Fallout: Vault 69 (Closed)

[Lexavier]

"FUCK! Ouch!" I cried out, hissing as I waved my blackened finger back and forth in the air. It was a little difficult to differentiate the scorch mark with the black grease coating my digits, but the pain was clear enough. Undeterred however, I gritted my teeth and bent forward once more, forcing the cable into the socket roughly with an electronic whine. With a released breath of relief, I rested both elbows on the bulbous chassis of the robot and lay my chin on the cold metal, peering through the dark hole I'd cut into it. Fans and motors where beginning to whir and internal diagnostic lights were flickering. All good signs. With a cheer, I pushed the whole thing back and stood, stretching my back like a cat and letting out a yawn.

"Oh... when did the sun come up?" I murmur to myself, pushing the goggles up to rest among a nest of fiery red hair, squinting slightly as I gazed out the tiny crack in my garage window. The sun was blazing down on another beautiful autumn day. Turning away from the window, I had to blink a few times to adjust my eyes back to the dimly lit workshop I'd hidden away in for the last god knows how many hours. Reaching into the cut hole in the side of the Robot I flicked a switch. Three eyes blinked open and the little engine burst into life, lifting the 'Mister Handy' up into the air with a 'putt putt'.

"Ha! General Atomics eat your fucking heart out."

"Som...Ing... ott... rye...t" The thing juddered, the disjointed voice emenating from the three speakers mounted on each stalk under the strange insect-like eyes.

"Hmm, close..." I muttered in reply, idly rubbing oily hands over the tank top that in some past iteration could have been called 'white'. Frustration fluttered through me and I felt the urge to kick something, though other than my prized tools, nothing came easily to hand. Instead I pushed my hands into the deep pockets of my leather jacket and walked sulkily from the room.

In complete comparison to the messy workshop, my small house was relatively tidy despite being filled with every gadget and technological advancement I could get my hands on. I even had the latest television set blasting out the news in perfectly pixelled greyscale. I usually ignored it but the urgent tone of Bob Buckworth the newsreader caused me to pause.

"Followed by... yes, followed by flashes. Blinding flashes. Sounds of explosions... We're... We're trying to get confirmation... But we seem to have lost contact with our affiliate stations... We do have... coming in... confirmed reports. I repeate, confirmed reports of nuclear detonations in New York and Pennsylvania... My God..."

The set went dead. Not the TV though, the broadcast. Bob was just... gone. His words rang in my ears, and suddenly I was straining to listen outside. There were screams, sounds of hurried footsteps and panic. I tore open my front door and was assaulted by a crowd of people. All the people from the town it seemed were hurrying down the main street to the town centre. Confused and crying children were pushed along by scared looking parents. It was obvious where they were going of course, but barely any would actually make it to safety. I dashed back inside, irrationally reluctant to leave my tools. The Robot still buzzed around, the corruption causing it to bash into walls or the ceiling. I gave it no further thought as I scooped up my knapsack and ran out into the street.

It was chaos. Hefting my little bag under one arm, I pushed my way through, using my petite stature to slip through the gaps or squeeze between people. I was panting heavily from both exerion and the heat from so many compressed bodies by the time I reached the central square. If the main road was bustling, the town square was worse. In the very center behind a sturdy metal fence, well armed and armoured men held back the crowd with sheer force of presence. A few people were filtering through their screening process but only those that could make it to the front.

I barrelled in. It was suffocating. The people behind pushed forward and the people in front resisted, trying their best to create an impenetrable wall as they themselves worked their way to the front. The ground was sometimes lumpy and tears stung my eyes when I thought of the possibilities of what or even who I was walking on. Through some act of miricle, I popped out of the front into the small empty space between the gate and the crowd. I was too busy taking gasps of air to notice the rotating barrel of a minigun being thrust in my direction and the harsh 'tinny' words coming from the man clad in complete power armour leaning over me. Finally I looked up, coughing out my name. "Alex... Alex Tailly".

Hands grasped my shoulders, heaving me inside the fence line to the disapproving roar of the crowd. When I finally found my feet, I discovered I'd been ushered all the way to the great vault doorway. "Vault-TEC Welcomes You" plastered in paint across the entrance way. As I crossed the threshold, I threw a guilty look back over my shoulder at the others. It would be too late for them. But not for me.

 

[KINKYCanada]

It had been a rough few nights for me and the boys and girls in Able company. Long hours moving and stacking what seemed to be an endless supply of Vault-Tec boxes and crates. "Fucking Logistics. Hendricks, did you join the corp to go into Logistics?" I asked the butchy looking young woman who at that moment was lifting a crate that weighed almost as much as her over her head. All the while with a cigar clamped between her stained teeth.

"Everyday's the same with you man. Bitch, bitch, bitch. Bryant, I didn't sign up to die like all those poor bastards in China that's for sure. Look it's a sweet gig. work hard for six to eight hours, drink, gamble I don't know maybe find some local who wants to fuck me instead of their wife. It ain't that bad!" Hendricks said after she secured the box. I knew this would be her answer and she wasn't wrong I had only been in this company for a few months and hadn't done anything to make my life better. But my grandfather had served, my father, hell even my three sisters were serving all in combat-ready divisions. I signed up one month after them and I had requested a combat division but I was slotted into Logistics. Now we were prepping a Vault. Getting all the things needed for life under the earth.

The Vault-Tec engineers would plan it, they would bring in their own construction workers but they wanted us to do the heavy lifting and as they put it, "Secure the entrance from prying eyes. Yet they all knew it was here, hard to miss with 24/7 floodlights and excavators going non-stop.


There were a number of good-looking women in the small community a mile up the main road. They hadn't been happy when they saw the sign that half their beautiful park had been fenced off for Vault-Tec. But unlike Hendricks I let them be. This wasn't the best idea either though I was pretty pent up and jerking off wasn't doing it for me. A few more months of this and Hendriks would start looking good to me. Almost all the Vault-Tec construction personnel were gone and now we saw a steady stream of men and women in white lab coats going in and out, we were no longer allowed within the Vault itself and banned from discussing anything with them. I knew they must be done.

"It's WAR..." A soldier came storming into the large supply tent four of us were in.

"What?" All of us said. But I didn't wait for an answer I grabbed my assult rifle and ran out to the command trailer that was set up.

"Captain Murphy." I called out A tall, grisled man I knew very well walked out to greet me.

"They did it son. They fired Nukes, most of the major cities have been hit. Look I need you to go help the Lab tecs inside the Vault, keep them safe from any one rushing in. Your big and intimidating people will be more apt to listen to you. It's about to be broadcast on the news the people will be coming and by the thousands, there is only room for two hundred of them. We have men to work out here. I know you wanted action well this is all I got for you, it's been a pleasure Corporal. Now go!" The captain said quickly. I saw six men in power armor and heavy machine guns maning the steel clad gate. So that was why we had to build such a tough parimiter fence. I ran back towards the Vault, I could already hear the masses coming. Thousands of scared women, men and children and there was room for only two hundred of us.

KC
https://encrypted-tbn0.***********/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTGloX5n-iuW1oujlvbpLwpHfklvNGG327u9MVbbKWnF0yXaMfk

Cole Bryant.

 

[Lexavier]

I huddled in the large entrance-hall with the others who had been allowed in so far. No-one spoke. Even the children didn't cry, though some looked like they had been. Unsurprisingly there were a lot of children, at least two to every adult here perhaps more. It made sense in a morbid sort of way, and having dealt a little with Vault-TEC, I presumed that they were following some plan they'd concocted years ago.

I'd done some bespoke work for them, a few bits and pieces they'd brought to my home to put together. Servos, gear locks, hydraulics. Never any whole pieces, just a mechanism that never gave me a whole picture of what I might be working on. Of course, everything I completed went down into the vault but I had never really minded. The work was interesting and had provided me a free placement within the vault should anything happen. Obviously I never thought anything would happen...

An ear-splitting loud thump in the distance brought me out of my ruminating. There were screams from outside, lots of them, and then... gun fire... and then the door was closing. A few people managed to slip through the gap but even some of the Vault-TEC technicians were seen scrambling for the door before it closed with a metallic hiss. We listened together in silence, listened to the sort of grit and wind hammer the cold lead composite door, listened to the sniffling and whimpering of the survivors... until someone cleared their throat. Up on a balcony was a man dressed in a Vault-TEC jumpsuit and a slick corporate smile.

"This way people. Welcome to your new life, underground!"

 

[KINKYCanada]

There was a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't believe it. Gone it was all gone. The enemy had fired the last weapon anyone ever thought they would. Of course, we could have fired first, no one knew the whole story and I doubted anyone ever would down in here.

I watched from an elevated deck, my rifle slung across my chest over my combat vest. I looked at the mass of people. Scared and alone. That was how it felt to me. There were over two hundred people in front of me yet I felt all alone. I felt a man brush past me. he was tall, thin and had the manner of a man who was used to being listened to. He was in a Vault-Tec jumpsuit. The bastard almost looked happy.

"This way people. Welcome to your new life underground." He said in a loud, clear voice. Most of the people looked up at him. Other Vault-Tec employees started coming out of the woodwork and guiding the people up.

"Alright soldier, please relinquish your weapon and fall in with the others there is no threat hear any longer." The man said turning to me.

"Excuse me?"

"You see that we have everything under control the Vault-Tec security team will handle it from here. We have never had you down as a person to live here, but now that you are here we, I suggest you fall in with the rest of the good people who all earned a place here." He said I saw two of the security team he was referring to. I didn't want to panic anyone or really fight. I gave it up and told him I would be happy to help with security when they need, seeing I was better-trained than the rent a cop they had. The two men gave chuckles and I walked off. I moved into line beside a young woman with dirty hands and red hair. She was damn cute and looked like a sexy mechanic to me. I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile, though I wasn't sure a fucking thing.

KC

 

[Lexavier]

As we fell into a rough column to file through to the next chamber, I was crowded in on all sides. Being a bit on the petite side, it was a little daunting to walk beside the well built man that joined me. I flash you a weak smile but my attention is quickly drawn back to trying not to get squashed by the crowd.

I was too small to see ovver the heads in front so instead, I calmed myself by looking at all the interesting mechanisms and components that came into view, wondering if I was looking at anything I had worked on. Pipes ran all along the corridor ceiling and junction boxes and storage cabinets lined the walls.

Eventually the line stopped, and those towards the back like us were forced to wait without much idea of what to expect. It made things worse when the reality was hitting some people, their sobbing breaking up the silence creating a tense wait.

It was hitting me too. The thought that nothing out there was left, everyone I had known would have died and even if they somehow made it, it would be very unlikely I would ever see them again. Not that I'd had much in the way of family, not ones I had spoken to recently. We hadnt been close, small blessing really.

I glanced up at you again, the only other person around me that seemed to be alone. A thousand corny attempts at starting a conversation ran through my mind but in these circumstances none of them seemed appropriate. I simply bit my lip and stayed quiet, throwing the occasional subtle look over at you and your interestingly fit physique...

 

[KINKYCanada]

As we were herded along, and that is the aptest word for what was happening, I knew everyone felt the same. Like cows to a slaughter. The line moved and stopped, moved and stopped. I knew there were a lot more people than Vault-Tec had wanted inside. But I also knew a lot of the people, mostly Tecs had not made it back in when the door closed.

It was then that the finality of it all hit me. My commanding officer had saved me, he could have chosen himself for the job, hell we had all the firepower we could have taken the Vault for our selves. But instead he, they all did their jobs while thousands of scared people marched on to get into it. Those soldiers saved every life in here and most would never give it a second thought. My sisters, my parents all gone, my folks lived in New York City, I knew that all the major cities on the east coast had been hit, if they were I only hoped it was quick. I put that all out of my head, it didn't do well to dwell on things one can't change.

I look down at you again. "Here get in front of me, it'll help keep the people behind you from pushing you over," I say during one of the lulls in the movement.

You were certainly alone here I thought, though not breaking down like so many were now, this told me that you had not been separated nor were you meeting up with anyone here as you were not looking for anyone, or calling out names like a few were. In some sick way, this made me happy like you and I were the only single people in the entire vault and this destined us to be together. Though I didn't believe in fate.

When we finally make it to the front I was sent to one side while the women were sent to the other. I was handed a blue coverall. "The last suit you'll ever ware!" The tired looking worker said standing beside a vault security guard and a hundred boxes full of differently sized coveralls. Yup like I said cattle. I took it and looked it over.

"Come on man. Vault 69. Are you serious?" I said with a big grin. Perhaps I should believe in fate.

"I know, I thought they'd skip that number. But no. I heard there's a Vault 13 too, happy to be here over that one hey." He said. Now I got why the line stopped so many times. This first worker was probably hit with a million questions yet here I was talking about the Vaults assigned number. Anyway I moved on to a change room filled with scared men and boys, I found a corner and took off my clothes, I saw that there were lockers for your personal belongings. I knew there wouldn't be any for me so I walked till I found one with no name. I opened it and put all my military gear into it stuffing my combat knife into my boot, that was one weapon they would not be getting off me. After I followed the arrows painted on the floor and was soon in a wide hallway I noticed women again and saw the sliding door they were coming out, I scan the crowd for you but with your height and the crowd moving the way they were I just can't spot you. "Fuck." I curse under my breath.

KC

 

[Lexavier]

The thought genuinely touched me, and I offered a sweet smile in return, sliding in front of you and breathing a sigh of relief not to feel that pressure surging behind me. The thoughts of the crowd outside still lingered in my mind, the way I had felt suffocated, it was almost like a sense of claustrophobia but it couldn't be that severe considering we were now in a vault underground. I shook my head to clear that line of thought, concentrating instead on the nice man who'd already gone out of his way to protect me. I threw a very brief look over my shoulder before straightening again. Not bad looking, I thought to myself, good to see that manners didn't die with the rest of the world...

As we reached the front, I gave the man a little wave goodbye as we each joined our own line. It seemed the women's line was taking a little longer as it was bogged down with children, most of whom remained stoically by their Mum's side, as if the trauma of the world's end was too far above the level they could comprehend, so rather than cry about it they just looked around like it was some kind of holiday.

"Name?"

The woman's face was drawn, and her eyes red. Despite her employment at Vault-Tec, she clearly hadn't been ready herself. She narrowed her eyes when I didn't reply promptly enough. "Name?" She repeated.

"Uh, Alex... Tailly..." She typed something into the terminal and nodded to herself. "Welcome home Tailly, here you go, last suit you'll ever wear." She said it with so much despondence that I just took the suit and ran. I held the fabric loosely between my fingers, disdain showing clearly. There was certainly nothing attractive about a blue jumper suit with yellow embellishments. Still, she followed the rules and went to change.

The changing room was chaos. Children everywhere, Mums trying their best to dress them while keeping a hold of their own emotions. I finally found a corner and stripped off, reluctantly removing the oily shirt and tight leather trousers. Once I was dressed, I found my locker, my name freshly stuck on the front, gleaming in the bright electronic lights. With a sigh, I left my jacket hanging there and moved through to the next room, feeling naked and alone.

A smile threatened to slip onto my face as I spy you 'scanning the crowd'. Silently, I walk to stand beside you and give you the smallest nod in the direction the staff were encouraging to go.

 

[KINKYCanada]

"How the fuck could I have lost her already?" I said under my breath.

"You looking for someone too?" A young man with a noticeable limp asked.

"What? Uh no sorry... Well yes but not from the outside." I said not wishing to engage with him. Not that I didn't like him, I just knew that he most likely lost someone right outside just a mere minutes ago and though I felt for him I didn't want to hear about it right then. I looked to my left and there you were. I gave you a small smile.

"Hello," I say as we start to move along deeper into the Vault. "I'm Corporal Cole Bryant. Though I guess as of now I am a civilian just like everyone else, guess it really doesn't matter what we were before." I say starting to ramble. A nervous habit I had when I was a young kid, I thought I had lost it but it seems nuclear war has brought it back to me. "So I'm guessing that you are not here with your husband or wife?" I ask trying to make small talk. Scared the whole time that you will spot another person you know and want to be with them. After all, I figure you must know many of these people have lived in the same town as all of them.

KC

 

[Lexavier]

We walked, all the while descending in the slowly curling corridor. Others shuffled along as well, despondent, scared. The gentle voices of the few staff encouraging people along doing little to allieviate the tension. I was content to walk in silence but it seemed my newest companion had other ideas.

I flash him a side long glance, trying to determine if it was a lousy attempt at a cheesy pick up line. With a slight smile of satisfaction on my lips, happy with the open look of genuine curiosity about you, I shake my head.

"No. Not married..." Feeling that you perhaps deserved a little more I continue after a moments pause. "Alex... my name I mean... It's Alex." Awkwardly I run a hand through scruffy hair, and grimace at how lame I'm sounding. Clearing my throat I plow on. "I uh... don't really know anyone here. I mean I lived here but... I prefer... ya' know?"

 

[KINKYCanada]

I listen to you fight through the beginnings of a conversation and have to giggle inside. Here I am trying to get on your good side, and not an hour ago the earth essentially went bye bye. Odd how certain humans deal with things.

"Nice to meet you, Alex," I say and leave it there. It was clear to me that conversation was not high on your priority list. I begin to take in our surroundings. I notice that the whole Vault seems colder than I had pictured it. "Life below the ground." That was how they sold it yet this didn't look like any sort of life to me. I felt like a rat in a large metal trap. Hell, there weren't even any pictures on the wall. My sister always told me that you can change a mood with just a few well-placed pictures. I didn't know what she meant till just now. I couple of reassuring pictures or calming pictures would I think go far in relaxing the tension.

We made our way from corridor to fucking corridor till once again it was men to one side women to the other. I turn and give you a small friendly smile and then off I go following the male masses in front of me.

KC

 

[Lexavier]

"And you..." I finish, though my voice struggles to fill the words and it comes out as more breathy than I had intended. I lapse into silence as we walk together, wondering if I had somehow disappointed you. I wasn't great with people, it was easier with machines and technology, they didn't quite have the same expectations of you.

Still, it was nice to have the space. People seemed to be giving the man a wide berth, creating a bubble of breathing room that satisfied my need for space. The dim lighting and the miles of rock that was now above us never actually concerned me though, I was half nocturnal anyway and probably closely related some kind of burrowing rodent in some past life anyway. But the people... being crammed together with all these people, and all the children to boot, was not my ideal getaway scenario.

I wondered if I could find some nice quite dark hole to tinker in when we were finally settled...

We came across another split and I return your smile with one of my own. Having you walk away was strangely upsetting, even though we'd barely spoken, you'd actually been a rather useful comfort. Now I was surrounded by just the women and children again, alone and more vulnerable than I'd liked to have admitted.

They didn't ask anything from me this time. Just scanned us with their Pip-Boys and ushered us down the corridor. I got one last look at your hulking frame before passing through a doorway into what appeared to be a chamber full of pods. 'A little sleep' they called it, or 'the cold nap'. Cute words for cryogenic freezing. Yet another marvel perfected by atomic scientists.

Slowly, sluggishly, I moved to a pod with my name printed in yellow paint across the front. It was faded slightly. This had been my payment, something I'd booked in a long time ago by the looks of things. The pod door opened with a hiss and I clambered in. It was just a little taller than I was, the cushions wrapping around my body snugly. When I was settled, a handsome looking man in a white lab coat covering his blue jumpsuit smiled at me as he stepped to the pod controls.

"See you soon." he said cheerily as he typed something in, making the doors close over me, sealing me in.

The air was slowly growing colder, I could feel it on my skin... Oh god this was it... my eyes went blurry, the man staring at me through the little window. I tried to reach out but my arms felt like lead... and then I was gone...

 

[KINKYCanada]

After we parted again, I began to feel more like a lab rat than a human. This, of course, was nothing new to me In the military you feel like that a lot of the time.

The men filed down in an orderly fashion at first but when we entered a large room with two floors of pods panic set in. A few of them tried to turn back stating they needed their wives or that they needed to see their kids before they took one step further. It seemed that their requests were being heard and they were allowed to walk back but I knew better, I saw the nods, the hand signals and I knew that they would be dealt with. Just get them clear of the mass, keep the others calm. That was their thinking. I didn't see the point in trying to change it now, I had nowhere to go! Dead out there or alive in here. If I was killed in some deep sleep fuck it I'll never know about it. Though I also didn't like the idea of being put under at all.

"Why are you doing this to us?" One man asked. A sweet looking lab tech came up to him.

"This is will clear you of all ailments, disease and make it safe for us to live together here. Remember one common cold could wipe us all out. So we cryogenically freeze you and cure you in a stasis chamber. You'll be out no more than a day!"

I had to admit they were smart to have good looking women talking to the men, it seemed to disarm them. I also knew that should he resist he would be forced in or worse. He was about to talk again when I interjected.

"Hey man it's not like you'll have a choice, those guards are carrying Tazer guns. They'll incapacitate you and force your urine soaked ass into the pod no matter what." He turned to say something then got a look at me. I gave him a small smile. "We're all scared dude but resistance at this point is pointless and will be dealt with harshly. Your so-called human rights... Well, they ended with the bombs falling. I don't want to die either and it does them no good to harm us so just go with it." I was thinking of you while I spoke, that was all the reason I needed right then. One thread of hope to cling to in this cold, sterile tome of a space. The woman smiled and the man followed.

"You better be right!"

"Or what?" I shot back, I hated tough statements that were uttered by people that couldn't substantiate them. He just bowed his head and walked on. A man walked up to me and led me to my chamber. It was the last one.

"Unregistered arrival, well you're in luck we had extra pods. Step on in and let's get it over with." He said in a steady tone. I just went with it. Thought's of getting to know my new friend on my mind. I felt sick as the chamber door closed, I wanted out now but knew that was not going to happen. I felt the cold coming and my eyelids dropping over my eyes. I was being put under and if I would wake again I had no idea. I was dizzy and almost out when I saw the man smiling at me. Then blackness.

KC

 

[Lexavier]

*****

"Now that is enough! Put the damn dress on and stop being such a spoiled brat!" My Mother's scowl was foremost in my mind, the look of unforgiving anger etched into her features. She was pointing to a ridiculous pink frilly dress that would make me look like a marshmallow. It seemed petty to outsiders but this was the last straw of a very long string of disagreements.

"For the last time, it's not about the fuckin' dress! I'm not doing your stupid pageants any more. No more dresses, no more make-up and no more feeling like no matter how well I do it isn't good enough for you. I'm sick of feeling like a disappointment!" I yelled back, one off stomping my foot in flat refusal. My Mother's evil side reared its ugly head as she sneered at me,

"You are a disappointment!" She spat.

A silence fell between us as that statement settled in. I shook my head and chuckled to myself ironically. I was foolish to think she'd change if I was honest. I grabbed my satchel and gave her once last glance before walking to the door. My Mother's sneer faltered and dropped.

"What... where do you think you're going young lady!" When I didn’t respond, she frowned, looking worriedly back at the dress. The door opening broke her from her thoughts. "You come back here and put this dress on, you can’t go out there wearing... that!" She moved to grab my arm but I was already striding down the corridor.

"Go Fuck Yourself Mum..." I said with barely concealed satisfaction. I reached the outer door and looked back at her with the biggest smile I could muster. The words formed on my lips, the words I'd said just before leaving the studio forever, the last words I'd ever said to her. The words of hate were on the tip of my tongue but something was wrong, something was different.

Instead of the tearful vile that she had spewed back at me on that day, she was silently screaming my name while a bright light flared behind her. Her skin began to melt and blister, ash and dust began to blow past her. I could feel the searing heat against my skin. I watched in horror as my Mother disintegrated before my eyes, her and then the building, leaving me standing in a ruined city street with the sky burning in clouds of angry reds and blacks. All around was devastation and atrocity. Another dull thud shook the ground and a pyre of flame rose in the distance above what was left of the buildings. It puffed up into a huge expanding mass growing closer and closer. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide... I spread my arms out wide and closed my eyes. It was so bright I could see the flicker of flames through my eyelids...

Silence fell and it slowly faded to blackness once more, the ringing words of the last thing I ever said to my Mother echoed in my brain. "Burn in Hell..."

*****

Tears stung my face, frozen droplets that clung to the skin. It took me a few minutes to even realise I was brushing at them with a heavy hand. Someone was calling, people moving about beyond the sealed door, shadows forming on the frosted window.

"Wha..." I started but choked and tried to cough up my lungs. Spitting vile liquid to the pod floor, I wiped my chin and tried to see out.

"He...hello?" I called back.

 

[KINKYCanada]

I was jolted awake, my skin felt like it was on fire, atrophy keeping from using my limbs. "Fuuucccckkkk. I screamed as I tried in vain to move. I saw movement outside my pod. That's it I was frozen, the pricks who did it to me seemed to leave out the part about all the pain. Finally, a man stopped long enough to look in on me. He was in the same blue jumper I was. "Where were the fucking techs?" I thought.

"Hold tight we'll get your pod open. Something went very wrong!" He said.

"Great!" I thought as I waited, still trying to move. It was some time before the pod opened and the smell that greeted my nostrils told me that something indeed was wrong. I knew that smell all to well. The man was the same one who had a change of heart when we went in. He was still wearing a nice shiner the same shape as a rifle butt.

"All the Vault-Tech personal are fucking dead man." He said in a worried tone. "We don't have no one from the company here with us. And from what I see most of the people in the fucking pods are dead too!" He said shaking his head.

"Calm down man. How long were we down?" I said putting a weak hand on his shoulder. I could barely move and when I did it hurt like fucking hell.

"I... I really don't know!"

"How many are out?"

He looked up at me a sad expression on his face. "Maybe fifty. As far as we know not one woman made it!" At those words, I took off at as fast a run as I could muster. I went to where they separated the men and women. I guessed as to where they might be and in a minute I found the large room with their pods, the stench was awful, Moldy and dead. I went from pod to pod looking for her I didn't want to accept that she was dead. Not her. No. Then almost the last one, much like myself I found you.

"Hold on I'll get you out!" Was all I could think to say. I rushed to the controls and blew off a lot of dust, far to much to be normal. Something really bad went down and I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

KC

 

[Lexavier]

I recognised the voice. It was muffled, distorted by the metal capsule as well as the fogginess to my own brain but the voice was familiar. The man I had met, his name.... Cole! "Cole!" I coughed back as I thumped ineffectually on the metallic door. My arms felt like they were filled with lead, or perhaps like I was treading water. The way my head seemed to float, I could very well be. There was a sound of grinding servos, complaining gears that hadn't moved in a long time, and the pod door juddered open.

I flopped out like a spilled fish, straight into the firm arms of my rescuer. I sank to the floor, unable to support my own weight and grit my teeth at the pain of blood returning to my limbs and digits. Tears fell from my face, unbidden, unwelcome but uncontrollable. As tough as I thought I was, it seemed the vivid dreams and the rude awaken had shaken me. Slowly I forced my emotions under control, assisted by the warmth provided by the owner of the reassuring embrace I was currently curled in. The more I recovered, the more my other senses started to report in. Beyond the musty smell of the man, who undoubtedly had just come out of his own capsule not moments before, there was a rank odour. It smelled like the time my pet rat had gotten stuck in the air vent and died, going unnoticed for several weeks.

The shaking stopped and I looked up at the man with an apologetic glance which quickly turned to horror as I saw over the man's shoulder the decomposing face pressed up against frosted glass. I shot to my feet, my hand on Cole's shoulder to support myself as I looked round. More and more dead, all over the place, every pod, every where. Eyeless, soulless, corpses looked down at me. The shaking started again.

"What... what happened?"

 

[KINKYCanada]

"What... what happened?" You asked. I was overjoyed at the fact that you were alive. Yet saddened that I had no proper answer for you.

"Alex I really have no idea. We were all put into a cryo status and I left there. For how long or for what reason I have no clue! And as to what happened to the Vault, or it's employees I don't know." I answered truthfully. trying hard to hide any fear I was feeling. I Held on tight as if trying to shield the horrors all around us from you. The smell that god-awful stench told us all what the truth of the situation. More of the men came in two or three dropped to their knees crying out. The whole force of our predicament hitting them hard. A couple threw up and one came to us.

"Cole you found one. That's... That's great, I think we should move..." He said putting a hand on my shoulder then looked on at you.

"Alex. Her name is Alex! I'm afraid it looks like she is the only one to survive. Alex tell me what happened? Did you see or hear anything here that might explain or shed light on this?" I ask you try to stand you up, I wanted to get not only you but everyone from this room of horror, happy at your safety, we were all still in a lot of trouble till we worked out went down and what our next move should be.

"Cole we have broken into groups and are searching the vault. I think for now that is most important at least till we work out the situation. I have no clue what or even where to start, most of don't hell we are all bankers, lawyers and managers of one kind or another. Hell none of us are even tradesmen of any kind." The man who I knew as Tom said as he walked alongside you and me, I was leading you to the change rooms, where I hoped the showers still worked. I hoped that would clear my head and rejuvenate me a little, and maybe do the same for you. I nodded in agreement, we needed to start somewhere and that was a good a place as any.

"Good, next we need to take stock of food, water, and disposal of the dead." There was no nice way to bridge this last topic so I felt the direct way was best. Then when that was done I felt we would be able to move forward.

KC

 

[Lexavier]

Get a grip Alex! You're fucking this up Alex! Stop messing around, suck it up and get out there!

The words rang in my ears, my Mother's voice of course, spiteful and unloving. Still, it seemed to help. I swallowed hard and blinked a few times, trying to snap myself out of this shock. I could hear the people talking around me, hear the footsteps, the crying, the banging of fists on metal. I blinked and pulled myself from this man's grasp, looking about with a numb expression.

Get a fucking grip Alex.

I mouthed along with the words and it seemed to help. "The Cryo. I knew what they were. Thought it was just... procedure..." I trailed off, looking back at the machines that had frozen us. "World wasn't going to be inhabitable for years after... makes sense if you think about it but... something obviously went badly wrong." Slowly I stood, feeling unsteady on my feet but also trying to refuse any more aid unsuccessfully. I forced myself to move, my legs feeling like lead, my whole body was stiff like someone had turned up the gravity. Eventually I gave up and lean't back on you for support.

You lead me from the room, but I still threw one last glance over at the withered figures lying in their beds. "Bad seals..." I murmured to myself and shook my head. It takes me a few moments to realise where we were, back in the changing rooms. I catch a glimpse of my locker, and wonder if all my stuff was still there, my tools...

Too little time to think about it. Instead you seat me on a bench and I get my first proper look up at you in your blue jumpsuit. "No more Overseer? No more staff? No more... wait... did you say I was the only survivor?!" Suddenly I'm up and almost falling over, it takes you to seat me back down again. "Only... female... survivor... ... shit..."

 

[KINKYCanada]

As I sit you down I look at your pretty face, through it all, all the horror, all that happened you were still very beautiful to me.

"I am afraid so Alex, though I have no idea if there are more rooms with more pods, from what Tom tells me the numbers add up." I tell you. I kneel infrot of you. brushing a little of your red hair to the side. I smile thinking this is more than any human should have to hear. "We will get through this all. Come on lets get you to the change rooms, I think a shower will do you good. God knows I need one." I say weakly. Tom had moved on trying to move the truamatized men out of the large room. I wanted to help him but I just couldn't leave your side right then. You were alive and there was nothing we could do for the women in there.

We headed into the change room and I looked around. Sitting you on one of the steel benches I rumage through a few of the lockers. All were empty. Next I went to the shower and turned the chrome dial. scalding hot water soon was coming out. I balanced the hot and cold till it was comfortabe.

"Alex have a shower. I stand guard outside. It'll help I know it will. Come on!" I almost plead with you. For one reason or another I knew a hot shower would help. That was what my mother had always said to me. "Showers will help you think clearly. I had always felt that was bullshit but here and now I needed to belive that it was going to help. I looked down at you waiting for you to reply. I was now begining to think maybe shock was setting in. Though I had first aid. I was no Dr. and didn't think I would be any use to you if the shock of it all was to much. It was crazy to think that most of us wouldn't fall to some form of shock. The situation was just so dire.

KC

 

[Lexavier]

Sorry for my delay...

I was transitioning back and forth from numb shock to anger at myself and inability to comprehend this new reality I had been thrown into. The anger helped but any kind of determination or will that I could muster simply slipped through the metaphorical fingers of my mind. How had I survived not one, but two potential extermination events, how was I worthy of this... whatever this was now.

My mind was falling deeper into itself, into a well of self-pity as shock was slowly taking me over. My skin felt cold and I didn't really register the sounds of your voice anymore. What was the point? My mind was telling me. I don't deserve to be here. I should have died like the rest. It even drowned out the imagined ranting of my Mother still rattling round in the back of my mind.

...

And yet my body reacted to your direction. It was like a dream, where I watched myself move though had no control, saw myself stand and walk like some pre-programmed NPC, to stand awkwardly before the showers. The steam coated my face with tiny droplets of water, and still I was lost in the fog of my brain. My trembling fingers found the zip of my blue jumpsuit and without any mind for your being there, I let the garment slip from my shoulders.

My body was slender and well maintained. I had always had an exercise routine and a fast metabolism that kept me slim, my petite frame making certain asserts seem bigger than they were. I was far from flawless however, my arms marked by long healed scars from burns and cuts, and even some bruises still blossomed. It seems the healing process had frozen alongside of me.

I blinked and realised I was stood in the hot water, plastering my red hair to my face. I closed my eyes and simply stood, soaking in the heat and letting it cleanse the cold sweat that had persisted on my skin ever since I stepped from that pod...

 

[KINKYCanada]

After I see you get into the shower, not lingering too long, though I wanted to see your body I let myself only indulge for a brief second before turning and taking up a guarding stance just outside the door.

"Cole, good I found you. Ok, all the generators are running fine. We had a full larder as well as a stocked sickbay and the water pumps are fine. The well as far as we can see is unaffected by the fallout. We will need to talk about some kind of system of keeping order in here. You as far as we know are the only one with military training, Alex..."

"She's a mechanic I think!" I said to Tom as he looked at the door leading to the shower.

"That's good, we could use a little of that I think," Tom told me his thoughts on the situation now that we had a little time to work out just the situation we were all in.

"If you find any guns I want them locked up. I don't want anyone armed ok!" I said and Tom agreed. "When Alex is out of the shower and gets some food into her belly we will sit down and talk over just what we should do," I said and Tom nodded and left soon after. When I heard the water shut off and I wait a few more minutes before knocking and asking if it's alright for me to enter.

KC