Hidden Valley was close.

That thought was one of many that screamed into Arcade's mind as the Fiend members advanced on him; his feet inched closer and closer to the edge of one of the small cliff rises just outside the fenced-off area. His plasma defender, worthless without any ammo, rested in his clammy grip - he held it in front of him like some sort of shield, wishing more than anything that he was somewhere, anywhere else but here.

The tallest of the three criminals smiled, the butcher knife in his grip glinting in the fading sunlight. Behind him, the two others hefted tire irons. Below the rise, he could hear Veronica and the courier, Isaac, fighting for their lives. Arcade's Ripper lay with them below, lost when one of the attackers had knocked it from his grasp.

Isaac, Veronica and ED-E wouldn't make it up the rise in time. He knew it, and he knew all of the outcomes, and knew he only had one ridiculous option.

As the three men lunged, Arcade turned his back to them and jumped.

Veronica's gauntlet practically sang as she broke the man's jaw, his body going limp as ED-E followed up with its laser. Down below, Isaac took aim with his revolver and as his shots rang out, one more body fell to the ground. The last man standing rushed the Brotherhood scribe, one last desperate measure before he met his end.

Staring over the cliff edge, the woman winced as she caught sight of Arcade, his right arm laying at an angle no limb could naturally bend at. His eyes were closed, and he said nothing, but she could tell he was at least alive by the incredibly upset look on his face. Isaac knelt beside him, a stimpak between his teeth. "I'm gonna have to cut your sleeve off. We can sew it back later."

"I appreciate the concern for my incredibly pristine lab coat, but I'm a little more worried about my broken arm," he seethed back, eyes glassy with pain. By now, Veronica had made her way back down the cliff, ED-E beeping and hovering just above her head.

"Nice jump." She said it as though she was trying to be funny, but the concern and guilt in her voice was clear. "The bunker isn't far. Fifteen minutes tops, what with you being a gimp now. We can get you fixed up a little better there."

He didn't bother to respond. Someone with ties to the Enclave walking straight into a haven for the Brotherhood of Steel - if only they understood. Veronica didn't even know about his past, and Isaac had told him he'd be fine, because he always had been. But Arcade knew himself, and he knew his smashed up arm was going to be a lot more comfortable than being surrounded on all sides by paladins of the order.

At least, that's what he thought until Isaac set the broken bone.

The trip to the bunker felt like it took forever. Each step brought on pain, the stimpak and makeshift splint and sling doing little for the agony. Sweat trickled down his face, and he was almost glad when they finally found the location, beginning a descent downwards. That relief quickly vanished when they came face to face with a Brotherhood paladin by the name of Ramos.

Veronica cracked her jokes at him and Isaac gave a friendly nod and smile, but Arcade had nothing in him for pleasantries. The paladin's eyes ran over him, scrutinizing - "The Elder will wish to see you immediately," he said, speaking to all of them. "Afterward, I suggest you get your friend some medical attention, Veronica." Arcade rather thought that some medical attention was a little more urgent, but he wasn't about to argue - especially not with a broken arm and a gun with no ammo.

As they walked, he tried taking in every detail he could of his surroundings, but quickly became uneasy as every person they passed had an overwhelmingly curious stare - especially towards the injured doctor. His arm radiated pain, the stimpak long gone, and all the walking definitely wasn't helping. Isaac gave him a sympathetic pat on his good shoulder, but remained quiet.

Eventually, they reached a wider, circular chamber, where a strangely refined man sat behind a crescent desk. He waved them over, a small smile on his face when he saw Veronica. He frowned when his gaze fell on Arcade, and the doctor found himself confused by the look in those gray-blue eyes. "Your friend is injured. Why didn't you get him treated before coming to speak with me?"

Veronica blew a stray strand of hair from her face. "Come on, Elder. You know the stick up Ramos's ass can't go any further."

A wry smile tugged at the man's lips. "Our discussion can wait. Take him to medical first, if you would."

Maybe Arcade didn't know him, but he thought he liked this guy already.

The next few hours passed him by in a daze. He'd been taken to a room with several beds and medical equipment, dosed up on meds, and had his arm examined before he promptly fell blissfully unconscious.

He woke a while later, his head pounding and his vision blurred with pain. Looking over to the side, he saw a woman sitting beside a terminal, dressed in dull robes. She smiled as she caught him watching her, and stood quickly, dusting off her sleeve. "About time you woke up. How do you feel?"

"Like I broke my arm," he whispered, his voice rough.

She chuckled, not offended in the slightest. "Here. Have some water, and let me get another stimpak on you. I'll be back in a moment; Elder McNamara wanted to know when you woke up."

Arcade accepted the bottle she handed him, lying still as she worked quickly, but his eyes didn't leave her. "...Elder McNamara? What about the people I came in with - where are they?"

"Oh, the courier and Veronica? They left a while ago. Out trying to resolve something McNamara asked them for."

A sharp anxiety settled into his chest. "They left? How long are they going to be gone?"

"Probably a couple weeks. Don't worry your head over it, the Elder said he's more than happy to let you rest up here while they're off adventuring. Anyway! I'll be right back, I really have to let him know you're up." She stepped out of the room, and completely missed the uneasy look that had invaded Arcade's expression. His arm was broken, and he was alone, tucked far away in a compound full of people that probably wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in his face if they even heard him mention the Enclave.

He was just starting to wonder how the situation could get any more awkward when the Elder himself walked into the room a moment later, pulling up a chair next to his bed and sitting down, looking the doctor right in the eyes.

"Well, hello there, Arcade. Isaac and Veronica have told me all about you."

to be continued in chapter 2