Chapter 3: The Other side of Paradise

>Wind blows by, causing the door to the cave to rattle gently

>The noise wakes you from your sleep

>The soft weight on your legs tells you Gracie hasn't moved

>Your eyes open to seeing sand and other debris blowing outside

>The door isn't exactly solid but it would slow down most would be attackers long enough for you to mow them down

>You gently place a hand on Gracie's shoulder

>"Hey wake up, Gracie, we gotta get going"

>She eyes slowly open and she sits up, wiping a small bit of drool from her lip

>"Wha? What time is it Annnnnonnnnnnn?" she says your name though a yawn

>You check your pip boy for the time

>2 PM

>A decent nap but you had a lot of ground to cover

>During your travels you had met a Brotherhood of steel paladin, Sato

>During your trades, he gave you access codes to the Brotherhood bunker, saying you were trustworthy enough

>Ever since the war for hoover dam the Brotherhood and the Boomers had been shaky but friendly allies

>Who would have thought two reclusive, gun crazed fanatical groups would be such good friends?

>If you recall correctly their bunker was to the north

>You dial in the coordinates on your pip boy and get up with a small stretch

>Gracie pulls back on her jacket as you stash your gear and bedroll in your inventory

>"Where are we going anon?" Gracie says as you push the cave door open

>The fact that someone took the time to make a door for this cave and didn't use it for anything blew your mind

>Not your problem though

>If it were closer to the strip you might consider using it as a base

>"We're headed to meet up with some allies Gracie, keep that helmet on though"

>No need to cause a panic with her unusual appearance

>The sunlight blinds you temporarily as you blink away the brightness

>Another day in paradise

>"Ugh it's too bright anon, can't we wait till night?"

>You start heading around the rocky hillside, there should be a canyon you can head through to the northeast

>"The place we are going has a defense system active at night that we don't want to be caught in"

>You walk through the barren desert, leading Gracie

>Dust billows around the both of you as the desert sun beats down on you

>Ugh fuck you sun, you big fat ball of cancer

>The growl of your stomach pulls you away from your scorn for certain celestial bodies

>As much as you want to get to the hidden valley fast food was needed

>"Gracie are you hungry? We could hunt something here "

>You turn to her and see her panting and tired

>"I'm...*pant*.... Starving Anon" she gasps out

>You frown

>"Are you OK? And if you were hungry you should have told me, I tend to get distracted"

>She shakes her head

>"I'm, just not *pant* used to how fast you walk, and you seemed so determined I didn't wanna distract you"

>A twinge of guilt hits you

>She really was trying hard and you were being a hardhead like always

>"Alright Gracie, let's slow down and see if we can hunt up something to eat"

>Instead of walking in front of her, you walk next to her letting her set a pace

>You keep your pip-boy up and scan the wastes

>Geckos frequent these areas, and they can be quite tasty

>You're looking down scanning the screen of you pip-boy when Gracie jumps on you, bouncing up and down while pointing

"OH OH OH! LOOK A GECKO! LETS GET IT"

>Pushing her off, you look to where she was pointing and see a group of Geckos in a circle, feeding on something

>"Nice, Lemme get one"

>She tugs your arm earnestly

>"No No! Let me! I wanna get one! I saw them first!"

>You look at her and she looks up at you expectantly with a happy smile

>"Pleassssseeeee!" she begs looking over to the geckos in the distance

>As clingy as she is, she can be quite cute

>In an annoying sort of way

>"Fine, shoot one and lets get a meal"

>She looks down at her feet, shuffling them a bit

>"Uh can I use one of your guns? I don't have one"

>Derp, you mentally facepalm from the oversight on your part

>Nearly everyone had a gun so it was second nature to assume she had one, even when she clearly didn't

>"Alright, I'll let you use the ratslayer, and I'll use my campaign rifle, score 2 kills"

>You draw out the ratslayer and hand it to her as she bounces excitedly on her feet, her tail wagging in a flurry behind her

>"Alright this is how you use a gun" you say as you pull out your Campaign rifle

>You silently kneel and start telling her the basic of using a gun

>How to load it, shooting posture, the basic rules of a firearm

>After about 10 minutes of explanation, she loses her patience

"Whatever! Teach me later! Hungry now!"

>You sigh and look down your scope

>"Fine but don't press the scope directly to your eye or you'll-"

>The soft *Twhip* of a silenced round is heard followed by Pained screaming From Gracie

>Quickly, you dive down onto her

>Where did the shot come from? You don't see any blood from a gunshot wound on her

>Stupid! She said she was being hunted! How could you let your guard down

>You pause a moment to look at Gracie, only to see her grasping her right eye

>She didn't, did she?

>"Stop Gracie, STOP! Let me see"

>Gently prying her fingers away from her face your suspicions are confirmed

>She held the rifle scope right up to her eye and became a pirate

>Well, rather she now had a black eye from the recoil driving the scope into her eye

>Gently, you sit her up and look at it while she whimpers, following you with her swollen right eye

>You sigh, "Alright, no more scoped guns for you for a while"

>Grabbing a stimpak from your inventory, you pull the cap off it

>"Stay still, I don't want to accidentally jab your eye"

>You think back to the first time you shot a scoped rifle and how you made the same mistake

>A painful memory to be sure

>Your your right hand holding the stimpak and your left holding her head softly, you gently stick the needle into the bruised area around her eye

>"Shhh it's ok, it'll be over soon, I got you" you whisper gently, rubbing her head with your thumb as you push the medicine in

>She whimpers and keeps her multicolored eyes on you

>Was her fur always this soft? Where her scales always so smooth?

>After a moment you pull the needle out and rub the spot gently

>"It'll heal pretty quick now, but you'll be sore for a while"

>You stand and help her to her feet, as she rubs the spot gently with her paw

>"Did I at least get one?" She whimpers

>Right, you were hunting geckos, you had forgotten between teaching and healing Gracie's eye

>You pull her paw from the bruise as you look

>"Don't touch it, it'll hurt longer"

>Sure enough there is a slumped over corpse of a gecko

>The rest must have scattered from Gracie's screams of pain

>But one is enough for now

>"Yea you got one Gracie, good job"

>She gives a pained smile

>"Thanks Anon, I don't think it was quite worth it though"

>You give a sympathetic smile

>"If it makes you feel better I've done that a few times, it happens"

>It only happened to you once but she doesn't need to know that

>As you walk to the body of the Gecko, you see what the group was all huddled around

>A half eaten human body

>Gracie gags and covers her mouth

>"Oh god, they killed him!"

>You kneel next to the body of the gecko and pick it up, completely ignoring the body of the human

>"It's a raider, a Viper junkie that died from an overdose looks like"

>You point out the empty psycho canisters littered around the body

>"Probably got super high and died, the geckos just got a free meal"

>Hefting the weighty gecko over your shoulder, you carry it into some shade

>"You got a big one Gracie, we'll have some food for a while"

>You set the gecko down and grab a machete, and go to town on a nearby bush for firewood

>Normally lighting the plant life on fire would be an issue but the super mutant you killed solved that problem

>You quickly pile all the sticks and leaves in a pile and pull out the incinerator you picked up

>Within moments the sticks are a roaring fire

>You pull out your hunting knife and sit, then begin gutting the gecko

>"Where did you learn all this Anon?" Gracie says watching you cut bits of meat off the gecko

>"Trial and error mostly, and a few pointers from some rangers after I fixed their guns"

>You set the meat directly onto the embers

>"What can you do Gracie? I know you can do that invisible stuff, but you don't know how to use a gun and apparently cant clean a fresh kill"

>She sits down on the sand next to you

>"Uh, I'm good at sneaking and stealing! I would sneak into towns and take cans of food to eat, and those raiders are dumb! I would wait till the were high on chems then steal their food!"

>That explains that

>"Well if we're gonna travel together we need to get you a gun, without a scope, and if you are as good at sneaking as you say, silenced"

>You pull a piece of meat off with your machete and let it cool for a moment before giving it to Gracie, which she takes and juggles from paw to paw gently, letting it cool down

>It's cute enough to make you smile as you pull another piece off and take a bite right out of it

>Not the best tasting meal but it's better than cram

>"Where are you from Anon? Tell me about you" Gracie says between bite of gecko

>Gah, being asked about yourself is always weird

>You knew yourself better than anyone else but it still felt weird talking about yourself

>"Uh how about we trade info about each other?"

>Her eyes light up, even through one is swollen

>"Sure! that'll be fun!"

>You start out answering her first question

>"I'm from Nellis Air Force base to the north, my Tribe, "The boomers" live there"

>Gracie cocks her head to the side

>"I thought you said most people call you boomer"

>You give a pained smile

>"I was the only boomer that decided to leave the base, So most people just call me boomer, after all I'm the only one they've met"

>You think for a moment for your question, Chewing your chuck of meat

>"You said you were from the Big MT, What's that?"

>She fidgets nervously

>"Uh The Big MT is a place where a bunch of scientists live, they created a bunch of hybrid animals and a few anthros like me, I hope my sisters escaped too"

>That peaks your interest

>"Sisters?"

>She nods

>"A bunch of us were made, not born, different species mixed with different species, all Canines and snakes to create nightstalkers"

>You contemplate for a moment

>A Place that made hybrids of animals for what? for fun? seemed cruel to create something for no reason other than you could

>"MY TURN! How are you so good with guns?" Gracie says bouncing closer to you

>God damn her wide hips made an imprint on the sand

>You cut a few more pieces of the Gecko off and throw them on the fire

>"My people are from a Vault, big pre-war bunkers, we believe guns are a right for people to have, so I was raised around them, and taught how to use them early on"

>Gracie is now right up next to you, tail wagging softly in the dirt

>"And you left? Why?"

>You shrug

>"My people hid from the world, trading only with a few people and killing everyone else, I didn't want to stay on that base, and now I doubt I can ever return"

>She stares at you for a moment

>"What do you mean never return anon?"

>You sigh; do you really want to get into this? Might as well

>"I....I was the only boomer to leave, when I decided to leave they told me to never come back, said that I was as bad as the savages outside the base"

>The whole idea hits you again, your home, your family, shunning you

>You can't help but bow your head and sigh

>Is it so bad to want to see what was out there and return with new knowledge?

>According to everyone else, yes

>A scaled and furred arm wraps around you

>"Well you have me now and I'm not going anywhere Mr. Boomer!"

>You aren't sure if you should be happy or annoyed

>Happy, you guess

>"Thanks Gracie"

>You pull her into a half-hearted hug

>She's not what you had in mind for company but she's at least interesting

>Stories of far away lands you may visit, science that you once thought was magic

>At least you knew that if you asked she would be be to tell you something new

>But now isn't the time for that

>You stand from your sandy resting place

>"We better get going Gracie, unless you want to be caught in a sandstorm later"

>She hurriedly stands

>"What about our food?"

>You smirk and use your Pip-boy's devil magic to collect the food and the rest of the gecko meat

>Better to have it and not need it that need it and not have it

>You stomp out the fire then begin walking

>"Can I have a gun Anon? Maybe one that isn't scoped?" Gracie asks catching up with you, her footpaws kicking up a bit of dust

>Right she doesn't even have shoes

>You make a note of this, maybe the BoS will have some that will fit her

>As you walk you look through your Inventory at the guns you have

>Laser rifles, laser pistols, a funky plasma gun, your riot shotgun, a 10mm SMG

>a SMG? that's perfect; For now at least

>You pull it out and hand it to her carefully

>"Alright so this is a full auto gun, so be careful when you use it because it eats through ammo quickly"

>You hand her a few magazines which she slips into her pockets

>As the both of you walk through the sand you teach her how to use the gun properly, how to clean it and how to take care of it

>"This is your Gun Gracie, if you take care of it, it will never let you down"

>She stares at it in her paws for a moment before looking up at you and smiling broadly

>She then pounces on you in a hug, causing you to trip and tumble into the sand

>"THANK YOU THANK YOU ANON! ITS THE BEST GIFT EVER!"

>You spit sand out of your mouth

>"You're welcome but get off me! And be Careful with that!"

>You point to the barrel of her gun which is currently in the sand

>"Oh! Oops!" She says cheerfully

>She gets up off you and dusts the gun off, leaving you to stand up on your own

>"Come On, let's go" you say , annoyed at the previous events

>You walk next to her, still heading north towards the valley

>As you walk together, she tells you more about herself and you tell her about yourself

>She is apparently good with hacking computers, learned it from trial and error at the Big MT

>Her favorite food is bighorner steak, cooked medium rare

>You tell her of your travels

>How you went to Lake Mead, Camp McCarran, Novac,

>Along the way you point out edible plants too, teaching her what foods you can find

>The Mojave, although still a wasteland was never directly hit with a Nuke, so plant life it more abundant here

>Banana Yucca, Agave, Jalapenos, and coyote Tobacco; all great to eat, cook with, and sell

>The sun is setting to your left as you pass a chain link fence

>"Anon, what are those?" Gracie says pointing to some creepy crawlies

>"Bark scorpions, not as hostile as Radscorpions but still dangerous. Pretty tasty though"

>Gracie points to one scuttling closer

>"Let me get this one! I wanna try my Gun!"

>She unholsters it and takes aim

>"Line up the sights, focus on the front sight and use the the tip of your finger" You instruct as you stand behind her, following her movement

>She pulls the trigger and fires a short burst of about 5 or six bullets

>Surprisingly she only misses 1 shot, the rest find their target

>"Good job Gracie, we now have some extra food"

>She jumps up and down in excitement

>"Yay! I did it! This is awesome!"

>You smile as you inspect the body of the scorpion

>A small one, but there should still be good meat in the claws, plus the venom glands sell well

>You quickly chop it up and stash the parts for later

>"Look around Gracie, there should be a bunker with a tree stump on top, that's our destination"

>You look around, seeing various bunker doors, one broken in, one welded shut

>"There anon! Look!"

>Gracie points to your left

>Following her pointing finger, the Bunker you were headed to is in clear view

>"Nice, lets go"

>You hurry to the door as the sun crests behind a mountain

>"IN! IN! IN! Gracie, that Bark scorpion wasn't alone I bet"

>She hurries in and you follow, pressing the button to close the heavy sliding door

>On the other side of the room is another door with a keypad next to it

>You hook your pip-boy to it and punch in the access Code the paladin gave you

>"Sierra, Alpha, Tango, Oscar, Indigo 6 5 4 1" you mumble as you punch it in

>A light above the Door blinks green then the door opens

>You're met by a man Wearing power armor, pointing a Laser rifle at you

>"Who are you and how do you know that code?!" He barks angrily

>You raise your hands calmly

>"Paladin Sato told me it, I'm a boomer from Nellis, looking to trade and maybe get as shower and a place to sleep tonight"

>He keeps the rifle trained on you

>"Knight, fetch Sato, I want to see if this Boomer is telling the truth" He calls to a man standing behind him, who instantly rushes away

>Gracie shuffles behind you nervously

>"Are people always this Hostile Anon?"

>You nod and answer her, keeping your eyes on the rifle and your hands up

>"People want to protect themselves and their people,The Brotherhood of Steel is no different"

>The Man looks past you to Gracie

>"Is that an Anthro? I haven't seen one of those in years, come out from behind him, no sudden moves"

>She nervously slides out from behind you, trembling and looking at him

>"Huh interesting"

>He points the rifle at her and steps towards her, eliciting a gasp

>you have your eyes locked on him but you hear it

>the soft thump of her hitting the ground

>"Whoa is she Ok!? I didn't even do anything!"

>Just as he says that you hear yelling from within the bunker

>"RAMOS STAND DOWN! I REPEAT STAND DOWN!"

>a Bald man in power armor rushes out of the door

>"Boomer is our ally! I gave him th-"

>Sato's eyes fall to Gracie laying on the ground

>"YOU IDIOT! YOU SHOT OUR GUEST!?"

>Ramos backs off, raising the rifle away from you

>"Whoa I didn't do anything, she just Fainted!"

>You turn and kneel next to Gracie

>"hey get up Gracie, it's ok" you whisper, Rubbing her ear gently

>She opens her eyes and sits up, holding your hand that rubbed her ear

>"Sorry anon, he spooked me"

>Sato Lets out a sigh of relief as you help Gracie to her feet

>"Boomer! It's great to see you! Come on in!"

>Ramos frowns

>"I wish you would have told me you gave your access code out Sato, how can I be head of security if I don't know about stuff like this"

>Sato laughs and leads you past Ramos

>"Just keeping your job more interesting!"

>Sato leads you down a long flight of Stairs

>"Welcome to the Hidden valley bunker, Boomer!" Sato says as you walk

>Gracie is latched to your arm as you walk, you can feel her trembling as she eyes the various people in power armor

>"It's ok Gracie" you whisper to her

>You follow the paladin into what appears to be a throne room

>"Elder McNamara, a Boomer from Nellis is here" Sato says motioning to you

>Before you sits a blonde haired man, who looks you over carefully

>"I didn't think Boomers left Nellis, what are you doing here?" he finally asks

>"I left the base to see the rest of the Mojave, I came here to trade, and maybe get a shower and a place to sleep for the night"

>His eyes fall to Gracie, who is still holding your arm while trying to hide behind you

>"And what is she?" he asks with an amused smirk

>"She's just nervous, she's never seen power armor before and is spooked by it"

>He laughs at that

>"Fair enough Boomer! Since Sato is vouching for you, you can come and go as you please, the Boomers in Nellis have been a valuable ally to us, trading pre-war tech with them has proved valuable"

>you nod

>"Thank you, any place we can shower and sleep?"

>Sato steps forwards

>"I'll show you Boomer"

>He leads you to an Area with several cots

>"You can sleep in here, showers are down the hall, I'll let you and your friend explore, also feel free to use the shooting range, I know how you guys love shooting stuff"

>"Thanks Sato" you say as you find an unoccupied cot next to a wall

>You pull out your bedroll and lay it down

>Gracie looks around nervously, people walking by stop and stare at you both

>"Are you sure we're safe here Anon? People are staring!"

>"We're fine, they just aren't used to outsiders much"

>After you finish smoothing out he bedroll you stand

>"Come on let's trade some of my extra gear and maybe get some ammo and caps"

>You extend a hand to Gracie "It's OK, I promise"

>She takes your hand and you wander the bunker for a bit

>After a little while, you find their quartermaster in a large room next to the shooting range

>"Hey there! You're the boomer? Elder McNamara gave me the OK to trade with you, I'm Knight Torres" She asks as you approach

>"That's me, I got some laser rifles, laser pistols and an incinerator to trade"

>For the next 15 minutes you trade your extra weapons for caps and ammo

>Gracie watches with interest as you do

>When you finish you turn to her, looking into her mismatched eyes

>"Alright Gracie, Lets shower and head to bed"

>She clings to your arm as you lead her to the shower area

>It's literally a bunch of stalls with showers in them, curtains cordoning off each area

>A pile of towels are neatly folded at the far end

>"Ok Gracie, go ahead and shower"

>She lets go of your arm and looks at the pipes as you turn to leave her in peace

>"Wait! Anon! Don't leave me! I'm Scared!"

>You turn back around

>"I'm not going to shower with you Gracie"

>She looks disappointed, her ears folding down

>"Then uh, Can you just sit outside the stall for me?"

>You sigh

>"Fine, I'll keep watch for you"

>She smiles at that and pulls the curtain closed

>A shuffling sound is heard along with a few zippers unzipping

>"Hold my Cloths!"

>She shoves her clothes into your arms, being careful to stay hidden behind the curtain

>You take the bundle of clothes and set them on a bench near the door

>As you walk back to the stall you hear the sound of running water and Gracie humming

>"Oooo this is nice! They even have little soap dispensers!"

>You lean against the solid wall and scroll through your Pip-boy as she showers

>A sound at the door of the shower room catches your attention

>Knight Torres is there carrying 2 bundles

>"Call it a hunch but I think you both might want to sleep in something besides armor, here's some sleepwear on the house for our guests"

>She hands you the bundles

>"Thanks Torres"

>She smiles and nods before leaving

>You hear an angry Huff behind you, and turn to see Gracie poking her soaking head out from behind the curtain

>"You aren't even trying to peek at me Anon? And your flirting with that lady? How rude!"

>A frown crosses your face

>"No I'm not going to peek at you, you Snekderp! And I wasn't flirting, I was being polite"

>She lets out a slight Hiss then retreats behind the Curtain

>"Can you grab me a towel at least Anon?"

>As you walk to grab 2 towels, the water turns off and a scaled arm reaches past the Curtain

>After handing one to her, you begin Stripping your Jacket and Leather armor

>Gracie pushes out of the shower past the curtain, wrapped in her towel

>"Where are those Pj's?"

>You point them out and slip into the stall then remove the rest of your clothes

>You set them and your towel right outside the curtain

>Quickly turning on the warm water, you feel relaxed

>For the first time in a long time actually

>This was one of the Most secure areas in the wasteland, you were safe here

>You stand and think about those other bunkers, Maybe you could used one of them as a base

>"OoooH Nice Anon"

>You turn quickly and see Gracie Peeking around the Curtain

>"Oi Fuck off!" you shout as you pull the curtain shut

>"Just because you didn't peek doesn't mean I won't!" she calls in a singsong voice

>Well that ruined the relaxation

>You quickly finish showering and grab the towel

>It felt good to be clean

>You pull on your new Pajamas and step out of the shower stall to a waiting Gracie

>"So you don't carry those big guns to compensate, that's good to know" She says with a fanged smile

>"Shut up you pervert"

>As flattering as that was you didn't like being spied on

>"Come on let's go to bed, we have another long day tomorrow"

>You gather up your armor and lead her to the sleeping area

>A few members of the brotherhood are already laying in cots, the lights dim and soft snoring fills the air

>You fold your armor and help Gracie fold hers

>A pillow is already waiting on the cot for you

>As you yawn and feel Mr Sandman coming for you, you grab your own pillow from your inventory and lean it against the wall

>You sit down and pull the Cot's pillow into your lap, already anticipating Gracie's question

>"Come here, you snekderp" you say as you pat your lap

>She lays down and places her head in your lap

>"Goodnight Anooooonnnnn" she yawns to you

>"Goodnight Gracie" you whisper, rubbing her furred head

>Sleep takes you into it's warm embrace with the sound of soft hissing in your ears

>So far it's the best lullaby ever