LEGION HUNTERS

Two olive green Humvees drove across the Mojave. In one of the vehicles were Dawn, Maddie, and James. Dawn sat in the front, Maddie in the back, and James was the driver. They were dressed in black combat armor. In the other vehicle, three of the four members wore a black helmet with a face guard that had skeletal teeth. The other did not have a helmet on and was head shaven with a strong build. Dawn looked in her side view mirror and saw the Humvee following.

"Are you going to tell us what we're looking for?" Dawn asked.

"All you need to worry about is covering everyone else," James answered, "Watch out for raiders. I wish we could bring more firepower with us."

Maddie had a circular silver locket with her. She opened it and there was a picture of her with face paint and pigtails hugging Rusty Briggs. He was a former detective who spent his last days on the job hunting down Maddie. She smiled and closed the locket. The Humvees stopped in front of train tunnel. They exited the Humvees with their weapons ready. Maddie was the only one without a firearm.

"Let's move in," James instructed, "Take no prisoners."

There were only seven members of the Shadow. They were taller and carried a tough demeanor. Most of them worked with James in the NCR and left to side with him.

They entered the train tunnel. It was dark and the only sources of light were from the ones on the wall and from the flashlights mounted on their weapons. The Shadow made their way past a stalled train which was off the tracks. There was graffiti on it that contained vulgar slang directed at the NCR. Dawn noticed the skeletal remains inside which still had clothing. At the front of the train, the skeletal remains of the driver were propped up against the side. They continued down the dark tunnel. Up ahead was the train station. There were four escalators, a ticket booth, benches, and another stalled train. More skeletal remains were found around the area. There was a hot dog stand nearby that had been picked clean.

"Let's have a look upstairs," James ordered.

There was more lighting in the corridors above. On the ground were the dead bodies of raiders. There were bullet holes in them and bite marks on their necks. When Dawn saw it, she immediately knew why they were there.

"See that?" James pointed out, "They're already here."

Dawn figured him to be an aspiring vampire hunter. Maddie examined the bodies.

"They died in fear," Maddie explained, "Their deaths were caused by the bite marks, not the bullets."

"And how would you know that?" James challenged.

"It's all in their faces. They saw something or someone that caused them die with fear."

James shined his light on one of the bodies. The dead body had its mouth open and eyes wide. Maddie giggled.

"Don't worry, they're raiders, they deserved to die," she added.

"Selene was here," James identified, "I'm gonna kill her."

Someone was watching them from the other end of the hallway. James saw the figure and began shooting. The rest of the Shadow members were alerted.

"Die asshole!" James shouted, "Come out and face me!"

Dawn assumed he thought he saw Selene. He continued to fire down the hallway until he was out of bullets. Wilson, the head shaven Shadow member ran behind him.

"Colonel!" Wilson yelled, "Don't waste your ammo!"

"She was there! I know she was! I'm going after her and I'll bring her head."

Wilson prevented James from going down the hall.

"Sir, wait for us," he pleaded, "No telling what's down there. You'll get killed."

"Let go of me, I know what I'm doing."

"You should wait for us."

"Fine, then get your ass moving!"

Dawn was surprised someone had the guts to hold back James. Maybe it was because the Shadow had been used to working with James. They proceeded down the hall. Dawn and Maddie followed behind the rest of the Shadow. James ran out in front and turned to the right. The hallway contained bathrooms, a washroom, and a maintenance room. There were more dead bodies on the floor which also had bite marks on their throats. Blood was also present on the wall. There was a bloody hand print that ran across the wall and stopped near a dead raider.

"I'll kill her," James whispered.

Dawn wanted to tell him that these were just raiders; savages that kill, maim, impale, and rape just for amusement.

"Selene!" James shouted, "Come on out! Face me you coward. You want my blood? Come and get it!"

He began shooting his 10mm pistol at the bathroom door and the maintenance room. Then, a raider sprung out from the bathroom. Before he could get a shot off, Dawn and James shot him down. As he quivered on the ground, James grabbed him by the shirt.

"Where is she?" He asked, "Where the hell is that bitch Selene?"

"Who?" The raider mumbled.

James put the gun under his chin.

"Shoot me," the raider continued, "It's better than having them suck my blood."

"They were here?"

"Yeah. Some woman in a red cloak was here with her gang of bloodsuckers. She ain't here no more."

"Where did they go?"

"I don't know, I swear."

The raider fell back. James let his dead body go.

"Search the rooms," he said.

The Shadow searched the rooms. More dead bodies were discovered. In the hallway, James saw the phrase "WE OWN THE NIGHT" written in blood. The Shadow headed back out the hallway. Down below, a group of NCR soldiers were gathered and were ready with their guns. There were also seven soldiers and each of them were wearing red berets. There was Sgt. Bitter-Root, Corporal Betsy, Corporal Sterling, Pvt. Spade, Sgt. Vargas, a man named Buster, and another who had a colonel insignia on his uniform.

"Whoa! At ease," the soldier said.

James knew who it was: the 1st Recon, a group of elite soldiers in the NCR.

"Lt. Gorobets, long time no see," James mocked, "Same thing with the rest of 1st Recon."

Gorobets cleared his throat.

"It's Colonel Gorobets, Hsu," he boasted.

The Shadow made their way down the stairs.

"Been hunting vampires, have you?" Col. Gorobets assumed.

"Yeah, what's your business here?"

"Same as you. Except I found something."

Pvt. Spade, who wore face wrap armor, handed him a bag. Col. Gorobets opened it and inside was the cure.

"The Legion will be finished," Col. Gorobets continued, "They'll be running scared now."

"If they know you have it, they will kill innocent people," James said.

"They would not dare cross the NCR. We will destroy the Legion."

"You don't understand, they're sadistic killers. That cure won't make them into angels. Selene must die."

Col. Gorobets handed the bag back to Pvt. Spade.

"I see what this is," Col. Gorobets scorned, "You want to kill the redheaded woman that caused your discharge from the NCR. It's either revenge or ego. How many soldiers died that night?"

"Watch your ass Gorobets."

"Hey, I'm Colonel now, unlike you. I make sure Camp McCarran is secure. Ain't no redhead woman gonna kill us."

James grabbed him by the shirt. The 1st Recon pointed their guns at him but he did not flinch. The Shadow pointed their guns at them.

"Guys, let's not kill each other all right," Col. Gorobets pleaded.

"Son of a bitch, you couldn't wait to for me to fail," James snapped.

"Boyd was right about you. All it took to drive you mad was a little push."

"I should kill you."

"Look around Hsu, you'll be dead in a flash."

"I think Boyd got to you. You two couldn't stand that I was colonel."

"All that matters is that I'm colonel."

James let go of him. Col. Gorobets adjusted his uniform, looked at Maddie, and smiled.

"I gotta admit Hsu, you sure know how to recruit 'em," he praised.

He looked at her stomach and then at her chest. Maddie held a knife in the air and made a slit motion across his neck. A nervous tingle ran through him. Then, he turned his attention to Dawn. He saw her with the rifle and stared from her legs to her chest. Corporal Betsy stared at Maddie with lustful eyes.

"Something about a woman and a gun," Col. Gorobets whispered.

Dawn stared back at him with anger.

"I'll make a deal with you, Hsu," Col. Gorobets said, "You can have the cure if you let us have the girls."

"Are you fucking insane?" James snapped back.

"Take the cure, this way no vampire woman will hurt you."

Before James could grab him, Dawn held him back.

"You don't want us with you," Dawn warned, "I'll snap every bone in your limbs and she'll make you scream when slices into you."

Col. Gorobets swallowed. James smiled at him.

"The offer still stands," Col. Gorobets offered.

Col. Gorobets smirked.

"Relax, he has no idea who he's dealing with," James explained to Dawn.

Then, James heard the sound of something running towards them. He thought he heard hissing and growling.

"Hear that?" James whispered to Dawn.

She listened for sounds.

"I didn't hear it," she said.

Col. Gorobets looked confused as did the rest of the 1st Recon. James heard the sounds more clearly.

"They know we're here," he confirmed.

"Hsu, what the hell are talking about?" Col. Gorobets wondered.

The noises became louder inside James's head.

"The Legion," he boldly stated.

The Shadow prepared for the onslaught. The 1st Recon looked around, wondering what the threat was.

"You've really gone crazy, Hsu," Col. Gorobets explained, "Selene really messed your mind up."

Suddenly, a Legion ghoul jumped on Col. Gorobets. The 1st Recon quickly gunned down the ghoul. Everyone looked around and saw that they were surrounded by a large pack of ghouls. Both the Shadow and 1st Recon began firing at them.

"Damn Hsu, I guess it pays to be crazy sometimes," Col. Gorobets said.

Both groups managed to gun down the ghouls. The area was filled with smoke, empty shells, and the fading echo of gunfire.

"That ain't all of them," James warned, "More of them are coming."

Just as he predicted, more ghouls surrounded the area. Fallon was up above with her scoped laser rifle, hiding behind the catwalk. She had a laser rifle ready. Hardy and Gillian followed her.

"These ghouls will kill the Colonel before the Queen can," Hardy notified.

"They won't, the ghouls are just a distraction," she replied, "The Colonel will make quick work of them."

"What about the Warrior and the Lunatic?" Gillian asked.

"They will be spared, that is until Selene has them in her grasp."

After the firefight, everything fell quiet. Then, Fallon aimed her laser rifle at James. With one shot, it struck him in the chest armor. The force knocked him down and put him in a daze. Dawn fired back at Fallon, but she hid behind the barrier. Hardy and Gillian shot back at her. Wilson and the Shadow fired back and struck Hardy in the arm. He fell in pain. Fallon returned fire, but Wilson rolled out of the way and hid behind the ticket booth and quickly returned fire. Fallon, Hardy, and Gillian hid behind the barricade.

Maddie used her knives to kill any ghoul she could find. She stabbed one in the stomach and then used the same knife to slice the throat of another one. The Shadow assisted her by shooting down the remaining ghouls. Dawn kneeled by James and was ready for defense. James heard more ghouls coming their way. He rose and was still dazed. Fallon had him in her sights, but Dawn shot at her. Fallon ducked behind the barricade.

"More of them…heading our way…" James muttered.

He got his combat rifle ready. The 1st Recon ran into the opposite tunnel.

"Gorobets!" James shouted, "Where the hell are you going?"

Col. Gorobets turned around.

"Getting the hell out of here!" He shouted back, "We got what we came for!"

The 1st Recon disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel. Wilson approached James.

"We should go after them," he suggested.

"I know Gorobets," James said, "He has back-up waiting outside."

"Selene is not here," Dawn presumed, "If she was, she would have appeared by now."

The Shadow made their way outside and back into the Humvees. Dawn drove while James sat in front and Maddie sat in the back. James punched the dashboard. Maddie looked at her locket again. Together, they headed back to the Strip.

The 1st Recon ran down the dark tunnel. Col. Gorobets felt relieved to escape from James Hsu. They stopped when they came across a four-way intersection.

"Sterling," Col. Gorobets said, "Which way?"

"Take a left," he responded.

Cpl. Sterling appeared to be the oldest of the group. He had gray hair on his mustache and goatee. Col. Gorobets and the 1st Recon headed in that direction. Right behind him was Cpl. Betsy. She had a tough demeanor and short blonde hair. She always lusted after women and seeing Dawn and Maddie made her ecstatic. Right behind her was Sgt. Bitter-Root. He had tan skin, a goatee, and short black hair. Pvt. Spade walked beside him. He had face wrap armor, black rim glasses, and was head shaven. Sgt. Vargas remained in the back. He had a mustache and a facial hair on his chin, he too had short black hair and carried a scoped hunting rifle. Buster stayed close to Cpl. Betsy. He adored her, even though she disliked him. He had shaggy black hair and wore black leather armor. He carried a sidearm, but rarely used it. He enjoyed hand-to-hand combat.

They made it to another station. It was littered with trash, debris, and skeletal remains. As they approached the doors, Selene suddenly walked in front of them. Vince and Veronica walked beside her. Then, Legionaries surrounded them. They had the look of regular humans. Col. Gorobets realized he was outnumbered.

"Going somewhere?" Selene said, "You would not have made it very far."

"Oh, shit it's…" Col. Gorobets started to say.

Selene giggled.

"I am Selene," she responded, "I used to be one of you. I reign over Freeside. I will guide the Legion into victory."

"Whoever you are, you better move."

"You and your soldiers have two options, join or die!"

"Join! Die! Join! Die!" The Legion chanted.

Col. Gorobets pointed his rifle at her. Vince stepped in front of her as the surrounding Legionaries hissed. The 1st Recon saw the fangs.

"Vince my dear," Selene calmly stated, "No need for that. They are not dumb enough to attack us when surrounded by my bloodthirsty Legionaries."

Selene placed his hand on his shoulders as he walked to the side. She felt his dreadlocks and smiled.

"You despise James Hsu," Selene continued, "So do I. I want him dead. He is a threat to my plan of taking the Strip. With your help, we can eliminate him. I know the NCR, they only care for themselves."

"And why should we help you?" Col. Gorobets asked.

Selene smiled and walked up to him with Vince and Veronica by her side.

"Why should the NCR have the Strip? We will make life for anyone who sides with us pleasurable, pain free, and everlasting."

Selene stared into his eyes. Col. Gorobets felt hypnotic.

"Yeah, let's kill James Hsu," he agreed.

Vince grabbed the briefcase from Pvt. Spade. He opened it and then closed it. Selene put her arms around Col. Gorobets. With one hand, she removed the rifle strap around his shoulder and grabbed the barrel while staring at him. She took the rifle and tossed it behind her.

"Now for your initiation," she said.

Selene went in for a bite.

Later that evening, Dawn was in James's room sitting on the couch. He was drinking shots of bourbon. Dawn took the bottle and poured herself a shot and drank it.

"Damn Gorobets," James muttered, "He'll expose the cure and all hell will break loose."

"Sorry we couldn't get Selene," Dawn said.

"I thought for sure she would be there. Once again, the NCR had to interfere. Don't worry about it. You know she used to be NCR."

"Who Selene?"

"Yeah. She served in my unit at Camp McCarran."

"I think you told me that already."

"Shit, I don't remember. Anyway, I tried to help her cope with her mentality. Of course, she would betray the NCR. You know the rest."

"We need the NCR on our side. We cannot fight the Legion without them."

"The problem is that the NCR doesn't think they're much of a threat to start a war with. They assume they're a glorified band of raiders."

"The Brotherhood knows how dangerous they are. I know some of them, they're ready for a fight. Problem is, they don't have the numbers."

"Typical Brotherhood. All that tech and no one to use it."

James drank another shot.

Dawn made it up to her room. She noticed that Maddie was dressed in a blue dress and her hair in a double ponytail. She also had a duffel bag packed.

"Going somewhere?" Dawn asked.

"I need to visit Rusty," Maddie stated, "I want to check on him."

"I guess you're staying there?"

"Yeah, I'll be back tomorrow."

Maddie walked down the strip with her duffel bag on her back. She saw the sign for Vault 21 lit up in the sky. She made it past the casino and exited the Strip. Up ahead were houses scattered across the field with the mountains in the background. Maddie noticed the NCR troopers scattered around the area. One of them noticed her and stared at her. She walked into the field until she saw an old gray house. The lights were on inside and a security camera was above the door. There was also a turret stationed nearby. It was in full operation. Rusty knew she was there, otherwise it would have started firing at her. Maddie knocked on the door and within a few seconds, the steel door split in half. She entered the house and right in front of her was a sentry bot that was ordered not to attack. Rusty Briggs was sitting on the couch. He was in his seventies, had shaggy gray hair, a gray mustache, and thick glasses. The house was kept neat and clean. The door closed behind her and Maddie ran over and hugged him. She sat on his lap.

"Oh Maddie," Rusty cheered, "I'm so glad you are safe."

"And I should not worry about you," Maddie said, "You've upgraded your security."

"I had to, I don't trust these NCR folks. They think they're doing their civil duty by protecting us. They just want more money out of us. We have our own protection. I live near former soldiers, marines, and police."

"Did you build that sentry bot yourself?"

"Some of it. I had help from some scientists who used to work at Black Mesa."

Maddie kissed him on the cheek and sat next to him.

"So, how's Dawn?" He asked.

"She's doing great. Still trying to give up alcohol even though I told her she can have a little. Sometimes she suffers from withdrawal symptoms."

"She'll learn to beat it. Just keep her safe and hold on to her. She needs someone like you."

"She has nothing to worry about. I was worried about you, but I see you have it all covered."

Rusty grabbed his cane and stood up.

"I should get dinner ready," he said.

Maddie stood up.

"I'll cook," she suggested, "That's what I'm here for."

She smiled at him. Rusty watched her as she skipped into the kitchen. Rusty sat at the dinner table and watched Maddie cook a steak dinner. He took sips of his Gwinnett Pale Ale. Maddie brought him his dinner and sat down. Both had steaks with a side of mashed potatoes. Maddie had a Nuka-Cola.

"This tastes great," Rusty complimented.

"Thanks."

"So, is the Legion giving you trouble?"

"Not as much as it's giving James."

"Well, he still has NCR blood in him. Do what you do best; kill them all. Make them pay for creating hell in such a dreadful world. I wish I could lead an organization against them."

"If you did, I'd be right beside you."

"If only I had the mentality to do it. My old bones won't cooperate."

"Speaking of cooperation, the Brotherhood and the NCR won't work together, even if it means defending the strip."

"The Brotherhood, those assholes!"

"The deal is, they want a part of the Strip."

"Typical idiots. What happens when the damn Legion takes the Strip?"

"Dawn actually knows someone from there. Her ex-boyfriend."

"Hmm, the cub enters the wolf's den."

"I met him. She's still in love with him, I know it. She told me that she wasn't, but I know she lied to me. He's getting married to someone else and I think Dawn will revert to her old ways. I don't want her to be a drunk."

"She'll get over him. She loves you, right?"

"Yeah."

"You have nothing to worry about. I hope she doesn't cause you any harm."

"If they are having an affair, I'll go…crazy."

Rusty laughed. Maddie smiled and then laughed.

"You crack me up," Rusty chuckled.