[color=f7941d][u][b]Matt Levi - North Vegas - Evening, November 18th [/b][/u][/color]


Matt halted and scanned the vacant storefronts of the dark street. It was empty save for himself, his bodyguard and the three brahmin between them. He motioned to an alley next to a burned-out auto shop and led the caravan down a ruined sidestreet. He kept his left hand on the lead and his right on the pistol at his waist. The sun dipped below the horizon and in the blue twilight long shadows began to grow among the vacant door frames and shattered windows. 

The brahmin moved slowly, laden with heavy artillery shells and tied together at the neck. Their heads were down as they picked their way through the familiar path. Matt had driven this caravan the same route twice a week for a month now and though his brahmin had grown comfortable with it he had not. In the dilapidated buildings he could hear vermin rustling through debris, the volume of noise an indicator of their immense size. Occasionally he would catch a glimpse of a naked tail, hunched form or worse, the black eyes staring through the cracks in the walls at him. The rats ruled these streets and they had no fear of him or any other human as this section of the city had been abandoned since the growth of the Green cut off North-West roads to New Vegas. 

The Brackenwood was its official designation. It was the green heart of the unexplainable growth in the region that was forming a noose around New Vegas. Matt had done his best to stay far away from it in his duties as caravaneer. While he was well aware of the dangers of Greenlung the truth of the matter was that when Matt stared at the forest he could feel the forest looking back at him. That feeling scared him more than any fungal infection. While the unseen vermin stalking his steps made him anxious, the thought of being any closer to the Green disturbed him. 

The brahmin halted before an old ‘Radiation King’ store. The building was boarded up save for a single window on the second story. Beside the front door three nuka-cola bottles lay in a pile of broken glass. Matt took one of the bottles and flung it through the open window. He heard the dull crash of broken glass then nothing. His bodyguard stepped away from the caravan and scanned the street around them. Further down, a gaggle of large rodents ran between several ruined buildings. Feet shuffled inside the store and a chain clanked softly. A single board on the door slid sideways and Matt looked inside and nodded. The board slid back and the door opened. 

Matt had started to unload the lead brahmin when two rangers stepped out the door. He recognized the first one, a veteran ranger by the name of Richard Holmes. Matt knew the man to be a trusted confidant of the colonel. That made Holmes the closest thing Denver had to a friend.  The men shook hands but shared no words. The practice was routine at this point and together the three of them unloaded the ammunition while Matt’s bodyguard stood watch. In a short order the brahmin had been relieved of their burden and the rangers were beginning to lock up the store. Matt looked up at them and the veteran ranger halted. 

“I know the colonel asked me not to say anything.” Matt started, the ranger furrowed his brow. “But if I count correctly I’ve brought up about a hundred and-” 

“He didn’t ask you, sergeant. He ordered you.” Ranger Holmes said cutting Matt off. “You chose to continue to assist us after your enlistment was up. You chose to remain part of the 3rd.” 

“I hadn’t meant to disobey the colonel.” Matt's face was flush and he tried to hide his embarrassment at being reprimanded like a child. Holmes’ face softened a bit. 

“I know, but these are dangerous times in the Mojave. Sometimes we must keep our friends in the dark so as not to blind them with the light.”    

“But the 3rd doesn’t even possess any artillery. How does he plan to shoot all of this?”

“Who said he plans to shoot it?” 

“Well what else is ammo for?” Matt was confused, his earlier shame turned to bewilderment. 

“Not every problem can be solved by shooting at it sergeant Levi.”