18 The I-15

"Shouldn't we do something, that looks pretty bad" Yoruichi questioned as the two of us hid behind a pile of brush?

"No" I tore myself away from the massacre going on in the distance. "Read what's spray painted on the wall over there" I handed her the binoculars.

Taking a look for herself Yoruichi grimaced at the disgusting horde of ghouls assaulting the small highway patrol building a few hundred yards in front of us. They had violently rammed their way through the front door and were assaulting the people inside. She couldn't see what was going on but, there were loud crashes, blood curdling screams, and the constant sound of gunshots ringing out from the building. Giving her a pretty good idea of the nightmare going on inside.

"Jackals" she questioned reading the massive red letters scrawled on the side of the building?

"They're a hostile tribe of cannibalistic raiders" I responded.

Hearing that Yoruichi sneered losing all sympathy "It's pretty ironic then that they're going to be eaten alive."

I shivered "Still though I'm not sure anyone deserves to be eaten alive like that, I can't imagine there are many worse ways to die than being ripped apart by a ghoul."

"Well at any rate it's almost over" she handed me back the binoculars as I noticed the gunshots becoming fewer and fewer.

And I just shook my head knowing it was too late to do anything now even if I wanted to.

"So, should we just go around" Yoruichi asked? "I'd rather not have to fight those monsters if we don't have too. They're way over there and their stench is already horrible."

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea" I sighed "East of here is a dry lakebed where a hive of giant ants live and there are probably even more feral ghouls to the west since that's where the mesquite mountains crater is. It's a radioactive hellhole that's a haven for ghouls."

"Then we sneak passed them" she offered.

"You could probably do it with your Stealth Boy" I shook my head "But, there was no way I'd be able to do it, feral ghouls have surprisingly sharp senses. And can definitely outrun us since their bodies don't have the natural limiters our do."

"Great" Yoruichi huffed "So we either fight our way through that mess over there or wait around until the zombies decide to fuck off on their own?"

"Pretty much" I agreed.

"Think we can take them" she questioned?

"Maybe" I answered doing some mental math.

My arm was still injured which meant I couldn't use any two-handed weapons for the time being and had to rely on my 9mm pistol since I didn't manage to grab anymore 10mm ammo while in Primm, which might not necessarily be bad a thing. A smaller weapon meant I could fire more shots in VATS, so I could theoretically take out at a huge amount of them in a short time as long as each of my shots killed.

Then there was Yoruichi.

If she used her grenade launcher right she could definitely take out a huge number of them in one go. That alongside the fact that she was basically a walking aim hack and a beast in close combat actually made me fairly confident we could actually do it as long as there weren't too many of them.

Looking back at the building I noticed that the gunshots had finally stopped and that a few ghouls had already started wandering back outside. And estimated that there were maybe 20 ghouls inside which seemed like a fair estimate given the size of the building.

"Yeah, I think we can do it" I looked back at Yoruichi.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"You ready" I asked?

"Definitely" she grinned!

"And I'm as prepared as I'll ever be" I replied clutching my pistol.

"Hey, want to make another bet like the one we did back in Goodsprings? See who can kill more?"

"No way" I snorted "I don't feel like losing again."

"Scaredy cat" she snickered!

"Just remember to aim for the head" I ignored her and gave out some advice "We need to kill them instantly since ghouls don't feel pain, otherwise they'll just keep charging us regardless of how injured they are. So, hitting anywhere else won't do anything to slow them down but you can try aiming at their legs to cripple them if you need to."

"Simple enough" she nodded.

"Oh, and keep in mind that they like literally throw themselves at you once they get in range so remember to dodge to the side."

"Alright DAD" she laughed in amusement "I think I've got it or is there anything else you want to add?"

"No that's about it" I scratched my chin "Go ahead whenever you're ready and I'll back you up."

"Let's get started then" Yoruichi double checked her rifle once more before taking aim.

In the distance more ghouls had wandered out of the patrol station and were randomly milling about.

"Bang! Bang!" Yoruichi fired killing two of the ghouls instantly with one of the cowboy repeaters we picked up the other day! And I couldn't help once again being impressed with her marksmanship and at the sheer speed she could accurately switch between targets.

The instant the shots rang out every single ghoul froze, and for a moment and I almost thought I might have accidentally entered VATS. But, a second later their heads snapped in our direction and I could feel their dead eyes searching for prey.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" their frozen forms offered Yoruichi the perfect chance to fire letting her take out another three zombies.

"RrRahHarG" that spurred them to action as they let out their guttural screams and charged towards at us with unnatural speed!

"Bang! Bang!" Yoruichi fired the last bullets in her rifle seeming completely unfazed by the undead rush.

Calmly tossing the gun aside she then pulled up her grenade launcher and launched a round that exploded at the feet of a cluster of ghouls blowing their legs off! While she was doing that, I held a second cowboy repeater that we had prepared beforehand so she wouldn't have to worry about reloading and could focus completely on killing as many ghouls as possible.

After firing the grenade launcher, she thew it aside since it took far too long to reload for how few shots it carried and was too dangerous to use in close quarters and grabbed the extra rifle from my hand.

Taking aim again Yoruichi began picking them off one by one as the ghouls neared our position.

Seeing that they were closing in, I knew it was time for me to act and drew my pistol before activating VATS! I wasn't sure my tiny pistol had the stopping power to put down a ghoul in one hit even with a headshot. And decided to play it safe and follow a piece of legendary zombie hunting advice and double tap.

It wasn't the most efficient plan but, I didn't want to leave any room for mistakes.

Gunshots rang out constantly as we continued our barrage! And by the time Yoruichi ran out of ammo and I ran out of VATs shots there only four ghouls left that had escaped the onslaught and arrived at our position!

Throwing her rifle aside once again Yoruichi stepped forward brandished her machete ready to fight as I stood in the backline waiting to support her.

The first ghoul threw itself at her and she deftly stepped aside decapitating it with a single slash! The next ghoul arrived trying to swipe at her with its jagged claws but, she easily dodged yet again tripping the ghoul in the process causing it to fall face first to the ground! Where I quickly finished it off with two well placed headshots.

And finally the last two ghouls arrived as a team lunging one after another.

This time Yoruichi faced them head on blocking one of the strikes with her machete before grabbing the second's wrist and redirecting its momentum and throwing it aside. Turning her attention back to the first ghoul she then ducked under another slash skillfully maneuvering behind it and beheading it before it even had a chance to react and jumping onto the fallen ghouls back as it struggled to stand pinning to the ground and ending the fight with one final strike! He machete sinking into the ghoul's skull as it let out a dying gasp before finally falling limp.

'Wow' I stood there stunned at the impossible display of skill and reminded myself how lucky I was that she was here with me. Since I couldn't even imagine what I would have done if I had to deal with all this by myself.

"Phew" she sighed prying her blood-stained knife free and wiping it off on the ghoul's rotten clothes. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be" she looked down at the hand she used to grab the ghoul and grimaced "But, damn were they nasty!"

"Yeah" I agreed flinching away as my adrenaline faded and the horrible rotting stench hit me in full and for the first time realized how truly disgusting a ghoul actually was.

Their rotten leathery skin seemed tight on their abnormally skinny bodies as long discolored veins snaked their way under their flesh. Pale white eyes stared at nothing on their deformed faces and their cracked and shattered teeth still covered in the blood of the raiders the just killed shined in the sunlight.

'Nope' I lost it and turned vomiting to the side.

"Gross" Yoruichi winced and started to dry heave herself "L-let's get out of here already, I want to get out of here and forget this ever happened."

"Agreed" I nodded without hesitation and the two of left the area as quickly as possible without ever looking back.

Sure, we probably could have looted at few useful weapons and supplies from inside the patrol station but, whatever was in there definitely wasn't worth the nightmares I'd have from seeing the bloodbath those ghouls left in their wake.

So, the two of us soldiered on down the I-15 making decent time despite that the occasional lone ghoul or gecko we wandered across.

Thinking ahead I grabbed my varmint rifle and swapped out the empty clip for the armor piercing rounds I bought from Chet all the way back in Goodsprings. And handed it to Yoruichi telling her it was in case we ran into any giant ants though the real reason was to deal with the Radscorpions I knew we'd find at Nipton Reststop just up the road.

Those things had crazy hard shells and I wanted to be able to take them out before they had the chance to poison us.

It was almost dinner time by the time we finally arrived at the rest stop and Yoruichi made quick work of the few Radscorpions hanging around with the armor piercing bullets. After that we decided to take a quick brake at the rest stop since we'd been walking all day and the Mojave Outpost was in sight it the top of a hill only a relatively short distance away.

And after a bit of looting we managed to find a few ammo boxes filled with a small amount of 10mm and 5.56mm rounds along with an old hunting rifle Yoruichi found after picking open the gun locker at the back of the general store. It wasn't in good condition but, seemed like it would still be usable after a few repairs.

Which was great because the hunting rifle used larger .308 caliber bullets and had far more stopping power than anything else we'd gotten our hands on so far.

After that was done we finally made our way up to the Mojave Outpost after yet another exhausting day in the wasteland.

"So, what exactly are those statues for again" Yoruichi asked as we approached?

"They're to commemorate the day the Desert Rangers agreed to join up with the NCR's own Ranger group in exchange for helping protect the Mojave from Ceasar's Legion."

"Got it" she answered.

"Halt" an NCR soldier commanded as we approached "I'm Seargent Kilborn with the NCR Army please State your business!"

"We're just passing through" I responded "Came down from Primm and are planning on stopping here for the night before continuing on to Novac."

"You came down from the North? Must be crazy to brave those roads" he looked us over vaguely surprised.

"It wasn't a daytrip that's for sure" Yoruichi sighed "Cool name by the way."

"So, can we head on in" I asked?

"I don't see why not" he shrugged "You two don't look like you'll cause too much trouble. Just make sure to check in with Major Knight before you leave, since he needs to keep a paper trail of anyone coming and going through here."

"We'll make sure to do that" I agreed.

"By the way is there anywhere to wash up around here" Yoruichi sniffed her shirt and made a disgusted face "Because we fought off a pack of ghouls earlier today and I'm pretty sure I can still smell their stink on us."

"Sorry" he shook his head "If you're looking for a shower you're in the wrong place, best we can offer is a damp rag and some privacy."

"That'll have to do" she sighed.

After that Seargent Kilborn let us back before going back to guarding the road. As we entered, I was surprised to see that the Outpost was a lot livelier than I was expecting. As an entire tent city filled with dozens of caravanners was set up beside the NCR base along with pens for the brahmin.

"What are all these people doing here" Yoruichi wondered?

"They're stuck" I replied while taking a step to avoid a massive cow pie sitting in the middle of the road "The NCR is probably keeping them here until things up north get safe since they want to avoid bad publicity and don't want the Legion or Powder Gangers to steal anymore supplies off the Caravans.

Yoruichi pressed a finger to her chin and thought about everything they'd had to deal with in the past couple days.

"That might take a while" she thought aloud "It would probably be better for them to just head back where they came from."

"They can't really do that either" I shook my head "The NCR has a lot of insanely stupid rules that prevent the caravans from doing even simple stuff like that. Without first filling out a dozen different forms and waiting for some pencil pusher in the NCR to look at it for five seconds before stamping it and sending it all the way back here. A process that probably takes a couple weeks at best."

"That's completely insane" Yoruichi gasped!

"That's bureaucracy" I shrugged. "Anyway, let's first go find that Major Knight guy to check in before finding a place to build our tents."

I led us towards the building I knew Knight was and passed a pair of lazy guards who barely even glanced at us as we entered inside. And the first thing we saw was a haggard looking middle aged man standing lifelessly in behind a counter mindlessly filling out documents.

Seeing us come in the man sighed before standing up straight and asking "Caravan, citizen, pilgrim, or..."

"Couriers... I guess" Yoruichi responded? Though technically only she was one but, I guess I didn't really qualify as anything else did I?

"Great" he responded flipping open a small leather book on the counter and filling in some answers. "I just needed something to put in the logbook, gotta keep tabs on traffic moving through the Outpost... although it's mostly in not out these days. I'm Major Knight by the way."

"Nice to meet you" I said "I'm Ethan and that's Yoruichi. We're just passing through on our way to Novac after passing through Primm."

"Primm" Knight perked up? "That's where Hayes' unit is stationed, I heard he was having problems with some NCRCF convicts. How are things going up there?"

"Things are going alright up there" I awkwardly scratched my head. "There was an... incident the other day" I glanced at Yoruichi who was looking sheepish "But, things mostly turned out for the better since a good chunk of the convicts along with their leader blew up in a fiery explosion."

"Well, that's good to hear I guess" Knight raised an eyebrow.

"Actually, while we're on the topic I was wondering something. Primm has seen better days, they've lost their sheriff when the convicts invaded and are still completely defenseless right now. And with most of the convicts being gone, now might be the perfect time for the NCR to move in and give them some protection. They'll probably need it with everything that has been going on."

"I agree" Knight shook his head "Primm used to be a promising trade town before the escape at the correctional facility but, Primm is outside of NCR jurisdiction so there's nothing we can do. Having Hayes stationed at the entrance of town is already the most we can do since we still have no authority inside the town itself."

"Okay but, what if they were part of your jurisdiction" I questioned?

"Even then I wouldn't be able to send down much help. We're shorthanded up here as it is and I've been ordered to maintain a certain headcount here at the Outpost so sending anyone over is a no go."

"But, wouldn't securing Primm give the NCR a clear trade route to New Vegas" I pushed? "One that's far away from Legion control and could be used to easily send supplies throughout the Mojave using that fancy monorail of yours at Camp McCarran?"

"I can see the wisdom in that" Knight agreed "But, even then you'd still need to get the people of Primm to agree to join the NCR first. Something we have been trying and failing to do for several years now."

"But, if we could?"

Major Knight sighed "Then and this is a big if, then maybe I MIGHT be able to radio command and have them send over an extra squad or two to help Hayes and his men take care of Primm."

"Awesome" I said completely confident in our ability to get this done!

"Is there anything else" Knight frowned "Because if not I'd really appreciate it if you left me alone so I could finish up my paperwork."

"No that's it I think" I rubbed my chin "Can we set up our tents anywhere or are there designated areas?"

"You can set up wherever, just make sure to be careful around the caravans some of those guys have been stuck here for weeks and are starting to get a bit antsy."

"Got it" I thanked him before heading out.

Once we were outside Yoruichi turned to me "You really think we can convince the NCR to help Primm?"

"I don't see why not as long as they think it's worth it they could easily spare the troops for this. It's not like Primm is a big town."

"I'm not sure how willing the people of Primm would be though" she wondered "He did say they had tried and failed to get them to join up before. And from the short time we were there I saw that they were really stubborn, especially that Ruby Nash."

"But, that was before their town was overrun by criminals" I pointed out "No matter how much they dislike the NCR I can't imagine they turn down their protection not after everything that's happened. Especially Ruby having her husband almost die probably changed her perception on a lot of things."

"Yeah, your probably right" she agreed "So that means we're headed back up to Primm tomorrow to try and convince them, right?"

"Maybe, we should see if there's any work to be done around here first. We going to need to resupply soon and to do that we'll need caps... wait, why aren't you mad? I thought you'd be more upset that I'm forcing us to backtrack to Primm instead of going after your mom's killer?"

"Look" she sighed "...I don't really know anything about what my mom was like but, I can't imagine she'd be happy knowing I put my revenge in front of other people's lives. So, even if it takes a bit more time, I don't really mind helping out like this."

"That's very noble of you" I pat her on the shoulder "Besides no matter how much time we take I guarantee there's no way that bastard is going to be able to escape from us."

"Damn right" she snarled!

"Anyway, it's getting dark" I yawned "Let's hurry up and get our tents up and go to sleep, my back has been killing me all day."

"That reminds me" Yoruichi's eyes softened "How are your injuries doing?"

"They're alright" I rolled my shoulder "Though my arms still hurts like a bitch if I bump it."

"Do you need any help setting up your tent" she asked?

"Maybe" I responded "I'll let you know if I do."

The rest of the evening passed in peace as the two of us enjoyed a small meal away from everyone else at the edge of the tent city before going to bed not long after.