There's a Time for Losing, and a Time for Winning.

Arcade, Rex, and Ellis find their way to Lake Mead not as friendly as they'd like.

I'm not sure how long I slept, but I woke up and was unbearably hot. It had to be at least noon. I kicked off my lab coat and noticed something-- Ellis was no longer at my side. I ventured towards the door, pushing the creaking wood open. Ah, there he was. He sat atop a large rock, overlooking the Mojave. I knew then this was his desert, his wasteland. He owned everything here. It was all his, and he was going to protect it. He sat on his haunches, his hands toying with something that shone in the sun. I got nearer to him and saw the things he was holding were NCR dogtags he had picked up off fallen soldiers. I came up behind him, the sand and rock crunching under my shoes. He looked back, then set to tying the dogtags around his neck and right arm.

"Oh. I didn't mean to disturb. You don't have to put those away because I'm here."

"I'm not. I was going to bury these, but...this spot isn't special enough." He put the dogtags under his shirt and stood. He had a menacing presence, despite the fact that I was taller than he. His covered-up face just screamed mystery and gave off a dark aura.

"Aren't you going to report the deceased to someone? Warn their families or something? One would think you would need the dogtags to do that, instead of just burying them."

"I know the names of every person on the tags. I don't need them to remember."

He went back down the rock and into the shed. He wasn't in there long, however, and as soon as I was down the rock he was back out with Rex. He handed me my coat and we started off.

"Come on. We're close to Lake Mead. We can bathe and rest there, then we're going to scout the Legion Fort."

"Ah. Fantastic. While we're at it why don't we just bathe in a pile of toxic goo? Or try to make friends with Deathclaws?"

Ellis chuckled under his breath, but didn't say anything. We were quiet, walking in blistering heat. Rex pattered beside us, occasionally shooting off to chase a rat. We didn't run into much trouble besides a few puddles of radiated water and a single family of fire ants. I noticed the heat beginning to lessen, and then wind brushed my cowlick a little.

"We're near water," Ellis announced, looking around for a vantage point. He broke off to the left and climbed up a small cliff. He scrolled through his Pip-Boy and pulled out his binoculars. He looked through them for a while, almost five minutes. When you're in the desert with a robot dog and quite literally nothing to do, that is a long f*****g time.

"What are you staring at?" I yelled up to him.

"A group of Lakelurks. Seven in sight. There may be more behind the house, but I don't see any as of now," he yelled back, sliding down the edge of the cliff. He went over to Rex and kneeled down. He began petting the dog's brain case, then looked up at me. "I'm going to send Rex to lure them out. I'll be on the top of that cliff over there," he pointed a long ways away, to a tall rock that I guess you could call a cliff.

"How do you want to do this? We've got plenty of C4. Or you could do it the old fashioned way with your gun. Or whatever you'd like."

"I'd rather stay away from explosives for a while. How about I shoot over that boulder?" I pointed to tall rock in the distance, a cactus on the left side and a Banana Yucca tree to the right.

"Sounds good to me," Ellis said, turning back to Rex. "Rex! C'mon boy, let's go play!" he said excitedly, and I found it a little creepy that he used the word play instead of "mass murder". Either way, Rex wagged his tail, spun in a circle, then thumped his tail against the ground excitedly. Ellis left for the rock. When I could see him, a speck on the horizon, Rex and I went to our positions. I could see the Lakelurks just barely, and Rex was already crouching; poised and ready for the attack.

"Come on, boy. Go get 'em. And...don't die, all right?"

Rex really didn't need any other encouragement. He bolted off, and I placed my plasma defender over the rough surface of the boulder. Rex tackled a Lakelurk from behind, tearing the back of its neck open. He came sprinting back, blue skin and muscle still caught between his sharp metal canines. A Lakelurk was closing in on my furry friend. I aimed down the sights of my gun and fired three, four times, but only got two hits in. I was wary about hitting Rex. Rex turned and jumped, using his paws to climb up the Lakelurk. His teeth sank into the blue rubbery skin of the enemy's shoulder, right where the carotid artery would be on a human. Rex shook his head, the skin tearing and ripping. The Lakelurk flailed, its sharp claws making sparks against the robotic parts of Rex's body. Our faithful friend hung on, however, and the Lakelurk's purpleish blood was spraying everywhere like a dark fountain. Rex pushed off, landing on his side. He scurried away, further back to me. By this time the blue monster had collapsed and was clawing the ground for air. It was no use, and I suppose it suffocated. I never took much stock in learning about Lakelurk anatomy and physiology.

I heard the sharp pzzm of a sniper's bullet whizzing past my head. I turned, glaring at the rock in the distance. I yelled a curse at Ellis, then turned back to see the damage he'd done. He'd completely severed one of the Lakelurk's head from its shoulders. I moved to the side of the rock, kneeling down and balancing my gun on my knee, waiting until I had a clear shot. Rex shot out from next to me and raced after one of the blue monster things. I counted three Lakelurks. Three? That didn't sound right. Ellis said there had been seven.

'One dead Lakelurk, two dead Lakelurk, three dead Lakelurk. There should be four, not three,' I thought. I turned my head just in time to get slapped in the face by the sharp claws of the missing enemy. That was going to leave a mark. I groped the ground for my gun, and more importantly, my glasses. F**k, I could not see a thing!

I heard Rex's far-off barking and the tramping of his paws as he sprinted to me. Oh, Ellis, please, dear lord, have a moment of extreme sniper-accuracy if you fire your gun. Please don't hit me. Oh dear lord I do not want to die by friendly fire.

I found the handle of my gun and turned it up, squinting at the Lakelurk as it began to lean over me. I fired, and the green ball hit it right in the face, knocking it back a few feet. It clawed and felt over its face, the rubbery skin melting over its eyes and mouth. I tried to fire again and my gun clicked, out of ammo. S**t. I continued feeling around for my glasses when pzzm, pzzm, pnk!

Oh, thank god. Thank god. I felt the cool spray of blood from the Lakelurk squirt over my legs. Ellis had got him. Better late than never, but I was still going to kick his a*s for being late. I held my middle finger up to where I was pretty sure he was, then felt the brush of Rex's matted fur against my side. He was still growling, but I felt his snout and my fingers touched the rim of my glasses. "Good boy, Rex!" I cheered, petting his head. I wiped off the grime and grit as best I could, then pushed them up my nose. Rex was off again, chasing after a Lakelurk that had been injured by a misfire from Ellis. My courier friend had gotten it in the leg, and it was limping around, trying to get away from our-- imagine me, using 'our' like it's a normal thing. Me and Ellis. Ellis and I.-- dog. Well, you can guess who won that. Rex came back to me, wagging his tail happily. Ellis and I easily dispatched the rest of the Lakelurks, letting Rex have a rest. Once Ellis had come down from his sniper position, we headed off towards the lake, kicking the bodies of dead Lakelurks as we went.

Author's Note

Ignore how many times I had to use the word 'Lakelurk'. Or Rex's name. Correct any grammar mistakes if you find them.