The Borderlands

To Sanctuary

        I reached out toward in front of me, grasping anything to keep my dying corpse from death. My eyes shutter continuously, struggling to remain awake. All I feel is the artic breeze across my rough battle-torn skin; bone chilling it was. I then began to hear digging. Not knowing that my grave came so soon or that I may have been buried beneath the snow. I then listened, it was close, as if it were almost right in front of me. To my surprise, it was a robot. A miniature thing it was. And yet to my astonishing amusement, it spoke.

            “[Sigh] Another dead Vault Hunter – Handsome Jacks been busy.”

Not knowing that robots even had emotions, this piece of machinery did. It stabbed the shovel in the snow pile, then reaching out to drag me to my “resting place,” it hydraulically jumped in shock, and with compassion had said, “Wait a minute! You’re not dead! YES! Now I can get off this glacier. Claptrap, your metaphorical ship has finally come in!”

To be completely honest, I never understood the rolling box. He danced… well, drove around me excitedly ranting on and on about how much he’s missed his “ship.” At first I thought he was toying with me, or rather me going insane. None-the-less, he was rather annoying by the time I reached safety. For the most part that is. 

            “Allow me to introduce myself – I am a CL4P-TP steward bot, but my friends call me Clap Trap!” Gesturing a bow, he continued. “Or they would, if any of them were still alive. Or had existed in the first place! Oh – I’ve got something for you!”

The Claptrap then turned around, looting an already dead, “frozen,” bandit of some strange devise. Handing it over, he then describes it as my curiosity got the best of my abilities.

“Here – take this ECHO communicator devise that I totally didn’t loot from one of these bandits!”

It seemed so strange to me now, that even this Claptrap could be a liable friend to have, even though he owns a dreadfully annoying voice. Rolling out, driving himself to what I thought at the time, his “house.” Truly it was a house; not for a soldier like myself at least. But the seemingly short trip felt almost like a ten mile road march. The heavy blizzard that gulfed my way of sight ran thick like a sprinting void of numbers and digits. Like coding it was, only white and freezing. Not knowing I was to survive any longer on the glacier, than to take my own life to what happened next.

“I will explain everything very soon, but know this – you’re alive for a specific reason, and I… am here to help.”

A beautiful voice approached my ears. Looking around to find whomever it was speaking. I realized, it wasn’t she who spoke, but rather “it”. An Artificial Intelligence, which was built into my ECHO communicator.

“I am in this location!” Hollered the claptrap across the blizzard.

I then followed his voice, keeping a miniscule distance between us. Frolicking his arms around, notifying me that I have him within sight. A strange little bot he was. Although annoying, he was quite silly in his manners.

Slowly the treacherous weather began to cease, and I was liable to visualize again. Drying the snow away from my eyes, I scan the perimeter around me. Rather small hills of scrap metal and trash lye scattered within ruins. It felt so peaceful for some oddly reason. I tilt my head back, my curiosity getting the best of me once more. A similar H shaped satellite hovered in front of the planet, Pandora. What looked like a massive weapon, was actually a microscope; Hyperion spyware. So I asked myself, “am I being watched?”

Breaking my wondrous mind state, I barely trip over claptrap. Surprised at how easily mobile I was, he replies with, “Well done! Your ability to walk short distances without dying will be Handsome Jack’s downfall.” Turning around, the claptrap then stood in front of a well secured door that scanned his entire personnel. The door unlatched, and opened like any other. “Just a little added security. Need keep those Bullymongs at bay, or they’ll rip your eyes out from their sockets!”