Once she was certain that the bounty hunter was gone Chloe left the apartment and headed back East, away from the Town Square. The shambler from earlier was gone, which she was grateful for. The tunnel it had been in was clear now, though with a massive bank of red cloud at the other end Chloe was in no hurry to investigate. She poked her head in the door that led to the Residential district, the landmines she saw telling her all she needed to know, and she decided to keep going East. The street forked again, a vending machine to the right next to a door.

To the left the street continued on, a door and a gate on the left. Chloe walked up to the gate and pushed it open, a winding corridor awaiting her. She made her way through it and found herself in yet another courtyard, home to another gift shop. To the left was a path that took her to a small nook with a light and one of those small fountains, a few chips in the basin. Standing by the wall and looking up Chloe could see the monolith that was the casino looming over the villa.

The treasure of the Sierra Madre. The fabled city of gold, where untold riches could be found. Evidently the treasure was being turned into an unkillable monster, if her experience with the shambler was anything to go by. Across from the nook was a utility room, spare parts and boxes of Abraxo Cleaner on the shelves. Worthless junk. Chloe turned back and headed back to the courtyard, interested in moving on. She'd just entered the narrow, winding path leading to the gate when she heard gunfire and scurried back.

Three harsh cracks rang out in the still air, the thunder bouncing off the walls of the decaying villa, not twenty feet away. Hurried footsteps came after, soon falling away as the shooter moved on. The bounty hunter, no doubt. Chloe counted a full minute before she slowly moved up to the corner. The gate was still closed, the way she'd left it, and she pushed it open. The body of one of the shamblers lied crumpled over one of the little wall fountains, half its head missing. Fresh green blood dripped to the cobblestone below, pooling around three rifle cases.

Chloe looked up and saw a pair of double doors ahead, lit by two street lamps. The road turned right into a long tunnel, the only place the bounty hunter could've gone, unless he'd gone through the doors. Chloe crept forward and, when she saw the hunter standing in the tunnel with his back to her, she quietly booked it to the double doors, the words Salida del Sol written above them.


Jackson's search of the Sierra Madre villa so far had turned up little besides the Desert Eagle and two shamblers felled by his Garand. He'd followed the road all the way to the East until he found himself in a small courtyard, radroaches scurrying about. There was a door to the left, a shop of some kind beyond it, and Jackson ventured in. The shelves had a few hats and some clothes on them, along with some boxes of bobby pins and an empty first aid kit. The cash register had the usuals, pre-War money and casino chips, but rather interestingly a holotape labeled 'Vending Machine Code - Return Outfit Item.' Strange. Jackson left it where it was and headed back out to the courtyard.

With the main area of the villa a bust Jackson decided he'd have to start searching the other districts. The doors to Salida del Sol were locked, so he had no choice but to head back West toward the Town Square. He passed by the doors leading to the Residential district, interested in checking out the Clinic next. He doubted he'd find more pre-War magnum pistols there, but medical supplies were always a boon. He made his way through the crumbling streets, past the holographic woman, and to the door of the Medical District.

The door opened easily, a well-lit corridor on the other side. There were a couple doors, boarded up, and a tunnel. The tunnel led to yet another courtyard, dominated by a decaying tree, and ringed by a covered walkway. Straight ahead was a gate, partially buried under rubble, and through it Jackson could see a cross-shaped light that read 'Clinic', along with a shambler that hadn't seen him yet.

Undeterred, Jackson turned right towards another tunnel that led East to another courtyard. The tree there was little more than a stump, tended to by two shamblers, a rather tall one with a bear trap in its hand, and a shorty wielding a spear. Jackson crouched in the tunnel, aimed, and fire. The roar of the Garand nearly deafened him in the narrow space, and the rounds punched straight through the tall shambler. It fell against the tree stump and Jackson shifted, the shorty raising its spear and throwing it like a javelin. It hit the wall next to Jackson, buried halfway up the blades of the knives tied to it, and the shorty produced a silver-colored knife. Jackson fired until it hit the ground, its right arm torn off at the elbow.

He had just finished reloading when the tall one stiffly rose back onto his feet, and he paused for a moment. The thing had taken at least five .308 rounds and yet there it was, back on its feet and turning toward him. It started running and he opened fire again, the rifle rounds tearing through it without effect. The Garand ran dry with a sharp *PING!* and he reached for the Desert Eagle. The heavy .44 bullet hit the creature in the right shoulder and ripped its arm off, and it dropped to the ground.

Empty rifle in his left hand and magnum in his right Jackson stood, keeping the gun trained on both of the shamblers. He pushed each over onto their backs with his foot, the two of them still breathing, and for the first time since arriving at the Sierra Madre he was truly weirded out. Getting shot five times with .308 JSP was one thing, getting back up by just rising from a prone position and continuing the fight after was another thing entirely.

Odd thing was, though, that it wasn't the severe damage to their internal organs and blood loss that killed these creatures, but rather having their limbs or brains blown away. And even then, they apparently weren't even dead, since they were left still breathing. Just paralyzed.*

Jackson holstered the Desert Eagle and reloaded the Garand. Weird physiology or not, they could still be killed, which was good enough for him. He followed the road sign in the courtyard North, through a passage with a gift shop in it through a connecting tunnel that took him to the clinic. There was another shambler there, one of the shorties. What was odd though was that it wasn't carrying a spear. Instead, it unhooked a large canister from its belt, pitched its arm back, and tossed. Jackson scrambled back as the canister hit the arch and detonated.

*KA-BOOM!*

Fresh debris fell from the ceiling around Jackson, forcing him to scurry back further. He crouched and tried to focus through the ringing in his ears and the concussion. The shambler was running at him now, spear in hand. His first shot hit the archway outside the tunnel, but his following shots hit the shambler dead on. It pitched forward, hit the corner, and slumped. Jackson hurried over to where it lied, put his boot on its elbow, and pulled his knife. It was surprisingly easy to cut the creature's arm off, the blade passing through its flesh and bone with ease, pale green blood spurting from the wound.

Reloading as he went Jackson pushed open the front door of the clinic and stepped inside. The lobby was clear, the two terminals behind the reception desk smashed. The buzzing to his right alerted him to a functioning terminal, mounted on the wall, which he ignored. He headed right, through a threshold and into a hallway. There was an operating room of some kind to the right, a terminal on a table. The terminal only had some logs or diary entries on it, nothing of importance, though the entry on 'Safety Suits' intrigued him. He set his rifle down on the table, opened up the terminal entry, and began to read.

'Chemical suits arrived today. They're bulky, hard to talk and move in. It was difficult to unlock the clasps once in place, had to get one of the staff to help me out of it. I told the construction crew keep the suits ready while working in the switching station and to be careful with them, we only have a limited number.

I asked Sinclair to order more in the event of a leak in the Villa, and prepared cost estimates for another gas leak to support my case. Didn't need to, he agreed to the request immediately, then asked if he could see the workers and make sure they're alright.'

Given the state of the Villa having one of those suits for himself wouldn't be a bad idea. He decided to take a look at the other entry on the terminal, see if he could figure out where this switching station was and if there were any more suits there.

'Admitted 3 workers from the Puesta del Sol Switching Station. Exposed to some unidentified airborne toxin from the ventilation system. Caused severe lung and tissue damage. Inhalation isn't the problem, it's absorbed through the skin.

Researching its effects. The gas, whatever it is, may be building up in vents beneath the town. Asked foreman to look into source before government inspectors do.'

No word on any more of the chemical suits, but the Switching Station was in Puesta del Sol, so that's where he'd be heading once he was done in the Clinic. He picked up his rifle and stepped back out into the hall. So far the first floor had been a bust for medical supplies, but he had seen a staircase in the lobby, leading up. He walked back through the lobby and up the stairs, rounding the corner at the landing and following the stairs as they continued up. He'd just reached the top when a blue hologram walked into view. It noticed him crouched at the top of the staircase and turned yellow.

Jackson wasted no time. He shouldered his rifle, took aim, and fired. The case bounced off the wall and the bullet flew straight and true, punching through the hologram's chest. It fizzled slightly, briefly, then turned red and raised its hands to its head, completely unharmed.

As the hologram opened fire, Jackson knew he was screwed.


Salida del Sol, for the most part, was a lot cleaner and in a lot better shape than the Town Square had been. The street around the entrance was mostly clear of any debris or rubble, except for some loose papers and wood boards. Chloe hurriedly locked the door with a board and got moving. She passed by a planter home to a tree stump and came upon an intersection, the path ahead and to the left sealed by gates. The street continued on to the right, the path clear, and Chloe decided to try her luck with the gates. The one to the left was locked, though with a cloud of red mist hanging in the air in the courtyard on the other side she decided she wouldn't have gone through it anyway.

The other gate was unlocked, and she pushed it open. The streets here were in a lot worse shape, lined with the usual debris. A single streetlamp lit the way, a side passaged thick with the cloud. She followed the street East for a short distance, soon coming upon a yard. A dual archway led into a courtyard, two stairwells by it.

There were also three shamblers. They all noticed her and began their attack. A short one threw a gas bomb that sailed past Chloe and detonated behind her, throwing her to the ground. With the others rushing her she opened fire, the .45 Auto sharply cracking as she pumped slug after slug into the first shambler. It hit the floor and its partner stumbled over it, giving Chloe a chance to scramble to her feet and reload. The third threw a spear which hit the wall next to her, making her stumble back. A fourth one came rushing from the courtyard, holding a gas bomb. It stopped, raised its arm, and Chloe opened fire at it. Her fifth shot hit the bomb mid-air, setting it off. A tremendous thunderclap filled the space just behind the original group of shamblers, ripping them to shreds.

Chloe fumbled for another magazine for the .45, wondering just how many she had left, when the final shambler rushed her, knife in hand. It swung and thrusted, and she desperately scrambled back. There was little coordination to their attacks, but they were just so aggressive! The shambler swung inward, towards itself, and Chloe closed the gap. She grabbed the arm holding the knife against the creature's body, pressed her gun to its head, and fired. A fountain of pulpy green flesh and blood spurted into the air, and it dropped to the ground, dead.

Chloe bent over, her hands on her knees, and took a moment to rest and recover her breath. If she had a little more firepower, like a shotgun, she'd be set. She straightened herself out and ejected the magazine in the .45 Auto. Four rounds remaining, plus one in the chamber. With the three mags she had left she had 26 rounds remaining, plus her knife. She needed to find another weapon, fast.

Taking a look around Chloe spotted what looked like a shop to the North, nearly hidden behind an arch. Between the scorch marks and crumbling debris she guessed that the gas bomb that missed her had blown a hole in the wall, exposing the shop. She stepped in, mindful of the jagged pipes and plaster surrounding the hole. The shop had been thoroughly ransacked, the shelves as bare as all the other shops had been so far. Only a few souvenir coffee mugs and packages of bubblegum remained, though the vending machine and holographic vendor likely had things to sell.

Chloe stepped up the counter. "Do you have anything I can buy?" she asked, and the hologram nodded. A display emanated from its chest, displaying the wares available. Some food and liquor, along with two stimpaks. There was no way to touch the display, so Chloe wasn't sure how to actually buy the items. "Uhh, stimpaks? Please?"

The hologram nodded, reached under the counter, and produced the two stimpaks. Chloe fished out her bottlecaps and set them on the counter, and the hologram just stared at her. "Oh come on..." she said. With little other recourse she helped herself to the contents of the cash register, and offered the pre-War money to the vendor. It still continued to stare blankly at her, and Chloe groaned.

"Fuck you, piece of shit" she said, and just swiped the stimpaks off the counter. The hologram just stared at her, flickering, and watched Chloe as she shoved the stimpaks into a can mounted to her belt. She took a moment to wander through the store and pilfer the remaining chips and packs of cigarettes before stepping back through the hole in the wall.

The lamp on the wall at the top of the staircase was almost guiding her to the door, but Chloe decided instead to head East into the yard. One of the Villa's still standing trees was there, its branches as bare as all the rest. There was a staircase to the left of the tree, which she slowly and carefully ascended. She peeked around the corner, the room inside clear, and she stepped in. The door at the other end of the room was blocked by an upended pool table, another one still standing to the side, some balls still scattered on it surface. The floor was littered with pool balls, forcing Chloe to keep an eye on them lest she slip and fall. There were some shelves in the corner, a metal box and some cans on them, and Chloe was about to make her way over to them when she heard a gun cock behind her.

"Freeze."

Her heart stopped and her blood ran cold, and she knew she was dead. "Drop the gun and turn around" the man demanded, and she did as told, keeping her hands up by her sides. As she turned she saw that the man in the doorway wasn't actually the bounty hunter, but rather a ghoul, dressed in a tattered pre-War suit and wearing sunglasses. He had a 9mm Pistol in his right hand and a suitcase in the other.

"A tourist. Figures" the ghoul said. He lowered his gun.


*I don't know if this is a bug or a feature, but sometimes when you kill a Ghost Person and leave their head intact you can see green gas leaving their gas mask, as if they're still breathing. I like to think removing a limb just paralyzes them.