Outside of Las Vegas, Nevada

12:30 p.m.

Eddy was lost in his thoughts as he looked out the window of an old, beat up 1959 Cadillac. He rested his chin in his hand as he watched the Mojave Desert speed by them. His mind wandered into the familiar territory in which his dreams of success and riches flourished. He thought about the sounds of coins clinking together and the idea of the sky pouring down thin, green bills, all for the taking. From time to time, he thought of other people like Scrap and that pretty girl he left behind all those months ago. However, usually they turned into the giant statues made of money and he was once again back into his ambitious ways.

Besides him, the Cadillac was filled to the brim with other mobsters. In the middle sat the punk whom Eddy wrenched the arm of, named Vinny. Next to him, on the other passenger's side, was Carl. He got to know these fellows once they initiated him as a made-man; one of the first non-Italian members to become one since the disaster. As time went on Vinny and Eddy eventually began to get along, forgetting past altercations and settling on beating each other in poker games. Although Eddy still kept him at arm's length, he knew that he would be useful in the long run. If he was to make a name for himself, he'd have to make use of men like him. But the guy was a slob. Throughout the entire two hour trip, the guy was chugging sodas and wolfing down cigar smoke like a train. It was disgusting; so much so that even the don hated him.

"Nervous, kid?" said Vinny, slapping Eddy on the knee.

Eddy was silent, still lost in his thoughts. Vinny grinned.

"Sure you is, kid. Sure…urp...you is."

Eddy's faced scrunched like it was trying to collapse into itself as Vinny let out that loud burp. At that second he had the urge to roll the windows down. But eventually, his senses calmed and he returned to himself. He went back to his original thought of being surrounded by wealth, with no one but himself to enjoy it. However, that thought would again not last long.

With a big lurch, the old Cadillac came to a halt. When Eddy came to his senses, he found they had stopped in the middle of the desert. They all exited the car like bees from a nest and Eddy found himself the last one out. As he got of the car and began walking, he saw in front of him the people they were meeting. From what the Don told him earlier, they were going to meet with someone on the outside. They called themselves the Wendigoes; their base of operations was a large prison south of where they were. Apparently, they had one of the Don's goons held hostage. Two days ago they had sent a messenger telling them that if they ever wanted to see their soldier again, they would have to show up today with supplies and food. However, talk from others suggested that the Don had other plans in mind.

In the middle of the wasteland, Eddy could see the gang they were dealing with. The name 'Wendigo' was an appropriate term; these guys were painted white and wore nothing but loin cloths and jewelry from what Eddy could assume were made from human bones. They were also gaunt and skinny, like they hadn't eaten in weeks. Their weapons were crude; scavenged harvesting tools and some had blood on their hands like they were their only weapons. Some even had blood dripping from their mouths, like they had gone through a feeding or something. Though it did creep out Eddy a bit, he had seen too much between here and Peach Creek to cower away now.

When the Don stepped out in front of the leader of the Wendigoes, the rest of the group split to let two of their companions drag the captured mobster out into the open. They had done quite a number on him; his head was covered in a bloodied cloth bag, his suit was ripped to shreds and some of his fingers were missing. Eddy quickly blocked out the thought of what they did to this poor guy. It wasn't the time to grow a conscience. As they threw the man down onto the ground near the Don's feet, the man could only whimper and curl into a ball. The trauma was just too much for the bastard.

The Don, however, was not disturbed.

"Look," he said. "I didn't come out here for him. You can do anything to the guy and I won't bat a single glance."

The Wendigoes were stunned. They looked at each other confused as what had been said. Their leader looked intently into the Don's eyes and flashed his teeth with a stirring hiss. The Don only raised an eyebrow.

"Certainly, you didn't come out here to watch us feed, meat-sack?" hissed the Leader.

"Go ahead and eat, you pale fuck. It won't creep me in the slightest."

On that note, some of the Wendigoes lurched forward to eat with a startling screech. Try as he might, Eddy failed in keeping himself from flinching. Before they could take a bite of him, the Leader put up a hand to stop them. On a dime, they stopped and got back in formation.

"I thought you mob types were all about family." The Leader said.

"Well, he ain't my family."

"Hiss…..there is an aura about you, meat-sack. You want to negotiate."

"Great. What now, you gon' read my palm for my fortune?"

With that, the Leader quickly got into the Don's face and roared. When realizing that that wasn't going to work, he took a step back and folded his arms across his chest. Now it was time to negotiate.

"What do you want, meat-sack?" the Leader asked.

The Don chuckled. Now it was getting to the good part.

"I hear you guys roam these places out here. Heard 'bout our guy's work in Death Valley. That's some real impressive stuff you've got going on."

The Leader smirked a little at the compliment.

"Anyhow, I got a proposition: I wanna expand myself beyond Vegas. To do that, I gotta send a message. So here's what I got for ya. If you work for me, clearing other gangs out there, and I'll make sure you don't ever go hungry again."

The Wendigoes looked at each other in excitement. They licked their lips and growled like animals save for the Leader who stood like a rock, thinking. Eddy looked toward Vinny, who gave him a wink. After a minute or so of stirring, the Leader finally spoke.

"And if we refuse?"

With another beat of silence, the Don spoke again.

"Then I'll have the new kid tear you and your crew a new one."

Eddy felt his heart beat drop. With all eyes on him, Eddy did his best to try to keep his composure. He put his hands in front of him and locked them. He matched his gaze with the Leader, knitting his eyebrows to show he meant business. It was funny to him that he was getting nervous; he saw too much out there to get scared. But, this was the first time he had ever come into contact with them. At least he thought so.

Finally, after a few tweaks to the negotiation, the Wendigoes and the Don came to an agreement. Without shaking hands, the two agreed that the Don will bring recruits/fresh meat and access to different parts of the city in exchange for destroying the different gangs that occupy the territory. In a flash, the Wendigoes were gone. When they were gone, the Don pulled a gun and shot the former prisoner in the head, putting him out of his misery. They all piled into their cars and headed for home, with Eddy leaving in a separate car. For once, Eddy was by himself. As he got comfortable, he thought what he had just gone through. Staring down the Leader was a terrifying experience, and he had killed so many people in the past. It made him wonder why he was getting scared. Maybe that kid was softening him up. If he were to be one of the best out here, he couldn't have a conscience.

Around five o' clock, Eddy returned home. He trudged up the motel stairs with heavy feet, and his eyes were baggy. He had a long day and was looking forward to getting home to take a long nap. He turned the corner and got out his key and turned the lock. As he opened the door, something peculiar caught his eye. Something or someone was sitting in his chair. A girl, no doubt Eddy's age, stood up with wide green eyes.

"Eddy?" she said. "Is it really you?"