Simone Smith
The Vault

October 10th, 1962 was the last day of normalcy. The temperature was moderate, and the sky was clear. As I walked down the street, I noticed the people that passed me, seeming to be stuck in their own world, destined for insignificance. My life was completely average. I contemplated this with disdain as I trudged into the bank where I worked.

My coworkers smiled at me as I walked in, and then contentedly went back to work. I looked at them with disgust as I wondered how they could ever be fulfilled by their mundane jobs and trivial lives. I took a seat at my desk as I mentally prepared myself for a day of tedious work, handling other people's money.

My job as a bank teller encompasses handling deposits/withdrawals and having routine financial interactions with customers. As I organized my files, I noticed Ben approaching my desk. Ben was the completely incompetent security guard for the vault, and I often wondered if his job description also included beleaguering me. His flirtatious behavior and complete ignorance to the fact that I was not interested made him even more irritating. I pinched the bridge of my nose, anticipating the headache that I would get from this conversation.

"Hey, Kathy, you're lookin' good today," Ben said as he flashed me a toothy grin. He might have been attractive if his teeth weren't so crooked and the desperation on his face wasn't so obvious. Most women would have liked his attention, but I found it degrading.

"Hello Ben, what can I do for you?" I asked begrudgingly.

"Can't a guy talk to the prettiest lady in the office without a reason?" He asked

Determined to get rid of him, I said, "Now isn't the best time, I have a ton of paperwork and I have an appointment in fifteen minutes."

He looked defeated as he said, "Okay, I guess I'll see you later."

Satisfied that I got out of that encounter unscathed, I started to prepare for my meeting with one of our biggest clients. Several minutes later, Mr. Clark walked in and took a seat in my office. Even though I grew accustomed to having these meetings with Mr. Clark, his presence still made me nervous. His air of authority and harsh features were enough to instill fear in anyone. The meeting was short, and when it was finished, he deposited a large amount of cash. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy when he presented the crisp stack of bills.

After meetings with big clients, I tend to fantasize about what I would do if I had all of that money. If I had that money, I could escape this town and go see the world. I had been daydreaming about stealing the money for last three months. In my head I had it all planned out. All I would have to do is get that ignoramus, Ben, to help me get into the vault. I bet he would do it. I would have to pretend to tolerate him for a while, but it would be worth it. I wouldn't take all of the money, just barely enough for anyone to notice. Maybe I could actually do this.

I had an internal war with myself for the rest of the day, deciding whether or not I should take the money. I finally decided to do it. It was the only way I could ever make anything of myself. The first step in my mission was to get Ben's help. I dreaded this part of the plan, but I knew that it was necessary.

After work I walked over to Ben's station. I invited him to dinner at my apartment. I know that it would be the only safe place to propose my scheme to him. As expected, he accepted with great enthusiasm. Ben talked my ear off as we walked to my apartment. I worked up all of my courage and put on my best fake smile, as I said, "Ben, I have a proposition for you."

Eager to please me, he responded, "Sure, I'll do anything."

"You don't even know what I want you to do yet," I replied.

"I would do anything to help you," he said.

His dog-like obedience was a major turnoff, but it was quite convenient in this situation. "Well, I want you to help me rob the bank," I said quickly.


He looked skeptical for moment, and I saw him weighing his options in his mind. He finally replied, "Okay, I'll do it. I really need the money. How are we going to split it up?"

I was surprised he agreed so quickly. I was taken aback a little bit, so it took me a moment to answer, "We could split the money in half."

"Okay, sounds like a plan. When do we start?" He said.

"We can start planning it tonight, but we are going to rob the bank on October 27th," I replied.

We spent the next few weeks planning the robbery. Every night we met at my apartment to come up with a course of action. Our only interruption was the occasional warning that popped up on my television, warning us about Russia's missiles that are stationed in Cuba. I usually disregarded these alerts, but they were a nice interruption when things got awkward with Ben. His brazen flirtation did not subside. I kept reminding myself to tolerate him and that the misery would end soon. We planned out our every move, and we were confident that it would work.

October 27th finally rolled around. We planned to rob the vault at eight o'clock. That was when the cleaning crew left, but before the alarms were turned on. The stress of the project put my nerves on edge. All day at work I was a bit jumpy. I kept thinking that everyone knew about our plan. Every sidelong glance, wink, or smile directed at me made me even more paranoid.

By the end of the day I was frazzled by paranoia. I walked home and prepared for tonight. I gathered my airline ticket and suitcase and put them out of sight. I didn't want Ben to see them. He thinks that we are leaving together after this thing is over. If he were the last man on earth, I still wouldn't stay with him. Ben showed up at my apartment at 6:30. We discussed the plan one last time before leaving at 7:30. We used Ben's keys and got into the vault without a hitch.

I put the stacks of cash into duffel bags while Ben watched the door. When he came in to check on me he let the door close behind him. "Why don't you set off a bomb in here, that might be a bit quieter," I hissed sarcastically.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

I continued packing up the money as he stood there like a bumbling idiot. I was about to make a snide comment, when all of a sudden a deafening noise pierced through the night. The noise was accompanied by a tremor through the ground, much like an earthquake. The violent shaking and blaring bedlam nearly knocked me down. When the chaos finally abated, we grabbed the duffel bags and cautiously walked outside.

I was sure that I was dreaming when I saw a debris-filled abyss where St. Louis used to be. It was clear that some sort of bomb exploded here. It didn't make any sense. Who did this? That is when I remembered the alerts on my television about the Russian missiles in Cuba. The Russians must have sent the missiles. Most buildings were destroyed and all of the trees were reduced to a pile of ash. I searched for other survivors of the explosion and found none. I wondered why we were the only survivors. It must have been due to the bank vault's indestructible composition.

I glanced over to Ben who looked like he was in shock. I realized that we were the last people left. I didn't know how much of the country the bomb destroyed. For all I know Ben and I could be the last people left in the country. The thought made me sick. I had all of the money I wanted but nothing to buy. I finally got everything I wanted, and I couldn't be more miserable.