Nineteen
"Wake up!" said a voice made thin by worry, and there was shaking, and light. "Come on, Ellen, you've got to wake up!"
"Wh- huh?" Ellen rubbed the heel of her hand against her eyes and did her best to sit up straight.
"I said, you've got to wake up!" It was Amata, half dancing from foot to foot with nervousness. "You've got to get out of here! Your dad is gone and my father's men are looking for you!"
Ellen blinked a few times as she tried to make sense of that sentence. "What do you mean 'gone'?" she said warily.
"He's left the Vault!" said Amata. "I don't know how, but he's gone, and my father.... he's... kind of gone crazy."
The waver of Amata's voice prompted Ellen to say, "I don't think I've ever seen you so scared. What's happened?"
"I didn't- I don't know! He's gone and Jonas is dead and now they're looking for you-"
"What? Jonas is dead?" That was enough to clear all the sleep away from Ellen for good. "What the hell's going on?"
Amata shook her head, gulping. "My father's men think Jonas helped your dad escape. They caught him and brought him to my dad's office and they... Oh my God..."
One hand was covering Ellen's mouth. She didn't remember how it got there. "Good Lord," she murmured. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I- I'm fine... It's lucky I got here ahead of them. But we can't stand here talking!" Amata swallowed. "You've got to get out of here!"
"Out of-" Ellen shook her head. "Okay, I- how did you get here first, anyway?"
"Hey! What are you saying?" Amata bristled. "I'm not like that! I'm not cooperating with them- Jonas was my friend too!"
"I meant did you take a shortcut," Ellen said. "Somewhere I can go that they won't see me."
"Oh. Oh, I- I'm sorry. I should've known you didn't mean it like that." Amata took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but I think you'll have to follow your dad. You're going to have to escape from the Vault."
Ellen stared at Amata, too shocked to say into WHAT? Amata didn't seem to notice. "Listen," she continued. "Maybe it isn't any of my business, but didn't your dad tell you that he was leaving?"
"No!"
Amata's face paled. "Oh," she said softly. "I'm sorry. I- I'm sure he must've had his reasons... maybe- maybe Jonas was supposed to explain everything to you?"
Ellen put her face in both hands, trying to stop the world from whirling out of control around her. It didn't help, but at least she didn't have to look at it for the moment. Amata's voice, however, went on. "It doesn't matter. I can help you escape. I have my own plan!"
"How?" Ellen said weakly; it was all she could muster.
"There's a secret tunnel that leads directly from my father's office to the exit. You'll have to use the terminal in his office to open it. I don't have the password, but you can hack it, right? I've seen you at your father's terminal after hours."
"Dad's password was easy to guess. 'Catherine'," Ellen demurred.
"My dad has less imagination than yours. His password's probably 'Overseer' or something," Amata said. "Here. I don't have the key, but-"
Virtually everyone in the Vault knew how to pick locks with a bobby pin and a pocket screwdriver, since there were always locks somewhere that Stanley and Andy hadn't maintained recently enough. Ellen pocketed Amata's bobby pins and took a deep breath. "Your dad's men," she said. "The security guys. What if he's got them down at this tunnel in case I try to get there?"
"Already thought of that. I stole Dad's pistol." Amata held up the gun, a blacker, shorter, heavier weapon than any Ellen had had to handle before. "I hope you won't need it, but you'd better take it just in case."
Ellen stared at the gun, then slowly shook her head. "I can't," she said softly. "Amata- if they see me with that thing they're going to shoot me first and ask questions later. You'd better keep it."
"Ellen-"
"I'm faster than most of the security force," Ellen said, not quite believing what she was hearing herself say. "And I can use my baseball bat if they get too close. I'll just- I'll run, that's all. I can't shoot people."
"I hope it doesn't come to that," said Amata. "But okay. I'll try to meet you at the exit. Good luck!"
Amata's footsteps echoed off the metal walls and ceiling as Ellen desperately dug through her dresser, tossing things into her laundry knapsack. Dad couldn't have gotten very far out there, but who knew what he might need when she found him? The first aid kit had Med-X and a couple of stimpaks, and she could tear up one of her spare jumpsuits for bandaging, and she had the baseball bat like she'd said, and this was completely insane! If it was anywhere close to being safe for human survival on the surface the Overseer would've opened the door long ago!
Wouldn't he?
Not that she had time to think about that. Officer Kendall was in the hallway just outside her quarters. "There she is- hold it right there!" he shouted. Then his eyes widened and he drew his baton- but not on her. "Criminy! More roaches!"
The radroaches that surged up at Officer Kendall were bigger than any Ellen had ever had to fend off with the BB gun, and nastier. He was wearing security armor, but it only covered his torso. The first of the roaches to leap at him managed to tear his jumpsuit trouser's leg and score blood with a single bite- and there were at least three. Ellen gulped and hung back, but there was no way to the Overseer's office except past Kendall and the bugs.
One of them turned to face her, flaring its wings and hissing. She hefted her baseball bat, praying silently that she could stun it on the first blow. It was, alas, a prayer unanswered- baseball is not good preparation for being attacked by things that leap up from the ground- but the roach died quickly anyway. Unfortunately, it wasn't Ellen who killed it. Officer Kendall's baton was still dripping radroach guts when he turned to strike at Ellen. If she hadn't landed a lucky whack to the back of his knees with the baseball bat, she'd've been knocked unconscious on the spot. He staggered, falling forward; Ellen took the opportunity to thump him over the head with the bat.
He slumped to the floor, unmoving. Ellen stared in shock for an instant, then dipped to press two fingers to his neck. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice tainted with relief as she found a thin but present pulse. "You should be all right, but I can't let you tell anyone where I've gone. It'll only make things worse."
For the second time that day Ellen stepped out of her quarters, but this time, she locked the door behind her. Officer Kendall would wake up soon and want to know where his armor and helmet were. The less chance he had of following her, the better- and between the other security men and the apparent radroach mass incursion, she needed that armor. She started to run-
"Help! Somebody!"
Ellen froze. Butch was running straight down the corridor at her. She tightened her grip on the bat, but he came to a halt. "You gotta help me!" he cried. "My mom's trapped in there with the radroaches!"
She eyed him a moment, half expecting a trick. Then again, this was Butch. Trickery was... not his style. "You're asking me for help?" she said.
"Yeah, I'm asking you." He folded his arms defensively across his chest. "So what. Look, I'm sorry for the way I've always treated you. You know I never meant any of it, right? But it's my mom. You can't leave her in there with those radroaches-"
Ellen wanted to say 'watch me', but that was real fear on Butch's face. This sounded bad. "All right," she said. "Let's see what we can do."
"We?" Butch blanched. "I can't go back in there! I just can't! Not with those- those things!"
Oh, Butch, if you only knew what irony was, Ellen thought; but she didn't have time to stick around, not with the overseer's voice blaring over the PA system and the security force out there. Instead, she unslung her laundry knapsack and pulled out the BB gun she'd had since she was ten. "Here," she said. "Take this. I've killed a lot of bugs with it myself."
"Wow, where'd you get that?"
"It was a gift," said Ellen shortly. "So you'd better take good care of it. Go!"
Butch hefted the gun and almost managed a smile. "Okay," he said. "Okay. Yeah. I can do this. I can do this. I'm gonna go in there and kill those radroaches-"
"I said go, Butch!"
"All right!"
Butch ran left. Ellen ran right.
"There you are! Ellen, hold still, I just wanna talk to you!"
It was Officer Gomez at the top of the atrium stairs. Ellen crouched warily in the shadows, wanting nothing more than to bolt. She wasn't sure she could bring herself to hit the dark-haired man if she tried.
Fortunately, she didn't have to. "You're lucky it's me who found you," he said. With a startle, Ellen realized he was almost as badly spooked as she. "The others won't be so forgiving. I don't know what you're up to, and I- I don't wanna know. Just clear out of here and I'll pretend I never saw you."
He was serious. He was actually being serious.
"Thanks, Officer Gomez," she managed. "I always liked you."
His smile was quick, nervous. "I- guess you're trying to follow your dad? Outside?" he said. "Good gravy. If I didn't know what the Overseer would do if he caught you, I'd never tell you to try for it, but it's your only shot."
Ellen nodded.
"You take care and I hope you find your daddy," Gomez said as Ellen took off at a run.
"-don't you see? We're getting out of here, just like the doctor!" came Tom Holden's voice from somewhere up ahead. "I'm not gonna let anyone stop us."
He was already running by the time Ellen caught sight of his retreating form, Mary Holden hot on his tail.
And Officer O'Brian and Officer Richards were waiting for them, with guns.
The sound of muffled pounding caught Ellen's attention as she ran on, trembling. She turned; it was Allen Mack, apparently trapped in his quarters, pounding a fist against the glass as his wife Gloria huddled in a chair behind him. "Hey!" he called. "Guards! It's the doc's stupid kid! She's over here, she's trying to leave the Vault! This is all your fault," he added in a low snarl. "GUARDS!"
Wherever Officer O'Brian and Officer Richards were now, they weren't in hearing range. Ellen thanked God for small mercies and darted for the Vault mainframe room, reckoning it'd probably be safer. It wasn't, though. Floyd Lewis's body lay crumpled on the floor, blood pooled around him and soaking into the shoulder of the engineer's jumpsuit. Ellen stared, aghast. She barely even knew Floyd- she'd talked to him once or twice, but-
"There she is!"
She spun on her heel, bat already raised to face the oncoming Security Chief Hannon. The struggle was short and ugly, and ended with Hannon on the floor and blood spattered on the inside of his helmet's visor. Ellen's ears were ringing. She didn't dare bend down to check his condition; with the way her head was feeling she wasn't sure she'd be able to stand up again afterwards. She made her way over to a wall and leaned against it, trying valiantly not to throw up.
"I told you, I don't know anything!" That was... that was Amata, wasn't it? From somewhere... not in the mainframe room. Nearby, though.
"Be reasonable, Amata," came the next voice, smoothing over Amata's anguish. It was enough to stiffen Ellen's spine. It was the Overseer speaking. "Officer Mack may enjoy this, but I don't..."
Ellen started down the corridor as swiftly as she dared. "Just tell us where to find your friend so he can talk to her," the Overseer continued.
"She's my friend," said Amata, voice tearful. "I was worried about her. What does she have to do with all of this anyway?"
Ah, there- a Security window, barred from the inside. Ellen peered in and saw the Overseer and Officer Mack standing over Amata, her chair tucked into a corner. Mack was holding his baton in a way Ellen didn't like at all. "Probably nothing," the Overseer said, almost pleasantly. "Which is why you need to tell me where she is. So I can talk to her."
"Is that what you call it?" said Amata. "Did you talk to Jonas, too?"
"Why, you little-" Officer Mack's arm drew back, but Amata's hand was faster. Somehow she'd managed to conceal her father's gun the whole time.
Officer Mack dropped like a brick. The door slid open. Amata bolted past so quickly Ellen had no time to call out to her. All she could do was peer around the door at the Overseer, who looked almost as stunned as Ellen felt- but he didn't look that way for long. "I hope you're here to turn yourself in, young lady," he said, managing to recover a measure of dignity despite having backed reflexively into a corner for protection. "You're already in enough trouble as it is. Don't make it worse for yourself."
As if it could get any worse!
... she shouldn't have thought that.
"I didn't cause any of this," Ellen said instead. "You know I don't do that kind of thing. I just want to get out of here alive." And then, because they were both shocked and she might as well go for the gold, she said, "Just give me the keys to your office and the password to your terminal and I'll be going."
"Oh, is that all?" the Overseer snided, eyebrows raised. "Is there anything else I can get you while you're here? You'll get nothing from me. I'll die before I see the safety of the Vault compromised again."
"I'll escape without your help, then," Ellen said. "I'm not the one who started killing people."
"Leave and you'll be shot on sight if you ever come back!" the Overseer threw at her retreating form, but Ellen was already too far down the hall to listen further. Oh, God, what was the fastest way to his office, it wasn't much farther but she didn't have much time...
She rounded a corner and stopped dead. She'd found Jonas.
"Oh, God," she whispered, crouching beside his inert form. "Who did this to you? Oh, Jonas, I'm so sorry..." Her own eyes welling up with tears, she reached up to remove his glasses. He'd died with his eyes open. To give him some dignity she could spare a few moments. As she turned to straighten out his arms and legs, something small and dark tumbled out of his lab coat's pocket- a holotape. She picked it up and dropped it in her own pocket. She'd listen to it later, when there was time. For now, the best she could do was murmur a few final words over Jonas- the closest she'd ever get to a real chaplain's duties, she was sure.
The Overseer's office wasn't more than two or three doors away. She'd expected better security on it, frankly- multiple locks on the door, perhaps, or chair-mounted machine guns to mow down the insolent- but no. One simple bobby pin to jiggle the tumblers around and a little coaxing with the same miniature screwdriver just about everyone in the Vault carried, and the door came open. There were no guns, no cameras, no tripwires, only a semicircular desk with a RobCo terminal on it and a plain brown chair. She shook her head and settled into the chair, flicking the terminal into life.
WELCOME TO ROBCO INDUSTRIES (TM) TERMLINK
> LOGON ADMIN
ENTER PASSWORD NOW
>
Her father's terminal, she knew, locked you out after three false tries. She bit her lip, thinking.
> OVERSEER
PASSWORD INCORRECT
2 ATTEMPTS REMAINING
Blast. Well...
> PASSWORD
PASSWORD INCORRECT
1 ATTEMPT REMAINING
Not good, not good at all. Well- her father used 'Catherine' as a password, but she didn't know what the Overseer's wife's name had been. On the other hand...
> AMATA
Welcome, Overseer.
Ellen almost melted with relief as the prompts for security dossiers, scouting reports (scouting reports? What?), information from Vault-Tec, and the Overseer tunnel controls flickered into life on the screen. She almost went straight to the tunnel command, but some odd curiosity prompted her to choose the scouting reports instead.
As our tests suggested, the immediate vicinity of the vault is no longer dangerously irradiated, although the background radiation is still well above safe levels. Pockets of more intense radiation appear to still be common, and all surface water seems to be undrinkable. We will need to carry ample supplies of Rad-X with us on all future surveys. But hazard suits do not seem to be necessary for general exploration....
She stared, and continued reading.
... encountered a group of monstrous ants...
... human civilization still survives, despite everything!....
... Lewis and Agnes remained in Megaton to serve as "ambassadors"...
The last line simply read 'Anne Palmer, Survey Team Leader February 10, 2241'. There Ellen stalled. 2241. She'd been born in 2258. They'd told her Vault 101's door never opened and never closed, that the surface was uninhabitable and had been for two hundred years. They'd lied- to her, to Amata, to everyone-
The clang of booted feet on steel shook Ellen out of her stunned state. She shivered and turned back to the terminal to order the Overseer's tunnel opened. With a whirr and a hum, the desk began to rise, revealing a descending staircase leading God only knew where. Under other circumstances Ellen would've been surprised, but given what she'd just read she could only stumble numbly down the tunnel from one chamber to the next and the next until she finally found herself at the end: a low-ceilinged chamber with a great steel circular door at the far end and a panel marked EXTERNAL DOOR CONTROLS.
No turning back, really. Ellen squared her shoulders and pushed the central button, filling the room with alarm klaxons and flashing lights. She folded her arms across her chest.
"Oh my God..." Ellen turned sideways at the hushed words and saw Amata standing there. "You actually opened it. You did it! My God, I almost didn't believe it was possible!"
Ellen shook her head, not knowing what to say beyond, "I had to do it, didn't I?"
"You're right. I should've never doubted you."
"Come with me, Amata," Ellen suddenly said. The memory of what had happened in the Vault was strong, and it occurred to her that simply by helping, Amata had put herself in deadly danger. "We can do this together."
"It's tempting, but..." Amata shook her head. "My place is here. The Vault needs me more than you do- I'm pretty much the only one who has a chance to talk some sense into my father."
That was a little hard to dispute.
"Listen," Amata continued, "if you do catch up with your dad, tell him I'm sorry. For... you know, Jonas. And my father. And everything. In the meantime, you'd better take this." She shoved her father's pistol into Ellen's hands. "You're definitely going to need that. I saw what you left on the screen."
Ellen swallowed, and nodded.
"You'd better go quickly. There are a couple more officers coming," Amata said. "Goodbye, Ellen."
She turned and ran. Ellen watched her go, but only for a moment, and then turned for the tunnel that led to God alone knew where.
"Wh- huh?" Ellen rubbed the heel of her hand against her eyes and did her best to sit up straight.
"I said, you've got to wake up!" It was Amata, half dancing from foot to foot with nervousness. "You've got to get out of here! Your dad is gone and my father's men are looking for you!"
Ellen blinked a few times as she tried to make sense of that sentence. "What do you mean 'gone'?" she said warily.
"He's left the Vault!" said Amata. "I don't know how, but he's gone, and my father.... he's... kind of gone crazy."
The waver of Amata's voice prompted Ellen to say, "I don't think I've ever seen you so scared. What's happened?"
"I didn't- I don't know! He's gone and Jonas is dead and now they're looking for you-"
"What? Jonas is dead?" That was enough to clear all the sleep away from Ellen for good. "What the hell's going on?"
Amata shook her head, gulping. "My father's men think Jonas helped your dad escape. They caught him and brought him to my dad's office and they... Oh my God..."
One hand was covering Ellen's mouth. She didn't remember how it got there. "Good Lord," she murmured. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I- I'm fine... It's lucky I got here ahead of them. But we can't stand here talking!" Amata swallowed. "You've got to get out of here!"
"Out of-" Ellen shook her head. "Okay, I- how did you get here first, anyway?"
"Hey! What are you saying?" Amata bristled. "I'm not like that! I'm not cooperating with them- Jonas was my friend too!"
"I meant did you take a shortcut," Ellen said. "Somewhere I can go that they won't see me."
"Oh. Oh, I- I'm sorry. I should've known you didn't mean it like that." Amata took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but I think you'll have to follow your dad. You're going to have to escape from the Vault."
Ellen stared at Amata, too shocked to say into WHAT? Amata didn't seem to notice. "Listen," she continued. "Maybe it isn't any of my business, but didn't your dad tell you that he was leaving?"
"No!"
Amata's face paled. "Oh," she said softly. "I'm sorry. I- I'm sure he must've had his reasons... maybe- maybe Jonas was supposed to explain everything to you?"
Ellen put her face in both hands, trying to stop the world from whirling out of control around her. It didn't help, but at least she didn't have to look at it for the moment. Amata's voice, however, went on. "It doesn't matter. I can help you escape. I have my own plan!"
"How?" Ellen said weakly; it was all she could muster.
"There's a secret tunnel that leads directly from my father's office to the exit. You'll have to use the terminal in his office to open it. I don't have the password, but you can hack it, right? I've seen you at your father's terminal after hours."
"Dad's password was easy to guess. 'Catherine'," Ellen demurred.
"My dad has less imagination than yours. His password's probably 'Overseer' or something," Amata said. "Here. I don't have the key, but-"
Virtually everyone in the Vault knew how to pick locks with a bobby pin and a pocket screwdriver, since there were always locks somewhere that Stanley and Andy hadn't maintained recently enough. Ellen pocketed Amata's bobby pins and took a deep breath. "Your dad's men," she said. "The security guys. What if he's got them down at this tunnel in case I try to get there?"
"Already thought of that. I stole Dad's pistol." Amata held up the gun, a blacker, shorter, heavier weapon than any Ellen had had to handle before. "I hope you won't need it, but you'd better take it just in case."
Ellen stared at the gun, then slowly shook her head. "I can't," she said softly. "Amata- if they see me with that thing they're going to shoot me first and ask questions later. You'd better keep it."
"Ellen-"
"I'm faster than most of the security force," Ellen said, not quite believing what she was hearing herself say. "And I can use my baseball bat if they get too close. I'll just- I'll run, that's all. I can't shoot people."
"I hope it doesn't come to that," said Amata. "But okay. I'll try to meet you at the exit. Good luck!"
Amata's footsteps echoed off the metal walls and ceiling as Ellen desperately dug through her dresser, tossing things into her laundry knapsack. Dad couldn't have gotten very far out there, but who knew what he might need when she found him? The first aid kit had Med-X and a couple of stimpaks, and she could tear up one of her spare jumpsuits for bandaging, and she had the baseball bat like she'd said, and this was completely insane! If it was anywhere close to being safe for human survival on the surface the Overseer would've opened the door long ago!
Wouldn't he?
Not that she had time to think about that. Officer Kendall was in the hallway just outside her quarters. "There she is- hold it right there!" he shouted. Then his eyes widened and he drew his baton- but not on her. "Criminy! More roaches!"
The radroaches that surged up at Officer Kendall were bigger than any Ellen had ever had to fend off with the BB gun, and nastier. He was wearing security armor, but it only covered his torso. The first of the roaches to leap at him managed to tear his jumpsuit trouser's leg and score blood with a single bite- and there were at least three. Ellen gulped and hung back, but there was no way to the Overseer's office except past Kendall and the bugs.
One of them turned to face her, flaring its wings and hissing. She hefted her baseball bat, praying silently that she could stun it on the first blow. It was, alas, a prayer unanswered- baseball is not good preparation for being attacked by things that leap up from the ground- but the roach died quickly anyway. Unfortunately, it wasn't Ellen who killed it. Officer Kendall's baton was still dripping radroach guts when he turned to strike at Ellen. If she hadn't landed a lucky whack to the back of his knees with the baseball bat, she'd've been knocked unconscious on the spot. He staggered, falling forward; Ellen took the opportunity to thump him over the head with the bat.
He slumped to the floor, unmoving. Ellen stared in shock for an instant, then dipped to press two fingers to his neck. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice tainted with relief as she found a thin but present pulse. "You should be all right, but I can't let you tell anyone where I've gone. It'll only make things worse."
For the second time that day Ellen stepped out of her quarters, but this time, she locked the door behind her. Officer Kendall would wake up soon and want to know where his armor and helmet were. The less chance he had of following her, the better- and between the other security men and the apparent radroach mass incursion, she needed that armor. She started to run-
"Help! Somebody!"
Ellen froze. Butch was running straight down the corridor at her. She tightened her grip on the bat, but he came to a halt. "You gotta help me!" he cried. "My mom's trapped in there with the radroaches!"
She eyed him a moment, half expecting a trick. Then again, this was Butch. Trickery was... not his style. "You're asking me for help?" she said.
"Yeah, I'm asking you." He folded his arms defensively across his chest. "So what. Look, I'm sorry for the way I've always treated you. You know I never meant any of it, right? But it's my mom. You can't leave her in there with those radroaches-"
Ellen wanted to say 'watch me', but that was real fear on Butch's face. This sounded bad. "All right," she said. "Let's see what we can do."
"We?" Butch blanched. "I can't go back in there! I just can't! Not with those- those things!"
Oh, Butch, if you only knew what irony was, Ellen thought; but she didn't have time to stick around, not with the overseer's voice blaring over the PA system and the security force out there. Instead, she unslung her laundry knapsack and pulled out the BB gun she'd had since she was ten. "Here," she said. "Take this. I've killed a lot of bugs with it myself."
"Wow, where'd you get that?"
"It was a gift," said Ellen shortly. "So you'd better take good care of it. Go!"
Butch hefted the gun and almost managed a smile. "Okay," he said. "Okay. Yeah. I can do this. I can do this. I'm gonna go in there and kill those radroaches-"
"I said go, Butch!"
"All right!"
Butch ran left. Ellen ran right.
"There you are! Ellen, hold still, I just wanna talk to you!"
It was Officer Gomez at the top of the atrium stairs. Ellen crouched warily in the shadows, wanting nothing more than to bolt. She wasn't sure she could bring herself to hit the dark-haired man if she tried.
Fortunately, she didn't have to. "You're lucky it's me who found you," he said. With a startle, Ellen realized he was almost as badly spooked as she. "The others won't be so forgiving. I don't know what you're up to, and I- I don't wanna know. Just clear out of here and I'll pretend I never saw you."
He was serious. He was actually being serious.
"Thanks, Officer Gomez," she managed. "I always liked you."
His smile was quick, nervous. "I- guess you're trying to follow your dad? Outside?" he said. "Good gravy. If I didn't know what the Overseer would do if he caught you, I'd never tell you to try for it, but it's your only shot."
Ellen nodded.
"You take care and I hope you find your daddy," Gomez said as Ellen took off at a run.
"-don't you see? We're getting out of here, just like the doctor!" came Tom Holden's voice from somewhere up ahead. "I'm not gonna let anyone stop us."
He was already running by the time Ellen caught sight of his retreating form, Mary Holden hot on his tail.
And Officer O'Brian and Officer Richards were waiting for them, with guns.
The sound of muffled pounding caught Ellen's attention as she ran on, trembling. She turned; it was Allen Mack, apparently trapped in his quarters, pounding a fist against the glass as his wife Gloria huddled in a chair behind him. "Hey!" he called. "Guards! It's the doc's stupid kid! She's over here, she's trying to leave the Vault! This is all your fault," he added in a low snarl. "GUARDS!"
Wherever Officer O'Brian and Officer Richards were now, they weren't in hearing range. Ellen thanked God for small mercies and darted for the Vault mainframe room, reckoning it'd probably be safer. It wasn't, though. Floyd Lewis's body lay crumpled on the floor, blood pooled around him and soaking into the shoulder of the engineer's jumpsuit. Ellen stared, aghast. She barely even knew Floyd- she'd talked to him once or twice, but-
"There she is!"
She spun on her heel, bat already raised to face the oncoming Security Chief Hannon. The struggle was short and ugly, and ended with Hannon on the floor and blood spattered on the inside of his helmet's visor. Ellen's ears were ringing. She didn't dare bend down to check his condition; with the way her head was feeling she wasn't sure she'd be able to stand up again afterwards. She made her way over to a wall and leaned against it, trying valiantly not to throw up.
"I told you, I don't know anything!" That was... that was Amata, wasn't it? From somewhere... not in the mainframe room. Nearby, though.
"Be reasonable, Amata," came the next voice, smoothing over Amata's anguish. It was enough to stiffen Ellen's spine. It was the Overseer speaking. "Officer Mack may enjoy this, but I don't..."
Ellen started down the corridor as swiftly as she dared. "Just tell us where to find your friend so he can talk to her," the Overseer continued.
"She's my friend," said Amata, voice tearful. "I was worried about her. What does she have to do with all of this anyway?"
Ah, there- a Security window, barred from the inside. Ellen peered in and saw the Overseer and Officer Mack standing over Amata, her chair tucked into a corner. Mack was holding his baton in a way Ellen didn't like at all. "Probably nothing," the Overseer said, almost pleasantly. "Which is why you need to tell me where she is. So I can talk to her."
"Is that what you call it?" said Amata. "Did you talk to Jonas, too?"
"Why, you little-" Officer Mack's arm drew back, but Amata's hand was faster. Somehow she'd managed to conceal her father's gun the whole time.
Officer Mack dropped like a brick. The door slid open. Amata bolted past so quickly Ellen had no time to call out to her. All she could do was peer around the door at the Overseer, who looked almost as stunned as Ellen felt- but he didn't look that way for long. "I hope you're here to turn yourself in, young lady," he said, managing to recover a measure of dignity despite having backed reflexively into a corner for protection. "You're already in enough trouble as it is. Don't make it worse for yourself."
As if it could get any worse!
... she shouldn't have thought that.
"I didn't cause any of this," Ellen said instead. "You know I don't do that kind of thing. I just want to get out of here alive." And then, because they were both shocked and she might as well go for the gold, she said, "Just give me the keys to your office and the password to your terminal and I'll be going."
"Oh, is that all?" the Overseer snided, eyebrows raised. "Is there anything else I can get you while you're here? You'll get nothing from me. I'll die before I see the safety of the Vault compromised again."
"I'll escape without your help, then," Ellen said. "I'm not the one who started killing people."
"Leave and you'll be shot on sight if you ever come back!" the Overseer threw at her retreating form, but Ellen was already too far down the hall to listen further. Oh, God, what was the fastest way to his office, it wasn't much farther but she didn't have much time...
She rounded a corner and stopped dead. She'd found Jonas.
"Oh, God," she whispered, crouching beside his inert form. "Who did this to you? Oh, Jonas, I'm so sorry..." Her own eyes welling up with tears, she reached up to remove his glasses. He'd died with his eyes open. To give him some dignity she could spare a few moments. As she turned to straighten out his arms and legs, something small and dark tumbled out of his lab coat's pocket- a holotape. She picked it up and dropped it in her own pocket. She'd listen to it later, when there was time. For now, the best she could do was murmur a few final words over Jonas- the closest she'd ever get to a real chaplain's duties, she was sure.
The Overseer's office wasn't more than two or three doors away. She'd expected better security on it, frankly- multiple locks on the door, perhaps, or chair-mounted machine guns to mow down the insolent- but no. One simple bobby pin to jiggle the tumblers around and a little coaxing with the same miniature screwdriver just about everyone in the Vault carried, and the door came open. There were no guns, no cameras, no tripwires, only a semicircular desk with a RobCo terminal on it and a plain brown chair. She shook her head and settled into the chair, flicking the terminal into life.
WELCOME TO ROBCO INDUSTRIES (TM) TERMLINK
> LOGON ADMIN
ENTER PASSWORD NOW
>
Her father's terminal, she knew, locked you out after three false tries. She bit her lip, thinking.
> OVERSEER
PASSWORD INCORRECT
2 ATTEMPTS REMAINING
Blast. Well...
> PASSWORD
PASSWORD INCORRECT
1 ATTEMPT REMAINING
Not good, not good at all. Well- her father used 'Catherine' as a password, but she didn't know what the Overseer's wife's name had been. On the other hand...
> AMATA
Welcome, Overseer.
Ellen almost melted with relief as the prompts for security dossiers, scouting reports (scouting reports? What?), information from Vault-Tec, and the Overseer tunnel controls flickered into life on the screen. She almost went straight to the tunnel command, but some odd curiosity prompted her to choose the scouting reports instead.
As our tests suggested, the immediate vicinity of the vault is no longer dangerously irradiated, although the background radiation is still well above safe levels. Pockets of more intense radiation appear to still be common, and all surface water seems to be undrinkable. We will need to carry ample supplies of Rad-X with us on all future surveys. But hazard suits do not seem to be necessary for general exploration....
She stared, and continued reading.
... encountered a group of monstrous ants...
... human civilization still survives, despite everything!....
... Lewis and Agnes remained in Megaton to serve as "ambassadors"...
The last line simply read 'Anne Palmer, Survey Team Leader February 10, 2241'. There Ellen stalled. 2241. She'd been born in 2258. They'd told her Vault 101's door never opened and never closed, that the surface was uninhabitable and had been for two hundred years. They'd lied- to her, to Amata, to everyone-
The clang of booted feet on steel shook Ellen out of her stunned state. She shivered and turned back to the terminal to order the Overseer's tunnel opened. With a whirr and a hum, the desk began to rise, revealing a descending staircase leading God only knew where. Under other circumstances Ellen would've been surprised, but given what she'd just read she could only stumble numbly down the tunnel from one chamber to the next and the next until she finally found herself at the end: a low-ceilinged chamber with a great steel circular door at the far end and a panel marked EXTERNAL DOOR CONTROLS.
No turning back, really. Ellen squared her shoulders and pushed the central button, filling the room with alarm klaxons and flashing lights. She folded her arms across her chest.
"Oh my God..." Ellen turned sideways at the hushed words and saw Amata standing there. "You actually opened it. You did it! My God, I almost didn't believe it was possible!"
Ellen shook her head, not knowing what to say beyond, "I had to do it, didn't I?"
"You're right. I should've never doubted you."
"Come with me, Amata," Ellen suddenly said. The memory of what had happened in the Vault was strong, and it occurred to her that simply by helping, Amata had put herself in deadly danger. "We can do this together."
"It's tempting, but..." Amata shook her head. "My place is here. The Vault needs me more than you do- I'm pretty much the only one who has a chance to talk some sense into my father."
That was a little hard to dispute.
"Listen," Amata continued, "if you do catch up with your dad, tell him I'm sorry. For... you know, Jonas. And my father. And everything. In the meantime, you'd better take this." She shoved her father's pistol into Ellen's hands. "You're definitely going to need that. I saw what you left on the screen."
Ellen swallowed, and nodded.
"You'd better go quickly. There are a couple more officers coming," Amata said. "Goodbye, Ellen."
She turned and ran. Ellen watched her go, but only for a moment, and then turned for the tunnel that led to God alone knew where.