Hey guys sorry this took so long but I lot my writing notebook where I wrote this chapter. Finals are coming up too so I've had to prepare, anyway hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Leader Has Fallen

Year: January 25, 2079 (two years since the bombs fell)

"Well howdy how how wastelanders! And may I say it's a mighty fine mornin' out here in the Texas hellhole? I'll save y'all the rest of my jibber jabber and just play y'all some good mornin' music."

There it went again, that damn local radio station. That Klaus's pip-boy kept picking up. He was surprised that only two years after the bombs dropped, Texas still managed to be known as the state of music. Klaus listened to the rusty western jingle for a while then sat up in his bed. Looked around the room, his vision foggy due to the withdrawal of his sleep. He wiped the crust from his eyes and robotically turned his head to his closet where he knew his jumpsuit hung patiently awaiting to be worn. Klaus tossed his covers aside as they seemed to beg him to fall back under them back into his deep sleep once again. He stood up with his shaky tired legs. He turned to his alarm clock, 6:55. He still had time. He stepped into the shower and let the steamy warm water trickle over is head and wash away his sleepiness and send him into a relaxing awakening. After about 25 minutes he got out and shook the water out of his hair. He looked at his alarm clock and jolted when he read 7:20. He scrambled into his jumpsuit grabbed his things and started to school.

Klaus stumbled into the class doorway and looked at the clock 7:32. 'safe.' He thought. He looked around the room, no one noticed as usual. He was invisible, a stranger, an outsider…He liked it that way. He went to his seat and collapsed. After about 13 minutes The Overseer came on the intercom.

"Good morning my fellow vault dwellers another successful morning in vault 56 since Booming Day! Lets recite the pledge shall we?"

The class began the pledge.

"The Brotherhood of Steel is justly named. We are a Brotherhood. Unlike our fathers, we will stand back to back with those that share our convictions and beliefs. We are steel. We are hard. We have been sharpened to an edge. We are the Brotherhood of Steel. Always remember the fires that we were forged in. Never forget."

There were many things that Klaus found strange about this pledge, such as the fact that the children recited the same pledge as the actual brotherhood soldiers, also the fact that they recited the pledge so often through out the day. At the beginning of the day, before lunch, and before the end of the day. Every day. Also, there was never really a subject during class; simply every subject tied into the preservation of the survival of the vault 56 dwellers.

The bell rang startling Klaus out of the daze he'd been in for the past 7 hours. He stood up and put his things away and started on his way to lunch with the rest of the fourth grade.

RICE

BEANS

POTATOS

SWEETROLL

Klaus ate his vegetables and put the sweet roll in his bag, he knew how much Alex loved them. After about 13 minutes into lunch, Klaus realized that the overseer hadn't come on the intercom to repeat the pledge. He decided to look on the bright side, maybe VAULT-TECH was loosening up a little. Klaus went to his chambers after the bell rang releasing them to freedom.

There was a light knock on his door Klaus stepped to it and clicked the button to open it, revealing his little brother Alex. His four year-old eyes looking eagerly up into Klaus's.

"Klaus, you wanna play some baseball?"

He asked

Klaus rolled his eyes.

"Do you even have to ask?"

Alex's eyes lit up.

"YAY!"

The two boys sprinted to the sports chamber. Alex bounced impatiently as Klaus pulled the lever commanding the rusty doors to roll open. Darkness. Klaus searched for the switch and turned on the lights.

"I'll be the pitcher?"

Said Klaus.

"Okay!"

Exclaimed Alex as he took a bat from the "Utilities" chamber.

"LET'S PLAY BALL"

Déjà vu thought Klaus.

Ball after ball; bat after bat… things just seemed too good to be true.

Maybe things in the vault wouldn't be so bad after all—

Klaus's good thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the shrieking sounds of panic right outside the sports chamber door.

Spoke too soon Klaus thought as his heart sank into the familiar abyss of fear.

"Go wait in mom and dads room okay?"

Ordered Klaus to Alex. Alex fearfully obeyed and sprinted in the direction of his parents quarters.

After Alex was long gone, Klaus slowly walked towards the chamber door, the shrieks of panic growing louder the closer he stepped towards the door. He took a deep breath as he took his first step into the hallway knowing that there was no going back. Klaus cautiously took a left into the corridor from which the people were running from. People rushed and shoved past him as he walked closer. Surprisingly he was not nervous unlike how scared he was back in the sports chamber. It was like he drained out every other noise and wasn't afraid. This continued until he was completely fearless which surprised him considering the fact that he was only ten.

After about fifteen minutes of storming through the swarm of panic it seemed that the source of this ruckus was found behind a large crowd of people. Klaus strained his way through the crowd to see what was happening. When he finally managed to squeeze his way through the crowd, he wished that he had stayed behind. All of that courage, all of that fearlessness, all of that was gone, washed away by the horror of the sight in front of him.

This was BAD.

This was VERY BAD.

What would they do now?

Now that…

The overseer…

Was dead.