5 A.M. Wednesday, September

The winds of the Wasteland howled loudly outside, making the metal walls of Rick's home creak slightly. A little bit of sand found its way through one of the few holes in his two story house. Upstairs, Rick was tossing and turning in his bed, making frightened noises in his sleep. His eyes were shut so tightly they could've been used as bear traps. Suddenly, they snapped open as he shot up from sleep, screaming, "Aaaaahhh!!!" He looked around to see where he was, to get his bearings back. He slowed his breathing down, realizing it was only a bad dream. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and put his head in his hands.

"Oh, thank God," he sighed. He got up and walked down to his kitchen. He checked the fridge for anything that could calm his nerves a little faster. He found a half filled bottle of whiskey in the back. "It's always half full. Never half empty." He took his drink to a table and sat down, trying to forget about the nightmare that had been haunting him for 3 weeks. As usual, his attempts took a long time to succeed.

"Why can't I just stop dreaming about that night?" He took a drink and felt the liquid fire go down his throat. It hadn't taken him long to get used to the burn when he first tried it in his younger years. He looked around his house. He built it himself, right down to the generator. He even got the plumbing to work. But he still couldn't figure out how to filter the water so it was completely radiation free.

That's when he looked to the corner where his Mr. Handy lay. It had been out of commission for almost a month. He would've repaired him sooner, but he needed to use the necessary parts to fix his generator after a particularly bad radscorpion incident.

He looked at his whiskey again. The caravan that normally came through was 3 weeks late, and they didn't have what he needed in Megaton. That left only one option left. He would need to go out into the Wasteland to find what he needed. "Don't worry, Winston. I'll get you fixed up soon." He took another drink and started planning what to take for his trip.

It's okay but too short 6.5/10

Yeah, I know. This was mostly just a teaser, to see if people would be interested or get sick of it within the first few paragraphs.

Nicely introduced - now I want to know about his search for parts, and where the caravan has got to, and what was his dream all about? Keep going.

9:30 A.M. Wednesday, September

Four and a half hours after he woke up from his nightmare, Rick had just about everything needed for his trip. He sat down at the table again, this time with a bottle of water instead of whiskey. He held up the bottle and nodded to his Mr. Handy. "Can't wait until you're up and working again, Winston. This irradiated water doesn't even come close to your purified stuff." He took a sip and felt the water flow down his throat, grimacing as it went.

"It's not so much that it taste bad. It just tastes... I don't know. Wrong, I guess."

He raised the bottle up to his lips again. Suddenly, the door banged wide open and Rick gagged on his water. He spun around coughing to see who was barging into his house.

"Sorry about that! Thought the door was still a bit sticky, like last time."

" (cough-cough) Hey, Doc! (cough) You gave me quite a scare."

Doc Church walked into the living and shook Rick's outstretched hand, smiling. He looked at the backpack on the table and raised an eyebrow. "Going somewhere, Rick?"

"Yeah, going to see if I can find some parts for Winston over there."

"Why not wait until the caravan comes back?"

Rick gave Doc a look that said Are you really asking that? "Doc, you know that the caravan is late. I'm getting tired of waiting. I'm gonna need some purified water in a while. I'd rather have it sooner than later."

"Okay, so they're a little late."

"Three weeks is more than 'a little', Doc."

Doc nodded and started looking through Rick's backpack a little. "Well, I won't stop you, then. Sounds like you made up your mind."

"Yeah, I have. Thanks for looking out for me though."

Doc grunted. "I'm a doctor, it's my job. I'm suppose to tell my patients what are good ideas and what are bad ones."

Rick laughed and took another drink of water. "Speaking of which, why aren't you still in Megaton, putting on that cranky, bitter attitude of yours for all to see."

"I needed a vacation. Getting tired of working so [censored] hard, and it's wearing me down. Besides, I'm entitled to a break every now and then, aren't I? Hey, could I have a drink?" Rick handed him the bottle and Doc took a gulp. He grimaced and looked at the water. "Man, no matter how many times I drink it, it still tastes just as bad as ever."

"I know how you feel. That's the main reason why I'm going on MY little vacation."

Doc took another drink and tossed the bottle back to Rick. "I can understand that, after tasting that [censored]. I'll let Walter know you won't be able to help out for a bit. Where are you going, anyway?"

"I'll show you." Rick went upstairs into his room for a moment. He opened up his desk and took out a large rolled up sheet of paper. He brought it back downstairs and laid it out flat on a table.

"Rick," said Doc, "is this a map of the Wasteland?"

"Yup. Bought it from the caravans last time they were around."

"Are you sure it's the real thing? Not something that will lead you to a trap?"

"Yeah, I had some wanderers and other caravans give me some input on it. From what they said, it's legit."

Doc nodded slowly, barely satisfied with Rick's answer. "Alright then. So, where are you going?"

Rick pointed to a spot just bellow the town of Canterbury Commons. The spot had a name in small letters written under it, 'Barry's Discounts.' "That is where I'm headed. It's a robot repair center of some kind. If any place has the parts I need, it's that place."

Doc scratched his chin, thinking. "Canterbury Commons? I don't know, man. Doesn't sound that good to me. I've been hearing rumors about that place."

Rick rolled his eyes and groaned. "Oh, come on. Rumors? What kind of rumors?" He raised his water bottle to his lips and started drinking.

"Well, I've heard some traders say that the last time they went over there, they ran into a fight that was going down on the street in town. They said that it was between some nut jobs wearing some crazy outfits. One led an army of robots, while the other had mutated ants."

Rick took the bottle away from his lips and just stared at his friend for a minute. Then, he suddenly burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that he nearly lost his balance and had to lean against the table for support. "Hahaha! You're kidding me, right? Hahahahahahaha! Doc, I had no idea you- Hahaha- that you would come up with something like that! Hahahaha! Mutated bugs!!! Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!"

Doc started growing a couple shades darker as the anger rose in him. "I'm serious, Rick! That is what those guys said! They wouldn't have any reason to make something like that."

Rick just kept on laughing. "Hahahaha! Okay, I believe you. It's just- haha- It's just so ridiculous! You gotta admit it's funny."

Doc smiled a little bit. "Hehe, yeah, it is. But seriously, man. If there are people like that over there, they're gonna be extremely dangerous. Nut jobs always are. Probably just a couple of junkies shot up with Psycho."

By now, Rick had been able to bring himself under control. "Well, if it makes you feel better, I'm not going unarmed." He reached into his backpack and pulled out a .32 revolver. "This baby will keep me safe."

"Alright, as long as you're going armed. You got plenty of ammo, right?"

"No, I'm just gonna throw it at the mutated bugs. Sure I do! Look!" He opened up the pack wide enough to show 30 spare rounds of ammunition.

Sighing, Doc said, "Okay, okay. I feel a little better now."

Rick put his gun back inside his pack and closed it up. "Good. Now, I better get going. Make sure Walter knows that I'll be back to help him out when I get back."

"I will." The two shook hands and exited the house. Rick took one last look around his home and closed the door. He just hoped it wouldn't be the last time he'd see it.

This is good so far keep going. :fallout:

Wow, that's really good. I have a bad feeling Rick will be killed or something on the way or at Canterbury.

That was amazing! Love the story !!!

Nice story so far.

Very interesting story i can't wait for the next chapter. Keep it up

6:30 P.M. Wednesday, September


Rick took a seat on a boulder that was nearby and pulled out a bottle of water for a drink. The sun had not been very kind on his trip to Canterbury Commons. He could feel the heat radiating off his back. "If I die of anything out here, it'll probably be by heat stroke." He took a drink and thought about the beginning of his journey.

After they left his house, he and Doc walked to the entrance of Megaton. There, they parted ways. Doc wished Rick good luck and told him to not break anything too important. He then went to go to Moriarty's for a drink before taking a walk around the town.

The trip to the robot repair center had actually gone rather boringly for Rick. He had at least expected to see a mole rat and a bloat fly fighting over a piece of rotting meat, but not even that could be seen. At first, he liked the idea of a quiet walk through the Wasteland. However, after walking in the hot sun for a couple of hours, he was ready for anything at all to happen, so long as it distracted him from the heat.

"I'd even be happy to see a giant radscorpion if it would make me forget how [censored] hot it is," he said. "Oh, great. Now I'm talking to my self. Yeah, just peachy." He took another drink and got up. Taking a quick look around at the landscape, he remembered how desolate it looked.

A breeze rolled across the Wasteland. Rick closed his eyes and let out a happy sigh. "Finally, a break from the heat." The light wind kept up for a long time, keeping cooled off for the rest of his journey to Canterbury Commons.

When the town was in sight, he let out another pleased sigh. A quick visual survey showed him that Barry's Discounts was on a hill just south of the town, just as the map had said. Smiling to himself, Rick walked toward the building.

When he got to the front door, he heard a scurrying sound behind him. He turned quickly to see who was there, but was surprised to see nothing at all. "Hmm. That's weird." And without another thought on the matter, he walked in.

The front of the building had a strong, musty smell to it. It was strong enough to make his head spin a little bit at first. Like everywhere else in the Wasteland, the place was extremely filthy. It gave off the impression of a building that hadn't had anybody in it since the bombs fell. And yet, Rick had the funny feeling that he wasn't alone in there. He took his .32 out of his backpack and put it in one of his pockets, for easier reach. "Just in case."

To his left, he saw cubicles and broken computers. No chance of finding anything useful there. He continued deeper into the building.

At the back of the building, he found what he was looking for. Protectrons on conveyor belts, sentinels sitting there idle. He was bound to find what he needed here. He went down to one of the conveyor belts, put his backpack down, and started checking out one of the Protectrons. "Seems to be in good enough shape. Let's see if he has what I'm looking for."

Taking out some tools from his backpack, Rick went to work, tearing through the metal on the robot. After half an hour went by, he finally was able to get through the hard outer casing. He took a quick look inside to see if he had wasted his time or not. "Okay, I need a fission battery, a conductor, and some wiring. Well, I see plenty of wires, so no problem with that." Using some wire strippers and scissors, he removed some of the robots wiring. "Oh, I bet Walter could use some of this scrap metal, too." He then put both the wires and the scrap in his pack.

A voice rang out saying, "Who goes there?" Rick nearly jumped out of his skin and let out a quick startled yelp. "I said, who goes there?"

"Um, it-it's just me. I'm just here to find some parts to-."

"What are you doing to my robots?!"

Oh, this is not gonna end well, Rick thought. "Uh, I was just looking for some spare parts. You see, my-."

"Sabotuer! You're working with HER, aren't you?" the voice rang out.

"What? No, no! I'm not working with anyone!"

"Anyone who would ally themselves with someone as evil as her can't be trusted to tell anything other than lies," the voice declared. "Robots, activate!"

Suddenly, two of the sentinels started turning on. Their eyes started to glow red. Rick knew very well that it was time to get out of there. He grabbed his pack and darted for the front door. The voice shout out again, "Destroy him!"

Lasers tore at the ceiling as Rick bounded up the steps of the workshop and sprinted for the lobby. His heart sank when he saw the turrets on the ceiling start to track him. Running as fast as he could, ran for the front door. The turrets open fire, spraying the spot he had been a moment before with bullets.

The sentinels had made it up the ramp from the workshop and had vision of Rick again. With his heart racing, he leaped at the door, hoping he would burst through. Thankfully, the doors banged open as his body slammed into them. He flew a few feet farther before slamming into the ground, rolling twice, and finally coming to a stop on his back.

The sun was low in the sky and he could feel the cool of the evening. The breeze was still there, adding to the coolness that was there. He started laughing, just happy to still be breathing in the air of the Wasteland.

Then he noticed movement. Looked over and saw ants. Big ants. There must have been at least a dozen of them. "Mutated bugs?" And then he saw her, a woman wearing some kind of body armor, complete with fake ant eyes and antennae.

"You!" Rick spun his head back to the building. Standing in the open doorway was a man wearing armor that made him look like a badly built robot. Behind him were 2 sentinels and 3 protectrons. Rick looked from one group to the other.

"Robot army? Mutated ants? You gotta be kidding me."

"I knew you were behind this, Antagonizer!" yelled the man in the robot costume. "Only you would send someone to sabotage my robots!"

The woman in the ant armor, the Antagonizer, laughed. "You think I would trust a HUMAN for that job? What a fool! However, I do appreciate his help. But enough of this, you're going to fail this time, Mechanist! Today, you shall taste defeat!" She threw her head back and laughed manically.

"We shall see about that!" the Mechanist shouted back. "Robots, attack!"

"Destroy them, my warrior ants!"

The two groups charged, robots fighting bugs in a whirl of lasers and antennae. Two ants jumped and toppled a protectron over, snapping off its arm with their pincers. One of the sentinels laid waste to them with its Gatling laser. Rick didn't bother to stick around to see who would win. They both wanted him dead, anyway.

He ran to the edge of the hill and stopped just in time to prevent himself from falling off the cliff. He had forgotten where the trial leading back down was. He looked around, but before he could spot it, his leg was pulled out from under him and he fell on his face. Slightly dazed, he wondered what had just happened. Then he was being pulled roughly by the foot by something. He turned around and saw one of the ants had followed him. It was pulling him back towards the battle.

Frantically, Rick pulled at his .32 revolver. It got caught in his pocket the first and second tries, but on the third, he got it out. He aimed at the bug and shot it in the head. It screeched out in pain and let go of him. He didn't wait to see if it was gonna come after him again. He shot it two more times and it went down, never moving again.

Two more ants had come over and were getting closer. Rick got back up onto his feet, backed up, and raised his gun again. He shot one twice, and heard the hammer hit an empty chamber. The ants both kept on coming.

He backed up a little bit more and was suddenly falling, tumbling end over end. He hit the ground hard on his back. He tried screaming out in pain, but the wind was knocked out of him. He turned over and got to his knees, trying to breathe in. Finally, his lungs filled in with air. He coughed several times and felt the pain surge through him. His back was in agony and he felt incredibly week. He fell back down on his stomach, loosing energy.

Then, he noticed something in the sand. He brushed some of it away and saw it was a pill bottle. Written on the side was the name 'Buffout'. Rick started shacking his head. "No, I can't take this. It's too easy to get hooked on it." He heard noises above and looked up behind him. The two ants were just standing there, watching him. "But if I don't, they'll get me eventually."

He looked back at the Buffout. "I'll just take enough to give me the strength to get back home. No more. I'll give the rest to Doc." He opened up the bottle and took out two pills. He looked at them, hesitated, and swallowed the pills.

Almost instantly, he felt his strength come back tenfold. He stood up and looked at hands. The strength felt good to him. He felt powerful, like nothing could stop him. He just fell off a cliff and was still alive! He must be invincible!

Rick shook his head vigorously. "No, can't think like that. That's how you become a junkie. Just get back home. That's all that matters." He looked down and saw his pack. He put the Buffout in it, slung it over his shoulder, and started the long walk back home.

HOLY CRAP THAT'S GREAT!!! Good work, keep it up.

Nice work again!

Awesome job. Your writing is excellent.

New chapter coming soon....

3:49 A.M. Thursday, September

Exhaustion had almost completely enveloped Rick when he finally got back home. His back and every limb of his body were aching and sore beyond anything he previously had experienced. He winced with each step as he marched upstairs to his bed and med kit. When he finally got to his bedroom he sat on his bed and opened up his desk drawer. Inside was a small med kit he kept just in case he ever needed it.

He opened it and got out a stimpak. He injected it into his arm, just as doc had taught him, and felt the pain killer and antibiotics take affect. He let out a long breath and fell down on his bed, just dropping the empty stimpak on the floor. He just lay there for a few minutes, reflecting on the day he had.

It was just too unbelievable for him. He had gone all the way to Canterbury Commons, looking for parts he had hoped to find, but instead, he was attacked by two waring nut jobs in costumes. I just can't believe he was right! Rick thought. Doc was right about them!

That was all he could think of. They were real and they had tried to kill him, each believing he was working for the other. He soon was to tired to even think of that as well. He drifted off to sleep, mindlessly enjoying the stimpak's pain relieving affects. Soon, he began to dream again.

He was a young child in a broken down house. The windows had been boarded up, letting in only a little bit of moon light that reflected off the dust floating in the air. He heard screaming, some distant and some near.

His heart was pounding in his chest a mile a minute, fearing what was outside. Yet he found himself walking towards the front door, pulled by an uncontrollable force. Tears rolled down his face like rivers as he sobbed, getting closer to door, reaching for the knob. He desperately wanted to just turn, run, and hide under the nearest bed. And yet, he had to see what was happening outside. He was just too curious about the images that he would see.

He was right at the door now. His outstretched hand had reached the door knob. It was cold in his hands, like the death and destruction he would surely see outside. He turned it, opened up the way to the outside, and screamed.



2:23 P.M. Thursday, September

He tossed and turned in his bed, whimpering like a lost child, sweat soaking the clothes he still wore. He screamed out and his eyes snapped open. His breathing was fast and he looked around frantically. Realizing he was back home, he slowed his breathing and let out a sigh of relief.

"For the love of God, just stop already." He rubbed his eyes and sighed again. "It's getting worse." He sat up and felt a huge sharp pain in his side and back. "Gah! What the [censored]?!?" He lightly touched his side and felt another sharp pain, although smaller than the last.

"Must've been from the fall. That's just great." He got out of bed, with some difficulty, and went to his fridge. He found his whiskey bottle and took a quick drink. "Gonna have to see Doc. I can't stand feeling like this."

He went back upstairs and opened up his safe. He took some caps for payment for his treatment, got his backpack, and head for Megaton. It was only a five minute walk, but in his condition, it felt like an hour of agony. When he finally got into Doc's clinic, he was sweating profusely.

As soon as Doc saw him, he let out a start. "Good God, Rick! What happened to you?"

"You were right about those wackos at Canterbury Commons. They tried to kill me."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say they just about did. Let me take a look at you."

It took Doc only a few minutes to isolate exactly how badly hurt Rick was. After Rick told him the whole story about what happened, Doc explained that the fall had fractured three of his ribs and might have chipped his shoulder blade a little. "It's a miracle that's all you sustained."

"Yeah, I know. Those guys could've killed me."

"Never mind those two, I was talking about the fall. That usually would kill someone."

"Oh, right. That too."

Doc sighed and shook his head. "One of these days you're gonna really mess yourself up, Rick. Did you find what you were looking for out there?"

"No. The 'Mechanist' stopped me before I could find any fission batteries or sensor modules."

"Sorry to hear that. Well, what DID you find?"

Rick was about to say that he had some Buffout with him, but quickly decided against it. He didn't want to tell Doc about that yet. He might take it away from him. Not that it would bother him or anything. He wasn't an addict, after all. Or was he?

"Hello. Earth to Rick."

"What?"

"I said, 'What DID you find'."

"Oh. Nothing much. Just some scrap metal I thought Walter and I could use around here to patch things up."

Doc grunted and said, "Well, that's good, at least. We could use that stuff right away. Some of the water lines sprung a leak."

"Then I better get this stuff to him right now." He tried standing up and sat right back down as fire flared along his sides again.

"You know, you act just as stupidly as my other patients," Doc chuckled. "Just hang on a second. I'm gonna apply some stimpaks to the appropriate places."

After he was done with the stimpaks, Doc told Rick to not do any work for about an hour. He needed to let the medication take affect. Rick could feel it working almost instantly. He left his bones start repairing themselves, reconnecting to their broken halves. It didn't hurt, but it did feel really strange.

After an hour had passed, Rick payed Doc the amount that was due to him and went to see Walter. He was sure he was gonna be needed in repairing a few water lines. Thank God I at least got the scrap metal for it, he thought.

He noticed he was still feeling a little weak. Probably a side affect of repairing bones, he thought. Then he felt the Buffout pressing against him in his backpack. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt if I only took one or two for today. Besides, I'm gonna need the strength today. But just for today." And with that, he continued on his way.

I gotta say I do really like this story. But what's there for our hero to do now? Will he continue to look for a battery or has he been scarred by the Mechanist and the AntAgonizer?

Don't worry. The Wasteland hasn't seen the last of him.

Two weeks later......

9:43 A.M. Saturday, September

It was an unusually cool day. There was a steady breeze, but very little dust flew in it at all. The sound of crickets was finally starting to die down when Doc walked into Rick's home to find him in the middle of packing. He gave Rick a stern look, like a father who found his son sneaking off, and asked, "Going on another trip?"

Rick shoved his new .32 pistol into his backpack. "Yeah. What of it?"

Doc made a look that said he didn't really care. "Oh, nothing."

"Good," said Rick, and he continued packing.

"I was just thinking since you had your [censored] hand to you by some over sized bugs and costumed psychos, you might-"

Rick slammed a can of Pork 'n' Beans hard enough on the table that a cracked appeared, and Doc jumped back a foot. "[Censored], Doc! I know! It's not safe out there, I learned that. I get it! I thought my broken bones showed you that when I came back!" He threw the bent can into his pack.

"All they showed me was that you ran into some trouble out there." Doc looked at his friend's back as he grabbed supplies from his shelves, and couldn't help but ask, "Rick? What's got you acting like this?"

"Like what?" He snapped.

"Like THIS. I've never seen you get this angry before."

Rick stopped. Doc thought he was going to through something at him, but then he saw the tension go from Rick's shoulders. "I'm sorry, Doc. I... I don't know. I've just been on edge lately. I don't know why. Maybe it has something to do with the water I've had to drink for the past month or so."

"No, the radiation wouldn't affect you like this. If it did anything, it would make your hair fall off. So far, though, you still have plenty up there."

Rick sighed, and sat down in a nearby chair. "Yeah, you're probably right." Doc sat in the chair next to him and gave him a friendly pat on the back. They both just sat there for a little bit, just listening to the breeze outside. Finally, Rick said, "You want something to drink?"

Doc smiled, and said, "Sure. What do you have?"

Rick stood up and went to the kitchen. That's when Doc saw it. "Wait a second! When did you get that?" Rick couldn't help grinning to himself as he got two cold Nuka-Colas out of his new Pristine Nuka-Cola Vending Machine.

"Well, Moira had one that wasn't working anymore, so I asked if I could fix it up for her for some extra caps. Instead, she said I could have it for less than half of its original price." He took off the caps, handed a bottle to Doc, and they both took a savory drink.

"Man, that's some good stuff," said Doc.

"You got that right, man." Rick sat back down and took another drink.

They both just sat a little while longer in the silence, taking a sip out of their bottles every now and then. Eventually, Doc spoke up. "Where are you going this time?"

Rick downed the rest of his Nuka-Cola before answering. "I'm going a little farther this time."

"How far, exactly?"

"Like, next door to Tenpenny Tower."

Doc coughed out the drink he nearly inhaled at hearing that news. "Tenpenny Tower? What, are you planning on moving away?"

Rick pulled out his Capital Wasteland map and laid it on the table. "Not really. I'm just gonna be visiting the neighborhood for a day." He pointed to a dot next to Tenpenny Tower and read the name. "That's the RobCo Facility, Doc."

"Yeah, I know. I can read, too, ya know?"

"If there's anyplace around here that has parts to fix Winston, that'll be the place. At least there aren't any stories of giant bugs over there."

"No. Just some stuck up [censored] living in luxury next door."

Rick rolled up the map and put it in his pack. "That's very true. But I don't think they'd bother to come out guns blazing for some random wanderer who's taking batteries from the building next door."

He's got a point, Doc thought. "All the same, just be careful. Alright?"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Rick replied.

"Yeah, that's what you said last time. And look at what happened. Broken bones, near death experience. Hell, if the fall was really from that high up, you SHOULD be dead. And then there's this whole attitude shift of yours."

"What attitude shift?" The anger was very apparent in Rick's voice.

"THAT attitude shift, right there! Don't you see it?"

Rick shoved another box of InstaMash into his pack. "There's nothing for me TO see."

"That's a load of [censored] and you know it, Rick!" Doc walked next to Rick, so he wouldn't be ignored. "Everyone's noticed it. Everyone. What's going on with you?"

Rick continued packing. "Just drop it, Doc."

"Come on, tell me. Maybe I can help."

"I said, drop it."

"Tell me, Rick!"

"I said, DROP IT!!!" In a flash, Rick's hands were on Doc's throat, and he slammed him into a wall, knocking the table with his pack over, spilling some of the contents. Even with his friend's fingers around his throat, Doc was still able to speak clearly.

"Just look at yourself, Rick! You're telling me nothing's going on with you? How [censored] stupid do you think I am?" With a hard shove, Doc threw Rick away from him. His hands massaged his neck as Rick successfully kept himself from falling backwards. "What's gotten into you?!?"

Then the sound of a small jar tapping metal was heard. Both of the men looked at the overturned table and saw the jar of Buffout resting by it. When Doc looked back at Rick, the recognition and pain in his eyes was enough to make Rick look away. That, and the fury he saw as well. He went over to the table, picked up the Buffout, and put it back in the pack, along with the other contents that had spilled out.

"Well," said Doc, "that explains it all, then."

Rick didn't reply. He just kept packing.

"Rick, I'm sorry. I didn't know. If you had told me, I would've understood." Rick still didn't reply.

"Listen, I know you have the itch for it. I've seen it so many times, I should've figured it out sooner. But I can help you." Rick had finished packing, slung the backpack over his shoulder, and was walking to the door.

"I can cure your addiction, Rick! Please, let me help you!"

Rick slammed the door on his way out, leaving Doc alone and worried.

This is good,I mean REALLY good.Keep writing and i'll keep reviewing.

Sure thing. Rick has a ways to go before the story ends, anyway. Glad you're liking it so far!

Sorry it's taking so long to add the next chapter, guys. Had a bit of writer's block. I should have it up by the end of this week.