• Published 20th Jun 2012
  • 7,556 Views, 178 Comments

Love and Radiation - MyDigitalHazard



Love can get to even the worst of us. And In the wasteland, It can be the one thing keeping you alive

  • ...
16
 178
 7,556

Chapter 5: Ghost Town Gunfight (Part 1)

What are you?

Those where the words that echoed around Inside Owens head as he looked down at the strange woman that lay on the bed before him. The very same bed he had woken up In not twenty four hours prior.

The night had been long. Very long. The woman's wounds had been more severe then first impressions would let on. But, with some quick thinking, a couple of rolls of bandages, some Stimpaks and a bottle of whiskey, she would survive. At least, to the groups knowledge.

As he continued to mull about in his thoughts, he didn't notice the good Doctor enter the room, and was slightly surprised when a hand came down on his shoulder and gave him a little shake.

"You know, Its not polite to stare at a lady" The aging man said In a joking fashion, before looking down at his newest patient, smiling softly. "What do you think she Is?" He asked suddenly as his eyes wandered over the woman's form.

"I was just wondering that myself" Owen replied, his voice low as to not wake the prone form before him. "She's not a mutant, I can tell that just by looking at her, body is too symmetrical, no defects or abnormalities that comes with the mutation process."

Mitchell raised a eyebrow and looked at the dark haired man incredulously. "I see your memory seems to be coming back"

Owen simply nodded, "Yeah, Its been coming back in fragments ever since we found her, not a lot, but at least I know Its there"

"Alright, then lets assume that with more time you'll regain your memories" Mitchell stated, "Now, back to the subject at hand, are you trying to say she is some kind of alien?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. She is defiantly not from around here, though, I doubt she is from outer space" Owen sighed, before scrunching his brow In thought, "Even so, she still confuses the hell outta me"

"How so" Questioned Mitchell as he walked around to the front of the bed.

"Well, for starters, the fact that her legs are full of freaking holes. They look natural, but, at the same time they don't. I don't know how to explain It" Sighing again, he looked up at the doctor. "Then there's the fact that she has fur and chitin, which is making me thing she is some kind of mammal insect hybrid, which I think, to be honest, is completely impossible"

He then pointed at her head, or more specifically, her crooked black horn "And last but not least, the fact that she has a fucking twelve inch dagger coming out of her forehead"

"She is so animalistic, I look at her and feel like we just dragged a sleeping Bull into a china shop" He suddenly stood up and started pacing back and forth in front of the doctor. Who, till this point, had remained quiet as the former courier made his monolog.

"But, she isn't an animal" He added

"I know that, how could she be? We found her fully dressed and carrying a weapon" Well, hardly dressed anyway He thought to himself, allowing a half-smirk to grace his features for a moment before it vanished back into a thoughtful frown.

Owen kept pacing, his mind swirling with thoughts. After a couple of minutes, he finally sat down and sighed. "Christ, I just don't know what to think"

"Yeah well, that makes two of us" A feminine voice said behind him, he turned around in his chair to see Sunny standing in the hallway. He smiled at the young woman before noticing her burden, a cardboard box with worn away letters printed on it.

"What's that?" He asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Oh these?" She said, as if noticing the box she was carrying for the first time, "These are just some old cloths for when she wakes up, can't have her walking around all indecent"

Owen nodded before turning back to the bedridden woman. His mind started to spin again, but was stopped short when Sunny began talking, "Just so you know, Trudy down at the Prospector wants to talk to you"

He looked back up at her just as she placed the box of clothing down on the floor, at the base of the bed. "Really? Why is that?"

"Oh, nothing important" Sunny replied, chuckling, "She is kind of like the town mom, wants to meet everyone who passes through"

Owen nodded and stood up, "Yeah, I guess Il get on that, plus the fresh air could do me some good, been cooped up In here for what feels like hours"

"That's because it has been" Mitchell added with a laugh as he wrote something down on a clipboard. The other two in the room laughed quietly while Mitchell simply smirked.

When the snickering died down, Owen took one last look at the woman before grabbing his rifle and pack, waving a farewell to the other two and left the house.

-Owens P.O.V-

The walk to the prospector was short, seeing how It was only across the street. The walk was calming, and the fresh air and warm sun was a welcome change to the good Doctors house. However, when I opened the saloon door, my calm attitude dissipated when a gruff and unwelcoming voice assaulted my ears.

"I'm done being nice" A man shouted from around the corner, "If you don't give us Ringo by sundown tomorrow, me and my boys will burn this town to the ground!"

My eyes narrowed as my hand made its way to the nine millimetre pistol attached to my belt. I pulled the handgun from its holster and held it at my side calmly before walking towards the bar. There, I spotted a dark-skinned man and a middle aged woman glaring at each other, separated only by the bar counter-top.

The man was dressed in a pair of black pants, a white shirt, and a blue jacket along with a large Kevlar vest overtop. His hair was shaved short and his lips were twisted into a angry snarl. Across the bar, the woman, who I was beginning to believe was Trudy, was watching him, her face a emotionless mask.

"We'll keep that in mind" She replied to him, voice dripping with venom, "now if you’re not going to buy anything. Get out."

The man growled in anger before turning on his heel and storming off towards the exit. He passed without noticing me but stopped at the door, his hand brushed against the handle of the revolver holstered at his hip, as though contemplating if he should pull It out and start shooting the place up.

After a couple of seconds, he turned around and yelled towards the bar, "Tomorrow at sunset! Or else!" Before throwing the door open and leaving. The saloon was silent for a couple of moments as I watched the door.

With a sigh, I holstered my pistol and turned on my heel. Trudy was wiping the bar down with a dirty rag, a solemn expression plastered on her face. I walked up to the bar, pulled out a stool and sat. The noise apparently shook Trudy from her thoughts, as when she looked up, her eyes widened as if noticing me for the first time. After a moment, a soft smile replacing her features.

“Well you’ve been causing quite a stir. Glad I finally got to meet you. Welcome to the Prospector saloon.” She stuck her hand out gently, “Names Trudy”

I reached out and grasped the appendage, before giving it a solid shake. Trudy’s grip was soft, yet firm. “Owen” I replied curtly, before releasing my grip and ordering a shot of whiskey.

A moment later, a shot glass full of golden liquid was slid in front of me, which I quickly downed. There was a moment of silence before I asked, “I overheard your argument, what was that all about?”

“Looks like our little town got dragged into the middle of something we don’t want anything to do with.” She replied, leaning up against the bar, “About a week ago, this trader, Ringo, comes into town. Survivor of an attack, he says. Bad men after him, needed a place to hide. We figured he was just in shock, so we gave him a place to lie low. We didn’t actually expect anyone to come after him”

Great, just what I needed “What are you going to do?” I asked, before motioning for a refill. Trudy topped off my glass before answering. “Some of the others, like Sunny, will probably stand up for Ringo if he asks for help, which he hasn’t.” I nodded, “Personally, I hope he sneaks out of town tonight and takes the Powder Gangers with him.”

“Powder Gangers?”

Trudy nodded, “Chain gangs, really. The NCR brought them in from California to work on the rail lines. Problem is, it turns out that giving convicts a bunch of dynamite and blasting powder isn’t the best idea.”

No kidding

“Was a big escape not too long ago. Some of ‘em stuck together so they could make trouble. That’s what we’re dealing with now.”

With a sigh, I downed what was left in my glass as I let the information sink in. Great, bandits with explosives. “Why not just kill their leader?”

At that, Trudy frowned “You mean like murder him? That’s not our way, even if Cobb is scum. He can bluster and threaten all he wants” At my confused look, she said, “Joe Cobb is the bandits leader, the guy that was just here” I made a silent ‘oh’ before asking. “Where is Ringo now?”

“He’s holed up in the abandon gas station up the hill, behind Doc Mitchell’s” She answered, before asking, “Why do you want to know?”

I looked down at the empty glass in my hand, my thumb tracing the rim. “I’m not one to just sit by while good people get hurt. Plus, I’ll be leaving pretty soon, and I don’t feel like getting blown up by some jackass trying to get at my gear” I admitted.

I stood up, reached into my pocket and dropped a couple of caps on the bar. “Thanks for the info Trudy. Il go have a chat with Ringo and see what I can do to help him out” I told the bartender as I made my way to the door. “You’re a good man Owen,” she said softly, before going back to whipping the bar down, “and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise”


I stepped out of the bar and was immediately blinded by the harsh sunlight. “Damn it, damn it, damn it…”

After my eyesight was restored, I made my way down the craggy path through the middle of town. Passing Doc Mitchells, I made my way further down the road until I came up to the gas station Trudy had mentioned to me. The walls were a faded, sickly brown and the two visible windows were boarded up. The place was, for all intents and purposes, a dump. However, as I cautiously made my way forward, I could hear the sound of someone moving around inside.

I knocked on the door and waited, occasionally peeking between the boards. When nothing happened, I considered just leaving. For all I knew, this guy was some crazy, paranoid fuck-wit who would shoot me the first chance he got. I raised my hand to knock again, when a thought struck me.

If he’s hiding, why the hell would he answer a knock on the door?

Shaking my head at my own stupidity, I knocked again. This time louder, while yelling, “Hey Ringo! Open up! I’m here to help!” I paused before adding “Trudy sent me!”

A moment passed, and another before I heard the sound of feet shuffling and something being taken off the door.

“Come in” A voice called from inside, “doors unlocked!”

As I reached for the doorknob, a gunshot rang out in the distance behind me. Looking back, I made sure nothing was attempting to attack me before walking in. As my eyes adjusted to the sudden lack of light, I only had a couple seconds to admire the empty shelves and flaking paint before having the barrel of a pistol being painfully pressed into my temple.

"Don't move"

Called it I stated grimly in my head

Author's Note:

OH MY GOD I AM A TERRIBLE PERSON! Why didn't I post this Chapter the same night I sent a black man after you? Lots of reasons, but that does not excuse the fact THAT I AM A TERRIBLE PERSON!

Most of my reasons are trivial at best.

Exams, having to re-take a failed class, a little run in with the Po-Po that got solved without anything going on my record. You know, the usual brony stuff.

Please, Let the Hatemail fly, let the RAEG consume you in the comments, I deserve it.

Also, does anyone have any idea how to download a file from Google Drive.

Comments ( 40 )

Great chapter, but, uh, I don't suppose you've considered finding an editor of some sort? Because to be frank, you need one, and I've got free time.

2286805 that's because anthro is usually frowned upon in the fim community, for some reason.

FINIAHALLY! UPDATE! but a bit weak for th' wait, and even moreso for anyone who's played New Vegas.

and he's right, you need an editor.

i have references. a lot of them.

2541660 In all honesty, I just wanted to get this chapter out so you guys wont think I died, It will be edited when I get out of school.

2541709 Bit late for that, Digi-boy, but we all still love you anyway.

ISS

THANK GOD ITS ALIVE

Set to read later, as that version of Chrysalis is one of the most beautiful I have ever laid eyes upon.

As long as you're not dead and will continue to update, it's all good.:twilightsmile:

Vailen #9 · May 7th, 2013 · · 1 ·

Glad to see a new chapter. Was about ready to un-watch... glad I didn't.

2542455 That comment was six hours ago. What do you think now?

Here I thought the chapter will end at the start of the gunfight. ^^;

Six Chapters and Chrissy hasn't even wake up.
You better slow down your pacing author, you are progressing WAY TOO fast!

Nice to see this updated. Sorry to hear life kinda took a lot of time out of writing, but things happen. Hope to see more updates in the future.

This really looks good, hope that time is aiding you for when you can write.

First three chapters seemed a bit like a more fleshed-out opening for New Vegas Very well done, but not that necessary. Things are looking interesting with Chrysalis, I'll be keeping my eye on this for sure! :pinkiesmile:

plz update more.

btw i forgot to say.

i love how you doing with this crossover, not only you got the feel of the game right but make up your own story with it, unlike the nomley stuff like in the game like this "this is what i can find on you"

but insind you make the doc give that sufft and made hem into a full flash out cahter in your fic inside of going 100% off the game i like that.

Could you have the next update actually within a two month period? You know... I-If you don't mind...:fluttershysad:

holy hell it updated:pinkiehappy::pinkiegasp::pinkiehappy::pinkiegasp:

Woah, and on my birthday... I am confused as to why this didn't show up in my notifications and it took me looking through my favorites so I just seen it now.

3000027 You do not... there will be a Update... >.> Just not for this story.. yet. Ive got something else ive been working on since my last LaR chapter. And I really want to get it out.

(Pokes story with a stick to see if its still alive)

Confirmed dead.

Aww I just discovered it. But looking at the comments I don't know what to think.

I was considering posting a rant with a lot of colorful language and ways in which you should be punished for not updating but then i fought in the urge seeing as it probably wouldn't get this to update anyway *sighs* Such a shame.

So instead will merely leave you with praise for an awesome story so far and hope that you get out of whatever funk your in and get around to continuing.

P.S. If you ever decide to put the ol' gal down i'll have a bullet ready and waiting.

3001641 Well I can wait for a bit take your time, and I can almost see myself in the couriers shoes nice detail. :derpyderp2:

When do you plan on updating this story again?

This is to good to die out:fluttershbad::fluttercry::raritycry::raritydespair::applecry:

Interesting, my only rage is that this hasn't been updated in about 2 years. :flutterrage:
+1 like anyways

I want more damn it!!!!!!!

3001641 Where is the rest of this?

So is this dead?

This story has been dead a long, long time. This saddens me.

Anyway this story gets updated ?

Login or register to comment