Johnny Guitar, The Story of Ranger Barker

Johnny Guitar, Part One

This is more of a draft, and far from perfect, but I wanted to post this, hoping you'd all get some enjoyment out of it. I need recommendations and feedback, as a way of making my writing better. Thank you for dedicating a bit of your day to my content. Best of luck

Ranger Barker heard a howl as he was walking along a canyon. "Well, best of time as any to use my resources" he said aloud, he then loaded up his Lever action, it had "Johnny Guitar" and the Bear painted on its stock. It was self made, Barker made it while in McCarran, after finding a Legion spy, he jazzed it up as a way of celebrating. He pulled it out, and just a few feet later, he saw the den, he picked off a few coyotes from a safe distance, but some ran over.

Barker unsheathed his Kukri and went to town, he broke ones spine with the side of it, it let out a whine of agony. The next one, he outright decapitated with a single swing. The last one, seemingly the alpha, due to its size and scars, proved to be the no more of a challenge than the rest, a quick gash through the stomach and a mercy stab made quick work of the alpha. In the coyotes world, it was important, feared, and respected. Barker thought to a deathclaw that had killed one of his fellow rangers. Did the deathclaw feel the same way that he did? Was he just another animal competing for dominance? He snapped out of it, there were two more things to do.

He walked over to the injured one with he broken spine, he pet it for a second and said "nothing personal, pal" and chopped its head off as an act of mercy. He then walked over to the den and checked for pups, there were two. He pet the pups for a few seconds, who were whimpering. Barker picked them both up, he closed his eyes and squeezed down on the trigger. The whimpering stopped, the den was silent. Barker then thought back to his childhood, when a gang of wannabe thugs mugged him and killed his dog, Jackabe, for kicks. Barker began to feel a tear crawl down his face, it then turned into him outright crying, his eyes burnt but he felt better. He usually suppressed his feelings.

After getting himself together and walking a few miles, he arrived at a small town by the name of Red Tree. He knew the town and used it as a temporary destination since they were allied with the NCR. He approached a local and then asked "Excuse me sir, where would the Sheriff be?" The man looked at him blankly for a few seconds and then slurred our "Right in the *hick* farm-ay-see. You got a cap er two?" Barker thanked the man and threw a cap his way.

He walked over to the pharmacy, it was turned into an actual base of operation, instead of Med X and Fixer lining the shelves, guns and ammo boxes filled the back. Barker had never seen so many weapons in his life, it was equivalent to a small arsenal. It was due to the gold from the mine the town was built on, it still had a lot in store. He then approached the sheriff and said "So I understand the fiend by the name of Slicer and his gang have been terrorizing the area recently" The sheriff then said "Of course, so you're the Ranger sent to put this son of a bitch into the ground?" Barker replied with a simple "Yes, sir" The sheriff then said "my second in command there, Sorman, has been scouting out the area, we just don't have the balls to go after him"

Barker walked over to Sorman cautiously , he looked out of place. The man had no expression, it wasn't a typical New Vegas poker face, Sorman looked empty. He also wore sunglasses, which added to the creep factor for Barker. After a stare that lasted a few seconds Barker finally spoke, "Excuse me sir, do you know where Slicer and his gang of fiends are located?" He then finally spoke, in a chilling voice and had a larger vocabulary than anyone else, "Of course, they're operating east from here, within the Quiet park" Barker was still unnerved and then said "Alright, thank you for the assistance"

Night had fallen, he went to a motel and asked for a room, the woman at the front desk was reading a magazine and said "twenty caps per night" Barker handed her the caps and she looked up at him, in your case, 40. "Why are you charging me double?" The woman's nostrils flared, and in her high pitched voice started screaming at him, "You are a bunch of fascists trying to steal our hard earned caps, so I'll take yours!" Barker took what was rightfully his back, and went out of the building, he went back to the sheriff and didn't complain, he believed in freedom of speech and the ability to refuse service. He only asked to sleep in the barracks, the sheriff let him. He went in and practically passed out.

Barker woke up, it was still night. He heard a distinct voice, Sorman. He was conversing over a HAM radio in the back. Barker chose to act like he was sleeping, to eavesdrop. "Yes. He's practically in my hands" Sorman whispered "Mhm, Yes I have to thank the tracker, the Boy Scout who followed someone" Barker kept listening "Well I shouldn't have much struggle, with the group of Centurions. Mister B7 has quite a reputation" B7 was Barkers number on the back of his Duster. "Shit" he thought to himself "That creepy fucker is a Legion spy"

Barker didn't sleep at all that night, At 5 o clock, he departed. Barker knew not to go West, the Legion would be waiting. Asking the sheriff for help would make it all worse, endangering the entire town. He tried to sneak away past where he came. He then heard metal clanking and guns cocking. "Hello there, Mister B7" The undercover agent said. "Fuck you" Barker simply replied with. "Well that wasn't very nice, it's good that we're bringing you to Caesar, if not, you'd be on a cross" The man Replied "I am Vulpes I-" Barker interrupted him "Vulpes Inculta, I've heard rumors about your creepy ass, you Frumentarri faggot" Vulpes laughed. "I see you know your enemy, Mister B7. But how? Were you a previous member perhaps? Did you torture it out of a man? Either way, I may not like my enemy, but I can admire their ways" Vulpes said with a pride in his voice "The latter" Vulpes paused and said, "Alright, enough banter we have to get going, give me your weapons, ALL of them" Barker have Vulpes his Lever Action and Kukri, he kept his pistol in his duster. "I thought you ranger degenerates had pistols. Barker twisted the story of how you receive a Sequoia, lying about how you already get a standard issue revolver. "You only get a pistol as a gift for being a member for 20 years"

Karma seemed to be on Barkers side, the Legionaries didn't pat him down, and Vulpes believed his lie. He even some how kept his armor. "Okay then, load him into the cage" 4 of the legionaries pulled out a a cage on wheels, which seemed more like a large wagon. It had a ghoul and someone else in it. There was a set of T-51 tied to the top of the cage, he assumed the man was a Paladin of the BoS. Barker got in, and a legionary locked him in and tied his wrists to the cage. Vulpes finally chimed in, "Alright, we've been here for 2 days now, and luckily, Mister B7, we're half way to the destination"

So, I'm guessing this wasn't too good. But thanks for reading it, feedback would be nice. If you have any suggestions on how to better my writing, please do. If you want something added in, tell me, you'll get credit too. Once again, thank you so much to dedicating a few minutes of your day to my content. Best of luck