Ghost Town Gunfight

The sun was just starting to sink below the horizon as a group a large group of about a twenty Powder Gangers led by Joe Cobb appeared in the distance.

They were all dressed in their signature blue NCR Correctional Facility jackets and armed to the teeth with rifles and dynamite. Even from a distance I could feel the serious air around them and knew they meant business and weren't playing around.

My heart thundered in my chest and thick beads of sweat ran down my back. I knew this was happening and that there wasn't anything I could do to stop it and just had to try my best to keep focused and not get shot. Taking a second to adjust my breathing I set my binoculars aside and hunkered down out of sight from my position atop the Prospectors Saloon.

It was unlikely the Powder Gangers would be able to see me from this distance but, I decided to play it safe and wait for the Sunny to take the first shot to pop my head out again.

Not far away she was also laying prone on the roof with her own rifle at the ready. Sunny was the best shot in town, so it made sense to have her up here where she had the best vantage point. And I was apparently up here too because my shooting skills yesterday impressed her enough that she thought I was a good enough to help her snipe.

Which to be fair wasn't wrong.

With the +2 Agility I got from my clothes the number of times I could fire the Varmint Rifle in VATS had increased from 3 to 4 and even without VATS my aim had become a lot steadier.

Of course, Yoruichi would obviously have been the better choice for this since she was still by far the better shot between us. But, she was off somewhere invisible waiting to throw a bundle of dynamite into the group of Powder Gangers. The hope was that she would be able to detonate the Gangers dynamite setting off a chain explosion blowing everyone up at once.

As they approached, I took the time to give my rifle a once over just to make sure everything was in working condition.

After confirming that everything was in working order I focused back on the road and saw that the Powder Gangers were about to enter my firing range a strange sense of calm washed over me. I don't know if it was adrenaline or what but, I wasn't afraid anymore and only focused on what I needed to do.

Soon enough the Powder Gangers were here and had stopped just outside the entrance of town and seemed tense.

Joe Cobb stepped forward in front of his men and addressed the town.

"Up until now I've been extremely patient with you all in Goodsprings but, that ends today! I'm tired off you people ignoring my threats and treating our gang as if we're a joke! You've got ten minutes to hand Ringo over to me or we go in and find him ourselves!"

A moment passed and seeing that his ultimatum was met with only silence Joe Cobb sneered and turned back towards his gang and drew his revolver.

"Get ready men we're going in."

"But, boss" a random Powder Ganger spoke up "Didn't you say they had ten minutes?"

"Idiot" Cobb scolded the man and explained "If they were going to give Ringo up, they would have done it days ago! No, these folk are stubborn, so we were always going to have to go in and take him! I gave them a time limit to make them think they were safe until the time runs but, we're actually going to rush in and finish thing before they even have a chance to fight back!"

Despite being hardened criminals most of the Powder Gangers in Joe Cobb's gang weren't very bright and would never have thought of a plan like this on their own and Joe Cobb reveled in their looks of admiration.

This was why he came out here.

He had started to lose control after more than two thirds of his men died in the fight with Ringo's caravan. Which was why he had to come to Goodsprings and throw his weight around to prove to his men that he was still strong, smart, and competent enough to lead the gang.

Knowing that this was already going well he cocked the hammer on his revolver and grinned.

"Get your dynamite ready! We're going to rush into town and start demolishing buildings to force everyone out into the open!"

"YEAH" his men roared!

"Zzzzp" Joe Cobb's blood ran cold as a bullet whizzed past his head and blood erupted from one of the men in his group!

"Get to cover" he screamed but, not before another bullet flew out and exploded a second Powder Ganger's head!

After that all hell broke loose as the Powder Gangers scattered to whatever cover they could find, and the hidden townspeople jumped from their hiding spots and sprung the ambush! Bullets flew as both sides traded fire and screams of pain echoed out!

From my vantage point up high, I was constantly using VATS to get a feel where everybody was and what was happening.

After the fighting began the Powder Gangers broke into two different groups.

The first and probably smarter of the two groups immediately dashed towards the old metal water tank we used to mark the location of the ambush. There were lots of tall bushes and grass there as well as the water tank itself which offered a good amount of cover to hide and return fire from. Joe Cobb was in this group and occasionally poked his head out to take shots but, unfortunately I didn't have a clear angle on him from my spot on the Saloon's roof.

I couldn't tell for sure but, it looked like he was injured and was doing his best to keep to cover.

So instead, I focused on the group of about ten or so Powder Gangers who had spotted Sunny and I after we fired the first two shots and were rushing us. They were probably trying to make it into the Saloon for cover since that was the closest building. I didn't know where they got the courage to rush through the hail of gunfire completely unprotected like that but, I guess the wasteland made people willing to do crazy things to survive.

Either way it was terrifying as hell!

I could literally feel the vibrations as bullets slammed into the building below me and hear them as they whizzed by overhead! Honestly, the only reason I hadn't been shot yet was because of how absurdly difficult it was to run and fire at the same time and actually hit anything.

Still, I didn't want to wait around and get shot so I raised my rifle and started firing!

I still wasn't using VATS yet, as that was my trump card and I didn't want to waste it too early since it took so long to recharge. Instead, I was using my knew agility to aim at the closest Gangers and shoot at their center of mass since that was much easier than getting a headshot and I didn't want to risk missing. Most of them weren't even wearing any body armor so a single shot to the chest was all it really took to take them down.

Suddenly, I caught sight of something and my heart skipped a beat!

The few Powder Gangers that had managed to escape the bullet hell had lowered their rifles and pulled out sticks of dynamite! They had managed to rush close enough that we were finally in range of their explosives!

Knowing that I couldn't hesitate I activated VATS and used it to take aim at one of the sticks of dynamite just as it left a Powder Gangers hand and fired! Causing it to explode early and turn the nearest couple Powder Gangers into a bloody mist and it didn't stop there! Just like we had expected the explosion had set of a domino effect that caused the rest of the dynamite to detonate too!

A massive explosion erupted just a couple dozen feet from the Saloon as the dynamite went off like firecrackers!

I was too stunned to even think about looking away and screamed in pain as I felt a piece of shrapnel lodged itself into my face. Thankfully it didn't land in either of my eyes but, I could already feel the blood running down my cheek.

I'd always heard that face wounds bled a lot but, this was the first time I actually experienced it. The blood oozed from my wound and started leaking into my eye forcing me to roll to cover and pull up my Pipboy. I didn't want to be away from the fight for too long and needed to stop the bleeding to see, so I scrolled through my Inventory and activated the Healing Powder hoping it would heal my wound.

It might have been a waste to use the Healing Powder on such an insignificant wound but, I felt like it was worth it if it meant I could get back into the fight sooner.

After all every Powder Ganger I didn't kill was just wasted Exp!

It might have been a bit cruel of me to be thinking of living breathing humans that way. But, I had already made peace with the fact that if I wanted to survive in this world I needed to get used to killing and make the most of every opportunity I could to level up as quickly as possible. Besides it wasn't like any of these Powder Gangers were good people. They had chosen to live as criminals and attack a small town, so I didn't need to feel guilty killing them to protect myself and the people of Goodsprings.

While I was internally debating the morality of killing Powder Gangers the Healing Powder I just used slowly forced out the tiny piece of shrapnel lodged in my face and stopped the bleeding. The wound was still there of course and the intense pain hadn't faded away yet but, it was enough.

I wiped the blood from my face again and crawled back into shooting position.

The explosion had kicked up a massive plum of dust that blocked my view forcing me to Use VATS once again to check out the battle situation. And I saw that the explosion earlier had almost completely wiped out the group of Powder Gangers that was charging the Saloon. There were still a few stragglers who were laying in pools of blood screaming in agony because of the missing chunks of their bodies.

Hardening my heart I took aim and put them out of their misery with carefully placed headshots. Because one it was the right thing to do, and two because I wasn't sure if their Exp would go to me if they slowly bled out instead of dying in the explosion directly.

Once that was taken care of, I focused my attention back on the group of Powder Gangers who were dug in below the water tank.

Sunny and the rest of the townspeople were keeping them pinned down with gunfire but, it didn't look like they were having much luck actually landing their shots. I couldn't help much either since the cloud of dust was still there blocking the way. And VATS wasn't going to help since my chance of hitting with it went down dramatically if the enemy was far away or behind cover which were both happening right now. I only had a single digit chance of hitting any of them which wasn't worth wasting a VATS shot on especially with my tiny amount of Luck.

I briefly had the thought of just taking out my Grenade Launcher and just blowing them all apart but, realized I couldn't do that since Yoruichi was down there invisible waiting for her chance to throw her dynamite.

My lack of experience came to bite me in the ass yet again! I remembered that I never actually told anyone I had a Grenade Launcher and was too focused on everything else to think about it! I could have ended all of this right now if I wasn't such an idiot!

Gritting my teeth, I joined in with the rest of the townsfolk and laid down suppressing fire and hope Yoruichi would make a move soon.

Down below Joe Cobb was having a very bad time he'd been ambushed, lost who knows how many of his men, and worst of all he'd been shot in the shoulder! Thankfully the bullet had only grazed him and hadn't broken anything but, that didn't stop it from hurting like hell!

He knew he needed to find a way to clear a path and escape with his men but, he was having a hard time thinking of a solution in this intense situation. What he really needed was to get a feel for the situation so he could come up with a proper plan. But, that would require sticking his head out to take a look something he wasn't excited to do.

Still Joe Cobb didn't become the leader of a gang by being a coward!

Steeling his nerves, he jumped up from his spot in the grass and took a quick look around to figure out what was going on. Once he was done Cobb dropped back down into cover but, not before a bullet streaked by his head cutting so close he could literally feel the wind coming off of it.

"Damn snipers" he snarled!

When he was up there, he saw the massive crater and pools of blood over by the Saloon and cursed! He'd hoped that massive explosion earlier was his men blowing up the Saloon and killing the shooters there. But, it looked like they were the ones blown up instead.

That however gave him an idea.

"Men" he called out over the shots! "We've got to get out of here! On my mark light up your dynamite and toss it towards the gunfire! We'll use that as a diversion to escape back the way we came!"

The remaining Powder Gangers sounded in agreement and started getting ready and held their explosives at the ready as Joe Cobb started counting down.

"3... 2... 1... Light em up" he called as his men lit the fuses on their dynamite and chucked them out.

The sticks of dynamite all had a 3 second fuse and Joe Cobb held his breath waiting for the explosion when he suddenly heard a loud thud coming from behind him. Turning around he just barely managed to catch a glimpse of a strange distorted figure running into the through the grass.

"Tsss" Joe Cobb's eyes widened in fear as he heard the tell-tale sizzle of a burning fuse and looked down to see a massive bundle of dynamite sitting just in front of him. "Fuck" he screamed completely forgetting about everything jumping up and blindly running forward trying to get as far away as possible in the little time he had left.

"BOOM" the other Powder Gangers didn't even have time to react as all the dynamite exploded at once covering the entire area in a massive cloud of dust and blotting out the sky.

In the distance Yoruichi had thrown herself to the ground inside a small ditch protecting her from the majority of the blast.

Before the battle started, she had used the Stealth Boy and climbed up on top of the old water tank to hide since she knew that was the only cover around. So, once the Powder Gangers scrambled after getting shot she would be in the perfect position to blow the stupid raiders sky high! All she had to do was wait for the right opportunity.

Dynamite had a loud fuse so she knew that if she just threw it down randomly the Powder Gangers would hear it and scatter immediately.

So instead, she decided to wait for them to light their own dynamite! That way they wouldn't be able to hear the sound of her fuse burning over their own dynamite. After that all she needed to do was throw her explosives into the group and run for cover into the small ditch she found beforehand.

In the hole Yoruichi had a massive headache her ears were ringing and she could hardly hear a thing but, that didn't stop her from having a massive grin on her face! She had done it! She blew up all those shitty Powder Gangers and saved the town! Of course, there might have been a few stragglers still around but, she wasn't too worried about that.

Ethan could handle that just fine.

She'd been watching the entire time and saw him taking out Powder Gangers left and right the whole fight. The part where he shot a lit stick of dynamite out of the air was particularly awesome! Even she wasn't 100% sure she could have done that! And even after getting a hit by a piece of shrapnel he only ducked behind cover for a couple seconds before jumping back into the fight like nothing happened!

She giggled thinking about how shy and awkward he was most of the time compared to how calm and composed he looked right now. Was he the type who did better under stress? She found the huge jump in his personality adorable and resolved to tease him even more in the future.

For now, though she was planning in just laying back here in this ditch until her hearing came back, everyone else could handle the aftermath she had already done her part.

Back up on top of the Saloon I let out a sigh of relief as I saw Yoruichi alive and uninjured after the explosion. Ever since she volunteered for the plan I was a bit worried she wouldn't be able to get away in time and get caught in the blast but, it looked like everything turned out just fine.

"Come on" Sunny called out to me as she jumped up and started running to the back of the Saloon towards the ladder we used to get up here. "There's nothing else we can do from up here! The fights already over and now all we need to do clean up the mess and make sure none of them escape!"

I wordlessly followed after her as we descended back to the ground.

My stomach lurched as we ran past the entrance of the Saloon and I saw the results of work firsthand. Severed limbs and bits of meat and bone were scattered everywhere and the scent of burn flesh and blood filled the air.

It was disgusting and I almost doubled over at the sight of it.

But, I somehow managed to hold myself together and swallow my vomit back down as I headed towards the field where the Powder Gangers blew up. Using VATS one final time I managed to confirm that all the remaining enemies were either dead or dying. Once I knew that I finally let my guard down and a sense of exhaustion washed over me.

The fighting had barely lasted for a minute or two but, I felt like I just ran a marathon.

And these were just your run of the mill Powder Gangers. They were basically the bottom of the barrel when it came to what I'd have to deal with in the future. I couldn't even imagine what it would be like having to fight head on against the Legion.

Letting out a heavy sigh I put my rifle away and drew my pistol before going around putting a bullet in the skull of the few remain Powder Gangers. While Sunny went to help attend to the wounded townsfolk.

Soon enough I came face to face with the man himself Joe Cobb. Both of his legs had been blown off and his was just lying there on his back staring blankly up at the sky. If I couldn't see his chest rising and falling, I would have assumed he already passed.

"Sorry Cobb" I shook my head and raised my pistol ready to end this mess once and for all.

"Wait" a familiar voice called out to me and Ringo ran over to me through the smoke.

Looking at Ringo I noticed how clean and unbothered he looked by all this. But, that wasn't surprising since he was placed at the backline away from the bulk of the fighting. I wouldn't have been surprised if he even landed a single hit during the final battle.

Not that I minded, after all how could he pay me the caps he owed if he died.

"What do you want Ringo" I frowned completely done with this entire situation.

"I want to be the one to finish him" Ringo looked down at the bloodied Joe Cobb and snarled! "I've been living like a rat in fear of this man for almost an entire week! And now I want to return the favor" he reared back and violently kicked Cobb in the ribs making him spit blood!

Anger surged through me and I pushed him back!

"There's no need to go that far! He's already a dead man" I roared!

Ringo snorted "So your one of those bleed heart types, huh? Well, whatever I'll pay you extra if you let me end this."

I just glared at him making Ringo groan and roll his eyes.

"Look I promise I'll end him with a single shot right between the eyes, okay? Just let me do it otherwise he'll bleed out on his own before either of even do anything!"

"Fine" I eventually sighed and moved out of the way.

It didn't really sit right with me but, then again nothing about this situation was right anyway. And I just wanted all of this to be over. So, I just decided to let him do it so we can finish this and all move on.

Ringo grinned and stepped in front of Joe Cobb and raised his pistol.

"Bet you never thought it would end up like this when you decided to hunt me down did you Cobb" Ringo laughed darkly as he cocked the hammer of his gun?

His words seemed to awaken the last bits consciousness inside of Joe Cobb and his eyes slowly came back into focus.

"You" he wheezed as his gaze landed on Ringo and tears fell from his eyes "This is all your fault! I-If you had just paid our toll we would have let you pass! Why did you need to shoot first? Our price wasn't even all that much! You would have made thousands once you made it back to New Vegas!"

"Tch" Ringo clicked his tongue and pulled the trigger "Why would I ever give any of my hard earned caps to garbage like you? I'd rather burn everything to the ground so that the rest of your Powder Ganger friends over in that prison know not to mess with the Crimson Caravan."

My jaw dropped at the sudden revelation! Ringo really did fire the first shot! And all of this death and destruction was all his fault!

For a moment I felt an uncontrollable urge to fire one final shot right into Ringo's brain but, eventually my shoulders sunk down and gave up reholstering my gun.

Even if Ringo fired the first shot and was a way bigger asshole than I remembered he was still technically in the right. There was no reason a businessman being robbed shouldn't try and protect his goods and even his logic about killing Joe Cobb's gang to show his strength and send a message to the other Powder Gangers wasn't exactly wrong.

The Powder Gangers were the ones who chose to be bandits and they should have known that it could end this way one day.

In the end I could only sigh and realize that the mojave really was hell on earth and that everyone here was just doing whatever they could to survive in this crazy world.