Scrappers Part IV

Maybe Not

The Harvester's head tilted, breathing calmly. It punched the rubble, causing dust to fall. The sound startled me, but I remained still. If I ever made it out of this, it would be one hell of a story to tell back at base. Now, I was even closer to a Harvester than at the crash site – all on the same scrapping mission. The key was I had to get out of here to brag about it.

A humming came from the suit. Small holes appeared on the being's face.

"No," I mumbled, taking a step back.

Black tentacles wiggled their way out of the holes, heading for me. Great. I roared, raising my rifle and fired at the approaching appendages, stepping backward. The gun clacked. Shells hit the ground. Bullets pinged off the Harvester's face. It didn't flinch. The tentacles approached. I directed my aim. Some bullets shredded through the black things, causing them to fall to the ground.

They didn't stop. Their torn halves wiggled forward. This was pointless. It was time to run. I lowered my rifle and spun around, sprinting down the hall. The Harvester slammed its fist against the rubble several times, causing pieces to fly out. High-pitched clicking erupted like a sputtering engine.

RUGGY, WHERE ARE YOU? I typed.

I took a left turn in a T intersection and hurried downwards. All light vanished. The Harvester's sounds faded the deeper I went. Chances were the large being couldn't make its way through the rubble. A streak of luck. I could only pray – to anything listening – that was the end of it. I navigated through my goggle's interface to turn on night vision.

ANGIE, came Ruggy's text. WHERE ARE YOU? DON'T SHARE YOUR LOCATION, JUST TELL ME.

I KNOW THAT. I'M NOT A ROOKIE, I typed back. I'M FINE. I THINK. WHAT ABOUT YOU?

I GOT AWAY. I HEARD IT GO AFTER YOU. THEN THE FIRES. WHAT HAPPENED?

IT TRIED TO GET ME, BUT I SNUCK THROUGH SOME DEBRE. THE FATASS COULDN'T FIT.

YOU LUCKY GAL, Ruggy typed.

NO SHIT. WHAT'S THE PLAN? YOU IN A SAFE SPOT?

THERE'S NO WINDOWS HERE. I WENT DEEPER, BELOW GROUND. IT'S COLD, BUT SILENT.

GOOD, I typed. A wave of relief went over me as I came to a small turn off. Maybe it was a closet at some point in time. A good hideout as any.

YOU? Ruggy typed.

IT'S DARK, I HONESTLY DON'T KNOW. I THINK I DITCHED IT THOUGH, I typed, sliding down to the ground.

ALRIGHT. WE'LL WAIT IT OUT. KEEP STATUS UPDATES. ANYTHING WEIRD YOU SHARE, ALRIGHT?

CONFIRMED, I replied.

WE GOT THIS, KID :-), Ruggy typed.

I lowered my weapon with a sigh. We were both safe. Separated, but we'd get out of here. Harvesters have been known to give up on a hunt. They had better things to do with their time than wait around for a couple of humans. There were bigger hunts.