SkrtWithAWeapon

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

@f8lcobra feel free to add in that Celeste fainted at the end of Shelby's display before her next scene XD

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

FRIEDA RICHTER -- Salem clinic - early afternoon

"Its a nasty gash she got from that creature...but yes, she should be fine with proper treatment. I'll need to clean and examine her wound better as quickly as possible." Arthur's voice was level and professional. It was one of the most comforting sounds Frieda could ever hear. He turned to scrub up and grab some supplies.

Frieda leaned over Brandy, watching her chest rise and fall shallowly. "Doc's going to get you fixed up, just hang in there."

A figure drew up to Frieda. She turned to say something to the doc but instead was met with the image of Ace, clutching his midsection and looking worse for wear. She jumped. "You gotta stop doing that to me, Ace, or some day I'm going to shoot you."

In his daze and shock, Ace didn't seem to hear her. "Oh my god... hey doc, is she going to be alirght?"

Arthur took a once-over Ace, paused very briefly, then replied. "She'll be okay," he replied slowly and calmly, "But uh...why don't you have a seat over there Ace? Take it easy..." He walked over and helped him over to one of the Clinic's chairs.

"Frieda, can you start treating Brandy? She may need a shot of Med-X to start...I need to take a look at Ace first and then I'll be right there."

Frieda sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her sleeve. "Sure, of course." She knelt down and retrieved the chem from the small stockpile of supplies that Arthur had gathered next to Brandy's cot. She pulled the blanket back then jammed the needle into Brandy's thigh, through her pantleg. Frieda watched Brandy's reaction, which was first to tense, then relax. She dabbed some sweat off her friend's brow.

Frieda stepped back to let the doctor do his good work. She glanced around the clinic for an immediate task but saw none. Movement out the window and down the street caught her eye. It was Waylon and the woman who helped her from beneath the deathclaw, coming from the direction of the inn, and dragging...a deathclaw. Frieda's stomach dropped at the scene, but she swallowed it down.

"Hey, there's Brandy's friends. They might want to know she's been hurt, but she's okay. I'll be right back." Frieda stepped out of the clinic then jogged towards Waylon and the woman, waving them down.

"Waylon, hey! Brandy's hurt, but she's in the clinic now, the doc's going to stitch her up. She should be okay, but I thought you might want to know." She turned to the woman dragging the deathclaw and briefly hesitated offering her hand, then realized she had dirt and some of Brandy's dried blood on it, anyway. "I didn't really get to thank you, back there. I'm Frieda...Richter. Frieda Richter." She cleared her throat, feeling overwhelmingly awkward.

"Ah, anyway, I should get back to the clinic. And, uh, dinner, later, still, yes, right?" she stammered, addressing Waylon.

You're embarrassing yourself, stop embarrassing yourself...!

Frieda clapped her hands together. "Okay! See you folks around." She turned on her heel and galloped off back to the clinic, feeling like a total ass. An image of her brother popped into her mind, smirking at her. She re-entered the clinic, when her eyes locked on to the mess at the back door. That'll help.

"Let me know if you need anything. I'm going to try and clean up that mess at the back, there." Frieda approached the ruined back door and took a deep breath, wondering how or where to start. A small pile of rubble had gathered on the floor. Might as well start small. She stooped and began tossing the rubble outside.

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

CELESTE BROWN - Salem diner -- mid morning to noon

It felt like she had been screaming for hours, but really, it had to only be a few moments. Rick entered the diner, immediately looked down at Steve's form, and motioned for her to quiet down. Celeste sniffed and stood back, watching Rick approach the body.

Rick looked around and grabbed a piece of broken glass and placed it by Steve's mouth and nose. He watched it fog up, telling him he was still alive. He looked over at Celeste, “we need a plank or something to move him, don’t want to pick him up in case he broke anything."

Celeste's mouth opened and shut like a hooked fish. Suddenly, an armour-clad super mutant burst into the diner, perhaps drawn by her screams. She swallowed hard but her throat was dry. The mutant grunted, pushed Rick over completely, lifted Steve, and left the diner as quick as he'd come in.

"Oh my god, oh my god! What is he doing with Steve? Where is he going?! W-what --"

She cut herself off as she watched the mutant walk into the clinic with Steve. Baffled, she rubbed her eyes, but the mutant could no longer be seen.

"This day sure has become...unreal," she said aloud. Her entire body began to tremble. Celeste braced herself against the counter, then sat up onto the stool. Betty plunked a cup of coffee in front of her, before retrieving a broom and dustpan and puttering around the diner.

"Do ya think those kinds of things are gonna be common, around here?" Celeste posed aloud.

"The deathclaws?" Betty replied.

"Right. And the raiders."

Betty pushed a pile of debris into her dustpan and gave Celeste an odd smirk. "Have you been living under a rock this whole time? Where are ya from there weren't weird creatures and raiders??"

"Under a rock? No, who could live like that?"

Frieda came into the diner and recoiled at the mess, and the dead deathclaw. "Everyone all right, in here? I can escort you to the clinic."

Betty shrugged, while Celeste nodded, wordlessly. "Uh, okay." Frieda tapped her hands on her thighs. "Oh, has anyone seen Brandy?"

"Nope, and that hair-pasting snivelling little bitch better not make herself seen around here, anytime soon!" Betty rattled off, dramatically slamming the contents of her dustpan into a trash bin.

"...what?"

Celeste locked eyes with Frieda and gave her head a short shake. Betty needed to focus on getting the diner back to useable shape rather than getting upset about Brandy's prank all over again. Frieda seemed annoyed.

"Well, if any of you find an injury or something you want to get checked out, feel free to come by the clinic."

"Sure thing," Celeste replied, and watched the blonde retreat. She looked over at Betty and managed to find some caps in her pocket. She placed them onto the counter. "I should be getting back. I had a guest at the inn and I hope she is okay."

"Whatever you gotta do," Betty replied casually, snapping the caps off the counter.

Celeste emerged from the diner into the sunlight of the early afternoon. A woman she didn't recognize was sauntering down the road towards the center of town, a huge grin on her face and carrying an assortment of tools and other equipment. She briefly considered asking her where she was going and what she was doing, but decided she should really just get back to the inn.

"Manager Celeste!" Archie called to her when she was at the head of the road. "Do take care, it appears that one still has some life left in it."

"Who?" she asked, just as the maimed deathclaw scraped itself around to face her. It let out a string of angry sounds, though they sounded a little tired, as well. "Jeepers! Huh-how am I supposed to get over there?!"

"No need to worry, manager, it's missing most of one of its legs, and apparently, quite a bit of blood, too. How it's still alive is quite mind boggling, wouldn't you say?"

"ARCHIE!"

"I assure you, there is no cause for alarm."

Celeste clasped her hands over her chest, her eyes wide, her heart beating fast. As she stared, the deathclaw did appear to be running out of gas. It had resolved itself to simply glowering at her. Something inside her gave her speed, and she whipped past it, then Archie, then burst into the doors, huffing and puffing.

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

FRIEDA RICHTER - Brandy's house -- early afternoon

Frieda shifted her weight from foot to foot, wondering where else she could look for the younger woman. A thunderous crash sounded from below.

Of course. The basement.

Frieda flung the door open and was halfway down the steps when her eyes fixed upon Brandy, splayed out on the floor, but thankfully not beneath the shelf. "Jesus!" she swore, looking at the magnificent mess everywhere. The chicks merely peeped and pecked at their sudden feast. Brandy's face was splotchy from extended crying and there was a large blood stain all around her shoulder. She moved her mouth but no words came out.

"Hang on, take it easy." Frieda swiftly came down the final few stairs, managed to tiptoe her way all around the chicks, and knelt next to Brandy.

"...real. Frieda, they're real," Brandy's voice was a scratchy, breathy, toneless sound. Her eyes rolled back, causing Frieda to yelp and reach forward to try and catch Brandy's head before it smacked on the concrete floor. Suddenly her head popped back up, and she continued to try and talk though her voice was long spent. "Oh no, Frieda, do you see a little tube?"

Panic briefly crossed Frieda's face, but she blinked it off. "All I see right now is my friend who is in bad shape. I'm taking you to the clinic so the doctor can look at your shoulder, okay? Whatever it is, we'll find it, but you need some help." She squat, pulled Brandy's arm attached to the non-injured shoulder over her own, then wrapped her other arm around Brandy's back and lifted her up. Frieda nearly lost her balance, having braced herself for the effort, but lifted Brandy easily.

"Shoo, now, shoo! Out of the way! Watch your tails!" Frieda called down to the fluffballs scurrying around, eating as much as they possibly could. "Enjoy it while you can, I'll be back to clean all this up, and then I bet you're all going to have a long nap."

Frieda took a breath, holding Brandy firmly. "I'll try to be gentle, but stairs are a little jarring, no matter what. Here we go." Frieda half pulled, half carried her friend up the stairs and into the kitchen. She had worked up a sweat that was dripping off her face by the time she made it to the clinic. Brandy seemed to be on the cusp of losing full consciousness. Her legs occasionally made step motions, but try as she might, Frieda couldn't help dragging her a little bit. Her eyes flicked around the clinic. She elected to tuck her friend as far from Steve as possible. Frieda unhooked Brandy's arm from around her back.

"Here, Brandy, lie down here. The doc will be right with you," Frieda tried to sound as soothing as possible. Her friend looked very pale, and had begun to shiver. "Shock...it's shock," she muttered out loud, before looking around and spotting the pile of blankets she had folded herself just the day before. She grabbed one and threw it over Brandy.

"Her shoulder's bloodied up, I didn't really look at it," Frieda said to Arthur. "I found her in her basement. She was hiding, maybe? I honestly don't know. She had knocked down both shelves, whole place is a mess."

She looked at Brandy, contemplating whether she should tell Arthur that the younger woman had asked about the growth serum, but decided against it. Frieda took a shuddered breath. "She'll be okay, though, right? It's just a...like, a flesh wound?"

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

FRIEDA RICHTER -- Salem clinic - noon

"Uh, well yes actually," Arthur replied, clearing his throat, "I don't suppose you'd be willing to go out and see who might need medical attention? And help them to the clinic if they need assistance of course. I'll begin treating Steve as best I can and then start on anyone else who might need help. Afterwards I'd like to have a good look at one or all of those Deathclaws...if possible..." He pondered aloud, "I've just...well...I've never seen one before...in the flesh that is.."

He seemed uncomfortable. Frieda figured it was a little bit of latent shock from the attack. "Sure, I'll take a quick jaunt through town. It's your lucky day about a deathclaw, though." She pointed to the destroyed back door and the corpse of the beast splayed through it. "Literally left at your door!" Frieda watched his reaction. "I'll...try to rein in my sense of humour." She checked the cell on her pistol, then went back out the front door. Her eyes settled on the diner. Seemed as good a time as any to find out what that scream was all about.

Frieda walked into the diner and glanced around at the mess, which included a dead deathclaw. Celeste was perched on a bar stool next to Rick, pale as paper, clutching a mug of coffee that did little more than just steam her face. Betty was unenthusiastically sweeping up. "Everyone all right, in here? I can escort you to the clinic."

Betty shrugged, while Celeste nodded, wordlessly. "Uh, okay." Frieda tapped her hands on her thighs. "Oh, has anyone seen Brandy?"

"Nope, and that hair-pasting snivelling little bitch better not make herself seen around here, anytime soon!" Betty rattled off, dramatically slamming the contents of her dustpan into a trash bin.

"...what?"

Celeste locked eyes with Frieda and gave her head a short shake. Frieda rolled her eyes. Catty drama was something she never, ever had time for. "Well, if any of you find an injury or something you want to get checked out, feel free to come by the clinic."

Frieda stepped back into the town square and held her nose as she stood over the dead deathclaw matriarch. The mutants always smelled the worst -- they seemed less disciplined than barn animals, living in their own filth -- and its bodily fluids and guts seeping out into the sunlight reeked something awful. She toed it, before stepping past. "Brandy?" she called, repeatedly, as she walked around the debris. The dust had nearly settled, stirred up by the frenzy of the turrets. "Brandy! Where are you? It's safe, now. Are you hurt?"

Frieda looked around, her brow furrowed in a frown. "Has anyone seen Brandy?"

"Didya try her house?" Barney piped up, leaning against the fence line of his own. "Seems like a logical place to go, after somethin' like that."

"Last I saw, she was burning the rubber of her soles getting away from that," Frieda pointed at the matriarch corpse. "I just wanted to make sure she wasn't laid up out here with a broken leg, or something."

Barney grunted. "I took a quick sweep and didn't see nothin'. I'll walk through again on my way to the diner, but really, go check her house, or with her boyfriend. Use yer head."

Frieda bit the inside of her cheek as hard as possible to refrain from replying. She marched off, around the back of the clinic, and towards the house. Sure enough, the front door was sitting wide open. "Brandy!" Frieda hollered from the porch. "Brandy, are you in here, somewhere? I'm coming in -- it's Frieda," she added, just in case. She stepped across the threshold and looked around.

"Brandy, the deathclaws are all gone, now. Everything's okay, out there. I just want to see if you're all right. I can take you to the clinic, if you need some help." Frieda slowly made her way up the stairs. "Are you up here?" She looked into both bedrooms but Brandy couldn't be seen. She paused, then knelt and looked under the bed. Nothing but dustbunnies.

Frieda began to feel upset. She'd only known the girl for a couple of days, but the thought that she was bleeding out somewhere like an injured cat made her scared. "Brandy, if you're here, can you answer me?" She found herself standing in the kitchen. "We're worried about you, we just want to help. Me, and Waylon, and...and, uh...Shelby!"

Maybe she really isn't here. Frieda frowned deeper, drumming her fingers on the kitchen countertop. She took a deep breath, calming herself in an attempt to figure out where else her friend could be.

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

@ReusableSword Meh, I worked around it. No worries :)

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

FRIEDA RICHTER - outside of Salem Clinic -- mid to late morning

This is not ideal. Frieda figured she'd get a cramp in a few places, but never expected the eventual, full-body crush she was beginning to experience. The worst part, she figured, was that the Study Buddy was keeping her fully awake and alert during the whole thing, too. It would've been the perfect time for a nap.

She heard approaching, quick footsteps. Suddenly, a slight, blue-eyed woman was hovering over her. The woman's eyes flicked over the situation then brandished an old-world fire poker. Some of the dense weight of the deathclaw was lifted.

“We don't have all day Honey, c’mon," she yelled, her strength straining. Frieda pushed herself backward as quickly as her limbs would let her. It wasn't so easy to do when the very air in her lungs had slowly been squeezed out under the beast. As soon as Frieda was clear was clear, the stranger yanked the poker back, “Fun shit huh? Take care of these then those muties.”

Frieda wheezed. Her breath was returning to her body in full force and she almost toppled over. She sputtered and attempted to mutter some thanks, but the woman had taken off. Frieda gulped air, cursing the pins and needles feeling coursing through her entire body. She braced herself against the clinic's outer wall as she recovered her breath, and her balance. She turned to see Ace bolting out from behind the other side of the clinic towards the largest deathclaw in the center of town. Frieda looked around to see no immediate danger, and retreated back to the interior of the clinic to stand guard, and watch the scene unfold.

She watched an assortment of wastelanders taking shots at the deathclaw matriarch, including Ace, who then was flung towards the clinic. Frieda ducked just in time for assorted wood and shingles to sprinkle in through the window. She was about to straighten when the sound of several turrets whirred to life. She kept her head covered through the sound of flying bullets, a screaming deathclaw, and a sudden crash of dense bones and body matter falling to the pavement.

Then, silence.

Frieda pulled herself up to gaze out the window and saw a pile of wood, newly dislodged from the clinic, laying on the ground. "Shit," she breathed. She looked up and around the courtyard to see an unknown woman pulling Brandy out and away from the aftermath.

"Well! Those turrets sure did the trick, eh?" Barney barked, sounding satisfied with himself, standing near the dead matriarch and looking around.

Frieda's gaze snapped towards him and gave him a glare. "We are talking about this later," she yelled at him. “You should at least tell your own damn militia you’ve got turrets, you jackass!”

Barney puffed on a cigarette and was poised to retort when he was overruled by a terrified shriek coming from the diner. She rolled her eyes. She turned back to the dislodged pile of debris and nearly jumped out of her skin as a body emerged. It was Ace.

“You scared the shit out of me!” she grumbled, stomping her foot to the ground. Ace paid her no mind and immediately took off to confront the mutant in armour. Frieda’s heart rate jumped as she wanted nothing more than to do the same thing. She trembled but decided to stay with the clinic. That was her real job, after all.

“Keep an eye on that,” she gestured to Barney.

Barney responded with a gesture of his own.

She grit her teeth and dashed back into the clinic. The ghoul was still bleeding out. Frieda dashed to the back of the clinic and pounded on the storage room door. “Doc! It’s all clear out here.”

Frieda turned around just in time to see the mutant in the armour enter carrying Steve in his arms. She froze, watching the scene unfold, as the mutant placed Steve down on an open cot next to Summer, then kneel next to the ghoul. She tilted her head to the side, completely amazed at the scene before her. I was so sure that ghoul was passed right out. Clearly, he and the mutant were having a conversation. Just as quickly as he’d come in, the mutant picked up the ghoul and left the clinic.

Frieda clenched her fists. “Thanks for visiting! Have a fantabulous-fucking day!” she cried after them. She wasn’t sure if it were the Study Buddy, her lack of actual sleep, her weird day, or just any combination of the above that had pushed her over the edge. She looked apologetically at the doc and cleared her throat.

“Sorry, I just…” Frieda blushed, again. “Sorry.” She looked around for her discarded sweatshirt and plucked it up from the floor, immediately pulling off her soiled t-shirt and pulling on the fleece. She turned back to the doc. “Well, that’s a little better, hm? Can I help you with anything?”

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4496346

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

CELESTE BROWN -- Salem Diner - mid-morning

Betty didn't seem to be much for chatting. The young woman had taken to fussing over her hair, leaving Celeste to tap her fingers on the counter and quietly finish her cup of coffee. "I should probably get going, I have an inn to run, after all."

Betty muttered something. Celeste sighed, slid off the bar stool to the floor, and picked up her mug to bus it herself. Just as she plunked the mug into the sink, thundering and shrieking could be heard outside, and getting louder. Celeste pressed herself against the edge of the counter, her eyes widening as she watched a huge deathclaw cross past the diner, chasing something she couldn't see. Betty tore out of the diner, leaving Celeste alone. She thought she heard gunshots and yelling. Suddenly, Betty tore in just about as fast as she'd left, with Steve and a deathclaw on her heels.

Celeste shrieked and wasted no time bolting from behind the bar and further into the diner. She hauled the cellar door open with all her strength and flew down to the floor. "Betty!" Celeste shrieked. "Betty, come on!"

"Go hide!" Steve bellowed from the front of the store.

"BETTY!"

Suddenly a pair of feet appeared at the cellar door. Betty stooped and made her way down.

"Help me shut the door," Celeste called frantically. Betty just stood there, staring at Celeste. "Please! I...I can't reach it and pull at the same time."

Betty turned her gaze to Celeste, her mouth gaping open.

"Come on!" Celeste pleaded, her voice shrill.

"R...right," Betty replied, reaching up and over Celeste's head and easily pulling the door shut. Celeste swallowed and said nothing more. She stood and strained her ears. Sounds of a struggle could be heard just above her head. Thudding, gunshots, snapping. She cringed after every sound.

The fight seemed to be outside the diner, or at least, it sounded more distant. Celeste was not at judge of such things by any means. The sounds seemed to go on for an eternity. Suddenly there was a loud crash above her head, some kind of dull, repetitive noise. Then, full quiet.

Celeste looked at Betty, who still seemed frozen in her fear. She swallowed. "You think it's safe?" she whispered. Betty shook her head, then shrugged. "It sounds quiet. Let's just check it out, and if it's still unsafe, we'll just come back down here. I need to check if I can leave, I need to go back to the inn."

Betty took a breath. "Fine. I'll open the door, but I ain't going out there."

Celeste poked her head out the door and looked around. Shrapnel from broken furniture and fixtures littered the floor from her perspective. She slowly crawled out and kept herself low as she poked her way through the kitchen and to the main room of the diner. She continued to advance slowly. There sounded like there was some activity outside, but nothing like the fighting from before. She crept past the edge of the counter. First, she saw the dead deathclaw. Then, she saw the crumpled form of Steve in a pile against the bar stools.

She started screaming.

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

FRIEDA RICHTER - Clinic -- mid-morning

Ace looked at his hands and then back up to Frieda. "Ummm...well..." He scratched his head. Frieda pursed her lips while she waited. Finally, he mumbled, "super mutant attack..."

Frieda narrowed her eyes. "What?"

He looked up at her, "Its a super mutant attack...but before you whig out and freak out or something... Rook is fighting them... and... and... so is another mutant..."

"Before you freak out," he said. How obnoxious. She wanted to say something acerbic, but bit her tongue as Arthur appeared from upstairs. He and Ace exchanged a few words about how the ghoul came to be in his particular condition.

"There's nothing to be done I'm afraid...if there were even the slightest chance of saving him, he'd required advanced medical technology and supplies that I couldn't even remotely hope to have here. Best I can do is give him a shot of Med-X to dull the pain a bit and ease his passing." Arthur's face expressed the hard truth with little other emotion. Frieda nodded.

"Sorry you wasted your time," she said to Ace, reaching over to clap him on the back but pulled back at the last second, electing not to touch his blood-soaked clothes. Her ears picked up what sounded like loud, rhythmic thudding and the screams of a familiar voice.

"DEATHCLAW! RUN! RUN! RUN!!!" Brandy was bellowing, over and over again.

"Deathclaw?" Arthur's eyes grew wide, "But how..." He leaned towards one of the old church windows just as Brandy tore past with the huge mutated lizard-like creature on her heels in pursuit. Brandy looked like she'd been running for some time, her cheeks were fully flushed, sweat streaming down her face and neck. Frieda and Arthur both turned in unison to see what was chasing her.

"HOLY!" Arthur cried out as stumbled backwards from the window and fell to the floorboards. He glasses went skating across the wooden boards, but thankfully didn't break. His hands were shaking with fear as they patted around the ground. Frieda's face paled as huge creature thudded past, fixated on its prey -- Brandy.

“ACE, FRIEDA, WAYLON, BARNEY AND WHOEVER THE FUCK YOU ARE YOU.” Steve shouted out as he reached the town centre and jumped though the diner window “WE GOT DEATHCLAWS INCOMING.”

"How heck can we stop that thing!?" Arthur yelled desperately from the floor.

Frieda's eyes flicked around the floor and landed on Arthur's glasses. She quick-stepped over to them, picked them up gently between two fingers, then knelt next to the doc. "You let me worry about that, all right? I've encountered these, before. Not...from the ground, mind you, but..." She cleared her throat. "Just let me worry about it. You need to stay safe, and stay alive. These things move fast, but only when you draw their attention. Stay low, and stay quiet." Frieda took another survey of the clinic. "Get behind a closed door, maybe your storage closet? Just stay inside and stay quiet. It'll keep them on the outside and hopefully from destroying your space." Her expression turned grim. "Chances are, you're going to be fairly busy after this whole thing is done."

"Everythin' all right in here?" Barney called from the door, holding his rifle and looking around.

"Yes, it's fine," Frieda called back. "Get out there and help take down that huge one." Just as she finished saying that, at least two smaller deathclaws ripped past the clinic. "...or one of those ones."

She looked over to see Ace hovering by the door. "What the -- get out there!" Frieda directed, pointing off in the direction Brandy took. She watched both men retreat back into the fray, then turned to the trembling doc. She and Arthur exchanged a look. She remembered, suddenly, that her old dog tags were still in her back pocket. She pulled them out and placed them into Arthur's hands.

"If something happens to me, you're the only person, right now, that...well, you know. You're the only one who knows." She swallowed, then nodded. "Now go get out of sight and stay alive."

Frieda dove down against the wall beneath the window and pulled off her sweatshirt. It was bad enough she had to face these freaks on the ground, rather than from the air in a fully armed Vertibird, she didn't want to be weighed down by any extra bulk. Gunshots seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, echoing through the walls of the clinic and outside. She pulled herself up just enough to see some kind of fight happening within the diner. Something large and covered in armour was walking away from a smoking pile of dead deathclaw, marching straight past the diner and clinic both, on the path of the large deathclaw. She'd decide whether or not that was a threat, later.

Frieda crept along the wall back towards the doors of the ancient church and pushed them closed, before crouching beneath the next closest window. Sounds of a struggle entered her ears, a couple moments of quiet, then the slow approach of feet larger than a human's. Fear and dread turned her veins to ice, but she forced herself to stay focused. The clinic -- Arthur -- was counting on her, and she'd be damned if she didn't stick to her commitment. She readied her pistol and looked out, just in time to see a smaller deathclaw than the one that had torn past, shuffling through the streets, shaking its head occasionally as though it had already sustained some injuries.

Their heads are weak spots, but they're hardy assholes, she thought to herself, pulling up as many memories of tactics that she could muster. Gotta keep it from running after you, first.

Frieda steadied her pistol, desperately trying to ignore the fact that her plasma gun was hardly on the same level as the huge automatic turret guns on the Vertibirds. The deathclaw didn't notice her there. It shook its head, again.

Steady, Richter...steady...the moment you fire, it's gonna charge. She aimed at its bony right ankle when she noticed some old world trash cans sitting out plainly in front of one of the houses just behind it. Frieda squeezed off one shot, causing a loud crash to echo as it fell over into the street. As hoped, the deathclaw stopped, straightened, and turned towards the sound, exposing the back of both ankles.

Frieda fired two shots into each ankle. Both bolts hit the left but only one hit the right. It didn't matter -- the deathclaw roared in its anger and pain, wobbled on its left leg, and fell to the ground. Frieda rose and continued to fire on the creature all up its leg, into its ribs. It rolled over and launched itself off its wrists towards the clinic and Frieda.

"Shit!" she spat, ducking herself down and scrambling past the doors to the other window. The deathclaw, despite its deep injury, pulled itself into the window. Frieda popped up and leaned out of the next one, reaching out and aiming again at its ankles. Out of shape and out of practice, the recoil of her fire caused her to lose her balance completely and tumble head first out of the glassless pane.

She fired off the last few rounds of her charge, each landing into the deathclaw's side and abdomen, searing into its flesh but only marginally wounding it. "Stupid fucking things have to have fucking tough fucking skin --"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND TAKE IT DOWN, RICHTER," roared her brother's voice in her head, snapping her back to her focus. She'd ruminate later on why a memory of some drill decades ago would come up, just then. Frieda centered herself, pulling another charge cell from the back of her belt, loading it, and taking fire just as the deathclaw was nearly over her. It snapped its head down to bite her, but her enhanced reflexes were just a little sharper. Her plasma was fully in its mouth, and she pulled the trigger three times, until the bolt shot out the back of its head. Blood, bone, and other spew sprayed down the front of her body and into her face, causing her to gag as its dense, lifeless body fell forward onto her, pinning her to the ground.

Frieda scrambled and flailed beneath the dead mutant, unable to free herself from the awkward way it had fallen onto her on the ground. "Good thing you told the doctor not to come out for any reason, Richter, real great idea." She simply couldn't maneuver herself to a position with any leverage.

"Huh...help? Help! Anyone?!"

The fight raged on, elsewhere. She sighed, realizing she'd just have to wait until the worst of it had passed before anyone came to her aid.