Bab 65: Heartache by the fire

Once the group was done looting they'd been left with a small pile of stuff, it was a relatively good haul and would take some effort getting all of it back to the prison. Unfortunately, there weren't all that many caps being carried, probably due to this being a resupply run instead of a regular trading caravan.

Afton was left with a measly 50 caps, it was an equal split from the whole group, but it wouldn't surprise him if he was getting the short end of the stick.

Glancing at the group he could see them bad mouthing Karl as they tied everything together to make it easier to carry. Afton shook his head and turned to something they'd missed... The brahmin themselves.

He wasn't an expert, but his boost in the survival skill allowed him to now generally how to butcher the creature. They weren't in all that great a condition due to the explosion and subsequent gun fight, but they were big enough to supply enough meat for the group to eat for half a week or so.

Afton covered the meat in some leftover cloth and tied it tight to prevent sand from getting on it, carrying it and his now supply stuffed backpack back to camp where Karl already had the campfire going.

The man sipped the canteen with a forlorn and regretful expression on his face, one hand rested on the revolver that was strapped at his side, the others probably wouldn't be back for a while as they seemed content badmouthing Karl amongst the corpses.

"You alright?" Afton asks, sitting on some scrap metal that'd been used as a makeshift seat.

Karl shrugs, "Yee-ep" he mutters, taking another swig.

Afton just shakes his head and spears a couple of brahmin steaks before laying them above the fire. They were basically just tougher, larger, beef steaks. "Tommy ever tried that before?" he asks, not knowing the history between the men.

The grizzled man slowly nods, "Yeah, in the past. Thought I'd knocked that outta him the last time though."

"Apparently not... I didn't know if you were okay with that sorta thing, I was about to step in myself." Afton admits.

"You're a kind boy, most in our posse wouldn't think twice before enjoyin' themselves. I used to lead a bigger group, but after I killed some of them for havin' a 'go' at some civilians most just left. Tommy's the only one who stayed.

I don't think you belong in the Powder Gangers if I'm honest, boy. You've killed, but you're not a killer." he states as he eyes the fat dripping from the brahmin steaks.

Afton slowly nods, he understood the gist of what he trying to say, but most of it just went over his head, "So, what's the deal with you Karl? Wouldn't have thought a prison-escapee would have morales." he asks after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, I don't know either son. This is just how it ended up, didn't do nothin' to stop it... Just counting the days til' I get unlucky and get buried." he says apathetically.

"What'd you do before getting jailed? You're a good shot, so it must've been something interesting."

Karl snorts, "Interesting? Yeah, that's one way of looking at it. I was a specialist, that's all you need 'ta know." he states.

Afton wants to pursue this further but the sounds of the others returning had him hold his tongue. After seeing what Tommy had intended to do to that woman he knew he'd rather not get too friendly with them.

Tommy walks through and spots the brahmin steaks cooking, he's about to take one when Afton grabs his hand, "Fuck 'd'you want newboy?"

Afton glares at him, "That's mine, cook your own if you're hungry." he states and takes the steak just as Karl takes the other.

Tommy looks between the duo with a scowl and reluctantly pulls out the rest of the Gecko meat to cook, clearly he hadn't noticed the fact that Afton still had a large amount of brahmin meat left in his pack.

The night passed uneventfully and the group made their way back to the prison in the morning. The others in the group were keeping their distance from Karl and occasionally sending hostile glances at him.

Afton thought it was stupid to hold a grudge against a man for stopping you from doing something unquestioningly vile. Regardless, people like Tommy wouldn't like authority, no matter if it was from the NCR, or Karl.

Once they made it back to the NCRCF facility Afton was surprised to see something in the top left corner of his vision.

[Quest Complete: Supplied And Supplanted]

*Dun dun*

[WELCOME TO LEVEL 3]

The skill screen appeared before him as time froze, this wasn't an even level so he wouldn't be receiving a Perk, but that didn't mean he wasn't happy with the skill points.

He had 13 to spend and simply put them all in Guns. Other skills could wait, he'd max out Guns and then move into something else. From the earlier firefight with the NCR supply caravan, he could see that Energy Weapons had their advantages and disadvantages.

He knew he'd likely be on his own in future, so drawing attention towards himself with bright red laser beams, or large green plasma projectiles wouldn't end well. It was probably better to just find a quiet ballistic weapon with a silencer, picking groups off from a distance.

It'd allow him to deal with large groups on his own without risking his life in every skirmish. His skill changed from 35 to 48, and new knowledge flooded his mind. Breathing methods to increase your accuracy while shooting, stances, and knowledge of how much kick certain weapons gave ingrained itself in his mind.

He gives his status one last glance before confirming the selection.

Afton Parker

Level : 3

S.P.E.C.I.A.L :

Strength : 7

Perception : 7

Endurance : 7

Charisma : 4

Intelligence : 6

Agility : 7

Luck : 4

Skills :

Barter : 18

Energy Weapons : 55

Explosives : 20

Guns : 48

Lockpick : 10

Medicine : 40

Melee Weapons : 38

Repair : 41

Science : 41

Sneak : 20

Speech : 35

Survival : 30

Unarmed : 30

Perks :

[Trigger Discipline], [Heavy Handed], [Rapid Reload]

PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA
Niggross

Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know.

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Pilih

Bab 66: Playing Doctor

Time resumed again and Afton wondered why he'd not received a quest notification... Perhaps he'd turned it off in the settings? It would've made sense as the quest finished when they delivered the supplies.

Regardless they gave most of the supplies to one of the guys under Eddie, the group was given 50 caps each for their troubles, definitely not worth the supplies but it was more a consolation for not running off with the supplies themselves.

Again the group split apart and did their own thing, they probably wouldn't go out for another ambush for a while, the supplies they brought back were better than what most of the other groups had managed, so they decided to take a break for a while.

Afton was given a bed in one of the cell blocks, they'd all been converted into relatively comfortable quarters, and the locks had all been dismantled to stop people from accidentally locking themselves inside... And yes, that'd apparently happened before.

Most people ignored Afton or were completely indifferent to him, this quickly changed though when people found out that he was quite proficient with medicine. Tommy or someone else in the group had apparently been talking about him, and his skills in the area had come up.

Hannigan was more than happy to have another versed in medicine around, as he'd usually be forced to deal with any injuries people suffered. He was barely suited to be a combat medic, so anything that needed a more experienced was way over his head.

Afton accepted the temporary role as it was actually a pretty good way of making money, people would pay anything he asked depending on how much pain they were in, and he wasn't adversed to ripping off these people after hearing what Karl had to say about them.

Most of the time people came trying to buy chems, more specifically Jet, Psycho, and Mentats. Eddie had most chems locked away, only to be used by himself, and anyone who actually needed them.

It was a common sight to see guys trying to lie to Afton or Hannigan about their symptoms or injuries in an attempt to get chems. The latter sold small amounts as to not alert Eddie, but now that Afton was here the man hadn't attempted to go over Eddie's head again.

Afton sighed at the man on the table who had his mouth wide open. "Sorry, but have you ever heard of a toothbrush?" he asks in exasperation, the question was rhetorical as toothbrushes and toothpaste weren't all that hard to come across. The NCR made sure to distribute proper hygiene tools amongst their soldiers, and the Powder Gangers definitely had a big enough stockpile for everyone to keep their teeth from rotting.

The man snorts, "Fuck off Doc, can you help or not? I'm dyin' here."

Afton nods, "Yeah, I know, your back molar's pulp is infected." he states as if it were obvious.

"The hell's that mean?" his patient asks.

Afton glances behind him at the tools he had at his disposal, "Means I'm gonna have to remove it before you start getting other problems." he says as he pulls out a relatively clean looking pair of pliers.

The man's eyes widen at the tool, its almost comical to see a hardened criminal getting scared at a regular dental procedure. Afton knew this man was among the worst of the worst, rape, murder, torture, nothing bothered him.

"Can you knock me out for this Doc?" he quickly asks, his eyes locked on the pliers.

Afton could probably knock him out for the procedure, but he wanted to man to suffer some pain, not only would it allow the man to reconsider not brushing his teeth, but it'd be Afton's retribution for what the man had done to innocents. He shakes his head, "Sorry, but the pyroclastic kinesthetic polystyrene would be disturbed by any painkillers, you need to be awake for this to work as well." he lies through his teeth with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

The man shivers slightly before trying to get up, "I... I think I'll leave it for now-"

Afton interrupts him, "You might die if you leave it, the infection will spread and your mouth will start rotting." he states calmly, "If you're afraid I can ask one of your friends to hold your hand if you want?"

"What!? No way, that's fuckin' gay! I'm not like that... Fuck it, just do it as fast as you can Doc." he says before laying back down on the table.

Afton turns and grins so the man couldn't see his reaction, "Alright." he says, schooling his features and grabbing some things to clamp the man's mouth open. They were directly under the room's light so he could clearly see inside the man's mouth.

He went in and grabbed a tooth with the plier, squeezing it tight and wrenching it backwards.. He knew he could be a little gentler and slowly wiggle the tooth free, but where's the fun in that?

"YIIIIAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the man screamed like a little girl, the people outside the room paling at the sound.

Afton continued until one tooth was removed... Though, it wasn't the infected tooth... "That's one done, now for the other... You're lucky you came to me, the infection had already spread to another tooth, I'll be able to save the others though." he says, glancing at the healthy tooth he'd just pulled out with mirth.

Afton plugged the hole in the man's gums with cotton as he moved onto the actual infected tooth. Eventually pulling that one as well.

*Tink*

He dropped the tooth into the metal container, glancing at his now pale, shivering, and sickly-looking patient. Tears were streams down his face as he looked up at the ceiling almost catatonic in pain.

"Well, you're done, good job. You've already paid so you can be on your way now... Or, if you want to just lie here for a while that fine too." Afton says as he leaves the room.

[Perk Gained: Torture Techniques]

[Torture Techniques] : Knowledge of how to cause as much pain as possible, +10% success rate when torturing.

Afton eyes the notification for a moment before shrugging, "Huh, neat."