Population 15

2- Helena

2

Helena

I spent ten years in Vault 32; living life as if everything was normal and they world wasn’t collapsing around us. I grew up there with my sister, my parents, my grandmother, and other families, totaling up to about 370 people.  Deep inside the vaults were long tunnels that led to little cell-like apartments where the families lived. Vault 32 was actually very big inside, and everyone fit comfortably. We had food, water, electricity, doctors, and teachers. It was an underground community.

In the gigantic main room that connected all of the tunnels there was a large television. It would turn on at random times with a live broadcast from President Garth, updating us on the status of the Quarantine and the rest of the world. Whenever the screen flickered to life, the adults would gather around and shoo us kids away. We always knew what happened though. You’d be surprised how fast new spread underground.

About five years ago, I hid behind an armchair and listened to the entire broadcast. I had always been a curious child; I couldn’t resist the temptation.

“The Annene Plague has spread to surrounding countries. The world is in a state of chaos. We are working to rid the world of the Plagued and bring you all back to your homes again.” Static filled the air as the picture fuzzed and only bits of Garth’s conversation could be heard. “Remain in…should have…one year…” My mother sighed and walked away from the room as the television went black. The rest of the adults shuffled out and I pressed myself against the back of the chair. Another year here? Living quarters were already tight; how could we last another year here?

But we did, no matter how bad it sometimes got. In fact, we survived for five more years. But the tension was thick, and people began to spiral out of control. Fights broke out among families and friends. Living in the Vaults was destroying us, one by one. Food supply was dwindling; people were starting to starve. President Garth had stopped showing up on the black screen long ago, and many of us wondered if any of us would ever see natural light again. But late one night, my family finally cracked.

My mother called my sister and me into her bedroom. We walked in and she gestured for us to sit on the bed beside her. The springs in the old mattress creaked as we took a seat, unaware of why she was calling us in.

“Now, before you turn the idea down, just listen to me. This may be the only way to save you both from a life in the Vaults.” Her face was stern and her brown eyes showed worry. Now I was a little scared. The Vaults may be terrible, but here we were safe.

My mother lowered her voice to a whisper. “I want you two to escape. I want you to leave the Vaults and go into the Quarantine.” What? Leave the Vaults? Just us two? I had a feeling my mother was going crazy, just like the others in this Vault. She must’ve seen our disbelieving looks because she hastily began to speak again.

“Hayleigh, you’re the oldest now, and you can take care of Helena. But staying in these Vaults will do you both no good. No matter how dangerous it may be, the Quarantine is safer then the madness that lies here.” My breath came out in short gasps like it did when I got nervous. Hayleigh chewed on her fingernails.

“There are others who live aboveground; ones who are Plagued and others who are Spared. You need to find these other Spared people and there you will be safe.”

This was wrong. I was only fourteen; I couldn’t survive in the barren world above. “But Mother, why isn’t anyone else coming? Why are we going alone?” She laughed softly.

“My bones are too old. I can survive here. But I want you girls to have a life full of adventure and freedom, not confinement and insanity.” She sighed and stood up. “You will be leaving in the next few days. Believe me, darlings, life will be better away from here.” She clicked the door shut and walked down the hall of our compartment.

But Hayleigh and I could only sit in stunned silence, and I couldn’t shake the thought that the Quarantine had to be worse then the Vaults.