Father led them to a large building with a familiar sign over the entrance:
Liberty Savings & Loan
Recognizing the regal bird, Skreth growled.
“Inside, my son…”
Skreth nodded. The others followed as he walked toward the front entrance. Like the windows, the glass doors had been shattered years before, and their boots crunched on the jagged shards.
Inside, sheets of discarded slips and bank forms covered the dirty floor. Spider webs hung in every corner, glistening in the sunlight. Rats skittered amongst the papers, scrounging for anything edible.
“There…” Father urged, pointing to the large desk.
Like the doors and windows, the plexiglass which had once protected the tellers had long been destroyed. Ignoring the side entrance—which had also been ripped away—Aliss, Tic, and Tac slid over the filthy counter with serpentine grace. Setting the SureCaster on the ledge, Skreth leapt onto his knees, then shifted to the other side, grabbing the cube as he turned.
“There,” Father said, indicating a dark hallway.
With no hesitation, Skreth stepped over the threshold. Wide-eyed, his anxious warband followed, trailing their fingers along the rough walls, feeling the spots where pictures had once hung. The discarded frames—now jagged and broken—lined the carpet, making a cacophony as they trudged along. Father’s ethereal glow cast strange shadows all around.
At the end of the hall stood the remains of a large wooden door, leaning on bent hinges.
“There,” Father repeated, prompting Skreth to rear back and kick the door with all his might—
Thwack!
The hinges snapped as the door fell with a heavy thud!
A large, black entrance now gaped before them. Grimacing, Skreth stepped into the darkness, using Father’s light to guide him. Behind, the scuff and shuffle of boots followed.
Like not, here…
They stood in a huge space, untouched by daylight. Their footsteps echoed, indicating a hard tile floor.
Skreth grunted in annoyance. “Eyes not, Father…”
Father gestured toward Aliss. “Your torch, child…”
“Ah!” Aliss shrugged off her backpack. Inside, she found an old In-E-Tech flashlight, and thumbed it on.
A bright beam cut through the shadows.
“Eyes now, Father!”
Father nodded his approval. “Yes, my child…”
Proud of herself, Aliss beamed brighter than her flashlight as she smiled at Skreth.
Skreth chuckled, looking upon his lover with lust and admiration.
Laughing, Tic and Tac patted her shoulders, jostling her a bit.
“Inside,” Father said, pointing to the dark distance.
Taking careful steps, Aliss advanced, aiming the light where Father indicated.
“Our prize!” Father called when the light glinted off a large metal door. Aliss halted, letting Skreth pass her as he raised the cube.
Grunting, Skreth pressed his hand against the cool steel. He frowned at the strange handle protruding from its center. Large, wheellike, with steel rods protruding from it. And beside it, a square box filled with numbered buttons.
Skreth knew that the contraption turned, but his gut told him that it couldn’t be opened without pushing the buttons a certain way. “How in?” he asked Father, brow furrowed … and Father began to laugh.
A harsh, grating sound, echoing in the darkness.
“Pull, my son. The vault is broken…”
Skreth turned to Aliss, who stepped forward, took the cube, then stepped back. Growling, Skreth wrapped his huge, scarred, hands around two of the rods, and shifted right, straining, putting all his weight and strength into the motion.
EEEK!
With a harsh snap! the wheel turned and disengaged, allowing the large door to swing open.
“Excellent, my son!”
Skreth nodded toward Father, almost smiling.
“Love…” Aliss whispered, sending an electric spark through Skreth’s loins. “Strong man…”
“Skreth strong!” Tic said, laughing. And Tac, of course, echoed him like a manic mockingbird.
“Look…” Father urged, raising both hands as if presenting a magnificent gift to the world.
Handing the cube back to Skreth, Aliss aimed her flashlight into the dark room before them.
Something glinted.
“Up,” Skreth directed.
And when Aliss raised her light … when she saw the horrible faces staring at her … the poor, young, wastelander screamed—
“AAAHHH!”
* * *
Hungry for more? Have you read the memo that LV-RA's manager sends to Human Resources?
NO?!
Read it here: https://pro-t-en.blogspot.com/2025/08/lv-ra-demands-protection-excerpt.html
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