Chapter 7

Crate

As we walk down the narrow path, I couldn't bear to think that we should've waited there and moved forward until those punk were gone. They're not gonna lasts there and all of us here have to keep moving just to survive. Staying in one area, won't make you alive. It is like you're afraid of anything that will kill you, but everything around us can kill us. Hunger and anything that people are capable of doing horrible things.

"Still coping up, Dy?" Al asked.

"Yes... but why do we need to take an alternate route instead of we wait?"

"Well... I don't fight." He said, "that's my weakness into this process but the only that makes me strong is this." he stopped walking and pointed his finger on his head, "this what makes me alive, and if I don't use it, I won't survive. I don't fight physically but my brain is my weapon."

I actually agreed to what he said. "But if an instance, fighting physically is necessary what would you do?"

He shrugged off, and continue his walking. "That will be a matter if it happens, but for now, I should keep using my brain and work this all thing for me." he said and he lifts his finger once again, "but remember, just because I befriended you doesn't mean I need you to fight for me. No.... dude, seriously. This is a process and we all need people to trust too."

I just nodded to him and think what might happen over the course of the months if we stayed together, as a team. That could maybe a good reliance after all. The smart one and the strong one, and by giving such names on ourselves can bring confident beyond what we are. In this place, we don't need the things that would make us down, we need to uplift ourselves just to survive and make it to the end.

"Dylan!" Al called me. "C'mon, we're almost there!"

As he said that, we run to the place he's referring to and that was the store he found himself creating the technology he had now. He said it could be more something than just a tracker. If he could find some chips that will support the operating parts, he could send signals from here to the outside and he also can disrupt our tracker from the main source of it.

When we saw the tech store, there are some people around the vicinity and they were just like hanging around or trying to find something useful. Al and I waited, obviously, before we could head inside the store. Al thinks of something that will make them away—just like he told me, what we usually do when we see angry stray dogs—we scared them. Al grab a rock and find his timing to throw it and when he got the chance, he throws it over the car and it goes straight, and break its windows.

As we watched it happened, they were hurriedly run away as they thought someone is coming at them and tear them apart. And when it's okay, Al and I took the chance and hastily run towards the tech store while there still no one around.

"I'll look for it Dy and we'll get to see later again."

I nodded, "later, yeah."

Al immediately searches the part for his technology and I just get to wander around because truly, I don't know what to do here. There's a lot of technology around, the circuits boards and any stuff that connected to it. The funny thing I have found on the corner is the vending machine, there's a lot of junk foods displayed into it and I couldn't bear just to watch them and let my mouth dry up. If I could have my ax, I could just break the glass but I forgot to bring and so I get to find something that could break the thin glass.

Suddenly, while I was searching for some metals, I heard Al voice and other things collapsed. I hurriedly come to see him and to find that he's on the floor lying and some tech parts are on him. I help him to stand and he just laughed by it.

"Thanks, Dy." He chuckles.

"What happened here?" I asked.

"Oh, I was trying to reach for the box on the upper rack but then it falls on me." He smirks.

"But did you find what you're looking for?"

He shook his head, "nothing I found that would work, but I'm not giving up. Not now." He said, and I was amazed by his determination and the way he thinks, maybe his intelligence what makes him now. Hope what we have right now won't change along the course of the process because I would love to see in the end that we get through the rebirth in many instances. "What about you? Did you find something useful here?"

I scratch off my head, "no, but I just found a vending machine and has a lot of junks."

"That's great, bring me one."

"Or we could bring all," I suggested. "Anyway, do you think those junks are still good and won't make any harm?"

He shrugged off his shoulder, "don't know, we'll know when we eat it."

"You got a point there, Al. You are really smart."

He smirks, "don't praise me so much and you won't even like how my ego would turn out."

"We'll see that though." I chuckle. "By the way, gotta find some metal first to break off the glass."

"Good and I'm going back on my searching. Hope this day won't end in any worthless shit."

"Better be." I second a motion.

We go back to what we're doing but my purpose here isn't really a thing but finding some foods here is a worthwhile though. Because on the Waste Land, you'll get to eat what's just been offered in the table and you can't resist because there's no other food to serve than that. The poorest thing about being a null people is every people we're just wanting to get through the day and that's the worst kind of what we are.

But I've heard before, a group of the alliance was formed to stop the High Council to treat us nothing, without the use and all unworthy but that alliance against the group didn't last long because High Council would do everything just to stop the opposing team on their process.

That's why the null people ended up believing that the rebirth is the only way of having a good life and turned to be a useful one—where every one of us was already useful in the Waste Land—but in the Noble Land, being useful is something that they praise of. Once you attain something by hard work and by profession, you will be recognized and all the thing happens on you on the Waste Land wouldn't be a thing because you are now called a Licit one and that's the worst thing happened when you become one. You are just recognizing the thing you did great and by not being what you are.

Luckily, I found a fire extinguisher lying around on the floor and had the idea to use it. When I get back to the vending machine and smash it right through the thin glass but it doesn't go break on the first try and of course, I didn't give all my strengths to it and so I did it second, third, fourth and ended up gasping on breath because the glass couldn't seem to break off.

"Why can't you break?" I said as a throw with all the strengths I had on the glass but it just bounces back and didn't even have a crack on it! "Fuck!" I yelled.

"Woah, Dylan?!" Al shows and was really confused seeing me, "what's happening here?"

And I pointed him the vending machine who is likely didn't get a touch from me. "You didn't get it to break it?" he asked like mocking me off.

I smirked, "it's don't think so, it won't even crack."

"I'll try then..." he said and when he reach for the extinguisher and position himself to throw it on the vending, I hold and stopped him because of something I heard outside. "What is it?"

"Listen," I said as we come into silence.

We heard a lot of voices coming from the outside and as we are too curious about what's happening there, we get to sneak out what's on it. We're seeing many people who're looking up straight into the sky and we don't know what they're seeing and we couldn't risk to step out and seen by them.

We wait 'till it goes what happened.

And we see a crate falling with a chute, Al and I look at each other because of what's inside the box and we have the same thought on our minds. It must be some of the goods or such immunity they serve to give and we would fight just to get one.

"What do we do?" I said to him because as what we are seeing, they're trying to open up the crate.

"We'll do the same?" Al said, "I don't know..." he shook his head.

"Not now, Al."

But he just shrugged off, "I really don't think that's all good."

"Stay here, Al, I'll go get us some."

I stood up and left him from hiding and he's trying to stop me from coming to it closer but so I didn't listen to him. When I'm already stepping out of the store, the crate explodes. The first thing that comes in my mind was to duck down but it didn't go upon what I'm thinking, the explosion blew me away and send me off through the racks and blackout.

The next thing woke me up was Al's waking me up from unconsciousness. When I try to stand up, my head hurts a little and I couldn't believe how fast those things happened and I should just believe to Al to not go further but I know he wouldn't blame me because I know this would just be for the both of us.

"Are you now okay?" he asked but then suddenly, I felt my tracker on a series of an electric sting in my neck and he notices the way I grab it. I grunted how I managed to keep myself calm alongside the pain I felt to it. "What it did to you?"

"It just stings," I answered.

"First time happened?"

I shook my head, "no but maybe it's just their way of waking us up."

But he just looks at me, and I was too dumb to say that reason on him. "By the way, I already found the parts that would work and about the vending machine, the explosion breaks the glass."

"Oh, shit that's good." I said, "anyway, at least you got to fix your tech again."

"Yeah... and we'll pack some junks now."

"Oh yeah, we do," I smirked.

We get some plastic that could fit all the junks we get. There were gummies, chips, and sodas and I think these are enough to get us through the days. In this place, there's no Licit People's food you can find hiding somewhere because, in this process, you have at least to find something to eat that somehow can make you alive for days.

When we're done, we left the store and we get to see the aftermath of the explosion and dead bodies were all over the place. That could be me if I make some furious decisions but somehow I didn't get that far, but still, it hurts my ego though, being the strong one passed out after the explosion, well, yeah... some, all of us would.

"Wait, what is that?" Al said, looking straight to the burned crate.

"What are you doing, Al?" I said and stopping him from walking closer to it but he didn't listen and as I wish not to go after the way I did, but as he stepped closer and closer and pick something from it, no explosion comes after. When he walks closer, I get a relief that he didn't go with those dead bodies on the streets. "What did you found?"

He shrugged off his shoulder, "just a key and I don't know what this means."

I get it from his hands, it looks rusty and old. "Would that mean something?"

"Maybe, it came from the crate. It must be."

"You should hold on to that, Al."

"I will."

We decided not to stay any longer because the night will come and the darker the place will be, the higher the danger will be. It's a long walk until we get to reach my bike, and as expected, it grabs much attention because of the sound it makes and some punks got out of their hiding and we drive as fast as I could.

This is the part where the day did not endworthless.