Over the next few hours, Justin managed to learn the names of all his new traveling companions. Bethany, of course, was the angry one. Their leader was called Silverado. The skinny redhead was Gus. Two of the others were brothers, Matt and Hardy, and the last was a middle-aged guy named Jacob. None of them were particularly pleasant, but Justin had to fight to keep himself quiet as they traveled regardless. It had been a long time since he'd had anyone to talk to.

Evening was falling upon them when Justin held up a hand. "Alright hang tight for a sec."

Silverado had been keeping pace beside him, and she gripped her shotgun, her eyes scanning the landscape. "What is it?"

"Up ahead, there's a pass through these foothills. It'll cut a few hours off our time, but with all the rain and storms we get it's about a fifty-fifty shot that it's blocked. I'm gonna send Lock out to give it a look, don't wanna get all the way out there just to have to turn back."

Silverado nodded. She turned back to the others. "We're takin' a breather." She said.

"Oh thank God," Gus plopped down on a rock, rubbing his legs. The others followed suit. "We making camp?"

"Not yet," Justin said. He whistled and waved at Lock, who started puttering over.

"The fuck you mean not yet? We've been walking for hours and it's getting dark!"

Silverado crossed her arms and stared Gus down. "You got a problem?"

Gus blanched under her eye. "No, but I mean, we ain't all got bionic legs over here." He said. "Crazy motherfucker walkin' for six hours straight with a damn bullet hole in his knee…"

Justin ignored him, staring intently into the large camera that served as Lock's eye. He pulled the retractable plug from his Pip-Boy and plugged it into a port on her chassis. "Alright, listen here. You fucked up earlier, and I'm willing to accept my part of the blame for that. I'm ready to move past it. I need you to do something, and really, please, I cannot stress this enough - don't fuck it up! Okay? You're gonna fly up that ridge right there-" He pointed, "And you're gonna go to Brahmin Neck Pass; you know the one, and you're gonna look at it. Real hard. Got it?"

As he spoke he programmed the coordinates and flight path instructions into his Pip-Boy. He hit 'enter' and detached the connection. She flew off.

"What's the plan if the pass is blocked?" Silverado asked.

"Ehh, there's another one nearer the middle of the valley. It's too close to the kodiak territory for my taste and it takes longer cause you gotta skirt the edge of the foothills."

"Can't we just… walk right through?" Matt spoke up, pointing into the craggly wilderness in front of them.

"Absolutely not." Justin snapped. "Maybe wherever y'all are from you can just wander around willy-nilly, but these are the fucking Cascades, and they will kill your ass."

Matt put his hands up. "Alright legs, chill, sorry I asked."

"Don't be sorry just do better." Justin muttered, returning his attention to his Pip-Boy. Grainy images filled the little screen, snapshots of Lock's voyage up the foothills. She was fast, so he didn't expect this to take long. The last time he'd come around this way was a little more than a month ago. It had been clear then, but they'd had some significant rainfall in the last couple weeks. One would think that eventually the mountains would run out of shit to run downhill, but apparently not.

"So, once we get into Seatac proper, where are you lot headed?" Justin asked after a few minutes of awkward silence.

The raiders exchanged glances, apparently debating how much to tell him. Justin rolled his eyes, poking buttons moodily. "Alright whatever, who the fuck am I, just the guy getting you into Seatac without getting eaten, fuck me I guess."

"We heard a rumor, 'bout a city in a skyscraper, lookin' for recruits." Jacob said. Bethany gave him a poisonous glare, and he shrugged. "What? Maybe he knows it!"

"Thank you, sir; in fact I do know it." Justin said. "You're talking about Columbia."

Jacob's face brightened. "So it's real?"

"Oh yeah. Not sure about 'recruits', though…" Justin gave the group a once-over. "I mean y'all look like you'd fit in fine there, so what do I know. I don't go that far north if I can help it, past the stadium it all gets a bit… populated for my taste."

"And I'm sure they all thank their lucky stars for that." Bethany sneered.

"Hurtful." Justin responded. And accurate.

Justin's Pip-Boy chirped. Lock had gotten to her set coordinates. He pulled up the image, and groaned. Smack in the middle of the pass was a collection of shattered tree trunks and debris. It would take hours to clear it, and even then the footing was going to be atrocious the whole time. Not worth the risk.

"Alright well the pass is a no-go." He announced, sending a return directive to Lock. "Unfortunate but not really surprising with how the weather's been lately. Inland route it is." He stood back up, cracking his neck and letting out a long breath.

"How much time is that gonna lose us?" Silverado asked.

"Eh, realistically not that much, only a couple hours. I mainly wanted to avoid the inland valley, lots of nasty critters out there."

"Kodiak, right?"

"Unfortunately, though they're usually further east this time of year and don't wander too far."

Silverado studied him for a long moment. "What else?"

"I… did see a deathclaw. Once. A long time ago." Justin admitted. The lines in Silverado's face hardened, and her grip on her shotgun tightened. Justin heard the creak of metal and leather. He put up his hands. "Look, I ain't super stoked, but I've gone this way hundreds of times since. I'll keep a wide scouting range with these-" he pointed to Stock and Barrel, "-and we'll be just fine."

Her lip curled, and she looked past him, surveying the landscape to the north. He knew the look in her eyes - she was debating whether she thought they could make it without him. Then she let out an annoyed sigh and looked back at him. She nodded. "Alright Scav, lead the way."