"Animus!"
"Sister"
Animus and Jasmine simultaneously turned to look at the door. Gwen and Daphne were making through the crowd toward them. Animus stepped in front of Jane's corpse to cover the view. Elsa brought a bedsheet and covered her body with it.
"Gwen. Someone passed away." Animus said, stepping closer to Gwen.
"I know. I heard. She...committed suicide." Gwen nodded shakily.
Animus gently wrapped around an arm around her. Gwen leaned and pressed her forehead against his shoulder.
"Daph, someone died." Jasmine said and hugged Daphne.
"I know. I went to your unit and found it empty. I started following the people gathering even now. I'm glad you're fine." Daphne shuddered, hugging Jasmine firmly.
"Carry her body." Rachel commanded Patsy and Beatrice.
The two nodded. With a staff member carrying a stretcher, they began moving the body.
"Please gather for the memorial at two o'clock. You may be at your assignments until then. After the memorial service, you may all take the day off." Rachel announced before moving with the staff members.
For a second, Rachel glanced back and made eye contact with Animus. Animus held her gaze. She turned back and left.
**
The memorial service went by quietly in the Atrium. Animus hugged Zoe on his left. Malty wept openly on Animus' right, hugging him tightly. Yor had gently steered Anya's attention awat from realizing the memorial's purpose, but Anya was crying regardless. Jasmine and Daphne held hands quietly. Gwen stood close to Animus, frowning at Malty now and then.
Rachel was giving a practiced speech on the podium, her staff members flanking her. It was drawing to a close.
People had slowly begun dispersing.
Elsa was guiding several women in the crowd at once through their emotions. But Elsa herself wore a cold mask. She glanced at Animus once. Animus looked at her. They exchanged a nod.
"Brother." Zoe said, looking up at Animus.
"Yes, Zo?" Animus asked, rubbing her back gently.
"That's Elsa of Arendelle. The CEO of Ice Corp. I told you I saw her in the vault before. I'm certain it's her." Zoe said, glancing at Elsa in mild awe.
"I see. I don't know about the Ice Corp, Zo. But Elsa is really young to be a CEO. Are you sure?" Animus asked, one hand gently on Malty's shoulder as she wept.
Zoe blinked at Animus.
She sighed in exasperation.
"Did you do nothing but code on the computer back home? She made global headlines. Elsa of Arendelle! She literally made her country famous by her title!" Zoe whispered harshly.
"Okay...?" Animus asked.
Then, his eyes widened.
"Wait." He said before looking at Elsa in shock.
'Elsa? From the Disney movie?! Like Jasmine?' He thought in surprise.
Zoe grinned smugly before schooling her expression.
"Now you remember?" She asked.
"Uh, yeah? I vaguely remember her, but not what Ice Corp does. Or why she is a CEO at such a young age." Animus said, turning around with Zoe while gently helping Malty walk beside them.
"You... You really don't know?" Malty asked in equal shock.
"He's a hermit living under a rock, I swear. The only thing he knows is how to perform mad science." Zoe muttered in exasperation, walking with Animus.
Gwen, Jasmine, and Daphne joined them. Yor took Anya away to their unit.
"Did I hear that right? Animus doesn't know about the succession history of Ice Corp?" Jasmine asked with wide eyes.
"By this point, I would be surprised if he knew anything of importance." Daphne snarked, rolling her eyes.
"Animus." Gwen said, her voice like that of a parent explaining history to a child. "Elsa's father, the royal king of Arendelle, was assassinated two years ago. The assassin wasn't caught. Elsa inherited her family's crown and their biggest company when she was 16."
"Oh." Animus mumbled, his eyes wide. "She has...suffered so much. And she's barely an adult. How cruel."
He had a downcast look on his face.
Jasmine looked at him. Her expression softened.
Zoe nodded to Animus' words.
Gwen walked close to Animus. She touched his arm gently.
"She did. I can't imagine how strong she must be." Gwen nodded.
"Yeah." Animus said, before looking to his left.
Elsa was walking towards his group.
The chatter of the group died down. Everyone stopped walking and stared at the approaching platinum blonde beauty. She gave them all a sweeping glance. Elsa was unfazed by their stares. She stopped a few feet away from the group.
"Spero," Elsa greeted, her voice icy despite the seemingly amicable greeting. "I want to know more about what you said earlier today."
"Hello, Elsa." Animus smiled, his expression gentle. "I would like to tell you more, but not in an open space."
Animus tilted his head to gesture to Rachel and the Vault-Tec staff members. Elsa caught his look.
"Fine. Let's head to my housing unit." She nodded.
"Sure. But meet my friends first." Animus said, gesturing to everyone.
"Hi! I'm Zoe. Animus is my big brother." Zoe waved excitedly.
"Hello. I'm Gwen. I work in the labs with Animus." Gwen smiled.
"Hey. I'm Jasmine. This is my sister, Daphne." Jasmine said, gesturing to Daphne.
Daphne raised her hand in greeting, choosing not to speak.
"I'm Malty. It's nice to meet you." Malty said, stepping away from Animus slightly.
Elsa looked at them all.
"It's nice to meet you all," She said, though her voice didn't match her words. "Do all of them want to come with us too? My unit isn't that big."
"No problem. We can all head to my housing unit," Animus said, not thinking twice.
Elsa paused. She stared at Animus.
"Bro!" Zoe whispered harshly, elbowing Animus. "You're asking the literal royalty of Arendelle to visit your house!"
Jasmine, Gwen, Daphne, and Malty all stared at Animus.
"Guys, seriously. What's the big deal?" Animus sighed in exasperation.
"Elsa." Animus said, turning to her. "Does it matter to you where we sit and talk?"
"...No." Elsa said, blinking in confusion.
"Does my status not matter to him at all?" She whispered under her breath.
"Hmm?" Animus asked, tilting his head.
"N-Nothing." Elsa said, turning her back to him.
"Alright." Animus drawled, raising an eyebrow out of suspicion. "Let's go, everyone. I live in Unit 1."
"Damn, bro. Could be it that your charm was just chained to your computer this whole time? Is this nerd charisma?" Zoe muttered quietly while standing next to Animus.
Animus sighed audibly.
**
The large group caught attention on the way to Unit 1. The girls chatted quietly, exchanging few words.
Upon reaching Unit 1, Animus unlocked the door using the cable of his Pip-Boy.
Elsa spotted the action.
"You...added a lock to your unit?" She asked in surprise.
"Yes." Animus nodded. "I'm going to help Jasmine add one to her unit too. I can do it for you as well, if you'd like. My lock is more robust than the normal lock the units have built inside them."
"I'll consider it. Thanks for the offer." Elsa nodded.
"No worries." Animus shook his head.
The door opened. Animus guided everyone inside. He quickly sent a message to Yor via his Pip-Boy.
[Animus: Miss Yor, we're going to hold an important discussion in my unit regarding the future of the vault. Would you like to join us? I live in Unit 1.]
Yor replied immediately.
[Yor: Ah, yes! Anya just fell asleep. I'm coming right away!]
[Animus: Okay, we can wait for you.]
Animus turned to everyone.
"Girls, please make yourselves comfortable on the sofas. Zo, pull out chairs from the dining table. The sofas can only fit six people." Animus said, motioning to the seats.
"On it, Bro." Zoe nodded and began pulling out two chairs to arrange them next to the sofas to form a full circle.
"Thanks." Animus smiled.
Zoe shot him a thumbs-up.
"May I help bring cookies and snacks?" Jasmine asked.
"I'd love that. Let me help." Animus smiled.
Jasmine and Animus laid out snacks and cookies on the low table in the center while Gwen secured one of the sofas, Daphne took the other, and Elsa took a chair. Malty stood around unsurely. However, her gaze seemed to be scanning the housing unit carefully.
A knock appeared on the door. Animus glanced at it in surprise.
'The fuck? It's barely been two minutes. Is that Yor?' He thought.
"I'll take this plate. You can open the door." Jasmine said, taking a plate from Animus.
"Yeah, thanks." Animus said and walked to the door.
He opened it quickly.
Behind the door, a woman with jet black hair tied in a bun and ruby-red eyes looked at him with a mild blush.
"Hello, Miss Yor. You're really fast." Animus blinked.
"O-Oh, not really. I just jog sometimes." Yor stammered.
"Sure. Please come on in." Animus chuckled.
"Thank you." Yor said, feeling a bit shy.
Animus stepped to the side to let Yor in. He closed the door.
The girls greeted her. Yor smiled and greeted them back.
Animus walked and sat next to Gwen, taking the center of a sofa. Zoe sat on his left.
Jasmine, Daphne, and Yor took the opposite sofa.
Elsa was seated on the chair to Gwen's right. Malty took the chair to Zoe's left.
"Now." Animus said, his voice turning grave. "Let me tell you what my statistical models have revealed about the fate of the world above."
Everyone fell quiet. They looked at Animus in hushed silence.
"The nuclear winter has a 99.87% probability of ending in exactly one year." Animus announced, looking back at everyone.
His words fell like thunderclap in everyone's ears.
**
Author's Note: Hi, everyone. Are you liking the story so far? I've worked to improve my writing style. Some feedback, and especially a review, would be great. This is the 20th chapter, so it would be nice to get a review and some likes or comments. It would really encourage me to know if I am doing something right.