Welcome to the Mojave Wasteland: A Fallout New Vegas Story
Chapter 1 : A Prelude
So I'm sitting by the fire at an abandoned gas station, cooking the last of the brahmin steak, when I hear a feint cry in the distance. I pick up my rifle and check it out through my scope, only to see a partially aflame woman running away frantically from a pursuing adult giant fire ant. Deciding to play hero, I load my custom .308 jsp rounds and prepare to attempt a rescue. Looking through my scope a second time makes me think twice about my endeavour. The adult is followed closely by a dozen hungry hatchlings, indicating that the adult fire ant is a female feeding her young. I do a quick ammo survey and realize there's too many of them. By the time I look again the mother is already closing in on her now grounded prey who is trying desperately to roll around in the sand in order to extinguish the flames, but by the time she succeeds, the mother is already upon her. The ant quickly decapitates her victim in one strong clamp of her colossal full grown mandibles, leaving the woman twitching in a newly forming puddle of her own once precious blood. It's too late, I realize, as I watch in despair. The hatchlings begin feeding immediately as they quickly devour their meal in frenzied fashion. The mother watches on with a somewhat proud demeanour when something else seems to catch her attention. A little girl, barely 10 years of age, hiding in a barrel close by is unable to bear the sight of her loving mother being mutilated by these monstrous creatures. Overwhelmed, she lets out a heart wrenching shriek that draws the ants' attention. The girl fumbles out of the barrel, too scared to move. The mother ant decides it's time for her young to make their first kill. They hungrily close in on their second meal, barely satisfied with their first. The little girl does nothing but sit and await her slow painful fate. Fear and grief has gripped her tightly, almost squeezing the life out of her. The ants are but a few yards away now, so I take the shot. Without hesitation. Without remorse. The sound of the bullet fills the air. It lasts only for a second, but seems to echo for minutes. I return to my now burnt steak thinking why. Then I remember why. This is the Mojave wasteland. This... is Fallout New Vegas.