August 26th, 2279
While lying on the ground, Zack had closed his eyes to rest a moment from all the excitement that had occurred in the past few hours. At the moment, the entire second floor of the college was engulfed with flames. The materials inside was what was burning, the stone structure merely blackened like one of its side buildings had been. There were a few other internal explosions that were heard from within the school. Zack figured that Dr. Skye must have been storing chemicals somewhere else in the school, perhaps in the other science lab that they didn't find. Without trying or wanting to, he fell into a light sleep. They had been traveling most of the night and it was almost about the time when they would have set up camp to sleep still dusk.
Zack was startled awake by the sound of Kade speaking. At first he couldn't discern what she was saying until he opened his eyes and focused on her voice. Kade was standing over him on his left side. She held her hand on her brow blocking the sun from her eyes. Her face was full of concern.
"Did you hear what I said Zack?" She asked him. "You're bleeding from your leg." She pointed down with her other hand.
Zack remembered that his leg was bothering him on their escape from the college, and he required the aid of Kade to get out. Zack sat up slowly and propped himself up an arm while he looked to where she pointed. He moved the end of his duster aside to get a better look. On the side of his thigh on the ground he could see a small amount of blood that had combined with dirt and congealed. Looking to his leg, he saw a good sized jagged piece of metal about the size of his index finger poking out of his charcoal colored pants. It had ripped through with relative ease. It was of the same color as the sentry bot was painted. He figured when the thing exploded he must been in the path of flying shrapnel. He was fortunate that only one piece had struck one of his legs. Multiple shards could have easily struck him all over. One might've even been fatal.
"Yeah. Looks like I picked up a little souvenir from our robotic friend." Zack said. He winced a little while he moved his hand and different parts around the wound to see if there was sill feeling to it.
Now seeing what caused the wound, Kade squatted down next to him looking worried.
"Should I pull it out?" She asked and moved her hand towards it.
"No don't." Zack said quickly, a little more stern than he meant to.
Kade immediately pulled her hand away as if his leg had magically grown teeth and had tried to bite her.
"Sorry." Zack said. "I didn't mean for it to come out like that. It's just that I don't have my pack with me. It has all my medical supplies in it. If we pull that that thing out and have nothing to stop the bleeding with, you might as well be going to New Vegas on your own."
"Oh right. Forgive me for being such an idiot." She said softly and stared down to the ground. Her hair fell slightly to block her face from view to Zack.
"Hey." Zack said.
He moved his left hand to her face. He placed it under her chin and lifted her head up so her green eyes met his.
Zack let out an exhausted breath. "Trust me when I say this Kade. You're just about the smartest person I've met in a long time." He gave her a reassuring smile.
A faint smile appeared on her face. "You're too kind Zack. I'm nothing great." She said.
Zack brought his hand back and placed it back on the ground to support his raised body. "You don't give yourself enough credit. Not just anyone would be able to disable a sentry bot. Most would just need a lot of fire power to take one down and would need more people to help out."
"Alright I guess I can give you that." She said.
"And, you've saved my life twice already, even if you had to do some remodeling to do it."
Kade snorted. "Well you saved my life first. You also helped me out at Cherry Cliff, when I wasn't myself. I say we're even then." She stood up and stretched her arms outwards. "I am a bit rough on buildings aren't I?"
"Yeah, remind me not to invite over you to dinner. We'd have to eat outside." Zack said with a laugh.
Her smile grew wider. "Speaking of which, I'm starving." She said.
Feeling blasting heat on his face from the warm day, Zack wiped some sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. "So am I. Come on. Let's get back to town. I'm going to need to some help though. I don't have much motion with my leg at the moment. Think you can help?"
Kade nodded. "Sure thing."
Kade helped Zack to his feet. He tested his leg by putting some weight on it. He groaned when he did so. He could feel slight trickles of blood flowing down past his knee. Kade supported his larger heavier frame as best as she could by being on his left side with his arm hung over her shoulder. They began walking carefully together towards the road.
"I wanted to ask you about that robot." Zack said when they were almost to the road. "I thought when you said you would disable it that it would just turn off or something. Not that it would explode."
"Yeah, making it explode wasn't what I had in mind. I was able to open the maintenance hatch no problem, I believe it had some anti tampering program installed. I think it just sort of self destructed."
"Bummer, we could have probably sold it to Christina." He said with a chuckle.
They slowly made their down the winding road back to the main part of the town where Christina's shop resided.
When they got to the entrance of it, they both saw that the door was standing open. The streets were void of anything and no sounds could be heard from inside the shop. Both added together made Zack feel uneasy. He unwrapped his arm off of Kade's shoulder and propped himself against the wall. He couldn't remember if he had reloaded his revolver or not.
"I don't like this." Kade said looking towards Zack for instruction.
Zack kept his voice low. "Kade, take your gun out and see if Christina or anyone else is inside. Go slowly and be careful. Call out immediately if you need assistance."
"Okay." She responded while nodding at the same time.
She took a few deep breaths and pulled out her laser pistol. She held it out in front of her and went inside.
Zack could hear her footsteps as she progressed further into it. Straining, with one hand he took out his revolver. Sure enough, he had used all the rounds in it. He took the empty casings out and reached for more on his holster. When he reached down to his holster he swore. The ammunition was running low. He made a mental note to acquire more as soon as possible. Once it was reloaded he moved the revolver's cylinder back into place and held the gun at his side.
After he was finished he focused on the inside of the store. He couldn't hear Kade's steps anymore. Worried, he hobbled over to the doorway to glance inside. He didn't see her anywhere. Just as he was about to enter inside to investigate himself, she appeared from the backroom. She had put her pistol away. She paused by the counter looking confused.
"She's not here." She said.
Zack looked more carefully around the room. Their packs were still were still where they left them. Their containers were full of water sitting nearby. Zack lifted his hand to his mouth to cover a yawn. He was very tired. The loss of blood might be making him sleepier. There didn't seem to be any evidence of a struggle or blood throughout the store. Zack could only imagine what could've happened to her. Some of the residents might have come and took her somewhere. Or maybe once she heard the explosion at the college and took them for dead. She might have just gone about her daily business.
Zack heard rustling behind him. Forgetting about his wounded leg, he turned around quickly with his gun in hand to the oncoming threat. He let out a small cry of agony as he used his left leg to move and fell on his back to the wooden floor before he could fully complete the turn. His leg burned with pain. He was breathing rapidly. He aimed his gun unsteadily upwards to a person in front of him. It was Christina.
"Whoa don't shoot!" She said quickly with her hands raised in front of her body.
Zack let out a long sigh of relief. He lowered his gun letting its handle rest on the floor. He gave a small laugh and remained on the floor. He was too weak to get up himself.
He smiled up to her. "You scared the crap out of us." Zack said. "Well at least me anyways."
Christina looked down to him apologetically. "Sorry, I didn't mean to."
Kade walked over to Zack and with a strained face she helped him back to his feet. He thanked her. He then placed his revolver away while balancing on her.
"Where did you go?" Kade said with a hint of anger to her voice. "Did you know you left your door wide open? We thought the worst."
Christina closed the door behind her. She had some kind of small bag over her shoulder.
"Yeah, that stupid door doesn't stay shut sometimes. I don't have a key for it or else I'd lock it up." Christina said.
"Where were you?" Zack cut in.
Christina walked past scraping a shelf a bit with an arm and made her way to the counter. Kade and Zack turned together to follow her movement. She placed the small bag upon the counter and turned back around to face them.
"After you left I went to get water for you. I brought it back and waited for a bit. I was half expecting Dr. Skye to come down here saying how he killed the both of you that he knew I asked you to go do it. I figured he'd do me in after that."
She paused a moment to and sighed. "Once I saw smoke billowing from into the sky in the direction of the school, I'd figured that you did it. I was extremely pleased. I wasn't too sure if you would be coming back though. I had to keep myself busy. So I gathered some food and went around trying to get people to eat. You see, they usually forget to eat on their own while they are high off that junk he'd give them. I finished and came back here and found the both of you here."
"Makes sense." Zack said.
"Did you…have to…kill him?" She asked.
"He didn't leave us much a choice." Zack said.
"I see." She said softly.
Christina glanced down to his leg and saw the piece of metal jutting from it. Her face scrunched up.
"I'm sorry you got hurt. Is it painful?" She asked him.
"I'll manage." He responded.
"Um, you don't know a place here where we can rest for a bit and take care of this wound do you?" Kade asked politely.
Christina smiled. "Sure thing. I'd be happy to have you stay here actually. In the backroom there is a wood stove and a bed where the both of you can sleep. The bed is a bit small, but the two of look like you'd be fine nestled up next to each other."
Shocked by what she said, Zack began to mumble something incoherent.
Hearing Zack's muttering Kade jumped in to help. "We aren't together like that." She said. "We're just friends traveling together."
"Uh huh." Christina said and rolled eyes. "Could've fooled me." She added with a sly smile.
Kade gave a small laugh. "Thank you for the hospitality Christina. We'll be fine. But where will you sleep?" She asked.
"Don't' worry. I have some friends here that won't mind me intruding. I want to be close to them anyways to help them come back into reality." Christina nodded. "Oh, don't forget your payment. Any item you'd like here. Both of you I mean can choose something."
Zack finally found his words. "We will thanks. I want to get this leg taken care of first."
"Sure." She responded. I have some other things I have to take care of. Hopefully now that he won't be distributing those vials anymore, that the people will return to themselves." She lowered her eyebrows and paused. "I hope they don't go through withdraw or anything like that."
"Only time will tell." Zack said.
"Right. Well I'll be back later. Thanks again for what you did. Feel free to stay as long as you'd like." She said while walking past them and leaving the store.
"Come on Zack, let's get you fixed up." Kade said.
She helped him to the back room. It was a lot smaller than the business part of the building. It had a smudged square window against a wall. A raggedy looking shade was present. It was pulled half way down, allowing a stream of coppery light to flow into the room. A large oval teal rug filled the center of the floor. There was a small brown dresser under the window with a small silver circular mirror resting on the top along with several candles. A small bed frame was set into the corner. Two stained maroon pillows were at the head and green sheets covered it. Christina was right; it would have been a tight fit for the both of them. A decent sized black stove sat against another wall. A long pipe was attached that lead up to through the ceiling. Next to it was a stack of wood of various sizes. There was another door in the room as well. It looked to lead to a bathroom.
Zack let go of Kade and he plopped down on the bed. The mattress sagged a bit under his weight. The springs must have been worn out long ago.
"I'm going to go get our things. I'll be right back." Kade said and left the room.
While she was gone Zack took off his gloves, duster, head wrap, goggles, and holster. He organized them on the bed to his right. He then reached down and took off his boots and slid them under the bed. He grabbed one of the pillows and placed it against the wall and laid his head on it while his feet remained over the edge on the floor. He closed his eyes and almost fell asleep.
Kade returned a few moments later, her arms were full of their packs. Zack reopened his eyes and watched her. She emptied the contents of her arms gently on the floor and then proceeded to take her mechanic's gloves off. She tossed them on the bed next to Zack's things. She then brought her hand to her chest and unzipped the top part of her jumpsuit down to her waist. She pulled her arms out from the sleeves, exposing the small white tank top that she wore underneath. She pulled down the upper part of the jumpsuit behind her so the bulk of it remained at her waist.
"A bit warm in here isn't it?" She said.
While trying his best not to let his eyes wander to explore the curves of her upper body, Zack merely nodded before finding something to say.
"Could try to open the window perhaps?" He suggested.
Kade walked over to it and brought her hands to it feeling around the edges. Zack sat up and reached for his pack which was nearby his feet. He opened the middle compartment up to pull out his container of medical supplies. He also pulled out the spare shirt he kept in the main compartment. He then placed his bag down again. Kade turned around with a look of defeat on her face.
"Stupid thing doesn't open I guess. Oh well." She said waving the back of her hand at it.
Looking to Zack's leg, Kade sat gently down next to Zack taking special care not to bump into the metal protruding outwards.
"Will you need help with it?" She asked.
Zack took a deep breath. "Yes I will need your help. I really want to save these pants though. Cutting them off to tend the wound would leave them useless. Do you have any kind of cutting tool that can shorten the metal so I can take my pants off without ripping them?" He asked.
"Yeah." Kade nodded.
She grabbed her small messenger bag and pulled out blue handled wire cutters.
"Will these work?" She asked him.
"Yeah, they should be good. Can you do it for me? Just cut it down to about three quarters of an inch." He told her.
"Alright." She said a little uneasy.
Kade carefully held the piece of metal with one hand and used the other to hold the wire cutters. It took several cuts to get it completely off. Zack winced a few times as the piece moved around and dug into the muscle in his leg.
"Sorry." She said as she took the now removed piece in her hand. She set it and the wire cutters next to her.
"No worries." Zack responded. "Now, we'll need um…needle nose pliers if you have them."
"I do." She said at once and began to rummage through her bag again.
Zack began to undo his belt and shift his pants downwards. He took special care to make sure the pants wouldn't get caught on the remaining metal.
Placing the pliers next to her and seeing what Zack was doing she spoke nervously. "Uh, do you want me to leave the room for this part?" She asked.
"I'm fine if you are. I do wear underwear." He said with a laugh.
Kade helped him pull down his pants down to his feet and took them off completely. The boxers that Zack wore had also been penetrated by the metal. Zack lifted them over and pulled them up a bit. The side of his leg was caked in streams of dried blood. Kade looked a little queasy.
"Least it stopped bleeding." Zack said. "Can you check the store for any alcohol or some disinfectant? Or perhaps the bathroom?"
"Of course." She said and got up.
She went into the bathroom first, but came up empty handed. She then proceeded towards the store.
Zack lifted his leg up a little, folded his spare shirt, and placed it underneath his leg. Once the metal came out, he might bleed some. He didn't want to ruin Christina's sheets and mattress.
Kade came back carrying a clear bottle of what looked like vodka.
"It's all I could find." She said.
"It'll do. Now come back over here." He said.
She sat back down next to him but kept her eyes from the leg.
"I'm going to need you to pull it out while I quickly clean it from any other debris that might be in here. I'm most likely will have to suture it closed as well. I should be able to manage from the pain. Think you can do that?" He smiled to her.
"Yeah…I can." She said at last.
She gripped the pliers in her hand and slowly pulled the metal object from him. A small spurt of blood gushed out along with it that trailed down to his spare shirt. From the blood on metal piece, it looked to have gone in about almost two inches into his leg. Zack was glad that it didn't hit any arteries. Quickly he poured a good amount of alcohol onto it. He gasped a few times as the liquid sterilized the wound. With some gauze wrapped over his finger he gently poked around and inside to clear any dirt or fragments of metal that remained. Kade watch in astonishment as he worked on himself.
"Kade can you go into the side of my pack and get my lighter?" He asked her through gritted teeth.
Kade retrieved the lighter and held it to him, but he shook his head. With his free hand he passed her the open plastic container.
"I'm going to need you to thread one of the needles in there, and then sterilize it with the lighter." He saw the look on her face. "I'm up to sewing it closed my self though, don't worry." He said.
She nodded. She had some difficulty threading it. It seemed obvious that she hadn't sewn much in her life. But finally she managed to do it. She was just finishing sterilizing the needle as Zack felt satisfied with the now clean wound. It wasn't bleeding all too much anymore. He threw the bloodied gauze to the ground and took the needle from Kade. He placed one hand around the wound, squeezing a bit to bring the skin together. He was about to insert the needle when he looked to Kade. Her green eyes were focused on his hands. Some of the color of her face had faded away.
Zack smiled. "Kade, why don't you get that stove lit and get some of our food cooking on it. I don't think you need to watch me do this. I'll be alright."
"Okay, sounds like a good idea." She said. Her eyes were still focused a moment on his hands.
Finally she got up with the lighter in hand and made her way over to the stove. She opened its door and began to place small pieces of wood that she grabbed from the pile. She placed them inside in a standing arrangement.
Zack took a deep breath and inserted the needle for the first of what would be quite a few times into the skin by the wound. He grimaced. The hand not holding the needle shook a bit. He finished the first half of it while Kade got the beginnings of a fire going in the cooking stove. She prodded at it with a stick in one hand, causing it to grow. She stared intently into the flames, not wanting to turn to watch as Zack patched himself up. He couldn't blame her for not wanting to.