Susan gazed over the hot desert, sweat running down her forehead. The sun shone high up on the sky, beaming its deadly lasers down on the sand below. Susan looked up at the wreckage in front of her. She had no idea what it once was, but knew it was filled with stuff she could salvage. She'd already found a bunch of valuable stuff, so it was unlikely anyone had scavenged this place before.
A couple of hours had passed since she arrived. Her bag was almost filled with scrap she could sell at the market. She would take one more look around before she headed off. She looked at the time. Around three hours until the next patrol came around. If they found her scavenging on their land, she'd be in deep trouble.
Wiping sweat off her forehead, Susan took a sip of water before she walked off, leaving her sandmobile in the shade. There was still one wreckage she had to explore. It towered over her, making her feel like a small ant. She had no idea what had been here before, but it was gigantic.
Climbing up there would be a chore. Susan sighed. She would rather leave now, but she knew the most valuable stuff was in these buildings. Susan groaned as she began the long climb.
An hour had passed. Even with Susan's best efforts, she hadn't found much of value. She'd found one valuable fuse that sold for a couple thousand, but that was about it. Disappointed, Susan walked outside.
She was pretty high up, and the wind made her cape flap around her. Some people said it was pretty cliché and unnecessary to wear a cape in the desert. But Susan had her reasons. It might appear to be a normal cape at first glance, but in reality, it also doubled as some sort of glider. All Susan had to do was spread the cape while falling and she would glide down. It was pretty handy when moving from place to place.
It also helped shield her skin from the sun, and Susan just thought it looked cool. She'd always loved superheroes when she was younger, and this cape kind of reminded her of that.
Susan looked down at the ground below. The wind didn't appear to be anything crazy, so she should be able to glide down safely. She took a few steps back, preparing to jump. But just as she was about to jump, she heard something. A loud bang came from inside the building. Susan bent down, listening for any further noise. What was that?
She took out her charger and scanned the windows. Not a single movement. Susan looked back. If she wanted to, she could just jump and not deal with whatever this noise was. Besides, something probably just fell over. But her curiosity was burning her from the inside. She had to check it out.
Keeping her finger on the trigger, she crept inside. Had she been imagining it?
Her eyes scanned every corner for any kind of movement. She breathed lighter and lowered her charger. It'd just been her imagination.
Susan glanced at her watch. "I should get out of here," she murmured and turned towards the window. "I wanna be as far away from here once the patrol comes arou—"
Just then, the floor beneath her gave away. Before Susan knew it, she was falling towards the floor below her. Her hands grabbed onto something and stopped her descent. Her arms burned from the strain, but she held on for dear life.
The fuse she'd collected before slipped out of her bag and bounced out of sight. "Damn it!" Susan growled and pulled herself up. "Why does every floor I stand on have to break!"
She peered down into the hole. The fuse was nowhere to be seen. It had probably bounced somewhere. Susan groaned and looked around for a safer way down. If she dropped down, the floor might give away again.
In the corner of the room was a large door. On it was a faded sign. It was hard to make out, but it kind of looked like a staircase. Susan stood up, strapped her charger around her back, and made her way towards the door.
It took her a few tries to open it, but she was able to force the door open after a few tries. Once she'd made it onto the floor below, she scanned around for the fuse.
"I hope it didn't break from that fall," she thought to herself. "I'll need to talk to Margaret about how much worth it is—"
Then, her eyes spotted the fuse. It was lying in a pile of rubble. Susan sighed and began making her way towards the rubble. But when she was halfway there, she froze. A person was standing by the rubble.
They'd been hidden by the shadow, so Susan hadn't noticed them before. The person was tall, wearing a black leather jacket and a motorcycle helmet.
Susan began reaching for her charger. If this situation resulted in a shootout, it'd take her a while to unstrap it. The person took a step forward so that Susan could make them out better.
Judging by the person's shape and chest, Susan guessed they were a woman. The sun that shone from the windows above them reflected in the black glass of the helmet. A charger was at the woman's side.
The woman picked up the fuse and examined it. Susan's heart began speeding up. She'd dealt with other scavengers before. People who thought they could steal from her.
"Hey!" Susan said in a confident voice. She'd unstrapped her charger and was ready to pull it out any second.
"That thing you're holding," Susan continued. "It's mine. Just put it down and walk away. I don't want no trouble."
The woman looked at Susan but said nothing. Susan continued: "Just put it down."
The two of them stared at each other, only a few meters separating them. The slight wind howled outside. Susan's heart was racing as she waited for the woman to act.
Then, the woman dashed out of sight.
"Hey!" Susan shouted and ran after her. She aimed her charger and fired, but the woman was out of range. Susan cursed and began swimming in the trail of ink she'd just created.
Once Susan emerged from the ink, she saw the woman disappear behind a corner. She was fast, much faster than Susan was. She sprinted as fast as she could down the corridor.
"What's another scavenger doing here?" Susan thought as she ran. "No one should know about this wreckage. Most scavengers are too scared to look in places outside the borders of Splatsville. Did they just arrive? I didn't hear anything."
Susan spotted the woman further down the corridor. There were large gaps in the floor, but the woman leapt over them with ease. Susan gritted her teeth and jumped over a large hole. The floor was really unstable, and Susan could feel it crack under her feet. Whoever this scavenger was, they were really light on their feet.
Susan followed the woman into a stairwell. Susan thought the woman would just run down the stairs like any other person, but was surprised when the thief jumped over the railing and let herself fall down the middle. Susan leaned over and saw the woman grab onto the railing on the floor below, slowing her down, before she jumped again down to the floor below.
Susan's stomach turned as she prepared to jump after her. She'd never tried this maneuver.
"Can't be that hard," she thought. "Just gotta grab onto the railing and let go. Simple."
She'd rather just run down, but the thief would get away if she did. This was her only option if she wanted that fuse back. Susan held her breath as she leaped over the railing.
The feeling of falling down began taking over, as the railing below her approached her with every moment. She extended her arms, reaching for the metal. Her fingers locked around it and she slammed into the metal. Pain shot through her body, and she almost lost her grip. She looked down. The thief was already three floors below her.
Susan gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the pain, and dropped down. After a few floors, the woman pulled herself over the railing and ran through an open door.
Exhausted, Susan followed close behind her. She felt like her arms were about to fall off.
Susan ran as fast as she could, slowly gaining on the thief. She followed them into a room with one door and a large hole in the wall that led outside.
"I've got you now!" Susan thought, thinking she'd cornered the woman. But to Susan's surprise, the woman ran towards the gap in the wall. What was she doing? She wasn't wearing a glider, jumping from up here would be suicide!
But from under her jacket, the thief pulled out a small gun with a spear at the end. A grappling hook! Susan sped up. The woman leaped out and disappeared out of sight, but Susan jumped out after her without hesitation.
As the wind roared in her ears, Susan spread her cape. She began slowing down and glided around. Her eyes scanned around for the woman and spotted her swinging towards the ground. She steered her glider downwards and followed. Gliding this high up was difficult. The wind was unpredictable, and maintaining control was hard.
A swift gust of wind almost crashed Susan into the building, but she was able to remain in control. The thief had now reached the ground and was sprinting across the sand. Susan peered her eyes and sped up. The ground was approaching rapidly. Susan had never attempted to land at this speed. But she had no other choice.
The woman looked behind her and spotted Susan diving towards her. She tried to move out of the way but was too late. Susan's foot collided with the helmet and the thief was knocked down. For a moment, Susan felt the feeling of victory flow through her body. But that ended once she collided with the ground.
Sand filled her vision as she rolled uncontrollably through the sand. She had no idea if she was facing up or down. Finally, she was brought to a stop. Her body protested as she tried to sit up, but she gritted her teeth and looked up. The thief was only a few meters from her and looked like she was trying to recover from Susan's kick.
Their eyes met for a few moments. Then, the woman reached for her charger. Even if Susan was dazed, she reached for hers as well. Susan picked it up and aimed it. Her vision was blurry, but she could make out the outlines of the thief. Her scope was aimed directly at the woman's chest. The thief had aimed hers, and it was pointed directly at Susan.
They sat there for a few moments, chargers aimed at each other. If one of them fired, the other would have time to pull the trigger. Susan's hand was shaking, but she kept her finger steady. A few moments passed. But just as Susan was about to pull the trigger, something caught her attention. A sound.
The heartbeat in her ears made it hard to hear it clearly. Susan examined the woman opposite her. She looked like she was listening as well. But then, Susan heard it. Engines. Susan mustered up the courage to look away from the woman and scanned for the origin of the sound.
Two cars and two motorcycles appeared over a hill in the distance. They were driving fast and were coming this way. Susan's stomach turned. The patrol squad!
Susan rose up and looked around frantically. She didn't have time to run back to her sled.
"I have to find cover!" she thought and began backing away. "Maybe I can—"
But her eyes fell on the woman. She wasn't running towards cover. She didn't even look phased. She just crouched down and aimed her charger towards the patrol squad. Susan looked at her, confused.
"Is she really going to fight them?" Susan thought. "Doesn't she see she's outnumbered?"
Susan was having a hard time deciding what to do. If she ran for cover now, she might be able to hide it out. But they might see her and chase her down.
Susan bit her lip. "Ah, screw it," she murmured and knelt down behind a small hill. The woman glanced at her but said nothing.
"This is suicide," Susan murmured as she adjusted her charger. "Absolute madness."
The cars were getting closer and closer. "Why am I doing this?" Susan thought. "I don't stand a chance."
She aimed her charger. The patrol group was not far now. "Too late now…" she murmured.
Every second that passed felt like an eternity. The sun beamed down on them, burning into Susan's skin. The crosshair of her scope rested on one of the drivers. Only a few meters now.
She could hear shouts coming from the group. One of them rose up, splattershot in hand. Susan took a deep breath.
"Three… two… one…" she counted in her head. It felt like time had come to a stop. Her finger pressed on the trigger.
A loud bang came and ink flew out of her charger. It soared through the air and collided with one of the motorbikes. The man driving it lost his grip and flew off, his lifeless body crashing into the ground below.
As Susan prepares to fire again, a loud bang came from her left. A green line shot through the air, hitting the man with the splattershot. The man stumbled and fell off the car, disappearing into the cloud of sand behind the vehicle.
Susan aimed and pulled the trigger. Her shot whizzed past one of the men, forcing him to duck into the car. The other motorcycle broke off from the main group and disappeared behind a building.
The two cars came to a stop and six people emerged from inside, all holding weapons. Susan aimed and fired, hitting one of them in the head. The lifeless body dropped down dead, and the others took cover behind the vehicles.
Susan bent down as a barrage of ink came flying over her head. She glanced at the woman with the helmet, who was in a similar situation. Susan cursed and began crawling further to the right, hoping she'd get a better shot from there.
"I just have to wait for them to run out of ink," she thought. "Then I'll have my chance."
Once the barrage seized, she rose up, aiming at the vehicles. A head entered her line of sight and she pulled the trigger. The shot missed the man by inches, and he ducked behind the car.
"Damn it!" Susan growled and bent down as the group began firing again. "If they rush us, we're finished!"
Susan glanced once again towards the woman. She was holding something in her hand. It took Susan a few moments to recognize the splatbomb clutched in her hand.
"Throw it!" Susan shouted in her own head. "Why are you hesitating!"
But then she realized what was wrong. Ink flew over the woman's head, mere inches away from her. If she stood up, she'd be shot down the second her head was exposed. If Susan could draw their fire for a few moments, then she might have the chance to throw it!
Susan gulped. "This is stupid," she thought and took a deep breath. "Absolutely insane."
Then, after one final decision, she rose up. "Come and get it!" she shouted. She was completely exposed. The group of people began shouting and bent down, as Susan's shots flew at them.
The group began firing back, all of them aiming at Susan. Susan kept on firing. She just had to keep them distracted.
"Come on, throw it!" she thought. A scary thought crossed her mind. "What if she won't? What if she's just waiting for them to kill me and then once I'm dead, she'll kill the rest. That way, she won't have to worry about killing me. I basically gave her a free kill!"
The knot tightened in Susan's stomach as the milliseconds passed. It was only a matter of time until one of these shots hit her.
"Will I really die here?" Susan thought. Alone, tricked? But I… I still have to—"
But then, an explosion of ink was triggered from behind the truck and the firing seized. Screams echoed throughout the desert before silence fell over. Susan opened her eyes. The ground was covered by green ink, the bodies of their enemies scattered around.
Susan sighed in relief. She had thrown the bomb. But as Susan turned towards where the woman had been before, she froze. She stared down the barrel of a charger. Susan's heart stopped in her chest.
"Of course," Susan's own voice echoed through her mind. "How stupid could you be! Of course she'll kill you!"
The click of a trigger being pulled echoed in Susan's ears and green ink came flying towards her.
"So, this is it…" echoed through Susan's mind. "This is where I die."
She closed her eyes, ready for death's sweet embrace. Would it hurt? Would it be swift? No matter what the answer was, Susan didn't care. She knew this day would come eventually. She deserved it.
But as Susan waited, something flew past her head. A thud and a shout were heard behind her and then silence. Susan slowly opened her eyes.
Her eyes fell on the woman, her charger pointed at the ground. Confused, Susan turned her head to look towards the sound.
Behind her lay the lifeless body of a man. Beside him lay a splattershot. "The guy on the motorcycle!" Susan realized. "I forgot."
Susan looked back at the woman, who hadn't moved. "She saved me…" she thought. "Even if…"
"Thank you…" Susan said, unsure what to say. The woman said nothing, and the two of them stared at each other. After a few moments, the woman tossed something towards Susan.
Startled, she grabbed it out of the air and looked down at it. The fuse.
Perplexed, Susan looked back at the woman. "Why are you giving it back to me?" she asked. She tried to make her voice sound as confident as she could but feared she'd failed miserably. The woman said nothing and turned around, walking away.
"Hey!" Susan shouted and began following her. "Who are you?"
Then, the woman spoke for the first time.
"Come," she said. She didn't even turn to look at Susan. Just continued walking away. Even if it was just one word, the voice struck dread into Susan. It was calm and confident, yet it had a dangerous edge to it. Like the voice of someone who'd lived through too much.
"What?" was the only thing Susan could muster out of her mouth.
"Come," the woman said again. Seeing no other option, Susan followed from a safe distance. After a minute of walking, the woman stopped and spoke without looking at Susan.
"Take your sled and follow me," she said. Susan wanted to question where they were going, but couldn't bring herself to. Without a word, she walked to where she'd left the sandmobile.
She put the fuse into the bag and turned the key. The engine roared and sand flew in all directions as the sled flew across the sand.
Susan heard another engine and spotted the woman not far from her. She was on her own sandmobile, and glided over the waves towards the hills in the distance.
"That way leads to Splatsville," Susan thought. She debated in her head whether or not she should follow her. But she didn't really have much choice. Plus, her curiosity was overwhelming her.
"Screw it," she murmured as she turned towards the hills. "Wherever this path may lead me, I will follow it. Even if it leads to my own death."
The sounds of the engines drew further and further away, as they left the wreckage in silence.