Seeing her hesitation, the officer smiled gently. Everything about this whole situation was so alien, so unsettling, that even the smallest familiar thing, something her subconscious had inexplicably bound her to like an anchor to keep her steady, wasn't easy to let go. She didn't know the couple in the slightest she couldn't recall a single time she'd said more than a "Good morning," to either of them and even that was a rare occasion.
That decontamination bank is already full if you’d just step into this one over here please?”Įrin hesitated for a moment. No sooner had she caught up with the family ahead of her, when a member of the vault security reached out a hand to stop her. “Hmm? Oh, don’t you worry ma’am,” the rep smiled, flashing her perfect teeth, “Our stylish vault suits are one-size-fits all!”Įrin remained unconvinced, but was too self-conscious to complain and not wanting to hold the line up, hurried into the vault. Her mother (please God let her have got to safety in DC) used to say she was just being stretched, ending up as just 5-foot-nothing and scrawny as anything. She hadn’t really grown much since her 14th birthday. “Uhm…” she spoke up, then realising no-one had heard her soft voice, she cleared her throat and tried again, “E-excuse me? Isn’t… Isn’t this going to be a bit big for me? She eyed the cheery woman handing out the garments with a familiar sting of slight jealousy. She waited patiently as they were handed their own jumpsuits and then she received hers. She and they seemed to be the only ones not in a state of shell-shock, although she could feel herself on the edge of a suppressed panic that was probably going to cause some mental trauma at some point if she kept it bottled up. Erin straightened her back and stepped forward, just behind the family of three. Vault one-eleven: A better future, underground!” The marketing tagline seemed almost absurd in the wake of what had happened, but who knew maybe they were right? Certainly, the vault had to be better than the firestorm raging above. We’ll get everyone situated in your new home. “Everyone please step off the elevator and proceed up the stairs in an orderly fashion.” Men in the tight vault jump-suits, bearing the number 111 were waiting to greet them, in front of the massive, cog-shaped door to the underground refuge. And maybe it would be? After all, Vault-Tec boasted all the time about their state-of-the-art shelters and the comfort they provided to wait out the destruction and fallout. Her eyes caught the baby’s scared, bemused look and she smiled, waving to it and wishing she could share its childish innocence, only needing the warmth of its mother to know everything would be alright. The father seemed to have everything together at least wasn’t he ex-army? She didn't really get out and get to know the neighbors very much. There was even a couple with a baby who were probably more relieved than anyone else. All she could do was thank the heavens that she was alive – she and the handful of others from Sanctuary Hills that had made it down. She probably would have ignored them, if not for the radio suddenly interrupting itself to announce in no uncertain terms that this was not a drill and that everything she knew was about to be wiped away, as if by the hand of an angry god. The morning had seemed like any other, for the young college freshman just a lazy Saturday to catch up on some reading, or maybe visit her friends in Concord… Then the sirens had sounded. Nearly half a kilometre overhead, the world was being wiped out. Erin hugged herself tightly, as the gate slowly rose in front of the last shell-shocked group of survivors. I welcome reviews, omake, fan contributions comments, creative criticism and any content that adds to the story and thread. Please enjoy and I hope the story meets your standards. Sceptics are invited to contact the original author for clarification, if they feel such is required. OP and the author of the original material are one and the same. This story is a repost of content currently available on. This story may contain NSFW elements and themes, including but not limited to use of drugs, use of alcohol, swearing, graphic violence and mild to moderate sexual content. The following is a fan creation and makes no claim to the source material. Disclaimer: Fallout 4 and all associated content are the property of Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios and Zenimax media.