Truth in the Ruins (closed for heartofcourage)

[heartofcourage]

Dylan wasn’t a stupid girl. She knew the town of Freshwater was full of men that would have killed him just to get to her. Her eyes were alert, searching the surroundings as she stayed pressed tightly to his side. As much as she expected from the town, she was still a little frightened at what could possibly happen.

The sun was hot as they traveled quickly and she could already feel sweat beading on her body and dripping down her spine. She would have given anything to go back to the hotel and stay in the cool room with him for the rest of the afternoon, but they were already well on their way and wouldn’t stop until they reached their next destination, wherever that might be.

Dylan balked as they came upon Stone’s transportation and there were men around it. She grabbed the fabric of his shirt, her fingers digging into his armor as she looked at the men that were obviously checking it out. Were they a danger to them? That she couldn’t tell, but she was certain that he would take the action needed to keep them safe.

 

[Nordican]

Stone was a bit surprised when he felt Dylan fall in close and grip him when she saw the men. Not as surprised as to find the men themselves there but his thoughts focused on them for the moment.

"Nice ride, nice package too. You the one called Stone?" One asked, they wore black and green suits and Stone's teeth ground together. How did they find me. The men looked to be from the NPA or Novas Prime Army, a group that Stone had not expected to be out here let alone to manage to track him so fast. They were four and he was one and suddenly he wished he'd had an extra gun to give Dylan.

"Fraid not brother. Just a man bringing his new wife back to Chorpo Springs. You mind moving we're in a bit of a rush." Stone said hoping that they didn't have an picture on him or Dylan for that matter. They were were good but not that good.

His right hand held to his side and he saw that two had holstered weapons but the others might have knives or worse concealed on their bodies.

 

[heartofcourage]

Dylan remained silent as she felt Stone stiffen through the fabric of his shirt. Obviously these were men that he’d rather not see and she felt her stomach do a flip with anxiety. He had told them a lie, she was his wife and they were in a hurry. She tried her best to keep the fear off her face as a question was directed towards her.

“What’s your name, darling?” One of the four asked in a thick southern accent.

Dylan furrowed her brow, thinking quickly on her feet. “Que?” She asked him, using her knowledge of Spanish to keep them at bay. She looked up at Stone as if to question what the man had said.

“No hablo Ingles, senor. Mi marido habla por mi.” She held on to Stone tighter, showing the man that they very well might be husband and wife and that her husband most definitely spoke for her.

 

[Nordican]

Stone was glad for Dylan's quick thinking. He just hoped that the other man would by the ruse. His Spanish was not exactly the strongest but he understood enough to know she had not said he's kidnapped me or anything of that nature.

"You can call her Merelda so long as coming you are good bye Merleda. We've got business and a home to get to Chorpo." Stone said as he let his left hand hold Dylan's side to complement the effort.

The man with the southern accent chewed on a lash of jerky while the other, a man with slick black hair and sharp eyes smiled cruelly. "Don't believe him. I know he is our man." He said with a thick Spanish accent. It's not easy to forget those eyes Mr. Stone. You killed my cousin when you took another one three years ago in Albuquerque." Stone's heart sank for a moment and he realized he knew the last speaker. He had not worn NPA colors back then.

"Eduardo." Stone said coldly and the man nodded and smiled.

"You remember so nice of you to. Kill him and take the girl." Eduardo said though Stone was already drawing his right hand over his revolver's handle. Moving smoothly he turned to the left and tried to move Dylan behind him as he raised his pistol one handed.

Take out the ones with guns. He thought and he saw the Southern gentleman pulling a pistol. One shot hit him in the arm and the other scored a red blossom to the man's chest.

"Kills him!" Eduardo shouted and Stone fired at him but the man ducked behind his vehicle. Stone saw the last armed man pulling a rusty looking sub-machine gun.

"Damn..." Stone said and he moved to raise his pistol in time.

 

[heartofcourage]

Dylan screamed when the first gun shots sounded and ducked behind Stone as he pushed her there. She ducked for cover, wincing with each shot. She heard Stone mutter something under his breath and when she dared to look, she saw a machine gun pointed straight at them.

“Get down!” She cried out, tackling Stone to the ground behind his car.

She covered her head as shot rang out around them and then she felt Stone cover her body with his own. She had never been so scared in her life and she seriously doubted that either one of them would get out of this situation alive.

 

[Nordican]

Stone's lips tasted dirt and he felt pain but he fought through it. He was grateful for Dylan's assistance and hoped she'd not caught a round as he had. Quickly shifting he got on top of her and heard footsteps approaching. Grabbing a fistful of dirt he hurled the earthy material right into the face of another attacker moving around the vehicle. The man stopped but held onto his blade and Stone kicked out his knee sending the man down.

Machine gun fire snapped and scrapped at the end of the vehicle. Four rounds left more than enough. Stone thought and then whipped around hoping the man in front of him would remain down for a moment. Using the car for cover he wheeled about and fired one shot at the man with the SMG. The round hit his chest and the man faltered to his knee wounded but not dead. Another round finished him off and then Stone felt a solid kick to the side of his head.

Stumbling down to the ground without his revolver in his hand he looked up to find Eduardo holding a cleaver in his hand while the one with sand in his eyes moved up towards Dylan.

"Almost got away too. Shame Mr. Stone. But I'm afraid your death gives a great deal of satisfaction."

 

[heartofcourage]

Dylan shook beneath Stone as she heard the scuffle behind her. One man went to the ground and she finally forced herself to look. Stone was firing from behind the car, hitting one man until the machine gun fire stopped. The silence was almost deafening, but then she saw Eduardo come around and kick Stone in the head before she could cry out.

The sound was a sickening thud, the revolver sliding out of his hand as he stumbled to the ground. Dylan scrambled to her feet, the man that had been taken down by Stone giving chase. When he caught her, she screamed and struggled against him, her elbow jabbing backwards and catching him off guard. Both she and the blade were dropped to the ground as he doubled over.

She grabbed the blade and slashed backwards, sobbing as she stabbed the man through the throat and backing away as he looked at her in surprise before he dropped to the ground, gurgling as blood flooded his airway.

She heard Eduardo talking, saying that it Stone’s death would give him satisfaction. She scrambled towards the discarded gun, aiming it at Eduardo with shaking hands.

“Back away!” She screamed at him, her voice quivering. “Back the fuck away!”

 

[Nordican]

Eduardo paused and seemed to turn to Dylan for a moment then his eyes came back to Stone. Without another moment of hesitation he pulled back his arm quickly and prepared to swing the cleaver down against Stone. But Stone wasn't out yet. Quickly with a kick to the man's foot he made him stumble and then falter and the cleaver fell hitting the ground next to him.

Stone wedge his knee in between the two of them and then shoved Eduardo off him. "Shoot him!" He commanded sharply though he was rolling away and grabbing for the cleaver just in case.

 

[heartofcourage]

Dylan shot the gun at Stone’s command, watching as the first one hit his chest before she closed her eyes and emptied the gun. She was shaking, trembling, crying as the gun continued to click as she pulled the trigger over and over again. She’d never killed anyone in her life and here she was taking two human lives. It made her stomach turn and she soon dropped to her knees, retching into the dirt as her stomach gave up the contents that were within.

 

[Nordican]

Stone's hand held the cleaver but by then it was all over. Eduardo lay dead with smoking holes in his chest and Dylan was on her knees throwing up. "Dylan..." He said as he quickly moved to her and crouched next to her. His hands held her softly hoping it would give her some comfort while he looked around. Everyone threatening them was down and the blood from the man she had stabbed first continued to flow.

"Sshhhhh. It's all right it's alright we're okay." He said trying to help her out as much as he could. He retrieved his revolver and made a note to reload it as soon as possible. "We have to go Dylan do you hear me. There may be more and worse we can't stick around to answer questions from the local authority." He said and hoped she was alright but she didn't look it.

 

[heartofcourage]

Dylan heard Stone but it sounded like he was a million miles away from her. She continued to retch until her stomach was sore and empty. She gasped and shook, her tears still flowing as she felt his hands gently on her. She sighed and struggled to compose herself. He needed her to be strong, he needed her to go with him. She nodded her head as he asked if she could hear him.

She let him pull her to her feet, steadying herself by clinging to him. It took a few moments before she got her legs back under her again and she looked up at Stone, a blush covering her face that he had seen her in such a horrible position.

“I’m alright. Let’s get going.” She said, her fingers clinging to him as she let him get her into the car and she sank back into the seat, her eyes closed as her stomach still flipped at the thought of what she had just done. She needed to calm down, she thought, slow breathings soothing her frazzled nerves.

She glanced over at Stone and frowned. “You’re hit.” She said softly, touching the blood that stained his arm.

 

[Nordican]

Stone set them on a course away from Freewater, as fast as he could drive. Then he felt Dylan's fingers rubbing his arm as she noticed he was bleeding. He looked down and saw one bullet had seemed to be reflected off the armor on his chest while another had not.

'Dammit.' He thought and he put his foot to the pedal harder. They'd need a place to lay low to deal with it. He couldn't afford to risk losing a lot of blood. Specially when they had a lot of ground together.

"Yeah." He said with a half grunt and then turned to the glove compartment. There should be a clean rag in there. and some rounds taped to the top side. Hand me the rag please. Then take the gun." He said and nodded to where it lay between them in the depression of the console. Driving on he just hoped that he remembered the map right and that one of the good hiding spots was close by.

 

[heartofcourage]

Dylan leaned forward and dug through the glove compartment as he directed, handing him the rag and then pulling out the gun and rounds that were hidden there. She placed it in her lap, taking the rag from his hands and wrapping it around his arm to stop the bleeding as best as she could.

“You might need stitches.” She said in a quiet voice. “And we better hope that the bullet came out the other side. I don’t want to have to do surgery on you if I can help it.”

 

[Nordican]

Stone nodded and winced and then looked back to her for a moment before returning his eyes to the road. "You remove any bullet holes?" He asked with a weak smile as he drove on. A haze of dusty smoke and rocks covered their exit from Freshwater as they drove out under the light of the rising sun above them. Stone could already feel the heat start to wash over him and sweat slowly formed on his brow.

 

[heartofcourage]

“I can’t say that surgery is my forte but I can fake it if I need to.” Dylan tried to smile back at him but it was shaky at best. She wasn’t really sure what was going to happen if Stone died and she didn’t want to think about that. It was something that was best pushed aside and think about other things.

“Do you want me to drive? I don’t want you passing out on me and wrecking and you already don’t look so good.” She asked, watching as the sweat began to bead on his brow.

 

[Nordican]

Stone gave her a look and didn't exactly feel full of confidence in her words that she could fake it. "I'm.. I'm fine we're almost there." Stone said and blinked and concentrated. He didn't know where there would be but he found the shadow of a canyon wall that would do.

They made it without him passing out and he felt the sweat falling slightly into his eyes. He blamed the heat but he wasn't sure.

 

[heartofcourage]

The heat in the desert was stifling this time of day, but the moment that he pulled the vehicle to a stop, Dylan was jumping out of her side and racing around to his, wanting to help him in any way possible.

“Tell me what you need.” She said, her voice tinged with fear and determination. She wasn’t about to let Stone die on her. “Do you have a fever? Do you need water? Do you need meds? Stone, please tell me.”

Her medical knowledge was limited to what she’d learn in a first aid course, but she’d picked up a few things here and there about the world at large while working with her grandfather. She could help Stone but she needed to know what he needed.

 

[Nordican]

Stoned blinked and he shook his head. "In my pack there should be a bottle with some alcohol." He said and he ambled out of the vehicle and moved along it's side. "I think the bullet.... might be bullets went through but they may have nicked something." He said in a strained tone. The feeling of getting shot was one he'd only experienced about once or twice before and if anyone said you got used to it they were idiots.

 

[heartofcourage]

Dylan nodded and moved to his pack, pulling out the bottle that he had suggested that she get. “If the bullet hit something vital, how do I stop that?” She asked him, watching as he struggled to move along the side of the truck. She moved to him and placed his arm around her shoulders, pulling him into the shade and having him sit down.

“Stone, you need to tell me what to do. I’m not going to lose you. Not now.” She said, looking at him with complete worry.

 

[Nordican]

Stone nodded and was more than encouraged by her words. He blinked and strained for a moment before turning to his arm and looking at it. "Looks like they went through. Hard to tell if any artery got nicked." He said blinking again slowly and squinting in pain before he looked at her. "I need you to disinfect the wound and then sew it up. Both the front and back. If I'm lucky then I'll be in pain for a while but I'll live. Worse, well lets just hope I'm luckier than those NPA bastards." He said with a weak smile.

 

[heartofcourage]

Dylan nodded at his instructions and sprung into action. She worked methodically, cleaning his wound well, digging out a needle and thread that he had directed her too and sewing up his arm. She kept looking towards his face, making sure that he was still doing alright. He looked pale, sweaty, and worried that he might already be feeling the effects of shock. She gritted her teeth and turned back to her task, raising his arm to get at the exit wound.

 

[Nordican]

Stone swallowed after a moment and blinked as he focused through the pain. His eyes looked slowly at Dylan and he gave her a weak smile as he kept his arm raised as she went to work on the exit wounds. "Thank you Dylan." He said simply as she continued.

 

[heartofcourage]

“You’re going to need to rest.” She said as she finished up and placed a bandage over his wounds, helping him to rest his arm down by his side. “We can stay here for a while or you can tell me where I need to go and I’ll drive.”

Dylan turned back to his pack, pulling out a canteen and letting him take a sip of the water before she took a drink of her own. She watched his reaction, gauging just how much trouble he was really in. She hoped that the bullet had passed clean through and didn’t hit anything on the way out. She needed him in more way than one.

 

[Nordican]

Stone nodded and settled down against the car. "Thanks Dylan. Urrnn." He said as he stood up and looked at the cab of the truck. Stone put his good arm along the side and then moved along. Every now and then he winced in obvious pain. "But I think I'll rest in the cab for now it's better." He said half fighting through pain and just trying to move to a more comfortable spot despite feeling like he should have just laid around.

 

[heartofcourage]

Dylan helped Stone into the car, lying him down and feeling his forehead to make sure that he wasn’t running a fever. “Just rest. I’ll drive.” She said as she hurried around the car and slid into the driver’s seat. She started the engine and looked over her shoulder at Stone before she pulled the car into drive and pulled out into the hot sun.