SOME KIND OF DEATH WISH

Dawn sat in a roadhouse style bar. There were wooden walls that surrounded the place with road signs and motorcycle parts hung on the walls. The counter she was at had warped wood and in front of her was a full display of bottled drinks. She had an energy drink and a Jägermeister in front of her. She began feeling buzzed. After a few minutes, she put her head down on the counter. Dawn frequented this bar ever since Maddie was in the asylum. Although Dawn remained sober for many years, she relapsed back to drinking. Then, three men wearing brown dusters, and desert camouflage pants with combat boots, entered the bar. One of them had on a black cowboy hat and seemed to be the one in charge. They began peering at the women and whistling at them. The three men approached the counter where Dawn was sitting. One of them saw the Jägermeister and grabbed it. After he took a shot of bourbon, he poured himself a glass.

"That's her," one of them said, "That's Dawn Crenshaw."

The man in the cowboy hat lightly tapped her face. Dawn rose her head up and saw the man. She recognized the insignia on one of their shirts. It was a white skull with a red bandana over the mouth and a black cowboy hat. The group was known as the Outcasts. They were a large and dangerous group that roamed the Mojave Wasteland. Dawn was annoyed.

"Dawn, is it?" The man asked.

"What's it to you?" She replied.

"We know about you. We know that you have been around Damon."

Dawn took back the bottle of Jägermeister, poured a small amount into her glass, and drank it.

"The secrets out," Dawn sarcastically replied.

"Where the hell is he?"

"Look, buddy, I ain't telling you where he is. What do you want with him anyway?"

"He knows something, and we want-"

"I don't know where he is."

"Bullshit!"

The bar suddenly got quiet. Dawn seemed unfazed. He walked directly behind her and put his face near her neck. She felt his breath on her as he moved his face near her ears and then her to her hair. He ran his hands through it while Dawn sat there and stared straight ahead.

"Pretty old lady," he whispered, "I'll give you one chance to tell me what you know about Damon and where he is. Your life depends on what you say next."

Dawn held her hands up and giggled.

"Okay, okay," she muttered sarcastically.

With a sudden motion, she elbowed him in the groin. One of the Outcasts pulled her hair back and dragged her off the stool. The bartender slammed both hands on the counter.

"Knock it off!" He shouted, "Leave her alone!"

"You stay the hell out of this punk!" The man snapped back.

Dawn grabbed his shirt to pull herself up just enough to deliver a kick to his head and then elbowed him in the stomach. The other Outcast approached her. He threw a punch at her, but she grabbed his arm and struck him in the ribs and then struck him with a backhand strike to the face. He stumbled back. The man in the cowboy hat wrapped his arm around her neck and pinned her on the table. Dawn tried to struggle free, but he was too strong. He let her go and struck her in the face with an elbow, knocking her to the ground. Then, he kicked her in the stomach. Dawn felt the pain and tried to summon the will to get back up and fight, but she felt weak inside. The bartender approached the three men.

"That's enough!" He shouted at them, "Get the hell out!"

The two other Outcasts shoved him down.

"Stay out of this, or you're dead," one of the Outcasts said.

Dawn struggled back up. She threw a punch at the leader, but he caught her fist and twisted her arm. She went down to one knee. Suddenly, Damon appeared.

"Let her go!" Damon demanded.

The leader turned to him with a wicked smile.

"You heard me," Damon made clear.

"Well lookie here. This poor lady was gonna die for you," the leader said, "You're coming with us."

"This is your last warning," threatened Damon.

"You little punk kid, you would die for this old hag?"

The leader let Dawn go. The three Outcasts walked toward Damon. Dawn tried to get up. She wanted to take Damon out and away from them. Then, Damon began fighting off the mercenaries. He used the skills acquired from Dawn's training. However, Dawn was still worried he may get hurt. She stood up and leaned against a table. Damon threw punches and kicks, striking the mercenaries. The leader took out a black combat knife with red around the edges of the blade and rushed towards him. Damon grabbed his arm and kicked him in the stomach three times. One of the mercenaries grabbed a glass pitcher. Dawn grabbed his arm and spun him around. She struck him in the face with an elbow, knocking him down. She picked up the glass pitcher and smashed it into the other Outcast's face, knocking him to the ground. Damon struck the leader with a knee to the jaw. He fell onto a table and stumbled to the floor. He immediately rushed over to Dawn.

"You okay?" He asked with concern.

"As long as I don't cough up blood," she answered.

"Let's go."

They started to walk out of the bar. Then, the leader grabbed Damon from behind and placed the knife to his throat.

"I'll kill this little punk!" The leader threatened.

"Just stop it!" Dawn shouted, "It's over, just let him go!"

"It will be over when I say it's over. I heard all about you. It looks like you got some kind of death wish.. You and me, we fight."

Dawn knew what she had to do. He was much younger and in better shape than her. There was a good chance if they fought, she would end up dead.

"Fine, you and me," Dawn answered.

"To the death," he said in a harsh tone.

The leader threw Damon down and held the knife out in front. Dawn was still aching as her heart pounded. She took a fighting stance as they circled each other. He smiled at her. She remained calm on the outside, but worried on the inside. He lunged forward with the knife, causing Dawn to move back. He swung the knife at her, trying to scare her. He lunged at her again. Dawn struck him with an open palm strike to the face and kicked him in the leg. The strikes barely affected him. He quickly swung the knife at her. As she moved back, the knife cut the ends of her hair. She fell to the ground and he pounced on top of her. She tried to strike him, but he grabbed her arm and pinned it to the floor. Damon looked on with concern.

"I can't believe killing you was this easy," he mocked.

He was about to stab her until Damon smashed a wooden chair over him. He fell off her, dropping the knife near Dawn. The leader stood up and focused on Damon. Dawn grabbed the knife and noticed the word "SLAYER" carved into the side of the blade. She slowly stood up as the leader grabbed her hair.

"Now, I'm gonna kill her while you watch," the leader taunted.

Then, Dawn sliced his throat with Slayer. He held his throat and fell to the ground as blood poured out. Blood ran down the knife and onto Dawn's arm. A few seconds later, he was dead. Damon grabbed Dawn's arm and they ran towards the exit. The bartender looked down at the dead body.

"You two need to leave the Strip," he warned, "The Outcasts will be after you until they hunt you down. Escape from them is impossible."

Dawn looked at him with concern. Damon grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the exit. When they were outside, they ran down the Strip passing through the crowded walkway.

"We need to get out of here," Damon reiterated the words of the bartender.

"Why?"

"Trust me, I know how they operate. We need to get far away from here."

They ran down the Strip, heading towards the Stratosphere as dusk was about to begin. When they made it inside Dawn's room, they gathered as many weapons as they could carry. Dawn grabbed her assault rifle, .45, the pip boy, and a supply of stimpaks. Damon packed food and water as well as a few weapons. As they ran towards Freeside, Dawn looked back at the Stratosphere, wondering if she would ever make it back. For now, she had to leave her home behind. When they got to Freeside, Damon looked behind him to see if they were followed. They ended up near a store called Mick and Ralph's to rest. The area around them had derelict buildings, cracked pavement, and rubble in random spots on the sidewalk.

"Wait a sec, were do we even go from here?" Dawn asked.

"Out there, in the Mojave," Damon replied, "We don't have a choice now. It's okay, we'll head to Junktown."

"We can take 'em, that gang, I know we can. The Shadow is here."

Damon shook his head.

"Dawn, there will be another war on the Strip. People will die if we stay here and it will be because of me," Damon explained, "That gang, the Outcasts, they want me to join them. I know they have something planned that will do no good for the Mojave. I can't let them take me. I know people that can help us."

"Why do they want you? If there's something you need to tell me, then go ahead, it's okay."

Damon looked worried.

"Not right now, it's complicated. You trust me, right? I mean, you and me, we are in this together right? I don't want them to hurt you. I'm sorry to have dragged you into this."

"Damon, of course I trust you. And you're not dragging me into this. I want to help you."

"Thanks, if we are going to fight the Outcasts, we need help."

"Okay, okay, we'll head there…to Junktown."

"Be ready to fight, those damn thugs are all over the Mojave."

Dawn looked up and saw that the sun was setting.

"Let's head to Casa Madrid in Westside," she suggested.

They reached Westside as the sun was nearly set. Like much of the Mojave, the buildings were decayed and in ruin. They passed the residents, who were mostly drug addicts and ne'er-do-wells; some stumbled across the streets while other leaned against the buildings. The place seemed like Freeside except with friendlier residents. Dawn noticed many of the residents looking at her and Damon. She was not worried about them; she had all the protection she needed. Dawn stopped in front of Klamath Bob's Liquor Store and decided to enter. Damon followed her in. Dawn grabbed a large bottle of bourbon and brought in to the counter. An older man wearing a tactical vest with a blue shirt underneath and a baseball hat was there.

"You don't look like you're from 'round here," he said, "I can tell by your eyes your no junkie."

"Good guess," she replied.

He noticed the rifle she had strapped to her.

"It can get dangerous 'round here," he warned, "Hope you know how to use that."

"I've used it plenty of times, and don't worry about me, got my bodyguard."

Dawn looked over at Damon. They left the store and headed to the Casa Madrid Apartments. They approached the apartment building which looked old and worn. The walls had cracks and some of the windows were broken. There was a man sitting outside. He had on leather armor, a red hat, and also had an assault rifle around his shoulder.

"Got a room?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, we have vacancy," he replied.

"I'll take one."

"It's a deal."

He took notice of their appearance.

"You runnin' from somethin'?" he wondered.

"Why do you say that?" Dawn asked.

"We don't get much people like you 'round here. You look like you live well."

"I thought I'd take my friend and do some exploring. It's a big world out there."

"I hear ya."

Damon smiled; it had been too long since he had true friend. They entered the building which was dank and dark. The carpets and wall were torn and had holes in it. They passed rooms that were unorganized with items scattered everywhere and some doors had been boarded shut. Later that night, Dawn slept in her bed. Their room was in squalor, but she slept comfortably. Damon sat on his bed, still wearing his long black leather coat, black jeans, and combat boots. He looked out the window at the night sky. Then, he looked over at Dawn and then stood up. He walked over to her and made sure she was sound asleep. He noticed the bottle of bourbon on the desk and quietly left the room and headed outside.