THE REIGN OF TERROR: DESOLATION

"Pay attention to the cracked streets and the broken homes

Some call it slums, some call it nice

I want to take you through a wasteland I like to call my home.

Welcome to Paradise…"

-Green Day, Welcome to Paradise

MYSTERIOUS STRANGERS

Paradise, NV-The Strip

A light began to flicker illuminating the darkness. A song was trying to play on the radio. When the electrical current began flowing, the song "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" by The Ink Spots began playing. The radio nearly popped out of the dashboard. There was a hula girl figurine that moved side to side. There was also a splatter of blood on the panels and on the cracked windshield. The driver laid dead in the seat of the car with his eyes open and a head wound that caused blood to drip from his face. The car had crashed into a brick wall of a hotel just outside the Strip. Not too far away, a war was about to begin…

Under the moonlight and between the hotels and casinos, lay the decayed and war ridden streets of New Vegas. Dawn Crenshaw stood in front of a large army consisting of the Shadow, citizens, NCR soldiers, and former members of the Brotherhood of Steel. In the distance across the street, Selene stood on a destroyed truck and held up a flaming sword. In front of her was Selene's Legion, an army of vampires who were ready to die for her. They stared ahead, looking hungry for blood. Dawn was ready for a fight. She held her sledgehammer tight as Selene pointed the flaming sword at her. Both sides began to charge at each other, ready for a clash like an atomic bomb…

War, War never changes…The people of earth began waging war against one another to have power, control, or to fulfill the satisfaction of causing a massacre. Many years ago, the Combine invaded the Earth and easily took control of the populace. The fact that many of the citizens were not prepared, made Earth an easy target. But the citizens of Earth would form a rebellion against the Combine. Among them was a young woman named Dawn Crenshaw who was held captive in City 17. Despite Earth's victory, this war against the Combine only brought more casualties for the citizens of Earth. After the war, Dawn suffered through mental trauma, saw images of dead bodies, heard gunshots ringing in her head, and soon became a depressed alcoholic.

Dawn would then meet Maddie, a woman filled with psychotic rage and an immense bloodlust. But Dawn realized that Maddie fought for the same causes and soon an unbreakable bond would form between them. They were summoned to New Vegas by James Hsu who has wanted the eradication of a vampirical cult known as Selene's Legion. He was discharged from the NCR after Selene and her followers invaded Camp McCarran in silent and deadly fashion, causing numerous casualties. He has since started an organization known as the Shadow that is made up of outlaw NCR soldiers. Selene, also a former NCR soldier, has endangered New Vegas. With her lust for power, Selene plans to take New Vegas by any means necessary.

The Freemont Street Experience was crowded with people during the night. It was in the heart of Freeside. Unlike the Strip, the people were more shady characters. They contained a mix of crooked dealers, scammers, prostitutes, and junkies. There were numerous casinos around the area: Four Seasons, Queens, and the Golden Nugget. Among one of the Freeside citizens, was a young woman in her late twenties, caramel skin, long black hair with a mix of red, and cat like eyes. She wore a tight glittery black dress and black heel boots. Her walk caused many heads to turn. She went by the name of Fallon. She caused the men to whistle at her and the women to become jealous. Fallon entered the casino as some of the guys followed her.

Inside the casino, Fallon was at the roulette table. The wheel turned as numerous people cheered. When the wheel stopped, the ball landed on 36 which was not her number. Fallon clapped and cheered anyway as the guys surrounded her. She put her hand on one guy's chest and then felt another guys stomach.

Fallon was at the bar with three guys. One had slick black hair and an expensive suit, another had brown hair with a sports coat, and the other had a ponytail with a white suit. They laughed with her and she giggled. Then, Vince, a tall dark skinned man with dreadlocks appeared behind them. He had on a sleeveless shirt, baggy jeans, and a pair of punk boots. He had an angry look on his face. Fallon noticed him. He nodded at her and walked away. She drank a shot of tequila and slammed the shot glass on the table. As the men drank and touched her, she stared ahead. Then, Vince pulled the man in the white suit off the stool. The other men stood up. Vince began to growl, confusing them. Fallon remained seated.

"What's your problem?" The man in the expensive suit questioned.

"You have something I want," Vince said.

Vince fixed his eyes on him.

"Blood."

Vince opened his mouth and revealed fangs. They were startled. He quickly grabbed the man in the white suit and bit his throat. Everyone around was frightened. The two guys stood up and tried to fight him. Vince stabbed the man in the expensive suit and shoved him down. The man in the sports coat had a broken bottle and squared off with him. Then, Fallon grabbed him by the hair from behind and bit his throat with her fangs. She let go of him. Fallon and Vince glanced at each other with blood on their mouths. Vince was about to lick the blood off the knife, but Fallon grabbed it and licked the blood instead. They quickly fixed their attention on the fleeing patrons. Fallon jumped on top of a blackjack table and then leaped on a middle-aged woman. She bit her throat. Then, an older man tried to strike her with a chair. She grabbed the chair as he swung it and broke off a leg. Next, she struck him in the head multiple times. A small amount of blood splattered on her face.

Vince dragged a man with black hair across the floor near Fallon. The man's throat was bleeding and was dead. Fallon placed her hands on his cheeks and smiled.

"You've done well so far," Fallon complimented, "We need more."

Vince nodded. She let go of him and he ran towards the entrance. He grabbed and bit the throats of anyone he could get his hands on. Fallon starred at him. Then, three men in black suits entered the area. One of them saw Fallon with blood on her face and ran towards her. She took out a knife and he backed away. The other two went after Vince.

"I'm not afraid of a bitch like you," he said.

He threw a punch at her and she grabbed his arm. She showed him her fangs and he was startled. He tried to struggle free as Fallon placed the knife at his throat. The other two surrounded Vince. Then, Veronica came behind one of them and bit his throat. She had long black hair, slender build, and was wearing a black dress with a hood. Vince grabbed the other man in the suit by the throat and held him against the slot machine. Fallon's knife was now covered in blood, as the man she killed was lying face down holding his throat. Fallon and Veronica stood by Vince as he held the man in the suit. He was desperately trying to get away. Fallon placed the bloody knife on his cheek, leaving a mark of blood.

"Realize, that you are no match for us," Veronica said, "We are the ones in power now."

Vince showed him his fangs. The man broke free and ran out of the casino. The people on the streets were running frantically as more members of the vampiric cult had invaded the area. The man ran into an alley and was breathing heavily. Suddenly, the lights went out. He could only hear the sound of his own heavy breathing. Then, he took out a flashlight. He shined it on the ground and then on the wall. As he was desperately looking for the exit, he shined the light on Selene. She had long curly red hair, was tall, and wore a red cloak. She starred at him as he froze in fear. Then, she showed her fangs and lunged towards him. The sound of screaming was heard on the streets. Veronica, Fallon, and Vince ran into the dark alley.

The next day, the sky was gray and cloudy and hovered over the destroyed casinos and buildings that were located a few miles from the New Vegas Strip. There were smashed cars, broken windows, rubble, gaming tables, and slot machines scattered throughout the streets. Then, a group who preferred to call themselves Raiders, ran across the streets. They were rugged, cruel, and dressed in ragged clothing. Some of them wore metal armor. They were well equipped for a war and they were in large numbers. They made many futile attempts to enter the New Vegas strip but were held off by the New California Republic Army. Then, above in a destroyed building that was located next to an unidentified casino, someone with short blonde hair, wearing dark green pants, a combat chest protector that had a star on it, and a sleeveless brown shirt, watched the Raiders. The mysterious stranger had a sniper rifle with a scope on it and placed one leg on a pile of concrete and aimed the rifle.

Then, gunshots were heard. Before they could react, one of the Raiders was hit square in the chest, killing him instantly. Another shot was heard. This time it hit a woman in the stomach. More shots were fired as the Raiders desperately looked for cover. One of the shots struck a Raider wearing a hooded sack in the head. The Raiders identified where the shots were coming from as reinforcements arrived. One of the Raiders was a muscular man with a mohawk and had black grime on his face. He hid behind a car as shots were fired, each of them striking down the Raiders.

"You're a dead bitch! You hear me?" He yelled, "I'll gut you. I'll hang your lifeless body."

He fired his laser rifle at the sniper without looking. The lasers bounced off the building as the sniper moved behind a wall. Dawn Crenshaw loaded her sniper rifle, keeping calm in the process. She went back to her position and resumed the eradication of the Raiders. The man with the mohawk was the one Dawn was assigned to kill. One of the Raiders managed to toss a grenade at her. It landed by her feet. Dawn picked it up and threw it back. The grenade exploded near the car, killing the Raiders within the vicinity. Then, the man with the mohawk ran out from cover and fired his laser rifle at her. Dawn hid behind cover as the last Raider ran off. She pursued him. His nervousness combined with adrenaline made him a fast runner. Dawn ran as fast as she could. He ran across the streets with Dawn following him, but he was too fast for her. He ran inside a building and quickly made it to the rooftop. Dawn knew it was not her place to be. He looked down at her.

"If you come out now, your death will be less painful," Dawn advised.

"Piss off! I'll kill anyone that gets in my way," he shouted.

"You leave me no alternative."

Dawn whistled. The Raider ran across the rooftops, running on nothing but pure adrenaline. Then, a woman's laugh was heard. He became wide-eyed and frantically looked around. The laugh was heard again. Then, he saw someone in the distance. The mysterious stranger was wearing a black hooded sleeveless top, and half black, half red pants. He could not see the face. He tried to shoot his laser rifle, but was out of ammo. He ran away, leaping across the rooftops. The mysterious stranger quickly pursued him. He climbed down a ladder and into an alley. The hooded stranger searched for him but instead ran into three more raiders. They quickly surrounded the mysterious stranger and tried to attack. The hooded stranger quickly kicked the two raiders from behind while blocking a punch from the raider in front. The stranger grabbed his arm and broke it at the elbow and then quickly elbowed him in the face. As he stumbled backward into a brick wall, the hooded stranger kicked him in the head, squashing his head against the wall. One of the raiders tried another attack but each punch and kick was blocked. The hooded stranger returned a few kicks to his ribs and then did a backflip, kicking him in the face. The other raider ran towards the stranger who quickly took him down with a leg scissor. The hooded stranger grabbed him by the hair and struck him under the chin with an open palm strike. The last raider was angry and had every intent to kill, but the hooded stranger remained calm. The raider tried punching and kicking but could not land a single blow. The hooded stranger delivered a kick to his head, a backhand punch, a knee to the stomach, and then a front kick which extended her leg high in the air. The raider flipped backward and landed on his front side.

The mohawk raider ran through the alleys, hoping to find more reinforcements. Then, the mysterious stranger leaped in front of him. He tried to kick the stranger, but was hit with a roundhouse kick. He fell to the ground and the mysterious stranger sat on top of him by clamping his arms between the legs. The stranger laughed as he tried to break free.

"You should have taken the other offer," the stranger voiced in a muffled tone.

The stranger pulled the hood off and he was frightened. It was Maddie. She had blonde hair in pigtails, and was wearing face paint which consisted of a white face, black around the eyes, and a red stitch pattern that was made into a smile across her lips. She smiled and he screamed as she took out a large knife. Dawn arrived just in time to hear the screams and see a shadow of Maddie holding the raiders head. Dawn ran around a corner and saw her standing over the headless corpse.

Maddie stood on the rooftop of a building looking at New Vegas. She saw their home, The Stratosphere, as well as The Gomorrah, The Tops, Vault 21, the MGM Grand, Paris, and Caesars Palace. The gray sky still hovered above her. In the distance, there were gunshots and explosions. It was someone else's war. Dawn approached her from behind. She placed her arm around her and leaned her head on her shoulder. Maddie smiled.

"It's amazing," Dawn said, "It's a whole new world. It would be better without the gunshots. I'm glad we live on the Strip."

"I like it better than City 17. Different city, same people," Maddie explained, "They all want to kill."

"So do you."

"I kill because people are bad, they kill for sport."

"Well, that's where you come in. That's why we're here."

"You really trust James Hsu?"

Dawn lifted her head up and brushed back Maddie's hair.

"I do. He called us here for a reason," Dawn stated.

"Yeah, to be his mercenaries," Maddie disputed, "He still thinks he's an NCR soldier."

"You get paid, I get paid, it's as simple as that."

Maddie turned to her and smiled. They looked into each other's eyes. Dawn was still ecstatic over her and Maddie could not contain her excitement.

"Dawn," Maddie said, "You've changed. Ever since we got here, you seem happier. You're not miserable all the time, you don't drink as much, you smile more, and don't mumble when you speak."

"I owe it all to you. You're the best thing that ever happened to me. You brought out a side of me that has been trapped for years. I have a reason to wake up. Whether I'm in a warzone or a flowery field, I'll be happy because I have you…"

"Dawn, stop being corny."

Dawn laughed. As they stared into each other's eyes, Dawn felt Maddie's face.

"Maddie, could you please drop the head?" Dawn suggested.

Maddie still had the head of the Raider she killed. Maddie laughed and then threw the head off the roof. They wrapped their arms around each other and shared a kiss.