Machine God: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller (Final Draft)

Into the unknown

"The LRV," Hecto said.

I was dying to know what LRV stood for, but with the ongoing tension in the trio, and my endless array of questions, this had to be the worst timing. So I shut up and followed them along. Something in this ruinous city freaked them out, and it wasn't me.

We hushed around the corner of a factory-style building and entered some kind of compound.

"Let's motor up," Hecto said.

My eyes detected a silhouette inside a blown-apart house front. The contours of an armored vehicle with giant tires and a heavy machine gun mounted on its trunk.

So this was their LRV.

"Blink and you'll miss it."

"Thanks to the beautiful camo," the blonde said, "finely crafted by yours truly. The goal's to make our baby blend into the streets."

Or whatever was left of them. She took position of the passenger seat. Hecto helmed the steering wheel while I and Glitch sat right behind them in the four seater. To be honest, there wasn't much space inside, even without the roof. Probably the fault of the heavy stationary firearm that throned right behind me. The armor, the gun and the fortified tires had military written all over it. But still, these folks talked like friends and not soldiers.

Maybe a paramilitary troop?

Rebels?

I had to ask my questions carefully from now on.

"Can I have my rucksack back?" Glitch said to me.

"Sure."

I handed him over the treasure chest on my back. He opened it and played with the content, mostly dusty mechanical parts from the ruin they had found me in. Meanwhile, Hecto activated the mighty machine and made the seats vibrate. My butt received the massage of a lifetime.

Seriously, this baby had power.

Hecto rolled out the secret parking space and rode toward the empty street.

"Glitch, you can toy around later. Man the gun."

"Now?"

Hecto threw him a glance that could melt steel. Glitch moaned one more time and took control over the heavy machine gun. Looked like the ride was going to be filled with tension. For some reason, I looked forward to it. Feeling excited trumped snoring under dust rubble anytime. But now the blonde turned around her front seat and sent me the sweetest smile.

"By the way, we have never introduced each other."

She reached out her hand.

Delicate fingers, but scratched and bruised.

Probably from all the rummaging.

"My name is Ceedee. The skeleton to your left is Glitch, a hacker and part-time scavenger, and the gentleman to my right is Hecto, my sex slave."

The big guy chuckled.

"Are you sure it's not the other way around?"

"You wish," Ceedee said.

Hecto grinned while concentrating on his driving.

"I actually do."

When the banter settled in, Ceedee's eyes returned to me. I knew what was coming up.

"So, what's your name?"

Silence crept in, only interrupted by the groaning of the LRV's engines. My eyelids fell down while I was surveying the dark database in my brain.

"I wish I'd know."

She puckered her lips.

"You're kidding."

"I really have no idea. The first thing I remember was hearing your lovely voice."

Glitch chuckled from the gun mount. His attention had returned to his war toy which seemed far more interesting than the mysterious man they had found in the ruins.

Ceedee didn't seem convinced yet.

"You don't have the slightest clue? No name? No idea where you came from?"

A blank slate with blackness, that's what my brain was. No matter how hard I tried searching for the memories, they eluded me. There was nothing but the void.

That damn void.

Ceedee must have detected my hopelessness, because her eyes went puppy, the voice softened.

"Hey, don't worry. We bring you back to our place and take care of you. Your memory will probably return soon."

"About that—where do you guys actually live?"

Sounded like an innocuous question to me, but somehow, it broke the conversation. Ceedee searched Hecto's face for an answer. Even Glitch perked his ears as he pretended to aim his machine gun at the distance.

Maybe talking about their home was a no-go.

The awkwardness continued, and I grew tired of it.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Ceedee finally answered.

"We live in a society with unique rules. Once you're there, you will understand. But now, I want you to close your eyes."

I wanted to ask her why, but I trusted her and dropped my eyelids. I heard her crawling around the seat, wrapping some kind of cloth around my face. The vision went dark again, and I shivered. Ceedee tried to reassure me.

"This is a security measure. We don't know if we can trust you yet, so we have to hide the location of our community."

Her voice was soaked in worry. It seemed out of place, especially after our harmonious get-together.

"Well, not to sound offensive, but you're the ones with the armored jeep and the assault rifles."

Needless to say, the conversation went down the dunes from that on. Suddenly, I wasn't thrilled about going to their mysterious place, wherever the hell it was.