Chapter 5: Give me your Truth

>You wake up slowly and peacefully

>No rattling of doors in caves or bugle music waking you

>This time just quiet hissing from Gracie's snoring

>It's actually quite nice and refreshing to not be woken up by loud noises or something trying to kill you

>You try not to wake Gracie as you check the time on your Pip-boy

>9 am huh? Guess you needed the sleep

>Luckily you didn't have to travel as far today, you might actually be able to take your time

>You check how much food you have left, after all you needed to eat

>A few banana yucca fruits, a little bit of the gecko

>You frown, not much to eat

>Looks like you were going to have to hunt something while heading to McCarran

>Hopefully it won't become an issue

>Your hand is still resting on Gracie's side so you gently shake her

>"Wake up Gracie come on, let's go" you say softly

>Her eyes slowly open and she lets out a yawn while sitting up

>"Mornin' 'non, what time is it?"

>You stretch and stand up

>"About 9ish" you say with a slight yawn

>"MMM I slept good 'non, you're a good pillow" Gracie says and she leans forwards, stretching her back and tail

>The feral nightstalkers you had seen all had rattles at the end of their tails, but it looks like Gracie doesn't

>Might be handy for her sneaking

>You ignore the compliment, it's not one you really thought you should have

>Who wants to be a good pillow? That's a weird goal to have in life

>You walk over to the stove and turn it on

>Gecko kebabs sounds good so you make them, minus the sticks

>You toss the last of the gecko meat on the stove and set the rest of the banana yucca on the counter

>"Gracie go check your clothes and if they are dry put them on, we have to get moving after we eat"

>You watch as she skips off to the bathroom

>Heh, she must be in a great mood to be skipping

>After a few minutes she emerges wearing her now clean clothes

>Maybe you can get a higher rolling bounty to get her some recon armor from Torres

>Light armor seems more her style

>You tend to the food on the stove while Gracie grabs one of the Fruit and starts munching on it, watching you poke at the meat

>"How much food do we have left 'non?" she asks between mouthfuls

>You motion to the food on the stove

>"This is all we have left"

>She frowns at that

>"Guess we're hunting today, that sucks"

>You nod

>If you don't find anything both of you would have to tough out no food, at least for a bit

>Or at least no real meals, you're sure you could find bits of plant life to scavenge and eat

>"Can I have the gecko meat? I like mine pretty rare" Gracie asks eyeing the sizzling meat

>Medium rare? What a champ

>You pull the meat off and she takes it into her paws and bites into it like finger food

>Might as well follow her lead

>You turn off the stove and grab a piece of meat

>Pretty good, although you wished you had some spices or something to liven it up

>Maybe get some gecko eggs next time too, make a big ass omelette

>The thought of a gecko meat and jalapeno pepper omelette would make your mouth water if you weren't already eating

>It doesn't take long for you and Gracie to finish the food

>"Help me pack up and we can get going" you say wiping your hands on your pants

>She nods and helps you pack up the bedroll, pillows and pajamas

>Occasionally her tail whaps you as it wags furiously behind her

>Someone is in a good mood

>After everything is packed up, you do a double check of the house

>Anything useful? Any food?

>Unsurprisingly you find nothing

>This place has been abandoned for a while, you don't know why nor do you care

>But you know it was useful last night

>"Let's get going" you say to Gracie as you walk to the door

>She appears from the bathroom with a smile on her face

>"Why are you so happy?" you say and you open the door and hold it open for her

>"I get to use my gun again today! I'm excited about it that's all!"

>Well you can't disparage her wanting to shoot her gun

>The sun is steadily rising as you step out into the wasteland

>Another day in paradise

>You pull up your pip-boy and plot a course

>North and a little westward

>Should be an easy day! There are even paved roads heading that way

>Granted they weren't maintained roads, but roads nonetheless

>You start walking with Gracie

>No need to hurry today, even if you couldn't find something to kill and eat McCarran would have food

>"Anon do you think we can find one of those things that make guns quieter for my SNG?"

>"SMG Gracie, the part is called a silencer" you correct her "And I'm pretty sure we can, I know some guys that would have one, or be able to make one for you"

>The Gun Runners were a close ally of the Boomers

>Having a gun crazed society as a client was great for them

>The Boomers on Nellis traded Almost exclusively with The Gun Runners

>The rest were with the Brotherhood, and very shaky trading with the NCR

>After the NCR tried to force the Boomers out by shutting off the water flow to Nellis, the boomers responded with heavy shelling; times with the NCR had been shaky ever since

>And while they didn't trade with him, The courier was a strong ally of the boomer

>He was the only man to get past the howitzer shells

>He Controlled the strip after the battle for hoover dam

>You tell all this to Gracie as you both walk

>She tells you about Big MT

>There were Robo-scorpions that wandered around

>How the "Think Tank" would catch people who wandered in and remove their brains, leaving their bodies as husks that wandered and attacked anyone

>That there was a former concentration camp from the great war full of ghouls

>Some of the things she tells you defy belief

>Skeletons walking around in suits, metal that can cut through steel

>Its amazing and terrifying to think she escaped that place

>Every once in a while you feel her tail wiggling against you

>It's definitely not like a normal wolves tail

>Maybe it's more prehensile? More vertebra? Whatever the case she has a lot of control over it

>You check your pip-boy for the time and to see where you are

>11am? Time has flown by during your talks with Gracie

>Plus you"re almost a third of the way there

>Red markers on the bottom of the screen give you pause

>If another Legion assassin squad was after you, there was no cover to get behind

>you stop walking and grab Gracie's sleeve, stopping her as well

>"We got company, Cloak and get your gun ready"

>Her eyes widen and you can feel her tremble slightly

>"O-ok anon, I'll try not to get hit this time"

>You nod and kneel as she disappears like magic

>Quickly you pull out your Gobi scout rifle and aim down the scope

>"Anything Anon?" Gracie asks apprehensively

>"One sec" you respond as you turn towards the red markers

>A small group of Large red ants meander around looking for an easy meal

>Several worker ants and three soldier ants as protection

>"We're ok Gracie, uncloak" you say, keeping your scope trained on the ants

>You assume Gracie uncloaks behind you

>"What are THOSE Anon?" she mutters, resting her chin on your shoulder

>"Lunch, dinner and then some" you answer "Cover your ears"

>3 shots ring out and the three soldier ants go down, leaving the workers scrambling

>Ha stupid bugs

>"Those are red ants Gracie, they like to swarm and the soldiers are big,and some can breath fire"

>You fire two more shots and down two more ants before the worker ants can scramble into their holes

>Not a bad haul at all, those soldier ants have a lot of meat

>You put away your rifle and draw out your LMG

>"Come on, lets get that meat Gracie"

>You walk slowly towards the bodies of the ants

>These things were big as hell when you get up close

>You put down your LMG

>"Watch my back while I get this meat" you say as you pull out your machete

>You got this Machete from a legionary, it was easy enough to kill the idiot who charged you while wearing sports equipment

>But you weren't very good with hand to hand combat, nor melee weapons

>You could swing them around like an idiot, but why do that when you could blow a hole through someone's chest with a shotgun?

>It was more of a tool for cooking with and carving bodies of animals you killed for food than a weapon

>You take the legs of the ants plus the abdomens, storing it all in your devil magic wristband

>A sudden burst of gunfire behind you causes you to drop your machete and grab your LMG

>You turn around and see Gracie holding her SMG with a smoking barrel, pointed at another dead Ant

>"I GOT ONE!" She cries joyously

>You set back down the LMG and pick back up the Machete, wiping dirt off it with your pants

>"You did get one, good job. Just warn me next time you see something, ok?"

>"Ok Anon, sorry I just got startled"

>You carve up the body and stash the meat away

>"It's fine, you're still learning this stuff; I just want to know if you see a threat before you shoot at them"

>You stand up and look at her while putting your Machete away

>Gracie is standing in front of you, doing a silly dance

>It's actually kinda cute

>"You got us some extra food Gracie, But let's get out of here before reinforcements show up"

>She stops her dance and looks at you "reinforcements?"

>You motion to the hole the ant Gracie shot came out of

>"There's probably a whole colony down there, we don't want to be around if they swarm"

>She stares down the hole like she's going to see an army of ants swarm out

>You pick up your LMG then put a hand on her shoulder, getting a startled squeak

>"Come on snekderp, we're almost there"

>You lead her by her shoulder gently to follow you

>Her tail wags furiously as you do so

>"I didn't even Play dead! Even though I got scared of the ant!" she says happily as she grabs your arm

>"Did I do good Anon?"

>You nod and smile

>"Yes Gracie, you did well, good job"

>You can feel her tail whipping against you harder as you walk

>It's slow going because she's hanging onto you happily

>But it's only about 1pm and you can see the walls of Camp McCarran

>As you walk Gracie recounts how she killed the Ant over and over, with so much excitement and enthusiasm that it's contagious

>She did what you told her to when you needed her to watch your back

>1 hour later you're at the doors to Camp McCarran

>As you walk up one of the Guards wave you down

>"Hey Boomer! My rifle is acting up again, can you look at it real quick?"

>You pull your arm from Gracie and take the rifle and inspect it

>"You haven't cleaned it, there is sand and carbon build-up. That's what's causing it to jam" you say as you hand it back

>The guard looks at you sheepishly "Right, I'll get on that"

>One of the other guards looks Gracie up and down

>"Who's your friend Boomer? Never seen you travel with anyone before"

>Gracie hides behind you

>"This is Gracie; she's shy, don't take it personally"

>The guard laughs a bit

>"None taken, the major is probably waiting for you"

>You nod and enter the camp with Gracie latched onto your arm, pulling it behind you as she also tries to hide from the soldiers gazes

>"Gracie that hurts, stop" you say pulling her forward so she's next to you

>"There are so many people anon! You didn't say there would be so many people! They're all staring!" she whimpers to you

>She tries to pull herself back behind you, still wrapped around your arm

>"Stop it" you hiss, pulling her back forward "They aren't staring"

>There were a few staring at her, but mainly because she was trying to hide behind you

>You pull her into one of the tents and meet a bearded middle aged man with tanned skin

>"Major Dhatri, I fulfilled that bounty with the super mutant" you say pulling your right arm out of Gracie's clutches to shake his hand

>He shakes your hand firmly

>"That's good to hear Boomer, I assume you have proof?"

>You nod and hand him the super mutants hands

>He sets them on a table nearby then grabs a sack of caps

>"Thanks Boomer, we were getting reports from Goodsprings and New Nipton of that Super mutant terrorizing people, here's 500 caps; you can count them if you want"

>You take the sack and stash it away "I trust you Major, got anymore bounties for me?

>He nods solemnly

>"I think you can handle this next one, and it's a biggie"

>He hands you a holotape which you pop into you pip-boy

>"we'll handle it"

>He shakes your hand again and you turn to leave

>As you walk to the camp door, you read over what was on the holotape, Gracie behind you trying to read what's on the screen

>Leaving Camp MCcarran, you wonder why the NCR ever let this kind of trash live near their only real fort in the wasteland

>you scroll through the bounty on your pip boy ,frowning

>500 caps dead, 3000 alive huh?

>Gracie follows closely behind you

>"What's wrong Anon? Didn't get paid enough? They didn't let you have their big guns?" She teases

>Your frown deepens as you read about the man you're about to kill

>"Cook-cook"

>Dumb name but that's not what was your problem was

>The man was a psychopathic Pyromaniac rapist

>According to Major Dhatri's holotape, he even raped one of their Snipers

>And he was literally less than 5 miles from their gates

>Granted The Raider gang known as the Fiends had placed mines around, but who could miss them? They have a red light on them

>you're able to disarm them easy enough before Gracie can stumble on any

>"I got paid fine Gracie, but they asked me to hunt someone real nasty" you say as you disarm a mine

>"ohh is the big bad Mutant killer Scawed?"

>you frown

>"He's a rapist Gracie, seems he like to catch people, rape them and then light them on fire"

>Her teasing tone immediately goes away

>"People out here really are terrible huh?"

>You nod as you draw out your light Machine gun

>The 200 round magazine isn't just for show, this was going to get loud and this was going to get messy

>Stealth can sometimes work but you doubt it would this time

>But as you slowly approach the ruins something feels off

>There isn't any banter or voices from within the Hideout

>You carefully push through the rubble attempting not to make a noise

>God dammit Gracie made this shit look easy

>Still no voices, did Dhatri give you bad info?

>A sickening smell hits you as you push through a door

>Burning flesh, hair, B.O. and overcooked chems waft through

>Bodies lay before you, torn apart from shotgun fire

>You move through the sea of dead bodies, Machine gun raised and ready

>No one in the Mojave could have done this besides your people, or the Brotherhood of Steel

>Too precise, too on point for some NCR rangers

>A brahmin mooes in the background as you round a final corner to a man

>A man Standing over Cook-cook, who has pieces of rebar through his hands and feet, pinning him to a concrete slab

>Godammit! That was YOUR bounty!

>You can barely hear Cook-cook's whimpering pleas for mercy over the crackle of a fire

>Studying the man quietly, you try to figure out what faction he is with

>He has to be at least a foot taller than you and wears old riot gear

>Steel grey hair covered his unprotected head

>Well at least you know where to aim if he isn't friendly, and judging from the body count, he isn't

>The Man talks quietly, so soft you can't quite hear what's being said to cook-cook

>But it's enough to cause the raider to whimper for mercy

>"Anon, look next to the fire! His gun!" Gracie whispers to you

>Your eyes flick from the man to the 12 gauge lever action shotgun and back again

>A Gadsden Flag engraving with a clutch of eggs in the center of the snake's coiled body breaks the smooth steel of the receiver

>Writing? Is that American cursive? You had never seen it before but you were American enough to know what it said

>As nice as the Shotgun was you didn't have time to stare

>You needed this bounty, needed the caps

>Granted you could collect all these raiders weapons and sell them to the gun runners but still the extra 500 would be great

>"Anon, I'm gonna grab his gun" Gracie whispers

>Before you can stop her she's cloaked and moved away from you

>Goddammit you aren't used to picking up her shimmers yet

>"Gracie you fuckwit! Get back here!" you Whisper Yell to the air

>You groan to yourself and move to a better vantage point behind the man

>The Shotgun lifts off the ground and within a moment disappears into Gracie's stealth field

>The man doesn't react, still speaking to cook-cook before looking up and staring into space

>You watch him as his head moves a bit but then he goes back to stabbing a new piece of rebar through the fiends forearm

>A slight shimmer tells you where Gracie is

>God damn, she actually pulled it off and got his gun

>You're about to beckon her closer to you when you see the man carrying a rebar club, usually wielded by super mutants, in just one hand

>His other hand has been replaced by a large hook

>He walks slowly towards the shimmer that you assume is Gracie

>"It isn't polite to take another man's Property"

>Cold, deliberate words

>You watch as Gracie uncloaks shivering in fear, holding the shotgun out to the man

>You frown and act

>God dammit! Gracie might be clingy as all hell but she's your only real friend out here and this man would probably shoot her

>You move from your concealment, training your LMG on him

>Who gives a fuck if he took out all these fiends, you weren't going to let him hurt Gracie

>To your surprise, he takes the shotgun quickly and points it at you in an instant, moving in between you and her

>You slowly sidestep keeping your gun trained on him, and him keeping his Shotgun trained on you

>"Get away from her you freak" you call out

>He smirks at you

>"Not gonna happen Scum"

>You frown as you keep sidestepping, moving partially behind the slab on concrete Cook-cook is pinned to

>"Please don't hurt my friend" you hear Gracie beg as she tries to pull him away

>"Slavers ain't friends little lady" he says gruffly, pushing her off him with a shoulder

>Why does him pushing her make you so mad?

>You want to pull the trigger, you want to unload all 200 rounds of your LMG into this man that would push her

>Why?

>You frown to yourself, He's in front of her, if you fire at him you risk over-penetration

>The bullets would rip through him and into her

>You barely catch what Gracie murmurs

>"Why do you smell so familiar?"

>Her attempting to push past him and having him shove her back snap you back

>"You should know the difference between a Slave and a friend!" she yelps as he pushes her back again

>Anger

>Fury

>Why? She's just a clingy Snakedog! Why do you care?

>You train your sights between his eyes, one round would take his head off

>But the man looks away from you, eyes now focused on Gracie

>Big mistake

>You sidestep swiftly to get a new position

>To your dismay his shotgun sights follow you

>He puts his hook onto Gracie's shoulder delicately

>"What is this man to you Little stalker? I promise not to hurt him if you tell the truth"

>You can see Gracie shivering, the telltale signs show she's about to play dead

>But she keeps it together for once

>"H-he's my friend"

>Your gun is trained on his head, a scowl painting your face

>Godammit if he wasn't right in front of Gracie you would have fired already

>But you don't have to it seems

>He lowers his shotgun and holsters it, totally ignoring you

>You lower your gun but stay vigilant, ready to raise your it and fire if needed

>"Tell me what he is to you" the man says in surprisingly compassionate tone

>Its weird to hear such a voice from a man so scarred and muscular

>Gracie stands up straighter and looks into his eyes

>"He's my friend!" She says Much more deliberately and confidently

>The man Nods calmly

>"Ok then"

>He looks to you

>"Move away from that raider scum, I have business to attend to with him"

>You hesitate and frown

>"Fine, but I need his head in tact at least" you say shaking your machine gun slightly, causing the bullets to rattle

>He ignores you, walking slowly to Cook-cook

>"Last warning Scum, Tell me where they are"

>They? Who is he talking about?

>You can see the panic in Cook-cook's eyes as the man slowly approaches

>Panic you've seen before, the kind of panic a person has when he knows he's going to die

>A panic you had caused in many many people

>"VAULT 20, VAULT 20! JUST LET ME LIVE!" Cook-cook screams out

>The man smiles and Nods

>"Thank you, I'll let you live"

>Cook-cook sighs in relief, well as much as one can while pinned to a concrete slab

>"But I don't think these two will"

>He nods to you and you crack the butt of your LMG against the raiders temple, knocking him out cold

>Fuck rapist scum and fuck raiders

>With that the man turns from you and waves to Gracie before disappearing into the ruins

>Gracie bounds over to you and grabs you into a hug

>You wrap your left arm around her, holding your LMG with one hand

>"Anon Did you see?! I didn't play dead! I was able to help you!"

>You wouldn't exactly call her running off to grab a gun helping, but she did help defuse the situation

>"Also I don't think that man is a bad man, he wanted to protect me"

>That bit disturbs you a bit

>Not only was he able to track Gracie when she was invisible, he wasn't even bothered by it

>Still he just handed you a huge payday

>All these raiders guns you could sell, ammo you could use, and supplies that would be useful

>You let go of her and push a hand under her hood and give her a few head scratches as she beams up at you

>Her tail swishes furiously and her arms are still locked around you

>"Come on, let's gather up these guns and stuff and get this fucker back to McCarran"

>Moving Cook-cook was going to be difficult, you hadn't planned on keeping him alive

>Still from the looks of it, that man made the raiders arms just about useless

>Several pieces of rebar are stuck through his arms and and legs

>You break Gracies Death grip hug and put away your LMG

>"Gracie, start gathering up these raiders weapons and ammo, plus anything you might want"

>"Ok!" she runs off to the nearest body and collects weapons

>You turn to Cook-cook and grab one of the pieces of Rebar and attempt to pull it out

>None of them even budge when you pull on them

>You aren't weak by any standard but these pieces pierced the concrete like it was made of foam

>how strong was that man to do this?!

>Looks like you're doing this the hard way

>You begin grabbing each limb and pulling them away from the slab of concrete, sliding the rebar spikes through the holes in his flesh

>Ugh, he smells awful

>When you finally get him off, you turn and see Gracie in front of a pile of guns

>"Look! I got a bunch of ammo too!"

>She must have found a bag of some sort because in the bag are all kinds of bullets

>9MM, 10MM, 12 gauge shells 5.56mm rounds

>All useful and valuable

>"Good Job Gracie, did you find any rope while searching?"

>She puts a padded finger to her chin and looks up in thought

>"Ummmm YEA! One sec!" she says before rushing off

>After a moment she comes back to you with a rawhide rope

>You take it and Cook-cook around the wrists

>"Where was this rope Gracie?" you ask as you finish up

>She's looking at the knot you tied up

>"It was holding one of those Cow things" she says pointing absentmindedly in the direction she ran off in

>"Brahmin" you correct as you gather all the weapons into your devil magic wristband

>You look around, looking for anything to use to move him

>unfortunately there isn't, looks like you're gonna have to drag him

>You grab the rope and begin to drag the raider behind you

>"Gracie, Grab your Gun and stay ready, I need you to cover me while we drag this asshole"

>She draws her SMG and holds it close

>"Why? what's wrong Anon?"

>Ugh he's heavier than he looks

>"I would rather not get caught with our pants down"

>That elicits a giggle from Gracie "I caught you with your pants down at the bunker"

>"Shut up Snekderp!" you say with a laugh

>You had to admit she's grown on you in the short time you've known her

>She's good company and great to talk to

>You think back to when the man had pushed her back

>You had called her your friend, your only real friend

>Who would have thought you would be glad to have her follow you that day

>For the better part of 3 hours she walks ahead of you, SMG drawn

>Along the way you had to gag Cook-cook, didn't want his screams of pain drawing any unwanted attention

>Eventually you're at the gates of McCarran, the guards dumbfounded at the sight of you dragging a Fiend leader to the gate

>Major Dhatri has about the same reaction when you drag the struggling raider into his tent

>"You actually got him alive?! I was expecting a bullet riddled body not this!" he exclaims as he looks at the raider

>"Still a bounty is a bounty!, one sec"

>He walks off into the main building and is gone for about 10 minutes before reappearing and walking back to you

>"3000 Caps for one very alive Raider, kudos for maiming him though"

>He hand you a sack of caps, which you stash away

>This was a major payday, you could get Gracie and yourself anything you needed

>"Anywhere we can shack up for the night? Or at least somewhere we can set up camp and make dinner?" you ask, noting the setting sun

>the Major Motions all around the camp

>"Find a spot, set up and you can stay there, you've done a great service for us here, we aren't gonna turn our backs on you"

>You nod and lead Gracie out of the tent

>"Gracie, if I give you our bed stuff can you set it up near a wall? you know how I sleep"

>She nods "Yea! I can do that, but what are you gonna do?"

>You smile and point to one of the fires with a grill set up over it

>"I'm gonna make us dinner!" you say with a smile

>Her eyes light up as you hand her your bedroll and the pillows

>"MMM YOU GOT IT!"

>She rushes off to a far away corner of the camp while you set the legs of the ants over the fire

>Grilled ant legs, a bit like crab legs of old but with more meat!

>Plus a few of the NCR troopers trade spices for 9mm ammo

>you don't use 9mm ammo ,too tiny for your guns

>so you got some nice flavored ant legs to bring to Gracie

>salt, jalapeno, barrel cactus and some brahmin butter

>Plus you has some spices to spare for later!

>you might be a gun nut but you like good food

>When the food is done cooking you gather it all up and thank the troopers, then find Gracie already in her Pajamas

>"Ohhhhh, that smells good Anon! gimme gimme" she says with outstretched grabby paws

>you smile and waft some of the smell towards her

>"it's gonna be good! ant legs with spices!"

>You sit on the bed roll and eat in silence, watching Gracie chew hardily on the exoskeletons and using her long forked tongue to get the last bits of meat

>"Don't eat the exoskeleton" you warn as she attempts to chew it to pieces

>She spit out the chucks of ridged chitin

>"Now you tell me"

>You pull out your LMG and set it besides you as you settle onto the bedroll

>"Not gonna change Anon? and still with the gun?" Gracie asks looking over your tattered armor

>"I don't trust most people Gracie, here we might not have to deal with creatures, but people are worse" you say motioning to the few troopers looking your way

>You had heard of Legion troops infiltrating the NCR and you weren't going to risk it

>Gracie gets into the bedroll and cuddles up, resting her head on your legs

>With a small content sigh she whispers "Goodnight Anon"

>You rub her ears gently

>"Goodnight Gracie"

>She falls asleep quickly, her hissing snores sending vibrations through you

>you watch the troopers all go to their tents before you even try sleeping

>Gracie's snores lull you to sleep as you sing to her softly

>you're not much of a singer but she won't ever her this in the waking world

>"Sleep on me, feel the rhythm in my chest, just breathe"

>"I will stay"

>"so the lantern in your heart won't.....fade"

>The world goes dark as you fall asleep, gently petting her smooth fur and scales