"Just sit right down there sweetie. I'm gon' go fetch Dr. Strauss and she's gonna take care of your leg okay?"
The old woman, Jeannie, sat her down on one of the chairs gently. She hissed as her leg brushed against the chair, irritating the wound on the back of her thigh. With her hands now free, she rubbed her leg. She didn't notice it due to the adrenaline, but now that she'd calm down, the graze she felt turned into a sting and then to an intense burning. She found out the bullet didn't just graze her, it dug into the back of her right thigh and left a wide opening when it passed through, tearing flesh.
She glanced at the wound and looked away swallowing back bile. Part of her skin was hanging off, and how in the world did she not notice that when running?
The old lady left, and she rested her head back on the wall. Right now she would kill for a stimpack. Exhausted, she breathed in and out, trying to suppress the pain shooting up her leg. The radio was on playing a song and she tried focusing on that. The door opened again, and a woman strode in, followed by Jeannie and two armored guards.
"I'm Dr. Strauss," the woman said bending down, "Can you raise your leg for me?" The girl swallowed and slowly raised her leg. It took every ounce of strength she got, and her leg started to shake from the stress. Strauss reached over and pulled a chair up and she laid her leg down on it gratefully.
"Hand me your arm." Strauss said and she did so. The doctor inserted a stimpack, and she felt the effects instantly. The pain was muted, if only slightly but it was better than before. The doctor took a look under her thigh and clucked her tongue. "It's healing alright but I'm going to have to stitch your skin together." She looked up and gave the girl an apologetic look. "I'm sorry but I don't have much supplies, that includes med-x. You think you can hold up with the pain?"
The girl gritted her teeth, her skin clammy but she nodded her head. Dr. Strauss gave her a thin smile and clicked open a brown medical bag. She pulled out a knife and cut some of the cloth around the wound. She reached back in and pulled out a medium clear glass bottle. She untwisted the cap and looked at her.
"This is going to sting okay?"
The Courier nodded her head and shifted her leg so the wound was facing upward. Her heart was beating so fast and she sucked in air as the doctor poured the alcohol on the bleeding wound. Her leg jerked violently, shoving the chair. Strauss held her down, instructing her to breath in and out, in and out. She was trying but god it really hurt. Her face twisted in agony and she gripped the sides of the chair. In the back of her mind, she thought, shouldn't she be drunk for this?
The intense burning didn't leave and she squeezed her eyes shut. God god ouch fuck it hurt owowowow It felt like a thousand fire ants were biting her at once. This hurt more than the pain in her head.
"Just listen to the music, pay attention to the music. It's okay you're halfway through, okay?" She felt someone's hand brush her sticky forehead and she nodded, her eyes fluttering open and close.
~Let's ride into the sunset together...Stirrup to stirrup, side by side...When the day is through, I'll be here with you...Into the sunset we-FUCKFUCKFUCK OWOWOWO
"Shhh shh it's alright, it's okay, it's okay. Just a few stitches more and then we'll be done. Just hang in there. Sorry I swear this would've been a lot less painful with med-x."
You think?! She wanted to say but her jaw was screwed shut.
"What are you doing?" A deep voice said from somewhere in the room. "Move aside."
She heard some shuffling and felt a rough hand grip hers. "You got to breath. Squeeze my hand if you feel pain." She was already doing so, and it eased the pressure of the sharp stings. She felt something prod her mouth and she clamped her lips shut.
"Drink. This'll lessen the pain." The voice said, and she opened her lips slightly. Liquid poured into her mouth and burned all the way down her throat to pool warmly at the bottom of her stomach. She gulped it down till her head became dizzy. Her head lolled to the side and she couldn't think straight. There was a faint pinching but by now she couldn't really focus on it.
"-is your name?"
mmmh? Was someone talking to her?
"-your name. What is your name?" It was the same voice.
She fluttered her eyes open and rolled her head to the other side. She couldn't really see his face, or she presumed the person was a he since his voice was obviously masculine. He was just a fuzzy blob and there was something red on top.
What was that?
She reached out feebly and felt smooth skin before something pulled her hand down.
She hissed as a sharp sting shot up her leg. "Ouch..." she mumbled weakly.
"What is your name?" He asked again.
Her name? Why does this feel familiar. Name...name...name...
Her father's face flashed in her mind followed by screaming and burning and god the sounds nonononodon't remember don't remember don't remember
"No...no..I don't...remember...I can't, I can't-"
"Hey, hey it's okay, you don't have to tell me." She felt something wipe her cheek and she didn't realize she was crying.
"All done." a woman's voice said and she heard a snip and a click and many footsteps walking around her. She heard voices and someone lifted her up off the chair. Strong arms held her close to something warm and she rested her head against whatever it was. It rose up and down, the rhythm soothing and she was drifting off...
Cold air woke her up a little but she soon slipped back into unconsciousness.
The last thing she remembered was being laid down on something soft before the darkness swallowed her up.
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Like the first time she woke up at Doc Mitchell's place, she felt like utter shit. The pain, which she couldn't feel when sleeping, came back to her full force and she gritted her teeth. She laid there, breathing in and out. Slowly, she sat up and moved out of the bed to stand. Which was a wrong move since when she put force on her right leg it flared and she sat back down. Rubbing her leg, she took a minute to catch her breath.
She was in a room, probably one of the rooms in the motel. Light streamed in from the cracks in the curtains and she was on one of the old beds. Again, she got up and pushed through the pain and limped to the bathroom. She flicked on the switch, but the room remained dark, the light having broken years ago. Despite the absence of light, she limped to the sink and turned on the faucet. Radiated water gushed out and she cupped her hand under and wiped her sweaty face with cool water.
She turned it off and leaned on the sink, just collecting herself. Water dripped off her nose and she straightened up, looking at her reflection. Man she looked terrible. Her face was paler than her already pale skin, and dark circles hung under her eyes. She closed her eyes and opened them. No point in staying here. She wasn't weak.
Someone had undressed her in the night, leaving her with only her under shirt and panties on. She didn't notice when she woke up that her armor was on the night stand table. She got suited up, and frowned at the hole in her pants where her wound was. Well, at least it wont be bothering her. The stitched were covered with Velcro wrap so it wouldn't get infected.
Accompanied with her clothes was a stimpack and she injected it in. When she opened the door, light blinded her and she raised her arm to shield herself. She stepped out onto what was a long walkway on the second floor of the motel, stairs to her left leading down to the ground.
The girl stood for a moment, gazing at the beautiful sunrise. She looked away, and walked down the stairs. Trying as best as she can to walk, she made her way to the Dino Dee-lite motel office and pushed open the door. It jingled and she stepped into the room she was in last night. The owner, Jeannie May Crawford looked up from whatever she was doing and smiled pleasantly at her.
"I wasn't expecting you to wake up so soon. Please, have a seat, your leg must be killin' ya." She sat down on one of the chairs as Jeannie got up and walked around the desk to her. "Here you must be hungry." The old lady handed her a box of BlamCo Mac & Cheese, and a fork. She thanked her and dug in. It was stale, but she was starving so it didn't matter.
As she ate, she tried to remember last nights event. It was a bit hazy, the only thing she really remembers clearly was the pain. Up to the point when Strauss poured alcohol on her wound, she could remember, but after it was all foggy... and then someone talking to her. His voice was faint, and she couldn't remember what exactly he was saying to her. But it was... nice.
"Was there a man with me yesterday?" she asked.
Jeannie, who returned to her desk looked up. "Oh, you must be talking about Boone."
Boone?
"Such a sweetheart. He puts up a cold front but last night he took right care of you. Even carried you to bed and checked on you throughout the night."
She blinked and looked down. "He did?" she whispered.
Warm...it lulled her to sleep...
"What was that honey?" Jeannie asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"Nothing. Nothing...do you know where he is?"
"He's sleepin' right now. Oh, don't worry you didn't keep him up all night. He's our town watch guard. He takes the nightshift while Manny takes over in the day. You can usually find him up at old Dinky the T-Rex over there." Jeannie explained.
"Is he a sniper?" she asked. No one other than an elite sniper could shoot that good. He was probably better than Ghost, and she was really good.
Jeannie waved her hand, "Yes he is. He used to be a 1st Recon sharpshooter in the NCR till he quit and moved down here. He and Manny both. They are a blessing to this town, keeping us regular folks safe day and night."
1st Recon? Weren't they the best of the best in the NCR. She heard they could shoot you down from miles away, through the head. They were the NCR's shiniest group. Aside from the Rangers, 1st Recon's turned the tides in a battle.
She got up, minding her leg, and threw away the box in a trash can. Now with breakfast finished, she needed to get some supplies. Which meant she needed caps. And all her caps were stolen by the legion.
"Do you know where I can get some work?" She asked to Jeannie.
"Work?" Jeannie said incredulously, "You've been through a surgery for godsake! Nope, no working for you. You need to rest up till you feel all better."
"But I have nothing to pay you with for the room."
Jeannie gave her a warm smile, "When you delivered two letters for me across the Mojave, that's payment enough."
She really needed caps though, but maybe the old lady was right. She did need the rest. Her leg would be an impediment to her out there. And if she ran into serious trouble, she couldn't run, which was always her first choice. Hey, it got her this far. If she couldn't run well... Maybe she'll stay in Novac for a day or two. By that time, her leg will get better and she could leave.
She relented, "Okay. But I really do need caps. Do you know what I can do?"
Jeannie took on a thoughtful look, "...I suppose Cliff could find something for you do to. He owns the Dino Bite gift shop in Dinky's belly."
She leaned forward, as if she was sharing with her a secret plan. "I think he gets lonely standing around in that dino belly all day. He'll be glad for the company."
She nodded, "Ok... Is Ranger Andy around?" She knew the Ranger, got him to teach her a few thing or two about fighting hand to hand combat. He liked the kid, and maybe he would let her borrow some guns he didn't need.
"Oh yes he's still around. Still hurt. But still around."
"Okay, thank you." She said and opened the door.
"Get some rest okay? And watch out for strangers!" Jeannie said behind her as she stepped outside.
Outside, she was halfway to the large dinosaur when a familiar voice called out to her.
"Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit, if it ain't my old friend from Goodsprings!"
She froze. No, it couldn't be.
"Victor?" she said, bewildered. Sure enough, the securitron rolled up to her and gave her a friendly wave.
She gawked at him, "What, what are you doing here?" This was it. She had a stalker. A robotic stalker. Was he following her all this time?
"Don't rightly know - I just got the notion to make my way to New Vegas. Reckon I'll find out when I get there." The robot said, sounding confused.
She realized she was still gaping at him and shut her mouth with a clack. Okay, so maybe he wasn't following her, or that was just the most dumbest and poorest excuse she's ever heard.
"But hey! What a coincidence you and me meeting like this?" Victor exclaimed chuckling. It was one hell of a coincidence. Almost impossible really...
She looked at him suspiciously, "Did someone wire you to follow me."
"What? No I don't recall so. I think I would've known if someone programmed me to follow you across the Mojave."
She pursed her lips. That didn't sound reassuring. But who would want to keep tabs on her? Surely not Benny. He thought she was dead. And she couldn't think of anyone from Goodsprings, they hardly know her. Was the robot just following her then? Or maybe she was being paranoid and this really was just an outrageously odd coincidence.
"Okay..then. I, uh, gotta get going so... bye." She turned away and started limping towards the gift shop.
"Oh n' one more thing partner!" She stopped and looked back at him questionably. "Novac folk usually see anyone traveling this way... including some individuals headin' to New Vegas."
She frowned at him, and was going to ask what he meant by that but the securitron rolled away before she could.
"Happy Trails Partner!" He yelled back, disappearing behind the motel. She wanted to go after him, but to be honest, her leg was killing her and she just didn't have the will or the motivation to do so. But what did he mean about Novac folk seeing people travel to New Vegas. She pondered his words as she climbed up the steps to the door in the dinosaur's belly.
... including some individuals headin' to New Vegas...
Was he, was he referring to Benny? That would make sense. This is the only safe path back to New Vegas. Surely Benny must've passed by here. And the only one's who could've seen him was the town guards. If they watched the roads all day and night, then they would've seen Benny pass by. And Victor said individuals, meaning Benny had company with him. She wasn't the type for revenge, but maybe the others could give her a little insight as to why Benny shot her.
With a new purpose in mind, she opened the door to the Dino Bite gift shop and stepped inside.
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A jingle made her presence known, and the owner, a bald dark skinned man, jumped in surprise, two miniature figures of Dinky falling from his hands.
"Oh! Uh..." He bent down quickly and picked up the two Dinky's. "Welcome to the Dino Bite Gift Shop. My name's Cliff." He said straightening up. "If you're here for the t-rex figurines-" He set the two t-rex figurines down, giving one a pat on the head, "-you're just in time. There's still a few left."
She glanced around the room, seeing a bunch of Dinky figurines lining the shelves.
"On sale. There's still time left to buy a t-rex figurine on sale." Cliff added, noticing her look.
She stepped up to the counter. "Actually, I'm looking for work. Jeannie May said you might have something for me to do."
He looked dejected for a minute and nodded his head. "Yeah. I do. There's some stuff in the back that needs organizing. I haven't gotten around to doing it because I... You know, got a shop to run."
The store was empty.
She nodded her head. "Ok.." She walked behind the counter and he moved aside to let her through to the back. The door was already open, and she stepped inside. In the room, there was just a simple desk, with a file cabinet next to it and a whole lot more of Dinky's everywhere. Boxes of packages were opened, and she could see more Dinky's stuffed inside.
She picked one up, "...What exactly do you want me to organize?"
Cliff stood behind her, looking at the Dinky's anxiously. "Oh.. you know, just them... Uh, put them in the boxes and seal it up..."
"Okay..."
As she picked up the small dinos, Cliff spoke up conversationally.
"You know, people see this place and they see the sign and think, gift shop? That's just too good to be true. But Jeannie May always points them back in my direction." He chuckled, "Aside from the t-rex figurines, which is the bread and butter of this store, we also sell REPCONN factory souvenirs - rockets and such." He held up a miniature rocket. She looked up from her work to see the toy.
"Why is it glowing." she asked curiously.
He shook the toy, "It's got a liquid inside them that makes it glow. These rockets are scale replicas of the real thing. Very detailed. From what I hear, REPCONN used to give them out on tours of their HQ up in Henderson." He set the rocket down, "But I guess they had to stop after the first few kids thought they were filled with Nuka Cola and drank it down."
He chuckled at that and she looked away, her cheeks tinging a light pink. She thought the same thing to.
He leaned back on the peeling yellow wall. "The papers had a name for the condition and everything. They called it the "REPCONN Shakes." Those were bad times for RobCo."
She held one Dinky down, preventing it from popping out and shut the box flap on it, sealing the box with duct tape. She got up, dusting her hands on her pants and turned towards him.
"Oh, you done? Alright, here you go." He handed her 15 caps.
She walked past him and peered up at the stairs. "Can I go up there?"
"Uh, yeah I guess. Manny our town guard is up there. I'm sure he won't mind."
She didn't wait for him to finish. She climbed up the stairs and outside - inside the mouth of Dinky the dinosaur. A man was crouched down, rifle on his shoulder which stuck out of Dinky's mouth.
"Are you Manny?" she asked.
He didn't turn around, "Who wants to know?"
She ignored his question. "You watch the roads right."
This time he got up and slung the rifle over his shoulder. "Yeah. You see a rifle barrel sticking out of the dinosaur's mouth, you got a fifty-fifty shot it's me. Otherwise it's Boone."
"Have you seen a man in a checkered coat pass by."
He squinted his eyes at her. "Sure, I know him. What do you want with him?"
She pursed her lips and ignored his question again. "Do you know the people who were with him?"
He crossed his arms over his chest. "You ask a lot of questions kid and not a lot of explaining."
She knitted her brows, "They took something of mine. I want it back." She lied easily.
He raised a brow. "You intend to confront them? I don't think that's such a smart idea kid. The guy, Benny, he's traveling with some members from my old gang. They were going to Boulder City."
"You know the people he was traveling with?" she asked.
"Yeah, McMurphy and Jessup. They're Great Khans and again kid, I don't think its' a good idea to go after them. They'll kill you - they don't care who you are or how old you are." Manny warned seriously.
A little too late, she thought bitterly. She would've actually preferred them doing the deed rather than Benny. Would've lessen the sting of betrayal.
"Don't worry, I'm not leaving anytime soon." She said, moving her right leg.
He eyed the leg and smiled. "So you're the one Boone told me about. He said he watched this girl come out of nowhere getting chased by a Radscorpion, and then by some Vipers. With her hands tied." He chuckled, "Damn kid what kind of luck do you have."
"None at all." She muttered and turned to leave.
"Hey wait. Boone said to tell you to go talk to him when his shift starts, which is after my shift so at night."
She frowned in confusion, "Why does he wanna see me?"
Manny shrugged, "Beats me kid. Guess you gotta find out from him."
Weird. Maybe he wanted to check up on her. But couldn't he just pop in her room?
She went back down into the gift shop and made a beeline to the door.
"Hey, um... are you sure you don't wanna buy a figurine?" Cliff blurted out before she could reach the door.
She turned to him and shook her head. "No... but do you have any supplies for sale?"
"Supplies? I, uh, well... yeah, I guess I might have something." He sighed, "Darn it. No one ever buys the t-rexes."
She bought with what little caps she got some stimpacks, one rad-away, and a boxed meat.
"Thanks again! And come back anytime if you ever wanna buy a t-rex." Cliff said as she left out the door.