We are born in the Vault.

Those metallic halls, ever so cold under the warmth of fingertips.

We live in the Vault.

No everlasting sky, no clouds of dust stirred by skin-flaying winds.

We die in the Vault.

No shit-stained, putrid-smelling, ethic-lacking, grotesque jumblefuck of a mess this world had become.

Shitshitshitshitshit-

And no fucking man-eating, monster-sized ants, either.

The chittering bastards were clipping at her blistered heels (she never imagined socks could have become such a rare commodity) and their bone-breaking pincers nearly snagged the hem of her vault suit a few times. She bounded over rocks and ducked under fallen powerlines like an ersatz Olympic event, pounding her feet against the scorched earth with enough thundering bravado to make a stampeding herd of brahmin envious.

An ant nipped the backside of her thigh, erupting a squeak from her mouth and a second gear in her legs she didn't even know she had. The looming eyesore of Megaton came into view soon after, and the burning in her calf muscles told her it was do or die if she even merely thought of slowing down.

A few gunshots rang out from the sniper's nest- ol' Stockholm provided her life-saving pest control.

Again.

Evelyn gasped as she finally slowed down at the gates, her hands on her knees and her heart threatening to be puked from her chest. Beads of sweat rolled from the tip of her forehead and down the curve of her nose to drip on her boots; dirt-streaked hair clung to her skin like thin snakes, the loose wisps winding around her throat and licking at her cheeks for a taste of salt.

The groaning of rusted metal became her fanfare to usher her back inside. Evelyn raised a hand in kind as the sniper just shook his head at her naïve stupidity. With this track record, she was on a straight and narrow road to an early grave.

Thanks Dad.

After the gates had closed behind her, a few strands of hair were brushed from her nose (it tickled), and the creeping wedge of her soaked, sour-smelling vault suit was fished from the crack of her ass. She bumbled over the metal plumbing (nearly tripping) towards her new home in this wild atomic wasteland. It had only been a month since she had escaped with her life from Vault 101, a mere month since she had woken up to this never-ending nightmare of parental ghost hunting and day-to-day survival training. Not even all of the downloaded archives in the Vault's system could have prepared her for this school of hard knocks.

Thanks, Dad.

She fumbled with the key in the lock before swinging the door open to a spartan Feng Shui setting. A knife-knicked table that wobbled under pressure, a chair with no backside, a locker that raped her ears every time the door was opened, and a (horrifyingly) stained mattress that she hadn't bothered to lug up the stairs yet. Although, it was better than the musty, dank body odor seeping from the corners of the common house...so she had that going for her, at least.

The Mister Handy by the name of Wadsworth hummed about its duties and tactfully bitched about her entrance after she simply stripped her filthy suit to the floor and splashed cold water on her sunburnt skin, dismissing its earlier hard work without even a breathed apology.

Evelyn nabbed at a wastelander's outfit, cringing at the texture of the stiff fabric itching like sandpaper along her salt-crusted skin. Dressed, hydrated from a bottle Wadsworth had condensed for her, and somewhat sated after stuffing slimy Cram down her throat, she curled into a ball on her bed (tried not to think about the mysterious bodily fluids she laid upon) and closed her eyes for an escape from it all.

She dreamt of bright fluorescent lights.

We are born in the dirt.

We live in the shit.

We die as God intended.

Alone.

"How'd it go out there smoothskin?"

Evelyn raised her eyes over the untouched drink set before her. It smelled like piss.

"Just...peachy," she mumbled, belting a loud sigh and spinning her beer bottle in a circle. She righted it before it toppled. "Almost made it to the Super Mart...but ants found me first."

The ghoul bartender working behind the counter gave her a half-hearted shrug while spinning a grimy rag inside a glass. "Hey, at least you came back in one piece...can't say that for everyone."

A teasing smile quirked her lips, dampening her mean quip behind a flash of white teeth. "Such as yourself?"

"I still got all my toes, smoothskin," Gob rasped with a low chuckle. "Nice try."

His hazy eyes then took a quick peek down her vault suit, instinctively making her fingers tug the zipper up to her neck. He didn't seem to notice the correlation as he went about his job with a damp cloth on the counter and a lighter mood from her company.

Don't make anything out of it, kid. Men like these would eye the backside of a brahmin if they knew they wouldn't get caught doing it. Nova, the saloon's only working girl, had imparted the sage advice (that only young women who were forced beyond their years would know) the third time she had come around. Every guy is going to stare at you like a piece of meat...just make sure he actually pays for a good cut, first. Sex sells, kid, and you got a nice face with huge tits.

Evelyn inwardly shuddered at the thought. It was beyond uncomfortable going from the awkward sexual outcast in the Vault to suddenly catching the eyes of nearly every man she passed. She wasn't stunning like Amata, whom the horny boys had begun to not-so-discreetly pine over, but the stares made her feel vulnerable. If she wasn't prey outside the walls, then she was just a cornered mouse within them.

"Ya goin' to drink that kid, or just stare at it to empty itself?"

And if she wasn't busy being either of those things... then she was Moriarty's new favorite torment.

The Irish saloon owner (and general prick) leaned in close over the counter, wafting his thick breath down her throat. "If you're goin' to be a distraction to my barkeep, I suggest you fucking leave." He then stood straight, a beaming grin smug on his face. "Alright, girly?"

Evelyn shrugged herself off her barstool, throwing him a glare. "Sewage smells better than this crap." She then stomped off and slammed the door behind herself before any nasty remarks could be thrown at her back.

Still...the biting rudeness dissolved her tough exterior into a sniveling mess by the time she entered back inside her 'house'. That old fuck was somehow crueler in five minutes than all of Butch's harassment from the past five years.

"Oh dear...trouble, Madam?" The floating robot inquired as she burst inside.

She only threw Wadsworth a withering look, effectively silencing the robot into begrudging comments regarding her uncalled-for attitude. The time on her Pip-Boy read approximately two-thirty in the afternoon...plenty of daylight to test her suicidal tendencies once more.

"I'm going out," she informed him after shrugging on her dusty, sun-bleached tunnel snake jacket.

Butch would have been so disappointed as to its condition...but meticulous care of frivolous things didn't help in keeping her alive.

Not much did, actually.

"I hope to see you alive and well!" Wadsworth remarked cheerily after she stepped back out into the sun. She heard him mutter to himself lowly, "Or neither...perhaps."

The squealing metal gates then rolled shut behind her, Stockholm's head shaking as she set off into the wastes once more.

Shit-ohfuck-nononono-!

Super-Duper Mart had been just on the horizon, and for the first time in weeks, her heart swelled with optimistic hope at the sight of possible food, water, and as the sun began to set, shelter.

Too bad a batch of radscorpions had beaten her there first.

Her boots kicked up dirt and her screams were lodged behind panicked gasps as she sprinted to relative safety. She wasn't in a million years about to hightail it back in the dark- even her bar of common sense wasn't that low- but the longer she fled the more attraction she unwittingly chased; a few mongrels, a molerat, hell, a fucking upright human-sized crab thing became her abomination parade. They all congregated in a nasty fashion of screeching choirs and blood spilt baptisms amongst each other, and by the time she had spared a glance behind herself, the mutated crustacean was happily nibbling on its three-course meal (and twirling a mongrel limb like some macabre baton).

Evelyn took respite among the boarded-up houses she eventually bumbled into, grateful for a moment to catch her breath and puke spittle to the side.

Too bad a group of super mutants had beaten her there, too.

This then led to a brief chase- thank God they were so unbelievably slow- and here the cowardly field mouse came upon an abandoned train station, holing up in a small grocery shop on the corner and barricading herself inside.

A box of Sugar Bombs was snatched from the top shelf and torn into with animalistic tendencies, a Nuka-Cola was popped and guzzled, and before she had a chance to check her map to see just how fucked her distance from home now was, she heard the tell-tale sound of a certain creature that made everything else in this hellscape seem like child's play.

Radroaches.

The rotting doorframe was slammed open, a crystal clear audible shriek yowled out of her chest and into the nighttime air for all to hear, and just as she careened down some metro steps and tripped on her own foot, a weight of something broke her fall (and almost her face).

No...not something.

Someone.

And by the sheer size, someone big.

...shit.

Evelyn grunted, rubbing her sore nose while tears sprung from the corner of her eyes. She peered up a little too quickly, and coupled with the fact she was overheated from physical exertion, and that a tidal wave of stale cereal and fizzy soda were waging war inside of her stomach...well-

As far as I can tell, you're a perfectly healthy 16-year-old girl, so, yes, you have to go to class to take your G.O.A.T exam.

Splat!

The vomit violently rushed up and splashed over their boots.

Congratulations, looks like you're going to be the Vault's newest garbage burner.

If anything could have taken her back to that day, she would have promptly grabbed it by the hand and dragged it off herself. Nothing, absolutely nothing was as equal to or rivaling this new embarrassing incident she created for herself (not even the time when she had accidentally walked in on Freddie Gomez and Christine Kendall doing the nasty in the lower level of the reactor). ((Yuck)). Still, she would witness it all a second time than be prepared to face the dire consequences of puking on somebody's feet.

Evelyn gagged at the smell of her own sick, wiped the backside of her hand across her mouth, and sluggishly raised her head to promptly apologize. The weight of the stare looking down at her from this ginormous fucking ghoul was so overbearing she felt her knees begin to buckle.

"Oh-oh my God," she managed to gasp. "I'm so fucking sorry-" A rancid burp escaped her lips, and before she could continue in her heartfelt tirade, she slapped a hand to her mouth and dashed past the chain link gate into the shrouding darkness of the metro tunnel.

A faded sign for the women's restroom made her veer a sharp right, but before she could even make it to the toilet for a decent spot to relieve the rest of her stomach contents, she ended up keeling over with her hands on her knees and screwed her eyes shut as she retched loudly enough to have it echo down the whole tunnel.

Garbage burner.

The acid burned her throat.

I could've been happy doing that.

The blur of tears blinded her vision.

Who fucking cares, I would've been safe.

Globs of drool hung from her lips like slimy spiderwebbing.

Why couldn't you just let me live my life, Dad?!

After she wiped the mess from her lips a second time, she turned around to a solid brick wall of ghoulish muscle and palpable ire mere inches from herself. She knew she was being loud, but she should have at least heard someone that fucking big waltzing around. The surprise gave her a fright, and she squeaked and bumbled into her own slippery mess as an instinctive reaction to flee.

She blinked in the dim lighting under the flickering fluorescents. It was too dark that she couldn't quite make out the detail of him, but he was close enough that she could see he was visibly angry.

Fair- she would've been pissed at the person who puked on her and ditched, too.

"I'm so sorry, I honestly didn't mean anything by it," she explained with building anxiety. The dude was just standing there, staring at her...as though he was ready to grab her by the skull and smash it into the tile. Oh God, if he was, she prayed it would be fucking quick-

"Water," he rasped.

His voice was completely flat and void of all emotion, a complete contrast to the raging fire blazing behind his eyes. They glowed down at her like hollow furnaces, blue and piercing in the black shadow.

She stared at him dumbly, too frightened (and mortified) to respond in a respectful manner. His boot crushed some small rocks as he took a step toward her, his voice low and gravelly.

"Water," he repeated.

With her mouth still slightly slack-jawed, her fingers became their own entity as they fumbled inside her jacket pockets uselessly. She didn't have jackshit on her.

"Uh, uh-uh," she stammered. "I don't have any."

He leaned over, his hot breath choking her own. "Then go get some."

Holy fuck, he was huge. He could easily pick her up and toss her across the room. She glanced at the butt end of the shotgun holstered to his back, briefly scented the thick musk of his sweat and gunpowder laced to his leather clothes. He was the biggest man she had ever seen, and at that moment, she had managed to piss him off.

"O-Okay." She nodded stupidly, carefully bypassing him like one does a stalking predator to then sprint out of the women's restroom.

When she came to the chain link gate a second time, she paused for a moment. Water? Where the fuck was she going to get some...and why? She should just keep going, run as far as her remaining stamina would take her until she returned to the safety of Megaton's walls. He wouldn't follow her- she didn't think- and she would hopefully never see him ever aga-

An ominous presence stirred her from her thoughts, and she turned her head.

The ghoul had somehow managed to sneak up on her again, uncrossing one arm from over his chest to wave it at her, the nonverbal message clear. Go. He then refolded it, and as he lowered his face to be partially concealed in darkness, his burning eyes told her another one. You better come back.

Another head nod, and she now found herself standing just outside the open doorway of the grocery store that was the catalyst of this whole mess. Thankfully, the radroaches had taken their leave, and so she scurried around inside with the light of her Pip-Boy until she found a carton of dirty water. She would come back for the rest of the goodies after smoothing over her little(big)...misunderstanding.

"Here." She came back and held it out, forcing herself not to flinch as he took it from her hand. "Sorry it's not purified; I hope that's okay..."

She then watched as he took a swig, and then dumped the remainder over his black boots to rinse off the vomit.

Oh.

"Hey, who the hell is this?"

The unknown voice forced her to squint through the darkness around him, and the big ghoul slightly turned his head to address the question. She could make out another ghoul, no, two ghouls, both armed and noticeably skittish. The one wearing some cracked spectacles lifted a necrotic finger directly at her.

"This isn't part of our deal. What the hell is Ahzrukhal trying to pull? You trying to blow our whole operation?!"

Evelyn wished she could have simply melted into radioactive goo to dissolve through the floor. This was all blowing way out of proportion- she was just trying to get to that stupid fucking Super-Duper Mart!

The big guy halfway blocking her appearance cracked his neck with a sharp tilt to the side, and then ignored her existence entirely as he turned his back to her. Apparently, she wasn't even considered to be a minor threat to have him expose himself as such. When he began to march towards them and she slowly (and unsuccessfully) tried to sneak back outside, the spectacled ghoul raised his voice so loudly it made her jump.

"Whoa there smoothskin, where are you going? Get over here." He then murmured something to his rifle-toting partner, both keeping sharp eyes on her timidly advancing form. "That's right, nice and slow, don't get all jumpy." He briefly turned to the big guy. "You were just going to let her scram?"

Evelyn felt incredibly small under all of their glowing stares as she halted within a reasonable distance.

The red ghoul studied her for a moment with bored interest, a complete 180 from his previous smolder. "She is not with me." For a second time, he turned away from her. "Let us continue."

"Yeah, hold on a second, you'll get your chems." The ghoul went to bypass around, but he was grabbed by the shoulder. Even from her spot, she could tell it wasn't a friendly gesture by any means.

"Now," the big guy growled. He ignored the one with the gun aimed at him and spun the smaller one around. "Do not keep me waiting."

"Alright- alright. Barrett," he addressed his partner, wincing as he felt the iron grip tighten, "bring her inside."

She stiffened as he came around from behind, bumping her with the barrel of his gun. "C'mon, and don't try anything, smoothskin."

Oh my God, I'm going to get raped, or eaten, or-or-

A million scenarios whirled around inside her noggin, resurging a new wave of cortisol and adrenaline through her nerve endings at the endless possibilities of how this shitty day was going to get exponentially shittier. She followed them down the tunnel, rounding through a service door that opened up to some sort of makeshift drug den. The ghoul addressed as Barrett forced her to stand in a corner, and she hugged her arms close to her chest while she quietly observed them with wide eyes.

"Here." A large duffel bag was set on one end of a table, followed by an equally impressive sack of caps on the other. She didn't think it was possible to carry around that much money. "Nice doing business with you."

The red ghoul unzipped the bag for a peer inside at the wares, being methodical and taking his time as he inspected the stash.

"Jesus, what? Ahzrukhal suddenly not liking his stock?" the ghoul noted with irritation.

The big guy ignored him and went about his task as though everyone else in the room simply didn't exist.

Evelyn scooted herself as close to the wall as she could when the other two finally gave her their attention.

"Alright smoothskin, you mind telling me who sent you?" the smallest of the three rasped.

She furrowed her brows. "Sent me? Look, I was trying to get to the Super-Duper Mart and I..." here she trailed off lamely, feeling heat burning her cheeks, "got lost."

"What? Got lost? Where are you coming from?"

"...Megaton."

"Megaton?" The ghoul blinked. "So, you came all the way out here, alone?"

The implication made her snap her mouth shut before she could respond with something stupid.

"No...I have friends," she lied. She hugged herself just a little bit tighter as Barrett's gaze awkwardly drifted downwards. "They're waiting for me outside."

This seemed to agitate the ghoul even further. "So you did bring someone?!" He scoffed and went about in a craze around the room, beginning to pull items from shelves and place them in assorted bags. "I fucking knew it. We're going to have to move, damnit."

"I won't tell them you're here!" she blurted at his unexpected panic. "I'm just trying to get back home. Just let me leave, and you'll never see me again."

"Hah, nice try, smoothskin. I won't be taken for a fool." The ghoul tossed something across the room into a bin. "Barrett, go check outside for more of these friends. Tell me what we're dealing with."

The room emptied of just one person, his footsteps swift and muttering peeved. The big guy was still assorting through his inventory...she had completely forgotten he was even in the room; he was so eerily quiet.

"I'm not here to cause any trouble," she started, but the ghoul who had quickly left just as quickly entered back inside.

"She's lying Murphy. We're clear for miles around."

Murphy paused before shoving a Bunsen burner inside a pack, and instead, he came close to brandish it in her face. "This can go one of two ways, smoothskin, you either start telling just who-"

A gloved palm landed on his shoulder and cleanly pushed him into some metal shelving. The big guy thrust a finger down at the table where he had set some canisters of jet to the side.

"These are defective." He then snapped his eyes at her, his whole aura extremely pissed off. "Get out."

Evelyn didn't argue or question him- not even the other ghoul made a stand- and so she hastily dipped from the room, for once blessing the breath of the cold night air and drinking in its vast open sky.