Last Stop New Vegas

[Interstellar Bun]

By the end, Darling had snorted before descending into a fit of giggles. It was nice, thinking of him as a kid, of having a family and not always being so grumpy as he often seemed to be. More than that, it was nice to see his eyes lighting up, his chuckles genuine. After the rough start they had, it was just nice to be able to talk like this.


"I bet you wished you had molasses in your soap after that last incident." Her giggles ended in a warm hum. "I never knew you grew up on a ranch, though. I can't imagine it was much different then than it is now, still lots of responsibilities and even more ways to get yourself into trouble."


"Like this one time, we had found holes near the back of the barn where molerats were getting in and my older brother and I had decided it'd be a smart idea to plug one hole and smoke the molerat out so we could kill it. But, he decided it'd be smart to leave me in charge of the shotgun for some reason and, as it turns out, molerats are a lot faster than I thought. The thing got away, I dislocated a shoulder from the kick, and we had managed to put a new hole in the barn."


Almost absently, she gave a roll of her shoulder, as though that had been enough in and of itself to bring the phantom pain back. Darling really wasn't built for anything bigger than a pistol.

 

[CortezHorse]

Ben raised a brow, looking at Darling as she rolled her shoulder after telling her "harrowing" story of fighting off a mole rat.


"Dislocated, huh? Well I'll remember to not give ya anything bigger than a pea shooter then."


He punctuated the statement by slinging his rifle higher onto his shoulder, no way she'd survive firing the old hunk of junk if a shotgun almost did her in. Although he was serious, he certainly wouldn't give her any large weapons, it was said with a teasing air about it. The one thing about Ben was as he grew more comfortable around someone, the more he picked and prodded playfully at them.


"Yea, growin up on a ranch was somethin I suppose. It was way back when, before I looked like this. There were more normal animals too, not all these irradiated monsters we got runnin around now."


He took a pause, dwelling on a hazy memory. Honestly, Ben couldn't remember the last time he talked about his family. Some things came easily to him, others he had to focus on so he wouldn't lose them to the ever growing years.


"I remember one time my sister scared me half to death with a cow skull. We'd just slaughtered a bull for meat ya see and it was late that night when I heard some noise. I got up to go check it out and she jumped out from behind the tool shed with the cleaned skull on her head. Scared me so bad I fell backwards and into a mud hole! We both got in trouble but I wasn't mad at her cause we both scared my mom the same way a few days later. Good thing about havin' a sibling is they can be your cohorts too."


Ben smirked, he could practically hear his baby sister's giggling. Sometimes it scared him though, he'd try to bring up a memory, a face, a voice and he couldn't. It scared him because he was afraid he was forgetting and that, with time, he'd forget them all together.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

His teasing brought a roll of her eyes and it took a good bit of effort not to reach over and swat his arm. As much fun as they were having, Ben still didn't seem all too fond of such casual forms of affection. Instead, she shoved her hands into her pockets, grinning like an absolute idiot at the end of his tale.


He was right, that was the good part about having a sibling, or even four. As annoying as they could be, they were people that had unconditional love for her, ones she could get into trouble with and just laugh about it. They were why she'd end up going back to California.


"Sounds like you and your sister were cute together."


And it was sad to think, from the way he spoke, he had likely lost her. He had lost his parents, his appearance, and had probably lost his faith in humanity a time or two as well if he had survived for this long. Yet, he kept going. He was still trying to reach the Strip, trying to find work to pave the way to a better future. That was more than she could say she'd probably ever have the strength to do.


"Do you have a favorite memory from then?"


She figured it was fair. They were one for one when it came to stories and asking to know a specific one wasn't outside of that agreement. In truth, she just wanted to know more about the ghoul she had inadvertently started traveling with.

 

[CortezHorse]

Ben was pulled from his musings by her question. A favorite memory? That certainly was a good question. He furrowed his scarred brow, willing his memories to the forefront of his mind and sifted through the hazy recollections.


"Well, I guess I'd have to say when my sister turned fifteen. She got interested in boys, brought one home to meet my parents and I scared the tar outta him. He wasn't no good for her, least I thought so. He was a scrawny thing, took him out back and, well, kind of threatened him with my rifle. That pansy pissed himself and took off running. Eliza was so sore with me she didn't say a word to me for a week! My dad was proud though, said he woulda done it if I hadn't."


He chuckled at the memory, another fond one for so many awful ones. His sister never made it past fifteen, never got to truly date, get married, have a family of her own. His parents never got to see grand kid, grow old together, he was the only one left and it never did seem right to him.


"She was a slave with me for awhile. My sister, Eliza."


Why was he telling her this? He didn't have to.


"For about a few months but she, she didn't last."


He cleared his throat, looking a bit uncomfortable at his own sharing. Unsure and unfamiliar with what he was doing.


"Sorry, so uh, what about you? What's one of your favorite memories? With all of them siblings you gotta have a bunch."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

She listened, giving him her full attention as he spoke.


And it broke her heart.


Maybe he'd give her a scowl for it, but she lifted a hand, gently touching his arm for just a moment. Darling couldn't offer any words for it, he probably didn't need any, but she tried to offer a small touch of comfort anyway.


Hand withdrawing, she let it swing beside her as she thought.


"Well, if you're really so interested in knowing my favorite memory, I have to say it was after my older brother and I got into a big fight. He wanted to head out, wanted to leave and see New Reno as sort of a coming-of-age trip and I was bitter because I couldn't just go like he could. I resented him for it because I thought he was just going to leave and never come back, that'd he'd forget me. So, we yelled at one another and said some...really hurtful things."


Her expression had sobered up from her mess of giggles, eyes locking on the distance as though she could still see it all.


"I stormed out of the house and just walked. I didn't have anywhere to go, and when it started to rain I went back but I still couldn't bring myself to go in and face him after that, so I hopped the fence around our property and just sat on the back porch glowering at the sky."


A faint smile tugged at her lips, something almost too personal.


"The door opened and instead of continuing the fight or even trying to make things better, Bruce sat next to me and put his arm around my shoulders and we stayed out there for God knows how long just listening to the rain. It was just a real nice moment, I guess."


She looked down for just a moment, rubbing the back of her neck in a moment of vulnerability before straightening back up.

 

[CortezHorse]

His arm stiffened at the touch, like he’d been electrocuted. He even winced when Darling’s hand made gentle contact with his arm. Soft touches weren’t exactly plentiful in his past and he only relaxed when she dropped her hand. Ben’s eyes locked onto the appendage, watching it as if it were something alien. His eyes flicked up to her face when her tone sobered while recounting her memory. She wasn’t upset as far as he could tell, not that he was an expert on that or anything. She seemed more, embarrassed? Uncomfortable? She rubbed the back of her neck and avoided his gaze.


“Well, sounds like you two are a tight pair. Bet it’ll be exciting to see him when ya go back.”


Before he could ask anymore questions, a noise interrupted him. As a reflex, his rifle was off of his shoulder and pointed towards the source in the blink of an eye. Ben growled in his throat, eyeing the grouping of rocks where he’d heard the high pitched noise. The sound was familiar but he couldn’t quite pin it down.


“Stay here.”


He spat the order out to Darling as he cautiously made his way to the rocks. Rounding them, he pointed his rifle and, just stopped. Ben dropped his rifle, cocking his head and bent down to something unseen. When he stood back up he was cradling something in his arms, fuzzy, squirmy, a puppy.


“It’s a damn dog.”


The sentence was growled out with more ire than Ben seemed to actually hold towards the tiny dog. If the way he was gently carrying it was any clue. It had wiry brown hair, pointy ears that were far too big for its small head and a pointed muzzle with a light dusting of white freckles.


“Think its leg is broke or somethin.”


Ben stared down at the pup; his expression seemed conflicted as it stared up at him with dark brown eyes, beginning to wag its nubby tail.


“Maybe we should just put it down.”

 

[Interstellar Bun]

The sudden shift in demeanor left Darling flinching, her hand going to rest on her gun just in case. Her heart rate jumping an incredible amount in such a small amount of time made her head ache slightly, waiting for him to either tell her the coast was clear or...well she wasn't sure she wanted to consider any other options.


"Christ you scared the life out of me."


A sigh accompanied her words as she let her hand drop from her holster, moving forward in order to better see the small creature he held in his arms. Well, that was much better than what she was expecting. She came to a stop when she was probably a bit too close, head tilting as she looked at the animal that was still letting out pathetic, airy whimpers.


Between the big ears and the brown eyes, there was no doubt Darling was going to instantly fall in love with the poor thing.


"Put it down?" She shook her head. "I think we should try to at least help. We both grew up around animals, so between the two of us I'm sure we can figure out how to patch this little sweetie up."


If anyone could do it, surely it was them.


Granted, helping fix the broken bone on a brahmin was probably vastly different from fixing a broken bone on a small dog. But they could try, there was always reason to try.


"You can't really be thinking of putting it down just for a hurt leg, can you?"

 

[CortezHorse]

Ben shrugged his shoulders as the pup licked the air in Darling’s direction, trying to give her kisses despite its painful injury. Stupid, cute, irritating dog. He growled, a habit of his that was becoming all too familiar, and handed the dog off to Darling.


“Well if we’re taken it then you’re gonna be carryin it. I ain’t carryin no damn dog all the way to the Strip.”


He shot a glare in the puppy’s direction, only for it to wage its nubby tail in response. Ben rolled his eyes, his good humor from a few moments ago apparently sapped away from this turn of events. If anyone could be made grumpy by a cute puppy, it was Ben.


“Well, come on. There’s a rock outcropping not far from here. Give us some shade and a place to sit and work on the thing’s leg.”


The “thing” was currently giving Darling sweet little kisses on her wrist, stopping ever now and then to whine before resuming its adoration of her wrists.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Giggling, she happily took the puppy from Ben, holding it close in her arms all the while being careful about its leg.


Trotting along side Ben, she pondered for a moment as to how he could get even more grumpy than usual. Surely there was a limit as to how grumpy a single person could get. Such deep thoughts were broken, however, when she was once again distracted by the little kisses that tickled the skin of her wrists.


"You are just the cutest little thing." The words were cooed as she leaned down to place her own kiss as gently as she could on the top of its head.


"Come on, Ben, you can't tell me you don't like dogs. Just look at 'em and tell me you haven't seen anything sweeter before in your life."


She angled the dog in his direction as though that would some how make him gush over it just as she was doing. Hell, even if he didn't like dogs, this was still a much better surprise than getting attacked by more raiders.

 

[CortezHorse]

The flakey skin on his face crinkled as he grimaced at the dog’s face while Darling directed it towards him. It was panting in the heat, its little pink tongue bobbing in and out of its mouth rapidly. Despite the cute pup Ben still grumbled to himself and turned away.


“Don’t you see that rubbed down area around his neck? He used to have a collar on. Prolly belonged to some caravan and they left him after he got hurt.”


His jaw muscles clenched as he grit his teeth.


“I fuckin’ hate people ya know. This type of shit is why I go everywhere on my own. Somethin happens and assholes will just leave ya to die! They even took his goddamn collar because that was somethin useful and god forbid they lost somethin useful when leavin him there to die!”


His fists balled up as he marched on in the hot sun, his anger practically palpable. He was angry at humanity in general and at himself for letting his guard down around Darling. Ben knew better, he fucking knew better! This was business and they were carrying on not a few minutes ago like they were friends. Just give her the chance and she’d stab him in the back just like everyone else! The stupid dog was a sore reminder of that, of the cruelty of the world and people in particular.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

From behind her sunglasses, she watched him before angling the dog away once more, never once missing a step. Absently, she scratched behind the dog's ear, feeling it lean into her touch as she did so.


"Not all people are bad."


She rolled her lips for a moment before continuing.


"You're not a bad person. I like to think that if I got seriously hurt, you wouldn't just say 'oh well' and leave me out here to die alone, just as I wouldn't do that to you."


That was it. It was the abandonment, it was being screwed over that really bothered him. If anyone had a right to be angry about things like that, it was Ben. She couldn't fix him, Darling was wise enough to know that, so she wouldn't try. However, she would do her best to understand, and was determined to convince him that there was a brighter side to things, that while he couldn't trust everyone, there were still good people out there. And maybe she wasn't one of those good people, but she could still try.


For him, she'd try.

 

[CortezHorse]

Ben huffed, not responding to her and keeping his eyes ahead. He continued to glare towards the horizon until the outcropping they were looking for started coming into focus. Everyone always said they were good, that they would be there till the bitter end, but it was never true. Sure, Ben knew he’d do his best to keep Darling safe, wouldn’t abandon her. What was he to her though? He was just some ugly ghoul that she happened upon, someone that was keeping her safe and getting her to where she needed to go. Someone like that was easily replaceable around here, especially if you paid them.


He knelt down in the shade of the rocks, setting aside his pack and rifle.


“Set the dog down.”


Ben began rifling through his pack, pulling out several pieces of wood he’d picked up here and there for scrap.


“Can use this to set his leg.”


He took a hold of the pup’s leg, palpating up and down the small appendage. It was easy to feel where the bone was out of place, where it needed to be set. Ben grumbled a sorry to the dog before quickly pulling its leg, setting it with a pop. The pup cried out and tried to squirm away but Ben held it firmly, placing a small piece of wood on either side of its leg.


“Wrap it with somethin would ya?”


His eyes flicked up to Darling as he held the whining, squirming puppy still.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Assuming her attempt at reasoning had done more good than harm, Darling opted to let the topic drop.


Her knees popped quietly as she settled in beside him, enjoying the momentary break in the shade as she ever so carefully set the dog down. As she had suspected, Ben seemed to know what he was doing. The whines, while nothing short of heart wrenching, were ignored as Darling shifted through her bag to pull out her roll of bandages.


She wrapped the leg maybe a little too slowly, trying to get the pressure just right. It was hard to tell if it was too tight when the thing she was helping couldn't speak.


"That should work."


She tied off the end and shoved the bandages back into her bag. Though the operation was over, the pup still whimpered and Darling wasted no time in scooping it back up into her arms, scratching behind its ear once more to try and make things a bit better for it. At least the pup had a chance now. Surely even Ben could appreciate that.


"Sweet little thing." She stood. "We should give her a name I think."

 

[CortezHorse]

Ben leaned his back against the rock face with a grunt, raising a brow as she cuddled the whining pup.


“Name it? I dunno, do what ya want.”


He closed his eyes, resting his head against the cool rock. The pup’s whines began to quiet but soon after the silence followed a soft, warm tongue against his hand. Ben snatched his arm away, his eyes snapping open. He was met by the pup, still curled in Darling’s arms, stretching herself as far as she could go to give Ben soft kisses. The pup looked up at him curiously, her giant ears perking up and nub tail wagging. As much as he wanted to keep glaring at the dog, he couldn’t bring himself to keep the ugly look on his face. He reached out and gently scratched the pup’s freckly nose gently.


“Maybe Freckles or somethin.”


Ben smirked as the excited pup licked and wagged its tail, in total bliss at the small bit of affection she was receiving.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"Freckles. I like that, actually."


Darling moved a little closer to Ben, just to take some of the strain off of Freckles's struggle to get the grumpy ghoul's attention. It seemed the pup was already starting to win him over, which wasn't exactly an easy task as Darling well knew. Ben was guarded, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized it was probably because losing things was harder to do if you never became attached in the first place.


It was a fear she didn't quite understand personally. Such loss had never truly touched her life before.


With Ben in closer proximity, Freckles found it much easier to continue covering his hand and every bit of him that she could reach in affection, squirming in the process without care for her broken leg. Darling bit her lip to stop from giggling.


"You know, I think she might like you more than she likes me. Do you wanna hold her for a bit?"

 

[CortezHorse]

"What? No, I, I don't think that's a very good.."


He began to protest the idea of holding the squirming mutt but the argument was quickly put to rest as Freckles made a wobbly hop from Darling's arms, over to Ben's lap. She awkwardly hobbled about in his crossed legs for a moment before setting down, her injured arm sticking out at an almost humorous angle. The ghoul looked stricken as he stared down at the puppy now happily settled in his lap. Freckles rolled over with some effort, exposing her pink belly and slowly, Ben took the cue. He gave a few hesitant scratches which sent the pup's back leg flying. Ben hummed in amusement before continuing to scratch with more enthusiasm.


"Guess havin a dog won't be so bad. Can train it up to guard or somethin."


It was hard to imagine this small, wiry furred stray to be of any use but with a bit of hard work nothing was impossible.


"You wanna get goin? I don't know much past here and I'd rather find somewhere to bed down while there's still a bit of light out."


It was a bit daunting to think about but from here on out, they'd be traveling blind.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Leaning against one of the rocks, Darling appreciated the odd moment of serenity. In a way, this was almost better than lounging about in the hotel. Sure, they weren't safe from the dangerous of the Wastes or the weather, they didn't have a bed to flop and stretch out on, but it was nice none the less.


"I'm sure everyone will be terrified when they see Freckles and know that we are not the sort to be trifled with."


Everything had to be practical with him. They had to have a reason to keep the dog other than they could, other than it made them (or at least her) happy. But if that was how he needed to justify it, she'd let him do so. Seeing him try to be so rough while scratching a puppy's belly was, without a doubt, endearing.


"Yeah, I guess we should be heading off shouldn't we. We just have to keep heading for those lights and the distance and we'll make it there in no time at all and we can finally replace all this dirt and dust for good food and swimming pools."


Her gaze had already turned to the horizon, though the vision didn't hold as much grandeur while it was still light out.


"Do you want a hand up?"

 

[CortezHorse]

I'm sure everyone will be terrified when they see Freckles and know that we are not the sort to be trifled with.


Ben narrowed his eyes at her, trying to decipher if her comment was sarcastic and coming to the conclusion that yes, indeed it was.


"Well, maybe after she grows into them big ole ears she'll be a bit more threatenin."


He gave one of the giant ears a gentle flick, smirking when Freckles growled at the abusive fingers and began gnawing uselessly at them.


We just have to keep heading for those lights and the distance and we'll make it there in no time at all and we can finally replace all this dirt and dust for good food and swimming pools.


Ben huffed a laugh, Darling's relentless positive nature was something to be admired he supposed. No matter what she still seemed set that the future held nothing but glimmering jewels and Ben found himself hoping the same things for her. Someone like her deserved nothing but the best out of this shitty existence they were forced to call life. Even if he forced himself to stay at a distance, to keep himself dangling with the belief that all this good was just an act, she was still one of the nicer people he'd ever come across and in the very least she deserved to get to the Strip and be away from a grumpy, old ghoul.


He looked up at her offered hand and took it silently, cradling the dog in his other arm. A grunt of effort and he was back on his feet, well, foot. He slung his pack back onto his shoulders and the rifle followed directly after, Freckles stayed curled in the crook of an arm and Ben didn't seem anxious to hand her off anytime soon.


"You ever been swimmin before?"


Just like that they were off again and back into the same comfortable beat before they found the dog. It seemed Ben's suddenly soured mood was all but forgotten as he started up another conversation and stroked the dozing puppy in his arms. Try as he might to deny and avoid it, the craggy, grumpy ghoul was sore for companionship. He'd fall into the same trap every time, remind himself to keep yourself away, to not get close but he'd do it anyway and lose every-single-time. He'd lose his friends, he'd lose his family, they'd leave him, they'd sell him. It isn't worth it he'd tell himself, but he'd find himself back in the same position time and time again.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

The image of Freckles growing into her ears had Darling trying not to laugh as she helped Ben up. The pup would be larger, she could see that in its paws that just looked over sized for its small body and the large ears that left it looking endearingly out of proportion. However, more than that, the implication that they'd both be able to see Freckles grow into these features caught her interest. Maybe he hadn't even caught that himself, but she was lucky none the less that he started up a new conversation before she could mull that topic over for too long. She didn't think that line of conversation would end well. Not now.


Ben and Freckles both seemed content, and that was what mattered.


"Yeah I've gone swimming plenty of times, never in a pool, but still. We had this kind of smaller creek a few hours away from the house that you could swim in if you were willing to make the trip. Most days the water was so clear you could see right to the bottom and swimming after the stars came out was like nothing else."


It wasn't a fancy pool like anything the Strip might have, but she didn't need fancy things. It was the atmosphere that always made it fun for her, the dunking of younger siblings or staring up at the sky in complete solitude was what made it something she enjoyed.


"Do you swim or are you more of the sort to watch others goof off and laugh when we eventually hurt ourselves?"


Darling figured even if he did swim, he wouldn't be one for something so public, something that left him so exposed. But Ben had surprised her a few times already with his growing humor and the warmth that was more often than not cut short by the sudden reemergence of his barriers.


Awaiting an answer, she absently reached over to scratch the pup's ears once more. All the while, she searched the distance, not for New Vegas, but for any kind of broken structure that might lend itself to being a decent place to hole up for the evening. If they could hit a road, maybe they could camp out in a gas station of sorts. That wouldn't be too bad.

 

[CortezHorse]

Most days the water was so clear you could see right to the bottom and swimming after the stars came out was like nothing else


Ben grinned a bit at her description, it must have been beautiful. He’d never had the opportunity to experience something like that growing up but he’d fantasized about clear streams from a young age. The pools of the Strip didn’t hold much appeal for him, stumbling across an untainted natural stream though? Now that, that was where the dream was at.


Do you swim or are you more of the sort to watch others goof off and laugh when we eventually hurt ourselves?


He hummed in thought for a moment, adjusting Freckles in his arms to give Darling better access to scratch the sleepy pup.


“Guess I’m more of the latter. I never learned how to swim so I won’t be doin much of that. We had a muddy river near my childhood home that we’d fetch water from for the cattle but it wasn’t any good for swimmin’. Couldn’t see the bottom at all and my dad always said there was monsters in it but I reckon that was a lie just to keep us from tryin to get in.”


The muddied waters of that river were the only natural waters he’d seen in his life. Never had he seen clear water that didn’t come out of a bottle.


“I always wanted to see clear water like you have though. My sister had this picture book of places from far away. There was things like oceans, green hills, sparkling water falls, all sorts of stuff that you’d think were made up if there weren’t actual, honest to God pictures right in front of your face. We would talk about goin to see them one day but the closest I’ve gotten is seein a little ole flower poppin up between the cracks in the ground. Bright green and pushin up right out of the hard dirt. Shoulda seen it, it was somethin even if it wasn’t an entire green hill.”

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"You have to admit, there's a charm about the Mojave. Maybe it's not covered in grass, but I like how far you can see and just how blue the sky is when there's no dust in the air."


That was something good about the rain the night before. It had dampened everything, leaving the sky clear and endless above them. There was a beauty in the harshness of the desert, a testament to the strength of nature and the will of those who tried to survive there without the total control of the NCR.


"But if you ever get tired of Vegas for some reason and have the chance, you should think about visiting Oak Creek. It doesn't have a waterfall or anything like that, but when there's not a drought going on, there are just endless fields of little yellow flowers in the summer. I think you'd like it."


She heard the soft breaths escaping Freckles as the dog finally drifted off to sleep. Not wanting to bother her, Darling removed her hand. The dirt below their feet, she noticed, was occasionally being replaced by rubble and ancient broken strips of pavement. Lifting her gaze, she squinted, trying to see through the wispy haze of heat that lifted from the ground. There was a building that was too far off for her to really see what it was, but it looked small enough to not be too much trouble.


"Think we should try and see if that'll be a good place to rest for the evening, or should we take our chances and keep going?"

 

[CortezHorse]

Ben shot a look to Darling when she mentioned him coming to visit her childhood home. Did she really mean that? Him coming to see her at her home, where her family lived? Surely it was just a nicety but, she didn't have to even mention it. Luckily before his mind over thought her simple invitation, she pointed out a far away building. He squinted at the hazy shack and hummed thoughtfully. Who knew what was further down the road and dusk was quickly approaching.


"We can check it out. Here, hold her."


He carefully handed off Freckles to Darling then swung his rifle into his hands. They were coming up to shelter, shelter drew a lot of attention in the desert.


"Just stay behind me while we walk up, alright?"


As they drew closer, his gun was cocked, ready to fire. Ben's muscles were taunt as he awaited any movement from the building, ready to swing his rifle up at any moment.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Taking the pup, Darling carefully tucked her in her arm, leaving a hand open just in case anything went wrong. Freckled huffed in indignation before promptly nuzzling her head back down and going back to sleep. Darling chuckled quietly, angling the dog away from any potential danger as though the pup might have mattered more than her.


The door looked like it had rotted, though the fact that the rust on the hinges had been broken indicated the door had been open recently. The windows on the building had been boarded up, the glass long gone. In its golden days, it might have been a nice little general goods store before both war and time had ravaged it. There was a creek that came with a soft gust of wind and Darling could feel her muscles tense as the door, not quite shut, eased open.


She turned away as soon as she caught a glimpse of the interior, coming to a halt as she refrained from following Ben any closer.


"Don't guess you have to worry about anything jumping out at you this time."


The body inside was propped up against a stack of crates, fresh enough so that it hadn't started to smell despite the heat. The cause of death was obvious, after all, the victim had a gaping starburst of a hole where her right eye once was. Her bag had been dumped out, scattered about in, what Darling would assume to be, a search for something. If it was worth killing for, she didn't think she wanted to know what it was.

 

[CortezHorse]

Immediately the tension drained from Ben's body, he shouldered his weapon again and approached the corpse without missing a beat. He placed his hand roughly on the woman's cheek, pushing her head to the side, watching it loll lifelessly. He hummed then began placing his belongings on the ground, apparently deciding for them that they were staying.


"She's cold, body is loose now so been dead for long enough that whoever done her in should be far away that that shouldn't be no trouble."


Ben kneeled over the dead girl's belongings, rifling through them without a care and it was then that he finally looked up and took notice of Darling still hovering in the doorway. He looked from her, back to the body and made a sound of realization before standing back up.


"I'll get rid of her."


Without much ceremony, Ben hefted the corpse over his shoulder with a grunt. He edged out of the doorway and walked a good distance before dropping the body with a dull thud.


"There, how's that?"


He called back to Darling, assuming it was good enough for her to feel comfortable now. Although he did try to understand the sensitivities of others to things like death, gore and blood, it was difficult at times when those things were exactly what he'd been surrounded by his entirely too long of a life. There's blood on the floor? Well just throw a sheet on it. Guts out back? Don't look at em, problem solved.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"Let's hope it doesn't attract any animals."


Wild dogs and coyotes roamed the desert, but worse than that were the things that went bump in the night that she couldn't see. She doubted they would be able to get through the door if the body did attract any unsavory visitors, but the idea of it even happening left her feeling a bit too tense. But the shack was safer than just standing outside. So, hugging Freckles just a little bit closer, she stepped in and tried to ignore the fact that the stranger's family or friends would have no idea what happened to her.


It was a sad thought.


"This place isn't so bad though, is it?" If she ignored the little spatters of blood, that was.


Shrugging off her own backpack, she placed Freckles on it and watched as the pup shifted just a bit to get her arm comfortable before settling in once more. Lifting a hand, she rubbed at her shoulder, the muscles starting to ache from the constant pressure on them.


"Think we could move some of these shelves to barricade the door? You know, just to be on the safe side of things."