New Vegas: Six

by IamtheAble

A war brews. The Two-Headed Bear of the West. The Bull of the East. Between the titans stands the Man in the Tower, A snake in a suit and a courier. Victory means to hold all the powers of Old-World and defeat means to go to dust of whichever form of progress that is ushered in... Let the games begin.

2. For a Few Caps More

Chapter 2: For a Few Caps More

For A Few Caps More

---

No one had anything to say after Easy Pete made his proclamation. They all sort of just stood around until Trudy spoke up, "Well we just can't stand around and do nothing."

"Aunt Trudy we're real sorry. I swear we'll whatever it that can make this right." Ralph stated as he stood up.

"You're damn right you will! But right now we'll have to figure out what exactly you can do first."

Sunny jumped in, "As far as I know, Amelia would probably have the most experience with stuff like this." She looked right at me, "What do you think we should do?"

I wasn't expecting them to come to me since I was a perfect stranger and all so I took a minute or two to mull it over, "As far as I can tell, you have two options. Neither of which will you consider to be ideal. Option one, you could appeal to the side of this Cobb dude that wants respect as gang leaders often do and have your boys walk his brother straight to his feet and proceed to beg for his forgiveness. Granted, they would probably kick the shit out of them and begin taking favors out on him for the rest of their natural lives and might hold it over you, Trudy, but that's your best shot at avoiding violence. Lethal violence that is."

Trudy looked at the twins, "Oh, come on miss, isn't there something that doesn't make us have to talk to him? Anything?" Kurtis pleaded.

"And that's my second choice. The best bet in my opinion. You could kill the dude." I suggested, flicking my head in the Ganger's direction. His eyes widened when he saw that I was dead serious, "After that, you drag his body over to Gecko territory and leave it there. I'm fairly certain that there's at least a few of the little bastards left. They sniff him out, gnaw on his corpse a little bit and that leaves Cobb with a cause of death that's perfectly divorced from you guys. Far as he's ever gonna know is that his brother was doing a little long-range recon and got jumped by some wildlife. You're in the clear."

Trudy wasted no time with her objections, "So you're saying that we murder him?"

"Yeah, pretty much. You'd wanna avoid a bullet to the brain and use a knife instead. Even though I doubt that they have any knowledge of autopsies over there you never can be too careful. It would be just like slaughtering one of those Big-"

"Now that's enough of that! That isn't our way. Even if he is scum we're not gonna slaughter a bound man who can't defend himself. No, Kurtis, Ralph, get ready to start groveling. I want you walking down that road within the hour."

"Y-yes Aunt Trudy." They said in unison before grabbing the prisoner and walking him out of the door.

As if the twins exit was synonymous with everybody else leaving with them she let out an exasperated sigh and circled around the bar counter before sitting in a stole behind and resting her face in her hands. Everybody in the room was watching her every movement like they were expecting her to make an important announcement. She looked surprised when she peeked through her hands to everyone looking at her, "What the heck are you all sitting around for? Don't you have jobs?" The majority of the people shuffled out of the building in a hurry. On our way to the Gecko grounds, Sunny told me that Trudy was well-liked and well respected around here. 'The town mom' she called her. I guess that sort of reputation also comes with being the wrong person to bullshit with when she's upset.

The only people left in the building were me, Sunny, Easy Pete and a slim man dressed in a vest and business shirt that was nice when compared to the overalls and flannels that seemed commonplace in Goodsprings. The latter of whom finally decided to speak, "I'll say it once and I'll say it now. Trudy, I'm not going to risk my life or my business because your 'boys' don't understand simple cause and effect. Whatever happens stays between you, them and whoever else you can sucker into this." He boldly stated in an unintimidating, professional voice.

"Chet, do you want anything to drink?"

"No thank you."

"Then get out." He didn't suffer her any resistance and stepped out immediately. She then looked right at me, "You came at an interesting time in our little town. I promise we're normally a lot more boring. Heck, the closest thing we have to a tourist attraction is Victor."

"The cowboy robot?"

"Oh, you've heard of him?"

"Yeah, the Doc said that Victor was the one who dug me up."

"That's what he said, right before he kicked me out of his house anyway. I'll tell ya, Mitch is just about the nicest and most generous person I've ever met but if you distract him from a patient you have thirty seconds before you catch an exact outline of how stupid you are while he's trying to save lives. Still, doesn't make sense to me. That robot has been here long as I can remember and he hasn't lifted a finger to help anyone but he sees you getting shot and suddenly he's willing to dig you up in the hopes that you're alright."

"Well if I see him I'll ask. You wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?"

"No, Victor just kinda floats around and does his own thing. I'm sure you'll see him around though. He's hard to miss." She gestured to an open stool in front of the counter, "You look thirsty and from what Sunny's said you've earned a drink. What's your poison?"

I sat down upon her invitation, "Scotch, pretty please." She reached under her counter and dusted off a relatively clean white bottle and instead of giving me a glass she just handed me the whole bottle.

"Most folk here aren't into anything other the whiskey, liquor, and moonshine. So, what's your story?"

I took a long gulp, "Well…" I thought about what to tell them. Seeing as the suggestion to kill the Powder Ganger was something of an outrage for them I don't a lot of my 'childhood memories' would be appropriate small talk. So I went with the time-honored tradition of cherry-picking aspects of yourself to make people like you, "My dad always stressed safety as one of the most important things in life."

She chuckled, "That's good I guess but I meant more along the lines if where are you from?"

"I can't really give you a definitive answer there since I don't know but I can say that I'm from West of here."

"Oh, daddy was a traveling man?"

"Daddy was. Yeah, that's one way of putting it."

"So I see. Tell me, what exactly did you do to get Sunny vouching for you?"

Sunny stepped up and began to answer for before Trudy shushed her, "Now Sunny, I asked her, not you. Go ahead, Miss."

"I was helping her hunt Geckos, to be more accurate I was keeping her company while we both shot Geckos until we came across this girl who was cornered by the critters. Long story short is we saved her a- behind and she points us to where the Geckos have been hatching from which leads us to a this huge a- big Fire Gecko."

"A Fire Gecko? I'd be lying if I said that didn't sound like some rumor made up by some superstitious townsfolk to explain bad luck."

"They have been used as such but they're as real as Radroaches. Basically, you take a Gecko and instead of having scavengers that walk around looking for anything that's vaguely meaty you have a territorial beast that has a bunch of baby Geckos to bring it's food to it."

"So you're saying that these are mommy Geckos?"

"Not all mommy Geckos are Fire Geckos but all Fire Geckos are mommy Geckos. They're pretty rare but if they do turn up you're bound to have one out of a variety of problems. Overpopulation of its younger counterparts, which is what you seemed to have, or you have a bad a case of getting your bar burned down and everybody you know getting mauled and charred. Hell of a fight."

"Bragging?"

"A little bit."

"I can appreciate the honesty. One last question since I'm sure I'm driving you nuts by now. What brings someone like you to a small town like ours?"

"It just so happens that it's the very reason I'm still here. I had a package I was supposed to deliver to New Vegas and I apparently was passing through and in the process, I got shot. That brings me to myquestion. You know anything about the shooter? A guy in a checkered suit with some Great Khans in tow ring any bells?"

"Yes, actually I have seen people matching that description. Buncha freeloaders is what they were. For some reason they thought they were entitled to a few round on the house, they learned very quickly that it wasn't going to happen. Naturally one of them dang Khans 'accidentally' knocked over my radio. I tried to get some parts from Chet to fix it but that man is about the greediest sonafagun I ever met. So that's a no-go."

"Tell you what, you tell me what you know and I'll see what I can do with that radio"

"Deal." She answered, ducking under her to pull out her radio and flicked the ON switch. Instead of music or a voice coming from the speakers all that was heard was static. I used my knife to take out the screws at the back of it, "They were bickering about something but well-dressed one kept shushing them. Sounded like he wanted to head straight North but they were refusing. I wouldn't blame them."

"Why's that?" I asked, bent over as I tinkered with the electronics.

"Place is buzzing with some kind of critters. Not exactly sure what kind though, I did hear that they just get mad if shoot them and are inclined to rip grown men apart like a knife through butter. So wherever they went they must have taken Highway 93." Just as she finished answering my question I popped up and the radio was fixed.

"There was never a man like my Johnny."

"Like the one they call, Johnny Guitar."

"Gah, Jesus!" I yelped before quickly flicking the radio off, "I hate that song!"

"A lot of people do for some reason. I always liked it myself. It's… Soothing."

"It's an audible war crime is what it is." I sheathed my blade, "Alright, Trudy thanks for the info."

"And thank you for fixing my radio." She reached into a drawer behind her and pulled up a handful of bottle caps, "How's 30 caps sound to you?"

"More than fair." I stuffed them into my inner jacket pocket, "So, Kurtis and Ralph."

"Yeah, I know. There about as wise as a developmentally stunted Molerat with both their brains put together but they aren't all bad. Got dealt a bad hand. Their mom passed a long while ago. Just so you know, I don't hold anything against you for that run-in you had with them. Those boys need a good whipping every now again. Just wish Sunny would start teaching them they can't be acting fools around her whenever they want."

"That's exactly what I told her," I remarked while smugly glancing back at Sunny, she just rolled her eyes.

"I sure hope you were right about Joe Cobb. I don't want to think about what would happen if you're wrong."

"Mind you, I gave you two options. One of which offered a greater guarantee of success."

"And I told you that it wasn't our way. Even if you're willing to kill an unarmed man we're not."

"I was just making sure that if Cobb doesn't want to play nice, and he very well may not, that you don't blame me."

"I won't, wasn't your fault that they decided to act fools and you were just telling us what you think we should do. Nope, whatever happens next is on us."

"Glad to hear it. So, wanna tell me about this Cobb fella?"

"Not much to tell. He's the head of a group a Powder Gangers and things have been getting heated between us for a while now. There's this guy who came into town recently by the name of Ringo. Right after he blows in this Cobb man comes a knocking and screaming a whole slew of elaborate threats if we don't bring him to him or to point him in his direction. I'm not about to throw a man I don't know to the wolf's for reasons I don't have."

"Sounds like a heck of a dilemma. Well if that's the case then even if he does forgive your boys it's just a temporary fix. Sooner or later you'll have to do something about the Ringo situation."

"Personally I hope he just slips out of town one night and takes those good-for-nothing punks with him. Unfortunately, that isn't likely to happen. Hasn't said more than two words to anyone here and has kept himself looked up at the old gas station for days now."

I sat and sipped my drink quietly listening. If there was one thing that seems consistent for all old-timers is that they really liked telling strangers about everything. I didn't mind though. I asked and she answered, "I wish you all the luck in the world with that. I have one more question before I head out. Is there a cemetery around these parts?"

"There is as a matter of fact. If you go behind the bar and keep going up the hill that way that's where you'll find it. Is that where you were buried?"

"I don't know but if I was gonna shoot someone and bury them then that would be the place to do it."

"I like you for some reason, just so you know. As far as I'm concerned you're welcome in our town." I couldn't but return the smile she gave me.

"Hang on sec'. I'll be out in a minute." Sunny shouted from across the room. I waited outside leaning against the same spot I was when I talked to Easy Pete. Speaking of the old man Sunny walked out with him, "Easy Pete's tagging along."

"Tagging along for what exactly?"

"We're gonna plug that cave up."

"Oh, makes sense. There were a lot of eggs in there. But do you mind me asking why Pete has to be involved?"

"Ask him where his dynamite is."

"Easy Pete, where's your dynamite."

"I'm not gonna go an' give up where my whole stash is for no reason. That'd be stupid." Easy Pete answered like he was reciting something he's said a hundred times by now.

"Now ask him if he could go get his dynamite for us to use."

"Well?"

"Nope, I let whippersnappers play wit' my dynamite and suddenly everyone in town is yelling at ol' Pete 'cause the kids are missing fingers. Not happenin'."

"That's why."

"Very well then. Let's hop to it."

---

Me and Sunny had been standing around outside the cave entrance waiting for Easy Pete to finish placing the dynamite, "What's taking him so long?" I whined impatiently.

"He doesn't like to use his dynamite, at all. Took me the whole time you were talking to Trudy to talk him into this and this is actually important. There's no way he's going to use more than the absolute bare minimum if he thinks he can help it. I don't really see why he's so concerned about the stuff. He never uses it aside from when we convince him we need it."

"Hey, we all have our little quirks. Especially when we start going over the hill."

"Guess so. You know, I never really thanked you for helping me with the Gecko. Probably would have gotten myself killed right off the bat if you didn't drag my behind out of the way."

"I'd say it wasn't any trouble but it really was. Still, my pleasure. But I do know of a way you could make it up to me."

"I'm listening."

"How come you got all suicidal when you saw that Shawn guy about to get chomped on? And before you try to tell me it wasn't some personal thing I'm just gonna tell you right now that you're lying."

"Duly noted, I suppose you do deserve to know, even if it isn't any of your business whatsoever. Shawn and I go way back since we were kids. He was my best friend and later on we… Well, you know." She explained while intentionally looking down at her feet.

"You were together."

"Yes, so when he went missing and we couldn't find him and then I thought he was dead and I had already accepted it when you and I went out hunting. So when I saw that he was alive-"

"Nothing else seemed to matter. I get ya now. Still, you didn't strike me as someone who had just lost a lifelong friend. I know everyone has their own ways of coping but you've been way more cheery than one would expect you to be."

"Sorry, you've used up your question." She brushed me off before walking to the cave entrance, "Pete! Hurry up in there!"

"Get in here! Both of you!" He demanded with a potent irritation in his voice. Following his orders we walked in to see him jamming a stick of dynamite in the crack of a cave wall, "Here's how this works." Both me and Sunny were tossed a zippo then he pointed to me, "You, stand by the stick on the left side of the wall there. It's high up so you might have to stand on yer tippy-toes. And you, Smiles, take the one farthest from the entrance."

"What, why me?" She protested.

"Because you got your boyfriend back. Doubt you'd wanna get your ass blown to bits now. Plenty of motivation to run like hell." Shit, that was some brutal logic right there, "I'm gonna be right here, about three feet from the exit because I'm old so I get to do things my way, any objections?" The silence was his answer, "Take your places an' don't take off till I say." I walked over to my appointed stick, stuck the match in my mouth right behind my teeth and quickly flipped it out causing it to light up. I always had a very juvenile habit of showing off with things like that. When we all got to our places and lit our matches Easy Pete raised three fingers, "ONE! TWO! THREE!" Then we all held our flames to the fuses until they caught and immediately ran when they did. Easy Pete was out first as he had practically no distance between the exit and the dynamite to cover. Next was me and that was no sweat since I wasn't that much further up and I was much faster than the old man. Sunny on the other hand was a considerable distance further up so she really had to hull ass to get out in time and even when she did she was close enough to the blast to get knocked off her feet. I ran over to see if she was okay but she just laughed it off and got up with no difficulty.

I looked over to see how the dynamite did and wouldn't you know it went perfectly. The entrance was completely stuffed with rubble, no way in and no way out unless you were a small insect, "Would you look at that. Something went well today."

"Easy Pete knows his boom-sticks, no denying that."

"Anything else you need, Smiles?" Easy Pete asked.

"Nope, Pete. That's it."

"Then I'm gone. Don't ask me for nothin' for at least a day." He declared before walking in the direction of Goodsprings.

"Kind of crotchety ain't he?"

"Normally he's pretty nice but if you stop Easy Pete from taking it easy you're gonna be stuck with an angry old man for the duration of whatever you're doing."

"So I see. Anything else you need me? Emphasis on the word 'me'."

"Nothing really. You've certainly earned your keep around here. Even if Victor didn't pay your doctor's bills I'd say all the work you've done has paid whatever you owe off. The question is what are you gonna do now?"

"Like I told Trudy I'm gonna stop by my grave then I'm gonna hit the road."

She pulled a frown, "Leaving so soon?"

"The dick who shoot me has at least a couples days on me. I have to hop to it before whatever trail he may have left gets cold."

"Still though, I was just getting used to having someone else around here to go Gecko hunting with. But I suppose you have your obligations same as anyone else. Just don't be a stranger after you do get him." She requested giving me a playful punch in the arm. I returned the favor getting a chuckle out of her. She also gave me the most sincere smile I've seen from her since we meant, granted it was only a few hours ago but considering she has been smiling the whole time with only exception being when we found the Gecko nest this lead me to think and this extremely small thing was what made her give me a real, actual smile lead me to believe that she wasn't terribly happy.

"I will certainly try not to be. T- Take care, Sunny." Then we walked in different directions, me to the cemetery and her to the town. The closer I got to the grave site the more eerily quiet things got. Before long all that I could hear was the wind blowing and the crunch of the sand under my feet as I walked. Reaching the cemetery brought an itching feeling of familiarity which more or less confirmed that this where my burial was. There most of been thirty or forty graves there which made the well-dressed man's decision to kill me here make all the more sense. I had to wonder how the hell this Victor character found me. There was this buzzing filling the air. It sounded almost like it was wriggling. I knew exactly what that meant. In an instant, I brought my jacketed arm over my neck just in time to bar the larvae from my flesh. I turned on my heel and my pistol found itself in my grip and aimed at the large insect hovering in the air. I fired faster than the bug could have possibly reacted which led to its chunky demise. I then plucked the larvae from the sleeve and watched squirm desperately with its sharp teeth looking for a place to sink into for few seconds before squishing between my thumb and index finger.

I fucking hate Bloatflies. One of the most disgusting nuisances in the Wastes. They fire larvae at you which can burrow into your skin in seconds and then proceed to cause you all kinds of problems until you carve them out. Sometimes they find dying or otherwise weak creatures then make living nests out of them. It is not a pretty fate.

I waltzed my way through the field of the deceased until I found evidence of recent disruption. Mounds of dirt carelessly tossed all over the place and a shallow hole was what must have been what my attackers intended to be my final resting place. Kind of funny that looking at it made me very uncomfortable since I always thought I wasn't even going to get a burial when I die. I passed the grave to the most familiar part of this place, the overlook. I could see for miles and miles, nothing but the blue western sky and the rolling hills ahead of me. I could even see the silhouette of the New Vegas skyline. I looked down to see what the drop off was like but my attention was caught by a number of burnt out cigarettes. I picked one up to examine it though I couldn't for the life of me think of how they could help me. I then flicked it off the cliff, stood up, took a long, deep breath and turned away to Goodsprings.

I checked my Pip-Boy's map, which had a detailed map of the area, and there was a town about 20 miles away from here so that meant I could get there in about six hours without any distractions. With that bit of information, I decided to slip out of Goodsprings as quickly as I think I appeared. I was already a couple dozen yards out and near the 'Welcome' sign when I heard a gurgling sound, almost like a Feral Ghoul. I took my pistol in hand upon that thought. It got louder and louder as I neared the sign. When I reached I swung around the corner, weapon out and ready to fuck up whatever was about to try to eat me. I then quickly lowered it when I saw what was there. It was Kurtis and Ralph, absolutely butchered. They were (naturally) drenched head-to-toe in blood with massive chunks of skin flayed off on their thighs and chest and bellies. Kurtis was missing his hands and Ralph had lost his legs and his throat was completely slashed open and they both were missing their eyes and were shaved bald and they were bare-ass naked and their genitals were mutilated. Kurtis was still breathing, however, thus the gurgling. I could tell he didn't have long left so I immediately ran back to Goodsprings to get Trudy and the Doc and probably the crowd that would inevitably follow.

When I reached the town I had bypassed the Prospectors Saloon entirely since I knew that Kurtis was gonna need medical attention as fast as possible. I unwisely burst through the door not even thinking that the Doc might have been in the middle of a delicate procedure. Thankfully he wasn't and was just going through some notes, "Doc, you're needed! As in right fucking now!" He didn't argue and instead grabbed his medical bag and followed me. As we got close to the saloon I pointed him to sign before I burst through the door. Trudy was serving drinks to some of the hardier ranchers in the town, "Trudy come on! It's Ralph and Kurtis!" Then I ran out without another word.

By the time I caught up with the Doc he was already working on the boys. Naturally, he had started on Kurtis since Ralph was way past dead when I found him. I had noticed that the Gangers sloppily patched up some of the bigger wounds on Kurtis so he wouldn't bleed out too quickly. Christ, that brings back memories. Not all of them though as his destroyed penis was on full display. He was too weak to even move his head when the Doc asked him to move his head if he could.

"Oh my god!" Trudy screamed when she saw what had happened. Her voice seemed to manage to stir Kurtis a little as his head very, very slightly jerked towards her direction. He was making this noise like, 'Aaahh Tuuu'. I think he was trying to say 'Aunt Trudy'. The Doc worked his ass off to save him and masterfully ignored the crowd that was gathering. Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could do so Trudy, who had worked up some nerve after watching in horror what was happening placed her hand on the Docs shoulder. He solemnly looked down and got up away from the boy.

"Trudy I-" She threw her hand up to silence him.

Trudy then rubbed Kurtis's head, softly and looked at him with the most loving expression she could make. Even though he couldn't see I can't help but feel it calmed him somehow, "It's gonna be alright honey. I'm so sorry I got you all beat up. B- But you'll get better. You and Ralph. Mitch is gonna fix you all up and you'll be good as new." She looked up at the Doc, it was taking everything in her to not break down and cry right there on the spot, "Right Mitch?"

He understood what she was doing, "Yep, that's right. You'll be good as new."

"I- 'm proud of you. You fixed your mistake even though it was h- h- hard and… You did good. Do you understand, honey?" Kurtis, mustering everything he had, nodded, "I love you." She then pulled out her revolver and shot him right in the head. Soon as he was dead she flopped on the ground and wailed. And I mean full on wailed, she discarded all of her dignity and just broke down in front of everyone. I didn't know much about those kids and the only time I talked to them it had ended violently but I did see how much they meant to her I could see she had lost the only family she had.

I won't lie, I got uncomfortable so I looked around for anything else to settle on when I saw something sticking out of the wound in Ralph's throat. It looked like paper so pulled it out and unfolded it, "Shit." I mumbled to myself before nudging Sunny in the arm, "Look at this." I whispered to her.

After reading over her jaw was agape, "Oh my god." She said a little too loudly drawing attention to her.

"What?" A random rancher asked.

I read the note out loud, "If you think this was sad or some shit you should probably know that I've done this to people a hundred times before and I'll do it a hundred times more. I warned you one too many times and now you fucked up. We're coming. I don't even give a shit if you hand over Ringo tied up with an apple in his mouth now, we're gonna kill every last one of you shit-eating Brahmin fuckers. We'll kill the men, butcher the kids and rape the women. I'll get a good, long time with Trudy in particular. You think you can stop us? Try it. We'll be here in a couple days after I get these boys ready for a big haul. Enjoy these last few days on Earth. While you still can - Fuck you - Joe Cobb."

---

I told them to pick the fucking Gecko option. I told them what to do but did they listen?

No, no they didn't and that wasn't my fault. This isn't is my problem I've already done plenty for this place. Yet for some reason, I've stuck around. I didn't know what I planned on doing but I had decided to help dig the graves alongside Sunny and a couple of the guys around town. No one said a word for fear of it being in bad taste. The job went quick enough thanks to my grave giving a nice head-start so we had two six-foot graves within the hour.

I could have said any number of things, how this was a waste of time and that they have to figure out what they are going to do before this Cobb guy shows up. The note made it sound like he had plenty friends and I think Kurtis and Ralph are pretty good evidence that these guys aren't bluffing. But I didn't, not my place.

To my surprise, Trudy didn't seem mad at me even though she had already said before that she wouldn't blame me. Not even when we put the boys in the ground. Only a few people showed up the little funeral they had though I'm not entirely sure if you could call it a funeral. It was me, Trudy, Sunny, Easy Pete and the Doc. The actual 'service' and burying of the dead didn't take even 30 minutes. I have to hand it to Trudy, she bucked up remarkably quick, two hours ago she was a writhing mess and by now her face had this stoney, focused look. After it was all said and done I was leaning against someone's house when Sunny came to me, shoulders dropped and sadness in her eyes, "Hey."

I took a long drag of the cigarette I was smoking before puffing it out, "Howdy."

She snatched it from my hand and took for her own use before leaning on a spot next to me. She just about choked to death after her drag, "Can I ask you something?" She inquired, struggling to speak.

"I'm pretty sure you already did but I'm sure I can afford you another." I had taken out another cigarette during that sentence. My last one to be exact.

"Are we actually fucked?"

"I can't really say for certain. I don't know how many there are or how we-"

She cut me off, "But you think we are." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yep, pretty much. Something tells me that he wouldn't' be so liberal with his threats and murder if he didn't think he could take you which means he likely has a reason for thinking that."

She was silent for a really long time. I didn't know what was going to happen but I did know that despite everything, this was my fault. If I didn't feel the need to show off to a couple of shit-heads then they might not have felt emasculated enough to jump the Ganger and even though I gave them two options I knew exactly which one they were going to take. For all I know, that Ganger might have found Ringo, shot him dead and that would have been that. Much as this wasn't my problem I owe these people something. Or some of them at least. By the time Sunny spoke up her cigarette was down to the bud, "Well, I don't accept that." Then she kicked off the wall and walked to the saloon where I could only assume Trudy was.

Sunny seemed surprised when she caught me following her, "What are you doing?"

"I don't accept it either." I smugly replied.

She sort of smirked but still seemed hesitant, "That's really nice and everything but honestly, this isn't your fight."

"If I always stayed where I belong do you really think I would have found myself with two bullets in my head and in a shallow grave when I came here?" Before she could say anything else we had already entered the building and thus had entered into its depressing atmosphere. There wasn't a sole aside from Trudy who was absent-mindedly wiping down a spotless countertop. She didn't even acknowledge our presence till Sunny awkwardly cleared her throat, "Oh, hello ladies. Don't mind me I-"

"Trudy, this town is gonna get fucked up unless we do something. And you're going to need my help."

"Listen Mrs. Hirst I appreciate the thought but we've always gotten by before and we'll get by now."

"All due respect mam but that's bullshit and you know it. You can pretend it's gonna be okay but the fact of the matter is that I've seen a lot of towns similar to yours get sacked by raiders and Super Mutants and Deathclaws and slavers. I know what you're dealing with and I know that if you don't fight back they are going to make good on every one of their threats. I have the option of leaving you to your own devices but I'm not, Joe Cobb has the option of not attacking you but he is - You're the only ones who don't get a choice. You fight or you die." She refused to look me in the eye but I knew she had made up her mind, "Now please tell me, how can I help?"

Trudy mulled it over in her head while I and Sunny waited patiently, "Fine. I guess a good start would be talking to Ringo. He's had more experience with them than anyone exc- Then anyone we know."

"Then that's where I'll start." I walked out as quickly as I burst in, leaving them to discuss whatever they felt would be helpful. Lord knows that they knew that place better than I did.

---

Ringo

---

Damnit, somebody's coming and they sure as shit aren't a Ganger. I knew it, Cobb killed two of them and now they're done hiding me under their skirt. What do I do? She's walking right towards me. I think I have to fight her. It's not pretty but dammit they tore those poor bastards up as a warning I don't even want to imagine what they'll do to me. I pulled out my .357 snub nose revolver and checked the cylinder: 3 rounds left, it would do. I pointed it directly where her head ought to be. My grip tensed up when I heard the sound of her feet pound on the wooden floor outside the door. They were very deliberate. The door flew open with a thud and I went to pull the trigger, but I couldn't even though my eyes were closed. I just couldn't shoot her, this wasn't my town and I didn't have any right killing someone so that I could stay.

When I opened my eyes I found that my nobility (I use that term loosely) was ultimately useless since she wasn't even standing in the doorway. About a second later she turned the corner and casually walked past me with her hands in the pockets of her jacket, "So your not trigger happy. Good to know, but you might have to change that for that big fight." She observed with a sort of cockiness about her.

"Who are you? What big fight?" I asked still clasping the snub nose in both hands.

"Oh, I'm being rude. My name is Amelia Hirst and Joe Cobb and his men are going to charge into town in two days and quote 'Kill the men, butcher the kids and rape the shit out of the women'. And you are going to help us make sure that he does not do those things."

My eyes widened and my grip loosened making me drop my gun to the floor. I was shaking, I knew that she was being serious and I knew that he could make good on those threats, "I-is all of this because of me?"

"Directly you and indirectly me but that's a long story that I don't feel like reciting for you. All you need to know is that I'm helping because I owe these people a debt and you're helping because you're going to."

I didn't want to. I wanted to just push past her and find another town to hide out in. Sloan I think is relatively close-by. But she was right, I was going to help. If I knew things were actually going to boil over this much I would never have come here. But I did, so now I have to do what I can to fix my mess. I reached down and picked up my revolver having regained my composure, "What do you want me to do?"

She had a sly grin that practically said 'Fuck yeah', "Right now it isn't what you can do but what you can tell me. How many are there? How well armed are they? And are they competent?"

"I couldn't really get a headcount but it did seem to be more than a dozen. And they all had guns, shotguns, rifles, submachine guns you name it. They didn't seem especially competent for the most part but that Cobb guy had an edge about him. Like he knew what he was doing and they all followed his orders like dogs." I scratched my head trying to remember one tidbit in particular, "Before I ran off I hid among the corpses of my friends. I heard Cobb mention something about a camp East of here. Might wanna check that out."

"Oh, trust me. We will. Get some rest. You and I have a busy day ahead of us and we wake when the rooster does." Amelia told me matter-of-factly, "Also, I hope you're a lot more willing to use that thing on them then you were on me."

"Believe you me Amelia, I am." With that, she was out the door and I left to consider how drastically my circumstances have changed in a five minute period.

---

Amelia

---

I was sat a campfire, roasting some squirrel on a stick. I was much younger back then, 10 or 12 maybe. In those days I had a tragically hard time not burning my food back then and he never helped me on that front. Always said I should do it myself. He sat at the opposite side of the fire, roasting his squirrel to a much greater effect. We didn't say a word to each other. That is, until my adolescent mind wandered into a place only an adult could help me through, "Are you a bad person?" I asked with little inflection in my voice.

He was quiet for long while but, as usual, he eventually replied, "If you want to dig down and really get into deep thinking then you could argue that there is no such thing as a bad person. Fact of the matter is that I am. Good people help others, fight for the weak and play fair. I don't do any of that. Just ask these people." He threw up a wide gesture pointing out the corpses around us. A young woman to my right with a bullet in her throat, an old man behind me with his throat slashed open, a man to my left who looked to be in his thirties and his head was just about smashed in, "But the important thing isn't about being good or bad. The important part is that you survive. You have to survive Amy, and it just so happens that being a bad person is the best to do that. I'm a bad person, and these people were probably good people but what are they now Amy?"

"Dead people."

"That's right. I'm not a good person, but I'm great a staying alive."

I sat in silence chewing on what he had said to me. I had but one more thought, "Am I a bad person?"

He didn't say anything at first. He just stood up from the fat man he was sitting on. He had several stab wounds in his chest. Then he tossed me the rest of his food, "One day, you most likely will be. Eat that and go to bed."

"Sir yes sir." Was the last thing I said before I woke up.

---

Fuck, that one always filled me with… Regret? Nostalgia? I can never really tell. Sunny had allowed me to spend the night at her house. I had made plans with her over what we need to do before Joe Cobb arrives. We had to do some recon at his camp-sight, get support from the locals, acquire supplies from Chet, the town's most wealthy merchant which, Sunny assures me that it would be no mean feat and finally begin working on the defenses. We had lost a day due to everyone including Trudy and Sunny feeling lethargic over what happened to Kurtis and Ralph. So far she's told me that Easy Pete and Doc Mitchells are willing to do what they can to help fight but the Doc has a bum leg which means he won't be much of a help in a firefight. When I left my room I saw Sunny, Easy Pete and to my surprise, Ringo sitting at the table in what I suppose were the kitchen.

"She lives." Sunny quipped sarcastically. I groggily pulled up a chair to see to join in the conversation.

Ringo slide me a cup of black coffee, "When the rooster does huh?"

I begrudgingly accepted it, "I never was really good with the whole, 'Waking up exactly when I say I will' thing. So if you could forgive me I'd really appreciate it."

"I don't think two hours count as not being really good. More like you can't do it."

"Two hours? Jesus, I'm normally not that bad. Sorry, so is there anything I should know?"

"We were just waiting for you. Ready to head to out to camp?" Sunny asked.

"Do we even know where it is?"

"Well, Kurtis and Ralph got there and back in a few hours. So it can't be that far away."

"Okay, one more thing." I stopped to consider how exactly I wanted to phrase this before settling on the blunt approach, "Why is Easy Pete coming?"

"'Cause I am." That was good enough for me.

"Alright then, fuck it, let's go." We then walked out of the house after I downed the rest of my coffee.

---

Sunny Smiles

---

"Whatever Pete, just hurry up and buy it so we can go." I insisted. Easy Pete demanded that we stop my Chet's shop before we leave Goodsprings proper. I don't know what he could have possibly needed but since he is, has always been and will forever be a stubborn old bastard he just grumbled when I asked.

I would have told him to not give that vulture any business but one of the ills my town suffers is that if you want something Chet is the best way to get it. Easy Pete, who is the of one of two cheapest man I've ever met and Chet, being the other one, must have haggled for an hour before the old man returned. He had a small pouch hooked onto his belt that jingled as he walked, "What's that?" I quizzed.

"One of Easy Petes no-no toys." He walked clear past me not bothering to make eye contact, "We goin' or are we goin'?"

"Don't look at me, Ringo's the guide here."

"I mean, I don't know exactly where they are."

"Then you'd best pretty damn lucky since you're going to walk around all by yourself until you find them if they aren't where you think they are." Amelia butted in. I don't think she was kidding either.

Ringo let out an irritated sigh, "Welp, I suppose we should get to it the. Everyone has everything?" There were no replies.

---

We had been walking East for a considerable time. Or maybe I was impatient on account of everyone I know being on the verge of death, who knows? I became clear that Ringo had even less of an idea of where they were than he let on as I could tell by the way he looked around like a dog tracking a scent that's begun to fade. He was biding time until Amelia had decided enough was enough and that this was going to become his job since we had other things to do.

I liked her. Not sure why since I can't shake the feeling of something just being, off, about her. But I liked her. I had this sense that she was going to be what saves us if we survive this and that sense was something more abstract then just going off the fact that she killed that Fire Gecko. No, it was something about the way she walked. There was this coldness to her movements, a lack of passion. Even when we were fighting those normal Geckos. The only time it seemed to dissipate is when she pulled that knife on Kurtis and Ralph and when we fought that Fire Gecko.

She sighed in boredom and slapped her hands against her side, "Alright Ringo. I'm bored and have a ton of stuff to do so you're gonna have to find this place on your o-"

"I see it." Said Ringo.

"You said ten minutes ago."

"No, Amelia I really see it come up here." He waved her over excitedly onto the hill he stood on on top of before going prone.

"Well, I'll be damned." She muttered to herself as she lowered to his level. I joined them and saw the camp with my own eyes. And it was way worse than I originally thought. There were dozens of men. Angry looking men all of whom were either messing around with their weapons, playing cards over air conditioners and car tires and fighting. There was a collection of rusted up buses and truck trailers they were using for shelter and there were several bodies. Naked, female bodies to be exact. I shuddered to give that any more thought than I already did. Among them, all was Joe Cobb who sat atop of some sort of large object that I couldn't identify since it had a large, brown tarp draped over it. Like a pathetic king running a pathetic kingdom, he watched them with a face oozing self-satisfaction as he knew they didn't dare mess with him.

I unshouldered my rifle and took aim right at his stupid head before Amelia pulled it down the ground by the barrel, "Are you stupid?" She asked incredulously.

"What? We take him out and he can't threaten us anymore."

"Oh, right I forgot all of his friends would just drop dead soon as he does. Silly me."

"Well obviously not but, well, it couldn't hurt to have less Ganger around for the fight."

"You fire now and you bring down every single one of them on us. Even if we escape they'll head to Goodsprings immediately which means you have no time to prepare which means you're fucked. This is recon we go in. See what they got. Get out."

She had a point. We didn't stand a chance if we couldn't prepare and killing their boss is exactly what would bring that down on us, "Fine. So what now?"

"Now, we get a head-count. There seems to be around 60." There was little to no surprise in her voice which is odd because it certainly concerned me.

"You mean 60 of them?"

"Give or take 5. And that's not counting the sniper." She lazily jabbed her finger in his direction bringing him to my attention. He stood at the peak of a hill slightly better elevated then ours though he seemed to be focusing his attention on the nearby road. No doubt to look for more caravans to butcher.

"He'll do." Easy Pete stated ominously. He then took off the backpack he had trudged along with us and pulled out a tin can and a stick of dynamite. He then pulled out the big buck knife he always carries in his boot and saw it open, spilling a little blasting powder on the ground in the process. He was humming a jaunty little tune the whole while as he poured enough powder in the can to fill it to the brim before sealing it up again. That's when he reached in the little bag on his hip and pulled a tiny black box with a small antenna sticking out and a strip of tape over its front which he proceeded to slap onto his powder in a can, "Most think that mines are only the only things you can get that'll kill your enemies without you being there. Most people are wrong. What you got here is a dynamite mine. This box here is a sensor module. I call 'em powder charges and it'll ruin any whippersnapper that gets in its way."

I took it from him to carefully examine it. It was sort of beautiful in its simplicity. What I don't get is why he has all this knowledge on how to use dynamite and who it can be useful for more than just chuckin yet he refuses to teach others, "That's really impressive Pete. But didn't Amelia say we couldn't attack them?"

"I did. But I didn't say we couldn't act." She then yanked it from my hand, "So you just flip the switch and then whoever gets in its path triggers the boom?" She asked Pete. He gave her a solemn nod, "Sweet, you guys can head home. I'll follow you shortly afterward." And without another word, she was off to do whatever odd plan she had in store.

---

Joe Cobb

---

Of all the things that surprised me in that stupid fucking prison. Like the fact that we escaped or how that Wyatt pussy is still breathing. My new throne takes the goddamn cake. That warden cried like a little bitch when Eddie carved his arrest record into his chest but I'm the one who gets the ride? Talk about winning big.

Can't fucking wait to show that cowtown what's for. They brought it on themselves. I told them a hundred times to hand over the shit eater or they'll burn but they were too fucking stupid to listen.

I'm really excited what they'll have in store for us when we get there. Maybe they'll have Ringo on a stick thinking that'll save 'em. Maybe they'll throw in Trudy as a bonus for getting them into this mess. I always liked them a little more mature. They go limp faster. Or maybe, they'll fight. Won't that be a goddamn sight? Five or six frightened farmers with shotguns standing on their porches, then they see 60 hardened killers comin' straight for 'em. We'll see.

"Holy shit, guys come here!" I heard one of my boys call out. I looked over to see him waving over about seven others. I stood up to get a better look at what he was talking about. It was Gordon, our sniper, he was sprawled out at the foot of the hill he had been perched on. Dumbass must've fallen or somethin'. But that didn't make sense. If he did he would have screamed right? And there wasn't near enough dirt for someone who had rolled off a huge hill.

"Stop!" I shouted I didn't like the look of this. They didn't hear me as they kept joggin' over to his body, "Fuckin' stop!" I shouted even harder. Still didn't listen. I whipped out my Charter Arms Bulldog .44 revolver and fired a shot in the air. That got their attention but it was too late. The one at the front took one more step as he looked at me then BOOM! An explosion erupted where my dead boy was layin'. The whole fuckin' group that came to investigate got blown away. Several of the nearby wusses covered their ears. I leaped off of my ride and bolted to the scene. All of them were dead. Limbs were strung about and a few of them were torn in half. It was fuckin' impressive, to be frank. Something sort of caught my eye. There were little bits of metal scattered around. They were blackened by the explosion.

I started laughin' to myself which kinda freaked the boys out. That laugh turned up in intensity to the point where I was in tears, "Bro? You alright?" My bro asked me. He was always the more mellow one.

When I finally caught my breath I turned to face him, tears still in my eyes, "Holy shit Carl! You see what happened here?"

He looked around as if he was trying to see something that wasn't there, "Uh, no."

"Those Brahmin fuckers actually laid a trap. Wasn't no honorable cowpoke shit like you'd expect them to do either. You know what that means?" He shook his head, "They hired a merc. Ya think anyone there would've slashed a guys throat, put a mine on his dead ass and left him for his friends to find?"

"Well, yeah actually. There was this one chick. Pretty thing with red hair. They asked what they should do about me and she just said they should just ice me and leave out in Gecko turf to get torn up. She was a cold bitch, not even a drop of concern when she said that. It was actually pretty hot. You'd like her."

"Oh, really?" I pushed past him and walked to my ride on the way I tapped four guys on the shoulder and told them to follow. When I got back I hopped back up and looked at all of them, "You boys got a special job. You're gonna do some testing. There's this bitch in Goodsprings. Red hair and apparently likes to play our way. She's way too much of a help to those shit flingers over there. Kill her. Hell, if you can, beat her ass first. Hell, if you can, bring her alive. I'd really like to take that firecracker for a ride. Carl can give you a description. Get in, get it done and if you do good you get first pick of the loot when we sack that joint. Bring her alive and you get that plus you won't have to do jack shit during the actual raid. Just sweep in when we're done and have all the fun you want. Got it?" They nodded eagerly, "Good, now get the fuck out." They obeyed without hesitation, "Top of the fuckin' world." I muttered to myself before takin' a big ol' gulp of my beer and tossin' it into a big crowd.

---

Amelia

---

I had just arrived at Goodsprings to see a massive crowd had gathered around the space between the Prospector's Saloon and Chet's shop. Trudy stood atop a collection of crates next to her building and Chet stood on an overturned wagon next to his building. I got closer so that I could hear what they were arguing about.

"...Did you people hear what she said? 60 of them! 60 people who can and will kill you all if you get in your way! 60 dangerous convicts who managed to escape the NCR. We're not the NCR. We are farmers and businessmen in my case and Trudy is suggesting we battle them like some Pre-War cowboy flick! This isn't a movie! This is our lives! You wanna throw yours away?"

Then Trudy spoke up, "And what are you suggesting? That we roll over and die? If we don't fight we'll die! We don't have a choice, Chet!"

"NO! We're done doing things your way Trudy! If you had swallowed some of that good, honest small-town pride you put so much stock in we'd be safe. But no! You had to be the big man and keep a stranger safe even after being threatened multiple times! This is your mess! Your fault! If we let them come and take Ringo and you then they'll leave us alone! It's the only thing that makes sense. Why would they waste bullets on people who won't give them trouble? They won't! People, stop listening to Trudy! She doesn't know what she's dealing with! She got us in this position by refusing to swallow her pride and she'll get us out by accepting the consequences of her actions!" He was a much, much better speaker than Trudy. Made sense since he was a salesman after all. She didn't do well with the pressure of having to convince people to not get themselves killed.

The crowd was visibly gravitating to his side, much to Sunny, Easy Pete and Ringo's dismay. I knew what I'd have to do. I grabbed Trudy roughly yanked her off her platform boldly, "Hey dipshits!" I shouted, "Have any of you taken down a raider gang?" They were dead silent. Even Chet. I let the quiet sink a little while to make my point, "How many of you have ever killed anyone?" Only Sunny, Ringo, Easy Pete, a few of the hardier looking men and few of the old folk and a reluctant Trudy raised their hands, "I have. And I know their types. I know what they can and have done to people and what they'll do for the most basic reasons. You'll tell yourself that they won't because it doesn't make sense and there's nothing to gain from it and if you let them be they won't bug you if you don't have anything they want but I'll tell you from every kind of experience you can have, that's bullshit. They will kill you all. They won't do it for your shit or because you fought back. They will do it because they think it's funny. That's all they need. And you don't have a snowball's chance in hell at surviving what's coming if you don't stick together. Some of you are too young or too old or too crippled and some of you are just too chicken shit but if any of you don't want to die screaming and have to ability to prevent it grab a gun, grab all of your bullets, grab a hammer and get to fucking work. All of you that can't fight get the fuck out here and out of our way and those of you that won't help. You should probably just shoot yourself now because that's whats going to happen if we lose."

They seemed to be more interested in what I was saying than when Trudy had the stand but they still seemed inclined to the option that didn't require them to do anything, "How many of you trusted Chet before all of this? Let's get a show of hands." Not a single person raised their hands. I let that linger as well, "Figures, ask yourself this. Name one time Trudy has steered you wrong. Name one time Chet has proven himself more trustworthy then Trudy. Or the Doc for that matter, or Sunny. Hell, I just got here but I am fairly confident that I have done more to prove myself reliable than Chet has in all his years here. Is that the kind of person whose judgment you'd stake your life on?" After I had finished speaking the only sound that was to be heard was the wind blowing. One of the guys to the back of the crowd walked to Trudy's side. Then three others followed suit. That snowballed until we had over forty people on our side and ready to fight for Goodsprings. There was still a disappointing number of people who stuck with Chet but those were the people who weren't worth convincing.

Chet was quite clearly disappointed, "Great, you've all signed on to die. Pride won't get you a damn thing in this world." He hopped off his wagon and stormed to his shop. He stopped at the open doorway, "Your little militia can forget about any supplies from me by the way. I don't care if you dangle every cap in Vegas in front of me. If any of you have any sense go to homes and wait this clusterfuck out." With that, he slammed the door and the sound of the lock engaging was his parting gift.

"What now?" Sunny whispered to me.

"What now? We get to goddamn work. Easy Pete, how many of those sensor modules did you buy?"

"'Bout a dozen." He answered, patting the pouch containing them.

"That's a good start, you're gonna churn those fuckers out. People, I want you to get anything remotely capable of killing a person from your house when you have that you start getting wood, sheet metal, bricks whatever you can find that's sturdy and you can take cover behind. I want at least the East and South side decently covered since East is where their camp is and South is where the road runs from. Now, unfortunately taking the East is going to be akin to be assigned front-line duty so to be fair we'll assign the most capable people there. Any questions?" I don't think they even knew enough about what I was talking about to question my reasoning and I didn't have time to explain it, "Then stop staring and hop to it!" The settlers of Goodsprings scrambled to their houses.

I, on the other hand, went to go to the Doc's house before Sunny stopped me with a hand to the shoulder, "Hang on, what do you want me to do?"

"I figured that'd be obvious, do what you can to make sure those people know how to do this. Most of them haven't killed anyone and I'm too busy to deal with that so that's your job. Can you do that?" I was given a hesitant nod for confirmation, "As for you Trudy, you're gonna help with the civilian shit. Your presence will keep their spirits up. And Ringo, what are you good at?"

"Um, I'm a decent shot, I uh, I know a thing or two about engines. Some caravans out West used fixed old vehicles to carry cargo. But I don't see how that'll help. Oh! I did notice that they actually did utilize some tactics when they attacked us. The caravan I was running with numbered at about four caravaners including myself and 10 guards. They liked to use the dynamite as sort of covering fire rather than as grenades. While we were trying to avoid the explosives they picked us apart. They didn't even stand a chance. I recognized the pattern though, that's why I'm still here I guess."

"Well, there you go. You're gonna go and make sure the town folk no what they're gonna throw at them. Doable?"

"Doable." Ringo then marched off, excited to be useful. Was cute actually.

I knocked against the wall in the Doc's house so that I was sure I wasn't disturbing him or anything, "Come on in." He softly called out. Cheyenne was happily resting on a little bed the Doc had made for her on the floor. When she heard me come in she struggled to her feet and eagerly ran as fast as she could to me. Granted, she was still recovering so it wasn't very fast but it was the thought that counted. I kneeled to meet her and didn't do anything to stop her from licking my face, "I see you two are getting along. Cheyenne's a tough girl, she's recovering way faster than I would have predicted."

"And Shawn?"

The Doc grimly looked at his still infirm patient, he wasn't much better than when I last saw him but he was one leg short, "I'm doing everything I can."

"I see. Well, this is gonna make me sound staggeringly selfish but is there anything you can spare for the fight?"

"I can't when it comes to fighting but I do have some stimpacks I can loan you all. Won't be enough since I see that you've amassed quite the force but I'll spare what I can." He stalked off to a nearby closet and dug through it. As he did that I noticed something, that same song he's had playing every time I've been here was playing and he was muttering the lyrics as he did things just like the other times.

Let's ride into the sunset together.

Stirrup to stirrup, side by side.

It was quite clearly more than him liking the song. I couldn't help but feel this sadness emitting from him, "What's so special about this song, Doc?" I immediately regretted that.

He stopped dead in his tracks. He was silent for a long, long time before he went back to what he was doing. I decided to not press him further. I was handed a wooden box full of stimpacks, bandages and a few shots of morphine, "Ms- I- I know you mean well but… No. Not up for discussion. Not now, not ever." I answered him with an affirmative nod. The Doc, ever charitable, threw me and kindly smile and understanding smile. They did a good job of hiding the tears brimming in his eyes, "I'm rooting for you out there. I wish you luck." Nothing else needed to be said. He didn't want to talk about it and god knows I'm familiar with topics such as that.

I walked back to the
saloon to drop off these supplies to be stopped by something. It was a robot, I huge one that must have been over 9-feet tall with a boxy chassis about as wide as three of me. The arms were something like metallic tubing ending in triple pronged claws and instead of legs, it balanced itself on a single large wheel. The most eye-catching feature of this eye-catching robot was the tv screen centered at its body, on that screen was the image of a friendly cowboy, "Howdy, pardner! Might I say, you're looking fit as a fiddle!" It exclaimed in a matching, yee-haw cowboy voice.

I was surprised, to say the least. This had to have been Victor, that was obvious but when people said cowboy robot I was expecting a Mr. Handy with a cowboy hat on or something but this, I didn't even know what this was, "Um, Hello? You're Victor I presume?"

"You presume right miss. And I am glad to see you're okay."

"Wh- What are you?"

He let out a hearty chuckle, "I'm a Securitron, RobCo security model 2060-B. If you ever see any of my brothers, tell them Victor says howdy. Most of 'em are in Vegas right about now."

"Oh, good to know. So, you're the one who saved my ass, correct?"

"I struggle to be so vulgar about it but if that's your preferred way of puttin' it then yeppers, I am the one who done dug ya up."

"And I appreciate that but why?"

"Whaddya mean why? I saws ya get shot an' I wanted to make sure you was alright. It was the neighborly thing to do."

I narrowed my eyes. It could have just been me being overly cautious but I think that robot was omitting the truth, "Mmm hmm, that's one thing but to actively dig my probable corpse up is a whole other story."

"I dunno miss I guess I was feelin' heroic that night. Good thing I was, otherwise you'd be rottin' right about now. I wouldn't go lookin' gift bots in the mouth if I were you." That last line had a hint of malice, I'm not sure if robots could have actual malice towards people but that's what I was getting, "I should go now. You take care now."

Victor wheeled around to go patrol some random direction before I stopped him with a tug on his shoulder? "Hang on a sec. Any chance you got any firepower?"

"Hehehe, do I got firepower? Imma Securitron, we all come standard with a 9mm submachine gun and a Glastinghouse X-25 Gatling laser. 'Because there's nothin' as safe as a Securitron'." He laughed way too hard at what I assumed was a Pre-War sales pitch.

"Sounds impressive, in fact, that gives me an idea. You're designed for security and it just so happens that this town here is in desperate need of security at the moment. We're looking at a pretty serious offensive tomorrow and I would appreciate it if you felt heroic and helped us minimize the casualties."

"Now that is a fantastic idea miss, as a matter of fact, my helpin' you has gotten me wantin' a taste of adventure. Ya can count on me." I didn't stop him when he zoomed off this time. He was really fast for his size so I doubt I could have even if I tried.

"What to do, what to do?" I was running through everything we had going for us so far. A giant robot, 40 farmers, the home-turf advantage, a small minefield. When I got to the last one it occurred to me that it wouldn't be enough taking into account we'd want to cover all the likely fronts. That was important since I knew that once things got to close quarters that's when we started seeing a real loss of life on our end. All the walls and defensive positions don't mean jack and/or shit when you have angrier, stronger and more violent thugs going knife and fist against farmers. We definitely want to take as many down as we can before it gets to that.

With that in mind, I went to go see East Pete about getting more of those sensor modules only to feel a strong pair of hands cover my mouth, "Hold still bitch." He growled in my ear, bringing a razor sharp blade to my throat. Not giving him any time to do much else I took his arm in both hands and jerked it downwards.I then used all my weight to pull his arm so that I was positioned at his side allowing me to stab him in the side. Which I did, about four times. Once that was done I jammed his blade in the back of his neck dropping him like a sack of shit.

"You whore!" Another man's voice called out, this time coming from my right. He wielded a lead pipe and swung it where my knees were no-doubt supposed to be and they would have been had I not a jumped backward and straight into the arms of his friend. This was one must have been confident because he only used his bare hands to restrain me. Luckily for me, he didn't see me pull my blade out of my holster until I had jammed it deep into his thigh. He screamed in pain and release me just in time to duck under the man with the pipes swing which missed its mark and knocked the other guy to ground instead. He tried his luck with a diagonal swing but again to no avail as I sidestepped it. A mistake that cost him his life since I used that opportunity to thrust the knife into his exposed throat.

"Ughhh." Almost thought that guy had done me a favor and died when he was struck. No such luck, "W- Wait for a fu-" I helped him finish with a few cracks at the back of the head with the pipe.

"I really hope nobody makes me clean that up." Now I had to see about those sensor modules.

---

Carl Cobb

---

There was a lot worse places to be. But that didn't make this one feel any better. I mean, on one hand, my big bro's leading a whole crew and we get first pickin's of any loot they bring back. No one fucks with him or me. But an on the other. Joe got weird after the NCR clamped us.

It used to just be me and him against the world back at the Boneyard but ever since he started getting followers in the clink it's gotten to his head and he's been acting creepy as shit. Muttering to himself, getting bent out of shape over nothing. That fucking Ringo guy being a prime goddamn example. Yeah, there's a reason we were in prison and yeah, we've killed folk who didn't necessarily need killing but this shit is out of control. All the guy did was manage to live and Joe's acting like he spat in his face and stomped on his gut. He never took shit this person and he didn't… He still doesn't rape chicks. Some of the other guys I can't say that but Joe doesn't. Hell, he never even talked about it till those poor, fucking bastards brought me up to him. Now he's rape this and rape that and it's driving me nuts. I don't know what's happening to Joe all I know is that he's taking it out on that town.

I was sitting next to him on top of the ride we stole from the warden, Joe's taken to it as a goddamn throne and the only other person who sits on it without getting fucked up is me, "I can't wait till that town is ours, Carl. Think about it. How long have we dreamed about runnin' our own town?" Joe asked, chuckling to himself.

"Long as we can remember Joe, long as we can remember. Mind if I ask you a question?"

"You're my brother, Carl, the fuck you care if I say yes or no?"

"Why is this shit so personal to you?"

"Man, why do ya gotta get all deep and shit? It's the Wasteland, live free or die like a bitch. I warned that dipshit a thousand times and she didn't listen and now she's paying the price. She's too damn stupid to live."

"Maybe so but it just seems like a lot. I was just talking shit when I said you'd fuck them up."

"I wasn't. You aren't goin' soft on me are ya?" His face turned into a scowl, "I ain't having no fucking social workers in my crew!" He threw his bottle down, as he likes to do, and stood up, looming over me, "I don't care if we grew up together. You're with me or you're against me. What's gonna be?" I don't give a damn if he was running a huge crew, I never take this kind of bullshit from him. I jumped to my feet and got right in his face.

"You know I'm always with you! Doesn't mean I'm gonna shut up when you're being a goddamned idiot!" I jabbed him in his shoulder to illustrate my point that I wasn't scared of him. He didn't expect it so he fell down and almost rolled off the ride. That got the attention of everyone in the camp. Joe shot off the ground faster than anybody should be able to a slugged me right across the jaw. Much as I hate to admit it, he was always stronger than me. Still, I kept balanced and charged right into him in an attempt to knock him off, don't know why I guess I thought it would pound some sense into him. Regardless he stopped just short of the edge and proceeded to punch me in the side and stomach until I let go. When I did he took a hold of my collar and punched me even harder than the first time. I couldn't stand up after that one and he knew that so he tossed my limp body off the ride. The impact wasn't pleasant but I've had worse. That's all I had time to think about before I heard the very distinct sound of him pulling back the hammer on his Bulldog. My eyes opened to the sight of my brother pointing a hand cannon at me, face lacking any sign of hesitation. Psycho or not, he was my brother and he wouldn't shoot me. Not over this. Not even in front of all his 'boys'.

We stared each other down for a long time, completely disregarding the audience. The longer this went on the more I thought he might actually do it. I couldn't be the one to back down though, I wasn't gonna let him think he can scare me like he does the others, "Joe! Joe!" A far away voice called out. It was one of the guys Joe sent out to take out the red-headed girl. He was alone, "Man we fucking tried man! She took 'em out! All of 'em. I had to run otherwise I'd be next on the menu. I was like nothing to her.I think she really knows what she's doing man. And she was talking to this big fucking robot." He rattled off his report quickly and completely exhausted. Joe listened intently then got this look in his eye. That fucking look. He shot it over at me and I knew exactly what was going to happen. He lowered his arm and looked over at the messenger who had also must've seen what was about to happen to him.

"W-wait. Joe! We fucking tried man you gotta believe me! You gotta-" The round rocketed inside one end of his head and out the other.

"Ya hear that boys? We got a fucking challenger! You know what that means? It means that you're gonna have to get ready for this one! I want you inspecting your weapons, eating good and staying off the booze and chems! I want you in top condition when we slaughter those fuckers! I catch any of you fucking around and you'll end up like him, got it?" No answer. He didn't even have to say the word for them to get to work, "And by the way, might wanna watch out for the ride on the battlefield." He looked at me as smug as fucking ever.

"Better hop to it, Carl. We got a big day tomorrow." I don't know what I wanted but I did know this. No brother of mine points a gun at me.

---

Ringo

---

I think she was exaggerating when she said 'wall'. I feel like a better description would have been 'A cobbled together series of various solid objects to give us enough cover from the psychos'. But that's just me. I tried my best to make everyone here grasp what we're dealing with but I don't think much of it stuck and I don't think I can expect much from them outside of shooting at the bad guys till they die. Not to imply that I'm some tactical genius but you don't run caravans for as long as I have without picking up a few things here and there. We're doing the best we can but fact of the matter is that some of these people won't be making it out and I'm fairly certain they're the only ones who don't know that. Amelia, Sunny, Trudy, Easy Pete… We're all well aware that this very well might not work out.

I walked around aimlessly for something to do but I was lacking woefully in that department. There had to something other than wall pounding for me to do. I thought Sunny would be my answer due to the fact that I found leaning against the wall behind Chet's shop looking moody, "Hi, why the long face?"

The moment she realized I was there she went back to her usual smile, "Oh hey Ringo. It's just that our supply situation is way worse than we initially thought. Way, way worse."

"How's that?"

"Well, we have 40 people not counting me, you, Trudy, Pete and Amelia. I did a headcount and only 36 of them have guns and about half of those were poorly maintained and not a single one of those people had more than 20 rounds and when you have a force that is made up of noncombatants you really can't afford to indulge in suppressing fire. That little minefield Pete's cooking up is only worth so much and… Well, frankly I'm not liking the look of things."

"Neither am I. It's even worse when I know that if everyone who dies in this fight, provided it isn't everyone, is gonna die because of me. If I hadn't been so damn careless this all could have been avoided." I hard slap across the face shut that train of thought down.

"That's enough of that. You heard what Joe did to Kurtis and Ralph. There's no reasoning with someone like that. Every single one of those blue coated bastards are scumbags. We would have had to deal with this sooner or later. Just wish we had more time to prepare. We're not making it through this if we don't find a way to get more supplies."

Just like that, a light bulb flickers to life in my head, "You know what, I think maybe we do have a way." She tilts her head in curiosity, "It'll have to wait until nightfall."

---

Amelia

---

I swung by Easy Pete's area to see how he was doing only to find him smoking a fat cigar with a bulging bag at his feet, "You're done I presume?"

"Yep, I figured you'd wanna be the one to place 'em since you're likely to know more about that than me."

"Fair enough. Tell me, old man, what do you rate our chances at survival?"

"Like I said before, we're fucked. But, I think everything you's been doin' has helped push us into a slightly less fucked territory. I wish I could do more but I'm just an' old man who knows his dynamite." He then chuckled to himself. I have never seen him so much as crack a smile so I was admittedly curious, "But I'm also an old man with a shit ton a' dynamite…" He slowly rose from his rickety rocking chair and stalked off Northwards into the town, "Follow me…"

And so I did. I followed him to a rather unremarkable white house not too dissimilar from Sunny's. It was quiet and dark and simple, very simple with little in the way of decorations. Spartan, almost. Without saying a word he took a hold of the busted up fridge in his kitchen and begun pulling it outwards, not even asking for help. When he had it at an acceptable distance from its original spot him and me moved in to see a trap door painted with the same color his floor was. Reaching into his shirt he pulled out a key on some string and proceeded to unlock the padlock and carelessly tossed it aside, "Hold on to your ass…" With a dramatic swing, he opened the door revealing it to be practically spilling out with dynamite. I was shocked, it looked to be pretty deep and was absolutely brimming with fuck-you-up sticks, "This here collection, is why I don't loan out my dynamite to just anybody. Toss me that sack on the table over there." I obliged and he began stuffing it with dynamite, "I'm only filling this and one more bag left. If shit really hits the storm I want you to lead as many whippersnappers as you can then get the hell outta the way. Catch my drift?" Easy Pete inquired, a smug grin creeping on his face.

"Oh, I know just what you mean." I was starting to like this old man.

I then handed out the bags of dynamite and did my best to evenly divide it out. Two sticks per person and then me and the Sunny, Ringo and Pete got five because we are better at killing people than the others.

The Sun has recently set and we had nearly finished the wall. I say wall but it was more like a long line of cover around the South and northern borders of the town. I kept saying wall because it kept spirits up and I think no one really noticed. Sunny and Ringo say that they had an idea on how to fix our supply issue. Which is good because I was legitimately planning on putting a bullet in Chet's head and kicking the door to his shop in. Not like he won't suffer the same fate if we lose. They said when the sun goes down is when they strike.

What the fuck am I doing? Why am I making this my problem? I'm running a very real risk of getting killed tomorrow. Dad's probably spinning in his grave right about now. Whatever, I'm here now and I'm gonna have to see it through. I will promise this, however, if I survive this, I will not get distracted by any bullshit not related to me finding and shooting the fuck-head who shot me.

To be honest, I do feel a certain sense of pride watching them work. Building my own little militia, look at me, the good fucking samaritan. I hate charity work. I needed a smoke and so I started smoking to get my mind off all of this stress, "Hey you." Said Sunny.

" ?"

"Nope, not normally my thing." She looked off into the same distance I was as if she was pondering before asking me something, "How… How do you know how to do all this?"

"I grew up in Wasteland. You don't get far if you can't cope with bad situations."

"No, you're not the first person whose passed through, just the most interesting. You have some kind of unique experience with this sort of thing, you're really good at fighting things and you're entirely way too nonchalant about this. What are you?"

What was I supposed to tell her? Tell her all about my past? All the messy details? Every fucked up thing I've done and every person I've killed? No, I wasn't going to do that, "Sunny, I like you but you do not want the answers you'll get if you keep probing my brain like this. I consider you a friend and that's the reason I won't tell you anything about me. Because that's the worst thing I could do you."

She didn't look at me for what felt like an hour though in reality, it was likely closer to a minute, maybe two, "Fine, you got your wish, I'll leave you alone. Me and Ringo are going to break into Chet's store now.

"Call me if you need help with the safe."

They did not need my help with the safe. I gotta hand it to Chet, he must have been a really good businessman to have the heat he was packing. Shotguns, pistols, SMGs, rifles, revolvers, knives, and dare I say most modules. Easy Pete hopped right to it when they made that discovery. The raiding of Chet's shop provided me with something I haven't had in days, a lack of direction. No problem to solve. Believe me, I tried to find something, anything. I asked around right up until I got to Ringo who gave me a new task, "Pick a god and pray."

---

I felt the tension wash through the air as the sunlight bathed the town from border to border. I couldn't see anything and no one could hear anything but we all knew that the fight has already started. I made sure to look at the people in front of me one last time before the bodies started to drop. And believe me, they were going to drop. It was easy to see the ones who were plainly aware of this by the rigid way they stood like they saw a train speeding right at them and they had no time to move. They were also going to be the first to die. I didn't want this to be unevenly balanced so I had 20 people on the Northern front and 20 on the Southern front.

I saw them. Just over the hill was the front lines of the offensive force. Before we all took our places I made it a point to tell them to stay hidden behind cover and don't fire until I said otherwise.

I myself was perched prone on top of the Prospector Saloon with a Winchester M1866. Trudy was ducked behind a pile of overturned wagons with about four other people with a simple double barrel shotgun. Sunny was stationed at the Eastern front on top of a house, Ringo was by a window inside the house she was on and Easy Pete was sat behind some makeshift sandbags. The Gangers were charging headlong towards us slightly confused. Thank god they were dumb. The charge was reduced to a mild jog as they figured this would just be a simple raid instead of a shootout due to the lack of gunfire. Just a little further, "Sound off!" Shit hit the fan at my command. Almost half of the front lines were wiped out in the initial volley and in the panic, the other half and some of the second line wiped themselves out in the minefield. I finally felt the blood pumping when I fired a round through the chest of an unlucky straggler of the first line.

It's go time. In unison, the town of Goodsprings launched all of their might into this defense. Old and young folk fired bullet after bullet into the convicts never relenting even when the person right next them caught some lead in their heads. All they cared about was felling as many as they could before it was their turn. Most didn't even reach for their dynamite as the close quarter's nature of the fight proved it pretty much useless. Oh, well. Better to have it and not need it. The convicts did what Ringo said they did and used the dynamite as cover so that they could pick people off but the farmers retained the lesson and kept their eyes on the prize while avoiding the explosions and doing a good job of covering each other. I abandoned my post as the rifle ran dry and loosed my pistol and knife from their holsters and got to work. Several farmers fell back to a safer position except for Trudy who I saw catch a pistol butt to the head. Before he could finish the job I put one in his head and rushed to Trudy to help her to safety.

My timing was bad which was good for the three enemies that rushed at me as drug her to the inside of the saloon and they might have caught me if Ringo didn't blow them away with the simultaneous fire of two revolvers. He gave me a thumbs up and a smug wink before moving on. Trudy refused to go in so I set her on the porch behind cover in the hopes she could still do damage. Our Southern defense was really suffering and was beginning to get overwhelmed, luckily for them I was there. I ducked and snuck around their sides amidst the explosions and gunfire and charged them from my position. It was a tight-knit group of five that were making a steady advance and they were covering each other as they reloaded. Impressive but it didn't save them from me. Without warning, I fired into the skull two of them drawing their attention away from the farmers. Before he could face me I had deeply plunged my blade into a shirtless man's chest then manipulated his body to serve as a meat shield from the shotgun blast that nearly punched my ticket. I kicked his corpse into his friend, but not before I could pull my knife out and threw it into the another man's skull. As he pushed his friend off of him he looked up just in time to stare down the barrel of death itself before meeting it face to face.

I was shaking with adrenaline. I needed to find more. And more there were coming from the hill firing wildly in my direction. I booked it after tossing a stick of dynamite at them and wiping out a decent portion while the farmers finished them off. Confident in their abilities to handle it from there I went to the North as they were getting the real brunt of the attack. That is if the dynamite going off was any indicator. On my way, I saw Sunny getting tossed around by an absolutely huge Powder Ganger clad in a kevlar vest. She was fighting hard but he must have damn hard to damage wearing that. I took aim only to have some crazy fucker jump on my back and knock my pistol away. After taking a few knocks to the head he turned me over and attempted to stick a shard of glass he found on the ground into my eye. I stopped it barely a centimeter away before kneeing him in the groin sticking it in his eye instead. Instead of seeing Sunny getting her ass kicked like I expected I saw another Powder Ganger almost break his shotgun over the large man's head before kicking him off her and then turning it into a bloody stump.

He saw me looking confused and reaching for my gun, "Don't shoot! I'm on your side! My names Carl and if you wanna kill me when this over whatever but let me help out." Then he shot the still writhing man I stabbed in the eye. Well, he was okay in my book. He also took off without another word.

"Sunny, you alright?!"

"A-all smiles." She replied with a shit-eating smirk.

"Back at it soldier!" She went to circle around the house and I went through it. In all this, I haven't seen Easy Pete which made me feel like I should brace myself pretty soon.

The enemy has finally closed distance after enduring all the lead we could fling and our minefield. Just as I suspected that's when we started to tip in the other direction of the victory scale. Farmers heads were being bashed and throats were being cut and that's not to say they were all getting killed but a fair few more then I'd like. Swooping in, I killed as many as I could as fast as I could in a whirlwind of knife slashes and lunges and gunshots. One swung at me with a pool cue which I rolled under then stuck him in the back of the knees bringing him to hell as I shot another rushing to his aid then I finished him off with a stab to the back. I got few knocks and cuts myself but I held my own pretty well, a lot better than the people who were dying that's for damn sure. A massive explosion shook the ground and knocked me onto it and for a brief moment, all the fighting stopped. Easy Pete, you old kook. Things seemed to simmer down and I was hearing less fighting. My side was all clear and we had about 8 people left not counting me which made me run off back South to see how they were fairing there.

I made it just in time to see Sunny bludgeon some a man to death with a brick and that seemed to be everyone not taking the 'YEE HAAA!' that echoed in the distance along with the unmistakable sound of lasers and screams. Sounded like Victor joined the fun after all. It came from the Westside of town. They must have wizened up and tried to flank us so it was actually really good that I enlisted his help.

Not wanting to jinx it we all stayed silent. Was it over? Sure felt like 60 convicts died here. Just when I opened my mouth to say the magic words we were startled by the sound engine. Yeah, it was an engine and the sound was coming from over the hill the convicts came from, "Oh, fuck!" I shouted and ran straight North out of the way through in retrospect I suppose a more difficult to navigate direction would have served me better. Upon realizing that I ran up a hill, not daring to look back, towards the largest house in town in the hopes of throwing off the car that was pursuing me. Didn't work, it launched over the hill, landed and charged straight at me. With nowhere to run I did the only thing I could think to do, I aimed and prepared to take what would no doubt be the last shots of my life.

My outstretched arm felt Something like a pinch, then it ran ice cold as if all the blood had drained out then my whole body felt like it was radiating heat, "Welcome to your very own Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System. Please select a target." A feminine yet soulless and synthetic voice offered to me. I had just noticed that everything around me has ceased and that it all had a light green tint. There was a silhouette of a head where the van's windshield was with the '67%' hovering next to it. It would be hard to explain fully but I basically said 'Okay' in my head and that 'confirmed' the target which left only one thing to do. I fired my shot to hear a satisfying 'ping' sound making the car swerve out of its collision course with me and straight through the wall next to me, "Thank you for using VATS!"

I walked through the new entrance to see if there were any survivors. Of the wreck of the house. A dull moan of pain was coming from beside the car. It was Chet, his lower half was torn clean off by the car, ain't that coincidental, "P-please… I- don't… I- I- I'm sor- sorry… Help… Please… He-" He died right then and there. I'd say I felt bad for him but that's a straight-faced lie if I've ever told one. It was hilarious actually.

No time to laugh now, however. I had to check the van for survivors. After reloading my pistol I got to it, opening the driver door to see the wheelman lifelessly slumped against the dashboard. I leaned over him to get a look at the rest of the interior which was devoid of life to my pleasant surprise and left me content to mark this as a bonafide victory on our part. Naturally, I stabbed the wheelman a few times in the heart to be safe which seemed to prove unnecessary since he didn't twitch upon the impact.

"Damn I'm good…" I muttered under my breath, pleased at my handiwork while I went to exit the ruined home of it's even more ruined owner. A very distinct click echoed in the silence stopping me from leaving, however, instead I dived out of the way in a knick of time judging by the gunshot sound and the hole the size of my head in the door the was made not a second later. I fired a few vague shots where I suspected it to come from but no dice.

"You think you're some kind of badass don't ya bitch? You think you could fuck with Joe Cobb and get away with it?" Another shot was fired by him into the cabinet I was standing behind, "You have any clue how many soldierin' fuckers I iced back in the prison?" I stayed silent, listening for his footsteps, "This piece right here was pried off the cold dead fingers off a ranger that I strangled to death and you think you're gonna be the one who puts me under?" He sounded like he was nearing an angle to the left of my cover giving him a clear shot so I rolled away and shot where he suppose to be. He wasn't there but in his place was a hard knock upside my head leaving me dazed for a second, "You fucked up…"

My vision was blurred but I saw blood floating mid-air and there's only one thing that could mean, "Stealth Boy…" I kicked his legs out from under him, picked up my knife from the ground and slashed at a random direction were I heard him impact leaving a nice, juicy oozing cut to give away his location. He lost his grip on the revolver allowing me to see it a kick it out of his reach just in time. A jab connected to my stomach and my chin almost making me stumble backward. I had to be extra careful, the difference in skill meant a hell of a lot less when I couldn't see most of the bastard. Had to make due with the slash on his cheek(?). I jabbed forward with the blade knowing aggressiveness was going to decide whether I left this building alive but he sidestepped and attempts to wrestle it out of my hands only to be to thrown to the ground but he caught my hand when I tried to finish him and got a good right hook in making me keep my distance.

Keep it cool. Don't get too worked up, it can only last a limited amount of time I just had to to keep alive in the meantime, "I thought you were some tough guy but you can't kill one chick who can't even see you. Was that note written by your big tough prison boyfriend?" He charged headfirst into a knee to the face sending him reeling opening his stomach to a slash. When I said aggressiveness I didn't mention that I meant his aggressiveness, "You shouldn't hold your breath waiting seeing as I probably killed him among the dozens of other dickheads I killed out there. They all died like bitches by the way." A furious roar from him along with a nearby chair sent sailing in my direction which I ducked under. He took that distraction to try and get a hold of me but instead go a sharp piece of metal in his foot sticking him the ground.

Perfect, taking advantage of his immobilization I used him as a punching bag pounding him every way I could and he was totally defenseless as I did it. After a solid minute of that he gained the strength to throw the hardest left hook he could muster which I saw coming a mile away so I ducked under that, ripped the knife out, uppercut him on the way up and stabbed him three times in the stomach. Just then, he materialized, looking into my eyes in complete defeat, " You're gonna die. How's that for a plot-twist?" I mocked before knocking him to the ground. Was going to end it right off the bat but I heard a whistle. It was his brother, the one who saved Sunny, "Yeah, I get it. Have at 'em." I advised. The last things I and probably Joe Cobb heard were hysterical pleas and the sound of shotgun killing a rodent.

---

Death toll: 32 combatants and about six noncombatants. Property damage: Two house's obliterated, four suffering heavy damage and six have some holes and bullet impacts here and there. Other damages: 14 Bighorners are dead, we're bound to have some pretty serious emotional trauma, Easy Pete's stash is gone and Goodsprings has lost it's single greatest supplier, Chet.

But on the on the bright side. We won. Trudy had a concussion, Sunny had a few bumps and bruises, the Doc stayed in his house (but he did find the time to snipe a few from the windows), Easy Pete got his leg busted a little in the shockwave of raising hellfire from his home and Ringo got out without a scratch. Victor was nowhere to be seen which is a little odd.

I would have offered to stay and help rebuild, honestly, I would have but I couldn't spend more time here than I already have.

That left one matter unresolved. Joe Cobb's brother, Carl he said his name was. We had him disarmed and guarded in the Saloon, the place that started this all, "It's his fault that my boys are dead! It's his fault that we lost so many decent folks against a band of savage monsters! I want him dead!" Trudy commanded. Carl sat quietly, accepting his fate no matter what it may be.

Sunny had different ideas, "Trudy, I know but this man regrets what he did. He explained it to me and he didn't want for any of this to happen. He risked his life and killed his own brother because he was disgusted by what they were doing. If we kill him we're no better than Cobb."

Trudy wanted none of it though a pulled kitchen knife from behind the counter, "I'm not discussing this. He's pond scum and I don't want to look at him for one more second!"

I, the third person who cared enough to have an opinion took her blade, "Trudy, what does this accomplish? I'm all for killing people but what does this gain you? The fact is that he saved one of our lives, hell maybe even more than one." I pressed the tip of the blade to his throat, "Say the word and he dies right now. Won't even dirty your own hands. If you think it's the right thing to do say the words, 'I want you to stab him in the throat.' You know I'll do it. You heard me cut the eye out of that surviving convict."

Trudy looked at me with this shaking rage vibrating her whole body. The words were at the tip of her tongue but she wouldn't say it. She couldn't say it, "Damnit…" She swore under breath, "Well, what would he do if we let him go? He gonna find a nice farm and settle down or some crap?"

"I don't know mam. I just know that my brother turned into a psycho and I don't want it happening to me. I was hoping that I could help you people rebuild… As a way to pay you back. I know I can't undo everything I did… But I'd like to try." He sounded sincere and after a long debate in her own head, Trudy allowed it.

I was going to miss this place. The people here really accepted me as their own. It was… An unfamiliar feeling and I dare say I kind of liked it. They said their goodbyes to me.

"Walk tall. You did good by us and if nothin' else you can rest easy knowing you saved a town of people tryin' to live their lives. Here's lookin' at you kid." Easy Pete said before I stepped off his porch one last time.

Then came Ringo, "Don't worry about the money. It's the least I can do. Swing by the Crimson Caravan and we can catch up when you have to chance. You saved my ass, Amelia."

Trudy followed after, "I- I'm so sorry you got twisted up in our drama. Whatever you do now I hope you do well…"

"I don't hesitate to say it. I'll miss you. All that stuff you said about being a bad person… You might believe it but it's not true. One day you'll know that. Shawn says thanks and… Damnit just get that bastard and get out in one piece."

The final goodbye came from the first hello I was greeted with when I returned to the land of the living, "I knew you were special. I have a hunch about those things, just call it a doctors intuition. Remember what I said, dig two graves and do your damnedest to stay out of the one meant for you."

With all the things that needed to be said, said all that was left for me, Amelia Hirst, was the open road, my Pip-Boy and the Powder Gangers van that Ringo fixed up. Checkered suit guy. You bet against the wrong number.