Arrival in the City of Vices

[markusgrimm]

Markus and Leon had been walking for days with no idea where they were or even where they were going. They had passed a sign that was torn up and otherwise, looked rustic, that read in big letters WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS. Markus thought about and rubbed his head, smiling. His dark blue eyes surveyed the area as he saw no sign of life at all. Could it really be that there is no longer any life left on this planet?, Markus thought to himself. He looked down at Leon as the german sheperd looked up at him and began to pant very gently as if he was waiting for something.

Markus smiled and nodded. He knew that Leon might be hungry. He saw an abandoned super market or that's what it looked like from the front of it. Markus and Leon both entered and looked around. Markus took a handgun out from the holster that he picked up earlier before he arrived in Las Vegas. He knew that he probably wouldn't need it, but it was like a condom. He would rather have one and not need it, then need it and not have one. Leon surveyed the area by smell and tracking then barked to Markus, as if giving him an all clear. Markus smiled and headed for a cart to gather some supplies.

A few hours passed by as Markus and Leon exited the super market and looked around. Next to the abandoned super market was what seemed like a apartment that was in ruins. Markus thought it was perfect and decided to occupy the surrounding area. As they entered the apartment, Leon did his usual thing and gave him an "all clear". Markus sighed then grabbed a random key from the keyrack, heading to a room that on the lowest floor possible. He opened the door and brought the grocery cart inside. The place was a complete mess. He was ok with that though, just needed some tidying up.

Another few hours passed as Markus began to clean. In the last few hours, he was able to make the place look liveable. He even found some weapons that were stored here by the person that lived here before the Armageddon hit, which was alot of help to Markus. The sun was beginning to set now, turning day slowly into night. Markus set up a chair to the "balcony" window and sat down, his handgun in his right hand. Leon came and laid down right next to his master very quietly and gently. Markus leaned over and began to scratch the top of Leon's head, then took in a deep breath and let it out.

"Don't worry, boy. We'll find our answers soon. I hope. Go get some rest."

With that being said, Leon immediately followed his masters orders and got up, heading to the bed Markus had made up for him. Markus sat there for a few minutes, thinking to himself. He then got up and went over to the front door, locking it with all the locks their were, then went over to the window, shutting the blinds. After everything was made secure, Markus headed to bed, which was a couch that lay right next to Leon's bed. Markus laid awake for most of the night with the gun in his right hand still. He was wondering what would have happened if things would have turned out differently.

[jester]

Even though he had been here for almost ten days, Nick was stil awed by the amount of buildings that were still standing. Having found an old house on the outskirts of the once famous city, Nick had settled in for the night. As usual, he slept in fits for two or three hours at a time. On his way here, Nick had been traveling with another man named William. But the day before the two were supposed to arrive, a small group of raiders had come up from behind them and opened fire. Fortunately they were bad shots...But grenades don't have to hit their target square on.

Jumping awake with a shout, Nick already had one hand on his handgun and the other reaching for his knife. Taking a quick look around, Nick assured himself that there was no immediate danger to himself. Finally getting himself up onto his feet, Nick rubbed his eyes before going into his almost religious routine of making sure both his handgun and the M4 SOPMOD that he had found a year ago were clear of the sand that was always around and could spell doom for any working parts. Even though he only had the thirty rounds in the gun, and another sixty rounds in his pack, Nick still kept the gun just for the four-power scope that was attached.

A few hours later, once he had cleaned his kit and felt like doing something, Nick had gathered his few possessions and started to walk around town again. Always with one hand on the rifle, Nick wandered with no real destination in mind. Stopping in the middle of a broken up road with dying palm trees lining the sides, Nick looked around. There were tall building's all over the place. There must've been at least fifty that would've been magnificent to see in their heyday. Looking towards the nearest one, Nick thought that the roof might offer a good vantage point.

Forty five frustrating minutes later, Nick had finally found his way through the labrynth of debris and mangled stairs to the roof top. Lying on his belly, Nick looked through the rifle's scope. Panning back and forth, Nick saw a man and what appeared to be a dog walking into an old supermarket. They didn't spend too much time inside for they had walked out again and over to an appartment building across the street. Wandering who it was, Nick took another hour trying to get out of the darkening building.

Not knowing which room the man had gone into, Nick started at the far end of the row. Keeping his right hand on the pistol grip of the rifle, Nick used his left to open the door. Nothing. Moving to the next door, Nick found nothing again. Eight more times he found nothing. Finally, on the eleventh try, the door didn't budge. The thought that the man he was looking for could be armed didn't even cross his mind at the time. Steadying his grip on the rifle, Nick leant back and gave the door a good solid kick where the lock would be. Falling to the ground, Nick noticed that the door had only moved slightly. Getting back to his feet, Nick had to throw himself against the ground as a pair of bullets came flying through the door. Shouting to whoever was inside, Nick caled out, "WAIT! WAIT! I don't mean you any harm! Just open the door! Please." As he was checking his web gear to make sure nothing had moved out of place, Nick got back to his feet to wait for whoever it was inside to come out.