Salvage Station 23

Chapter 1, Part 1

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Twenty-year-old Olivia wiped the sweat from her brow, leaving a streak of grease across her forehead. She tightened the last bolt on the makeshift barrier and stepped back to admire her work. The wall of welded train car doors wouldn't stop a determined attack, but it might slow one down.

"Hey, grease monkey!" a voice called from behind. "Zoe spotted something on the horizon!"

Olivia turned to see her best friend, Eli, jogging towards her. At fifteen, Eli was already tall for his age, all gangly limbs and messy hair.

"What kind of something?" Olivia asked, reaching for her binoculars.

Eli shrugged. "Dunno. But Zoe's freaking out. Says it's headed this way."

Olivia sighed. At thirteen, Zoe was the youngest of their core group and prone to overreaction. Still, in this world, paranoia often paid off.

They climbed to the top of an old observation car that served as their watchtower. Zoe was there, her dark curls wind-tousled, eyes wide behind her too-big glasses.

"There!" Zoe pointed. "See it?"

Olivia raised her binoculars. At first, she saw nothing but the usual wasteland - cracked earth, rusted vehicles, the occasional skeletal tree. Then she spotted it: a plume of dust, growing larger.

"Vehicle," Olivia muttered. "Big one. Maybe a bus?"

Eli grabbed the binoculars. "Holy crap, it is a bus! Think it's friendly?"

Olivia's mind raced. In the two years since she'd found this abandoned train yard and started building it into a sanctuary, they'd had exactly three encounters with outsiders. Two had been desperate loners, happy to find a safe haven. The third... well, that's why they had walls now.

"Wake the others," Olivia decided. "We need to be ready for anything."

As Eli and Zoe scrambled down, Olivia took one last look. The bus was definitely headed their way, and it was moving fast. Too fast to be low on fuel. Which meant whoever was driving it had resources. And in this world, resources meant power.

Olivia felt the familiar mix of hope and dread in her gut. New people could mean new skills, more hands to help. Or they could mean danger, the destruction of everything they'd built.

She climbed down, her mind already cataloging their meager weapons, their escape routes. Whatever was coming, Salvage Station 23 would be ready.

As she reached the ground, Olivia allowed herself one moment of weakness. She closed her eyes and whispered, "Mom, I could really use your advice right now."

But as always, the only response was the wind whistling through the train graveyard. Olivia squared her shoulders. She was the leader now, ready or not.

The bus was coming. And everything was about to change.

~~~