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Jacob wondered what the hell had made that noise, or even if he was just losing it, when out of the silence that had followed the "thump"s came an equally faint whistling sound, this time from above. Jacob sat there thinking he must finally have lost his mind when suddenly the entire building shook violently as a violent crash thundered outside. Finally realizing what the sounds were he reacted quickly and threw himself to the floor and covered his head as several more explosions rocked the Fort. When everything went quiet again he began to stand, hearing shouts from all over the camp, but just then there came one last whistling noise and the earth itself seemed to shake as a massive explosion erupted from somewhere on the other side of the Fort.

Jacob scrambled to throw on his duster and pack and then flung open the door to find the guard on their feet at the end of the hall, looking about as if unsure what to do. The wolf sprang to action immediately, he didn't have time to wait for them to head down the stairs, and wrested their rifle from their grasp as he caught them by surprise. Before the guard could react he slammed the butt of the rifle into their head viciously, making them collapse to the floor limply, and he slung the rifle over his shoulder and dashed down the stairs without looking back.

There was even more shouting now, all of the voices running back towards the far corner of the compound, and a siren had begun to wail. Jacob found the floor empty and immediately went the door of the Warden's office and dug out the key he had left in his pocket and rammed it into the locks in the door. They both slid back and he threw the door open and rushed inside and around behind the Warden's large wooden desk where he yanked the drawers out and tore through them until finally he found a small brass key. He swiftly kicked the chair over and found the tiny keyhole in the floor and shoved the key in and unlocked it. As he was flinging the trapdoor open he heard two people scramble into the hall. He quickly slipped the rifle he stole stolen rifle from his back and was preparing to fire when Anna and Samantha burst into the room.

"You said it was happening tomorrow!" Anna cried.

"I don't know what's happening but we're taking advantage of the confusion." Jacob slung the rifle back over his shoulder and grabbed his own carbine off the wall, pulling a magazine from his pocket and slamming it home into the magwell before chambering a round. "You two start running. Wait for us by the exit." he ordered and without waiting for reply dashed from the room and out through the front doors.

A huge column of flame and smoke was billowing from the far corner of the compound, lighting up the Fort easily, it looked the fuel dump had gone up. Jacob swore as he saw figures racing up onto the scaffolding against the walls and dashed into the shadows between buildings. His heart was thumping, there was shouting everywhere and the siren wailed loudly over everything, making Jacob think he should just make a break for it through the tunnel. He was steeling his nerves for the run to the Pound when suddenly a rippling thunder erupted in all directions from the heights surrounding the Fort. A wall of bullets suddenly sprayed everything in the Fort, tearing down the men on the walls with ease and kicking up the dirt at Jacob's feet. He dashed to the base of the wall as men fell from the scaffolding. Maybe the NCR really was here, who else had that much firepower?

He stole along the wall towards the Pound as the surviving guards manning the walls attempted to return fire, usually getting torn down in the process. Screams of pain added to the confusion as Jacob approached the Pound, where bullets tore across the yards of dirt between him and the building. Jacob swore to himself never to help anyone again as he sprinted across the open ground, bullets kicking up the dirt at his feet, and kicked open the doors and put a single round through the head of the unfamiliar guard in one smooth motion. As he was snatching the cell keys off the wall he heard a voice behind him and spun around, carbine raised.

"You killed him!" It was John, his voice panic-stricken. "What the hell is going on?" he yelled.

"Someone's attacking the Fort, we're taking the chance to get out." Jacob said quickly and calmly as he threw the keys to John. "You unlock the cells, I'll stand..." Suddenly there was another loud crash at the front gates followed by more yelling. "GO!" Jacob roared as John stood rooted to the spot, looking at something down the road. The man scrambled down the hall, unlocking the cells as he went and in less than a minute they were all back in the office. "Okay, everyone follow me, keep your heads down!" Jacob bellowed over the chaos surrounding them. He dashed out the doors and saw what John had seen, a large truck engulfed in a colossal inferno had smashed into the front gate and guards were running to defend the entrance to the fort.

"I'm coming with you!" John said as he and Joshua appeared at Jacob's side. He didn't reply as he tore back across the courtyard to the concrete wall with the group of escaped morphs behind him. They were all running along the wall back towards the Warden's residence when suddenly gunfire tore through the group, hitting several morphs and making them scream in pain as they fell to the ground.

"No! Not that way!" Joshua yelled from beside Jacob and the wolf turned to see the entire group of morphs scattering in panic. Movement at the top of the wall caught his eye and he saw dark figures scrambling over the wall and onto the scaffolding, through the firelight Jacob could see one aiming a rusty hunting rifle at him, a human covered in patchy leather and strips of spiky armor, a mask over his face. That was no NCR trooper. The rifle in the man's hands spat fire and a bullet whizzed towards Jacob. His aim proved to be just too far to the left, catching John in the chest and sending the man backwards onto the ground.

Joshua was making to pick him up and carry him when Jacob grabbed the shepherd's arm. "Leave him!" he bellowed and pulled Joshua away with him, leaving John lying on the ground gasping in dying pain. He pulled Joshua along until they reached the Warden's residence and they ran to the office where the trapdoor still lay open and the girls gone. They dashed into the earthen tunnel and ran and ran until at last Jacob saw moonlight spilling through the darkness at the end.

They were both panting with their exertion as Jacob clambered out of the tunnel, but Jacob knew they weren't home-free just yet. Black smoke billowed from the other side of a ridge a few hundred yards away and the cracking of gunfire filled the air as Jacob pulled Joshua up out of the tunnel and looked around for Anna and Samantha. That's when he noticed Joshua was standing frozen in place, staring at something a short distance away with horror in his eyes. He followed the shepherd's gaze to find two motionless figures lying on the ground. Anna and Samantha were dead, blood oozing from gunshot wounds to the chest.

"There's nothing we can do for them, we have to get moving." Jacob said bitterly and grabbed Joshua by the arm and pulled him along when he failed to move. Jacob kept them moving at a run in the direction he thought the highway lay in, watching the area around them carefully as they went. He didn't think Anna and Samantha were killed by raiders, which meant that someone else had escaped through the tunnel and were likely nearby. When he finally found the derelict highway he angled them away from it, heading east, preferring to traverse the nearby countryside to avoid any raiders or escapees from the Fort.

Joshua was out of breath now and Jacob reluctantly slowed his pace to a quick walk, frequently throwing looks back over his shoulder and the column of fire and smoke that rose into the night sky behind them. They walked and walked and Jacob wore a scowl about his face as he kept his rifle at the ready, he had that unnerving feeling that he was being followed. When Joshua stumbled and fell Jacob went and threw the shepherd's arm over his shoulders and helped him to his feet, but he didn't stop. He supported Joshua with one arm as he walked and kept a firm grip on his rifle with the other.

It wasn't until the sky ahead of them began to turn a deep purple did he veer farther out into the desert where he managed to find a rock outcropping which had a sort of small crevice between two large boulders. After finding the gap free of any hiding radscorpions he set Joshua down within. He unslung the rifle on his back, a somewhat rusty G3 model, and checked to make sure there was a round chambered before setting it on the shepherd's lap. "Take this and wait here. I'm going to check the perimeter, make sure we weren't followed."

Joshua didn't even look up at him, instead staying completely silent and staring ahead at the rock face opposite him. Jacob wanted to say something to reassure him but couldn't find the words, so he turned and stole over to another outcropping some fifty feet away and climbed up it a bit and pressed himself against the rock. He pulled out his binoculars from one of his pockets and scanned the surrounding area, able to see fairly well with the strong moon and starlight. He saw no movement, nothing unusual in the barren and dead landscape. He didn't hear anything besides the win or his own breathing, and caught no out of place scent on the wind. He lowered the binoculars and scanned the horizon with his own squinted eyes as if they were deceiving him, he still felt wrong, like someone was watching him.

He reluctantly stuffed his binoculars back into his pocket and strode back the rocks where Joshua sat, not having moved an inch. Jacob frowned and sat against the opposite rock, setting his bag down next to him and keeping his carbine in his lap. He peered at Joshua through the dark, his eyes seemed glazed over and unfocused, he was in shock. "Try to get some rest." Jacob said and nudged him slightly. "I'll wake you up in a few hours."

_____

The sun had risen and hung in the eastern sky, Jacob's watch read 9 AM. 28 hours without sleep, Jacob noted, that was okay; he was tired, but his senses and aim wouldn't begin to fail him for about another 40. He hefted his rifle and crept silently over Joshua's sleeping form and out from the wedge between the rocks, his gaze sweeping the immediate area for threats before heading to the other rock outcropping to sweep the perimeter. Satisfied, he headed back to Joshua.

"Wake up, we need to get moving again." he said and gave Joshua a little shake of the shoulder, who awoke with a start. Jacob opened his bag and pulled out his spare clothes, a small jug of water, and some granola bars and set them next to Joshua. "You can wear these. Eat and drink, you need it. I'm going to head to that ridge over there..." he pointed to a small ridge some distance away, "...and see if there's anyone behind us."

Joshua nodded and Jacob left again, walking to the ridge he had indicated and crawled up on it before pulling out his binoculars once more and peering over the edge back along the countryside they had traversed in the night. In the distance he could see a pillar of black smoke rising into the clear blue sky from behind the rim of the gorge that the Fort sat within. What he saw at the base of the rocks turned his insides to ice. A massive raider camp and literally sprung up overnight, littered with various materials stolen from the Fort which was presumably entirely engulfed in flames at this point.

He turned and made a beeline for Joshua. "We have got to go!" he said as he approached.

The German shepherd looked up at him, now dressed in a black shirt and rugged pants. "Why?" he croaked, seeming to have found his voice at last.

"Because there's an army of raiders behind us." Jacob explained as he hurriedly slung on his pack. "I've never seen them in these numbers or this coordinated, which means I don't want to be within a hundred miles of them. Let's go."

Joshua followed as he led the way east, heading back towards the highway once more. "What do you think happened to the others?" the shepherd asked weakly as he walked next to Jacob.

"Dead, most likely, caught in the fighting. At best held captive to be sold to slavers." Jacob said matter-of-factly.

"Then what was the point! All their suffering just to die or be sold back into slavery!" Joshua exclaimed suddenly angry.

Jacob eyed the German shepherd. "We made it out."

"Just the two of us!"

"That's more than I expected when shit hit the fan back there. We should count ourselves lucky." the wolf said. "There's the road, we'll follow it from here."

Joshua suddenly froze in his tracks. "We're heading east. Jacob, shouldn't we be going the other way? To the NCR?"

"No," Jacob said, rounding on Joshua. "for two reasons: one, if we were to head west we'd have to swing all the way around the Fort and out there," Jacob pointed off into the wastes. "and anybody that goes out there dies; two, I left the NCR for a reason, we're going to New Vegas. Now, let's keep moving."

Joshua looked out into the wastes and his shoulders slumped and continued following Jacob along the highway. They walked through the day, only stopping to break for lunch and to let Joshua rest a bit, before moving on. When the sun hung low in the western sky, casting long shadows before the two, Joshua spoke again, "Jacob, shouldn't we find a place to stop for the night?"

"No. Assuming most of those raiders were humans they won't travel by night, which means if we keep going we can eventually outpace them." the wolf said without looking back at Joshua.

"Jacob. I've spent my entire life in slavery, with little food and water." Joshua said. "I'm tired, I need rest."

Jacob's tail twitched in annoyance, he had been worried about this. For a moment he considered leaving Joshua behind, his instinct for survival demanded it, but he reasoned that with a decent night's rest that he would be strong enough to continue. "Fine." he grumbled and led them at a southern angle from the road, looking for a place to stop for the night. Finally Jacob found a small alcove under a rock overhang out of sight of the highway and they stepped inside as the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon.

They shared a small meal, leaving the last of the food for breakfast the next morning, and Jacob handed Joshua a shabby blanket for the cold desert night. The shepherd took it and lay on his side while Jacob sat upright against the rock behind them. "You should get some rest too, Jacob." Joshua said quietly.

"You need sleep more than I do right now." Jacob replied. "And we're not both sleeping when there's an army of raiders behind us."

"We can take watches." Joshua suggested.

"Just go to sleep." Jacob said irritably and with that Joshua rested his head down on his paws and closed his eyes. Jacob would have torn down the G3 leaning against the rock next to him if he was confident that the raiders weren't following him, but as it was, he had to dedicate all his attention to listening for trouble, which the clinking of metal parts was liable to bring about. The feeling of being watched and followed had not yet gone away, his fur prickling every time he looked over his shoulder, leaving him feeling jumpy and nervous.

Jacob found his eyelids drooping as the night grew longer and struggled to stay awake without anything to focus his attention on than the eerie silence caused by the lack of wind. He began to reach for the G3 to begin disassembling it, figuring it would be better to be slightly distracted and awake than caught asleep, when something made him freeze in place. Little bits of dirt and pebbles had been sent rolling down the face of the rock overhang above them, falling to the ground in front of Jacob only a few feet away. That wasn't right, there was no wind to blow the debris, someone or something was directly above them.

With his heart pounding in his chest his shouldered his rifle and tested the air. Human, familiar too. He quietly disabled the safety on his carbine and waited, seemingly for an eternity before more debris fell and a figure landed before him with soft thump. Jacob held his breath as the human seemed to turn and survey the area before walking onwards, allowing Jacob to see more than just the human's legs. Immediately he placed the scent when he saw the human's feminine form: the girl from the Fort, Sarah.

Jacob slowly and soundlessly crept from under the rock ledge and up towards her as she slowly crept away. "Why, hello there beautiful." Jacob said in a wry but quiet voice as he pressed the muzzle of his carbine between her shoulder blades, making her freeze mid-step. "Let's see those pretty hands of yours." She was trembling with anger as he raised her hands into the air, nearly making Jacob chuckle aloud. "Anyone following you?"

"Just raiders a few miles behind. But you already know that." she hissed.

Jacob nodded and then said, "Sorry I have to do this my lady, but I can't have you sneaking about, and I don't feel particularly like shooting you at the moment..." the truth was Jacob very much felt like shooting her, but he couldn't risk attracting the attention of anyone who might be following her, raider or not, and Joshua needed rest. "...so you'll just spend the night with us."

Abruptly he kicked her in the back of her knees, making her fall to the ground, and he began to check the numerous pockets of her cargo pants. He liberated her of a .38 revolver, some ammunition for it, and not two but three blades before pushing her over onto her back. He frowned, ignoring the look of complete scorn she was giving him. "I know I'm missing something...Ah, you'll have to pardon me, I'm not the gentleman I used to be." he said with a smirk and reached down the front of her green tanktop and between her cleavage; his fingers grasped something and drew his paw back to find a small razor wrapped in cloth.

"Oh you're a wily one." he said and nudged Sarah with his boot. "Come on, up now, and don't wake up my friend." She got to her feet, seething with hatred but otherwise silent as Jacob nudged her along with the muzzle of his carbine and instructed her to sit under the rock ledge where Joshua lay. He rummaged in his bag and withdrew a couple lengths of paracord which he used to bind her wrists and ankles together.

Jacob reclined back against the rock between the sleeping Joshua and fuming Sarah, rather pleased with himself that he had been right that they had been followed, and that he had caught the pursuer. He may be tired and he may have to stay up the whole night, but at least now he would have some fun prodding Sarah every now and then with his rifle.