Chapter 1 – Ain't That a Kick in the Head

I woke with a daze, the last thing I could remember was dirt and sand flying over my face.

"Hey there" came an unfamiliar voice. I sat up without opening my eyes.

"Whoa, don't go too fast now" the voice said. It was a male voice. He was clearly old. His voice sounded comforting.

"Who are you?" I asked. I opened my eyes into a room that was almost broken, I was laid on a make-shift hospital bed and there was a curtain around me, there were bloodstains on everything I saw."

"My name is Doc Mitchell" he said. So he was a doctor.

"Why am I here?" I asked.

"A robot brought you into town, you'd been shot in the head" he said. "That explains why there was all that blood" I thought.

"How am I alive?" I asked.

"I managed to get to bullet out and repair you. I saved you the bullet. It's enhanced for deeper bullet penetration. If I were you, I'd find the bastard that did this and use his own bullet to blow his fucking brains out".

"Thanks Doc, I will, do you know where I can start?" I asked.

"Firstly, I'd go to Sunny Smiles, I presume you're a gun slinger" said Doc

"Yeah"

"So she will help you restore your aim, she's usually at the saloon"

"Thanks doc" I said. I stood up from the bed and walked over to the door. It made a creaking sound as I opened it. My eyes adjusted to the broad daylight. I looked to the side, my duffel bag was still intact, I put on my Cowboy hat and my leather overcoat. The world was destroyed, post-apocalyptic. The sand stuck to the scenery like glue. Everything was exactly the same as it was before. Sometimes I wish I'd just go insane, I wouldn't have to live consciously in this living hell. I wasn't around before the nukes were fired, but I hear it was a wonderful place, filled with prosperity. The only place here in the Mojave that you can earn good money is New Vegas. I've never actually been there. I was supposed to just before I was shot in the head.

The guy who shot me in the head, all I remembered was a chequered coat. I'd have to ask around for any other information. I walked over to the saloon, watching my feet, I couldn't help but notice that I had adopted a funny walk. It would surely be a setback. But I could live with it. I arrived at the Saloon. A man gave me a funny look.

"So you're the guy who was dug up by the robot"

"Excuse me?" I asked

"Yeah, you were dug up by a robot, I figured if you were up and about then you would know." he said

"No I didn't." By this time I had stopped and was staring at him.

"Name's Easy Pete" he said. He was an oldish man, wearing a cowboy hat.

"Nice to meet you" I said, not giving a gesture. He stared at me blankly.

"Uh, I got to get going" I said

"See you" he replied. I opened the door of the saloon to find a run down, but surprisingly stable structure. He walked through the narrow corridor to find a bar. Serving the men at the bar was a middle aged looking woman. I walked over to the bar, and sat down on one of the stools.

"Hi fella, what can I do you for?" she asked.

"I was just wondering where I could find Sunny Smiles" I said. She tapped her fingers on the bar and pondered for a while. A Young looking woman almost fell through the door.

"Oh, there she is" said the barkeep "Name's Trudy by the way"

"See you later Trudy" I said. I stood from the stool and moved towards the doorway, where a drunken Sunny was laid. I grabbed her by the arm and helped her up.

"Wha- Who are you?" she asked.

"My name's Clarke, I need a favour from you" I said

"Uh... I can't right now, I need to be somewhere. Maybe tomorrow" she said, suspiciously. I looked at her, she was hunched around the doorway.

"Okay" I said "Where can I find you?" I asked.

"I'll meet you in the back room over there" she said, pointing to a room towards the back of the saloon. I scanned the room, it seemed empty. I gave her an okay and walked outside of the saloon. I decided to go back to Doc Mitchell's house for a place to stay. He said it was okay and I slept on his sofa. The next morning I woke up with a pounding headache.

"Doc, do you have any pills for a headache?" I asked

"Yeah, hold on, I'll bring them to you" he said. I threw my head back onto his armrest and closed my eyes. My head was spinning, which was normal considering a bullet almost penetrated my skull. A couple of minutes later Doc Mitchell came into the room with a couple of pills and a bottle of water.

"Thanks Doc" I said as I slipped the pills into my mouth and swallowed them down with some water.

0

"Don't mention it, by the way, I forgot to give you these yesterday, it was all that was on you when the robot found you". He passed me five hundred caps.

"Thanks Doc" I said again. "How come you have given me so much?" I asked. He stared at me and said "Because for some reason, I think that I've met you before somehow. I think that I owe you something".

"You don't owe me anything Doc" I said reassuringly. He stood up and walked into his kitchen.

"I suppose not, Clarke. If you need anything, be sure to come back to me." he said. He had started to wash his dishes. I stood up from his sofa and walked to the door.

"I will" I said. It was a warm day in Good springs. I decided to take a look around before I would meet Sunny. Good Springs was a pretty safe place to say it had narrowly missed nukes. It was pretty much like a normal town, before the war. Before I was attacked I had heard of Good Springs. It was a town that had been there since the early 1800s, and four hundred and eighty years onward it was pretty much the same. I walked around for a couple of hours before going back to the Saloon for a drink. Easy Pete wasn't sat outside today. I opened the door to the Saloon and sat down at the bar.

"Oh Hey, what can I get you?" asked Trudy.

"Do you have any clean water?" I asked. She looked around underneath the bar and behind her. Then underneath the bar again.

"Here's one" she said. She passed it me and I immediately started drinking it.

"That will be five caps" she said. I reached into my duffel bag and pulled out five caps. I passed them to her and walked into the corridor where the back room was. Sunny was sat down with her pet dog.

"Hey Sunny" I said. Peeking my head around the door. She stopped petting her dog and looked up to me.

"Hey" she said. "I just want to apologize if I was rude to you yesterday, I tend to drink my problems away, when I get drunk I get mad an-"

"I understand, What problems?" I asked. Tears started to form in her eyes, she tried to hide it by turning away and rummaging through the boxes and cans in the back room.

"Uh... I... My dog is uh... he needs some treatment and... uh... the doctor in town won't see him" she sniffled. She placed her hand onto the wall and broke into tears.

"Do you want me to ask him about it, or hire someone from out of town?" I asked. She looked at me.

"Would you?" she asked. "I've had Henry for fifteen years, he's all I have, my parents passed away years ago"

"Which doctor is it?" I asked

"Doc Bert, he's just outside town" she said.

"Listen, I'll go sort it out, you stay here and look after Henry" I said. She sat down and dried her eyes then carried on petting her dog. I turned away and left the saloon. I reached into my duffel bag and pulled out my .44 Magnum, then holstered it. It was a short walk to Doc Bert's office. It was the fanciest looking place in Good Springs. I opened the door and the Doc was sat at his desk.

"Howdy, what can I do for you?" he asked. He wore glasses and was short. He was wearing a top hat and a clean suit. His house was made of metal rather than rusted metal and wood.

"I came about a dog, Henry, who you refused to see" I said. I placed my hands onto his desk and leaned forward.

"Oh yeah, Sunny, she's a nice Gal', I'm sorry, I can't do anything about it." he said. I reached into my duffel bag.

"I can pay you extra" I said.

"Not going to happen"

"Listen you little bastard" I reached over the desk and grabbed his tie. "I've only known Sunny for a day but I know that she wouldn't have done anything bad enough for you to deny the only thing she's got left in the world the right to live". He simply pushed me back and said.

"Not gonna happen, now get out of my shop". I grabbed my magnum and pointed it at him.

"You're going to help her dog" I said as I cocked the pistol.

"Not going to happen" he said. Two guards with shotguns walked into the room.

"Leave my shop". I holstered by magnum again and ran back to Doc Mitchell's.