Jason awoke groggily. His best friend, Amata Almodovar, was calling his name. He opened his eyes. Wow, she was gorgeous. Her dark brown hair was tied into a bun, with a few strands hanging about her ears. It matched her beautiful brown eyes.

"Hey, I was just dreaming about you," he said.

As per usual, she shot down his poor attempt at flirting. "There's no time for that now," she said. "You've got to get out of here! Jonas is dead, and your father is gone!"

"My dad is gone?" Jason asked, now alert. "Jonas is dead? What is going on?"

"Wait," Amata said, "you mean you didn't know your dad was leaving?"

"No," Jason said. "I had no idea. I didn't even know leaving the vault was possible!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Amata said. "Unfortunately, we can't sit around here. You've got to go. My dad has gone crazy. There's a radroach invasion, and all he can think about is catching you. I've got a plan though. You need to get to my dad's office. He has a secret tunnel in there that leads directly to the exit. Here, take these. You can use them to get into Dad's office."

Amata handed Jason ten bobby pins.

"Take this too," Amata said. "This is my father's pistol."

"No," Jason said. "You keep it. You may need it. I can't have my best friend getting hurt."

"I could say the same thing to you," Amata said. "But, alright. I'll take it. Now, get going. I'll try to meet you at the exit, but don't wait for me."

Amata ran out of the room. Jason took a second to clear his head and grapple with everything he had just been told. His dad left him without saying anything. How could he? And Jonas. Jonas was his father's medical assistant and best friend. He was like an uncle to Jason. Jason looked in his mirror as he steadied himself. He ran a hand through his mussed auburn hair as he tried to process things. Usually, he stood here and wondered why Amata seemed uninterested in his handsome face, dapper beard, and bright blue eyes.

Jason shook his head and moved around his room grabbing everything that he thought he might need. He grabbed his old Grognak the Barbarian comic that Amata had given him on his tenth birthday. She had thrown him a surprise birthday party. It was such a great gift.

He grabbed ten stimpaks and a shot of med-x from the first-aid kit. Based on what Amata was saying, it sounded like he might have to fight his way out. So, Jason grabbed his baseball bat, his BB gun, and his last pack of BBs. Jason knew the BB gun would not be very useful against any security guards he encountered, but his father gave him that BB gun on his tenth birthday after the party that Amata threw. He just couldn't leave it behind knowing he might never see his father again.

Having grabbed everything he needed, Jason exited his room. There, he found Officer Kendall fighting two radroaches. Officer Kendall easily smashed the radroaches with his baton. Then, Officer Kendall turned around.

"You there!" he shouted. "We've been looking for you!"

Officer Kendall charged. What on earth? He didn't even give Jason a chance to surrender! Jason pulled out the baseball bat just in time to block the first swing of Officer Kendall's baton. Jason swung his bat into Kendall's leg, making a sickening CRACK on impact. Officer Kendall fell to one knee. Before he could recover, Jason hit him in the forehead with a WHACK. Unconscious, Kendall slumped to the floor.

Jason pulled Officer Kendall into his room and removed his security armor. Jason donned the security armor and helmet. It would not stop a straight shot, but some protection would be better than none. Leaving Kendall in his skivvies, Jason hurried down the hall.

He did not make it far before Butch DeLoria ran up to him. Ugh. Butch. Jason and Butch had always been bitter rivals. From trying to steal Jason's sweet roll on his tenth birthday, to bullying Amata, Butch and his self-proclaimed gang, the "Tunnel Snakes," had always been a thorn in Jason's side. Plus, his stupid "bad boy" haircut, and his bitter, angry face were super annoying to look at.

"Get out of my way, Butch," Jason said.

Butch did not seem to hear Jason. "You've got to help me!" he said, frantically. "My mom is being attacked by radroaches!"

"So, do something about it!" Jason said.

"N-no, it's dark, and there's radroaches!"

"Are you afraid of the dark, Butch?" Jason said, before remembering that he was wasting valuable time.

"I'm not afraid of the dark!" Butch growled. "I-I am scared of radroaches though. I can't do it by myself! I need your help!"

Jason knew that he needed to leave as soon as possible, but he just couldn't leave Butch or his mother in this state. Even if Butch was the absolute worst.

"Here, Butch, take this BB gun. You can kill those radroaches with this."

Jason hated to part with his precious BB gun; but he couldn't just leave Butch's mother to die; nor did he have time to stay and help with the security guards after him.

Butch took the BB gun. "Thank you!" he said. "You're the greatest! Now, I'll stop those radroaches!"

Butch ran off to save his mother. Jason heard cries of triumph from Butch as he rushed down the hall. He may have given up his BB gun, but it was worth it for some strange reason. Jason came upon the dining hall. Three radroaches were chewing on the body of old Agnes Taylor. Jason charged in with his bat, bringing it down on one radroach's head. The head was crushed in an instant. Jason stomped on a second roach as he whacked the third, sending it flying into the wall. Jason's boot was covered in muck as it smashed into the radroach's carapace. The third roach hit the wall and splattered.

After confirming that Agnes Taylor was, in fact, dead, Jason headed up some stairs in the direction of the Atrium. He came upon Officer Gomez and Andy, the multi-armed "Mr. Handy" robot. Together, the two of them smashed a small cluster of radroaches. Jason tried to get past Officer Gomez undetected, but Gomez saw him in a second.

Gomez sighed. "You're lucky I'm the one who found you," he said. "I'm sorry about the Overseer. I'm sorry about everything. Get out of here. I never saw you."

"Thanks, Officer Gomez," Jason said. "I always liked you. Give me one second in my dad's office, okay?"

"Sure thing, kid," Gomez said. "Just be quick."

Jason ran into his father's office. The entire room had been turned upside down. It seemed like only yesterday that Jason had tried to fake being sick to avoid taking the G.O.A.T.. He was never a good liar. Since his father was the vault doctor, that had made it even more impossible. Jason looked around the room before finding what he was looking for: A bobblehead of Vault Boy, the cartoonish vault mascot, holding a syringe. As he picked up the bobblehead, Jason couldn't help remembering little tidbits of medical advice that his father had given him through the years. He looked at the inscription on the bottom of the base.

"The smart man knows a bandage only hides his wounds," it said.

Since he no longer had the BB gun to remember his dad by, Jason figured this bobblehead was the next best thing. Jason ran past Officer Gomez into the Atrium.

In the Atrium were Tom and Mary Holden. As the vault marriage counselor, he had grown rather fond of them. He was proud of all the progress they had made. Upon hearing what they were talking about, Jason's eyes went wide. Tom wanted to follow Jason's dad and escape the vault. Tom charged into the next hallway, shouting his name. Without a word from the security officers, Tom was gunned down. Mary ran in after Tom, only to be murdered in the same manner.

Jason screamed. Whoever murdered his friends was going to pay. Drawing his baseball bat, Jason ran over to the entrance to the hallway. A bullet ricocheted off the wall as he took cover. Jason had gotten a glimpse of his enemies. Officers O'Brian and Richards were guarding the door. The Officers were approaching Jason. He let out a deep breath before turning the corner and charging.

Jason swung his bat directly into Officer O'Brian's face. O'Brian's nose shattered as a spurt of blood sprayed onto the bat and the floor. Jason wrenched Officer O'Brian's 10mm pistol out of his hand and fired two bullets into Officer Richards's chest. Officer Richards's body slammed down on the ground. O'Brian tackled Jason. Blood from O'Brian's nose dripped onto Jason's face as they wrestled for control of the gun. Jason punched O'Brian in the nose, causing him to scream. Jason fired another bullet into Officer O'Brian's face.

Jason took a look at his bloodied fist and bat as it dawned on him. He had just killed two people. It was self-defense, but he still staggered for a moment. He did not have time to linger, so he forced himself to move on. Jason ran up some stairs and through the maintenance area. There, he found the dead body of mechanic Floyd Lewis surrounded by more radroaches. After smashing the radroaches, he barreled straight into Security Chief Hannon. He knocked Hannon over in a desperate charge to avoid any more casualties. Hannon got back up and charged after him.

Jason whirled around, swinging the bat. He was aiming for Hannon's jaw, but it collided with Hannon's temple, sending him skidding to the ground. A pool of blood began forming around Hannon's head.

"No, no, no," Jason said, tears coming to his eyes. "Not again. I didn't mean to…"

Jason hurried on, wiping tears from his face. Through a window, he saw Amata sitting in a chair, being interrogated by her own father, the Overseer. Alphonse Almodovar had been a bitter, grey-haired man for as long as Jason had known him, but this was a new low. Officer Stevie Mack was with him, holding a baton. Jason began trying to get the door open, but it was stubborn. The Overseer was trying to get Amata to tell him where Jason was. Amata refused to help him, so he ordered Officer Mack to beat it out of her. Jason just got the door open when Amata drew her father's pistol and shot Officer Mack in the face. Amata ran into the next room, crying.

"You!" Jason said as he slammed the Overseer into the wall. "What have you done?"

"What have I done?" the Overseer asked, incredulously. "What have you and your father done? You've ruined everything!"

"I'm not the one who let radroaches swarm the vault and kill people while pursuing my own personal vendetta!" Jason said.

"This isn't a personal vendetta," the Overseer said. "This is for the safety of the vault."

"You're so full of it," Jason said. "You're a murderer! Because of you, Jonas is dead, and so are a handful of other vault residents."

The Overseer's demeanor changed suddenly with an odd smile. "We can still fix this," he said. "Just give me your weapons. It's your father we want after all."

"Shut up," Jason said.

Jason slammed the Overseer's head against the wall, knocking him unconscious. Jason ran into the next room and found Amata crying, holding the gun in her hands.

"Hey, Amata," Jason said, approaching her carefully. "Are you alright?"

"No," Amata said. "I-I killed him. How could I kill him?"

"You did what you had to do," Jason said. "It was self-defense. Honestly, I had to do the same thing. I understand your pain, but it's not your fault."

"I know, but, please, take this," Amata said, handing Jason the gun. "If my father came in here while I was holding it. I just don't know what I would do right now. How could my own father treat me this way? How could he tell Mack to hurt his daughter?"

"I don't know," Jason said. "I wish I knew why your dad was acting this way. I wish I knew why my dad left me. I wish I knew a lot of things that I don't right now. Maybe we'll never know, but we have to keep moving."

"Go on without me for now," Amata said. "I'll catch up, I promise."

"Alright," Jason said. "I'll see you at the exit. Be careful."

Jason quickly searched the Overseer's office. He found some more 10mm ammo. He threw away Officer O'Brian's gun in favor of the Overseer's gun which was in much better condition. He also found five bobby pins, a rad-x, a stimpak, and the key to the Overseer's office.

Jason made his way to the Overseer's office and unlocked the door using the key. Inside was a desk and a large computer on the back wall. He was met with a request for the password. What on earth would a man like the Overseer choose for his password? It was a long shot, but Jason decided to try every parent's default. He typed in "Amata." Much to his surprise, it worked!

"Wow!" he exclaimed. "What do you know?"

Jason found a few files on… explorations into the outside world? Everything he had ever known was wrong. People did enter. People did leave. Jason reeled at this discovery. Maybe he was not even born in the vault? Jason shook his head. That no longer mattered. He chose the option to open the overseer's tunnel. The desk was lifted upward as the floor slid out from under it, revealing the tunnel Amata had told him about.

Jason ventured into the tunnel. He opened the door at the end, and came to the vault entrance. There it was. The gigantic, circular metal door. Jason went over to the control panel and flipped the lever. Alarms blared as a large, metal apparatus locked into the door and slid it out of the way, making horrid screeching noises the entire time. Just then, Amata came into the room.

"You made it!" she said. They stood awkwardly for a moment before she spoke again. "Well, good luck!" Amata tried to smile, but she could not hide her sorrow.

"Y'know," Jason began. "You could come with me? You should come with me."

"I- I can't," Amata said. "I'm the only one who might be able to talk some sense into my father. I've got to stop him from ruining life in the vault for everyone. You understand, right?"

"Do you realize how crazy that sounds?" Jason said. "He almost had you beaten up! He's not going to listen to you!"

"Once you're gone, he won't have a reason to question me," Amata said. "I'll smooth things over with him; I promise."

"Alright," Jason said. "I trust you."

"I hope you find your dad," she said. "I hope the two of you can be reunited."

"I hope so, too," Jason said. "I'll miss you, Amata."

Amata grabbed Jason's collar and kissed him deeply.

"Wow!" he said, grinning from ear to ear. "That was one heck of a first kiss! If you feel that way about me, how come you never told me before?"

"I'm sorry," she said. "I was always afraid my father would forbid it, and that you would get hurt."

"I guess that's a moot point now." Jason said.

"I love you," Amata said. "I've always loved you."

"I love you, too," Jason said, grabbing her hands. "So, come with me."

"I can't," Amata said, tearfully, caressing his cheek. "I just can't. Come back someday, Jason. Now, go! Conquer the wasteland! I'll shut the door behind you."

Jason gave Amata one more lingering kiss before running out of the vault into the dimly lit tunnel. The door creaked and groaned as it shut behind him. He and Amata waved at each other until they were no longer visible to each other. Just before she was out of sight, Jason saw Amata blow him a kiss.

After the door shut completely, Jason said, "Now, why did I have to wait for that clear until I had to leave? I'm 19, and I've only been kissed twice." He shook his head and then sighed. " Goodbye Vault 101. I'll be back, Amata, I promise."

With that, Jason walked to the end of the tunnel and pushed open the door to the outside. He was virtually blinded by the bright light that rushed into his eyes. When his eyes finally adjusted, he looked at the view. There was nothing but dust, dirt, rocks, and ruins as far as the eye could see.

"Wow," he said. "Amata wasn't kidding when she said 'wasteland.'"