1 When The Winds Blew Once
War... war never changes. It did however change me. My dad's life insurance was good. Mom died giving birth to me & now the honorary shots have been fired and the flag draped over my father's casket. He missed her so much... and me so little.
There's no such thing as justice in this situation is there?
My father's killers were probably holding their families in their arms. Then once the troops are pulled out no one will prosecute them. Killing isn't a war crime, after all.
Dad's friends and comrades gave me their condolences. I didn't hear them, nor did I care. None of my family was here and now I'm alone.
After the funeral, my attorney said that my Godparents should be here in a week to move me out. I didn't hear him either, I just went home and wallowed in my memories. Age was just a number to me now, and booze was meant for the grieving.
I drank the week away, playing games while drunk as all hell. Mostly Fallout. My father had a stash ready to go and on my third bottle one day I wanted the sugar in the bottom. Was that sugar? It looked like sugar before I dropped it. Now sugar was everywhere.
I started eating the sugar. It tasted metallic and my mouth was watery. I spat the water in the sink and looked at it confused. Why is it red? Pain started cutting down my throat and the red water traveled into my throat faster. More alcohol should help the pain!
That made it worse. So much worse. Pressure! That should stop it! I started stuffing napkins, towels and other linens down my throat and the red water didn't stop. Eventually I reached the place where I fell, hitting my head on the tile floor as I did. Sleep, peace... death welcomed me.
I had eaten glass in a drunken stupor. No one to supervise me. Nothing to stop the internal bleeding. Nothing but death to hold me in my grief.
***
…
...
Simulation Terminated+—————-+
Welcome to ROBCO Industries (TM) Termlink Vault 75. -S.P.E.C.I.A.L. scan initializing: +------------+---------------------+ |....Name....Alex Wilson/....Time..| ER4OR+------------+---------------------+ |ToppedYaAll!! / 25.32 Seconds |1NJ3CT0R! / 28.46 Seconds |AAAAAA / 37.29 Seconds |Bob / 45.16 Seconds +----------------------------------+ErR0R+————-_+
Rebooting...
Reboot complete.
Restarting...
Uptopland Initiative manifesto sim Initiating…
////////////|||||\\\\\\\\\\\\
Grass was under my feet, and the sun was just right. It wasn't too hot or too cold. However… where the hell did that green text go? I swirled around in bewilderment. What the hell was that?! Then two voices half yelled,
"Hello fellow Vault Dweller!"
Yelping I jumped back, twirling to look at the voices and saw an atypical boy and girl in Vaultsuits.
"I'm Sue!" She said.
"And I'm Roy!" The boy said.
Then they both said, "And we are all going to the Overseer! C'mon Vault Dweller!"
They walked or half jogged melodramatically down a stone path and stopped to turn to me.
"C'mon!" Roy called, "Did you have a question?"
"Yes!" I asked a question and Roy replied,
"Oh yeah- ERROR-" Roy bent back like a piece of paper and his head rotated three-sixty degrees and I used to think Bioshock's Little Sisters were scary.
"ERROR-ERROR-" he folded back to normal with a smile that scared me even more, "does that answer your question?"
"Y-yeah."
"Great! C'mon! The Overseer awaits!"
I followed them, not wanting to cause any more glitches in this wonky program I have found myself in. The atmosphere oozed with Americana, utopia and Fallout pre-war propaganda. It was fall in the simulation, the falling leaves were a collection of reds, yellows and oranges. The grass under my feet was just too green, it all felt fake and made me queasy and anxious to be stuck here.
Then there's the bloody demon kid here. Coming around to a bend in the path distant and fake crying could be heard. I cringed in both the cringiness and eeriness of it.
"Oh no!" Sue said, like Dora or something, "The Overseer is crying! Let's see if we can make her feel better!"
Oh Jesus help me. Having no choice but to follow I came around the bend to see a Brunette on her knees pretending to cry. Then she noticed us her voice too cheery, and scripted, "Oh hello children."
"Why are you crying?" Sue asked.
"It's just awful!" cried the Overseer, wiping a tear from her eye. "Have you children ever heard of Uptopland?"
Sue and Roy blinked, and shook their heads. "What's that, Overseer?"
"Oh, it's a terrible place," began the Overseer, "The world outside the vault is full of monsters and Communists. The people there aren't safe and strong like the children in Vault 75! Oh no! They are sad and unhappy! Dealing with all manner of sicknesses like that horrid communist New Plague!"
The children gasped, "Not the communist New Plague!"
"Yes! The people in Uptopland are so sad that the living envy the dead! Monsters attack them and bandits steal their food!"
"Why doesn't anyone help them?" Roy asked as leaves tumbled past on the fake wind.
"That's just it, children." The Overseer told them, "They need somebody big and strong to protect them."
"Who will help them?" Sue and Roy asked.
"One day, children, you will." Said the Overseer. "That's why you must do your best at classes and training every day. So you can grow up big and strong, and go make Uptopland a happy and safe place for poor people who live there and as for you," she addressed me, "your journey-"
The sim started turning black and white and the Overseer's smile glitched so that it spread across her entire face as she finished, "is about to start."
***
Simulation Terminated+—————-+
Welcome to ROBCO Industries (TM) Termlink Vault 75. -S.P.E.C.I.A.L. scan complete: +------------+---------------------+ |....Name....Alex Wilson/....Time..|+------------------------------+ErR0R+————-_+ Strength: 6 (AGGREGATE) Perception: 5 (AGGREGATE) Endurance: 7 (EXCELLENT) Charisma: ERROR… loading… 9 (SUPERIOR) Intelligence: 9 (SUPERIOR) Agility: 10 (SUPERIOR) Luck: ERROR… loading… 8 (EXCELLENT)
Your ready for graduation! Please follow your caretaker robot to the Genomics laboratory for your preparation for the Reclamation of Uptoland and thank you for choosing Vault-Tec!
