Chapter 35: Have Gun- Will Travel

Chapter 35: Have Gun- Will Travel

Shortly after the card game we made our way out of Medina and started heading northwest. My allies were quiet, which I appreciated. Occasionally Mercy and Leah would exchange a few words, but they were mostly business. Unfortunately, while I appreciated their quiet and restraint, I was less appreciative of their pace. They were much slower than I was. I had a much longer gait, and my walking skill and experience traveling made the pace at which we traveled as a group almost unbearable. Add in the fact that we needed to skip around deadzones because of their weakness to heavy rads, and I found myself resigned to a slow, roundabout trek.

I considered pushing ahead, but all of this territory was unfamiliar. Id traveled the roads in Horde territory for a long time, to the point where every ruin was at least known to me, if I hadnt traveled directly through it myself. STAR territory was different. They liked to keep track of who was travelling where, and required papers for citizens who were travelling between settlements. Their roads tended to be safer overall, but for someone like me, that was a lot of trouble to go through for walking from one place to another.

It wasnt all bad though. About mid-day I received a heartening notification.

Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in walking! A great way to see the beautiful vistas of this great nation

Great. The trip was already paying off. With interest even.

So, Donovan, whats Horde Territory like? asked Mercy, ceasing to provide me with her namesake by breaking the meditative flow of me putting one foot in front of the other.

Probably the same as any place. Sand, settlements, raiders, radiation, monsters.New novel chapters are published on

She tilted her head. We dont have raiders in the republic.

What happened to them?

Killed them, mostly. Exiled a few.

Good method.

Does the Horde not kill raiders?

Oh, they do, but only when they become a big enough problem to worry about. Most settlements fend for themselves.

And people allow them to rule?

Allow?

They dont vote in new leadership, or revolt?

No voting, and theyre quicker to quell a revolt than to kill raiders. Besides, most of the settlements like the autonomy. Do you vote for your leaders in the republic?

She nodded.

What if you pick the wrong guy?

Yep! said Mercy.

Graves just nodded, and I followed his example.

Good. Well be stuck here until the storm passes. She glanced at me. Well, most of us will be.

How did you see them with your rifle through the storm? I asked.

Thermal scope. Lets me see things through their body heat.

Can you mark them for arrest with that?

She smiled. Yes. I can.

Whered you find it?

Old bunker. A distant way to the west. It was the last one that was functioning unfortunately.

I nodded, assuming she was lying. I probably wouldnt have told anyone where to find gear like that either.

The group had just proven they knew what they were doing in a fight. I wasnt sure of exactly what kind of view the thermal scope provided Leah, but even with the advantage it provided she managed to make headshots on every target in the midst of fierce winds and plenty of cover. Mercy, I assumed, had managed to place a mine in exactly the best place to maximize the damage, and she did so quickly. Graves skills spoke for themselves. I was still curious what kind of armor he was using, but I doubted Id get more than a nod or shake of his head if I asked about it. Something like that could spare me a lot of holes.

I checked my notifications.

Excellent work Marshall! Youve successfully performed a secondary goal of your job Combat! Youve earned 60 Patriot Points!

That was good. Id made my money back from what Id spent at Bills pretty quickly. Though there was still some profit to be made.

How do you wanna spread the loot? I asked.

Leah shook her head. I dont need any.

I look at Graves who shook his head no, then to Mercy.

Ill take some of the ammo. Could use the gunpowder.

I nodded, I thought the lack of interest in profit was a little weird, but hell, that left all the more loot for me.