Please Stand By

Chapter One: The First Day

The sun shone bright - blinding even - and the metal platform creaked and groaned, scraping noisily as it made its way to the surface. The air suddenly shifted, from the stale chalky air of the vault to real above ground air. Air that was crisp. Air that was cold. Air that was... off. Something was off with the surface air and Charlotte began to cough, straining to get a deep enough breath. No matter how much air Charlotte inhaled, it didn't feel like it was enough. She wheezed and covered her eyes against the sun as the platform came to a halt.

Rust. That was what the air tasted like.

"Oh my god" Charlotte wheezed, kneeling on the platform as it slammed shut. The pistol she carried through the vault clattered to the ground.

The silence that followed the closing of the vault door was deafening, ringing in her ears. She sat on the platform, hands on her knees, and squinted at her surroundings. The trees were all bare, not a single leaf to be seen. Charlotte gasped as she saw skeletons scattered around the entrance to the vault, some still with clothes on. One, near that entrance was a small skeleton with a pink tattered dress. After staring for a few moments she realized she recognized the skeleton; it was Mary Cornwell, the neighbor who, the weekend before the bombs dropped, told her in excitement that she was pregnant. Charlotte's breath hitched in her throat as she pulled her knees in close to her chest, as realization set in: She was the only one left. No one was alive. Not a single person.

There has to be someone alive.

Charlotte scanned her surroundings but the silence and lack of wildlife confirmed her fears: she was the only person left. She tucked between her knees and sobbed. For how long she didn't know, but the tears wouldn't stop. Her chest ached for humanity, for Nate, for Shaun. Even Codsworth. She continued to sob, wiping her runny nose on her Vault Tec suit sleeve, as she thought of all the loss in the world; Nate would never see Shaun grow up, she would never talk to her parents again, Shaun would grow up without a father. Shaun. SHAUN.

Suddenly Charlotte screamed. She let out a scream so loud and angry, anger towards those who took her baby from her, those who took her HUSBAND from her. She held the sides of her head, and howled in anguish. There was nothing stopping her as she rocked back and forth on the platform, screaming, shaking from the adrenaline coursing through her veins. She couldn't stop. Everything hurt and she just wanted it to stop.

A large bird flew quickly in front of her face, landing a mere meter in front of her. It screeched loudly, rivaling her own screaming. Charlotte froze, voice caught in her throat. The large black bird sat there, and cawed repeatedly before spreading its wings and flying away. Charlotte sat there frozen, trying to process what just happened. Slowly she pulled her hands away from her face and looked around again. Still no sign of any human life, but now she could see up in the trees, there were about a half dozen ravens - or crows - she wasn't too sure. But they were there. They hopped around from branch to branch, chattering noisily to themselves. She continued to start as her mind slowed down.

'There's animal life still. That might mean someone is alive.' She thought to herself. 'And if animals are still alive, that could mean that...'

Charlotte grabbed the pistol and jumped up, searching for the road she came in on when the bombs dropped not so long ago. Finally, she saw it and ran. She ran, heart racing, and praying. Praying there was a sign at home. Something that would clue her in on where they took her baby. If she can't have her husband maybe... just maybe she can find Shaun and live a life with him. Raise him on her own. Teach him about his father who was brave, kind, loving, gentle...

Charlotte froze in the spot, breath hitched in her throat as she thought of Nate again. She had made it down to the base of the hill and before her stood the bridge leading her to the cul-de-sac she called home. Sanctuary. Some homes had fallen in on themselves, debris in every direction she looked. A few were completely gone, just the faint outline of the foundation peeking out through the burnt grass. If only Nate could see this now. He'd be devastated.