The Lonesome Road

Chapter 2: The road to New Vegas

She slammed her hand down onto the table.

"Another" She slurred. The bartender glared at her and poured her another. She downed the watered down vodka shot and slammed her hand down again.

"Well? what are ya waitin' for?!" she practically yelled.

"Don't you think you've had enough for tonight miss?" the bartender asked. Before he even got the full question got passed his lips The courier fell backward off the stool and slumped on the ground.

The Mojave Outpost was dank and dirty. The men were always drunk, along with the few women, and the drinks were watery and expensive. It had been three months since she got out of Goodsprings, good thing too because that incident with Sunny Smiles didn't leave a good impression.

She staggered to her feet and hobbled to the bathroom falling down twice. Nice bathroom though and the mirror wasn't super broken. She fell onto the sink and pulled herself up, in the mirror she saw that her black hair was almost to the bottom of her ears. It was a tangled mess but it was longer and she missed her long hair. The cool water from the sink was like a much needed slap to the face as she splashed it on herself. She drunkenly walked out of the bathroom and fell, hard, passing out.

The pillow was soft against her sunburnt cheeks. Her eyes shot open as she darted up. Why was she in a bed? Whose bed is this? Had someone... done things...to her passed out body? As the door clicked open she spun around unholstering her .45 pointing toward the door.

"Wow you got some fast reflexes sister!" A girl in a cowgirl outfit said.

"Why shouldn't I blow your brains out sister?" The Courier hissed.

"Hey! You're lucky I'm the one that got to you're drunken ass last night and not one of the troopers!" The girl spat back.

"You're right" Courier said lowering her gun "Im sorry. I'm The Courier and you are?"

"Rose of Sharon Cassidy but my friends call me Cass" She said shaking The Couriers hand.

Where they friends?

"Nice to meet you Cass. So what are you doing at the Outpost? You don't look like a trooper."

"Oh, I'm not, I'm a Caravaner at least I was. Now I'm just here to drown my sorrow."

"Oh well if you'd like you could come with me I'm trying to get to Vegas."

What am I thinking!! Why would I want to travel with anyone!!

"Yeah I could come if you're sure you're alright with it."

"Sure it'll be fun to have a traveling buddy." The Couriers brain was kicking itself.

That day they left for Nipton so they could avoid going the deathclaw infested way. Late in the afternoon the were about 3/4 across the Dry Lake when The Courier noticed something wrong with Nipton.

"Hey Cass there were some Raiders at that run down house you should go finish them then meet me in Nipton" She didn't want her first friend to die within hours of meeting so she sent her on a fake mission so she could scope out the place.

"Ok meet me by the entrance of the town!" and with that she jogged back to kill the 'Raiders'.

The Courier walked alone to the entrance where a man was shouting about how he had won the lottery. She caught the back of his shirt collar as he ran past. She quickly dug her combat knife into his back and jerked up. He fell to the ground and she knelt down to search his pockets. Sure enough she found the ticket, and pocketed it. She drug his body to the bushes and walked back into the town. As she turned left she saw a horrendous sight. The town hall at the far end of the town as set ablaze, along with a pile of tires. People hung from crucifixes moaning and groaning loudly. She walked down the bloodied street to the town hall entrance where a man with a dog head hat approached her.