2. Hassles

Staying at Nipton's main square, Melinda was counting the income from the last sold animals.

She had an excellent day, she earned more than first thought, and there were also clients who pre-ordered longhorners, ensuring the deal for next week as well.

She was satisfied, also happy that her patient was also healing visibly well.

He accompanied her to the city, and as it turned out, he had a God-given talent to herd animals.

Next to him and her dog, she almost had nothing else to do, except to sell the goods.

She was a little afraid that he came with her, with the intention to remain in the town, but when they were done with the selling and Melinda began to pack, he also helped her, and then went back to the farm together.

On their way back they've chosen the mine fields as the man began to feel more and more tired and wanted to get home as quick as possible.

Melinda's attention has been focused on two things: on one hand she watched the mines, not to tread on one, and on the other hand she watched her escort, especially after she saw that he presses tightly his tummy.

His breathing was heavy, he sweated and his face became pale, but constantly refused the girl's help.

With each gesture of his head it seemed that he's searching for something, but when Melinda asked what he is searching for, he always gave evasive answers. In the end she realized that it is useless to ask him.

As they walked, Melinda had a strange feeling. She realized that she knew nothing about the man, not even his name.

He simply calls himself John. But first, when she called him by that name several times, it happened that he did not react to it at all.

Later he explained to her that he didn't hear her voice because of the pain. It even could have been plausible, but in other situations he noticed every little rustle. Just that name, John seemed so meaningless to him in the midst of the great pains...

They returned to the farm early in the evening. On John's every move it seemed, that he's tired and still was in pain, but he took care of the longhorners, while Melinda did other works around the house.

He was helped by Simple, and finished quickly.

When his work was finished, the man sat on top of the straw next to the pen. He looked gloomily in front of him, and by the time the St. Bernard sat next to him.

The dog panted at him. He watched the dog for a while. It seemed that something annoyed him. The dog kept moving around before him, with her two big ears lowered.

„Antony would kill for a mongrel like you," he said finally. He smiled and the dog rubbed to his feet. "My friend, ignorance is a great treasure..."

He smiled, as he gently patted the animal's back.

„John, Simple!"

Melinda's voice it came from the house, and in the next minute, the dog left him there and swiftly ran into the house. This so called John still sat there for a while, but then he also went in.

The girl was in the living room, next to the table. An the worn table a needle laid silently.

„Look what I've found!"

She picked up the needle when she saw the man enter.

„I don't need that thing!" protested the man.

„But you need it! This can put you sooner on your feet and heals any possible fracture!"

„I don't need drugs!"

„It's just a Stimpak!"

„Drugs!"

„For God's sake, they're prepared from herbs! Even I can make them, if I would have home empty needles."

„I believed you better than this..."

„Where are you going?"

„What do you think? To sleep!"

„But you didn't eat diner!"

„My appetite has gone."

„But you have not eaten anything since noon!"

„This conversation just turned my stomach! What don't you understand about this?"

Melinda was stunned for a moment. She almost cried her opinion after the man, but she came to senses before she would have hurt more the man's feelings.

She thought that if he's so wooden-headed than suffer. She went to the kitchen and dined.

Somehow the bites did not taste so well alone. During those few days ever he was besides her she fully accustomed to not eat alone.

On that night Simple doesn't even went near Melinda. When they quarreled with John, the dog just ran out and Mel's all attempts to call back was in vein.

Finally she put the animal's bowl outside, after that she locked the front door, than she headed to her room.

Before she turned off the lights in the hallway she looked in her parent's room, where the quest stayed.

It seemed that John, with the blanket up to his neck, was asleep.

Melinda, as quietly, as she could, sneaked into the room to take a better look on him.

She worried for him, because the man was not looking too well in the afternoon, and after the quarrel she was afraid that maybe he was in severe pains, just didn't admitted it.

She almost reached the bed when she heard a sigh from the man, who just pretended to sleep.

"I hope," he said, "that you've not come to inject that drug in me!"

"I've never intended to force anything on you."

"It seemed to me differently in the living room!"

"My opinion is still the same! That's only a Stimpak, not a Jet or Psycho!"

"Oh, yes. Today a Stimpak, tomorrow a Med-X to ease the pain, then a bit of Mentat, after that a bit of Jet and Psycho, and in the end I would be more fucked up than a Fiend!"

"Your choice… In any case, the Stimpak is still waiting for you in the living room, just in case if you change your mind."

"Rather get rid of that thing before sunrise, because if it happens that I see it in the morning, I will throw away!"

"Food in the kitchen, if you need anything, you know where to find me. Sweet dreams!"

There was no answer, but frankly, it did not matter. She truly didn't understand why he was so upset.

While she changed into pajamas she was thinking about John. According to his accent she was convinced that he came somewhere from the east. This could explain his behavior against alcohol and drugs, because her father often told her that the legion hated these two things the most, and if he would barter with them legal or in the black market, he sure would've been crucified.

However, after their dispute in the evening she found out that the man was well aware of the drugs, and even the Fiends were no strangers for him, so in Melinda's opinion he came from the Great Khan rather than the Legion.

Deep in thought, she finally went to sleep.

Toward dawn the short haired man was awakened by loud noises. He was also vigilant asleep anyway, but the noises would wake up any deep sleeping man as well.

Half asleep he even smiled when he heard the women's screams, but as his mind cleared and he realized where he is, he was already out of bed and ran out from the room. Lack of a better weapon, he picked up a chair and he went with that to Melinda's room.

The hallway was dark, and as he reached the door, he saw that the thing is closed.

Carefully he opened the door, and as he looked around the room lit by the moonlight, he put the chair down and went inside.

Melinda writhed and screamed, still lying on the bed. She was visibly welcomed by the nightmare that haunted her every night.

Outside Simple was barking, and when John looked outside, he saw the female leaning against the wall with its two front legs, constantly barking, while was looking in the direction of Melinda's room.

The man left the window and went to the bed. He kneeled on the sheet, but all his attempts to wake Melinda up were in vein. She was still screaming and struggling, with her black hair perspired.

Finally he sat down on the bed, and held down her arms, and he called her by her name until the girl awakened.

Melinda was completely broke out in sweat and was staring at the man who put her arms over her head, pressing her down.

"What…" she mumbled as she looked at her hands. John let go in that moment, after that he said:

"You flailed so much around you, that I feared, that maybe you'll hurt yourself. "

"I'm going to let Simple in," she muttered while she rubbed her two wrists alternately. She was about to stand up, when the man grabbed her shoulders.

"You do not want to tell me, what happened?"

"Just a nightmare", Melinda replied, turning her head from the man.

"Every night? This seems to be a little bit more than that."

"I've did not interrogate you about the wounds on your back…"

"I was disobedient and broke a rule. Since that I'm not bound by the rules. Only by faith! Now it is your turn!"

"You know the magazines? Like Grognak the Barbarian, or Cobweb?"

"Pre-war comics? They didn't interests me in general, but I know almost all of them. In my work it is inevitable to obtain information, and sometimes you can learn even from the fantastic tales!"

"I think you've heard about the story of the Flying Red Caped Man or Cobwebs."

"The men dominating super powers who hide behind masks protect the world?"

"Yes, it sounds stupid..."

"What has they to do with your dreams?"

"The Cobweb is half man, half spider... In my dreams a half-wolf, half-human looking creature is chasing me. Each night... I told you that this is stupid!"

Melinda pulled herself away on the bed and made to stand, but John put his arm around her waist and pulled her back.

"Nothing's stupid, what is haunting you", he whispered in her ear, she than was completely embarrassed, but despite grabbing on the man's arm, blushing all the way to ear, actually she did not want to free herself from his embrace.

"How long were you haunted by those dreams?"

"Maybe I was born with them", laughed Melinda annoyed.

"For years, only torment came to you in the night? You know that your body is weakened a lot by the thrashing, shouting, not to mention the sweating."

"When I was small, when I had nightmares, I have always slept between mother and father. Today, unfortunately, this is impossible..."

"And you weren't kicking them out of the bed?"

"As I recall, some mornings Dad was limping like you! We also kept at home a couple Stimpaks. Well, of course I'm kidding! I 'm not a big bone crusher!"

"Come, let's see if this method is still working!"

"What?!"

The man pulled up the surprised woman on the sheet, and then he was lying down on the bed, his right arm still on her hips. The blush from Melinda's face began to disappear, but when she looked back and saw the man's head on her pillow, she started to blush again.

"I'm going to let Simple in!" Melinda shouted, and was out of bed.

"Hmm... even turns out in the end, that my luck lady found me a virgin..." whispered the man between clenched teeth, with a broad smile on his face.

Melinda felt that if she can't go out, to the fresh air, the skin of her face will burn down. That memory, like a picture, when she woke up lying there, with her hands pinned above her by that short-haired stranger, completely burned into her memory.

She pulled the door behind her, than she crouched, with her back to the wall, just beside the window.

Simple, the old Saint Bernard ran up beside her, whimpering and pushing her wet nose to Melinda's hands.

They sat under the moonlight until the cool desert night was pretty cold to make the girl run inside the house.

After closing the front door, the coyote band began their inevitable serenade. And it really seemed that she will have the opportunity to miss the nightly show of the animals. As it turned out, it was not the case.

Melinda, perhaps with a little redness on her face, but she was heading towards her bedroom.

As she opened the door it occurred that he really meant what he said, at least he was still there.

As he was lying on his back, the moonlight cast mysterious shadows on his face by the withered tree, just outside the house.

His chest was rhythmically moving up and down, as he was sleeping in Melinda's room.

As she watched she doesn't wanted to wake up the guy. She gently pulled the blanket from under his feet and draped it over, accompanied by Simple she moved to her parent's room, where a large double bed mattress's wrinkled linen indicated that somebody had slept in it not so long ago.

Melinda was not thinking about it a lot, quickly threw herself on the empty bed, and closed her eyes.

In addition to the smell of the cleaned rugs on the pillow, it had an interesting flavor, which was very unusual for Melinda, but it was so pleasant to rest in the scent's embrace.

She was awakened by sunshine, and by Simple's barking. She yawned sleepily as she realized that the dog's voices came from the outside, even though there was supposed to be heard inside.

After a yawn she straightened her legs, and then she felt that she kicked something. Meanwhile she noticed that something slipped from her hips. The icing on the cake was the growling moan, when suddenly Melinda's elbow found someone well in the stomach.

"What are you doing here?", asked Melinda from the uninvited sleep mate, when she threw her unruly curls behind her shoulder, and the black hair, slapped the men in the face.

"I could ask the same question. You are not in your own bed!"

"Oh, really? And yet this is whose fault? Who forgot to get out of bed, before snoring?"

"Nobody complained about it before!"

"Since you are lying here next to me?"

"Good question. It was still dark when..."

"Stop! Not interested in the details!"

Melinda jumped out of bed, and then stormed out of the room. She was angry, but mainly because she felt that she can not control her organism again. She felt the heat on her face.

In the kitchen, took out from the fridge a bottle of cold, clean water. She was leaning next to the kitchen table, while sipping from the bottle, when he came.

"The method learned from your parents still works", he said, sitting down on a chair.

"If you do not want to leave during the day, I suggest you to forget about what happened last night! And you do not dare to approach my bed, not once, while I'm at it!"

"Your house, your... your castle."

"Maybe it does not bother you at all what happened, but for me, this situation is more complicated! I felt from the beginning that it is not a good idea to let a stranger into my house..."

"I can go, if my presence comes with so many difficulties.

"I do not mind, and is even much easier for me if you're here and help me. But understand that... There are things I do not want to share with you. For example: my bed, or nightmares. I want you to stay, if you want, but..."

"But if I'm not mistaken, there are conditions!"

"It would be nice if you could adhere to a few rules"

"Rules ... What can a man do without them? I'm listening!"

He listened idly by, what is allowed and what no in the future at the small farm while he's there. His face was grim, almost meaningless.

Not given his opinion, he did not protest, he apparently agreed, and he was also keeping the "rules".

At night he often got up, and every time he heard a noise from distant parts of the floor, walked to the bed and watched silently the struggling black-haired girl.

The moonlight sometimes let visible the parts of her body. So remote at the back, behind the ear, between her hair could've be seen a tattoo. Maybe for the people of the desert or wasteland was a small, little, meaningless tattoo, but not for the legionnaires of Caesar!