How could something so very old and delicate still be holding together, a few hundred years after the bombs fell? So fragile, that one wrong touch might seal its fate and disintegrate the few remaining pages to dust.

When Florian had rushed up yesterday and said what he had found, I didn't believe him. I mean, who would? Relics from ages ago were rare in themselves and therefore extremely valuable.

Looking down, thepre-war magazine rested lightly in my hands.

"Cool huh?" Florian asked.

"The coolest dude. This is incredible!" I exclaimed. "I can't believe the images are still visible on a this!"

Half the pages are seared or burned but there are a few near the middle that are Almost pristine. I gingerly flip a page, savoring the feeling of the smooth texture lingering on the paper.

Florian and I huddled over this fragment of history, staring at the woman's image. It is an advertisement for perfume.

Florian and I have been best friends since we were little. He is only half a year older than me and enjoys lording that fact over me. He says our fathers were friends during the war. I do not remember so but I trust his word.

"Dude!"‐

"Shh. I know man, I can see it." I interrupt trying to keep my tone quiet.

"Can you see her-"

"Yeah, yeah! Now shush before your uncle hears us!"

I glance at the door behind us. Off down the hall I can hear the faint clanking of his uncle stiring tea in a tin pitcher. For a middle aged guy he's alright in my book.

"She's practically naked." He says excitedly.

His words snap me back to the fragile photo in front of me.

And she is. Except for the excessively sized thin white wet shirt clinging to her frame, the woman is naked. I've never seen skin so unnaturally tan.

"Do you think our ancestors used to... ya know..?"

"Eww man. gross. You make me wanna gag sometimes." I say mimicking the motion of vomiting.

"Shush, Math." He says with a smile.

" Stop calling me math bro." I say giving him a light shove with my . He dramatically falls over accidentally smacking into the metal wall. We freeze, hearing the sound. I listen carefully for any sounds of movement from beyond the door. Florian slowly gets back up trying not to make any more noise. "I blame you if we get caught with this."

His uncle is a cool guy who was nice enough to take Florian and I in when our foster parents died in the war.

They were my foster parents, Florian's real parents that is. Florian's father and Boris were brothers. I knew them simply as Calister and Mona. Both had been scientists who helped make innovative upgrades to technology for soldiers on the battlefields. They had left for a mission and never came back. According to their commander, nothing was left to bury after the battle.

I slowly let out a breath I did not know I had been holding. I felt the tension fall in my chest. Safe.

"Florian. Where did you say you found this?" I asked gesturing to the magazine.

"Found what, Matthias?" a scratchy voice spoke.

We jumped up at Boris's presence. He knew how to move silently which I found eerie but also awesome.

""Whatcha got there?"

Before either of us could protest, Bois yanked the magazine up his thick fingers scattering some ash bits in the air.

"Oh its nothing-." Florian began.

"That's a load of bullshit!" Boris said fiercely, glaring at his nephew. "I know you two enjoy your day job scaving the waste but this is too far."

He shook the magazine inside his hand sending dust and scraps all over us.

"Read my lips well boys... CON-TRA-BAND!" He over emphasized each syllable. "One wrong inspection and yall would be done for. Me too while we're at it. You are lucky I'm so kind."

I rose beside Florian but kept my eye onthe floor. "Any relic found from scavenging out in the wastes is considered contraband if found inside a residential building. and should be reported immediately." I quoted quietly.

I could feel Boris eyeing me so I met his gaze. He thumped my shoulder with his thick hand finally he nodded.

"At least you ain't Florian the mute shplop for brains," he said with a gauff, " because I know you are way too smart to do something so incredibly dumb.

Simultaneously our three wristwatches vibrated.

"Ah. Time for your last work detail. Come back straight here afterwards," Boris spoke that with emphasis," and prepare for selection ceremony. I'll handle this. You're welcome." He turned away then hesitated. "Antiquated pornography isn't worth getting caught over anyway. We ARE going to discuss this later."

My cheeks felt hot. I nudged Florian and we awkwardly left.

Once outside, I let out a bark of laughter.

"I can't believe we got caught." Florian said.

"Really? Your uncles got eyes in the back of his head Flo."

He rolled is eyes. "Whatever. Let's go. Don't wanna be late for last shift."

We walked to the teleport station or "port" in relative quiet after that. I tried scrubbing the woman's picture out of my mind unsuccessfully. I felt a sharp pain in my side and glared at Florian. He had boney elbows which my ribs did not appreciate.

He ignored my sulking glare and pointed out past the shieling wall. I could barely make out a space cruiser landing. "Somebody important gotta be arriving. Probably to watch selection day."

While there were three main factions on the planet, other celestial bodies had large camps owned by the factions or at least sponsored by them. In a race for resources and profit, ships came and went quite frequently.

The largest Faction primarily stayed on Earth but sent out many scientists and explorers. They had the most camps.

Named after the legendary mythological ship from history, The Argos Faction had the best gear and the best jobs for Academy graduates.

All sponsored by the DeLuca Family. Every student who went through Selection hoped to catch the eyes of a powerful family. If a person continued to do well, then they might be offered a chance to intern or join after graduation with the family. The Deluca's helped create technology and they had been instrumental in developing powers and gear tech. It's who Florian's parents had worked for under the bannner of the Science Guild.

Rumor had it that the families ancestral patriarch was responsible for the raid that led to the massive break through discovery of super powerered crystals and other technologies that existed today.

I could hear Boris in my head saying rumors were simply enticing distractions. I turned my attention back to the ship. "Clearly not DeLuca's." I said.

Florian nodded in agreement. "Dunno. I dont recognize the banner. We are also way over here in the slums so I can't see very well." We continued walking.

Each step led closer to Selection Day and then training school after that.

Florian's excitement seemed to boil over as we walked.

"Selection Day!" he shouted in a sing song voice.

Across the street, one of our co-workers shouted back "Hype up!".

Kaya, a girl our age skipped across and gave Florian a hug before turning to me with a smile. I smiled too and held out my arms. She leaned in and gave me a quick squeeze. Her perfume overwhelmed my nostrils in a pleasant way.

" You bone heads always brighten my day." She said with a laugh while stepping back.

"We aim to please" Florian joked. "Math, you good?"

I nod.

"Kaya, let's not be late." Rocco appeared behind her. He was older than all of us by a few years. The guy dressed like he stepped through a port from 200 years ago.

Florian and I secretly had a bet on who could make him crack a smile first. So far neither of us had been close. A stone had more personality.

"Right, come on then."

--

Kids between the ages of ten and sixteen worked in one of many departments. I knew of one kid who worked in food production which meant gardening. The four of us were one small group of scavers. Our job was to pick up valuables in the radiation soaked ruins of the planet outside the protection of rad shielding which surrounded our sparsely spaced cities. Definitely better than gardening.

After scouts would run through an area marking buildings or ruins of interest, scavers would be sent out to different search the pre-war ruin sites. Armed with nano tags and sensors, we would be sent out in pairs of two to rummage through the prewar ruins and collect anything with potential value. Nano tags beamed our discoveries to be sorted later.

Most of the time there wasn't much. My most exciting find was in half buried ruin of a farm where the bones of the family who died were still sitting on the couch. I only found a couple jars of preserved food and some metal scrap that time.

We finished our walk quickly and ported over to our work site. Our supervisor met us and spoke.

"Since this is the last time you will be scaving for us, we have a treat for you," She said.

We sat on the rows of benches for the briefing and more than a few of us sat up straighter at these words.

She waited silently knowing we were all on the edges of our seats. "Oh come on! Spill!" one boy cried out. She turned and glared at the boy and he fell silent. A smile cracked her lips.

" Fine. Scouts found an untouched hospital."

Florian immediate let out a loud whoop next to me. I turned to Kaya with a smile on my face. I got an unnerving glare from Rocco.

A hospital being intact enough to scavenge definitly sounded like a treat to me. I could feel my hands shake excitedly.

"Pair off and we'll head back to the Port pads. Kaya and Rocco search base floor. Florian and Matthias search sub basement levels." I stopped listening after that.

Before we could teleport to the sight, Kaya grabbed my wrist and place a blocky object in my hands. "Sup says be careful. You will be facing the highest levels of radiation in the area.. Stay safe."

I nod. The pad powers up. Right before the teleporter beams us away, I look down at the object in my hand. A Geiger counter. My stomach flipped a little. Geiger counters meant a strong possibly for high rad levels. Since working geigs, as i called them, were a rare tool, they were only handed out to experienced scavengers, or if the place being explored was newly discovered. Each of us had heard and a few of us had even seen the effects of radiation poisoning on people we knew.

My mind raced back to a night a couple of weeks ago, when scavenging down at the old docks, how a eager new scavemger had shoved open a sealed bulkhead from an old craft that had fallen out of the sky. We didnt have geigs that trip, but seeing how the young kids skin seemed to shrink and burn as he screamed in agony. I pushed the nightmare of a memory out of my mind and prepared to explore the ruin.