TEINAR > Wastelands

Chasing the Storm

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Lion:
[Open by request only.]

Whichever way there was to go, no one could see.  The expanse was covered in dust clouds rolling over the Wasteland.  A storm was coming, and lightning would rack the earth.  Already thunder was rolling across the sky and Erax didn't like the feel of it as it's vibration was rolling through him.  His helmet covered his face from the rancid clouds that rolled around him.  There was clearer air up north.

It was a matter of getting there without being attacked by raiders that was the challenge.  His car was fast, but he needed to conserve fuel.  He'd be able to take cover from the storm beneath the vista to the east.  There the badlands dropped off with a series of cliffs and caves.

Erax shifted off closer toward the ledge where he was perched, his vehicle not too far. He had some salvaged material that he fashioned into a set of binoculars. With some adjustment the vision far off down the carved road came into focus. The smoke that was obscured in the distance was visible closer to the source at the bottom of the road, a few miles away.

Wreckage. Clear as the coming storm. Erax felt his heart pound harder in his chest.

He slid down a few more lenses, the sight of crushed vehicles, trucks, and some bodies coming into view.  It seemed fairly recent. No crows now because of the coming storm, so the flesh remained largely intact. He wasn't going to pass up the chance to collect some supplies.  But chances were if he saw the smoke, so did someone else.

He was quick though and rushed to his vehicle.  A turn of the key, a roar of the engine, he put I in gear and the car – once black and sleek but now scratched and rusted – burned tread in the dirt and cruised hard down the cliff side. It roared down the hill until it reached flat surface and the ground to the road was becoming level.

The engine roared, going into high gear as the sight of the wreckage was growing closer. Thunder rolled again, the storm growing stronger.

Nix:
It had been over a year since he had found any trace of Sendoa in the tunnels, so when he found his surrogate father's jacket in the abandoned, half caved in tunnel he was too reckless. It completely collapsed behind him. His link back to Teinar...

Fortunately the tunnel lead out and was not another dead end. Out into the wastelands. It was not his first-round time seeing the surface... But he had never been trapped out here. And the air... It was much harder to breath than the shallow stale air underground. It felt like it was burning his lungs... Bixente held Sendoa's jacket to his mouth and fastened his chains to his waist. He stepped to the mouth of the cave but dared not go out.

The storm was hardly a force he was familiar with and he was not prepared to deal with it. In the distance was that smoke? And the sound... An engine perhaps... A roar between the thunder that echoed through the cave...

Bixente shrugged off his pack. He had been exploring the tunnels for weeks now.. But he still had some supplies. No one else from Teinar would have wandered so far, especially not alone, but Bix had never been much like other Teinari. He ran his hand along the mouth of the cave, checking the structure before pulling out a beast skin tarp he had been using for rudimentary shelter. It was taut and leathery and in a pinch was a simple barrier and deterrent to many of the cave dwelling beasts he hunted. It stunk of a lark predatory beast and provided some measure of security while he slept. But now, hopefully it would help keep the storm at bay.

The mouth of the cave was structurally sound, so he took out his tools and hammered the metal pegs in place, pulling the tarp tight over the entrance to shield himself from dust and debris. He wondered how long storms raged out here. Hopefully not too long. He was running low on water.

Lion:
The scent of burning rubber filled the air. With his helmet secured, Erax hit the gas, octane bursting into the engine of his car. It flared up from the six exhausts on either side of the rear tires, black smoke bursting up into the air.  Dirt and dust kicked up in his wake, obscuring only by the drifting dust that was already billowing out over the barren ground.

His armored vehicle was well equipped for long mileage, but the need for fuel was ever persistent. As it was for many out here in the Wastes. With the storm brewing up ahead, Erax needed to hurry because the wind would not wait for him. Nor would any others that might be seeking the pillage the corpse of that truck.  It was soon coming into view, Erax shifted, foot on the clutch, easing the gas, then shoved the gear down into fifth, adjusting the gas as the engine roared once more.

He didn't know how long but as soon as the truck was visible, growing larger as he approached, he hit the brakes on his car, slowing down to take a view of the place.  None seemed to be immediately visible, but he would take it slow enough just in case.

He pulled on his poncho, a leather skin that was sewn haphazardly with the tendons of a mudrake.  He grunted and kept his hand on the sawn-off shotgun at his side.  He wasn't a wild shot with that weapon, but it had a reputation for being rather persuasive.  Eyes wavered here and there beneath the visor of his helmet, catching onto the glint of a leaking gas tank.  Swiftly the pulled the gas cannister he had int he back seat from the window, creeping toward the spill and unscrewing the cap, letting it fill with each drip.

Nix:
The tarp blew back at him from one of the bottom corners. He could see the black smoke in the distance. A vehicle. Someone was out there. Insane. He knew there were people who lived out on the wastelands but it baffled him. Sure he had spent more time in tunnels and underground ruins than in the proper city of Teinar but that was the life of a lone hunter. Especially one who wasn't exactly doing a job these days.

But this was a whole other world. Had Sendoa really come all the way out here? Had he been caught by surface raiders who wandered into the tunnels and dragged out? Or maybe Pilots caught him? Somehow he doubted those possibilities.

He shielded his eyes as he watched the vehicle move but it was hard to make out much else. He just hoped it didn't turn and come toward the cliffs and caves since he was in fact cornering himself to ride out the storm. Bixente pulled the tarp back across the cave entrance and made sure it was secure this time. Then he wrapped one of his chains around a rock and led it across the floor of the cave, ready to pull it taut and trip anything or one that might try and get in.

Lion:
The leaking gas tank was filling the canister all too slowly for Erax' liking, but for his sake, he could take his time to look around a little more. He breathed slowly through the vents of his helmet, looking up at the side of the overturned truck. The back didn't seem to be filled with anything, just...leaking sand from bullet holes on the side. 

Maneuvering over to the front, Erax placed a boot into the rusted grill and climbed up onto the side of the toppled truck's hood.  The glass was smashed in on the passenger side window, the lock crushed in and unopenable.

With the window ajar, Erax propped himself onto his belly.  Something shuffled on the wind and he looked up, nothing so far.  But the storm was growing stronger and thunder rolled out across the sky once again.  He crawled through threw the window the see the bodies inside.  No crows yet.  But they would come.  For now though, he could pull up the body of the driver, pulling him and throwing him off to the side.

A scavver most likely, flesh already pale and half-rotted. The impact with the ground left maggots plopping down on the ground.  Erax grunted but looked through what remained inside the truck's cab. Nothing much of note. The main parts were already worn and bare. A spring poked up from the passenger seat, and looked loose enough to take.  With a grunt, Erax pried it off and threw that off to the side as well. The glove compartment...a few shells.

He took them into his gloved hand, carefully testing them.  The pressure was good in two of them.  And into his pocket they went.

Thunder rolled again.  Fuck, he couldn't wait around much longer.  Erax rolled off the truck, dropping from the rig's tire and landing with a kneel.  He crouched by the body, rummaging through the pockets.  A boltgun with no bolts. No screws, no metal bits to be salvaged.  Except that belt... He shifted the corpse around, careful of the maggots until the leather was wrapped firmly around his knuckles.

He collected what little he salvaged and stripped the body of the boltgun as well, throwing it into his bag when he heard it again.  Except this time it wasn't thunder.  Raiders.

Erax moved fast and threw the bag with supplies back into his car through the open window.  He rushed for the gas canister and snatched it from the tanker. Half-filled, but it would have to do for now.  The engines were roaring louder.  A snapped look over his shoulder and three bogies out from the west.  No time to waste.  He shoved himself back into his car, started the engine and rolled the window back up, turning round to the cliffs.

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