"Chill out baby!" Joe replied to Stephen's and Nikola's remarks, "Let ol' Joe do his sweet talking and we'll be on our way in no time!" he said, straightening out his coat and confidently walking into the camp.
As he approached the fire, he kept his air of confidence, but in his mind he hoped the rest of his group would be right behind him. Joe suddenly paused, when in the light of the fire he saw a rather strange looking man.
Leaning against the rock face, with a book folded open before him, the man was covered from head to toe with bandages, like a mummy. Over the bandages he wore simple dark pants and some sort of police vest body armor over a white button down shirt.
The man looked up from his book as Joe approached and the only part of his body that was not covered by bandages, his piercing, fearsome eyes, looked directly at Joe, making him pause his step.
The man stood up, and closed the book he was reading with one hand, and then spoke to Joe, in a deep, powerful, yet calming voice, "I would say welcome to Zion, but it appears the White Legs have greeted you first."
The man walked over to Joe and extended his hand, "However, I think you'll find us far more accommodating than the White Legs." Joe shook the man's hand and he continued, "I am Joshua Graham, you and your friends are free to stay in Zion as long as you need, we have food and water for you, however, if you were heading North, I'm afraid this is as far as you'll get."
A few tribals came out with wooden bowls filled with some sort of pudding textured substance in it, and animal skins with water, handing them to Joe and the others. However, Joe had stopped paying attention after hearing the name Joshua Graham, and had turned white as a ghost, with a concealed expression of fear on his face.
"Joshua Graham.....as in the Malpias Legate?" Joe said. Joshua paused for a moment, before replying, "That name died a long time ago, at the Grand Canyon."
Joe couldn't believe he was sitting in front of who was once the second most feared man by the NCR. However, Joe realized the rest of his group was probably waiting on him to get what he needed, so he started to recompose himself.
"Thank you for being..uh..more hospitable than most we've run into," Joe said, sitting down next to the fire with his food. Joshua replied, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
Angels. Hah, Joe thought. He certainly wasn't one.
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