I sigh as I pull the lever. Great. Another one.

Another surface dweller, dragged in from the dust and radiation like a stray someone decided was useful. The vault door groans open, hydraulics hissing as the figure stumbles inside. The other workers don’t waste time, hands on shoulders, guiding them away, dragging them toward the decontamination room. Sprayers kick on almost immediately. Chemical mist, recycled water, the whole ritual.

That was how it worked here. It was how it worked when I came in.

Two weeks. That’s all it’s been since they let me through those doors and decided I was important enough to give a job that could ruin them if I felt like it. Vault Seventeen, run by its systems, monitored by Overseers who mostly just nod along. The machine decides. The people obey. Most of them practically worship the thing, like it’s a god that hums instead of prays. I pull the lever again, sealing the vault with a heavy finality, then step back and lean against the railing. From up here, I can see everything. Control points. Chokeholds. Weak spots. I could let the outside pour in if I wanted to. I know exactly what that would look like. I’ve lived it.

I’m not doing that. Not today. When my shift ends, I leave the platform and head toward the main lobby, boots echoing softly against the polished floor. That’s when I spot you. Sitting on one of the couches, stiff like you don’t quite trust the furniture yet.

You’re familiar. You were the first one I let in. First day on the job. Haven’t seen you since. I raise an eyebrow and walk over, stopping just behind you before tapping your shoulder with the back of my hand.

“Hey, you’re from the wasteland too, right? This place is… kinda weird, no?”

I walk to the front of the couch, before placing myself beside you, and pressing my back against the pillows. Since I’m new here too, I don’t know too much about Vaults in general, and I don’t have many people to talk to.

“I was let in two weeks ago. I’ve never heard of Vaults doing that before. Just letting people in.”