As I fought, a deeply unhelpful part of my, soon to be drowned, brain, pointed out that perhaps screaming as I fell was not such a great idea. On account of how you’d wasted all that air, it continued.
Snide comments, even when only I could hear them. That was about right. Perhaps this was my life flashing before my eyes? If it was, it seemed unfair that it had chosen to focus on me being a smart ass, and a really long extended play of me drowning.
There was no light to aim at. No bubbles to follow. My chest was screaming for air, but something held my mouth clamped shut. My hands hit brick and with nothing left to do but guess, I picked a direction and struck out with all I had left.
Just as my resolve gave out, my hand broke the surface of the water, and my desperate breath sucked in air, not liquid. The relief was overwhelming, but that air was quickly knocked out of me as I dropped suddenly to land on firm ground. I lay on my back in shock and looked up the water flowing 10 feet above my head.
I stood slowly, dripping on the floor, of what turned out to be a small smooth-walled cavern. Blankly I stared about me. The walls were offwhite, and featureless, with no doors or windows. Smoother than any rock I’d ever seen. No obvious tool marks to betray its construction. Their stonemason was a lot more talented than Anguin in our village.
“How in Geesuz name am I going to get back up there?” I asked under my breath, looking up at the surface of the water above me.
“You will not”, replied a voice from everywhere at once.
I spun around quickly, but no doors had opened, and no assailant stood behind me waiting to strike.
“Show yourself!”, I hissed.
“I fear you are unprepared for that”, said the voice. “What are you?”
“I’m a man. What am …. wait what are you?”
“Your genetic profile does not correlate with my files. I am an autonomous supervision intelligence. I am in control of this facility.”
“Facility? This is a well!”
“A well what?”
“A well, full of water. My village has used it for generations. Clean, endless water. Drinking it keeps us safe, and cures us when we are sick.”
There was a pause.
“Hello?”, I said. “How can I get out of here?”
The voice spoke up again. “This eventuality is not in my protocols. I will need to evaluate the situation.”
“OK, but can we evaluate this with me in some dry clothes?”
There was another pause. “Affirmative. Please proceed through the door to your right.”
I looked to my right just in time to see a hole materialise in the wall. Not hinged like on the council longhouse or like a tent flap. It just appeared. Maybe 7ft high, too tall for any person to need. With nowhere else to go I ‘proceeded’ as directed. As I left, I stole one last look over my shoulder at the surface of the water that resolutely remained on the ceiling.
In front of me was a small platform, around 2ft square. I eyed it suspiciously.
“Please step onto the transport pad”, the voice suggested.
I did as I was bidden. There was a sensation of movement that startled me, and to my shame, I fell to my knees and shut my eyes. When I opened them I was moving at an unbelievable speed, faster even than the sledges we rode as kids down the lower slopes of Mount Wassington. I screamed.
I must have fainted because the pad had stopped when I next became aware. I was in a chamber not unlike the first in size and shape. In front of me on a countertop was some folded material.
“I have estimated your size. This is a Medium child's suit. I believe it will fit you.”
The suit turned out to be an all in one, trousers and jerkin. I managed to get my arms and legs in, but there were no buttons or buckles to keep it done up. Just cold hard teeth on the edges of the fabric. I tried to push them together but to no avail. In the end, the arms knotted around my waist were enough to hold it up.
“What was that water? How did I get here.”
“The water is a perimeter defence. The facility uses it as a filter to limit exposure to potential risk factors. The filter uses several antibacterial, antiviral and anti-radiation chemical, and nanotech countermeasures. It is not recommended as a drinking source.”
“Facility. What’s a facility? Where the FUCK AM I!”
“You are in Vault 122. Bretton Woods. I have been out of contact with Norad now for 392 years, 4 months, 22 Days. This eventuality is not in my protocols. I will need to evaluate the situation.”
