The other day had been mostly uneventful, the only other development was that Amy knew Alice had a robotic arm and was the one who cared for her while she was semi-conscious. Which caused an argument between Alice and Dr Percy about why she hadn't been told beforehand and how he made it seem like Amy didn't know. During said argument Amy tried to get a word in edge-ways but kept getting talked over as they didn't realise she was trying to speak. However, the argument ended quickly as Alice recognised that it was an unnecessary argument and a waste of time.

She spent most of her time in Makeshift looking through the notes in her bag and practising her reaction time with her arm. She began by bouncing a ball off a wall, the first ball however got crushed as it was difficult to judge how much to tense. Her reactions felt surprisingly fast, faster than it had been before, which didn't make much sense even after re-reading her notes over and over again but decided not to think about it too much. The notes were extensive but unexpectedly she understood them completely. She spent the entire night reading them, then re-reading them way past the sun had set then risen on the next day. She began to believe she was an inventor or an engineer, it was the only explanation that made sense.

She also spent her time doing a stock check. Rations for a three-day journey, 5 microfusion cells (fully charged), 84 .44 rounds, a throwing knife, pieces of metal and tools that could be used to fix up her arm, a small stash of medical supplies and about 514 caps. It wouldn't be enough if she wanted to go out into the wasteland.

It was getting near late afternoon as Alice left the surgery for the first time today. Another requirement the doctor asked of her, don't spend a lot of time in town, which she begrudgingly agreed to.

The sun was blocked out by the multitude of clouds in the sky, causing the day to be dreary and uninviting. She readjusted her sling and looked into town, the local drunks didn't mind the cloudy day as they cheerily piled into Gustav's. Alice looked the crowd over noticing Elis and Jacob within the crowd, they didn't notice her. Shaking her head slightly she walked further into town and towards the gun store. She had noticed it the other day, a nice building for Makeshifts standards. A large wood cut-out of a generic pistol with 'guns here' delicately painted on it was placed above the door. Two bored looking guards stood outside, trying to pass the time with meaningless conversation. When she approached they stopped talking and looked her over, not doing anything as she entered but they made sure to let her know they were watching by readjusting their grip on the guns. One smiled as she passed.

The inside of this shop was scores neater than the general store, which wasn't hard to do as a ruin was neater than that shop. But this might have well been a post-war shop, the sides of the shop had sealed cases with different interesting but basic weapons within. The counter also had a viewing area where quite a few types of ammunition were on display and not a speck of dust in sight. The middle-aged woman sitting at the counter smiled at Alice as she entered, her grey-blue eyes followed Alice, who was admiring the weapons, around the room. She pushed a lock of shoulder length brown hair behind her ear and stood up, "looking for anything specific?" She asked politely.

"Do you have any throwing knives?" Alice quickly responded still looking around the room.

"The knives are to the left of the counter."

The knives displayed were, OK. Slightly blunt and not much variety, but three throwing knives were in the mix. While looking at them she didn't know why she asked for them but it felt right, like she needed to have them. Gently picking them up with her left hand she briskly walked over to the counter and put them on top, "Could I also get a box of .44." She added.

"Sure, I'll be but a moment." The shopkeeper responded bending down to get something under the counter.

Alice turned back to the doorway, "I know this is a gun store and you need to be careful, but two guards?"

"You must be new here then, my names Susan Dawson. The daughter to the mayor. But do just call me sue." Sue gently smiled once again as she placed the box of 50 .44 rounds on the counter. "That would be 325 caps total."

"325?" Alice asked stunned.

"Well 50 .44 rounds are 250 caps and 3 throwing knives are 75 caps." Sue said matter-of-factly.

"Well it seems I shouldn't get the knives. I'll just buy the ammo." She responded, still stunned, and swapped the ammo for the required caps. "I'll just put these back." She continued picking up the knives.

"When did you get into town?" Sue asked as Alice put the Knives back.

"About 9 days ago now." Alice said struggling to deposit the ammo in her bag.

"Do you want a bit of help with that?"

"No. I'm OK." She said finally getting it in and putting her bag back on her back.

"Very well." Sue looked down at the revolver at Alice's side. "Quite a gun you have there, where did you get it?"

Alice stopped at the door. "I collected it whilst travelling." She said not believing her own lie as she continued out of the shop, stopping for a moment outside to close the door after her.

The two guards looked at her, one of them smiled again. "Where you off to now lovely?"

"Probably the bar." She was already walking over to Gustav's, not waiting for a witty remark.

He jogged to catch up with her, "Well my shift is basically over so we both could go for a drink."

She didn't even look at him. "Thanks. But I'd rather drink alone." He stopped when she said this and moped back over to his post, mumbling just out of ear shot to his friend. The sun, just visible through the clouds, was getting close to setting and the town was close to being silent. Not completely silent as muffled cheers and laughing could be heard from Gustav's, its neon sign brighter in the dimming sunlight. A soft wind blew down the path, sending small bits of dust and dirt into the air and rattling off the sides of buildings. She looked down at herself, at the sling and sighed. Smiling slightly to try and cheer herself up she opened the door to Gustav's.

Inside was a great deal busier than the last time she visited, tables were already cluttered with beer bottles and an old jukebox had been wheeled out to play post-war jazz. One or two of the patrons were tunelessly singing along. Loud raucous laughter and the tang of alcohol permeated the inn. Alice couldn't help but smile from the atmosphere alone, for some reason it felt as if she hadn't been happy like this in some time.

She managed to find a small table to herself, put her bag under it and waited for the waitress to come by, still taking in the overwhelmingly happy environment around her. She didn't wait long as the waitress expertly maneuvered around the drunken bodies and stood ready by her table. "I'm Mia, what can I get you?" She asked happily, notepad and pencil already at hand.

"Just a beer for now, I don't mind what type." Alice responded glancing at the faces in the inn.

"Very well. A non-descript beer coming right up." She smiled and disappeared into the crowd.

The Gustavs were remarkably busy, but they rushed around expertly tending to everyone, Gustav and his son deftly filling glasses and sliding them to waiting hands. Mia getting requests as she walked back and quickly writing them on her notepad. They had to do this very often; their experience showed.

"Hi again." Alice was forced to bring her attention back to the table when the guard from before sat with her. "I said I'd buy you a drink." The stench of alcohol somehow already clung stiffly around him.

"Look, I'll be blunt. I'm not interested." Alice stated staring coldly at him, "I thought you would've got the hint."

They both sat staring at each other for a moment, his face clearly showing that he was quickly trying to think of what to say. Then a determined look appeared on his intoxicated face.

"Look." He declared gripping her left shoulder, "I was going to try to be nice, but obviously that wouldn't work. So just come have some fun with me. Or that arm of yours is going to get worse."

Now fully pissed off, Alice gripped his wrist with her right hand and squeezed. "What and you thought your threats would scare me?" She looked at him as he tried to show he wasn't in pain. "I'm trying to have a nice time and you're ruining it. So, go back to your friends, if you have any, or your drink."

She let go of his wrist and looked away. She heard him stumble out of his chair and briskly walk away from her. With him gone she sighed as she put her head in her left hand. She spent another few minutes enjoying the atmosphere trying to forget the previous encounter, tapping her foot to one of the songs. Big iron seemed to be a familiar song to her and was fairly sure Someone in the past compared her to the ranger. She smiled and waited for the next song.

Realising her drink should have been round by now she looked around; she saw the guy from before pestering Mia while she desperately tried to get back to work. Alice was trying not to get up, hoping either she would get away or someone else would intervene.

Those thoughts were dashed when he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her closer, discomfort clear on her face.

Standing up quickly, sending her chair tumbling to the ground, she stormed over to him. "Oh, so what now?" He called, smiling at Alice.

"Take your hands off her!" She ordered, anger filling her words.

"Ha, you going to take that Ben?" Jeered a man next to him.

"Fine." Ben said pushing Mia away, causing her to stumble a bit but she steadied herself and backed off towards the counter. "But I'm still going to get my fun!" He continued.

Ben drunkenly threw a punch towards Alice, which she easily dodged causing him to lurch uncontrollably. Taking the opportunity she stuck out a foot and tripped him. His face connected with the floor causing a series of remarks from around the room and a quick yelp escape his lips.

"Just stop, you are clearly drunk." Alice said taking a step back. "And in no way going to win this."

He grabbed a chair to haul himself up and steady his wobbling legs. "Fuck you!" He cried lunging towards her.

She sighed, dodged right and hit him in the gut with her left hand. The air escaped his lungs and he fell to his knees, wheezing.

She and someone else were getting kicked around. She snapped. Blood coats her hands as she ripped up a mans neck.

She blinked back the memories just in time to see Ben, blood dripping from his nose, get up again and tackle her to the ground. The back of her head cracked against the wooden floorboards, sending white flashes into her vision. Instantly sending her forearm into the side of his head as a reaction. It connected and he tumbled off her crying out in pain again. She slowly got back up to her feet, eyes locked onto Ben. He stayed on the floor breathing heavily and rubbing his head.

"Hey!" Called an authoritative voice, "break it up!" Looking behind her she saw a man dressed in metal reinforced leather armour and an assault rifle slung over his back. He pushed through the crowd and into the temporary fighting pit the crowd had made.

He was about middle aged and the angry look on his face did little to hide his kind demeanour. "Who started this and why?" He asked looking between Alice and the semi-conscious Ben.

"He did, Ben did." Mia said, standing out in the crowd as it slowly dispersed.

"Right. And why?" The guard asked, relaxing and talking in a friendlier tone.

"He, um, was harassing me. He was being pushy, asking me or rather ordering me to do things."

"Right. Then you stepped in to help? That about right?" He said, steering the conversation towards Alice.

"Sounds about right." Alice relaxed her stance and looked over at the guard.

He nodded then addressed the people in the inn, "Make sure this doesn't happen again! I don't want to have to come back in here this week!" He looked over at Alice, "You'll need to come with me. I need to talk to you more."

"Yeah sure. And what about him?" She asked nodding over to Ben.

"To be honest it seems you gave him his punishment, but he will be coming with me as well." The guard walked over to Ben and picked him up in a fireman carry, then nodded towards the door. Alice was about to follow him when Mia stopped her for a moment, "Your non-descript beer." She placed the cooled beer in Alice's hand, smiled and walked towards the counter.

Alice called her thanks to her as she secretly opened the beer with her right hand, bending the cap slightly then quickly pocketing it. She took a long swig, the cold beer pouring down her throat in a calming manner. Following the guard out of the inn she continued to drink her beer and looked up at the now dark sky with small spots of stars glistening through. A very different atmosphere to the fight she just had. The adrenaline wearing off causing her eyelids to become heavier, she sighed and she rubbed her left eye.

The guard led them near to the entrance of the town and towards a large shack to the right of it. He pushed open the door with an elbow and motioned for her to follow.

The front room of the shack had two wooden benches against a wall and two doors, one had sheriff shoddily carved into the wood. "Wait here a moment while I put Ben here in his room for the night." The guard said as he pushed open the other door, mumbling "You're a Damn idiot Ben." Under his breath.

Alice only waited a minute before he returned, "If you don't mind following me into my office so we can talk for a bit." He requested politely, opening the sheriff door and walking inside leaving it open for her. She entered the office, closing the door behind her, and carefully sat on an old rickety chair on the other side of an organised desk that the guard had sat behind. The room was quite neat, rusted filing cabinets lined the left wall as a wardrobe and bookshelf leaned on the right wall. A small lamp, the only light source in the room, sat hunched on the desk. Illuminating some of the papers and the lower half of his face.

"My name is Gui Thompson. The sheriff in town." He said relaxing his arms on the desk. "Why are you in town."

"I'm Alice. I guess a mercenary or scav. I'm in town because of my injury." She replied curtly.

He stared at her for a bit, as if trying to remember something. "Alice? As in Alice Webb?" His words trailed off as another memory flashed in her mind. One was she was much younger. The now familiar walls of Makeshift towering over her as she followed someone and a man leading a brahmin towards a building.

"You know me?" she finally said, confused.

"Well yeah, I was training to be a guard." He sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Almost 15 years ago now. And I remember having to get you back to your parent after you had got lost." He looked at her and smiled gently, "I was on my rounds when I heard crying down an alleyway. I found you huddled into a ball, crying. I asked your name and where your parents were and you said your name and that you didn't know but your father was a trader. So I led you to the main path and we found him talking to a guard. Which caused you to rush towards him. You must have been 8 or 7 at the time."

"I can kinda remember that now." Alice responded, stunned.

"Well what happened to you? To your arm?"

"I'm not sure. I can't really remember anything before my operation."

Gui leaned back in his chair, eyebrows furrowed showing concern. "Your operation?"

"Yes." She paused for a moment, deciding whether or not to tell him. "My right arm was basically ruined beyond any help. Even that of stimpacks. Luckily, for a reason I haven't figured out yet, I had a robotic arm with me and with the help of the notes in my bag Dr Percy put it on me." Ending her sentence she lifted her right arm and took off her glove. Showing off her hand.

Gui stared, astonished. "I-I've never even heard of anything like this. How did you?"

Alice smiled sadly, "I'd love to know as well but I can't remember."

"Yeah, you said, sorry." He said rubbing his forehead again. A long uncomfortable pause hung in the air.

"I'm guessing I'm not going into a jail cell." Alice said, putting the glove back on and righting the sling.

"Oh, right." Gui said nodding his head slightly, "I was just going to try and find out what kind of a person you were. Usually if you aren't a local and you're in a fight you're a raider." He stopped for a second, "Or a mercenary."

"Well you've got your answer. I don't know for sure. Can I go now, I'm rather tired." She said getting out of the chair.

"Yes I suppose." He smiled, "Just try not to get into any more fights."

"I'll certainly try." She responded leaving the room and heading towards the clinic.

Alice slumped back into the bed. The squeaks of the springs and bed frame echoing slightly off the metal walls. The familiar dark room lit only by the light coming from the doorway as Dr Percy stood there, "Do try to get some sleep, you need it." He said before he closed the door, leaving her in complete darkness.

She closed her eyes, her body glad to get some rest almost immediately caused her to fell asleep. It was deep. But in her sleep there were fragmented flashes of memories. Someones face, shrouded by a hood that seemed familiar. Then the memory of her getting pushed around and her ripping up a man's neck. The present realisation that it was her father's blood that coated her hands.

Then a newer memory. One of running and a monster chasing. A spurt of blood and an arm on the ground.