A Sincere Thanks

Eventually, the clatter of those automated turrets halted. The screams of the whole caravan and expedition team were gone. That was the scariest silence of my entire life. It was like the entire world froze while I laid there motionless on the ground and still staring at Mac's face. I couldn't believe that my friend was gone. One second, he was telling me the time, and the next, he was dead. Looking into his eyes, I noticed his body fell to hide me just enough so that I could live.

"He taught me a lot in the past week on the road, and in the end, he saved my life."

The gaze with my friend was broken by the sound of the metal towers creaking back into the earth. I listened and listened to the distant hydraulic sound until there was a final *CLANK* of steel doors locking the turrets back in their tombs.

Just then, I heard the faint sound of a woman trying hard to silence an agonizing wail. I slowly lifted my head to the north, seeing a pile of dismembered corpses around the gates to the base. Once the turrets rose, Sam's team had tried to fan out and tactically storm the place, but in the end; they were no more than bloody corpses filled with lead. Turning my head to the right, I saw a similar display of the corpses that barely showed any resemblance to the friends I made. Mac, Drake, Jonah, Cam, Martina Anderson, Mary Anderson, and Jenna Anderson were all dead; died of the same fate. Then I saw it. Laying behind the corpse of the 2nd brahmin was Sarah! She was the one whimpering. I quickly ran over and knelt beside her. Tears streamed down her face as she clenched her leg and held back red-hot anger.

She looked up from the pain to see me and sobbed, "Quick Sean… tie off this FUCKING WOUND!"

I tore open my pack for the little med kit Jonah gave me and whipped out the tourniquet. I tied it above the bloody hole in her thigh and frantically said, "Don't worry, boss! You'll be fine!"

I poured some of the moonshine onto the wound hoping to clean and sterilize it and she shouted in agony. Through the tears and pain, I caught her face seeming to look at me, and her mouth spat hatred and blood, "YOU! YOU FUCKING DID THIS!"

I kept working on her, confused as to how this was my fault, but felt a presence behind me. Behind the painful cries and slow wind, I heard a shuffling sound to my 6 and saw Sam Pritchard take a knee right beside me out of the corner of my vision. Sam pulled out a stimpack and I tightened the tourniquet while blood washed over my hands.

Sam said calmly, "We didn't know this place had operational security…"

Sarah winced as Sam injected her with the miracle serum. Sarah shouted again, "What kind of!... Fucking military base… Don't have security, you FUCK!?"

She shouted more profanities at Sam, and he helped me put pressure on the wound. He said, "Well, I lost my whole team, Sarah! How do you think I feel!?"

Despite the pain Sarah was feeling, I saw literal flames in her eye and her face quickly resembled a demon at what he said. I felt myself get angry at this fucking guy as well, but Sarah spoke for herself, me, and all the people he lead to death. She screamed through the sobs, "I GOT HIT! MY MEN ARE DEAD! AND I'M SUPPOSED TO CARE ABOUT YOUR FUCKING… FEELINGS!?... I'LL NEVER SEE HIM A.. AHHH!"

She was interrupted by a sudden release in the pressure on her leg. Sam backed away and I continued to hold her leg, but there was no stopping that river of blood even with the stimpack.

I scrambled for what to do and Sam said, "She was hit in the femoral artery… Stimpack can do a lot, but it can't fix that… Specially at the rate she's bleeding."

I stared blankly at the man, and Sarah burst out a weakening, "Fuck… You… Sam."

I looked back at Sarah; her once sun kissed face was whiter than that ghost I saw. I was kneeling in a pool of blood still trying to help her and felt Sam standing over us.

Sam asked, "Sean, right?..."

I glanced back and gave a silent nod before turning back to Sarah. Sam continued, "We gotta get out of here, bud. Base security should be on high alert…"

I didn't even acknowledge him, I just kept looking at Sarah's drained face as she muttered something to herself. There was nothing left to do, the life had all but left Sarah's pale face. After several moments of watching my effort fail, I whispered to Sarah, "I have to go…" and tried to think of more to say.

She was mean the entire time I knew her, but the past week on the road had been one of the best experiences of my life. If she didn't draft me onto her crew I never would've met the wonderful friends who traveled with her and would probably still be back at Redding, maybe even captured by another mining company. Watching the wound pour an ever-weaker stream of blood, I knew she was almost gone. Seeing her in that state was heartbreaking regardless of how she treated me.

Finally, I said in my own dumb but very sincere way, "Thanks for being such a good boss..."

I couldn't think of anything else to say after that, but I meant it. In one way or another, I had only her to thank for the friends I made and brief window of acceptance I felt on the road.

I raised my hands from her leg, ready to leave, when life came to her face and she snatched my arm with her hand. She handed me a crumpled piece of blood-soaked paper.

Her last words were barely audible, but I caught every one of them, "If you find Willie… Give him this." She hung her head low, the blood stopped, and she never moved again.

Sam stood quietly behind me for several long moments and finally said solemnly, "We gotta go, Sean."

I put the paper in my pocket and joined the reckless explorer. There, we spent a few minutes looting the dead, as morbid and disrespectful as that may seem. I went through the pockets and pouches of my dead friends and traders. We didn't dare to get close to the gate, but knew we had to take everything useful for the walk to New Reno, especially since the pack brahmin were dead. We took all the medical supplies, ammunition, NCR Dollars, and water we could. I knelt down next to the body of my buddy Mac and thanked him again for being a good friend.

I spent an extra few minutes turning each of my friend's bodies to the sky, closing their eyes, and placing their hands on their chests, including Sarah and the Anderson Sisters. I only knew that group of people for a little over a week, but I got to know them like family. I was obviously more comfortable or familiar with some more than others, but that didn't matter to me as I laid them out to rest properly. I only regret that I didn't have time to do the same for the poor explorers Sam led to death, or properly bury my friends.

In the end, I walked southeast with Sam, vision clouded by tears. Several times, I seriously considered shooting Sam in the back or trying to kick the ever-living shit out of him, but he was my guide into New Reno. He also looked stronger than me, or like he was quicker on the draw. So, I walked behind him, reflecting on the past week, reliving the horrible events of the day, and white knuckling the grip of my rifle. The two of us followed the half-buried road into the mountain passes for several hours.

Sam and I were both silent the entire time. I think he was able to sense my feelings for him and I believe he actually felt very bad. His little detour took his whole team and mine to its doom. He lost his old pal Drake, all his guys, and I lost some of the first good people I've ever met in the wasteland.

By the end of the day, we reached an end to the road. A large rock wall split the road in half, and I wondered what we were going to do. It was dark out again and Sam said that we'd try to scale the formation in the morning. I hated even hearing the guy talk, but agreed since the day was long. I was physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. Without thought, I nodded to the man in agreement and set out my stuff at the foot of the rock wall. Sam knew not to get too close and set his stuff up several yards away from me. I sat in the pitch black and reflected on everything that happened that day. I kept seeing Mac's open eyes when I closed my own. Then, I saw Sarah's pale skin in the dark and remembered the note she gave me.

I pulled Cam's flashlight out of my pack and felt the blood dampened ball of paper in the bottom of my pocket. Pulling it out to read, I unfolded it and felt several drops of blood land on my pant legs. Turning on the flashlight, I shined it on the paper; the thing was unreadable. The ink was so faint, and Sarah's blood was so thick. Even if I did stumble across "Willie" again, I'd have no words for what happened to Sarah. I guess it was true, Sarah and Willie did have a thing. I didn't know if they were "Bangin" but the fact she had a note for him said there was something there. I let out a light laugh thinking about the campfire chats with the guard team, but then saw all their dead faces in the black night.