Last Stop New Vegas

[Interstellar Bun]

For once, Darling fell silent. Of course she knew she had a good life, but it didn't really hit her until then just how cozy it really was. Of course it wasn't perfect, nothing was, but in comparison to slavery, it seemed like a cake walk. She bit her lip for a moment, mulling it over, and as he refused to look at her, she too didn't look at him. If anything gave him an excuse to be moody, being enslaved until he was determined he was worthless was probably it. The idea of slavery, of what he likely had to endure, it was enough to make her stomach churn.


"At least you're okay now, right?"


Her hopeful tone was back, lacing through her words as naturally as ever. She couldn't say she understood - she didn't - so there was no need to lie to his face.


"I mean, you have a bullet wound, are running on little to no sleep, and are traveling with a really annoying blonde who still uses the safety, but it could be worse." She looked at him, biting her lip as she smiled. Well, even if he didn't find her teasing funny, Darling could still make herself smile and that, she figured, was what mattered.

 

[CortezHorse]

"At least you're okay now, right?"


He grunted in response, an affirmation that yea, sure, he was okay now. She seemed more at ease as she continued to speak which was the point of this conversation. Her annoyingly happy attitude appeared to return in almost full force and he looked at her from the corner of his eye as she tried to make light of the situation. She bite her lip, smiling up at him and he couldn't help snort out a weak laugh at her hopeful face. Yea, it could be worse. Babysitting wasn't the worst thing that could happen to him, he knew that all to well.


"So...blackjack. You said you were gonna play blackjack when you got to the Strip. Any good?"


Change the subject from his past, gambling was a good topic seeing as their destination was the heart of such activities.


"Bet I could give you a run for yer money."


He looked down at her with a smirk, a very rare sight indeed.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

It was nice to see the smirk, nice to see him do anything other than frown or look disinterested. Taking it as a positive sign, she was newly encouraged. The day hadn't started off well, but that didn't mean it would be all bad. Ben was willingly talking now, at least, and she find herself able to hold hope that she might actually make a friend out of this.


"You think so? Well, I was going to tell you my foolproof tricks but I guess I'll just have to keep them to myself, now that you've posed a challenge like that. Obviously I can't go and give you the upper-hand."


She was teasing and barely managed to stop herself from bumping him with her hip to punctuate the joke. He might have almost smiled, but she was more than sure that he wouldn't smirk again any time soon if he did that. As the sun continued to steadily rise in the sun, she heard the faint echos of more gunfire to their left and the faint smell of the powder was carried to them on the wind. It seemed other people were finally starting to wake up and start the day.


"I will warn you now, though, in addition to having a lovely sense of humor, I'm also fantastic at most card games. But don't worry, I'll try to go easy on you should we ever find a deck to play with."

 

[CortezHorse]

She went on about her fool proof card tricks and Ben raised a disbelieving eyebrow. Darling might be young but she was full of talk it seemed; it was amusing.


"Oh, yea? Tricks, huh? I'll believe it when ya beat me Ms. Darlin'."


The smell of freshly fired guns floated to them on the winds and he grumbled in his throat. Raiders were the last thing they needed today, no way he'd be able to outrun any of them to find cover. Once again her voice was what pulled him from his own mind and he huffed in disbelief at her.


"Go easy on me? I don't think you understand. I've been around for decades upon decades and spent quite a few of those years playing cards to pass the time. I'll be going easy on you."


Talking to her was coming easily now, he'd almost forgotten what it was like to have a nice conversation with someone. He avoided others and those that he had spoken to ended up being a waste of his breath; so why bother? Darling was turning out to be tolerable company, despite her relentless upbeat attitude.


The sun beat down on them, hot and unceasing as always. His hip throbbed and threatened to stiffen up but still he walked on. Soon enough they'd reach cover, a small town, a goddamn tree; something. The gunshots hadn't ceased while they walked, something was obviously going on and he could only hope it stayed a safe distance away.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"See, your problem is that you're too confident." She waggled a finger at him. "People always fail when they get too confident. You'll be feeling just fine and the next thing you know I'll swoop in and take the shirt right off your back and you'll be wondering where such a sweet girl learned to be so absolutely devious."


His pace slowed slightly and she felt a pang of sympathy for him. Being decades upon decades old with a wound probably didn't feel too nice. She went to observing the land, then. They'd do well to find a cool place to catch their breath for a moment, to relax their legs and maybe even take the time to eat something. Her stomach tensed, rumbling quietly though she refrained from acknowledging it.


In the distance, she could see broken down piles of rubble and metal beams that used to be a neighborhood of some sort and in the desolation, their seemed to be a building or two that still stood. It was her turn, this time, to steer the two in that direction.


Still, she looked over towards where the firefight was going on. Her brows furrowed, wrinkling her forehead.


"What if someone needs help?"

 

[CortezHorse]

Darling steered them in a different direction and Ben followed, if a bit hesitantly, but soon it proved a good choice as the ruins of a town came into view. Finally, he thought, somewhere to fucking sit down. He pushed through the next throb of pain, knowing that an end was actually in sight, but paused when Darling stopped.


What if someone needs help?


Ben scoffed at the statement, his face twisting in disdain, and started towards the ruins again.


"Then that sounds like their problem. Besides, you ever been in a fire fight before? Best just keep our distance."


The last time Ben tried to help he got shot and then he was civil and ended up with a blonde headed charge. If it could be helped he didn't need anymore trouble this week. They'd end up sucked into a fight that wasn't their own and judging by what he'd heard from her so far there was no way she could handle herself. He paused again, turning to look at her.


"You comin'?"

 

[Interstellar Bun]

If she had been the one to need help, surely she'd like for someone to go and help her. But he was right, what could she do? With a slow nod, she tired to put it out of her way, hustling to catch back up with him once more. Still looking a touch to worried, she gave a nod to his previous question and tried to put it out of her mind.


"I don't suppose taking cover behind a wagon until the threat was over counts as being in a fire fight, does it?"


Darling offered a weak smile, shoving her hands into the pickets of her blue jeans. No, even with the caravan she hadn't done much in the way of protection. She had left that to the hired mercs, the veterans who had done it all their lives. Hiding, squeezing into small spaces to disappear, that was where her true talent was.


They'd be to the town in just a handful of moments and, hopefully, the buildings wouldn't be filled with creatures looking to find a bit of shade and get out of the heat like they were trying to do.


"It wasn't all bad, that was the first time I got to fix up a bullet wound. I will tell you, it was quite a learning experience."

 

[CortezHorse]

I don't suppose taking cover behind a wagon until the threat was over counts as being in a fire fight, does it?


Ben eyed her as she smiled up at him and, oh, it was meant as a sort of joke. He gave a grunt at her statement without really answering. The more this day went on the more he was realizing this girl hadn't experienced anything. It meant that, quite possibly, no matter how tolerable she was, that Darling would end up being more trouble than she was worth. He would never just abandoned her, no his damn conscious wouldn't let him do that, but he might hand her off to a caravan if they met one. They could take her to the Strip and then he'd only have himself to worry about, as it should be.


They drew closer to the dilapidated town and Darling continued to talk about her first experience in a shooting.


It wasn't all bad, that was the first time I got to fix up a bullet wound. I will tell you, it was quite a learning experience.


That's right, she had to learn how to patch people up like she'd done to him just the other night.


"Yea? Well, glad ya had the experience. It means you have a useful skill out here other than just poppin wild dogs with that pea shooter of yers."


Ben didn't hear the harsh tone that he spoke in or realize the possible hurtful nature of his words. He was just being matter of fact.


Finally Ben was able to reach out and touch the old concrete and metal shell of a past house as they arrived at the town. It all seemed still and empty but still he began to move more quietly. Well, as quietly as a peg leg against hard surfaces would let him be that is. His rifle was at the ready as they moved towards a still standing building. Shade was rare out here and he knew they wouldn't be the only ones looking for it.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

She was starting to understand. It was less his words and more his tone that told her that he didn't think much of her. The idea made her frown. Well, he was right, maybe she couldn't do much more than patch a wound or pop a cap in a wild animal, but that didn't mean she didnt know anything. She had come all this way from California on her own, and while she wasn't good at confrontation, she had some pretty good luck and even better avoidance techniques.


"Speaking of wounds, we should check yours, make sure it's healing up right."


The words were spoken as he followed behind him. The only thing she could see trying to take up their space were a small bunch of mole rats, their skin flaking off and grimy, burnt in some spaces and almost completely missing in others.


Taking the initiative, half pushed by his dismissive nature, Darling stepped forward. She waved at the creatures, scuffing her boot at them to lead them off out of the way. They hissed a guttural noise, made a move to bite her boot, but ultimately decided that being knocked in the nose wasn't worth the price of shade. The beasts scampered off and Darling seemed quite pleased.


If those dirty little creatures could sleep there safe and sound, she was sure that she and Ben would be just fine.


"Well, this place isn't so bad I don't think. I mean, it isn't exactly the Lucky 38 but I think we can manage."

 

[CortezHorse]

Speaking of wounds, we should check yours, make sure it's healing up right.


Before he could answer her, Darling stepped forward and shoo'd away the mole rats that were taking up space in their shade. The creatures hissed and made a small fuss but left without a fight. Ben hummed in his throat, approving of the take charge attitude she briefly showed by chasing away the mole rats.


Well, this place isn't so bad I don't think. I mean, it isn't exactly the Lucky 38 but I think we can manage.


Ben grunted as he flopped down on a piece of concrete in the shade, using it as a make shift chair.


"As long as it has shade, I'm a happy camper."


He tilted his head back, resting his head against the cool wall, the concrete still holding onto the last tendrils of chill from the night. For a moment he rested his eyes, glad for the stop. He didn't want to admit it but his hip was killing him, if they had to walk much farther he would have had to sit on the burning ground in order to rest.


After a few moments of resting, he leaned forward and hiked his shirt up to look at his hip. Gently, he lifted the patch she'd laid over the wound and hissed at the sight. Fucking thing looked like it was getting infected.


"Fuck."


He growled out the expletive and yanked his shirt down. Why couldn't anything be simple? His eyes flicked to Darling, knowing she wanted to know how his wound looked.


"Well, if this leg rots off how do you think I'd look with two peg legs?"

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Fuck.


That didn't sound good.


Dropping her pack onto the ground and draping the blanket she'd been carrying over it, Darling barely noticed how much dust she had kicked up. Weight off her shoulders, she rolled them, stretching them slightly in the process. She moved over to look at him, head tilting as she tried to get a look at the wound. Of course, she really couldn't see much, but if he looked disgusted by it, she assumed it wasn't exactly nice looking.


His question made her lips curl into an amused smile.


"I'm sure you'd still be very handsome."


Removing her sunglasses, she placed them on her hat and crouched to loom beside him, offering a wink that punctuated her sentence. The shade was noticeably cooler, for which she was thankful.


"However, I be that as it may, I say we try to keep your leg in tact. Can I look at it?"


She had wanted to sit down and try to get something in her stomach first, but this was a more pressing matter. Besides, after this, she might lose her appetite anyway. She might not have had issues with blood, not at face value, but there was something about infections that put even the most weathered vets on some sort of edge.

 

[CortezHorse]

I'm sure you'd still be very handsome.


Ben quickly ducked his head, looking away from Darling at the statement. The movement was distinctly one of embarrassment but of course he wasn't embarrassed, never. He cleared his throat as she hunkered down beside him and he found avoiding her eyes was getting more and more difficult. He stole a look and she winked at him when they made eye contact and, once again, he jerked his head away. He hadn't been called handsome in, well, fucking decades. Sure, she was joking but goddamn if it didn't effect him.


However, be that as it may, I say we try to keep your leg in tact. Can I look at it?


He made a motion towards the wound, finally looking at her.


"Be my guest."


Once again he rucked his shirt up to reveal his hip. The bullet wound, once just a bloody looking mess, was now inflamed and angry looking. Infections were the silent killers out here. If the guns, monsters and heat didn't get you then a small, infected scratch would.


While they cooled off in the shade, a group of raiders watched the ancient town from far away. Unknown to either Ben or Darling, those who had been causing so much havoc with their gunfire were now waiting patiently near their shady hide out. Their leader reached down and gave one of his dogs a scratch. The mongrels that the duo had faced earlier had been hounds, not wild dogs, trained to sniff out targets and wound them to make their master's job of pillaging much easier.


"Why are we waiting? We can just go in there, blow a hole in each of their heads then move on."


One of the grunts questioned their leader who kept his eyes on the town, not looking at his underling as he responded.


"Be patient. They're protected in those concrete walls, it would be a risk to go in now. Soon enough they'll move on and then we'll pick them off. They killed two of my dogs and that can't go unpunished."


The lanky, mo-hawked man knew one of them was injured, the blood is what drew his precious dogs in the first place. Finishing them off would be simple.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

His embarrassment only served to encourage her. Seeing any emotion other than blatant disregard was, well, pretty nice. Content with his reaction she looked a little closer as he moved his shirt or reveal the wound.


Eyes flicking over the infection, Darling didn't smile this time, but nor did she look too perturbed. She was focused, contemplating the best way to go about this. Her supplies were limited, but if they didn't bring an end to this now, things might just very well get worse. Mulling her options, Darling stood and moved to grab a few things. She had come to the Mojave prepared to take care of a single person, not two, and that was turning out to be a bit of a problem. She had rubbing alcohol, yes, but not enough to deal with more than one or two small wounds at best.


Settling down close to him, kit resting in her lap and a bottle of water in her hand, she started to work. She spoke as she cracked the half full bottle open, dampening a square of gauze so she could clean the wound and surrounding area with a tender touch.


"We'll have to keep an eye out to make sure you don't get a fever. As soon as you get a fever, that's when we know it's a real problem. But you're still on your feet and it's not oozing too bad, so I suppose we can put off amputating it for now."


It looked a little better once the blood had been wiped off. She placed the square aside and brought out the little container of alcohol. They'd need to get more at the next settlement they found themselves in. Actually, she'd do well to restock on everything she had if her budget allowed for it. With a bit more digging, she found what she had been searching for. The cloth had a bit of texture to it, which was optimal for scrubbing out any dead tissue and other bits of grime that might have found their way inside. The only problem was that it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience and the rubbing alcohol would only make it feel worse.


"I'm sure you know, but I feel I should warn you that this'll hurt like a big dog. Just try not to jerk too much, okay?"


She wanted to wait until she got the go ahead, the conformation that he was prepared before she got started.

 

[CortezHorse]

Darling set to work gently cleaning at his wound and Ben was grateful that she was prepared and didn’t mind helping him out this way. Like a moron he’d run out of any sort of first aid supplies long ago, being dirt poor didn’t help the supply situation either. He stole a peek into her kit and felt a twinge of guilt for her using her last few medical items on him. He’d been judging her too harshly; she had her uses out here.


I’m sure you know, but I feel I should warn you that this’ll hurt like a big dog. Just try not to jerk too much, okay?


He gave an affirmative grunt and gripped where he held his shirt up tightly.


“Yea, I’ll be fine.”


The moment the rough fabric ran over his wound he clenched his jaw and hissed in pain. His hand balled into a fist and she scrubbed away. The most distressing part of this whole process was probably the fact that the few remaining bits of skin he did have were being sloughed off with the cleaning.


“Geez girl go easy there. I don’t have much hide left on my body.”


He picked at her, not truly meaning anything by the statement. Ben was completely grateful she was helping him out. A yelp escaped him at a particularly harsh swipe of the fabric.


“Shit”


Ben grit his teeth, looking down at Darling as she diligently worked.


“Yer not too bad at this medical stuff, least have a better bedside manner than most docs I’ve dealt with.”

 

[Interstellar Bun]

It took a moment for Darling to realize that Ben hadn't actually meant she had been scrubbing too hard, that he had actually meant for her to take the comment to heart. Well, it seemed as though he had a sense of humor after all.


She finished up, cleaning out the mix of grime and blood that had filled the wound. Really, after all that was gone, it didn't look too bad, she could see bits of healthy looking pink on the edges that told her it was starting to actually heal. Placing another pad over it, she dressed the wound once more, her job looking less questionable than it had last night. At least she could actually see this time, that probably helped a bit.


"Keep saying sweet things like that and you might have me blushing."


Swiping her hands on her jeans, she cleaned up her work space and moved to put her kit away, tucking it away in her pack as she, too, settled down to just relax for a moment. Now that she wasn't having to doctor Ben up, she didn't sit in nearly as close of a proximity, opting to not invade his personal space.


"But see, aren't you glad you let me stick around, now? You would have had to deal with a much less charming medic if I hadn't tagged along."


Her head leaned back, resting against a cement wall as she let her eyes shut. It was a shame they'd have to leave soon, she wasn't exactly excited to get back out in the heat.

 

[CortezHorse]

Keep saying sweet things like that and you might have me blushing.


Ben smirked, laying his head back against the concrete and closing his eyes once more. He heard her settling in near him and gave a grunt at her next statement. He was glad that she'd come with him even though he was wary about any danger they may encounter. As long as she didn't hinder him in any scuffles then she'd be worthwhile.


They sat silently for awhile, Ben even dozing off for a few minutes. Before they readied themselves to move on again he dug in his own pack and pulled out a couple pieces of dried meat. He wordlessly tossed one piece into her lap and started chewing on his own portion. After eating a bite and drinking some of their dwindling water Ben stood with a groan.


"Alright, we need to head on. The next settlement I know of is about half a day away still. Could make it by nightfall if we hurry."


He pulled his pack on and started limping out. The moment he walked past the cover of the concrete a gunshot cracked and the bullet pinged off of a hunk of rubble near him. Quickly he back peddled back into cover.


"Get back! Fuck, someone's out there."


The mo-hawked leader swatted the back of his underling's head before shouting with frustration at him.


"You idiot! What the fuck was that?! Now we'll have to go in and smoke em' out!"


The leader growled and whistled, the cue sending his two remaining hounds running towards the ruins to flush out their prey.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

A shrill shriek escaped Darling as the gunshot rang in the air and she had leapt back, pressing herself into the far corner. Things had been going so well. They had food, Ben had been patched up, and shit she really, really didn't want to get killed. Eyes wide, her hand shot to her gun. This time, she had no problem releasing the safety. It was habit, now that she was fully awake, as easy as breathing.


The sound of yelling was loud in the air, masked only by the sound of the barking. It was raw, snarling, and damn near deafening. Dogs. Dogs were something she could take care of.


A hound rounded the corner into the building, claws digging in to the rotting ground and, without instinct, Darling fired off two shots. The first missed, digging itself into the ground to send dust and dirt flying into the air. The second, however, seemed to hit its mark, as it was accompanied with a high pitched yelp in pain. Her ears were left ringing and every moment seemed to drag on for an unnatural length of time, her lungs aching, contracting to make it hard to breathe.


She had to focus.


"Ben- Ben what do we do?"


There was a trace of raw fear that translated into near hysteria in her voice, lacing her words. She didn't recognize her own words, not at first. She couldn't do this, she couldn't be shot at, couldn't fight other humans.


"Can we go out a back way? Can we leave?"

 

[CortezHorse]

Pressed against the wall, Ben listened to the faint sounds of human voices before the barking of dogs filled his ears. A hound soon rounded the corner but Darling quickly took care of it, good job, tough girl, he thought to himself as he pulled his own rifle off of his shoulder and readied it. There were more growls and snarls nearby, he didn't want to waste bullets if they were in for a stand off. The second and final hound bound into the crumbling structure, ready to sink its fangs into one of them. Ben let his rifle clatter to the ground and pulled a skinning knife from his belt as the dog charged. With a quick side step much to graceful for someone with one leg and a bad hip, he avoided the mongrel's lunge then all but tackled the hound before driving his knife deep into its side. The dog yelped and struggled for a spare few seconds before dying, leaving Ben to cringe at the throb his hip gave as he stood back up.


Darling's terrified voice finally reached his ears as he peeked through a crack in the concrete. There they were.


"It's alright Darling, just calm down. Panic ain't gonna help us out."


He kept his voice even, as soft as his ragged vocal cords could manage. The last thing he needed was her panicking, making a run for it then being gunned down.


"We'll be fine, just gotta think of how to get out of here."


His forehead creased with thought as he paced around their small shelter, trying to decide what the next move would be. They couldn't leave, those raiders were just waiting to gun them down. It was always an option to stay here and return fire but he didn't have enough bullets for that. Shit.


"You ever shot someone before?"


Ben knew the answer to that even before he asked the question, but he needed her to prepare herself. It was kill or be killed right now, this was the only way he saw.


"Unless you got a better idea then we gotta make a stand."


He picked his rifle back up, quickly checked it over, and slid the muzzle through the crack of the concrete. They were just up there, waiting.


"Come on, tough girl. Get set up somewhere and ready to fire when they start heading in."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"No."


No, she had never shot anyone before, not like this. The closest she had come to that was shooting her brother with a BB gun when they were stupid kids and even then she had felt guilty about the welts that bloomed on his arms, angry and red. But, she wasn't at home any more, and she wasn't a kid playing kid games that had no real repercussions. She had known, logically, that coming out here might require such drastic measures, but she had been lulled in to a false sense of security by her own good luck. Maybe, she thought this would happen to everyone but her.


But Darling was not an exception.


Her hand gripped the pistol tighter, knuckles turning white from the pressure. It was real. They might die, they might have their throats slit, be forced to bleed out like animals, and it was all too real. It was real that she might never see her family again, or her friends, that she might not live to see another birthday, celebrate another holiday, and no one would ever know what happened to her. She'd be forgotten.


Darling looked around before moving. Her feet felt heavy, like she was trying to wade through mud and tar. There was a pile of debris, broken metal and concrete and she ducked down behind it. A slight frame made it easy to hide, to disappear, and she had a good vantage point to pick off anyone who came in.


She couldn't tell if it was just her voice that was shaking, or if her hands were too.


"Okay."


There was no joke to be made, no quip to make herself laugh. She muttered that one word again, trying to trick herself into this. It was a cruel fact of the world that this had to be done.

 

[CortezHorse]

The raiders’ alpha crossed his arms, watching the crumbling town for any signs of movement. He’d heard the gunshots, the yelps of his precious canines and knew that their targets were more than likely alive. They’d have to go in after all.


“Fan out and head in, we’ll flush them out one way or another.”


His group instantly obeyed and began spreading out, distancing themselves from one another to make picking members off much harder. Then they rushed in, some firing wildly at their hiding place to spook them.


Ben gritted his teeth, his muscles tense as he stared down the barrel of his gun to line up a shot. There were six raiders that he could see; there was no way he could pick them off before they got here. He wasn’t that quick of a shot and guaranteed he’d run out of the few bullets he had. He had to count on Darling to take some out as well.


He fired once, his old hunting rifle kicking back into his shoulder, the bullet made a spray of dirt as it struck near its target. Ben growled at the miss, lined up the shot again and fired. This time the shot was true and sent the raider tumbling head first. Yes.


The raiders’ bullets hit the outside of their cover, bouncing off the concrete with solid thuds. Ben fired three more times, taking down two more raiders. His scarred face pulled into a smile but the expression quickly fell when his gun clicked uselessly at the next pull of the trigger. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!


“I’m out Darling! Take out the rest!”


His voice raised above the gunfire as he pulled his skinning knife from his belt. Last resort. There were three more raiders left; if she didn’t take them out then the chances of making it out of this alive would decrease drastically.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

I'm out.


Those were the two words she didn't want to hear. It meant that Ben was in a position of weakness, and perhaps worse than that, it meant he was counting on her. He was counting on her being able to do this, being able to actually make the shot. For a moment, she considered sliding her pistol to him, letting him take down the last three, but there was no time.


She had to do this.


That truth rang through her bones as she saw the first raider pass by what used to be the front door of the home. It was odd, really, how she seemed to lose control of her muscles, how she popped up, how her arm extended.


Two shots, simple pops and she could smell the blood.


There was yelling and things seemed to blur over, leaving her almost unaware of what was happening. There was a dissociation that came with the moment, and she could feel each beat of her heart, hear her breaths in her ears though the bullets that dug into the wall behind her sounded as though they were miles away.


It was so fast, all so fast. It wasn't like in the stories, the dramatic shoot outs that ended with declarations of love between the two main characters that seemed to last for hours. It wasn't until she felt the warm spray of blood on her face that everything seemed to slow back down. There was a gurgling noise as a man collapsed at her feet, a clean hole carved through his throat.


Had she killed him? Had she killed all of them?


Blinking, she stared down at the man with the odd hair and the angry face, one that looked violent even in death. Darling stood in silence for a moment, observing the bodies before feeling the shock of pain in her bicep, her gaze turning to the warm sticky blood that oozed down her arm. Why didn't it hurt? Then, finally, she looked to Ben. Tears streamed down her face, though her voice was cold, distant when she spoke. This couldn't be real.


"I need...I need a moment."


She stepped over the body, closest to her as she holstered her gun once more. Knees weak, trying to stop herself from outright sobbing until she was out of view, Darling tried to make her way towards the door.

 

[CortezHorse]

It was over in the blink of an eye, a gust of the wind, whatever metaphor you wanted to use. The remaining raiders rounded the corner and, almost robotically, Darling shot them. Gunfire rang in his ears as he watched, knife at the ready. Then it was over, the men and women all lay dead and Darling was stunned. She had no joy over survival it seemed, only regret at the loss of life. Tears ran from her eyes, cutting the dust and blood on her cheeks to make clean streaking marks. Ben watched silently as she turned from him and began stumbling outside, away from the death.


He sighed, sliding his knife into his belt before picking up his rifle and slinging it over a shoulder. Darling’s stifled sobs could be heard from outside and Ben cursed himself for not being able to ignore them. Just let her work it through, everyone has to kill out here. It’s what he wanted to believe but as the soft cries continued he couldn’t just stay back and let her suffer alone.


Quietly he made his way out of the crumbling home and stood behind her as she wept on her knees, trying to think of what to say or do. Why was he so fucking bad at things like this? He withdrew and old, dirty rag from his pocket and moved to kneel down in front of her. Without a word he began wiping the blood off of her face, carefully making sure she was completely clean before he stopped. Ben pocketed the rag once more and sat down on the hot, dry ground beside her. He really wasn’t one for words, especially in situations like this. So where his experience with words lacked, he let his actions speak and stayed beside her until she was calm.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Choking on her own sobs, she held her breath and felt her lungs lurch, her throat burning from the pressure. She flinched when the rag first touched her face, hands that once covered her mouth moving to wrap around her frame, fingers digging into the grooves of her ribs as if she could physically hold herself together.


You can't change it now. You had to do it.


They were simple sentences, ones that played in her mind over and over like a skipping record. If she thought it enough, if she believed it hard enough, maybe it would be true. She had to do it. It still felt wrong to justify their deaths, though, to say that her own life was of more value than their lives had been. But, they couldn't just stay here. Darling knew that. It helped to be away from the scene, to have her face cleared of the blood, and more than that it helped to just have Ben there. He didn't talk, didn't have to, the simple fact that she wasn't alone was enough to help.


Sniffling, Darling could finally feel the sting of the wound on her arm where a bullet had grazed her. It burned, but it helped ground her in reality, shake the haze that had clung to her thoughts. The wound wasn't anything to really worry about, it was shallow and superficial at worst and the blood had already started to congeal.


Sunglasses hiding her eyes once more, disguising the fact that they were still swollen and rimmed red, Darling finally gathered herself and stood. Reaching out, she offered Ben a hand to help him up.


"I don't guess crying will get us any closer to the Strip, will it? If it did I'd have gotten there ages ago." Her joke was dry, and despite it all, she still tried to smile.

 

[CortezHorse]

Ben took her hand, heaving himself up with a grunt. She smiled after telling a humorless joke and he grinned softly in return. There was still pain there, still an ongoing struggle with what she had to do.


"Nah, tears don't get ya nowhere unfortunately."


Dark red caught his attention and he grabbed her wrist, pulling her to turn so he could look at her wound.


"You got hit?"


He looked up at her, catching her eyes before going back to the wound. It wasn't bad but getting graze still stung like hell. He hummed in the back of his throat, moving her arm around to look at the cut from different angles before finally deciding she'd be alright.


"It'll stop hurting soon enough."


Both of her wounds would heal with time, the external and internal. He knew this was a step she had to take if she was going to travel out into the desert like she was but, it still seemed like such a tragedy for someone so seemingly innocent to witness what she just did. There was so little happiness and purity in this world that her being spoiled, even the slightest, by harsh realities felt like a great loss.


Ben jerked his head to the side, motioning for them to move on and the gory scene was left behind them. They plodded on like before but there was a distinct difference now. Darling had seen the violence, taken part in the bloodshed and there was no going back after that. Still she smiled and that was more impressive to Ben than if she'd taken down the entire group with a single shot.


"It was them or us. Just, uh, want you to know that."


He muttered the sentence out, trying his best to help and bring some sort of ease to the battle inside of her. They were only a day into traveling with each other and already he'd gone from wishing she'd leave to feeling a sort of responsibility for her. It was always a bad idea for him to actually get involved with others. It never failed that he ended up caring more than he should.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Ben's rough, hand caught her wrist and it was almost strange, not in the fact that he apparently cared enough to check the wound, but just how uneven his hand was. Sure, Darling had gotten up close and personal with him probably far too often in the span of a day to fix up his own wound, but she still hadn't quite become used to the fact that he wasn't exactly normal in the way the she was accustomed to. Then again, none of this was really normal, not for her. Absently, she rubbed her wrist as they started off again, and it wasn't until he mumbled out his final sentence that she realized just how quiet she had become.


Them or us.


She knew that. She wouldn't have done it if it wasn't them or us, but she couldn't quite bring herself to say those word. They tasted sour, angry, and Ben didn't deserve that. He was trying to make her feel better for whatever reason, and it was easier to focus on that, to focus on the good instead of letting the negative thoughts and crisp images of the dead fester under her flesh like an infection.


"You know, in a way, maybe we saved the lives of others." Darling hooked her thumbs in her pockets, still feeling the throb of dull pain in her arm. "I mean, I don't think they'd have just stopped after they killed us, people like that would just keep going, right? They'd hurt others, they'd kill more people, and someone would have put a stop to them eventually. So, maybe what we did...wasn't a bad thing."


And maybe she could believe she wasn't a bad person.


She shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts from her mind before her gaze leveled on him again. Mulling her words over for a beat, she spoke slowly.


"Either way, thanks for being so nice about it. You're a good friend."