Hours passed and there was nothing. No announcements, no acknowledgement of any kind. Evan was starting to get anxious as the people around him spoke in low tones and searched for a way out of the small room they'd all been shoved into. Several people were wondering where their loved ones had been placed, as most of them had been separated when directed to go left or right.

Evan had no one. His parents hadn't even made it past the Vault door; he'd been shoved in at the last minute and forced to leave them behind. It was tearing him apart on the inside, but he knew he couldn't dwell on it, not when so many little kids were in this room too, with no fathers or mothers or siblings around to hold them. He wanted to look strong for those kids, even if it did little to quell their aching hearts.

"Someone get that bloody door open," A man with an accent muttered near him. He looked over and noticed that the guy seemed about middle aged and had dark hair. Next to him was a boy who was probably thirteen or fourteen, who clung to the older gentleman's sleeve and shied away when he caught Evan staring. Trying to distract his emotions from all that was happening, Evan wondered the stories behind all the guys in this room. Some were alone, and others were huddled in groups. A lot of fathers and sons, and even a few grandfathers by the looks of it. He really wished that he could have stayed with his sister; She was so young and probably very scared without him.

Finally, there was a screeching sound as one of the men had found a crowbar and flung the rusty door open. The Vault wasn't in the best condition and Evan had a feeling that Vault-tec wouldn't have been this careless in putting it together. All of the other ones around the world had been demonstrated and seemed so much cleaner and put together. Sighing, he followed the crowd as they made their way through the narrow dim lit halls to a small atrium area on the other side.

"Where is the Overseer?" He heard voices up ahead saying. They were female voices, and his heart leapt at the thought that they were being joined together with the women who'd been separated from them hours ago. He searched fervently for his sister, praying that she wasn't sent with the second group of women, which seemed to be nowhere in sight of these ladies. Some reunions were created, but a lot of people still stood alone or in small groups, wishing they could see their separated loved ones again.

After a moment of people chatting amongst themselves and wondering what to do next, the guy with the accent got up on the small platform at the one end of the room and whistled to get everyone's attention. His son stood close by, crossing his arms and avoiding eye contact with the crowd. The man cleared his throat a little and stroked his graying beard questioningly.

"Alright, everyone," He said loudly so that all could hear him. "It seems like we may have been abandoned to our own devices down here. We have no idea where the rest of our families are, and it seems like we won't really get far if we don't start doing something soon. Now, we can either search the Vault until we find them, or we can start settling things and making sure we have enough food and stuff to last us."

Immediately the crowd began to murmur to one another and whisper questions or suggestions between one another. A few brave voices shouted out, saying things like "Let's find food!" or "Can we pry the other doors open at all?" but before any decisions could be made, the Vault began to shake violently, and everyone screamed and huddled together into one big mass, hoping that nothing would fall and kill them.

Evan ended up clasping onto a little girl who seemed to have no one else to hang on to. She seemed a little bit younger than his sister but equally as scared and lost as he imagined her to be, so he held this one tight and hoped the shaking would stop soon.

When it did, the lights flickered a bit and the room seemed to settle into an eerie silence. Evan looked around at everyone else who were just as concerned as he was as to what just happened. Some people burst into outrage after a moment; the Vault was promised to be safe, and they were promised to have a life with their families sans all of this confusing activity. Others began to cry, and whether it was for fear or for longing, Evan couldn't tell.

He himself felt his heart squeezing under the pressure. Part of him wished he could have just died outside with his family. Another part of him wished that he'd been sent upstairs. Even if those people were dead, or just as scared and alone as he was, at least he'd have his sister to hold on to. This little girl seemed to appreciate his grip on her arm, and even held on tightly to his hand with hers, but she was not Sophia.

The man at the stage sighed, running a hand over his face. "Listen. I don't know if the Vault is going to hold up for long. None of us do, really. But it seems like we're out of options. Someone form a group to scout out the kitchen. Other people find out where the beds are, and anything else we could use. We need to inventory our supplies and ration it out equally. We need to-"

"Who says you get to order us around?" A voice in the crowd retaliated. "You're not the Overseer! You're not a Vault-tec! Why do you think you have any say in what we should and shouldn't do?"

The crowd made some uneasy noises and seemed to sway a little as people looked to one another in contemplation. Evan himself felt the same curious thoughts that this man seemed to be speaking; why did they have to listen to this stranger talking at a podium? Shouldn't they wait and see if anyone was going to come down and assist them?

The man at the stage nodded curtly. "I understand your disdain for my orders, but I'll have you know that I served in the military, and I know how to keep order and survive. If you haven't noticed, it's been hours since we've had any inkling of guidance from the people who are supposed to be keeping us happy and safe. I feel it's necessary to act, even if it feels odd or not needed right now. I'm sure you're all hungry and tired anyway, and we really should do something instead of standing around like shepherd-less sheep."

"He's got a good point," A woman said loudly at one end of the room. "I say we put it to a vote. Anyone who wants to go with the Brit's command?" Almost unanimously, everyone's arms went in the air. The few who didn't agree with the man on the podium just crossed their arms and dealt with the fact that things weren't going to go their way.

Before Evan decided to go off with one of the search groups, he knew he'd have to finally acknowledge this kid who seemed to grow attached to him. She had blond hair and bright blue eyes, and almost looked like a doll to him. He knelt down and asked, "What's your name?"

"Molly," She said softly. "Molly Burton. What's yours?"

"I'm Evan Mitchell," He said slowly. "Do you have anyone down here you know?"
She shook her head after looking around. "I think my mom was sent upstairs like the others. I wish they didn't do that."

"Me either," Evan muttered. "Listen, if you want me too, I'll look after you until we find your mom, okay?"

"You'll do that?" She asked astonishedly. Her eyes widened as she looked at him, and her grip on his hand tightened even more. "But, but what if she's never found again?"

Evan bit his lip for a second. He wasn't sure how willing he was to think that far because he was fairly certain that there had to be some way to get to the group above them, but it was a possibility he may never see his sister again. He buried his urge to break down at the thought and shook his head. "Even if we can't find her, I'll stay by you, okay? I have a sister who's nine years old up there, and I'll be looking for her too."

"I'm six," Molly whispered. "Is your sister brave like you?"

"I'm sure she's being very brave. And you are too, you know. It's scary, but you'll be okay if you face your fears, okay? I want to go help the other adults, so if you stay here with the other kids, I'll be right back."

"Okay," Molly whispered. She looked down at her shoes and let go of Evan's hand slowly. He stepped away and looked back a few times before catching up with the group who were scouting out the other rooms of the underground building.

This group contained a few adults and some teenagers looking for something to do to be useful. He tagged along at the back end of the line and tried to listen as the leader of the line announced what was up ahead of them.

"Some hanging wires, be careful," She called behind her. "They might still have electricity running through them. It's kind of damp down here, too." People whispered between one another. Evan pocketed his hands and peered into the darkened windows as they passed each locked room. Some rooms were empty and others had unlabeled boxes of stuff. When the group approached an open door, only a handful of people were sent in to retrieve anything of use, and the rest of them kept going on. The Vault seemed incredibly huge, and would have easily fit everyone that had been separated to the upstairs rooms. Evan was beginning to suspect that things weren't as they seemed.

"You, go in that room with Helen and Jacob," The leader of the group pointed at Evan. It was at that point that Evan realized the group had dwindled down to just a few people, and there was only two open doors left in the hallway that hadn't been entered yet. Evan said nothing and just followed whom he assumed Helen and Jacob were, and felt the walls for a light switch of some sort. The room was almost too dark to see as he scrambled around and nearly knocked everything over in the process.

"Be quiet," Helen hissed. "What if there's something in here that could hurt us?"

"Like what?" The guy named Jacob replied. "A rat? Some stupid spiders? There's no one down here but us, Helen."

"You never know," She muttered, opening a crate up and examining the contents. "What if they put us down here because there's actually no hope of surviving? What if they plan to kill us all, or something worse?"

"I feel like they would have done that by now," Evan suggested. "They've had plenty of time to gas us or gun us down as we entered through the gates. And they could have just left us all outside. Everyone out there is dead anyway."

A silence dropped over the room for a moment, and Evan started to regret what he had said. They all had people they loved who hadn't made it to safety. Whether they had family upstairs or on the surface, it didn't matter. What mattered now was surviving in this abyss.

Evan had discovered a couple of medical supply boxes and decided to carry them out with him. He noticed that the other little groups of people were carrying back their finds as well, so he followed them down the hall back to the atrium where the children and anyone who decided to hold back were staying.

People stacked bigger crates to one corner of the room and started to separate and observe findings in the middle of the room. He left the medical supplies on the floor next to a metal picnic table and looked around to see if there was anyone taking charge other than the guy who'd been on stage just a half an hour ago.

"Is there anyone down here who was a doctor before the war?" Someone called in one corner of the room. "We'll need to start an infirmary or something so that if any of us get sick or hurt…"

"Put all food in this kitchen," Another voice called. "We have a full kitchen, but not much food in it. If you find anything…"

Evan felt that familiar tug on his shirt sleeve, and looked down to find Molly clinging to him again. He patted her head softly and wondered what else he should do in the meantime. She tugged again after he'd noticed her, so he knelt down to hear what she had to say.

"I'm hungry," She whispered. "Is there anything to eat?"

Evan looked around. The people who'd been finding the food and putting it away were also putting together a pot of stew, it seemed. He nodded and stood back up, holding tightly to her hand. "They're making food for everyone, don't worry. Let's go find us a place to sleep, okay? It looks like they've found some mattresses in the other rooms and they're bringing out some metal bunk beds."

"Okay," She mumbled. Her small fingers were so cold between his fingers, he wondered if she was feeling okay. Not that anyone was really okay; he was sure that there would be a lot more crying later that night as everyone tried to get to sleep.

Grabbing one of the thin mattresses that was stacked near the hallway door, he walked over to where a few guys were putting together some bedframes. Without a word, he helped the men out, and after twenty minutes, they had a few more beds together and pushed against the long stretch of endless wall.

"Why are there mirrors on this wall?" One of them asked. "I barely like lookin' at myself in the mirror when I shave."

The other guy chuckled, and added, "Yeah, it's too bad we all gotta see your face every wakin' moment!" They laughed together and patted each other's backs before moving to the next bed. Evan stopped and stared at what they had. Some other people were bringing over the empty crates and making dividers for each bunk. A little bit of privacy was going to be appreciated.

Molly sat on the bottom bunk of the bed and twiddled her fingers together. She stared as Evan handed her a blanket and a pillow and began setting the bed up for them. "Do you want the top bunk or the bottom one?" He asked her. She just sat quietly on the bottom and stared down at her hands. He frowned, concerned that maybe there really was something wrong with her, and then placed his own blanket and pillow up above her on the top bunk. He hoped they put it together right, because he didn't want the bed coming crashing down on her.

"Here you go," A woman tapped his shoulder, holding a stack of crates. "Make yourself a wall between that bunkbed and your own. We have so many crates and nothing to do with them."

He did as he was told and observed how everyone else was constructing their walls. The crates were big but lightweight, so it was easy to stack them and place them carefully together. A small living space was created for him and Molly. He figured they could also drape an extra blanket over, sort of like a door.

After making his bed and jumping back down from the top bunk, he turned towards Molly and sat next to her on the edge of the bed. She still hadn't moved much or said anything, and even the overwhelming aroma of food being cooking in the kitchen just across the atrium wasn't enough for her to ask again for food.

He patted her back and tried not to get teary eyed as he thought of his sister, who must have been so scared without him or their parents. He hoped that maybe someone who was missing their sister or something was comforting her up there while he was down here with this little girl and making sure she was okay.

"I'll get us some dinner," He said softly. "We can use this extra box as a table, okay?"

"Okay," She whispered. She was speaking even quieter than before. Before leaving, he placed the back of his hand against her forehead, just like he would have done back at home for Sophie. Her head was burning up hot. He left the room and walked toward the medical equipment first.

"You find anything else?" A man asked as he stared at a pile of stimpacks. "I heard there are some rooms back there that can't be opened but have even more medical supplies lying about. Has it been opened yet?"

"I don't know," Evan said precariously. "But, um, I have a little girl who's getting really sick all of the sudden. She's over by my bunk. Um, is there anyway you could… look at her?"

"I can see what's wrong with her in a couple of minutes," The man said. "How old is she?"

"She's six," Evan replied. "And, she's burning up really bad. I don't… I don't know what to do."

The doctor pressed his lips into a thin line but nodded curtly. "I'll go over now, then. She sounds like she's got the flu, or some other sickness. It is - er, was - flu season up above. We need to minimize the spread though, so I'll go and give her some medication."

He got up, and Evan quickly went over to the kitchen and got a couple of bowls of soup. He figured she would need to eat some, especially if she was going to have to get better quickly. When he reentered his little cubby of a home, the doctor was already looking down Molly's throat and asking her how she felt.

"I don't know," was all she seemed to be able to say. Evan set the bowls down on the crate-table and knelt on the floor so that he was eye-level with the girl.

"You need to rest," The doctor concluded. "And take this medicine." He set the bottle down carefully on the table, between the two bowls. "Just like I said, it sounded like the flu. Keep her here, don't let her wander too much. We don't want anyone else getting ill, especially now. Goodnight you two."

"Goodnight," Evan said as the doctor left. He settled down on the bed next to Molly like before and urged her to eat. She drank the broth and ate some of the soup, but she seemed to have lost her appetite completely after a while. The medicine was gooey and purple in color, and she made a funny face when she tasted it, but only minutes later, she was curled up in a ball and falling asleep against her pillows.

Evan kept sitting next to her and watching her, making sure she didn't stir too much in her sleep and wasn't getting any worse as time passed. He thought of Sophie and hoped that she wasn't getting sick like Molly was. For the first time since entering the Vault, he felt tears escaping his eyes as he tried his best not to dwell on the past and only look towards the future of surviving down here.