Throughout the desert, nothing was moving except the subtle shifting of the sands, relentlessly climbing up and down the towering dunes.  The wind sometimes howled, sometimes whispered, but there was no one to hear.  The dunes shifted closer to the empty buildings, a little closer each day to the city that stood empty.  The buildings all lined up in a row, dark, empty, abandoned.  There was an eerie feeling here that everything was dead, nothing moving, nothing making a sound.  One long empty road ran from the East, down through the middle of town, disappearing into the sand in the distance.  Silence here was powerful, almost as if a sleeping giant was holding his breath. 

From the East, a tiny speck was moving through the empty landscape, a long plume of dust heralding the arrival of a fast, sleek, powerful vehicle.  As it drew closer to the empty buildings, the sound of the motor began to echo through the streets and alleys.  The sleeping giant seemed to be taking a deep breath, almost a breath of expectation.  The powerful vehicle arrived at the edge of the sand dunes separating the town from the desert.  It stopped, one rear door opened, and a single man got out and slowly walked a few feet toward the buildings.  He looked around, contemplating, seeing in his mind the city this used to be, and then seeing it again through the eyes of reality as it stood now.  He looked back at the car, then again at the empty buildings.  He nodded slowly to himself.

As Eredin stood a short distance from his car, parked beside the long dusty road leading into the calm, quiet city of Las Vegas, he breathed deeply of the hot, desert air.  From here, the long road ahead of him stretched for miles, past many dark, lonely buildings and further into the desert beyond.  He turned around once more to watch his driver open the other rear door of the car; Twink stepped out of the shiny powerful vehicle.  She walked up to him and stood to his right.  He turned back around, both of them facing the deserted city ahead.

“We’ve travelled a long way to get here.  We’ve hurdled many obstacles and made many sacrifices.  We’ve watched some of our friends die sad lonely deaths, while other friends were left twisting in the wind with nothing left to live for.  Our enemies have been few, but they have all been taught valuable lessons as they lay dying in the streets.  Many do not know us, nor will they ever really know us.  Some will step up to join us on our journey, while others will simply watch as we go by.  We have worked so very hard to make something of ourselves, and now we are ready to take the next steps.  We are going to rebuild this city, from the arid sandy soil up to the tops of these sad, empty buildings.  We are going to turn on the lights of this town again, and make it a place worthy of everyone’s time and respect.  People will come from many miles around to see what we make of this place, and to join us in making their fortunes.  We will make this place a jewel in the desert, worthy of the losses suffered to get here.”

Twink silently nodded, looking to her boss.  She knew he had worked hard behind the scenes to get them here.  She had also worked hard herself to reach this place to stand by his side, though the journey was sometimes painful.  Both of them came from someplace different, each had their own story, and each had their own hopes and dreams.  But together, the two of them would breathe a new and more powerful life into the sleeping giant. 

Slowly, the two of them started walking down the middle of the road, heading into the heart of the town.  They stopped in front of a huge empty building shaped like a pyramid.  Once, it was an amazing hotel, providing all the sin and debauchery any man could imagine.  Now it stood empty, waiting silently for someone to come through the doors to begin again.  Eredin turned to his companion, saying “We will start here, make this our center of operations.  We will live here, work here, make our plans a reality from here.  Let’s make this place ready for anyone else who wants to join us here in the desert.  Let’s start with this one building, then move on to the next, and the next, until we’ve rebuilt the whole town.”

He walked toward the massive front door.  He pulled open the heavy door, motioning for Twink to enter ahead of him.  He nodded to her as she passed, silently pulling the door behind them.  It closed with a loud booming sound, the echoes blending with the sound of the wind, which had once again begun to howl.

The streets were empty once again, no sound but the howling wind.  Long moments passed, and a single light came on, deep inside the pyramid.  Then another light could be seen, then another, climbing higher and higher in the middle of the pyramid.  In just a few minutes, the building was ablaze with light.  Suddenly, a huge beam of light shot into the sky from the top of the pyramid.  From a distance, this beacon of light could be seen for miles, it was just that powerful.  It called throughout the desert, announcing the arrival of a new generation to this deserted city.  A new family has arrived and would rebuild this city. A new force has arrived to make this a stronger, more powerful city than ever before.  Finally, the sleeping giant was waking…

After a busy day of moving, getting settled and trying to get back into a routine of working the streets and alleys, Charlie noticed Twink  and Eredin standing out front of their new HQ.

"Welcome to Vegas.  We have only been here a few hours ourselves, but knowing we have great neighbours, with a long history of building a strong crew and family, I think I can speak for all of the new residents of Vegas when I say our future looks very bright.  Brighter than the lights of Vegas themselves!

Congratulations to you both."

Congratulations to the both of you, im sure you will do Vegas proud!

Ragnar goes back about his business looking for some cheap drugs to purchase...

"Congratulations to both of you. I'm sure with your guidance, Dreams will return to Paradise. Best wishes!" Ilammo chipped in. 

With that, Ilammo left and entered the next deer hunting competition in the desert. What was he thinking.

It seemed like I had been traveling for days.  I never realized that Nevada had the most unmaintained desert roads.

However there is much natural beauty within these deserts, from towering mountaintops to fascinating rare plants and animals. I enjoyed every minute of this trip,

My mother had talked so fondly of Las Vegas and all her dreams.  It’s still hard to comprehend that she is gone.  It’s all about my journey now and I can’t wait to see how it unfolds.

I pulled over to the side and took out the map that Twink had send me, realized that I was almost there.

I drove for another hour or so when a huge beam of light shot into the sky from the direction where I was headed.   I pulled up in front of a building shaped like a pyramid and the doors were brightly painted in gold/bronze.  I double checked to make sure this was the right address and indeed it was.

As I walked through the doors it seems awfully quiet but the place felt full with life.  I heard some voices come from a room up the stairs.  I quickly walked up the stairs and saw Eredin and Twink talking. 

Hey there I made it as I approached them and gave both a hug.

I would just like to stay congratulations as the new leaders of Paradise.  I thank you for allowing me to the opportunity to be a part of the rebuilding of this great city.  It’s an honor to work with the both of you and the others to come.   Made you be blessed with growth and prosperity.  

I walked around taking in the beauty of the building and the beauty of a new beginning.