I start going into different POV's in this chapter. It's a habit of mine that works out well in this story.

Chapter 7

Dizzying

"You sure you wonna do this?" Manny asked. I glance at Boone, who was leaning against the sign that said 'Novac'. His arms were folded tightly over his chest, and he looked out into the distance grudgingly. I looked back at Manny, taking in his thankful features.

"I'm sure… it's kinda something I need to do."

Manny nodded.

"Your guy was headed to Boulder City. Something about some Great Kahns or something." He explained.

"Did you hear anything else?"

"No, just that. Sorry, man."

I nodded, and thanked him. Then Boone and I were off.

"So, Boulder City." I said finally. Boone nodded.

"Why are we headed there?" He asked.

"Well… long story short, I need to find a man named Benny. He kinda shot me in the head." I explained.

"What do you mean kinda?"

"He shot me in the fucking head. And I want to find him."

"What are you planning on doing to him when you do?"

I shrugged.

"Dunno. Haven't thought that far, yet."

There was a silence, and I felt obliged to fill it.

"Well, it all started when I was delivering a package… and I guess somebody slipped me a little something extra. It was a lucky chip. And, well, this guy Benny really wanted it. He found me, dragged me to Goodsprings, and shot me in the head."

Boone kept looking forward, his pace fast and strong. It was kind of like walking with Brad. But Boone was much more quiet, which made me more talkative than I'd ever been. Not sure if that was a brain damage thing, or maybe it was just how strange Boone was.

"Do you have a family?" He asked.

"Kinda. My foster parents passed away a couple months ago, and… I still haven't found my fiancé." I shook my head. "I think he went looking for me when I went missing."

"And you're just going to ignore him?"

"No, of course not. I just… I need to find Benny, first."

Boone nodded his head.

"Yeah."

More silence. Geez, this was uncomfortable…

"So, First Recon, huh?" I asked. Boone only nodded again. "What made you want to be in that field?"

"My father was one." Boone said.

Great story, please tell another.

"Where is your father?" I asked.

"He died."

"Doing what?"

"Fighting for the NCR."

"How brave of him."

"Yeah."

Geez, this guy just didn't want to talk, did he? I sighed, giving up on conversing. Just as I was getting used to the silence, Boone perked up.

"Why is this Benny guy so important to you?"

I guess he deserved to know. After-all, we are going to travel with each other now…

"Well… okay, here it goes… It was just a regular night when they found me. And, well, then I woke up in Goodsprings. Not the worst place to wake up in, but, you know…" I took a deep breath. "Anyway, then I went to Primm, and did some things, learned Benny was in Novac, came here, and Manny told me that he was headed to Boulder City… I'm thinking that maybe once I find him, things would go back to the way they were before." Why the fuck was I saying all of this? To a complete stranger, no less.

But Boone seemed to be listening, even though he was rather short on his response. Fine with me. As long as I had somebody here with me, I didn't fucking care if they talked or not. Plus, having a first recon guy with me wasn't all bad. He shot most of what we came across on the way to Boulder City, which saved me some ammo. And in the long run, caps. He was alright. Once we got to the entrance of Boulder City, we were both surprised to be approached by an NCR soldier.

"We've got a situation with some Great Kahns right now. The brass at McCarran has ordered me to lock down the ruins until it's been resolved." He explained.

"Out of my way, soldier. I need to get inside the town." I said simply, and walked towards the guard. I was planning on just walking passed him when he held out both hands, and stopped me right then and there by slamming them on my shoulders.

"I'm warning you, we will use force if we need to." He said, his voice getting lower.

"That's alright, don't bother." Boone said from behind me. The man in front of me widened his eyes at him.

"She with you?" He asked. Boone only nodded. The guy took his hands off of me, and I backed away from him.

"We need some of the Khans in that town. They stole something of hers." Boone explained.

"I'm sorry, soldier, but once the Great Khans have been killed or captured, you two are welcome to retrieve any property they've taken from you." He explained.

"It's kinda urgent, buddy. See, I have a bit of a problem with people telling me what to do, and…" I started, but Boone jumped in before I could say more.

"We're willing to make a deal with the Khans." He said.

"What?" I asked, looking up at him. Boone didn't look down at me, only straight ahead at the soldier in front of him.

"Well, I have no problem with you going in there, but your friend here…"

"I'll make sure she's in check." Boone said sternly.

The soldier finally nodded, backing away to make room for us to get through.

"A few more things. The leaders name is Jessup. They have two of our soldiers hostage, so don't go trying to shoot them. However, if we hear gun shots, we'll be coming in, but it'll probably too late for you."

Boone shrugged.

"Whatever."

"You know, I could've handled that, right?" I asked Boone once we walked in.

"No, you could've have. And I'd appreciate it if you learn to hold your tongue when you need to." Boone explained sharply. I sighed in frustration, looking in front of us to see a hand full of Great Khans crowding around a building. They did nothing as we made our way inside. They didn't even look at us. When we got into the building, a familiar voice startled me.

"Who the fuck…. what the hell?" The Khan sporting an orange mohawk in front of me stopped for a second. "You're… the courier Benny wasted back in Goodpsrings. You're supposed to be dead!" He said in astonishment.

My eyes widened, and my jaw dropped to the floor. The sight of him brought back memories… painful ones. Ones I didn't want to remember. Just as the silence was about to become too awkward, Boone jumped in for me. Again.

"We believe you have something of hers." He explained.

Before Jessup could respond, I lunged towards him, fists clenched. But I guess first recon's have lightening reflexes, as Boone grabbed me before I could get two feet towards Jessup.

"Where the fuck is Benny!? Where is he!?" I yelled loudly.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Benny stole it!" Jessup explained quickly, his eyes flashing.

"I don't believe you!" I yelled back.

"He's in the Tops Casino, I swear it! Here." Jessup grabbed something from his pocket, and handed forward. "It's his lighter. He left it here. Maybe you could stick it up his ass for me when you see him. He ended up stabbing us in the fucking back. He's probably back at the strip laughing at us." Before I could think of taking it, Boone snatched it up, and stuffed it in his pocket.

"We need both of you out of here." Jessup said quickly.

"Look, the way I see it is that both of you can kill each other within one word. But, if you go without a fight, then the NCR would be idiot's fight you back." Boone explained. I shrugged away from him, getting slightly annoyed at him. I was supposed to say something heroic…

"Well… I guess that couldn't hurt." Jessup said in deep thought. Then he nodded. "Fine, but promise me that they won't attack."

"I promise." Boone said, as if he had any clue.

We walked the Khans to the back of the city, and told them to run, making them promise that there would be no more troubles in Boulder City. After some convincing, the NCR soldier decided to let them go. Most of the convincing was on Boone's part. The soldier gave us one hundred caps to split between the two of us. Then Boone turned and walked away from me, towards a building in the distance.

"Where are you going?" I asked, following him closely. Once we were out of ear shot, he turned to me sharply.

"What the hell was that?" He asked.

"What… what do you mean?"

"You froze. What happened?"

"Well… he was scary."

"Oh come on…

"Fine! He… he was there that night, okay?" I said harshly.

"What night?"

"The night I was shot! He was there with Benny when it happened. It was just… I just wasn't expecting it."

"What were you expecting?"

"I don't know! Okay?! I don't know!"

There was a tense silence as Boone just stared at me. Then he sighed, and looked out into the distance.

"Come on." He said, walking past me again.

"Where are you going now?" I asked.

"There's a bar up ahead. I think you could use a drink."

I couldn't argue with that logic.

I thought that maybe I could have my old drink of choice. Scotch. But the second I took a whiff of it, all I could see was Rose and her sad green eyes. Instead, I chose just a regular bottle of beer. To my surprise, Boone did the same. I also had Brad's flask filled with vodka once again. You could never go wrong with a little vodka on your belt. The bar tender, Ike, smiled from ear to ear at us.

"It's not everyday we get visitors here in Boulder City." He had explained. I suppose not… considering this place looked like a fucking ghost town. But I'm not judging. The beer was good, which was a bit of a surprise. I guess Ike took good care of his booze while he had nothing else to do. While Boone and I sat and drank, Ike talked our ears off. He mentioned his dream about going to New Vegas, to the Death Claws in the Quarry Junction. The whole time Boone and I were waiting for each other to say something. Finally, I realized it was up to me.

"Sorry Ike, but we gotta get going." I said. Ike looked kind of disappointed, but then shrugged.

"Alright. Come back soon, you hear!"

We began walking down the road, the sun still high in the sky. It was good, considering I was rather concerned about it getting dark while we were still travelling. Just as I was beginning to relax, Boone stopped in his tracks.

"What?" I asked, turning to him. He didn't respond, but continued to look out into the distance.
"Kay, seriously Boone, what the…" Before I could continue he shushed me. I frowned, and tried to see what he was all worked up about. Then I saw small silhouettes of people walking in the distance. I squinted my eyes, not being able to make out what they looked like. Before I could, Boone turned around, and walked hastily away. I followed close behind him.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Legion soldiers. We need to go a different way. I can't have them see me." He grumbled.

"Boone…"

"If you don't like it, then you can leave. But I will not be anywhere near them…"

"Boone." I grabbed his shoulder, making him stop. He looked at me, his eyebrows forwarded in worry. "I can't have them see me, either." I said. I pulled down my bandana to show the scar on my neck. Boone stared at it for a few seconds. Then it hit him.

"They want to kill you."

"Yeah. If they see me again…" I motioned slitting my throat as I brought the bandana back up.

"Jay, if you want to go to New Vegas, that's the only way." He said. I shook my head.

"Not exactly." I brought out the map I got from Novac, unfolding it on the ground in front of Boone who crouched to see it better.

"We can make a bee line to here. Then we'll just head up the road, past the Quarry, and we're golden." I explained. Boone shrugged.

"Sounds fine to me. As long as we don't hit any Legionaries." He muttered. I had to agree. So that's what we did. For the most part it was uneventful, making me rather giddy. After a few swigs from Brad's flask, I started to hum the first tune that came to my head, keeping a careful watch to see how Boone was reacting. By the time I added in some lyrics, I didn't give two shits what he thought.

"She's telling me, we'll be wed. She's picked out a king sized bed. I couldn't beeeee, any better, or I'll be saaaiiiid…" I began sing quietly. Boone looked out in the distance, not seeming to care. So I continued.

"Tell me quick! Ain't that a kick! In the heeeaaadd!"

"Isn't that a little ironic?" Boone asked suddenly, not looking at me again. I stopped singing, and turned my gaze to him.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice slightly hoarse from singing/screaming.

"You were just shot in the head… a kick in the head… You were gonna get married before you were shot…" Boone tried to explain.

I looked at the ground in thought, then shook my head.

"Nope, don't get it."

All went well after that… until the sun started to go down.

"Shouldn't we camp somewhere?" I asked. Boone shook his head.

"There are some bunkers up ahead. We can stay there for the night."

"How far away?"

"An hours walk, maybe."

"An hours walk?! The suns going down!"

"Then we should walk faster."

I sighed dramatically, and rolled my eyes. This was ridiculous… and I had a feeling that Boone knew it. He just didn't do shit about it. Instead of complaining, I bit the bullet, and continued onward. The whole time reminding myself over and over again that I didn't have enough sleep, didn't have enough food, nor water. My legs were tired and achy, but I didn't want to complain anymore than I had. I got nothing from complaining. I guess a part of me wanted to stay awake as long as I could, considering I was out cold for three weeks straight. It didn't help that Doc Mitchell didn't explain anything that I might need to do in order to keep myself well. It was dark by the time we reached some rocks, and my feet were aching beyond belief. My breath hitched, one leg giving out, and I fell to one knee. Boone turned around instantly, coming towards me.

"You okay?" He asked. I could barely see him in the darkness… but he seemed to have no trouble seeing himself. Even with his fucking sunglasses.

"I'm good." I lied, trying my best to get up. Boone nodded, and once I was on my two feet again, turned back to the trail. My mind was wondering again when I heard a gun shot, snapping me out of my exhaustion. I strained my eyes to see Boone, back hunched as he shot at some figures in the distance. Before I could ask what the hell he was doing, the gunshots stopped, and he continued forward. After some more gun shots, we finally reached what I thought was a fence. As I came up closer to Boone, I realized I was right. But behind the fence was a large sand storm.

"I didn't think that through…" Boone muttered. I wavered in place, and tried my best to keep my eyes open. No matter what I did, they seemed to droop further and further. Boone took a deep breath, and walked through an opening in the fence.

"Do… do you know where you're going?" I asked, my voice slurred.

"Yes. Follow me." Boone said reassuringly. Or maybe that was just his NCR training. Masking the truth, making me think every things okay when really it's the furthest from it. Just after a few steps forward, the sand storm hit me. Hard. It seemed to get only into my eyes, despite my lazy attempts at covering them. Soon it was impossible to see, my eyes closing completely. And with that, my legs gave out, too, and I fell to both my knees. I forced myself to look up, only to see a small silhouette of Boone as he turned around to look at me. Then my whole body hit the ground hard, and darkness followed.

Boone's POV:

"Shit…" I cursed under my breath, rushing towards Jay. I lifted her up, noticing quickly that she was not going to wake up anytime soon. I was not good at first aid… I wasn't trained in that. I pulled Jay's limp body over my shoulder, trying my best to find a bunker. Damn, they were well hidden in the sand storm. I squinted my eyes, finding one in the distance. I forced my legs forwards, towards what I hoped was the shelter. Finally, once I got to it, I slammed my hand down on the button, opening the doors.

They closed as I walked in, shutting off the sand storm behind us. I was glad for the silence. I stumbled down the stairs, and was happy to find a bed roll nestled in the corner. I propped Jay on some boxes, and fetched the bedroll. I laid it on the ground, and placed Jay on it as softly as I could. Sand caked on her face, making me frown. I was just about to wipe it away when the doors in front of me opened up. I snapped my head up quickly to see two soldiers in power armour emerge, followed by one with no helmet.

"Listen very closely, and do as I say. Hand over all your weapons, ammo, armour, and clothes. I want you down to your underwear." The soldier with no helmet glanced at Jay. "Her, too."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked. In a second, all three of the soldiers pointed their energy weapons right at me. I frowned, and glanced down at Jay. I could see the scar on her head, reminding me what she needed to do. She needed to get to New Vegas… unscathed. If I refuse to cooperate with these guys, that wouldn't happen.

"Will you comply?" The soldier asked harshly.

"Fine. But don't hurt her." I said finally.

"You don't have to worry about that. Come with us."