Future Imperfect

Year 2274

"Say 'ah'." James held out the tongue depressor.

"Aaaah…" The boy rolled his eyes. It wasn't going to work.

"Well," said his father. "As far as I can tell, you're a perfectly healthy sixteen year-old boy." He put his hands on his hips. "So yes, you have to go to class to take your G.O.A.T. Exam."

His shoulders sagged. "But, Dad—!"

James Willborn shook his head. "No, buts, Jeremiah. You're fine." He smiled. "Now go on, you have a G.O.A.T. to take."

Jeremiah sighed. It didn't work. Regardless, he smiled and embraced his father. "Bye, Dad."

"Take care, Son." His expression took on a tone of mock seriousness. "Now get out of here."

As Jeremiah Willborn turned to leave, James added a soft, "Good luck."

"Leave me alone, idiots!" Amata cried as Butch DeLoria and his ragtag group, the "Tunnel Snakes" surrounded her. Jeremiah noticed the altercation taking place as he made his way to the classroom.

"Ah, come on, Amata; how's about I show a real 'tunnel snake.'" Butch leered as he loomed over her.

Jeremiah moved in quickly, noting that Paul Hannon and Wally Mack were also with him. He couldn't take them all on, but if it was just Butch… "Paul, what are you doing, man?"

"That little snitch told the Overseer about us!" Paul replied, adding an unnecessary, "Tunnel Snakes rule!" to his statement.

Jeremiah shook his head and glanced at Mack. Guy's got an ego; maybe I can use that. "Hey, Wally, what've you got against Amata?"

"She messed with the Tunnel Snakes, man, and Butch said we should—!"

Jeremiah shot him a half smile. "And you do everything Butch says?"

Wally looked like he'd been slapped. "Wha—no! Of course not!"

"Really? Because I heard that you follow his every order."

"I do not!" Wally grabbed Paul by his Vault Suit sleeve. "C'mon, man, we don't need Butch!"

As Mack dragged a protesting Hannon away, Butch suddenly lost some of his nerve. "W-wait, guys, come back!" He whirled on Jeremiah. "You! You did this! You're gonna pay if it's the last thing I do!"

Jeremiah gave a contemptuous snort. "What's stopping you now?"

Amata glanced back and forth between the two. "Jeremiah…"

Butch reared back. "That's it." As he swung, Jeremiah dodged the telegraphed punch, responding with a quick jab to his eye.

Enamored as he was with his initial strike, he failed to anticipate Butch's counter. The punch rattled his brain and sent stars through his vision. He flailed about as Butch sent a right cross to finish the job, and his hand somehow managed to intercept the blow. His head clearing, he used the opportunity to elbow Butch in the face, feeling cartilage crumple as he broke Butch's nose. The Tunnel Snake staggered backward and, nothing if no persistent, charged forward. Jeremiah intercepted his forward motion with an equally powerful forward kick to the stomach, knocking Butch to the ground and knocking the wind out of him.

As he struggled to stand, muttering addled threats and attempting to walk to the classroom, Jeremiah turned to Amata. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

She smiled. "I'm fine. Thanks for getting rid of them. Assholes."

Jeremiah simply shrugged.

Amata folded her arms. "But was fighting Butch really necessary? You could've been hurt!"

He flashed a sheepish grin. "I guess that part was more for my own personal satisfaction…"

She shook her head. "Men…"

Three Years Later

Alarm bells rang in his head, but they didn't belong to his alarm clock. He could also hear Amata's voice in the distance.

"Come on, wake up! Wake up!"

Jeremiah's eyes snapped open. He groggily sat up in his bed as alarm bells continued to ring. "Hn…hm…what's—what's going on?"

Amata's eyes were filled with terror. "They killed Jonas! My god, they killed him!"

He was fully awake now. "What! Jonas is dead?" His heart stopped; Jonas had been his friend. "What the hell is going on?"

"It's your dad! He's left the Vault!"

Left the Vault? Why—?

"My father thought Jonas helped him escape, so he and his men—." Amata nearly broke down into sobs. "They just, just wouldn't stop beating him…they wouldn't stop!"

Jeremiah stood and embraced his friend. "It's going to be okay…Are you alright?"

She sniffled and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me; I'm just sorry you had to find out this way. I—I know he was your friend."

He held her tighter. "I'm sorry too."

She gently pushed him away. "We've got to go, now! My father's men will be here any minute!"

Jeremiah nodded. "I have to leave, but…"

"But what?"

"Where can I go?" He looked into her eyes, so unsure of his future.

"I think…I think you have to follow your dad. You have to leave the Vault."

He nodded.

"I know it's probably none of my business, but did your dad, you know…"

He shook his head. "No. I had no idea he was going to leave."

"Oh…I'm sorry." She muttered softly before getting charged up again. "Now, I have a plan to get you out of here, to help you escape the Vault!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Escape the Vault? How?"

"There's a secret tunnel that leads into my father's office so that you can open the Vault door. You'll need to hack his computer." She reached to her side and pulled out a 10 mm pistol, offering it to him. "One more thing…"

Jeremiah fought back tears. "I'll only use it as a last resort; I promise."

She nodded. "I'll meet you at the exit." She turned to leave. "Good luck, Jeremiah."

15 Minutes Later

Jeremiah stood over Officer Mack's bloody corpse, baseball bat in hand, vision red. They had tried to hurt Amata! As his vision cleared, he noticed the Overseer curled in a corner, and Amata was nowhere in sight.

Good. She got away. He took a tally: two officers, several Radroaches. Butch had thanked him profusely for dealing with the Radroaches.

He pulled out the pistol and pointed it at the Overseer. "The code and password to open the Vault. Now!"

Alphonse Almodovar sneered when he noticed the boy's shaking hands. "I'm not just going to give them to you, boy! You have nothing."

Jeremiah gritted his teeth and pulled back the hammer on the gun. Sorry, Amata… "Give them to me, or I will kill you!"

He released a mirthful laugh. "You don't have the guts, boy!"

"Tell that to Officer Mack."

Almodovar glanced nervously over at his dead lieutenant before bringing his resolved gaze back to the runaway. "Sorry, that's not happening."

Jeremiah sighed. Why won't he just—? His next thought was terrible. He felt sick to his stomach just thinking about it, but it was going to be the only way he could preserve the life of Amata's father. "Amata trusts me." He put all of the malice toward the Overseer into his voice. "I could hurt her, badly."

Alphonse went pale. "You-you little brat! You would do it, too!"

Jeremiah's heart sank when he realized the Overseer didn't know him or Amata well enough to know he would never hurt her.

"Fine." He tossed a key card in his direction. "Take it, boy! Enjoy the Wasteland!"

As he left, Jeremiah opened the locker that had been behind him. He found two water bottles and five stimpaks, all of which he put into a satchel bag, which also contained a few extra Vault suits, just in case. He adjusted the security armor he had earlier taken from one of the dead guards and began to search for Amata.

He found Jonas' body first. Once again, holding back tears, Jeremiah picked up a slip of paper near his body. It read 'From Dad'. He sighed; he would read it later.

He eventually found Amata sitting at a small table off from the main concourse. Jeremiah put a hand on his friend's shoulder, and she lifted her head from her hands. "Is my father—?"

"I convinced your father to give me the codes without having to kill him."

A smiled grew on her face. "Oh, thank you!" She wrapped her arms around him. "I told you my father wasn't himself! I—I don't know what I would've done had you not come along." She released him. "You'd better get going. If I don't meet you at the Vault door…" She kissed him on the cheek. "Good luck."

The alarms grew louder as the Vault door began to open. Jeremiah smiled. I really did it!

"Oh my god!" Amata cried. "You—you opened the Vault!"

The screeching of the door overshadowed his response.

"You actually did it! I almost didn't believe that it was possible!" Amata continued.

Jeremiah smiled. "I couldn't have done it without your help, Amata."

She embraced him and held him close. "No, you didn't need me. If anyone can survive out there, it's you."

Jeremiah didn't want to leave her behind. She was his best friend. "Come with me, Amata."

She gave a saddened chuckle. "It's tempting, Jeremiah, it really is. But…" Tears began to stream down her face. "My place is here. Without me…the Vault will fall into chaos. I'm the—the only one who can talk some sense into my father."

Jeremiah nodded solemnly.

"Listen…" Amata looked away. "If you do catch up with your Dad, tell him…tell him I'm sorry. For everything."

He held her tighter. "Goodbye, Amata…" He added softly. "I love you."

She looked up and kissed him on the lips. "I love you, too."

"You! Stop!" Two guards ran into the room.

"Go, Amata!" Jeremiah yelled as he ran for the door. "I'll be fine!"

When he reached the threshold and stepped from the cold metal of the Vault to the cold stone of the cave, the guards stopped pursuing him.

"I'm not crazy enough to go out there!"

"Neither am I. Kid's as good as dead."

Jeremiah ignored them and made his way to a small wooden door with slats in it, through which poured a bright light. He inhaled and, mustering all of his courage, opened the door.