Doc Mitchell was silent as the last of the Radaway was fed into the vain of the pink haired girl. She hadn't said anything in quite a while, instead opting to stare blankly. Though in a way it was a blessing as well. Good thing too, that wall would have been very boring otherwise.
He didn't know what to really think of her. She showed all the signs of coming from a vault, and yet she seemed downright ignorant of the concept. Her clothes were certainly odd and added to the mystery surrounding her. They weren't Vault jumpsuits, which was obvious, but they didn't have the years of wear and tear and constant patch jobs that were common in the wasteland. Looked downright brand new. And Mitchell had been around long enough to know what counted as such in the wastes.
And simple biology pointed to such as well. She was far too sensitive to the radiation levels of this earth for her to be anything other than a Vault Dweller. The only clues he had about her was that she came from a place called Tristain and had a French accent. That wasn't much for even the most dedicated of busy bodies. And that wasn't even getting started on her odd choice of hair color. He occasionally found himself going on odd internal tangents about where she found the dye amount needed to get such a thorough and even color.
All in all, the girl was an odd one. But she was still someone who needed help. They didn't shy away from helping two others before and Mitchell knew he couldn't turn her away in good conscience.
That being said, there was no doubt some people would be suspicious of her. Ringo had led them into a fight withe Powder Gangers, and though they won that fight, Mitchell was worried if people might start having second thoughts about taking in more people. It was-
"So how is she?"
Mitchell jumped a little as the dark skinned man spoke. Swiveling his head he came face to face with the man's dark brown eyes. For a six footer, he knew how to be silent when he wanted to.
Collecting himself Mitchell spoke. "Well, she's got a sensitivity to rads only held by Vault Dwellers, but she has no idea what Vaults even are, and I could go into some rather long winded rants about that one. But staying on medical topics, she's got some oncoming malnutrition and moderate dehydration, sunburns all along her body, and now with these rads, an infection from those wounds is likely. Hell, her getting a splinter could lead to blood poisoning. Or tetanus. Or possibly getting asthma from just breathing on a particularly windy day. I can give you a full list if you want." He said idly as he reached for a stimpak on the shelf.
He sighed as he looked a the device in his hand. "I was hoping to avoid using these, but the antibiotics will help her fight off any germs that managed to get in before I got to it . I wouldn't normally do this, but we're dealing with a special case here." He explained. He grabbed the bottle of alcohol and poured some into a glass before setting the needle if the stimpak inside as it was sterilized.
"Could there be a possibility of an allergic reaction with the Radaway?" He asked making Mitchell look back in surprise. That had been a good point.
He nodded. "That is a possibility. Using the same drug over and over again might make the body see it as a pathogen. If she takes so much of it, who's to say her body wont start rejecting that? I've seen that happen before, and it's not a pretty sight. We'll just have to hope for the best."
The man seemed to look at the girl intently, a look Mitchell couldn't place in his eyes.
"You're not thinking of taking her with you… are you?"
The man slowly turned his head, giving Mitchell a stoic look, but one that radiated bewilderment nonehteless."…no. Her best chance is to stay here. It's mostly stable and out of the way, and a stop for traders. If she can earn her keep here then she should have no trouble getting money for the medicine she needs. Taking her with me would cause nothing but even more uncertainty to everything." He said in a slightly scolding tone.
Mitchell was silently berating himself. That had been a rather embarrassing suggestion.
"Well, in any case I'll put in an order for some more medicine. The Followers I hear are some of the few people capable of actually making Radaway and Rad-X. But even then the girls future isn't set in stone to put it mildly. She's hardly the only one who needs help after all."
He sighed in frustration. It truly was not being able to adequately help someone. he may have learned to accept so many years ago, but all the same.
"Now what about you? How have you been feeling?" Mitchel asked, wanting to get an update on his other patient, his eyes flicking to the scar tissue on his skull.
"Mostly good. I had a dizzy spell as I came into the house. All of my limbs and extremities are still working correctly at least. I'll wait for tomorrow to make a more informed decision."
Mitchell smiled. "Glad to see somebody actually follow doctors order's for change. Besides's the lazy that is. Usually people brush us off and then wonder why they nearly dies or get another wound."
The man grinned. "Indeed"
Mitche'lls eyes widened slightly in gave a sly smile of his own before turning back towards the girl.
Louise still sat in the chair long after Doc Mitchell had left. Her mind was still trying to fully process the absolute barrage of sights, sensations and new people she had encountered in the last half hour.
Radee ashion… that bizarre sounding word was the thing that was at this very moment killing her. At least that was what she had been told. True, they could have been making it all up for some bizarre and inane reason, but a part of her realized that was just a form of wishful thinking. Why would they lie about something and then use medicine on her if it wasn't real? From what she had seen during her trek to this place gave her the impression of a barren place with scarce supplies. She may not have made it her study, but she felt medicine wasn't something you waste of nothing.
No… no matter how much she wanted to delude herself, this was a real threat. An invisible death on this world that she was more vulnerable to than the natives. Honestly, a part of her wondered if she did something so sinful that Birimir Himself decided to punish her. It would certainly explain a great deal of what has been happening to her thus far.
"Excuse me, Louise?"
Mitchell's voice had caused her to jolt a little and she looked up at him. She noticed though that he was standing an unusual distance away for a conversation. What was he doing?
"Listen, I can't say for certain I fully understand you. Your clear ignorance of the world is something strange, But whatever the reason for it, you need to learn some things if you wanna survive." He said, his expression that of a professor demanding full attention.
"First off, with regards to the radiation, try and keep your distance from other living things. We're practically living walking radiation sponges at this point, sort of like Glowing Ones. In your case, I'd say, ten feet should be a good enough distance."
Ten feet from other people, no LIVING THINGS? She had no Founder damn idea what a Glowing One was, the distance restriction was overriding what ever questions she had about that.
"I know, It'll be a right pain in the behind, but you need to take all the precautions there is. Your life is going to depend on Radaway and how often you can keep your supply of it up. Taking steps to give you more time is worth the effort. Still, even the most severe case of radiation allergy was never this bad. Almost like your getting some extra doses from something. How did you-"
He stopped talking his eyes landing on something of importance.
"Ah dammit. Haven't had to worry about it for so long, It's made me rusty to the simplest of details. That blood you got on your shoes, THAT's what's been giving you the extra doses." He explained as he walked over and deftly took the shoes off her feet. He quickly backpedaled, as fast his limping leg would allow, holding her shoe up. Indeed, there was a piece of that first group of bugs she encountered still on her shoe, the now hardened green splotches having been lost in her mind for some time now.
She really could have died due to that?
"Secondly, try and keep yourself clean of other's bodily fluids. It's just as radioactive as the entire part of it. You got any other splotches of bodily fluids on you?"
"I don't think so…"
He tossed the shoes aside, them clattering against a wall. "Not good enough. What else did you kill that might have gotten blood on you?"
"Just some fly things. That's all I killed. They started shooting some things at me out their butt so I blew some of them up. I was facing them so if you can't see any more on me I think I'm clean."
At the mention of the bugs Mitchell's face scrunched in disgust."Ugh, Bloatflies. Nasty things, even if they ain't that dangerous. What exactly happened?"
She yawned before responding. Her eyelids felt heavy as she explained. "I blew two of them up, that's how I got those pieces on me. One was injured and fell to the ground. Then a scorpion, a smaller one, came and started tearing It apart before eating it. I didn't watch anymore after that…" She shivered again at the bug's screeches as it was tore apart. As disgusting at the things were, she had nearly been on the receiving end of that herself and actually felt some sympathy for the thing. Just barely.
Mitchell gave her an odd look again, but she didn't know why. "Hm. Well in any case, I'll need to give you a quick look over. And I do mean quick. Just to be sure."
Louise, not really having much options complied, albeit reluctantly.
The doctor was keeping his word and was moving as quick as he could, his eyes rapidly going over her form in a professional and concise manner.
"Well, good news it looks like your clothes are indeed blood free, but to be frank, they ain't gonna do much for protection, or anything else for practicality. If I were you, I'd trade them in for some caps and more reliable clothes."
Louise, hearing that suggestion again, sighed. "Trading in my clothes? You are the second person to suggest that!' She actually managed to raise her voice that time.
He shrugged. "Well, they look in good condition… for now. Fine material like that, I'd imagine Chet in the general store could give you a decent price for them. City girls, or some country bumpkins might like the idea of feeling pretty… though admittedly the small size would be an issue, but they could make some high quality pieces out of them. And just who told that before? You came out of the middle of nowhere." Mitchell questioned.
Well... they weren't NCR. She didn't see much harm in divulging that information. "A man named Lorcan and his cohorts."
"Lorcan? Lorcan Teauge? You ran into The Lost?"
She shrugged. "I didn't know who they were. But I encountered them while they fighting a group call the NCR."
Mitchell's eyes widened slightly, a sudden look of nervousness coming over him. "Oh hell… You didn't help them did you?"
"No! I only stumbled upon them as they were fighting but I hid. They found me and I was… well, not forced to watch, the leader ordered my eyes covered for that, but they killed the one person they took alive. I had nothing to do with that fight, I didn't kill anybody!" She frantically explained.
The doctor was giving her hard look, scrutinizing her probably to see if she was telling the truth. The old man's eyes taking on a hardness she didn't like. Suddenly the kindly old man that had been in her presence was gone, that look speaking of hard experiences. Her already dry throat now feeling as if the entire desert had found it's way there.
He stared at her for an unsettling amount of time before finally they softened. "Hmm. Well, for all of our sake you better be telling the truth. We've already had one person drag our town into something we had nothing to do with."
She sighed in relief. "That's why they didn't follow me if that helps. Lorcan said that was why they couldn't escort me to this town in case another group of them followed the tracks here. He didn't want to implicate Goodsprings."
The doctor grinned at the news. "Heh. Awfully nice of him. Always did wonder what happened to him to make him hate the NCR as much as he does. He was always polite to us, and he never really did seem the type for violence. Even if he does have the face of a thug." Mitchell explained.
Still feeling a bit rattled form the look he gave her Louise asked a question hoping to move on. "Was he a resident here?"
Mitchell shook his head. "Oh no. He was a frequent visitor though. I had a few conversations with him here and there and I was honestly surprised when I found he started a gang called The Lost. Bunch a people with a chip on their shoulder for the NCR. I can't say for certain if it's deserved or not though. I can't deny they've done stuff to build a less than savory reputation with the Mojave. Maybe it's something like Bitter Springs…" The doctor mused
She had no idea what 'Bitter Springs' meant, but the name itself spoke little of anything good. Just more politics of this world, and she was barely picking this much up. She already made up her mind: She wasn't getting involved.
"Hopefully, they will understand if they come here. But even then, you did nothing wrong. Hopefully if they come snooping around they'll see that. They should. NCR does have a lot of decent folks in it. But I can't rule out problems from you arriving here. They also got a lot of pushy people in them, and well, I'm not gonna lie: Goodsprings already got in a fight over sheltering someone. But even that was against a bunch of thugs. Soldiers on the other hand..."
There was a thoughtful silence from him for a moment.
"Well, hopefully nothing will come of it. For now, let's just wait on that Radaway to work it's way through your system. After that, you should probably get something to eat and drink. And something other than sugar bombs. All that sugar on an empty stomach? Nothing good will come of that." Mitchell explained.
Louise let out another yawn.
"How long will that take?"
"Not too long. You should start feeling the ahem, 'call of nature' when it's ready."
'Call of nature'? Was that? No… Oh Founder, she could already tell she wasn't going to enjoy this...
"Once it's done, we'll work on getting some food and drink in ya. And then on getting you some jobs here."
Louise was silent, a new worry in her mind.
Mitchell walked out of sight, then returned with a strange looking contraption with a needle on it.
"Now, Before I forget, let's get this simpak out of the way."
In a few minutes after he warned her, and after he administered the strange medicine known as a 'stimpak ' to her leg and chin, Louise was forced to heed the 'call of nature'. In less tactful terms, that meant squatting over a bucket and peeing what felt like her entire body weight in water.
That said, she was thankful it was just urine and not something like diarrhea. Though the volume she had expelled was not something she had enjoyed. Where did all of that even come from? She was dehydrated for Founder's sake!
When she was done she looked around, only to find some odd paper... things. They looked like small green brown pieces of paper with what looked like barely readable numbers and faces on them. Well It was better than nothing Regardless, Louise did her business and went on her way.
When she exited and returned to Mitchell, he gave her a knowing and sympathetic look. "I know, Radaway itself could be considered enough of a deterrent for getting radiation. I still get flashbacks to my early days outside the Vault whenever I go in that room…" He shuddered at the mention of them.
"But at least you bought yourself some time. But..."
"It's just delaying the inevitable, is that it?" Louise finished.
"…yes. Yes it is. You're still picking up radiation just by being here, but if you learn to manage it, and not have a constant source of it on ya, I think we can work something out. Remember, I've had to deal with cases like this before. Long time ago mind you, but it's still in my head."
"And just how many who were allergic to radee ashon survived?" She asked bitterly.
"Now don't think like that. More of them are still alive today than you might think. Now admittedly, they do have specials needs because of their allergy, but it's still possible. And who knows, you might get lucky and eventually gain a resistance to it. That's what happened to me."
She yawned. "And how long did that take?"
"A fair amount of years. Around thirty after I first set foot in the wasteland. I still think most of us got off easy. But let's not talk too much about that. Your eyelids look like they're trying to relocate to the floor. Let's get some water in you, and I think you should at least take a nap, sleep some of this day off."
She wanted to say so much more. But her exhaustion was slowly claiming her, another yawn not helping her will at all, with every second and in her state she was forced to comply once more.
"Let's get this over with…" She said, her voice matching her feet in the audible drag.
The first order of business was getting water in her, but only in sips. Thankfully Mitchell had purified clean water, although that was a relative term for her, and he was strict about her only taking sips, lest her stomach decided to return it to her in a foul manner.
That was a problem he had explained to her though. EVERYTHING in this world was contaminated with 'radee ashon' from the food and water, the beds she would have to sleep on. And she wasn't used to any of it at all. But it would have to do. She was far too tired to care at this point. Even with the hunger starting to cause pains in her abdomen. She sipped the last of her water down before being guided to a bed she could lay down on.
It was smelly, lumpy, stained, and apparently covered in radee ashon, but her exhaustion ensured she was asleep in one minute of laying down, the old smell of the mattress being the last sensation before darkness claimed her.
The pink haired girl awoke with a frightened yelp, her eyes wide and her heart racing in her chest. Her eyes began scanning the room rapidly before landing on a figure and locking on. Her breathes came out rapidly, her hands gripping the bed.
'Whoa, easy there! Your safe Louise, calm down!" Mitchell exclaimed, the chair he was sitting in being pushed back a little from the speed in which he got up.
Her eyes stayed locked on him as kept his distance. As soon as her faculties came back to her.
"…Sorry…." She bowed her head and brought her knee's close to her.
"Yeah, I figured that would happen. You were tossing and turning quite a bit in your sleep. Mumbling… didn't sound pleasant. And you were crying a bit too."
"Crying?" She asked. She brought her hand to her face and indeed there was some moisture under her eyes.
"Oh…"
Mitchell sighed in sympathy. "I know. The first days out of my Vault were nothing but fear. My home had been taken from me and I was forced into the unknown, with only stories of what was waiting for us out there. Maybe you're not from a Vault, and I can just barely accept that, but I have a feeling that's close to the situation for you isn't it?"
He looked at her expectantly. It was... sweet of him, what he was doing. She supposed she should count herself that someone was taking an interest in her well being. Someone other than a gang member.
"…yes. It's a bit more complicated than that though. It's however a very outlandish situation, one that I myself can hardly accept, and I know it's true." She stated.
"Well, would it explain why you don't know some of the basic basics of the wasteland?" Mitchell mused.
She she tell him? Would he even believe her? "It… well… like I said, it's not something that I think you will even believe. Forgive me for withholding it, But I do not feel comfortable talking about it."
"Well, alright, fair enough. Your business is your own. But what exactly are you going to do? I have sympathy for you, believe me, but you got to understand, the medicine I gave you isn't cheap. Now don't worry, the first one was one the house, but given your condition, going on past experience, you're probably going to end up with another need for a dose in about a week, week and a half if you manage to avoid any large doses of radiation. How were planning on earning the money?"
"Well, Lorcan said that there were some odd jobs here in town that would be suitable."
"Yeah, there is. Just be warned though, it can vary from day to day depending on how much travelers come through here. You might not get even get full pay from Trudy, assuming she hires you, some days. Though I suppose you can do what our guest courier did and help out with some ranch hands around town. I'm sure they'd appreciate it."
Louise nodded. Hardly the most glorious work, but it would do if she managed to get enough currency to keep herself medicated and fed and sheltered she would take it. But what about lodging?
"Is there an inn I could stay at?" Wait... She didn't even have any money! How would she even be able to afford a room? Gah!
"No, not in this town. Primm, a town a ways south of here, maybe, but then again, the Bison Steve wasn't exactly good, even by wasteland standards. But I got some spare beds in this here house. I'll only have to kick you out if I get a sudden influx of bite victims from Geckos, but even as numerous as they are rarely require serious treatment so think you should be fine."
She nodded. She had a bed and lodging. Already this place seemed like something she never wanted to leave, and the bed smelled horrible to her!
"Chet might be a bit of a stickler though. Town under threat from raiders and he still hesitated about giving the defenders some leather armor. Though that courier managed to persuade him. I think him heard him mutter 'idiot slap' about him. Chet's a good guy, but he can be a bit too… materialistic sometimes." Mitchell said.
She scowled. A merchant. Lovely.
A sudden look came over Mitchell however.
"That reminds me. Try and win people over. After the Powder Gangers came knocking for Ringo, people might be wary having another stranger in town so soon. Especially with some… eccentricities about her."
She shifted uncomfortably. Not just because part of what he said sounded like gibberish to her, but he was right.. She was in an unknown in a hostile place. She had a very distinct feeling that going around ordering people would not get her far.
"Now I'm not saying walk on eggshells, but be polite, and do go looking for trouble and people should warm up to you quick enough. Sunny Smiles is the one you want watching your back. She's our main outdoors gal along with her dog Chyenne. Keeps the town clear of critters for the most part. Good friends with Trudy, the saloon owner. You get Sunny on your side, Trudy should come around eventually. And you get Trudy on your side, everyone else will feel safer. She's the person people look up to in this town. Not quite a leader, but close."
Louise needed to start. "I am feeling well enough to walk. If you would allow it, I would like to get started on finding some work."
"Well sure. Probably best to get started on finding work as soon as possible. Those rads ain't gonna wait and neither should you." He stated.
"Here, put these boots on. Should tide you over until we get that gunk washed off your shoes."
She took them and slipped them on. Surprisingly they fit and with the motivation properly set she grabbed her wand and followed him as he walked out the door.
The inside of the house was hardly dark, the various windows only barely covered by boards, but when she stepped out it felt like she had stepped from a pitch black room to a fire in her face and her eyes having a burning sting to match that description. She instantly closed them, but the sun shone through her eyelids regardless and her pupil was in silent agony. She had to physically turn away from it until the light slowly got to a manageable level and she was able, though still squinting, to gaze onto the town properly.
It was ramshackle by any standards. A lone windmill stood in the center overlooking the sleepy town of what looked like old buildings with some patchwork on them. A gust of errant wind send some dirt into the air, even making a small swirl of it between the row of buildings off to her left. There was a few people out and about, some were tending to crops inside some fenced areas and she could see some livestock, albeit one's she had never seen before, milling about just outside the town with some people watching over them. For just a moment she could believe she was back on her own world. This was the very picture of a commoner village. But she was reminded that it wasn't so by some odd looking light coming from the farthest building on her left.
"Welcome to Goodsprings Louise. Not Vegas standards but I hope you can find it to your liking. The local wildlife are quite attracted to the color pink as well." Mitchell said with a chuckle.
Oh ha ha.
"All joking aside the saloons the farthest building on the left. Trudy runs it. Come on I'l introduce you... actually wait, you met her before. She was the one who brought you in." Mitchell said
Really? Louise tried placing her in her mind but she couldn't. All she got was a tailless scorpion and loud ringing in her ears.
He noticed her confused look."Well you were under a lot of stress at the time so I'm not surprised. Let's get going, I don't think wasting too much time would be in your interest."
The reminder of what was at stake was all the prodding she needed. She quickly got in line behind him when he spoke up.
"Remember to keep a distance from people." He said casually. Oh... right. She waited for him to hobble a few more steps before resuming her gait. As they passed their first building on their left, Mitchell explained what it was.
"That's the general store. Chet runs it. Right next door is Trudy's." Mitchell listed off. Louise barely heard him. Her attention was focused on the sight on top of the saloon.
The strange looking lights atop it. There were normal painted letters on the building that said 'Prospecter' but the words right next to it 'Saloon' were hardest to make out. Mainly due to being an outlandish and foreign design. They were made of metal with a variety of colors making them stand out against the brown building. The Prospector Saloon... she had no idea what to make of this other than gawking at it.
Until Mitchell urged her on. "Come one kid, you can admire the place after we're done." Mitchell said gesturing to the door held open to the 'saloon'.
With that she gave one last look at it before going past him into the open door.
When she stepped inside, and a good ways from him as he reminded her, she was surprised to find it dark. Very dark. Inf act, she was surprised that Mitchell seemed oblivious to it. Well, that was before she saw him looking at her with a smile that was radiant even in this darkness.
"Pupil dilatation. That reminds me, we need to get you some sunglasses. The sun is hell on eye sight, maybe not right away but I can confirm that it does eventually catch up with you." Mitchell said, squinting for emphasis.
She only barely resisted the urge to snort. She'd had that happen to her, but this was ridiculous. Either the sun here was naturally stronger or that radee ashion was doing something to her, because it felt like she had been staring at for too long.
Not that she had ever done that...
Shaking her head of the thoughts she quickly followed Mitchell around the corner. Behind it was a woman with dark hair and a very plain looking dress by Louise's standards, standing behind a bar with some patrons sitting at chatting away . As soon as she came into view she could feel their gazes lock onto her and the suspicion they had struck her. Ignoring the urge to stare back at the people, she turned her attention to Trudy and Mitchell.
"Hello Trudy." Mitchell greeted with a nod of his head.
"Hey Doc. Hell of a morning wasn't it?"
"Sure was. Poor Sunny's gonna have a heck of a time moving that bug outta stinking range. Might have to cut it up and move it as pieces."
"No kidding. Not often giant radscoprions come into town. But I suppose we have you to thank for that." She said, turning her attention to Louise.
Louise flinched, and started to come up with an apology, but Trudy cut her off.
"Relax, I'm not mad. After the Powder Ganger's a dumb bug is a breeze. Though our friend had a lot to do with both of those, so maybe I shouldn't get too complacent."
Powder Gangers? She may have just noticed that now, but what a ridiculous name.
"Anyway, what brings you here? Looked like you could barely stand last I saw you."
"Well, I'll spare you the whole story right now but suffice to say, this girl is in need of a job."
The woman scoffed. "Wait really? You come barging into town tailed by a scorpion just so you can take up waiting a bar in the middle of nowhere?"
Well, when one put it that way... no that was spot on.
"Yes." She affirmed with a nod.
She stared at the pinkette before she let out a chuckle."Well I gotta admit, that's a first. But why? Working at a bar ain't exactly a thing most people trek across the wasteland to do."
"I'll cut right to the chase. She's got some medical issues, one that'll costs money to keep in check. She needs a job." Mitchell explained.
"Hmm. Well, the road north to Vegas still gets some traffic from the more courageous merchants, fast track if you steer clear enough of Fiend territory. With the road between Nipton and Mojave outpost having critters encroach again, we've been getting a bit more customers than usual. Merchants gotta take whatever they can get. I suppose I could take on a waitress and... wait, these medical issues, they aren't contagious are they?"
"No no, nothing like that. In fact it's the other way around. But she doesn't have many options. She'll need the medicine"
Trudy raised a surprised eyebrow. A brief look of concern once again passed over her. "Well... I don't see why not. But I'm not sure I'll be able to provide enough to. What kinda drugs are we talking about?"
"Radaway. And some Rad-X. And It might be a repeat buy."
Trudy winced. "Oof, that might be just a little out of my price range. Even with the increase in buyers, I don't think I'll be able to hand out enough caps to cover those. You might want to consider getting another job kid."
Louise had been expecting something like that.
"If you wanna get your hands dirty, the ranchers and farmers could always use some help looking after their herds and tending to their gardens. Hell, Sunny Smiles would definitely appreciate any help moving t hat damn bug outta the town's range, not to mention all the hunting she does. Can get a decent price for meat and hides. I'm not so sure Chet is looking for any help though. Man is a merchant through and through and he might view you as a pointless drain on caps." Trudy explained
Well, she knew that. She never had any good experiences with goods merchants. Damn glorified thieves most of the time.
"I will accept regardless... but... I might not be able to work today." She finished uneasily.
She nodded. "Sure kid. I understand. Not much happening here today anyway and we don't need you dropping everything cause you're too weak. Come back bright and early tomorrow and I'll get you started."
"You're really going to hire her Trudy?" A man asked, giving Louise a dirty look. She looked at him at the other end of the bar with two others.
"We've already had one gunfight over a stranger, she better not cause any trouble here. Is she?" Another said. The third was just silent, but he was looking at the girl with annoyance.
There was some grumbling and a few more looks sent her way making the girl flinch. Out of fear and guilt. As much as she wanted to yell at them, she couldn't deny that she very well could.
A look was passed between Trudy and Mitchell, the man's head nodded and the woman's eyes narrowing slightly. Louise had a feeling what it was about.
The woman eventually sighed. 'She's working here and that's that. I don't want to hear any more about it. Understood?" She said, eyeing them with a final look.
After another bout of grumbling and just barely acceptance Mitchell led her outside, the girl sulking slightly after what had happened.
"See? That wasn't so bad. Got a job out of it at least."
She shook her head. "You heard that right? They don't trust me." She said.
"They're just a bit frazzled. Town's been quiet for a long time and now all this commotion in the last days has people just a bit more excitable."
Louise paused. "And if the NCR does come here?" She said softly.
He paused as well."Well, we'll work it out. If you didn't do anything like you said, I'm sure they'll leave you alone. Now let's get back t you business."
Louise, wanting to move on as well agreed."She said she wasn't able to provide enough to pay for my medicine."
"Well that's true. Like she said, the ranchers and farmers could use some help. It might be a bit physically demanding, but unless you got a storage of caps lying around I'm not seeing much else options for you."
He was right, much as Louise was loath to admit it. The most physical labor she had done in her life was carrying her stuff around the Academy due to her lacking the flotation magic her classmates had. A bit more than one would think actually, but she knew it couldn't compare to the work commoners did. Even the ones in the Academy probably had more muscle than her, let alone the ones that did farm work. But still, hard as it was going to be it was better than trying to survive out in the wild. She would just have to endure, as Mitchell had been repeating, she had very little choice.
"In fact, our resident knight in shining armor has taken it up as well."
The phrase caused her to tilt her head. "Wait, you have a knight? Why would a knight be in this village?"
"... It was a figure of speech Louise." he said raising an eyebrow at her.
"Oh..." Darn.
"Well as I was saying, the man who saved you is doing some farm work right now." He said pointing.
True enough, the man was tending to a garden in a fenced off area. The last she had seen of the man he ripped the tail off of a scorpion and now he was doing menial farm work as if nothing had happened. It was odd to her. He was a warrior, that much was obvious, so why do this?
"Him? Louise asked perplexed.
"Well given the state of the world, even the most dedicated of farmhands had to learn how to handle themselves, but even I gotta admit, he seems to have had a very... different occupation before. Heck, I don't even think being a courier would lend it self to riding scorpions. I just don't know..."
"He Knew how and where those troublemakers would approach. Had a... brutal way of dispatching them as well. We hardly even needed the rest of the town. He's a man with good experience of what the wasteland has to offer, I can tell you that. Sunny actually considered 'teaching' him, but he polity turned her down. She thought he was jumped by some no name amateurs, but it was the Khans. Made a lot more sense after he told us that. Great Khans are though bastards and there were five of them. Gave them a good fight though, more than one was walking away with some cuts and bruises, and I even hear than man in the checkered suit who was leading them got blood spilled on it. But five though as nails bastards against one, reality has a way of setting in. They beat him, bound him,and eventually shot him in the head."
Louise listened as the exploits of the man were listed off. He was certainly an intriguing individual... but Louise had a feeling he would be gone by tomorrow. He was a courier after all. They weren't known for staying in one place. The man worked on, heedless of their conversation.
"Well in any case how about we-"
"Howdy partners!"
The sudden voice behind the pair caused them to jump, Mitchell painfully so, and Louise let out a yelp spinning on her heels.
What greeted her was a blue colored metal abomination with a stylized human face wearing a hat and smoking a cigarette in the upper part of it's body. It seemed to be shimmering as if it weren't actually there. Two strange looking arms were at it's ides, and had three metal claws on them both. What in founder's name was this thing!? What kind of golem was this!? Was there a person trapped in there!? Was that why it had a face!? Louise felt her hands reach for her wand, the uncanny looking feature that... thing had unnerving her greatly.
"Whoah take it easy there, just old Vic Doc." The voice rang out. Ugh. Louise could feel her face scrunching slightly. The metallic and oddly tinged voice was grating to her ears.
She looked at him, but his look was one that left no room for argument. Mitchell gestured for her to be calm. She really wanted to blast this thing, but Mitchell had proven trustworthy so far. If he thought he could handle it, she would let him. "Hello Victor." Mitchell said, though it had a slight scolding tone to it.
"Right sorry about sneaking up on ya there. Thought I always made enough noise to alert everyone in a country mile." The thing, 'Victor' said.
"Don't worry about it, mistakes happen. Nice to see you again Victor, you rarely come away from your shack." Mitchell said. Louise coud pick up more than a little bit of forced sheer in his tone.
"Heh. Likewise saw bones. Now who's this?" The thing said gesturing to Louise, causing the girl to shrink back. She didn't want this. Oh Founder above, this thing was creeping her out. That face... it was just too easy to imagine someone being trapped in there.
"When did this little lass wander into town? Never seen her around these parts before. Or her hair. It tends to stand out in the seas of brown."
"Victor, everyone in town heard the commotion. How have did you miss that?"
"Was out for a stroll. Goodsprings seems to be quite the location for people in need these days. First I dig up that poor soul from the grave and now a little one like you walks into town?"
If that thing called her little one more time...
"Well more being chased by a radscorpion. And being saved by a man you dug up from the grave a couple days back." Mitchell said.
"Hoo wee, he doesn't waste any time getting back in the saddle does he?"Louise winced at the voice. It sounded like an electricity spell being forced through a tube and made into a voice!
"No he certainly doesn't. I'm sorry Victor, but we have some business we need to get to. No offense."
"Aw shucks, didn't mean to interrupt ya. Just wanted to introduce myself to the young lady here." It said, turning slightly towards her.
Well... at the very least it was polite enough... still Founder damn creepy in her opinion though. Whatever created this thing deserved to be burned. Nevertheless it wasn't insulting her and she did not want to antagonize it.
"My name is Louise. Louise de la Valliere. Pleasure to meet you." She said, that same forced sheer creeping into her voice as Mitchell had not too long ago.
"Likewise. Well, I figure I best mosey on and let you two finish your business. Have a fine rest of the day!." The thing said before, with surprising grace, turned and rode away on it's one wheel, kicking up a small trail of dust.
When she was sure it was far enough away she turned to Mitchell.
"What in founder's name was that?" She hissed under her breath just to be sure that thing didn't hear them.
"That was Victor. Town's local owner-less Securtitron robot. He's been here a while and no one knows all that much about him. And to be honest... well,..."
"What? Is he dangerous?" She asked, eyeing the traveling thing.
"No, no, nothing like that. But I have to agree with Trudy when she says there's something off about him. I just get the sense there's more to him than what's at face value. Sorta like you." He said, making her shrink slightly.
"But enough about that. We've got you a job. It's a start, but I think we should explore a few more opportunities before calling it a day."
Louise nodded and followed a ways behind him. But as she did, she had to confirm something.
"So... there wasn't anybody trapped inside that thing?"
Mitchell stopped, and then slowly turned his head towards the girl, an utterly perplexed look on his face.
In the garden not far away, though his head was down, the man was quietly laughing.
Well, the rest of the day had gone well enough. Louise found herself with a job at least. The only other one that had come up was helping a woman named Sunny Smiles patrol the town and keep it clear of 'critters' as they called them. Which included giants bugs on that list. Ugh. Still Beggars couldn't be choosers, and Sunny had assured her that the animals around here weren't all that dangerous and more of a nuisance. However, it seemed that the distrust of her was more prominet among the local ranchers and farmers. None of them were all that willing to let her work for them. So that just left her with hunting.
That, however, led to another activity she would have to contend herself with: Learning how to shoot this worlds brand of muskets. She still remembered the pistol the man wielded. She had far too many pressing concerns at the moment to truly think about the implications of such a weapon. Her home only had simply flintlock and black powder weapons that were already inaccurate and had long reloads to boot. Plenty of time for a skilled mage, or even a commoner soldier, to finish the gun wilder off. Now? This world's weapons could fire multiple shots without reloading,, were much more accurate, and reloading took all of three seconds for the skilled ones.
She may have believed in the holy Founder with all of her being, but she wasn't stupid either. She knew damn well her gallivanting off into the great unknown for any reason was likely to result in her dying. And that was even if she had working magic. As it stood right now, all she wanted was to stay here. Her summoning spell brought her here, why wouldn't she try it again until it brought her home?
She felt she made a good enough impression on the people here so far, and they seemed friendly enough despite some voiced suspicions, but any further thoughts of hers was interrupted by Mitchell as they sat in his house, the doctor glad to be sitting again.
"Well we got you a job today. Another prospective job, once you learn how to shoot. It'll be close, but I think we might have what we need. I have for at least one more on the house dose, until we can get you and your reputation with the town sorted out." He said smiling.
It was close. She was grateful for his help, Founder knows she wouldn't have survived otherwise.
"Now then, what exactly is your long term plans?"
"Well... I was thinking of just staying here. It seems like a quiet enough town and that's really what I want right now. If it's okay with you."
"I don't see why it wouldn't be. Goodsprings was never known for overcrowding. If you can prove your worth to people they'll welcome you as a permanent resident with open arms."
Well... That was settled then. For the time being Goodsprings was going to be her home, and Founder damn all other things. Especially those giant bugs... she shuddered at the memory. But as long as she could maintain a good relationship with the people here, shouldn't wouldn't have to wander anymore of this damn desert.
Suddenly Louise let out a long drawn out yawn causing Mitchell to chuckle once more.
"I think you'll need more than a couple hours nap young lady. How long have you gone without sleeping?"
That... actually sounded quite enticing. She let out another yawn before responding.
"Nearly a whole day. I tried to get some sleep earlier, but I just couldn't. I kept waking up."
"Well, you can get some now. Go on." He urged smiling.
"Oh and one more thing: I'll let you keep that Pip Boy on you. I think you have the most pressing medical needs of us all right now. I'll let ya know if I need it back, but for now hold onto it."
She looked at her left arm, only now just remembering she had this thing on for quite a while. Founder she needed to sleep. She was finding it hard to remember some obvious things.
Nodding gratefully nonetheless, the events of the day stacking again with the previous one, Louise dragged her feet to the nearest bed and gently laid down, yet kept her wand close.
The smell seeped into her nostrils again
However as she did, her eyes opened wide and she realized something she completely neglected, despite it's utmost importance.
She completely forgot how she was supposed to practice her magic!
She knew it was going to be a long time before she even got close to finding a way to get the summoning ritual to go her way. A long way full of explosions she wouldn't be able to hide.
She sighed. She should probably solidify their trust in the before she started using her magic. At the very least, try and explain it to Mitchell. He seemed to be the most helpful. And she could provide proof easy enough... but would they accept her? Would they reject her because of it? Magic didn't seem like it was commonplace on this world, if it even existed at all. She could very well be outcast for it, and given her current reputation with the town, that was likely. but she needed to do it. It was the only way.
With that plan in mind she laid back down on the bed hoping sleep would come.
It was about half an hour before sleep took over, sporadic images of her family delaying it considerably, the cries of her sister almost managing to echo in the silent of the room.
Oddly, this chapter was a bit difficult to write, even though I knew exactly what I wanted to have in it… hmm…