Chapter 2 – Leaving The Vault – [Posted: 14/08/2018] [Edited as of 15/8/2018]
Nora and Nate finally looked at their surroundings and saw other people catching their breath. Confusion appeared to be everyone's default expression, while a certain few were nearly ready to face their unusual situation. Nate helped Nora stand up and instructed her, "We should look around for the staff, get some damn answers". They both stood up and started walking to the exit at the very end of their room. However, they stopped walking after realising that most of the chambers did not open. To their horror, all the rest of the chamber doors did not open.
When they finally found the computer terminal near the exit, their fears became true as the occupants in 'Cryo-Pods' B9 to B37 were all specified as 'Deceased' due to asphyxiation from Life Support failure. They both let out a breath they knew they were holding in.
"My god..." exclaimed Nate, rubbing his eyes with one hand while the other was leaning on the terminal, "Somehow, we're the lucky ones"
Nora grimaced at the thought of them arriving earlier to be placed in these unlucky cryo-pods. She squeezed his hand and said, "Come on big guy, we need to tell the others"
Their trek back didn't seem long, but their discovery weighed heavily on their minds. Some people were already up and about, helping each other through their ordeal. Nora thought, hopefully they don't overreact to badly. Nate coughed piercingly into his hands, easily gaining everyone's attention.
"Everyone! I've got some bad news. Everyone that isn't outside their cryo-pods is…", instructed Nate, staring back at the corridor, "dead." Nate deliberately left out that their survival was most likely only due to chance numbering. In his experiences, survivor's guilt can be devastating on the human psyche. He doubts they wouldn't realise later when the situation deescalates, but he needed them functional now, if only because groups tend to last longer than individuals.
"Oh my god!"
"Cryo-pods?"
"This is ridiculous, the Vault was supposed to protect us?"
"Hold on! Hold on!", exclaimed Nora, holding her hands in a placating manner, "We're just as clueless as the rest of you. I think… our priority get the hell out of this vault. And hopefully others also made it out alive"
The other survivors looked at each other and most nodded their heads. The group of eight walked together in tight proximity to each other, as if allergic to the cryo-Pods. One person in horror whispered, "Oh no, Mr DiPietro.", the person quickly looked downwards, lest the face of his neighbours haunt their consciousness. Nate picked up a wrench from the toolbox placed near the exit and implored the rest of them to grab something. Grasping their impromptu weapons in their hands grounded them, reinforcing that this was all real and this was their reality. Nate could only hope this would give them the confidence to face whatever will confront them outside this door. Outside this vault. He suppressed the shudder that threatened to leave his body.
They cautiously opened the terminal door and what revealed to them was unexpected. No staff or security, just an empty hallway. Nate let out a sigh of relief. Nothing in here it seems. They edged forwards to the two terminal doors in the middle of the hallway, labelled "Section A" and "Section B". One person did the hail Mary, praying internally that they couldn't possibly be the only survivors. The two terminal doors both opened at the same time as Nate and Nora both immediately set into fighting positions. The other Section C members all stepped back and held their tools as if it would shield them from harm.
From the right and left, two groups of 7 people looked just as frightened as them and an uncanny silence filled the room. Nora lowered her wrench first and joyfully said, "Boy are we glad to see you guys, we really needed the good news"
"The feeling is mutual, friend", said a middle aged man with red hair from Section A, "As much as I like to stand around and chat, we need to get out of here"
"I concur", said a dark-skinned man from Section B.
Their confidence and apparent no-nonsense attitude placated section C's residents and Nate thought, maybe we can survive this after all. He did feel a little regret about not interacting with his neighbours more before the vault but that didn't matter much now. Nate saw a teenaged boy hiding behind the made with red hair and a teenaged girl hiding behind the dark-skinned man. A family man is someone he can trust.
Their groups merged, bolstering their numbers to twenty-one. The greater numbers gave them all the reassurance needed to move forward. The despair and anxiety were still there but mob psychology is significant. Reaching the end of this corridor dashed those reassurances to the ground.
"This door isn't opening at all"
"Then we go another way", stated Nate.
"Further down into this crazy vault? How does that help?" exasperated one resident.
"No, there are two entrances to the vault door", refuted the dark-skinned man.
Nate nodded and said, "Everyone grab anything that you think can be used as a weapon, we won't know how the staff and security will react." There weren't enough wrenches for everyone and some even held buckets. The gravity of the situation didn't allow Nate to be amused but one look at Nora saw that they had the same thought. That put a small smile on his face, as well as on hers.
They travelled further down into the labyrinth, reaching some dead ends but they finally seemed to be going in the right direction. They approached a corridor with several windows with flickering lights. Large generators could be seen spewing out arcs of electricity in random directions. One of the survivors whispered, "Jesus… those generators are definitely malfunctioning. How long were we locked away for nuclear generators to deteriorate like that?" That did not bode well for their situation. Nothing good came from the ruins of advertised 'perennial' energy.
Right before Nate's eyes left the light show, something scurried quickly at the corner of his eye. He zeroed in on the movement and saw nothing. His instincts weren't feeling so great, and he always trusted in his gut. He looked back at Nora and she had a look that showed she didn't see what he saw. He wouldn't worry her needlessly until he knew what he exactly saw.
They finally reached what appeared to be the mess room and the sight of empty cups and beer bottles, in addition to beds and chair, made them all realise how thirsty, hungry and tired they were. The perfect trifecta of all ailments.
"We should… definitely rest for a while", offered Nora, "It seems being a popsicle doesn't agree with me". The mood lightened slightly, and everyone went to about their own business. Some went to straight to the water fountains, some laid on a bed and couples huddles together for some semblance of peace. A few even picked up some cups and bottles to fill them with water to place on the table. Nora noted those few individuals; camaraderie was always welcomed in her books.
"We have a problem", said a man with thick framed glasses as he sat beside Nora and Nate and adjusted his glasses up. "The only way forward is through that generator room and those arcs of lightning aren't the only thing we need to be worried about. If, and if I'm right, the chassis of one of those generators appear to be cracked and I don't think I have to tell you about the dangers of leaking radiation on the body."
Nate and Nora looked at each other and grimaced. Nate put his fist against his mouth and contemplated quietly for a few seconds. He asked, "Nora gather everyone" Nora grimly nodded and walked away.
Everyone gathered around the mess hall table, many sipping on some water slowly. Sadly, no food were around but thirst was the real killer in any situation. Nate started off, "So everyone, as my friend over here", gesturing towards the man with glasses, "we've discovered another hiccup in our escape. That room is filled with radiation and is also the only way out."
Many gasped, one even spat out his water, while several just clenched their fist in anguish. In the meantime, Nora already in the know of the situation, left the room to explore further. Hopefully find something to help their helpless situation.
Nate looked at the man with glasses and pleaded to him, "So, got any ideas?" The man in question frowned, not at Nate but at the question. He hesitated slightly but resolved himself quickly for his questionable solution, and spoke up, "Well… someone could run quickly past the room, find the master terminal and open the locked door at the beginning."
A look of disbelief marred everyone's face, shocked beyond words. Yet they couldn't refute it because no one else could think of any other solution. He spoke up again, "These vault suits feel pretty sturdy to me, I think this material is pretty resistant to electrical currents. All that's left is the radiation."
That did sap away from worry but not enough for anyone to volunteer their lives. Nate thought, we can't just stop here. I've always been pretty resilient in life. Maybe radiation isn't even that bad. His internal logic failed to convince him but the thought of Shaun missing made him stand up.
"Alright… alright… fine, I'll do—"
"WAIT!", shouted Nora as she ran in holding something, "Wait!"
A stimpack? thought Nate. A light bulb moment flashed his mind and slammed the table with one hand, he bellowed "Honey, you're amaz-"
"Yes, yes I know", said Nora as she smirked, "I think I may have found the solution to our radiation problem." She walked towards Nate and he bite his hand lightly, just enough to draw some blood. The action bewildered many of the residents though some also realised what happened and immediately brightened up.
"Wait how does that help at all? Don't stimpacks only work for trauma and blood?", asked one resident.
Nora stated, "No, stimpacks are unique in that they are able to heal genetic damage. By priming the stimpack with your DNA, it acts as the scaffold for directed healing. With enough time, stimpacks and some nutrients, you could even regrow lost limbs."
The red hair man argued, "Surely, that one stimpack wouldn't be able to cure all of the radiation damage".
"You're right", reinforced the man with glasses, "I would need a Geiger counter to know but you would need—
"I got the suit" said the dark-skinned man curtly, with visible sweat beads and considerably bent wrench. A dark-skinned woman approached him offering some water which he drunk in full gulp. Nora was widely smiling, and both the red hair man and man with glasses jokingly scoffed. However, someone pointed at the helmet and questioned, "Wait, why there is a crack on that helmet"
They all looked at the dark-skinned man and he simply shrugged and went to go get another cup of water. His wife offered a placating yet troubled smile to the crowd while walking towards her husband.
Nate thought, Problems at every turn, letting out a sigh. Luckily, the man with glasses spoke up, "I'll give Vault-tec one thing, they know how to make some radiation resistant clothing. It's not the most proper fix but the crack is small enough that you could hold tightly the cloth against it. It won't completely seal but that's what the stimpack is for."
"Well… we know who's offering up his suit", said the red hair man smugly. The man with glasses slightly paled and saw everyone staring at him. he just sighed and went to the bedroom area muttering, "Damn group mentality". He came out with a blanket covering him and he gave his suit to Nate.
"Now that hazmat suit will protect you from the bulk of the radiation but you'll still feel it. That stimpack won't remove any radioactive material that you may inhale or get into contact with so I highly recommend not lollygagging around." explained the man with glasses.
"Thanks for your suit uh…", said Nate
"Jonas"
"Thanks Jonas, Nate Murphy"
Nate started putting on the hazmat suit while everyone simply watched him, unsure of what to do next.
"Oh yeah", said Jonas, "We need to leave this room ASAP before Nate enters that room. I recommend grabbing everything of value. We won't be able to come back to this room for a while."
While everyone grabbed whatever they can, the red hair man came up to Nate and offered his hand, "Name's James Whitfield, if I knew you had such balls of steel, I would've offered you to join our suburb's NFL team"
Nate chuckled and shook his hand firmly, "Nate Murphy. Maybe we'll kick some balls at the Vault Tec staff when we get out". James barked out a laughter attracting some attention from the others. He saluted with two fingers and walked away.
Nora helped zip up the back of the hazmat and said, "All that's left is the stimpack and helmet, then you have to haul ass back to me" she leaned forward and they shared a small kiss. Her small smile quickly devolved into a concerned face, betraying her earlier joking tone. Nora hugged him, whispering in his ear, "Come back to me". She walked away to help gather useful materials.
Nate stared longingly at her back until the dark-skinned man came into his view. He stared at Nate for a few seconds before giving out his hand.
"Shawn Callahan"
The name caused Nate to pause but leaving his hand any longer would be rude. He shook and replied back, "Nate Murphy. Thanks for the suit"
"Nate and Nora, huh. Birds of a feather flock together." remarked Shawn as he walked away. Nate could have sworn he saw the expressionless man slightly raised a smile.
Everyone finally left the room, with Nora staying to help Oi the on the helmet. Nate took several deep breaths and his mind settle into the familiar auto-pilot. Nora didn't want to interrupt him so she stayed silent. He quickly injected the stimpack and slammed his helmet on. Quickly sealed the helmet to the suit and swiftly left the room, closing the terminal door behind her. Nate could feel the stimpack circulating in his body and he clenched Jonas suit to the crack. He opened the door and he experienced hell.
Immediately periodic hits of lightening would hit him but luckily they were just bearable enough to handle. Each shot would jolt through his body but he preserved through, edging as fast as he could along the walls. He finally made it near the exit and was about to leave when he saw a skeleton in a tattered vault suit. He widened his eyes and nearly stopped moving but he would worry about that later. He slammed his fist against the entrance console and ran in, shutting the door behind him.
"What happened in the—", Nate couldn't finish his sentence before he felt a sudden pain on his left leg. He glances down and sees the biggest cockroach he has ever seen with pincers larger than a rhinoceros beetle. Another cockroach quickly flies at him from atop the stairs towards his head but he manoeuvres out of the way and slams his right foot on the bug still bitting his left leg.
A satisfying crunch is heard and he quickly does the same to the other roach. Nate inspects around quickly for more hostiles but finds none. He cautiously walked up the stairs and he looks around the corner. Four more roaches are moving around the end of that corridor and Nate curses softly.
He lets go of the Jonas's suit against his helmet and rolls it up tight. Two quick breaths in and he sprints towards his insectoid foes. He quickly stomps on one and kicks another straight into the wall, the other two roaches catch on quickly and fly at him from two different angles. Nate steps back quickly, swiping Jonas's suit horizontally, slamming into both the roaches. The roaches quickly bounce back up but Nate utilises the opportunity to jump and stomp on both roaches.
"Giant roaches? What the hell?" questioned Nate. Nate felt like he was in an Awesome Tales comic book, battling giant insects that threatened America. Now all he has to do is save the damsel in distress. He knew Nora would wack him on the head if he called her that.
The rest of the corridors were bug-free and he entered the overseer's office. Nate wasn't surprised there was one skeleton on the ground. What did surprise him was the unusual contraption in the skeletons hand which screamed 'super science weapon' in Nate's mind. He couldn't stop himself from holding the weapon and inspecting every inch of it. Afterwards, he aimed at a part of the wall and he pulled the trigger. A burst of white stream flew quickly at the wall, clearly freezing that portion of the wall instantly. He whistled, "Definitely keeping you"
He controlled his inner child and started accessing the overseer's terminal. So many journal entries, he thought, I'll read them later. The armoury and storage rooms appear to be inaccessible. Maybe Jonas could open them up.
His eyes tracked the four pistols in deteriorated conditions with 4 boxes of 10mm ammunition in the overseer's personal armoury. Wonder what the real armoury would have, Nate thought, though where are the rest of the bodies...
He searched the overseer's personal room but finding nothing of use for now except for a baton and a shoulder bag. He put the 'cryolator' away for now due to its bulkiness.
Before he left, he picked up the Pip-Boy off the Overseer's body and put it on. He knew they were portable computers but surely it must be important if only the Overseer wore it. He felt a slight sting and the Pip-Boy gave him readings on his health statistics. Luckily, he didn't receive too much radiation from the rendezvous with the nuclear generators. The tutorial on the Pip-Boy stated that the red button was able to detect motion.
He pressed the button and the Geiger counter briefly moved up and down. Nothing happened. He went through the door and peered over the corner. Unsurprisingly, he saw several cockroaches milling about. He pointed his PipBoy at them and this time he saw red lines on his compass. What he failed to realise a bit too late was that all the cockroaches suddenly dashed towards him. He backtracked quickly, leaping down the stairs into the overseer's office and slammed the door shut.
He picked up the cryolator, ready to make some cockroach popsicles. Nate made quick work of the cockroach but in during his zealous bug extermination, the Pip-Boy flashed on his screen that he was running low on ammo.
"Damn"
He put it away on the desk again and grabbed a box to contain all the weapons and ammo. Finally reaching the end, he saw the massive vault door and several more cockroaches skittering around the room. They zoomed on him immediately and he was able to close the door on one of them. He pulled out Jonas's rolled shirt and cracked his neck.
Everyone, including Nora, waited patiently outside the terminal door to the vault entrance. Nora felt like time was passing so slowly but she knew better than to believe Nate couldn't accomplish any task. Other than cooking, she thought, bring a smile to her face. Just as she thought that, the terminal door slide open with Nate smeared in some weird sticky fluid whilst holding onto a box in one hand and Jonas's suit in the other. Nora walked towards him with a rag and started wiping the gunk off him. Nate's mischievous smile betrayed his thoughts as Nora slapped him on the arms and stated, "Don't you dare hug me".
"Please tell me that is not my suit", cried Jonas, staring at his only outfit completely soaked in the same fluid. Disgust was written all over his face.
"Sorry buddy, you'll see why I had to use it", apologised Nate, handing back Jonas his suit. Jonas grabbed the vault suit with two fingers and held it as far away from his body as possible. He thought about turning the blanket into a tunic like the ancient greeks. Thankfully there seemed to be boxes filled with spare vault suits on a table near the door. He dropped the soiled clothing instantly.
The most bizarre sight crossed their field of view. Incredibly large cockroaches splattered across the room with crushed heads and broken abdomens. One was still twitching, though a quick stomp by Nate silenced it.
"Who amongst you can fire a pistol?" asked Nate. Various hands pointed up, too many hands. "I mean, who amongst you has combat experience?" Several hands fell down, except for James and Shawn. Nate lifted an eyebrow at them, awaiting an answer.
James responded first, "Muggers trying to take my Chryslus Corvega". Shawn also replied, "Muggers". Nate contemplated for a bit and shrugged, "Good enough, I found them in the overseer's office. Don't be too sad everyone else, his terminal showed an armoury further in vault 111. We'll eventually arm everyone up" Handing them and Nora a pistol each.
Before Nate could walk to the vault door console, Jonas chimed in with a proposition.
"I think I'll stay back for a bit, you said the overseer had a terminal? Surely his computer will have everything we need to know about the vault and maybe even information about outside."
"You sure?", asked Nate, he pulled out a baton out of his new shoulder bag, "for protection".
"Thanks, though I don't know if I'll use it effectively".
Nate saw him off and continued onwards to vault door console, plugging his PipBoy into the vault door console, and pressed the red button. The sudden sounds surprised everyone, a terrible screech worse than a primary school teacher dragging their nails across a chalk board. Agonising seconds passed and the vault door open and the ramp to their salvation laid down.
Couldn't let them know that the thought of giant bears scare the bejesus out of me. Surely, they couldn't actually exist?To distract his mind Jonas accessed the Overseer's journal, wanting to know more about their psychotic evil mastermind.
Vault 111 Overseer Journal Entries.
"Journal 12 – October 1st, 2077. I can feel the tensions rising with our food stores dwindling and no All-Clear signal. Evacuation is impossible for the years to come as my science staff believe it to be too risky. I hope I don't have to implement the final solution. I need to do something"
"Journal 14 - December 6th, 2077. Food rations are down to two weeks. I had hoped I would not have to do this but the odds are stacked against me. All the staff and even my loyal assistants partitioned me to remove the research participants and cryogenically freeze themselves. It appears human nature is still the same as our ancestors. But the experiment must continue. For a better humanity."
"Journal 15 – December 7th, 2077. I've trapped the security and maintenance staff in the locker and armoury rooms and sabotaged the doors to remain permanently locked. They won't be getting out of there anytime soon. I wanted to avoid killing my science staff but they gave me no choice when they decided to betray me. At least I know now that my Cryolator is remarkably effective. I'll definitely have to patent it with Vault-Tec"
"Journal 17 – April. Still no All-Clear sign. I can walk through this vault with my eyes closed. Watching our research participants face used to bring me a certain joy but now I envy their longevity. I don't walk near the barracks and storage rooms. I hear.. voices. No, that's absurd, they should all be dead"
"Journal 27 - July 7th. Mathew has reminded me that today is my seven month anniversary of my massacre. I've finished the rations. Carol reproached me for not freezing their bodies for sustenance. Even I have my limits. No All-Clear. Radiation still lethal. You all would have died anyway, what does it mater that it was by my hands Steven."
"Journal I always knew Carol had it in her. According to her calculations, if I use the Cryolator to freeze my head Vault-Tec will be able to resuscitate me when they come. Even Steven agrees that it could work. Just have to lock the house"
Jones blood boiled furiously but he couldn't stop a small amount of pity for the overseer near the end. Not enough to redeem the overseer in his eyes. Now let's see what this vault can offer. The same childhood delight that Nate had could be seen twinkling in Jonas's eyes as he glanced at the Cryolator every now and then.
A/N: Took me awhile to think about what to do about the overseer and rest of the V111 staff. One option was that the science staff mutiny as well and everyone escapes, but I thought surely the science staff would understand what dangerous radiation meant. Also can't have him having an OP weapon already.
Also had a grand time researching if plugging a hole with rad resistance cloth was enough to. My initial thought was have him wear multiple vault suits but it just seemed too silly.
The easiest part of the story is done. I'll definitely have to think over how I want to write this out. Felt like I described too many mundane details. I foreshadowed a few plot elements, so see if you can pick up on it.
Also I'll probably go back on my earlier chapters to edit them so I'll put a post an edited date.
