Max and I left Hidden Valley a few hours ago. We've been traveling by foot to Cotton Wood Cove so it'll be harder for them to see us coming.
"So why is Cottonwood Cove so important?" I ask.
"After the battle for Hover Dam was won by the NCR, the Legion regrouped toward the southwest and retook the cove. They use it to travel and deliver supply shipments, which aren't as often since their numbers are diminished. I'm not sure what the Elder has in plan. I guess we'll find out more once we get to the safe house." He says.
We keep walking in silence for a while.
"Don't worry, I have a short cut to get there." He says.
"Alright." I say.
We hit Nipton not long ago to grab some supplies. We head out of the east gate and up a sand hill a little bit down the road. An abandoned farm sits at the top and we pass through with ease. Soon enough, we reach another town that doesn't look so good. Sand and dust particles are floating around with a slightly green tone to it. It reminds me of the glowing sea back home.
"What is this place?" I ask.
"This is Camp Searchlight. Radiation was released here by the Legion on NCR soldiers during the war. We'll have to pass through to get to Cottonwood Cove the soonest. Plus, we'll really only have to deal with a few feral ghouls." He says.
I sigh, "Alright. Lead the way."
"Alright. Pop a couple rad-aways and we'll head through." He says.
We do as he suggests and head through the mist. It doesn't take long for the shadows to haunt us. Footsteps rushing around us, trailing our every step.
"Get your gun out." Max whispers.
I pull my pistol out and every few steps I turn and walk backwards keeping an eye on our backside. Max stays alert on the front and we continue on. A few times of me turning go by but nothing pops out, yet. We start passing over a bridge and we hear a rumbling below.
"Max." I say in a low tone.
"Yea?" He says nervously.
"What the fuck was that?" I say.
"We should move." He says.
We pick up the pace and hurry across the bridge as quietly as we can. But the next time I turn around, I see a figure standing at the end of the bridge we just came from.
"Max." I say.
"Yea?" He answers and I grab his shoulder and turn him around.
"Oh that's creepy man." He says.
"Yea, who is that?" I ask.
"No idea. We should get outta here." He says grabbing my arm and pulling me, but just as he does, dozens of more shadows appear in the mist, the visibility so low that all they appear to us are shadows. Some are on all fours balancing on the railings of the bridge like chimps.
"There's people who live here?" I ask.
"Not supposed to be." He says.
Then, a whistle from the man in the middle. We hear a low, grizzly rumble and the ground shakes beneath us. We peer over the edge as much as we can from where we're standing, and an absolute monstrosity emerges from below. The largest deathclaw I've ever seen in my life. He's got to be three times larger than a normal one with longer everything. Longer claws, longer legs, longer spines and horns. Except these deathclaws in the west are the color of the desert, and look skinnier and more agile than the swampy looking ones in Boston.
The creature bellows as he turns towards us and grabs the edge of the broken bridge with his scaly hand. He begins to pul himself up, and the army of shadows that's been trailing us charges all at once. Figures on all fours run along the railing while the bipedal run. It's obvious now that they're feral ghouls.
"Run!" Max yells.
We turn and sprint as hard as we can. Huge stomps and vibrations come from behind us. A large bellow again from the deathclaw. I can almost feel it's breath on my neck he feels so close. He takes a swipe at me and I can hear and feel his sharp swords for claws go by my back. I was running at one hundred percent but now it's one hundred and fifty. I turn and look for a second and what looks like an army of feral ghouls and the deathclaw is charging at us.
A feral on all four is running beside me as we get to the end of the bridge and farther down the road. He's taken a swipe or two at me already, but he lunges this time and lands on my back. I keep running as I struggle to pull it off of me. It slaps and slashes my face and chest taking breath out of my lungs every time. I feel myself slow down and the swipes from the deathclaw feel closer and closer.
I struggle to grab a hand to the beast and grab the soft soggy skin and hold it still. The skin starts melting off it feels like as I hold it, so I dig in and grab the wet bone. He takes a few bites towards my face and I luckily dodge them. Another swipe from the deathclaw barely misses my back but snags my shirt. It rips a hole in the back of my uniform and I pick up the pace as best I can with the little breath I have left. I point my gun up right next to my face and the feral does exactly as I thought. He takes one more chomp and I pull my trigger. I feel the slide of the gun slide against my cheek and the hot brass bounces off my face. The loud bang deafens my left ear but the slimy body slides right off of me and I can run faster again.
Another hand grabs mine and I point my gun. Max has my hand and before I can react, he pulls me hard to the right towards the mountains. Theres a crack in between two boulders and he shoves me through. He follows after me and the deathclaw lunges for the rocks. He scratches and reaches but we were fast enough to get out of his grasp. Ferals try to follow us but the deathclaw tears them apart. They're in the way of his true target. We stand for a second in the rocks and catch out breath before Max is pushing us again.
"Move, we don't have time to sit. These rocks could topple any second." He says.
We shimmy through the rocks and to the other side and make a break for the top of the mountain on the other side. We can still hear the irradiated army screeching and bellowing behind us, but we don't care. We continue up the mountain until we get out of sight of the cavern we were in, just in case. It's now sunset and the heat has died down a bit, making it easier to breathe and cool off. Max comes over to me and checks me over.
"You alright? Did the deathclaw get you?" He asks.
"Yea, yea I think I'm alright." I say slowing my breathing to slow my heart rate. I take deep breaths and control the inhale and exhale.
"You look like hell. That crawler got you good. We need to get to that safe house and get you healed up." He says bringing me to my feet and checking his pip-boy's map. He looks off to his left and grabs my wrist and pulls me with him.
"C'mon, this way." He says.
"Oh no, Max please tell me this isn't another short cut." I say exhausted.
"No, no, I pinky promise." He says with a smile.
We both laugh, although it isn't really the right situation to. I think we're both just happy to be alive.
We don't have to walk very far to make it to the safe house. Once we're there I bang on the hatch and a voice comes over the intercom.
"Who is this?" A female voice asks.
"Ad Victoriam." I say simply.
"Come in." She says.
The hatch unlocks and we both stumble in, out legs giving out and we collapse into the chairs by the door. A female Paladin in power armor heads to us quickly and calls a Knight Captain over to us. He looks at my face and Max's body. I think he had to fight off one or two ferals too, although I couldn't really see.
The Knight Captain gives us a stimpak and starts cleaning my wounds. If a stimpak is used in a general area of the body, the healing process is slower as it's not concentrated to one area. One of these places is where they draw blood usually. I feel it's cool medicine roll through my body and the pain starts subsiding. I can't help it, but as he wipes away blood and looks over my chest, my eyes grow heavy and I pass out from exhaustion.