It's recently come to my attention that my fic actually has one eerily similar element to a real Fallout game. One I never even got around to playing! From what I understand, New Vegas has a near identical story point about the main character getting shot in the head but surviving. This is a coincidence of tremendous proportions, though I imagine the reason the character survived is quite different. Still, I'm not sure if I should be pleased that my ideas are so plausible to Fallout canon, or just feel embarrassed that I accidentally copied a plot point without knowing it. But it is what it is, I guess!


Chapter 15 - Us or Them

"Come on! Hurry, Sylvia!" Jim heard his father shouting from ahead as they ran.

It was almost impossible to hear him above the din of the crowd, above the yelling and screaming.

"Just give me a second, Darren!" Jim's mother groaned, staggering to keep up with a hand on her round belly, "Ugh… the baby's…"

"Hold it in, woman!" His dad shouted, "The Vault is right there!"

"I don't know if I can…" She groaned again through gritted teeth, stumbling a bit.

Jim stopped alongside her as he held Viola, who had only recently roused, letting his mother lean on his shoulder to steady herself.

"Mommy's all sweaty," Viola mumbled groggily, rubbing her eyes.

Jim heard his father curse and sprint back over to them. In the background, Jim could hear a sobbing woman begging the Vault-Tec guards outside of the Vault tunnel to take her baby. They just shoved her back into the panicked crowd.

"Here, everyone sit down! Quickly!" His father ordered as he helped his mother sit down.

He hastily threw open the briefcase he'd been carrying ever since they'd left the station wagon behind. Inside was an assortment of needles and other medical devices. Jim watched his father prepare a needle, moving to jab it at his mother.

"Wait! What is that?" His mother tried to protest and lean away, but she wasn't able to lean far enough and the needle jammed into her arm.

"Some Med-X for the pain," His father answered quickly, tossing the syringe aside to pick up another.

Jim watched curiously as his mother was poked with this second needle, which he recognized as the one he'd seen his father holding when he'd first arrived home. That couldn't have been more than an hour back, but it already felt like a lifetime ago.

"And what's that one?" His mother asked worriedly.

This time she didn't get an immediate answer, with his father just tossing the needle aside and grabbing an identical one.

"...Darren," His mother began uneasily, "What was that?"

"James, come here," His father ordered, all but ignoring his mother.

Nervously flicking his eyes between both parents, Jim sat Viola down into the grass, which was still damp with morning dew. Then he moved over beside his father, offering out his arm. Wincing slightly as the needle pricked him, he watched the bright yellow liquid disappear.

Jim felt woozy for a moment, his vision steadily growing blurry. When the blurriness didn't fade, Jim took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, he was startled by the sudden clarity. He glanced down at the frames, still in his hand, then over at his father questioningly.

"Daddy, I want one too," Viola pouted and nudged at his leg.

"You already got yours earlier, sweetie," His father answered quickly as he snapped the briefcase shut.

"Dad…" Jim began, but his father ignored him to scoop up the briefcase and Viola as he stood.

"I'll explain later, we don't have time," He said quickly, "Come on! We have to get inside!"

Jim helped his mother up, and they proceeded towards the clamoring crowd. Jim grabbed the back of his father's coat while holding his mother's hand tightly as they began to push into the frenzied throng.

"I said get back!" One of the guards shoved at a man attempting to squeeze past him, "Nobody gets in if they aren't on the list!"

"Wait! We're on the list!" His father shouted, pushing to the front.

"Name?" The guard looked at him skeptically.

"My name is Darren Alden. A-L-D-E-N," His father explained loudly, having to shout over the rest of the crowd, "I'm with my wife, Sylvia, and my two children, James and Viola. We should all be on the list!"

The guard glanced over at the one beside him, who held a tablet. The other guard looked at the tablet, scanning the aforementioned list.

"Daddy, I'm scared," Viola said nervously, "When can we go inside?"

"It's okay, sweetie. It's okay," Jim heard his father say as he stroked her hair with the hand that held her, "Soon, okay? Soon. I promise."

"We got a hit on the list," The second guard said at last and Jim saw his father's face crest with relief.

"What'd I tell you!" His father smiled at Viola then moved to go forward, but the guards stopped him.

"One hit," The guard clarified, making his father's face immediately drop.

"One?" He blinked, going pale, "But I… But… my family was supposed to be…"

"Oh, it's not you," The second guard shook his head, drawing confusion.

"Huh?" His father furrowed his brow.

In response, the guard just turned and pointed at Jim, who was still frozen clinging to the back of his father's coat.

"You're James Alden, right?" The guard asked him.

"I… huh? Me?" Jim gasped, looking around as if it would have somehow been some other James Alden.

"You were born on the 1st of March in 2059, correct?" The guard asked, to which Jim could only nod.

"Y-Yeah, but, my dad—" He began.

"Isn't on the list," The guard interrupted, "But you are. So hurry it up, boy."

"But the whole family should be… but without me, how… " His father furrowed his brow, appearing equally confused.

"Look, buddy. We've got one name on the list. James Alden," The guard explained impatiently, "So is he going to come in? Or will he be staying out here with you and these other fine people?"

"I.. I… just… give me a second…" His father stammered.

"Buddy, I don't know if you noticed, but we don't have much time to chit-chat here!" The guard finally snapped, "Is he in or out?!"

"I-In!" His father answered quickly, making Jim's eyes widen, "Just… Just give me a second to say goodbye!"

"Fine, but make it snappy! We don't know when the next bomb is dropping!" The guard held up a hand, "You got thirty seconds!"

Darren nodded briskly, turning and yanking Jim out of the crowd, practically pulling him off his feet. They hurried away from the noise, but not too far.

"I-I couldn't hear anything," His mother grunted, holding her stomach with her free hand, "Nng… Darren, how much longer?"

"Daddy? What's wrong?" Viola asked innocently, "Why're you crying?"

"Oh God," Sylvia whispered, bringing her hands to cover her mouth, "We're not getting in, are we?"

"James…" His father turned to him quickly, "You need to listen to me."

"Dad, I—" Jim began, desperately wanting to apologize to him for some reason.

"James, just listen to me!" His father cut him off, gripping a hand on his shoulder tightly, "You remember where I work? I took you to the lab one time when you were younger. Do you remember?"

"Y-Yeah, the big building with the—" Jim managed to say before getting cut off again.

"Inside, there's a safe. It's a special—"

"Dad, what are you—"

"We don't have time! Just listen!" His father huffed, "There's a safe. It's got a biometric lock. You got that? Biometric."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it!"

"It'll only respond to your blood, okay? Only your blood!"

"H-Huh? My blood? Err, yeah, okay!"

"Inside of the safe is—"

"Last call!" The guard shouted.

His father cursed, pulling him into a hug before pushing him away.

"Dad—" Jim managed to croak, tears beginning to fall.

"That's it, we're shutting the Vault!" The guard shouted, and Jim's father shoved him away towards the Vault again.

"Don't forget the safe!" His father shouted, "Now go!"

James took a few steps back, taking in the sight of his family for one final moment, before turning and sprinting towards the Vault. He was able to reach the guards just in time and they pushed him past towards the tunnel. James looked back towards the crowd, just able to make out the solemn figures of his family amidst the flailing mass of people desperately trying to get in. Then they were gone as he was yanked away down the dark, damp tunnel.