Author's Note

Fallout 4 has been announced and the MC seems to be able to talk. In honor of this momentous occasion, I present a bonus Chapter! Hooray! This announcement has been brought to you by Vault-Tec: A brighter future, Underground.

Bonus Chapter: Back in the wasteland

The sun beat down on the desert wastes as Carter Daniels trudged into Nipton. If he had his druthers he wouldn't have stopped, but his supplies were running short. It was still about a day and a half's walk to Vegas, and he needed water, food, and ammunition. He also needed some clothes and armor for the 4 strange girls behind him. The very pretty one with purple hair had been grating on his nerves for the last two hours or so, whining about the heat, his fashion sense, and his smell in particular. Now, Carter didn't know where she was raised, or by whom, but he wanted to punch them in the mouth. It didn't help that the pink haired girl would jump at the drop of a hat. Quite literally, in fact. He'd thrown an old baseball cap he'd scavenged away, and the sound it made sent her right into the arms of the tall blonde with the southern accent. Carter liked her. she kept a level head and pulled her weight, carrying gear and using firearms and knives to help fend off raiders.

The last one, though, was a thin girl with mint-coloured hair. She kept asking questions nonstop, Ranging from the foods he liked to the social and political climate. Carter answered the ones he could, but she was incessant. Carter had luckily found an NCR encyclopedia and that survival guide from out east and shoved them into her hands to shut her up.

Things in Nipton were as he expected. It was a shithole of a town. Whores and pimps ran the place. Carter had never liked it much, but a lotta NCR guys came down to blow off steam. However, Carter's new companions were at risk. Pretty young women were always being targeted by the local brothels, and so many were drugged into addiction until they basically worked for nothing. It made Carter sick. He'd told the girls that the place was dangerous, but they still didn't truly understand. Nor did they truly trust him yet. To be fair, he had killed four men in front of them. Carter kept them nearby while he shopped. New boots and a brush gun for AJ, some "fashionable" travel clothes for Rarity, and 9mm ammo, and a 9mm grease gun for Lyra, and a set of leather armor. Fluttershy got meds and a dog whistle. She was so sweet and innocent Carter didn't have the heart to make her fight if he didn't have to. Her face after each and every encounter where violence was the only option was heartbreaking. Carter had vowed to protect her from the wastes for as long as possible.

As much as they annoyed him though... Carter realized that his loneliness had disappeared. For the first time, he had a real purpose: Get these girls home. To do that though, meant going towards the frontlines between the NCR and the Legion. Trouble had been brewing between them for months now, Exacerbated by Mr. House's declaration of independence. Carter could only hope against hope that he could keep them safe...Because war...war never changes....