Shifting Wastes

Chapter 3: Wasteland Paronoia

Later on into the night you kept hearing strange noises off in the distance, as though there was a pack of animals out in the wild.Naturally you had learned to stick near the camp and chose not to look. At some point during the night you were exhausted and sore from the days events so you had climbed into your tent and dosed off. When you woke up the next morning you slowly slid out of your tent and stretched your back while looking around. The sun had just barley come up to where its rays painted the desert around you with a brilliant tint of golden orange, giving the otherwise barren landscape a beautiful appearance. You smiled at this and prepared to put your tent down and pack up your gear when you noticed a very ominous cloud coming towards your area. The cloud was massive and looked to be moving at high speeds and you knew immediately what it was." Oh perfect a sandstorm in the morning". You quickly take down your tent and stuff your supplies in the crate you brought along and hurriedly climbed down the rock wall, knowing perfectly well that sandstorms in the wastes can easily tear a persons skin off their bone As you sprinted towards the crawler you notice that the others have entered the crawler and begin to close the door. In response to this you sprint as fast as you could on the loose sandy ground and dive under the bulkhead door just before it clamps shut.

As you stand up and dust yourself off you hear the sandstorm hit the crawler and hear the sand beating against the outside and the floor shake lightly in response to the sand and the wind. You look over near the door and see Anderson smiling at you and giving you a thumbs up. You walk over to him and say"Mind telling me why you were closing the door when you KNEW I was out there?" with a voice loaded with irritation. Anderson heatedly chuckles before saying" cause I knew you could make it in time"You sigh to yourself before smiling lightly and saying" yeah fair enough" as you turned around and walk over to a far wall and placing the crate on the ground. As you put your rifle back onto its place on the wall you hear Anderson ask" You heard those noises last night right?".You stop for a second before putting the rifle on and turning around to him and saying" yeah I did. And I have no idea what it was."Just then you hear the radio overheard screech on and hear Samson say"Y/N I need you, Anderson, and Shimla to come to the bridge immediately. We've got a problem" Anderson and you look at each other and you shrug and make your way to the bridge with Anderson close behind.

*_Timeskip_*

While on your way to the bridge of the Crawler you and Anderson ran into Shimla who gave you both a look of questioning to which you both responded with a light shrug and continued on. Once you both had arrived at the bridge Samson was looking out into the storm while looking like he was deep in thought. Once the three of you had stepped into the room, however, he quickly turned around to face the both of you with slight shock before he relaxed seeing as it was only you, Anderson, and Shimla. He then walked back over to the chair that resided in the middle of the room and intertwined his fingers together while also crossing one leg over the other. He then looked at the three of you and motioned for all three of you to sit down on the couch, which you promptly did since Samson was not this serious unless it was very important. He looked at the two of you while saying" Alright we need to discuss something together, and since you three our this crawlers first, second, and last line of defense, I feel as this is very crucial to discuss" The three of you sat up completely straight, knowing full well that you all needed to be attentive. He then looked as though he was pondering something before he said" You all know what the Scars communicate right?"

The Scars.....just hearing the name made your skin run dry from unsightliness. They were a vicious group of mercenaries that inhabit three crawlers who roam the Wastes, dismantling crawlers and taking their valuable materials, and killing any crew who would resist. You had heard about them from a few residents of crawlers over the years but with the way people talked about them they seemed more like an urban legend then a real threat. So it unnerved you when Samson mentioned them in a sentence that he felt the fighters of the group should know. After none of you acknowledged just how they communicated Samson replied" They use specially trained birds to send messages between the three crawlers. I'm telling you about this because this morning we...received one such message" Everyone's eyes around the room widened and before and whispers or talks of suspicion could raise, Samson pulled a piece of paper out if his coat pocket and unfolded it while saying" The message was short, but it's still very threatening. It read this," he looked down at the paper and said...

"We are watching you...and We're coming for you soon"

Hey guys, Drend here!  Sorry if this is a bit short, I've just been having stuff going on lately, and I just kind of lost the will to update this...but I'm back now, so expect more updates soon! And make sure to comment any ideas that you have! Bye!