The transition from depressed sixteen-year old to slightly less depressed nineteen year old was a long, hard journey which resulted in many relapses and suicide scares. But Gloria pulled through, somehow, and finally made it to her nineteenth birthday.
Amata was with her the entire way. Holding her hair back as she threw up, gently rubbing her back as Gloria cried on her shoulder, trying to cheer her up and helping her eat.
It was hard not to fall in love with her. Young love was something so pure and innocent; she never wanted to leave her side.
But she had to do this alone.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Amata asked as they neared the clinic. Gloria avoided her eyes, staring straight ahead at the endless grey hallway, nodding. "He needs to know. Even if it ends badly, he needs to."
"Gloria," Amata pulled her arm, then twirled her into a soft hug, "I'll be outside, okay? Good luck."
James was humming an old sea shanty when Gloria walked into his office. She smiled, a bit nostalgic and sang "daddy's gone to sea and now he's gone" to finish the verse.
He looked up from his work and smiled back, "It Came from the Sea. Remember when I used to sing it to you?"
"Yeah, you had a pretty terrible singing voice." She crossed her arms and leaned against his desk, "What're you working on?"
"Oh, nothing," His smile seemed a bit sad, and she wondered what was wrong, "Just cleaning up a bit."
"Is there an inspection tomorrow? Shit I didn't prepare-"
"No, no sweetheart. I wanted to start anew."
Gloria laughed, "That's going to be pretty hard since we're stuck here until we die. Where do the dead bodies even go? Do they throw them outside?"
"I don't know, maybe you'll find out when you're older."
"Is it part of the Vault Physician's job to throw away dead people?"
He chuckled, "No, luckily it's not," He paused, then shut the terminal screen off and turned to face her, "Was there any reason why you wanted to come see me?"
Her face fell. This was it. She was going to tell him.
She had to tell him.
"I..." She looked away from him, taking in a few deep breaths, "I'm..."
"Gloria-"
"I-I'm gay." She stuttered out, grasping at the ends of her sleeves. She sniffled a few times, then furiously wiped at her eyes. "I'm a lesbian, Dad. I'm sorry I don't-"
James stood up and pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the top of her head, "Don't you dare apologize."
She pulled away, staring at the floor and wiped her eyes and nose, "Please don't kick me out of the Vault."
"Gloria Louise Hill, don't you ever say something like that again. I love you, sweetheart, and I would never let that happen."
She wiped her eyes, finally looking up at him. "Thank you, Dad."
He pulled her in for another hug, then ruffled her hair, "Now get to bed, it's a big day tomorrow."
She pulled away and nodded, and before she turned around and said, "See you tomorrow."
He smiled, trying not to cry. He had to leave, and Gloria couldn't come with him. She would be safe here in Vault 101. She had to be.
"James," Jonas snapped him out of his thoughts. It was around three in the morning and he had to leave soon.
"Sorry," He apologized and recoded his message to his daughter, clicking off the holotape recorder and handing it to his boyfriend, "Please watch out for her."
"You know I will," Jonas smiled.
Nightmares weren't a problem anymore, not like they were. But that night, Gloria had one of the worst ones, until Amata interrupted her slumber, eyes frantic and her body stiff.
"What're you-"
"Gloria, you need to get out of here!"
Gloria blinked, "Why?"
"Because… my dad, he-" She paused to let out a sob, wiping tears from her eyes.
Gloria sat up and placed her hands on the other's shoulders, "Amata, take a breath."
"Your dad left and mine… he- He killed Jonas!"
"Jonas is dead…?"
"And you're next if you don't hurry up."
She pulled on a jumpsuit and glasses, trying to understand why he would kill someone.
Her dad was gone. Gone… how?
"My dad's not… you know."
"No, he left the Vault! And my dad is ordering a lockdown. Gloria, he's going to kill you."
She should have expected this.
"I know a way out, but you have to be quick." Amata interrupted her thoughts,
"Not another one of your 'plans', Amata..." She groaned, putting all of the Stimpacks and Med-X from the first aid kit in her bag while Amata continued, "I don't have time to explain everything. You're going to have to trust me this time. Listen. There's a secret tunnel that leads directly from my father's office to the exit. You'll have to hack the computer in his office to open it. Use this to get into his office. That's how I always got in." She handed Gloria a key card. She put it in her pocket, then returned to packing up.
Let's see, water, underwear, her newly built electricity rifle, a fixed up power fist, and her BB gun and some pellets. Yeah, sounds good enough.
"What makes you think this tunnel won't be guarded? It could be a trap..."
"We don't have time for this! Trust me, security doesn't know about the tunnel. Just my father - and me. Maybe this pistol I stole from my father will make you feel better. Go ahead, take it, and then let's get out of here." She pulled out a 10mm pistol, but Gloria pushed it back into Amata's hands.
"No way, you keep it. I don't do guns."
"Well... okay. I guess it may come in handy if I run into any Radroaches." Oh, lovely, a Radroach infestation.
"All right. I'll try to meet you at the exit. Watch out for security. Good luck!" She ran out of Gloria's room, and left her standing there. She finished packing and ran out of the room a few moments later.
"Hey! Stop right there!" A security officer said, but got distracted by a Radroach. She snuck by him and turned the corner and ran down the hall.
After rounding another corner, She ran right into Butch, who looked terrified as he grabbed Gloria's shoulders tightly, making Gloria panic a little bit.
"You gotta help me! My mom's trapped in there with the Radroaches!"
Oh, thank God he only wanted her help, but still she chuckled, "Butch... asking me for help. If only you knew what 'irony' meant." She pulled away from him, but he grabbed her shoulder again.
"Yeah, I'm asking you. So what. Look, I'm sorry for the way I've always treated you. You know I never meant any of it, right?"
"An apology won't make everything better."
"I know, but can you still save my mom? You can't leave her in there with the Radroaches!"
"Why do you need my help, anyway? Afraid of a few Radroaches?" She shoved him away from her.
He looked at the floor, "Well... yeah, so I hate Radroaches. So what? I tried to go back in to help her, I swear I did! But I can't do it! So I'm begging you, please help her. I don't know what I'd do without my mom."
"Fine." Gloria sighed and marched into his house.
"Oh my God, thank you. I didn't know what to do. You're the best." Butch called out after her.
His mom was screaming and trying to hit all the Radroaches with an empty bottle of whiskey, and Gloria swooped in and stomped on all of them. Easy-peasy.
She quickly scanned Mrs. DeLoria as Butch returned and hugged her tightly, nearly crushing her, "We did it! My mom's gonna be okay! You're the best friend I've ever had, man! Hey, I know it isn't much, but I want you to have my Tunnel Snakes jacket," he slipped it off and handed it to her, "Go ahead, take it."
She took it and stuffed it into her bag, looking a little confused, "Um, thanks," She said, then jogged back into the hall and glanced back at Butch, who was trying to comfort his mom.
She shook her head and continued on.
With minimal confrontation, Gloria was starting to wonder if every security officer was taking a break or something, when she happened upon Amata being questioned by Officer Mack and her father. She crouched down so they couldn't see her.
"Gloria's my friend. I was worried about her. What does she have to do with any of this anyway?" Amata sounded like she was crying.
"Probably nothing, which is why you need to tell me where she is, so I can talk to her." The Overseer said.
Amata pulled out a gun, and Officer Mack pulled out his police baton, holding it in front of the Overseer, "Watch it sir! She's got a gun!"
"Amata! Where did you get that gun?" The Overseer yelled.
She backed up against the wall, still pointing the gun at the two, "Get away from me! I don't want to shoot you but I will. I swear I will!"
"How dare you threaten me?! And with my own gun! I'm your father, damn you, and you'll show me some respect!" The Overseer said, then turned to Mack, "Don't just stand there!"
"Don't make me take that gun away from you, girlie. Hand it over nice and easy now." Mack said, walking closer to Amata. She seemed to panic and shot Mack, then gasped.
"Amata!" the Overseer yelled. She ran out of the room and into her apartment, not noticing Gloria crouched against the wall.
Well, shit, that was anticlimactic. Gloria stood up and carefully walked into the interrogation room, and when the Overseer saw her, he looked downright murderous.
"I hope you're here to turn yourself in, young lady. You're already in enough trouble as it is. Don't make it worse for yourself." He crossed his arms.
Gloria sneered at him, hand tracing the metals of her rifle, "If you ever lay a hand on Amata again, I'll make you regret it," She tried to threaten him. It didn't help she was more than a foot shorter than him.
"I place the good of the Vault above everything, even my paternal feelings. We must not allow sentiment to cloud our judgment! But I admire your protective instincts—Very well. I give you my word, Amata will not suffer further because of your actions."
She wished he would stop blabbing, but he continued, edging on her aggression. "If you really care about Amata, you will see how dangerous your father's actions were. Hand over your weapons, and put an end to this dangerous situation. There's not need to join your father as a traitor to the Vault."
"No, you give me the password, and then I'll be going."
"Oh, is that all? Is there anything else I can get you while you're here?" He said sarcastically, "You'll get nothing from me. I'll die before I see the safety of the Vault compromised again."
She sighed, then smacked the Overseer in the head with her gun. He stumbled over, gripping his head and grunting in pain while Gloria shoved him into the wall behind him and stole the password and key right out of his pocket. She kicked him for good measure, then walked out into the other room, locking the door behind her.
Amata was sitting on her bed with her head in her hands. She didn't look at up at Gloria when she arrived. "Oh my God. I had no idea my father would... I had no choice. Officer Mack, he..." She sobbed. She wiped her eyes and pushed the 10mm in Gloria's hands. "Here. Take it. I don't want it any more. I don't know what I'd do if I still had the gun and my father came looking for me."
"I'm sorry I didn't know that would happen-"
"Maybe it would have been better if you'd taken it in the first place. I don't know," She finally looked Gloria in the eyes, "You'd better get out of here. I'll try to meet you at the Vault door. If I don't make it... good luck."
Gloria gave her a half-smile, then ran out into the Overseer's office. She typed in the terminal password, and the entrance to the tunnel appeared under the desk. She ran into it, pausing to stomp on the Radroaches crawling along the floor, and stopped at the Vault door.
With adrenaline running through her veins, she pulled the leaver to activate the door, and it slid out and rolled out of the way with a metallic screech, and Amata ran in next to her. "You did it! You opened the door! My God, I almost didn't believe it was possible."
"Well, when I say I'm going to do something, I do it."
"You're right, I should have never doubted you!" Amata threw her arms around Gloria, and she smiled and returned the hug.
"Goodbye, Amata." She whispered.
She pulled away, her arms still around the other's neck, "Goodbye, Gloria. Listen, if you do catch up with your dad, tell him I'm sorry. For... you know, Jonas, and my father, and everything."
Amata leaned in and kissed Gloria gently on the lips.
Gloria pulled away and blushed, a small smile on her face.
"Sorry, I-" Amata began, and Gloria interrupted her with another kiss.
"It's okay. Be safe, Amata."
"Gloria-" She was cut off by security guards banging on the door behind them, "I love you."
Gloria smiled, kissing her one last time, "I love you, too."
She pulled away, taking a deep breath and stepping onto the dirt outside. The door slid back into place as she waved back at Amata, then screeched closed.
This was it. She was out of the Vault.
She turned back around to face the end of the cavern, a flimsy wooden door blocking her from the world outside.
She stepped up to the door, pausing before slipping a small pocket knife out from her backpack and ran the blade through her hair, the golden locks fluttering to the ground around her.
She opened the door into a new beginning.