DARKEST BEFORE DAWN
"I'm not home
I'm not lost
Still holding on to what I got
Ain't much left
Though there's so much that's been stolen
Guess I've lost everything I've had
But I'm not dead, at least not yet
Still alone, still alive, still unbroken."
-Still Unbroken, Lynyrd Skynyrd
THE CHILL OF THE NIGHT
Inside a casino club, a band began to play a newer version of the song "After You've Gone." A young woman with long curly brown hair wearing a red glitter dress stepped up to the microphone. She began singing as smoke lingered in the air and patrons drank while seated at the tables. The music echoed throughout past the gamblers and dealers. Outside, the bright lights from The Cosmopolitan, Paris, Planet Hollywood, Caesar's Palace, The Bellagio, Excalibur, and New York, New York casinos of New Vegas, brightened the streets and the sky above. Men in suits and women in fancy dresses entered casinos and wandered along the sidewalks, while others leaned against buildings and drank to inebriation.
A woman with long blonde hair, dressed in a blue Henley shirt and black jeans with a pair of brown boots, wandered the New Vegas Strip. She had her head down and her arms crossed over her stomach. When she walked past a store window that displayed mannequins dressed in suits, she saw her reflection. She felt her face and looked closer in the window. Dawn Crenshaw continued down the sidewalk with the Stratosphere lit up in the background. She thought a lot about the days of the past when she fought on these very streets, in Freeside, and out in the Mojave Wasteland. Now, twenty years later, her combative skills had diminished and her body was breaking down and aching.
Dawn walked outside the Strip through the abandoned buildings, run down hotels, and deteriorating streets. Only a few residents were wandering about. They consisted of mostly vagrants, prostitutes, and gamblers who were down on their luck. The NCR patrolled the area to keep it safe. A few miles ahead was a mental institution. It looked like an old mansion that was covered in white stone. Occasionally, she would walk near it and at the last moment, turn away and head back to the Strip. Knowing who was in there made it hard for her to enter. Her last visit was over a year ago to see Maddie Brennan. Maddie had suffered a nervous breakdown after the death of Rusty Briggs three years earlier. Dawn would try to comfort her, but Maddie would babble incoherently and laugh. It seemed that Dawn no longer existed to Maddie. No matter how many times Dawn would try and talk sense into her, she would fail to breakthrough each time and Maddie would often go into a violent rage.
There was another patient housed inside the asylum that Dawn was familiar with. Selene, who was once the leader of a vampiric cult known as Selene's Legion, was locked in the psychiatric intensive care unit and remained a dangerous threat. Selene still believe she was a vampire and was determined that she would get revenge. Dawn turned around and headed back to the Strip. Even after three years, it was hard living without Maddie's presence. Sometimes, she would think Maddie was near her only to realize she was not there.
For the past twenty years, The Shadow, a mercenary group Dawn once belonged to, kept the Strip secure. Dawn ended up further south of the New Vegas Strip away from the bright lights and noise. This part of South Las Vegas Boulevard had little security where Dawn would often isolate herself. She kept her arms crossed as the chill of the night blew into her. Without her knowledge, a shadowy figure watched her as she walked along the sidewalk. The figure creeped up on her with a gun in hand.
"Hey lady," the figure spoke, pointing the gun at her, "Down the alley, go...now!"
Dawn became nervous and turned her head, trying to get a glimpse of who it was. She walked into the alley as instructed.
"All your money now!" The figure demanded.
Dawn could tell it was the voice of a young male.
"Just go home kid," Dawn advised.
"I'm calling the shots lady. Give me your money now or I'll blow your damn head off!"
Dawn turned around to face him. She tried to contain her nervousness as her heart pounded like a jackhammer. During her younger days, when someone pointed a gun at her, she took them down. All she saw was the gun. His face was concealed in the darkness of the alley.
"I swear I'll kill you," the young man threatened.
He stepped into the light, revealing his face to her. Her suspicions were correct; it was a young man. He looked as if he were in his late teens and early twenties. He was completely bald and clean shaven with earrings on both ears. He also has a lip piercing and was wearing a long black leather coat that had small metal rectangular hooks in the front.
"Just cool it kid," Dawn told him, "Don't be stupid."
"Do you want to die? I'm giving you three seconds."
Dawn could hear in his voice that he was nervous.
"First time you robbed someone?" She asked.
"One," he warned.
"Put down the gun..."
"Two!"
Dawn saw that his gun was just a replica. She wanted to attack him; every survival instinct she once possessed suddenly returned to her.
"You're gonna shoot me with a fake gun?" Dawn exposed his deceitfulness.
The young man circled around her and moved towards the exit.
"You suicidal?" He said, "That attitude will get you killed."
"Yeah, well take a shot!" She dared him, "Come on, you want to be a thug, you want to be a bad boy? Go for it!"
He lowered the gun and ran out of the alley as Dawn breathed a sigh of relief. Back in her suite at the Stratosphere Hotel, she sat on the couch and looked at her shaking hand. She laid down and tried to rid herself of the nervous feeling. Her suite was kept in pristine condition. It had a gray carpet, white walls, two love seats, a small wall in the middle which had a TV on both sides; one faced the bed and the other faced the couch. There were a few desks, a kitchen, and a large window which had a view of the Strip. After the incident she knew she needed to get back into the training routine. There was a bottle of bourbon and a small empty glass on the small table in front of her. She poured herself a drink in hopes of calming her nerves.
She grabbed a stimpak and injected it into her arm. As the medicine ran through her veins, she closed her eyes. Within seconds, a young Maddie was kneeling beside her. She had blonde hair in pigtails and was wearing a black and red outfit. She had a smile on her face and held Dawn's arms.
"Maddie," Dawn whispered.
"It's not as bad as it seems," Maddie tried to convince her.
"It is. Not as good as I was."
"It's all in your head."
Maddie poked Dawn's forehead and smiled.
"I need you here," Dawn pleaded, "It's hard without you."
"Dawn, you can survive; there's no one tougher."
"No, I feel weak."
"Don't say that. When I get out, I'll be here for you."
Dawn quickly opened her eyes and saw that Maddie was not there. She rose up and looked around the room. She laid back down with a lonely feeling.
A few hours later, after her arm was no longer sending a numbing pain through her, she went to the gym area. She stepped inside and saw the punching bags, weights, mats, and speed bags. Other residents of the Stratosphere hotel had been using the equipment, but it had been over three years since Dawn had used any of it. She stood near the door and saw an image of her younger self striking the heavy bag. Her hits were hard and loud and there was no quit in her. The younger Dawn did clap pushups and then kicked the heavy bag. Then, Dawn saw the image fade away. She stepped out in the hallway and walked back to her suite. Dawn laid in bed while staring at the ceiling and thinking about the young man she encountered. She knew he was right about her attitude being the death of her. However, she was not suicidal. She wondered why someone so young would want to be driven down the wrong path in such a grim world.
The next day, Dawn was inside the gym. It was open for everyone, but instead most residents spent their time gambling away their income in the casinos. She had on a pair of padded gloves and began striking the heavy bag with a few light punches. Next, she threw a series of kicks. Her strikes from the bag caused her joints and bones to ache, but she kept going. She leaned against the bag and breathed heavily. Then, she tried out the free weights. The lighter ones she lifted with ease, but the heavier ones gave her trouble. She tossed them on the floor and got on the treadmill. A few short minutes of running was enough to cause her to nearly faint from exhaustion. She took her gloves off a threw them against the wall.
Later that night, Dawn was on her way to the Strip from the asylum. As she strolled through empty streets, she heard a commotion down an alley. There were shadows on the deteriorated brick walls and it appeared someone was getting mugged. Dawn hesitated but then decided to walk into the alley. She walked through the garbage that was scattered around and heard voices and someone grunting in pain.
"Where's our money?" A deep voice shouted.
Dawn turned a corner and saw three men kicking one person on the ground. She stood still and knew in her mind she could not turn back. Then, one of the thugs noticed her. He had long black dreadlocks and a goatee. He wore a basketball jersey and loose jeans with black boots.
"Hey, hey, hey," he muttered.
The other thugs turned towards her. One of them had a shaved head and wore a long black trench coat. The other was a muscular man with short hair, worn eyes and a braided beard. He had on a tank top and jeans with black boots.
"You're in the wrong place lady," the muscular man said, "Go clothes shopping or somethin'."
The other thugs laughed.
"Leave him alone," Dawn warned.
"Or what? Get lost or you're next."
They walked towards her. It was at this moment, Dawn realized Maddie was not beside her and knew she made a mistake.
"You had your chance lady," the man in the dreadlocks cautioned, "Now, you're gonna end up like that punk ass."
The three men surrounded her. The man in the trench coat felt her hair and then, her instincts kicked in. She grabbed his arm and punched him in the ribs. She kicked the man in the dreadlocks in the stomach, knocking him back into the brick wall. The man with the braided beard backed away. Dawn delivered an elbow to the trench coat thug and then kicked him in the knee. She hit him with multiple knee shots and knocked him unconscious. The man with the dreadlocks ran behind her, but Dawn grabbed his shirt and threw him to the ground. She kicked his face, knocking him out.
"You're dead now," the other thug threatened.
His size was intimidating but Dawn felt she could take him down. She struck him in the face with a hard punch, but he just laughed at her. She threw kicks at his side, but he easily blocked them. He threw a punch at her, but she moved to the side and punched him in the face again. She threw another kick, but he grabbed her leg and then grabbed her by the throat. Dawn tried to struggle free, but her oxygen was depleting. He pressed her against the wall and smiled. Dawn felt her life fading away as she looked into his eyes. The young man on the ground grabbed a steel pipe and struck the thug on the back of the head. He let go of Dawn and fell to the ground unconscious. Dawn regained her breath as the man held his ribs. She looked at him, but his face was hidden in the darkness. He extended his hand and Dawn grabbed it. He pulled her up and Dawn saw his face. It was the young man who tried to mug her.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, you?"
"I'll live. I think my rib is broken."
The man then recognized her.
"Oh, no, you," he realized.
"Yeah, me. Let's get out of here okay."
They ran down the street towards the casinos.
"Wait," the man said.
Dawn stopped and turned towards him.
"Why did you save me?" He asked.
"I was just in the area," she answered.
"Well, thank you."
"Yeah."
Dawn continued down the street until she reached a corner. When she turned around, he vanished. For a moment, she starred into the darkness, wondering if the head shaven young man was even real. She turned around and walked towards the New Vegas Strip. As she passed the casinos, she knew there was something odd about him. She walked passed the bright lights and through the crowds on her way towards the Stratosphere.