Recluse Protection

Prologue

Staring at these men, I feel myself quiver. They've told me they aren't like them, but I don't believe it. They look like the ones who had me, wearing their leather vest, with colorful patches. They aren't similar to the ones I've seen but who's to say that actually matters? I look between the two, one named Bear and the other named Gears. What kind of names are those? My eyes bounce between the two hearing their tense voices. "Well then get outta here Bear. See if I give a damn, I'd rather be here than listening to you or Welder." Gears growls at the man, his fist bunching.

Gears isn't tall like Bear, he's built more sturdy. He stands an average height, but looks like he's meant to bench press a truck. Bear looks at him, his face reddening before he turns stomping down the steps. "Fuck it! I have to go deal with shit anyways." Bear gets on his bike starting it with ease before punching the throttle. Throwing dirt everywhere as he races off. I see Gears breath heavy, angered with Bear.

"Were you two fighting about me?" I hear myself ask softly, not wanting to anger him anymore. I feel the most comfortable around Gears, well him and Forger. He's pretty cool too. Gears turns to look at me, sighing before shaking his head.

"Nah, we weren't fighting about you Case." I watch as he turns watching the dust settle. Looking down at the ground I watch as I rub at a spot of dirt on the porch. The over sized shirt and leggings having become my new apparel; I like wearing this stuff more. I'm not exposed.

"He looked mad at me." Taking a chance I look up at him, watching as Gears sighs pushing his hand through his hair.

"Bear just doesn't know what he's doing." Gears walks back up the porch taking a seat in the old rocker Forger had placed there. He says every porch should have one, it's the best kind of music to listen to. I take a seat on the swing, letting my feet hang.

"I don't want to be a burden to you guys." I hear myself talk before I even meant to. Gears gives me a smile.

"You aren't a burden Case, he just worries about everything. He's taking over as President, Welder is stepping down. Right now he's worried about you, this place, coming out here to find you hurt or worse dead." I shrug at his words. I'm learning more about survival, learning how to keep myself alive.

"I'm getting better with it all. I'll learn, I'll make sure I can take care of this place. I don't want you guys to worry so much about me."

"You're making us proud Case. We see how far you've come, everything that you continue to do. You don't give up, if you're not careful you'll be getting a nickname with us." I smile softly at his words. Feeling a blush works its way to my cheeks. I'm happy that they don't see me as an invalid, I'm nothing like I was when I first came here. I'm slowly changing, and for the better I think.

"Do you think I'll be able to make it out here?" I look up at Gears seeing his eyes filled with a strange emotion, one I haven't seen before.

"Case, I think you're gonna be one of the few people that'll strive out here." Hearing that I give Gears a shy smile, I really do like hearing his words. "Come on girl, it's time to do some more work." Giving him a nod I stand up, looking around. I really do like to learn, it's interesting. Gears walks me to the machine building, or the mechanics dream as he likes to call it.

"What are we going to be doing today?" I feel myself bouncing with excitement, I love working with my hands. I'm learning so much from these guys, and the more I do, the more excited I become. I can't help but get excited with everything that's happening. Gears looks over his shoulder at me with a thoughtful look.

"Well one of the first things you should know is how to fix the machine's you are going to be needing out here." I stop looking at him.

"Do I need the machines?" He chuckles, giving me a nod in answer.

"Machines aren't a bad thing, they can help with everything. Make it quicker and more proficient. Trust me, machines are your best friends, something you'll need to know is how to fix them." Gears opens the side door of the shop turning on the lights as he goes. Following him in I pull the door shut, the large metal building is heated, more so than outside. It doesn't take long for a sweat to pop up on my skin. I watch as Gears walks to the front rolling up the door. The large door rattles on it's way up.

"How do you know what needs to be fixed?" Gears turns to look at me, with a grin, walking back to an old tractor hopping on it and turning a key, only to produce nothing.

"That's the best part about machines. Once you learn the symptoms, you can always track the problem. With the tractor it won't start right?" I nod, looking at it.

"It was a funny noise, what's that supposed to mean?" I feel myself tilt my head as he pops open the hood.

"Well that could mean a few things. Bad gas, bad battery, or a bad starter or ignition coils. With this it's easy, I can show you what to look at to find the issue." Gears points to the front tire, letting me stand up. Holding onto the metal shell of the old tractor, I look in the compartment surprised by all of the bits and pieces in it. "I want you to pay attention to this right here alright?" I nod in answer, looking at the chunk of metal, not really sure what I'm looking at or supposed to be looking at.

He turns the key once more, and that same sound comes across. It doesn't sound like it normally does when you are starting it normally. The grinding noise that comes out doesn't sound good. The piece of metal shakes as he turns the key, the noise finally stops before a whining starts and I wince hearing it all. That really doesn't sound good. He finally stops turning the key, letting the mechanisms stop trying to work. "What did you hear?" Gears asks, stepping down from the seat to come closer to where I am.

"I heard a grinding and a whining." He nods, with a slight smile.

"Good job, both of those noises are coming from the Starter. The starter isn't engaging the flywheel, that's right here." He points to a large gear looking thing, hooked up to what I know is the motor. The rest of it I have no idea on. "The flywheel works with the Crankshaft to engage the spark - that's what starts the engine up."

"What is it sparking?" Gears smiles at my question looking inside the compartment.

"Well the engine runs on a system; suck, bang, blow." He pauses making me look at him with a funny look I'm sure. What does that mean? He chuckles shaking his head as he looks back at the engine. "Suck, is for when it sucks in a mixture of air and fuel. Bang, is when the piston compresses the mixture and the spark ignites the mixture. Blow, is for the exhaust that's released." Suck, bang, blow, I crack a grin thinking about it. It's a pretty funny way to remember it.

"So the starter is broken? Do you just buy a new one?" He shrugs looking at me.

"You can, but it's cheaper to find out what's wrong with it, and fix it. That way you don't need to waste money on it." I nod looking back at the Starter.

"So how do you fix it?" Gears chuckles at me, moving to grab a moving cart and toss tools and such on the bottom shelf.

"Well I'm going to teach you how you can fix it."