Las Vegas, Nevada

9:30 a.m.

Eddy woke up early; earlier than most. In fact, he had actually been awake for three hours. He sat by himself in a chair in the corner of the motel room, wearing nothing except his boxers, sipping some coffee he had made an hour ago. It was disgusting; black with no cream or sugar. It was hard to come by that stuff since the disaster, so he had to make the best of the situation. With a distant look he sat there, thinking about the past few weeks that went by. The first assignment he had taken up with the Calabro family ended with him earning five hundred dollars and knowledge about what was in the package and the intended recipient. Apparently, the man had been a former associate with the Calabro family and had tried to sell them out for a quick buck to a rival mob. So, as a final warning, they sent him the head of another former associate and a note that said he was next if he didn't stop his funny business. It was then that Eddy was glad that he didn't look inside the box. That kind of message sending was brutal, even for him. Still, it earned him a few bucks and a place in Calabro's gang.

That was a few weeks ago. The few bucks that he made he split in half and used the half he kept at the blackjack which he left with only fifteen. Damned game was rigged, he thought. Bastards always go after newcomers. But, it wouldn't matter in a while. In a few hours he was going to meet with the don again. He had one of his associates come tell him the night before that he had had an important assignment for him and he was expected at the club again at six o' clock. Eddy wished he could've slept in so that the wait wouldn't be as long. But, lately he had been getting some weird dreams lately. He never really could remember what they were about, but he always woke up with a feeling of guilt which was strange since Eddy never really cared enough to feel guilty. Though sometimes reflected on the things he had done with some sadness, he always got back to thinking about his goals and what he wanted to achieve. It worked for him and kept him going. Besides, all he ever had was goals.

Scrap was gone. He found him opening the door and leaving when he woke up. The little twerp was actually of some use. A few days ago, he had brought home some stolen supplies and ammunition, as well as a couple of nudie magazines. Being eight years old, he had no real concept of sex and pornography (a rarity in this world nowadays) and gave them to Eddy. The rest of the things he stole he kept in a backpack near the bed. They never talked about it, but Eddy knew that he didn't like where they lived. What seemed like Paradise to him was Hell to Scrap. He'd rather be out in the world making it on his own. It was intimidating that an eight year old would be capable of such thoughts. But, everybody had to grow up fast in the wasteland. Some took longer, others took to it quickly. It made Eddy and Scrap alike in a way, their childhoods being taken away in a flash. However, Eddy got to linger a little bit. Scrap couldn't grasp the concept anymore.

In the few weeks since they met, Eddy got to know Scrap a little. What memories he could make were of his parents. He remembered them as nice people and from what he could gather they had a lot of money. He remembered his house being big; not as big as a Tudor mansion but bigger than most others. He remembered his father used to wear what he called a 'Mister' suit and his mother wore something similar, albeit more feminine and lady-like. His father had a mustache and his mother had blonde hair. But he remembered that a few times, he overheard his parents saying he was 'adopted'. From both a sense of apathy and a slightly loose grasp on English, he didn't really care. He didn't have any form of hopelessness or anger from the revelation. Besides, when the disaster hit, he had run away. He didn't really reveal why he did, but there was really nothing he could do about it now. They were probably dead by now and he had made it fine out on his own.

Time passed slowly. The sun slowly drifted across the sky. Eddy thought of going somewhere but couldn't really decide where to go. He didn't really want to run into Scrap again nor could he think of any place to go. As he thought deeply, he remembered the marijuana he stashed. Looking through his backpack, he found a gram and rolled into a nice and tight joint. However, he couldn't find the lighter. Instead, he used the oven burner and it began to burn slowly. As he inhaled the smoke and blew it out, he coughed hard. It had been a while since he used this stuff in…maybe a month or so? Little by little he began to get acclimated to it and slowly the room colors began to brighten, his sense of time retarded and a warm feeling in the back of his head slowly drifted to different parts of his body.

Eddy's body began to relax and he slumped back into his chair. He felt a smile grow on his face. The muscles in his face as he grinned felt heavy and weighed down. His mind began to wander as thought about things that made him laugh. He remembered when he threw a water balloon straight into the teacher's room one day after middle school in the fall and it hit her. He knew it hit her because he heard a shocked scream as he ran away. It made him giggle that stoner's giggle and eventually it evolved into a howl. The thought made him laugh so hard he thought he would never catch his breath. Eventually, it passed and he finally gained it back. Though, the grin didn't leave.

A few hours later, the high passed. Eddy looked around the room. The lights had gotten brighter and Scrap hadn't returned. He then looked out the window. The sun was going down and it was near time to meet with the don. Eddy pulled on his clothes, his hat and gloves and walked out. He locked the door behind him and went towards the club. Little did he know, he would be in for a big surprise.