Chapter Text
Private Evers squinted against the harsh sun. The wind was blowing through the Bissel Pass, flinging the dust from the road up to the sentry post at the stasis net. Also it was cold, he’d missed breakfast that morning, his shift didn't end for another two hours, and five days before they’d found out that some kind of ark fall had destroyed New York City. In short, it wasn't the best day.
He turned to the other sentry and asked “How much does this suck?”
“Alot,” she replied, not taking her eyes off the road. Evers sighed inwardly. Private Mesque wasn't exactly what you’d call chatty.
“Sorry you got roped into sentry duty Mesque,” he said.
“No problem, besides, McKenzie’s on sick leave,” she said.
“I don’t blame her,” he said, feeling sorry for his usual shift mate. Her whole family had lived in New York.
“Did you have anybody in New York?” he asked. Mesque shook her head. “Me neither. My dad lives in New Chicago,” he said. They lapsed into silence, scanning the empty road for any sign of life. after what felt like an hour, Evers checked his watch, to find it had only been five minutes. He was about to groan in frustration when Mesque said
“What is that?”
She pulled out her binoculars and held them to her face, scanning the road. Evers look out and saw a bit of movement far down the road.
“It’s a person, but they’re covered up so I can’t tell you if they’re human or alien,” said Mesque, passing the binoculars to Evers. He peered through them, and saw a figure walking towards them at an even pace, pack slung over its shoulders, head covered by a scarf. He frowned. Who the hell travelled on foot through the badlands?
“You call it in, I’ll get down there,” said Mesque, already headed for the stairs.
“On it,” said Evers, already reaching for his radio. Hitting the talk button, he heard a brief burst of static before a voice on the other end said
“Report Private?”
“We have movement at the Bissel Pass sir.”
“How many?”
“One, on foot,” said Evers. There was silence on the other end, and then the sergeants voice came though again.
“Repeat, private, did you say one person on foot?”
“Yes sir, I did.”
“Any weapons?” asked the sergeant. “None visible, sir.”
“Alright, get down there and handle this routinely, radio in if anything else seems suspicious.”
“Yes sir.”
“Over and out,” said the sergeant, and then the static came back. Evers switched off the radio and headed for the stairs. Mesque was waiting on the ground, rifle already unslung from her shoulder. Evers followed suit, and silently, they watched the figure draw closer. He’d started walking faster the closer he got to the net, probably eager to leave the badlands. As he approached, Evers saw from the build that it was a man, and his skin was human tanned, not Castithan white or Irathient bronze. His clothes were worn and covered with dust from the road, and he was carrying a large nylon backpack. Poking over his left shoulder was the hilt of an old world Japanese style sword, but as he approached the stasis net he held his hands up to show he was unarmed.
“Stop!” said Mesque, holding up her gun. The man stopped, frozen.
“Uncover your face and identify yourself,” said Evers, raising his gun. The man unwrapped the scarf, revealing himself to be a young man, perhaps early twenties, with dark brown hair and intense pale grey eyes, with a slight beard that truly made him look very handsome, Evers thought. He pushed that thought down Wait till later, he thought.
“My name is Keith Sullivan,” he said.
“Where are you from and why are you coming here?” asked Evers.
“I’m from New York City, and I’m here looking for work."
Evers and Mesque inadvertently flinched at the mention of New York City, and Keith looked confused.
“What?” he asked.
“You’re one lucky piece of shtako,” said Mesque, smiling thinly “New York City was destroyed five days ago.”
“What?” he said, disbelief spreading across his face “What happened?”
“Arkfall is what everyone is saying,” said Evers.
“Thats terrible, I left just two weeks ago, how could it….” Keith stopped. “Can I lower my hands please?” he asked.
“Slowly,” said Mesque, gun still trained on him. Keith lowered his hands.
“Why are you on foot?” She asked. “Land coach broke down leaving New Chicago, so I decided to walk it,” Keith replied.
“You decided to walk through the badlands all by yourself?” asked Mesque disbelievingly.
“I spent the first twelve years of my life in a mining community in Topeka. I’m no stranger to the badlands,” Keith replied.
“What made you leave?” asked Evers, curious.
“If I answer, can I go through?” asked Keith, a slight note of humor in his voice.
“We’ll need to see the contents of your bag, check you for signs of disease, and confiscate any firearms you have,” said Mesque, shooting Evers an annoyed, business-like look.
“I don’t have any firearms,” he replied, stepping forward. Mesque led him into the small metal building at the base of the stasis net, used for screenings, motioning for Evers to get back up to the sentry post for guard duty. As Evers headed up to the sentry post, he thought about the handsome young man who was going to be staying in Defiance. He was obviously very strong, you’d have to be to survive the Badlands especially without a firearm, and Evers liked his guys strong. He decided that after he’d had dinner he’d head over to the Need/Want, grab a drink and Mahsuvus and get some good screwing in, the perfect way to make up for the shtako day. The thought pleased him greatly until he remembered- Mahsuvus Gorath had been shot after it was found out he was a spy for the Votanis Collective. Private Evers sighed as he made it back to the sentry post.
It really wasn't the best day.