I'm going to talk to Flora

You approach Flora after grabbing your rucksack and webbing. She’s near the closet gathering her things, which primarily consists of regular traveling gear. Rope, first aid, and a small pocket pistol. You knew it as the ASP, but it was probably brandished as some other model.

Her attitude was not as bright as it usually was; it was deemed by tarnished honor. She turned and glared at you. “I should’ve yelled at him for talking to me like that,” she growled. “If I were still in Massachusetts, I would have shot him.”

“Calm down,” you cooed at her. “I’m gonna help you see Amari.”

Flora’s expression softens at the mention of the name. She stepped closer, lowering her voice too. “You’re serious? This could be really dangerous.”

Astrid’s warning was brought back to memory. This was going to be dangerous, but you promised Flora you were going to help her. “Of course.”

Flora blushed at your short answer. “Thanks, Warren. It means more than you could ever imagine.”

“Don’t thank me yet. You might not like the outcome.”

“We all have to take risks every once in a while,” she sighed, looking back at Kenji. “No matter how high they might be.”

The way she looked at Kenji told you she knew something about him and that she wasn’t going to hold a grudge about his refusal.

After stripping about half your gear from your rucksack and webbing, you went to Kenji and told him that you were ready. He looked at you and then Flora. “No side quests. No personal feelings. We go in and then go out, got that?”

You and Flora both nod. He took his pistol belt and went for the ladder. Flora filed in, and you did the same. Alexandra waved goodbye and wished you good luck, but it didn’t seem that sincere.

Since there are enough horses for all 3 of you this time, you decide to take Bill. Flora mutters a quick “thank you” as she passes you during your mounting process and gets on the next best option - Thunder, a horse that was deep black. Kenji adjusted his riding carbine in its holster, warning you and Flora to keep a little spread out. There are no complaints from that order, though you didn’t enjoy riding in silence…

It took about 20 minutes to get to the “settlement.” The terrain was surprisingly rocky and had lots of brush covering the area. Pine trees, tall grass, sage, and thorny bushes covered a beaten path. As soon as you break the tree line, though, you can see tall houses, new and old structures, mixed together to work in unison.

There’s a wall surrounding the torch-lit houses. It’s at least 10 feet tall, which on its own would not have been intimidating, but it was barbed wired and had a few sentries stationed up and down the wall, with hard points secured by sandbags and machine guns. Each of these hardpoints had at least two men/women occupying them. Even from your distance, you could hear the orders being barked and the shouting of the dwellers inside.

You make it to where the tree line ends. The rocky terrain makes you feel a little uneven getting off Bill, but you maintain your footing. Flora seems to handle herself just fine too. Kenji unsheathed a lever-action rifle from his steed and told you both to keep near him. He looks at Flora and cocks his head, reminding her to stay near. She nods, but you know who she will be focusing on once you make it inside the compound. You weren’t going to ask any questions, but it was tempting a Kenji traveled down the winding path that led to a beaten trail that had thick shrubs and dead trees all around it, making it damn-near impossible to move without making any noise.

Eventually, despite the obstacles, you made it to where the wall-less watched over. Here, the torches weren’t as prevalent, and the sentry was alone. Kenji knelt behind a bus and swung his rifle from his back and into his arms. You got your rifle out, too, and put yourself in a low ready position. Flora, having just a pistol belt stayed between you two. Her eyes switched from you and Kenji. She was waiting for one of you to break the silence.

“Alright,” Kenji finally said. “Flora, I’m gonna need you to get in the open.”

“What??” She blurted out.

“Warren and I will be right behind you,” he assured her. “We will not let you get hit, but you’re gonna have to do something else.”

“Ok,” Flora took a deep breath. She looked down and nodded. “What do you want me to do exactly?”

“I’m gonna need you to act your heart out,” Kenji told her. “Act scared. Act panicked. Act like someone was trying to **** you.”

She knitted her brows, but he didn’t stop. “Cry. Whimper. Do whatever you can get that guard to let you in.”

“There’s no gate back here,” you protested.

Kenji looked at you. “They have an emergency ladder to let people. It goes over the wall and covers the wire. It’s how I got out.”

Silence lingers. Flora looks annoyed, almost as though she’s had to do this before. However, she frowns and looks down after a couple of seconds. Kenji doesn’t look away from her, and he just waits for her reply. After a full minute passed, she exhaled like she’d been holding her breath. You blink and shift your knees when you turn to face her. To your surprise, she starts crying.

Whoa…

She doesn’t just cry, she just starts to hyperventilate too, or you think she is. Kenji doesn’t move, but you do. You offer a hand, but you are too late. She bursts from the bushes you had hiding from and lets out a plea for the sentry.

“Help! Help me, please!” Flora waves her hand back and forth, making the man stir out of his tired state. “They’re right behind me! Help me!”

The sentry points his gun at her, so she raises her hands. “No!” She shouts. “They- they killed my family! I’m- I just need help!”

“Go away!” The man shouted. “We’re under lockdown!”

“Just hide me!” Flora shoots a glance over her shoulder. A look of **** terror hides her beauty and elegance.

The man shifts legs. “L-let me to my supervisor-“

“They’ll catch me before then,” Flora moans. “I’m going to die! I don’t want to die! Please, please let me in! I’m begging you!!”

The sentry froze and scanned the landscape behind Flora for a few seconds. He finally caved under her whimpering and let out an annoyed groan. “Hurry up!” He shouted.

He pulled a silver ladder up and covered the barbed wire with a heavy leather hide before setting the ladder down on the other side. Flora faked a limp, working her way up to the ladder. She tried to climb up but **** a loud yelp to travel out of her lungs. “I can’t! I can’t!” She cried and stepped back down the ladder. “I need help!”

“Seriously, woman?!” The sentry sighed and took out a handheld flashlight and flipped it on to scan the bushes. The dull light ran over your brush, but it didn’t provide enough light to reveal your location. Kenji adjusted his grip on his lever action and held his breath nonetheless. It’s then you realize that this isn’t your average lever-action rifle. It was a custom and carefully put together weapon; it was tactical and fancier than what first your last glance suggested. It was Woodstock, sure, but it also had a short scope and an impressive suppressor on the end. The metal was blued and shimmered as the soft light caressed it. Finally, being foolishly satisfied with his search, the sentry slung his rifle around his shoulder and worked his way over the ladder. When his boots hit the ground, he snapped back and told Flora to hurry up as she grabbed and supported her up the bars.

Kenji snapped too. He shot up and squeezed a single round out from his rifle. A bullet, hollow point or not, split into the man and splintered his skull into pieces. He charged forward and grabbed the body, dragging him closer to the wall to hide it in the shadows. “Good job, doll.”

Flora wipes her cheeks. "Whatever."

Kenji goes first, then you second. The last person is Flora, who was perhaps the most eager to get going.

Once you are all over the wall, you can see the entire compound is stirring. Armed guards are running all over the place, and plenty of shouting. You know immediately that you are out-gunned.

“Kenji, this looks like a storm of fuck.” You mutter, kneeling behind him.

“We’re just gonna grab Scarlet.” He sighs, looking at Flora, and nods to her to get between you two. “I’m going to lead you to where Amari is being held. From there, you can do everything else on your own.”

You exhale. “I’ll do everything I can, but I can’t promise anything this time.”

Kenji looks at you. “I trust you. You’re not an idiot.”

His voice came out soft as he complimented you. He wiped back his hair and shook his head. “I just really need to get Scarlet, and I can’t do it without Flora.”

Flora shifted her legs uncomfortably. “Guys, we need to get a move on here, please?”

Kenji agreed, and you all moved around the compound. You were surprised to see this many people in an area this controlled. It was perhaps more stable than Billings. It was shut out from everything else - everything looked homemade and new. The signs on the shops. The chairs and benches. Even the light posts looked to be made of recent materials. Despite the buildings taking a striking resemblance to the western frontier structures, they also looked new. Most of them were wood, but the building you were heading towards was stone; all you had to do was cross the street.

“We’re gonna have to cross it,” Kenji announces. “Scarlet should be somewhere over there, but Amari is inside.”

“I’ll cross last,” Flora says. “Warren should go first, though. He doesn’t stick out as badly as the rest of us do.”

Kenji nods, silently agreeing. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Warren, cross the street and make sure there isn't anyone close."

Fucking shit. "Yeah, I guess I can do that."