Chapter 16: Buddy

"You mind telling me what this letter's about?" I asked Joe the next morning as we walked through the streets.

"Ex-girlfriend. She's been making death threats and I'm ending it. Please don't read it, Jace. It's personal." Joe said in a tired voice.

"No worries, Joe. You can count on us, buddy."

Joe coughed; his heart dropped hearing the word. "Thanks."

"What's the matter with you lately? Don't tell me this girl's getting to you."

"No, it's not that—"

"Oh, man! This girl's totally got you by your heart strings!" I laughed as I flapped the letter around.

"Aw Joey!" I teased, using another trigger word for Joe.

"Shut up, Jace." Joe sighed as I looked at him, noticing the gray bags under his eyes.

"Sorry, Joe." I said honestly.

"It's… fine, Jace." Joe said painfully.

"Don't worry, bud. You'll feel better when we give her this message."

"Yeah."

Joe walked away without saying goodbye. He walked faster than usual and without his smug swagger as he usually did. He walked like a skinny, timid boy, and that wasn't Joe. I figured something was going on. So I asked Vee about it. I walked back home and saw Sarah napping on the couch as Vee sat at home and played with an old yellow cloth with questionable red stains on it.

"Hey." I whispered with a smile as she got up and smiled back. She walked up and we hugged.

"So you talked to Joe today?" She asked.

"Yeah. He didn't really seem to know about Chain. He wants us to focus more on the town right now."

"And that's why we're playing pony express?"

"Guess so." I shrugged. "Sounds a lot sexier now that you said it."

"Shut up." Vee sighed as she sat down.

"What's up?" I asked as I sat down next to her.

"Nothing. We're getting a convoy up to trade for Springvale's medical equipment."

"Don't change the subject. I like to think I know you enough to know when something's up. What is going on with everyone lately?"

"Do you… ever feel… bored?"

"Uh… yeah? That kind of happens a lot, Vee. We're in the middle of friggen' nowhere. I stared at brahmin shit for five minutes the other day because it looked familiar to me."

"Language." Vee hushed me as she glanced over to Sarah. "And I know. I just want to know… are you happy with that?"

"I am if you are."

"I am. I am." She smiled the second time.

"You're ready to travel right? Have you been stretching?" I asked her as I got up.

"Yeah. Don't worry. I haven't lost my touch."

"That was a pun, right? Because you punch things?" She looked at me with not response. "I'm sorry, I totally understand why you're bored here." I added.

"I'm not bored." Vee argued.

"Sorry. I get it, not bored. My bad."

"Just go and get Walter so he can babysit Sarah." Vee sighed.

"Why not Joe?"

"Joe's… Joe's not in a good place right now. Let's not trouble him more."

I looked at her and squinted. "Hold on, do you not trust him with Sarah?"

"I didn't say that."

"Then why not get him? He's our friend, Vee. He's our best friend."

"I just don't want him around Sarah now!" Vee argued.

"What has gotten into you guys recently? Everything's going great, and you guys are just giving up because it's monotonous?! After all we worked for we're just going to turn on each other?"

"I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry that I want something different for my life!"

"So you admit it, you are bored!"

"Yes! Fine! I'm bored and I think that Joe's been acting sketchy lately, so I don't want him around our daughter! Is that okay?! Is that good enough for you? Can I please protect our daughter, Jace?!"

I looked at her and shook my head. "Protect her… from Joe."

"Jace, you haven't known Joe as long as I have. Listen to me: he—hasn't—grown—up. He's a kid inside so he shouldn't be in charge of ours!"

"Joe's taken care of us before, Victoria! How could you say that about him?!"

"No he hasn't, Jace! He hasn't nursed us, he just dropped us off so he can go to the bar and get drunk! I don't want that around our—"

We looked to our side and saw Sarah standing there, her face groggy and misunderstood.

Vee crouched down to her and looked down, switching to "Mom mode". I sighed and looked to the door.

"I'll go get Walter." I decided as I left.

"Why are you screaming?" Sarah asked her mother.

"We were just... Uh… rehearsing for a…"

"Do you hate Uncle Joe?"

"Kind of forgot you're my daughter." She mumbled, impressed by her wit. "I don't hate him, Sarah. Joe's a great friend. But he's just that. He doesn't have it inside him to do what your father and I do, and that's protect you."

Joe sat by himself in his office with no light on, using the sunlight seeping through the walls to reload a bolt-action rifle. He cleaned it, his hands shaking in fear, but his face seeming to be disconnected from his hand, at least in an emotional way. His eyes were calm and his mouth shut, his nose doing the breathing; the hard, quick breathing.

"I just want you to know that your father and I love you very much, Sarah. But we have to go now, okay? Just for a little bit."

Joe sighed quickly as he got up and walked out of his office, to the meeting point.

Victoria kissed her daughter on the head and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too, mommy." Sarah smiled, showing her baby teeth.

I came back to say my goodbyes and left to deliver the letter with Victoria as Walter sat with our daughter to read her a story. Joe walked out of Megaton, his hands flicking invisible things away at his sides as he walked. He had a lit cigarette in his mouth. It barely stuck to his lips as he breathed through his mouth now. He made no eye contact with anyone and walked out. Vee and I silently walked to make the delivery, making small talk about the letter. We finally arrived, and looked at the houses, checking to see if any girl lived in them when the irony was that those houses have been abandoned for years. Joe waited impatiently further away from us, smoking the cigarette and tapping his foot. Chain and his men walked quickly through the Wasteland to their destination: a couple of fools to be given to the slave trade. They raced to their goal, and made it obvious that they were coming.

"What was that?" Vee asked me as she heard a noise.

I pulled out my pistol as she pumped her gauntlet.

Joe breathed out hard and choked up. His eyes were red as he smoked his cigarette. He brushed ash off his duster, and his Megaton sheriff's badge shined in the sun.

"I hear something." She told me.

"Get down." I told her.

Chain's men rushed to the rendezvous place, and surrounded their prey. They had no idea what was going to happen next.

I saw the threat and sighed. "It was just a mole rat." I told her as we looked at the small, whiskered rodent as it scurried around. We were then left in silence.

Chain and his men surrounded Joe miles away from us at the actual rendezvous point.

"Well… well." Chain sighed as he looked at the lone sheriff.

"I thought you were the smart one, Joey." Chain shook his head at him.

Joe stopped daydreaming and looked up at Chain. "I'm not smart. I'm not as clever as you are. I'm just a man, and I've got you beat there." Joe said weakly as he dropped the cigarette on the ground.

"You know what this means, right?" Chain asked him.

"Someone's gonna die in the end. I know." Joe told him quietly.

"You're damn right."

"And I hope to God they get you first."

Joe pulled out his bolt action rifle and fired at Chain, sparking the bullet off his armor. A raider popped a bullet into Joe's side, and sent him into the ground. The raider's converged on Joe as he bled onto the ground. Chain looked at the sheriff with pity.

"You think you did something good, Joey. You're wrong. You started a war you won't be around to finish."

Joe looked up at him and breathed heavily until he passed out.

"These houses are barricaded, Jace. No one's been in these for ages." Vee told me.

"This is the place, Victoria."

"This is where Joe told us to go." She looked at me.

"There it is again. Joe knows this place more than you. If he says this is the place, then this is the place." I decided. We gave up hours later.

Joe awoke in the dark, a fire lighting the cave he was in. Just barely.

A voice spoke to him. "Wakey, wakey. Eggs and—" A punch entered Joe's left cheek.

Joe looked up at Chain as he waved to him.

"Good morning, sleepy-head." Chain smiled.

"You want to interrogate me?" Joe asked weakly.

"More like fill you in on your current situation."

"So, first off. You fucked up pretty big if you haven't realized the gaping hole that was put in you." Chain pointed to a red spot on Joe's stomach. That was when he noticed he was tied up. He couldn't feel his arms or legs.

"You're friends returned from that little 'errand' you sent them on. Too bad they weren't there to see their daughter get sick with a little 'virus' that'll get her killed soon."

"This is the part where you tell me… what the virus is." Joe rasped out.

"I gave her a special little concoction that's gonna speed up her heart rate from all the little hops and jumps she does until it explodes. It'll be slow and painful. Kind of like watching you perform in life. You may have saved your friends, but they'll wish they were dead when their little baby falls to the ground."

"They know I'm missing. They'll find out what happened."

"I don't think so, Joey. See, they're more focused on something more important than you; anything else. I'm not even sure why you risked your life for them when they're not even trying to free you! I mean, they think their sick kid is more important than your life!" Chain smiled.

Joe looked back at him in silence.

"Don't worry. I know how it feels to have no one care about you. Treat it as a good thing! You can get a lot done when no one cares if you succeed!"

"I hate… how that… was relatable." Joe coughed, his face was pale.

"See! Maybe we can be pals until that bullet wound kills you!" Chain nodded. "I know what you're waiting for. You're friends aren't going to come for you. They won't survive. Not even with those dipshits you call 'security forces'. One guy isn't worth an all-out war. They know that much."

"Well, have fun! Die quickly!" Chain smiled as he opened a metal door and slammed it shut, leaving Joe in a small room with a fire next to him.

"Why do bad guys… always give you a chance to escape…" Joe rasped out to himself as he struggled on his binds. He swung his arms up and around and winced in pain as he leaned right on his gut wound. He breathed through his nose angrily and wiggled his body. He fell over to his side and landed on his injury. He muffled a scream and groaned on the ground, his face almost kissing the campfire providing his light. He inched closer to it, and lifted his arms up and held them over the flame. It pained him, so he arched himself up to protect his skin from the flame. He waited, cooking the rope that tied him up. His arms began to tire and succumb to fatigue. They dropped slowly, grazing the fire. Joe yelped and rolled away from it from sheer pain. He ventilated and crawled away from the flames. He no longer wanted to try that route. He couldn't take it. He felt the cooked rope and felt a small tear in them. He wiggled the rope for minutes, slowly removing the rope's strings one by one as sweat poured down his pale white face. He wheezed out and grit his teeth weakly as he held onto his goal. He tore the rope off his hands and fell onto his back, breathing quickly with a smile.

"So cliché." He told himself as he pulled himself up.

I opened the door to the sheriff's office in Megaton and looked around for Joe.

"Joe?" I called into the empty room. I heard muttering, so I walked slowly towards the center of the room. I looked down at a starving raider as he breathed heavily on the ground, handcuffed to a desk.

"Mac and cheese… please… jeez…Louise…"

I raised an eyebrow at the raider as I looked around.

"Where is he?" I asked him.

"Food. Water." He forced out.

I looked at him and grabbed a water bottle off Joe's desk and dumped it on his mouth. His mouth graciously accepted it until he coughed and choked on the water, waking himself up from his dehydrated sleep.

"You gonna tell me where Joe is, shit-nose?" I asked him.

"Baby cheeks is gone. You won't find him."

"I forgot I'm talking to a drugged-up psycho." I gave up. I sat in Joe's desk and decided to look around.

I investigated his latest work. Forms and treaties with other towns, signed by him and Vee. Atop the papers and dossier info was an empty envelope. I picked it up; it was yellowed with age and had nothing inside of it. I knew it was recently used, however, since it was freshly torn, exposing white fibers underneath the dust that settled on top of it. It wasn't of any use to me. I placed it back down on his desk and stood up from his seat. I slipped on the floor and caught myself on the desk, making Giggles mutter to himself. I looked down at my feet and saw loosely placed .308 rounds. I knew for a fact that Joe doesn't shoot .308 rounds. He used an assault rifle for his sheriff duties, for crowd control. No, these bullets were large and powerful. Whatever he was doing, he wanted to make sure they were dead. But even loose bullets couldn't bring me to Joe. I looked back down at Giggles.

"Last chance, pal. Let me know where the sheriff went."

"There never were enough batteries for that light…" He muttered, breaking out into a hoarse laugh.

"Cool. Good talk." I nodded as I exited the office.

I walked to the front gates and looked up at the sniper guard. "Hey, yo!" I shouted to him.

"Have you seen the sheriff?" I asked him.

"Not since yesterday. He left sometime around three. Hasn't come back yet." The sniper called down to me.

"Thanks." I called back up to him, turning away and sighing.

I walked back home to Vee and Sarah and closed the door behind me.

"Hi, daddy." Sarah told me after Vee gave her a gentle push.

"Hi, cutie. What? No hug?" I asked with a smile.

She hid behind her mother's leg in shyness. I looked up at Vee, and then there were no smiles.

"Joe's missing." I explained to her.

"Maybe he's playing hide-and-seek." Sarah put forth.

"Good thought, Sarah, but Joe doesn't do that anymore." I said gently.

"Yes he does! Mommy said he's a kid like me. And I play hide-and-seek!"

I looked at Vee with passive anger and decided not to argue.

"He left town the same time as us yesterday and hasn't come back." I explained.

"Did you check his office?"

I nodded at her.

"You still have that letter he gave to us?" I asked.

"Yes. It's upstairs."

"I'll get it!" Sarah smiled as she trotted up the stairs, slowing down and falling halfway up the stairs. Vee rushed over to her and lifted her up. She smiled.

"Wow, someone looks a little out of breath. Let's go take a nap, okay, honey?" Vee asked her daughter as she lifted her up. Sarah nodded as she breathed heavily out of her mouth. Victoria took her upstairs and I followed them until I turned into our bedroom. I grabbed the letter and opened it up.

"I'm sorry I didn't have it in me. I tried.

-Joe"

I didn't know what he meant, but right now, things weren't looking good for Joe. I put the letter away and walked quickly down stairs where Victoria was sitting at the table.

"Vee, I think there's somethi—"

I stopped talking when I noticed she wasn't looking at me. She held a glass of wine in her hand. Her power fist was on the table. Her face was somber, but her body looked tense. I dropped my hands to my sides and my heart sank.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, playing dumb.

"Things just aren't the way I pictured them." She said, looking at the ground as she took a sip of wine.

"They never are, Vee."

"I know they can be different though. You and I don't have to live like this. Whatever it is we're doing."

I sat down at the table next to her and grabbed her wrists gently, looking up at her.

"We're doing what's right. What we wanted."

"This isn't what I wanted, Jace." She told me, her eyes were red. "I can't play mayor for the rest of my life. I don't feel like I'm doing anything with myself. And then I just come home here and I see you and you look the same way; empty. We can't suck it up because we think it's the right thing to do, that's not how we should live."

"We have a daughter, Vee." I choked up.

"And we've proven to each other that we can raise her. I'm not saying we should stop. I'm just saying we should just stop doing it together."

My heart skipped a beat.

"I can't believe this." I said in a whisper as I sat back in my chair and breathed in painfully.

"We deserve more, Jace." She said to me with no emotion.

"What the hell have we done to deserve more?!" I yelled as I got up. Vee looked back down at the ground in melancholy.

"Don't be like this."

"Don't be like what?! Human?! That's what we are! We can't strive to do more until we—we kill ourselves! We've done so much and now you want more from this?! What the fuck is the matter with your brain?!" I shouted as I threw my chair to the side.

"I just can't do this…"

"Oh! You 'just can't do this'?! Where the hell was that when you got hurt, huh?! Where the hell was that when we were in the vault and I had to bury my father?! WHERE WAS THIS WHEN WE HAD SARAH?!"

"It's not about you." She sobbed woefully as she glanced up at me for a second.

"Oh, I forgot, Victoria! It's about both of us! It's about how I tried so hard to make this work, and you don't even respond! It's about how we've bled for this town and you just want to leave because you don't feel like a kid anymore! Grow up! Grow the FUCK UP! You're not any different than Joe!"

I turned away from her and opened the front door, slamming it shut behind me. I stormed off until I noticed a crying woman standing in front of our house, looking at me. It was Natalie.

"I'm… I'm sorry…" She sobbed at me. I looked at her in questioning anger.

"He… he…" She tried to make more words, but broke down.

"Natalie…" I exhaled.

"You need to tell me where Joe is."

Joe crawled up to his feet in pain, forcing himself quickly to his feet. He lost his balance halfway through and ran forward into the metal door, falling down and groaning loudly. He held his wound as it seeped red. Joe wiped sweat from his forehead and pushed his red bandana off his head. He grabbed it loosely in his hand and applied it to the wound as he inhaled through closed teeth. He slowly dragged himself to his feet, and opened the rusted cell door. He crept as much as a dying man could through the dimly lit raider camp. He noticed these small cells where everywhere, with people being tortured and killed just like him. He tried to control his heavy breathing as he got to look athis surroundings. He limped as he held his right hand to his wound, using his free left hand to keep him from falling down. He leaned on the cell walls with everyone inside. He walked slower and slower as voices became easier and louder to hear. He got down and walked as much as he could bring himself until he saw the raiders. Dozens of them holed up in this cave with their intricate makeshift armors and weapons. Talking, drinking and eating were they as slaves died off around them. Joe breathed quickly as the blood left his face and exited onto his bandana below him. He looked down at the ground and exhaled in duress. There wasn't much he could do. There wasn't any way he was leaving alive.

Never before has reality slapped anyone. Once cocky and full of laughter, Joe was at the other extreme. He slumped against a dark corner and shook his head. There wasn't a plan or a friend there for him. He was alone, outnumbered, outmatched and on his deathbed. The only thing he had in him was heart: A stupid thing that got him into this mess to begin with. The thing that made him decide a child's life over her parents. A strong thing that would help him climb to his feet and realize there was only one end goal for him, and that was to save that little girl; because that little girl was the only thing that he ever cared about. She was the future of him and the friends who abandoned Joe there to die. The girl was the only thing left that symbolized hope, and he was responsible for killing her. There wasn't anything stopping him from righting that wrong, not death, not life as a slave, not even the death of her parents. Sarah's the only thing that mattered to him, she was the only reason he put his bandana away and limped to the center of the raiders, and pointed directly at the leader. She's the reason why he challenged the infamous bandit. And she's the reason why he was going to make sure that man died there.

Chain lifted up his pole weapon with the dumbbell at the end and swung it at Joe as Joe sprinted at him, screaming out a battle cry as the raiders around them cheered. He tackled Chain to the ground as the weapon swung above him. Joe ripped his helmet off of him and exposed black hair with gray streaks throughout and punched down as hard as his body could allow. No hesitation, no smart-ass remark, just rage and a fight to the death. And that's exactly what was going to happen between them.

"Natalie… where is he?" I asked her inside our house. She looked at Vee as she sat in her chair, her hair matted and a glass of wine next to her. Victoria's nose was red, her eyes half open. Natalie knew she was crying.

"Am I interrupting something?" Nat asked us.

"Please answer the question."

"That raider made him give you guys up. He was going to kill me and your daughter if he didn't. That's why he asked you to deliver that letter yesterday, right?" Natalie asked.

"There wasn't anyone there. He sent us halfway to Springvale for nothing."

"The meeting spot wasn't in Springvale…" Natalie seemed confused.

We thought for a moment, and figured out what Joe's 'plan' was.

"Did he… give himself up?" Vee asked us, looking up worriedly at me.

"He showed up without you guys…" Natalie decided.

"Where's the meeting point?" I asked her quickly.

"Near that Nuka-Cola machine north of here."

"Take this." I told her as I grave her my revolver. "Protect our daughter."

"Jace…" Vee eased me.

"We have to go now, he could be hurt!" I argued.

Victoria looked at me.

"He's our friend, Victoria." She looked into my eyes and then looked down. She inhaled and jumped up, grabbing her power fist and pumping it.

"If anyone comes into this house other than us, you shoot first and ask questions later. Got it?" Vee asked her as she gathered up her bag of supplies atop the fridge.

"Okay. Please hurry." Natalie told us as we ran from the house.

Joe punched down at Chain's face until the muscular man grabbed his attacker's arm and threw him off his body. Joe fell back, knocking himself into a table as Chain swung a forceful hook at Joe, sending his neck to the side and knocking him down to the ground. Chain front kicked the man like a wounded animal and set him up against the wooden table where loose food was spread. The raiders cheered as Chain bashed Joe's jaw against the table once, twice, and splitting the wood the third time. Joe grabbed onto Chain's wrists, but he was much stronger and durable than him. Chain lifted the smaller man up and threw him into the ground a few feet away. Joe coughed on the ground, his jaw was cracked, his face was swelling. He breathed quickly, wheezing on the ground as Chain walked over to him. Joe held his face in pain and crawled away from Chain as he and the raiders laughed. Joe spotted Chain's weapon that he left on the ground a few feet away from him. He crawled towards it, his fingertips grazing it as Chain grabbed him by his duster and pulled him back away from it the way an owner held back a rabid dog on a collar. Chain grabbed Joe from his knees and put him in a headlock, choking him. Joe's face turned red as his windpipe was cut off from oxygen. Joe tried to wretch himself free as he scratched at the man's arms. Chain bit down hard as Joe breathed out airless coughs. His pale white face turned red and then purple, and then white again. Joe felt up Chain's arm weakly, stopping at his mini chainsaw attached to his armor. Joe pulled the Ripper from his armor and turned it on, buzzing the jagged chains up and sending it back into Chain's arm, tearing away at flesh. Chain released Joe from his chokehold and screamed out a booming, grizzled yell as Joe took in air. He quickly got back to his feet and swung the Ripper down at Chain's head. Chain stood up with a flying uppercut and took Joe by surprise. Joe flew up and back onto the ground, landing harshly on his lungs and kicking up dust. His Ripper was off to the side as Chain picked it up and breathed in.

Chain shouted out a battle cry as he brought the chainsaw down at Joe's chest. Joe's fingers grasped Chain's makeshift blunt weapon that was still on the ground to his side and swung it around at the Ripper as it came towards him. It smacked against Chain's wrist bone with a metallic crack, sending the Ripper flying away and breaking Chain's wrist on impact. Chain screamed out as Joe got to his feet and swung the dumbbell at his face and took him to the ground. Joe lifted the hammer up into the air with both hands and brought it down at Chain's head with all his force. Joe was tackled to the ground before he could complete his final blow. He was taken down by a loyal raider; a man with a red cross on his hat. Joe elbowed the man off him and kicked him away, noticing his medicine bag on him along with several different and poisonous chemical mixtures. Joe grabbed the bag off the man and swung it onto his own, holding the hammer in one hand as he bent down and grabbed the Ripper in the other. The raiders then converged on Joe as his lungs breathed out their final breaths of air, desperately trying to keep himself from falling down and dying. He had one image in his mind, and that was home. Home to a few close friends and a little girl. Joe inhaled and bellowed as he swung both weapons at the horde.

Vee and I approached the meeting spot with the security forces following us. I ordered them to search the area. We then fanned out and looked for any clues as to where Joe went. We found an empty .308 casing, a cigarette, and a blood stain that was smeared away from the area. We looked to where it led and ran towards the destination.

Joe swung the hammer at a raider as he brought a knife down to Joe. Joe's attack cracked against the raider's head and instantaneously broke his neck. Joe was grabbed from behind and tore the Ripper into the flesh of his grappler, making him scream in pain until Joe tore up something vital and killed him. Joe screamed as he walked forward and swung the hammer down at a raider and slashed the Ripper across their neck. Blood popped out a few feet into the air and rested on Joe's duster as he ran forward and pushed a raider weakly away from him as bullets were fired at him. They hit the raider as Joe brought the two attacks closer together. Realizing he accidentally shot a friend, the raider couldn't notice that Joe jabbed the Ripper into his stomach until they both stopped screaming. As bullets echoed in the cave, Joe limped away from the battle, fighting off the raiders until he could see the light of day. Joe slashed the Ripper forward as a raider fired a pistol at him. It pierced through Joe's hand and made him shout and drop the chainsaw. He dropped his hurt hand to the side as he backed to the exit. He swung the hammer at the raider's arm and smacked the gun away from him. Joe spun around in a circle and added momentum to his forceful hammer blow, cracking the skull and cutting the raider's brain as he sent the dumbbell crashing into him. Joe felt sunlight on his cold body and turned away from the raiders. He ran as fast as he could, which wasn't as fast as you may think. He heard a familiar voice screaming as a tall, muscular, lumbering man with blood on him held up another raider's pistol and fired at Joe when he left the cave. Joe spotted spotted Vee and I with the troops and he thought it was a dream.

The first round hit him in the shoulder, the next in his upper arm, and the next right through his duster and into the side of his chest. His eyes popped with the reality of the bullets that pierced him, and he dropped to the ground in front of us as Vee and I looked at Joe. As he fell to the ground, he exposed us to his shooter that stood behind him a few meters away. He and I looked at each other as he held the smoking pistol. In almost slow-motion, I remembered everything about that man; our history and beyond. I almost didn't realize his next shot was fired directly at me. Vee pulled me away and saved my life as the bullet whizzed past me.

The security forces opened fire on the raiders, popping off various shots at them as I was held down in a firefight. Joe was motionless on the ground, bleeding into a small puddle around him. I looked at Joe, then at Chain as the bullets popped off his extravagant armor. He fired his pistol at us, taking down a few security forces as he smiled ostentatiously in his success. When his raiders began to lessen around him, they began to retreat. That was when Joe breathed in and spotted Chain. He wheezed out some blood from his white, dead face and lifted up his arm at him, trying the catch the elusive man as he ran away. Vee and I ran over to him as the field medic turned Joe onto to his back.

We looked at our friend as he lay on his back, his eyes glassy and his body ice cold. He breathed heavily, popping up his chest to breathe ever so often as the medic checked him.

"Oh my God…" Victoria sobbed as she looked at him. Joe twitched on the ground, trying his hardest to scream his head off from the pain he was experiencing. He only lay there, looking up at the sky as the holes in him bled onto his best friends' hands. He wanted to say he did this for them, but he couldn't bring out any words, or move at all.

We were looking at a dead man, and we knew it. Vee held Joe's hair back and cried onto him as the field medic set up a transfusion.

"He's lost alotta blood." The medic said to us over the ending firefight.

"I'm O-, use me." Vee told him as he hooked her up to him.

Joe's arms twitched towards the man lying next to him. The medic cut off Joe's duster and set it along with his badge to the side. Red holes sucked all the life out of his body and they were all over him. Victoria's blood was sent into Joe as his eyes looked towards the medical bag. He wasn't smiling. Somehow I thought he would. His face was dead of any expression.

"S—S" Joe said weakly, his eyes to useless to him to point out anything for us.

"What is it, Joe?" Vee sobbed at him as he coughed loudly and choked on the ground, gasping for air.

"Si…Sick…" His fingers twitched as they rested upon the antidote to Sarah.

He had a few moments to explain what happened to Sarah and how to fix it, but he was losing time.

"Sick? You're sick?" I asked him.

"S…Sa…Sar…"

"Sarah's sick?" I asked him.

"Huh." Joe tried to nod his head, but he winced in pain and looked up at the sky.

I opened up the bag and poured out bottles of weird concoctions, one of them being the antidote to Sarah.

"Hea…Sar…sic…"

Joe inhaled deeply and choked loudly on the ground as the medic tended to his wounds. Joe's eyes flickered and his body fell still.

"Joe?" I asked him as Vee shook her head.

The medic checked his pulse and began CPR.

"Oh God… Oh God, please…" Victoria shook her head as Joe's cold, pallid body pulsed between compressions. Tears streamed down her face like waterfalls.

With the AED charged up, the medic applied it to Joe's chest and administered shock. Joe's body pulsed and he awoke again, coughing, as if nothing happened, like the last minute of heart failure didn't even happen to him. He turned his head to us.

"Li… listen to me." Joe said as he breathed in.

"You… need… to take care of her." Joe pleaded.

"Make sure… she doesn't end up like us…"

We looked down at him and then at each other.

"She's the greatest thing you two created… don't let him do this to her…" Joe said in almost a whisper.

"She… needs… you guys…" Joe explained in his incapacitation, choosing the one thing to be serious about in his life.

"Just don't talk, Joe. You're gonna be okay, buddy." I told him as I choked up.

"I tried… to do what you would do…"

"You did more than that, Joe. I can't thank you enough for this. You saved our daughter." I told him as Vee held his forehead and eased him.

Joe looked into my eyes and I stared worriedly back. I tried to look happy to see his face. "I'm glad… I didn't…" Joe breathed in and hard. He winced and shouted out in pain as a bullet was pulled out of him. He tried his sentence again.

"I'm glad… I didn't shoot you in the ass." Joe tried to smile at me. And I tried not to look sad as I smiled heartedly back.

"I'm glad you married her…" He continued.

"Come here…" Joe told me as he called me over. I bent down as he whispered in my ear.

"She… may not look like it… but she likes you."

I didn't have to heart to tell him he was wrong.

Vee heard his loud and clogged whisper. She wiped a tear from her eye and looked over to the firefight as dead security forces and raiders blanketed the ground. The raiders were pushed back; little did we know that Chain was still alive and running faster than anyone else away.