The Survivor’s Guide to the Wasteland

*eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*

An annoying high-pitched ringing jolted my consciousness back into being. The tinnitus bombarded my eardrums, and my thoughts only cleared once the annoying ringing subsided. Trying to take a breath, I felt my lungs straining, barely being able to inhale air. Attempting to open my eyes, I felt my eyelids stuck together where they met as if glued shut. Finally, after trying several times, the seal broke loose and I was met with an image of frosted glass.

Instinctively I tried moving my hands to feel my body for any damage. My arms didn't move and trying to move my legs yielded no results either. Then I remembered the explosion that happened before my current predicament. I started to freak out at the thought of potentially becoming paralyzed. This hectic state of mind continued until I tired myself out. Once I managed to calm myself down, I started to analyze my situation.

Besides my inability to move, the first thing I noticed was the oppressing cold around me. Rotating my eyeballs as far down as I could, I saw my arms crossed over my chest like I was a mummy. My body seemed to be wrapped in some kind of skin-tight blue jumpsuit. Now in a calmer state of mind, I realized that it wasn't that I couldn't move but that I was restricted from moving as if I was frozen solid. As I continued to try to break free, I heard someone faintly in the background.

"..iti..l fa..ure .. cr..ge..c ..ray.."

While trying to decipher the faint and broken-up message, an earthquake-like shaking began. I can feel the disturbances causing my body to vibrate just enough to free up a little bit of joint mobility. Putting as much strength as I could muster into my left arm allowed my elbow to shoot up and break free from its original position.

While I was enjoying the returned freedom to my arm, the voice in the background grew more assertive. Eventually, it became clear enough for me to realize it wasn't a person but a PA system repeatedly issuing a strangely familiar warning.

"CRITICAL FAILURE IN CRYOGENIC ARRAY. ALL VAULT RESIDENTS MUST VACATE IMMEDIATELY"

Where have I heard that before? I should recognize it, but I just can't quite put my finger on i.... *HISSS*

While I was still pondering the familiarity of the warning, a sudden hissing noise came from in front of me. This was quickly followed by the noise of an ear-piercing siren. My surrounding was pumped with warm air that began to thaw my body from its frozen position.

Elated at regaining some freedom, I started looking around. I first noticed that I was encased in some kind of padded metal coffin. In the center of my view was a plane of frosted glass surrounded by steel and heavy rivets. As more warm air entered the contraption that enveloped me, the clouded glass began to clear up. Finally, I could see what was outside my makeshift tomb and did not like what I saw.

Breathing was more manageable now, but that just allowed me to start hyperventilating. Opposite me was unmistakably a row of Fallout 4 cryogenic pods only found in Vault 111. They looked so real, but I knew they were supposed to be fictional.

Suddenly my pod's front lid jolted and cracked away from the rear half. Screeching could be heard as joints seized from decades of neglect were forced open. Slowly, the cover of my would-be coffin hinged upwards and away, granting me my freedom.

Taking a shaky step out, I immediately face planted into the hard concrete floor.

"Fuck. that really hurt."

I should have tested whether or not I could move on my own before trying to take a step.

Wheezing, I tried to catch my breath and get my body acclimated to my new environment. My mind was now in overdrive, racing a mile a minute to try to make sense of what I saw. I still couldn't quite believe what I had witnessed all around me. 

Slowly, the numbness faded and was replaced with a lot of pain. The throb of all my blood vessels timed in sync with my heartbeat. The burning sensation on my skin. The dull ache in my skull. My brain was experiencing sensory overload, and it took a few minutes of lying on the ground before I could start thinking straight again.

Putting my two hands out into a push-up position, I lifted my body to the point where I could bring my right knee towards my chest into a crouched stance. Just this short exertion caused a burning sensation in my thighs and arms.

I held this crouched position until the agony abated into discomfort. Forcing my back to lift my torso, I put my feet under my legs so the soles could be planted on the ground. I then cautiously put power into my legs to lift myself into a precarious standing position. 

Stumbling across to what I can confidently identify as a cryogenic pod, I used the contraption as a brace so I didn't fall and crush my face again. I wiped away the thin layer of frost to reveal what seemed like a man in an identical jumpsuit to mine, peacefully dozing off. But I knew better; this man wasn't not sleeping, he was dead. Frozen to death after the life support system of this god-forsaken place failed. 

I should have been scared by the frozen corpse before me, but I wasn't. I wasn't scared because my confusion was far more potent than any other emotion. How the hell did I get here, and more importantly, how would I survive in the Fallout universe?