Prosperity was in much worse shape than Carmina made it out to be. Because I was tired yesterday, I couldn't look around to give the place a proper assessment. Kim gave me the tour and . . . well, it's a miracle the Highwaymen haven't rolled this place down.

Maybe because they hardly had anything? They lacked very few facilities that were essential for surviving. They only had one small area for growing crops and herbs.

Their armory was a joke! They had mostly junk lying in there with only a few boxes of ammo.

Many of the buildings were in disrepair or in the middle of being rebuilt, but a lot of the people didn't have any architectural or carpenter skills. The ones they did have were either killed or "recruited" by the Highwaymen as Problem Solvers.

I asked Kim why this place looked partially abandoned. Kim informed me that this place used to belong to a really bad man many years ago. A psychopath named John Seed who tortured many people on this property. After the bombs fell it was left alone, abandoned to rot, but when the Highwaymen showed up this was one of the few places they could retreat to or hide.

That honestly explained a lot.

Anyway, a lot of that could be fixed over time with the right people, but the one thing that really got to me was—

"You guys don't even have a doctor?!"

"Don't shout." Kim said sternly. "No, we don't have a doctor. The last one we had ended up getting killed by the Highwaymen."

"Fuck." That was really bad. It was real easy to get injured in this world and doctors are an important asset to have. Anytime the Rush Movement had doctors we were sure that they passed down their knowledge to others so people could perform basic first aid or, even better, perform surgery.

"We had doctors on the Eureka too, but who knows what happened to them. Please tell me you know someone that can take over the infirmary here?"

Kim shook her head, dashing my hopes. Now I had to be extra careful.

"There isn't. A lot of medical experts in Hope County either died from the bombs 17 years ago or were recently killed or taken by the Highwaymen. There's no one left."

"What about Selene?" Carmina added in.

"Selene?"

"She's a friend."

Kim gave her daughter a dubious look. "She's also a drug addict."

"Mom!" Carmina chastised.

"What?" I gave them both an incredulous look.

Carmina tried explaining herself. "Okay, so she does . . . partake in some of her medicinals, but she's still a really good doctor."

"Does she know how to diagnose people?"

"Yeah."

"Does she know how to give CPR?"

"Yeah."

"Does she know how to dig a bullet out of a wound and suture it?"

"Yes."

"Then we're getting her." Kim looked like she was about to argue but I stopped her. "Beggars can't be choosers, Kim. We need all the help we can get and if that means putting up with a doctor that's not all there, then we're taking her."

Kim said nothing for a while, but her sighing meant she had conceded. "Alright."

"Where can we find this girl?" I asked Carmina.

Carmina shifted uncomfortably. "Unfortunately, I don't know. It's been a year since I've seen her. She travels around a lot and never stays in one place for too long."

"Great."

"There is someone that might know." Kim said. "His name's Bean. He's Hope County's resident cartographer and information gatherer. He has a whole system of people traveling across the county collecting any bits of information the people can use."

That sounded legitimately useful! "Where is this Bean?"

Kim pulled out a map and pointed north from Prosperity. "He's just a mile's walk from here, to the north. If you can convince him to come work here in Prosperity, then you'll have a steady flow of info to work with."

"Alright, we'll do that first."

"I should let you know . . . Bean is . . . not what you expect."

"What do you mean? He's got addictions himself, like Selene?"

"No, nothing like that. He's 16 years old."

"So? Does that bother you too?"

"No! It's just . . . he's a little on the naïve side. You'll see what I'm talking about when you meet him."

"O-kay. If that's all." I turned to Carmina. "You ready to head out?"

Carmina slung her backpack over her shoulder and smiled brightly. "Ready."

Prosperity's gates opened for us and we entered back into Hope County's forest. I told Carmina to lead the way, since she had better understanding of the layout of the land.

We walked mostly in silence, weapons in hand. I switched to my skorpion SMG, and Carmina had left her Saw Launcher behind for a nice looking AR. Because ammo was low, we only had a limited amount. I had two mags for my SMG, three cartridges for my Claymore, and a quiver holding eight arrows. Carmina had two clips for her pistol, and three mags for her rifle, I saw the icepick she grabbed yesteday hidden in her boot before we left.

The silence had now become noticeable after 10 minutes passed. I was comfortable walking in silence, but Carmina seemed to be uncomfortable with it and struck up a conversation.

"So, what do you think about Hope County?"

"Huh? Uh, it's alright. Haven't seen a whole lot to gain an opinion though."

"Right. Sorry."

The silence came back; I was comfortable keeping it like that, but I knew Carmina wanted to keep talking some more.

"It's more forested though." I continued. "I don't think I've seen so many trees in one location before."

"California has a lot of trees." She smiled, happy to continue talking.

She wasn't wrong. Years of human absence allowed many urban cities to be overrun with vegetation. I had seen pictures of what the cities looked like before and it has drastically changed. Nature was a force to be reckoned with.

"Yeah, but not this many. Your home is more rural than mine."

"I can see that. Before I stepped out of Hope County, I had only ever seen cities in books. The first time I saw one took my breath away. I couldn't believe something so massive could be built by people."

I laughed. "I suppose they would be breathtaking to someone who's never seen one before. Who knows, maybe Hope County will show me something that will have the same effect."

"I know some places. Maybe if we have the time, I can show you."

"I'd like that. When we have down time."

It grew quiet again, but this time a was a more comfortable. I looked over at Carmina and she was just staring upward at the trees and sky.

"You shouldn't get distracted." I said, pulling her out of her mind. "Highwaymen could be around any corner."

"Sorry. It's just . . . it's good to be back home."

"I bet it is, but until we kick the Highwaymen to Hell, we got to stay on our toes."

"Right. Right. On alert now; won't happen again." She kept her gun at the ready now.

We were hit with another long silence again, but this time Carmina didn't seem to mind. In fact, I kept seeing her stealing glances at me. When she looked away from me one too many times I asked her, "What?"

"Oh, uh, it's nothing."

"You clearly want ask me something, so ask."

"Well, I was just wondering where are you from?"

"California." That was all I wanted to say, but Carmina persisted.

"But where?"

". . . San Diego."

"Oh . . . what was it like?"

I suddenly heard screams in my head, the crackling of fire, the wails of men and women begging for their lives or for their lives to end faster. Numerous cold eyes stared down at me, judging me, waiting for me. I felt like a little boy again.

"It's hot."

I knew Carmina wanted to push, but something about my reaction must have deterred her. So, she stopped and so did the talking.

"We should be close soon." She informed me.

A bullet suddenly impacted close to our feet and we scrambled for cover. A voice shouted from the house warningly.

"State yourselves or get shot!" A man's voice yelled.

"We ain't fucking Highwaymen!" I shouted back.

"Doesn't mean you're not gonna try and rob us!"

"Carl, it's me, Carmina Rye." She stood out arms raised.

"Carmina? Wha—"

Some teenager pushed Carl aside excitedly. "Carmina? Is that you?"

She gave me a nod to walk out with her, giving the shooters a good look at us. They were hiding behind a barricade, near a large well-built house.

"Carmina, you're back!"

I gave Carmina a weird look when she released a long, exasperated sigh. "Hey Bean, yeah I'm back."

We were allowed closer to the house now. A battle definitely went on not too long ago. Fires, bodies, and debris everywhere. The house was just a wreck now. Saw more Highwaymen bodies which was good, but did see a couple of bodies all wearing the same outfit.

Speaking of, the two people that shot at us were wearing a mix of denim and yellow outfits.

"Sorry about shooting at you. The Highwaymen have been relentless today."

"It's alright, Amanda. We get it. Looks like you gave them hell though." Carmina said.

"Yeah, but they got several of us before then." Amanda said sadly.

Carl was a big black guy, with brown eyes and black scruffy beard. Amanda was a white woman, with brown hair and green eyes. Both were wearing denim jackets with a scout patch on the left breast, over an ugly yellow plaid shirt, a bright yellow beanie, ripped jeans and hiking boots.

The kid behind them was smiling dumbly at Carmina, which made the girl uncomfortable. If the name "Bean" stitched onto his yellow beanie didn't give away who he was, then his looks definitely did. He was the only other young person here besides Carmina and me. With a face that still had some baby fat on it, white skin that hadn't seen the sun as much, and facial hair growing in patches on his chin and lip. Like his friends here, he was wearing yellow, but as a sweater, with a tan pocket vest over it. He wore glasses surprisingly, but they were busted, held together by tape on the bridge, and cracked slightly on the right lens. Around his neck was a compass and slung across his body was a satchel.

Bean tried leaning on something, but nearly fell over. After correcting himself, he stood straight and had a goofy grin on his face. "H-hey, Carmina. You're, uh, lookin' good." He tried and failed to act cool.

"Uh, thanks Bean. You're looking . . ." she looked him over and forced a smile. "well?"

"Hey, thanks!" He laughed nervously. "Man, it sure has been a long time. I bet you've seen quite a lot."

"Yeah. I suuure did." Carmina laughed awkwardly. Bean laughed too, but he sighed contently with a dreamy look after, making the conversation even weirder.

Wanting this to end, I gently eased Carmina to the side to get Bean's attention.

"Yeah, listen, sorry to interrupt . . . whatever this is, but we're actually here on business."

Bean seemed to shake the stupor he was in and smiled innocently. "Oh no, I'm sorry, where are my manners. I'm Bean, creator of Wiki-Beania. You're one stop shop for maps and intel. Wikibeania: just the tips!"

. . .

I wonder if this guy knew how much his slogan was an inuendo. By the face palms his cohorts did, it was obvious to normal people.

"I'm Kieran Young, Captain of Security for the Rush Movement . . . and now currently for Prosperity."

"Oh! I've heard of you! So sorry about your people getting blown up on that train!"

He said that so happily I almost felt like punching him. But I ignored his tone to focus on the fact he knew about that.

"You know what happened to the Rush Movement?"

"I make it my business to know everybody's business." He said chipperly.

"Does that mean you know where Rush is? Or any of my people?" I asked hopefully, but the kid's immediate frown told me everything.

"Sorry. I don't quite have that information yet, but give me some time and I can dig it up for you."

I sighed. "Appreciate it."

"Well, I mean, if Wiki-Beania manages to survive through the day." The boy said offhandedly.

"What are you talking about?"

Carl answered this time. "You see all these Highwaymen corpses? They're not supposed to be here. This is a secluded spot only Scouts know the whereabouts of."

"Yeah . . ." Carmina said. "This place was hidden from the Highwaymen; they shouldn't even know you're here."

"They know because we were betrayed by one of our own." Amanda said. "Richard Hortz"

"Who's that?"

"A scout like us; goes around collecting any info he can and brings it back to Bean. Only now the loser is gambling it away."

"Gambling?"

"Richard's got a real bad gambling habit always playing crazy eights with those Highwaymen and losing his pants. Now he's gambling away my information! Maps, intel, you name it. And worst of all, my database is missing too!" Bean bemoaned.

"What's that?"

"Bean has a special device that he keeps all relevant data on." Carl explained. "It's missing and Richard is the likeliest suspect. If the Highwaymen get ahold of that, they could use it to get an advantage over everyone in the County."

"What makes you think they don't have it already?" Carmina asked.

"We think he must have hidden it for safe keeping, otherwise they would have just taken it from him. They're not very nice or respectful." Bean said.

"That's an understatement." I mumbled. "If we can get you your database back, will you look into finding Thomas Rush?"

"You betcha'! If you reach around my back now, I'll reach around yours later; that's a Wiki-Beania promise!"

That was a terrible expression and what made it worse was the fact the poor kid didn't notice. I now understood what Kim was talking about when she said this kid was naive.

I looked over at their house. The place was a wreck and torched. "If you need a new base to operate out of, Prosperity has some buildings that need filling up. That is, if Kim would be okay with it?" I faced Carmina to see if my offer was alright.

Carmina smiled and nodded approvingly. "Totally! It'll work out better for everyone if your business is close by. I'm sure my mom can find arrangements."

"Wow! Thanks, Carmina! And you too mister, thanks! Richard's gone to this place called the Gambler's Run; just southeast from here. Get Richard to tell you where he stashed it and get my database back."

"You got it."

"In the meantime, we'll take Bean back to Prosperity." Amanda said, cocking her gun.

"Let's swap radio frequencies so we can keep in touch." Carl suggested.

"Good idea." After trading frequencies, Carmina and I started moving toward Gambler's Run.

"By the way, when you see Richard tell him he's fired!" Bean called.

How can someone say that and still sound so cheery?

Once we were a decent distance away from them, I broke out into a smile and glanced at Carmina from the side.

"Sooo, what was that between you and Bean?" I smirked immaturely.

Carmina sighed. "He has a crush on me."

"So I noticed and you~?"

"I don't!" She shrieked, annoyed. I chuckled making her sigh. "Don't get me wrong, he's a good guy, but he's just too . . ."

"Immature?" I added.

"Yeah, we'll say that. The unfortunate part is that he's one of the very few teenagers in Hope County, so I can't avoid him or talk about it with others."

"You could talk about it with me if you want."

"Thanks, but I want someone in my age range to talk to about this."

I turned to her with an offended look. "I'm nineteen you know."

Carmina shot a look of surprise at me. "You're a teenager?"

"I'm basically an adult, but yes. How old did you think I was?"

She looked me up and down with a face of confusion. Her eyes locked onto my beard for a few seconds. "Older."

"Gee thanks. Fuck you too."

Carmina laughed as she turned the tables on me in the conversation.

Gambler's Run was this little nowhere place that used to be some old farm. It was a pair of dilapidated buildings and a silo. The Highwaymen turned the barn there into some kind of casino for the Highwaymen and even some of the Hope County residents to enjoy. Of course, it was just a place to be cheated out of your belongings.

From the outside they could hear the beat of some kind of music coming from inside the barn. As well as a lot of screams, good and bad.

I look at Carmina and her rifle. "How good are you with that rifle?"

Carmina formed a proud smile. "Good enough to shoot three swallows in the air on a windy day."

I nodded. "Alright, I want you to wait out here and watch the door. I'm going in there for our guy. You see anyone that looks like a raider, shoot them on sight."

"You can't just go in there alone." She protested.

"Trust me, I got this covered. Just watch the door."

Without waiting for her to argue, I got up and moved toward the barn. At the front doors I took a deep breath before pushing them open. The music hit me like a wave, but I gave them no mind. My entrance garnered the looks of nearly everyone in the building. Namely, Highwaymen.

There were a lot of activities going on here. In one corner I saw a cockfighting ring, in the other corner a knife throwing contest. There were a series of tables with various card games like poker and blackjack and one table that had a crude roulette wheel made from a tire. In the center of the barn was a fighting pit. The floorboards were removed, creating a slightly deep dirt pit where two guys were beating the piss out of each other. In random spots of the barn were a bunch of scantily clad men and women dancing provocatively on raised structures for the patrons.

I ignored all the looks I got and moved in. That was when one of the dancers, a brunette woman wearing only panties, jumped from a barrel and made a run for the door. Just before she made it, a gunshot went off and hit the woman in the back. She was dead before she hit the floor.

Everyone was silent now, as they looked up at the man that killed the dancer. He was sitting on the second floor in some old comfy chair, surrounded by raiders, and watching over everyone like some kind of wannabe kingpin. It was embarrassing.

"Hey, dumbass, get over here!" The raider shouted.

I obliged, I wanted to talk to him anyway. I moved aside as two Highwaymen walked off with the dead girl's body. I still had many eyes on me, but I was unconcerned about that. As long as I was close to the boss of the Gambler's Run.

When I got to the second floor, I got a better look at the wannabe. He was a white guy, unassuming, unimpressive, wearing the Highwaymen colors with a vest and pants. He had his mask on the side of his head and he was bearing his teeth showing a golden grill. Five Highwaymen were around, all itching their weapons like they were begging for me to do something out of turn.

'If this is what I have to expect from the rest of this gang, besides the Twins, then I'm gonna be really disappointed.'

"I lost one of my employees because of you." The wannabe said.

"Employees?"

"Yeah. Employees. The losers that work here. I found them in this backwoods dump and gave them real jobs. Look at them fine ass bitches!" He motioned toward the remaining dancers, who recoiled in fear and disgust from his gaze. "Mmm! Damn fine and nice tight asses, let me tell ya." He laughed lecherously. "And you made me shoot the bitch with the finest, tightest ass!"

I looked back at all the reluctant dancers. "Looks like they don't want to work for you." I glared.

"Pfft! Ya think it matters what they want? Their weak, rabbits and me? I'm strong, I'm the Dogz!"

". . . sorry?"

He casually sighed and pulled out a big knife. "Listen dumbass, I can see you don't know who I am, so let me tell ya. Name's Dogz, with a "z" and I run this beautiful little paradise. The Gambler's Run is my joint, which means I make the shots, both figuratively," he then pulled out his snubnosed pistol, "and literally."

"Noted." I gave him a look that told him I was unimpressed. Not that he was smart enough to figure it out. "I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm just looking for someone. A man named Richard Hortz; gambles here a lot."

Dogz suddenly flashed his shiny teeth with a shit-eating grin. "Oh, I know him."

He then pointed to a dog cage that had a naked man crouched inside. He was trembling and whining like the animal he was treated as.

All the raider started chuckling at the pathetic man, one gal even threw an empty can at his cage.

"The guy racked up quite a debt with the Run. This rabbit bet everything he has and we're waiting on some boys to collect; until then the rabbit stays in his cage." Dogz said.

"Yeah, well I need him." I said coldly.

"Tough! We own this scav so you can just fuck off!" Dogz barked.

"I'm not leaving without him." I felt every Highwayman grip their weapons, ready to pounce on me.

"Then I guess you're not leaving at all." He looked me up and down, then licked his lips. "I guess that's not so bad. You look good enough to replace my favorite dancer you killed. Maybe shave that rat off your face."

"Go peg a beehive, you backstreet gangster wannabe." I spat. Literally, I spat right at his feet.

"Oh, you got balls." He brandished his knife close to my face. "Might have to fix that."

That's when I grabbed him. I twisted his arm, making him drop his knife. I then moved quickly around him and pointed my SMG at his back. I used him as a meat shield, to stop his buddies in their tracks before they could use their guns and melee weapons on me.

Every raider stopped what they were doing and quickly joined the five on the second floor. All the civilians didn't stick around and ran out screaming to get away from the inevitable firefight.

"You got nowhere to go, scav. You're completely surrounded. Let me go, and I promise I'll kill ya fast." Dogz growled.

I looked down and saw a grenade on the man's pants. "Actually, I like my odds."

"You're fucking crazy, scav!" Dogz screamed.

"Don't I know it."

I blasted my SMG point blank, they ripped through Dogz's abdomen like paper and hit his friends on the other side. Some fired back, but they only hit Dogz, who was already dead.

I pulled the pin from Dogz's grenade and kick him toward the remaining raiders. Jumping over Dogz's chair for cover, I waited for the boom, which came in five seconds. The explosive went off and rattled the entire barn, threatening to collapse. It thankfully didn't but it did take out the second floor with a few Highwaymen.

The second floor collapsed, falling to the bottom floor in a heap. It kicked up a large dust cloud that made it difficult to see or breathe. I felt a little jarred, but definitely felt better than how the Highwaymen sounded, who were groaning in pain.

Reloading my SMG, I used the cover of the large dust cloud and moved. I shot a pair trapped under the wood, then fired on a guy that was getting up. One raider attempted to sneak up on me, but he made a noise and I shot him on reflex. A Highwayman came at me with a rusty pipe. I caught his weapon with my left hand then blasted his face into meat with my SMG.

Some I found unable to fight back and were just dying, trapped under wreckage. I ended their miserable lives by sticking them with my Claymore's bayonet. Why waste the ammo? Another Highwayman rushed me and I no-scoped him. One got up and attempted to shoot me, but I swiped my bayonet at his hand then stabbed him in the neck. Found one more raider, groaning and gave him a good stab in the heart.

Eventually the dust settled and I saw three Highwaymen that were in my view. They saw me too and attempted to shoot me, but I swiftly pulled out my Skorpion and sprayed them down with lead. All was quiet now in the Gambler's Run.

Then I heard a creak. I spun to my side and spotted a naked Richard trying to sneak away. We locked eyes for a second before the man attempted to make a run for it.

I looked down and saw Dogz knife, picked it up and threw it. Richard just barely got out the door before the knife got him in the leg.

"AH!" He screamed and fell, clutching his leg.

Carmina came out from her hiding spot and we both approached the downed man. I noticed a couple of dead Highwaymen lying dead by the entrance. All had headshots. She did good.

Richard was squirming on the ground, groaning in agony. "You stabbed me in the leg!"

"You stole from Bean." Carmina accused.

"It wasn't anything personal. I . . . I got a problem." He tried defending himself.

"No shit, your bare balls are hanging out and you betrayed the only people that trusted you. Now spill, where's Bean's database?"

"I ain't tellin' you shit! I—I already made the deal with the Highwaymen. T-They'll kill me if they find out I gave up their goods."

I stomped on his bad leg, making him scream. "It's not theirs to begin with, now where is it?"

"Up your butt it is!"

I motioned my gun toward his anus. "Good idea."

Now Richard was truly scared. "Wait, wait, wait! Okay! Okay! It's at the old Armstrong place!"

"I don't know where that is."

"I do!" Carmina chirped. "That's where my Aunty Grace used to live before the Collapse."

"Alright." I flipped the guy over; Carmina looked away when his junk was in full view.

"Now listen." I started. "If I catch you giving the Highwaymen information or secrets again—if I so much even hear a rumor that you're helping them in any way . . . I WILL find you and I will spend my entire gun's magazine into your mouth." I emphasized by putting the barrel of my SMG into his piehole. "Do you understand?"

"HRR! HRR!" He nodded and screamed with tears coming out of his eyes.

"Good." I removed my gun and stood up. "Carmina, lead the way."

Carmina took point, heading east.

"Wait . . . wait! You can't just leave me like this!" He pointed to the knife in his leg.

I stopped. "Ah, you're right." I went back to his side and yanked the knife out of his leg, making him scream. After cleaning the blade, I smiled. "Waste not." I stated innocently, then caught up with Carmina.

"Hey! What about my leg!?" The limb was still bleeding.

"Traitors and addicts take care of themselves." I replied coldly and left the man on the ground.

"That was pretty harsh." Carmina said, looking pityingly at the wounded man.

"Not harsh enough. If he weren't so pathetic, I'd just kill him." Traitors deserved so much. "Lead on."

Before we left though, we checked out the bodies of the raiders and the barn. We found a ton of shit that could prove useful in building up Prosperity. Scrap, electronics, metals, and building material. Carmina found a list of things that were owed to the Highwaymen. Some owed alcohol, ethanol, bullets, and a couple people owed lives, lives that weren't theirs.

After calling Kim about the supplies at Gambler's Run, Carmina and I headed east. This time we remained quiet as we were entering further and further into Highwayman territory. Best to keep quiet and not get ambushed.

We'd arrive at a clearing and what looked to be the remains of an old burnt-out building or what was left of it. Highwaymen were already scouting the place and it looked like they were preparing to go into the bunker. Seven of them in total, armed with assault rifles and bats, with one carrying a freaking makeshift flamethrower.

Carmina and I hid behind some bushes as we observed their movements.

"That son of a bitch! He already gave up the location of the stash to the Highwaymen." Carmina growled.

"We're gonna have to take a cautious approach to this. How good are you at stealth?" I asked, motioning toward her new Icepick.

Carmina took it out of her boot. "I'm good enough."

"Alright." I took out my Spike. "I'll take the one on the left, you take the one on the right."

We moved out. Carmina grabbed one of the Highwaymen from behind, covered their mouth and stabbed them right through the neck. They struggled a bit, but slowly, Carmina eased them down as they died.

I grabbed a Highwayman the same way, but instead of the throat, I repeatedly stabbed him in the side many times, then twice in the chest near the heart and lung. I felt the bones crack and the muscles snap as I stabbed them. They tried to stop me, to scream, but the raider's voice went unheard. After slowly bringing the corpse down, Carmina and I continued.

Moving on to the next, I stabbed once in the neck and once in the head. Just as I laid the body down, a gunshot went off. I looked over and saw Carmina struggling with her raider. They set off their weapon alerting everyone around.

Now the remaining three raiders attacked, and these guys were armed with guns.

Two riflemen fired on us, while the pyro moved closer to get us with the flamethrower.

Carmina and I jumped into cover.

"I'm sorry!" Carmina cried.

"Don't worry about it! Focus on these dick bags now." I fired my SMG blindly. "Get over there we'll kill them from different angles."

"Got it." I fired again, giving Carmina cover. She booked it behind some debris. Just in time as my gun ran empty.

"Shit, down to my last clip." At least Carmina made it to cover and she still had a full gun.

Carmina took on the last pair of raiders while I dealt with the pyro. He was close now and started blasting my cover. I rolled away and tried getting some distance.

The big guy was laughing sinisterly as he slowly lumbered toward me. He released bursts of flames; I could feel the heat coming off them intensifying as he got closer.

"Come'ere little rabbit. I'm just gonna turn you into a nice roast." The pyro said gleefully. Another burst of fire put me on my ass. The pyro was playing with me, trying to get as much fear as he could squeeze, but he wouldn't get any!

I started throwing whatever I could get my hands in. I threw dirt, burnt wood and then finally a rock. I beamed the raider in the eye, making him clutch his face in pain.

Quickly standing up I rushed the guy and grabbed his torch. He tried pulling the trigger, but I was blocking the nozzle with my hand. I then lifted my leg and kicked the pyro down.

Then I lifted the flamethrower up and started beating the guy to death with his own weapon. By the time I stopped, both the flamethrower and the raider were broken, destroyed messes.

I reeled around to check Carmina. She had killed the two remaining Highwaymen, shot to death with rifle fire.

"Nice job."

"You too." She breathed and looked down at the junk in my hand. "Isn't that hot?"

I looked at the broken flamethrower nozzle. "Not really." I smirked coyly and threw the nozzle over my shoulder.

We both walked over to the hatch to the bunker. I looked down, but didn't see much.

"You stand guard while I go down there, alright?"

"Got it."

"Before I come back up tell me "it's all clear." But if there are enemies or you're ambushed and can't say anything, tell me "It's safe." That'll be our code for: it's not safe.

She nodded. "Roger!"

I climbed down the ladder into the old bunker. The place had seen better days. It was musty, dusty, and had experienced a fire at some point. I kept my skorpion up, as I flashed my flashlight around the place. Seemed empty and no sign of Highwaymen. But I kept my guard up.

I moved through the whole bunker, making sure I was completely alone. All signs said that I was, so I focused all my attention the one thing still intact in the bunker.

A single locked safe.

I put down my backpack and pulled out a blowtorch. I got to work melting the hinges and locks off the door. After ten minutes I was able to pry the thing off.

Inside was only one item. A solar powered laptop. "Don't see too many of these things."

I stored it away and headed back. By the ladder I shouted, "Carmina I'm coming up!"

"Okay, it's clear!"

Good. Up the ladder I went and Carmina was there to give me a hand. She pulled me up and asked if I got it.

"Right here." I showed her a peek of the laptop. "Let's get back to Prosperity."

"Oh! Oh! I found something we can use to get there faster." She excitedly led me behind some bushes and sitting there was an ATV.

I smiled as eagerly as Carmina. "It'll be noisy, but it's faster than walking all the way back."

"Can I drive? Please?" She begged me, giving me cute puppy dog eyes. Those usually didn't work on me, but hers was a lot more effective than I was prepared for.

"Alriiight. Alright. You can drive, just put those big eyes away." Carmina cheered and started the machine up. I sat behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist.

We both felt how awkward that was and I moved my hands to her shoulders. Coughing, Carmina revved the motor and took off.

We arrived at Prosperity in less than half the time it would have taken us by foot. Storing the vehicle in the garage, we walked in and headed toward the northernmost part of the settlement. Bean, Carl, and Amanda were talking with Carmina's mom. Whatever they were discussing stopped when they saw us.

"Did you get it?" Bean asked hopefully. I opened my bag and pulled out the laptop. "Oh, thank you so, so, so much! I'd clap for joy, but my daddy always said that's for babies and clowns and I'm neither."

This kid was strange.

"I see you're already set up in Prosperity." The building was no longer boarded up and there were now maps and radios arranged inside. "You guys work fast."

"I believed you guys wouldn't fail, so I went ahead and cleaned the place up for Bean's arrival. We already had the stuff to start off with so we got that ready too." Kim said.

"Thanks, Mom!" I could see the pride beaming on Carmina's face. Kim's faith really gave her energy.

"Kim's told me you're looking for Selene. I'm gonna need about a day to send my scouts out and configure my data."

"That's fair." I said.

"In the meantime, can you two go check on Wade Fowler at the Fang Center?" Kim asked.

"Wade? Is he alright?" Carmina asked a bit worriedly.

"I don't know, Carmina." Kim shook her head. "He hasn't responded to my calls lately and I'm worried about him. That's why I'm asking if you can go check on him."

"Still plenty of light in the day. If you got nothing more important for us to do, then we can go check on him." I shrugged

Kim gave me an irked stare. I think she didn't like I insinuated this Wade guy wasn't important, but she didn't say anything. "Thank you, you two. If you get onto the main road and follow it north you won't miss it."

You remember in Far Cry 3 you could play minigames like target shooting, knife throwing and poker? I do and to this day I don't know why we couldn't have those in later games. Far Cry 4 takes place in India and that country has a lot of games we could learn to play. Same goes for 5 and New Dawn, especially the latter, a world of lawlessness and chaos and there's no weird ass apocalyptic mini-games for us to enjoy. I would have added something like that to New Dawn.