Scrappers Part III

On Route

We marched back to the cruiser with the rover right behind us. The cruiser was barely in view, probably another half hour. I held my rifle tightly, looking at all the nearby rubble. That beast was still out there. I couldn't help but wonder if it would come back. We had no idea what or where it was. The Harvesters dabbled in modifying all sorts of genetics. It could be another human for all we know.

"We've got to get some intel as to why the operator took us out here," Ruggy said.

"Yeah. It seems odd they'd send a scrapper team out here," I said. "A military unit might have been more useful."

"One would think. Quite frankly, I am not surprised."

"Why is that?"

"We're disposable. The military is not. They knew it was a Harvester crash site, and they wanted to get to it before the Harvesters did."

"Right, for the metal."

"And we did." Ruggy looked up to the grey-and-black sky. "Thankfully, no more of them showed up."

The Harvesters were usually quick to come and snag their deceased. Lucky for us, we got here first. We were sure we knew why the operator took us here. Still, it would be good to hear it from the horse's mouth. Until then, we did our job and made sure we stayed alive. No one else had our backs.

Ruggy and I reached the cruiser. With a few subtle eye movements, I used my goggle's interface to open the cruiser's back hatch. The rover automatically strolled in with the scraps of metal. Ruggy and I went in after, letting the hatchet door close.

I took off my goggles and blinked a couple of times. My eyes burned any time I used them. It didn't matter how many times.

"Angie," Ruggy said, taking his goggles off. "Mind starting the cruiser? I've got to take a shit."

"Yeah," I said. Classy Ruggy, I thought.