After

[2]

The truck pulled to a stop, and the three men got out. Nick looked down over the top of a red sand dune.

"Anything?" Riley called up.

Nick looked out at the desert beyond. "Actually... There's a tent."

The two other men scrambled up the dune beside him. Sure enough, a small tent seemed to be half buried within the sand a short ways off.

"Nile, you come with me." Nick said. "Riley, climb on top of the truck to see if you can find anything else."
The others nodded, and the group slit up.

As they approached the tent, Nick pulled small knife from his belt and pressed a button. Red energy pulsed around the edges, and he blade glowed a deep red. Nodding to Nile, he stabbed the knife into the side of he tent. He dragged it along the canvas, leaving a gaping hole to look through. The small space was empty, apart from a hastily made satchel, which seemed to be overflowing with random pieces of scrap metal.
"I'm beginning to think maybe we're not looking for a mutant." Nick breathed, grabbing the bag and pulling it out of the tent.

Riley stood on top of the truck, scanning the horizon. For a moment, he caught a glimpse of movement to his right. He pulled a pair of goggles down over his eyes, and zoomed in on a particular dune. After a moment, a tall, lanky figure emerged from the top of the due, a long black coat flapping behind him in the strong wind.
"I found something." He muttered as Nick climbed up beside him. "More more accurately, someone."

Nick nodded, and drew his bow, notching an electrified arrow. Taking a deep breath, he pulled back... And released.
Riley watched as the arrow sunk into the figures shoulder, and electricity arced around its body. The person dropped to the ground, unmoving.

"I'll go get them." Riley grunted, jumping off the truck and taking some rope from a hook on the inside of the door. "You and Nile take the chopper out and see if you can find anyone else. He could have been working with someone."

His brother nodded, and jumped off the roof, climbing out of the sand and back into the truck...

Riley crouched down beside the figure, who lay face down in the sand. The long black coat was ripped off at the sleeves, exposing a tattered green shirt. Small piece of metal and sand clung to his dirty blonde hair. He rolled him over, and looked down at the young man in front of him, shook his head, and began to tie him up.

Nick piloted the small helicopter over the desert, his eyes darting from the landscape to the controls.

"You think there'll be anyone else out here?" Nile asked from the seat beside him. "We're in the middle of a desert."

"Everywhere is a desert now, cuz." Nick sighed. He froze. "What's that?"

Below them, a small figure hiked their way through the sand, something a few metres behind them glinting in the sunlight.
"Lower us down." Nile said, pulling his gun from his belt. As they drew closer, he fired.

A girls scream pieced the air, and the figure dropped to the ground. As Nick flew down to land, blood could be seen spilling into the sand as the girl struggled to clamber up the dune. Nick red himself from the helicopter, pulling a shock arrow from its quiver and jabbing the tip into the girls upper arm. She screamed again, and dropped to the ground, unconscious. Nick turned around just in time to see a robotic cat leap at him, which he electrocuted and let drop into the sand.

"You shot her though the kneecap genius." He called over to Nile. "How are we gonna let her go afterwards?"

Nile trudged over, and picked up he bleeding girl, tying up her arms and bandaging her leg. "With any luck, we won't have too."
Nick picked up the robot, and they made their way back to the helicopter.