Reclamation Day drew nearer. A few of these groups had even further alienated themselves from the rest of the vault, forming rosters with limited boat spaces and requiring an application process to travel and settle with them.
Asher and Caleb stood towards the rear of the assembly, each with a backpack hanging off of their shoulders. The vault hadn't planned to supply the residents with weapons for their exit of the vault, and they'd learned this years ago. Stealing weapons from security was sort out of the question, seeing as the risk was too high. However, they were confident enough in their skills to locate weapons and ammunition out in the world that they weren't too worried about it. Instead they each carried about three days worth of food, a water canteen, a knife and several holotapes between them. They stood talking to an adjacent group about historical landmarks in the area, and about how one or two of their vault-mates had gotten a little too drunk the night before and hadn't shown up. As the Overseer took the floor in front of the crowd the clamor died down.
The Overseer cleared her voice before speaking. "Citizens of Vault 76. It is time to open this door and head out into the world. America expects the best from you, and I know you won't disappoint. We have very bright minds among this group, and together we can start putting the pieces back together. This day is a statement! That no matter how hard they hit us, we'll never stop getting back up." Behind her, the Vault Security had already began the process of opening the vault door. Her voice rose to be heard over the whine of the gears turning and seal breaking of the door.
"It doesn't matter if it takes ten seconds or twenty years. This is our future, and we're going to shape it. So get out there and shape it! I will be along very shortly once my staff and I finish shutting down the Vault's operations and services. I can't wait to join all of you. Good luck." The Overseer smiled, clasped her hands in front of her, and stepped out of view. The vault dwellers immediately began to file onto the long platform that led to the door, staring in awe as it began to open. People were standing directly in front of the door, bathing in the sunlight that began to flood through the chamber. Asher and Caleb were near the front, no stranger to the awesome sight of the wide open world once again. Still, it was just as fresh to them as it was to anyone else.
As the door locked into the open position, nobody seemed to move for a moment. Group hesitation set in, but only for a moment. The first man stepped out, followed by the rest of the inhabitants. And soon enough, the population of the Vault was bathing in the cool October air of West Virginia as the vault door shut once again behind them. As people pointed, gaped and gasped at the things they saw, Asher and Caleb nodded to each other and began to head off. They had their mission, and they had no time to gawk at trees they hadn't seen in twenty years. Asher pulled out his map, walking behind Caleb.
"If we head-" He was immediately cut off by a collective gasp from behind them, followed by a guttural, demonic screech that seemed to come from above. The pair turned just in time to see what looked like a monstrous bat hovering in the sky. Time froze, as more than five hundred people looked on at the creature in terror. And then, Asher said something brilliant.
"Run?"
As if on cue, the giant demonic bat let forth a deafening scream that seemed to break the sound barrier and then some. It was so powerful, in fact, that Asher and Caleb watched over a dozen people get completely macerated by the sheer force which created a bloody scar through the crowd of people. Chaos immediately erupted, and the Vault dwellers scattered like cockroaches at the flip of a light switch.
"RUN!" Asher repeated.
- In one short instant, the beautiful unveiling of the new world had transformed into something out of a nightmare one of them might have had as a young child. And as Caleb stood for a moment, Asher rushing past him in a dead sprint, he watched as the beast swept down over a fleeing tidal wave of blue vault suit wearing people and quite literally crop dusted them with a disgusting wave of radioactive fog. Terrible screams filled the air as the majority of them collapsed onto their knees and began clawing at their own throats as they choked and gagged on the cloud of sickly green mist. That was enough to spur him out of his daze.
Caleb turned and sprinted after Asher, the pair in a direct route for the nearest tree line. The area was on a rather steep downward slope, the Vault having essentially been built into the side of a hill. Asher stumbled once, almost losing his footing before Caleb looped an arm underneath his and kept him on his feet. They didn t stop running for quite a long time, the screams and anarchy behind them growing dull and quiet in the distance. How many had gotten away? What became of the ones who didn t? Neither of them had ever seen anything so awful in their lives, even rivaling the imaginative thoughts of what had happened to the victims of the nuclear fire over two decades ago.
Stop, stop, stop, Caleb sputtered as he slowed to a halt. Asher similarly came to a stop, maybe fifteen feet ahead of him. They were deep in the tree line, the sky mostly obscured above them by the reddish brown clusters of leaves that remained on the branches of the trees. They both took a knee, and silence fell for a few short moments as they gathered their breath. Asher was the first to speak.
What the fuck was that thing? He reached up and rubbed a hand across his forehead to draw away the sweat beads that had started to form. An answer didn t immediately come from his partner, who was retrieving the canteen out of his pack.
I don t know. But there might be more. The rendezvous point with Donovan can t be too far from here, though. He took a swig from the canteen before tossing it to Asher and going for his map. Asher caught the canteen and poured just a bit into his hand, which he then swept through his blonde hair.
Landview Lighthouse, to the east. We re already heading in the right direction. Caleb nodded and folded the map back up. After receiving his canteen back from Asher, he stuffed both back into his bag and slung it over his shoulders. Asher looked up and squinted through the canopy trying to locate the sun. He pointed in the direction of the sun, muttering the appropriate cardinal direction.
East. What do you think, an hour s walk at most? His eyes returned to his teammate, who shrugged in response and stood.
Assuming we don t have to evade any more of those things, he thumbed back toward the massacre that had happened in the direction they d come from, then yeah. Should be a cakewalk.
-
21021225 1100 hrs
It wasn t a cakewalk after all. In fact, both Asher and Caleb ended up being force to hide as a new unexpected hostile force happened upon them. And it was just as strange as the draconic bat. Caleb was pressed up against the rotted side of a fallen tree, and Asher was prone in a section of brush about twenty feet to the left. Ahead of them, two men were wandering in their direction.
Well, men in the sense that they were bipedal humans. But whatever had made them human was all but gone. Their bodies were broken, cracked like crumbling leaves. The skin around these cracks were two varied shades of sickly gray, and what looked like green crystals seemed to be protruding out of their hide. They groaned, only seeming to follow the natural flow of the forest. Several times, it had seemed like they were going to randomly veer off to the side and head away from the Enclave operatives. But lady luck wasn t here today, and in fact she d likely gone up in flames during the war. However, something else was odd about these formerly human creatures.
They held firearms, for one. An immediate indication that they weren t completely mindless. And they spoke, although infrequently and incoherently. From where they were, Asher and Caleb could only make out gibberish but it was enough to know that these things weren t having a conversation. It was some neural response to just being completely physically fucked. The time or speculation and observation quickly came to a close as the husks closed in on them.
The lead one reached Asher first, who had slowly shifted himself into position for attack. As the oblivious creature came within two feet of him, the operative lunged out of the brush. One hand enveloped the front of the pistol the husk carried and kept it safely pointed away as he drove the blade of his knife straight through the base of its skull. It collapsed straight down, Asher lowering it in a somewhat controlled manner into the bushes. Not a moment later, the second husk reached Caleb.
Caleb had positioned himself at the edge of the rotten tree trunk base. The husk made a half-hearted effort to avoid tripping over the log by walking around it, right to where Caleb was waiting. Remaining in cover, Caleb s legs extended out and scissored into the husk s stance. High and low pressure followed, allowing Caleb to essentially force the creature to trip and fall forward and into the man s reach. He swiftly jammed his blade into the creature s throat before it could even consider standing up, and before long it was dead.
Nasty business finished, the men plundered the bodies for their weapons and ammo. Each had a 10mm handgun, Caleb s holding a full magazine while Asher s was a few short of half. However, it was better than nothing and they both knew it. Finding nothing else of interest on either body, they set off for the Lighthouse once again.
Landview Lighthouse was perched on hill, and overlooked a good portion of the surrounding area if one was considering the top of the structure as a vantage point. The pair swept the lighthouse for enemies, quickly and efficiently but found none. However, much to their chagrin, they also didn t find their old mentor Donovan.
Fuck. You think that thing got him? Asher asked.
I doubt it. But could be. He was supposed to be here, and he harps too much on punctuality to be late, Caleb responded quickly.
Hole up here and wait a few hours, then. If he doesn t show, then I guess we proceed without him. Asher s features hardened at the thought, but he didn t say whatever he was thinking. Donovan had been like a father figure to the both of them ever since they d all entered the vault. Asher and Caleb had grown up together in the vault, considering the nuclear fire began when they were both teetering on the edge of being teenagers. Donovan had been their teacher inside, embedded by the Enclave to lead the Reclamation once the Vault opened. But they had contingencies in the event that he didn t make it, and they would follow protocol to the best of their ability if the situation dictated.
Caleb nodded. Right. Well, let s see what we can find around here. Something tells me scavenging is about to become a full time job.
21021025 1945 Reclamation Day.
Cal and Asher sat on opposite sides of the smoldering remains of a fire. The coals still burned extremely hot, the fire only extinguished to reduce their signature once it had been going long enough. Both men were sat on sleeping bags that had been sprawled out on the lighthouse floor, six stories up from the ground level. The dull clank and scraping of silverware against tin joined in with the crackle of the burning wood as they each ate from cans of food. All in all, it was rather peaceful if the world outside of the lighthouse was driven out of mind.
What do you think about those people we killed in the woods? Caleb asked in between mouthfuls of pork and beans. Asher looked up for a moment, eying his friend from across the fire.
What do you mean? As in, what happened to them?
Yeah. You think nuclear radiation could cause some shit like that?
I don t know. The crystals growing out of them sort of complicates the answer to that.
Seems wrong. We expected to see mutated creatures, maybe people walking around with third arms and only one eye socket. But something about those things didn t exactly fit the bill. Caleb took another bite after speaking, then shook his head as he chewed.
Asher gulped down another mouthful of food before responding. Maybe there will be some information at the Bunker once we get there. Remember, our job isn t to worry about the mutants. Salvaging priority pre-war technology has to come first. Until then, these things are just obstacles.
Right. So we head out at dawn, then. The Bunker is south-east of here quite a ways, it ll probably take a few days to get there.
A loud hacking cough sounded into the night outside, and both men calmly set their food down in order to grab their pistols. Easing over to the window, they looked down to the ground below in search of the source of the noise. Caleb could make out at least five lumbering figures, all heading in the same direction albeit very slowly. One of them was coughing, but didn t double over or stop like you d expect a human to do. Instead, it kept chugging along with its head lolled back while it involuntarily attempted to purge its lungs of something that didn t belong. It was more of those things.
Yeah, Asher said in a low voice as he watched the husks shuffle past the lighthouse. Maybe longer if we keep running into these fuckers.
Once the group of radiation scorched bodies passed, Caleb went to check the tripwire that he d rigged at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the lighthouse floor where they were planning to sleep. It was a simple trap, only serving to drop a bunch of cans that had been strung together once triggered. It would wake them if anything tried to get the jump on them in the middle of the night, and gave them both confidence in not having to rotate post duty every few hours throughout the night.
When Caleb returned, Asher was already getting into his sleeping bag. He did the same, setting his boots and handgun just to the side of his bag before sliding in. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day, and he felt the gnawing dread of realizing that Donovan wasn t going to be accompanying them on their mission unless he turned up by morning or met them at the Bunker. He drove the thoughts away, and stared at the inside of this eyelids until sleep finally came.
One day down. There was no telling what the next would bring, or the one after that. A good night s rest was going to be a commodity at some point, and he planned to take advantage of it whenever they got the chance.
-
21021026 0830 R-Day + 1 It was a beautiful day in Appalachia. The sun was nearing its peak in the bright blue sky, with occasional groups of cloud drifting across the canvas of the infinite above the two men as they walked alone down the long straight road heading east. A cool breeze whistled through the reddish brown leaves on the trees that scattered a fairly open area to their left, and on the right was an abandoned coolant station. Vehicles showings several years worth of rust and natural decay were lined up behind the pumps, one in particular with a wide open door that had a pair of human legs hanging out. From this distance, the body didn t seem too far into the process of decay, and this caught Asher s eye.
He stopped and pointed toward the station. See that? Body looks pretty fresh. He immediately started off toward his aforementioned point of interest. Caleb followed, scanning the windows of the building with his eyes as Asher headed straight for the body.
As they reached the car, Asher caught the familiar stench of death that seemed prevalent in almost every single area of Appalachia that had signs of human activity. It was a little disheartening that every place they went seemed to have dead bodies, some of which had been dead long enough to become bare skeletons while others were still in the process of reuniting with the earth. The smell of death was almost just as commonplace as the trees that they passed on their journey to the Bunker. Asher scanned the inside of the vehicle, checked the body for any booby traps, then pulled the body out and laid it on the ground next to the door.
The body was starting to bloat, and the smell was bad enough that Asher had to pull his bandana up around his face. He searched the pockets of the body, an older man wearing a tattered flannel shirt with a white tank top underneath, basic blue denim jeans and a pair of hiking shoes. Inside the rear pants pocket he found a full magazine of 10mm ammunition, which he collected and stored for himself. Nothing else was on the body, so he took another look inside the vehicle. Just barely visible on the floor board was a handgun, which he collected another nearly full magazine from before discarding it back into the vehicle. Satisfied, he stood up and looked for Caleb, who was approaching the coolant station convenience store building.
Caleb looked over at Asher, his expression concerned as he pointed to his own ear and then back at the store with his handgun at a low ready position. As Asher zeroed in with his ears on the building, he heard for the first time what sounded like something large was rummaging around inside. He noticed Caleb freeze dead in his tracks, then turned his eyes to the left most window at the store front. His blood ran cold at what he saw, the terrifying face of a large, dark skinned creature with two curling horns adorning its head.
Before either of them could react, the creature let out a ferocious howl and exploded out of the window straight toward Caleb. It landed just outside the window, broken glass skittering and skimming across the ground ahead of the monstrous creature. It was huge, four times the size of Caleb as it immediately leaped the full distance toward the Enclave operative. A single gunshot report sounded before Caleb dove forward to the ground and narrowly avoided the monster s cat-like pounce. It flew past him, claws scraping the ground as it crashed into one of the cars lined up behind the coolant pump with force enough to lift it briefly on it s two driver side wheels.
Appalachia s tranquil resting atmosphere was suddenly thrust into chaos. Gunshots, terrifying roars from the creature, and the two men shouting communication between each other.
Get cover! Get back! Asher shouted as he walked down the opposite side of the line of cars from the creature, sending six rapid shots hurtling lead toward their new enemy.
MOVING! Caleb responded in a shaken voice as he scrambled to his feet and took off toward the corner of the building. He turned the corner and pivoted, taking up a fighting position and firing off rounds at the hulking menace. It came after him again, but rapidly seemed to change its mind as one of Asher s rounds slammed into its left horn and blew it apart halfway down. Turning toward Asher, it pounced again and flew over the trunk of a car. Asher wasn t quick enough, underestimating the agility of the monster. Before he knew it, the creature slammed into him and took him straight off of his feet. His entire face instantly began to sear and burn with pain as the monster s claws raked down over his eyes, nose, and mouth. He let out a panicked yell, forcing himself to keep his eyes open even as blood began to run into his nostrils, mouth, and eyes. The creature had him pinned with one hand and raised the other up to strike again. Desperate, Asher shot his free leg up and planted it in the monster s shoulder. Although his leg almost snapped in the process, it halted the death swipe and prolonged his life for just a moment.
Caleb was already in full sprint toward the pair, tossing his empty handgun to the ground and pulling out his serrated combat knife. He used the trunk of the car like a springboard, flying several feet through the air and landing sloppily on the monster s back as his blade drove into its neck. It lurched forward and let out a surprised, yet horrible screech and sent Caleb into an involuntary somersault over Asher s head. He landed hard on his back, gasping as the air was trapped in his lungs.
However ineffective it had been, it gave Asher enough time to scramble his pistol into his grip and raise it over the arm that was pinning him down. As the creature howled from the eight inch blade lodged in its neck, Asher shoved the barrel of his pistol into its mouth and pulled the trigger three times. It immediately let go of him and threw itself backwards and into the side of the car.
Through blood soaked eyes, Asher continued to fire until his mag went dry. The monster choked and roared, launching sideways and sprinting away from them as a trail of its blood followed behind it. And then suddenly, all was quiet. Asher fell onto his back, panting and letting his eyes close as the warm blood rolled down his face onto his neck and soaked the collar of his shirt. Now lying flat, it began to run into his ears and hair.
Caleb recovered from falling six feet straight onto his back, and practically crawled over to Asher. Seeing the damage for the first time, a single expletive broke the near silence of the air.
Fuck. He sputtered a few coughs, then ran over to Asher s pack and hauled it over to its owner before pulling the first aid kit out. Don t worry, man. I ve got you. Just breathe. Asher s shuttering, shocked gasps for air began to soothe as he forced himself to relax and distance himself from the pain that seemed to be consuming his entire head and face as his fresh wounds burned and bled. He drew in air and blood, coughing hard once before spitting straight up to clear his mouth. He tried again, and took a long deep draw of air.
Breathe.