The Year 2718

Chapter 3 The Wandering Stranger

Chapter 3

Kirt and Neo were driving along the abandoned dirt road. It was quiet and sunny. Kirt sat back and continued to drive with one hand. They both got the hang of it. They have been driving for a couple of hours. Kirt suddenly saw a figure in the road. Neo saw it also. They both stopped and looked at the crouched figure. He seemed to be in pain.

"Please! Help me!" He cried.

Neo looked at Kirt and smirked. Kirt smiled and nodded. Neo faced the man and sped up. He slowed down just before he hit the guy, causing him to jump out of the way. Once he was gone, the two drove on. After about two minutes Kirt started laughing while Neo sat there like a butt.

"Come on, that was funny." Kirt told Neo.

"And?" Neo asked.

"And, laugh." Kirt answered.

"What's the point?" Neo asked again.

"What's the-" Kirt hit his forehead. "What is wrong with you? Are you a machine or something?"

"Or something."

Kirt hit his head on the wheel a couple of times then sat back up. He heard his stomach growl and turned to Neo. He was holding his stomach. Kirt pulled over.

"Alright, time to eat." He announced.

Neo climbed out of the jeep and Kirt jumped into the back. After a little while of rummaging around, he finally jumped out the back with two bags of food. Kirt threw one at Neo and he caught it. They started up a fire and began to prepare the food.

As they ate, Kirt leaned back on his hand and Neo leaned back on a tree. It was a quiet afternoon. It's days like these that Kirt loves to just sit and listen to the sound of nature. Neo likes these days because they let him rest before Night Neo comes out.

Neo suddenly hears someone walking. The sound was heavy and it like the person was walking with long strides. Neo turned his head to see a figure walking through the trees. It was lumbering towards them. The figure was walking with a slight waddle. He also seemed to have a lot of muscles.

Kirt looked up and noticed Neo looking off into the trees. He turned his head to see the lumbering figure. Neo stood up and pulled his axes out. Kirt continued to eat while watching the figure. He knew that Neo would be able to handle this, but if he doesn't, then he'll jump in.

As the figure got closer, they both realized that he had something in his hand. Neo continued to look and noticed that the object was a gun. The man was to far to see his face.

"Careful, this guys got a gun." Neo told him.

Kirt nodded and continued to eat. The man stopped and pointed the gun at the two.

A loud booming voice filled the air. "What are you doing with my jeeps?"

Kirt looked at Neo and Neo looked at Kirt. Neo looked at the jeeps then back at the man.

"These are ours." He told the man.

"No, you stole them from my bunker." The man replied. "What else do you have?"

"Our stuff." Neo answered.

The man slowly started to pull the trigger. He didn't pull it all of the way, but somewhat. Neo tilted his head as he remembered something.

"I know this guy." He told Kirt. "This guy is known as The Wondering Stranger. He never stops at a town. Whoever encounters him dies. If they do survive, it's not for long."

Kirt is now nervously eating his food. He pointed at the figure.

"He's right there, Neo." He told him nervously. "He's right there."

"Now, why do you have my jeeps?" The Stranger asked again.

"These are our jeeps." Neo repeated.

"No, these were stolen from bunker number 417." The Stranger replied. "I suspect you also have some of my stuff."

"This is our stuff, not yours." Neo added.

"You have looted it from my bunker."

"You and your bunker can go somewhere else."

"Bunkers can't move."

The Stranger slowly squeezes his trigger but stops before it fires. Neo stood there and stared at the man.

"I will give you three seconds to give my stuff back." The Stranger warned.

"I'll start you off." Neo replied. "One."

"Two."

"Three."

The Stranger fired the gun and Neo hit the bullet with his axe. It ended up hitting Neo's shoulder.

"Physics boy-o." The Stranger said.

Neo's wound quickly healed. "Regeneration, old man."

The Stranger put his gun in it's holster and pulls out a crossbow. "Regenerate this."

He started to fire his crossbow over and over. Kirt quickly dropped his food and hid behind a jeep. Neo began to slice the bolts. He missed one and it hit his shoulder.

"That's all I needed." The Stranger said as he put his crossbow away.

The effect of the bolt hit Neo immediately. Neo couldn't moove and his sight became blurry.

"Now, I have the antidote for this." The Stranger told him. "Give me my stuff, and I'll give it to you."

As Neo's sight begin to fade Kirt looked out from behind the jeep and looked at the figure. He then looked up at Neo for some hint of what to do. Kirt was never great with people. Neo always did these kind of stuff. Kirt looked down in thought. Was Neo's regeneration stronge enough to save him? Or was he going to die?

"Now, small one," The Stranger said to Kirt. "What, will you do?"

Kirt looked at the man and breathed heavily as panic took over him.

"I will shoot you with the same poison." The Stranger warned him.

"How long will it be before it kills him?" Kirt asked.

"You have thirty minutes until your friend is dead." The Stranger answered.

"Can I think about it?" Kirt asked on.

"No." The Stranger answered as he pulled out his gun. "It's now or never."

Kirt groaned and hits his head on the jeep. The man started to pull the trigger. Neo's vision began to return and he could feel his body again. It felt like a thousand needles were stabbing him.

Neo started standing up. "I'm not done yet."

The Stranger pauses for a moment. "Hm. I've never met someone who's resisted this poison-" Neo nodded. "-Unless they've taken small doses!"

The Stranger pulled the trigger, hiting the jeep next to Kirt's hand. Kirt waved his hands around and fell over on the ground.

"That almost hit me!" He shouted.

"If I wanted to hit you, I would have hit you in the face." The Stranger replied.

Kirt stared at him with wide eyes and scooted behind the jeep.

"Sorry, I kind of jumped when I yelled at you." The Stranger explained. "I scare myself sometimes. Now, I've never met someone who's- wait, I already said that. I'm repeating myself. These are mine. They have my symbol on them."

"Just be glad we didn't take you tanks." Neo replied.

"I would have killed you if you did." The Stranger added.

"I'll fight you, with no poison." Neo continued.

"I will rip out your guts."

The man pulled out his sword. As he pulled it out, the Star Wars theme song began to play.