Billy Stranger

Billy and his family didn't know anything about the world before the illness. They were born well after the fact, after the world had been divided into vaults, it's sole intent to keep people separated and powerless. At least that's what Billy's father would tell him. No one knew what other vaults were like. Only the keepers of each vault were allowed to communicate with one another, but even then, sometimes months or even years would pass with no contact outside of their small hub. It was up to the residents to find entertainment amongst themselves.

He was always a risk taker, despite his neurotic demeanor and hesitancy towards most new things. It's as though he'd developed impulsive behavior to counteract the low grade fear he felt churning at the bottom of his stomach since he could remember, as though every moment of his life he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. The anticipation became too much, and Billy soon began finding small ways to subvert the punitive glare of their keeper, and the laws set in stone by the government that no longer was. Most of these impulses were funneled into tinkering with now defunct electronics. The keepers kept old technology reminiscent of the previous world for experimentation, along with some new developments locked away, but Billy being, well, Billy, found a way to break in unnoticed and claim some of these items for himself. He quickly learned the ins and outs of computers, radios, and any sort of equipment that required a microchip and some machine code. His clandestine hobby remained his secret, save for his younger sibling. They were the only person he shared anything with, due to his deep seeded distrust in just about everything else.

Billy's relationship with his sibling was partly as to be expected between older and younger siblings. Some healthy teasing, coupled with a few choice remarks about the other's appearance in stabbing jest. Mockery and pranks were no stranger to either of them. The foundation of their dynamic, however, was built upon survival, Billy often times taking on a bit of a caretaker role despite not having a single nurturing bone in his body. As they both got older, a twinge of resentment formed. He felt as though he was expected to put himself on the line for the safety of both of them, especially after their father's untimely passing. "Man of the house" type shit. It made his skin crawl. Eventually, left without either parent at a certain point in their young adolescence, they were both forced to parent themselves ultimately.

There was one day when Billy was 17, while he was playing around with a radio he'd found, he'd managed to pick up a foreign signal. At first it just sounded like garbled voices, but soon he was able to make out hushed whispers discussing plans for escape and uprising. He was taken aback. Escape was only something they dreamed of, but never spoke of. If he were truly honest, he thought of it often, but the words never dared slip past his lips. He now wondered why? Listening closer, he deduced that the radio signal was coming from another vault entirely, and somehow he'd managed to patch in to their station. It sounded as though this other vault were forming a plan, and the next few nights for Billy were spent utterly sleepless as he ruminated on the information he'd accidentally stumbled upon.

His mind felt like gravel as he mulled over this for a few more days and nights, debating with himself whether he should mention it at all to anyone. But it was the disarming effect that his sibling had on him that caused him to spill the beans as soon as he was in their presence. Unfortunately, he wasn't given the reaction he was hoping for. There was judgement, at least what he perceived as judgement, resistance, and apprehension. Billy tried to explain that this was the moment they'd been waiting for, but the wall felt impenetrable. His heart sunk into the pit of his stomach, the first time he was overcome by any real emotion that felt unbearable. He was being pulled in two; loyalty and accountability, or the inevitability of change...violent and grappling change.

He made his choice in the middle of the night as he snuck away in silence, abandoning the brutal familiar for the gory unknown.

Through nothing short of a miracle, Billy eventually found the other vault. Even if you asked him how he'd managed his escape, he probably couldn't tell you. Memory is a finicky mistress, aided only by strong drink and clandestine substances that comrades brewed up in a dirty bathtub. Anything to get to sleep at night, right? Presently, Billy has made himself useful in the resistance with his self taught hacking skills and general expertise regarding electronics of all kinds. What he lacks in emotional intelligence, he makes up for in raw unbridled logic.