Crawled Out Through The Fallout

Chapter 37

I left the room I arrived in and walked into a bright white, spotless room. The light burned my eyes, and I put my hands up to shield them. I looked around for an exit, and found a door. It reminded me of the Vault before they froze me. The door opened and I walked into another room, just as pristine as the last. I heard a voice surround me, coming from above.

"Welcome to the Institute. You have worked very hard to get here. Please follow the hallway to the elevator."

I listened to the voice and entered the elevator. I stood in the cylinder and pressed the button. It began to move, but instead of lurching, it moved smoothly. I was being lowered deeper. I could see a large room below me, with flowing water and green grass.

"For the past few decades, we have worked to create a livable world in the Wasteland above. For this, we needed reports of the world's current state, so we can better understand how to fix the problems. If you want a better, brighter future for the Commonwealth, we can work towards it together. Go to the suite above the main entrance."

I listened to the voice continue, and then the elevator opened. As I walked through, people in clean white lab coats and synths holding brooms stared at me. I was suddenly aware of my stained dark clothes and unrefined appearance. I walked up the spiral stairs and into a small room. A sliding divider opened and I saw a ten year old boy with my hair color sitting behind a wall of glass.

"Shaun? Shaun!"

I ran to it and put my hand on the glass. The boy looked up at me and fell back, his eyes wide.

"Father! Father! Help! There's a woman in here!"

"Shaun, it's me, don't be scared. Please."

The boy kept panicking, and a sliding door in the back opened.

"Perform shut down."

An older man walked in, and the boy slumped over. The man had grey hair and a beard, and familiar eyes. He looked at me with a smile.

"Hello. I am Father, the leader here."

I looked back at the boy in the glass.

"Why did Shaun do that?"

"Because that isn't Shaun. He's a synthetic replacement of Shaun. An experiment on reaction to family. But he failed it. He didn't recognize you."

I narrowed my eyes.

"So where is the real Shaun? What have you done with him?"

The man opened his arms and gave a sad smile.

"I'm Shaun."

I shook my head.

"No, they said Shaun was ten."

"And I was. Fifty years ago."

I felt tears in my eyes.

"All that time wasted. I missed your entire childhood."

He nodded and looked down.

"Yes, well, it has been for an excellent cause."

I take a few deep breaths to calm myself down. I found my son. But he's no longer a child like I had hoped. Losing ten years was bad, but nearly his whole life was a miserable feeling.

"I think I need to sit down."

He led me to a seat and helped me down.

"Of course. This must be very difficult. I'll have a guide take you to your room when you are ready."

"My room?"

I looked at him, my head tilted.

"You do want to stay here, don't you?"

I thought for a moment before answering. I thought of my friends on the land above me, and the world in ruins around them.

"Yes, of course I do."