Part 9: Second Chance
Upon waking up I felt much better. My limbs
were less tight, and I could walk properly instead of having to limb. I once
again emerged from my tent, and chose to hang around inside the fort for a few
hours, so I could get to know and thank those that saved my life, as well as
regain my strength before stepping out into the dangerous city. The fort was a
lot smaller and less sophisticated than I had imagined.
There was only about fifteen tents within the fort, and three for storing medical supplies. The rest
appeared cram packed full of weak, old men who appeared to be in far worse
conditions than I was. Four large towers surrounded the fort on each side,
which I presume is where the medical staff sleeps. The entrance was a huge old wooden
door with rusty hinges, that required a lot effort to open. I’m unsure how I found
the strength to push it open when I was wounded, albeit, I did faint
immediately afterwards.
After talking to most of the doctors, and leaving them all small donations in the form of a few caps, I noticed that in the corner of one of the tents was a middle aged doctor. He was dressed in
white doctor’s robes, with a pair of thick black glasses. The other staff had
mentioned he was one of the men responsible for saving my life, so I went up to thank him.
“Hey, I really need to thank you for sav-“I said, before he interrupted me.
“You really don’t need to bother. All I did was carry you into the tent.” He said with a sad tone. “You really should talk to Julie and Henry, they did the most to save you. Hard to get any
excitement out of life anymore, so doing just a little to save your life feels gratifying.”
“Hell, even something as small as that
is really important in saving me. For all you know, I could have been seconds
away from death or going critical, that you helped me by getting me into the
tent faster.” I said, trying to cheer him up from his glum mood.
“Seriously?” he said surprised, and turned to me “You must still be feeling weary from being stabbed. I’m sorry, but what I did wouldn’t have helped you live. I just happened to be close-by
when you stumbled in. If I hadn’t have grabbed you, or I was too far away, some
other doctor would help you in.”
“Well for a guy who says that every little sweet thing is gratifying, you sure seem to be depressed.” I suggested, trying to get him to see through his logic.
“Damn, you’re right!” he yelled and banged a table with his hand. “You’re really smart, you know that? You ought to work for the NCR, not be hanging around in this shithole. All that’s going to
happen is you’ll get yourself hurt again, and this time, you might not be so lucky.”
“Well maybe if I had a companion, I’d have a better chance dealing with them.” I said, leading him onto journeying with me through the wastes.
“Really? You’d take some random doctor you've just met, through a dangerous town filled with junkies and rapists?” he pleaded, trying to convince me he’s no good in a fight. “the best thing I could
do in a fight is run, and that’s not a useful skill.”
“We aren’t just going to stick around Freeside and wait to eventually be murdered, we’ll be out soon, and then we go journey to anywhere we want. I’m sure that hanging around this boring fort
where all you do is waste supplies on those old men, who are just going to go
back out and get themselves attacked again, is tremendously boring.”
“Damn, you are fucking bang on the nail again.” He really sounded convinced by me. “I’ll join you, but on one
condition. Do not, ever, help Caesar’s legion.” Sounding disgusted at just the name.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not ready to join a group of murderous, heartless bastards yet. We see any, I won’t hesitate to shoot.” I informed him.
“Well, glad to finally get out of this old folks home, and explore the wastes. To be honest, a good reason I’m in here so much is that just outside that door is hell. But with you beside me, I’m sure
we can handle it. Just let me clear some business with Julie first, I’ll be by
the gate soon.” He said, and wandered towards Julie. I went to the main gate
and waited a few minutes before he came back to me.
“Just another question. If I’m stepping foot out there, I’m going to need a weapon.” He quickly reminded me.
“Of course, silly me, take this” I said, as I reached into my bag to give him my pistol
“You sure this thing is safe?” he pondered, not willing to test a dangerous gun.
“I’ve fired it before, it’s trustworthy. Take a test shooting if you need it, but it’s honestly unnecessary”
I replied.
“Ok then, let’s get out there and get whatever you need done. Just try to get out this shithole asap, would you?” hurried to say.
“Soon as I get 2000 caps, we can get into the strip. I’m already about 3 quarters of the way there.” I said, to give him some faith we’d be done here soon. And with that, we pushed the old creaky
door open and stepped foot into dangerous territory once more.
To Be Continued….
Notice: The Content in this story (Characters, Locations and Objects) are copyright of Bethsada Softworks, Obsidian Entertainment, or their respective owners. This is just a fan story, with no copyright intented. So please Bethsada, don't sue me, I love your games :D
P.S: Yup, It Took 6 Weeks. 6 Week Holidays Of School Flys By Like Nothing. Not That It Took That Long To Write This Part, More About An Hour. Since The Holidays Are Over, I'll Write More Often Since I Can't Waste Much This Much Time Having Fun.
