The woman slowly realised what I had just said, and though acknowledged she did not comment on it. That's when the man burst into the caravan, and stretched before throwing himself onto the driver seat.
"Done praying?" I sarcastically ask,
"Praying? To what? The sludge or the rotting rebar? That's the closest thing we have to pray to here scrapper." Ire scathingly replied,
The woman skipped over to the man past me and the kid and sat in the seat next to him, an act which clearly irritated the man. Though she didn't seem to care too much.
"Looks like we're heading to Pipetown!" Estry loudly announced,
"Pipetown? What the fuck do you have to do with that shithole?" Ire groaned,
"Unfinished business." I bluntly reply,
The kid shifted slightly, before moving over behind me and took a seat just outside of my vision, which made me believe that he was trying to do something stupid.
"We probably need to stop a few times for fuel, but that's just more adventure- right Ire?" Estry optimistically stated,
"Please, shut the fuck up." Ire desperately interjected,
"Nope!" Estry happily replied,
Ire began to push a few buttons, before taking out a large card and shoving it into some sort of reader, after which the entire caravan began to violently shake. Then it turned on.
"Ire, even with the blueprints there's alotta' parts we just don't have. I say we use our dear scrappers services to pick some stuff up." Estry cheekily suggested,
"Speaking of which- Shitling, hand over the fucking blueprints." Ire tiredly demanded,
I stop the kid short of actually going over to hand them over, and swipe the top one out of his hands.
"You get one for the start, the second for the finish, that's enough for you." I say,
The kid reluctantly hands one of the blueprints over to him, and he aggressively snatches it from the kid's hand.
"I can live with that." Ire gruffly admitted,
Estry began looking over the blueprint for the cannon on the top of this ugly ass moving box, and seemed at first interested but then uncharacteristically perturbed for a couple seconds.
"That's no good, we're gonna need to get a few tier two parts for this bad boy." Estry commented,
"What does that mean?" Kip whispered to me,
"Plain and simple; tier one is basic material, tier two is components- like a battery, tier three is something more complex like an engine, and tier four is a fully intact machine." I lazily explain,
It's been a while I've heard anyone mention tiers, it's something you mostly see around the centre due to the richness of the scrap around, or in the deeper dens.
"Fuck, well, there's a few places we can look for that stuff round here. Not ideal places, but places." Ire replied,
"You talking about raider territory? Cause if you are we ain't getting out there alive. We're gonna need some help." Estry rationally explained,
She looked over at us, and I noticed the kid was fumbling about with the seating, but stopped once an unfamiliar creak came through.
"Fuck no, we don't need any more business with those two jackasses." Ire scathingly said,
"I don't want any second longer with this massive headache." I slyly commented,
Estry tapped her hand against Ire's filtration mask to stop him from replying to my comment, but I have little reason to help them beyond an actual deal.
"Now, now. We can come to a simple agreement. Say scrapper, do you plan on going anywhere after you've fulfilled your 'unfinished business'?" Estry quickly interjected,
"We're probably going to head to the centre, easier to get the kid to understand everything in a more condensed area." I reply,
"Well, I think it'd be a great if you help us with getting the parts- just for this piece, the other one is all Ire. If you do I say we drive you to the centre, what do you think Ire?" Estry suggested,
Ire slowly turned his head toward her and stared at her for an uncomfortable amount of time, and then let out a long breath.
"On one condition; a favour for later." Ire cryptically said,
"Come on, I don't think that's fair on them Ire." Estry rebutted,
"I wasn't talking about them." Ire bluntly stated,
Me and the kid looked cluelessly onward as they seemed to just squint at each other for an extended period of time. Then Estry slammed Ire over the head with her hand.
"Don't say that in front of a fucking podling. You ass!" Estry angrily exclaimed,
"It would make the journey easier, and that's less time in Pipetown, I guess we can make it work. But, that also depends on what we're helping you with." I quickly segway,
"Let's just say the chances of survival ain't 100." Estry replied,
"Probably lower than 50." Ire softly commented,
I look toward the kid, and he just seemed generally confused at all the details, which is fair. I don't expect him to know exactly what's happening between these two strange people.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"That seems pretty dangerous right? Is it really worth it?" Kip quietly asked,
"It could shave quite a bit off work in Pipetown- which is perfect, I'll take a few risks to save weeks of time. Besides, you'll be fine." I quietly assure,
"Why would you need a favour from someone in your own caravan?" Kip cluelessly questioned,
"If you can't figure it our now, you'll figure it out later." I abruptly answer,
It was at this point that he actually began driving the caravan, and it quickly accelerated to a relatively high speed. I almost fell over, but I managed to land on the seats.
The kid watched in awe as the surroundings became blurs of black, grey and somewhat blue. It was most certainly the first time he had been in a caravan. I'm hoping he doesn't get motion sickness, because though much slower than a cart, the journey- it gets bumpy.
In just half an hour the ride began bouncing from the left to the right, before beginning to violently shake specifically in the back half of the caravan. This is why these vehicles need something to hold onto, but most don't- mainly cause they're used to it.
The kid almost managed to get flung when the caravan launched upward for a moment before roughly crashing back down to earth, then the ride decided to become smoother- by smoother I mean we were no longer violently shaking, only swaying inconsistently.
In just thirty minutes we covered a distance that would've taken us a couple of hours, what makes caravans so efficient is mainly the fact that walking down caravan roads on foot is a great way to be ambushed, while being in a caravan allows you to crash through most problems on the road.
Estry decided to stretch and get up from the passenger seat next to the driver seat and made her way down the caravan over where me and the kid decided to lodge ourselves for the moment.
"I'm gonna start working on some nice stuff in the back, either one of y'all sweethearts want to come along?" Estry offered,
"Sounds good, can I check it out?" Kip asked me,
"I don't own you kid, do what you want, just don't get yourself killed." I lazily reply,
The kid looks at me in confusion for a second before going down with Estry into the barely attached lab at the back of the caravan. Then the door abruptly closed.
I look back at the door, and through the window red hues shine through.
"What's your name, scrapper?" Ire unexpectedly asked,
"I'm Rory, and the kid is Kip. I know you're Ire and the woman's Estry." I bluntly reply,
"Shit name- but at least you're a good listener." Ire backhandedly commented,
This jackass rubs me the wrong way just by speaking. One of the perks of not 'trusting people'.
"Which one of you is in charge anyhow? Estry I'm guessing?" I backhandedly ask,
"Neither, it's a partnership. I work for what she works for, we both get what we want." Ire explained,
"In my experience those don't end too well." I comment,
"Then it was not a partnership, just a transaction, rigid like any other. Each works for themselves and neither get what they want." Ire surmised,
I look out, the window was dark, we were in some sort of tunnel for the moment. The caravan slowly shook from left to right like a raft in sewage.
"Most transactions end with both people getting what they want. It's just that simple." I calmly state,
"Maybe. But, partnerships are simpler, looser- I have little responsibility for her as she does me, the opposite to your shitling." Ire scathingly replied,
"He ain't my 'shitling', he's his own. If you don't like having responsibility, why'd you decide to own a whole ass caravan." I brutally reply,
We shot out of the tunnel and the windows were bathed in a red light before it was covered by looming buildings and tilted spires in the sky. It still bled through into the caravan.
"This bad boy isn't responsibility, it's the key to my fucking freedom. With it I don't need to hold anything! Grudges, principles, rules, when you can just drive away. That's freedom." Ire boasted,
"So you're a coward, who can't handle a bit of management, sounds about right for a caravan driver. The woman's got bigger balls than you." I humorously reply,
"Management? You call rules management? Rules are for dumbasses, made only to eventually be broken by the people who made them. It's like a prophecy, happens every time." Ire loudly explained,
I take out my weapon and lay it out on the table, loudly laying it on there to attempt to get the point across, the road began to flatten and the path smoothed for the caravan.
"If I didn't have rules what do you think I'd do with this gun?" I asked,
He looked back and chuckled before focusing back on the road.
"You'd be dead. What? Think you're the only one who can drive? I've been on and driven every vehicle you could imagine in that pinhead of yours." I admit,
"So what? I know you won't shoot me, cause you're a dumbass, who gave himself rules. If you do shoot me you prove the rules are useless, only a dumbass would give themselves a useless rule." Ire explained,
"Who's the bigger dumbass? The dumbass who broke the rules, or the person who dies to the dumbass?" I sarcastically question,
"Well, at least you're funny." Ire chuckled,
We both managed to laugh at the last thought, I guess he isn't as bad as I thought, but I'd hate to still be in the same room as him. Thankfully, he has a road to pay attention to over me.
Soon after the kid and Estry emerged from the back laboratory, where the kid seemed particularly happy for the moment for whatever reason. Estry made her way past us down to the passenger seat next to Ire where she began to attempt to have some private conversation.
In a short few hours the spires and square half-melted structures turned into large tilted and toppled smoke stacks, large piping which lead to nowhere and nothing, and a strange green smog which left residue on the windshield of the caravan.
The kid was fiddling about with his new fingers, which he had managed to get used to extremely quickly, I suppose it's second nature if he's had that leg for a considerable period of his lifetime. Though eventually he mustered up the courage to pat on my shoulder.
I was somewhat startled by it, I wasn't really paying attention, I was just waiting for the trip to be over. But, more talk to past the time is never terrible.
"Do rust-buckets ever talk?" Kip asked,
"Depends what you mean kid. They can communicate with each other by sound, if that's what you're asking." I lazily reply,
"No. I'm not that stupid, I mean talk to you- or us." Kip strangely reiterated,
"Well, there are rust-buckets who were made to speak to us, I think they're called Bio-something- something device- I don't remember. But they're just pictures, no real moving parts." I explain,
"How about one like that one we destroyed at the door? Could one like that talk?" Kip questioned,
"If they ever had a need to, maybe, but those typa' rust-buckets prefer slicing and stabbing over saying anything. I've never seen one that could speak." I say,
"Oh, okay." Kip strangely replied,
We crossed over a large bump, and the road became segmented metal, resulting in a consistent period of bumps which the caravan was driving over.
"Why'd you ask kid?" I inquire,
"Just curious." Kip quickly answered,
"Don't be spitting bullshit at me kid. But I'll let you slide this time." I calmly state,
"My bad." Kip stated,
"See anything that interested you in that ugly ass lab?" I ask,
"She had a lot of tools which I've seen before, but I can't really put my finger on where I saw them, it must've been ages ago." Kip explained,
"By ages you mean somewhere in the realm of 5 to 8 years?" I humorously reply,
The kid managed to look annoyed for the first time, though I was amused it was also telling that he wasn't completely shitting himself anymore.
"Soon we're gonna have to stop somewhere for a bit of gas. We're gonna need you to go in for us." Ire gruffly announced,
"Why the fuck would we do that?" I half-heartedly reply,
"Let's just say Ire gave them an impression which went something along the lines of; never come here again or we'll kill you." Estry happily explained,
"Seriously? I guess I'm one the few people who can tolerate you without immediately blowing your head off." I sarcastically comment,
"That doesn't sound too hard, we can get it done. Right?" Kip confidently stated,
"Yeah sure. How will they know it isn't your caravan?" I question,
"It was dark as fuck, wouldn't know it's us. Unless they have the best eyes in this entire shithole." Ire lazily explained,
"Ire has a habit of making people hate us, there's a reason why our top cannon was blown to pieces, and it wasn't out of hospitality." Estry backhandedly commented,
"Ain't my fault they don't have the balls to fight blade to blade, bunch of dickheads." Ire rudely stated,
"It is entirely your fault." Estry humorously said,
I look at the kid and nod at him to get ready, he picks up his pack and prepares his pulse gun for any possible situations, as do I. You never know who you find in the outskirts.
