Blood and rot. The air smelled like blood and rot. The old computer logs said the construction of the Villa was flawed; cheap material and disgruntled work crews. The sight of decay matched the smell in the air, all of which was heightened by the red haze, making the walls and ground look like they were coated in dried blood.
Layla slowly made her way through the streets of the Villa, clutching the holorifle in her hands so tightly her knuckles were white. The girl wasn't very good with a rifle, and the gun in her hands didn't have many shots. Once they were gone, she'd have to rely on her hand-to-hand skills, which meant she was screwed.
Slowly turning the corner, Layla stepped onto a red-hazed street. She caught a glimpse of movement as a dark figure shamble out of sight further up the road. The Courier hunched down and looked through the scope of her rifle. Whatever it was, it was gone.
Groaning, she dug through her pockets, taking stock of what she had. Three stimpaks, a handful of holorifle rounds, and something bulky stuffed into the pocket of her jumpsuit. Pulling out the item, Layla laughed out loud as she realized it was the radio the NCR had given her 'in case of emergencies.'
"I think this qualifies…" She switched it on and was met with loud static. The Courier squeezed the broadcast button, "Uh. Hello? This is Layla, uh, Ranger Dobbs gave me this radio if I ever needed help. I need help…how are you?" Only static answered her. After several attempts, she was still met with silence.
"Oh well, too good to be true." The spark of hope, even if it had been for nothing, had rejuvenated her slightly, and she continued down the street. The rifle was still clutched in her hand, tight enough to be painful, and every step was slow and unsure. But she kept moving.
The police station's sign glowed faintly in the haze ahead. The signal from one of the other collars was originating from the building, hopefully still attached to its owner. That would be the super mutant, one of the three people she was being sent to find, and whose fates were tied to hers. This was the one who was loyal to her captor, and who had dragged her here in the first place. She had the feeling she wasn't going to like this person.
Just as the door to the station became visible, she heard a screech. Turning, she raised her rifle and gasped at what jumped into view.
It was clad in a filthy, bulky mud-colored body suit. Over its head was a breathing mask, its eyes lit to an eerie green glow. One of the Ghost People her host had warned her about. Before Layla could shoot, it jumped at her, swinging a spear. The Courier barely dodged the multi-bladed weapon. The thing was fast; Layla barely dodged two more slashes before backpedaling away and raising her rifle. Energy bolts perforated the creature's chest as it lunged at her again. The thing made a horrible howling noise as it sunk to the ground and stopped moving.
Layla smiled a little as she noted she had only used four shots. Maybe this whole thing wouldn't be so bad. Turning for the door of the police station, she heard a hiss. Layla looked back in time to see the thing she had just shot down rise back to its feet. Dumbstruck, she barely had time to react as it leapt at her once again with its spear.
Layla cried out as it sliced a good-sized gash in her arm. "What the fuck!" she screeched at it, firing wildly as the creature skittered toward her again. After pumping several rounds into the thing, it still didn't fall. Desperate, she turned and threw the door to the police station open, running in.
Slamming the door behind her, she waited, and after a few moments, nothing happened. .She checked her rifle; there were only two shots left now. Layla bit her lip; she was screwed. Looking up, she caught sight of the super mutant across the room in a jail cell. It didn't seem to notice her, however, and sat with its eyes cast to the floor, muttering softly to itself.
Pulling herself back together, Layla took a step toward the mutant. As she did, the collar around her neck started beeping. With a start, she jumped back, crashing into the door painfully. The beeping stopped, and the girl let out a shaking breath.
Leaning on the door, she scanned the room, immediately spotting the problem; two radios, an old dispatch unit on a desk near the cell and a more ornate model further away. The old man had warned her that radio signals could interfere with the collars and set them off. Both were turned on, and The Courier wondered if someone had knowingly set a trap for her, or for the super mutant in the cage.
"Hey! Are you okay?" Layla called out to the captive.
"I want to go back to the church," the nightkin whimpered, not seeming to notice the girl. She sighed and raised her rifle, trying not to think about how screwed she'd be if she missed this shot.
The radio exploded as the energy round struck. Layla turned to the other radio, carefully lining up the shot. It burst apart, and the room went silent. She gingerly stepped forward, then sagged in relief when her collar didn't beep. She took a deep breath and moved toward the jail cell.
The nightkin was covered in cuts and scars, the worst of which spelt out "DOG" on its chest. There was also a bear trap lodged into his forearm and chains around his neck. The hulking figure didn't seem perturbed by the injuries, even as he whined about being hungry.
"Hey," Layla tried to sound as soothing as possible, "I'm here to get you out." The mutant didn't respond, instead whining again about how hungry it was. "Who locked you in here? Do you know where the key is?" Again there was no answer. Layla frowned and started to look around the room. The key had to be somewhere.
*.*.*
"There, on the table. My voice."
The Courier looked at the holotape in confusion. The mysterious voice that had come from her Pip-Boy radio when she entered the basement had directed her here, promising her the key to "Dog's" cage. The room was empty like the rest of the basement. There was no key here, just the tape.
"Take it to the cage above," the voice continued. "Let me speak to the beast."
Layla picked up the holotape. "Who are you?" she said out loud. So far, the only signals she'd gotten on her Pip-Boy in this place had been from the old man and from the other collars. If hers had a microphone in it like the others, maybe someone was listening. But there was no answer.
Going back up the stairs, she approached the jail cell that held Dog. He barely looked up at her as she approached and thumbed on the recording.
"Dog, back in the cage."
Further confused, Layla watched as the super mutant climbed to his feet and faced her. His facial expression had changed, and he held himself differently. It was as if a different person faced her now.
"You're not who I expected…" said the voice that had spoken to her in the basement, now coming from the nightkin in front of her.
"Still, you may be of use to me. You can't be that stupid if you figured out how to let me out of my cage. Though, given that collar around your neck, perhaps that's not the case."
Layla's hand went to the collar on her neck without thinking. Clearly, this was not Dog speaking to her. Multiple personalities in a nightkin were not unusual, but the difference between these two was severe. She had seen graffiti throughout the Villa that related to Dog. Most of them had also mentioned God. She nearly smirked at the palindrome.
"So you must be God," she said.
The nightkin gave her what might have been a grin or a scowl, or maybe both. "I am the voice of reason. Dog's conscience, as it were. I was caged, but now that you've released me, Dog has gone back to the cage."
"You don't have a collar…" Layla noted. The collar's signal on her Pip-Boy map had led her directly to the super mutant, but there was no sign of it on him.
"I… Well, yes, I do." The girl gave him a confused look, so he continued. "Dog sometimes gets too hungry, and doesn't care what he swallows. I can feel it now. Your presence has reactivated it, tugging like a leash."
Layla had to bite down on her lip to keep from laughing. "I didn't arm these things, that's for sure."
"Then you must be working for the Old Man. Perhaps you're stupider than I thought."
The girl laughed, despite herself. "Well, at least I wasn't stupid enough to swallow an explosive collar." She caught the nightkin glaring at her and crossed her arms over her chest. "Now, we need to get you out. Do you know where the key is?"
"I'm not going anywhere," the nightkin answered.
"What? What do you mean?"
"Dog will do anything the Old Man says, regardless of the harm it does to us or to others. I can't let him continue."
"You locked yourself in," The Courier realized.
The mutant nodded. "If the Old Man wants his pet back, you tell him to come and get him out himself. Otherwise, I'm not moving."
The Courier gave him an exasperated look. "Come on, he isn't going to come out here. That's why he sent me. That's why he has us running around doing his work for him. We need to work together… Our collars are linked. One goes off, they all do. If we just do what the old man wants, we can get out of here."
"You truly are dull-witted to think the Old Man is going to just let you go. Even if he did, you wouldn't. The greed will get you just as it has all the others who have come here. I want nothing more to do with it."
Layla made a face, then looked down at her Pip-Boy, a faint smile coming to her face as a thought crossed her mind.
"Listen, Dog will come out if he hears the Old Man, right?" God gave her a suspicious look.
"Yes…why? Can you contact him?"
"No, but I have a recording of his voice…"
An enraged look came over him and he took a menacing step forward.
"You do that, and I'll find my way out of the cage and murder you. Rip your arms and legs from their sockets and crush you to splinters."
"Wait, wait!" Layla backed up, not prepared for his mood swing. "You don't want to do that. If-"
"If you die, I die? But you won't, not right away. I'll break every bone in your body, but leave you alive and walk away until my collar goes cold. I'll prop you in front of the Sierra Madre so you can look at your failure until the end."
God regarded the girl carefully; she was obviously intelligent, but cowardly. She had taken a few steps back as he had threatened her, clutching the pistol she had recently found in her hand tightly. It took a few moments for her to drum up the courage to respond to him.
"If you come with me willingly, I won't have to bring Dog back," she finally said. "Cooperate for now, and we can both have our freedom."
Layla caught the hint of a grin from the nightkin. She had convinced him, she knew, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being manipulated in turn. "You might regret this," said the mutant. "Dog is much better at surviving this 'paradise.'" He unlocked the cage and stepped out. The girl watched him carefully, aware that he could still turn on her at any moment. When he didn't, she let out a breath.
"Okay, let's get back to the fountain and find out what's next…"
God followed without a word. They stepped out into the street. Silence hung heavily over the Villa. Layla heard the super mutant mutter under his breath as they moved toward the fountain, something about crushing her bones. She felt better about the pistol in her hands. The growling super mutant at her back was not helping her mood, however.
They had made their way across a courtyard and were going through an alley when two Ghost People dropped down in front of them. A third appeared behind, cutting off their escape. Thinking quickly, Layla opened fire on the third, running past it as it fell to the ground. She knew it wouldn't stay down, but there was more room to fight in the courtyard.
She heard a loud grunt of pain from behind and turned to see God limping after her with a short spear through his leg. One of the remaining Ghost People was taking aim with another spear. The Courier fired at the thrower to draw its attention. Unfortunately, it worked, and she twisted to avoid the next razor-sharp projectile, which sliced a hole in the arm of her jumpsuit.
The other attacker had caught up to God. The nightkin had managed to grab hold of the Ghost's spear, and the two were wrestling for weapon. The super mutant was clearly stronger, but he was wounded, and the Ghost was much faster. It leapt up, using the spear as leverage, and landed on God's shoulders, pulling the spear blade toward the mutant's throat. Back in the alley, the third Ghost Person got back to its feet.
Layla fired at the spear thrower again, then ducked behind cover. She brought up her Pip-Boy and quickly searched through its sound clips. God's threats echoed in her mind, but as she saw the third Ghost from the alley moving to join the fight with the nightkin, she played the recording.
The sound of the old man's voice calmly giving orders was quickly drowned out by a bellow of rage from the super mutant. With renewed strength, he pulled the Ghost Person off his back and slammed its head into a nearby pillar. Layla could hear its neck break from where she was. Dog then backhanded the second attacker as it charged forward, sending it flying back into a wall. As the creature shakily got to its feet, the super mutant grabbed the it by the mask and slammed its head through the wall. The rest of its body dangled by the neck from the hole its head had made in the wall.
The Courier, watching the action with open-mouthed shock, had forgotten about the third Ghost. It slammed into her, knocking her over and pinning her to the ground. She tried to line up a shot as it raised its spear to strike, when Dog suddenly appeared, grabbing the creature and wrestling it to the ground.
Layla scrambled to her feet, but Dog seemed to have things under control. At first, he seemed to be simply pummeling the thing to death, but as the girl watched, he gave a feral cry and ripped the creature's arms out of its sockets. The creature's final shriek of pain died out as the super mutant began chewing on one of the limbs.
Layla watched, wide-eyed and paralyzed with shock, as Dog stripped the arm of its meat. She was vaguely aware of feeling sick.
Dog put the arm down, seemingly satisfied for the moment, and looked up, noticing the girl for the first time.
"Dog feel better now," he said. She could only nod in answer.
"Well, um… Thanks," she said as she found her voice again. "Thanks for… taking care of them."
The nightkin gave her a simple, pleased smile, then looked down at the body at his feet. "Have to break their necks, break their backs to kill them. Or they get back up."
"Oh… Do you know anything else about them?" The Courier asked.
"No. There's a lot of them. Dog always hungry."
Layla nodded again. She looked over the nightkin again, noticing his wounded leg.
"I'd better patch up that wound …"
"No," the mutant said firmly. "Pain helps Dog not think, keeps the other voice away. He doesn't like it when Dog listens to the Master."
"Oh. All right…" The two fell silent as they walked back to the fountain, Dog following obediently behind The Courier.
"Dog," Layla said, remembering something the old man had said to her. "Did you bring me here?"
The nightkin nodded at her, "Dog bring lots of people here. From the traps."
The Courier nodded. "Do you bring anyone else with me?" When he gave her a confused look, she continued. "Another girl, wearing a robe and a… a metal thing on her arm?"
"You have metal on your arm…"
"No. Well, yes I do, but not me. She was with me in the bunker, in the trap."
"Dog doesn't remember. But sometimes, when traps are full, Dog eats leftovers."
The super mutant looked blankly back at her, not understanding why she suddenly turned pale and looked like she was going to be sick.
