A/N: Merry Christmas! If you are easily triggered by traumatic events, be wary of the chapter ahead. Thank you.
Chapter Two, A Dramatic Turn of Events
Frustration. Panic. Frustration and Panic were the feelings that were overcoming Hannah Holden. Taking the G.O.A.T. last year did nothing but destroy her dream of being a Vault 101 Security Guard. Even though women weren't permitted to join the security staff, it was Hannah's perfect future to become Vault 101's first female security guard. But alas, when Hannah got her results back, it was apparent that the Generalized Occupational Aptitude Test had assigned her down in the reactor level working with Stanley.
Hannah hated her job, though according to Stanley and the rest of the maintenance crew, she was very good at it. Hannah Holden was incredibly intelligent and had a knack for learning things quickly, something that was invaluable to working in the Reactor. However, Hannah was quick to anger and working in maintenance tried her patience to the extreme everyday. When things got intense down in the reactor level, everyone was weary of Hannah's temper.
Right now, Hannah was going bonkers; there was a small water leak in the pipes that ran through the reactor to cool it. Not a big deal in itself, but a cracked pipe could potentially cause a drop in the water pressure heading to the reactor, reducing the cooling and increasing the strain on the fragile 200 year old reactor. Hannah raced around the lower level, trying desperately to find any parts to repair the leak. Everyone else was alert but still calm about the problem.
"Chill out, Hannah, it'll be fine!" called one member of the maintenance crew. It did nothing to stop the hysterical Hannah Holden. She ran down the halls of the lower level, desperately searching for any toolbox she could find.
Stanley eventually gifted Hannah one of his spare toolboxes and she made her way to the said broken pipe in question. Hannah quickly made her way over to the problem area. The pipe was spewing out scalding hot water. One would think water this hot wouldn't do anything to cool the reactor but in reality, the water gushing out of the cracks was many hundred degrees cooler than the actual reactor itself. Upon opening Stanley's toolbox, Hannah saw a small metal welder inside. She grasped the welding gun and Stanley soon met her next to the pipe. "You realize what you have to do, right?" He asked Hannah very seriously. The both of them were sweating profusely.
Hannah nodded. She knew she would have to weld a new piece of metal over the crack in the pipe. Stanley knew this would be a good learning experience and he supervised her closely. Hannah pulled out a small insulating layer of foam and with the help of Stanley, glued it over the leak, temporarily blocking the flow of water. "That won't hold for long," Stanley said as he handed Hannah a torch mask. She nodded to him.
Hannah took the piece of metal out of the toolbox, just enough to cover up the crack in the piping. Hannah quickly lit up the welding gun and knocked her head back quickly so her torch mask swung down onto her face without her having to touch it. Stanley grinned at her little trick. He quickly gave Hannah a rundown on how to weld the two metals together. She put the metal slab over the insulating foam and quickly did a few spot and tack welds here are there to secure it. Provided by Stanley, she then caulked down the seams. After it being inspected by Stanley, Hannah finished her welds and tidied her work up. The leak was completely fixed and was most likely stronger than before! Stanley was most impressed by Hannah's work. "Great job, Hannah!"
Hannah probably smiled for the first time down in the reactor level. "Of course, but I couldn't have done it without your help," Hannah said humbly with a touch of smugness.
Stanley scoffed and shook his head, "If there's anything needing to be fixed, you're the one who can do it. You did a fantastic job." And with that, Stanley planted his hand on Hannah's shoulder with a smile and then walked off.
Hannah turned back to the toolbox and rearranged everything exactly how she found it, frequently wiping the sweat off her face. Hannah checked her Pip-Boy. Exactly like how her own body felt, her Pip-Boy was advising her to get some water soon. It told her she only had 5 minutes before her shift for the day was finally over. Hannah breathed a sigh of relief knowing that her day's work would be finally over and she would be able to finally see her friends.
She made her way over to the Maintenance Crew locker room. Upon entering the place, Hannah immediately took her time card, inserted it into the machine that calculated work hours and pulled it out; another day down in the reactor level recorded. It was 5:01 P.M. and Hannah already just wanted a cold shower and some sleep. She threw down her maintenance tool harness onto the bench in the middle of the room. Hannah removed her work boots and slid out of her issued Vault 101 Utility Jumpsuit. She was thankful no one else was around or else she'd be a lot more modest but at this point, she couldn't care less. Hannah grabbed a towel from her locker and exchanged her underclothes with the towel. She tip-toed across the floor to avoid being on the dirty tile flooring for too long. Hannah's shower was freezing cold, just the way she liked it. After spending eight or so hours working in the boiling heat, a cold shower was the best Hannah could ever hope for. She honestly preferred using the Maintenance Crew's showers instead of the public ones, as there were a lot less people who used them.
Hannah walked out of the locker room, running her fingers through her damp raven colored hair. She enjoyed the feeling of being in a clean regular jumpsuit.
Hannah thought back to earlier in the day when she caught Amata and Roman down in the Reactor Level. Hannah didn't know either of their names though she had seen Amata's face before; Hannah knew she was the Overseer's daughter. Everyone did. She knew that the Overseer was an overbearing bully so she decided not to turn in Amata to the Overseer's wrath. Plus, they were just teenagers. Everyone makes out in the Reactor Level at least once, right? It was then Hannah remembered seeing the boy Amata was with when she walked out of Mr. Brotch's classroom even earlier today. "Must be her boyfriend," Hannah thought, "pretty cute." Hannah Holden's mind drifted to other things while she walked her way back to her friend's quarters.
The walk was a long one but by this point in her life, the monotony of walking to and fro the reactor level to the living quarters was so boring, Hannah did it on autopilot. Hannah was lucky to get off so early from her job. If it wasn't a school day, it wasn't uncommon for Hannah to be down in maintenance from 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. Hannah was going to see one of her friends named Adrian Batchelder. Hannah and Adrian have been friends for a few weeks now and even though Adrian was considered an asshole and a troublemaker, deep down many people would say he's a good person. However, things are about to change. While on her way over to Adrian's, Hannah could hear faint booms that sounded far away underground. She thought nothing of it and it didn't even occur to her why the security personnel were running through the halls.
Hannah let herself into the Batchelder residence, and relieved to know Adrian's parents weren't home and made her way to his room. Hannah could hear the old 1950's garage punk coming from Adrian's room that he always blasted. Upon opening the sliding door to his room, Adrian didn't look up from his motor magazine. "Hey, you slut."
Hannah smirked and kicked the magazine right out of Adrian's hands. "What did you just say to me you bitch?" Hannah laughed and sat down on the bed next to Adrian. Hannah laughed even harder when Adrian gave her a fake look of heartbreak.
Adrian sat up next to Hannah and smiled. "What's up, dog?" said Adrian in his typical too cool for you attitude.
Hannah raised her eyebrows up and down rapidly and smirked, "Oh, you know. Just the usual bullshit down in the reactor level, repaired a crazy huge leak in a pipe, didn't get anything in return. What about you?"
Adrian let out a single chuckle. "Same old," he said, "though I did get a raise in pay at the diner. Up to five credits an hour now." Adrian let out a smug smile.
"Buy me dinner sometime?" Hannah smirked again and elbowed Adrian in the side, "you still owe me for saving your ass when you were sleeping on the job, you know."
Adrian scoffed at Hannah. "If anything, you owe a meal with your crazy pay for working with Stanley," Adrian said whilst taking a sip of his Nuka-Cola.
"Well yeah, when you're risking your life everyday in the face of temperatures as hot as Satan's asshole, you're gonna get paid decently," Hannah replied annoyed. Adrian held up his hands in a 'I surrender' kind of way with a smile. "Hey, maybe I like sticking my dick in the deep fryer," Adrian said with a laugh.
After Hannah kicked him for saying that, Adrian laughed harder. It was only when Hannah pushed him off the bed he stopped laughing. He pouted ironically and then smiled. "Hey, don't worry, I got some stuff to take the edge off."
Hannah quickly raised an eyebrow and Adrian smiled a devilish smile. Hannah leaned in, "Who'd you get em from?" Hannah said, now smiling a troublesome smile too.
"Some kid named Butch today dropped his food in the diner. Felt bad so I gave him a free meal and then he offered me some. Beats the hell out of sneaking into Doc' Howarth's clinic and stealing his chems."
Hannah let out a psh and rolled her eyes, "I guess so," Hannah said. She suddenly got dead serious, "Show me them."
Adrian smiled and reached under his bed and pulled out a small rucksack. It had the Vault's diner logo on it and appeared to be quite full. He loosened the rope around the opening and turned the rucksack upside down, its contents spilled out all over the floor. Hannah's eyes widened when she saw the numerous vials of Med-X, seven Jet Inhalers, a carton of Mentats, and two doses of Psycho. "Holy shit," she said in disbelief.
Adrian's small face scrunched up due to his huge psychotic smile. "I know, right? Here take some jet, you deserve it man," Adrian said as he placed an inhaler into Hannah's hand. "It's been so long since I last got high," Hannah said.
Adrian smirked and nodded. Hannah immediately gripped the red handle, put the inhaler to her smooth lips, pressed the button up top, and inhaled deeply. Almost instantaneously, Hannah felt the euphoric effects take over her body. She dropped the empty inhaler without caring and fell back into Adrian's bed and wasn't listening to his chuckling. Hannah's eyes darted every which way and unbeknownst to her, her own pupils widened to also the entire size of her iris. She looked up to ceiling to see it constantly change colors and warp and fall over itself like smoke. She stared for about an hour straight for what felt like ten seconds. She blinked a few times and the ceiling seemed to go mostly back to normal and with a harsh shiver, Hannah quickly sat up in bed. She began breathing super hard and felt weightless, as if she just stepped onto the moon. Upon looking over to Adrian, she noticed him lighting up a cigarette.
Feeling the effects of Jet finally starting to affect her greatly, Hannah felt an intense rush of energy and she looked around the room acting like a dog noticing food. She rushed to Adrian's door and punched the console to open it repeatedly as she knew what was on the opposite side. What actually took two seconds in reality felt like an eternity to Hannah as the door opened. Instead of going around the furniture of apartment normally, Hannah easily cleared the couch as she jumped over it. When she tried to hop the coffee table, the toe end of her sneaker caught the table and she went tumbling. Being high as a kite, she didn't care when she loudly crashed to the floor and flipped the coffee table; the hypergenic effects of Jet inhalation were already cemented into her system. Unaware of flipping the table and the contents previously on top, Hannah was still sprinting to one location; the kitchen.
Hannah was starting to finally come down from the high if ever so slightly. Hannah was so jumpy and hyper that it took her multiple tries to get her fingers around the handle of refrigerator. She threw the door open so hard that he fridge itself scooted a few inches. Adrian walked into the room and stared at her and started laughing hysterically.
Hannah whipped her head around to see him laughing. "Wha-?" She said frantically. Adrian kept laughing. "Damn Hannah, you're high as fuck."
"Shut the fuck up! Why doesn't your fridge have any food?" demanded Hannah. Adrian gave her a look of confusion and then widened his eyes as Hannah started throwing open his kitchen cabinets. "Hannah no, stop!" screamed Adrian not seriously. He laughed and rushed over to Hannah and pulled her arm to get her down from the countertop. When that didn't work, Adrian wrapped his arms around Hannah's waist and fell backwards, pulling her down with him to the ground. Hannah quickly got out his grasp with her newfound strength but Adrian quickly tripped her as he laughed. He quickly got on top of her and pinned her arms above her head. Hannah tried to get him off of her but Adrian's tall frame kept her under him. It was then Adrian leant down and kissed Hannah on the lips forcefully. Hannah was so high out of her mind it didn't even register, she just wanted to get some food and run around.
"Let's go get some food at the diner, shall we?" Adrian said with a devilish smile. He got off of Hannah and grabbed her hand to pick her up from the ground. Hannah was confused at first but the thought was quickly replaced by the relief of being out and about. She followed Adrian out of the apartment. "Let's try to act as non-suspicious as possible, Hannah," he whispered, smiling at his sneaky trick earlier. Hannah was oblivious and just rolled with it.
The pair discretely made their way down to the Diner, which wasn't too far away. Hannah kept zoning out and would collide with Adrian multiple times. Upon passing a few people in the halls, the other dwellers would look at Adrian and Hannah with a weird look, mostly ending with Adrian giving them a smile. Adrian told Hannah to stay outside the Diner and he made his way inside. Using his employment status to his advantage, he managed to get a decent amount of free food. He ushered in Hannah and they found themselves sat in a booth in the corner. Hannah immediately began stuffing her face, pushing aside her usually good manners. Adrian just chuckled and ate his food at a leisurely pace.
As quick as they were there, they were off again, back to Adrian's room. The effects of the jet were continuing to affect Hannah. She felt incredibly clouded and didn't have any sense of what was going on. Suddenly, she found it hard to keep her eyes open and she was having trouble walking in a straight line down the hallway. Unbeknownst to Hannah, she was about to crash and crash hard. Without knowing it, Adrian took her hand. Upon returning to the quarters, Adrian took Hannah into his room and she fell onto the bed, falling asleep almost instantly.
Returning back to Amata and Roman, the pair were still in Roman's room, cuddling up to one another, enjoying their new found connection. Not much was being said between the two but nothing needed to be said, they were just enjoying each other's company. Though they weren't do anything with one another (yet), they both had a tremendous amount of butterflies in their stomachs and were almost shaking from their feelings. They both felt complete. Roman felt at peace as Amata's head was on his shoulder with her arm wrapped around his side. She was very soft and smelled of vanilla, and it was incredible to see Amata's eyes so up close, their deep hazel being more green than brown that was downright intoxicating to Roman. It was something similar for Amata, with Roman's arms wrapped around her curvy frame. Roman's face was so adorable to Amata and she genuinely thought Roman as a looker, despite the differing opinions of Christine Kendall and Susie Mack. Amata glanced from Roman over to the Quantum sitting on Roman's end table across from them.
Amata bit her lip and shook her way out of Roman's grasp, reaching over him to grab the Nuka-Cola Quantum. With the Quantum in hand, she returned to Roman's embrace and they both gazed at the crazy drink. "Can it even be considered a drink?" Roman questioned to no one in particular. There was a slight tingle in Amata's hand from holding the radioactive beverage and she seriously considered keeping the drink as a momento. Reckoning that would be illogical, she knew she would have to drink it but at least she would drink it with her love, Roman. The glow and translusentness from the drink was a sight to behold and neither of the two could take their eyes off of it. "You ready?" Amata asked Roman, glancing back at him. Roman just gave her a smile of affirmation.
Amata used the bottle cap remover on the bottom of her Pip-Boy to remove the golden bottle cap affixed onto the top of Quantum. Amata gave the bottle one last look, reading the text on the bottle that said, "Take the leap… enjoy a Quantum!"
Amata tentatively knocked back the drink and Roman could slightly see the glowing light as it went down Amata's throat. At first, all Amata could taste was the usual Nuka-Cola flavored, just amplified to almost be at sour-like levels and then milliseconds later, the 18th flavor of pomegranate kicked in. It was an odd flavor, definitely one that someone would have to be acquired to, like coffee or a nice lager. Her tongue felt ultra tingley and Amata shivered from the effects. She could feel her own heart rate rising from the drink and felt as if some adrenaline was kicking in. When Roman took a swig, he felt similar effects as did Amata. Though an odd experience, Roman could honestly say it was a pleasant one, obviously, as the drink was approved for the pre-war market.
The two best friends continued to slowly drink the Quantum and talk amongst themselves. They joked about the fact of the Quantum supposedly having twice the calories, twice the carbohydrates, twice the caffeine and twice the taste. After finishing it, they again sat in silence, this time laid out across Roman's bed, just looking into each other's eyes. Neither one of them could begin to fathom how fortunate they were for one another. If both of them were shot right there, they would've died happy.
There was a fog that glazed over Hannah Holden's mind. First things first, Hannah's head was pounding so hard it was ready to split open and shower the room with gray matter. The first thoughts that came to mind were that she didn't want to be awake right now and secondly, regret. She immediately knew that she was hungover, crashing super hard from her Jet intake. Even though later she would be telling herself she'd never get high again, she would once again do just that. She could feel herself laying on her back and with a blanket around her. She didn't bother opening her eyes, knowing very well the light would only worsen her migraine. She raised her hands to her face and turned over in the bed simultaneously. It was then Hannah felt something very off.
"Hey, you're finally awake," Hannah could hear Adrian say. She ignored him, feeling instantly super uncomfortable and frightened. Hannah may have been hungover but all her reasoning and sentience was there. When she turned over just then, she could feel her bare skin against Adrian's sheets and something about her physically just felt off. Her jumpsuit was nowhere to be found and Hannah found herself wearing nothing but a bra. She didn't remember taking off her clothes. She quickly sat up in bed and opened her eyes, easily ignoring the pain that her body protested because she was so nervous. She quickly wrapped the blanket around herself. She saw Adrian sitting across the room in his underclothes, smoking another cigarette. Hannah's eyes widened and a shiver shot up her spine.
"You okay?" Adrian deadpanned, sounding more like a statement than a question. He closes his eyes as he exhaled some of the smoke. Hannah gulped and said, "What happened?"
Adrian let out a chuckle, one which normally would sound fine but right now, it was unnerving to Hannah. He took another hit of his cigarette before saying, "You took a few shots of jet, then we went and got some chow after you nearly destroyed my kitchen." He laughed.
"After that, I mean," Hannah said timidly, never feeling this vulnerable before. She scooted back in the bed, getting up nearly against the wall. Adrian finished his cigarette and got up to get another pack. He didn't answer for awhile. "Adrian?" Hannah said smalley. Adrian sighed. "We fucked. What does it look like?" Adrian finally answered.
Hannah's fears were confirmed and the tone in Adrian's voice wasn't anything she had ever heard before. It sounded totally nonchalant and deadpanned, and Hannah couldn't hear any regret in the tone. When Hannah didn't answer immediately, Adrian pointed to the other wall across the room. "There are your clothes, on the dresser," he said. Hannah didn't say anything but got up with the blanket wrapped around her body to get her clothes. As she walked over, tears started welling up in her eyes and she tried her hardest not to burst into tears. She tried her best to cover herself with the blanket as she changed into her clothes, eventually zipping up her jumpsuit. From start to finish, Hannah could feel Adrian gazing at her backside.
Hannah sat herself back down onto Adrian's bed, looking away from him, about to break down. "You okay?" Adrian said again, this time sounding more concerned. He leaned forward in his chair. Hannah turned her head into his direction but didn't look at him. "Did I even say yes?" Hannah said in a low and quiet, accusing tone.
Adrian chuckled again. He got up and walked over to Hannah and sat down right next to her. Hannah instinctively scooted away from him. After awhile, he answered, "No, you were way out there but let's be honest here, you woulda' said yes if you were sober."
"No, I wouldn't! Not in a million years! What the hell?" Hannah shouted at him, standing up and facing toward him. "Hannah.." he said. That sent Hannah over the edge.
"Don't 'Hannah' me, you prick! You fucking raped me, you piece of shit. You took my virginity!" screamed Hannah. She quickly went off and made her way towards the door. Immediately after getting up, Hannah let the tears flow. Adrian had something else in mind, he grabbed her arm forcefully as he got up and dragged her back into his room. He walked and backed her up into a corner. "What the hell are you doing?!" she screamed, bursting into tears even more.
"Shut the fuck up, slut. You better not go running your mouth now, you got that straight?" Adrian said in an almost demonic voice. Hannah's now her back up against the wall and Adrian rested himself against the wall, effectively trapping her. "I thought you were my friend, Adrian," Hannah said slowly. Adrian smiled a devilish smile, baring this crooked and yellowing teeth to Hannah. "Hasn't it been obvious I've wanted you, sweetie pie?"
Hannah snapped, fucking snapped, she wasn't about to be in pain anymore. She lifted her knee and hit Adrian right in the stomach. He hunched over in pain and Hannah ran from his shackles to the door. Upon reaching the door, it would've been a lot easier to escape if Adrian didn't lock it. "Fuckin' bitch.." he said in pain.
Hannah was too slow to get the door open before Adrian grabbed her waist. Reacting from instinct, Hannah grabbed one of the empty Nuka-Cola bottles from the room's end table. Adrian only got out a confused 'wha' before Hannah smashed the glass bottle against his face.
Adrian immediately howled in pain with shards of glass being ingrained into his cheeks, forehead, mouth and lips, nose, and eyes. The amount of blood just from the blow was profuse. He fell backwards onto his back and Hannah sat on his stomach. Hannah took the rest of the cracked and shattered bottle and shoved it into his face, instantaneously causing Adrian to go permanently blind. Blood began pooling around Adrian's head as he screamed in mumbled and gurgly pain. That easily would've been enough, but not for Hannah. In her explosive reaction, the only thing she wanted was to make sure Adrian never hurt her or anyone again. After years of being walked all over and being pushed around, Hannah had had enough of everyone's shit.
She ripped one of the larger shards from Adrian's face, not caring about the sharp edges against her hand. If Adrian kept screaming any longer, someone would surely hear the violence and discover what would happen. Hannah slowly dragged the shard of glass down the side of Adrian's face as he mumbled for his mom. Ending at Adrian's throat, Hannah was blinded and laughed menacingly as she slowly pierced Adrian's neck with the glass. Blood quickly began oozing out and Hannah dragged the shard from one side of his throat to the other. From the shoulder up, all of Adrian was now red and he stopped moving and protesting all together. There was a pool of blood all around Adrian and she was covered in it. Ending in good measure, Hannah shoved the shard right into the center of Adrian's chest. Her headache was now completely gone.
Hannah got off of the body and stared at her handiwork. She smirked and wiped some of the blood from her hands onto her jumpsuit and face. If Hannah was high earlier then she was definitely up top of the world right now with a natural high. She blew Adrian's body a kiss and walked out of the room.
Hannah was thankful that her Vault Jumpsuit was mostly leather and vinyl, as it could be washed easily. She navigated through the Batchelder residence and found the washing and drying machines. She quickly and gleefully unzipped her jumpsuit and slid out of it, throwing it into the washing machine with a generous amount of soap on the fastest setting. She left to make her way to the kitchen. She flipped the sink on and let the water warm up as she searched the cabinets for some dish soap. She thoroughly scrubbed down her arms and neck with the soap and one of the more abrasive sponges laying around. She used the soap as a makeshift shampoo and rinsed the blood from her hair. Using dish soap as a makeshift shampoo wasn't uncommon down in the reactor level.
After throwing her jumpsuit into the dryer, Hannah decided to make some food while she waited on jumpsuit and hair to dry. She took her bowl of food and walked over to Adrian's body.
It was definitely a novel moment right then; Hannah staring over the body of her former friend whilst eating a bowl of BlamCo Mac & Cheese in only her bra and panties. It was then that life in the Vault would change for everyone.
A/N: Hey there, I'm sorry for such the huge delay and taking six months to write chapter two. Honestly, I just had lost a lot of inspiration and of course I caught up in school and work, and of course Fallout 4. Anyways, I hope this chapter was to your liking and as you see, things got serious, fast.
If you give me a review, all your dreams will come true.