Author's Note: Sorry for the two month hiatus. On the bright side, consider this my Christmas gift to all you loyal readers.

Chapter 10: Gomorrah's Vault

Eddy's caravan traveled for hours across the barren flats of the Peach Creek wasteland. The group had already traveled a lengthy distance away from The Hub and even the Sullen Souls Funeral Home and now seemed to have gotten lost. Miles of infertile desert surrounded the group in all directions; the occasional burnt shrub made an appearance every so often. Despite no visible landmarks and having nothing but a vague sense of direction, Eddy and the group continued to push farther down south in search of the elusive Vault 69. Hours have passed since the group left The Hub and the sun had already started its slow decent from the sky and began its assimilation into the bleak horizon.

After hours of wandering a change in scenery finally occurred as the group began to travel through a landscape of rocky foothills. Eddy surveyed the surroundings and spotted a road sign that identified the area as the Lemon Brook county line.

"Getting closer," Eddy stated upon spotting the sign.

Rosie was concerned. "These upcoming hills might slow us down a bit. Cattle weren't built for scaling rocky terrain ya know."

Eddy checked his Pip-Boy's world map once more. There was no distance scale on the Pip-Boy's map screen which made it hard for Eddy to determine how much farther Vault 69 was from his current location. He tried zooming in and out on the map to see if he could figure out the distance but no avail.

Finally, he said, "It shouldn't be too much farther away. My friend, Double-D, told me that vault's are usually built in mountainy places. It's supposed to add extra protection or something like that, I don't know. I honestly couldn't give a care. Anyways, since we're about to go into a mountainy place I'm guessing Vault 69 should be close by."

"Makes sense," replied Rosie. He looked up at the ever so darkening sky and became anxious. "It's gettin' kinda dark. We'll have no luck trying to find a hidden vault with such little light out. Best to set up camp for the night."

"Eh, you're probably right," replied Eddy.

The group set up camp, on a small patch of flat land just beside the rocky outcrop. Sydney helped set up three shoddily made tents while Rosie worked on starting a campfire. As he was in the middle of furiously rubbing a dry stick into a chunk of kindle on the ground, numerous high pitched shrieks broke Rosie's concentration while simultaneously making Eddy sport a brown pair of pants.

"WHOA! Geez, what the heck was that!?" shrieked Eddy.

Sydney recognized the noise. "Sounds like pack of coyotes."

Eddy scoffed. "I hate coyotes. They're so annoying!"

Rosie stood up in glee. "Sheeuuwee! Looks like we're eating dinner tonight! Sydney, take my spot and get a fire goin'. Eddy, bring yer rifle and follow me."

Eddy looked up in shock. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. We're gonna shoot and eat coyote?"

"Of course! Coyote meat is filled with all sorts of essential vitamins and minerals!" Rosie exclaimed.

"Let's not forget rabies and E. Coli," mumbled Sydney to herself in the background as she irritably tried to get a fire started.

Eddy tagged along with Rosie deeper into the rocky outcrop in the direction of where the shrieks of the coyote emitted.

"Keep your eyes peeled," said Rosie. "Coyotes are sneaky little bastards."

Eddy clenched tighter to his rifle, ready to pull the trigger at a moment's notice. Suddenly, a few stones fell from atop a hill. Rosie and Eddy looked up and spotted a pair of wasteland coyotes. The effect of nuclear war had taken its toll upon the species. Normally coyotes would steer clear of any creature bigger than them but the harshness of this new wasteland lifestyle made them more aggressive. Desperate for food, the coyotes charged at Rosie and Eddy.

"You are weapons free, my boy!" shouted Rosie.

Eddy drew his rifle and squeezed the trigger. The bullet hit the neck of one of the coyotes. Its lifeless body rolled down the remainder hill.

"Gottcha!" shouted Edd.

"Nice one!" praised Rosie.

He pulled out his revolver, aimed it at the remaining coyote, and fired. The bullet entered the coyote's skull, killing it instantly.

"All too easy," said Rosie after seeing the body drop.

He pulled out a knife and walked over to the bodies. Rosie then began the process of field dressing the coyotes. Rosie even showed Eddy how to properly skin and retrieve the meat from the bodies so that he would know how to use this skill if he ever ended up in a situation where he needed to hunt for food. Despite this, the idea of having to physically do the skinning disgusted Eddy.

After about twenty minutes, Eddy and Rosie returned with a few pounds of coyote meat and cooked it in the campfire Sydney got going. They cooked the meat and dined on the fine delicacy of wasteland coyote meat for dinner. Rosie gave a spare bottle of purified water to Eddy to help wash down the incredibly dry and salty meal. After dinner, Eddy finally got the chance to recount the tale of the raid on Joey Black's gang to Rosie and Sydney. He told about the perils of the battle and the bravery of his posse members. He told how he rescued some captive victims and of the unfortunate death of Kyle. Finally, he told of how he single-handedly brought down Joey Black. Rosie and Sydney listened to every word of his story with interest. After Eddy finished his story, he asked Rosie to talk about his own past.

"So what's your story, Rosie?" asked Eddy.

"Aw, come on. You sure you wanna hear that long ol' tale?" questioned Rosie.

"We got an entire night to kill," replied Eddy.

"I guess I can give ya an abridged version," said Rosie. "I grew up on a ranch in the eastern part of the county, quite a few miles away from Peach Creek. Before the war I helped my family raise cattle. It's a job that's been passed down from generation to generation. I learned how to raise cattle from my daddy, who learned it from his daddy, who learned it from his daddy, who in turn stole cattle from his neighbors… Yeah, my great-grandpa was a pretty crooked man."

Rosie then took a swing of leftover moonshine from the jug he pulled out during dinner.

"When news of the upcoming war came around my family tried to get into one of them fancy-schmansy vaults. Turns out we didn't have enough money to get a spot reserved so we resorted to building our own shelter out in the backyard. When we heard the air raid sirens blaring we all piled into to small little shelter. We survived, for the most part, but I still feel as though the shelter wasn't as secure as I thought. About a week after my family and I emerged from the shelter I started to notice some weird bumps growin' over my left eye. Folks said parts of my skin turned a rosy red color, hence my nickname. I'd rather not go into detail about what happened after to my eye. Regardless, people began teasing me about my mutation so I decided it was best to mask it by wearin' this here welding mask."

Rosie pointed to his mask.

"And hey, might as well take ownership of the insult too, hence why I still go by Rosie after all this time. Anywho, a year later I got a job with the Crimson Caravan Company. They pay an alright salary. As me and Sydney say – if it puts food on the table; we ain't complaining."

Rosie took a sip from his moonshine jug.

"That's pretty much it but I just gotta admit, I've met some interesting characters along my travels; I've met a ghoulish fella named Harold, a self proclaimed Deathclaw Puncher, whatever that is, named Seth, and I've even met a robotic metal fella named Victor. I could totally relate to his personality. Point is, out of all the people I've met, you, an adolescent kid out on his own on a dangerous mission to save his home, definitely takes the cake for the most unorthodox.

"Thanks, I guess. Do I get a trophy?" joked Eddy.

The group noticed a luminescent yellow moon peering out from radioactive clouds of fallout in the sky.

"Look's like it's time to get some shut-eye," declared Rosie.

"Don't let the coyotes bite," rebutted Eddy.

"Funny," Sydney sarcastically quipped.

Eddy's day of anxiety and running away from disgruntled posses had come to an end. For tomorrow he would embark on the final stretch of his current quest which he hoped wouldn't be as strenuous.

The group woke up the next day and after packing up their camp they once again set out in search of Vault 69. They spent the next few hours traversing over the rocky terrain. The caravan soon reached an area where the hills on either side of them began to escalate to a point where they almost resembled mountains. Sensing that they were getting closer, Eddy held up his arm and studied the map on his Pip-Boy. Though he could not tell the exact distance, Vault 69 seemed to be within the immediate area.

"Alright!" Eddy shouted. "Vault 69 should be around this area. Spread out and look out for a cave or something."

The group dispersed and started combing the area for some sort of entrance area for the vault. After searching the side of a rocky hill, Eddy stubbed his toe on a dense metal object.

"OW! What the heck's this?" he pondered.

A long metal pole had fell flat to the ground. After the stinging sensation in his foot wore off, Eddy pushed away the rocks at the tip of the pole, revealing a sign. His face immediately lit up with glee upon reading the sign. There, set against a bright yellow background, were the words "Fallout Shelter" accompanied by a yellow and black radiation symbol. He stopped focusing on the sign and turned his attention to the gaping mouth of a cavern that appeared before him.

"FOUND IT!" Eddy shouted to the other group members.

Rosie, Sydney, and Bess & Tess walked over to Eddy's position and marveled at the discovery of the elusive vault.

"Would ya look at that! It was right in front of you the whole time!" exclaimed Rosie.

"It's about time. I can't believe it took me this long," replied Eddy.

Rosie's excited mood didn't last long. He became sullen as soon as a sudden realization came to him. Eddy's escort to the vault had been completed; therefore Rosie's help would no longer be needed.

"Well, it looks like our little journey has come to an end," Rosie said.

"What do you mean? Aren't you gonna come with me?" asked Eddy.

"I'd absolutely love to, Eddy, but if I expect to meet my quota then I gotta get back out in the wastes and start selling more of my goods. I'm sure the nice vault people will give you ride back to your home vault," explained Rosie.

Eddy sighed, "Well, I guess this is goodbye, Rosie."

"Unfortunately it is. You go in and do what ya need to do. I wish you the best of luck and hope you get your vault problem fixed," said Rosie.

"Thanks," replied Eddy. "Oh wait, hold on a sec!"

Surprisingly, Eddy almost forgot about his minigun! Rosie helped take down the hefty firepower from the back of his pack cow. After the deed was done, Eddy said his final goodbye.

"Take care, Rosie. You too Sydney," said Eddy.

"Goodbye, Eddy." replied Sydney.

"If ya ever come back out to the wasteland once your vault problem's fixed, stop by and visit me some time in Junktown," said Rosie.

"You can count on it," replied Eddy.

The two bid farewell and walked back through the rocky pass. Eddy waved goodbye until their bodies disappeared into the horizon. Without further ado, Eddy turned and focused his attention back on the cavern. It was time to complete his quest. After securing his rifle onto his back, he gripped the minigun with all his might and carried it deep into the cavern. As Eddy explored the interior he noticed it was similar to the one found at the entrance of Vault 23 with the exception of not having a rickety wooden door covering the hole to the cave and the absence of skeletons lying around on the floor. Eddy walked deeper until he came face to face with the thirteen ton, cog shaped door to the vault; a familiar yellow number painted in the center of the door identified it as the correct vault.

Eddy turned to his left and spotted a yellow control panel. He tried looking for a switch or a button that could possible open the door but to no avail. He noticed a speaker on the panel and a button that allowed him to communicate through it.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" he asked.

No reply.

"Hey! Can someone pick up?" Eddy asked again.

No reply.

Eddy thought of a new tactic. "Open the freakin' door! I'm dying out here! Let me in! There's like a big, freakin, bear-thing murdering me to pieces! OH SNAP! HEEEEELP ME! GAAAUUUGH!" Eddy made some gargling noises and even clutched his hands around the control panel as he slid down to the floor simulating his own death.

"ALRIGHT ALREADY!" shouted an angry voice from the console. "I've got such a freakin' hangover! What do you want with me!?" The voice belonged to that of a disgruntled male who spoke with an Eastern-European accent.

Eddy jumped up from his fake death pose and sheepishly spoke into the two-way speaker. "Uh, sorry about that. I was trying to get your attention."

"You've got it, now what do you want!?" demanded the man.

"I'm from Vault 23! I traveled across the entire wasteland just to get to this place! Our Overseer told me there might be a replacement water chip here. I really need your guy's spare chip so I can save my vault," replied Eddy.

The man inside the vault paused for a moment. "… A water-what-now?" The man paused again and started grumbling. Eddy could faintly hear the man mutter "stupid migraine" on the other side. After the sounds of some stumbling, the man came back to the speaker. "Whatever, just get inside and don't let the door hit your ass on the way in."

Two yellow lights on the outside of the vault flashed as a warning siren blared from the interior. Eddy could hear the hydraulic hissing of the door opening mechanism on the inside the vault. The sound of a loud thud pierced through the four foot thick steel door. Eddy's heart vigorously pounded against the sides of his chest cavity, as the intensity of the moment got to him. He was about to enter the vault he had been in search of that could possibly contain the solution to his problems. The mechanism locked itself in place and pulled the door back; the horrendous sound of the door scrapping against the rusted steel sides of the entrance filled the air along with a few sparks from the intense friction between the two objects. Finally, the arm emitted a sound of decompression and released built-up pressure from a valve located on its side. The mechanical arm gently rolled the thirteen ton door aside. Eddy rose his right foot and took one step forward; stepping inside the sanctity and seclusion of the infamous Vault 69.

As he entered, a PA box located in front of him on a wall near the hallway entrance door cackled to life.

"You're in? Good. Step through that door and follow the hallway down to an intersection. Then just walk in the direction of wherever the lower floor sign points you to," commanded the elusive man.

Eddy complied. Before entering the rest of the vault, he set down his minigun in the corner of the room as he didn't want to appear as a heavily armed maniac to these people. The hallway door slid upwards and Eddy took a stroll down a brightly lit corridor. He then reached a two way intersection; multiple signs were posted on the wall in front of him. Most, if not all, of the signs to his right promised to guide him in the direction of peculiar locations such as a Cocktail Bar, Tobaccoria, Cigar Lounge and "Upper Dance Floor". The signs pointing to the left promised the same only with a new set of peculiar locations such as the "Lower Dance Floor", "Prurient "Parlor", and the "Debauchery Den". After reading the signs, Eddy thought that the services Vault 69 had to offer were rather unorthodox for a vault.

"Just what kind of vault is this?" he questioned to himself.

Following the order of the man from the PA system, Eddy turned to his left and took a flight of stairs down to the Lower Dance Floor.

With the exception of the bizarre signs, the parts of Vault 69 Eddy had seen so far resembled his own vault in many ways. The hallways and corridors were well maintained and brightly lit, though the overall atmosphere of the vault was cold, desolate, and emotionless.

Boy, was that about to change…

As Eddy reached the bottom of the stairs he reached a wide steel door which led to the Lower Dance Floor. Eddy thought he could hear the deep sounds of dance music and bass from behind the wall. The vibrations pounded into his chest. Just as he was about to enter, Eddy's eye caught a glimpse of a colossal painting looming above the entrance. An attractive supermodel dressed in a skintight vault jumpsuit settled in a seductive pose. Beside her stood the million-dollar question; "Where do you want to spend the apocalypse?"

"Ooooooh, boy…" said Eddy as a cheesy smile widened upon his face.

"Just step through the door already, ya perv!" shouted the man from a nearby PA box.

Unbeknownst to Eddy, the man had been using a network of Vault-Tec brand Eye-On-You security cameras to watch Eddy's every move within the vault.

The steel door slowly slid upwards; the anticipation was killing Eddy. As the door raised itself all the way to the top, bright flashing lights blinded Eddy. Though he had been temporarily blinded, Eddy swore he could hear the sound of house music playing in the background. When his eyes finally adjusted to the lights he was met with, possibly the most spectacular sight he had witnesses in years. There, with a disco ball suspended from the ceiling, a dance floor lit up like a Christmas tree, club music blasting out from garage door sized speakers, and enough strobe lights to give a blind man a seizure, about a thousand attractive women dancing without a care.

Eddy gaped open mouthed at the marvelous sight. With a look on his face similar to if he won the lottery.

"Welcome!" the man boasted over the PA. "Welcome to the party!"

Awestruck, Eddy gawkily paced across the atrium in the general direction of the voice; as his eyes were busy ogling the many fine women scattered about the dance floor. A door opened on the opposite side of the room and a balding Caucasian man in his mid-40s stumbled out; his right hand clenched his head while the left clenched a half full bottle of top-shelf vodka. He upon seeing Eddy he immediately pulled a double take as he was surprised that the person who had reached his vault he had been a teenage boy this whole time.

"Hm, what!?" the man spurted out. "You're a kid!?"

"Yeah, sure am," replied Eddy.

The man still could believe it. "Are you kidding me?" he shouted. "So you actually managed to travel the wasteland and discover the location of my vault by yourself?"

"Well, I had some help. Hitched a ride from a passing caravan," Eddy replied.

Then man clenched his forehead, the amplified party music did nothing to help his growing migraine.

"What in the world made you travel all the way to my vault?" he asked.

"My vault's water purifier broke. Our Overseer said there'd be a spare water chip here." Eddy replied.

"Urgh, right, right." The man's migraine grew worse. "Let's talk in a quieter place. I've got such a freakin' hangover."

Eddy followed the man through a door and up a flight of stairs to the Upper Atrium. The layout of the level resembled the atrium of a shopping mall. Eddy leaned his head over the edge of the railing encompassing the perimeter of the atrium and peered down at the lower dance floor. He simply paused for a moment just to gawk once more at the tantalizing sight of the many women who were dancing down below.

"Gorgeous, I know," said the man as he gave a shove to Eddy to move him along. "You'll have plenty of time to ogle later."

From there the man gestured in the direction of one of the many recreational rooms situated around the upper atrium. The one in particular he was looking to pay a visit to today was the cocktail lounge. Eddy was skeptical about lounging around an adult facility loaded with alcohol but once he entered the bar he was intrigued. Yellow and blue neon lights were trimmed around the walls of the room, lighting up the place like a trendy club. The windows of the lounge provided a view to the dance floor down below while the walls of the room were clad with luxurious Brazilian mahogany paneling and were soundproofed; reducing the loudest of party music to a muffled bass beat that gently pulsated the surroundings with gentle ebbs and flows. And it just wouldn't be a cocktail lounge if there wasn't a bar. Up against the center back wall of the room was a fully stocked bar loaded with various bottles of alcoholic drinks and mixes that were tantalizingly displayed in full view upon the bar's many shelves. Lastly, to remind all who entered of who to thank, an image of Vault-Tec's mascot – Vault Boy – was displayed proudly upon a wall near the entrance; his right shown raising a martini glass.

Eddy and the man seated themselves in a corner dining booth. The man gave an exhale of relief upon entering the much more relaxed location and he sunk himself comfortably into the cushion of the seat.

"Much better," he said. The man spotted a sour-faced waitress standing behind the bar, idly wiping down the granite countertops. He gestured for the waitress to drop by their table and she complied.

"Bring two of the tallest glasses of water you got," he commanded.

She replied, "Sure thing, Overseer," and left to fetch the water.

"You're the overseer!?" questioned Eddy. He was surprised that a man so drunk and debauched could ever fall into the position of Overseer.

"Ah yes, I believe we haven't properly introduced ourselves. I am Ivan Abelev and this is my vault!" He gestured from his seat by raising his burly arms into the air.

"Where the floors are clean, the liquor is cheap, and the women are only like the drinks,"

"Whoa!" Eddy shouted in excitement. "So all you do in the vault is party all the time? That's awesome!"

"Yes, it is the only reason why I have yet to venture into the outside world. I ask you, what man would want to give up this extravagant lifestyle?" Abelev boasted.

"I know, right!" replied Eddy.

The waitress returned and set down a tray containing two enormous glasses of ice cold water, so pure that the liquid was free of all contaminants and had a glistening crystal clear appearance.

"Thanks, Tammy. You're a peach." Abelev picked up the glass and began to chug it in order to squelch his hangover. "It's good to be Overseer. Apologies for my sour disposition earlier— hangovers and everything— but enough about me. Tell me, why the hell did Vault-Tec decide to send a just a single kid here all by himself?"

"The name's Eddy. I'm from Vault 23, a few miles north of here." Eddy explained while Overseer Abelev listened in curiously. "You see, my vault's water purifier thing broke down and they sent me out into the wasteland to find a replacement part to fix it. They couldn't afford to send any backup to help me out. They only told me to head out to Vault 69 cuz they said you guys might have a spare waterchip that we could use."

Abelev put his hand to his chin. "Interesting. Well I know for a fact we own a single waterchip but I am not too sure we have one to spare. I'll have my secretary look into our supply manifest for you. It's probably gonna take a while so I'll page you over the intercom when we're ready."

He stopped to take another sip of his drink. "Now normally if you were just another savage wastelander I'd throw you out from the vault myself but hey, with that blue jumpsuit, you are practically family. And family takes care of family, so you know what? Stay a while! Enjoy yourself! You're in Vault 69; a palace of pleasure and indulgence for we lucky few! I'll call you when we're ready so for now let your worries go and relax!" he rose up his glass for a toast.

Eddy grabbed a glass, "Don't mind if I do!"

He rose his glass up in conjunction with Abelev's.

"A toast!" Abelev shouted. "To Vault 69!"

"Amen!" Eddy smacked his glass against Abelev's and he immediately downed the eight ounce glass. After finishing off the entire glass of water Eddy decided to praise the overseer for his gracious hospitality.

"Now this is what I'm talking about! Clean water, tons of women, and non-stop parties! This is, without a doubt, the greatest vault ever invented! My vault was a complete bore-fest, nothing but work, work, work. Being the natural party animal that I am, this is totally my kinda vault! I shoulda applied for a spot in Vault 69!"

"Glad to see your enthusiasm," replied Abelev. "Now, get out of here and party already."

"Can do!" replied Eddy as he began making his way towards the exit.

"BUT!" shouted Abelev.

Eddy turned back around and noticed Abelev's cheery mood had dissipated. Abelev scowled as he took another sip from his drinking glass and locked his intimidating eagle-like eyes onto Eddy.

In a surly voice he managed to growl out "If you even think about— nay— if the very THOUGHT of snooping around places you shouldn't be in enters your brain… Well let's just say I can't be held responsible for my actions."

Abelev set down his glass and cracked his knuckles. His leathery fingers were decked out with multiple extravagant rings. Eddy gulped in fear.

All of a sudden Abelev burst into a hysterical fit of laughter. His mighty laugh echoed throughout the room. The waitress in the background glanced in the direction of the two.

"I'm just messing with you, boy!" Abelev said after his laughter died down. "But seriously, try not to be tempted with visiting any of our more lascivious lounges. Not everything in Vault 69 is meant for the minds of kids, if you catch my drift," he said with a wink.

Eddy responded with a nervous chuckle, replied with "You have my word," and promptly exited the lounge.

After a journey full of nonstop peril, gunfights, and the occasional wild animal attack, Eddy finally had been granted a chance to just take a break from his strenuous quest. What better way to unwind than to bust a move on the dance floor? Eddy jolted straight for the lower atrium and danced his heart out with the ladies for at least two hours. After eventually noticing the barrage of awkward looks the other women had been shooting at him all this time, Eddy figured he should take a break from dancing.

He shuffled his way past the crowds of women and into the hallway where he was confronted by yet another wave of women. This vault had a serious population control issue; Eddy found it difficult to maneuver through the corridors as there seemed to be no end to the seemingly infinite horde of women. As Eddy trudged through the halls in search of the restroom his mind was boggled with questions of why the entrance hallways weren't crowded, or how this vault had enough room to shelter the women, but a more important question entered his mind: why was there this many women in the vault in the first place?

After breaking though the swarm of females, Eddy reached a pair of restroom doors. Upon entering the men's restroom he saw that there was precisely one stall and one urinal in the entire room. After concluding his business he made a mental note to roast the ever-loving hell out of coyote meat next time around. After making sure to fill up his water flask at the sink Eddy exited the restroom. Once he was back out in the vault's corridors he noticed a cordoned off hallway; a metal construction barricade was the only thing standing in the way of the entrance. The barricade was rather ineffective as one could simply step around it to pass into the hallway.

Eddy had another split decision to make: either ignore the restricted hallway and return to the atrium while having to face the horde of female vault dwellers along the way, or sneak past the barricade and try to swipe any useful vault items to help with the journey back home. The decision was a no brainier. Eddy couldn't pass up the chance to obtain some free items. He peeked around the corner of the hallway and checked for security cameras. After spotting no sign of security cameras Eddy slipped past the barricade and crept into the restricted hallway; a mischievous grin lined his face all while doing so.

Lighting in the hallway was minimal as light maintenance had been neglected for quite some time. The hall was illuminated by only the reflections of light from prior hallways and the atmosphere got progressively dimmer the further along the corridor Eddy crept. In his search for loot, he spotted a trio of doors to inspect down the hall. He came to the first door and tried to enter the room but the control panel on the outside restricted access to those without the proper keycard. After grumbling to himself, he continued down the hallway and came to another door; locked again. Upon approaching a third door down the hall he noticed that this room was unique, as it displayed an illuminated sign above it which read "Archive Room". To Eddy's surprise he found that it has been left unlocked. Eddy chuckled silently to himself in glee and entered the room.

As the door slid shut behind him, the entire room was rendered pitch black. Eddy turned on his Pip-Boy light and began to scavenge the room for loot. He stumbled upon a set of shelves and desperately searched them for any intriguing items of interest. To his dismay he found that the shelves were merely just a containment rack for a rather monotonous set of paper and files consisting of things such as technical diagrams of the vault's layout and construction, old pre-war history books, and the occasional holotape. Eddy saw a box filled with a stack of old holotapes and he began to comb through it in search of something interesting.

The holotape was the portable data storage medium of choice for electronics and computers of the world. Because of the fact the holotape could store almost eight times the amount of data than an ordinary hard drive could hold it rendered all other forms of storage media obsolete. The holotape consisted of two small tape reels encased inside a square vented metal case and was about the size of a typical jewel CD case. Eddy's eyebrow rose with curiosity when he noticed that these tapes happened to contain movies but was ultimately disappointed when he realized that they were only Vault-Tec instructional videos. The set of movies Eddy held were labeled with titles such as "Prepare for the Future!", "Leaving the Vault!", and "How to Eat Rat". Eddy carelessly tossed the tapes back into the box.

He searched the other side of the room and found an old computer terminal sitting atop a desk. The terminal was in complete despair and with no chance of it operating again. Eddy rummaged through the drawers of the desk but found nothing but papers and, for some reason, four bobby pins. He slammed the drawer shut, frustrated at his fruitless attempt to find loot. As Eddy was walking towards the exit, he tripped over an old projector and plummeted to the ground.

Eddy muttered "Son of a-" before a pile of clipboards from atop one of the shelves toppled over and landed upon the top of his cranium.

Eddy angrily swatted the clipboards off of him and gave a sharp kick to the projector.

"Useless Junk!" he hollered back to it.

He regained his composure and scanned his eyes around the room one last time. After dislodging the projector from its position, Eddy spotted a peculiar object hidden on the floor. Upon closer inspection he discovered that is was a covert metal security safe built into the floor of the room

"Bingo!" Eddy thought to himself. He figured that anything worth putting in a safe must be valuable and, therefore, worth stealing.

He contemplated how he could crack open the safe until he remembered that there were a few bobby pins back in the desk behind him. Eddy snatched the bobby pins from the drawer and rushed back to the safe. Eddy was very knowledgeable in the field of lock picking thanks to his older brother. Before he moved out, his brother taught him the ropes on how to bypass locks using mundane household objects and tools. Whether it was a door, a locker, or a fancy car, no lock was safe from the likes of Eddy and his brother. Recalling the technique his brother showed him, Eddy bent a bobby pin at a 90° angle and plunged in into the tumbler of the safe. Using the tip of a second pin he fiddled around with the mechanism, rotating both pins strategically in order to force the tumbler into its "unlocked" state. After a few strenuous attempts, Eddy managed to unlock the safe. He tugged on the cold metal handle and the door pried open, emitting a gentle hiss as it did so.

"Hah-ha!" Eddy cheered. "Show me the money, baby!"

He plunged his hand into the safe and felt that he hit some paper and a plastic card as well.

"What's this? Some moolah and a credit card!?" He said.

He pulled up the loot but found that it consisted of more paper documents and a blue keycard. Eddy grumbled at the sight of another bogus loot pile. He observed the pile of papers; they appeared to belong together and were stapled in order to not be separated. Out of curiosity he decided to read the documents, seeing as how they must be of some importance. He read the first paper to himself:

A Letter to the Overseer from Dr. Stanislaus Braun:

If you are reading this, emergency Vault internment procedures have been initiated and you and your control group have been sealed into your Vault. Congratulations! You are now a vital part of the most ambitious program ever undertaken by Vault-Tec. If you have not yet read your sealed orders, do so now. They will outline the experimental protocols assigned to your control group. Please remember that deviation from these protocols in any way will jeopardize the success of the program, and may be considered grounds for termination by Vault-Tec Corporation (as outlined in your Employment Agreement). Your Vault may or may not have been selected to receive a G.E.C.K. module. Please see Attachment A for details.

-Doctor Stanislaus Braun

Director, Societal Preservation Program

Vault-Tec Corporation

The letter boggled Eddy's mind as many thoughts raced through his head:

"Who was this doctor guy?"

"What the heck did he mean by 'experimental protocols'?"

"What's a GECK?"

He flipped to the second paper in search of answers.

ATTACHMENT A

Vault 69 will not receive a G.E.C.K. module, and should operate under the guidelines laid forth in the Overseer's orders (see Attachment B).

Eddy flipped the paper over but found that the third document had been removed from the staple. Eddy pondered for a minute then picked up the keycard which had also included in the safe. He noticed the word "Clinic" labeled onto it. Eddy tucked the keycard into the pocket of his jumpsuit and departed from the archive room. Eddy continued to walk further down the hall, turned to his left, and arrived at a door. An old sign above the door identified it as the clinic; the door itself had been partially blocked by "Do not cross" tapes. Eddy noticed a card slot to the right of the door. Ignoring the warning tapes, he pulled the blue keycard to from his pocket and inserted it into the slot. The security slot beeped twice and the door slid upwards.

The clinic's lights also were out, and Eddy once again had to rely on his Pip-Boy light. He searched past overturned gurneys, surgery tool trays, and other medical apparatuses for any sort of file cabinet, hoping it might contain papers that could provide clarity to his raging questions. Eddy walked into a small corner office and stumbled upon a locked file cabinet. He easily picked the lock and began to search through the records. At first glance, Eddy noticed that the papers were nothing more than medical records on the various women in the vault but he decided to inspect them further. He picked up a file belonging to a "Ms. Hathaway" but found that it mostly contained her medical background. It wasn't until he flipped to the back page when he stumbled upon an interesting note. The note was printed on a half-page long, blue sheet of paper and appeared to be a letter from a doctor in the vault regarding a recent procedure Ms. Hathaway had gone through. Upon reading through the note Eddy became suspicious of how the note kept referring to Ms. Hathaway in the past tense and it wasn't until he re-read the file a second time when he realized that it wasn't an ordinary record, it was an autopsy report.

He set the report to the side and then searched through the cabinet of records once again, this time pulling out another file selected at random. The report was on a woman by the name of Casavin and as Eddy inspected the file he found that it too was an autopsy report. He tossed the file aside and immediately dug his way through the cabinet of records pulling out stacks of folders at a time. File by file he scoured; each one reporting on an older woman, each one an autopsy detailing the circumstances of their death, each one using suspicious terminology such as "In accordance with protocols…", "involuntary euthanasia", and "population control".

By the end of it, Eddy stood on the ground amidst a ring of scattered reports. His skin crawled with chills as he felt the presence of a malevolence force begin to worm its way around his body as he stood surrounded by the vestiges of the lost. He shuffled around the room trying to wrap his head around the whole situation. He now truly feared that he may have stumbled onto something he should not have witnessed.

"Just what kind of sick vault is this?" he croaked out.

Eddy pressed his hand to his head, trying to digest all the info he had gathered and fit the pieces of the puzzle together. The vault consisted of 999 women and only one man. According to some of the medical records he found, many of the women had gotten pregnant. The autopsy reports all mentioned population control multiple times and all of the deaths were that of older women. Eddy had a good feeling of what was going on with all these deaths but the true question he just could not fathom was why? Why would Vault-Tec allow such atrocities to be committed? Where they not meant to protect the citizens of America? And just what was up with the recurring mention of this "Societal Preservation Program"? It was apparently crucial enough to be the whole driving force behind the cruel experiments of the vault and now Eddy was forced to wonder how many other vaults were part of the program. Had his own vault been compromised this whole time too? The only man with the answer to this question was Overseer Abelev himself.

"There's more to this vault crap than I ever imagined," said Eddy aloud.

Desperate for answers, Eddy decided it was time to pay another visit to Ivan Abelev.

At that moment, the PA system cackled to life and broadcasted a message.

"Attention Mr. Eddy, please report to the Overseer in the Upper Cocktail Lounge immediately."

"Just the man I was looking for," whispered Eddy to himself.

He tucked the incriminating papers into his pocket and left the clinic but not before happily raiding three stimpaks and a bottle of purified water from a supply cabinet.

Eddy returned to the Cocktail Lounge only to find the Overseer completely intoxicated on more than his fare share of alcoholic beverages.

"Oh hai there Eddy mai boy!" slurred Abelev as he slumped up from his bar stool and put an arm around Tammy the waitress. "I wuz just enjoiyn' a few drinks with mai fay-vort girl!"

"Yeah, I can see that," Eddy replied, glaring at the Overseer. "So what did you call me up here for?"

Overseer Abelev took his arm off Tammy, much to her relief, and plopped down at a corner booth seat.

"I'm sawree mai boy, but we couldn't find that water thingy you were lookin' fer," slurred Abelev.

"The waterchip?" Eddy asked.

"Yeah, that's it!"

"Son of a gun." Muttered Eddy under his breath. He had reached the end of the rainbow but found that the leprechaun was one crafty son of a gun. Eddy had traveled all this way only to find that the information on the location of his coveted waterchip was indeed false.

"Sorry bout that, kid, but help yerself to some drinks here if ya want!" garbled Abelev.

"Screw that, I want you to answer some questions instead!" ordered Eddy. "What do you know about this?"

Eddy snatched the medical records from his pocket and slammed them down onto the table. Abelev dragged them closer but struggled to read the print.

"What's this?" he inquired.

"Medical files of some ladies in the vault. Tell me, what's up with this involuntary euthanasia!?" demanded Eddy.

Overseer Abelev brought his head closer and squinted at the print. "What in the world?" he growled to himself after suddenly losing the slur in his speech.

"And WHAT is the Societal Preservation Program!?" Eddy blared

"Where did STEAL these from!?" sneered Abelev.

"No!" Eddy snapped. "You answer my questions! TELL ME ABOUT THE PROGRAM!"

"I think you know enough as it is!" Overseer Abelev sobered up from his alcoholic intoxication. He glared an all too familiar menacing look at Eddy. "I will not have you threaten the success of my Vault! GAURDS! Deal with this delinquent!" he bellowed.

Two female guards from outside sprinted into the lounge and immediately grabbed Eddy by his arms. Eddy struggled to release himself from their clutches but he could do nothing but kick his legs as they dragged him out of the lounge.

"This isn't over!" he shouted back at the Overseer.

Abelev's icy cold glare was the last thing Eddy ever saw of the man. Immediately after Eddy's departure, Abelev grabbed the files from the table and ripped them to shreds. He turned around and saw that Tammy the waitress was not too subtly hiding behind the counter, trying to feign ignorance of the whole argument that had broken out.

He snapped at her, "I sincerely hope you value your life because if you say one word to the others you'll find yourself to be the NEXT candidate for our little program!"

She silently nodded her head in fear and prudently went back to her work. Though just as Eddy had said, it was far from over…

The two guards had dragged Eddy to the Vault entryway and promptly tossed him out. Eddy landed face first into the cave floor and spent the next few seconds coughing up dirt. Meanwhile, one of the guards picked up Eddy's minigun and also threw it out of the vault. The gun made a loud clank as it struck a coarse rock on the ground.

Eddy was alarmed by the rough treatment of his gun. "My baby!"

He crawled over to his gun and looked over it for any signs of damage. There was a small dent on one of the barrels from where it struck the rock.

Eddy growled and shouted back at the guards. "You'll pay for all of this!"

The guards responded by flipping a switch on the door control panel. The thirteen ton door slid back into place and the mechanical arm sealed Vault 69 back into its permanent state of seclusion.

With his supplies running low, the hope of recovering a waterchip from Vault 69 crushed, and with no one to act as a guide through the hostile wasteland, Eddy was officially lost.

Eddy pondered on what his next move should be. He attempt return home to Vault 23 empty-handed, facing failure and animosity from his fellow vault dwellers, or he could continue to search southward, hoping to discover another town or possibly a friendly vault where he could restock find and help and support for a waterchip.

Toting his minigun in hand, Eddy marched out of the cave. He stopped at the edge and paused; scanning his eyes across the horizon in every direction. After a deep sigh, he simply chose to continue southward.

"So much for that little slice of paradise," were the final words he muttered back to Vault 69.