It's Nice to Go Trav'ling

"I seem tired, do I? What gave you that idea?" Spencer said with a laugh. "Thanks for packing. If you asked me to do it, no way in hell that would happen."

By the time Sierra joined Spencer in bed, he was already fast asleep.

The alarm went off at the same time as the day before, and like the day before, he jolted awake. He turned it off and wearily shook Sierra awake.

"Come on, we need to get going," he mumbled. He rubbed his face and got dressed. He slipped his boots on and grabbed a pair of Wayfarer sunglasses he had found, slipping them into his shirt's breast pocket.. He went through the bags to make sure everything was there.

"Okay, looks like we're ready whenever the sun comes up."

"Don't worry," Spencer said. "I know how to handle myself in the wasteland."

He took the gun and stuffed it in his belt, hiding it with the bomber jacket.

"I'm gonna get some fresh air and smoke a cigarette. We probably have about half an hour to rest."

Spencer turned his head when Sierra appeared. She sat next to him and he wrapped his arm around her. In that moment, he felt perfectly content. Despite the morning chill, she seemed to be radiating warmth. He would have been fine if that moment had never ended. He heard her ask him a question, and it took him a second to register it.

"What.. Oh, Vegas. Don't worry, pussycat, we'll both get there. It'll be before you know it."

Soon after, the sun was up. "We should stick to the main roads," he said, scratching his new beard. "Less chance we'll hit anything dangerous. He reached in his bag and pulled out a small booklet labeled "TRAVELER'S GUIDE TO THE WEST COAST- 2068 EDITION"

He flipped until he found the Mojave, and pointed to Red Rock Canyon.

"Look here- if we walk continuously, it'll be 15 hours. Realistically, it'll be more like a day and a half. Do we have water and food?"

"Great. We might need to hit a trader, but for now that's more than enough. Come on, let's get moving."

They began walking, and once they were out of the city, they did not meet another person for miles. For Spencer, the walk was very tedious. Every once in a while he would check the map out of boredom, knowing that nothing would change.

Several hours later, Spencer was breathing heavily and sweating. He saw an old rest stop up ahead and stopped to catch his breath. It had been years since he lived in the waste. He was having trouble getting used to it again. Years of chain smoking were obviously catching up to him. He tried to hide it, but it was becoming obvious. He tripped over a rock and fell on his face

"Can we stop there for lunch? I think I might just pass out if we don't", he said, wiping sweat from his forehead.

Spencer stumbled into the gas station and looked around for danger. When he saw there was none, he stopped and pulled up a chair, offering it to Sierra. He found another and reached in the bag for food. He found a pre war TV dinner and opened the packaging.

"Want to split it?" he asked Sierra.

When they finished, he spent time looking around the room. He opened the register and found $23 in pre-war money, and 2 bobby pins. There was a few boxes of ammo and some more food. He turned on a nearby radio, and Evelyn Knight filled the air.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe9RwAFVn9U

"See anything you need in here?"

"That shouldn't be a problem," Spencer said, approaching their new guest with his hand extended for a handshake.

"Pleasure to meet you, ma'am, my name is Harvey Fitzgerald, and this here is my wife, Dorothy. And you are?"

Spencer took a pack of cigarettes out of his breast pocket and offered one to Lily before lighting one for himself.

Spencer put the pack of cigarettes back in his pocket and took a drag of his.

"So, while we're here? Why don't you tell us about yourself?"

Soon after, Spencer noticed Sierra seemed to be uncomfortable.

"Hold on, Lily, I'm going to have to excuse Dorothy and I, we need to talk back here. We'll be back in a second."

He took Sierra behind some some shelves and began to quietly speak to her.

"Hey, there's nothing to worry about with Lily here. You're my girl, I don't need anyone else. Don't worry, okay," he said before kissing her. He returned to their new guest.

"So, where are you headed? My wife and I work with a caravan, and we need to make a stop to Red Rock Canyon. If it's on the way there, perhaps we could escort you there."