Heather was pulled along the outer fence by one of the slavers, who held a tight, vice-like grip around her wrist as he pulled her along. Heather stumbled, several times as she was pulled along, the soles of her Wasteland Settler outfit's shoes were slowly being pried off from over use. The hanging soles kept catching the rocks, stubbing it several times and nearly tearing it off at one point, eventually leading to it being folded inside out, revealing half of Heather's bare foot.

"M-Mike, what's happening? Where are we...?"

"Shut up! We're going to the barracks!" 'Mike' snapped, he was one of the lesser slavers, who they didn't even send out on missions most of the time. He wore a Brahmin skin outfit and mostly dealt with domestic issues, always being there to be a punching bag for the real slavers.

The truth was Mike wasn't far off from being a slave, in fact it was worse for him as Hamilton had enforced several rules to protect the slaves from anything that would lower their value, such as unnecessary beatings or risking giving them STDs or traumatising them to the point that they can't work.

Mike on the other hand wasn't worth shit, nobody cared if he broke a rib or whatever as he was a fat, balding man in his early fifties, who had made no impact on Paradise since he first arrived here. In truth, he was paranoid that the others were sizing him up, ready to put a collar on him and put him in the cage with the others.

The Slaver finally reached the barracks, where he stopped to check his six, the other slavers weren't paying attention to it as they were too busy watching the cage or goofing off, which made now an ample opportunity to slip in and out, without being noticed.

Mike shoved Heather inside, not even caring that she stumbled and fell the floor, hitting the hard porcelain tiles on the way down, with a loud 'smacking' sound. The Slaver was too busy checking that the coast was clear before he stepped over to Heather, snatching her by the upper arm as he hoisted her up to her feet, dragging her over to the pool table.

Heather had little choice but to comply, whatever happens now, it'd be much easier to accept it and go back to the pen, protest could bring more slavers and nobody wanted that...

She was shoved up against the pool table, her upper body was pushed back as Mike rested his forearm across her chest, wrapping his large, oily hands around her mouth and stared intently into her eyes.

Even Heather got the message, she had to stay quiet, as little as she wanted this she had to stay quiet. She nodded, nervously, getting an approving smile from Mike as he slowly moved his head around the side of Heather's neck, hovering his lips over her ear.

"If you're good, I'll get you some more ration coupons next week..." The Slaver whispered, though it was an empty promise, he didn't have the status to be able to make such arrangements.

Heather winced as she felt his chapped lips against the underside of her ear, tightening her hands into fists as she tried to look away and imagine being somewhere else. She tried to imagine that he was Damian but it was impossible, since Damian was better in every single way. She missed working for him, feeling safe, for the most part and not having this damn collar strangling her all the time.

What would Damian do in this situation? Without his gun... Would he wait for the right moment to get the shot in or look for some other means of defending himself?

Heather then stumbled as Mike fell forward, dragging his mouth across her shoulder before looking her in the face and drawing his knife, a switchblade that he kept in his back pocket. He held it up to Heather's face and activated it, causing the small blade to flick up, with the point stopping just beneath her eye.

Mike gave her a smile, with his yellow and black grin before he began to slice through the stitches that held her clothes together. Heather could feel her whole-body recoiling in response, she couldn't even pretend to want this on any level, her body wouldn't allow it, she'd give up a week's worth of rations to not have to go through this.

"M-Mike I..."

Sensing her tone, Mike immediately slapped his hand over her mouth and slammed her back down against the orange foam of the pool table, however, on the way down she felt something brush against her hand, one of the small plastic balls.

Her fingers wrapped around it as she readied it in her hand, looking up to see Mike move in for the first of many wretched kisses. She instinctively swung the white cue ball into his head, smacking it straight into his left temple, knocking him to the side with an 'oof' as he dropped his knife and fell to the floor.

Heather jumped down, off of the table and grabbed the knife, picking it up as she pointed it in his direction and slowly backed away towards the door as she watched him get up.

"F-Fuckin'... Ungrateful bitch!" Mike snarled, rubbing his gashed temple as he turned to face her, clutching his oily hands into fists.

"I'm gonna..."

Mike didn't finish the sentence, instead he just paused, all words had lost him as looked up to Heather. The Slave thought that he was afraid of the fact that she was holding his knife for a moment or that she was escaping but no, it was something worse than that, much worse...

She turned around and found herself startled as she saw herself coming face to face with Hamilton, who glared intently at her as her eyes unintentionally met his. Before she could do anything, he snatched her wrist and applied pressure to her hand, forcing the knife from her grasp as he took it into his own hands.

The Slaver tightened his grip on the knife as he stared down at Heather, watching her every move as she backed away.

"I-I... He forced himself on me, I didn't..." She stammered, tugging at her torn clothing as proof, however, Hamilton didn't appear interested.

"I don't want your fuckin' excuses..." The Cannibal hissed, it was quite obvious that he was bristling with anger, the likes of which she'd never seen before. He slowly turned up as his eyes fell on Mike as he stared him down.

"I'm looking for his..."

Mike's hands were now trembling out of control, knowing fully well that his weakness had condemned him, even if he escaped Hamilton, there was a courtyard full of slavers waiting for him outside, each one armed with rifles and shot guns and assault rifles. Whatever happened now, his fate was in there hands...

Hamilton brushed Heather to one side before he began to march over to Mike, getting ready to teach him, he stopped a few feet away from the old man before glancing over his shoulder, back at the Slave.

"Go back to your pen, grab some clothes off of the shelf on your way out and if anyone tries to stop you, tell them that I sent you and I am not in the mood to have my orders fucked around with." He instructed her before turning back to Mike and baring his gaze down on him, the intensity of which almost melted the old man.

"Mike and I have some issues to go through..."

Heather nodded and rushed over to the shelf, quickly grabbing a Wasteland Wanderer outfit, the sturdiest of the three before heading out of the door, however, she couldn't help but stop and look back over her shoulder as part of her wanted to witness Mike's fate.

"I-I'm sorry..." Mike uttered as he backed away from Hamilton, quickly bumping into the pool table and knocking one of many empty bear bottles over as he did so.

"I-I can't help myself, it's..."

"It's alright Mike..." Hamilton replied, though he didn't sound ver reassuring, especially not with that knife in his hand.

"I get it, you lack self-control... Like dog, you just can control what you hump, can you?" He whispered, quickly activating the blade on the switchblade, the snap of which made Mike jump and shudder.

"And we all know what happens to dogs that can't stop fuckin' the furniture... Don't we Mike?" He added, slowly turning back to the fat old man, who turned white as a sheet, he began to sweat and tremble before his eyes.

"N-No... I-I-I..."

Hamilton wasn't even listening anymore, he grabbed Mike's belt and pulled it forward, quickly undoing the buckle as he started screaming out for someone to help him, to put a stop to it but more slavers coming would make things worse.

Heather instantly winced and looked away as she saw Mike's switchblade descent towards his genitals, she eventually gave in and ran out of the room, not wanting to see it as he began to saw through them.

Mike's begs for mercy were cut off by a horrific scream, a scream that made Heather shudder as soon as she stepped out, followed by several more. Mike's knife was an old rustic thing, so Hamilton would probably be at it for a while...

"Gargh, fuck! Heather!"

The Former slave shook as she awoke, realising that her head was resting on Garry's shoulder again, her hand on his chest, her fingernails were dug into his ribcage.

She gasped as she saw it and looked up to his face, seeing that he didn't exactly appreciate being awoken in such a fashion.

"S-Sorry... I..." She whispered, retracting her hand and sighing as she saw the blood on her fingertips, quickly getting up to rush over to the sink. The Former Slaver sighed as he looked across the room, waiting for her to come back with a wet cloth, he listened as the taps were activated and the water fell upon it.

"Was it Damian again?" Garry asked, whispering in case Morgan and Rook were able to hear them.

"N-No..." Heather replied, sheepishly as she emerged from the bathroom, holding a dripping wet cloth.

"Mike..."

Garry nodded and fell silent as she got back in bed and slapped the cool cloth against the scratch mark, sighing heavily as she rested her head on his arm again.

"I'm sorry Garry..."

"Nah, don't... mention it, it's fine. It's just never been that bad before, I'm a little worried..."

The Former Slave glanced up, looking a little confused before she realised the extent of the affliction.

"I think it's because I'm underground, I just... I'm never comfortable, y'know?"

The Wastelander nodded before rolling over to face her, giving her a smile as he placed his hand on her bare hip.

"Well, we'll be outta here tomorrow... Hopefully we'll get on that ferry, whilst we're at it."

"Is a ferry like a boat?" She asked, she hadn't been on either but somewhat always wanted to, it looked like fun, being able to look over the side and see the water beneath them.

"Yeah... Sort of, in fact I'm not sure there's a difference."

"Sounds exciting... At least we have that to look forward to." She thought aloud, trying to ignore the fact that she was underground still, she hated it down here, struggling to imagine living in such a place. Although, if she did live in such a place, she probably wouldn't have a fear of suffocation to begin with.

"Not sure if I'll be able to sleep now, I barely managed it the first time..." She uttered, sighing heavily as she felt Garry's hand touch her child as he gave her a slight smile.

"Well... We don't have to sleep..." He whispered, getting a smile in return as the moved closer, rolling over and pulling the sheets over their heads as they got read for a night of 'not sleeping' together.

Heather awoke first, groaning a little as she did so as she rolled over to check on her companion, who was sound asleep beside her, his hand resting on her hip.

She sighed, happily, slowly raising up as she decided to wash up before heading out, she scooted down the end of the bed and quickly noticing that her foot caught a holodisk. She felt something in there the night before but didn't think to check it, since she had more important things on her mind.

She reached over and took it as she rolled out of bed, placing it on the old bedside table beside her as she wandered into her bathroom and got the water running...

Morgan groaned softly as well when she awakened. She had rolled onto her other side during the night, and had nicked the sheets for herself.

Morning world...

Morning Henley...

"G'morning."

Rook awoke at her words, his eyes flashing open

He glanced down at Morgan in his arms.

"Good morning."

"This is the first time, I am the first person awake..." Morgan yawned, stretching out her legs and groaning as she rolled over to face Rook.

"S'odd."

"Statistically, it is unusual. This is not a regular occurrence." Agreed Rook. "Should we get up now?"

"Oh, I wanna laze around and have sex and stuff..." Morgan chuckled before nodding. "Yeah let's get up."

"There will be opportunities for that later." Agreed Rook, a joke flying over his head for the thousandth time. Rook sat up and reached for his guns.

"Are we going to venture further into the vault?"

"I definitely want to." Morgan grinned, leaping from the bed, not minding her lab coat falling open.

"If that is ok?"

"It is very okay." Said Rook, strapping his holsters back on. He set his hand on Morgan's hip and looked meaningfully at her. "You do not have to ask if it is okay. From now on, just operate under the assumption that something is cleared with me before hand."

You might regret that one day...

Morgans eyes widened and she nodded happily. "Y-yes sir!"

Rook turned away at that, towards the door.

"Let us depart, then."

"W-wait!" Morgan pleaded, looking at the floor sheepishly. "I n-need to get dressed first..."

Rook turned back to Morgan, his eyes raking up and down her body. He had not noticed. Although, he did now.

"Of course. I will... stand here."

"C-could you...not?" Morgan asked timidly, hugging the lab coat around herself. "I g-get shy. Even if you could j-just turn around so you can't see me or s-something..."

Rook nodded, turning around as she had told him to do.

"Morgan, since we love each other, does that make you my wife?" He would've asked if he was a wife, but Morgan had explained that only a woman could be one.

"Not exactly..." Morgan shrugged as she took off the lab coat and her trousers. "There's...like a special thing humans go through to become married."

"Do we want to become married?"

"I dunno yet." Morgan sighed. "It's a little soon and... well...I still dunno if we'd be allowed to..."

"Because I am an android?" Asked Rook expectantly, already knowing the answer, sounding crestfallen. He had no designs on marrying Morgan. In fact, he could care less. He had just been curious about human culture and perhaps romance in general. He'd decided he wanted to impress her somehow, to see if he could make her less angry more often, so that she wouldn't get loud sometimes and overload his receptors. He was also doing it because she was his special friend and he loved her, of course.

"Precisely." Morgan nodded, struggling to get back into the stealth under armour thing. "I... we... do not need to get married. I... think it's stupid anyways. Who n-needs apiece of paper or a shitty ring to show they are as c-close as people can be."

"Yes but... it would make me more human." Explained Rook, oblivious to Morgan's struggle with his back turned. "That is what I desire to achieve. I want to get as close to humanity as possible."

"But humanity isn't defined by getting married." Morgan snickered, finally back in the armour. "Just...live your life the way you wish to. That's humanity..." She sighed, giving him a pained look from behind.

"It is safe to turn around now."

Rook turned around to look at Morgan.

"You look very well protected." Said Rook, probably the highest compliment he knew how to give when it came down to attire.

"And incredibly uncomfortable, besides." Morgan grumbled, pulling on the lab coat again, clinging to some sense of familiarity.

"Thank you, though."

"It will protect you. That is important and takes priority over comfort." He nodded towards the door. "Let us go retrieve Heather and Garry now."

"Well I for one can't wait to have no need of it..." She sighed before nodding. "Maybe...knock before walking in..."

"In case they are showering?"

"Yeah...something like that." Morgan shrugged.

"You can go in first."

Garry was getting ready in his quarters, pulling his pants up as he slid into them before he pulled his shirt over his head and wriggled into that, expecting Morgan and Rook to be up sometime soon.

Heather was still washing in the bathroom, seemingly enjoying having access to running water.

Rook soon knocked on their door.

"We are moving out." He declared through the metal…

I think that's a solo record though, I wasn't even aiming for it either, I was expecting it to be eight to ten pages but it turned out sixteen.)

"A'ight... Give us a minute to get dressed." Garry called back, staggering over to the other side of the room as he took up his and Heather's weapons.

Oh sure, don't walk in on them.

Morgan folded her arms and leaned back against the cold steel wall, waiting impatiently.

Garry emerged after a few moments, geared up with this weapon slung over his shoulders, like he was yesterday. Heather was yet to emerge as she was still washing or drinking the water, it was difficult to tell.

"Y'know, this tomb's actually kinda nice... Beds are comfy at least."

"I can't wait to see the rest." Morgan beamed, rolling her head over to look at Rook.

Rook just nodded.

"Let us continue then."

The Vault was vast and dimly lit. Almost like a maze.

"Heather?" Garry called before following them out, he shut the door, so that she could get dressed, figuring that she'd need a minute or two as she wasn't wearing anything.

"So... What do you think went wrong here?"

"Hm... I will guess...cannibalism." Morgan sighed, sliding down the wall to wait.

"Heh... Think they ran out of people to eat, so they invited more to show up?" Garry asked, with a smirk, leaning against the wall as he heard Heather rustling about as she put her Leather Armour on.

"Wouldn't surprise me to be honest." Morgan shrugged.

Morgan was actually pretty close to the truth.

The Vault had run out of food.

Morgan was actually pretty close to the truth.

The Vault had run out of food.

Heather re-emerged after a few minutes, seeing that the others had to wait for some time for here. She looked somewhat guilty about it, shaking her head again to sort her hair out, that had gotten caught up in the collar of her armour before joining the others at the front door.

"Hey, sorry I haven't seen that much water in a while, figured I needed to wash a little..."

"I was the same way." Morgan smiled, understanding such things. "'Till someone walked in on me..."

"Really? Was the lock broken?" Heather asked, adjusting her armour, that had been hastily put on.

"I er...never noticed a lock..." Morgan admitted sheepishly.

"Oh... It was the little button beneath the one to open and close i-"

"Should we move?" Garry asked, realising that this was getting awkward, he could see the daylight burning, even though all of that steel, concrete and terrain.

"Yes." Agreed Rook, starting the procession deeper into the Vault.

Morgan hung her head in embarrassment and kept herself quiet.

I'm s'posed to be the one with good eyes as well…

Breathing become more difficult as they went deeper down into the Vault.

The thick roots of the overgrown plants on the surface above probably incapacitated some of the air filtration systems of the quarters deeper down.

Garry found that his breath was stiffened by the lack of oxygen but pushed on anyway, he was able to breathe but it was like being in a wind tunnel for him.

"God... Were plants always such a pain in the ass?"

"No. Plants were usually docile and largely inanimate."

"Didn't people keep 'em as pets?" Garry recalled, looking up at the ceiling in case any of them appeared and attacked them.

"I do not know. I possess no knowledge of 21st century domestic life."

More bodies showed up. in Vault 266 jumpsuits. As of now, there has been no bodies from people who 'weren't' part of the vault originally... No raiders or anything. Whether this was good or bad was up to interpretation.

Morgan looked around at the people.

"Did the...plants do this?"

"Wouldn't they have taken over the whole vault, if they did?" Garry asked, wondering that himself.

No one seemed to have been killed in gruesome "plant leeching" ways. It looked more like 'starvation' was the prime culprit.

"They starved. The Vault's food dispensers must have broken down."

"Oh damn..." Morgan winced. "But...how did the plants get here then? They couldn't have...mutated?"

"I am unsure. It would take sever altering to the genome, most likely caused by radiation. But I am not well versed in botany."

"Well, we don't know when they died... Don't plants take over things, when no one's around to stop 'em?" Garry asked, only knowing a little about it from picture books.

"Yes. But there is wildlife here that does not belong in this ecosystem. Central Park was a different biome than the rainforest we see outside today."

"Oh so they all just stared?" Morgan rubbed her chin and stepped over to examine one of the bodies. "It's never that simple..."

Heather glanced over to the bodies, kneeling down beside one of them before looking over her shoulder.

"Why didn't they just leave? Or try to find food out in the wastes?"

Perhaps it dawned to one of them now, that they never paid attention to the Vault door mechanism on the inside of the vault.

"Radiation lingers for a long time. It was most likely not safe. Or perhaps they were stuck inside."

"Wait a second..." Morgan hushed. "Did you say...stuck? W-we're not stuck too, are we!?"

"No, door was open wasn't it?" The former slaver asked, though he honestly couldn't remember for the life of him.

"No. I opened it. And it shut behind us." Said Rook flatly, not looking the least bit worried.

"How'd you open it the first time?" Heather asked, unsure if that was a good thing or not.

"The control panel on the outside of the Vault."

"Wait... Was there one inside the vault?" Garry asked, his voice bristling with dread and a little annoyance.

"Shit...s-someone go check..." Morgan whispered.

Both Garry and Heather looked to Rook, after all if there was a problem it was technically his fault.

"Wait here." He said, heading towards the Vault entrance.

Morgan ran a hand through her hair and sighed heavily.

"I swear to God. If we're stuck in here, I am gonna dismantle him."

The cold steel Vault door cog had welded itself tightly back into its place. And the control board next to it was broken beyond compare. There was however a holotape resting on top of it.

Rook picked up the holotape, turning it about in the air, examining it for a moment, before heading back to the group.

"The interior control panel is destroyed. We cannot exit through the front entrance." He extended Morgan the holotape. "I discovered this."

"Maybe 'dismantle' his head and then shove it in his ass?" Garry suggested before the Android approached.

"The interior control panel is destroyed. We cannot exit through the front entrance." He extended Morgan the holotape. "I discovered this."

Are you shittin' me!?

Morgan glared at Rook in disbelief before shoving the holotape in her Pip Boy.

I might be able to fix it. Might...

Rook did not interpret the glare. He did not even release the apparent blame was on him.

"Em, Yes it's on! Shut up!"

stumbling noises*

"I'm recording!"

more stumbling noises*

"Eum... The date is 2178, april 2nd. And we just well... Shit fucked up."

"I honestly don't know what happened exactly. But we did what was intructed by our Overseer. And followed the Vault-Tec guidelines for leaving the vault. Everything went fine at first. We walked out one by one into 'the wasteland'... gotta say, it looked not as amazing as I thought it would be. Lots of open space though. And wind..."

"But when Mike tried to install the G.E.C.K. things got out of hand... At first it was amazing seeing plants, actual plants! grow just like that... But it didn't stop... They didn't stop growing... Mike got caught under the growing roots and we all watched in horror as the tree grew more and more, pressing down on Mike until it..."

"We all ran back into the vault, to rethink our steps.

sound of door opening*

"Jenny! You better come down to entrance of the Vault, something's happened!"

"I'm recordi-"

"Now!"

"Alright fine!"

"Right...so they fucked up some instructions and that caused the fucking jungle." Morgan growled. "Fucking fantastic!"

She grumbled and muttered and stomped over to the Vault entrance to look at the busted panel.

"What the fuck's a... G.E.C.K?" Garry asked, approaching Morgan's pip boy as he scratched his head.

"Sounds like some sort of lizard..."

"It is a piece of hardware. Garded of Eden Creation Kit. Used to rejuvenate dead soil. The Commonwealth has several open operations to retrieve one."

The panel looked fine, but there was probably something wrong with the specifics beyond the control panel. Those Vault dwellers certainly tried to repair it, that much was evident.

"Right..." Morgan exhaled, getting on her knees and peering closer at the panel. "Let's get a look at ya then..."

"Do not bother." Said Rook. "We will not be getting out this way."

As the group members spoke, Heather slowly drifted away, her breathing grew a lot heavier and drawn out as she stumbled towards the wall, quickly bringing her hands up to the side of her head as she tried to block it all out.

Th-There's no way out!

There has to be a way out!

Trapped!

They'll think of something!

It's their fault I'm here!

Eventually she pressed her back against the wall and began to pant heavily some more, brushing her hair out of her face as she hung her head, her skin grew pale and she began to tremble, finding it even harder to breathe in this vacuum of a corridor.

"Rook, shut up." Morgan grumbled; hearing Heather enter her panic attack. She glanced back, throwing her a happy, unconcerned smile. "I'll get us out! Don't worry!"

Rook, seemed to be right though. The problem didn't seem to present itself, perhaps it was 'meant' to break down. It wasn't exactly clear though.

Garry quickly rushed over to her, quickly crouching down in front of her, to try and force eye contact.

"Heather? It's fine... We can figure this out, we ain't panickin' yet." He whispered, gently placing his hands on her arms.

"Nothin's changed has it? We made it through the night, we'll make through today..."

"The vault dwellers starved in here, Morgan. If one could get out this way, do you not think they would have? Vault mechanics were experts on this technology. If they could not repair it, neither will you. This door is sealed. We will have to find another way."

"Rook I swear to god..." Morgan snapped. "Shut the fuck up and make yourself actually useful by searching for an exit, yeah!?"

Rook did not like the way Morgan was speaking to him, but did as she asked. He descended deeper into the vault, scanning for signs that a Vault dweller or two may have escaped.

With Rook gone, Morgan went into the wiring further, now that she could concentrate. If there is something wrong, I'll find it...

The Vault just seemed to get darker, and more 'claustrophobic'. There was a dinner however.

Heather's breathing slowly returned to normal, she stayed curled up on the floor, shuddering a little as she tried to focus on what her... friend was saying.

She eventually looked up to him, eyes shimmering as they met his and she found herself tightening her hold on her knees.

"Garry, I..." She whispered, though she quickly found herself being cut off, as the Wastelander placed his hand on hers.

"Heather, it's fine... You'll be okay..." He whispered, gently wrapping his arm around her back and gently rubbing her right shoulder.

"We'll... Be fine, we're smarter than Vault Dwellers, we'll..."

"N-No... Not that..." Heather uttered, though her voice was still a little broken, she had managed to get over her shock for the most part and had immediately started thinking as she reached for the holotape that she found in her bed.

"F-Found this in our bed..." She whispered, passing it to Garry and firmly placing it in his hands, much to his amazement.

The Wastelander looked somewhat confused as he took it, wondering how he hadn't come across it or how he didn't see her find it, she must have found it the next morning. Perhaps their late night activities moved it around somewhat...

"G-Great..." He uttered, though in truth he was a little shellshocked himself at Heather's keen eye or luck, either way.

"Maybe this'll help us find a way out."

Garry slowly rose to his feet and leant over, kissing Heather on the temple as he stood up, wandering over to Morgan as he held out the tape.

"Heather said she found this one in our room, don't know, it might tell us a little more..." He suggested, giving her a shrug as he passed it to her.

Rook decided to peek in the diner, perhaps there was something useful in there.

A large dried bloodstain was plastered on the wall behind the counter with a trail leading down to a guy in an apron. The skeleton was missing pieces of it's skull. Apart from that, cups and plates were violently thrown around the domino tile floor. Like there had been some sort of raid.

There was also a Jukebox, it appeared to still be working.

Morgan nodded absently. "Uh-huh, here." She sighed, bringing her head out of the wiring and slotting the tape in.

"If I gotta climb a fucking tree to get out..."

Rook walked over to the jukebox, coming to a stop in front of it, and flicked it on.

"Yeah, I think we'll just revert to plan A and burn the fucker down." Garry sighed, finally agreeing with her earlier suggestion.

"We're running out of food... And power... just everything. The Vault wasn't designed to run after we had left..."

"The overseer has said that we will have to ration from now on... But I'm no fool... I know we're gonna run out eventually... I think most people do. But everybody is too afraid to bring it up."

"I'm afraid we might not get out of here alive..."

"Everyone's without a purpose now. Most jobs are practically non-existent anymore, with merely the back-up generator giving enough energy for ventilation and small amounts of power to light the lamps."

"I don't know what most people are doing now... Most are in their room, waiting. But for what... I wonder..."

"They were obviously awaiting their own death." Morgan grunted before giving in with a sigh. "This blow..."

"There ain't any other way out of here?" Garry asked, finding that hard to believe as he looked around, peering over his head.

"I mean, with things overgrown as they are outside, there's gotta be some sort of weak spot or... somethin'?"

Morgan leaned against the wall.

"Hopefully the tin can will do something." She muttered, folding her arms.

Garry wondered if something had happened between the two of them overnight, though he decided to refrain from asking directly.

"Well, if he gets over his 'we're all fucked' attitude, maybe."

Morgan rolled her eyes and grunted.

"I shouldn't have got so excited. We coulda been on the ferry by now..."

The Wastelander shook his head and sighed, resting the barrel of his gun on his shoulder.

"Guess so... But we did get a night's sleep and... well, I was pretty fucked up yesterday."

"Yeah it was a great night. You didn't have anyone walk in on you showering, then...just walk off." Morgan sighed.

"S'been great!"

"I thought you two..." Garry began, hoping that he wouldn't have to say the rest, it was pretty obvious to him.

"We haven't erm...done that yet." Morgan shrugged. "We...we've come close but it never ends up happening."

She scoffed and shook her head.

"Not like it matters right now. We got bigger things to worry on."

"I guess..." He uttered, looking back across the room over to Heather, who was shivering in her own corner, resting her head against her thighs as she brought her knees together.

"Fuck... We'd better get out of here soon, for her sake... and mine..."

"Well, don't think I can fix the door. Looks like this might have been intentional." Morgan groaned as she stood up. "Look after her, yeah? I'll go find Rooky."

"Alrigh'... We'll have a look around, see if we can find anythin' useful." Garry replied, with a stern nod, though he doubted they'd be able to cover much ground.

There was still some juice in the old thing. It started to play a song across the empty halls of the vault. Now, Morgan just had to follow the tune to find Rook.

And Morgan did just that. She tried to calm herself down by listening to the tune she was following. Though, she found its peppiness more aggravating.

Eventually she wandered in the Diner, hungry for pie.

"Doors completely b-busted…"

"Understood." Said Rook, turning from the juke box to face her. But he already knew that, without her telling him. "And I have not found an exit, yet."

"Yeah, too busy listening to music I see." Morgan shrugged. "Well, this place still has some power. Let's go look."

At this point, the Jukebox played another song, this one a lot jauntier and… irritating.

"Of course." Said Rook, stepping away from the jukebox, to Morgan.

The playful tunes echoed through the many hallways of the Vault. It was sort of eerie.

"It's...really tough to breathe down here." Morgan noted, the frustration still evident in her tone. "Lead the way."

Rook did so, leading Morgan further into the Vault.

The air got dense and warm... Like they were back in the jungle. But it was pitch-dark, so they couldn't really see what caused it.

Morgan flipped on her light, to get a better look.

Above her, spore pods had grown through the ceiling, along with roots pulling the metal plates apart. Showcasing the strength of these infernal plants.

Garry and Heather returned to the recreational quarters as they began to rummage through the supplies, hoping to find something that they could use. They decided that two eyes in one place was a waste and decided to split up, each one searched a different house, mostly for Heather's benefit, so that she could keep her mind off of her situation.

The Wastelander stepped into a bedroom and began to look around, peering over the units but finding himself to be disappointed at the fact that most of the items were items of sentiment, rather than that of practicality.

He saw an open book on the table, which at first glance looked like a journal but it appeared to be a battered bible. Despite the fact that Garry had little to no faith and even less understanding of Christianity, he found himself skimming through the page.

16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20

Garry pulled his face away once more, looking over his shoulder as he saw Heather tunnelling through drawers, desperately clawing at them to find something of substance. It was obvious that she was cracking, suffocation, darkness, smalls space and entrapment.

She was in hell...

Morgan glanced up and backed off.

"Rook...see if you can...destroy them."

Rook approached a root and wrapped his hand around it, before yanking it down hard.

The pods acted on the vibration and opened up. pumping spores into the corridor.

"Fuck..." Morgan spluttered, coughing and backpedalling out of the corridor ASAP.

"Morgan- don't breathe." Said Rook firmly, still pulling.

Great advice...Morgan thought angrily as she left him alone in the corridor.

The spores seemed to spread down further into the Vault.

Rook pulled down hard on the root, trying to yank one of the pods down from the hole in the ceiling.

Morgan retreated back further, coughing and spluttering heavily.

"D-destroy the fucking thing already!"

Yanking it down, caused the root to be pulled deeper down. Some dirt even tumbled down from between the cracks, although, no sunlight or air presented itself, the Vault was built very deep, and the roots just went very deep.

Above that, the pulling made the spore release worse. And it appeared the low power ventilation system didn't seem able to cope with the volume of spores that were released. It started to fill up the hallway. Making Morgan feel stressed and her nerves stiff, like she had been trying to lift a car up a steep hill.

"Rook! Stop pu-argh-*hack*-pulling!" Morgan snapped. "You are making it worse you dumbass bot!"

Rook stopped pulling.

"This thing will not come loose." He concluded, returning to Morgan, and gently, but firmly, escorting her out, past the plant. "Come on, let's get you out of here. I will come back with a blow torch and destroy it later."

Morgan spluttered and coughed.

"F-fuck, i need a smoke...I feel n-numb…"

Rook support Morgan, making sure she didn't lose inhibitions and fall on her head or something. "That's the toxic from the spores. You have inhaled them into your lungs. It will take time for your body to expel or neutralize them."

"More w-waiting? F-fucking fabulous." Morgan stammered as they inched their way back. "We c-can't wait, or H-heathers gonna go crazy."

"She is having a claustrophobic reaction. She needs to take deep breaths and relax. I would recommend exercise. Panic will solve none of our problems."

"Easy for you to say...," Morgan muttered under her breath.

Rook did not like all the abuse he was getting. He did not mind people relying on him because of his uniqueness, or getting frustrated at him for mistakes, but he did not appreciate the insults. Espically when Morgan though she was saying it out of his earshot, when really it wasn't that hard to miss at this proximity. So he released her, and stepped away.

"Return to Garry and Heather. I will descend into the Vault on my own. I shall report back if I discover anything."

Morgan furrowed her brow, showing her severe annoyance.

"You d-do realise it's dangerous, r-right? Feh. F-fuck it. You'd just go anyways, r-right. So...w-whatever."

She shook her head and shuffled off incredibly slowly.

Rook watched Morgan go until she was out of sight, before heading back, deeper into the Vault.

Morgan didn't even bother to talk to Garry or Heather. She just staggered into her room and fell against the floor, coughing wildly.

Fucking hate my life.

Hate everything.

Everyone.

"Timse to...sh-sleep.."

Garry appeared at her door, he was about to activate the switch before remembering what Morgan said about knocking, he sighed heavily and tapped his knuckles against the steel surface and waited for a response.

Rook walked away, perhaps angrily, if he could be.

Dumbass bot..

Dismantle him...

Shove it up his ass...

Rook halted and made a 180* turn and headed back towards Morgan. She was easily to track, and entered their room coming to a halt in front of her.

He fixed his gaze at her, and opened his mouth. But he'd come here on impulse, without purpose.

So no words came out.

"Whoever is there, can f-fuck off." Morgan mumbled from the floor. "T-tyna sleep here."

"It's me." Rook said, softer than he wanted it to come out.

"The fuck you want?" Morgan muttered. "Thought you were off finding a way out. This is..."

My...

"Your fault after all."

"You did not want me to go find a way out. You said it was dangerous."

"10 Mils? Greeeeat." Morgan drawled sarcasticly. "Chuck em wherever." She sighed and pulled herself up to her feet with shaky arms to turn and look at Rook.

"Danger has never stopped you before."

"And me..." Garry added, removing a clip from his pocket.

"Got some 10 mil."

"You are upset. This is different."

Morgan glanced over to Garry before shrugging and throwing herself on the bed.

"I am always upset. There is no difference."

Garry leant against the door frame, unsure as to what to do or say at this point.

"That is not true. I have detected several moments where the fluctuations in your voice infer a mood chance. I can recite them if you would like."

Morgan hit her face with her hand and held it there over her eyes.

"It was a figure of fucking speech, God." She sighed. "Fucking...stop annoying me!"

"I do not understand." And he really didn't. "How am I annoying you? If anything, I should be annoyed: I have faced much unkind language."

"You never bloody shut up!" Morgan snapped. "I barely have any time to think. It's always. 'Morgan' this, 'Morgan' that. 'Morgan' 'Morgan' 'Morgan' Fucking...Morgan!" She groaned and rolled over, turning her back to everyone.

"I think what she's tryin' to say is that she wants to be alone..." Garry uttered to Rook, seeing that this wouldn't get them anywhere, it would do them good to come back, once she had calmed down.

Rook fell silent, feeling suddenly very unwelcome. He also came to the conclusion that Morgan did not want to be special friends anymore, if he was so annoying. He was not supposed to be annoying. Rook thought he was very un-annoying. He barely spoke to begin with. He was so confused. He wondered what mistake he'd made. It seemed all he made was mistakes, when usually he operated without a single malfunction.

He looked over at Garry.

"I will depart to the diner. Inform me if something occurs." He backed out of the room and turned towards the restaurant.

"I... Think I'll come with." Garry insisted, not wanting to hang around here, whilst Morgan was in this mood and he felt like he'd have to explain some things to the Android on his way down.

Morgan curled up in her bed and sighed heavily, still barely holding things together.

"Do you know why I am annoying? Am I malfunctioning?"

"Nah... It's..." The Wastelander waited until they had moved away from her dorm before he began to talk, still keeping his voice down.

"I think she's malfunctioning... like crazy. I mean, she's been on her own for all these years and that... well, does things to you."

"Morgan is not malfunctioning. She is a human." Rook pointed out, like it was obvious. "Are you saying that she is insane?"

"Sort of... She's er..." Garry fell silent, scratching his head as they turned a corner.

"I think she's used to bein' on her own... Constantly havin' other people around her, especially when she's pissed off, is probably goin' to piss her off even more."

"But then how can I be her special friend if I just piss her off? i am not supposed to piss her off."

Garry assumed that by 'special friend' he meant lover or something to that effect, he decided not to comment on it.

"Just... Give her some time, she won't be as pissed off in a few hours and then you'll probably be able to talk to her then."

Fucking hell, even the robots are like people these days.

Morgan bunched the sheets up in her hands and breathed rapidly as she glared at the wall.

I haven't felt this angry since...since that prick, Miles, won the contest. Fuck him. Fuck Garry, Heather.

Screw Rook.

You're better off alone, right? Least you could relax to the sound of explosives. But now, nah. Frigging Rook just had to come along, blow your home up. Maybe I'll just not leave here. I'll take my rage out on the plants and die all on my own like I am meant to.

Fuck...

Just...fuck!

Rook was silent, not sure what to do.

"I should wait?"

"Try... Talkin' to her, when we get back, she might be in a better mood then." The Wastelander shrugged, peering down the hallway as he considered what was ahead.

"So... What'd'ya find, last time you came down here?"

"Toxic plants." Said Rook, looking back towards the direction they had come. If anything, he seemed anxious.

"Toxic as in...?" Garry asked as there were a number of ways that plants could be toxic and he wasn't exactly sure which one Rook was referring to.

"It spewed toxic spores. Like a fungi."

"It... threw mushrooms at you?" Garry asked, finding himself to be even more confused by it all.

"No. Fungi spew spores. Little particles, like a mushroom's version of seeds. These plants have toxic spores."

"Right... So don't breathe then..." Garry sighed, getting his shotgun at the ready.

"Alright, let's get down there and see if there's a way out or somethin'."

"Perhaps we can get you a radiation suit near the vault entrance? They are bound to have some and they would protect you."

"Hell, I won't argue against that..." Garry agreed, glancing around for the vault entrance, he paused for a moment before leaving to put it on.

Garry quickly removed his outfit before taking the rad suit, immediately finding himself to be repulsed by its yellow colour and rubbery texture. He shouldn't be so picky about life saving gear but he felt like he was putting on a polka dot clown suit.

After squeezing into the suit, he looked in a mirror, sighing heavily at himself...

I look fuckin' ridiculous...

He sighed again before turning back and returning to Rook, ready to descent into hell, hoping that this visor would hold...

The darkness beckoned.

Rook lead Garry back, deeper into the Vault, past the plants, ready to face the next challenge.