Extra Baggage

Sophia and I stuck to the crowds and passed the Reno Archway going south, the only direction I knew I could find the NCR. People were entering and leaving New Reno all the time, so it wasn't hard to stick with a group of traders going south. At 6PM, we were on the roads south with a caravan numbering in the dozens. I'm sure the Happy Trails guys left that morning for the east, but I didn't care, we had new worries.

After a short time on the road with strangers, I started to converse with some of the others in the party. Dark soon fell, and having road experience, I was on edge. Sophia was the complete opposite. She happily talked to the traders about where they were going, and how excited she was to see new places. I however, talked to the guards cautiously about what could be expected going south. Sophia strutted up and down the caravan saying how fun it was to wear leather and metal gear and how it made her feel like an, "Adventurer." I was just glad that she didn't bring the suitcases full of crap she wanted to. All the two of us had between us was two packs full of provisions, a bunch of diluted Jet inhalers for our addictions, and a little less than $1,000 in a pouch at the bottom of my pack. When the moon was high above, the caravan halted at a flat spot in the desert, and we made camp just before the southern mountains. I took one final look back at the illuminated city miles to the north before shutting my eyes for sleep.

I was fairly used to this type of caravan trek, so my feet didn't hurt too badly; but I took the moments of rest to inquire about the caravan. I was too busy watching out for dangers during the beginning and completely forgot to ask where exactly they were going. I joined a conversation between the guards and traders to ask my question. I thought it was a miracle when they said, "NCR" but they asked, "Where else would we be going?" Apparently, there was nothing down south other than NCR according to this group of traders. They mentioned some place called, "Frisco" to the southwest, but I had no idea where that was, and they had no interest of going there. The group asked about my wife, I explained that she never stepped foot outside of New Reno her whole life, and that seemed to excuse her seemingly bizarre behavior.

As pleased as I was to be headed the right way, the guards said they made this run before and the road through the mountains would soon erase that smile. I asked what the deal was with the road south, and the veteran guard explained the situation. The caravan road from "Shady Sands" to New Reno was almost all through the mountains for two weeks. The road saw a lot of activity, but they said some of the narrower passes were prime spots for super mutant or "Deathclaw" attacks. Before I could ask what a deathclaw was, I felt defeat, left the conversation, and joined Sophia on our bedroll.

I always knew the roads were difficult alone, but never thought how hard it would be to traverse them accompanied by a city girl with zero wasteland experience. Needless to say; after that first night's rest and the afternoon hike, my wife was fine, but the next day of straight walking took its toll. Sophia was in a lot of pain after the first real day on the trail and her smile and giddiness was gone. She could barely move, and so I had to break open the med pack before the others caught wind that she was, (and I say this lovingly) "Dead Weight."

A light hit from our stash of diluted Jet was enough to perk her right up and eliminate the pain. I actually snuck a small hit myself. So, we continued on and the caravan road was just like they said, straight through the mountains. The hike was long, and the days quickly started to blend together. There were moments in the constant walking that I even forgot where we were going or why. All nervous feelings of how the Bishops were taking my desertion left with the monotony of hiking and scanning for hostiles. Sophia and I talked to the others or each other to pass the time, and I assisted the guard crew in keeping watch. I wanted to befriend some of the guys, but remembered the friends I made on the road to New Reno and instinctively backed off.

Several days went by on the road without a hitch. Aside from the boredom, we hadn't faced anything significant or truly dangerous. Several times throughout each day, we'd pass another caravan, a group of merchants, mercs, or even the occasional lone traveler. What I would have given for a ride in the car that dipshit "Chosen One" managed to fix up. We entered the second week on the caravan road, and nothing happened that could be considered noteworthy. I did feel safe knowing we were with a group, and that probably warded off any would-be attackers. The party contained 12 traders, 13 guards, 4 scavers, 7 brahmin, then Sophia and I. I knew we could handle a typical raider attack, or even mutant ambush, but I was pretty foolish in feeling complacent.

I wasn't expecting the road to, "Shady Sands" (I learned that place was the capital of the NCR) to be over two weeks away from New Reno. So, I had to dig into the savings and purchase water from the traders during that second week. The caravan was feeling the strain from the road, and everyone talked about what they would do when they got to Shady Sands. I had no reference to what the place was like, but I just imagined getting a simple bath over and over again. I remembered asking my late guard friends all about New Reno, and they painted quite a picture. The picture painted was precisely what it was like, but I was too ignorant to consider what would happen when I got there. Thinking about the past, I decided to simply wait and see what Shady Sands or NCR would be like instead of imagining paradise or whatever.

The road went on and on through the mountains and there were instances where I thought I saw movement. Usually, some of the others would see figures dash behind rocks, and every gun would be at the ready. Still, no attacks. I knew we were safe in numbers, but some of the veteran guards said the figures were, "Scouting for weakness."

I knew to remain vigilant, even while Sophia followed and held my pack in nervousness. She had clearly lost her excitement at this point through the constant walking, and nerves of possible ambush at any moment. At one point, there was renewed excitement amongst the caravan crew, since some of them knew how close we were to Shady Sands. Some of them even spoke about a place called, "Vault 13" hiding somewhere near us in the mountains. We started to see more traffic in those last few days, but due to all the sightings of stalking creatures, we were still on edge.

On one of the last days, we linked up with another large caravan that was heading to New Reno and convinced them to set up camp with us as the sun got lower. Despite the fact that the other caravan crew had recently lost their rear party in a raider attack and supposedly had survivors dragged away by deathclaws, that was the safest night on the road I ever felt. There were almost 40 of us, most of whom were armed and ready for anything. The next day was different.