by M. P. Pubs
"How in the hell did they manage to capture that thing?" Marcus asked.
Charon shook his head. "No idea. I don't see how we're going to be able to do this. Even if we could sneak in there and free the captives, the only way we can get them out would be to use that rail car through the mine field. No way we could do that without being seen."
Marcus looked out over the heavily armed camp and sighed in defeat. "You might be ri..."
A scream from the captives holding cage caught their attention, and they observed one of the prisoners, a male, being dragged out of the cage and brought onto a catwalk that was over the Behmouth's holding pen. The man was begging for mercy, and the other captives were screaming and crying. The Raiders laughed and taunted the man before throwing him over the rail and into the cage. A loud crack was heard when the man hit the ground, and Marcus knew that he'd broken his leg. The doomed prisoner let out a blood curtailing scream as he was crushed and ripped apart by the massive Super Mutant. The entire scene sickened Marcus, but it also gave him an idea. An idea so sinister a grin appeared on the Lone Wanderers face.
"Uh-oh," Charon said, "when you grin like that it usually means shit is about to hit the fan."
The grin never left Marcus' face as he turned to look at this friend. Shit was about to hit the fan.
* * *
It was sometime after midnight when most of the Raiders had decided to turn in for the night, leaving only a handful on guard duty. Still perched in the same position on the cliffs, Marcus propped the .308 sniper rifle on a ledge and prepared to fire. He knew he had only one chance to make this shot, otherwise the whole plan would fall apart before it could begin. He took a few deep breaths, look through the scope, and activated his VATS. The number above his target read 76% - not as good as he would like, but at least it was more then fifty. He held his breath and squeezed the trigger. The round sailed through the air and struck the generator that powered the electric fence surrounding the Behmouth. The sound of the rifle echoed through the entire valley, and many of the Raiders stirred awake. They were so busy trying to see where the gunshot had come from, that they didn't notice the generator spark and sputter until it eventually died. The Behmouth on the other hand did notice, and the beast crashed through the gate with a loud roar. For a moment the Raiders stood in shock as the creature they had caged and tormented for weeks was now charging at them, hell bent on revenge. Some of the Raiders chose to fight, others chose to flee, but either way it didn't matter. The massive creature tore into his captors without mercy, tearing them limb from limb, crushing them with his massive feet, or throwing them around like rag dolls. Marcus watched as the creature picked up a large piece of the iron rail road track, and began swinging it like a club; crushing the unfortunate Raiders caught in it's path to death.
Charon waited in the darkness on the cliff just above the catwalk that overlooked the entrance to Evergreen Mills. When the Behmouth began it's rampage inside the canyon, two of the three guards ran inside to help, leaving only one to stand watch. As soon as they were out of sight, Charon leapt down on the catwalk, taking the guard by surprise. Charon disarmed the guard and snapped his neck before the Raider had time to scream. Now he had to wait for Marcus, who was moving as quickly as he could over the cliffs and back to the entrance. Marcus was grateful that he had left most of his heavy gear in the truck, because trying to make his way through the terrain turned out to be harder then he thought. At one point he nearly lost his footing, and banged his knee pretty bad against a rock. Fighting to ignore the pain, Marcus finally made it to the rail car and climbed inside. Charon hit the switch, and the car went inside.
By now more Raiders armed with heavy weapons came running out of the facility, determined to put the Behmouth down. But the giant Super Mutant had no intention of going out easy, and more Raiders fell to it's rampage. Marcus took full advantage of the chaos and made his way to the captives cage. The remaining two women and one man were cowering in the corner when Marcus appeared.
"Everyone get down!" He drew his sawed-off shotgun and blasted the cage's lock off. At first the captives didn't move. "Come with me if you want to live!"
The captives quickly began to file out, and Marcus smiled inwardly. 'I always wanted to say that', he thought. As the captives began loading into the rail car, one of the Raiders saw what was happening, and despite the rampaging Behmouth, turned his attention on the escaping prisoners. "Hey, the meat's getting away!"
Another Raider, a female, saw the escape in progress, and both opened fire just as Marcus jumped into the rail car. As bullets bounced off the rusted metal, Charon pulled the lever and car began to exit the valley. Marcus waited a few more seconds and popped up with the sniper rifle, targeted the two Raiders with his VATS, and fired. The first round landed between the eyes of the first Raider, blowing the back of his head out. The other shot when wide and took the left ear off the female, causing her to drop her gun and scream. A roar from behind got her attention, and the wounded Raider turned around just as the Behmouth's iron club come smashing down on top of her.
Marcus let out a deep breath and slumped back down. The rail the car soon came to a stop, and the escaped prisoners followed Marcus to his truck; where Charon was already waiting for them. As the three Wastelanders climbed into the trucks bed, Charon noticed Marcus limping. "Are you alright?"
Marcus winced as the adrenaline was beginning to wear off. "I'm fine; let's just get out of here before we have every Raider in the Wasteland on our ass."
Charon nodded, and the ghoul started the engine.
* * *
After putting some distance between them and Evergreen Mills, the group found a trading caravan making it's way east toward D.C. that agreed to take the three former captives to Megaton. After many thank you's and goodbyes, the two heroes continued west toward their destination. They were halfway between Evergreen Mills and the garage when Marcus spotted a strange metal sphere, with antenna's protruding out of it, floating near some trees. "Hey Charon, let's check that out."
Charon parked the truck near the strange object, and they both got out. As they got closer, the sphere began to speak.
"Let's talk about government, shall we? Or, more specifically, YOUR government, dear America - the Enclave. Just who is the Enclave? Why, now, that's simple. The Enclave is you, America. The Enclave is your sister, your aunt, your friend, your neighbor. And, well, yes... the Enclave is me, as well. Haha aha. As your President, it's my responsibility to preside over our great democracy. So, as your President, I am the voice, I am the heart and soul of the Enclave. That is to say, I am the voice, heart, and soul... of America. But only together, TOGETHER, can we hope to reach our full potential. The way we were before the war. Whole. Beautiful. Powerful. One Enclave. One America. Now... and forever."
The sphere began to float away, with the melody of Yankee Doodle playing in it's wake. Marcus stared at the strange object until it was out of sight, and he tried to fathom what he had just heard. "I thought the American government was destroyed when the bombs fell."
"It was; those are just some pre-war propaganda broadcast on a loop. The garage is just a few miles ahead, we should keep moving."
* * *
From the outside, Smith and Casey's looked like any other garage in the Capital. When Marcus and Charon entered, the only living things inside were a few mole rats that they quickly dispatched. After searching for any sign of a secret door leading to the Vault, the only thing they found was an old broken computer terminal and empty parts lockers.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Charon asked.
Marcus slammed a locker door shut. "If my father said the entrance to the Vault is in this garage, then it's got to be here somewhere."
"Okay, okay. There must be a switch or button somewhere that opens it."
They continued to look, but to no avail. In frustration, Marcus slumped down in a broken chair and stared at the wall. He began having his own doubts about his father's information. '
Have I come this far only to hit a dead end?' As he pondered this, Marcus noticed a small notch in the wall he was staring at and went over to investigate. After brushing away the dirt and debris, he realized it was a USB port. He looked around and didn't see anything nearby that it could've been connected to. 'Why are you here?' he thought. Deciding to take a chance, he inserted his PIPBOY's wireless plug into the port and held his breath. A moment later, the words "Access Granted, welcome Vault-Tec personnel" flashed across the PIPBOY's screen. Suddenly the entire garage began to shake, and a large platform in the floor opened up; revealing stairs heading down. Marcus was so excited he nearly forgot to remove the USB plug, and both he and Charon quickly made their way down into the Vault.
* * *
When they made inside, they were greeted by a Robo-Brain, a robot that had a living human brain that served as it's AI. To Marcus it looked like an oversized trashcan on treads, with two large hose-like arms. The Robot approached him and began to speak. "Welcome to Vault 112, resident! According to sensors, you have arrived 202.3 years behind schedule. Please re-dress into your Vault-Tec issued Vault suit before proceeding. If you have misplaced your suit, there are replacements in the locker to your right. Once dressed, please proceed down the stairs to the main floor so that you may enter your assigned Tranquility Lounger"
Marcus thought that the request was peculiar, but if it would help him to see his father...
"Okay, thank you." After dressing into a Vault 112 jumpsuit, he followed the robot into the Vault's atrium, where a massive computer was sitting in the center of the room. Surrounding the computer were twelve human-sized pods, all of which were connected to the computer. As Marcus and Charon began to investigate this mysterious sight, they realized that eleven of these pods contained people.
"Are they dead?" Charon asked.
Marcus studied the monitors attached to the pods, and they reminded him of the heart monitors in his father's clinic. "No, they're alive. It looks like they're in some kind of suspended animation."
Charon was confused. "You mean like they're hibernating?"
Marcus nodded. "In a way yes. According to these monitors these people have been here for over two-hundred years." He walked over to the computer's main terminal and plugged in his PIPBOY. "This whole thing doesn't make any sense. They should've woken up by now...unless..."
Charon could hear the dread in his voice. "Unless what?"
Marcus began to type on his touch screen. "I discovered that Vault-Tec used many of the Vaults to conduct human experiments without the residence knowledge." He finally managed to access the files detailing the computer's basic function. "According to this the pods not only keep the residents alive, but they also act as a virtual reality simulator."
Charon stared at the pods. "So while they're bodies are asleep, they're minds are in some virtual world?"
Marcus nodded as he admired the amazing technology that was in front of him. This kind of thing was only seen in the scifi movies he watched when he was a kid. It still didn't explain why they had not woken up by now, and the computer was not allowing him to access anything about the Vault's mission. It did give a list of names of the residents in the pods - all but one of them. Pod number 11 was listed as: unknown.
Marcus' heart skipped a beat. 'Could it be?' He ran over to the pod and looked through the glass. The middle-aged man looked peaceful as he slept, and although his eyes were covered by a visor, there was no mistaking the number 101 on the jumpsuit's left sleeve. "Dad!"
Marcus began pounding on the glass in a vain attempt to wake him up. Realizing the futility of it, he ran back over to the main terminal and tried to access the computers program. Each time he tried, the words "Access Denied" appeared, and Marcus frantically tried to find some kind of manual release on the pods. There was none.
"Damn it!" He cursed. Marcus frantically tried to think of some way he could get his father out of there. For a moment he thought about destroying the main computer, but that would most likely kill his father and everyone else in the simulator. Having no other option, Marcus decided on his only course of action: he would have to go into the simulator and get his father out.
"Charon, I'm going to have to go into the empty pod and try to get my father out of there."
Charon, while not surprised, was still horrified by the idea. "Marcus that's crazy! If you're father couldn't make it out of there, what makes you think you can?"
Marcus made his way over to the pod and began placing his gear on the ground. "I want you to give me one day to get my father out of there. After that, drive to Rivet City and get Doctor Li." He opened the pod and climbed inside. "Maybe she and her team can hack the computer and wake us up."
Charon placed his hand on the pod's hatch. "You don't know if she or anyone can hack this program. Going back into Vault 101 was one thing, but this..."
"I have to!" He stared into the eyes of his friend with determination. "I'm so close, Charon. I'm not going to give up now."
Charon knew that there was no convincing Marcus, and as much as he wanted to, he was not going to force him; he had no right to do that to his friend. "Alright." He shook Marcus' hand. "Good luck."
Marcus sat back in the pod and braced himself. Once Charon had backed away, he pushed the button and the pod began to close. It was halfway shut when an explosion was heard outside the atrium. Marcus aborted the simulator, and jumped out of the pod as Charon rushed over to the doorway with his shotgun ready. He spotted a squad of Talon Company Mercs entering the Vault's main passage way. The Robo-Brain that greeted them fired it's lasers, killing one of the mercs, but was taken out by a pulse grenade.
"It's Talon Company! They must've tracked us here!"
Marcus cursed as he picked up his Tri-beam laser rifle and crouched down behind the pod. 'How the hell did they find us?' He looked over at his helpless father lying in the pod, and he gritted his teeth. 'This is not going to end like this' he swore.
The Talon Company Mercs were right outside the atrium. "We know you're in there you little fuck!" the commander yelled. "Bounty or no bounty, we're going to put your head on a fuck'n platter!"
Chapter 18: The Man Behind the Curtain
Charon quickly took cover behind one of the stasis pods, while Marcus removed his grenade launcher from his pack. He checked the weapon, and cursed when he realized he only had one shot left. He launched the grenade through the doorway, striking the wall, and the explosion killed one Talon Company merc and wounded two others. The mercs responded by lobbing two frag grenades into the room; dangerously close to Marcus and Charon.
"Get down!" Marcus yelled a second before the grenades went off. The shock wave stunned and disoriented both of them, and Marcus' ears were ringing. Forcing himself to get up, he could see the mercs moving into the room through the smoke. Marcus and Charon took aim with their weapons and opened fire, dropping the first wave. More mercs poured into the room, and a laser beam struck Marcus' left hand, causing him to drop his rifle. As bullets and laser fire struck the stasis pod he was hiding behind, Marcus caught sight of Charon, out in the open and fighting two mercs hand-to-hand. The ghoul managed to disarm both of them, snapped the neck of one, and broke the right knee of another with a violent kick. A shotgun blast went off, and Marcus watched Charon go down.
"CHARON!" Fighting the pain in his right hand, an enraged Marcus stood up and charged at the mercs, firing his pistol. Two of the mercs fell victim to his rampage, and Marcus continued to charge forward, determined to reach his friend. He had almost made it when a bullet struck his right leg, and Marcus crashed to the ground. The pain was excruciating, and he was certain that the bullet had shattered his shin bone. Marcus rolled on his back, and five Talon Company Mercs were standing over him, grinning and sneering. Marcus looked over at Charon, who was still motionless on the ground. He then stared over at his father's stasis pod. It was still in tact, and his father was lying peacefully inside. Marcus looked back up at the Mercs; he couldn't believe his journey wa
s going to end like this.
Without saying a word, the leader of the mercs pointed his shotgun at Marcus' face and pulled the trigger.
* * *
Marcus woke up screaming and sat up straight. The first thing he did was put his hands up to his face, and was surprised that it was still there. He then examined his left hand, and saw that it was perfectly fine.
'But, I was shot, I know I was.' As confusing as all of this was, what Marcus saw next shocked him even more: his PIPBOY 3000 was no longer on his right forearm. In fact, there was not even a trace of the four spikes which had been plunged into his flesh. A frightful thought entered Marcus' mind. 'Am I...dead!'
The Wanderer slowly stood up and took in his surroundings. He was no longer in the stasis room of Vault 112, but instead was in a large empty room completely illuminated with white lights. If this was the afterlife, Marcus thought, then this had to be purgatory. "Charon!" he yelled.
The word echoed in the empty room. "Anybody? Hello!"
Nothing. Just echoes. He slowly began to walk around the room, the only sound coming from his boots as they made contact with the lighted floor. There was no door, or windows, not so much as a speck of dust. Just an empty room covered in lights. Just as hopelessness was about to overcome him, the sound of a little girl's laughter echoed inside the room.
"Hello! Is someone there?"
He heard the laughter again and quickly spun around, and caught a glimpse of someone running past a doorway; a doorway that Marcus swore was not there a moment ago.