A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for not updating in such a long time but I'm finally back. Quick chapter with a little action- I have three new chapters as well that I'll be putting out in July... hope you guys enjoy!

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"His trail went north, towards Westside. Even if he's after you I don't think he knows where you are."

Angel's dark eyes were fixed ahead, her gaze a thousand miles away. "It doesn't matter, Boone. He knows I'm here. And as long as he does we're both in danger."

"One man doesn't scare me," the ex-Ranger said flatly. "He shouldn't scare you, either."

She let out a wistful sigh, wishing she could tell him everything, but also glad she didn't.

"Sometimes one man is more dangerous than an entire army."

Up ahead, the road split off into two directions. Angel hardly noticed the smaller trail meandering through the hills to the east.

"Shouldn't we go back to the bunker first?" Boone asked, hesitating at the crossroads.

"We need supplies. If we keep going, we'll get to the Outpost by sundown." It was a half truth, but right now the last thing she wanted was to deal with the Brotherhood. Especially this one. She felt the outline of the pulse pistol in her coat, slowing down enough for her companion to catch up. Hopefully Veronica could hold her own until they got back.

"Whatever you say."

But recent events weren't the only reason she was sticking to her convictions. Ever since she was a child, Angel possessed an ability unexplained by science or logic; something the Elders had revered her for, and something others viewed as too strange to be normal. When the winds picked up, she would listen- and sometimes she could learn from them. It was like a sixth sense; more of a gut feeling than some mystical vision of the future. From the wind Angel could feel the tides of the world. The way a cat senses the weather change; intrinsic, instinctual.

The winds of the Mojave were shifting... and they told her not to stop for anything, or anyone.

They passed Primm several hours later, finally hitting the last stretch to the Mojave Outpost, when Boone suddenly froze.

"Don't move."

"What?" Angel scanned the landscape in front of her, but saw nothing to be worried about.

"Don't move."

She stopped. As her eyes adjusted to the midday sun Angel noticed a faint shimmer on their side of the highway, almost like heat radiating off the pavement. It flickered and vanished- re-appearing slightly closer before fading out again. A dozen other hazy shapes mimicked this odd phenomena.

Slowly, she turned her head and looked right at Boone. They said it at the same time-

"Night stalkers."

As one they broke into a sprint, leaving the highway for a raised patch of land ten meters to their right. The cloaked night stalkers eagerly gave chase; some darted straight for them, others hung back on the sides to reinforce the pack. In all, Angel counted twelve of them.

Reaching the mound before Boone she slid into a crouch and hefted her gauss cannon, taking a well-aimed shot at the lead stalker. Direct hit. It's head exploded into a ferromagnetic mess as the other stalkers parted to avoid the shockwave.

Not too shabby… but what the hell are they doing out here during the day?

Without hesitating she let off another shot- only to have one of the coils on her rifle fry completely.

"Shit!" Tossing it aside, Angel whipped out her submachine gun and fired wildly into their midst. Boone reached her side at that moment, taking aim at the one she failed to kill.

"Why aren't you using your coil gun?"

"Gauss rifle," she corrected.

"They're the exact same thing…" he squeezed the trigger, taking out two stalkers in a single shot.

"Nope, there's actually a few key differences-"

"Angel!"

"What! It broke, again…" feeling the click-click of an empty magazine, she popped the clip, flipped it over, and loaded the other one duct taped to its side. Five of the night stalkers were dead already but the rest of the pack wasn't slowing.

As Boone felled another one of the lurid beasts, the pack split, only paces away from breaking through their defense.

"They're flanking us!" He shouted.

"Got it." Angel whirled towards their left side- catching the blurred images of two stalkers looping around- and emptied her mag until the silhouettes were still. Even the blood was invisible. Dropping her empty weapon, she turned her focus to the three running up the middle, stepping forward and unsheathing a pair of sawed-off shotguns- "Boone, cover me!" Cocking both of them, she ran straight into the midst of night stalkers.

The first one reared back on its hindquarters and lunged when she came in range. Angel became hyper-aware; ducking past it, outstretching an arm, and blowing out it's midsection in a single, fluid motion. She came back up to meet the second stalker head on, aimed, fired.

When she looked ahead, the third one was no where to be found.

What the-

A massive force rammed her from the side, knocking the wind out of her lungs and sending her straight into the dirt. She twisted around to see the cloaked frame of the night stalker pinning her down with its talons.

Prying her arm loose from underneath her, Angel raised it just in time to block a vicious bite with her power armor gauntlet. Venom dripped onto her chestplate, sizzling loudly. If even a drop touched her skin she was as good as dead.

It snapped at her again, again. She tried to yell but it came out as a winded rasp. Boone-

Crrrrraaacckkkkk!

A shot rang out, and the night stalker's weight gave right on top of her.

"Angel!" His voice was muted, distant. She felt herself start to lose consciousness under the crushing bulk.

"Boone, help! It… smells really bad under here.."

Angel heard boots crunch next to her, then saw them. She sighed with relief as Boone pried the bleeding corpse off of her. He pulled her to her feet, and she dusted herself off. "You're a life saver, you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah," he said, picking up one of her shotguns, "You need to be more careful."

"What I need is a working gauss rifle."

Boone began to reload his sniper, eyes set on the highway as Angel lit a cigarette. "I thought you fixed it already?"

"Me too," she replied, stepping through the carnage to retrieve the rest of her weapons. "But what I really don't understand is what they were doing out here in the middle of the afternoon like that. A straggler or two isn't unheard of, but an entire pack? It doesn't feel right."

"You're right," Boone turned his attention to the bodies. "They seem lab grown, too."

"That's what I'm worried about," she said, inhaling deeply. Something was definitely off about it, but Angel wasn't quite sure how to put her finger on it. There could easily be more out there, waiting. They would have to be careful. And fast. The mojave wasn't going to be a safe place tonight.

Then again... when was it ever?