Ant Men From Mars

Clarissa began her investigations by heading into the centre of town, which consisted of a crossroads and a large marquee tent. A number of locals and travellers were hanging around there for trade and gossip, including a female doctor that she vaguely recognised from the day before when they'd first arrived. Clarissa approached her and asked if she was local? She replied that she was, acting as an unofficial town doctor. Clarissa asked if she'd noticed any odd activity lately, specifically around the motel during the night? The doctor said she hadn't seen anything sadly, but she did mention how odd Carla Boone's disappearance had been.

"Odd in what way," Clarissa asked,

"Well, I suppose this doesn't break the Hippocratic Oath none seeing as how obvious it was towards the end, but Carla was pregnant. Some people say she just up and left but a pregnant woman, seven months in? That doesn't sound right."

Well that certainly adds to things, Clarissa considered. She asked who else she could she talk to about mysterious goings on,

"Well there's always No-Bark."

"No-Bark. He's the local crazy person," Clarissa raised an eyebrow, "but he does see a lot on account of the fact he mostly just wanders around town. Might be worth a try. He lives in a shack just down the road."

Okaaaaay, Clarissa groaned. First Cass disappears, then this whole conspiracy with Boone's wife, and now a chat with the town crazy person? This day could not get any weirder. Could it?

The doctor wasn't kidding about the place being a shack. Where most of the houses in Novac were built with wood and brick, this building seemed to be cobbled together with steel plates and metal rivets. She tapped against the "door", causing the entire metal structure to reverberate. She heard a muffled noise from within, although it was hard to tell what.

After about a minute of waiting outside she decided to take her chances just walking in. She hated wasting time when Cass could be in danger. She shifted the metal plate that passed for a door aside and walked into the "house".

Her first thought was good lord how hot is this place? Being a big metal house in the middle of a desert the interior roasted like the insides of an oven. Her second thought was, wait is that a shotgun? She ducked down instinctively, but no shots were fired.

Looking up, she saw the shotgun was held by what appeared to be a full-sized plastic mannequin, like one of the ones from before the war. It was stood behind a row of sandbags, as though it were a guard on duty. Oh he actually is crazy, she thought as she stood back up. Okay, well at least the doc wasn't kidding. Looking around the shadowy room, she saw the floors were covered with empty tin-cans, and Nuka Cola bottles hung from strings attached to the roof. Ugh, this so weird.

Moving further inward, she decided she should maybe inspect behind the sandbags. Maybe this No-Bark character had some information he didn't want people prying into? Boone had said to look around for evidence, and yeah, maybe this isolated weirdo was the perfect candidate for being a creepy kidnapper?

Once behind the sandbags however, she didn't see anything except,

"Who goes there?! How'd ya get past the guards?"

A short old man with a shock of long white hair on his head and face shot up from within the shack's unlit gloom behind the sandbags. He was brandishing a small table knife and waving it about defensively. Clarissa jolted back, but immediately saw she didn't have much to worry about. This guy looked pretty feeble,

"No-Bark?" she asked, in the far-off chance that it was anybody else,

"Who says there is? I ain't seen him nowhere no-how!" No-Bark jabbered on,

"So you're not No-Bark?" she questioned,

"You sayin' another No-Bark's around stealin' my identity? That no good other No-Bark. I'll show him!" he shouted, thrusting his knife forward like a fencing sword.

Clarissa quickly realised she would need to try and work on his level,

"Mr No-Bark. I'm looking for my friend. She arrived with me last night, but now I can't find her!" No-Bark looked concerned, and replied,

"That's right that you should be calling me Mr, missy. The done bloatflies are always listenin' out for impolite manners donchaknow? Wanna lay their eggs on our tongues!" This wasn't the answer Clarissa had hoped for,

"Please, they said you see everything that goes on in town. You must have seen something this morning."

"Who says so? I sure hope it weren't those strangers I saw this very day! Can't trust what they say about nothing!" Clarissa brightened up. They seemed to be getting somewhere,

"Strangers?"

"There was a whole damn mess of 'em, hangin' around the motel all quiet-like. I stayed out of earshot on account of my club foot and all, but I knew they was out to get us again!"

"Again?"

"That's right I said again! I seen 'em before. Hangin' around the motel lobby with their ant-legs and bug eyes! It's the ant-men come back from space to abduct our womenfolk for their experiments!"

Okay, most of it was nonsense, but Clarissa was starting to piece things together. The motel lobby, abductions. This sounded legit!

"Did you see where they went?"

"They shot up into space!" No-Bark paused, "at least, I assume they did eventually, what with being astronauts and all. I didn't see no rockets though so I imagine they headed south like they did last time!"

"You saw them head south?"

"You don't know what I saw! Unless you've got eyes peppered all around us!" he looked around, apparently now nervous about Clarissa's all-seeing eyeballs, "but no I can't say I did see them none...but I did see 'em head that way the last time!"

Clarissa decided this was all she needed to hear, "Thanks for your time," she said before heading out,

"Don't tell 'em I was here!" she heard him shout.

The motel lobby, Clarissa mused. Could there be clues there? But Jeannie May had been there and besides Cass she hadn't seen anyone...and she'd also said she saw Cass go north, not south...

Clarissa suddenly realised the sweet old receptionist may not be so sweet...