Haley knocked the last bottle off the fence, and beamed at Carson, "I can shoot!"

Carson smiled at her, amused, "Good job. I think this is where we call it quits for today, it's getting late. Oh no...Haley! Get behind me!"

She looked around, worried, "Okay, but why?"

"Just do it," he said sternly, bringing his rifle into his hands.

Haley scurried behind him, her rifle clutched tightly to her. Carson watched the alley between the bar and store, as three men in blue, armed with Cz. 75 pistols and dynamite, approached. Carson quickly recognized the middle man as the man he'd struck in the bar earlier. Carson yelled, "Stop moving!"

The man only grinned sadistically, and kept walking. Carson shouldered his rifle, and aimed at the middle man. The man grabbed for his pistol, so Carson fired five rounds, pulping the man's head. As he turned to the man on the left, a yellow streak fell across his view. He turned, and flung himself on Haley. He covered her, and the dynamite exploded. His head swimming and ears ringing, Carson tried to stand back up. A boot struck his back, and he fell with a grunt. Cold steel pressed against the back of his skull, and he winced. As his hearing slowly returned, he heard the crack of a gunshot nearby. The man on his back crumpled, and he quickly rolled from under the body. Haley was sitting nearby, rifle smoking in her hands, and a look of shock on her face. Carson said to her, "You okay?"

She answered, in a barely audible whisper, "Yeah. Someone's watching us."

"How do you know?"

"The other guy got shot, but it wasn't me."

"As long as it's not us getting shot at. Help me up."

Haley quickly got up, dropped her rifle, and walked over to where Carson was lying. She offered her hand, so Carson took it, and tried to stand. He barely put weight on his left leg, when it gave out, and he tumbled back to the dirt with a grimace. "Well, shit," he muttered.

Haley gave him a look of concern, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Something's wrong with my leg. Got a stim?"

She reached into the pocket of her jumpsuit, just as a small group of townspeople, armed with shotguns and rifles, similar to Haley's varmint rifle, and lanterns. They all looked afraid, but ready to fight. One, a stern looking woman, stepped up, and said, "What the hell is going on out here!"

Carson rolled onto his back again, and grunted, "A fight."

"Well, we heard that!"

Haley said, "Look over there," as she pointed to the alley nearby, "and you'll see what happened."

The group all looked, and saw the two bodies, and Carson crawled, as best he could, to reveal the third. The woman said, "You managed to kill Joe Cobb, eh?"

"I'd be happy to share all the details, just as soon as I get a stimpak to help with the shrapnel wounds in my leg."

Haley pulled her hand from her pocket, revealing a stimpak. Carson took the stim, and stuck his leg with it. After a few seconds, he pulled the syringe out, stood, and slipped it into his pocket. "Now, what were you out here doing?"

"I was teaching the lady here to shoot, when these three assholes decided to try and kill us. We only protected ourselves."

The woman looked around a bit, said nothing, and walked off. The militia went their separate ways, grumbling about being roused from their dinners. Carson sighed, and looked around. He noticed a boarded up gas station nearby, and watched as a light appeared while the sun set. He regarded the structure, until he was drawn away by a conversation nearby. Haley was talking to a hulking, weathered blue robot, with a cowboy face set on a TV screen, and a slight accent. He watched for a minute, when the robot suddenly rolled off on its one wheel. Haley walked back over, and said, "That robot saved my life. He dug me out of a shallow grave."

"A shallow grave?"

"Some men attacked me," she said as she moved part of her hair from her forehead, revealing a large scar, "and tried to hide my body. The big robot, Victor, dug me out and took me to Doc Mitchell."

"That's something."

"Yeah...Worst part is, I can't remember a lot of things. I remember the attack, but it's spotty."

Carson grunted, and said, "Well, it's getting late. Is there an inn anywhere here?"

"Not as far as I know, unfortunately. I can ask Doc Mitchell if he has a spare place you can stay."