It had happened. They had actually done it. Erin hugged herself tightly, as the gate slowly rose in front of the last shell-shocked group of survivors. Nearly half a kilometre overhead, the world was being wiped out. The morning had seemed like any other, for the young college freshman; just a lazy Saturday to catch up on some reading, or maybe visit her friends in Concord… Then the sirens had sounded. She probably would have ignored them, if not for the radio suddenly interrupting itself to announce in no uncertain terms that this was not a drill and that everything she knew was about to be wiped away, as if by the hand of an angry god. All she could do was thank the heavens that she was alive – she and the handful of others from Sanctuary Hills that had made it down. There was even a couple with a baby who were probably more relieved than anyone else. The father seemed to have everything together at least; wasn't he ex-army? It didn't matter anymore, she guessed. Her eyes caught the baby's scared, bemused look and she smiled, waving to it and wishing she could share its childish innocence, only needing the warmth of its mother to know everything would be alright. And maybe it would? After all, Vault-Tec boasted all the time about their state-of-the-art shelters.

"Everyone please step off the elevator and proceed up the stairs in an orderly fashion." Men in the tight vault jump-suits, bearing the number 111 were waiting to greet them, in front of the massive, cog-shaped door to the underground refuge.

"No need to worry folks. We'll get everyone situated in your new home. Vault one-eleven: A better future, underground!" The marketing tagline seemed almost absurd in the wake of what had happened, but who knew; maybe they were right? Certainly, the vault had to be better than the firestorm raging above. Erin straightened her back and stepped forward, just behind the family of three. She and they seemed to be the only ones not in a state of shell-shock. She waited patiently as they were handed their own jumpsuits and then she received hers.

"Uhm…" she spoke up, then realising no-one had heard her soft voice, she cleared her throat and tried again, "E-excuse me? Isn't… Isn't this going to be a bit big for me? She eyed the cheery woman handing out the garments with a familiar sting of slight jealousy. She hadn't really grown much since her 14th birthday. Her mother (please God let her have got to safety in DC) used to say she was just being stretched, ending up as just 5ft1 and scrawny as anything.

"Hmm? Oh, don't you worry ma'am," the rep smiled, flashing her perfect teeth, "Our stylish vault suits are one-size-fits all!"

Erin remained unconvinced, but was too self-conscious to complain and not wanting to hold the line up, hurried into the vault.

No sooner had she caught up with the family, when a member of the vault security reached out a hand to stop her.

"Just one moment please, miss. That decontamination bank is already full; if you'd just step into this one over here please?"

Erin gave one more glance towards the family and the baby they carried. She hadn't said a word to the parents, but that wasn't unusual… She had no real connection to them and she was never one to speak up… She nodded meekly and turned, taking a last look at the cute baby in its mother's arms.

"Uh…" Erin reached out her arm to the side and pinched at the roll of loose cloth that hung from the sleeve. "I-I don't think it fits."

A white-haired man in a labcoat walked over and inspected her with a frown. "Hmm… That's unfortunate. It seems your frame isn't really suited for our adult-sized suits. I'll just get you a child-size. It shouldn't be a moment."

It wasn't a big deal, Erin supposed, as she changed. A child's suit was a little embarrassing, but she was used to having to buy downsized clothes for her stringy figure and the scientist/doctor/whatever his title was, seemed in a great hurry to get everyone sorted for orientation. She turned and caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass of the pod, as he opened it for her. Thin lips; shallow cheeks; dull, limp hair the colour of coal dust - she was no picture, but it was familiar. Erin had long since given up dreams of turning from ugly duckling into beautiful swan and had instead retreated into her books and her computer science studies. The door swung up with the soft hiss of pneumatics and Erin pulled herself up into the pod, sitting back and gulping nervously as the door swung down like the lid of a coffin. What was this uneasy feeling she suddenly had? Why did things seem slightly off..?

"Resident secure," chimed the computerized voice. "Occupant vitals: Normal. Procedure complete in 5. 4..."

Was it suddenly getting really, really cold? The glass in front of her face was frosting over-! Erin struggled to keep her eyes open, but it was impossible. Something was gently but irresistibly tugging her towards a deep, deep sleep.

"3. 2. 1."

Cool, white slumber overwhelmed her.

Something broke through her lead-limbed weariness. Something harsh and urgent. She was so cold and everything ached. Her vault suit was pinching, too tight to breathe.

"Failure in cryogenic array. All vault residents must vacate immediately."

What? Who was-? Oh, the computer. Cryogenic array? Was she-? Before Erin's mind could even form a complete thought, a sudden hiss came from the seals and with a stiff jerk, the lid of her pod swung up. She stepped forward, but frozen numbness made her limbs stiff and she tumbled forward, spilling onto the floor. She still couldn't breathe-! Everything felt so damn tight! Erin struggled for breath as she reached up, pulling at the collar of her suit. To her shock, every motion of her limbs brought a tearing sound and a small relief in the constricting sensation. Finally, she opened her collar and breathed in deeply, only for a sudden ripping split to reach her ears. Erin gave a small shriek of surprise, as her child's suit split open at the front, finally freeing her to take a deep breath of air. Even as she filled her lungs, kneeling on the cold, hard floor, the split spread and stretched, displaying cleavage for the first time in her life!

"W-what's-? What the hell is this-?!" Erin gasped, staggering to her feet and noticing she stood a good deal taller than she remembered, her suit's seams popping and splitting open to show pale skin beneath.

Erin's shock was only compounded however, as she finally started to take in her surroundings. All around her, the rest of the pods contained the unmoving, unmistakably dead bodies of her neighbours, frozen eternally in time. Erin stumbled from pod to pod, slowly getting used to longer limbs and the gently bouncing weight on her chest, as she stared open-mouthed and wondered, "Why… Why has this happened? Why were we just frozen? Oh God, what about..?" She hurried from the room, searching the other cryo-bays. Every one held a body, until she reached the last pair. One was empty, its door swung wide, while the other… It stood open, but its occupant clearly hadn't died as peacefully as everyone else. Erin turned away from the frozen blood, covering her mouth and stumbling for the exit. She had to get out- She had to get away from this! The main corridor was blocked, so she had no choice, making her way through the hallways, looking for a way around. Finally, she found herself at the overseer's office and the sight of his skeleton shocked her enough to bring her to her senses. Panicking was going to do nothing. "I… I need to take a breath," she muttered to herself, heading shakily for the nearest washroom. "I have to figure out what-" Erin stopped, catching sight of herself in the dusty mirror that hung over the sink. "Oh my God, is that-?" The changes, it seemed, had not stopped at just her body. Her face was transformed! Her lips were fuller, even a little redder than their previous, lifeless pale; her eyes had a natural liner that drew her gaze towards dazzlingly dark-blue orbs; even her cheeks, now that colour was returning to them after the cold, were fuller and redder; and her hair shone jet-black and wild around her shoulders. Her body was tall, ten inches more than she recalled, if she was any judge; and her stick-thin build had vanished under healthily soft and smooth skin. Her breasts were the size of small melons under her ruined top and even her hips and rear had grown out. All in all, she could barely recognise the diminutive, unattractive girl who had blundered naively into Vault-Tec's freezer, who knows how long ago. She reached up, confirming her face with her fingers and staring in shock and wonder. "That's me… What the heck did Vault-Tec do to me?"