My Fallout Begins
I stared at myself in the mirror. Perfect, just the way I want to look. I always seem to look the same. But I liked to, it was as if I got to choose the way I looked. My wife stood behind me. I could see her in the reflection looking as perfect as I wanted her as well. I kissed her cheek and l walked out to the living room. Codsworth was there to greet me. He poured my coffee and set my favorite newspaper article beside it. Looking out the window I could see the active neighborhood doing its usual thing. Cars came by, and kids rode past on their bikes laughing and giggling. And my wife sat at the table drinking her coffee as well.
Then there was a knock at the door. I stood up from my seat. “I got it”. I opened the front door and there stood a man in a brown over coat and fedora. “Good morning sir. Vault tech here. I here to confirm that you have been accepted into your town’s vault, seeing that you are related to so many war veterans. You know how it is with the nuclear scare. It’s never bad to be too safe!” I looked at his papers. “Hmm...well ok. I guess that’s true.” He had me sign a few things and put some of my attributes down. He nodded taking the clipboard back. “Thank you sir. And you have a great day!” I closed the door and shrugged sitting back down.
Shaun began to cry from his crib. We could hear Codsworth trying his best to comfort him. He floated out of the room and into the hallway. “Sir I tried to comfort Shaun, but he refuses to calm down. I believe he needs some of that parental comforting.” He says it as if he doesn’t know what it means. I walked passed Codsworth and into Shauns room looking down at him in his crib. My wife stood in the doorway. “Spin the mobil a bit, he loves that.” I tickled Shaun’s stomach and spun the mobile gently as it played a soft toon. His crying settled and he smiled.
We the concerned voice of Codsworth from the other room. “Sir, you should come see this.” My wife picked up Shaun in her arms as we race walked outside to the living room. Codsworth sounded very worried. “Sir….the news…” He looked at the tv at a man behind his desk looking to the floor. We listened to his report. “It’s...confirmed, multiple nuclear impacts across the U.S. states. My god….” The screen went blank reading “Please wait”. Sirens throughout our town began to go off. It sounded like thousands of trains coming towards us. I looked back to my family. “We have to get to the vault!” We ran out of the house. My wife carried Shaun behind me as we ran as fast as we could down the sidewalk. The entire neighborhood running with us in the same direction.
We cut down a dirt path on the right of the road and began uphill. It seemed as if the whole neighborhood was following us. A crowd was gathering outside the fence at the top. A soldier stood with a clipboard with two troopers in power armor standing behind him. The had their guns pointed at the overcoat man. I watched the very man that gave us our vault admissions, struggle to try and persuade the guards to let him in. It just wasn’t happening. I approached the guards. “We’re on the list. My name is Evan!” The guard looked at his papers. “That's a male and female with an infant?” He looks back up to us to check.  “Alright you guys are good. Come on in.” We raced in and my wife looked back at the people still outside the gate. “What’s going to happen to the people who can’t get in!?” I just looked to the ground shaking my head. “I don’t know hun.
We reached a large circular platform where there were already multiple people standing on it. A soldier commanded everyone to stand on the center of it. Everyone race to stand on the platform. Just as everyone was on there was an ear ringing explosion. Everyone turned their heads looking over the town from the hilltop where a large mushroom shaped explosion had just began forming. “GO GO GO” The soldier shouted as he pushed the button to begin lowering us into the vault. I could see the wave from the explosion getting closer and closer. Then, darkness.
Everything was quiet. Lights began to shine on us as we were lowered into the vault. The elevator had finally came to a stop and we were all approached by a doctor. “Everything is fine. You are now clear to step off the elevator, get into a vault suit, and follow your doctor to the next part of your process. Welcome to vault 111.” I followed the man in the white coat up some stairs. Me and my family walked past many people getting put into these blue smoothe looking jumpsuits with the number 111 printed on the back of it. We made a left down a hallway and the room became very cold. I could see my breath in the air. Yet I felt...safe in a way. Knowing the nuclear catastrophe couldn’t hurt me from down here was good to know. But yes it was till very nerve wracking to know the world above me is gone.
In this hallway were many pods. I watched other doctors escorting other people into these pods and shutting the door on the after they stepped inside. It was so...futuristic looking. Shawn began to cry. I looked down at him in my wife's arms. I'm not going far buddy. It will all be ok. The doctor gives me my jump suit and I slip it on. As well as my wife. He helps us both up into our pods. “Time for a new beginning” I said to myself. I waved to Shawn and my wife in the pod across from me as they both closed. It began to get really cold. So cold I could not feel and of my limbs. Things began to get hazy. The last thing I saw was my wife waving goodbye befor I blacked out.