[color=00aeef]FRIEDA RICHTER[/color] - outside of Salem Clinic -- mid to late morning

[i]This is not ideal.[/i]  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]I was so sure that ghoul was passed right out.[/i]  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?”