A DEBT TO PAY
Dawn woke up the next morning with the sunlight shining on her. She was spread out across the bed and there was a near empty bottle of bourbon next to her. She picked it up and drank the last few drops. Her body ached from the scuffle, but she was glad that she was not seriously hurt. Although it was something she should have been proud of, she did not feel that way. She went into the bathroom to splash water on her face. Then, she went to the kitchen and found a pack of Fancy Lads Snack Cakes next to the stove. That would be her breakfast.
Later that afternoon, Dawn was now outside what was once the Fashion Show Mall. She had a small leather backpack and her .45 pistol with her. The mall was once home to many overpriced clothing and merchandising stores. It was also frequented by spoiled rich teenagers and anyone else who had money to throw away. The fancy sense of design the mall once had was now a thing of the past. The mall now contained stores to purchase weapons, ammo, armor, and medical supplies. There was also a bar and a food court that served food that would never pass a health inspection. Dawn walked past a large runway in the middle of the hall towards the liquor store.
She sat on a bench while other patrons passed by and then opened her bottle of bourbon and took a sip. Then, someone caught the corner of her eye. It was a quick glimpse and she thought it was the young man in the crowd from last night. She placed the bourbon in her backpack and walked down the aisle. Dawn looked in every direction, but he was nowhere to be found. She ran towards the exit and looked outside. It seemed he had vanished into thin air. Up on the staircase, the young man looked down and watched her as she headed down the sidewalk.
As Dawn ascended in the elevator in the Stratosphere Hotel, she took sips of her bourbon. She leaned against the wall and listened to the sounds of the cables and belts pulling the elevator. When she exited into the hallway, a member of the Shadow approached her.
"Dawn, there's someone here to see you," he told her.
"Who is it, and why'd you let him up here?" She asked, annoyed.
"Relax, he's clean."
Dawn walked towards her room and saw the young man leaning near her door. He waved to Dawn as she walked over to him.
"Well, well, well, what brings you here?" She asked him.
"I owe you. You saved me the other night and now, I'm in your debt."
"That still doesn't explain why you disappeared."
"All that matters now is that I'm here and I will repay my debt to you. My name is Damon Marcinko."
Damon extended his hand.
"Dawn Crenshaw," she introduced herself.
They shook hands.
"I heard stories about you," Damon admired, "Your encounters in the wasteland are legendary."
"Never knew that. Let's go inside."
They entered the room.
"What something to drink? How 'bout some water?" She asked.
She took two bottles of purified water and gave him one. They sat down on the couch. Dawn took out her bourbon and drank it from the bottle. She pointed the bottle to Damon who refused.
"I'm sorry I tried to rob you," he regretted, "I owed those men some money. I'm not even a thief or a street hustler."
Dawn giggled.
"You didn't even have a real gun," she teased.
She looked at his shaven head.
"You a Shaolin Monk?" She wondered.
"Anything but one. I try to do some good in the world, but it doesn't work out that way."
Dawn giggled.
"I meant because of your hair, or lack thereof," she clarified.
He ran his hand across his head. Dawn drank her water and curled her legs on the couch. She stared at Damon and smiled.
"It's my style," he replied.
"So, what do you do with your life beside owing people money?" She asked, still with a smile on her face.
"I survive."
"That makes two of us."
"Like I was saying, you're a legend to some people."
"Things aren't what they used to be. I've been trying to get back into training again."
"Well, I'm here to help you."
Dawn smiled at him.
Dawn and Damon were inside the restaurant at the top of the Stratosphere tower having lunch. Over the years, it was renovated from abandonment into its former glory of a full-scale restaurant. There were windows that circled along the walls that overlooked New Vegas. There were also numerous people inside.
"So, where is it you're from?" Dawn asked, looking happy.
"Junktown," he replied.
"Junktown? Sounds…"
"Like a town made from scrap and junk. It's a pretty big place, looks almost like a town from the 1950's. One of those retro future type places. I guess that's how people in the 50's thought how the future would be."
"Seems like a fun place. Where's it located?"
"Just past the SoCal border."
"You traveled through some rough territory."
"I survived."
Dawn smiled. She took a sip of her margarita and then held her face in her hand with her elbow on the table.
"So you said you used to run with the Shadow?" Damon inquired.
"Yeah, a long time ago. Back when I was in shape and actually gave a damn."
"What changed?"
"Everything around me. No one else was around anymore; the world continued to sink into despair. It was like what I fought for did not matter."
Dawn continued to smile and stare at Damon. She believed he was sent to her by a twist of fate. He finished up his lunch and noticed Dawn staring at him.
"Good lunch," he said, "Never had Brahmin meat before."
"I'll take care of it," Dawn insisted.
"No, I will. I'm here for you."
After lunch, they stood outside the tower on the sidewalk below. Damon looked in the direction of Freeside. Dawn watched him with her arms behind her back. She swayed back and forth as Damon had his attention on Freeside. There were conflicting thoughts going through her mind: Was he really a true friend or is this too good to be true? Was he sent here by someone as a way to set her up for a fall? Maybe he was here to be a companion. There was only one way to find out; she would have to trust him. Damon turned around with a smile on his face.
"I know you've fought over in Freeside," Damon brought up.
"With all kinds of scum."
"It's a strange and dangerous place. Well it used to be."
"It's still a rundown shithole."
"What about parkour? Ever tried it?"
"If your referring to jumping across buildings to escape mercenaries, the Combine, and vampires, then yeah."
Damon chuckled.
"What do you say?" he asked.
Dawn and Damon ventured into the slums of Freeside. Over the years, it had become safer and more habitable with many citizens preferring it over the Strip. It was more economic and less crowded, however, many buildings still remained dilapidated. The Stratosphere could still be seen from where they were, although it was in the distance. As Dawn looked back, Damon ran into an alley. She turned around and followed him.
"You ready?" He asked.
"For what?
"Just follow my lead."
Damon ran to the corner of the brick building and jumped up. He used the corner and the vent to climb to the top of the building. Dawn used a nearby ladder to climb up. Damon looked across Freeside which looked like it had been bombed. Dawn reached the top and once again saw the Stratosphere.
"You can see the Stratosphere from just about anywhere in the Mojave," he pointed out, "It's really nice when it's all lit up."
"Maybe that's why so many thugs want it."
"I've been to all sorts of places and a lot of people out there, good and bad, want that tower. I even hear NCR soldiers talk about taking it."
"People on the Strip say the same thing."
Damon looked at the buildings where he wanted to jump across.
"You see the way the buildings are close together? It's easy to leap across," he told her, as if it was easy.
Damon ran towards the edge of the rooftop and jumped across to the next building. Dawn took a deep breath and ran towards the edge. She jumped across and landed next to Damon.
"Good!" He complimented.
He quickly ran and then jumped across to the next building. Dawn followed him across.
"You're getting it," he said when she landed.
There was a taller building next to them.
"Let's scale it," he suggested.
"You can't be serious," Dawn complained, almost out of breath.
"I did this all the time at Junktown."
Damon jumped against the wall of the taller building and used the window sills to scale up to the rooftop. Dawn had doubts about trying it.
"Ha! This is fun!" He shouted.
Dawn took a deep breath.
"Here goes nothing," she muttered to herself.
Dawn leaped onto the brick window sill and held on tight. There was a ledge above her that she used to pull herself up. While standing on the ledge, she pressed herself against the wall and jumped up on the ledge that lead to the roof. As she was climbing up, Damon appeared and grabbed her arm to assist her. Dawn laughed with relief when she reached the rooftop.
"See, it ain't so bad," Damon reassured, "Just takes practice."
"Yeah, it's a lot easier when you don't have forty plus years on you," she replied, "I forgot how exciting and dangerous it is to put your life at risk."
Dawn felt an adrenaline surge go through her. The familiar feeling hit her hard in the face and at the moment, she felt like her old self. She scoured the area and saw the buildings.
"Come on," she encouraged Damon, "You ready for an encore?"
Dawn jumped across to the next building which was shorter. Damon smiled and followed her. She landed on the rooftop, rolled, and proceeded to the next building. Damon followed behind, jumping over the air conditioner, metal crates, and doorways. He stopped when he reached the edge and saw Dawn on the next building.
"What's keeping you?" She shouted, "See that old electronics store? I'll race your ass!"
Dawn took off and headed towards the store. Damon ran as fast as he could to try and catch up. Dawn saw the building and made the leap onto the rooftop. Just then, Damon appeared. They landed on the rooftop at the same time. Damon remained standing, but Dawn kneeled on the ground from exhaustion.
"That was close," Damon said, "It looks like you still got it."
"Yeah, too close."
"You did have a head start though."
Dawn giggled and sat down on the roof. Damon kneeled beside her.
"That was fun," Dawn uttered with fatigue, "Now it's time I train you in the art of combat."
"Yeah, I look forward to it. I can shoot a gun, you know. I mean, I'm not an expert, but I know how to do it."
"You need to learn how to fight."
"I know how…"
"What happened the other night?"
"Okay, maybe I do need a little training."
Dawn raised her eyebrow. They walked through the streets of Freeside and came upon the Silver Rush Casino. Dawn stopped and remembered the vampiric cult, Selene's Legion, that she battled many years earlier. Images of the legion members marching across the streets and then an image of Selene herself standing on the casino roof flashed before her. Damon saw her and walked back to her.
"You alight?" He consoled, patting her on the back.
"Yeah, just remembering something."
Damon saw the now abandoned Silver Rush.
"Oh yeah, yeah, I know who used to be in there, Selene and her legion of vampires," Damon recalled, "I read stories about them. It was you and the Shadow that destroyed them. It was before I was created."
"Great times, huh?" Dawn sarcastically remarked.
Dawn and Damon steered away from the Silver Rush and walked back towards the Strip.
"From what I hear, you were with someone else, right?" Damon asked.
Dawn paused for a moment.
"Yeah, her name's Maddie," Dawn answered, "We met when we lived in City 17. I never would have made it without her."
"Where is she now?"
"She had a hard time coping with the loss of someone close to her. I'm still hoping she gets the help she needs from the asylum."
"Sorry to hear that."
Then, they saw a gang of raiders ahead and ran into a nearby alley. Damon peaked around the corner.
"Raiders, I thought they were gone from here," Damon said with annoyance.
"They don't call them raiders for nothing," Dawn replied.
"Let's go around them."
Damon quickly climbed the building, taking advantage of missing bricks and a small ledge. He made it to the roof top and Dawn went the same path he did. When she reached the top, Damon was nowhere to be found. She did not want to yell for him with the raiders close by. She ran to the other side and looked down in the alley, but there was no sign of him. Dawn could see the Stratosphere and knew she was close to the Strip. She jumped across to the next building and looked down at the street. The raiders were roaming the streets with knives, spears, and hand guns. They were dressed in tattered clothing and had various hairstyles including, mohawks and buzzcuts. Some had grime on their faces and numerous tattoos on their arms and neck areas. Dawn had her .45 with her but was looking for a way around them. Suddenly, a raider tackled her from behind. She took her gun out as the raider grabbed her hair. When he turned her over, she shot him point blank in the chest, killing him. In the heat of the moment, Dawn realized the gunshot had attracted the attention of the raiders. Before she could stand up, two more raiders appeared on the rooftop. Dawn shot them, causing them to fall back onto the street. She stood up and ran towards the next building. She jumped across and hid behind a metal air duct. The raiders had made it to the top and searched for her. Dawn leaned against the air duct, but the old structure began to bend and then break. The raiders fired at the air duct as Dawn dove out of the way while returning fire, hitting the raiders. She hit the ground, rolled, and knelt on one knee while making sure the raiders were down. After a quick reload, she descended the building to the streets and ran towards the Strip. Then, more raiders appeared in front of her. She hid behind a flatbed truck as the raiders ran towards her. She quickly climbed onto the flatbed and dove off while shooting at the oncoming raiders. She successfully shot them down and then landed on the roof of a broken down Corvega. She rolled off the roof and landed on the sidewalk face down; feeling dazed. As she was reeling, the three remaining raiders found her. Then, Damon appeared and stabbed one of them in the chest and sliced the other one on the throat. The remaining raider pointed a gun at him, but Dawn shot him.
"Wow! That was badass!" Damon shouted.
"What the hell happened to you?" She asked.
"I was scouting a way for us to get out. If I would've know you were gonna blast your way out, I would have followed you."
"You just ran off without a plan."
"Oh…sorry."
Damon helped her up.
"Let's just go back okay," Dawn suggested.
They walked back towards the strip, leaving the slums of Freeside behind. When the night came, they had dinner on the roof of a restaurant with a devil statue. After a night out of visiting casinos and wandering the Strip, they made it back Dawn's suite.
"Fun day, right?" Dawn said.
"I hadn't had that much fun in a while."
Dawn sat down on the couch and poured herself a glass of bourbon.
"Come on, have some," she offered.
He remained standing and took a sip. He shook when he swallowed it.
"It burns," he complained, "You actually like this?"
"It calms me down. Besides, it ain't so bad once you get used to it. It's the feeling of getting buzzed that I like."
He set the glass down on the table.
"Where you are staying?" Dawn asked.
"The big gold tower."
"Stay here. There's no sense in you walking back by yourself. Take my bed, I'll be passed out on the couch anyway."
"Well, thank you."