`TUNNEL-VISION III`

  There was the harsh transition to the upper level.

  The cart launches upward for a moment, it's goin' up to the next layer of tunnel, which, thankfully, means we're almost home free. No more gates, no more problems, well, there's all the slashes on my arm. Jasper's hand got cut bad too, he's still squirmin' about it.

  I got done in pretty badly this time, I can't even lift the rifle properly anymore.

  I watch as Ari struggles to finish suturin' the largest of the many lacerations in my shoulder, but, now we have all the time in the world. I look over to the gizmo Jasper used to immobilize the rust-bucket, he'd left it there to work on his hand instead- dumb kid, that thing could be worth a lot.

  There was a slowly building screeching coming from the top of the cart, but I think nothin' of it.

  I wave Ari off for a moment, and I reach over to grab the strange box. I hesitate with it in my hands before flipping it and seeing a clear way of opening it.

  "Ari, fetch me my tools quick." I simply order, which is followed immediately,

  "What the hell even is that ugly thing?" Oscar rudely asked,

  "That's what I'm tryin' to find out, now shut it, I don' wanna hear you the rest of this trip." I calmly reply,

  Oscar sank back after the comment, and seemed to want to speak back but decided to pout instead. Meanwhile, Jasper seemed to get a grip of himself, somewhat.

  "Lila, I think I may have a bit of a problem." Jasper eloquently said,

  Ari brought over the toolbox, and I quickly pulled out a screwdriver and began twisting out each screw on the back of the gadget.

  "Yeah? What's that Jasper?" I carelessly comment,

  "Feels like my hands heating up, feels like I have pins and needles, I may have some sort of infection." He sorely explained

  "Nothin' a bit of biotic spray can't fix. Go get some from the wagon, but don't use too much or I'll wring your neck." I keenly reply,

  Jasper quickly strolls his way over to the wagon and begins to fumble through the many assortments of crap I have piled in it.

  I manage to get the back of the machine which stalled the rust-bucket.

  The internals weren't amazingly organised, sort of erratically connected wiring, with a circuit board only an inventor could love; most certainly one of Elis' creations, which means its half broken by default. There's always charm to his inventions, it's just unfortunate there won't be anymore.

  I blow some air into it to move the dust away and find what I had immediately thought of as a small battery was in fact some sort of vial. It was interconnected into what at first glanced seemed to be some sort of scanning mechanism? I'll never understand what he did will I.

  Regardless, from the impact alone I could tell the machine was broken, as the vial had cracked at the back, meaning a large amount of the strange reddish liquid had made its way into the vitals of the gadget. Since Elis' didn't know what waterproofing was, I have a feeling it's broken.

  I took a moment to smell the strange red liquid, which isn't my brightest idea. It's sorta' metallic?

  "Looks like it's broken." Ari abruptly commented, managing to startle me,

  "Yup, it certainly does. Could've been somethin' useful too. Stoppin' rust-buckets in their tracks? Even if only for a moment, that could mean life over death." I reply,

  I turned the gadget round to the front, it had a simple set of three buttons and some sort of knob, perhaps to shift the range or the potency? I'm spit-balling when it comes to this shit.

  "I never understood how it's meant to work. I just assumed it was some sort of signal. But, now that doesn't look too promising." Jasper interjected,

  "Elis had a habit of making magnificent things, and then neglecting to make a way for anyone except himself to understand how it worked." I dejectedly explain,

  I fiddle around a bit with the knob on the gadget, nothing happened, so I dropped it to my side. I wave Ari back over to finish the stitching the rest of my shoulder slashes.

  "Like what?" Ari whispered, I turn too her in confusion, I was thinking elsewhere,

  "Oh. Well, I can remember just a few of his gadgets. I remember he fixed up a sorta' caravan with a cannon atop it, we even managed to sell it off to some lot." I wistfully recount,

  I remember the people he sold it to, they weren't the sorta' lot who would use it for anything beyond self-defence. Well, that's the impression, but that was years ago- they're probably gone.

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  "There was this little wand he used to open doors and locks on crates. Some kinda' automatic lock pick, he kept it till it broke with him." I remorsefully explain,

  "He's the reason any of ye' are here, he managed to fix up the pods and that's how you were made pretty much." I quickly segway,

  There was a silence for a couple of moments, only broken by the scraping of the cart against the slightly misaligned rail it ran on.

  "He made a couple of his own rust-buckets even, though all of them ended up on the wrong side of life, he tried to make them too self-functional. He had a habit of that sorta' over stepping." I solemnly state,

  There was a flicker of light which flashed by the cart for a moment, the cart was hot for just that little moment- like a sudden pan fire which fizzles out in an instant.

  "Like the reason he 'made' Kip?" Jasper interjected,

  "What?" I gruffly snap,

  Oscar decided to whistle in anticipation of what was about to happen. He managed to stop just before I glared at him.

  "All I have to say- and don't be mad -but, Ed said that the only reason Kip was... 'Created' was due to him being needed for an invention. There's even some evidence of it in Elis' papers." Jasper nervously explained,

  I raise an eyebrow at him for a moment, and he shifted in place for a few seconds. Everyone was expecting an explosion which didn't come- to be honest, I didn't have the energy.

  "And may they rest in peace?" Jasper continued,

  "So that's why you speak like such a pillock, you've been readin' Elis' fuckin' raving lunatic documents." I bluntly comment,

  Ari moves away finished with the rest of the stitches. My shoulder burns just by me looking at it, and to be honest Ari's work is never that great- but practice makes... somewhat better.

  "Wouldn't me reading be the opposite of being a pillock?" Jasper cheekily countered,

  "Anyhow! The fuck do you mean Kip was only created for an invention, what fuckin' invention?" I belligerently ask,

  My words are slurrin', somethin' was tirin' me out. I guess I'm just stressin'- but there's plenty of that going around isn't there?

  "I could never understand some of the weirder words, but something along the lines of biological recognition, some typa' identification thingy." Jasper awkwardly described,

  Identification? Maybe he wanted to make some stronger method of security? No, that doesn't make any sense, guns work just fine. That's strange even for Elis.

  Elis wasn't the type to make somethin' just to make somethin'. There was always some sentimental crap mixed in, with some philosophical bollocks. I remember when he held Kip in his hands, he looked at him with a face beyond some fuckin' invention.

  He loved Sami, she was the last person on this planet who'd be exploited for some fuckin' experiment. Elis always had screws missin' but Sami was the perfect replacement, the last thing Kip was ever gonna be was another invention.

  This wouldn't have happened with either of 'em. I'd be sitting behind my fuckin' counter without a care in the world, and instead this fuckin' universe leaves me with Ed. Speakin' of Ed, typical of him to slander a dead man's son, but even death didn't suit him either.

  That feels like it was years ago, though at the same time as if was yesterday, and Ed was here just a handful of hours ago. Then I made the bright idea to go alone, than the chance to die together.

  I felt like proving myself, instead I psych myself out. What a failure I am, huh?

  "You alright there?" Elis then asked,

  I couldn't see properly, like somethin' had rubbed their fingers over glass, everything had some blurred illusion about it. It was so real, I can remember it so clearly, but I can't see it properly. Where was I?

  "What?" I shakily retort,

  "I'm sorry did I interrupt a nap?" Elis replied,

  He was so sharp compared to this place around him, I could make out the shape of his body in a heart beat here, it was so colourful despite the dull brown and grey he wore. The goggles on his face stood out the most, replacing his eyes which I never got to see.

  "Where the fuck am I?" I tiredly question,

  The shapes of the place were uneasy, changin', but so strangely bright. There were images thrown about the place, writings on boards I couldn't quite make out. It smelt like marker, or burnt rubber, hard to decide which they're both competin' for first place in my nostrils.

  "In my lab, silly girl, I was just about to show you my newest creation." Elis excitedly answered,

  "Guess the medicine did a number on 'er?" Sami then commented,

  Sami held somethin' between her arms, it was squirmin' about, sorta disgusted me. I don't know why, it's like seein' some typa' alien. She held it between her mechanical hands, where she looked satisfied to stare at it for a thousand years.

  "Always does." Elis replied to Sami,

  Sami handed over the squirmin' thing, wrapped up in a strange amount of cloth, and then decided to limp around me to the other side outta' view. There was always somethin' up with the way she limped about, like she had a knee she weren't bothered to replace.

  "But now it's time for you to focus Lila!" Elis abruptly stated,

  That woke me up further, everythin' came closer together, like they were rebuilding themselves at my very eyes. Both my eyes, so this is where I am, but why? I hated this place, this part of my life was miserable.

  "Say hello to Kip, I personally would've preferred another name, but Sami insisted obviously." Elis said, handing over the squirming thing into my arms.

  I looked down to it, his face wasn't a blurred mess like the rest of this place. What was this now, what am I lookin' at? Two eyes closed tightly, and one of his legs had been amputated, some typa' complication no doubt.

  "I expect you to keep him safe when we're gone, aight? You're the closest thing he's got to a sister." Sami told from behind me,

  "That's the way of the world, if you don't follow it, don't expect for any of us to live a good life. You got that Lila?" Elis smarmily commented,

  "What?" I then exclaim,

  "You always complain I never let you hold my inventions. Well there you go, right here, you're holding my latest- and greatest- invention!" Elis loudly proclaimed,

  "So you better not drop it, while you're looking after it when I'm not bothered to." Elis then whispered to me,

  "What did you just fuckin' say?" Sami asked, still hovering above me from behind

  "Nothin'." Elis quickly replied,

  I gasp awake, before then coughing outward into the cart.

  "Oh! We thought you almost managed to die on us. Don't worry it was just the rust-bucket infection, looks like it was damn dirty." Jasper said, clearly relieved,

  "Not too shabby you lot." I shakily compliment, attempting to regain my composure,

  My eyes were feeling heavy, not typical with me, considering one of my eyes is made of metal. I thought I was just tired, but I felt quite fine after the biotic spray.

  "You look like bloody shit." Oscar decidedly commented,

  "Cheers Oscar, the eyes are just feelin' a bit heavy." I admit, attempting to wipe the wetness from my real eye with my thumb,

  "Need more biotic spray?" Jasper asked,

  "Nah, just tried." I reply,

  I had to wipe the rest away with my arm. I find it indescribable, the mistake I've made. What have I done? Sami? Elis? Ed? It was either us or them. But, that doesn't change the loss does it?

  No amount of slips would save me, not now. Only with what I have left, can I repay this debt.

  I get up cautiously, using the side of the cart to make my way over to the front panel. I can see the light outside this tunnel. We're almost at the station. I begin to slow down the speed of the cart, and turn off any acceleration from our current point.

  I direct Ari and Jasper to throw the tarp over the wagon, I expect acid rain at this point in time, though it'd be pleasant for it to fuck off for a bit. Everyone pulls their hoods up for the incoming onslaught of rain, and I do the same.

  The cart crashes through the sudden bullet hail as we all duck below the windows, attempting to avoid as much of the carnage as possible. I activate the breaks, the cart begins to slide across the barely intact station line, before coming to a stiff stop and whiplashing back.

  There was little time before we heard a scrambling off the top of the cart, don't tell me, did the rust-bucket manage to hang on?

  Before I could process anything, there were three massive gun shots, each followed by the racking of a weapon. One after the other met with the sound of faltering metal plating, before an explosive finish which resulted in half a rust-bucket rolling off into the canyon next to the station.

  There was a prevailing moment of silence, before Oscar rushed to pick up a weapon and managed to snag one, while I struggled to sling my rifle properly over to hold it in a way it could actually be used.

  But another shot was heard, one into the sky.

  "Well then. That's all cleaned up ain't it boys n' girls? But, I prefer a more polite introduction wouldn't ye' concur?" A voice came from the other side of the station,

  "What a load of shit, how the fuck can we trust you?" Oscar idiotically shouted,

  "Well, ye' could decide to shoot at me. But, if'n when you do, will ye' trust that flimsy cart steel to stop a shell that just blew apart a rust-bucket to keep ye' from bein' ripped to smithereens?" The voice explained,

  "Let's keep this calm for a second!" I shout,

  "Take yer' time, but I ain't got all day, and this place only gets worse the more time passes." The voice commented,

  Another day, another fuckin' scrapper.