Nate's POV
Flashbacks
"Vault 111! A better future… Underground."
We made it. But our whole neighborhood, they were still up there.
"So we just…"
"Yes. Up the stairs."
"I can't believe it… if we left a minute later… We all would be…"
The Overseer quickly cuts him off and suggests that everyone forget about what just occurred a few moments ago.
"No, no! Don't go get caught up thinking about that. You're safe now."
He then instructs us what to do next.
"Everyone just head up the stairs and through the door there."
As I began to head up, the announcement came on.
"Vault-Tec is here for you. All new residents please proceed in an orderly fashion. Welcome home."
I was on the walkway that connects to the other end of the platform. There were a couple of Vault-Tec staff and doctors that were waiting for us.
"Male. Female and infant. Male."
"Sir, step over to the table and get a suit."
"This way please."
"You'll need your suit before we head deep to the vault." Vault staff handed me a suit as I took it.
"Thanks. So what now?"
"Just follow the doctor here. He'll show you where to go?"
The doctor, dressed in a lab coat, was waiting for us.
"Ok you three, follow me."
"See, Shaun. This is going to be our new home."
"Oh, you're gonna love it here. This is one of our most advanced facilities. Not that the others aren't great, mind you."
We passed a couple that were worried and devastated that their remaining families were in Washington DC.
"My mother and father are down in D.C… Oh god, honey, what if they didn't make it?"
We walk down the hall, eyeing the weird looking pods.
" So what are these for?"
The doctor gave me an answer immediately.
"Oh, that's our new medical procedure. Just to scan and update you into our Vault file so we can keep track of you and to see if there's any medical information we may have missed."
"So how long do you think we'll be down here?" Nora asks.
"Oh, we'll be going over all that orientation. Just a few medical items we have to get through first."
"Just checking everyone off the list as they come in."
We pass one of our neighbors as he and his wife admire their jumpsuit," So what do you think? 'Prepared for the future.' Right?"
"The suit is designed to be fashionable as well as comfortable."
"Alright, just step in here and put your vault suit on." I then put on the jumpsuit and what do you know it fits perfectly and I was admiring it.
The crying of Shaun brought to my attention while Nora tried to calm him down.
"Shh… it'll be okay. Daddy's right here." Nora was looking at me and I knew she needed help.
"Who's my little guy? I'm not going far. I'll just be over there." Immediately he calms down and snuggles into Nora's arm once more.
"There he is. Daddy's not going far." Nora comforts him as I slowly depart to my pod.
"The pod will decontaminate and depressurize you before we head deeper into the Vault. Just relax." The doctor assures us and walks off and through my glass window, I could see Nora as she places her hand on her glass as if she was trying to reach out to me and I did the same. I couldn't stand being apart from them even if I'm just a couple of steps away.
Breathing heavy, I look at my family not knowing that this will be my last word with them.
" Time for a whole new life."
"Residents are secure. Occupied vitals: Normal. Procedure complete."
All of a sudden I started getting cold. Really cold. And fast.
Then I could see the frost quickly spread on the glass and then the announcement continued.
"In 5…4…3…2…1."
Then nothing.
…
"Manual overdrive Initiated. Cryogenic stasis suspended."
I felt like I had just woken up inside a freezer and started breathing heavily like I haven't been breathing for a while. When I open my eyes, I try to get them adjusted as my vision is blurry.
As soon as my vision cleared, I saw a white figure walking up and pointed out at the pod that Nora and Shaun were in.
"This is the one. Here."
It was a woman in a white hazard suit and she wasn't alone. A man with a bald head, wearing a metal brace and carrying what looks like a heavy revolver.
"Open it."
They open the pod and Nora takes in a full air and begins to cough as our son cries out to life.
"Is it… is it over? Are we okay?"
"Almost." The man quickly tries to assure Nora that it's ok. But I was wrong.
"Everything is going to be fine."
Then the woman in the hazard suit reached out and began to try and take Shaun from her.
" Come here…Come here baby …"
Nora was confused at first but deep down I knew that she felt that something is wrong here as the lady is trying to take Shaun from her. "No, wait. No! I got him!"
I began to pound on the glass, desperately trying to get out to help Nora. Then the man with the metal brace raises and aims his revolver at her.
"Let the boy go. I'm only gonna to tell you this once." He threatened as she tried to hold on to Shaun from being taken.
"I'm not giving you Shaun!" I kept pounding on the glass and hoping that he wouldn't do it. Please no.
BAM
Nora's lifeless body jolted back into the pod. I froze.
Please. Please tell me I'm dreaming! That I'm in a nightmare! No! No!
"NORA!"
The cries of Shaun caught my attention as the woman in hazard began to soothe him.
"Goddamnit! Get the kid out of here and let's go…" He then walked up to my pod and I took a long good look at him. Bald and a scar right on his left eye.
" At least we still have the backup…" Backup? What does he mean? I kept pounding on the glass until my fist got a little bloody. And then I started to feel cold again. No… no,no,no. They're freezing me up again.
"Cryogenic sequence; reinitialize."
I was out cold… again. It felt like it's been minutes when I heard the announcement again.
"Critical failure in Cryogenic Array. All Vault residents must vacate immediately."
My pod opened and I tried to stand but immediately I fell straight down. Trying to get my legs to adjust, I took a deep breath. Filling the warm air into my lungs, I began rubbing my arm to try and bring warmth back to my body… Nora.
Getting up, I walk up straight to her pod, looking around trying to get it open.
"Come on! There has to be a release button!"
There was a control pad on the right, I pulled and activated and her pod opened.
"Come on. Come on. Come on. Oh, god…"
She was just laying there, frozen.
I felt the tears dropping down from my eyes and face. I couldn't protect them.
"I'll find who did this. I'll get Shaun back. I promise."
I didn't want to leave her, but I had no choice. I have to find Shaun.
I looked around at the other pods, but they show no signs of life. Nothing.
"I can't be the only one left. HELLO! ANYONE?!" They all froze to death.
Why? Why would Vault-Tec do this?
I began to walk and leave the room.
As I entered the hallway we came in, I came across what looked like a cockroach but bigger.
What the hell… Giant roaches?
I enter the office with the remains of a human skeleton…
"Where is everyone? What happened?"
There was a terminal computer with the logs of the Vault-Tec security, I began to read them.
SECURITY [LOGS]
[October 27, 2077]
God. It finally happened. The world's over. Barely got all the residents inside. Not everyone made it…
Now it's just us and the icebergs. I don't get it. Eggheads tried to explain to me that keeping them frozen is a big experiment. For a better future or something. I don't know. It doesn't seem right that we were smiling at them all that time before putting them on ice. Shouldn't we have told them something?
They were experimenting on us? We were just guinea pigs? The pods. They froze us for an experiment?!
I went back to the logs and clicked another one.
[December 25, 2077]
Christmas underground. Got together with the rest of security boys and support staff and had a little party. Best gift that got handed out was a Fancy Lad Snack Cake that wasn't too stale.
None of the scientists came. Overseer wasn't there either. I just don't get them. They hiding something from us? Another company secret only for the higher ups?
Whatever. Just a few months until the All-Clear is supposed to come through. Then we could start rebuilding.
[March 14, 2078]
Only a few weeks left in our mandatory shelter period. Everyone's getting stir crazy. Some people are even saying the All-Clear signal is never coming. We can't stay here for much longer. That's for sure. It's not just the fact that I've been staring at the same break room and bunk bed for over six months. It's the fact that we only have enough food left for a few more months. Tops.
The Overseer keeps telling everyone to be patient. Focus on work. He's definitely keeping us out of the loop. Something bad is going to happen. I just know it.
I just didn't want to read anymore but the last log was the last of this security guard type of what had happened here.
[LAST ENTRY]
No All-Clear from Vault-Tec is coming. We need to leave. We're all but out of food. I almost murdered Stanley for dropping a damn salted cracker on the floor.
A handful of us confronted the Overseer about opening up the Vault. I never knew a man that small could shout that loud. Now he's lock himself in his office along with the rest of the science staff. We're supposed to hand over any food, weapons, and medicine we have by tonight, or "there's going to be consequences."
I've talked to everyone. It's time. One way or another, we're getting out of this Vault.
It sounds like the Overseer and his scientists only care about their experiments more than the well-being of the staff. No one made it out then.
I continued to make my way to the Overseer's office to see if I could open the main door from the terminal there. I opened the door and across the room, I saw the giant roach. And to my left I see a baton on the table and quickly grab it and whack the roach before it is aware that I'm there.
After stomping and hitting a couple of roaches, I finally made it to the Overseer's office and on his desk was a 10 mm pistol with three packs of ammo, three stimpacks, and his terminal. On the floor is the remains of a skeleton with a white lab coat. One of his scientists probably. No matter, I log in to the terminal and I see the Overseer's log and begin to read them to see what he and the scientists were up to.
[Preparations]
Staff orientation complete, all but a few of the residents down in Sanctuary Hills have been enrolled and several from Concord as well. The Vault-Tec supervisor came up this week to do a technical review with me. This Vault is ready to open.
I can only imagine what wonders our residents will get to witness. The notion of leaping forward in time - I almost wish I could join them and see the promise of our future realized.
They all knew. And said nothing.
[October 27, 2077]
It's happened. We were all lucky that most of the staff were nearby when the early warning came through. We had less notice than expected, but Nordhagen was missing when we sealed the entrance.
Residents Admittance went smoothly. Everyone made it, even the family that waited until the last minute. I was worried there would be more suspicion, but things happened so fast for these people. They must have been too overwhelmed to question the cryogenic pods.
[Mutiny]
A faction led by the security personnel have turned on me, demanding they be allowed to leave the Vault. Idiots. I will not open the door to be irradiated to death out there.
I'm consolidating the remaining supplies, putting the staff on lockdown. We're going to have to start prioritizing who deserves what little food we have left. I've been damn too generous with the rations.
If people don't like it, well…that's fewer mouths to feed.
I read enough. I proceeded to open the office door to get back to the surface. From what the logs said, there's no more food, so all the more reason to leave. I reached the main entrance to where we first entered and found two skeletons remains there so I checked them. One had on just a regular jumpsuit and the other with a lab coat and a small mini computer on its arm. I went to the remains of the lab coat and once I picked it up, the forearm came straight off and look at the title on the mini computer that says pipboy 3000. After examining it, I put it on and a little small cartoon vault dweller appeared on the screen, was doing a scanning initialization and then gave me a thumbs up, saying that I'm good to go. Now I'm ready to leave.
I went and activated the button with the help of my pipboy and the alarm started going off as the announcement came back on.
Vault door cycling sequence initiated. Please stand back.
It began to open the gate and I walked to where we first came in and walked back on to the platform that brought us here.
Enjoy your return to the surface. And thank you for choosing Vault-Tec.
The ceiling opened and the sun was the first I saw, but I quickly shielded my eyes. Waiting for them to adjust and when they did, I saw Sanctuary Hills or what was left of it. Some of the neighborhood houses collapsed, there were hardly any leaves or a fresh of green grass anywhere.
I was so focused on the scenery, when someone from behind me called out to me.
"Hey!"
I quickly turned around and what I saw was a strange dressed black armored man. None that I ever saw and wore a helmet with glass covering his face.
Then I remember, he was probably with the people that killed Nora and took Shaun. Not thinking twice I ran and tackled him to the ground.
"YOU BASTARD! WHERE HE IS?! WHERE DID YOU TAKE MY SON?!"
…
"What the hell are you talking about?" The strange armored man said.
"I don't have your son!" He then got out of my hold and managed to pin me to the ground.
"Look, calm down. I have no idea who or what you're talking about. If you calm down, I'll let you go and we'll talk. Alright?" I was still, but had to go along with him and see how this plays out. And so I nodded, and he got off of me.
Looking back at him, I was more focus on his helmet.
"Who are you?" I'm curious about the strange man. He was packed and loaded for just a regular soldier.
"Corporal Xavier of the ODST, sir." He gave me a salute.
"What does it stand for?" The man, Xavier, looks at me like I'm crazy, like I should know, but quickly dismisses it
" Orbital Drop Shock Trooper," he then takes his helmet off and I can finally see what his features are.
Tan hard skin, with black hair, and hazel eyes. He has a good strong set of jaws and a small scar that you can barely see on his right cheek.
"And you are?"
"Nate. I'm a Vault dweller."
"What's a Vault dweller? Are there more of you? Is there any way to contact the UNSC?"
"I'm the only one left. What the hell does the UNSC stand for?" Something is off. What the fuck is he talking about?
"United Nation Space Command."
…
"You're joking right? Please tell me right now that you're fucking joking. I just lost my wife and my son was taken from me."
He looked at me with pity and confusion. I don't want that.
"I'm sorry for your loss, but I am serious. I'm from the year 2552."
I just stared at him. He was a time traveler?
" Are you trying to say that you're from the future?"
" Yes but not of this reality, though." That was even confusing.
" So what you 're trying to say is that you're from another dimension? Another earth?"
"Yes."
"So how did you get here?"
"I was on a mission, and an explosion happened and I woke up here. Now I'm trying to find a way back to my universe, because my mission is far from over."
Hey guys, sorry for the wait again. A lot has happened this past week. I found out that something happened at work and that it was bad that i can't say anything about it. So me and my co workers were given the day off and go on as usual. Chapter 3 is still developing. Had some help with Chapter 2 and edited it a couple of times and doing the gameplay of fallout. I found just now that they are actually making a fallout series now. Hope it will be better than the Halo series. Will that's that and have a wonderful Merry Christmas.