ANGEL FACE

All Angel Face had at the camp was a radio that broadcasted nightly news that she religiously listened to every single day.

In their camp they had made in the far east of the Mojave Wasteland, the group of raiders she belonged to resided in a settlement they had affectionately named "Bishop's Meadow" after their leader Bishop; a hardened, but well-educated Raider who had seemingly turned from a former life of peace to a life of danger and carnage for unknown reasons. The rest of her group, which consisted of other orphans and strays like herself had worshiped Bishop since he had found them, and had vowed to follow him to the end of the wastes and beyond.

Angel Face, affectionately named for her golden hair and cherub like looks by Bishop, had been adopted by Bishop and his gang when she was a young girl. Orphaned at the age of 7, she resided with a trader caravan that picked her up in the wastes. A man, his wife and their Brahmin had taken her as far as Searchlight when Bishop and his "family" found her. She couldn't remember what happened to the traders, or what her name had been before "Angel Face", but she preferred Bishop's name for her.

"Hey, will you stop listening to that Brahmin shit broadcast? That stupid "Mr. New Vegas" guy gives me the serious creeps."

Angel rolled over on her mattress with a sigh and turned the volume knob of the radio down. Star, a fellow family member was standing over her, arms folded in their usual fashion. "Sorry, didn't realise it was so late."

The older woman scoffed, unfolding her arms to settle them on her broad hips. "Don't matter about the time, I ain't sleeping anyway. Just don't wanna hear that old coot go on an' on about this shit all night," she tucked a strand of her short pink hair behind her ear. "Besides, you should be asleep. I hate to say it but you have to be useful tomorrow."

Angel half smiled in the growing darkness. Star was a hard-ass, she knew, but it was allowed considering her difficult past. Back before Bishop ever found her, Star was a very young escort, to put it lightly, for a band of rag-tag Vipers who used her and treated her like shit. One day, she took a big knife to the throat of the leader and escaped by the skin of her pearly white teeth. Bishop just happened by the establishment and picked her up, on the promise that she would never have to do anything like that against her will ever again. After she realised her past experiences would haunt her dreams, she opted to stay awake most nights, earning her the name Star.

She had been there a few years before they came across Angel, but even then Star had been young. From what she could tell, Star never liked her. Maybe it was because Bishop took an instant liking to her, or maybe it was because Star wasn't going to be the pretty girl of the group anymore.

"Yeah, I know," Angel sighed a little, "Papa Khan loves for me to tag along to these things."

Star shrugged. "Of course he does. Papa Khan is just a dirty old man that loves to look at shapely women," she looked Angel up and down, "that's really all you're useful for anyway."

Angel knew that wasn't the reason for his request. Papa Khan, the leader of the Great Khans, was an important figure to her family, and really all the Fiends that inhabited the wasteland. Though most factions did not get along together, The Khans and Bishop's Fiends had an arrangement of exchanging chems for guns that had been going on for years. The family, who were excellent scavengers (and mostly drug users) traded what they didn't need for substances that fueled. She, unlike some of her family, had no reliance on drugs, and preferred to stay clear of them. However, she was always brought along with their so called "drug patrol", because Papa Khan had met her as a child, had admired her survivalist attitude and had requested to see her every time the patrol went out for their big supply every 6 months. She had been doing the same thing for over ten years now, and Papa was impressed at what a magnificent fighter she had become.

"Bishop doesn't think so," Angel shrugged. "Anyway, is Bobby back yet?"

Bobby, another fiend family member, was Star's lover. He was also Juliet's lover. He was a very strong, handsome, alcohol fueled man who often went out on solo patrols to procure alcohol and trade with local "moonshiners". As far as Angel knew, he hadn't returned. She could tell Star was worried, though she put on a hard exterior and tried not to show it.

"He ain't back yet, and it certainly ain't none of your concern little girl." Star spat bitterly. "Now just shut that shit off and get some sleep, or Bishop will be pissed in the mornin."

Angel threw her a sarcastic salute and Starlight tsked in her direction, turned for the doorless entryway of the so-called sleeping shack, and left. After she was gone, Angel turned up the volume on the radio so it was a little louder than audible.

"Welcome back to the program. This is Mr. New Vegas, and I hope I'm not comin' on too strong. Whoops, better put on my newsman fedora, here. Goodsprings has fended off a mob of escaped convicts after organizing an impromptu militia, according to an old man armed to the teeth with dynamite," Angel Face giggled to herself quietly, suddenly imagining a man with teeth made of dynamite, though she knew what Mr. New Vegas meant. The elderly commentator signed off his news casting with Frank Sinatra's "Blue Moon", so Angel Face turned the volume down once again.

To her right, in one of the other mattresses was Juliet. She was younger than Angel Face at this point, but had been a slave with her brother Romeo for Ceaser's Legion. (Or Kaisar? She wasn't sure how it was actually pronounced) At least, they claimed to be brother and sister. They had been bought by Bishop just a few years ago at Cottonwood Cove and had been inseparable up until a few months. Angel had asked Juliet about their names, to which Juliet explained that her and her brother's names came from a very ancient pre-war book about two teenagers who had a very deep love for each other, much like Juliet had for Romeo. She explained that one of the guards liked to read the younger slaves stories to keep them educated.

As Angel watched Juliet sleep, Romeo poked his head around the doorway. He looked weary, and also very sad. "She been out long?"

"Yeah," Angel replied, "Said she wasn't feeling well and went to bed early." She hooked her thumb over to empty bottles of drinking water that Juliet had been guzzling after she vomited. Angel recalled rubbing the young girls back, her red hair clinging to her forehead slick with sweat. "She's been out for a couple of hours."

Nervously, Romeo shifted on his feet and rubbed his arm. His lips were dry, and he was chewing the dried skin at the corner of his mouth. "Listen, when she wakes up, tell her to come see me. It's kind of really fuckin' important. Okay?"

Angel nodded and Romeo gave her a half smile of thanks. He disappeared out of the doorway and she settled down again. The last thing Angel thought of before she drifted off to sleep was how little Romeo and Juliet had in common in regards to their looks.