#vault75

(A/N):

I am SO sorry this update has taken so long to get out to you guys! It's been almost a year! Life has just been hectic, and I've not been in the greatest place mentally. Inspiration finally struck this week though, so here you guys go! Enjoy!

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"What the hell do you think we can do about this, Rohit?"

The boys had moved to the bathrooms down the hall; it was empty, secluded, and granted the boys the privacy they needed to discuss the Graduation papers. They'd also avoid waking Alma, who had been unconscious when they'd stepped out.

Rohit's skin had lost its color, and he paced the room whilst running his hands through his hair. He wondered for a moment what he'd gotten himself into. "I don't know, James!" He exclaimed, "But we have to do something! You see what that says!"

James leaned against one of the sinks as he looked the papers over once again, his expression almost fearful. If what the papers said were true, it was deeply disturbing. "I know. It's got a list of kids in our class, but it's out of date; Mitu died, and she's still on here." He paused for a moment. "I'm confused though. P.E.V. isn't something I've heard of; FEV is what makes super mutants, so they might be related." He sighed as he flipped through the pages, wondering for a moment if he and Alma had some form of FEV in their systems, and what that meant. Were they a danger to their friends? "It sounds like this is has been going on for a while, possibly even since the bombs dropped."

Rohit nodded in agreement. "That wouldn't surprise me, but we need to do something."

"I agree," he said, "but we have no idea what we'd be up against. Even if we did make it out of here, you know what's in Uptopland. Raiders. Mutants. Radscorpions."

"Deathclaws," Rohit added.

James nodded. "Deathclaws."

"So what do we do?"

"I don't know," he muttered. "But we have a better chance at surviving up there than we do down here. It's guaranteed that we'll be killed if we do nothing."

He turned to face James, coming to a stop. "We need a plan, and we need help."

The boy remained silent for a moment as he considered their options. They'd likely have to fight their way out; the Overseer wasn't one to negotiate, and if he found out that anyone knew about what actually happened at Graduation, it'd mean trouble. That man would do anything to keep the vault running how it should. The other problem was that they had no idea how many people stood between them and freedom. Even if there were only a few humans, the synths could still be a threat.

"We need a way to find out what we're going to be dealing with," James stated. "We can't do anything blind, or we'll end up dead."

"The only way we can find out anything about the research team is by finding someone who's willing to help. That's what you want to do?" Rohit gawked. "James, they'll go straight to the Overseer! We can't!"

James shook his head. "I don't think they all know."

His brows knitted together in confusion. "Why not? Why wouldn't they all know?"

"Think about it, Rohit. They recruited Washington from last year's kids. Margaret Fox was recruited a few years before that, and a year or two before her, Rochelle Morris. They know some of the people here. They had friends. How do you think they'd react to finding out we all die at Graduation?"

Rohit blinked in surprise, then nodded slowly. He hadn't considered that, but he knew James was right. "So, those are the three we talk to."

James nodded. "They're our best bet. Washington was kind of an ass, but I don't think he'd just jump on board with that, especially with how close he was to Nina. Margo had a big heart, so she wouldn't be okay with it either."

"I hope you're right," he muttered. "But it's also been a long time since we saw any of them. We don't know how much they've changed."

He sighed. "You're not wrong, but what choice do we have? Like I said, if we go in blind, we're dead. We need help. So, if you handle Washington, I'll find Margo. Screenings are coming up, and they always need more people than usual for that. I bet they'll bring her down for them."

Rohit let out a small sigh, but nodded. "I hope you're right. For now, I don't think we should tell Alma anything. If we get caught and she doesn't know anything, they might not do anything to her."

James nodded in agreement. "Right. Until we know more, and have some kind of plan, she needs to stay in the dark. She doesn't need this now anyways, not after the experiment they did on her today. We'll let her rest for now."

•⊱──────⊰•❀•⊱──────⊰•

Rochelle sighed and leaned back in her chair, surveying her room. Twin beds were on opposite sides of the room, each with a nightstand next to them and a Vault-Tec steamer trunk at the foot. There were also a pair of dressers, two desks, a bookshelf, and a bathroom that the room's inhabitants shared. While small, the space had enough room for the items that had been placed in it.

She'd been tasked with coordinating the next round of screenings. Each child went through them. It served as a way to measure how well they were doing, and how well each experiment worked. Each child had to undergo physical and intellectual screenings, and those who performed well were subjected to harsher experiments later on to find their limits. To Rochelle, the experiments were more like torture.

As she began to turn back to her papers, the room's door opened, and in came a woman only a few years younger than her. Like all the staff, the woman wore a white lab coat and black slacks; her chestnut hair was pulled into a neat bun, and she sported a bright red lipstick. Bold colors like that were an uncommon choice, but it suited the woman. "Evening, Rochelle," she said as she made her way to her dresser. "I heard Hayes charged you with coordinating the screenings. How's that going?"

"Boring," Rochelle muttered with an eyeroll. "I can't wait to be done with it. Is there anyone you want to work with on these, Margo? I can put you down for whoever you want."

"The PEV subjects," she said without hesitation. After removing her lab coat, which revealed a long sleeved black top, she opened her dresser to search for pajamas.

"You're sure?" Rochelle's brows knitted together. "I hear the Lancaster girl is a nightmare."

"I'm sure."

"But why?"

Margo shrugged and tossed the pajamas onto her bed, beginning to change. "They interest me."

"That's it? You're just curious?"

"Pretty much. I mean, they're the only ones we've injected with anything FEV related. PEV is only FEV and the pan-immunity virion right?"

Rochelle nodded. "More or less. The development team probably does more than just combining them, but that's the gist of it."

"Okay, and they could mutate any time they get angry with the FEV in it." She flashed her roommate a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. "It's exciting. I want them."

She raised a brow. "The other stuff in that injection keeps the FEV mutations in check, while still offering the extra strength and endurance it should have given when it was first developed."

Margo shrugged. "It's experimental. We don't know what could happen, not really."

She laughed a bit. "Right, and let's say you do end up in a room with a super mutant. What then?"

"I was always a good shot," she boasted. "Mutants are tough to kill, but a shot through the eye would do just fine. It'd be easy enough in close range like that."

"If you could pull your gun in time."

"Other vaults used regular FEV, and those records say the transformation took a bit. Other vaults had them quarantined in individual rooms. If it was instant, they wouldn't have been able to lock them up."

"Fair enough," Rochelle muttered. "You're the only one on this team aside from Hayes with decent physical scores anyways. I doubt the rest of us could take down a mutant."

"Speaking of Hayes," she said, padding to Rochelle's bed to take a seat, "I think something's wrong with graduation."

"Why?" She glanced to the young woman on her bed.

"Washington lost some papers earlier. Said they were related to it, but he was really shaken up about it."

Rochelle's brow furrowed. "That doesn't sound like any normal set of papers. I wonder what it was."

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I know. He also said he talked to Hayes about repairing the shooting range, but he got really defensive about it. Told him it wasn't his job to worry about that, and he got really mad when Washington kept pushing."

"That's... weird. If the other graduates are up on the surface, what's wrong with contacting them and asking for supplies? Maybe manpower to actually do the repairs?" She crossed her arms. "It's not like we're in a dangerous part of the Commonwealth. The area around us is pretty empty except for some ghouls and molerats, so the vault wouldn't be in much danger."

"I know. That was Washington's logic too." She paused, a concerned expression settling on her face. "Rochelle, what if those kids aren't up there?"

She paused as well, mulling over the idea. It wasn't entirely impossible; only a select few senior staff members were involved with the graduation process, and none of the previous subjects had been heard from in any form. Still, it was a dangerous thing to talk about. "Margo," Rochelle croaked, "please tell me you haven't told anyone else about this."

"Of course not," she scoffed. "I'm not stupid. Most of the staff have their heads so far up Hayes's ass that he could shoot their kid and they wouldn't bat an eye. I heard he actually did kill a staff member before we were recruited."

"It wouldn't surprise me. But still, you should be careful."

Margo gave a nod. "I know, and I will be. I need to know what's going on though. If Hayes, maybe even other Overseers, have been murdering kids..."

Rochelle barked a laugh. "If what? What could we possibly do? Even if we did anything, most of us wouldn't survive up top. You and Hayes are the only ones with decent physical scores. The rest of us are weak. The first ghoul we ran into would kill us."

"So, what, you're just okay with them killing kids?" She scowled at her roommate.

"That is not what I said."

"Well, you don't seem to want to do anything to stop it."

"We don't even know if it's happening, Margo!" Rochelle huffed and turned back toward her desk. "Look, I have a lot of work to get done before I go to bed. I'm guessing you have an early morning too."

Margo paused, but nodded and made her way to her own bed, deciding she'd pushed Rochelle enough for one night.

•⊱──────⊰•❀•⊱──────⊰•

Rohit sat next to his sister's bed. It had been a few days since the last experiment – the one that left so many of her bones shattered – was performed on her, and since he'd found the papers on Graduation. Over that period of time, he and James hadn't spoken much – to each other, or anyone else.

His thoughts had , of course, been focused on any potential plan to escape the vault. Thus far, he had nothing. He'd managed to find a map of the vault in an old storage closet, which was needed considering that none of the children were allowed on the upper floor that the staff inhabited, but it had been damaged by a water leak years back and rendered useless.

Alma was also a concern. If, somehow, he and James were able to get help from at least one of the younger staff members, there'd be a massacre in the vault. He had no doubt that the staff were armed, and given that all the children were trained to use firearms, they were likely dangerous enemies even if they'd been on the upper floor for years. Alma could handle herself, but he hated the idea that she'd be in a fight like what was coming. He wanted her safe. It was his job to make sure that was the case, but if he needed to fight, he couldn't protect her.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Rohit jumped and whirled to face James, who'd entered with a couple bottles of Nuka Cola. He held one out to Rohit, who took it and held it rather than opening it. "Alma," he whispered. "I want her safe, but if we have to fight our way out of here, neither of us can protect her. We'll be busy elsewhere."

James watched his friend for a moment before sighing and pulling up a chair. "Rohit, she has some of the best scores out of all the kids in the vault. She even outran me on the treadmills." He paused to glance at the girl, still sleeping soundly. "I want her safe too, but she's not a kid. We're all a couple months away from being eighteen, and she can take care of herself. Besides, the only people who get recruited to the staff have low physical scores."

"That doesn't mean they're any less deadly with guns. There's no way they're not armed up there."

"You're right," he muttered, "but we're good shots. They don't ever come down to the shooting range, and I don't think there's even space for them to have one up there. I bet they're out of practice."

Rohit nodded, relaxing a little. "It's almost like they're grooming us to overthrow them."

James's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it," he began, "they only take people with low physical scores and high intellectual scores. We're all experimented on to make us stronger, faster, and smarter, and they tell us it's so we can go to Uptopland and help people. According to them, the people up there struggle, and they're weak, so they need stronger people to protect them." Rohit gestured toward the upper floor. "If we're so much stronger, I guess we stand a chance. Unless there are more up there than we can handle."

He nodded, slowly beginning to understand. "You're right, but that doesn't mean it'll be easy to get out of here. One well-placed shot could take any of us down, and we don't know whether those synths are going to be a threat or not."

"Who exactly is 'us,' anyways? Who's going to be fighting, and which age group are we considering too young?"

"I'd say if they can handle a gun, they should fight," James stated. "This affects all of us; we can't ignore it, and we can't afford to be picky with help. That said," he paused and pursed his lips, considering their options, "I don't think many of the younger kids would be any good in a fight. Maybe thirteen? Nina's the only one younger than that. Twelve, and the last one left in her class."

"Nina also has really high physical scores though. I don't think we should leave her out." He sighed and leaned back in his chair, his eyes locked on the floor. "Me, you, Alma, Mehren, Nina, and Ellie Barnes all scored either superior or excellent in our last physical screening. Ellie's the only one who scored below average intellectually, but she'd still be useful. We should take everyone but Alma, and leave her with the weaker kids. She can protect them while we fight, and she'll be safer away from the main battle."

James sighed and closed his eyes. "That's actually not a bad plan, depending on the staff. We should ask more people to fight if there are any more than ten staff members though."

Rohit nodded. "Most of us that are above average should be able to take at least two each, so, that's fair."

"We don't actually know much about our abilities though. I mean, we know our limits. When we need to rest and eat, and how much we can push ourselves to the extreme, but none of us have been in real fights." He stretched, then moved to get to his feet. "I'd like to outnumber them, but I doubt that's an option. And if we're bred to be stronger, smarter, and faster, I'd say it's a safe bet that we'll be able to take on the people they've recruited."

"You're not wrong," he muttered. "I just hope we'll get through all this."

James spared a glance to Alma. "Believe me, I do too. We need to-" he stopped as someone knocked on the door.

Rohit glanced to James. "Who do you think that is?"

"I have no idea," he muttered, "Everyone's usually asleep by now." He sighed, then padded toward the door, opening it when he arrived. When he saw who their visitor was, his blood ran cold.