Craterside Supply

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

When Ellen opens the door again, it leads back into Megaton, which is as dusty and cow-smelling as ever. "This way," she says, picking her way first down the stairs cut into the side of the crater, then up a winding walkway that leads over a shack with a two-headed cow out front. "That's the town clinic, by the way. Not that I've been in there yet, but that's where I was headed when I found myself at the Bar."

Comments

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"All right," says Ellen. "I'll work on it. Good luck!" She drops into a crouch and starts moving very, very slowly towards the yellow of the half-hidden mine.

As for Annabelle... well, the shooter's a little higher up than she thought. Beyond the houses there's the remains of a school building, more a couple of wall fragments and some masonry here and there. At the angle of the street, it's easy to mistake someone on the remains of the third floor for a sniper on the roof of the last house. Not that that's likely to make much of a difference given her aim and her range... but he is still shooting, and there are other mines, both in the street and out of it, lying in wait for the unwary.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle dodges the sniper's gunfire and ducks behind a pile of rubble. Once she's moved forward a bit, it becomes clearer that he's on the third floor of the school.

"Ellen, our sniper is on the third floor of that big building!" She's a bit disgusted at having made that particular mistake, even with the angle. Unfortunately, she doesn't dare move forward until Ellen's taken out that mine. She moves a bit away from Ellen and opens fire. She knows full well that he's not yet in range, but she's hoping to keep him from firing at Ellen for a bit.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

There's a yelp from the school building's direction. Someone hadn't expected a coordinated approach. The next bullet he fires is aimed in Annabelle's direction.

(Fortunately, that's about the point when a brief, heartstopping beebeebee noise is replaced by "Gotcha!" and a mine being waved in the air over Ellen's head.)

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle cackles with glee when Ellen starts waving the mine over her head. "Way to go, Ellen!"

Annabelle dodges the shot by making a sudden somersault. She then decides it's time to go bowling for mines.

She takes a handful of rocks and scatters them so they spread out and bounce down the road. Considering that Daredevil's tend to be the favorites of Lady Luck, this will hopefully set off any mines between Annabelle and the minimum distance needed to bring the Sniper in range.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

BeebeebeeTHOOM!

BeebeebeebeeTHOOM!

BeebeebeeTHOOM!!

The town earned its name, that's for damned sure. On the other hand, it does leave a good clear stretch of road for anyone willing to risk that sniper now.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle cackles a bit as the mines explode, then moves down the road, dodging gunfire.

It's almost a shame that the Sniper isn't making much of an effort to duck or hide, there's a reason Annabelle's nick-name was 'Crackshot', after all.

Annabelle takes aim with her Hell pistol, targeting the spot directly between the sniper's eyes, firing from just inside her 120 yard range.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Whereas the sniper's nickname... Well, let's be honest; it was 'Arkansas'. Which, while it is an honourable state in its own right, is not really the most militarily inspiring state unless your name is Carlos Hathcock. And this man? Is no Carlos Hathcock.

There's a strangled little cry as his head jerks forward (jet propulsion from the exit wound) and the rifle falls from his lifeless hands.

[aeons_crackshot]

Hopefully, 'Arkansas' doesn't have any more friends, but Annabelle's not counting on it.

"The sniper is down!" Annabelle calls back to Ellen. "Are you alright?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"I'm good!" Ellen calls in return. "In fact, I got started on-"

BeeBeeBee- And then silence.

"Okay, that's two mines for Moira..."

[aeons_crackshot]

"Good show! Do you want a rifle?" Annabelle asks, pointing to where the sniper met his end. I'm presuming that whatever he was using is still up there."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen considers this, then says, "Can you show me how to use it?"

That'd be a yes.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle grins, "That I can. I've never met a weapon I couldn't use, and I've got experience with rifles. They're what I used when I was with the circus, as a matter of fact."

"I'm hoping we don't have to scale the side of that building."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"All right, then," says Ellen. "Let's go see about finding it."

They won't have to scale the building, as it happens. There are stairs left, crawling along the far wall- gappy and broken here and there, but stairs. There are also mines on the ground floor, but Ellen's quick to spot them and either disarm them or huck a rock before they get too close.

When they reach the second floor, a grungy mattress pressed up against one wall gives mute evidence to the amount of time the sniper used to spend here. There's a knee brace, a crutch, and some surgical tubing laid out alongside it. Ellen shakes her head. "If he needed all these," she says, "how did he get up here?"

There's a pause as she realizes that the sniper's corpse is, in fact, another level up entirely.

"And why didn't he have them on him?"

[aeons_crackshot]

"They may not be his," Annabelle states as she looks around the room. "Even if they are, he may have been able to move around for brief periods of time without them. I can't tell you why he didn't take them up to the third floor with him, though."

"We'd best keep an eye out for trouble, buildings have all sorts of places for people to hide in."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods. Even with most of its walls missing both inside and out, this place is still a gift to those who want to hide. Not that they find anything more in their searches beyond several metal ammo boxes full of .308 rounds, but still.

Eventually they reach the top floor, which is open to the sky. Much of the floor is missing, too, whether from bombing or from age. On one of the few pieces of reasonably intact floor, the sniper's corpse is sprawled, his rifle alongside him. He's an elderly man- or he was, anyway- largely bald and dressed in crudely tanned leathers. Ellen winces at the sight. "You sort of have to wonder what drove him to it," she murmurs.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle moves over to retrieve the rifle. "Desperation, madness, we'll likely never know the reason why." Annabelle moves her hand to close his eyes, her expression faintly sad.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Give me a minute?" says Ellen hesitantly. "We- there were funeral prayers, in the Vault, and I was going to be the chaplain..."

She has no intention of conducting a full service, but it seldom hurts to offer the right prayers when confronted with the newly dead.

(It occurs to her that she's never yet prayed for any of the people she's had to shoot. She's not sure she can muster the will to do so sincerely just yet. Maybe someday.)

[aeons_crackshot]

"Certainly," says Annabelle as she moves away from the Sniper. While Ellen does her prayer, Annabelle is going to be keeping watch for trouble.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The town's reputation as a haunted place works in their favor, as it happens. No one is anywhere in sight, and few beasts appear to be prowling the Wasteland nearby. Far, far overhead a bird or two might be turning, but beyond that the place is as quiet as quiet can be.

Eventually, Ellen looks up. "I'm done," she says. "We should probably be going... I think I've figured out what you have to look for to spot the mines and disarm them quickly, so we can probably just go back to Moira. We'll have to stay in one of the houses here when it gets dark, otherwise."

She's concentrating on house and not dark, which is why she's not hyperventilating.

[aeons_crackshot]

"Heading back to Moira is probably a good idea, I don't fancy staying here after dark. Do you want me to show you the basics of using a rifle now, or in Milliways?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Let's get back to Megaton," says Ellen. "As long as you know how to use the rifle, that's enough for now. I just want to beat the sun back to town, and I'm not sure of our chances of that."

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle nods, "I thought that might be what you wanted to do. Let's head back, then."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Thank you," murmurs Ellen quietly.

The trip back to Megaton is considerably less eventful, save that Ellen has to stop twice to fight off the panic attacks. There are other dog-packs roaming this part of the wilderness, but they're avoided simply enough- Annabelle knows how to deal with dogs, and Ellen knows enough to follow Annabelle's lead. Night is falling in earnest by the time they make it to the Springvale ruins, though, so Ellen is practically running as soon as the walls of Megaton are in sight.

"Welcome to Megaton. Friendliest town around," announces the robot as they approach. Ellen mutters a thank you and scrambles past hastily, only breathing easily once they're back inside the city walls.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle does not comment on Ellen's panic attacks and scrambling to get inside Megaton. "Do you think Moira's shop is still open?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen squints upwards towards the Church of Atom, then a little to the right. "It might just be," she says. "I think I can see light coming from under her door. If it's not-"

She nods up towards her own house. Lord, what a weird thought that is.