29 Ch. 29 Just Another Day in the Mojave
AN: There is a heavy scene in this chapter. Sorry if it makes some uncomfortable but I'm trying to show the horrors of the Wasteland and the atrocities of the Powder Gangers.
You have been warned
——————
Colton is sneaking South of the NCRCF. He was looking for Chaevez and his 11 men.
He remembers a conversation he had with a nearly naked Powder Ganger just before he was able to leave.
——————
Colton was exiting the Visitor Center but was stopped by a man with only shorts and shoes.
The man also had a hat on with a feather. He looked like a cheap male stripper more than an explosion maniac.
The guy stops Colton. "Hey, I've been told to tell you that, while youre not exactly a friend, we know you've helped us out some all the same. We figure some kind of truce is in order. As long as you don't come too close to any of our camps, we'll let you pass without trying to kill you. Of course, the truce is off once we know you're an enemy"
"I'll keep that in mind" Colton says as he keeps away from the wanna be stripper.
"That's all, see ya" The guy then walks past Colton and his dogs and disappears into the crowd of Powder Gangers addin to the empty bottles all over the ground.
——————
Colton shakes his head and looks back down the scope of Purifier.
His dogs are also crouched nearby and even Colton has to admit that they are a little cute. But he did just watch them devour 2 adult Molerats that look like an uncircumcised cock and 3 Bighorners with 2 small Bighorners.
Charlie burps.
Colton looks back at the stupid looking dog. "You are the one that over ate dumbass"
Raksha moves over to Charlie and glares at him. Charlie lowers his head and lays down. He even covers his eyes with his paws.
"Oh don't give me that Charlie" Colton looks at the others. They all look at Charlie. "Fine, it's not like you were the only one. Come here Raksha"
The alpha dog goes over to Colton's side and sits down.
"Chaevez and his men are by the wrecked train cars right there. So I'll snipe them and you keep them in order. Got it?" Colton points at a man with black hair and a terrible mustache then at the other dogs.
Raksha nods his head.
[ Raksha is now a Companion granting the [Tracker] perk]
"What the fuck!" Colton shouts before covering his mouth and then ducking down further behind the rock he's behind.
"Why now? And why only Raksha? Maybe because the other dogs are part of his pack? Wait, why do I even get a perk for having an animal as my companion? Fallout 4 didn't have perks like this, did it? Crap, I'm already forgetting obvious shit. Let's just focus on killing these guys first" Colton shakes his head. It's not like he will get an answer from the dogs or the system anyway.
He has an extra magezine ready to be reloaded since he needs 11 bullets and Purifier holds 6.
Colton looks at the new perk before he fires.
[ [Tracker] gained
- You can now track your targets over long distances. Whether it's footprints, bloodstains, or disturbance in the sand of a desert. It's second nature to you at this point ]
"How will that help? Does it just happen in my mind? I don't think I know anything else?" Colton tries to remember if he knows anything new but it's all the same knowledge as before.
He shrugs and aims at Chaevez's skull. Colton notices that he's able to tell where Chaevez is moving to next. And it's easier than before. "I love my system"
*Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew*
Colton swiftly reloads.
*Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew*
[ Objective Complete
- <Deal with Chaevez>
- •Tell Eddie that you dealt with Chaevez>
1/2 Objectives Completed ]
Some of the men were laying down. Just made it easier for Colton to shoot them.
They didn't even know what happened. And when they did, it was already too late.
[ You've gained the [Lord of Death] Title ]
[ [Lord of Death]
-You deal an extra +4% damage to all enemies ]
"Why do I get this now?! There were hundreds upon hundreds of Giant Ants that I blew up! And …." Colton pauses. "Well I guess I do like the sound of that Title. Colton Lucky King, Lord of Death"
Colton smirks. "Fuck yeah"
He looks at his dogs. "We are going to go grab their shit now. So I want you guys on guard duty. Make sure nobody is alive and nobody sneaks up on us" He commands.
The dogs bark happily and then move out as Raksha stays next to Colton as the cross the train tracks and enter the Powder Gangers South Camp.
The dogs go to each of the bodies and rip their throats out. Colton will admit, that was a little more gruesome than he anticipated. But he let it slide. And when he checked the train cart he decided a bullet and having their throats ripped out was too nice.
In the cart we're families and probably anybody that came near the camp. Just corpses dumped inside. All the women and some men had their clothes taken off. Colton didn't look too hard but they were either defiled while still alive or after they died. And Colton didn't like either option.
"Fuck!" Colton kicks the nearest dead Powder Ganger and their skull goes flying off their corpse.
Colton breathes heavily as he walks away from the train cart. He's definitely going to destroy the Powder Gangers. And now that has moved up on his plans. It doesn't matter if he isn't prepared yet, he will do it soon and probably with the help of the NCR since there are so many prisoners.
He looks at his dogs. "Bring the bodies here" He points next to the smoking fire.
The dogs go and begin dragging the corpses next to the fire. And Colton sits down with Raksha next to him.
"What do you have?" Colton holds his hand under Raksha's mouth and the dog drops a piece of paper into it.
Colton reads it and it was saying that some Powder Gangers were getting ready to split and do their own thing. "Definitely have to speed my plans up"
The dogs bring the corpses over and acolton searches them. He finds ammo, their weapons, a few chems. One had a Lads Life magazine. And they had lots of dynamite.
Colton checks a few boxes and doesn't find much. But he finds some cartons of cigarettes he can go sell back to Scrambler. And he found a little dinosaur toy.
"Alright. Let's head back. We're staying the night at the weird prison full of murderers and rapists" Colton says as he begins his walk back. He can barely fit all the weapons and shit they had in an extra bag. But he will take it back and sell it to the pricks.
——————
On the way back Colton was able to spot some wild dog tracks. He chose to avoid them so he can save some bullets and the morale of his own dogs.
It didn't take much longer until Colton was back walking through the Visitor Center, courtyard, and the Administration Facilities.
He was standing in front of Eddie, Scrambler, and some other Powder Gangers.
Colton puts his hands on his hips. "Chaevez has been dealt with. You won't see him or his men around here. They're corpses are probably being picked clean right about now"
Eddie has his feet on the ground and leans forward as he rests his elbows on his thighs. "I'm happy you cleaned that up for me, but we've got another situation to worry about. There's a merchant hanging around near the prison. Something feels funny about him, and I want you to deal with him. Shake him down if he's legit, but if he's not, take him out"
"You want me to either take his shot or kill him?" Colton asks. "And what exactly is 'funny' about this merchant?"
"It'll take you less than 15 minutes. Do this and we can talk some more" Eddie says and eyes the things on Colton's back. "Most people already know we run this territory, and are usually in a hurry to get out. Not this guy. It's like he wants us to come get him"
[ Objective Complete
- <Tell Eddie that you dealt with Chaevez>
- •Track down the suspicious merchant and get rid of him•
2/3 Objectives Complete ]
"Probably an NCR trap. I'll see what I can do about this merchant guy" Colton says. "Do you guys want this stuff? I'll sell it cheap"
——————
Colton walks out with lots more caps than he initially expected. They bought the guns back but left the dynamite alone, apparently they don't need the little amount he has. But they took the cigarettes and guns. But Colton kept the ammo. He just couldn't part with it.
Who knows when he will use a 9mm pistol or submachine gun?
Yes, he knows that he is hoarding bullets. But he has a very valid reason. ITS THE BLOODY APOCALYPSE!
So anyway, Colton and his pack of dogs make their way outside the NCRCF as the sun begins to hide.
He looks at his Pipboy and sees that the merchant was last seen near the Powder Gangers West Camp.
Colton feels like going the scenic route around the mountain this time instead of trying to go over it and deal with the Bloatflies.
Mainly because his dogs are tasty treats for Bloatflies and he doesn't want to lose them so soon. It would be very inconvenient for him.
——————
Colton turns his radio on and begins his search for the merchant that will be easy with his new perk…. hopefully.
"Who let the dogs out?
Who, who, who, who, who?
Who let the dogs out?
Who, who, who, who, who?
Who let the dogs out?
Well, the party was nice, the party was pumpin'
Yippie yi yo"
Colton's Pipboy begins playing "Who Let the Dogs Out" by Baha Men. And Colton couldn't be happier. It actually makes him forget about the train cart full of dead bodies and the cannibal Gang members.
Colton follows the road even after he gets around the mountain. So he takes a left when he gets on the I-15. But stops when he gets to that intersection with the road he is on.
There are a few Powder Gangers standing around and a squelching sound that causes his stomach to churn.
One of the Gangers turns around. "Hey! You looking for the merchant for Eddie?!" He calls out. A few guys turn but don't move from their spots.
Colton continues walking. "Yeah, and what are you guys doing?" He asks in a low tone.
The same guy responds. "Just jumped a Crimson Caravan. Now we're enjoying the spoils. We can let you have a go after we're all done since you didn't help out in the raid. Consider it a present for the Dog Whisperer"
The guy moves his body and lets Colton see what their doing. And the image is burned into his mind as his body immediately freezes and anger swells up within him.
In the middle of the road is a woman with a blank stare, her eyes glazed over. Her clothes ripped but still covering parts of her body. Her left breast bouncing as a man on top of her thrusts into her. Her face partially bloody and bruised. Colton can see some of her teeth missing and her nose bent to the right.
He looks to the left and right and finds a dead guy with armor on. A Crimson Caravan logo stuck to the sleeve on his left shoulder. And to his right we're two dead Powder Gangers.
"They did a number to us! So we're doing a number on this lass! Hahaha!" The man maniacally laughs.
Colton clenches his fists and looks around. He doesn't spot anybody. "Raksha"
The dogs get ready as Colton turns his music off.
"Sick em"
Colton takes out his pistols and fires at the Powder Gangers. He runs to the right as his dogs run directly at them.
The men weren't expecting it. Colton shot the ones with weapons in their arms first.
This let the dogs get to them without injury. And it was brutal.
Raksha jumps onto the guy that was laughing and begins ripping into his throat and face. Zeus does the same against the next guy.
Lola and Coco attack a man. Lola goes for the man's right leg while Coco attacks the man's arm that was reaching for a pistol. They work together and bring him down.
Duke gets to a bald man that whips around with a shotgun. But before the bald guy can pull the trigger Duke chomps down hard on his groin which causes the bald man to release a scream that sounds like nothing Colton had heard before. And it doesn't stop.
It seems Colton found Dukes preferred chew toy. He just hopes that Duke doesn't catch a disease from his toys.
Joe, Charlie, and Abe work together as they take down the last two powder Gangers that are standing after Colton empties his clips.
The guy that was on top of the girl backs up but falls on his ass with his pants still around his ankles.
Colton walks up to him as he slowly reloads Lucky.
"W-why are you doing this?! Aren't you workin with us now?!" The guy asks as he tries to back up, ignoring the pain from his ass scratching against the asphalt.
Colton aims at the man with his Lucky in his left hand. "I never agreed to help the Powder Gangers. And I certainly won't stand by when you rape a woman after you beat her. Give Chaevez a Fuck You from me will you?"
*Bang*
The man falls onto his back and blood pools under him.
Colton can hear the jagged and labored breathing of the woman. And the snarls of his dogs can be heard as they rip and tear the flesh from the Powder Gangers. Their screams being muffled from the blood or just lack of vocal cords entirely.
Colton turns around and sees the remnants of the Powder Gangers. They were all dead and blood stains the road. Their bodies and clothes destroyed. The lucky ones died with the bullet to the head.
The last Powder Ganger finishes his struggle to breathe and goes to hell or wherever the equivalent is here in Fallout. Colton just hopes these fuckers get a special seat with those rapist cannibals he dealt with.
He goes to the woman who struggles to breath. She isn't moving and her chest is slowly rising and falling. Colton checks her wounds. Surprisingly she doesn't have a black eye. Her nose is completely broken and will heal funny even if he is able to fix it. A few of her ribs are broken. And her left arm is bent weird in 3 different places that aren't her joints.
Colton closes her legs and takes a jacket from a dead Ganger to wrap around her waist so she isn't just on the road. He doesn't want to move her too much because of her injuries.
"Can you talk?" Colton asks as he takes his goggles, mask, and hat off.
The woman's eyes flutter a bit and eventually the glazed look disappears. But then she begins screaming in pain. She tries to get away from Colton but only ends up screaming louder as she finds the state of her broken body. And her screams don't sound like a woman's. The screams are scratchy and deep like her vocal cords are barely able to make sounds.
"I'm here to help you, please don't move. The ones that….. did this to you are all dead" Colton softly says as his dogs begin sitting behind him.
The woman grabs her left arm with her right hand and falls down to the road. Everything hurts and she could barely see Colton. Her legs barely respond to her and….
"Make….this end…" She pleads as tears fall from her red eyes. "Just…. Kill…me"
Colton clenches his fists. He wants to say that there is a way for her to live past this. But he can't. She was only able to move through the pain due to adrenaline alone. And now that it's wearing off and she isn't in shock or escaped to the corners of her mind it must feel like hell.
So Colton stands up and takes out Lucky. "I'm sorry I can't help you more than this"
The woman begins shaking as she clenches her teeth. "It hurts so... much. Please end it!" Her voice is scratchy and Colton knows that these are her last words even if he doesn't shoot her.
Colton uses his thumb and cocks the hammer back. "You can rest now"
*Bang*
Colton burrows his emotions. He goes over to the Powder Gangers supplies and moves them into his pack along with their guns and ammo. He takes their dynamite and puts one stick in each of their corpses. He then orders his dogs to start running.
He lights the fuses of a few of them and books it as fast as he can away from the pile of corpses.
*Multiple Explosions*
Colton begins walking once he is far enough away. "Let's find this fucking merchant"
The dogs see Colton out his red goggles and face mask back on along with his hat. The giant explosions behind him in the darkening sky made their beliefs in him as their owner that much more.
Raksha and the dogs walk silently behind Colton as they begin their walks South along the I-15.
——————
It's now pitch black out as Colton makes it to the marked location on his Pipboy.
Jeans Sky Diving.
It was just a small shack with a small landing and take off patch of land below it. There were two Powder Gangers nearby but Colton didn't feel like bothering with them. He finds the merchant and he looks like any other traveling merchant that Colton had seen down at the Mojave Outpost.
"What are you doing out here?" Colton asks, clearly not in a good mood.
The traveling merchant is leaning against the shacks wall. He looks at Colton. "Better be careful around those parts. I hear there's Powder Gangers around and dangerous for morchants like me"
Colton looks him up and down. "You know, areal merchant would be much more worried about Powder Gangers. And they hardly ever travel alone without some form of security"
"Guess I was a little too obvious. I'm actually a
bounty hunter. I was hoping to bag some Powder Gangers if they tried to rob me" The man admits as he puts his hand on his pistol.
Colton keeps his hands under his cloak. "You'd better leave while you can. The Powder Gangers won't fall for your trick. But if you really want to get them, go to the NCR. They're gonna be storming the NCRCF relatively soon"
The man shrugs. "Yeah, was a stupid idea anyway. I'll stop by the NCR base near here and get ready. If what you say is true, I'll see you around" The man then walks away and leaves.
Colton watches the man walk off in the direction of Primm.
"While I'm here, might as well check this place out" Colton enters the Jeans Sky Diving shack.
Inside it's dusty and you can almost smell the mold or whatever died in here.
There are tires, a broken generator, and empty metal barrels that probably had fuel or oil in them at one point. Those were along the right side of the shack. The left wall didn't have much. And the far wall had cabinets lined against it. In the middle of the room was a table with a terminal and a radio on it.
Colton scans the room and hears the wind hit the walls and the shack makes random eerie creaking noises all around that kinda spook him.
Colton walks up to the table and finds a key on it along with a star bottle cap. The terminal is broken and he leaves the Ham Radio alone.
He moves to the lockers and goes left to right along the four of them.
The first and fourth are empty while the third is locked. Colton opens the second locker and finds Boxing Tape, Finance Clipboards, and Police Batons. He takes the tape and batons and uses the key to open the locked locker.
The locked locker has guns and ammo in it. Along with caps. Colton manages to shove them in his pack without having things fall out. He should make a pit stop somewhere. And since he is nearly at Primm, why doesn't he just go back and get that pardon for Meyers before something bad happens.
He turns around and notices an ammunitions box on top of the lockers. So Colton goes and opens it. Some enrgy cells and 10mm ammo along with a weapon repair kit. "Almost missed that"
Colton then leaves the musty shack and goes South on the I-15 back towards Primm. He caught a glimpse of a plane that had rusted into the ground.
He wonders if he will ever be able to make a plane lift off from the ground in this apocalyptic world. But who knows, there are certified that fly.
——————
Back at Primm Colton is walking towards the Vikki and Vance Casino when he spits Meyers near some barrels that have a fire in them.
So Colton goes up to the man. "How are you doing Meyers?"
The man quickly turns his head. "Oh, it's only you. Have you gotten my pardon from the NCR yet?"
Colton scratches the back of his head. "About that. Where should I go to get that? I don't believe that the troops here in town will give you one"
Meyers droops his shoulders. "Cmon kid. I trusted you. Listen, there is a NCR camp down on the Southern border of Nevada. Camp Mojave I think, try to find someone of authority there"
"Mojave Outpost…" Colton says as he realeases a sigh. His walking isn't done yet. "Before I go. How's the town been?"
Meyers smiles. "The town?" He looks around. "It's beaten up. But I'm thinking once I start enforcing law around here things will get back to order. Nobody has left the Casino. But I stopped in, nearly got shot by this old woman. But after some talk I was able to get to know the people of this town a little. I think we can make this place even greater than what it was before. Just have to replace Beagle and get that pardon first"
Colton nods. "Great. I was hoping you would sort out the Beagle situation. I'll get you your pardon and you'll be the new sheriff of Primm by the end of tomorrow"
"Careful out there" Meyers adds.
Now Colton begins his hike back to the Mojave Outpost up on that small mountain. It's been a long day and it's gonna be even longer.
——————
When he makes it between the giant statues he wishes he just stayed at Primm for the night. But here he is. The dead of night, standing beneath two giant metal jerkoffs shaking hands which might has well been one man bending over and being taken from behind because the NCR really fucked the Rangers.
Yeah, Colton was really tired and still had to find that pardon. But that could wait until the morning.
He went into the barracks and passed The bar until he got into the bunk bed. He, Raksha, Zeus, Lola, and Coco fit on the bed. But Charlie, Duke, Joe, and Abe made room for themselves. It was a literal dog pile with Colton at the bottom.
"Cmon guys" Colton complains but his eyelids get heavy and he drifts to sleep. This is the best Colton has been able to sleep since he arrived in this world.
