Amata coughed and wiped at her face lethargically, but that left a smear of black soot over her burned hand. There were a few tents put up here, about a half mile from the site of the devastation. She hadn't slept since the night before, but she never felt tired. Amata didn't know how many people actually survived the fire, but there were a few dozen here. She looked over at the smoldering black ruin in morning light and it made her feel sick. There had been so many opportunities to stop this, if only she ever considered this was possible. Amata shook her head and bit back that pain of guilt, she turned back to look over the people gathered.
There were a few healthy people without injuries, but they looked weary and scared. The worst wounded were lying inside the tents. One man escaped the blaze with a pack of rolled tents, and offered to share them with the group. Almost everybody was hurt in some way, and a few were still unconscious. It worried her to think they might not wake at all.
"That's bullshit and you know it."
"No, we can build it back I swear."
"If we stay here Karen we'll all be killed within the week."
"Well it's better than your fucking plan!"
"Rivet City is safe! They never have raiders like we've had and the place wouldn't burn!"
"Good luck getting there. What do you have Mark, that hunting rifle you can hardly shoot? I'm sure that will get you through the ruins safely!"
"It's still better than buying into your delusion."
"Go fuck yourself! Why don't you just go then, if you're so sure about it. I'll see you in hell."
Amata watched Mark storm off and Karen just stood there, then looked away. Amata hesitated a moment before approaching her.
"We'll find a way to survive here."
"What do we need to do?"
"Right now just focus on helping the wounded. We need establish a camp, safe but temporary. We'll find somewhere better once we can travel."
"At the rate people are leaving, it'll just be the wounded left."
"We've been through this before, my group has, and we'll get through it. We'll stay and take care of this."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Good. We'll need all the help we can get."
"I'm going to do a circle of the ruins, see if I can't find anyone else out there."
"Alright, good luck."
Karen left and Amata wasn't sure what to do next. She looked around and found Carol, Greta and Gob sitting together beside one of the tents. Maxon had been hurt worse than her, but he was still able to move around and refused to stay in a tent. Nobody had seen Jimmy since the collapse.
Many of the people from Megaton either never joined the group after evacuating, or appeared then left soon after. There were only a couple dozen left from what must have been over a hundred, maybe two. Again she felt sick for not doing anything before. It felt so obvious in retrospect. Amata shook her head and tried to calm down.
A thought reached through her mind, and Amata headed for the tents. Greta was still pretty shaken, but she looked up at Amata and murmured something, then repeated herself louder.
"He's still unconscious in there."
Amata nodded, then lifted the flap to slip inside. Even past the wounds, she could hardly recognize Ian after all this time. He was covered with soot, blood and dirt, lying with eyes shut on a pile of rough clothes, some makeshift bedding.
"Where the hell have you been, and what about when you wake up?"
She had found him trapped unconscious amid the flames. Somehow despite choking on the hot air, Amata managed to drag him just beyond the edge of the burning city.
"Was it the same when you took me from the vault?"
Amata looked at the two objects he had been carrying with him. The backpack was eaten through by embers, but the book and revolver had not been damaged. She wondered about them both, then left the tent. She stood around outside for a minute, her stomach hurt from apprehension. They couldn't wait here for very much longer.
Amata noticed Maxon standing about a dozen yards away, covered in bandages but speaking with a small group of survivors. He had finished speaking by the time she reached him and the few people started to disperse.
"We'll have to start over again."
"Even after all that we're back on the run."
Amata shook her head.
"We can't travel the same with so many wounded."
"You're right. We'll need to make a firm camp."
"At least until they are better."
"That will be a while for some of them."
"I don't know the area well, but I can talk to some of the others who do."
A few from the previous group returned and Amata recognized Karen at their head.
"Moving into that schoolhouse seems like our best bet now."
"Didn't you say it was filled with raiders?"
"If we strike hard, it wouldn't be impossible to-"
"It could be fortified, and they'll have the advantage fighting there. I'd rather go somewhere else entirely."
"There are a few empty towns farther to the east. Maybe we could move into one of those and start rebuilding around it."
"We can't move far with so many people injured."
Amata looked over at the smoldering ruins again and felt no idea what to do. She looked around at the survivors. They were all tired and scared, mostly injured in some way. Amata shook her head slowly.
"We'll stay here for a few more days and scout the area for survivors. We can divide another group to scavenge supplies. We need to keep going, there are enough people left to make it work. A third division will stay back to defend the camp and the injured while the others are out working."
"Are we going to build something to replace Megaton?"
"We will, but not here. When the injured are well enough to travel we can start looking for a place."
A few of them nodded and Amata wondered how exhausted everybody was. Her body was weak, but Amata focused on speaking and thinking.
"I'll go scavenging in a little bit, and I'll take a few with me."
Maxon nodded slowly for a moment and looked away.
"I'll stay here and and watch the camp. First I'll help you get a few volunteers for that."
"I'll go with her, and… yeah, so will he."
Amata nodded, but was terrified to feel any hope yet. Maybe they would get back on their feet this time before the world had a chance to notice their weakness.
The air was dim and thick where Ian awoke, his body felt distant. He looked around slowly and a cough shot pain through his chest and stomach. The walls followed a strange curvature, but Ian's mind turned blurry circles. He swallowed and it felt stuck, he didn't feel connected to himself.
Ian tried to reach back but past the terrible heat in darkness everything was gone. That night burned away in the fire. Ian tried to move his head but the pain there froze him. A small, hot breeze pressed the edge of the tent and let in a thin stream of light. He lay still for a while longer and felt nauseas at the silence.
Perhaps he had died and gone. Ian tried again to get up and nearly reached his knees, but then lost his balance and fell. The impact sent more pain and Ian shuddered beneath that wave. He looked at his left arm to examine the new damage. Most of it was gone. A small, dark stump ended a few inches past the shoulder. Ian tried to run a finger over the charred edge but something kept him from touching it. His one hand floated an inch off, then retreated silently.
Ian just looked at it. He couldn't feel anything past the loss. This was more real than anything, and gone. He tried to move the arm but nothing happened. The rest of his body was hardly damaged, only minor burns and desperately sore muscles. He must have been given a stimpack, a few stimpacks. Ian looked at the ragged stump for a moment and shook his head an inch, then moved slowly to examine the rest.
All of his major wounds had disappeared, every scrape or gunshot wound. He pushed off and tried to stand again, but lost his balance and staggered to the right. Ian fell to his knees and gasped, shivered in the darkness. He looked around there were two items sitting on a charred bit of fabric. Ian lifted his body slightly and then pawed the revolver over nearer. He picked it up slowly and then looked at either side.
He remembered finding it a very long time ago among Markus's things, just after the man had died. He remembered how carefully maintained it was, the metal beautiful. Now it would slowly fall apart because Ian didn't' know what to do. He stretched his thumb around and tried to pry the cylinder out. After several attempts he touched something and it fell open. Six dark bullets stared back at him. Ian pressed it back in against his thigh then shoved the gun into his pants. Everything was tough and felt dirty. Everything smelled like smoke.
Ian pulled over the book, then slipped it into the bag and slipped that over his shoulder. He stood again and stayed for a minute swaying alone and weak. His muscles clenched and unclenched, then Ian pushed outside and stumbled against the sunlight. He was blind, but listened to muffled voices around. His eyesight adjusted while looking around. Maybe five people in the vicinity. One looked at him carefully for a second, then turned and headed away quickly.
Ian looked at the couple others just watching him and then tried to walk away, but he slipped and fell back to his knees. He grunted and cursed to himself, pushed and stood again. He looked around and breathed heavily from the effort. A few people started to approach him slowly, some of them were ghouls. A half dozen tents stood around in the area, but Ian looked past them for a way to leave. He took another step and it was painful, but steady.
Softly, a voice spoke his name. Ian turned around and then stopped. Amata was dressed the same as when he had last seen her, except everything was rougher and faded with time. Her face was harder and eyes more focused. Ian looked down at his stump. It was different under sunlight, then he looked back up at her.
Amata just looked at him without speaking. A small shotgun hung from a belt at her hip. Ian looked away, then back after a moment. Her lips moved, but Amata didn't turn her head. She whispered something to one of the others nearby. That hint of her voice felt alien after so long. It was the same, yet sharpened with time.
The person she whispered to left, then Amata took another step forward and a ghoul approached with her. For a while longer they only watched each other, then Amata coughed and said hello. The world was very quiet after so long. Ian couldn't figure out why he was here, or why she was. He didn't know what to say, but suddenly began to feel sick about himself and what he had done.
He tried to remember the act of leaving her in Rivet City, but he couldn't even imagine that fully. He wondered how long ago that was and what she had been through since then. Ian looked at her eyes again. They were were hard and pressed on him, so he looked away.
"Where have you been this whole time?"
In a moment he ran through the desperate wanderings, but none of it seemed completely true. Suddenly, more than anything else he only wanted to speak with her as a friend. Ian took a breath and tried speak calmly, but nothing happened. He looked at her and felt sick and shut it in again. Ian shook his head and felt himself grimace.
"What's wrong?"
Ian took a step back. He felt awful. None of this should have happened. Everyone who had died stepped through Ian's mind and looked at him. Amata looked at him and he looked at her. Ian imagined her being shot right now or finding her body burned in the wasteland or anything. He imagined the very end and felt sick, worse every second. He thought it would be better to lock her away or destroy the whole world. Ian shook his head again and looked up, saw that she was still waiting.
"Hello..."
Ian struggled back up from the floor. Maxon stood on one side of her, and Aaron on the other. Amata choked to watch him, then took a couple steps forward but just stared at him. He was awake and alive. It was difficult to believe he was actually there. Ian managed to get back up but remained off balance. It was all strange to see any of him.
Amata could faintly remember him trapped in the blaze and unconscious. At first she didn't know who it was, but as sh pulled him out she suddenly knew. There was no time to think then, but once she collapsed with him in the hills it began to feel unreal. She didn't know what to do, she still didn't.
He didn't see her yet, but Amata felt her stomach shift with fear. The stimpacks wouldn't heal his arm, but they kept him alive. After a while some of it just fell off as crisp ash that smelled like blood. She tried to recall the sound of his voice, but there was nothing. Ian glared around erratically but he didn't see her. She caught a moment of his strange, flat eyes but couldn't think very well. She only wanted to hear him speak, so Amata called his name.
Ian looked around quickly and then fell absolutely still except for the shudder of breathing. He didn't say anything, and Amata couldn't think of anything. She considered asking him why he had left, but that seemed so far away now. It wasn't important why he left, only that he had chosen to leave. He looked like a wild animal now, afraid in the midst of humanity. He could do anything. Ian looked at her without speaking then looked around, then back at her, shaking a little.
"Aaron, go tell Greta he's awake. I'll be busy for a minute. I don't know. Tell her to keep an eye out."
Aaron nodded and left. Amata wondered what she expected Greta to see, but anything could happen today. Again she began to think of him leaving, and of why. She took one tentative step forward and Maxon followed. She looked back at him but he didn't do anything. Amata thought of staying alone in Rivet City for days after he left with nothing.
It didn't make sense then and it didn't now, but it had left her confused and lonely. It made her angry now, and strangely empty. Ian looked at her with that blank expression and it just made her furious. She opened her mouth but only hello came out and there was no change on his face.
Amata tried to imagine Ian from before everything but there was no image in her mind. The person before her had never existed within Vault 101. She wondered what had happened to him since the last time they met, but she couldn't imagine. She felt more lonely and confused thinking that he might have felt the same, alone in the wasteland.
She just wanted to hear his voice after all this time, but he wouldn't speak. Ian only watched her without moving. Amata started to feel cold, thinking that he just walked away and left her alone. The reason didn't matter. There might have been no reason. He didn't seem right, her lips were moving.
"What's wrong?"
He looked as if he might vomit.
"Hello..."
To hear the voice made her angry somehow, as if it was too little for the time passed.
"Why did you go? Where the hell were you this whole time?"
Ian shook his head and looked down. He seemed confused. He staggered backward and brushed the tent, he nearly fell. The remaining piece of his left arm twitched. Amata shook her head and felt a little sick herself.
"Fuck you! I don't care anymore."
Amata left him there, walked away past tents. Her pulse rushed painfully through everything. Maxon caught up with her after a few yards but he didn't say anything.
"I don't know what to do. I can't just… he's the only person left from before. I can't let him disappear again, but..."
"I don't even know him."
"He left a message to say he wasn't coming back, but he never said why-"
A noise began to play from Amata's Pip-Boy. She lifted her left arm to look at the screen, then picked out a human voice and turned the volume up.
"-this new guy is worse. If you don't come back I think Butch is going to do something crazy, or Mack will just have us all killed or locked up for good. I got into his computer though and I can get the door open for you, so hurry back and fix this. We don't have much time. This is an automated distress message from Vault-Tec: Vault 101. Message begins: I know you're still out there, man… It's fucking nuts in here. You'd better not be dead because we need you. The old Overseer seemed pretty bad then, but this new guy is worse. If you don't come back..."
Amata shut it off and then they just stood silently together.
"Is that yours?"
"Yeah. We can get back in..."
"The two of you?"
"I don't know. Maybe all of us."
"You think we could live there?"
"Maybe. I don't know."
"You should go back, both of you to fix whatever is happening down there. We can follow once that is done."
"No. I don't know. You should come."
"I can't go. They've been sealed in there since the start. Those people will never take advice or help from a ghoul. They know you two, they'll trust you."
"We should talk to some of the others about it first."
"You're right. This is our best option though."
"I know. I think you're right about that."
"Let's see if we can go find Ian, then we'll talk to everyone about it."
When they returned to the tents, Ian was gone, but they found Greta.
"Did you see where he went?"
"No."
"Shit."
"I can do it alone."
"Do what?"
"The vault sent a distress signal. They're going to let her in."
"Why? And why is she going? We have enough problems out here."
"I might be able to convince them to let us in."
"You mean everyone?"
"Maybe. There would be enough space, but I don't know."
"And there are no chemicals in the air?"
"No."
A couple people started to stand around and listen. Somebody posed a question. They needed to try, Amata knew it. As the minutes passed it began to scare her more, the thought of going back. The idea of returning with Ian confused her and she couldn't figure it out. The others thought it would raise their chances if both of them returned. Amata felt conflicted about the whole idea but said nothing.
Ian sat against the foot of a hill and pressed himself low to the ground, silent and shaking against the hot earth. He didn't want to seen but couldn't move. The camp lay somewhere away, near but he couldn't see it. Air brushed his lips and they trembled with a small sound. He looked over at the cut-off piece of his arm remaining.
Ian touched at it softly with his hand and the skin felt like stone. He could still feel the hand and arm beyond where they did not exist. He seemed to move the fingers, but there was nothing. He tried to move it a little but it was weak. The shoulder muscle flexed painful and some ash fell off slowly, some skin.
He felt so alone out here and eventually just lay back to look at the sky. Some people moved nearby somewhere, some talked but he couldn't understand them. He wasn't far from the camp, he didn't want to leave but he couldn't stand the thought of people. Ian just thought about sleeping in the inferno and that overwhelming moment with Amata.
William said before it was wrong to leave her, but Ian didn't know if he was strong enough to return. He thought of it from her perspective and thought of being abandoned in the strange world. He rolled over onto his side and it was terrible. So much had happened since that he couldn't understand that anymore.
Ian tried to think of how she had reached this place. With every day time passed, she must have done so much since he left her there. The others knew her, but Ian didn't know anything about them. He wanted to go back and find her. He wanted to talk and fix everything and for nobody to die, but the world was broken and he was broken just the same.
She must have fought so hard to survive. She must be strong. Ian thought she must be stronger than him to still be human like she was. Ian was sick but she faced the world and remained alive throughout. Ian picked up the revolver in one hand and was amazed at how clean it still was. He remembered the book from a long time before, then put it back away.
Ian sat up with the bag over his shoulder, then jammed the gun into his pocket and turned around. He climbed slowly over the hill and felt dizzy. Ian tried to think of something to say, but there was nothing. He shook his head and looked around. There was a group of people standing near the tents. He approached slowly, still afraid to reenter that world.
Somehow he caught sight of Amata through the crowd, near the center. He wondered for a moment if she was their leader. Time had passed, things changed. She could be like the Overseer now, and he was only the same and broken wandering. Somebody mentioned Vault 101 and he looked his wrist. Ian's Pip-Boy had been destroyed in the fire, or only lost along with his left arm. That only made it harder for him to return, only another connection remove.
"We don't know what is happening down there."
"It could be anything. Maybe we shouldn't get involved."
"It won't be much. The vault isn't well armed."
Ian could only listen and wonder about the state of Vault 101. He stood by and continued to listen as their conversation passed forward. Amata was planning to go inside to help. Ian just hoped she would be safe. It didn't make any sense, but this was happening.
"What about him?"
"The other one."
"He's from there too."
"He doesn't look like it."
"Who?"
"Someone else came out with her."
"If they both go, we might have a better chance."
"I don't know. Who is he?"
"He ran off."
"Maybe he'll come back."
"I don't know."
"Two are better than one."
"Why doesn't someone else go?"
"They won't let anyone else in."
"I'll go."
They looked around the weight of eyes pained him. Nothing seemed real, but maybe he could keep her safe. Ian caught sight of Amata past a few others and she looked back at him. She seemed surprised, or frightened.
"When should they leave?"
Amata didn't say anything.
"We should go as soon as possible. Anything could be happening down there."
"Okay."
"We'll get our equipment, then meet back by the tents."
"I don't have anything else."
Amata looked at the same ghoul for a moment then nodded.
"We'll try to be back soon, but it depends on what is happening there. It might be a day or two."
They headed off and the group started to dissipate behind. Amata walked ahead with the ghoul beside her and Ian stayed a few feet back. They whispered to each other until they reached a few bags that had been left together on the ground. Amata grabbed one then took a deep breath.
"Good luck in there. Be careful."
"Thanks, you too."
"I'll see what I can do."
The ghoul walked away and then they were alone. Amata looked at him without speaking for a moment, and then she began to walk. Ian followed her toward the mountain that contained Vault 101. He remembered seeing it before. Ian wondered if she was still angry and looked over a for a moment.
"Why did you leave me in Rivet City?"
Ian was quiet for a minute, thinking. He thought of the concussion, but that wasn't an excuse.
"I don't know. I really don't. I came back but you were gone."
"Do you remember Underworld?"
"Almost."
"It was destroyed by mercenaries. I tried to help."
"That's where you went..."
"Yes. I met Moira before the fire. Did you find your father?"
"I did, but he is dead not. None of it mattered after all. Where is she now?"
"I haven't seen her since Megaton burned. I don't know if she escaped."
Ian considered adding her to the list, but the thought was very upsetting for some reason. Amata looked over at him and seemed annoyed. She looked away and then they were quiet again. Ian glanced out at the sky, at the mountain over Vault 101, then back for a moment at the shrinking tents.
"I wanted to die."
The hour passed heavily silent, but soon they would reach the mountain. Amata looked around over the landscape, but it had all fallen blank. She glanced at Ian for a second but he didn't react. She looked away.
It was difficult to consider everything that had happened to them. Amata didn't have any idea of the passage of time. He must have gone through so much hardship to change this way. Everything was different now, for both of them and everything.
She looked at the mountain and tried to imagine that Vault 101 was stretched out below their feet at this moment. The few glimpses of memory she reached from that time were confusing and insubstantial. Amata found it impossible to remember Ian from before all of this world. She must have changed as well in this time, must have changed greatly. Only the people in the vault could truly judge their evolution.
Amata wondered if they were even the same people now. Ian's eyes were hard and dark, his arm destroyed along with his Pip-Boy. He was absolutely a different person than he had been before, but Amata couldn't figure out how much she had changed. It must have been gradual, but she couldn't tell. Ian looked over at her while she glanced at him.
"I'm sorry for leaving you there."
Amata didn't say anything, she looked away.
"I didn't know what else to do. You would only die eventually if I dragged you any further."
"You'd dragged me that far already! You should have known that leaving me alone in Rivet City was never going to keep me safe."
"I was only trying to-"
"No. It was fucking selfish and idiotic. You brought me out here and-"
"I'm sorry for that too. I'm sorry for everything I've done to you."
Ian shook his head quickly and kicked a rock aside. It rolled backward down the slope and sent back intermittent clacking sounds going down.
"I can't remember most of it from the beginning. It's just gone. I can't remember the vault at all. It's just swallowed up in everything that's happened. I've been moving around so long that everything is the same, Goddammit!"
Amata looked away. She tried to remember the last time she had seen him in Rivet City, but then stopped herself. She realized suddenly that she had only been thinking of Ian and nothing of the Vault near ahead. There was trouble below and she needed to focus on solving that.
Amata looked at him for a moment, but then shook her head and looked away.
"The distress call said the new overseer was crazy, and something about Butch. We'll have to do something. I don't know exactly what is happening down there, so we will need to be ready."
Ian nodded but he didn't speak. They reached the top of the mountain and started looking around for the entrance but couldn't find it at first. Ian called her attention with a strangely thin voice and pointed out the small opening.
They walked inside and Amata remembered the other vault she had found. Her stomach twisted walking forward. Soon it became dark and Amata could only listen to their breathing. An orange light began to flash around and showed the dim surface of the vault door.
Suddenly Amata was worried about going back inside and becoming trapped. She looked at Ian, whose face was grey and expressionless beneath the spinning colored lights. The sirens hurt her ears, but she tried to remain calm and think of the others.
"If we fix this, we might bring the others in..."
Amata didn't know if Ian actually heard her, but then the door was scraping open and harsh white lights flared out over them. A silhouette leaned out past the giant opening and shouted. His voice reverberated out into the darkness and past.
"Hurry up! Get in here!"
Amata started to run, nearly tripped over the metal lip of the door. It was already squealing back shut. Somebody grabbed her from the side and Amata pushed them back. There was a body on the floor with a smear of blood underneath it.
"Follow me! We need to get away from here."
A voice boomed out through the air from everywhere and Amata realized suddenly that it must be the Overseer. It startled her. That droning voice had seemed so normal before. Butch was running ahead of them, kept glancing around corners then beckoning them on. He was panting, but looked exactly the same as before.
Besides Ian and Butch there were a couple others running with them. They stopped in a small room and somebody slammed the door behind.
"Do you think they followed us?"
"I don't know."
"Who?"
"We'd better be ready then."
"Security."
"I don't hear anything."
"Maybe we got away."
"Let's not get too hopeful."
Butch took a few steps away, then looked back and started cackling.
"You're really back! I don't know, I didn't really… Oh shit… What happened to your arm?"
"It's gone."
"What's been happening here? You need to explain before I can help you."
"It was Wally's idea to bring you guys back."
Butch looked at Ian's missing arm without speaking for a minute while Wally started to explain.
"My dad's going insane. He's the new overseer, and… It's bad. People have died and he's just making things worse now."
"What do you expect me to do?"
"I don't know… Talk to him? Whatever you have to. He's going to kill us all if he remains as Overseer, but… Whatever you think is right. I just can't do it, and no one else here can."
Amata felt cold to hear this but she didn't looked at Ian, or anything. Suddenly the vault felt very constrictive, as if the walls had shrunk around to press at her from all sides and hold her there. The bright lights were too dim, but she wiped at her eyes and shook her head slowly.
"I'll figure something out."
Ian looked around but the walls were dull and strange. This feeling of apprehension was overwhelming, and too little and nothing as well. It was disorientating to stand beneath these lights again. He had seen replicas, but these were the actual world from so long ago. The disarray made him feel nauseas in the past.
He glanced over and saw a poster that had been half torn and defaced to say 'Fuck You Overseer'. Ian wanted to leave and disappear, but the door was shut. This was the end, he felt like shaking in place, vibrating to death and nothing. He didn't see anybody else behind but he couldn't' make himself speak, only look around.
Amata walked with Butch and Wally a couple yards ahead but he just followed like a ghost. Butch was hardly speaking, but standing by and looking frustrated by everything silently. Wally listed grievances about the new overseer, his father, and various atrocities the man had committed recently.
Ian just felt confused by everything and stayed away to escape. He looked at the ashen stump of his arm and wondered if this was the same. There were a few others following now, mostly very tired looking but artificially excited by moment. He wondered what would become if they reached the wasteland. How many would die, how many would kill?
Ian heard somebody's voice, but he only hoped they would disappear and this whole place was a dream. He whispered to himself that he had grown up here, spent nineteen years underground, this was home and only two strange months separated him from that. He couldn't remember anything but he told himself and it flickered like a strange blurry dream.
Ian just shook his head to himself and wondered if he could find the vault door alone. Could he get it open, could he force himself over the threshold? He looked up at Wally and Amata. Butch had fallen back a few paces and looked at nothing. Ian really couldn't help anyone. It was Amata they wanted, not him. Ian was just a memory to everything, sometimes a violent memory of his own remaking. It disgusted him.
Amata said something about transitioning into the wasteland, and Butch looked up at that. He wanted to leave, Butch wanted to get into the wasteland. Maybe he could get the door open, maybe he could lead Ian away? Ian shook his head and wanted to vomit. Butch looked back with a devilish grin.
"What's it like out there? No walls overhead or voice everywhere?"
Ian shivered and just looked at him for a moment.
"Nothing at all."
Butch gave him a strange look, but then glossed over it. Ian felt the weight of the architecture and mountain over him. This was not home for him and there was nothing for him above, only empty air. He looked at Amata as she glanced back. Her face looked nervous looking over the walls, then up.
"It's strange to be back down here. It's claustrophobic… Ian, what do you think?'"
"Hm?"
"This to outside. Is it better to live constrained or above?"
"I don't know at all."
Her looked was somehow sympathetic, then she turned back to Butch and Wally. Ian thought of them harassing her years ago, another lifetime with other people. She would kill them now. She could kill them both in a second. They were soft now.
"I'm having trouble with it. It's very strange to be here now all closed in."
Ian wondered if they could really help the people here, or if everything would only happen the same. A security guard in full armor appeared suddenly and Butch fumblingly produced a gun. They stood for a minute, each pointing small black pistols at each other. Amata had placed a hand on her shotgun and seemed ready to pull it, but Ian didn't move.
"What the hell are you doing here?
A couple other guards moved up in the corridor behind him and Amata turned with her gun outstretched at them. Her arm was very still but Ian could see a spell of conflict in her eyes.
"The Overseer heard about what you did."
"So what if he did! We're going to change things now that we have help!"
"He wants to speak with them. The Overseer sent us to find the intruders."
"Fuck you! They're not going anywhere with you! That bastard has killed people before."
"No, we'll go. You don't have to worry. We can take care of ourselves."
"You sure about this?"
"I have to try talking to him or it's not really trying."
"I don't know..."
"Take us to him."
"Okay, come with us. Can you put your weapon away please?"
"If you do first."
The guard sweated over that command in silence for a minute, then stuffed his pistol back into the holster. Amata nodded and then lowered her shotgun.
"Follow us. We'll lead the way."
"Thank you."
The three guards started to head away and Amata hesitated a moment before following them.
"Go. We'll meet you back in the office."
Amata looked at Ian, then started off after the guards. Ian followed her and touched gingerly at the gun in his pocket. The metal felt very cold. After a couple turns they seemed to be miles away from anything else. Rigid, silvery halls stretched in every direction.
"What do you think of the new Overseer?"
"I don't want to say anything bad about him."
"So you don't agree with what he's doing?"
"I don't know if I agree with his methods, but..."
"He wants to keep the vault closed, isn't that what this is about?"
"Yes, mostly."
"Do you?"
"I think we could be safe about it."
"Opening, you mean?"
"It's not my place to decide."
"It might be."
They passed through a few more halls in silence. One branching corridor was dark from broken lights and Ian thought he saw a smear of blood along the wall.
"This is it. He's waiting for you inside."
Amata looked at Ian, then thanked the guard slowly and headed inside. Ian followed. Allen Mack stood behind the desk and his eyes were bright with repressed anger.
"So it's really you too back here. I thought-"
"What have you done?"
"Nothing they didn't deserve. You've seen the insubordination. Your father would understand, but not you. The outside world has tainted whatever he taught you."
"Even if my father agreed, he would be wrong the same. You can't force people to live however you want."
"I'm the Overseer, and they are only citizens."
"You should consider-"
"I will consider nothing unless this so called rebellion submits to the law."
"So you can kill them?"
"So I can administer a fitting punishment."
Amata looked at the man with hard eyes but didn't move. Ian watched her closely and saw she might have been shaking. She was too still.
"I'm going to leave, and think… about what you said."
"Please consider wisely, and think of what your father would do. I will see you back here soon."
"Yes, you will."
Amata turned and left into the corridor. Ian looked at Mack and the man looked back hard but they did not say anything, and then Ian left after. One of the guards sighed and offered to take them back, but Amata said they could find it alone. She walked off the way they had come and Ian followed a couple feet back.
Once they were alone several turns away, Amata stopped. She looked away from him and Ian stopped behind her. The world felt very small.
"You killed my father."
"I'm sorry for that. It was an accident."
"I can't remember the way it was. Everything before is gone, but if he was like this… That might have been the right thing to happen. Maybe it needed to be done."
"His death only brought Mack into power."
Amata looked down and muttered something to herself, then shook her head.
"I need to do something..."
Ian thought she might be speaking to herself more now, and she started to walk again. She continued to speak quietly, turn after turn. Ian said nothing and followed a couple yards behind watching carefully.
Eventually they encountered Wally and Butch, who had waited where they left. They started back to the same room as before, and Ian recognized it finally as his father's office. Everything had been cleared out so that it hardly looked the same. The four of them stayed alone in that room, past the others, silent for a minute.
"Do you see what I mean?"
"He will be difficult to convince..."
"We've been trying for weeks."
"I don't have this gun for the fucking fun of it."
"I need to think about it more."
"Things are only going to get worse if you give him time."
"I need to think about it. Tell me, what are your plans if you win?"
"You mean if we get the door open?"
"I have a group outside that needs a place to stay."
"You want to bring people in?"
"It's starting to look like our only option."
"Well yeah, sure if we can get the door open. We'll need more people then."
"That's if we can get it open your way."
"What do you mean?"
"I have another plan, an emergency solution."
"Jesus Butch. Let's not even think about that."
"You mentioned this. What the hell is he talking about?"
"I was talking with Stanley and there might be another option."
"Don't try to credit him with your bullshit."
"It might just be crazy enough to work."
"Just tell me. What is your idea?"
"The vault is real old, right? It's meant to have a whole staff maintaining things, not just Stanley."
"So what's your point?"
"A lot of the systems are right on the verge, you know, of breaking."
"You want to destroy this place?"
"You'll kill people."
"Nothing dangerous, but if we get some of the filtration systems to shut down he'll be forced to open the door."
"But the vault will become unlivable."
"Well that might happen, yeah, but it's all in the name of getting out."
"No. We can't do that."
"It might be our only option."
"Not even then. No. If the vault is unlivable then it might as well still be closed."
"You're just talking from the outside perspective. I don't want to live the rest of my life in this fucking hole!"
