The scientists of Vault 115 know nothing of the horrors laying outside, waiting patiently for them to open their doors. Though they imagine, they hypothesize, they plan for the absolute worst. Creating super suits to protect them, whether from radiation or physical damage, they still feel as if they are not protected well enough.
Centuries, generations, flitter by. Myths and hypothesis turn into facts and waiting for the inevitable. Frightened, scientists continue their studies, passing their knowledge from one generation to another, in hopes that perhaps they will find a way to protect themselves when the time comes to finally open the vault doors.
There had been a counter in the main living area of the Vault, but as it counted down the time until the oxygen would run out, people kept getting worked up or scared. In response, the Overseer had it moved to the actual Vault exit, where only the Overseer had permission to go.
As children growing up, we were always destined to be a scientist, to continue the research of our fathers and forefathers. We never questioned this, it was just the way things were. However, one day, two children were picked from class and taken away. They had never been seen again. All the other children in the class were confused, some frightened, some angry they had not been chosen. But no matter the emotions, it remained a mystery. A month passed, and two more children had been picked to leave the class, and they hadn't returned either. The children started to feel restless, and the parents of the missing children never said a word, only went to work and back to their rooms, never smiling.
This month, the children flitter about the classroom nervously. This would be the day that they would take two more children, if they did it again. And, expectedly, the Overseer had appeared in the classroom. She calmed the children, then read two names off of her clipboard. And she read my name.
*Prologue*
To be entirely honest with you, I never really considered my future. It's not like I needed to...right? Why would you care about jobs and your educational success when you could be scavenging for food, perhaps? I mean what use is your academic future in the apocalypse?
Dramatic right? As I sit here, writing this down, I feel a little pathetic. Although the chance that someone would read my story is incredibly low, I can't help but feel a small glimmer of hope that someone will find it. It would become an instant best-seller! Who wouldn't read the first-hand account of a zombie apocalypse survivor? Even if that day were to arrive, I can guarantee that I won't be alive to see it.
The world is a complete and total mess and we are the only ones to blame. Why do you ask? Well, why don't we take a trip down memory lane? First, people alone destroyed the earth with pollution, making it the ultimate playground for the undead. Second, we created the virus that single-handedly destroyed 97% of the human population. Wonderful, is it not?