6

"Wow, he's got different colored eyes." Dad exclaims. I nod. Dogmeat is a beautiful dog. Dogmeat seems to like dad. He pants happily as my dad pets him. I think my dad has always like dogs. He shows excitement to Dogmeat.
I hug my dad. Ever since he left the vault I started not to like being away from him. There is this weird feeling if he is with me he is safe. And when I am with him I am safe. Dad is the only one I trust in my life. No one else. That means a lot to me. Trust. I don't think I ever trusted anyone. Could I ever trust anyone else?
"How's the Project holding up?" I ask. Dad looks around, analyzing the scene. I smile. He is truly happy with this. He is definitely in his element.
"Well, it's going good; we just needed the scrap metal to get the equipment going." He says. I nod and smile widely.
"Anything I can do?" I ask. He nods almost immediately.
"Yes, I need you to drain the intake pipes. There is a vent down the hall from the main entrance. I nod willing to do anything. Dogmeat follows but I tell him to stay.

The pipe is huge that I walk through. I can almost stand up completely. My footsteps echo in the hallow pipe. There are lights hanging from the top of the pipe. It takes me awhile to find the drain switch. It's actually a valve. There are bars that show the outside. It is almost night and the grey clouds cover the sky making it more gloomy than normal.
I turn the valve until I hear my dad over the intercom. "You're doing well, honey." He says and then talks to someone else still with the intercom activated.
But something else caught my eye. I see a helicopter land on top of the building and soldiers in metal armor come out. But they aren't like the other ones I saw at Chevy Chase. Their armor is different shaped and different color. Something tells me something is very wrong, very wrong.
"Madison locks the door in the pipe!" my dad yells. I look at the way I came. What was my dad doing?
I look at the rest of the pipe in front of me. There is another bar door. I bite my lip and go through it. There has to be another way out. When I am through the door, the pipe drops straight down. I jump down it, franticly hoping I get there before anything happens.
When I land on the ground it is a hard landing. I moan but quickly get up and run to the entrance. I bust open the door. The first person I see is Daniel. I don't even waste my time with glaring.
"What's happening?" I ask. He glares at me but it softens a little when he sees my concerned expression. He breaks eye contact.
"The Enclave. That's what happening. If I find out your dad brought them here, I swear to god." He says. I sigh. I walk into the rotunda and I am followed by Dogmeat and Daniel. I see my dad with a man in a trench coat.
The rotunda is sealed off by a glass door. Running to the glass door, I can't help but having a worried expression on my face. Dad sees me. He has the same expression.
"By the authority of the president, this facility is under the government's control." The man in the trench coat says.
"The leader of this project is hand all material to the Enclave immediately." He continues. I don't stop looking at dad. I wanted to know his reaction to this, what he is going to do?
"That is quite impossible. All of it is a part of a private project. The government has no authority over this." Dad explains. Damn right, the government lost its authority over anything over 200 years ago. I shake my head slowly.
"You need to leave immediately." Dad warns. The man does not move. Through the glass I could feel the anger coming from him.
"So you are the one in charge, do I guess correctly?" the man asks.
"Yes, I am responsible for this project." Dad replies. I begin to get nervous. Really nervous. I gnaw on the inside of my cheek.
"Then I will repeat my request. You are ordered to hand over all material that is included in this project." The man says. My fist clench.
"I'm sorry, but that's… I can't do…" Dad starts. He is soon interrupted by the asshole that is making this a very stressful conversation.
"Furthermore, you are required to help the Enclave scientist who will be continuing this project at this facility at once." He says.
"Colonel is it? Look this facility has never been operational, it is impossible to do anything with it. You are wasting your time here." Dad says. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest.
"Sir, this is the last time I am going to repeat myself. Hand over all of the property that is related to the project." The colonel demands.
"This facility will not function. We have never been able to make it work. I am afraid you are wasting your time here." Dad repeats. The Colonel pulls out a pistol and kills a nearby scientist. I flinch when the gun fires. My heart stops. Dad could be next.
"Dad!" I couldn't help myself saying. Dad looks at me. I know how much he doesn't want me to be here, how he wished I stayed in the pipe.
"I suggest you do what I say sir. Or else I might have to kill you in front of your daughter." the Colonel says. My heart starts to beat but it pumps unbelievably out of control.
"Yes, Colonel. There is no need for violence." Dad says in a furious tone. My mouth drops as Dad goes to the machine to type something in.
"Give me a few moments to set the machines online." Dad says. I can feel myself shaking. This is the first time I am truly afraid for my dad.
"My patience is wearing thin!" The Colonel expresses. I can feel my hands getting sweaty. Dogmeat whines.
"Just one more moment." Dad says. Then there is an explosion. I jump. My Pip-Boy warns me that I am receiving radiation. Oh no.
All of them collapse. But my dad crawls to the door. I am gasping for air. Dad places his palm against the glass door. I place my hand where his was. I kneel. Tears sting the corners of my eyes. My jaw tightens.
"Daddy." I whisper. If he couldn't hear me he could read my lips. I could see the tears about to burst out of his eyes.
"Run! Run!" he yells. I am breathless. I refuse to leave him in there. My dad's eyes close and he collapses on the floor. I feel someone pick me up.
"No! No! Dad! Don't!" I yell. I try to fight the arms that hold me but in my current state, I wasn't strong enough. "Dad! Daddy! No!" I scream. My cheeks are drenched in tears. I pound on the hands. Dogmeat howls. The man pulls me out of the rotunda.
"No no no no no!" I yell. The man pulls me a latch in the floor and Dogmeat jumps down. We are now in a sewer tunnel. The man lets me go. It is Daniel and the scowl is gone with no trace from his face.
"No." I say quietly. I cry. Daniel pulls me in his arms.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He whispers in my ear. I sniff. Wiping my eyes I am pulled away from Doctor Li. I look at her with a slight glare as if this is her fault.
"You have to help us get out of here." She says firmly. I look at her with a 'what the fuck?' look. I shake my head unbelievably.
"What?" I ask. She wastes no time on replying.
"Look you are the only one who has combat experience. You can get us out of here alive." She demands. I sigh and then nod. My dad would have wanted me to do it.
"Okay." I sigh. I turn to the group. "Can anyone of you know how to use a gun?" I ask. Daniel steps forward.
"I can use a small pistol." He says. I pull off my backpack and look through with my .375 magnum. I hand it to him. He looks shocked.
"Wow. Really? Okay." He says. I put the pack over my shoulder. Standing straight, I look at Doctor Li. She nods her head in the direction ahead.
"Lead the way." She comments. I nod and continue to walk in the tunnel. Dogmeat is by my side. Garza and Li stay behind us and Daniel is by my other side.
We are confronted by a few ghouls but we easily take them out. When I say we, I mean Dogmeat, Daniel and me. Li and Garza cower behind us, covering their heads from possible blows from the hands of feral ghouls. The next challenge is when we see some Enclave soldiers. They're only two. I tell Daniel to take cover that I will take care of the soldiers. At first he doesn't want to cower down and have me, so vulnerable, take care of extreme soldiers, but follows my orders.
To be honest, I am excited to kill the Enclave soldiers. I think I had Daniel take cover because I wanted them to myself. I shoot my assault rifle around the neck and head area. In no time they are the ground. We run to the bodies. I loot the corpses. Placing the ammo for a new plasma rifle I have acquired into my backpack, I wave over to the group to move on.
It is not long until we enter a tunnel with the good men in uniform. I soon learn from Li that they are the Brotherhood of Steel. After finding a ladder that leads out to the wasteland, I let the rest of the group climb the ladder first. I soon follow. And when I enter the outside, I know I have lost the one thing I trusted, loved, and worshipped forever.