Her red hair trailed behind her like the blood of so many tribes conquered by the Legion. She was everything I had left behind and now, I am following back home. Like the Legion, I had hit her and she left me when I needed her most. I was supposed to protect her and I failed.
She is the Legion. She is what has cleansed me with this purifying flame, yet I still follow her.
She spun around and glared at me with those eyes as green as the grass by the river.
"Why are you following me? Are you going back to your roots and plan on getting me alone and raping me?"
"I have absolutely no such intentions. I am terribly sorry for striking you, but these people really need your help here."
"Well, these people can go fuck themselves."
"I would appreciate that you remain respectful of these innocent people. They haven't done anything. If anyone should be punished, it's me."
"What, are you going to hit me if I'm disrespectful again?" She crossed her arms over her chest.
"I have told you that I am sorry. What more do you want? What can I do for you to help these people?"
"No. You fucked up. You fucked up for yourself and for them."
"And they didn't. Please, there are children here. Without you, there's a very minuscule chance of them living another few months. These people won't survive without your help. There's potential in these people. Generations of worthy individuals." I could hear the whining in my own voice but they needed my help even if I had to beg.
"Let's finish this outside."
"As you wish."
We stepped out into the sunlight and shielded our eyes. She took the path down to the river and took her shoes off to dangle her feet in the water. I sat next to her but not too far and not too close.
"So, what will it take for me to convince you to help these people?"
"A life of pre-war luxury and a pet dragon."
"I believe I may be able to make arrangements." Maybe the Lord will bestow my old charm to win her back to our side. At least she was laughing.
"Actually, my face doesn't really hurt anymore. I would help you if I had a little reinforcement. I don't have my friends with me and I'm more of a 'strength in numbers' person." She started to kick up some water gently.
"Addie, if you don't mind me asking, why did the Legion win the war during Hoover Dam?"
She stopped kicking altogether. "Well, I had tried leading Vegas for independence but the Legion was just too strong. The NCR was wearing thin and I didn't have many allies outside of Vegas. The Legion had the numbers."
"I shall pray for the Mojave." I rolled up the sleeves of my shirt and pulled out a blade of pond grass.
"I don't really understand their way of thinking." She paused to grab a handful of sand and piled it on the shore. She repeated the process.
"They really do think that their doing the right thing. They believe that they should enslave drug addicts and whores to 'cleanse their bodies of the substance and sin'. In their minds, they're doing the right thing. A lot of the younger men believe the woman are enslaved as toys for them and shouldn't be considered living, breathing humans." I twisted the grass between my fingers. I placed the grass on top of the pile of sand Addie was making absentmindedly.
"I guess so, but they could find other ways to do that. They don't need to beat and rape them so they can stop doing drugs. That sounds like the worst anti-drug campaign parents tell their kids to scare them." She poked hole into the sides of the pile and patted certain areas of interest.
"What are those?" I pointed to the holes.
"Windows, they need to see when their mail is coming."
"Ah." I grabbed another blade of grass and twisted it. "There will always be flaws in a system. You can't make something perfect."
"This sandcastle is looking pretty perfect in my opinion."
"What?"
"It's a sandcastle. You know, a castle made of sand?"
"Why are we doing it?"
"Idle hands make for a beautiful masterpiece or mass destruction."
"You sound like you're reciting a bible verse. Proverbs 16:27. 'Idle hands are the devil's workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece."
"You're an open bible, huh?"
"I am only carrying out God's will through the words of his chosen writers."
She seemed to be somewhere else as she built the sandcastle. "Does it still hurt? You burns, I mean."
"I never feel peace from smoldering pain all over my body."
"Oh." She stopped to give me a look of sorrow.
"I don't deserve your sympathy. What I do deserve every ounce of agony I feel."
"You aren't that bad of a guy now, so I think you should stop suffering."
"Are you implying I kill myself." I stuffed the blade of grass onto the castle.
"Are you insane? How did you get that out of context?"
"Usually, when someone says they need to stop someone's suffering, they imply death."
"Oh. I wasn't saying that. I meant that you should start looking for ways to heal your skin instead of make it so that it doesn't heal. You need to stop dwelling in the past and look for a brighter future. You can always try looking for things like ointment in those old doctor's clinics. I'm sure there were medical tents in a national parks back then."
"I understand. Not everyone shares your beliefs though. And besides, the tribals are too supersticious. They mark pre-war builings and caves with handprints because they see them as 'taboo'. They believe those places are haunted by vengeful spirits."
"I wisheveryone did think like me, though. Everything would be easier that way."
"Everything would be pure chaos."
"Oh ha ha." Sh punched me in the arm gently. It's been years since a woman had willingly touched me.
I had stopped feeling childish to get serious. There were more important things at hand. "We would really appreciate your help."
"I know. I never said I wasn't going to help you. I just need some reinforcement."
"You would have to meet up with Daniel. He is with the Sorrows. They may be able to lend you someone that can aid you in your journey."
"Where can I find them?" She threw her arm at me and it took me a moment to relax and realize that she wasn't attacking and instead, showing me her wrist appliance.
"What is this?"
"It's a Pipboy. I'll bring up the map." She turned a knob and a map had appeared. I would have to look more into this interesting contraption.
I touched the screen lightly and jumped slightly as the map moved.
"Have you really never seen one of these? It's touch screen."
"The Legion does not permit Old World technology. They believe relying on the Old World is weak and shows that they are incapable of providing it's own needs."
I moved the map around to find features that seemed familiar. It was highly probable that the map was from before the war. I recognized some bends in the river and openings of caverns. I pointed to the corner of the screen.
"That's where they are?"
"I'm very certain. I have seen old maps of the canyons from before the war in ranger stations but the river is always molding the lands to its liking."
"Now that I have a location, I should probably get going. I need to get there before it gets dark."
"I will pray you have a safe journey."
"Thanks I guess. I'll see you later." She dried her feet of with an old shirt from her bag and pulled her boots on.
"I think our sandcastle came out nicely." I wasn't lying. It did look rather nice.
"Like a gay kid whose parents are accepting of him." She said as she laced her boots.
"No comment."
"Good."
She stood up and walked away, her wine colored hair the last thing in sight.