Scrappers Part IV

The Harvesters are closing in. The beast is about to break
free. Angie and Ruggie can’t outrun them. Their only hope is to venture into
The Lost, the remains of civilization before the war, and before the collapse
of the planet.

Scrappers Part IV continues the sci-fi horror universe that is being developed through short stories. Enjoy the story in written word, audio, artwork and soundscape.

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Scrappers Part IV









Clash

This couldn’t be happening. I wasn’t trained for this.
Neither was Ruggy. He didn’t care though, the hothead wanted to bring the fight
to the Harvesters. Those damn gene-freaks were marching towards us. Chances are
they knew our location way before we knew theirs. That’s what they did. They
were faster, more advanced, and less compassionate.

THWUMP! came pounding from our cruiser as the whole vehicle
wobbled. The beast was shredding through the side door. It’d be out in no time.
Ruggy’s crazy plan of taking the fight to the Harvesters was truthfully the
best we had to work with. We couldn’t outrun them. We couldn’t hide from them.
The only advantage we had was that abomination that remained in our cruiser.

ANGIE, THIS WAY, came Ruggy’s message through the
interface of my goggles.

I stayed close to my partner, hiding behind a boulder. Our
night vision from the goggles let us see clearly in shadowed rocks. It shielded
us on both sides as the cruiser door peeled open from razor-sharp claws. The
beast sprung out into The Lost and charged towards us on all fours like some
enraged great ape.

The Harvesters held their electro-spears, humming with power.
Their gunmetal chrome suits shined against the light of their weapons. High-frequency
clicking noises came from their being. There were the harvesters I was used to.
That Harvester at the crash site – a rarity. They were never vulnerable, only
killers.

GET READY TO FIRE AT THE HARVESTERS, Ruggy typed. THAT
BEAST IS CLOSING IN FASTER.

I watched the Harvesters as Ruggy watched the beast. We had
each other’s backs. Scrappers had to. No one else would help us. We were on our
own. Sweat poured down my face, watching the four Harvesters march up the hill.
The clicking began to ring in my hear. They were too close. There was nowhere
for us to turn either. We were backed into a corner. The only way out was to
dash at the opportune moment. This plan better work.

The beast bellowed, leaping into the air, claws extended
outward. The Harvesters were a good two dozen paces away from us. They raised
their spears in defensive stances, watching the beast. It soared down towards
the group.

One Harvester typed something into its wrist, causing the suite
to open several holes around its wrist and up the forearm. Pitch black
tentacles wiggled out of the holes and towards the beast. They reached the
creature before it hit the ground, colliding in midair. The beast hacked at the
tentacles, slicing some of them apart. A couple of them snagged its limbs.
Another grabbed the neck, immobilizing the beast in the air.

LET’S GO! Ruggy typed, sprinting from the hideout.

New Plan

That was new. No time to ponder. I joined Ruggy, rushing
from the spot back up to the cruiser. A quick glance back – the Harvesters were
stabbing the beast with their electro-spears. Each penetration sent a charge
pulsating through the creature’s body. It groaned in agony and fell limp. The
clicking sound increased in speed.

SHIT, I typed out. I THINK THEY’RE ONTO US.

Ruggy didn’t reply. We only ran. Now, I couldn’t look back.
I didn’t want to lose track of Ruggy or stare at those things. Thumping picked
up behind us as the clicking continued. They couldn’t be far behind. We could
only run deeper into The Lost.

We ducked underneath a metal bar to the other side. I
followed every jump, turn, and duck he made. Every obstacle he avoided. Our
best bet was to use the terrain and try to lose these bastards. We skidded on a
decline until we entered a cavern. Or maybe it was a building. It was man-made
at one point in time based on the concrete.

We hurried through the hallway. Large rocks had fallen over,
causing the ceiling to cave in. The interior of the cavern was completely
covered. The small entrance would give the Harvesters a hell of a time getting
in.

Ruggy made a sharp turn left. The clicking sound dissipated.
The cavern evolved into an old building the deeper we went.  Parts of the floor were destroyed, showing
deeper levels below. We carefully avoided falling, stepping around into the
next room.

WAIT, Ruggy typed, holding out his hand. There was a
window in the next room.

WE SHOULD GO BACK, I SAW ANOTHER WAY, I typed out.

GO.

I took the lead, guiding us back to a split in the hallway.
Each step we made kicked up dust, disrupting our view. I tried not to breathe
in too intensely. The air was stale, particles fell softly to the ground. We
probably kicked those up as we jogged in. I did my best not to cough. We
couldn’t make any sound for the Harvesters couldn’t be far behind.

Ruggy and I followed an incline. Small holes throughout the
building let light in.

WE DON’T WANT TO GO UP, Ruggy typed. WINDOWS.

WHAT THEN? I asked.

WE SHOULD GO DOWN. Ruggy typed.

THAT’S THE BUILDING’S FOUNDATION. WE’D BE TRAPPED.

MAYBE. MAYBE NOT. THERE ARE TUNNELS ALL OVER THE LOST.

A loud crash came from behind us. Then the kicking of rocks.
Clicking sounds. The Harvesters.

WE DON’T HAVE A CHOICE. I typed.

NEXT DROP WE’RE TAKING.

There was no time to argue. We had to keep moving. Footsteps
picked up behind us. Distant, but growing louder. I hopped over metal wires, rocks,
and other rubble. We passed a corridor to a well-preserved hallway. Never had I
run this fast before. Our steps reverbed. The air was thick, making me
lightheaded. I couldn’t stop. There were no breaks. The light-holes were less
frequent. We were making progress.

Once the Same

Crashes erupted from behind. The corridor crumbled as a herculean,
gunmetal, being charged towards us. The Harvester kept its head low to avoid
the ceiling as it stormed forward.

SPLIT, Ruggy typed as he dashed into a side room. I
GOT LEFT.

I took the next right turn I could, leading straight to a
large pile of rubble blocking the path.

“No, no, no,” I whined. I spun around a couple of times. The
ceiling had no gaps to hop up to. The clicking and footsteps amplified. The
rubble in front had a small opening below. I could make it. I had to.

I chucked my gun underneath, letting it skid to the other
side. My turn. I took a step back and dashed to the gap, falling onto my side
and sliding on the dirty tiles. I stopped about halfway through and pushed with
my legs for the remainder of the way.

A large gunmetal hand slammed down as I lifted my foot,
dodging it. I got to my feet, snagging my rifle as a hand reached through the
gap, attempting to grab the gun. The hand slid back. Through the smaller gaps
in the rubble, I watched the Harvester stand upright, slightly hunching, in its
full seamless suit. Small circuitry in a liquid substance was just below a
translucent layer of the suit, pulsating. The head stared at me through one of
the higher openings. There were no eyes. No breathing holes. Only the shiny
seamless suit with its complex outer membrane.

I twitched my eye, shutting off the night vision of the
goggles to get a naked look at what humanity had become. The moment held. The Harvester
stared at me in the poorly lit hall. The clicking stopped.

“Why?” I asked. I wasn’t even sure why I said it. It was
kind of a stupid thing to say. This was a Harvester. A gene freak of another
world. They left us to die on this rotting planet. They decided that they were
better than us and would let Humanity rot.

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.

One Last Attempt

A light touch on my calf caused me to jump. I spun to face
the wall. Rifle pointed. Nothing. The sensation moved upward, pricking. It
caused me to drop my rifle in a spaz reaction. I twisted my leg to look down.
There, a black remnant of the tentacle wiggled its way up to me.

I squealed, covering my mouth as I did. Noise wasn’t my
friend. Several deep breaths calmed me down while I watched the thing crawl up
my leg. There, on the ground, was a sharp rock. That’d do. I leaned down
gradually, keeping my eye on the wiggler.

My hand reached for the rock, as I carefully avoided sudden
movement. I snagged the sharp stone and lifted it to the wiggler, ready to
sideswipe it. One deep breath in, I swung. The rock slapped the black flesh,
knocking it off my leg. It fell onto the floor and squirmed.

I landed on my knees as I guided the rock onto the tentacle,
crushing it. That wasn’t enough for me. I raised the rock and continued to
smash the wiggler until it was a flat disk. A part of it rose from the mess.

“Die!” I said through my teeth, slamming the rock down several more times, ending with a twist. I paused, waiting for it to make another move. It didn’t. I won. Finally, the chaos was over. Now Ruggy and I waited this out. We’d get out of here.

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