Blood from Vault 18

Life beneath the rocks

"Ah you return, did the monster prove too much for you?" the Voice of the Voiceless said as Kieron walked into the large cave that the slaves called home.

The faint lights painted an otherworldly picture. A brutal reality of dirt, rock and metal. There was no light and yet this people lived.

Life found a way to adapt, but this was inhumane "Charging against it like this would be suicide, I have a better idea" the Voice simply nodded as he waited to see what the bizarre man from above would do.

Kieron looked up at the metallic structure, the elevator to the surface seemed to go on forever but at the very top he could faintly see the torches. Elsdragon's lair, Kieron watched as the voiceless all looked at him with curiosity "they wonder if you miss the surface"

"Y-yeah… there is nothing like being free out there" he had spent just a few days out there but it was better than rotting down here. He saw the same girl that had been spying on him walk next to him.

She stared for some time and then she placed her cold hand on his chest, her finger gently caressing over the fading scar that Mandrake had left on him, their eyes met as she took a step back and did some signs to the man.

The Voice frowned but nodded at the teen "The young one wants to know how to help, she thinks you are special" Kieron shook his head "I am… not special trust me, I am flesh and blood just like you" his eyes turned to her and he gave her a small smile "Thank you but I don't want to put any of you in danger"

The pale girl felt a blush creep onto her cheeks as she looked at the Voice again "Ah, she wants you to take her as a bride. That would be good, no one here is of her age."

Kieron choked on his own spit and shook his head "T-tell her I will consider it, but now I need a way to detonate a large cave. Do you keep machines somewhere around here?" the girl grasped his hand as she led him toward a lower part of the cave. Piles upon piles of broken bits and pieces laid inside what had once been a container, Kieron nodded to himself and then got to work.

The girl quietly sat next to him as she handed him things she pointed at, Kieron was feeling a bit nervous around her for some reason. "So… what do you like?"

She tilted her head to the side as if questioning what he meant, she was tiny and her hair was surprisingly white. But her eyes where a shade of green that matched his, sitting down next to her as he built the contraption that would aid him taking down Behemoth "You know, food, sound. What makes you happy?"

A sad frown made its way onto her face as she shook her head, Kieron felt a pang of guilt at making her sad. Using duck tape he managed to stabilize the base of the harpoon "I like sports, have you heard of them?" a small shake of head. A small chuckle escaped from Kieron as he looked fore more parts "I kind of figured you wouldn't hear about it down here, back home… we used to do all sorts of things" maybe it was because he was lonely and fearful of what was to come but he told her about his vault.

How he had lived underground, the things that he had done the eyes of the girl wide and full of imagination. Then he told her of the outside, this caught her attention as she leaned closer to him Kieron smiled softly "One day you will see for yourself too" she shook her head and pointed at the elevator slightly out of view.

"The raiders… don't you worry about them. I will deal with Elsdragon and his goons" Kieron said as he looked down at his brand-new "weapon" he smiled at his handiwork and aimed it at nothing "Look at that, I knew hanging around Kira and Jamie would make some of their knowledge rub on me."

It was more a gadget if he was being honest with himself, a launcher that would assist in taking down the behemoth "All right, this should do the trick" Kieron muttered to himself as he walked out of the scrapyard. The girl followed him quietly she watched the scars on his back and on his chest.

Kieron frowned as he placed a hand on it "Elsdragon, my reward for injuring his men. At least they healed quickly" that was a flat out lie. Mandrake had shown him that he was not normal, that there was something wrong with him, Stimpacks where one hell of a thing but that did not explain why he could heal every wound in a matter of seconds, he wanted answers and the only man that might had an answer was gone like the rest of his home.

"A you return, this one says that you should stay here. Why risk fighting the beast when you can just become one of the voiceless, take her as a bride and strengthen our tribe" the Voice said as he spotted him. Kieron simply shook his head "I can't I need to save my friends upstairs… and I also have an idea to help the voiceless" this caught the attention of the small tribe as the momentarily stopped using their tools and turned to stare at him.

The Voice looked at him in curiosity "Help us? We do not need your help outsider" Kieron felt some glares "I know that but I cant help but wonder, are you truly happy down here?"

"Is all we know! We serve the ones above and we thrive underground" there was hesitation, a place to strike. Words like gunfire needed to be aimed correctly and he knew just where to shoot now, he pointed at the children hidden behind their mothers skirts, frail and pail the children did not look like they would las long here "They deserve to bathe in the sun, to live a normal life not one of servitude"

This seemed to get the attention of everyone as they stared at the Voice with a pleading gaze, he was the eldest among them he had the final say "Words are one thing, but to prove that you can actually help us…"-"I know, I will return with the head of the Behemoth and you will see that I am not just words"

Kieron opened the large that lead to the deeper levels of the mine only briefly stopping as the girl that had been following him around stopped him. She placed a small tribal necklace on him and smiled softly "Thank you, I will be back before you know it"

He walked a couple of steps inside the man when he heard a stealth boy being deactivated "Already finding someone to mate? Please don't, one of your kind is bad enough" Mandrake said as he walked up to him from the shadows "Just making new friends, you should try it sometimes. Would make you less grumpy"

"The only friendship I need human is with those that are of my kind" Mandrake said as he handed him the explosive that he had scavenged from the mine "Shame and here I thought that you were beginning to like me" Mandrake glared down at him "Do not forget as soon as we are out of here you are prey once more. But first… I will kill Elsdragon" this surprised Kieron.

As they walked towards the place where Behemoth lived he could not contain his curiosity and sked the supermutant "Why? Is not like he is in your way of your mission" \

"Right now, but do you see what they are mining here? The voiceless dig copper and iron, but what they fail to see, their invisible killer is that they are mining Uranium" Kieron stopped walking "Isn't that…"-"Yes, radioactive material. Why? I do not know, but it is a concern. The more I thought about it the more it made me realize that they might become a problem to the Father's plan"

Kieron hummed "So you are going to cut the head of the snake" \

"Raiders are nothing more than meat to feed the ghouls, dumb and greedy. Takes an Overlord to make them a threat, without him this all falls to pieces and after that… you are next on the list"

There was a pause as they reached the large cave "I will run"-"I will track you down" another silence followed as Kieron loaded the launcher "Then… lets make this fight one to remember"

"For friendship then" Mandrake said his voice thick with sarcasm, Kieron prepped his machine and fired.

A/N: Hi! Behemoth fight is next and after that I think I will make fewer updates but make them bigger in size. Also I updated the cover of the story after messing arround with an AI tool for a college paper. That's Kieron back in the Vault.

Thank you so much for your support, I really apreciate it!