Good Night, Vegas Lights

Chapter 13

The tunnel was pitch black. The air inside was thick and musky, which made it hard to breath.
  "Shannon do you know where we're goin'?"
  "Uh. Ive been down here once before. Im pretty sure its this way."
Vincent ran his hand along the wall and followed Shannon's footsteps. Eventually they reached a grate with a ring of light encircling it.
  "That must go outside"
Shannon spoke as she pushed up on it. The grate didn't move in the slightest.
  "Uh, Vince. Wanna lend a hand?"
He slid passed her in the narrow tunnel and gave it a shot. It only took him one good push to remove the obstacle. Light began to flood into the tunnel.
  "Easy as pie. Ladies first?"
He gestured upwards. Shannon smiled and climbed up.
  "Its all clear up here"
Vincent followed suit and met her on the surface. They were back in the Mojave finally. The tunnel had opened up in the middle of a desolate street under a street light. It was still night time nonetheless. Shannon tapped Vince's shoulder and pointed off into the distance.
  "Theres an overpass. We should hang there for bit. Make sure no one followed us."
He nodded in agreement. Once settled in, he quickly put a fire together. Shannon seemed to appreciate it. They sat in silence for a bit, until she suddenly stood up.
  "I almost forgot! I snagged these on my way out."
She held a pair of keys in her hand.
  "Keys? For what?"
Shannon walked over to him, and unlocked the slave collar that burdened his neck.
  "You get used to them, strangely enough"
She did the same for herself before tossing them off into the darkness. Once she was comfortable again, she decided to fight off the silence.
  "Vincent, can I ask you a question?"
  "Sure"
  "The day you showed up, that photo? That was your family wasn't it?"
He knew sooner or later someone was going to ask.
  "Yup"
  "They're gone, aren't they?"
He turned away from her and stared into the fire.
  "Yup"
  "You've never talked to anyone about, have you?"
She was undeniably perceptive.
  "Nope"
  "If you talk to me about it, I might be able to help you"
  "Its... A long story"
  "We're not going anywhere"
Vincent sighed.
  "Fine. I'll tell ya."
She moved around a bit and got comfortable.
  "Around 15 years ago, I worked as a caravan guard under a contract out East. It had nice pay and I ain't the type that likes to sit around, so to me it was a decent job. One of the scavengers that traveled with us, Elizabeth was her name, all the time she complained about wantin' to stick around. Admire the sights and what not."
  "A caravan out East? What about the Legion?"
  "Legion trade routes are safe and there ain't no taxes. Plus we weren't in their territory as much as ya'd think."
  "Oh, well go on"
  "Anyway, one night I got up before sunrise and she was there standing on the ridge, backpack in hand. I walked up and asked what she was doing and she said she was leaving. Now, we were both under contracts, so we couldn't leave. I suppose thats why she chose night time for departure. I didn't think nothin' of it, she could leave if she wanted. Not like it would affect me. But then she asked, do I want to go with?"
  "And you said yes"
 "Don't know why I did, but I still to this day don't regret the decision. The morning after we left we came across the caravan again, but it was a mess. They were all dead. From the way it looked, I don't think it'd of mattered if her and I were there. We'd probably be dead too. We traveled around a bit and we grew to like each other. She had such a wonderful personality. Everything in her eyes had beauty. To me, she was the greatest jewel we ever found out there in the desert."
  "Could you possibly be any cheesier?"
He laughed at her.
 "Continuing on... Not long after we got into the Mojave we got ran down by some fiends. The situation looked bleak. I was sitting there freaking out, and you know what she says to me? 'I love you'. We made it out just fine after that. It was like something bloomed between us. Not once did we separate. For a while thereafter we kept on scaving, never wanting to settle down. Until of course, Elizabeth got pregnant. We found a nice place just north of Vegas. Nine months later, my little Kennedy was born. Once I seen my baby daughter's face, and got to hold her in my arms, I knew there was no sense in tryin' to adventure the Wastes anymore."
  "Ive never had children. Ive never even held a baby..."
  "Its an amazing experience, I'll tell ya that. Elizabeth stayed home to care for Kennedy, but I kept scavenging so we'd have some extra money. Seven years after Kennedy was born, guess what? We had another. Simon was his name. He gave Liz a little trouble when he was bein' born, but it was all good in the end. Life was at its highest. During the week day, I'd go out scaving. Then on the weekends we'd all go down to the Crimson Caravan HQ to sell off what I'd gotten. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. We had extra money floating around, burning a hole in our pockets. Kennedy and Simon were both as healthy as could be. Things between Elizabeth and I were great."
  "This is where the bad part happens, isn't it?"
 "I came home one day later than usual. Something seemed off at first, but I didn't really think anything of it. Not until I realized how quiet the house was. Kennedy and Elizabeth usually could be heard all the time singin, playin, 'er gigglin. Simon was a quiet baby, but you'd know he was there. I went to unlock the front door, but it was already open. Liz promised me she'd never leave it unlocked when I wasn't there. So I rushed inside hopin' to find them all asleep or something, but that wasn't the case. The house was a mess and there was blood everywhere. I... I walked into the bedroom and-"
Vincent choked on his own words for a moment, trying to hold back tears.
  "My family is dead needless to say"
Shannon stared into Vincent's eyes seeking words to say.
  "Do you know who did it?"
Vince had asked himself that same question countless times. Its what he tore himself up over every waking moment of his life. Someone murdered his entire family in cold blood, and he didn't even have the chance to avenge them.
  "...No. I sure don't."
Shannon looked up into the sky.
  "Im sure you've heard the 'they're in a better place' speech tons of times already, so I'm not gonna give you that. I'll give you something better. I'll help you hunt down the son of a bitch that killed them, and then I'll leave ya to do whatever you want with 'em."
He glanced at her through the haze of the fire. She no longer had the light weight, happy expression from before. There was nothing more than deadly anger in her eyes.
  "Now why on Earth would you do that?"
  "Call it selflessness. There ain't no person out there that should have the balls to kill a child, and then go unpunished for it. Plus, I like ya Vince. You got a good heart."
 "So after all these years, you wanna help me track down whoever it is that killed my wife and children?"
  "I'll follow you to the ends of the Earth if need be"
He smiled in acceptance.
  "You have no idea how much that means to me. You got yourself a deal."
They shook hands to seal the deal. A new flame started to burn in Vincent's heart. He now had a purpose.