Florescent shades of red, blue, and white flashed across Marilyn's face as she made her way down the stairs of the Lucky 38 and toward the front gate. ED-E and Yes Man trailed close behind her, although she had asked them not to follow her too closely and attract attention.
Marilyn felt that familiar sinking feeling she always got when she set foot on the Strip. The loud music and drunken gamblers always descended on her whenever she left the safety of the tower, gawking at her for being Benny's daughter or whispering secrets about the mystery of her mother.
She winced at the thought of how many drunken gamblers had pestered and harassed her. Marilyn normally did everything she could to avoid the many adults with liquor on their breath who pried and picked at her to sate their curiosity about the strange girl living alone in the tower.
There was a shout from somewhere before her and Marilyn tripped and stumbled on the last stair before she caught herself. Her legs were shaking so fervently that she had a hard time staying upright for long.
Marilyn's walk slowed as she passed the armed robots and the casino with the large black silhouettes of women aglow beside more bright signs. She looked down instinctively as she walked past, keeping her eyes locked on her shoes as she moved.
She stole one last glance at the Lucky 38 that towered above her. Every time she saw the tower it seemed to grow even higher. It loomed over her menacingly and Marilyn had to look away hurriedly before she shrunk into nothingness. She turned away, and soon as she began to walk a hand reached out and grasped her arm.
Marilyn jumped and her blood pulsed in her ears as she looked up to see a wide-set, burly man staring down at her. His eyes narrowed and she realized with a jolt of terror that she had seen him before. He worked for her father. The man tightened his hand around her forearm and frowned.
"Marilyn? What are you doing out here?" He demanded.
Marilyn opened her mouth slightly but no words came out. Her throat had dried up completely. Even if she wanted to it would have been impossible for Marilyn to speak. The man began to tug her closer and fear rushed through Marilyn in one terrifying shock. In the next instant Marilyn wrenched her arm away and darted forward. Her companions raced behind her as she forced herself into a crowd of casino goers who were stumbling about in a jumbled pack.
"Marilyn!" The man called as she twisted out of another man's way and ducked behind a woman who stumbled and grabbed her shoulder for balance. Marilyn jolted away and sprinted again. With a quickness only born of pure terror she squeezed between the crowds of people all slurring and chattering, gritting her teeth as they created a loud racket in her head.
An elbow flew back and smacked against her head as she ducked through the sea of dresses and suits and dashed for the front gate.
"Come back here!" The man called and Marilyn threw herself forward and hurdled for the gate as her lungs burst and her ears rang.
Thoughts of the dark lonely tower and her father's empty gaze filled her vision like the last lingering traces of a nightmare and she pushed herself faster, she couldn't stomach it ever again.
"Grab her!" The man yelled and another one of Benny's henchmen forced his way to Marilyn and threw an arm around her ribcage.
Marilyn gasped as the wind was knocked out of her lungs and she coughed and heaved for her breath.
"Stay still!" The second henchman ordered as he struggled to keep his arm around her as she wriggled in his grasp.
"Let me go!" She cried as she fought with all her might to free herself.
The man brought his other arm around her, and as his forearm passed her face Marilyn lunged and bit his arm hard.
He reeled back in pain as red blood began to dot the indent to Marilyn had left, but his hold on her remained. Marilyn kicked and struggled as hard as she could, but he was much stronger than she was.
She could see the first man coming towards her, but just as Marilyn regained her breath a red flash flew past her and into the mans shoulder.
He cried out in pain and released Marilyn involuntarily, and she fell to her knees on the ground as ED-E shot another laser into his leg.
Marilyn scrambled on the ground as she caught her breath, and then pushed herself up and threw herself against the front gate. Marilyn grasped at the latch with her small hands and pulled desperately, yanking and ripping with all her might even as the heavy gate refused to budge.
She backed up a few feet with the intent of throwing herself against the door, but suddenly Yes Man flew forward with his arms out in front of him and the gate shook and burst open. Marilyn stared in awe, and then raced after them.
She had never run so fast in her life. Marilyn could feel her sides seizing up and her lungs bursting. The long winding streets outside of the Strip were menacing and unknown and they filled Marilyn with terror that fueled her adrenaline and pushed her on through the barren streets and through another gate at the end of the road.
Marilyn ran until the music of the Strip barely touched her ears. Marilyn had never run so fast in her life. There had never been so much free space, so much land before her, and as she zigzagged across the land she found herself completely overwhelmed by the fullness of the world she had never seen.
Finally, she stopped, and put her hands on her knees, gasping as the sandy air bit her insides and clogged her throat.
It hurt so badly. Every inch of her body ached in protest as she coughed and held her sides.
ED-E bumped against her head and Marilyn slowly pulled herself back up. As her adrenaline began to dissipate she began to take in the world around her, her soft blue eyes widened in awe as her eyes worked to adjust in the dark.
Marilyn never could have fathomed just how large the world outside the Strip really was. Even as her mind had already imagined the miles the stretching deserts, she never could have truly understood just how far it stretched its sandy legs. Marilyn had seen the tips of mountains over the large metal gates that surrounded the Strip, but she still didn't know something so great and tall could fit on the earth.
She took each step tentatively, like she was afraid she may disappear into the air if she moved too fast. As the mountains loomed like giants before her Marilyn began to feel very small, and she crossed her arms and looked back at the big metal gate behind her.
There was a small outpost a few yards away, and Marilyn noticed a man standing outside of it as he worked on some machinery resting outside.
She approached the man tentatively, who looked up at her and moved his large, oversized goggles from his eyes.
"Are you lost?" The man asked.
"No." Marilyn answered hesitantly. He was much dirtier than the people who lived on the Strip, sand covered him from head to toe but he didn't seem to mind.
"You look lost to me." He commented as he eyed the robots behind her curiously.
"Who are you?"
"Who's asking?" He questioned with a frown.
"I am?" Marilyn responded uncertainly.
"Lonnie. Cool robots you got."
"Thank you."
"Make them yourself?" Lonnie asked.
"No." Marilyn answered, her mind drifting as she took in the array of tools surrounding the man. He looked young, certainly no older than her father and he had a long narrow face and narrow, glittering eyes filled with mirth.
"Not much of a talker, huh?"
A second man came up beside Lonnie and eyed Marilyn with moderate interest. He stood tall over her and glanced at Lonnie, who had put down the flamer he was holding and situated himself against a nearby tire. "Who's this?" He asked.
"I don't know, she don't talk much. Check out the robots, though. Ain't they something?" Lonnie answered as he gestured at ED-E and Yes Man, who were waiting diligently behind Marilyn.
"She make them herself?" The second man asked.
"No, she didn't make them herself. We've been over that already, where's that wrench I asked for?" Lonnie questioned with a purposeful gesture at his empty hands.
"Say who are you anyway? We never see any kids around here."
"Tell me who you are first." Marilyn demanded. She stood up straighter to try and make herself look tall and squared her narrow shoulders.
Lonnie laughed and glanced at the man beside him. "This here is Norman." He answered for him.
Marilyn eased slightly at Lonnie's friendliness. "My name is Marilyn."
"Where are you from, Marilyn?" Lonnie asked with a friendly, lopsided grin.
"…The Strip." Marilyn answered honestly. She hadn't considered a cover story and was not accustomed to lying, and so the words stumbled out before she could consider them.
A shadow passed over Normans face and he took a few steps away from her as Lonnie's eyes widened.
"What?"
"You're not… his kid are you?" Norman asked, and he looked around her as if expecting Benny to appear.
"Oh damn, you are ain't you?" Lonnie asked, his eyes lighting with excitement as Norman swore quietly. "What are you doing outside the Strip?"
"I bet she ran away, just look at her, all nervous and fidgety. Besides you know Benny would never turn her loose on her own."
"Is it true?" Lonnie asked. "Did you run away?"
Marilyn fidgeted. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Wow! She ran away!" Lonnie exclaimed with a gleeful chuckle.
"Can you believe it? This girl gets to live in the safest place in the Mojave, luckiest digs in the world and she runs away." Norman commented in awe. There was no bite behind the comment, just pure amazement.
"I didn't say that." Marilyn argued and crossed her arms.
"Oh it's as plain as the nose on your face." Lonnie interjected. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, already enchanted by the exciting story unfolding before him. "Where are you running to?"
Marilyn pushed her blond hair behind her ears and sucked in a breath. "Nowhere."
"Don't lie," Lonnie warned. "It's bad for the soul."
Marilyn crinkled her nose but felt compelled to answer after that piece of advice. "I'm trying to find my mother."
Norman shot a look at Lonnie and a heavy beat of silence passed. The air stilled and hung silently, like the mention of her mother had stopped the passage of time altogether.
"You should go back to the Strip kid, this plan of yours ain't a good one." Norman said finally.
Marilyn frowned. "Why not? Why would you say that?"
"All anyone heard about her was bad news for years, then she just went missing, you might not find her, kid. Go on home to your dad." He answered.
"Please tell me what you've heard." Marilyn begged, trying to keep the shake out of her voice.
"I'll tell you." Lonnie offered with a shrug and Norman glared at him.
"This is ridiculous, Benny'll have us all killed for this." He walked to the door of the shack and stopped. "Look kid you don't gotta go home but you gotta get out of here."
"Wait! Please I just want to know what everyone's been hearing. No one has ever told me anything."
Norman gazed at Marilyn, as she stood there red-faced and frightened and sighed.
"If you're itching to get crucified that's on you." He said to Lonnie, who snorted and waved a dismissive hand.
"Oh she's just a kid Norman." He said. Lonnie lit a cigarette and blew a short stream of smoke from his nose.
"She is not just a kid. Her father is the most powerful man this side of the Mojave and he'll have all our heads. If you ask me I say we shouldn't be saying anything to her at all, period."
Lonnie raised his eyebrows as he flicked cigarette ash to the ground.
"Well ain't nobody asking you anyway so thank god for that."
Marilyn shut her eyes momentarily and rubbed her temple.
"It's just a myth anyway, no one knows what really happened to her. It's just a story." Norman attempted.
"It ain't just a story it's been getting passed around the Strip for years."
"Please tell me." Marilyn tried again.
Lonnie gazed over at the dark mountains around them. The small light he had been using to work cast a very dim glow, and he stood up slowly and shook the sand from the soles of his boots.
"Let's go sit down inside and I'll tell you. Ain't no sense in sitting out here in the dark just begging to get eaten."
Marilyn began to follow Lonnie and Norman inside, but Lonnie turned and stopped her before she could cross through the threshold.
He craned his neck to gaze at Yes Man, who towered over Marilyn a couple feet away.
"Oh, why don't you wait around back and keep watch? No way you're gonna fit through this door."
"I can't say no to that!" Yes Man answered happily before rolling around the shack to the far side that faced away from the Strip.
"Much obliged." Lonnie said with a grin, tipping an imaginary hat.
"If anyone sees a securitron stuffed in here they'll know you're here pretty quick." Lonnie explained. "Matter of fact you better keep that eyebot hidden too."
Marilyn glanced at ED-E nervously, who beeped in soft understanding and went to join Yes Man around back.
She followed Lonnie to a nearby booth against a shaky metal wall and Lonnie dropped into it unceremoniously.
"I still think you talking to her and filling her head with these stories is a bad idea." Norman muttered from behind the counter on across the room.
"Uh-huh." Lonnie murmured and turned to Marilyn.
"They say that the night Benny shot her something happened, something dark that would change her forever."
Marilyn crossed and uncrossed her arms, then swallowed heavily as Lonnie continued.
"When your mother lay dying in that shallow grave she grasped onto her last bit of life before it could slip away and held it tight. It's said that even as Death tried to wrestle it from her she still refused to give in. It fought her with all its might but she was too strong, and so Death finally made a deal with her."
"Death?" Marilyn exclaimed.
"It's just a story." Norman interjected, concern lining his face.
Lonnie continued, unfazed by the interruptions.
"Death let her come back for a few years, but during that time she would have to do his bidding on earth."
"What was his bidding?" Marilyn asked, her eyes wide.
Lonnie scratched at his jaw and shifted his gaze. "Bad things."
"What bad things?"
"Hurting people, cheating people, things like that." He continued vaguely.
Marilyn felt sick, and she saw the vague image of a women creeping through the dark coming after her.
"Is- is that why they say she left?"
Norman narrowed his eyes and moved to the window on the far side of the wall as Lonnie opened his mouth to speak again.
"Lonnie!" Norman called suddenly. His voice was high and frightened as he turned to the booth where the two sat. "They're coming."
"Ah, shit." Lonnie said and stood up with a groan.
He crossed the shack and glanced out the window, then scoffed.
"Damn snakes. Just look at them heading down here in their suits like they own the whole desert."
"Who's here?" Marilyn asked, brought momentarily out of the trance the story had put her in.
"Lonnie, I told you! I told you he'd have our heads for this."
"Hell it's just a few of his cronies. Don't be such a wimp, we can take 'em." Lonnie laughed. He picked up a beer bottle and took a long triumphant swig before he turned to Marilyn and grinned at her.
"You a good hider, kid?"
"We can't hide her! They'll kill us!" Norman argued. "Can't you just go back with them?" He asked Marilyn.
"No!" Marilyn yelled, the fear of returning to the ominous Lucky 38 and her glaring father filling her with adrenaline. "No, I can't go back until I find her."
"Where are you even going next?" Norman demanded, and he nodded at Marilyn's silence.
"She'll get herself killed in a day." He said to Lonnie who frowned and gazed at Marilyn.
"You got any leads?" He asked.
"Any what?" Marilyn stammered, her head reeling as she backed as far away from the window as she could manage.
"Clues. Got any clues that would tell you where to go next?"
"I- I need to find Cass." She answered.
"Cass who?" Lonnie pushed.
Marilyn blinked hard and wracked her brain for more but came up empty. "I don't know. She was friends with my mother."
"I don't know any Cass." Norman said when Lonnie glanced at him helplessly. "You need to hide fast, they'll be here soon."
"I got some friends in town down the road from here beneath the old highway. You tell them I sent you and maybe they can help." Lonnie said and Marilyn nodded, she muttered the directions to herself under her breath a few times over.
"We got about ten seconds Lonnie!" Norman hissed as he turned from the window and pretended to busy himself.
Lonnie nodded. "Quick, go hide behind that counter there."
"Can't I just run now?"
"They'll see you, you gotta hide and wait until they leave." Lonnie explained. Just before Marilyn ducked behind the counter he smiled at her encouragingly.
"Good luck, kid."
She crouched down between two boxes and made herself as small as she possibly could. Marilyn was reminded of the dim rooms of the Lucky 38 as she tucked her head between her knees and worked to keep her breathing steady.
A few seconds later there was a knock at the door, and Marilyn held her breath.
"Evening boys, what can we do for you?" Lonnie asked as he swung the door open and leaned against the frame.
The chairmen pushed past him and glared around the diner, where Norman busied himself with the small odds and ends on the table before him.
"We intend to keep this brief on the condition that you don't make this any harder than it needs to be, Lonnie."
"Can't say I know what that means but I'm always happy to help a chairmen." Lonnie drawled with an easy smile.
Norman glared at the chairmen from his seat but when they gazed his way he quickly averted his hateful stare.
"Have you seen anything out of the ordinary tonight? Anything Benny would want to know about?" The second chairman asked as he hovered over Norman.
"I don't think I've ever seen something Benny would want to know about, unless he finds spark plugs particularly interesting." Lonnie answered and sat down in the nearby booth lazily.
"His daughter is missing. She could be in great danger and she needs to be returned home immediately."
"Oh wow, she got out? Must have given you a run for your money."
"So you haven't seen her?"
Lonnie shook his head. "Never in my life, my friend here can attest to that as well."
"We have a witness saying she escaped through the nearby gate, you must have seen her." The first chairmen insisted.
"I ain't seen nothing all day but broken machines." Lonnie answered with a heavy tone of disinterest.
The second chairmen left Normans side and began walking across the old wooden bar.
Marilyn slowly pushed her hand against her mouth as she heard his footsteps drawing closer to her, and she squeezed her eyes shut so tightly that they began to sting.
"You'd better not be lying to me, Lonnie. We could take you to see Benny personally if I think you're holding out on us."
Lonnie paled slightly at that, but quickly regained his composure and grinned. "Well fine, maybe that'll give me a chance to tell him about how you couldn't even stop her from leaving in the first place. He knows it was you on watch right?"
"You'd better shut your mouth before I decide you're not worth our time."
"Don't look so upset, maybe we can even share a jail cell. As long as he don't kill you on the spot of course."
The chairmen stepped forward and hit Lonnie square in the nose.
Lonnie reeled back momentarily as a trail of red blood ran down from his nose to his mouth. He wiped it away with the back of his hand, leaving a red streak across his pale skin, and then he grinned. "Well if you wanted a fight princess that's all you had to say."
In the next instant Lonnie threw himself on the man, tackling him to the ground.
"Hell, Lonnie!" Marilyn heard Norman yell as she scrambled out the back door, making a break for it as Lonnie caused a scene.
Marilyn ran as fast as she could, kicking up dirt behind her as she raced into a small formation of rocks where she ducked and hid. Marilyn sat and held her legs to her chest until she was sure she wasn't followed. A sigh brushed through the mountains around her and Marilyn gripped the rock beside her. She didn't hear anything in the dark maze of the mountains and she stood slowly.
"I think we're safe." She murmured, but heard no response.
Marilyn turned, and felt cold metal against the back of her head.
"Don't move." A voice behind her ordered and Marilyn went still, her heart stopping in her chest.
