Chapter Two

Around the wastes, ears listened to the horror of Mister Burke. For several minutes after the sinister man spoke, there was nothing but silence. Nothing but empty air. Then noise. Doors could be heard, they were being kicked opened. Glass was breaking. Sounds of heavy objects hitting the floor filled the air.

Then breathing. Multiple breathes, all heavy. More objects hit the floor and small beeps could be heard. Soon heavy footsteps slowly vanished and again silence. Then...

Two Hours Later
9:00 PM

Darren shot up from his bead. Again he was breathing heavy and sweating hard. He sighed as he slung over his bed. He looked to his left, over to his small desk, at his Pip-Boy. He stood up and walked over to it. It was 9:45 AM. He never slept in past 7. He always had something to do. Now he had so little to do. He did find it relaxing, though his mind wasn't fully conditioned to the quiet life of living in Vault 101.

He walked to his dress against the wall and opened it. He eyed his usual leather armor, which sported many tears and scratches. But he stopped himself. Beside it was a Vault 101 jumpsuit. He thought for a moment. He reached down and grabbed the suit. He slid into it and zipped it up. It was tighter than he remembered. He grabbed his boots and put them on as well. Standing he looked in the mirror for a moment. Without his leather armor and beard he could barely recognize himself. A feeling that made him happy and scared.

The halls were the same as when he was a child. Still empty for the most part, each room filled with all the different residents. Most of them excepted him back into the Vault with open arms. Others, some of the elders, hated him still for the events that transpired the night he and his father left the Vault.

Though he ignored any negative stares that went looking his way. Instead he just walked by with a soft smile, trying to show he was friendly. It seemed wearing his old Vault 101 suit had gained some good responses, as even Alphonse Almadover, the old Overseer, even gave him a nice nod as he walked by him.

Darren made his way through the living quarters and down into the Reactor. Stanley had passed away several months back and Darren was given the job of maintaining the Reactor and Water Purification Center. It was a simple job, one that he easily managed. He was quiet the entire time he worked. He went from one place to the next, always keeping everything in top condition. When there was nothing to do he would sit in his small office and stare blankly at the wall. Occasionally he would look at his Pip-Boy and read journal entries he had made during his return trip from the Mojave.

Although Darren did enjoy the life of retirement, his mind didn't. He loved sleeping in a nice bed and being able to work in peace. Though his mind always thought back on the past, longing to return to the wastes and to his friends. But Darren always shook it off, convincing himself that it was over.

He sighed and sat up in his chair, looking out the small glass window to the Reactor. He opened his desk and grabbed a holotape. He looked at it for a moment and then proceeded to place it in his Pip-Boy.

It was blank. He starred at it for a moment before hitting the Record button that was marked beneath the disk image.

"Darren Onyx, Log Entry #049. I again find myself thinking back on things. I can't help but wonder if Emma is doing okay, if Boone has her safe, and if Cass still thinks about..." Darren stopped himself for a moment. "I don't believe it would have worked regardless... I still think being here, though, is right. I can wake up without the fear of a Super Mutant shooting me in the head. I can drink and eat without the fear of hearing that little ticking sound of my radiation meter rising. I can..."

Darren sighed again. He tapped the "Record button and the recording stopped. He sighed and took the tape out and placed it back in his desk.

"Mind if I join you?" asked a sweet sounding voice. Darren turned in his chair to see Amata. He nodded his head and she slowly made her way over to his desk, sitting on it slightly. "You okay?"

"No," he admitted. "Think I'm one of the few who can admit that I am not okay."

Amata nodded. "You want to go back out there don't you?"

He looked up at her and the two locked eyes for a moment. Then he shrugged and looked back down at his desk. "I just want to make sure everything is okay, you know?" He leaned back in his chair and looked at her. "I know that anything can go wrong at any minute out there, I just want to make sure that they are okay and that everything is going according to plan."

"I understand that," she replied. She got off the desk and put a hand on his shoulder. "You are a selfless man. You changed the wasteland for the better," she explained, "If anyone can help push society forward, it's you."

She started walking away. Darren turned and stood. "Amata," he stopped her. She turned. He walked over and hugged her. She returned it and the two embraced for several second before breaking apart. "Thank you. You have been my closest friend. And I know I can count on you when I need you."

He sat back down and looked down at the message he just recorded. Suddenly the entire Vault shook, his chair legs breaking and Darren fell backwards. He turned over and stood, the shaking continuing. He looked around, not noticing anything wrong with the Reactor. Nothing else inside would cause such a disturbance. He started towards the door, trying to keep his balance and then, finally, the shaking stopped. He was half way to the stairs that led up to the main hall and he stopped, waiting to see if it truly ended.

He ran up and into the hall where several dwellers stood, conversing and stuttering in fear of what was happening. Darren moved through the crowd and into the atrium, where most of the guards were congregated. He moved through them, towards the stairs that would take him to the upper halls. The upper halls, unlike those below, were empty. He ran though it and into Amata's office. She wasn't there.

He knew she wouldn't. She was just with him, she was most likely below trying to calm everyone down. He walked over to her terminal and flipped it on, the screen lighting up. After it booted he quickly went to the folder Outer Surroundings. As apart of the trade agreement, Lucas Simms, and others from the town of Megaton, pitched in and helped the Vault build sensors above the surface, to monitor any large scale activity in radiation.

The radiation readings were off the chart, high enough to instantly kill someone if they were to leave. Darren suddenly lifted his head at the realization; someone was going to open the door and investigate. He backed away from the terminal and started running through the halls and towards the Vault entrance.

After pushing through people he finally reached the Vault door. In the entrance room there was Amata, Butch DeLoria, who was the head of security, and Andy, who was a Mister Handy. Darren walked over and Amata turned to him. "We are going to investigate what happened," she informed him, "You did feel the shaking right?"

Darren nodded with a grin. "Yes, but you can't go out there?"

"And why not?" Butch asked as he walked over beside Amata. "Our caravan is going to be leaving in less than an hour and we need to figure out what the hell just happened to cause our Vault to shake."

"I understand that," Darren informed him, his voice calming down. "But I went to your office," he said, shifting his gaze to Amata, "And noticed that the radiation levels are too high. It'll kill anyone who goes out there unless they are in a radiation suit."

Amata looked shocked, to say the least. "You broke into my office?"

Darren sighed. "I had to make sure it was safe to go out first hand, I thought you'd understand."

Amata looked at the Vault door and gazed at it, thinking on what to do. She turned back to him. "We have a two suits stashed over in this crate," she said as she walked over to the right side of the door control panel. "We have them in case of emergency."

Butch and Darren walked over and opened the crate, finding the two suits. Darren reached in and grabbed one. "I'll go out," he stated, "Butch, you in?" Butch nodded and grabbed the other suit. After a minute of slipping into the suits and testing to make sure the air filtration inside them worked they moved over to the control panel. Amata stepped over into the control room to the left of them and closed the door, sealing herself in. She leaned over the controls and held down a button, the intercom to communicate with the room. "I'll be sealed in until you get back," she started, "You have five minutes of air before you run out, so you have to be back before then. Good luck."

"We got this Amata," Butch nodded. He moved forward and grabbed the switch, dragging it down. The loud alarm rang and the door slowly slid open. The tunnel that led to the outside seemed normal as ever, no sign of damage. The two men started to walk through. They could hear wind. As they got closer to the door the sound grew louder and louder. The door was shaking on its hinges, ready to break at any moment. As they stood before the shaking door Darren readied himself, grabbing a hold of its handle. "You ready?"

Butch nodded.

Darren nodded and pushed the door. Suddenly they couldn't hear, the wind was so strong. Darren pushed the door against it and Butch walked out in front of him, trying to keep his footing. Darren let the door go after Butch was outside. The wind blew it back and the door snapped off, flying about half way into the cave. Darren and Butch walked forward, doing their best to not lose their balance or trip over the various rocks atop the cliff the Vault sat on. They could barely see in front of them from all the dust. Darren turned to Butch, who was about a foot behind him. "We have to get to higher ground!"

Butch mover closer to him. "We should get to Megaton!"

Darren nodded and the two started moving again. They found the road of Springvale and knew the way by heart, it was just a matter of keeping their balance against the wind. As they walked along the path Butch stopped to examine the buildings around them. He looked around quickly, confused and nervous. "Darren!" He yelled, though Darren kept moving. "Hey Darren!"

Darren turned and looked over at him. "What is it!?"

Butch moved up next to him. "Where's Springvale?!"

Darren was confused. "We are walking through it!"

Butch shook his head and pointed away from them. "The buildings are gone then!"

Darren moved where Butch was pointing and he realized that the buildings were gone. He was confused and lost for a moment, as Butch was when he realized it. He turned to Butch. "What happened to it?!" Butch saw something coming towards them through the wind, and it was fast. "Look out!" he yelled.

Darren turned and saw a large sheet of metal. As he jumped out of the way the metal latched onto his suit and he flew back with the metal for about ten feet, hitting the ground hard and cracking his helmet slightly. He shook and tried to get up but the wind was to strong. He felt something grab him and was relieved to see Butch. He helped him stand and Darren groaned. "I know what happened."

Amata paced in the room, eagerly awaiting the return of Darren and Butch. She just silently paced. Then she saw something out of the corner of her eye and darted forward. She sighed and pressed the intercom button. "Thank god you are okay."

Butch and Darren walked over to the control panel and closed the door. After several minutes of air filtering into the room, it was safe for Amata to join them and for them to remove their helmets. Amata embraced them as they dropped their helmets to the ground. The three of them hugged a moment before splitting. "What is wrong? What happened?"

Darren and Butch exchanged a quick glance before looking towards the beautiful girls face. "We don't know who did it," Butch stated, "But it happened."

"What happened?" Amata nervously asked.

Darren gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Someone rigged and detonated the bomb," he explained, "Megaton is gone." Amata instantly started crying and leaped into Darren's arms. He held her tight and shushed her, trying to get her to calm down.

Butch gently rubbed her back. "We'll find out who did this, we'll figure it out together." Darren nodded and continued to hush her. Suddenly a loud bang filled the room. The three looked over to the source, the door. Then another bang. And another.

"Someone's knocking at the door," Butch said sarcastically.

Darren let Amata go and stared at the door. After another moment another bang came. "Wait here." Darren turned and left the room.

Darren entered his room and moved over to the dresser. He opened it and looked down at his leather armor. He picked it up and stared at it. Torn. Burned. Blood stained. The armor was always there, even during the battle to retake Project Purity, this was the armor that led him through all his trials in the wasteland. He nodded and began to put it on. Piece by piece he equipped the old armor.

Once it was on he opened up a small foot locker at the foot of his bed. He reached in and grabbed his old pistol and baseball bat. He rose and quickly made his way back to the entrance.

He walked in to another bang. "Still going?" he asked.

Amata nodded. He looked around for a moment. "Where's Butch?"

"He left to control the crowds."

Darren nodded. "Alright."

He moved over and grabbed the helmet and gave it to Amata. "Without the suit we can go three minutes of air, we need to put it one while we investigate the door." Amata nodded and put it on, as Darren did with the other. He slowly breathed and opened the door. As it screeched open Darren had a wide smile. At the door was a large super mutant in a ripped up Vault 82 uniform. Amata was horrified and frantically took cover behind Darren. He shook his head. "Fawkes," he smiled.

"My friend," Fawkes replied as he walked over to him, "It is good to see you again."

End of chapter...