Prologue

"Three years ago, at the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, a hero was born. He was a courier who traveled the wastes overcoming everything in his path. Radiers, Fiends, NCR, Legion, even Mr. House. He fought for the independence of New Vegas. A new land, maybe the start of a new nation. He drove both the NCR and the Legion out of Mojave and gave its people something they never had, hope. And that is why I named you, Hope, " my mother said with a smile while we all sat around the fire just outside a cave we called home.

"Ugh, you always tell that story every night and I still hate my name. Why couldn't I been named Angel like her!, "I pointed to my older sister.

"Maybe cause your nothing like one, " Angel said in a annoyed tone.

"Why you little bi-,".

"Enough!," my mom cut me off, "The world might be hell but I will not have my daughter talk like Fiend! Do I make myself clear, Hope?," She gave me a glare.

"There are no more Fiends...fine, I'm sorry..like I always am,".

And with that I got up and walked out into the night.

It seemed like a constant thing that always happened. Me and my mother argued over my name. I gave up on hope a long time ago and i wanted my own life. Not one that felt constricted by a simple name. But the truth was, there was a time I liked my name.

When I was born and as I grew up, my mom filled my head with stories of hope, heros, and love from what she called our ancestors who lived after the Great War. When I got older and I was nearly a woman, my mom gave me a odd necklace. She said it had been passed down for couple generations from one of the Vaults that sheilded people from the hell above. It was a simple string that held what my mom called relics from the Old World. The tale goes it came from a family of a man who was a solider and a woman who worked in what they called "silos" back then. She had access to warheads that destroyed the world and when she was given the order to release them, she refused. She left the silo with the keys that would've lauched the monsters. She made sure one silo wasn't used on the world and went to find her husband who was stationed in the city she was in. My mom has a suspicion that it was Vegas, but it's only a hunch. They reunited and found there way into a vault and man proposed to the woman with a ring that had a beautiful gem in it. They then decided to start a family so their story of love and survival would give hope in a world they knew was hell and ash.

Now over two hundred years later, I wear their ring, the keys to the silo, and mysterious broken holotape around my neck. My mom didn't know what the holotape was for but she thought I would figure it out. I use to love the old stories she told me but then my father died because of the hope he had for me

Around the time the Courier was walking the Mojave, we were attacked by Fiends and they held us hostage while NCR did nothing while we were held in front of Camp McCarren. With no answer from NCR, one of the Fiends that called herself Violet ordered the rest to prepare us to be eaten by her dogs. As soon as they started pulling me down to the ground with rest of my family, I panicked and screamed.

"No! Get me away from those damn mutts!".

And with that, Violet slapped me across the face and I fell to the ground face first. She quickly grabbed me by my hair.

"Apologize to my sweet pets now!," she yelled in my ear and jammed her rifle aganist my head. I just froze and then I heard a click...but no bullet.

She let me fall back to the ground and checked her gun.

"Looks like your lucky today, you little bitch. But you still owe me., " she yanked me up and held my hands up and put her rifle in them.

"Line up the rest!," she told the others and my mother, sister and father were all side by side in front of me. Violet then put a mag in my hand and told me to load it. I knew then what was going on.

"But...I don't know how to...,"I said turning back to her. She then forced my head back staring at my family so hard that I thought she would break my neck. And then I felt a knife at my throat.

"You were the first to shot at us, little bitch! Now load the fucking thing!," She yelled in my ear. I finally complied and loaded the gun.

"Now here's the deal. For insulting my sweet and adorable dogs, you got to shot one of your friends here and then you all can leave!," she explained and started laughing which caused the rest to laugh.

"But...their my family...look I'm sorry! I'll do anything just please don't make me...,".

"Too late, little bitch! Now one of your family dies! Choose now!, "she cut me off and pressed her knife aganist my skin.

I looked at my family. My mother was in grief and but looked like she was still trying to be strong. My sister was sobbing and pleading with her eyes for me to stop this somehow. But my dad...he was smiling. And then he started to laugh.

"What the fuck...?," Violet said to no one in particular.

"You got a fucking death wish, asshole!?," one of the Fiends holding him yelled in his face.

"I just can't believe how worthless you Fiends are!

"Leo..!," my mom tried to say but she was hushed by one of the Fiends.

"All you do take drugs and beg for more! Your worthless scum! All of you! All of you can burn in..," he was silenced by a punch in the face and then he had a gun to his face.

"Dad no!," I started to move forward but then Violet's knife pressed into my neck and then I felt blood twinkle down my neck.

"He has guts, little bitch, " she said with a laugh. "Dumbass, put down the gun! Little bitch is choosing!," she told the Fiend that was holding his gun to my dad's head.

"How about, no?! He deserves to die!, "

"Why you little, fuck!," Violet screamed and they started arguing.

I looked at my dad and he smiled. Here my dad was, still having a sense of humor, even in this hell. He always cheered me up and made me laugh. He reminded me how important my name was when I was down. I know he was trying to keep me strong in this but I didn't think he could.

Then he mouthed something and then it hit me what he was about to do.

"No!," I screamed and while my scream distracted everyone, my dad did what I knew he would do.

He twisted around and grabbed the gun that was aganist his head and shot the Fiend who was going to kill him and shot the other too. He tried to fire again, but it was empty. He dropped the gun and pulled out a knife and came at me and Violet. It was happening so fast but it seemed like forever. Violet finally reacted and postioned my hands on her rifle to fire. My dad was a few feet away and was starting to pull back his hand with the knife, but then the gun fired. My dad stopped that instant and we both looked down at his chest and the end of the rifle was pointed at his heart where there was a bullet hole. My dad looked at me and smiled..one last time.

"I love you, Hope, " and then he fell to the ground.

My mother sobbed loudly while my sister screamed over and over. I just stood there even as Violet took her gun and backed up. What have I done? I just stared at my dad. He was dead because of me but he was still smiling. I was so focused on him that I didn't notice my sister coming to me.

"Hope! Wake up! Their running away! The NCR is helping us!," she yelled and shook me.

All I could do was barely look at her.

"But...dad..," I said quietly and then my tears finally started to fall.

Now I hated my name. My hope died when he died. It was a constant reminder of what killed my father and nearly killed my mom and my sister. To this night, it still opens that hole in my chest that held love and hope for the New World and its people. However, that is exactly what has not only killed my dad and my spirit, but has also has killed so many. There is a saying that goes, "War...war never changes" and I don't think it ever will.

And then, as I thought that, I heard screaming down where my mom and sister were. I turned and ran towards those screams. Now...now that all my hope was gone, I didn't care what happened to me anymore.