My muscles were sore as I slammed down the pickaxe. I smiled as I easily lifted the pickaxe and slammed it down with all my strength. I was completely right, I had only been here a month and I was as strong as an ox.
I wondered what was going on right now in the outside world. San Francisco was torn apart by riots and peacekeeper intervention. San Francisco was where the NCR had their Vertibirds stationed, I had only seen them twice or three times in my life, flying over Pendleton.
I turned behind me, past the gate several vehicles drove by…
Wang approached on the other side of the stone I was breaking, "So, you mind if we share?" He joked
I shook my head, "No, go ahead."
"Hey, man?" I asked him, "Where were you born?"
"New Reno," He replied simply, "before it was annexed by the NCR."
"Did you enjoy it there?"
"Yeah, I suppose so," He slammed down his pickaxe, "Hey, Will? Lemme ask you something…is it just me or…are there a lot more troops around here, now?"
I looked around, and I noticed he was correct. There must have at least been twice as many troops as there were yesterday. "Yeah…yeah, I think so."
Wang shrugged it off and continued to work, "So, Will, where were you born?"
"I was born in Arizona. Not sure exactly where, however."
"Wait. Arizona? Legion territory."
"Yeah. I guess."
"Damn. Do you remember the Legion as a child?"
I nodded, "A little. I remember seeing Legion troops patrolling the caravans. I was only born in Arizona, my parents ran a caravan all over the west. I went to a lot of places, NCR, New Vegas, Zion, and more."
"Well at least your life never got dull, you know? Always got to see a change of scenery."
"Yeah…I guess. But I always wanted a place to settle down, you know? I never really like going to new places a lot, I always just wanted to live in one place, make some friends."
"What about your parents?"
Shifted a little, this was always a touchy subject for me, "Uh…my mom died. She got poisoned…I really don't know how…"
He shook his head, "I'm sorry to hear that…. How old were you?"
"I was eleven…"
"And your dad?"
I sighed, "When I was fifteen…he…he…I don't know. One day when I was fifteen, I woke up one morning and he was gone…and all the caravan funds were gone as well…Did he run off and take the money? I don't know. Did he walk off, get killed, and someone came and stole the money? I don't know."
"I'm sorry to hear that…what did you do after?"
I remained silent, "I…I was wandered. I got some money and I made my way wandering…then I got in the NCR and just settled…"
"Where'd you get that money?"
"I…don't like talking about it…"
"I see…I didn't mean to be nosy."
"Nah, its fine. Maybe sometime later."
"Yeah, sure." Wang continued to slam down his pickaxe
"So, man." I asked, "Do you guys get to shower? Or wash your clothes or something?"
Wang turned to me, "What are you trying to say? Do we stink or something?"
I was about to apologize and correct my statement, but he simply smiled and laughed, "Actually, we get a shower once every two months. When our shower is over, they just have a ton of clean clothes around, so everyone just leaves their own and grabs some new clothes.
I like wearing the wife-beaters, you know? It's pretty easy for me to work in, because there's no sleeves to hinder my swinging, and it shows off my tattoos."
"Why do you even have so many?"
He laughed, "Honestly, if I could go back, I would tell myself not to get so many. I would have a few, but not this much. I got them when I was young, young and stupid and I thought they would look cool. Do you have any?"
"One." I simply responded, "On the right side of my chest, my mother's name, 'Rosemary'."
"Rosemary." He said aloud, "Doesn't that get you in trouble with some girlfriends? I mean, one girl sees that and she thinks Rosemary's your ex or something?"
I laughed, "That's happened a few time, actually. But they understand when I explain…well, most of them do."
Wang laughed, "So…you got a girlfriend? Wife or something?"
"Uh…kind of…not really…"
"Complicated?"
"…I guess…"
He nodded his head, "I understand."
I looked over to my left, about a few hundred feet away both Rick and Roger were working, slamming down their pickaxes. I threw my stones in the wheelbarrows and made my way to the stone depot. Walking past Rick, we both nodded, acknowledging each other, "What's up?" I asked him
He shook his head, "Nothing."
I put the stone in the depot, filling it up. I placed the wheelbarrow down and began to swipe the sweat off of my face. Rick poured his wheelbarrow down into the depot, "Man," I told him, "you've been here like, what? Two or three days here longer than me? How are you moving so fast?"
He chuckled, "I worked out a lot before I came here. I was enlisted in the NCR army, before Salazar came into office."
"Right, I remember. You were one of the ones to move into the Mojave? Right?"
He nodded, "We were the ones who fought the Legion at Hoover Dam, in the second battle. Then that Courier had to come and screw us all up with that damn robot army of his."
"Right," I said, I had heard the stories several times before
Over these last few months, Rick, Wang, Roger and I have talked. We've become a bit stronger, you know? I wouldn't consider them friends but I would.
For example, I've learned that Wang has a great sense of humor and often enjoys poetry. He also enjoys looking and reading pre-war books about China, where his ancestors came from.
I've learned that Rick has been all over the United States. From California, to Texas, to all the way to Washington DC. And that he had attacked the peacekeepers when they tried to take his son, he also has a daughter that's ten.
And Roger was…quiet. He didn't like to talk much. He talked for a bit before quitting altogether. But I've managed to squeeze out of him that he used to be a caravan guard.
More trucks drove down the dirt road, behind the fences…in the outside world…
