The Vault

The Vault

Donna picked up her cigarillo stub and checked that it was still
alight. It gave her time to inspect the short queue of fellow students
waiting at Mrs. Katz' office door to see her. This was the way that she
insisted all of her staff, permanent or temporary, 'started their day'
in her department.

Donna had already been through her 'daily inspection' and was now
letting her anger subside in the staff canteen. It wouldn't do to give
in to the petty and unjust criticism she had just received from 'The
Cat'. She told herself that she had youth on her side and 'that woman'
would be put out to grass very soon. Also she needed good marks from
the inspection so she could attain the next job level, that of File
Mortician Stage 2.

Look, the office door was opening again and the other student was
coming out.
He had joined at the same time and was really was quite good looking..
He had dark hair, cloudy blue eyes and athletic looking. He needed a
haircut though, if he was to be fashionable. 'I wonder if that's
Garson?', she thought.

"I can't talk, though", she told herself "your hair's a MESS, your
blue
skirt has still got that pasta stain on it and when are you going to
pluck up
some courage to say 'hello'? You've been here a week already and
haven't
talked to anybody you fancy. He looks lonely and worth an
effort."

She was sitting at a four-seat table, bolted to the floor as usual, so
she took
her bag off the opposite seat. It was giving the false message
that
the seat was already taken and she didn't want lose the chance that
he
would to chose to sit there. Making the movement of the bag obvious,
she
looked right at him, smiled and nodded. Surely he'll take the
hint!

"Hello. I'm Donna and I'm new here. You look as if you're new as
well.
What's your name?"

Garson stopped where he was and is face reddened a bit as he thought
'Wow! She spoke to me! What a fabulous looking bit of skirt and that
hair. I wonder how long she brushes it to get looking that good? I bet
she does daily workouts to keep her figure looking like that!'.

Finally he managed to blurt out a few sentences in answer to her
question.
"Garson. Nice to meet you, ma'am. Are you one of the official
greeters?"

"No, I'm working my way through college, just like most of us here, I
guess. Are
you doing the same?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Yes", he grinned. "Does that Mrs. Katz often go on like she did
this
morning?

"Yep, often! Mary, one of the section heads always does what she
says because she finds it easier not to argue. In any event I think
Mary is
after her job when she retires and wants to keep her happy."

"I'd better watch out for this Mary, then"

"No problem. She's sitting just two tables away behind you. No,
don't
look now, she's staring at us. Tell you what, if you drop
something
accidentally on the floor, as you go to pick it up, you can get a quick
look
now."

"How will I know which one she is?

"She's the one with the dark brown hair, red jumper and
an face which curdles milk!

"O.K. Here goes."

With that he fumbled with his spoon and dropped it on the floor under
his
seat. Muttering "Clumsy, clumsy!" to himself, he scrabbled about on
the
floor. After a few seconds he surfaced triumphantly, holding the spoon
in
his left hand.

She steadied him as he regained his seat and murmured "Well done,
Garson, I don't think she spotted anything. Anyway, she getting up and
it
looks as if she's leaving, so we won't be bothered any more by
her.

"Mortician's prayer! She does look a bit severe! I can't say I'm
not
worried she's leaving!" he whispered back.

"I'm afraid that's the price all we girls have to pay for safety's
sake"

"I think you look O.K. . You've got fabulous hair." replied Garson, and
added
in a normal tone, "By the way, I've got to report to a mortician,
second
class, somebody called Mary. I assume that's her. Do you know where her
office
is?"

"Yes. I'd better take you" Donna replied. "It's difficult to find. If
you can
just wait a minute, I've just got to tidy my hair into 'safe mode' as
it's called and change into my new overalls. Won't be a sec."

Soon she was back and climbing the ladder to start her shift, when her
personal communicator buzzed. "I wonder who that is trying to get me?"
she said, glancing down at Garson, who was holding the bottom of the
ladder to keep it steady.

"It can only be someone who knows you are here and what your number is"
he said, "I bet it's Mary"

"You're probably right" she replied, slapping the "On" button on her
left-hand blouse pocket.

"Donna here, who's this?" she announced.

A muffled, tinny voice answered her. "It's Mary here. Have you started
work yet?"

"I was just about to climb the ladder" Donna replied.

The tinny voice continued. "Glad I caught you, then, before you got
stuck in. See if you can find anything filed for a Michael Kohler in
the `K's. That's M I C H A E L. That's the old spelling of Mykal. If
there is anything there it would be filed in the last ten years.. If
you do find anything, take it out complete and bring it to me. Sign a
borrowing slip of course, but in the name of D. Kole - and no
arguing!"

Garson overheard what Mary was telling Donna and was surprised.

"A file on HIM? The Mykal Kohl who was one of the original Flood
survivors? Can we take it out?"

"Of course, That's where we put the borrowing slip" . Having finished,
she then continued to climb the ladder to the middle of the K section
all the while talking indignantly to Garson "Typical Mary! Devious,
mysterious. I wonder if she thinks she knows who that D. Kole might
be?"

Garson shouted up the ladder. "You be careful, up there. You're in the
clear anyway because I heard her ask you to do it. If there's
silliness, I can tell them it wasn't your fault."

"Thanks, I feel better now your my witness" Donna replied.

"That's Okay, any time." Garson felt happy and then said
excitedly
"Hey, I've just had an idea. See if you can find any files left by
a
Martin Cole when you're looking for Martyn Kohler. You never
know,
somebody might have misfiled things. because they couldn't spell
properly."

His superior tone became even more excited when Donna, now near
the
ceiling, announced "Here's a file here from Michael Cole. The spelling
is the old one for Mykal and the Family name is given as C. O. L.
E."

"Great. Can you please take it down as well, please?"

Garson waited as Donna descended the ladder carefully, hooking her left
little finger round the rungs and her forefinger and thumb grasping the
file as she descended awkwardly. When she was near the bottom of the
ladder, she swayed a little and Garson hurriedly steadied her at her
waist.

"Are you all right? Let me have the file, gorgeous, and get your
balance"

"No, its all right. I can manage. Anyway I want to read what's inside
the file" With that, she plumped herself down on a near-by chair and
began to read.

As she read, her eyebrows began to twitch.

"Hey, Garson, you're not going to believe this. This is a diary from
the end of the last century and guess who wrote it?"

"Our Mykal again?"

"Got it in one! The spelling's a bit daft, but I can make out most of
what he meant to say. Listen to this. It's got a hand-written note in
shaky Caps on the front, which says: This diary belongs to Mikael S.
Kohler. To be kept in decade 2020-9."

"That's old. It's almost 2060 already and if Kohler was old when he was
writing it then he's probably 'snuffed' it by now." Garson couldn't
resist using an archaic phrase to describe that he thought it likely
Mikael Kohler was dead. "Does he give any dates?"

"Ooh, yes! The very last entry is the week after that date we all are
taught to remember well in school. The day of the Sunamy. I wonder what
he says about the Great Flood?"

"Not much, I bet. Why are you blushing?"

"It's the language he uses. I thought I wasn't easily embarrassed,
but......"
"All right. Leave out the smutty bits and give me a hint of what he
wrote." "Well, he's ranting on about how all the food is rotting in
what is left in the fields and what are people going to eat. He says he
is lucky because he has a secret stash of vegetables, which will last
him until next spring, assuming he doesn't give any of it away ."

"He survived, then." said Donna," I was never quite sure when they told
us about the flood. The fact that it's still nearly always raining
makes my mind stop working properly. I mean, today none of the other
helpers have managed to come in to the Vault to help with the work. I
am fed up with the casual way people come in to help and then when
there is a slight spot of rain on their windows, they stay indoors.
Michael had the same feelings, too. There's a line in the margin where
he says: I'll put this file where they won't find it easily and then
when the next Sunamy comes they'll be out of their depth in more ways
than one! "

Then she asked the question that Garson knew was coming.
Look, luv, I can't always keep calling you 'Garson'. Remember you call
me 'Donna' and all I've got to call you is 'Garson'. What's your other
name?"

"Most of my friends call me Eddy" he replied shyly.

"That's no good. You are nothing like a slack bit of water going round
in circles all the time. And you've got muscles - I felt them when you
saved me from falling off the ladder just now.
And you smile a lot. Can I call you Ed instead?"

"Of course you can. I'd like that" he replied.

"Great!" said Donna and then she continued "Did you ever get stories
about the Great Sunamy when you were a babe, before you went to
school?"

"Oh, yes" he replied. "When I was growing up my father used to tell
stories, and if I wanted a scary one, that is one he used to tell. At
the end of the story, he used to say that it never really happened, but
I was never quite sure".

Donna lowered her voice and whispered down to Garson:
"Look, there a lot more in the file. You have a read. My arm's getting
cramps holding on up here. I'll drop it down to you, so be careful when
you're catching it."

"O.K. you drop it just here," Garson whispered back.
With that, Donna closed the file and let it go, straight into his
arms.

Immediately he looked at the front cover of the file of paper, which
was amateurishly bound like a book. It read "Personal Journal June 2060
etc.- Mykal Kohler"

"Here, this dates from June 2060. The month of the Great Sunamy. I
wonder if he mentions it." His voice trembled slightly, as he held up
the journal for Donna to see the front cover.

"Check the date, silly. The actual day of the Flood was June 23rd,
Midsummer's day." she impatiently replied.

Garson opened the file and turned a few pages and stopped. Then he
started to read:
"June 23 - Today is my anniversary. I don't think anyone knows about
this, because I kept it very secret ever since I've been working in the
Vault. Now it's time to go home and open a bottle in celebration., so
I'll close now and start on my way."

"Hello, it starts up again on the next page, saying: I can't get out.
All the others seem to have locked the entrance tight and gone home.
This means I'll have to stay here for the night, until they open up in
the morning. It's a good job I was saving my birthday cake until going
home time."

Garson stopped reading and stared, as if mesmerised, at the page he was
holding.

"Now it's gone all squiggly. I can't make it out properly. It looks
like 'That was a tremendous shake the Vault just had. The lights just
went out and left me completely in the dark. It's a good job I
remembered how to switch on the emergency lighting and the outside
cameras. I hope they are still working. They were when we had the drill
some years ago. I suppose they will have to be checked again.'"

He stopped reading took a deep breath and said, "Wow, Donna, do you
realise this must have been when the Big Wave hit.? This could be
important."

"Don't hold up your hopes too much, Garson, several fake journals have
already been found. We would have to get the paper analysed to see if
the date is right."

"It. looks right to me, and why was it hidden?"

"You could be right, Garson, what does the next bit of the journal
say?

"That's funny. There's nothing here, except that there's a gap in dates
for a couple of days and then it starts up again. I'll read it to
you."

With that Garson cleared his throat and continued "July 10th, morning.
Slept well, I was so tired!. Still no sign of anyone coming to open up
the main door to the Vault. I have managed to get the outside camera
view to be shown on the screen here in the Reading Room, but the view
is very poor. All I can see is a lot of muddy ground and tree stumps.
Occasionally a bird flies across the screen, but I haven't seen any
people. I know The Vault's out of the way, but there should be somebody
passing by now".

"I agree", said Donna.

"I think I'll use the telephone in the Vaultkeeper's office", Garson
continued reading aloud. "It'll mean breaking his door down, but I've
got to find someone. I've had my last bit of birthday cake and now I'm
getting hungry. The tap in the washroom is drying up as well, and I'm
getting a bit thirsty. as well

Garson turned the page and said to Donna "Poor chap, I hope he gets
out. What did the history books say? Where did Mykal Kohler die and
when?"

Donna replied "Oh he died many years after the Great Sunamy. The book
that I read said he got trapped for a few days and then he got free to
carry on the work of the Vault. He was the only survivor and suddenly
he became very important and was made Vaultkeeper."

"Tell you what, lets see if we can get a hold of anyone at the Vault
keeper's office, but I don't know where it is yet. Do you?" he asked
Donna

"I'll show you" she replied. "Its difficult to find because it isn't
marked. He likes to keep it secret, but I know roughly where it is.
Come with me."

She held out her hand and Garson took it. A spark of static passed
between and made them jump. "Ow! Are you wearing something made of
nylon?" Garson said.

"Yes, but I'm not showing you!" Donna replied jokingly.

"That's all right, but handholding is off at the moment!" said Garson,
and winked.

"There'll be plenty of time for holding hands when we get out. Come on
Ed, this way"

And with that she turned round and led Garson down a corridor to the
right of the office door"

"Yes, Miss!" said Garson cheekily.

After tramping down the winding corridor for about quarter of an hour,
they came to a halt outside a heavy wooden door set the corridor
wall.

"This is it!" Donna announced proudly.

"Do you think anyone's using it now?", asked Garson as he tried to turn
the door handle. "Its very stiff, I think we'll need to fiddle the
lock".

He looked at Donna, who replied, "It looks as if the Vaultkeeper is out
just at the moment, so. we'll be all right."

"Can we stop and have a rest, I whacked!", groaned Donna.

" Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were tired.". Ed's concern could
easily be heard through his reply. "Is there a day bed in these long
term offices?"

"Yes, there usually is" replied Donna. When Mary showed us trainees
round the Vault last week, when I first came, she said that bed was
standard for important workers.. I reckon you could call the
Vaultkeeper as important, couldn't you?" With that she flopped full
length on the bed, which Ed could just see in the dim light of the
room.

"Come and join me, it's ever so comfy"

"OK I' feeling tired too, if you don't mind.".

"No of course not, Anyway, I want to give you a hug for that great
ladder rescue you did earlier"

"Your wish is my command, Donna, but there's no need to thank me. I
enjoyed the whole thing".

With that he lay down next to Donna, who rapidly threw an arm round his
neck and planted a passionate kiss on his cheek. Before long he had
turned to her and their kiss had developed
into something much more demanding, with any clothes getting in the way
wrenched off and dropped on the floor.

After, Ed's eyes had adjusted to the dim light in the room and he could
see many items on the muddled desk, including a telephone. He rolled
off the bed, after planting a kiss on his sleeping partner's rosy cheek
and lifted the phone from its cradle.
.
A crackle came back from it and soon Garson was excitedly explaining
their plight. When he had stopped speaking, he clasped the phone even
tighter and nodded his head a few times. "Thank you, thank you", he
said gleefully. "We'll go back to meet the rescue team at the entrance
to the Vault. So tell them to wait until we get there!"

Then he became aware that Donna was awake and listening to every word.
She said:

"So, there are some people about, then. Glad they didn't catch us just
then."

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