The Scavengers Code

Chapter 1

A chilling breeze blew through the grassy, overgrown plains of Colorado, signaling the steady change of seasons. In the distance, a soft, mechanical roar came from the horizon, breaking the silence, as an unusual vehicle made its way up to an abandoned car factory.

The machine looked like a motorbike that had been scrapped and then put back together, it had a large trunk strapped to its back and several pouches on the sides and strung up over its many shining headlamps up front. It had a long seat that made the driver stick their arms out all the way to reach the handlebars to steer the vehicle. Rolling smoothly beside it was a sidecar that had a mostly empty backpack in it, the little weight it had keeping it from flying off.

Driving the motorbike was a girl that couldn't be older than 14. She wore a worn leather jacket that was too big for her, on the chest pocket was a worn pair of sewn initials. Covering her hands were gloves whose fabric had faded, she wore thick goggles which lens were so foggy you couldn't see her eyes. The buckles on the sides of her brown, laced up boots gleamed as she started to ease up on the gas pedal. She had no helmet on her head, but a light green scarf that covered her face from the nose down whipped in the wind as she rode up to the front double doors of the building and parked. Strapped to her back was a long, light, wooden staff, it was carved and polished so smooth that the wood almost looked fake. However, the ends were worn from impact and dirt. It had what seemed to be bandaging tape wrapped around the area where one would grip it.

She dismounted, pulled down scarf, and took off her goggles. Her deep blue eyes scanned the area as her hair fluttered in the cool breeze. She had jet black hair that was cut short, so the fringe in her hair caught specks of dirt as it moved in the wind. She had a thin mouth and a mousy little nose which scrunched up at the old smell of dried oil and muck. She certainly wouldn't have been considered the 'supermodel' type, but there was something attractive about her rugged, and tousled appearance.

She wiped her pants off before walking to the other side of her bike and leaning over the sidecar to snatch the backpack up and then striding over to the building, giving a try at the rusted door knob.

She frowned as the knob barely reacted to her touch. She pushed on the door with all her strength before giving up and taking a few steps back, she made a quick dash, and then bashed her right shoulder into the door. It flew open, but did so very suddenly, almost making her fall to the ground.

"Oh. Nope, should not... should not have done that." She winced as she brushed herself off and rubbed her now injured shoulder. But she was used to the occasional bruise, so she trucked forward, restraining a look of pain from appearing on her face.

This girl was known as a Scavenger in this time, a title she herself had proclaimed. Scavengers were rare. They were people who would put their lives on the line to find unaccustomed goods, mechanical pieces, and even personal belongings for themselves, or their client, if they could find one.

On this particular job, she was looking for five spark plugs, a heat exchanger, and several brake pedals, which explained her current whereabouts. As she stepped out the main facility place, she looked over at the already looted cars, she knew this is one of the only places she could bet her luck on.

The entire place was crumbling to pieces, drawers and cupboards were thrown open by looters and others that passed through, like the girl herself. Rust and overgrowth caked the walls, floors, and what was left of the ceiling, which had previously belonged to old nests of dead birds. But, despite the dreary and dangerous look of the place, the girl was grinning widely, and was confident she would be successful on this one.

"Seems alright... " She held her right arm up. On her wrist was a watch-like object, she pressed down a button on the side and held it a bit away from her as information popped up on a holographic screen. A male voice began to speak from the device,